The French anti-doping authority has dismissed proceedings against Spanish cyclist Oscar Pereiro for failing two doping tests during the 2006 Tour de France.

He showed them a note from his doctor. End of story. Everything is forgiven.

Last week a French newspaper reported the leak that Pereiro tested positive for the banned substance salbutamol (an asthma medication) during the Tour ...   more »

In the irony of ironies, Spanish cyclist Oscar Pereiro is being questioned by French anti-doping authorities for two failed drug tests during the Tour de France.

The number 2 finisher in last year's Tour, Pereiro, left, had been all but annointed with the yellow jersey as 2006 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis fights accusations that he doped during the Tour. If Landis loses the fight, he loses the Tour title.

If Pereiro can't satisfactorily respond to the doping accusations, the title might go to -- bear with me while I look this up -- No. 3 finisher Andreas Kloden (Germany) of T-Mobile. But the French newspaper Le Monde says six other unidentified cyclists are being challenged.

As we go down the GC, we don't get to a Frenchman until AG2R's Cyril Dresser in No. 7. That might sound a little fishy, but Le Monde reported that some of the cyclists being challenged were Frenchmen. ....   more »

Cyclist Floyd Landis received word this week from the US Anti-Doping Agency that he's been formally charged with using performance-enhancing drugs during the Tour de France bicycle race.

The next step, a hearing before a three-person arbitration panel, could occur by January. The 30-year-old American cyclist has said he wants that hearing to be open to the public.

If Landis fails to convince the arbiters that the tests carried out by the French lab were flawed, the whole thing will end up in the lap of the Court of Arbitration of Sport. That's the last stop before Landis would be suspended from professional cycling for two years and lose his Tour de France title. He's already ...   more »

Floyd Landis will launch his defense against doping charges next week when his attorney submits materials to a US Anti-Doping Agency review board that there's insufficient evidence to proceed against this year's Tour de France winner.

In a press release posted at FloydLandis.com, attorney Howard Jacobs says he and a team of scientific experts found "inconsistencies in the testing protocol and methodology" after reviewing 370 pages of documents provided by the French lab. ...   more »

OLN bicycling commentator Phil Liggett was interviewed about the Floyd Landis affair last weekend by Carlton Reid of UK-based BikeBiz, a bicycle industry newsletter. Reid posted the interview online at YouTube.com in his Cycling News & View series.

"I'm still very skeptical about the whole thing," Liggett says. "The Laboratory (Châtenay-Malabry) is unscrupulous to say the least, because they shouldn't know the sample they're testing." ...   more »

“And the more you get out there and talk about it, I have to talk about it. The best is just to let the process play out and get out of the media. ... I would have encouraged him just to lay low. ...   more »

Floyd Landis appeared on Jay Leno's Tonight Show to offer still another possible reason why he tested positive for a high testosterone level in the Tour de France.

"I don't know if it's somehow or some way I ingested something that caused the tests to be that way,'' Landis told Leno. ...   more »

If you still want to believe in Floyd Landis, then you'll want to read his interview in USA Today.

Landis, who's holed up at his home in Murrieta, California, blamed the leaks from Union Cycliste Internationale for his having to scramble to try and come up with an explanation for the out-of-whack testosterone-epitestosterone ratio. ...   more »

It's a black day in cycling. As most everyone expected, even Floyd Landis, the much-anticipated "B" sample came back positive.

The 30-year-old Tour de France winner was immediately fired by the Phonak team. He'll probably lose his Tour de France championship as well, depending on the action of the US Anti-Doping Agency. ...   more »

While we all sit around waiting for the French lab to test "B" sample from the Tour de France, here's what's happening on the Floyd Landis front.

Nothing. But that doesn't stop the flow of information. Here's a news item, a blog about organic chemistry, the reliability of lab tests, Bob Roll asking questions and a video from the Steven Colbert Report:

Landis has hired Howard Jacobs of Los Angeles as his attorney. Jacobs specializes in athlete-doping cases and was Tyler Hamilton's attorney. ...   more »

Synthetic testosterone was detected in the Floyd Landis urine sample taken after Stage 17 at the Tour de France, an unidentified worker in the Union Cycliste International's anti-doping department told the New York Times.

If true -- none of this is official, the latest comes from an unidentified source -- it would fly in the face of the Tour de France winner's contention that the high ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone was a natural condition of his physiology. ...   more »

Since a doping allegation is no frivolous matter in the sport of cycling, Floyd Landis skipped the Jay Leno show Friday night for an interview by Larry King on CNN.

