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Stage 17 - Pau to Castelsarrasin (188.5km)

Bennati takes the stage

A spectator holds a French newspaper headlined 'The Tour's death' before the start of the 17th stage between Pau and Castelsarrasin

Contador appears pensive as he dons the leader's jersey

Menzies takes it — or does he?

The escape

Millar and Righi, front and center

Discovery on the hunt

Caisse d'Epargne takes over

Elmiger and Bennati

Bennati gets it

And there's a new man in yellow

Blick keeps the Z-man looking sharp

Big George and his splatter-specs

Got to win a stage to score a set of these

McEwen's special look

Shark feed! Nothing like a good doping scandal to get journalists away from the buffet.

Boonen answers questions ad nauseum at the stage.

Checking out the news in the village this morning.

Van Summeren signs an autograph for a dedicated fan. They are still here.

The peloton with its caravan heads out of Pau.

The break early in the race, puts their heads down for the first steep climb.

One of the always enthusiastic fans that are the heart of the Tour.

Steegmans cools off with a bottle.

In the break. Who else? Jens Voight, bandages and all.

Discovery is suddenly in the lead.

And the team's new leader.

Contador, on his way to his first yellow jersey, and his firt press conference as Tour leader.

After 10 days in the yellow jersey, Michael Rasmussen appeared to have beaten back all challengers in his pursuit of the top spot on the Tour de France’s final podium in Paris this coming Sunday. On Wednesday, he handily dispatched his nearest challenger – Discovery Channel’s Alberto Contador – winning the Tour’s most difficult stage and adding to his already-formidable lead as the race made its final trip into the mountains.

One of Switzerland's largest daily newspapers, Tages-Anzeiger, is stopping race coverage from the Tour de France immediately and will only report doping-related stories, an editor said on Wednesday. "We won't have reports of the race anymore. It doesn't seem to make sense to have a report on the day's stage because the doping issue overshadows everything," day editor Andres Buechi told AFP. Buechi said the Zurich newspaper's editors had decided just to give the stage and overall standings on the sports pages, alongside stories from their reporter following the Tour on

Cofidis confirmed Wednesday that its entire team will leave the Tour de France after rider Cristian Moreni tested positive for testosterone after last week's 11th stage. Moreni was officially thrown out of the race following the 16th stage after being told he had tested positive for testosterone. Cofidis officials, announced they will forgo their right to ask for analysis of a 'B' sample, also accepted the Tour's "invitation" to withdraw from the race, becoming the second team in 24 hours to exit France's national tour. The Kazakh-backed Astana team exited the race

Moreni leaves the Tour in the company of the gendarmes

Rasmussen extends his lead with a stage win

Leipheimer and Contador took second and third on what the former said may have been the hardest Tour stage he's ever seen

The race leader with four days to go

The first break

Rinero and the boys at work

The Sastre quartet

. . . which became a trio

Contador attacks . . .

. . . and attacks again, to no avail

And there's your winner

Riders from eight teams staged a sit-down protest against doping before the start of the 16th stage of the Tour de France here Wednesday. The protest, organized by six French and two German teams, was triggered by the news 24 hours earlier that pre-Tour favourite Alexandre Vinokourov had tested positive for blood doping. When the stage got underway the riders carrying out the demonstration waited for the rest of the peloton to move off before getting on their own bikes to tackle the last of three days climbing in the Pyrenees. AG2R's French cyclist Christophe Moreau described the

Despite tepid support from fans, race organizers, fellow riders and even his own team, Michael Rasmussen is just one steady time trial away from winning the 2007 Tour de France. The beleaguered Dane, who's been dogged by doping allegations since taking the yellow jersey on stage 8, strengthened his grip on the race lead Wednesday after his convincing win of stage 16's 218.5km ride from Gourette to the top of the hors categorie Col d'Aubisque.

COURSE: Only four days from the Tour finish, this final stage with a summit finish could see a spectacular showdown. It includes the extremely steep climb over the Col de Larrau (14km at 8 percent) into Spain, the return to France over the Pierre St.Martin (14km at 5.2 percent) and the short, sharp Marie-Blanque (9km at 8 percent) before heading up the longest, steepest side of the mythic Col d’Aubisque (16km at 7 percent). Only the strongest will be left to contest the stage — and the Tour. HISTORY: Although a stage has never finished on this (longer) western side of the Col d’Aubisque, a

Results - Stage 16 (Orthez Gourette - Col D’aubisque)1. Michael Rasmussen (Dk), Rabobank, 6:23:212. Levi Leipheimer (Usa), Discovery Channel , at 00:26 3. Alberto Contador (Sp), Discovery Channel, at 00:35 4. Cadel Evans (Aus), Predictor - Lotto, at 00:43 5. Mauricio Soler Hernandez Juan (Col), Barloworld, at 01:25 6. Haimar Zubeldia (Esp), Euskaltel - Euskadi, at 01:52 7. Jose Cobo Acebo Juan (Sp), Saunier Duval - Prodir, at 01:54 8. Carlos Sastre (Sp), CSC, at 02:12 9. Oscar Pereiro Sio (Sp), Caisse d’Epargne, at 02:27 10. Alejandro Valverde (Sp), Caisse d’Epargne, at 02:27 11. Yaroslav

Weather: Much warmer, highs in upper 80s in lower valleys, cooler on summits, almost no clouds, moderate tailwinds on both sides of the Pyrénées Stage winner: Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank) imposed his will on the peloton on more time. His Rabobank team rode expertly to keep a short leash on a five-man breakaway featuring podium challenger Carlos Sastre (CSC), who was reeled in with 10km to go. Rasmussen calmly countered one-two punches from Discovery Channel’s Levi Leipheimer and Alberto Contador with his own lethal attack with under 1km to go. The victory is his second of this Tour and the

