Paris-Nice: Greipel wins in Saint-Amand-Montrond.

André Greipel finished off the hard work of his Lotto Soudal team with a well played long sprint victory on the second stage of Paris-Nice in Saint Amond Montrond.

The German champion edged out French champion Arnaud Demare and John Degenkolb.

Michal Kwiatkowski held onto the yellow jersey, but Degenkolb pulled himself closer to the race lead with the time bonus, and is now third at three seconds behind Rohan Dennis.

Past Olympic and worlds silver medallist Larsson to attack hour record on Saturday.

In contrast to the well-publicized build-ups of the other riders who have attacked the world hour record, the Swede Gustav Larsson has announced just four days in advance that he intends to try to break the record on Saturday.

The 34 year old will make his attempt at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester as part of the program for the Revolution Series. He will begin his ride at 15.30 local time, and will attempt to break Rohan Dennis’ mark of 52.491 kilometers.

“I am very confident of breaking the Swedish hour record but it is the world record I am after” Larsson stated. “I think it will be possible – it will not be easy but I am feeling ready for the challenge!”

Chris Froome’s withdrawal from Tirreno-Adriatico shows ‘lack of respect’, says organizer.

Chris Froome‘s last-minute decision yesterday to skip Tirreno-Adriatico for a second consecutive year has angered race organizer RCS Sport, who said that Team Sky is showing a lack of respect.

“I wrote to Sky’s team manager, David Brailsford,” RCS Sport Cycling Director Mauro Vegni told La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper.

“I didn’t like that I had to find out the news about Froome’s withdrawal via various websites. At least they could’ve bothered to called me.

Emma Johansson: Bad luck, good legs and fighting to the finish at Strade Bianche.

"I had a really good ride at Strade Bianche. It’s funny to say that, but I did.

It was all smooth in the beginning. I felt really strong. I had been feeling really good in training last week, which was exciting building up to this race.

Things were to plan early. Not much happened until we came into the long section of gravel road. We knew position would be really important in this section, and I was top five over the first gravel hill.

I was exactly where I needed to be..."

Talk: Rudy Pevenage.

Rudy Pevenage was the man behind Jan Ulrich and guided him to a Tour de France win and many other successes, but let’s not forget he was a top rider in his own Pro career.

Not much has been heard of the man from Moerbeke recently.

Yes, that Rudy Pevenage, the guy who was involved in the Jan Ulrich controversies a few years ago. But surely there’s more to the man than that?

He rode in the pro peloton for 14 seasons; Ijsboerke, Capri Sonne, Del Tongo and Superconfex – some of the 70’s and 80’s best squads.

He held the yellow jersey in le Tour for nine days, he won the green jersey in le Tour, he stood on the second step of the podium in the Ronde Van Vlaanderen, Tour de Suisse – and The Tour of Scotland ‘Milk Race’.

NAHBS 2015, Part III.

While official numbers have yet to be released for this year’s North American Handmade Bicycle Show, the number of attendees and exhibitors was off from previous locales.

Given the winter storm that rolled through Louisville just ahead of the  event, it’s not unreasonable to surmise that the hazardous driving cut down on people rolling in from other nearby cities like Indiannapolis, Cincinatti and Lexington.

That exhibitor numbers were down seems to be a reflection of the fact that organizer Don Walker selected a city east of the Mississippi River for the second year running, and his home town for the fourth of 11 years.

This is the feedback I heard from several builder who chose not to pay for booth space, but also wanted to remain anonymous in their criticism.

2014-15 Races & Results.

Paris Nice - Mar 8-15 (Stages & Results),

Le Tour de Langkawi - Mar 8-15 (Stages & Results),

Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen - Mar 6-8 (Stages & Results),

Tirreno-Adriatico - Mar 11-17 (Start List),

Giro d'Italia 2015 - May 9-31 (Stages),

Tour de France 2015 - July 4-26 (Stages),

Vuelta a España 2015 - Aug 22-Sept 13 (Stages),

UCI Road World Championship 2015 - Sept 20-27 (Stages),

Strade Bianche - Mar 7 (Results),

Strade Bianche Women - Mar 7 (Results),

Le Samyn - Mar 4 (Results),

Le Samyn des Dames - Mar 4 (Results),

Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne - Mar 1 (Results),

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Elite - Feb 28 (Results),

UCI Track World Championships - Feb 18-22 (Results),

UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships - Jan 31-Feb 1 (Results).

