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Talk about having rules to match the occasion. The Tour de France (dis)organization race jury have excelled themselves this time. A look at the green points jersey classification after stage 13 fromLavelanet to Beziers was a case in point. First glance shows Australian Robbie McEwen (Lotto) having taken the green jersey back from Erik Zabel (Telekom) after outsprinting the German for second place in the bunch sprint. McEwen's 13th place on the stage (offering 13 points) against Zabel's 14th (offering 12) now leaves them tied on 229 points and with the battle destined to go down to the

A parade float along today's route

Allez Jaja

Allez Levi

Today's podium girls are bound to generate a letter or two!

Patrice Halgand brought national price with the first French stage win of this Tour. He also lent credibility to the decision of race director Jean Marie LeBlanc of allowing his Jean DelaTour team into the race at the expense of Saeco (or COAST). Halgand, rather than riding a Cyfac as his team did last year, rode a polished aluminum Scott USA frame built up with Shimano Dura-Ace 9-seed parts, including Dura-Ace SPD-R pedals. Another USA connection was the use of Ritchey parts on his bike – the stem, bar and seatpost. This marked the first Tour stage win for either Ritchey or Scott USA.

Lance's other wheel

Another heartbreaker -- Jalabert is caught and passed on the climb to Plateau de Beille

The ONCE wheel stock

Armstrong wins his 14th Tour stage

Tour Tech - Stage 10 - Great Scott!

Dufaux, Jalabert and Nozal on the Col de la Core

Rubiera sets the pace on the road to Plateau de Beille

Jalabert is caught in the final kilometers again.

Armstrong was suddenly on his own.

Tour fans are everywhere.

5:00 p.m. Heras attacks and takes second, 1:03 behind Armstrong. Beloki takes third at 1:05. 4:58 p.m. Armstrong wins it. 4:57 p.m. With kilometer to go, Armstrong has about 1:00 on Beloki and Heras. 4:56 p.m. Any questions? Armstrong has a lock on the stage, his 14th stage win at the Tour. 4:55 p.m. With 2km to go, Armstrong continues to power through to the finish. He has 32 seconds on Beloki and Heras. 4:51 p.m. With 3km to go, Heras has given up the chase and will shadow Beloki to the finish. Heras just could not close the gap to Armstrong, so the Postal leader will power into the

Who says the French resent an American winning their Tour?

They are a fickle lot, the French, when it comes to choosing their favorite rider in the Tour de France. They tried with Richard Virenque. But he was busted. For his involvement in the Festina drugs affair, that is. They placed faith in Christophe Moreau. But he broke it. Along with his self-confidence in a crash-filled first and second week. Thank God, they must be saying, there is still Laurent Jalabert. Always has, they'll say. Too bad though, always will, they can't say. For Jaja will retire at the end of the year. Of all the French stars who have raised and ripped apart French hearts

The peloton on the Col de Mente

I'm no longer a rider in the Tour de France, and so I suppose this is no longer a race diary. I'm sitting in a hotel, waiting to go back to my lonely apartment in Spain – maybe not at my happiest, but ready to reflect on what just happened and what is to be. I decided before the Tour this year that whether I finished or not, it would be the last time I rode the race. So, now is the moment to share that with all of you. Indeed, it is the greatest cycling event in the world, and to have been at the top level, but still unable to finish, is disappointing. But it is what it is, and some things

Rabobank fan

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.

It's just a short trip back down the hill to the team hotel.

For two days straight, Laurent Jalabert almost pulled off fine stagewins, and Lance Armstrong did so. Both men – and much of the competition– were riding on superlight all-carbon and Kevlar wheels. The reason, of course, for riding these wheels in a mountainous stageis that the wheels are very light and stiff. The reason for not riding themis that neither man's primary wheel sponsor actually makes them. For the record, Armstrong’s wheel sponsor is Bontrager, and Jalabert’s is Shimano. But when the course profiles began to indicat things like "Cat. 2." "Cat.I" and "HC," Jalabert opted

Floyd Landis in his first Tour

After finishing their punishing climb to the Plateau de Beille summit Friday evening, most of the 166 survivors in the Tour de France had to turn around and ride back down to their team buses, awaiting them in the valley. The only two who took alternative transport were the two most popular media interviewees Laurent Jalabert (who hitched a ride on a police motorcycle) and Lance Armstrong (who was seen heading for a helicopter). As for the press, we were still filing stories at 10 p.m., and crawled down the 16 kilometers of steep switchbacks in a slow-moving line of traffic. It’s now almost

Look at the wheels in this picture

You know that feeling you get on a hot summer afternoon, when there’s as much heat coming off the road as from the sun? When the only breeze you get is the hot exhaust from cars? When it seems like sweating is a fruitless endeavor because it doesn’t feel like it’s cooling you down at all? That’s what it’s like to climb mountains in the Pyrénées. The only benefit to racing counter-clockwise around France is that you get the Pyrénées over with sooner. These mountains drain the energy out of riders, and today’s stage covered five of them. Recovery is going to be critical tonight for anyone

Lance's Wheel

The three-year doping ban handed out to Spanish cyclist Txema Del Olma, after he tested postive for EPO in last year's Tour de France, has been upheld. The verdict, handed down by the Court for Arbitration of Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Thursday, upheld an appeal lodged by the International Cycling Union against the Spanish cycling federation, who cleared the rider last December. The Spanish authorities claimed the original test carried out by a Paris laboratory was illegal. Del Olmo, who rode for Basque outfit Euskaltel, was the only rider excluded from the 2001 Tour after

'Mmmm... I wonder what happened at the Tour de France yesterday.'

