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Landis in yellow

Savoldelli crashes on evacuationTwo-time Giro d’Italia champion Paolo Savoldelli crashed Thursday coming off the Pla-de-Beret climb following Thursday’s 11th stage and received 15 stitches to his right eyebrow. According to Discovery Channel team officials, it appeared a spectator struck the Italian in the eyebrow as he rode down off the narrow, twisting road after the end of Thursday’s climbing stage. He then crashed as a result of the contact. Savoldelli rode up to the team hotel holding a napkin to stop the bleeding to the cut above his eye. Blood was visible above the cut and the

Stage Stats: Stage 11 by the numbers

No struggle here as a fan awaits the peloton on the Tourmalet

With the high peaks of the Pyrénées behind them, the Tour’s remaining 165 riders set out Friday on three arduous stages across the south of France that will be made more grueling by temperatures in the 80s and 90s. The first of the trio is stage 12 from Luchon to Carcassonne. This hilly 211km stage looks made for breakaways — especially after Thursday’s savage race through the Pyrénées created huge time differences in the GC. Besides the certainty of attacks from riders now buried in the overall standings — and that unexpectedly includes the whole of the Discovery Channel team — the other

Stage Stats: Stage 11 by the numbers

The Pyrenees wait ...

Weather Partly cloudy in morning to sunny and partly sunny in afternoon, highs in mid-20sC Stage winnerDenis Menchov (Rabobank), 6h06:25, 33.814kph – Russian Menchov timed his downhill sprint perfectly to finish ahead of Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) and Floyd Landis (Phonak). The 2005 Vuelta a Espana winner claims his first career Tour stage win in Race leader Landis, 2,057.1km, 41.723kph – Landis became the fifth American to wear the maillot jaune thanks to time bonuses. By finishing third in the stage, Landis picked up eight seconds in bonuses, the difference now between him and overnight

Ag2r did great work defending Dessel's jersey

... and so does this spectator on the Tourmalet

While no one was questioning the abilities of new Tour de France yellow jersey holder Floyd Landis, doubts about his team were a hot topic in the aftermath of stage 11’s dramatic trip to the summit of Spain’s Pla de Beret, Thursday. With 2006’s La Grande Boucle past the halfway point, Phonak has just one rider in the top 20. And outside a solid ride by Axel Merckx (22nd at 4:45), none of Landis’ teammates were anywhere near the finish line when the American received an emotional embrace from coach Robbie Ventura. No doubt the pair relished in the moment, but defending the GC lead through

T-Mobile on the Col du Portillon: Too much for Klöden?

It's not the peloton trudging up those mountain roads – our man Casey Gibson is out there, too, lugging around a few thousand pounds of cameras, cell phones and computers, so you can see Le Tour in action.

Boogerd set a brutal tempo

Ouch! Now, that was rude. 5200 meters (17,060 feet)of climbing over 207km. To add insult to injury, it was hotter than Hell out there today. Climbs, heat or whatever, the race was shaken up today big time and, truthfully, I am so dead right now I can't even think straight, so this will have to be brief. Here’s my quick and dirty stage wrap:Comeback of the day: Levi.Contender of the day: Floyd.Sure, Denis Menchov won, but I still think that Floyd will now be the man for this Tour. Carlos rode like we hoped that he would today and I think that he can ride to a podium place in this

Leipheimer overcomes the problems of the past few days.

Stage 11: Tarbes to Val d’Aran/Pla-de-Beret - 206.5km

The early break on the Tourmalet

Stage 11: Tarbes to Val d’Aran/Pla-de-Beret - 206.5km

Tourmalet

Menchov wins a three-up sprint to the finish

Menchov wins the sprint... Landis gets those eight seconds.

Landis becomes the second American in this Tour to pull on the leader's yellow jersey

Teammate Mayo has already abandoned, and Camano needs a push on the Portillon

The fifth U.S. rider to wear a yellow jersey. Two have worn them to Paris. Will Landis be No.3?

