Lance Armstrong won Sunday’s 60-mile Alpine Odyssey race here, beating Greg Krause of Littleton, Colorado by three seconds.

Nederland Bloeit rider takes over World Cup lead from teammate Marianne Vos with one race to go.

PodiumCafe: Sunday racing - Sparkassen Giro and World Cup Open de Suède Vårgårda races.

It has been a big weekend for women's racing - with two of the last three Road World Cup races, and a race that would have been a World Cup, if it hadn't had to move the date to this weekend.  Lots of big questions - could Garmin-Cervélo keep their unbroken record and win the Vårgårda Team Time Trial?  Would Marianne Vos' recent string of victories finally come to an end?  Could World Champion Giorgia Bronzini win in Germany?

Marcel Kittel (Skil-Shimano) overpowered Alexander Kristoff (BMC) and Francesco Chicchi (Quick Step) in a bunch finish in Warsaw to take the opening stage of the Tour de Pologne.

Sunday's Tour of Poland Stage 1 gets underway at 11:25am CET (5:25am U.S. Eastern) and is expected at the finish at around 1:45pm CET (7:45am U.S. Eastern).  Tour of Poland live video streaming MIGHT get underway at around 12:20pm CET (6:20am U.S. Eastern). *Unrestricted live feeds for Stage 1 are uncertain as Eurosport's coverage does not begin until Monday's Stage 2...

Garmin-Cervélo rider sets off today wearing dossard number one.

Although the initial signing of the tour took place in Beijing back in November little detail about the event has emerged till now.

The Tour of Poland starts today. It’s the 68th edition although you probably can’t cite many notable winners. For years the race was behind the Iron Curtain but, in a neat metaphor, today the race is run by a private promoter Czesław Lang and has become a minor success. It’s a World Tour race and for some team sponsors an interesting target market as it’s one of the few parts of Europe to escape recession and downturn.

Today's Quote

“So, he’s [Philip Gilbert] raced 25 out of 28 days and still has the juice to ride away solo to win a World Cup.” - Steve Tilford SteveTilford

"With August swiftly approaching, so comes near the deadline for the world championships qualifications, which is set right in the middle of that very month (15th). With only two races left in which points can be scored - Tour of Poland and ENECO - let's see who's going strong and who needs to give it that little extra to ensure they get to send a full squad."

The Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium is the seventh race in the USA Crit series with a prize list of over $100,000. In its eighth year, the Presbyterian has become one of the biggest criteriums on the East Coast attracting the best domestic racers. This year the six-rider per team restriction had been removed and squads had the option of pinning numbers on eight riders.

Talented African rider one of cycling’s big prospects.

Belgian team hoping for better fortunes in second half of season.

Thomas Voeckler's unexpected success in the Tour de France gave one-piece systems their biggest PR boost since Mario Cipollini dressed his up. Adding to the buzz was the stage win of Team Movistar's Rui Costa. His bar was branded MOST, which is Pinarello's component house brand. During my recent trip to Treviso,

Yellow and blue, with stripes and stars, the Curaçao National Champion's jersey was worn for the first time by Marc De Maar on stage one of the Tour of Poland.

Voeckler after losing yellow on Alp d'Huez.

Insists he’ll be ready for big season goal of Vuelta a España.

I got a few messages about USADA showing up yesterday at the Texas State Time Trial Championships and drug testing virtually the whole Cat 1 field. Plus some more Cat 3 riders.

CyclingNews: Klöden and Brajkovic to lead RadioShack in Vuelta a España.

Andreas Klöden and Janez Brajkovic will ride the Vuelta a Espana for RadioShack. The team announced that the two captains, who both had abandon the Tour de France due to injuries, were among the seven riders already set for the race in Spain, which starts on August 20.

TwistedSpoke: Gilbert plays it perfect in San Sebastian.

“There have always been strange races,” Damiano Cunego told Gazzetta dello Sport. “After the Jaizkibel, there have been riders who’ve gotten back on and then counter-attacked and it’s all over.”

Clasica San Sebastian live video streaming should get underway at around 3:45pm CET (9:45am U.S. Eastern).

Tomorrow sees the Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian race. It’s a good race in one of the heartlands of cycling… yet it’s struggling financially with race organiser El Diario Vasco, like many other newspapers, unsure whether to continue with the event. The field sees a mix of Tour de France heroes meet fresher challengers, the course is such that a variety of riders can win.

Irishman looking to San Sebastian and Vuelta a España.

Belgian to miss the Vuelta a España.

Finally a victory for the American team after three consecutive second places.

Colavita Forno D’Asolo presented by Cooking Light walked away with the team title in the final standings of the Women’s Prestige Cycling Series followng the last Series race, the Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Cycling Classic. The squad also claimed the sprinter’s jersey for Leah Kirchmann, whose standing got a big boost when she won the Wheaties FUEL Sprint jersey at the Nature Valley Grand Prix in June.

The “second half” of the season gets underway this weekend, with Pro Tour races in Spain and Poland. For some, the weekend is the last bit of racing before a well-deserved post-Tour break; for others, it begins the final build-up to the Vuelta a Espana and the autumn classics.

The dust has barely settled following the Tour de France and big-time racing returns across Europe with a busy weekend.

Squad aiming to step up after three years taking second.

After having had to abandon the Tour de France because of a crash, Tom Boonen is ready to take on the second part of the season with a view to the World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, in September. The Quick Step rider is due to start at the Tour of Poland this Sunday, and hopes to score a stage victory while further fine-tuning his form.

It started for me when I realized that I could no longer maintain the mental and the physical motivation necessary to race a full season of road and then cyclocross.

The Basque Country is characterized by two simple facts: remarkably beautiful landscape and incredibly delicious food. The simplicity of exploring the landscape - from stunning coastal roads to deserted mountainscapes - by bicycle and experiencing the pleasures of eating that is beyond an art form in this part of Europe, is to fully indulge in this Hedonist's playground that is determined to remain true to its cultural roots.

Vibrating static bike claims to dramatically increase the effectiveness of your workout.

The 2012 Easton EA90RT has an entirely new rim, and it’s wide! Internal rim width is 17.5mm with a solid rim bed, so no rim tape necessary. Uses the same double threaded nipple/dueler that they use on their mountain bike wheels.

"Last week I was at the Thüringen Rundfahrt, one of the biggest stage races for women outside of the Giro Donne.  I was there because Horizon Fitness-Prendas Ciclismo had taken me along with them, but I wanted to use the opportunity to see what goes on behind the scenes, enabling the cyclists to race - so I was very grateful indeed to have the chance to shadow Arkadiusz Wojtas, one of the two HTC-Highroad soigneurs, as he prepared for Stage 3 of the race."

Team RadioShack’s Levi Leipheimer, winner of the 2010 Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race in his first attempt, is bypassing the opportunity to defend his title in order to compete at the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and the USA Pro Cycling Challenge in Colorado.

The Brothers Schleck have decided to wait one month, rest up, re-think some strategy and then attack Evans in the high mountains again. This time it’s the Colorado Rockies.

Bicycling: How to Bunny Hop Obstacles.

Jump curbs, obstacles, and anything that gets in your way..

After winning the overall the BMC Cascade Cycling Classic, the RealCyclist.com team made its way to Utah to get ready for ‘America’s Toughest Race’, the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah. The squad is headquartered in Park City, home of Evan Hyde.

Kiwi talks about getting that elusive first win of the season and his future.

Today's Quote

“So, he’s [Philip Gilbert] raced 25 out of 28 days and still has the juice to ride away solo to win a World Cup.” - Steve Tilford SteveTilford

Kazach cyclist Valentin Iglinskiy of Team Astana will go before a French judge in September to face drunk driving and speeding charges stemming from an arrest Tuesday, according to a judicial source.

Vandals knocked over a brick memorial to Belgians Wouter Weylandt, Dmitri De Fauw and Frederiek Nolf on Thursday night, Sporza.be reported today. The stone was dedicated last month after the death of Weylandt in the Giro d'Italia. Patrick Cosyn, who led the effort to create the memorial, was aghast.

Out of the blue the Rock Racing twitter account sputtered to life with the message, “Hey everyone, get ready for some exciting news about Rock Racing!” Honestly I took this announcement with a grain of salt as I suspected that a @FakeFloydLandis had hacked the account and was going to randomly post links to porn sites under the guise of a new Rock Racing team.

What perhaps most cyclists don’t know is that Mavic wants you to roll in style. Their Infinity Bib is the latest in a line of cycling apparel and has some very specific good ideas.

Clasica San Sebastian live video streaming should get underway at around 3:45pm CET (9:45am U.S. Eastern).

Finally a victory for the American team after three consecutive second places.

Colavita Forno D’Asolo presented by Cooking Light walked away with the team title in the final standings of the Women’s Prestige Cycling Series followng the last Series race, the Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Cycling Classic. The squad also claimed the sprinter’s jersey for Leah Kirchmann, whose standing got a big boost when she won the Wheaties FUEL Sprint jersey at the Nature Valley Grand Prix in June.

The “second half” of the season gets underway this weekend, with Pro Tour races in Spain and Poland. For some, the weekend is the last bit of racing before a well-deserved post-Tour break; for others, it begins the final build-up to the Vuelta a Espana and the autumn classics.

Tomorrow sees the Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian race. It’s a good race in one of the heartlands of cycling… yet it’s struggling financially with race organiser El Diario Vasco, like many other newspapers, unsure whether to continue with the event. The field sees a mix of Tour de France heroes meet fresher challengers, the course is such that a variety of riders can win.

The dust has barely settled following the Tour de France and big-time racing returns across Europe with a busy weekend.

Squad aiming to step up after three years taking second.

After having had to abandon the Tour de France because of a crash, Tom Boonen is ready to take on the second part of the season with a view to the World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, in September. The Quick Step rider is due to start at the Tour of Poland this Sunday, and hopes to score a stage victory while further fine-tuning his form.

Starting in Breinigsville for the Nittany Lions ’Cross, the pair will take part in eight events on the east side of America.  Other key events will include Charm City, which is a double weekend of racing, the Nor’easter Cross and Ellison Park in Rochester.  The trip will conclude with the Gloucester GP races in near Boston.

The 2012 Easton EA90RT has an entirely new rim, and it’s wide! Internal rim width is 17.5mm with a solid rim bed, so no rim tape necessary. Uses the same double threaded nipple/dueler that they use on their mountain bike wheels.

"Last week I was at the Thüringen Rundfahrt, one of the biggest stage races for women outside of the Giro Donne.  I was there because Horizon Fitness-Prendas Ciclismo had taken me along with them, but I wanted to use the opportunity to see what goes on behind the scenes, enabling the cyclists to race - so I was very grateful indeed to have the chance to shadow Arkadiusz Wojtas, one of the two HTC-Highroad soigneurs, as he prepared for Stage 3 of the race."

Today's Quote

“How many folks can say that they played catch with Babe Ruth?  One on one with Jordan? You get the drift.  Well I rode with Lance Armstrong.” - Harper RAGBRAIHarper

Team RadioShack’s Levi Leipheimer, winner of the 2010 Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race in his first attempt, is bypassing the opportunity to defend his title in order to compete at the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and the USA Pro Cycling Challenge in Colorado.

The Brothers Schleck have decided to wait one month, rest up, re-think some strategy and then attack Evans in the high mountains again. This time it’s the Colorado Rockies.

Bicycling: How to Bunny Hop Obstacles.

Jump curbs, obstacles, and anything that gets in your way..

Fränk and Andy Schleck were the stars of the Gala Tour de France criterium in Luxembourg on Thursday evening, with the two brothers taking first and third, while Frenchman Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) finished between them in second place.

Man, do Belgians ever love cycling. Even when it's completely corrupt. Our man Patrick Verhoest checks in from his natal city of Roeselare, home to one of the many post-Tour de France criteriums, because apparently all of Belgium is transformed into a carnival in late July, and you need big-name pro cyclists to move that cotton candy.

Santambrogio will also be a protected rider in WorldTour race.

After the greatest event of the cycling calendar has come to an end, top teams are already preparing for the next season, not only signing new riders but also thinking about the mid-term future. The month of August is when young riders are given a chance to prove themselves at the highest level as stagiaires.

It’s Italian skull time, deja vu all over again only without the cocaine and hot Asian models. Uhh, so maybe this news isn’t that thrilling after all.

Vandals knocked over a brick memorial to Belgians Wouter Weylandt, Dmitri De Fauw and Frederiek Nolf on Thursday night, Sporza.be reported today. The stone was dedicated last month after the death of Weylandt in the Giro d'Italia. Patrick Cosyn, who led the effort to create the memorial, was aghast.

Out of the blue the Rock Racing twitter account sputtered to life with the message, “Hey everyone, get ready for some exciting news about Rock Racing!” Honestly I took this announcement with a grain of salt as I suspected that a @FakeFloydLandis had hacked the account and was going to randomly post links to porn sites under the guise of a new Rock Racing team.

