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After knocking on the door for several days, Spaniard Oscar Freire finally kicked it right in on Thursday, outsprinting yellow-jersey wearer Tom Boonen to win his first Tour de France stage since 2002. The three-time world champion from Rabobank won a chaotic drag race against Boonen on the stage 5 finishing stretch down Guillou Boulevard in Caen, near France’s northwestern coast and the beaches of Normandy. After being shut out by his green-jersey rivals in previous sprints this week, the 30-year-old Freire came into Thursday’s stage with a different plan of attack. Instead of reacting to

1. Oscar Freire (Sp), Rabobank2. Tom Boonen (B), Quick Step-Innergetic, 00:003. Inaki Isasi (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, 00:004. David Kopp (G), Gerolsteiner, 00:005. Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto, 00:006. Alessandro Ballan (I), Lampre, 00:007. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Credit Agricole, 00:008. Francisco Ventoso (Sp), Saunier Duval, 00:009. Erik Zabel (G), Milram, 00:0010. Bernhard Eisel (A), Francaise des Jeux, 00:00 11. Luca Paolini (I), Liquigas-Bianchi, 00:0012. Laurent Brochard (F), Bouygues Telecom, 00:0013. Cristian Moreni (I), Cofidis, 00:0014. Jimmy Casper (F), Cofidis, 00:0015. Eddy

Weathercooler, highs in low-80s, partly cloudy in afternoon, brisk headwinds in final sprint Stage winnerOscar Freire (Rabobank), 5h18:50, 42.342kph – The three-time world champion won his first stage of this year’s Tour, relegating reigning world champ Tom Boonen to second place. The Spanish rider started an early sprint against a brisk headwind to pull the surprise win for just his first Tour win since 2002 while in the rainbow jersey. Race leaderTom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic), 25h10:51, 42.423kph – The world champion fell short of victory, but was pleased to keep the yellow jersey

A lot of people are talking about why this Tour de France appears to be slower than last year’s, which reached the finish in Paris at a record average of 41.605kmh. Most people ask if it is due to the absence of those riders who would otherwise be overall favorites. What I do know is that, yes, the Tour is a hell of a lot different than last year. And the one major influence, with Lance Armstrong and a few of the main favorites not being here, is that every team now thinks they are in with a chance to win the overall. Those teams – including ours - are racing tactically quite differently

While you relaxed in the cube farm, occasionally sneaking a glance at our Live Update, Casey Gibson was galloping through France alongside Le Tour, chronicling the day's action. Here's what he sent back across the pond.

Floyd Landis has been a media nowhere man so far this Tour de France, staying bunkered down inside the Phonak bus before and after stages and otherwise keeping a very low profile. Obviously, the Phonak rider wants to let his legs to do the talking. Saturday’s 52km time trial will be the first chance to see who’s going to have the legs to challenge for overall victory. “Floyd is good. He is ready to make a good time trial. It’s the first important day,” Phonak sport director Juan Fernandez told VeloNews. “Everyone talks about the nerves the first week, but Floyd has been very calm.” Ninth

On every road stage of this 2006 Tour de France, it has been relatively easy for the sprinters’ teams to control the race. One reason is because there was no team trial this year and so no major time gaps have developed in the general classification, which means that in every early break there is generally someone, time-wise, who is not far from the yellow jersey. For example, on Thursday, several riders near the top of the GC rankings went with the early eight-man break. Despite several kilometers of flat-out effort (almost 46km were raced in the opening hour on far-from-flat terrain), the

Stage 5: Beauvais to Caen 225km

Stage 5: Beauvais to Caen 225km

Freire catches the favorites napping

The yellow jersey is not a bad consolation prize

Schröder and Dumoulin spent a long day off the front...

... and Boonen's Quick Step team spent a long day chasing

Hincapie had an easy day

Pineau stays in the climber's jersey another day

Zabriskie is thinking about Saturday's time trial

Stage 5, Beauvais to Caen, 225km

Stage 5: by the numbers

Pineau preserves his polka-dot jersey

Tour-winner Riis at the start

Dumoulin leads the break over the Seine bridge

Quick Step leads the chase

Even the yellow jersey lends a hand

New crops frame the peloton

Julich on the bridge

The final sprint

Freire celebrates

Landis is biding his time

Course: This stage, which starts in the Belgian city of Huy on the right bank of the Meuse River at the foot of the infamous Mur de Huy, brings the Tour back to France. It traces some of the roads of the Mur’s classic, the Flèche Wallonne, climbing a couple of Ardennes hills in the opening 60km; but then it heads southeast on a flat-to-rolling route, mainly on wide, straight roads till it reaches the French border. The final two hours will be hectic, first on 80km of twisting, undulating back road through the countryside of Picardy, until the race reaches a straight, hilly highway inside 15km

