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PARIS, April 30, 2008 (AFP) - The French government on Wednesday moved to toughen anti-doping legislation ahead of this summer’s Tour de France.
Members of Parliament adopted a new law which penalizes the possession and trafficking of doping products in sport with prison sentences and fines.
Under the [...]

by Justin Davis
PARIS, April 29, 2008 (AFP) - Spanish rider Alejandro Valverde gave his future Tour de France rivals an early reminder of his explosive climbing talents by winning his second Liege-Bastogne-Liege classic Sunday.
At ‘only’ 261 km in length, this year’s ‘Doyenne’ - known as such [...]

by Justin Davis
ANS, Belgium, April 28, 2008 (AFP) - Cadel Evans’ plans to go one better than his runner-up place at last year’s Tour de France remain intact after what has proved to be an ultimately confidence-boosting week of bike racing.
Yet on Sunday the 30-year-old Australian [...]

PARIS, April 9, 2008 (AFP) - The threat of falling rocks has forced Tour de France organizers into changing the route of one of the stages on the 2008 edition of the cycling blue riband.
Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) announced Wednesday that the 15th stage would now start from Embrun [...]

Join the forum discussion on this post ROME, April 8, 2008 (AFP) - Eddy Mazzoleni, third in last year’s Tour of Italy (Giro d’Italia), has been handed a two-year ban by the Italian Cycling Federation (FCI) for his involvement in the “Oil for Drug” affair, the FCI said on Tuesday.
[...]

ROME, March 30, 2008 (AFP) - Giro d’Italia champion Danilo Di Luca will ride in the Settimana Lombardia on April 6, his LPR team said on Sunday.
Di Luca is currently embroiled in an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to have a three-month suspension he served [...]

Former Champ Damiano Cunego of Lampre Set To Skip Giro

CHARLEVILLE-MEZIERES, France, March 30, 2008 (AFP) - Former Tour of Italy winner Damiano Cunego looks set to skip this year’s Giro in order to focus on his preparations for the Tour de France, his Lampre team revealed Sunday.
The 2004 Tour [...]

Following is the end of “rolling thunder” — a cycling novel
Subject to copyright.   
 
ROLLING THUNDER (cont’d)
 
 
 
Chapter 25
Raleigh Spriggs was the seventy six year old Chairman of the Board of Continental Tire, which was a fifty four year old company with annual revenues of over twenty billion Euros.  When Shamus scanned further articles Google suggested best [...]

Following is Part 11 of “rolling thunder”
Subject to copyright. Friends don’t let friends edit-copy-edit-paste.   
 
ROLLING THUNDER (cont’d)
 
Chapter 23
 
Saturday rolled around, and the already star-crossed Tour got underway.
 
In the rider’s village, an area carved out by plastic tape signified that the public need come no closer, riders’ strained faces seemed to relax.  After months of build-up, [...]

Team Slipstream Sports is going to the Tour de France! The Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) has announced the wild-card invitations to the 2008 Tour and included the American team in its short list.
Team director Jonathan Vaughters says, “I feel relieved after all the work we put in. We proved we are one of the better [...]

   NEW YORK, March 19, 2008 (AFP) - US cyclist Floyd Landis, stripped of his 2006 Tour de France victory for doping, began making his appeal to a three-man panel from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) here on Wednesday.
   The private hearing is expected to continue through Monday with no comments from any [...]

NICE, France, March 16, 2008 (AFP) - Tour de France organizer ASO said Sunday it would reveal next week which teams it has selected for this year’s race.
Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) made the announcement after holding “constructive” talks with teams ahead of the final stage of the Paris-Nice event which [...]

Following is Part 10 of “rolling thunder”
Subject to copyright. Please enjoy responsibly.   
 
ROLLING THUNDER (cont’d)
 
Chapter 20
 
Shamus lost focus on assisting the investigation once the Classics kicked off.  It wasn’t possible to race well with your mind on other things.  He felt he was losing ground with Eve, as well, since she was completely engulfed in [...]

MADRID, March 14, 2008 (AFP) - Cycling boss Pat McQuaid on Friday promised to back reigning Tour de France champion Alberto Contador should he decide to take legal action over his exclusion with the Astana team from this year’s race.
The tour’s organizers, Amaury Sport Organization (ASO), ruled on February
13 that Contador’s Astana [...]

Following is Part 9 of “rolling thunder”
Amazingly still subject to copyright.  Some things never change.  Please enjoy responsibly.   
 
ROLLING THUNDER (cont’d)
 
Chapter 17
Petre Patrovski rumbled about the luxurious hotel suite he often called home atop the Kempinski Vier Jahren, or Four Seasons, on Westendstrasse in downtown Munich, surrounded by boxes and envelopes he used to package [...]

