Road

Giant introduces a bevy of new features in its 2012 road bike line. Nick Legan gives his take.

Last year’s Tour de France was headlined by a mountaintop finish on the Col du the Tourmalet (won by Luxembourg’s Andy Schleck over Spain’s Alberto Contador) to mark the centennial of the Tour’s first crossing of the Pyrénées. This year’s race, starting on Saturday, celebrates 100 years of racing through the High Alps, culminating with a stage to the top of the Col du Galibier — which, at 8,678 feet (2,645 meters) elevation, will be the highest stage finish in Tour history.

Brim Brothers has taken another step toward releasing a cleat-based power meter

• Tom Danielson
• Julian Dean
• Tyler Farrar
• Ryder Hesjedal
• Thor Hushovd
• David Millar
• Johan Vansummeren
• Christian Vande Velde
• David Zabriskie

Blue Cycles refines its aero bikes

• Pavel Brutt
• Denis Galimzyanov
• ,Vladimir Gusev
• Mikhail Ignatyev
• Vladimir Isaychev
• Vladimir Karpets
• Alexander Kolobnev
• Egor Silin
• Yuriy Trofimov

Brent Bookwalter is headed this week to his second Tour de France on the Vendée coast in western France. He talked with VeloNews about the pressure of entering the season with the Tour on his schedule, BMC Racing teammate George Hincapie’s record-tying 16th Grande Boucle and his recovery from a broken collarbone suffered in April.

Pause for a moment and ask yourself, how do you feel about Alberto Contador?

“I won two races, one on the road and another in the hotel,” Contador said.

Brian Nygaard, team manager at Leopard-Trek, promises that the Schleck brothers will be attacking in the Tour de France and especially aggressive in the high mountains.

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Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Team Europcar for Tour de France

• Anthony Charteau (F)
• Cyril Gautier (F)
• Yohann Gene (F)
• Vincent Jerome (F)
• Christophe Kern (F)
• Perrig Quemeneur (F)
• Pierre Rolland (F)
• Sebastien Turgot (F)
• Thomas Voeckler (F)

Pierrick Fédrigo, a three-time Tour de France stage-winner, told his bosses at FDJ he's not up to racing this year's grande boucle.

2011 Tour de France preliminary startlist

Elite men's road race

• 1. Max Korus, Bikereg.com-Cannondale, 4:04:08
• 2. Jesse Moore, California Giant Cycling/califo,
• 3. Timothy Rugg, Battley Harley-Davidson, 4:04:16
• 4. Greg Krause, 4:04:18
• 5. Austin Roach, Press Forward Cycling, 4:04:24

Max Korus (BikeReg.com-Cannondale) won the elite men's road race in a two-up dash to the line on Sunday at the USA Cycling national championships at Fort Gordon, Georgia.

Women's elite road race

• 1. Robin Farina, NOW-Novartis, 3:16:34
• 2. Andrea Dvorak, Colavita-Forno D'asolo,
• 3. Amanda Miller, HTC-Highroad,
• 4. Kathleen Billington, Team Danbury Audi, 3:16:39
• 5. Meredith Miller, Tibco To The Top, 3:16:41

Alberto Contador declared himself content with a silver medal at Sunday's Spanish national road championships and said he would now rest for Saturday's start of the Tour de France.

Robin Farina (NOW-Novartis) beat Andrea Dvorak (Colavita-Forno d'Asolo) by a wheel to win the USA Cycling elite women's road race on Sunday at Fort Gordon, Georgia.

HTC-Highroad for the Tour de France

• Bernhard Eisel (A)
• Mark Cavendish (GB)
• Matt Goss (Aus)
• Mark Renshaw (Aus)
• Tony Martin (G)
• Peter Velits (Slv)
• Lars Bak (Dk)
• Danny Pate (USA)
• Tejay Van Garderen (USA)

Men

• 1. Eric Young, Bloomington In, in 1:56:51
• 2. Anibal Borrajo, Lemon Grove Ca, in 1:56:51
• 3. Ken Hanson, in 1:56:51
• 4. Charles Huff, Springfield Mo, in 1:56:51
• 5. Zachary Davies, Madison Wi, in 1:56:52

Women

• 1. Emma Mackie, Pescadero Ca, in 1:02:15
• 2. Emily Collins,, in 1:02:15
• 3. Jo Kiesanowski, Seattle Wa, in 1:02:16
• 4. Lenore Pipes, Tamuning Guam, in 1:02:16
• 5. Natalie Klemko, Bristol Wi, in 1:02:18

