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The break

Disco' drives the chase

Boonen in green

Contador in yellow

Evans easily drops a pack of TV types at the start.

Contador's ride at the ready

Pierrick Fedrigo tries to start the first break, and checks to see if he has any takers.

Axel Merckx and Michael Boogerd lead the break that stuck.

Disco in the lead, with Lotto keeping a close eye on things.

Boonen early in the stage, on what looks like a very small bike. He can make it go fast, however.

In the Hunt for points, Hunter congratulates Boonen on the field sprint.

Contador starts his daily fashion show. First his team kit...

... then the white for best young rider...

... and then the yellow one.

And all are happy.

At 12:40 p.m. local time Thursday, organizers of the Tour de France officially accepted the withdrawal of Michael Rasmussen, thus closing the book on one of the most controversial yellow-jersey runs in race history. In the wake of the Rasmussen affair came stage 17, a mostly flat run from Pau to Castelsarrasin. No one wore the maillot jaune.

Ag2rChristophe Moreau (F)Cyril Dessel (F)(DNF - Stage 15)John Gadret (F)José Luis Arrieta (Sp)Stéphane Goubert (F)Martin Elmiger (Swi)Ludovic Turpin (F)Sylvain Calzati (F)(DNF - Stage 11)Simon Gerrans (Aus) AgritubelFreddy Bichot (F)Moise Dueñas (Sp)Romain Feillu (F) (Withdrawal Stage 8)Eduardo Gonzálo (Sp)(Crash - Stage 1)Cedric Hervé (F) (Time Cut - Stage 8)Nicolas Jalabert (F)Juan Miguel Mercado (Sp)Benoit Salmon (F)Nicolas Vogondy (F) Astana-(The entire team withdrew from the Tour following news of Vinokourov's positve doping test)Antonio Colom (Sp)Maxim Iglinskiy (Kz)Serguei Ivanov

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 stage, but none of them is particularly steep or long. The final 60km is mainly flat. HISTORY: No stage has finished in Castelsarrasin, though it has hosted a start. Stage finishes have taken place in the neighboring towns of Montauban (1998) and Valence d’Agen (1978). Frenchman Jacky Durand headed a six-man break that arrived in Montauban 7:45 ahead of the pack in 1998, while the Valence d’Agen stage in '78 was

The Tour de France set out here on Thursday for the 17th stage rocked by the doping scandal that has ousted yet another rider: yellow jersey leader Michael Rasmussen. Rasmussen was kicked out of the race by his Dutch team Rabobank late on Wednesday for lying about where he was last month - he had said he was in Mexico when in fact he was in Italy. There had also been revelations that he had missed four random, out-of-competition dope tests over the past 18 months. Despite the devastation, Rabobank informed Tour organizers before the start of Thursday's stage that it planned to let its

“The Tour is dead,” commented the French daily Liberation and the German paper Bild on Thursday after the dramatic dropping of yellow jersey Michael Rasmussen from the Tour de France late on Wednesday. For much of the European press, Rasmussen's withdrawal by his Rabobank team – followed by his sacking Thursday - was the death knell for the world's greatest cycling race and posed enormous questions about the future of the sport itself. The only bright spot for the organizers was that while television audiences sharply declined in Germany — the two public broadcasters took it off the

Michael Rasmussen has reacted angrily to being kicked out of the Tour de France and sacked by his team after allegedly lying about his whereabouts during a missed random dope test. Rabobank dramatically split with Rasmussen after the Danish rider had consolidated his race lead with victory in Wednesday's 16th stage. The Dutch team justified its action by saying Rasmussen had lied when he said he'd been in Mexico rather than Italy for one of the four dope tests he failed to show up for in the past 18 months. But, in an interview with Danish newspaper B.T. Rasmussen questioned his

Rabobank has issued a statement regarding the withdrawal and sacking of Michael Rasmussen, and has announced that it has conducted an additional doping control on its remaining team members. The text of the statement appears in its entirety below. — Editor Rabobank is shocked and disappointed of the fact that Michael Rasmussen gave false information in regards to his whereabouts. Apparently he did not stay at the address that he reported to the UCI and he did not send the report in a timely manner. UCI has issued a rightful warning to Rasmussen for this delayed provision of information. As

