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1. Baden Cooke (Aus), FDJeux.com, at 5:06:332. Jean-Patrick Nazon (F), Jean Delatour, at 00:003. Jaan Kirsipuu (Est), Ag2R Prevoyance, at 00:004. Erik Zabel (G), Telekom, at 00:005. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Credit Agricole, at 00:006. Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus), Lotto-Domo, at 00:007. Paolo Bettini (I), Quick Step-Davitamon, at 00:008. Stuart O'Grady (Aus), Credit Agricole, at 00:009. Fred Rodriguez (USA), Caldirola, at 00:0010. Mikel Artetxe (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 00:0011. Oscar Freire (Sp), Rabobank, at 00:0012. Gerrit Glomser (A), Saeco, at 00:0013. Luca Paolini (I), Quick Step-Davitamon, at

"We have met the enemy and he is us.” The quote sounds like something from antiquity, perhaps a comment by a great general. It is actually a line from from Walt Kelly, the cartoonist who created “Pogo,” and first appeared in a poster for Earth Day in 1970. I use it here in reference to Canadian cycling and what I observed during our recent Tim Horton National Road Championships at Hamilton on the world’s course. We seem to be our own worst enemy. Coming from a road-racing background, educated in the sport by French, Belgian and Italian coaches and managers, and having raced with and managed

"We have met the enemy and he is us.” The quote sounds like something from antiquity, perhaps a comment by a great general. It is actually a line from from Walt Kelly, the cartoonist who created “Pogo,” and first appeared in a poster for Earth Day in 1970. I use it here in reference to Canadian cycling and what I observed during our recent Tim Horton National Road Championships at Hamilton on the world’s course. We seem to be our own worst enemy. Coming from a road-racing background, educated in the sport by French, Belgian and Italian coaches and managers, and having raced with and managed

Tyler Hamilton plans to continue in the Tour de France after fighting off the pain of a broken collarbone to finish the second stage of the race Monday. Hamilton, who sustained the injury in a mass crash at the end of Sunday's first stage, finished in 100th place in the same time as winner Baden Cooke (fdjeux). "It hurt all day long, but the most important thing was that I made it to the finish. This morning I didn't think I'd be able to last for 10 kilometers," the CSC rider said. "I felt a dull ache, and it hurt on the bumpier sections. Fortunately the way the race went was perfect

Once again there was drama on the undulating rural roads of the Tour de France today. And, again, it involved the VeloNews car. It also, once again, involved a policeman (okay, two). And, like yesterday, it again happened with our destination in sight – well almost. After zigzagging through the publicity caravan with the “25km to go” banner 100m behind us, I muttered I was pleased that we would reach the press room two hours ahead of the race – on this particular day a must with all three of us with much copy to write. With VeloNews magazine on deadline, John Wilcockson, Andy Hood and I all

Sharp eyes may have spotted Lance and the boys sporting new Giro helmets during these first few days of the Tour. We contacted Giro regarding the new lids and got this response from spokesman Eric Richter: “Lance has been testing this helmet in his lead-up to the Tour, and he has already given us important, positive feedback,” Richter said. “The testing will continue at the Tour, and we'll now look forward to getting feedback from all of our teams as they grind out the miles on the way to Paris," he noted. "It should be interesting! And we'll be happy to keep you posted on the progress.”

I guess the anti-American sentiment of French roads finally came to a head, erasing the top-10-finish dreams of Tyler Hamilton and Levi Leipheimer in the Tour’s infamous and dangerous first week. I, of all people, can feel for Tyler and Levi, although I was never a top-10 contender like they were. Tyler has had some good wins, and should be proud of his season no matter what he does the rest of the year. Levi, however, risked everything to bring his form to a head for the Tour, and had it all taken away in an instant. It's funny, because they probably haven't been in a crash all year; I

It is pretty difficult to look like a tough guy wearing skin-tight Lycra and clicking around in carbon fiber shoes, but Stage 2 of the 2003 Tour de France should prove to anyone that professional cyclists are some of the toughest competitors in the world. And, right now, the winner of cycling’s Tough Guy Contest has to be Tyler Hamilton, for riding a 204.5-kilometer Tour de France stage with a cracked collarbone. Collarbone injuries don’t necessarily inhibit your ability to pedal a bicycle, and many cyclists continue to ride on indoor trainers during their recoveries. Your ability to ride a

