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Lance Armstrong went like a rocket Saturday to win the opening prologueof the 2002 Tour de France and pick up exactly where he left off in Parislast summer. The three-time defending champion roared over the twisting, technicallydifficult 7.3-km course in downtown Luxembourg, edging Frenchman LaurentJalabert (CSC-Tiscali) by two seconds to win his 12th career Tour stage(prologues, time trials and road stages) and take the first yellow jerseyof the 89th Tour. “I was lucky. When I got out there, the course was dry. It is a surprise(to win) and a good surprise. I am happier than you think,”

Finally, we're underway.The days leading up to the Tour de France, and then the prologue, arealways hectic, nervous, and, I suppose, fun.It’s the same every year: All the team's best riders are present, andall have new bikes uniforms, and glasses.... Everybody comes to dinnershaved, smelling nice, and happy. It’s quite a contrast from most otherevents where the riders seem displeased they've been dragged from theirgardening to do a damned bike race. All the Sunday-best put on displayfor the preacher.As usual, we got the blood tests, medical examinations, and such fortwo days before the

VeloNews photographer Casey Gibson is at the Tour de France and is taking time to shoot not just the race, but also the scenes along the road and the activity just outside of the peloton.

Editor's Note: Aside from having a name that conjures up visionsof a nice refreshing pint, Rupert Guinness is a sports writer for the dailynewspaper The Australian. A former European correspondent for Winningand VeloNews, Guinness will be sending in a daily column from theTour.There was only one thing more sure than Lance Armstrong's might on twowheels in today's prologue of the Tour de France in Luxembourg: when itcomes to predicting weather, Holstein cattle know a thing or two.Forget those frisky fat Friesians. Pretty the `Ben and Jerry' cattlethey may be in their black and white skins. But

Arriving at the Tour de France is always an interesting endeavor. You leave the relative quite of your home life behind to join a roving circus. Even though we stayed put for a few days prior to the start of this race, the pace you keep heading out to medical check ups, media presentations and interviews is nothing short of grueling. I don't think I've had more than a second to myself since arriving here on Wednesday. When my wife and I were driving into the airport, we got to talking about last year's Tour. I was remembering that Steffan Kjeargaard had brought his own comforter and pillow

To see and talk to Lance Armstrong before today’s prologue, you would have thought he warming up for a local Tuesday night time trial series. I know he’s used to the pressure, accustomed to the crowds and the press, but I’ve never seen him as relaxed before the start of the Tour as he was today. He calmly stepped into the start house, peacefully settled onto his bike, and then nearly ripped the cranks off of it. All talk of whether it is better to wait until after the first week to take the yellow jersey is irrelevant when it comes to prologues. Your only choice is ride flat out from start

Armstrong won on a special superlight prototype aero’ bar that Dedahad whipped out for him for the Tour. It is completely flat; there is nodrop to it like the Vision Tech bars the team has used in the pastand still has on some of its time trial bikes. It is made out of aluminum, but according to Deda’s Fulvio Acquati, “We are still working out the exact design with Armstrong, and when we get it exactly the way he wants it, we will make it out of carbon.” Dedaalso has a carbon aero’ bar that Acquati was showing to the teams the daybefore the prologue. The carbon base bar is just a prototype,

Three years ago, Lance Armstrong was ecstatic when he won the Tourde France prologue at Le Puy du Fou. Tears filled his eyes as he slippedon the first yellow jersey of his career. Saturday, in a finally sunnyLuxembourg City, there were no tears, just the satisfaction of a job welldone when Armstrong was awarded the Tour yellow jersey for the 36th time.What a difference three years can make….Some things will likely stay the same, though, because two days aftertaking the lead at the 1999 Tour Armstrong conceded the yellow jersey toa sprinter, Jaan Kirsipuu. The Estonian achieved that feat by

It's been a long time since the German national anthem has been played at the end of a women's World Cup cross-country race. But after winning round 4 of the Tissot UCI World Cup series at Grouse Mountain, British Columbia Saturday, Merida's Sabine Spitz changed that Saturday — sort of. Spitz took the lead for good with three laps to go in the 28.82km race, then held off a late charge from American Alison Dunlap to capture her first career World Cup win. But afterward organizers had problems with their national anthem CD, and twice played the wrong song. Finally Spitz was offered a

U.S. Postal1. Lance Armstrong (USA)2. Viatcheslav Ekimov (Rus)3. Roberto Heras Hernandez (Sp)4. George Hincapie (USA)5. Benoit Joachim (Lux)6. Floyd Landis (USA)7. Pavel Padrnos (Cz)8. Victor Hugo Pena Grisales (Col)9. José L.Rubiera Vigil (Sp)Telekom11. Erik Zabel (G)12. Rolf Aldag (G)13. Udo Bölts (G)14. Gian Matteo Fagnini (I)15. Giuseppe Guerini (I)16. Danilo Hondo (G)17. Bobby Julich (USA)18. Kevin Livingston (USA)19. Steffen Wesemann (G)ONCE21. Joseba Beloki (Sp)22. José Azevedo (Por)23. Alvaro Gonzalez de Galdeano (Sp)24. Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano (Sp)25. Jörg

At the Sang and Klang tavern

Euskadi!

