Road

TRIESENBERG-MALBUN, Liechtenstein (AFP) - Colombian rider Juan Mauricio Soler was reported to be in a stable condition after suffering head injuries in a crash on the Tour of Switzerland, an official for his Movistar team told AFP Friday.

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Giorgia Bronzini showed her world road champion pedigree Thursday, winning her second stage in a row at the Nature Valley Grand Prix. Bronzini (Colavita-Forno D’Asolo) outkicked Chloe Hosking (HTC-Highroad) on the uphill finish to nab the stage 3 win in the Cannon Falls Road Race. Teresa Cliff-Ryan (Colavita) came through for third.

A day after UnitedHealthcare ran away with the first two stages, Robert Förster left no doubt when he won the Cannon Falls Road Race at the Nature Valley Grand Prix Thursday night.

Francisco Mancebo won the queen stage of the Tour de Beauce Thursday atop the 6.8km climb of Mont Mégantic in southeast Québec. Mancebo (Realcyclist.com) beat Bernardo Colex (Amore & Vita) and Sebastian Salas (H&R Block) to the observatory atop the summit finish atop the 7.7-percent climb.

The UCI's press releases urges the media and fans to show Contador respect.

The UCI's management committee on Thursday urged fans and the media to show the "utmost sense of responsibility" toward Alberto Contador at the Tour de France.

Bar tape underlay, sticky numbers, and trainer stress

Time Station 6, Congress, Ariz. (VN) — In August of 1982 four cyclists departed from the pier in Santa Monica, California, in a race to the Empire State Building in New York City, New York. None of them knew that the “Great American Bike Race,” as it was called that first year, would still be going on 30 years later and that it would grow to what it is today.

Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Cervélo) is back in the winner's circle with a win Thursday in the second stage at the Ster ZLM Tour in Holland.

TOBEL-TAGERSCHEN, Switzerland (AFP) - American cycling team HTC-Highroad officials say they still hope to keep top British sprinter Mark Cavendish on board as reports of his move to Team Sky resurfaced Thursday.

TRIESENBERG-MALBUN, Liechtenstein (AFP) - Dutchman Steven Kruijswijk of the Rabobank team won the sixth stage of the Tour of Switzerland Thursday, held over 157.7 km between Tobel-Tagerschen and here.

TRIESENBERG-MALBUN, Liechtenstein, (AFP) - Former race leader Mauricio Soler was left with head injuries and a broken ankle following a crash in the Tour of Switzerland sixth stage on Thursday.

Lionel Marie, sport director at Garmin-Cervélo, says Alberto Contador will have an ace up his sleeve this July in his showdown against Andy Schleck. Why? Because Marie says that Bjarne Riis knows his former pupil, Andy Schleck, better than anyone, and the Dane will be able to pick up the tell-tale signs when the younger of the Schleck brothers is pushing into the red.

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The young American Tejay Van Garderen will get his first taste of the Tour de France next month. The HTC-Highroad rider will be at the Grand Départ on the Vendée July 2, sources tell VeloNews.

UnitedHealthcare showed its muscle Wednesday night, controlling the entire Saint Paul Downtown Criterium and sweeping the stage 2 podium at the Nature Valley Grand Prix. After defending overall leader Rory Sutherland’s leader’s jersey, Jake Keough, Hilton Clarke and Robert Förster went one-two-three at the end of the 75-minute race.

World road champion Giorgia Bronzini rode her Colavita-Forno D'Asolo train to the stage 2 win at the Nature Valley Grand Prix Wednesday night. After her team wrestled control from the Tibco-To the Top squad in the final lap, Bronzini came out of the final corner in second wheel behind teammate Teresa Cliff-Ryan. She couldn't be matched when she kicked in downtown Saint Paul and Bronzini rode away with the second stage of the five-day, six-stage race.

Pro riders would be able to switch teams in the first half of August under certain conditions under a rule change approved by the UCI's Professional Cycling Council Wednesday in Maastricht, Netherlands.

Martijn Verschoor turned the tide of Team Type 1 podium places Wednesday with the stage 2 win at the Tour de Beauce at Thetford Mines, Québec. Verschoor hung tight in an aggressive, three-lap finale on the short finish circuit and took the team’s first single-day win of 2011 out of a bunch sprint.

Rory Sutherland won the stage 1 Saint Paul Riverfront Time Trial Wednesday morning at the Nature Valley Grand Prix. The three-time defending champion at Nature Valley, Sutherland (UnitedHealthcare Children’s Foundation) had never won the TT stage before and will for the first time take the leader’s jersey into stage 2 Wednesday evening at the Saint Paul Criterium.

Quick Results Stage 3

• 1. Borut Bozic (SLO), Vacansoleil-Dcm , at
• 2. Oscar Freire Gomez (ESP), Rabobank Cycling Team , 4:44:48
• 3. Peter Sagan (SVK), Liquigas-Cannondale, s.t.
• 4. Tejay Van Garderen (USA), HTC-Highroad, s.t.
• 5. Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (ESP), Movistar, s.t.

