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When Lampre Daikin’s Rubens Bertogliati powered away from the hard-chargingpeloton up the big hill below the city walls of Luxembourg, he had histeammates looking up at him as he rode, but not just from the peloton.His bike frame actually had pictures of various Lampre-Daikin racers in2002 action on the top tube and down tube. The photographic images (as well as the frame logos) are reproducedperfectly on the frame, but they are not on a decal that can be peeledoff, nor are they air-brushed onto the frame. The images on the bike donot have any edges or high spots whatsoever. They appear to

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.Australian hope Baden Cooke discovered before today's first stage ofthe Tour de France even started just how big the step up is for a newcomerto the world's biggest bike race. That it took the 23 year-old from Benalla - home of the famed Australianbushranger Ned Kelly - 30 minutes to simply get from his FDJeux.com

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.

Belgian Filip Meirhaeghe took a commanding lead in the chase for World Cup overall cross-country title Sunday, winning the fourth round of the series at Grouse Mountain in British Columbia. Meirhaeghe, who also won a week ago at Mont-Ste-Anne, Quebec, now holds an 120-point lead over Giant's Bart Brentjens with just one race to go. If Brentjens manages to win the final race, Meirhaeghe would need to finish no worse than fifth to capture his first World Cup overall title. The win Sunday was the sixth of his career, moving him out of a tie with Ned Overend and John Tomac and into sixth place

Bertogliati catches them all by surprise.

It's a safe bet to say that Bertogliati had not expected to be wearing this when he got up Sunday morning.

More like a spring classic than the Tour opener.

Tour Tech - Soft bike, tough guy

There's a Texan in there somewhere. Can you spot Graham Watson in the crowd?

It's all about the Lance.

How those pictures come to your living room.

The parking lot by the press tent is always packed.

Top team - CSC-Tiscali. The guy on right writes for VeloNews

The first entry in our daily podium girl series.

THE GREAT ESCAPE - It didn't last, but Mengin got the climber's jersey.

Armstrong and Landis

ARMSTRONG & MILLAR - Bertogliati got both of their jerseys

Meirhaeghe won his second straight World Cup race.

Sauser won here last year, but settled for second in 2002.

Leuchs moved onto the podium during the second half of the race.

Dupouey looks for his line.

Green struggled to stay near the front.

The pace was quick right from the beginning.

Many rider's day ended like this.

In a Frankfurt news conference Saturday Jan Ullrich admitted that he had taken recreational drugs on a night out with friends last month because he was depressed a knee operation had not resolved a long standing injury. The 28-year-old Tour de France and Olympic champion said this was why he tested positive for amphetamines in an out of competition test on June 12 while he was recuperating at a Bavarian clinic after the operation. However the two-time world time-trial champion could face criminal charges over his taking of the drugs as the Munich prosecutors office has opened a judicial

The managers of the Italian cycling team Saeco said they intend to take legal action against the organisers of the Tour de France after their expulsion from the race last month. The Saeco team, which was given one of a few wildcard entries for the July 6-28 showpiece, was excluded when its star rider Gilberto Simoni tested positive for cocaine during the Giro d'Italia. Former Giro winner Simoni had been touted as a challenger to three-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong and team managers feel the financial losses incurred from the expulsion merit corrective action. In a press

A light rain was falling on the smooth tarmac and rough cobblestones of Luxembourg’s streets late Friday night, threatening to make Saturday evening’s prologue time trial of the 89th Tour de France even more challenging than expected. Not since 1995, when the Tour started in the French port city of St. Brieuc, has there been as difficult a prologue course. Straddling a deep river valley, the spectacular course contains more than 25 tricky turns, a mind-chilling downhill, and two climbs in the final third of its 7 kilometers. In the dry, it’s a course that could highlight the inherent power

7:18 p.m.Lance Armstrong wins the prologue. 1. Lance Armstrong (USA) U.S. Postal, 7.3km in 9:08.782. Laurent Jalabert (F), CSC, 9:103. Raimondas Rumsas (Lit) Lampre, 9:11. 7:17 p.m. Whoa... Armstrong flies in, finishing in 9:08.78. He wins the prologue of the 2002 Tour de France and is back in yellow. This is his 12th stage win at the Tour. 7:16 p.m. Zabel finishes with 9:33 for 40th. 7:15 p.m. Beloki has finished with a 9:21. 7:14 p.m. Oscar Sevilla finishes in 66th with a 9:41. 7:13 p.m. David Millar, winner of the prologue in 2000, finishes in 9:13.48, good for fourth. 7:12 p.m.

