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Aggressive, maybe, but is it intimidation?

Before coming to Germany, I had a month-long break from racing. I took one week completely off the bike and then started to ramp up my training. I packed in some heavy mileage weeks, riding mostly with Michael each day. Riding with Michael pushes me into fitness, as he rides quite a bit faster than I generally do on my own. We would go out the door together each day, although often when we hit a major climb, or he needed to do some intensity, he would speed off ahead and I would keep going at my pace. It is neat to be able to share so much time together on the bike. Cycling has allowed us

GIRONA- Being home during the month of July for the first time in nine years felt a little strange to say the least. Watching theTour on television was something I had hoped would be reserved for retirement. But life throws you a curveball every so often. The trick is making the catch and hucking the ball back where it came from. I’m getting ready to do just that. Give me another week or so to mend. My wife and I traveled north to Paris to see the finish of the Tour.I stopped in my tracks when Haven informed me that I would need a “pass” to get near the finish line. I had never been a

Filippo Simeoni was questioned by investigators from the Italian drug squad on Tuesday over an incident between him and six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong during the race last Friday. The investigators grilled Simeoni for three hours about what happenedwhen Armstrongchased down an early attack by the Italian on the 18th stage of theTour last week. In an unusual move for a race leader confronted with a rider who isno threat to his overall lead, Armstrong had chased after the Domina Vacanzeteam rider who had made a breakaway and the pair exchanged words beforeSimeoni later dropped

Nicholas “Mickey” Francoise, national amateur and professional sprint champion between 1936 and 1940, died July 20 in a hospital in Glen Ridge, N.J., of heart complications. He was 86. Francoise also raced in the late 1930s in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia, where he and Billy Guyatt were popular rivals. In January 1939 Francoise captured the Grand Prix of Melbourne. A second-generation racer born in 1918 in Montclair, N.J., and trained by his father James, Francoise started racing at age 15 in 1933 as a member of the Bay View Wheelmen on the half-mile dirt horse track in Newark’s

David Millar, who is set to lose his world time-trial title due to doping, admitted in an interview published Tuesday that he took banned performance enhancer EPO, saying he opted to cheat after a poor season. The 27-year-old Scot, Britain's leading cyclist, told the Manchester Guardian that after struggling badly in the 2001 Tour de France he was introduced to drugs by a senior member of his Cofidis team. He was later taught how to inject EPO himself, and to make sure he was not caught. "You don't stop and think, or it's game over. When the line is crossed, it's crossed. It stops being a

More trips down the Champs-Élysées in Armstrong's future?

Ullrich's lone attack on stage 15 was eventually reeled in

Ullrich had a strong performance on l'Alpe d'Huez, but it was still only good enough for second.

Tour de Tech: Your questions

Faustino Muñoz of Liberty Seguros with the Tacx Cycle Spider Team stand

Postal's Geoff Brown with his Park stand

A 39/53 and a 14-15-16-17-18-19-20-21-22-23 took him to the top

Millar arrives with his lawyer Paul-Albert Iwens at Nanterre's courthouse on July 20.

Millar (C), arrives with his lawyer Paul-Albert Iwens at Nanterre's courthouse on July 20

Jan Ullrich has got only himself to blame for sub-par performance on the Tour de France which left him with his lowest placing ever in his seven starts. Eclipsed by his friend and teammate Andreas Klöden and up-and-coming CSC star Ivan Basso, T-Mobile's team leader ended the race in fourth, a massive nine minutes behind six-time winner Lance Armstrong. Despite being heralded as the 32-year-old American's main rival after his close second place last year, Ullrich disappointed from day one - on the 6.1km prologue in Liege he lost 15 seconds to the U.S. Postal leader, and from then on he never

Mondays. No, I don't have to go to work. Quite the opposite, but it still hurts. They (Mondays) have to be much worse for NFL players, but I'm feeling like I put the pads on for a few quarters. Flying home right now thinking of my bed and what kind of state I left the apartment in. And where is my car? I know that I parked it somewhere in Girona. I'm serious. Do I have coffee in the house? Ah man it's another holiday in Spain, so nothing will be open, so no milk for the coffee even if I do have beans. I've grown pretty used to being taken care of for the last month, but it’s time for

