News

Alberto Contador is quietly growing confident that the re-fitted Astana team will be up to the task of defending his Tour de France title come July.

Kevin Flock became a statistic when he was struck and killed by a van while cycling. But he was so much more than that.

With racing underway in Australia and South America, it’s only a matter of days before the 2010 calendar clicks into gear in Europe. The first official races on the European continent will be the Giro di Regio Calabria in Italy on Jan. 30 and the GP de Ouverture La Marsellaise on Jan. 31 in France.

2010 stage winner/GC leader (Click for full results):

• Stage 1: Andre Greipel/Greipel
• Stage 2: Greipel/Greipel
• Stage 3: Manuel Cardoso/Greipel
• Stage 4: Greipel/Greipel
• Stage 5: Sanchez/Greipel
• Stage 6/FINAL: Sutton/Greipel

We break down all the best bikes of 2010 in 18 categories, plus give you the inside story on tested products from road groups to helmets to shoes. The photo feature, 25 Years of Cool, takes you inside bike tech as only VeloNews can, showing choice bikes and gear in their 1985 form alongside their 2010 iteration, like the Specialized Stumpjumper or Sidi shoes. Subscribe Now!

Former Spanish cyclist Jesus Manzano has repeated doping charges against former teammate and compatriot Alejandro Valverde, adding that the Vuelta a España winner should admit his violations rather than continuing to deny them.

Vinokourov joined Contador for a team training ride near Calpe, Spain, on Friday, and VeloNews' Kurt Hoy was along to take pics.

Our readers weigh in on doctors' duties, the wording of the oath, the value of cutting & pasting and weight limits.

Alejandro Valverde’s long and winding road and his alleged links to Puerto reached a head this week during a three-day hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which closed Thursday with a hint that the Vuelta a España champion likely won’t be racing in Italy anytime soon.

Lance Armstrong, in Sydney, Australia prior to the Tour Down Under, pledged $250,000 for victims of the Haiti earthquake on Thursday. He urged the public to come forward with further donations.

Albuquerque, NM – The 2010 RoadRunner Classic on April 24, 2010 is a one-day Omnium for Pro 1, 2 men and women and a separate Time Trial event for Cat 3, 4, 5 men and Cat 3, 4 women. The Omnium includes a 6.3 mile time trial and 63 mile men’s, 37.8 mile women’s road race. Both Roadrunner time trial and road events will be held on the Snake, a hilly 6.3-mile closed course at an elevation of 5,200 feet. It will be an ideal warm-up and staging event for the SRAM Tour of the Gila in Silver City, New Mexico on April 28th.

While many cyclists were able to take some solace in the recent sentence handed down to the now-infamous road-rage doctor in California, we need to remember that the problem of rider safety continues to be a serious one on American roads.

Our readers weigh in on the risks of EPO, the driver's choice of profession and our duties as road users.

Mark Cavendish blasted the imminent return of Riccardo Riccò and said George Hincapie’s move to BMC was a “massive loss” as the British ace confronts the 2010 season replete with new goals and challenges.

Mark Cavendish's ace lead-out man Mark Renshaw, sidelined with the Epstein-Barr virus, is on the mend and will be back in action in time for the most important events of the year, the HTC-Columbia team says.

A chat with George Hincapie about his new team, plus photos of his new BMC

Our readers weigh in on the Christopher Thompson case and the cost of cycling kit.

Tour of Portugal

Tour de l’Ain

Former Tour de France winner, Oscar Pereiro, will start his season with the Astana team at this month’s Tour Down Under in Australia.

Reporter Patrick Brady covered Dr. Christopher Thompson's road-rage trial for VeloNews and was in the courtroom for a long-anticipated sentencing hearing.

AT&T USA Cycling Professional Criterium National Championship at the Glencoe Grand Prix, to be held in Glencoe, Illinois, on August 14, 2010.

The team known since last summer as Columbia-HTC will reverse its title sponsors for 2010, becoming Team HTC-Columbia, High Road Sports, the team's owner, announced Friday.

Cadel Evans won the title, but who was Australia really riding for at the world championships? This, and many other questions about Australian cycling are answered in detail in the April issue, for which Neal Rogers spent weeks on the continent Down Under. Plus, a day at the track with Philip Deignan and an insider's look at Japanese cyclocross. Subscribe Now!

José Rujano – the pint-sized Venezuelan climber who’s struggled to make an impact since his 2005 third place at the Giro d’Italia – insists he still has it.

Euskaltel-Euskadi said it will impose surprise internal controls on its riders in an effort to secure the team’s future.

Former Coors Light pro Chris Bailey and his wife, Deanna, suffered a tragic loss over the holidays when their two children were killed in a Christmas Day fire.

