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1. Sylvain Calzati (F), Ag2r Prevoyance, 818km in 4:13:18 (42.874kph)2. Kjell Carlström (FIN), Liquigas-Bianchi, 02:053. Patrice Halgand (F), Credit Agricole, 02:054. Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto, 02:155. Daniele Bennati (I), Lampre, 02:156. Erik Zabel (G), Milram, 02:157. Bernhard Eisel (A), Francaise des Jeux, 02:158. Luca Paolini (I), Liquigas-Bianchi, 02:159. Tom Boonen (B), Quick Step-Innergetic, 02:1510. David Kopp (G), Gerolsteiner, 02:15 11. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Credit Agricole, 02:1512. Marco Velo (I), Milram, 02:1513. Francisco Ventoso (Sp), Saunier Duval, 02:1514.

Stage Stats: Stage 8 by the numbers

French fans show their colors along the route

WeatherCloudy in morning, some intermittent showers, but mostly sunny in afternoon, highs in upper 70s Stage winnerSylvain Calzati (Ag2r), 4h13:18, 42.874kph – The 27-year-old Calzati shot away from a six-man group with about 35km to go to solo home to win in the Tour’s first successful breakaway. It was only his second career victory to go along with a stage-win in the 2004 Tour de l’Avenir. He was the last rider named to the nine-man Tour squad. Race leaderSergei Gontchar, 1490.6km in 34h38:53, 43.021kph – Gontchar had an easy day in the saddle, finishing 100th in the main bunch to

The Green Hornet on the move

A chicken hat completes this ensemble

..sh*t from Shinola is no longer in question. Apparently, I can't tell the difference. If you read my entry from yesterday, you will correctly conclude that my predictions were total crap. I admit it. Fifty-two kilometers of bad predictions and I forgot that Sergei Gontchar was even in the race! Then today the race continued to be bizarre. We raced full gas for the first 50k and then finally an acceptable break that everyone seemed to be happy with went away. Dave Z. (a.k.a. “The Green Hornet”) made the break and we were all proud of him, fighting his way to the front and joining

O'Grady at Sunday's start

A somber Hincapie meets Mr. Microphone

Australian Stuart O’Grady was very close to abandoning the Tour de France last Tuesday, after fracturing his L4 vertebra in a crash on stage 3 to Valkenburg. He finished the stage more than 11 minutes down and miraculously came back the next day to carry on. Before stage 8 on Sunday, O’Grady explained how he is recovering while also dealing with the pain in this interview with Rupert Guinness. VeloNews: It’s been six days since you fractured your vertebra, how is it holding up now? Stuart O’Grady: I am actually feeling better day-by-day. I am doing a heap of chiropractor work and things

With a relatively safe composition, this break was allowed some distance.

Horner and Hushovd on the climb

George Hincapie was among the riders who were expecting more in Saturday’s time trial, finishing 2:42 off the pace set by Gontchar. “I was disappointed with my performance. I thought I’d do better, but that was not the case. I felt dehydrated and I ran out of fuel. Maybe I ate too soon,” Hincapie said. “It was definitely not a normal performance for me.” Hincapie said he just couldn’t find his rhythm on the rolling 52km course, but said all is not lost. Most riders are using Floyd Landis as the Tour reference point and in that measure, Hincapie is 1:30 behind his former teammate. “We just

Zabriskie earned a few time bonuses along the way.

The peloton winds through Bretagne

Nine days ago, the T-Mobile team was driving over picturesque Alsatian roads on its way to a pre-race press conference, when director Olaf Ludwig announced that two members of the squad – Jan Ullrich and Oscar Sevilla – would not be making the three-week long journey through France with them. At first the news caused confusion and a sense of helplessness among those riders still slated to contest the 93rd Tour de France. So they did what all cyclists do when they need to clear their heads: they went on a bike ride. Three hours later, refreshed by sun and exercise, the remaining seven

Phonak drives the chase

Casey Gibson remains on tour with Le Tour – enjoy today's shots.

The weather cleared soon after the start and allowed for a good day in the saddle for most.

