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The same afternoon that Philippe Gilbert was winning the Flèche Wallonne atop the notorious Mur de Huy last Wednesday, another French-speaking rider was taking a hilltop stage victory at the Giro del Trentino in the Dolomite mountains of Italy. That would be Thomas Voeckler, the current French national champion, notching (like Gilbert) his sixth win of the year and cementing his leadership of the 2011 UCI Europe Tour.

LIÈGE, Belgium (VN) – The peloton returns to the scene of the Stockeau massacre in a race for the first time Sunday. The descent of the Ardennes climb was the site of the massive crash that led to the neutralization of stage 3 at last year’s Tour de France.

LIÈGE, Belgium (AFP) ─ Defending champion Alexander Vinokourov has ruled out a concerted effort in the peloton to stop race favorite Philippe Gilbert from winning Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

The Nature Valley Bicycle Festival, which features the Nature Valley Grand Prix NRC stage race, is adding a gran fondo run over the same route as the race's fifth stage on June 18.

Stage

• 1. Roman KREUZIGER, (CZE) Astana, at 4:09:03
• 2. Emanuele SELLA, (ITA) Androni Giocattoli-Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni, at 0
• 3. Yaroslav POPOVYCH, (UKR) Team RadioShack, at 8
• 4. Thomas VOECKLER, (FRA) Europcar, at 24
• 5. Tiago MACHADO, (POR) Team RadioShack, at 24

GC

• 1. Michele SCARPONI, (Italy) Lampre-Farnese Vini, in 13:54:07
• 2. Tiago MACHADO, (Portugal) Team RadioShack, at 7
• 3. Luca ASCANI, (Italy), at 33
• 4. Domenico POZZOVIVO, (Italy) Colnago-CSF, at 35
• 5. Steve MORABITO, (Switzerland) BMC Racing Team, at 38

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WALSHOUTEM, Belgium (VN) – Leopard-Trek has been denied in all but one of the spring classics this year. While their top focus is on Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Andy and Fränk Schleck on Tuesday reaffirmed their plans to be aggressive in the finale at La Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday.

Must Reads: NASCAR star honors fallen cyclists, Gilbert eyes the Tour and Boogey can skate

BOULDER, Colo. — "The Athlete's Guide to Recovery" is the first and only comprehensive exploration of the art and science of athletic rest.

Several team directors walked out of a UCI meeting in Brussels Monday protesting the way the sanctioning body is dealing with disagreement over its race radio ban.

HTC-Highroad's Ina-Yoko Teutenberg continues to rack up the wins in the 2011 season, with victory number five of the year coming on Sunday in a bunch sprint of the Ronde Van Gelderland in Holland.

World champion Emma Pooley won’t be able to repeat her 2010 victory at Flèche Wallonne this year due to a broken collarbone, Garmin-Cervélo reported Sunday.

VILT, Netherlands (VN) – Greg Van Avermaet carried the hopes of BMC Racing into the Amstel Gold Race Sunday.

Mark Zalewski shoots the Cutters' fifth straight victory at the Little 500.

Little 500 men’s race

• 1. Cutters
• 2. Phi Delta Theta
• 3. Sigma Chi
• 4. Delta Tau Delta
• 5. Acacia

Little 500 women’s race

• 1. Teter, 100 laps
• 2. Pi Beta Phi, 100
• 3. Delta Gamma, 100
• 4. Army Women, 100
• 5. Wing It Cycling, 100

• 1. Jimmy CASPER, (FRA) Saur-Sojasun, at 4:32:10
• 2. Romain FEILLU, (FRA) Vacansoleil-DCM, at 0
• 3. Aidis KRUOPIS, (LTU) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago, at 0
• 4. Leigh HOWARD, (AUS) HTC-Highroad, at 0
• 5. Denis FLAHAUT, (FRA) Roubaix Lille Metropole, at 0

The Omega Pharma-Lotto team announced Thursday that it had fired Matthew Lloyd for "recent incidents during the first races disputed in 2011."

