Road

In a battle of the cycling nicknames, "Samu" edged "Purito" to win the 175km opening stage at the Vuelta a Burgos in northern Spain on Wednesday.

The UCI has agreed to extend the Tour Down Under's WorldTour licence until 2015, it was announced on Wednesday.

It's transition time in Europe, with some races picking up leftovers form the Tour de France and others serving as platforms for the upcoming Vuelta a España.

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

LONDON (AFP) - British rider Mark Cavendish told the BBC on Tuesday that his best chance yet of winning the world road race title would come in Copenhagen in September. He also said he has chosen a team for next year, but declined to identify the team.

Skil-Shimano's Marcel Kittel won his third consecutive stage at the 2011 Tour of Poland on Tuesday, building his GC lead to 24 seconds ahead of three riders: Romain Felllu (Vacansoleil), Heinrich Haussler (Garmin-Cervelo) and Alexander Kristoff (BMC).

Riders on the American-registered Team Type 1 squad are sporting brand new kit at the Tour of Denmark this week. The team's title sponsor has changed its name from sanofi aventis to Sanofi, so the team is now officially Team Type 1-Sanofi.

• 1. Marcel KITTEL, (GER) Skil-Shimano, in3:09:29
• 2. Romain FEILLU, (FRA) Vacansoleil-Dcm, at s.t.
• 3. Jonas Aaen JÖRGENSEN, (DEN) Saxobank-Sungard, at s.t.
• 4. Giacomo NIZZOLO, (ITA) Leopard-Trek, at s.t.
• 5. Adam BLYTH, (GBR) Omega Pharma-Lotto, at s.t.

The Quick Step team is fast beefing up for 2012 and beyond. The team announced Tuesday that it has reached deals with three new athletes, the Slovak twins Martin and Peter Velits and Belgian Stijn Vandenbergh. The three have contracts with the team through the 2013 season, according to a team release.

The Dutch sports magazine NUsport is reporting Tuesday that former U.S. Postal Service rider Max Van Heeswijk detailed doping at the team in a June interview, then changed his mind and stole the interviewer’s tape. The full story appears in the August edition of NUsport, which hit newstands Tuesday.

ROME (AFP) — Former Tour of Italy winner Damiano Cunego and former world champion Alessandro Ballan have been called before the Italian Olympic Committee's (CONI) anti-doping prosecutor.

French national champion Sylvain Chavanel’s has extended his contract with Quick Step for two more seasons, the team announced Tuesday.

Ezequiel Mosquera broke his silence Tuesday and demanded that his ongoing possible doping case be resolved one way or another.

SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain (VN) — For the first time in nearly a decade, Denis Menchov didn't spend the month of July fighting in the Tour de France.

Lennard takes Q's on aging tubulars, tubeless tire maintenance, tire pump gauge accuracy and more.

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

I moved to Colorado ten years ago, but it took five guys from Portland (OK, one of them lives in New York City, but he’s originally from PDX) riding black and pink bikes to get me out to explore my adopted home state by bicycle.

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Belgian classics king Philippe Gilbert was none too pleased Monday to learn from the media that his team was merging with Quick Step next year.

A crash late in Monday's second stage of the Tour of Poland knocked BMC's Alessandro Ballan out of the race and prevented teammate Alexander Kristoff from contesting the sprint finish.

It's not taking long for riders and teams to make moves with new transfer limit bumped back to August 1.

Chris Horner is recovering after being diagnosed with a blood clot in his lung. The RadioShack rider was admitted to a Bend, Oregon, hospital Sunday evening after beginning to feel a sharp pain in his side earlier in the day.

Skil-Shimano's Marcel Kittel is undefeated at the Tour of Poland, after winning stage 2 in Varsovie Monday. The German sprinter won the 162km stage ahead of Garmin-Cervelo's Heinrich Hausller and Rabobank's Graeme Brown.

SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain (VN) - Leopard-Trek sport director Kim Andersen said the team has nothing to regret about its performance at the 2011 Tour de France.

BERLIN (AFP) - Germany's capital Berlin is set to bid to host the prologue of the Tour de France in either 2016 or 2017, it was confirmed on Monday.

