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A more and more frequent sight this year

'Come on... he's got to be down there somewhere'

Carrying dry cleaning down the Galibier. No, we don't know why.

And at the Super Bowl, you have to pay for tickets. The Tour is free and no one spills beer on your lap.

Rodriguez struggles and eventually misses the time cut.

The longest stage in the Tour de France wasn’t the longest day on the bike.That honor goes to last Friday’s stage to Plateau de Beille that lastedfor almost seven hours. The peloton was in a hurry to finish the seven rated climbs in Tuesday’shot 226km stage 15, a day that looked harder in the road book than it didon the road. They just made it through in less than six hours. A seven-man breakaway pulled off the front with about 150km to go andnever looked back over the rural, rolling roads that took the Tour throughsome of the most spectacular scenery so far in this year’s race. Santiago

PRELIMINARY STAGE RESULTS: 1. Santiago Botero (Col), KEL, 226.5 km in 5:55:16. (38.253 kph) 2. Mario Aerts (Bel), LOT, at  01:51. 3. Axel Merckx (Bel), DFF, at 02:30. 4. Emmanuel Magnien (Fra), BJR, at 04:22. 5. Sandy Casar (Fra), FDJ, at 04:28. 6. Vicente Garcia-Acosta (Sp), BAN, at 05:15. 7. Raimondas Rumsas (Lit), LAM, at 06:41. 8. Joseba Beloki (Sp), ONE, at 06:41. 9. Lance Armstrong (USA), USP, at 06:41. 10. Francisco Mancebo (Sp), BAN, at 06:46. 11. Roberto Heras (Sp), USP, at 06:47. 12. Ivan Basso (Ita), FAS, at

Germany's 1997 Tour de France champion Jan Ullrich was banned for six months by the German Cycling Federation (BDR) on Tuesday after testing positive for amphetamines. The 28-year-old Olympic champion, who rides for the Telekom team, tested positive in an out-of-competition test on June 12 at a Bavarian rehabilitation clinic where he was recovering after a knee operation. The injury had already ruled him out of this year's Tour de France. The ban begins on Wednesday and will run until March 23 to take into account the two winter months. Three days after revelations of the positive

Results - Stage 15 - Tuesday, July 23: Vaison-la-Romaine - LesDeux-Alpe(Editor's Note: - North American riders listed in bold;Riders on North American teams underlined)1. Santiago Botero (Col), Kelme-Costa Blanca, at 5:55:16 (38.253 kph)2. Mario Aerts (B), Lotto-Adecco, at 1:513. Axel Merckx (B), Domo-Farm Frites, at 02:30.4. Emmanuel Magnien (F), Bonjour, at 04:22.5. Sandy Casar (F), FDJeux.com, at 04:28.6. Vicente Garcia-Acosta (Sp), iBanesto.com, at 05:15.7. Raimondas Rumsas (Lit), Lampre-Daikin, at 06:41.8. Joseba Beloki (Sp), ONCE, at 06:41.9. Lance Armstrong (USA), U.S. Postal, at

The Tour de France needs it fans. They are the source of its popularity. But there are some fans out there that the race can really do without. Always has. Just ask Lance Armstrong. He has already said what he thinks of those who jeered him all the way to the top of Mont Ventoux on stage 14. Go back in time and ask Eddy Merckx. In 1975, while leading the Tour on stage 14 to the Puy de Dôme, he found himself at the receiving end of a mighty wack in the kidneys from a roadside fan. Well, maybe not a fan. Merckx still believes the attack cost him the overall victory, which that year went to

Rob,Yes, I asked to have my contract cut short, but it's not quite as dramatic as OLN made it sound, I suppose I'm still racing with Crédit Agricole till the end of 2002 … or at least getting paid by them. I just asked to be released for 2003, simply because it just wasn't working for me. I had lost my fire to be a pro in Europe, and as you've seen first hand in the Dauphiné, it's just too hard to do it strictly for the money. Rob, I reached my full potential over there, contrary to what some of my own very optimistic friends and fans will say, and in some ways exceeded what I thought was

VeloNews photographer Casey Gibson is at the Tour de France and is taking time to shoot not just the race, but also the scenes along the road and the activity just outside of the peloton.

The day after a rest day is a dangerous stage. In some ways rest days can be as much harm as good. Some riders don’t handle disruptions in the rhythm of racing very well, others recuperate to the point they can rip people’s legs off on the next stage. Santiago Botero had a rough day on the Mont Ventoux, but the rest day was all he needed to breathe new life into his legs for a great stage win today. Botero was allowed some freedom because his troubles on the Ventoux put him 18 minutes down on Armstrong in the GC. Since he was no longer perceived as a primary threat to the yellow jersey,

The breakaway formed at 65km

Still in yellow. Still in control.

Blue protects yellow.