More ...

2015 Paris-Nice LIVE.

Wednesday's Paris-Nice Stage 3 departs Saint-Armand-Montrond at 11:20am CET (6:20am U.S. Eastern) and is expected to finish at Saint-Pourcain-Sur-Sioule at around 3:45pm CET (10:45am U.S. Eastern).

Paris-Nice live streaming video should get underway at around 2:00pm CET (9:00am U.S. Eastern, 6:00am Pacific).

NAHBS 2015, Part IV.

Kent Eriksen Cycles has received an award for either best TIG welding or best titanium construction for each of the last four shows.

We saw stellar work from Quiring, Moonmen, Steve Potts and Kish; indeed the overall quality of TIG welding was stellar.

However, Brad Bingham’s work has few peers. There are few welders who can go toe-to-toe with this craftsman; Seven Cycles’ Tim Delaney is one of the only people I know of who could give him a run for his money.

Paris-Nice: Kristoff wins bunch sprint in Contres.

Alexander Kristoff cruised in to win the sprint of the first stage of Paris-Nice, easily leaving Nacer Bouhanni and Bryan Coquard behind him. The Norwegian had a clear bike length lead over this followers as he crossed the finish line in Contres.

John Degenkolb and Michael Matthews had picked up points at the first intermediate sprint early on, and the bonus seconds would have allowed them to take the yellow jersey with a stage win.

Degenkolb was the first to go in the sprint, however, he went into the wind too early and didn’t even finish in the top 10 on the day, but he did move up to fourth overall.

How “struggling” Tour of Ireland got Lance for free when other races paid $1 million fee.

The major new Cycling Independent Reform Commission report, published in the early hours of this morning, has set out in great detail the circumstances under which Lance Armstrong came to ride the Tour of Ireland pro race in 2009.

Why Have So Many Stars Gone to Tirreno-Adriatico?

It had all been looking so good for Tirreno-Adriatico. The “fantastic four” of Alberto Contador, Chris Froome, Vincenzo Nibali and Nairo Quintana were supposed to clash for the first time together in a stage race only for Froome to fall ill, while we were promised a sprint royale between Marcel Kittel and Mark Cavendish but the German’s got a virus.

Still even in the absence of Froome and Kittel the Italian stage race has a stellar startlist that trumps Paris-Nice by a variety of metrics, whether sheer anticipation or the cold logic of UCI points. Why?

UnitedHealthcare patches up Reijnen for KOM bid in Langkawi.

Reigning two-time Philly Cycling Classic winner Kiel Reijnen is poised to take the king of the mountains classification at Tour de Langkawi after a tough day of racing in stage 3 on Tuesday.

Reijnen, 28, suffered through a nagging knee injury, sustained in the closing kilometer of Tour de Langkawi’s stage 2, to claim KOM points on both categorized climbs, including the 1,982-foot (Cat 2) and 3,301-foot Titiwangsa (Cat 1).

Now, with five stages remaining and only a handful climbs for riders to challenge Reijnen’s 19-point advantage over nearest rival Natnael Berhane, the American may be a lock for the final mountains classification award come Sunday when the race finishes in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia..

Tour de Langkawi: Caleb Ewan takes stage and overall lead.

After the frustration of two second-place finishes in two days, Caleb Ewan finally managed to raise his arms on the line at the end of the third stage of the Tour de Langkawi, taking the leader’s yellow jersey in the process.

The 20-year-old Australian used the two categorized climbs in the first half of the 170km route from Gerik to Tanah Merah to dispose of the man who had bettered him on the two previous stages – Andrea Guardini – before outgunning Youcef Reguigui and Leonardo Duque in the finishing straight.

