CyclingNews: The San Dimas Stage Race will kick off its 13th year on Friday, and while last year's elite winners Ben Day and Amber Neben will not be on the start line, both fields are packed full of talent, guaranteed to provide intense competition.

TwistedSpoke: John LeLangue, the head man at BMC Racing, used the term to describe the media froth around whether his classics star Philippe Gilbert was ready for MSR. Gilbert wasn’t a big factor in Het Nieuwsblad, failed to make an impression at Strade Bianchi and pulled out of Tirreno-Adriatico with a fever. Three strikes and you’re a daytime Italian TV show.

VeloNation: Italian Omega Pharma-Quick Step sprinter the fastest man left in Flemish semi-classic after final kilometer crash.

The departure of the Milano Sanremo is in the middle of Milano, at Castello Sforzesco.

Milan-San Remo - March 17
Paris - Nice (Stages & results),
Tirreno-Adriatico - March 7-13 (Stages & results),
Tour de Taiwan - March 10-16 (Stages & results),
Amgen Tour of California - May 13-20 (Stages ),
More...

VeloNation: Spanish event aiming to follow in wheeltracks of Etape du Tour.

CyclingNews: Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) has debuted at second place overall in the UCI WorldTour rankings after winning Tirreno-Adriatico. RadioShack-Nissan top team.

VeloNews: It appears we may now have a name for the new classics-oriented Trek frame ridden to a win by Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Nissan) at the Strade Bianche in early March. The most recent version of the UCI’s approved frames list includes a series of newly approved Trek road frames: the Domane 1, 2 and 3.

Bicycling: Paris-Nice is the first major stage race of the professional cycling season. Held over six road stages and two individual time trials, the 70th edition saw Great Britain’s Bradley Wiggins of Team Sky hold off stiff competition to win the prestigious race.

Today's Quote

"Life goes on whether you win or lose for sure. So I'll try to relax tonight and then in the morning as the race approaches, hopefully I'll remain calm and easy." - Chris Horner CyclingNews

CyclingFans: March 14, Belgium Race starts at 12:15pm CET (7:15am U.S. Eastern). Finish at around 4:45pm CET (11:45am U.S. Eastern). Live video from 3:00pm CET (10:00am U.S. Eastern).

BicycleRetailer: Girl Bike Love’s CycloFemme, a day celebrating women in cycling, is already catching on.

Pedal: The Whistler Mountain Bike Park will be opening its first lift-accessed alpine mountain bike trail to riders this summer. The alpine trail named “Top of the World” will be accessible from the Peak Chair at the summit of Whistler Mountain and will lead riders into the Garbanzo Zone of the Whistler Mountain Bike Park. The opening of the new trail will increase Whistler Mountain Bike Park’s vertical by 1,091 feet bringing the total vertical to 4,946 feet. With over 60 trails and 4,946 feet of vertical Whistler Mountain Bike Park offers more trails and more vertical feet than any other bike park in North America.

CyclingIQ: Today’s fifth stage covered 136.05 kilometres, with a pair each of intermediate sprints and KOM points. Lee Rodgers (RTS Racing Team), having gambled on a lengthy, but ultimately fruitless, break during stage four, once again broke away with Tanha Saeidi Abbas (AZAD University Cross Team) almost immediately after leaving the neutral zone behind.

Cyclismas: The Twitter, Facebook, and blogosphere backlash following the announcement of participating teams for this year’s edition of the Amgen Tour of California was refreshing, if only for its misguided naiveté. The largest share of comments seemed to revolve around how RadioShack-Nissan could be in the same UCI race with their “supposed” development squad, Bontrager-Livestrong. After all, aren’t they the junior development team for RadioShack-Nissan?

VeloNews: Heinrich Haussler (Garmin-Barracuda) likely won’t be making many of the lists of top favorites for this weekend’s Milan-San Remo. Second to Mark Cavendish in a photo finish in 2009, Haussler has suffered through two frustrating, injury-plagued seasons.

