Switzerland’s Tour de Romandie, which takes place this week, starts appropriately enough at Martigny, a town surrounded by famous alpine climbs: the Grand St. Bernard to the south, Col de la Forclaz to the east and Crans-Montana to the east. But ironically the six-day, 698.3km UCI WorldTour event is probably the least mountainous in the race’s 65-year history.
The same afternoon that Philippe Gilbert was winning the Flèche Wallonne atop the notorious Mur de Huy last Wednesday, another French-speaking rider was taking a hilltop stage victory at the Giro del Trentino in the Dolomite mountains of Italy. That would be Thomas Voeckler, the current French national champion, notching (like Gilbert) his sixth win of the year and cementing his leadership of the 2011 UCI Europe Tour.
The dust is settling on Philippe Gilbert’s extraordinary week, but the Belgians are still celebrating the historic Ardennes sweep.
Philippe Gilbert’s magical ride through the Ardennes had another silver lining: the Omega-Lotto rider climbs into the No. 1 spot in the latest UCI rankings.
Valentin Iglinskiy (Astana) surprised the top sprinters to dart to victory in Monday’s stage 2 at the Tour of Turkey.
Aussie sprinter Michael Matthews once again proved his pedigree with victory Monday at the one-day Rund um Köln in Germany.
Aaron Gwin's win is first time since 1999 that an American takes the top podium step
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The Schleck brothers say it was impossible to beat Philippe Gilbert at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
Graham Watson is on hand as Philippe Gilbert wins the 2011 Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
Philippe Gilbert caps a sweep of the Ardennes classics, easily out-sprinting Fränk and Andy Schleck to win Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
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The rivalry between Nino Schurter and Julien Absalon grows larger in South Africa; Todd Wells scores top-10 ride.
Cadel Evans ─ who was forced to skip defending his title at Fleche Wallonne and missed the start at Sunday's Liège-Bastogne-Liège ─ will mark his return to racing for the BMC Racing Team on Tuesday at the Tour de Romandie.
Italian youngster Andrea Guardini (Farnese Vini) opened up a long sprint to hold off Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Cervelo) to win the opening stage at the Tour of Turkey on Sunday.
Paris-Nice winner Tony Martin will be at the center of HTC-Highroad's battle plan for the Liège-Bastogne-Liège Classic in Belgium on Sunday.
The Presidential Tour of Turkey has been around nearly half a century, but no one really paid much attention to it until about four years ago, when the UCI elevated its status and organizers up the ante to draw top teams.
LIÈGE, Belgium (VN) – The peloton returns to the scene of the Stockeau massacre in a race for the first time Sunday. The descent of the Ardennes climb was the site of the massive crash that led to the neutralization of stage 3 at last year’s Tour de France.
LIEGE, Belgium (VN) – Dan Martin is starting Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège, but will be fighting a troubling arm injury suffered in a crash on Wednesday.
LIÈGE, Belgium (AFP) ─ Defending champion Alexander Vinokourov has ruled out a concerted effort in the peloton to stop race favorite Philippe Gilbert from winning Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium – Two weeks ago, Fabian Cancellara was the talk of the cycling media. Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) has assumed that role with three wins in a week, but Cancellara's Leopard-Trek teammates aren't looking past anyone for Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
The Nature Valley Bicycle Festival, which features the Nature Valley Grand Prix NRC stage race, is adding a gran fondo run over the same route as the race's fifth stage on June 18.
Roman Kreuziger (Astana) and Michele Scarponi (Lampre) took morale-boosting victories Friday to put their rivals on notice going into next month´s Giro d'Italia.
Having recently come away from the World Track Championships with yet another rainbow jersey (Madison with Leigh Howard), a silver medal (points race) and a seventh place (scratch) young Aussie sensation Cameron Meyer is ready for the first race of his Euro road season, Sunday's Liege-Bastogne-Liege. VeloNews caught up with him as he tries to build on his already amazing 2011.
Who says you can't have fun with the piss police at doping control?
Tension between the UCI and the top pro teams is reaching a breaking point over the use of race radios in elite professional races. Things got so bad that teams walked out of a meeting last week in Belgium that was supposed to be a sit-down between the major players to hammer out an understanding. Instead of reaching a common ground, both sides seem further apart than ever.