Hyde Park Blast Men

• 1. James Driscoll, Jamis-Sutter Home
• 2. Paul Martin, Panther Competitive Cyclist
• 3. Clayton Barrows, Stan's Notubes-AXA
• 4. Andrew Seitz, GPOA
• 5. Clay Murfet, Rideclean

Women

• 1. Kacey Manderfield, Pure Energy Cycling-Proairhfa
• 2. Jane Evely, Texas Roadhouse
• 3. Sally Price, Team Summacare
• 4. AnnaJean Dallaire, Racing For Rileys
• 5. Colleen Cornelius, Kentucky Flyers Cycling Inc

Vuelta a España director Javier Guillén says Roberto Heras could be declared winner once again of the 2005 edition, but he isn't happy about it.

U23 national championships road race

• 1. Rob Squire, Chipotle Development Team, 4:07:19
• 2. Jacob Rathe, Chipotle Development Team, same time
• 3. Evan Huffman, California Giant, 4:10:03
• 4. Daniel Summerhill, Chipotle Development Team, 4:10:28
• 5. Joey Rosskopf, Team Type 1-Development, 4:10:28

Italian national road championships

• 1. Giovanni Visconti (Ita), Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli, 5:34:46
• 2. Mauro Santambrogio (Ita), BMC Racing Team, s.t.
• 3. Simone Ponzi (Ita), Liquigas-Cannondale, s.t.
• 4. Giampaolo Caruso (Ita), Team Katusha, s.t.
• 5. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita), Colnago-CSF, s.t.

Rob Squire and Jacob Rathe went one-two in the under-23 men's road race on Saturday at the USA Cycling national championships in Augusta, Georgia.

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Team RadioShack's main sponsors have agreed to a two-year extension of their sponsorship contracts with the world’s No. 3-ranked UCI ProTeam.

One of the most impressive items that Giant has launched for the 2012 model year is its new WheelSystem.

The rumors were already being whispered during this year's Giro d'Italia that flamboyant race director Angelo Zomegnan might be leaving the race.

A Spanish civil court has found that Roberto Heras should be cleared of doping charges linked to his 2005 Vuelta a España win. But it's uncertain what impact the ruling will have.

That this 30th Annual Race Across America would be memorable was evident right from the start, just nine days ago.

Here's a chance to see how the new Ultegra Di2 might look on your bike.

What do UCI WorldTour teams do with team cars after races outside of Europe such as the Tour of California or the Tour down Under?

This year’s Tour field boasts a deep wealth of Yankee talent, including a top sprinter, a quartet of potential top-5 finishers, one of the sport’s most promising young riders, and a star-crossed veteran who will be starting his record-tying 16th Grand Boucle.

VIDEO: Trail manual? It ain't something you read to learn about trails; it's the wheelie's more useful little brother.

Tom Boonen (Quick-Step) says returning to the winner's circle will be his top priority when he lines up for his first Tour de France following a few tumultuous seasons marked by injury and controversy.

The West Coast and Midwest are criterium central this weekend in the U.S., but the women’s elite national championship in Georgia take top billing.

The UCI issued a warning Thursday advising teams and riders that several blood samples are undergoing expert scrutiny in advance of the Tour de France to determine whether blood doping or other forms of manipulation have taken place.

The new Ridley FB features integrated braking, but you better move fast if you want one.

PARIS (AFP) — The owner of the HTC-Highroad team says that the team's trailblazing days in the professional peloton could come to a premature end unless a replacement title sponsor is found before the end of the Tour de France.

Colombian Lisban Quintero, winner of the 2010 Base Camp International criterium, his first on the National Racing Calendar, has tested positive for a banned substance.

Alberto Contador will take aim at the Spanish national title this weekend in both the road race and time trial events.

Evelyn Stevens went back-to-back Thursday in Augusta, Georgia, when she won the women’s U.S. time trial national championship. Stevens (HTC-Highroad) repeated her 2010 win over teammate Amber Neben on the new Augusta course during the second day of the elite, U23 and junior national championships. Olympic champion Kristin Armstrong (Peanut Butter & Co.-Twenty12) finished third.

