Here are all the winners at the 2007 Tour de France.
Alberto Contador (Spain) won the General Classification, aka, the Yellow Jersey. At age 24, he also won the best young rider classification, known as the White Jersey.
Discovery Channel put two cyclists on the podium, Contador and US cyclist Levi Leipheimer. As Discovery and its predecessor, US Postal Service, they've won the Tour eight out of the past nine years. Might want to give a big dose of credit to Johan Bruyneel for that. Discovery won the team competition... more»
Seeing replays of this year's rogue's gallery -- Sinkewitz, Vino, Moreni and Rasmussen -- reminded me of the strangeness of the 2007 Tour de France.
One day's hero was the next day's heel. It will certainly go down as one of the most bizarre Tours in history. I hope there's never another one like it.
It seems like ages ago that the Tour started in London for the first time in history. Everything was good. Trouble began about a week later... more»
US cyclist Levi Leipheimer celebrated his first stage win ever at the Tour de France on Saturday, pulling himself within 8 seconds of Cadel Evans, who sits in second place with just one stage left in the bike race.
Leipheimer's Discovery Channel teammate, Alberto Contador, survived in the yellow jersey as just 31 seconds separates the top three cyclists in the race that began nearly three weeks ago.
Leipheimer led in every time check in the 34-mile individual time trial from Cognac to Angoulême. His speed, 53.1k per hour (32.9 mph) is the fourth fastest ever recorded at the Tour... more»
French cyclist Sandy Casar won his first Tour de France stage on Friday with his shorts ripped and hip bruised from a crash when he hit a dog earlier in the Stage 18 breakaway.
Challenging him to the end were Axel Merckx (T-Mobile) and Michael Boogerd (Rabobank), both of whom have announced this was their last Tour de France, and Laurent Lefèvre (Bouygues Telecom).
Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador, riding for Discovery Channel, remained in the yellow jersey, retaining his lead over Australian Cadel Evans and teammate Levi Leipheimer of the US... more»
Four survivors of a breakaway that led most of the day played a game of cat and mouse at the approach to the finish line in Castelsarrasin on Thursday, but all the tactics couldn't stop sprinter Daniele Bennati from winning Stage 17.
Meanwhile, the Discovery Channel team drove the rest of the peloton about 10 minutes back to protect race leader Alberto Contador, who did not wear the yellow jersey during the stage but pulled it on at ceremonies at the finish.
Tour de France organizers decided that no one would wear the yellow jersey on Thursday's stage, the day after the Rabobank team removed and fired overall leader Michael Rasmussen for lying about his whereabouts in June more»
Good morning, and welcome to Stage 17 of the 2007 Tour de France.
In case you're just tuning in for the first time since Monday, there have been some major changes:
-- Overall Tour leader Michael Rasmussen was kicked off the Rabobank team on Wednesday, just four stages from a sure championship in Paris.
It was unknown Wednesday night whether his Rabobank teammates would continue. What is known is that teammates Denis Menchov and Michael Boogerd gave up any chance of stage wins or podium finishes by unselfishly helping Rasmussen, who is accused of lying to his team about his whereabouts during training. I wonder what they think about The Chicken now?... more»
Just four days from a sure victory in Paris, Danish cyclist Michael Rasmussen has been kicked out of the Tour de France by his own Rabobank team.
The 33-year-old cyclist violated team rules for lying about his whereabouts before the Tour, causing him to miss drug tests on May 8 and June 28.
With Rasmussen gone, the new leaders in the Tour de France are Alberto Contador (Discovery Channel), Cadel Evans (Predictor-Lotto), and Levi Leipheimer (Discovery). It's unclear whether Contador would actually start Thursday in the yellow jersey, the brightness of which seems terribly faded now ..... more»
Danish cyclist Michael Rasmussen fought off every attempt by the Discovery Channel team to unseat him from the overall lead of the Tour de France on Wednesday.
After attacks on the final climb by Levi Leipheimer and Alberto Contador, Rasmussen pulled away with less than a mile to the summit of the Col d'Aubisque and won the Stage 16 all by himself.
