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Lance Armstrong had a smile on his face Tuesday evening after becoming the second American, nine years after Andy Hampsten, to win a stage of the Tour de France at L'Alpe d'Huez. In doing so he came within 26 seconds of equaling the record time of 37 minutes 35 seconds for the 14km-long climb set in 1997 by Italian super-climber Marco Pantani. Making such an effort after racing for six hours on a 209km course with more than 17,000 feet of climbing is a phenomenal athletic feat. And if Armstrong is to continue making up time he conceded in the Tour's first nine stages he will have to make a

Kelme's best young rider Oscar Sevilla rides an sloping-top-tube aluminum Look.

More rain. More mountains. More time taken back by Armstrong.

Kelme's Santiago Botero placed seventh up to Chamrousse on this carbon Look equipped with carbon Shimano wheels and an ITM clip-on aero' bar.

Today's uphill time trial was just a day for me to get to the finish fast enough to secure a spot in the remaining stages of the Tour. You never know when you're going to have tired legs, and after yesterday's stage up L'Alpe d'Huez, I wasn't too excited about the time trial...but you don't want to miss the time cut. The stage was somewhat rolling, leading up to an Above Category climb. My plan was to arrive at the climb fresh and ride steady -- but quickly -- to the top of the mountain. Waking up to see rain -- again -- this morning was a bit tiring. The weather is amazing. Not just the

Second-placed Andrei Kivilev of Cofidis could only close 53 seconds on the yellow jersey with this MBK equipped with Campagnolo Bora rear wheel and Nucleon front, while Armstrong got six minutes closer to him.

Here's a look at the bikes prepped in Grenoble for Stage 11. Lance Armstrong's uphill time trial bar was cobbled together by Louisiana aerodynamics guru John Cobb. They featured Profile Carbon-X extensions and hardware of his own making to position the pads out of the way of the hands, and the extensions at the right wrist angle. Note the non-STI left brake lever (he uses a down tube shifter for the front derailleur to save weight on his climbing bike). In the uphill time trial, Armstrong also used Munich-made Lightweight composite wheels, which have carbon-Kevlar spokes and carbon hub

Euskaltel-Euskadi's Roberto Laiseka placed fourth in the time trial without an aero' bar.

Yesterday, Armstrong hoped he wouldn't lose two minutes today. He need not have worried.

Credit Agricole's Jonathan Vaughters pulled out the Spinaci for the time trial, too, but he added some Cinelli strap-on elbow pads as well. The Denver native placed a fine 21st place, 4:31 down.

Ullrich is seaching for cycling's equivalent to the wooden stake to help slow Armstrong's push to Paris..

The UCI banned the Cinelli Spinaci and imitations for road racing. But there are still plenty around, and they make an appearance in uphill time trials. Popeye would have popped out the spinach for an uphill time trial, too.

ONCE's Beloki is now fourth on GC, trailing Armstrong by 3:10.

Steffen Kjaergaard took it easy and just used his bike as is, without an aero' bar.

Simon is making the podium a family affair: his brother wore the jersey 2 years ago, and today his daughter joined him.

George Hincapie used the light Mavic SSC SL wheels with a more standard clip-on handlebar obtained through Ritchey.

The start platform in Grenoble.

Stuart O'Grady rode unmarked Mavic carbon Cosmics up to Chamrousse.

Prisoners of passion, or style. Our policy is: don't ask, don't tell.

ONCE's mechanic, like that of Postal, was very thorough and wiped down every tire before the start.

When you have to wade to get your bike, it is not going to be a good day. But things dried out by the start.

Did you know.... that the Mavic neutral-support bikes are Cannondales equipped with Shimano Ultegra parts (and Mavic wheels and derailleurs).

Secret see-through GoreTex (tm) seatcovers? Nay, plastic bags from the produce vendor down the street.

Simon was one of the beneficiaries of Stage 8

Young prologue sensation Florent Brard, like the rest of his Festina Watches team, rides a Specialized Body Geometry saddle

Roux and company left at 6km.

BigMat-Auber 93's Christophe Capelle also rides a Selle Italia Flite TransAm

Telekom looked sharp on the first two major climbs

Kelme-Costa Blanca's Félix Cardenas's Selle Italia Flite TransAm

One of America's biggest cycling fans was there, too.

On a dry day, this photographer's mustache looks pretty cool - try to avoid him on a rainy day, though.

Beats standing 12-deep along the metal barriers of a typical stage finish.

Last-minute touch up.

