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Planning courses in urban areas in Europe requires imagination to balance the needs of the public with those of the riders and the race entourage. Courses like we had the first two days in Luxembourg are great examples. The courses were interesting, they went right through the middle of the city center, and they caused very little disruption. The prologue course was downright scary in places, being very narrow and curvy and rough in spots. It had one particularly hair-raising downhill left turn on a narrow, fast descent in a cobblestone alley. Only the very gutsiest riders stayed on their

Translation: Give us gum!

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.

Waiting for the sprint.

We had a long day in the saddle yesterday. Stage 1 of this year's Tourde France was no promenade. It was up and down all day and the speedskept everyone on their toes. It felt like we were riding a one-day Classic,not starting a three-week stage race.The early Tour crash index was at an all time high as well. You couldsee by some of the finish times that those mishaps took their toll. Somebig guns lost precious time. It was a crazy first day to say the least-- especially when the roads narrowed and some pace cars got stuck forcingthe riders to unclip from their pedals and slow to a near stop

At the finish line.

How many decisions can you make in one second? Should you go to the left or right? Should you shift? Brake? Where’s the guy in front of going to go? Is it too early to launch for the line? I don’t care how much power you have. To win a sprint stage of the Tour de France, you have to be able to make critical decisions in the blink of an eye. A great field sprinter has as much knowledge as he does power. Riders at this level have trouble explaining exactly how and why a finishing sprint developed the way it did. Thousands of sprint finishes, going all the way back to Junior races, have made

Repinski

Every day at the Tour there is a stage prognostics competition for journalistsand other official race followers sponsored by Sodexho, a hotel and cateringconglomerate. For the past two days, nearly every entry has had one nameat the top of the “betting” slip: Erik Zabel. Each day, the German sprinterhas failed his supporters.After the last-kilometer upset by Rubens Bertogliati on Sunday, it wasworld champion Oscar Freire who won against the odds on Monday. This time,it appeared that Zabel’s Telekom squad had done everything right.The whole team led the chase that brought back the remnants of

The letters page: This morning's mail and a flood of responses

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.So you reckon cycling's recent doping problems have soured public interest in the sport? Think again. Judging by the crowds for today's second stage from Luxembourg to Saarbrücken in Germany, the sport's popularity is as high as ever. Especially in Germany despite former Tour champion Jan Ullrich's own doping muddle

Results - Stage 2 1. Oscar Freire (Spa/MAP), 181km in 4hr 19 min 51sec (average: 41.793kph), 2. Robbie McEwen (Aus/LOT), at 00:00 3. Erik Zabel (Ger/TEL), 00:00 4. Baden Cooke (Aus/FDJ), 00:00 5. Jaan Kirsipuu (Est/A2R), 00:00 6. Andrej Hauptman (Slo/TAC), 00:00 7. Pedro Horillo (Spa/MAP), 00:00 8. Fred Rodriguez (USA/DFF), 00:00 9. Gian Matteo Fagnini (Ita/TEL), 00:00 10. Stuart O'Grady (Aus/C.A), 00:00 11. Danilo Hondo (Ger/TEL), 00:00 12. Jan Svorada (Cze/LAM), 00:00 13. Francois Simon (Fra/BJR), 00:00 14. Paolo Bossoni (Ita/TAC), 00:00 15. Nico Mattan (Bel/COF), 00:00 16. Serguei Ivanov

This is why he has those stripes on his jersey. Freire takes Stage 2

The man they were all hoping to see.

After shedding Hushovd, the two Frenchmen tried their luck for a wheile before being caught and passed by Voigt.

5:10 p.m. A quick calculation shows that Lampre's Reubens Bertogliati retains his hold on the yellow jersey, two seconds ahead of Erik Zabel. Zabel, who could have earned the jersey had he finished in second, keeps the green points jersey. Meanwhile, Hushovd is still on the road, within 5km of the finish. We hope he makes the time cut. 5:01 p.m. The Telekoms are leading out Zabel perfectly. Zabel is getting a nice lead-out from Fagnini and Lotto's McEwen is coming on strong... Riders are all across the road and... It's Oscar Freire, the reigning world champion who takes it! McEwen is

Landis and Ekimov

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

5:38 p.m. Credit Agricole's Christophe Moreau has finished some 3:40 behind the main field. Bertogliati finished 19th yesterday, so with his 20-second bonus today, he has earned him the yellow jersey. Quite a win. 5:34 p.m. Talk about your good timing. Bertogliati pulled off the win. Zabel is second, McEwen is third. 5:33 p.m. Lampre's Rubens Bertogliati has attacked. 5:33 With 1km to go Telekom is at the front. 5:31 So, with 2.5km left, it's all together. The big names are up front, including O'Grady; Zabel; Jalabert and Armstrong are up front. Telekom is trying to set up their

The first entry in our daily podium girl series.

Just a reminder for our readers to click on the blue "Live Coverage" button on the top of the navigation bar to the left for today's live updates. Things are off to a little slower start today. The ceremonial start at the Place du Glacis in Luxembourg is taking a little longer than planned. The peloton should be heading out and on the way toward the rolling start on the N. 12 very soon. VeloNews's John Wilcockson reports that the weather is quite nice for a bike race today. Temperatures are in the sixties and there is a slight wind (10mph) from the southwest. The wind, however, should not

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

I know, I know…. Saying the Tour de France sucks to a crowd of cycling fans is akin to standing in the middle of downtown Denver and saying that John Elway sucks. But, I'm sorry, it does. Of course, if all goes well, and you win something, then the Tour de France is the greatest event in the world, a whole lot of fun and the race you will specifically target next year. It is like all things at the absolute pinnacle, elation or heartbreak and all of it in the deepest sense. The Tour de France is so hard and such a high level of competition that if one little thing goes awry, then it all

Armstrong and Landis

When Lance was questioned before the prologue about whether he would try to wear the yellow jersey for the first road stage of the Tour, he replied that when there is a chance to wear the jersey, you simply have to go for it. There is no other choice. Sixty men started the first stage within 30 seconds of the yellow jersey, and judging by the intensity of the racing, every one of them shared the race leader’s philosophy regarding the yellow jersey. Have you ever heard of Rubens Bertogliati before today? Few people have; he’s young and obviously talented, but he’s not on the top of anyone’s

ARMSTRONG & MILLAR - Bertogliati got both of their jerseys

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

Meirhaeghe won his second straight World Cup race.

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

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

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.

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

Bertogliati catches them all by surprise.

Dupouey looks for his line.

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

Green struggled to stay near the front.

More like a spring classic than the Tour opener.

The pace was quick right from the beginning.

Tour Tech - Soft bike, tough guy

Many rider's day ended like this.

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

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.

Rubiera

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

Spitz celebrates her win.

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

Blatter's day ended early.

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

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

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 --

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 guy who won.

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

Do not try this at home.

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.

NUMBER ONE FAN - Luke wishes his dad good luck

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.

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

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.

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

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.