Leipheimer, in 4th place overall, gained some time on 3rd place rider Cadel Evans by crossing the finish line in second place, just 17 seconds ahead of Evans. Contador, the 3rd rider to cross the line, lost his chance to overtake or at least close his margin to Rasmussen.
"I gotta hand it to him. He's been solid and his team has been great," Leipheimer said after the race... more»
It's been a real up and down ride for US cyclist Levi Leipheimer ever since he signed on with the Discovery Channel pro cycling team last year.
Essentially hired to lead the team for the 2007 Tour de France, those plans were dashed when Discovery hired Italy's Ivan Basso. Then Basso left the team in the spring because of doping allegations, and Leipheimer was the main man again.
Now he's having his best Tour de France ever, according to team manager Johann Bruyneel. But he's found himself riding in support of Alberto Contador. "On any other team he'd be the big star. And he's able to deal with that situation very professionally." ... more»
British cyclist David Millar expresses his frustration at the inability of the governing bodies of cycling to bring doping under control.
The cyclist for Saunier Duval has his own doping demons. This is his first year back after serving a two-year suspension, and he has become one of the most outspoken members of the peloton for clean cycling.
Reporters caught up with Millar during the rest day. Here's a video of his comments at VeloNews. It's worth a watch.... more»
Pre-race favorite Alexander Vinokourov has tested positive for homologous blood doping and is out of the Tour de France.
So much for the "big comeback" story of this year's Tour.
The 33-year-old Kazahkstan cyclist failed a test administered after he won Saturday's individual time trial. At the time it was considered a superhuman effort by a competitor who had been counted out of the competition after crashing, then losing time in the Alps.
Meanwhile, the entire Astana team pulled out of the Tour. That means Andreas Kloden (5th overall) and Andrey Kashechkin (8th overall) are also out of the Tour... more»
US cyclist Freddie Rodriguez dropped out of the Tour de France bike on Monday's Stage 15, the second stage in the Pyrenees.
The US sprinter on the Predictor-Lotto team had been nursing injuries he received in crashes on Stages 2 and 11. He was critical of Tour organizers for approving courses that had difficult turns leading into the finish lines.
The 33-year-old Emeryville, California, resident is the second American to drop out of this year's Tour. David Zabriskie of Team CSC was disqualified when he missed the Stage 11 time cut. He'd been suffering from a sore knee... more»
International Cycling Union president Patrick McQuaid says he wants someone besides current leader Michael Rasmussen, right, to win the Tour de France.
"From an image point of view, it would be better if it was not Rasmussen but one of the youngest riders winning the Tour," McQuaid told reporters. Hmmm. Youngest rider. How about 24-year-old Alberto Contador of the Discovery Channel team? He's Number 2 overall.
Maybe the French customs officials were trying to help out McQuaid when they raided team buses for Rabobank, Discovery Channel, Astana and CSC on Monday. No official word on what, if anything, was found.... more»
Alexander Vinokourov tore apart the Tour de France peloton again on Monday, going out on an early breakaway and winning a stage in the Pyrenees with five hard climbs.
Race leader Michael Rasmussen and Alberto Contador extended their dominance over the rest of the field, as Contador attacked the yellow jersey at least five times on the final climb over the Col de Peyresourde but couldn't shake the Dane.
With the 122-mile 15th stage from Foix to Loudenvielle behind them, the racers rest on Tuesday before tackling one more stage in the Peyrenees. It's one more stage where Discovery Channel's Contador will have another chance at unseating Rasmussen. Then its three days of relatively flat stages until Saturday's penultimate stage, another individual time trial... more»
Discovery Channel's Alberto Contador rode into second place in the Tour de France on Sunday alongside Michael Rasmussen, who protected his yellow jersey against the other challengers.
With the pre-race favorites strung out down the Plateau de Beille on Sunday, Contador crossed the finish line just ahead of Rasmussen. The two combined to knock back Australian Cadel Evans, who started the day in second place but dropped back to third.
Although Discovery's Levi Leipheimer was dropped about half-way up the final climb, he gained ground on just about everyone else, finishing fourth on the day and moving into fourth place overall.... more»
Quite a few people have mentioned seeing a bike rider letting it all hang out to take a "nature break" during the 10th Stage live coverage.
