Cycling news

Tour de Cycling - Monday


Tour de France, L'Equipe, Tuesday July 14:
"Contador is alone, or nearly so, but he can't allow himself to admit it."
(photo shows Contador at rest day press conference)

- Tuesday's Tour de France Stage 10 departs Limoges at 12:30 CET (6:30am U.S. Eastern) and is expected in Issoudun between 16:59 and 17:25 CET (10:59am and 11:25am U.S. Eastern).  Tour de France live coverage on Versus TV is scheduled to begin at 8:30am U.S. Eastern (8:00am U.S. Eastern for the Versus live streaming).  Live coverage on Eurosport is scheduled to begin at 13:45 CET (7:45am U.S. Eastern).

- More Tour de Cycling - Monday to come...

- Tour de France:  Today is the first of two rest days.

- Many news outlets are referencing Lance Armstrong's comments Sunday, in a post-Stage 9 interview on French TV, regarding his likely return to race another Tour de France in 2010.  Appearing with two-time Tour champion and current broadcaster Laurent Fignon, currently undergoing treatment for cancer, Armstrong also comments on the possibility of creating a new team with Johan Bruyneel (Nike may be involved but they are looking for a title sponsor) and answers a question assessing his interest in one day becoming president of the UCI ("That job is harder than doing the Tour.  And I'd have to live in Switzerland!")  He also talks about Livestrong in France (all monies collected from bracelet sales remain in France).  Fignon comments that he sees that Armstrong is getting "better and better" throughout the Tour.  Armstrong states that though the Tour is approaching halfway point, in terms of racing "we're only 25% done".  Armstrong also acknowledges there is some tension on the team related to his rivalry with teammate Alberto Contador.  Actor/director Ben Stiller tells Armstrong to bug off while he (Stiller) prepares for the TTT.  And show host Gerard Holtz calls Armstrong a geek, due to his love of Twitter, etc.  The show also includes highlights from the first week of race action.  You can watch the full show online (21:08), link below. -Pete

Watch Lance Armstrong's Sunday interview on France TV
- 2009 Tour de France "probably not" his last Tour -
- Tour at about halfway point but in terms of racing, "we're only 25% done" -


Click here to watch Armstrong interview in media player. (21:08)

 

Tour de France Stage 4 Team Time Trial Start Order and Times

 

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Follow cyclingfans on Twitter and never miss a race. Cyclingfans.com: The #1 source on the internet for live race coverage.

 

- Please help spread the word:
  Tweet cyclingfans.com  Thanks. -Pete 

Tuesday is the big Team Time Trial at Montpellier.  Teams will depart at 7-minute intervals.  Start Order and Times are listed below.  Times given are local.  (Times in parentheses are U.S. Eastern.)

As usual, we'll list available live feeds so you can follow Stage 4 of the Tour de France on the internet.

Tour de Cycling - Tuesday

 

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- Quote of the day:  "We can't wait for the Tour to begin, especially with the start in Monaco and the return of Lance Armstrong.  I'd love to be a fly on the wall to see how Astana is going to approach the race..... (Everyone) is curious to find out if Armstrong's return will be successful.  Will it be like (Michael) Jordan, successful, or like (Bjorn) Borg?"  - Christian Prudhomme, director of the Tour de France (in today's L'Equipe)

Armstrong and teammates to recon Montpellier Team Time Trial course twice


Flashback, 2003 Tour de France:  USPS on its way to winning the Team Time Trial.
It was the first-ever victory in a TTT for Armstrong.
Copyright © 2003 Pete Geyer/www.cyclingfans.com

- 2009 Tour de France:  The Team Time Trial is back after a 4-year absence and today (Tuesday) Lance Armstrong, Alberto Contador and their Astana teammates will do reconnaissance of the Stage 4 TTT course (39km) in Montpellier near the Mediterranean.  They will then ride the course again on Wednesday morning before heading that afternoon to Monaco where the Tour starts on Saturday.