"I'm going to do my best to defend my dignity and my innocence," the Tour de France winner told King.

Lance Armstrong spoke on the show in support of Landis' character. ...   more »

Danish journalist and photographer Joergen Leth narrates a photo essay on the Tour de France at Magnum Photos.

We're talking 35 mostly black and white images taken over the years of the Tour and its environs. Add a little accordian music for a pleasureable experience. Magnum Photos, a cooperative owned my its photographer members, has been covering the Tour de France for some 60 years.

We may know as early as Monday the results of an analysis of Floyd Landis' "B" sample and whether the American cyclist will be able to keep his 2006 Tour de France championship.

Making his first public appearance on Friday, Landis told a press conference that he has naturally high testosterone, and that he would undergo further testing to prove the high testosterone ratio is due to natural physiology. ...   more »

Tour de France winner Floyd Landis -- who has tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone -- denied that he took the performance-enhancing drug to gain a boost during the bike race, which ended Sunday.

When asked by Sports Illustrated columnist Austin Murphy if used testosterone, Landis responded: "No, c'mon man." ...   more »

Say it ain't so, Floyd. Was winning the Tour de France so important that you had to resort to cheating? Let's hope not.

Even after several top cyclists were expelled prior to the Tour over doping allegations, I'm still shocked to hear that Floyd Landis tested positive for the banned substance testosterone in a sample taken after his historic Stage 17 victory. Another analysis is scheduled.

It's like talking with a friend on a bike ride and getting blindsided by a low-hanging branch at the side of the road. ...   more »

As American Floyd Landis battled his way back into the Tour de France leadership on Thursday, more Americans tuned in to watch than at any time previously during this year's three-week bike race.

Meanwhile, the network says it will continue to cover bicycle racing in 2007 with its Sunday coverage of the Giro d'Italia, Paris-Nice, and other spring classics, as well as adding the Tour of California. ...   more »

Tour de France winner Floyd Landis, left, is trying to curb speculation that he's changing teams; he says he'll stay with his current team, which is switching its title sponsorship to San Francisco-based iShares next season.

Meanwhile, US cyclist Levi Leipheimer signed with the Discovery Channel team. ..   more »

"I'm glad we didn't have to make that choice. Church is very important to us. We felt in our hearts he was going to win. He is not one to take second place." ...   more »

For the eighth straight year, an American took the podium on the Champs-Elysees Sunday as native Pennsylvanian Floyd Landis won the Tour de France championship.

The 30-year-old leader of the Phonak team thanked his teammates for supporting him, especially for his comeback in the final Alpine stage. Later he told OLN: "I'm proud of the way my team raced, and I'm proud of the way I raced." ...   more »

The 2006 Tour de France for Floyd Landis has been a series of ups and downs. Unlike the well-directed affairs that marked the latter years of Lance Armstrong's domination, this has been more like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

Here's a recap of some events in Landis' Tour:

Prologue -- Landis loses 8-10 seconds as he shows up late to the podium. It turns out that the team mechanic had to change a cut tire at the last minute, rather than risk having a flat on the road. (9th place -- 9.26 seconds behind Thor Hushovd) ...   more »

American cyclist Floyd Landis has been riding bicycles provided by BMC at the 2006 Tour de France.

The bicycle Landis will likely ride to Paris on Sunday is this carbon BMC Pro Machine SLC01, specially tricked out in the colors of his yellow jersey. ...   more »

American Floyd Landis will ride to Paris in the yellow jersey on Sunday after finishing second in Saturday's individual time trial, unseating the two rivals ahead of him.

As the race for Paris is traditionally for a sprint win, not the overall title, Landis is destined to become the third American to win the Tour de France since Greg Lemond broke the barrier in 1986 and Lance Armstrong won a record 7 Tours between 1999 and 2005. ...   more »

After the emotional rollercoaster that is the Tour de France for Floyd Landis the past two days, Friday's Stage 18 was relatively uneventful.

Three cyclists attacked a 15-man breakaway about 10 miles from the finish in Macon. The three shadow-boxed for the last kilometer until Matteo Tosatto of QuickStep jumped and took the finish. ...   more »

I would have to go back to 1989, when I watched the taped broadcast of Greg Lemond's final-day victory over Laurent Fignon, to recall a more exciting stage of the Tour de France.

