Kristoff In Control Again ...

Alexander Kristoff goes two-for-two at De Panne ...

Kristoff wins second stage of Driedaagse de Panne.

Alexander Kristoff won stage two of the Driedaagse De Panne after a high-speed sprint in Koksijde. The Norwegian extend his overall race lead after also winning the opening stage.

The final kilometers of the 217km stage was a battle between the sprinters’ lead-out trains, with Team Sky, Lampre-Merida and Katusha fighting for position in the narrow roads and final turns. Kristoff launched his sprint early in the long finishing straight but had the speed and power to hold off his rivals.

Start List ...

Women’s Ronde van Vlaanderen 2015.

Easter Sunday, the one day of the year that the ‘n+1 rule’ of bike ownership can be applied to the consumption of chocolate eggs and it’s time for the big one, Ronde van Vlaanderen.

Omloop het Nieuwsblad, Gent-Wevelgem, all these and more are great races to win but they’re all a dress rehearsal for the Ronde van Vlaanderen.

Armstrong to WWF?

Sources close to Lance Armstrong have revealed that the defrocked champion is considering becoming a competitor in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Armstrong’s lifetime suspension from all sports that are signatories to World Anti- Doping Association code has left the Texan unable to enter virtually any sanctioned athletic competition, including mass-participation events such as marathons.

WWF, however, does not follow the WADA code, which would enable Armstrong to take part in their events.

“Lance has some bottled-up energy for sure”, the source told us, on condition of anonymity. “He’s been golfing, but that’s requires concentration and restraint. He’s looking for something more aggressive.”

2014-15 Races & Results.

Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde - Mar 31-Apr 2 (Stages & Results),

Tour of Flanders - Apr 5 (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),

Gent - Wevelgem - Mar 29 (Results),

Gent - Wevelgem Women - Mar 29 (Results),

Volta Ciclista a Catalunya - Mar 23-29 (Results),

E3 Harelbeke - Mar 27 (Results),

Tour de Taiwan - Mar 21-25 (Results),

Milan San Remo - Mar 22 (Results),

Nokere Koerse - Mar 18 (Results),

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

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

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

More...

Paolini expects strange Tour of Flanders with Boonen, Cancellara absent ...

Kristoff, Paolini give Katusha one-two punch for Flanders.

Winning a sprint is never easy, but Alexander Kristoff made it look that way when he snatched a four-up sprint to claim the opening stage of the Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde on Tuesday. And a day later, he muscled his way out of a larger bunch to win stage 2.

The 27-year-old Norwegian is oozing confidence as he rides toward a possible date with destiny at the Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) this weekend. Without Tom Boonen or Fabian Cancellara, many are tipping Kristoff as the man to fill the void.

Videos ...

Preview ...

Who will win? ...

2015 Tour of Flanders LIVE.

Sunday's Tour of Flanders departs Brugge at 10:15am CET (4:15am U.S. Eastern) and isexpected at the finish at Oudenaarde at around 4:47pm CET (10:47am U.S.Eastern, 7:47am Pacific). 

Tour of Flanders live streaming video should get underway at around *9:30am CET (*3:30am U.S. Eastern, 12:30am Pacific).

Videos...

Driedaagse De Panne 2015 Live Dashboard ...

2015 Three Days of De Panne LIVE.

Thursday's final day of Three Days of De Panne is divided into morning and afternoon stages. The afternoon stage is an Individual Time Trial.

Thursday's Three Days of De Panne Stage 3a departs De Panne at 9:25am CET (3:25am U.S. Eastern) and is expected at the finish at De Panne at around 12:09pm CET (6:09am U.S. Eastern).

Three Days of De Panne live streaming video should get underway at around 10:30am CET (4:30am U.S. Eastern, 1:30am Pacific).

Thursday's Three Days of De Panne Stage 3b, a 14.2 km Individual Time Trial at De Panne, gets underway at 2:30pm CET (8:30am U.S. Eastern).

Three Days of De Panne live streaming video should get underway at around 2:40pm CET (8:40am U.S. Eastern, 5:40am Pacific).

