All Content

Postal poured it on as the rain poured down

And it got them atop the podium, while putting Lance in yellow

Pulling the train: Bäckstedt at work

Plus he has to drive, too!

BANG!

Phonak had five flats on Wednesday

Back in his favorite color

Chris Carmichael Diary: Riding the slipstream to victory

Elken (left) nips Candelario and Fraser at the line

The early breakaway, from left: Creed, Evans, Dionne, Lieswyn and Swindlehurst

Dionne makes a late-race solo bid

The peloton was having none of it

Do they have hills in Oregon? Oh, yeah – try Mount Bachelor

The podium: Candelario, Elken and Fraser

Tour stuff

Tour stuff

Tour stuff

Tour stuff

Tour stuff

Tour stuff

Tour stuff

Tour stuff

Tour stuff

Tour stuff

Tour stuff

Tour stuff

Tour stuff

Tour stuff

Tour stuff

Tour stuff

Tour stuff

COURSE: This twisting course, half in Belgium, half in France,is evocative of the spring classics. It includes sections of the Tour ofFlanders course (the Meerbeke finish line at 42km, and part of the Murde Grammont at 61km) and two sectors of Paris-Roubaix cobblestones at Wandignies (146km) and Gruson (185km). FAVORITES: Should the cobblestones and weather be factors, expecta breakaway with riders like Tom Boonen and Leif Hoste to succeed, especiallywith a technical finale that makes it hard for teams to organize a chase.Otherwise, the 1400-meter-long finish straight should favor

Lance Armstrong can strike the name of Iban Mayo from his list of major rivals hoping to keep him from a sixth Tour de France victory. The Spaniard lost nearly four minutes after he was involved in a crash during the third stage, which covered 210km from Waterloo, Belgium, to Wasquehal in France. A final podium finish is still possible for Mayo, but he conceded that his hopes of overall victory are now gone. “That is clear,” said Mayo after the stage finish. “I am very sad about what happened, especially for the team rather than me. There were so many nerves out there Tuesday. Then there

The Mail Bag is a Monday-Wednesday-Friday feature on VeloNews.com, but will appear daily during the Tour. 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.Trautwig needs to try listening for a changeEditor:Al Trautwig needs to listen a little more – no, a lot more - and talk less. His producers should squelch his talking over Bobke and maybe monitor the timing of Al's ADD meds a little

INDIVIDUAL - STAGE1. Jean-Patrick Nazon (F), Ag2R Prevoyance, 4:36:452. Erik Zabel (G), T-Mobile, 00:003. Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus), Lotto-Domo, 00:004. Tom Boonen (B), Quick Step-Davitamon, 00:005. Kim Kirchen (Lux), Fassa Bortolo, 00:006. Danilo Hondo (G), Gerolsteiner, 00:007. Jaan Kirsipuu (Est), Ag2R Prevoyance, 00:008. Alessandro Bertolini (I), Alessio-Bianchi, 00:009. Fabio Baldato (I), Alessio-Bianchi, 00:0010. Gutierrez José Enrique (Sp), Phonak, 00:00 11. Michele Scarponi (I), Domina Vacanze, 00:0012. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Rabobank, 00:0013. Laurent Brochard (F), Ag2R Prevoyance,

Though they are adversaries, Lance Armstrong, Jan Ullrich, Tyler Hamilton, and Roberto Heras know there is a time and place to work together for their mutual benefit. When a crash prior to the first section of cobblestones split the field and isolated Iban Mayo, all the other team leaders sent their men to the front to make sure the Spaniard didn’t make it back to the front group. In doing so, they have changed the face of the 2004 Tour de France and significantly damaged Mayo’s chances of challenging for the yellow jersey. While there was definitely a chance that Armstrong or Ullrich could

Those of you who watched the prologue time trial may have been wondering why some teams were using standard road helmets and others using aero’ helmets. In October 2003 the UCI passed a requirement that all time-trial helmets meet certain safety standards as of January 1, 2004. This threw out the old time-trial helmets, which were little more than thin plastic fairings with straps. Helmet companies were caught largely unprepared by the ruling, so in the spring, most pro teams were racing time trials with standard road helmets. By the Giro d’Italia, many teams were using clear plastic covers