Givisiez, Switzerland, July 26th, 2004 - Joseba Beloki has signedto ride with the Scott sponsored Saunier Duval - Prodir Pro Cycling Teamfor the remainder of the 2004 season and for 2005. Beloki will start ridingfor the team in August, and intends on doing the Vuelta a España.Beloki finished second to Lance Armstrong in the 2002 Tour de France, andwas riding in a very strong position last year before his tubular tirecame off, causing a serious crash that took him out of the 2003 Tour deFrance.He skipped the 2004 Tour de France due to a lack of form and a contractualdispute with Brioches la

A dozen police officers wearing bulletproof vests were called to the home of Frank Vandenbroucke on Monday, after the Belgian cyclist apparently brandished a shotgun during an argument with his wife Sarah. Police entered the home of the Fassa Bortolo rider and after speaking to him for some time an ambulance was called to his residence at Nieuwkerke in northern Belgium. According to police sources, the two had been engaged in a heated argument when Frank Vandenbroucke grabbed a shotgun, reportedly threatening to commit suicide. Sarah Vandenbroucke left the home and sped off in her car and

COURSE: After a morning TGV train ride from Besançon, thepeloton will enjoy a slow promenade for the first couple of hours. Seriousracing should start with the steep Cat. 4 climb at Montfermeil, 25km beforereaching the circuit around the Champs-Élysées in downtownParis. The eight hectic laps of the 6.1km course should again end in a chaoticsprint finish. FAVORITES: Ya think maybe that McEwen will get it right this year? Of course, if Alessandro Petacchi makes it to Paris, as he says he will, McEwen will have a serious fight on his hands. HISTORY: Every edition of the

At long last, Paris

For those of you keeping track of the Tour de France at work, we're giving you another window to hide when the boss walks in. A Daily interactive Photo Gallery direct from the tour. To take full advantage, you'll need to have MacroMedia's Flash Player installed on your system. Go ahead, give it a try... and practice using that minimize button, too! AFP INTERACTIVE PHOTO GALLERY - High Bandwidth AFP INTERACTIVE PHOTO GALLERY - Low Bandwidth

The Postal posse in Paris

It was the day that everyone knew was coming for some time now. But the sight of American Lance Armstrong finally standing atop the podium as the first rider to win the Tour de France six times, gave everyone a chance to take in the history that he had now made real. Obviously, one of the first to be swept up by the occasion was the person who called Armstrong on his mobile telephone just as he stepped off the winners' podium. Tongues were wagging like new-born puppies as to who it could be. “Winning my first Tour (in 1999) was special; but this is unbelievable,” said Armstrong. So happy

The jersey winners

OVERALL STANDINGS - FINAL1. Lance Armstrong (USA), U.S. Postal Service, 83:36:022. Andréas KlÖden (G), T-Mobile, 06:193. Ivan Basso (I), CSC, 06:404. Jan Ullrich (G), T-Mobile, 08:505. Azevedo José (P), U.S. Postal Service, 14:306. Francisco Mancebo (Sp), Illes Balears-Banesto, 18:017. Georg Totschnig (A), Gerolsteiner, 18:278. Carlos Sastre (Sp), CSC, 19:519. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Rabobank, 20:1210. Oscar Pereiro Sio (Sp), Phonak, 22:54 11. Pietro Caucchioli (I), Alessio-Bianchi, 24:2112. Christophe Moreau (F), Crédit Agricole, 24:3613. Vladimir Karpets (Rus), Illes Balears-Banesto,

Racing in the shadow of the Arc d'Triomphe

Leblanc: Armstrong big, but Tour is biggerTour de France director Jean-Marie Leblanc paid homage to record six-time winner Lance Armstrong but insisted the world's most famous cycling race was bigger than the men who have won it. Asked if Armstrong was the greatest Tour champion ever, Leblanc said: "Figures say yes. He's the only one to have won it six times. He won stages of all kinds, time trials, mountain stages. He's an accomplished champion, but he's not invincible. "Except for last year, he has never showed any signs of weakness. His reign can be explained by his individual strength

Only a few corners to go

Lance Armstrong never stops learning, and the 2003 Tour de France taught him what it’s like to struggle. He’d battled back from cancer and adversity before, but hadn’t struggled like that during any of his four prior Tour wins. Last year, Armstrong never really had full control of the race, was vulnerable to attack and on the edge of losing the yellow jersey every day. Coming back to the Tour in 2004 was never a question, and from the moment he started training, he focused on regaining an undisputed position as the strongest man in the Tour de France. The tests we did with Lance in the

Five-time winner Bernard Hinault congratulates the six-time champ

Photographer Casey Gibson followed this year's Tour de France from the prologue in Liège to the finale in Paris – here's a sampling of what he saw through the lens on the Champs-Élysées as Lance Armstrong scored his historic sixth consecutive victory.