BicycleRetailer: Vietnam’s basic infrastructure can be a nightmare for manufacturers and suppliers. Specialized, until recently, had some 50,000 aluminum frames built at the Astro factory near Ho Chi Minh a city of more than 8 million people. Astro would then ship the frames to Merida’s Taiwan factory for final assembly. Specialized is again shifting production, building its 24-inch bikes at a new Asama factory in a Cambodian industrial zone near the Vietnam border.

Bicycling: A race-oriented geometry that still suits many women’s anatomical needs with a more-upright stance. Fit is paramount to achieving an efficient riding position.

BikeRadar: If you take your bike on holiday with you, the right bag or box can make the difference between it arriving safely or in several pieces. Here's our pick of the best travel cases we've tested so far this year.

BikeRadar verdict: 4 out of 5 stars. "Great value for a whole lot of wind-cheating, eye-catching carbon."

BikeRadar: The wheels sit squarely in the affordable ‘trail’ category, costing US$550 (€465) for the set, which comes with a 15mm through front hub (adaptable to 9mm quick-release) and choice of either 135mm QR or 142mm through axles for the rear; yes it is a choice and not convertible. SRAM complete the set with wheel bags, rear skewer for the QR version, and a rubber tubeless conversion kit.

SingleTrack: Mountain biking gets overshadowed in the victory salute department. There are a few riders who style it up, but most times it’s a celebratory “It’s a stick up.” Sometimes it’s even just best to keep hands safely on the bars to ensure an untimely rock doesn’t assist with a victory face plant.

The Daily Distraction.

NYTimes: For years, physicians and scientists have been aware that statins, the most widely prescribed drugs in the world, can cause muscle aches and fatigue in some patients. What many people don’t know is that these side effects are especially pronounced in people who exercise.

InnerRing: As usual, without a pedal being turned there’s satisfaction for some squads but disappointment and frustration for others. I won’t analyse every team’s chances but the invitation of Bontrager-Livestrong and the non-invitation of Team Type 1 are worth evaluating.

CyclingNews: The American, who has twice medalled at the cross country world championships, sat out the season, got married in the fall and then gave birth to her daughter Raven Starr Rockwell on December 31. Now she is trying to make the comeback of a lifetime as she returns to racing and pursues her Olympic dream.

BikeRadar: With one-piece bar and stem combos the rage in Europe, and catching on in the US, Ritchey Logic offer their new MonoCurve system, which is available for sale, now.

VeloNews: When consumers hear about an upcoming product, they stop buying the one that is currently available. That creates a dangerous situation for manufacturers, because they are doing R&D work on the next generation of products before the current one is even fully released. Leaks hurt sales of products already on the showroom floor, but they can also force the hand of the leaked company’s competitors.

CyclingIQ: Merida Industry Co., Ltd, Taiwan’s second largest bicycle manufacturing company after Giant Manufacturing Co., Ltd, is now actively pursuing entry to the Tour de France. But first, the brand needs a team.

road.cc: Great tires for autumn, winter and early spring rides, giving a secure, comfortable ride, and should prove highly puncture resistant. But if you do get a flat, you'll need a good back-up plan

CXMagazine: Before bike frames were made of aluminum, titanium or carbon, there was steel. New materials and designs have taken center stage but there are some who still prefer the time-tested alloy. There was no better place to browse the many ways frame builders are currently using the material than at this year’s NAHBS in Sacramento.

road.cc: Surprisingly capable repair kit in an attractive design, but not markedly better in performance than traditional types.

The freedom..the challenge..the passion..the pursuit of a great coffee. We simply call it THE WHEEL REVOLUTION.
Crew neck t-shirt, Printed graphic on front and back and embroidered badge on sleeve. Cotton jersey with peached finish for that super soft and worn feel.

road.cc: Goodies from SRAM & Zipp, but no sign of road discs here.

The Amgen Tour of California has, in its seven year history, become one of the most important races for the North American teams, and sponsors expect to see their logos on the California roads each May. However, when a team fails to be invited, it can mean lost prestige, lost sponsors and in a worst case scenario, the end of the team entirely.