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The leaders and the small army of vehicles that protects them on the road

It didn’t last very long, but George Hincapie enjoyed every second of his run in the yellow jersey. The 33-year-old ceded the maillot jaune back to Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) after not contesting Monday’s sprint into Esch-sur-Alzette with 21st place and dipped to fourth overall at 16 seconds back. “I didn’t sleep in it, but I was very happy,” Hincapie told VeloNews before Monday’s start. “The night was so different than the night before, when I was thinking about how everything I could have done different (after losing the prologue by less than one second). To be so close to the yellow

Just to avoid confusion

The peloton snakes through the French countryside

Australian rider Michael Rogers confirmed Monday that his T-Mobile team bosses ordered him to sever all contact with controversial Italian sports doctor Michele Ferrari. Rogers also openly confirmed that he has been trained by Ferrari since the second half of last year. “I have been working with him for this year and a little it of last year; obviously just (with) training programs and what not,” Rogers told VeloNews on Tuesday. “I rated him because I think he is the best coach in the world. Just look at some of the athletes he has worked with.” News of Rogers’ association with Ferrari

Seat post and saddle

Il Falco on a descent

WeatherSunny, into low 90s, light to moderate winds Stage winnerRobbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto), 5h36:14, 40.775kph – The plucky Aussie sprinter won his ninth Tour stage in his ninth career Tour start, improving on his second place from Sunday. The 34-year-old proved he still has the best finish-line kick, relegating world champion Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic) to second. Those two are sure to knock heads again. Sunday’s winner, Jimmy Casper (Cofidis), got dropped and finished 172nd at 9:14 back. Race leaderThor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole), 9h54:19 – The Norwegian brushed off a cut to

Will No. 41 be No. 1 in Paris?

McEwen scores his ninth career Tour stage win

From start-line caravan to finish-line chaos, Casey Gibson covers it all. Here's what he saw between the lines today.

Hushovd: Back in yellow

Figuring out all the angles

The latest piece of helmet hardware from Giro was unveiled at a downtown hotel in Strasbourg on Sunday. The new lid, dubbed Ionos, is the next generation in a line that started back in 1987 with the egg-shaped Pro Light. But the Ionos bears little resemblance to its ancestor. Instead the company claims that this stealthy offering is lighter and stronger than anything it’s offered before. The Ionos is said to weigh 260 grams (medium size) and will be available starting in spring 2007. In the meantime riders from Discovery Channel, Rabobank and Phonak are getting the first crack at it.

Posthuma's best-young-rider helmet

A happy day all around on the podium, it seems

Results – Stage 11. Jimmy Casper (F), Cofidis2. Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto, 00:003. Erik Zabel (G), Milram, 00:004. Daniele Bennati (I), Lampre, 00:005. Luca Paolini (I), Liquigas-Bianchi, 00:006. Isaac Galvez (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne-I.B., 00:007. Stuart O´Grady (Aus), CSC, 00:008. Bernhard Eisel (A), Francaise des Jeux, 00:009. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Credit Agricole, 00:0010. Oscar Freire (Sp), Rabobank, 00:00 11. Peter Wrolich (A), Gerolsteiner, 00:0012. Inaki Isasi (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, 00:0013. Tom Boonen (B), Quick Step-Innergetic, 00:0014. Francisco Ventoso (Sp), Saunier

A cutaway view

But the work's not over for the photographers, who must both shoot and send

Norwegian Thor Hushovd, wearing the yellow jersey, was injured during the first stage of the Tour de France held over 184.5km here Sunday. Hushovd was lying on the ground conscious after the dramatic end to the stage but with blood pouring out of what appeared to be a cut on his right arm. Saturday's prologue winner was taken to hospital after he appeared to have been hit by a promotional item held by spectator as he prepared to sprint for victory. Video shows the Norwegian brushing up against a giant cardboard hand distributed by sprint jersey sponsor PMU. The items have caused

Sister company Bell's in on the act, too: Here's Hushovd's helmet

The day's early break never got more than five minutes...

