News

The Rabobank boys remind Levi of his past duties.

McEwen broke the Zabel streak.

Levi fans in Paris.

Having a good team helps.

Lance's final podium

These two jerseys were pretty much settled by the time the peloton arrived in Paris. The green jersey contest came down to the wire again.

Andrew Miller (Trek-VW-Landis) leads Jonathan Vaughters (Crédit Agricole), Chris Baldwin (Navigators), Scott Moninger (Mercury) and Mike Creed (Prime Alliance) up the road to Mount Evans.

Telekom was overwhelmed at the finish.

5:24 p.m. Armstrong finishes with a time of 1:03:50.... more than two minutes better than Beloki, averaging 47kph. Whoa... 5:23 p.m. Beloki finishes with a time of 1:06:01 Beloki hangs on to second overall by a full minute. Armstrong is up next. 5:20 p.m. Rumsas is the new best finishing time of the day, with 1:04:43. Beloki looks like he may barely hang on to second overall. 5:18 p.m. Armstrong crosses the 44km time check with a time 34 seconds better than Rumsas. 5:17 p.m. Beloki has hit the 3rd time check, 1:22 off of Rumsas's time. Meanwhile, Botero is done and has the sixth

Bravo Jaja

Deutsche Telekom’s 1997 Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich, recently suspended for six months after testing positive for amphetamines, has been told by his team he will go without pay until further notice. Olaf Ludwig, the team spokesman, said: "For the moment we're not paying Ullrich. The last time he was paid was in June. The Telekom company decided after speaking to (team manager) Walter Godefroot. "There will be further discussions when Jan returns from his ban," added Ludwig following the race's 18th stage. The 28-year-old Ullrich has a contract with the German team through

... and Vive le Tour

Italian cyclist Gilberto Simoni has been given the green light to start competing again after being cleared of doping offences, cycling officials in Rome said Saturday. Simoni twice tested positive for cocaine earlier this year and was hit with a suspension while an Italian Cycling Federation disciplinary commission investigated the case. The Saeco rider and 2001 Tour of Italy winner claimed that the first positive test on April 24 was the result of an injection given by his dentist. The second test on May 21 apparently arose after Simoni consumed cough sweets for a sore throat. The

You can never be too aero' for an afternoon walk.

One prize. Two men. Three sprints. That should be the story of the finalstage of the 2002 Tour de France.The prize is the green jersey for winning the prestigious points competition.The men are six-time defending sprint champion Erik Zabel and his Australianchallenger Robbie McEwen. And the sprints that will settle things are twointermediate ones and the final showdown on the Champs-Elysées.In recent years, the last stage has had a familiar pattern: an openinghour when the riders let their hair down, and the winners of the yellow,green and polka-dot jerseys ride alongside each other for photo

Waiting to present the best young rider award.

Paris in July is a hot and wondrous city. After weeks of traveling with the three-ring circus that is the Tour de France, through little towns and villages all over France, arriving in Paris is a definite culture shock. When you’re this close to the Tour, you sometimes forget that other people are simply not interested. The Tour is a major event in Paris, but the city doesn’t shut down completely for it. There are even people here who don’t know the Tour is coming tomorrow. That’s fine, and at this point it is even a bit refreshing. I have had little chance to think or talk about anything

Waiting to present the points jersey.

VeloNews photographer Casey Gibson is at the Tour de France and is taking time to shoot not just the race, but also the scenes along the road and the activity just outside of the peloton.

SAECO-TEAM PRESS RELEASE - Rome - July 27, 2002After being absolved today, Gilberto Simoniwill start racing again on Sunday in HamburgThe favourable ending to the case involving Gilberto Simoni, with theannouncement today by the Italian Disciplinary Commission of the ItalianCycling Federation of his complete absolution, has finally ended an extremelydifficult and delicate moment for the whole Saeco-Longoni Sport team eventhough they always tried to face things in a rational and balanced manner.It’s pleasing to see how the decision of the disciplinary organ of theItalian Cycling Federation ,

Armstrong hopes to avoid another second-place time trial finish

Clearly in Charge: Armstrong dominated the closing kilometers.

Rumsas may have missed second overall because of a loose screw.

Armstrong's taste in summer clothing usually includes yellow.

'Hard, damn hard.' Millar is now aiming for the Vuelta.

Leipheimer had a great first Tour.

Hamilton's Tour performance comes on the heels of a podium spot in the Giro.

Bougelais Grapes - what folks in this part of France are usually concerned about..

