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Raise a glass to Vino'

Maybe Mario De Clercq should worry

The victories Lance Armstrong values the most are the ones he worked the hardest for, and the 2003 Tour de France yellow jersey is going to have to rank near the top of that list. Out of his five wins, this one was the most difficult. The field was stronger than it was in any of the previous four years, the heat was unbearable, and there were several incidents and near misses. Races almost never go exactly as you plan them. It is extremely rare for an athlete to be completely ready for competition and have the race unfold precisely the way he wants it to. The mark of a true champion is the

Properly clad or not, these postmen delivered

Army Captain (and Tour fan) Rick Trimble

The last break of the Tour

Saddam or Nebuchadnezzar? Captain Trimble at the presidential palace

And they thought the race for the yellow jersey was close

The 2003 Tour de France returned to where it started three weeks ago and finished with the same winner as the past four years. Lance Armstrong endured what he called a "crisis-filled" Tour to join Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Induráin in cycling's "five club" as five-time Tour winners. "It was the hardest victory and it's like a dream," Armstrong said at the finish line on the Champs-Élysées. "I will put everything I have into trying to win a sixth victory." Armstrong fought through a litany of problems and overcame a rejuvenated Jan Ullrich to claim final

Armstrong clearly enjoying the ride to his fifth consecutive Tour triumph

Cooke's sigh of relief

Hopes of a completely clean centenary Tour de France have been dashed by the news that an unidentified rider has tested positive for banned endurance enhancer EPO (erythropoietin), officials confirmed here Sunday. It is the first positive test of the 90th edition and centenary race that was won for the fifth consecutive time by American Lance Armstrong of the US Postal team. The first sample has tested positive for EPO although it will be a few days before the results of a B sample are known. "The rider concerned is not someone who has won a stage," a race official told AFP here Sunday,

It doesn't get much better

Results Stage 20Overall, points, Kom, Team and other standings listed below1. Jean-patrick Nazon (F), Jean Delatour, 3:38:492. Baden Cooke (Aus), FDJeux.com, 00:003. Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus), Lotto-Domo, 00:004. Luca Paolini (I), Quick Step-Davitamon, 00:005. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Credit Agricole, 00:006. Stuart O'Grady (Aus), Credit Agricole, 00:007. Erik Zabel (G), Telekom, 00:008. Romans Vainsteins (Lat), Caldirola, 00:009. Gerrit Glomser (A), Saeco, 00:0010. Damien Nazon (F), Brioches La Boulangere, 00:0011. Fabrizio Guidi (I), Bianchi, 00:0012. Oscar Freire (Sp), Rabobank, 00:0013. Laurent

French cycling legend Bernard Hinault, one of five riders to have won the Tour de France five times, has hailed this year's eventful centenary edition as exceptional. And Hinault, the last Frenchman to win the race in 1985, said the increased challenge to Lance Armstrong's yellow jersey this year doesn't mean the 31-year-old American five-time winner is on the wane. "This year's race has been exceptional on all levels - as a competition and as a spectacle but also the way it has been organized,” Hinault said. "It's been one big party and there was suspense right up to the end because, even

Lance Armstrong's fifth Tour victory was the hardest by far, but also the sweetest in terms of his popularity on the roads of France. The Texan, a personal friend of U.S. President George W. Bush, had not exactly been France's most-loved athlete in recent years and was booed on the climb to the Mount Ventoux last year. But despite Franco-American tensions over the Iraq war, there was no animosity whatsoever from the crowds this year, and fans seemed won over by Armstrong's struggling and suffering in this year's race. The American, who made himself available to sign autographs and

He has yet to fully capture the Kazakh public's imagination but few doubtthat Alexander Vinokurov's dogged pursuit of Lance Armstrong and Jan Ullrichin this year's Tour de France has given cycling a boost in his native ex-Sovietrepublic.Kazakhstan's news media have paid only limited attention to the DeutscheTelekom rider's rise to world class status, even after his victory in theTour of Switzerland earlier this year, his Olympic silver in 2000 and hislikely clinching of third place in the biggest race of all, the Tour deFrance.Exemplifying the lukewarm reaction is the weekly Vremya