VALLADOLID, Spain (VN) – Alberto Contador says he is staying focused on racing and leaving his pending legal battle in the hands of his advisors and legal team.

A quadricep injury will keep Cadel Evans from starting Sunday's Amstel Gold Race, but the former world champion said his recovery is going well and he remains on track to focus on the Tour de France, BMC reported on Thursday.

Men:

• 1. Francisco Mancebo, Realcyclist.com, with 217 points
• 2. Benjamin Jacques-Maynes, Bissell Pro Cycling Team, with 140 points
• 3. Jonathan Cantwell, with 110 points
• 4. Christopher Baldwin, with 106 points
• 5. Andres Diaz Corales, Team Exergy, with 98 points

Women:

• 1. Amber Neben, Htc - Highroad Women, with 217 points
• 2. Erinne Willock, Team Tibco/to The Top, with 130 points
• 3. Evelyn Stevens, Htc - Highroad Women, with 116 points
• 4. Carmen Small, Team Tibco/to The Top, with 113 points
• 5. Janel Holcomb, Colavita/forno D'asolo, with 103 points

Men

• 1. Jonathan Cantwell in 16:12.4
• 2. Michael Northey, at 16:12.6
• 3. Rahsaan Bahati, at 16:12.8
• 4. Patrick Bevin , Bissell/abg Cycling Club, at 16:13.0
• 5. Raymond Kreder, at 16:13.0

Andreas Klöden returns to the winner's circle in the Tour of the Basque Country as Tony Martin wins the final time trial.

Team Type 1's Ivan Melero will end his career as a professional cyclist due to an uncommon heart deformation detected in pre-season testing.

Saxo Bank-Sungard taps David Tanner to replaced injured teammate Michael Morkov in Paris-Roubaix.

An Italian prosecutor's final report on a three-year investigation of doping in cycling could result in the indictments of as many as 30 defendants, including riders, team officials and doctors.

North Carolina masters racer Peter Cannell has been suspended for two years for doping and has forfeited his results dating to 2007, including three national age group titles, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced Friday.

Stage 4: Abbaye de l'Epau - Bonnétable

• 1. Daniele BENNATI (ITA), Leopard-Trek , 4:00:04
• 2. Nacer BOUHANNI (FRA), Française des Jeux, s.t.
• 3. Stéphane BONSERGENT (FRA), Bretagne-Schuller, s.t.
• 4. Fabien BACQUET (FRA), Auber 93, s.t.
• 5. Jure KOCJAN (SLO), Team Type 1, s.t.

Overall, after stage 4

• 1. Anthony ROUX (France), Française des Jeux , 15:51:02
• 2. Biel KADRI (France), Ag2r La Mondiale, at 0:05
• 3. David MILLAR (Great Britain), Garmin-Cervelo, at 0:09
• 4. Pierrick FEDRIGO (France), Française des Jeux, at 0:12
• 5. Alexandre GENIEZ (France), Skil-Shimano, at 0:13

While in Oudenaarde, VeloNews managing editor Neal Rogers visited the Centrum Ronde van Vlaanderen, a two-story museum just off the Market Square, dedicated to the history of the Tour of Flanders.

• 1. Bert SCHEIRLINCKX, (BEL) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago, in 4:48:45
• 2. Marco MARCATO, (ITA) Vacansoleil-DCM, at 0
• 3. Ben HERMANS, (BEL) Team RadioShack, at 10
• 4. Anthony DELAPLACE, (FRA) Saur-Sojasun, at 36
• 5. Alessandro DONATI, (ITA) Acqua & Sapone-Caffe Mokambo, at 54

Lance Armstrong has confirmed that he will not be racing at the 2011 Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

On the cover: Alberto Contador has overcome many things over the span of his short career. Grand tour season begins May 7 in Torino, Italy. VeloNews reporter Brian Holcombe and photographer Brad Kaminski were in Italy to cover Tirreno-Adriatico. In a nine-page season preview, we rank the top teams, riders and races to watch on local roads. This year’s Amgen Tour of California has not one, but three stages that offer definitive changes on the general classification. And, in our award-winning Tech section, Lennard Zinn tests four brands’ aluminum handlebars against their carbon-fiber counterparts. Subscribe today!