How To: Get your mud on with Australian cyclocross national champion Lisa Jacobs.

Ask any rider about her first cyclocross race, and you’ll probably hear something like this: “It was tricky and I got filthy, but afterwards I just had this big silly grin on my face and I couldn’t wait to do it again.”

It is a cycling discipline that is designed for the wet and chilly months of the year so the muddy fun is over in Europe and the United States for the 2014/2015 season, but it’s just about to get going in Australia, where the once scant racing options look set to step up again this year.

Cyclocross has grown from almost nothing in Australia five years ago to the point where there is now an established National Series, a National Championships, a crop of new clubs putting on races. There’s even a state series starting in Victoria.

Kristoff commands GC lead at De Panne after stage 1 win ...

Kristoff wins Driedaagse De Panne opener in Zottegem.

Alexander Kristoff got back to winning ways on the opening stage of the Driedaagse de Panne. The Norwegian powered home to his fifth victory of the season after a perfect delivery from his compatriot and teammate Sven Erik Bystrom.

Jens Debusschere faded after launching his sprint early but held on for second while Stijn Devolder took third.

Richie Porte: “I’ve already had an incredible season but I want more.”

ISSUL audit could prove fatal for Astana’s WorldTour license.

Representatives, lawyers and even riders from the Astana team are expected to attend the UCI License Commission hearing in Lausanne on Thursday as the Kazakhstani teams fights to save its reputation and place in the 2015 WorldTour.

In recent days the team has cranked up its public defense, with the Kazakhstani Cycling Federation president Darkhan Kaletaev insisting it has done everything possible to fight the problem of doping.

He claimed in a message published on the team’s website that Astana and the Kazakhstani Federation can play an active role in the fight against doping alongside the UCI and WADA.

Putin nationalizes Tinkoff-Saxo, eyes Katusha.

Russian President and known cycling fan Vladimir Putin has quietly nationalized the Tinkoff-Saxo team of Alberto Contador and Peter Sagan, disturbed by the lack of results it has garnered this spring.

“Tinkoff-Saxo has always been Russian,” the president said in speech to the Russian Duma, scoffing at the team’s Danish roots. “That means it has always been mine.”

Putin removed team owner Oleg Tinkov just days after Tinkov fired former owner and general manager Bjarne Riis. In a statement, Putin claimed that new management is “clearly required” to turn the team’s fortunes around.

Ernesto Colnago Appointed a Cardinal ...

Campagnolo CEO: ‘We will never make a disc brake’.

Amid rumors that the UCI may experiment with disc brakes in select professional races as early as this year, the CEO of the storied Campagnolo brand, Valentino Campagnolo, told tech press at a wine tasting near the Campagnolo factory, “I’d sooner drink a Pinot Grigio from California than have disc brakes on my road bikes.”

One of the greatest hurdles to allowing disc brakes in the WorldTour peloton is the braking discrepancies between disc-brake bikes and rim-brake bikes.

Without all three of the current WorldTour drivetrain sponsors on board, the UCI’s decision has been at a standstill.

Campagnolo is the last hold-out, years behind Shimano and SRAM, which both offer disc brakes for road bikes.

New Fan Lobby Group Being Formed.

Cycling fans are grouping together to form a lobby group called Association de Vélo de Route Internationale.

AVRI will campaign on behalf of fans to ensure their voices are heard and stake a claim to share in the spoils of professional cycling and lobby for improvements to help fans such as better race websites and sharper TV production.

Held to Higher Standards.

Cycling’s imagery means that thoughts of spring don’t always turn to blooming flowers and warmer weather but instead generate dark images of leaden skies and muddy fields, Belgium at its most dismal.

Another theme is the omnipresence of the Etixx-Quickstep team. The name has changed over the years but story remains the same, a team expected to deliver big results ahead of every other team.

While some squads are delighted with a podium placing this one risk being blasted for “losing” the race should a rider come second.

Lefevere rules out Tom Boonen’s Paris-Roubaix return.