Fans of VeloNews’s live Tour de France coverage will be pleased to knowwe have a new system to allow readers to follow the day’s action andhave their view of the race automatically updated without the need to hit the “refresh” button.Look to the left column and click on the blue “Click Here for Live Coverage”button. From there, you should get a new window to pop up. Let us knowhow you like it by dropping us a quicke-mail.

Lance Armstrong went like a rocket Saturday to win the opening prologueof the 2002 Tour de France and pick up exactly where he left off in Parislast summer. The three-time defending champion roared over the twisting, technicallydifficult 7.3-km course in downtown Luxembourg, edging Frenchman LaurentJalabert (CSC-Tiscali) by two seconds to win his 12th career Tour stage(prologues, time trials and road stages) and take the first yellow jerseyof the 89th Tour. “I was lucky. When I got out there, the course was dry. It is a surprise(to win) and a good surprise. I am happier than you think,”

Finally, we're underway.The days leading up to the Tour de France, and then the prologue, arealways hectic, nervous, and, I suppose, fun.It’s the same every year: All the team's best riders are present, andall have new bikes uniforms, and glasses.... Everybody comes to dinnershaved, smelling nice, and happy. It’s quite a contrast from most otherevents where the riders seem displeased they've been dragged from theirgardening to do a damned bike race. All the Sunday-best put on displayfor the preacher.As usual, we got the blood tests, medical examinations, and such fortwo days before the

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.

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.There was only one thing more sure than Lance Armstrong's might on twowheels in today's prologue of the Tour de France in Luxembourg: when itcomes to predicting weather, Holstein cattle know a thing or two.Forget those frisky fat Friesians. Pretty the `Ben and Jerry' cattlethey may be in their black and white skins. But

Arriving at the Tour de France is always an interesting endeavor. You leave the relative quite of your home life behind to join a roving circus. Even though we stayed put for a few days prior to the start of this race, the pace you keep heading out to medical check ups, media presentations and interviews is nothing short of grueling. I don't think I've had more than a second to myself since arriving here on Wednesday. When my wife and I were driving into the airport, we got to talking about last year's Tour. I was remembering that Steffan Kjeargaard had brought his own comforter and pillow

To see and talk to Lance Armstrong before today’s prologue, you would have thought he warming up for a local Tuesday night time trial series. I know he’s used to the pressure, accustomed to the crowds and the press, but I’ve never seen him as relaxed before the start of the Tour as he was today. He calmly stepped into the start house, peacefully settled onto his bike, and then nearly ripped the cranks off of it. All talk of whether it is better to wait until after the first week to take the yellow jersey is irrelevant when it comes to prologues. Your only choice is ride flat out from start

Armstrong won on a special superlight prototype aero’ bar that Dedahad whipped out for him for the Tour. It is completely flat; there is nodrop to it like the Vision Tech bars the team has used in the pastand still has on some of its time trial bikes. It is made out of aluminum, but according to Deda’s Fulvio Acquati, “We are still working out the exact design with Armstrong, and when we get it exactly the way he wants it, we will make it out of carbon.” Dedaalso has a carbon aero’ bar that Acquati was showing to the teams the daybefore the prologue. The carbon base bar is just a prototype,

Three years ago, Lance Armstrong was ecstatic when he won the Tourde France prologue at Le Puy du Fou. Tears filled his eyes as he slippedon the first yellow jersey of his career. Saturday, in a finally sunnyLuxembourg City, there were no tears, just the satisfaction of a job welldone when Armstrong was awarded the Tour yellow jersey for the 36th time.What a difference three years can make….Some things will likely stay the same, though, because two days aftertaking the lead at the 1999 Tour Armstrong conceded the yellow jersey toa sprinter, Jaan Kirsipuu. The Estonian achieved that feat by

