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It seems that everyone except the race organizers is regretting theabsence of Mario Cipollini from this year’s Tour de France. So the LionKing’s decision Tuesday night to announce his retirement from cycling comesat an appropriate moment — although we all regret that his flamboyancewill no longer grace our sport’s biggest stage.Cipollini brought excitement to the Tour, whether it was with his fourconsecutive stage wins in 1999 or his four days in the yellow jersey in1997. And, on a day when this Tour focused its attention on a team timetrial, many have forgotten that it was in a team time

Here are the final standings from today's team time trial:Stage results1. ONCE - EROSKI 01:19:492. U.S. POSTAL SERVICE 01:20:05, at 00:163. TEAM CSC TISCALI 01:20:35, at 00:464. FASSA BORTOLO 01:21:19, at 01:305. COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 01:21:33, at 01:446. IBANESTO.COM 01:21:45, at 01:567. DOMO - FARM FRITES 01:22:01, at 02:128. RABOBANK 01:22:05, at 02:169. KELME - COSTA BLANCA 01:22:08, at 02:1910. LAMPRE - DAIKIN 01:22:11, at 02:2211. CREDIT AGRICOLE 01:22:17, at 02:2812. TEAM TELEKOM 01:22:36, at 02:4713. BONJOUR 01:23:02, at 03:1314. ALESSIO 01:23:04, at 03:1515. LOTTO - ADECCO

Luck plays a very important role in bike racing. When it's not on your side, it can wreak havoc on everything. It's my belief that today, bad luck cost CSC-Tiscali the victory in the team time trial and Laurent Jalabert the yellow jersey. We were leading the race through the first two time splits at 20km and40km. Then fate intervened, and Michael Sandstod flatted. Our team's radios weren't working well at that moment, and we didn't know what happened to him right away. So as he slowed to a stop, we powered on. And pulled away. Finally, Bjarne reached us over the radio and told us to slow

Oscar Freire sprinted past Robbie McEwen and Erik Zabel to win stage two aboard the mount that has brought so many victories to Mapei and Rabobank. He was riding a Shimano Dura-Ace equipped Colnago C40, the 2.5-pound frame that won Paris-Roubaix five times between 1995 and 2000. But it is not just another bonded carbon frame, since Colnago’s construction methods C40 are unique and analogous to its method of constructing steel frames. Integral to the C40 are one-piece molded, hand-finished carbon lugs that eliminate the bonding problems and weight of aluminum lugs and are stronger,

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.

Invitations come in different forms and shapes on the Tour de France, depending on the region it might be visiting. In the Champagne region where the Tour passed through yesterday and today, they came as empty champagne flutes. “Take this monsieur,” said a smiling hostess at Chateau-Thierry in the department of the Marne where today's 67.5km fourth stage time trial from Epernay finished. Passing me a flute engraved with `Les champagne des Vigneron', she informed explained that from 6pm it will gain entry to a free swill of bubbly. Here we go again, I thought. Another town. Another drink.

1. Robbie McEwen (Aus), Lotto-Adecco, 174.5km in 4hr 13 min 37sec(average: 41.283 kph) 2. Erik Zabel (G), Telekom 3. Baden Cooke (Aus), FDJeux.com 4. Andrej Hauptman (Slo), Taconi Sport 5. Fabio Baldato (I), Fassa Bortolo 6. Paolo Bossoni (I), Taconi Sport 7. Jaan Kirsipuu (Est), Ag2R Prevoyance 8. Francois Simon (F), Bonjour 9. Jan Svorada (Cz), Lampre-Daikin 10. Stuart O'Grady (Aus), Credit Agricole 11. Jose Enrique Gutierrez (Sp), Kelme-Costa Blanca 12. Oscar Freire (Sp), Mapei 13. Laurent Brochard (F), Jean Delatour 14. Luciano Pagliarini (Brz), Lampre-Daikin 15. Karsten Kroon (Nl),

Henk Vogels got Mercury rising at the Columbia River Bank Cascade Cycling Classic stage race, getting the better of Svein Tuft (Prime Alliance) to win the stage-1 Pacific Power Road Race July 10 in Bend, Oregon. The two were given the same time in the 110-mile stage, just five seconds ahead of Chris Baldwin (Navigators), Gord Fraser (Mercury and the rest of the top 20. The six-stage race continues on Thursday with the 72-mile Deschutes Brewery Road Race, a hilly leg-breaker with 7,000 feet of climbing. The elite women’s five-stage race starts on Thursday as well.