Ullrich was on a record-setting pace before this turn

The start in Pornic

Stage 9 provided the rare opportunity for me to spend a bit of one-on-one time with CSC's “team behind the team” – the mechanics, coaches and soigneurs. My morning started with an introduction to the leader of the team, Bjarne Riis. After exchanging pleasantries, Riis was off on his morning jog, which he says helps him "get his mind off the Tour, even if it's only for 45 minutes." From there, I met up with New Zealander Craig Geater, one of CSC’s five mechanics, who gave me a tour of his world - the Team CSC support truck. Geater has spent most of his life working in a bicycle shop,

Ullrich never got back up to speed

Postal compound deserted before the start

Individual Results for Stage 191. David Millar (GB), Cofidis, 54:052. Tyler Hamilton (USA), CSC, 00:093. Lance Armstrong (USA), U.S. Postal Service, 00:144. Jan Ullrich (G), Bianchi, 00:255. Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun), Quick Step-Davitamon, 00:266. Vjatceslav Ekimov (Rus), U.S. Postal Service, 00:567. Pena Victor Hugo (Col), U.S. Postal Service, 01:008. George Hincapie (USA), U.S. Postal Service, 01:089. Sylvain Chavanel (F), Brioches La Boulangere, 01:1210. Marzio Bruseghin (I), Fassa Bortolo, 01:2611. Stuart O'Grady (Aus), Credit Agricole, 01:3812. Michael Rogers (Aus), Quick Step-Davitamon,

Armstrong stayed focused and took no risks

The umbrella crowd along the route, still in the tens of thousands

And Hamilton powered into second on the day and fourth overall

Village are of all team jerseys

To see how Stage 19 of the Tour unfolded live, just go to our Live Update window and follow the action all the way to the finish.

Stage winner Millar was delighted after a lackluster Tour

Some very wet Cutters at the start of the race

David Millar's luck finally changed with victory on the penultimate stage of the Tour de France on Saturday. The Briton won a wet 49km time trial from Pornic to Nantes in a time of 54 minutes, five seconds, nine seconds faster than Tyler Hamilton (CSC). Overall race leader Lance Armstrong (U.S. Postal) was third 14 seconds behind. Up till Saturday, Millar's luck seemed to have deserted him. The 26-year-old Cofidis rider lost the Tour prologue when his chain came off close to the finish and then went down with bronchitis in the second half of the three-week long race. "As they say in

wet, wet roads

Today's stage presented riders with a condition they have yet to deal with this Tour – rain. Had this been a regular road stage, riders might have considered using a shorter or more angled stem to give themselves a more upright position and place more weight on the rear wheel. But today, riders needed every advantage they could get, and proper aerodynamic position would be a critical choice, even in the rain. This leaves tire selection as the most factor of today's stage. Since all the riders were racing on tubular wheels today, tire selection was somewhat limited (there are quite a few

A wet ride in Nantes

The pressure is almost off

On paper, stages 17 and 18 were relatively similar, but they played out a bit differently in real life. On Thursday, the break went from the gun so the peloton rode at a controlled, but steady tempo all day. But yesterday it took about 65 kilometers for a group to get away, so the first hour and a half of the stage was pretty stressful with one attack after another. With guys fighting hard at the front, it made for a lot of work in the back. But things calmed down a lot after the group that finally got away, stayed off. It was a welcomed change by that point. We had a pretty long transfer

Ullrich's Tour went better than he expected; his time trial worse than he had hoped

At the end of week one in the Tour de France, we introduced you to John Henderson a sportswriter on the Denver Post who has been covering the race for the very first time. As John revealed, covering the Tour is a lot different than reporting on football or baseball in the United States, foremost being the inter-stage transfers and logistical late night searches for hotel. One thing is sure for John, as the race nears it end with the final stage in Paris tomorrow, it has been a real adventure that he will never forget. We told John we would catch up for his final words on the Tour. And we

Armstrong knows he's won

Preparation can be like a security blanket. When you’ve done everything you can to be prepared, through training, reconnaissance, nutrition, hydration, and warming up, you feel safe and calm. When you’re not prepared, you feel naked and vulnerable. Lance Armstrong rolled into the start house this afternoon secure in his preparation, and ready for the time trial of his life. In the morning, Armstrong reviewed the time trial course one more time in the team car. Since it was raining, he was paying extra attention to things like road paint, manhole covers, rail tracks, and corners. He knew

