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Weather: Warm, highs in low 90s, moderate tail, crosswinds Stage winner: Daniele Bennati (Lampre-Fondital) marked late attacks from Jens Voigt to win a four-up sprint ahead of Markus Fothen (Gerolsteiner). Bennati overcame pain from a stage 2 crash to sneak into the day’s eight-man break. It’s his first career Tour stage and the second by an Italian in this year’s Tour. Race leader: Alberto Contador (Discovery Channel) took the yellow jersey following the controversial ejection of overnight leader Michael Rasmussen by his Rabobank team. Contador didn’t wear the maillot jaune during the

Tour 2007: Updated Teams and Riders

Discovery on the hunt

Steegmans cools off with a bottle.

COURSE: The rolling terrain of the Armagnac region is perfect for breakaways, especially when a weary peloton is reluctant to chase. There are six climbs on this medium-length stage, but none of them is particularly steep or long. The final 60km is mainly flat. HISTORY: No stage has finished in Castelsarrasin, though it has hosted a start. Stage finishes have taken place in the neighboring towns of Montauban (1998) and Valence d’Agen (1978). Frenchman Jacky Durand headed a six-man break that arrived in Montauban 7:45 ahead of the pack in 1998, while the Valence d’Agen stage in '78 was

Tour 2007: Updated Teams and Riders

Tour 2007: Updated Teams and Riders

Caisse d'Epargne takes over

In the break. Who else? Jens Voight, bandages and all.

After 10 days in the yellow jersey, Michael Rasmussen appeared to have beaten back all challengers in his pursuit of the top spot on the Tour de France’s final podium in Paris this coming Sunday. On Wednesday, he handily dispatched his nearest challenger – Discovery Channel’s Alberto Contador – winning the Tour’s most difficult stage and adding to his already-formidable lead as the race made its final trip into the mountains.

One of Switzerland's largest daily newspapers, Tages-Anzeiger, is stopping race coverage from the Tour de France immediately and will only report doping-related stories, an editor said on Wednesday. "We won't have reports of the race anymore. It doesn't seem to make sense to have a report on the day's stage because the doping issue overshadows everything," day editor Andres Buechi told AFP. Buechi said the Zurich newspaper's editors had decided just to give the stage and overall standings on the sports pages, alongside stories from their reporter following the Tour on

Cofidis confirmed Wednesday that its entire team will leave the Tour de France after rider Cristian Moreni tested positive for testosterone after last week's 11th stage. Moreni was officially thrown out of the race following the 16th stage after being told he had tested positive for testosterone. Cofidis officials, announced they will forgo their right to ask for analysis of a 'B' sample, also accepted the Tour's "invitation" to withdraw from the race, becoming the second team in 24 hours to exit France's national tour. The Kazakh-backed Astana team exited the race

Moreni leaves the Tour in the company of the gendarmes

Rasmussen extends his lead with a stage win

Leipheimer and Contador took second and third on what the former said may have been the hardest Tour stage he's ever seen

The race leader with four days to go

The first break

Rinero and the boys at work

The Sastre quartet

. . . which became a trio

Contador attacks . . .

. . . and attacks again, to no avail

And there's your winner

Riders from eight teams staged a sit-down protest against doping before the start of the 16th stage of the Tour de France here Wednesday. The protest, organized by six French and two German teams, was triggered by the news 24 hours earlier that pre-Tour favourite Alexandre Vinokourov had tested positive for blood doping. When the stage got underway the riders carrying out the demonstration waited for the rest of the peloton to move off before getting on their own bikes to tackle the last of three days climbing in the Pyrenees. AG2R's French cyclist Christophe Moreau described the

COURSE: Only four days from the Tour finish, this final stage with a summit finish could see a spectacular showdown. It includes the extremely steep climb over the Col de Larrau (14km at 8 percent) into Spain, the return to France over the Pierre St.Martin (14km at 5.2 percent) and the short, sharp Marie-Blanque (9km at 8 percent) before heading up the longest, steepest side of the mythic Col d’Aubisque (16km at 7 percent). Only the strongest will be left to contest the stage — and the Tour. HISTORY: Although a stage has never finished on this (longer) western side of the Col d’Aubisque, a

Hmm . . . y'think these folks are Aussies?