Etixx-Quick-Step boss Patrick Lefevere says there is no chance of injured Tom Boonen returning in time for Paris-Roubaix on April 12, despite the CEO of team sponsor Etixx giving the Belgian a one per cent chance of returning.

The Classics specialist crashed in the first stage of the Pairs-Nice stage race and dislocated his shoulder. He had surgery, but still needs time to recover.

The incident was thought to have wiped him out for the 2015 classics campaign, but messages on Twitter, particularly from Etixx boss Marc Coucke,  caused a small storm in Flanders.

Cavendish, Oakley, and Nestle collaborate on nutrition product.

When someone as picky as Mark Cavendish puts his head together with designers from a brand like Oakley and the food scientists at Nestle, the results are sure to be attention-grabbing. The Wonka Jawbreaker Energy Balls are just that.

Wonka Candy, a division of confectionary behemoth Nestle Global, announced today — only one day after Cavendish’s signature Oakley Jawbreaker sunglasses were officially revealed — that it would launch a new line of sports nutrition products inspired by the Manx sprinter.

The new Jawbreakers Energy Balls were co-developed with Cavendish and Oakley, maker of Cav’s new sprint-optimized sunglasses.

Compass Introduces Solid Rubber Tires.

Compass proudly announces a new line of 100% puncture-proof tires. The first one is the Compass Lark Pass 650B x 42 mm. Why start with a wide tire? Simple: You get much more wear out of it. This is probably the last set of tires you’ll ever buy! Since there is no air inside, you can wear them down to the rim!

This is especially useful since the trend toward wider tires probably has run its course. Over the next few decades, experts predict that tires will become narrower again. Rather than having to buy new tires every time cycling fashion changes, the new Compass Lark Pass tires will get narrower as you ride them. If you ride 6000 miles a year, your Lark Pass will be just 19 mm wide in 2050.

Bruyneel joins Vaughters in his deep and abiding love for CrankPunk.

"JV got the ball rolling by coughing up a furball when I asked him on Twitter if he was going to attend the conference about how to get dopers out of management when he was in London.

He replied with a salvo across my well-buttered bow."

Daily Distractions.

RKP: RKP Buys Fat Cyclist.

FatCyclist: Announcement. FatCyclist is Moving to a New Home.

BikeSnobNYC: Forget the date, it's just a Wednesday like any other.

Twisted Spoke: Sagan and the Ronde elevator. Going up or down?

Bike Radar: April Fools' Day 2015 cycling round-up - Updated.

Dave Moulton: It is stay off the Internet because everything you read is BS Day.

Steve Tilford: Gonna Try Running Now.

Alps&Andes: James Brown wearing purple, and the appeal of a cyclist who is past his prime.

Leading Edge: Chapter 2. Stages Cycling.

BicycleRetailer: Detroit Bikes to manufacture New Belgium Brewing bikes.

Video: How to improve your efficiency.

Video: I have no pressure, says Sagan.

Video: 10 riders to watch at Tour of Flanders.

April Fools Day roundup: the best from the world of cycling.

April 1 is a time for hilarity to ensue around the world, but only before 12pm.

Cyclists, teams and owners took time out of their busy schedules to fill our mornings with a little mirth.

Here are a few that caught our eye, but definitely did not have us fooled for a second…well, maybe one second.

CIRC report to become major motion picture.

The Cycling Independent Reform Commission’s (CIRC) report will become a major motion picture as soon as 2016, according to sources close to the blossoming project.

Dreamworks has bought film rights to the report, and has hired screenwriter Mo Viemeker, whose list of writing credits includes “Breaking Bad” and “The Hunger Games.” Viemeker will make his directorial debut with the as-of-yet unnamed CIRC film, according to Dreamworks.

“It’s cycling noir, an irresistible tale of deception and intrigue,” said Phil Misbad, a spokesperson for Dreamworks.

Lee’s Lowdown: Wonderful Wevelgem!

Last Sunday Gent-Wevelgem was a sufferfest of the highest order; wind, rain, crashes and hard riding whittled the peloton down to meager 39 finishers.

