Paris-Nice: Cimolai wins stage 5 in Rasteau.

Davide Cimolai of Lampre-Merida won the mass sprint of the fifth stage of Paris-Nice, ahead of Bryan Coquard and Michael Matthews.

The peloton caught the last member of the day’s break group, Thomas De Gendt, within sight of the finish line.

There was no change in the general classification.

Ewan grabs Langkawi stage 6 win, extends GC lead 

Caleb Ewan snagged his second stage win at the Tour de Langkawi Friday, winning stage 6 in a bunch sprint.

Ewan extended his lead in the GC following the 96.6-kilometer stage from Maran to Karak, and now holds a 27-second buffer over Natnael Berhane and a 30-second advantage over Youcef Reguigui, both of MTN-Qhubeka.

The 20-year-old Australian out-sprinted Jakub Mareczko and Chris Sutton to claim his second victory of the week at the race in Malaysia. Ewan also won stage 3.

Natnael Berhane in driver’s seat for GC result at Tour de Langkawi.

27 seconds will separate South African-based UCI Pro Continental team MTN-Qhubeka from the general classification lead at the 20th Tour de Langkawi (2.HC) when the six-man team rolls to the start of the race’s penultimate stage in Shah Alam.

While the team’s first guard is in Italy racing Tirreno-Adriatico, including newly-signed Edvald Boasson Hagen, Tyler Farrar, and Matthew Goss, the second unit is in Malaysia with five riders within 36 seconds of race leader Caleb Ewan.

After six stages the race enters the queen’s stage on Saturday and features two categorized climbs, including Bukit Cerakah (Cat. 4) inside the first 20 kilometers and the summit finish atop Frasier’s Hill (Cat. 1) at the 180.8km mark.

Van Avermaet’s Tirreno timing just right with classics ahead.

Greg Van Avermaet timed it right Friday at Tirreno-Adriatico. With the classics approaching and a doping hearing going on at home in Brussels, the Belgian stormed over the cobblestones leading up to Arezzo’s city center to win ahead of several classics champions.

“It’s important to be a leader of the team, but you are only a leader if you win races,” BMC Racing’s Van Avermaet said.

No More Mechanics On The Move.

"A short piece to mark a change in the sport. The UCI are clamping down on mechanics leaning out of car windows to service riders in a races.

It’s been such a famous image from many races and now it’s going away for good. It’ll have tactical consequences too."

2014-15 Races & Results.

Tirreno-Adriatico - Mar 11-17 (Stages & Results),

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

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

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),

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

Strade Bianche - Mar 7 (Results),

Strade Bianche Women - Mar 7 (Results),

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

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

More ...

Jack Haig: An introduction.

"During the Australian summer I spent a lot of time catching up with people, after spending most of last year in Italy with the U23 Australian team.

When I was living in Italy and traveling around for races in Europe for those couple of months I thought it was pretty cool.

But I guess I didn’t really realize how awesome an opportunity I had been given … until I came back to Australia and started talking to people and seeing their reaction to what I had been up to."

Genesis recalls forks on three 2015 bike models.

Genesis has recalled the steel forks on three bikes from the company’s 2015 range due to long-term durability concerns. The brand is offering a free replacement for all affected customers.

Genesis says: “While there is no immediate risk to safety and there have been no reported failures, we have chosen to recall these forks and to replace them, free of charge, with a brand new fork."

2015 Paris-Nice LIVE.

Saturday's Paris-Nice Stage 6 departs Vence at 11:35am CET (6:35am U.S. Eastern) and is expected to finish at Nice at around 4:41pm CET (11:41am U.S. Eastern). 

Paris-Nice live streaming video should get underway at around 3:15pm CET (10:15am U.S. Eastern, 7:15am Pacific). 

Van Garderen: 'I did what I could' against Sky.

The first mountain finish of the 2015 Paris-Nice saw American Tejay van Garderen finish fifth after he failed to follow an attack in the final 4km from Team Sky's Geraint Thomas.

Thursday's stage 4 test, which featured six categorized climbs in the final 60km of the day, included the summit finish on the Col de la Croix de Chaubouret, a 10km climb with an average grade of 6.7 percent.

Porte wins atop Croix de Chaubouret.

Giorgia Bronzini wins Drentse 8.

My Story: I crashed spectacularly at Drentse 8.

"I’m aware that there are a lot of people discussing the crash – and that many people that watched the footage think it was intentional. I can understand how people think that, but looking at the video, no one can say that with certainty.

