Road

The prologue of any three-week tour is unlike any of the other stages. On Saturday, the Tour de France’s 21 teams were cloistered together in the parking lot of the municipal swimming pool in Dunkirk, with riders spending most of their day hanging around the team buses, warming up, shuttling back and forth from team hotels, and smiling for the media. Crowds gather around each team’s area, which is marked off by police tape. And judging by the masses gathered around the U.S. Postal and Telekom camps, there are two overwhelming favorites for this year’s Tour: American Lance Armstrong and German

Complete prologue results

The first day of racing at the World Cup stop in Grouse Mountain proved two things: short downhills are exciting and dual is not. In the downhill it was a pair of French riders, Fabien Barel (GT) and Anne-Caroline Chausson (Volvo-Cannondale), walking away with the winner’s points. For Chausson that meant an even tighter grip on the World Cup overall lead. For Barel that meant overtaking teammate Steve Peat, who missed Saturday’s race after suffering a separated shoulder in a training crash on Thursday. Barel’s win was a slim as can be. The gregarious Frenchman nipped Aussie Chris Kovarik

As of 1:20p.m. (Eastern time - U.S.) The French are celebrating in Dunkirk. They have a new race leader. Festina's Christophe Moreau has turned in a 9:20:59 (52.71kph), giving him the win in this Tour de France prologue U.S. Postal's Lance Armstrong finished in third with a 9:24.64 and Telekom's Jan Ullrich took fourth with 9:27.76. As of 1:08p.m. (Eastern time - U.S.) Defending Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong is on the course. Looking relaxed and confident, the U.S. Postal Service star, smiled, checked his radio earpiece and charged off the line, one minute after Telekom's Jan

Jan Ullrich (G)Erik Zabel (G)Udo Bölts (G),Giuseppe Guerini (I)Jens Heppner (G)Andreas Kloden (G)Kevin Livingston (USA)Steffen Wesemann (G)Alex Vinokurov (Kaz) Country: GermanyIn the peloton since: 1991Sponsor: International telecommunications corporationBudget: $7 millionManager: Walter GodefrootDirecteur sportif: Rudy PevenageAssistants: Frans Van Looy and Mario Kummer

Francesco Casagrande (I) Fabio Baldato (I) Ivan Basso (I) Wladimir Belli (I) Sergei Ivanov (Rus) Dmitri Konyshev (Rus) Nicola Loda (I) Alessandro Petacchi (I) Country: ItalyIn the peloton since: 2000Sponsor: Cement companyBudget: $4.1 millionManager: Giancarlo FerrettiDirecteurs sportifs: Alberto Volpi and Stefano ZanattaAssistant: Oscar Pirazzini

Joseba Beloki (Sp) Santos Gonzalez (Sp) Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano (Sp) Jörg Jaksche (G) Marcos Serrano (Sp) Carlos Sastre (Sp) Ivan Gutierrez (Sp) Ivan Parra (Col) Rafael Diaz Justo (Sp) Country: SpainIn the peloton since: 1989Sponsor: National lottery run by the society for the blindBudget: $4.1 millionManager: Pablo AntonDirecteur sportif: Manolo SaizAssistants: Santiago Garcia and Sebastian Pozzo

Michael Boogerd (Nl) Erik Dekker (Nl) Bram De Groot (Nl) Steven De Jongh (Nl) Maarten Den Bakker (Nl) Marc Lotz (Nl) Grischa Niermann (G) Geert Verheyen (B) Marc Wauters (B) Country (Netherlands)In the peloton since: 1996Sponsor: Dutch banking corporationBudget: $3.5 millionManager: Jan RaasDirecteur sportif: Theo De RooyAssistants: Adri Van Houwelingen and Joop Zoetemelk

On the final day of the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, Saturn’s Lyne Bessette wrapped up her third consecutive overall win a Fitchburg, while the weather once again led to a premature end of the men’s stage, neutralizing the results and leaving Saturn’s Eric Wohlberg as the men’s champion. The final stage of the women’s race came down to a field sprint, with national criterium champion Laura Van Gilder (Verizon) beating out Procter & Gamble’s Joanne Kiesanowski for the downtown criterium win. Just behind came Bessette’s closest challenger, Genevieve Jeanson (RONA),

There were no major surprises as the U.S. Postal Service team announced its line-up for the upcoming Tour de France. Joining two-time defending champion Lance Armstrong will be three Americans — Tyler Hamilton, George Hincapie and Christian Vande Velde; Spaniards Roberto Heras and Jose Luis Rubiera; Russian Viatcheslav Ekimov; Norwegian Steffen Kjaergaard; and Colombian Victor Hugo Pena. The full text of the team’s announcement follows: U.S. POSTAL SERVICE PRO CYCLING TEAM TOUR DE FRANCE TEAM ANNOUNCED Choosing from what he called were 10 valid candidates, the United States Postal Service

When Lance Armstrong enters the start house at the prologue of this year’s Tour de France, he’ll not only be the two-time defending champion, but for the first time in his career he will be the UCI’s world No. 1 ranked rider. The UCI issued its latest rankings on Monday, with Armstrong moving into the top spot, ahead of Liquigas’s Davide Rebellin, thanks to Armstrong’s win at the recent Tour of Switzerland. Telekom’s Erik Zabel is third, with Giro d’Italia winner Gilberto Simoni fourth. UCI road rankings(at July 2)1. Lance Armstrong (USA), U.S. Postal Service, 2098pts 2. Davide Rebellin

