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Hello,My goal today was to move firmly on to the podium of the Tour de France. I at least wanted to make good time. Unfortunately that didn’t quite work out that way. Oscar Sevilla - the Spaniard here riding with us on this Tour - was really the man we had designated for a stage win today. Oscar wanted to make this “his” stage. It’s no wonder that he made the jump into the day’s break. He did a spectacular job up there today and should be really proud. Oscar is a real asset to this team and it would have been nice to see him take this one, especially. One of the things I admire most about

Jan Ullrich has all but given up on his challenge to Lance Armstrong on this year's Tour de France and admitted he is now fighting Michael Rasmussen for a place on the podium. Germany's 1997 winner and five-time runner-up is nearly six minutes behind his Texan rival in the general classification ahead of next Sunday's race finale on the Champs Élysées - in Tour terms a mammoth deficit which is all but insurmountable. Ullrich, who has finished second to Armstrong three times during the American's six-year reign, admits he is now fighting to make sure he doesn't finish off

Basso to stay with CSC through 2009Team CSC announced Monday that CSC has extended its sponsorship agreement with Riis Cycling through 2009. That ensures that Ivan Basso of Italy, who is currently sitting in second in the general classification, will remain with the Denmark-based team. “We have come far in the last couple of seasons, and no one should have any doubts that our ambitions are sky high,” said CSC sport director Bjarne Riis. “Ivan has not only lived up to our expectations, he has impressed me time after time with his will to improve and take responsibility for himself and his

Lance Armstrong is trying to capture more than just a seventh straight Tour de France title. He wants to win over the French fans, too. So far, it's working. The American cyclist has regularly left the team bus during this year's Tour to greet hordes of people, who push and shove to get a glimpse of him. He recently stopped and rode over to a screaming fan who was calling for him. Armstrong chatted with her while her husband joined the conversation. “Lance, give us your cap,” the man said in broken English, laced with a heavy regional accent. Armstrong handed it over,

Rest day and I need it. Actually I could use another, if it were possible. I mentioned the other day that I’d been sick on the stage to Ax-3-Domaines. Finishing with the grupetto had been hard, just because I’d been throwing up for the first 100k. Yesterday, on the stage to Pla d'Adet, it was worse. My stomach had settled, but I’m still sick with something and it took everything I had just to beat the time cut. I was dropped early in the day, spending probably the last 100 or so kilometers riding on my own… well, I had another guy (Rafael Nuritdinov of, Domina Vacanze), but he was

Ullrich wants to improve on his fourth place from '04

Bruyneel on Hincapie and life without Lance

Magnus Opus: With one eye on Paris...

Don't try this at home, kids . . .

The fans find a cool spot along the climb

Alan Buttlar installs a new chain

The Tour definitely needs bigger trash cans

Your I.D. sir?

Ullrich definitely knows how to suffer, even if it doesn't get him any closer to Armstrong

The Good Lieutenant: Hincapie gets his stage win... and it's a doozie

Never try to pick up a date at a race in the Pyrenees - especially if 'she' has a back that's hairier than yours

.. the day's escape quickly built a nice lead.

Then there were six.

The day had a deceptively mellow start...

Lance Armstrong didn’t take the stage win in the final summit finish of his celebrated Tour de France career, as many had predicted, but on Sunday in the Pyrénées of southern France he did get the next-best thing — a stage win for his close friend and Discovery Channel teammate George Hincapie. Hincapie, the only man to ride with Armstrong in all seven of his post-cancer Tours, took the win atop the Pla d’Adet ski resort out of a 14-man breakaway group that shattered on the Col de Peyresourde, the fourth of six categorized climbs, while Armstrong crossed the line five minutes later with

Armstrong and Ullrich were the only ones to stay with Basso.

Stage Results1. George Hincapie (USA), Discovery Channel, 6:06:382. Oscar Pereiro Sio (Sp), Phonak, 00:063. Pietro Caucchioli (I), Credit Agricole, 00:384. Michael Boogerd (Nl), Rabobank, 00:575. Laurent Brochard (F), Bouygues Telecom, 02:196. Ivan Basso (I), CSC, 05:047. Lance Armstrong (USA), Discovery Channel, 05:048. Oscar Sevilla (Sp), T-Mobile, 06:289. Jan Ullrich (G), T-Mobile, 06:2810. Mickael Rasmussen (Dk), Rabobank, 06:32 11. Francisco Mancebo (Sp), Illes Balears, 06:3212. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz), T-Mobile, 07:3313. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Gerolsteiner, 07:5414. Christophe

Ullrich tried to stay aggressive.