A sense of perspective

A sense of history --

The guy who won.

Do not try this at home.

NUMBER ONE FAN - Luke wishes his dad good luck

Rubiera

Spitz celebrates her win.

Blatter's day ended early.

There’s a lot more to the Tour de France than meets the eye, especiallywhen it comes to behind-the-scenes rules and regulations. Here are somehighlights of some of the rules and regulations taken from 32-page handbookoutlining the Le Reglement or regulations, of the 89th Tour de France.The stakesThere are $2.6 million awarded in prize-money during the Tour paidin euros, Europe’s new common currency. Prize-money is awarded each dayto winners, to the leaders of each respective jersey and for other special“primes” or bonuses along the course. The Tour winner receives $335,390while last place

“I just want to make it to Paris. Everyone is talking about winning stagesor how they're going to finish on the podium. I just want to finish.”—Jonathan Vaughters in The Denver Post With Lance Armstrong expected to win his fourth consecutive Tour deFrance as easily as Tiger Woods would win the Masters against Ray Charles,will the next three weeks in July be a pointless exercise in gratificationdelayed, a 23-day yawner of a wait for another yellow jersey that he couldhave had shipped to Texas in two business days (USPS Global Express Guaranteed)with a phone call? “Hey, Jean-Marie, I need

Well, don’t roll your eyes yet. It’s an idea that’s quietly gaining consideration at the dawn of the season’s most important bike race. Is it too much of a stretch to imagine Lance Armstrong (U.S. Postal), Tyler Hamilton (CSC-Tiscali) and Levi Leipheimer (Rabobank) on the winner’s podium July 28 in Paris? Someone asked that to the defending champion at his press conference Thursday. “I never thought about it, but it would be a spectacular achievement,” Armstrong said. Indeed it would, considering that only three Americans have ever finished on the Tour podium and only two have won

In 2001 Grouse Mountain could do almost no wrong when it came to World Cup mountain-bike racing. The small ski resort just minutes from downtown Vancouver stepped up to host the third stop of the series after organizers at Whistler bailed because of financial squabbling; then went on to put on one of the best events of the season, with exciting racing and big crowds. But a year later the vibe here on the famed North Shore isn't the same. This is the land of free-riding, and without any gravity racing this weekend (both the downhill and mountain cross were cancelled because of too much snow)

Friday's Foaming Rant: It's Tour time

He's clearly the favorite to win, but who is next?

And with a good shoulder, Hamilton is tough to beat.

Rabobank is betting on Leipheimer.

The Telekom team has announced that Alexandre Vinokourov will not start the 89th Tour de France on Saturday.Vinokourov, 28, who won Paris-Nice at the start of the season, was set to work for teammate Erik Zabel throughout the 3272km three-week race after team leader Jan Ullrich was forced to pull out after recent knee surgery. Neither the team nor Tour organizers have yet said why Vinokourov would not be starting the race.

Jan Ullrich’s doctor told German radio on Thursday that the 1997 Tour de France champion was not a drug user and had probably consumed something which contained the amphetamines he tested positive for last month. Heinz Birnesser added it was illogical the 28-year-old Olympic champion would have been taking drugs when he was not even competing and was recovering from a knee operation. "Ullrich was definitely not doped," he told German radio. "He must have taken the amphetamines without knowing,” Birnesser said. “Someone probably put them in a drink without wishing to do him harm. To be

Successful sportsmen invest in many diverse businesses but three-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong surely has put his money in one of the least likely - a gold mine in Uganda.

