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Quick Step's Tom Boonen, Gert Steegmans and Sylvain Chavanel say they are ready for the start of the Belgian cycling season at Saturday's Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

LEON, Spain (VN) — A protest this weekend appears to have been averted, but riders and teams promise to carry their growing frustration over the race radio ban to other upcoming events.

We can chose to take the Eeyore approach and dwell on the negative, or we can roll with the punches, remember why we fell in love with this game and enjoy the beauty of our sport with the knowledge that things are changing and good things are on the horizon.

The North American Handmade Bicycle Show gets underway in Austin.

Buddha reminds Singletrack.com's Jamie Bate that it's not about the bike

The owners of the Quiznos sandwich chain and the Quiznos Pro Challenge stage race, have invested an additional $10 million in the event, they announced Friday.

Peter Sagan knows no rival – at least at the ongoing Giro di Sardegna.

American squad UnitedHealthcare will continue its European schedule Sunday with the Clasica de Almeria.

At least one team is breaking rank with the peloton this weekend and will sit out any protest of the UCI ban on race radios. BMC Racing general manager Jim Ochowicz said in a release Thursday that his team would not take part in any demonstration planned for the opening weekend of the spring classics in Flanders, Belgium.

Must Reads: Sanchez pledges to support Gesink, judo champ wins clenbuterol appeal

A reader asks about "podium dudes" while another asks about application of doping rules.

Stage 3:

• 1. Peter SAGAN, (SVK) Liquigas-Doimo, in 4:20:03
• 2. Jose Rodolfo SERPA PEREZ, (COL) Androni Giocattoli-Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni, at s.t.
• 3. Damiano CUNEGO, (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini, at s.t.
• 4. Emanuele SELLA, (ITA) Androni Giocattoli-Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni, at 2
• 5. Ben HERMANS, (BEL) Team RadioShack, at 2

• 1. Peter SAGAN, (SVK) Liquigas-Doimo, in 13:16:36
• 2. Damiano CUNEGO, (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini, at 4
• 3. Jose Rodolfo SERPA PEREZ, (COL) Androni Giocattoli-Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni, at 6
• 4. Emanuele SELLA, (ITA) Androni Giocattoli-Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni, at 18
• 5. Ben HERMANS, (BEL) Team RadioShack, at 22

There is a notable difference between amateur racing and the professional ranks, not just in the race style but also in the riders themselves. There are some riders in the peloton who seem to command respect, the ones who make their hardest efforts appear effortless, never showing the strain that their bodies are surely going through.

The bitter taste is subsiding and Henk Vogels will soon be back in the United States with a new-look V Australia team for 2011. Vogels revealed the squad’s roster Thursday and gave his thoughts on returning to race in the U.S. three months after Pegasus Racing collapsed.

Stage 5

• 1. Oscar FREIRE GOMEZ, (ESP) Rabobank Cycling Team, in 3:46:12
• 2. Samuel SANCHEZ GONZALEZ, (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 0
• 3. Jonathan HIVERT, (FRA) Saur-Sojasun, at 0
• 4. Davide APPOLLONIO, (ITA) Team Sky, at 0
• 5. Rigoberto URAN URAN, (COL) Team Sky, at 0

• 1. Markel IRIZAR ARANBURU, (ESP) Team RadioShack, in 16:27:21
• 2. Jurgen VAN DEN BROECK, (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto, at 1
• 3. Levi LEIPHEIMER, (USA) Team RadioShack, at 2
• 4. Jerome COPPEL, (FRA) Saur-Sojasun, at 3
• 5. Luis PASAMONTES RODRIGUEZ, (ESP) Movistar, at 8

What do mechanics do on long, boring stages? Will Boardman's hour record be broken? And more

MADRID (AFP) — RadioShack's Markel Irizar (Radioshack) secured overall victory in the Ruta del Sol Thursday after the fifth and final stage, won by Oscar Freire of Rabobank.

Experienced Australian Luke Roberts returns to Riis Cycling. Saxo Bank-SunGard also signs Polish talent Rafal Majka.

Is the extravagant price of a ballistics-grade wheelset worth it? Singletrack.com looks to find out

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Xavier Tondo is sleeping at 2,300 meters this week in Spain’s high-altitude training facility in the Sierra Nevada mountains, but he probably wishes he could even be further away from the spotlight after a wild week that saw him “outed” as the source in Spain’s latest doping investigation.