It's been a long time since the German national anthem has been played at the end of a women's World Cup cross-country race. But after winning round 4 of the Tissot UCI World Cup series at Grouse Mountain, British Columbia Saturday, Merida's Sabine Spitz changed that Saturday — sort of. Spitz took the lead for good with three laps to go in the 28.82km race, then held off a late charge from American Alison Dunlap to capture her first career World Cup win. But afterward organizers had problems with their national anthem CD, and twice played the wrong song. Finally Spitz was offered a

U.S. Postal1. Lance Armstrong (USA)2. Viatcheslav Ekimov (Rus)3. Roberto Heras Hernandez (Sp)4. George Hincapie (USA)5. Benoit Joachim (Lux)6. Floyd Landis (USA)7. Pavel Padrnos (Cz)8. Victor Hugo Pena Grisales (Col)9. José L.Rubiera Vigil (Sp)Telekom11. Erik Zabel (G)12. Rolf Aldag (G)13. Udo Bölts (G)14. Gian Matteo Fagnini (I)15. Giuseppe Guerini (I)16. Danilo Hondo (G)17. Bobby Julich (USA)18. Kevin Livingston (USA)19. Steffen Wesemann (G)ONCE21. Joseba Beloki (Sp)22. José Azevedo (Por)23. Alvaro Gonzalez de Galdeano (Sp)24. Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano (Sp)25. Jörg

At the Sang and Klang tavern

Euskadi!

A sense of perspective

A sense of history --

The guy who won.

Do not try this at home.

NUMBER ONE FAN - Luke wishes his dad good luck

Rubiera

Spitz celebrates her win.

Blatter's day ended early.

There’s a lot more to the Tour de France than meets the eye, especiallywhen it comes to behind-the-scenes rules and regulations. Here are somehighlights of some of the rules and regulations taken from 32-page handbookoutlining the Le Reglement or regulations, of the 89th Tour de France.The stakesThere are $2.6 million awarded in prize-money during the Tour paidin euros, Europe’s new common currency. Prize-money is awarded each dayto winners, to the leaders of each respective jersey and for other special“primes” or bonuses along the course. The Tour winner receives $335,390while last place

“I just want to make it to Paris. Everyone is talking about winning stagesor how they're going to finish on the podium. I just want to finish.”—Jonathan Vaughters in The Denver Post With Lance Armstrong expected to win his fourth consecutive Tour deFrance as easily as Tiger Woods would win the Masters against Ray Charles,will the next three weeks in July be a pointless exercise in gratificationdelayed, a 23-day yawner of a wait for another yellow jersey that he couldhave had shipped to Texas in two business days (USPS Global Express Guaranteed)with a phone call? “Hey, Jean-Marie, I need

Well, don’t roll your eyes yet. It’s an idea that’s quietly gaining consideration at the dawn of the season’s most important bike race. Is it too much of a stretch to imagine Lance Armstrong (U.S. Postal), Tyler Hamilton (CSC-Tiscali) and Levi Leipheimer (Rabobank) on the winner’s podium July 28 in Paris? Someone asked that to the defending champion at his press conference Thursday. “I never thought about it, but it would be a spectacular achievement,” Armstrong said. Indeed it would, considering that only three Americans have ever finished on the Tour podium and only two have won

In 2001 Grouse Mountain could do almost no wrong when it came to World Cup mountain-bike racing. The small ski resort just minutes from downtown Vancouver stepped up to host the third stop of the series after organizers at Whistler bailed because of financial squabbling; then went on to put on one of the best events of the season, with exciting racing and big crowds. But a year later the vibe here on the famed North Shore isn't the same. This is the land of free-riding, and without any gravity racing this weekend (both the downhill and mountain cross were cancelled because of too much snow)

Friday's Foaming Rant: It's Tour time

He's clearly the favorite to win, but who is next?

And with a good shoulder, Hamilton is tough to beat.

Rabobank is betting on Leipheimer.

The Telekom team has announced that Alexandre Vinokourov will not start the 89th Tour de France on Saturday.Vinokourov, 28, who won Paris-Nice at the start of the season, was set to work for teammate Erik Zabel throughout the 3272km three-week race after team leader Jan Ullrich was forced to pull out after recent knee surgery. Neither the team nor Tour organizers have yet said why Vinokourov would not be starting the race.

