Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Preview.

The cobbled classics start this weekend with Saturday’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, a 200km introduction to Flanders with all the classic ingredients from bad weather to great fans.

Some races are held to promote tourism but this is so grim the images must put people off visiting Belgium but the rough conditions make the race all the better.

Omloop-what?

Omloop is Dutch for a loop, a circuit race.

The race was created in 1945 and was named the Omloop Het Volk but the Het Volk newspaper was merged into Het Nieuwsblad. Het Nieuwsblad is a newspaper whose name literally translates as The News Sheet.

Emma Johansson and Tiffany Cromwell Preview Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

Omloop het Nieuwsblad marks the start of the women’s road season in Europe.

The Australian summer of racing followed by the Tour of Qatar provided a glimpse of what we might expect to see over the cobbles and climbs of Flanders.

The race on Saturday is the first of the spring classics, a series of mostly one-day races in Belgium and Holland.

These races typically take place on historic courses that have been used for decades. The spring classics are well-known for bad weather and tough road conditions that combine to make some of the most challenging races of the season.

Van Avermaet targets classics for ‘big win’.

Greg Van Avermaet is hoping to hit the replay button on the 2014 season, but change those oh-so-close podium places for outright victories.

Last year was a breakthrough season for the 29-year-old Belgian on many levels.

For the first time in his career, BMC gave him outright leadership duties in the northern classics, and he delivered some incredible rides.

Second places at Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) and the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad don’t quite haunt him; instead they are evidence that he’s on the right track, and he’s intent on stepping up even higher on the podium this spring.

Saturday’s Omloop will see Van Avermaet return to form in the race where he announced his arrival with aggressive racing, only to be out-dueled by Ian Stannard in the finale.

Voigt hired as ambassador for Tour of California.

AEG, the organizers of the Tour of California, announced today that retired racer Jens Voigt has been brought on as an ambassador for the race, allowing him to continue his involvement in the sport after having competed in all nine previous editions of the race.

Voigt will be a member of the race's management team, providing input into the race operations, as well as acting as an on-air analyst for the live coverage of the race on NBC Sports.

He will also have a daily segment on the live Tour Tracker and take part in the events prior to the start of the race in Sacramento and in the awards ceremonies after the stages.

UCI adjusts Richmond worlds courses, announces schedule.

The UCI announced Friday that several modifications have been made to the 2015 world road championship courses. The under-23 and junior races will now face the 23rd Street climb, which will also be a selective feature in the men’s and women’s elite races.

Additionally, a slight modification has been made to the road race course in downtown Richmond. Racers will now turn left at Main and Belvidere streets to head to Broad Street before returning to Main Street at 2nd Street.

The start venue has been changed for the team time trial, from Rocketts Landing in Henrico County, near Richmond’s downtown, to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Henrico County, just north of Richmond.

The shift showcases one of Richmond’s iconic landmarks, along with the Richmond National Battlefield Park, already featured in the original course.

2015 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad LIVE.

Race starts Saturday at 11:35am CET (5:35am U.S. Eastern)

Finish at around 4:38pm CET (10:38am U.S. Eastern)

Live video from 1:30pm CET (7:30am U.S. Eastern, 4:30am Pacific).

2014-15 Races & Results.

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Elite - Feb 28 (Start List),

Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne - Mar 1 (Start List),

Paris Nice - Mar 8-15 (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),

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

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

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).

More ...

Chad Haga, Giant-Alpecin’s resident pianist.

Chad Haga plays piano in the evening, between stages at the Dubai Tour, tinkling away in the lobby until the staff asks him to stop. The piano is not actually for playing, they say.

He has a degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M. He’s a vocal proponent of the Oxford comma. He’s shy, as so many grammar aficionados are, preferring to train alone with his thoughts or a podcast.

Freakonomics and the TED Radio Hour are just the ticket, he says, for a long spin through foothills of the Pyrenees.

Haga is not a typical professional bike racer.

Classics: Sud-Ardeche preview.

While most of the cycling world will have its eyes firmly on the cobbles in Belgium, another group of riders will be preparing themselves for the upcoming stage races and the Ardennes classics in a pair of French one-day races.

The Classic Sud-Ardeche and the Drome Classic offer the riders a perfect chance to test themselves on hilly courses that make them very similar to the later one-day races and provide some of the key contenders with a chance to gauge their form ahead of Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico.

Where to watch pro cycling in the U.S. this year.

Rohan Dennis said watching Dekker’s hour record attempt was nerve racking.

Astana talking with lawyers after UCI request license withdrawal.

The Astana WorldTour team are now in talks with their lawyers after the UCI issued a statement today recommending that their license be revoked.

The UCI’s recommendation still needs to be applied by the License Commission - who awarded Astana their license in December - but if they agree with the report then it could see the team excluded from the WorldTour in the next two weeks.

