Tour de France 2025

Response of the UCI to a report from AFLD relating to anti- doping activities at the 2009 Tour de France PART 1: GENERAL COMMENTS The concept of partnership

The UCI is striking back at the French anti-doping agency AFLD, which earlier this month accused the UCI of giving Astana special treatment at the Tour de France.

The managers of the Tour de France arrived in Ajaccio, the capital city of Corsica Wednesday to kick off three days of meetings to explore the possibility of starting the race on the autonomous French Island in 2013. "This is the first step of a process to see if the Tour de France can be successfully held on Corsica,” said Tour director, Christian Prudhomme. During a press conference at the Corsican Assembly, Prudhomme said the meetings mark the first of "several trips” that will be necessary to rate the island’s ability to host the 2013 Grand Départ.

Related: Interactive Google Map of the 2010 Tour route

Carlos Sastre, the 2008 Tour de France champion, says he won’t commit to racing the 2010 Tour until he’s studied the routes of all three grand tours. After getting a glimpse of what’s a harder, more climber-friendly Tour in Wednesday’s roll-out of the 2010 route, Sastre’s comments over doubts of a possible Tour start come as a surprise.

Related: Interactive Google Map of the 2010 Tour route For the dedicated number-crunchers in the crowd, the annual Tour de France route announcement provides ample opportunity to quantify critical elements of the big race ahead. Although just a journalism major, European correspondent Andrew Hood took a stab at analyzing the 2010 Tour de France by the numbers:

Here are some reactions from the main players during Wednesday’s Tour de France presentation: Alberto Contador – 1st overall: “My authentic rival is Andy Schleck. Looking at the time trial, it’s better for me than last year. This Tour is better for me than last year, especially with a stage finish atop a climb so difficult as the Tourmalet.

When the lights dimmed in the Congrés de Palais in Paris for the presentation of the 2010 Tour de France, the unexpected was the plat du jour. Surprises are always part of the Tour presentation, and 2010 certainly didn’t disappoint. Hard days in the Pyrénées and a long, penultimate-day time trial in Bordeaux set the stage for a final week clash that should keep fans on the edge of their seats.

Prosecutors in Paris said Tuesday that they have launched an investigation into doping at this year's Tour de France after the discovery of suspicious medical equipment, including "syringes and drips," disposed of by teams in July. According to French daily Le Monde, the investigation involves a number of teams including the Astana squad of Tour winner Alberto Contador and his soon-to-be-former teammate Lance Armstrong. Prosecutors, however, noted they are reviewing materials from several teams and have not targeted individual riders or specific teams thus far.

The UCI has rejected charges that its doping testers showed preferential treatment to the Astana team at this year's Tour de France. The governing body's response was in reaction to published reports that the team of Tour de France winner Alberto Contador and third placed Lance Armstrong were given an easy ride during dope tests at the 2009 event.

Thor Hushovd wants to make it loud and clear: he’s intending on racing the 2010 Tour de France and defending his green jersey. There were some conflicting reports that the Norwegian winner of the 2009 sprinter’s jersey might skip the Tour, but the Cervélo TestTeam rider confirmed that next July will be much like this year.

What's that little red thing on Tour de France bikes' chainstays?

This week the Danish newspaper / Web site Ekstra Bladetran published an article in which physiologist Jakob Mørkeberg examined Lance Armstrong's Tour de France blood samples and said they might indicate a blood doping program.

UCI president Pat McQuaid told Reuters on Sunday that there were no positive tests at this year’s Tour de France. Based on controls taken so far, McQuaid said he is optimistic about the future of the sport. "At this point in time I haven't heard of any positive tests at this year's Tour de France or that we're checking samples to confirm positives,” McQuaid told Reuters’ Stephen Farrand. "It's looking like the Tour de France will not have any positive tests for a number of years.” McQuaid spoke to reporters Sunday during the final stage of the Tour of Ireland.

The 2009 Tour de France isn’t scandal-free anymore. Mikel Astarloza – the Basque climber from the Euskaltel-Euskadi team who won stage 16 in this year’s Tour – has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for EPO, the UCI reported Friday. The news comes as a blow to the Tour, which seemed to be leaving three years of scandal in the rear-view mirror with what appeared to be a dope-free Tour in 2009.

Bradley Wiggins, the Garmin-Slipstream rider who has made a spectacularly successful transition from the velodrome to the road, has released his blood profile data for the past year-and-a-half. The 29-year-old Wiggins equaled the best Tour de France finish by a Briton with fourth place in this year’s race and has said he wants to improve on that feat by 2011. The reigning individual pursuit Olympic champion and member of the gold-medal winning team pursuit squad in Beijing said he is fully committed to racing on the road, at least through 2012.

British rider Bradley Wiggins will focus his attention solely on the Tour de France for the next two years in an effort to win cycling's most daunting race. Wiggins equaled the best Tour finish by a Briton with fourth place at this year's event and wants to surpass that feat by 2011.

