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Ullrich takes a tumble

Course: The opening 60km of this longest stage so far (231.5km)passes through the beautiful Black Forest — Ullrich’s longtime traininggrounds. Any damage done on the four Cat. 3 climbs will be rectified bythe following 120km down and across the Rhine Valley. All the action shouldtake place on this Tour’s first Cat. 2 climb, the 16.8km-long Col de laSchlucht, which tops out at an elevation of 3736 feet just 15km from thefinish.History: A Tour stage has never started or finished in Gérardmer,a tourist town of fewer than 10,000 people set on a scenic lake deep inthe pine forests of the Vosges

Lance Armstrong looked around near the summit of the rather anonymous Cat. 2 Col de la Schlucht in the chilly Vosges Mountains and couldn’t find many friendly faces. In the big front group he was with, there were no other Discovery Channel riders. No Chechu, no Triki, no Popo. Not even his 2005 favorite mountain goat, José Azevedo. What the six-time Tour champion did see were lots of riders licking their chops. For the first time in years at the Tour de France, Armstrong was isolated. “It was not a great day. I didn’t feel very good and the other teams did feel good,” said Armstrong, who

Stage 8 -Pforzheim to Gérardmer >231.5km1. Pieter Weening (Nl), Rabobank, 231.5km in 5:03:54(45.705kph)2. Andréas Klöden (G),T-Mobile, same time3. Alejandro Valverde (Sp),Illes Balears, at 00:274. Kim Kirchen (Lux),Fassa Bortolo, at 00:275. Jens Voigt (G),CSC, at 00:276. Jan Ullrich (G),T-Mobile, at 00:277. Cadel Evans (Aus),Davitamon-Lotto, at 00:278. Christophe Moreau (F),Credit Agricole, at 00:279. Christopher Horner (USA),Saunier Duval, at 00:2710. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz),T-Mobile, at 00:27 11. Stefano Garzelli (I),Liquigas-Bianchi, at 00:2712. Franco Pellizotti (I),Liquigas-Bianchi,

Dutchman Pieter Weening (Rabobank) gave a glimpse of his potential and ended a frustrating streak of runner-up places with a well-taken win on the eighth stage of the Tour de France Saturday in Gerardmer. Weening had to wait an agonizing few minutes before finding out for sure if he had really won a two-man sprint with Germany's Andreas Klöden (T-Mobile) - and when the result came he could still not quite believe it. "In a two-man sprint nothing's decided until it's over so I just tried to hold on for as long as possible," said Weening, who is the first Dutchman to win a stage

Salvo's salvationThe disappearance of Lance Armstrong's Discovery Channel team in today's eighth stage from Pforzheim to Gérardmer was main topic of discussion of the Tour this evening. One of his key teammates, two-time Giro d'Italia winner Paolo Savoldelli, finished the day in 68th place at 2:57. Not exactly what might have been expected. An interview with Savoldelli, who was recruited to be one of Armstrong's principal support men in the mountains of the Vosges, Alps and Pyrénées, was published in Saturday's edition of the French sports daily L`Equipe. Of

Any real cycling fan knows there's more to the Tour de France than the race itself - the sideshows are often as interesting (if not more so) than the main event. Plus a guy can only look at so many pictures of bike racers before he goes all cross-eyed. So we appreciate it when our man Casey Gibson takes a slightly different approach to Le Tour - and for you overly-focused out there, we even included a couple of race pics. Check 'em out.

The Tour never lies. So when Lance Armstrong’s teammates all reported absent during the critical stages of the Col de la Schlucht climb on Saturday, the six-time defending champion had to be concerned. “It was a shitty day,” Armstrong told French television Saturday evening. “Perhaps the team and the boys on the team were too confident … after we did well at the prologue, and won the team time trial. Everyone shows up at the Tour and wants to win, but there are no guarantees.” The one certainty on Saturday was that Jan Ullrich’s T-Mobile team did show up to win. Armstrong himself had to

It’s a cliché, I admit, but there’s a reason things become clichés and the wisdom behind that old line “It ain’t over ‘till it’s over,” has certainly been proven more than a few times over the first few days of this year’s Tour de France. If anyone thinks this year’s Tour is going to be just another cakewalk for defending champion Lance Armstrong – or anyone else for that matter - they have another thing coming. If anything, Armstrong’s six previous Tours are conspiring against him. Given a remarkable string of good luck over the past six years, the odds have to be catching up with him. It

