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A look ahead: GC battle likely in stormy weather on Sunday

Course: There are no major climbs on this first of three transitional stages between the Pyrénées and Alps, but that doesn’t mean it will be an easy day. Stages like this often give rise to long breakaways that succeed, especially when the weather in this southern part of France is hot and sticky. Any break that develops in the hilly opening two-thirds of the stage will need to get at least a 10-minute lead if it has any chance of holding off the pack on the straighter roads and flatter terrain of the final 70km. History: An almost identical stage from Luchon to Carcassonne in 1962 was won

Discovery Channel earned back some pride Friday with a timely stage win from Yaroslav Popovych just 24 hours after the team’s overall chances for an eighth consecutive Tour de France victory melted in Thursday’s rugged five-climb stage across the Pyrénées. With the odds of a Discovery rider winning in Paris in the realm of fantasy rather than reality, the team pow-wowed before the start of the torrid 211.5km stage 12 from Luchon to Carcassonne to formulate a new strategy for the second half of the Tour. The plan: Get into breakaways and attack for stage wins. The tactic worked superbly,

Jean Marie Leblanc, former journalist and long-time director of the Tour de France is gradually letting go of the race that he loves. Sharing director duties with his eventual successor, Christian Prudhomme, Leblanc says this is his last Tour - at least in an official capacity. VeloNews contributor Sebastian Moll had a chance to speak with Leblanc on Thursday and asked about the current state of the Tour de France and the legacy he hopes to leave. VeloNews: Jean Marie Leblanc, you experienced the 1998 drug scandal as a Tour director and the 2006 scandal as the Tour’s co-director. What were

1. Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr), Discovery Channel, 211km in 4:34:58 (46.151kph)2. Alessandro Ballan (I), Lampre, 00:273. Oscar Freire (Sp), Rabobank, 00:294. Christophe Le Mevel (F), Credit Agricole, 00:355. Tom Boonen (B), Quick Step-Innergetic, 04:256. Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto, 04:257. Francisco Ventoso (Sp), Saunier Duval, 04:258. Erik Zabel (G), Milram, 04:259. Daniele Bennati (I), Lampre, 04:2510. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Credit Agricole, 04:25 11. Luca Paolini (I), Liquigas-Bianchi, 04:2512. David Kopp (G), Gerolsteiner, 04:2513. Axel Merckx (B), Phonak, 04:2514. Jimmy Casper (F),

Germany’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung charged Friday that Jan Ullrich had been working with the Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes for much longer than was originally revealed in the recent Operación Puerto investigation in Spain. In it’s Friday edition the German newspaper published additional documents from the investigation of the Spanish authorities, suggesting that Ullrich used an assortment of doping products leading up to and during the 2005 Tour de France. The Sueddeutsche Zeitung claims to have secured a so-called “road book” from the office of Fuentes in which the dosage and duration of

Tom Zirbel (Priority Health) won Thursday’s 81-mile McKenzie Pass Road Race in dramatic fashion. Within a mile of the mountaintop finish, Zirbel launched an attack from a group of 12 riders, narrowly holding off second- and third-place finishers Sergey Lagutin (Navigators) and Chris Wherry (Toyota-United) at the line to claim victory in Stage 2 of the Cascade Cycling Classic in Bend, Oregon. On the first day of competition for the women’s field, Kristen LaSasso (Lipton) rode solo across the line to take the victory by nearly two-minutes over breakaway partner Kirsten Robbins (Victory

Following their blank-out on the big Pyrenean climbing stage on Thursday, Discovery Channel team boss Johan Bruyneel sat down his riders Friday morning to tell them "another Tour is beginning for us." Then just before the stage 12 start in Luchon, Bruyneel told Yaroslav Popovych to "go out and win the stage." And that’s just what he did. It wasn’t all joy for Discovery, though, because two of its nine riders left the race. Paolo Savoldelli, injured after colliding with a spectator while returning to his hotel from the Pla-de-Beret finish Thursday evening, was too dizzy to follow the pack on

In the end, it was just good TV. There will be no replacement for Lance Armstrong. The "Race 2 Replace" is over and no winner has emerged. Maybe it was simply too big a burden to place on the shoulders of Armstrong’s former Discovery Channel teammates. Maybe it was just a good way to sell advertising. Whatever the case, there were no regrets following the 2006 Tour de France’s brutal stage 11. In their hearts, members of America’s lone ProTour team knew they were just role players in a drama whose star had long ago ridden into the sunset. "Whether it’s good or not so good, as long as the

Happy Bastille Day! Our man in France, Casey Gibson, celebrated the holiday by shooting a few jillion more photos of Le Tour ... here they are.