7 wild stories from the Cycling Union's report on doping.

A multi-year probe of doping in cycling has turned up some stunning evidence from the International Cycling Union that paints an image of the sport closer to the Tour de Frankenstein than Tour de France.

The three-member panel delivered their findings on Sunday, which contained startling accounts of how deep steroid, HGH, PED and masking processes went.

Many accounts centered on an apparent widespread usage of blood transfusions through European doctors to help cyclists get around testing. These are the most important stories from that report.

Cookson remains cool on Armstrong ban reduction.

If Lance Armstrong was hoping for some sympathy from the UCI for cooperating with CIRC investigators, he was wrong.

One of the carrots the UCI-sanctioned Cycling Independent Reform Commission (CIRC) dangled to potential witnesses was a possible reduction of preexisting bans, and Armstrong took the bait. But will there be a payback for two lengthy interviews that Armstrong conducted with the panel? UCI president Brian Cookson didn’t seem convinced.

“This is very much a matter for USADA. I’ve got no remit to reduce the ban of Lance Armstrong,” Cookson said Monday to a small group of journalists at the UCI headquarters.

“I have no desire to be the president that let Armstrong off the hook, or anything like that.”

No one 'credible' will say cycling is clean, but how do CIRC define credibility?

The commission say they could not find one credible person in the sport who would give cycling a clean bill of health, but whose views are given credibility?

Many well informed cycling fans will be scratching their heads, asking: “Is that all there is?” Some will be wondering where the €3m went.

A great deal of the information presented in the CIRC report could have been gleaned by anyone with a keyboard and a passing acquaintance with Google.

Patrick Gaudy killed by truck in training crash.

Sporza reports that Patrick Gaudy, a Belgian cyclocross racer, has been struck and killed by a truck while training in Walloon Brabant, Belgium on Tuesday.

The 38-year-old was found dead at the scene of the collision by emergency personnel.

Tour de Suisse offers a course for the climbers.

The 2015 Tour de Suisse offers 15,606 metres of elevation and a visit to the Rettenbach Glacier on the queen stage. The race covers 1,320 kilometres in nine stages from June 13-25, as the “perfect race preparation for the Tour de France for aspiring riders.”

Race organizers presented the course for this year on Monday. It will open with a 5.1km time trial in Risch-Rotkreuz. Climbing will start the next day, as stage 2 covers 174.5km and 1,547 metres climbing with start and finish in Rotkreuz.

There is even more climbing on tap in stage 3 from Brunnen to Olivone (174.5km, 2,547m), with the final climb coming only 6km before the finish line.

2015 Tour de Langkawi LIVE.

Wednesday's Tour de Langkawi Stage 4 departs Kota Bharu at 12:00pm local (5:00am CET, 12:00am U.S. Eastern) and is expected at the finish at Kuala Berang at around 3:43pm local (8:43am CET, 1:30am U.S. Pacific). 

Tour de Langkawi live streaming should begin at around 3pm local (8:00am CET, 3:00am U.S. Eastern).

‘Disappointed’ Froome to miss Tirreno-Adriatico with chest infection.

Daily Distractions.

Cross Nationals Qualification Criteria: Is It Fair, and Do We Need It?

Ag2r’s Lloyd Mondory positive for EPO.

Ag2r La Mondiale’s Lloyd Mondory has been advised of an adverse analytical finding for EPO from a sample collected on February 17, 2015, the UCI announced Tuesday.

The sample was taken in an out-of-competition control. The rider now has the right to request the analysis of a B sample.

Mondory has been provisionally suspended. He could face a four-year ban if the test results are confirmed. The new WADA code, enacted January 1, allows for the longer ban given the presence, use, attempted use, or possession of a prohibited substance or prohibited method by an athlete.

Darach McQuaid: “There was no backroom deal with Armstrong to ride Tour of Ireland.”

Organizer of the 2009 Tour of Ireland pro stage race, Darach McQuaid has rejected findings that Lance Armstrong only agreed to ride the race because his brother and then UCI president Pat McQuaid allowed him return to racing earlier than he was eligible.