The scene during the men’s World Cup downhill finals at Angel Fire, New Mexico, was vaguely reminiscent of the men’s finals at the Deer Valley NORBA on June 19. Having set the early fastest split, Aussie strongman Chris Kovarik (Intense) sat in the hot seat with only two riders left on course – 2003 world champion Greg Minnaar (G-Cross Honda) and 2005 downhill revelation Jared Graves (Yeti). Before Minaar and Graves finished, Kovarik was not optimistic about his chances. “Obviously I hope I can win it, but Greg is so fast right now,” he said. At Deer Valley, Minnaar dethroned Kovarik and

As Jeff Louder of Navigators and four other cyclists broke away from the pack, Scott Moninger and his Health Net-Maxxis teammates sat at the front of the peloton and waited. And waited. Finally, during the final climb to the finish of Saturday's Awbrey Butte Circuit Race in the Cascade Cycling Classic, Health Net made its move. Moninger, the race leader coming in, was propelled to the front by his teammates and finished second in the stage to hang onto the overall lead. "It's a lesson in patience," Moninger said. "My teammates just rotated through. We've been in this position a

The strongest team in United States women's cycling is poised to make a clean sweep of the podium in Central Oregon's Cascade Cycling Classic. Kimberly Baldwin of T-Mobile won the 58-mile Awbrey Butte Circuit Race on Saturday in 2 hours, 23 minutes, 10 seconds, and her teammate Kristin Armstrong finished second to retain the overall lead. T-Mobile now has the top three spots in the general classification, and six riders in the top 10. T-Mobile riders have won all four stages thus far. Armstrong's overall time is 7:04:58, and Baldwin is in second, 42 seconds back. Kori Seehafer of

July 9 - Stage 8 - Pforzheim to Gérardmer >231.5kmIt was a long day. To start out, we had four third category climbs right at the beginning and things went flat out right away. Almost as soon as the peloton hit the first climb we had 40 or 50 guys who got dropped straight away more or less and we spent the next 150ks trying to get back on to the peloton. Once we got back on – seriously only about three or four kilometers after we got back on – the boss calls up and tells us to go to the front. There was a break away and he wanted us to cut the gap down before the last climb - the second

Stage 8 - Pforzheim to Gérardmer >231.5km

Judges said it came down to a 2mm margin at the line and gave Weening the win over Klöden

Isolated and under attack: There weren't a lot of Discovery jerseys with Armstrong on the Col de la Schlucht

Weening would like to try for the yellow jersey one day - but not this year

The lead sax player on what Casey calls the worst rendition of ' I Did It My Way' that he's ever heard

No, he's not a walking, talking Capitol One ad - just another German fan

The peloton races through the lovely borough of Herbolsheim

Hincapie leading the descent in the early break

Baron von Münchhausen turns out for the Tour

Fans check out the race on the Col de la Schlucht

A lovely bike hidden away, with wooden fenders and woven spoke guard

Casey's competition gets younger every year

Armstrong had company alright... but the wrong kind of company..

Moreau gives it a go...

T-Mobile came into the climb with guns blazing...

Casar leads the break, as Hincapie keeps an eye on things.

,,, as does Valverde.

Sorenson and Co. join Casar to form a new break

Armstrong readies for the coming battle.

Landis is ready.

After a series of attacks, it's Klöden's that sticks... bringing much needed relief to the fading Weening

Mengin was on his way to the line...

No one would have thought Beloki's 2003 Tour would have ended this way

Sunday's stage offers up plenty of challenges.

