CyclingNews: Sylvain Chavanel of Omega Pharma-Quickstep blasted his way to the win in the closing time trial of the Three Days of De Panne to take the overall title. Lieuwe Westra of Vacansoleil-DCM was a close second on the day, with Svein Tuft (GreenEdge) third.

VeloNation: Norwegian champion takes bumpy cobbled sprint and his first international pro victory.

Tour of Flanders - Women - April 1 (Start list),
Tour of Flanders - Men - April 1 (Start list),
Cape Epic - March 25-April 1 (Races & results),
Paris - Roubaix - April 8 (History),
De Panne-Koksijde - March 27-29 (Stages & results),
Volta a Catalunya - March 19-25 (Stages & results),
Critérium International - March 24-25 (Stages & results),
Tour de Normandie - March 19-25 (Stages & results),
Vuelta Mexico  - March 18-25 (Stages & results),
Amgen Tour of California - May 13-20 (Stages ),
More...

CyclingNews: Burry Stander and Christoph Sauser (36One-Songo-Specialized) successfully defended their lead in stage 4 of the Cape Epic on Thursday.  The race's defending champions also won the stage ahead of Kevin Evans and David George (360Life) by 44 seconds.  Hannes Genze and Andreas Kugler (Multivan Merida) followed in third at 2:41.

CyclingNews: Physical asset management company cleans, tracks 1000+ bikes.

VeloNation: Recovery from injury and Classics preparation highest priorities.

BikeRadar verdict: 3 out of 5 stars. "Solid, stable and smooth, but the non-remote resistance change is a pain."

The hood doubles as a helmet for the soft-headed. The soft-headed will like this one: Would have, should have, could have...hood have! Perfect for walking around the neighborhood, or receiving a knighthood, or even statehood. When you see it, you will likelihood (French). It is a real hood, not a falsehood!

Bicycling: Interval Training for Weight Loss.

"Sometimes with great rivalries, you can't have a great friendship because there is so much riding on the line for those involved that it's an uncomfortable situation to try to switch off and open yourself up to that person when you do need to beat them on the track."

VeloNation: The big names will be the favorites as usual but a new generation awaits.

VeloNews: BMC Racing lines up Sunday at the Tour of Flanders with a super-star squad loaded with potential winners, if not the weight of a disappointing start to the cobbles season. Alessandro Ballan won Flanders in 2007, while Philippe Gilbert and Thor Hushovd will be hogging the limelight as the team’s top current-day stars.

CyclingNews: George Hincapie can claim the record of most finishes in the Tour of Flanders if he crosses the finish line again on Sunday.The BMC rider will have finished the race 17 times.

While there are endless choices in technical riding kit, the question of what to wear after your ride was largely unsolved – until Après Velo founder Leonard Greis saw an opportunity and stepped up – creating a brand that has grown in just five years to present a distinct offering in casual tops and bottoms to wear... after your ride.

VeloNews: Ballan won Flanders in 2007 after victory in the Three Days of De Panne. BMC Racing plans for him to lead its Flanders team this year with Philippe Gilbert and George Hincapie.

BikeRumor: Announced earlier this year, we’ve finally got the low down on the new SRAM Grip Shift, and it’s a far cry from the twist shifters of yore.

CXMagazine: After a stellar 2011/2012 season that ended with one victory at Jingle Cross, but plenty of top ten finishes throughout the season, the recent college graduate is already hard at work prepping for road season.

 

VeloNation: Normal contract rules don’t apply due to complexities of case.

Today's Quote

"People do make mistakes and I think they should be punished. But they should be forgiven and given the opportunity for a second chance. We are human beings. Why should sports men and women get punished harder than people in the normal world?” - David Millar CyclingNews

CyclingNews: Mansilla had tested positive for EPO after stage 5 of the 2012 Tour of Chile in January, which he lead for eight stages and in which he won two stages. 

CXMagazine: “Belgium has been for nearly a century the epicenter of international professional cycling in the early spring race season, and the SPY Belgian Waffle Ride is an homage to the storied history and folklore of bike racing in that region, a tribute to the incredibly arduous competitions staged there, and a celebration of our cycling heritage as a brand,” says Michael Marckx, SPY president, CEO, and USA Cycling/UCI Category 1 bike racer.

Bicycling: Protect your noggin with one of these sweet lids.

CyclingNews: According to a press release from his team RusVelo, Kovalev was riding back from training at the Dunc Gray Velodrome outside of Sydney, when he was hit by a fast-moving car. He flew over the car's bonnet and hit the ground hard, but the driver did not stop.

VeloNews: I would recommend experimenting with a 27 or 28 cassette in training. See how it feels when you’re climbing hard on local hills. Then ride some rolling roads too. If you already miss the 16-tooth cog on your 11-26, you might not like the bigger gaps in the 11-28.

Off The Beaten Path: The main protagonist of the1956 dramatic edition of PBP was a young Roger Baumann. He rode the René Herse shown above through wind and rain, fought off a challenge from a late-charging Jean Lheuillier, and arrived back in Paris as the first of the single bikes. What a story!

RedKitePrayer: The world is full of cycling caps, and they are not all created equal. Walz makes their hats, by hand, in the USA. Whether or not their handmade-ness or their USA-ness are behind the quality and comfort of the final product is not for me to say. What I will say is that Walz makes a great cap.

VeloNews: Belgian network Sporza reported earlier in the day that the three-time and defending Scheldeprijs champion was a likely non-starter due to the impending birth of his daughter.