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The Tour de France took the unusual step of hitting the Giant of Provence - Mont Ventoux - on the penultimate day of the race. Casey Gibson was there to catch the action.

The Tour de France organizers’ experiment of making the peloton race up Mont Ventoux the day before the finish had mixed results. It was a thrill for the estimated 500,000 fans who lined the 21km length of the infamous climb. It was a burden for most of the 156 men who have survived the rigors of another rugged race out of the 198 starters. And it showcased the still-obvious strength of Lance Armstrong to finish ahead of the riders who threatened his third place on the final podium in Paris.

Alberto Contador is less than a day away from winning his second Tour de France – and fourth grand tour – in three years. During the past three weeks, the Spanish climber has withstood intrigue within the Astana camp, attacks from the Schleck brothers and hints that his victory was something a little bit too extraordinary. Through it all, Contador remained tranquilo. VeloNews listened in on the post-stage press conference with the winner apparent. Here’s what Contador had to say: Question: Was the tension within the team a major factor?

Last year’s top two at the 2008 Tour de France are having a hard time dealing with the fallout of their less-than-expected rides in this year’s edition and are directing their frustration at the media. Defending champion Carlos Sastre, who blasted the media in a rest-day press conference, publicly apologized for his comments while last year’s runner-up Cadel Evans is still broiling at piques from the press. Sastre released a lengthy communiqué Friday “recognizing my own mistakes.”

Spaniard Juan Manuel Garate dedicated his maiden victory on the Tour de France to his Rabobank team. Rabobank came to the race hoping to challenge for the yellow jersey but their team leader Denis Menchov, the Tour of Italy champion, went from bad to worse on a campaign littered with crashes and mediocre performances. Having also lost riders through injury, the Dutch outfit were set to go home empty-handed and had been looking to Spanish sprinter Oscar Freire to lift morale on the ride to the Champs Elysees on Sunday.

Maybe Lance Armstrong will like Mont Ventoux a little more now. Armstrong hung tough on the mountain that’s always given him trouble to fend off attacks from the Schleck brothers and secure a podium spot with third place going into Sunday’s finale at the 2009 Tour de France. “I cannot complain for an old fart coming here,” Armstrong said after the stage. “Getting third on these young guys is not so bad.”

Columbia's Mark Cavendish says he never focuses on his rivals, but on Sunday's final stage of the Tour de France the Columbia rider would do well to keep a close eye on Thor Hushovd. Despite going one better than he did in 2008 by winning five stages at the race so far this year Cavendish has unfinished business - challenging for the points competition's green jersey. Going into Sunday's 164km ride from Montereau-Fault-Yonne to the Champs Elysees in Paris Hushovd has a significant lead of 25 points on Cavendish.

Rabobank finally got a victory in the 2009 Tour de France as Juan Manuel Garate joined an early break on Saturday and stayed away to win the penultimate stage atop the forbidding summit of Mont Ventoux. Saxo Bank's Andy Schleck did all he could do to upset the top of the GC — his team powered the peloton much of the day and Schleck led the yellow jersey group for much of the climb, attacking alone and with his brother Frank.

Moises Aldape (Team Type 1) must have experienced a little déjà vu as he crossed the finish line of the Cascade Lakes Road Race by himself in stage 4 on Friday – he won this same stage last year. Phil Zajicek (Fly V Australia p/b Successful Living) won a bunch sprint to take second place 13 seconds later, while Francisco Mancebo (Rock Racing) took third. The top of the GC remained unchanged with Oscar Sevilla (Rock Racing) retaining his lead, Jeff Louder (BMC) in second at 40 seconds back, and Mancebo in third at 1:00 back.

The courses for Thursday's Annecy time trial stage vs. the team time trial in Montpelier a few weeks ago were quite different. The same can be said of the TT bikes in use by various teams and riders — they are all quite individual. However there are always some common themes, and at the TTT in week 1 of the Tour, we noticed some trends. Let’s have a look at some trends in the team paddock.

Slippery wheels

Columbia's Mark Cavendish won 19th stage of the Tour on Friday, a hilly stage tucked between the Annecy time trial and the penultimate Mont Ventoux stage. All the GC favorites and race leader Alberto Contador finished safely in the front group, setting up a battle for the Parisian podium on the slopes of Mont Ventoux Saturday. Lance Armstrong (Astana) was the only GC favorite on the right side of a four-second split at the end, picking up a small edge going into the final two days.

Friday's tough day of racing at the Tour de France was contested with Saturday's big stage to the Ventoux at the back of most riders' minds. Photographer Casey Gibson spent much of the day on a motorcyle crossing this part of France with the peloton.