It's live: VeloNews's exclusive pre-race coverage of our sport's biggest event. There's also a link to this area from every page on the site; look for the red box at the top, left-hand side of the page. Here's what you'll find: Exclusive live minute-by-minute coverage of each stage by VeloNews editors on location in France. Revealing profiles on the top contenders in the race, including a close look at two-time Tour winner Lance Armstrong. Daily diary entries from Americans Tyler Hamilton (Armstrong's right- hand man on the U.S. Postal Service team), Kevin Livingston (Ullrich's right-hand

Michele Bartoli (I)Paolo Bettini (I)Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun)David Cañada (Sp)Stefano Garzelli (I)Daniele Nardello (I)Tom Steels (B)Bart Leysen (B)Stefano Zanini (I) Country: ItalyIn the peloton since: 1993Sponsors: Mapei: Chemical building products; Quick Step: Parquet flooringBudget: $7 millionManager: Alavaro CrespiDirecteurs sportifs: Roberto Damiani, Fabrizio Fabbri, Serge Parsani, Eric Vanderaerden, Jesus Suarez Cueva and Matxin Fernandez Rodriguez

Oscar Sevilla (Sp)Santiago Botero (Col)Felix Cardenas (Col)Laurent Desbiens (F)Aitor Gonzales (Sp)José Gutierrez (Sp)Javier Pascual Llorente (Sp)Antonio Tauler (Sp)José Vidal (Sp) Country: SpainIn the peloton since: 1980Sponsors: Kelme: sports clothes and shoes; Costa Blanca: Valenciaregion of SpainBudget: $3.5 millionManager: Vicente BeldaDirecteurs sportifs: José Ignacio Labarta and José Luis Laguia

Daniel Atienza (Sp)Iñigo Cuesta (Sp)Andrei Kivilev (Kaz)Massimiliano Lelli (I)Guido Trentin (I)Nico Mattan (B)David Millar (GB)David Moncoutié (F)Christophe Rinero (F) Country: FranceIn the peloton since: 1997Sponsor: Telephone credit bankerBudget: $4.8 millionManager: Alain BondueDirecteur sportif: Bernard QuilfenAssistants: Alain Deleoeil and Francis Van LonderseleConsultant: Tony Rominger

Stéphane Heulot (F)Xavier Jan (F)Guillaume Auger (F)Ludovic Auger (F)Thierry Gouvenou (F)Christophe Capelle (F)Sébastien Talabardon (F)Loïc Lamouller (F)Alexeï Sivakov (Rus). Country FranceIn the peloton since: 1994Budget: $2.6 millionSponsors: BigMat: chain of building materials stores; Auber 93: City and general council of Seine Saint-Denis.Manager and directeur sportif: Stéphane JavaletAssistants: Thierry Bourguignon, Jean-Jacques Henry

Didier Rous (F)Walter Bénéteau (F)Sylvain Chavanel (F)Jean-Cyril Robin (F)François Simon (F)Franck Renier (F)Damien Nazon (F)Franck Bouyer (F)Olivier Perraudeau (F) Country: FranceIn the peloton since: 2000Sponsor: Chain of free newspapersBudget: $3.4 millionManager: Philippe RaimbaudDirecteur sportif: Jean-René BernaudeauAssistants: Thierry Bricaud, Christian Guiberteau and Christophe Faudot

Laurent Brochard (F)Patrice Halgand (F)Olivier Trastour (F)Laurent Roux (F)Gilles Bouvard (F)Eddy Seigneur (F)Christophe Oriol (F)Jérôme Bernard (F)Stéphane Goubert (F) Country: FranceIn the peloton since: 2000Sponsor: chain of jewelry storesBudget: $2 millionManager: Serge BarleDirecteur sportif: Michel GrosAssistant: Jean-Luc Jonrond

Saturday’s stage 3 of the Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, saw Saturn hold onto both the men’s and women’s overall leads, while 7UP-Colorado Cyclist’s John Lieswyn and RONA’s Genevieve Jeanson scored the stage wins. In the women’s race, Jeanson attacked early on in the six-lap, 69-mile race, followed by race leader Lyne Bessette (Saturn) and Jane Cosmetics’ Susan Palmer-Komar. On the hot, humid day, the three built up a lead of nearly four minutes, but when Jeanson and Bessette began playing cat-and-mouse, Palmer-Komar took advantage, launching a solo breakaway of her

Ludovic Capelle (B)Sébastien Demarbaix (B)Jaan Kirsipuu (Est)Alexander Botcharov (Rus)Christophe Agnolutto (F)Benoît Salmon (F)Ludovic Turpin (F)Stéphane Bergès (F)Gilles Maignan (F) Country: FranceIn the peloton since: 1996Sponsors: AG2R: Provident insurance company; Décathlon: chain of bicycle and athletic clothing storesBudget: $3 millionManager: Vincent LavenuDirecteurs sportifs: Laurent Biondi and Gilles Mas

Telekom’s Jan Ullrich was one of the many national champions crowned on Sunday, as he won the German national championship in Bad Duerrheim, Germany, breaking clear to beat teammate Erik Zabel by 10 seconds. Among the other new national champions were Ludovic Capelle (Belgium), Daniele Nardello (Italy), Didier Rous (Bonjour) and Mercury-Viatel’s Jans Koerts.