Jan Ullrich’s doctor told German radio on Thursday that the 1997 Tour de France champion was not a drug user and had probably consumed something which contained the amphetamines he tested positive for last month. Heinz Birnesser added it was illogical the 28-year-old Olympic champion would have been taking drugs when he was not even competing and was recovering from a knee operation. "Ullrich was definitely not doped," he told German radio. "He must have taken the amphetamines without knowing,” Birnesser said. “Someone probably put them in a drink without wishing to do him harm. To be

Successful sportsmen invest in many diverse businesses but three-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong surely has put his money in one of the least likely - a gold mine in Uganda.

Belgian cyclist Frank Vandenbroucke has been hit with an 18 month ban in connection with the drugs discovery at his home at the start of the year. The ban, one year of which is suspended, was handed out in Brussels Thursday by the Flemish Community's disciplinary commission. The 27-year-old Vandenbroucke intends to contest the verdict, according to sources close to him, with any appeal having to be lodged within the next two weeks. Vandenbroucke, had already been suspended for six months by the Belgian cycling federation in March after a police raid on his home uncovered quantities of

Roll call of past Tour de France winners:    1903  Maurice Garin (Fra)   1904  Henri Cornet (Fra)   1905  Louis Trousselier (Fra)   1906  Rene Pottier (Fra)   1907  Lucien Petit-Breton (Fra)   1908  Lucien Petit-Breton (Fra)   1909  Francois Faber (Lux)   1910  Octave Lapize (Fra)   1911  Gustave Garrigou (Fra)   1912  Odile Defraye (Bel)   1913  Philippe Thys (Bel)   1914  Philippe Thys (Bel)Stopped due  war     1919  Firmin Lambot (Bel)   1920  Philippe Thys (Bel)   1921  Leon Scieur (Bel)   1922  Firmin Lambot (Bel)   1923  Henri Pelissier (Fra)   1924  Ottavio Bottechia (Ita)   1925 

The Tour de France clicks into gear this Saturday armed with a clear conscience, and promising evidence as back-up support, in the fight against doping, said the man in charge of anti-doping efforts at the race, Daniel Baal. Although events in the recent drug-tainted Giro d’Italia provided a stark reminder of the propensity for drugs in the peloton, the signs are that cycling is finally starting to pick up the pieces after the catastrophic Tour of 1998. Saeco rider Gilberto Simoni might have been one of a few riders forced off his bike in the Tour of Italy - and his team consequently banned

If Baal is right, this may be the best option.

Looking for number four.

There's a new sheriff in town – Gerard Bisceglia, CEO of USA Cycling– and we want to know what you think should be on his first “Wanted” poster.More races? Better service? A year-end kegger at One Olympic Plaza?Send your single-sentence suggestions to webletters@7Dogs.comand we’ll publish some of them in an upcoming issue of VeloNewsand the whole bunch of them on the web when the issue hits the street.Limit your suggestions to a single sentence, please; also,include your full name, city and state, and whether you hold a racing licensefrom USAC or one of its rival regional organizations.

Jan Ullrich’s Telekom team confirmed Wednesday that the 1997 Tour de France winner had indeed failed an out-of-competition drug test in May. Responding to reports by the wire service Deutsche Presse Agentur that Ullrich allegedly tested positive for amphetamine at an out-of-competition control during his recent recovery from knee surgery, Telekom boss Walter Godefroot confirmed the test and said the result from the second 'B' sample was not yet known. Just a week ago Ullrich vowed to begin training this week less than a month after undergoing surgery on his troublesome knee. The

One of Spain’s best cyclists, Abraham Olano, announced Tuesday he willretire at the end of the 2002 season “to live a life without pressure and fully enjoy my family.” The 32-year-old Olano said he made the decision to retire the day beforethe Spanish championships last weekend despite the fact that he and ONCEwere planning on Olano racing one more season. “I began to realize things were changing when, as a cyclist whose lifeis based on suffering and training alone, I would be sad to go on trainingrides. I missed my family when I was traveling and I began to wonder aboutretiring, the moment

Even though you can’t make it to France and don’t usually drive theteam car at your local stage race, you can still act like a director sportifin this year’s Tour de France. And if you’re really good at, you may justup in France for next year’s Tour.VeloNews.com is teaming up with Winnercomm, a leading television andinteractive media production company, to produce an online entertainmentexperience VeloNews Fantasy Cycling.Players get to select from the actual Tour de France rosters and puttogether a team of GC contenders, climbers and sprinters. Unlike the Tour,participants can shift riders

Olano wants to spend more time at home.