Alberto Contador (Astana) all but has the 2009 Tour de France in the bag. The same goes for second-place Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank). At 4:11 back, the younger Schleck probably won’t be passing the Spanish climber, yet if his climbing legs click back into gear, he won’t have to worry too much about anyone else bouncing ahead of him on the podium. That leaves a real dogfight for the final podium spot, with four riders separated by just 38 seconds.

Second-placed Andy Schleck says only a disaster on Mount Ventoux for yellow yersey holder Alberto Contador will give him any chance of winning the Tour de France. With just two stages left, 24-year-old Schleck is 4:11 behind Contador, with his teammate Lance Armstrong in third and determined to finish second behind Spain's 2007 Tour winner. But Saxo Bank leader Schleck says he will do everything he can to take time off Contador on Saturday's penultimate stage from Montelimar, which finishes after the fierce 21.1km climb up Mont Ventoux.

Lance Armstrong ruffled some feathers when he called the 2008 Tour de France a “joke” in the months ahead of his celebrated comeback. The seven-time Tour winner has since apologized for making those remarks, but the top stars from last year’s Tour are not having much luck in the 2009 edition. Of last year’s top 10, only two – Frank Schleck and Christian Vande Velde – are hanging among the leaders this year. Four – Bernhard Kohl, Samuel Sánchez, Alejandro Valverde and Tadej Valjavec – aren’t even in the race.

Garmin chief Jonathan Vaughters said Friday that while Tour de France leader Alberto Contador is a "fantastic rider," he would not confirm rumors his team was hoping to hire the Tour de France leader. Contador, of Astana, has a virtually unassailable lead of 4min 11sec over second-placed Luxembourger Andy Schleck ahead of Saturday's 20th and penultimate stage to the summit of Mont Ventoux. Two days before the end of the race a huge question mark is hanging over the future of the Astana team, whose leaders are Contador and seven-time champion Lance Armstrong.

Lance Armstrong said Friday he is already looking at potential riders for his new team at next year's Tour de France. Armstrong will lead Team Radioshack in the 2010 race and while no riders have yet been signed, he is looking at several options. "We haven't signed anybody yet, but there are still a lot of guys on the radar," said Armstrong. "Obviously there are a few guys I have already been working with like Levi Leipheimer, Chris Horner and Andreas Kloden. "We have a good bunch of guys here and we want to keep them together.

Editor's Note: The following excerpt, photos and map are taken with permission from Graham Watson's Tour de France Travel Guide. The book, published this spring, is available from VeloPress This excerpt was originally published on VeloNews.com on June 29, but we thought readers would enjoy another look before Saturday's stage. Enjoy. Graham Watson Mont Ventoux panoramic photo

Mont Ventoux

National Racing Calendar points leader Tom Zirbel (Bissell) won Thursday’s stage 3 Skyliner’s Time Trial at the Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Cycling Classic, 11 seconds ahead of Ian McKissick (BMC) in second, and 44 seconds ahead of Oscar Sevilla (Rock Racing) in third.

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Stage 17 of the Tour de France was bound to be a make-or=break affair for those aiming at a podium position in Paris. Saxo Bank's Andy Schleck predicted stage 17 would be important during Monday's rest day press conference, “We will see a lot of damage in stage 17 with the Col de Romme and the other four climbs."

Skil-Shimano is the only team in this year’s Tour de France with a component manufacturer as a co-title sponsor. Naturally with Shimano making such investment into this Continental Professional team from the Netherlands, it made sure to outfit it with its latest and greatest components.

Alberto Contador solidifies his grip on the yellow jersey in Thursday's Stage 18 Time Trial at the Tour de France. Casey Gibson was there.

Forty-five minutes after Thursday’s stage, Fabian Cancellara was sitting in the lobby of Hotel Impérial Palace along the shores of Lake Annecy trying to figure out how he lost the 40.5km time trial to Alberto Contador. The reigning Olympic time trial champion doesn’t lose against the clock very often when he’s on form, and Cancellara said he had a pretty good idea of why he lost.

Lance Armstrong admitted suffering during Thursday's time trial in the Tour de France, but says his aim now is to defend his third place in the overall standings in Saturday's climb up Mount Ventoux and even mount a challenge for second against Andy Schleck. Armstrong finished the time trial around Lake Annecy in 16th at 1:30 behind stage winner Alberto Contador, his Astana teammate and the yellow jersey-holder. The American said his goal is to ride well on Ventoux, protect on his spot on GC or even move up on his rival for second place, Saxo Bank's Andy Schleck.

