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Some - those on catered tours - get to watch the Tour on TV and then from the side of the road

Some fans make a long trip to show their colors.

Stage winner Juan Soler Hernandez looks quite composed.

Leipheimer and Evans were in good company.

Hincapie on the Galibier

Gibson offers many thanks to Volkswagon, for making posi-traction to allow him to park like this on the Galibier.

It takes work to look good on the podium

French TV has to set up a studio in the most obscure places, every day.

Ludewig gets the stage . . .

. . . Massaglia gets the lead

Despite a barrage of attacks designed to ruffle their feathers, Discovery Channel has again emerged on top at the Tour of Qinghai Lake, as race leader Allan Davis claimed his second stage triumph with a last-minute lunge to the line in Xihaizhen. After 152 kilometers in the saddle, the plucky Australian learned his lesson from yesterday, this time going head-to-head with Stage 2 winner André Schulze and matching each other meter by meter - with only a perfect throw of the bike deciding the outcome. "It was close, but I knew I had it," said Davis. "I've got really good legs - a lot better

Moreau animated the chase on stage 8.

Moreau hopes to keep attacking through the mountains.

Davis confirms why is race leader at this point

Sparkling vintage for the stage winner...

.. and the race leader's bottle.

Rasmussen’s ride

Another view, the team trains on 32-spoke alloy tubular wheels.

Rasmussen’s one-piece PRO Stealth Evo handlebar and stem combination

There’s not even a place for a second waterbottle cage.

Rasmussen’s wheels are kept separate from the rest of the team.

The majority of the team uses the new prototype carbon wheels from Shimano we’ve seen under many other teams at the Tour.

Many of the bikes had Kool-Stop brake pads.

Leipheimer hopes the 10-second penalty won't make a difference in Paris.

Vande Velde and Zabriskie meet the press

No charity... just sage advice

Leipheimer expects a lot from the Pyrénées.

Leipheimer meets the press.

On the lead-up to the 2007 Tour de France, Michael Rasmussen proclaimed that a third straight polka-dot jersey was not his No. 1 ambition. The Danish climbing specialist was targeting a place on the final podium in Paris. Sunday Rasmussen took a big step to making that dream come true, winning the brutal stage 8 run between Le Grand Bornand to Tignes, and taking over the race lead in the process.

COURSE: Following a rest day at Tignes, the favorites will prepare for what should be one of the Tour’s major climbing days. This stage features the Tour’s highest mountain pass, the Col de l’Iseran (9085 feet) right from the start, which is followed by 70km of downhill and flats before the very long ascent via the Col du Télégraphe to the rugged Col du Galibier (8678 feet). After 35km of descending from the Galibier, the 2km climb to the finish in Briançon averages almost 7 percent. HISTORY: No less than 32 Tour stages have finished in Briançon, the most recent in 2005 and 2000. Two years

With another mountain-top finish on the schedule, Saturday’s fifth stage at the Cascade Classic held the promise of shaking up the overall standings in the men’s race. But while Jeff Louder (Health Net-Maxxis) won the day, Phil Zajicek (Navigators Insurance) retained his GC lead by coming across on his wheel for second in the stage, followed closely by Chris Baldwin (Toyota-United), Scott Moninger (BMC)and Ben Jacques-Maynes (Priority Health-Bissell).

Opening up the throttle 200 meters from the line in Bird Island, Weisenhof's Andri Schulze chose to sprint long and hard towards the finish of the second stage of the Tour of Qinghai Lake, and his result surprised everyone but himself. Immediately gapping the peloton right behind him, the German's bold move and strong legs combined in perfect unison to deliver the 32-year-old his second season victory and his second at Qinghai Lake, out-sprinting race leader Allan Davis (Discovery Channel) and Selle Italia's Alberto Loddo. "The team worked the last 10 kilometers for me, and in

Stage 8 results1. Michael Rasmussen (Dk), Rabobank, 4:49:402. Iban Mayo (Sp), Saunier Duval-Prodir, at 02:473. Alejandro Valverde (Sp), Caisse d’Epargne, at 03:124. Christophe Moreau (F), Ag2r Prevoyance, at 03:135. Frank Schleck (Lux), CSC, at 03:136. Cadel Evans (Aus), Predictor-Lotto, at 03:137. Andrey Kashechkin (Kz), Astana, at 03:138. Alberto Contador (Sp), Discovery Channel, at 03:319. Denis Menchov (Rus), Rabobank, at 03:3510. Carlos Sastre (Sp), CSC, at 03:3511. Haimar Zubeldia (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 03:59 12. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Discovery Channel, at 03:59 13. Cobo Acebo