Gonzalez de Galdeano - First Spaniard since Indurain to wear the yellow jersey.

ONCE - Tops when it counted.

Teamwork

Postal kept it all together

Should we stay or should we go now?

Ready to roll

Mitered tubes ready for the bottom bracket shell

The Ti bottom bracket sleeve

Mapei in the vineyards

Ms. Liberty comes home

Roadside art work

Advanced flower arranging for bike fans.

Team support by the glass

A new stage finish, new customs and new rules.

5:15 p.m. Either way, Zabel -- who finished second in the stage -- is the new overall leader of the Tour de France. 5:13 p.m. It's a huge scramble for the front. McEwen gets it.... but he's moved out of his line, and cut across Zabel's line. 5:10 p.m. All of the big players are up front. Nico Mantan is attacking. He's caught. Zabel is up front on his own... the Telekoms are not in a position to lead out their man. 5:08 p.m. With 4km to go, Lotto is at the front. Telekom is beginning to set up Zabel. 5:05 p.m. The swarm is beginning. With 5km to go, the sprinters are moving up,

You can always count on Jacky Durand. The 35-year-old bulldogof a racer just keeps on trying. And try he did, with one of his epic trademark attacks early in Tuesday’s174.5-km stage from Metz to Reims. It didn’t work. It rarely does, butit was a good show for the French fans as the 2002 Tour de France camehome after three hot and humid days in Luxembourg and Germany. Durand attacked just 6km into the stage and got reeled in with 6km togo. He didn’t win the stage – his last Tour stage-win came in 1998 – buthe did earn the day’s Coeur de Lion prize for most combative rider. Australian Robbie

Stuart O'Grady was involved in something of a health scare during the third stage of the Tour de France here Tuesday which left the Credit Agricole rider with an accelerated heart rate of 235 beats per minute. The 28-year-old Australian, who has in the past had a history of brief and spontaneous, accelerated heartbeats, was forced to call for help from his team car near the end of the 174.5km stage from Metz to here. Surprisingly O'Grady recovered in time to contest the closing sprint and finished the stage in 10th position, but the fact the heart scare has resurfaced - the last time it

Okay, Okay, Okay. Enough already. Now, we've had our three bad days, which, for the superstitious among you, should mean that our bad luck streak is over... I hope. For those of you saw it on TV, Stuey is okay. His heart just misfired for about an hour, being stuck at about 235 bpm. He was light-headed and could barely pedal, which is not good during a bike race. We weren't too sure he should be continuing the race, but this is something that's happened to Stuey before, and apparently isn't quite a life-threatening as it sounds. Nonetheless, you have to hand it to him for finishing. Hope

Tammy Thomas, a national-team track rider and resident at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, could be barred from bicycle racing for life after allegedly testing positive for the anabolic steroid Norbolethone, according to press reports. The 32-year-old track racer released a statement regarding the lifetime ban, proposed by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. She has asked for a hearing; meanwhile, the agency has declined comment, and the U.S. Olympic Committee has yet to make a formal announcement regarding the test. This is not the first doping controversy surrounding Thomas, who

According to Lance Armstrong, there are actually 187 guys in the Tour de France, and two 800-pound gorillas. George Hincapie and Vjatcheslav Ekimov are accustomed to filling the roles of Lance’s favorite guardians. They’re not malicious in any way, but they are very good at making sure no harm comes Lance. Fortunately they are also very strong, because the U.S. Postal Service needs as much collective strength as possible for tomorrow’s team time trial. The Postal team is strong enough to have a chance at winning the team time trial. More importantly, Lance has the opportunity to gain time on