De la Fuente shows the strain of leading on the Portillon

GC hopes gone, Hincapie will hunt for a stage win

It would not be Hincapie's day

Course: Any Pyrenean stage that goes over the mighty mountain passes of Tourmalet, Aspin, Peyresourde and Portillon merits the greatest attention from the race favorites — even though this one then continues into Spain for another 40km to finish on the long, but gently graded climb to the Pla-de-Beret summit. If this Tour is going to be a free-for-all, then climbers who want to shoot for the polkadot jersey or a high GC placing must attack on this challenging day. So look for likely KOM candidates to infiltrate the breaks that are bound to form on the narrow, winding roads that precede the

A look ahead: Back to the plains — and the heat

Landis, on the other hand, climbed right into the yellow jersey

Floyd Landis and Levi Leipheimer found the best way to save what could have been a disastrous day for American cycling in the Tour de France Thursday . Phonak team leader Landis took the yellow leader’s jersey, while Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) finished second to Russia’s Denis Menchov (Rabobank) at the end of this Tour’s most grueling and decisive stage yet. Landis began the day in third overall but stage 11 from Tarbes to Val d’Aran (Pla-de-Beret) in Spain saw the peloton split so decisively that just three men remained in the lead group that conquered the brutal 206.5km stage featuring five

A look ahead: Back to the plains — and the heat

Leipheimer recovered from his terrible time trial to finish second on the day

When previewing Thursday’s stage 11, most riders and writers have said that the closing climb of 13km to Pla-de-Beret in Spain won’t cause major changes in the GC because it averages only 5.5 percent. For sure, it’s not as steep as other summit finishes in the Pyrénées, like Hautacam, Luz-Ardiden and Plateau de Beille, but when combined with the four climbs that precede it — the Tourmalet, Aspin, Peyresourde and Portillon — the stage might cause more damage than expected. “This will be the most difficult stage ahead of the Alps,” said Floyd Landis, who’s now in fifth overall, 4:45 behind new

The work load falls to Phonak now

Stragglers climb through the pines in the Pyrenees

1. Denis Menchov (Rus), Rabobank, 206.5km in 6:06:25 (33.813kph)2. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Gerolsteiner, 00:003. Floyd Landis (USA), Phonak, 00:004. Cadel Evans (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto, 00:175. Carlos Sastre (Sp), CSC, 00:176. Michael Boogerd (Nl), Rabobank, 01:047. Haimar Zubeldia (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, 01:318. Frank Schleck (Lux), CSC, 01:319. Andréas Klöden (G), T-Mobile, 01:3110. Christophe Moreau (F), Ag2r Prevoyance, 02:29 11. Georg Totschnig (A), Gerolsteiner, 03:0612. Michael Rogers (Aus), T-Mobile, 03:0613. Marcus Fothen (G), Gerolsteiner, 03:0614. Ramiro Ivan Ramiro (Col), Cofidis,

Menchov wins

Popovych struggles to catch the leaders

Stage 10: Cambo-les-Bains to Pau - 190.5km

The pride of France: Dessel becomes the first yellow jersey in two years... and he has the climber's jersey, too.

Stage Stats: Stage 10 by the numbers

Stage 10: Cambo-les-Bains to Pau - 190.5km

Sage Advice: Cipo' offers words of encouragement to Boonen

Mercado rates most aggressive

Mercado nipped Dessel at the line

Rujano in his new team kit

Gontchar struggled on the climbs, but fought his way back to the peloton

Cofidis

Narrow road to the Soudet

Leipheimer stayed with the favorites on the Soudet, but struggled on the Marie Blanc

A smaller profile Triple from Hed

Basque food at the start

Hincapie looked relaxed and smooth all day.

