Category: Tour de France

A last-lap threat by the Garmin cycling team couldn't derail the lead-out train of Team Columbia as their star sprinter Mark Cavendish won the last stage of the 2009 Tour de France in Paris.

While Cavendish celebrated his sixth stage win at this year's Tour — the 10th in two years —  Astana's Alberto Contador was celebrating his second Tour de France championship.

Lance Armstrong also finished in the peloton, cementing a third-place finish at the Tour behind Saxo Bank's Andy Schleck. Armstrong plans to return next year for one more Tour at the head of his own team, sponsored by Radio Shack.

The only two US-based teams in this year's race battled at the head of the peloton in the closing lap….

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Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong protected their first and third places in the Tour de France on Saturday by repelling attacks by Andy and Frank Schleck on the barren slopes of Mont Ventoux.

Juan Garate (Rabobank) won Stage 20 when he attacked Tony Martin (Columbia) about 40 seconds ahead of the yellow jersey group. They were the last two survivors of a 16-man breakaway that at one point had 10 minutes on the peloton.

After the race, Armstrong told Versus that he was pleased with his efforts:

“I can't complain… For an old fart coming in here and getting on the podium with these young guys [that's] not so bad ….

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Mark Cavendish notched his fifth victory this year at the Tour de France as a group of sprinters hung onto the peloton's leaders over the final climb of Stage 19.

The win makes 24-year-old the winningest Brit in Tour de France history with nine stage victories.

Although the top 8 overall remained in order behind yellow jersey Alberto Contador, Lance Armstrong gained 4 seconds in his overall third position by staying with the lead group as a split developed further back to the others in the peloton.

While the 110-mile stage from Bourgoin-Jallieu to Aubenas was considered to be an intermediate stage that might see a breakaway group finish first, that breakaway was reeled in early. …

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There is no drafting, team tactics or breaking away at the Tour de France individual time trial. The bicycle racers win or lose on their own.

Here are the big winners from the 25-mile Stage 18 time trial at Annecy:

Alberto Contador — The Astana cyclist solidified his position in the yellow jersey by winning the stage and earning more respect for his efforts. His 48:30 was 3 seconds faster than Fabian Cancellara, whose time was the one to shoot for most of the day.

Lance Armstrong — Finished 16th on the stage but moved up to 3rd overall in the General Classification. He finished 1:30 behind Contador, but ahead of a whole host of other rivals for a podium position in Paris. …

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Andy and Frank Schleck catapulted themselves into second and third places behind Alberto Contador on Stage 17 of the Tour de France on Wednesday as Lance Armstrong dropped from second to fourth place.

On the eve of announcing a new team that he'll lead, Armstrong was put in the unusual position of working to protect an Astana teammate's position at the Tour as his own standing slipped.

But the most unusual sight along much of the 106-mile stage from Bourg Saint Maurice to Le Grand Bornand had to be Thor Hushovd, the sprinter, who took a solo breakaway over two mountain climbs to ensure he'd get the intermediate sprint points in his bid for the green jersey …

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The Schleck brothers tried a one-two punch to knock Alberto Contador out of the yellow jersey on Tuesday as Stage 16 of the Tour de France continued through the Alps.

The effort didn't phase the Spanish cyclist on Team Astana, but it briefly put Lance Armstrong on the mat. He valiantly battled back, however, and regained the yellow jersey group to hold onto second place in the overall standings.

Spain's Mikel Astarloza, above, survived in an ever-dwindling breakaway over the two cols — Grand Saint Bernard and Petit Saint Bernard — to win his first-ever Tour de France stage and propel himself into 11th place overall ….

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American cyclist George Hincapie missed the yellow jersey by 5 seconds on Saturday as he joined a breakaway that didn't get to the finish line quite fast enough.

The Columbia rider moved up 27 places to 2nd behind Rinaldo Nocentini.

Hincapie was the highest placed cyclist among the 12 that led Stage 14 for most of the day. In fact, he was the yellow jersey “on the road” as the margin back to the peloton grew to more than 6 minutes.

But the 12 couldn't work together as they neared the finish in Besancon and jockeyed for their stage win. With about 6 miles to go, Serguei Ivanov attacked and drove to a solo victory ahead of 11 others.

After the race, a clearly disappointed and bitter Hincapie ….

Cervelo's Heinrich Haussler found Friday's Stage 13 to be a lucky stage for him as he survived a day-long breakaway in the 2009 Tour de France to win the bike race to Colmar.

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The day's rain seemed to dampen the contest for the yellow jersey. For the 6th straight stage, there was no change in the overall classification as Rinaldo Nocentini continued in the lead.

Levi Leipheimer's unfortunate withdrawal because of a broken wrist suffered in a crash on Thursday led to the only major change in the standings, as everyone below him moved up one spot.

Saturday's 124-mile stage from Colmar to Besancon has a couple of Category 3 climbs, so it's doubtful that the rivals like Nocentini, Alberto Contador, Lance Armstrong, Bradley Wiggins or the Schleck brothers will attempt anything….

American cyclist Levi Leipheimer withdrew from the 2009 Tour de France on Friday with a broken wrist.

He suffered the break on Thursday's run-in to the finish in Vittel. Since the crash occurred within 3 kilometers of the finish line, the rider on the Astana team didn't lose any time.

Leipheimer was sitting in 4th place in the overall battle for the yellow jersey, 39 seconds behind the leader. I'm sure he'll be sorely missed by teammates Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong, who sit in 2nd and 3rd place respectively.

Team manager Johan Bruyneel said the team will have to change its tactics over the last week with Leipheimer gone …..