VeloNation: RadioShack Nissan rider moves to next stage of recovery.

CyclingNews: Fränk Schleck has admitted that he was surprised at his late call-up to lead the RadioShack-Nissan team at the Giro d’Italia, but he has insisted that he will do all he can to finish in the top 5 in Milan. Schleck was only informed of his selection on Saturday afternoon, after previously designated leader Jakob Fuglsang was forced to give best to a knee injury.

SRAM Tour of the Gila - May 2-6 (Stages & results),
Giro d'Italia - May 5-27 (Stages),
Amgen Tour of California - May 13-20 (Stages),
Tour of Turkey - April 22-29 (Stages & results),
Tour de Romandie - April 24-29 (Stages & results),
Joe Martin Stage Race - April 26-29 (Stages & results),
Tour de France - June 30 - July 22 (Stages),
2012 Olympic Games - July 28 - August 12 (Races),
Vuelta a España - August 18 - September 9 (Stages),
More...

The 29-year-old expressed to Eurosport his doubts over Cavendish winning the points classification in an exclusive interview, feeling the Manx rider’s focus on the Tour de France and London 2012 will put him at a disadvantage in a very strong field.

PodiumInsight: At the end of the women’s 73.1 miles (117.6km) stage 1 of the SRAM Tour of the Gila, there really wasn’t any question as to who was the strongest rider in the field. It was Kristin Armstrong (Exergy Twenty12). Armstrong and her teammate Jackie Crowell drove a break for most of the race, and then Armstrong powered away on the final tough climb to cross the finish line with over two minutes on her closest competitor.

Tour of the Gila – cheat sheet.....

CyclingNews: The SRAM Tour of the Gila kicks off on Wednesday, and the edition marks the first time that the event has designated as a UCI 2.2 stage race. Consequently, the grueling five-day stage race has attracted professional racers from Pro Continental teams UnitedHealthcare, Team Type 1 and Champion System - a Hong-Kong based sports apparel company. This team of eight adds to the already strong field of international participants from Belgium, Spain, Columbia, and Mexico.

BikeRadar verdict: 4.5 out of 5 stars. "A no-fuss value winner."

BikeRadar verdict: 5 out of 5 stars. "Great for small frames where a bottle cage can be a tight fit."

BikeRumor: As the major pro road races get closer, 3T announced the entire thing has been designed around Garmin’s cycling computers. To prove it, they’re sticking it on the Team Garmin-Barracuda bikes claiming it’s one of (if not the) first time an entire Pro Tour team has used carbon fiber stems during the race. We’ve seen recent third party mounting options from Bar Fly and Quarq, but 3T’s is the first we’ve seen that actually integrates the mount into the stem.

Bicycling: Bicycle racing is one of the most beautiful sports in the world, and there’s no better way to experience it than in person. There are things you just don’t get from watching it on TV—the wind on your face as the riders speed by you, that autograph from a favorite rider, and the energy that spreads through the crowd as the first vehicles in the caravan come into sight.

CyclingNews: USA Cycling announced today that after seven years in Greenville, South Carolina, the USA Cycling Professional Road and Time Trial National Championships will move to Chattanooga, Tennessee in 2013, as part of a new four-year partnership with Volkswagen of America. In addition to venue change, the championship event will at long last bring the professional women's national title race into the fold beginning next year.

VeloNation: American rider still dealing with effects of fracture.

VeloNews: Saturday marks the start of the Giro d’Italia with the opening prologue taking place in Herning, Denmark, and U.S. hopes for a maglia rosa in 2012 fall on just four American riders for the second year in a row. The biggest hope for the red-white-and-blue to turn pink comes on day 1 of the race with a 21-year-old time trial phenom.

SBS: In his second full year with Slipstream Sports' UCI ProTeam, Garmin-Barracuda, Andrew Talansky is already starting to reach the exciting potential that Jonathan Vaughters and Chann McRae had spotted at an early age.

Mark Renshaw: "The Tour of Turkey was a last-minute change to the program but it worked out quite well. Originally I had planned to ride Romandie but there were no stages for the sprinters. Turkey was a really good preparation race for the Giro – eight days of reasonably flat roads, good hotels and nice weather. To win a stage there, and a hard stage at that, was a big boost to the confidence."

CXMagazine: Zabel shared stories from his many years in pro cycling, including how he got his start in East Germany, and where he was when the Berlin Wall came down.

CyclingNews: While the external expectations will be higher following his fourth place finish last year, Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) insisted that he is not obsessed by the Tour de France and that he will approach the race in the same frame of mind as always this July.

PEZ: Some great gear on display at the 2012 Sea Otter Classic... Steel and Carbon bikes, new wheels, cranks, upgrades, power meters, things to stuff in your ears and make you happy between your legs!

CyclingTips: For training for an Everest trip try doing ‘Everest’ in Melbourne by climbing Donna Buang 8 times in one day on a bike, (that would mean 8800 m of vertical height) roughly the same as Everest. After a years worth of attempts, George Mallory eventually managed 10 laps in a day!

Off The Beaten Path: Everybody knows that riding behind another cyclist decreases your wind resistance, but we also found that the front rider benefits from the draft, receiving a push from the rear rider.

VeloNews: When the news broke Tuesday that Giro d’Italia promoter RCS Sport was on the verge of reaching a revenue sharing agreement with cycling’s top teams, the revelation caught stakeholders on all sides of the table by surprise. Reactions ranged from cryptic allusions toward future announcements to direct calls for a new professional league.

InnerRing: You’re probably male and aged between 25 and 45. No, this blog doesn’t have some high-tech way to monitor readership, it’s more that men in this age group are the biggest followers of cycling in the US, UK and Australia and other English speaking countries so there’s a good chance you fit into this category as you’re reading an English-language niche cycling blog.

CycleBoredom: While it very well may be on his mind, Stephen Roche (and cycling’s governing body) clearly has decided micromanaging riders is infinitely more important than dealing with what the non-cycling public and press think about cycling.

Cyclismas: Cycling was Strada’s escape from a peasant’s existence. While many of her male contemporaries appreciated and applauded her, cycling was then very much a male-dominated sport. It still is, I suppose, but more and more people are beginning to wake up to the existence of the distaff peloton and who knows, maybe within our own lifetime the publicity scales may even balance out and it will receive the media attention it deserves.

RedKitePrayer: Every company has a story to tell. Glossy ads, marketing copy, websites, blogs, Twitter feeds, all of it aimed at creating a very specific impression of the brand. Paradoxically, ours is an industry that chases technology at the same time it basks in its sepia-toned heritage. A bike, component, or apparel maker who can bridge the gap between the two is destined for success.

CyclingIQ: Though the UCI, or rather its President, is a constant target of often-justifiable criticism, it cannot be denied that cycling’s governing body has made positive contributions to the sport through its development programs. Cycling iQ looks at a relatively recent coaching initiative and speaks to a self-described UCI critic who is participating in the program.

CyclingTips: Ardennes Classics consists of Brabantse Pijl, Amstel Gold, La Flèche Wallonne, and Liège Bastogne Liège and is the third and final act of the Spring Classics.

VeloNation: Jeremy Hunt gets late call-up to race.

InnerRing: The Giro d’Italia guide is now online. There’s a concise preview of every stage as well as information on the jerseys, the start list, TV viewing and more.

VeloNews: “The motor pilot for a camera bike job is pretty much the top of the heap as far as skill level and expertise goes. Many of the drivers have been doing the job for 20+ years – as is evidenced by their skill level. There is a mix of folks involved, but you tend to see teams who work well together."