Wednesday's Volta a Catalunya Stage 3 departs La Vall d'en Bas (Sant Esteve d'en Bas) at 11:15am CET (6:15am U.S. Eastern) and is expected at the finish at Port-Ainé at around 4:57pm CET (11:57am U.S. Eastern). Volta a Catalunya live streaming video is scheduled to get underway by around 3:45pm CET (10:45am U.S. Eastern).

VeloNation: Race leader surprises the leaders with as the final climb decimates the peloton.

Volta a Catalunya - March 19-25 (Stages & results),
Dwars door Vlaanderen - March 21 (Start list),
Milan-San Remo - March 17 (Results),
Tour de Normandie - March 19-25 (Stages & results),
Vuelta Mexico  - March 18-28 (Stages & results),
MTB World Cup Cross Country #1 March 16-18 (Races & results),
Gent - Wevelgem - March 25 (Start list),
E3 Prijs Vlaanderen - Harelbeke - March 23 (Photos),
Coppi e Bartali March - 20-24 (Stages & results),
Amgen Tour of California - May 13-20 (Stages ),
More...

Press Enterprise: Continuity may well be the defining characteristic of this year’s Redlands Bicycle Classic, the 28th edition, which begins Thursday. The men’s and women’s overall winners from 2011 return, facing the same four-day format, run over the same courses as a year ago.

VeloNation: ‘There are real cowboys… Nowadays the guys take too big risks.’

Today's Quote

“I’m far from being the best climber, far from being the best sprinter, far from being the strongest guy on the road… You become more tactically astute from not being the strongest guy there, so you really have to learn how to race, and learn how to be clever to win the races. You’ve got to learn tactics.” - Simon Gerrans CycleSport

Spaniard firms as favorite for overall honors.

VeloNews: “I concede that the second leaves me with a more bitter taste in the mouth than in 2011,” Cancellara told DHnet.be. “After 300 km, there is always a chance against a rider who is not a pure sprinter. Obviously, if I had eyes in the back of my head, I might have quickly realized that I was taking the Australian behind me, in an armchair, to victory. On the other hand, I was also obsessed with the possible return of a larger group, which was never more than a few seconds behind us. I would not have done all this work for nothing.”

BikeRadar: Close to two-thirds of Specialized-lululemon will race in the Olympics this summer. By any measure, that’s a clear estimation of a ‘dream team’ and it’s exactly the caliber team Specialized-lululemon have assembled.

road.cc: Featuring Gilbert's BMC, Greipel's Ridley, Cav's wheels and all sorts of other racing goodness.

road.cc: You've had the iPhone version, now for the wider Android market.

BikeRadar verdict: 4 out of 5 stars. "Slightly heavy, but its smoothness, precision, power transfer and aerodynamics make it worth buying now and upgrading later."

BikeRumor: Few companies do as good a job as Crank Brothers at creating products that not only fulfill needs, but meet (or create) desires as well. Crank Brothers’ new Pixl, Pica, and Pica+ premium multi-tools have been desired by everyone that we’ve shared them with- but how do the sleek design and cool features translate into on-trail performance? And do they justify the added cost?

CyclingFans: Race starts at 11:40am CET (6:40am U.S. Eastern). Finish at around 4:30pm CET (11:30am U.S. Eastern). Live video from 2:20pm CET (9:20am U.S. Eastern).

CyclingFans: Wednesday's Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali Stage 2a, the morning stage, departs Gatteo at 9:15am CET (4:15am U.S. Eastern) and is expected at the finish at Gatteo at around 11:37am CET (6:37am U.S. Eastern).  The afternoon 2b stage, also at Gatteo, is a 14.9km Team Time Trial.  It is scheduled to get underway at 3:30pm CET (10:30am U.S. Eastern).  There is no live television coverage but  photos and videos as available.

CyclingNews: Breakaway sticks as peloton mis-times the catch.

CompetitiveCyclist: Needless to say, we were bummed by last week's announcement that the Competitive Cyclist Racing Team wasn’t chosen for the Tour of California. But we still have a huge amount of respect for the phenomenon AEG has created with the race. Outside of the Tour de France, it's the most important race to the American bike industry. So while we would've loved to take part this year, we'll derive plenty of benefits from the week just the same.