Orca is back. The team stickers, by the way, are free at your local Post Office..

Functional fashion -- check the next photo

She swears she rode up L'Alpe d'Huez with these things.

Passing the orchard

The doc'

World-famous cycling Photographer Graham Watson in the flesh

Belgian cycling legend Eddy Merckx, who claimed five Tour de France and Giro d’Italia titles, admitted Monday that he never thought Lance Armstrong could one day win the Tour de France. Merckx, who now works a radio consultant and runs the bicycle factory that bears his name, became friends with the 30-year-old American just before he was struck down by testicular cancer in 1997. Since then, the two men have grown closer and Merckx now believes the U.S. Postal team leader, currently heading for a fourth consecutive Tour triumph, can win as many editions of the world's top bike race as he

Prime Alliance rider Jonas Carney has been in Wisconsin since the start of the International Cycling Classic (Super Week). This is his latest report. stupor Stu"por, n. [L., from stupere to be struck senseless.] Intellectual insensibility; moral stupidity; heedlessness or inattention to one's interests. Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. Four more stages are complete here at the 2002 International Cycling Classic. It looks as though Hilton Clark (Schroeder) will battle to the death with Viktor, the Russian Concussion, Rapinski. Viktor is actually the

A rest day leg-loosener for a professional bicycle racer in the Tour deFrance is a hard weekend ride for most people. Lance Armstrong, hiseight U.S. Postal Service teammates and actor Robin Williams set out ona 90km, two-hour “spin” through the countryside of Vaucluse on Monday.After about 30 minutes, Williams took a right turn and flew back to Hollywood. Armstrong kept on pushing to keep his legs limber as he goes into thefinal stretch of his run for a fourth consecutive Tour de France victory. The dust settled Monday following the fireworks on Mont Ventoux. Armstrongset a new record of 58

After a long stage that finished on Ventoux yesterday, I was happy to have a bit of rest this morning. And I had some company as well. In the form of the four legged furry kind. My wife made a surprise trip up from Spain along with our dog Tugboat yesterday. He decided to spend the night at my hotel versus getting back into the car to travel on with Haven. It was nice to have him around, although we found out the hard way, that my roommate Carlos Sastre is allergic to dogs. After spending only a few minutes in our room with Tugs his eyes and legs started to swell. But he was a sport about

American Tyler Farrar, riding for the U.S. national team, won the eight-stage Tour de L’Abitibi stage race, which ended Sunday. Farrar won the individual time trial stage, and placed second in two other stages of the junior World Cup event. Farrar finished 16 seconds ahead of the Saturn Development team’s Oliver Stiler-Cote, with three more Saturn riders – Craig Wilcox, Jesse Anthony and the Netherlands’ Norman Meerkerk rounding out the top 5.

The biggest purse track event in North America, the Alpenrose Velodrome Challenge concluded Sunday. A stiff breeze made the homestretch about 3 mph slower than the backstretch and a baking hot sun further added to the difficulties. Conditions, however, did not deter the athletes from some record-breaking performances nor hundreds of fans from packing the bleachers and lining the rails of the 268-meter track located on the grounds of the Alpenrose Dairy in the Southwest hills of Portland, Oregon. The day started with sprint qualifiers for women and masters and the close proximity of

VeloNews photographer Casey Gibson is at the Tour de France and is taking time to shoot not just the race, but also the scenes along the road and the activity just outside of the peloton.

Rapinski (left) and Clark will battle to the death.

Michael Johnson

Robbie Ventura (left) and Roberto Gaggioli hanging back.

A U.S. fan with a liking for hats

Watch out Phil!

Begian fans

French fans

Pavel on Ventoux

'I'm sorry, sir, the rulebook clearly says both wheels must be the same size.'

Aquarel

Race food?

Richard Virenque of the Domo-Farm Frites team hungtough to win a remarkable stage victory on the summit of Mont Ventoux Sunday, while Lance Armstrong of the U.S. Postal Service left all of hismain rivals in the dust to consolidate his yellow jersey and pull 4:21ahead of runner-up Joseba Beloki of ONCE-Eroski. This challenging 221km stage 14 from Lodève also had its victims.Former race leader Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano of ONCE-Eroski droppedout of third place, while Colombian Santiago Botero of Kelme-CostaBlanca cracked on the above-category 21km Ventoux climb and tumbled outof fifth into 18th

