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Alpe d’Huez is probably the most famous climb of the Tour de France. Its thirteen kilometers of climbing, 21 switchback turns and steep ramps have showcased the epic battles of the Tour and typically draw the biggest crowds of any stage. This year was exceptional in many respects: we raced up it as a time trial and Lance is on his way to his sixth Tour victory. The crowds were insane from the start of the climb all the way to the top. At times it was scary, as I didn’t really know if I would make it through the crazy screaming fans. By the time we started racing the fans had finished their

One thing about Ullrich ... he never gives up

The Mail Bag is a Monday-Wednesday-Friday feature on VeloNews.com, but will appear daily during the Tour. 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, HOMETOWN and STATE, or NATION if you live outside the United States. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.Meanwhile, regarding the 2005 Tour . . .Editor:So when do we start talking about No. 7? Sig AndersonDes Moines, Iowa After he wins No. 6? – Editor Forget No. 7 – how big will

Somewhere in there is a road

Georges Rajon on the steps of his hotel in L’Alpe d’Huez, alongside Jacques Anquetil.

STAGE 16 July 21 Bourg d'Oisans - L'Alpe d'Huez (TT) (9.321mi/15km)

STAGE 16 July 21 Bourg d'Oisans - L'Alpe d'Huez (TT) (9.321mi/15km)

STAGE 16 July 21 Bourg d'Oisans - L'Alpe d'Huez (TT) (9.321mi/15km)

Friday, July 4, 1952, 10th stage, Lausanne to l’Alpe d’Huez (266 km). The Alpe welcomes its first Tour, and a love affair begins. Fausto Coppi devours the 14km of switchbacks in 45 minutes, 14 seconds.

Armstrong destroyed his rivals on the slopes of L'Alpe d'Huez

STAGE DETAIL: 15.5 km (time trial) KM CLIMBING: 13.8 (average grade: 7.9 %) COURSE: Despite the ballyhoo this stage has created, it’s notthe toughest uphill time trial in Tour history. That honor goes to Mont Ventoux (used in 1958 and 1987), which is 7km longer than the 13.8km of the Alpe d’Huez climb with the same average grade of 7.8 percent. After a flat 1.7km start the Alpe d’Huez climb opens with its steepest pitches. FAVORITES: Armstrong may still be the favorite, but his strongest challenger on the stage may be Iban Mayo, who won the stage to L’Alpe d’Huez last year and

Ullrich took his best shot, but couldn't quite get it done on the Alpe

STAGE 15 July 20 Valréas - Villard-de-Lans (111.231mi/179km)

STAGE 15 July 20 Valréas - Villard-de-Lans (111.231mi/179km)

Armstrong edges Basso for his second stage win and the yellow jersey

The Posties just keep on rollin'

No worries

A day in the spotlight

COURSE: On paper, this doesn’t look like a difficult stage. The highest point is only at 4500 feet elevation, but there are two very serious climbs in the last 60km and a summit finish. The Col de l’Echarasson is 12km at 7.4 percent, the Col de Chalimont 10km at 6 percent, and the final 100km are on narrow, winding roads. FAVORITES: Expect some surprise moves in this rugged terrain that could see the yellow jersey change hands. It’s the sort of stage that Alex Vinokourov or Tyler Hamilton could claim. HISTORY: The most recent of five finishes at Villard-de-Lans, in 1990, saw Erik Breukink

Switchbacks galore!

David Millar has been sacked by his Cofidis team and appears likely to be stripped of his world time-trial title after he confessed to French police Tuesday that he had taken the banned performance enhancer EPO. On a bleak day for Britain's top cyclist, Millar emerged from a courtroom in the Paris suburb of Nanterre after a two-hour grilling to discover that his Cofidis team had decided to wash their hands of him. "The letter sacking David Millar left yesterday," a spokesman for Cofidis confirmed to AFP. In a transcript of an earlier confession to police investigating drug taking by riders

It was an Armstrong kinda day.... It’s 35 years ago to the day that American Neil Armstrong took that small step that became a “giant leap for mankind,” becoming the first person to step on the Moon. And on Tuesday, with his 18th stage win in his Tour de France career, Lance Armstrong also took his own giant leap, moving closer to becoming the first man to win six Tours de France. Victory in the 180.5km stage 15 from Valréas to Villard de Lans, which took the Tour into the Alps, was not really needed for Armstrong to claim the yellow leader's jersey. That’s because the overnight race

