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COURSE: This team time trial course is 5km shorter and less rolling than last year’s between Joinville and St. Dizier. Also, the straighter, more open roads this year mean that the prevailing southwest winds are likely to be the main difficulty, with likely crosswinds in the final 20km. FAVORITES: Look for a great battle between Ivan Basso’s CSC team, Armstrong’s U.S. Postal-Berry Floor squad and Jan Ullrich’s T-Mobile formation. Tyler Hamilton’s Phonak team could also be in the mix. HISTORY: The last time there was a team time trial in this region was in 1984, when the finish at

And it got them atop the podium, while putting Lance in yellow

Tour stuff

The smiles of Lance Armstrong and his U.S. Postal Service team said it all and then some on a day that was bleak, stormy and awfully miserable for most. By blazing a trail through the shadows of a wet day in northern France to win today's 64.5km stage 4 team time trial from Cambrai to Arras, they told every rival that Armstrong was the right stuff, and so was the entire line-up. Armstrong said as much after his team finished with eight of nine riders, at an average speed of 53.71kmh, following a winning ride that saw them fight back from fifth place at the first time check of 19km. “We

Pulling the train: Bäckstedt at work

Tour stuff

I’m starting to feel a little sweaty, maybe even a little feverish. And no, I’m not talking about Tour fever here. I’m talking about a severe case of hypochondria. Let me digress. For those who haven’t yet picked up the latest issue of VeloNews, you’ll be in for a bit of surprise: I was given artistic license to pen the “What We’re Riding” section. Okay, so expounding about cycling products isn’t exactly artistic, but given my technical prowess, it was a bit of a stretch. While Andrew Juskaitis is our go-to tech writer, I tend to stick to the race coverage and features. But I gave it a

Plus he has to drive, too!

Tour stuff

Italian sprint king Alessandro Petacchi, the postwar record holder for the number of stage wins on a single edition of the Giro d'Italia, is patiently awaiting his chance to grab a stage victory on this year's Tour de France. And the 30-year-old Fassa Bortolo rider could decide to finally get his act together on Thursday's 200.5km fifth stage. The largely flat outlay of the course is exactly to Petacchi's liking, although the soft-spoken Italian and the rest of the sprinters will have to be wary of influential cross winds that could lead to breaks in the peloton and end their chances of

BANG!

Tour stuff

TEAM RESULTS - STAGE1. U.S. Postal Service, 1:12:032. Phonak, 01:073. Illes Balears-Banesto, 01:154. T-Mobile, 01:195. CSC, 01:466. Rabobank, 01:537. Liberty-Seguras, 02:258. Euskaltel-Euskadi, 02:359. Saeco, 02:3610. Alessio-Bianchi, 02:57 11. Quick Step-Davitamon, 03:2912. Crédit Agricole, 03:3213. Ag2R Prevoyance, 04:0514. Brioches La Boulangere, 04:1715. Domina Vacanze, 04:2216. Gerolsteiner, 04:3617. Fassa Bortolo, 04:5218. Lotto-Domo, 05:1919. Cofidis, 05:3420. R.A.G.T. Semences-MG Rover, 05:3721. FDJeux.com, 07:33 INDIVIDUAL RESULTS - STAGE 41. Rubiera José Luis (Sp), U.S. Postal

Phonak had five flats on Wednesday

Tour stuff

I think I was in my element today. I sure do feel a lot better than I have these past few days of the Tour de France and there’s nothing like a team time trial to get a big motor like me feeling back in sorts. No, it isn’t a complete turnaround. I’m clearly not in top form, but it is definitely a step in the right direction. Team time trials are really what the early part of my racing career was all about. Being taller and stronger on the flats I offer up a pretty good draft, eh? When you see teams like CSC and Phonak running into the troubles they had today, you really begin to see how

Back in his favorite color

Tour stuff

Few events in cycling offer a team the opportunity to equally share in the pain and the triumph of a victory the way a team time trial does. Wednesday’s stage at the Tour de France required the complete effort of the U.S. Postal Service team, and the exhilaration of winning was clearly evident on the riders’ faces as they crossed the finish line. Lance Armstrong’s team showed today itself to be the strongest squad of the 21 teams in the race, and perhaps the most skilled as well. The team rode the length of the 64.5-kilometer course in nearly-perfect formation, close together, taking full

Chris Carmichael Diary: Riding the slipstream to victory

Tour stuff

The Mail Bag is a Monday-Wednesday-Friday feature on VeloNews.com, but will appear daily during the Tour. 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.What’s up with attacking after Mayo’s crash?Editor:I'd be interested in the views of the distinguished VeloNews editors (if you can find any), as well as the highly opinionated band of Mailbag contributors, on the sportsmanship of