Results - Stage 17 (Pau - Castelsarrasin)1. Daniele Bennati (I), LAMPRE-FONDITAL, 4:14:042. Markus Fothen (G), GEROLSTEINER, 4:14:043. Martin Elmiger (Swi), AG2R PREVOYANCE, 4:14:044. Jens Voigt (G), TEAM CSC, 4:14:045. David Millar (GB), SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR, at 02:41 6. Matteo Tosatto (I), QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC, at 02:43 7. Manuel Quinziato (I), LIQUIGAS, at 03:20 8. Daniele Righi (I), LAMPRE-FONDITAL, at 03:20 9. Tom Boonen (B), QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC, at 09:37 10. Sébastien Chavanel (F), FRANCAISE DES JEUX, at 09:37 11. Robert Hunter (RSA), BARLOWORLD, at 09:37 12. Robert FÖrster

The Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) on Thursday lodged an appeal against the decision to clear Alessandro Petacchi of doping by Italy's cycling federation (FCI). Milram’s Italian sprinter escaped punishment from the FCI on Tuesday despite being charged with doping by CONI on July 4. CONI had recommended to the FCI that Petacchi be banned from cycling for 12 months after a urine sample he gave at the Giro D'Italia on May 23 showed an unusually high level of salbutamol, a substance primarily used to treat asthma. Ettore Torri, CONI's chief anti-doping prosecutor, has lodged an

Australia's Cadel Evans suggested Thursday he has always harbored doubts over the sporadic performances of Denmark's Michael Rasmussen, who was thrown out of the Tour de France by his Rabobank team on Wednesday. After a week of suspicion over four missed random doping controls, his Dutch outfit finally cracked after learning that Rasmussen had been in Italy in June, and not in Mexico as he had claimed. Rabobank first threw the Dane out of the race, then sacked him on Thursday. In the wake of Rasmussen's exit, Discovery Channel's 24-year-old Spanish climber Alberto Contador,

Karl Menzies (Health Net-Maxxis) came first across the line at the two most recent stages of the International Tour de Toona, but the record books only show him as winning one. After Health Net won the race’s opening team time trial, Menzies moved into the leader’s yellow jersey with his second-stage sprint win ahead of Sergey Lagutin (Navigators Insurance) and Charles Dionne (Colavita-Sutter Home). On stage 3 Wednesday, Menzies came to the finish of the 96-mile race from Johnstown as part of a 47-man group. What happened next depends on who you ask. The stage finished in the Logan Valley

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on Thursday upped the stakes in the Tour de France's battle to save its damaged credibility by calling for a high-level summit to discuss the doping crisis. WADA president Dick Pound admitted he was concerned by developments in the Tour this week, which have seen yellow jersey Michael Rasmussen axed from the race and long-time favorite Alexander Vinokourov fail a test for blood doping. Now, WADA has offered to convene a high-level summit of all parties involved in cycling to have an in-depth discussion on how to deal with the problem of doping in the

Disgraced Cofidis rider Cristian Moreni of Italy was released from police custody on Thursday after being detained since Wednesday, the Pau county prosecutor announced on Thursday. Moreni was arrested in the southwestern French town of Pau for questioning after the Italian failed a doping control on July 19, which subsequently led to the rider and his team withdrawing from the Tour de France. His team sacked him on Thursday. "Moreni has been released as from 1530 local time," said Erick Maurel, "The first wave of hearings is over." The Italian rider, who declined a second analysis after

British sport bosses want to bring the Tour de France back to London despite the doping scandals that have tarnished the event. The Tour has been plunged into chaos this week as race leader Michael Rasmussen was fired by his Rabobank team and thrown out of the race. The Danish rider's exit came hot on the heels of positive drug tests for Alexander Vinokourov and Cristian Moreni. But UK Sport, the government agency which spent 500,000 pounds to stage the opening stage in the English capital this month, are still keen to host the Tour again. The Grand Depart was watched by four million

In 1986, Greg LeMond became the first American to win the Tour de France; he did it wearing a pair of Oakley Eyeshades. That victory propelled the company into the spotlight and prompted Oakley to dedicate Dana “The Duke” Duke to its athletes full time as the company’s first sports marketing representative. He knew how to take care of his athletes and they repaid him grandly. Its partnership with a Tour de France winner showed Oakley that it could rely on high-profile athlete endorsements, rather than advertising, especially when marketing its products’ performance or technological

Germany's Jens Voigt led the criticism of the drug-laden cheats who have plunged this year's Tour de France into new depths of the on-going doping crisis. CSC’s Voigt, who claimed his first-ever stage win here in 2001, finished last of a four-man breakaway after a long, hard 188.5km race from Pau to Castelsarrasin on Thursday as the peloton finally waved goodbye to the Pyrenees. The doping issues that have clouded this year's race, and led to the exclusion of former race leader Michael Rasmussen, as well as two entire teams, have hit the image of the Tour and the sport

Scandals, positives, arrests and ejections... and despite it all, the Tour rolls on. Our man Casey Gibson was there to record it from the media scrum at the start in Pau to the finish in Castelsarrasin.