Rasmussen and Virenque

STAGE RESULTS1. Lance Armstrong (USA), U.S. Postal Service, 4:40:302. Ivan Basso (I), CSC, 00:003. Jan Ullrich (G), T-Mobile, 00:034. Andréas KlÖden (G), T-Mobile, 00:065. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Rabobank, 00:136. Richard Virenque (F), Quick Step-Davitamon, 00:487. Mickael Rasmussen (Dk), Rabobank, 00:498. Azevedo José (P), U.S. Postal Service, 00:539. Jens Voigt (G), CSC, 01:0410. Carlos Sastre (Sp), CSC, 01:24 11. Laurent Brochard (F), Ag2R Prevoyance, 01:5812. Marius Sabaliauskas (Lit), Saeco, 02:0213. Oscar Pereiro Sio (Sp), Phonak, 02:1014. Christophe Moreau (F), Crédit Agricole,

Ullrich isn't surrendering

Lance Armstrong may have distanced Jan Ullrich in the general classification of the Tour de France, but that will take nothing away from their impending duel on the 16th stage at L’Alpe d'Huez. This year the race organizers have raised the temperatures for race fans who usually line the 21 hairpin bends of the 15km climb by turning the legendary mountain into a time trial. The Alpe has welcomed the Tour 23 times since the race's conception in 1903, and has been won by such cycling luminaries as Fausto Coppi, the Italian who came first in 1952 when it first featured amid a mood of

Landis drives the chase

As Lance Armstrong pulled on his 61st Tour de France yellow jersey in Villard-de-Lans on Tuesday, he was already thinking ahead to Wednesday's time trial up L'Alpe d'Huez. After winning the 15th stage and toppling young Frenchman Thomas Voeckler (Brioches la Boulangere), not many would bet against the five-time Tour champion on one of the Tour's classic climbs. Especially when he’s looking forward to riding it in the maillot jaune. "I’m excited to do it, to be on the Alpe,” said Armstrong, who won in the alpine resort in 2001. “There is something exciting about riding L'Alpe d'Huez in the

It has been a few years since I’ve been racing in the Tour de France and most certainly a few years since I have been in a breakaway at the Tour. Today was a cool experience. The Tour is unlike any other race in that there are spectators all the way along the course and cameramen on motorcycles capturing the expressions of all riders whether in the front or at the back. The helicopters above film every movement of the race as well. In the air at one time there are at least four helicopters buzzing around- a few covering the race with cameras and others ensuring the road is properly closed

Rather than a display of frequent and vicious attacks on the final climbs to the finish of mountain stages, we’re seeing a much more controlled style of racing in the 2004 Tour de France. The leaders set a fast pace on the final climb and then wait until the last 750 meters to really open the throttle and surge for the finish line. Accelerating from an already high climbing pace is very demanding, but something you can prepare for. During Lance Armstrong’s preparations for the Tour de France, we spent time specifically focused on what happens when you approach a mountain summit in a race.

The sad consequence of having too much time on your hands in July

The Mail Bag is a Monday-Wednesday-Friday feature on VeloNews.com, but will appear daily during the Tour. 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, HOMETOWN and STATE, or NATION if you live outside the United States. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.So, these two guys walk into a bar . . .Editor:I just have to share this actual conversation with you. This was overheard by a friend at the bar in a TGI Friday’s where OLN was

Leipheimer was in elite company throughout the day

STAGE 15 July 20 Valréas - Villard-de-Lans (111.231mi/179km)

Voeckler's remarkable Stage 13 fight to save his jersey earned him the respect of many.

Beltran skirts the interview...

... as Johan Bruyneel talks to the press.

Psssssssst.... Geoff Browne changes Osipow's tire.

