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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

Kiwi mechanic Craig Geater

A bus full of bikes

Ullrich was on a record-setting pace before this turn

Ullrich never got back up to speed

Armstrong stayed focused and took no risks

And Hamilton powered into second on the day and fourth overall

Stage winner Millar was delighted after a lackluster Tour

Ride the wrong tire in a wet stage and you might just wind up like this

Bike waterfall along the course

Camp Armstrong; two Brits that say they become Americans for three weeks every year, in July.

Ekimov through the rain and fog

Haybale bike along the course

The start in Pornic

Postal compound deserted before the start

The umbrella crowd along the route, still in the tens of thousands

Village are of all team jerseys

Some very wet Cutters at the start of the race

wet, wet roads

A wet ride in Nantes

The pressure is almost off

Ullrich's Tour went better than he expected; his time trial worse than he had hoped

Armstrong knows he's won

Aussie Chris Kovarik surprised himself at Schweitzer

If there’s ever going to be a course that favors someone beating Greg LeMond’s Tour time-trial speed record of 54.545 kph (33.892 mph), this is it. Starting at the old fishing port of Pornic on the Atlantic coast, the 49km route heads due east on flat, wide roads, with very few turns. If the prevailing west wind is blowing, riders will be able to pedal 55- or 56-tooth chainrings all the way. 7/26/2003 Start Time: 10:45:00am7/26/2003 Estimated Finish Time: 5:03:00pm HISTORYThree previous Tour time trials have finished in Nantes. Two were on rolling point-to-point courses starting at towns

The 2003 Tour de France is barreling down to a dramatic showdown between Big Jan and Big Tex in Saturday' decisive time trial, but the Tour's two strongmen had one more surprise in store during Friday's 203.5km stage 18 from Bordeaux to St. Maixent-l’École. Jan Ullrich grabbed back two seconds on a bonus sprint to trim his margin to Lance Armstrong to 1:05 going into Saturday's duel, and gave notice to the world that the 1997 Tour winner will fight to the very end. Spain’s Pablo Lastras of ibanesto.com won an emotional stage victory that he dedicated to his recently deceased mother after

I am excited to be competing again, as I have not raced since early June. I was having some tendonitis problems that began in late June and as a result did not start the Giro d’Italia with my team. I rested my leg and took my time in allowing it to heal. It is hard to take time off the bike mid-season, as everyone is racing and it is easy to start worrying about falling behind with your fitness. I am a firm believer that things happen for a reason, though, and perhaps the rest was needed. In any case, I am happy to be racing my bike again and feeling fresh. Thuringen Rundfahrt is a race I

Bradley McGee will not be defending his individual pursuit title at next week's world track championships after suffering from suspected hypoglycemia in the Tour de France. The Australian, who wore the yellow jersey for the first three stages of the Tour after winning the prologue, is to have tests immediately after Sunday's finish to establish the reasons behind the attacks, which drain him of all energy. "I do not feel in good enough shape to go straight from the Tour de France to the world championships on Monday," said the 27-year-old McGee. "I prefer not to go because I am certain

The domination of American Lance Armstrong and Spaniard Miguel Induráin on the Tour de France in the past decade had made the last time trial of the race a mere lap of honor for the yellow jersey. But on Saturday, the second timed test in the race, over 49km between Pornic and Nantes, should decide the final outcome and crown either Armstrong or Jan Ullrich champion. Four-time champion Armstrong leads 1997 winner Ullrich by 65 seconds, but the German beat him by one-and-a-half minutes in last week's time trial between Gaillac and Cap Decouverte, and an overhaul on the penultimate day

Individual Stage Results - Stage 181. Pablo Lastras (Sp), iBanesto.com, 4:03:182. Carlos Da Cruz (F), FDJeux.com, 00:003. Daniele Nardello (I), Telekom, 00:004. David Canada (Sp), Quick Step-Davitamon, 00:045. Massimiliano Lelli (I), Cofidis, 00:196. Andy Flickinger (F), Ag2R Prevoyance, 00:197. Thomas Voeckler (F), Brioches La Boulangere, 00:198. Paolo Fornaciari (I), Saeco, 00:199. Fabrizio Guidi (I), Bianchi, 00:3510. Vladimir Miholjevic (CRO), Alessio, 00:3511. Davide Bramati (I), Quick Step-Davitamon, 00:3512. Javier Pascual Llorente (Sp), Kelme - Costa Blanca, 00:3513. Christophe Brandt

To see how Stage 17 of the Tour unfolded live, just go to our Live Update window and follow the action all the way to the finish.

