CyclingFans: Thursday's Vuelta a Espana Stage 18 departs Aguilar de Campoo at 12:15pm CET (6:15am U.S. Eastern) and is expected at the finish at Valladolid at around 5:40pm CET (11:40am U.S. Eastern).  Vuelta live streaming video should get underway at around 4:00pm CET (10:00am U.S. Eastern).

VeloNation: Emotional Spanish rider takes first post-ban victory to seize control of Vuelta a España.

VeloNation: German-registered team takes more confidence ahead of World championships.

CyclingNews: Fast, if long, climb for ninth summit finish of Vuelta.

PEZ: Resident soothsayer Viktor, has renamed the Vuelta the ‘Spanish Hill Climb Championships’ and says he can’t handle another mountain top finish – I wasn’t man enough to remind him about the Bola del Mundo on Saturday. However, he has been waxing lyrical about stage 13 and the winner of those 173 kilometres into General Franco’s birthplace of Ferrol in Galicia – ‘a great stage, and Cummings is a Man!’

Races & Results.
Vuelta a España -  Aug 18 - Sept 9 (Stages & Results),
Giro Toscana -  Aug 29 - Sept 2 (Stages & Results),
Mountain Bike Championships - Aug 31 - Sept 9 (Races),
Tour de l'Avenir - Aug 16 - Sept 1 (Stages & Results),
CyclingNews: More...

BikeRadar: German brand Stevens might be best known for their cyclcross bikes outside their native land, but their road range for next year includes some real showstoppers.

TwistedSpoke: The Mavic HC Jersey ($124) is a tribute to ventilation. HC stands for Hors Categorie, a rating for the most difficult climbs but in Mavic’s case, it could also stand for Hors Cool.

VeloNation: Intermediate sprints give Marianne Vos the race lead in uncharacteristically calm weather.

CyclingNews: Book accuses Dane of bringing Hincapie EPO in Girona apartment.

VeloNews: For years, there had been whispers within the bike racing community that Tyler Hamilton, a former U.S. Postal Service rider-turned-Olympic gold medalist-turned-suspended drug cheat, would write a tell-all book detailing what went on inside both the USPS team of Lance Armstrong, and more generally, inside the sport of pro cycling.

VeloNews: A group of California state senators has asked that state’s two U.S. senators to request a review of the U.S. Anti-doping Agency, USA Today reported Tuesday night. The request follows USADA’s decision to hand Lance Armstrong a lifetime ban after he refused arbitration in the U.S. Postal Service conspiracy case last month.

InnerRing: “The truth really will set you free“: the last sentence of Tyler Hamilton’s new book is a fit ending. For 300 pages Tyler and Dan Coyle trace Tyler’s journey through the madness of professional cycling during one of the sports most complex times. Coyle’s elegant style allows the story to flow effortlessly through Tyler’s career, capturing the ebb and flow of enablers, teammates, doctors, and DS’s.

VeloNews: They’re young. They sit in lawn chairs rather than RVs or fancy team buses in race-start parking lots. To be perfectly honest, they look like a very skinny high school basketball team. (Junior varsity, if we’re specific).

BikeRadar: The Tour of Britain has been on an upward trajectory ever since its relaunch in 2004 and this year's edition looks set to keep it on course.

road.cc: Felt has redesigned their Z Series road bike for 2013 so we took it for a ride to discover how it performs.

BikeRumor: Some of hearsay surrounding the Continental belt drive system introduced at Eurobike did just that, which included a rumor that Gates Carbon Belt Drive was considering Aramid to replace the carbon. We’ve heard from several folks with hands on experience that if handled improperly -mainly if its crimped or folded to severely- the Gates system can weaken and snap.

CyclingNews: Jonathan Vaughters of Garmin-Sharp has hired a number of ex-dopers to his team – and is one himself. He did not sign Jörg Jaksche when the German had served out his doping ban, but it had nothing to do with "omerta" or black-listing in the peloton – it was simply due to a personality conflict.

VeloNews: Andy Schleck’s racing hiatus will continue after the Luxembourger withdrew today from the GP Fourmies, set to take place on Sunday. Schleck said in a release from his RadioShack-Nissan team that he continued to experience pain from his fractured pelvis.

CyclingNews: While Mark Cavendish’s team for 2013 remains the subject of some speculation, the Manxman will not be joining Katusha, according to directeur sportif Valerio Piva.

CyclingNews: David Moncoutié (Cofidis) has confirmed that he will bring the curtain down on his career when the Vuelta a España draws to a close on Sunday. The Frenchman had initially planned to retire at the end of last season, but postponed his decision following a strong showing at the Vuelta.

BikeRumor: SRAM has updated their original road group, Force, with some of the RED tech for 2013. Parts affected are the cranksets, rear derailleur and shifter levers.

BikeRadar verdict: 2 out of 5 stars. "Average speed and smoothness in terms of shifting, but stiffness doesn't match the price."

VeloNation: Governing body has “turned it into a Mickey Mouse sport” claims former World champion.

CyclingNews: Kurt-Asle Arvesen has conceded that he is beginning to harbour some doubts about his former CSC manager Bjarne Riis following allegations printed in Tyler Hamilton’s newly-published autobiography.