French pro cyclist Laurent Fignon died at age 50 on Tuesday after battling cancer for the past year.

Although he won the Tour de France in 1983 and 1984, he was best known to Americans as the cyclist who lost the Tour to Greg LeMond by 8 seconds in 1989 on the final day of the race.

On a visit to France during the early 1990s, I had the opportunity to grab a photo of Fignon riding at the head of the peloton with Miguel Indurain (in yellow, of course) and Claudio Chiappucci (in the polka dot jersey). He was easy to recognize with his receding hairline and long blond hair.

Talking to my French brother-in-law later....   more »

Here are some numbers that might be remembered as the books close on the 2010 Tour de France:

3 -- The number of career Tour de France championships won by Alberto Contador

0 -- The number of stage wins by Alberto Contador in the 2010 Tour de France

28 -- The number on the jerseys worn by Lance Armstrong's RadioShack team at the start of the final TdF stage and on the podium in Paris. Represents 28 million people living with cancer worldwide. The high commissioners of cycling threatened to disqualify them for this egregious breach of protocol. ....   more »

No one can beat Mark Cavendish if he can see the finish line from the front of the peloton.

He proved that again on Sunday when he won the final stage of the 2010 Tour de France in Paris.

The HTC-Columbia sprinter passed Alesandro Petacchi and Thor Hushovd on the Champs-Elysees, marking his 5th stage win at this year's Tour. It was his 15th career win at the Tour.

Decked out like a yellow canary, Alberto Contador finished comfortably in the pack to retain his lead and win his second consecutive Tour de France championship, the third of his career ...   more »

For just a moment on the road from Bordeaux to Paullac, it looked as if Andy Schleck was riding himself back into the lead in his battle with Alberto Contador for 2010 Tour de France championship.

Schleck attacked hard in the early part of the 32-mile individual time trial course, gaining 6 seconds on Contador at the first time check and coming with 2 seconds of regaining the yellow jersey.

That was as close as Schleck was going to get, however. Either Contador increased his tempo or Schleck began running out of gas, but Schleck started slipping back.

At the finish, the defending champion had beat his younger rival by 32 seconds ....   more »

Another mass sprint and another victory for Mark Cavendish at the Tour de France as the HTC-Columbia's speedster weaved through his rivals to win in Bordeaux on Friday.

While competing teams drove their sprinters toward the finishline, Cavendish coolly emerged from the pack and easily won his 4th stage of this year's Tour; the 14th of his career.

Meanwhile, there was no change in the overall standings as yellow jersey wearer Alberto Contador prepares for Saturday's individual time trial in anticipation of Sunday's championship in Paris. He still leads Andy Schleck by 8 seconds ....   more »

The showdown on the Col Du Tourmalet lived up to expectations at the Tour de France on Thursday as Andy Schleck tried but failed to win back the yellow jersey he lost to Alberto Contador on Monday.

The contest for the yellow jersey on Stage 17 boiled down to the two men in the Pyrenees on the last climb of the race. Schleck attacked Contador time and again to close the 8-second gap, the Spaniard hung on.

The two appeared to glare at each other and exchange words. It's obvious there's no love lost between the two after Contador attacked Schleck on Monday as the Luxembourg cyclist struggled with a dropped chain. At the finish, however, the two exhausted competitors hugged and patted each others' backs. .....   more »

Lance Armstrong battled in the deciding breakaway on Stage 16 of the Tour de France all day on Tuesday only to bested in a 9-man sprint by stage winner Pierrick Fedrigo.

The 120-mile race over four major mountains came down to a sprint in the town of Pau as the overall race leaders struggled to stay together on the Col de Peyresourde, Col d'Aspin, Col du Tourmalet and Col d'Aubisque.

Although Andy Schleck wanted revenge on race leader Alberto Contador for winning the yellow jersey as he wrestled with a dropped chain on Monday, nothing came of that threat as Contador retained his 8-second lead.