WeatherMostly sunny, very hot once out of Luchon valley, high 41C Stage winnerYaroslav Popovych (Discovery Channel), 4h34:58, 46.151 kph – The Ukraine shot away from the day’s winning four-man breakaway with 3km to go to win his first Tour stage of his career to ruin France’s Bastille Day. Race leaderFloyd Landis (Phonak), 2,268.6km, 42.042kph – Landis retained his eight-second lead to Cyril Dessel (Ag2r) to enjoy his first full day in yellow. There were no major shakeups in the overall standings beyond Popovych moving up from 23rd to 10th at 4:15 back. Green jerseyRobbie McEwen

The day after taking over the top spot at the Tour de France, American Floyd Landis got a surprise present Friday morning at the stage 12 start in Luchon when team owner Andy Rihs presented his star rider with a brand new yellow accented BMC SLC 01. The new ride includes yellow bar tape, yellow Speedplay pedals, yellow Powertap computer and yellow DT Swiss 240s front hub. Outside of the color changes, BMC head product manager Andrew James said it was the same bike that Landis has been riding in the Tour this far. It was James who actually got the bike to the race, driving 10 hours from

Stage 12: Luchon to Carcassonne - 211.5km

Stage 12: Luchon to Carcassonne - 211.5km

Popovych moves into the top-ten on GC, too.

Landis and Phonak didn't seem too worried about the break, as long as the gap stayed reasonable.

Popo' in the break

Phonak on the front

Landis in yellow

Oh, come on, like we weren't gonna whip one of these on you this year

Discovery rode smart in Stage 12, and will have to ride even smarter in the days ahead

Popo's win revived Discovery's hopes after its collapse in the Pyrenees

Hincapie in the first break

Landis leads the bunch past St. Vizier

Fans and photographers battle the crowds to get to the finish line

Popovych wins, just in front of his video image

Popo' is pooped, just past the line

But he came back to life on the podium

Millar, meanwhile, couldn't wait to pull that helmet off

Vande Velde sails across the line

Landis in yellow

And Ullrich in effigy, we think (our German translator has the day off)

Andy Rihs works his way through the crowd to make a delivery Friday morning

The view from the cockpit

New pedals, of course

The bike

Course: Any Pyrenean stage that goes over the mighty mountain passes of Tourmalet, Aspin, Peyresourde and Portillon merits the greatest attention from the race favorites — even though this one then continues into Spain for another 40km to finish on the long, but gently graded climb to the Pla-de-Beret summit. If this Tour is going to be a free-for-all, then climbers who want to shoot for the polkadot jersey or a high GC placing must attack on this challenging day. So look for likely KOM candidates to infiltrate the breaks that are bound to form on the narrow, winding roads that precede the

Floyd Landis and Levi Leipheimer found the best way to save what could have been a disastrous day for American cycling in the Tour de France Thursday . Phonak team leader Landis took the yellow leader’s jersey, while Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) finished second to Russia’s Denis Menchov (Rabobank) at the end of this Tour’s most grueling and decisive stage yet. Landis began the day in third overall but stage 11 from Tarbes to Val d’Aran (Pla-de-Beret) in Spain saw the peloton split so decisively that just three men remained in the lead group that conquered the brutal 206.5km stage featuring five

When previewing Thursday’s stage 11, most riders and writers have said that the closing climb of 13km to Pla-de-Beret in Spain won’t cause major changes in the GC because it averages only 5.5 percent. For sure, it’s not as steep as other summit finishes in the Pyrénées, like Hautacam, Luz-Ardiden and Plateau de Beille, but when combined with the four climbs that precede it — the Tourmalet, Aspin, Peyresourde and Portillon — the stage might cause more damage than expected. “This will be the most difficult stage ahead of the Alps,” said Floyd Landis, who’s now in fifth overall, 4:45 behind new

