Road Racing

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Contador's director says he will keep attacking

Andy Schleck says stage 17 finish descent 'not really necessary'

Andrew Hood and Brian Holcombe take apart stage 17

PINEROLO, Italy (VN) — Jens Voigt strongly defended Leopard-Trek's tactic of riding for both Schleck brothers throughout the Tour de France rather than rally behind one of the brothers as a single leader.

PINEROLO, Italy (VN) — Alberto Contador reached across to Samuel Sánchez to shake his hand as the pair crossed the line Thursday after another daring raid that fell short.

PINEROLO, Italy (VN) - Two-time defending champion Alberto Contador has lit a fire at the front of the Tour de France in the final week ahead of the three biggest days in this year’s race. Contador’s Saxo Bank-Sungard manager Bjarne Riis said the Spaniard is recovered from the knee injury that hampered him in the Pyrénées and that he must attack every rider in the race on the road to the Col du Galibier Thursday.

Brian Holcombe checks in with HTC's Bernhard Eisel

Team Sky's Edvald Boasson Hagen won his second stage of the 2011 Tour de France on Wednesday, improving on his second place of the day before and giving Norway two stage wins in a row and its fourth stage of this Tour.

Stage

• 1. Edvald Boasson Hagen, Sky Procycling, in 4h 18' 00"
• 2. Bauke Mollema, Rabobank Cycling Team, at 00:40
• 3. Sandy Casar, Fdj, at 00:50
• 4. Julien El Fares, Cofidis Le Credit En Ligne, at 00:50
• 5. Sylvain Chavanel, Quick Step Cycling Team, at 00:50

• 1. Thomas Voeckler, Team Europcar, in 73h 23' 49"
• 2. Cadel Evans, BMC Racing Team, at 1:18
• 3. Frank Schleck, Team Leopard-Trek, at 01:22
• 4. Andy Schleck, Team Leopard-Trek, at 02:36
• 5. Samuel Sanchez, Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 02:59

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Costa Rica’s Andrey Amador (Movistar) spent Monday in quiet reflection after learning that he is professional cycling’s only rider not rumored to be joining BMC Racing in 2012.

GAP, France (AFP) - Tour de France leader Thomas Voeckler admitted to being put in trouble Tuesday after a surprise attack by reigning champion Alberto Contador threw the yellow jersey race wide open.

Welshman Geraint Thomas, who wore the Tour's best young rider white jersey during much of the race's opening week, has signed a new three-year deal with Team Sky.

GAP, France (VN) — Jonathan Vaughters (Garmin-Cervelo) says he's encouraged by signs that this Tour de France is a cleaner race.

GAP, France (VN) — Alberto Contador (SaxoBank-Sungard) said he wasn't going to ride all the way to Paris without a fight.

Thomas Voeckler's custom yellow Colnago C59

GAP, France (AFP) — Tour de France officials said Tuesday they were "not worried" by snowfall high up in the Alps a day before the peloton tackles three days in the mountains.

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Stage

• 1. Thor Hushovd, Team Garmin - Cervelo, in 3h 31' 38"
• 2. Boasson Hagen Edvald, Sky Procycling, at s.t.
• 3. Ryder Hesjedal, Team Garmin - Cervelo, at 00:02
• 4. Tony Martin, Htc - Highroad, at 00:38
• 5. Mikhail Ignatyev, Katusha Team, at 00:52

• 1. Thomas Voeckler, Team Europcar, in 69h 00' 56"
• 2. Cadel Evans, Bmc Racing Team, at 01:45
• 3. Frank Schleck, Team Leopard-Trek, at 01:49
• 4. Andy Schleck, Team Leopard-Trek, at 03:03
• 5. Samuel Sanchez, Euskaltel - Euskadi, at 03:26

Garmin Cervelo's world champion Thor Hushovd on Tuesday won his second individual stage of the 2011 Tour de France, a cold, rainy, 162.5km race from Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux to Gap.

GAP, France (VN) - Angelo Zomegnan is out as director of the Giro d'Italia.

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Tom Danielson's excited for the Alps to begin

VIDEO: Tyler Farrar: "I don't know" if Cavendish took pulls

SAINT-PAUL-TROIS-CHATEAUX, France (VN) — Mark Cavendish's fourth stage win Sunday didn't sit well with some of the other top sprinters who couldn't hold back their frustration that perhaps Cavendish made it through Saturday's brutal climbing stage up Plateau de Beille with something more than his own two legs.

SAINTE CÉCILE LES VIGNES, France (VN) - Four days in the mountains and a Belgian classics rider lie in the way of Mark Cavendish and his green jersey dreams. As the Tour de France heads for its final week in the Alps, Cavendish (HTC-Highroad) is closer now than ever to taking the maillot vert home, but he’ll have to outdo two rivals and 12 categorized climbs to stand on the podium in Paris in green.

A cold hard rain is forecast for Tuesday's stage 16. John Wilcockson takes a look at how such conditions have turned previous Tours upside down.