The New York Times reports that's against the rules. Well, peeing isn't against the rules, but peeing in front of spectators (or cameramen) is.
At least 10 cyclists, including US riders Dave Zabriskie and Freddie Rodriguez, have been fined the equivalent of $83 for satisfying nature's need in front of the public...... more»
The first Tour de France stage in the Pyrenees can be viewed on the big screen at the free Cyclefest Outdoor Cinema Sunday night in Seattle's Magnuson Park.
The Cascade Bicycle Club is offering more than just cycling and suds this year. The festivities begin at 3 p.m. with bike polo matches, followed by a treasure hunt, free sprint racing, and kids' bike parade..... more»
Pre-race favorite Alexander Vinokourov once again is providing the drama for the Tour de France as he won the 13th Stage time trial around Albi on Saturday.
Seriously injured and counted out after his solo crash in Stage 5, the leader of the Astana team improved from 19th place at the start of the day to 9th overall at the end. In spite of two stitched up knees, he's not giving up.
Yellow jersey cyclist Michael Rasmussen provided the other surprise in the stage, as the traditionally poor time trial rider actually gained time on some of his close rivals and retained the overall lead. ... more»
If there was any justice in the world, either Amets Txurruka or Perrick Fedrigo would have been first across the finish line in Castres on Friday.
The two attacked with about 85 miles to go in the 111-mile 12th stage of the Tour de France, built up a 5-minute lead and held it until over the final climb, only to be swept up only about a half-mile from the finish.
A textbook leadout by the QuickStep team and a hard sprint by Belgian Tom Boonen won him his second stage victory of this year Tour over Erik Zabel (Milram) and Robbie Hunter (Barloworld). Txurruka (Euskaltel) and Fedrigo (Bouygues Telecom) finished with the peloton. ... more»
US cyclist David Zabriskie missed the Stage 11 time cut on Thursday and has had to leave the Tour de France.
The Utah resident told VeloNews that his left knee, injured several years ago, has been hurting since Team CSC made all the riders change to a different type of shoe during the Giro d'Italia. ... more»
As the Tour de France bike race grinds its way through France, Versus cycling commentator Bob Roll continues to amuse us on the evening rebroadcasts with his Tour insights.
The blogger at So Quoted has collected some funny excerpts from Bobke's earlier works. A member of the original 7-Eleven team, Roll certainly has a unique perspective on things.
I took the picture above when Roll spoke at the 2005 Seattle Bike Expo, where he explained how and why he came up with "Tour DAY France:" .... more»
Robbie Hunter scored the first-ever Tour de France win for a South African cyclist in Stage 11 on Thursday, as Frenchman Christophe Moreau dropped out of the Top 10.
Denmark's Michael Rasmussen retained the yellow jersey in the 113-mile mostly flat stage from Marseille to Montpellier in southern France that saw the peloton essentially split in two.
US sprinter Freddie Rodriguez found himself in the leading group, but crashed into barriers as he and others were accelerating toward the finish line. He did not get up immediately to finish the race, but did cross the line nearly 5 minutes later (See also: Zabriskie out; Rodriguez angry; US riders' standings). ... more»
I always heard: Dog bites man; no story. Man bites dog; story.
There's no rule for man on bicycle hits dog on the Tour de France, so I'll offer this up. It's a clip of Marcus Burghardt hitting a Labrador during Tuesday's Stage 9.
Look how that front wheel crumples.
Apparently the dog was not injured. We know Burghardt (T-Mobile) made it through unscathed, as he attacked the peloton on Wednesday and helped establish the breakaway that contained the winning finishers.
Cedric Vasseur became the first Frenchman to win a Tour de France stage in 2007 when he sprinted from a five-man breakaway in the last few yards before the finish line in Marseille.
The peloton finished about 10 minutes later, but Michael Rasmussen's yellow jersey was safe on his shoulders.
