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... as Hushovd's crew kept a close eye on the gap.

It was close... but Casper knew he had it.

Course The panhandle-shaped 7.1km prologue course is in the eastern part of Strasbourg, a kilometer from the ancient heart of the city with its spired cathedral and picturesque canals. The start and finish are close to the race headquarters in the Palais de la Musique et des Congrès. After a short section of divided highway, the circuit takes a clockwise direction around a 5km loop that passes old ramparts and modern buildings of the European Parliament. The course is completely flat on wide, tree-lined city streets. History The Tour de France last started in Strasbourg in 1953, some 14

The German press showed little sympathy for former Tour de France champion Jan Ullrich Saturday, a day after he was suspended from this year's race for alleged connections to a Spanish doping doctor. Ullrich, the 1997 winner, and fellow favorite Ivan Basso of Italy were among 13 riders thrown off the Tour by their respective teams after appearing on a list of 58 cyclists implicated in a blood-doping network. "The lies of sporting life," was the title of Berliner Zeitung which continued to applaud the battle against drug cheats. "Finally some good news. The suspension of Ullrich and Co,

A year after finishing the Tour de France in the sprinters’ green jersey, Thor Hushovd will start the opening road stage of the 2006 rendition in yellow. The burly Norwegian earned initial possession of the maillot jaune Saturday, taking victory in the 7.1km prologue that kicked off this year’s race in Strasbourg. On a steamy day in the Alsace region of eastern France, Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) blistered the flat, lollipop shaped course, posting a finish time of 8:17. That was just enough to eclipse American George Hincapie, the last of 176 riders to start the 93rd Tour de France. Hincapie

1. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Credit Agricole, 8:172. George Hincapie (USA), Discovery Channel, 8:173. David Zabriskie (USA), CSC, 8:214. Sebastian Lang (G), Gerolsteiner, 8:215. Alejandro Valverde (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne-I.B., 8:216. O’grady Stuart (Aus), CSC, 8:217. Michael Rogers (Aus), T-Mobile, 8:238. Paolo Savoldelli (I), Discovery Channel, 8:259. Floyd Landis (USA), Phonak, 8:2610. Vladimir Karpets (Rus), Caisse d'Epargne-I.B., 8:27 11. Serhiy Honchar (Ukr), T-Mobile, 8:2712. Tom Boonen (B), Quick Step-Innergetic, 8:2813. Manuel Quinziato (I), Liquigas-Bianchi, 8:2914. Cadel Evans

Friday’s "cleansing" of the Tour de France continued to resonate as the reduced peloton of 176 riders lined up for Saturday’s opening prologue. The doping controversy continued to broil below the surface following the unprecedented expulsion of pre-race favorites Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile), Ivan Basso (CSC), Francisco Mancebo (Ag2r) and the entire Astaná-Würth team. The riders were taken out of the Tour just 24 hours before Saturday’s start after excerpts from some 500 pages of court and police documents of Spain’s ongoing doping investigation were presented to UCI and Tour officials late

Discovery team director Johan Bruyneel discusses the rider ejections and how it will effect his teams strategy during the morning of the prologue. Click Here to watch video.

VelonNews correspondents Jason Sumner and Andy Hood discuss the ejection of Jan Ullrich Ivan Basso and others, and its effects on the race. Click Here to watch video.

Police were surprised when they raided the Madrid apartment of Spanishdoctor Eufemiano Fuentes on May 23 to find a cornucopia of products ranging from human growth hormones, testosterone patches, EPO and insulin.In one apartment, 96 pouches of frozen blood and 20 pouches of frozen plasma were found, while in another office, an additional 89 pouches of frozen blood and 19 pouches of frozen plasma were among the haul.Among centrifuges and other medical apparatus to extract and transfuse blood, members of the doping squad of Spain’s Guardia Civil found were more than 100 different products.The

