Tour de France

Prologue - Saturday, July 5: Paris, Prologue TT, 6.5 km
McGee Powers to Maillot Jaune in Paris
Emotional highs and lows mark centenary prologue
By Tim Maloney, Cyclingnews European Editor in Paris

After the greatest win of his career, 27 year old Sydneysider Brad McGee (FDJ.com) told French TV in his excellent French that "I had a good race today and we have a good team at FDJ.com; what I did today was because everyone worked well together. We worked out a plan together to win and that's the way it turned out...I'm very, very happy."

On an overcast, humid afternoon on a technical course through the middle of Paris, McGee powered home on his 55x11, with his rear tyre going flat in the last 500 meters, but confirming his pre-race status as a pre-race favourite with a narrow half-second win over Scotsman David Millar (Cofidis), prologue winner in the 2000 Tour De France in Futuroscope.

From the euphoria of McGee to the dejection of Millar, who likely lost a chance at a 2nd TDF prologue win today due to a mechanical problem. Millar told Cyclingnews post-stage that "I'm really disappointed about my race today. I lost at least 5 seconds when the chain got caught between the chainrings - that happened to two other guys on the team today."

Did TDF boss Jean-Marie Leblanc jinx Lance Armstrong's chances today by convincing the four time TDF winner to finally wear the Maillot Jaune in the Tour prologue? Armstrong, a man who is loyal to his habits, agreed to wear the yellow tunic and ended up with one of his worst Tour prologue finishes ever. "I'm a little bit disappointed by the way things went. I certainly wanted to win today since it was the Centenary prologue. I started a bit slow and just couldn't get up to speed after that," said the disappointed defending Maillot Jaune.

Despite the surprising performance by Armstrong, USPS-Berry Floor director Johan Bruyneel was happy about the team performance. "The team rode incredibly well today; we showed are here to race." Indeed, USPS-Berry Floor put four guys in the top 13 with Peña (5th), Armstrong (7th), Ekimov (10th) and Hincapie (13th).

Finishing a surprising third was Euskaltel-Euskadi rider Haimar Zubeldia. Not really a prologue specialist, Zubeldia surprised himself with his ride today. "I haven't been expecting to ride so well that at the Tour, but today showed I had good legs so I can hope to do something at this year's Tour", said the Basque rider.

In contrast to Lance's minor disappointment, Giro d'Italia winner Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) was pleased with his ride today. "Buono, buono", said Simoni of his 21st place, just 6" behind Armstrong. "That first climb was kind of tough on the legs, but after that I was able to make a good comeback...I haven't raced much since the Giro so I need a few days to get used to the race. This was a good start to the Tour for me."

American Tyler Hamilton was also pleased with his 2003 Tour De France start with an excellent 6th place. The man from Marblehead told Cyclingnews that "It was hard today...the smaller guys (like me) suffered a little bit more on the cobblestones. Typically the bumpy roads favour a heavier rider. Normally I like to have a higher cadence but on the cobbles, it's better to push a bigger gear. So maybe I'll be in the top 10. For me that's a good start to the Tour De France."

Another happy man was recent father Jan Ullrich (Bianchi), who powered to an excellent 4th place today, the first time he's ever beat Armstrong in a Tour De France prologue. "I'm super satisfied about how things went today", said Ullrich. "This was a good jump from my Tour de Suisse form to the Tour and so my gap today to the prologue specialists like McGee was very close."

World #1 rider and Italian champion Paolo Bettini (Quick.Step-Davitamon) lost 22" today but he was please with his ride. "I started well, especially in the first half, but when I hit that long straight (along the Seine) it looked like an airstrip it was so long. But anyway I had good legs and am here to win stages."

Bettini's Quick.Step-Davitamon teammate Mick Rogers was tipped as a favourite, ending up with a respectable ride for 19th, 13" behind McGee. "This stage was too short for me. I only get going after 10km or so", explained the 24 year old Aussie.

Australian Bradley McGee (Fdjeux.com/Fra) crosses the finish line of the prologue of the 90th Tour de France, a time trial in Paris.

