Brenes tops Colombians in uphill Joe Martin time trial.

Colombian riders nearly swept the podium during the opening time trial at the Joe Martin Stage Race in Arkansas on Wednesday until Jamis-Hagens Berman's Costa Rican climber Gregory Brenes set the fastest time with just two riders remaining.

Brenes covered the 4.3km uphill time trial in 8:36 to break the stranglehold that Orgullo Antioqueno had on the race, placing Robinson Chaplaud in second and Christian Montoya in third.

Brenes beat the Colombian riders by one second and seven seconds, respectively. Orgullo Antioqueno's Juan David Montoya finished fourth, followed by Stephen Bassett of Jamis-Hagens Berman.

7 talking points from the 2015 men’s Fleche Wallonne.

The dust has now settled on La Fleche Wallonne, the mid-week WorldTour race that makes up one third of the so-called Ardennes Classics. Alejandro Valverde won yesterday’s edition, his second consecutive victory in the race and his third overall.

Fleche Wallonne is best known for the Mur de Huy (“the wall of Huy”) a 1.2km-long climb of 10% average gradient which the riders tackle no fewer than three times.

Unlike last weekend’s Amstel Gold Race, which ended 1.8km beyond the top of Cauberg climb, Fleche Wallonne finishes at the top of the Mur, making it the only Classic with a summit finish.

Dan Martin: Dreaming of another Liege win.

It has been quiet, but that is no reason to forget about Dan Martin ahead of Sunday’s Liège Bastogne Liège one-day race in Belgium. The Cannondale-Garmin leader’s run in the biggest Ardennes classic stands strong: fifth in 2012, a victory in 2013 and, had it not been for a crash in the final corner, perhaps another victory in 2014.

A crash in La Flèche Wallonne Wednesday should do little to derail a determined Martin as he races for another “dream win” in Liège Bastogne Liège on Sunday.

“This is the race of my dreams,” Martin said after his 2013 win. “It’s one of the big ones, and one of the places where I can win.”

Liege Bastogne Liege toughens up finale.

Yet more changes in the race route of Liege Bastogne Liege this year seem certain to cause a much smaller peloton to reach the decisive final climbs of San Nicolas and up to the finish at Ans on Sunday.

Most of the important alterations come between what is traditionally considered the first key group of Liege Bastogne Liege’s ten climbs, the trio of the Wanne, Stockeu and Haut Levee, and the race’s second crucial ascent, the Cote de La Redoute.

2015 Tour of Croatia LIVE streaming.

Thursday's Stage 2 starts at 10:40am CET (4:40am U.S. Eastern).

Finish at around 4:05pm CET (10:05am U.S. Eastern).

Live video from 2:00pm CET (8:00am U.S. Eastern, 5:00am Pacific).

2014-15 Races & Results.

Giro del Trentino - Apr 21-24 (Stages & Results),

Joe Martin Stage Race - Apr 23-26 (Stages & Results),

Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey - Apr 26-May 3 (History),

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),

La Flèche Wallonne - Apr 22 (Results),

Amstel Gold Race - Apr 19 (Results),

De Brabantse Pijl - Apr 15 (Results),

Paris Roubaix - Apr 12 (Results),

Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco - Apr 6-11 (Results),

Circuit Cycliste Sarthe - Apr 7-10 (Results),

Scheldeprijs - Apr 8 (Results),

Tour of Flanders - Apr 5 (Results).

More...

Gesink targets Tour de France after restarting season at Flèche Wallonne.

Robert Gesink was nervous about returning to racing at the Flèche Wallonne this week.

With only two days of racing since last September, it felt “a bit like it was my first race,” the LottoNL-Jumbo rider said, but added, “cycling is fun again.”

He is now looking to the Tour de France, which is his “main goal” for the year.

His next race will be the Tour de Romandie. “I've had no spring but later Romandie and the Tour of Switzerland or the Dauphiné, there are plenty of opportunities to work towards the Tour,” he told telesport.nl.

Tour of Turkey 2015 Live Dashboard.

TUR 2015 Eurosport Broadcast Schedule (CET*)

Stage 1, Sun 26/04/2015, EUROSPORT, 11:15-14:00,

Stage 2, Mon 27/04/2015, EUROSPORT, 12:30-14:00,

Stage 3, Tue 28/04/2015, EUROSPORT, 14:00-15:30,

Stage 4, Wed 29/04/2015, EUROSPORT, 14:00-15:30,

Stage 5, Thu 30/04/2015, EUROSPORT, 12:30-14:00,

Stage 6, Fri 01/05/2015, EUROSPORT, 14:00-15:30,

Stage 7, Sat 02/05/2015, EUROSPORT , 11:15-12:45, 

Stage 8, Sun 03/05/2015, EUROSPORT, 10:00-12:00.

