Le Tour 2012: how to lose at the start - or hey, it's only the prologue!

Perhaps this Tour was lost weeks ago, maybe even years ago. As I have your attention now (both of us, me and you) let me explain. Kinda.

This is the hypothesis: what goes around comes around. Simple. When things look extraterrestrial, maybe they are. It's not news to say that there are clouds hanging over some past performances at Le Tour (amongst other races) and - perhaps - it's all coming to a head. Or a beheading. There are riders and managers past and present hoping it all comes to nought. They may have nothing to fear but they still fear it in their bones. Or blood. It still has an effect. It rattles a few things, and focus is lost. And riders make mistakes, or lose form. And then there are aftershocks, pay disputes and general unhappiness. You know what I mean. Morale is damaged.

And there's more to the hypothesis, too: you are where you came from. Wiggins for example is a pursuit guy, a trackie used to smooth, fast velodromes. Yes, as are many other great road cyclists. But some of that basic training hangs around and whilst he's made a huge improvement on the road he still has to match the great descenders and tactical guys. Can he gain enough in the mountains and TTs to give up some time elsewhere?   

So what do I (club-level crit racer that I am) reckon the GC will look like in Paris? Well Wiggo, Evans and Menchov look good but you can't write Nibali out, either. Hesjedal? He'll give it a shot but his best tactic will be to look exhausted (from his Giro win), hang tough, stay close and pull out a surprise or 2 late in the race. But they all know to expect that. Wiggo, as I said, will take time in the mountains and TTs but may lose a bit to opportunists and descenders. Evans will just do what Evans does, hang in there, cling to Wiggo et al and just stay close enough to strike if he can. An opportunistic attack on a wet downhill may be his best tactic. However unless Wiggo cracks his strong TT will not be enough. He's not facing the Schlecks this time, is he? (Well not judging by Frank's performance so far - unless he has a miracle mountain ride up his sleeve.)

Of course it's a long race, of course anything can happen. To survive week one is hard enough, but then to attack or to match the attackers, that is the question. It may come down to who keeps the most energy and best form all the way through 4 weeks. It may depend on crashes, viruses, or one or 2 smart attacks on just the right days. Or it may play out exactly as expected. But I doubt it.  

So on with the show, this is it (summarised and commented, of course):

Tour De France 2012: Prologue Results | Cyclingnews.com

1 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan 0:07:13  Expected but a pleasant surprise to see confirmation - he's back. Fabian will hang onto the yellow until it makes no more sense for him or the team. He's done good, but where are the 'Shack's GC guys?
2 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:00:07 Expected. On form, done good. Used to be a TT specialist, despite obvious improvements elsewhere it remains to be seen how he copes with mountain descents in the wet, or the pressure of favoritism. Still, deserves to be the GC fave.
3 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-QuickStep Great ride, Chavanel will steal a stage or 2, surely?
4 Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:00:10 Again, rode out of his skin. A boost to BMC and a hopeful sign of strong support for GC man Evans.
5 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling 0:00:11 Expected. Wiggins has support, too.
6 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team Expected.
7 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Argos - Shimano 0:00:12 Perhaps unexpected? Obviously a good result.
8 Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha Team 0:00:13 Expected. A welcome return to form, deserves a break this year. Must be counted for the GC podium in Paris.
9 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team Coming on strong at exactly the right time. Watch this space. Again a comfort to Evans to have another powerhouse on his side.
10 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team 0:00:15 Expected.
11 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:00:16 Expected. Another Wiggo support man.
12 Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 0:00:17 Expected.
13 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team Expected. He's not a TT specialist, although he does great TTs, especially long ones. He's managed his loss to just a few seconds, so he's in the game.
14 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:00:18 Like Evans he's done his job. Expected. Wiggo-Evans-Menchov for the podium, Nibali a close 4th? Maybe. It's a cliche but it's true - anything can happen from here. Expect an exciting week 3 if these 4 are still on the same page.
15 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Sharp Expected. OK, make that 5. It's a tough call to expect Hesjedal to back up after his epic Giro, so I'll say "not this time".
16 David Millar (GBr) Garmin - Sharp Expected.
17 Stephen Cummings (GBr) BMC Racing Team Great ride. More support for Cadel.
18 Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan 0:00:19 Expected. Always there, isn't he? But he's not the 'Shack leader, is he? Maybe it's the next guy?
19 Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan Expected. Definitely in the game and if he's called upon to race like a leader and gets the support he's got the class to surprise... but then again, it's a big ask at the wrong end of a famous career, so maybe not.
20 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 0:00:20 Expected.
21 Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team Expected.
22 George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team Expected and good to see Cadel's support around him after this short test. But it's the long game that matters.
skip a few
30 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Sharp Expected, but perhaps he should have been a few places higher. We shall see how he sprints.
skip some more
36 Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling Expected, but again he's not as far up as we might have hoped. Will have saved something for Wiggo's support in the mountains, I suspect.
skip again
41 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling Expected. But a good ride nonetheless. Makes it look a good contest between Cav and Farrar in the sprints, methinks.
43 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team Expected. Make that a 3-way race for Green. 
45 Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-QuickStep A good ride but he should have won - a bike change drama slowed him down. Revenge will be sweet, later.
53 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale Oh dear, a bit less than expected. Missed a corner, pulled his foot? Whatever, he'll be back. Make it a 4-way race for Green.
61 Michael Rogers (Aus) Sky Procycling Expected. He's not a short TT guy and like Porte he'll be supporting Wiggo later.
69 David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin - Sharp Not that far off but slower than expected.
80 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-QuickStep First GC guy to miss a trick, perhaps, but he's really here to support VDB... but where's VDB? Still, it's a lot of time to lose in the prologue. 
87 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team No GC ambitions but can Gossy match it with the 4 sprinters above him? We shall see.
90 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale Ouch. It's OK, he's a support guy for Nibali this year. Calm down. 
Skipping a few more
113 Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan Obviously saving himself.
And the rest. They all have their jobs to do.

Oh, what about Frank? Theory A. is that he's fried after a strong run a month or so back. Theory B is that he's going to pull a surprise. Theory C is that he'll support Andreas instead. They are professionals, they'll get over the dramas. Or not. 

136
Frank Schleck (Lux) RadioShack-Nissan. No chance from this far back, really, unless he is hiding stellar climbing form and cracks the lot of 'em in the mountains. It'll be fun to see him try, anyway. Or will he simply support Andreas?  

On to Stage 1, I guess.

It's now or never for the "truth" to out in Armstrong's case

So far the evidence has seemed circumstantial at best. There hasn't been hard evidence of doping, not in his blood or urine tests, anyway. Or so it seems, as the accusations include cover-ups, don't they? And that's the problem. It's all smoke - dense smoke at that. How can we pin the truth down except by trusting the guy - or not? It's his word against a lot of hot-air opinions, so far. Yes, Armstrong worked with people like Dr Ferrari, previously named, shamed and barred from the sport.  Yes, a large number of his teammates from the US Postal era went on to get caught doping. Yes, many - if not most - of the riders he beat for his Tour titles were later found to be doping. So? It's still not proof, is it?

Yet it all adds up to a great big cloud of doubt. Hopefully this is it. The proof, one way or the other.

It's hard to imagine that anyone will ever try again if this attempt fails, surely?

Doping Charges Recommended In Armstrong Case | Cyclingnews.com

A review board has recommended that the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) file anti-doping rule violations against Lance Armstrong, it was announced today. The agency claims to have evidence that the seven-time Tour de France champion conspired to boost his and his US Postal team's performance through the use of performance enhancing drugs.

“USADA can confirm that the independent three person Anti-Doping Review Board (ADRB) has conducted a full evaluation and has made a unanimous recommendation to move forward with the adjudication process in accordance with the rules," a statement from USADA read.

What we don't want = possible defendent getting 'awkward' with probable witness

I can understand Armstrong's position - he has a lot a stake and only one small (annulled) doping violation to his name (for topical cortisol, if memory serves) - yet here he is getting all "awkward" with a doubly-busted-for doping ex-team-mate who has gone public with a bit of a lively story. Be the yarn true or not, why bother talking with the guy? Let alone getting awkward about it. Was he just stilted in his conversation, or was there a bit more aggro there?  

SBS: Cycling Central : Awkward encounter for Armstrong and Hamilton

Tyler Hamilton, who recently went public with his claim that Lance Armstrong doped, had an awkward encounter with the seven-time Tour de France champion at a Colorado restaurant at the weekend, US media reports.

ESPN.com reports Hamilton was unnerved enough by the incident to inform his lawyers, who told the sports website they had formally notified US authorities of what they consider "aggressive contact" initiated by Armstrong.

Media get braver as Lance gets closer to 2nd retirement. Crucifixion next?

The "old lies" may well be old but they are getting aired to a wider and deeper audience than ever before. Armstrong has always denied these claims, and he has been deified instead for his achievements as a cancer-survivor, fund-raiser and athlete. But as he nears his 2nd retirement he has become something of a big, slower-moving target. Just as he draws praise for his positive impact on the Tour Down Under, so he comes under fire by the "old liars". It's feeling a bit like open season at the moment, especially with fellow Tour-winner, former teammate and adversary Alberto Contador facing his own inquisition.

The truth is out there, but will it ever be known?  Or trusted?

Lance Armstrong faces tough ride - ex mechanic | Stuff.co.nz

A Wellington bike shop owner whose testimony could help bring down Lance Armstrong believes the seven-times Tour de France champion is in danger of becoming a permanent "symbol for decades of corruption".

Scott Sunderland makes Hushovd's mind up for him over Stage 2. And still we go on about "fairness"

I wasn't there so I don't know - but I have an opinion on the question of "fairness". And it's a saga that goes on and on, regrettably, without a solution. And isn't that the way everything works these days? The tiniest detail gets pounced upon and sides are taken, black or white. If it sticks and goes viral it snowballs out of all proportion but no agreement is reached or solution offered.

Andy Schleck's so-called "mechanical" when he somehow "lost his chain" (when in fact it appeared to jam on his cogs, as if he'd stuffed up a gearchange) is one example, and Stage 2 into Spa is another one. And now in post-race analysis Scott Sunderland appears to be putting his (possibly biased, being an ex member of what was the CSC team) views into Thor Hushovd's mouth. As well as putting Contador in his place for not waiting for Andy when his chain jammed. But what exactly is "fair"? Is it so black and white?

Now on the day into Spa it appeared (on TV and in post-race interviews, anyway) that Thor Hushovd wasn't very pleased about the bullying tactics used by Cancellara and the Saxo Bank team to annul the slippery stage. So to say that Thor wouldn't have wanted to win like that is certainly going a bit far. If Thor has changed his mind, great - let him say that himself. 

Now in principle we probably agree that gaining time by leveraging other riders' misfortune is not how we would like to win a race. But it assumes several things:

• Firstly that only the lucky got through unscathed, which is debatable. Wet, narrow descent with or without a crashed motorbike says "keep clear of other riders, slow down, pick your line" to me
  
• Secondly, a corollary to the first, that skill was not involved. Again, bike handling and the ability to pick your line is paramount
• Thirdly, that all teams played the conditions the same and were equally affected, which is not true. There was a breakaway and a chase group plus a larger group, all playing out different tactics. There are safer ways to play dangerous situations and some teams did better than others by design
  
• Fourthly, that an independent referee is available to assess the conditions and make an informed but unpressured and one-step-removed decision on conditions and actions to address. Which is debatable. The race referee was certainly there but his decision was visibly informed by Cancellara, who had an obvious (and conflicted) role in firstly waiting for the Schlecks and secondly in coercing other riders from other teams into a go-slow agreement.  

Now the other side to the argument is that an unusually large proportion of riders were affected and that several riders reported conditions where "everyone" went down and that even cars couldn't stay on the road. In which case you'd think that the stage should be annulled there and then, rather than let one rider win and take yellow whilst effectively penalising anyone else who'd recovered or avoided the drama.

It's not as if it hasn't happened before. There was for example Le Tour in 1999 when an unusually large proportion of the field went down and lost 6 minutes or more - effectively ending the race for the overall there and then. But Armstrong isn't likely to hand back that Tour win because he didn't wait for Zulle, is he? Indeed his team and others actively exploited the situation. Riders are down, big fall - let's stomp on the gas!

There's always another side, another way to view things. In 1999 you had to get to the front. It wasn't just luck. The same applies in 2010, or perhaps should have applied.

You could say that we must learn for these things, and so we should. But one thing to learn from 2010 is that it isn't appropriate for race officials to appear to do a deal with the yellow jersey where obvious conflicts of interest exist. There must be a better, fairer way to deal with such situations. It isn't necessarily easy but leaving it 'as it is' is inappropriate.

Oh, and jamming your chain is just one of those things that can happen when you make ham-fisted changes on the highly-tuned engineering kludges we call bicycle drivetrains.

Where The Tour Was Won | Cyclingnews.com

Sunderland: "I think the same logic should be applied to the green jersey competition. Thor Hushovd missed out on a lot of points that day but I don’t think he would have wanted to win that way."

1999 Tour de France - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 1999 edition of Tour de France had two bizarre moments. The first was on stage 2 when a 25 rider pile-up occurred at Passage du Gois. Passage du Gois is a two mile causeway which depending on the tide can be under water. The second bizarre incident was on stage 10, one kilometre from the summit of L'Alpe d'Huez. Leading Italian rider Giuseppe Guerini was confronted by a spectator holding a camera in the middle of the road. Guerini hit the spectator but recovered and went on to win the stage.

The Tour de France At A Glance - 1999

Frankie Andreu: The main difficulty in this completely flat stage was a four-kilometer causeway that crossed a huge river. It's passable during the day with low tide and flooded during high tide. You can imagine that the causeway would be a little slick and wet by the time we arrived.

The race was calm till the first bonus sprint of the day at kilometer 30. After that the attacks started and the battle for good position for the causeway was already starting. It was still 50 kilometers till we arrived there. To make matters worse it was windy and I'm sure every team told their riders to be first into the causeway.

The battle was furious trying to keep Lance in good position to get across this causeway safely. Looking back it was a good thing we did. After the entrance to this four-kilometer causeway there was a huge crash. Guys went down everywhere. You could see riders trying to brake, but they hit the ground instantaneously. Going across the causeway was very, very scary. It was wet, slippery and windy. It felt like a risk to even turn your wheel to change directions. I was scared to ride on the edge of the road because it was too slick.

Coming out of the causeway the group had split - partially because we went fast and partly because of the huge crash. There was a front group of about 40 and immediately ONCE started riding. It took us a few kilometers to figure out why. We didn't know there was a crash at the time and in the rear group there were a few favorites.

Right away Johan told us to go to the front and help ONCE. The reason was that in the second group were Gotti, Belli, Zülle, Boogerd, Robin, and some other favorites in the overall.

In the second group Banesto started to chase immediately. They came within 30 seconds of catching us, but we were in time-trial mode in the first group with about ten guys. It became an 80-kilometer team time trial, trying to increase the gap between the second group and us. We had five ONCE riders, two Casino, two Cofidis, and Christian and I riding full tilt all the way to the finish. We put over six minutes on the guys behind. Lance lost the jersey today to Kirsipu, who won every bonus sprint, but Lance did manage to eliminate some very strong riders for the classement.

In the race today the Spanish guys had a new nickname for Jonathon Vaughters. They called him "El Gato", the cat. He got the name after he flew into a crash yesterday and went flying. Somehow he landed on his feet; he didn't get a scratch on his body. The bad news is that today Jonathon lost his nickname. He was one of the unlucky ones to get caught in the crash on the causeway.

1999- The Clean Tour - RideStrong

So the Tour had an undeniably "clean" winner, though his (Armstrong's) domination was not the unnatural performance that certain sections of the French press tried to accuse him of. Take away the stage over the Passage de Gois, and his lead over Zülle is a rather more mundane-looking 1½ minutes. And the Tour threw up several other imponderables. There were no French stage winners for the first time since 1926. The transition stages saw breaks of minor riders gain huge leads each day, with the big stars seemingly content to have four days off. Yet for all the drug-free culture, the average speed was over 40kmh for the first time ever. Even allowing for the easier route this year (and arguably it was in fact a harder route than some of those in the seventies and eighties), one is left with questions. If a drug-free peloton could ride so fast, what was the point of taking EPO in the past? And if EPO does have an effect, was 1999 really a drug-free peloton?

SBS: Tour de France 2010: Dangerous course or dangerous force?

It’s been a long time since I’ve witnessed this much carnage at the Tour de France.

The last occasion I can recall such circumstances was 11 years ago, at the 1999 Tour.

What was thought to be a relatively innocuous second stage quickly turned into a massacre, when on the Passage du Gois, a two-mile long causeway that depending on tidal conditions can be submerged in water, a 25 rider pile-up eventuated that split the field to itty bitty pieces and left Lance Armstrong’s most noted adversary, Swiss rider Alex Zülle, behind in a frantic chase that never regained contact.

Zülle along with Jan Ullrich were arguably the only two riders to really challenge the Texan during his Tour reign, and Armstrong’s 7’37” winning advantage did not really tell the full story.

I’m not saying Zülle would have beaten Armstrong in the first of his seven straight wins, but had he not crashed, the race would without doubt have played out very differently.

SBS: Tour de France 2010: Dangerous course or dangerous force?

But read this from cycling legend Eddy Merckx, who told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf after Stage 1: “It’s part of the job. Especially in the beginning of a Grand Tour, you can not blame the organisation. It is the riders themselves who [must] bear the blame. If you do not want to brake and if you are not afraid to go for an opponent who is faster, then do not be afraid of crashing.”

In the end Monday, the Schleck brothers were saved by an entente cordiale initiated by the erstwhile maillot jaune of Fabian Cancellara, who relinquished his golden fleece to perhaps the most popular guy in France right now, Sylvain Chavanel.

Where The Tour Was Won | Cyclingnews.com

Scott Sunderland: "Contador pulled on the yellow jersey in Luchon but when he heard the crowd whistle and boo him, I'm sure he realised he'd unfairly taken advantage of Andy's mechanical problem."

'I know the race was 'on', that everything was decided in split seconds and the other riders attacked too, but Contador was the first to go clear and kept going all the way to the finish thanks to a special 'friendship' with Samuel Sanchez, who guided him down the descent."

I think he should have at least of asked the other riders to wait. I know these guys are competing against each other but there must always be room for some sportsmanship in cycling. The riders share the same road and face the same difficulties. Alberto is a special champion but missed an opportunity to show he has a special sense of fair play."

Le Tour 2010 - Stage 17 - Armstrong wishes he was younger, faster: don't we all? Well some of us anyway

Le Tour - any Grand Tour, in fact - is a beautiful thing to watch, and this one is no exception. It has had the scenery, the colour and spectacle; the bare, stripped humanity of pain, suffering and glory; as well as the day to day grind and the tactical toing-and-froing that makes long stage racing so engrossing. You can keep your World Cup football, thanks: as wonderful as that round ball game may be it still boils down to short games of skill played by 2 opposing teams on flat pitches; whereas a 3-week bike race is a far longer journey made by individuals and teams over almost insurmountable obstacles, both literally and figuratively, where they all end together, covered in glory. 

Anyway, it's also boiled down to a battle between 2 riders for top dog status, and that's what we expected anyway. So no real surprises there. And if Contador wins overall in Paris we still won't be surprised. Sure there have been other surprises along the way, and lots of colourful detail to savour. So it remains compelling, whilst perhaps not being the best example of a Tour de France to date. But it is the one we have.

Armstrong: I Wish I Was Younger, Faster | Cyclingnews.com

Did the RadioShack team leader have any regrets this year? “I wish that I was younger, faster. I’ve had my time and I’ve got a long history with the Tour de France. I’ve had lots of good moments, got lots of good memories, I’ve also had some good luck, so I can’t complain and I won’t complain.”

PezCycling News - What's Cool In Pro Cycling

By the time Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador reached the final three kilometers of Stage 17 – and this goes for all the riders behind them as well – there wasn’t much else for them to do but maintain as high a steady pace as they could. At the intensity they were holding, and at that altitude, you only have the potential for one or two big accelerations, and pulling the trigger on those efforts could just as easy backfire on you and push you over your limit. So don’t mistake what you saw in the closing kilometers of the Tourmalet today for a passive ride to the summit; it becomes increasingly difficult for racers who spend very little time competing at elevations above 5,000 feet to launch searing attacks on the upper slopes of the high mountains.

PezCycling News - What's Cool In Pro Cycling

As the gradient kicked in, Boasson Hagen was the first to be jettisoned from the leaders, Burghardt and Kolobnev pushed on leaving the others floundering in their wake. Meanwhile Saxo were setting up the play for Andy Schleck. Cancellara, followed by Chris Sorensen and then Fuglsang layed down a blistering pace sending many riders out the back; Basso and Evans the most notable, later to be followed backwards by Vinokourov!

PezCycling News - What's Cool In Pro Cycling

All the pressure was on the young Luxembourger, he had to lead Contador, Schleck needs time in hand for the time trial, but with only 5 kilometres to the line he was running out of road to make his move. The gap between the Schleck/Contador tandem and the hopefuls was creeping over 1 minute.

Nico Roche was yo-yoing just behind the chasers, showing how just how fast the climb was being ridden (and how good he is!). Schleck wanted Contador to come to the front, but that was not going to happen and then at 3.8 K’s Contador shoots past, but Schleck counters and rides up to his shoulder.

Looks were exchanged between the two that would have killed lesser mortals.

Through the mist and the mad crowd the two battle on, as they come to the 1 kilometre flag and the barriers to give them a clear road to the line. 500 metres and Schleck is still on the front as both struggle towards the finish. Out of the darkness Contador comes next to Schleck, but he crosses the line half a wheel behind the young rider.

Le Tour 2010 - Stage 16 - Armstrong definitely human this year. Nice one Fedrigo, Moreau, Hushovd. Shame about crazy, antsy Barredo

OK, good to see Armstrong have a go - but all it really did was show us even more clearly that whatever advantage he had in the past he doesn't have right now. He looks and rides just like old, attacking and almost unbeatable Armstrong but everyone just follows him now - before attacking him.

Somehow a more sluggish Lance (it's all relative - he's a rocket compared to most of us) looks wrong, just as it looked like Barredo had drunk too much red cordial during the stage. He kept attacking and getting caught, like it was some sort of sure-fire plan to soften them all up. And yes, it definitely softened a few legs, including his own. It may have softened his brain, too, when he finally got away with a long, long way to go. "Oh sure, I can hold all of 'em off." Armstrong, Horner, Cunego, Casar, Fedrigo, Moreau - bunch of no-names really. He managed to fool the "expert" TV commentators, too, who proclaimed "they won't catch him now" just when his pursuers got serious and started, umm, catching him. Which they duly did. Gosh, caught at 1km to go, who would've thought?

Oh well, at least it was interesting viewing, unlike the laughing bunch of happy campers in the peleton behind. You know that when Hushovd is still there despite some big, big climbs - nothing much was happening in the GC bunch. Oh sure it was tough enough to hurt. But Hushovd was probably the most interesting to happen outside of the frantic first hour and the quality breakaway. Moreau clearly profited, too. Scenery's nice too.

And as for Schleck's "fury" at Alberto's "mistake", well that's all in the past. Gosh, can't remember the Badger being so forgiving in his day.
    

SBS: Tour de France 2010: Fedrigo makes it six for France

The Luxemburger, who rides for Saxo Bank, is still eight seconds behind Spain's two-time champion ahead of the race's second and final rest day and two days before the final day of climbing to the summit of the Tourmalet on stage 17.

A day after they fell out because Contador attacked as Schleck tried to fix his mechanical setback, the pair had shaken hands and made up.

But Schleck warned: "It's the last week of the Tour and I'm sure that we'll be battling a lot on the (Col du) Tourmalet," he said. "The Tour is not over."

SBS: Tour de France 2010: Fedrigo makes it six for France

FDJ rider Casar, who had shown his finishing skills on a similar profile to win Stage 9, had lost ground with the frontrunners on the race's fourth categorised climb, the Col de l'Aubisque.

But after he made up his gap of 1min 35sec on the descent, Barredo, perhaps sensing the danger, went off on his own only to be caught, agonisingly, with one kilometre to race.

Armstrong, who had been resting his legs for most of the last few kilometres, made a brief bid for the stage win in the final 500 metres.

However, Fedrigo dropped down a cog or two and maintained his power to surge up the inside of the barriers to beat Casar into second place at the finish line.

Casar said: "I spent a lot of energy just trying to catch the breakaway, but in the sprint I knew Pierrick would be very fast."

Armstrong's team manager at RadioShack, Johan Bruyneel, said Armstrong had told him he was tired with around 15km to race.

Contador And Schleck Make Up On French TV | Cyclingnews.com

GH (referring to the video that Contador posted on Youtube in the evening after stage 15): Alberto, is it true that you apologised to Andy?

AC: Yes. I didn’t need to. But we’ve got a very strong friendship and it was for that reason that I wanted to apologise yesterday evening.

AS: I realise that after what happened at Spa the race could already have been over for me. That day the peloton waited for me. Yesterday the situation wasn’t the same, and I realised that I shouldn’t fret about it too much.

PezCycling News - What's Cool In Pro Cycling

It was flashes of the Lance of old, but one thing had changed, this time his attacks were answered – first by a very strong Carlos Barredo (QS) – this time using his legs and not his fists to do the talking, and then by Bbox’s Pierrick Fedrigo who also looked very strong. It was an exciting stage – but not because of the gc – this one played out much like a transition day with the breakaway providing all the action.

PezCycling News - What's Cool In Pro Cycling

Days like Stage 16 are included because of how they fit into the big picture of a three-week Grand Tour. If you wanted to make every stage of the race decisive, you could easily create a course so brutal that it would be inhumane. As it is, in this third week of the 2010 Tour de France we have four mountain stages in the Pyrenees, two of which have summit finishes (14 and 17), one which had a descent straight to the finish (15), and today’s. Stage 16 included two Category 1 climbs and two Beyond Category climbs, so even though the race ended with 60 kilometers of gradual descending roads to the finish, it was bound to be a very hard day in the saddle. And that was its biggest contribution to the race.

Schleck thought the peleton should've waited for Lance. And more reports on Stage 8, if you have time and motivation ;-)

Some varied views on what happened...

First up is Bob Roll commenting on Lance in particular - and it's a fair and balanced view overall. A reporter (Frankie Andreu, apparently) and the co-host put a pro-Lance spin on it though, the reporting theme being "bad luck x 3" for Lance. But when you clip a pedal in a corner that's miss-applied skill, timing and judgement as much as "luck", isn't it? (And I say that as someone who has come off the bike whilst leading a race... by clipping a pedal. You should know better but sometimes it just happens. It hurts, too.)

Interesting that Andy Schleck thought the peleton should have waited for Armstrong - which admittedly sometimes happens and perhaps should always happen when the GC leaders are affected by such incidents - but as the bunch was so large with so many teams in with a chance it wasn't really an enforceable option. Perhaps he could have gone to the front and called a truce, a la Fabian on the stage into Spa? Not that team Astana was likely to agree - they were keen to gain time on the 'old man'.

Interesting also that Lance rolled a tyre in the pedal-clipping incident. You'd get a fine and a few weeks 'rest' for that sin in these parts.

Lance Update - Stage 8 - Versus

From the 2010 Tour de France - Stage 8

Interview with Cadel Evans - Post Stage 8 - Versus

From the 2010 Tour de France - Post Stage 8

SBS: Tour de France 2010: Evans bounces back to take yellow

"I don't know if everyone saw my fall after 6 km. I thought then that the Tour might be over," said Evans, who had to ride most of the 2008 edition hampered by injuries after a crash early in the race.

"I had to get treatment from the doctor."

As Chavanel is not a specialist climber the Frenchman knew he would give up the race lead, but it was not until late on the 14km climb to Avoriaz that Evans was assured of the yellow jersey.

SBS: Tour de France 2010: Evans bounces back to take yellow

Despite Evans' scrapes from his crash, seven-time champion Lance Armstrong came off far worse, the American crashing before the climb to Ramaz and losing nearly 12 minutes to finish more than 13 minutes behind Evans.

While Schleck suggested the peloton owed it to the American to wait, Evans was less generous in his assessment.

He remembers only too well the times rivals did not wait for him: "To have a crash in a mountain stage of a Tour can be really difficult.

"Today I crashed but two years ago when I crashed in the Tour I had one of hardest days of my career on the stage to Hautacam, with all the bruising and pain.

"That day, I got dropped with (sprinter) Julian Dean on the first climb and was fighting for yellow at the end of day.

SBS: Tour de France 2010: Sastre happy to move up

While another challenger, Andy Schleck, attacked in the final kilometre to win the stage, and Evans took the yellow jersey, Sastre moved up 14 places to 12th overall at 2min 40sec behind the Australian.

"I am satisfied with today's stage. I was with the leaders of the race and I didn't lose time to any important riders in this Tour de France," said the Spaniard.

"It was a very hard stage. The first nine days of the Tour were not easy for anyone. I am happy that all the problems we had at the beginning of the race are behind us.

"Now everything is good. I am feeling better every day and can be optimistic for the coming days. I am very satisfied.

Evans secures yellow jersey - TourDeFrance - Sportal Australia

Evans (BMC Racing) finished in a group 10 seconds behind to become the first world champion to take the Tour race leader's yellow jersey since Greg LeMond in 1990 but Armstrong saw his dreams of winning another title fall into oblivion.

"My Tour's finished," said seven-time champion Armstrong, who finished third in his comeback year in 2009.

"But I'll hang in there and enjoy my final Tour."

"I'm not going to complain. This is just a bad day."

"It went from bad to worse."

Le Tour 2010 - Stage 8 - Surprises abound! Armstrong hits the ground, doesn't bounce. Evans bounces, Schleck pounces.

What would you say about Paris in 2 weeks time, all things being equal from here? Schleck 1st, followed by Contador and Evans? Too early to be sure about Contador? Thinking that Evans will bleed time on key stages but gain it back on the long TT? Concerned about someone else falling, or a joker in the GC pack, perhaps 1 or even 2 minutes back, biding their time?

It feels more like the '80s again. At least in the warm, fuzzy glow of hindsight, anyway. I mean before it got a bit too predictable, with the strongest TT rider (usually someone called Indurain or, later, Armstrong) claiming the overall win in Paris. Again. And again. Usually achieved more by 'best average performance' than by bold and exciting moves, too. Yes, OK, there were some classic attacking performances in the past 25 years or so, but how many tours were won more by grinding obsessives rather than mercurial pirates? (Let's leave the pharmaceuticals out of it for the moment and just consider the drama.)

Whether the peleton has become "cleaner" or not is debatable, but we are - arguably - seeing more variation and a greater degree of suspense over the whole 3 weeks. (Yes, it is just week one but you know what I mean.) Whilst we may recognise Contador as king we also harbour doubts - we see a chink in the armour. And can Schleck keep it up? Is Sastre planning a big attack later in the tour? Will Evans keep close enough in the mountains to win it back in the TT? What of Menchov, Rogers and Basso? We can see a competition every day.

And there are so many possibilities. Whilst we can write Armstrong off overall he may well turn super-domestique for Leipheimer. Sastre and Menchov may save it all up for week 3. Evans and Basso may limit their losses. Wiggins may strike back. Even more likely, though, is that Contador may have just had his 'one bad day' and will come back fighting.

It's all possible, rather than predictable.

Tour De France: Stage 8, Route Maps & Results | Cyclingnews.com

"I've got to get my head around the position that I'm in now," said Schleck, with a rest day ahead of him tomorrow. "There are still a lot of very hard days, but I am pretty relaxed for the moment. I've done my thing, and I hope I can do a great race and I hope I don't have a bad day."

Ten seconds behind, the group was led in by another of the day's aggressors, Robert Gesink (Rabobank), with Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) fourth and Contador fifth. Sixth, though, was the day's other big winner, Cadel Evans (BMC), who survived an early fall to claim the yellow jersey.

Evans now leads the general classification ahead of Schleck by 20 seconds, with Contador up to third, 1:01 behind the Australian.

Many will expect the overall winner to come from this trio, meaning, inevitably, that one of the day's big stories was the end of Armstrong's challenge - indeed, the definitive end of the Armstrong era.

Schleck Gives Warning Of Things To Come | Cyclingnews.com

“I really felt good. My legs were turning well, and the team was great. On the last climb I had no problem. I thought about attacking earlier but I have a plan for this Tour and I’m going to stick to it. Pressure motivates me. I’m here for a goal, to win in Paris, but if I can win a stage, I’ll take it,” he said at the finish.

Vinokourov Fills Domestique's Shoes | Cyclingnews.com

Vinokourov didn't expect Armstrong to disappear so quickly from the top positions of the classification. "I think he suffered in the heat," said the Astana star. "He also crashed quite a bit as well. Now he's out of contention for sure. We'll see - day after day - how we can get rid of our other adversaries."

Saxo Bank's Andy Schleck, who won the day's stage, isn't a major concern for Vinokourov. "He hasn't taken much time on Alberto, I'm not worried," he said.

Evans Gives BMC Its First Yellow Jersey | Cyclingnews.com

Evans played a somewhat cagey game, aware that his team will shoulder the responsibility of controlling the race before the Pyrenees start. "We'll wait for stages after tomorrow, but I'm happy it's a rest day. We'll think about it and come up with plan but the Pyrenees are very hard, Andy (Schleck) is going well, (Alberto) Contador and Astana (are) really strong, so we'll have to see and decide how to approach the mountains."

Wiggins Limits Damage In Tour De France Test | Cyclingnews.com

"I felt pretty good most of the day, especially on the second climb. It was just on the last one that I was overcooked and there came a point when I had to back off so I wouldn't completely blow. It was a damage limitation exercise,” he said at the finish.

Armstrong's Tour Challenge Collapses | Cyclingnews.com

"I clipped a pedal [in the roundabout -ed.] and next thing I knew I was rolling on the ground at 65 kilometres per hour," Armstrong explained after the stage. "I didn't make it back on until la Ramaz and I was pegged."

His jersey torn, Armstrong was slow to remount but made contact before the critical climb of Col de la Ramaz. However Sky and Saxo Bank set a strong pace, and it proved too much as the American slipped back from the leaders. At first he was assisted by Chris Horner but later Janez Brajkovic took over, as Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Klöden stayed with the leaders.

PezCycling News - What's Cool In Pro Cycling

Back in 1996, the cycling world wondered whether Miguel Indurain could become the first cyclist to win the Tour de France six times. He had dominated the race for five consecutive years by steamrolling the competition in the time trials and riding steadily in the mountains. But 1996 he struggled, and on Stage 7 he was suddenly unhitched from the lead group in the mountains. The calm demeanor and steady pedaling action were gone and Big Mig was in trouble. He lost more than 4 minutes that day, and by the time the race reached Paris, Indurain finished what would be his final Tour de France in 11th place, more than 14 minutes behind winner Bjarne Riis.

Le Tour 2010 - Stage 7 - Redemption, confirmation. Whatever. Chavanel proves something, anyway

No so surprisingly Sylvain Chavanel had something to prove after that slightly hollow win a few days ago. And equally fittingly the main agitator for that earlier non-race - Cancellara - was spat out he back.

For the rest it was a bit of a sorting out, a prelude for tougher days ahead, but told us nothing really. We expected Cancellara and Saxo Bank to rest up, there was no need to defend the yellow on Stage 7 - but every reason to prepare to launch Andy Schleck in the mountains to come. Evans equally didn't want yellow just yet. And the domestiques of the GC leaders had a quiet day in expectation of the real battle to come in Stage 8.

A small surprise was Kloden's failure to match the GC leaders, but he hasn't lived up to expectations for some years, has he? He will be back - rehydrated - and up to the task of helping launch Armstrong's attack. It's just up to the others to match Armstrong, to keep him in check and leverage any opportunity that subsequently comes along. Basso and Sastre will also want to join in, even if it's too early in the tour to commit everything they, like Armstrong, will be keen to reduce the gap to everyone else. 

Contador will also look to gain time on Schleck and Evans if that chance comes up. He may well launch Vino as a distraction... with Vino up the road Contador and Astana will hope to draw out the real GC favorites. It will put Menchov, Rogers and Wiggins to the test as well. 

And then there could be the odd surprise... Hesjedal? Roche? Van Den Broeck?


Tour De France: Stage 7, Route Maps & Results | Cyclingnews.com

Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) won his second stage of this year's Tour de France at Station des Rousses on Saturday, and completed another double, taking over the yellow jersey, just as he also did in Spa at the end of stage 2.

Unlike in Spa, however, the history books will show no asterisk against Chavanel's name after this victory - which, again, he achieved alone.

Tour De France: Stage 7, Route Maps & Results | Cyclingnews.com

But while the Croix de la Serra acted as the launchpad to Chavanel's victory, and effectively ended Fabian Cancellara's (Saxo Bank) spell in yellow, it told us very little about the climbing form of Alberto Contador (Astana), Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank), Lance Armstrong (RadioShack) or Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky), with last year's top four all present, correct and looking comfortable.

Armstrong Keeps His Cool Despite Heat, Saddle Sore | Cyclingnews.com

"I suffered," said Armstrong. "I think about everybody did. It was so incredibly hard. It was just the heat. Everybody really paid. Everybody would say it was much harder than we'd think because of the temperature. If you get a little behind on hydration and nutrition - that's what happened to Klödi (Andreas Klöden) - the man with the hammer comes and you're done."

Leipheimer Keeps An Eye On Vinokourov | Cyclingnews.com

Levi Leipheimer's task during stage 7 of the Tour de France was to mark Alexander Vinokourov (Astana). The RadioShack rider, who finished alongside Vinokourov in the lead group of GC contenders, said that the Astana rider was too dangerous to escape without company from someone on Lance Armstrong's Radioshack squad.

Van Den Broeck Ready For Battle In The Alps | Cyclingnews.com

"Today went well," he told Cyclingnews as he warmed down on the team bus. "It was an easy day with no problems but tomorrow will be all out war."

Van Den Broeck Ready For Battle In The Alps | Cyclingnews.com

In Matthew Lloyd, Van Den Broeck has a strong mountain domestique and the Australian is sure that his teammate can make a serious impression on the race over the coming two weeks. "Today we made sure Jurgen was fresh all day, especially when the speed was relatively high."

Roche Passes First Mountain Test | Cyclingnews.com

"I passed the test but I'm exhausted," Roche told Cyclingnews as he ground to a halt after the finish line.

After downing a bottle of water, the 26-year-old looked up and gave his impression on day that saw all the yellow jersey contenders finish together.

"I was feeling good but I guess there was a big group at the finish. It just proves that it's going to be pretty tough to stay with these guys," Roche told Cyclingnews.

PezCycling News - What's Cool In Pro Cycling

when BBox Telecom missed the breakaway today, their team manager sent them to the front to chase. That brought the breakaway close enough to the peloton for French National Champion Thomas Voeckler to attack for a possible stage win.


- By Chris Carmichael -

Not to be outdone by his countryman, Sylvain Chavanel (winner of Stage 2) set off in pursuit. Chavanel had a great ride and won the stage, and took the yellow jersey for the second time in this year’s race, but the Battle of the Frenchmen – along with the heat - also made the stage much more difficult than many riders had anticipated.

PezCycling News - What's Cool In Pro Cycling

If the lead group of yellow jersey contenders is all together at the bottom of the final climb, I fully expect Alberto Contador to attack on the final climb of Stage 8. Right now there are too many riders who are close to him on the overall classification and he’ll take the opportunity to ‘thin the herd’. The big question is how well the others will respond. Cadel Evans is better than he was in 2009, and so is Lance Armstrong. Andy Schleck was the only man capable of accelerating with Contador last year, but his pre-Tour preparation wasn’t as perfect as in 2009. And what of the dark horse in the periphery, Ivan Basso. He’s looking to make up some serious time in the overall race for yellow, and the mountains are where he overcame a big deficit to win the Giro d’Italia earlier this year.

Robbie McEwen (mcewenrobbie) on Twitter

@bdlancaster i was swearing at you for going so quick but thanks mate. expected bigger time cut. was too delerious to work it out

really had to battle thru tday, world of hurt as they say, but made it. v sorry 4 my team+roommate StijnVdb, outside time limit.

Cadel's Diary | Cadel Evans 2009-2010 - The Official Site of Cadel Evans - World Champion 2009, Tour de France runner-up in 2007,2008.

Why is it the roads always melt in Europe? More hot-mix less blue-metal?...feels like riding on underinflated tyres. So much so, that the GC teams did not want to lay it on the line today. Allowing break away specialist Chavanel to win the stage and reclaim the yellow jersey. It's been a great start to the Tour for Quick-Step so far, they were not in the greatest moods with the omission if Tom Boonen. Carlos Barredo gave them all a moral boost yesterday, you have all seen the post stage 'fight' on YouTube? Our dinner table was entertained.... How he got away with only 400CHF in fines mystifies me.

A roundup of Le Tour predictions - who gets it wrong this year?

It's hard to ignore Contador, even if he's likely to start a bit "fresher" than he'd like after a recent respiratory infection. Andy Schleck? He's got to be a contender, but we haven't really seen enough to know where he's at. Brother Frank is firing, so presumably the old 1-2 will be in action and working in Andy's favour. Menchov and Sastre haven't shown much lately, but they'll be in the mix. Evans and Basso will be super-fit but tired after the Giro. They may shine at first but be ground away as time passes. Or not. It's hard to tell until the "hard" stages reveal themselves. One bad day and your whole Tour can be wrecked, so it's really down to minimising losses - or hiding your weakness behind a strong team - on those "off days".

There are others who could surprise, old stagers like Vino or ever-hopefuls like Rogers. More than likely it'll be the strongest, most motivated team that gets their best all-rounder over the line. Contador may have some troubles in that respect, as may Evans. Basso and team look strong, as does Rogers. Whilst Armstrong looks too old on paper he has a good team of old stagers and the tactical nous to take his chance when it comes.

Once again we can't really tell until the wheels - and the dice - roll.

Here are some prognostications from around and about:  

SBS: Tour de France 2010

This year should also see a few former top GC contenders eclipsed into also ran status as a new younger cohort make their move in the era of Contador.

And as I look at my favoured names I'm struggling to find a place for Lance Armstrong anywhere in my top ten.

I see Alberto Contador, Andy Schleck, Ivan Basso, Roman Kreuzinger, Cadel Evans, Christian Vande Velde, Frank Schleck, Levi Leipheimer, Robert Gesink, Bradley Wiggins, Andreas Kloden, Samuel Sanchez, Alexandre Vinokourov, Michael Rogers, Denis Menchov, and Luis Leon Sanchez as all having a solid claim to a top ten spot.

Not that Armstrong can't perform. His Tour de Suisse performance shows that on the right day and circumstances he can, but the head of this years field looks like a competitive one.

SBS: Tour de France 2010: Reshuffling the 2009 deck

If I were to take the top 10 riders who finished the 2009 Tour de France, placed each name on a card, shuffled them around a little – or maybe not at all – added one or two names, and told you this would be final classification on July 25 this year, I imagine few would bat an eyelid.

This is not to say the 2010 Grande Boucle will not be a spectacular one – it is the Tour after all!

But what I don’t see is a revelation popping up near or on the podium when the peloton reaches the Champs Élysées, like Bradley Wiggins did last year. Or a surprise winner, like Carlos Sastre in 2008.

The ‘one or two names’ not in last year’s top-10 that I’m referring to would include Levi Leipheimer, who last year was forced to abandon after breaking his wrist and may be – or become – RadioShack’s main man this time round.

Cadel Evans and my dark horse podium pick Michael Rogers, who deservedly finds himself back to his best and by simply doing his own thing, may well profit from the tactics played by Astana, Saxo Bank and RadioShack.

Tour De France: 10 Riders Who Need A Result | Cyclingnews.com

As the Tour de France approaches, Cyclingnews takes a look at 10 riders who need a result to save their season.

Dental issues, illness, crashes and accusations have left some of the sport’s biggest names in the shadows and out of the results. It could be because some of their careers are nearing an end or simply because they’ve said they’d do better but failed to deliver. One way or another, these guys will be looking for a strong performance in France.

Top Twelve Tour Contenders | Cyclingnews.com

With less than three weeks to go until the Grand Départ in Rotterdam, the 97th Tour de France is shaping up to be one the best. With one of the most spectacular routes and a host of big names riders set to start, Cyclingnews casts an eye on the 12 most likely to figure in the overall.

2010 Tour De France - Predictions

2010 Tour De France - Predictions
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Another ride with Lance...

Another day, another ride. With Bill Skinner this time. It just sounds like any training ride, really. And those long lonely 6 hour rides? Don't we all miss 'em! If only my 4 year old could keep up on the hills ;-)

Sitting In

“The past four years,” he told me at the end of his season, talking about his retirement, “there were a lot of times when I’d be doing stuff but saying to myself, ‘What I really wish is that I was on a bike ride right now.’ What I have to get back to this year—I’m just talking to myself—is doing long rides alone. I did long rides in 2009 but very few alone. I’m always around people—teammates, fans, sponsors, donors—always surrounded by people. That time, a two-hour ride or a four-hour ride, a six-, eight-hour ride, that time alone is invaluable. In the old days I did most of my training alone. And that is probably the single most important thing I missed.”

The power of the Cycling Gods - I'd take a meeting with Liggett over Lance, though

The ride with Lance story is quite charming, really. But I prefer the meeting with Phil ;-)

A ride with Lance « Marijolamarche's Blog

Walking towards Lance, I understood what he meant. He exchanged a few words with Kevin, his agent-bodyguard, who turned to me : « Stay here, don’t move. » I heard Lance looking at Quick, asking Kevin: »a picture with the dog? ». « Yes, the dog and the girl ».
Slowly, he came over, stopped by my side and starting peting my 4 legged son. He was very mellow, standing next to me, but at the same time quite distant. During the shot I just thanked him for taking the time. I had a weird feeling that the shot was taking forever. Time had stopped. Then I just walked away, not wanting to over do it.

Phil Liggett - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Phil Liggett MBE (born 1943) is a British commentator and journalist who covers professional cycling. He currently commentates on the Tour de France and bike races for Versus and ITV. He is a former amateur cyclist and received a professional contract in 1967; instead of turning professional he saw a future in sports journalism after he wrote a few articles in cycling magazines about races in which he participated.

Armstrong donated $100K to UCI in 2005

Paul Kimmage may have an axe to grind - and a fairly extreme perspective on Armstrong - but the Landis accusations are certainly major. Interestingly Armstrong apparently donated $100K to the UCI in 2005 for the development of the sport. Nothing wrong with that, unless clearly linked favourable treatment followed. And there's no evidence of that - is there?

In aid of transparency and the resolution of any apparent or perceived conflicts of interest it'd be interesting to see details of all such donations to the UCI over the past few years. Have other riders given similar sums?

Kimmage: Landis Allegations Will Decide The Sport’s Future | Cyclingnews.com

He did acknowledge that the UCI had received money from Armstrong. “The UCI received $100,000 from Lance Armstrong in 2005, four years after this incident was supposed to have taken place.” McQuaid then explained: “The UCI would accept donations from anyone who’s prepared to give. We’re a non-profit-making organisation so we’re prepared to accept money from anyone who’s prepared to assist us in developing the sport.”

Armstrong refutes claims, asserts he was expecting them

Armstrong Rejects Landis Allegations | Cyclingnews.com

He pin-pointed a lot of people and I mean, let’s be honest. Obviously my name will be at the top of the story and my name will be in the headline. But, it goes from myself to Johan, to Levi, to Zabriskie, to Andy Rihs, to Jim Ochowicz to Michael Barry, to Matthew White, to Steve Johnson, to Pat McQuaid. At the end of the day, he pointed his finger at everyone still involved in cycling, everyone that is still enjoying the sport, everyone that still believes in the sport and everyone that still working in the sport was in the cross hairs.

I’m standing here with you guys because I won the Tour de France seven times. But, you have to keep in mind that the yellow jersey of this race [Dave Zabriskie] is also in the cross hairs and that is not by accident. Maybe that is a good strategy to get more attention but if I look at, I can use Allen Lim as an example, someone that I view has the highest standards and the highest ethics of anyone in this sport, the fact that he is thrown in there speaks volumes to the credibility of this and I think that’s, if I walk away with one word to sum this all up - credibility. Floyd lost his credibility a long time ago.

Landis dobs on ex-teammates. If true - and proven to be true - what happens next?

Why confess after so much effort was expended on denials? Why implicate just about everyone he has ever ridden with? Armstrong, Hincapie, Leipheimer... and Bruyneel of course. Is it revenge, or a need to clear his conscience? It's an amazing co-incidence, to have Dave Z leading the ToC right now and to be named by Landis along with the all-star cast of past colleagues.... mind you, at least one of these emails reportedly date back to April 30.

Apart from the riders implicated in various forms of abuse, there is a report of money paid to silence a positive finding against Armstrong. Of course this is really nothing new, similar allegations have been made by many people - except that it's a former team-mate saying it. Whilst these are untested allegations it does signal a major drama for the sport in the coming months.  


Report: Landis admits doping and fingers Armstrong - Yahoo! News

Landis, who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title for doping but had always denied cheating, sent a series of e-mails to cycling officials and sponsors acknowledging and detailing his long-term use of banned drugs, the newspaper said.

The report said Landis wrote in the e-mails that he started doping in 2002, his first year racing with the U.S. Postal Service team led by Armstrong.

Landis also admitted to doping in an interview with ESPN.com.

Landis also accused American riders Levi Leipheimer and Dave Zabriskie and Armstrong's longtime coach, Johan Bruyneel, of involvement in doping, the Journal reported.

It's true, but do we have to say it?

French MTBer Jean-Christophe Peraud has claimed the road cycling title at his nation's champs, and reflects upon his advancing years:

I'll be 35 in 2012. Cycling is an endurance sport suitable for old athletes but I'll wait for one more year to determine myself about focusing on London or not.

Great, 35 is officially "old". Let's not tell Lance, eh?

Astana rumoured to fold b4 Le Tour.. and Armstrong confident abt starting his own team. Hmmm

I'm sure that the Astana team will find a stop-gap sponsor between now and July, should it need one, to ensure a start at Le Tour. It has to be a worthwhile investment, surely? With a team of stars, including Armstrong, how could you fail to get ROI out of it?

The rumours look like this:
On May third, the newspaper's website quoted Kazakhstan's cycling federation vice president Nikolai Proskurin as saying that even if the team takes part in the Giro as planned, it is likely to be the final Grand Tour in the history of the Astana project. The only way to save the current incarnation of the squad appears to be for one or more Kazakh backers to move in and commit to supporting it. Alternatively Johan Bruyneel, who owns the ProTour licence, will have to find funds to enable the team to continue.

Armstrong recently said this:
Lance Armstrong believes there is a "high" probability he will start a professional team of his own for the 2010 season. The American expects the announcement to come this July, after he races the Tour de France.

You can join any required dots.

Drug testers take blood, sweat and tears - Armstrong's behaviour 'unusual'?

Just what constitutes 'unusual' behaviour when 'surprised' by the blood, urine and hair-sample-taking team I don't know:

Lance Armstrong's behaviour during his 24th anti-doping control since returning to the sport may have landed the American in hot water with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD). L'Equipe has reported that AFLD, which conducted the March 17 out-of-competition test, submitted a report to the International Cycling Union (UCI) and WADA on March 30. The report apparently details the abnormal behaviour observed before and during the surprise visit from the French agency.

Did he run away? Slam the door? Abuse them? Or is this L'Equipe beating things up? He is recovering from a broken collarbone, so maybe he was a bit tetchy... I would be. Later, Armstrong's rebuttal came and it was quite reasonable - someone turned up to take samples who simply didn't appear convincingly authorised to do so, so they checked on his credentials:

"I returned home that day after a long training ride to find a man chasing me as I rode up to the house. He stopped me and told me he was from the French laboratory and was here to test me. I had never heard of labs or governments doing drug testing and I had no idea who this guy was or whether he was telling the truth.

Despite all of that reasonableness, the "drug testing laboratory" in question was concerned about the 20 minute delay between turning up and actually getting the samples. Without wanting to get carried away about it, having a shower could have been a cover for time to take a masking drug, but then again it could just have been a shower. In any case 20 mins is not long enough to mask much, especially so when blood, urine and hair was taken. Surely he didn't get a hair transplant in 20mins?

Postscript: The UCI's Pat McQuaid wonders aloud what the AFLD is doing: "Normal proceedings between institutions such as national anti-doping agencies, the international federation and the World anti-doping agency (WADA) are normally done in a professional and confidential way until a decision or sanction has been taken," he continued. "In this case it was leaked to the press and I do find that disturbing."

LA pic from Adelaide via Twitter

Just sharing a pic from Lance in Adelaide (for the TDU):



Nice to see a fit Pat Jonker (past winner, retired from pro riding but still looking good). O'Grady looks like he has been working out - preparing for the Euro-season cobbles?