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The Speed Dream Tonazzo carbon clinchers: light, stiff wheels from an artisan.
Quick look: If you ride white handlebar tape, white shoes and white shorts, then check out the new white Apex.
Dear BCSM, Can you explain the benefits and drawbacks of plyometric training?
Colombian Fabio Duarte (Geox-TMC) grabbed his first European pro win of the season in the third stage at the Giro del Trentino on Thursday in northern Italy.
The dually two-niner is a capable all-mountain sled with impressive downhill skills
WALSHOUTEM, Belgium (VN) – Greg Van Avermaet is ready to close a long classics season Sunday and is looking to deliver a result to BMC Racing. Van Avermaet, 25, will start his first Liège-Bastogne-Liège Sunday.
"I am more in love with the sport than ever, and yet I still watch a pack of cyclists negotiating traffic or click-clacking through a coffee shop in their cleats, and I cringe. We are truly our own worst enemies ... "
Special shorts for Roubaix, team vehicle parking spots, painted roads and more questions, answered
ROME (AFP) - Giro d'Italia champion Ivan Basso will not be defending his title when the Giro begins on May 7 in Turin, he said Thursday.
The Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport reported Thursday that U.S. investigators are working with their Italian counterparts to review millions of dollars’ worth of financial transactions involving physician Michele Ferrari and several high-profile cyclists.
2011 Giro d'Italia startlist
Geox-TMC has named its "long list" for the upcoming Giro d'Italia, putting 12 riders on a list that will be whittled down to nine for the season's first grand tour.
WALSHOUTEM, Belgium (VN) – Nearly lost in the fever of Philippe Gilbert’s triumph for Omega Pharma-Lotto at La Flèche Wallonne Wednesday was Alexander Vinokourov’s best-ever result in the mid-week classic. Astana’s defending champion of Liége-Bastogne-Liége ground out a fourth-place result atop the Mur de Huy and said afterward that the ride gave him much confidence ahead of Sunday’s Ardennes finale.
X0 now sexier in silver and easier to spin with 38/24 and 36/22 chainring options
HUY, Belgium (VN) ─ Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Cervélo) is hoping to cap his spring campaign with a run for the podium at Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday.
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Brian Holcombe talks to HTC-Highroad's Evelyn Stevens about her long solo attack at Wednesday's Fleche Wallonne
Brian Holcombe chats with Liquigas-Cannondale's Tim Duggan about the Ardennes and Mur de Huy
HTC-Highroad's Tejay Van Garderen talks with Brian Holcombe about his first Fleche Wallonne and his pressure-free Ardennes program
Quick look: Campagnolo has new shifters, brake levers, brakes and big chainrings for time trial machines
HUY, Belgium (VN) — Philippe Gilbert will wake up Thursday morning as he did Monday, focused on recovering from a tough, winning effort in the hills near his hometown of Verviers, Belgium. So says the winner of all three high profile hilly classics contested this spring.
Full results for the 2011 Flèche Wallonne classic
HUY, Belgium (VN) – The Walloon fans of his home region carried Philippe Gilbert up the über-steep Mur de Huy Wednesday as he ran away with his third win in a row. The Omega Pharma-Lotto rider came onto the steepest section of the Mur at the front of the peloton and burst away from his rivals 400 meters from the line at La Flèche Wallonne.
Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) won Wednesday's second stage at the Giro del Trentino in northern Italy in an intense battle to the line.
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HUY, Belgium (VN) - Marianne Vos (Nederland Bloueit) was the strongest on the Mur de Huy and a tough 100-kilometer circuit Wednesday. The Dutch master of most trades was triumphant at La Flèche Wallonne Feminine, finishing a handful of seconds ahead of Emma Johansson.
HUY, Belgium (VN) – Alexander Vinokourov will have a full arsenal at his disposal in his bid for a third Liège-Bastogne-Liège title Sunday. Roman Kreuziger will join his Astana teammates Saturday evening in Liège after the Giro del Trentino wraps up earlier in the day in Italy.
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