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Freire winning his third rainbow jersey last fall.

In setting up what is sure to be one of the big battles of the 2006 Tour de France, Alexandre Vinokourov has inked a deal with the Spanish Liberty-Seguros team. In leaving Jan Ullrich's T-Mobile squad, Vinokourov said he joined Liberty with the expressed goal of winning the Tour within the next two years. The Kazakh-born Russian, fifth in last week's Tour after winning two stages, said he had realized in the third week of this year's Tour his career was going nowhere as long as he remained a part of Ullrich's support network. "I've given myself two years to win the

CPSC, VisionTech USA, Inc. Announce Recall of Bicycle Aero BarsWASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission,in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recallof the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalledproducts immediately unless otherwise instructed.Name of Product: VisionTech USA SuperMax, TriMax, TriMax Plusand Pro model Integrated Bicycle Aero BarsUnits: About 280Manufacturer: VisionTech USA, Inc., of Auburn, Wash.Hazard: The centerpiece of these bicycle aero bars can crackor break, causing the bicycle rider to lose

Vinokourov capped his '05 Tour with two stage wins. He wants more than that.

Two of the Australian cyclists seriously injured in a road accident in Germany last week have surprised doctors with their recovery, the clinic where they are being treated said on Monday. Alexis Rhodes and Louise Yaxley were hurt in the accident caused by an out-of-control teenage driver that killed their international team colleague Amy Gillett during training in eastern Germany for the Thuringen Rundfahrt last week. Rhodes, 20, and Yaxley, 23, are no longer in intensive care. “They are doing surprisingly well. They no longer need assistance to breathe and they are talking," said

Lance Armstrong's triumphant farewell to cycling Sunday in Paris with his seventh consecutive Tour de France victory brought praise from across America, including a call from U.S. President George W. Bush. Bush telephoned Armstrong, a fellow Texan, shortly after the finish from his retreat in Camp David, Maryland, said White House spokeswoman Christie Parell. "Our country and the world are incredibly proud of you," Bush told Armstrong, adding that his victory was "a great triumph of the human spirit" and "a testament not only to your athletic talent but to your courage." Armstrong was

Off to the racesRacers (and writers) woke up with a tinge of a hang-over Monday following the big sigh of relief that comes at the end of the pressure-cooker that’s the Tour de France. Lance Armstrong and his Discovery Channel teammates were feted at a private bash inside the posh Ritz hotel Sunday night in Paris. Some 600 invited guests celebrated Armstrong’s unprecedented seventh Tour victory. Armstrong was scheduled to fly to the French Riviera on Monday to begin his life as a retired athlete. “Come Monday morning," Armstrong said on Saturday, "we’re going to wake up in Paris and the

Following the Tour de France, the UCI has relased its latest ProTour rankings: 1. Danilo Di Luca (I), Liquigas-Bianchi, 184 Pts.2. Lance Armstrong (USA), Discovery Channel, 139 Pts.3. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz), T-Mobile, 136 Pts.4. Tom Boonen (B), QuickStep, 120 Pts.5. Alessandro Petacchi (I), Fassa Bortolo, 111 Pts.6. Jan Ullrich (G), T-Mobile, 98 Pts.7. Santiago Botero Echeverry (Col), Phonak, 95 Pts.8. Oscar Freire Gomez (Sp), Rabobank, 94 Pts.9. Paolo Savoldelli (I), Discovery Channel, 92 Pts.10. George Hincapie (USA), Discovery Channel, 89 Pts.11. Davide Rebellin (I), Gerolsteiner,

KELLY BENEFIT STRATEGIES, CIRCUIT GLOBAL SPORTS MANAGEMENT ANNOUNCEMAJOR PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTMinneapolis, July 18, 2005—Kelly Benefit Strategies, (www.kellybenefitstrategies.com),a group insurance broker and consultant specializing in healthcare anda division of Kelly & Associates Insurance Group, Inc. (KELLY), hassigned a multi-year partnership agreement with Circuit Global Sports Management(www.circuitsport.com) to bethe title sponsor of the KELLY Professional Cycling Team. This new U.S. professional cycling team will concentrate on gainingentry into such 2006 events as the

