Samuel Sánchez

Tokyo will be the fifth Olympic Games for Alejandro Valverde, and presents an ideal course for him to be considered a favorite for gold.

Olympic champion Samuel Sanchez has tested positive for banned substance GHRP-2, a synthetic peptide that causes the release of growth hormone within the body

Sammy Sanchez crashed hard during the stage 19 time trial, while Andrew Talansky jumped into 5th place overall.

American Tejay van Garderen will get another shot at a grand tour this season after a disappointing run at the Tour de France in July.

Check out Neal Rogers's author page.

Samuel Sánchez unleashes a perfectly timed counter-attack around Alberto Contador to win Vuelta al País Vasco stage 4.

BMC is counting on Samúel Sanchez to serve as Tejay van Garderen's strongest lieutenant in the challenging high mountain stages of the Tour

Sunday's Liège-Bastogne-Liège could cap the spring classics season in dramatic fashion, pitting young guns against experienced veterans

Check out Shane Stokes's author page.

Check out Shane Stokes's author page.

Riders still without a contract face a precarious future as 2014 comes to a close, and several big names are still waiting on the sidelines

Marquee names are battling in the opening stages of the Vuelta a España, delivering on the promise of the season's most exciting grand tour

Check out Shane Stokes's author page.

Going downhill on two wheels is much more complex than simply letting gravity take over

Gilbert hopes to tag team with Samuel Sánchez to deliver a victory at La Doyenne for BMC Racing

Olympic champion will support Cadel Evans in the Giro and target a stage win of his own

The 35-year-old Spaniard was the last big name from Euskaltel-Euskadi to be without a deal for 2014

Basque climber lands a deal for 2014, leaving nearly a full ProTeam of riders still without jobs

The 35-year-old Spaniard is also linked to Fernando Alonso's squad that will debut for the 2015 season

The Formula One driver will unveil his squad next summer as it prepares to race starting in 2015

Claudio Corti wants Samuel Sánchez in black for 2014 to help move his Colombia project ahead

Beijing road race gold medalist has no offers for 2014 after Alonso project falls apart

Retirements and the nation’s financial crisis are having a devastating effect on the peloton

Riders 30 years old and above could start to phase out of contention in the worlds road race moving forward

The pair was among several riders to crash and/or abandon the worlds road race in Florence

If a Spanish rider wins Sunday's men's road race, he will have overcome the race within his own team as much as the foreign competition

A number of riders expected to contend for the GC have fallen behind in the first three days of racing

The squad's exit leaves just two professional teams from Spain in the peloton

Nibali, Basso, and others head to northern Spain for the five-day race ahead of the year's final grand tour

The Italian missed the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France this year

German blasts ASO for including the climb and descent in the 2013 route

Sánchez used his racing acumen to smash his way across the line to victory for the first time this season

Sanchez takes a hard-fought win over Fuglsang as Froome remains in the driver's seat with one stage remaining

We examine the top riders in the Giro field after the first nine days of racing

Italy's grand tour has made progress in recent years to gain value and respect among the peloton

Our editors make their cases for the men they expect to battle for the maglia rosa at the 2013 Giro d'Italia

Spanish outfit is the only UCI ProTeam without a victory this season

Long a breeding ground for Basque talent, Euskaltel-Euskadi is adding foreign riders and UCI points to keep its WorldTour berth

Andy Schleck hopes to survive first big test as the Tour of Beijing opens Tuesday with a tougher, hillier route for defending champ Tony Martin

Euskatel-Euskadi denies making an offer to Oscar Freire aimed at securing his haul of WorldTour points. Freire, for now, is firmly retired

With Rodríguez, Valverde, Contador, Freire and Sánchez, will a wealth of options benefit the Spanish or destroy their chances in Limburg?