The anthem

Australian Robbie McEwen couldn't hide his joy after holding off the threat of Norwegian Thor Hushovd as he claimed back the Tour de France green jersey for the race's points competition on Sunday. McEwen, flanked by his wife and his son Ewan, admitted he'd missed his family over three weeks of tough racing at the end of which he picked up two stages and the green jersey he won for the first time in 2002. "It's really special. It's been a few week and I miss them. I've been looking forward to this day to see my wife and my son, and to top it off I win the green jersey," said McEwen.

McEwen's main concern was Hushovd's location in the sprint

Standing-room-only downtown pub crowds wildly cheered hometown hero Lance Armstrong here Sunday as the American captured a record sixth consecutive Tour de France. In an otherwise empty city center, the Texas capitol came alive in late morning as supporters watched live television coverage of the final stage of the epic showdown in sports bars. Cyclists in yellow jerseys glided down Fourth Street while a city bus, painted bright yellow, featured a portrait of Armstrong and the words, "Tour de Lance" while newspaper racks featured the phrase of the hour - "Go Lance Go!" At Fado, an Irish

Ten days in the yellow jersey, Voeckler became the new darling of France

STAGE 20 July 25 Montereau-Fault-Yonne - Paris Champs-Élysées (102.531mi/165km)

STAGE 20 July 25 Montereau-Fault-Yonne - Paris Champs-Élysées (102.531mi/165km)

STAGE 20 July 25 Montereau-Fault-Yonne - Paris Champs-Élysées (102.531mi/165km)

Boonen gets the stage, but McEwen stays in green

McEwen must be pooped after winning another green jersey – he had to put both feet on the ground to pop a final wheelie

Lance totes 'em up

Leblanc and Armstrong chat

Robbie McEwen does not now have to be asked how he is feeling every year on the eve of the final Tour de France stage which brings the peloton into Paris. The 32-year-old Lotto rider, for the third year in a row, will ride around the chic quartiers surrounding the Champs Elysees knowing that at the end of the day he could pull on the green jersey for a second time since 2002. McEwen won the points classification's coveted prize two years ago before losing it on the final stage to Baden Cooke last year. This year, he will have to defend a small lead, of 11 points against Norwegian Thor

Can someone please tell Robbie McEwen to retire the Big Fat Helmet™ thathe and his teammates wore during Tour de France time trials? It is physically painful for me to look at that thing. Not only is his helmet just plain dorky looking, there isn’t a doubt in my mind that it is an extremely slow helmet and ultimately is a detriment to his time-trial performance. What would make me say such a thing? Well, I was recently lucky enough to spend some time in the Allied Aerospacewind tunnel where I got to tunnel test some one-piece aero bars.During that entry I also got to stick my long-legged and

STAGE 19 July 24 Besançon - Besançon (TT) (37.284mi/60km)

STAGE 19 July 24 Besançon - Besançon (TT) (37.284mi/60km)

STAGE 19 July 24 Besançon - Besançon (TT) (37.284mi/60km)

Armstrong powers to yet another victory in the final time trial

Armstrong powers to another stage win and virtually cinches a sixth straight Tour

Ullrich finished second to Armstrong, but will miss the podium

Basso gave it his all, but slipped back a spot on GC

Landis had the best time before the big dogs started barking

COURSE: This is the Tour’s most difficult final time trial since1994, when stage 19 went over two Cat. 3 hills and finished atop the Cat.1 climb to Avoriaz. None of the climbs on this circular course at Besançon is categorized, but the constant ups and downs, and the frequent turns, could cause large time gaps. FAVORITES: Armstrong, Ullrich and Hamilton will be vying to winthe stage (and the Tour), while Mayo, Basso and Menchov will be tryingto hang on to their GC positions. HISTORY: In 1963, Jacques Anquetil clinched his fourth Tour victoryby winning the 54.5km stage 19 time trial from

Vande Velde's Tour: Venga! Venga! Venga!

Victory for Lance Armstrong in Saturday's stage 19 time trial at Besançon was a fait accompli. So much so, that at his press conference afterward, the man behind what has been dubbed by at least one media outlet as the “Texas Chainring Massacre” was not asked one question about his terrific ride in the 55km time trial. There was really no explanation needed about Armstrong's winning ride over the T-Mobile pairing of Germans Jan Ullrich and Andreas Klöden, who placed second and third on the stage at 1:01 and 1:27 respectively. It was expected. It was provided. And it was so very conclusive.