This might have been Armstrong's swan song of the Tour de France ...   more »

A dropped chain cost Andy Schleck the yellow jersey at the Tour de France on Monday as Alberto Contador attacked after the mishap and made up more than the 31 seconds he had been trailing by.

The controversial decision by Contador to take advantage of a mechanical mishap on Stage 15 will surely dog him throughout the rest of the race. There are unwritten and debatable "rules" about gaining on adversaries who have crashed or suffered similar problems.

Angry and disappointed after the race, Schleck was asked whether he thought Contador's attack was fair:

"What's fair or not fair... it's not for me to decide. I would not have raced like that.

My stomach is full of anger. I want to take my revenge ....    more »

The two main rivals in this year's Tour de France battled so hard to outfox each other on the final climb of Ax Les Thermes on Sunday that they might have lost sight of the other competitors who finished ahead.

France's Christophe Riblon (AG2R) won the 114-mile Stage 14 from Revel to Ax-3 Domaines by joining a breakaway about 10 miles into the race. Riblon attacked and rode away from the break on the above-category Port de Pailheres and survived solo over the Ax Les Thermes.

Meanwhile, yellow jersey Andy Schleck and defending champion Alberto Contador played a game of cat and mouse as the race moved into the Pyrenees ...   more »

Say what you will about one-time suspended Alexandre Vinokourov, but the Kazakh cyclist makes things happen.

The Astana cyclist showed his fighting spirit for the second day in a row at the Tour de France on Saturday when he attacked the peloton on a climb near the finish.

Unlike Friday, when he was basically chased down by team leader Alberto Contador and finished 3rd overall, Vino extended his lead over the last 5 miles of the race on Saturday and won Stage 13 in Revel by 13 seconds.

Andy Schleck's overall lead of 31 seconds ahead of Contador remains unchanged...   more »

Will the true leader of the Astana cycling team please stand up? It's Alberto Contador.

The defending Tour de France champion blasted past race leader Andy Schleck and Astana teammate Alexandre Vinokourov on the final climb of Stage 12 on Friday.

Joaquin Rodriguez of Team Katusha won the two-man sprint to the finish, but Contador gained 10 seconds on Schleck. He also reminded Vinokourov that he's the team leader.

Vinokourov seemed to have trouble understanding that concept in a couple of stages ....   more »

British sprinter Mark Cavendish undeniably achieved his 3rd win of the 2010 Tour de France -- the 13th of his career -- on Thursday's Stage 11.

What remains for debate, however, is how much some heavy-handed tactics by his HTC-Columbia lead-out man Mark Renshaw contributed to that victory. Renshaw, for his part, was booted out of the race by Tour officials.

Overhead views of the final sprint in Bourg les Valence show Renshaw head-butting Garmin-Transition's Julian Dean, who was riding on his right. Check out the video above at about 5:30 for overhead view of the finish. It's possible that Renshaw thought Dean was moving to the left to block Cavendish ....   more »

Team RadioShack finally has something to crow about after domestique Sergio Paulinho won Stage 10 of the Tour de France on Wednesday.

The Portuguese cyclist was part of a 6-man breakaway that led most of the 111-mile race from Chambery to Gap over four climbs.

Andy Schleck remained in the yellow jersey, as the rest of the peloton finished about 15 minutes later, content to hear whether one of the two Frenchmen in the breakaway could win on Bastille Day. Neither could.

The 30-year-old Paulinho is an unlikely hero for the RadioShack team, but with Lance Armstrong locked in 31st ....   more »

One day in the yellow jersey for Aussie Cadel Evans was about all she wrote as the 2010 Tour de France appears to be boiling down to a contest between Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador.

Shleck donned the yellow leader's jersey at the end of Stage 9, the most challenging so far with three major Alpine climbs over the 126 mile-route.

