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Weather: Sunny, warmer, highs in mid 80s, moderate head-crosswinds. Stage winner: Tom Boonen (QuickStep-Innergetic) ended a two-year Tour dry spell dating back to stage three of the 2005 Tour to win his fifth career stage in a wild sprint. With a brisk headwind and a slow average speed (37.291kph), everyone thought they had a chance. Boonen had to restart his sprint with about 150m to go and held off Oscar Freire (Rabobank), second for the second day in a row. Race leader: Fabian Cancellara (CSC) enjoyed his sixth day and what will likely be his final day in the race leader’s jersey. The

Cofidis rider Bradley Wiggins made no secret that he was disappointed after finishing fourth in the Tour de France’s opening prologue in London. The reigning world and Olympic track pursuit champion — and an outspoken critic of doping in cycling — had set his season around winning in London, on streets he rode as a teenager. Earlier this year, Wiggins even set out to test out the course at 3 a.m., to get the feel of the route with the fewest numbers of cars on the course. He showed he was on form by winning the prologue of the Dauphiné Libéré in June. But when Wiggins crossed the finish

Benjamin Noval vows to fight on despite a horrible crash in Thursday’s stage when he smashed into a car window that Discovery Channel officials say was the fault of an inattentive Bouygues Telecom sport director. The 28-year-old Spanish rider barreled into the back of a Bouygues Telecom team car Thursday after coming off the day’s final climb in the harrowing, eight-climb stage and suffered horrible cuts to his right arm and chin. Noval gutted it through Friday’s 199.5km sixth stage with his arms, hand, chin and leg wrapped in gauze and bandages. “It was a really hard stage. The first

A long, hot day punctuated by a 190-kilometer solo effort by Cofids's Bradley Wiggins and our man Casey Gibson was there to capture it for history.

After the finish of stage 2 in Ghent, Belgium, the Quickstep-Innergetic team bus was mobbed. At the sight of Tom Boonen leaving the podium pen with the green jersey, a father and his teenaged daughter opened into a full sprint trying to get to their country’s hero for an autograph. One can only imagine what the scene was like yesterday after his stage 6 win in Bourg en Bresse. Tom Boonen will never pay for a beer in Belgium. Tom Boonen has Belgian pop songs written about him. For god sakes, in Belgium he has his own breakfast cereal — the man is a god. And he will probably stay that way for

Stage 7 - Bourg-en-Bresse to Le Grand Bornand - (197.5km)

Stage 7 - Bourg-en-Bresse to Le Grand Bornand - (197.5km)

Boonen gets it

British champ Tom Simpson

The monument in his memory, erected on the spot where he died

Don't look back, Bradley old boy — something may be gaining on you

Sydor may be shifting her focus

VIno' sports a full medicine cabinet's worth of bandages

Degano's had better days — he stacked it in the feed zone

Cancellara finished with the bunch to keep his jersey, but it's almost certainly a goner tomorrow as the race hits the Alps

Vino' is somewhat the worse for wear

Wiggins rides that long, lonely road

T-Mobile on the hunt

CSC chips in

The peloton

The obligatory arty shot

A long, long, long day

Noval: All wrapped up and ready to roll

In his own little universe. The TDF brings out all kinds of unusual media types. I think this guy is filming himself, or maybe has video feedback of what he is seeing... maybe he's watching an old Al Franken schtick on Saturday Night Live.

Big crowds at the start

Peloton makes a nice scenic as they cross a canal early in the race.

Saunier Duval car filling up with bottles in the feed zone on a hot day.

CSC car in feed zone, complete with TV antennae and Riis logo.

Dave Zabriskie grabs lunch.

Wiggins deep into his 190 k solo ride.

Once Wiggins is reeled in, the sprinters' teams take over.

Boonen moves back into the green jersey

And everyone is happy

Boonen’s new Specialized Tarmac SL2, just got its first .

We’re not going to argue with the name on the top tube.

The new fork and front triangle promise to be much stiffer.

And the rear promises more compliance.

Tom’s favorite shape, Rolls; this one is on his TT bike.

That’s a long stem.

The white dot ensures proper positioning.

Someone else’s bar is under there.