It seemed that even Floyd Landis had accepted defeat after his disasterous Stage 16 collapse. What happened Thursday wasn't a miracle, it was pure guts. Here's a sample of what's been said and written in the past 24 hours about Landis: ...   more »

American Floyd Landis rode his bicycle back to the leaders of the Tour de France on Thursday with an amazing effort to win the stage and claw back up to 3rd place, just 30 seconds behind the leader Oscar Pereiro.

The American cyclist's gutsy attack over four mountains on Thursday was as remarkable as Wednesday's ride was abysmal. That's when 1st place Landis cracked on the final climb, dropping back to 11th place and 8 minutes behind the leader. ...   more »

(Update: On Thursday, Floyd Landis attacks on the first climb of the day and wins the stage. What did Mark Twain once say? "The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.")

From 1st place to 11th place in 15 kilometers or less. That's the tale of the tape for Floyd Landis at the 2006 Tour de France.

Everyone knows Landis cracked on the final climb of Stage 16, struggling uphill as every rival passed him by. What happened? ...   more »

Oscar Pereiro is back in the yellow jersey in the Tour de France, but this time it was no gift from Floyd Landis and the Phonak team. The Spanish cyclist earned it.

Now American cyclist Landis, who started the day in the yellow jersey with a fairly clear path to Paris, sits in 11th place, more than 8 minutes behind the leader. His dreams of winning the Tour de France are shattered -- scattered about the roadside like those of fellow US contenders George Hincapie and Levi Leipheimer. ...   more »

Facing the fourth and last climb in the grueling 113-mile Stage 16 from Bourg d'Oisans to La Toussuire, Tour de France leader Floyd Landis has one teammate in the group with him.

As Michael Rasmussen scampering up the mountains 7 minutes ahead, and Levi Leipheimer launching a chase, American yellow jersey holder Landis is surrounded by his rivals. ...   more »

American cyclist Floyd Landis' gambit to let another rider's team lead the Tour de France peloton worked -- at least for Tuesday -- as he climbed back into the lead on the slopes of fabled l'Alpe d'Huez.

Now it's his beleaguered Phonak team's turn to control the race as it struggles through two more days in the Alps before the final time trial on Saturday and Sunday's finish in Paris. ...   more »

Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong visited his former teammates in Gap before the start of Tuesday's first day in the Alps.

There's nothing like a visit from the champ to inspire the troops. Long-time Discovery teammate George Hincapie went right out Tuesday morning and joined a breakaway 23 miles into the race ...   more »

Did American cyclist Floyd Landis make a mistake by letting Oscar Pereiro take the yellow jersey?

Five-time Tour de France winner Bernard Hinault seems to think so, while others say giving the Phonak team a rest was a smart move. I guess we'll find out Tuesday when the peloton begins three days in the Alps on the way to its grand finish in Paris on Sunday. ...   more »

Stage winner Pierrick Fedrigo and Salvatore Commesso raced into Gap as the survivors of a war of attrition against the breakaway, which at one time numbered six Tour de France cyclists.

Oscar Pereiro held onto the yellow jersey, with his Caisse d'Epargne team laboring in the heat over the climbs while American Floyd Landis' Phonak team had an easier time in the peloton. ...   more »

Oscar Pereiro, left, and Jens Voigt made the most of a 129-mile breakaway Saturday; Pereiro winning the yellow jersey and Voigt winning the Tour de France's longest stage.

Maybe not so much that Pereiro won the yellow; it was pretty much handed to him by Floyd Landis and his Phonak team after they tired of driving the peloton Saturday and probably didn't relish the thought of keeping up that effort on Sunday. ...   more »

I recall reading a few times that cyclist Floyd Landis is a huge fan of Kid Rock.

I found a picture of Kid Rock on the Internet and compared it with Landis' official Tour de France website photo.

Isn't that an uncanny resemblance? ...   more »

With everything looking bleak for the Discovery team, Yaroslav Popovych has given them something to cheer about.

The 26-year-old Ukranian cyclist won Friday's stage after repeatedly attacking the three other cyclists who accompanied him on a 70-mile breakaway. American Floyd Landis held onto the yellow jersey, his Phonak team controlling the peloton on a rolling stage through southern France.

The stage win by Popovych moves him into 10th place, 4:15 behind Landis. That's a big gain, considering he started the day in 23rd place, 9 minutes behind, after cracking in the mountains on Thursday. ...   more »

"The general (classification) is over for me," a dejected George Hincapie announced after his 44th place finish on Thursday dropped him to 40th overall in the Tour de France, 23 minutes behind the leader.