Tour Tech: A walk through the pits

Riding into the mist of the Pyrenees

Popovych

Course: This is a much easier introduction to the mountains than in recent years. Instead of a mountaintop finish, the last of three climbs on this 190.5km stage across the Basque part of the Pyrénées is 42.5km from the finish in Pau. That means that riders dropped on the Col de Marie-Blanque will have a chance to chase back to the peloton. Breakaways will inevitably go clear on the rolling roads that precede the day’s major obstacle, the Col de Soudet, that climbs for almost 15km at over 7 percent, with some much steeper pitches on the upper reaches of the bumpy, narrow road that leads to

Tour Tech: A walk through the pits

Gontchar looking a bit fatigued on the Soudet

T-Mobile leads the charge on the Marie Blanc

The first major climbs of the 93rd Tour de France served up some significant changes atop the leader board Wednesday; but the main contenders were content to keep a wary eye on each other — even when an early breakaway gained more than 10 minutes and fought for all the spoils of the three-climb, 190.5km 10th stage 10. From the original break of 15 riders, just two were left upon reaching the finishing straight in Pau after the demanding journey through the Basque part of the Pyrénées. Spanish rider Juan Miguel Mercado (Agritubel) and Frenchman Cyril Dessel (AG2R) fought out a hard sprint in

Tour Tech: A walk through the pits

Horner in the fog on the climb.

Inigo Landaluze (Euskaltel-Euskadi) almost bridges up to the leaders

1. Juan Miguel Mercado (Sp), Agritubel2. Cyril Dessel (F), Ag2r Prevoyance, 00:003. Inigo Landaluze (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, 00:564. Cristian Moreni (I), Cofidis, 02:245. Christophe Rinero (F), Saunier Duval, 02:256. Inaki Isasi (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, 05:037. Vasseur Cédric (F), Quick Step-Innergetic, 05:358. Daniele Bennati (I), Lampre, 07:239. Erik Zabel (G), Milram, 07:2310. Stefano Garzelli (I), Liquigas-Bianchi, 07:23 11. Carlos Da Cruz (F), Francaise des Jeux, 07:2312. Thomas Voeckler (F), Bouygues Telecom, 07:2313. Riccardo Ricco (I), Saunier Duval, 07:2314. Mirko Celestino (I),

David Millar's TT rig

Landis stayed with T-Mobile

Dessel and Mercado crest the Marie Blanc with a nice lead

José Rujano - the diminutive Venezuelan who almost won last year’s Giro d’Italia in his grand-tour debut, placing third overall - is quietly waiting to uncork one in his Tour de France. The 24-year-old has endured the rough-and-tumble first week with his motivation and ambition firmly intact. Despite a slight fever late last week, Rujano says he’s anxiously awaiting the steep mountain roads of the Pyrenees and Alps, (he finished with the bunch including the favorites on Wednesday’s first day in the Pyrenees) At just 162cm and 50kg, “Joselito” is confident he can pull a surprise just like he

Tour Tech: A walk through the pits

The team of the yellow jersey had to do the bulk of the work

Mercado gets it!

There’s never any shortage of technological intrigue at the Tour de France. With the race’s place atop the cycling world hierarchy, manufactures are eager to show off their latest and greatest. Take Hed, longtime supplier of the U.S. Postal and now the Discovery Channel team. At this year’s Tour, the American wheel maker added further depth to their TT wheel offerings, giving the Discovery team one more option. If there’s no wind, the deeper wheel is the choice. But if it’s windy or the course is hilly, the higher profile acts like the sale on a yacht, making the shallow profile the

Thor Hushovd's Look

Dessel grabbed top KOM points along the way.

This turned out to be the move to join.

The Tour de France continued to produce surprises Wednesday when Cyril Dessel became the first Frenchman to wear the yellow jersey in two years. Dessel’s moment in the sun comes just 10 days after his former Ag2r team leader, Francisco Mancebo, was thrown off the race following his implication in an ongoing doping scandal. Dessel is riding only his second Tour with Ag2r despite his seven-year professional career, which has been blighted by injury. Having been pulled out of the Tour squad 10 days before the start in 2005, when he was struck by appendicitis, the 31-year-old knows he has

...with a well solid front end for sprinting