Belgian cyclist Frank Vandenbroucke has been hit with an 18 month ban in connection with the drugs discovery at his home at the start of the year. The ban, one year of which is suspended, was handed out in Brussels Thursday by the Flemish Community's disciplinary commission. The 27-year-old Vandenbroucke intends to contest the verdict, according to sources close to him, with any appeal having to be lodged within the next two weeks. Vandenbroucke, had already been suspended for six months by the Belgian cycling federation in March after a police raid on his home uncovered quantities of

Roll call of past Tour de France winners:    1903  Maurice Garin (Fra)   1904  Henri Cornet (Fra)   1905  Louis Trousselier (Fra)   1906  Rene Pottier (Fra)   1907  Lucien Petit-Breton (Fra)   1908  Lucien Petit-Breton (Fra)   1909  Francois Faber (Lux)   1910  Octave Lapize (Fra)   1911  Gustave Garrigou (Fra)   1912  Odile Defraye (Bel)   1913  Philippe Thys (Bel)   1914  Philippe Thys (Bel)Stopped due  war     1919  Firmin Lambot (Bel)   1920  Philippe Thys (Bel)   1921  Leon Scieur (Bel)   1922  Firmin Lambot (Bel)   1923  Henri Pelissier (Fra)   1924  Ottavio Bottechia (Ita)   1925 

The Tour de France clicks into gear this Saturday armed with a clear conscience, and promising evidence as back-up support, in the fight against doping, said the man in charge of anti-doping efforts at the race, Daniel Baal. Although events in the recent drug-tainted Giro d’Italia provided a stark reminder of the propensity for drugs in the peloton, the signs are that cycling is finally starting to pick up the pieces after the catastrophic Tour of 1998. Saeco rider Gilberto Simoni might have been one of a few riders forced off his bike in the Tour of Italy - and his team consequently banned

If Baal is right, this may be the best option.

Looking for number four.

There's a new sheriff in town – Gerard Bisceglia, CEO of USA Cycling– and we want to know what you think should be on his first “Wanted” poster.More races? Better service? A year-end kegger at One Olympic Plaza?Send your single-sentence suggestions to webletters@7Dogs.comand we’ll publish some of them in an upcoming issue of VeloNewsand the whole bunch of them on the web when the issue hits the street.Limit your suggestions to a single sentence, please; also,include your full name, city and state, and whether you hold a racing licensefrom USAC or one of its rival regional organizations.

Jan Ullrich’s Telekom team confirmed Wednesday that the 1997 Tour de France winner had indeed failed an out-of-competition drug test in May. Responding to reports by the wire service Deutsche Presse Agentur that Ullrich allegedly tested positive for amphetamine at an out-of-competition control during his recent recovery from knee surgery, Telekom boss Walter Godefroot confirmed the test and said the result from the second 'B' sample was not yet known. Just a week ago Ullrich vowed to begin training this week less than a month after undergoing surgery on his troublesome knee. The

One of Spain’s best cyclists, Abraham Olano, announced Tuesday he willretire at the end of the 2002 season “to live a life without pressure and fully enjoy my family.” The 32-year-old Olano said he made the decision to retire the day beforethe Spanish championships last weekend despite the fact that he and ONCEwere planning on Olano racing one more season. “I began to realize things were changing when, as a cyclist whose lifeis based on suffering and training alone, I would be sad to go on trainingrides. I missed my family when I was traveling and I began to wonder aboutretiring, the moment

Even though you can’t make it to France and don’t usually drive theteam car at your local stage race, you can still act like a director sportifin this year’s Tour de France. And if you’re really good at, you may justup in France for next year’s Tour.VeloNews.com is teaming up with Winnercomm, a leading television andinteractive media production company, to produce an online entertainmentexperience VeloNews Fantasy Cycling.Players get to select from the actual Tour de France rosters and puttogether a team of GC contenders, climbers and sprinters. Unlike the Tour,participants can shift riders

Olano wants to spend more time at home.

Be sure to check back for live race coverage!

In the peloton since 1997 Sponsor: National lotteryBudget: $3.2 millionManager/directeur sportif: Marc MadiotAssistants: Yvon Madiot, Martial Gayant, Franck Pineau RidersCASAR Sandy   (F),  February 2, 1979CASPER Jimmy   (F),  May 28, 1978COOKE Baden   (Aus),  October 12, 1978DURAND Jacky   (F),  February 10, 1967GUESDON Frédéric  (F),  October 14, 1971McGEE Brad    (Aus),  February 24, 1976MENGIN Christophe  (F),  September 3, 1968ROBIN Jean-Cyril   (F),  August 27, 1969VOGONDY Nicolas (F) IntroductionMarc Madiot presents an up-and-coming team, and the seven victoriescaptured at the

