Off The Beaten Path: "Tire resistance is much more important than previously thought. For most riders, changing the tires is by far the biggest improvement they can make to their bikes’ performance. (Aero wheels will improve your bicycle’s speed by less than 2%, whereas tires can make a 20% difference.)"

VeloNews: “The most important? No, it’s the first!” said Isaichev. “To win at the Tour de Suisse is not something I expected in my career.”

Tour de Suisse - June 9-17 (Stages & results),
Tour de Serbie - June 12-17 (Stages & results),
Nature Valley Grand Prix - June13-17 (Stages & results),
Tour de Beauce - June 12-17 (Stages & results),
Vuelta a Colombia - June 12-24 (Stages & results),
Giro Ciclistico d'Italia - June 8-17 (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...

PodiumInsight: Tom Zirbel wins the St. Paul Time Trial with the only sub-16 minute time of the day at the opening stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix. Teammate Scott Zwizanski held an early lead, finishing third on the day while John Murphy of Kenda/5hr Energy p/b Geargrinder finished second.

CyclingNews: Craig Lewis (Champion System Pro Cycling Team) just missed out on taking the yellow jersey in a suspenseful stage 2 at the Tour de Beauce Wednesday, holding off the peloton and beating his surviving breakaway companion after spending 120km up the road.

CyclingNews: Cardenes sets the same time.

SBS: One of the dark horses for a high finish at the Tour de France, Robert Gesink, says he's confident in his preparation despite an anonymous start at the Tour de Suisse.

VeloNation: Astana leader heads squad on home soil.

road.cc: It's the most aerodynamic wheel in the world! At least, it is today...

BikeRadar: Legendary car manufacturer Aston Martin will throw their hat into the bicycle ring when they launch the One-77 superbike in July.

BikeRadar verdict: 4 out of 5 stars. "At this price point it’s hard to fault a helmet of this quality and fit."

road.cc: Compact pump for a quick pre-ride tyre check but stashability has drawbacks.

CyclingFans: Wednesday's Tour de Suisse Stage 5 departs Olten/Trimbach at 12:20pm CET (6:20am U.S. Eastern) and is expected at the finish at Gansingen at around 5:15pm CET (11:15am U.S. Eastern).  Tour de Suisse live streaming video should get underway at around 3:45pm CET (9:45am U.S. Eastern).

InnerRing: Andy Schleck is out of the 2012 Tour de France. The news first appeared this morning in the Luxembourg media with RTL. A press conference has been called at 4.00pm by Radioshack and this is expected to confirm the news and update with information on Schleck’s injuries.

VeloNation: A MRI scan taken yesterday in a Luxembourg hospital has detected a fracture in his sacrum, where the spinal column joins the pelvis.

PodiumCafe: When we last saw him, Joe Dombrowski was chasing eventual winner Robert Gesink on Mount Baldy at the Amgen Tour of California. Dombrowski went on to finish fourth on the stage and twelfth overall. It was a big result for the young rider from Bontrager-Livestrong.

SkySports: With each stage race he rides and wins Bradley Wiggins becomes a more convincing contender for the Tour de France. That is actually an understatement. His successful defence of the Critérium du Dauphiné title on Sunday, added to his Paris-Nice and Tour of Romandy victories earlier this season, means Wiggins is now widely regarded as the outright favorite.

PEZ: Continuing our series of pre-Olympics interviews with riders who came from the ‘left field’ of the velodrome, we talk to Mike McCarthy, a man who didn’t quite come from nowhere to win the 1992 world professional pursuit championship but certainly shocked the world of the Euro Pros to take what was arguably then, the most prestigious of all the track titles.

GoGetItGal: Ride the famous Tour de France Climbs, stay in a luxury chalet, get coaching and a plan! Go Get it Gal Offers a Cycling Tour exclusively for women Aug. 26-Sept. 2, 2012. Don’t miss out on this extraordinary experience!

BikeRadar: Ten different routes up one mountain? Monte Grappa, Italy, might just offer more ascent options than any other peak you've ridden – and they're all fantastic.