Cameron Meyer (Garmin-Transitions) roared to victory in the elite men’s Australian time trial championship on Wednesday.

The Spartanburg Regional Classic, held in Spartanbrug, South Carolina, is the fifth stop in the USA Crits Speedweek race series.

Readers write in to ask about the future of the individual pursuit, riding with no hands and the non-cyclists in Puerto.

Our readers ask about the forum, offer advice about Versus on cable and weigh in on the decade's biggest scandal.

The California physician, convicted of assaulting a pair of cyclists with his car, is scheduled to be sentenced in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday morning.

Reader-submitted pics from all over.

World Anti-Doping Agency officials offered condolences Tuesday following the death of Jacques de Ceaurriz, who was widely regarded as a leader light in the fight against doping in sport.

Australian Allan Davis, champion in last year's Tour Down Under, has signed a two-year deal with the Astana team, led by Spanish star Alberto Contador, the team said Tuesday.

Team Type 1 is opening up its 2010 training camp in northeast Georgia to cyclists of all skill levels as part of its “Pedal With The Pros” fundraiser.

Felt Bicycles and the UCI have joined forces to provide rising talent with bicycles supplied by the American company.

Portugal's Volta ao Algarve is a traditional early-season test for European pros.

The 21st annual Jayco Bay Cycling Classic runs from January 2 through January 5 in Australia.

The TX Tough Grand Prix serves as the USA CRITS men's series finale, where the pro mens field will race for $25,000 in cash and primes. The TX Tough GP benefits the Children's Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.

The Chris Thater Memorial race is an event weekend that host a 5K run and pro, elite and novice crit races. The race will be held in Binghamton, NY, and will serve as the USA CRITS Women's final event in 2010.

The Boise Twilight Crit (aka the Well Fargo Crit) began in 1987 as a way to attract cyclists and pump up business in downtown Boise. Today, top teams compete for $20,000 in cash and prizes on the four-corner Boise course.

The 50-mile twilight crit in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina, paid out $13,000 to 2009 winner David Veilleux. The dog-bone shaped course is 1.3 miles long with two long straight-aways that makes the Presbyterian crit a great spectators event.

The Capital Criterium follows part of the presidential inauguration route with the startt/finish area on Pennsylvania Avenue.

The intersection of Gay and High Streets in West Chester, Pennsylvania, serves as the start for the Iron Hill Twilight crit. The brewery of the same name sponsors this four-corner crit held in historic downtown West Chester.

The Hyde Park Blast is another twilight crit in the USA CRITS series. Held in Hyde Park, Ohio, the Blast is the middle event of a weekend of crit racing.

In what’s a series of one-day races over a five-day period on Spain’s pleasant Mallorca island, the Challenge is a popular early-season race for pros looking to enjoy some mild weather with the first taste of racing. There are some steep hills, but nothing too extreme for February legs.

UCI World Road Championships

Vuelta Castilla y León

The Grand Prix Llodio is a 172.5-km, UCI 1.1 race in Spain's Basque region.

The Giro dell'Appennino is a UCI 1.1 race held in the Liguria region of northwestern Italy.

Vuelta Ciclista a la Rioja

The Rund of Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt is a UCI 1.HC race that begins and ends in Frankfurt, Germany.

The Tour du Finistere is a French UCI 1.1 race that starts and ends in Quimper, France. The race is 199.3 km long and passes through the far western Brittany region of France.

Vuelta de Bisbee

Tour of Denmark

"The Flemish Arrow" is a UCI 1.2 race that starts and ends in Harelbeke, Belgium. The race has been running for 40 years, and previous winners include Karsten Kroon in 1997, Stijn Devolder in 2001, and Jan Ghyselinck in 2009.

The Tour of Britain is a UCI Category 2.1 stage race.

Trofeo Zssdi is a UCI 1.2 race held in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of Italy, around the city of Trieste.

The Grand Prix de la Ville de Lillers is a UCI 1.2 race held near the town of Lillers.

La Roue Tourangelle is a UCI 1.2 race that is held in Region Centre, France. From 2002 to 2004 the race was an amateur event but changed to a UCI Europe Tour event in 2005.

The Gran Premio San Giuseppe is a UCI 1.2, circuit race held in Montecassiano, Italy. Racers tackle a 12-km course 10 times in the region of Le Marche.

The Tour de Normandie is a French UCI 2.2,seven-day stage race.

Named after Italian cycling legends Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali, the UCI 2.1 stage race is five days of racing in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.

The Settimana Ciclistica Lombarba is a six-day, UCI 2.1 race run on the roads around the northern Italian city of Bergamo in the Lombardia region.

The Tucson Classic is a Southwestern tradition, typically three days including a time trial, circuit race and road race.