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It's like mountain cross, without the jumps and berms, and a whole lot longer

Eddy Merckx, rated the greatest cyclist ever, believes Lance Armstrong can surpass his record five Tour de France triumphs. Merckx, winner in 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1974, told Le Parisien daily he would not even be surprised to see Armstrong win a seventh Tour. "He can win a sixth and, why not, a seventh Tour, if he concentrates solely on that one race," the Belgian said. "He knows how to prepare himself and with his drive and talent a sixth win is foreseeable. When you know how much he suffers in the heat you have to recognize how intelligently he raced this year." Armstrong lost

One of the great reasons to ride for the Cycling Center is the partnerships that Bernard has made with other Belgians in the cycling community here. One such person is Frans van Merke. Frans has fit many of the great Belgian professionals, including Nico Mattan, Frank Vandenbroucke, Axel Merckx and Tom Steels. Not too shabby a clientele, eh? And he is nice enough to work with us crazy Americans, with the weirdest equipment he has ever seen. Of course, if it isn’t Campy and isn't steel, well, it is just a little odd. I am poking fun at him a bit, but he definitely likes the most normal

After racing in the afternoon the first four days of Thuringen Rundfahrt, we had an early start in the rain on Saturday morning. I have to admit, I was feeling a little groggy when I woke up, and wasn't too excited when I saw the rain, but three cups of coffee and two cups of green tea got me motivated. I give my teammates a hard time about all the Diet Coke they consume, as I don’t really think it is particularly healthy, so they were paying me back with a little grief over my coffee consumption. I guess we all have our vices. The morning stage was short, only 73km, and passed by quickly,

Hi, Monique, I hope you are doing well - I really enjoy your VeloNews columns. I am writing because I am curious about the balance of my sports drinks. Everyone seems to have their personal preference, but is there one that is better than another? Would you chalk it up to personal preference? I have also found that I get cramping when using sports drinks at full strength, but when I water them down to half or three-quarters strength I do not cramp up. Is my body disagreeing with the formula and should I switch to something else? Thanks a ton! –IV Hi, Monique, I heard somewhere that when

No sooner has the bunting been cleared from the streets of Paris after a dramatic Tour de France, than the world's top sprint and pursuit cyclists are heading for Stuttgart, Germany, for the world track championships. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) moved the event to Germany from China because of the SARS virus - but the Hanns-Martin Schleyer Hall should provide a fitting venue for five days of fierce competition. Australia will again be expected to dominate the medals table, although without Bradley McGee they face a strong challenge from a British squad, buoyed by three gold

Navigators Chris Baldwin and RONA-Esker’s Geneviève Jeanson jumped to the early lead at the International stage race in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday evening. In the 3.5-mile opening time trial, Baldwin beat out Saturn’s Nathan O’Neill by 10 seconds to take the stage win, while O’Neill’s Saturn teammate Tom Danielson was a further eight seconds behind. In the women’s race, Jeanson took 30 seconds out of her Saturn rival Lyne Bessette, while Bessette’s Saturn teammate Jessica Phillips rounded out the top three. The International continues today with 74-mile Johnstown circuit race and runs

America's quintuple Tour de France champion, Lance Armstrong, and Germany's five-time runner up, Jan Ullrich, will continue their renewed rivalry in the World Cup in Zurich on August 17, race organizers announced. Aside from Armstrong and Ullrich, who won the 1997 Tour de France, the field will include six-time Tour de France King of the Mountains Richard Virenque; his teammate Paolo Bettini of Italy, the World Cup leader; two-time world road race champion Oscar Freire of Spain; and Switzerland's 1998 world champion, Oscar Camenzind. – Copyright 2003/AFP

Frans fusses with Jed's LeMond

Jan Ullrich was hailed as the real winner of the 2003 Tour de France in the German press after a sensational comeback saw the Bianchi captain push defending champion Lance Armstrong all the way to the finishing line. Although the Olympic champion finished second in the Tour, for a record fifth time, the German media expressed their amazement at how he had turned the clock back and once again become a major force in the sport of cycling. "Jan you are the best as far as we are concerned," declared Germany's best-selling Bild zeitung. Bild claimed Ullrich had captured the imagination of the