There are 21 hairpin turns on the famous mountain road that climbs from the Oisans valley to the ski resort of Alpe d’Huez, where stage 10 of this year’s Tour de France has its conclusion on Wednesday. Coincidentally, the Tour has seen stages finishes on the Alpe 21 times -– from the victory of the legendary Fausto Coppi in 1952 (when the road was still unpaved) to that of another Italian, Giuseppe Guerini, who won here in 1999. Each of these stage winners has his name posted on the apex of each turn, giving riders and race followers a timely reminder of this mythic climb’s history. The

Fans of the new decade. Just set up your dish, put up the TV and sun shade, and watch the race. Oh, and there's the view.

Well, folks. We’re looking at a radically altered GC at this point. 1 SIMON François FRA BJR en 45:34:09 2 KIVILEV Andrei KAZ COF at 11:54 3 O'GRADY Stuart AUS C.A at 18:10 4 ARMSTRONG Lance USA USP at 20:07 5 BELOKI Joseba ESP ONC at 21:42 6 MOREAU Christophe FRA FES at 22:21 7 ULLRICH Jan GER TEL at 22:41 8 GONZALEZ GALDEANO Igor ESP ONC at 23:34 9 SEVILLA Oscar ESP KEL at 24:07 10 BOTERO Santiago COL KEL at 25:52 11 BOOGERD Michaël NED RAB at 25:58 12 SERRANO Marcos ESP ONC at 26:15 13 MANCEBO Francisco ESP BAN at 27:15 14 JALABERT Laurent FRA CST at 28:06 15 ROUS Didier FRA BJR at 28:40

He's an Aussie fan for sure.

Just shots of fans today...with one exception. They are here in every type and color, and cover every square foot of the climb out of the valley. And many of them have been here for days, camping out in parking lots, lawns, or on the shoulder of the road. Once you see the scenery -- and the peloton -- you can understand why.

This couple had been saving this spot for hours, maybe days, and didn't want to lose it over a little sleep.

When Lance Armstrong rolled away on L’Alpe d’Huez and gained time on his rivals in large gobs, he spun his 39-23 and 39-21 at around 90 RPM. Anyone watching that could see that it is unique in the history of cycling for someone to climb away from the greatest climbers in the world spinning 15-20 RPM faster than any of them as Lance did today as well as in the mountains in 1999 and 2000. It is a simple fact that the 70-75 RPM cadence that Ullrich, Beloki and Moreau were doing behind Lance is completely standard. That’s just the way it has always been done. We watched Ullrich pedal the same

The view from the top of L'Alpe d'Huez.

He has three national champion’s jerseys in the closet already, and Volvo-Cannondale’s Tinker Juarez will be looking to add a new one to the collection in August. Organizers of the 24 Hours of Adrenalin NORBA National Championship race announced Wednesday that Juarez, a two-time Olympian, will compete for the first U.S. solo title at Winter Park, Colorado, August 3-4. Juarez competed at and won his first 24-hour solo race at Laguna Seca, California, in May, and has committed to competing at the Winter Park nationals.

The grouppo climbs through Turn 3 of the 21 hairpins on the way to the top.

Well, I made it. Historically speaking, it's been a long time since I found satisfaction with merely finishing a race, but today, finishing within the time limit was my sole priority today on L'Alpe d'Huez. Once under way, I mentioned to Lance that I'd help as much as I could but he said -- "I'd prefer that you concentrate on finishing". I took his orders to heart. Although I was able to show my face for a little bit at the front of the peloton at the base of the Madeleine. After that, it was all about getting through. The stomach fates are being a little more cooperative. I was still

The human grouppo after the race. It took 45 minutes to reach the top from Turn 3, but it was a very nice ending to an exciting day. Different clubs sang songs as we walked, and someone with an accordion serenaded us as we climbed.

I went around and looked at all of the bikes being ridden in the Tour to see how many riders are using saddles specifically designed to address the issue of male impotency. There is one team in which all of the riders do so. That, of course, would be Festina, which is sponsored by Specialized. All Festina riders use Body Geometry saddles with a deep split in the back and a groove down the middle. Otherwise, I only found two other riders using split saddles. Cardenas of Kelme and Christophe Capelle of BigMat-Auber 93 are using Selle Italia Flite TransAm saddles, which have a slot through the

Armstrong's Trek from Stage 10

Armstrong says he wanted this bad

Ullrich's Pinarello from Stage 10

By the top of L'Alpe d'Huez, Ullrich and Beloki were two minutes back

Robin Williams had Tyler and company laughing before the stage, and found more fans at the finish.

A relaxed Fred Rodriguez talking to a friend before the start.