Contador grappled into second place overall, matching every one of Schleck's accelerations on the final climb on the Col de la Madeleine. Contador couldn't do that Sunday, but Contador was the sole contender who could do that on Tuesday. All others lost ground, with a disappointed Evans being the chief among them. He lost about eight minutes, dropping clear out of the Top 10 to 18th place ...   more »

"Lance lost this Tour for bad luck. Physically, there’s no reason to believe that he couldn’t have been competitive in this Tour. He came to this Tour in good shape with real ambitions to win. We knew it wouldn’t be easy for him to win this Tour, but we came here with that as a goal. Even today we saw Contador not as strong as he was last year. Today we simply didn’t have the luck.”

-- Johan Bruyneel, team manager for Radio Shack, talking about Lance Armstrong's crashes at the 2010 Tour de France in an interview with Andrew Hood at VeloNews .....   more »

The mountain-top finish at Morzine-Avoriaz will be remembered in Tour de France history as the place where Lance Armstrong's chances to achieve another championship appeared doomed and Alberto Contador showed he was beatable.

Andy Schleck had the strongest legs at the end of the 117-mile stage that included two Alpine summits as he beat Samuel Sanchez in a two-man sprint to the finish. Cadel Evans, left, and Alberto Contador were unable to match Schleck's final kick to the finish, although Evans did gain the yellow jersey for the first time at this Tour de France.

Seven-time Tour de France champion Armstrong didn't take part in this battle, however. He was some 10 minutes down the mountain after getting caught in three crashes. He was just trying to put one of the worst days in his cycling career behind him. He Twittered after the race....    more »

France's Sylvain Chavanel regained the yellow jersey at the Tour de France on Saturday while former leader Fabian Cancellara cracked as the peloton entered the foothills of the Alps.

Chavanel won the 102-mile stage from Tournus to Station des Rousses and took the lead, jumping from 5th place overall to 1:25 ahead of the nearest challenger, Australia's Cadel Evans.

Lance Armstrong, Alberto Contador and the other major contenders for this year's championship finished in a select group 1-minute 47 seconds behind Chavanel. Although Armstrong dropped from 2:30 to 3:16 behind the first place rider, he remained 50 seconds behind his rival, Contador.

The peloton faces its first major mountain stage on Sunday ...   more »

While house sellers tout "Location, location, location" as the three most important attributes of real estate, bike race sprinters must credit "Position. Position. Position."

For instance, Britain's Mark Cavendish had an ideal position in Friday's finish of Stage 6 of the 2010 Tour de France in Gueugnon behind teammate Mark Renshaw. The HTC-Columbia riders were following three cyclists for Garmin-Transitions, including Tyler Farrar.

As the finish line approached, Cavendish was delivered alongside the Garmin cyclists by Renshaw. Then Cav handlily beat Farrar across the line by more than a bike's length ...   more »

The strategy for a textbook lead-out for Team HTC-Columbia flew right out the window on Stage 5 of the Tour de France on Thursday, but Mark Cavendish took the sprint anyway.

It was the first sprint win for the Brit at this year's Tour. The cycling press had begun to wonder if Cavendish's reign as sprint champion had ended as previous sprints had been taken by Alessandro Petacchi (2) and Thor Hushovd (1). In 2009, Cavendish had won 6 stages of the Tour.

As the peloton neared the finish in Montargis, it looked like the drought might continue for Cavendish.

Bernard Eisel was leading the pack toward the finish, but he was followed by four cyclists from Garmin-Transitions ....   more »

Three bike changes for Sylvain Chavanel cost him the yellow jersey on Tuesday as Fabian Cancellara regained the overall lead of the Tour de France.

Cancellara powered himself back into first place at the front of a peloton split into smaller groups by seven sections of cobblestones in the 132-mile stage in the Paris-Roubaix's "Hell of the North" locale.

Lance Armstrong fell out of the top 10 and lost time to other top contenders, such as Andy Schleck, Cadel Evans and Alberto Contador. The RadioShack cyclist limited his losses by bridging across to the fourth group to cross the finish line.