France's Laurent Gané took the match sprint title as the World Track Cup continued Saturday in Pordenone, Italy. Other winners included Belarus's Natalia Markovnitchenko in the women's match sprint and Russia's Olga Slioussareva in the women's pursuit. American Tanya Lindenmuth took fourth place in the match sprint, losing to Oxana Grichina in the bronze-medal match.

Slovenia, France, West Virginia, Utah. Steve Peat doesn’t care, he just keeps winning. The moptop Brit continued his win streak at round 3 of the NORBA series in the high alpine air of Deer Valley, Utah, Sunday. To keep the tear alive, Peat had to get past his main rival Nicolas Vouilloz, as well as two-time defending champion at Deer Valley, Chris Kovarik (Intense) of Australia. In the women’s race, Missy Giove (Global) had a wild ride on the loose, dusty 1.5-mile course to beat the Schwinn duo of Elke Brutsaert and Leigh Donovan. For Peat and Vouilloz, there was little pressure, as both

Lance Armstrong (USA)Viatcheslav Ekimov (RUS)Tyler Hamilton (USA)Roberto Heras (ESP)George Hincapie (USA)Steffen Kjaergaard (NOR)Victor Hugo Pena (COL)Jose Luis Rubiera (ESP)Christian Vande Velde (USA) Reserves: Cedric Vasseur (F), Matthew White (Aus) Country: United StatesIn the peloton since: 1995Sponsor: American postal serviceBudget: $6.5 millionManager: Mark GorskiDirecteur sportif: Johan BruyneelAssistants: Dirk Demol and Dan Osipow

Raivis Beohvosciks (Lat)Rubens Bertogliati (Swi)Ludo Dierckxsens (B)Robert Hunter (SA)Marco Pinotti (I)Marco Serpellini (I)Zbigniew Spruch (Pl)Jan Svorada (Cz)Johan Verstrepen (B) Reserves: Matteo Frutti (I) and Gabriele Missaglia (I) Country: ItalyIn the peloton since: 1999Sponsors: Lampre: sheet metal manufacturer; Daikin: air conditioningBudget: $2.7 millionManager: Giuseppe SaronniDirecteur sportif: Pietro AlgeriAssistants: Maurizio Piovani and Brent Copeland

Mario Aerts (B)Serge Baguet (B)Jeroen Blijlevens (Nl)Fabien De Waele (B)Guennadi Mikhailov (Rus)Kurt Van de Wouwer (B)Paul Van Hyfte (B)Rik Verbrugghe (B)Stive Vermaut (B) Reserves: Koos Moerenhout (Nl), Robbie McEwen (Aus), Steve De Wolf (B) Country: BelgiumIn the peloton since: 1984Sponsors: Lotto: National lottery; Adecco: temp agencyBudget: $3.2 millionManager: Christophe SercuDirecteurs sportifs: Jos Braeckvelt, Claude Criquélion and Walter Planckaert

David Etxebarria (Sp)Unai Etxebarria (Ven)Roberto Laiseka (Sp)Alberto Lopez de Munain (Sp)Haimar Zubeldia (Sp)Iñigo Chaurreau (Sp)Angel Castresana (Sp)Txema Del Olmo (Sp)Iker Flores (Sp) In the peloton since: 1994Sponsors: Euskaltel: telecommunications company; Euskadi: government of the Basque CountryBudget: $2.6 millionManager: Miguel MadariagaDirecteur sportif: Julian GorospeAssistant: Ruben Gorospe

Laurent Jalabert (F)Michael Blaudzun (Dk)Francisco Cerezo (Sp)Marcelino Garcia (Sp)Nicolas Jalabert (F)Jakob Piil (Dk)Nicki Sörensen (Dk)Rolf Sörensen (Dk)Plus: Nicolai Bo Larsen (Dk) or Martin Rittsel (S) Country: DenmarkIn the peloton since: 1998Sponsor: Computer systems companyBudget: $5.5 millionManager: Bjarne RiisDirecteur sportif: Alex PedersenAssistant: Johnny Weltz

Enrico Cassani (I)Servais Knaven (Nl)Axel Merckx (B)Marco Milesi (I)Johan Museeuw (B)Fred Rodriguez (USA)Romans Vainsteins (Lat)Max Van Heeswijk (Nl)Piotr Wadecki (Pl) Reserves: Koos Moerenhout (Nl), Robbie McEwen (Aus), Steve De Wolf (B) Country: BelgiumIn the peloton since: 1986Sponsors: Domo: carpet and vinyl flooring; Farm Frites: producer of French friesBudget: $6 millionManager: Patrick LefévèreDirecteurs sportifs: Hendrik Redant, Marc Sergeant and Fons De Wolf

Friday’s stage 2 of the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, saw no change in the overall standings, as Mercury’s Baden Cooke won the men’s 77.5-mile circuit race and Genevieve Jeanson of RONA won the women’s 40.3-mile race. Jeanson beat out Bessette in a big group finish, with Verizon’s Laura Van Gilder third, but the RONA rider could only pick up a few seconds on the day thanks to time bonuses. Jeanson now trails Bessette by 47 seconds In the men’s race, team Saturn was able to hold the race together for race leader Eric Wohlberg, and the race ended with Mercury’s Cooke

Olympic gold medalist Marty Nothstein continues to show his versatility this season, with his latest showing coming at the World Track Cup in Pordenone, Italy, where he scored the silver medal in the kilometer. Nothstein clocked a time of 1:05.890, to finish second behind German Soren Lausberg. In other action on Friday, German Thomas Liese won the gold in the individual pursuit.

