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From stage 3 of the Tour of California, we have analyzed the power data from UnitedHealthcare’s GC leader, Rory Sutherland.

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

The Race the World XC and DH races take place on the same course as the World Cup

Photographer Frank Bodenmüller has a laser-like lens wielded by an artful eye. Now his MTB work can find a home on your coffee table in is his book

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MODESTO, Calif. (VN) — A clear stratification of teams often exists at races the size of the Tour of California. The WorldTour teams more or less run the show, with the smaller teams forced to fight for scraps. With the overall win all but off the table, the little guys go for stages and TV time.

Race highlights from stage 3 of the Amgen Tour of California

Winning on American soil is nothing new for Greg Henderson, Team Sky’s Amgen Tour of California stage 2 winner in Modesto.

Is it possible for riders to have top form to race the Tour of California and the Tour de France in the same year? We ask the big names of the sport.

Stage3

• 1. Gregory Henderson, Team Sky , in 05:14:29
• 2. Juan Jose Haedo, SaxoBank-Sungard, at s.t.
• 3. Thor Hushovd, Garmin-Cervelo, at s.t.
• 4. Peter Sagan, Liquigas-Doimo, at s.t.
• 5. Leigh Howard, HTC-Highroad, at s.t.

GC

• 1. Gregory Henderson, Team Sky , in 08:01:31
• 2. Ben Swift, Team Sky, at s.t.
• 3. Peter Sagan, Liquigas-Doimo, at 00:00:04
• 4. Juan Jose Haedo, SaxoBank-Sungard, at 00:00:04
• 5. Thor Hushovd, Garmin-Cervelo, at 00:00:06

MODESTO, California (VN) - American Will Dugan and Jens Voigt are recovering from a frightening crash late in stage 3 of the Amgen Tour of California.

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

Thor Hushovd won stage 3 of the Amgen Tour of California in Modesto, California. That was in 2009.

Bling's Rabobank Giant TCR Advanced SL

Todd Wells needs your vote by May 20 to help MTB club win 50 grand

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.

UCI president Pat McQuaid apologized to pro riders about a leaked list published in L’Equipe this week, but staunchly defended the biological passport program.

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.

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

A five-minute video highlight of stage 2 of the Amgen Tour of California.

Ben Swift (Sky) took the first stage Monday, but weather remained the big story for at the Amgen Tour of California. Monday’s stage covered just 61 miles from Nevada City to Sacramento after winter weather forced changes to the race for the second consecutive day.

BMC's Mike Sayers talks about his emotions upon returning to his hometown of Sacramento in the Amgen Tour of California.

• 1. SWIFT Ben SKY GBR 2:47:02 00
• 2. *SAGAN Peter LIQ SVK 2:47:06 04
• 3. GOSS Matthew Harley THR AUS 2:47:08 06
• 4. LACOMBE Kevin CSM CAN 2:47:12 10
• 5. HAEDO Juan Jose SBS ARG

Taylor Phinney California diary, stage two

After a commanding last-lap leadout from Team Sky, 23-year-old Ben Swift launched off the wheel of teammate Greg Henderson to take his fifth stage win of the year. After the finish, the young man from Rotherham, England was quick to track down his teammates for bear hugs.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (VN) - On Sunday Jim Ochowicz stood outside the BMC Racing bus in Stateline, Nevada, while a group of team directors and riders negotiated with race organizers over alterations made to the first stage of the Amgen Tour of California. Twenty-four years ago, Ochowicz stood atop the Passo Gavia in northern Italy, waiting to hand eventual race winner Andy Hampsten a new set of clothes as snow piled up during the queen stage of the Giro d’Italia.

Team Sky's Ben Swift won the opening stage of the 2011 Amgen Tour of California on Monday, coming off a long leadout train on a shortened stage from Nevada City to Sacramento.

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

Ten days after riding the May 7 L’Etape du California — the organized, mass-participation ride covering the stage 7 route of this year’s Amgen Tour of California — I’m still trying to wrap my head around the difficulty of the final 5km climb to the Mount Baldy Ski Area, where the stage finishes.

Friday's invitational women's time trial roster set

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.

After a 23-year hiatus, Aspen, Colorado, will once again host international professional men’s cycling this summer, when the USA Pro Cycling Challenge comes to town. But two-time national champion and Aspen resident Jessica Phillips wasn’t content to simply watch the men. She wanted women to have a chance to race as well.

Steve Thomas checks in with the Classics King on the state of Irish cycling and his team.

Regardless of their backgrounds, the top stars of professional cycling all share one thing in common — a story of fulfilled promise.

With the effects of yesterday's snowstorm lingering over the Lake Tahoe area, organizers of the Amgen Tour of California moved the start of stage 2 from Squaw Valley to Nevada City. Also the start will be delayed until 12:15 from 10:15.

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

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Got any doubts about whether stage one of the 2011 Amgen Tour of California should have been canceled? Photographer Casey B. Gibson helps clear your thinking.

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.

Kenda-5 Hour Energy's Phil Gaimon knew he was in for a long day when the rumors began circulating: Portions of stage one would be neutralized, it would be shortened to a prologue, or he'd have to do the full race, and the lead moto would be replaced with a snowplow.

Brian Holcombe talks to bundled-up riders at the Amgen Tour of California about their feelings on riding and racing in foul weather.

If you were planning on riding the trainer while watching Sunday’s opening stage of the Amgen Tour of California, you were disappointed. If you have other trainer sessions planned this year, you may want to check out the CTS DVD “Amgen Tour of California, The Workout,” which will play on your television regardless of the weather.

It's just DZ being ... well, DZ.

Whether the deciding factor was rider sentiment, weather forecasts or logistical concerns, in the end, the decision to cancel the stage was the right one.

Casey B. Gibson was among those denied a front-row seat at the Amgen Tour kickoff, which was canceled by inclement weather. He broke out the camera gear anyway.

BMC's Taylor Phinney is checking in with Brian Holcombe of VeloNews every day from before the start of the Amgen Tour of California. Here is the first video.