Thursday stage in the Pyrénées went over some pretty bighills, including the Col d’Aubisque, this year’s first hors-categorieclimb (that translates to "above-category" in English). It’s a climb thatbegins in a beautiful green valley and soon climbs up the mountainsideto the east, past a line of giant pine trees, including what looked likeone or two redwoods. The Aubisque then slaloms its way up a V-shaped side valley, makes asharp turn at the ski resort of Gourette before heading above the treeline on a narrow road that commands wide views of some of the rockiestpeaks in this part of France.

Frankie Andreu - Man on the scene

I had hoped today was going to be an opportunity for our team to finally show its true strength. Personally, I had goals of doing something special, but none of it was meant to be. I didn't have the extra, little bit of snap you need to be at the front at the finish. By the end of today's stage I had lost about 3 minutes. Luckily I was able to hang in and limit my losses. But my disappointment was nothing in the grand scheme of things. On a competitive note, it was tough to see Laurent come so close to winning another stage. If only the race had ended, say, five kilometers before it did.

Coach

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.

The first sign of the Pyrénées

On Thursday afternoon, a U.S. Postal rider charged up the switchbacks toward a stark Pyrenean peak during stage 11 of the Tour de France. The mountain air on the Cat. 1 climb to La Mongie was cooler than it had been in the approaching valley, and the white clouds that closed in on the barren peaks seemed close enough to touch. Down in the trenches, however, on the cracked and painted pavement, it was hot as hell. The rider was George Hincapie, and the setting was a world away from that other place where Hincapie thrives: the cold, dreary and mostly cobbled world of the spring classics. Both

The road to the Aubisque

Economy of energy has been among the main topics of conversation between Lance and me over the past few months. We want to make sure Lance uses his maximum power at times when he has the most to gain from his effort. It is wasteful to expend extreme amounts of energy in situations where he might gain only a few seconds as a result. The final climb of Stage 11 was hard, but not terribly steep. Roberto Heras’s blistering pace shattered the race within seconds of his arrival at the front of the lead group. Nearly ten of the world’s best climbers were dropped in the first 500 meters of his

The climber's jersey changed ... uhhh .. hands today.

Life on the Tour de France was looking pretty grim for the little known French rider Christophe Oriol as he slowly rolled out with the bunch for today's first mountain stage in the Pyrénées. He had every right to feel a little down. Four crashes in the first week. A seriously bashed right hand, bruised and cut legs. And plenty of time off the back. Plenty. “I hurt my hand, legs and coccyx. Then I had a lot of trouble just following the pack. I simply haven't had any force,” explained Oriol with a smile of disbelief. Little wonder. So much time did he lose, that by today's 12th stage from

That last grind to the finish

Beloki couldn't respond when Armstrong went for the line.

On the road to La Mongie. You think these guys were treated to a show today?

Armstrong gets the jersey back.

The coach

Jalabert tried another heroic solo -- and was again caught near the line.

A moment of silence before the start

On the approach to the final climb.

Preliminary Stage Results1. Lance Armstrong (USA), USP, at , 158 km in 4:21:57. (36.190 km)2. Joseba Beloki (Sp), ONE, at ˆ 00:07.3. Roberto Heras (Sp), USP, at 00:13.4. Francisco Mancebo (Sp), BAN, at 01:16.5. Raimondas Rumsas (Lit), LAM, at 01:16.6. Oscar Sevilla (Sp), KEL, at 01:23.7. Ivan Basso (Ita), FAS, at 01:23.8. Andrei Kivilev (Kzk), COF, at 01:34.9. Laurent Jalabert (Fra), CST, at 01:49.10. Jose Azevedo (Por), ONE, at 01:52.11. Igor Gonzalez Galdeano (Sp), ONE, at 01:54.12. Christophe Moreau (Fra), C.A, at 01:57.13. Massimiliano Lelli (Ita), COF, at 01:57.14. David Moncoutie (Fra),

Survivors -- It all came down to these three and Heras set the pace.