Course: After looping around the Chevreuse valley south of Paris, the course heads into the city on the right bank of the Seine to reach the traditional Champs-Élysées finishing circuit after 92.5km. Eight laps of the 6.5km circuit complete the 2005 Tour just 400 meters after the final turn from the Place de la Concorde. History: This is the 30th anniversary of the Tour first finishing on the Champs-Élysées. It previously finished in the velodromes at Vincennes (1968-74) and the Parc des Princes (1904-67). The first Tour, in 1903, finished at Ville d’Avray in the Paris suburbs. Favorites:

For a Tour de France finale that was supposed to be a fait accompli — with Lance Armstrong virtually guaranteed a seventh win and the stage supposedly promised to the sprinters — Sunday's stage 21 into the city of Paris hardly fit the bill. That the 144.5km stage began under gray skies and with cold rain should have been a sign that the race that brought the curtain down on 3593km of racing would have something special to offer. And it did. Foremost of the day's surprises was the winner on the Champs-Élysées, the most attacking rider of the peloton, the ever-popular Kazakhstan

Results, Stage 211. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz), T-Mobile, 144.5km in 3:40:57 (39.239kph)2. Bradley Mc Gee (Aus), Francaise des Jeux3. Fabian Cancellara (Swi), Fassa Bortolo4. Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto5. Stuart O’Grady (Aus), Cofidis6. Allan Davis (Aus), Liberty Seguros7. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Credit Agricole8. Baden Cooke (Aus), Francaise des Jeux9. Bernhard Eisel (A), Francaise des Jeux10. Robert Förster (G), Gerolsteiner 11. Luke Roberts (Aus), CSC12. Fred Rodriguez (USA), Davitamon-Lotto13. Guido Trenti (USA), Quickstep14. Mauro Gerosa (I), Liquigas-Bianchi15. Inaki Isasi (Sp),

Stick a fork in it – the 2005 Tour de France is over. It’s been a long, yet wonderful three weeks in France (with a day in Germany and time enough for a quick coffee in Spain). Sometimes the pace of the Tour leaves little time for reflection. So as Lance Armstrong celebrates a magnificent seventh win, we offer VeloNews’s annual web awards for the best moments of the 92nd Tour de France. IT’S A HORSE RACE Best Reason Why You Better Win a Sprint: Robbie McEwen, after Davitamon-Lotto gave chase for more than 100km in stage 13, catching Chris Horner and Sylvain Chavanel about 150m from the line.

The U.S.-based team Discovery Channel earned more than one half-millioneuros in the 2005 Tour de France, the most significant share being thewinner’s check for 400,000 euros given to overall victor, Lance Armstrong.Such prizes are traditionally divided among riders, with the overall winnerusually declining his share as a gesture of gratitude for the work histeammates turned in.At the other end of the spectrum, Spain’s Euskaltel team earned a scant9310 euros for its efforts over the three-week Tour.Current exchange rates - $1.20 per euro – mean that Discovery’s 545,640euros in prize money

In the Tour, the pay window can be found along the Champs-Elysees - and that's where Casey Gibson was staked out on Sunday as the jersey contenders came to collect what they'd earned during the past three weeks. Here's his final gallery for Le Tour 2005.

A weekend sweep, two first time winners, and another tough day for mountain cross, highlighted a full slate of racing at the Snowmass NORBA on Sunday in central Colorado. Canadian Geoff Kabush made it 2-for-2 in Snowmass, taking a convincing short track victory a day after winning the cross-country by more than a minute. Kabush (Maxxis) is now the series leader in both disciplines, and is well on his way to duplicating his two-title effort of a year ago. In the women’s STXC race, Dara Mark-Marino finally broke through with her first NORBA win. The former third-grade teacher has been

Zabriskie resurfaces for the end of the TourDave Zabriskie reappeared at the Tour de France, showing up in preppyclothes to join his teammates on the leisurely, ceremonial, post-race ridedown the Champs-Élysées.He has mostly been hanging out in Spain in the few weeks since a mysterious spill in the team time trial forced him to relinquish the yellow jersey. He said he had four or five stitches, and only watched a little of the Tour on television.“I was really tired,” said Zabriskie, asked about his feelings after the crash. “It took awhile to decompress and come back up.”The Utah native still

Stage 21 - Corbeil-Essonnes to Paris (Champs-Elysées) >144.5km

Stage 21 - Corbeil-Essonnes to Paris (Champs-Elysées) >144.5km

Armstrong's last visit as a pro road racer to the Champs-Elysees

Vino' pads the old racing résumé in Paris

A final farewell

A final anthem in Paris

Vino' attacks, and attacks, and then attacks some more - today, he said, it worked

Vive Le Tour!