Riders relax in the village, making use of free phones

American Tour de France favorite Floyd Landis (Phonak) will hold a press conference on Monday to respond to press reports that he is suffering from a degenerative condition that could threaten his career and may undergo hip surgery following this year’s race. Landis, sitting second in the Tour de France behind race leader Sergei Gontchar (T-Mobile), will meet the press on Monday afternoon at his team hotel in Bordeaux, where the 4500-strong Tour entourage is based for an official rest day. On Sunday, the website www.bicycling.com announced that Landis’s cycling days "may be numbered,"

Gontchar enjoying his time in yellow.

Vive la France! A World Cup fan shows her colors

Stage 8: St-Méen-le-Grand to Lorient - 181km

Phonak gives chase, but only to limit the damage

Zabriskie gives it the gas

Stage 8: St-Méen-le-Grand to Lorient - 181km

.Carpe Diem!: Calzati sensed an opportunity and went for it

Graves is making his mark this season

Landis switched bikes and still managed a runner-up finish

Mixed bag for the world TT champ. He didn't win, but his teammate did.

Another old item.

The new man in yellow

Saunier Duval's David Canada

Lelangue and Landis confirm compliance

GC says it all: 62. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Gerolsteiner, 06:17

Hincapie was hoping for better.

Despite the bike switch, the Phonak leader kept his cool

Big day for T-Mobile, but Rogers wanted a win.

Course: With a week of racing in their legs, the GC contenders finally get their day in the sun with this critical 52km time trial. The counterclockwise circuit has two distinct halves: narrow, hilly back roads at first and long, straight flat highways at the end. The final 15km are likely to be very fast with a tail wind. History: A total of 13 Tour stages have finished in Rennes, the unofficial capital of the Brittany region, the most recent in 1994 when a massive 270km stage from Cherbourg was taken by Italian Gianluca Bortolami from a seven-man break that contained Motorola’s Sean Yates

Julich was the day's only non-finisher

13th was not what most expected from Zabriskie

If any greater upset were possible in the stage 7 time trial of the Tour de France, then anyone who witnessed today’s race of truth would have been pressed to think of one. The 52km St. Grégoire to Rennes time trial in Brittany was decisive, mainly because of the way it seriously compromised the Tour-winning hopes of so many pre-race favorites. No rider really emerged as a standout contender to win the first post-Lance Armstrong Tour — but there was a major a shift in the balance of power, from Discovery Channel to T-Mobile. Take out the stage winner, Ukrainian Sergei Gontchar (T-Mobile),

The Big Question of the Day: What happened to Levi?

Gontchar powered through time checks, smashing previous best times.

1. Sergei Gonchar (Ukr), T-Mobile, 01:01:432. Floyd Landis (USA), Phonak, 01:02:443. Sebastian Lang (G), Gerolsteiner, 01:02:474. Michael Rogers (Aus), T-Mobile, 01:03:075. Gustav Larsson (Swe), Francaise des Jeux, 01:03:176. Patrik Sinkewitz (G), T-Mobile, 01:03:227. Marcus Fothen (G), Gerolsteiner, 01:03:258. Andréas Klöden (G), T-Mobile, 01:03:269. Denis Menchov (Rus), Rabobank, 01:03:2710. Joost Posthuma (Nl), Rabobank, 01:03:28 11. Cadel Evans (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto, 01:03:3212. Vladimir Karpets (Rus), Caisse d'Epargne-I.B., 01:03:3513. David Zabriskie (USA), CSC, 01:03:4014.