One of the biggest winners of the day was Canadian Ryder Hesjedal ....   more »

U.S. cyclist Christian Vande Velde is abandoning the Tour de France because of injuries he suffered in Stage 2 on Monday.

Two other cyclists for Garmin-Transitions -- Tyler Farrar and Julian Dean -- also are bandaged, but will take the starting line for Stage 3.

They're all victims of extremely slippery conditions on the descent of Col Stockeu that took down dozens of riders in the peloton, among them General Classification contenders Lance Armstrong (Radio Shack) and brothers Andy and Frank Schleck (Saxo Bank).

This is rotten luck for Vande Velde, who has been injured multiple times this season...   more »

Year in and year out, the name of French cyclist Sylvain Chavanel has become familiar for failed attempts at long-distance attacks on the peloton at the Tour de France.

Monday's Stage 2 marked only the second time in his career that he's survived to win a Tour stage, and the first time he's ever pulled on the yellow jersey.

While Chavanel was riding into the yellow jersey out front, many members of the peloton, including Lance Armstrong, were licking their wounds after a mass pile-up on a descent about 25 miles from the finish. With many teammates trailing behind, the main peloton finished en mass as a form of protest. ...   more »

Three crashes in Brussels, including a road-choking pileup, cleared the way for a victory by Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi in Stage 1 of the Tour de France on Sunday.

The finish of the 138-mile stage that started in Rotterdam was more like an episode of Survivor than a competitive bike race. Most of the sprint contenders had been on the ground by the time Petacchi crossed the line for his 164th career victory -- his first at the Tour de France since 2003.

The crashes didn't affect the overall standings from Saturday's prologue as they occurred in the protected zone in final kilometers; everyone in the peloton will receive the same time ....   more »

Australia's Tony Martin led the 2010 Tour de France prologue for most of Saturday until Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara, left, scorched the 5.5-mile course through Rotterdam.

Lance Armstrong, riding in his last Tour de France, finished in 4th place overall, beating rival Alberto Contador by 5 seconds, who now sits in 6th place.

Garmin-Transitions's Tyler Farrar of Wenatchee, Washington, finished in 7th place, a surprisingly high finish for a sprint specialist. Another US cyclist, Levi Leipheimer on Santa Rosa, California, finished in 8th place.

While the prologue does little more than present the cyclists to the fans ....   more »

Disgraced pro cyclist Floyd Landis is making some bombshell disclosures regarding doping in the peloton, especially during his time with the US Postal Service team.

Landis rode alongside Lance Armstrong on that team for several years. During this year's Tour of California, Landis disclosed that the use of performance-enhancing drugs and illegal techniques were prevalent during that time. Landis is reiterating those assertions in "Blood Brothers," a Wall Street Journal article published Saturday, the first day of the 2010 Tour de France.

Armstrong says the WSJ article is "full of false accusations" at LanceArmstrong.com.

Among the latest allegations ....   more »

Biking Bis blog readers are favoring Lance Armstrong to win his 8th Tour de France victory this year.

Respondents to the poll "Who will win the 2010 Tour de France" gave Armstrong 36% of the vote. Last year's winner, Alberto Contador, received 31% of the vote.

While cycling pundits are saying this Tour de France is going to be a showdown between Armstrong and Contador, most are touting the Spaniard as the eventual winner. The 97th Tour de France starts this morning with a prologue in Rotterdam and ends in Paris on July 25.

Andy Schleck, the second-place finisher in last year Tour ...   more »

The 2010 Tour de France bike race is going to be difficult to miss this year, given the daily live and recapped TV coverage, online video streaming, live animations, and text updates for computers and mobile devices.

You might even find the standings buried in the agate results of the sports section in the following day's newspaper. Actually, it has been years since that was the sole source of Tour de France information.