Heidi Swift: "I rode for seven hours on Sunday, alone and smiling. I rode hard and did tempo intervals on the long, long flat highway. I rode hard and climbed our only long mountain, an easy-sipper named Larch. I rode from bottom to top and then descended."

BikeRumor: Ahrens Cycles, which offered up the WiseCracker bottle opener in the form of a headset spacer, is now making it available in a sub-10 gram weight 6/4 titanium version.

BikeRadar: Ever since Shimano introduced the Di2 system for Dura-Ace, electric shifting has been a talking point — if not the envy — of many a cyclist. The price, however, has put Di2 (and now Campagnolo’s EPS electronic group) well up into the fantasy level for most riders.

CyclingFans: The 2012 Vuelta a Colombia runs from June 12-24.  There should be limited live streaming video, probably just for the finish of each stage.

InnerRing: To define this the video is sent as a stream over the internet to your computer or other device. Unlike a file that you download, the data are sent in a stream so you can watch things as they happen, for example a live broadcast. The technology is relatively simple.

VeloNation: Young rider shows talent in Baby Giro.

VeloNews: Lance Armstrong faces sanction from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and has been banned from triathlon competition until the resolution of the investigation. The Washington Post reported Wednesday that USADA has sent the seven-time Tour de France champion and others a 15-page letter outlining the allegations that stem from his run with the U.S. Postal Service and Discovery team between 1998 and 2005, as well as his comeback in 2009-2010.

RedKitePrayer: There was a time, not very long ago, when the average fan’s perception of Cadel Evans was not entirely favorable. Clearly a huge talent, Evans’ demeanor suggested a lack of maturity, a tendency to whine and the distinct impression that the biggest prizes would elude him. Perhaps it was the influence of the late Aldo Sassi, perhaps it was winning a World Championship, perhaps it was getting married, but Evans finally got himself over the hump.

From L'Equipe today: Number of victories at age 22: Laurent Jalabert, 1; Sean Kelly, 2; Philippe Gilbert, 5; Peter Sagan, 33.

InnerRing: That’s how good Peter Sagan is. Ok, like all statistics you can take them apart a bit, for example the age they turned pro makes a difference. But 33 wins? Even for a sprinter this is phenomenal but like those listed, Sagan seems to have something more. After all he beat Fabian Cancellara for the prologue in the Tour de Suisse.

CyclingNews: Sustaining a broken leg certainly isn’t the best preparation for a Tour de France but in Levi Leipheimer’s case it could be a twist of fate that allows him to peak in July for the first time in a number of years.

VeloNation: Shortlist due to be announced today.

BikeRadar: This video was recorded at Fort William last weekend before the American notched up another victory, with Monkey guiding us through the subtle changes to the bike's set-up.

VeloNews: Organizers of the Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic, the second oldest bicycle race in the country, this week cancelled the four-day event scheduled for June 28 to July 1, citing low pre-registration numbers.

BikeRumor: Clif Bar has just added new fruit and nut bars called Kit’s Organics. They’re available in four flavors, Cashew, Berry Almond, Chocolate Almond Coconut and Peanut Butter. All of them are a base of organic dates with other organic ingredients as the flavors imply…except peanut butter, it just has dates, peanuts and almonds. All have a “pinch of sea salt”, too.

RBAction: New food, clothes, power meters and more...

BikeRumor: Taking only a few design cues from their current GC Aero (scooped downtube and seat tube), this new model brings a whole lot more to the table. This is clearly a prototype plastic frame, but if it holds its shape through to production.

Cyclelicious: Napoleon Bonaparte does barspins on his fixed gear whip as he conquers the world!

VeloNews: Hours after learning that his RadioShack-Nissan team had not included him on its list of riders pre-selected for the Tour de France due to a back injury, American veteran Chris Horner told VeloNews that his back is no longer hurting him, and that he would have been ready to race come the Tour’s June 30 start in Liège, Belgium.