Tour de Suisse

Alexander Vinokourov just couldn't help himself. Leading the Tour of Switzerland since regaining the overall lead in Tuesday's time trial, the Kazakh jumped with less than a kilometer to go in Wednesday's 152km final stage into Aarau and was caught 300 meters from the line. It's not that he really needed the stage win. Second-place rider Francesco Casagrande (Lampre) didn't start the ninth and final stage due to high fever and a urinary infection and all Vinokourov had to do was finish safely in the main bunch to claim final victory. "I tried to win the stage but I'm not disappointed at

Telekom’s Sergei Yakovlev won the seventh and longest stage of the Tour du Suisse on Monday while Lampre’s Francesco Casagrande finished safely in the main bunch to retain the overall lead. The Kazakh rider was part of a six-man breakaway that led for 160 km of the 231-km stage which began in Switzerland and ended just over the German border. Yakovlev’s American teammate, Bobby Julich, was part of an eight-man chase group that was sent down the road in case the leaders wilted under the long distances. Yakovlev jumped out of the break with 15km to go and hung on to score the win while

Lampre’s Francesco Casagrande won the 177m fifth stage of the Tour of Switzerland Saturday, reaching the summit finish at La Punt with enough of a margin to take the overall lead in the Swiss national tour. Casagrande, who began the day six seconds behind overall leader, Alexandre Vinokourov (Telekom), at the start of the stage, finished 39sec ahead of the Kazakh following the 20km ascent of the Col du Albula at 2315m altitude. When Casagrande attacked only Vinokourov could stay with him though he soon concluded the effort was taking a toll on him and eased off as the Italian continued

Francesco Casagrande (Lampre) won the third stage of the Tour of Switzerland on Thursday to move into second place overall. The Italian is now six seconds behind leader AlexanderVinokourov (Telekom) of Kazakhstan, after winning the 205km stage from Nyon to the Saas Fee ski resort in five hours, 10 minutes, 38 seconds. Mountain specialist Casagrande took the initiative on the final 20kmclimb in the Alps after the riders had traveled around Lake Geneva andthrough the valley of the River Rhone. He finished 13 seconds clear ofLuxembourg's Kim Kirchen (Fassa Bortolo), with leader Vinokourov

Fassa Bortolo’s Fabian Cancellara was the fastest Monday in the opening prologue of the 67th Tour de Suisse on a 7.1km course in Egerkingen. The 22-year-old Swiss rider won the opening prologue of the Tour of Romandie last month and pipped Spanish rider Oscar Pereiro (Phonak) just one second. Aussie Brad McGee (Fdjeux.com) came across third at two seconds slower. “The course was very hard, but the crowd carried me along,” Cancellara said. “I think my team can win this race, but maybe not me. I still have time.” Defending champion Alex Zülle finished fourth at four seconds back. It was

Svetlana Boubnenkova (Edilsavino) took the win in the eighth round of the women’s road World Cup in Embrach, Switzerland, on Sunday, but Mirjam Melchers’ (Farm Frites) fourth place in the 118.8km event means that the back-and-forth contest for dominance in the nine-race series will continue down to the wire. The race drew a large and talented field, but the focus of early attention was largely on the two women vying for the Cup lead, with just six points separating Rossner and Melchers. Changed from previous years, the 10.8 kilometer course for 2002 featured narrow roads and two main

Domo’s Leon Van Bon won the fourth stage of the Tour of Switzerland, a mountainous 160-kilometer run between Coire and Ambri on Saturday. Italy's Daniele Nardello came in second ahead of Briton Charles Wegelius. Coast’s Alex Zülle retained the overall leader's yellow jersey. Van Bon and Nardello slipped the peloton, with 80km of the stage remaining, but this pair were caught by a select group including Wegelius, who led the sprint for the line, only to be retaken by a tireless Van Bon.

Eddy Lembo, of the Division II Oktos squad, survived a long breakaway at the Tour of Switzerland Wednesday to steal a win in a stage that was expected to be a natural for sprinters. The 21-year-old Lembo finished more than a minute ahead of the field at the end of the day’s 172 kilometer stage from Lucerne to Schaffhausen. The win gave the young French rider the overall lead, bumping Coast’s Alex Zülle, winner of Tuesday's prologue, out of the top spot. Lembo covered the course in 4:18:36, finishing 1:08 ahead of the field. Phonak’s Sven Teutenberg, won the field sprint, while many of the

American Kimberly Bruckner (Saturn) took the overall victory at the Tour de Suisse Féminin in Switzerland after she and her Saturn team won the prologue and three other stages in the four-day race. Saturn began the week with Anna Millward winning the prologue, and then following up with sprint wins on stage 1 and 2. Saturn was defending Millward’s lead, but on Thursday, a group of five riders escaped and gained nearly six minutes. Bruckner not only marked the break, but attacked on the final climb to take the stage win and the overall lead. On Friday, Germany’s Trixi Worrack took the win in