Leading the pack is the Versus television network, which is offering an average 14 hours of TV coverage every day. The broadcasts featuring Phil Liggett, Paul Sherwen and Bob Roll start at 11:30 a.m. (ET) Saturday for the prologue in Rotterdam ....   more »

Who do you think will win the 2010 Tour de France?

Will it be a repeat win by one of the former champions like Lance Armstrong, Alberto Contador or Carlos Sastre? Or will a new cyclist -- such as Cadel Evans, Christian Vande Velde, or one of the Brothers Schleck -- climb to the top step of the podium in Paris?

I'm running a poll here in the right column where you can vote. I'll post the results Saturday morning before the Tour de France prologue starts in Rotterdam. Then we'll follow that favorite to see if he does finish on top when the race ends July 25.   more »

It's deja vu all over again for Lance Armstrong fans who read the following Tweet on Monday:

"And yes, this will be final Tour de France. It's been a great ride. Looking forward to 3 great weeks...... Doh, sorry, meant "my" final Tour."

Last time he announced his retirement, he was a 33-year-old with an unprecedented six Tour de France championships to his credit. He made that announcement to a roomful of reporters before the start of the Tour de Georgia in 2005.

He went on to win the Tour de France that year -- number 7, and made good on his pledge to retire -- for 3 1/2 years ....   more »

Seven other Americans competing at bike race

When July rolls around, you'll know where to find cyclist George Hincapie -- somewhere in the peloton of the Tour de France.

2010 is no different. Hincapie will competing in his 15th Tour de France when it rolls out of Rotterdam on July 3.

That's a string exceeded only by Joop Zoetemelk, who competed in, and completed, 16 Tours de France before retiring in 1986. The Dutch cyclist, who now runs a hotel in France, won the Tour de France in 1980.

[Zoetemelk was stung by allegations that the only reason he won was because Bernard Hinault abandoned because of knee problems. Joop made the valid point: "Surely winning the Tour de France is a question of health and robustness. ....   more »

Surprising no one, Lance Armstrong has been named to the RadioShack roster for the 2010 Tour de France.

He'll be joined by Americans Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner.

Also on the roster are Andreas Kloeden of Germany, Janez Brajkovic of Slovenia, Sergio Paulinho of Portugal, Yaroslav Popovych of Ukraine, Gregory Rast of Switzerland and Dmitriy Muravyev of Kazakhstan.

The 38-year-old ...   more »

As Stage 8 of the Tour de Suisse drew to a close with a final climb on Saturday, Lance Armstrong attacked a group that was chasing a six-man break up the road.

The General Classification contenders reeled him back, but Armstrong proved that there's still plenty of life in his legs.

He emphasized that point on the final stage Sunday with a decent finish in the individual time trial that catapulted him into second place overall, just 12 seconds behind winner Frank Schleck. Aussie Tony Martin (HTC Columbia) won the ITT, and defending champ Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank) trailed by 17 seconds.

Armstrong, riding for Team RadioShack, finished 11th at 1:09 behind. He reported to his Tweet followers ....   more »

This has to be one of the most difficult one-day organized bike tours for weekend warrior bicyclists in 2010.

The l’Étape du Tour departs from Pau, France, on July 18 and follows the same route the pros will take later in the week over two mountain passes with a finish atop the Col du Tourmalet.

Presesented for the 18th year by Tour de France organizers, the ride allows the rest of the bicycling population to endure the gut-wrenching climbs and dizzying heights that the pros experience.

This year's ride is the same as Stage 17, a 108-mile jaunt the pro cyclists will tackle on July 22; one of six mountain stages of the 2010 Tour de France...   more »

The 2010 Tour de France bike race that rolls out July 3-25 will be a 2,232-mile counterclockwise loop around France that sees four mountain stages in the Pyrenees and an individual time trial in the final week.

In fact, the organizers found the climb up the Col du Tourmalet so nice that they've scheduled it twice, once on the way to Pau in Stage 16 and then as the finish on Stage 17.