Tour de France race leader Alberto Contador on Thursday refused to respond to questions relating to his stunning climbing performance in the 15th stage and Thursday’s time trial victory. Spain's 2007 champion took another step towards overall victory when he won the 18th stage time trial to take a virtually unassailable lead of 4:11 over Luxembourg's Andy Schleck. Coming less than a week after his impressive victory on the summit of Verbier in Switzerland, it has cemented Contador's reputation as the best stage racer in the world.

News that Danilo Di Luca tested positive for CERA during the recent Giro d’Italia was met with universal disdain among most at the Tour de France. The Italian tested positive for the banned blood booster, CERA, en route to finishing second to Denis Menchov (Rabobank) at the Giro in May, the UCI confirmed. If Di Luca’s B-sample is confirmed, he could be banned for two years and stripped of his second place and stage victories during the three-week Italian grand tour.

Going into this year's Tour, a small, gnawing uncertainty lingered — would stricter enforcement of UCI rules cause start-line drama for any teams or riders? Cycling’s international governing body issued a statement in May indicating they would take a hard line. Specifically, aero bars and seatposts would be carefully measured for compliance with UCI rules.

Lance Armstrong’s new team will be Team RadioShack for the 2010 season and beyond. RadioShack Corporation will form an American ProTour team, and, beginning next year, Lance Armstrong will compete for Team RadioShack "as a cyclist, runner and triathlete," the company announced in a press release. Armstrong will continue to promote his LiveStrong Foundation with RadioShack.

Yellow jersey Alberto Contador flew around the 40.5km Annecy time trial course to win the stage and cement his lead in the Tour de France. Contador beat time trial specialist Fabian Cancellara by two seconds, and put 50 seconds or more on the other GC competitors, including teammates Andreas Klöden and Lance Armstrong. Contador was fastest through all but one of the intermediate time checks, making his biggest gains on the course’s one climb, and holding his advantage to the end.

Evelyn Stevens (Webcor Builders) on Wednesday continued her surprise domination of domestic women's racing, taking a second consecutive stage win, this time with a solo attack from the bottom of the final climb. In the men's race, Rock Racing's Oscar Sevilla, a former Tour de France Best Young Rider, soloed across the line seven seconds ahead of Peter Stetina (Felt Holowesko-Garmin), taking over the leader's jersey from stage 1 winner Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissell).

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From truckloads full of young fans, packed in like cattle, to a cadre of elite mountain troops, the fans came out to see the Tour's toughest stage on Wednesday, and VeloNews photographer Casey B. Gibson was there to capture the scene.

Alberto Contador attacked once on the Col de la Colombière near the end of Wednesday’s queen stage, but it didn’t make anyone happy on the Astana Team. Contador’s surge with about 2km to go to the Colombière didn’t gap the victorious Schleck brothers, but it popped Astana’s Andreas Klöden out of the back of the elite, four-man group. Klöden eventually lost 2:27 to the Schlecks and opened the door for the Schlecks to slip into second and third.

After the most difficult mountain stage of this Tour de France, Alberto Contador appears to have wrapped up his second overall victory in three years. But the fight for the other two podium places will continue Thursday in the stage 18 time trial at Annecy — before being wrapped up on the Mont Ventoux summit Saturday. Five men still have hopes of joining Contador on the podium: his two Astana teammates Lance Armstrong and Andreas Klöden, Saxo Bank’s Andy and Fränk Schleck, and Garmin-Slipstream’s Brad Wiggins.

Tour de France crash victim Jens Voigt has been told he will have to wait for a decision on whether he faces surgery on his smashed cheekbone, his Saxo Bank team announced Wednesday. The 37-year-old was temporarily knocked unconscious after a high speed crash during the race's 16th stage from Martigny in Switzerland to Bourg Saint Maurice on Tuesday. After being revived at the scene the German veteran was flown by helicopter to hospital in Grenoble where he was diagnosed with a broken cheekbone and heavy concussion.

Thor Hushovd (Cervélo TestTeam) heard the comments from arch-rival Mark Cavendish about how the big Viking needed to DQ the British sprinter to have any chance to win the green jersey. The tension was ratcheting up even since the stage to Besançon when Cavendish was relegated for irregular sprinting in the bunch sprint for 13th place. That UCI jury decision essentially gifted Hushovd the green jersey. But the Cervélo sprinter was too proud to take it that way.

Alberto Contador (Astana) survived another slugfest Wednesday and took a giant step toward winning his second Tour de France in three years. Despite his seemingly insurmountable lead of 2:26 over Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank), questions remain, however, about Contador’s durability in the third week of the Tour. Add the pressure of the yellow jersey and sometimes the final week can crack even the strongest of riders. So far, Contador has proven to be quite resilient, resisting both pressures from within the Astana and the attacks from his rivals on the road.

