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Hushovd caps off an amazing Tour

While Floyd Landis was enjoying his moment in the French sun atop the winner’s podium at the Tour de France, riders from Discovery Channel were wondering how they could rediscover their mojo. The defending Tour-winning team entered this year’s race with high hopes, but fell flat in the Pyrenees and could never regain its footing in the Alps. José Azevedo was the best among the GC in 19th at 38:08 back. The team had some high points, earning the yellow jersey with George Hincapie in Stage 1 and claiming a stage victory in Stage 12 into Carcassone with Yaroslav Popovych. Both riders were

Prudhomme and Leblanc pose with Cunego, Landis and Rasmussen

As Floyd Landis crossed the Tour de France finish line Sunday, his devout Mennonite parents were riding their own bicycles home from church. Paul and Arlene Landis were so confident their son would win cycling's greatest race that they didn't have to choose between going to church and watching it on TV at a neighbor's house. "I'm glad we didn't have to make that choice. Church is very important to us," Arlene Landis said. "We felt in our hearts he was going to win. He is not one to take second place." The couple and their neighbors in Farmersville, a tiny hamlet in the

The village departe' is a daily fixture at le Tour

President George W. Bush called Floyd Landis to congratulate him on his victory in the Tour de France and highlight US pride at winning the event for the eighth straight year. "Everybody is proud of you," a White House spokeswoman quoted Bush as saying in a telephone call to the 30-year-old Landis as he started celebrations in Paris. Landis had displayed "great courage” and showed “amazing strength of character." Bush, who has become a keen mountain biker since being forced to give up running because of knee problems, invited Landis, his wife, Amber, and their family to visit the White

Baby, you're a rock star

Stage 20: Sceaux/Antony to Paris (Champs-Elysées) 154.5km

The riders in the peloton present Jean Marie with a special memento of his last Tour

Course: Unlike most recent final stages that looped through the countryside south or east of Paris before entering the city, the entire course is on suburban and city streets in the southern and western parts of the metro area. Most significant is the very steep Cat. 4 climb of Mont Valérien after 72km, which is followed by a fast sweep down to the Seine River at Clichy. The next 20km are along the right bank of the Seine before riders reach the traditional Champs-Élysées circuit after 100km. Eight laps of the 6.5km circuit complete the 2006 Tour, 400 meters after the final right turn from

Stage 20: Sceaux/Antony to Paris (Champs-Elysées) 154.5km

Landis and his old friend, and former teammate, Dave Zabriskie.

Course: This final time trial follows a complicated 57km route between the twin industrial cities of Le Creusot and Montceau-les-Mines. There are a few long straightaways, but in between — from 5km-17km, 23km-34km and 47km-55km — the course is on a mixture of narrow back roads and city streets that twist and climb around the district’s former coalmines and steel mills. In other words, it’s a challenging up-and-down course where riders are constantly changing direction, sprinting out of turns, grinding up hills and racing down descents. History: Only once has this area hosted a Tour stage;

Stage 19: Le Creusot to Montceau les Mines - 57km (ITT)

Fresh off of a win in the Dauphine, Leipheimer had high hopes for the Tour

Going into the final time trial, never before has the Tour de Francecome down to six riders still having a chance of standing on one of the three podium spots in Paris. But that’s the situation this Saturday. Starting at 4 p.m. local time, the six riders ride at three-minute intervals in the 57km stage 19 time trial from Le Creusot to Montceau-les-Mines.(LiveCoverage is now underway. These are the six men, their starting times, how much they have to makeup on race leader Oscar Pereiro, how the performed in the first time trialon July 8 and their chances of success on Saturday. Denis Menchov

Landis rode exactly the race he had to...

Complete List of Scheduled Start Times, Stage 19 Wim Vansevenant (B), Davitamon-Lotto, 11:15:00Gert Steegmans (B), Davitamon-Lotto, 11:17:00Jimmy Casper (F), Cofidis, 11:19:00Aitor Hernandez (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, 11:21:00Peter Wrolich (A), Gerolsteiner, 11:23:00Filippo Pozzato (I), Quick Step-Innergetic, 11:25:00Cédric Coutouly (F), Agritubel, 11:27:00Christophe Mengin (F), Francaise des Jeux, 11:29:00Kjell Carlström (FIN), Liquigas-Bianchi, 11:31:00Arnaud Coyot (F), Cofidis, 11:33:00Patrick Calcagni (Swi), Liquigas-Bianchi, 11:35:00Julian Dean (NZl), Credit Agricole, 11:37:00Unai