In the peloton since 2000 Sponsor: Cement companyBudget: $5.8 millionManager: Giancarlo FerrettiDirecteur sportifs: Alberto Volpi, Stefano Zanatta, Mario ChiesaAssistant: Oscar Pirazzini RidersBALDATO Fabio   (I),  June 13, 1968BASSO Ivan    (I),  November 26, 1977BELLI Wladimir   (I),  July 25, 1970GONTCHAR Sergei   (Ukr),  July 3, 1970IVANOV Sergueï   (Rus),  March 5, 1975LODA Nicola    (I),  July 27, 1971POZZI Oscar    (I),  December 27, 1971VELO Marco    (I),  March 9, 1974ZANOTTI Marco   (I),  January 21, 1974 Strong temperamentsIn 2001, during Fassa Bortolo’s second year in the

In the peloton since 1986 Sponsors: Domo: rugs, carpets and vinyl; Farm Frites:French friesBudget: $6.3 millionManager: Patrick LefévèreDirecteurs sportifs: Marc Sergeant, Hendrik Redant, WilfriedPeeters, Toon Cruyt Riders (as of June 30)BRUYLANDTS Dave (B), July 12, 1976CASSANI Enrico (I), February 15, 1972KNAVEN Servais (Nl), March 6, 1971KONECNY Tomas (Cz), October 11, 1973MERCKX Axel (B), August 8, 1972RODRIGUEZ Fred (USA), September 3, 1973VAN BON Léon (Nl), January 28, 1972VIRENQUE Richard (F), November 19, 1969WADECKI Piotr (Pl), February 11, 1973 All behind VirenqueThe

In the peloton since 1999 Sponsors: Lampre: manufacturer of sheet metal;Daikin: air conditioningBudget: $4.2 millionManager: Giuseppe SaronniDirecteur sportif: Pietro AlgeriAssistants: Maurizio Piovani, Brent Copeland RidersBELOHVOSCIKS Raivis (Lat) January 21, 1976BERTOGLIATI Rubens (Swi) May 9, 1979CORTINOVIS Alessandro (I) October 11, 1977DIERCKXSENS Ludo (B) October 14, 1964PAGLIARINI Luciano (Bra) April 18, 1978RUMSAS Raimondas (Lit) January 14, 1972SERPELLINI Marco (I) August 14, 1972SVORADA Jan Cz August 28, 1968PINOTTI Marco (I) Experience countsThis Italian team is solid, if not

In the peloton since 1998 Sponsors:Tacconi: sports clothing; Emmegi:heat exchangersBudget: $2.8 millionManager: Davide BoifavaDirecteurs sportif: Fabrizio Bontempi, Vittorio AlgeriAssistant: Pietro Turchetti RidersBORTOLAMI Gianluca I August 28, 1968BOSSONI Paolo I July 2, 1976DONATI Massimo I January 18, 1967FRIGO Dario I September 18, 1973HAUPTMAN Andrej Slo May 5, 1975LUTTENBERGER Peter A December 13, 1972MAZZOLENI Eddy I July 29, 1973FERRARI Diego (I)APOLLONIO Massimo (I) Frigo bears watchingThis Italian team, which has had trouble holding on to its best riders,cannot hope to stand out

In the peloton since 1980 Sponsors: Kelme: athletic clothing and footwear;Costa Blanca: tourism office for the region of Valencia,SpainBudget: $3.5 millionManager: Joan MasDirecteurs sportifs: Vicente Belda, Ignacio Labarta, JoséLuis Laguia RidersBOTERO Santiago (Col), October 27, 1972CABELLO Francisco (Sp), May 20, 1969CUENCA Juan Manuel (Sp), May 3, 1977GOMEZ José (Sp),GUTIERREZ José Enrique (Sp), June 18, 1974PEREZ Santiago (Sp), August 5, 1977SEVILLA Oscar (Sp), September 29, 1976TAULER Antonio (Sp), April 11, 1974VIDAL José Angel (Sp), October 28, 1969 Taking on ArmstrongKelme, the

In the peloton since 1989 Sponsor: Spanish national lottery, run by the society for theblindBudget: $4.2 millionManager: Pablo AntonDirecteur sportif: Manolo SaizAssistants: Santiago Garcia, Sebastian Pozo, Marino LejarretaRidersAZEVEDO José    (P),  September 19, 1973BELOKI Joseba    (Sp), August 12, 1973GONZALEZ DE GALDEANO Alvaro (Sp), January 3, 1970GONZALEZ DE GALDEANO Igor  (Sp), November 1, 1973JAKSCHE Jorg (G)NOZAL Isidro    (Sp), October 18, 1977OLANO Abraham    (Sp), January 22, 1970PRADERA Mikel    (Sp), March 6, 1975SERRANO Marcos    (Sp), September 8, 1972Building upONCE is not

