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Rabobank and other teams use a variation of the same tool to measure fit

Tour de Tech: It's all about fit

Muñoz, sets up cleats

Thorburn sticks it to the women's peloton again

Creed drives the break of four riders, including Louder (left), towards the top of McKenzie Pass

Vogels drove the break for the better part of an hour

Wherry called the race 'probably the most negative bike race he’d ever been in'

Creed makes a move – and got penalized for yellow-line violations

KOM Louder and race leader Elken drive the breakaway toward the climb of Three Creeks Road

Get your Phonak Jersey at VeloGear.com!

COURSE: This team time trial course is 5km shorter and less rolling than last year’s between Joinville and St. Dizier. Also, the straighter, more open roads this year mean that the prevailing southwest winds are likely to be the main difficulty, with likely crosswinds in the final 20km. FAVORITES: Look for a great battle between Ivan Basso’s CSC team, Armstrong’s U.S. Postal-Berry Floor squad and Jan Ullrich’s T-Mobile formation. Tyler Hamilton’s Phonak team could also be in the mix. HISTORY: The last time there was a team time trial in this region was in 1984, when the finish at

The smiles of Lance Armstrong and his U.S. Postal Service team said it all and then some on a day that was bleak, stormy and awfully miserable for most. By blazing a trail through the shadows of a wet day in northern France to win today's 64.5km stage 4 team time trial from Cambrai to Arras, they told every rival that Armstrong was the right stuff, and so was the entire line-up. Armstrong said as much after his team finished with eight of nine riders, at an average speed of 53.71kmh, following a winning ride that saw them fight back from fifth place at the first time check of 19km. “We

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The 25th anniversary of the Columbia River Bank Cascade Cycling Classic — a five-day, six-stage NRC event — commences Wednesday, in Bend, Oregon. The race was swept last year by Saturn’s Tom Danielson and Lyne Bessette, and also boasts defending Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong as a former winner. Armstrong won the race in 1998, a season spent returning to the sport after battling with cancer. Other notable past Cascade competitors include Olympic gold medalists Alexi Grewal and Eric Heiden; OLN commentator Bob Roll, former NORBA national cross-country champion Steve Larsen; Bend

I’m starting to feel a little sweaty, maybe even a little feverish. And no, I’m not talking about Tour fever here. I’m talking about a severe case of hypochondria. Let me digress. For those who haven’t yet picked up the latest issue of VeloNews, you’ll be in for a bit of surprise: I was given artistic license to pen the “What We’re Riding” section. Okay, so expounding about cycling products isn’t exactly artistic, but given my technical prowess, it was a bit of a stretch. While Andrew Juskaitis is our go-to tech writer, I tend to stick to the race coverage and features. But I gave it a

Italian sprint king Alessandro Petacchi, the postwar record holder for the number of stage wins on a single edition of the Giro d'Italia, is patiently awaiting his chance to grab a stage victory on this year's Tour de France. And the 30-year-old Fassa Bortolo rider could decide to finally get his act together on Thursday's 200.5km fifth stage. The largely flat outlay of the course is exactly to Petacchi's liking, although the soft-spoken Italian and the rest of the sprinters will have to be wary of influential cross winds that could lead to breaks in the peloton and end their chances of

TEAM RESULTS - STAGE1. U.S. Postal Service, 1:12:032. Phonak, 01:073. Illes Balears-Banesto, 01:154. T-Mobile, 01:195. CSC, 01:466. Rabobank, 01:537. Liberty-Seguras, 02:258. Euskaltel-Euskadi, 02:359. Saeco, 02:3610. Alessio-Bianchi, 02:57 11. Quick Step-Davitamon, 03:2912. Crédit Agricole, 03:3213. Ag2R Prevoyance, 04:0514. Brioches La Boulangere, 04:1715. Domina Vacanze, 04:2216. Gerolsteiner, 04:3617. Fassa Bortolo, 04:5218. Lotto-Domo, 05:1919. Cofidis, 05:3420. R.A.G.T. Semences-MG Rover, 05:3721. FDJeux.com, 07:33 INDIVIDUAL RESULTS - STAGE 41. Rubiera José Luis (Sp), U.S. Postal

I think I was in my element today. I sure do feel a lot better than I have these past few days of the Tour de France and there’s nothing like a team time trial to get a big motor like me feeling back in sorts. No, it isn’t a complete turnaround. I’m clearly not in top form, but it is definitely a step in the right direction. Team time trials are really what the early part of my racing career was all about. Being taller and stronger on the flats I offer up a pretty good draft, eh? When you see teams like CSC and Phonak running into the troubles they had today, you really begin to see how