French TV stations interview Lance about the GC standings before the stage

Tyler Hamilton, looking under the weather at the start, would struggle and finish 13 minutes down.

A group of rabid young fans, in a very small village on the way to Aix-Les-Bains.

Jessica Greico was once one of the best track riders -- and bike handlers -- in the United States. She now does TV work when not going to law school.

As heavy rain continued to fall on the green hills of the Jura Sunday night, speculation was rife in the hotels and inns where the thousands of people following the Tour de France were staying. Among the questions being asked were: How could the race favorites allow 14 riders to gain almost 36 minutes? Will a similar breakaway happen Monday? Will the rain still be around? How long will Stuart O’Grady keep the yellow jersey this time? Or how strong a challenge will come from second-placed François Simon or fourth-placed Andrei Kivilev? All this speculation has arisen because this is a Tour

Hamilton at the start of today's stage.

4:41 p.m. (local time) Ivanov held them off. The former Russian champion attacked the lead trio with 9km to go and held off his two breakaway partners, to earn his first-ever Tour de France stage win. Etxebarria and McGee finish just ahead of the quickly closing -- not quick enough, though -- peloton. Erik Zabel took the field sprint for fourth. 4:39 p.m. (local time) With 1km to go, Ivanov is 10 seconds ahead of McGee and Etxebarria. The field is 40 seconds back. 4:37 p.m. (local time)With four km to go David Etxebarria (Euskaltel-Euskadi)and Bradley McGee (La Française Des Jeux)

Conditions can be tough at Cascade.

A glimpse from the start of today's 185km stage, which ran from Pontarlier to Aix-les-Bains.

I was having flashbacks today as we rode toward the finish at Aix-les-Bains. It felt like 1998 all over again. That year I had been fighting an intestinal bacteria throughout the season and the battle came to a head during stage 8 of the Tour. It was unbelievably warm -- over 100 degrees. I lost 18 minutes that day finishing well after the main field. Our team doctor was asking me every so often if I wanted to stop. But it was the Tour de France and quitting was out of the question. In a word, today was -- grim. My stomach was giving me trouble from the start. Things began getting

The Schwinn/GT Corp. began Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in Denver, Colorado, Monday, in preparation for a planned sale to Huffy Corporation for more than $60 million. In addition, Schwinn has negotiated $30 million in financing with its current debtors, led by Comerica Bank; the money will be used to maintain business operations in the Fitness Division, which Huffy is not buying, and also keep the bicycle division afloat until the sale to Huffy is completed. Schwinn, based in Boulder, Colorado, will lay off 300 employees in its cycling division in preparation for the sale. The Schwinn

It was a hard race today to Aix-les-Bains. The attacks began nearly from the start, plus there was a tailwind. At the beginning, there was a lot of climbing with lots of false flats. It was hard up the climb and over it. . We kept going hard until the feed zone (at the top of the 1200m La Vattay, the second climb of the day), and it was then when the break suddenly gained five minutes. Bonjour and some other teams took up the chase. The last climb (the 520m Cote de Bossy) was really hard. Some of our guys had to chase back on. Our team rode hard for the last 20km, or so, to get Zabel up for

The two time Russian champion made a heroic charge from 7km

The three leaders stayed away for 150km

Zabel took the field sprint, still aiming for that sixth points jersey

Durand and Hushvod tangled up early in the race

The scarred, miracle legs of Johan Museeuw.

Aussie colors: Credit Agricole green and Tour de France yellow

Evans looked to be on his way to victory before the flat-tire bug bit.

It all started innocent enough

Roberto Heras's climbing bike. Note the Selcof seatpost and the Mavic Ksyrium SSC SL wheels.

...and in back, it was just cold and wet.

Heras's climbing bike. Note the oversized 1-3/8' lower headset bearing, with the 1-1/8' upper head cup. The upper cup has wrench flats (Shimano doesn't make threadless headsets), but the threads have been bored out for the threadless steering tube.

While Voight lost the jersey, it's not so bad giving it up to your teammate.

The team requested a 120mm magnesium Deda stem for Heras's bike. It takes oversized (31.7mm) handlebars. On the night before L'Alpe d'Huez, the stem was still not installed. Postal riders have been riding standard 25.8mm (usually called 26.0) bars.

There are no fair weather cycling fans in France. Just a few of the thousands of people who stood in steady rain for hours to glimpse just a few moments of their heroes.

Victor Hugo Peña's Superlight climbing bike. The only equipment difference on his bike from the other Postal climbing bikes is the TTP (Tandem Titanium Project) seatpost, rather than the usual Dura-Ace post.

These two Telekom fans are part of the thousands that line the start, begging for autographs.