On Thursday, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced in a brief release that Navigators rider Kirk O’Bee tested positive for an elevated testosterone-epitestosterone (T-E) ratio at last year’s USPRO Championship in Philadelphia, and will be suspended for one year, the maximum suspension in accordance with UCI rules. The suspension comes after a long process of follow-up testing, standard procedure in a T-E case, in which it is difficult to prove that the elevated levels did not occur naturally in the athlete. When contacted by VeloNews, Navigators team director said he believed O’Bee’s

The first day in the mountains, on the 11th stage of this year's Tour de France, exacted an early toll on the peloton. Danish champion Michael Sandstod of the CSC team was one of three riders forced to abandon after he came off his bike while descending the Col du Soulor, an unclassified category climb after tge Col d’ Aubisque. Sandstod was immediately taken to a hospital and is suffering from multiple injuries including fractured ribs and a suspected fractured collarbone. Jonathan Vaughters, the American who rides with the Credit Agricole team, also fell on the descent of the Aubisque

Reader Feedback? -- Wouldn't you prefer to send a letter to the editor?

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) on Thursday hit back at claims by a leading doctor of the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) regarding the so-called "positive" doping test of former Tour de France race leader Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano. ONCE rider Gonzalez de Galdeano was not punished for failing a drugs test, Salbutamol by race organizers or the UCI when the news was announced on Wednesday. Dr. Alain Garnier, who heads WADA's Lausanne bureau, subsequently told AFP the rider's regular use of asthma medicine should not normally return as high a reading as was reported - thus implying the

The road to La Mongie

ONCE put in most of the chase effort.

McEwen

Armstrong looking forward to the moutains.

'The Russian Concussion'

5:10 p.m. McEwen wins the field sprint and takes over the green points jersey, beating Baden Cooke and Erik Zabel to the line. 5:05 p.m. Halgand wins! Pineau takes the sprint for second! 5:04 p.m. With 1km to go, Halgand is still flying. He's got the stage win. 5:03 p.m. With 2km to go, Halgand has it in the bag. He's got a 20-second advantage over the three chasers. 4:59 p.m. Race radio gives the Jean Delatour rider an advantage of 12 seconds over the three chasers, with 4km to go. 4:55 p.m. Halgand is still out there with a 100-meter advantage with 5km to go. He could be the first

Hilton Clarke

Overall Tour de France leader Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano will not be punished for failing a drugs test. it was announced in Pau Wednesday by leading cycling administrator Daniel Baal. However, Dr Alain Garnier, who heads the Lausanne bureau of the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA), told the French wire service AFP that the rider's regular use of asthma medicine should not normally return as high a reading as was reported. Gonzalez de Galdeano, who has been in the yellow jersey since last Thursday, gave a reading of 1360 nanograms of Salbutamol per milliliter of urine following the sixth stage.

Andy Crater

Overall Tour de France leader Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano will not be punished for failing a drugs test. it was announced in Pau Wednesday by leading cycling administrator Daniel Baal. However, Dr Alain Garnier, who heads the Lausanne bureau of the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA), told the French wire service AFP that the rider's regular use of asthma medicine should not normally return as high a reading as was reported. Gonzalez de Galdeano, who has been in the yellow jersey since last Thursday, gave a reading of 1360 nanograms of Salbutamol per milliliter of urine following the sixth

Leipheimer: “It’s a long race”

A seven-year-old boy died Wednesday after being hit by a vehicle that was part of the advertising caravan of the Tour de France, emergency workers said. The accident took place 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) into the Tour's 10th stage, a 147-kilometer ride from Bazas to Pau, at the foot of the Pyrenees mountains in southwestern France. The boy, who was a native of the region, was trying to cross the road in Le Poteau, near the town of Retjons, when the accident occurred. His grandmother was waiting on the other side. Preliminary investigations indicated that the boy had run away from his

We don't understand the significance of the whale, but they're around at the Tour this year.

The fifth man. In any Tour de France car he is welcome. So long as he pays his bills and in doing so makes our share a little less. So long as he offers to buys the first drinks at night when we reach our hotel. So long as he is grateful for our company. And grateful too for being rather useful. At times. But he is definitely not welcome when he can't find a car to go with the next day. When he leaves everyone else cramped with knees up to their chins and elbows tucked to their sides like not-so-little chickens in a coop. Not every car has a fifth man, though. Wise choice. I reckon on days

The starting village in Bazas

With half of his first Tour de France in the rearview mirror, Rabobank team leader Levi Leipheimer says bring on the mountain stages. After an uneventful Stage 10 ride on Wednesday that saw him finish with the main group, 3:57 behind solo winner Patrice Halgand (Jean Delatour), Leipheimer talked about the first real mountain test on Thursday — as well as what he thinks might be an even more interesting day in the Pyrénées on Friday. “I think of all the mountain stages, it’s probably the least critical,” Leipheimer said of Thursday’s stage 11, which finishes with a Category 1 climb atop La

The Global Market- German hat, French kids and American mouse.

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.

His brother may be leading, but Aitor Gonzalez de Galdeano has had enough.

Okay, I made my original predictions about the Tour de France way back in the beginning of May. Some of them are coming true and some aren't. Which is about the same thing my broker is telling me right now. Anyhow… I figured that midway into the Tour would be a good time to let the world know of my revised thoughts on the 2002 Tour. First off, Lance Armstrong is still going to win the Tour de France. Yeah, yeah, I know, he lost the first time trial, and honestly I think he is getting a little slower in TT's. I think he feels that way too. I know because when I spoke to him in the