“We are fully mindful of this and were informed of the decision late yesterday.

We have been consulting with our lawyers and we will issue a full statement later this afternoon,” the team said when contacted by Cyclingnews.

The team added that they will work with the relevant authorities in the coming days.

UCI requests withdrawal of Astana Pro Team license.

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) announced Friday that, “after careful review of an extensive report produced by the Institute of Sport Sciences of the University of Lausanne (ISSUL) on the Astana Pro Team,” the international federation strongly believes that the audit “contains compelling grounds” to refer the matter to the License Commission and request that Astana’s Pro Team license, which is required to be considered a WorldTour team, be withdrawn.

The audit of Astana’s anti-doping culture, policies, structures, and management systems was one of the conditions attached to the controversial registration of the team in the 2015 UCI WorldTour, announced in December.

The ISSUL audit sought to determine whether, and to what extent, Astana team management was responsible in doping cases concerning its riders Maxim and Valentin Iglinskiy (EPO) and Ilya Davidenok (anabolic steroids), the latter a trainee with Astana since August 1, 2014.

Kessiakoff says Astana mistreatment cut career short.

The weather in Stockholm is terrible for a bike ride.

Wet, heavy snow is melting on the ground and the air is cold and humid. But that is of no concern to Fredrik Kessiakoff. He lives in Monaco, but he’s here for job meetings, and to visit his parents.

He doesn’t own a road bike and hasn’t touched one since last October, when he quit.

When he was at his peak, the 34-year-old Swede could compete with the very best. Kessiakoff won a time trial in the Vuelta ahead of Alberto Contador and Chris Froome, dueled with Thomas Voeckler over the polka dot jersey in the Tour de France, and beat Fabian Cancellara in a Tour de Suisse time trial.

That was in 2012. The two years since have been all struggle and no results.

It is not until now, when he is no longer under contract with the Astana team, that he reveals exactly how hard it has been.

A brief history of Astana scandals.

The team’s sponsor, a group of Kazakhstan businesses that took the name Astana after their nation’s capital, joined in at the behest of home cyclist Alexandre Vinokourov and Dr Daniel Akmetov the former president of the Kazakh Cycling Federation.

Vinokourov convinced Astana to take over sponsorship of his Spanish Liberty Seguros team after they were implicated in Operación Puerto doping investigation mid-way through 2006.

Why I ride: Chloe Hosking on memories made and friendships gained.

"I get asked a lot of questions as a professional cyclist. One of the most common is why do I ride?

Today — more than 10 years after I first jumped on a bike to ride around the roads of Canberra with my Dad and after having raced professionally in Europe for six years — the answer I give is definitely different from when I was 12, 18 or even 22.

Yes, I ride my bike because I love to win bike races, but in a sport where you’re lucky to win more than five races a year (I won three in 2014) there has to be more that keeps you driven and loving riding your bike."

How I Overcame My Eating Disorder.

Like most females, my relationship with my body has not always been positive.

Growing up, I was never a waif, but more of a “sturdy” girl, even a bit chubby.

In high school, I grew into my body and more importantly, a bit more comfortable in my own skin. I was still on the heavy side, but I had found field hockey, and ran track. I was a good athlete, fast on the field, and a reliable assist or scorer on the front line. I rode my bike everywhere. Life was good.

I got vigilant about what I ate - or more accurately didn’t eat.

My weight dipped close to 100 pounds. My hair started falling out. My teeth were corroding

Then I almost died.

Top Ride: Ghisallo-Sormano on Lake Como.

"One of my favorite rides in recent memory, and possibly ever – was a loop from Bellagio, up the Madonna del Ghisallo, then the Colma di Sormano, and back along the shores of lake Como to my base at Il Perlo Panorama.

Like most Top Rides, a few factors converged between the roughly three hours it took us to ride the 52.1km loop, gain almost 1900 meters of elevation, and lose around 800m of it in one scenic but nailbiting descent to the lake:
• a new route – discovering new terrain is always a good way to spend time on the bike
• gorgeous terrain with the right amount of challenge
• a good crew – riding with people I’ve never met means the chance to make some new friends."

2015 Kuurne Brussels Kuurne LIVE.

Sunday's Race starts at 12:00pm CET (6:00am U.S. Eastern)

Finish at around 4:40pm CET (10:40am U.S. Eastern)

Live video from 2:30pm CET (8:30am U.S. Eastern, 5:30am Pacific).

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

Stuff from SRAM, Birzman, Osprey, Castelli, CrankTip, Kitsbow and more.

Daily Distractions.

Armstrong and CIRC: Questions were limited, reduction in lifetime ban thought unlikely.

Although Lance Armstrong recently gave the impression that he was fully cooperative with the Cycling Independent Reform Commission, telling the BBC that he gave full details in two meetings with the independent body, it appears that version of events may be misleading.