The grand tour begins with a 5-mile prologue in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The remaining 20 stages are comprised of six mountain stages (three finish on summits), four medium mountain stages, nine flat stages and one individual time trial, a 36.6-mile race against the clock on the next to last day.

Announced in Paris on Wednesday, the immediate reaction was a mixed bag. Defending champion Alberto Contador liked it better than the 2009 route, but was worried about the cobblestones in Belgium. Green jersey winner Thor Hushovd .....   more »

When Lance Armstrong announced last September that he was coming out of retirement to race once again at the Tour de France, I only hoped that he wouldn't embarrass himself.

He dropped out of pro cycing for 3 1/2 years and had turned 38 years old. He might have been a little beyond his prime.

But Armstrong has proven the past three weeks that he still has the stamina and guts to compete at the elite level. Remarkably, he never fell out of the Top 10 and spent most of the race in either 2nd or 3rd place.

A podium finish in Paris is damn good. We can only wonder at the result if he had a team working for him instead of sharing loyalties with the eventual champion, Alberto Contador.

Unless something happens on the way to Paris on the final stage on Sunday, here's how he reached the podium:

Stage 1: 10th place, 40 seconds behind -- Armstrong holds the best time in the individual time trial for much of the day in Monaco. Fabian Cancellara won the stage. ...   more »

A last-lap threat by the Garmin cycling team couldn't derail the lead-out train of Team Columbia as their star sprinter Mark Cavendish won the last stage of the 2009 Tour de France in Paris.

While Cavendish celebrated his sixth stage win at this year's Tour -- the 10th in two years --  Astana's Alberto Contador was celebrating his second Tour de France championship.

Lance Armstrong also finished in the peloton, cementing a third-place finish at the Tour behind Saxo Bank's Andy Schleck. Armstrong plans to return next year for one more Tour at the head of his own team, sponsored by Radio Shack.

The only two US-based teams in this year's race battled at the head of the peloton in the closing lap....   more »

Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong protected their first and third places in the Tour de France on Saturday by repelling attacks by Andy and Frank Schleck on the barren slopes of Mont Ventoux.

Juan Garate (Rabobank) won Stage 20 when he attacked Tony Martin (Columbia) about 40 seconds ahead of the yellow jersey group. They were the last two survivors of a 16-man breakaway that at one point had 10 minutes on the peloton.

After the race, Armstrong told Versus that he was pleased with his efforts:

"I can't complain... For an old fart coming in here and getting on the podium with these young guys [that's] not so bad ....   more »

Mark Cavendish notched his fifth victory this year at the Tour de France as a group of sprinters hung onto the peloton's leaders over the final climb of Stage 19.

The win makes 24-year-old the winningest Brit in Tour de France history with nine stage victories.

Although the top 8 overall remained in order behind yellow jersey Alberto Contador, Lance Armstrong gained 4 seconds in his overall third position by staying with the lead group as a split developed further back to the others in the peloton.

While the 110-mile stage from Bourgoin-Jallieu to Aubenas was considered to be an intermediate stage that might see a breakaway group finish first, that breakaway was reeled in early. ...   more »

There is no drafting, team tactics or breaking away at the Tour de France individual time trial. The bicycle racers win or lose on their own.

Here are the big winners from the 25-mile Stage 18 time trial at Annecy:

Alberto Contador -- The Astana cyclist solidified his position in the yellow jersey by winning the stage and earning more respect for his efforts. His 48:30 was 3 seconds faster than Fabian Cancellara, whose time was the one to shoot for most of the day.

Lance Armstrong -- Finished 16th on the stage but moved up to 3rd overall in the General Classification. He finished 1:30 behind Contador, but ahead of a whole host of other rivals for a podium position in Paris. ...   more »

Andy and Frank Schleck catapulted themselves into second and third places behind Alberto Contador on Stage 17 of the Tour de France on Wednesday as Lance Armstrong dropped from second to fourth place.