GIRONA - Well, I certainly didn’t expect to be filing a journal entry from Spain during the Tour de France this year. With eight starts, I have never had to abandon the Tour before. It has been a difficult couple of days for me but everyone around me keeps telling me to stay focused on the future. I think that’s good advice, so, as I always say, upward and onward. I guess my Tour de France really ended in Stage 6 on July 9th when I went down in the massive pile up one kilometer from the finish. I went over the handlebars and landed on my back. We had been going about 65 kilometers per hour

Creed en route to the points-race win

Tour de France great Bernard Hinault, one of the five riders to win the race five times, said he feels that Germany's 1997 winner Jan Ullrich is heading for oblivion on the race he once dominated. Ullrich, who rides for T-Mobile, is heading for another runner-up place to go with the five he has already after two days of painfully trying to keep up with American five-time winner Lance Armstrong. US Postal leader Armstrong turned up the tempo during two tough days in the Pyrenees, a tempo which Ullrich found hard to match and which left him seven minutes adrift of his rival. Hinault, who in

Loster proved fastest in the women's sprint

Tour de France race leader Thomas Voeckler, of the La Boulangere team, has won his place on France's Olympic team for the men's road race in Athens. Voeckler, who has given the hosts plenty to smile about on the race since taking the yellow jersey over a week ago from Lance Armstrong, is expected to hand it over to the American five-time winner in the near future. The 24-year-old Voeckler only has a 22-second lead on US Postal's team leader ahead of Tuesday's tough 180km stage over seven climbs in mountains south of the Alps. However Voeckler's feisty performances on the race, and

Ivan Basso was the star attraction at Monday’s second and final rest day of the Tour de France as dozens of journalists crammed into a small conference room at the team hotel to learn more about the sensation of the 2004 Tour. Basso has been the only rider strong enough to follow Tour dominator Lance Armstrong and sits third overall, just 1 minute, 17 seconds behind the Texan. “I feel good, I feel strong. Normally, Armstrong goes full-gas, but I stayed with him. I didn’t die,” Basso said. “It’s been a little bit of a surprise, but I knew I had the power before the Tour. I knew of my

When Thomas Voeckler rode into the Tour de France yellow jersey 11 days ago, the 25-year-old Frenchman, with his beaming and infectious smile, brought a breath of fresh air into cycling that the sport has long needed. In an era that reeks of cynicism, commercialism and myriad on- and off-saddle scandals, Voeckler brought back to the Tour (and all those who love it) a much-needed and hefty dose of the romanticism that has drawn so many of us to cycling. Voeckler, 25, has been modest yet understandably appreciative of his spell in the yellow jersey. He knows the Tour is like no other race,

Lance Armstrong may not have won his record sixth yellow jersey yet, but a day before the Tour de France restarts with the mountainous 15th stage, his team manager Johan Bruyneel could not feel better. After just two weeks of racing, Armstrong - in second place at 22sec behind race leader Thomas Voeckler of France - has taken massive steps towards a sixth consecutive yellow jersey, and got rid of three of his main rivals in the process. Jan Ullrich, Germany's 1997 winner, is almost seven minutes adrift of Armstrong while last year's fourth place finisher Tyler Hamilton, formerly of US

The Pyrénées did a lot of damage to the Tour de France peloton and to several riders’ chances of challenging for the yellow jersey. Nevertheless, there are still a lot of very strong men left in the race, and the next major challenge before them is stage 16’s individual time trial up L'Alpe d’Huez. The fabled climb, with its 21 numbered switchbacks, is a very difficult and technically demanding time-trial course. However, since it’s only 15.5km long, and it’s not coming at the end of a long road stage, I don’t expect any of the top riders to gain a big chunk of time. Riding by themselves,

Rest day number two. Man do we need this! We are all taking advantage of the down time. The first course of mountain stages has been hard and everyone needs to take a deep breath before going under for the last week in the Alps. Most people who are still in the race are going to finish at this point, but everyone still needs a rest every now-and-then; the riders, the staff, the mechanics, the directors… maybe even Lance. Sometimes I think that I'd rather just get on with it and finish one day earlier. Then I usually think differently. Our team was lucky enough to be at a golf course for

Basso smiles as he carries his daughter Domitilla before taking the start of Stage 14

Voeckler has enjoyed his time in the yellow jersey

Hot Tubes' Osorio-McKenna overpowered Team Rubicon's Hanson and Godfrey in the miss-and-out

Tour de Tech: Four spokes and secret bikes

Team Uruguay proved strongest in the Madison

Dumaresq

Carney takes the miss-and-out

Laurin says international competition has helped hom

Armstrong - seen here with Bobby Julich - was none too concerned by seeing Gonzalez go.