The only thing swirling faster than the dust at Deer Valley Saturday afternoon were the short-track racers careening around the base area of the Park City ski resort. The crash-filled men’s race resembled a roller derby, and the women’s race produced a first win for a consistent podium finisher. In the end, Subaru-Gary Fisher’s confident 21-year-old Ryder Hesjedal capped off a stellar weekend with the win, and Jimena Florit (RLX Polo Sport) finally scored what she’s been chasing since short track was invented. In an explosive men’s race, Hesjedal, who also won Friday’s cross-country, dodged

The Saturday night dual slalom is always a show at the Chevy Trucks National Championship Series, and this Saturday’s showdown at Deer Valley lived up to its billing. The red-hot Leigh Donovan (Schwinn) remained undefeated in 2001 with her third straight win, and the men’s race — which featured such compelling battles as Brian Lopes versus Nicolas Vouilloz — was won by another legend, Eric Carter (Mongoose-Hyundai). And if all that weren’t enough, Shaun Palmer was there. To watch. For an example of what the hillside crowd was treated to at the end of a hot day at Deer Valley, consider the

The Saturday night dual slalom is always a show at the Chevy Trucks National Championship Series, and this Saturday’s showdown at Deer Valley lived up to its billing. The red-hot Leigh Donovan (Schwinn) remained undefeated in 2001 with her third straight win, and the men’s race — which featured such compelling battles as Brian Lopes versus Nicolas Vouilloz — was won by another legend, Eric Carter (Mongoose-Hyundai). And if all that weren’t enough, Shaun Palmer was there. To watch. For an example of what the hillside crowd was treated to at the end of a hot day at Deer Valley, consider the

With 1998 winner Marco Pantani uninvited, this 88th Tour de France has the look of a two-horse race, at best. Other than '97 winner and three-time runner-up Jan Ullrich, the rest of defending champion Lance Armstrong's potential rivals look to be too inexperienced, too old - or they're on Armstrong's team! Upsets do happen. But not this year. So here is our assessment of each contender's strengths and weaknesses: 1. Lance Armstrong (USA), 29, U.S. Postal Service plus: The two-time defending champion says: Catch me if you can! His team is stronger than last year, particularly in the

The traditional four-day start-of-summer/Fourth of July stage race in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, got underway on Thursday, with team Saturn taking the top spots in both the men’s and women’s stage 1 time trial. Eric Wohlberg took the men’s race while Lyne Bessette won the women’s opener at the Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic. Bessette’s win marked the start of a four-day showdown with Canadian teenage sensation Genevieve Jeanson (RONA). Jeanson, who has been virtually unbeatable in her carefully selected season schedule, began the time trial one minute ahead of Bessette, the recent winner of the HP

When the team time trial returned to the Tour schedule last year, someone wrote of the Nantes-St. Nazaire stage: "We no longer count the big ships that never returned to port, sunk along the way by relays too strong, or not strong enough!" The ONCE team -- clear winners last year (in 70km, they beat U.S. Postal by 46 seconds, Telekom by 1:26, Crédit Agricole by 1:32 and Rabobank by 2:12) -- finished the Tour de France utterly exhausted, while their Spanish rivals, Kelme, Festina and Banesto, came back into the picture and took the first three places in the final team classification. How can

Stage 6 starts in the center of Commercy, which the Tour is discovering for the first time. A rolling start occurs five minutes later, followed by the Void-Vacon hill at the 10th kilometer, and a long trek across the Meuse, Meurthe-et-Moselle and Vosges regions. Certainly, the stage is set, but we know nothing of the strength and the standings of the principal players. Because on this day after the team time trial, like the day after a party, it’s time to take stock -- the optimists find the bottle half-full, the pessimists judge it to be half-empty. Reading the general classification is

Nothing has changed on the face of the Tour, and the questions that arose yesterday still arise today: Who is in command, who has lost time, who wants to hold on and who wants to do it over? In other words, what remains of the team time trial -- which was presented as the Tour’s first big showdown? Without the ability to foresee the placings, we can still make the following statement: This new stage is short (162.5km); it plays out on terrain that begins to show some elevation, since it connects the Col du Kreuzweg at kilometer 48, the Col de Fouchy at kilometer 67, the Haut-de-Ribeauvillé

Would they already need to take a breather? In any case, on paper, the 222.5km between Colmar and Pontarlier evoke what we call the "stages of transition" — in other words, stages that should just exist to move the race between the more important stages, and so not be a threat to the team leaders. In some way, St. Omer–Boulogne-sur-Mer, Calais–Antwerp, Huy–Verdun, Commercy–Strasbourg, Pontarlier–Aix-les-Bains, Pau–Lavaur and Brive–Montluçon also fall into that category this year. It remains, though, that once on the road, maps tend to merge; the history of cycling doesn’t place less