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.Don’t elevate scandal over sportEditor:This is a terrible, terrible tragedy. Please, don't make it worse by allowing this tragedy to be the focus of your 2006 Tour de France coverage. There are still fierce competitors and heroes in this year’s Tour who aren't part of this

One day after he was forced out of the Tour de France because of a doping scandal, Giro d’Italia winner Ivan Basso said he was "not well" but "serene inside." The Team CSC rider complained in a television interview that he had not been formally notified of any investigation into suspected doping. "Surely, I am not well, that's clear," the Italian cyclist said. "I'm not well because, as of today, I have not been formally notified. But inside I am serene. And that is the most important thing." Basso and T-Mobile’s Jan Ullrich, two of the favorites to win this year’s Tour, were among

Out of the gates of hell, but out of the gates nonetheless. The last few days have been crazy, waking up every morning not knowing what the day will bring. It has been hard to keep our focus and stay above the haze of doubt and unknown. The journalists have been doing their jobs and just like anything, some do theirs better than others. I have so many questions and so much frustration that I don't even know where to begin, to the point of when I ran into George, a person in whom I have always confided, neither of us had a thing to say to each other. But the looks said it all; we

Cadel Evans has become one of the riders capable of challenging for the Tour de France crown following the expulsion of several contenders implicated in the Spanish doping inquiry called Operación Puerto. He spoke to Rupert Guinness before placing 14th in Saturday's prologue time trial, just 13 seconds behind winner Thor Hushovd. — Editor VeloNews: There will be a number of riders won’t be here ... Ivan Basso, Jan Ullrich, Francisco Mancebo, Alexandre Vinokourov. How will that change the completion of the race? Cadel Evans: Now there won’t be three teams who would try to control the

The head of cycling's governing body says that Tyler Hamilton could be facing a lifetime ban if links to an alleged blood doping ring in Spain are confirmed. Others, including 1997 Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile), 2006 Giro d’Italia champion Ivan Basso (CSC) and T-Mobile's Oscar Sevilla could face four-year bans before returning to cycling’s 20-team ProTour league. UCI President Pat McQuaid told VeloNews that if police evidence linking Hamilton to Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes is proven, the 2004 Olympic time trial champion will be banned for life. “With the evidence

[Watch Video]

One day after CSC’s team leader Ivan Basso was barred from competing in this year’s Tour de France over allegations of his alleged involvement with the Spanish doping scandal Operación Puerto, his teammates were left picking up the pieces. In the 24 hours before the prologue in Strasbourg, the world’s No. 1 ranked team went from its focused mission of overall victory for Basso to wondering who might lead the team over the next three weeks. "It’s been very difficult for our team — for our supporters, for everybody," said Australian CSC rider Stuart O’Grady, who was able to channel his

[Watch Video]

With scandals, ejections and legal battles brewing on the sidelines, it's sometimes hard to remember that the Tour de France actually involves guys riding bikes and trying to do so faster than the guys around him. Our guy Casey Gibson remembered and went out on the streets of Strasbourg, France, on Saturday to catch a glimpse of the opening round of what could actually turn into one of the most closely fought Tours in years.

Jason Sumner didn't settle for simply whipping up a stage report today — he also sent along plenty of photos to accompany our live coverage of the prologue. Look for Jason's stuff throughout the Tour.

Prologue: Strasbourg 7.1km

Prologue: Strasbourg 7.1km

Hushovd wins the prologue

Did Landis miss a win?

Christian Vande Velde earlier this week

Evans races to 14th in the prologue

Hamilton with Sevilla at the 2004 team presentation

McQuaid seeks harsh penalties.

O'Grady channeled his anger into a fine prologue ride

Oh so close: Hincapie finishes 0.73 seconds behind Hushovd

Zabriskie rounds out the top three.

Millar marks his return to the peloton

Savoldelli rides to an 8th place finish at 8:25

The turn out is as big as ever...

... with an occasional reminder of other things now and then.

What riders see at the start...

... and what they hope to see at the finish.

Chris Horner warms up...

