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Levi Leipheimer rode the 2007 Tour de France just as he said he would, executing his plan of peaking in the final week of the race to perfection. With all the hardest stages packed into the Tour’s final nine days, Leipheimer passed on trying to defend his title during June’s Dauphiné Libéré for fear of peaking too soon. The veteran American hit his stride just in time and doubled in the Tour’s final time trial to secure a spot on the podium and win a stage. “I’m extremely happy to win a stage. It’s been a lifelong dream to win a stage at the Tour and to be on the podium is going to be

Cox's win at Genting in 2005 sealed his overall victory at Langkawi that year.

Leipheimer made it to the podium in Paris

The T-Mobile cycling team has fired Patrik Sinkewitz, the rider who failed a drugs test in the run up to the Tour de France, after he decided not to have a second urine sample analyzed. The 26-year-old's decision means he accepts the test's result and concedes that he violated T-Mobile's Code of Conduct after he was found to have abnormal levels of testosterone following an out-of-competition test taken on June 8th by the German anti-doping agency (NADA). the 2004 Tour of Germany winner said he had been using widely-available gel Testogel - a replacement therapy for low

Electronic shifting is not necessarily a new idea. Mavic, for example, twice tried to roll out the concept in the 1990s. Remember Zap and Mektronic? While those early efforts never really gained traction, they did represent a first step away from reliance on the old tried-and-true woven steel cable. These days, there are several systems at various stages of development. A couple even showed up at the Tour de France this year. Hands down, we were most impressed by the effort Campagnolo engineers have put into the project in recent months. Campagnolo insists that all of its parts are still

Just as Spanish cycling was celebrating the Tour de France victory of Alberto Contador, the breaking news Monday that Iban Mayo tested positive for EPO put a chill on Spain’s cycling renaissance. With six riders in the top 10 and Contador’s dramatic victory seemed to put Spanish cycling back on the forefront of the European peloton, but Mayo’s positive doping test threw cold water on the fiesta. Saunier Duval-Prodir quickly suspended the Basque climber after receiving notification from the UCI that Mayo revealed traces of the banned blood booster in a anti-doping control taken on the Tour’s

Officials with Kazakhstan’s cycling federation on Tuesday expressed staunch support for Alexander Vinokourov who was excluded from the Tour de France following a positive test for blood doping. "We are going to support the position that the results of the A and B samples were a direct result of the violent fall Alexander suffered during the fifth stage of the cycling race," said the executive director of the federation, Aleksandr Antychev. He also added that the federation would dispute, in the courts, the exclusion from the Tour of the entire Astana team, of which Vinokourov was team

On the same day that two riders from a U.S.-registered team stood on the final podium of the 2007 Tour de France, Slipstream Sports manager Jonathan Vaughters announced that he had signed compatriots Christian Vande Velde and Dave Zabriskie, both from team CSC, and Scottish rider David Millar, from Saunier Duval-Prodir. Team Slipstream, which began in 2004 as TIAA-CREF, will return as a continental professional team in 2008, with hopes of a Tour de France wildcard invitation. Vaughters and team owner Doug Ellis hope to see the squad become a ProTour team in 2009. The team will also race

Scheirlinckx’s World Star UL Team equipped with Campagnolo’s prototype electronic group.

The right shifter.

The left shifter, with a good view of the thumb button.

The system’s brain

The computer is hard wired to the rest of the parts.

The integration of the battery is seamless.

A view of the battery’s connection on Stéphane Augé’s Time bike.

The front derailleur.

The rear derailleur.

A rear view.

Mayo finished 16th in this year's Tour de France

Our latest reader-submitted Photo Gallery is now ready for your viewing pleasure. Of course, a new gallery also means the naming of the winner of our most recent contest. One image in particular that caught our attention was a submission by frequent contributor Felipe Borja, “Sharing the Road.” Felipe usually sends his images from South America without too much detail, which means we can only guess at place, time and other details, but it has us longing for a bit of time off in the southern hemisphere. Nice work Felipe! Please drop us a note at Rosters@InsideInc.comto work out the

Alberto Contador, the 24-year-old surprise winner of a dope-scarred Tour de France, represents the hope of a "new cycling," Spanish media wrote Monday. "Champion of hope," wrote sports daily AS on its front page below a photo of the cyclist wearing a red and yellow Spanish flag around his neck taken after he won the three-week race on Sunday. "Contador was crowned in Paris as the symbol of the new cycling," it added. The rider for the American Discovery Channel team was the first Spaniard to win the crown since the last of Miguel Indurain's five titles in 1995 and the ninth Spaniard

