Leadville 100 is Tomorrow!

One of the most challenging, and well known, single day mountain bike races in North America is being held tomorrow in Leadville, Colorado, where the Leadville Trail 100 will take place. The race is, actually 105 miles in length, featuring an out and back format that punishes riders not so much with its technical challenges but with the high altitude, and challenging climbs, that they'll have to contend with. The ride begins at 10,500 feet, and includes over 11,600 feet of climbing, with a net gain of more than 2000 feet over the length of the course.

A few years ago this event was well known amongst mountain biking fans, but was barely a blip on the radar for the mainstream population. Than a little-known rider by the name of Lance Armstrong elected to join the fun, and managed to do quite well for himself, claiming second place in 2008 behind six time Leadville champ Dave Wiens. Armstrong's participation in the race gave it lots of coverage, particularly after he failed to win, something that many people thought was a foregone conclusion.

Shortly after the 2008 Leadville 100, Armstrong announced his return to competitive cycling, and a more prepared, and in shape, Lance showed up last year to let everyone know who was the boss. That Lance Armstrong one the race going away, smashing the course record, and riding the last 65 miles alone, in the process. Unfortunately, he won't be back to defend his title this year, as he pulled out of the race earlier this week.

Armstrong's departure doesn't diminish the talented field all that much however, as Wiens is back to try to reclaim his title, while fending off strong competitors like Levi Leipheimer, Armstrong's Radioshack teammate, and Matt Shriver, who finished third last year. Other talented, but first time, Leadville hopefuls included Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, Todd Wells and Jeremiah Bishop, all of whom have designs of winning the race.

Overall, there will be more than 1500 riders from 48 states and 21 countries, on hand to challenge each other and the course itself. Of those, there are 10 current and past National Champions, six U.S. Olympians, and four Mountain Bike Hall of Famers, making this one of the deepest fields in any race of its kind.

It should be a fun race, wish I were in Leadville to cover it. To my friends heading there, have a blast!

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Leadville 100: Now With Less Lance

Fans of the Leadville 100 mountain bike race may be happy or sad to hear the news that Lance Armstrong has pulled out of this year's race, citing a slow to recover hip injury as the reason for his withdrawal. Considering how the seven-time Tour de France winner obliterated the field, not to mention the course record, last year, his exit may open the door up for someone else to win. Then again, it may just might allow six-time champ Dave Wiens to recapture his crown, taken by Armstrong in 2009.

The race is, not surprisingly, a 100 mile ride along a very tough trail through the Rocky Mountains. It begins, and ends, in the town of Leadville, which sits at 10,500 feet. Over the course of the 100 miles, 50 out and 50 back, competitors gain an additional 2000 feet. Altitude plays a huge factor in how riders perform in this mountain bike race.

In 2008, Armstrong rode in the race for the first time, before he announced his comeback, and took second place, losing to Wiens in the final miles of the ride. Last year it was a completely different story however, as an in-shape Armstrong set a course record of 6 hours, 28 minutes, and 50 seconds. Lance was so dominating that he rode the final 65-miles without any other riders around him at all.

In last month's Tour de France, Armstrong crashed, injuring a hip. That crash effectively ended his Tour aspirations and apparently they'll keep him from racing in the Leadville as well. Armstrong has also said that he will take the opportunity to spend some time with his kids, who will be returning to school in a few weeks as well.

With Lance off the roster, the national media is likely to leave the race alone, but now we'll have to see if Wiens can regain his crown or if the past two years have allowed others to close the gap with him. Should be a great race.

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Cycling News: New Race in the U.S., Contador To Saxo Bank

More big news from the world of cycling, with the confirmation of a new race coming to the U.S. next year, and Tour de France winner Alberto Contador jumping to Team Saxo Bank.

First up, yesterday Lance Armstrong and Colorado Governor Bill Ritter announced the Quiznos Pro Challenge, a new stage race that will launch in 2011, beginning and ending in Denver. The event will play out over seven stages in seven days and will include a little something for ever type of rider, including mountain climbs, urban time trials, sprint stages, and more. Expect more details on the course, distance, and riders in the near future.

When Armstrong was pressed on whether or not he would participate in the inaugural event that he says is for the future of cycling in the U.S., he simply responded with "Would I like to? Yes. Would I be fit enough? Probably not. But we will see. Never say never."

The other big cycling news to come out recently is that Alberto Contador has jumped ship from Team Astana, with whom he won the Tour de France the past two years, and has joined Team Saxo Bank. The Spaniard was expected to follow manager Bjarne Riis where ever he ended up, and that is exactly what he has done. Contador is now under a two year contract with the Danish squad, whose former stars, Frank and Andy Schleck if departed to form their own team.

Meanwhile, adding even more intrigue to this story, is the rumors that disgraced rider Michael Rasmussen would be joining Saxo Bank as well. Rasmussen was last seen in the Tour de France in 2007 when he donned the Yellow Jersey in the mountains, only to be dismissed from the race for skipping drug testing sessions. (That's a no-no Michael!) He was later banned from the sport for two years, and has now returned, at the age of 36, but has been riding in much smaller, second tier events.

Rasmussen is a former mountain biker and is known for is ability to climb. It is believed that he could help protect Contador in the big mountain stages much the same way that his Astana teammates have done the past few years. But having been out of high level cycling for three years now leaves a lot of questions about Rasmussen's abilities.

Cycling. It's like a giant soap opera, with blood doping.

