Tour de San Luis: Malori wins stage 5 time trial.

Adriano Malori won the fifth stage of the Tour de San Luis, a 17.4km time trial in San Luis. His winning time of 20:07 minutes was enough to give him the victory ahead of road world champion Michal Kwiatkowski  and Hugo Houle.

Daniel Diaz maintained his lead in the overall classification.

Paolini goes the distance at the Tour de San Luis.

Each morning in San Luis, hours before the afternoon’s stage is due to begin, a bearded figure in Katusha kit pedals discreetly out the side entrance of the Vista Hotel, rolls down the Avenida Arturo Illia and then swings left towards open countryside.

The distances, speeds and sheer intensity of the Tour de San Luis are not to be sniffed at, but for Luca Paolini, at least, preparing for the new campaign in Argentina is not just about what happens between the start and finish line every day.

Meeusen must be allowed in World Championship, court decides.

The Belgian Court of Arbitration for Sport (BAS) ruled today that the country's cycling federation must allow the registration of World number three-ranked cyclo-cross rider Tom Meeusen, top U23 rider Laurens Sweeck and Bart Wellens for the UCI World Cup in Hoogerheide this weekend, and next week's UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Tabor.

The trio were held out of the Belgian team for the races due to an investigation into their physician Chris Mertens, who is suspected of providing illegal ozone blood treatments to athletes.

Cycling quiz: The week that was.

With the Tour Down Under kicking off the WorldTour calendar and the Tour de San Luis showcasing what form other pros have (and perhaps haven’t) got after their winter training, the 2015 cycling season is finally here.

These season-opening races are also great for those who prefer the bikes to the people riding them, when we get to see the new machines in action. This included the long-awaited official appearance of Sram’s new wireless electronic groupset.

Despite the sun rising on the new season and all the joys and positive news that brings with it, the week was still marred by more than one doping ban being issued.

Interview: Truly International Cyclocross Coach Chris McGovern on Preparing Ortenblad and Gomez-Villafañe for 2015 Cyclocross Worlds.

"When heading into an event like the Cyclocross World Championships, one has to consider an enormous amount of moving pieces. In this year’s coverage, we examined USAC’s selection for the riders that would represent the United States, including the late surge by Zach McDonald to take one of the remaining spots. We also analyzed the decision of riders such as Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel, who both not only qualified for Worlds, but had to consider the event they would compete in.

Today, we look at the lead up to the 2015 Cyclocross World Championship in Tabor from yet another perspective: a coach. If anyone knows something about moving pieces, it’s Cyclelution Owner Chris McGovern. Not only does he coach California Giant Berry Farms rider Tobin Ortenblad and Vanderkitten rider Carolina Gomez-Villafañe, who will be respectively representing the United States and Argentina at Hoogerheide and Worlds, but he will also act as the Argentinian Race Director while in the Czech Republic. Among other things, he’s also the owner of Real Wheels Bicycle Studio, a bike shop well-known for its hand-built wheels."

2014-15 Races & Results.

Santos Tour Down Under 2015 - Jan 18-25 (Stages & Results),

Tour de San Luis 2015 - Jan 19-25 (Stages & Results),

UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships - Jan 31 (Races),

Dubai Tour 2015 - Feb 4-7 (Stages),

Giro d'Italia 2015 - May 9-31 (Stages),

Tour de France 2015 - July 4-26 (Stages),

Santos Women's Tour 2015 - Jan 17-20 (Results),

UCI Road World Championship 2014 - Sept 20-27 (Results),

Vuelta a España 2014 - Aug 23-Sept 14 (Results),

Tour de France 2014  - July 5-27 (Results),

Giro d'Italia 2014 - May 9 - June 1 (Results),

More ...

Talk: Jeremy Powers.

There’s been enough polemic about the 24 hour delay to the start of the US Elite Cyclo-Cross National Championships due to concerns about the grass and trees on the parcours in Austin Texas; so we’ll leave the final arguments to the forum sitters and Tweeters and cut to the chase.

Jeremy Powers retained the National Champion’s jersey as he took his third national elite title on a sticky parcours from ever-green Jonathan Page and the man many were talking-up before the start, Zach McDonald; ever-smiling Powers took time to chat after his fine display.

No Stripes for 2015: Don Myrah’s Disappointing National Championships.

Since his return to cyclocross after nearly ten years away from racing, Northern California racers and fans have grown accustomed to seeing cyclocross legend Don Myrah in stripes.

Some years it has been the stars and stripes of the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships, while the last three years it’s been the blue and rainbow stripes of the Masters World Champion titles he earned in Gossau, Switzerland, and twice in Louisville, Kentucky in 2012 and 2013.

2015 Tour de San Luis LIVE.

Friday's Tour de San Luis Stage 5, a 17.4km Individual Time Trial at San Luis, gets underway at 3:34pm local (1:34pm U.S. Eastern, 19:34 CET) with the departure of the first rider. Tour de San Luis live video streaming is expected, possibly for the entire ITT.

