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Armstrong in Tour de France breakaway, but Frenchman wins stage

Lance Armstrong battled in the deciding breakaway on Stage 16 of the Tour de France all day on Tuesday only to bested in a 9-man sprint by stage winner Pierrick Fedrigo.

The 120-mile race over four major mountains came down to a sprint in the town of Pau as the overall race leaders struggled to stay together on the Col de Peyresourde, Col d'Aspin, Col du Tourmalet and Col d'Aubisque.

Although Andy Schleck wanted revenge on race leader Alberto Contador for winning the yellow jersey as he wrestled with a dropped chain on Monday, nothing came of that threat as Contador retained his 8-second lead.

This might have been Armstrong's swan song of the Tour de France …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/07/20/armstrong-in-tour-de-france-breakaway-but-frenchman-wins-stage/

Mechanical problem puts Contador in yellow; Schleck vows revenge

A dropped chain cost Andy Schleck the yellow jersey at the Tour de France on Monday as Alberto Contador attacked after the mishap and made up more than the 31 seconds he had been trailing by.

The controversial decision by Contador to take advantage of a mechanical mishap on Stage 15 will surely dog him throughout the rest of the race. There are unwritten and debatable “rules” about gaining on adversaries who have crashed or suffered similar problems.

Angry and disappointed after the race, Schleck was asked whether he thought Contador's attack was fair:

“What's fair or not fair… it's not for me to decide. I would not have raced like that.

My stomach is full of anger. I want to take my revenge ….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/07/19/mechanical-problem-puts-contador-in-yellow-schleck-vows-revenge/

Challengers ride away as rivals battle in the Pyrenees

The two main rivals in this year's Tour de France battled so hard to outfox each other on the final climb of Ax Les Thermes on Sunday that they might have lost sight of the other competitors who finished ahead.

France's Christophe Riblon (AG2R) won the 114-mile Stage 14 from Revel to Ax-3 Domaines by joining a breakaway about 10 miles into the race. Riblon attacked and rode away from the break on the above-category Port de Pailheres and survived solo over the Ax Les Thermes.

Meanwhile, yellow jersey Andy Schleck and defending champion Alberto Contador played a game of cat and mouse as the race moved into the Pyrenees …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/07/18/challengers-ride-away-as-rivals-battle-in-the-pyrenees/

10,000 cyclists on the road for Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic

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Some 10,000 bicyclists took to the streets in Seattle on Saturday morning for the 31st annual Seattle-to-Portland Bicycle Classic.

The popularity of this one- or two-day bike ride along 200 miles of scenic roads to Portland is growing every year. Although ridership has been capped at 10,000 for several years, registrations sold out in mid April. That's 2 1/2 months earlier than in 2009.

As you can see from these photos, the ride is not reserved for standard two-wheeled bicycles. There are recumbent bikes and trikes, handcycles, cargo bikes ….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/07/17/10000-cyclists-on-the-road-for-seattle-to-portland-bicycle-classic/

Vinokourov says he proves himself with Stage 13 victory

Say what you will about one-time suspended Alexandre Vinokourov, but the Kazakh cyclist makes things happen.

The Astana cyclist showed his fighting spirit for the second day in a row at the Tour de France on Saturday when he attacked the peloton on a climb near the finish.

Unlike Friday, when he was basically chased down by team leader Alberto Contador and finished 3rd overall, Vino extended his lead over the last 5 miles of the race on Saturday and won Stage 13 in Revel by 13 seconds.

Andy Schleck's overall lead of 31 seconds ahead of Contador remains unchanged…

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/07/17/vinokourov-says-he-proves-himself-with-stage-13-victory/

Contador gains time on Schleck and shows Vino who's boss

Will the true leader of the Astana cycling team please stand up? It's Alberto Contador.

The defending Tour de France champion blasted past race leader Andy Schleck and Astana teammate Alexandre Vinokourov on the final climb of Stage 12 on Friday.

Joaquin Rodriguez of Team Katusha won the two-man sprint to the finish, but Contador gained 10 seconds on Schleck. He also reminded Vinokourov that he's the team leader.

Vinokourov seemed to have trouble understanding that concept in a couple of stages ….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/07/16/contador-gains-time-on-schleck-and-shows-vino-whos-boss/

Bike path deal upsets Army-Navy Country Club members

Opposition to public bicycle paths can come from unusual sources in unexpected places.

For instance, the prospect of a public bike path running alongside a corner of the members-only Army-Navy Country Club in Arlington, Virginia, has some of its members up in arms.

Fourteen of the active and retired military commissioned officers at the club are suing the club's board of directors for letting such a proposal go through.

A Navy captain said:

“Once the word gets out to the younger generation there is a secluded place to come and visit and have some fun, you can bet they're going to be there. … Gangs. Rivals. Hazards to pedestrians coming in and out. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/07/16/bike-path-deal-upsets-army-navy-country-club-members/

STP forecast: Sunscreen and route change, with a chance of road rash

The 10,000 cyclists making the 200-mile ride from Seattle to Portland this weekend will face light clouds changing to sunny weather the whole way. Look for highs in the mid 70s on Saturday, rising to the low 80s in Portland on Sunday.

At the risk of jinxing the ride for everyone, I'll tell you there's no chance for precipitation in the forecast. You can leave that rain gear at home.

This weekend marks the 31st anniversary of the STP Bicycle Classic, the Cascade Bicycle Club's premier presentation of the year. Popularity of the ride is so high that it sold out in April this year, earlier than ever.

Cascade has made a last-minute route change on the approach to Portland this year. Instead of taking the St. John's  Bridge, cyclists will be routed over the Steel Bridge. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/07/15/stp-forecast-sunscreen-and-route-change-with-a-chance-of-road-rash/

Lucky 13 for Cavendish in Tour de France head-butting finish

British sprinter Mark Cavendish undeniably achieved his 3rd win of the 2010 Tour de France — the 13th of his career — on Thursday's Stage 11.

What remains for debate, however, is how much some heavy-handed tactics by his HTC-Columbia lead-out man Mark Renshaw contributed to that victory. Renshaw, for his part, was booted out of the race by Tour officials.

Overhead views of the final sprint in Bourg les Valence show Renshaw head-butting Garmin-Transition's Julian Dean, who was riding on his right. Check out the video above at about 5:30 for overhead view of the finish. It's possible that Renshaw thought Dean was moving to the left to block Cavendish ….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/07/15/lucky-13-for-cavendish-in-tour-de-france-head-butting-finish/

Armstrong will cooperate with doping probe, but not a witch hunt

As unidentified sources leaked that federal investigators are issuing grand jury subpoenas in the doping allegations raised by Floyd Landis, Lance Armstrong says he'll cooperate. He told the New York Times before the start of Stage 10 on Wednesday:

“As long as we have a legitimate and credible and fair investigation I will be happy to co-operate but I'm not going to participate in any kind of witch hunt.”

Meanwhile, some inconsistent statements by Armstrong are throwing into question whether he held an ownership stake in Tailwind Sports. That's the group that owned the cycling team sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service.

Ownership is important because the feds want to find out whether the team was violating UCI doping rules to improve results, therefore gaining more money from the sponsors. That would make it fraud. ….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/07/14/armstrong-will-cooperate-with-doping-probe-but-not-a-witch-hunt/