Germany's two-time Olympic cycling track champion Jens Lehmann has been dropped from the individual pursuit team for this week's world championships it was announced by the national cycling federation (BDR) on Monday. The 35-year-old, 75-time national and international medalist, finished second in the recent German trials but was replaced by another double Olympic champion in Robert Bartko. Bartko did not compete in the trials but team coach Bernd Dittert opted for Bartko after he timed faster in a private test on June 30. Bartko will line-up alongside Daniel Becke, who won the national

On Sunday in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, Belgian Danny In’t Ven (ICSA) took the final stage of the 17-day International Cycling Classic-Superweek, beating Saturn’s Ivan Dominguez in the Bodyworks by Concours Whitefish Bay Classic. Earlier in the weekend, Prime Alliance’s Jonas Carney took his second stage win of Superweek when he beat Ofoto-Lombardi’s Jackson Stewart in the Bank One Food Folks & Spokes on Friday. On Saturday, Stewart took a stage win of his own, winning the Great Downer Avenue Bike Race in Milwaukee ahead of Jacob Erker (Schroeder Iron). In the overall, Saturn’s Viktor

Sometimes when you do everything wrong, things just go your way regardless. Other times, no matter how hard you try to do all the right things, everything goes wrong. I had my mind set on trying to win Downer Avenue on Saturday. Contesting the Kenosha criterium on Friday night was not part of the plan, until I found myself in the winning break five laps into the race. I've been trying like crazy to get in the break since day two, but it never happened until I stopped trying. There's probably a moral or lesson in all of this. If you figure it out, let me know. The Schroeder Iron guys

Lehmann at last year's world's in Copenhagen

The Ruler of Retro: If you think this looks bad – click for the larger version

The 2003 Tour de France returned to where it started three weeks ago and finished with the same winner as the past four years. Lance Armstrong endured what he called a "crisis-filled" Tour to join Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Induráin in cycling's "five club" as five-time Tour winners. "It was the hardest victory and it's like a dream," Armstrong said at the finish line on the Champs-Élysées. "I will put everything I have into trying to win a sixth victory." Armstrong fought through a litany of problems and overcame a rejuvenated Jan Ullrich to claim final

Hopes of a completely clean centenary Tour de France have been dashed by the news that an unidentified rider has tested positive for banned endurance enhancer EPO (erythropoietin), officials confirmed here Sunday. It is the first positive test of the 90th edition and centenary race that was won for the fifth consecutive time by American Lance Armstrong of the US Postal team. The first sample has tested positive for EPO although it will be a few days before the results of a B sample are known. "The rider concerned is not someone who has won a stage," a race official told AFP here Sunday,

Results Stage 20Overall, points, Kom, Team and other standings listed below1. Jean-patrick Nazon (F), Jean Delatour, 3:38:492. Baden Cooke (Aus), FDJeux.com, 00:003. Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus), Lotto-Domo, 00:004. Luca Paolini (I), Quick Step-Davitamon, 00:005. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Credit Agricole, 00:006. Stuart O'Grady (Aus), Credit Agricole, 00:007. Erik Zabel (G), Telekom, 00:008. Romans Vainsteins (Lat), Caldirola, 00:009. Gerrit Glomser (A), Saeco, 00:0010. Damien Nazon (F), Brioches La Boulangere, 00:0011. Fabrizio Guidi (I), Bianchi, 00:0012. Oscar Freire (Sp), Rabobank, 00:0013. Laurent

French cycling legend Bernard Hinault, one of five riders to have won the Tour de France five times, has hailed this year's eventful centenary edition as exceptional. And Hinault, the last Frenchman to win the race in 1985, said the increased challenge to Lance Armstrong's yellow jersey this year doesn't mean the 31-year-old American five-time winner is on the wane. "This year's race has been exceptional on all levels - as a competition and as a spectacle but also the way it has been organized,” Hinault said. "It's been one big party and there was suspense right up to the end because, even

Lance Armstrong's fifth Tour victory was the hardest by far, but also the sweetest in terms of his popularity on the roads of France. The Texan, a personal friend of U.S. President George W. Bush, had not exactly been France's most-loved athlete in recent years and was booed on the climb to the Mount Ventoux last year. But despite Franco-American tensions over the Iraq war, there was no animosity whatsoever from the crowds this year, and fans seemed won over by Armstrong's struggling and suffering in this year's race. The American, who made himself available to sign autographs and

