Not much change in the general classification, where Alexander Vinokourov and Cadel Evans remained Nos. 1 and 2.

Farrar has a lot of fans here in the Pacific Northwest and we’re all waiting to watch him in this year’s Big Dance, the 2010 Tour de France, head-to-head again with the world’s No. 1 sprinter, Mark Cavendish. (Cavendish is racing in the Amgen Tour of California this week.)

Or maybe Cavendish isn’t No. 1 any more. He got a late start to his season due to oral surgery, and hasn’t yet hit the form he showed last season. The big problem for Tyler is Cavendish’s lead-out rider, Mark Renshaw, who pulls Cav almost to the finish. If Farrar had Renshaw leading him out, it might be a different story.

In any case, congrats to Tyler Farrar on his second stage win in the Giro.

The Giro d’Italia, the second biggest stage race in the world, and the Amgen Tour of California, North America’s biggest stage race, will be the source of a lot of channel hopping between Universal Sports and Versus. And downhill followers got an extra dose with the World Cup action from Slovenia, where Rachel Atherton and Greg Minnaar took top honors. You could watch it live, if you were awake, on Freecaster.tv.

This year’s Giro is providing some of the best day-to-day competition any stage race has witnessed in some time. The Amgen race just started earlier today and not much happened apart from a minor late-stage crash. After more than 100 miles, the leader and the rest of the riders finished separated by a whole 10 seconds. The result was understandable: Early stages typically are pretty tame, and hey, we’ve ridden much of Day One’s Cali route and by Northwest standards it is F-L-A-T.

There are numerous marquee racers in the Amgen Tour, however, including Lance the King and Mark the Mouth Cavendish (today’s winner), so let’s hope for some fireworks in days to come.

Full results (Lance is 69th, heh) here.

As we’ve said practically from Day 1, this year’s Giro d’Italia has been a joy to watch, setting a new standard for early-on stage racing thrills and spills. VeloNews provides a nice retrospective of Week 1.

Meanwhile, Lance Armstrong awaits tomorrow’s start of the Tour of California while expressing doubt that 2010 will be a banner year for The King. The problem is simple logistics: He’s not getting into racing form so far this year. He’s missed some big spring classics and not doing the Giro so he can compete in the Tour of California, a far lesser event. And then there’s all the promotional stuff, and a new baby on the way, and on and on…

We’ve all been there. So perhaps Lance can be forgiven if this story is true.

So far the Giro, unlike the Tour de France, is proving to be a great race in the early stages, full of the unexpected, with disaster lurking at every turn. Vicenzo Nibali kept the pink jersey, but it’s the first time that’s happened in this year’s Giro.

Tomorrow has a couple of nasty climbs and could shake up the standings once again.

Maybe the Giro riders feel they have to offer some excitement, given the looming competition for racing mindshare from the Tour of California starting on Sunday.

Velo News has the full rundown on today’s Giro results.

Too bad it’s in China…

Think that when there’s no more oil, bicycles will rule the earth? Think again…

The backlash against Ray LaHood’s pledge to invite cyclists and pedestrians to the Department of Transportation planning table will net truckers even less support among all road users than they’ve already lost. Someone with a scintilla of political savvy needs to step in and tell these guys they’re not doing truckers’ reputation any favors.

The business community, not typically a friend of cycling, seems to be getting it when it comes to the Amgen Tour of California. We in Seattle wish the businesses in Ballard who are suing to prevent completion of the Burke-Gilman Trail “missing link” would be so enlightened.

A huge bike path network moves forward in Marin County.

Pump tracks continue to sprout up like spring dandelions.

What do you do when you’re 50, contract brain cancer, then go on to beat it over a four-year battle? Celebrate with a bike ride of course … a bike ride of 3,781 miles.