A Tour de France guide, with links, news, and comments. The Tour de France, also referred to as La Grande Boucle, Le Tour or The Tour, is a long-distance road bicycle competition held in July in France and nearby countries.
The Kazakh cycling team Astana, home of Spanish Tour de France champion Alberto Contador, have secured a place on next year's ProTour, official sources announced on Wednesday. Astana are one of 17 teams to have passed the International Cycling Union's (UCI) entry exam but Italian team Lampre, whose leader is Damiano Cunego, failed to meet the necessary requirements. The assessment procedure, which is undertaken by an independent body, judges whether or not the sport's elite teams satisfy a... Read Full Story
Former winner Martin Elmiger will lead French team Ag2r La Mondiale at Australia's Tour Down Under in January, organisers said on Friday. Ag2r La Mondiale is the only team to have competed in every edition of the Tour Down Under and Swiss rider Elmiger won the 2007 tour. The French UCI Pro Tour team has produced the most overall winners in the Australian event with Gilles Maignan (2000), Mikel Astarloza (2003), Simon Gerrans (2006) and Elmiger (2007). The team will comprise Elmiger, Cyril... Read Full Story
(Left) Alberto Contador of Spain team Astana crosses the finishline in second during stage seven of the 2009 Tour de France from Barcelona to Andorra Arcalis on July 10, 2009 in Andorra Arcalis, Andorra. (Getty Images) more pics » LE GRAND BORNAND, France (Reuters) - Frank and Andy Schleck tried with all their might to shake the Tour de France peloton in the 17th stage but they could not topple leader Alberto Contador on Wednesday. The Spaniard spoiled the brothers' party by sticking with... Read Full Story
Cyclist Davide Rebellin of Italy will be stripped of the silver medal in the road race from the 2008 Beijing Olympics because of doping. The Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) said it received instructions from the International Olympic Committee on Tuesday. Rebellin was one of five athletes who tested positive in April for CERA, an advanced version of the blood-boosting drug EPO, in new tests using retroactive blood samples taken at the games. All denied doping. Rebellin will become the first... Read Full Story
The Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) said on Monday that it had postponed a hearing into Spanish cyclist Alejandro Valverde's appeal against a doping ban that sidelined him from this year's Tour de France. The hearing into the two year suspension on Italian soil imposed by the Italian national Olympic committee (CONI) had been scheduled for November 16. But CAS said the International Cycling Union (UCI) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had recently been allowed to join the case... Read Full Story
Lance Armstrong tried to conceal it, but a wry smile gave away just how high his rivalry with yellow jersey rival Alberto Contador may soar on their anticipated duel at the Tour de France in 2010. To fans who missed out on this year's epic, Spanish climbing ace Contador overcame huge pressures off the bike to claim his second overall win, and fourth in a major Tour, as Armstrong, returning after a four-year absence, did well to finish third at nearly six minutes off the pace. But the... Read Full Story
Lance Armstrong tried to conceal it, but a wry smile gave away just how high his rivalry with yellow jersey rival Alberto Contador may soar on their anticipated duel at the Tour de France in 2010. To fans who missed out on this year's epic, Spanish climbing ace Contador overcame huge pressures off the bike to claim his second overall win, and fourth in a major Tour, as Armstrong, returning after a four-year absence, did well to finish third at nearly six minutes off the pace. But the... Read Full Story
In a conversation with todocicliso.com, Haimar Zubeldia confirmed that he has followed Lance Armstrong and Johan Bruyneel to the Radio Shack cycling team and defended himself from allegations that he...
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Tour de France champion Alberto Contador would like to race with a Spanish team next year but refused to rule out staying with Astana until his contract with the Kazakh-funded outfit runs out in 2010. Astana has not yet been granted a ProTour licence by the International Cycling Union (UCI) for next season and the 26-year-old Spaniard told sports daily AS his lawyers were "studying" the possibility that he would leave the team next season. "Of course I would like to race for a Spanish team... Read Full Story
Spain's reigning Tour de France champion Alberto Contador played down the threat of a drugs probe that was launched a day before the presentation of next year's race. Paris prosecutors on Tuesday revealed they had launched an investigation after the discovery of suspicious medical equipment including "syringes and drips" during the Tour de France in July. Astana, with whom Contador and seven-times champion Lance Armstrong raced in 2009, emerged as the targeted team in parallel press reports... Read Full Story