LONDON, March 5, 2008 (AFP) - Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme said here Wednesday the global interest in hosting a stage was proof of the race’s enduring appeal despite a succession of doping scandals.
   Prudhomme said the success of the ‘Grand Depart’ in London last year had led nations as far afield as Japan [...]

Following is Part 8 of “rolling thunder.”
Blah, blah, blah, this story is copyrighted.  Comprend?  By the way, thank you for leaving your thoughtful comments along the way…we live on that stuff! 
 
ROLLING THUNDER (cont’d)
 

Chapter 15
“Go ahead and tell me then.” 
He’d been lying in bed when she’d called, so there was no need to sit down.  [...]

MADRID, Feb 29, 2008 (AFP) - Former Tour de France winner Oscar Pereiro fell victim to a determined chasing peloton Friday before Italian Lorenzetto  Mirco took out a well-deserved sprint win at the Tour of the Valencia Community.  Mirco, of Lampre, held off fellow Spaniard Xavier Florencio, of Bouygues Telecom, and Italian Filippo Pozzato of [...]

BRUSSELS, Feb 29, 2008 (AFP) - Belgium’s former world champion Tom Boonen has opted to race at the Tirreno-Adriatico stage race instead of Paris-Nice, his Quick Step team said Friday.
Boonen, a one-day specialist who would use either race as preparation for the upcoming classics season, says the profile of the French ‘Race to the [...]

Hope you had a great weekend. 
Following is Part 7 of “rolling thunder.”
In case it hasn’t crossed your mind, this story was written by someone for their therapy and for your enjoyment, but not likely for their enrichment and certainly not for yours.  If you’re scheming about how to make a buck off this story, be [...]

Following is Part 6 of “rolling thunder.” Thanks for being patient.
As we may have mentioned ad nauseum, this story is subject to copyright by the author. Not that we think you want your name on it, but someone may stoop that low. You never know. Anyway, please don’t use it other than as a pleasant [...]

Is California the new training ground for the classics? Our reporter is riding about one hour ahead of the peleton today on stage three of the Tour of California when what does he discover? Saunier Duval riders training on the course. The non racing riders of the Saunier Duval team are [...]

Bicycle.net this year is thrilled to bring you fantastic exclusive interviews and podcasts. Here are some thoughts on what this year’s Tour of California is going to bring you.
For more great audio, check out our host David Bernstein at The FredCast cycling podcast (The Fredcast.com).

 

 Fredcast - TOC Prologue [27:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (89)

Today was the start of the Amgen Tour of California with some of the world’s best bicycle riders coming to compete in Palo Alto, California. The morning started with bitter cold, but warmed up nicely by the time the riders took to the starting ramp. The crowds were lined up over 10 deep, in [...]

Following is Part 5 of a manuscript titled “rolling thunder.”  Coincidentally, it picks up amid the Tour of California and it’s being posted on the eve of the start of its 2008 launch.  It’s like we planned it that way.
 
 As a note to those persevering the saga, we’ll be traveling for a couple of days [...]

MADRID, Feb 14, 2008 (AFP) - The Operation Puerto blood-doping affair
involving about 60 cyclists and which erupted in May 2006, has been reopened,
Madrid prosecutors’ said on Thursday.
A raid on the Madrid laboratory of Dr Eufemiano Fuentes uncovered doping products, bags of blood and codenames which appeared to link top athletes to a highly-organised system of [...]

Apartheid is an Afrikaans word meaning “separation” or “being apart”.
[SATIRE... sort of]
Is it now accurate to use apartheid to describe a policy that exists in France in the latter 20th and early 21st centuries? This system is used to mistreat and deny opportunity to superior non-French cyclists. The ASO allowed the French minority to [...]

Following is Part 4 of an excerpt from a manuscript titled “rolling thunder.”
Parts 1-3 of the story are also posted at bicycle.net in the “Hub” under the page for System6.  Altogether, parts 1-4 comprise about one third of the total story, so there is still a long way to the end of the road.
Coincidentally, there [...]

Tour de France winner Alberto Contador not guaranteed 2008 place
Feb 1, 2008 (AFP) - Reigning Tour de France champion Alberto Contador, who has signed for the disgraced Astana team, will not be a guaranteed a starting place in the 2008 race.
Patrice Clerc, the president of Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) [...]

Richard Moore
Thursday December 20, 2007
The Guardian
Scotland has emerged as a candidate to host the Grand Départ of the Tour de France after the success of London last summer. EventScotland, the Scottish government-funded agency, travelled to Paris in September for discussions with the Tour director, Christian Prudhomme, on taking the race north of the border, [...]