Today, for the team time trial, I caught a ride in the second of Saeco’s team followcars. It was very interesting from a technical standpoint, even thoughthe team had no mechanical problems until the very last moment. Saeco wasamong the first teams to start, so I watched the remainder of the teamsfrom the finish. In the end, I think that the cycling gods smiled on TylerHamilton for the second day in a row, and they did not Gilberto Simoni,both of which I will explain. The director sportif, Giuseppe Martinelli, is in the first vehicle andcommunicates with the riders over their radio

Few events in cycling offer a team the opportunity to equally share in the pain and the triumph of a victory the way a team time trial does. Wednesday’s stage at the Tour de France required the complete effort of the U.S. Postal Service team, and the exhilaration of winning was clearly evident on the riders’ faces as they crossed the finish line. Lance Armstrong’s team showed today itself to be the strongest squad of the 21 teams in the race, and perhaps the most skilled as well. The team rode the length of the 64.5-kilometer course in nearly-perfect formation, close together, taking full

The Mail Bag is a Monday-Wednesday-Friday feature on VeloNews.com, but will appear daily during the Tour. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.What’s up with attacking after Mayo’s crash?Editor:I'd be interested in the views of the distinguished VeloNews editors (if you can find any), as well as the highly opinionated band of Mailbag contributors, on the sportsmanship of

As the entire field of 130 racers descended upon the finish line of the opening 93-mile stage of the Cascade Cycling Classic in Bend, Oregon, a handful of names came to mind as the likely eminent stage winner. Would it be Health Net-Maxxis sprinter Gord “Flash Gordon” Fraser, the newly crowned Canadian national champion? Or perhaps Jelly Belly-Aramark’s strongman Alex Candelario would benefit from the long downhill finish. Surely it couldn’t be Webcor’s fast man Charles Dionne, who had spent much of the day in various breakaways. Based on the numbers, a safe bet would be on a Navigators

McEwen loses yellow, but keeps greenLotto’s Robbie McEwen handed the yellow jersey over to Lance Armstrong after Wednesday’s team time trial, but he probably didn’t mind too much - on Thursday, he will be wearing the green points jersey and hunting another stage win. McEwen's short stint in the maillot jaune was a tough one for the 32-year-old from Brisbane, who suffered mightily as his team posted a time that was more than five minutes behind U.S. Postal. Still, he enjoyed his day in yellow. "It was very difficult for me today,” McEwen said. “Wearing the yellow jersey is now over. I only

STAGE 4 July 07 Cambrai - Arras (TTT) (40.39mi/65km)

STAGE 4 July 07 Cambrai - Arras (TTT) (40.39mi/65km)

Postal pounded to the win despite horrific conditions

Don't bug me, man

Phonak took second despite shelling three riders

Ullrich and T-Mobile could do no better than fourth

Postal poured it on as the rain poured down

And it got them atop the podium, while putting Lance in yellow

Pulling the train: Bäckstedt at work

Plus he has to drive, too!

BANG!

Phonak had five flats on Wednesday

Back in his favorite color

Chris Carmichael Diary: Riding the slipstream to victory

Elken (left) nips Candelario and Fraser at the line

The early breakaway, from left: Creed, Evans, Dionne, Lieswyn and Swindlehurst

Dionne makes a late-race solo bid

The peloton was having none of it

Do they have hills in Oregon? Oh, yeah – try Mount Bachelor

The podium: Candelario, Elken and Fraser

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COURSE: This twisting course, half in Belgium, half in France,is evocative of the spring classics. It includes sections of the Tour ofFlanders course (the Meerbeke finish line at 42km, and part of the Murde Grammont at 61km) and two sectors of Paris-Roubaix cobblestones at Wandignies (146km) and Gruson (185km). FAVORITES: Should the cobblestones and weather be factors, expecta breakaway with riders like Tom Boonen and Leif Hoste to succeed, especiallywith a technical finale that makes it hard for teams to organize a chase.Otherwise, the 1400-meter-long finish straight should favor

Lance Armstrong can strike the name of Iban Mayo from his list of major rivals hoping to keep him from a sixth Tour de France victory. The Spaniard lost nearly four minutes after he was involved in a crash during the third stage, which covered 210km from Waterloo, Belgium, to Wasquehal in France. A final podium finish is still possible for Mayo, but he conceded that his hopes of overall victory are now gone. “That is clear,” said Mayo after the stage finish. “I am very sad about what happened, especially for the team rather than me. There were so many nerves out there Tuesday. Then there