Tour de Yorkshire 2015 Live Dashboard ...

2015 Tour de Yorkshire LIVE video stream.

Friday's Stage 1 starts at -- BST (-- U.S. Eastern). Finish at around -- BST (-- U.S. Eastern).

Live video from -- BST (-- U.S. Eastern).

Videos ...

Valverde wins La Fleche Wallonne 2015.

Alejandro Valverde defended his La Flèche Wallonne title with a gutsy performance on the Mur de Huy. The Spaniard led from the front on the final climb and held off the challenges from Julian Alaphilippe and Michael Albasini to win by a clear margin.

The win marked the Spaniard’s third win the race and came after Movistar reeled in a late attack from Tim Wellens, who broke clear on the penultimate climb of the Côte de Cherave, and survived into the final 500 meters.

Aru illness prompts speculation that Nibali could ride Giro d'Italia.

Pozzovivo wins Giro del Trentino stage in Fierozzo Val dei Mocheni.

Domenico Pozzovivo nabbed his second victory of the 2015 season, jumping away on the final climb to Fierozzo Val Dei Mocheni to win stage 3 of the Giro del Trentino by five seconds over Mikel Landa and Richie Porte.

The win followed excellent teamwork by AG2R, who placed Hubert Dupont and Hugo Houle in a 15-rider day-long breakaway of the mountainous 183.8km stage from Ala that featured three major climbs in the last 65km - the category 2 Montagnaga, category 1 Passo Redebus and the final ascent to Fierozzo Val Die Mocheni.

Pozzovivo shows his stature with Giro del Trentino stage win..

Domenico Pozzovivo and his AG2R-La Mondiale teammates bounced back at the Giro del Trentino on Thursday, with the French team taking on Team Sky and the Italian climber going on to win the third stage to Fierozzo.

Pozzovivo lost 1:26 on Wednesday’s stage when Porte attacked after seeing him in difficulty. No longer an overall contender or a threat to Porte’s race lead, Pozzovivo focused on winning the stage, attacking alone with two kilometers to go.

He was able to stay away and celebrated with his now familiar gesture of highlighting his lack of stature with his hand on his head.

Alaphilippe, 22, registers breakthrough ride at Fleche Wallonne.

Julian Alaphilippe came to La Flèche Wallonne with a job to do, but it wasn’t to win, or even try.

That’s why, as a sharply diminished peloton hit the lower slopes of the Mur de Huy and the riders around him honed in on the climb, the young Frenchman’s head seemed on a swivel, searching in vain for his Etixx-Quick-Step team leader, world champion Michal Kwiatkowski.

He looked back once, twice, checking over his right shoulder and then his left. The rainbow stripes were nowhere to be seen. Kwiatkowski was too far back, with 600 meters to go, to contest for victory.

Sitting in ninth wheel as the gradient pitched up with 500 meters to go — 10 percent, 12 percent, 15 percent — Alaphilippe took a hand off his bars and called over race radio. What should he do?..

Organizers unveil 2015 Tour of Utah route.

Organizers of the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah have revealed a race route for the 2015 edition of the event that will cover over 712 miles in total and make the race’s first visit to the state of Idaho.

The Tour of Utah will make the jump from a 2.1 ranking on the UCI America Tour to a 2.HC ranking this year, putting it on the same UCI race level as the Amgen Tour of California and the USA Pro Challenge, and the newly promoted race will greet riders with 51,442 feet of elevation gain from start to finish.

The race will take place from August 3-9, starting with a stage in Logan, Utah.

The “queen stage,” stage 6 on Saturday, August 8, will take the peloton over nearly 13,000 feet of elevation gain en route to a finish at Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort before the final stage of the race on the following day in Park City.

CTech April 2015 Product picks.

The POC Octal helmet is reportedly designed with one thing in mind — safety — whilst also offering good ventilation, comfort and a weight of less than 200 grams (for size M).

To increase safety, the Octal has been designed to provide more coverage and additional protection for the temples and back of the head and the expanded polystyrene liner is reportedly thicker in the most exposed areas.

Rather than many small vents, Octal has fewer, but larger, ventilation slots. This ventilation design allows more air to flow through the helmet, which is said to aid aerodynamic performance.

Giant launches full range of road helmets.

After launching the Rev helmet last year, Giant has unveiled its first full line-up of road helmets.

Alongside an updated Rev, there are two completely new models: the Rivet TT helmet, and the Rivet aero road helmet that we first spotted on the head of John Degenkolb at the Tour Down Under.

The Rivet is probably the most exciting project from the new range, and already has two monuments under its belt with Degenkolb’s victories in Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix.