The 142-mile race from Tallard to Marseille was a restful stage for most of the peloton. It was the first out of the Alps and featured just four hills, two category 4's and two category 3's..... more»
Two German public TV channels stopped airing the Tour de France after a member of the T-Mobile pro cycling team tested positive for a high level of testosterone.
The cyclist, Patrik Sinkewitz, dropped out of the tour on Sunday after he rode his bike into a spectator.
Sinkewitz was tested during training on June 8, and the results just came back. ... more»
Colombian cyclist Mauricio Soler, riding in his first Tour de France, soared past the favorites to win the final stage in the Alps on Tuesday.
Overall leader Michael Rasmussen retained the yellow jersey after Stage 9, while the rest of the top 10 reshuffled itself and pre-race favorite Alexander Vinokourov struggled, continuing his descent in the overall standings.
Discovery's Levi Leipheimer remained the highest ranked US cyclist in the bike race, climbing into 9th place. His teammate, the fantastic Spanish climber Alberto Contrador, worked his way into 5th place overall, winning the Best Young Rider's white jersey. ... more»
Tour de France bike race fans witnessed another serious skake-up of the overall standings over the 102-mile route through the Alps on Sunday.
One cyclist rode away to a solo victory, another went from the virtual yellow jersey to abandonment in the course of a few miles, and a chase group's infighting prevented them from putting away some pre-race favorites.
Danish climbing specialist Michael Rasmussen, left, must have been licking his chops when he saw the three Category 1 Alpine mountains on Sunday's route of the Tour de France bike race. He attacked on the first and rode away by himself on the second and third climbs to win the stage and yellow jersey at Tignes. ... more»
This is a whole different Tour de France after Stage 7's first Alpine climbs of the bike race sent up five new cyclists to the head of the overall standings.
The stage winner and overall leader, T-Mobile's Linus Gerdemann, is new in more ways than one. The 24-year-old is riding in his first Tour de France, having turned pro with Team CSC in 2005.
Gerdemann attacked with about 6 miles to go on the Col de la Colombière, holding off all challengers on the descent into Le Grand-Bornand to win by 40 seconds. He moved up from 20th at the end of Stage 6.
The pre-race favorites hung on to finish about 3-1/2 minutes back. Among them, injured Andreas Kloden of the Astana team is in the best position, sitting (on a fractured coccyx) in 6th place at 3:39 behind the leader more»
In spite of struggling through Friday's Tour de France stage, pre-race favorite Alexander Vinokourov will definitely start on Saturday as the peloton enters the Alps.
The Astana team director was not so sure about Vino's teammate Andreas Kloden, who is suffering from a hairline fracture on his tailbone. ... more»
Belgian cyclist Tom Boonen ended a two-year dry spell at the Tour de France on Friday, winning Stage 6 in a mass sprint in Bourg-en-Bresse as Fabian Cancellara completed the first week still in yellow.
Boonen hadn't won a stage since early in the 2005 Tour, when he won two (he has 5 career). It looked like the sprinter might win Stage 2 in Ghent, Belgium, on Monday, but he came in second to teammate Gert Steegmans.
"At last another victory. You need so much luck," Boonen told reporters after the victory.
Meanwhile the riding wounded -- Alexander Vinokourov, Andreas Kloden (both Astana) and Benjamin Noval (Discovery Channel) -- finished the stage ... more»
Italy's Filippo Pozzato won a hard fought sprint in Autun on Thursday as Tour de France fans saw three pre-race favorites struggling to catch up to the peloton after crashes along the route.
Fabian Cancellara held onto the leader's yellow jersey for yet another day as he raced at the front of the bunch after sweeping up a breakaway on the 113-mile route from Chablis to Autun.
The biggest scare came for the Astana team as both Alexandre Vinokourov and Andreas Kloden hit the ground during the stage. ... more»
Perfect timing and a good partner helped put Thor Hushovd across the finish line in Joigny on Wednesday, moving him into second place overall behind Fabian Cancellara.
After an early breakaway by five riders, the peloton came together a few miles before reaching the destination of the 119-mile stage. It was a perfect situation for a classic sprint finish, as T-Mobile, Barloworld, Gerolsteiner, Preditor-Lotto, Milram and QuickStep all took their turns at the front or near it.