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Spanish climbing specialist Iban Mayo became the latest rider to fail a drugs test after it was revealed he had tested positive for EPO during the Tour de France, it was announced by his Saunier Duval team on Monday. The 29-year-old, who finished 16th in the Tour, which finished on Sunday, has been suspended by his team. "The Saunier Duval team was notified by the UCI that Iban Mayo had tested positive for EPO following a test on July 24 which was a rest day on the Tour de France," read a statement on the team's website. The statement added that the team suspended Mayo immediately

Oh my lord, the morning after the Tour is the best breakfast in the world. It’s better than Christmas, as Stuey says. I spoke with the man a few times over the course of the last two days as he coached me to make it through the last night. He is the teacher after all. Last night I hurt myself as I always do with friends and foes and now I am crawling my way back to Gerona on my knees. CSC had the usual party, which was fun but then Disco' went above and beyond by renting the roof of the Crillon. Awesome. I won't go into details but I had a good time. Thanks Alberto. I did miss my

Oh my lord, the morning after the Tour is the best breakfast in the world. It’s better than Christmas, as Stuey says. I spoke with the man a few times over the course of the last two days as he coached me to make it through the last night. He is the teacher after all. Last night I hurt myself as I always do with friends and foes and now I am crawling my way back to Gerona on my knees. CSC had the usual party, which was fun but then Disco' went above and beyond by renting the roof of the Crillon. Awesome. I won't go into details but I had a good time. Thanks Alberto. I did miss my

Sharing the Road

A resurgent Mayo won the 19th stage of the Giro in June of this year.

Karl Menzies (Health Net-Maxxis) took his third stage win of the 2007 Tour de Toona at Sunday’s stage 7 criterium, out-kicking Canadian Charles Dionne (Colavita Sutter Home) and Martin Gilbert (Kelly Benefits) in downtown Altoona, Pennsylvania. The victory capped off a week of dominance by the big Australian and his Health Net team, as Menzies and his teammate Rory Sutherland took the top two spots in the final general classification. American Laura Van Gilder (Cheerwine) took the women’s victory, out sprinting Canadian Gina Grain (Expresscopy.com) and Lauren Franges (Lipton). It was

A celebration, a sigh of relief and the 2007 Tour de France has arrived in Paris. Just as he has been throughout the Tour de France, our man Casey Gibson was there.

Mr. Contador readies for another day at the office.

The Tour's four jerseys - along with the French national champion - ready for the start of the Tour's final stage

Is this Hincapie's final Tour in Disco' garb?

The peloton's 141 survivors head onto cycling's most hallowed stretch of road.

The folks from Oz had plenty to cheer about this year.

Bennati and Zabel share a post-sprint moment.

ASO's Clerc congratulates Merckx on his final Tour.

Twenty-four-years-old, Contador wins both the white and yellow jerseys.

The moment most cyclists can only dream of.

Thirty-one seconds - The tightest 3-way finale' in Tour history.

One more honor: The Spanish flag over the winner's hotel

Well the Tour is more or less over and I am already thinking of canoe trips in Wisconsin. Buying bait and a case of old style at the local store. Today was the final time trial and it was actually interesting to watch. Levi rode an amazing race, averaging 53kph over 55.5 kilometers and with his ride and that of Cadel, the top three on GC are now all within half-a-minute of each other.

Team Discovery, currently America's lone ProTour team, capped its best-ever Tour de France on Sunday, locking down the yellow jersey, the white jersey, two places on the final podium and the overall team classification. Discovery Channel's impressive quartet of achievements - highlighted by Alberto Contador's GC victory - exceeded any of the Lance Armstrong years, and gave the team formerly known as U.S. Postal Service eight Tour wins in nine years.

COURSE: The eight laps of the traditional finishing circuit around the Champs-Élysées is preceded by a 90km loop through the southern suburbs of the French capital. Let’s hope it’s not significant that the intermediate sprint after 74km is in the town of Châtenay-Malabry, where the infamous French anti-doping lab is located HISTORY: Every Tour has finished in the Paris area: at Ville d’Avray in the suburbs in 1903; at the now defunct Parc des Princes velodrome (1904-67); the Municipal Velodrome at Vincennes (1968-74); and, since 1975, on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. Only three times in