The curtain has just fallen on Lance Armstrong's fifth and hardest Tour de France victory, and the American is already setting his sights on an unprecedented sixth. The 31-year-old cancer survivor joined the sport's select club of five-time champions when he won the centenary Tour on Sunday; now, he hopes to inaugurate a new century of the world's showcase cycling event. Neither Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault, nor Spaniard Miguel Induráin, the only rider before him to have won five straight Tours – not even Eddy "The Cannibal" Merckx, the greatest rider ever – were able to

Remember our "Out-of-the-Way" contest from the other day, when we offered a free copy of our 2003 Tour de France book to the "viewer" following the Tour via VeloNews.com from the most unusual spot on the planet? After verifying his mailing address and checking a few other things – including the pictures posted here – the winner is Army Captain Rick Trimble, who is doing a Tour of Baghdad at one of Saddam Hussein's former presidential palaces in the Iraqi capital. “There are a large number of palaces all over the country and in Baghdad,” says Rick. “This particular one is called the Main

Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong and his U.S. Postal team mates were each fined for sporting an illegal jersey during the last stage to Paris. The nine U.S. Postal riders wore a jersey showing the emblem of their sponsors, an eagle, instead of their regular gear on Sunday. They were fined 200 Swiss francs ($148.5) while the U.S. Postal team was handed a 4,500-franc fine. Armstrong won 400,000 euros ($459,500) for his Tour victory.

To see how Stage 20 of the Tour unfolded live, just go to our Live Update window and follow the action all the way to the finish.

And so another Tour de France has finished. And with it we finally get time to reflect on the many highs and lows of the past three weeks – in reality, there are far too many of them to mention. But some moments deserve special mention. So we came up with a few awards to celebrate a centennial Tour that was one of the most exciting in years – perhaps ever! Ladies and gentlemen please be standing in your ovation for the followingrecipients of the VeloNews.com 2003 Tour de France Awards. Best story lead in the most exciting Tour ever:“Ho-hum,” on the Tour de France Times Web site after stage

With the Tour safely arriving in Paris today, the barriers packed andthe press room door shut for another year, I think it's only fitting fora bit of the recap of the race.No, I'm not talking about highlighting phenomenal racing action whichmade up one of the more exciting Tours de France in history, I'm talkingabout a look back at the technology that made the biggest hit. As always,you can't have the good without the bad, so included are a few "All Show,No Go" items we saw this year as well.  So without any further ado,here's my top 10 list for "Most Impressive Technology at the 2003

The victories Lance Armstrong values the most are the ones he worked the hardest for, and the 2003 Tour de France yellow jersey is going to have to rank near the top of that list. Out of his five wins, this one was the most difficult. The field was stronger than it was in any of the previous four years, the heat was unbearable, and there were several incidents and near misses. Races almost never go exactly as you plan them. It is extremely rare for an athlete to be completely ready for competition and have the race unfold precisely the way he wants it to. The mark of a true champion is the

On a day many called the most exciting day of short-track racingyet, overall series points leader Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (RLX-Ralph Lauren)crossed the finish line alone after breakaway companion Seamus McGrath’sfront tire washed out with two laps remaining at Idaho's Schweitzer Mountain NORBA event on Sunday. In the women’s race, three-time world cross-country champion Alison Sydor (Trek-VW) beat Subaru-Gary Fisher’s Chrissy Redden in a two-up sprint after spending much of the event off the front. The course — a flat, dusty, one-mile loop with a tricky bottleneckedS-turn section thrown in by

For one rider, the Schweitzer NORBA downhill win was a breakthrough victory;for another, simply par for the course.French 25-year-old gravity sensation Cedric Gracia (Siemens-Cannondale)won a close race at the Schweitzer Mountain NORBA downhill Sunday, justedging out Sam Hill, 18, of Australia by 1.4 seconds over the long 2.5-milecourse. In the women’s event it was American Kathy Pruitt with a breakthroughwin, beating out Sabrina Jonnier (Intense-Fox).For Pruitt, the win comes as confirmation after placing qualifying firstbut placing third at the Grouse Mountain World Cup in Vancouver two

Army Captain (and Tour fan) Rick Trimble

Saddam or Nebuchadnezzar? Captain Trimble at the presidential palace

Armstrong clearly enjoying the ride to his fifth consecutive Tour triumph

Ho-hum

Ohhhhhhkayyyyyyyy

You don't see this too often...