Nicole Braendli (Prato Marathon Bike) and Edita Pucinskaite (Michele Fanini) broke away from the bunch and fought their way through terrible weather to finish one-two in the third stage of the women’s Giro d’Italia on Monday. Braendli took the stage win, while Pucinskaite took the pink jersey of overall leader away from Rasa Polikieviciute (Team 2002 Aurora Rsm). "It is a dream come true," said the new race leader. The 84.2km third stage from Monteroduni to Castelpizzuto had three mountain-points primes, but the race was characterized primarily by terrible weather. When the riders

The Postal train

Armstrong and the ONCE boys

Jean Delatour's Frederic Finot (L) and Credit Agricole's Lilian Jegou (R) during a nearly 200km breakaway

Finot tries his luck alone

Caught 2.5km from the line, Finot is consoled by his family after the finish

Wilcockson (r) trying to look busy; Guinness (l) thinking of the buffet

A little early morning cafe for fans

Cooke and Nazon react to the sprint finish

The calm before the storm

French road hog

A mannekin celebrates the Tour from a window

The officials have a very nice ride in this fleet of Lancias

Podium staff at the Tour.

Rider supplies at the start from Aquarel

Riis is mobbed by the press as he explains Hamilton will start

All of you want to race here, don't you?

Lotto gives chase

Good morning, and... uhhh watch the shoulder, okay?

Lotto gives chase

Jegou and Finot

Finot goes on his own

Rasa and Jolanta Polikeviciute are laying down the law at the 2003 women’s Giro d'Italia. Their adversaries are surrendering to the twins; the two Lithuanians, along with their countrywoman, Edita Pucinskaite swept the first three positions on the tour’s opening stage and sit comfortably atop general classification. The first stage of the Giro d'Italia started in Grumo Nevano, seen off by a large group of spectators, and it concluded 119 kilometers later in Guardia Sanframondi, in the province of Benevento. Rasa attacked 10 km from the line, on the second ascent from Castelvenere to

Editor's Note: Because the major crash at the end of this stage took place within the final kilometer, all 198 riders in the peloton were awarded the same finishing time. No riders had been dropped by the field prior to reaching site of the crash, about 600 meters from the line.1. Alessandro Petacchi (I), Fassa Bortolo, 3:44:332. Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus), Lotto-Domo, at 00:003. Erik Zabel (G), Telekom, at 00:004. Paolo Bettini (I), Quick Step-Davitamon, at 00:005. Baden Cooke (Aus), FDJeux.com, at 00:006. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Credit Agricole, at 00:007. Oscar Freire (Sp), Rabobank, at 00:008. Luca

This was not a good day at the Tour de France. In fact, it was a downright dark day for Americans competing in the centenary Tour and one that even angered eventual stage winner Alessandro Petacchi, who said a massive pile-up in the closing meters of the 168-kilometer stage from Saint Denis to Meaux was the fault of unthinking organizers. No matter who is at fault, the bottom line is that both Tyler Hamilton and Levi Leipheimer are probably out of the 2003 Tour de France, while four-time defending champion Lance Armstrong and teammate George Hincapie also went down in the field-splitting

Fassa Bortolo's Alessandro Petacchi resumed his winning ways by taking the first stage of the Tour de France Sunday, a 168km ride from the outskirts of Paris to Meaux.Australian Bradley McGee will spend his second night in the Tour de France leader's yellow jersey after the crash-marred first stage Sunday in which compatriot Robbie McEwen came second to take the green points jersey. A crash just inside the final kilometer of the 168km ride from the outskirts of Paris to here looked to have snagged 27-year-old fdjeux.com rider McGee but moments later he crossed the finish line with

The Tour de France can change dramatically in a matter of seconds. Crashes can lead to field splits that cause contenders to lost valuable time to their rivals, or much worse, injuries that send riders home early. Lance Armstrong was very fortunate today in that he avoided being injured in the massive pileup just 600 meters from the Stage 1 finish line. Unfortunately, several other riders were not so lucky. Today’s crash occurred within the final kilometer, and all of the main contenders were either caught up in the tangle or just behind it. Tyler Hamilton came down hard on his left shoulder