Figure 1 In the tunnel at Allied Aerospace.

STAGE RESULTS1. Lance Armstrong (USA), U.S. Postal Service, 1:06:492. Jan Ullrich (G), T-Mobile, 01:013. Andréas Klöden (G), T-Mobile, 01:274. Floyd Landis (USA), U.S. Postal Service, 02:255. Bobby Julich (USA), CSC, 02:486. Ivan Basso (I), CSC, 02:507. Jens Voigt (G), CSC, 03:198. Vladimir Karpets (Rus), Illes Balears-Banesto, 03:339. Rubiera José Luis (Sp), U.S. Postal Service, 03:4010. Azevedo José (P), U.S. Postal Service, 03:49 11. George Hincapie (USA), U.S. Postal Service, 03:5612. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Rabobank, 04:0613. Santos Gonzalez (Sp), Phonak, 04:1714. Aitor Gonzalez (Sp),

Figure 2. The photo studio and Lucho

Dear fellow cyclists and cycling fans,Like many of you, I have read Greg LeMond's recent comments regardingdoping in cycling and his interactions with Lance Armstrong.  Forthose not up to speed, see thisconcise account of Greg’s statements in English.The originalcomplete text in French appears in Le Monde.I admire Greg's courage to speak his mind on the doping problems thatstill plague cycling. Like him, I feel that this problem is out of hand.Something needs to be done to clean it up, not only for the sake of theriders’ health, but also for the sake of returning our sport to the truthsof

Figure 3. L to R: no helmet, 1994 Specialized, 1998 Giro.

Five stage wins - six if you include the team time trial - and a 6:38 lead going into the final day; Lance Armstrong and his team have dominated the 2004 Tour de France to a greater degree than ever before. Stage 19 showcased the collective strength of the U.S. Postal Service team yet again, with four riders in the top ten and another two in the top twenty. Of the day’s great performances, those from Floyd Landis and George Hincapie stand out. After shattering the lead groups on climbs while setting pace for Armstrong, Landis had the power left to finish fourth in today’s 55-kilometer time

Figure 4. Big helmet on the left. Big Fat Helmet™ on the right

Saturday night. The mini-bar is out of beer, I'm hungry, kinda buzzed and ready to go home. Lance smashed everyone today. Jeez, men and boys … well, a few big boys and then the rest of us pre-pubescent kids. Impressive. First the Postal team. The dogs were all let out of their respective cages today and got to give it a go, which led to four Posties in the top-10! There was a lot of barking going on. Klöden jumped over Basso, which I expected, but it was close. Basso ended up doing a great ride and didn't let Ullrich come close, benne Basso. Anyway, who cares about the results? Lance

The Mail Bag is a Monday-Wednesday-Friday feature on VeloNews.com, but will appear daily during the Tour. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your FULL NAME, HOMETOWN and STATE, or NATION if you live outside the United States. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.The code of OmertaEditors,Has the “Blue Train” turned into the “Blue Wall of Silence?” Armstrong should not be making "zip the lips" signals in the pelotonregarding Simeoni. If

Armstrong was not going to allow Simeoni to go anywhere unchallenged

Looking at the route of the 2004 Tour de France last fall, team directors and riders knew Stage 18 would be the last chance for opportunists to take a stage win. Covering small mountains and situated between the final big Alpine stage and the last individual time trial, today’s stage was tailor-made for a breakaway. Once the composition of the breakaway was finalized, the six-man group rode away to fight for the stage win. Back in the peloton, there wasn’t much incentive to chase or race aggressively. T-Mobile wasn’t going to be able to attack and isolate Ivan Basso to gain time on him

Armstrong was not welcome in the break, but he wasn't leaving until Simeoni did.

At a meeting in Salzburg, Austria, Friday the management committee of the UCI gave final approval to an agreement committing the organization to sign anti-doping protocols created by the World Anti-doping Authority nearly four years ago. On the eve of the 2004 Olympics in Athens, the UCI becomes the last international governing body to sign the rules. The committee’s failure to sign would have prevented cycling events from taking place in Athens this year. UCI president Hein Verbruggen has expressed concern on several occasions that cycling would be treated unequally because of its

Armstrong awaits the peloton after snuffing Simeoni's plans

STAGE 18 July 23 Annemasse - Lons-le-Saunier (103.152mi/166km)