On the eve of announcing a new team that he'll lead, Armstrong was put in the unusual position of working to protect an Astana teammate's position at the Tour as his own standing slipped.

But the most unusual sight along much of the 106-mile stage from Bourg Saint Maurice to Le Grand Bornand had to be Thor Hushovd, the sprinter, who took a solo breakaway over two mountain climbs to ensure he'd get the intermediate sprint points in his bid for the green jersey ...   more »

The Schleck brothers tried a one-two punch to knock Alberto Contador out of the yellow jersey on Tuesday as Stage 16 of the Tour de France continued through the Alps.

The effort didn't phase the Spanish cyclist on Team Astana, but it briefly put Lance Armstrong on the mat. He valiantly battled back, however, and regained the yellow jersey group to hold onto second place in the overall standings.

Spain's Mikel Astarloza, above, survived in an ever-dwindling breakaway over the two cols -- Grand Saint Bernard and Petit Saint Bernard -- to win his first-ever Tour de France stage and propel himself into 11th place overall ....   more »

Who is the leader of Team Astana? Without a doubt, it's Spain's Alberto Contador.

The 2007 Tour de France champion accelerated out of the chase group on the final climb of Stage 15 on Sunday to take the yellow jersey and quash any discussion about whether he or Lance Armstrong leads the team.

Armstrong was in front of the leader's group at the base of the Category 1 climb to Verbier, but could only watch as first Contador, then the Schleck brothers, Carlos Sastre, Bradley Wiggins, and others rode away. Armstrong finished in 9th place on the stage.

After eight days in the yellow jersey, Rinaldo Nocentini gave up the overall lead to Contador who now leads by 1:37 over No. 2 Armstrong.......   more »

American cyclist George Hincapie missed the yellow jersey by 5 seconds on Saturday as he joined a breakaway that didn't get to the finish line quite fast enough.

The Columbia rider moved up 27 places to 2nd behind Rinaldo Nocentini.

Hincapie was the highest placed cyclist among the 12 that led Stage 14 for most of the day. In fact, he was the yellow jersey "on the road" as the margin back to the peloton grew to more than 6 minutes.

But the 12 couldn't work together as they neared the finish in Besancon and jockeyed for their stage win. With about 6 miles to go, Serguei Ivanov attacked and drove to a solo victory ahead of 11 others.

After the race, a clearly disappointed and bitter Hincapie ....   more »

Cervelo's Heinrich Haussler found Friday's Stage 13 to be a lucky stage for him as he survived a day-long breakaway in the 2009 Tour de France to win the bike race to Colmar.

The day's rain seemed to dampen the contest for the yellow jersey. For the 6th straight stage, there was no change in the overall classification as Rinaldo Nocentini continued in the lead.

Levi Leipheimer's unfortunate withdrawal because of a broken wrist suffered in a crash on Thursday led to the only major change in the standings, as everyone below him moved up one spot.

Saturday's 124-mile stage from Colmar to Besancon has a couple of Category 3 climbs, so it's doubtful that the rivals like Nocentini, Alberto Contador, Lance Armstrong, Bradley Wiggins or the Schleck brothers will attempt anything....   more »

American cyclist Levi Leipheimer withdrew from the 2009 Tour de France on Friday with a broken wrist.

He suffered the break on Thursday's run-in to the finish in Vittel. Since the crash occurred within 3 kilometers of the finish line, the rider on the Astana team didn't lose any time.

Leipheimer was sitting in 4th place in the overall battle for the yellow jersey, 39 seconds behind the leader. I'm sure he'll be sorely missed by teammates Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong, who sit in 2nd and 3rd place respectively.

Team manager Johan Bruyneel said the team will have to change its tactics over the last week with Leipheimer gone .....   more »

Denmark's Niki Sörensen brought home a solo breakaway victory at the Tour de France on Thursday on a day that many thought would see a fifth stage victory by Columbia's Mark Cavendish.