American Tour de France veteran George Hincapie said Tuesday that the collarbone injury he suffered in the 17th stage of this year’s Tour was indeed a fracture. Hincapie told VeloNews that he opted not to have the injury examined by doctors until after the Tour because “I really wanted to finish.” After a doctor’s visit, Hincapie announced the diagnosis on his Twitter page Tuesday morning. “Got some bad news this am,” Hincapie wrote. ”X ray confirmed my collar bone is broken.”

It seems some people don’t want to believe that the 2009 Tour de France was as pure as spring water. Pierre Bordry, the head of the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD), is telling the French daily Le Monde that he thinks as many as two new doping products as well as auto-blood transfusions could have been used during the 96th edition. “There’s a likelihood of blood transfusions and two new products that have been used during the Tour, but are not yet on the market,” Bordry told Le Monde in its Tuesday edition.

This updated story corrects an earlier mistranslation of a key quote. - Editor Tour de France winner Alberto Contador on Monday launched a stinging attack on teammate Lance Armstrong, saying relations between the two were tense throughout the race. "My relationship with Lance is zero. He is a great champion and has done a great Tour, but on a personal level I have never had a great admiration for him and I never will," the Spaniard told a news conference in Madrid.

Tour de France chief Christian Prudhomme credited Lance Armstrong for adding an interesting element to this year's race after the American came out of retirement to finish a commendable third overall. Armstrong finished more than five minutes behind Astana teammate Alberto Contador, who proved unbeatable over three weeks of tough racing on his way to his second victory since his maiden win in 2007. However, on more than one occasion, the 37-year-old seven-time champion showed that his sense for racing is still up there with the best.

The Spanish press hailed Alberto Contador as a "king" on Monday after the 26-year-old won the Tour de France for the second time after an intense rivalry with his Astana teammate Lance Armstrong. "The new king of the Tour is called Contador," top-selling daily El Pais wrote on its front page below a picture of a smiling Contador receiving his trophy on Sunday as Armstrong looked on beside him on the podium. "This is the second Tour of the fittest," the newspaper added.

Tour de France chief Christian Prudhomme was cautiously optimistic in celebrating a scandal-free 96th edition on Sunday. For the first time in recent history the world's biggest bike race avoided being dragged through the mire by drugs cheats. On this year's race only the sublime performances of Contador in the grueling mountain stages prompted some experts to raise eyebrows. However Contador, who won with a comfortable lead over his rivals, insists he is a clean Tour champion.

Ace shooter Casey B. Gibson finally got to drop that massive camera bag in Paris, but he sent along a few final pix before grabbing some downtime.

During the stage-winning celebrations at the Columbia-HTC team bus in Paris Sunday evening, directeur sportif Allan Peiper pointed out that Mark Cavendish scored his record six field-sprint wins at this Tour in very different ways. The 24-year-old Brit not only packs a kick that is fast enough to out-accelerate most of his rivals but he can also improvise in way that few sprinters have ever been able to do.

Britain's Mark Cavendish called his sixth stage win in this year's Tour de France "beautiful" after powering to a stunning victory on the Champs-Élysées on Sunday. A superb lead-out from Columbia-HTC teammate Mark Renshaw gave Cavendish a clear run to the line as he surged away from green jersey Thor Hushovd (Cervélo TestTeam) and Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream). "The Champs-Élysées is a dream for every sprinter in the world; to cross the finish line in view of the Arc de Triomphe with your arms in the air," Cavendish said.

Lance Armstrong admitted on Sunday that he did not join his teammates in celebrating Alberto Contador's Tour de France triumph on Saturday night, preferring instead to go for drinks with the backers of his future outfit, Team RadioShack. "To be honest, I went out for dinner with the RadioShack guys and I had a few extra glasses of wine than I would have normally done," said Armstrong.

Past winners of the Tour de France

Alberto Contador took Spain's tally to 12 wins in 96 editions of the Tour de France when he wrapped up his second victory of the Tour here on Sunday. Reputed climber Federico Bahamontes, nicknamed the 'Eagle of Toledo,' broke new ground for his countrymen by winning the race in 1959 after years of domination by the French, the Italians and Belgians. Following in Bahamontes' trail, albeit 14 years later, was the great Luis Ocana, who claimed his only win in 1973 in an era dominated by Belgian great Eddy Merckx.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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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. WithdrawalsUpdated July 20 Stage 3 159. Jurgen Van de Walle (B), Quick Step – Did not start Stage 4 197. Piet Rooijakkers (Nl), Skil-Shimano – Withdrawal

Defending Tour de France champion Carlos Sastre lashed out Monday for being shown a "lack of respect" coming into this year's race. And the Spaniard, now almost out of contention for a second consecutive victory on the race, said he believes that "certain riders" are conspiring to make sure he does not win the Tour de France. After the first of three days in the Alps Sastre's yellow jersey hopes have faded after he slipped further down the general classification on Sunday's summit finish to Verbier.