Bradley McGee of Australia, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, reacts on the podium after winning the prologue stage of the Tour de France cycling race, a 6.5 kilometers (4.03 miles) individual time trial from the Eiffel Tower, through the streets of Paris, to the Ecole Militaire at the foot of the Champ de Mars, Saturday, July 5, 2003.

Prologue top 20 standings.

1 096 MC GEE Bradley AUS FDJ in 07' 26"
2 061 MILLAR David GBR COF at 00' 00"
3 179 ZUBELDIA Haimar ESP EUS at 00' 02"
4 131 ULLRICH Jan GER TBI at 00' 02"
5 008 PENA Victor Hugo COL USP at 00' 06"
6 071 HAMILTON Tyler USA CSC at 00' 06"
7 001 ARMSTRONG Lance USA USP at 00' 07"
8 011 BELOKI Joseba ESP ONE at 00' 09"
9 021 BOTERO Santiago COL TEL at 00' 09"
10 004 EKIMOV Vjatceslav RUS USP at 00' 11"
11 196 RICH Michael GER GST at 00' 11"
12 041 LEIPHEIMER Levi USA RAB at 00' 11"
13 005 HINCAPIE George USA USP at 00' 11"
14 034 KARPETS Vladimir RUS BAN at 00' 12"
15 152 ASTARLOZA Mikel ESP A2R at 00' 12"
16 102 GUTIERREZ José Enrique ESP KEL at 00' 12"
17 112 BODROGI Laszlo HUN QSD at 00' 13"
18 125 HUSHOVD Thor NOR C.A at 00' 13"
19 117 ROGERS Michael AUS QSD at 00' 13"
20 151 BROCHARD Laurent FRA A2R at 00' 13"

Tommorow: Stage 1 : 168 km, Sunday 6 July
Saint-Denis/Montgeron - Meaux

7/6: Stage 1 Results
1 PETACCHI Alessandro ITA FAS in 3h 44' 33"
2 MC EWEN Robbie AUS LOT at 00' 00"
3 ZABEL Erik GER TEL at 00' 00"
4 BETTINI Paolo ITA QSD at 00' 00"
5 COOKE Baden AUS FDJ at 00' 00"
6 HUSHOVD Thor NOR C.A at 00' 00"
7 FREIRE Oscar ESP RAB at 00' 00"
8 PAOLINI Luca ITA QSD at 00' 00"
9 VAINSTEINS Romans LAT CAL at 00' 00"
10 KIRSIPUU Jaan EST A2R at 00' 00"
Also:
107 ARMSTRONG Lance USA USP at 00' 00"
109 HERAS Roberto ESP USP at 00' 00"
110 PENA Victor Hugo COL USP at 00' 00"
111 PADRNOS Pavel CZE USP at 00' 00"
112 BELTRAN Manuel ESP USP at 00' 00"
114 EKIMOV Vjatceslav RUS USP at 00' 00"
144 HINCAPIE George USA USP at 00' 00"
189 LANDIS Floyd USA USP at 00' 00"
190 RUBIERA José Luis ESP USP at 00' 00"

Overall Results
1 MC GEE Bradley AUS FDJ in 3h 51' 55"
2 MILLAR David GBR COF at 00' 04"
3 ZUBELDIA Haimar ESP EUS at 00' 06"
4 ULLRICH Jan GER TBI at 00' 06"
5 PENA Victor Hugo COL USP at 00' 10"
6 HAMILTON Tyler USA CSC at 00' 10"
7 FLICKINGER Andy FRA A2R at 00' 10"
8 ARMSTRONG Lance USA USP at 00' 11"
9 BELOKI Joseba ESP ONE at 00' 13"
10 BOTERO Santiago COL TEL at 00' 13"