Landis catches his breath and gets ready for a fresh yellow jersey

...beating his friend and former teammate, Oscar Pereiro, by a healthy margin

There is a Spanish civil war erupting between Team CSC and Caisse d’Epargne as each side is pointing the finger at the other for allowing Floyd Landis to ride back into the Tour de France in Thursday’s epic solo attack. As Landis lines up Saturday as the heavy favorite to erase a 30-second gap to race leader Oscar Pereiro, Spanish pundits are looking for someone to blame for what’s viewed as a blown opportunity to win its first Tour since Miguel Indurain last won in 1995. “We let the Tour slip right through our hands,” Pereiro said. “Now Landis is right back in it and he’s the favorite to

Gontchar has ridden two fine time trials in this Tour

... and gets to wear this when it counts.

1. Sergei Gontchar (Ukr), T-Mobile, 57km in 1:07:45 (50.479kph)2. Andréas Klöden (G), T-Mobile, at 00:413. Floyd Landis (USA), Phonak, at 01:114. Oscar Pereiro Sio (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne-I.B., at 02:405. Sebastian Lang (G), Gerolsteiner, at 03:186. David Zabriskie (USA), CSC, at 03:357. Viatceslav Ekimov (Rus), Discovery Channel, at 03:418. Cadel Evans (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto, at 03:419. Bert Grabsch (G), Phonak, at 03:4310. Damiano Cunego (I), Lampre, at 03:44 11. David Millar (GB), Saunier Duval, at 04:0112. Joost Posthuma (Nl), Rabobank, at 04:0313. Marcus Fothen (G), Gerolsteiner, at

Landis - now on his way to becoming the third American tour winner - meets the press

It's hard to believe this thing is just a water bottle cage

When Phonak’s Floyd Landis gave Oscar Pereiro a 30-minute "gift" at the Tour de France one week ago to put the Spanish rider in yellow, he couldn’t have imagined the difficult task he’d have to stave off his former teammate. That task got tougher after his grand meltdown atop La Toussuire on stage 16, when Landis gave up eight minutes and Pereiro regained the yellow jersey he’d lost to Landis at L’Alpe d’Huez. And when the American fought back with an epic solo breakaway into Morzine the following day, he still had a half-minute deficit on Pereiro going into Saturday’s 57km time trial. On a

Cunego rode to a strong 10th place stage finish and locked up the white jersey for his effort

CSC’s Cervelo P3 Carbon

Phonak's Robert Hunter will be deprived of riding into Paris with teammate Floyd Landis after the South African was eliminated following the 19th stage of the Tour de France Saturday. Hunter's deficit to Ukrainian Sergei Gontchar (T-Mobile) over the penultimate stage 57km time trial was 18 minutes and nine seconds. It meant the South African officially finished the stage outside the permitted time limit. Permitted deficits on Tour de France time trials are based on the best time of the stage multiplied by 25 percent. Gontchar claimed his second stage win of the race in a time of

Klöden lost only to his teammate Gontchar as he fought his way to the podium

This bladed offering from Pro (aka Shimano Europe) was on the T-Mobile bikes

Andreas Klöden didn’t win the Tour de France as he promised three weeks ago, but he had an inspired performance Saturday to move onto the final podium for the second time of his career. Klöden started the day fourth at 2:29 back of overnight leader Oscar Pereiro and 2:17 behind second-place Carlos Sastre. While Pereiro was able to retain a podium position, Spanish mountain goat Sastre could only muster 20th, opening the door for Klöden to ride onto the podium. Only teammate Sergei Gontchar beat him by 41 seconds as he moved up to third overall at 1:29 back. “I heard that I was more than a

The happy couple: The Landis family celebrates the apparent end to a crazy week.

Levi Leipheimer's disc

Amber Basile made one pledge after seeing her husband, Floyd Landis, secure an almost-certain claim to the Tour de France maillot jaune on Saturday: to wear yellow in Paris on Sunday. Clutching a Credit Lyonnais lion and bouquet behind the podium minutes after Landis had been cheered as the Tour champion in waiting, Basile said she hadn’t arrived in France with a yellow dress in readiness for tomorrow’s finale on the Champs Elysees in Paris. “It’s so hard to get yellow here," she said, "but there will be yellow on me somewhere." Like her husband at his post-race press conference, she

Landis finishes third on the day and seems set to win the Tour with a minute to spare.

sits nicely on his Specialized TT rig.

When Floyd Landis stands atop the Tour de France podium on Sunday with the yellow jersey, he will do so knowing his victory came partly thanks to one of the race's biggest legends. The 30-year-old American heads into Sunday's largely celebratory final stage to Paris with a 59-second lead on former Phonak teammate Oscar Pereiro and a lead of 1:29 on Germany's Andréas Klöden (T-Mobile). At the end of 154km of racing that finishes on the Champs-Elysées, Landis will succeed another former teammate, Lance Armstrong, who won the jersey seven years in a row before retiring last

Merckx was with Landis when the going got tough, and deserves a spot on the podium now.

Pro Disc Wheels

As it really should be, the 2006 Tour de France came down to a battle in the final time trial. American Floyd Landis became the third American to wear the yellow jersey going into Paris, the 11th time a U.S. rider has won the race since Greg LeMond first achieved that feat 20 years ago this week.As he has been throughout this Tour, photographer Casey Gibson was there to capture the moment.

Discovery's Jose Azevedo wore No. 1 throughout this Tour, but Landis will wear it next year.

Mavic track wheel finds uses on the road, too.

When it comes to Tour de France technology, nothing brings out the big-ticket items quite like a time trial. Most of the ProTour bikes on display Saturday at the start in Le Creusot cost more than that first car you bought in college. Heck, the BMC TT machine piloted by new yellow jersey holder Floyd Landis is probably worth more than the car I drive to work right now. With its carbon water bottle cage and crank cover, Landis’s ride is at the leading edge of the technology movement. But Floyd wasn’t the only rider piloting a tricked out machine. Here’s a look at some of the other TT bikes

Dave Zabriskie remains the only American to have won stages in all three grand tours.

Pinarello's TT bike

57k by yourself. That’s a long way (especially if you’ve already put in 3445.6 over the last three weeks) and to drive the point home the organizers were kind enough to put out signs up starting with 50k-to-go reminding you that you will be riding by yourself without any assistance for an absurd amount of time. There were no real surprises today other than Oscar riding the TT of his life for a podium place that he rightfully doesn't really, 100 percent deserve, but even as I say that, I contradict myself. He was a great fighter these last few days and impressed many of us along the way.

Sergei Gontchar won both major time trials in this year's Tour

Davitamon-Lotto’s Ridley TT machine

Robbie Hunter of South Africa will be the one Phonak rider who won’t be entering Paris in Triumph on Sunday. Hunter was eliminated from the race after the penultimate stage for missing the time cut. He crossed the line 18:09 – one minute and 11 seconds outside the permitted time limit. He later explained to a friend in a text message: “I rode the whole time trial standing because of saddle sores .My arse is in pieces. What a way to end the Tour.” It is believed that Hunter last night traveled to Paris from the time trial finish at Montceau-les Mines, but was not permitted to travel with

And gets another moment of glory on the podium.

Floyd Landis's BMC - good enough to win a Tour on.

WeatherSunny to partly sunny, warm, humid, afternoon breezes, highs 30-34C Stage winnerSergei Gontchar (T-Mobile), 1h07:45, 50.480kph – The Ukraine won his second time trial of this year’s Tour, finishing 41 seconds ahead of teammate Andreas Kloden and to Floyd Landis (Phonak) at 1:11. Race leaderFloyd Landis (Phonak), 3,502.6km, 85h42:30, 40.861kph – Landis erased a 30-second deficit to Oscar Peirero (Caisse d’Epargne) to grab the maillot jaune going into Sunday’s finale into Paris. Pereiro slipped to second while Kloden bumped onto the podium with Carlos Sastre (CSC) dropped to fourth.

Andréas Klöden fought his way on to the podium

A long and lonely road...

Stage 19: Le Creusot to Montceau les Mines - 57km (ITT)

Vande Velde has had an impressive Tour.

“Son, when you participate in sporting events, it's not whether you win or lose: It's how drunk you get.”—Homer Simpson None of my colleagues in the cycling press thought to ask Floyd Landis the two questions I wanted answered after Stage 17: What kind of beer were you drinking last night, and where can I get some? This is what happens when a magazine sends amateur tipplers to cover a sporting contest of this magnitude. John Wilcockson may have written up 39 Tours de France, but I’ll bet you a case of Deschutes Brewery’s Twilight Ale that I can drink that skinny Limey under the

