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Lance Armstrong, fresh off his third consecutive Tour de France triumph and beginning a U.S. tour in New York said Thursday he was disappointed by critical comments from past Tour king Greg LeMond. "It was disappointing," Armstrong said. "I want to talk to Greg about it." LeMond told Sports Illustrated and the Sunday Times of London that he was "deeply saddened to hear about Lance's relationship with Dr. Michele Ferrari." Ferrari is awaiting trial in Italy on charges of providing several athletes with performance-enhancing drugs, including EPO, a banned substance that boosts red

Dillie expresses himself on the podium.

Friedman crosses the line with Dillie just behind.

Friedman made no apologizes for his win.

If you are planning on attending the 2001 World Mountain-bike Championships in Vail, Colorado (September 8 –16), you might consider setting aside a little time (and cash) for dinner with the members of the U.S. national team on the evening of Saturday September 15. It's all part of a fund raiser to benefit the Junior Development Cycling Fund. The fund, now a part of the USA Cycling Development Foundation, was established to offer travel and training grants to young riders across the U.S. The Vail dinner with members of the U.S. national team will kick off at 6:00 p.m. at Pepe's in

Creed was the last racer away in the Espoir time trial.

Creed flying to the finish.

Mercury team director John Wordin confirmed Wednesday that the U.S.-based team may be on the brink of a merger with the French division II La Française des Jeux squad for the 2002 season. "LFJ has made an offer," Wordin told VeloNews, "but it's still way too early to comment on how all of this may or may not work out." Wordin traveled to France in the closing week of the Tour de France in an effort to secure a co-sponsor for next year. Wordin said the discussions did produce a formal offer from the team, one of several French Division II squads participating in the Tour. Earlier

PROPOSITION A Submitted by: Mick Hellman, John Kelly, Frankie Andreu, Thomas Doughty, Charles Collins, Kevin Metcalfe, Jerry Malone, Mari Holden, Nancy McCauley, Leonard Nitz, David Mortin, Bonnie Rider-Martin Proposition A (Hellman et al.): In a remarkably short time, the USA Cycling Development Foundation has had a profound impact on USA Cycling and the future of our sport. Foundation funded programs include new junior and U23 development programs, new travel/training grant programs, new directions in coaching development, the new European Resident Training Center, and a soon to be

PROPOSITION BSubmitted by members Les Earnest, Colin Allen, Charles Howe, Brian Lafferty, Bret Wade, Mike Whitman.Proposition B (Earnest et al.):USA Cycling is at a crossroads. It was formed in 1995 with a grossly undemocratic structure in that two-thirdsof the board of directors are elected by special interests that constitute less than 1% of the licensees.Unless a more democratic and decentralized structure is adopted, the recent breaking away of regional racingassociations will likely continue.In 1999, after extensive public discussions of reorganization alternatives via the Internet,

Mercury-Française des Jeux offer 'on the table'

Checking the UCI while they check Lance's bike.

Andy Hood and Rupert Guinness showing us why the Tour is considering its first-ever dress code for reporters next year.

Three Tours, three flags and three hungry derailleurs. It was bound to happen sooner or later.

What would a modern Tour be without Il Diablo, a.k.a. Didi Senft?

Chris Carmichael and a chopless-cleaned-up-for-TV Bobke.

Former Olympic sprinter, Lance's chiropractor, Jeff Spencer who accompanied the Posties for the past three years. Maybe Spence’ is the one who’s three-for-three.

Svorada enjoyed a final sprint in what is traditionally one of the Tour's most prestigious stages

On to the Champs Elysees

Americans in Paris -- Lots of 'em.

The Arc d'Triumph at the end of the Champs Elysses.

The stars and stripes and the Texas flag were all over the Champs Elysses.

The flag man, Dan Osipow, waits to hand out flags to the Postal riders for the post race team parade.

5:25 p.m. It's official. The band is playing the Star Spangled Banner. Lance Armstrong has been awarded the Tour's final yellow jersey by the mayor of Paris and the 2001 Tour de France is over! Thanks for tuning in folks. We've enjoyed doing the updates and hope you've found them to be at least a little helpful as you scanned the net while you were supposed to be working. See ya next year! 5:17 p.m. Here are the preliminary results of the 20th and final stage of the 2001 Tour de France. 1. Jan Svoarda (Lampre-Daikin); 2. Erik Zabel (Deutsche Telekom); 3. Stuart O'Grady (Crédit

George Hincapie and Lance Armstrong ride past the Postal fans at the finish line.

