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1. Oscar Freire (Sp), Rabobank2. Tom Boonen (B), Quick Step-Innergetic, 00:003. Inaki Isasi (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, 00:004. David Kopp (G), Gerolsteiner, 00:005. Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto, 00:006. Alessandro Ballan (I), Lampre, 00:007. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Credit Agricole, 00:008. Francisco Ventoso (Sp), Saunier Duval, 00:009. Erik Zabel (G), Milram, 00:0010. Bernhard Eisel (A), Francaise des Jeux, 00:00 11. Luca Paolini (I), Liquigas-Bianchi, 00:0012. Laurent Brochard (F), Bouygues Telecom, 00:0013. Cristian Moreni (I), Cofidis, 00:0014. Jimmy Casper (F), Cofidis, 00:0015. Eddy

Stage 5, Beauvais to Caen, 225km

Weathercooler, highs in low-80s, partly cloudy in afternoon, brisk headwinds in final sprint Stage winnerOscar Freire (Rabobank), 5h18:50, 42.342kph – The three-time world champion won his first stage of this year’s Tour, relegating reigning world champ Tom Boonen to second place. The Spanish rider started an early sprint against a brisk headwind to pull the surprise win for just his first Tour win since 2002 while in the rainbow jersey. Race leaderTom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic), 25h10:51, 42.423kph – The world champion fell short of victory, but was pleased to keep the yellow jersey

Stage 5: by the numbers

A lot of people are talking about why this Tour de France appears to be slower than last year’s, which reached the finish in Paris at a record average of 41.605kmh. Most people ask if it is due to the absence of those riders who would otherwise be overall favorites. What I do know is that, yes, the Tour is a hell of a lot different than last year. And the one major influence, with Lance Armstrong and a few of the main favorites not being here, is that every team now thinks they are in with a chance to win the overall. Those teams – including ours - are racing tactically quite differently

Pineau preserves his polka-dot jersey

While you relaxed in the cube farm, occasionally sneaking a glance at our Live Update, Casey Gibson was galloping through France alongside Le Tour, chronicling the day's action. Here's what he sent back across the pond.

Tour-winner Riis at the start

Floyd Landis has been a media nowhere man so far this Tour de France, staying bunkered down inside the Phonak bus before and after stages and otherwise keeping a very low profile. Obviously, the Phonak rider wants to let his legs to do the talking. Saturday’s 52km time trial will be the first chance to see who’s going to have the legs to challenge for overall victory. “Floyd is good. He is ready to make a good time trial. It’s the first important day,” Phonak sport director Juan Fernandez told VeloNews. “Everyone talks about the nerves the first week, but Floyd has been very calm.” Ninth

Dumoulin leads the break over the Seine bridge

On every road stage of this 2006 Tour de France, it has been relatively easy for the sprinters’ teams to control the race. One reason is because there was no team trial this year and so no major time gaps have developed in the general classification, which means that in every early break there is generally someone, time-wise, who is not far from the yellow jersey. For example, on Thursday, several riders near the top of the GC rankings went with the early eight-man break. Despite several kilometers of flat-out effort (almost 46km were raced in the opening hour on far-from-flat terrain), the

Quick Step leads the chase

Stage 5: Beauvais to Caen 225km

Even the yellow jersey lends a hand

Stage 5: Beauvais to Caen 225km

New crops frame the peloton

Julich on the bridge

Freire catches the favorites napping

The final sprint

The yellow jersey is not a bad consolation prize

Freire celebrates

Schröder and Dumoulin spent a long day off the front...