We finally notice it once it enters its second week: this Tour de France is not like the others, and even if it does not claim, with its 3462km, to be the shortest in history (the first editions, almost a century ago, were less than 2500km), it nevertheless equates to a rather low average stage distance. Therefore, since the team time trial, the succession of fairly short stages, multiplying the number of stops, creates the impression that we are postponing, day by day, the head-on collision with the race’s core. A second reading would lead us to believe that the organizers are controlling

Return to the mountainsSince this morning, they are no longer the same, and since we must write what they have become in less than a night, we will portray them as tense, nervous, irritable, distrustful and even elusive, which a psychologist would translate into a simple formula: The racers are scared! Yes, from the first to the last, from the smallest to the biggest, from Jacky Durand who still keeps his good mood, to those who have proven themselves in the mountains -- Lance Armstrong, Jan Ullrich, Roberto Heras and Francesco Casagrande -- all are apprehensive of this day that brings to

A second phase of the Tour de France begins today, the morning after the Tour’s first rest day. And what a bizarre and time-warped Tour de France it is -- similar to a Pepe le Moko clock about which legendary cycling historian Pierre Chany once wrote: "When the clock strikes noon, it’s 10 o’clock or 3 o’clock, or even 5 o’clock!" In other words, this "second" Tour is not the same for everyone. If you had to place bets this morning, you could imagine that of the riders in front and the riders behind, the riders ahead are not necessarily those who are best-placed on G.C. For example, consider

It was as if a bomb had exploded on the race: Raymond Poulidor had dropped Eddy Merckx! At 38, the man who writer Antoine Blondin nicknamed "the quadragenarian" had attacked the Belgian legend as they started climbing a mountain that was new to the Tour, but would become infamous from the moment that Poulidor left the master behind. That’s because in this month of July 1974, the battle that unfolded between Seo de Urgel and St. Lary-Soulan -- with the climbs of the Col du Portillon and the Col de Peyresourde, followed by the first-ever finish at the Pla d’Adet summit, at an elevation of 1680

Lance Armstrong became only the second American to win the Tour of Switzerland, 14 years after Andy Hampsten took the second of his consecutive victories. In Thursday's final stage, Armstrong finished safely in the main pack, some three minutes behind a five-man break that resulted in a stage win for Oskar Camenzind of Lampre-Daikin. Camenzind was defending champion of the Swiss tour, but this year played a support role to teammate Gillberto Simoni, who finshed second overall, 1:02 behind Armstrong. To win the 176km stage 10, out and back from Lausanne, Camenzind escaped with Frenchmen

Like kids the first day back at school, they arrive in droves, some laughing, some frowning, but all talking about the mountains with some trepidation. Mountains that embrace the sprinters when the clock strikes 11 but spit them out at the start of the evening, with legs as leaden as a ship’s anchor! Mountains that invite in the climbers and play with them, make fun of them, leaving them to curse in a loud voice, humiliated — but only for a while, because their anger subsides as their muscles stiffen. What time is it now? Two o’clock? Three o’clock? It must be 3 because they’ve already

While Lance Armstrong rode in for the final victory at the Tour of Switzerland on Thursday, one of his possible Tour de France rivals won the Tour of Catalonia in Spain on the final day of the race. ONCE’s Joseba Beloki, third in last year’s Tour de France, won the last-stage time trial to capture the Catalonia title in Alt de la Rabassa, Spain, on Thursday, beating out teammate Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano and Coast’s Fernando Escartin for the overall victory. Beloki was the only rider to crack the 34 minute barrier on the 13.9km uphill time trial on the Col de Rabassa, with a time of 33:47,

Is this a third Tour de France that begins today? At first, the idea may make you smile, but the day after the second rest day, what sprinter doesn’t want to take the idea literally? And what sprinter doesn’t dream, on reading the race bible, of marking the race with his imprint and winning a stage? Remaining for the fast finishers are today’s stage to Lavaur, tomorrow’s at Sarran, Thursday’s at Montluçon, Saturday’s at Evry and, of course, Sunday’s in Paris, the toughest to win. Five of the six final stages have been laid out to please sprinters, a race that’s been invisible since July 16,

Results from urine and blood samples provided by Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong and the rest of his US Postal team at last year's Tour de France will not be released for "at least another month", prosecutors in Paris announced Thursday. The decision means that any remaining suspicion surrounding the American team will have to be allayed until after this year's 88th Tour de France which starts in Dunkirk on July 7 and ends in Paris on July 29. "The results from tests made on the urine and blood samples provided by the US Postal team in last year's Tour de France are not

For sure, he will be there, and perhaps from the start in Castelsarrasin, capital of France’s Tarn-et-Garonne region, which like the finish town of Sarran is welcoming the Tour for the first time. According to some sources, he will follow the entire route in the flagship vehicle seated next to Jean-Marie Leblanc, the race director. Others insist that he will arrive incognito and watch the race from the roadside, like so many of his predecessors. Still others tell us that he will head for kilometer 157, at Les Escures, where the Tour enters the Corrèze region. In any case, from the first to