Zabriskie rode to a respectable 13th place

Stage Stats: Stage 7 by the numbers

I am back on the air after a short break due to technical difficulties with my Blackberry Service. So I woke up this morning to 30 real e-mails (and a hefty dose of SPAM) and now life is back to normal again. I am driving to the time trial start right now, trying not to think too much about the situation at hand… or how fast Sabine is driving. We rode the course this morning in the rain and I was appalled at all the people already lining the course. The funny thing is that sometimes there are more people before the race, lining the course to scoop up some free swag from the publicity

Of the big GC contenders, Landis was the big winner of the day

Stage Stats: Stage 7 by the numbers

Among the sheaf of communiqués issued by the Tour de France organization Saturday night, the one that the riders are probably happiest about gives details of the charter flights they will take Sunday evening after stage 8. They’re headed to Bordeaux, where they’ll enjoy a full rest day on Monday and have time to take stock of what is developing into one of the strangest Tours in living memory. But before their flights, which are scheduled to leave Lorient at 6:15 and 6:30 p.m. local time, there’s the not-small matter of a tricky 181km stage across the hills of Brittany to overcome. Huge

When the Tour hits the mountains next week, Landis will have to be considered a favorite.

Stage Stats: Stage 7 by the numbers

With the overall standings at the Tour de France finally breaking up a bit, the St. Grégoire to Rennes time trial proved to be as decisive as it was surprising. Our guy Casey Gibson was there and here are a few of the images he captured on Saturday.

Yaroslav Popovych is now 3:27 down on GC

The stem/bar juncture offers adjustablility

WeatherCloudy in morning, partly cloudy skies and increasing winds in afternoon,highs in upper 70s, low 80sStage winnerSergei Gontchar (T-Mobile), 1h01:43, 50.554kph – The 36-year-oldUkraine pulled a surprise win on a day when the pundits were predictingan American sweep. The 2000 world time trial champion was fastest at allthe splits to win his first career Tour stage. Floyd Landis (Phonak) wassecond at 1:01 despite a bike change at 13km after his aero-bars broke. Race leaderGontchar, 1,309.6km in 30h23:20, 43.095kph – Gontchar becomesUkraine’s first rider to wear the yellow jersey, taking

Paolo Savoldelli (at 2:10) could mount a strong challenge in the mountains

Making final adjustments to comply with the rules

Calm under fire is always a good quality in pressure packed races like the Tour de France. And judging by the way Floyd Landis sloughed off a bevy of stage 7 bike problems Saturday, the American is as cool as they come. Despite having to change the level of his aero’ bars just an hour and a half before the race, and then having those bars break during the 52-kilometer individual time trial, Landis still managed a strong second place finish, making him leader in the clubhouse after the 2006 Tour’s first truly decisive stage. “It was a little mechanical, no problem,” said Landis, who’s now

Cunego - now more than seven minutes back - may have a tough time

The new waterbottle

If you ask the UCI commissaries at the Tour de France, Floyd Landis’s “praying mantis” time trial position is illegal. The race jury put the kibosh on Landis’s distinctive time trial position on Saturday little more than one hour before the start of the 52km time trial, the Tour’s first decisive day since rolling out of Strasbourg on July 1. Landis’s preferred angle – with his elbows together and his hands pressed together high – challenged UCI technical regulations that say a time trial bike’s handlebars and seat must be on the same horizontal plane. (see “Tour Tech - Landis readies for

114th on day, Mickael Rasmussen would probably prefer a tour without Time Trials

The drivetrain

Stage 7: St. Grégoire to Rennes - 52km (ITT)

Hincapie will have to climb better than he ever has...

Is that comfy?

Stage 7: St. Grégoire to Rennes - 52km (ITT)

... if he hopes to make the podium in Paris.

The new ride

Gontchar roars to the win and the overall lead

Eki' finishes 22nd on the day. Not bad for his 15th Tour

These are old?

.. but, as usual, the chase kicked in in earnest...

Stage Stats: Stage 6 by the numbers

Course: There’s some initial fun with a visit to Camembert cheese country and a Cat. 3 hill at Vimoutiers that has a 13-percent pitch, but then the shorter (189km) stage settles into a series of long, straight, sometimes hilly highways across the open farmland of Normandy. Rolling hills precede the entry into Vitré, where the course loops around and through town to reach a slightly uphill finishing straight almost 2km long. History: There have been three stage finishes at Vitré, all won by sprinters: Belgian Rudy Matthijs in 1985, Italian Mario Cipollini in 1995 and German Marcel Wüst in

With Boonen back in the fold, the peloton eased off..