Wow. What a fantastic week of racing we've just witnessed.  First the Tour of Flanders, and then a HUGE win at Paris-Roubaix (the first ever by an American team) - all wrapped up in an eight-day package that, in my book, makes for some of the best pro cycling on the calendar.  The racing never disappoints, but there's so much more than just the racing when we're talking about big European bike races.  Mark Johnson will be following the Garmin-Cervelo squad's adventures this season as he works on a book (scheduled for publication in Spring of 2012 from VeloPress) about the team. When he's not writing content or shooting photos for the book, Mark will be bringing us unique stories about the team and the sport of cycling. Here's story number one about why the Tour of Flanders is so much more than just a spectacular race.

This just in from the Team CLIF BAR guys who headed to Southern California for the Tour of Murrieta. Sounds like the racing went well and so did the hairstyling. I guess by now it's common knowledge that the mullet can bump up power output. But it's still good to share that info for the new riders out there who aren't up to speed with all those important little bike racing tricks.

&vedBack in February, a number of us headed up to Bend, Oregon for a film shoot. Team CLIF BAR mountain biker/cross racer Troy Wells joined the mix, so we got to spend some time in the winter wonderland with Mr. Wells.

It's always fun to hang with Troy. He left the oh-so-rideable warmth of Tucson to join us in the less-so-rideable snow of Bend - and he seemed to have a smile on his face the entire time, even during one crazy-cold looking long descent. Certainly a fine test of

It's been a nice early-season weekend full of good stuff thanks to a number of the Team CLIF BAR athletes.

While Troy & Todd Wells hunker down in Tucson to hone in their foosball skills for the 2011 TCB Foosball Invitational, other athletes were also preparing for the upcoming season. Some, with their seasons already kicked into gear, were even winning things - in January! Crazy, huh? Friday through Sunday, the TCB Elite Cycling squad gathered down in the south bay for a

The domestic cyclo-cross season is coming to the pinnacle. With Nationals this weekend in Bend and the final round of the USGP's in Portland this past weekend, it's go time! Here's Team CLIF BAR athlete Troy Wells' report leading up to Nationals. I've started to find my legs over the last couple of weeks. After a solid race in Fort Collins resulting in a 6th on Sunday and being awarded SRAM's most aggressive rider, I had a weekend at home before it was time to travel to Iowa City for