News

Vino' cranks out the winning ride

Kloden put in a stellar ride today

Kashechkin’s first generation BMC Time Machine.

Spectators perched high above Daban mountain.

Leipheimer wasn't quite up to snuff

BMC’s custom time-trial crank.

Rubiera and Ludewig lead the race.

What do moto drivers do in the rain? Catch up on their sleep

Kashechkin’s second generation BMC Time Machine.

COURSE: Following right after the time trial, this is the first of three demanding stages in the Pyrénées. It opens with an immediate 9km climb over the Black Mountains, but the first real obstacle is three hours down the road: the hors-catégorie Port de Pailhères climb (17km at 7.2 percent). Then, following a tumbling descent to Ax-les-Thermes, the riders race 16km down the Ariège valley before reaching the fi nishing climb to Plateau de Beille (16km at almost 8 percent). HISTORY: The only men to win Tour stages atop the Plateau de Beille have been Lance Armstrong (in 2002 and 2004) and

Chechu Rubiera takes out Stage 8.

Bet these guys have seen a few Tours

A good look at the new carbon fiber finish.

The Tour is one big moving circus. The smallest portion of the whole thing is the peloton; 180-or-so guys on bikes. Even when you add all of the staff and gear from the teams themselves that still only makes up only 10 percent of the Tour caravan. Add in journalists, police, publicity caravan, the dudes who put up the barriers... and you easily bump that to more than 5000 people who cover the Tour from start to finish. Some are more visible than others and some are taken for granted. Like the guys who put up the signs for race? When do they do that? Or the guy who paints the finish line

China's Haijun Ma became the new best Asian rider.

Rain, schmain: Vive le Tour! Allez, allez, allez!

The new seatpost.

The yellow jersey should take on a significantly more sporting hue on Sunday when the Tour de France peloton tackles the first of three stages in the feared Pyrénées mountains. Denmark's Michael Rasmussen has worn the race's fabled yellow jersey since his stage victory at Tignes in the French Alps last Sunday, but in recent days the Rabobank climber has been subject of doping suspicions. Following three days in the Alps, the race's 14th stage will herald the second segment of climbing in this year's race, and Sunday's 197km race from Mazamet to Plateau de Beille

Victory a virtual certainty for Gabriele Massaglia.

Is this a long race or what? I'm pooped

Another look at the new seatpost.

Results - Stage 13 (Albi - Albi)1. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kz), ASTANA, 1:06:342. Cadel Evans (Aus), PREDICTOR - LOTTO, 1:143. Andréas KlÖden (G), ASTANA, 1:394. Andrey Kashechkin (Kz), ASTANA, 1:445. Bradley Wiggins (GB), COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE, 2:146. Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr), DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM, 2:167. Alberto Contador (Sp), DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM, 2:188. Sylvain Chavanel (F), COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE, 2:389. Levi Leipheimer (USA), DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM, 2:3910. Mikel Astarloza (Sp), EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI, 2:42 11. Michael Rasmussen (Dk), RABOBANK, 2:5512. Vladimir Gusev (Rus),

Evans giving it the gas for second

Vino' ripping it up

Campagnolo’s time-trial shifter.

Tour de France chief Christian Prudhomme said Saturday that organizers could have refused to allow Michael Rasmussen to compete in this year's race if they had known that he had missed several random doping tests in the past two years. The Danish Rabobank rider is leading the world's most prestigious cycling race. But it emerged this week that the Danish Cycling Union (DCU) decided in June not to select Rasmussen for September's world cycling championships and the Olympic Games in 2008 because he missed out-of-competition tests. Rasmussen has had several warnings from the UCI

Klöden takes third

Graham Watson checks to see if the rain has buggered his camera

Vino’s special Selle Italia saddle.

Weather: Rainy and cool in morning, early afternoon, highs in 60s; rain easing off in afternoon, 10kph northerly winds. Stage winner: Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) - who nearly abandoned after crashing hard on both knees in stage 5 - won in a remarkable display at 1:14 ahead of an equally impressive Cadel Evans (Predictor-Lotto). The victory was Vino’s fourth career Tour stage victory and his first Tour time trial. “For me, the Tour begins today,” he said. Race leader: Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank) retained the yellow jersey after what he described as the best time trial of his life. The

Rasmussen tries to catch his breath after riding the ITT of his life

Vino' roars back to life

Astana’s Alexander Vinokourov continued an impressive comeback from injury, winning the 13th stage of the Tour de France to re-launch his yellow jersey hopes Saturday. Vinokourov, still nursing injured knees from his fall in the fifth stage, moved up to ninth overall at 5:10 behind leader Michael Rasmussen after claiming his fourth stage win and first ever time trial win on the Tour. Given his relative weakness in the race against the clock, Rabobank team leader Rasmussen was expected to relinquish the yellow jersey which he has worn since winning the second Alpine stage to Tignes last

Cancellara gets a close going over by TV shortly before crashing

Rasmussen turns in a strong defense of his yellow jersey

The first long individual time trial of the 2007 Tour de France, as always, provided a few surprises — not least of which was Michael Rasmussen's strong defense of his yellow jersey. Casey Gibson was on hand to capture all the action.

Contador blazing back to Albi

Wiggins set the early mark to beat

Rasmussen took over the jersey on Sunday.