The Mail Bag is a Monday-Wednesday-Friday feature on VeloNews.com, but will appear daily during the Tour. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.Trautwig needs to try listening for a changeEditor:Al Trautwig needs to listen a little more – no, a lot more - and talk less. His producers should squelch his talking over Bobke and maybe monitor the timing of Al's ADD meds a little

INDIVIDUAL - STAGE1. Jean-Patrick Nazon (F), Ag2R Prevoyance, 4:36:452. Erik Zabel (G), T-Mobile, 00:003. Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus), Lotto-Domo, 00:004. Tom Boonen (B), Quick Step-Davitamon, 00:005. Kim Kirchen (Lux), Fassa Bortolo, 00:006. Danilo Hondo (G), Gerolsteiner, 00:007. Jaan Kirsipuu (Est), Ag2R Prevoyance, 00:008. Alessandro Bertolini (I), Alessio-Bianchi, 00:009. Fabio Baldato (I), Alessio-Bianchi, 00:0010. Gutierrez José Enrique (Sp), Phonak, 00:00 11. Michele Scarponi (I), Domina Vacanze, 00:0012. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Rabobank, 00:0013. Laurent Brochard (F), Ag2R Prevoyance,

Though they are adversaries, Lance Armstrong, Jan Ullrich, Tyler Hamilton, and Roberto Heras know there is a time and place to work together for their mutual benefit. When a crash prior to the first section of cobblestones split the field and isolated Iban Mayo, all the other team leaders sent their men to the front to make sure the Spaniard didn’t make it back to the front group. In doing so, they have changed the face of the 2004 Tour de France and significantly damaged Mayo’s chances of challenging for the yellow jersey. While there was definitely a chance that Armstrong or Ullrich could

Those of you who watched the prologue time trial may have been wondering why some teams were using standard road helmets and others using aero’ helmets. In October 2003 the UCI passed a requirement that all time-trial helmets meet certain safety standards as of January 1, 2004. This threw out the old time-trial helmets, which were little more than thin plastic fairings with straps. Helmet companies were caught largely unprepared by the ruling, so in the spring, most pro teams were racing time trials with standard road helmets. By the Giro d’Italia, many teams were using clear plastic covers

USA Cycling announced today the team that will represent the United Statesin the discipline of road cycling at this summer’s Olympic Games in Athens.After securing the maximum start positions in both men’s and women’s roadcycling, USA Cycling will be sending a mix of accomplished veterans andtalented newcomers to Athens. Five men and three women will contest theroad race, while two men and two women will also compete in the time trial.Leading the men’s roster is five-time Tour de France winner and 2000Olympic Bronze Medalist, Lance Armstrong (Austin, Texas). Armstrong’swell-documented career

The Tour de France's first foray into its home country, following three days in Belgium, lived up to its billing as a potential make or break stage for the yellow jersey contenders. Iban Mayo of the Euskaltel team was the most prominent casualty on Tuesday's 210 km stage from Waterloo in Belgium - the scene of Emperor Napoleon's 1815 defeat to the English - to a small town on the French border. The 26-year-old Basque climber, who relegated five-time Tour winner Lance Armstrong to a two-minute deficit on a recent time trial up the Mont Ventoux, lost almost four minutes to the American

Iban Mayo’s crash in stage 3 of the Tour de France on Tuesday was unfortunate. It was one of those things that all riders dread and no rider can ever completely avoid. The Tour is a race of strength, endurance and a bit of luck…. Okay, quite a bit of luck. It is ironic that it was the very thing which the riders were working to avoid - being caught up in a crash as the pack went into the narrow cobblestone section at Wandignies – that caused the wreck. It is always a good tactic to be at the front of the group when you enter a narrow or dangerous section of a race course. That is

Norway's Thor Hushovd was left defeated, frustrated and without the Tour de France yellow jersey on Tuesday after two sections of cobbled road battered the peloton during stage three in northern France. The Credít Agricole rider lost the overall lead to Australia's Robbie McEwen after crashing just before the first section of cobbles, 64 kilometres from the end of the stage. He finished the 210km stage three minutes and 53 seconds behind the leading riders and plummeted to 92nd overall. "I got the yellow jersey yesterday but now I've lost it because of a stupid crash," he said. "The

STAGE 3 July 06 Waterloo - Wasquehal (121.173mi/195km)

STAGE 3 July 06 Waterloo - Wasquehal (121.173mi/195km)

Nazon takes the sprint ahead of Zabel and McEwen

Armstrong stayed out of trouble again today

But Mayo didn't - he lost big time

And McEwen got the jersey

Voigt and De Groot stayed away for much of the day

Hincapie powered the move across the cobbles

Hincapie models the Giro Rev 6

What's inside Postal's new lid