Results - Stage 16 (Orthez Gourette - Col D’aubisque)1. Michael Rasmussen (Dk), Rabobank, 6:23:212. Levi Leipheimer (Usa), Discovery Channel , at 00:26 3. Alberto Contador (Sp), Discovery Channel, at 00:35 4. Cadel Evans (Aus), Predictor - Lotto, at 00:43 5. Mauricio Soler Hernandez Juan (Col), Barloworld, at 01:25 6. Haimar Zubeldia (Esp), Euskaltel - Euskadi, at 01:52 7. Jose Cobo Acebo Juan (Sp), Saunier Duval - Prodir, at 01:54 8. Carlos Sastre (Sp), CSC, at 02:12 9. Oscar Pereiro Sio (Sp), Caisse d’Epargne, at 02:27 10. Alejandro Valverde (Sp), Caisse d’Epargne, at 02:27 11. Yaroslav

Burghardt discussing Sunday's T-Mobile decision with the home folks

Weather: Much warmer, highs in upper 80s in lower valleys, cooler on summits, almost no clouds, moderate tailwinds on both sides of the Pyrénées Stage winner: Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank) imposed his will on the peloton on more time. His Rabobank team rode expertly to keep a short leash on a five-man breakaway featuring podium challenger Carlos Sastre (CSC), who was reeled in with 10km to go. Rasmussen calmly countered one-two punches from Discovery Channel’s Levi Leipheimer and Alberto Contador with his own lethal attack with under 1km to go. The victory is his second of this Tour and the

Chavanel getting a bottle pull on the climb, his last at this year's Tour

Michael Rasmussen was celebrating his victory in Wednesday’s epic climbing stage that all but secured the yellow jersey, but no one else was. The Tour de France race leader was repeatedly booed during the 218.5km march across the Pyrénées by angry cycling fans frustrated by a string of credibility-killing doping scandals that threaten to overwhelm the Tour. The Rabobank captain admitted he heard the taunts as he attacked to victory atop the Col d’Aubisque to take a commanding 3:10 lead over Alberto Contador with just four days left in the 2007 Tour. “It did happen during the stage. I

Horner on a rather steep pitch

Italian rider Cristian Moreni woke up Wednesday just five days away from finishing the Tour de France as a member of the French Cofidis team — one of seven teams that had just announced a new rider’s organization geared towards cleaning up the sport, and kicked off its existence with an anti-doping protest at the start of stage 16. Moreni ended his day in the back of a police car at the top of the Col d’Aubisque, charged with using testosterone and breaking France’s tough laws against using and trafficking in doping products. The 35-year-old former Italian champion admitted to administering

Hoste hosing down his legs on the final climb

It looks like there won’t be a miracle finish for Alberto Contador in the 2007 Tour de France. The 24-year-old Spanish phenom’ was the only rider within shot of race leader Michael Rasmussen, but Contador’s legs faltered on the beyond-category steeps of the Col d’Aubisque as the Dane darted away in the final kilometer to win his second stage and further tighten his grip on the yellow jersey. Contador coasted across the line in third, 35 seconds back and quickly tipped his hat to the superior Rabobank rider. “I started today’s stage to try to win the Tour but now I end it seeing that my

Patrick Lefevre was one of many interviews at the start this morning

It looks like there won’t be a miracle finish for Alberto Contador in the 2007 Tour de France. The 24-year-old Spanish phenom’ was the only rider within shot of race leader Michael Rasmussen, but Contador’s legs faltered on the beyond-category steeps of the Col d’Aubisque as the Dane darted away in the final kilometer to win his second stage and further tighten his grip on the yellow jersey. Contador coasted across the line in third, 35 seconds back and quickly tipped his hat to the superior Rabobank rider. “I started today’s stage to try to win the Tour but now I end it seeing that my

Leipheimer leads Rasmussen and Contrador up the Aubisque

Levi Leipheimer said today's stage may have been the hardest one he's ever seen in a Tour de France, and it may have been the one that determined the podium in Paris. Casey Gibson was there — here's what he saw.