All together now (all together now)

Ongarato hit the deck

If you are going to have a press conference about the yellow jersey, you need a bigger tent

Verdugo and Fedrigo off the front

Bob Stapleton talks to VeloNews European correspondent Andy Hood about the German TV network

COURSE: Similar to the first long time trial of 2003, when Lance Armstrong suffered from dehydration at Cap’Découverte, this long, hilly time trial on the edge of the Massif Central is likely to be contested in burning heat. The course leaves Albi to the east on long, straight roads that climb gradually to the first time check at Villefranche d’Albigeois (18km). There it follows a sharp descent to the town of Ambialet (29km), where the riders turn left along the Tarn River valley before tackling the main climb (560 vertical feet in 3km) to the second time split on the Côte de la Bauzié

Liquigas chasing

Oh, yeah, the bike race — these guys got caught

Results - Stage 12 (Montpellier - Castres)1. Tom Boonen (B), QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC, 4:25:322. Erik Zabel (G), TEAM MILRAM, s.t.3. Robert Hunter (RSA), BARLOWORLD, s.t.4. Daniele Bennati (I), LAMPRE-FONDITAL, s.t.5. Thor Hushovd (N), CREDIT AGRICOLE, s.t.6. Bernhard Eisel (A), T-MOBILE TEAM, s.t.7. Chavanel Sébastien (F), FRANCAISE DES JEUX, s.t.8. Nicolas Jalabert (F), AGRITUBEL, s.t.9. FÖrster Robert (G), GEROLSTEINER, s.t.10. Andrey Kashechkin (Kz), ASTANA, s.t. 11. Freddy Bichot (F), AGRITUBEL, s.t.12. Martin Elmiger (Swi), AG2R PREVOYANCE, s.t.13. Cristian Moreni (I), COFIDIS CREDIT

Boonen gets it

Crunch time: A preview of the Albi time trial

A former amateur mountain-bike racer alleged Thursday that Tour de France yellow-jersey holder Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank) attempted to trick him into carrying illegal doping products to Europe in 2002. Whitney Richards, 38, a one-time Colorado-based cross-country racer, told VeloNews that in March of 2002, Rasmussen asked him to transport a box containing cycling shoes. But the shoebox, according to Richards, actually contained bags of an American-made human blood substitute. None of the information Richards provided VeloNews involves allegations of current doping. Asked by VeloNews

Rasmussen stays in yellow

Crunch time: A preview of the Albi time trial

Everyone loves a parade — so Casey Gibson obliged us with a few snaps of the wacky Tour caravan today. Enjoy

A horny fan

No. 3 for Mary McConneloug

Weather: Sunny but cooler in morning, brewing clouds and cooler temperatures at finish, highs in the low 70s, brisk headwinds. Stage winner: Tom Boonen (QuickStep-Innergetic) won after a textbook perfect lead-out from his train ahead of Erik Zabel (Milram) and Robbie Hunter (Barloworld). A two-man breakaway was caught with just over 1km to go to set up the sprint in the final sprint-friendly stage until next Thursday. Race leader: Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank) retained the yellow jersey after finishing 47th with the front pack. There were no major changes in the GC as the peloton seemed

Popovych, Hincapie and Gusev working it

Sometimes walking is just faster

If having a good night’s sleep is key to doing well in Saturday’s stage 13 time trial of the Tour de France, then the advantage is with the Discovery Channel riders Alberto Contador and Levi Leipheimer over the other yellow-jersey contenders. The Disco boys are lodged this weekend at a country hotel in the foothills of the Black Mountains about 45 minutes south of the Albi TT start, while their rivals are staying at chain hotels with small bedrooms or in plusher digs in the busy center of Albi. The ones staying at the budget hotels are race leader Michael Rasmussen of Rabobank and Astana’s

The small road is the rabbit's-warren path where we had to park, and drive through to reach the course

After a rough and tumble first half of the Tour de France, Astana is hoping things will go their way in Saturday’s decisive time trial. Team captains Andréas Klöden and Alexander Vinokourov were battered and bruised and nearly abandoned the Tour, but the team is hoping the pair will be able to finally shake off the effects of a nasty crash in stage 5 to assume what everyone thought would be their position atop the Tour peloton. “We had a crisis physically. We never gave up,” Astana manager Marc Biver told VeloNews. “We never had tensions or a bad mood on the team. We always had a good

Montepellier, with caravan

Stage 13 - Albi, Individual time trial (54km)

That's what we call some big news

Stage 13 - Albi, Individual time trial (54km)

Bonjour from Caisse d'Epargne

Boonen blasts across the line

We have no idea what's going on here, but we paid for it and by gum we're gonna use it

SK Whirlpool's Martin Mares comes home a winner in Menyuan

A desperate Disco fan

Congrats to race leader Gabriele Massaglia

No word on how one of former Attorney General John Ashcroft's people got into the plaza to drape the statues

The early break of 16 hit the lower slopes of Daban mountain

The stage in front of the Montpellier Opera House

Hunter takes the win for South Africa and Barloworld

Barloworld relies on an aluminum FSA cockpit; Hunter uses an OS-115 stem and RD-200 bar.

George says hello at the sign in

COURSE: This stage is similar to the one from Narbonne to Toulouse in 2003 that went to the Spanish racer Juan AntonioFlecha, who made a late attack from a breakaway group. Look for a repeat on this similar course that heads through the hills on the southern edge of the Massif Central. The Cat. 2 Montée de la Jeante climbs to over 3000 feet and is followed by 40km of winding back roads before the fast 8km run-in to Castres. HISTORY: Just one Tour stage has finished at Castres, in 1991, when Italian Bruno Cenghialta won stage 14 from St. Gaudens out of a seven-man break that fi nished a

Despite the rain, large crowds were a constant throughout the 208km route.