CyclingFans: Friday's Volta a Catalunya Stage 5 departs Ascó La vostra energia at 12:05pm CET (7:05am U.S. Eastern) and is expected at the finish at Manresa at around 5:00pm CET (12:00pm U.S. Eastern). Volta a Catalunya live streaming video is scheduled to get underway by around 3:45pm CET (10:45am U.S. Eastern).

CyclingNews: Guarnier tops Neben in women's.

VeloNation: Six man break animates closing kilometres.

VeloNation: Start continues as planned, riders facing another tough day.

Volta a Catalunya - March 19-25 (Stages & results),
Tour de Normandie - March 19-25 (Stages & results),
Vuelta Mexico  - March 18-28 (Stages & results),
Gent - Wevelgem - March 25 (Start list),
Trofeo Alfredo Binda - March 25 (Start list),
E3 Prijs Vlaanderen - Harelbeke - March 23 (Start list),
Coppi e Bartali March - 20-24 (Stages & results),
Dwars door Vlaanderen - March 21 (Results),
Milan-San Remo - March 17 (Results),
Amgen Tour of California - May 13-20 (Stages ),
More...

CyclingNews: Sevilla retains overall lead.

PodiumCafe: Sunday is such a good Classics day! Over in Belgium, there's Gent-Wevelgem, but the big women's race of the day is Round 2 of the Road World Cup - the Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio. It may not have cobbles, but it has lots of hills, and always explosive racing.

RBAction: Widely regarded as the unofficial start to the domestic cycling season, the Redlands Bicycle Classic in Redlands, California begins today and runs to the 25th. The race is one of the most hotly contested events of the season.

Cyclocosm: For a guy who made obsessing over aerodynamics and other tech geek foibles into the development and marketing norm in the sport, Gerard Vroomen is surprisingly attuned to the sloppy, cut-and-run realities of professional bike racing.

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.

Bicycling: Six common causes of crashes—and some tips on how to avoid them.

TwistedSpoke: Strange turns to bizarre in Spain and Catalunya, the only professional bike race ranked Hors Silliness.

CyclingFans: Thursday's Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali Stage 3, departs Friday's Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali Stage 4 departs Pavullo at 12:00pm CET (7:00am U.S. Eastern) and is expected at the finish at Pavullo at around 4:05pm CET (11:05am U.S. Eastern). There is no live television coverage but photos and videos as available.

CyclingNews: Benedetti remains in leader's jersey.

VeloNews: The 2012 classics campaign did not start the way BMC Racing would have liked. The team’s new superstars — Thor Hushovd and Philippe Gilbert — were out of the running for the season opener at Milan-San Remo. Hushovd didn’t start while Gilbert crashed on the Cipressa.

InnerRing: A UCI official has a giant construction project with plans for Europe’s tallest building that’s in trouble with the city authorities. Months later the UCI awards the world championships to the same city. Is there a link?

VeloNews: It’s a Belgian WorldTour race featuring the renowned cobblestone climbs of the Kappelmuur and Kwaremont — and a race where former winners Fabian Cancellara and Tom Boonen will again be the pre-race favorites.

BrowneEye: As the date for the US Pro championships gets nearer I have a feeling that this will be the last time Greenville will host the race. The race has been in the Southeast for seven years and prior to that in Philadelphia ever since they handed out professional road race national championship jerseys.

CyclingNews: Two months on from his horrific crash in the opening stage of the Tour Down Under, Lotto-Belisol's Jurgen Roelandts is still several weeks away from a return to racing and is yet to receive the all clear from his doctors. The 26-year-old Belgian suffered a fractured vertebrae in his neck and a clogged blood vessel in his brain following a spill with multiple riders in Adelaide.

BikeRumor: The Ventus II gets 15% lighter than the original. The revised base bar has shaped recesses for the arm rests to keep them from rotating out of line, and the handhold shape is modified and gets new grips to prevent slip.

RBAction: Riding at high speed in the draft of a scooter simulates the speed and intensity of racing. But unlike racing, the rider has full control over the workout’s duration and intensity. Most of the top European professionals motor pace multiple times per week to train their ability to pedal a big gear at a high cadence—something you can’t do without either racing or motor pacing.

BikeRadar: Cardo Systems, known for their wireless Bluetooth communication systems for motorcycle helmets, offer a new model called the cardo BK-1, a communication and entertainment system designed cyclists.

Breaks leg...

SBS: Wife, Carole, confirmed to this morning that her husband, regarded as one of the best leadout riders in the world, would be out of cycling for at least three months, possibly six, ruling him out of an eighth Tour de France and a fifth Olympic Games.

 

CyclingFans: Friday's E3 Harelbeke (E3 Prijs Vlaanderen - Harelbeke) departs Harelbeke at 12:00pm CET (7:00am U.S. Eastern) and is expected at the finish at Harelbeke at around 4:49pm CET (11:49am U.S. Eastern).  E3 Harelbeke live streaming video should get underway at around 2:45pm CET (9:45am U.S. Eastern).

CyclingNews: Legendary French rider Jeannie Longo has been included in the France pre-selection squad for the London 2012 Olympics, despite her advancing years and the doping controversies that have plagued her and her husband over the last few months.

VeloNation: Spanish round of the competition cancelled due to lack of funding.

Today's Quote

“I hope they don’t do like last year. It’s never been my tactic to just follow one guy. Of course, if you give Fabian five seconds, it’s hard to get it back, but I’m not going to be the guy who is always behind him. If he attacks I’ll have to follow him, but I’m not a guy like [Filippo] Pozzato, always following.” - Philippe Gilbert VeloNews

Tour De José: 23 riders who were part of Geox-TMC, the procontinental team that would almost certainly have promoted to WorldTour-status in 2012 if Geox hadn’t withdrawn as main sponsor?

Bicycling: Centuries and all-day spins are pure joy when you follow these tips.

BikeRadar verdict: 4 out of 5 stars. "The complete home workshop package."

Bicycling: What you wear shapes how you ride. Here are some of our favorite garments for any two-wheeled adventure.

CyclingIQ: Since departing his native Australia for China in 2006, former urban planner and velophile Shannon Bufton has honed his considerable energy into bringing the bicycle back to Beijing. Last weekend, he went all out; unveiling a new high-end bicycle exhibition, Beijing Bike Week, from within the capital city’s opulent Jingbao Mall.

BikeRadar verdict: 2.5 out of 5 stars. "Impressive on paper but let down by its retention system."

VeloNation: Says Belgian ‘rode with the sword of Damocles over his head.’