Usually, it’s Colorado that finds itself invaded by Texans come summertime. But at the 2003 USCF Junior/Espoir Road National Championships, held over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, it was Colorado on the attack in the Lone Star State – along with young racers from Oregon to Pennsylvania and all points in between. Junior and espoir road races Zak Grabowski (Lafayette, Colorado) claimed the first stars-and-stripes jersey of the weekend by winning the relatively flat 90-mile 17-18 road race on Thursday in Normangee. Despite the sweltering Texas temperatures, Grabowski shot away in the

Some 20 cyclists, including members of the St. Pete Mad Dog Triathlon Club and the St. Petersburg Bicycle Club, were injured Sunday morning when a car plowed into a regular weekly group ride in St. Petersburg, Florida. Witnesses said a man driving a Lincoln Continental westbound on 30th Avenue suddenly crossed the double-yellow line and struck a pack of about 40 eastbound cyclists, according to the St. Petersburg Times. Nine riders were taken to Bayfront Medical Center, four with serious injuries. Four others were taken to Northside Hospital and St. Anthony's Hospital with lesser injuries.

I've got one big hope for tomorrow as the centenary Tour de France (and my first) continues with stage two: That the peloton relaxes a bit. Then again, maybe I'm dreaming. The ground is pretty hard, as the massive crash in today's finish at Meaux showed. If riders keep racing like they did today, I think everyone is going to go down at some point this Tour. Me? I was right in the middle of the spill, at about 30th wheel. I don't know what happened, except one important fact: I didn’t go down.I was just lucky I didn't. I’m still not sure why, but I managed to avoid the worst of it, while

They may speak of the phenomenon that is the Tour de France organization; of how well-oiled an engine the operation is; of how smoothly and coordinated every action is. What they don’t usually talk about are the times on the Tour when one person - given his or her authority for a day (if that) - can throw the whole thing into total disarray. Fortunately, it is usually further down the 3400km road that the frustration of these hiccups test the patience of a Tour suiveur (follower). Unfortunately, that was not the case today, on stage No. 1 to Meaux. The 168km stage had not even officially

While the racing action at the Tour has deservedly taken the headlines, we’ve been keeping one eye peeled for glimpses of the latest in team equipment and what manufacturers hope you'll be riding in the not-too-distant future. Campy confidentialWhile it's certainly not the official unveiling, make sure to keep your eye on Campagnolo-sponsored riders at the Tour this year. Look closely enough, and you might catch a glimpse of Campagnolo's secretive 2004 product line. First off is Campagnolo's new-and-improved carbon Record crankset (a Chorus version will also be available in 2004).

David Millar has blamed his Cofidis team and its manager, Alain Bondue, for the mechanical incident that cost him victory in the Tour de France prologue. Millar, who won the Tour prologue in 2000, looked set to win the Tour's 6.5km opener in Paris on Saturday when his chain came off before the last curve. He reached down and replaced the chain, but the delay cost him - he finished second, just 0.8 second behind Australian Bradley McGee. Team sources said Cofidis riders were using new aerodynamic chain rings that had caused problems in the Tour of Catalunya. Other Cofidis riders, like Luis

Zinaida Stahurskaia (Chirio Forno D’asolo) outsprinted the major contenders on the final climb to San Marco dei Cavoti to win the second stage of the women’s Giro d’Italia on Sunday. Lithuanian Rasa Polikieviciute (Team 2002 Aurora Rsm) remains in the pink jersey despite having given up nine seconds to her closest rival, countrywoman Edita Pucinskaite (Michele Fanini). American Amber Neben (T-Mobile) holds 10th place overall. The attacks were continuous on the 85km stage. All were in vain, though, and the stage concluded with Stahurskaia just barely beating Pucinskaite to the line. "I am

Not the way Hamilton wanted to finish the Tour

George and Lance out on the road

Lance Armstrong of the USA arrives

Lance and Ekimov

Cafe 'Le Reveil Matin' in Montgeron

Passing the Paris's Place de la Republique

Olaf Pollack of Germany carries his bike as he crosses the finish line after the crash

A special tile for every TDF winner around the monument in front of the Le Reveil Martin

Hamilton emerges from medical

Hamilton and concerned Riis leave for hospital

Marc Lotz crosses the finish line after the crash

Riis and Hamilton on their way to the hospital

Petacchi wins, but was not happy about the finish

Commemorating the 1903 Tour with a bike that was old even back then.

The first break of this Tour.

Rabobank's Mark Lotz

McGee still in yellow

Armstrong and Hincapie avoided the worst

On the road to Meaux