Lance Armstrong became only the second American to win the Tour of Switzerland, 14 years after Andy Hampsten took the second of his consecutive victories. In Thursday's final stage, Armstrong finished safely in the main pack, some three minutes behind a five-man break that resulted in a stage win for Oskar Camenzind of Lampre-Daikin. Camenzind was defending champion of the Swiss tour, but this year played a support role to teammate Gillberto Simoni, who finshed second overall, 1:02 behind Armstrong. To win the 176km stage 10, out and back from Lausanne, Camenzind escaped with Frenchmen

Telekom’s Erik Zabel won the ninth stage of the Tour of Switzerland on Wednesday, 166.8km between Sion and Lausanne, Switzerland. Zabel beat out Gerolsteiner’s Saulius Ruskis and Domo-Farm Frites’ Robbie McEwen in the mass field sprint finish. U.S. Postal Service’s Lance Armstrong retained the leader’s yellow jersey with only one stage to go. Zabel profitted from the work of the Saeco, Domo and Cofidis teams who chased down lone escapee Bert Grabsch (Phonak) before the finish. Grabsch had escaped along with Rolf Huser (Coast) in the town of Martigny, but the German dropped Huser on the one

Italian rider Stefano Garzelli (Mapei-Quick Step) came home alone in Naters, Switzerland, after escaping for 135km to win Monday's 156.5km seventh stage of the Tour of Switzerland from Locarno. The 27-year-old, who won the 2000 Giro d’Italia, crossed the line 4:22 ahead of compatriot and teammate Michele Bartoli (Mapei-Quick Step), while Czech Tomas Konecny (Domo-Farm Frites) was third 7:27 behind and just ahead of American George Hincapie (U.S. Postal Service). Fassa Bortolo’s Wladimir Belli retained his one second overall lead over this year's Giro champion, Gilberto Simoni

Russia's Sergeui Ivanov, of the Fassa Bortolo team, won a sprint finish to take Sunday's 174km sixth stage of the Tour of Switzerland, which started and finished in Mendrisio, Switzerland. Ivanov came from behind to cross the line in 4:00:27, just ahead of Kazakhstan's Alexandre Vinokourov (Telekom), France's Laurent Jalabert (CSC-World Online) and Switzerland's Alexandre Moos (KIA-Swiss) in the sprint to the line. Ivanov’s Italian teammate Wladimir Belli, who finished in 11th position at five seconds behind the leaders, retained the overall leader's yellow jersey with a one-second advantage

Russian veteran Dmitri Konyshev of the Fassa Bortolo team came home alone after the 220.6km fifth stage of the Tour of Switzerland on Saturday. The 35-year-old veteran came in 1:57 ahead of Italians Gilberto Simoni (Lampre-Daikin) and Wladimir Belli (Fassa Bortolo) and Spain's Manuel Beltran (Mapei-Quick Step) following the run from Widnau to St. Gothard. Belli, Konyshev's teammate, took the overall race leader's yellow jersey but is just one second clear of Tour of Italy winner Simoni. Two-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong of the United States finished seventh at 2:34 behind to

Italian Gianluca Bortolami (Tacconi Sport-Vini Caldirola) took the overall race lead at the Tour of Switzerland after scoring the stage win in a two-up finishing sprint with breakaway companion Peter Wrolich (Gerolsteiner). Bortolami’s win came on the third stage of the Swiss race, 162.7km from Reinach to Baar. Australian Robbie McEwen (Domo-Farm Frites) won the field sprint for third, 2:53 behind Bortolami. Bortolami and Wrolich escaped at the 70km mark, from a group of six that also included Laurent Jalabert (CSC-World Online), and at one point extended their advantage to 9:19 over the

Lance Armstrong retained his lead at the Tour of Switzerland Wednesday, after German Erik Zabel of Telekom won the opening road stage, 178km from Europa Park (Rust) to Basel. In a mass sprint finish, Zabel outsped Italian Paolo Bettini of Mapei-Quick Step and Saulius Ruskys of Team Gerolsteiner to take his 15th win of the season. Armstrong -- winner of Tuesday’s stage 1 time trial -- retained his overall lead by just three seconds, after Paris-Roubaix winner Servais Knaven of Domo-Farm Frites picked up a pair of two-second time bonus. The stage started in Rust, Germany, and passed through

Lance Armstrong began this year’s Tour of Switzerland in fine form on Tuesday, winning the 7.9km prologue time trial in the German town of Rust. Armstrong posted a time of 9:44.22 through the streets of Rust, and only Frenchman Laurent Jalabert prevented a Postal Service sweep of the podium. Jalabert was second in 9:49.36 followed by Armstrong teammates Tyler Hamilton and Viatcheslav Ekimov in third and fourth, respectively.