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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'

Alfred contemplates his next move

Saturday action hot at Alpenrose Velodrome

Nothstein

The sun was shining on Lance Armstrong at Friday’s 199km stage12 of the 2002 Tour de France. The three-time defending champion woke upwearing the maillot jaune for the 37th day of his career. Movie star buddyRobin Williams kept things light at the start, joking with fans and signingautographs. And though Friday’s hot, long, five-climb stage through theFrench Pyrénées was much harder than Thursday’s two-climbstage, the result was the same. Armstrong won the stage in a much more familiar style, attacking with6km to go. He dropped a group of 11 riders and finished alone. ONCE’s Joseba Beloki

5:00 p.m. Heras attacks and takes second, 1:03 behind Armstrong. Beloki takes third at 1:05. 4:58 p.m. Armstrong wins it. 4:57 p.m. With kilometer to go, Armstrong has about 1:00 on Beloki and Heras. 4:56 p.m. Any questions? Armstrong has a lock on the stage, his 14th stage win at the Tour. 4:55 p.m. With 2km to go, Armstrong continues to power through to the finish. He has 32 seconds on Beloki and Heras. 4:51 p.m. With 3km to go, Heras has given up the chase and will shadow Beloki to the finish. Heras just could not close the gap to Armstrong, so the Postal leader will power into the

Check in with our special Tour de Francesection here on VeloNews.com to get the latest news, results and photos from today’s stage.

Stage results (overall, points, KOM, team and other standings below)1. Lance Armstrong (USA), U.S. Postal, 199.5 km in 6:00:29(average:33.205 kph) 2. Roberto Heras (Sp), U.S. Postal, at 01:04. 3. Joseba Beloki (Sp), ONCE, at 01:04. 4. Santiago Botero (Col), Kelme, at 01:11. 5. Igor Gonzalez Galdeano (Sp), ONCE, at 01:11. 6. Raimondas Rumsas (Lit), Lampre, at 01:23. 7. Carlos Sastre (Sp), CSC-Tiscali, at 01:33. 8. Marcos Serrano (Sp), ONCE, at 01:37. 9. Oscar Sevilla (Sp), Kelme, at 02:07. 10. Andrei Kivilev (Kaz), Lampre, at 02:39. 11. Axel Merckx (Bel), Domo-Farm Frites, at 02:47. 12. David

They are a fickle lot, the French, when it comes to choosing their favorite rider in the Tour de France. They tried with Richard Virenque. But he was busted. For his involvement in the Festina drugs affair, that is. They placed faith in Christophe Moreau. But he broke it. Along with his self-confidence in a crash-filled first and second week. Thank God, they must be saying, there is still Laurent Jalabert. Always has, they'll say. Too bad though, always will, they can't say. For Jaja will retire at the end of the year. Of all the French stars who have raised and ripped apart French hearts

I'm no longer a rider in the Tour de France, and so I suppose this is no longer a race diary. I'm sitting in a hotel, waiting to go back to my lonely apartment in Spain – maybe not at my happiest, but ready to reflect on what just happened and what is to be. I decided before the Tour this year that whether I finished or not, it would be the last time I rode the race. So, now is the moment to share that with all of you. Indeed, it is the greatest cycling event in the world, and to have been at the top level, but still unable to finish, is disappointing. But it is what it is, and some things

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.

For two days straight, Laurent Jalabert almost pulled off fine stagewins, and Lance Armstrong did so. Both men – and much of the competition– were riding on superlight all-carbon and Kevlar wheels. The reason, of course, for riding these wheels in a mountainous stageis that the wheels are very light and stiff. The reason for not riding themis that neither man's primary wheel sponsor actually makes them. For the record, Armstrong’s wheel sponsor is Bontrager, and Jalabert’s is Shimano. But when the course profiles began to indicat things like "Cat. 2." "Cat.I" and "HC," Jalabert opted

After finishing their punishing climb to the Plateau de Beille summit Friday evening, most of the 166 survivors in the Tour de France had to turn around and ride back down to their team buses, awaiting them in the valley. The only two who took alternative transport were the two most popular media interviewees Laurent Jalabert (who hitched a ride on a police motorcycle) and Lance Armstrong (who was seen heading for a helicopter). As for the press, we were still filing stories at 10 p.m., and crawled down the 16 kilometers of steep switchbacks in a slow-moving line of traffic. It’s now almost

You know that feeling you get on a hot summer afternoon, when there’s as much heat coming off the road as from the sun? When the only breeze you get is the hot exhaust from cars? When it seems like sweating is a fruitless endeavor because it doesn’t feel like it’s cooling you down at all? That’s what it’s like to climb mountains in the Pyrénées. The only benefit to racing counter-clockwise around France is that you get the Pyrénées over with sooner. These mountains drain the energy out of riders, and today’s stage covered five of them. Recovery is going to be critical tonight for anyone

The Alpenrose Velodrome Challenge, now the biggest purse track event in North America, opened Friday in Portland, Oregon with the time trial events. Despite cool, cloudy, and breezy conditions the steeply banked 268 meter oval and noisy crowd drew out some outstanding performances. The highlights included a new track record in the pursuit and a near-miss in the Kilometer. Perennial pursuit power Mike Tillman of Schroeder Iron won the Men’s 4000m Individual Pursuit final in 4:54:23. Chris Carlson’s old mark of 4:54:87 dated back to the EDS Cup held here in 1997. World Masters Champion