1. Denis Menchov (Rus), Rabobank, 206.5km in 6:06:25 (33.813kph)2. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Gerolsteiner, 00:003. Floyd Landis (USA), Phonak, 00:004. Cadel Evans (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto, 00:175. Carlos Sastre (Sp), CSC, 00:176. Michael Boogerd (Nl), Rabobank, 01:047. Haimar Zubeldia (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, 01:318. Frank Schleck (Lux), CSC, 01:319. Andréas Klöden (G), T-Mobile, 01:3110. Christophe Moreau (F), Ag2r Prevoyance, 02:29 11. Georg Totschnig (A), Gerolsteiner, 03:0612. Michael Rogers (Aus), T-Mobile, 03:0613. Marcus Fothen (G), Gerolsteiner, 03:0614. Ramiro Ivan Ramiro (Col), Cofidis,

Savoldelli crashes on evacuationTwo-time Giro d’Italia champion Paolo Savoldelli crashed Thursday coming off the Pla-de-Beret climb following Thursday’s 11th stage and received 15 stitches to his right eyebrow. According to Discovery Channel team officials, it appeared a spectator struck the Italian in the eyebrow as he rode down off the narrow, twisting road after the end of Thursday’s climbing stage. He then crashed as a result of the contact. Savoldelli rode up to the team hotel holding a napkin to stop the bleeding to the cut above his eye. Blood was visible above the cut and the

With the high peaks of the Pyrénées behind them, the Tour’s remaining 165 riders set out Friday on three arduous stages across the south of France that will be made more grueling by temperatures in the 80s and 90s. The first of the trio is stage 12 from Luchon to Carcassonne. This hilly 211km stage looks made for breakaways — especially after Thursday’s savage race through the Pyrénées created huge time differences in the GC. Besides the certainty of attacks from riders now buried in the overall standings — and that unexpectedly includes the whole of the Discovery Channel team — the other

Chris Wherry (Toyota-United) took the first stage of the Cascade Cycling Classic on Wednesday. Emerging from an 18-man group made up almost entirely of Toyota-United, Navigators and Health Net Maxxis riders, Wherry rode steadily up a steep, mile-long climb to the summit of Pilot Butte, a scenic overlook just outside downtown Bend. Sergey Lagutin (Navigators) and Jeff Louder (Health Net-Maxxis) finished second and third respectively, only seconds behind. The 91-mile Ironhorse-Brooks Resources Prineville road race started out calmly with only one escapee, Gordon McCauley (Successful Living),

Weather Partly cloudy in morning to sunny and partly sunny in afternoon, highs in mid-20sC Stage winnerDenis Menchov (Rabobank), 6h06:25, 33.814kph – Russian Menchov timed his downhill sprint perfectly to finish ahead of Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) and Floyd Landis (Phonak). The 2005 Vuelta a Espana winner claims his first career Tour stage win in Race leader Landis, 2,057.1km, 41.723kph – Landis became the fifth American to wear the maillot jaune thanks to time bonuses. By finishing third in the stage, Landis picked up eight seconds in bonuses, the difference now between him and overnight

While no one was questioning the abilities of new Tour de France yellow jersey holder Floyd Landis, doubts about his team were a hot topic in the aftermath of stage 11’s dramatic trip to the summit of Spain’s Pla de Beret, Thursday. With 2006’s La Grande Boucle past the halfway point, Phonak has just one rider in the top 20. And outside a solid ride by Axel Merckx (22nd at 4:45), none of Landis’ teammates were anywhere near the finish line when the American received an emotional embrace from coach Robbie Ventura. No doubt the pair relished in the moment, but defending the GC lead through

It's not the peloton trudging up those mountain roads – our man Casey Gibson is out there, too, lugging around a few thousand pounds of cameras, cell phones and computers, so you can see Le Tour in action.