GC

• 1. Damiano Cunego (Italy), Lampre-Isd , 17:14:11
• 2. Juan Mauricio Soler Hernandez (Colombia), Movistar, at 0:54
• 3. Bauke Mollema (Netherlands), Rabobank Cycling Team, at 1:16
• 4. Laurens Ten Dam (Netherlands), Rabobank Cycling Team, at 1:19
• 5. Tejay Van Garderen (United States), HTC-Highroad, at 1:21

TOBEL-TAGERSCHEN, Switzerland (AFP) — Slovenian Borut Bozic, of the Vacansoleil team, won the fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse, a 204.2 km ride between Huttwil and Tobel-Tagerschen on Wednesday.

TOBEL-TAGERSCHEN, Switzerland (AFP) - Yellow jersey contender Andy Schleck of Luxembourg believes he will have more than Spain's Alberto Contador to worry about in this year's Tour de France.

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The FBI wants to review video from a Colorado restaurant where Lance Armstrong and Tyler Hamilton exchanged words on Saturday, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

Rory Sutherland will open the defense of his three straight Nature Valley Grand Prix wins Wednesday morning in the Saint Paul Time Trial. If Sutherland (UnitedHealthcare Children’s Foundation) is to continue his lock on the National Racing Calendar stage race, he’ll have to contend with a number of strong rivals – and some of the most dynamic criteriums and road stages of the year – near Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota.

A reader asks for a rule of thumb for crank arm length, and LZ explains that there isn't one.

A heart-rate-based power calculator, a 1,250-gram wheelset with a power meter and a power-comparison website are among the upcoming offerings from Saris, the company behind the popular PowerTap and CycleOps brands.

HUTTWIL, Switzerland (AFP) - Norwegian Thor Hushovd admitted his focus will now be firmly on the Tour de France after ending his long wait to claim a first victory in the world champion's rainbow jersey.

Scott Lyttle won stage 1 of the Tour de Beauce Tuesday from a GC-shattering breakaway. Lyttle (Pure Black) won the stage over teammate Tim Gudsell and Francois Parisen (Spidertech-C10) after a 22-rider escape amassed an advantage of more than 14 minutes.

Garmin’s pedal-based power meter will be out this fall. In the meantime, the company has some new watches

Marco Arriagada may have taken the glory and the prize money on the queen stage of the Vuelta Chile in February, but Tyler Wren says he is still buoyed by his team’s and his own effort on the mountain stage. Wren’s Jamis-Sutter Home team announced Wednesday that he had inherited the stage 9 win when Arriagada’s B sample confirmed an earlier positive test for stanozolol metabolites.

• 1. Thor HUSHOVD, (NOR) Garmin-Cervelo, in 4:46:05
• 2. Peter SAGAN, (SVK) Liquigas-Cannondale, at s.t.
• 3. Marco MARCATO, (ITA) Vacansoleil-Dcm, at 2
• 4. Jose Joaquin ROJAS GIL, (ESP) Movistar, at 2
• 5. Oscar FREIRE GOMEZ, (ESP) Rabobank Cycling Team, at 2

GC

• 1. Damiano CUNEGO, (Italy) Lampre-Isd, at 12:29:23
• 2. Juan Mauricio SOLER HERNANDEZ, (Colombia) Movistar, at 54
• 3. Bauke MOLLEMA, (Netherlands) Rabobank Cycling Team, at 1:16
• 4. Laurens TEN DAM, (Netherlands) Rabobank Cycling Team, at 1:19
• 5. Tejay VAN GARDEREN, (United States) HTC-Highroad, at 1:21

Sean Yates has seen Alberto Contador up close and personal during his sport directing days at Discovery Channel and Astana, where the Spanish climber earned his earliest grand tour successes. Yates knows that Contador will be the five-star favorite when the Tour de France starts next month despite having raced and won the Giro d'Italia.

HUTTWIL, Switzerland (AFP) - Norway's world champion Thor Hushovd claimed his first victory of the season when the Garmin-Cervelo rider won the fourth stage of the Tour of Switzerland on Tuesday, a 198.4km ride from Grindelwald.

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Tyler Wren has inherited the queen stage win at the Vuelta Chile. Wren (Jamis-Sutter Home) initially placed second to overall winner Marco Arriagada in stage 9 of the 10-stage race in February, but Arriagada provided a positive doping control for stanozolol metabolites.

John Eustice is ready to experiment on cycling in the United States. The former 16-year pro, promoter of the 38-year-old Skyscraper Harlem Classic and Univest Grand Prix and USPRO board member will introduce high speed urban track racing to New York City this Sunday and hopes the model will expand across the country.

GRINDELWALD, Switzerland (AFP) - Britain's Chris Froome admitted he experienced one of his toughest days as a bike racer as the Tour of Switzerland peloton fought rain, cold and poor visibility on stage 3 Monday.

GRINDELWALD, Switzerland (AFP) - Italian Christiano Salerno suffered a suspected broken collarbone following a crash on the third stage of the Tour of Switzerland, organizers said Monday.