The 2009 Tour de France will kick off from the tiny Mediterranean Principality of Monaco, the race’s organizer officially announced the Grand Tour’s first few stages Friday. The Grand Départ will start with a 15-kilometer time trial that will take place partly on the world-renowned Monaco Grand Prix circuit, July 4, making 2009 the fifth [...]

After getting todays first look at the 2008 Tour de France, it seems like Le Tour is really trying to increase the suspense. I for one am looking forward to seeing how they plan to bring back the glory days of the Tour.
Tour De France Revamps Race for 2008
By JOHN LEICESTER – 10 hours ago
PARIS [...]

No spectacular announcement is expected at the launch of the 2008 Tour de France at lunch time on Thursday in Paris. The organizing company ASO has already given the UCI credit for working together with WADA on the new concept of the biological passport that should ensure that no cyclist will be able to undergo [...]

Spain’s Pereiro Receives Yellow Jersey From the 2006 Tour de France
Tuesday, October 16, 2007; Washington Post
Oscar Pereiro finally got his hands on the winner’s yellow jersey from the 2006 Tour de France yesterday.
“Finally, we have a winner and it’s Oscar,” Tour director Christian Prudhomme said at the handover ceremony in Madrid. “Oscar, you have won [...]

Upon the announcement that Floyd Landis had lost his arbitration and received a two year suspension for testing positive for exogenous testosterone in the 2006 Tour de France, the soon to be declared winner of that Tour, Oscar Pereiro told Radio Marca that he hoped to get official documentation of his victory.
Pereiro said he hoped [...]

Floyd Landis: Up the River Without a Pedal.
Space for rent?

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL DOCUMENT

Gotta hand it to Floyd for plugging along…

By EDDIE PELLS, AP National Writer
September 20, 2007
PARIS (AP) — Floyd Landis lost his expensive and explosive doping case Thursday when arbitrators upheld the results of a test that showed the 2006 Tour de France champion used synthetic testosterone to fuel his spectacular comeback victory, The Associated Press has learned.
The decision means Landis, who repeatedly [...]

Tour de France - Landis verdict expected within week
Eurosport - Mon, 17 Sep 11:38:00 2007
Floyd Landis’ doping verdict has been decided and will be handed down within seven days according to a lawyer for the embattled 2006 Tour de France winner.
“The arbitration panel has reached a verdict three days ago. They have 10 days to [...]

VIENNA, Austria (AP) — Riding the grueling Tour de France bike race takes strength, stamina — and perhaps a heart nearly 40 percent bigger than normal.

Researchers who examined the hearts of former Tour bikers found that the athletes’ hearts were from 20 to 40 percent larger than average, said Dr. Francois Carre of [...]

Freshly crowned Tour de France winner Alberto Contador is scheduled to issue a public statement Friday along with Discovery Channel Team director Johan Bruyneel at the offices of Spain’s Superior Council for Sports according to the International Herald Tribune.
The rider has been tied to Operación Puerto, the Spanish doping investigation. He is expected to make [...]

Contador says Rasmussen mistreated
By Agence France Presse
Tour de France winner Alberto Contador said Thursday that the forced exit of Danish cyclist Michael Rasmussen, which paved the way for his own victory, was fundamentally unfair and set a bad precedent for the sport.
“I don’t know what is really behind it, but I do know that what [...]

News Flash: Mayo tests positive
Filed: July 30, 2007
Spanish climbing specialist Iban Mayo became the latest rider to fail a drugs test after it was revealed he had tested positive for EPO during the Tour de France, it was announced by his Saunier Duval team on Monday.
The 29-year-old, who finished 16th in the Tour, which finished [...]

In addition to his nickname ‘Chicken’, Danish rider Michael Rasmussen will forever be known as the man who didn’t win the 2007 Tour de France. Right or wrong, the Rabobank rider was ousted from his team under questionable circumstances and Rasmussen is now seeking answers, reports Cyclingnews’ Greg Johnson.
The tale played out like something from [...]

Contador wins Tour as Bennati takes finale
By Jason Sumner @ VeloNews.com
America’s lone ProTour team capped its best-ever Tour de France on Sunday, locking down the yellow jersey, the white jersey, two places on the final podium and the overall team classification. Discovery Channel’s impressive quartet of achievements - highlighted by Alberto Contador’s GC victory - [...]

Leipheimer wins final TT; Contador narrowly holds yellow
By Jason Sumner @ VeloNews.com
Throw in the two rest days, and Alberto Contador’s winning margin at the 2007 Tour de France is destined to equal one tick of the watch per day. Those 23 seconds will represent the second smallest final time difference in the race’s 94 renditions, [...]

Tour de France Stage 19 Preview
Individual Time Trial - 55km
Cognac to Angoulême
First rider departs at 10:43 a.m. (4:43 a.m. EST/U.S)
Final rider expected to finish at 4:20 p.m. (10:20 a.m. EST/U.S.)