April, 2009: Montpellier, Place de la Comedie:  Site for the start of the
2009 Tour de France Team Time Trial (July 7).
Copyright © 2009 Pete Geyer/www.cyclingfans.com

Tour de Cycling - Monday

 

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Watch Lance Armstrong on Vivement Dimanche (France 2 TV) with Michel Drucker

 

- Lance Armstrong was featured on the popular Vivement Dimanche program on France 2 television yesterday.  Hosted by the highly respected Michel Drucker, the program includes guest commentary and questions from a number of celebrities including 5-time Tour champion Eddy Merckx, 2-time TDF champ Laurent Fignon, Eric Fottorino (writer and director of Le Monde), and French writer Christian Laborde (longtime Armstrong fan and author of the book "Champion" about Armstrong).  Drucker recently travelled to Aspen, Colorado for the feature which includes highlights from Armstrong's career, accompanied by a variety of song clips from the Alan Parsons Project's Sirius (the music long used to introduce the Chicago Bulls players before home games) to John Denver's Rocky Mountain High.  The program is a full hour long and you can watch it online here. (Armstrong mostly speaks in English, sometimes dubbed in French, sometimes with sub-titles.)  Nicely done.

 

2009 Men's British National Road Race Championships:  British born and American raised (Texas),
Kristian House (Rapha Condor) wins in Abergavenny, Wales.
Copyright © 2009 Dave O'Nyons

2009 Men's British National Road Race Championships:  Peter Kennaugh (100% ME, third),
Kristian House (Rapha Condor, first) and Daniel Lloyd (Cervelo Test Team, second) on the podium.
Copyright © 2009 Dave O'Nyons

 

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Versus to televise 2009 Tour de France in full HD

VERSUS TO TELEVISE 2009 TOUR DE FRANCE IN HD FOR FIRST TIME EVER

NETWORK SET TO DELIVER MORE THAN 250 HOURS OF RACE COVERAGE

FEATURING LANCE ARMSTRONG'S SHOT AT RECORD EIGHTH TOUR VICTORY

- press release -

NEW YORK, N.Y. (June 24, 2009)- VERSUS, the exclusive television home of the Tour de France in the
U.S., will kick-off its ninth year of wall-to-wall coverage of the most intense and grueling
competition in all of sports on Sat., July 4, at 9:30 a.m. ET.  The network will begin its first day
of Tour coverage at 8:30 a.m. ET with a one-hour special chronicling Lance Armstrong's career and
his 2009 comeback season. For the first time ever, each stage of the Tour will be produced in full
HD.
 

Tyler Hamilton | Statements Regarding USADA Sanction

Tyler Hamilton was given an 8-year suspension today by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
 
Statements in response to the penalty handed down to Tyler Hamilton by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency:

Laurent Fignon, 20 years after great '89 TDF battle, battles for his life

Fignon appeared on French television Sunday - links below

20 years ago, Frenchman Laurent Fignon won the 1989 Giro d'Italia.  He also won Milan-San Remo that year and became the number one ranked cyclist in the world.  But as Fignon himself is quick to acknowledge, and despite winning the Tour in 1983 and 1984, he is most remembered for losing the 1989 Tour de France to American Greg LeMond by just 8 seconds.

What a great Tour that was!  LeMond took the yellow jersey after the Stage 5 individual time trial.  Fignon then took the jersey from LeMond after the Stage 10 climb to Superbagnères.  LeMond got the jersey back after the Stage 15 mountain time trial.....only to lose it again to Fignon at Alpe d'Huez!  The final stage of the race was a largely downhill 25km time trial from Versailles to Paris.  Fignon's 50 seconds lead over LeMond was widely considered a large enough margin to ensure a third Tour victory for the Frenchman.  But LeMond, using triathlon handlebars and an aerodynamic helmet, posted a time that was 58 seconds faster than Fignon, resulting in an 8-second dramatic victory after 3 weeks of racing.

Laurent Fignon, 48, announced last week that he has late-stage cancer of the digestive tract.  Some reports in France have said there is "little hope" of Fignon beating this, reports that Fignon found upsetting particularly because his family saw them.  Fignon appeared on French television yesterday to talk about his illness, about doping (he has admitted to using amphetamines and cortisone during his career, "like everyone else" he says), and his new book "Laurent Fignon: Nous étions jeunes et insouciants" ("We were young and carefree") which will be published on Wednesday.  The book (cover pictured above) was completed before Fignon was diagnosed with cancer, so contains no mention of his illness.

Today, the French professional cyclists union (UNCP) expressed its support, encouragement and best wishes to Laurent as he battles his illness.   cyclingfans.com would also like to wish Laurent the best in this difficult time.