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Is it Time for the Tour de France to Come to North America?

In my post-Tour de France haze, I've been working through my withdrawal by surfing the web and wishing I could find something – anything, that could possibly fill the void. So far I haven't had much luck, and I've pretty much resigned myself to waiting another year before the world's best cycling event returns. But thanks to Jeff Doran over at HikinginTheSmokys.blogspot.com, I've at least got something to ponder.

In a blog post this morning, Jeff wrote an open letter to Tour Director Christian Prudhomme suggesting that he consider bringing Le Tour to North America, with the justification that the race has already visited 10 other countries, albeit all European nations. He even suggests a possible itinerary, with the Prologue being held in Quebec City in Canada, and Stage 1 being run  between Quebec and Montreal. Stage 2 would then jump over to the States and run from Albany to New York City, with the following day being a rest/travel day back to France. Jeff even goes so far as to suggest that the Tour make the jump for the 100th anniversary, which will be run in 2013 as well. He further bolsters his argument by saying that bringing the Tour to North America would increase its popularity in the States, and bring in more fans in the post-Lance Armstrong era.

This is a very compelling case, and as a fan of cycling and the Tour, I'd love to see it here in North America. Heck, I'd probably even try to make the trip to watch it in person myself. Unfortunately, I doubt it would ever happen, as the travel back across the Atlantic to France would probably incite a riot amongst the cyclists who are a touchy bunch as it is. I do think it would be great for the sport, and give the Tour great exposure outside of Europe, and while I support this idea whole heartedly, I think realistically it'll never happen. Still, it is fun to think about and speculate some. So? Who else would love to see the Tour her in North America?

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Tour 2010: Contador Rides To Paris In Yellow!

On the penultimate day in the 2010 Tour de France the riders faced a 52km (32.2 mile) individual time trial that would see them out on the road alone and racing against the clock. Heading into the day, the race came down to a two-man duel between Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck, both of whom were pre-race favorites, and have done little to disappoint over the past three weeks.

Today's time trial ended as we expected, although for a time it looked like the results could be in doubt. Contador went into the day 8 seconds ahead of Schleck, but is considered to be a much better time trialist, meaning that Schleck would have to have the ride of his life to take the Jersey from Contador.

At the first time check out on the road, it looked like that could be a possibility. With both men through that point on the course, Schleck had taken back six seconds and was within striking distance of his rival, but from then on Contador focused in and began to take time back from the younger man, increasing his lead with each of the subsequent checkpoints. When the day was done, Contador finished the time trial in fine form, and completed his Tour win by 39 seconds. He'll now make the ceremonial ride into Paris tomorrow as the 2010 champ.

The 39 second difference between first and second place is an ironic one, considering that is the exact amount of time that Contador took back from Shleck on Monday when Andy dropped his chain on the final climb of the day. Alberto was criticized by some for attacking while his rival had a mechanical problem, as there is often a gentleman's agreement to hold up in those situations. Few riders want to actually win the race in that manner, and Contador's detractors will certainly be quick to say that his win this year is a tainted one.

With the time trial over, three of the four race jerseys are now decided. Contador owns Yellow for the third time, and Schleck once again takes White as the best young rider of the Tour. The King of the Mountain title goes to Anthony Charteau, who will go home with the Polka Dot Jersey as the best climber this year. That leaves just the Green Jersey to be decided with the sprinters going head-to-head tomorrow on the Champs Elysees. At the moment, Alessandro Petacchi wears the Jersey, but he'll have to hold off Thor Hushovd, who is currently in second place, and the Manx Missile, Mark Cavendish, who has four stage wins this year and is charging hard at the moment. Cavendish would like nothing more than to return to the U.K. with the sprint title.

The ride to Paris tomorrow is a simple affair, just 102.5km (63.6 miles) that begins in Longjumeau. Out on the road, there will be no attacks, but once on the Champs Elysees, the sprinters will burst out of the peloton, and rush for the last of the points. That's where the excitement will be, and likely the only real excitement of the day.

For those wondering, Lance Armstrong finishes his final Tour de France nearly 40 minutes behind the leaders, in 23rd place.

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Tour 2010: Competitive Day Set The Stage For Thursday

Today's 16th stage of the Tour de France was a good one, and was literally competitive right down to the finish line, but it really was just a warm-up for what should be a big day on Thursday, following tomorrow's rest day.

The stage today ran from Bagneres-de-Luchon to Pau, covering 199.5 km (124 miles) in the process. The climbers had plenty of opportunity to stretch their legs on this one, with two Category 1 climbs to get things started, followed by two tough beyond category climbs in the middle, including the dreaded Tourmalet, which will play a bigger role in two days time. Following the second of those BC climbs, it was a fast and furious race to the end, with a break away group that included Lance Armstrong, battling for the stage victory.


Spaniard Carlos Barredo led the way for much of the later portions of the race, and for a time it seemed like he would survive for a solo stage win. But he was caught by a group of riders with less than 1 km to go, and was clearly heartbroken when Chris Horner, Christophe Moreau, Armstrong, and others swept passed him. Pierrick Fedrigo took the stage win at the line, holding off Sandy Casar and Ruben Plaza by fractions of a second. Armstrong ended up finishing in sixth place, while Barredo finished in ninth. Interestingly enough, Thor Hushovd claimed 10th place, which is very impressive for a sprinter on this stage, and clawed his way back into the Green Jersey. 


Despite his promises of seeking "revenge" today, Andy Schleck didn't attack Alberto Contador, and this stage wasn't a good option to do so regardless. Instead, the Yellow Jersey group hung together and there was no movement in that area. Presumably, they'll take tomorrow's rest day to regroup and prepare for Thursday, when it is imperative that Schleck gain chunks of time on the Tour leader. If Schleck isn't in Yellow Thursday night, he has no hope of catching Contador on the time trial.


With Contador still in Yellow and Thor back in Green, that leaves just the other two Jerseys to report on.  Anthony Charteau keeps the Polka Dot Jersey and currently has a solid lead in that department. He'll be challenged on Thursday as well, but is climbing strong right now. The White Jersey belong to Andy Schleck as the best young rider of the Tour, and he seems to have it well wrapped up, regardless of what happens on the way into Paris. 


As I mentioned, tomorrow brings the second, and final, rest day of this year's Tour, with a big day looming on Thursday. That will be a 174 km (108 mile) run that begins in Pau and ends with a punishing climb up the Col du Tourmalet, one of the roughest and most legendary climbs in the Tour's history. It is likely that it will all be decided right there on those slopes. If you're going to call in sick to work to watch one stage of the Tour, make it that one. 

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Tour 2010: Radoshack Gets Stage Win On Quiet Day

The 2010 Tour de France reached the halfway point today, and after a grueling couple of days in the Alps, things calmed down somewhat, allowing the sprinters to take center stage once again. The 179 km (111 mile) route ran from Chambéry to Gap and featured a single Category 1, 2, and 3 climb, along with some fast descents to keep the riders on their toes.


At the end of the day, Radioshack rider Sergio Paulinho edged out Vasil Kiryienka at the line to claim the stage victory, the first of his career. It was a nice lift for Team Radioshack who had its expectations lowered on Sunday when their leader, Lance Armstrong, went down in a crash and never recovered. Armstrong, who was one of the GC contenders, lost more than 11 minutes on the leaders, and hasn't raced the same sense. 


The overall standing remain largely unchanged today with Andy Schleck still in the Yellow Jersey and likely to stay there at least until the Pyrenees. Alberto Contador is in second place, 41 seconds back, and will try to test Schleck on the mountains beginning this weekend. Thor Hushovd is wearing the Green Jersey representing the top sprinter while Jérôme Pineau climbed back into the Polka Dot Jersey after earning some King of the Mountain points today. Robert Gesink is in the White Jersey, on loan from Andy Schleck, as the best young rider in the Tour.


Tomorrow the peloton will face another fast stage, with it mostly being a flat run from Sisteron to Bourg-lès-Valence covering 184.5 km (114.6 miles). The stage will once again let the big sprinters, like Thor, Cavendish, and Harrar duke it out for the stage win, and those all important points for the Green Jersey. 


Finally, hats off to Cadel Evans, who I mentioned yesterday might have been having a mid-Tour meltdown yesterday. Turns out Cadel broke his elbow in a crash on Sunday, and that was causing him all kinds of problems while trying to defend the Yellow Jersey. Cadel will continue to ride in this year's race as long as he can, but he definitely was suffering yesterday. Hopefully he'll be on the mend soon. Hang in there mate!

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Tour 2010: Rest Day Reflections

Today is the first rest day in the 2010 Tour de France, and after a tough weekend in the early mountain stages, it seems the riders can really use the break. It was certainly an eventful couple of days to say the least, as the true GC contenders took center stage yesterday, as we can now see where the battle lines will be drawn. Meanwhile, Lance Armstrong sees his last attempt at winning slip away on a brutal day for the Tour legend.

On Saturday, the riders entered the first medium-mountain stage with a 165.5 km (102.8 mile) ride from Tournus to Station des Rousses. The route featured six good climbs, including three Category 2 slopes, and while none of the big names made a major move, it did allow for Jérôme Pineau to solidify his points total in the King of the Mountain competition. Pineau took of as one of the riders in a five man break, and ended up earning first place in nearly all of the KOM checkpoints, giving him a firm grip on the Polka Dot Jersey. The stage was won by his teammate, Sylvain Chavanel, who also donned the Yellow Jersey when Fabian Cancellara fell off the pace while battling on the moderate climbs. 


Chavanel wouldn't stay in Yellow for long however, as Sunday brought a true mountain stage featuring two Category 1 climbs. The 189 km (117.4 mile) course ran from Station des Rousses to Morzine-Avoriaz, giving the riders their first real taste of what the Alps had to offer. It was a day filled with crashes that left many scraped, bruised, and battered, and few escaped unscathed. The big showdown would come on the final climb of the day, one of the Cat 1 slopes, with a summit finish. As the lead riders neared the top, Andy Schleck kicked it into climbing mode, and left everyone else behind, including Tour favorite Alberto Contador, who looked unwilling or unable to respond. Schleck took the stage win, gained valuable time on Contador, and now sits in second place, 20 seconds behind Cadell Evans. Contador is in third, 1:01 back from the leader.


As for Cadel, he made me look like a genius for predicting he'd come out of the weekend in Yellow last week. He's riding well, and is sticking to the plan, and seemed genuinely emotional when he put on the Jersey yesterday. The question is, can he defend it in the days ahead? We have a lot of riding to go yet, and while he is the world road cycling champ, he didn't appear to have an answer for Andy Schleck yesterday either. That said, Cadel was involved in an early crash that I'm sure didn't help how he was feeling, and he really didn't have to chase down Schleck either. As long as he can do it in the Pyrenees, he'll be fine. Will he still be in Yellow then?


The other big news from yesterday was the utter meltdown by Lance Armstrong, who avoided an early crash only to later catch his pedal on a curb, sending him reeling over the top of his handlebars. Visibly shaken by that accident, he never really seemed to recover. He was later caught up in another crash, and although he didn't suffer any more damage, it slowed him down further, and kept him out of his rhythm. Post-race we learned that Lance hit the wall following his crash, and bonking hard, he just didn't have the energy and stamina to catch-up to the contenders. When the dust settled, he lost 11 minutes and 45 seconds to the leaders, effectively ending any chances he had of winning the race. While this can happen to any rider of course, it was just strange to watch Lance seem to have no ability to respond. In his prime, he was the strongest rider in the Peloton, and while I still think he is amongst the top riders in the world, he had a combination of bad luck and bad timing sap him of his chances to contend once again. Don't feel too bad for him however, as he does have seven Tour championship to his name. 


Today, the riders will rest, eat, and lick their wounds. It has been a tough Tour already, but the worst is yet to come. On Tuesday for instance, they'll see that the mountains they've conquered so far are nothing compared to what lies ahead. The 204.5 km (127 miles) course will take them from Morzine-Avoriaz to Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, and along the way they'll face a Category 2 climb, two big Category 1 climbs, and a Beyond Category climb. Fortunately, the stage finish is at the bottom of a mountain, so we'll see the riders bombing down the hill towards the end tomorrow. It should be a great stage, with plenty of action, and lots more to come in the days ahead. We're not even half way through the Tour just yet.  

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Tour 2010: Sprinters Take Center Stage, But Mountains Loom

The sixth stage of the 2010 Tour de France was another chance for the sprinters to shine before the race moves into the mountains for the first time, and the climbers move to the forefront. Today's ride was another fast and furious one, especially at the end, as the Manx Missile, Mark Cavendish, proved that rumors of his demise were greatly exaggerated.

The 227.5 km (141.3 miles) stage was the longest of this year's Tour, and while it featured several Category 4 climbs, it was mostly a flat route giving the sprinters a chance to earn more Green Jersey points. The stage was so flat in fact that it gave all the teams an opportunity to jockey for a win, and as the peloton screamed down the road toward the finish line, a number of teams were taking their turn up front, doing the work, and hoping to put their man out in front.

In the end, it was Cavendish, of Team HTC, that earned the stage win, his second in a row and the 12th of his young career, silencing the whispers about any problems he seemed to be experiencing early on in the Tour. He is one of the best sprinters in the world, and last year he looked unbeatable in a one-on-one situation over a short distance, but when he wasn't winning stages immediately in this year's Tour, people began to wonder what was wrong with the outspoken but talented rider. Today he showed the crowd that there was nothing wrong, and he still can't be beat in an open sprint.

Second to Cavendish was American Tyler Farrar of Team Garmin, who is a very promising young sprinter as well. Farrar has been hampered with a wrist injury suffered on Stage 1, but he seems to slowly be getting healthy, and could be in a position to claim a stage win himself sometime in the next couple of weeks. It'll be interesting to see he and Cavendish go head to head when both are healthy.

The standings remain mostly the same once again today. Fabian Cancellara holds on to the Yellow Jersey, at least for one more day, and Thor Hushovd keeps the Green, although with his back-to-back wins, Cavendish is moving up that category very quickly now. Jérôme Pineau leads in the King of the Mountain category, and Geraint Thomas, a brilliant young rider from the U.K., on Team Sky, is in the White Jersey, which is annually awarded to the best young rider. 


Tomorrow, things start to get really interesting. The Tour  moves into the first mountain stage, and while it isn't exactly the biggest of the peaks they'll face, we'll start to separate the wheat from the chaff. The riders will pedal 165.5 km (102.8 miles) from Tournus to Station des Rousses, while dealing with a number of Cat 2 and 3 climbs. That will serve as a nice warm-up for Sunday, which is a 189 km (117.4 mile) ride from Station des Rousses from Morzine-Avoriaz which features two Category 1 climbs, including one that leads to the stage finish. 


The Alps are almost here, and Cancellara's days in Yellow are numbered. The question is, who will take it off his back? Contador is an amazing climber, but he may wait for an opportunity in the Pyrenees rather than trying to defend the Jersey every day. It's doubtful that Lance Armstrong will make a move for the Yellow Jersey at this point either, although he may try to take back some time. Andy Schleck is a great climber as well, but how will he fare without brother Frank to help pull him along? Perhaps it is time for Cadel Evans to make a statement, and do the Yellow Jersey at last.


The weekend is going to be an interesting one!

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Tour 2010: Cavendish Finally Gets A Win!

One of the big stories of the 2010 Tour de France so far has been the complete lack of an impact on the race by Mark Cavendish, the brash and often outspoken sprinter from the U.K. Last year, Cavendish showed off a burst of speed that few could match, and it powered him to several stage wins. He was expected to contend for a number of these early sprints this year as well, but up until today, he was no where to be found. That changed today however, when he, and his HTC Team, powered to a big win.

Today's stage was a very basic, straightforward affair designed to highlight the sprinters and their quest for the Green Jersey. The 187.5 km (116.5 miles) route wound through the French countryside from Épernay to Montargis, passing through Provin, a World Heritage Site and ground zero for France's champaign region. The stage was mostly flat, although there were two Cat 4 climbs for the riders to contend with,  giving the King of the Mountain contenders a chance to earn some points and stay interested. But mostly the day belonged to the sprinters, who put on another show at the end, with Cavendish living up to his nickname as "the Missile", and claiming his 11th career stage victory at the Tour.

The standings pretty much remain unchanged following today's events. Fabian Cancellara of Team Saxo Bank remains in the Yellow Jersey, while Thor Hushovd of Cérvelo Test Team, riding his custom green bike, wears the sprinter's Green Jersey. Jérôme Pineau of Team Quick Step is the current King of the Mountains point leader, but until the race hits the Alps and Pyrenees, there won't be much action there. 


While much of the talk this year has been about what Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong are up to, with the occasional mention of Andy Schleck, one rider that is currently having a good Tour, and is quietly keeping himself in position, is Cadel Evans. The Australian, riding for Team BMC, is the current World Champ, and is having a very good year, which hopefully bodes well for him in the days ahead. His history in the Tour has not always been a good one, as in years past he has tended to meltdown or falter when the competition heats up. But, if he can keep everything together, this just might be the year that Evans rides into Paris with the Yellow Jersey. 


While I appreciate these sprint stages, I'm more than ready for the mountains to arrive. :)

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Tour 2010: Tour Off To A Smashing Start

It was a wild and challenging start to the Tour de France over the weekend, starting with a rain soaked individual time trial and ending with a challenging run today that saw Thor Hushovd claim a stage victory. In between, we've had crashes galore, including one that took out a Tour favorite, while Lance Armstrong suffers a bit of bad luck that puts him at a disadvantage to his chief rival, defending champ Alberto Contador.

On Saturday, the riders took to the road in Rotterdam to compete in the Prologue that was an exciting start to this year's race. As expected, Fabian Cancellara of Team Saxo Bank took the stage win, but Armstrong looked to have regained some of his championship form, and performed well too, finishing fourth in the stage, 22 seconds behind the winner. Contador has a solid run, but looked to struggle a bit at times, and ended up in sixth place, 27 seconds off the pace. Armstrong had to feel good coming out of the day with a slight edge on the Tour favorite.

Sunday, the riders took the open road for the first time, racing to Brussels in celebration of Eddy Merckx's 65th birthday. The stage was mostly flat, with the only expected challenge being the blustery crosswinds across the Belgian countryside. Those winds never materialized, and thus it was a relatively easy ride, with the sprinters picking up valuable points towards the Green Jersey. There were a number of nasty crashes, but the Tour favorites managed to avoid the mishaps, and come through mostly unscathed. Cancellara remained in the Yellow Jersey, with no real changes in position amongst the race favorites.


Yesterday's Stage 2 introduced some hills into the mix, and allowed the climbers to get in on the action early on. Sylvain Chavanel of Team Quick Step made a breakaway at the end of the stage however, and held on to cross the finish line by himself, taking the Yellow Jersey from Cancellara. Once again, the top riders remained unchanged in their position with one another, as they wait for their opportunity to attack one another later in the race.


Today was Stage 3, which was a 213km (132.3 mile) route from Wanze Arenberg to Porte du Hainaut. With one category 4 climb mixed into the ride, there was a chance for the climbers to strut there stuff once again, but mostly it was another day for the sprinters, but the biggest challenge for the peloton was to survive the nearly 9 miles of cobblestones that threatened to end their tour early, and for one top rider, they did just that. 


Frank Schleck, of Team Saxo Bank, was involved in a crash part way through the race that has sent him on his way home, which is a huge blow to his team and to his brother Andy, who finished second last year, and relies heavily on his big brother throughout the Tour. Frank just came off a huge win in the Tour de Suisse, and was considered a contender in his own right. His departure from the race changes the complexion of the Tour dramatically. 


Meanwhile, the ride today was a fast and furious one, with the speed demons going for Green Jersey points. Last year's Green Jersey winner, Thor Hushovd took the stage win, with Fabian Cancellara not far behind. The fast finish for Cancellara allowed him to regain the Yellow Jersey after Chavanel lost time due to multiple tire punctures. Neither Cancellara nor Chavanel are considered real contenders to win the race, but they'll likely continue to battle for the lead until the riders hit the Alps in a week's time. 


The real story may be that Lance Armstrong gave up time to Alberto Contador following a tire puncture of his own. Lance was riding very strong, and was actually riding away from Contador before the unfortunate incident, but following the tire change, he ended up finishing behind his younger rival. Contador now sits in 9th place, 1:40 off the lead, with Armstrong dropping to 18th, another 50 seconds back. Both men will duel it out in mountains of course, but Lance will look to make up time before then, as that is a huge gap to overcome against one of the top climbers in the world. 


Stay tuned for more tomorrow, when the Tour actually appears in France for the first time this year. Stage 4 will run from Cambrai to Reims on a route that is 153.5km (95.3 miles) in length and is mostly designed for the sprinters. The ride should be a relatively easy one, giving the Peloton the chance to recover and regroup after a rough start thus far. 

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Tour 2010: Calm Before The Storm

The 2010 Tour de France is now less than 24 hours from getting underway, and the riders, team managers and staff, as well as the fans, are eagerly awaiting the start of the race. One of the big reasons that we're all excited for this year's Tour is that we'll finally get to see Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador go head to head after the two had friction while racing on the same team last year.

Versus has once again put together a nice video that recaps the rivalry between the two racers, that was evident in 2009, but was kept out of the public eye none the less. The gloves will be off in 2010 however, and the two men can go head to head without fear of team repercussions.

It should make for an interesting race to say the least. Contador is a much younger, and stronger rider than Lance, but Armstrong's Team RadioShack is a more experienced, stronger, and deeper team. They will help their leader throughout the race, and it could come down to a solo duel between these two men in the mountains. Lance has been climbing very well in his recent races, and he may be setting himself up to hang with Alberto in the Alps and Pyrenees this year.

After you've watched the video about these two rivals, check out the second one which gives us a glimpse of what the Tour route has in store for the riders this year. As always, it looks tough.

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Versus Gives Us The Ten Best Moments In Tour History

The Versus Network, who will be broadcasting the Tour de France once again this year here, has put together their selection for the Ten Greatest Moments in Tour History, which you can checkout in the video below. With just two days to go until the start of the race, this is a great look back at some of the best historical moments from the greatest cycling race on the planet.

The video is, as you might expect, fairly heavy with Lance Armstrong clips, but then again, Lance did have some very dramatic moments in his seven consecutive tour victories. I won't spoil the list for you, but lets just say I'd have made Eddy Merckx's 1969 victory at number 1. After all, he not only rode into Paris in the Yellow Jersey, he also owned the Green and Polka Dot Jerseys too! That is one impressive feat that will never be equalled.

Vive Le Tour!

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Tour 2010: Notes on Le Tour

We're now just a few days away from the official start of the 2010 Tour de France, which will get underway on Saturday with an 8.9km (5.5 mile) prologue in Rotterdam. Following that fast and furious start, things will really get interesting, as Stage 1 is a 223.5km (138.8 mile) ride from Rotterdam to Brussels in celebration of Eddy Merckx's 65th birthday. While traditionally these opening stages are tailor made for the sprinters to shine, the high winds that are expected across the Belgian countryside could tear the peloton apart, and contenders had better not get caught out if their is a split.

Things don't get much easier on Stage 2, which is 201km (124.8 mile) ride from Brussels to Spa that will offer a few climbs to test the riders early on. While none of the big names, such as Alberto Contador, Andy Schleck, or Lance Armstrong will falter on those hills, they will eliminate the sprinters from contention early on. Generally speaking some fairly obscure rider takes the Yellow Jersey in the first week and holds on to it until the real mountain stages appear later in the Tour.

Riders shouldn't take Stage 3 for granted either, as it features more than 13km (8 miles) of riding over the always tricky cobblestones. Most of the riders hate the stages that pass over cobblestone roads, as they are rough to ride on and can be quite tricky. More than one rider has crashed on those roads, ending their tour early.

The tale of the tape for this year's tour includes one prologue, nine flat stages, six mountain stages (including three summit finishes) with 25 category 1, 2 or higher climbs. There are also two rest days built into the schedule as well, and eleven towns that are new to the Tour this year.

Outside Online has posted a few interesting tidbits to keep in mind heading into the tour as well. They have an article entitled Rules of the Road that offers six items to be aware of as the race unfolds, including top Twitter accounts to follow, thoughts on the Green Jersey, and more.

Finally, a few days back, Lance Armstrong announced on his Twitter feed this will indeed be his final Tour de France. Sure, we've heard that from Lance before, but I have a feeling that he really means it this time. He has also confirmed that he'll be riding in the Leadville 100 on August 14th, because he didn't stomp the course well enough last year.

That's it for now. Expect more Tour updates in the next few days, and of course regular coverage once the race is underway. It is shaping up to be a fun one to watch.

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Tour 2010: Team Radio Shack Announced

We're now just about ten days away from the start of the Tour de France, one of my absolute favorite times of the year. (Seriously, it's better than Christmas!) Over the course of the next week or so, we'll likely begin to see more and more Tour previews, predictions, and of course profiles of Lance Armstrong, who will be going after his 8th victory in the world's biggest cycling event, at the venerable age of 38.

Lance's Team RadioShack announced their starting line-up today, and there weren't any major surprises really. The team has been built to give Lance the best opportunities to contend in the race, with a number of big names helping him to that goal. The nine person squad will consist of Andreas Kloden (Ger), Levi Leipheimer (USA), Chris Horner (USA), Janez Brajikovic (Slo), Sergio Paulinho (Por), Yaroslav Popvych (Ukr), Gregory Rast (Swi) and Dmitriy Muravyez (Kaz), and Armstrong of course. 


This year's race will get underway from the city of Rotterdam, located in the Netherlands, on Saturday, July 3rd, with an 8.9km (5.5 mile) prologue through the city center. This is the first time in three years that the Tour has begun with a prologue, and the real racing will get underway on Sunday, July 4th, with a 223.8km (138.8 miles) sprint from Rotterdam to Brussels in celebration of the 65th birthday of cycling's greatest rider, Eddy Merckx.


The real interest in this year's race will likely be the showdown between Lance and Alberto Contador, who rides for Team Astana. Last year, the two were teammates, and there was obvious infighting over who should be the lead rider, with Contador eventually standing atop the podium, while Lance claimed third place behind Andy Schleck. With the shackles off this year, there will no longer be a need for the two riders to place nice with one another in the press, and they can go all out against one another. 


Heading into the race, Contador has to be the odds on favorite to win again. He's young, strong, and essentially a machine on his bike. But that doesn't mean that he and Lance won't have some epic duels, especially when the race hits the Pyrenees and the Alps. 


I for one, can't wait!


Oh, and speaking of Lance. His cycling shop, located right here in Austin, Texas, is called Mellow Johnny's, and they're going to be holding a hell of a TdF Start Party. Anyone else want to come with me? 

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Lance Responds To Landis

Earlier today the story broke about Floyd Landis admitting to doping in his career as a professional cyclist, and in the process he implicated a number of other prominent American riders, including Lance Armstrong.

Lance is currently racing in the Tour of California, where he took a nasty spill today, but he did take some time to address these allegations that are on everyone's mind today. Lance met with the press and said that he'd like to say that he's surprised by Floyd's words, but that he really isn't. Lance claims that he began receiving threats from Floyd some time back, and that Landis continued to harass him, Dave Zabriskie, Levi Leipheimer, and others through e-mail and text messages over time. Lance also pointed out that Floyd has been under oath a number of times, and yet continued to maintain his own innocence. Something he now recants.

You can read all of what Lance had to say in this article over at the Team Radio Shack website, where they also just posted the response from Johan Bruyneel, manager of Team Radio Shack and the U.S. Postal Team that Lance and Floyd both road on back in 2002, when Landis says he began doping. The disgraced rider has said that Johan was well aware of what was going on, and was part of the doping process.

This whole affair just keeps getting more and more sordid. It is hard to know who you should believe. The sport is such a mess, and it seems that all the top riders have been doping in some form or another, but then again, Lance is the most tested athlete in the world, and he has always come up negative. Innocent until proven guilty?

Landis is not unlike Jose Canseco at this point. When Canseco blew the lid off the drug problems in Major League Baseball, everyone said he was nuts and a liar too. Pretty much everything he said has since been proven to be true. Will this all eventually help a sport to clean itself up? Only time will tell.

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Tour Down Under Begins Sunday

The Tour Down Under, held in Adelaide, Australia, is set to get underway this Sunday, January 17th, with a strong field of riders that include seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong and his new Radio Shack Team.

The race will begin with a criterium race through Adelaide on Sunday with riders battling it out for the coveted Ochre Jersey. Then on Tuesday, Stage 1 will begin, as the cyclists head out on the road to begin the race proper. Over the course of the six stages, they'll cover nearly 500 miles, in what has become a competitive and challenging start to the cycling season.

For Armstrong's part, he has been looking forward to his return to Adelaide since he put in his first appearance there last year when he began his comeback. He ended up finishing a surprisingly strong fifth in the General Classification, and he hopes to improve on that this year. Lance claims that he is further along at this point than he was last season, and that he is riding stronger and with more confidence. That's probably bad news for the other riders, although you have to wonder how much longer the 38-year old cyclist can continue to compete at such a high level.

Watch for updates next week, as the race gets rolling along. It should be a good way to gauge Lance's strength, and how the new Radio Shack team is working together. They say that they are not going out to win the team competition, but instead, grab stage victories. Should be fun!

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Leadville 100 is Saturday!

While one group of tough athletes will be beginning their race on Friday in the Badlands, an entirely different kind of race will be taking place on Saturday in Leadville, Colorado, home of the Leadville Trail 100, one of the toughest mountain bike races around.

The race is 50 miles, out and back, with a seven mile climb to the turn around point, which just so happens to fall at 12,600 feet. 90% of the trail is on dirt, and the race actually begins at 10,200 feet, so altitude obviously plays an issue. In contrast, the highest point in the 2009 Tour de France was a mere 8113 feet. All told, the riders face more than 14,000 feet of elevation gain across the entire length of the ride, which has a 12 hour cut-off.

You may recall that the Leadville got quite a bit of attention last year because Lance Armstrong decided to race in it. He ended up taking second place, getting dropped by six time champ Dave Wiens in the final miles. Shortly there after, Lance announced his return to competitive cycling, and we all know what has happened since then. He's gone on to ride in a number of big events across the globe, and took third in the Tour de France just last month. I think it is safe to say, that Lance will be in much better condition for his showdown with Dave this year, and you know that it has been a thorn in his side since he lost to Wiens last year.

In preparation for this epic rematch, the Leadville crew has set up a live video feed that you can pay $5.95 to watch. The race gets underway at 5:45 AM Mountain Time on Saturday, so get up early and spend your morning in front of the computer, watching Lance and Dave go at each other once again. I'll be focused on that other race that day, but I won't be able to help myself from checking in from time to time. Should be fun!

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Tour 2009: Post Race Thoughts

I had hoped to put some thoughts together on the Tour de France now that the riders have rolled into Paris and the event has wrapped up for another year, but I've had Internet access issues over the past few days that have not helped my cause.

By now, everyone knows that Alberto Contador took the Yelow Jersey and finished first on the Champs-Elysees on Sunday. The Spaniard was 4'11" in front of second place rider Andy Schleck, and another 1'13" ahead of Lance Armstrong, who took third place on the podium. Schleck claimed the White Jersey for the best young rider in the Tour for the second year in a row, while Thor Hushovd when home in Green as the top sprinter. Franco Pellizotti was named the King of the Mountains, and took the Polka Dot Jersey going away.