Ohhhh-kay, back to business

The jersey winners

Voeckler shows another sort of panache altogether

Welcome to Paris

The Boss leads the way

And he had plenty of fans awaiting his arrival

'Okay, how many of these damn' interviews do I have to give before I can split for the beach?'

Never say die - Horner was still trying for that stage win with a few kilometers remaining

But his countryman was the guy getting all the attention when it was over

Two longtime rivals share a moment

That's a Lotto guys all wearing the same kit (oh, give us a break; you know how many of these things we've written this year?)

Au revoir - until next year

Kabush heads to his second win in as many days

Dara Mark-Marino leads Shonny Vanlandingham in Sunday's STXC

Snowmass NORBA: Kabush, Marks-Marino grab STXC wins

Snowmass NORBA: Kabush, Marks-Marino grab STXC wins

Pruitt and her rig

Joel Panozzo finally nails one

The mad scramble

Todd Wells

Grabbing on to the Luna Train

Course: Time-trial courses don’t come much tougher than this one. From downtown St.-Etienne, the course heads north toward a 7km climb through the village of St. Héand and into the Lyonnais hills. The first time check (17km) is close to the day’s high point at 2769 feet elevation (more than 1000 feet above the start) along a twisting ridge road. Around half-distance, a tortuousdescent drops to the village of St.-Romain-en-Jarez at 1598 feet before a 5km Cat.3 climb lifts the riders back up to 2454 feet at the Col de la Gachet (40km) for the second time split. The final 15km heads down a

Lance Armstrong roared to victory in Saturday's 55.5km time trial in the last real race of his remarkable 14-year career. And he did it with trademark panache, something that some journalists suggested he was lacking this year as he methodically picked apart the competition en route to an unprecedented seventh Tour crown. "Someone asked if you don't win a stage, they say you don't have panache," Armstrong said after beating Jan Ullrich by 23 seconds in the stage 20 time trial. "I came with the intention of doing one thing; that was to win the overall." Barring disaster, Armstrong

This is it: the final time trial of Lance Armstrong’s career. A time trial that offers him the chance to take his only stage win of this Tour, and his first victory of any sort in the 2005 season. If that is not motivation enough for the Discovery Channel team leader and six-time defending champion then there is the desire to impress some of the special guests, such as politician John Kerry and movie star Tom Hanks, who have already arrived at the Tour for Armstrong’s gala celebration banquet Sunday night in Paris. Armstrong goes into his last truly competitive event — Sunday’s road race

Stage Results1. Lance Armstrong (USA), Discovery Channel, 1:11:462. Jan Ullrich (G), T-Mobile, 00:233. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz), T-Mobile, 01:164. Bobby Julich (USA), CSC, 01:335. Ivan Basso (I), CSC, 01:546. Floyd Landis (USA), Phonak, 02:027. Cadel Evans (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto, 02:068. George Hincapie (USA), Discovery Channel, 02:259. Francisco Mancebo (Sp), Illes Balears, 02:5110. Vladimir Karpets (Rus), Illes Balears, 03:05 11. Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr), Discovery Channel, 03:0912. Carlos Sastre (Sp), CSC, 03:1013. Christophe Moreau (F), Credit Agricole, 03:1114. Levi Leipheimer (USA),

Australian cycling is crippled in pain by the death of national road team member Amy Gillett and the injuries of her five teammates from an out of control car plowing into them while training in Germany on Monday. The healing process for the sport and the many individuals affected by what happened has only just begun - if at all it can be ever completed. So great are the ramifications likely to be from what must surely be one of the most unimaginably horrific tragedies to ever hit Australian sport. It is a process that began within 24 hours of the incident when organizers of the event

Lance Armstrong knows exactly where he will be next July - sitting in front of his television watching his soon-to-be ex-rivals Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso battle it out for the yellow jersey. Armstrong, who won the 20th and penultimate stage of the Tour de France on Saturday, will retire after the end of Sunday’s 144km 21st stage when he will have guaranteed a seventh consecutive victory on the race. Last year, when he broke the record of the four other riders who, before him, had won the race five times, there had been a reason for sticking around. This year, he said, it was all about

Australian Robbie McEwen will become one of the Tour de France's all-timegreats if he wins a fourth stage in Paris on Sunday. If McEwen wins the 144.5km 21st and final stage of the 3607km Tour onthe Champs Élysées, he will be only the 14th rider – andseventh sprinter – in the post-war era to win four or more stages on theone Tour. “He would be a hero,” said McEwen's Davitamon-Lotto team manager, HendrikRedant. “To win four stages in one Tour is amazing. There are not a lotof guys except those like Eddy Merckx. It will be really, really special.” Merckx, who won the Tour de France

Geek-bikes and skinsuits, bars shaped like wings . . . these are a few of our favorite things. And Casey Gibson was there at the stage-20 time trial to snag a few more shots for our virtual scrapbook. Here they are.

