News

• 1. Tobias LUDVIGSSON, (SWE), in 6:05
• 2. Luke ROWE, (GBR), at 0
• 3. Mark CHRISTIAN, (GBR), at 2
• 4. Sander OOSTLANDER, (NED), at 3
• 5. Johan LE BON, (FRA) Bretagne-Schuller, at 3

Race radio is not the problem, but rather the loose headset at UCI HQ, says foaming rantist Patrick O'Grady.

Some of Italy's greatest races continued to thrive even during World War II.

Must Reads: Spanish officials expect UCI to appeal Contador ruling; setback for Romero

BERKELEY, Calif. (VN) — This weekend a plethora of collegiate cycling teams flocked to Northern California to race, despite the finals and midterms that were looming ahead. A considerable amount of riders from the Western Collegiate Cycling Conference teams were ready to fight for the podium and score points at the University of California-Berkeley Road Race and Criterium.

BOULDER, Colo. (VN) — VeloNews, the journal of competitive cycling, and VeloPress, a leading endurance sports book publisher, have moved to a new office space in Boulder, Colorado. The new address is 3002 Sterling Circle, Suite 100, Boulder, CO 80301 USA. Staff will maintain their current phone and fax numbers.

Stage:

• 1. Cadel EVANS, (AUS) BMC Racing Team, in 4:37:58
• 2. Giovanni VISCONTI, (ITA) , at s.t.
• 3. Michele SCARPONI, (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini, at s.t.
• 4. Vincenzo NIBALI, (ITA) Liquigas-Doimo, at s.t.
• 5. Ivan BASSO, (ITA) Liquigas-Doimo, at s.t.

• 1. Cadel EVANS, (Australia) BMC Racing Team, in 27:26:33
• 2. Michele SCARPONI, (Italy) Lampre-Farnese Vini, at 9
• 3. Ivan BASSO, (Italy) Liquigas-Doimo, at 12
• 4. Robert GESINK, (Netherlands) Rabobank Cycling Team, at 15
• 5. Vincenzo NIBALI, (Italy) Liquigas-Doimo, at 21

CINGOLI, Italy (VN) – Training. That’s what Ivan Basso is doing at Tirreno-Adriatico this week. He also happens to be two seconds out of the lead in the general classification after Sunday’s fifth stage.

Must Reads: Saíz on the comeback trail, Lange retires

What does the passport do? How does it work? What are its limitations? Can athletes manipulate it?

On Wednesday morning Tirenno-Adriatico kicked off with a street sprint competition. The local kids cycling club "Velo Club Carrara" had the opportunity to race the first few hundred meters, on the same course the pros would ride later in the day. VeloNews photo director Brad Kaminski sent back a few shots from the event.

Stage 2

• 1. Tyler Farrar, (USA), Team Garmin-Cervelo, 4:56:06
• 2. Alessandro Petacchi, (ITA), Lampre-Isd, s.t.
• 3. José Haedo Juan, (ARG), Saxo Bank Sungard, s.t.
• 4. Mark Renshaw, (AUS), Htc-Highroad, s.t.
• 5. Marcel Sieberg, (GER), Omega Pharma-Lotto, s.t.

Overall Standings

• 1. Tyler Farrar, (USA), Team Garmin-Cervelo, 5:14:13
• 2. Thomas Leezer, (NED), Rabobank Cycling Team, at 0:01
• 3. Lars Boom, (NED), Rabobank Cycling Team, at 0:01
• 4. Sebastian Langeveld, (NED), Rabobank Cycling Team, at 0:01
• 5. Oscar Freire Gomez, (ESP), Rabobank Cycling Team, at 0:01

Stage

• 1. Andréas KlÖden, Team RadioShack, in 4:59:00
• 2. Samuel Sanchez, Euskaltel - Euskadi, at s.t.
• 3. Matteo Carrara, Vacansoleil-Dcm, at s.t.
• 4. Tony Martin, HTC—Highroad, at s.t.
• 5. Rein Taaramae, Cofidis Le Credit En Ligne, at s.t.

GC

• 1. Andréas KlÖden, Team RadioShack, in 24:26:13
• 2. Samuel Sanchez, Euskaltel - Euskadi, at 00:04
• 3. Matteo Carrara, Vacansoleil-Dcm, at 00:06
• 4. Tony Martin, HTC—Highroad, at 00:10
• 5. Robert Kiserlovski, Pro Team Astana, at 00:10

USA Cycling released its selection procedures to be used to select members of the men's road squad for the 2012 Olympics in London. The procedures outline the selection process to qualify for the men’s Olympic road race and time trial in London 2012.

