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Weather: Very much, highs in 80s, intense alpine sun, brisk cross-headwinds Stage winner: Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank) claimed his third career Tour stage with a daring attack on the Cornet de Roseland. The former world mountain bike champion known as “Chicken” spun his slender legs to reel in the day’s early break that included George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) and soloed in for victory at 2:47 ahead of Iban Mayo (Saunier Duval-Prodir). Race leader: Rasmussen erased enough time to overtake leader Linus Gerdemann (T-Mobile) to claim the yellow jersey for the first time of his career. The

Just as CSC’s time-trial specialist Fabian Cancellara took the first yellow jersey of this Tour de France at the prologue in London and held it until the race hit the mountains, Rabobank’s climbing specialist Michael Rasmussen took the mailliot jaune Sunday at the summit finish Tignes, and could well keep it until next Saturday’s 54km time trial in Albi. By winning Sunday’s stage on a colossal solo effort, Rasmussen took the race lead by 43 seconds ahead of overnight leader Linus Gerdemann (T-Mobile), and 2:39 over Spanish climber Iban Mayo of Saunier Duval. More importantly, however, is

Riders, writers, fans and photographers knew Sunday's 165km stage from Le Grand Bornand to Tignes would be decisive. Our man Casey Gibson was there to document it all for the record books.

In what he described as “the most painful 3k I’ve had in quite awhile,” Kirk O’Bee (Health Net-Maxxis) outsprinted second place Ricardo Escuela (SuccessfulLiving.com-ParkPre) and third place Ben Jacques-Maynes (Priority Health-Bissell) to take the sixth and final stage of the Bend Memorial Cascades Cycling Classic on Sunday.

They mountains started in earnest today and they didn't disappoint. Oh and before I go on. I would like to write a little disclaimer. All of these entries have been written on my Blackberry and my bn button doesn't work well, I am at altitude and... well, I have a lot of excuses. So anyway, about the mountains. Yesterday offered a little taste things to come with the Columbiere. Today, though, was the real deal, with six categorized climbs. There were attacks from the gun and they didn't let up until we crossed the line. Racing up and then down the climbs made for a really

Stage 9 - Val-d’Isère to Briançon - (159.5km)

Stage 9 - Val-d’Isère to Briançon - (159.5km)

Schulze takes a gamble

Davis holds the jersey

Rasmussen gets his first-ever yellow jersey. Can he keep it?

Rasmussen took advantage of his strength on Sunday, but concedes the Tour is far from over.

Gerdemann rode well and remains in second on GC

O'Grady suffered three broken vertabra, five cracked ribs and a broken scapula.

Rogers' dislocated shoulder meant the Tour contender was forced to withdraw.

Vinokourov showed a crack in his armor on Sunday, but with Kloden's help, he fought back to stay in contention.

Leipheimer finished 12th on the day.

Moreau was aggressive on the final climb

Very little time in the flats meant riders were either climbing or trying to survive fast descents.

Rasmussen takes off

By the base of the final climb, there were just three... and Rasmussen quickly rid himself of Aroyo and Colom.

Hincapie spent hours off the front, before being reeled in and settling in for a long ride to the finish.

Mayo managed to scamper off for second place

Rasmussen is likely to keep the jersey at least until Saturday's time trial. After that? Who knows?

Readying for another day of marketing before the peloton rolls through

Seeking divine intervention to boost those climbing legs?

Robbie Ventura holding the mike for Versus network.

The village departe in one of it's most beautiful settings ever.

Stapleton talks about life... before disaster hit T-Mobile on Stage 8.

Stage winner Rasmussen is a picture of concentration.

Moreau and Evans lead the chase.

An intense Contador on the final climb.

Chris Horner suffers on the final climb.

Vino fought to minimize the damage.

After an aggressive start, Hincapie rides to the finish after the climbing stars pass

Not everyone in the 'laughing group' was laughing on Sunday.

In the Tour de France's first foray into the mountains, it was race newcomer Linus Gerdemann stealing all the headlines. The baby-faced German wunderkind escaped a 15-rider breakaway late in stage 7, and then rolled solo to the finish in Le Grand Bornand, taking the stage win and possession of the yellow and white jerseys.