While Italian heartthrob Filippo Pozzato earned a hard-fought sprint win in stage 5 of the Tour de France, Thursday's big news developed at the back of the pack, where pre-race favorite Alexandre Vinokourov lost 1:20 to his fellow GC contenders after crashing hard with 26km to go in the testing 182.2km run from Chablis to Autun.

COURSE: Despite some early hills through the Burgundy and Côte d’Or wine country, this transitional stage closes with45km of long, flat roads into the center of Bourg-en-Bresse — where a mass sprint seems certain. Bourg is a city of 40,000 people that’s the capital of the Ain department. HISTORY: There has been just one stage finish in Bourgen-Bresse. That was in 2002, when stage 18 ended in a three-man sprint taken by Norway’s Hushovd from Frenchman Christophe Mengin and Denmark’s Jakob Piil. FAVORITES: Crosswinds may be a factor in splitting the peloton over the final hour of racing and

Stage 51. Filippo Pozzato (I), Liquigas 193km in 4:39:01 (39:67kph),2. Oscar Freire Gomez (Sp), Rabobank, at 0:003. Daniele Bennati (I), Lampre-Fondital, at 0:004. Kim Kirchen (Lux), T-Mobile, at 0:005. Erik Zabel (G), Milram, at 0:006. George Hincapie (USA), Discovery Channel, at 0:007. Cristian Moreni (I), Cofidis, at 0:008. Stefan Schumacher (G), Gerolsteiner, at 0:009. Bram Tankink (Nl), Quickstep-Innergetic, at 0:0010. Jerôme Pineau (F), Bouygues Telecom, at 0:00 11. Cadel Evans (Aus), Predictor-Lotto, at 0:0012. Fabian Cancellara (Swi), CSC, at 0:0013. Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Sp),

Will there be a Spanish civil war between Alejandro Valverde and Oscar Pereiro to see who takes control of the Caisse d’Epargne team? The Spanish team starts this year’s Tour in what could be a delicate issue if the protagonists involved weren’t such carefree characters. The pair says there’s no tension between them and, from the ease at which they smile and joke when they’re together, you have to believe them. “The road will decide who we will ride for,” Pereiro told VeloNews before the start of Thursday’s stage. “If Alejandro is flying, then I will work for him. That’s not to say I’ve

>Weather: Mostly sunny, highs in the mid 70s, brisk crosswindsearlyStage winner: Italian glamboy Filippo Pozzato (Liquigas) wonhis second career Tour stage in a spectacular finish to a wild rollercoasteracross rural eastern France. Only 74 riders finished in the front groupin a rough day for Astana as team leaders Alexandre Vinokourov and AndreasKlöden both crashed. Pozzato darted ahead of Oscar Freire (Rabobank)and Daniele Bennati (Lampre).Race leader: Fabian Cancellara (CSC) enjoyed his fifth day inyellow after making it over the day’s final climb with the leaders. A dangerousthree-man

Alexander Vinokourov knew he was going to have some tough days at this year’s Tour de France. The Astana leader just didn’t expect his first to come so early, or in the abrupt manner that it came. The tough Kazakh hit the pavement hard with 26km and the Cat. 3 Côte de la Croix de la Liberation remaining on Thursday’s stage 5. Though he was paced by six teammates, Vinokourov could not regain contact with the peloton and lost 1:20 to the race’s GC contenders. It was the second disaster for an Astana team leader on the stage, following Andreas Klöden’s crash into a ditch 75km from the end of

The Tour de France had exciting day, covering 182.2km from Chablis to Autun, with Fabian Cancellara (CSC) protected his jersey with a surprisingly strong ride. Our man Casey Gibson was there to capture some of the action.