Be sure to check back for live race coverage!

In the peloton since 1997 Sponsor: National lotteryBudget: $3.2 millionManager/directeur sportif: Marc MadiotAssistants: Yvon Madiot, Martial Gayant, Franck Pineau RidersCASAR Sandy   (F),  February 2, 1979CASPER Jimmy   (F),  May 28, 1978COOKE Baden   (Aus),  October 12, 1978DURAND Jacky   (F),  February 10, 1967GUESDON Frédéric  (F),  October 14, 1971McGEE Brad    (Aus),  February 24, 1976MENGIN Christophe  (F),  September 3, 1968ROBIN Jean-Cyril   (F),  August 27, 1969VOGONDY Nicolas (F) IntroductionMarc Madiot presents an up-and-coming team, and the seven victoriescaptured at the

In the peloton since 2000 Sponsor: Cement companyBudget: $5.8 millionManager: Giancarlo FerrettiDirecteur sportifs: Alberto Volpi, Stefano Zanatta, Mario ChiesaAssistant: Oscar Pirazzini RidersBALDATO Fabio   (I),  June 13, 1968BASSO Ivan    (I),  November 26, 1977BELLI Wladimir   (I),  July 25, 1970GONTCHAR Sergei   (Ukr),  July 3, 1970IVANOV Sergueï   (Rus),  March 5, 1975LODA Nicola    (I),  July 27, 1971POZZI Oscar    (I),  December 27, 1971VELO Marco    (I),  March 9, 1974ZANOTTI Marco   (I),  January 21, 1974 Strong temperamentsIn 2001, during Fassa Bortolo’s second year in the

In the peloton since 1986 Sponsors: Domo: rugs, carpets and vinyl; Farm Frites:French friesBudget: $6.3 millionManager: Patrick LefévèreDirecteurs sportifs: Marc Sergeant, Hendrik Redant, WilfriedPeeters, Toon Cruyt Riders (as of June 30)BRUYLANDTS Dave (B), July 12, 1976CASSANI Enrico (I), February 15, 1972KNAVEN Servais (Nl), March 6, 1971KONECNY Tomas (Cz), October 11, 1973MERCKX Axel (B), August 8, 1972RODRIGUEZ Fred (USA), September 3, 1973VAN BON Léon (Nl), January 28, 1972VIRENQUE Richard (F), November 19, 1969WADECKI Piotr (Pl), February 11, 1973 All behind VirenqueThe

In the peloton since 1999 Sponsors: Lampre: manufacturer of sheet metal;Daikin: air conditioningBudget: $4.2 millionManager: Giuseppe SaronniDirecteur sportif: Pietro AlgeriAssistants: Maurizio Piovani, Brent Copeland RidersBELOHVOSCIKS Raivis (Lat) January 21, 1976BERTOGLIATI Rubens (Swi) May 9, 1979CORTINOVIS Alessandro (I) October 11, 1977DIERCKXSENS Ludo (B) October 14, 1964PAGLIARINI Luciano (Bra) April 18, 1978RUMSAS Raimondas (Lit) January 14, 1972SERPELLINI Marco (I) August 14, 1972SVORADA Jan Cz August 28, 1968PINOTTI Marco (I) Experience countsThis Italian team is solid, if not

In the peloton since 1998 Sponsors:Tacconi: sports clothing; Emmegi:heat exchangersBudget: $2.8 millionManager: Davide BoifavaDirecteurs sportif: Fabrizio Bontempi, Vittorio AlgeriAssistant: Pietro Turchetti RidersBORTOLAMI Gianluca I August 28, 1968BOSSONI Paolo I July 2, 1976DONATI Massimo I January 18, 1967FRIGO Dario I September 18, 1973HAUPTMAN Andrej Slo May 5, 1975LUTTENBERGER Peter A December 13, 1972MAZZOLENI Eddy I July 29, 1973FERRARI Diego (I)APOLLONIO Massimo (I) Frigo bears watchingThis Italian team, which has had trouble holding on to its best riders,cannot hope to stand out