Road Racing

A sneak peek at Levi Leipheimer's Giro TT helmet

For stage 6 of the 2011 Tour of California, Christian Vande Velde chose a 2010 bike.

Quick Results

• 1. José Rujano Guillen (VEN), Androni Giocattoli, in 4:45:54
• 2. Alberto Contador Velasco (ESP), SaxoBank-Sungard, at 0
• 3. John Gadret (FRA), Ag2r La Mondiale, at 1:27
• 4. Hubert Dupont (FRA), Ag2r La Mondiale, at 1:29
• 5. Igor Anton Hernandez (ESP), Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 1:29

GC

• 1. Alberto Contador Velasco (Spain), SaxoBank-Sungard, 49:40:58
• 2. Vincenzo Nibali (Italy), Liquigas-Doimo, at 3:09
• 3. Michele Scarponi (Italy), Lampre-ISD, at 3:16
• 4. David Arroyo Duran (Spain), Movistar, at 3:25
• 5. Roman Kreuziger (Czech Republic), Astana, at 3:29

José Rujano (Androni Giocattoli) won the 13th stage of the Giro d’Italia Friday, finishing just ahead of overall race leader Alberto Contador atop a tough, rain-soaked climb to the finish on Austria’s highest mountain, the Grossglockner.

Clara Hughes wins the Chrono Gatineau in Quebec and dedicates the win to Daron Richardson, a young girl from Ottawa who tragically died last year.

Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) won stage five of the Amgen Tour of California on Thursday, extending his lead in the sprint classification in the process.

RAVENNA, Italy (VN) – The Giro d’Italia peloton will be smaller at the start line Friday as sprinters are expected to leave the corsa rosa in droves.

RAVENNA, Italy (VN) – Alberto Contador (SaxoBank-Sungard) is getting comfortable after four days in the pink jersey. The Spaniard finished safely in the main bunch Thursday to carry a 59-second lead into three decisive stages looming in the Dolomites.

Quick Results

• 1. Mark Cavendish (GBR), HTC-Highroad , 4:17:25
• 2. Davide Appollonio (ITA), Team Sky, s.t.
• 3. Alessandro Petacchi (ITA), Lampre-ISD, s.t.
• 4. Roberto Ferrari (ITA), Androni Giocattoli, s.t.
• 5. Gerald Ciolek (GER), Quick Step, s.t.

GC

• 1. Alberto Contador Velasco (Spain), SaxoBank-Sungard , 44:55:16
• 2. Kanstantsin Sivtsov (Belarus), HTC-Highroad, at 59
• 3. Vincenzo Nibali (Italy), Liquigas-Doimo, at 1:21
• 4. Christophe Le Mevel (France), Garmin-Cervelo, at 1:28
• 5. Michele Scarponi (Italy), Lampre-ISD, at 1:28

RAVENNA, Italy (VN) - Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad) grabbed his second stage win at the Giro d’Italia on Thursday, winning a drag race to the line against Sky’s Davide Appollonio and Lampre’s sprint star Allesandro Petacchi.

Jesse Anthony’s Orbea Orca Silver

After questions on tire pressure and my favorite chain lube, the most popular question I’m asked is how to become a pro team mechanic.

CASTELFIDARDO, Italy (VN) — Several team managers met with Giro d’Italia officials before the start of Wednesday’s stage to express concern about the Monte Crostis descent set for stage 14.

CASTELFIDARDO, Italy (VN) – Two names are hovering in the top 5 going into the final decisive battleground of the 2011 Giro d’Italia. They would surpass expectations if they’re still there when the Giro ends in Milano, and each promises to go down fighting.

Quick Results

• 1. John Gadret (FRA), Ag2r La Mondiale , 3:33:11
• 2. Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (ESP), Team Katusha , s.t.
• 3. Giovanni Visconti (ITA), Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli, s.t.
• 4. Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez (COL), Androni Giocattoli, s.t.
• 5. Alberto Contador Velasco (ESP), SaxoBank-Sungard, s.t.