Q.Dear Explainer, As a follow-up to your answer to an earlier question on the biological passport, I’m curious whether there is any science out there on the relative benefits of micro-dosing EPO and other methods designed to avoid detection in doping controls as compared to more traditional and easily catchable doping methods.

Two American riders, one retired roadie and one dominant ’crosser, announced intriguing events they’re backing this July. Burke Swindlehurst will host a unique dirt/paved race, the Tushar Crusher, in Utah on July 16. In Massachusetts, Jeremy Powers will head his second annual J.A.M. GrandFUNdo July 30.

Must Reads: Horner’s Basque buddy; Athlete ‘ashamed’ to be Spanish; more

2011 Women’s Tour of Flanders

• 1. Annemiek Van Vleuten (Ned) Nederland Bloeit, in 3:36:03
• 2. Tatiana Antoshina (Rus) Gauss, at 0:01
• 3. Marianne Vos (Ned) Nederland Bloeit, at 0:10
• 4. Emma Johansson (Swe) Hitec Products-UCK, at 0:10
• 5. Judith Arndt (Ger) HTC Highroad Women, at 0:10

P.J. O'Rourke sprinkles some metaphorical tacks into the national bike lane.

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Check out Nick Legan's author page.

Check out Nick Legan's author page.

Check out Nick Legan's author page.

Check out Nick Legan's author page.

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The 2011 women's road World Cup kicks off Sunday with the Trofeo Alfredo Binda, held near Cittiglio, Italy. The 121-kilometer race is held on four laps of a hilly circuit.

The online retailer recently bought the brand from American Bicycle Group (ABG), the longtime parent company of Litespeed, another brand that made a name for itself with the lightweight metal.

In which foaming rantist Patrick O'Grady slags his own people to no particular purpose in some hideous, post-St. Patrick's Day, Roddy Doyle-meets-Shane MacGowan, Guinness-induced brain fart.

So what is the basis for the UCI’s appeal? Are they going to attack the evidence — or lack of it — or are they going to go after Spain’s decision? Where does WADA come in? Why is Contador still racing?

Touching base with Garmin-Cervelo's track ace Jack Bobridge, who will return to pro road racing after this week's world track championships

Johan Bruyneel gives an interesting interview with the Belgian daily Het Laastse Nieuws

For some, a trip across the Atlantic to ride the most hallowed roads of professional racing is a far-off fantasy. For others it’s a reality — a dream that has either been actualized or is in the works. As with many things, the difference between fantasy and reality is simply making it happen. Subscribe today!

h2>Stage

• 1. Markus EIBEGGER, (AUT) Petrochemical Tabriz Cycling Team, at 2:40:06
• 2. Rhys POLLOCK, (AUS) Drapac Porsche Cycling, at 21
• 3. Mart OJAVEE, (EST), at 44
• 4. Boris SHPILEVSKY, (RUS) Petrochemical Tabriz Cycling Team, at 1:21
• 5. Adam Phelan, (AUS) Drapac Porsche Cycling, at 1:21

GC

• 1. Markus EIBEGGER, (Austria) Petrochemical Tabriz Cycling Team, in 6:55:48
• 2. Mehdi SOHRABI, (Iran) Petrochemical Tabriz Cycling Team, at 12
• 3. David MCCANN, (Ireland), at 19
• 4. Rhys POLLOCK, (Australia) Drapac Porsche Cycling, at 1:07
• 5. Mart OJAVEE, (Estonia), at 1:19