Elken (left) nips Candelario and Fraser at the line

Tour stuff

McEwen loses yellow, but keeps greenLotto’s Robbie McEwen handed the yellow jersey over to Lance Armstrong after Wednesday’s team time trial, but he probably didn’t mind too much - on Thursday, he will be wearing the green points jersey and hunting another stage win. McEwen's short stint in the maillot jaune was a tough one for the 32-year-old from Brisbane, who suffered mightily as his team posted a time that was more than five minutes behind U.S. Postal. Still, he enjoyed his day in yellow. "It was very difficult for me today,” McEwen said. “Wearing the yellow jersey is now over. I only

The early breakaway, from left: Creed, Evans, Dionne, Lieswyn and Swindlehurst

Tour stuff

STAGE 4 July 07 Cambrai - Arras (TTT) (40.39mi/65km)

Dionne makes a late-race solo bid

Tour stuff

STAGE 4 July 07 Cambrai - Arras (TTT) (40.39mi/65km)

The peloton was having none of it

Tour stuff

Postal pounded to the win despite horrific conditions

Do they have hills in Oregon? Oh, yeah – try Mount Bachelor

Tour stuff

Don't bug me, man

The podium: Candelario, Elken and Fraser

Tour stuff

Phonak took second despite shelling three riders

Tour stuff

Tour stuff

Ullrich and T-Mobile could do no better than fourth

Tour stuff

Iban Mayo’s crash in stage 3 of the Tour de France on Tuesday was unfortunate. It was one of those things that all riders dread and no rider can ever completely avoid. The Tour is a race of strength, endurance and a bit of luck…. Okay, quite a bit of luck. It is ironic that it was the very thing which the riders were working to avoid - being caught up in a crash as the pack went into the narrow cobblestone section at Wandignies – that caused the wreck. It is always a good tactic to be at the front of the group when you enter a narrow or dangerous section of a race course. That is

The Limar

Norway's Thor Hushovd was left defeated, frustrated and without the Tour de France yellow jersey on Tuesday after two sections of cobbled road battered the peloton during stage three in northern France. The Credít Agricole rider lost the overall lead to Australia's Robbie McEwen after crashing just before the first section of cobbles, 64 kilometres from the end of the stage. He finished the 210km stage three minutes and 53 seconds behind the leading riders and plummeted to 92nd overall. "I got the yellow jersey yesterday but now I've lost it because of a stupid crash," he said. "The

STAGE 3 July 06 Waterloo - Wasquehal (121.173mi/195km)

STAGE 3 July 06 Waterloo - Wasquehal (121.173mi/195km)

Nazon takes the sprint ahead of Zabel and McEwen

Armstrong stayed out of trouble again today

But Mayo didn't - he lost big time

And McEwen got the jersey

Voigt and De Groot stayed away for much of the day

COURSE: This twisting course, half in Belgium, half in France,is evocative of the spring classics. It includes sections of the Tour ofFlanders course (the Meerbeke finish line at 42km, and part of the Murde Grammont at 61km) and two sectors of Paris-Roubaix cobblestones at Wandignies (146km) and Gruson (185km). FAVORITES: Should the cobblestones and weather be factors, expecta breakaway with riders like Tom Boonen and Leif Hoste to succeed, especiallywith a technical finale that makes it hard for teams to organize a chase.Otherwise, the 1400-meter-long finish straight should favor

Hincapie powered the move across the cobbles

Lance Armstrong can strike the name of Iban Mayo from his list of major rivals hoping to keep him from a sixth Tour de France victory. The Spaniard lost nearly four minutes after he was involved in a crash during the third stage, which covered 210km from Waterloo, Belgium, to Wasquehal in France. A final podium finish is still possible for Mayo, but he conceded that his hopes of overall victory are now gone. “That is clear,” said Mayo after the stage finish. “I am very sad about what happened, especially for the team rather than me. There were so many nerves out there Tuesday. Then there

Hincapie models the Giro Rev 6

The Mail Bag is a Monday-Wednesday-Friday feature on VeloNews.com, but will appear daily during the Tour. 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.Trautwig needs to try listening for a changeEditor:Al Trautwig needs to listen a little more – no, a lot more - and talk less. His producers should squelch his talking over Bobke and maybe monitor the timing of Al's ADD meds a little

What's inside Postal's new lid

INDIVIDUAL - STAGE1. Jean-Patrick Nazon (F), Ag2R Prevoyance, 4:36:452. Erik Zabel (G), T-Mobile, 00:003. Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus), Lotto-Domo, 00:004. Tom Boonen (B), Quick Step-Davitamon, 00:005. Kim Kirchen (Lux), Fassa Bortolo, 00:006. Danilo Hondo (G), Gerolsteiner, 00:007. Jaan Kirsipuu (Est), Ag2R Prevoyance, 00:008. Alessandro Bertolini (I), Alessio-Bianchi, 00:009. Fabio Baldato (I), Alessio-Bianchi, 00:0010. Gutierrez José Enrique (Sp), Phonak, 00:00 11. Michele Scarponi (I), Domina Vacanze, 00:0012. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Rabobank, 00:0013. Laurent Brochard (F), Ag2R Prevoyance,