GC

• 1. Alberto Contador Velasco (Spain), SaxoBank-Sungard , 40:37:51
• 2. Kanstantsin Sivtsov (Belarus), HTC-Highroad, at 0:59
• 3. Vincenzo Nibali (Italy), Liquigas-Doimo, at 1:21
• 4. Christophe Le Mevel (France), Garmin-Cervelo, at 1:28
• 5. Michele Scarponi (Italy), Lampre-ISD, at 1:28

A look at the bike of Ben Swift, the ATOC's first leader.

Bling's Rabobank Giant TCR Advanced SL

TERAMO, Italy (VN) – Mark Cavendish wasn’t about to leave the Giro d’Italia without winning at least one stage. But going into Tuesday’s short but fast 10th stage from Termoli to Teramo, time was running out. There were only two real chances left for sprinters and the pressure was on.

TERAMO, Italy (VN) – Controversy follows Mark Cavendish like a “marching band,” but it was more like a Mack truck Tuesday as riders accused him of taking tows on Mount Etna’s stage on Sunday.

When Alberto Contador lit his climbing after-burners on Mount Etna Sunday afternoon and streaked through the translucent Sicilian air toward his first-ever Giro d’Italia stage win (and a new grand-tour leader’s jersey), observers said the race was over. But Contador’s victory, only three seconds ahead of the enigmatic Venezuelan climber José Rujano and almost a minute ahead of his declared rivals, can be seen as a first salvo in a Giro that features six more mountaintop finishes and a couple of time trials before the checkered flag drops in Milan on May 29.

Stage 10

• 1. Mark Cavendish, HTC-Highroad, in 4:00:49
• 2. Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi, Movistar Team, at s.t.
• 3. Alessandro Petacchi, Lampre - Isd, at s.t.
• 4. Roberto Ferrari, Androni Giocattoli - C.i.p.i, at s.t.
• 5. Davide Appollonio, Sky Procycling, at s.t.

• 1. Alberto Contador Velasco, Saxo Bank-Sungard, in 37:04:40
• 2. Kanstantsin Sivtsov, HTC-Highroad, at 59
• 3. Christophe Le Mevel, Team Garmin-Cervelo, at 1:19
• 4. Vincenzo Nibali, Liquigas-Cannondale, at 1:21
• 5. Michele Scarponi, Lampre - Isd, at 1:28

HTC-Highroad's Mark Cavendish won his sixth career Giro stage on Tuesday, rising to the occasion despite allegations that he was towed up part of Sunday's final climb. The Manxster outkicked nemesis Alessandro Petacchi in the final meters of one of the last sprinter stages of this Tour of Italy.

ROME (AFP) — British sprint king Mark Cavendish has been accused by two Giro d'Italia rivals of being towed up Mount Etna in Sunday's stage.

2010 Giro d’Italia champion Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Cannondale) avoided serious injury despite crashing hard during a training ride on Mount Etna on Sicily on Tuesday.

TERMOLI,Italy (VN) ─ Expect the Giro d'Italia peloton to get considerably lighter in the coming days as sprinters will begin to slowly fade out of the picture. With opportunities running out ─ and no final-day sprint stage waiting for them in Milan ─ sprinters will likely start to abandon or become time cut as the Giro turns north into the brutal climbs waiting in the Dolomites.

4 bikes + cobbles + accelerometers + strain gauges = the new VN Bike Lab test

A look at the on-bike cameras some teams are using.

NAPOLI, Italy (VN) — Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Sungard) on Monday expressed satisfaction about grabbing the pink jersey in Sunday's windy ride up Mount Etna, but suggested that the team might let it slip away if a breakaway of non-threatening riders makes a play for pink.

TERMOLI, Italy (VN) — The harrowing Monte Crostis descent will unfold as scheduled following a face-to-face meeting Sunday evening between the peloton's biggest riders and Giro d'Italia race director Angelo Zomegnan.

Padded straps and a soft back panel make schlepping water and gear with the Reyes an exercise in comfort.