Astana rider says that he will sue over reports of cocaine use.

Michael Rasmussen and Christina Watches-Onfone are still searching for sponsorship money to enable them to move up to Professional Continental status in the coming year. The Danish team currently has a Professional license, but hope to move up in order to become eligible for a wild-card invitation to next year's Giro d'Italia, which starts in Denmark.

The maillot jaune of the Tour de France will feature on the roads of Colorado next month when Cadel Evans starts the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. Race officials have confirmed that Evans (BMC Racing) will take part in the inaugural event, which begins August 22 in Colorado Springs.

What perhaps most cyclists don’t know is that Mavic wants you to roll in style. Their Infinity Bib is the latest in a line of cycling apparel and has some very specific good ideas.

Management at Omega Pharma has confirmed that the Belgian pharmaceutical company will stay in cycling in 2012 after agreeing to join forces with another team with the objective of securing a WorldTour licence.

I love feed zones. They are opportunities for riders to take refuge and stock. That is, they are a sort of mental landing in the stairway,  a brief pause that allows a rider to tell himself no matter how things have been, they just got better.

Santambrogio will also be a protected rider in WorldTour race.

Belgian champion continues his domination of exhibition races.

VeloNation: Pierre Rolland: “Tour success is down to eleven months of sacrifice.”

Europcar’s new French star riding the new wave of French confidence.

"We suspect that Andy made the mistake of assuming the Tour de France was his once Alberto Contador lost time behind a week one crash and later banged up his knee."

Rabobank fielding two previous winners for the race.

Today's Quote

“How many folks can say that they played catch with Babe Ruth?  One on one with Jordan? You get the drift.  Well I rode with Lance Armstrong.” - Harper RAGBRAIHarper

Says he’s done too much work to miss next year’s Tour.

Belgian to lead BMC Racing Team in Spanish classic after showing fine form.

BMC teammate praised a perfect plan for the overall win. One of Cadel Evans' domestiques at the 2011 Tour de France, Marcus Burghardt, was instrumental in the Australian's overall victory. The tall German Classics rider is a powerful rouleur and set the pace for the BMC Racing Team whenever it was needed, protecting the squad's sole leader throughout the three-week race.

Fizik’s new Kurve saddles use a very lightly padded cover over a “thermoplastic composite” carbon textile base on their Mobius alloy rail. The shell flexes to provide virtual padding, so the initial appearance is that they’re more rounded than the matching non-Kurve version.

When we look at fractures as a whole in cyclists, the collarbone is the most frequent bone to be broken.

It’s Italian skull time, deja vu all over again only without the cocaine and hot Asian models. Uhh, so maybe this news isn’t that thrilling after all.

In its first year of UCI 2.1 classification, the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah has already attracted the sport's top domestic talent. Garmin-Cervélo's Tom Danielson, who placed ninth in the Tour de France, has been confirmed for the race, along with BMC's George Hincapie, who, after helping Cadel Evans to the overall victory, has been a part of nine winning Tour teams.

Mosquera was suspended after anti-doping controls showed both he and then team mate David Garcia Da Peña had tested positive for hydroxyethyl starch (HES) in the Vuelta. Garcia also tested positive for EPO and was subsequently banned.

The Tour de France team competition is a bit of a mystery for Twisted Spoke. It’s determined by taking the best time of each team’s top three finishers in every stage. People get excited about this competition and Garmin-Cervelo was proud to win it this year.

Super smooth and lightweight bottom bracket, but you're paying a big premium for Carbon you'll never see...

Microfracture of the wrist means six weeks break for Astana leader.

2010 World number one hoping to kickstart current WorldTour campaign.

"Why was Niki Terpstra (Quick Step) fined 100 CHF for public urination? This happened on stage 15. Surely, riders are allowed to pee during the stage."

World Anti Doping Agency says it needs time to respond to huge volume of files.

As most of his Tour de France colleagues head home, race in criteriums or chill on the beach, the Garmin-Cervélo rider is preparing to race this weekend’s Clásica San Sebastián in northern Spain.

How did those whose careers are defined on the pavé, hellingen, and April rain fare in this year’s Tour de France?

Seb Coe criticises UK Anti-Doping after request to reclassify recreational drugs.

Team contradicts some aspects of RTL report.

The organisers of the first edition of the Giro di Padania have unveiled the route of the six-day race, saying they hope to have Tour de France winner Cadel Evans (BMC) and current world champion Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) on the start line on September 6.

With this five-minute bike maintenance routine and wheel truing video, you'll be off without a hitch on your next bike ride.

CyclingNews: Changing the South American way.

Conditions not ideal but UCI commissaire predicts improvements for 2016.

BMC rider takes takes final sprint finish.

German gets lion from Australian BMC teammate as a reward.

The cycling season gets back up to speed following the Tour de France at the weekend, with the Clasica San Sebastian on Saturday and the start of the Tour of Poland on Sunday.

Sky Procycling principal says conclusion based on analysis of race data.

Awareness of island nation raised across the globe says Minister.

MRI scan reveals Tour de France crash was worse than expected.

Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Omega Pharma-Lotto) has returned to full training as he aims to make amends for his curtailed Tour de France with a strong showing at the Vuelta a España.

The Cascade Cycling Classic concluded on July 24 and there were some big changes in the National Racing Calendar (NRC) standings. Janel Holcomb (Colavita-Forno d'Asolo) finally regained her lead after losing it to Amber Neben (HTC-Highroad) earlier in the year. Francisco Mancebo (RealCyclist.com) built on his already commanding lead in the standings but there were some big changes in the top 10.

Option number five, Haimar Zubeldia of the Basque country took 16th place overall. Double that futility and you have Levi Leipheimer in 32nd place, a real downer for the man from Santa Rosa who came into the Tour having won the Tour de Suisse.

Hoogerland became a legend when he pulled himself out of the barbed wire fence, rode to the finish and donned the polka dot jersey, but that’s beside the point. For him.

You can be forgiven for having a bit of Tour de France-related short term memory. When the Tour blasted through the Pyrenees and lit fireworks throughout the Alps, it sent the first week back into distant memory. However, before Thomas Voeckler’s tear-fueled defense of the yellow jersey, before Thor Hushovd’s reign of terror, and before Evans, Contador, and the Schlecks really began trading blows in the high mountains, it was Phillipe Gilbert who helped define the Tour de France.

Australian’s confidence boosted after victory yesterday.

“The broom-wagon followed me for a while until I could get the bike, then I rode full gas to get back up to the peloton and work for my leader. In order to say thanks to the guy who gave me his bike, I’m going to give him a jersey, or a hat and bottle. It’s thanks to him that I am still in the race. Thank you, sir!”

"The Giro, never again." So says Alberto Contador. You can probably hear the prosecco corks popping in the Nibali household. Despite winning the Italian tour this year, the Spaniard says he’s never going back to the race. But “never say never” is valuable advice for those making statements in public and we’ll see what the future brings.

Polar was the pioneer in portable heart rate monitors for athletes, and continues to set the benchmark for heart rate devices. Their latest launch is the top-shelf RCX5, featuring just about every possible training feature in a sleek unit that is perfectly designed for cyclists on and off the bike.

"Yesterday we covered the Winners from the 2011 Tour de France—here’s a look at the Losers."

When to say no and when to say go.

Avoid these and you will be well on your way toward getting the most out of your device.

Suffering from post-Tour de France malaise? Unsure of what to do with your day now that there isn't several hours of live bike racing to watch on television? This video montage from Cyclingnews' Paul Stevenson is just the tonic you need to revive your spirits: it is a behind-the-scenes look at the post-stage chaos on the Champs-Élysées.

Astana rider said he’d been at a party at Alexandre Vinokourv’s home.

Ever wonder why a U.S. company outside of the bicycle industry would invest in bicycle racing? Here’s a hint: it has nothing to do with athletic excellence or a love of the sport.

Irishman speaks about accident that delayed his professional career.

Today's Quote

“How many folks can say that they played catch with Babe Ruth?  One on one with Jordan? You get the drift.  Well I rode with Lance Armstrong.” - Harper RAGBRAIHarper

Journalists throw superlatives around these days, 'legend' is one of them. On the Tour's second rest day, PEZ spoke to a man who actually deserves that accolade, Dimitry Konyshev.

Wow, what an amazing Tour de France this one was! From where we sat, it was one of the most engaging Tours we’ve seen in a long time. What made it a particularly memorable one?

Winner of the overall BMC Cascade Cycling Classic, Janel Holcomb (Colavita/Forno d’Asolo) is back on top of the NRC women’s individual standings. Racing aggressively, Holcomb slipped into the winning break on the final day to take the leader’s jersey from Clara Hughes (Cycling BC) in Bend on Sunday.

Greg Van Avermaet takes back the race lead in early sprints,

Tour crash victims to get second chance in Spanish Grand Tour.

"While you were watching all those overpaid Europeans slide on their butts down the Alps, my teammates and I were doing a real race in Bend, Oregon: The Cascade Classic. This is one of my favorite cycling towns, with great host housing, big crowds coming out to scream at us, and the most fish tacos per capita outside of Mexico (I averaged 2.57142857 tacos per day)."

With the Tour de France over now comes the criterium season. These are exhibition races put on by entrepreneurial race organisers who seek to capitalise on the high profile of the sport following July. Riders are invited to take part in these races and the stars of the Tour de France command big appearance fees, some can collect €50,000. Not bad for 90 minutes.

Evans’ racing schedule is not yet finalized, there is a possibility he could race Colorado’s inaugural USA Pro Cycling Challenge in August.

I was disappointed to read and watch Mia Freedman's belittling words on Cadel Evan's recent achievement. I'm always respectful of people's opinions, however as a journalist with an influential platform you would think that Mia would have done a minute or two of research before she spoke those words.

Twisted Spoke is privy to those high level procrastinations that have taken place in the hallowed halls of the Lausanne arbitration board. The hearing is now set for November, 2020.

Polka-dot jersey gets “revenge” over Philippe Gilbert in post-Tour exhibition race.

Karpets flicked Contador off the road in a bizarre incident early in that crash-marred stage when Contador’s handlebars got tangled up with Karpets’ seat-post. The big Russian shoulder-butted Contador and the three-time Tour champion went slamming to the ground. Contador recounted Sunday that he injured his already sore right knee so badly that he nearly packed up his bags and went home.

One of the surprises of the sprint stages of this year's Tour was the sight of big haired, gangly Liquigas man Daniel Oss up there jousting with the NASCAR guys in the last kilometre. On Sunday, the native of Trentino took 6th on the Champs-Elysees.

MissingSaddle: Tour Mop Up.

"The rock’em sock’em action is over, the lights have been turned on for a few days now, you’ve used the time not spent on watching the Tour on tv to pick up  your life where you left off in early July and you may have more questions than answers after 21 days of racing a lap of France."

The overlooked and underrated torque wrench belongs on every home mechanic's tool rack.

The go-to bike for Specialized pro teams in mountain stages now has a more balanced stiffness and ride feel front and rear, despite the fact that its predecessor placed 1-2 in last year’s Tour de France.

"Yesterday we covered the Winners from the 2011 Tour de France—here’s a look at the Losers."

The case of Alberto Contador's positive test for clenbuterol at last year's Tour de France is set to be dragged out even longer after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has once again postponed the hearing.

Acquarone takes over cycling-related matters, Vegni takes over race management role.

Time is running out for Bob Stapleton and HTC-Highroad – will the team find a new sponsor and if so, in time to hold on to its current riders? Team management has indicated that a new sponsor may be lined up, with contracts to be signed possibly as early as this week, but many riders are apparently on the verge of signing with other teams.

As always, there are two sides to every story, and so thus with this year's Tour de France. At the end of three weeks of arduous racing, we end up with happyfaces and sadfaces, joy and pain, elated boys and broken men, winners and losers.

Today's Quote

“Russia's Alexandr Kolobnev will receive the "Knight of the Order" by President Medvedev for "for services to the Motherland". I kid you not.” - Inner Ring Twitter

Spaniard had been close to dropping out of 2011 Tour de France.

If you’ve ever coordinated a team’s clothing order, you know what a headache it can be when one person is responsible for all the details. Custom clothing companies know this, too, and a few have modernized the process with online team stores where riders can shop and order on their own, and then have custom kit shipped to their addresses.

The final day of racing during stage 8 at the TransAlp.

With the crashes of the first half of the race behind him, Cadel Evans finally ascended to the top step of the Tour de France podium after winning the 2011 edition. Evans had twice finished second. It was a tour of firsts. Evans became the first Australian to win the world's most prestigious bike race, and the brothers Schleck, Andy and Frank, became the first siblings to share the podium, taking second and third, respectively.

UCI President, Pat McQuaid, confirmed that all tests carried out since had returned no positive samples but that he was still waiting for results from the last two days of racing.

What a great Tour de France! I don’t think I have been this consumed with a sporting event since England won the FIFA World Cup in 1966. What a great thing for the sport of cycle racing in Australia.