One of the things that struck me while I watched the final stage on Sunday was that the future certainly looks very bright for the sport of cycling and the Tour de France in particular. Contador is a powerful, young rider, and it seems he has a rival in Andy Schleck that will be challenging him in the years ahead, provided Schleck can improve his time trialing. That should be rivalry to watch in the years ahead, as it seems that those two men could be going head to head for years to come.

The other interesting rivalry to come out of this years Tour is the one between Hushovd and British rider Mark Cavendish. Cavendish is clearly the fastest sprinter in the world, but he learned that that wasn't enough to take the Green Jersey this year. The two men took shots at each other in the press, although they appeared to bury the hatchet some in the final days, but you can bet that they'll be challenging each other on the sprints in the years ahead as well. Cavendish took the final stage win in Paris on Sunday, and made it look easy, blasting through the finish line for his sixth win of the year. A very impressive feat.

And of course, looming over all of this is the shadow of Lance Armstrong, who returns to the sport a living legend. Lance will be riding on a new team next year, sponsored by Radio Shack, and he'll hand pick his teammates and attempt to go after another win, this time with Contador as a direct competitor and not a teammate at all. The fact that Lance was able to finish 3rd this year is pretty remarkable considering his age and three years away. It truly conveys what a special athlete he is and what a great rider too, as his road savvy was on display more than once in this year's race.

It is not surprising that Lance and Contador have already begun sparring with one another in the press. The relationship was a contentious one from the start, and it seemed to only get more frosty as the Tour went on. In interviews, Lance tried to bite his tongue and not say too much, but his tone and other comments spoke volumes at times. I think Contador is the stronger rider at this point of their careers, but I can already tell that Lance would love to be able to best the younger man on the road next year.

And now, I'll have to deal with my Tour Withdrawal symptoms for another year as well. Over the past few weeks it is virtually the only thing I watched on television and it is an event that I always look forward to. One of these days I'm going to have to make the trip and see it in person, but for now I'll have to be content with the outstanding television coverage from Versus. I miss it all already.

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Tour 2009: Cavendish Grabs Fifth Stage Win!

Today's Stage 19 of the Tour de France was expected to be a bit of a let down following the fireworks in the Alps earlier this week and the individual time trial yesterday. But if this year's Tour has taught us anything, we should expect the unexpected.

The 178 km (110 miles) course ran from Bourgoin-Jallieu to Aubenas, and featured rolling hills with some solid climbs, but nothing like the big slopes we saw a few days back. It was the chance for the sprinters to take center stage once again, as there were a couple of points on the course where they could earn Green Jersey points.

Heading into the day, Thor Hushovd had a firm grip on the Green Jersey, but his rivalry with Mark Cavendish, the fastest sprinter in the world, had been making headlines throughout the week following a controversial decision by judges to dock points from Cavendish, following a filed complaint by Hushovd. The loss of points caused Cav to fall back in the standings, and take shots at Thor in the press, while Thor responded by putting on a show two days ago, making a solo ride through the mountains to earn more points and widen the lead. It appeared as if the "God of Thunder" was ready to ride into Paris in Green. Clearly Cavendish has other ideas however.

Throughout the entire Tour, Team Columbia has worked together flawlessly to set up their man Cavendish to be in a position to take a stage win. Their strategies have worked so well, that before today, Cav had already earned four stage wins, and their efforts paid off once again today, as he took his fifth, giving him nine stage victories in his young career, the most ever by a British rider. Today, the team set up their attack with roughly 2km to go, running down a breakaway, and allowing Cavendish to sprint to the line just ahead of Husovd to earn the maximum number of points, and setting up an epic showdown on the Champs Elysees on Sunday to determine which one of these two stars will take the sprint championship this year.

As for the rest of the stage, it was a mostly by-the-numbers affair. The leaders of the General Classification stuck close to one another all day, and no one really attempted to make any kind of attack. There was a slight break late in the stage that allowed Lance Armstrong, currently sitting in third place, to pick up four seconds on the riders chasing him, but Alberto Contador maintained his 4 minute 11 second lead over Andy Schleck, who sits in second, a minute and ten seconds in front of Armstrong.

Right now, it appears that the only podium position that is up for grabs is third place. Lets face it, despite the fact that tomorrow's stage ends on a grueling Beyond Category climb up Mont Ventoux, no one is going to crack Contador, and it seems very unlikely that Lance can do anything to catch Andy Schleck either. But, lurking just behind lance is Brad Wiggins, 14 seconds back, then comes Armstrong his teammate Andreas Kloden, another two behind, and Frank Schleck isn't out of striking distance either, just 38 seconds behind, and with impressive climbing skills. All of this adds up to some interesting opportunities for tomorrows big stage, which is really the finale in terms of the GC.

As for the other jersey competitions, Franco Pellizotti still has a lock on the Polka Dot Jersey, and it's unlikely he'll let anyone earn too many points tomorrow, so he looks like this year's King of the Mountains, and Andy Schleck seems to be in the driver's seat as far as the White Jersey as the Tour's best young rider.

Tomorrow promises to be yet another interesting stage. It is a 167 km (103 miles) ride from Montélimar to the summit of Mont Ventoux. The Peloton will warm up with a few rolling hills, with a couple of Category 3 and 4 climbs before setting up the big duel on the final climb of the day, a mount top finish up a 21.5 km (13.3 miles) Beyond Category climb. I expect the Schlecks to work in tandem once again, but not to challenge Contador so much as Armstrong. If the two brothers can stand on the podium together in Paris, they'll have accomplished their goal.

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