LIVE TOUR TEXT by Cycling News
STAGE 19 MAP

COURSE: This closing time trial, on up-and-down country roads through the vineyards, could see another showdown to determine the [...]

Casar wins Stage 18; Contador in yellow
In a battle among two Frenchmen and a pair of soon-to-be retirees, Française des Jeux’s Sandy Casar was fastest of the four, taking victory in stage 18 of the 2007 Tour de France.
Casar, who crashed into an unleashed dog early in the day, launched a cunning attack late in [...]

Tour de France Stage 18 Preview
Cahors to Angoulême
211km
Start Time: 12:15 p.m. (6:15 a.m. U.S. EST)
Estimated Finish Time: 5:18 p.m. (11:18 a.m. U.S. EST)
LIVE TOUR TEXT by Cycling News

STAGE 18 MAP

COURSE: The beautiful roads through the Dordogne area give this stage a similar feel to the one in which Armstrong took his famous solo stage victory [...]

Time to look back at our Top 5 Doping Excuses in Cycling

With the elimination of contenders coming fast and furious, I was inspired:

Tour de France Stage 17 Review and Highlights:
After all the turmoil in the Tour the last few days, you can be sure that the riders were just looking forward to a “normal” day on the bike. You have to feel for the Rabobank riders that had to withdraw do to the lies of Michael Rasmussen. [...]

Tom Boonen does not mince his words, with the Quick.Step sprinter calling for Alexandre Vinokourov to receive a lifetime suspension after testing positive for a homologous blood transfusion at the Tour de France. “Vino is a dirty cheat who they ought to suspend for his lifetime,” Boonen told HLN.be. “He is causing immense damage to [...]

Predictor-Lotto to sue Vino and Astana
By Paul Verkuylen (Cycling News)
The Predictor-Lotto ProTour team is planning on filing a claim against Alexandre Vinokourov and his Astana team for loss of publicity. The Kazakh rider won the Stage 13 time trial before testing positive for blood doping, taking away victory from Predictor-Lotto’s Cadel Evans who finished second [...]

Tour de France Stage 17 Preview
Pau to Castelsarrasin
188.5km
Start Time (baring any protests): 12:45 p.m. (6:45 a.m. U.S. EST)
Estimated Finish Time: 5:17 p.m. (11:17 a.m. U.S. EST)
STAGE 17 MAP

COURSE: The rolling terrain of the Armagnac region is perfect for breakaways, especially when a weary peloton is reluctant to chase. There are six climbs on this medium-length [...]

So where do we start. With a stage review, with the latest doping scandal, with “The Chicken” living up to his nickname?
As Velonews reported,
Wednesday’s stage start was delayed by a protest () from the Tour’s six French teams and two German outfits, who failed to show up at the designated 10:40 roll-out time. Amid [...]

Tour de France Stage 16 (July 25, 2007)
Orthez to Gourette (Aubisque)
218km
Start Time: 10:40 a.m. (4:40 a.m. U.S. EST)
Estimated Finish Time: 5:11 p.m. (11:11 a.m. U.S. EST)
LIVE TOUR TEXT by Cycling News
STAGE 16 MAP

COURSE: Only four days from the Tour finish, this final stage with a summit finish could see a spectacular showdown. It includes the [...]

I think that David Millar said it best. “Jesus Christ - there you go, that’s my quote,” he blurted out. “What timing, huh? This is just f…ing great.” Millar broke down into tears when he was asked by British journalist Jeremy Whittle if he was all right, saying, “I just feel like crying right now.”
Just [...]

On July 24, 2007 the Tour de France will take a rest day:
Results
1 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana [...]

Today the Tour came alive with excitement, and Vino made a return from the grave. I have always been a Vino fan, but today he was able to become every bike racing fans hero. Just when you thought Vino was no longer a story worth paying attention to in the 2007 Tour de [...]

Tour de France Stage 15 Preview
Foix to Loudenvielle
196km - Mountain Stage
Start time: 11:15 a.m. (5:15 a.m. U.S. EST)
Estimated Finish time: 5:11 p.m. (11:11 a.m. U.S. EST)
LIVE TOUR TEXT by Cycling News
STAGE 15 MAP

COURSE: Not a mountaintop finish, but this stage features five difficult Pyrenean climbs, including one new to the Tour, the frightening hors categorie [...]

As Alberto Contador and “The Chicken” Michael Rasmussen continue to impress, the rest of the field seems to be unable to compete. Alberto Contador (Discovery Channel) was able to drop Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank) and the very end of Stage 14, the first in the Pyrenees, and take thesprint to the line. Todays stage [...]