Individuals

• 1. Philippe Gilbert, Omega Pharma-Lotto, with 356 points
• 2. Alberto Contador Velasco, Saxo Bank Sungard, with 349 points
• 3. Michele Scarponi, Lampre - Isd, with 348 points
• 4. Cadel Evans, BMC Racing Team, with 314 points
• 5. Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver, Katusha Team, with 288 points

• 1. SPAIN, with 1000 points
• 2. ITALY, with 860 points
• 3. BELGIUM, with 765 points
• 4. AUSTRALIA, with 744 points
• 5. GERMANY, with 503 points

• 1.(USA) HTC-Highroad, with 624 points
• 2.(BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto, with 541 points
• 3.(DEN) Saxo Bank Sungard, with 513 points
• 4.(USA) Team Radioshack, with 508 points
• 5.(USA) BMC Racing Team, with 504 points

Ivan Basso continues to prepare for what could be his final real run at the yellow jersey at the Tour de France.

Cycling doesn’t need to become an extreme sport to be intriguing, exciting and dramatic enough to captivate a television audience. A few simple changes could make them even more intriguing while minimizing the risk to the riders’ health and, indeed, their lives.

SYDNEY (AFP) — Australia's Tour Down Under will feature a hilltop finish for the first time in its 14-year history, organizers said on Monday.

Stage 3

• 1. Peter SAGAN, (SVK) Liquigas-Cannondale, at 3:09:47
• 2. Damiano CUNEGO, (ITA) Lampre-Isd, at 0
• 3. Jakob FUGLSANG, (DEN) Leopard-Trek, at 21
• 4. Laurens TEN DAM, (NED) Rabobank Cycling Team, at 21
• 5. Giampaolo CARUSO, (ITA) Team Katusha, at 48

GC

• 1. Damiano CUNEGO, (Italy) Lampre-Isd, at 7:43:16
• 2. Juan Mauricio SOLER HERNANDEZ, (Colombia) Movistar, at 54
• 3. Bauke MOLLEMA, (Netherlands) Rabobank Cycling Team, at 1:16
• 4. Laurens TEN DAM, (Netherlands) Rabobank Cycling Team, at 1:19
• 5. Tejay VAN GARDEREN, (United States) HTC-Highroad, at 1:21

GRINDELWALD, Switzerland (AFP) - Garmin-Cervelo is rallying behind teammate Thor Hushovd as the Norwegian seeks to honro his status as world champion by ending his victory famine at the Tour of Switzerland Tuesday.

GRINDELWALD, Switzerland (AFP) - Australian Allan Davis's hopes for a place on Astana's Tour de France squad suffered a setback when he pulled out of the Tour of Switzerland prior to the race's third stage Monday.

Joaquim Rodríguez is looking forward to a well-earned vacation after a busy first half of the 2011 season capped by two stage victories at the Criterium du Dauphiné.

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GRINDELWALD, Switzerland (AFP) - Slovakia's Peter Sagan of the Liquigas team won the third stage of the Tour of Switzerland on Monday, a 105km ride from Brig-Glis to Grindelwald that included a category 1 and unclassified climb.

Bradley Wiggins' confidence is flying high following overall victory at the Criterium de Dauphiné, but was quick to question the presence of Alberto Contador in next month's Tour de France.

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Casey B. Gibson trains his lenses on the 2011 Crystal Cup on day two of the Air Force Cycling Classic.

Alejandro Borrajo (Jamis-Sutter Home) won the Riverview Criterium on Sunday in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Anne Samplonius (NOW-MS Society) launched a late solo break to victory on Sunday in the Riverview Criterium in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Quick Results

• 1. Juan Mauricio Soler Hernandez (COL), Movistar , 4:23:20
• 2. Damiano Cunego (ITA), Lampre-Isd, at 0:12
• 3. Frank Schleck (LUX), Leopard-Trek, at 0:12
• 4. Danilo Di Luca (ITA), Team Katusha, at 0:16
• 5. Bauke Mollema (NED), Rabobank Cycling Team, at 0:18

GC

• 1. Juan Mauricio Soler Hernandez (Colombia), Movistar , 4:33:19
• 2. Damiano Cunego (Italy), Lampre-Isd, at 0:16
• 3. Bauke Mollema (Netherlands), Rabobank Cycling Team, at 0:22
• 4. Tejay Van Garderen (United States), HTC-Highroad, at 0:27
• 5. Frank Schleck (Luxembourg), Leopard-Trek, at 0:31

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Quick Results

• 1. Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (ESP), Team Katusha, 3:24:30
• 2. Thibaut Pinot (FRA), Française Des Jeux, at 0:08
• 3. Robert Gesink (NED), Rabobank Cycling Team, at 0:08
• 4. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (BEL), Omega Pharma-Lotto, at 0:08
• 5. Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ), Astana, at 0:08

Final GC

• 1. Bradley Wiggins (Great Britain), Team Sky, 23:33:24
• 2. Cadel Evans (Australia), BMC Racing Team, at 1:26
• 3. Alexander Vinokourov (Kazakhstan), Astana, at 1:49
• 4. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Belgium), Omega Pharma-Lotto, at 2:10
• 5. Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spain), Team Katusha, at 2:50