When Lance Armstrong was asked about his defeat in the stage 9 timetrial at this year’s Tour, he said Thursday night, “The time trial wasnot a good day … I don’t know why. I didn’t feel great.” Armstrong was beaten in that 52km time trial at Lorient on July 15 by11 seconds by Colombia’s Santiago Botero of Kelme-Costa Blanca —who has since proved one of the men of the race and is now holding fourthplace overall. As for the American, he emerged from the funk he experiencedat Lorient to displace Igor Gonzales de Galdeano from the yellow jerseyby winning two stages in the Pyrenees, and he is now

...but today, it's TT bikes.

What happens to photographers who try to cut the course.

Telekom fans keep track of the race before the peloton arrives.

Preliminary Stage Results1. Thor Hushovd (Nor), C.A, at , 176.5 km in 4:28:28 (39.446kph) 2. Christophe Mengin (Fra), FDJ, at ˆ 00:00. 3. Jakob Piil (Dk), CST, at 00:05. 4. Leon Van Bon (Nl), DFF, at 00:33. 5. Jorg Jaksche (G), ONE, at 00:33. 6. Nicki Sorensen (Dk), CST, at 00:33. 7. Gian Matteo Fagnini (Ita), TEL, at 00:40. 8. Erik Dekker (Nl), RAB, at 00:40. 9. Thierry Loder (Fra), A2R, at 00:40. 10. Nicola Loda (Ita), FAS, at 06:59. 11. Robbie McEwen (Aus), LOT, at 11:42. 12. Erik Zabel (G), TEL, at 11:42. 13. Stuart O'Grady (Aus), C.A, at 11:42. 14. Jan Svorada (Cz), LAM, at 11:42. 15.

Apparently not Lance fans.

Frank Connell, who competed in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics road race, died July 25 in Columbia, SC at age 92, according to his nephew, Harold Bayerl. Connell, a bachelor, had been in declining health. Connell was born in Hoboken, NJ, and grew up in northern New Jersey when outdoor board vélodromes in Newark and other Eastern Seaboard cities drew international competitors. As a member of the Century Road Club of America, he won the New Jersey state Amateur Bicycle League of America (predecessor to the US Cycling Federation) championship at age 15 in 1925 and scored a bronze medal at the

A humble little home on today's route.

Journalism is not a profession or a trade. It is a cheap catch-allfor f---offs and misfits — a false doorway to the backside of life, a filthy,piss-ridden little hole nailed off by the building inspector, but justdeep enough for a wino to curl up from the sidewalk and masturbate likea chimp in a zoo-cage.— Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas It must be a dull Tour. Otherwise I wouldn’t be getting a dozen e-mailsa day about the latest outrage perpetrated upon the cycling public by themainstream media, which as usual are either completely indifferent or activelyhostile to

America has cowboys and when you get near Switzerland, you find cowgirls

With less than a week before racing is set to commence, organizers of the Durango NORBA say that all is set to go for the event despite this summer's scary fire season. "There was a point where things were a little touch and go," said Patti Zink, who along with husband Ed runs the Durango race. "If it came to the point where if we weren't going to have our best face and not be able to do all the events, then we wouldn't want to put our reputation on the line and not come out with flying colors." Most of the uncertainty was caused by the Missionary Ridge fire, which started

Sometimes these early breaks do work.

The Tour de France is a sporting phenomenon when it comes to logistics.It still impresses the veteran followers how its 5000-strong entouragecan complete a three-week journey over cobblestones, down narrow lanes,up and over mountains and on bikes, cars, motorcycles, buses and truckswithout too many mishaps. The Société du Tour de France receives annual praise forits organizational skills. But it is also open to criticism for fallingshort. And fall short is what it has done this year from the start in Luxembourgon July 6 to what I assume will be to the finish in Paris on

Jaksche broke things apart, but didn't make the final split.

VeloNews photographer Casey Gibson is at the Tour de France and is taking time to shoot not just the race, but also the scenes along the road and the activity just outside of the peloton.

Life in the peloton stayed quiet until the finishline approached.

Bike maker Cannondale is offering mountain bike racers the chance to partner with the ultimate ringer — five-time NORBA national champion and two-time Olympian Tinker Juarez — at this fall’s 24 Hours Of Adrenalin in Idyllwild, California. Besides teaming with the Mountain Bike Hall Of Fame member in the race’s two-person class, the winner gets free air fare to California from anywhere in the U.S. or Canada, an overnight stay at Tinker’s house (with an authentic Mexican dinner cooked by his mom), mechanical support, swag, and the use of a full-suspension Cannondale Scalpel for the race. Those

'Go Lance! Go Lance!!!'