COURSE: This second alpine stage has an unusual, and tough, ending with three long climbs: one 20km (the two-part Cormet de Roselend, one 15km (up to Hauteville on the Petit St. Bernard pass),and a final one for 18km (the first part of the ascent to Val d’Isère followedby 10km of climbing out of the valley to Tignes). The last 2km are flat before the finish line. The final two climbs aren’t particularly steep, but that was the case with the 2006 Tour’s summit finish at Pla de Beret, and it proved very decisive. HISTORY: This is the first time a stage has finished at the alpine ski resort

Expect to see more North American riders on T-Mobile next season. That’s according to team manager Bob Stapleton, who told VeloNews the once-heavily-German team wants to bolster its profile in the United States and Canada by bringing on big-name domestic talent for next season. “We’re expanding our North American presence because we want more riders from where T-Mobile has strong markets,” Stapleton said Friday. “There are a lot of talented North American riders. It’s a win-win for us. We can gain top cycling talent and increase our exposure in one of our key markets.” Several top American

In the eponymous town that gives this race its name, a perfectly timed move 150 meters before the line delivered Discovery Channel's Allan Davis to victory on the opening stage of the Tour of Qinghai Lake. The 26-year-old Australian, who hails from the Queensland town of Bundaberg, beat Intel-Action's Denus Kostyuk and Denmark's Casper Jorgensen to claim his second victory of the season. It was by no means an easy one because of the altitude - the Qinghai Lake finish being some 3,231 meters above sea level – and Davis said he left his finishing sprint a little later than

Stage 7 results1. Linus Gerdemann (G), T-Mobile, 4:53:132. Inigo Landaluze (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 0:403. David de la Fuente (Sp), Saunier Duval-Prodir, at 1:394. Juan Mauricio Soler Hernandez (Col), Barloworld, at 2:145. Laurent Lefevre (F), Bouygues Telecom, at 2:216. Fabian Wegmann (G), Gerolsteiner, at 3:327. Manuel Juan Manuel (Sp), Quick Step-Innergetic, at 3:388. Xavier Florencio (Sp), Bouygues Telecom, same time9. Christophe Moreau (F), Ag2r Prevoyance, s.t.10. Alejandro Valverde (Sp), Caisse D’Epargne, s.t. 11. Oscar Pereiro Sio (Sp), Caisse D’Epargne, s.t.12. Tadej Valjavec

Phil Zajicek (Navigators Insurance) beat teammate Ben Day by just one second in Friday morning’s Cascade Classic stage 3 time trial, but put enough time on the other GC contenders to take the leader’s jersey away from Chris Baldwin (Toyota-United), retaining it through the evening’s stage 4 twilight criterium in downtown Bend. As the sun set in Central Oregon, Ivan Dominguez (Toyota-United) returned to stage racing after his mid-May crash at the Tri-Peaks Challenge with a resounding win in a dramatic bunch sprint at the crit. Time trial

Felix Cardenas is back at the Tour de France after nearly disappearing off the peloton map. The 34-year-old Colombian climber is back in cycling’s bigs after bouncing around Spanish teams before joining Barloworld in 2005. The team finally got a Tour berth this season and he’s ready to make the most of it. “It’s good to be back to the Tour,” Cardenas told VeloNews before the start of Saturday’s stage. “I’ve only been to one Tour and I won a stage, so I hope to keep the streak alive this year.” After Cardenas won a Tour stage while with Kelme in 2001 at Plateau de Bonascre, he bounced

German cycling has been on the ropes for the past year. First it was Jan Ullrich and his links to notorious Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes and Operación Puerto, revealed a day before the start of the 2006 Tour. Then there was the avalanche of doping confessions earlier this summer from a generation of current and former pros such as Erik Zabel, Udo Bölts, Rolf Aldag, Christian Henn and Jörg Jaksche. Linus Gerdemann and his Boy Scout image is just what crippled German cycling needs. Gerdemann presents a modern, yet cleaner image, and he’s not shy about talking about cycling’s doping past

After the first day in the mountains, T-Mobile riders sit at the very top and the very bottom of the 2007 Tour de France general classification. In between 24-year-old stage winner Linus Gerdemann and 22-year-old lanterne rouge Mark Cavendish sits team captain Michael Rogers, who at 27 is aiming to climb on the podium in Paris. Rogers and teammate Kim Kirchen finished stage 7 in the selective main front group of 35, which came in 3:38 behind Gerdemann. Immediately after Gerdemann’s win — which also saw the team overtake CSC for the lead in the team competition — the T-Mobile camp hadn’t yet

Just behind the fireworks of the stage-7 breakaway, Discovery Channel quietly placed four riders in the selective, 35-man front group. Levi Leipheimer, Yaroslav Popovych, Alberto Contador and Vladimir Gusev all cruised in with the Tour’s top climbers. All looked quite comfortable. Leipheimer only needed a few seconds after crossing the line to catch his breath. “It went as planned,” the Californian said. “It was about as many riders over the last climb as I thought. I was thinking maybe a few less. It was a hot day. It was important to eat a lot and drink a lot. The first day of the

"Mountains, finally!" exclaimed ace shooter Casey Gibson as the Tour de France headed for the high country on Saturday. Take a peek.

