News

Our readers pipe up on Lance Armstrong, bike theft and women's racing.

Sinead Miller of Marian University and Matt Brandt of Lindenwood University swept the Men’s and Women’s A categories in the Midwest Conference season opener hosted at Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky. Lindsey Wilson College established a considerable lead in the conference championship race, amassing 807 points on the weekend compared to second-place Marian’s 701 points.

2010 Women's Omloop Het Nieuwsblad results

1. Juan Antonio Flecha (Sp), Sky, 5:07:15 2. Heinrich Haussler (G), Cervélo TestTeam, at 0:18 3. Tyler Farrar (USA), Garmin-Transitions, at 0:18

Rinaldo Nocentini, the Ag2r rider who spent eight days in the yellow jersey at the 2009 Tour de France, has fractured his leg in a crash at the GP Insubria in Italy on Saturday.

American cyclist Tom Zirbel announced on his blog Friday that he is retiring from the sport rather than continue an aggressive fight against doping charges.

The HTC-Columbia team begins its Belgian Classics season this weekend with a double dose of racing action, first tackling Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday February 27th, then Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne the next day.

BOULDER, COLORADO (February 25, 2010) ­- Calling to mind the glory days of the famed Coors Classic when Tour de France champions Greg LeMond and Bernard Hinault roared through the Rocky Mountains, Centurion Cycling is bringing big time biking back to the challenging climbs that link Colorado's Front Range with the Peak-to-Peak highway (aka Colorado State Highway 72).

PRESS RELEASE LOS ANGELES – Velo Club La Grange is pleased to announce its Elite men’s and women’s category 1/2 teams, which will be race under the Herbalife La Grange name for 2010 with the arrival of new title sponsor Herbalife. Training camps were held on the weekend of January 16th & 17th in Thousand Oaks and Pasadena for the respective teams. A combined dinner and team meeting was held with longtime professional Tony Cruz, who got his start in competitive cycling with La Grange, coming to speak. Tony also rode with the Elite men’s team on Sunday’s ride to Ojai.

Triathlon star Chris Lieto raced an impromptu time trial against Lance Armstrong last week in Hawaii, finishing just 9 seconds back over 11 miles. Neal Rogers talked with Lieto about the race, his road racing career and Armstrong's future in triathlon.

With less than two days remaining until the opening of the sixth Shimano North American Handmade Bicycle Show, pre-event registrations have topped 2,000, an increase of more than 100% over the previous high mark of 977, set at Portland in 2008. The international custom bicycles show runs February 26-28 at the Greater Richmond Convention Center, in Richmond, Virginia.

Despite nasty crashes at Algarve, RadioShack will start Gert Steegmans and Tomas Vaitkus at this weekend's cobbled races in Belgium. Milram, Liquigas and Quick Step also release their rosters.

The Tour of Poland will dedicate its third stage to Franco Ballerini, the Italian national team manager and retired pro who died in a rally car accident last month.

2010 Women's Tour of New Zealand results

Gary Fisher Bicycles, Subaru and Mellow Johnny's bike shop join up with Hotel San Jose to sponsor Austin team.

Josh Liberles reports back from the Vuelta Independencia, the Dominican Republic's largest bike race.

After 24 years in Downers Grove, Illinois, the 2010 USA Cycling Professional Criterium National Championship is moving about 26 miles to the northern Chicago suburb of Glencoe, Illinois.

Team Type 1 staffs up with new riders and crew, as it aims for an improved Tour of California showing.

Team Type 1 riders will sport Colnago CX-1's with Shimano components in 2010.

2010 Giro di Sardegna results

Omloop Het Niuwsblad, KBK and the Vuelta a Andalucia highlight a big week in Europe. Andrew Hood gives the run down.

The team is attempting to register as a Mexican-based Continental team, a UCI spokesman said, and another cycling official in Europe said the team is trying to align with some of the sponsors from the defunct Spanish Murcia team.

Our readers sound off on Alberto Contador's victory salute, Portuguese standout Tiago Machado and bringing track cycling to the Winter Games.

2010 Vuelta Independencia results

Check out Robbie Stout's author page.

Anthony Tan sits down with George Hincapie to talk about pre-race rituals, Paris-Roubaix, the Giro, Cadel Evans and his new team.

Despite being in only its fifth year and lasting just eight days, the Amgen Tour of California is fast approaching the status of a three-week grand tour — in terms of the publicity it generates. That was shown by last week’s online release, over four days, of the 2010 stage details, and by the number of Tour de France contenders choosing to compete in the U.S. when the Giro d’Italia is under way in Europe.

A profile of HTC-Columbia's innovative trainer, Darcy Norman, and his techniques.

Former cyclist Joe Papp, who testified against Floyd Landis in 2007, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to sell EPO and other drugs, the AP is reporting

A reader asks how and why race officials can cut short a stage because of weather ... and we get some unbelievable news.

Readers weigh in on the Tour of California, Lance and collegiate racing.

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Friends of Steve Larsen are raising money for his family by auctioning some cycling products and memorabilia, including one of Larsen's Mongoose mountain bikes.

Race leader Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) solidified his grip on the overall lead at the Tour of Oman on Tuesday by winning the third stage, a 124-kilometer race from Saifat Ash Shiekh to Qurayyat.

