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Sport directors from the top Spanish teams are convinced Lance Armstrong will win a record-tying fifth Tour de France. A quick survey by the Spanish sports daily AS checked the barometer of Spain’s top teams. “He will win two more because he’s ambitious and he wants to break the record,” said Vicente Belda of Kelme. “I also don’t see anyone behind him who can beat him.” Manolo Saiz, the ONCE director who’s team has come closest to Armstrong in the podium, said Armstrong is without a doubt cycling’s top dog. “You can’t say he can win as many as he wants, but it’s practically true,” Saiz

Decanio wearing the leader's jersey

Raimondas Rumsas, whose wife has been charged with doping offenses after being caught with performance-enhancing drugs, showed absolutely no traces of doping in tests taken during the Tour de France, sources told AFP Wednesday. Rumsas, who finished third in his Tour debut, was due to face a round of police questioning but his lawyer said he would not arrive until the afternoon after missing his flight. Rumsas's wife Edita was arrested on Sunday after French customs officials found a number of doping products including corticoids, testosterone and EPO in her car. She is now being held

Miguel Indurain is the only man to win five consecutive Tours. "Big Mig,"as he was called in his hey-day, was far away from the Tour de France,in Norway, when Lance Armstrong barnstormed his way to a fourth win, oneshy of Indurain's record. Here are some excerpts with an interview publishedin the Spanish sports daily MARCA:Question: Who would win if you could race against Armstrong?Answer: "It's hard to say, because you cannot take things fromera to another. It's difficult to say who would have won, because we arequite similar, both are strong in the mountains and the time

The wife of Lithuanian cyclist Raimondas Rumsas, who was third in this year's Tour de France, has been charged with doping offences after she was caught in possession of performance-enhancing drugs, prosecutors said Tuesday. Edita Rumsas was arrested on Sunday after French customs officials found a number of doping products including corticoids, testosterone and EPO in her car. She is now being held at the women's prison at Bonneville in the French Alps. "We discovered a large amount of medical products of which some could be classed as doping - corticoids, testosterone, EPO,

The doctor who developed the means to detect the performance-enhancer EPO conceded Tuesday that the test is largely ineffective as it is currently being used and can't detect newer versions of the drug that may already be in use in the peloton. Following the arrest of the wife of Lithuanian cyclist Raimondas Rumsas, third in this year's Tour de France, for possession of doping products including corticoids, testosterone and EPO, two questions have been asked - whether the cyclist was doped and if so how four doping controls all produced negative results. Dr. Francoise Lasne, who

Close!

Bleed's lead singer scaring off the bike racers.

Viktor celebrates his victory with Grandpa over a cold PBR.

Like the man said, potato guns are fun.

Lithuanian cyclist Raimondas Rumsas, third in this year's Tour de France, has been suspended after his wife was found in possession of doping products, the rider's team Lampre announced Monday. "If we discover that the rider is at all responsible he will be fired straightaway," Lampre said in a statement announcing Rumsas' suspension pending an internal investigation. "The team is confused by what has happened and we state we have no involvement in this whatsoever," he added. Rumsas' wife was arrested on Sunday at Chamonix after customs officials found her in possession of

Lithuanian cyclist Raimondas Rumsas, third in this year's Tour de France, has been suspended after his wife was found in possession of doping products, the rider's team Lampre announced Monday. "If we discover that the rider is at all responsible he will be fired straightaway," Lampre said in a statement announcing Rumsas' suspension pending an internal investigation. "The team is confused by what has happened and we state we have no involvement in this whatsoever," he added. Rumsas' wife was arrested on Sunday at Chamonix after customs officials found her in possession of a number of

Well, I can finally check off Tour number six. I'm happy to have arrived here in Paris. This was a tough battle for me personally. I think I'm more tired today than I was after the final stage of the Giro. It's safe to say this year's Tour took its toll on me. I'm a bit haggard. The final time trial on Saturday was a full suffer fest. I felt completely awful that morning during the training ride before the stage. My lungs were quite restricted due to the congestion from my cold. If I had been at any other race besides a Grand Tour, I probably wouldn't have started. And that's saying a lot,

Rumsas on the Tour podium in Paris on Sunday.