Cadel Evans won the most spectacular Tour de France in years but who were the other winners and losers in this year's race?

Bennati prevails in Perwez.

Joost Van Leijen takes race lead with intermediate time bonuses.

The 2011 Tour de Wallonie (Belgium) started Saturday and the final 3 stages will be broadcast LIVE Monday to Wednesday. Live streaming video: 2:30pm CET (8:30am U.S. Eastern).

In case you thought things had ended yesterday… this is a sneak preview of the prologue course for Saturday 30 June 2012 and the Grand Départ weekend of the Tour de France, featuring the opening time trial and then a road stage the following day.

Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank) has confirmed that he will not ride this year’s Vuelta Espana. The Spaniard won the Giro d'Italia in May and competed in the Tour de France.

Designers Edward Kim and Benny Cemoli have unveiled plans for a radical new hybrid electric/pedal-powered cycle, named INgSOC.

"Cycling cannot simply be one race in July. The Tour de France must be one episode in the middle of a saga." So says Christian Prudhomme, organiser of the Tour de France. You’d half expect him to say this given ASO runs the Tour de France but it runs many other races from the Tour of Qatar in February to the Vuelta a Espana in September, where it recently bought a controlling stake in the organisation. Not to mention the likes of Paris-Nice, Paris-Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège and the Critérium du Dauphiné.

While it’s anyone’s guess where Evans will head from here program-wise, he can rest easy knowing that he’s finally gotten a monkey off his back.

Now the dust has settled on the Champs and FDJ have stopped attacking, Blazin' Saddles takes you through its official post-Tour awards.

The Tour de France is an impossible bike race—21 stages, thousands of kilometers, high mountain passes, time trials, bunch sprints. When Henri Desgranges concocted it, it was as the most audaciously challenging sporting event on the planet, like nothing sporting cyclists had ever attempted. And from its inaugural year, it has always sought to fulfill bike racing fans’ wildest dreams, an infinite jest.

If you’re missing the Tour de France already, imagine what it’s like for the riders. Maybe the last three weeks saw you adjust your routine around TV broadcasts, your reading habits changed and even colleagues at work might have talked cycling.

Jens Voigt is not ready to call time on his long career. The German, who will turn 40 in September, is considering the offer of a new one-year contract with Leopard Trek.

The Veneto region of northern Italy is home to what might be the highest concentration of luxury-class cycling brands in the world. They include Sidi, DMT, Campagnolo, Selle Italia, Selle San Marco, Elite, Giordana, Nalini, Pinarello, and Wilier. The gorgeous terrain marries nicely to the fact that they've been building roads there for the better part of 1,000 years. Cycling is sewn into the cultural soul of the Veneto, which is why it was such a joy to make a pilgrimage there to test Wilier's new top-end bike for 2012, the Zero.7.

Today's Quote

“Russia's Alexandr Kolobnev will receive the "Knight of the Order" by President Medvedev for "for services to the Motherland". I kid you not.” - Inner Ring Twitter

Fabian Cancellara, Olympic gold medalist and reigning world champion — a man with such bulging palmares would sleep like a king in a pimped out suite, you’d think. No. Fabian effin’ Cancellara has slept on the team bus like a hobo at Tour de effin’ France. Incroyable! He’s been plagued by “bad air” (roomie O’Grady’s gaseous emissions?), barking dogs, and poisonous “aircon” air. To think Fabian’s day starts on the bus and finishes in the autobus...where’s the dignity?

Cycling is not for the impatient. Races roll on for hours on end, and regardless of the course profile they are almost never kind to the riders who jump before the final half hour. Stage races are worse: you can pounce with great patience for early victories but that may or may not help you in the final classification. Grand tours, it thus follows, are even more extreme. Since there are only three of them, it's easy to generalize: course organizers like to save the fireworks for the final few days, so fans don't drift away too soon.

Tour de France winner Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) has unseated Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) at the top of the Union Cycliste Internationale's latest World Tour ranking, published on Monday afternoon.

Janel Holcomb (Colavita/Forno d’Asolo) made it into the break that stuck and claimed her first overall NRC stage race.

Colavita/Forno d'Asolo threw a monkey wrench in the plans of the big teams at the 32nd Cascade Classic this week. Aggressive riding by Rushlee Buchanan, Leah Kirchmann, Janel Holcomb, Lauren Hall, and Andrea Dvorak netted the team the Cascade Lakes Road Race with Buchanan, and the Downtown Crit won by Hall.

The final stage started early - 11am - so riders could start back on their journeys home with enough time.  It feels like a sad thing, the way the race dissipates without a chance to say goodbye - but then, I'm a fangirl - for the riders, that's business as usual, and some of them were discussing what comes next from the moment they got there - Vårgårda for the top riders, and hoping for selection for the Road Worlds.

Suggestions that Bob Stapleton is looking increasingly likely to secure team’s future.

"As a kid, the international nature of professional cycling greatly contributed to my love for the sport. Races took place in other continents, with riders from around the world using bikes made in countries I had never been to."

During the three weeks of the Tour de France, it is said that all normal activity comes to a grinding halt. Having followed the tour in the Alps in previous years, traffic jams are normal and advertising boards appear outside many bars. But on the Cote D’Azur, which was not on this year’s tour schedule, I intended to discover any real interest in the proceedings.

"We asked a few top mechanics to weigh in on their first picks for cheap upgrades, and we got a lot of great and varied responses."

Rapha recently introduced their “Paris-Brest-Paris Jersey.” It is designed specifically for randonneuring, and as a bonus, it comes with a reflective vest. The vest has generated considerable interest among randonneurs.

Stage 21 from Creteil to Paris marked the end of the Tour de France. Going in to the stage, every major classification – general, young rider, team and mountain – was finalized, save the points classification.

VeloNation Video: Tom Danielson proud of top ten placing in Tour de France.

Garmin-Cervélo rider uncorks strong debut in cycling’s top event.

CyclingNews: Tour de France Stage 21 Results.

Sunday's Tour de France Stage 21 departs Créteil at 2:30pm CET (8:30am U.S. Eastern) and is expected at the finish at Paris Champs-Élysées at around 5:06pm CET (11:06am U.S. Eastern). Tour de France live video streaming should get underway at around 2:15pm CET (8:15am U.S. Eastern).

Ah Paris! After three weeks of racing around rural France today’s stage is an urban criterium. The start is in Créteil, a boring suburb of Paris full of ugly tower blocks and a contrast to the elegant finishing circuit in Paris that borrows some of the most upmarket roads in the world, in particular the Champs Elysées and Rue de Rivoli.

Stage 21 start time: Sunday 14:30 CET (5:30 AM PDT). Earliest live video: 14:15 CET (5:15 AM PDT). Approximate finish: 17:06 CET (8:06 AM PDT).

In both the men’s and women’s Downtown Twilight Criterium, the pace was very fast and the winner came out of a break but that’s where the similarities end. Lauren Hall (Colavita/Forno d’Asolo) outsprinted her breakmates for the win in stage 5 of the BMC Cascade Cycling Classic while USA U23 Crit Champion Rob Bush (Chipotle Development Team) claimed victory in a chaotic and confusing finish after his 6-rider break lapped the field.

It was a big day for the General Classification - with only 11 seconds between Emma Johansson (Hitec Products UCK) and Amber Neben (HTC-Highroad), and then 5 seconds from Neben to Noemi Cantele (Garmin-Cervélo) and Claudia Häusler (German National Team), a lot hinged on the 19km time trial.

Today's Quote

“Russia's Alexandr Kolobnev will receive the "Knight of the Order" by President Medvedev for "for services to the Motherland". I kid you not.” - Inner Ring Twitter

Good quality shades with a versatile transmission range. Better suited to small or narrow heads.

Christian Vande Velde finished the Grenoble time trial tired but happy after his Garmin-Cervélo squad secured the team competition prize to complete a hugely successful Tour de France.

'Gimme a bike!' says Levi - we're five kilometers into the final time trial of the 2011 Tour de France and at the worst possible place - on a tough climb - Radio Shack's Tour jinx continues... Ed Hood got the chance to follow former Tour podium finisher, Levi Leipheimer in today's time trial around Grenoble.

What a Tour it's been. I don't think a better script could have been written for a more dramatic finish. I've never been so emotionally invested in a sporting event in my entire life and it's completely consumed me for the past 500 hours.

Johnny Hoogerland was literally knocked off the road by a French television car during Stage 9. The Dutch rider crashed into a barbed-wire fence, suffered multiple gashes on his legs requiring 33 stitches. However, Hoogerland not only resumed riding in the Tour -- but completed the stage.

Fifteen points separate the two in fight for green; other classifications decided.

A solid outing in the Grenoble time trial on Saturday saw Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Sungard) move up to 5th overall at the Tour de France, but the Spaniard admitted that he had paid for his efforts on the road to l’Alpe d’Huez the previous day.

I ache. I ache for Thomas Voeckler. I ache for Andy Schleck. I ache for the end of the Tour de France.

"Friendly retro ride, but ultimately low on performance and value."

Former top rider interviews current one after time trial.

French hope Pierre Rolland fought Estonian rival Rein Taaramae on the penultimate stage of the race Saturday.

Italian currently leading points competition in Brixia Tour.

Cadel Evans's BMC team walked away from the Tour de France with the lion's share of the cash prize after the Australian claimed an historic maiden victory on the race Sunday.

Cadel Evans (BMC) became the first Australian to win the Tour de France on Sunday, safely completing the 2011 race's final stage to Paris. Mark Cavendish (HTC) won on the Champs Élysées to take Britain's first Tour de France green jersey.

RadioShack's Chris Horner was forced to watch the last two weeks of the Tour de France from the sidelines after he suffered a concussion as the result of a crash during the seventh stage. The American is now focused on making a swift recover and will turn his attention to the upcoming UCI 2.1 USA Pro Cycling Challenge held from August 22-28 in Colorado.

At the end of this year's Tour de France, many observers and anti-doping experts have drawn positive conclusions about the race's credibility. The statistics with regard to the decisive mountain stages indicate less explosive performances than in previous years, while riders have appeared to cross the finish line in more obvious states of fatigue than in the recent past.

A weary David Millar (Garmin-Cervelo) finished a disappointing 32nd in Saturday's individual time trial, but the former Tour de France stage winner was pleased to simply be nearing Paris. Friday's stage to Alpe d'Huez tested his resolve, but in the end after a determined effort he was able to finish within the time-cut.

Says all five objectives met, talks about right approach with Danielson.

Former Euskaltel-Euskadi rider Unai Etxebarria has been awarded damages of more than 30,000 euros by the supreme court in the Basque Country after newspapers in the Grupo Vocento media group erroneously linked him with the Operación Puerto blood doping investigation.

Christian Vande Velde finished the Grenoble time trial tired but happy after his Garmin-Cervélo squad secured the team competition prize to complete a hugely successful Tour de France.

'Gimme a bike!' says Levi - we're five kilometers into the final time trial of the 2011 Tour de France and at the worst possible place - on a tough climb - Radio Shack's Tour jinx continues... Ed Hood got the chance to follow former Tour podium finisher, Levi Leipheimer in today's time trial around Grenoble.

Andersen is the first guy who wasn’t a euro to wear the yellow jersey of the Tour de France. His has two stage wins in le Grand Boucle and top 10 a few times.

PEZ:  Tour de France Stage 20 Results.

VeloNation:  Tour de France Stage 20 Results.

CyclingNews: Tour de France Stage 20 Results..

Saturday's Tour de France Stage 20, a 42.5km Individual Time Trial at Grenoble, gets underway at 10:26am CET (4:26am U.S. Eastern) with the departure of the first rider. Tour de France live video streaming should get underway at around 2:15pm CET (8:15am U.S. Eastern).

After three weeks of uphill sprints and summit finishes this the only individual time trial with the start and finish in Grenoble.

Stage 20 start time: Saturday 10:30 CET (1:30 AM PDT).
Earliest live video: 14:15 CET (5:15 AM PDT).
Approximate finish: 17:13 CET (8:13 AM PDT).

Yesterday's performance has American team positioned well.

Five-time Tour de France champion Eddy Merckx was full of praise for the spectacle taking place at this year's Tour de France. The Belgian was particularly impressed with the efforts of Alberto Contador (SaxoBank-Sungard), Andy Schleck (Leopard-Trek) and Cadel Evans (BMC).

"Well-vented and protected brain bucket, but bulky size, limited adjustability and low value ."

Former top rider interviews current one after time trial.

French hope Pierre Rolland fought Estonian rival Rein Taaramae on the penultimate stage of the race Saturday.

Italian currently leading points competition in Brixia Tour.

Geraint Thomas and Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) have enjoyed a successful Tour de France. Thomas wore the white jersey early in the race before being one of the main protagonists in a break in the Pyrenees, which won him the most aggressive rider prize for the stage. Boasson Hagen has been everywhere, following the breaks, taking part in the bunch sprints and most recently winning solo on the road to Pinerolo.

Attacks flew in today’s Queen Stage especially on the finale, the tough climb up Mt Bachelor but no one was able to unseat the leaders on stage 3 of the BMC Cascade Cycling Classic. Stage 1 winner Cesar Grajales (RealCyclist.com) claimed the stage win while his teammate Francisco Mancebo remains in yellow. Best Young Rider Rushlee Buchanan (Colavita/Forno d’Asolo) attacked her breakmates in the final kilometers to solo to the win and Clara Hughes (CyclingBC) keeps the GC lead.

Many bike manufacturers have come and gone over the years but Colnago have endured the bumps and bends and come out stronger for it. Much of this can be credited to 79-year-old Ernesto Colnago, the company’s founder. We sat down with him at the recent Gran Fondo Los Angeles ride to find out more.

The Tour de France is the focus of the cycling world in July but naturally every professional rider wants a chance to ride the world’s best-known race. Those on the sidelines in Girona, Spain, watch with interest or continue preparing for other events in the calendar.

Two top Belgian teams are still scrambling to find sponsors and new riders for the coming season.  Omega Pharma is to hold talks next week with Vacansoleil-DCM about merging, while Quick Step is talking to top sprinter Mark Cavendish.

HTC-Highroad has a double-day as Amber Neben takes the yellow jersey.

Andy and Fränk have no regrets after possibly best-ever races against the clock.

Two Tour de France champions will have hearings before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in August.  Alberto Contador's hearing will be at the beginning of August, with Jan Ullrich having his day later in the month.  In addition, Mikel Astarloza's case will be heard by the court in mid-September.

Today's Quote

“Russia's Alexandr Kolobnev will receive the "Knight of the Order" by President Medvedev for "for services to the Motherland". I kid you not.” - Inner Ring Twitter

'When I dig I can really dig, but when I crack I really crack.'

The wording below Pierre Rolland and Thomas Voeckler translates as “3450km full of courage” but “le plein” is also the term for a full tank of fuel so it also means “3450km on a full tank of courage” , an appropriate message for a car hire company.

“We are checking them by sight today,” commissaire Philippe Marien said in between bike checks Saturday morning. “We learned a lesson from last time.”

Asked if it was one of his favourite Tours, Hincapie told Cyclingnews: "They’re all so different and so special. Hincapie, 38, said it had been a tough edition. "It’s been a very, very stressful, tough Tour, fighting for position every day and doing more work than we’ve ever done.

Saturday's stage is a 42.5 kilometer individual time trial in Grenoble. After the hard race through the mountains, the riders will race the clock with the overall victory still far from decided.

Stage 20 start time: Saturday 10:30 CET (1:30 AM PDT).
Earliest live video: 14:15 CET (5:15 AM PDT).
Approximate finish: 17:13 CET (8:13 AM PDT).

Had today’s Stage 19 been more decisive, we could have gone about our respective recreational activities this weekend knowing that the remaining two days were a formality in terms of the GC, and simply checked in for the ceremonial bunch sprint on the Champs-Élysées (pronounced “LAY-oh-pard Trek.”)

Today’s 108km stage 19 was billed as a mountain sprint. True to form, the first 14km saw some furious racing before a big breakaway went away. They didn’t last long, though, as Alberto Contador lit up the Telegraphe climb to set off an exciting day of racing.

VeloNation:  Tour de France Stage 19 Results.

CyclingNews: Tour de France Stage 19 Results..

Aged 24, Pierre Rolland won the Tour de France stage on Alpe d’Huez today and took the White Jersey. Is he the next big thing in French cycling? No, Pierre Rolland was the next big thing three years ago.

Friday's Tour de France Stage 19 departs Modane Valfréjus at 2:30pm CET (8:30am U.S. Eastern) and is expected at the finish at Alpe d'Huez at around 5:37pm CET (11:37am U.S. Eastern). Tour de France live video streaming should get underway at around 2:30pm CET (8:30am U.S. Eastern).

Alpe d’Huez lies at 1860m and enjoys 300 days of sunshine a year, impressive for the Alps. On a good today there are stunning views of surrounding mountains but today every rider who reaches the resort can expect to see the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Accessory makers Giro showed several new lines of shoes and helmets at the iceBike show in Milton Keynes hosted by their UK importers Madison this week. The big news for anyone who's been lusting after Giro’s shoes but balked at the £160 pricetag of the cheapest model is that they've expanded the line down to below the £100 mark.

Tim Johnson and Ryan Trebon are taking on the Cascade Cycling Classic this weekend, one on a ’cross bike, the other on a road bike: who will be the ’cross winner? Kathy Sherwin lands a pro contract for ’cross season, big things from the tough woman?

CyclingNews: Evans has simple strategy for decisive time trial - ride fast.

VeloNews: I still have the legs to beat Evans, says Schleck.

Swiss believes final glory awaits his rider in Paris.

Contador dispatched a spectator who bothered him on the Alpe.

Tenacious Frenchman says he’ll give everything today.

Today's Quote

“Russia's Alexandr Kolobnev will receive the "Knight of the Order" by President Medvedev for "for services to the Motherland". I kid you not.” - Inner Ring Twitter

FIghting his way through the Pyrenees and then battling to keep his jersey on the legendary climbs of the Alps, the Galibier, Col d’Izoard, Telegraphe, and then most of the way up the fearsome Alp d’Huez.

Everything you need to know to stay hydrated—before, during and after a ride.

“The Alpe! It’s like all the Alps encapsulated in one mountain” Gérard Ejnès, L’Equipe journalist and author.

The founders of new folding bike brand Tern have hit back after market leaders Dahon filed a lawsuit against them, accusing them of "unlawfully using company assets, resources and intellectual property to start a competing company."

If you want your road bike to look proper Pro, or you fancy getting featured on SLAM THAT STEM, then you're going to need a stem that's long. And flat. And that's what you'll get with the new ST35 stem from KCNC.

"Super comfortable, distance-friendly aristocrat albeit at a flex and cost premium."

“I am going to kick my brothers’ ass in the time trial and win this goddamn French race for myself.” said Frank. As media people crowded around, the older Schleck made his priorities clear.

World time trial champion escapes breakaway companions to finish alone; Emma Johansson holds overall lead.

All eyes were on Rhae-Christie Shaw after her commanding time trial win at the Tour de Bretagne Féminin and she did not disappoint. The Canadian set a time of 21:10 over the 15-km course to not only win the stage but also take over the lead at the Tour Féminin en Limousin after two stages.

Wow, what a stage. Happy Alpe Day indeed. What a week. For all the things that haven't been what we'd hoped this year, the Tour de France has saved the 2011 cycling season, and then some.

Bicycles offer a great way to get to know an urban area.

The Tour’s current status as a wealthy, far-reaching business enterprise that is the heart of the professional racing calender is huge reversal of fortune. There are teams who argue that without a trip to the Tour their sponsors will abandon them. It wasn’t always so.

"All of the photography that I run from ProTeam events, such as the images from this year’s Tour de France come from John Pierce at Photosport International."

BMC's team doctor Max Testa was not giving anything away as to the condition of team leader Cadel Evans at the conclusion of stage 18 at the summit of the Galibier.

Nicolas Roche (Ag2r-La Mondiale) was among the last riders to put up resistance to Andy Schleck’s winning ride on stage 18 of the Tour de France, but the Irishman admitted that he was powerless to do anything other than attempt to hold Schleck’s wheel on the lower slopes of the Col du Galibier.

The Galibier Pass, France: (Bicycling.com): For years, British cyclist Mark Cavendish has dreamed of winning the prestigious green jersey offered to the most complete sprinter in the Tour de France. And this year, Cavendish is closer than ever.

Andy Schleck went up the famed Galibier with a smile on his face. Not a grimace like Ivan Basso or the clenched teeth and hard jaw of Cadel Evans or the hors category suffering on the face of Alberto Contador or Thomas Voeckler.

Australian Cadel Evans' chances of winning the Tour de France may have evaporated on the 18th leg to the Col du Galibier today.

BikeSnobNYC's Tour de France Stage 18 Report: The Long Goodbye.

Until today, I had no idea how much I wanted Thomas Voeckler to win the Tour de France.

Mark Cavendish's green jersey quest became more difficult after Tour de France's mountainous leg to the Col du Galibier today. HTC-Highroad's British sprinter finished in a group outside the time limit and lost 20 points.

A quick look at who was hot and who was not during stage 18 of the Tour.

VeloNation:  Tour de France Stage 18 Results.

CyclingNews: Tour de France Stage 18 Results..

Thursday's Tour de France Stage 18 departs Pinerolo at 11:20am CET (5:20am U.S. Eastern) and is expected at the finish at Galibier Serre-Chevalier at around 5:04pm CET (11:04am U.S. Eastern). Tour de France live video streaming should get underway at around 1:30pm CET (7:30am U.S. Eastern).

Big, grande, enorme. Call it what you like, this is the biggest stage of the 2011 Tour de France. It might not settle the result, far from it, but three hors catégorie climbs including the finish in the Galibier mean it’s a massive day in the race. The French call it the Etape Reine, literally the “Queen Stage”.

Stage 18 start time: Thursday 11:30 CET (2:30 AM PDT).
Earliest live video: 13:30 CET (4:30 AM PDT).
Approximate finish: 17:04 CET (8:04 AM PDT).

Today's Quote

“Dear Phil Lighhett and Paul Sherwen, please please stop calling Mark Cavendish " The Missile " that name is all mine :):):) I'm going to sue you guys for doing this :):):)” - Ivan Dominguez Facebook

Race makes history with highest finish ever.

Watching the Tour's 12th stage to Luz-Ardiden on Saturday, Australian Federal Member of Parliament Ed Husic told Cyclingnews via Twitter that he would push for a national holiday if Cadel Evans goes on to wear the yellow jersey in Paris. Evans would be the first Australian to claim the honor.

“Oh Laffrey! Oh Bayard! Oh Tourmalet! I would be failing in my duty not to proclaim that next to the Galibier you are pale cheap wine. In front of this giant I can do nothing more than raise my hat and salute.” Henri Desgrange – Founder of the Tour de France.

Rugged mountain passes—and chain-link fences—are no match for this light and speedy performance road bike.

Laurens Ten Dam — or as we like to call him — Laurens Eight Stitches — is feeling better.

PodiumCafe Tour de France Stage 19 Preview! Alpe d'Huez!

There are still 24 hours to go until le Tour attacks l'Alpe for the 27th time; tomorrow it will be impossible to go back down the climb to take it all in, so we thought we'd give you the PEZ Tour of some of the famous 21 hairpins before it goes totally insane.

Cadel Evans was a man on an island high above Briançon Wednesday as he pursued an audacious Andy Schleck to the summit of the Col du Galibier. After the finish Evans and his BMC Racing team management said they rode to win and were critical of the tactics of the other top GC riders.

Pocket climber John Gadret (AG2R-La Mondiale) said after the Giro d'Italia that his next goal would be the Tour of Beijing, the new WorldTour event, from October 5-9. The course unveiled on Monday may not suit pure climbers like him, but key stages include a 11-kilometer opening time trial and a hilly third stage.

When you look west from Pinerolo, your eyes are drawn to the Alps, whose majestic peaks received a new dusting of snow this week. It was in this sparkling city of the Piedmont (literally “foot of the mountain”) region where the legendary Italian rider Fausto Coppi scored one of his most famous coups: a 192km solo odyssey over five alpine passes to finish almost 12 minutes ahead of second-place Gino Bartali to clinch his overall victory in the 1949 Giro d’Italia.

Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-SunGard) went on the attack yet again in the Tour de France, this time on the final descent near the finish in Pinerolo of stage 17, as he continued to try to pull back every possible second on his rivals and fight for overall victory.

Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) has formed a potent alliance with Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-SunGard) in the third week of the Tour de France, and the Olympic champion is hoping that the two stages over the Galibier can help him finish on the podium in Paris.

"You can have short conversations with him. He's still really tired, and that's normal due to the magnitude of the blow he suffered, but his progress is good, especially during this last week."

Geert van de Meulebrocke of Team Vacansoleil-DCM show you how...

Liquigas-Cannondale is on the Bedford, Connecticut company's latest SuperSixEvo – an ultralight evolution of the previous SuperSix Hi-Mod that reportedly weighs just 695g for the bare frame.  Team frames are almost certainly a fair bit heavier than that, though, given the thick coats of paint comprising the white, light green, and blue livery – paint can easily add a couple hundred grams.

In the evenings, Fabrice Pierrot can be found in a parking lot. He does his work from inside a small Skoda van. For the past eight years, Pierrot has held the unique job of preparing all the distinctive leaders' jerseys found in the Tour de France.

Levi’s are to release a series of bike commuting products this week, based on their existing 511 Skinny jeans and denim Trucker jacket.

Thomas Voeckler’s teeth-gritting defense of his Yellow Jersey in today’s Stage 18 of the 2011 Tour de France came at a price.

American Coryn Rivera took the win at the UCI 2.2 Tour du Limousin Féminin today when she outsprinted her breakmates at the end of the 120 km stage 1. Sofie de Vuyst (Lotto Honda) was second and defending champion Grete Treire (S.C. Michela Fanini Rox), third.

American Amanda Miller attacked out of the breakaway on the final lap to win stage 3 of the Thüringen Rundfahrt der Frauen today. Swedish National Champion Emma Johansson (Hitec Products – UCK) remains in the yellow leader’s jersey with a seven second lead on Amber Neben (HTC-HighRoad).

Dahon are taking new folding bike rivals Tern to court, with CEO David Hon accusing the founders of the fledgling business – his son Joshua and estranged wife Florence – of "unlawfully using company assets, resources and intellectual property to start a competing company".

Eight ProTeams to compete in first-year event.

The International Cycling Union (UCI) will not permit Continental teams Chipotle Development and Trek-Livestrong to compete at the upcoming Tour of Utah and USA Pro Cycling Challenge, both held in August. The decision was based on code 2.2.001 that involves the teams' affiliation with participating ProTeams Garmin-Cervelo and RadioShack.

Costa Rican youngster fights on despite injury.

With time gaps still tight after a short prologue, the 74-mile (119-km) McKenzie Pass Road Race with two decisive climbs  put the stage winner into the leader’s jersey on Wednesday at the Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Cycling Classic.

There's a lot more to know about this popular pick-me-up than how to order a proper doppio. Consider these six stimulating truths.

So, big changes in the GC, with the top 9 riders all close to each other.  Stage 3 is hilly again - but then stage 4 is the queen stage - and the time trial on Saturday could shake things up.  It really feels like anything could happen in this race!

For the past seven years, Craig Lewis has been living his dream as a professional cyclist, but this July he is also recovering from another nightmare. The HTC-Highroad rider is stuck at home watching his teammates race the Tour de France as he recuperates from a broken left leg suffered at this year's Giro d'Italia. He's only just getting back on the bike almost two months later.

Stage 18 visits three massive climbs including the highest point in the 2011 Tour and the highest mountain top finish in Tour de France history.   We voted this the 2011 Queen stage.

The Tour de France heads toward its final stages with two massive days in the Alps and a time trial around Grenoble. The battle for the Yellow Jersey remains unusually tight with just over three minutes separating the top seven riders.

“Alfred Hitchkock would be a good director of this race,” Delgado told VeloNews. “Nothing’s decided yet. It’s suspense at the highest level.”

VeloNation:  Tour de France Stage 17 Results.

CyclingNews: Tour de France Stage 17 Results..

Wednesday's Tour de France Stage 17 departs Gap at 12:30pm CET (6:30am U.S. Eastern) and is expected at the finish at Pinerolo at around 5:18pm CET (11:18am U.S. Eastern). Tour de France live video streaming should get underway at around 2:15pm CET (8:15am U.S. Eastern).

The only stage outside of France this year, the race takes a classic route from France to Italy. 150 years ago the region was as one as the Kingdom of Savoy, a mostly French speaking area where the finishing town was called Pignerol. Today the differences are still subtle as both sides of the border are dominated by the Alpine peaks, indeed the start and finish towns are twinned.

Stage 17 start time: Wednesday 12:35 CET (3:35 AM PDT).
Earliest live video: 14:00 CET (5:00 AM PDT).
Approximate finish: 17:18 CET (8:18 AM PDT).

The Tour will cross the 2,033-metre high climb of Sestriere en route to Pinerolo.

Tour de France winner says Leopard Trek needs to choose a leader.

Wants independent commission to carry out a thorough study of contentious subject.

Orange squad illuminates Alpine stage.

Andy Schleck (Leopard Trek) managed to chase down Alberto Contador and Samuel Sanchez after the high-speed descent of the Cote de Pramartino to hold onto his fourth place overall. Yet he was still angry that such a technical descent was included in the finale of the stage.

Jens Voigt strongly defended Leopard-Trek’s tactic of riding for both Schleck brothers throughout the Tour de France rather than rally behind one of the brothers as a single leader.

For Contador to win the Tour, he had to come out firing in the race’s final week and he has done just that, attacking on the final climb Tuesday above Gap and again on the Cat. 2 Côte de Pramartino climb and the descent to Pinerolo Wednesday.

Trailing his chief rival in the Tour de France by roughly two minutes, Alberto Contador and his countrymen Samuel Sanchez launched a vicious attack on the descent into Pinerolo, Italy.

The difference between a wealthy Tour de France and teams hunting for money is now leading squads to lobby for a share of the TV rights enjoyed by the Tour de France’s owners.

"Pinarello is following up with the all-new Dogma 2. It's a bike that, after some serious test riding, proved its extraordinary nature to me. There's no need to debate whether the Dogma 2 is the most alluring bike money can buy. If you factor in all of the variables -- curb appeal, street cred, ride quality -- it is the undisputed champion."

Quickstep rider Jérôme Pineau will continue his participation in the Tour despite the sudden death of his uncle, Patrick Guay, at the event. Mr. Guay was said to be attending his 27th Tour and a press statement released by Quickstep after the finish of Stage 16 said: “He never missed the chance to greet Jeje [Jérôme] at the end of each stage with words of encouragement and a pat on the back.

"We talked to BMC’s head mech Ian Sherburne at le Tour about  keeping Cadel’s bike running smoothly."

A conversation with BMC chief mechanic Ian Sherburne.

It’s looking like a smart phone is quickly becoming standard riding gear. More and more companies are introducing useful apps on both the Apple and Android platform for you to use for your bike.

Double day for Swedish champion as break takes five minutes on hilly stage.

With two big mountain stages (18 and 19) and a 42.5km individual time trial all that remains to determine the General Classification of this year’s Tour de France, have we seen all we need to in order to speculate about the composition of the final podium?

Russian faces uphill battle to prove innocence.

Mauricio Soler has left the intensive care unit at the Clínica Universitaria de Navarra in Pamplona as he continues his recovery from the serious injuries he suffered in a crash at the Tour de Suisse last month.

Today's Quote

“Dear Phil Lighhett and Paul Sherwen, please please stop calling Mark Cavendish " The Missile " that name is all mine :):):) I'm going to sue you guys for doing this :):):)” - Ivan Dominguez Facebook

Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) took all kinds of risks on the Pra Martino descent in stage 17 of the Tour de France and amazingly escaped injury despite overcooking a tight left hand corner and riding onto a car park. Voeckler conceded 27 seconds to his GC rivals and is just one day shy of equalling his epic ten-day stint in yellow at the 2004 Tour de France.

The Tour de France is too risky according to overall favorites, Fränk and Andy Schleck. They complained today at the finish in Pinerolo, Italy, about the closing descents of the last two stages.

"Inflates well, heavy-duty hose, fully serviceable. Easy options for mounting or stowing pump and bracket" [Unfortunately, Lezyne has poor customer service - Ed.]

"Comfy, stylish and good value."

The Tour de France pays a visit to Italy during this up and down stage 17 from Gap to Pinerolo. It's a hilly affair, as the Tour crosses the western Alps into Piedmont. Five categorized climbs enliven the proceedings, and the final climb of the day summits with eight kilometers left to race.

There is concern amongst the Tour de France's top contenders about the finish of stage 17 in Pinerolo, which comes immediately following an eight-kilometer descent of the Cote de Pramartino. Andy Schleck criticized the course during the rest day on Monday. "That's ridiculous," he said in his press conference. "It looks like a bike path across a wood. I trained three times in the descent and I already felt it too risky".

"I would not list an assertive ride by a yellow-jersey-wearing Thomas Voeckler as perhaps the best single piece of evidence that the peloton is cleaner than it once was."

Jonathan Vaughters (Garmin-Cervelo) says he’s encouraged by signs that this Tour de France is a cleaner race.

VeloNation:  Tour de France Stage 16 Results.

CyclingNews: Tour de France Stage 16 Results..

Tuesday's Tour de France Stage 16 departs Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux at 1:05pm CET (7:05am U.S. Eastern) and is expected at the finish at Gap at around 5:12pm CET (11:12am U.S. Eastern). Tour de France live video streaming should get underway at around 2:15pm CET (8:15am U.S. Eastern).

The start is near the foot of Mont Ventoux in Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux, which means St Paul Three Castles. Tourist brochures feature lavender fields, vineyards and the views towards Ventoux. It certainly is a pleasant place… except for the vast nuclear power station on the edge of town. With its four reactors, the plant produces 6% of France’s electricity and one day the town will be renamed St Paul Quatre Réacteurs.

Stage 16 start time: Tuesday 13:15 CET (4:15 AM PDT).
Earliest live video: 13:45 CET (4:45 AM PDT).
Approximate finish: 17:12 CET (8:12 AM PDT).

The Tour de France resumes after the second rest day with this 162.5 kilometer stage between Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux and Gap. In its final week, the Tour rolls inexorably toward its grand finale with the two mountaintop finishes on the col du Galibier and the Alpe d’Huez and the time trial in Grenoble.

"How wrong I was. I was convinced this Tour de France was simply going to be a race of attrition and a winner would emerge from those who hadn't had a bad day rather than decimating attacks and fireworks in the mountains. This is one time I'm happy to be proven wrong."

Johny Hoogerland: "The Tour is safe enough - it's the just the speed and the stress that's the problem."

Cyclingnews caught up with Euskaltel-Euskadi manager Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano ahead of the final week of the Tour, and the Basque warned that the Schleck brothers might well live to regret not putting serious time into Alberto Contador when he appeared to struggle in the Pyrenees.

Last year it was a slipped change that was the time difference between him beating Albertto Contador to that final maillot juane.

Today marks the 25th anniversary to the day of the 1986 Tour's arrival in Gap. On that day, Jean-Francois Bernard, the young protege of the La Vie Claire machine, soloed home to his first truly major victory, sending the already high expectations into the stratosphere.

With each passing stage the Schleck brothers are losing their their chance to win this year's Tour. Make no mistake, this is their race to lose, and the way they're riding at the moment, they're going to do just that.

Collaboration with Tour de France organiser could prove important in the issue of a proposed team boycott.

Top-quality piece of kit for the workshop, ideal for keeping the bolts on your bike in perfect condition. Not for the frugal though.

As Felt Bicycles introduced its 2012 product offerings to the cycling media at its Irvine, California headquarters yesterday, the company looks to bring its racing and performance heritage to a wider audience with more options at better price points.

The jury is out on is over-size derailleur rollers; some say the save watts, some say they don't.

And what of Thomas Voeckler, who says he has a “0%” chance of winning the Tour de France? Well, he’s going to have to do better than he did today (or worse, depending on how you look at it) if he wants to lose the yellow jersey.

German champion gaps the rest to extend overall lead.

At the start of the third week, a look at the U.S. riders’ performances so far.

Fränk and Andy Schleck climbed onto the Leopard Trek team bus without saying a word to team manager Brian Nygaard, appearing stunned and angry about losing time to key rivals Alberto Contador and Cadel Evans after the attacks on the Col de Manse and the high-speed descent to the finish in Gap.

It's normal that the TV cameras focus on the race for the yellow jersey but when the lead group slims down to less than ten riders during a summit finish don’t forget that mean 160 riders are somewhere else on the mountain.

Jonathan Vaughters has called for race organisers to share television revenue with professional cycling teams in a bid to improve the stability of teams. The comments come on the back of ASO’s – organisers of the Tour de France - stance to keep revenue from television streams and as Highroad’s Bob Stapleton struggles to find a lead sponsor for next year.

Today's Quote

“Dear Phil Lighhett and Paul Sherwen, please please stop calling Mark Cavendish " The Missile " that name is all mine :):):) I'm going to sue you guys for doing this :):):)” - Ivan Dominguez Facebook

The new team to be sponsored by the Belgian national lottery is starting to take shape. Jurgen Van den Broeck will be with the team, as will Tour de France stage winner Jelle Vanendert, who will be joined by his younger brother Dennis. And more big names from the current Omega Pharma-Lotto team may be on the list as well.

Announcement comes day after Welsh rider admitted discussions held with other teams.

Ryder Hesjedal could hardly stand up after finishing stage 16 in Gap today. The adrenaline produced by victory helped Thor Hushovd smile as he headed to the podium, but Hesjedal's pain is clear to see in this video recorded just after the two hugged in celebration after taking first and third in Gap.

The Tour de France resumes after the second rest day with this 162.5 kilometer stage between Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux and Gap. In its final week, the Tour rolls inexorably toward its grand finale with the two mountaintop finishes on the col du Galibier and the Alpe d’Huez and the time trial in Grenoble.

Today's Quote

“Dear Phil Lighhett and Paul Sherwen, please please stop calling Mark Cavendish " The Missile " that name is all mine :):):) I'm going to sue you guys for doing this :):):)” - Ivan Dominguez Facebook

The surprising thing about Van Garderen — besides how young he looks — is his perpetual laid-back calm about everything around him. He’s riding his first Tour de France and appears so relaxed that you might thing he’s bored.

Mark Cavendish’s fourth stage win Sunday didn’t sit well with some of the other top sprinters who couldn’t hold back their frustration that perhaps Cavendish made it through Saturday’s brutal climbing stage up Plateau de Beille with something more than his own two legs.

HTC's big numbers, Rojas not giving up green jersey ambitions, Andy Schleck content, Rabo jokers.

As the dust settled for Monday’s rest day in the Tour de France, many inside the peloton were looking at Leopard-Trek with a critical eye.

Tyler Farrar lost by a half bike length in stage 15 to Montpellier. Mark Cavendish and his HTC train rolled to their fourth victory in this year’s Tour de France. That puts Farrar 18 Tour wins behind the Member of the British Empire.

In 2011 the Tour will climb both sides of this mythical mountain, including a finish at the top in what will become the highest ever Tour de France stage finish (stage 18).

Bjarne Riis doesn't do things by halves; and press conferences aren't the exception - no chain motels for Saxo. "Château de Rochegude, Place du Château, 26790 Rochegude" says the invite. It doesn't disappoint, honey coloured sandstone, archways, fountains, artworks and a beautifully shaded patio where Alberto and Bjarne hold court.

The normally singlespeed frame has a cassette shoved in there and an electrical derailleur with mostly hidden wiring.

Lance Armstrong's newly appointed legal team has filed a motion at the US District Court in Los Angeles claiming that the seven-time Tour de France champion has been the victim of "character assassination". The charge stems from alleged leaks from the federal grand jury investigation into allegations that Armstrong was involved in organized doping during his pro cycling career.

"Podium Cafe Exclusive!! I have secret, insider information that HTC-Highroad, whose future has been hanging by a thread for months, may or may not make an announcement soon regarding the matter! Yes, count on it. A shoe will drop. Just don't ask me which one, or when."

The Chinese race, scheduled for October, is being catapulted into the World Tour calendar despite being completely new. Noticeably it is organised by the UCI itself, the governing body is branching out into race organisation and has a substantial financial stake in the race.

Team Sky burst on the scene in 2010 amidst tales of astronomic budgets and ‘cheque book recruitment.’ Spaniard Juan Antonio Flecha got their season off to a brilliant start with victory in Het Nieuwsblad; but their avowed goal of putting Olympic pursuit champion Bradley Wiggins on the Tour podium went badly wrong with an off form Wiggins finishing way down the classement.

A day of rest in the Tour de France. A time to look after the wounded, or perhaps even better, to praise them.

Flat pedals have been getting slimmer and slimmer in recent years, with the aim of saving weight, avoiding rock strikes and providing a more stable platform (due to your foot being closer to the axle). MomentumBicycle's FlyPaper took this idea to its extreme but could only be used with their own cranks.

DNF: these are probably the last symbols we want to see next to our name on the race results list. In endurance events, the DNF (Did Not Finish) is usually linked to some physical failure, an inability to achieve the expectations of the day.

Hot on the heels of Jeremy’s post on modern carbon componentry, we’d like to share with you our experience riding some state-of-the-art carbon bits and pieces: an Easton EC90SL stem, EC90SLX3 handlebars, and EC90 seatpost.

Grand Bois recently introduced their new stems. The stems are fillet-brazed from steel tubing, then polished and triple-plated (copper, nickel, chrome) for a brilliant and durable finish. The special clamp bolts and the expander bolt are chrome-plated as well. The stems are made by Nitto exclusively for Grand Bois.

Judith Arndt poised to add third victory in German stage race.

Movistar have announced they’re planning to set a fast pace in the mountains with the aim of putting Mark Cavendish in trouble. If the Briton finishes a mountain stage hors délais then Jose Joaquin Rojas is in line to recover the green jersey.

Successful Belgian linked to American team.

A little amusement from the Village du Depart, stage 15, Limoux. Each morning the Tour sets up  the village again, a space devoted to sponsors, special guests, tour personnel and the media.

Another rest day on the Tour de France and a time for many to take stock of the race so far and plan for the upcoming stages in the Alps.

One thing most of our readers have in common is that one of their current bikes costs double + what their first car did. My number is 14X... With that in mind, Torque wrenches should be owned by virtually all of us and a ratcheting head version is very welcome...

The Tour entered the second rest day pretty much the same way as it did the first, with Thomas Voeckler holding a 1:49 lead in the GC and Alberto Contador still yet to find his legs. Saddles takes a look back at the last six days of action...

In the last 20 years, carbon frames in the pro peloton has gone from an option for well funded teams in the mountains, to the de facto year-round choice. While the occasional aluminum frame may show up under certain riders during the spring classics, most pro teams outfit their riders exclusively with carbon.

Take advantage of the summer's fresh fruit and get your next recovery snack from the produce aisle. These five summer fruits that are nutritional champs for cyclists.

Graham Bensinger sits down with Floyd Landis. The Tour de France champ talks about the doping scandal that ruined his career, details Lance Armstrong's alleged illegal drug use and talks about his own future.

All was good until I crashed TWICE on the descent of the Col d’Agnes! Oh my God! The first time I misjudged the corner and braked too fast. My back wheel started sliding. But the road was rough like sandpaper and you can imagine what happens when you put sandpaper to rubber! Boom! My tire exploded.

A quick look at who was hot and who was not during stage three of the Tour.

Highroad boss Bob Stapleton was playing rope-a-dope outside the HTC-Highroad team bus Sunday morning. The questions about the team’s future came quick and fast from a handful of journalists chasing rumors about the team’s future, but the American tycoon wasn’t giving anything away.

Controversy amongst the sprinters after the first big mountains.

PEZ:  Tour de France Stage 15 Results.

VeloNation:  Tour de France Stage 15 Results.

CyclingNews: Tour de France Stage 15 Results..

Sunday's Tour de France Stage 15 departs Limoux at 12:50pm CET (6:50am U.S. Eastern) and is expected at the finish at Montpellier at around 5:17pm CET (11:17am U.S. Eastern). Tour de France live video streaming should get underway at around 2:15pm CET (8:15am U.S. Eastern).

Team says return to racing depends on healing process.

The Leopard-Trek team spent the first rest day of the Tour de France at the Gabarit Hôtel and in the reception area were several photos from the past when the GAN team, later known as Crédit Agricole. The team would use the hotel as a base for training camps. Fabian Cancellara joked about Stuart O’Grady who features in the photos from the late nineties.

Today's Quote

“And here's a first... Got pulled over IN the race today by a gendarme and he made me do an alcohol test, duriing the race...” - Johan Bruyneel Twitter

He’s French, he’s yellow, he’s suddenly on the board as a possible podium finisher. C’est Fou! Even Lance Armstrong is taking him seriously from back in Texas.

Transfer rumours, Cancellara flying high, Evans and the status quo.

An easy day after the Pyrenees as the riders leave the mountains and around the Mediterranean coast, a place where millions of French and northern Europeans migrate for the summer to profit from the sea and sunshine. The stage starts in Limoux, half-famous for its sparkling white wine that struggles for attention alongside the more famous champagne.

The Rabobank team management has described Laurens ten Dam as “hard as rock” after he started the 15th stage of the Tour de France despite crashing and hurting his face in a high-speed crash during Saturday's stage to Plateau de Beille.

Mark Renshaw has predicted that Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) is the biggest threat to Mark Cavendish’s chances of winning the green points jersey in Paris because he will be able to score points during several hilly stages in the final week of the race.

“They ride themselves out of their skin,” said Cavendish. “That just shows the commitment these guys have for me. I’m incredibly lucky.”

The duo’s victories were similar in that after the first lap of their respective races each moved to the front and then dominated the proceedings.

Kazakh cycling star Alexander Vinokourov announced his retirement on French television on Sunday, a week after crashing out of the Tour de France with a thigh fracture.

They blamed the wind. They wouldn’t commit to a full-out attack. They said the others were riding negatively. “They” are the men who the media said raced more like the seven dwarfs than the seven favorites on Saturday’s stage of the Tour de France because of their “after-you-Claude” tactics.

Jens Voigt was among the riders to go down hard on Saturday’s 14th stage of the Tour de France to Plateau de Beille. The Leopard-Trek rider said after the finish that he was banged up, but saw no threat to his continuing the race.

Unconfirmed rumours were of the event being cancelled at the Col du Pas de Peyrol, the second category climb, 99.5km in to the 208km stage. Riders are apparently still stranded at the town of Le Puy Mary on the Col du Pas de Peyrol, waiting to be evacuated.

Karsten Kroon was born January 29, 1976 and is 35 years old and now races for American team BMC Racing. He turned pro way back in 1999 (pro for 12 years). Karsten is from Dalen, Netherlands and now lives Rekem, Belgium. He weighs 145 pounds and is 5 ft and 11 inches tall.

Keep your wheels rolling straight with this easy advice.

NYVeloCity: Floyd's Baaaack.

Graham Bensinger sits down with Floyd Landis. The Tour de France champ talks about the doping scandal that ruined his career, details Lance Armstrong's alleged illegal drug use and talks about his own future.

i.e. Bikes owner, Matt Barringer, tells us about his shop and what he is doing to create an atmosphere that is pleasing to his customers.

Usually in a Tour, the sprinters and breakaway specialists can count on contesting at least two and perhaps even three "transition" stages between the Pyrenees and the Alps. This year though, they've got just the one.

HTC-Highroad owner Bob Stapleton has a self-imposed deadline of this Monday to keep his American registered ProTour team alive. However, several riders have been rumored to be jumping ship regardless.

The favorites cancelled each other out on Plateau de Beille. Is Thomas Voeckler suddenly looking like a possible Tour winner?

Tom Danielson still holds a top ten spot at the Tour de France despite a cracking on the climb to Plateau de Beille on stage 14. The Garmin-Cervelo climber hit the final climb of the stage with all his GC rivals and looked strong on the initial slopes as teammate Christian Vande Velde rode tempo on the front.

PEZ:  Tour de France Stage 14 Results.

VeloNation:  Tour de France Stage 14 Results.

Saturday's Tour de France Stage 14 departs Saint-Gaudens at 12:00pm CET (6:00am U.S. Eastern) and is expected at the finish at Plateau de Beille at around 5:02pm CET (11:02am U.S. Eastern). Tour de France live video streaming should get underway at around 12:15pm CET (6:15am U.S. Eastern).

Stage 14 start time: Saturday 12:05 CET (3:05:00 AM PDT).
Earliest live video: 12:20 CET (3:20:00 AM PDT).
Approximate finish: 17:02 CET (8:02:00 AM PDT).

Quick Step rider no longer getting headaches.

Oh yes! The 14th annual TransAlp starts tomorrow and we are ready to rumble!

The Tour is a spectacle for the public and the riders are on display constantly. Except for the team bus and the hotel room, they are marked men by the media who don’t give them even a second to recover, take a breath, drink of water or warm clothes.

The status quo was maintained among the favourites for Tour de France victory at Plateau de Beille on Saturday but in the immediate aftermath of the stage, Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Cannondale) was critical of Fränk and Andy Schleck's reluctance to seize the initiative from further out on the final climb.

Reports that existing sponsor will stay on board.

The race has climbed up to the Plateau de Beille four times before and each time the victor at the top has apparently gone on to win the Tour de France. It’s no coincidence because this is a very tough climb, 15.8km at 7.9% with a steep start.

Mark Cavendish of HTC-Highroad has been accused of holding on to cars in the Pyrenees by some of his rivals for the green jersey but Tour de France race organizers have dismissed the accusations.

Alejandro Valverde's suspension ends at the end of this year and the disgraced Spaniard is actively negotiating with teams to restart his career. Several teams seem to be interested but the rider and his manager are being very discreet about exact details.

"Superb stiffness and great foot bed. Slim upper might not suit everyone."

Will Routley is back from Europe to race BC Superweek and a familiar spot at the historic Tour de White Rock: Atop the podium at the Homelife Realty Hillclimb.

LeeWaldman: Transitions.

NYVeloCity: Floyd's Baaaack.

Graham Bensinger sits down with Floyd Landis. The Tour de France champ talks about the doping scandal that ruined his career, details Lance Armstrong's alleged illegal drug use and talks about his own future.

Today's Quote

“And here's a first... Got pulled over IN the race today by a gendarme and he made me do an alcohol test, duriing the race...” - Johan Bruyneel Twitter

RadioShack will turn their attention to stage wins after their third potential GC leader, Andreas Klöden, abandoned the race on stage 13 to Lourdes. The 36-year-old German had been suffering from injuries after succumbing to multiple crashes in this year's race. After slipping off the back of today's bunch after an electric first hour of racing the German decided to throw in the towel.

Thüringen Rundfahrt is 7 stages around Thüringen in central Germany - a team time trial, an ITT, 2 (or 3) sprint stages and the rest hilly routes that look perfect for escape groups - each stage starting and finishing in the same town.

The Plasma helmet would round put the namesake line, they already offer Plasma shorts and jerseys.

Instead of making my way to the Plateau de Beille today to watch the action live, I decided to take advantage of my location in Lourdes and climb the Col d'Aspin and Col du Tourmalet. After that we headed to a local pub and watched the last 2hrs of the stage. I could't think of many better ways to spend a day in France...

i.e. Bikes owner, Matt Barringer, tells us about his shop and what he is doing to create an atmosphere that is pleasing to his customers.

Stage 14 start time: Saturday 12:05 CET (3:05:00 AM PDT).
Earliest live video: 12:20 CET (3:20:00 AM PDT).
Approximate finish: 17:02 CET (8:02:00 AM PDT).

Just thinking about this final stage in the Pyrénées makes me tired.  Stage 14 will feature six categorized climbs including a mountain top finish up the fearsome Plateau de Beille.

Jeremy Roy (FDJ) won a consolation prize by earning the day’s most combative award, but French riders have come up empty so far in the 2011 Tour de France.

VeloNation:  Tour de France Stage 13 Results.

Leaning against the barriers after the finish, Moncoutié explained that while an attack was a surprise, waiting for the sprint would only have delayed the inevitable.

FDJ’s breakaway star reflects on being denied a stage victory inside the final three kilometres.

Friday's Tour de France Stage 13 departs Pau at 1:10pm CET (7:10am U.S. Eastern) and is expected at the finish at Lourdes at around 5:24pm CET (11:24am U.S. Eastern). Tour de France live video streaming should get underway at around 2:15pm CET (8:15am U.S. Eastern).

Stage 13 almost feels like a missed opportunity given the Pyrenees but clearly the race organisers don’t want to fix the overall classification with three consecutive summit finishes. Thinking about it, I agree as yesterday gave a glimpse of how the favourites are riding relative to each other but a tentative one.

Omega Pharma-Lotto domestique re-evaluates his own expectations but knows his job for the rest of the race.

If either Andy or Frank Schleck stands on the top step of the podium in Paris at the end of the Tour de France, then they'll likely owe a huge debt of thanks to Fabian Cancellara for helping them get there.

It took a photo finish review, but Cameron MacKinnon threw his bike to narrowly edged out Bailey McKnight of at the line to win the $15,000 2011 Giro di Burnaby on Thursday, capping a great night for the local teams at BC Superweek.

The world's most beautiful stadium - the entire country of France - annually hosts the most important bike race of the year: the Tour de France. Upwards of 12 million fans line the roads to watch the race. For free. No tickets needed. The race traverses over 2000 miles in 21 days of racing.

'This is my eighth Tour, I first rode it in 1997. There's much more press and media now - and more stress for the riders, not just on the race but before and after it.

Omega-Pharma Lotto sprinter Philippe Gilbert says Alberto Contador is bluffing, not suffering, after the first Pyrenean stage of the Tour de France.

Unlike the mist-obscured view from Luz Ardiden at the end of stage 12, a few things have become clear about the general classification of the Tour de France.

Quick Step rider’s broken wrist from stage five confirmed after x-rays in Pau.

Today's Quote

“And here's a first... Got pulled over IN the race today by a gendarme and he made me do an alcohol test, duriing the race...” - Johan Bruyneel Twitter

Team HTC-Highroad's Bob Stapleton remains positive despite a looming deadline to find replacement sponsor. He arrived at the Tour de France on Wednesday, the same day as star rider Mark Cavendish won, but without good news.

Bruyneel gets breathalysed, McGee positive despite losses, Kreuziger makes a move, Cunego proves his form.

"Class leading in comfort, but upright ride doesn’t appeal to racers."

As one of the bikes everyone’s been buzzing about, Trek finally took the official wraps off of the already World Cup winning Session 9.9 carbon at Trek World Mayrhofen.

Mary McConneloug (Kenda/Seven/NoTubes) will miss the US Mountain Bike Cross Country National Championships tomorrow because she is battling Lyme disease. She previously won the stars and stripes jersey in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2008.

It’s common to see a rider leading in a competition in specially painted groupsets, frames, helmets, shoes, gloves, clothing and sunglasses. Team and sponsors love to kit out these riders.

Veltec Sports currently distributes Descente, Lake and Shebeest.

A rider fell down, a hero got up.

Andreas Klöden's injuries he suffered in multiple crashes at the Tour de France  forced him to abandon the race early during Friday's 13th stage. Gert Steegmans of Quick Step did not take the start after it was discovered he had a fractured scaphoid in his left hand, while Lars Boom (Rabobank) also retired after a very fast start to the stage. Russia's Vladimir Isiachev (Katusha) also climbed off.

Jonathan Vaughters has admitted that Tom Danielson was always Garmin-Cervelo’s best bet for a strong GC performance coming into this year’s Tour de France. Until today’s first mountain stage Vaughters had publicly stated that the team had three riders able to challenge for a top ten placing, with Ryder Hesjedal and Christian Vande Valde also in contention.

A 2011 study published in the journal Experimental Physiology found that cyclists riding a 40k time trial were nearly five minutes slower in 95-degree heat than they were in a more-comfortable 68 degrees.

i.e. Bikes owner, Matt Barringer, tells us about his shop and what he is doing to create an atmosphere that is pleasing to his customers.

Welcome to Stage 13 of the 98th Tour de France! We'll be live blogging here starting about 8:30 a.m. EDT on Friday, July 15, until the end of the stage. Join us! Ask questions, or just hang out and follow the conversation.

Stage 13 sees the peloton face the historic slopes of the hors categorie Col d'Aubisque before a downhill finish to the pilgrimage destination town of Lourdes.  After a rough two weeks, most of the peloton will be praying that the miraculous healing waters of Lourdes actually work.

"When the riders came up, their faces were gaunt, expressionless — like prison camp victims, their eyes dead. There mouths were wide open like Van Gogh’s The Scream. They were zombies or machines that continued to pedal because they were programmed that way. The rational mind gone along with any care for self preservation."

The first mountain showdown of the 2011 Tour narrowed the list of potential winners down to half a dozen riders.

VeloNation:  Tour de France Stage 12 Results.

The Tour de France may be looking up into the Pyrenees, but there are slim signs of RadioShack's race having an upturn in fortunes after Andreas Klöden crashed again and lost time and Levi Leipheimer was dropped on the final climb to Luz-Ardiden on stage 12.

The new C260 and is a 100g stem that’s testing 3x to 4x stronger than any previous Ritchey stem because they’re using a new generation Alcoa alloy and because of the new design. Not only is it stronger, it’s stiffer, giving you more control. The rear uses a three-bolt, radius slot clamp design, meaning the slit is crescent moon shaped.

Thursday's Tour de France Stage 12 departs Cugnaux at 11:10am CET (5:10am U.S. Eastern) and is expected at the finish at Luz-Ardiden at around 5:11pm CET (11:11am U.S. Eastern). Tour de France live video streaming should get underway at around 12:20pm CET (6:20am U.S. Eastern).

Some say the Tour de France begins today. We’ll finally discover which of the pretenders for the overall win are really on form, you can’t bluff on a 10km mountain pass. In that sense the Tour de France will end for several riders today.

Stage 12 start time: Thursday 11:20 CET (2:20 AM PDT). Earliest live video: 12:00 CET (3:00 AM PDT). Approximate finish: 17:11 CET (8:11 AM PDT).

The Tour is climbing its first summit finish at Luz Ardiden on Bastille Day. We covered this incredible climb in our Iconic Places series in the Summer edition this year.

Tough-guy Carlos Barredo stops to chat with fan after racing 6+ hours over the Pyrenees. Photo: Andrew Hood.

Today's Quote

“And here's a first... Got pulled over IN the race today by a gendarme and he made me do an alcohol test, duriing the race...” - Johan Bruyneel Twitter

"Took me an extra 15 minutes to drive down the backside of the Col du Tourmalet."

Kloden has been on the deck - Lance must have used up all Johan Bruyneel's luck with those seven Tour wins.

Two HTC men got the better of a strong six-man breakaway to deliver Mark Cavendish to victory and allow Saddles to lead with this gem of a headline.

‘When I kick, normally I get a gap and I win.”

Boasson Hagen pledges his support.

"If steel is calling your name, I encourage you to listen."

"I love paging through magazines with my children. Many of those magazines I have kept since I was a teenager. And I love libraries and archives – the mystery of old volumes, which haven’t been touched in decades, yet are ready to yield their secrets as soon as you open the pages. It’s a different experience from sitting in front of a screen and scrolling down the page."

i.e. Bikes owner, Matt Barringer, tells us about his shop and what he is doing to create an atmosphere that is pleasing to his customers.

Stage 12 was the day we've been waiting for, and it did not disappoint.

Every evening the Tour de France issues the official results of the day’s stage along with the full standings for the overall classification and the other jerseys in the race. The same release contains details of other incidents during the day.

Garmin-Cervélo rider in top ten after first mountain stage.

Contador recovered and ready for Pyrenees, Evans says the Tour starts today, Quickstep and Leopard to merge?, Sanchez to form Spanish coalition with Contador.

"When Johnny Hoogerland ascended the podium to be awarded the polka dot jersey as the Tour de France’s king of the mountains, if you’re anything like me, you exhaled in relief. At a certain level we could relax with the assurance that justice could be found on such a public stage."

Jurgen Van Den Broeck will be leaving the hospital of Herentals, Belgium, on Thursday afternoon following several days of treatment for injuries sustained when crashing out of the Tour de France on stage nine. The Belgian GC favourite suffered a collapsed lung, two broken ribs and a broken shoulder blade, but he is now hoping to participate in the Vuelta a España starting in late August.

Alexandre Vinokourov's career could be over after his recent crash in the Tour de France. Astana's leader fractured his pelvis and femur when he left the road in a horrific crash on stage nine.

Scott Sports has done bike helmets in Europe for years, and this week marks their move across the pond with new models and new colors.

The Tour somehow got it all just right. It got the best time slot, all the best support acts, went to the best schools, had all the right friends and all the breaks it could ever need. As such, over the years I suppose, it has become something frighteningly huge, perpetually aggrandising and intensely addictive.

The André Greipel-Mark Cavendish duel has been a fascinating subplot to this year’s Tour de France, not least because the bitterness that marked the pair’s time together at Highroad appears to have been tempered since Greipel’s departure from the team last winter.

VeloNation:  Tour de France Stage 11 Results.

Wednesday's Tour de France Stage 11 departs Blaye-les-Mines at 1:05pm CET (7:05am U.S. Eastern) and is expected at the finish at Lavaur at around 5:14pm CET (11:14am U.S. Eastern). Tour de France live video streaming should get underway at around 2:00pm CET (8:00am U.S. Eastern).

Today’s start and finish are not far from each other but the organisers have chosen a big S-shaped route instead of a straight line. Even so it’s 167.5km, one of the shorter stages of the Tour. With two small hills along the way there’s every chance this ends in a bunch sprint, especially as tomorrow sees the high mountains, it’s the last chance for the sprinters for a while.

Stage 10 start time: Tuesday 13:40 CET (4:40 AM PDT).
Earliest live video: 14:00 CET (5:00 AM PDT).
Approximate finish: 17:20 CET (8:20 AM PDT).

Frenchman too fatigued to carry on.

How can something so small be so delicious? That's what I'm talking about. The Tour is full of dippin dots stories.

The Tour de France counts down to the mountains with a sprint stage running 165.7 kilometers from Blayes-les-Mines to Lavaur. Wednesday's stage includes only two categorized climbs, and they won't cause anyone much difficulty.

In this video Farrar takes us through the tense finale in Lavaur, describes the tough conditions the peloton has faced so far in this year’s Tour and the remaining stages he can compete in.

Hushovd, Gilbert, Siutsou said to be on the move.

In case you didn’t realize, the French love Thomas Voeckler. Not like, not kinda affectionate, not favorable impression but swooning love, like a small version of the Beatles in the 60′s.

VeloNews: Bookwalter - Working in the trenches for Evans.

Brent Bookwalter never expected to be on the front row for a yellow jersey push for Cadel Evans in the Tour de France.

Tom Boonen continues to suffer from headaches a week after suffering concussion during his stage five crash at the Tour de France.  He has not started training again and does not known when he will be able to do so.

Long recovery period for Astana rider.

Bicycling: Eating for the Tour de France.

@andy_schleck: Our cook put together what each rider in our team eats a day during a day in the TDF.

Eighteen and wet and wild and dangerous. No, not the podium girl, the sprinter.

With the Tour de France on the eve of the mountain stages one thing that has characterised the racing so far has been the crashes.

After checking out Specialized's new road and mountain bikes on the first day of their 2012 press launch, the emphasis on day two was firmly on the company's clothing and component ranges – both of which have been growing steadily in recent years.