Top Ten-Stage 20 (Marcoussis-Paris Champs-Élysées)1. Daniele Bennati (I), Lampre-Fondital, S.T.2. Thor Hushovd (N), Credit Agricole, S.T.3. Erik Zabel (G), Milram, S.T.4. Robert Hunter (Rsa), Barloworld, S.T.5. Tom Boonen (B), Quick Step-Innergetic, S.T.6. Sébastien Chavanel (F), Francaise Des Jeux, S.T.7. Fabian Cancellara (Swi), CSC, S.T.8. David Millar (Gb), Saunier Duval-Prodir, S.T.9. Robert Förster (G), Gerolsteiner, S.T.10. Manuel Quinziato (I), Liquigas, S.T. Full Results-Stage 20 (Marcoussis-Paris Champs-Élysées)1. Daniele Bennati (I), Lampre-Fondital, S.T.2. Thor Hushovd (N),

David Millar believes his return to cycling's top echelons after serving a career-threatening doping ban can serve as an example to the embattled sport of cycling. Millar, who announced Sunday that he is leaving Saunier Duval to join the U.S.-based Slipstream team, completed his second Tour de France Sunday since returning from a doping ban in June 2006 after admitting to using EPO. Gradually refinding his feet in the peloton, Millar has since emerged as one of the most outspoken riders against the doping which, as this year's race has shown, is far from gone.

Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru-Gary Fisher) and Katerina Nash (Luna) took the fifth round of the National Mountain Bike short-track series, held July 29 at Sugar Mountain resort in Banner Elk, North Carolina. Horgan-Kobelski and Todd Wells (GT) surged to the front of the men’s race, which sent riders spinning around a hilly, half-mile circuit for twenty minutes. The two quickly opened up a gap on the chasing Adam Craig (Giant), Jeremiah Bishop (Trek-Volkswagen) and Geoff Kabush (Maxxis). Noticeably absent, however, was newly crowned U.S. short-track champion Ryan Trebon (Kona-Les Gets). The

Stage 20 - Marcoussis to Paris Champs-Élysées (146km)

Stage 20 - Marcoussis to Paris Champs-Élysées (146km)

The champion arrives in Paris

The champion

Bennati wins the finale

The podium

Boonen wins his first points jersey

The Knees break (has a painful sound to it, don't you agree?)

Welcome to Paris

Barloworld chasing

Contador toasting

Disco' on the podium

Throw in the two rest days, and Alberto Contador's winning margin at the 2007 Tour de France is destined to equal one tick of the watch per day. Those 23 seconds will represent the second smallest final time difference in the race's 94 renditions, trailing only Greg LeMond's eight-second triumph over Laurent Fignon in 1989. This year's near-record breaker came to pass during a breathtaking stage-19 time trial that left the outcome in doubt until the final kilometer, when Contador narrowly held off stiff challenges from Cadel Evans and Levi Leipheimer to maintain his slim overall lead.

Contador guts it out

Leipheimer wins his first Tour stage and secures his place on the podium

Evans gave it his best, but had to settle for second on the day — and second in Paris

Karpets slots into third

Popo' nails fourth

Contador cranks out the ride of his life for fifth — and first in Paris

Hincapie set a tough mark to top . . .

. . . clipping a dozen seconds off Hoste's then-best time

Today's big winner — the man wearing yellow

Levi Leipheimer uncorked the time trial of his life to win Saturday’s time trial shootout in Angouleme, but a controversial 10-second penalty in stage 12 will likely cost him second place on the Tour de France podium. With one day left to race in the 2007 Tour, Leipheimer pulled within eight seconds of Cadel Evans and the runner-up spot on the Tour podium. Contador leads Evans by 23 seconds with Leipheimer slotted into third another eight seconds adrift.

Kazakh rider Alexander Vinokourov's B sample confirmed that he had been blood doping, sources told AFP on Saturday. Vinokourov was thrown out of the Tour de France last Tuesday when it was revealed that a blood sample taken from the Astana team rider after his victory in the time trial on the 13th stage revealed the presence of "two distinct blood populations.” That suggested Vinokourov had injected the blood from a compatible donor to boost his performance in the race against the clock.

Embattled Danish cyclist Michael Rasmussen was told Saturday that he would not be welcome at the starting line of one of his country's biggest races. Rasmussen, kicked out of the Tour de France when leading the race this week in a dispute over missed drugs tests, had intended to emulate cycling great Lance Armstrong by competing on the Decoplant Grand Prix which starts on Monday. But race director Jesper Tikioeb told Saturday's Berlingske Tidende newspaper that Rasmussen should not attend.

