American Tyler Farrar started Stage 7 of the Vuelta a Espana on Saturday, in spite of a falling in a serious crash within sight of Friday's finish line.

The Wenatchee, Washington, native only lasted a few miles, however, before abandoning the race.

Farrar, 27, crashed on Friday when he collided with another cyclist sprinting for the finish line Talavera de la Reina. After picking himself off the pavement and crossing the finish line, members of the Garmin-Cervelo staff ...   more »

American sprinter Tyler Farrar crashed in the final kilometer of the sprint on Friday at the Vuelta a Espana.

The setback must be disappointing to the world-class sprinter raised in Wenatchee, Washington, as it's one of the few chances for a sprint victory at this year's bike race.

Marcel Kittel (Ger) Skil - Shimano won the stage ....   more »

Cyclists at the Vuelta a Espana are proving their expertise in uphill and downhill cycling.

Team Katusha's Joaquin Rodriguez proved he had the strongest legs on Wednesday when he attacked on a 24% ramp in Valdepeñas de Jaén to win Stage 5.

On Thursday, four members of the Liquigas squad, and one from Movistar, attacked on the closing downhill run ...   more »

Two days after teammate Matt Goss abandoned the Vuelta a Espana with stomach flu, HTC-Highroad's sprinter Mark Cavendish retired on the second climb on Tuesday.

Perhaps it was too much climbing early in the 3-week race, or too much heat or the effects of the same bug that bothered Goss.

The mountaintop finish for Stage 4 wouldn't have suited Cavendish ...   more »

Spanish cyclist Pablo Lastras showed some class in his victories at the Vuelta a Espana on Monday by dedicating his ride to this year's fallen comrades in the peloton.

The 35-year-old on the Movistar cycling team beat breakaway companion Sylvan Chavanel (Quickstep) by 15 seconds in the sprint and took the overall leader's jersey after Stage 3 by a 20-second ...   more »

Chris Sutton took advantage of a disorganized sprint into Playas de Orihuela on Sunday to win Stage 2 of the Vuelta a Espana.

The cyclist for Team Sky followed Vincente Reynes's (Omega Pharma) attack in the closing quarter-mile, then raced around him for his first Grand Tour stage win.

Wenatchee, WA's Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Cervelo) finished in fourth place.

The day's ...   more »

Four US cyclists took the starting line at the Vuelta a Espana on Saturday for the team time trial as the three-week-long bicycle race began in the coastal city of Benidorm.

None of the Americans landed in the Top 10, as Leopard-Trek won the event with a 5-second gap over Liquigas-Cannondale.

Although Leopard's Fabian Cancellara set the pace for his team, the overall leader's jersey went to teammate Jakob Fuglsang ....   more »

Cycling enthusiasts can enjoy bicycle racing on two continents while comfortably seated on their couches.

The Vuelta a Espana -- the last of this year's Grand Tours -- rolls out live for three weeks on Universal Sports beginning Saturday (Aug. 20) through Sept. 11.

Meanwhile, Versus and parent network NBC are joining efforts to offer live coverage of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge (aka "That Colorado Bike Race") beginning Monday and running through Aug. 28.

Live web video streaming of the cycling action through the Rockies also will be offered online at the "Shack Tracker." ....   more »

Tyler Farrar capped off the Vuelta a Espana with a final stage win in downtown Madrid on Sunday by basically outlasting Mark Cavendish on the sprint to the finish.

It was the second Vuelta win for the Garmin-Transitions cyclist from Wenatchee, Wash. He also won Stage 5. Cavendish had three individual wins at the Vuelta.

The overall leaders all finished in the peloton on this flat final stage, marked by 12 circuits around Spain's capital city. Italy's Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) earned the overall Vuelta championship ....   more »

Vincenzo Nibali refused to be beaten down on the steep slopes of the Bella del Mundo on Saturday and survived the last mountain stage of the Vuelta a Espana in first place overall.

Try as he might, challenger Ezequiel Mosquera couldn't put away Nibali on the final climb. Mosquera at one point had a 20-second lead over the Italian near the summit, but Nibali battled back in the fog and finished right on Mosquera's wheel.

Barring a catastrophe in the final stage, Nibali is set to win the Vuelta championship on Sunday in Madrid.

The penultimate stage of the Vuelta dawned ...   more »

An early race leader rocketed up the brutally sudden uphill finish in Toledo to win Stage 20 of the Vuelta a Espana on Friday.

Phillipe Gilbert (left, Omega) attacked the peloton after it crossed a bridge leading to the final mile into town. American Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Transitions) hung onto his wheel but was unable to pass the driving Belgian.

Overall leader Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) finished in a small group just 1 second behind, earning himself another 12 seconds of breathing room over 2nd place Ezequiel Mosquera ....   more »

His third victory at this year's Vuelta a Espana will be recorded as an individual sprint win, but once again Mark Cavendish got a lot of help.

HTC-Columbia teammate Matt Goss delivered Cavendish to within about 200 yards of the finish line on Thursday, allowing the "Manx Missile" a clear sprint to the finish line in Salamanca.

He finished one second ahead of second-place finisher J.J. Haedo (Saxo Bank), who was followed by a dozen other sprinters to close the flat 18th Stage of the Vuelta ....   more »

One cyclist may crack on the lofty summit of a mountaintop finish. Another will fail on an individual time trial over a dead flat course. Each time, the overall race lead changes.

That's the story of the past two stages of the Vuelta a Espana.

On Monday's Stage 16, red jersey leader Vincenzo Nibali lost more than a half-minute when many of his rivals attacked near the summit of Alto de Cotobello and he couldn't respond. Joaquim Rodriguez moved into first place overall. ....   more »

After controlling the overall lead for about 110 miles on Monday's Stage 16, everything fell apart for the Liquigas cycling team and Vincenzo Nibali in the final mile.

With Frank Schleck scampering up the Alto de Corobello to erase a few seconds in his gap to the red jersey, the group of riders surrounding Nibali attacked and the Italian could not respond.

His chief rival, Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha), finished 37 seconds ahead of Nibali and took the leader's red jersey with 33 seconds to spare ....   more »

Italy's Vincent Nibali (Liquigas) took over the lead of the Vuelta a Espana on Saturday after overall leader Igor Anton (Eukaltel Euskadi) suffered a heart-breaking crash near the base of the final climb on Stage 14.

As the peloton moved on, Nibali, Ezequiel Mosquera (Xacobeo Galicia) and Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha) battled for the red jersey on the steep slopes of the Pena Cabarga, with Rodriguez crossing the finish first.

The crash happened as Katusha was pushing the pace ...   more »