Kelly Benefit Strategies is entering the new season with its core roster intact and a focus on stage racing and tough one-day events.

UnitedHealthcare-Maxxis limbers up in Tucson for the upcoming season.

Italian rider Eddy Ratti has been suspended following a positive EPO test, the UCI announced on Saturday.

Defending Amgen Tour of California champ Levi Leipheimer hasn't yet seen or ridden what could be the most critical stage of the 2010 edition: the stage 7 individual time trial in Los Angeles.

Dorel Recreational/Leisure (R/L), a division of Dorel Industries (TSX: DII.B, DII.A) announced today the appointment of Andrew Coccari as its new Global Chief Marketing Officer; a proof point to its commitment to become a more consumer-insight driven company. Coccari joins the organization from Honeywell where he was global head of marketing.

José Luís Arrieta (Ag2r-La Mondiale) is one of those old-school riders who enjoys working in the trenches and is simply content to live for the bike. A dying breed, perhaps, but Arrieta is glad to still be racing his bike.

Kelly Benefit Strategies announces Jacob Erker as performance manager and Bob Gregorio as team mechanic for the 2010 racing season. The two additions bring experience and knowledge to the team's well-rounded roster.

2010 Le Tour Mediterranéen results

World class professional and talented amateur cyclists from around the world are once again gearing up to compete in the 11th annual San Dimas Stage Race. The race, hosted by local bike club SC Velo, is scheduled for March 19th, 20th, and 21st. Three exciting stages of racing are planned as well as a Kids Race on the last day. Over 800 amateur and professional cyclists are expected to compete for cash prizes. The San Dimas Stage Race has grown and matured from its modest beginning in 2000 to become well known and highly regarded within the cycling community.

Milwaukee, Wis. - The Tour of America's Dairyland presented by Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, an omnium bicycle race across 11 Southeastern Wisconsin cities, will include a Women's 3/4 category, in addition to the Pro Women 1/2 category, in this year's daily race schedule, promoter Midwest Cycling Series has announced.

The Regions Bank Race Weekend is back again on March 6-7, 2010 in Albany, Georgia, boasting more than $8,000 in prize money. Saturday, cyclists will race against the clock in an individual time trial and volley for position in the criterium later in the day, Saturday's events are in downtown Albany as part of the annual Mardi Gras Festival. Sunday events leave the urban streets for the country roads in the final event of the weekend on Sunday, a challenging 51 kilometer loop through Lee County.

Okay, so the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 was mostly a Wall Street bailout, but bicylists benefited, too, albeit in a very small way.

Defending Amgen Tour of California champion Levi Leipheimer said the first two stages of this year's race offer "opportunities for the sprinters," although the second stage might just shed a few of the peloton’s non-climbers.

A Trek-Livestrong team bike, stolen from Mellow Johnny's bike shop in Austin in November, is back home, minus its wheels, after being recovered in Mexico.

This season, an unprecedented number of American pro teams are tackling the world's biggest races. VeloNews attended the training camps of RadioShack, HTC-Columbia, Garmin-Transitions and BMC. We bring you the inside scoop on these super-squads and others in the March issue. We also take a look at the varied career of the ever-popular Tim Johnson, who wore his recently earned national championship skinsuit to a 14th place finish at cyclocross worlds. Subscribe Now!

Óscar Freire wins the sprint to take the Trofeo Cala Millor.

Graham Watson's gallery from Stage 2 of the 2010 Tour of Qatar.

Team Sky wins Stage 1 at the 2010 Tour of Qatar.

Former Paris-Roubaix winner and Italian national coach Franco Ballerini has died from injuries suffered in a rally car accident on Sunday.

Seventeen pro continental-registered teams will enjoy “wild card” status this, opening the door for the teams to get invites to ProTour events. Sixteen teams were confirmed Friday, with BMC already assured its “wild card” status ahead of its debut at the Tour Down Under last month.

Our readers weigh in on doping cases, the risks on the road and the Trek lawsuit.

A recently broken leg won't keep Versus commentator Bob Roll from the Tour de France this summer, and likely won't prevent him from helping the cable network cover Paris-Nice, which starts March 7.

Attorney Jamie DiBoise planned to call some noted Armstrong critics to testify at the trial, which had been scheduled to start less than four weeks from now in a Minnesota federal court.. And in October DiBoise took a three-hour deposition from Armstrong’s ex-wife, asking whether she had ever seen Armstrong use doping products (a question she declined to answer on her lawyer’s advice).

USA Cycling's COO Sean Petty says that only time will tell whether the race radio ban is a good thing for American racing.

The Ladies Tour of Qatar

Results from the 2010 Ladies Tour of Qatar

Organizers of the Minnesota Bicycle Festival have announced that Nature Valley is increasing its commitment. After sponsoring the Nature Valley Grand Prix pro stage race for ten years, they will expand their involvement to sponsor the overall festival in 2010. The event, which still includes the Nature Valley Grand Prix, has been renamed the Nature Valley Bicycle Festival and will take place June 11-20, 2010.

The 2010 Redlands Bicycle Classic Organizing Committee is proud to announce another year of partnership with PossAbilities and looks forward to a spectacular four day event presented by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians.