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The favorites for the overall classification took it easy today conserving their energy in the comfort of the peloton. Team Radio Shack moved to the front enmasse with about 30k to go as the peloton, which had been riding into a stiff headwind, was going to take a 90 degree right hand turn which would create a cross wind. In an interview after the stage Armstrong said they were looking to split the pack but the winds weren’t strong enough to cause a seperation.

Mark Cavendish silenced his critics today taking a decisive win in Thursday’s fifth stage. Cavendish timed his move perfectly as Garmin had set up what looked like the perfect lead out for their man Tyler Farrar. Gerald Ciolek also jumped at the same time but Cavendish was not going to be denied beating the German to the line by a convincing two bike lengths. Cav’s former lead out man Edvald Boasson Hagen claimed third, and overall points leader Thor Hushovd finished fifth. An emotional Cavendish had tears in his eyes as he stood on the podium today. Following today’s win...

Ale-Jet Rockets to Second Stage Win Posted on July 7, 2010 by Todd Kinsey Ale-Jet Rockets to Second Stage Win - photo by: Laurent Rebours The only surprise in today’s stage 4 was that Alessandro Petacchi took a decisive stage win out sprinting the likes of Mark Cavendish and Thor Hushovd. At 36 years of age, Ale-Jet appears to have found the fountain of youth. With about 200 meters to go, Cavendish was being lead out by Mark Renshaw. As Renshaw pulled off to let Cavendish take it to the line, Alessandro Petacchi had launched his attack down the left...

Anarchy reigned supreme again at the Tour de France as the pave’ may have dashed the hopes for many of the Tour’s favorites. General Classification contender Christian Vande Velde was unable to start today’s stage after a crash, in which he suffered broken ribs and re-injured is back, claimed his Tour hopes yesterday and Frank Schleck was claimed by a crash today which broke his collar bone. The race was won by Cervelo’s Thor Hushovd who crossed the finish line pounding his chest with an emphatic victory over Saxo Bank’s Fabian Cancellara. More importantly Hushovd claimed the green jersey with...

Sylvain Chavanel solos to victory after a major crash on the decent of the Aissomont slowed the charging peloton. Chavanel claimed the coveted yellow jersey from Fabian Cancellara and is likely to wear it until the riders hit the Alps this weekend. Heavy rains pelted the riders as they hit the final three climbs of the day. The slick roads were the cause of the crash on the decent of the Aissomont which claimed several general classification contenders including: Christian Vande Velde, Frank Schleck, Andy Schleck, George Hincapie and several others.

Good morning. Things are progressing as expected this morning. we have an 8 man break including: ■Sylvain Chavanel (QuickStep) ■Matthew Lloyd (Omega Pharma-Lotto) ■Jürgen Roelandts (Omega Pharma-Lotto) ■Marcus Burghardt (BMC) ■Jerome Pineau (QuickStep) ■Sebasitien Turgot (Bbox) ■Rein Taaramae (Cofidis) ■Francesco Gavazzi (Lampre) The peloton is 2:55 behind and have been steadily bringing the gap down. Cervelo and Saxo have been controlling the pace making early but Astana is assembling near the front now. If the break is to stick Chavanel and Burghardt are certainly the two strongest riders although Matthew Llyoyd is a good young climber, winning the KOM at...

George Hincapie prior to a crash filled Stage 1 Crashes were the order of the day in Sunday’s first stage, Rotterdam to Brussels. Lampre’s Allesandro Petacchi (Ale-Jet) was able to elude the crashes and take the first green jersey. The win was very similar to his win in June’s Tour de Suisse when Mark Cavendish and others crashed causing a pile up that essentially stopped the charging peloton. Thor Hushovd was able to escape the crash as well taking 3rd on the day and positioning him well in the point’s competition, taking 26 points on the day. Tony Martin continues...

Petacchi wins it and it will be interesting to see who all crashed. Cavendish was involved in the first crash, the second took out 90 of the peloton, the third took out Tyler Farrar. WOW!!!

Good morning. Nothing too notable this morning other than a dog running onto the course which cause a crash early on. Several riders have been rotating back to get medical treatment including Ivan Basso and David Millar. We have a 3 man break that includes Lars Boom (Rabobank), Maarten Wijnants (QuickStep) and Alan Perez Lezaun (Euskaltel) with a gap of just over 4 minutes. There’s still about 100K or 60 miles remaining. Neither the peloton or the break is working very hard but this is just the calm before the storm. Unfortunately the two riders that crashed yesterday, Mathias Frank...

So what did we learn after today’s prologue? We learned that Fabian Cancellara is the baddest man on the planet when he’s on a time trial bike. I would love to see Cancellara and Armstrong go head-to-head when both are in their prime; it’s always fun to play what if. Armstrong definitely made a statement to Contador and everyone else, he’s here to WIN! Beating Alberto Contador by 5 seconds had to be a serious psychological blow to the younger Spaniard. Lance put serious time into the other GC contenders and also showed that Team Radio Shack is the dominant...

With the exit of Quick Step’s Tom Boonen the race now becomes one of attrition. Personally I think five riders: Mark Cavendish, the god of thunder and last years winner Thor Hushovd, Tyler Farrar, Edvald Boasson Hagen, and Gerald Ciolek have a realistic chance of surviving over the course of 3,642 kilometers (2,263 miles for us non Euros). Mark Cavendish is the odds maker’s pick but the man from the Isle of Manx has been off his game this year. It will be interesting to see if his horrific crash with Heinrich Haussler has affected his training leading up to...

Disgraced American cyclist Floyd Landis has admitted to systematic use of performance-enhancing drugs and accused seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong of involvement in doping, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. Landis, who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title for doping but had always denied cheating, sent a series of e-mails to cycling officials and sponsors acknowledging and detailing his long-term use of banned drugs, the newspaper said. The report said Landis wrote in the e-mails that he started doping in 2002, his first year racing with the U.S. Postal Service team led by Armstrong. Landis...

While the debate continues over whether Caster Semenya, the 18-year-old South African track sensation who blew away the field and took the gold in the women's 800-meter in Berlin in August, is a man or a woman, we soon must confront an even more complex issue: Are elite athlete humans or androids? International Association of Athletics Federations will decide Semenya's fate later this week as it announces the result of her gender test. Semenya will no longer be able to compete as a female if the association rules that a hormonal imbalance resulting from alleged intersexuality offers her an unfair...

Lance Armstrong can't remember the last time he raced 65 miles by himself. So strong was Armstrong on Saturday that he left the rest of the field in the mud just 35 miles into the lung-searing Leadville 100 mountain bike race, winning the nation's highest-altitude endurance test in record time. Despite racing through freezing rain... Armstrong was so safely in front of Wiens that he didn't worry when he heard a hissing in his back tire

This updated story corrects an earlier mistranslation of a key quote. - Editor Tour de France winner Alberto Contador on Monday launched a stinging attack on teammate Lance Armstrong, saying relations between the two were tense throughout the race. "My relationship with Lance is zero. He is a great champion and has done a great Tour, but on a personal level I have never had a great admiration for him and I never will," the Spaniard told a news conference in Madrid. Contador won the Tour on Sunday with a comfortable lead over his rivals. His Astana teammate Armstrong, a...

(CNN) -- Tour de France winner Alberto Contador has launched a stinging attack on Astana teammate Lance Armstrong after returning as a hero to his native town of Pinto near Madrid. Lance Armstrong (right) looks on after Alberto Contador is handed the Tour de France trophy in Paris. Contador told a news conference that relations between the two riders were tense throughout the race, making the atmosphere very difficult for the team as a whole. Although not giving specific reasons why, Contador admitted the situation has affected his relationship with the American. "My relationship with Lance Armstrong is non-existent. Even...

Jul 23 RadioShack Partners With Lance to Form New Cycling Team in 2010by Brooke McMillan (LAF Staff) RadioShack Corporation is proud to announce a partnership with seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong to form a new American Pro-Tour cycling team. Beginning in 2010, Lance Armstrong will compete for Team RadioShack as a cyclist, runner and triathlete in events around the world, including the 2010 Tour de France. “This has been a great season so far – the response in the countries we’ve been to has been amazing and it’s clear now that this was the right choice. Utilizing...

ARIS — With the Arc de Triomphe in the distance and a sea of fans along the roadside, Lance Armstrong stood on the podium at the Tour de France on Sunday, two spots below what he was used to. From 1999 to 2005, Armstrong won this race, the most prestigious event in cycling. This time, he was third, behind the winner Alberto Contador of Spain and Andy Schleck of Luxembourg. But for the 37-year-old Armstrong — and for many in the cycling community — it was a victory, even though Armstrong fell short of crossing the finish line first. “I...

Lance Armstrong is teaming up with RadioShack to form a new Tour de France cycling team next year, and it appears that the electronics retail chain may even sponsor the seven-time tour winner in other events outside of cycling. "Beginning in 2010, Lance Armstrong will compete for Team RadioShack as a cyclist, runner and triathlete in events around the world, including the 2010 Tour de France," said a statement posted at the Web site of Armstrong's foundation.

Lance Armstrong moved level with Fabian Cancellara at the head of the overall standings after helping Astana to a team time-trial success on stage four of the Tour de France. Cancellara, of Saxo Bank, retains the yellow jersey going into tomorrow's fifth stage but Armstrong, the seven-time winner of the Tour, was able to wipe out a 40-second deficit on the roads of Montpellier. Astana posted a time of 46 minutes and 29 seconds to win the 39km stage, with Garmin-Slipstream finishing second 18 seconds back and Saxo Bank third, a further 22 seconds behind. Alberto Contador, Armstrong's team-mate, moves...