Kerry chums it up with Discovery crewSen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) was hanging out at the Discovery Channel bus before the start of the 20th stage of the Tour de France. Dressed in a button-down sports shirt, chinos and penny-loafers, the cyclist and former presidential candidate looked on as Lance Armstrong warmed up for the race on his stationary bike. With hundreds of fans looking on, and scores of photographers snapping pictures of the scene, Kerry chatted with George Hincapie, Chris Carmichael and Sheryl Crow. “I wished him well and congratulated him on an extraordinary accomplishment,

With his seventh consecutive Tour de France victory locked up, Lance Armstrong is ready to ride the final stage of his final Tour and the very last competitive event of his professional cycling career. He did say Saturday night that after retirement he might show up to race a local cyclo-cross or mountain-bike race, or even a 10K run or triathlon. But this is it for Lance the pro cyclist. Stage 21 of the 92nd Tour de France finishes on the Champs-Élysées for the 30th year. It previously finished in the velodromes at Vincennes (1968-74) and the Parc des Princes (1904-67). The first Tour, in

Sen. John Kerry thinks Lance Armstrong would make a terrific politician -- but fears he'd be running for the other party. Watching Armstrong during his warmup for Saturday's time trial, the Democrat from Massachusetts listed the Texan's winning qualities. “What's made him so special at the Tour de France, and as an athlete, is the level of focus, discipline, intelligence, strategic ability, and obviously, his endurance - his ability to just take it on and go,” Kerry said. Those qualities would serve Armstrong well in politics, Kerry said. But Armstrong is also friendly

Standing under an overhanging roof 40 minutes after the completion of the men’s cross-country at the NORBA national stop in Snowmass on Saturday, Geoff Kabush couldn’t help but feel a little lucky. Not only had he just grabbed a come-from-behind victory on the steep slopes of this Colorado ski resort, but he’d done so just minutes before a wicked summer squall rolled across the valley, dumping so much rain that the mountain cross had to be postponed until Sunday. “It would have sucked to be out in this,” said Kabush, turning a leery eye towards the hard-falling rain that according to race

Hello!I made the final podium in Paris! Well, assuming nothing happens on the final ride to the finish. For me, today’s time trial went pretty much as I had hoped and expected. What happened to Mickael Rasmussen was absolutely awful for him. I regret not winning the stage, but I have to admit that Lance was, once again, the best one out there. For T-Mobile, we earned two very beautiful stage wins – the two won by Vino’ and Guero’- but again, we come away without the one prize we had our eyes on: the yellow jersey. The fact that we failed in that effort yet again is disappointing to us as a

Scott Moninger (Health Net-Maxxis) won the annual Bob Cook Memorial Mount Evans Hillclimb on Saturday. Run under warm temperatures and sunny skies, the 28-mile race – which starts at 7540 feet in Idaho Springs and climbs to the 14,264-foot summit of Mount Evans - was a far cry from last year’s cold and stormy conditions. But that doesn mean Moninger's win came easily. Team TIAA-CREF went on the attack early, sending national champ Ian MacGregor up the road. A chase group containing Moninger, former world mountain bike champion Ned Overend (Specialized), Boulder racer Burke Swindlehurst

Stage 20 - St.-Etienne to St.-Etienne >55.5km

Stage 20 - St.-Etienne to St.-Etienne >55.5km

Armstrong gets his stage win and clinches victory in Paris

Rasmussen started six minutes before Armstrong, so this was not a good sign.

Local and international cyclists created a memorial to Gillett at the site of this week's tragedy.

McEwen may not get the jersey again, but he wants another win on the Champs Élysées

Did this cost Robbie the jersey? Well, do the math....

Karpets set the early top time

A raging Ullrich bumped teammate Vino' down a notch

Julich had a solid ride

Vino' showed his strength

Dad goes out as a champ

Rasmussen had an appalling ride

Landis crossed sixth

Hincapie finished eighth