Tour de France Stage 14 Preview
Mazamet to Plateau-de-Beille
197km
Start time: 11:40 a.m. (5:40 a.m. U.S. EST)
Estimated Finish time: 4:56 p.m. (10:56 a.m. U.S. EST)
LIVE TOUR TEXT by Cycling News
STAGE 14 MAP

COURSE: Following right after the time trial, this is the first of three demanding stages in the Pyrénées. It opens with an immediate 9km climb over [...]

I, like most of us watching the 2007 version of the Tour de France completely underestimated the ITT (individual time trial) skills of Michael Rasmussen. Rasmussen has never been known as a great time trialer, but today he proved that he deserves to be in yellow. Instead of cracking under the weight of ongoing [...]

“As much as cycling is about sport, it is also about advertising”. For those who don’t have a NY Times online subscription, read why:
For Sponsors, Tour Is Nearly a Monthlong Bonanza of Exposure
By EDWARD WYATT
MARSEILLE, France, July 18 — When Cédric Vasseur crossed the finish line here to win the 10th stage of the [...]

Tour de France Stage 13 Individual Time Trail
Albi, France
54km
First rider departs at 12:40 p.m. (6:40 a.m. EST/U.S)
Final rider expected to finish at 5:10 p.m. (11:10 a.m. EST/U.S.)
LIVE TOUR TEXT by Cycling News
STAGE 13 MAP

COURSE: Similar to the first long time trial of 2003, when Lance Armstrong suffered from dehydration at Cap’Découverte, this long, hilly time [...]

The two man breakaway consisting of Pierrick Fédrigo (Bouygues Telecom) and Amets Txurruka (Euskaltel-Euskadi) had an advantage of 5:21 when they creasted the big (and lone significant) mountain climb of the day with 50k’s to the finish, it looked as though they very well might have succeeded, except for the headwind and chasing peloton [...]

Tour de France Stage 12
Montpellier to Castres
178.5km
Start time: 12:40 p.m. (6:40 a.m. U.S. EST)
Estimated Finish time: 5:10 p.m. (11:10 a.m. U.S. EST)
LIVE TOUR TEXT by Cycling News
STAGE 12 MAP

COURSE: This stage is similar to the one from Narbonne to Toulouse in 2003 that went to the Spanish racer Juan Antonio Flecha, who made a late [...]

The 11th stage of the 2007 Tour de France dealt a cruel blow to one GC contender and welcomed a new country into its hall of champions on Thursday. The newcomer was South Africa and top sprinting star Robbie Hunter (Barloworld), who won a mad dash to the line that concluded the pan-flat, 182.5km ride [...]

Tour de France Stage 11
Marseille to Montpellier
182.5km
Start time: 12:45 p.m. (6:45 a.m. U.S. EST)
Estimated Finish: 5:08 p.m. (11:08 a.m. U.S. EST)
Terrain: Flat
LIVE TOUR TEXT by Cycling News
STAGE 11 MAP

COURSE: This is one of the flattest courses of the entire Tour, skirting the Camargue marshes of the Rhône delta, just north of the Mediterranean coast.
This stage [...]

Cedric Vasseur, the 36 year old Frenchman of Quick Step-Innergetic, took a decade to repeat his first Tour de France stage win. In front of his French fans he delighted with the Stage 10 win that went 229km rolling from Tallard to Marseille.
Cedric Vasseur (Quick Step-Innergetic) broke away on the right side of the five-man [...]

Tour de France Stage 10
Tallard to Marseille
229km
Start Time: 12:00 p.m. (6:00 a.m. U.S. EST)
Estimated Finish Time: 5:18 p.m. (11:18 a.m. U.S. EST)
Bob and Al’s preview for Stage 10 — Versus
LIVE TOUR TEXT by Cycling News
STAGE 10 MAP

COURSE: With a start from just south of Gap, and heading through Provence to the Mediterranean coast, this long [...]

The last wild-card team picked for the 2007 Tour de France showed Tuesday that the Tour organizers made the right choice, after Barloworld’s the unknown Colombian climber Juan Soler earned an impressive solo win in the 159.5km stage 9 mountain stage from Val-d’Isère to Briançon.
Soler attacked out of the peleton halfway up the 12km Cat. [...]

Tour de France Stage 9
159.5km
Val-d’Isère to Briançon
Start time: 12:30 p.m. (6:30 a.m. U.S. EST)
Estimated Finish time: 5:01 p.m. (11:01 a.m. U.S. EST)
I had the opportunity to spend some time with Levi Leipheimer’s brother Rob at the Amgen Tour of California and I came away a huge fan of Levi. I truly believed that he was [...]

Tour de France
Rest Day in Tignes
“I will write my about my observations and opinions on the Tour so far on Monday 7/16/07″
Stay Tuned.