It is a shame that Francisco Mancebo has had to leave the Tour de France. But Christophe Moreau - one of the most popular riders in France - is a great team leader. A professional rider since 1995, at 35 years of age and with 10 Tours in his legs already, Moreau has a vast amount of experience. He has been the best French rider in the Tour four times – in 2003, 2004 and 2005; but has come into his 11th Tour in great form, with his third at the Tour of Catalonia and second at the Dauphiné Libéré. One of the best things too is that Christophe is quite easy to look after. He always has good

The cut turned out not to be as serious as it looked.

Julich expects a much more open Tour

Jimmy Casper has abruptly stopped the rather unfair but now annual bet in the Tour de France press room: that being how long would it take for a Frenchman to win a stage. His win in Sunday’s first stage silenced those who relish French misery in the Tour whenever foreign riders win stages – not to mention the 21-year drought for an overall win. Now the French can boast one out of one stage wins – not including the prologue – and face the rest of the Tour knowing that the possibility of a winless Tour won’t be raised for at least another year. Casper, 28 and a professional since the age of

Hushovd will make it to Monday's start.

Hushovd crosses the line, with an arm already covered in blood.

WeatherSunny, with slight breeze. Stage winnerJimmy Casper (Cofidis), 184.5km, 4h10:00 (44.280 kph) – Twice the lanterne rouge and three times DNF, the 28-year-old Frenchman shot to his biggest win of his career into Strasbourg. Casper started a long sprint to shoot past a dying Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic) to relegate Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) to second and deliver the eternal Erik Zabel (Milram) another third. Race leaderGeorge Hincapie (Discovery Channel), 4h18:15 – Took third in the day’s final time bonuses to move into the virtual lead. It all came down to the final bonuses

... as Hushovd's crew kept a close eye on the gap.

From the spectator-free start to the blood-spattered finish, Casey Gibson just kept snap-snap-snapping away. Here's a sampler of what he saw.

Julich says he isn't in a position to lead CSC

It was close... but Casper knew he had it.

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.Good for George!Editor:I met George Hincapie in 1998 at Interbike in Las Vegas, while I was working for Vetta. On that day, Greg LeMond was a couple of booths away signing autographs with a massive crowd, but George was sitting alone in (I believe) the Sinclair booth. I told him then

Casper's win surprised many... including Casper.

We’ll never forget that the pre-race favorites Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso left Strasbourg in public disgrace and private disgust the day before the 93rd Tour de France began. But their departure, and that of the other 11 athletes barred from the race, will begin to be a distant memory when the remaining 176 riders leave their Strasbourg hotels Monday morning and head to the stage 2 start in Obernai. In other words, the Tour is finally getting on the open road, to begin its three-week counterclockwise loop around France. But first stop on the trip is Luxembourg’s second-largest city,

Casper gets the green jersey, too.

Stage 1: Strasbourg - Stasbourg - 184.5km

Hushovd's day started like this . . .

Stage 1: Strasbourg - Stasbourg - 184.5km

. . . and ended like this

Casper prevails in an insane sprint(Hushovd's arm is already bleeding in this photo)

Popovych peeks out of the bus at a nearly spectator-free start

Course: After a parade-style ride from the start outside Strasbourg’s 1000-year-old cathedral, the racing begins on the western edge of the city. The riders then make a counterclockwise loop around the quaint Alsatian towns and vineyards, cross the Rhine River into Germany and then head back across the river for the finish on part of the previous day’s prologue course. The day’s only categorized climb, a Cat. 4, is in the foothills of the Vosges mountains. History: The last time a road stage finished in Strasbourg, in 2001, the 211km stage 6 from Commercy was won by Estonian sprinter Jaan

The front of the Ionos

The finish was another sort of spectacle altogether

In the absence of his friend and longtime Tour de France team leader Lance Armstrong, George Hincapie proved on Sunday that he has no problems taking things into his own hands. In the first road stage of the 2006 Tour, the Discovery Channel rider made a crafty move at an intermediate sprint spot to grab a small time bonus and launch himself into the race lead to become just the fourth American to wear the yellow jersey in Tour history. Stage 1, a mostly flat 184.5km loop that started and finished in the city of Strasbourg, was billed as a sprinters’ affair and that’s how it turned out as the

