Tour de France 2009 Preview
SEE HEIDI SWIFT'S DAILY DISPATCHES ON THE RACING ACTION Team Columbia-HTC Prepares to Attack the 2009 Tour de FranceThe roster is stacked, long training miles are banked and the boys of Team...
View ArticleTour de France 2009 Kicks off Tomorrow: Course Overview
Expect Suspense: Course OverviewThis year’s course covers 3445 kilometers, visits a total of six nations (Monaco, France, Spain, Andorra, Switzerland, and Italy) and includes a team time trial for the...
View ArticleCancellara wins opening time trial, Contador answers Astana questions
Cancellara dominates, Contador answers Astana questionsThe time trial is often called “the race of truth” and today under the hot Monaco sun, more than a few truths were revealed. Among them? Fabian...
View ArticleCavendish cruises to fifth Tour de France stage victory
July 5, 2009 Tour de France Stage Two: Monaco to Brignoles187 kilometers (119 miles)Mark Cavendish delivered in dominating fashion today, stomping his way to his first Tour de France stage win this...
View ArticleTour 101: Classification Jerseys
Most people only think of the yellow jersey when they think of the Tour de Fance, but there are actually four major classification competitions that make for several exciting “races within the race”....
View ArticleCavendish roars to second consecutive stage victory
July 6, 2009Tour de France Stage Three: Marseille to La Grande Motte196.5 kilometers (122 miles)Mind-blowing. That’s the only way to describe it. Team Columbia-HTC has officially put its stamp on the...
View ArticleLooking ahead to Stage Four: Team Time Trial
Recap: How the TTT WorksThe team time trial (TTT) follows the same basic principle of the ITT (teams ride alone and the team with the fastest time wins) but requires each team to work closely together....
View ArticleTeam Astana dominates the Team Time Trial, Team Columbia-HTC battles for fifth
July 7, 2009Tour de France Stage Four: Montpellier to Montpellier (TTT)39 kilometers (24.2 miles)Coming off a herculean effort in yesterday’s road stage, Team Columbia-HTC rallied to hammer through a...
View ArticleVoeckler rides to solo glory, Cavendish must settle for third but remains in...
July 8, 2009Tour de France Stage Five: Le Cap d'Agde to Perpignan 196.5 kilometers196.5 kilometers (122 miles)Thomas Voeckler (Bbox Bouygues Telecom) stole the show today after dropping his breakaway...
View ArticleTour 101: The Magic of the Breakaway
Voeckler’s incredible win today was a shining example of why riders will turn themselves inside out to get into a break early in the race. 99% of the time they’ll be pulled back by the main field with...
View ArticleStage 6: Thunder God dominates stormy day
Rain and wind battered the peloton in the second half of today’s stage, creating slick roads and dangerous conditions. Cervelo Test-Team’s Thor Hushovd (nicknamed “The God of Thunder”) roared to...
View ArticleBrice Feillu wins, Rinaldo Nocentini becomes first Italian in yellow in 9 years
July 9, 2009Tour de France Stage Seven: Barcelone to Andorre Arcalis 224 km (139 miles)In a phenomenal breakout performance, newly-minted professional Brice Feillu rode away from eight break-mates...
View ArticleLuis León Sánchez takes stage 8, Nocentini remains in yellow
July 11, 2009Tour de France Stage Eight: Andorre-la-Vieille—Saint-Girons 176.5km (109.6 miles)Luis León Sánchez (Caisse d'Epargne) pipped Sandy Casar (Française des Jeux) to claim the day’s top honors...
View ArticleTour de France Stage 10: Cavendish rides away with win number three
The Manx Missile showed once again that he is the man to beat when the finish is flat and fast. Following the wheel of trusted first lieutenant Mark Renshaw, Cavendish looked positively unstoppable...
View ArticleCavendish defies critics to claim his 4th victory of the 2009 Tour de France
Heading into today’s stage, Mark Cavendish had seven Tour de France stage victories to his name. Four in last year’s Tour and three in 2009. The common denominator? Every victory came on a pancake-flat...
View ArticleNiki Sorensen rides away with stage 12, Nocentini in yellow for one more day
Saxo-Banks’ Niki Sorensen laid it all on the line today. His efforts were rewarded as he crossed the line first in Vittel, 48 seconds of his nearest challenger. Sorensen was part of a seven man break...
View ArticleHeinrich Haussler takes an emotional Stage 13 victory
There’s no crying in cycling, but don’t tell that to Cervelo’s Heinrich Haussler. The powerful Australian-born German crossed the line first today in a classic solo win over a challenging mountain...
View ArticleKatusha's Sergei Ivanov takes Stage 14 win, Hincapie misses yellow by 5 seconds
Sergei Ivanov delivered the first Russian victory of this year’s tour with a massive effort in the final ten kilometers of the race. Ivanov had been in a break of 12 men for the better part of the 199...
View ArticleContador ends speculation with dominating Stage 15 victory on Verbier
Alberto Contador climbed into a wall of sound, legs ticking out a quick rhythm, face calm in the midst of a frenzied crowd. When his pace dropped, he stood up and accelerated. Pressing fans roared...
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