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday, I was right up there, ready to fight out the sprint – admittedly, I wasn’t in the top three, but you get the point. I didn’t seem to have the legs to finish the job the boys did for me with the leadout, but I was still feeling pretty good. Today, on the stage from Agde to Ax-3-Domaines, I can only say it was… well, a bit rough. It was a really, really rough day on the bike today. I threw up four times in the first 100 kilometers. I couldn’t eat a thing all day and it was two or two-and-a-half hours before I could even drink a little bit. I don’t

The team rose to the occasion on Sunday.

In Pla d’Adet, France … Hincapie, team leader?Could George Hincapie lead Discovery Channel next year after Lance Armstrong retires at the end of the 2005 Tour de France? That might have seemed a crazy notion three weeks ago, but it’s gaining credibility as Hincapie continues to progress into a solid, all-round rider. Even Armstrong said it’s not such a far-fetched idea. “We always have these dreamers who say they’re going to win the Tour, so why couldn’t George Hincapie be in that position?” Armstrong said. “He’s a complete rider.” Armstrong said he’s already discussed the possibility

The Casartelli monument

You never know what you're going to see on any given day in the Tour. Could be an oblivious fan getting a camera moto's tire tracks up his spinal column; could be a hairy-backed cross-dresser. Our man Casey Gibson didn't snap a shot of the former, but he did get the latter, along with some racing action, the late Fabio Casartelli's family at a memorial in his honor, and much, much more. Check it all out below.

His family, just before the memorial ceremony

George Hincapie has been a loyal, selfless and dedicated teammate during Lance Armstrong's six Tour de France titles. On Sunday, he picked the Tour's toughest stretch to make a statement of his own. Hincapie broke away early and held on to win the 15th stage through the Pyrenees, beating Phonak's Oscar Pereiro in a sprint to the line for his first stage win at cycling's premier event. “This ride is so hard. In training I almost didn't arrive at the top because I was so tired,” the 32-year-old Hincapie said. “It took us seven hours in training. I just can't

'Yo, 'scuse me, but I'm just gonna drop it down a couplea cogs and win the stage here'

Hincapie wins his first Tour stage

Chris Horner is still having fun at the end of four Cat. 1 climbs and an HC grinder

Armstrong and Basso put the screws to Ullrich

Levi, on the other hand, looks a touch spent

. . . this guy is clearly a professional

The peloton in the Pyrenees

Hello,Well, I think you saw that as a team we pushed it all the way to the limit, today. To his credit, Lance fended off every single one of the attacks in the manner of a true patron of the peloton. For that, all I can say is congratulations to him and that he has my respect. This morning, the mood at the breakfast table was not quite as relaxed as was the case in the Alps. Hardly anyone said a word… and if they did, the answers were short. It wasn’t a bad sign. More accurately, it was just an indication that everyone was just very, very focused on the task at hand. The one thing we didn’t

Armstrong and Basso take the final corner together

The break

After out-climbing his main rivals on Saturday to finish second on the first of two mighty stages in the Pyrénées, Lance Armstrong said it was “incredibly, incredibly hot.” Then he predicted that Sunday’s stage 15 will be “the hardest stage of the Tour.” He then talked to journalists at the Ax-3 Domaines ski resort Saturday night about his preparations for the upcoming stage. “It’s just a question of getting out of here as fast as possible, starting to hydrate, starting to eat, starting to rest and recover,” he said. “We had a very early start to the day once again, an hour-and-a-half in the

Leipheimer on the climb

Garzelli and Beneteau

One of the most frequent tactical questions I get is “What do you do when one team dominates a race?” Well, for one thing, you have to try harder and take a few risks. On stage 14 from Agde to Ax-3-Domaines, the T-Mobile team finally decided to do something about the dominating control of the Discovery Team. Typically, Discovery has followed the same pattern it did back in the Postal days, namely go to the front and set a pace on the climbs that was suitable for them and slowly burn off the riders in the field. When you control the front of pack, you control the pace. You get to decide

Totschnig en route to his first Tour stage win

Evans and Kasheschkin

Stage 14 - Agde to Ax-3-Domaines -- 220.5km

Vinokourov paid the price today

Leipheimer: In good position for the podium?

Stage 14 - Agde to Ax-3-Domaines -- 220.5km

It's time to either fight or run away

Craig lights it up early

Totschnig wins his first Tour stage

Totschnig is glad he didn't go home

Killeen on the fire-road climb

Whuttup with Bobby and those rings?