Leipheimer takes a pull for Contador, and almost takes down Rasmussen

UCI chief Pat McQuaid has applauded the Rabobank team's decision to pull race leader Michael Rasmussen out of the Tour de France on Wednesday. However, McQuaid said he wondered why the Dutch outfit had waited so long before acting on information about the Dane having missed four random doping controls, which they knew about prior to the race. "I wonder why they did not make the decision in June when they had the information (about the missed tests)," said McQuaid. "However, it shows a zero-tolerance policy, and I can only applaud it." Despite having no positive tests so far, the

Denis Menchov is blown after his work for Rasmussen

Stage 16- Orthez to Gourette (218.5km)

Barloworld's Juan Soler, claiming the undisputed KOM jersey

Stage 16- Orthez to Gourette (218.5km)

These little fans don't care about the doping

No respect: Rasmussen is not getting the cheers he had hoped for.

This is not the way Moreni - or his teammates - expected his day to end.

Fleeting glory? Rasmussen celebrates a win just hours before the illusion vanished.

Contador fought hard, but knows he will not overhaul Rasmussen

Rabobank's Bergsma meets the press

The young Spaniard had plenty of fans on the climb today

The Tour of California is rapidly becoming an early season favorite.

When you're really tired, even an asphalt mattress will do

The Dutch Rabobank team has declared its support for its captain Michael Rasmussen, who is only days away from what could be a controversial victory in the Tour de France. Rasmussen has been under suspicion of doping since the Danish Cycling Union(DCU) revealed he had been given formal warnings for missing two random controls run by the Danish anti-doping agency earlier this year.

Jesus. I was having a great rest day that came on the heels of a successful race for myself and for our team. We went for a nice ride through the countryside, had a team press conference that ended without one negative question. Then we had a good lunch. Heck, I didn't even mind the out-of-competition blood and urine tests that our team conducted. Around 2:00 or so I took a nap and after about 30 minutes, I heard all this ruckus in the hall and my phone started to burp, gargle and ring. What the hell is going on? I finally answered a call from the States of all places, and my friend

French customs stopped and searched a car from the Astana cycling team at a tollgate near Toulouse on Tuesday. Astana, which is financed by the Kazakh government, had withdrawn from the Tour de France earlier on Tuesday after the revelation that their lead rider, Alexander Vinokourov, had been found to be blood doping. Police later turned up at their hotel and raided their premises and team bus, leaving with several black bags. Vinokourov had already left by the back door of the hotel. Toulouse general prosecutor Paul Michel told AFP that a team car had been stopped just before 2100 GMT

Perhaps Alberto Contador is just too young and too green to realize precisely what he is on the cusp of achieving if he can drop Michael Rasmussen for good on the slopes of the Aubisque. At just 24, he’s already being hailed as cycling’s next Lance Armstrong (or Miguel Indurain, in the Spanish press). Contador hopes to live up to the pedigree in Wednesday’s decisive climbing stage culminating on the HC steeps of the Aubisque. “I have nothing to lose,” Contador said during Tuesday’s rest day, the Tour’s second. “I will risk all to attack Rasmussen and try to win the Tour,” he

The following story first appeared on VeloNews.com in connection withthe Tyler Hamilton blood doping case in September of 2004. On Tuesday,Astana's Alexander Vinokourov joined Hamilton and Santiago Perez as theonly riders ever to test positive for homolgous blood doping using a testdeveloped by Australian researchers at Scienceand Industry Against Blood-doping. - Editor How times change. Just last week, EPO was the talk of the town. Now you can’t open the sports page without reading something about transfusion blood doping. Sport doping is going old school. Out with the new, in with the

French police officers departed the team hotel of the disgraced Astana team in Pau late Tuesday carrying a number of bags and cases, but refused to make any comment. More than a dozen police officers had arrived at the hotel following the news of Alexander Vinokourov's positive test for blood doping, which has led to the team bowing out of the race at the organizers' request. The Astana team, the team's bus, and several team vehicles were still at the hotel. Some of the riders and team staff were also present. Police had initially arrived carrying a number of sports bags. It is

Police collect trash from Astana's hotel in Pau.

