Cadel Evans, Tour de France 2011 Champion

Congratulations to Cadel Evans!! So happy for you!! You deserved it - you worked hard for it - never gave up the dream!!

Wishing you some more wins and successes to come!!

Tour de France 2011: Pierre Rolland takes France's first stage win

Stage 19: Modane Valfréjus to Alpe-d'Huez

Tour de France 2011: Pierre Rolland takes France's first stage win

• Frenchman takes over white jersey with Alpe-d'Huez win
• Andy Schleck takes over yellow jersey from Thomas Voeckler

France's Pierre Rolland stage 19 of the 2011 Tour de France on Alpe d'Huez. Photograph: Pascal Pavani/AFP/Getty Images

Determination

A battered Klodi is down but not out.

Fireworks were flying in France as well as the USA today as American Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Cervelo) took his first career stage win

Tour de France

Stage 3: Olonne-Sur-Mer to Redon, 198km/123mi

By Cathy Mehl

Fireworks were flying in France as well as the USA today as American Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Cervelo) took his first career stage win in the Tour de France, a win dedicated to his best friend Wouter Weylandt of Leopard-Trek who suffered a fatal accident in the Giro d’Italia last May. Second and third places went to Romain Feillu (Vacansoleil) and Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil of Movistar. Team RadioShack celebrated American Independence Day by staying safe in the peloton with Chris Horner, Jani Brajkovic, Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Klöden continuing to hold their GC positions at 10-seconds off the yellow jersey of Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo).

“Today was a typical day for the first week of the Tour de France,” said Team Manager Johan Bruyneel at the end of the day. “Fast, windy, a lot of nerves in the peloton. Everybody wants to be in the front. I think we did a good job and we kept everybody out of trouble. We were in the front on the Pont du St. Nazaire (bridge) where it was supposed to be windy, and it was windy. After that the goal was to stay focused, keep the team together and make sure nobody was involved in any crashes. You can’t prevent crashes of course, but having the guys up front and protected helps as much as possible. You can’t exclude the possibility of a crash in the front but usually they happen from one-third back to the back of the peloton where guys are fighting to move up. Fortunately today was one more day without problems. So mission accomplished,” concluded a satisfied Johan Bruyneel.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/teamradioshack/news_mission-accomplished/

Contador’s Coup In Switzerland

Alberto Contador was expected to make an impression on the race on the first day of climbing in the Alps and that’s exactly what he did. He bolted ahead of all his rivals at the base of the final ascent and into the yellow jersey with an impressive display of climbing. Carlos Sastre and a host of other favorites would lose contact early but fight to limit their losses but they all appear to be racing for second place in the 2009 Tour as Contador was outstanding. He claimed the victory in the stage ahead of an impressive Andy Schleck and now leads the general classification from his team-mate, the seven-time champion Lance Armstrong.

The Progress Report

The Tour returned to the mountains with the 15th stage from Pontarlier to Verbier in Switzerland. On the menu were six categorized climbs, three cat-three – the cote du Rafour (8km), cote des Etroits (18.5km), cote de la Carrière (54km) and the cote de Prévonloup (74km), the cat-2 col des Mosses (135.5km) and the final ascent, a cat-1 climb to Verbier. There are now just two intermediate sprints for the non-time trial stages; points for the green jersey can be acquired in Thierrens (56.5km) and Martigny (181km).


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Update on Lance's Injury, Response to Drug Testing Allegations

Update on Lance's Injury, Response to Drug Testing Allegations -- powered by http://www.livestrong.com

Sell, sell, sell

Sell all my AIG shares, Nortel too!! ;-)

Filippo Pozzato's Liquigas Cannondale SuperSix

Pippo's green dream machine

Filippo "Pippo" Pozzato (Liquigas) is no shrinking violet. Rarely a race goes by without him unveiling a new pair of shoes - like the flowery ones he wore at Milano-Sanremo this year - or a new paint scheme for his bike. His flowing blonde hair is always immaculate (before the races anyway) and off the bike he drives a Ferrari and is one of the most style conscious riders in the peloton. At this year's Le Grand Boucle the 2006 winner of La Primavera is hoping to add to his tally of two stage victories astride a Tour de France commemorative special.

