Armstrong to ride in Livestrong event.

Lance Armstrong is getting back on his bike, this time to raise money for the charity he founded and was later pressured to leave.

Armstrong has set up a fundraising team for the Livestrong Challenge ride in Austin in October.

It will be his first return to the event since 2012. Armstrong registered for the charity ride and made a $6,420 donation on Feb 2.

He also set up a "Lance & Friends" team that has drawn several longtime Livestrong ride participants and has surpassed $10,000 in total funds raised.

Tour of Oman: Valls wins on Green Mountain.

Rafael Valls claimed victory atop Green Mountain on stage four of the Tour of Oman, to take the leader’s jersey along with his first professional win in five years. He also took the race leader's red jersey.

The Spaniard got the better of some high-calibre climbers, including Tejay van Garderen and Rafal Majka who were second and third respectively. It was Valls' first win since taking the tough stage to Mirador de los Funes at the Tour de San Luis in 2010.

Van Garderen underestimates Valls at Tour of Oman.

For the second consecutive year, Tejay van Garderen found himself as the runner up on the Green Mountain stage of the Tour of Oman.

The American looked despondent as he crossed the line just moments behind Rafael Valls after the Spaniard attacked him inside the final kilometer to take the win and the race lead.

After ridding himself of the race favorites, van Garderen thought that he was home and dry and admits that he didn’t consider Valls as a real challenger.

“I was hoping for the victory. I was feeling good all day and my team was superb on the last climb,” he said at the top of Green Mountain.

RIP Claude Criquielion.

Former World road champion Claude Criquielion lost his last battle and passed away on Wednesday morning at only 58 years old.

There was so much more to Claudy than that crash in Ronse.

The death of Claude Criquielion was announced in a simple text message from Ian Whitehead who lives in Gent; ‘Claudy has died.’

During the night of 15/16 February 2015, Criquielion suffered a stroke and was hospitalized in critical condition; he died at 9:00 am on 18 February 2015 in the hospital in Aalst, Belgium of a severe brain hemorrhage.

2014-15 Races & Results.

Tour of Oman 2015 - Feb 17-22 (Stages & Results),

Vuelta a Andalucia - Feb 18-22 (Stages & Results),

Women's Tour of New Zealand - Feb 18-22 (Stages & Results),

UCI Track World Championships - Feb 18-22 (Stages & Results),

Volta ao Algarve - Feb 19-23 (Stages),

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

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

Vuelta a España 2015 - Aug 22-Sept 13 (Stages),

UCI Road World Championship 2015 - Sept 20-27 (Stages),

UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships - Jan 31-Feb 1 (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 ...

News Shorts: SmartStop headed for Dominican Republic.

Meintjes claims white jersey in Oman, Woods shines for Optum at Algarve.

Armitstead and Vos headline first women’s Strade Bianche.

Lizzie Armitstead and Marianne Vos will come head to head at the inaugural Strade Bianche as organizers announce a preliminary list of starters

Strade Bianche organizer RCS Sport has announced an impressive list of starters for the inaugural women’s elite race on March 7.

The race will depart just hours before the men’s race and will see rivals Lizzie Armitstead and Marianne Vos come head to head in the one-day race.

Tour of Oman 2015 Live Dashboard.

Saturday's Tour of Oman Stage 5 departs Al Sawadi Beach at 11:35am local (8:35am CET, 2:35am U.S. Eastern) and is expected at the finish at Ministry of Housing at around 3:27pm local (12:27pm CET, 6:27am U.S. Eastern).

Tour of Oman live video streaming is possible.

Clean Energy Patch delivers caffeine boost through the skin.

XEP, Inc. is introducing a skin patch designed to deliver a natural caffeine boost to athletes.

The Clean Energy Patch contains homeopathic ingredients that the company said "create a balanced 'hum' that many find preferable to the 'spike' or 'buzz' delivered by energy drinks and energy shots."

The company said the patch is a solution for athletes who have difficulty ingesting caffeine during intense workouts, due to cramps, jitters and nausea.

To use, the athlete applies the adhesive patch just like kinesiology tape and wears it for up to eight hours. Removal of the patch gives immediate control over the process.

Procycling's top 10 moments from 200 issues.

2015 Tour of California route announced.

Kristoff grabs Oman stage 3 win as Cancellara keeps GC lead .

Still work to do before Milan-San Remo defense, says Kristoff.

Van Garderen confident ahead of decisive stage in Oman.