Liquigas goes to the front

Course: The two early climbs may encourage some attacks, but the flat final half of this stage through the Rhine Valley virtually guarantees a bunch finish in Karlsruhe. History: The only time the Tour has visited this part of Germany was in 1987, when the race started in Berlin two years before the Wall fell. The third stage was in two parts: The short morning leg was won in a solo break by Belgian Herman Frison in nearby Pforzheim (where stage 8 begins), while the afternoon leg began in Karlsruhe. Favorites: The expected huge crowds lining the long (1.2km),wide finishing straight in the

Australian Robbie McEwen stole the show again at the Tour de France on Friday, both on and off the bike, as the great race headed into Germany. McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) won't be seen in the fray of battle in the mountains coming up this weekend, but he did more than enough to leave a lasting impression on the 2005 Tour as it completed its first week. The two-time green jersey champion claimed his second stage win of the first week by outsprinting Swede Magnus Bäckstedt (Liquigas-Bianchi) and Austrian Bernhard Eisel (Française des Jeux) in a bunch sprint marred by another nasty crash in

1. Robbie McEwen (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto, 5:03:45 2. Magnus Bäckstedt (Swe), Liquigas-Bianchi3. Bernhard Eisel (A), Francaise des Jeux4. Gerrit Glomser (A), Lampre5. Baden Cooke (Aus), Francaise des Jeux6. Fabian Cancellara (Swi), Fassa Bortolo7. Tom Boonen (B), Quickstep8. Gianluca Bortolami (I), Lampre9. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Credit Agricole10. Juan Antonio Flecha (Sp), Fassa Bortolo, all s.t. 11. O’grady Stuart (Aus), Cofidis12. Luciano Pagliarini (BRA), Liquigas-Bianchi13. Robert Förster (G), Gerolsteiner14. Nazon Jean-Patrick (F), Ag2r Prevoyance15. Philippe Gilbert (B), Francaise des

When Fred Rodriguez needs a lift at the end of a long day in the trenches of the Tour de France, he reaches into the back pocket of his Davitamon-Lotto jersey and pulls out a little cup of coffee. No, he doesn’t have a coffee-maker back there. Instead, he grabs an energy gel bearing a shot of his own band of “Fast Freddy” coffee. “I can’t carry a cup of coffee in the race, so now I have something to take in the last part of the race to give me a last boost of energy,” Rodriguez said. “I usually have one or two near the end of a stage.” Rodriguez said he met with Clif Bar officials to

After a week in the saddle, and four days in the yellow jersey, Lance Armstrong says the Tour de France is only now getting set to start. After wrapping up stage 7 in Karlsruhe, Germany, won by Robbie McEwen (Davitamon), the six-time Tour champion said he feels none of the pressure he did last year when he was bidding to secure a record-breaking sixth victory. "In terms of pressure it's nothing compared to last year, so I'm a little relieved I don't have the pressure of winning the sixth Tour that people said couldn't be done,” said Armstrong. “It feels different this year.

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor hordes of German fans can keep Casey Gibson from his appointed rounds. Our boy was with the Tour as it crossed from France into Germany on Friday; here's what he saw along the way.

The noise reached record levels in Karlsruhe at around 5:30 local time Friday, as a huge crowd of happy Germans cheered the man stepping up to the podium of the Tour de France. It was not stage winner Robbie McEwen this crowd was cheering. Nor was it Lance Armstrong in the yellow jersey, nor Tom Boonen in green. No, the assembled crowd at the Karlsruhe fairgrounds had been following the progress of their hero throughout the day. It was Gerolsteiner's Fabian Wegmann. Wegmann stepped onto the Tour podium to have the polka dot jersey of the Tour’s best climber put on his shoulders,

Hello from Germany,Unfortunately today was not the beautiful summer weather we might have hoped for as the Tour came into our home countrytoday. Still, the crowds were huge and we could see them lining the roads in the distance as we crossed the Rhine into Germany. The reception was remarkable and I would, on behalf of the team, like to thank all of you who turned out to welcome the Tour, and specifically the Germans in the peloton, back home. It’s days like this that make the effort really worth it. The day was a bit hectic at times. Vino barely avoided a crash at one point today and the

VeloNews: How have things been going since we last spoke? You sound as though you’re in pretty good spirits. Chris Horner: The racing has been going pretty well. The finish today was incredible. All the spectators that were there … you cannot imagine! All of Germany must have been out for it. VN: Even though it was wet, everyone came out? CH: Yeah, it was wet from the start to about 70km to go. It was pretty good after that. VN: It’s funny because when we spoke a few days ago, you said that with everyone fighting for position, you couldn’t imagine how the peloton could continue to ride