Should the peloton have waited for Alexandre Vinokourov when he crashed in the heat of the battle with about 25km to go in Thursday’s fifth stage? There was some suggestion that the group should have eased up to allow the peloton’s top rider to rejoin the group, just as the peloton did in previous Tours such when Lance Armstrong crashed after tangling his handlebars on a fan’s musette in the 2003 Tour. “I remember back in the old days when a big champion like that would crash, the peloton might wait, like what happened with Armstrong in other Tours,” said stage winner Filippo Pozzato. “I

Which came first the chicken or the egg? What is better? Being physically or mentally exhausted? This is a serious question. Is it better to have tired legs from riding at the front all day for a week or because you haven't slept in a week, sitting bolt upright every time you dream that you are riding into the back of the guy ahead and your brakes aren't working? Personally I like the situation we are currently in, dictating the race, rather than having its terms handed to us by other teams. Really, it sucks having no impact on the race whatsoever and suffering from behind

The year is barely half over, but it's already been a busy one from a technical perspective. Campagnolo finally dropped the square taper for Ultra Torque, one of the smartest outboard-bearing, two-piece, bottom-bracket-and-crank combinations in the industry. And SRAM has sent its Force group to its first Tour de France while unveiling a premium performance group called Red. What about Shimano, you ask? Well, they’ve been busy, too. The company’s updated carbon wheels blossomed in spring, and an electric group and a prototype carbon crank appeared at the Dauphiné Libéré. All of these

Dear Readers,In mylast Legally Speaking column, we had a question from R.H. about ridingtwo abreast while pacelining in Pennsylvania. In this column, we have afew more questions about pacelining. First up is a question from readerG.F., who writes from Wisconsin to ask:Dear Bob,Thanks for your recent article on riding two abreast in Pennsylvaniaand New Jersey. I ride with a club in Wisconsin and we have had severaldiscussions on what is both safe and legal, in terms of riding etiquette. From your article about Pennsylvania and New Jersey I am projecting toour situation here in Wisconsin that

One year ago, how could I possibly have dreamed where my life would be taking me? I’m living in the shadows of Utah’s beautiful Wasatch Mountains beside the love of my life, Aleeza. This area is a bicyclist’s paradise. There are lots of great climbs through the mountains, bike paths and bike lanes throughout the city, and a big population of fellow cyclists. I love meeting people while I ride. It’s amazing what a “hello” can lead to. The other day, for instance, I got into a conversation with a guy I happened to ride past. He mentioned that he was a cinematographer and I told him a bit about

As a child I loved watching the videos of the champions in the wake of their teammates as they shredded the peloton while setting a violent tempo. To me, there was something unique about the complete physical sacrifice as they selflessly emptied their energy on the road for their teammates until they could no longer pedal fluidly. Lance Armstrong had eight riders who did this to the utmost every year for him, never questioning his leadership while totally devoting themselves to the goal of victory in Paris. In many ways they were the reason he won seven Tours with barely a hiccup. Riding on

For Ben Jacques-Maynes (Priority Health-Bissell), patience was truly a virtue on Thursday, as he jumped at just the right moment to pass a string of GC hopefuls and take the second stage of the Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Classic. He didn’t put enough time on Chris Baldwin (Toyota-United), however, to keep him from slipping on the leader’s jersey when he came across the line just three seconds later.

Stage 6 - Semur-en-Auxois to Bourg-en-Bresse - (199.5km)

Stage 6 - Semur-en-Auxois to Bourg-en-Bresse - (199.5km)

Pozzato wins

Vino' stacked it at speed and crossed the line nearly 90 seconds down

Cancellara in yellow once again

Chavanel was a busy lad today, breaking away solo . . .

. . . and with company

With CSC declining to chase, pursuit was left to other teams, such as Caisse d'Epargne . . .

. . . and Rabobank

Leipheimer said the Tour's first hilly stage was a tough day in the saddle

Hincapie's still sporting some scabs from his earlier misfortunes

Zabel, meanwhile, is sporting the green jersey

Cheula chases his way up to the break

Klöden went down, and may be going out of this year's Tour

Pereiro expects no gifts this year.

Discovery's young phenom, Alberto Contador, poses for the photogs.

The War memorial in Chablis

The best idea yet for this doping mess.

After sign-in, Leipheimer heads back to the bus.

Hincapie talks to Andrew Hood.

Aussie fans in Chablis

Its Christmas in July when the Tour comes to your town.

Zabriskie leads the peloton through Nitry.

Chavanel leads Gilbert on the day's last descent.

Cancellara rode impressively to protect his jersey.