Rafael Valls jubilant after winning 2015 Tour of Oman.

Spanish climbing specialist Rafael Valls experienced the greatest moment of his career in winning the Tour of Oman on Sunday as Matthias Brandle clinched the sixth and final stage.

Valls, who seized control after winning the feature stage of the race, the climb to Green Mountain on Friday, finished with a nine-second advantage over American Tejay van Garderen, while Alejandro Valverde was third overall, 19 seconds adrift.

Tour de France champion Vincenzo Nibali finished in the top 20, more than three minutes off the pace.

Tejay van Garderen rues lost opportunity in Oman.

Tejay van Garderen wanted to race stage 5 of the Tour of Oman on Saturday despite the peloton’s protest over extreme temperatures.

Canceling the stage deprived him of precious training miles and his chance to win the overall classification, he said.

“What’s safe to ride in and what’s not safe to ride in. … There definitely needs to be some sort of standard,” Van Garderen told VeloNews.

“We’ve ridden though some gnarly stuff in the past. Whether or not yesterday. … Well, I won’t go there. I’m trying to be politically correct.”

Hutarovich makes it three in a row, Chtioui wins overall.

Yauheni Hutarovich underlined his status as the fastest sprinter in the Tropicale Amissa Bongo when he took his third win in three days on the final stage of the race.

It was even a 1-2 for the Bretagne team as his teammate Daniel McLay was second ahead of Morgan Lamoisson while Rafaa Chtioui won the race overall after having taken the lead with a solo win on the opening day.

2015 Internationale Sluitingsprijs CX Oostmalle: Results ...

Wout van Aert Solos to Victory at 2015 Oostmalle.

Wout van Aert  finished off his season with a solo victory at the 2015 Internationale Sluitingsprijs Oostmalle, a day after winning at the Clay Cross Lebbeke.

Van Aert crossed the line with time to spare, hoisting his Colnago in the air after a tough day’s racing, having clawed his way back from a crash early on, apparently breaking several spokes which could have ended the day right there.

Kevin Pauwels finished second, dragging it out to the line with newcomer to the Elites, Laurens Sweeck, who put in an impressive show.

Iserbyt wins junior race in Oostmalle.

Belgian beats Dutchmen Van Der Heijden, Groot and Wolsink.

2014-15 Races & 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),

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

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

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

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 ...

Research & Development.

"TOUR tested the tires’ rolling resistance. They found significant differences, but downplayed them by saying that the difference would “only” amount to 138 seconds in a 40 km time trial.

That got me thinking: First of all, more than 2 minutes in a time trial is a huge difference. When I raced, 10 seconds over 10 km made the difference between first and fifth place. Could the faster tires have made me a consistent winner?"

Extreme conditions and rider safety concerns cause neutralization of Tour of Oman stage.

Sandstorm, rider strike snuff stage 5 at 2015 Tour of Oman.

Vuelta a Andalucia: Lobato scorches to victory on final stage.

Juan José Lobato won the final stage of the Vuelta a Andalucia with a powerful sprint finish on the slightly uphill finale at Alhaurín de la Torre.

The Spaniard ripped away with 400 metres remaining to overhaul late attacker Edward Theuns and he comfortably held off John Degenkolb to claim an impressive victory, his second stage win of the race.

Chris Froome finished near the front of the splintered bunch and so successfully defended his two-second GC lead over Alberto Contador to claim final overall victory.

Chris Froome wraps up title at 2015 Ruta del Sol.

Chris Froome won the Ruta del Sol on Sunday as Juan Jose Lobato claimed his second stage victory of the week.

Froome held a two-second advantage over Alberto Contador and ensured he was in no danger by edging towards the front of the peloton during the sprint finish that ended the 169.8km ride from Montilla to Alhaurin de la Torre.

Froome clinched his victory by finishing sixth on the day in the same time as Contador, who crossed ninth.

Benat Intxausti took third overall at 2:38.

“It couldn’t have gone any better for us out here, and this win is special as it’s my first race of the season,” said Froome.

Lotto Soudal’s André Greipel took his first win of the season in the stage 5 bunch sprint to close out the 2015 Volta al Algarve on Sunday.

He crossed the finish line in the Portuguese town of Vilamoura ahead of Tom van Asbroeck and Raymond Kreder.

Geraint Thomas finished in the main field and sealed his overall win at this year’s edition of the race ahead of world champion Michal Kwiatkowski by 27 seconds and Tiago Machado by 1:11 minutes.

Wiles wins Women's Tour of New Zealand title.

American rider Tayler Wiles, racing for the US national team, won the overall title at the Women's Tour of New Zealand upon the stage 5 conclusion on Sunday.