Today's Quote

“Nobody can be blamed for this. It’s a horrible accident and I was in it. But I said to Flecha, ‘We’re still alive and Wouter Weylandt died in a crash.'” - Johnny Hoogerland  Bicycling

The Tour de France is highs and lows, flat stages and high mountains, abandons and podiums, gourmet dinners and mediocre crap. As the French say, I had a jour sans, a day without — I felt slow and short on humor.

One man very happy to be back in the saddle on Tuesday was BMC Racing's Brent Bookwalter. The American will be an important ally for Cadel Evans as the Tour heads into the mountains but it was touch and go for the 27-year-old on stage 9 when he came down in the crash on the descent of the Pas de Peyrol and hit his head.

"Superb handling frame dulled by under-performing wheel package."

The Tour de France counts down to the mountains with a sprint stage running 165.7 kilometers from Blayes-les-Mines to Lavaur. Wednesday's stage includes only two categorized climbs, and they won't cause anyone much difficulty.

"Although we haven’t yet reached the high mountains, the 2011 Tour de France has already been one giant rollercoaster of a ride. With 10 stages in the books as of Tuesday, we thought it appropriate to take a look back. And besides, who doesn’t love a good Top 10 list?"

VeloNation:  Tour de France Stage 10 Results.

With nine events remaining on USA cycling’s NRC, the overall rankings have become tighter than ever. The biggest mover was Frank Pipp (Bissell Pro Cycling) who jumped from seventh to third place after a solid ride in the Tour de Toona.

Tuesday's Tour de France Stage 10 departs Aurillac at 1:30pm CET (7:30am U.S. Eastern) and is expected at the finish at Carmaux at around 5:20pm CET (11:20am U.S. Eastern). Tour de France live video streaming should get underway at around 2:00pm CET (8:00am U.S. Eastern).

Note the early intermediate sprint. If you think it’s downhill, you’re right. There’s also a central reservation in the middle of the road during the approach.

Stage 10 start time: Tuesday 13:40 CET (4:40 AM PDT).
Earliest live video: 14:00 CET (5:00 AM PDT).
Approximate finish: 17:20 CET (8:20 AM PDT).

The Thor may not have been my first choice of helmets based on appearance alone, but overall I was very impressed with how it performed.  This helmet may not be for everyone. But if you want a helmet that is easy to use, will keep you cool and stand out in the crowd…The Thor is worth a look the next time you go shopping for a new lid.

Never say that ASO chef and Tour de France boss Christian Prudhomme isn’t proactive. As he said the other day, horrified, two crashes is two too many. Bravo.

Sure we had our mandatory doping bust during the rest day of the Tour de France, but more importantly it will be known as the day Jens Voigt joined Twitter.

“The victory was a nice surprise, but the goals don’t change for me here at the Tour,” Sánchez told VeloNews before the start of Tuesday’s stage. “We are here to ride for Robert. We want to support him for the podium.”

Andreas Klöden (RadioShack) battled through stage 10 of the Tour de France but his team manager Johan Bruyneel remains tentative as to whether the German can still challenge for the podium.

Regulations tightened to avoid a repeat of Sunday’s Hoogerland/Flecha incident.

Klöden under pressure due to back injury.

Today in El Pais (Spanish newspaper) there's an interview with Flecha, written by his former teammate Pedro Horrillo. He seems really pissed off (absolutely normal).

“He hasn’t come to say sorry and I think that if he were to come, I wouldn’t even talk with him,” Flecha said in comments published by Spanish newspaper El Pais on Tuesday. “France TV also did not say sorry to me.”

Today's Quote

“Nobody can be blamed for this. It’s a horrible accident and I was in it. But I said to Flecha, ‘We’re still alive and Wouter Weylandt died in a crash.'” - Johnny Hoogerland  Bicycling

The Union Cycliste International (UCI) has reinforced its position on riders' saddle orientation following their decision on the day of the Tour's team time trial to implement the rule that all saddles must be exactly horizontal.

Television, list of rider numbers, and wheels, tools, bidons, food and spare parts in the backseat.

With blood pouring from his legs and backside, Hoogerland soldiered on to the finish of stage 9, where he first went on stage, in tears, to receive his jersey, before being loaded into an ambulance for a ride to the hospital where he received 33 stitches.

With an exciting Stage 10 in the books, it looks like yesterday’s rest day did the riders well.

Some of the USA's wounded war veterans had the unique opportunity to ride the last 20 kilometres of the Tour de France’s sixth stagein the city of Lisieux on the Ride 2 Recovery’s Normandy Challenge presented by UnitedHealthcare.

Vuelta now a serious possibility for Wiggins… while Yates targets National 12.

Voluntarily leaves Tour while waiting for B sample.

While many of the other favorites have lost skin and time to crashes — if not crashing out entirely — Leopard-Trek’s two-brother GC front is sitting pretty. Fränk and Andy Schleck are now fourth and fifth overall, just three and 11 seconds behind BMC’s Cadel Evans, the highest-placed GC contender.

Spaniard vows to fight to Paris, says knee injury is improving.

With the new PRO4, Micheline wanted to improve both performance and longevity. The new PRO4 Service Course claims to improve wet surface cornering speed by 16% over the PRO3 but provides better cut resistance with a new dual compound tread.

Enough with this rest day thing, we have more bike racing to do! Hopefully, with much less crashing. People, please, keep the cars and the bike racers separated, okay? Okay, onward with the bike race!

The cliché says you can’t win the Tour de France in the first week, but you can certainly lose it. It’s a shame really, because so many pro teams organize their season around the Tour, the possibility for stage wins, for sponsor publicity, for glory. Something simple like the swerve of a car or a wet bend in the road can play havoc with a pack of riders grand tour thick and first week nervous.

The hero of the day was Thomas “Suitcase of Courage” Voeckler, who not only slowed for his fallen breakaway companions but also ultimately seized the yellow jersey for France in high style.

Andy and Frank, the invisible brothers.

Garmin-Cervélo relax in a château ensconced in a private park with a swimming pool and its own restaurant. Each room has individual decoration, some even have jacuzzi baths. By contrast Liquigas get a chain hotel near a busy road junction where each room is probably smaller than the bathroom enjoyed by the Garmin guys.

CyclingNews: No fracture for Klöden.

RadioShack leader plans to continue in race.

Former US criterium champion Brad Huff edged out the current American crit champ, Daniel Holloway, in two-man sprint to the finish line to win the 2011 Tour de Delta White Spot Road Race on Sunday, finishing the 140-kilometer ride in 3:24:44.1.

Alberto Contador is having a hard time of it at this year's Tour de France, admitting “This is not my Tour.” He was again involved in a crash on Sunday, which left him with further pains in his right knee.

Russian rider set to be removed from race.

Brian Holcombe takes a look at the race’s first week with guests including Liquigas-Cannondale pro Timmy Duggan, Training Peaks chief evangelist Dirk Friel and VeloNews managing editor Neal Rogers.

Successful operation for Astana leader.

It was one hell of a first week at the Tour de France. Thoughts from week one of three . . .

Katusha rider Vladimir Karpets on Sunday seemed to admit that he had forced Alberto Contador off the road on stage 9 of the Tour de France to Saint-Flour – only to later maintain that the clash had been an accident.

Stage 1 Passage du Gois-Mont des Alouttes: Phillippe Gilbert reminds me a lot of Venetian ex-world pro road champion, Moreno Argentin.

The first nine stages of the Tour de France have been a roller coaster of emotion.

The simple answer is €218,000, about  US$305,000.

Omega-Pharma Lotto have struck the jackpot thanks to Philippe Gilbert’s consistent riding, and Garmin-Cervélo’s efforts with Thor Hushovd have had a similar effect.

Johnny Hoogerland hopes to try and continue in the Tour de France despite having 33 stitches applied to the wounds he suffered in a crash during Sunday’s ninth stage.

This Tour has extracted a high tariff from the overall favorites. Everyone who has reached the rest day unscathed will breathe a sigh of relief.

"It's a scandal to see what has happened. That person will of course be excluded from the race but what does that do for us? What does it do for Johnny?"

Today's Quote

“"I've got a huge headache .Every kilometre was one too many. I was wondering, 'who am I pleasing by continuing?' Not myself, that's for sure. I was a danger for the other riders, too. I think I suffered a concussion. Noise, colors... I couldn't stand them. A honking car that passed was echoing a thousand times in my head.” - Tom Boonen  CyclingNews

I had forgotten how confident most Europeans are with their bodies until I noticed that only 2 out of the 8 showers had shower curtains. It also wasn't uncommon for you to go into the bathrooms and have a naked person, male or female, happily standing there whilst you brushed your teeth or filled up your race bottles.

Sunday's Tour de France Stage 9 departs Issoire at 12:10pm CET (6:10am U.S. Eastern) and is expected at the finish at Saint-Flour at around 5:35pm CET (11:35am U.S. Eastern). Tour de France live video streaming should get underway at around 2:00pm CET (8:00am U.S. Eastern).

Stage 9 start time: Sunday 12:10 CET (3:10 AM PDT)
Earliest live video: 14:00 CET (5:00 AM PDT).
Approximate finish: 17:35 CET (8:35 AM PDT)

It was a battle between sprinter’s teams and lone wolves at the San Rafael Twilight Criterium on Saturday. In the end the sprinters won with Ricky Escuela (Full Circle) winning the bunch sprint ahead of Rahsaan Bahati (SKLZ/Pista Palace), making it the third year in a row that Bahati took second. Eric Marcotte (SKLZ/Pista Palace) was third.

Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY12 came to the San Rafael Twilight Criterium with a plan. The plan was to attack and keep attacking, allowing Coryn Rivera to easily win from a bunch sprint. Martina Patella (Red Racing) finished in second and Mary-Ellen Ash (Metromint Cycling) in third.

Speaking from experience, former Tour de France winner Pedro Delgado offers Contador advice on getting back lost time in the world's biggest race.

Heroic performances from Thor Hushovd saw him finishing the day wearing the yellow jersey, and the stage saw the first successful long-range attack of the 2011 Tour, but the race favourites rode cagily to Super Besse.

Rui Costa is grimacing but riding steadily towards a debut stage win in the Tour de France.

Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervélo) retained the leader's yellow jersey after one of his best ever performances in the Tour de France. The Norwegian hung tough with the peloton over the second category climb of Col de Croix Saint-Robert and hung on during the final climb to Super Besse in the stage 8 finale, keeping his one-second general classification lead over Cadel Evans (BMC).

Riders clipped by overtaking vehicle at Tour de France.

Nasty day in the Tour de France which saw gruesome injuries and unforgivable nonsense.

Accidents continue to thin out list of overall contenders.

"Cyclingnews documents a highlights reel of some of the world's best."

Eight categorised climbs today, that’s more than we had during the first five days of the race and the points total available today is greater than the whole race so far. As a result, it’s a key stage for anyone with half an eye on the Mountains jersey, especially those unable to contest the final summit finishes.

Alessandro Petacchi finished second to Mark Cavendish on Friday in Châteauroux, but has otherwise fallen short in this year's Tour de France. The Italian had already won two stages and firmly put himself at the top of the green jersey competition by this point in last year's race.

Today's Quote

“"I've got a huge headache .Every kilometre was one too many. I was wondering, 'who am I pleasing by continuing?' Not myself, that's for sure. I was a danger for the other riders, too. I think I suffered a concussion. Noise, colors... I couldn't stand them. A honking car that passed was echoing a thousand times in my head.” - Tom Boonen  CyclingNews

"You’d think that after riding so many years at a high level your bike fit is dialed in for the best comfort and efficiency. I was intrigued by what I might discover about the process and my present bike position."

"That was some good racing on Saturday, wasn't it? And how much fun to see two young riders, Rui Costa and Tejay van Garderen, go up the road. I heart me some of that. Sunday, it's back into the Massif Centrale. Now, with more climbing! Breakaway party!"

There has not yet been an official announcement regarding his injuries but the word was that he had suffered a broken elbow, pelvis and thigh.

"I can't believe this race is over - it's had so much drama - from the lows of the crashes (get well soon Rochelle Gilmore, Grace Verbeke and all the riders injured out - and to Marijn de Vries & anyone out sick) and the news of the death of Australian cyclist Carly Hibberd - to the highs, of the fantastic racing on an incredible course."

Many fans were distressed to see the video of Chris Horner from Friday. He crashed late in the stage, the same move that took out FDJ’s Rémi Pauriol and Sky’s Bradley Wiggins but whilst these two were holding their arms in the tell-tale sign of a broken collarbone, the Radioshack rider was apparently unconcious in the roadside ditch.

The Tour de France needs to reduce the size of the field. It’s clear that the bunch cannot fit on modern roads, and it’s causing danger to the riders.

Gaining weight and stiffness in an unlikely location.

BMC Racing team assumes responsibility of controlling peloton on stage eight.