Rumsas on the Tour podium in Paris on Sunday.

An alleged nationwide insurance scam may have left hundreds of bike races, sanctioning organizations and clubs without coverage for much of the 2002 season, and could make it difficult for mountain-bike clubs and promoters to insure events independent of USA Cycling or other large groups. On July 17, Iowa-based McKay Insurance Agency Inc. began informing its clients - among them USA Cycling Inc. and the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) - that policies McKay issued through insurance companies Harbour Entertainment and Sports and American International Group, Inc. (AIG) may

Happy camper!

Miss Ed

I have the prescription right here.

The VeloNews awards for Tour 2002

As expected, Lance Armstrong arrived in Paris as the winner of the 2002 Tour de France. Take time to review those parts of our extensive stage-by-stage coverage you might have missed. It's all there in our specialTour de France Section. Throughout the Tour, VeloNews's John Wilcockson and Andrew Hood produced daily reports and Rupert Guinness gave a slightly off-beat perspective on events leading to Paris. Riders Tyler Hamilton and Jonathan Vaughters offered their insights of what it was like to be in the Tour this year and Graham Watson and Casey Gibson supplied readers with a

Moreau - Our biggest winner.

5:15 p.m. Robbie McEwen takes his second stage win on the Champs-Elysées and his second stage win of this Tour, but more importantly, he has broken Erik Zabel's six-year hold on the points jersey. 5:13 p.m. Zabel and McEwen ...McEwen wins the stage and wins the jersey! Lance Armstrong wins the Tour de France. It's done. 5:12 p.m. We are one kilometer from the line. Armstrong can now not lose the Tour with less than 1km to go. The field is together and Telekom is leading. 5:11 p.m. Rumsas is now off on his own. He will be caught. 5:10 p.m. We have 3.5 km to go, Rumsas and Ivanov are

Huge Image (It will make a nice Windows wallpaper)

Riders who have won four or more Tours de France: Jacques Anquetil (Fra): 1957, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964Eddy Merckx (Bel): 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974Bernard Hinault (Fra): 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1985Miguel Indurain (Spa): 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995Lance Armstrong (USA): 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 List of 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)

Americans in Paris 1

Sure, you've seen the finish, watched the awards and read all aboutthe official Tour de France podium. Well, with the Eiffel Tower in our sights and the rumble of cobblestones on the Champs-Elysées under our wheels, we thought it opportune to announce our own awards for Tour de France 2002. The Happy Camper award for stage winningMichael Boogerd (Rabobank) on stage 16 to La Plagne. Grinninglike a Cheshire cat with 500 meters still  to go was Boogie. No matterthat Lance Armstrong was only 1 min 25 secs behind. With big white horsechoppers like his, Boogerd could do Colgate commercials. The

Americans in Paris 2

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.

Texans, Texans everywhere...

The 2002 Tour de France drew to a close with a great sprint on the most famous boulevard in cycling. Robbie McEwen’s win on the Champs Elysees signaled a changing of the guard in the peloton; but regardless of those changes, Lance Armstrong plans on continuing to lead the Tour de France. McEwen is the first Australian to win the green jersey in the Tour de France, and the first man other than Erik Zabel to win it in the past seven Tours de France. That battle went right down to the wire, and McEwen left no doubt as to who the faster man was by showing the entire field his back wheel and

Orca comes to Paris, too.

In Paris again. Armstrong makes it four-in-a-row

The Rabobank boys remind Levi of his past duties.

McEwen broke the Zabel streak.

Levi fans in Paris.

Having a good team helps.

Lance's final podium

These two jerseys were pretty much settled by the time the peloton arrived in Paris. The green jersey contest came down to the wire again.

Andrew Miller (Trek-VW-Landis) leads Jonathan Vaughters (Crédit Agricole), Chris Baldwin (Navigators), Scott Moninger (Mercury) and Mike Creed (Prime Alliance) up the road to Mount Evans.

Telekom was overwhelmed at the finish.

