CyclingNews: Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) soloed to victory in the pouring rain to become the first Spaniard to win the Giro di Lombardia. The petite Spaniard had escaped on the day's final climb, and was able to stay away from a strong chase group. Second place went to Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), with Sky's Rigoberto Uran taking third.

CyclingNews: Roelandts retains overall lead.

VeloNews: Philippe Gilbert has dreamt about winning his first race in the rainbow jersey on Saturday. BMC Racing’s Belgian arrived in Italy on Friday, one night before his debut race, the Giro di Lombardia.

Races & Results.
Milano-Torino -  Sept 26 (Results),
Giro del Piemonte -  Sept 27 (Results),
Giro di Lombardia -  Sept 29 (Preview),
Tour de Wallonie Picarde -  Sept 27-30 (Stages & Results),
CyclingNews: More...

USACycling: It was another exciting day of racing at the 2012 USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships on Friday with four elite national titles awarded, plus another six national titles awarded in the para-cycling categories.

CyclingFans: Saturday's Giro di Lombardia departs Bergamo at 10:35am CET (4:35am U.S. Eastern) and is expected at the finish at Lecco at around 5:11pm CET (11:11am U.S. Eastern).  Giro di Lombardia live streaming video should get underway at around *2:30pm CET (*8:30am U.S. Eastern).

InnerRing: A duel between Alberto Contador and Philippe Gilbert on some of the most beautiful roads of Europe? The scenery is guaranteed but we could have a wider cast fighting for the win. An exceptionally hard course with difficult conditions forecast means this race is going to test condition, handling skills and the mind.

VeloNews: Jeremy Powers (Rapha-Focus) is off to a furious start. He’s won three times in four outings, opening up his title national defense campaign in mean fashion. He seems armed to the teeth. Is it too early to talk about worlds?

Pave': It’s a rare occasion in the United States to have only one-pair of UCI races on a weekend. It’s even rarer to have a UCI C1 race stateside, which is why America’s top cross riders have all assembled on the Gran Prix of Gloucester aka the New England World Championships.

CyclingNews: Professional Continental team Argos Shimano (Felt) is hoping to step up into the UCI World Tour as of next season. The Dutch outfit's management has recently sent in its application dossier to the world governing body of cycling in a bid not to rely solely on wildcard invitations to the greatest races anymore.

InnerRing: The Muro di Sormano. The first Spanish winner of the race. The race moved to September. The new world champion crashing out. For all the novelty and action this year’s edition might also be remembered for the rain that poured almost all day long.

CyclingNews: The climb of the Muro di Sormano did not ultimately decide the Tour of Lombardy – although the greasy descent would end Philippe Gilbert’s challenge – but by the time the curtain had fallen in Lecco, it turned out that its vertiginous slopes had quietly doled out a verdict all the same.

VeloNation: Belgian champion takes first win of the season as Nikki Harris takes first of career in women’s race.

VeloNation: Says 2012 Tour champ can become a ‘legend’ by winning all three Grand Tours during career.

Off The Beaten Path: Even though randonneuring officially is an “unsupported” sport, organizing a brevet means manning controls and, usually, providing substantial food at an overnight control, where riders also can rest for a few hours during the brevet.

CyclingFans: The 2012 Soudal Classics Cyclocross series (previously Fidea) gets underway Saturday, September 29 with the GP Neerpelt.  Live streaming video: 5:15pm CET (11:15am U.S. Eastern).

CyclingNews: Vaughters, who allowed to Kimmage to embedded in his team during the 2008 Tour de France, has also said that a cloak of fear may have discouraged a greater number of riders and team managers from defending Kimmage. “I feel like it’s unnecessary and that Paul is being unfairly singled out,” Vaughters told Cyclingnews when describing the UCI’s defamation case.

BikeRadar: Aero wheels used to be regarded as things you owned and used only if you were doing time trials or indulging in the demanding sport of triathlon.

RedKitePrayer: The Paul Kimmage Defense Fund is now up to $43,730.49 and growing. That is an incredible show of support from 1369 donors and the news is even better than that.

Reports no serious injuries...

VeloNation: “Lucky I crashed now and not one week ago,” says new world champion.

CyclingIQ: As expected, Iran’s Tabriz Petrochemical Team and Malaysia’s Terengganu Cycling Team have been asserting themselves as key favourites in the general classification but, at the race’s mid-way point, the Vietnamese team of second-placed Duc Tam Trinh is showing itself to be no easy pushover.

USCyclingReport: Gang Xu of the Champion System Pro Cycling won the Chinese national road title Friday by soloing away in the final seven kilometers of the 180 km race in Changsha.

VeloNews: The Union Cycliste International needs to fire its heads if it is to have an impact on doping says embattled journalist Paul Kimmage. The controversial Irish rider-turned-author hit out at the UCI on Thursday, calling for foundation-shifting changes to cycling’s worldwide governing body.

VeloNation: Evergreen cyclist stuns scientists with his fitness and health.

USCyclingReport:  The 2012 USA Cycling Elite Track NationalChampionships kicked off on Thursday with six new national champions crowned at the VELO Sports Center in suburban Los Angeles.

VeloNews: Brent Bookwalter ends his 2012 campaign Saturday at the Giro di Lombardia and is looking to put a strong ending on what he admits was a frustrating summer.