Back in May, I asked Biking Bis readers who they thought would win the 2006 Tour de France. Ivan Basso and Jan Ullrich received three-fourths of the votes. With those two heavy favorites out of the race, I'm posting another quickie poll at right. Here are some top contenders ...   more »

The two favored contenders in the the 2006 Tour de France have been thrown out in shame, caught up in a blood doping probe that started in May.

Ivan Basso, looking for his first Tour de France win, and Jan Ullrich, hoping to fulfill the promise he showed as a young Tour winner in 1997, will be watching the Tour from the sidelines this year.

The decision came less than 24 hours before the three-week race is set to begin. It changes the whole complexion of the race, and could help propel Americans like Floyd Landis, Levi Leipheimer and George Hincapie to the front of the pack. ...   more »

I didn't know much about bicycles -- I'm still not what you'd call a gear head -- when I bought my first set of wheels back in 1977.

With $150 in my wallet and a copy of the latest Consumer Reports in my hand I marched into Big Wheel Bikes down by the canal in Washington DC and bought that year's recommended bicycle -- the Fuji Dynamic 10. ...   more »

This could be a very different Tour de France than the bike race we envisioned just a few days ago. Favorites Ivan Basso, left, and Jan Ullrich have been named in media reports among the patients of Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes, the doctor who is the focus of the Operacion Puerto drug probe in Spain. Eurosport says Thursday that the cyclists were identified by sources for Cadena Ser radio. ...   more »

Lance Armstrong won't be cycling shoulder-to-shoulder with members of the Tour de France peloton in July; he'll be crunched in a mass of more than 8,000 RAGBRAI cyclists.

The retired Tour de France champion has confirmed he'll ride in one or more days of the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa that runs July 23-29. ...   more »

If you want some insight into what cyclists talk about in the peloton, check out the Dave Zabriskie Podcast at MissingSaddle.com.

His latest installment, discovered by TdF Blog 2006, talks about Russian cyclists and their mullets.

Further, the Salt Lake City native is featured in Bicycling magazine with Phonak team leader Floyd Landis. Zabriskie interviews Landis in the piece. The CSC rider shares an apartment with Landis in Girona.

Expect great things from both cyclists at the Tour de France, which starts Saturday.

(Updated July 29 -- Astana-Wurth gets green light to race -- CyclingNews) Tour de France organizers are seeking to ban the Astana-Wurth cycling team from the bike race this year after published reports link several members to a blood-doping probe in Spain. ...   more »

Forty-five bike trails in 36 months. That's the goal for New Orleans bicyclist Larry Lagarde.

Lagarde plans to ride these bicycle trails, review them and tell about his adventures at his website RideThisBike.com.

Right now, Lagarde has links to more than 40 bike trails worldwide at his website. His personal bike tour will enable him to add his own perspective on the bike trails and routes. ...   more »

True or false, proven or unproven, this is going to be a huge distraction to German cyclist Jan Ullrich and some other cyclists in the Tour de France.

The Spanish newspaper El Pais reports that documents found in a raid during the Operation Puerto blood-doping probe relate to Ullrich, the winner of the 1997 Tour de France and a favorite this year.

Says Ullrich: "That has nothing to do with me." ...   more »

Three-time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond told French newspaper L'Equipe on Sunday why he testified against Lance Armstrong in a recent arbitration hearing.

"I was forced to testify, because Lance had threatened me. ... He threatened my wife, my business, my life. His biggest threat consisted of saying he would find 10 people to testify that I took EPO. Of course, he didn't find a single one." Armstrong says the charge is ridiculous.   more »

You can always leave that heavy tent and sleeping bag at home on your next bicycle tour if you don't mind parting with some cash. Many bed and breakfast inns are promoting themselves to bicycle tourists as they offer secure bike storage, big breakfasts, laundry facilities and bike trail maps.

I had assumed that most innkeepers would get their knickers in a bunch if I dragged my bike onto the porch and marched into the lobby dripping with sweat, my clothes streaked with chain grease.

That apparently isn't the case for 101 inns ...   more »

This is the story that will never die: Did he or didn't he?

The French newspaper Le Monde has reported that Lance Armstrong told doctors treating him for cancer in 1996 that he had taken the blood-boosting agent EPO and other drugs -- this before he won his first Tour de France victory in 1999. The sources -- former friend, teammate and OLN cycling commentator Frankie Andreu and his wife, Betsy.

An attorney for Armstrong immediately rejected the allegation, citing an affidavit from one of Armstrong's doctors. The seven-time Tour de France champion also rejected the report, calling it absurd. ...   more »

Now that the last of the Race Across America cyclists have straggled across the finish line in Atlantic City, mountain bikers are leaving Roosville, Montana, for the Great Divide Race at noon Friday.

While the RAAM racers gain our admiration by cycling 3,042 miles cross-country in 9 or 10 days, consider what the Great Divide racers try to accomplish:

With no support or team members, the mountain bikers race from the Canadian to the Mexican border. They cross 2,490 miles of mountain terrain carrying their own gear for cooking, camping and bike repair. The route comprises 200,000 feet of climbing. ...   more »

Consumers should stop riding bicycles that use the Specialized SW carbon stem with magnesium faceplate, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission warns.

The carbon stem, manufactured in Taiwan for Specialized Bicycles Components, has a magnesium faceplate that holds the handlebar in place. The faceplate can break, causing the handlebars to come off the bicycle. ...   more »

Bill Cook's blog of his upcoming bicycle tour looks like it could be a good read.

Cook is a retired journalist who is leaving Thursday on a 7-week TransAmerica bike tour with 40 other cyclists. At 70, he's the second oldest on the trip; another fella is 73. ...   more »