Team RadioShack manager Johan Bruyneel clarified news reports yesterday regarding the alleged snub by Giro d’Italia organizers, and said that although his team will indeed not be racing in the Giro this year, this was actually part of their overall plan, and not because of a snub by the organizers.

Bruyneel explained in his blog that Team RadioShack had already informed the Giro d’Italia organizers about their plans to race in the Tour of California instead of joining the Giro. He said that they had already contacted the RCS (the organizers of the Giro) to inform them that racing in the Giro “did not fit within RadioShack’s objectives and plans.” Bruyneel added that although he “liked the Giro” and thought it was a great race, still the team’s focus was to specifically race in the Amgen Tour of California instead.

This was partly due to the fact that…

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A stomach infection will be forcing Bradley Wiggins of Team Sky to miss out on the action in the upcoming Tour of Catalunya this week. However, Team Sky principal Dave Brailsford says that even though it is “unfortunate” that Wiggins will not be able to race in the Spanish event this week, his training for the 2010 Tour de France won’t be derailed by this unexpected interruption.

“We’re going to assess the situation quickly and adjust his (Wiggins) race programme so that nothing is jeopardized,” says Brailsford. The 29-year-old former Olympic cycling champion has been improving and performing better, getting strong results in his events including a 3rd overall finish at the Tour of Murcia last three weeks ago.

Brailsford expressed his confidence that Wiggins will be back in racing form soon and will be able to return to his race programme easily enough. He added that the team…

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The 2010 Cross-country racing season is just around the corner. There has been much buzz as existing XC teams prepare their line up and give way to the emerging new ones.

One team which stands out is the WXC Mountain Bike Racing team. The squad is made up of 11 women riders. The team’s name may be unfamiliar but the athletes comprising it have been in the racing circuit for some time now.

The concept team was concocted by the managers Trevor Brown and Keith Loveday in 2004. It has amassed a World title, 127 wins, 156 podiums and 252 top ten placing. This year, a new goal is set for the team to create UK’s first all women professional mountain bike team that will compete nationally and abroad.

The team sponsors include Weldtite, Limar helmets, Moda bikes and many others.

The WXC Mountain Bike Racing team will have its virgin run on March…

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Team HTC-Columbia rider Andre Greipel has voiced his displeasure over being skipped for the team lineup for the recently-concluded 2010 Milan-San Remo. The German cyclist was not part of the lineup of riders that HTC-Columbia had fielded to race in the Italian classic last Saturday, instead opting to go with their star sprinter Mark Cavendish.

Greipel sees this as an indication that he is just getting second billing on the team, and the fact that he has indeed outperformed his British teammate so far this season does not help matters any. The German rider has already shown his winning form in several events this year, starting with an early rush of three stage victories, earning the points jersey, and the overall title as the 2010 Tour Down Under champion. From there, Greipel went on to grab a win at the Trofeo Magalluf-Palmanova in the Mallorca Challenge, plus another…

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The Tour of Flanders will be on April 4 and its organizers have sent out invitations to 18 Pro Tour teams and 7 wildcard invites. The spring classic boasts of a challenging route which excludes the French Cofidis team because it did not receive a Pro Tour License.

At the lead, the Tour will have BMC Racing Team from U.S., Cervelo Test Team from Switzerland, Team Milram, Team RadioShack, The Dutch Skil-Shimano Team and the Vacansoleil squads.

The Tour of Flanders is much like a preparatory stage before tackling the 2010 Tour of France. The teams competing for the cobbled classic are:

Quick Step (BEL)
Omega Pharma-Lotto (BEL)
Caisse d’Epargne (ESP)
Euskaltel-Euskadi (ESP)
Ag2r-La Mondiale (FRA)
Francaise des Jeux (FRA)
Doimo Liquigas (ITA)
Astana (KAZ)
HTC-Columbia (USA)
RadioShack (USA)
Footon Servetto (ESP)
Lampre-Farnese Vini (ITA)
Rabobank (NED)
Sky Team (GBR)
Garmin Transitions (USA)
Katusha (RUS)
Milram (GER)
Saxo Bank (ENG)
BBox Bouygues Telecom (FRA)
BMC Racing Team (USA)
Cervélo Test Team (SUI)
Landbouwkrediet (BEL)
Skil-Shimano (NED)
Topsport Vlaanderen – Mercator (BEL)
Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team (NED…

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After winning second place at the Milan-San Remo race, Tom Boonen of Belgium vowed to himself that he will do better on the cobbled classics. His next event will be “A Travers la Flandre” on Wednesday. This was a 200km race which he won third place last year.

This year, Boonen hopes to return on a positive note to compensate for his career which was nearly compromised last year. Although he lost to Spaniard Oscar Freire on Saturday’s 298km epic, Boonen continues to keep himself fit, trim and ready to take top prizes for this season’s events.

Boonen shares his insights on the Milan-San Remo race, “To win Milan-San Remo you need a lot experience because you’ve got to know how to stay cool throughout the race. I’m 29 and I’ll try again next year. (Mario) Cipollini won after 14 years, right? This is my eighth edition, I’ve still got time. Perhaps…

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2010 is the year Freeride Mountain biking takes on the world with its first Mountain Bike (FMB) World Tour. The sport is now enjoying an increase in number of riders who love to join Big Mountain, Slopestyle and Dirt Jump contests. However, it doesn’t have its own world series in comparison with other action sports like TTR World Snowboard Tour and the ASP World Tour for surfing, until now. A core group of professional athletes, organizers and opinion leaders have come up with a new organization, the Freeride Mountain Bike World Tour.

The FMB World Tour was created to put a structure on the sport. It aims to make events consistent and safer for the contestants and easier for the media to cover. Freeride mountain biking is a sport where many athletes love to participate in. Since the competition is worldwide, forming a tour is only logical to elevate the sport…

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