Following their strong performance on the 17th stage of the Tour de France, Saxo Bank’s Fränk and Andy Schleck met with the press. By finishing first and third in what is widely regarded as the toughest stage of the Tour thus far, the brothers have moved up into the top three of the overall standings, trailing only race leader Alberto Contador (Astana), who finished second on the day. Andy Schleck now occupies second place, 2:26 behind Contador, while Fränk is in third at 3:25. VeloNews’Neal Rogers attended the press conference and provides these highlights.

Seven-time champion Lance Armstrong said he is now fighting for second place on the Tour de France after he slipped further off the virtual podium following Wednesday's 17th stage. Saxo Bank’s Fränk Schleck won the 169.5km ride on the toughest day in the Alps while Armstrong’s teammate, 2007 Tour champion Alberto Contador, finished second to tighten his grip on the yellow jersey. Fränk Schleck’s brother and teammate Andy, third on the stage, is second at 2:26 while Frank is 3:25 adrift in third.

Saxo Bank’s Andy and Frank Schleck climbed their way up in the general classification on stage 17, with only race leader Alberto Contador (Astana) able to follow the Luxembourg riders over the day’s final climb and down to the finish. But Astana continued to show its might, with Lance Armstrong and Andreas Klöden riding strongly to finish fifth and sixth on the day and shedding the other GC contenders. Bradley Wiggins (Garmin-Slipstream) rode with the select Armstrong group towards the end, but lost the wheel on the final climb up the Col de la Colombiere to finish 3:10 down.

Danilo Di Luca tested positive for EPO during the Tour of Italy, in which he placed second, the UCI said Wednesday. The 33-year-old LPR team leader, who is not competing in the Tour de France, won two stages of the Giro and wore the leader's pink jersey for eight days. He finished second overall 41 seconds behind Rabobank's Denis Menchov. Di Luca was due to take part in the Brixia Tour in Italy on Thursday and had been targeting the world championships at the end of September in Mendrisio, Switzerland. The UCI Press Release:

Under a blazing high desert sun in Central Oregon, the 30th Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Cycling Classic opened Tuesday with the 71-mile Smith Rock Road Race. This season's breakout woman, 26-year-old amateur Evelyn Stevens (Webcor Builders), took the bunch sprint ahead of Tina Pic (Colavita-Sutter Home) and Chrissy Ruiter (ValueAct Capital). In the men's race, Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissell) soloed away from a break to cross the line 10 seconds before Jeff Louder (BMC) and Francisco Mancebo (Rock Racing) in second and third.

For the men, eventually, a successful break

Editor's Note: Michael Barry is a member of the Columbia-HTC team. Pedaling up the climb without a car in sight, the sun beating down, my open jersey fluttering in the breeze and my legs turning fluidly, my mind started wandering. The road was one I had ridden countless times, alone, with teammates, rivals and friends. I know every meter of road after nearly 10 years of riding in Girona — it now feels like home. Daily, we meet for rides, forming a group that contains many of the best professional cyclists in the world.

Carlos Sastre isn’t a happy camper at the 2009 Tour de France. The defending champion’s frustration poured out in a scathing press conference on Monday’s rest day when he accused the media of not giving him his due respect. Things started off badly, when the first question was innocent enough, querying whether Sastre was happy with how his Tour was going so far.

Popular German rider Jens Voigt (Saxo Bank) was involved in a high-speed crash midway down the twisting Col du Petit-Saint-Bernard in Tuesday's 159km 16th stage at the Tour de France, but team officials say that his injuries are not life-threatening.

In a statement issued late Tuesday evening, the team said the 37-year-old German is alert, but will remain hospitalized for observation.

"An examination at the University hospital in Grenoble this evening has initially given positive reports on Jens Voigt's health after the nasty crash during today's stage of Tour

Lance Armstrong said on Tuesday he would definitely ride in next year's race, a reliable source told AFP. Armstrong plans to announce a new sponsor on Thursday, although he refused to say if it would replace his present team Astana. However, his close friend and mentor Johan Bruyneel announced earlier on Tuesday that he is set to quit as Astana's team manager, and rumors are rife that he is ready to start up a new team with Armstrong the likely leader.

With two alpine stages done and the most difficult one coming up on Wednesday, the 96th Tour de France is fast revealing its harshest features. The double St. Bernard stage Tuesday saw longtime race leader Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R-La Mondiale) and former white jersey Tony Martin (Columbia-HTC) fall out of the top 10, while Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) had his worst day ever at the Tour and dropped to 17th overall, 7:23 behind yellow jersey Alberto Contador.

