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After outfitting sponsored teams with new time trial helmets last week, Giro used the first mountain stages of this year’s Tour to unveil a new road helmet as well. Unlike the TT helmet, which has yet to be named, priced, or slated for release to the public, the new Giro Prolight is already in the pipeline for retailers this coming spring.

Giro Prolight – less is more

Close calls Well, two more sprint stages in the books and two more near misses. One second- and a third-place are certainly nice, but not quite the win we have been looking for. We're definitely getting our timing dialed for the bunch kicks, though. Julian has been amazing the last couple of days! It's going to click one of these days. The only bummer today was that both Christian and Ryder crashed. This was the third time Ryder has hit the deck! They say bad things come in threes though, so I guess he's gotten them all out of the way now.

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While Mark Cavendish is getting all the glory of stage win after stage win at this 96th Tour de France, he always compliments his Columbia-HTC teammates, notably his lead-out man Mark Renshaw. But the Manxman, who looks like he’s on his way to at least six stage victories this year, also knows that he would never get the opportunity to use his explosive sprint if it weren’t for his less-heralded colleagues Bernhard Eisel of Austria and Bert Grabsch of Germany.

Mark Cavendish kicks it in the last 200 meters of a 192km stage to Saint Fargeau. Casey Gibson was there for the whole race, capturing images from another terrific day at the Tour de France.

With Columbia-HTC’s Mark Cavendish having won four of this year’s nine road stages, it would be easy to assume his sprint victories have come as easily as he makes it appear. However looks can be deceiving. On Wednesday the 24-year-old from the Isle of Man equaled his tally of Tour stage wins from last year’s Tour, and in doing so matched the record number of stage wins by a British rider; he also took back the green jersey from Cervélo’s Thor Hushovd.

Five-time Tour de France champion Bernard Hinault has never been one to hold his tongue. A month before the Tour started, the last French Tour winner lashed out at just about everyone in an infamous interview, lambasting riders and sport directors alike. VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hood sat down with Hinault this week to get his assessment of how the race is shaping up midway through the 2009 Tour de France and the “Badger” was at his cantankerous best. Here are excerpts from the interview:

Dear readers, It’s Tour time and that means that for many of you, you’re first dose of VeloNews.com comes in the form of a visit to our Live Update page. As many of you know, we’ve switched formats since last year and that allows us to read many of your questions directly in our update editing tool. Over the course of the last 11 stages, we’ve had quite a few repeat questions pop up, so I thought I’d try to turn this edition of the Explainer into a sort of FAQ page for folks who stop in to check up on the Tour.

They said stage 11’s uphill finish would certainly shed Mark Cavendish, opening the door for someone else to win. They were wrong. With his trusty leadout Columbia-HTC train of George Hincapie and then Mark Renshaw setting him up at the front of the peloton, Cavendish jumped on the uphill sprint finish of stage 11 to take the win ahead of Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream) and Thor Hushovd (Cervélo TestTeam). The bunch finish came at the end of Wednesday’s flat 192km stage from Vatan to Saint-Fargeau, following an all-day two-man breakaway that was caught with 5km to go.

Mark Renshaw: Columbia's lead-out man extraordinaire

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Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski is making room in his closet for another stars and stripes jersey. Maybe two.   Less than one month after taking the marathon cross-country national championship race, held at the Firecracker 50 race in Breckenridge, Colorado, Horgan-Kobelski comes into this weekend’s USA Cycling mountain bike national championships in nearby Granby as the odds-on favorite to win.  

Behind every great sprinter — or perhaps in front of — is a great lead-out man. Mario Cipollini had Giovanni Lombardi, Alessandro Petacchi had Marco Velo. Mark Cavendish, who is quickly establishing himself as the man to beat in the high-speed sprints, has found his man. Mark Renshaw, a 27-year-old Australian who joined the Columbia-HTC team this season, is the rider who delivers Cavendish to the line. Cavendish is quick to point out that the success is thanks to a team effort, but singled out Renshaw as the best in the business.

The Tour de France always showcases a wealth of new products. This year, we’ve seen helmets, shoes, saddles, pedals, and even a road frame or two. We’ll have a look at each over the course of the next few days.

Specialized Body Geometry S-Works road shoe

Editor's note: The Tour de France recently honored John Wilcockson for his remarkable 40 years of reporting. VeloNews.tv took the opportunity to salute him.

The Tour of Missouri is a go. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon on Tuesday rejected a state Department of Economic Development recommendation to pull $1.5 million in funding for the race. Last week the race's promoter said that if the money were pulled, the race would have to be canceled. "Even as my administration continues to tighten its belt, I believe that the 2009 Tour of Missouri should go forward," Nixon said in a statement. "The race will go on this year." Nixon called for a more transparent accounting of how the money is spent, however.

Sure, Bastille Day is the day France celebrates its Revolution, but it also marks the mid-point of this year's Tour. Casey Gibson was out on the road during Stage 10 and sees that the French know how to celebrate both.

The Saxo Bank team suffered a setback Tuesday when Norwegian road champion Kurt-Asle Arvesen was forced out of the race after suffering a broken collarbone in a heavy crash during the 10th stage. The 34-year-old Norwegian champion, who won the 11th stage on last year's Tour, fell after 87km trying to avoid a spectator who had fallen into the road. He finished the stage, but was obviously in great pain as he pedaled near the back of the peloton. Saxo Bank spokesman Bryan Nygaard confirmed the bad news.