It was a double-digit day for Robbie McEwen on stage 4 of the Tour de France. He uncorked a perfectly timed sprint with 200 meters to go in St. Quentin, France, to score his 10th career Tour de France stage victory in dominating fashion. The 34-year-old Australian they call "the pocket rocket" shot away in a tough, uphill sprint through a sweeping left turn to beat Spanish sprinter Isaac Galvez (Caisse d’Épargne-Illes Balears) by two bike lengths, while an exasperated Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic) came through in fifth shaking his head in frustration but retaining the maillot jaune. "I

1. Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto2. Isaac Galvez (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne-I.B., 00:003. Oscar Freire (Sp), Rabobank, 00:004. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Credit Agricole relegated4. Tom Boonen (B), Quick Step-Innergetic, 00:005. David Kopp (G), Gerolsteiner, 00:006. Daniele Bennati (I), Lampre, 00:007. Francisco Ventoso (Sp), Saunier Duval, 00:008. Michael Albasini (Swi), Liquigas-Bianchi, 00:009. Bernhard Eisel (A), Francaise des Jeux, 00:0010. Jimmy Casper (F), Cofidis, 00:00 11. Michael Rogers (Aus), T-Mobile, 00:0012. Anthony Geslin (F), Bouygues Telecom, 00:0013. George Hincapie (USA),

Defending Tour de France points champion Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole)was relegated from his fourth-place finish in Stage 4 of the Tour de France Wednesday after officials ruled him guilty of irregular sprinting.Hushovd, who wore the yellow jersey after winning the race prologue and again two days later, was ruled to have blocked Austrian sprinter Bernhard Eisel as both riders raced to the finish line in a bunch sprint.Robbie McEwen, of Davitamon, won the sprint well ahead of his rivals to claim his second stage of the race and tenth of his career, allowing him to reclaim the race's

Following the latest round of reports intimating possible links between CSC’s Ivan Basso and the Spanish doping ring called Operación Puerto, team doctor Joost De Maeseneer addressed the press at the Tour de France stage 4 start in Huy. While Maeseneer maintained he never saw anything that indicated Basso may have been involved in illicit activities, he conceded that there’s no way he and the team’s other two doctors can keep an eye on all the riders all the time. Maeseneer also said there is no reason for Basso or anyone else to seek services outside the confines of the team. "If Stuart

From the morning sign-in at the start to the podium at the finish, Casey Gibson covers it all. Here's what he saw between the lines today.

Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong has dropped all defamation lawsuits in France over allegations he used performance-enhancing drugs, his French lawyers said. The cyclist made the decision after being vindicated by three other recent rulings in his favor, Donald Manasse and Christian Charriere-Bournazel said in a statement. "Mr Armstrong considers that his honor and reputation have been re-established for all people who examine the facts in good faith and that no further purpose is served now in pursuing other actions in defamation," they said. A defamation case against

Weather sunny, very warm again, brisk crosswinds Stage winner Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto), 4:59:50, 41.423kph – McEwen earned his second win in three days to make it an even Tour 10 on his career. Second-place Isaac Galvez (Caisse d’Epargne) shook up a late crash to finish second, but was no match for McEwen’s top-end speed. Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) was relegated for dangerous sprinting. Race leader Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic), 19:52:13, 42.445kph – The world champion could only muster a disappointing fifth in the sprint, but he retained his one-second lead to Michael

Five-time Tour de France winner Eddy Merckx likes American Floyd Landis' chances to win this year's race. Merckx says Landis seems to be in top form after wins this year so far at the Tour of California, the Tour de Georgia and Paris-Nice. "He's in very good shape, he has a very good team," said Eddy Merckx, stepping out of the team bus before Wednesday's fourth stage. "I think he could win the Tour." Merckx may not be totally impartial, though, since his son Axel, is a Phonak teammate of Landis. Besides Landis, Merckx said he also likes American Levi Leipheimer,

Stage 4: Huy to Saint Quentin - 207km

Stage 4: Huy to Saint Quentin - 207km

McEwen claims his 10th career Tour stage win

Boonen had hoped for a stage win, but keeps the jersey

Martinez is just one of Bruyneel's many options at this Tour

Quick Step had a lot of responsibilities on Wednesday

Robbie the Rocket does it again

Boonen stays in yellow

Crédit Agricole on the front

McEwen gets ready for a day in the saddle

The Disco's head to the start

Hincapie ready for a day at the office, too.

The day's break

Fans are still enthusiastic, and today's crowds were very large. Big day for hay bales too.

Landis and crew stayed near the front.

Boonen wants a stage win...

... but McEwen wins another

... and the world champion has to settle for another yellow jersey.

The fans are happy to get a look at whomever makes the podium

VeloNews ventures into video...

... but these guys don't seem too concerned.

