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Au revoir, le Tour
PARIS — It’s late Sunday and they’re shutting down the press room here at Tour headquarters. Guess it’s time to go.
It’s time to come home. I’ll be back in Texas tomorrow night. I hope you’ll keep reading for Lance Armstrong news. Apparently, the old guy still has some cycling chapters left to write.
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Astana top team
VAISON LE ROMAINE, France — Astana, as expected, earned the best team honors in the Tour.
The title is calculated by using the times of the top three riders on each team. Astana placed two riders among the top six. Garmin, an American team, was second.
The tour had 20 teams, but the top nine spots in the yellow jersey standings were taken up riders of just four teams — Astana, Garmin, Saxo Bank and Liquigas.
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Contador, Armstrong won’t be on same team in 2010
VAISON LA ROMAINE. France — It’s official. Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador won’t be on the same team next year, clearing the way for some nice, head-to-head competition.
The news should startle anyone. But Contador, in his yellow-jersey press conference, just confirmed that the two won’t be on the same team.
Armstrong will be the lead rider for the newly created Team RadioShack. Contador has another year on his contract with Astana, but could make a jump to another team for 2010. Alexandre Vinokourov, a top rider suspended for doping in 2007, is set to return to Astana and possibly compete in September’s Vuelta.
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Armstrong keeps spots on podium
VAISON LA ROMAINE, France — Lance Armstrong will be on the podium when the Tour finishes tomorrow in Paris.
Armstrong was able to stay with the Schleck surges all afternoon and ride with teammate Alberto Contador as the Tour completed its penultimate stage — the climb of Mont Ventoux.
“For an old fart, to finish on the podium with these young guys, it’s not too bad,” Armstrong said when the stage concluded Saturday.
Contador, Armstrong and the Schlecks — Andy and Frank — stayed clumped together, Spain’s Juan Manuel Garate won the stage.
Contador easily maintained his 4 minute, 11-second lead over Andy Schleck for the yellow jersey. Armstrong stayed in third.
Unlike Contador’s Armstrong’s lead was more tenuous to maintain.
Coming into the stage, Armstrong had only a 13-second lead over Bradley Wiggins, who was in fourth. Frank Schleck was 38 seconds back, in sixth. Armstrong’s Astana teammate Andreas Kloden had been in fifth, but he sacrificed for Contador and Armstrong and fell back toward the end of the climb.
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Cavendish picks up No. 5
AUBENAS, France — Lost among all the Mont Ventoux chatter was the fact that sprinter Mark Cavendish won his fifth stage of the Tour.
Cavendish had taken a back seat for the past week as the climbers led the peloton. He’s second overall in the green-jersey standings, with Thor Hushovd leading him by 25 points. Cavendish conceded the green a week ago, when Tour judges took away his spring points for what they viewed to be a violation of the racing rules.
The last time any rider won five stages was in 2004, when Lance Armstrong won that many in winning a sixth-straight Tour yellow jersey.
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Blustery day on Ventoux
AUBENAS, France — Winds will be gusting to 30 miles an hour Saturday on the top of Mont Ventoux.
And that’s not so blustery for the mountain.
The name Ventoux literally means windy in French. And for at least 240 days a year, the winds are at least 35 miles an hour.
Back in 2000, the Tour had planned on having its media center — a big tent —Â at the summit. But they had to change plans as the stage approached because the winds made the center a safety hazard.
In 2002, the Tour headquarters for Ventoux was in nearby Vaisson la Romaine, almost 20 miles away. That’s the same spot for Saturday’s stage. There are one million people expected to watch the 103-mile stage in person, with most gathered at the mountain.
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LeMond blasts Contador
ANNECY, France — Greg LeMond, the American who won three Tours de France, is now pondering whether Alberto Contador is using performance enhancing drugs.
LeMond, whose comments appeared in the French newspaper Le Monde, said Contador’s Tour performance appears to good to be true, without Contador using illegal methods.
Coincidentally, LeMond also used to say the same about Lance Armstrong, using the same newspaper as a sort of bully pulpit.
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LeMond blasts Contador
ANNECY, France — Greg LeMond, the American who won three Tours de France, is now pondering whether Alberto Contador is using performance enhancing drugs.
LeMond, whose comments appeared in the French newspaper Le Monde, said Contador’s Tour performance appears to good to be true, without Contador using illegal methods.
Coincidentally, LeMond also used to say the same about Lance Armstrong, using the same newspaper as a sort of bully pulpit.
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Armstrong’s family in town
ANNECY, France — Lance Armstrong’s family finally made it to the Tour de France.