The battle to win this year's Tour de France is one of the closest in more than a decade. Indeed, this year is only the sixth time in the post-war era that the yellow jersey could possibly be decided on the final days of the three-week Tour de France. Germany's 1997 winner Jan Ullrich is currently trailing American four-time winner Lance Armstrong by just 1:05 ahead of Saturday's 49-kilometer race against the clock where the time gaps could again change. The 29-year-old Bianchi rider, whose return to the race has given Armstrong a real run for his money, beat the American in the 12th

We’re 18 stages down and still racing at break-neck speed. After near on three weeks and there’s no let up. I couldn’t believe it today when I looked at my computer after the first hour of racing in the third last stage to see we had flown over nearly 53kph. You’d reckon that riders who were not there at the Tour start in Paris were joining the race fresh, sneaking into the bunch rather than dropping like flies as the result sheets shows. You can imagine my shock when a little over four hours later when we sped into the finish the stage average was 49.938kmh – the second-fastest stage in

By now, most of you know the way this column works. Something comes acrossmy desk, and I write about it. Well, the latest tidbit to come in acrossthe vast Internet was a press release from Threshold Sports, trumpetingthe availability of VIP tickets for the upcoming New York City CyclingChampionship for the low, low price of, take a deep breath now … $125.U.S. Now, if you’re like me, this sort of item raises all sorts of questions:Are people actually buying these tickets? What do you get for you $125?Who’s buying these tickets? A quick read of the press release answers a few questions.

In a move that will bring much rejoicing on the gravity-racing circuit, the UCI has tabbed Fort William four-cross designer Phil Saxena as its new four-cross co-coordinator for the remainder of the 2003 season. Saxena will be charged with designing and building the 4X tracks at the world championships in Lugano, Switzerland and the World Cup finals in Kaprun, Austria. “I'm really happy to have been given this opportunity,” said Saxena in a press release issued by Rare Management, organizers of the Fort William World Cup. “I love the sport of mountain biking and I want to take four-cross to

Maybe a little home cooking was all John Waddell needed. Just days after leaving a Quebec City hospital and returning to his native Australia, the 22-year-old downhiller has come out of his coma. According to an update from ITS-Santa Cruz team director Derin Stockton, Waddell and his mother made the trip back to Australia where he was checked in to a hospital. His mom went home after the first day to spend a night at home. When she came back the next morning she was surprised to find her son awake, sitting up in bed and feeding himself soup. “While he was pretty groggy after being out for

The Tour de France nearly passed without one finish line exploding into mayhem. But then along came Friday’s finish to stage 18 with a violent clash between police and media. The chaos really started moments before Spaniard Pablo Lastras led home the first three riders into St. Maixent-l’École, just as the traditional jockeying for positions began between officials, media, team soigneurs in the finishing area. To be fair, the local police are unaccustomed to Tour finishes — especially ones in such a tight areas as Friday’s. But experienced or not, they were not going to be compromised.

The Tour is up for grabs. And to add to the drama, a storm is blowing in off of the Atlantic. Just in time for the battle between Lance Armstrong and Jan Ullrich in their stage 19 duel on Saturday. It will take place in conditions that Méteo France is predicting will be wet and windy. At the 4 p.m. start times of the American and German (they will be separated on the road by three minutes), the forecast calls for heavy rain, tail winds averaging 15 mph with gusts up to 45 mph. The only good news is that the rain might let up before they finish. If there’s ever going to be a course that

Losing a minute and a half to Jan Ullrich over the 47km between Gaillac and Cap’Decouverte in the Tour’s first long time trial was probably not what Lance Armstrong had in mind when he worked with Nike to develop the Swift Spin skinsuit that he, his teammates and the category leaders wear in the Tour time trials. The suit should "give about 30 seconds to a minute advantage in a 58km Tour de France individual time trial depending upon what version of the suit is worn," according to Dr. Chester Kyle, the cycling aerodynamicist heading up the Swift skinsuit project. Armstrong also did not

Ooo-la-la, I am feeling lactic acid in my legs at the moment. Racing in Thuringen involves traveling up and down short, steep climbs all day. They are the type that make one feel maxed out over the top, but since they are not too long, one has time to recover on the descent before the next ascent. I like the terrain here, but it certainly produces painful sensations in the legs. The hills are worse than the famous Manayunk “Wall” in Philadelphia and seem to come more frequently. The past two stages have been fast and challenging. Yesterday, right from the starter’s pistol there was a

Fourteen stages down and three to go here in Superweek 2003. Pain reigns at Holy Hill In the infamous Holy Hill Road Race, all the big players schlammed from the gun. A large break containing all the toughest riders rode away from the field on the first lap. They proceeded to inflict pain on each other until Gordon McCauley took his second stage of Superweek. Holy Hill Road Race:1. Gordon McCauley (NZ), Schroeder Iron2. Aaron Olson, Schroeder Iron3. Tim Johnson, Saturn>4. Adam Bergman, Jelly Belly5. Harm Jansen (Ned), Team Rectal Thermometer Our man off the front The Lakefront Road

For mom

Jean Robic

Jacques Anquetil

Jan Janssen

Stephen Roche

Greg LeMond

Aussie' reporter Rupert Guinness and me at yesterday's start

Bid now or miss your chance!

Strawberries and Cream in the village

A little French bread and cheese in the village

A family of mannequins made by a local artist

New wheels for Lance's bike?

Lance's new bike at sign in?

Lance and his security prepare to meet the crush of media

These girls have discoed their way across France

Its a digital world; our hotel room in the morning

Ohhhhhh Cañada.... caught just before the line.

How do you like them... oranges?