”
Todays Stage 8 was more like a circus than a race, with the numbers of riders being shelled, you needed an Elephant to clean up the mess”.
This was the kind of stage that Micheal Rasmussen could have only dreamed about. It suited his style perfect, and the GC guys are either hurt (Vino) [...]

Tour de France Stage 8
Le Grand Bornand to Tignes
165km
Start Time: 12:45 p.m. (6:45 a.m. U.S. EST)
Estimated Finish Time: 5:30 p.m. (11:30 a.m. U.S. EST)
STAGE 8 MAP

COURSE: This second alpine stage has an unusual, and tough, ending with three long climbs: one 20km (the two-part Cormet de Roselend, one 15km (up to Hauteville on the Petit [...]

In the Tour de France’s first entry into the mountains, it was a Tour newcomer named Linus Gerdemann (T-mobile) stealing all the headlines. The German wunderkind escaped a 15-rider breakaway late in stage 7, and then rode solo to the finish in Le Grand Bornand, taking the stage win and possession of the yellow and [...]

Tour de France Stage 7
Bourg-en-Bresse to Le-Grand-Bornand
197km
Start Time: 12:10 p.m. (6:10 a.m. U.S. EST)
Estimated Finish Time: 4:52 p.m. (10:52 a.m. U.S. EST)
STAGE 7 MAP

COURSE: Only a week into the race, much earlier than usual, this first mountain stage will give an indication of who is going to challenge for the yellow jersey.
The stage finale includes [...]

Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic) sprints to another stage win, and regains the Green Jersey; Fabian Cancellara (CSC) holds lead and the Yellow Jersey. As the pack caught the solo breakaway of Bradley Wiggins (Cofidis) and with 3.4km to go the speed picked up, with Quick Step taking control. Although there was really no team that [...]

Tour de France Stage 6
Semur-en-Auxois to Bourg-en-Bresse
199.5km
Start: 12:40 p.m. (6:40 a.m. U.S. EST)
Estimated Finish: 5:16 p.m. (11:16 a.m. U.S. EST)

COURSE: Despite some early hills through the Burgundy and Côte d’Or wine country, this transitional stage closes with 45km of long, flat roads into the center of Bourg-en-Bresse - where a mass sprint seems certain. Bourg [...]

While the Italian rider from Team Liquigas Filippo Pozzato earned a hard-fought sprint win in stage 5 of the Tour de France, the bigger news was at the back of the pack, where one of the GC pre-race favorites Alexandre Vinokourov lost 1:20 to his fellow GC contenders after crashing hard on the [...]

Tour de France Stage 5
Chablis to Autun
182.5km
Start: 12:50 p.m. (6:50 a.m. U.S. EST)
Estimated Finish: 5:14 p.m. (11:14 a.m. U.S. EST)

COURSE: This should be the most decisive stage of the opening week on a course that traverses the Chablis wine region and Morvan hills on its way through Burgundy. It resembles a race like Liège-Bastogne-Liège and [...]

Two days after Thor Hushvod was caught behind the mass pileup on the run into Ghent, Thor Hushovd had a much better view of the finish line on Wednesday. Helped by the lighting fast leadout from Crédit Agricole teammate Julian Dean, Norway’s No. 1 cycling star was first across the line in Joigny to take [...]

Tour de France Stage 4
Villers-Cotterêts to Joigny
193km
Start: 12:50 p.m. (6:50 a.m. U.S. EST)
Estimated Finish: 5:17 p.m. (11:17 a.m. U.S. EST)

COURSE: This rolling stage through the Champagne and Brie regions to the east of Paris could be similar to an early stage of Paris-Nice - without the freezing temperatures! Until the final 18km, the stage will [...]

Tour de France Stage 3 Results and Highlights:
What a great sight it was to see Cancellara take the Stage 3 sprint while wearing the Yellow Jersey. He takes the win while it appeared that the other sprinters were to busy worrying about each other that Cancellara just slipped by. Todays stage was fairly relaxed [...]

Tour de France Stage 3:
Waregem, Belgium to Compiegne, France
236km of fast and flat
Start time: 11:45 a.m. (5:45 a.m. U.S. EST)
Estimated Finish: 5:10 p.m. (11:10 a.m. U.S. EST)

COURSE: The rumored inclusion of some Hell of the North pavé on this stage that heads south from Belgium to the French city of Compiègne, where Paris-Roubaix starts, was [...]

July 9th, 2007 Race Update: With two days of amazing weather in Good Old Britain, the Tour de France must be very pleased with their decision. So far the Tour de France has not delivered much in the way of doping scandals, but has delighted fans with good old racing. The Prologue was hotly [...]