It all happens at once on the Tour de France.And ain't it great ... at least when you are an Australian reporteron the Tour de France and have covering today's third stage.Not that the outcome made for a easy day, nor for total joy, thanksto four very sound reasons that made a seemingly boring day so dramatic.Reason 1: The third stage from Metz to Reims was won by an Australianin Robbie McEwen (Lotto) who again beat Germany's Erik Zabel (Telekom).Reason 2: Meanwhile, Stuart O'Grady (Credit Agricole) was undergoinga cardiogram after suffering a tachycardia attack saw his heart beat

According to a press release issued on Tuesday by Threshold Sports, organizers of the New York City Cycling Championship, Mario Cipollini will take part in the New York race, August 4. The release states that Cipollini and teammates Mario Scirea and Gabriele Colombo are scheduled to ride the 100km criterium in Manhattan, joining Lance Armstrong and Marty Nothstein on the list of scheduled racers. However, also on Tuesday, in a short statement issued on his Web site, Cipollini announced his imminent retirement from the sport. In a statement titled "I stop here," Cipollini said "the bitterness

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.

O'Grady went back to check with his doctor.

Das Gelbe Trikot -- Zabel gets the jersey

Headbangers' Ball -- Durand (right) tries another long escape.

The Telekoms led the chase

Caffeinating under the gaze of Eddy.

Coffee for the staff...

...and coffee for the masses.

Lance fans in Metz...

... Lance fans on the road. (It's a 1943 Dodge Command Car, in case you're wondering.)

Durand and Rénier - They were never really alone out there.

U.S. Postal's Dan Osipow and Armstrong's Lawyer/Agent Bill Stapelton -- already planning the post-race appearance schedule, no doubt.

Because they could find a field of sunflowers....

News Item: Credit Lyonnais plans to continue its sponsorship.

5:10 p.m. A quick calculation shows that Lampre's Reubens Bertogliati retains his hold on the yellow jersey, two seconds ahead of Erik Zabel. Zabel, who could have earned the jersey had he finished in second, keeps the green points jersey. Meanwhile, Hushovd is still on the road, within 5km of the finish. We hope he makes the time cut. 5:01 p.m. The Telekoms are leading out Zabel perfectly. Zabel is getting a nice lead-out from Fagnini and Lotto's McEwen is coming on strong... Riders are all across the road and... It's Oscar Freire, the reigning world champion who takes it! McEwen is

VeloNews.com welcomes your letters. If you run across something in thepages of VeloNews magazine or see something on VeloNews.com thatcauses you to want to write us, dropus a line. Please include your full name and home town. By submitting mail to this address, you are consenting to the publication of your letter. Rider diariesI miss the rider diaries. That was the best part of your coverage.Corey Barton We would miss them too, if we didn't have them. Rest assured, wedo. Jonathan Vaughters and Tyler Hamilton are sending in regular reportsfrom the peloton. You can always check the

Monday’s 181km stage 2 of the 2002 Tour de France was supposed tobe an Erik Zabel homecoming party. The script was already written:Zabel, already resplendent in the green jersey, would win the stage afterhard work by his Telekom team to bring the race to a bunch sprint and takethe yellow jersey, all in front of a rowdy German crowd lining the roadsestimated to top one million. As it happens so often in the Tour, though, it didn’t quite turn outthat way. Not only did the Telekom man not win the field sprint, he finishedonly third and he left the yellow jersey in the hands of Lampre's

Long-time Tour de France supporter Credit Lyonnais, the French banking consortium which sponsors the famed yellow leader's jersey, on Monday announced an extension to their contract - but only if the race succeeds in keeping its doping problems at bay. Representatives of the company on the Tour include former Tour contender Raymond Poulidor, and the women who hand out flowers, and kisses, to the stage winners and race leader on a daily basis. Credit Lyonnais have signed a five-year extension, until 2008, to their deal which was due to expire on the Tour's centenary next year. However the

French news agency AFP reported on Monday that the Domo-Farm Frites team has reinstated Belgian cyclist Frank Vandenbroucke, who was recently given an 18-month suspension, with 12 months suspended, by the Flemish Community’s disciplinary commission. Vandenbroucke is appealing that decision. After quantities of EPO, the steroid clenbuterol and morphine were found in his home in February, Vandenbroucke was suspended by the Belgian cycling federation, but that ban was recently overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland. The ruling by the Flemish Community came