Basso's feeling better than he did in the Alps

The women hit the rock garden

Cañada takes a similar approach

Basso felt better in the Pyrenees than in the Alps - but not Ullrich

Course: This stage could be a killer. After riding for morethan four hours on mostly hilly back roads under a (probably) burning sun,the riders face two of the toughest climbs in the Pyrénées:the 15km, 8-percent Port de Pailhères (that’s finally been givenan hors-catégorie rating) and the 9km, 7.3-percent climb to theAx-3-Domaines summit finish. History: The Pailhères-Ax-3-Domaines combo has been usedonly once before, in 2003, when it saw a dehydrated Armstrong almost cedehis yellow jersey to Ullrich. CSC’s Carlos Sastre took that stage. Favorites: After a two-day “break,” the main

Garzelli forces himself to work on his stroke when training.

It's showtime

Under a glaring sun and searing summer heat the 92nd Tour de France entered the Pyrénées of southern France Saturday, and though the general classification didn’t quite blow apart, a handful of the race’s central characters certainly melted from the pressure. After the hors-catégorie ascent of the Port de Pailhères, the 220.5km stage ended atop the Cat. 1 climb to the ski resort at Ax-3 Domaines with six-time Tour champion Lance Armstrong (Discovery Channel) holding an even firmer grip on the race leader’s jersey. He’s now 1:41 ahead of Dane Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank),while CSC’s Italian

Ullrich, Basso and Armstrong test each other

Armstrong, Basso and Landis marking one another

Stage Results1. Georg Totschnig (A), Gerolsteiner, 5:43:43 at 38.491kmp2. Lance Armstrong (USA), Discovery Channel, 00:563. Ivan Basso (I), CSC, 00:584. Jan Ullrich (G), T-Mobile, 01:165. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Gerolsteiner, 01:316. Floyd Landis (USA), Phonak, 01:317. Francisco Mancebo (Sp), Illes Balears, 01:478. Mickael Rasmussen (Dk), Rabobank, 01:479. Andreas Kloden (G), T-Mobile, 02:0610. Haimar Zubeldia (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, 02:20 11. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz), T-Mobile, 03:0612. Stefano Garzelli (I), Liquigas-Bianchi, 03:3513. Jorg Jaksche (G), Liberty Seguros, 04:0314. Cadel

Is the battle boiling down to Armstrong versus Basso?

Rasmussen had a 'semi-bad day'

Here’s what the main players had to say at Ax-3 Domaines, France, following Saturday’s fireworks in the Pyrenees. Lance Armstrong (Discovery Channel), yellow jersey (second at 52 seconds back, first overall) On comparing to his troubles two years ago: “Yeah, for sure, I kept trying to remember my training day here six weeks ago versus the 2003 Tour, because I felt better then. It’s a similar situation, again with Ivan and Jan, same as 2003. Similar also with the heat, it was incredibly hot.” On the difficulty of Sunday’s stage: “We’re going to have a hard time to recover from today’s

Evans on the ascent Saturday

T-Mobile's attack early on the Port de Pailhères got rid of the entire Discovery team... well, except for that one guy.

Moments after Sunday’s stage finish at the ski station of Ax-3-Domaines, Gerolsteiner’s Georg Totschnig lay collapsed on the ground, completely exhausted after a breakaway effort of more than 200 kilometers. The only thing the 34-year-old Austrian could do was weep for joy. He had just made a dream come true. “This is unbelievable,“ Totschnig said as he fought to catch his breath. "A few days ago, I didn’t think I would even make it to Paris.” It was not until Gerolsteiner soigneur Klaus Thünemann helped Totschnig to his feet that the man from the Zillertal valley in Tyrol began to grasp

Stage 15 - Lézat-sur-Lèze to St-Lary Soulan (Pla d’Adet) >205.5km

A look ahead to Stage 15: Is Armstrong ready for a stage win?

Lance in pink?The image may never make OLN's coverage of the Tour de France, but there are a thousand print journalists who will vouch for it. Lance Armstrong gave his main rival a free plug in his press conference today, swapping his Discovery Channel baseball hat for a T-Mobile cap worn by one journalist. With tongue firmly in cheek (we think), Armstrong asked why the reporter was wearing it and instead of a Discovery Channel hat. Before everyone knew it, the pair had swapped hats and Big Tex was sporting the pink and white of T-Mobile. But not for long, and he did ask for his own hat

Stage 15 - Lézat-sur-Lèze to St-Lary Soulan (Pla d’Adet) >205.5km

A tough day in the saddle

Course: On paper, this is the toughest stage of the Tour: six climbs (one Cat. 2, four Cat. 1s and the finish up the hors-cat Pla d’Adet). That’s just over 16,000 feet of climbing in 205.5km, and all ridden on less-than-perfect roads in summer heat or seasonal thundershowers. History: Pla d’Adet has seen the finish of eight Tour stages in the past 30 years, the most decisive being the Tour-winning solo attacks by Lucien Van Impe in 1976 and Armstrong in 2001. Favorites: This will be the final mountaintop finish in Armstrong’s storied career. The American would love to come up with another

Um ... think we're in trouble?