Stage 4

• 1. Thomas Voeckler, Team Europcar, in 5:04:20
• 2. Rémi Pauriol, Fdj, at s.t.
• 3. Thomas De Gendt, Vacansoleil-Dcm, at 00:00
• 4. Rémy Di Gregorio, Pro Team Astana, at s.t.
• 5. Heinrich Haussler, Team Garmin - Cervelo, at 00:13

GC

• 1. Thomas De Gendt, Vacansoleil-Dcm, in 19:26:46
• 2. Thomas Voeckler, Team Europcar, at 00:10
• 3. Rémi Pauriol, Fdj, at 00:16
• 4. Harley Goss Matthew, HTC - Highroad, at 00:21
• 5. Rémy Di Gregorio, Pro Team Astana, at 00:24

Saxo Bank-Sungard boss Bjarne Riis blasts UCI leadership over what he called an arbitrary ban on race radio, saying the cycling governing body is out of touch with the elite level of the sport.

The UCI will decide later this month whether to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport over Spanish authorities' decision not to press charges against Alberto Contador.

Early Friday amidst frigid temperatures, cyclocross star Tim Johnson and company departed from Boston’s City Hall for a 5-day marathon ride to Washington D.C. leading up to the 2011 National Bike Summit.

Women's stage 1

• 1. Amanda Miller, Team HTC-Highroad, at 02:45:31.00
• 2. Flavia Oliveira, Wells Fargo Racing, at 02:45:33.00
• 3. Alison Starnes, Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty12, at 02:45:33.00
• 4. Megan Guarnier, Team Tibco/to The Top, at 02:45:33.00
• 5. Tayler Wiles, Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty12, at 02:45:38.00

Team RadioShack on Thursday announced its teams for the Three Days of West Flanders (March 4-6) and Paris-Nice (March 6-13).

• 1. Jose Rodolfo SERPA PEREZ, (COL) Androni Giocattoli-Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni, in 4:47:20
• 2. Pavel BRUTT, (RUS) Team Katusha, at 0
• 3. Nicki SÖRENSEN, (DEN) SaxoBank-Sungard, at 5
• 4. Maciej PATERSKI, (POL) Liquigas-Doimo, at 8
• 5. Simon SPILAK, (SLO) Lampre-Farnese Vini, at 8

Must Reads: Phil Anderson says Evans' plan is risky, Versus and Universal update schedules

Brent Bookwalter will enter Paris-Nice Sunday as a potential leader for his BMC Racing squad. American teammate Taylor Phinney will miss his planned start after crashing in training a week ago.

With his first road race for almost two decades behind him, Alexi Grewal can truthfully say that life begins at 50 — well, life as a racing cyclist aiming to return to the top.

• 1. Dominic Klemme (Ger), Leopard-Trek, In 4:43:44
• 2. Kevin Ista (Bel), Cofidis, at 8
• 3. Robert Wagner (Ger), Leopard-Trek, at 9
• 4. Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel), Quick Step, at 9
• 5. Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr), Française Des Jeux, at 9

Cav on hometown fame, Brazilian driver charged

Arriagada tested positive during the Tour of Chile, a race he has won three times, in February. According to press reports the 35-year-old's sample tested positive for anabolic steroids. "The federation told me the news and now I have to discuss it with my lawyers," Arriagada told the website of Chilean daily El Mercurio from the Dominican Republic. He will be returning immediately "to undergo the necessary tests and prove my innocence," he added. Arriagada won three of the 10 stages on the last edition of the Tour of Chile and is a four-time national time trial champion.

How much faster is one aero road bike than another? How much do they vary in torsional stiffness - and how does that affect the ride quality? And which bike do we like best? These are but a few of the questions answered in the April issue. Subscribe today!

After the recent birth of her child, Olympic champion Kristin Armstrong is back on the bike and getting ready to race. She spent some time in San Diego's low-speed wind tunnel with Peanut Butter & Co.-Twenty12 and sponsors dialing in her fit and new equipment.

The manner in which Slovak-sensation Peter Sagan scored four victories in Sardinia this past week points to a career that’s headed to the sport’s very highest levels. Maybe he’ll even go as far as the sport’s biggest ever winner, Eddy Merckx.