5:23 p.m. PRELIMINARY STAGE RESULTS1. Richard Virenque (Fra), DFF, 221 km in 5:43:26. 38.610 kph) 2. Alexandre Botcharov (Rus), A2R, at ˆ 01:58. 3. Lance Armstrong (USA), USP, at 02:20. 4. Marco Serpellini (Ita), LAM, at 02:54. 5. Raimondas Rumsas (Lit), LAM, at 03:36. 6. Ivan Basso (Ita), FAS, at 03:39. 7. Francisco Mancebo (Esp), BAN, at 03:51. 8. Joseba Beloki (Esp), ONE, at 04:05. 9. Dariusz Baranowski (Pol), BAN, at 04:10. 10. Ivan Gotti (Ita), ALS, at 04:16. 11. Levi Leipheimer (USA), RAB, at 04:25. 12. Jose Azevedo (Por), ONE, at 04:45. 13. Stephane Goubert (Fra), DEL, at

Results - Stage 14 Lodève - Mont Ventoux - 221km(Overall standings below)*note - North American riders in bold - Riders on NorthAmerican-based teams underlined1. Richard Virenque (F), Domo-Farm Frites, 221 km in 5:43:26 (38.610kph)2. Alexandre Botcharov (Rus), Ag2R Prevoyance, at at 01:58.3. Lance Armstrong (USA), U.S. Postal, at 02:20.4. Marco Serpellini (I), Lampre Daikin, at 02:54.5. Raimondas Rumsas (Lit), Lampre Daikin, at 03:36.6. Ivan Basso (I), Fassa Bortolo, at 03:39.7. Francisco Mancebo (Spa), iBanesto.com, at 03:51.8. Joseba Beloki (Spa), ONCE, at 04:05.9. Dariusz Baranowski (Pol),

Tour de France race leader Lance Armstrong took a swipe at French fans who he said insulted him regularly as he blasted his way up the Mont Ventoux during the 14th stage on Sunday. The 30-year-old three-time winner of the world's biggest bike race finished third on a stage won by Frenchman Richard Virenque, who managed to hold on to his early lead despite Armstrong chasing him down in the final few kilometers. Armstrong's failure to catch Virenque, who finished 2:20 ahead of the American and 1:58 ahead of Russian Alexandre Botcharov, had good consequences however for his overall position in

VeloNews photographer Casey Gibson is at the Tour de France and is taking time to shoot not just the race, but also the scenes along the road and the activity just outside of the peloton.

Richard Virenque’s return to the Tour de France had gone relatively quietly until Stage 14. Up to this point he had ridden well and was consistently near the front of the race, but he had not shown his aggressive racing style of years past. He changed all that today by attacking the peloton 19 kilometers into a 221-kilometer stage. Fortunately the group with Virenque was committed to the breakaway and was big enough to afford everyone some rest time between pulls. The gap to the peloton grew to over 12 minutes, and was down to about 8 at the base of the Mont Ventoux. Virenque conjured up

Armstrong has solidified his lead as heads to the Alps.

Virenque was on the attack for more than 200km

The main escape started at km 19

It was soon down to a familiar list of major players - Rubiera, Armstrong and Beloki.

After trying an attack, Beloki (second from left) found himself struggling and slipped back to his teammate Padera.

Virenque and Armstrong big winners atop Ventoux

Welcome to Provence

Lance Fans

From West Virginia to Ventoux

The Tom Simpson memorial

The Prize

Giuseppe Guerini and Chechu Rubiera in the final kilometer

If two days in the Pyrénées didn’t create enough heat inthe 2002 Tour de France, the sun made sure it was hot on Saturday’s fast,windy 171km stage 13 from Lavelanet to Béziers. Temperatures soared as the Tour rolled out of the foothills of the Pyrénéeswith an appointment with Mont Ventoux awaiting on Sunday. First, therewas a hot day in the saddle to finish. The French made a mass exodus for the beach as the summer holiday seasonstarted, but vacation wasn’t on the mind of Laurent Jalabert. Thesoon-to-be-retired Frenchman will have plenty of time to lie on the beachonce he hangs up the

5:24 p.m. With the sprint starting with a lead-out from Credit Agricole's Thor Hushovd for O'Grady. Telekom comes to the front. The traffic is heavy and it's a mess at the front. The two main points contenders do not win the field sprint, but McEwen nis Zabel at the line, giving him a one-point advantage for the day and putting the two men in a tie on the points standings. 5:23 p.m. We are in the final kilometer. 5:22 p.m. The peloton is heading in to town. The gap is still large. McEwen is active and antsy near the front. Zabel is close by. 5:28 p.m. Now the next big contest will be

Results- Stage 13(Overall, points, KOM and other standings below)*note - North American riders in Bold - Riders on North American sponsored teams underlined1. David Millar (GB), Cofidis, 171 km in 4:08:18, (41.321 kph)2. David Etxebarria (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, at at 00:00.3. Michael Boogerd (Nl), Rabobank, at 00:00.4. Laurent Brochard (F), Jean Delatour, at 00:00.5. David Latasa (Sp), iBanesto.com, at 00:04.6. Javier Pascual Rodriguez (Sp), iBanesto.com, at 00:56.7. Eddy Mazzoleni (I), Tacconi Sport, at 00:56.8. Miguel Martinez (F), Mapei, at 01:06.9. Beat Zberg (Swi), Rabobank, at

VeloNews photographer Casey Gibson is at the Tour de France and is taking time to shoot not just the race, but also the scenes along the road and the activity just outside of the peloton.