In the chaotic hours before the start of the 2006 Tour de France, officials from the UCI and the Tour de France were frantically scouring a cryptic 36-page facsimile sent by Spain’s Guardia Civil that summarized evidence of one of Europe’s largest and most elaborate blood doping rings. Officials received the fax on Thursday -- just 36 hours before some 189 riders would start the opening prologue in Strausbourg -- and were under the gun to match a series of veiled, soon-to-be-famous codenames to the Tour peloton. The summary document – written in Spanish – included the most explosive and

Yesterday was a long day. It started out with a half-assed protest by the French. They only protested within their respective teams and didn't inform us as to what they were doing or just what it was they were protesting. I agree about taking a stand but taking a stand without unity is a waste of time and, from my point of view, embarrassing. They were quick to throw stones and then at the end of the day they had a positive case of their own in Cristian Moreni. Just great! So we got back to the hotel and it was swarming with police because we were staying in the same hotel as

“Why did the Chicken cross the road?” questions filtered through the Tour de France press room Thursday following the news that former race leader Michael Rasmussen, whose nickname is “Chicken,” was sent home by his Rabobank team management for lying about his whereabouts prior to the Tour. Popular answers included “To go to Italy” and “Because he was an hour ahead of the peloton.” But the reality is that Rasmussen was sent home from the Tour de France because he was exposed as a liar on the sport’s biggest stage. Lying is nothing new in professional sports. Every athlete who has ever

Weather: Warm, highs in low 90s, moderate tail, crosswinds Stage winner: Daniele Bennati (Lampre-Fondital) marked late attacks from Jens Voigt to win a four-up sprint ahead of Markus Fothen (Gerolsteiner). Bennati overcame pain from a stage 2 crash to sneak into the day’s eight-man break. It’s his first career Tour stage and the second by an Italian in this year’s Tour. Race leader: Alberto Contador (Discovery Channel) took the yellow jersey following the controversial ejection of overnight leader Michael Rasmussen by his Rabobank team. Contador didn’t wear the maillot jaune during the

American Mike Friedman of the Slipstream-Chipotle team out sprinted his breakaway companions to take the Hollidaysburg Circuit race, the fourth stage of the 2007 Tour de Toona. Mark Walters (Kodakgallery-Sierra Nevada), Scott Nydam (BMC), Trent Wilson (Jittery Joe’s) and Christopher Jones (Nerac) collected the second through fifth spots on the day. Australian Karl Menzies of the Health Net-Maxxis team finished with the group, 1:37 in arrears, to hold his overall lead. Walters opened the initial gap on the first of three 20-mile circuits, dangling a minute off the front. But Friedman, a

Tour 2007: Updated Teams and Riders

Tour 2007: Updated Teams and Riders

Tour 2007: Updated Teams and Riders

Tour 2007: Updated Teams and Riders

Tour 2007: Updated Teams and Riders

Tour 2007: Updated Teams and Riders

Tour 2007: Updated Teams and Riders

Tour 2007: Updated Teams and Riders

Tour 2007: Updated Teams and Riders

Tour 2007: Updated Teams and Riders

Tour 2007: Updated Teams and Riders

Tour 2007: Updated Teams and Riders

Tour 2007: Updated Teams and Riders

Tour 2007: Updated Teams and Riders

Tour 2007: Updated Teams and Riders

Tour 2007: Updated Teams and Riders

Tour 2007: Updated Teams and Riders

Tour 2007: Updated Teams and Riders

Tour 2007: Updated Teams and Riders

Tour 2007: Updated Teams and Riders

Tour 2007: Updated Teams and Riders

Tour 2007: Updated Teams and Riders

Stage 17 - Pau to Castelsarrasin (188.5km)

Stage 17 - Pau to Castelsarrasin (188.5km)

Bennati takes the stage

A spectator holds a French newspaper headlined 'The Tour's death' before the start of the 17th stage between Pau and Castelsarrasin

Contador appears pensive as he dons the leader's jersey

Menzies takes it — or does he?

The escape

Millar and Righi, front and center

Discovery on the hunt

Caisse d'Epargne takes over

Elmiger and Bennati

Bennati gets it

And there's a new man in yellow

Blick keeps the Z-man looking sharp

Big George and his splatter-specs

Got to win a stage to score a set of these

McEwen's special look

Shark feed! Nothing like a good doping scandal to get journalists away from the buffet.

Boonen answers questions ad nauseum at the stage.

Checking out the news in the village this morning.