Cadel Evans will return to BMC Racing alongside George Hincapie in 2012, the team announced Monday. Fresh off his Tour de France title, Evans extended his contract with the American squad through 2014, while Hincapie signed a one-year extension.

• 1. Cadel Evans, BMC Racing Team (BMC), 574 points
• 2. Philippe Gilbert, Omega Pharma-Lotto (olo), 482 points
• 3. Alberto Contador Velasco, Saxo Bank Sungard (sbs), 471 points
• 4. Michele Scarponi, Lampre - Isd (lam), 348 points
• 5. Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver, Katusha Team (kat), 328 points

I write from Salt Lake City, Utah, a place I once tried to forget.

Annemiek Van Vleuten (Nederland Bloeit) won the eighth round of the women's World Cup on Sunday.

The Australian is reporting that veteran Australian Stuart O'Grady, now with the Leopard-Trek team, will join the new Australian GreenEdge squad for the 2012 season. The paper also is reporting that sprinter Robbie McEwen, currently with RadioShack, is set to join the team as well.

Vårgårda World Cup

• 1. Annemiek Van Vleuten (Ned), 3:19:49
• 2. Eleonora Van Dijk (Ned), HTC-Highroad, s.t.
• 3. Nicole Cooke (Gbr), Sc Mcipollini Giambenini, s.t.
• 4. Ina Teutenberg (Ger), HTC-Highroad, s.t.
• 5. Irene Van Den Broek (Ned), Leontien.Nl, s.t.

Graham Watson shoots day one of the 2011 Tour of Poland.

Circuito De Getxo Memorial Ricardo Otxoa

• 1. Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Esp), Andalucia Caja Granada, 3:47:21
• 2. Stéphane Poulhies (Fra), Saur-Sojasun, at 0:01
• 3. Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Esp), Team Katusha, at 0:01
• 4. Antonio Santoro (Ita), Androni Giocattoli, at 0:03
• 5. Diego Milan Jimenez (Esp), Caja Rural, at 0:03

• 1. Marcel KITTEL, (GER) Skil-Shimano, in 2:07:26
• 2. Alexander KRISTOFF, (NOR) BMC Racing Team, at 0
• 3. Francesco CHICCHI, (ITA) Quick Step, at 0
• 4. Heinrich HAUSSLER, (AUS) Garmin-Cervelo, at 0
• 5. Michele MERLO, (ITA) De Rosa - Ceramica Flaminia, at 0

Colavita's Cliff-Ryan and UnitedHealthcare's Jacob Keough prevail at the Presby

Men's

• 1. Jacob Keough, Unitedhealthcare Professional, in 01:55:35.30
• 2. Jonathan Cantwell, Fly V Australia Pro Cycling Tea, in 01:55:35.60
• 3. Alejandro Borrajo, Jamis Sutter Home, in 01:55:35.60
• 4. Demis Aleman, Jamis Sutter Home, in 01:55:35.70
• 5. Andrew Pinfold, Unitedhealthcare Professional, in 01:55:36.40

• 1. Theresa Cliff-Ryan, Colavita/forno D'asolo P/b Coo, in 01:01:04.70
• 2. Laura Van Gilder, Mellow Mushroom, in 01:01:04.80
• 3. Erica Allar, Rideclean P/b Patentit.com, in 01:01:04.80
• 4. Joelle Numainville, Team Tibco/to The Top, in 01:01:04.80
• 5. Lauren Tamayo, Peanut Butter & Co Twenty 12, in 01:01:05.10

Andrew Hood takes some snaps at the Clásica San Sebastián.

Clásica San Sebastián

• 1. Philippe Gilbert (Bel), Omega Pharma-Lotto, 5:48:52
• 2. Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Esp), Rabobank Cycling Team, at 0:12
• 3. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel), BMC Racing Team, at 0:14
• 4. Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Esp), Team Katusha, at 0:14
• 5. Dries Devenyns (Bel), Quick Step, at 0:14

Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) wins the Clásica San Sebastián with a bold attack in the final kilometers.

