Levi Leipheimer

Former Giro d'Italia runner-up Andy Schleck said Monday he will give every last ounce in the remaining six stages of the Tour de France to beat yellow jersey rival Alberto Contador. Contador, the 2007 champion, took command of the race in style on Sunday when he won the first part of an alpine trilogy to leave Astana teammate Lance Armstrong in second place overall at 1min 37secs. Schleck is fifth at 2:26 adrift, but he says there's plenty more racing to come. Tuesday and Wednesday will see the peloton continue in the high Alps, although both the 16th and 17th stages do not end ... Read Full Story

Levi Leipheimer of the USA and Astana train on the time trial course for 2009 Tour de France which begins on Saturday, on July 2, 2009 in Monaco. (Getty Images) more pics » Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland and Team Saxo Bank is helped into the yellow jersey on the podium at the end of stage five of the 2009 Tour de France from Le Cap d'Agde to Perpignan on July 8, 2009 in Perpignan, France. (Getty Images) more pics » Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank) in 15:07:49 Lance Armstrong (Astana) at 00:00 Alberto Contador (Astana) at 00:19 Andréas Klöden (Astana) at 00:23 Levi Leipheimer (Astana) ... Read Full Story

Lance Armstrong's shout across the room came in handy. "You're talking to the winner of the Giro, you know that?" the seven-time Tour de France winner bellowed. Talking to Levi Leipheimer for a half hour, it could easily have been forgotten that the Montana native has designs on winning the 100th-anniversary edition of the Italian classic. "I'm bullish on his outlook and his opportunities here, so I like to poke him a little bit, because I think it's good for him," Armstrong said. "He wants to downplay it and sneak into the race, which is smart." Leipheimer was so guarded about his aspirations, he ... Read Full Story

PARIS, Feb 28 (Reuters) - American Levi Leipheimer has pulled out of next month's Paris-Nice stage race because of a lower back injury, his Astana team said on Saturday. Leipheimer sustained an injury to his sacrum -- the large, triangular bone at the base of the spine between the two hip bones -- during the Tour of California, which he won last week. "An MRI scan revealed an undisplaced fracture of the sacrum of Levi Leipheimer. It resulted from a crash in the third stage (of the Tour of California)," Astana said in a statement. "This fracture didn't prevent him from winning the time ... Read Full Story

Ug, is it over yet? After yesterday’s crash, Lance Armstrong is back on the bus with Levi Leipheimer, and their former teammate Jason McCartney. They talk about yesterday’s uphill finish on the cobblestones, in the rain no less! Good grief! The fans who ride back to the bus with you asking for your things, and the rider who lost his bike on the side of the road while hanging outside of the support car. Crazy! Lance wants to know what was wrong with the beach he was sitting on for years? Oh come on fluffy, you know you’d rather be here than anywhere else. ... Read Full Story