... and on the course.

Christian Vande Velde

Levi Leipheimer

Landis trying to make up for that late start

Hincapie came so close.

Discovery's Jose Azevedo

Julich may have an unexpected role on CSC this Tour.

Zabriskie says he loves timed events more than any others.

The devil you say

Even the clock comes with advertising

Name that car

Weigh that bike

Here comes the caravan

Horner's seen it all before

Warming up

Really warming up

A few final adjustments

Same here

Evans heads out on a scouting mission

Meet the press

That's a lot of Bianchis

Phonak's time machines

Hincapie's TT bike

And the new Trek Madone

Michael Rogers's TT bike

Rujano in his new kit

The remaining CSC boys prepare for the day's work

Ready to roll

The Tour de France was thrown into its biggest crisis since the 1998 Festina scandal Friday following the suspensions of the men most favored to take the yellow jersey in this year’s edition. A day before the start of the race, the first since seven-time winner Lance Armstrong retired, organizers said even more riders could follow Ivan Basso, Jan Ullrich and Oscar Sevilla in being suspended from the race by their teams. Earlier in the day, T-Mobile suspended 1997 winner Ullrich and his Spanish teammate Sevilla when fresh evidence from the ongoing Operación Puerto doping probe in Spain -

The following riders were named in the ongoing Opera?ion Puerto doping case by Spanish investigators on Thursday:

Astaná-Würth
Michele Scarponi (I)
Marcos Antonio Serrano (Sp)
David Etxebarria (Sp)
Joseba Beloki (Sp)
Angel Vicioso (Sp)
Isidro Nozal (Sp)
Unai Osa (Sp)
Jörg Jaksche (G)
Giampaolo Caruso (I)

CSC
Ivan Basso (I)

Caisse D'Epargne-Iles Baleares
Constantino Zaballa (Sp)

Saunier Duval
Carlos Zarate (Sp)

Ag2r
Francisco Mancebo (Sp)

"Sports could go down the road of the performance principle, where all that matters is success, by whatever means, at what cost. If we continue on that track, sports will become spectacle; and some people like that. But I think most of us who love sports will lose interest in it."— Thomas Murray, a bioethicist at the Hastings Center think tank and chairman of WADA's Ethical Issues Review Panel, in a story on ESPN.com Wave bye-bye, Thomas old boy. Sport — our sport, anyway — has already raced down that long and winding road, driven by a superhuman pair of legs powered by a godlike

On Thursday, before the Spanish authorities sent the black list of riders from Operación Puerto to the Tour de France organizers and the UCI, I started this column with the words, “Let the racing begin! Please.” Now that four top riders who appeared on that list — Jan Ullrich, Ivan Basso, Francisco Mancebo and Oscar Sevilla — have been suspended by their teams and will not start the Tour, those words have taken on even more significance for everyone who loves cycling, and the Tour de France in particular. When La Grand Boucle’s 93rd edition finally gets under way Saturday, it will be with

Francisco Mancebo has reportedly decided to retire from cycling following his exclusion from the Tour de France by his Ag2r team Friday. A day before the start of the 93rd edition the 30-year-old Spaniard was suspended by his French outfit after he was named on a list of riders suspected of being involved in a blood doping network in Spain. The Tour will also be missing Germany's 1997 Tour winner Jan Ullrich, his teammate at T-Mobile Oscar Sevilla, and recent Tour of Italy winner Ivan Basso, of CSC - all of whom are also implicated in what is being dubbed the biggest doping scandal to

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.Embrace Tour, despite sport’s flawsEditor:The Tour de France is bigger than the riders who compete in it, but I'm concerned that the latest scandal will further tarnish an event that has struggled to come back from both the publicized scandals (such as Festina) and the persistent

