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The new ride

These are old?

Another old item.

Lelangue and Landis confirm compliance

Course: There’s some initial fun with a visit to Camembert cheese country and a Cat. 3 hill at Vimoutiers that has a 13-percent pitch, but then the shorter (189km) stage settles into a series of long, straight, sometimes hilly highways across the open farmland of Normandy. Rolling hills precede the entry into Vitré, where the course loops around and through town to reach a slightly uphill finishing straight almost 2km long. History: There have been three stage finishes at Vitré, all won by sprinters: Belgian Rudy Matthijs in 1985, Italian Mario Cipollini in 1995 and German Marcel Wüst in

After claiming a stunning third Tour de France stage win in five days, Australian sprinter Robbie McEwen warned his shattered rivals that there is plenty of speed left in his legs. And the real bad news for Belgian Tom Boonen, Italian Daniele Bennati, Norwegian Thor Hushovd and Spaniard Oscar Freire is that he plans to use that speed again as soon as possible. But wait, there’s more from the Queenslander whose three-length victory over a frustrated Bennati (Lampre-Fondital) and Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic) was clocked in an average stage speed of 45.309 kph for the 189km ride from Lisieux

1. Robbie McEwen (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto, 189km in 4:10:17 (45.308kph)2. Daniele Bennati (I), Lampre, 00:003. Tom Boonen (B), Quick Step-Innergetic, 00:004. Bernhard Eisel (A), Francaise des Jeux, 00:005. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Credit Agricole, 00:006. Oscar Freire (Sp), Rabobank, 00:007. Erik Zabel (G), Milram, 00:008. Luca Paolini (I), Liquigas-Bianchi, 00:009. Gert Steegmans (B), Davitamon-Lotto, 00:0010. Inaki Isasi (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, 00:00 11. David Kopp (G), Gerolsteiner, 00:0012. Jimmy Casper (F), Cofidis, 00:0013. Steven De Jongh (Nl), Quick Step-Innergetic, 00:0014. Arnaud Coyot

The first stars-and-stripes jerseys were handed out Thursday as time trial champions were crowned at the 2006 USA Cycling National Festival at Seven Springs. Kristin Armstrong (Team Lipton) defended her national title on the rolling, 30-kilometer course through Laurel Hill State Park by posting a time of 46 minutes and 46.07 seconds. Last year Armstrong placed third at the world championships, but the veteran time trialist called this year’s course "the hardest in my career." "I was like ‘Whoa, this is hard!’" Armstrong said of the unusually steep climbs and headwind on the return side of

Andréas Klöden is not exactly your average big mouth. When the slender T-Mobile pro speaks, his dark brown eyes are fixed on an imaginary spot in the carpet and one has to move really close to him, to understand his almost whispering voice. He offers up sentences like, "Yes, I have the GC in the back of my mind." It's a statement that clearly falls way short of an announcement that Klöden would like to win the Tour de France. Klöden does not seem to quite grasp that after the demise of Jan Ullrich, Ivan Basso and Alexandre Vinokourov he is one of the big favorites of this year's

Earlier this week, Eddy Merckx said he picked Floyd Landis as the favorite to win this year’s Tour de France. Like father, like son. Axel Merckx agrees with his father that Landis is sitting in the pole position going into Saturday’s decisive time trial to win the stage and grab the maillot jaune. VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hood grabbed a quick interview with the Belgian ahead of Friday’s start. Here are excerpts from that interview. VeloNews.com: What is your role in the team this year? Do you have a little bit of freedom or are you going to be helping Landis? Axel Merckx:

From the morning sign-in at the start to the podium at the finish, Casey Gibson covers it all. "Stop me if you have seen this before, guys," Gibson writes us today. "McEwen wins; Boonen pounds his fist in frustration. Its not even close, boys. Three or four bike lengths every day." But our man Casey spent the day on the road, as well, and there was much more than that increasingly predictable finish.