If it’s intentional? I would be really concerned. I know there are malicious people in the world. Things like this have happened before where spectators have done things intentionally to cause harm."

Tirreno-Adriatico: Van Avermaet wins stage 3.

BMC’s Greg Van Avermaet won stage 3 of Tirreno-Adriatico in Arezzo on Friday. The Belgian opened his sprint with 200 metres to go following a punchy final ascent onto the Via Ricasoli, holding off Peter Sagan and Zdenek Stybar.

Van Avermaet’s win moved him up into the overall race lead, taking the blue leader’s jersey from Andriano Malori.

He is now leading the race by two seconds ahead of Sagan while Malori has dropped into third place at eight seconds back.

Elia Viviani continues at Tirreno-Adriatico despite high-speed crash.

Elia Viviani was one of the last riders to sign on in Cascina before the start of the third stage of Tirreno-Adriatico but he is determined to fight the pain of his high-speed stage 2 crash and stay in the race.

Viviani crashed at 70km/h after Mark Cavendish moved slightly after his chain came off the chainring when he powered on the pedals to launch his sprint. Viviani had nowhere to go and rode into Cavendish, landing hard on his hip and lower back.

He got up and finished the stage and was not diagnosed with any fractures and so was determined to continue in Tirreno-Adriatico.

Marcel Kittel fighting for fitness after energy-sapping virus.

Marcel Kittel is having to restart his training after being laid low by a virus picked up at the Tour Down Under.

The German sprinter struggled through the Tour of Qatar but then withdrew from the Tirreno-Adriatico stage race, where he was set for a much-anticipated showdown with Mark Cavendish.

“It’s not good yet,” Kittle’s race coach, Marc Reef, told Cycling Weekly. “He’s just begun on the bike again, so he’s re-starting to get better. He’s not completely recovered. It’s a shame that it happens.”

Froome: We must do everything to tackle doping.

Chris Froome would welcome the introduction of the UCI rolling out 24-hour drug testing, telling Cyclingnews that the sport “must do everything it can to tackle doping.”

The recommendation for around the clock anti-doping measures was made by the Cycling Independent Reform Commission (CIRC) as part of their blueprint for a cleaner sport.

It remains to be seen if the sport’s governing body is in favor of such a measure or whether the structure and finances to launch such a project are feasible, but Froome, who confirmed that he was asked to meet with CIRC, said that he would be willing to have testers knocking at his door at any time, and at any race.

Cancellara’s improving sprint bolstering hopes for classics.

That Fabian Cancellara will be ready for the spring classics is not a worry for team brass inside the Trek Factory Racing bus.

The Swiss superstar is already on top form, taking a confidence-boosting stage victory in the Tour of Oman and just missing out on the leader’s jersey by just one second in the short, explosive opening prologue at Tirreno-Adriatico this week.

The spring classics are just around the corner, and the atmosphere is quietly percolating inside the Trek bus, not only due to Cancellara’s obvious strength, but also his top-end finishing sprint.

For veteran sport director Dirk Demol, having that finishing kick after a long, abusive effort that comes with the monuments is often the difference between winning and losing.

My First Race – Part 2.

"No matter where you are in the world, if there’s bike racing going on there are great stories to tell.

For the girls and guys that race, or have raced at any stage of their lives, the memory of their very first bike race is likely to be a strong one. You personally may have memories of chewing bar tape in your first race or, if you were lucky, getting to raise your hands aloft as you came across the finish line.

Each and every story says something about how and why people either continued with racing or decided to call it quits."

NAHBS 2015 - Best in Show.

"The North American Handmade Bicycle Show showcased scores of jaw-dropping bikes by some of the finest framebuilders in the world again this year.

We’ll soon show you nearly every bike that was on display in the halls of the Louisville Convention Center in Kentucky, but to start our coverage, let’s take a look at the bikes that won this year’s award categories."

2015 Tirreno-Adriatico LIVE.

Stage 4 start time: Saturday 9:10 CET (1:10:00 AM PST)

Earliest live video: 14:40 CET (6:40:00 AM PST);

Approximate finish: 16:09 CET (8:09:00 AM PST)

Riders yet to receive prize money for 2014 French races.

Daily Distractions.

Video: Kittel talks about his development into a world-class sprinter.

Q&A: Travis Tygart on CIRC and the Geert Leinders case.