Videos ...

Giro del Trentino 2015 Live Dashboard.

Stage 3 start time: Thursday 10:30 CET (1:30 AM PST).

Earliest live video: No live video - text updates only.

Approximate finish: 15:20 CET (6:20 AM PST)

Fizik launches Team Edition Aliante saddles.

Fizik has launched a collection of team edition Aliante saddles, available in AG2R La Mondial, BMC Racing Team, Cannondale-Garmin, FDJ, Movistar, Orica - GreenEDGE and Team Sky colors.

The Italian saddle manufacturer sponsors a lot of the WorldTour teams, and has in the past celebrated this fact with limited edition saddles, most recently in the 2013 Giro d’Italia with the Arione R3.

Giro del Trentino: Richie Porte wins stage 2.

Daily Distractions.

Ask a Mechanic: Finding measurements for hub bearings.

UCI confirms Astana to keep license with strict monitoring.

The UCI today confirmed that its License Commission has opted not to revoke the WorldTour license from the Astana team, but will instead keep its existing registration as long as it complies with "special measures."

The announcement did not include any specifics about what Astana must do, but stated the measures were suggested by the representatives from the Institute of Sport Sciences of the University of Lausanne (ISSUL), the same organization that carried out the independent audit that precipitated the license hearing.

Astana Ride On.

The Astana team meets the UCI’s License Commission again today for a second hearing following the UCI’s very public call to remove strip the team’s World Tour license. La Gazzetta Dello Sport says no decision is imminent either.

A second round suggests this is not a slam dunk case. If it was then a review of the files and an obligatory hearing would have been enough to remove the team from the sport.

What happens next has been a regular question by email in recent weeks but the rules aren’t clear and the outcome is more uncertain. Here’s a look at the case and some potential outcomes...

Lance Armstrong: WADA head rebuffed proposed meeting in 2013.

Lance Armstrong said Wednesday that the World Anti-Doping Agency and others are "owed an apology" from him for cheating during his cycling career, but noted that the agency's chief rebuffed efforts to meet back in 2013.

David Howman, director general of WADA, told The Associated Press this week that he is disappointed Armstrong had not apologized for costly and time-consuming lawsuits before the former cycling champion admitted using performance-enhancing drugs.

Armstrong initially declined comment on Howman's remark, but on Wednesday provided the AP with a May 2013 email exchange with Howman, who initially indicted he could meet with Armstrong, then backed off under advice from WADA lawyers..

Tiernan-Locke: It’s hard to see a WorldTour team touching me.

Jonathan Tiernan-Locke admits that a place within a WorldTour team could be out of his reach but the banned rider has confirmed that he aims to compete in the sport once his doping ban ends in December of this year.

Tiernan-Locke was dismissed by Team Sky last year when the UCI announced that he had shown irregular biological passport values dating back to 2012.

The values were before his time at Team Sky and he was handed a two-year suspension. He resolutely defended himself throughout the proceedings, stating that he had never doped, but with his ban ending this year the suspended athlete has already been approached by domestic teams in the United Kingdom.

Thoughts On The LIMITS Power Meter.

"Ok, I wasn’t planning on doing a post on the LIMITS power meter until I actually had some first-hand time with the unit. 

For those not familiar, LIMITS kicked off a round of publicity this past weekend ahead of their crowd-funding launch this past Monday. 

Their product is a $250USD power meter that attaches in between the pedal and the crank arm.  This will measure your power on your left side (ala Stages Power), and then double that power.  It will transmit ANT+ initially, and then Bluetooth Smart support down the road. 

Also down the road are plans for releasing a dual capable left and right version."

Storey and Rowsell headline Tour de Yorkshire women’s race.

Sarah Storey and Joanna Rowsell are just two of over 100 of the UK’s best female riders to be taking part in the Tour de Yorkshire’s women’s race on May 2 in York.

The pair, who both race for Pearl Izumi Sports Tours International, are joined by fellow Great Britain track rider Katie Archibald.

With the race open to Elite down to Cat. 3 riders, the mix of participants will give some younger riders the chance to race alongside Olympians and Paralympians like Storey and Rowsell.

2015 Liege Bastogne Liege LIVE.

Sunday's Liege Bastogne Liege departs Liege at 10:15am CET (4:15am U.S. Eastern) and is expected at the finish at Ans at around 4:49pm CET (10:49am U.S. Eastern). 

Live streaming video should get underway at around *1:50pm CET (*7:50am U.S. Eastern). *Rai Sport 1 coverage starts at this time but Eurosport is not scheduled to start until 2:15pm CET (8:15am U.S. Eastern, 5:15am Pacific).