In the five months since 1984 Olympic road champion Alexi Grewal announced he was making a comeback to racing at age 50, he has been hard at work. “There’s all the things you’ve got to do if you’re a privateer bike rider,” Grewal told VeloNews ahead of his comeback race this week. “I’ve been busy. Good busy.”

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad preliminary startlist

Past winners of Het Volk/Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

Past winners of Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne

Official start list for Sunday's Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne

South African Darren Lill was third in the fourth stage of his country's home tour on Wednesday.

Stage 4:

• 1. Davide Torosantucci, (DAN), in 03:30:22::
• 2. Kévin Reza, (EUC), in 03:30:40::
• 3. Darren Lill, (DCM), in 03:30:40::
• 4. Johann Rabie, (BNT), in 03:30:44::
• 5. Jempy Drucker, (VWA), in 03:30:44::

• 1. Kristian House, (RCS), in 11:18:14::
• 2. Daryl Impey, (MTN), in 11:20:36::
• 3. Johann Rabie, (BNT), in 11:20:36::
• 4. David George, (LIF), in 11:20:36::
• 5. Rensburg Jacques Janse Van, (VMC), in 11:20:36::

Must Reads: French agency to share Armstrong's 1999 samples; Inside Contador's defense and more

Stage 2:

• 1. Damiano CUNEGO, (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini, at 5:21:26
• 2. Jose Rodolfo SERPA PEREZ, (COL) Androni Giocattoli-Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni, at s.t.
• 3. Emanuele SELLA, (ITA) Androni Giocattoli-Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni, at 2
• 4. Peter SAGAN, (SVK) Liquigas-Doimo, at 2
• 5. Ben HERMANS, (BEL) Team RadioShack, at 2

• 1. Damiano CUNEGO, (Italy) Lampre-Farnese Vini, in 8:56:41
• 2. Peter SAGAN, (Slovakia) Liquigas-Doimo, at 2
• 3. Jose Rodolfo SERPA PEREZ, (Colombia) Androni Giocattoli-Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni, at 4
• 4. Emanuele SELLA, (Italy) Androni Giocattoli-Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni, at 8
• 5. Eros CAPECCHI, (Italy) Liquigas-Doimo, at 12

The European racing calendar gets busier with each passing week and this weekend sees the opening of the Belgian racing season with two important semi-classics that will see the top guns sharpening their form with the northern classics just around the corner.

CORDOBA, Spain (VN) – Óscar Freire (Rabobank) stayed clear of a finish-line crash at the end of stage 4 to charge to his first win on the 2011 season and claim his seventh career stage victory at the Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista del Sol.

RENNES, France (AFP) — Anthony Charteau, winner of the climber's competition at the 2010 Tour de France, has been sidelined for three weeks by a shoulder injury, his team, Europcar, said Wednesday.

Lack of sponsorships, other issues KO June 18 cross-country event

A reader asks if a product long used by pros is only now coming to the market, how can it be 'legal' under UCI rules?

Lennard Zinn says you can use your 3x shifters on a 2x drivetrain.

Leopard-Trek has announced the signing of Austrian rider Thomas Rohregger, who last rode for Milram.

Dave Brailsford had a full plate in 2010 as he created Great Britain’s first major professional cycling team. After steering the British track team to dominance in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Brailsford turned his attention to the road.

More than 1,200 athletes will race California and Washington leagues come spring 2011

Felt Bicycle is recalling about 1,550 of its 2011 road bikes because the carbon fiber fork on the bikes can break. The F3, F4, F5 and F75 bike models are affected by the recall, which is being conducted with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

• 1. Peter SAGAN, (SVK) Liquigas-Doimo, in 3:35:25
• 2. Alessandro BALLAN, (ITA) BMC Racing Team, at s.t.
• 3. Daniel OSS, (ITA) Liquigas-Doimo, at s.t.
• 4. Oscar GATTO, (ITA), at s.t.
• 5. Daniele PIETROPOLLI, (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini, at s.t.