Landis remains confident – thirsty, but confident

Matteo Tosatto collected Italy’s first victory of the 2006 Tour de France in a broiling transition stage over the Jura Mountains. There were no major shakeups in the overall as everyone is looking ahead to Saturday’s decisive final time trial. The Quick Step-Innergetic rider out-shot compatriot Cristian Moreni (Cofidis) to win Friday’s 197km 18th stage, which ran from the cool heights of Morzine onto the sticking hot flats along the Saône, out of a 15-man breakaway that included Americans Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) and Dave Zabriskie (CSC). “To be the first Italian to win this year is

Floyd Landis and Phonak chief Andy Rihs

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. 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.Land-IS the man!Editor:That should be the copy for the first issue after the Tour: "Land-IS the Man.” Or better yet, maybe you should have some contest for the title! Thanks for the coverage. Sean ReesPortland, Oregon Any relation to Lazarus Long?Editor:I have a new nickname for Floyd,

Pereiro wants a spot on that podium

1. Matteo Tosatto (I), Quick Step-Innergetic, 197km in 4:16:15 (46.126kph)2. Cristian Moreni (I), Cofidis, 00:003. Ronny Scholz (G), Gerolsteiner, 00:024. Manuel Quinziato (I), Liquigas-Bianchi, 00:475. Sébastien Hinault (F), Credit Agricole, 01:036. Jérôme Pineau (F), Bouygues Telecom, 01:037. Sylvain Calzati (F), Ag2r Prevoyance, 01:038. Vaugrenard Benoít (F), Francaise des Jeux, 01:039. Inaki Isasi (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, 01:0310. Egoi Martinez (Sp), Discovery Channel, 01:03 11. Mario Aerts (B), Davitamon-Lotto, 01:0312. Patrik Sinkewitz (G), T-Mobile, 01:0313. Juan Antonio Flecha (Sp),

The big Italian scores one for the home folk

First SRAM asked consumers to make the leap – now it’s hoping a ProTour team will, too. VeloNews has learned that SRAM and Saunier Duval-Prodir are in the midst of talks that could make the Spanish-based team the first ProTour squad to roll out on the American company’s new Force road group. According to Saunier Duval-Prodir director Joxean Fernández, his team is in “conversation” with SRAM and its current gruppo provider, Campagnolo. “We have tried SRAM and there was no problem,” said Fernández. “What we want to avoid is having problems throughout the season. It’s a new product, so we

Stage Stats: Stage 18 by the numbers

Sebastian Moll caught up with Phonak chief Andy Rihs for a chat about the team’s ups and downs, drugs in cycling and the ProTour. And some of the things Rihs had to say, particularly as regards doping, may surprise you. Here’s a transcript. VeloNews: After six years with many ups and downs Phonak is racing for the Tour victory. Is that a happy ending for you? Andy Rihs: For me a Tour victory would count more than 1000 Olympic gold medals. People remember a Tour winner for 100 years. If I would tell reporters about hearing aids, they wouldn’t be interested. That’s why I need cycling as a

Stage Stats: Stage 18 by the numbers

Caisse d'Epargne’s Oscar Pereiro is already preparing to part with cycling's biggest prize ahead of a 57km time trial on the penultimate stage of the Tour de France on Saturday. However, he's hoping against hope that he can produce the performance of a lifetime to save his yellow jersey. After one of the most dramatic and entertaining races in years, the Spaniard goes into the decisive race against the clock with a 12sec lead on CSC's Carlos Sastre and a 30sec advantage on Phonak's Floyd Landis -and knowing his back is against the wall. The American is the big

Do you need a hand? I've put a few of these on before.

WeatherSunny to partly sunny all day, highs 30-34C Stage winnerMatteo Tosatto (Quick Step), 4h16:15, 46.127kph – The Italian veteran edged compatriot Cristian Moreni (Cofidis) and Ronny Scholz (Gerolsteiner) in a three-up sprint after counter-attacking a 15-man breakaway that pulled away about 50km into the transition stage over the Jura Mountains of eastern France. It was the first stage-win for Italy and Tosatto’s Quick Step team. Race leaderOscar Pereiro (Caisse d’Epargne), 3,445.8km, 84h33:04, 40.748kph – There were no major changes in the top 12. American Levi Leipheimer

No stage win, but Levi gets the prize for being aggressive

A hot day in the sun, as race favorites allow a break to move ahead in a hunt for glory - at least a day's worth. From start to finish, our guy Casey Gibson was there.

Millar and Popovych tried an early escape

Stage 18: Morzine-Avoriaz to Mâcon - 197km

The peloton was more intent on staying cool than catching the break

Stage 18: Morzine-Avoriaz to Mâcon - 197km