5:24 p.m. Armstrong finishes with a time of 1:03:50.... more than two minutes better than Beloki, averaging 47kph. Whoa... 5:23 p.m. Beloki finishes with a time of 1:06:01 Beloki hangs on to second overall by a full minute. Armstrong is up next. 5:20 p.m. Rumsas is the new best finishing time of the day, with 1:04:43. Beloki looks like he may barely hang on to second overall. 5:18 p.m. Armstrong crosses the 44km time check with a time 34 seconds better than Rumsas. 5:17 p.m. Beloki has hit the 3rd time check, 1:22 off of Rumsas's time. Meanwhile, Botero is done and has the sixth

Bravo Jaja

Deutsche Telekom’s 1997 Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich, recently suspended for six months after testing positive for amphetamines, has been told by his team he will go without pay until further notice. Olaf Ludwig, the team spokesman, said: "For the moment we're not paying Ullrich. The last time he was paid was in June. The Telekom company decided after speaking to (team manager) Walter Godefroot. "There will be further discussions when Jan returns from his ban," added Ludwig following the race's 18th stage. The 28-year-old Ullrich has a contract with the German team through

... and Vive le Tour

Italian cyclist Gilberto Simoni has been given the green light to start competing again after being cleared of doping offences, cycling officials in Rome said Saturday. Simoni twice tested positive for cocaine earlier this year and was hit with a suspension while an Italian Cycling Federation disciplinary commission investigated the case. The Saeco rider and 2001 Tour of Italy winner claimed that the first positive test on April 24 was the result of an injection given by his dentist. The second test on May 21 apparently arose after Simoni consumed cough sweets for a sore throat. The

You can never be too aero' for an afternoon walk.

One prize. Two men. Three sprints. That should be the story of the finalstage of the 2002 Tour de France.The prize is the green jersey for winning the prestigious points competition.The men are six-time defending sprint champion Erik Zabel and his Australianchallenger Robbie McEwen. And the sprints that will settle things are twointermediate ones and the final showdown on the Champs-Elysées.In recent years, the last stage has had a familiar pattern: an openinghour when the riders let their hair down, and the winners of the yellow,green and polka-dot jerseys ride alongside each other for photo

Waiting to present the best young rider award.

Paris in July is a hot and wondrous city. After weeks of traveling with the three-ring circus that is the Tour de France, through little towns and villages all over France, arriving in Paris is a definite culture shock. When you’re this close to the Tour, you sometimes forget that other people are simply not interested. The Tour is a major event in Paris, but the city doesn’t shut down completely for it. There are even people here who don’t know the Tour is coming tomorrow. That’s fine, and at this point it is even a bit refreshing. I have had little chance to think or talk about anything

Waiting to present the points jersey.

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.

SAECO-TEAM PRESS RELEASE - Rome - July 27, 2002After being absolved today, Gilberto Simoniwill start racing again on Sunday in HamburgThe favourable ending to the case involving Gilberto Simoni, with theannouncement today by the Italian Disciplinary Commission of the ItalianCycling Federation of his complete absolution, has finally ended an extremelydifficult and delicate moment for the whole Saeco-Longoni Sport team eventhough they always tried to face things in a rational and balanced manner.It’s pleasing to see how the decision of the disciplinary organ of theItalian Cycling Federation ,

Armstrong hopes to avoid another second-place time trial finish

Clearly in Charge: Armstrong dominated the closing kilometers.

Rumsas may have missed second overall because of a loose screw.

Armstrong's taste in summer clothing usually includes yellow.

'Hard, damn hard.' Millar is now aiming for the Vuelta.

Leipheimer had a great first Tour.

Hamilton's Tour performance comes on the heels of a podium spot in the Giro.

Bougelais Grapes - what folks in this part of France are usually concerned about..

When Lance Armstrong was asked about his defeat in the stage 9 timetrial at this year’s Tour, he said Thursday night, “The time trial wasnot a good day … I don’t know why. I didn’t feel great.” Armstrong was beaten in that 52km time trial at Lorient on July 15 by11 seconds by Colombia’s Santiago Botero of Kelme-Costa Blanca —who has since proved one of the men of the race and is now holding fourthplace overall. As for the American, he emerged from the funk he experiencedat Lorient to displace Igor Gonzales de Galdeano from the yellow jerseyby winning two stages in the Pyrenees, and he is now

...but today, it's TT bikes.