Landis is biding his time

... and Boonen's Quick Step team spent a long day chasing

Course: The fourth long stage in a row, this one (225km) starts on the open, windswept roads of Picardy, tackles a series of short climbs across the Seine Valley, and concludes with more undulations across Normandy. It’s likely that only seconds will separate the race leaders on GC going into this stage, and the yellow jersey could change hands with time bonuses at the intermediate sprints, the last of which is at Pont l’Evêque with 50km to go. A fast, tricky run-in to sprawling Caen, population 113,000, will make it hard for a sprinter’s lead-out train to succeed, and perhaps favor a late,

Hincapie had an easy day

After racing through heat-wave temperatures on the Tour de France’s opening five days, the peloton will be grateful for more temperate conditions in the upcoming week — starting with Thursday’s 225km stage 5 that starts north of Paris and heads southwest into Normandy. Local forecasts call for temperatures in the low 70s, moderate west winds in the riders’ faces and a 40-percent chance of rain. Head winds don’t favor small breakaways, so expect to see another bunch finish at Caen on Thursday. The course has plenty of ups and downs in its middle section through the Seine Valley, but the

Pineau stays in the climber's jersey another day

After knocking on the door for several days, Spaniard Oscar Freire finally kicked it right in on Thursday, outsprinting yellow-jersey wearer Tom Boonen to win his first Tour de France stage since 2002. The three-time world champion from Rabobank won a chaotic drag race against Boonen on the stage 5 finishing stretch down Guillou Boulevard in Caen, near France’s northwestern coast and the beaches of Normandy. After being shut out by his green-jersey rivals in previous sprints this week, the 30-year-old Freire came into Thursday’s stage with a different plan of attack. Instead of reacting to

Zabriskie is thinking about Saturday's time trial

From the morning sign-in at the start to the podium at the finish, Casey Gibson covers it all. Here's what he saw between the lines today.

Fans are still enthusiastic, and today's crowds were very large. Big day for hay bales too.

Weather sunny, very warm again, brisk crosswinds Stage winner Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto), 4:59:50, 41.423kph – McEwen earned his second win in three days to make it an even Tour 10 on his career. Second-place Isaac Galvez (Caisse d’Epargne) shook up a late crash to finish second, but was no match for McEwen’s top-end speed. Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) was relegated for dangerous sprinting. Race leader Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic), 19:52:13, 42.445kph – The world champion could only muster a disappointing fifth in the sprint, but he retained his one-second lead to Michael

Landis and crew stayed near the front.

Five-time Tour de France winner Eddy Merckx likes American Floyd Landis' chances to win this year's race. Merckx says Landis seems to be in top form after wins this year so far at the Tour of California, the Tour de Georgia and Paris-Nice. "He's in very good shape, he has a very good team," said Eddy Merckx, stepping out of the team bus before Wednesday's fourth stage. "I think he could win the Tour." Merckx may not be totally impartial, though, since his son Axel, is a Phonak teammate of Landis. Besides Landis, Merckx said he also likes American Levi Leipheimer,

Boonen wants a stage win...

Stage 4: Huy to Saint Quentin - 207km

... but McEwen wins another

Stage 4: Huy to Saint Quentin - 207km

... and the world champion has to settle for another yellow jersey.

McEwen claims his 10th career Tour stage win

The fans are happy to get a look at whomever makes the podium

Boonen had hoped for a stage win, but keeps the jersey

VeloNews ventures into video...

Martinez is just one of Bruyneel's many options at this Tour

... but these guys don't seem too concerned.

Quick Step had a lot of responsibilities on Wednesday

CSC doctor Joost De Maeseneer

Robbie the Rocket does it again

Stage 4 by the numbers

Boonen stays in yellow

Stage 4 by the numbers

Course: This stage, which starts in the Belgian city of Huy on the right bank of the Meuse River at the foot of the infamous Mur de Huy, brings the Tour back to France. It traces some of the roads of the Mur’s classic, the Flèche Wallonne, climbing a couple of Ardennes hills in the opening 60km; but then it heads southeast on a flat-to-rolling route, mainly on wide, straight roads till it reaches the French border. The final two hours will be hectic, first on 80km of twisting, undulating back road through the countryside of Picardy, until the race reaches a straight, hilly highway inside 15km