Although the 131-mile route from Tonnerre to Vittel sported several small climbs, Stage 12 was well-suited to the sprinters in the peloton.

In fact, several early attacks by riders were pulled back by the peloton. It wasn't until relatively late in the race -- with 50 miles behind them -- that a 7-man breakaway finally escaped. ....   more »

The Columbia cycling team proved on Wednesday that they can prevail in the sprint regardless of how many rival teams try to unseat them.

In spite of Team Milram trying to uncouple the Columbia train rolling into Saint Fargeau, the US-based cycling outfit set up Mark Cavendish for another stage win just ahead of Washington's own Tyler Farrar on Garmin.

The victory marked the Brit's fourth in the 2009 Tour de France and the eighth in his career. In winning, he equaled the British record of eight Tour stage wins held for more than 30 years by Barry Hoban.

While Hoban won his stages over a period of nine years, the 24-year-old from the Isle of Man accomplished it in three years of racing the Tour de France....   more »

The cycling equivalent of watching paint dry ended with a brilliant finish by Mark Cavendish with Thor Hushovd and Tyler Farrar hanging on for dear life.

After Tuesday's Stage 10 of the Tour de France seemed to drag on for hours with a four-man breakaway riding within sight of the main peloton, the sprinters' teams took charge of the peloton with about 3 miles left in the race.

Teams Columbia and Garmin each positioned themselves at the front, but George Hincapie was able to make Columbia the dominant team for their sprinter, Cavendish. Teammate Mark Renshaw took over the lead briefly, then Cavendish drove to the finish as Hushovd and Farrar struggled in vain to pass ....   more »

Chalk up another Tour de France victory for the French as Pierrick Fedrigo won Stage 9 on Sunday by slightly more than a nose in Tarbes.

Fedrigo (aka "le nez de Marmande") and Franco Pellizotti were the sole survivors of a breakaway that escaped about 10 miles into the 100-mile race from Saint Gauden to Tarbes.

The pair remained in front as the route coursed over the Col d'Aspin and Col du Tourmalet in the Tour's final day in the Pyrenees.

In spite of some half-hearted attacks on those climbs, the overall leaders came together as the peloton had more than 40 miles from the summit of Col du Tourmalet to the finish line ....   more »

Spain's Luis León Sánchez scored a saintly victory in the Pyrenees on Saturday at the head of a four-man breakaway.

The Caisse d'Epargne cyclist later said that he offered the stage win to a breakaway companion if he could capture the yellow jersey. That scenario didn't materialize in the 110-mile race through the mountains to Saint Girons, however.

Tour de France first-timer Rinaldo Nocentini held onto the overall leader's yellow jersey, and remained 6 seconds ahead of Alberto Contador and 8 seconds ahead of Lance Armstrong.

Columbia sprinter Mark Cavendish, however, lost his green points jersey to Norway's Thor Hushovd, who gained sprint points on the road on Saturday. .....   more »

Italy's Rinaldo Nocentini jumped 32 places on Stage 7 to take over the yellow jersey at the Tour de France on Friday.

After Fabian Cancellara wore the leader's jersey since the end of the bicycle race's first stage -- the last three virtually tied with Lance Armstrong, this first stage in the Pyrenees was expected to usher in a new leader.

But few could have predicted Nocentini, an AG2R cyclist who moved up the rankings by joining a breakaway earlier in the day and surviving to finish in fouth place, 26 seconds behind stage winner Brice Feillu of France.

Meanwhile, the favorites battled it out about three minutes behind. After Cadel Evans attacked in an attempt to make up time he lost earlier in the week, Alberto Contador scampered past him to take over the overall No. 2 spot from Armstrong, who now sits in 3rd place, 2 seconds behind Contador.

Throw in Levi Leipheimer in 4th place, at 39 seconds out of first, and you have an Astana bottleneck high in the General Classification ....   more »