McQuaid said the Cycling Independent Reform Commission (CIRC) making a link between Armstrong being allowed to ride the Tour Down Under in exchange for his agreeing to ride the Tour of Ireland “and showing actual proof” of that link were “two different things”.

The CIRC report published yesterday said Pat McQuaid was initially completely against allowing Armstrong return to racing some 13 days before his period in a pre-comeback doping program had been completed.

Rimini inquiry confirms that Pantani was not murdered.

The Rimini-based inquiry into the death of Marco Pantani has dismissed the hypothesis that he was murdered and found that he died as a result of an overdose of anti-depressants, with his use of cocaine a contributing factor.

Pantani died on 14 February 2004 at Residence Le Rose and the original autopsy concluded that he had died as a result of a cocaine overdose.

In August of last year, however, the case was reopened after a private investigation funded by Pantani’s parents and publicized heavily by Gazzetta dello Sport claimed that Pantani had been murdered.

Second injury diagnosed for Boonen, world championships likely to be new season goal.

Already pronounced as having a dislocated left acromioclavicular (AC) joint due to his crash on Monday’s stage one of Paris-Nice, Tom Boonen has received further bad news.

Yvan van Mol, the Etixx-Quickstep doctor, has told FranceTV that the Belgian rider also has a fractured elbow. Boonen was already facing a recovery period of three to six weeks, and this is a further complication for him.

Van Mol stated Monday that there was no question of him being able to ride the big one day races in the spring, his main goal.

Contador extends his contract with Tinkoff-Saxo.

"On the eve of the Tirreno-Adriatico, Tinkoff-Saxo is delighted to announce that the Spanish six-time Grand Tour winner will remain as its leader until the end of the 2016 season.

Alberto Contador is undoubtedly one of the world’s best stage racers and a legend in his lifetime. With six overall Grand Tour wins, more than any other active rider, along with numerous wins in stage races, Alberto has a claim to being the finest overall cyclist of this generation.

As such, it is only natural Tinkoff-Saxo will have him as its leader for one more year, until the end of the 2016 season."

A chat with BLKTEC's CEO, Greg Grobler.

"I’ve been riding on BLKTEC‘s wheelsets and components (stem, bars and seatpost) for almost a year now and though they do sponsor me (I want to make that clear as I can) I really only have good things to say about them. Well he would say that, you may be thinking but also, I don’t choose to partner with companies making bad products.

It’s not just me that thinks they’re good either. One product buyer for a big Asian distributor described the BLKTEC stuff as ‘the best products at the Taichung Bike Week’ last year.

The Taichung Bike Week, if you don’t know, is a yearly show that brings together project managers with manufacturers that is closed to the public, and might be just about the most important bike ‘show’ all year."

2015 Tirreno-Adriatico LIVE.

Tirreno-Adriatico LIVE starting Wednesday, March 11th through the 17th.

Stage 1 starts at 2:00pm CET (9:00am U.S. Eastern).

Finish at around 4:10pm CET (11:10am U.S. Eastern).

Live video from 2:30pm CET (9:30am U.S. Eastern, 6:30am Pacific).

Felt F1 PR.

The abbreviation, PR, in this bike's name is an allusion to Paris-Roubaix.

The F1 PR also shares a lot of features with the previous version of Felt's more thoroughbred road racer, the F1. This heritage, combined with several key changes, optimizes the F1 PR for the diverse rigors of the spring Classic races and make it a versatile companion for any kind of spirited riding you want to do, on any sort of road.

To help the frame perform well on brutal terrain, Felt relaxed its typical race geometry, slackening the head-and seat-tube angles by a little more than one degree. (The exact amount differs from size to size.)

Coupled with a slightly lengthened wheelbase and lowered bottom bracket, this is intended to improve stability when the bike hits bumps at speed on pocked or cobbled roads.

PEZ: EuroTrash Stybar Monday!

Steve Tilford: Nibali, Vino, Astana, CIRC.