Klöden watches the press. The press watches Klöden.

On my way to the press room in Pau today I decided to take a quiet country road rather than the highway. I stopped to fill up with diesel. It’s cheaper than unleaded gas but a tank still cost $68. After paying I noticed a small local newspaper in the gas station’s rack. The front page headline read: “Le Tour en péril?” That question was going through my head on reaching this rest-day press room, which is set up in the Palais Beaumont, an elegant pastel-painted palace with a terrace looking out toward the high peaks of the Pyrenées. The moment I arrived, a press conference that featured race

Levi Leipheimer is closer than ever to realizing his lifetime goal of reaching the Tour de France podium, but the Discovery Channel captain said Tuesday he’s prepared to sacrifice those dreams to help Spanish climbing sensation Alberto Contador win the maillot jaune. With Contador and race leader Michael Rasmussen expected to duke it out for the yellow jersey in Wednesday’s decisive climbing stage across the Pyrénées, Leipheimer said he will put the team’s interests ahead of his own. “If there’s a chance to win the Tour with Alberto, we have to make some sacrifices,” Leipheimer said during

Astana team manager Marc Biver said he had confidence in the blood doping test which has snared his star rider Alexander Vinokourov and caused a scandal at the Tour de France. Biver was speaking only hours after being told that 33-year-old team leader Vinokorov, the winner of two stages on this year's race, had tested positive for homologous blood doping. If a test on his 'B' sample also tests positive, it means that Vinokourov has injected red blood cells from a compatible donor to enhance his performance. "We can't condemn Alexandre until we know there has been a clear

Pruitt finally has her title

The women's DH podium

The pros hit the slalom course at twilight

Men's dual slalom champion Chris Herndon

Prudhomme and Clerc discussing a problem they'd thought they'd put behind them.

The German T-Mobile team will learn on Sunday if the cellular phone company will withdraw its sponsorship, a spokesman announced on Tuesday. "We will consider things and make a decision at the end of this year's Tour de France," said T-Mobile communications director Christian Frommert, whose company has a contract to sponsor the team until 2010. It has been a difficult year for T-Mobile which terminated the contract of 1997 Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich in July 2006 after he was linked to the Spanish Operación Puerto doping investigation. That firing led to a complete overhaul of

The Italian Cycling Federation (FCI) on Tuesday cleared Alessandro Petacchi of doping at this year's Giro d'Italia. The 33-year-old Italian sprinter escaped punishment despite being charged with the offense by the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) on July 4. CONI had recommended to the FCI that Petacchi be banned from cycling for 12 months. "It's one of the most beautiful victories of my life," said a jubilant Petacchi, who earned the points jersey and five stage victories in this year's Giro. "I wouldn't wish for anyone to suffer in the way I have because it was the

Double stage victor Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana)learned Tuesday that he had tested positive for homologous blood doping following his victory in last Saturday's stage 13 individual time trial. Vinokourov and his Astana team have reportedly withdrawn from the Tour. The 33-year-old had lost all chance of winning the Tour with a dismal performance in Sunday's 14th stage but then bounced back to take Monday's 15th stage in the Pyrenees. Vinokourov, whose performance in Monday's stage was feted in the French press with headlines such as the 'Courage of 'Vino'',

Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme and Amaury Sports Organisation president Patrice Clerc held a hastily assembled press conference in Pau Tuesday in reaction to the news that Astana’s Alexander Vinokourov had tested positive for homologous blood doping. Clerc began the press conference by explaining that he had spoken with Astana general manager Marc Biver by phone earlier Tuesday, and requested that Biver and the Astana team leave the race. Biver accepted the request without hesitation, Clerc said. Clerc was asked if the news of Vinokourov’s positive, combined with the cloud of

Rasmussen waves off reporters' question on Tuesday

Vinokourov tested positive for homologous blood doping after his time trial win on Saturday

Vino' claims his second stage of the 2007 Tour

...and the bike upon which they are perched

The team bus of yellow jersey Michael Rasmussen gets the once over