... or this

Are the any good French wines that one can serve with Crow?

Raise a glass to Vino'

Maybe Mario De Clercq should worry

Properly clad or not, these postmen delivered

The last break of the Tour

And they thought the race for the yellow jersey was close

Cooke's sigh of relief

It doesn't get much better

The 1903 Tour had its actual finish in Ville d’Avray, just outside Paris, whose mayor didn’t allow bike racing within the city limits. This year, Ville d’Avray, not far from the magnificent imperial palace of Versailles, sees the start of the final stage and an intermediate sprint after an initial loop of 31km in the western suburbs. The race then heads into the city with another loop via the Place de la Bastille before the final nine laps around the traditional circuit on the Champs-Elysées. 7/27/2003 Start Time: 1:38:00pm7/27/2003 Estimated Finish Time: 5:38:00pm HISTORYExcept for 1903,

The anticipated Tour de France clash between Lance Armstrong and Jan Ullrich came to a soggy conclusion in Saturday’s 49-kilometer 19th stage from Pornic to Nantes. Armstrong all but sewed up his fifth overall title while Ullrich will settle for second a fifth time. Armstrong widened his margin to Ullrich to 1 minute, 16 seconds in the Tour’s penultimate stage and only has to avoid disaster Sunday before becoming the fifth man to win the Tour five times. Armstrong admitted this was the hardest Tour victory since his courageous cancer comeback in 1999. The 31-year-old Texan had to endure

He has yet to fully capture the Kazakh public's imagination but few doubtthat Alexander Vinokurov's dogged pursuit of Lance Armstrong and Jan Ullrichin this year's Tour de France has given cycling a boost in his native ex-Sovietrepublic.Kazakhstan's news media have paid only limited attention to the DeutscheTelekom rider's rise to world class status, even after his victory in theTour of Switzerland earlier this year, his Olympic silver in 2000 and hislikely clinching of third place in the biggest race of all, the Tour deFrance.Exemplifying the lukewarm reaction is the weekly Vremya

Stage 9 provided the rare opportunity for me to spend a bit of one-on-one time with CSC's “team behind the team” – the mechanics, coaches and soigneurs. My morning started with an introduction to the leader of the team, Bjarne Riis. After exchanging pleasantries, Riis was off on his morning jog, which he says helps him "get his mind off the Tour, even if it's only for 45 minutes." From there, I met up with New Zealander Craig Geater, one of CSC’s five mechanics, who gave me a tour of his world - the Team CSC support truck. Geater has spent most of his life working in a bicycle shop,

Individual Results for Stage 191. David Millar (GB), Cofidis, 54:052. Tyler Hamilton (USA), CSC, 00:093. Lance Armstrong (USA), U.S. Postal Service, 00:144. Jan Ullrich (G), Bianchi, 00:255. Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun), Quick Step-Davitamon, 00:266. Vjatceslav Ekimov (Rus), U.S. Postal Service, 00:567. Pena Victor Hugo (Col), U.S. Postal Service, 01:008. George Hincapie (USA), U.S. Postal Service, 01:089. Sylvain Chavanel (F), Brioches La Boulangere, 01:1210. Marzio Bruseghin (I), Fassa Bortolo, 01:2611. Stuart O'Grady (Aus), Credit Agricole, 01:3812. Michael Rogers (Aus), Quick Step-Davitamon,

To see how Stage 19 of the Tour unfolded live, just go to our Live Update window and follow the action all the way to the finish.