Although some were disappointed that the Cycling Independent Reform Commission report did not deliver the so-called “Truth and Reconciliation Commission” that had been floated as a catch-all solution to the sport’s problems two years ago, it document did outline critical failings in the UCI’s governance and its management of anti-doping efforts over the past two decades.

In a statement released on Monday, USADA CEO Travis Tygart welcomed the publication of the CIRC report as “a strong first step in moving past the failures of the past.” Later in the week, he spoke in more detail about his thoughts on the dossier, including the damning picture it paints of the UCI’s influence on the supposedly independent “Vrijman Report” into accusations that Lance Armstrong had used EPO at the 1999 Tour de France.

UCI announces new anti-doping measures in wake of CIRC report.

Following the release of the Cycling Independent Reform Commission (CIRC) report on the history of doping in cycling, the UCI has announced further anti-doping measures and recommendations to strengthen anti-doping and governance going forward.

Some of the recommendations include improving the Athlete Biological Passport, night-time testing in special cases and relaunching a whistleblower program.

“I am absolutely determined to use the CIRC’s report to ensure that cycling continues the process of fully regaining the trust of fans, broadcasters and all the riders who compete clean,” said UCI President Brian Cookson.

“We value the recommendations of the CIRC and have now established an internal task force to ensure the recommendations are properly followed up.”

Armstrong EPO report drafted by his own lawyer and agent during McQuaid presidency.

The head of the organization that ultimately brought down Lance Armstrong has described as “sordid” some of the actions of former UCI presidents Pat McQuaid and Hein Verbruggen in relation to the banned rider.

USADA chief executive Travis Tygart was commenting on a section of the Cycling Independent Reform Commission (CIRC) report, published this week by the UCI.

“A stunning example of deceit found by the CIRC is that the UCI, under the explicit direction of Hein Verbruggen and Pat McQuaid, commissioned a supposedly ‘independent’ investigation of Armstrong’s positive samples from the (1999 – Ed) Tour de France,” he said in a statement.

The most depressing part of the CIRC cycling report is also the most ignored.

Among the headline-grabbing evidence of doping and corruption in the men’s sport, the CIRC report states “The Commission was told that women’s cycling had been poorly supported in past years, and was given examples where riders in the sport had been exploited financially and even allegedly sexually.”

The debate about a minimum wage for women cyclists has raged long and hard. Tracey Gaudry, the first female vice president of the UCI, said last year that she sees the minimum wage as part of a larger picture – the duty of care the sport has to its athletes.

Gaudry’s sense of frustration at the pace of change is palpable and many riders continue to be left high and dry by teams that withhold prize money. Financial abuse can be every bit as real as physical and sexual intimidation in trapping women in exploitative situations.

Inside the business of women’s cycling: Until it’s profitable, wages are lacking.

Salaries among the professional cyclists have proven a popular topic on CyclingTips. We’ve talked about factors that determine a rider’s wage and the ways in which the UCI minimum wage is broken – yet both of this articles focused only on the men’s peloton. What about the women?

We set out to explore the salary issue within professional women’s cycling.

The topic is particularly timely given recent revelations about the UCI’s plans to slowly introduce requirements over time within the top tier of the proposed two-tiered division of the sport.

With changes in regulations around wages unlikely until 2018, it is possible for women to find financial stability while racing full-time?

Felt F85.

BikeRadar verdict: 4.5 out of 5 stars. "Brilliant value aluminium road bike that’s definitely on the racy side."

Speedplay Set to Release Long-Awaited Syzr Mountain Bike Pedals.

After years of development, and teases at Interbike, Speedplay is set to ship their Syzr Mountain Bike Pedals. At Interbike 2014, we saw the pedal that was expected to be released at the end of last year. We followed up with Speedplay at NAHBS to examine the ready-to-be-shipped pedals.

The Syzr cleats have a pivot mechanism designed into them, and users can adjust the float from zero to ten degrees. We asked them about their performance in muddy conditions, and we were told that the pedals have gone through extensive testing with mud and rocks without any issues, both with respect to the pedal’s release function and the float system in the cleats. It remained uncertain whether or not conditions in ice were also extensively tested.

2015 Tour de Langkawi LIVE.

Saturday's Tour de Langkawi Stage 7 departs Shah Alam at 12:00pm local (5:00am CET, 12:00am U.S. Eastern) and is expected at the finish at Bukit Fraser (Fraser's Hill) at around 4:51pm local (9:51am CET, 4:51am U.S. Eastern). 

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

EuroTrash Tirreno Thursday!