Just because the race didn't take place doesn't mean that team riders and staff got a big break. It was all systems go until seconds before the start.

Alberto Contador proved he's the man to beat on Sunday's extraordinary moonscape climb up Mount Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe.

Garmin-Cervélo's Brett Lancaster discusses the difficulties of the 2011 Giro d'Italia and the Mt. Etna stage in particular.

Quick Results

• 1. Alberto Contador Velasco (ESP), SaxoBank-Sungard , 4:54:08
• 2. José Rujano Guillen (VEN), Androni Giocattoli-Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni, at 0:03
• 3. Stefano Garzelli (ITA), Acqua & Sapone-Caffe Mokambo, at 0:50
• 4. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA), Liquigas-Doimo, at 0:50
• 5. Roman Kreuziger (CZE), Astana, at 0:50

GC

• 1. Alberto Contador Velasco (Sp), SaxoBank-Sungard , 33:03:51
• 2. Kanstantsin Sivtsov (Blr), HTC-Highroad, at 0:59
• 3. Christophe Le Mevel (F), Garmin-Cervelo, at 1:19
• 4. Vincenzo Nibali (I), Liquigas-Doimo, at 1:21
• 5. Michele Scarponi (I), Lampre-ISD, at 1:28

Tejay Van Garderen has been logging the miles in a pair of custom Pearl Izumi shoes.

Alberto Contador entered the 2011 Giro d’Italia as the odds-on favorite to take his second overall victory in the race and on Sunday, he showed why, winning the ninth stage and taking the overall lead in impressive style.

Nick Legan snaps the pre-race prep' for the 2011 Amgen Tour of California.

Gregg Bleakney provides his unique perspective on stage eight of the 2011 Giro d'Italia.

HTC-Highroad's Tejay Van Garderen hopes to ride his Specialized Venge to the top step of the podium at the Amgen Tour of California.

While $9,800 is an obscene amount of money to pay for a bicycle frame, the Cervélo R5CA is sublime.

TROPEA, Italy (VN) ─ Christophe Le Mevel is not a name that fans are used to seeing at the top of the GC of a stage race, but staffers at Garmin-Cervélo are hoping that he will be making an impression during this year's Giro d'Italia.

On Saturday, Alberto Contador responded to critics the way he always does ─ with vicious accelerations from his spindly legs, taking second in stage eight and putting everyone on notice a day of ahead of the Giro's first major mountaintop finish up Mount Etna.

MADDALONI, Italy (VN) ─ Hendrik Redant came to the Giro d'Italia to drive around VIPs and make a few extra bucks before trying to land another cycling job following the collapse of the Pegasus cycling project.

Quick Results

• 1. Oscar Gatto (ITA), Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli, 4:59:45
• 2. Alberto Contador Velasco (ESP), SaxoBank-Sungard, s.t.
• 3. Alessandro Petacchi (ITA), Lampre-ISD, at 0:05
• 4. Alexander Kristoff (NOR), BMC Racing Team, at 0:05
• 5. Roberto Ferrari (ITA), Androni Giocattoli-Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni, at 0:05

GC

• 1. Pieter Weening (Netherlands), Rabobank Cycling Team , 28:09:49
• 2. Kanstantsin Sivtsov (Belarus), HTC-Highroad, at 0:02
• 3. Marco Pinotti (Italy), HTC-Highroad, at 0:02
• 4. Christophe Le Mevel (France), Garmin-Cervelo, at 0:03
• 5. Alberto Contador Velasco (Spain), SaxoBank-Sungard, at 0:13

Oscar Gatto and Alberto Contador go 1-2 in stage 8 of the Giro d'Italia.

Bart de Clercq's stage-7-winning Canyon Ultimate CF SLX

AVELLINO, Italy (VN) — Bart de Clercq, winner of Friday’s stage 7 of the Giro d’Italia, only began riding seriously in 2008. The 25 year old Belgian rode his bike for fun as a student at the University of Ghent, making the decision to give racing a try only near the end of his studies. Three years later, he’s in his first season as a pro and is already a grand tour stage winner.