What happens to photographers who try to cut the course.

Telekom fans keep track of the race before the peloton arrives.

Preliminary Stage Results1. Thor Hushovd (Nor), C.A, at , 176.5 km in 4:28:28 (39.446kph) 2. Christophe Mengin (Fra), FDJ, at ˆ 00:00. 3. Jakob Piil (Dk), CST, at 00:05. 4. Leon Van Bon (Nl), DFF, at 00:33. 5. Jorg Jaksche (G), ONE, at 00:33. 6. Nicki Sorensen (Dk), CST, at 00:33. 7. Gian Matteo Fagnini (Ita), TEL, at 00:40. 8. Erik Dekker (Nl), RAB, at 00:40. 9. Thierry Loder (Fra), A2R, at 00:40. 10. Nicola Loda (Ita), FAS, at 06:59. 11. Robbie McEwen (Aus), LOT, at 11:42. 12. Erik Zabel (G), TEL, at 11:42. 13. Stuart O'Grady (Aus), C.A, at 11:42. 14. Jan Svorada (Cz), LAM, at 11:42. 15.

Apparently not Lance fans.

Frank Connell, who competed in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics road race, died July 25 in Columbia, SC at age 92, according to his nephew, Harold Bayerl. Connell, a bachelor, had been in declining health. Connell was born in Hoboken, NJ, and grew up in northern New Jersey when outdoor board vélodromes in Newark and other Eastern Seaboard cities drew international competitors. As a member of the Century Road Club of America, he won the New Jersey state Amateur Bicycle League of America (predecessor to the US Cycling Federation) championship at age 15 in 1925 and scored a bronze medal at the

A humble little home on today's route.

Journalism is not a profession or a trade. It is a cheap catch-allfor f---offs and misfits — a false doorway to the backside of life, a filthy,piss-ridden little hole nailed off by the building inspector, but justdeep enough for a wino to curl up from the sidewalk and masturbate likea chimp in a zoo-cage.— Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas It must be a dull Tour. Otherwise I wouldn’t be getting a dozen e-mailsa day about the latest outrage perpetrated upon the cycling public by themainstream media, which as usual are either completely indifferent or activelyhostile to

America has cowboys and when you get near Switzerland, you find cowgirls

With less than a week before racing is set to commence, organizers of the Durango NORBA say that all is set to go for the event despite this summer's scary fire season. "There was a point where things were a little touch and go," said Patti Zink, who along with husband Ed runs the Durango race. "If it came to the point where if we weren't going to have our best face and not be able to do all the events, then we wouldn't want to put our reputation on the line and not come out with flying colors." Most of the uncertainty was caused by the Missionary Ridge fire, which started

Sometimes these early breaks do work.

The Tour de France is a sporting phenomenon when it comes to logistics.It still impresses the veteran followers how its 5000-strong entouragecan complete a three-week journey over cobblestones, down narrow lanes,up and over mountains and on bikes, cars, motorcycles, buses and truckswithout too many mishaps. The Société du Tour de France receives annual praise forits organizational skills. But it is also open to criticism for fallingshort. And fall short is what it has done this year from the start in Luxembourgon July 6 to what I assume will be to the finish in Paris on

Jaksche broke things apart, but didn't make the final split.

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.

Life in the peloton stayed quiet until the finishline approached.

Bike maker Cannondale is offering mountain bike racers the chance to partner with the ultimate ringer — five-time NORBA national champion and two-time Olympian Tinker Juarez — at this fall’s 24 Hours Of Adrenalin in Idyllwild, California. Besides teaming with the Mountain Bike Hall Of Fame member in the race’s two-person class, the winner gets free air fare to California from anywhere in the U.S. or Canada, an overnight stay at Tinker’s house (with an authentic Mexican dinner cooked by his mom), mechanical support, swag, and the use of a full-suspension Cannondale Scalpel for the race. Those

'Go Lance! Go Lance!!!'