Landis in the hunt in Catskills race (AP)
Floyd Landis joked around at the start with other riders at the Tour of the Catskills, then showed he still has a kick. Landis completed the first stage of the three-day event in the lead pack of 35 riders, finishing in 3 hours, 19.23 seconds on a sun-splashed Saturday. That left him tied for sixth, 34 seconds behind leader Aurelien Passeron of France.

UPDATE 1-Cycling-Tough course suits winner Sanchez (Reuters)
* Sanchez edges out Vinokourov

Floyd Landis in the hunt in Catskills race (AP)
Floyd Landis has finished in the lead pack in the first stage of the Tour of the Catskills. He began Saturday's 80-mile ride 24 seconds behind prologue winner Aurelien Passeron of France. Landis is tied for sixth, 34 seconds behind. Landis was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title. He has admitted using banned drugs and made doping claims against Lance Armstrong.

Sanchez edges Vinokourov in San Sebastian Classic (AP)
Spanish cyclist Luis Leon Sanchez has won the San Sebastian Classic, while Tour de France runner-up Andy Schleck abandoned the race halfway through. Caisse d'Espargne rider Sanchez outsprinted Astana's Alexander Vinokourov to win the 145.4-mile race in 5 hours, 47 minutes, 13 seconds on Saturday.

Schleck abandons San Sebastian Classic (Reuters)
Tour de France runner-up Andy Schleck dropped out of the San Sebastian Classic midway through the one-day event, the official website reported on Saturday.

Rebellin loses appeal over Beijing positive test (Reuters)
PARIS, July 30 (Reuters) Italian cyclist Davide Rebellin has lost his appeal against the stripping of his Olympic silver medal for doping, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said on Friday.

UCI weighs appeal after Valjavec doping decision (AP)
The International Cycling Union is studying a Slovenian ruling which rejected biological passport evidence that rider Tadej Valjavec was doping before deciding whether to appeal to sport's highest court. The UCI said Friday it must translate the detailed judgment by Slovenia's anti-doping organization which declined to sanction the 33-year-old Valjavec.

Italian cyclist Pellizotti risks 2-year ban (AP)
The Italian Olympic Committee's anti-doping prosecutor has recommended a two-year suspension for cyclist Franco Pellizotti for violations of the anti-doping code just before the 2009 Tour de France. The announcement on Friday came after the International Cycling Union said in May that it detected abnormal values in Pellizotti's blood passport.

British cyclist Staite suspended for doping (AP)
British Cycling has announced that Dan Staite has received a two-year ban from all competitions after testing positive for the blood-boosting agent EPO. The urine sample collected at the Roy Thame Cup road race in March also showed the presence of an aromatase inhibitor, which is used in cancer treatment.