When Lance Armstrong says that Mont Ventoux is “the hardest climb we’lldo this year,” you know he means it. He clarified that statement by sayingSunday’s 221km stage from Lodève to the 6273-foot Ventoux summitmay not be the most difficult stage, because there are no other climbs.But when you have already been riding on rough, rolling roads in 90-degreeheat for more than five hours, the sudden effort of scaling a 21.5km climbhas an added bite. The severity of the climb cannot be exaggerated. As the French cyclistRaphaël Geminiani said on a stage of the 1955 Tour: “Easy Ferdi, theVentoux is

How about that Laurent Jalabert? The guy's been riding like an animal for three days. I honestly don't know how he does it. Attacking off the front takes a lot out of you, especially going up hill. He's incredible. We're happy to see him wearing the polka-dot climber’s jersey. Doing so was a big personal goal for him and for our team. And you could say the entire country of France is happy for him, too. It seems like the entire population has come out to wish him well in his last Tour de France. The frenzy surrounding this guy is nothing short of a circus. It's great to see. Yesterday

It’s been a long nine years for Jonathan Vaughters and the Crédit Agricole rider says he’s now ready to come home and put an early end to his career as a member of the European peloton. Vaughters, who withdrew from the the Tour de France last week after a Stage 11 crash on the descent of the Col d’ Aubisque, said that the mishap simply accelerated his decision to seek an early end to his existing contract with his team. “It’s been on my mind for a while now,” the 29-year-old Vaughters told VeloNews. “I don’t enjoy being away from my wife and son and even when they’re here (in Spain), I’m

It’s been a long nine years for Jonathan Vaughters and the Crédit Agricole rider says he’s ready to come home and put an early end to his career as a member of the European peloton. Vaughters, who withdrew from the the Tour de France last week after a Stage 11 crash on the descent of the Col d’ Aubisque, said that the mishap simply accelerated his decision to seek an early end to his existing contract with his team. “It’s been on my mind for a while now,” the 29-year-old Vaughters told VeloNews. “I don’t enjoy being away from my wife and son and even when they’re here (in Spain), I’m off

The 2002 Tour de France is going to end up being a great teaching tool for cycling coaches. All you have to do is go back and watch the way the tactics have unfolded each day. The final 20 kilometers of Stage 8 and Stage 13 should be used to teach racers how to win races from a breakaway. Today David Millar pulled off a perfect counterattack to reduce the leading group from 11 to five men; thereby increasing his chances of getting the stage win. Millar’s attack was critical to the end result of the stage because he was in a breakaway with two iBanesto teammates and two Rabobank teammates.

At the start line of next weekend’s International in Altoona, PA, there will be new faces sporting the stars and stripes jersey of national champion. Team Saturn’s 24 year-old Jessica Phillips took her first win of the year-- and the biggest of her young career-- in downtown Nashville Sunday, winning the women’s USCF Elite national championship in a two-up sprint. In the men’s race, Scottie Weiss, 30, of the West Virginia/GoMart squad won a hot and sweaty 118.8-mile race, breaking away from a five-man split to cross the line alone. Taking home the title of women’s national Espoir champion

Talk about having rules to match the occasion. The Tour de France (dis)organization race jury have excelled themselves this time. A look at the green points jersey classification after stage 13 fromLavelanet to Beziers was a case in point. First glance shows Australian Robbie McEwen (Lotto) having taken the green jersey back from Erik Zabel (Telekom) after outsprinting the German for second place in the bunch sprint. McEwen's 13th place on the stage (offering 13 points) against Zabel's 14th (offering 12) now leaves them tied on 229 points and with the battle destined to go down to the

The Alpenrose Velodrome Challenge continued Saturday in Portland, Oregon in sunny and breezy conditions. Anyone who thinks that track racing is dead has not been to the AVC as hundreds of spectators packed the bleachers to enjoy the warm weather and some hot racing. The morning session began with U.S. 200 meter record holder Jeffrey LaBauve (Focus 2004) knocking down another of Marty Nothstein’s marks, and this time it was the 200 meter time trial record (11:44) that Nothstein set last year. LaBauve blazed around the track in 11:34 to best Stephen Alfred (11:77) and Canadian Keith Bruneau

A parade float along today's route

Allez Jaja

Allez Levi

Today's podium girls are bound to generate a letter or two!

There's really only one climb on Stage 14.

Artwork by Odessa

Put the rulebook downRoop!

Walrod and Carney reall were a 'Prime Alliance'