Well folks, I figured that I would send in another entry today, as once again it was a strange day for Crédit Agricole. Christophe seems happy, and recovered from his tough day yesterday, so that's good. What wasn't so good, was poor Thor Hushovd. Our polar bear from Norway didn't deal too well with the heat after being in the early break, and cramped severely, having to stop to be massaged. We're not too sure about whether he'll be able to start tomorrow, as he was close to the time cut. This is a cruel, cruel sport cycling.... You're in the break, you cramp bad, and despite the fact

Planning courses in urban areas in Europe requires imagination to balance the needs of the public with those of the riders and the race entourage. Courses like we had the first two days in Luxembourg are great examples. The courses were interesting, they went right through the middle of the city center, and they caused very little disruption. The prologue course was downright scary in places, being very narrow and curvy and rough in spots. It had one particularly hair-raising downhill left turn on a narrow, fast descent in a cobblestone alley. Only the very gutsiest riders stayed on their

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.

Brent Dawson (Jelly Belly-Carlsbad Clothing) and Tina Mayolo-Pic (Diet Rite) took home the top prizes at the Wendy’s International Cycling Classic, the six-race series of criteriums in Ohio that ended Sunday. Dawson beat out 7UP-Nutra Fig’s Dan Schmatz in the final points standings while national criterium champion Nicole Freedman (Rona) was runner-up to Mayolo-Pic. Mayolo-Pic didn’t win a single stage, but finished the week with three second-place finishes and two third places to top Freedman, who won the series opener in Powell, Ohio. Rona scored a total of three wins, with Melissa Holt

On Sunday, Saturn’s Viktor Repinski won the 4 Bridges of Elgin road race in Elgin, Illinois. The only UCI under-23 race on the U.S. calendar, 4 Bridges of Elgin has slowly grown into one of the biggest races on the calendar for up-and-coming young riders, with past winners including Charles Dionne and Danny Pate. Repinski, Saturn’s 21-year-old from Belarus, broke clear with about a mile to go in the 66-mile race. The Saturn rider soloed in, while Jonathan Erdelyi (C-bike.com) led in a nine-rider chase group just five seconds behind. Erdelyi took second, with Shawn Milne (Wheelworks-Mengoni)

We had a long day in the saddle yesterday. Stage 1 of this year's Tourde France was no promenade. It was up and down all day and the speedskept everyone on their toes. It felt like we were riding a one-day Classic,not starting a three-week stage race.The early Tour crash index was at an all time high as well. You couldsee by some of the finish times that those mishaps took their toll. Somebig guns lost precious time. It was a crazy first day to say the least-- especially when the roads narrowed and some pace cars got stuck forcingthe riders to unclip from their pedals and slow to a near stop

How many decisions can you make in one second? Should you go to the left or right? Should you shift? Brake? Where’s the guy in front of going to go? Is it too early to launch for the line? I don’t care how much power you have. To win a sprint stage of the Tour de France, you have to be able to make critical decisions in the blink of an eye. A great field sprinter has as much knowledge as he does power. Riders at this level have trouble explaining exactly how and why a finishing sprint developed the way it did. Thousands of sprint finishes, going all the way back to Junior races, have made

Every day at the Tour there is a stage prognostics competition for journalistsand other official race followers sponsored by Sodexho, a hotel and cateringconglomerate. For the past two days, nearly every entry has had one nameat the top of the “betting” slip: Erik Zabel. Each day, the German sprinterhas failed his supporters.After the last-kilometer upset by Rubens Bertogliati on Sunday, it wasworld champion Oscar Freire who won against the odds on Monday. This time,it appeared that Zabel’s Telekom squad had done everything right.The whole team led the chase that brought back the remnants of

Editor's Note: Aside from having a name that conjures up visionsof a nice refreshing pint, Rupert Guinness is a sports writer for the dailynewspaper The Australian. A former European correspondent for Winningand VeloNews, Guinness will be sending in a daily column from theTour.So you reckon cycling's recent doping problems have soured public interest in the sport? Think again. Judging by the crowds for today's second stage from Luxembourg to Saarbrücken in Germany, the sport's popularity is as high as ever. Especially in Germany despite former Tour champion Jan Ullrich's own doping muddle