ROME (AFP) - Italian rider Pasquale Muto was on Saturday banned for two-and-a-half years by the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) for doping.

NICE, France (AFP) — Kazach cyclist Valentin Iglinskiy of Team Astana will go before a French judge in September to face drunk driving and speeding charges stemming from an arrest Tuesday, according to a judicial source.

HTC-Highroad's women's team won Friday's Open de Suède Vargarda team time trial in Sweden, the opening event of two-race weekend that is part of the UCI's women's World Cup.

• 1. HTC HIGHROAD WOMEN 53:09
• 2. AA DRINK - LEONTIEN.NL CYCLING TEAM +1:37
• 3. GARMIN - CERVELO +1:43
• 4. AUSTRALIA +1:44
• 5. NEDERLAND BLOEIT +1:55

SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain (VN) - An all-star start list headlines the 31st running of the Clásica San Sebastián in northern Spain on Saturday.

BOULDER, Colorado (VN) - The maillot jaune of the Tour de France will feature on the roads of Colorado next month when Cadel Evans starts the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. Race officials have confirmed that Evans (BMC Racing) will take part in the inaugural event, which begins August 22 in Colorado Springs.

Dr. Jason Glowney addresses the common issue of collarbone fractures in cyclists

Change is afoot again in the National Racing Calendar. USA Cycling announced the latest in a number of changes planned for the U.S. calendar this week with the creation of the National Criterium Calendar.

Time trial crank lengths, nature breaks, and more

Tour of Utah organizers on Thursday released the preliminary list of riders for the August event. Headlining the roster are defending champion Levi Leipheimer (RadioShack), George Hincapie (BMC Racing), Tom Danielson (Garmin-Cervélo), Tejay Van Garderen (HTC-Highroad) and National Racing Calendar leader Francisco Mancebo (Realcyclist.com).

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Avoid these and you will be well on your way toward getting the most out of your device.

Ever wonder why a U.S. company outside of the bicycle industry would invest in bicycle racing? Here’s a hint: it has nothing to do with athletic excellence or a love of the sport. Any marketing executives who buy a sponsorship based on a personal passion for the sport should polish up their resumes, because they’ll be looking for a new line of work.

SYDNEY (AFP) ─ Tour de France champion Cadel Evans would love to ride for Australia at the London Olympics, but only if the course is tough enough.

A look at some of the tweaks that HTC riders suggested for the Specialized Tarmac SL4

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

From the magazine: Custom clothing buyer’s guide, plus new online team stores

Editor's Note: Phil Gaimon, 25, is a Velo magazine columnist and third-year pro racer for Kenda-5 Hr Energy Presented by Gear Grinder. He has an English degree from the University of Florida, and owns online stores at podiumcycling.com and sharethedamnroad.com.

At last: Riding gear that's plenty good enough for the trail and doubles as a set of street duds.

As reported by VeloNews.com last week, the Angelo Zomegnan era is over at the Giro d'Italia.

A scheduled August hearing on doping charges against Alberto Contador before the International Court of Arbitration for Sport has been delayed until November.

PARIS (VN) ― Alberto Contador's rough and tumble Tour de France nearly ended early.

PARIS (VN) ― There won't be a double grand tour attempt for Cadel Evans this year, but he could be headed to Colorado next month.

The Contador case will be heard in November 2011

RealCyclist.com's Francisco Mancebo and Colavita's Janel Holcomb win the overall at the Cascade Classic stage race

After a week in France, Velo editor in chief Ben Delaney wrote about his choice for the top-10 moments of the first week. Now with the great gift of hindsight, we'll pick the top 10 most impressive moments of weeks 2 and 3.

With the Tour de France numbers added in, Tour winner Cadel Evans has moved from fourth place to the lead of the UCI's WorldTour individual rankings.

We all love to bomb descents: Adam Craig offers hints on keeping the rubber-side down.

PARIS (VN) — World champion Thor Hushovd strongly hinted that he is exploring his options for a new team in 2012.

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Brian Holcombe and Andrew Hood look back at the 2011 Tour

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Contador's young teammates finished the Tour with a strong time trial. Andy Hood talks to him in Paris.