On a personal note, I became hooked on this sport when just 10 days after moving to France in July, 1989, I turned on French TV on a Sunday with nothing better to do and watched the final minutes of the '89 race unfold as first LeMond, then Fignon, rode onto the Champs-Elysees.  My introduction to this sport, literally, was what I witnessed live on TV that afternoon.  It was a great victory by LeMond...but Fignon helped to make it great.  Since, I've followed Fignon's career as a race organizer and TV broadcaster.  When I read former ASO cycling director and French cycling federation president Daniel Baal's description, in one of his books, of ASO's negotiations to acquire Paris-Nice from Fignon a few years ago -- Fignon stormed out of a meeting with ASO officials in a cafe near the Gare du Nord train station in Paris, temporarily breaking off negotiations -- I could only smile.  As Greg LeMond and ASO both found, you don't take anything from Laurent Fignon easily.  Let's hope that Fignon's cancer discovers that as well, gets defeated, and that Laurent Fignon is around for many years to come.  -Pete Geyer, Editor


Laurent Fignon on French TV (France 2) Sunday


Laurent Fignon on French TV (TF1)
 

Tour de Cycling - Saturday

- Tour de Luxembourg:  Watch Stage 3 video highlights here.  (05:22)  -Bernie S.

- Tour de Luxembourg Stage 3 info and links, including live ticker, below.

- LIVE now: Tour de Luxembourg Stage 3 live ticker.  Link below.

- D-Day Remembrance ceremony has ended.

- LIVE now:  D-Day remembrance ceremony live stream on CNN.

- LIVE now:  D-Day ceremonies in Normandy, live stream from "Omaha Beach" on France 2 live stream.
-Bernie S.

- More Tour de Cycling - Saturday to come...

- Coming later today:  A first look at Dauphine Libere live online coverage options.


Dauphiné Libéré LIVE coverage at www.cyclingfans.com
photo Copyright © 2009 Pete Geyer/www.cyclingfans.com

 

Today is the 65th anniversary of the Normandy Landings (D-Day)

I spent 15 summers on these beaches from 1990 and would like to observe the anniversary in this space. -Pete
 


Arromanches, Normandy, known as "Gold Beach" during the D-Day landings
and a site used by British troops in the Allied invasion.  A temporary harbor
was built here after the landings to assist in the operation; sections of that harbor
remain in place today.
photo Copyright © 2009 Pete Geyer/www.cyclingfans.com


The Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer.  9,387 American military dead
are buried here.  The cemetery overlooks "Omaha Beach" where many of these
soldiers were killed.  The graves face westward, towards the United States.
photo Copyright © 2009 Pete Geyer/www.cyclingfans.com


Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, Normandy.  This town was part of "Sword Beach"
during the Allied invasion.
photo Copyright © 2008 Pete Geyer/www.cyclingfans.com

 

2009 Tour de Luxembourg Stage 2 video


Highlights from Stage 2 here.  (04:51)  -Bernie S.

- Tour de Luxembourg Stage 3 departs Wiltz at 12:30 CET (6:30am U.S. Eastern) and is expected in Diekirch between 16:52 and 17:32 CET (10:52am and 11:32am U.S. Eastern).

Tour of Luxembourg Official Website
Start List
Live ticker

Tour de Cycling - Friday

- Breaking news:  Astana team manager Johan Bruyneel says that the sponsor financial problems have not been solved and that the team will continue to protest with sponsor names faded on jerseys.  More here.

- Tour de Luxembourg:  As in years past, there is a daily highlights program scheduled on TV at 19:50 CET (1:50pm U.S. Eastern).  So a video feed may be playing here.  Note that this feed quickly becomes overwhelmed. More links below.

- More Tour de Cycling - Friday to come...

- Tour de Luxembourg Stage 2 is underway.  Links below, including live ticker.  No live video for this race.

- Lance Armstrong and Anna Hansen are the proud parents of a baby boy, Max.  More here.

- Today's French sports daily L'Equipe is reporting that the Astana team has pre-selected Andreas Kloden for the Tour de France.  An investigation into doping practices on the T-Mobile team in 2006 has not implicated Kloden according to Astana team spokeman Philippe Maertens.