Trek-Volkwagen’s endurance duo of Travis Brown and Chris Eatough dominated Thursday’s sweaty marathon national championships race, held at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. After disposing of Jay Henry (3D-Hillenbrand) on the third of eight laps, the two Trek riders spent the rest of the day riding together at the front. Brown was able to separate himself from cramping 24-hour champion Eatough midway through the final lap, and held his narrow 13-second advantage to the finish line. "The race was pretty conservative, but I felt totally dehydrated during the race, I drank 12 bottles

Ouch! Now, that was rude. 5200 meters (17,060 feet)of climbing over 207km. To add insult to injury, it was hotter than Hell out there today. Climbs, heat or whatever, the race was shaken up today big time and, truthfully, I am so dead right now I can't even think straight, so this will have to be brief. Here’s my quick and dirty stage wrap:Comeback of the day: Levi.Contender of the day: Floyd.Sure, Denis Menchov won, but I still think that Floyd will now be the man for this Tour. Carlos rode like we hoped that he would today and I think that he can ride to a podium place in this

Stage 11: Tarbes to Val d’Aran/Pla-de-Beret - 206.5km

Stage 11: Tarbes to Val d’Aran/Pla-de-Beret - 206.5km

Menchov wins a three-up sprint to the finish

Landis becomes the second American in this Tour to pull on the leader's yellow jersey

The fifth U.S. rider to wear a yellow jersey. Two have worn them to Paris. Will Landis be No.3?

GC hopes gone, Hincapie will hunt for a stage win

A look ahead: Back to the plains — and the heat

A look ahead: Back to the plains — and the heat

The work load falls to Phonak now

Menchov wins

Stage Stats: Stage 11 by the numbers

Stage Stats: Stage 11 by the numbers

Ag2r did great work defending Dessel's jersey

T-Mobile on the Col du Portillon: Too much for Klöden?

Boogerd set a brutal tempo

Leipheimer overcomes the problems of the past few days.

The early break on the Tourmalet

Tourmalet

Menchov wins the sprint... Landis gets those eight seconds.

Teammate Mayo has already abandoned, and Camano needs a push on the Portillon

De la Fuente shows the strain of leading on the Portillon

It would not be Hincapie's day

Landis, on the other hand, climbed right into the yellow jersey

Leipheimer recovered from his terrible time trial to finish second on the day

Stragglers climb through the pines in the Pyrenees

Popovych struggles to catch the leaders

No struggle here as a fan awaits the peloton on the Tourmalet

The Pyrenees wait ...

... and so does this spectator on the Tourmalet

Course: This is a much easier introduction to the mountains than in recent years. Instead of a mountaintop finish, the last of three climbs on this 190.5km stage across the Basque part of the Pyrénées is 42.5km from the finish in Pau. That means that riders dropped on the Col de Marie-Blanque will have a chance to chase back to the peloton. Breakaways will inevitably go clear on the rolling roads that precede the day’s major obstacle, the Col de Soudet, that climbs for almost 15km at over 7 percent, with some much steeper pitches on the upper reaches of the bumpy, narrow road that leads to

The first major climbs of the 93rd Tour de France served up some significant changes atop the leader board Wednesday; but the main contenders were content to keep a wary eye on each other — even when an early breakaway gained more than 10 minutes and fought for all the spoils of the three-climb, 190.5km 10th stage 10. From the original break of 15 riders, just two were left upon reaching the finishing straight in Pau after the demanding journey through the Basque part of the Pyrénées. Spanish rider Juan Miguel Mercado (Agritubel) and Frenchman Cyril Dessel (AG2R) fought out a hard sprint in

1. Juan Miguel Mercado (Sp), Agritubel2. Cyril Dessel (F), Ag2r Prevoyance, 00:003. Inigo Landaluze (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, 00:564. Cristian Moreni (I), Cofidis, 02:245. Christophe Rinero (F), Saunier Duval, 02:256. Inaki Isasi (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, 05:037. Vasseur Cédric (F), Quick Step-Innergetic, 05:358. Daniele Bennati (I), Lampre, 07:239. Erik Zabel (G), Milram, 07:2310. Stefano Garzelli (I), Liquigas-Bianchi, 07:23 11. Carlos Da Cruz (F), Francaise des Jeux, 07:2312. Thomas Voeckler (F), Bouygues Telecom, 07:2313. Riccardo Ricco (I), Saunier Duval, 07:2314. Mirko Celestino (I),