The Discovery team stalwart and the only cyclist to participate in every one of Lance Armstrong's seven Tour de France wins had high hopes coming into the race. He was often mentioned as Armstrong's successor on the Discovery team and among the shortlist of contenders to win this year. ...   more »

American cyclist Floyd Landis battled on the final climb to take the yellow jersey in the Tour de France on Thursday, highlighting the most exciting stage so far in this year's race.

Russian Denis Menchov, riding for Rabobank, won the stage in a small breakaway of three survivors that also included Landis and another American, Levi Leipheimer.

Leipheimer, who sat in 58th place Thursday morning after a lackluster early Tour, catapulted himself to 13 place overall -- 5:39 behind -- at the end of the stage with his gutsy 2nd place finish ...   more »

How interested are Biking Bis readers in this year's Tour de France?

The responses were tied -- 36% each -- between "less interested than last year" and "same as last year." Slightly fewer than 1 in 4 -- 22% -- voted that they were more interested in this year's Tour than last year.

I voted in that latter group, "more interested," and after watching Stage 10, I'm wondering why. ...   more »

The French regained the lead of the Tour de France for the first time since 2004 as Cyril Dessel, left, joined a breakaway on the first climb of the day and jumped from 28th place and into the yellow jersey.

T-Mobile working at the head of the peloton for the first time in what, seven years, was torn between helping its yellow jersey teammate Serhiy Honchar and limiting damage to two or three other team members.

This is what happens in the Pyrenees when no dominating cyclists are left onboard. Cyclists like Dessel (AG2R) and Juan Mercado (Agritubel) -- who won the stage in a sprint against Dessel -- ...   more »

Finally, some killer terrain! Here we are at the midpoint of the Tour de France on Wednesday, and we're finally seeing some mountains... the Pyrenees to be exact.

Sprinters, it's been nice, but it's time for the teams that want to put their guy on the podium in Paris to take over this race. Expect a lot of attacks. Remember, there really aren't any favorites. Plenty of cyclists have a shot to win. Some are on the Discovery team...   more »

The news reports that Tour de France cyclist Floyd Landis had a deteriorated hip joint that would require hip replacement surgery intially drew a reaction of shock and awe.

Now comes the question: If it's been a problem for a year or more, why mention it now? Discovery manager Johan Bruyneel says if you're a favorite, you hide your weaknesses, not publicize them. ...   more »

As expected, the sprinters' teams put their guys at the front on this completely flat Tour de France stage between Bordeaux and Dax in southern France.

The picture perfect mass sprint resulted in a photo finish showing Oscar Freire taking his second win of this year's Tour from Australian speedster Robbie McEwen. Tom Boonen, boasting 17 wins this year before the Tour, ended in 4th place, just behind Erik Zabel. ...   more »

Now that the first week of the 2006 Tour de France is behind us, I'm curious about your level of interest compared to last year. The blog poll is posted at right;  feel free to explain your answers below this article in a comment if you wish.

This is certainly a Tour in turmoil.

The vacuum left by Lance Armstrong's retirement has sucked away a lot of US fans. OLN reports the viewership of its first four live Tour reports is down nearly 50%. ...   more »

A troubling secret about Floyd Landis' health is coming out just the day after he climbed into 2nd place overall in the 2006 Tour de France.

The highest placed American cyclist in the Tour, and a favorite to win the race, suffers from a degenerative bone disease that gives him chronic pain and will require hip replacement surgery a few weeks after the Tour. He adopted his unusual time trial position on the bike to reduce the pain. ...   more »

French cyclist Sylvain Calzati showed us why there's a group of cyclists who gamble on a breakaway at the Tour de France everyday -- sometimes the peloton doesn't catch up.

That's what happened Sunday on the 112-mile stage from Saint Meen le Grand to Lorient. Calzati and 5 other cyclists broke away from the peloton about 25 miles into the stage, and the AG2R cyclist stayed ahead the rest of the race. ...   more »

Here's a bigger shock than the Stage 7 results on Saturday: Lance Armstrong says he's showing up to support the sport of cycling and his Discovery teammates for the final week of the Tour de France.

Didn't he say at one time that he never wanted to step foot in France again, or words to that effect? ...   more »

T-Mobile cyclist Serhiy Honchar won the individual time trial on Saturday, gaining the yellow jersey and beating all the top contenders who had planned to use the stage to catapult themselves into the Tour de France lead.