It was another heartbreaker for CSC-Tiscali. It would have been great to see Jacob Piil give it a real go there in the final sprint - but yet again, our team was the victim of unfortunate circumstance. On the brighter side of things however, we're lucky Jacob wasn't hurt. Seeing him clip out of his pedals like he did and then recover, was nothing short of incredible. Great bike handling on his part. I'm sure he rode into the finish with shaky hands though. I can't imagine what was going through his head during those final meters. We've had so many close calls in this race, but that's all

Beloki has pretty much stayed in one spot throughout the Tour.

The podium in Benson

'After a healthy diet of MSNBC and Shake 'n Bake, Peaches the cockatoo likes to put the Tribune-Review to its intended use.

Hey, it may not be pretty, but....

Hushovd's long break paid off this time.

'What did Mr. Carney say to that man?'

Former Durango resident Missy Giove will be among the favorites at next week's race.

Our intrepid reporter goes undercover as Leisure Suit Larry

Waiting for the start.

1932 Olympian Connell dies at 92

Not all Lance fans are Americans.

Preliminary stage results1. Dario Frigo (Ita), TAC, 142 km in 4:02:27(35.141 kph)2. Mario Aerts (Bel), LOT, at 00:00.3. Giuseppe Guerini (Ita), TEL, at 00:02.4. David Moncoutié (Fra), COF, at 02:55.5. Thor Hushovd (Nor), C.A, at 02:58.6. Laurent Lefevre (Fra), DEL, at 02:58.7. Unai Osa (Sp), BAN, at 02:58.8. Marcos Serrano (Sp), ONE, at 02:58.9. Jorg Jaksche (All), ONE, at 02:58.10. Carlos Sastre (Sp), CST, at 02:58.11. Santiago Botero (Col), KEL, at 02:58.12. José Enrique Gutierrez (Sp), KEL, at 03:14.13. Laurent Brochard (Fra), DEL, at 04:36.14. Francisco Mancebo (Sp), BAN, at 04:36.15.

... and to award the yellow jersey.

Paris is getting closer and the chance for an opportunist's stage winhas come down to Friday’s stage across the limestone hills of the Jura.That’s because the final two stages are reserved for the specialists —Saturday’s time trial will probably go to race leader Lance Armstrong andSunday’s finale on the Champs-Elysées is the likely showdown betweenRobbie McEwen and Erik Zabel for the green jersey.That means that, like stage 17 through the Alps, we will see a stageof incessant attacks on the hilly roads of Friday’s stage. The attackson stage 17 were so numerous that Armstrong’s Postal

In Charge: Postal has come through the mountains in solid shape.

VeloNews photographer Casey Gibson is at the Tour de France and is taking time to shoot not just the race, but also the scenes along the road and the activity just outside of the peloton.

Dario Frigo gave Italy its first Tour de France stage win since 2000 today by winning the last hard mountain stage of the race. Unlike the majority of the 2002 Tour de France climbing stages, today’s race finished at the bottom of a fast and technical descent. Descending in the Tour de France is nerve-wracking experience. The rider’s drop like stones down the Alps; at times they are descending at nearly 60mph. Physical fitness plays a role in how well a rider can descend these mountains. The more physically fit a rider is, the faster he can get down a mountain. A fatigued athlete makes

Dario Frigo gave Italy its first Tour de France stage win since 2000 today by winning the last hard mountain stage of the race. Unlike the majority of the 2002 Tour de France climbing stages, today’s race finished at the bottom of a fast and technical descent. Descending in the Tour de France is nerve-wracking experience. The rider’s drop like stones down the Alps; at times they are descending at nearly 60mph. Physical fitness plays a role in how well a rider can descend these mountains. The more physically fit a rider is, the faster he can get down a mountain. A fatigued athlete makes

The great escape

See? This is what happens when you Mess With Texas. It's not a pretty sight, is it?

Who said American fans wouldn't blend in at the Tour?

The boutique at the village departe.

The hair parlor at the village departe.

Postal's Dirk Demol

Lance fans at the start

A Lance fan on course. Didn't Graham shoot this guy, too?

Waiting at the finish

Ready to award the stage win...

Jonathan Boyer, the first American to compete in the Tour de France, has been charged with 10 felony counts of child molestation in Monterey County, in California. According to a report in the Salinas Californian,Boyer, who first raced in the Tour in 1981, was arrested in May in Seaside, California, after a 16-year-old girl alleged that the 46-year-old Boyer had molested her for at least a year, beginning five years ago. Boyer posted $300,000 bail in the case and was released. Last week Boyer made his first court appearance in the case, where the presiding judge scheduled a preliminary

After attacking early on, Boogerd heldon to take the stage.

Boogerd struggled to hold off his pursuers over the last few kilometers.