Bradley Wiggins' laid-back approach to challenging for the Tour de France yellow jersey paid off again Tuesday when he came through the tough 16th stage in the Alps unscathed. Wiggins, who rides for the American team Garmin-Slipstream, has been impressing rivals and fans alike by remaining in contention for the race's yellow jersey despite only recently showing his potential as a serious racer on major tours.

Time is running out for the Schleck brothers and their quest to finish on the podium in Paris. The Saxo Bank riders realize that overall victory is difficult, but they believe that if they can dislodge the likes of Lance Armstrong and Bradley Wiggins, they still could be getting kisses from the podium girls when the Tour ends July 26 in Paris. They tried with everything they had in Tuesday’s two-climb stage across the heart of the Alps.

Pedro Delgado knows a thing or two about winning the Tour de France. The Spanish climber won the 1988 and helped herald the golden age with Spanish cycling capped by the five-year reign by Miguel Indurain in the early 1990s. Delgado, who works as a race commentator for Spanish TVE, says Alberto Contador could spark Spain’s second golden era. On the Tour’s second rest day on MondayVeloNews caught up with Delgado, 49, to hear his views on Contador and how the 2009 Tour is shaping up. Here’s what he had to say:

The Johan Bruyneel era at the Astana team will conclude at the end of this season. Bruyneel confirmed to Belgian television Sporza that he will stop running the Kazakhstan-backed team at the conclusion of the 2009 season, citing a breakdown over the expected return of Kazakh rider Alexander Vinokourov. “Astana is a closed chapter for me,” Bruyneel told Sporza.

A truck belonging to the Astana team was searched for three hours on Tuesday by police, it was confirmed. The truck, containing spare bikes, equipment and food, was making its way from the start of the 16th stage at Martigny, Switzerland to the finish line at Bourg St. Maurice, France. It was stopped at the Swiss-France border near the Swiss village of Le Chatelard and searched by police, but nothing was found, confirmed Astana spokesman Philippe Maertens. "They were very thorough and opened every suitcase, every container and found nothing," he told AFP.

Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel-Euskadi) used a daring last-minute break to win the 16th stage of the 2009 Tour de France, a short, tough ride from Martigny in Switzerland, to Bourg-Saint-Maurice in France. The Spaniard claimed his first Tour stage victory by attacking a four-man break in the final 2km, just as it was about to be joined by a second four-man group, and held his advantage to win by just six seconds ahead of Sandy Casar (Française des Jeux) with Pierrick Fedrigo (Bbox Bouygues Telecom) third.

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Less Badger!

The German Focus brand is far from a household name in the United States. But with new products, a growing range of models, and now a U.S. sales office, the brand hopes to make an impression on this side of the pond. In their effort to gain recognition, Focus is off to a good start as the official bicycle sponsor of Team Milram. The German brand is (rightly) very proud of the fact that the Milram team is registered in Germany, populated with 17 German pros, and uses a range of German products, including the Focus Izalco bicycle, Lightweight wheels, and Continental tires.

Alberto Contador looked relaxed and at ease on the Tour de France’s second rest day, largely because he was. With his stage victory atop Verbier on Sunday, Contador not only claimed the yellow jersey but he also gave him enough GC cushion that he can breathe a little easier going into the Tour’s final week. With Lance Armstrong publicly declaring his support for Contador, the Spanish climber is now hoping that the Astana team will rally behind him and carry him to victory in Paris.

Stage 15 was the first major test of the Alpine stages and included a mountain top finish, the second of three in this year’s Tour. The finish in Verbier, Switzerland, has never hosted the Tour de France before, but many of the riders know the finish quite well since the Tour of Switzerland has finished in Verbier several times.

Saxo Bank’s Andy Schleck said Monday he is ready to give his all in the remaining six stages of the Tour de France in an effort to beat race leader Alberto Contador. Contador, the 2007 champion, took command of the race in style on Sunday when he won the first part of an Alpine trilogy to leave Schleck chasing hard to finish 43 seconds back. Schleck is now fifth in the overall standings at 2:26, but he pointed out that there is still plenty more racing to come.

Cadel Evans said Monday he expects the race to finish first in this year's Tour de France to go down to the wire. Unfortunately for Australia's two-time runner-up, he does not believe he will even be in the running for a podium place. Evans suffered his "worst ever day" on the world's biggest bike race on Sunday when an inexplicable loss of power left him battling to keep pace with the favorites on the summit finish to Verbier on the 15th stage.

The following is the full start list for the 2009 Tour de France. We will continue to update this list throughout the Tour.