In fact, the only favorite who could afford a smile at the end of the day was American Floyd Landis (at left in Tour of California), who finished 2nd in the stage and boosted himself to 2nd in the overall standings. ...   more »

(UPDATING HIS CONDITION)American cyclist Bobby Julich crashed near the beginning of the individual time trial for the Tour de France on Saturday, injuring his right wrist and leaving the course in an ambulance.

Riding as the team leader of Team CSC, the 34-year-old cyclist from Glenwood Springs, Colorado, Julich fell as he rounded a corner and skidded along the curb for several feet before stopping. ...   more »

"Fast Freddie" Rodriguez is sore but recovering at his home in Girona, Spain, after taking a header onto the pavement during Stage 3 at the Tour de France.

The Emeryville, California, sprinter suffered a concussion on Tuesday after he hit a pothole in some road construction in Verviers, also injuring his shoulder and hand. He was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. ...   more »

It's Robbie McEwen crossing the finish line first at the Tour de France again and again this year. The Australian cyclist followed Davitamon-Lotto teammate Gert Steegmans on a perfect lead out for his 3rd victory on Friday.

In fact, after a number of miscues in earlier stages, it looked like the sprinters' teams were finally getting it right as the peloton drove into Vitre at the end of the 117-mile Stage 6. ...   more »

This shouldn't surprise anyone. The number of viewers tuning in to the first four stages of OLN's Tour de France coverage has been nearly cut in half this year with the retirement of Lance Armstrong.

Tour coverage at the Outdoor Life Network, once known as the Only Lance Network, has crashed 49% to 207,544 people. Combining the number of people watching live and taped replays raises viewership to 749,472. But that's still a 47% drop. ...   more »

A flat stage into Normandy featured a classic contest for the sprinters Thursday as Spanish cyclist Oscar Freire won Stage 5 of the Tour de France.

Teams from Milram, Liquigas, QuickStep and Credit Agricole set the pace as the peloton sped into Cain, but the racer from the Rabobank team grabbed the victory from yellow jersey holder Tom Boonen of QuickStep ...   more »

Aussie sprinter Robbie McEwen zipped past the field at the finish in Saint Quentin on Wednesday to take his second win in the 2006 Tour de France.

Marking his 10th career win at the Tour, the Davitamon-Lotto cyclist said, "This one is for Freddy Rodriguez." The American -- and the team's lead-out specialist -- crashed in Tuesday's stage and suffered a concussion. ...   more »

Ambulances carried three cyclists down the road on the Tour de France during Tuesday's brutal stage. Here's an update on their conditions.

US speedster Fred Rodriguez and Dutch cyclist Erik Dekker both went down after hitting a pothole outside Verviers ...   more »

"One of the problems is that a lot of the spectators now have digital cameras and they’re all leaning out on the road to get a shot. They don’t realize how fast we’re riding and before we know it, we are upon them." ...   more »

Belgium's Tom Boonen gained the yellow jersey by one-second as the Tour de France continued its race of attrition on Tuesday.

One of the major contenders, Alejandro Valverde, crashed out with a broken collarbone while cycling in the midst of the peloton. Earlier in the 3rd stage, American cyclist Fred Rodriguez (Davitamon-Lotto) and Erik Dekker (Rabobank) left the race after crashing. ...   more »

A lot of cycling junkies, myself included, are blogging about the Tour de France. Here are some interesting posts I've come across recently.

The first is from a cyclist. I don't know the origin of this picture at the Bobby Julich blog. It's cool to see two of the decade's top American cyclists -- competing on different teams -- marking an historic event in cycling.

These are two of the peloton's workhorses over the years. Hincapie is racing his 11th Tour de France; Julich his 9th. ...   more »

"This morning I was still in pain and I didn't have full movement in my arm but it got better and I decided to give it a go because I was only two seconds behind the yellow jersey. ...  I didn't feel the pain in the finish because the adrenaline was flowing. It's more painful now holding the microphone. ...   more »

Australian cyclist Robbie McEwen won the sprint in Esch-sur-Alzette to take the 2nd stage of the Tour de France on Monday, as Norway's Thor Hushovd regained the overall leader's yellow jersey from George Hincapie.

Pity poor Matthias Kessler, though. The T-Mobile rider attacked with about 3.5 miles to go, gaining a 15-second lead that he lost within sight of the finish line. George Hincapie sits in 4th, 10 seconds behind. ...   more »