Lotto's Lazer

Though they are adversaries, Lance Armstrong, Jan Ullrich, Tyler Hamilton, and Roberto Heras know there is a time and place to work together for their mutual benefit. When a crash prior to the first section of cobblestones split the field and isolated Iban Mayo, all the other team leaders sent their men to the front to make sure the Spaniard didn’t make it back to the front group. In doing so, they have changed the face of the 2004 Tour de France and significantly damaged Mayo’s chances of challenging for the yellow jersey. While there was definitely a chance that Armstrong or Ullrich could

And what's inside

USA Cycling announced today the team that will represent the United Statesin the discipline of road cycling at this summer’s Olympic Games in Athens.After securing the maximum start positions in both men’s and women’s roadcycling, USA Cycling will be sending a mix of accomplished veterans andtalented newcomers to Athens. Five men and three women will contest theroad race, while two men and two women will also compete in the time trial.Leading the men’s roster is five-time Tour de France winner and 2000Olympic Bronze Medalist, Lance Armstrong (Austin, Texas). Armstrong’swell-documented career

Rabobank's Giro

The Tour de France's first foray into its home country, following three days in Belgium, lived up to its billing as a potential make or break stage for the yellow jersey contenders. Iban Mayo of the Euskaltel team was the most prominent casualty on Tuesday's 210 km stage from Waterloo in Belgium - the scene of Emperor Napoleon's 1815 defeat to the English - to a small town on the French border. The 26-year-old Basque climber, who relegated five-time Tour winner Lance Armstrong to a two-minute deficit on a recent time trial up the Mont Ventoux, lost almost four minutes to the American

The Uvex

Sandwiched between the always-nervous first road stage of the Tour and the potentially dangerous third day tomorrow, stage 2 offered the U.S. Postal Service the chance to take it relatively easy. As usual, the team’s instructions were to keep Lance up front and out of trouble, and since that task is going to be a bit more difficult tomorrow, conserving some energy was also an important task for the day. It’s not just the 4km of cobblestones that are a cause for concern in stage 3. The 20km preceding the cobbles are likely to be very fast and combative as riders try to secure positions near

George Hincapie doing his part for the cause.

It was another day at the office for photographer Graham Watson, who sent us these tidbits from his outbox.

Apparently the Marlboro Man took a wrong turn at Cheyenne and ended up in Belgium

I feel like crap. I don’t know why or what is going on, but I feel like crap these days. I sure am not getting my legs to turn the way I want them too and I am struggling quite a bit at the moment. These are supposed to me my kinds of days and, as I said, I am sort of on home turf, but it was all I could do just to stay in the field. If I knew what was wrong with me, I’d be a happy man, because I could do something about it. As it is, I have no idea why I feel like I lack power and struggling on the bike. It’s really tough on my head. I want to get my body to do more, but it just doesn’t

Remember all that talk about weight and lack of fitness a couple months back?

NAMUR - The first few stages of the Tour de France are always kind of tough. They probably look easy on paper compared to the mountain stages of the Pyrénées and the Alps, but don’t let the level terrain fool you. There’s no describing how nerve-wracking the opening stages of the Tour are. For starters, there’s a full field of nearly 200 guys all fired up about being at the year’s biggest race. Add high speeds, rain, a bunch of crashes, spectators in the road, a good hard chase to reel in a break away and the madness that ensues before a field sprint, and you pretty much have the recipe for

Only 3016km to go! This is supposed to be encouraging?!??!

Thor Hushovd of Crédit Agricole overcame great odds on Monday to become a somewhat unlikely leader of the 2004 Tour de France. On Tuesday, he will wear the yellow leader’s jersey because of his fast prologue time trial and the time bonuses he has collected for finishing third and second in stages 1 and 2. One of the things you have to love about the Tour is that it requires you to overcome great odds and unforeseen obstacles. Hushovd and his teammates knew that if he could finish in the top three on Monday, he would take over the race lead. They obviously were working for that during the

SRM founder Ulrich Schoberer with Saeco's Gerrit Glomser.

Italy's Alessandro Petacchi is considered to be the best sprinter in cycling, but the Fassa Bortolo speedster has struggled in the two high-speed finishes so far in this year's Tour de France. Petacchi was only eighth in Sunday's stage 1 to Charleroi behind Jaan Kirsipuu (AG2R) and again in Namur at the end of stage 2, which was won by Robbie McEwen (Lotto-Domo). After 12 months of consistent victories in sprint finishes, including a record nine stage wins in May's Giro d'Italia, he is wondering what has gone wrong. "I can't seem to sprint as I really want to, there's always somebody in