Michael Rasmussen was celebrating his victory in Wednesday’s epic climbing stage that all but secured the yellow jersey, but no one else was. The Tour de France race leader was repeatedly booed during the 218.5km march across the Pyrénées by angry cycling fans frustrated by a string of credibility-killing doping scandals that threaten to overwhelm the Tour. The Rabobank captain admitted he heard the taunts as he attacked to victory atop the Col d’Aubisque to take a commanding 3:10 lead over Alberto Contador with just four days left in the 2007 Tour. “It did happen during the stage. I

Italian rider Cristian Moreni woke up Wednesday just five days away from finishing the Tour de France as a member of the French Cofidis team — one of seven teams that had just announced a new rider’s organization geared towards cleaning up the sport, and kicked off its existence with an anti-doping protest at the start of stage 16. Moreni ended his day in the back of a police car at the top of the Col d’Aubisque, charged with using testosterone and breaking France’s tough laws against using and trafficking in doping products. The 35-year-old former Italian champion admitted to administering

It looks like there won’t be a miracle finish for Alberto Contador in the 2007 Tour de France. The 24-year-old Spanish phenom’ was the only rider within shot of race leader Michael Rasmussen, but Contador’s legs faltered on the beyond-category steeps of the Col d’Aubisque as the Dane darted away in the final kilometer to win his second stage and further tighten his grip on the yellow jersey. Contador coasted across the line in third, 35 seconds back and quickly tipped his hat to the superior Rabobank rider. “I started today’s stage to try to win the Tour but now I end it seeing that my

It looks like there won’t be a miracle finish for Alberto Contador in the 2007 Tour de France. The 24-year-old Spanish phenom’ was the only rider within shot of race leader Michael Rasmussen, but Contador’s legs faltered on the beyond-category steeps of the Col d’Aubisque as the Dane darted away in the final kilometer to win his second stage and further tighten his grip on the yellow jersey. Contador coasted across the line in third, 35 seconds back and quickly tipped his hat to the superior Rabobank rider. “I started today’s stage to try to win the Tour but now I end it seeing that my

Levi Leipheimer said today's stage may have been the hardest one he's ever seen in a Tour de France, and it may have been the one that determined the podium in Paris. Casey Gibson was there — here's what he saw.

UCI chief Pat McQuaid has applauded the Rabobank team's decision to pull race leader Michael Rasmussen out of the Tour de France on Wednesday. However, McQuaid said he wondered why the Dutch outfit had waited so long before acting on information about the Dane having missed four random doping controls, which they knew about prior to the race. "I wonder why they did not make the decision in June when they had the information (about the missed tests)," said McQuaid. "However, it shows a zero-tolerance policy, and I can only applaud it." Despite having no positive tests so far, the

Organizers of the Amgen Tour of California, scheduled for February 17-24,unveiled the names of cities slated to host stages for the 2008 editionof the event on Wednesday. For its third year, the eight-day tour will include 700 miles of racing(up from 650 in 2007) and be hosted by 12 official stage start and finishcities, including three new locales – Modesto, Palo Alto and Pasadena –that will join Sacramento, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, SantaClarita, Santa Rosa, Sausalito, Seaside and Solvang as host communitiesalong the route."We are committed to making the Amgen Tour of

Stage 16- Orthez to Gourette (218.5km)

Stage 16- Orthez to Gourette (218.5km)

No respect: Rasmussen is not getting the cheers he had hoped for.

This is not the way Moreni - or his teammates - expected his day to end.

Contador fought hard, but knows he will not overhaul Rasmussen

The young Spaniard had plenty of fans on the climb today

When you're really tired, even an asphalt mattress will do

Hmm . . . y'think these folks are Aussies?

Burghardt discussing Sunday's T-Mobile decision with the home folks

Chavanel getting a bottle pull on the climb, his last at this year's Tour

Horner on a rather steep pitch

Hoste hosing down his legs on the final climb

Patrick Lefevre was one of many interviews at the start this morning

Leipheimer leads Rasmussen and Contrador up the Aubisque

Leipheimer takes a pull for Contador, and almost takes down Rasmussen

Denis Menchov is blown after his work for Rasmussen

Barloworld's Juan Soler, claiming the undisputed KOM jersey

These little fans don't care about the doping

Fleeting glory? Rasmussen celebrates a win just hours before the illusion vanished.

Rabobank's Bergsma meets the press

The Tour of California is rapidly becoming an early season favorite.

The Dutch Rabobank team has declared its support for its captain Michael Rasmussen, who is only days away from what could be a controversial victory in the Tour de France. Rasmussen has been under suspicion of doping since the Danish Cycling Union(DCU) revealed he had been given formal warnings for missing two random controls run by the Danish anti-doping agency earlier this year.

Despite the extensive gap in his 2007 racing calendar, Ivan Dominguez left no doubt during this year’s Wells Fargo Twilight Criterium in Boise, Idaho, that the 31-year-old Cuban has returned to form. Dominguez flew out of the final corner of the course, lined with 25,000 spectators, after a textbook leadout from Toyota-United teammate Caleb Manion. It was his second NRC-level victory and his first win in this year’s USA CRITS Series after having been sidelined from racing following a crash during May’s Tri-Peaks Challenge. Dominguez says he’s finally feeling like his old self again. “I was

Jesus. I was having a great rest day that came on the heels of a successful race for myself and for our team. We went for a nice ride through the countryside, had a team press conference that ended without one negative question. Then we had a good lunch. Heck, I didn't even mind the out-of-competition blood and urine tests that our team conducted. Around 2:00 or so I took a nap and after about 30 minutes, I heard all this ruckus in the hall and my phone started to burp, gargle and ring. What the hell is going on? I finally answered a call from the States of all places, and my friend