On Sunday, under sunny skies on a hot, humid day in Paris, Lance Armstrong rolled along the finishing circuit on the Champs-Elysées 10 times along with the other 144 survivors of this year's Tour de France. The American clinched his third consecutive victory in the world's biggest bike race after 23 grueling days. It began with difficult cross-winds and dangerous roads during Week 1, followed by a week going up and over the massive mountains of the Alps and Pyrénées, and finally concluding with six days of heat and humidity over undulating roads as the race cut up through the mid-section of

Jalabert and the CSC Tiscali team ride in the parade.

Everyone wants to know what Lance Armstrong is doing to make him so much faster than Jan Ullrich and the rest. In this day and age, you cannot be that much better than the cream of cycling’s crop and not attract suspicions of doping, and Lance has certainly faced innumerable questions about that. The assumption that these questions are based on is that most of the riders are doping, so he must really have found something strong to take. Not being privy to the private lives of any of the riders, I have no basis to comment one way or another. Being married to a cancer survivor, however, I

Photographers fight for position to shoot the final podium. It gets quite ugly at the end.

Stage 20 July 29, 2001 Corbeil Essones - Paris (Champs Elysées) 150 km As of Paris: 3,462 kilometers ridden. 20 stages completed. 10 flat stages weathered. 3 medium mountain stages ascended. 4 high mountain stages behind us. 2 individual time trials endured. 1 team time trial survived. 5 mountain top finishes achieved. 2 rest days appreciated. 3-peat checked off. The fat lady is singing. And I've never been so happy to hear her voice. Thanks for reading

Telecom fans show their support for Jan and Erik.

A photo diary by Casey B. Gibson from the final stage of the 2001 Tour de France.

Students from the Summer in Paris program cheer for Lance.

Before Ironman USA, NORBA pro Steve Larsen said that he would play to his strength, the bike, and he made good on his word. In just his third triathlon, the Davis, California, native powered to the front after overcoming an 11-minute deficit out of the swim in Mirror Lake to hold off fast-closing runner-up Olympian Ryan Bolton, also making his Ironman debut, and defending Lake Placid champ Cam Widoff. Among the women, Canadian Heather Fuhr came from behind on the run to catch a hammering Joanna Zeiger just past the halfway point of the marathon. Larsen languished far behind the leaders

Tom Weisel, the man behind the Postal program, and his family and friends wait for the yellow jersey.

Vouilloz is back on track with his first World Cup win of the season.

Steve Larsen takes the win and the course record.

Chausson remained perfect in the World Cup downhill series.

Fans line the start in front of the Hotel de Ville in Orleans.

Didier Rous (Bonjour) on his welded aluminium Time TT frame with a Spinergy Rev-X front wheel and a Time carbon fork. His aero' helmet has no chin strap; it's held on with an adjustable band, like a welding helmet.

Birthday boy Jean-Marie LeBlanc, the numero uno of the Tour de France, directs traffic at the finish. Leblanc turned 57 on Saturday.

Michaël Boogerd almost fell out of the top 10, losing almost six and half minutes in the TT. But he looked cool in his cap.

The Michelin cycle, rolls along each day in the publicity caravan.

Jan Ullrich uses a Limar aero' helmet. It seems to be as aerodynamic as any out there, but offers little protection. It's made of plastic that is probably no thicker than a common two-liter pop bottle.

Cycling fans come in all sizes and all ages in France.

Francisco Mancebo depended on Bell to guide the air smoothly over his head and down his back.

The end is nigh! Paris beckons.

Bootes wowed the crowd with a win in Japan.

PMU, a chain of betting parlors, sponsors the green jersey. They'll be fighting for that one until the end.

Donovan's stretched her World Cup lead on her smokin' farewell tour.

The sprint jersey duel between Zabel and O'Grady (that's his arm behind Zabel) will come down to Sunday's final sprint in Paris.

The Badger chats with The Lance.

Telekom's Livingston ahead of the Postal parade.

It's a B-L-T: Bobby Julich, Lance, and Telekom's Ullrich.

As the Tour de France edges closer to Paris, the sprinters get more nervous with every kilometer that passes under their wheels. Five-time sprint points winner Erik Zabel is one of those men, as for the first time in his reign he is not wearing the green jersey entering the final weekend. He trails 11 points behind Stuart O’Grady, whose consistency over the first 18 stages has given him the lead despite his not winning any stages. Zabel won two stages in the first week, and the German may have to win one of the last two stages if he is to get the better of his Australian rival. If Zabel is

Armstrong's mechanic, Julien Devries, is one of the few who makes sure on the starting ramp that there isn't the slightest flaw or piece of glass on the tires.