Her teammates enjoyed the fruits of their efforts after a tough week of racing by sweeping the overall podium with Megan Guarnier taking second and former winner of the event, Evelyn Stevens, taking third.

Gilbert ready for the classics after second place in Hat Var.

On the strength of a runner-up finish in Sunday's final stage, BMC Racing Team's Philippe Gilbert placed runner-up overall to Ben Gastauer at the Tour du Haut Var.

Gilbert followed up his third place in Saturday's rain-soaked stage with second place behind Luka Mezgec in the 194.7-kilometer race that was run under sunny skies and warmer temperatures. He also took home the points classification title of the two-day race.
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Cult Energy abandon Haut Var after thieves empty team truck.

Danish team Cult Energy were forced to abandon Haut Var today after thieves broke in to their truck overnight and took everything. Fabian Wegmann had finished fourth on yesterday’s first stage in the south of France.

In a statement on their website the team confirmed Wegmann wouldn’t be taking the start of today’s 195km stage that starts and finishes in Draguignan.

Once shunned, Greg LeMond returns to biking world and road to success.

Froome seizes overall lead at Vuelta a Andalucia.

Daily Distractions.

The Secret Pro: Let the season begin!

It's been a couple months since we've heard from The Secret Pro as an intense early-season race program have kept him rather busy.

In this instalment, he speaks about how the riders feel about racing in the Middle East, the Hour Record, disc brakes, Lance Armstrong, Oleg Tinkoff and tells some of the young cowboys in today's peloton where they stand.

Kreuziger looks to focus on racing as he awaits CAS appeal.

Almost eight months have passed since Roman Kreuziger was pulled from Tinkoff-Saxo’s race program when the UCI notified him that he was under investigation for anomalies in his biological passport.

While he’s been able to race since September, when he was cleared by his native Czech Olympic Committee (CAC), he must compete with the uncertainty of an appeal hanging over his head.

Chris Froome vs. Alberto Contador.

Bratwurst and black forest cake. It wasn’t that long ago that riders showed up overweight and unfit for the early season races in southern Europe.

Jan Ullrich got mocked for burying his face in a Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte rather than chewing the handlebars over winter. The German had plenty of company as he huffed and puffed his way around the likes of Andalucia and Murcia.

These days Chris Froome and Alberto Contador turn up lean and mean for their very first race of the season, a fierce battle that picked up from last year and promises more for the coming weeks and months.

It’s not just the story of the riders, the recent Vuelta a Andalucia included two summit finishes that would have been unheard of a decade ago, marking the evolution of early season races as they compete for attention.

Track Worlds: Australia’s Edmondson wins omnium, Meares wins keirin.

Australia’s Annette Edmondson secured the world title in the women’s omnium at the UCI Track World Championships on Sunday in Paris. The all-rounder won three of the six rounds and accumulated 192 points, beating Great Britain’s Laura Trott by 16 points and the Netherland's Kirsten Wild by 17 points.

France secured five gold medals, the most of any of the participating countries, during this year’s Track World Championships. Bryan Coquard and Morgan Kneisky contributed to that tally after winning the madison world title with 21 points, one point more than Italy’s Liam Bertazzo and Elia Viviani, and six points more than Belgium’s Jasper De Buyst and Otto Vergaerde.

Meares makes history with 11th world title.

Australian sprint queen Anna Meares has become the most prolific women's track cycling world champion in history by claiming her 11th gold medal at the UCI Track World Championships in Paris.

The 31-year-old Australia won gold in the keirin on Sunday at France's new national velodrome.

Dutch rider Shanne Braspennincx took the silver and Cuba's Lisandra Guerra was third.

Meares went to the front of the group of five with a lap to go and was simply too strong for her rivals.

Track World Championships Day 4: Gaviria secures gold in men’s omnium.

Colombia's Fernando Gaviria secured the world title in the men’s omnium upon its conclusion in the points race during Day 4 at the UCI Track World Championships in Paris on Saturday. The 20-year-old secured a total of 205 points to win the title over the six rounds, beating Australia’s Glenn O’Shea by 15 points and Italy’s Elia Viviani by 24 points.

Dutch rider Kirsten Wild won the world title in the women’s scratch race beating Australia’s Amy Cure and Canada’s Allison Beveridge. The race wasn’t without controversy as French rider Pascale Jeuland was relegated to last place for moving into another rider’s lane during the final sprint.

Bookshelf: “Fast After 50”.

The aging process is something none of us can avoid, but with the help of Joe Friel and his book ‘Faster After 50′ we might be able to fight off the degeneration or at least understand the process.

There is good news; Friel advises on strength training to stop age-related loss of muscle mass, overtraining, advanced training and the importance of rest and recovery.

Podcast: Guests - Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer; Rody Walter from Groovy Cycleworks.