• 1. Arthur VICHOT, (FRA) Française des Jeux, in 5:25:12
• 2. Thierry HUPOND, (FRA) Skil-Shimano, at 0
• 3. Cyril GAUTIER, (FRA) Europcar, at 0
• 4. Laurent MANGEL, (FRA) Saur-Sojasun, at 0
• 5. Romain HARDY, (FRA) Bretagne-Schuller, at 0

• 1. Kristian HOUSE, (GBR), in 21:35:16
• 2. Johann RABIE, (RSA), at 2:09
• 3. Daryl IMPEY, (RSA) Mtn Cycling, at 2:11
• 4. Perrig QUEMENEUR, (FRA) Europcar, at 2:11
• 5. Thomas DEGAND, (BEL), at 2:11

• 1. Emma JOHANSSON, (SWE) Team Hitec Products Uck, in 3:38:05
• 2. Andrea BOSMAN, (NED), at s.t.
• 3. Chantal BLAAK, (NED) Leontien.Nl, at s.t.
• 4. Loes GUNNEWIJK, (NED), at s.t.
• 5. Elisa LONGO BORGHINI, (ITA) Top Girls Fassa Bortolo Raxy Line, at 4

Final Overall:

• 1. Judith ARNDT, (GER) HTC-Highroad, at 11:50:56
• 2. Catherine CHEATLEY, (NZL), at 4
• 3. Ruth CORSET, (AUS), at 12
• 4. Shara GILLOW, (AUS), at 1:05
• 5. Emily COLLINS, (NZL), at 1:29

A reader asks about "podium dudes" while another asks about application of doping rules.

Must Reads: French agency to share Armstrong's 1999 samples; Inside Contador's defense and more

Felt Bicycle is recalling about 1,550 of its 2011 road bikes because the carbon fiber fork on the bikes can break. The F3, F4, F5 and F75 bike models are affected by the recall, which is being conducted with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The UCI on Monday said its frame and fork approval program is not intended to be a money maker for the organization.

We present the VN Bike Lab — data from two labs, long-term ride testing and expert analysis — in the April issue of VeloNews.

ALBUFEIRA, Portugal (VN) – There are not that many fans that come to watch the five-day Volta ao Algarve, but a good-sized crowd waited outside the Saxo Bank-Sungard team bus Saturday morning to catch a glimpse of Alberto Contador.

Roaming Rantist Patrick O'Grady has a religious experience — or perhaps it's just the wine and wafers backing up on him again.

The Spanish cycling community is clamoring for the introduction of a minimum threshold for clenbuterol in the wake of the highly divisive doping case involving star rider Alberto Contador.

The three-time national cyclocross champion has spent every summer since 2001 racing in the domestic peloton, however that’s about to change — he’ll spend the next two years preparing solely for cyclocross, with the objective of reaching the podium at the 2013 world cyclocross championship in Louisville, Kentucky.

Joe Eldridge has one of the most unique stories in the peloton. As one of the founders of Team Type 1 as well as a multiple winner at the Race Across America, Eldridge is racing his bike to send a message that type-1 diabetes doesn’t need to slow you down.

Results and highlights from Armstrong's return from his first retirement

Alberto Contador plans on racing full-bore as he enters a nervous waiting game to see if international governing bodies will appeal the Spanish cycling federation’s dramatic decision to clear him of doping charges

After the Alberto Contador ruling, readers offer up a number of interesting questions

In an exit interview with The Associated Press, Lance Armstrong says he will not race his bike again.

The organizing committee of the 2012 Olympic Games announced dates and ticket prices for cycling events at the London Games on Tuesday.

How does ‘cross queen Compton plan to fit in MTB at Rabobank-Giant Off-Road?

Does one bit of lunacy deserves another? Foaming Rantist Patrick O'Grady considers the case of Riccardo Riccò.

Vacansoleil has suspended controversial Italian rider Riccardo Riccò, who was hospitalized earlier this week after an apparent botched blood transfusion.

DOHA, Qatar ─ Australian Mark Renshaw (HTC-HighRoad) won the Tour of Qatar here Friday after the fifth and final stage was claimed by Italy's Andrea Guardini (Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli).

More than ever, early season racing is the domain of international events. This week sees many of the sport’s top names at the Tour of Qatar, only to be followed up by the second year of the Tour of Oman.

Manolo Saíz, the controversial Spanish team manager caught up in the Operación Puerto doping scandal of 2006, is plotting his return to the elite pro ranks.

Stage 4:

• 1. Mark Renshaw, HTC-Highroad, in 3:12:36
• 2. Daniele Bennati, Leopard-Trek, at
• 3. Tom Boonen, Quick Step, s.t.
• 4. Heinrich Haussler, Garmin-Cervelo, s.t.
• 5. Denis Galimzyanov, Katusha, s.t.

• 1. Mark Renshaw, HTC-Highroad, in 12h 47' 00"
• 2. Heinrich Haussler, Garmin-Cervelo, at
• 3. Daniele Bennati, Leopard-Trek, at 00:15
• 4. Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni, Sky, at 00:24
• 5. Roger Hammond, Garmin-Cervelo, at 00:36