News

L'Equipe says Total US finish in TTT

Race fan watches the start

Pena leaves the credit Lyonnais ceremony with a special friend

Alessandro Petacchi didn't really want to come to this year's Tour de France. After winning six stages and holding the maglia rosa at the Giro d'Italia, the big Italian sprinter thought his season was pretty much a wrap. But Fassa Bortolo team brass convinced him to change his mind. Now he's glad they did, because on Thursday Petacchi won his third stage in five days after sprinting into Nevers ahead of Jaan Kirsipuu (Ag2r) to win a steamy fifth stage as the Tour plunged south across the rolling hills of Burgundy and Nièvre. "I came here with the aim of winning a stage," Petacchi said. "I

The Postal train

Pena sprays the press with champagne after ceremony

Stage 5 Individual Results1. Alessandro Petacchi (I), Fassa Bortolo, 4:09:472. Jaan Kirsipuu (Est), Ag2R Prevoyance, 00:003. Baden Cooke (Aus), FDJeux.com, 00:004. Erik Zabel (G), Telekom, 00:005. Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus), Lotto-Domo, 00:006. Luca Paolini (I), Quick Step-Davitamon, 00:007. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Credit Agricole, 00:008. Stuart O'Grady (Aus), Credit Agricole, 00:009. Fred Rodriguez (USA), Caldirola, 00:0010. Jean-Patrick Nazon (F), Jean Delatour, 00:0011. Olaf Pollack (G), Gerolsteiner, 00:0012. Oscar Freire (Sp), Rabobank, 00:0013. Damien Nazon (F), Brioches La Boulangere, 00:0014.

Pena in the yellow jersey...

The biggest yellow jersey so far, in Troyes

Lance Armstrong might be poised to become a Tour de France legend - but the 31-year-old American's personal style has been given a vote of no confidence by a former team member. According to Cedric Vasseur, who wore the Tour de France yellow jersey for five days in 1997 before joining up with Armstrong in 2000 for a brief spell, Armstrong's successful campaign to dominate the world's biggest bike race is simply no fun for those who help him. Now a member of France's top team Cofidis, 32-year-old Vasseur admits he retains some good memories from his time with the tough-talking

leading the pack

Chris Baldwin takes the front of a 14-man break

The peloton chases up McKenzie Pass

Tom Danielson in the driver's seat

With the centennial Tour nearing the end of its opening week, we have amuch better idea of how the race could play out in the big climbing stagesahead.In the driver’s seat, of course, is Lance Armstrong after he led hisU.S. Postal-Berry Floor troops to a stunning victory in Wednesday’s teamtime trial. It was a win that knocked the stuffing out of several of hisopponents, while many others took heart from their own teams’ performanceas they look ahead to the Alps.Though his Colombian teammate Victor Hugo Peña is in the yellowjersey (by one tick of the clock), Armstrong is leader of the virtual

Petacchi completes hat trick in steamy stage

You know when the Tour de France is really hitting its straps when animals begin to take a larger focus in day-to-day life during the three-week 3427km race. Maybe what made me think of animals were the aromas emanating from the floor of the stage 5 press room here in Nevers -- an exhibition hall that holds agricultural shows judging by the stench of cattle pee. If not, one thing is as sure as the sun setting over Nevers after a day that saw temperatures reach 31 Celsius (88 Fahrenheit): this 1000-strong band of centenary Tour media hacks need a wash. But think of it. Look back at every

Despite the horsepower, this one didn't last. (L-R): Vinokourov; Hinault and Bettini

While Allesandro Petacchi is proving he is the dominant sprinter of the 2003 Tour de France, the sprinters’ days are numbered as the race approaches the mountains. Petacchi seems to suffer more than Erik Zabel or Robbie McEwen in big mountains, and the green jersey competition is still most likely to come down to a contest between the Australian and the German. Even Fridays sixth stage will be a struggle for the Italian, as the two Category 3 climbs near the end of the stage may take the snap out of his legs. Stage 6 may not even come down to a sprint. The course is the hilliest of any stage

1 point ahead of Petacchi

The learning curve that is the Tour de France steepens dramatically after tomorrow’s seventh stage - literally and metaphorically – when we hit the mountains of the Alps. A lot of people have been asking how I hope to go. I can see why there are some expectations after I defended my lead at the Route du Sud in the last Pyreneen stage. To be honest, how I hope to go and how I actually do go could be two completely different things. All I have been told after talking to the likes of teammate Richard Virenque is that racing in the long and twisting mountain roads of the Tour is a totally

Champagne breakfast in the village

Hi, Bob, I had a strange thing happen to me the other day. I rode my cruiser bike to a hardware store near my home and locked it to the rack in front of the store. When I returned from shopping inside the store, my cruiser bike was gone. I had used a very thick cable and lock, and there was no sign of the cable or lock, so I pulled on the rack and it lifted off the sidewalk. It would have been simple to slide the cable off the rack and walk away with the bike. My question is whether the store is responsible for the theft of my bike, as they should have secured the rack in a permanent way.

The Cutters are back with a new shark!