But when it counted, it was New Zealand sprinter Julian Dean leading out his Credit Agricole team captain who made the right move at the right time. ... more»
Fabian Cancellara turned the final mile of Stage 3 into a time trial on Tuesday, completely surprising the peloton and driving past a 4-man breakaway to win on the cobblestones in Compiegne.
Team CSC's Cancellara, the world time trial champion, grabbed the yellow jersey on Saturday's prologue and has held it ever since. The 20-second bonus at the finish gives him a 33-second margin over Astana's Andreas Kloden.
Most of the 146-mile race over rolling terrain between Waregem and Compiegne was as exciting as watching paint dry, as a two-man breakaway escaped at about 5 miles and stayed out in front of the sluggish peloton until the final few feet. ... more»
The Discovery Channel pro cycling team's Tomas Vaitkus broke his thumb in that huge pile-up near the finish of Stage 2 on Monday and will not continue the Tour.
The pileup in Ghent took a toll on two American riders as well, although they plan to continue the race.
Discovery's George Hincapie bruised his knee (New York Times says right knee, CyclingNews said left knee), but is expected to return on Stage 3. Freddy Rodriguez of Predictor Lotto got two deep cuts on his elbow stitched up ... more»
A Belgian cyclist won Stage 2 in front of his countrymen in the Tour de France bike race on Monday, but it wasn't the Belgian in the script.
Gert Steegmans essentially works for Tom Boonen on the QuickStep team, and Steegmans was leading out Boonen at the finsh line in Ghent. How cool would it be for Belgian sprint champion Boonen to win in front of the hometown crowd?
But Steegmans kept driving toward the finish line to hold off the rest of the crash-depleted bunch, and Boonen was unable to pass Steegmans at the line. Boonen patted his teammate on the back, however, congratulating him on the 1-2 finish for the QuickStep team. ... more»
Kazahkstan's most famous bicyclist, Alexander Vinokourov, won the "Who's going to win the 2007 Tour de France poll" with 33% of the vote.
The first runner-up was US cyclist Levi Leipheimer with 21% of the votes, followed by Vino's teammate Andreas Kloden with 8% of the vote.
American Floyd Landis won the poll last year, receiving 33% of the votes, equal to Vinokourov. The support Vino received from winning this year's Biking Bis poll will certainly encourage him to do his best over the next three weeks, just as it certainly must have helped Landis. If he wins, let's hope he doesn't run into Landis' troubles. ... more»
Counted out after going down in a crash 12 miles from the finish, Australian sprinter Robbie McEwen won his 12th Tour de France stage in Canterbury on Sunday.
The last we saw of the sprinter, until he popped out of the crowd at the finish, McEwen was looking at his right wrist as his Predictor-Lotto teammates got him back into the rear of the peloton about 4 miles from the end.
Quick-Step and Lampre led the peloton onto the streets of Canterbury, where Milram took over the train for Erik Zabel. There wasn't much cooperation among the teams, though, allowing Barloworld's Robert Hunter to jump out of the pack. ... more»
At the end of the day, it's probably no surprise that world time trial champion Fabian Cancellara (left, Team CSC) would win the opening day prologue for the 2007 Tour de France on Saturday by a 13-second margin.
The surprise is George Hincapie's (right, Discovery Channel) 3rd place finish in the London prologue, 10 seconds behind 2nd place Andreas Kloden (Astana), considered one of the overall Tour favorites.
Another US cyclist, David Zabriskie of Team CSC, briefly led the rankings in the 5-mile prologue, but dropped to 11th overall at the end of the day. ... more»
The 2007 Tour de France is finally underway with the prologue through London. Here's some choices of where to get live updates and commentary through the Tour's finish in Paris on July 29.
Eurosport -- The UK-based sports website has partnered with Yahoo. The Eurosport Tour de France page features a "Live Audio" broadcast button; look for it on the right-hand column under "Related Video" ... more»
The 2007 Tour de France opens on Saturday with a 4.9-mile prologue through the city of London. Bicycle racers will start individually at Whitehall, pedal past the Houses of Parliament, loop through Hyde Park and finish on The Mall.