Note that live radio streaming should be available throughout the race.

Tour de San Luis: Diaz victorious atop Alto el Amago.

Tour de San Luis: Quintana remaining calm.

Dombrowski enjoys early test at Tour de San Luis.

Cavendish pays tribute to Gaviria’s track speed.

Talk: Tejay van Garderen.

Bernaudeau confident Europcar team will survive.

Tour Down Under: Porte wins atop Willunga Hill.

Richie Porte took the final madcap dash up Willunga Hill on Saturday to win stage 5 and take the overall lead at the Tour Down Under. Rohan Dennis will wear the leader's ochre jersey into Sunday's final stage.

2015 Tour Down Under LIVE.

Stage 5 start time: Friday 11:10 CDT (4:40 PM PST);
Earliest live video: 11:30 CDT (5:00 PM PST);
Approximate finish: 15:02 CDT (8:32 PM PST).

Tony Martin: The harder the penalty for dopers, the better.

Three-time world time trial champion Tony Martin has said that he is pleased with the UCI and World Anti-Doping Agency’s decision at the beginning of January to introduce tougher bans for riders who test positive, saying that he believes “the harder the penalty [for dopers], the better.”

The German was speaking at the Etixx – Quick-Step pre-season training camp in Calpe, Spain, and having recently endorsed a draft bill in Germany that aims to make doping a criminal offense, was encouraged that a variety of stronger punishments existed for varying doping offences, and not only for riders.

“I’m really happy that it’s been made the law now in Germany, it’s a big sign for the anti-doping fight,” he told Cycling Weekly.

Amgen Tour of California announces 2015 teams.

The Amgen Tour of California revealed the teams invited for its 2015 race, May 10-17. Organizers announced Friday that the field has been increased to include 18 international and domestic teams to contest the eight-day race that will cover nearly 700 miles of California’s roadways, highways, and coastlines.

Eight top-ranking UCI ProTeams will lead the pack, including Tinkoff-Saxo, whose sprinter Peter Sagan will return to California to try to add to his race record of 11 stage wins.

“I have had some of my best results at the Amgen Tour of California, and I want to return every year because it just gets better and better,” said Sagan, who won the 2014 sprint competition. “The sprint competition will be tougher than ever because of all the talent this year, but I’m hoping to wear green again in the Golden State!”

Von Hoff captures stage 4 win at Tour Down Under.

Australia’s Steele Von Hoff timed his sprint to perfection to win the fourth stage of the Santos Tour Down Under in the South Australian town of Mount Barker on Friday.

Von Hoff, riding for the local UniSA team, overpowered his rivals to win by a clear bike length from South African Daryl Impey and Dutchman Wouter Wippert.

Recently crowned Australian road race champion Heinrich Haussler left his run just too late, finishing fourth for his IAM Cycling team as the rest of the peloton trailed in after a mass pileup 150 meters from the line.

Rohan Dennis kept the ochre leader’s jersey, seven seconds ahead of teammate Cadel Evans with Dutchman Tom Dumoulin a further two seconds back.

Impey, who gained a time bonus in the intermediate sprint, jumped six places in the overall standings and is now 13 seconds behind Dennis in fourth.

Rough start to 2015 for Craddock after crash Down Under.

It was a rough start to the 2015 season for American Lawson Craddock, who crashed out of the Santos Tour Down Under on Friday.

The 22-year-old Texan ended up in a local hospital with broken bones after crashing heavily in the opening kilometers of Friday’s fourth stage.

According to Giant-Alpecin, Craddock suffered a fractured wrist, sternum, and rib. He was transported to a local hospital, and is expected to spend at least the night under the care of Australian doctors.

Haussler looking to final stage of Tour Down Under: "I still have a good chance for victory.”

Already first in the Australian road race championships, fifth in the People’s Choice Classic and eighth and fourth on stages of the Santos Tour Down Under, Heinrich Haussler believes that he should be in the running for what would be his second win of the new season on the final leg of the WorldTour race.

Haussler was fourth in Friday’s bunch sprint at the end of stage four and is determined to improve on that when the race concludes.

“The legs are good and once again not much was missing to get the win,” he said. “But sprints in cycling will never be an exact science. Sunday I still have a good chance for victory.”

Formolo: Racing the Giro d’Italia would be a dream.

Davide Formolo is starting his second season on the WorldTour but he is already widely regarded as one of the sport’s top future climbers. Cyclingnews caught up with the 22-year-old at the Cannondale-Garmin team launch in New York City in January where he spoke about his new start under Jonathan Vaughters’ team, his dream of winning the Giro d’Italia, and getting to know his idol and new teammate Ryder Hesjedal.

Formolo had already visited New York for 10 days earlier in the off-season with his girlfriend. The pair roamed the city as tourists taking in the sights from the Empire State Building and visiting Times Square, Ground Zero and Central Park.

Nairo Quintana ‘naturally suited’ to Tour’s mountains.

Nairo Quintana is warming up for the Tour de France racing the ‘small’ Argentinean climbs at the Tour de San Luis. He aims to become Colombia’s first Tour winner in July, which could be easier for him since his family lives at 9800 feet.

“He has the watts, the VO2, and all you need to be a grand tour star, but what sets him apart and gives him his advantage is that he grew up and lives in Colombia, and his parents come from a place higher than 3000 meters [9800 feet],” team Movistar coach, Mikel Zabala told VeloNews.

Tour Down Under: Rohan Dennis wins in Paracombe.

Daily Distractions.

Video: Highlights of von Hoff's victory on stage 4 of the Tour Down Under.

Landis: LeMond’s anti-doping stance on Lance Armstrong lacks consistency.

Floyd Landis has questioned Greg LeMond’s consistency surrounding Lance Armstrong and doping bans, telling Cyclingnews that “inconsistent treatment of riders who doped is troubling and undercuts LeMond’s argument that Armstrong should be banned for life.”

“And for those who still have faith in the Indurain years, consider LeMond's comments last year that Pantani was one of the greatest ever. I think that should speak for itself. His wildly varying positions on different dopers are bizarre and indefensible. Greg needs to decide if he’s anti-doping or anti-Lance.”

Landis, who is in the midst of a US whistleblower legal suit, also told the website that the roles of Dr Geert Leinders at Rabobank and at Team Sky, and the alleged conduct of the Scientific Advisor and UCI doctor Mario Zorzoli raises series questions over the credibility in the running of the sport.

BMC re-signs Samuel Sánchez.

The BMC Racing Team today announced it has signed former Olympic champion Samuel Sánchez for the 2015 season. The Spaniard had a strong season in 2014 with the team, taking sixth overall in the Vuelta a España and fifth at Il Lombardia, but was unable to come to an agreement with BMC at the end of the season.

His agent had been in contact with Lampre-Merida and other teams, but the year ended without a deal, and he was facing an uncertain future in the sport. Sánchez said he was happy to finally settle back in with the American squad.

The Right Race, The Wrong Time?

It’s testimony to the Tour Down Under’s improved status that we’re no longer debating whether it’s a bike race or a glorified training camp. It’s a race and if you don’t find it compelling, no worries, it’s not compulsory to love the Tour Down Under any more that you should get excited by the GP de Montréal or the Tour of the Basque Country.

But there’s a problem with this new found status as a serious race: it’s too early. The World Tour starts in January but vanishes in February.

Dennis shows off his Tour de France potential Down Under.

Big rides only raise expectations. BMC Racing’s brass are so impressed with their young Australian prospect Rohan Dennis they have already penciled him in for a possible Tour de France start this summer.

Up first is an hour record attempt February 8 in Switzerland, but BMC has big plans for the 24-year-old from Adelaide.

“We’re not going to throw him into the Giro this year,” BMC general manager Jim Ochowicz told VeloNews Friday morning. “After his hour record attempt, he’ll step back a bit, and we’ll ease him back into racing with some stage races. We’ll see about the Tour, but he’s on our long list.”

Winston-Salem eyed as USOC cycling training site.

Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has been picked as a possible home for an elite national cycling training site, according to a report in the Winston-Salem Journal.

Kevin Loughery, a spokesman for USA Cycling, confirmed to the newspaper on Thursday that a 42,000-square-foot building in Winston-Salem would be the site's centerpiece. The site, which Loughery said is in the "pre-approval stage" of being designated a US Olympic Committee training site, would feature indoor training equipment, a sports nutrition program and temporary housing for USA team cyclists and coaches, according to the report.

Down Under: With The Fans.

There are so many things that make the Tour Down Under one of the best World Tour races of the calendar to visit – from the amazing scenery to the quality racing but the TDU wouldn’t be the race it is today without the amazing fans.

David Pearce played the fan on Stage 4 and caught up with some of the crowd that make that atmosphere happen.

Here’s What We Know So Far About SRAM Wireless.

SRAM Red? No …SRAM Force? No …SRAM … wait, where are the cables? If you have taken a glimpse of the “select” bikes inside the Ag2r camp at the 2015 Tour Down Under, you likely had the same thoughts we did — that being, SRAM’s back at it, testing its long-awaited electronic group in the pro ranks. Some of the latest developments at SRAM can quickly be inferred from the photos by our shooter at the race, Yuzuru Sunada, as well as the so-called spy shots making the rounds on social media this week.

Fully wireless shifting has been a working project for over a year since it was last spotted at the 2014 Tour of California. It was being tested then, and WorldTour team Ag2r–La Mondiale is also testing it at the 2015 TDU. But during this go-around SRAM has done away with the wires we saw in California, which were likely fakes to confuse competitors.

DaveMoulton: Opting out of the system.

Cadel Evans: Love him or hate him, the show’s almost over.

Rasmussen testimony implicates Mario Zorzoli, UCI’s chief medical officer.

Leinders handed lifetime ban by USADA for doping offenses.

LeMond on Armstrong: ‘If anybody deserves a lifetime ban, it’s this guy’.