Can the Americans repeat their time-trial dominance from last month’s Dauphiné Libéré – when they swept the top four places – in Saturday’s 52km stage that will kick-start the battle for the overall victory in the 93rd Tour de France? At the Dauphiné, Dave Zabriskie won by an impressive 53 seconds ahead of Floyd Landis on a mostly flat, but windy 43km course. Third at 1:16 was Levi Leipheimer and fourth was George Hincapie at 1:34. The seven-rider American contingent will roll down the start ramp with excellent chances of victory. Also looking for strong rides will be Bobby Julich and

WeatherShowers at start, mostly cloudy and some sprinkles in the afternoon, temperatures in the high 70s, light to moderate head-crosswinds Stage winnerRobbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto), 4h10:17, 45.309kph – McEwen took another dominant victory by three bike lengths to score a Tour hat-trick, winning his third stage in just six tries. Last year, McEwen also won three stages, but it took 13 stages to pull it off. Italian Daniele Bennati (Lampre-Fondital) won the battle for second place. Race leaderTom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic), 29h21:00, 42.833kph – The world champion pounded his right

The moment of truth has arrived. After almost a week of following wheels, sheltered in the peloton, all the yellow-jersey favorites are racing “alone and unassisted” on Saturday. That expression was coined in Britain, where road time trials were invented in the late 19th century, to overcome police restrictions on packs of cyclists “riding furiously” and scaring the horses pulling carts and carriages. More than 100 years later — and 71 years after individual time trials were introduced to the Tour — the Brits and their English-speaking brethren are still teaching the Continentals how to race

Rumors that Floyd Landis is set to move to Discovery Channel in 2007 appear to be just that, at least for now. Michael Rutherford, Landis’s agent and lawyer, denied reports that the Phonak rider is poised to return to the American team for which he raced during 2002-04. “There have been no discussions with Discovery Channel at all,” Rutherford told VeloNews. “That is definitely just a rumor.” Rutherford confirmed that Landis’s contract with Phonak is up at the end of this season, but said that no new deal for next year has been cut with any team. With new sponsor iShares taking over for

While most North American cycling enthusiasts have had their radar screens aimed toward southwest France, this weekend mountain-bike fans will focus on Utah’s Wasatch mountain range. That’s because the NORBA National Mountain Bike Series (NMBS) returns this weekend to Deer Valley ski resort in Park City, Utah. It’s the fourth of the six NMBS races held in 2006, and the first of three NMBS races to grace the high-altitude Rocky Mountain region. The weekend features the full schedule of NMBS events: cross-country, short track, marathon, downhill, super d and mountain cross. The cross-country,

Stage 6: Lisieux to Vitré - 189km

Stage 6: Lisieux to Vitré - 189km

That's three for the Aussie pocket rocket

Tellow jersey on the attack. Boonen livened things up early in the stage

Brard, Backstedt and Geslin moved ahead of the break

.. but, as usual, the chase kicked in in earnest...

With Boonen back in the fold, the peloton eased off..

.. with predictable results

Bobby J seems relaxed these days.

Robbie the Rocket seems focused.

Hey, is that Frankie rifling through the back of Bjarne's car?

The beauty of Normandy in the summer...

... and the beauties of Normandy in their summer best.

Boonen will be in yellow for Saturday's time trial...

... and he gets to start behind the man in Green. Will we see a catch?

McEwen, though, specializes in sprints.

Man, does he specialize in sprints.

Julian Dean shows the aftermath of yesterday's crash.

The tools to keep track of Jens Voigt's progress tomorrow

Otherwise I wouldn’t be here. Merckx has confidence in Landis's chances

Stage Stats: Stage 6 by the numbers

Stage Stats: Stage 6 by the numbers

McEwen takes the stage and solidifies his hold on the points jersey

Course: The fourth long stage in a row, this one (225km) starts on the open, windswept roads of Picardy, tackles a series of short climbs across the Seine Valley, and concludes with more undulations across Normandy. It’s likely that only seconds will separate the race leaders on GC going into this stage, and the yellow jersey could change hands with time bonuses at the intermediate sprints, the last of which is at Pont l’Evêque with 50km to go. A fast, tricky run-in to sprawling Caen, population 113,000, will make it hard for a sprinter’s lead-out train to succeed, and perhaps favor a late,