Vacansoleil team for the Tour de France

• Romain Feillu (F)
• Borut Bozic (SLO)
• Marco Marcato (I)
• Thomas De Gendt (B)
• Bjorn Leukemans (B)
• Johnny Hoogerland (Nl)
• Wout Poels (Nl)
• Lieuwe Westra (Nl)
• Rob Ruijgh (Nl)

Omega-Pharma for the Tour de France

• Gilbert Philippe (B)
• Andre Greipel (G)
• Sebastian Lang (G)
• Jurgen Roelandts (B)
• Marcel Sieberg (G)
• Jurgen van den Broeck (B)
• Jurgen van de Walle (B)
• Jelle Vanendert (B)
• Frederik Willems (B)

Ryder Hesjedal will start his fourth career Tour de France under very different circumstances than the previous three editions following his break-out seventh place in 2010.

Team Sky for Tour de France

• Bradley Wiggins (GB)
• Geraint Thomas (GB)
• Ben Swift (GB)
• Juan Antonio Flecha (Sp)
• Rigoberto Urán (Col)
• Xabier Zandio (Sp)
• Simon Gerrans (Aus)
• Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor)
• Christian Knees (G)

BOULOGNE -SUR-MER, France (AFP) ─ French cycling legend Jeannie Longo easily beat a host of younger rivals to claim her fourth consecutive time trial title at the French national championships on Thursday.

A commuter bike that glows, why didn’t I think of that?

Please no wagering ...

Francisco Mancebo has signed a two-year contract extension with Realcyclist.com. On The Rivet Management announced Wedensday that the National Racing Calendar individual points leader has signed on with the rookie pro squad through 2013.

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"Christian Vande Velde came in and said to me, 'You can bet that worse things will happen during your career, but you have to let this go. If you don’t, I promise you more bad things will happen, it will eat you up inside.' ”

Saxo Bank-Sungard for Tour de France

• Alberto Contador (Sp)
• Jesus Hernandez (Sp)
• Dani Navarro (Sp)
• Benjamin Noval (Sp)
• Richie Porte (Aus)
• Chris Anker Sørensen (Dk)
• Nicki Sørensen (Dk)
• Matteo Tosatto (I)
• Brian Vandborg (Dk)

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Levi Leipheimer insists there will be no leadership battles within RadioShack during the upcoming Tour de France despite the team having as many as four riders capable of riding for GC.

Enve's new compact carbon handlebar.

RadioShack for the Tour de France:

• Jani Brajkovic (Slo)
• Chris Horner (USA)
• Markel Irizar (Sp)
• Andreas Klöden (G)
• Levi Leipheimer (USA)
• Dmitriy Muravyev (Kz)
• Sérgio Paulinho (P)
• Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr)
• Haimar Zubeldia (Sp)

The German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF are refusing to broadcast the race live on German TV for the second year in a row in protest of what they say is too much doping in the sport. German fans will be able to watch the race via the cable channel Eurosport, however, which will broadcast the 21-stage race live across all of Europe.

Police working together in Spain and Andorra have uncovered an alleged doping ring that involved up to 42 cyclists, 11 athletes, eight triathletes and even some kayakers and motorcycle drivers. Authorities identified most of the alleged clients as professional athletes.

Maurico Soler's life is no longer in danger; that's according to Movistar team doctors attending the injured Colombian, who remains in a hospital following his horrific crash last week at the Tour de Suisse.

Speaking to Spanish television (TVE1) during a break in a training camp in the French Alps, Contador said racing the Giro d'Italia before the Tour de France was hardly ideal preparation for the demands of the Tour.

The first week of this year's Tour features something for everyone

I’d say the main difference between Quebec and France is that when you’re driving along the Riviera, you don’t have to watch out for moose. That said, I didn’t get to see any moose this week. I was pretty sure I saw a bear win stage 6, but it turned out to be Svein Tuft.

Johan Van Summeren, who delivered Garmin-Cervélo's biggest win in team history with Paris-Roubaix in April, will stay with the team through the 2014 season.

PARIS (AFP) - Saxo Bank is to continue sponsoring the cycling team of Tour de France champion Alberto Contador next season, the Danish bank confirmed on Tuesday.

Danielson primed for Tour

Rabobank for Tour de France:

• Robert Gesink (Nl)
• Luis León Sánchez (Sp)
• Carlos Barredo (Sp)
• Juan Manuel Garate (Sp)
• Bauke Mollema (Nl)
• Laurens ten Dam (Nl)
• Lars Boom (Nl)
• Maarten Tjallingii (Nl)
• Grischa Niermann (G)