“I have met them twice, they have asked me not to go into details, but everybody knows I have met with them, so that is not a secret,” he told the BBC in a long interview broadcast at the end of January.

“I think it’s safe for me to say that whatever questions they asked, I told. A lot of it is out there. So I don’t know if there’s a whole lot out there left, but I was totally honest, and I was totally transparent.”

However CyclingTips understands that the impression given is a misleading one.

According to multiple sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Armstrong’s lawyers imposed strict controls on the questions that CIRC was able to put to the Texan.

BSNYC Friday Fun Quiz!

In the News: Vaminolact infusions discovered in Meeusen’s camper.

Het Nieuwsblad reports that Belgian cyclocross star Tom Meeusen is suspected of taking injections of Vaminolact, an infant medication.

According to reports, doping investigators found the infusion materiel in his camper.

Like fellow countryman Laurens Sweeck, Meeusen would face a two-year ban if the allegations are confirmed.

Although Vaminolact is not a banned substance, injections are.

On Thursday, Meeusen’s lawyer, Stijn Debaene, denied that his client had taken infusions. Meeusen is also linked to Dr. Chris Mertens, who is being investigated in Belgium for allegedly providing ozone therapy to top athletes.

Report: CAS reduces Ballan suspension by five months.

Alessandro Ballan has had his two-year ban, for the use of ozone therapy, reduced by five months by the Court of Arbitration for sport, according to the Italian website Tutobiciweb.

The decision allows Ballan to return to racing by August 17 this year, should he find a team.

While he refused to discuss the ruling, he said that he had been in talks with teams as he looks to make his comeback.

“I do not yet know parts of the judgment, also because my lawyer Fabio Pavone is involved in hearing,” Ballan told the website. “I will reserve the right to comment at a later time on the CAS decision.

I can confirm, instead, that I have the will to return, although in August it will not be easy. I'm still in touch with some teams and I never stopped training because I have always believed in a return."

Philadelphia Cycling Classic to shorten men's and lengthen women's race.

New organizers of the Philadelphia International Cycling Classic, G4 Productions, are putting the final touches on the newly upgraded women's World Cup and the men’s UCI 1.2 events that will be held on June 7 in Pennsylvania.

Robin Morton, the event’s technical director and a founder of G4 Productions, noted that some of the changes to the this year’s races included lengthening the women’s race and shortening the men’s race.

The races will follow the same course design as it has during the previous two years with the start-finish line at the top of the circuit’s main climb on the Manayunk Wall, and follow a 19.2km circuit that includes climbs over Lemon Hill, Strawberry Mansion and flat sections along Kelly Drive.

Yvonne McGregor interview: On the Hour record, Sarah Storey and Bradley Wiggins .

Yvonne McGregor is in an expansive mood. She’s off on a yoga retreat, she has just run her first 5km in forever without her lungs collapsing and her sports therapy business keeps her flat out.

But we have finally found the time to talk about one of the defining achievements of her glorious, if brief, career: the Hour record.

This Saturday, Sarah Storey, Britain’s most successful female Paralympian, will make her own attempt on that fabled record, using it as part of her preparation for the Paracycling track worlds at the end of March.

Storey is competing in the race as she was invited by the organizers.

Why did McGregor do it? “It was after I won the Commonwealth Games points race in 1994,” she says. “It was one of my first defining moments as a cyclist and at the end of that season I really looked at myself as world class.”

She laughs and adds in her rich Yorkshire burr: “I was a little kid from Bradford, how did that happen?!”

GP Lugano preview.

The hilly GP Lugano is like a typical Italian one-day race and should see a big fight between the strongest climbers and the fast finishers who can survive the many climbs on the course.

Switzerland has a rich cycling history and the country has always hosted some of the biggest races on the calendar.

The Tour de Suisse and the Tour de Romandie are among the best stage race and for several years, the Meisterschaft von Zürich was part of the World Cup.

However, the latter race has now disappeared from the calendar, meaning that there are very few major one-day races left in the Alpine country.

New company offers probiotics product for endurance athletes.

Sound Probionics is a new brand founded by two endurance multi-sport athletes, whose first product is a probiotic designed to help endurance athletes stay healthy during heavy training and competition.

The product contains eight probiotic strains designed to target the needs of those who train and/or race regularly. It also includes Beta-Glucan, a "prebiotic," said to work as a catalyst with the other strains to increase their effectiveness.

Fix It Sticks Replaceable Edition – Review.

"The Fix It Sticks Replaceable Edition has become a team favorite.

Because we are often on the road with new bikes that were quickly fitted, having the ability to make small adjustments on the fly makes life that much easier.

But more than that, at least one editor has added the Replaceable Edition to their personal saddle bag (usually preloaded with the 3, 4, 5MM Hex plus the Torx-25).

Having that extra bit of torque can really make the difference between ending a ride early and making sure you get to go the distance."