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On the eve of this race’s final test, the 53-kilometer time trial from Cérilly to Saint-Amand-Montrond, CSC-Saxo Bank’s Carlos Sastre leads Frank Schleck by 1:24, with another 9 seconds to Bernard Kohl and — perhaps most ominously — 1:34 to Cadel Evans, who sits fourth. In this Tour's first time trial, a super-flat 29.5-kilometer race circumventing Cholet, Sastre finished 1:16 behind Evans and four seconds in front of Kohl.

Astana has sacked Russian rider Vladimir Gusev for reportedly showing “abnormal values” during the team’s internal doping checks. "Vladimir Gusev has been officially informed that he is no longer part of the team Astana," said general manager Johan Bruyneel in a news release. The three-time Russian time-trial champion showed "abnormal values" during an internal doping check, according to the release.

The former Saunier Duval-Scott team will continue as Scott-American Beef after the squad’s title sponsor announced Wednesday that it would leave professional cycling in the wake of a drug scandal at the Tour de France. Italian rider Riccardo Riccò tested positive for a new version of the banned blood booster EPO after the stage-four time trial, prompting the team to pull out of the race last week. Both Riccò and his compatriot Leonardo Piepoli, who had won the prestigious Bastille Day stage but had not failed a dope test, were sacked last Friday.

When I said yesterday that you could tell which directors weren't pleased with their teams' races, today you could tell who was f-ing pissed. If it weren't for the fact that they made the day one of the most painful I've ever raced I'd actually feel bad for the guys on Liquigas, and a couple of others to a lesser degree. As is the only sympathy is the fact that there were a lot of really, really hurting guys out there today and we all shared in it together. [nid:80807]

Another July, another US National Championships coinciding with with the best race ever. That being Mount Snow, Vermont.

Nineteen-year-old Autumn Grohowski was on her cell phone with her dad, just letting him know she would be home soon. It was June, a summer night in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and Autumn was approaching the trail she would take home. She was on her bike, and mindful of her safety, so she kept the call short — she told her dad “I don’t want to be killed by a car, so I don’t want to talk on the phone on the way home.” Those were her last words.

The headline says it all. After a seven-day flogging at the BC Bike Race, it’s been R&R time here in the land of the coached. I took a week off after the race and am just now starting to crank it up again.

Danish cyclist Michael Rasmussen said Friday he will appeal the decision of a Utrecht court that awarded him 665,000 euros ($1 million) against his former Rabobank team for the way he was kicked off their 2007 Tour de France squad. The 34-year-old, who instituted proceedings for unlawful dismissal demanding damages of 5.5 million euros, was thrown out of the race while wearing the leader's yellow jersey for lying about his whereabouts when he was being sought out for doping tests.

Double world time trial champion Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland on Friday extended his contract with CSC-Saxo Bank until 2011. Cancellara, who will begin as the favorite for the penultimate-stage time trial of the Tour de France Saturday, has won some of cycling's biggest one-day races with the Danish team run by former Tour winner Bjarne Riis. "It means a lot to me that my future is secure with Team CSC-Saxo Bank," said Cancellara.

Australian Scott Sunderland has spent three weeks trying to make sure compatriot Cadel Evans loses the Tour de France. Now Sunderland, a co-team manager with CSC-Saxo Bank, is preparing for the distinct possibility that Evans will upset his race leader, Carlos Sastre, in Saturday's penultimate stage time trial. Sastre goes into the 53km race against the clock with a lead of one minute and 34 seconds on Silence-Lotto’s Evans, and with the yellow jersey on his back.

Cofidis' Sylvain Chavanel, one of the most aggressive riders in this year's Tour, got the stage win he's been looking for on Friday, outsprinting Jeremy Roy (Francaise des Jeux), his breakaway companion of nearly 85 kilometers to take the win in Montluçon. Race leader Carlos Sastre (CSC) finished in the lead pack to retain his overall lead heading into Saturday's critical final time trial.

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“You got a choice, Dishwasher. Either you get out of town, or tonight you be out on that street alone.”—Lee Marvin as Liberty Valance in “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.”

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The upcoming time-trial battle between Carlos Sastre and Cadel Evans that will decide this 95th Tour de France is the talk of the race — much more than Thursday’s excellent stage victory for Columbia’s Marcus Burghardt in St. Étienne or Friday’s likely bunch finish in Montluçon. Obviously, there’s much speculation whether Evans can overcome his 94-second deficit on the race leader in the 53km time trial from Cérilly to St. Amand-Montrond on Saturday. But the media are also looking at any angle they can to predict the protagonists’ performances.

Great Britain's cyclists are planning a gold-medal spree at the Beijing Olympics. Defending Olympic champions Bradley Wiggins and Chris Hoy are the leading contenders among a 25-strong team harboring realistic gold-medal hopes in six disciplines. Britain's cyclists impressed in Athens four years ago when Wiggins and Hoy won gold, the men's pursuit team secured silver and Wiggins also won a bronze in the men's Madison alongside Rob Hayles. But the world's top-ranked track cycling team will arrive in China stronger than ever, according to team chief Dave Brailsford.

It looked like Columbia's Marcus Burghardt put in a huge ride on stage 18, and his SRM power meter data confirms it. Burghardt was super aggressive and obviously wanted the win bad. He was in the initial breakaway, and when that was caught he escaped again wth Feillu. He dropped Feillu on the Col De Parmenie, and caught Barredo on the descent.

A car driven by the father of Tour de France stars Andy and Frank Schleck (CSC-Saxo Bank) was searched by French customs during the 18th stage, which began in Bourg d'Oisans on Thursday. An official source in Grenoble later said that "no doping products or banned substances" were found during the long search, which took place at Vizille in the Isere region of the Alps. Andy Schleck suggested "jealousy" may have been behind the search.

The past week has been quite a busy one. First, Taylor finished up with the UCI junior track world championships by racing in the points race last Monday. There were two qualifying heats in the afternoon that were used to field the final later on that evening. Taylor went extremely well in the qualifying heat and won a couple of the sprints and also took a lap on the field, winning convincingly. He felt good about the qualifying race and was excited about the final.

Stage 18, Bourg-d’Oisans to Saint-Etienne, 196.5km

For 2009 Trek will offer six models of their venerable flagship cross-county full suspension bike, the Top Fuel. Trek will also offer two new carbon models of their Fuel EX trail bike. Both lines will also feature women’s specific models. Toss out the bearing press![nid:80670] The 2009 Trek mountain bike line will receive a number of significant manufacturing upgrades designed to reduce weight and increase stiffness. Perhaps most notable is Trek’s new Net Molding technology that allows for a much more precise fit when manufacturing sockets on their carbon bikes.