His girlfriend and four children, including newborn son Max, were with him on the team bus about two hours before he started the time trial.
Armstrong will leave with his family for a short vacation in the Bahamas once the Tour is finished.
He’ll be back in Austin by the time his oldest three children start school in August.
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It’s Radio Shack for Armstrong’s new team
ANNECY, France — Lance Armstrong will ride next year for Team RadioShack, competing as a cyclist, runner and triathlete at events around the world.
The team’s new web site is up. Check it out http://www.teamradioshack.com
The Tour de France probably will be Armstrong’s last race as a member of Astana. He’s scheduled to ride in the Tour of Ireland next month in conjunction with his foundation’s summit on cancer.
Johan Bruyneel, Armstrong’s long-time director, also will make the jump to RadioShack, although there has been no official announcement. Armstrong said earlier this week that he would not be competing without Bruyneel, who directed him to his seven Tour titles.
“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,” Armstrong said in a statement released by his management company.
“To be able to compete for an American team comprised of the world’s top cyclists, supported by the best coaches and staff - I couldn’t be happier to partner with RadioShack, a truly iconic American brand,” he said.
Bill Stapleton, Armstrong’s agent, said no riders have been signed to join Armstrong. But it’s likely a number of Astana riders could make the jump with Armstrong.
Astana had financial problems throughout the year, and its license was nearly suspended because they were not paying riders or support personnel. Armstrong had been riding for free.
Radio Shack is a chain of electronics retail stores in the United States and Mexico.
It’s already involved in sports sponsorship. It is a title sponsor of the Samsung/Radio Shack 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. It’s also had sports marketing deals with the NBA and Major League Soccer.
“As one of the greatest athletes of our generation, a father, a cancer survivor, and a tireless advocate in the fight against cancer, Lance Armstrong understands the power of keeping people connected,” said Lee Applbaum, RadioShack’s chief marketing officer. “And that’s why we feel he’s the perfect partner for our brand. “
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A look at the time trial
LE GRAND BORNAND, France — Forget team tactics and intrigue for Thursday’s stage.
It’s an individual time trial. And everyone from Astana can ride for himself against the clock.
The main question for the day will be how much time the Schleck brothers will lose over the 25.1 mile stage. The route features one, category three climb about 18 miles into the stage.
Andy Schleck is 1:29 ahead of Lance Armstrong, who is in fourth place. Frank Schleck is 30 seconds ahead of Armstrong.
Both Schleck brothers admitted Wednesday that their time trialing will cost them. But they hoped to make it up in Saturday’s stage, which is a summit finish on Mont Ventoux.
Unlike past years, the Tour has conducted only one time trial by this point in the race. That short time trial kicked off the race on July 4. It replaced the traditional prologue and one of the time trials, which usually comes within the first half of the Tour.
Armstrong, who wasn’t satisfied with his performance that day, still was 20 seconds ahead of Andy Schleck and nearly one minute in front of Frank Schleck.
That stage was only 9.6 miles long. Armstrong has shown this Tour that his endurance is better than his acceleration in the mountains.
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Bruyneel was displeased with Contador’s move
LE GRAND BORNAND, France — Astana team director Johan Bruyneel disapproved of the race tactics used by Alberto Contador.
According to Bruyneel, Contador was told early in the day that he did not need to attack during the stage. In the overall standings before the stage, Astana’s Lance Armstrong was second and Andreas Kloden was fourth. Both of the riders were working for Contador’s cause, so they would not be attacking.
But Contador accelerated near the top of the fifth and final climb, dropping Kloden, who had been riding with him. The Schleck brothers — Andy and Frank —Â answered the move.
“We could have been one, two, three after today,” said Johan Bruyneel, Astana’s team director. “Now we are one, four and five.”
“I had advised Alberto not to attack — he didn’t need to go,” Bruyneel said. “He didn’t need to attack today to win the Tour de France.”
Kloden faded badly. Armstrong, who was monitoring Bradley Wiggins, dropped from second to fourth overall.
The Schlecks benefited the most, vaulting to second and third.
Contador said he had cleared the attack with Kloden and that he waited for him, costing him valuable time. He said he did the same Sunday, when he won the stage to Verbier.
Astana’s Levi Leipheimer, who was forced to abandon the Tour last Friday after breaking his wrist, posted a comments on his twitter page after the race suggesting Contador didn’t follow orders.
Leipheimer wrote: “If Andreas finishes 4th in GC by less than 2’ from 3rd, we know where he lost it.”
Also: “Well, that wasn’t a good move!!”
Leipheimer also said that Contador, from Spain, and Kloden, who is German, speak to each other in English. So he said there could have been a miscommunication.
Kloden finished second by a whisper on the stage to Le Grand Bornand in 2004. That’s when Armstrong beat him by the width of a tire. Kloden then was racing for T Mobile.
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Armstrong says he’ll ride again in 2010
LES ARCS 1950, France — Lance Armstrong said today that his comeback to cycling will extend to at least another year and that he’ll compete in the 2010 Tour de France.
Armstrong, who remained in second-place overall to teammate Alberto Contador after Tuesday’s stage, said winning this year’s Tour is probably “out of the question.”
However, he said of winning yellow in 2010 — “I don’t think it’s out of the question … “Next year is a different story.”
Armstrong will ride for a new team with an American sponsor in 2010. The name of the sponsor is set to be announced at the Tour, Thursday. More than likely, Contador will not be his teammate for 2010. He has a contract that runs with Astana through next year.
It is likely that Johan Bruyneel, the director of Astana, will go with Armstrong.
Bruyneel declined specific comment Tuesday, saying he was concentrating on winning the Tour for Astana. Three of the top four in the yellow classification are his riders.
“He’s already said everything,” Bruyneel said of Armstrong.
However, Bruyneel said he would talk Thursday, presumably when the team announcement is made.
Armstrong has been finalizing sponsorships as late as this week as he has ridden in the Tour. He said he has no plans to manage or finance the team, only to ride for it.
He made his comments Tuesday at his team hotel, inviting about 10 reporters for a small press conference.
His announcement came about three hours after he finished a short Alpine stage to Bourg Saint Maurice. Armstrong and the group of yellow jersey contenders finished 59 seconds behind stage winner Mikel Astarloza.
Armstrong showed a burst of speed on the category one climb of the Col du Petit Saint Bernard that was reminiscent of when he was winning seven straight Tour championships from 1999-2005.
Initially, he declined to follow when the Schleck brothers —Â Andy and Frank — attacked the leaders. Contador followed, as did Bradley Wiggins, who is in third place and Andreas Kloden, who is in fourth.
The gap grew to about 35 seconds before Armstrong pounced. He quickly made up the time gap within two or so minutes.
“I just didn’t want follow that quick acceleration like I tried to do on Verbier,” Armstrong said of his performance Sunday, the first Alpine stage.
“I stayed with the other group, and then I realized the race was basically going away from us. So, I had no choice other than trying to make the cross. So I waited until we had a steeper section and then I got away with an acceleration.”
Contador said he was impressed with what he saw out of Armstrong.
“It’s easy to explain — he’s a very great rider,” Contador said. “He was in the past, and he showed it once again.”
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Vintage Lance
BOURG-ST-MAURICE, France — Lance Armstrong just sent a buzz through the crowd.
He was hanging back on the final climb — the ascent of the Col du Petit Saint Bernard — when the Schleck brothers launched an attack. Alberto Contador, Andreas Kloden and Bradley Wiggins followed and Armstrong never accelerated.
Armstrong likely thought the Schleck move was somewhat stupid, considering the final climb came before a long descent to the finish. Jan Ullrich used to pull similar moves back in the day.
The gap got to 31 seconds, then Armstrong made one of his classic moves he used to win seven Tours and quickly made up the margin.
French TV called it classic Lance Armstrong. I’ll ask him about it tonight.
All the contenders ended the stage together.
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Armstrong not conceding, but yellow jersey a long shot
LES DIABLERETS, Switzerland — Lance Armstrong wants to finish on the podium in Paris and said today that he is still holding out a bit of hope for yellow.
But he acknowledged it would be a longshot, given the climbing strength shown Sunday by Alberto Contador, his teammate.
When asked today specifically whether he was conceding the yellow jersey to Contador, Armstrong told the American-Statesman: “I’m not thinking about it right now. I’ll just see how it shakes out. Right now, it would take a lot of things to go my way (for yellow).”
As long as Contador is the strongest rider for Astana, team protocol will preclude Armstrong from attacking. He said Astana team director Johan Bruyneel will give him enough freedom to go for a place on the podium and not make Armstrong be a domestique.
The Tour de France is resting today in western Switzerland. Armstrong, after finishing ninth in Sunday’s stage, is second overall at the Tour. But he was 1:37 behind Contador.
The race resumes Tuesday with another Alpine stage, this one with a near immediate beyond category climb to Col du Grand-Saint Bernard, with a category one ascent to the Col du Petit-Saint Bernard. It ends with a long downhill.