Dumaresq tops the women's podium

The break had the right ingredients for success...

COURSE: This stage is a straight shot along the coastal plain of the Mediterranean. The main difficulties will probably be the heat, the Mistral wind and perhaps the speed, should the sprinters get a scent of victory. The race could split up in the crosswinds. FAVORITES: Look for good results from tough men like Stuart O’Grady,Jakob Piil, Thor Hushovd and Leon Van Bon, all of whom can out-sprint abreakaway group or do well in a field sprint. HISTORY: The last of 14 stages to finish in Nîmes camein 1986, when the stage also started at Carcassonne. But that was on ahilly course 40km

... while earlier attempts did not.

Aitor Gonzalez's win in the 14th stage of the Tour de France may have given him cause to celebrate, but it has to count as one of the most expensive returns on investment for any sponsor in the sport of cycling. For sure, Fassa Bortolo's Gonzalez was smiling after he time-trialed away from a 10-man break to finish 27 seconds ahead of Frenchmen Nicolas Jalabert (Phonak) and Christophe Mengin (Fdjeux.com). But considering the promise that came with his $750,000 salary, one Tour stage win and a time-trial success at the 2003 Giro d'Italia in his two years with Fassa is hardly great value for

Another day in yellow for the man.

STAGE RESULTS1. Aitor Gonzalez (Sp), Fassa Bortolo, 4:18:322. Nicolas Jalabert (F), Phonak, 00:253. Christophe Mengin (F), FDJeux.com, 00:254. Pierrick Fedrigo (F), Crédit Agricole, 00:295. Peter Wrolich (A), Gerolsteiner, 00:316. Marc Lotz (Nl), Rabobank, 00:317. Igor Gonzalez Galdeano (Sp), Liberty-Seguras, 00:318. Santiago Botero (Col), T-Mobile, 00:379. Inigo Landaluze (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, 00:4110. Egoi Martinez (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, 00:43 11. Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus), Lotto-Domo, 14:1212. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Crédit Agricole, 14:1213. Danilo Hondo (G), Gerolsteiner, 14:1214. Stuart

A serious chase might have been tough in the heat and wind.

Ullrich won’t quit, but may work for KlödenFormer Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) has handed rival Lance Armstrong (U.S. Postal Service-Berry Floor) further room to breathe after announcing he may in fact become a support rider for teammate Andreas Klöden. The 1997 winner and five-time runner-up came into the Tour de France as the main threat to Armstrong, but could now finish the race further down than second place for the first time in his career. In the Pyrénées, Armstrong has all but ended the German's yellow-jersey hopes. Ullrich began the 14th stage already seven minutes

Waiting for the day to start.

The Mail Bag is a Monday-Wednesday-Friday feature on VeloNews.com, but will appear daily during the Tour. 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, HOMETOWN and STATE, or NATION if you live outside the United States. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.Less gossip, more racing discussion, pleaseEditor:With cycling enjoying a rare renaissance in America, an American team doing well, exceptional racing and coverage (and VeloNews

Everyone knew what the script was. Everyone knew what they were supposed to do. Lance Armstrong is here going for a record six Tour de France victories. Then there is the small army of riders who are waiting to spoil it for him: Jan Ullrich is supposed to shake that second-place monkey from his back and score his second Tour win. Iban Mayo, the Spanish climbing master had already proven he can out-climb the Texan, so the mountain challenge is there. Of course, Armstrong’s former teammate and fellow American Tyler Hamilton is ready to show the world that the defending champ and his Postal

Passing through Beziers

Although the organizers of the Tour de France stacked all the mountain stages into the end of the race, their decision to put a relatively easy transitional stage right before the race’s second rest day gives the overall contenders a reasonably long time to recover between the Pyrénées and the Alps. Either wind or tactics could have made stage 14 pretty tough, but after two hard days in the mountains, the majority of the peloton wasn’t eager to ride hard on Sunday. Still, the first two hours of the race were fast and difficult, while riders repeatedly attacked off the front to establish the

The peloton actually had time to take in the scenery today

STAGE 14 July 18 Carcassonne - Nîmes (124.280mi/200km)