COURSE: This closing time trial, on up-and-down country roads through the vineyards, could see another showdown to determine the Paris podium. HISTORY: Cognac, where the world renowned brandy is produced, has never hosted a Tour stage, but the nearby town of Saintes saw two split stages (with stage fi nishes and starts) in both 1936 and 1937. A 75km team time trial from Saintes to La Rochelle in 1936 was won by the Belgian national team of overall winner Sylvère Maes at 42 kph, an excellent average speed for the era. FAVORITES: With a possible west wind blowing in from the nearby Atlantic

Tour de France organizers on Saturday called for the resignation of UCI bosses who they feel are to blame for the Michael Rasmussen controversy which has sullied the race. "There's only one solution (in such circumstances), and that's resignation," said Patrice Clerc, the president of the race's parent company Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO) ahead of Saturday’s 19th and penultimate stage. Clerc said there has been a "lack of clarity, transparency, competence, and most of all a lack of professionalism" on the part of the higher echelons of cycling's world ruling body. The

Top Ten - Stage 19 (Cognac - Angoulême)1. Levi Leipheimer (USA), DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM , 1:02:442. Cadel Evans (Aus), PREDICTOR - LOTTO, at 00:51 3. Vladimir Karpets (Rus), CAISSE D’EPARGNE, at 01:56 4. Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr), DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM, at 02:01 5. Alberto Contador (Sp), DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM, at 02:18 6. Ivan Gutierrez José (Sp), CAISSE D’EPARGNE, at 02:27 7. George Hincapie (USA), DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM , at 02:33 8. Oscar Pereiro Sio (Sp), CAISSE D’EPARGNE, at 02:36 9. Leif Hoste (B), PREDICTOR - LOTTO, at 02:48 10. Mikel Astarloza (Sp), EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI, at 02:50

Astana’s Andreas Klöden said Saturday he is considering retiring after the recent wave of doping scandals have left him in fear he may end up in jail one day. The 32-year-old, one of the pre-race favorites to win this year's Tour de France, told German daily newspaper Bild that he has trouble sleeping and fears criminal elements are creeping into his sport. "I find it difficult to sleep," said the 2004 German champion, who was excluded from the Tour on Tuesday after his whole Astana team withdrew in the wake of leader Alexander Vinokourov's failed drugs test. Fellow team-mate

Britain's David Millar managed to contain his anger after the wheels literally came off his bid for a top finish in the final Tour de France time trial on Saturday. The 30-year-old, who rides for Saunier Duval, finished the 55.5km race against the clock from Cognac to Angouleme well outside the top 10 after a pair of disastrous mechanicals cost him crucial time. Millar initially blamed wheel producers Mavic, but later admitted he could not put his finger on exactly why the incidents happened. "I've got no idea (why it happened)," he said. "The Mavic disc exploded in the first 500

The final stage of the Tour de France is traditionally a ceremonial ride into Paris, a day for the yellow jersey to sip champagne and the sprinters to fight for victory on the Champs-Élysées, one of the most celebrated avenues in cycling. Then again, never in the Tour has there been a final-day road stage quite like tomorrow’s, which is poised to close out the second-closest Tour in history, with Alberto Contador of Discovery Channel leading Cadel Evans of Predictor-Lotto by just 23 seconds. Contador’s teammate Levi Leipheimer sits third overall, just eight seconds behind Evans.

It was a day of high drama at the 2007 Tour de France. Levi Leipheimer won his first stage and, barring disaster during the final run-in to Paris, clinched third spot on the podium. And Alberto Contador turned in the time trial of his career to make it all but certain that he will be the winner once the dust settles on the Champs-Elysees. Our man Casey Gibson was on hand once again to capture all the action.

Seven-time Tour champion Lance Armstrong arrived at the Tour de France Sunday to motivate Discovery Channel riders Alberto Contador and Levi Leipheimer in what, to date, were the most important time trial efforts of their respective careers. As was often the case during his racing career, the Texan became a French good-luck charm. Armstrong sat in the Contador follow vehicle next to team director Johan Bruyneel, while sport director Dirk Demol followed Leipheimer just six minutes up the road.

Weather:Humid with light rain and heavy cloud cover, highs in low 80s. Riders enjoyed a steady 15-20 mph tailwind Stage winner:American Levi Leipheimer (Discovery Channel) took the first Tour stage win of his career by blitzing the time trial. Leipheimer was first at every intermediate time check to win by 51 seconds ahead of Cadel Evans. The stage win secured Leipheimer’s spot on the final podium in Paris. Race leader:Alberto Contador (Discovery Channel) rode the most important time trial of his life, and though he lost 1:27 to Evans, he secured his overall lead by 23 seconds with only