CyclingNews: Yoann Offredo has said that his one-year suspension for three violations of the whereabouts system was too severe, although the FDJ-BigMat rider has accepted that it was not unjust to sanction him for the offence.

CyclingIQ: In 1992, when Cannondale was still a US-based manufacturer, it established a trading company in Japan to source Shimano components and bicycle parts for export back to Cannondale’s assembly factories in America and Europe. A few years later, a domestic sales function was added, which meant Japanese consumers could buy Cannondale “direct” from the subsidiary. [Note: Cannondale Australia was the next subsidiary formed, in July 1996].

Mary McConneloug & Mike Broderick: "Getting there is half the fun" was not a phrase coined on a trip that started out with back-to-back overnight flights. This is certainly the case with our current travels from our winter home in Northern California to the exotic lands of South Africa.

BikeRadar: Oakley has climbed aboard the London Olympic bandwagon with special edition Team GB models of their Radar and Flak Jacket shades.

BikeRumor: Black Sheep showed up with one of the craziest bikes at the show.  This 36″ wheeled monstrosity nabbed them the award for best experimental bike.  They also took home best tig construction.  Not to shabby.

Off The Beaten Path: 650B wheels have been in the news lately. 650B appears to be the “next big thing” for mountain bikes. The popular 700C mountain bikes (“29er”) don’t offer the nimble handling you need in technical terrain – the same result we found for wide 700C tires on the road. For 2013, several big makers are introducing 650B mountain bikes.

"I have a little bit of a break period," Horner told Cyclingnews. "I have a little problem behind the knee that I'm resting up. It's just a tendon below the hamstring that was sore from Tirreno-Adriatico. I'm waiting for that to heal. That will give me a week's rest that I wasn't planning."

VeloNation: Says finishing line closer to Poggio could boost safety and drama.

TwistedSpoke: After his fabulous — Chris Horner’s favorite word — fabulous 6th place performance in Milan San Remo, we ask the question: is Master P back?

"If there were one word to describe the beginning of my season, I would have to say it was “adversity.” In a sport that is all about planning and preparation, where we pay attention to every detail, analyzing our training schedules, our race programs, in search of the perfect combination to help us reach peak form when it matters the most, it can all go awry faster than you can imagine."

PEZ: George Hincapie (USA & BMC) has ridden Milan-Sanremo 16 times, with two top ten finishes – in 1999 and 2001. This year he finished 33rd at 20 seconds.

Crew-neck semi-fitted T with contrast colored stiching detail. Finely printed T shirt front, rear, and sleeve, and '10 commandments of spin' badge. Cotton elastane single jersey, enzyme-washed for that super-soft, worn feel.

Ted King: In a thick Italian accent, the shout cuts through the metallic drone generated by 150 drivetrains: “Ow-toe!” That’s “auto,” one of many alerts we racers use to tell each other that, somehow, a car has gotten onto the course.

TwistedSpoke: Excellent ventilation, light weight, personalized fit and safety certifications aren’t the driving reasons to select the Whisper Deluxe. Those factors are givens in this price range. What draws us to the Catlike is the distinctive visual style. In that respect, the Whisper Deluxe makes quite a loud statement.

BikeRadar: The last six and a half years have not been exactly easy for bikes in the Big Easy. Efforts to make the city more bicycle friendly have been hard fought, however, New Orleans is seeing improvements. And just recently the town known for food, music, and a party atmosphere was awarded the League of American Bicyclists’ bronze level status for bike friendliness.

RedKitePrayer: On Saturday, you learn that a five-year-old can chew the nozzle-end off your best water bottle while watching morning cartoons and pulling the heads off every action figure in the house. Further, you relearn that mother nature does NOT care that you have to be at the meet up in ten minutes, nor that you’ve already put your jersey on over your bibs, zipped it up and added a vest.

VeloNation: Seven wildcards awarded to Professional Continental teams for WorldTour race.