Thursday's Wednesday's Giro d'Italia Stage 5 start time: 12:30 CET (3:30 AM PDT); Earliest live video: 14:35 CET (5:35 AM PDT); Live/delayed coverage options Approximate finish: 17:15 CET (8:15 AM PDT) .

CyclingNews: Navardauskas takes over pink jersey from Phinney.

Giro d'Italia - May 5-27 (Stages & results),
Tour of Chongming Island - May 9-11 (Stages & results),
Amgen Tour of California - May 13-20 (Stages),
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...

CyclingIQ: Melissa Hoskins (GreenEDGE-AIS) claimed her first professional road cycling victory in Asia today, after decisively winning the 73.4km opening stage of the three-day UCI Tour of Chongming Island stage race in China.

CyclingNews: Twenty riders were tested for corticoids at the 4 Jours de Dunkerque on Monday in additional controls organised by the French Cycling Federation in conjunction with the Movement for Professional Cycling and France’s Ligue Nationale de Cyclisme.

Lisa Brennauer: "I’ve been in China twice already so I knew, that you never know exactly what to expect of a country so far away from home, with such a different culture and lifestyle. My first impression was: grey sky as always, but if you come to Chongming Island you have to admit that even if the sun doesn’t often come through the dusty sky lots of forests, rivers and little townhouses give a beautiful natural contrast to the big city of Shanghai not far away."

BikeRadar: Bringing together three trends in cycling – power meters, ovalized chainrings and twin-ring mountain bike cranksets – Rotor and SRM will begin selling their 3D+ Mountain Bike Double* in June.

“In the midst of competition, Hinault attempted to snatch victory like a furious, clawing rodent… he acted not only for himself but for a nation horrified that its great race might be hijacked by an American outlaw.” Rolling Stone, 1986.

CyclingNews: Taylor Phinney (BMC) made the most of his Giro d’Italia rest day by recuperating after his stage 3 crash. The American maglia rosa hit the tarmac inside the finale and was swiftly taken to the hospital after the podium celebrations. Scans revealed no broken bones, but treatment required several stitches to his badly swollen ankle.

InnerRing: "Ramūnas Navardauskas is not yet a familiar name in the sport but I suspect he’ll become a lot more recognisable now he’s taken the lead in the Giro. He’s 24 years old and rides for Garmin-Barracuda and if you haven’t spotted his name in the results so far, that’s because he’s been an invaluable helper for others on his team."

CyclingNews: Taylor Phinney looked disappointed after losing the Giro d'Italia leader's jersey to Garmin-Barracuda's Ramunas Navardauskas in circumstances in which he normally would have performed, but he wasn't able to ride at his normal level during the stage 4 team time trial.

Taylor Phinney: This is what my foot looks like this morning.

road.cc: It's a day for the spinters… Simon MacMichael sets the scene and Geraint Thomas gives his tips.

InnerRing: Today sees a 33.2km team time trial in and around Verona. The city was used for the finish of the 2010 Giro d’Italia and now it hosts the restart of the race in Italy. But it could finish off the hopes of a few candidates for the overall as the distance is significant. Weak teams can pay a heavy price and the slight mountain climbers will struggle to hold the wheels.

CycleSport: On stage three of the Giro d’Italia at Horsens, a piece of spectacularly bad riding by Roberto Ferrari saw six riders hit the deck including the reigning world champion and the maglia rosa. There can’t have been too many times in history where two such prestigious jerseys have simultaneously hit the deck, so hard, so fast and for so little reason.

CyclingNews: RadioShack-Nissan announced today its line-up for the Amgen Tour of California and as expected it's a team built around defending champion Chris Horner.

Modena – Fano: Thursday’s Stage 5 should be noted for a couple of good reasons – 1. The flat finish could give Mark Cavendish some sweet revenge after being taken out in stage 3’s finale, and - 2. Fano is the home town of our own Ale Federico, who’s ready to welcome PEZ-fans with open arms…

NYVeloCity: Doping, dopers, cheaters, EPO, transfusions, recuperation, blood levels, hematocrit, electronic assist, Floyd, Lance, tainted meat, fairness, sport. Cycling has a long list of dirty words.

CyclingNews: Race leader Taylor Phinney and his BMC squad will be the final starters in Verona on Wednesday as the Giro d’Italia gets back into action after the rest day with the stage 4 team time trial.

PodiumCafe: In April after a close-fought duel with Marianne Vos on the Mur de Huy, Stevens won Flèche Wallonne, her first ever World Cup victory.

VeloNation: American rider undergoing therapy to try to recover in time.

CyclingNews: The last few months have been very hard for Bjarne Riis, first losing his top star Alberto Contador to a doping suspension and then facing the potential loss of Team Saxo Bank's WorldTour status. He has been let down by the UCI, he said.

TwistedSpoke: “Come on, really, day by day? I’d say something lame like that? No, I was being ironic, trying to be funny,” said Phinney. “I made the joke and then said I was taking the race day by other day. I said it in Italian and English."

Enrico Battaglin: "Ciao a tutti. I’m back in Italy but I can’t forget this trip to Denmark for my first start at the Giro d’Italia. When I was on the start ramp for the opening time trial in Herning, I thought: “well… I’ve seen this race on TV for many years, now here I am!” But once in action, it’s just another bike race, except that this one is so much more important than the others."

PodiumCafe: Getting a book-length account of a single season for a single rider is rare. Most of the time the true gems here aren't from the races themselves but the little things in between that add up to a more complete picture of a modern Belgian hero.

BicycleRetailer: Riders on Team Vacansoleil-DMC and Team Androni-Giocattoli will use the Vision Metron Groupset, which includes front and rear derailleurs, a cassette, a crank and a shifter for use on aero bars.Team Lampre also will be using a new Vision aerobar.

Off The Beaten Path: There are some components where you cannot save weight without undue compromises, and rims are a very good example. A well-designed clincher rim weighs about 450-500 g (650B) and 480-530 g (700C). To reduce this weight further, you only can remove material in four ways.

NYVeloCity: As a friend said to me the other day, you know you’re dominating your market when other people start making accessories for your product. And a quick glance around my weekend start line indicates that Garmin is becoming the computer of choice for racers.