As a classics specialist, the Italian has been trying to get himself into breakaways this year to have some chance of getting that stage victory. On stage 11's transitional parcours into Foix he was a member of the group that managed to escape the peloton but unfortunately missed the decisive split in the closing stages and finished a disappointed 7th behind CSC-Saxo Bank's Kurt-Asle Arvesen. He hasn't managed to feature since, but as soon as the race leaves the Alps in the journey towards Paris we fully expect him to try his luck at least once more.
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Another Blow to the Tour De France, Rasmussen's Yellow Jersey's Been Pulled Out from the TDF

Rasmussen Pulled From Race

By Phil Liggett
July 25, 2007

So, the Tour de France is punishing into chaos tonight after both, the French Team and the Dutch Rabobank has packed their bags and headed home. The seal of 189 riders in London are now down to 135 to final days into Paris. Just what the millions of spectators will make of this, remains to be seen. They certainly will not see the race leader for the past 9 nine days and today’s stage winner, Michael Rasmussen. He was sacked by hi Rabobank Team for lying about his whereabouts when he failed to make himself available for the now well documented out of competition drug test.

His team manager, Theo de Rooy, said that Rasmussen had told him he had been in Mexico with his wife. We all know now that Rasmussen has been seen training in the Dolomite Mountains in Italy. The team then withdrew because of the Code of Ethics, which is now agreed within professional teams.

Earlier in the evening, I had also dreaded to go home for the same principles after former Italian Champion, Christian Moreni, had tested positive during a spot check on Stage 11 for synthetic testosterone. Moreni finished this afternoon and was then taken away by handcuffs by French police.

The new leader of the race will be young Spaniard, Alberto Contador by 1:53 ahead of Cadel Evans and Levi Leipheimer who is +56 seconds in third.

Thank heavens none of these three riders have ever been remotely suspected in dealing with drugs and could now turn out to be the race’s saviors.

Tomorrow is going to be a strange day.

[ Versus Web Site ]

LE TOUR DE FRANCE OBTAINS THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE ASTANA TEAM

Another sad chapter in the Tour De France history.

The organisers of the Tour de France have been informed by Marc Biver, the manager of the Astana team, about the positive test of Alexandre Vinokourov on the day of the time trial stage in Albi. At the request of Patrice Clerc, President of A.S.O., the Astana team has agreed to leave the 2007 Tour de France:

Christian Prudhomme, the Director of the Tour de France, and Patrice Clerc, wanted to reaffirm in Pau their stance in the fight against doping and to assure the public of their determination to insist with the battle. “The start in London was a formidable occasion to re-conquer. It has failed. The riders have to understand that they are playing a game of Russian roulette if they are doping. They have to realize that we will never give up the war against doping in which we are involved. Doping ruins our childhood dreams. Vinokourov has cheated and the only possible answer was: leave! It’s an absolute failure of the system. It has to change now. The re-conquering of cycling has to be done with the Tour de France. I started this job believing that we could change this system but it’s not enough: there has to be a revolution!”

Alexandre Vinokourov – “I’ll never give up…!”

Yesterday, I admit, was a terrible day. It really affected my mind and that’s one of the reason I finished so far behind the peloton at Plateau de Beille. ...

[ Tour De France Page ]

Boonen Breaks Up The Traditional Transitional Formula

Boonen Breaks Up The Traditional Transitional Formula

The Quickstep team benefited from a long chase of two escapees that was controlled by both the Lampre and Francaise des Jeux team. It was only in the final three kilometers that Tom Boonen’s boys moved forward to set up a lead-out train that delivered the green jersey to the front at exactly the right time. The winner of stage six held off all the other sprint specialists to claim his second stage victory this year and the sixth of his career. He beat his two closest rivals in the points classification – with Erik Zabel and Robert Hunter taking the minor places. It was a stage that was animated by two escapees who took off at the 52km mark: Amets Txurruka and Pierrick Fedrigo built a lead of 11’30” and worked well together until being swallowed up by the sprint squads just 1,200m from the line. Of the three transitational stages, two have ended in bunch sprints...

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A Tour of France Via the Tour De France

Today's 12th stage takes the TDF from Montpelier to Castres- 178.5 kms.