Internet odds makers quickly reacted to Friday’s news that top riders Ivan Basso (CSC), Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) and Francisco Mancebo (Ag2r) have been excluded from the Tour de France by their respective teams after being named as suspects in the ongoing Spanish doping investigation, known as Operación Puerto. Liège-Bastogne-Liège winner, Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Épargne-Illes Balears) and Astaná-Würth’s Alexandre Vinokourov emerged as the two favorites, given odds of seven-to-two to wear the yellow jersey into Paris on July 23, while Amercans Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) and

Lance Armstrong settled his libel case against a British newspaper over doping allegations Friday after winning a preliminary court ruling. The seven-time Tour de France champion sued The Sunday Times over a June 2004 article that referred to a book, "LA Confidential — The Secrets of Lance Armstrong." The High Court in London ruled in favor of Armstrong in a pretrial motion, saying the article "meant accusation of guilt and not simply reasonable grounds to suspect." Later, both sides announced that a settlement had been reached. Terms were not disclosed, but it means the case will not go

Statement from Johan Bruyneel-Team manager, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team "On the eve of the 2006 Tour de France all of the Team Director's meetto decide on the current situation regarding the riders named in the Spanishdoping scandal. The directors unanimously decided to uphold the codeof ethics that was signed by all teams on January 1, 2005 which statedthat no team would allow a rider to compete while under investigation inany doping affair. This is certainly an unfortunate situation forall of professional cycling, not just those teams and riders involved.And even though the top

Spain’s ongoing doping investigation turned into an executioner Friday at the Tour de France, essentially decapitating the peloton’s hierarchy just 24 hours ahead of Saturday’s prologue start in Strasbourg. Pre-race favorites Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) and Ivan Basso (CSC) were among nine riders from five teams who were ruled out of the 93rd Tour in what brought back bad memories of the 1998 Festina scandal. Others not being allowed to start are Oscar Sevilla (T-Mobile), Francisco Mancebo (Ag2r) and five members of Astana-Wurth: Sergio Paulinho, Isidro Nozal, Allan Davis, Alberto Contador and

The Astaná-Würth cycling team of Alexandre Vinokourov will not take part in the Tour de France due to the fact that five of the team’s nine Tour riders have been implicated in the ongoing doping probe in Spain. While Tour officials have not yet made an official statement, a revised race roster was issued late Friday evening and the Astaná-Würth team was not included. The team’s management firm later issued a statement saying it decided to pull the entire team after learning that the bulk of the squad was implicated in the scandal. That means the 93rd edition of the Tour will start with 20

30/06/2006: Press release : Puerto Operation : The UCI's StandpointHaving examined the EGB n°116 report which the Guardia Civil sent to the examining magistrate in the file "Operaciòn Puerto" on June 27th, 2006, the UCI considered that it results from this report that the following riders, registered to participate in the 2006 Tour de France, are questioned in this case:Sergio PAULINHOIsidro NOZALAllan DAVISAlberto CONTADORJoseba BELOKIFrancisco MANCEBOIvan BASSOJan ULLRICHOscar SEVILLAThe UCI underlines that the questioning does not mean that it is established that the above

Perhaps it’s premature to look ahead to the afternoon of July 23, 2006, when a new champion of the Tour de France will be crowned on the Champs-Élysées. Perhaps it’s naïve to look past the latest doping scandal to bring professional cycling to its knees. But for the continued popularity of our sport — which has never been at a higher point in the United States — we have to move on. It takes months, sometimes years before the judiciary resolves complicated cases like Operación Puerto; for instance the Cofidis team scandal of January 2004 is only going to court a few weeks from now, 30 months

The T-Mobile team, with its captain Jan Ullrich, had just turned on to the driveway of the Golf Hotel Plobsheim, when team director Olaf Ludwig's cell phone rang. On the other end of the line was team spokesman Christian Frommert, calling from the veranda of the posh resort, where the German media had assembled to await the presentation of the team’s Tour squad. Ludwig was told in no uncertain terms to make the bus driver turn around and leave ... immediately. It was a symbolic drive for Ullrich, who so often in his career had come so close to his goals but failed to reach them. This