Crédit Agricole on the front

Tour doctor Gerard Porte assists Dean after he hit the deck in the finale

It was a double-digit day for Robbie McEwen on stage 4 of the Tour de France. He uncorked a perfectly timed sprint with 200 meters to go in St. Quentin, France, to score his 10th career Tour de France stage victory in dominating fashion. The 34-year-old Australian they call "the pocket rocket" shot away in a tough, uphill sprint through a sweeping left turn to beat Spanish sprinter Isaac Galvez (Caisse d’Épargne-Illes Balears) by two bike lengths, while an exasperated Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic) came through in fifth shaking his head in frustration but retaining the maillot jaune. "I

McEwen gets ready for a day in the saddle

Belgium

1. Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto2. Isaac Galvez (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne-I.B., 00:003. Oscar Freire (Sp), Rabobank, 00:004. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Credit Agricole relegated4. Tom Boonen (B), Quick Step-Innergetic, 00:005. David Kopp (G), Gerolsteiner, 00:006. Daniele Bennati (I), Lampre, 00:007. Francisco Ventoso (Sp), Saunier Duval, 00:008. Michael Albasini (Swi), Liquigas-Bianchi, 00:009. Bernhard Eisel (A), Francaise des Jeux, 00:0010. Jimmy Casper (F), Cofidis, 00:00 11. Michael Rogers (Aus), T-Mobile, 00:0012. Anthony Geslin (F), Bouygues Telecom, 00:0013. George Hincapie (USA),

The Disco's head to the start

Defending Tour de France points champion Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole)was relegated from his fourth-place finish in Stage 4 of the Tour de France Wednesday after officials ruled him guilty of irregular sprinting.Hushovd, who wore the yellow jersey after winning the race prologue and again two days later, was ruled to have blocked Austrian sprinter Bernhard Eisel as both riders raced to the finish line in a bunch sprint.Robbie McEwen, of Davitamon, won the sprint well ahead of his rivals to claim his second stage of the race and tenth of his career, allowing him to reclaim the race's

Hincapie ready for a day at the office, too.

Following the latest round of reports intimating possible links between CSC’s Ivan Basso and the Spanish doping ring called Operación Puerto, team doctor Joost De Maeseneer addressed the press at the Tour de France stage 4 start in Huy. While Maeseneer maintained he never saw anything that indicated Basso may have been involved in illicit activities, he conceded that there’s no way he and the team’s other two doctors can keep an eye on all the riders all the time. Maeseneer also said there is no reason for Basso or anyone else to seek services outside the confines of the team. "If Stuart

The day's break

Stage 3: Esch-sur-Alzette to Valkenburg - 216.5km

and has reason to celebrate after Monday's heartbreaker

A tough route that covered some Classic terrain

and his T-Mobile teammate, Rogers, leads the field in.

If at first you don't succeed: Kessler wins by 50 meters after missing a win by that same margin on Monday

Fourth-placed Boonen gets the jersey

Arrieta: The most aggressive

Valverde knew the truth the moment he stood up

Stage Stats: Stage 3

Rodriguez and Dekker

Stage Stats: Stage 3

Arrieta tried to hold off the field but fell victim to the Cauberg

World Champion gets a new jersey for Wednesday's stage

Kessler's win was that much sweeter after Monday

Course: This is another long stage (216.5km), which starts in Luxembourg,passes through Belgium and finishes in the Netherlands. The first halfof the course is mainly on straight, wide highways, while the second half,from where it joins the Liège-Bastogne-Liège classic routeat Vielsalm (107km), is mostly on winding, often narrow, back roads. Withsix climbs in the last 90km — starting with L-B-L’s Haute-Levéeand ending with the Amstel Gold Race’s Cauberg 2km from the finish — thepeloton is almost certain to be split by attacks. History: An almost identical finish to a stage came in 1992,the