The French dictionary of place names tells us that Dunkirk, city of 70,000 inhabitants, county seat of the Nord department, takes its name from a Dutch word meaning "church of the dunes." According to the same source, the region was reunited with France in 1658, after being ruled by the Spanish monarchy. But other sources tell us that it wasn’t until 1911, with the first appearance of the Tour de France in Dunkirk, that the city actually felt itself to be French. After this, the Tour’s history took its course: Charles Crupelandt, stage winner here in 1912, succeeded Gustave Garrigou; Marcel

Not so long ago, when the Agrigel-La Creuse-Fenioux team was in the peloton with Thierry Marie and Jacky Durand at its head, they would have regarded this stage as their private hunting ground. Following a proven technique, Durand would offer to attack early on, Marie to leave the field at a certain kilometer. Once together, and riding into the Creuse region, they would have had tremendous fun, and we want to believe that they would’ve found some support. To borrow a line from Molière, "The two of them are as thick as thieves." There couldn’t be a better setting for all this, as the Creuse

St. Omer has grown up around the Notre Dame basilica and St. Denis church. It is a city of art and history, a city that holds, in its Sandelin Museum, beautiful ceramics from Delft, paintings, archaeological artifacts and a masterpiece in gold -- the foot of the cross of St. Bertrin. In short, despite its history of considerable suffering (St. Omer was bombed during both World Wars), life here is good. We suppose it would be even better were it not for a small problem -- never, in 87 editions, has the city hosted the Tour de France! But St. Omer will emerge instantly from its anonymity

Since a certain Greg LeMond took out Laurent Fignon in the final moments of the 1989 Tour, thus imitating Jan Janssen in 1968 and Jacques Anquetil in 1964, everyone demands that the Tour’s final time trial have some degree of drama. Yet this requirement is rarely well received; the Tour plays tricks in its own way, and that way may not necessarily be the way one expects! Besides, how can we demand suspense for the finale, given that a successful Tour de France assumes that the time spent in the mountains has revealed the best riders? And unless we envision that the Alpe d’Huez stage was a

If the words carry a double meaning, this hamlet of Le Tap-Cul, which the race swallows in the guise of an hors-d’oeuvre, could be much more than a simple point on the map: an invitation, a warning…. Because in cycling, "tape-cul" (literally "slap-ass") means potholes and cobblestones, potholes and echelons, potholes and pitfalls -- in short, everything the vocabulary can imagine as soon as the peloton rides the back roads of the North. Leaving Calais, this Monday stage heads directly toward Flanders; at 1:30 p.m. it will cross the Belgian border. In Leisele, Gijverinkhove and Hoogstade,

This is a very short stage (149.5km) that on paper appears misplaced in every way! So close to the Champs-Elysées, and so compressed, is it really a stage? The racers will let us know. But will they say the same as the race followers? That’s another question, but we are free to imagine these followers bent over their race bibles, looking at the day’s program. The day begins in the city of Orléans, an old companion of cycling, which has seen Tour stage wins by Frenchmen Jean Stablinski (in 1964) and Pierre Beuffeuil (1966); and Belgians Eddy Merckx and Michel Pollentier (both in 1974). With

The first time that the Tour de France came to Belgium, on June 26, 1947, a fiery sun was broiling the countryside and Frenchman René Vietto from the Côte d’Azur gave everyone a lesson. Vietto, a natural climber, transformed himself into a flatlander, or should we say a Flandrian; and the best Belgians of the time -- Raymond Impanis, Briek Schotte, Albert Sercu and Prosper Depredomme -- lived the supreme humiliation of being dropped 100km from the finish. "My old friend René," wrote Jacques Goddet for L’Équipe the next day, "you have just accomplished the finest exploit of your career,

The questions that we were asking three weeks ago have since found their answers, questions about race contenders Armstrong, Ullrich, Heras and Casagrande; about Zabel, the man seeking a sixth green jersey, and Laurent Jalabert, the flag-carrier of French cycling. The report card is ready, and we now know whether the American has become a three-time Tour winner, matching his compatriot Greg LeMond. We also know how the race shaped up, and whether the organizers dealt us some winning cards. "This will be a very complete Tour, with a prologue, 10 flat stages, three semi-mountain stages, four

The difficult opening to this stage, with its Ardennes climbs of Celles, Marquisette, Ave-et-Auffe and Rendu, should not fool us. The day’s 215km are theoretically reserved for the sprinters, and the renowned Tom Steels could again make his strength known, as long as the German Erik Zabel -- already a record five-time winner of the green jersey -- doesn’t decide to lay the foundations for a sixth triumph in the points competition in Verdun. Aah, Verdun. With or without cycling, for every Frenchman Verdun remains a name that defies understanding, where thousands of soldiers were

George Hincapie is no stranger to the Tour de France. The popular American racer rode his first Tour in 1996 with Motorola when he was just 23, and he has been a fixture at the July race ever since. In his first year, Hincapie had a bad crash and didn’t finish, but he has made steady progress in each of the following years. In 1998, the spring classics specialist had one of his best Tours from an individual standpoint, narrowly missing a chance to wear the leader’s yellow jersey after featuring in a winning breakaway on stage 3. The next two years, however, weren’t about individual goals.