Montpelier
Capital of the Languedoc-Roussillon region, Montpellier is also one of the leading cities on the Mediterranean world, in keeping with ties that go back many centuries.
The « city of a thousand and one lives », having gone through a demographic expansion like nowhere else in France, has chosen to expand towards the sea. Port Marianne, one of many new neighborhoods to have cropped up in recent years (Antigone, Malbosc, Ovalie,….) perfectly typifies that commitment to the roots of Mare Nostrum. Capital of the world’s largest vineyard, home to Europe’s oldest Medicine University and to major companies (Sanofi, Dell...), Montpellier is taking on the future as a city to be reckoned with in Europe and in the Mediterranean. Montpellier is adding new facilities and pursuing its surge, so as to meet the legitimate needs and hopes of its population.
8th largest city in France, Montpellier more than ever aims to lead the way in sustainable development, solidarity and local democracy, making it a special place where to live together and in harmony.



Castres
Situated 80 km from Toulouse, on the road to Compostela, Castres took off in the 9th century. The beautiful houses which can still be admired along the river Agout were then home to weavers, tanners and dyers, as Castres first specialized in textile manufacturing. Around 1670, major works were undertaken. The bishop’s palace was built, according to plans by Mansart ; it now houses the Goya Museum, dedicated to Spanish art. The adjoining garden, designed by Lenôtre, has been well preserved. There is also the Jaures Museum, about the pacifist and socialist leader, a native son of Castres. The major economic players all strive to implement efficient infrastructures: regular flights to Paris and Lyon, education, high-speed telecommunications network.

Team Barloworld Gets Another Stage Win

Barloworld, a wild card team from South Africa, gets a stage win again courtesy of South African cyclist Robbie Hunter. What a dream Tour indeed for Barloworld.



Robert HUNTER
Born: Johannesburg (Rsa)
1977-04-22

Residence:
Principato di Montecarlo
Rue Princesse Grace, 21
Professional since: 1998
Victories: 31*

Cannondale Falls In Love With Briançon In 2007!

Team Barloworld’s Colombian climber Mauricio Soler won stage nine of the Tour de France today, taking his fourth and most important victory of his short professional career.

Cannondale Falls In Love With Briançon In 2007!

Team Barloworld’s Colombian climber Mauricio Soler won stage nine of the Tour de France today, taking his fourth and most important victory of his short professional career.

“It was an incredible win, something I never expected to achieve. But with some great team work it all worked out fine,” Soler, 24, told reporters. The Barloworld rider was awarded by the new President of French Republic, Nicolas Sarkozy, who followed the race on the Tour de France director's vehicle.

With 64 km to go, Soler launched with a solo attack from the already shrunken peloton. In 17 kilometers, he managed to rejoin an earlier breakaway from two and a half minutes behind, and then launched another impressive acceleration that no one else could match. The 24-year-old Colombian climber reached the top of the Galibier with a 2.20 gap on Contador (Discovery Channel) and 3.20 on yellow jersey Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank) and Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne). Soler, with all the team leaders chasing hard from behind, bombed down the descent aboard his Cannondale System Six, and then pushed up the final rise to the finish, where he could finally raise his arms for the most important win in his career.

With this win, Soler gained positions in the overall standing (he is now in 17th position), in the climbers' classification (2nd) and in the white-jersey contest (3rd). Michael Rasmussen kept the yellow jersey with 2.35 over Alejandro Valverde. As Rasmussen is also the climber classification's leader, tomorrow it will be Soler to don the polka-dot jersey, being second in this special standing.

The win marks Cannondale’s second stage win in Briançon, as Team Liquigas’ Giro d’Italia-winning Danilo Di Luca took stage 12 of that race as well!

Soler: Barloworld’s Colombian Hero

Soler: Barloworld’s Colombian Hero

Juan Mauricio Soler had given a hint of what he was capable of when the Tour de France first arrived at the Alps. In his debut in the race, the Colombian has been aggressive on the climbs but the favorites of the general classification had always been able to reel in his attacks. This time, not even an inspired Alejandro Valverde, Michael Rasmussen or Cadel Evans could spoil the Barloworld rider’s party. He attacked 10km before the summit of the Col du Galibier, reached a lead of over three minutes and arrived in the highest city in Europe with an advantage of 38 seconds over Valverde and the other title hopes.