After racing through heat-wave temperatures on the Tour de France’s opening five days, the peloton will be grateful for more temperate conditions in the upcoming week — starting with Thursday’s 225km stage 5 that starts north of Paris and heads southwest into Normandy. Local forecasts call for temperatures in the low 70s, moderate west winds in the riders’ faces and a 40-percent chance of rain. Head winds don’t favor small breakaways, so expect to see another bunch finish at Caen on Thursday. The course has plenty of ups and downs in its middle section through the Seine Valley, but the

After knocking on the door for several days, Spaniard Oscar Freire finally kicked it right in on Thursday, outsprinting yellow-jersey wearer Tom Boonen to win his first Tour de France stage since 2002. The three-time world champion from Rabobank won a chaotic drag race against Boonen on the stage 5 finishing stretch down Guillou Boulevard in Caen, near France’s northwestern coast and the beaches of Normandy. After being shut out by his green-jersey rivals in previous sprints this week, the 30-year-old Freire came into Thursday’s stage with a different plan of attack. Instead of reacting to

1. Oscar Freire (Sp), Rabobank2. Tom Boonen (B), Quick Step-Innergetic, 00:003. Inaki Isasi (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, 00:004. David Kopp (G), Gerolsteiner, 00:005. Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto, 00:006. Alessandro Ballan (I), Lampre, 00:007. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Credit Agricole, 00:008. Francisco Ventoso (Sp), Saunier Duval, 00:009. Erik Zabel (G), Milram, 00:0010. Bernhard Eisel (A), Francaise des Jeux, 00:00 11. Luca Paolini (I), Liquigas-Bianchi, 00:0012. Laurent Brochard (F), Bouygues Telecom, 00:0013. Cristian Moreni (I), Cofidis, 00:0014. Jimmy Casper (F), Cofidis, 00:0015. Eddy

Weathercooler, highs in low-80s, partly cloudy in afternoon, brisk headwinds in final sprint Stage winnerOscar Freire (Rabobank), 5h18:50, 42.342kph – The three-time world champion won his first stage of this year’s Tour, relegating reigning world champ Tom Boonen to second place. The Spanish rider started an early sprint against a brisk headwind to pull the surprise win for just his first Tour win since 2002 while in the rainbow jersey. Race leaderTom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic), 25h10:51, 42.423kph – The world champion fell short of victory, but was pleased to keep the yellow jersey

A lot of people are talking about why this Tour de France appears to be slower than last year’s, which reached the finish in Paris at a record average of 41.605kmh. Most people ask if it is due to the absence of those riders who would otherwise be overall favorites. What I do know is that, yes, the Tour is a hell of a lot different than last year. And the one major influence, with Lance Armstrong and a few of the main favorites not being here, is that every team now thinks they are in with a chance to win the overall. Those teams – including ours - are racing tactically quite differently

While you relaxed in the cube farm, occasionally sneaking a glance at our Live Update, Casey Gibson was galloping through France alongside Le Tour, chronicling the day's action. Here's what he sent back across the pond.

Floyd Landis has been a media nowhere man so far this Tour de France, staying bunkered down inside the Phonak bus before and after stages and otherwise keeping a very low profile. Obviously, the Phonak rider wants to let his legs to do the talking. Saturday’s 52km time trial will be the first chance to see who’s going to have the legs to challenge for overall victory. “Floyd is good. He is ready to make a good time trial. It’s the first important day,” Phonak sport director Juan Fernandez told VeloNews. “Everyone talks about the nerves the first week, but Floyd has been very calm.” Ninth

On every road stage of this 2006 Tour de France, it has been relatively easy for the sprinters’ teams to control the race. One reason is because there was no team trial this year and so no major time gaps have developed in the general classification, which means that in every early break there is generally someone, time-wise, who is not far from the yellow jersey. For example, on Thursday, several riders near the top of the GC rankings went with the early eight-man break. Despite several kilometers of flat-out effort (almost 46km were raced in the opening hour on far-from-flat terrain), the

Stage 5: Beauvais to Caen 225km

Stage 5: Beauvais to Caen 225km

Freire catches the favorites napping

The yellow jersey is not a bad consolation prize

Schröder and Dumoulin spent a long day off the front...