CSC doctor Joost De Maeseneer

Stage 4 by the numbers

Stage 4 by the numbers

Tour doctor Gerard Porte assists Dean after he hit the deck in the finale

Belgium

Course: This is another long stage (216.5km), which starts in Luxembourg,passes through Belgium and finishes in the Netherlands. The first halfof the course is mainly on straight, wide highways, while the second half,from where it joins the Liège-Bastogne-Liège classic routeat Vielsalm (107km), is mostly on winding, often narrow, back roads. Withsix climbs in the last 90km — starting with L-B-L’s Haute-Levéeand ending with the Amstel Gold Race’s Cauberg 2km from the finish — thepeloton is almost certain to be split by attacks. History: An almost identical finish to a stage came in 1992,the

The cycling gods were both generous and horribly cruel in dealing out their judgments on the Tour de France peloton in Tuesday’s stage 3 from Esch-sur-Alzette to Valkenburg. Generous to those like stage winner Matthias Kessler (T-Mobile) and Belgian world champion Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic), whose fourth place and time bonuses earned him the overall lead. Fittingly, Boonen’s feat has come in time for him to wear the yellow jersey in Wednesday’s stage through his home country before the Tour re-enters France. “[Wearing the yellow jersey in Belgium] is something that might happen once

1. Matthias Kessler (G), T-Mobile2. Michael Rogers (Aus), T-Mobile, 00:053. Daniele Bennati (I), Lampre, 00:054. Tom Boonen (B), Quick Step-Innergetic, 00:055. Erik Zabel (G), Milram, 00:056. Luca Paolini (I), Liquigas-Bianchi, 00:057. Oscar Freire (Sp), Rabobank, 00:058. Eddy Mazzoleni (I), T-Mobile, 00:059. Georg Totschnig (A), Gerolsteiner, 00:0510. Fabian Wegmann (G), Gerolsteiner, 00:05 11. Alexandre Botcharov (Rus), Credit Agricole, 00:0512. Mirko Celestino (I), Milram, 00:0513. Rubiera José Luis (Sp), Discovery Channel, 00:0514. Cadel Evans (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto, 00:0515. George

Weathersunny, very warm again, light windStage winnerMatthias Kessler (T-Mobile), 4h57:54, 43.605kph – The 27-year-oldGerman earned back some pride for his tarnished team to win in a bold attackon the Cauberg. He held off a late charge to win his first Tour stage withteammate Michael Rogers coming through second.Race leaderTom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic), 14h52:23, 42.788kph – TornadoTom finished fourth at five seconds back to slip into the maillot jaunefor the first time of his career. Three-time world time trial championRogers is just one second behind the world road champion. Overnight

A day after celebrating Robbie McEwen’s stage2 win, the Davitamon-Lotto team was left battered and bruised following the crashed marred stage 3 run from Esch-Sur-Alzette to Valkenburg. McEwen’s lead-out lieutenant Fred Rodriguez got the worst of it after he and Rabobank’s Erik Dekker went down with about 50km to go on Tuesday. Dekker’s injuries included broken teeth and cuts and bruises to his face. Rodriguez injured his right shoulder. Both were taken to the hospital in Verviers, Belgium, for further examination. “It’s a possible broken collarbone and wrist, but we don’t know for sure,”

CSC's Stuart O'Grady is doubtful for the fourth stage of the Tour de France after fracturing a vertebrae in his back here Tuesday. The Tour de France veteran was among several riders who crashed on the undulating 216.5km third stage which played host to a hectic finale. A CSC team spokesman said a CAT scan at a hospital in nearby Genk had shown that O'Grady fractured a vertebrae in his lower back, but that a decision would only be taken on Wednesday morning. "He has fractured it in a way that means he may still be able to race," team spokesman Bryan Nyygard told AFP. "Stuart is

From start-line caravan to finish-line chaos, Casey Gibson covers it all. Here's what he saw between the lines today.

At this point in the 2005 Tour de France, Tom Boonen had already given his Quick Step team a couple of stage wins and taken the green jersey. Twelve months later, he again leads the points competition and he starts Wednesday’s stage 4 in Huy, Belgium, wearing the yellow jersey of race leader — but without winning any of the opening stages. The world champion would like to change that win-less record as soon as possible. But, first, let’s see what has kept Boonen from adding to his list of 17 season victories. After coming an excellent 12th in Saturday’s prologue, the tall Belgian was the

Stage 3: Esch-sur-Alzette to Valkenburg - 216.5km

Stage 3: Esch-sur-Alzette to Valkenburg - 216.5km

A tough route that covered some Classic terrain

If at first you don't succeed: Kessler wins by 50 meters after missing a win by that same margin on Monday

Arrieta: The most aggressive

Stage Stats: Stage 3

Stage Stats: Stage 3

World Champion gets a new jersey for Wednesday's stage