AVELLINO, Italy (VN) — Photographer Gregg Bleakney spent Friday looking for the best seat in the house to watch stage 7. He, along with a few race fans, found it atop the Monteverngine Di Mercogliano, where they could take in the incredible scenery AND the race action

AVELLINO, Italy (VN) – Friday’s short but explosive 110km stage ended in less than three hours, a far cry from the long, 240km monster the Giro faced earlier this week.

A look at Giro leader Pieter Weening's Team Rabobank Giant

Stage

• 1. Bart De Clercq (BEL), Omega Pharma-Lotto , 2:54:47
• 2. Michele Scarponi (ITA), Lampre-ISD, s.t.
• 3. Roman Kreuziger (CZE), Astana, s.t.
• 4. Stefano Garzelli (ITA), Acqua & Sapone-Caffe Mokambo, s.t.
• 5. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA), Liquigas-Doimo, s.t.

GC

• 1. Pieter Weening (Nl), Rabobank Cycling Team , at
• 2. Kanstantsin Sivtsov (Blr), HTC-Highroad, at 2
• 3. Marco Pinotti (I), HTC-Highroad, at 2
• 4. Christophe Le Mevel (F), Garmin-Cervelo, at 5
• 5. Michele Scarponi (I), Lampre-ISD, at 14

Bart De Clercq (Omega Pharma-Lotto) took advantage of a well-timed attack on the final climb of the seventh stage of the Giro d’Italia and held on to take the win, but only just barely.

FIUGGI, Italy (VN) — VeloNews' Andrew Hood chats with HTC-Highroad's Craig Lewis at the Giro d'Italia.

PARIS (AFP) — The International Cycling Union (UCI) on Thursday criticized the French sports daily L'Equipe for planning to publish results from anti-doping tests taken on the eve of the 2010 Tour de France.

BRUSSELS (AFP) — The funeral of Belgian cyclist Wouter Weylandt, killed in a crash on the Tour of Italy, will take place next Wednesday, May 18, in his home town of Ghent, his Leopard-Trek team announced Thursday.

FIUGGI, Italy (VN) – Fran Ventoso had marked the Fiuggi stage on the road book because he knew it was tailormade for his characteristics. The long drag up to the hilltop town was just want he needed to win.

FIUGGI, Italy (VN) — Photographer Gregg Bleakney took some photos before and after stage 6 at the Giro d'Italia on Thursday.

Quick results

• 1. Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (ESP), Movistar, in 5:15:39
• 2. Alessandro Petacchi (ITA), Lampre-ISD, s.t.
• 3. Roberto Ferrari (ITA), Androni Giocattoli-Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni, s.t.
• 4. Danilo Di Luca (ITA), Team Katusha, s.t.
• 5. Davide Appollonio (ITA), Team Sky, s.t.

GC

• 1. Pieter Weening (Netherlands), Rabobank Cycling Team, in 20:15:12
• 2. Kanstantsin Sivtsov (Belarus), HTC-Highroad, at 0:02
• 3. Marco Pinotti (Italy), HTC-Highroad, at 0:02
• 4. Christophe Le Mevel (France), Garmin-Cervelo, at 0:05
• 5. Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spain), Movistar, at 0:22

FIUGGI, Italy (VN) - Francisco Ventoso launched an impressive sprint at the end of the sixth stage of the Giro d’Italia to score big win for the Movistar team, as Rabobank’s Pieter Weening finished in the main field to keep his hold on the overall lead.

CHONGMING ISLAND, China - Ina-Yoko Teutenberg (HTC Highroad Women) defended her hold on the yellow jersey in style as she won the second stage of China’s Tour of Chongming Island on Friday, unleashing a devastating sprint at the end of a 118.4km race through the Chongming Industrial Zone.

ORVIETO, Italy (VN) – Mount Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe, saw a sharp increase in activity last night between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. local time according to Agenzia Giornalistica Italia. The Giro d’Italia is scheduled to climb Etna twice during stage 9 on Sunday.