The Canadian National Road Championships opened Thursday with the individual time trial in Kamloops, and both the men's and women's elite titles were successfully defended. Sue Palmer-Komar (Colavita) beat Genevieve Jeanson (Rona-Colnago) by a mere 76 one-hundredths of a second to take the women's title, while Svein Tuft defeated his Symmetrics teammate Eric Wohlberg by 53 seconds for the men's title. Ryder Hesjedal (Discovery Channel) was third in the men's race and Felicia Greer (Webcor) third in the women's. Unlike last year, when temperatures of over 40 Celsius

Kirk O'Bee and his Navigators teammates sat back and waited for the finish. They weren't going to work hard if they didn't have to. O'Bee and Navigators let Health Net-Maxxis do most of the work throughout Friday night's Twilight Criterium in downtown Bend. Then O'Bee broke from the pack with one lap to go and stayed ahead to win the criterium, the fourth stage of the Cascade Cycling Classic, by 10 meters over second-place Remi McManus of Subway and third-place Gord Fraser of Health Net-Maxxis. Rain poured down throughout the race as O'Bee patiently waited for

Ina Yoko Teutenberg and Sarah Uhl were both out front battling the rain, but Teutenberg had one advantage: Teammates. With about 20 minutes left in the women's Twilight Criterium of the Cascade Cycling Classic in downtown Bend on Friday night, Uhl and Teutenberg broke away from the field and developed a lead of almost one minute. A group of six riders - three of them Teutenberg's T-Mobile teammates - gained some ground on the two leaders as the finish neared. Knowing she had the help of her teammates, Teutenberg was able to sit on Uhl's wheel, then make her move just in time,

The Taos Valley, a picturesque network of canyons and grassy plains in northern New Mexico, has attracted its share of tourists over the centuries. By the time the first Europeans dropped by in 1540, under the command of Spanish conquistador Hernando de Alvarado, the area was already a bustling center of commerce and culture. But in the small realm of elite mountain-bike racing, northern New Mexico has a less impressive résumé. Although the tiny town of Angel Fire (population 1007) has seen several Mountain States Cup races over the years, it has never even hosted a NORBA National. But all

In the three days since Discovery Channel won the team time trial at Blois, its riders have had a relatively easy time defending Lance Armstrong’s yellow jersey. After another stage that ended in a field sprint Friday, Armstrong talked about “riding a medium tempo” and “getting a lot of help” from the sprinters’ teams. That’s not going to be the case in any of the next five stages, starting with this weekend’s two days in the climbs of the Black Forest and Vosges mountains. Armstrong admitted Friday: “I don’t know these stages.” That’s unusual for the master of knowing all there is to know

On Friday, as the Tour de France headed to Karlsruhe, Germany, Gerolsteiner’s Fabian Wegmann rode solo for hours on his carbon Specialized S-Works Tarmac. However, once the race hits the mountains, two of his teammates, namely Levi Leipheimer and Georg Totschnig will be riding the even lighter, next-generation S-Works Tarmac SL frame and all-carbon S-Works fork. The SL shares the Tarmac’s geometry. Yet, because Specialized tweaked both tube shapes and dimensions while custom tuning the orientation and number of layers of carbon, the SL has been designed for maximum shock absorption, road

Stage 7 - Lunéville to Karlsruhe >228.5km

Boonen was feeling the weight of the green jersey today

Wegemann led the peloton into Germany - but couldn't stay out front

The Boss would like a sprint-free finish on Saturday

Wet railroad tracks right after the border caused this one.

Fast Freddy and his own personal 'fast' food

Do the Germans like the Tour? Oh, ja, ja

Whoopsadaisy . . .

I'll just lie here for a bit - you guys go on without me

Freddy and Vino' test the front of the bunch

The ever-shy Horner reluctantly grants an interview

Lance at lunch

Ullrich and Vino' out front early on

And McEwen out front when it mattered

McEwen decided it would be suicide to stay out all day. Wegmann thought it was worth the effort.

The road ahead: Stage 8- Pforzheim to Gerardmer, 231.5km

Another tumble at the finish.

Calzati took a hit, but carried on.

Welcome to Germany

Robbie decided to wait this one out.

McEwen again,

The Specialized Tarmac SL

A glimpse of the carbon cockpit