USA Cycling announced today the team that will represent the United Statesin the discipline of road cycling at this summer’s Olympic Games in Athens.After securing the maximum start positions in both men’s and women’s roadcycling, USA Cycling will be sending a mix of accomplished veterans andtalented newcomers to Athens. Five men and three women will contest theroad race, while two men and two women will also compete in the time trial.Leading the men’s roster is five-time Tour de France winner and 2000Olympic Bronze Medalist, Lance Armstrong (Austin, Texas). Armstrong’swell-documented career

The Tour de France's first foray into its home country, following three days in Belgium, lived up to its billing as a potential make or break stage for the yellow jersey contenders. Iban Mayo of the Euskaltel team was the most prominent casualty on Tuesday's 210 km stage from Waterloo in Belgium - the scene of Emperor Napoleon's 1815 defeat to the English - to a small town on the French border. The 26-year-old Basque climber, who relegated five-time Tour winner Lance Armstrong to a two-minute deficit on a recent time trial up the Mont Ventoux, lost almost four minutes to the American

Iban Mayo’s crash in stage 3 of the Tour de France on Tuesday was unfortunate. It was one of those things that all riders dread and no rider can ever completely avoid. The Tour is a race of strength, endurance and a bit of luck…. Okay, quite a bit of luck. It is ironic that it was the very thing which the riders were working to avoid - being caught up in a crash as the pack went into the narrow cobblestone section at Wandignies – that caused the wreck. It is always a good tactic to be at the front of the group when you enter a narrow or dangerous section of a race course. That is

Norway's Thor Hushovd was left defeated, frustrated and without the Tour de France yellow jersey on Tuesday after two sections of cobbled road battered the peloton during stage three in northern France. The Credít Agricole rider lost the overall lead to Australia's Robbie McEwen after crashing just before the first section of cobbles, 64 kilometres from the end of the stage. He finished the 210km stage three minutes and 53 seconds behind the leading riders and plummeted to 92nd overall. "I got the yellow jersey yesterday but now I've lost it because of a stupid crash," he said. "The

STAGE 3 July 06 Waterloo - Wasquehal (121.173mi/195km)

STAGE 3 July 06 Waterloo - Wasquehal (121.173mi/195km)

Nazon takes the sprint ahead of Zabel and McEwen

Armstrong stayed out of trouble again today

But Mayo didn't - he lost big time

And McEwen got the jersey

Voigt and De Groot stayed away for much of the day

Hincapie powered the move across the cobbles

Hincapie models the Giro Rev 6

What's inside Postal's new lid

Lotto's Lazer

And what's inside

Rabobank's Giro

The Uvex

The Limar

COURSE: This looping course has a 50km section through Frenchterritory before returning to Belgium on rolling terrain. The last 8kmfollow the Meuse River with a finish in downtown Namur. FAVORITES: There is a sharp turn just 200 meters from the finishline, a set-up that favors McEwen or Cooke rather than Petacchi or Cipollini.Being on a Belgian team, Lotto-Domo’s McEwen will be especially anxiousto win. HISTORY: About 45km from the finish, the race passes throughMarennes, Belgium, the birthplace of former Tour winners Firmin Lambot(1919 and 1922) and Léon Scieur (1921). The last of four

Tour de France archivists found themselves blowing dust off the history books and writing a new chapter after Thor Hushovd became the first Norwegian to claim the yellow leader's jersey at the end of Monday's second stage to Namur. In a crash-filled 197km stage that began in Charleroi, Hushovd's second place behind Australian Robbie McEwen (Lotto-Domo) was all he needed to take over leadership in the green-jersey points competition, too. Hushovd (Crédit Agricole), 26, will start Tuesday's third stage from Waterloo to Wasquehal with an eight-second lead over Swiss Fabian Cancellara (Fassa

The Mail Bag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com, appearing each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. 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.Contrition only when caughtEditor:Why is it that all of the riders caught doping now want to stop “living the lie” and come clean? Don’t you think it has more to do with getting caught than living a lie? David Millar just couldn’t live with