... and Boonen's Quick Step team spent a long day chasing

Hincapie had an easy day

Pineau stays in the climber's jersey another day

Zabriskie is thinking about Saturday's time trial

Stage 5, Beauvais to Caen, 225km

Stage 5: by the numbers

Pineau preserves his polka-dot jersey

Tour-winner Riis at the start

Dumoulin leads the break over the Seine bridge

Quick Step leads the chase

Even the yellow jersey lends a hand

New crops frame the peloton

Julich on the bridge

The final sprint

Freire celebrates

Landis is biding his time

Course: This stage, which starts in the Belgian city of Huy on the right bank of the Meuse River at the foot of the infamous Mur de Huy, brings the Tour back to France. It traces some of the roads of the Mur’s classic, the Flèche Wallonne, climbing a couple of Ardennes hills in the opening 60km; but then it heads southeast on a flat-to-rolling route, mainly on wide, straight roads till it reaches the French border. The final two hours will be hectic, first on 80km of twisting, undulating back road through the countryside of Picardy, until the race reaches a straight, hilly highway inside 15km

It was a double-digit day for Robbie McEwen on stage 4 of the Tour de France. He uncorked a perfectly timed sprint with 200 meters to go in St. Quentin, France, to score his 10th career Tour de France stage victory in dominating fashion. The 34-year-old Australian they call "the pocket rocket" shot away in a tough, uphill sprint through a sweeping left turn to beat Spanish sprinter Isaac Galvez (Caisse d’Épargne-Illes Balears) by two bike lengths, while an exasperated Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic) came through in fifth shaking his head in frustration but retaining the maillot jaune. "I

1. Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto2. Isaac Galvez (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne-I.B., 00:003. Oscar Freire (Sp), Rabobank, 00:004. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Credit Agricole relegated4. Tom Boonen (B), Quick Step-Innergetic, 00:005. David Kopp (G), Gerolsteiner, 00:006. Daniele Bennati (I), Lampre, 00:007. Francisco Ventoso (Sp), Saunier Duval, 00:008. Michael Albasini (Swi), Liquigas-Bianchi, 00:009. Bernhard Eisel (A), Francaise des Jeux, 00:0010. Jimmy Casper (F), Cofidis, 00:00 11. Michael Rogers (Aus), T-Mobile, 00:0012. Anthony Geslin (F), Bouygues Telecom, 00:0013. George Hincapie (USA),

Defending Tour de France points champion Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole)was relegated from his fourth-place finish in Stage 4 of the Tour de France Wednesday after officials ruled him guilty of irregular sprinting.Hushovd, who wore the yellow jersey after winning the race prologue and again two days later, was ruled to have blocked Austrian sprinter Bernhard Eisel as both riders raced to the finish line in a bunch sprint.Robbie McEwen, of Davitamon, won the sprint well ahead of his rivals to claim his second stage of the race and tenth of his career, allowing him to reclaim the race's

Following the latest round of reports intimating possible links between CSC’s Ivan Basso and the Spanish doping ring called Operación Puerto, team doctor Joost De Maeseneer addressed the press at the Tour de France stage 4 start in Huy. While Maeseneer maintained he never saw anything that indicated Basso may have been involved in illicit activities, he conceded that there’s no way he and the team’s other two doctors can keep an eye on all the riders all the time. Maeseneer also said there is no reason for Basso or anyone else to seek services outside the confines of the team. "If Stuart

From the morning sign-in at the start to the podium at the finish, Casey Gibson covers it all. Here's what he saw between the lines today.

Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong has dropped all defamation lawsuits in France over allegations he used performance-enhancing drugs, his French lawyers said. The cyclist made the decision after being vindicated by three other recent rulings in his favor, Donald Manasse and Christian Charriere-Bournazel said in a statement. "Mr Armstrong considers that his honor and reputation have been re-established for all people who examine the facts in good faith and that no further purpose is served now in pursuing other actions in defamation," they said. A defamation case against

Weather sunny, very warm again, brisk crosswinds Stage winner Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto), 4:59:50, 41.423kph – McEwen earned his second win in three days to make it an even Tour 10 on his career. Second-place Isaac Galvez (Caisse d’Epargne) shook up a late crash to finish second, but was no match for McEwen’s top-end speed. Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) was relegated for dangerous sprinting. Race leader Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic), 19:52:13, 42.445kph – The world champion could only muster a disappointing fifth in the sprint, but he retained his one-second lead to Michael