road.cc: Is this the stage for Nibali? Geraint Thomas thinks it could be & so does IG Sigma's Dan Lloyd who rides the three main climbs and talks tactics and the perils of the rest day.

RedKitePrayer: Someone asked me the other day at the Tour de France what was my favorite climb of all in this phenomenally beautiful country. I said, they’re all great. But I do have a soft spot for the western slopes of the Col du Tourmalet, which this year’s peloton will tackle on Thursday’s stage from Pau to Luchon.

VeloNation: Time bonuses see defending champion Emma Johansson take overall lead.

CyclingNews: Races & Results.
Tour de France - June 30 - July 22 (Stages & Results),
Thüringen Rundfahrt der Frauen - July 16 - 22 (Stages & Results),
Tour de Pologne - July 10 - 16 (Stages & Results),
Giro d'Italia Femminile June 29 - July 7 (Stages & Results),
2012 Olympic Games - July 28 - August 12 (Races),
Vuelta a España - August 18 - September 9 (Stages),
More...

InnerRing: Today’s rest day brings to mind Antonin Magne, winner of the Tour in 1931 and 1934 who said “the Tour is won by sleeping”. He didn’t mean he snoozed on his bike, instead that recovery was so important. Many riders today will have been working hard on their rest day, going for the right ride, eating correctly, stretching hard and getting a strong massage.

CycleSport: The climbers’ classification has been reduced almost to irrelevance. It’s time to change the way the polka dot jersey was awarded.

VeloNation: He, David Millar and Dan Martin determined to make most of last days of Tour.

VeloNews: The 99th Tour de France is 18 days old on Tuesday. As riders spin their legs out and lounge in Pau during the race’s second and final rest day, the Pyrénées loom overhead. Sky’s tandem of Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome sit atop the general classification with three decisive days of racing remaining.

Bicycling: Team Sky mechanics installed Shimano XT mountain bike cassettes on Wiggins’ wheels for Stage 14. But this created a new problem: In order to accommodate the larger rear cogs (with as many as 36-teeth) a long-cage rear derailleur is required.

VeloNews: Mavic’s neutral service team enters a race like Paris-Roubaix expecting battle. Flats will happen, the peloton will be splintered, and team cars will be nowhere in sight. Neutral service will be the only thing standing between many riders and a DNF.

BikeRadar: Using a heart rate (HR) monitor isn't rocket science, it's just a case of getting in the right zone. Here, Harry Blackwood – who finally cracked HR training after returning to cycling at the age of 50 – explains how to do it.

Coverage News...

InnerRing: Each stage is analyzed, each jersey is explained and once more information is available there will be full list of riders and other content that’ll be updated every day so you can dip in and out during the next few weeks.

VeloNation: No return to racing for third Colombian to win Tour King of the Mountains.

CyclingNews: Points leader in line to collect on bet made with Liquigas team boss.

VeloNews: Denis Menchov was tipped to win the Tour de France two weeks ago when the race began in Liège, Belgium. He started the race red-hot, avoided early catastrophe and sat fifth overall, but then something went wrong.

CyclingNews: Without a real general classification leader, Bjarne Riis’ men have been hard at work in the breakaways of this year’s Tour. They may not have won a stage but there’s been time in the polka-dot jersey and the most aggressive award as consolidation.

SBS: As the Tour de France enters its final week, riders have already negotiated some of the toughest climbs in Europe, and have some major climbs still to go. So what makes some of those riders successful while others crumble?

Bicycling: How much do you know about the Tour de France's holy grail?

InnerRing: If Peter Sagan was a team, he’d be third in the rankings.

CycleSport: The Team Sky head of performance science explains how he has prepared Bradley Wiggins for his yellow jersey challenge.

BikeRadar: Dietary supplements are big business. You only have to walk into a health food store to see that. However, knowing what to use and when can be a minefield for an experienced athlete, never mind someone stepping up their cycling training. The claims made can be spectacular, almost too good to be true – unfortunately, they generally are.

road.cc: The whole package is an excellent choice if you've decided it's time to base your training on what your legs are really doing.

VeloNation: Final decision yet to be made.

Bicycling: Don't let bike maintenance be forgot, and never brought to mind.

road.cc: 2013 model is lighter and more rigid.

VeloNation: Long distance break caught late as heavy rain falls on Kraków finale.

CyclingNews: Earlier today, the UCI advised Luxembourger Fränk Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan) of an Adverse Analytical Finding in a urine sample collected from him at an in-competition test at the Tour de France on July 14, 2012.

CyclingNews: A report in the Wall Street Journal claims that a registered lobbyist working for Lance Armstrong's Livestrong Foundation approached an influential member of Congress to discuss the actions of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

CyclingNews: Up to five samples from the Athens 2004 Olympic Games have been found to be suspicious following retroactive testing by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

CyclingNews: Up to one quarter of sum owed not paid for fear of “money laundering.”

VeloNation: Italian happy with place on the podium but aims for more in the final week.

VeloNation: Vinokourov aiming for farewell stage win, Brajkovic wants to secure top ten overall.

road.cc: Italian gruppo to rival Ultegra Di2; like Shimano's newer groupset it's not backwards compatible.

BikeRadar: Felt's Nine 29er carbon hardtail hasn't changed much since its introduction back in 2008 but the 2013 version looks to be worth the wait with huge leaps forward in performance. It's slightly lighter but that's not the big story – claimed stiffness figures jump by up to 50 percent and the geometry is a further refinement over what was already a winning formula.

VeloNation: Country requests replacement with RadioShack-Nissan teammate Laurent Didier.