Individual Stage Results1. Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus), Lotto-Domo, 4:18:392. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Crédit Agricole, 00:003. Nazon Jean-Patrick (F), Ag2R Prevoyance, 00:004. Danilo Hondo (G), Gerolsteiner, 00:005. Stuart O'Grady (Aus), Cofidis, 00:006. Jaan Kirsipuu (Est), Ag2R Prevoyance, 00:007. Erik Zabel (G), T-Mobile, 00:008. Alessandro Petacchi (I), Fassa Bortolo, 00:009. Gerrit Glomser (A), Saeco, 00:0010. Mario Cipollini (I), Domina Vacanze, 00:00 11. Peter Wrolich (A), Gerolsteiner, 00:0012. Tom Boonen (B), Quick Step-Davitamon, 00:0013. Aart Vierhouten (Nl), Lotto-Domo, 00:0014. Sylvain

Sandwiched between the always-nervous first road stage of the Tour and the potentially dangerous third day tomorrow, stage 2 offered the U.S. Postal Service the chance to take it relatively easy. As usual, the team’s instructions were to keep Lance up front and out of trouble, and since that task is going to be a bit more difficult tomorrow, conserving some energy was also an important task for the day. It’s not just the 4km of cobblestones that are a cause for concern in stage 3. The 20km preceding the cobbles are likely to be very fast and combative as riders try to secure positions near

It was another day at the office for photographer Graham Watson, who sent us these tidbits from his outbox.

During the Tour, you can now see exactly how hard some of the riders are pedaling, as well as how fast they are going, how fast their pedals are going around, and how fast their heart is pumping. This is due to special agreements between SRM and the Saeco and T-Mobile teams. Even though many riders would like to use SRMs in more races, it is often not possible due to it conflicting with their crank sponsor. Furthermore, the SRM cranks are not as light, and not as stiff as the latest oversized hollow cranks, so riders are reluctant to take that step backward. But now SRM’s Ulrich Schoberer

I feel like crap. I don’t know why or what is going on, but I feel like crap these days. I sure am not getting my legs to turn the way I want them too and I am struggling quite a bit at the moment. These are supposed to me my kinds of days and, as I said, I am sort of on home turf, but it was all I could do just to stay in the field. If I knew what was wrong with me, I’d be a happy man, because I could do something about it. As it is, I have no idea why I feel like I lack power and struggling on the bike. It’s really tough on my head. I want to get my body to do more, but it just doesn’t

NAMUR - The first few stages of the Tour de France are always kind of tough. They probably look easy on paper compared to the mountain stages of the Pyrénées and the Alps, but don’t let the level terrain fool you. There’s no describing how nerve-wracking the opening stages of the Tour are. For starters, there’s a full field of nearly 200 guys all fired up about being at the year’s biggest race. Add high speeds, rain, a bunch of crashes, spectators in the road, a good hard chase to reel in a break away and the madness that ensues before a field sprint, and you pretty much have the recipe for

Thor Hushovd of Crédit Agricole overcame great odds on Monday to become a somewhat unlikely leader of the 2004 Tour de France. On Tuesday, he will wear the yellow leader’s jersey because of his fast prologue time trial and the time bonuses he has collected for finishing third and second in stages 1 and 2. One of the things you have to love about the Tour is that it requires you to overcome great odds and unforeseen obstacles. Hushovd and his teammates knew that if he could finish in the top three on Monday, he would take over the race lead. They obviously were working for that during the

Italy's Alessandro Petacchi is considered to be the best sprinter in cycling, but the Fassa Bortolo speedster has struggled in the two high-speed finishes so far in this year's Tour de France. Petacchi was only eighth in Sunday's stage 1 to Charleroi behind Jaan Kirsipuu (AG2R) and again in Namur at the end of stage 2, which was won by Robbie McEwen (Lotto-Domo). After 12 months of consistent victories in sprint finishes, including a record nine stage wins in May's Giro d'Italia, he is wondering what has gone wrong. "I can't seem to sprint as I really want to, there's always somebody in

STAGE 2 July 05 Charleroi - Namur (121.173mi/195km)

STAGE 2 July 05 Charleroi - Namur (121.173mi/195km)

Tour winners Emile Masson (left) and Firmin Lambot (right).

Hushovd dons the maillot jaune

Landis leads the Postal train

McEwen rockets to the front for the victory

The obligatory early break

Fagnini is out of the Tour

Lance, Och' and Miss Sheryl

George Hincapie doing his part for the cause.

Apparently the Marlboro Man took a wrong turn at Cheyenne and ended up in Belgium

Remember all that talk about weight and lack of fitness a couple months back?