Aussie Chris Kovarik surprised himself at Schweitzer

Rain showers and cool temperatures won’t dampen spirits in Paris Sundaywhen the Tour de France not only sees the conclusion of this year’s racebut also celebrates its 100 years of history with a spectacular show onthe Champs-Élysées.After the final sprint and the annual parade of the 22 participatingteams will come a tightly orchestrated Centennial Parade featuring a castof 1200, including all the living Tour winners (except for 1998 winnerMarco Pantani and three-time winner Greg LeMond, who sent their regretsto the organizers). There will be 12 tableaux retracing a century of theTour and

Ride the wrong tire in a wet stage and you might just wind up like this

Tour de France director Jean-Marie Leblanc said he could not have hoped for a better race to celebrate the centenary of cycling's biggest event. "It was better than my expectations. What was unexpected was the quality of the race," he said on Saturday, the penultimate day of the Tour. "It was superb, the best race in 20 years or at least since 1989 when I took over as the Tour director.” Lance Armstrong, set to be crowned champion for a record-equaling fifth time in Paris on Sunday, was tested until the very end in the closest Tour for years, while crashes and attacks made it one of the

Bike waterfall along the course

The Team CSC mechanic-mobile

Camp Armstrong; two Brits that say they become Americans for three weeks every year, in July.

The 1903 Tour had its actual finish in Ville d’Avray, just outside Paris, whose mayor didn’t allow bike racing within the city limits. This year, Ville d’Avray, not far from the magnificent imperial palace of Versailles, sees the start of the final stage and an intermediate sprint after an initial loop of 31km in the western suburbs. The race then heads into the city with another loop via the Place de la Bastille before the final nine laps around the traditional circuit on the Champs-Elysées. 7/27/2003 Start Time: 1:38:00pm7/27/2003 Estimated Finish Time: 5:38:00pm HISTORYExcept for 1903,

Kiwi mechanic Craig Geater

Ekimov through the rain and fog

The anticipated Tour de France clash between Lance Armstrong and Jan Ullrich came to a soggy conclusion in Saturday’s 49-kilometer 19th stage from Pornic to Nantes. Armstrong all but sewed up his fifth overall title while Ullrich will settle for second a fifth time. Armstrong widened his margin to Ullrich to 1 minute, 16 seconds in the Tour’s penultimate stage and only has to avoid disaster Sunday before becoming the fifth man to win the Tour five times. Armstrong admitted this was the hardest Tour victory since his courageous cancer comeback in 1999. The 31-year-old Texan had to endure

A bus full of bikes

Haybale bike along the course

To see how Stage 17 of the Tour unfolded live, just go to our Live Update window and follow the action all the way to the finish.

Jean Robic

Its a digital world; our hotel room in the morning

The battle to win this year's Tour de France is one of the closest in more than a decade. Indeed, this year is only the sixth time in the post-war era that the yellow jersey could possibly be decided on the final days of the three-week Tour de France. Germany's 1997 winner Jan Ullrich is currently trailing American four-time winner Lance Armstrong by just 1:05 ahead of Saturday's 49-kilometer race against the clock where the time gaps could again change. The 29-year-old Bianchi rider, whose return to the race has given Armstrong a real run for his money, beat the American in the 12th

Jacques Anquetil

We’re 18 stages down and still racing at break-neck speed. After near on three weeks and there’s no let up. I couldn’t believe it today when I looked at my computer after the first hour of racing in the third last stage to see we had flown over nearly 53kph. You’d reckon that riders who were not there at the Tour start in Paris were joining the race fresh, sneaking into the bunch rather than dropping like flies as the result sheets shows. You can imagine my shock when a little over four hours later when we sped into the finish the stage average was 49.938kmh – the second-fastest stage in

Jan Janssen

Ohhhhhh Cañada.... caught just before the line.

By now, most of you know the way this column works. Something comes acrossmy desk, and I write about it. Well, the latest tidbit to come in acrossthe vast Internet was a press release from Threshold Sports, trumpetingthe availability of VIP tickets for the upcoming New York City CyclingChampionship for the low, low price of, take a deep breath now … $125.U.S. Now, if you’re like me, this sort of item raises all sorts of questions:Are people actually buying these tickets? What do you get for you $125?Who’s buying these tickets? A quick read of the press release answers a few questions.