Sprinting and climbing have their honors, and winning the green or polka-dotjersey is great, but the puff daddies in the peloton have their eye onone prize: the yellow fleece of the overall race leader. The general classification (GC) is computed by adding together everyrider’s finishing time for each stage, less any time bonuses he earns.For the team time trial (stage 5), the time of the fifth finisher in eachteam is given to each rider in that team, except for those who finish behindtheir teammates — they are given their actual finishing time. The maximumtime for a rider finishing alone

Tyler Hamilton will be in uncharted waters July 6 in Luxembourg. For five straight summers, the quiet New Englander rode the Tour de France in the blue-and-white colors of U.S. Postal Service, the only professional team he’d ever known. His first two Tours were tests of survival. Arriving in Paris with the entire team intact in 1997 was a major victory for the Postal team in those early days. But with the 1999 reincarnation of Lance Armstrong, who would go on to win three consecutive Tours, Hamilton found himself first lieutenant to a five-star general. This year, Hamilton is stepping out

The Tour de France kicks off on Saturday afternoon at the Place du Glacis in Luxembourg.The 21 teams have until the end of the week to firm up their start lists and some are still making changes, as was the case when Mapei was forced to drop David Cañada Gracia from its line up after he suffered a nasty fall in the Spanish national championship on Sunday.The final rosters are expected by Friday, but here’s an early peek athow some of the teams are shaping up:U.S.Postal ServiceLed by three-time defending Tour de France champion LanceArmstrong, Postal comes with what it’s calling its strongest

Just a week after Mapei shocked the cycling world by announcing itsdeparture from the sport, two of Belgium's biggest teams have announcedthey will merge for the 2003 season.Domo and Lotto announced Monday and will race under the name of Lotto-Domo,with each sponsor paying a reported $2.5 million to the team's budget givingit the wallet to chase the sport's biggest names."With the creation of a powerful Belgian team, the merger will stimulatean already strong interest in cycling in Beglium," said Rik Daems, presidentof Lotto, Belgium's national lottery. "With the joined

The image of Tyler Hamilton crashing at the bottom of a key descentas the Giro d’Italia’s other main contenders is firmly emblazoned inthe minds of anyone watching OLN’s coverage and saw that loop of tape played over and over. Coming through a turn, Hamilton stood up onhis pedals and suddenly lurches forward and hits the ground. Hamilton stated in his diaryon velonews.com that the freehub had not engaged when he stood on thepedals, causing the crash. The pain he had to deal with with over the remainderof the Giro is well documented, as is the amount of time he lost on mountaintopfinishes

Russel Bollig’s path to Lance Armstrong’s feet began with Tyler Hamilton,for whom he first built some custom orthotics in 1992. About four yearsago, Christian Vande Velde got some as well. They passed the word on toArmstrong, who was looking for an improved fit in his cycling shoes, andafter the 2001 season Bollig went to Austin, Texas, to fit the three-timeTour champion. While at Armstrong’s home, Bollig used resin-filled casting socks tomake casts of Armstrong’s feet and ankles. Then, back at his Podium Footwearshop in Boulder, Colorado, he made plaster duplicates of Armstrong’s feetfrom

This year will not be the first time anyone has ridden a titanium Litespeed at the Tour. That’s happened many times since the small Tennessee-based industrial metals firm began turning out titanium bicycles in 1986.

Sometime last spring, Levi Leipheimer got the bad news. He wouldn’t be going to the 2001 Tour de France. Though he probably didn’t think so at the time, it was the best thing that could have happened to him. Instead of helping Lance Armstrong win his third consecutive Tour, Leipheimer retreated to California and focused on the Vuelta a España. The rest — to borrow a cliché — is history. Leipheimer finished third overall in his first-ever start of a major three-week stage race, and was the first American to ever appear on the Vuelta podium. His surprising strength in the mountains

The first rider start rider leaves the starting ramp of the prologue at 4 p.m. on Saturday July 6, 2002.

Mengin

Getting the lanterne rouge for last place won’t bother Casper if he can score a stage win.

Sergueï Ivanov will be one of the team’s leaders.

Domo rides bikes by Eddy Merckx, who watches over the team.

Domo-Farm Frites

Lampre-Daikin

Svorada took the final stage in Paris last year

A solid team with careful ambitions.

Kelme will try to make things hard on Armstrong

ONCE won’t just wait for the mountains.

Beloki

Sevilla

Can anyone beat this guy?

The elbow may have hurt, but the shoulder was worse

True to form Bollig’s fine-tuning starts with custom casting.

INDIVIDUALITY - Finalizing details on Tchmil’s custom Ghisallo.