Samuel Sánchez will be last-minute decision, while Luis León Sánchez misses out

No defending gold medalist in the men's road race

Freire KO’d for Olympics; Sánchez, Rojas waiting to see as Spanish media turns attention to Contador's Vuelta return

Sanchez leaves the Tour on a stretcher with an unspecified shoulder injury while Froehlinger quits with a broken finger

Defending Olympic champ has bounced back from Dauphiné crash and hopes to better 2011 finish

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Samuel Sánchez has two months left to roll his his gold-medal-inspired Orbea Orca before his defense in London

Sánchez shouldn't miss Tour de France, Olympics; De Gendt even parties on a bike; Coppel's bitter loss; Red Zinger founder calls for Flagstaff finish

Euskaltel leader continues despite hard crash in stage 1 of key tune-up for the Tour de France

Defending Olympic road race champ Samuel Sanchez has been given the official nod to defend in London

With future of Euskaltel-Euskadi uncertain, reigning Olympic champ Sánchez wants to settle on team for next year before start of Tour

Andrew Hood runs down the chances of the four Spanish favorites for the Ardennes classics

Ardennes week is here. Get the rundown on the favorites, the route and the underlying stories for Sunday's Amstel Gold Race

Sanchez put down a perfect ride to claim the GC at Vuelta al Pais Vasco

Horner goes on the attack at Pais Vasco

Olympic champ wins solo as Albasini defends his GC lead

Luis Leon Sanchez (Rabobank) won today's very tense, sixth stage of Paris-Nice

'Purito' tipped as early favorite

Euskaltel-Euskadi's Samuel Sánchez is eyeing a Tour podium, road worlds and the London Games for 2012.

Samuel Sánchez says he will focus on a run at the Tour de France podium rather than another gold medal

BEIJING (VN) — Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) lines up Wednesday for the inaugural Tour of Beijing as one of the star riders, but he didn't want to start as the No. 1 bib.

In a battle of the cycling nicknames, "Samu" edged "Purito" to win the 175km opening stage at the Vuelta a Burgos in northern Spain on Wednesday.

PINEROLO, Italy (VN) — Alberto Contador reached across to Samuel Sánchez to shake his hand as the pair crossed the line Thursday after another daring raid that fell short.

Stage 12 winner Sammy Sanchez's Orbea

Sammy Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) won the first mountain stage of the 2011 Tour de France on Thursday, on a day when a view of the top of general classification finally became clear.

LAVAUR, France (AFP) - Olympic champion Samuel Sanchez says he is hoping to put his disappointing start to the Tour de France behind him with a stage victory in the Basque stronghold of the Pyrenees.

Euskaltel-Euskadi for Tour de France:

• Samuel Sánchez (Sp)
• Egoi Martínez (Sp)
• Gorka Verdugo (Sp)
• Amets Txurruka (Sp)
• Rubén Pérez (Sp)
• Iván Velasco (Sp)
• Alan Pérez (Sp)
• Pablo Urtasun (Sp)
• Gorka Izagirre (Sp)

While the cobblestone specialists hog the spotlight ahead of tomorrow’s Tour of Flanders, riders who will take over in the Ardennes sharpened their form in an exciting battle at the GP Miguel Indurain in Spain.

Light on time trials and heavy in the climbing department, Samuel Sánchez says the 2011 Tour de France is ideally suited for his talents.

From Gilbert to Cavendish, a look at the favorites for the elite men's road race.

An October criterium in the Mexican state is expecting Vino', Basso, the Schleck brothers, Sammy Sanchez and more. But the Vuelta a Chihuahua will not be held.

Fresh off winning the Vuelta a Burgos, Samuel Sánchez has penned a two-year extension that will keep him in an Euskaltel-Euskadi jersey through 2012.

The Russian started 18 seconds behind Samuel Sánchez on GC, then rode him right off the podium.

It will be a battle of orange for the final spot on the podium at the Tour de France.

There’s an intense battle brewing for the final spot on the Tour de France podium.

Samuel Sanchez was exhausted after stage 9, but now sits third, a position that makes it difficult to go for a stage win.

Lennard Zinn takes a look at the 2011 Orbea Orca, as used by Samuel Sanchez at the Tour

Olympic champion Samuel Sánchez will lead Euskaltel-Euskadi in the 2010 Tour de France.