The last three years have presented American Tour de France hopeful Bobby Julich with a long and rocky road. As a member of the French outfit Cofidis in 1998, Julich surprised nearly everyone with a third-place finish, but crashes and illness have taken their toll on the man from Colorado ever since. At last year’s Tour, Julich was a glum figure, out of the headlines until Jeroen Blijlevens decided to punch him on the Champs Elysées. But if memories of that, and the year before when Julich crashed out of the Tour in the stage 8 time trial, were on his mind this past March, it didn’t show.

Telekom’s Erik Zabel won the ninth stage of the Tour of Switzerland on Wednesday, 166.8km between Sion and Lausanne, Switzerland. Zabel beat out Gerolsteiner’s Saulius Ruskis and Domo-Farm Frites’ Robbie McEwen in the mass field sprint finish. U.S. Postal Service’s Lance Armstrong retained the leader’s yellow jersey with only one stage to go. Zabel profitted from the work of the Saeco, Domo and Cofidis teams who chased down lone escapee Bert Grabsch (Phonak) before the finish. Grabsch had escaped along with Rolf Huser (Coast) in the town of Martigny, but the German dropped Huser on the one

Twenty-five-year-old Ernie Lechuga picked out a true classic for his first big win since coming back from testicular cancer last year. The DeFeet-LeMond rider added his name to the long list of top riders who have won the Nevada City Classic when he beat out Jelly Belly’s Damon Kluck in the Northern California race, June 24. "So many famous people have won this race, and I’m hoping one day I’ll be one of those famous riders," said Lechuga, whose co-sponsor Greg LeMond is one of those former winners. Lechuga was well on his way three years ago, as one of the top under-23 riders in the U.S.,

There will be only one American team at the Tour de France this year, Lance Armstrong’s U.S. Postal Service formation. The expected debut by Mercury-Viatel was thwarted in May by the Tour organizers’ jingoistic wild-card choice of two extra Division II French teams, as opposed to a second Division I team from the U.S. Despite that, there could still be as many as nine Americans on the start line in Dunkirk. Here is a quick look at each of them, with a review of their 2001 preparation and prospects. Lance ArmstrongAge: 29Height: 5 ft. 11 in. Weight: 165 lbs.Hometown: Austin, TXTeam: U.S.

Italian Daniele de Paoli (Mercatone Uno) took a solo win at the seventh stage of the Tour of Catalonia, 1:20 ahead of Spaniards Fernando Escartin (Coast) and Joseba Beloki (ONCE). Beloki’s ONCE teammate Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano retained the leader’s white jersey. On the queen stage of the tour, passing over four passes in the Pyrenees before the finish atop Els Cortals de Encancamp, de Paoli escaped just 29km into the stage along with Andreas Kloden (Telekom), Santiagor Botero (Kelme-Costa Blanca), Roberto Laiseka (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Pavel Tonkov (Mercury-Viatel) and Daniel Clavero

Several of the major players in the sprints changed teams this year, something that is sure to shake up the dynamics of the Tour’s field sprint finishes. But five-time green jersey winner Erik Zabel hasn’t gone anywhere, and it’s this German rocket who tops our list of the Tour’s best sprinters. 1. Erik Zabel (G), 31, Telekom Until last year, Zabel had won four straight green points jerseys, but hadn’t won a Tour stage since 1998. Perhaps the arrival of leadout man Gianmatteo Fagnini -- formerly Mario Cipollini’s right-hand man -- made the difference: Zabel won the second-to-last stage last

Ivan Gotti (Alessio) took the win at stage 6 of the Tour of Catalonia while Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano (ONCE) took over the race leader’s jersey from teammate Marcos Serrano after the hot, mountainous 184km stage between Les Borges Blaques and Boi Taull in Spain. Gotti was part of a dozen-rider break that escaped 42km into the race. The break would gain up to four minutes as it headed toward the final climb at Boi Taull, with grades of 12 percent. There, Gotti and Spaniard Aitor Kintana (Jazztel) would attack, while behind, the rest of the break began to get caught by the remnants of the

Two-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong put himself in a commanding position Tuesday as he won the eighth stage of the Tour of Switzerland, a 25.5km uphill time trial to Crans-Montana. The 29-year-old American, who will be bidding for a third successive Tour de France triumph next month, took the overall leader's yellow jersey off Italian Wladimir Belli (Fassa Bortolo), who could finish in only the fifth fastest time. Armstrong now leads Giro d’Italia champion Gilberto Simoni, second on the stage, by 1:02 overall. Simoni was 1:25 back of Armstrong on the stage, followed by Tyler

Oh, impatient ones. Here's where you'll drop by when the clock starts ticking on July 7. We've got two great shooters for the site this year: Graham Watson and Casey B. Gibson. Plus, Bryan Jew and Lennard Zinn will have digital cameras with them as they interview riders, team mechanics and directeurs sportif.

One prologue. Twenty stages. Two rest days. 3454 kilometers. The joy of finishing in Paris: Priceless.