Lee Rodgers gives us his lowdown on the chaos that turned out to be a great race, the sort of race that inspires you to ride your bike… even in the rain?

"Whenever I look out the window and see the rain coming down in sheets and the wind blowing poodles along the thoroughfare, I do my best to fight my natural inclination to get back under the covers, and instead I ask myself:

What would a Belgian do?"

Women’s Cycling: The path to parity.

Nowhere is the desire and need for positive reform more immediate than in women’s professional cycling.

A major priority of the UCI under President Brian Cookson has been to raise the profile of women in the sport, but a meaningful long-term strategy which will improve the opportunities and treatment of women has yet to materialize, and this is especially distressing for the current athletes who are attempting to make a living as professional cyclists.

Their careers have a very short lifespan and critical changes cannot come soon enough.

Wiggins riding to the numbers for Roubaix.

Team Sky and Bradley Wiggins will race Paris-Roubaix next Sunday according to feel, but also with a big bag of scientific research at their disposal.

This winter, Wiggins timed some of the key cobble sectors that make up the 253-kilometer French monument. In training, he is riding certain times and watts to replicate what could happen in the race.

The same sort of efforts helped him win four Olympic gold medals and the 2012 Tour de France.

“It’s different training, but you can do things to replicate what you’ll find in Paris-Roubaix,” Sky’s head of performance operations, Rod Ellingworth told VeloNews.

Chatting With Katie Compton. About Everything.

These days it can feel like it's hard to find a hero. Someone you can believe in, look up to and root for.

And usually I'm not one to build pedestals but Katie Compton fits the bill.

She's smart, funny, insanely talented on the bike and she's works very hard at getting results. Like 11 National Cyclocross Championships. And there have been other podiums and we could talk about tire pressure and tires and brake preferences but I thought it would be more fun to get personal.

Cycling the Col de Peyresourde.

As one of the oldest climbs in the Tour de France, first featuring in 1910, starting from the spa town of Bagnères-de-Luchon the Col de Peyresourde is a deceptively tough ascent. 14.5km in length and although only climbing at an average gradient of 6.5% up to 1,569 metres above sea level don’t be fooled by the numbers.

The road ramps up straight out of Luchon, continually tickling the legs and edging you ever closer towards the red. It was on this very road that during the 2007 L’Etape du Tour the furnace-like summer sun did everything in its powers to melt the tarmac and make it feel like I was wading through quicksand.

The Peyresourde’s a cunning little fox, regularly applying the pressure and threatening to turn you around and send you packing back to Luchon for an early shower.

Steve Tilford: Titanium for Cycling.

BikeSnobNYC: Sprayed and Neutered. When It Comes To Safety, It's All On You.

FatCyclist: True Grit Epic Race Report, Part Last. A Chicken Does Math.

Twisted Spoke: Luca Paolini, bad-ass.

RKP: The Road to Hell is Narrow and Cobbled.

Denise Mueller: Adrenaline, It’s Genetic.

Bike Shorts: Cloak of visibility.

Toolbox: Paolini’s Sport Psych Clinic.

Technical FAQ: Shifting problems and cog spacing.

Home Wrench: Are you a complete tool nerd?

Video: Top 10 Things Not To Eat While Cycling.

Video: New world mountain bike speed record.

Video: Col Collective climbs the Peyresourde (Luchon).

Videos: 2015 Milan-San Remo.

Videos: 2015 Tour of California.

Videos: 2015 Tour de France.

Videos: 2015 Giro d'Italia.

Videos: 2015 Four Days of Dunkirk.

Tinkov's Facebook post ...

Tinkov: We don't need a star manager ...

Riis keeps a low profile after Tinkoff-Saxo divorce.

Bjarne Riis has said he plans to spend time with his family after parting ways with the Tinkoff-Saxo team, saying he will take time “to think through and explore what I want to achieve in life professionally going forward.”

Perhaps as part of his settlement with the Tinkoff-Saxo team, and team management company Tinkoff Sport, Riis said he will refrain from giving interviews but tried to encourage his former riders in a brief message issued via his son’s Twitter account.