By NEIL SEARS of the Daily Mail
Known as “King of the Mountains”, cyclist Robert Millar was Britain’s best performer in the Tour de France and an inspiration to a generation of fans.
He was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1984 and became an elder statesman of cycling once his racing days were [...]

Tour de France Stage 2:
* Dunkirk to Ghent
* 168.5km
* Start time: 1:10pm (local time) 7:10am (US Est)
* Finish Time: 5:05pm (local time) 11:05am (US Est)
*COURSE: Stage 2 will take the riders into Belgium and make a giant “S” across the flat plains of Flanders passing through the hometowns of past champions Freddy Maertens, Johan [...]

Results - Stage 1
1. Robbie McEwen (Aus), Predictor-Lotto, 203km in 4:39:01
2. Thor Hushovd (N), Credit Agricole, same time
3. Tom Boonen (B), Quick Step-Innergetic, s.t.
4. Sébastien Chavanel (F), Francise des Jeux, s.t.
5. Romain Feillu (F), Agributel, s.t.
6. Robert Förster (G), Gerolsteiner, s.t.
7. Oscar Freire (Sp), Rabobank, s.t.
8. Marcus Burghardt (G), T-Mobile, s.t.
9. Francisco Ventoso (Sp), Saunier [...]

COURSE: The prologue starts in the heart of London, goes past Downing Street (residence of Britain’s Prime Minister), the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace (residence of Queen Elizabeth II).

The course then climbs Constitution Hill, passes through Wellington Arch and loops around The Serpentine, a lake in Hyde Park, before heading back [...]

Ag2r
*Christophe Moreau (F)
*Cyril Dessel (F)
*John Gadret (F)
*José Luis Arrieta (Sp)
*Stéphane Goubert (F)
*Martin Elmiger (Swi)
*Ludovic Turpin (F)
*Sylvain Calzati (F)
*Simon Gerrans (Aus)
Agritubel
*Freddy Bichot (F)
* Moise Dueñas (Sp)
* Romain Feillu (F)
* Eduardo Gonzálo (Sp)
* Cedric Hervé (F)
* Nicolas Jalabert (F)
* Juan Miguel Mercado (Sp)
* Benoit Salmon (F)
* [...]

LONDON: All 189 Tour de France riders signed the UCI’s anti-doping charter in time for Saturday’s opening prologue stage.
The International Cycling Union requested that all cyclists sign a charter saying they are not involved in doping and promising to submit DNA samples to Spanish authorities for the Operation Puerto probe. Cyclists also had to agree [...]

By Agence France Presse
This report filed July 6, 2007
Sympathy is not something Predictor-Lotto’s Robbie McEwen is usually known to offer his rivals. But on Thursday the Australian sprinter admitted he felt sorry for one of his main rivals, Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi.
But in almost the same breath McEwen called for glorious sporting achievements at this [...]

By Agence France Presse
This report filed July 5, 2007
CSC director Bjarne Riis announced on Thursday he will not be present to follow his riders during this year’s Tour.
In May the 43-year-old Dane admitted to doping during his career, notably during his 1996 Tour de France victory. He was subsequently stripped of the title last month [...]

In connection with the debate, which has taken place over the last few days, Bjarne Riis would like to make the following comment:
”First of all I would like to say that I strongly object to the accusations made in the interview with Jörg Jaksche by the German magazine, Der Spiegel.
I have not had any [...]

The Internet company Masterseek has signed a contract as the new co-sponsor for Team CSC starting with the 2007 edition of Tour de France. Masterseek will get a prominent spot on the new clothes worn by the riders for the first time, when the Tour kicks off on Saturday in Central London.
Masterseek is the biggest [...]

When Tour de France starts in London on July 7., Team CSC’s riders should be off to a good start as the entire team has brand new Cervélo Soloist Carbon Super Light (better known as SLC-SL), all except for Carlos Sastre of course, who prefers the R3 frame – and he will of course [...]

French Vocabulary Related to Cycling and the Tour de France
Whether you love cycling or just watching competitions like the Tour de France, you’ll want to learn some French vocabulary related to cycling.
le cyclisme - cycling, biking
People and Riders

un commissaire - referee who travels by car
un coureur - rider, cyclist
un cycliste - rider, cyclist
un [...]

Team CSC Announces Line-Up for Tour de France 2007

The nine riders selected by Team CSC for this year’s Tour de France are:
Carlos Sastre, Fränk Schleck, Jens Voigt, Stuart O’Grady, Fabian Cancellara, Inigo Cuesta, Kurt-Asle Arvesen, Christian Vande Velde and David Zabriskie.
”As always, it’s been a very difficult decision. It may sound like a [...]