SAINT-PAUL-TRES-CHATEAUX, France (VN) ─ As the dust settled for Monday's rest day in the Tour de France, many inside the peloton were looking at Leopard-Trek with a critical eye.

Dan Wuori is one of the funniest Twitter bards in the cycling world (follow him at @dwuori). This month, he will be expanding a bit beyond 140 characters to share periodic journals during the Tour de France. Today's is the 15th.

BMC's Cadel Evans wonders whether the big names are underestimating Thomas Voeckler.

Tyler Farrar finds it frustrating to get nipped by a resurgent Mark Cavendish.

Tejay Van Garderen is still stoked to be racing the Tour and hopes to take home his own stage win.

Andrew Hood and Brian Holcombe break down stage 15.

Jérôme Coppel's Time RXRS UL Team.

if other teams don't want to ride for a sprint, what's the point of bringing a sprinter here?” asks Mark Cavendish. "If I was in a team that didn't want to ride for a sprint, it would be a bit of a knock to my ego. A sprinter is a bit of an egotistical person, you know."

Casey B. Gibson captures stage 15 of the 2011 Tour de France.

No French rider has won the Tour de France since Bernard Hinault in 1985. A French rider hasn't reached the final podium since Richard Virenque in 1997. That's a long time to wait and French fans and media are fanning the fires of Voeckler fever.

Breakfast with Bernie: a tough day in the gruppetto

HTC's Bob Stapleton says he sees "reasons for optimism," and that's about all he will say — for now.

• 1. Mark Cavendish, Htc - Highroad, 4h 20' 24"
• 2. Tyler Farrar, Team Garmin - Cervelo, s.t.
• 3. Alessandro Petacchi, Lampre - Isd, s.t.
• 4. Daniel Oss, Liquigas-Cannondale, s.t.
• 5. Joaquin Rojas Jose, Movistar Team, s.t.

Mark Cavendish delivers once more after Philippe Gilbert tries to steal a march on the sprinters in the final kilometers.

Tyler Farrar is riding pressure-free going into the third week of the Tour de France.

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HTC-Highroad sprint adviser Erik Zabel and VN's Brian Holcombe discuss the new intermediate-sprint structure and how it affects team strategy.

Andrew Hood and Brian Holcombe recap stag 14 of the 2011 Tour de France.

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For the sprinters, stage 14 is all about hanging on.

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A RadioShack team car driven by Johan Bruyneel was pulled over during Tursday’s stage 12 — apparently on suspicion of drunk driving.

The top-ranked American in the Tour de France, Tom Danielson, found himself in trouble Saturday on the final climb in the Pyrenees of this year's race. Garmin-Cervélo's surprise GC leader held tough, though, losing almost a minute but moving up the leaderboard heading into the final week of the Tour.

Andrew Hood weighs in with another in his series of Tour de France notebooks.

No one was more surprised that Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) kept the yellow jersey Saturday than Voeckler himself.

Casey B. Gibson and his camera bag were on hand as the peloton tackled a tough 14th stage of the 2011 Tour de France.

Colombian Rigoberto Uran boosted the fortunes of British outfit Team Sky by taking over the Tour de France white jersey after the tough 14th stage on Saturday.

Alberto Contador warned yellow jersey rivals Andy and Fränk Schleck that his campaign is alive and kicking after surviving the tough 14th stage of the Tour de France Saturday.

• 1. Jelle Vanendert, Omega Pharma - Lotto, at
• 2. Samuel Sanchez, Euskaltel - Euskadi, at
• 3. Andy Schleck, Team Leopard-Trek, at 00:46
• 4. Cadel Evans, Bmc Racing Team, at 00:48
• 5. Rigoberto Uran, Sky Procycling, at 00:48

Jelle Vanendert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) won the mountainous 14th stage of the Tour de France on Saturday as Thomas Voeckler mounted a surprising, spirited and successful defense of his yellow jersey.

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LOURDES, France (VN) — Will Plateau de Beille once again play king-maker at the Tour de France?

LOURDES, France, July 15, 2011 (AFP) - Andy Schleck insists the winner of Saturday's 14th stage on the Tour de France to Plateau de Beille will not necessarily be crowned yellow jersey champion this year.

July 16 Stage 14: St. Gaudens to Plateau de Beille, 168.5km (104.7 miles)

Andrew Hood talks to Frank Schleck after stage 13

LOURDES, France (VN) - Thor Hushovd called his improbable stage 13 win in Lourdes, on the hip of the Pyrénées, his most important at the Tour de France to date. Previously an eight-time stage winner, Hushovd surprised his Garmin-Cervélo teammates and even scared director Lionel Marie, who followed him on the breakneck descents of the cols d’Aubisque and du Soulor Friday afternoon.

Andrew Hood and Brian Holcombe wrap up stage 13 and look ahead to Saturday's tough stage

LOURDES, France (VN) — Jeremy Roy (FDJ) won a consolation prize by earning the day's most combative award, but French riders have come up empty so far in the 2011 Tour de France.

Ben Delaney walks us through the start village at the Tour de France