Vinokourov resigns from ambassador role in Almaty 2022 Olympic bid.

Alexander Vinokourov has resigned from his role in Almaty’s 2022 Winter Olympics bid, according to reports.

The London 2012 gold medallist and Astana team manager was listed as an ambassador on the bid’s website, but has since been removed, with a spokesperson telling insidethegames that he was only part of the application phase.

Almaty 2022 bid vice-chairman Andrey Kryukov told the website earlier this week that Vinokourov, who served a doping ban after testing positive in 2007, had served his punishment and that they believe in second chances.

Vinokourov’s second chance seems not to have lasted long, however, with his role in the process – a role that was never properly established – coming to an end.

Contador beats Froome in exciting duel on the Hazallanas.

For months, the cycling world has been looking forward to the Vuelta a Andalucia which was expected to be the scene of the first big battle between Chris Froome and Alberto Contador.

Today the highly anticipated duel finally took place and no one was left disappointed by the show.

Alberto Contador dealt Chris Froome an important moral blow when he won the highly anticipated first mountains battle between the two grand tour stars.

The Spaniard attack with 8km to go of the Alto de Hazallanas after a perfect acceleration by new teammate Ivan Basso and even though Froome gradually got going after a poor start, the Brit had to settle for second, losing 19 seconds to the race leader.

Volta ao Algarve: Tony Martin wins time trial.

Tony Martin edged out Adriano Malori by the narrowest of margins to clinch a first time trial win of the season on stage three of the Volta ao Algarve.

The German took 21:51:071 seconds to complete the 19km course from Vila do Bispo to Sagres, beating the Italian by just four tenths of a second.

Geraint Thomas’s greatest hits… and misses.

While his British cycling peers have grabbed the limelight, Geraint Thomas has been quietly building up an enviable set of results in the past decade.

Not only has he built up a respectful personal palmares, he has also contributed heavily to other riders’ results: the Welshman is the consummate team player, willing to sacrifice his glory for the good of the team.

Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish have reached household name status, Thomas is – perhaps barring his native Wales – still largely and bafflingly unknown outside of cycling.

The double Olympic champion has remained down to earth and his sense of humour is enjoyably intact, as his many self-made video diaries will confirm.

Horner's Airgas-Safeway teammates motivated by veteran's presence.

While Chris Horner has grabbed all the headlines and been the focus of most of the talk surrounding the Airgas-Safeway team this year, his young teammates have been preparing for their own 2015 campaigns with the second-year Continental team that began as the D3devo development program.

The addition of Bart Bowen as a full-time director will provide two experienced hands to guide the young riders through this season, when they hope to transition from being satisfied with making the major breakaways to putting themselves on podiums at some of the big US races.

Horner's presence on the team this year appears to have genuinely lifted the morale and the envisioned opportunities for the entire program, and Horner has fit right in with the team, despite being old enough to have children who are closer to them in age than he is.

Contador and Froome set for battle on Vuelta a Andalucia's first mountain finish.

Alberto Contador, Chris Froome and other top stage racers are set to tackle the Vuelta a Andalucía’s most difficult climb, the Hazallanas, today in stage 3 of the race - on what is by far the hardest ascent of the early part of the 2015 season.

Fortunately - and contradicting earlier forecasts - the weather is unexpectedly good in Andalucia today, sunny and clear and with almost no wind.

But that will not make the 16.9 kilometre Hazallanas ascent, last tackled in the Vuelta a España 2013, with segments of 22 per cent and an average gradient of 12 per cent, any easier.

Hour record holder Dennis almost quit cycling last year.

Just hours after 24-year-old Australian Rohan Dennis stood atop the podium to claim the general classification title at the Santos Tour Down Under (TDU) in Adelaide, Australia last month, his former Garmin-Sharp teammate Nathan Haas told VeloNews Dennis had contemplated walking away from the sport while on a phone call with the fellow Aussie just a year earlier while both still rode for Garmin.

According to Haas, who now rides for the merged Cannondale-Garmin team and was a heavy pre-race favorite at this year’s TDU after finishing fifth in 2014, the conversation took place a day or so after Dennis crashed out of the Australian road nationals in the men’s elite individual time trial after he was swept off the bike by a sudden crosswind.

The crash left Dennis both physically and mentally bruised and battered.

2015 Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista del Sol LIVE.