Weather: Sunny, warmer, highs in mid 80s, moderate head-crosswinds Stage winner: Tour rookie Linus Gerdemann (T-Mobile) joined a 15-man breakaway and bridged out to the attacking Dmitriy Fofonov (Crédit Agricole) on the day’s final climb on the Colombière. He counterattacked with 7km to go and soloed in 40 seconds ahead of the chasing Iñigo Landaluze (Euskaltel). Race leader: Gerdemann moved from 20th into the maillot jaune, the 12th German to wear the leader’s jersey. Gerdemann is now 1:24 ahead of Landaluze as five riders from the day’s breakaway moved atop the leaderboard. Fabian

American Adam Craig and Canadian Catherine Pendrel won the 2007 Pan AmericanGames cross-country race, held Saturday, July 14 in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.American Mary McConneloug and Brazilian Rubens Valeriano took home thesilver.The 15th edition of the Pan American Games featured a newly built cross-countrycourse called Morro o Outeiro, or Outeiro Hill. Heavy rainstorms two beforemountain biking event transformed the course into a muddy quagmire. Howeversunshine on the day of the event dried out the course enough to preventa rescheduling.The course appeared perfect for Craig, who competed in

Stage 8 - Le Grand Bornand to Tignes - (165km)

Stage 8 - Le Grand Bornand to Tignes - (165km)

Gerdemann wins the first Alpine stage and claims the yellow jersey

Your new race leader

Cardenas: Back in the bigs

Cavendish is headed home, but he'll be back

The UCI weighs in for the first alpine stage

Race leader Cancellara traded his yellow collar for a blue one today

Gerdemann and Fofonov grinding away off the front

Gerdemann goes it alone

Hincapie was gapped on the big hill

Rabobank chases

Likewise Caisse d'Epargne

Gerdemann hopes to become one of the German greats

Leipheimer says the legs are good

Michael Rogers and a very close Ivan Parro on the descent at 40-plus mph

Stapleton took a risk bringing the young German to this Tour — and it paid off

The Alps loom over the road to Le Grand Bornand

The most incredible bike sculpture ever — at least 100 bikes, strung from cranes 200 feet in the air

The village of Copponex went all out, and had a huge festival on the third climb for Bastille Day

Cadel Evans interviewed at the start

Fairies on stilts and the Arc de Triomph in Copponex

Stage winner young Mr Gerdemann on the descent off the Colombiere

Chris Horner has a chat with our own Neal Rogers

Those darn sunflowers — they're everywhere

A banged-up Noval heads for the barn

The peloton cruises through the trees

All the talk of big Tom Boonen not being able to hang with the pure sprinters was silenced Friday, as the burly Belgian took a commanding win at the finish of Stage 6 of the 2007 Tour de France, a mostly flat, 199.5km run from Semur-en-Auxois to Bourg-en-Bresse. The Quick Step-Innergetic star burst from the right side of a scrambled sprint, took the front, then drifted left and right, keeping second-place finisher Oscar Freire (Rabobank) at bay. German Eric Zabel (Milram) was third on a day when the bunch spent 5:20:59 in the saddle.

COURSE: Only a week into the race, much earlier than usual, this first mountain stage will give an indication of who is going to challenge for the yellow jersey. The stage finale includes the long, tougher northern side of the Cat. 1 Col de la Colombière, which has an average grade of almost 7 percent for 16km. Before this Cat. 1 climb, the stage uses winding roads through the edge of the Jura, with flat roads in the limestone gorges mixed with two Cat. 3 and a Cat. 4 climb. After the Colombière, the course has a fast, open 10km descent into Le Grand Bornand, with a flat 4km loop into the

On stage 13 of the Tour de France 40 years ago today, July 13, Tom Simpson collapsed and died on Mont Ventoux. It still seems like yesterday. That was the fifth year I had followed the Tour by bicycle. During those years I had raced in Brittany for a couple of summers. One of the other Brits I trained with was Colin Lewis. He was as rugged a cyclist as I’ve ever met. His training rides were as tough as most races. He could have taken his pick of European teams, but he told me he never wanted to take drugs, so he signed with a small pro team in England. Colin rode the 1967 Tour for the Great

Stage Results1. Tom Boonen (B), Quick Step-Innergetic, 5:20:592. Oscar Freire (Sp), Rabobank, at 00:003. Erik Zabel (G), Milram, at 00:004. Sébastien Chavanel (F), Francaise Des Jeux, at 00:005. Thor Hushovd (N), Credit Agricole, at 00:006. Daniele Bennati (I), Lampre-Fondital, at 00:007. Robert Förster (G), Gerolsteiner, at 00:008. Robert Hunter (Rsa), Barloworld, at 00:009. Romain Feillu (F), Agritubel, at 00:0010. Murilo Fisher(Brz), Liquigas, at 00:00 11. Francisco Ventoso (Sp), Saunier Duval-Prodir, at 00:0012. Jérôme Pineau (F), Bouygues Telecom, at 00:0013. Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus),