The Official 2007 Tour De France Thread

[Phil C]

It starts this Saturday so let's get ready. Let's limit our discussions on the tour to this thread which I know will have many pages and maybe set a record but that way we can all have the updates and information and comments on one thread. I don't know what is going to happen but the race is wide open again this year so let's really enjoy it. Remember it is covered daily on Versus television. I record the morning version and watch it in the evenings. We get to see the French countryside as well as neighboring countries at times and this year it starts in England this Saturday. Exciting times indeed!

[lostaussie]

so does the guy who won last year and then got in trouble get to race this year? and is he the official winner from last year? and if not, who is? these are the days of our lives...........

[Phil C]

Originally posted by lostaussie
so does the guy who won last year and then got in trouble get to race this year? and is he the official winner from last year? and if not, who is? these are the days of our lives...........

Floyd Landis who won last year won't be in it this year. It is still pending on whether he gets to keep the title from a year ago. But this is a new year so let's get with the enthusiasm for this year.

[carter08]

I won't be awake to watch the live racing, but hopefully I catch the reruns at night.

I'm afraid to pick a winner, because I don't want to pick someone who will drop out thursday because of steroid scandals like last year.

I'm thinking Levi Leipheimer wins this year though.

[pirateman98]

GO LANCE!! Oh wait, jk!

[JasperDog94]

Too bad the race is during baseball season. Barry Bonds would fit right in with most of the other "athletes".

[shankbear]

Pereiro. This guy was very strong last year and came in second overall. Levi Leipheimer should show well. The guy that won the Giro d'italia will prove a challenge. Di Luca is the threat from Europe.

[TexasHSFootball]

About the first stage location...
http://www.letour.fr/2007/TDF/COURSE/us/etape_par_etape.html

London Eye (photo : Ville de Londres)

Londres, prospère et animée, est une capitale mondiale où cohabitent diversité ethnique et richesse culturelle. Elle abrite plus de 7 millions d’habitants et possède des sites historiques et modernes instantanément reconnaissables. Elle offre donc un superbe lieu d’accueil pour le Grand Départ. Le parcours du prologue est tracé au cœur des sites parmis les plus célèbres au monde : en passant devant Trafalgar Square, Whitehall, Downing Street, le Cénotaphe, le Parlement, Big Ben, l’Abbaye de Westminster, le Palais de Buckingham, l’Arche Wellington et à travers les parcs royaux londoniens (Hyde Park, St James’ Park et Green Park), il révèle les images d’une ville célèbre, au riche patrimoine historique....

Accueillir le Grand Départ à Londres fait partie intégrante de la campagne de promotion du Maire de Londres, dont le but est d’inspirer et d’inciter les londoniens à circuler à vélo. Londres est un lieu idéal pour pratiquer le cyclisme. Se déplacer à vélo est facile et bon pour la santé et l’environnement. Le nombre de cyclistes à Londres a augmenté de 83% depuis 2000. De nombreuses pistes cyclables ont récemment été créées dans toute la capitale et avec près de 680 000 cyclistes dans les rues londoniennes chaque jour, les nouveaux venus seront en bonne compagnie. Le vélo est un moyen peu coûteux, non polluant et attrayant pour se rendre au travail ou à l’école, aller faire ses courses ou encore explorer la capitale. Nous sommes convaincus que le Tour de France incitera un plus grand nombre de Londoniens à prendre leur vélo. D’ailleurs, c’est en regardant l’étape britannique du Tour de France 1994 que le cycliste Bradley Wiggins, triple champion olympique, a décidé de devenir coureur professionnel, avec le succès que l’on connaît !

[shankbear]

What he said.

[charlesrixey]

why is it starting in london this year?

has this ever happened before?

[Phil C]

Originally posted by charlesrixey
why is it starting in london this year?

has this ever happened before?

Yes - in fact one time it started in Ireland.

[Phil C]

It starts tomorrow. Remember tomorrow is a preliminary show. The actual race starts on Sunday. Hopefully it will all be positive.

[charlesrixey]

Originally posted by Phil C
It starts tomorrow. Remember tomorrow is a preliminary show. The actual race starts on Sunday. Hopefully it will all be positive.

AMEN!


if anything is to come from this year's tour, the most welcome would be no bad news!

[Phil C]

Originally posted by charlesrixey
AMEN!


if anything is to come from this year's tour, the most welcome would be no bad news!

A good start charles as today's time trials didn't have any injuries. There was one crash that I saw but fortunately it wasn't serious.

[Phil C]

Today they had the preliminary time trial with Swizz rider Fabian Cancellara doing magnicently winning by 13 seconds. There was only one crash that I saw which fortunately wasn't serious and the rider was able to finish the race. No one really hurt themselves in the race today as far as the time goes. London did a great job in this race today and the coverage was outstanding and there was much beautiful London scenery shown such as West Minster Abbey, the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace and Big Ben to name a few. The coverage is repeated on the Versus channel today at 3 P.M. and again tonight at 7 P.M. Another race in London tomorrow will be a flat race which will be for the sprinters. Then it movies to the mainland. A great start indeed! Fabian may be able to defend the yellow jersey tomorrow but he is expected to fade when they get to the mountain stages.

[shankbear]

Heading for Canterbury tomorrow. Time trials are cool but often rather meaningless. The last time trial can make a difference if the overall is extremely close.

[carter08]

Great race today.

McEwen with the come from behind victory. One of the best sprinters I've seen in my 4+ years of watching the Tour.

[shankbear]

McEwen sprinted like a wild man. Very good sprinter.

Off to France now. Next start is in Calais. This is a cool place. The channel tunnel makes it European exit here in Calais. It is a massive site. There is a giant mall outside of Calais called Cite Europe. Thousands of Brits catch the Chunnel daily to get the bargains at Cite Europe. This is one of the places that the nazis thought the invasion in WWII was oing to happen because of its close proximity to England across the channel. The French coast from Pas de Calais to Brittany is beautiful. Check out a French town on the coast called Etretat. Google it.

[Phil C]

Indeed a great race by McEwen who had crashed but then worked his way back with the peloton and then worked his way up and made a great sprint at the end to win it.

If you missed it you can see it tonight on Versus starting at 7 P.M. and it will be repeated at 11 P.M. The thing is that it is in England and you may not get a chance to see the race take place there for many years to come so don't miss it!

Remember the Tour de France is a great bicycle race but also the chance to enjoy great history, culture and beautiful scenery.

[shankbear]

From Dunkerque (Dunkirk), in Calais, France to Gand (Gent) in Belgium on Monday. Should be a good stage. Nice countryside. Belgium is pretty but not like France.

Robbie McEwen surprised a lot of folks after his fall. He rode the stage hurt. Great spinter who won 3 stages last year. Not big in the mountains.

[Phil C]

Stage 2 Update

The riders are now down to the last kilometers. There were a few breakaways but they are only 30 seconds ahead of the peloton and should be caught very soon. It looks like it is going to come down the the sprinters today as it should for the next few stages until they reach the mountain part. Excitement indeed as we wait for the conclusion.

[Phil C]

Fabien Cancellano won another state and retains the yellow jersy after State 3 today. He was magnificient as he stayed with the peloton and then sprinted ahead of the sprinters to the finish line. There were escapees that lead for over 100 miles today and it looked like they were almost going to pull it off but they got caught in the last mile. A great race indeed.

[Adidas410s]

Any chance of an American winning this year???

[Phil C]

Originally posted by Adidas410s
Any chance of an American winning this year???

Ad I would say yes because there is no definitive leader yet. All the contenders are within striking distance. The current yellow jersey leader is expected to fade when they hit the mountains. That will determine the winner.

[Phil C]

In my opinion American Levi Leipheimer is the best bet as far as an American winning this year. He is very good in the mountains. The question will be can he win up there and get enough of the lead to survive the final time trial. We will see. Excitement indeed.

[shankbear]

Levi Leipheimer is solid and is an aggressive rider. He will be there at the end. George Hincape is sitting in the 4th spot overall after stage 2 and is a former stage winner himself. He worked as a domestique for Lance Armstrong until he started proving himself with good finishes. Watch for him in the mountains.

Cancellara is the reigning World Champion sprinter so his finish today should not be a surprise. This will be a good TDF.

[Phil C]

Stage 4 is now down to about the last 25 miles. There are five escapees led by Sylvain Chavanel. They are only about 1min40sec ahead of the peloton. My guess is that it is only a matter of time before the peloton overtakes them.

[carter08]

Thor Hushovd with the win today.

Good sprint there.

[shankbear]

The riders all kept their relative positions. Leipheimer is 23rd or so at 1:00 minute out. A minute is nothing at this early stage of the TDF. Hincape is 5th at 34 seconds out. Cancellara is still in the maillot jaune. About to get good when they get in the mountains.

[Adidas410s]

those dang escapees...what were they thinking...

[shankbear]

The riders get into the Alps on Saturday. The climbs will start to include some category 1s and 2s. This will separate the men from the boys. The climbers will show their stuff and the sprinters will lay back a while. Cancellara is a sprinter but he has held onto the yellow jersey the whole race so far. He may be a better all-around than thought.

An upcoming stage has 3 cat. 1 climbs and a couple of 2s. PAIN!!!!!!!!!!

[shankbear]

The escapees get points for attacks and aggressive riding tactics. Points equal CASH in the long run.

[Phil C]

Today's race (Stage 5) is about over. Just a few more miles. There are some escapees but I think they are going to be caught. We will see.

[Adidas410s]

Did the peloton catch the escapees??? The suspense is agonizing Phil...

[Phil C]

Originally posted by Adidas410s
Did the peloton catch the escapees??? The suspense is agonizing Phil...

Yes Ad they were caught and the sprinters ruled again as Felippo Pozzato won the stage today. A thrilling race indeed.

[carter08]

I missed todays race. But I did wear My Tour de France shirt all day.

[Phil C]

Stage 6 is going on. Bradley Wiggins is the lone escapee. There is still a long race to go. At one point he was 17 minutes ahead of the peloton but now it has dropped to just under 15 minutes. It is suspensful whether he can hold them off. I don't think so but we will see. Indeed we are having a great Tour de France in spite of the other problems.

[Phil C]

There is now about 25 miles left in the race. Wiggins lead has decreased to just under 4 minutes so it looks like he will be caught before the end of the race. But what an exciting effort!


Isn't it great that we have the Tour de France to help us get through July and then football starts in August.

:)

[Phil C]

There is now about 10 miles left in the race Wiggins is still ahead of the peloton but only by about 50 seconds. It is just a matter of time before he is caught.

[Phil C]

As expected the peloton caught up with Wiggins and in a thrilling sprinters' race at the end Tom Boonen won out! A thrilling day indeed!

[rundoe]

Makes my butt hurt just to think about it!!!

[shankbear]

The mountain climb specialists shined bright today. This first mountain stage saw a change in the overall leadership with Cancellara dropping. The German Gerdemann took the stage win as well as the Yellow Jersey. Peirero and Leipheimer are sitting 12th and 13th. Boonen sits way up. George Hincape dropped over 6 minutes back into 52nd overall.

These stages kick major butt and the yellow jersey will change hands more than once. Nice scenery in the Alps. This area is next on my list when I go back to France.

[Phil C]

Originally posted by shankbear
The mountain climb specialists shined bright today. This first mountain stage saw a change in the overall leadership with Cancellara dropping. The German Gerdemann took the stage win as well as the Yellow Jersey. Peirero and Leipheimer are sitting 12th and 13th. Boonen sits way up. George Hincape dropped over 6 minutes back into 52nd overall.

These stages kick major butt and the yellow jersey will change hands more than once. Nice scenery in the Alps. This area is next on my list when I go back to France.

The next three stages today, tomorrow and Wednesday (Tuesday is rest day) will probably determine the overall Tour de France winner. They are in the mountains now. Since this is an odd numbered year the race through France gets to the Mountain stages earlier than on even numbered years when they go clockwise. We will see. Excitement indeed. I expect the major contenders to make their moves today. It will be interesting to see if Gerdemann is going to be a surprise takeover this year even though he may have used up too much energy in yesterday's great race.

[shankbear]

Gotta feel bad for Rogers from Australia. Had a big lead and was destined to win the stage and take the yellow jersey for the day and had a massive crash. From on top to out of the TDF in one bad fall.

Rassmussen looked great and he can take the whole thing. Many other great racers are still within striking distance. Pierero and Leipheimer and within 3 to 4 minutes. Karpets and Cadel Evans are still there too. The bigger names are still in contention. George Hincape has bonked it looks like.

[turbostud]

Leipheimer rides to conservatively. Look for Alberto Contador from Discovery to make a run at the podium. He looks very strong on his bike.
Monday is the rest day not Tuesday.

[Phil C]

Tomorrow is rest day instead of Tuesday. Levi better make a movie soon if he is to win. It is still up for grabs though.

[shankbear]

That was a killer stage Sunday. There were three Cat. 1 climbs and the times and energy expenditures showed it. Heart rates were pushing the 190 mark. The rest day, Monday, could not have been scheduled at a better point. Eight days have gone by now and there isn't a clear favorite. The pre-race guys are still there except those who are out including Rogers from Australia. Vinokurov is still there. Kloden is banged up as is Vino but he is still there. Rasmussen is a massive climber and can go the distance but did he burn up too much Sunday? We will see. Leipheimer and Mayo are there. Cadel Evans may have his best shot ever but there is a long way to go.

After the Alps, this gets a bit flatter until the Pyrenees. A short dip into Spain before the big turn toward Paris will provide interest.

Who will it be on the ceremonial ride down the Champs d'Eleysee? Who will be the OWNER of that maillot jaune?
?

[burnet44]

just for you phil

Pos. No. Name Nat. Team Time Gap
1 058 RASMUSSEN, Michael DEN RAB 39:37:42.000 00:00:00.000
2 025 GERDEMANN, Linus GER TMO 39:38:25.000 00:00:43.000
3 207 MAYO, Iban ESP SDV 39:40:21.000 00:02:39.000
4 018 VALVERDE, Alejandro ESP GCE 39:40:33.000 00:02:51.000
5 195 KASHECHKIN, Andrey KAZ AST 39:40:34.000 00:02:52.000
6 041 EVANS, Cadel AUS PRL 39:40:35.000 00:02:53.000
7 061 MOREAU, Christophe FRA A2R 39:40:48.000 00:03:06.000
8 112 CONTADOR, Alberto ESP DSC 39:40:52.000 00:03:10.000
9 036 SCHLECK, Frank LUX CSC 39:40:56.000 00:03:14.000
10 051 MENCHOV, Denis RUS RAB 39:41:01.000 00:03:19.000
11 031 SASTRE, Carlos ESP CSC 39:41:17.000 00:03:35.000
12 196 KLÖDEN, Andréas GER AST 39:41:28.000 00:03:46.000
13 111 LEIPHEIMER, Levi USA DSC 39:41:35.000 00:03:53.000


USA 13th

[shankbear]

It was interesting having the sprint specialist Cancellara leading the TDF as long as he did. He is not a climber and it showed. What is more interesting is that he returned to his domestique duties for Carlos Sastre. He knows who has the best chance to win the overall.

[shankbear]

The Columbian, Soler, was a giant surprise winning the stage today. Many of the favorites are within 2 1/2 minutes and well within striking distance. The TDF goes into flatter territory now after 3 days in the Alps. The sprinters will get the spotlight a bit more but the general classification guys will still be the pushers. The Discovery Channel team is strong. They have worked well together.

They will be in Provence in the next stages. I was in this area last summer also and it is great. Kinda like the Texas Hill Country with all the limestone only the "hills" are much bigger. Beautiful scenery with vineyards, sunflowers, olive groves and lavender farms. This place is heaven.

[Phil C]

Thank you for the updates shank! It is good that there are other fans around on the downlow. Today is a long flat race and it is favorable for breakaways to win this one since the sprinters are tired after the mountains. Most of the main contenders will probably be satisfied with the status quo and run conservatively today and make their move when they get to the mountains again. Today should be entertainment indeed.

Yesterday I saw a rare occurrance when one of the bikers ran into a dog that got in the way. Fortunately he was able to brake and not get hurt too bad and continue the race. Fortunate also is that the dog didn't get hurt bad either and walked away stunned at what happened. This is an unfortunate event but so rare that it shows that they do a great job of keeping animals from getting in the way of the riders.

[Phil C]

Right now there are seven breakaways together with about 25 miles left to go. None of them are the main contenders or sprinters. They are about 10min40sec ahead of the peloton and this breakaway just might work today. We will see. Excitement indeed.

[Phil C]

As expected the escape worked today and finished about 10min39 sec ahead of the peloton where most of the contenders were. Cedric Vasseau won a thrilling ending just barely beating Sandy Cesar. A thrilling day indeed and one of those rare times the escapes works. The contenders are still close and no one has yet to take complete control of this race so hang on for more thrilling stages.

Excitement indeed.

[Phil C]

The race today will be shown in prime time on the Versus Channel at 7 P.M. You may want to watch it because it concluded in beautifull Merseille, France which is in Southeast France by the Mediterrean Sea. It is a beautiful city and I know they will show scenes from the City . The city was the main setting for two great movies. One was the Alfred Hitchcock thriller It Takes a Thief with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. It is shown often on tv. The other movie was the great Gene Hackman movie French Connection II. This movie will be shown on August 1 on Encore Mystery. It starts at 2:45 P.M.

[Phil C]

More good news is that Vasseau is from the host country, France. He gives France's its' first stage winner this year which is indeed great for the host country and they will be celebrating his great victory in France. Good news indeed!

[shankbear]

The next leg heads toward the Pyerenees. They go through a city called Arles. That was a Roman bastion about 2000 years ago. There is a colliseum there where gladiators fought and died. Now they have bullfights there..........they are bloodless bullfights. Go figure it. There is an ancient Roman theatre there also. Out of town about 25 to 40 miles is a place called the Pont du Gard. It is a Roman acqueduct and it is tremendous. Google it and you can see. It moved water from the high country to a town called Nimes. This town is where the fabric denim comes from. It means of nimes. That part of France down to the coast of the Mediterranian is called the Camargue. It is cowboy country and they were a lot of denim. Beautiful horses there also.

That's today's travelguide/TDF comments.

[Phil C]

Thank you shank! Today is mostly a flat stage and it seems the sprinters are not letting any breakaways get too far ahead of the peloton. This is going to probably be a sprinter's race today. Excitement indeed. Sadly one of the best sprinters McEwen is no longer in the race. :(

[Phil C]

There are some escapees but they are only about 7 min ahead of the peloton with a long distance to go so I don't think they will succeed today. There are two pelotons now with one about 25 seconds ahead of the other.
This year's peloton is not organized since they don't have a patron (boss) like they did when Lance was racing. To get to be the patron you have to win about two tours in a row. When the peloton does not have a leader it is not organized and crashes occur most often. It will be at two more years before we have a chance to have a patron.

[Phil C]

As expected the peloton caught the escapees. There is about 12 miles left in the race and there are two pelotons with one about 2 min in front of the other. I think they will both get together and we will have an exciting sprint at the end. We will see.

[Phil C]

As expected it was a sprinter's race at the end and was won by Bobby Hunter of South Africa. This was first South Africa citizen to win a tour stage. Well done Bobby.

[Phil C]

In today's race there are some escapees that are about 5 min ahead of the peloton with about 27 miles left. I think the peloton is going to catch them. The contenders are waiting for the mountains and are staying in the peloton. Excitement indeed!

[Phil C]

Stage 12 is over! The peloton caught the escapees and in a sprinters race Tom Boonen won. A great race indeed!
The main contenders stayed status quo for today. I look for the winner to be decided in Stages 14 to 16 when they hit the mountains again with some brutal climbs. It is possible that we might not have an American win this year but the American Team Discovery is doing well in overall team timing and might win this one. Levi still has a good chance but will need to make his move in the mountains.

[Phil C]

The Tour de France for this year will be over very soon. The last Stage will be on Sunday, July 29, 2007 when the overall winner is decided and they by tradition ride as a group to Paris even though there is a sprint at the end. This is by gentlemen's agreement even though maybe not in the rules the riders enforce this. The next to last race concludes the yellow jersey race.

The only time this "rule" was broken was when Ireland's Steven Roche led Spain's Pedro Delgado by 40 seconds going into Paris in the 1987 race. Delgado couldn't resist trying to get away for a win and broke away from the peloton but several riders went after him and brought him back to the peloton for the rest of the race. Mr. Delgado was to win the tour in 1988.

The closest race was in 1989 when the tradition was suspended that year and they decided to have the final time trial race to Paris. Frenchman Laurent Fignon led American Greg Lemond by 50 seconds. Fignon had won two races in 1983 and 1984. He lost the final stage by 58 seconds to Lemond and thus the race by 8 seconds. The Tour soon afterward did away with this experiment and now the last state is the ride to Paris where the riders stay together in the peloton until the last sprint.

[Phil C]

Saturday's Time Trial was won by Alexandre Vinokourov who is now recognized as a contender again. The main favorites are still fairly close together.
Today they are in the mountains but it looks like they are staying in the peloton. Surely someone will make a break soon. There are some escapees who are about 5 min ahead of the peloton with about 34 miles to go today. None of the escapees are favorites.
This could be a close TDF this year. Come on Levi!

[shankbear]

Way to go Vino. His earlier fall almost got him. He is still over 7 minutes back in the overall. This isn't over yet. If L. Arm had a 2:00 minute lead I would have said something different. In his day!!!!!

[Phil C]

Yesterday Vino had a bad day and is probably out of the race for the yellow jersey. The American Sponsored team's Alberto Contador of Spain won the tour over Michael Rasmussen in a great ride. Way to go Alberto. The young Spainard is only 24 and has a great future and will surely win some tours before he is through. I hope he stays on the American Discovery Channel because he will have some great teammates to help him.
Today is another brutal mountain stage and most of the contenders are staying in the peloton. If Levi can't make a move I hope Alberto does. Tomorrow will be a rest day and then Wednesday finishes up with the last major mountain race. Levi better make a move soon if he expects to win it this year.

[Phil C]

Just about 15 miles left in today's race for the peloton. There are some breakaways and I don't know if the peloton is interested in catching them. The main contenders seem satisfied to stay in the peloton. If someone doesn't make a move it is to the advantage of Rasmussen who leads. They may be waiting for the final mountain stage on Wednesday to make their moves but they may be making a mistake with Rasmussen losing much energy yesterday to get second place and then with the advantage of tomorrow's rest. We will see. This is a great tour.
Levi is riding too conservatively for me and he better make a move today or Wednesday. In my opinion he will not ever win a Tour de France but he will be in the top ten and maybe even top five consistently. Contador is the man for this group in the future if not now.

[Phil C]

In Stage 15 Alexjandre Vinokourov won an amazing race. I think it is too little and too late but he did magnificient. Michael Rasmussen has continued to hold the lead. Levi is in 4th place but he is over five minutes behind Michael. Tomorrow is rest day so with another day in the mountains Levi needs to gain about three minutes on Michael and maybe he can win the tour. Of course other contenders will have the same idea. The question is who will have a great ride on Wednesday. We will see. I don't know if Alberto Contador will have enough energy left for Wednesday but if he does and can get the win Go for it Alberto.
This tour is still up for grabs and has been great.

What a sport!

[Phil C]

There is no race today as the racers' get to enjoy a much needed day of rest but tomorrow will be a thriller as they conclude the mountain stages and tomorrow should be a very important race that will possible determine the final winner. Right now one can't help but admire Michael Rasmussen as he holds on to the yellow jersey and holds off all challenges made especially by Alberto Contador who is great and not afraid to make challenge after challent.

This is continueing to be a great tour. Don't miss tomorrow's race on Versus Channel!!

[Phil C]

Don't miss the last few stages because the tour is about over. It has been a great tour with great races but the best stages are yet to come. Tomorrow is great and what is amazing as always is the scenery. Did you know that get get so high up in the montains that you can see clouds below you at certain spots!

Remarkable indeed!

Man I really enjoy the Tour de France!

[Phil C]

You have to report bad things and the Tour is no different. Unfortunately one of the best riders Vino Vinokourov has tested positive for drugs and has had an illegal drug transfussion and he and his team have left France. This is a shame and a very foolish act on his part. These athletes know they are going to be teasted and you would think after what has happened in the past it would be avoided.
Even the current yellow jersey is not completely clean even though he has NOT tested positive for drugs ever but he did disappear and was not available for drug testing. He was probably clean but when one considers that Lance Armstrong had to let them know where he was 365 (366 during Leap Year) it shows that he didn't really follow the rules which even though most of us believe him it does cast suspicion on him.

This is a bad reflection on the tour and we have been treated to a great tour race. It is all a shame. I am hurt and disappointed.

Will I continue to enjoy this tour the last few days? Of course I am but for right now I am hurt and totally wordless.

We will know more later.

[shankbear]

The bad apples ruin the barrel. If Vino did it then he should be gone.

You have to consider the source though if this was done by the French testing labs.

Rasmussen has a big lead. Not sure who on the list can catch him.

[Phil C]

Today is the last mountain stages. The main contenders are in the peloton and they have one more brutal climb at the end. If any contender plans to catch Rasmussen they better do it in the last climb. There are some breakaways which includes contender Carlos Sastre but they are only about 2 minutes ahead of the peloton so I don't think he will gain much time even though he might win the stage. Levi needs to make a serious move if he expects to win as does Contador. They are about 24 miles from the finish but as I mentioned that last climb to the finish is brutal and someone could make a move. Come on Levi and Carlos!

Possibly more bad news from the Tour. See below. Of the possible names mentioned the big ones are Rasmussen and Hunter.

http://www.velonews.com/tour2007/news/articles/12930.0.html

[Phil C]

They are about ten miles from the finish. The main contenders are in the peloton. No one has made their move and I think it is too late. Rasmussen looks like he will maintain his edge to win the tour.

[Phil C]

Six miles from the finish. The main peloton with the contenders are Popyvich who is doing most of the damage, Leipheimer, Contador, Evans and Rasmussen. Rasmussen is satisfied with the status quo and it looks like he is going to get it and have the tour all but won.

The thing that is a shame is that Rasmussen didn't follow the rules and let the officials know where he was which he was supposed to do. He has never tested positive for drugs but if he wins that puts a cloud on the Tour. Lance Armstrong said he had to let them know 365 days a year when he was racing (366 during Leap Year). Can you imagine the furor that would have created if Lance had done what Rasmussen did?

[Phil C]

Two miles left and now the top three leaders are Rasmussen, Leipheimer, and Contado. Too late for the latter two to gain significient time on the yellow jersey. The Tour is Rasmussen's in my opinion.

[Phil C]

Rasmussen has won the stage! A magnificient performance indeed. He now has over 3 minutes on Contador and over five minutes on Leipheimer and the other contenders. In effect he has enough time on the others to win the tour.

This man was magnficient. He withstood challenge after challenge and the tour is his. Contador was magnificient in his challenge and this young man is no doubt the future star of the tour.

Now we await to see who tested positive in the drug test.

[Phil C]

The rider that tested positive was Cristian Morani of Italy. Rasmussen is clean and should win the tour. Too bad about the recent events that have clouded an otherwise great and wonderful race.

[District303aPastPlayer]

OURETTE, France -- The Tour de France sustained a new blow Wednesday after a senior French doping official said yet another rider failed a doping test -- this time for testosterone.

The revelation came a day after Alexandre Vinokourov and his Astana team were disqualified because he tested positive for a banned blood transfusion.

The doping official said he did not know the identity of the cyclist who tested positive for testosterone. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case with reporters.

Also Wednesday, dozens of Tour de France riders demonstrated their anger over repeated doping scandals by staging a silent protest at the start of the 16th stage, a 135.8-mile ride from Orthez to Gourette-Col d'Aubisque.

The pack of riders split into two groups: those who took the start as normal -- including controversial race leader Michael Rasmussen -- and those who protested by hanging back, causing a 13-minute delay.

Meanwhile, Spanish officials announced that at least one small explosive device detonated along the day's route as the race nosed into northern Spain. Spanish media said the blast or blasts were preceded by a call in the name of Basque separatist group ETA, but Spain's Interior Ministry said it could not confirm. No injuries were reported.

French sports newspaper L'Equipe, which broke the story on Vinokourov, said on its Web site Wednesday the latest case resulted from a test conducted on stage 11 of the Tour last Thursday.

L'Equipe did not name the rider. It said the UCI, cycling's governing body, would announce the latest test result shortly. The UCI's top anti-doping official, Anne Gripper, declined comment to the Associated Press.

Urine tests are conducted daily at the Tour on the stage winner, the race leader and other selected riders.

Stage 11, from Marseille to Montpellier in southeast France, was won by sprinter Robert Hunter, a South African on the Barloworld team. The race leader then -- and now -- is Rasmussen, who is riding under a cloud of suspicion because he skipped doping tests before the three-week Tour began.

The Dane started Wednesday with a 2:23 lead over Discovery team rider Alberto Contador of Spain.

The identity of the other riders tested that day was not immediately known.

L'Equipe said the test analysis was conducted by the Chatenay-Malabry lab on the outskirts of Paris. Traces of testosterone were found in the urine sample, the newspaper reported. The test showed that the testosterone was administered and that the hormone was not naturally occurring.

The protest riders let Rasmussen, star sprinter Tom Boonen and others not involved ride away -- but caught up with them further down the road. Many of the riders involved in the symbolic protest were from French teams that have long complained that doping is ruining the sport.

Fans booed Rasmussen at the start. The Dane is under a cloud of suspicion because he skipped doping tests before the Tour began.

The Tour's Web site said German squad Gerolsteiner also took part in the protest. Some of the French teams involved included Credit Agricole, Cofidis, FDJeux, Bouygues Telecom and Agritubel.

Tour organizers announced that 14 riders were subjected to blood tests early Wednesday. They were from French teams Cofidis and AG2R. The tests were all negative.

In all, 225 blood tests have been conducted so far at the three-week race. Of those, just one -- for Vinokourov -- was positive.

Without the Kazakh rider and Astana, the field was reduced to 151 riders on Wednesday. The team's withdrawal also meant two of the top 10 riders were out -- Andreas Kloeden of Germany, who had been fifth, and Kazakh Andrey Kashechkin, who had been eighth.

Wednesday's stage featured four huge climbs, culminating with an uphill finish so tough it does not even have a rating.

Rasmussen was aiming to get through the stage without losing time to his main rivals, so he can embark on the last major hurdle -- a time trial on Saturday -- in a commanding position.

Vinokourov tested positive for a blood transfusion after he won last Saturday's time trial. On Monday, Vinokourov also won stage 15 -- a tough climb in the Pyrenees. Those performances marked a remarkable recovery from a crash that had ruined the first week of his race.

Vinokourov told the French sports daily L'Equipe for Wednesday's edition that he had not cheated.

"It's a mistake. I never doped, that's not the way I see my profession,'' the newspaper quoted him as saying. "I think it's a mistake in part due to my crash. I have spoken to the team doctors who had a hypothesis that there was an enormous amount of blood in my thighs, which could have led to my positive test.''

Vinokourov claimed to be the victim of a "provocation.''

"It's been going on for months and today they're managing to demolish me,'' he said. "The setting up of our team made a lot of people jealous and now we're paying the price. It's a shame to leave the Tour this way, but I don't want to waste time in proving my innocence.''

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

[turbostud]

Now the yellow jersey is gone and that now puts Alberto Conatdor of Discovery in the lead with Levi Leipheimer in 3rd.

Cycling News Flash for July 26, 2007
Edited by Sue George, with additional reporting by Tim Malony, European Editor

Rasmussen pulled out of Tour
Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank)
Photo ©: Roberto Bettini
Yellow jersey Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank) will not start Stage 17 of the Tour de France Thursday morning.

Team manager Theo DeRooy has withdrawn the maillot jaune from the Tour de France, allegedly because Rasmussen lied to the Rabobank team as to his true whereabouts when he missed his out of competition tests in June.

DeRooy will not withdraw the entire team, but will allow the riders to choose to start the stage tomorrow.

Rasmussen won Wednesday's Stage 16 finishing at Col d'Aubisque. He put 26 seconds and 35 seconds respectively on Discovery Channel riders Levi Leipheimer and Alberto Contador. Contador has been sitting in second place overall in the general classification and is also wearing the white jersey of the best young rider.

With Rasmussen gone, Contador will consequently wear the leader's yellow jersey in Thursday's 17th stage, a 188.5 kilometre race from Pau to Castelsarrasin. He has a one minute 53 seconds lead over Australian Cadel Evans of the Predictor Lotto team, with American Levi Leipheimer now up to third. Leipheimer is two minutes 49 seconds behind Contador.

Rasmussen's withdrawal comes only hours after Italian Cristian Moreni (Cofidis) was pulled from the Tour after he was confirmed as rider who tested positive for testosterone following stage 11 on July 19.

Just one day ago, Alexandre Vinoukourov tested positive for a blood transfusion. In response, his entire Astana team did not start stage 16 Wednesday.

Stay tuned to Cyclingnews for more information as the story develops.

[shankbear]

Doesn't that throw a cat amongst the pigeons. Makes Contador and Liepheimer more viable for the maillot jaune. Cadel Evans is still up also.

[turbostud]

Yes it does. Contador is 1. Evans(-1.57) is 2. and Leipheimer( -2.49) is 3. The Time Trial on Sat will decide the winner.

[Phil C]

turbo I think you are close on 2nd but I think Contador is 1'53" ahead of Evans and Levi is2'49" behind Contador. Either one of these three could have a great time trial and win the race. It will probably be very close if it comes to a time trial. And who knows about the two sprints tomorrow and Friday. One of the three could make a move to try to get it. Also someone out of the top three could try it to with a breakaway. My guess is that the top three will be satisfied to stay in the peloton and let breakaways go unless there is someone who is a contender. We will see.

[Phil C]

I am still not giving up on the tour. It is a shame about Rasmussen. This was almost the straw that broke my back as far as enthusiasm for the tour. No matter who wins this race is tainted with scandal and enthusiasm has suffered but the race will survive and the message should now be received by the riders is that cheaters will be caught and the testing is now ahead of them and hopefully they will avoid cheating.
I have always supported this sport and race and will not give up on it but I have been hurt and disappointed.

[Phil C]

Originally posted by Phil C
In Stage 15 Alexjandre Vinokourov won an amazing race. I think it is too little and too late but he did magnificient. Michael Rasmussen has continued to hold the lead. Levi is in 4th place but he is over five minutes behind Michael. Tomorrow is rest day so with another day in the mountains Levi needs to gain about three minutes on Michael and maybe he can win the tour. Of course other contenders will have the same idea. The question is who will have a great ride on Wednesday. We will see. I don't know if Alberto Contador will have enough energy left for Wednesday but if he does and can get the win Go for it Alberto.
This tour is still up for grabs and has been great.

What a sport!

Amazing how you felt about something just two days ago and then your world crashes.

I am ashamed.

:(

[turbostud]

Originally posted by Phil C
turbo I think you are close on 2nd but I think Contador is 1'53" ahead of Evans and Levi is2'49" behind Contador. Either one of these three could have a great time trial and win the race. It will probably be very close if it comes to a time trial. And who knows about the two sprints tomorrow and Friday. One of the three could make a move to try to get it. Also someone out of the top three could try it to with a breakaway. My guess is that the top three will be satisfied to stay in the peloton and let breakaways go unless there is someone who is a contender. We will see.

I think the order will stay the same until the end. the next two stages will see no change. All three are good time trialists and their times wont be that far apart unless one of them has a crash.

[Phil C]

If the times stay about the same Team Discovery will be delighted to have two on the podium in first and third place in Paris.
Today is relatively a flat stage and the top riders appear to be satisfied to stay in the peloton. There is a group that have broken away but they are not that far ahead of the peloton. With the brutal mountain stages behind them I think the riders are satisfied to have a status quo today. But remember anything can happen. Crashes could occur and someone could make a big breakaway.

[Phil C]

There are about 11 miles left. The escapees are not that far ahead of the peloton so I think the peloton will catch them and it will be a sprinter's race. The main contenders as I mentioned before seem to be satisfied with keeping the status quo.

[Phil C]

The breakaway worked! Daniel Bennatti wins the stage. Most of the main overall contenders are in the marathon are satisfied to stay there with the status quo. This is not a surprise.

[Phil C]

The peloton finished 9min39sec behind the leader and I don't think they cared. They are satisfied with the status quo right now.

[Phil C]

Right now here are the top ten riders in the tour. I will list first place and the other nine with their time behind the leader.

1. Alberto Contador from American sponsor Discovery. He is from Spain.

2. Cadel Evans from Australia. He is 1min53sec behind the leader.

3. Levi Leipheimer from American sponsor Discovery. He is from the USA. He is 2min49sec behind

4. Carlos Sastre of Spain at 6min02sec behind the leader.

5. Haimar Zubeldia of Spain at 6min29sec behind the leader.

6. Aljandro Valverde of Spain at 10min18sec behind the leader


7. Kim Kirchen from Luxemburgh who is 11min36sec behind the leader

8. Yaroslav Popovych of Ukraine who is 12min50 sec behind the leader. He rides for American sponsor Discovery and has been great at helping his teammates and was great in helping Lance during his years.

9. Juan Mauricio Soler Hernances of Columbia at 13min31sec behind the leader.

10. Mikel Astarloza of Spain who is 13min42sec behind the leader.

Baring a crash or something unforseen the three leaders will probably fight it out at the final time trial on Saturday but we will see what happens tomorrow.

[Phil C]

Regarding today's Stage 18 it looks like the escapees are going to bettle it out as they have only about 12 miles left and are well ahead of the peloton. None of the escapees are contenders even though one might get into the top ten. The main contenders appear to be satisfied to stay in the peloton and fight it out tomorrow in the time race tomorrow.

[Phil C]

About two miles left and the escapees are over ten minutes ahead of the peloton so they will be fighting it out soon for the stage win.

The press has been coming down hard on the tour and some dooming it articles have been printed. In spite of the recent scandals and bad press shame the people are still coming out and supporting the tour thank goodness. The tour will survive and it looks very good that they are determined to have a clean sport and hopefully all the athletes can clean up their acts and next year we will have an uneventful tour except for the race. It is a shame what happened to Rasmussen and he has passed all tests but he created a cloud of suspicion when he lied about his whereabouts and missed drug tests. One wonders why he lied and why he did it. It is a shame it wasn't revealted sooner because it was unfair to everyone especially the top contenders who if he had been found out sooner may have adopted difference strategies against each other. A shame indeed.

But the Tour will survive and better things should be ahead.
Vive France! Vive Le Tour!

[Phil C]

The French will be happy tonight as Frenchmen won first and third place today as part of the group of escapees. Sandy Casar of France won first place and his countryman Laurent Lefevre won third. Alex Merckx of Belguin got second place. The peloton is coming in and has about one more mile to go.

Vive le Tour! Veve la France!

[Phil C]

The peloton has in and the main contenders are in. Michael Boogerd got 4th place with the other escapees. The sprinters on the peloton fought it out for sprinters' points with Tom Boonen coming in 5th place and will retain the Green Jersy. Right behind him were his chief competitors for this jersey in Robert Hunter, Erik Zabel and Sebastien Chavanel.

The peloton was split between two groups. Bottom line is Cadel Evans gained 3 seconds on the other top two contenders and these seconds could be critical.

Right now the top three contenders are

1. Albert Contador

2. Cadel Evans at 1min 50 seconds behind

3. Levi Leipheimer at 2min 49sec behind

These are preliminary updates and I will comment on them as soon as it is official.

[Phil C]

The Tour de France winners will be determined tomorrow if traditions holds up as expected. There is a final ride into Paris Sunday but they by tradition ride together. No racing is done until the end when the sprinters try to win a final stage but this is not done by any of the main contenders and has no outcome on the top finishers.
The scandals in the past few days have put the Tour at a low ebb but it at the same time in the future it will possibly be viewed as the Tour's finest hour as it shows the lab tests are ahead of the cheaters and the rules are enforced. Rasmussen was never proved to be a cheat but he lied when he said he was in Mexico training when he was really in Italy where there are known cheating doctors. This cast a reflection on him and the tour. He should have notified the proper people where he was at all times. Nowadays the riders must follow the rules and know they can be tested at a moment's notice. They have to be free of drugs not only in fact but in appearance. It is like my profession in accounting to a certain extent. When I was in public practice when I audited a company or entity I had to be independent in fact and appearance. For example if I had relatives that were chief officers and bookkeepers of an entity I could not audit them. Even though the fact that I could still be objective and independent with relatives working the appearance would be compromised and I would have to decline the audit.
That is the way in cycling that needs to be that way. Rasmussen found out the hard way.
Lance had to let them know every day of the year where he was and be tested at a moment's noticed and he was tested often and was never positive. But he never disappeared anywhere either.
The Tour is not ruined but it is a shame they couldn't have found out about it before Stage 14 because in the mountain stages the current three contenders were chasing and their strategy was against Rasmussen since he led. Had Rasmussen been removed before the last mountain stages they would have used different stratedy against each other instead of Rasmussen. The Discovery Team could have worked more with Levi and Alberto against Contador and at the same time Cadel and his team would have done the same thing. It would have made a great mountain stage but we have been denied this.

Next year no doubt the riders will be monitored carefully and hopefully such incidents will not be repeated and we will have a great tour.

In the meantime we will finish this one. Right now any one of the top three contenders can win. Crashes or a bad ride could be a factor but we will see. Either way American sponsor Discovery can't lose either way if they can get two riders on the final podium in Paris. I would like Levi to win since he is an American but Cadel and Alberto are great bikers so we should have a great tour winner no matter what and two great runners-up.
The Tour will survive and hopefully things will end on a positive note and we can look forward to next year.

[Phil C]

What was remarkable about Casar's win was he earlier had a crash when he ran over an unleased dog. It was a horrible crash but he got up and continued the race. The dog was unhurt also. Casar showed great courage and endurance as he went on to win the stage today.

Now tomorrow will determine the winner. The final stage is about a 30 mile timed race and the referree is the clock. All three are good time trial runners but they seem to feel that this is Cadel Evans race but will it be good enough for him to catch Alberto is the question. Also Levi is in it too. Anything can happen. This tour could be extremely close and decided by seconds.
Hopefully there won't be a crash but that is always an unfortunate possibility plus one never knows if one will have a bad race. At the same time someone may have an exceptional race.
The final tomorrow will be on Versus in the morning starting at 7 A.M. (I think). They will be in descending order with the top three contenders riding last. So I reccomend that you at least start watching at 9:30 A.M. and see how the final three turn out.

Good luck to the top three riders. They have done great this year.

May the best man win.

[shankbear]

Team Discovery Channel is sitting pretty with Contador and Leipheimer. Levi has worked for Contador some in this TDF. This pair are tough. Evans is solid and came into this TDF as one of the maillot jaune favorites. The time trial will prove decisive tomorrow.

[Phil C]

The Tour de France is over. There have been letdowns and disappointments but I think great progress is being made. The cheaters are being caught and the riders know that the testing has caught up with them and hopefully there will be fewer such incidents in the future. The riders know the rules and have to follow them. They must avoid the wrong people. They know now that it is guilty until proven possible innocence.

At the end of the Tour there is no doubt that the best man won and deserved the yellow jersey. It was the first time that the top three winners were within 31 seconds of each other. They showed great sportsmanship on the last stage by staying with the peloton as the hornored tradition when one knows the temptation to get a win was great. Bravo to them.

Alberto Contador won the yellow jersey and the overall individual winner by 23 seconds over second place Cadel Evans of Australia and 31 seconds over his teammate American Levi Leipheimer. He is only 24 so he won the best overall young rider (white jersey) of the tour. He will be 25 in December. This award is available for riders that were under 25 on January 1 of the year of the tour.
Since Contador is from Spain that is the country that won but remember he had teammates from all over the world that helped him including several Americans. Also when Lance was winning he had menbers on his team from other countries that helped him too.

Juan Mauricio Soler of Columbia is another future star as he at age 24 won the best mountain climber (also known as King of the
Mountain) jersey (the polka dot jersey). He will be 25 on January 14 next year so he will eligible for the white jersey next year.

Tom Boonen won the sprint jersey (the green jersey).

John Bruynell did a fantastic job this year as manager of the Discovery Team. This team won the top team winner by an easy margin which is determined by the time of it's top three riders. They had three riders in the top ten which included Yaroslav Popovych at 8th place. George Hincappie was at No. 24.

A great tour indeed! Well done to Alberto and everyone!

We look forward to 2008 when hopefully we will have a great tour that will be clean and we can concentrate on the racing.

VIVE LE TOUR! VIVE FRANCE!

[carter08]

Would have been fun if one of the leaders went out in one of these breakaways that finished 10 minutes ahead of the peloton. But, that will never happen. Riders are afraid to risk it.

[Phil C]

Besides overall winners there is lots of glory to go around such as winning a stage. Any positive publicity like that makes the sponsors very happy. For example early in the tour McEwen won a great sprint yet he got eliminated in the mountains by not finishing in time. Riders have a certain amount of time to get in after the first rider crosses the finished line and unfortunately a lot of bikers who are mainly sprinters don't make it.

There were 189 riders at the start of the tour and at the end 141 made it to Paris. Things that eliminate the rider is not completing a stage in time, crashes and injuries, fatigue and unfortunately positive drug tests.

It is noted that Thor Hushovd is a great sprinter and won stage 4 in this year's Tour de France which is great glory and he got this in spite of finisheing 139 th place out of 141 and he was 3 hours41min57sec behind the winner.

That makes the Tour interesting. Lots of Glory (and money) to go around. So let's keep it clean from now on riders and obey the rules.

[Phil C]

At the end all of the major winners were under 30 but Alberto Contador has the potential to really dominate the tour for the next ten years. Discovery will not be a sponsor but I think they have already got another sponsor plus I think another American sponsored team is coming. I hope that Alberto will stay with Lance and whoever the new sponsor is.
The thing is it takes besides skill and hard work a certain amount of luck to win the tour. The main thing is to not be involved in crashes or injuries which isn't easy. Lance had severl close calls in his career while racing the Tour.
That doesn't mean that there are not some over 30 that can win it even though as far as a long time it isn't likely. Cadel Evans is only 30 and is capable. Levi Leipheimer is 33 and probably has one or two more chances and he may leave the American sponsored team because I know that he would probably like to win it so he may have to be on a different team that Alberto next year. One can't blame him and best of luck to him. There are others on Discovery that may follow because they are still young and sacrificed themselves for the two winners and they may want to be the ones that get sacrificed for and who can blame them. We will know more by September and October when teams get riders lined up.

Next year's tour will be a good one. Let's hope it will be clean and scandal free.

[Phil C]

I like the Tour de France.