Saturday's Vuelta a Andalucia/Ruta del Sol Stage 4 departs Maracena at 11:00am CET (5:00am U.S. Eastern) and is expected at the finish at Alto de Las Allanadas (La Guardia de Jaen) at around 3:45pm CET (9:45am U.S. Eastern).

Ruta del Sol live streaming video should get underway at around 2:15pm CET (8:15am U.S. Eastern, 5:15am Pacific).

Five-a-side: This week's new bike gear.

A bevy of box-fresh gear from Norco, POC, Azonic, Fizik and Clarks as well as clever kit from Shimano, Lusso, Juin Tech, Compressport and No Such Thing.

Trott’s four-year unbeaten team pursuit run comes to an end.

Daily Distractions.

Doping in decline so technology now matters - Vaughters.

Years of scepticism towards scientific and technological innovation have been wiped out recently as cycling has been recovering from major drugs scandals, according to former professional rider and now team manager Jonathan Vaughters.

"The skepticism regarding technological developments has eroded because in old cycling, in the end someone would say we can gain five watts in the wind tunnel if we exact your position and use the perfect skinsuit and use this special material or whatever... and then the team doctor says, yeah, but we can gain 50 by doping," Vaughters said.

Twisted Spoke: Boonen to consider Nosferatu theater role?

UCI pass Zorzoli investigation to CIRC.

The UCI have confirmed that they have passed their investigation into Dr. Mario Zorzoli to the Cycling Independent Reform Commission (CIRC) for review.

The doctor was suspended from his position as the Scientific Advisor and UCI doctor after allegations arose from the anti-doping investigation into Dr. Geert Leinders, who was handed a lifetime ban by a group of recognized anti-doping organizations for his role in systematic doping at the Rabobank team.

After confirming the suspension, the UCI stated that they would conduct their own investigation, run by their own internal legal team. However they did not specify how long Zorzoli would be suspended.

Women's Tour of New Zealand: Garfoot wins stage three.

Katrin Garfoot continued her return to form after a knee injury derailed the start of the season winning stage three of the Women's Tour of New Zealand from a eight rider front group.

First leader of the race, Megan Guarnier, was second  to continue Team USA's success at the race while Lauren Stephens was third.

Garfoot took out the women's Oceania time trial title last week which she followed up by placing third in the sprint for the road race and currently sits in third place overall with two stages to come.

2015 UCI Track Cycling World Championships LIVE - Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France.

The 2015 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, at Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France, are being held February 18-22. 

Day 3 live video starts at 6:50pm CET (12:50pm U.S. Eastern).

UCI says screening of Storey’s hour record attempt will be free and available worldwide.

The first female hour record attempt in many, many years will be free to view by audiences throughout the globe, with the UCI confirming worldwide coverage of Sarah Storey’s ride on its tv.uci.ch site and YouTube channel.

The governing body had already confirmed to CyclingTips that it would show the February 28 bid but clarified that situation in a statement issued today.

“We owe it to cycling fans worldwide to provide live coverage of Sarah Storey’s attempt on the UCI Hour Record,” stated UCI president Brian Cookson.

“She is an inspiring paralympic athlete, a valued member of the UCI Para-cycling Commission, and the first woman to go after this record since we modernised the rules in May last year.”

Gaviria set for Etixx tests as Lefevere talks about Cavendish's future.

Fernando Gaviria will undergo tests at the Bakala Academy next week as Etixx-QuickStep’s Patrick Lefevere steps up his pursuit of the Colombian sprinter.

Gaviria won two stages at the Tour de San Luis last month, beating Mark Cavendish in the process. A number of WorldTour teams immediately enquired about the future of the 20-year-old. Lefevere’s team were installed as the early favorites to sign the rider and the transfer has moved a step closer.

How to improve your VO2 max.

Ever heard of VO2 max but wondered what it was?

Everyone wants bigger lungs, right? Well, there’s good news and bad news, as Gary Mckeegan, physiologist and lecturer in sports science and coach with Dig Deep Coaching, explains.

“For adults, lung capacity is actually pretty static, but we can train to increase the efficiency of our capacity, as not all of the oxygen we inhale is actually absorbed by the body,” he says.

“The term ‘VO2 max’ refers to the maximal volume of oxygen that can be inhaled and absorbed by a body.”

Tour du Haut Var LIVE stream, Start List, News, Photos, Profile, Times.

The 2015 Tour du Haut Var is being held February 21-22. 

Full live coverage guide to come, with live streams, start times, etc. and photos and videos post-race.