One of the most often asked question is what is the YELLOW jersey, or what is the POLKA DOT jersey. And the second question I get asked often is how much money do they win. Well I am going to answer both of these questions, so read below for my primer;
General Classification (GC) Winner
YELLOW JERSEY: [...]

Discovery Channel unveiled the nine-rider cast that will try to rekindle the Lance Armstrong glory years when it heads to London for the start of the 2007 Tour de France. As expected, Levi Leipheimer got a full vote of confidence from Discovery sport director Johan Bruyneel on Wednesday, and will lead America’s lone ProTour team [...]

“Come on guys. It is time to give the UniBet team the road time they deserve. Either keep all gambling out of the Tour (ie: Lotto, etc.), or let them all in. This looks a lot like a school yard game of dodge ball. You can’t make up the rules as you go along. [...]

According to ESPN, 1996 Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis admits taking EPO and says he’s willing to give back his yellow jersey.

“I have taken doping. I have taken EPO,” Riis said during a televised news conference. “I have made errors and I would like to apologize.”

Riis said he used the substances from 1993 [...]

VeloGuy here, Is Basso crazy? I can not believe that he actually said that he wanted to dope, he prepared to dope, he took steps to dope, but did not dope. Sounds more like since he did not get tested and confirmed a doper he will admit to just enough to get a lighter sentence. [...]

NEWS FLASH: Basso admits involvement in Puerto scandal
By Agence France Presse
This report filed May 7, 2007
Italian cycling star Ivan Basso admitted to the anti-doping prosecutor of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) on Monday that he was involved in the Operation Puerto blood-doping scandal.

CONI said the 29-year-old rider came to their offices of his own [...]

… but you can’t make it downshift without a jockey pulley.

Apparently from the Tour de France.

At what point do the powers that be at UCI have to either press charges or stop harassing the riders? Are you anything like me and are you just getting fed up with all the accusations? By just leaking a name (whether the rider is involved or not) they can ruin a riders [...]

The LA Times reports an hour ago:
Synthetic testosterone found in Landis’ “B” samples
by Philip Hersh, Special to The Times
9:45 AM PDT, April 23, 2007
Evidence of synthetic testosterone has been found in “several” of the other urine samples Floyd Landis gave while winning the 2006 Tour de France, the French newspaper L’Equipe reported on its website [...]

In the never ending quest to be the first to break major cycling news we at Bicycle .net are going to start a rumor.
Who is going to take over from Discovery Channel as sponsor?
It is based on nothing but gut instinct. It sure could be true. Just think about it…… What company could drop [...]

Tons of typos in this news blurb which misses that it took place in Houston, Texas:
Cyclist Landis raises more money for doping fight as tests go on
Emabattled 2006 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis made a fundraising appearance at a suburban bicycle store here Tuesday even as retests of his doping samples were being done [...]

BREAKING HEADLINE:
American cyclist Landis wants new tests at UCLA
NEW YORK (Apr 13, 2007)
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency will test backup urine samples from Tour de France champion Floyd Landis over the cyclist’s protests about the need for the tests and the credentials of the French lab where they’ll be analyzed.
Landis, who tested positive at last year’s [...]

Um, once evidence is demonstrably mishandled, exactly how can a subsequent test be trusted?
Thursday’s LA Times (reprinted here because it’s a subscribers-only article) writes:
Arbitrators rule against Landis
Panel gives U.S. anti-doping officials permission to retest urine samples
April 12, 2007
An arbitration panel has ruled against Tour de France champion Floyd Landis on two procedural issues, complicating his [...]

From Breitbart.Com via The Drudge Report and Little Green Footballs:
Embattled Tour de France winner Floyd Landis received a boost in his fight against a positive doping test after French lab records showed a protocol violation.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the French laboratory which found the positive results against Landis had two technicians involved in [...]

BIKINGBIS reports:
Floyd Landis promised French anti-doping authorities on Thursday that he won’t race in the upcoming Tour de France, or any French bike race, this year.
In return, the French anti-doping agency said it would postpone its case against Landis until after the US Anti-Doping Agency rules on the charges.
This should be a surprise [...]

Agence France Presse reports :
World Anti-Doping Agency chief Richard “Dick” Pound (pictured, right) said Wednesday that he has asked the French anti-doping agency (AFLD) to postpone its investigation into Floyd Landis (pictured below, left) until the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency ends its inquiry.
Landis tested positive for a skewed testosterone-epitestosterone ration following Stage 17 of the 2006 [...]

PARIS, Feb 29, 2008 (AFP) - Cyclists due to compete in the Paris-Nice stage race have asked organisers to make amendments to a proposed teams’ contract, which in midweek prompted anger from the sport’s world ruling body.
The first major European stage race of the season will be held under a cloud after organisers controversially [...]