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A Tour with many questions, but few answers
When Lance Armstrong was winning the Tour every year, the only real question before the race was not “Who will win?” but “Can anyone get close to him?” Now, after two totally unpredictable Tours, both of them ruined by doping controversies, it looks like we’re about to start on another Magical Mystery Tour. All the same, it’s still fun trying to peek into the crystal ball.
‘Le Tour Toujours,’ warts and all: O’Grady remains a fan, sorta
"He's not the Messiah! He's a very naughty boy!—an exchange between Brian's mum and his followers in Monty Python’s “Life of Brian”
The Coach(ed) Corner: BC Survival Camp
I’m going to start this week’s column with an extended photo caption. On the left is Andreas Hestler, professional mountain bike racer and member of the Rocky Mountain Bicycles team. On Thursday, he and partner Max Paxton grabbed the stage 6 win at the BC Bike Race, a seven-day affair that started last Saturday north of Victoria on Vancouver Island, and finishes Friday in Whistler.
Team Columbia presents Tour squad, new jersey
For the second consecutive day, an American team kicked off its Tour de France by unveiling a fresh jersey design created for a new title sponsor. Team Columbia, the former T-Mobile team referred to as Team High Road for the first half of the 2008 season, presented its new look and new sponsor in front of a packed press conference at the Penfeld Parc des Expositions in Brest, France, where the Tour will start Saturday morning.
Caisse d’Épargne: Valverde aiming for podium
Spain’s Green Bullet isn’t sweating it. Alejandro Valverde says if he doesn’t win the Tour de France this year, he’s got plenty more in his legs. That’s not to say that he’s shying away from a unique opportunity to become the third consecutive Spanish winner, but Spain’s El Imbatido – “the unbeaten one” – is trying to tamp down over-zealous expectations from national media who are hyping his chances in the absence of defending champion Alberto Contador.
2008 Tour de France start list
Silence-Lotto
(director: Herman Frison)1. Cadel Evans (Aus)
2. Mario Aerts (B)
3. Christophe Brandt (B)
4. Dario Cioni (I)
5. Leif Hoste (B)
6. Robbie McEwen (Aus)
7. Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr)
8. Johan Van Summeren (B)
9. Wim Vansevenant (B)
CSC-Saxo Bank
(director: Kim Andersen)11. Carlos Sastre (Sp)
12. Kurt-Asle Arvesen (N)
13. Fabian Cancellara (Swi)
14. Volodymir Gustov (Ukr)
15. Stuart O'Grady (Aus)
16. Andy Schleck (Lux)
17.
On the eve of the Tour – A Casey Gibson Gallery
There were big crowds at the teams' presentation at the Tour de France Friday afternoon. Photographer Casey Gibson was there, too.
A new column by coach Neal Henderson
Just the Facts - Who, What, Where, When and Why This article will serve as a basic introduction to a weekly column that I’ll be posting at VeloNews.com over the next couple of months. I am Taylor Phinney’s personal coach and I will be traveling with Taylor and his family from Boulder to the junior world championships in South Africa, and then through the Olympic Games in Beijing. Here is your chance to vicariously travel to the Olympics and get an inside glimpse into the world of a soon-to-be Olympian and his coach.
CSC-Saxo Bank ready to roll
Just looking at the faces of Team CSC-Saxo Bank’s nine-man lineup Tour de France squad and it’s obvious that this team means business. With the lone exception of baby-faced Tour rookie Andy Schleck, CSC consists of hard-nosed, bad-asses who intend to impose their will on the race. And maybe even take the overall to boot.
BC Bike Race: Hestler and Laxton cruise ahead on the singletrack
Pure Singletrack Bliss. Today’s course was something that Max Plaxton and Andreas Hestler (Rocky Mountain) will remember forever. On top of riding some of the best singletrack that North America has to offer, they won today’s stage in style. The incredible 65km course was a combination of two local top-notch cross-country courses: The Test of Metal and The Gear Jammer.
Inside Cycling, with John Wilcockson – Kashechkin’s year in limbo – Part 2
Editor’s Note: After team leader Alexander Vinokourov tested positive for homologous blood doping during last year’s Tour de France, the entire Astana team left the race under a cloud. Vinokourov’s top lieutenant Andrey Kashechkin tried to relax by spending time with his family in Turkey. His time out of the limelight, however, was short-lived as anti-doping testers knocked on his hotel room door and asked for a sample.
These eight favorites will battle for victory in the 2008 Tour de France
One of these eight men will win the 2008 Tour. Here, we break down each of their chances based on four key metrics.
CADEL EVANS (Aus), Silence-Lotto
Climbing Though not a pure climber, Evans is consistent and economical on all types of climbs. He rode last year’s Tour with or just behind the leaders in the mountains. This year he has been more assertive, especially in his winning ride at the Coppi & Bartali Week. Time TrialingChodroff and McGraff win the first stage of the 2008 Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic
Empire Cycling's Jonathan Chodroff won the first stage of the 2008 Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic race in Massachusetts on Thursday. Chodroff finished the 6.2-mile race in 16:02, followed by Bissell's Graham Howard less than a second behind. Colatvita's Luis Amaran was third at 9 seconds. In the women's race, Colavita's Kristin McGrath won with a time of 18:57, followed by Cheerwine's Catherine Cheatley at 5 seconds and Cheerwine's Stacy Marple at 11 seconds.