 

New book:  Graham Watson's Tour de France Travel Guide

 - Graham Watson's Tour de France Travel Guide: The Complete Insider's Guide to the Tour! is now available for purchase.  Watson has followed and photographed the Tour for 31 years.  In this book, he shares his tips on where to eat and sleep and where to watch and photograph the race yourself.  The book is richly illustrated with Watson's photographs, maps and more.


Graham Watson's Tour de France Travel Guide

- Tour de Luxembourg Stage 2 departs Schifflange at 12:30 CET (6:30am U.S. Eastern) and is expected in Differdange between 16:40 and 17:31 CET (10:40am and 11:31am U.S. Eastern).

Tour of Luxembourg Official Website
Start List
Live ticker

Tour de Cycling - Thursday

- More to come...


Le Sale Tour: Le systeme Armstrong
by Pierre Ballester and David Walsh

- You know the Tour de France is right around the corner when Pierre Ballester and David Walsh publish another book about Lance Armstrong.  Obviously they didn't take the advice of esteemed International Herald Tribune reporter Sam Abt who suggested a couple of years ago it was perhaps time for them to "move on".  Of course, Walsh and Ballester's favorite subject was in retirement then.  He's back now and so are they.  Fair enough, except that early indications are that the book, "Le Sale Tour" (or The Dirty Tour), published today, is filled with wild speculation about Armstrong's reasons for returning to the sport, including future political ambitions, to make money, etc.  (Chicago Bulls basketball star Michael Jordan made more than $30 million in salary per year each of the last few years of his career, not including endorsements.  Armstrong is not taking a salary for riding for Astana but naturally is able to command high appearance fees.)  Ballester and Walsh also assert "(Tour de France organizer) ASO's new strategy is more turned towards business than the credibility of the sport".  Huh?  That has always been ASO's "strategy" and always will be for as long as they own the race.

Three years ago I asked Ballester, who once covered cycling, including Greg LeMond's comeback 20 years ago, for French sports daily L'Equipe, if he was a cycling fan.  He said no, his sport is rugby.  Funny, a former French rugby player last year stated that dope testing is virtually non-existent in the sport.  No wonder Ballester (and Walsh for that matter) likes rugby.  It is "clean" because no one is out to bust it.  Meanwhile, for over 10 years pro cycling, an easy target, is repeatedly targeted at every opportunity.

Will it ever end?  Not as long as there is money to be made tearing down the sport.

-Pete

 

- We mentioned yesterday that Astana was cleared to ride the Dauphine Libere (June 7-14).  That information is confirmed in today's edition of the French sports daily L'Equipe.

- Tour of Luxembourg info and links below.


June, 2009 issue of Velo Magazine (French): Le Guide du Tour.
Velo Magazine appears to be the first 2009 Tour de France guide
out of the gate; many more to come.

Meet Ed Buchette, Tour de Luxembourg organiser and forester!

Flashback: 2003 Tour de Luxembourg: Ed Buchette interviews
Benoit Joachim (Luxembourg national team and USPS) before the start of Stage 1.
Copyright © 2009 Pete Geyer/www.cyclingfans.com

When it comes to race organizers, the names Jean-Marie Leblanc (former director of the Tour de France), Christian Prudhomme (current TDF director), Angelo Zomegnan (Giro d'Italia), Victor Cordero (Vuelta a Espana) and Thierry Cazeneuve (Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré) come to mind.  In Luxembourg, no one is more involved in the organization and other aspects of bike racing than Ed Buchette (photo above).  Buchette's résumé is impressive: in addition to his involvement with the Tour of Luxembourg and related races (including the Grand Prix General Patton) as General Secretary of the Association des Organisateurs du Tour de Luxembourg, he is Vice-president, along with Zomegnan, of the Association des Organisateurs des Courses Cyclistes (AIOCC) (Prudhomme is president), member (since 2000) of the UCI Road Commission, General Secretary of the Luxembourg cycling federation, and an international commissaire for the UCI.  Buchette is also a government forester since 1979 and since 1998 has been in charge of forests for the city of Luxembourg.

Buchette also appears to be the only organizer mentioned above who is on Twitter.  -Pete

Today is the Tour de Luxembourg Stage 1 from Luxembourg to Mondorf.  The stage is scheduled to begin at 13:00 CET (7am U.S. Eastern) and finish between 16:35 and 17:18 CET (10:35am and 11:18am U.S. Eastern).

Tour of Luxembourg Official Website
Start List
Live ticker

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