The 159.5km eighth stage of the 2007 Tour de France – from Val d’Isere to Briancon – began at 12.36pm. There were 171 riders in the race. The itinerary after the first rest day included three climbs including the 94th edition’s highest pass, the ‘hors categorie’ 2,770m high Col d’Iseran (with the summit at 15km), then the cat-1 Col du Telegraph (at 99km) followed by the HC Col du Galibier (at 122km). The first rider at this summit wins 5,000 Euros for the ‘Souvenir Henri Desgrange’. The two intermediate sprints were in Le Villaron (at 33.5km) and Bramans (60km).

Popovych Makes His Move
At the 3km mark, Arrieta (A2R) rode ahead of the peloton. It was the first attack but no one cared. At 4.5km, Popovych (DSC) set off in pursuit and caught him at 6km. ‘Popo’ then rode ahead. With 5km to climb, the Discovery Channel rider led the peloton by 1’40”. Cardenas and Soler (BAR) were also aggressive early. Popovych led Lefevre and Soler by 30” at the top. Gusev (DSC) attacked the peloton in the last kilometer of the Iseran and he continued his escape on the descent when he was joined by Astarloza (EUS), Clements (BTL), Vaugrenard (FDJ) and Gutierrez (GCE). Popovych claimed first-place the intermediate sprint and was caught by the five chasers at the 38km mark. Rabobank led the peloton 1’25” behind. The Rabobank team then moved to the front of the bunch to take control. At the 45km mark, their group was 2’05” behind. The average speed for the first hour was 38.6km/h.
Burghardt (TMO) slammed into a dog at the 48km mark but remounted his bike and rejoined the peloton. It was the only accident in the early part of the stage. The points at the second sprint were won by Astarloza who was the best-placed on GC of the escapees. The peloton was 3’00” behind at the 60km mark.

Col du Telegraph
With 9km to climb to the Col du Telegraphe, Gusev accelerated and prompted an attack from Astarloza. Six kilometers from the second summit, Astarloza led Gusev, Popovych and Gutierrez by 25”, Clement by 35”, Vaugrenard by 50” and the peloton by 2’55”. Millar led the peloton for the first 8km of the Telegraphe then peeled off and Camano (SDV) took over. Clement caught Gusev’s group halfway up the climb.
Gusev, Popovych, Clements and Gutierrez caught Astarloza between the Telegraphe and Galibier. At the base of the third climb, the five riders were 3’05” ahead of the peloton. Vinokourov (AST) consulted the race doctor on the Telegraphe climb.

Col du Galibier
On the early slopes of the third climb Clement caught up with the four stage leaders. They were 1’10” ahead of Soler (BAR) and 2’20” ahead of the peloton. Mercado (AGR) attacked with 16km to climb. Soler caught the leading quintet 8km from the top and raced into the lead. Only Popovych could match the Colombian’s pace. With 6km to climb Soler raced into the lead. Valverde sparked up the action in the yellow jersey’s group with 10km to go and this blew the bunch to pieces. Evans was the first to respond, then came: Rasmussen, Sastre, Kloden, Kirchen, Mayo, Cobo, Leipheimer and Contador. Moreau was dropped but wrestled back to this group at the summit. Vinokourov lost contact and, at the top the situation was: Soler in the lead, Popovych then Contador at 2’05”, Evans at 2’20”, Astarloza at 3’00”, Valverde and the rest of his elite group at 3’15”.

Soler Gives Barloworld A Victory
On the descent there was the expected regrouping: first Evans waited for the yellow jersey group which split into two on the false flat leading to Briancon with five in the lead (Rasmussen, Valverde, Gutierrez, Astarloza and Kirchen) then seven (Evans, Arroyo, Sastre, Moreau, Leipheimer, Cobo, Mayo and Kloden). With 6km to go, Rasmussen’s group caught up with Contador and Popovych. And 2km later there were 14 together again. Try as they did to catch Soler, they missed the cut as the Colombian powered alone up the final rise and claimed his maiden stage victory and the first win for Barloworld in the Tour de France. Valverde and Evans led most of the way up the final rise and finished 38" behind Soler.
Rasmussen was sixth in the stage (at 42") but inceased his overall lead; he now has a 2’35" advantage over Valverde and will wear the yellow jersey in stage 10.

Tour De France- runaway horse takes the lead