A rear view

The break

An American sportswriter new to the Tour de France famously said a few years ago: “Why do they have all these flat stages? Why not go straight to the mountains? They’re more fun, right?” On the face of it, he was right. But if there were only mountain stages, half the field would soon be eliminated and the race would become pretty boring. What he didn’t get (at first) is that the so-called flat stages, combined with the climbing stages and the time trials produce a three-week race that crowns the best all-around rider (and team). In many Tours, the lightly built climbers — like the

Side view

The chase

Teams regroup following expulsionsThey’ve gone from being the favorites to scratching their heads about what this Tour de France means. Powerhouses such as T-Mobile and Team CSC are starting to come to grips with the unprecedented expulsions of pre-Tour favorites Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso. The pair’s departure in Friday’s purge - when nine riders from four teams were kicked out of the Tour for alleged links to a blood doping in Spain - left both teams reeling in their absence. Now, as the Tour rolled into its first road stage, the Tour’s presumptive dominators have taken stock and are

Giro will offer KOM and Discovery versions of its Atmos starting later this month

Hincapie in his first yellow jersey

Friday’s "cleansing" of the Tour de France continued to resonate as the reduced peloton of 176 riders lined up for Saturday’s opening prologue. The doping controversy continued to broil below the surface following the unprecedented expulsion of pre-race favorites Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile), Ivan Basso (CSC), Francisco Mancebo (Ag2r) and the entire Astaná-Würth team. The riders were taken out of the Tour just 24 hours before Saturday’s start after excerpts from some 500 pages of court and police documents of Spain’s ongoing doping investigation were presented to UCI and Tour officials late

Hushovd wins the prologue

... and on the course.

A few final adjustments

Discovery team director Johan Bruyneel discusses the rider ejections and how it will effect his teams strategy during the morning of the prologue. Click Here to watch video.

Did Landis miss a win?

Christian Vande Velde

Same here

VelonNews correspondents Jason Sumner and Andy Hood discuss the ejection of Jan Ullrich Ivan Basso and others, and its effects on the race. Click Here to watch video.

Christian Vande Velde earlier this week

Levi Leipheimer

Evans heads out on a scouting mission

Police were surprised when they raided the Madrid apartment of Spanishdoctor Eufemiano Fuentes on May 23 to find a cornucopia of products ranging from human growth hormones, testosterone patches, EPO and insulin.In one apartment, 96 pouches of frozen blood and 20 pouches of frozen plasma were found, while in another office, an additional 89 pouches of frozen blood and 19 pouches of frozen plasma were among the haul.Among centrifuges and other medical apparatus to extract and transfuse blood, members of the doping squad of Spain’s Guardia Civil found were more than 100 different products.The

Evans races to 14th in the prologue

Landis trying to make up for that late start

Meet the press

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.Don’t elevate scandal over sportEditor:This is a terrible, terrible tragedy. Please, don't make it worse by allowing this tragedy to be the focus of your 2006 Tour de France coverage. There are still fierce competitors and heroes in this year’s Tour who aren't part of this

Hamilton with Sevilla at the 2004 team presentation

Hincapie came so close.

That's a lot of Bianchis

One day after he was forced out of the Tour de France because of a doping scandal, Giro d’Italia winner Ivan Basso said he was "not well" but "serene inside." The Team CSC rider complained in a television interview that he had not been formally notified of any investigation into suspected doping. "Surely, I am not well, that's clear," the Italian cyclist said. "I'm not well because, as of today, I have not been formally notified. But inside I am serene. And that is the most important thing." Basso and T-Mobile’s Jan Ullrich, two of the favorites to win this year’s Tour, were among

McQuaid seeks harsh penalties.

Discovery's Jose Azevedo

Phonak's time machines