Australian cycling fans may be drowning their sorrows in a cold Foster’s Monday after learning that not one but three of their nation’s top riders were out of the Tour after Sunday’s critical climbing stage. First to leave the race was CSC’s Paris-Roubaix champion Stuart O’Grady, who was taken to the hospital after a crash on the fast and tricky descent of the Cormet de Roselend. According to hospital officials O'Grady suffered fractures to five ribs. “For the moment he is in the hospital and is getting a scan,” said CSC team director Kim Andersen. “It is difficult to say more than

Discovery Channel played its joker card Sunday and sent Spanish phenomenon Alberto Contador on the attack. The 25-year-old Paris-Nice champion took flight and easily marked accelerations by Christophe Moreau and Iban Mayo up the Cat. 1 Tignes finale, but saw a puncture with about 4km to go take the wind out of his sails. “I tried to get back but I lost my rhythm. I was going well and it’s unfortunate to have this bad luck,” said Contador, who finished eighth at 3:31 back. “Things were going OK and you have to remember there’s a lot of racing ahead of us, but when you lose time like this

What a difference a day makes. Less than 24 hours after celebrating Linus Gerdemann’s Tour de France stage win and capture of the yellow jersey, T-Mobile found itself down three riders, including team captain Michael Rogers, who crashed and dislocated his shoulder while riding as the virtual yellow jersey on a stage-8 descent. Mark Cavendish’s abandonment had been planned for today to prevent exhausting the young sprinter in his first Tour. The likely abandonment of Patrik Sinkewitz, however, was anything but foreseen. After the Tour’s first summit finish atop the Cat. 1 climb in the

Weather: Very much, highs in 80s, intense alpine sun, brisk cross-headwinds Stage winner: Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank) claimed his third career Tour stage with a daring attack on the Cornet de Roseland. The former world mountain bike champion known as “Chicken” spun his slender legs to reel in the day’s early break that included George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) and soloed in for victory at 2:47 ahead of Iban Mayo (Saunier Duval-Prodir). Race leader: Rasmussen erased enough time to overtake leader Linus Gerdemann (T-Mobile) to claim the yellow jersey for the first time of his career. The

Just as CSC’s time-trial specialist Fabian Cancellara took the first yellow jersey of this Tour de France at the prologue in London and held it until the race hit the mountains, Rabobank’s climbing specialist Michael Rasmussen took the mailliot jaune Sunday at the summit finish Tignes, and could well keep it until next Saturday’s 54km time trial in Albi. By winning Sunday’s stage on a colossal solo effort, Rasmussen took the race lead by 43 seconds ahead of overnight leader Linus Gerdemann (T-Mobile), and 2:39 over Spanish climber Iban Mayo of Saunier Duval. More importantly, however, is

Riders, writers, fans and photographers knew Sunday's 165km stage from Le Grand Bornand to Tignes would be decisive. Our man Casey Gibson was there to document it all for the record books.

In what he described as “the most painful 3k I’ve had in quite awhile,” Kirk O’Bee (Health Net-Maxxis) outsprinted second place Ricardo Escuela (SuccessfulLiving.com-ParkPre) and third place Ben Jacques-Maynes (Priority Health-Bissell) to take the sixth and final stage of the Bend Memorial Cascades Cycling Classic on Sunday.

They mountains started in earnest today and they didn't disappoint. Oh and before I go on. I would like to write a little disclaimer. All of these entries have been written on my Blackberry and my bn button doesn't work well, I am at altitude and... well, I have a lot of excuses. So anyway, about the mountains. Yesterday offered a little taste things to come with the Columbiere. Today, though, was the real deal, with six categorized climbs. There were attacks from the gun and they didn't let up until we crossed the line. Racing up and then down the climbs made for a really

Stage 9 - Val-d’Isère to Briançon - (159.5km)

Stage 9 - Val-d’Isère to Briançon - (159.5km)

Schulze takes a gamble

Davis holds the jersey

Rasmussen gets his first-ever yellow jersey. Can he keep it?

Rasmussen took advantage of his strength on Sunday, but concedes the Tour is far from over.

Gerdemann rode well and remains in second on GC

O'Grady suffered three broken vertabra, five cracked ribs and a broken scapula.

Rogers' dislocated shoulder meant the Tour contender was forced to withdraw.

Vinokourov showed a crack in his armor on Sunday, but with Kloden's help, he fought back to stay in contention.

Leipheimer finished 12th on the day.

Moreau was aggressive on the final climb

Very little time in the flats meant riders were either climbing or trying to survive fast descents.

Rasmussen takes off

By the base of the final climb, there were just three... and Rasmussen quickly rid himself of Aroyo and Colom.

Hincapie spent hours off the front, before being reeled in and settling in for a long ride to the finish.

Mayo managed to scamper off for second place

Rasmussen is likely to keep the jersey at least until Saturday's time trial. After that? Who knows?

