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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.

After battling his way through the 18th stage of the Tour de France Thursday, despite sustaining potentially serious injuries in a crash, Lampre's Damiano Cunego has pulled out of the race, according to team sources. "It's a miracle I finished this stage," said the Lampre rider, who came over the finish line with blood dripping from a wound under his chin and injuries to his chest and thorax.

After yesterday’s insanity on the climb, today’s came at the start area. As we drove down the Alpe, thankfully in cars with the bus waiting at the bottom, there were still hundreds of people camped out roadside.

Geoff Kabush (Maxxis) and Marie-Hélène Prémont both defended their Canadian national cross-country titles from 2007 during this year’s championships, run June 19 at Mont-Ste-Anne, Québec. Both riders won by slim margins, with Derek Zandstra (3 Rock Racing) and Catherine Pendrel (Luna) taking the runner-up spots. The victory marked the fifth career title for Kabush and the sixth for Prémont. Both will don their national colors at Mont-Ste-Anne’s cross-country World Cup race on July 27.

With just a handful of weeks to go until the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, the world's top cross-country mountain bikers face two World Cup rounds to get their legs race ready. This weekend’s World Cup race, held at Mont-Ste-Anne resort just outside of Quebec City, is the first test, with Bromont, Quebec, hosting a round on August 2-3. But who, exactly, will show up for the Canadian races?

Spanish cyclist Moises Duenas, who was kicked out of the Tour de France after failing a drugs test, on Thursday denied knowingly taking any banned substance during the race. Duenas was charged last week in France with "use and possession of plants and poisonous substances,” and dropped by his British-registered team Barloworld. He risks a two-year jail term and a 3750-euro fine.

Stuart O'Grady finally came through one of his "toughest" Tour de France campaigns as the peloton headed out of the Alps and steadily towards Paris on Thursday. However, the Australian admitted he almost never made it as far as the second mountain range of this year's race after finding out he was carrying a virus three days into the race, "I didn't know it at the time but I was a bit crook. It turned out it was pretty serious," O'Grady told AFP. "When the results came through it was actually a relief."

Super Downhill racing action burst into the Winter Park Mountain Bike Series in full force on Sunday, with 170 racers ready to try out the inaugural event.

Swiss pharmaceutical giant F. Hoffman-La Roche issued a statement Thursday disputing a recent claim by World Anti-Doping Agency chief John Fahey that it had inserted a “marker” in its new anti-anemia drug Micera. The drug has been the focus of recent attention after Ricardo Riccò, Saunier Duval’s top GC hope at the Tour de France, tested positive for the drug following the stage 4 time trial at Cholet.

After spending almost all of the day on the attack, Team Columbia’s Marcus Burghardt won the 18th stage of the Tour de France, beating Quick Step’s Carlos Barredo in a final kilometer chess match that bore more resemblance to a match-sprint on the velodrome than the end of a 196.5 mile road race. The two joined forces early in the day and cooperated until the final ten kilometers. At that point the two could afford to risk the benefits of cooperation as they enjoyed a healthy 4:50 lead over a group of three chasers and nearly 10 minutes on the peloton.