The BBC mounted a camera in a car and filmed "The Real Prologue," a speeded up version of what it's like to drive the prologue route during the morning rush hour.
Meanwhile, Cycling.tv has provided a 4-minute video of the best spots to catch the prologue in London, below:
The bookies say Alexander Vinokourov, right, has the best chance of winning the 2007 Tour de France bike race, which starts Saturday in London. They're laying 3-to-1 odds that he'll win. Who do you think will win?
I think it would be cool to have US-cyclist Levi Leipheimer (18-1 odds) win the bike race this year, if only just to drive the French nuts. They have to go back 22 years to 1985 with Bernard Hinault to remember a Frenchman on the top step of the podium; 11 of those years it was won by an American.
I've listed other cyclists in this year's peloton who are considered to have a chance at taking the overall championship. Check out the list and vote for one, or choose "other." The polling will close after the prologue on Saturday. ... more»
US cyclist Levi Leipheimer celebrated his first stage win ever at the Tour de France on Saturday, pulling himself within 8 seconds of Cadel Evans, who sits in second place with just one stage left in the bike race.
French cyclist Sandy Casar won his first Tour de France stage on Friday with his shorts ripped and hip bruised from a crash when he hit a dog earlier in the Stage 18 breakaway.
Four survivors of a breakaway that led most of the day played a game of cat and mouse at the approach to the finish line in Castelsarrasin on Thursday, but all the tactics couldn't stop sprinter Daniele Bennati from winning Stage 17.
Good morning, and welcome to Stage 17 of the 2007 Tour de France. 
Just four days from a sure victory in Paris, Danish cyclist Michael Rasmussen has been kicked out of the Tour de France by his own Rabobank team.
Danish cyclist Michael Rasmussen fought off every attempt by the Discovery Channel team to unseat him from the overall lead of the Tour de France on Wednesday.
Pre-race favorite Alexander Vinokourov has tested positive for homologous blood doping and is out of the Tour de France.
US cyclist Freddie Rodriguez dropped out of the Tour de France bike on Monday's Stage 15, the second stage in the Pyrenees.
Alexander Vinokourov tore apart the Tour de France peloton again on Monday, going out on an early breakaway and winning a stage in the Pyrenees with five hard climbs.
Discovery Channel's Alberto Contador rode into second place in the Tour de France on Sunday alongside Michael Rasmussen, who protected his yellow jersey against the other challengers.
If there was any justice in the world, either Amets Txurruka or Perrick Fedrigo would have been first across the finish line in Castres on Friday.
As the Tour de France bike race grinds its way through France, Versus cycling commentator Bob Roll continues to amuse us on the evening rebroadcasts with his Tour insights.
Robbie Hunter scored the first-ever Tour de France win for a South African cyclist in Stage 11 on Thursday, as Frenchman Christophe Moreau dropped out of the Top 10.
Cedric Vasseur became the first Frenchman to win a Tour de France stage in 2007 when he sprinted from a five-man breakaway in the last few yards before the finish line in Marseille.
Colombian cyclist Mauricio Soler, riding in his first Tour de France, soared past the favorites to win the final stage in the Alps on Tuesday.
This is a whole different Tour de France after Stage 7's first Alpine climbs of the bike race sent up five new cyclists to the head of the overall standings.
Perfect timing and a good partner helped put Thor Hushovd across the finish line in Joigny on Wednesday, moving him into second place overall behind Fabian Cancellara.
Fabian Cancellara turned the final mile of Stage 3 into a time trial on Tuesday, completely surprising the peloton and driving past a 4-man breakaway to win on the cobblestones in Compiegne.
A Belgian cyclist won Stage 2 in front of his countrymen in the Tour de France bike race on Monday, but it wasn't the Belgian in the script.
Counted out after going down in a crash 12 miles from the finish, Australian sprinter Robbie McEwen won his 12th Tour de France stage in Canterbury on Sunday.
At the end of the day, it's probably no surprise that world time trial champion Fabian Cancellara (left, Team CSC) would win the opening day prologue for the 2007 Tour de France on Saturday by a 13-second margin.