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Bye, bye Boonen
Sprinter Tom Boonen, who got a last minute reprieve into the Tour, withdrew Sunday because of stomach problems.
His team spokesman said Boonen, who won Paris-Nice this year, was running a fever Saturday night. Boonen didn’t make the start in Pontarlier.
He had tested positive for cocaine earlier this year and the Tour did not tell him whether he could compete until the week before it started.
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Sastre, defending Tour champion, is faltering, as is Evans
Carlos Sastre has not enjoyed a successful defense of his yellow jersey.
And Cadel Evans, who has finished second the past two years, also has had an off Tour.
Sastre struggled at the base of the climb to Verbier, but paced himself back to many of the leaders. Sastre was able to accelerate late in the stage, but he still faces a challenge to even finish in the top 10.
He’s now 11th, 3 minutes, 52 seconds in back of Alberto Contador. Coincidentally, his two domestiques from last year’s win —Â Frank and Andy Schleck —Â are both in the top 10. Sastre now is the leader of Cervelo, a new team that also features Thor Hushovd, the likely winner of the green jersey.
“I rode the best I could,” Sastre told reporters Sunday. “I would have liked to have had the same explosiveness, but I didn’t.
“I am more of a diesel, and I like to go at my own steady pace. That’s what I did and I was able to come back. I was there in the front. It was a difficult stage after almost one week of flat stages and this kind of finish is good for me. But I recognize that some riders were stronger than me today.”
Reports were that Evans was visibly emotional after his ride. He is in 14th place, 4:27 out of the lead.
“That was the worst day from kilometer zero,” Evans said. “From kilometer zero, I was having possibly one of the worst days of my Tour de France career on what is the most important day for the classification.
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Cold day to Colmar
COLMAR, France — Almost as soon as Lance Armstrong got off his bike Friday, he was using twitter to talk about how cold it was during the stage.
He said it possibly was the coldest stage he’s endured during his Tour career. It rained all day, and temperatures dipped into the 50s.
However, he was reminded later by email that Colmar wasn’t nearly as bad as a stage in the Pyrenees in 2000, when Armstrong clinched yellow with a dominating performance of the Hautacam. It was raining on the final climb with temperatures in the mid 30s.
“Felt colder for sure,” Armstrong told the American-Statesman. “Hautacam was a full effort so it was warmer. Today was, er, not that difficult.”
Coincidentally, Colmar helped set the scene for an unpleasant Armstrong memory in 2001. Rain started to fall in Colmar that day and continued throughout the stage to Pontarlier.
Armstrong and the yellow jersey contenders allowed a break to win by 35:54 minutes. It’s still the largest winning advantage in Tour history.
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Two riders shot with air rifle
Tour fans can get rowdy, but apparently, someone turned violent Friday.
Oscar Freire, who won last year’s green jersey, and sprinter Julian Dean, sustained minor injuries after being shot by someone using a pellet gun.
Tour officials have asked the French police to investigate the incident, which occurred as Freire and Dean were descending after a climb.
Freire was shot in the thigh. A pellet hit Dean in the finger. Both finished Friday’s stage and are expected to continue racing Saturday.
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Haussler wins slick stage — Armstrong still 3rd overall
COLMAR, France — Heinrich Haussler, the German-born, Aussie-raised rider, has won his first Tour de France stage.
The peloton, including Lance Armstrong, finished 6 minutes, 43 minutes behind in the 120-mile stage from Vittel to Colmar in eastern France.
Riders endured rainy conditions all afternoon and none of the contenders for the yellow jersey risked an attack.
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Leipheimer out of Tour
COLMAR, France — American Levi Leipheimer, possibly Lance Armstrong’s top supporter on his team, is out of the Tour.
He broke his right wrist near the finish of Thursday’s stage to Vittel but was able to finish the stage. X-rays confirmed the break Friday morning and he did not start the stage to Colmar.
“We’d wanted to keep our options open and this morning we lost one of those options,” Astana team director Johan Bruyneel said before the stage. “Strategically we are now weaker and it is likely to motivate the other teams to attack us today.”
So far, the attacks have not happened as riders try to survive a rain-soaked stage through the Vosges mountains in the Alsace region in eastern France.
Leipheimer had been in fourth place in the yellow-jersey standings, 39 seconds behind leader Rinaldo Nocentini. Leipheimer was hoping for a podium, or top-three, finish.
He also was Armstrong’s training partner and figured to be a chief lieutenant for Armstrong in the Alps, which start Sunday.
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