Stage:

• 1. Francisco José VENTOSO ALBERDI, (ESP) Movistar, in 4:21:53
• 2. Juan Jose LOBATO DEL VALLE, (ESP), at s.t.
• 3. Davide APPOLLONIO, (ITA) Team Sky, at s.t.
• 4. Giacomo NIZZOLO, (ITA) Leopard-Trek, at s.t.
• 5. Thierry HUPOND, (FRA) Skil-Shimano, at s.t.

• 1. Markel IRIZAR ARANBURU, (ESP) Team RadioShack, in 8:51:46
• 2. Jurgen VAN DEN BROECK, (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto, at 1
• 3. Levi LEIPHEIMER, (USA) Team RadioShack, at 2
• 4. Jerome COPPEL, (FRA) Saur-Sojasun, at 3
• 5. Luis PASAMONTES RODRIGUEZ, (ESP) Movistar, at 8

A look at some new gear from DT Swiss and FSA at the Frostbike show

SRAM adds new color option for its Red groupset

André Greipel is not one for emotional outbursts, but the usually stoic German sprinter was downright ecstatic with his season-debut victory at the Volta ao Algarve on Saturday.

The blogosphere is wondering about another vaunted new team, Leopard-Trek, which up until Monday had not registered a single victory since it debuted at the Tour Down Under just over a month ago.

JAEN, Spain (VN) – A day after losing in a photo-finish, Fran Ventoso (Movistar) got it right to claim victory in Tuesday’s stage 3 at the 57th Ruta del Sol.

El Pistolero’s Shiv

Richmond, Virginia, is competing with Oman and Quebec to host the 2015 UCI road world championships, the UCI announced Tuesday. At the Tour of Oman last week, the Sultanate of Oman announced its bid to host the event; Richmond announced its bid in December.

Video-based contest offers all-inclusive training camp with Dave Wiens' Team Topeak-Ergon in Sedona

Spencer Paxson is new, Barry Wicks returns to XC squad; gravity team gets new riders

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

The French wave continued Monday as Jonathan Hivert delivered Sojasun-Saur its second consecutive win in a bunch sprint when he out-kicked the fastest of the Spanish armada in the second stage at the Ruta del Sol.

The UCI on Monday said its frame and fork approval program is not intended to be a money maker for the organization.

Stage 2:

• 1. Jonathan HIVERT, (FRA) Saur-Sojasun, in 4:20:25
• 2. Francisco José VENTOSO ALBERDI, (ESP), at s.t.
• 3. Oscar FREIRE GOMEZ, (ESP) Rabobank Cycling Team, at s.t.
• 4. Stijn DEVOLDER, (BEL), at s.t.
• 5. Serguei IVANOV, (RUS) Team Katusha, at s.t.

• 1. Markel IRIZAR ARANBURU, (ESP) Team RadioShack, in 4:29:53
• 2. Jurgen VAN DEN BROECK, (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto, at 1
• 3. Levi LEIPHEIMER, (USA) Team RadioShack, at 2
• 4. Jerome COPPEL, (FRA) Saur-Sojasun, at 3
• 5. Luis PASAMONTES RODRIGUEZ, (ESP), at 8

Caley Fretz takes a look at Hutchinson's Pro Tour tires — just like Lance used —  and examines the benefits of aging tires.

This fall, my neighbor Don Powell and I sat down over a beer, and decided to start a team focused on mentoring young riders and helping them develop into better cyclists and people.

After a day and night's worth of racing, 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo is done

We present the VN Bike Lab — data from two labs, long-term ride testing and expert analysis — in the April issue of VeloNews.

Singletrack.com's Caley Fretz ventures to Frostbike in Minnesota for some MTB goodness

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Andrew Hood sends some snaps from the final stage of the Volta ao Algarve.

“Just being here is a victory,” said Alberto Contador after finishing fourth overall in the Volta ao Algarve.

Sarah Hammer of the United States wins the women’s omnium at the UCI World Cup track cycling meet in Manchester, England.

Jimmy Engoulvent wins the opening time trial by a fraction of a second as the 57th Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista del Sol gets under way.

Stage 1

• 1. Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra), Saur-Sojasun, 9:28
• 2. Markel Irizar Aranburu (Esp), Team RadioShack, same time
• 3. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel), Omega Pharma-Lotto, at 0:01
• 4. Levi Leipheimer (Usa), Team RadioShack, at 0:02
• 5. Jerome Coppel (Fra), Saur-Sojasun, at 0:03