Results - Stage 2 1. Oscar Freire (Spa/MAP), 181km in 4hr 19 min 51sec (average: 41.793kph), 2. Robbie McEwen (Aus/LOT), at 00:00 3. Erik Zabel (Ger/TEL), 00:00 4. Baden Cooke (Aus/FDJ), 00:00 5. Jaan Kirsipuu (Est/A2R), 00:00 6. Andrej Hauptman (Slo/TAC), 00:00 7. Pedro Horillo (Spa/MAP), 00:00 8. Fred Rodriguez (USA/DFF), 00:00 9. Gian Matteo Fagnini (Ita/TEL), 00:00 10. Stuart O'Grady (Aus/C.A), 00:00 11. Danilo Hondo (Ger/TEL), 00:00 12. Jan Svorada (Cze/LAM), 00:00 13. Francois Simon (Fra/BJR), 00:00 14. Paolo Bossoni (Ita/TAC), 00:00 15. Nico Mattan (Bel/COF), 00:00 16. Serguei Ivanov

This is why he has those stripes on his jersey. Freire takes Stage 2

The man they were all hoping to see.

After shedding Hushovd, the two Frenchmen tried their luck for a wheile before being caught and passed by Voigt.

Landis and Ekimov

Jens Voigt before things got busy.

Protecting the man in yellow.

Cheering on the break.

Passing the time, waiting for the peloton.

Translation: Give us gum!

Waiting for the sprint.

At the finish line.

Repinski

The letters page: This morning's mail and a flood of responses

5:38 p.m. Credit Agricole's Christophe Moreau has finished some 3:40 behind the main field. Bertogliati finished 19th yesterday, so with his 20-second bonus today, he has earned him the yellow jersey. Quite a win. 5:34 p.m. Talk about your good timing. Bertogliati pulled off the win. Zabel is second, McEwen is third. 5:33 p.m. Lampre's Rubens Bertogliati has attacked. 5:33 With 1km to go Telekom is at the front. 5:31 So, with 2.5km left, it's all together. The big names are up front, including O'Grady; Zabel; Jalabert and Armstrong are up front. Telekom is trying to set up their

Just a reminder for our readers to click on the blue "Live Coverage" button on the top of the navigation bar to the left for today's live updates. Things are off to a little slower start today. The ceremonial start at the Place du Glacis in Luxembourg is taking a little longer than planned. The peloton should be heading out and on the way toward the rolling start on the N. 12 very soon. VeloNews's John Wilcockson reports that the weather is quite nice for a bike race today. Temperatures are in the sixties and there is a slight wind (10mph) from the southwest. The wind, however, should not

I know, I know…. Saying the Tour de France sucks to a crowd of cycling fans is akin to standing in the middle of downtown Denver and saying that John Elway sucks. But, I'm sorry, it does. Of course, if all goes well, and you win something, then the Tour de France is the greatest event in the world, a whole lot of fun and the race you will specifically target next year. It is like all things at the absolute pinnacle, elation or heartbreak and all of it in the deepest sense. The Tour de France is so hard and such a high level of competition that if one little thing goes awry, then it all

Cycling journalists love to play with numbers. All day long, the hackswere figuring the time splits among the favorites in the chase for theyellow jersey in the 192.5-km opening stage of the 2002 Tour de France. Prologue winner Lance Armstrong revealed he wasn’t interestedin defending the maillot jaune when he conceded the time bonusesat the first intermediate sprint after 50km, so the jersey was prime forthe picking. All eyes were on the established riders, especially those immediatelybehind Armstrong in the overnight standings, Laurent Jalabert (CSC-Tiscali)and Raimondas Rumsas

When Lance was questioned before the prologue about whether he would try to wear the yellow jersey for the first road stage of the Tour, he replied that when there is a chance to wear the jersey, you simply have to go for it. There is no other choice. Sixty men started the first stage within 30 seconds of the yellow jersey, and judging by the intensity of the racing, every one of them shared the race leader’s philosophy regarding the yellow jersey. Have you ever heard of Rubens Bertogliati before today? Few people have; he’s young and obviously talented, but he’s not on the top of anyone’s