CyclingFans: Sunday's Tour of Flanders departs Brugge at 10:00am CET (4:00am U.S. Eastern) and is expected at the finish at Oudenaarde at around 4:22pm CET (10:22am U.S. Eastern).  Tour of Flanders live streaming video should get underway at around *12:00pm CET (6:00am U.S. Eastern). *Sporza will be LIVE at the race start in Brugge from 9am CET through the official start, then again at 12:00pm CET with pre-coverage commentary.  Other feeds are expected to go live at around 12:20pm CET (6:20am U.S. Eastern), and still others a bit later.

InnerRing: What’s the biggest one day race of the year? The World Championships? The Olympic road race? There’s plenty to say this Sunday’s Tour of Flanders is the biggest and the best. A combination of the route, the prestige, the history and the roadside crowds make this race unmissable.

VeloNews: For a rider who has won the Tour of Flanders just once, Fabian Cancellara carries a heavy burden of expectation heading into Sunday’s race.

Boonen cleans slate ahead of Flanders.

VeloNews: “I’ve won a lot, but it’s wrong to say that there’s less pressure,” the Belgian said. “Every race you do is important. Though it’s nice to have these wins, you have to forget everything you’ve done the week before and race the best you can.”

PodiumCafe: I was going to call this "who will win?", but the power of the jinx is strong, and I am bound to be wrong anyway! But as I said in my course preview, EVERYONE in the women's peloton wants to win Flanders, but there's only space for one on that top step. So who are the likely contenders?

PEZ: The Tour of Flanders is tough enough to have ensured that no rider has ever won it more than three times - and there have been only four who have managed it. One of those riders was an Italian, Fiorenzo Magni.

VeloNation: Race becomes more difficult in 2012.

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: The Men’s category of Stage 5 of this year’s Absa Cape Epic was again won in a sprint finish by the unbeatable South African–Swiss duo of Burry Stander and Christoph Sauser (Team 36ONE-Songo-Specialized), in a time of 5:06:45 (overall 25:26:48).

VeloNation: Agreement signed in China, UCI’s licence commission to make final decision.

BikeRadar: Today, Oakley launched the fourth member of their Switchlock collection of interchangeable-lens eyewear with the introduction of a new Radarlock model, which will arrive in stores beginning this summer.

road.cc: Good pedals offering comfort, efficiency and decent grip, but they're only worth the investment for regular and long-term flat pedal users.

CyclingFans: Saturday the Volta Limburg Classic departs Eijsden at 12:00pm CET (6:00am U.S. Eastern) and is expected at the finish at Eijsden at around 5:00pm CET (11:00am U.S. Eastern).  Volta Limburg Classic live video streaming should get underway at 3:00pm CET (9:00am U.S. Eastern); there may also be a live feed at the start as the race gets underway.

VeloNation: Multi-billion Euro energy company to power team for next three years.

Launched in Belgium...

road.cc: The seatpost and the main frame are separate. Spartacus himself has been heavily involved with the design process, and the bike "specifically addresses the challenges of rough road conditions found throughout the spring classics courses with a collection of key innovations unlike any available before today", according to Trek.

CyclingNews: The Tour of Flanders may be less than 48 hours away but Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Nissan-Trek) still found time to show Cyclingnews his new Trek Damone bike.

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.

CycleSport: BMC was the richest team in cycling, and they looked like the strongest team for many of the Classics. It’s fair to say that this weekend was a big target, if not a culmination of the team-building project that started last year.

Cyclismas: “It is much disappointing for me to see Mario stealing mine and Nibali’s essence after the two of us have such a grandissimo start to 2012,” shared a despondent Pozzato. ”After much suffering at Katusha, I am happy to be back in the breasts of Italy. I thank Angelo Citracca for making me comforted.”

Bicycling: This week Trek debuted its Domane, a bike built for rough roads such as those found in the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. But Specialized—which arguably created the category in 2004 with its Roubaix—is continuing to tweak the line.

BikeRadar verdict: 4.5 out of 5 stars. "Great race bike ride from one of the best frames available at this price."

 

Peloton: Clear skies and warm temperatures are forecast for this Sunday’s Ronde van Vlaanderen, the Tour of Flanders, and it’ll likely be dry for next week’s Paris-Roubaix, too. It’s not supposed to be like this.

Today's Quote

“There’s no engine, there’s just something to give you a bit more comfort.” - Fabian Cancellara CyclingNews

CycleSport: With just two days to go until the Tour of Flanders, we look at how the new route reflects the changing face of cycling as a sport.

VeloNews: The portrait of the Flandrian sometimes takes on more political, historical, or social accents. “Cycling, for us, was originally a way to lift ourselves socially,” Godefroot said. “At 16, I worked 57 hours a week as a carpenter, and I did two four-hour rides in addition.

CyclingIQ: As professional road cycling continues to spread its global wings, it has been fascinating to witness the number of Asian, Australian and Kiwi cyclists breaking into the top echelon of professional road cycling; sometimes via quite long and convoluted pathways. Today, Cycling iQ looks at where “home” is for Asia’s top riders.

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!

CyclingWeekly: Mark Cavendish announced on Thursday night that he will fund three annual scholarships for promising sportspeople on his native Isle of Man.

EuroSport: the Yorkshire Grand Depart bid for 2016 is really going ahead — with representatives from the Amaury Sport Organisation earmarked to visit Yorkshire in May (just when the rain will no doubt return) to study the proposed route. Of course, no decision will be made for quite some time — Corsica's 2013 Grand Depart, after all, was not confirmed until fairly recently.

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

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. 

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.