Quite a few of you have asked that we not reveal the winner in the headline or first paragraph, so if you don't want be surprised as you work your way through our now-not-so-live updates click HERE to work up from the bottom and follow the race from the start. Here is a provisional top-ten list for the day. 1. ZABEL Erik GER TEL In 3:12:27; 2. O'GRADY Stuart AUS C.A; 3. VAINSTEINS Romans LAT DFF; 4. TEUTENBERG Sven GER FES; 5. SVORADA Jan SLO LAM; 6. PETACCHI Alessandro ITA FAS; 7. NAZON Damien FRA BJR; 8. SIVAKOV Alexei RUS BIG; 9. CAPELLE Christophe FRA BIG; 10. CASPER

Heras, with Armstrong's spare helmet.

VeloNews photographer Casey Gibson's daily photo diary from the Tour de France.

Stuart O'Grady, the green sprint jersey holder, may not have been in the top 50 in the time trial, but his helmet and shorts sure match that green jersey nicely.

I'm going to cut to the chase since the word is out. This will be my last season with the US Postal Service Cycling Team. In January 2002, I will be joining the CSC Tiscali Team, based in Denmark. I'm able to look back on the last seven years and reflect upon an incredible experience with a tremendous team composed of some of the world's greatest athletes and support staff. I turned professional with this organization in 1995 and traveled along with it all the way Paris where we've hoped Lance Armstrong would write history at the Tour de France. It's been an unbelievable journey. One I will

Former yellow jersey François Simon dropped a place on GC in the time trial. The cap dragging in the wind was probably the least of his worries, though!

Lance Armstrong got the coolest Giro helmet, designed specifically for him with stars-and-stripes on it with his name down the center. His mechanic, Julien Devries, is one of the few who makes sure on the starting ramp that there isn't the slightest flaw or piece of glass on the tires. HerasWhen aero' guru John Cobb arrived at the Tour the day before the final time trial, Postal's Johan Bruyneel immediately requested assistance for Roberto Heras. Some of the changes Cobb suggested were not possible in the time available, but one was. Last winter, Cobb had seen that Lance's aero' helmet

Rudy Project spends over 90 percent of its efforts on sunglasses, but it appears worthwhile to make aero' helmets, since there is a lot more logo room than on the frames of sunglasses.

Today's sponsor village was in the shadow of the very large, and beautiful Cathedral of Orleans.

The hinged Catlike aero' helmet, when on the focused head of Santiago Botero with the visor down, can look intimidatingly fast.

The start is a mass of TV cables. Some compare it to running the TV operation for a Super Bowl, in a different town every day.

Note Armstrong’s front Hed3 wheel, rear Mavic disc and Vision aero bar with little Dia-Compe-style plug-in brake levers.

This is Heras's 52-cm frame; to get his bars low enough, his Vision bar clamp was cut down so that there is only one bolt, not two, holding it to the steerer.

Note the curved shape of Ullrich’s carbon aero’ bar.

Ullrich tweaked the adjustment on both front and rear brakes before the start.

The logo-less hub on Ullrich's bike has tall flanges to prevent hole deformation and cracking under high spoke tension

After a clockwise lap of France, the race -- the riders, the officials, the journalists -- is moving closer and closer to Paris.

Andrei Kivilev (who lost his podium spot in the time trial) was so nervous on the starting ramp that it looked like if you said 'boo,' he would fall off of the starting ramp. The Cofidis rider packed a little gel up his shorts leg for the ride.

Here's a glimpse of the tools that U.S. Postal, Team Telekom, Cofidis and ONCE riders had at their disposal for the time trial to St. Amand Montrond on July 25. Armstrong's bike, like the other U.S. Postal time trial bikes, has a frame done in the OCLV process, rather than as a monocoque. In other words, each separate part is individually molded, and the whole thing is bonded together. Note Armstrong’s front Hed3 wheel, rear Mavic disc and Vision aero bar with little Dia-Compe-style plug-in brake levers. All of the Trek time trial bikes on U.S. Postal have the same length top tube – 54cm.

Like Armstrong, ONCE's Gonzalez de Galdeano also used a Hed3 front wheel. He didn’t get such a cool Giro helmet as Lance, though. He probably didn’t want one that said 'Lance' down it.

If things went according to plan, I would have ridden the first half of today's (Montluçom--St. Amand-Montrond) time trial hard to set splits for Lance. But it was apparent by about 5.2 seconds into the race that my body was still crying Uncle. Knowing that I wouldn't be setting any land speed records this afternoon, I opted for plan B, which was to ride steady while conserving a few matches for the next two days. This race won't be finished until Lance crosses the line in Paris. And we'll be on guard until that very moment. So I, along with my teammates, still need some strength. It's

Best Young Rider Oscar Sevilla pulled out the 177.5mm crankarms for the time trial.