"Tuft by name, tough by nature," was overall winner Henk Vogels' comment about GP Cycliste de Beauce final stage winner Svein Tuft (Team Canada). While Tuft took stage 7, Vogels was able to give Mercury-Viatel its first ever win at Beauce after Saturn was unable to exert enough pressure to crack its rivals. Mercury had good reason to worry - last year they had Scott Moninger in the lead going into the final stage, only to lose it all when they succumbed to relentless attacks by other teams. This year the course seemed custom made for such a situation; 15 laps of an 11km circuit with 2.5km

Spain’s Oscar Laguna (Relax-Fuenlabrada), soloed in for victory at the fifth stage of the Tour of Catalonia on Monday, coming in 10 seconds ahead of New Zealander Julian Dean of the U.S. Postal Service. Laguna was part of an eight-man breakaway group, and the Spanish rider escaped 12km from the finish to capture the victory, while ONCE’s Marcus Serrano retained the leader’s white jersey. On the flat, 178km transitional stage from Granada to Vila Seca, the breakaway group attained a maximum lead of more than nine minutes, which made Laguna the virtual leader on the road. However, Serrano’s

Italian rider Stefano Garzelli (Mapei-Quick Step) came home alone in Naters, Switzerland, after escaping for 135km to win Monday's 156.5km seventh stage of the Tour of Switzerland from Locarno. The 27-year-old, who won the 2000 Giro d’Italia, crossed the line 4:22 ahead of compatriot and teammate Michele Bartoli (Mapei-Quick Step), while Czech Tomas Konecny (Domo-Farm Frites) was third 7:27 behind and just ahead of American George Hincapie (U.S. Postal Service). Fassa Bortolo’s Wladimir Belli retained his one second overall lead over this year's Giro champion, Gilberto Simoni

Without incident. That was my biggest goal in the HP Women's challenge this year. Certainly I had people tell me otherwise. "That's a pretty small goal," I heard, or "30th place isn't worth defending." Well, it is to me. This is my fourth consecutive try at this race. The first one saw me starved, dehydrated and hooked up to an IV on day two. The second was supposed to be revenge. It was perfect until a flat on the last day in the first kilometer of the race forced me to chase all day and lose 20 spots. That was pure heartbreak. Last year, well, that crash was famous enough that the

Scott Moninger won the sixth stage of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Beauce stage race on Saturday, moving into second overall behind his Mercury teammate Henk Vogels. Eugen Wacker (Mroz-Supradyn Witaminy) was second on the stage, half a second back, and John Lieswyn (7Up-Colorado Cyclist) was third. The sixth stage was a 15km individual time trial in the town of St Georges de Beauce, and Moninger was the favorite, having won the same stage in 2000. "I really wanted to try to move into second overall before tomorrow's final stage. It is crucial for us to have two riders in good position, so

Tour de France contender Joseba Beloki (ONCE-Eroski) won the fourth stage of the Tour of Catalonia in Spain on Sunday, while his teammate Marcos Serrano re-took the leader’s white jersey from Santos Gonzalez. Beloki finished in front of Oscar Sevilla (Kelme-Costa Blanca) and Miguel Angel Martin on stage 4, a short, nervous and hilly trip over second- and third-category climbs around Barcelona. Sevilla was the instigator of an attack on the final climb, 15km from the finish, and was followed only by Beloki. The two crested the climb with about a 30 second lead, but from that point, Beloki

The 2001 HP Women’s Challenge finished in Boise, Idaho on Sunday in a style reflective the way this race has gone over the past 12 days: the Saturn women’s team in control, especially when it counted. Finishing the day’s 55.2-mile final stage from Middleton to Boise, Saturn’s Ina-Yoko Teutenberg grabbed her second stage win of the race while teammate Lyne Bessette cruised across the line in the field having secured a nearly five-minute lead in the final general classification. The Saturn team in general and Bessette in particular had been in charge ever since the first stage of this 13-stage

Russia's Sergeui Ivanov, of the Fassa Bortolo team, won a sprint finish to take Sunday's 174km sixth stage of the Tour of Switzerland, which started and finished in Mendrisio, Switzerland. Ivanov came from behind to cross the line in 4:00:27, just ahead of Kazakhstan's Alexandre Vinokourov (Telekom), France's Laurent Jalabert (CSC-World Online) and Switzerland's Alexandre Moos (KIA-Swiss) in the sprint to the line. Ivanov’s Italian teammate Wladimir Belli, who finished in 11th position at five seconds behind the leaders, retained the overall leader's yellow jersey with a one-second advantage

Australian Henk Vogels (Mercury-Viatel) kept his yellow jersey for another day at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Beauce, despite finishing five minutes and three seconds behind stage 5 winner Philippe Koehler of Mapei-Quick Step. Koehler barely managed to hold off Canadian national champion Czeslaw Lukaszewicz (Team Canada) in a two-man mountain top finish to take the stage; his first win as a professional racer. The 170km fifth stage is considered the most difficult of the seven-stage, 959km race. The stage culminates with a 5.5km climb to the Mont Megantic observatory, atop the highest paved

Russian veteran Dmitri Konyshev of the Fassa Bortolo team came home alone after the 220.6km fifth stage of the Tour of Switzerland on Saturday. The 35-year-old veteran came in 1:57 ahead of Italians Gilberto Simoni (Lampre-Daikin) and Wladimir Belli (Fassa Bortolo) and Spain's Manuel Beltran (Mapei-Quick Step) following the run from Widnau to St. Gothard. Belli, Konyshev's teammate, took the overall race leader's yellow jersey but is just one second clear of Tour of Italy winner Simoni. Two-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong of the United States finished seventh at 2:34 behind to