Readying for another day of marketing before the peloton rolls through

Seeking divine intervention to boost those climbing legs?

Robbie Ventura holding the mike for Versus network.

The village departe in one of it's most beautiful settings ever.

Stapleton talks about life... before disaster hit T-Mobile on Stage 8.

Stage winner Rasmussen is a picture of concentration.

Moreau and Evans lead the chase.

An intense Contador on the final climb.

Chris Horner suffers on the final climb.

Vino fought to minimize the damage.

After an aggressive start, Hincapie rides to the finish after the climbing stars pass

Not everyone in the 'laughing group' was laughing on Sunday.

In the Tour de France's first foray into the mountains, it was race newcomer Linus Gerdemann stealing all the headlines. The baby-faced German wunderkind escaped a 15-rider breakaway late in stage 7, and then rolled solo to the finish in Le Grand Bornand, taking the stage win and possession of the yellow and white jerseys.

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 St. Bernard pass),and a final one for 18km (the first part of the ascent to Val d’Isère followedby 10km of climbing out of the valley to Tignes). The last 2km are flat before the finish line. The final two climbs aren’t particularly steep, but that was the case with the 2006 Tour’s summit finish at Pla de Beret, and it proved very decisive. HISTORY: This is the first time a stage has finished at the alpine ski resort

Expect to see more North American riders on T-Mobile next season. That’s according to team manager Bob Stapleton, who told VeloNews the once-heavily-German team wants to bolster its profile in the United States and Canada by bringing on big-name domestic talent for next season. “We’re expanding our North American presence because we want more riders from where T-Mobile has strong markets,” Stapleton said Friday. “There are a lot of talented North American riders. It’s a win-win for us. We can gain top cycling talent and increase our exposure in one of our key markets.” Several top American

In the eponymous town that gives this race its name, a perfectly timed move 150 meters before the line delivered Discovery Channel's Allan Davis to victory on the opening stage of the Tour of Qinghai Lake. The 26-year-old Australian, who hails from the Queensland town of Bundaberg, beat Intel-Action's Denus Kostyuk and Denmark's Casper Jorgensen to claim his second victory of the season. It was by no means an easy one because of the altitude - the Qinghai Lake finish being some 3,231 meters above sea level – and Davis said he left his finishing sprint a little later than

Stage 7 results1. Linus Gerdemann (G), T-Mobile, 4:53:132. Inigo Landaluze (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 0:403. David de la Fuente (Sp), Saunier Duval-Prodir, at 1:394. Juan Mauricio Soler Hernandez (Col), Barloworld, at 2:145. Laurent Lefevre (F), Bouygues Telecom, at 2:216. Fabian Wegmann (G), Gerolsteiner, at 3:327. Manuel Juan Manuel (Sp), Quick Step-Innergetic, at 3:388. Xavier Florencio (Sp), Bouygues Telecom, same time9. Christophe Moreau (F), Ag2r Prevoyance, s.t.10. Alejandro Valverde (Sp), Caisse D’Epargne, s.t. 11. Oscar Pereiro Sio (Sp), Caisse D’Epargne, s.t.12. Tadej Valjavec

Phil Zajicek (Navigators Insurance) beat teammate Ben Day by just one second in Friday morning’s Cascade Classic stage 3 time trial, but put enough time on the other GC contenders to take the leader’s jersey away from Chris Baldwin (Toyota-United), retaining it through the evening’s stage 4 twilight criterium in downtown Bend. As the sun set in Central Oregon, Ivan Dominguez (Toyota-United) returned to stage racing after his mid-May crash at the Tri-Peaks Challenge with a resounding win in a dramatic bunch sprint at the crit. Time trial

Felix Cardenas is back at the Tour de France after nearly disappearing off the peloton map. The 34-year-old Colombian climber is back in cycling’s bigs after bouncing around Spanish teams before joining Barloworld in 2005. The team finally got a Tour berth this season and he’s ready to make the most of it. “It’s good to be back to the Tour,” Cardenas told VeloNews before the start of Saturday’s stage. “I’ve only been to one Tour and I won a stage, so I hope to keep the streak alive this year.” After Cardenas won a Tour stage while with Kelme in 2001 at Plateau de Bonascre, he bounced

German cycling has been on the ropes for the past year. First it was Jan Ullrich and his links to notorious Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes and Operación Puerto, revealed a day before the start of the 2006 Tour. Then there was the avalanche of doping confessions earlier this summer from a generation of current and former pros such as Erik Zabel, Udo Bölts, Rolf Aldag, Christian Henn and Jörg Jaksche. Linus Gerdemann and his Boy Scout image is just what crippled German cycling needs. Gerdemann presents a modern, yet cleaner image, and he’s not shy about talking about cycling’s doping past