Three's a charm

Postal in yellow, and the US and Texas flags are back

Clinger takes first stage at Cascade, but Danielson could be man to beat

Sorry for the delay in getting this update out. The last 72 hours have been quite a roller coaster ride. Not surprisingly, there have been some mixed reports about my health and status in this year's Tour de France, so with a couple of minutes of down time, I'll try to get my version of all that's transpired typed out. I've probably talked a thousand times about how hard it is to get ready for a Tour de France. It's not something you do in a week, or add to your annual list of objectives at the last minute. It really takes the better part of a year to get yourself to the point where you can

Saturn in pursuit

Last year, former Tour de France stage winner Sean Yates was trimming hedges while the world's greatest cycling race took place. This year, though, Yates, who was Lance Armstrong's team captain back when the four-time Tour winner was still learning the ropes in European cycling, is back on his favorite turf after coming through some hard times. Life after cycling is not as easy as in other, wealthier sports, and Yates, winner of an individual time trial on the Tour in 1988, was forced to return to his first job as a gardener after finding himself jobless and broke "After I stopped my

Pate, O'Neil and Stierwalt

Work place environments for reporters vary from extreme to extreme on the Tour de France: and so many times you are left amazed that the task is actually done properly. A case in point was last night in the town of St. Dizier after stage 3. We were in search of a place to eat at 11pm – and, in my case, a land line telephone to be interviewed for the “Today” television show back home in Australia. We found a pizzeria still open, but as often happens at late hours, we were told once again that the kitchen was closed. We were successful in convincing the patron to make us three pizzas, then I

Dear VeloNews;I noticed that the positions for most of the USPS riders in the teamtime trial were rather "upright" (shoulders high, sitting on the back ofthe saddle) as compared to the other teams. In particular, the position that Bianchi used seemed to be the exact opposite of USPS, being more along the lines of the traditional time trial position (flat back, sitting on the nose of the saddle, shoulders down) - even the aero bars seems to be pointed downward.  Was this my imagination or does USPS indeed have a different approach to the TT position?Bob Answer from USPS aero' advisor John

Chateau Jardin (where the Nike - Trek press conference was)

The Postal compound

Colombia's first yellow jersey

The new fizik saddle

Team Victory: All nine Posties finished together

Simoni's bike, head tube

ONCE bettered all but one

and handlebars

Lance's road bike, front wheel...

and whole bike

Lance Armstrong gathered his fellow U.S. Postal Service teammates inside the team's bus in Joinville before the start of Wednesday's team time trial to discuss the day's matters. Second place wouldn't be good enough for the four-time defending champion. Armstrong wanted one of the few podiums that have eluded him in his four-year Tour dominance. "Every year we get second or third, it's not a good feeling. I don't want to sit at the dinner table tonight and look at each other and be disappointed," Armstrong said, as he was mobbed by journalists at the finish line. "I said, 'Let's just do

Team CSC

Stage Results1. U.S. Postal 1:18:272. ONCE-Eroski 1:18:57, at 0:303. Team Bianchi 1:19:10, at 0:434. Ibanesto.Com 1:19:32, at 1:055. Quick Step-Davitamon 1:19:50, at 1:236. Team Telekom 1:19:57, at 1:307. Caldirola-So.Di 1:19:59, at 1:328. Credit Agricole 1:19:59, at 1:329. Ag2r Prevoyance 1:20:05, at 1:3810. CSC 1:20:12, at 1:4511. Gerolsteiner 1:20:16, at 1:4912. Fassa Bortolo 1:20:20, at 1:5313. Alessio 1:20:32, at 2:05.14. Cofidis 1:20:33, at 2:06.15. Brioches La Boulangere 1:20:57, at 2:30.16. Rabobank 01:21:08, at 2:41.17. Saeco-Macchine Per Caffe 1:21:29, at 3:02.18. Euskaltel-Euskadi

the new nike time trial skin suit

The team time trial always causes a major reshuffling of the overall standings at the Tour de France. This year the U.S. Postal Service was the strongest team on the stage and we now have a better look at who the real contenders for the yellow jersey are going to be. Lance Armstrong likes the team time trial and sees it as an effective way to show everyone the USPS team’s collective strength. George Hincapie is a very happy man tonight because he has wanted to win the Tour team time trial ever since it was reintroduced to the race in 2000. He is well suited to the event and was a member of

Preparation, motivation, execution. Those were the three qualities that set apart the U.S. Postal-Berry Floor team at Wednesday’s team time trial. By beating the ONCE-Eroski team of Joseba Beloki by 30 seconds, and the Bianchi squad of Jan Ullrich by 43 seconds, Postal put Victor Hugo Peña in the yellow jersey and Lance Armstrong in the driving seat of this centennial Tour only two stages away from the Alps. The preparation for the stage was something begun by the team’s Belgian directeurs sportifs Johan Bruyneel and Dirk Demol, who first came to look at the Joinville-St. Dizier course two

Wherry and Danielson lead the winning break

It is 8.52 p.m. It is now more than three hours after stage 3 of the Tour de France has been raced, fought out and finally won by Italian Alessandro Petacchi. The pressroom at Saint Dizier – a cavernous sports hall - still has 27 members of the 1000-strong print media furiously typing away. Our pledge to try and not be the last to finish (and, inevitably, be the ones who are later told at the nearest restaurant that “zee keetchun is closed”) is reaching a crisis point. With officials holding to their promise to close the pressroom at 10 p.m., the media around me are either working slower

From the Chaos...

Da Cruz (L), Etxebarria (C), Hary (R)