Mikel Astarloza

PARIS (Reuters) - Spaniard Mikel Astarloza, 11th in the Tour de France, has been provisionally suspended following a positive out-of-competition test for the banned blood booster EPO, the International Cycling Union (UCI) said Friday. "Earlier today, the UCI advised Spanish rider Mikel Astarloza that he has been provisionally suspended," the UCI said in a statement. "The decision to provisionally suspend Mr Astarloza was made in response to a report from the WADA accredited laboratory in Madrid indicating an Adverse Analytical Finding of Recombinant EPO in a urine sample collected from him at an out-of-competition test on 26 June 2009." If the B sample is ... Read Full Story

Mikel Astarloza of Spain and Euskaltel-Euskadi celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win stage 16 of the 2009 Tour de France from Martigny to Bourg-Saint-Maurice on July 21, 2009 in Bourg-Saint-Maurice, France. (Getty Images) more pics » Read Full Story

Here are the overall standings after Stage 3.  Cancellara is looking good, but Boonen and Hushovd are strong riders and will eventually make their moves.  Mikel Astarloza is hanging in with the top 10 riders, only 49 seconds behind the leaders. But there are MANY riders VERY close.  Expect to see this top 10 list shuffle frequently over the next 2 weeks. Current top 10 overall leaders: Rank    Name    Country    Team    Gap 1 Fabian Cancellara   SUI   CSC   00.000'' 2 Andréas Klöden   GER   AST   33.000'' 3 David Millar   GBR   SDV   41.000'' 4 ... Read Full Story

Earlier today, the UCI advised Spanish rider Mikel Astarloza that he has been provisionally suspended. For the full story, go to http://www.bikeworldnews.com Read Full Story

Rank Name Team Time Gap 1   Stefan SCHUMACHER GST 19h32'33'' 00'' 2   Kim KIRCHEN THR 19h32'45'' 12'' 3   David MILLAR TSL 19h32'45'' 12'' 4   Cadel EVANS SIL 19h32'54'' 21'' 5   Fabian CANCELLARA CSC 19h33'06'' 33'' 6   Christian VANDEVELDE TSL 19h33'10'' 37'' 7   George HINCAPIE THR 19h33'14'' 41'' 8   Thomas LÖVKVIST THR 19h33'20'' 47'' 9   Vincenzo NIBALI LIQ 19h33'31'' 58'' 10   José Ivan GUTIERREZ GCE 19h33'34'' 1'01'' 11   Denis MENCHOV RAB 19h33'45'' 1'12'' 12   Jens VOIGT CSC 19h33'46'' 1'13'' 13   Stijn DEVOLDER QST 19h33'51'' 1'18'' 14   Oscar PEREIRO SIO GCE 19h33'55'' ... Read Full Story