David Millar's luck finally changed with victory on the penultimate stage of the Tour de France on Saturday. The Briton won a wet 49km time trial from Pornic to Nantes in a time of 54 minutes, five seconds, nine seconds faster than Tyler Hamilton (CSC). Overall race leader Lance Armstrong (U.S. Postal) was third 14 seconds behind. Up till Saturday, Millar's luck seemed to have deserted him. The 26-year-old Cofidis rider lost the Tour prologue when his chain came off close to the finish and then went down with bronchitis in the second half of the three-week long race. "As they say in

Today's stage presented riders with a condition they have yet to deal with this Tour – rain. Had this been a regular road stage, riders might have considered using a shorter or more angled stem to give themselves a more upright position and place more weight on the rear wheel. But today, riders needed every advantage they could get, and proper aerodynamic position would be a critical choice, even in the rain. This leaves tire selection as the most factor of today's stage. Since all the riders were racing on tubular wheels today, tire selection was somewhat limited (there are quite a few

On paper, stages 17 and 18 were relatively similar, but they played out a bit differently in real life. On Thursday, the break went from the gun so the peloton rode at a controlled, but steady tempo all day. But yesterday it took about 65 kilometers for a group to get away, so the first hour and a half of the stage was pretty stressful with one attack after another. With guys fighting hard at the front, it made for a lot of work in the back. But things calmed down a lot after the group that finally got away, stayed off. It was a welcomed change by that point. We had a pretty long transfer

At the end of week one in the Tour de France, we introduced you to John Henderson a sportswriter on the Denver Post who has been covering the race for the very first time. As John revealed, covering the Tour is a lot different than reporting on football or baseball in the United States, foremost being the inter-stage transfers and logistical late night searches for hotel. One thing is sure for John, as the race nears it end with the final stage in Paris tomorrow, it has been a real adventure that he will never forget. We told John we would catch up for his final words on the Tour. And we

Preparation can be like a security blanket. When you’ve done everything you can to be prepared, through training, reconnaissance, nutrition, hydration, and warming up, you feel safe and calm. When you’re not prepared, you feel naked and vulnerable. Lance Armstrong rolled into the start house this afternoon secure in his preparation, and ready for the time trial of his life. In the morning, Armstrong reviewed the time trial course one more time in the team car. Since it was raining, he was paying extra attention to things like road paint, manhole covers, rail tracks, and corners. He knew

Rain showers and cool temperatures won’t dampen spirits in Paris Sundaywhen the Tour de France not only sees the conclusion of this year’s racebut also celebrates its 100 years of history with a spectacular show onthe Champs-Élysées.After the final sprint and the annual parade of the 22 participatingteams will come a tightly orchestrated Centennial Parade featuring a castof 1200, including all the living Tour winners (except for 1998 winnerMarco Pantani and three-time winner Greg LeMond, who sent their regretsto the organizers). There will be 12 tableaux retracing a century of theTour and

Chrissy Redden (Subaru-Gary Fisher) and world champion Roland Green (Trek-Volkswagen) emerged as winners from a dry, dusty cross-country course on Northern Idaho’s Schweitzer Mountain, round four of the five-round NORBA National Championship Series. For Redden, the win brought her within 68 points of series leader Jimena Florit (RLX Ralph Lauren), while Green moves up to 15th place in the series, with two wins out of the four events. Although the temperature was ideal on the 10.6-mile course, with its 950 feet of elevation per lap, a long dry spell in the region has left heavy dust

Tour de France director Jean-Marie Leblanc said he could not have hoped for a better race to celebrate the centenary of cycling's biggest event. "It was better than my expectations. What was unexpected was the quality of the race," he said on Saturday, the penultimate day of the Tour. "It was superb, the best race in 20 years or at least since 1989 when I took over as the Tour director.” Lance Armstrong, set to be crowned champion for a record-equaling fifth time in Paris on Sunday, was tested until the very end in the closest Tour for years, while crashes and attacks made it one of the

A pair of Intense-Fox riders — Chris Kovarik of Australia and Sabrina Jonnier of France — took top honors at the round four of the NORBA mountain-cross championship series at Schweitzer Mountain Saturday, albeit in a very different manner. Jonnier, the 22-year-old from Nice, won after cutting inside on Australian Katrina Miller (Jamis), who crashed out of the lead. Kovarik, the event’s fastest qualifier, held his first gate and simply jumped first and rode away from Eric Carter (Mongoose-Hyundai), and teammates Mike King and Greg Minnaar (Haro-Lee Dungarees). “I had my hardtail and flat

The Team CSC mechanic-mobile