Petacchi: The Chef Of Sprinting Tastes Success

The first road stage was destined to end in the frenetic fury of a bunch sprint. The course was ideal for such a contest. And the teams who were chasing that result timed their run to perfection. The Battle of the Quicks is something we expect to see in the first week of the Tour de France and all the traditional ingredients were part of today’s brew.
For Alessandro Petacchi the expected conclusion had a sweet taste. For many other riders, however, the adrenaline-charged final kilometer ended in a bitter flavor. A crash does, after all, sour even the best preparation.
The Fassa Bortolo team joined forced with the Lotto-Domo boys with about 85km to race in the stage. Their quest was the reel in three riders who went on the attack after the first intermediate sprint of the day and, at one stage had pushed their advantage to almost nine minutes.
Christophe Mengin, Andy Flickinger and Walter Beneteau were the appetizers in the stage. Mengin was the only one to reap any reward for the 130-odd kilometers they spent on the boil at the front of the race. He won two of the three small hills and before his escape was cooked he’d earned the right to wear the polka-dot jersey in tomorrow’s stage.
That was all the opportunists achieved before the chefs of the sprint arrived to finish off the meal of today’s stage.
With 11km to race Fassa and Lotto stirred the pot until the final kilometer beckoned and the sprinters’ meal was on the verge of perfection. The final turn was what changed all that.
Kelme’s Jose Enrique Gutierrez went too far to the left, pulled his foot from his pedal and lost control of his bike. The effect ruined the final feed. Jimmy Casper was the main casualty of the messy affair which saw about 35 rider hit the tarmac. He is the first retirement of the 2003 Tour after landing heavily on his head.
Petacchi and an elite crop of sprinters raced clear while the rest of the peloton picked up the broken pieces. Like a large percentage of the peloton, the rider in the yellow jersey, Brad McGee, was caught up in the fall but eventually sauntered over the line in 69th place. It wasn't the ideal way to celebrate another day as the Tour leader, but you take what you can get when fractions of a second is all you have to work with at the start of the stage.
The only consolation of the fall was that each rider in the race – even the battered Casper – was given the same time as the Italian who led the charge over the line.
Everyone in the race had a different tale to tell about the carnage in the kitchen in Meaux, but the tale which matters most is that almost everyone will get another taste tomorrow.

The Official Tour de France websitewhich has had some good video clips, and a daily update from Phil Liggett.

Bad news for the Armstrong kid...

Armstrong involved in crash, gets up and finishes race on teammate's bike

By JOHN LEICESTER, Associated Press Writer
July 6, 2003

MEAUX, France (AP) -- Lance Armstrong was hoping for an uneventful start to the Tour de France -- no crashes, nothing to disrupt his quest for a record-tying fifth win.

It didn't quite work out that way.

The 31-year-old Texan was thrown from his bike Sunday in a dramatic pileup involving about 35 riders sprinting for the finish of the first full stage of the Tour.

``It is never good to crash, but it wasn't that bad,'' said Armstrong, the 1999-2002 Tour winner. ``We all just fell over and got piled on top of.''

Armstrong was not seriously hurt, but his bike had a flat and the wheel wouldn't turn so he completed the race on the cycle of his U.S. Postal teammate, Jose Luis Rubiera.

U.S. rider Tyler Hamilton, a former teammate of Armstrong's now cycling for the Danish CSC team, and four others were taken to a hospital for X-rays, Tour doctors said. Hamilton, who broke his collarbone, looked doubtful to continue the Tour.

Italy's Alessandro Petacchi was just ahead of the pack that crashed and won the stage. He blamed Tour organizers for the pileup, saying the corner where the accident took place, a few hundred yards from the finish, was dangerous.

``We're made to wear a helmet, but then they give us a dangerous corner so close to the finish,'' said Petacchi, 29, who rides for Italy's Fassa Bortolo team. ``That's something that should not be on the route in such an important race as the Tour de France.''

Tour competition director, Jean-Francois Pescheux, denied the course was at fault. ``If people tell me today that it was dangerous, then they should stop cycling,'' he said.

A Spanish rider, Jose Enrique Gutierrez, went down first, slipping in the last turn before the finish in the town of Meaux, east of Paris.

Other riders piled into him. Many others were blocked behind the mass of fallen riders. Shouldering broken bikes, some walked the few hundred yards to the finish.

Armstrong bruised his right thigh and scratched his left shoulder, said a spokesman for his U.S. Postal Service team, Jogi Muller.

Hamilton, one of Armstrong's main rivals, broke his right collarbone and said he would likely pull out of the race.

``I've dedicated my life to it this year. It's a big disappointment,'' Hamilton said.

The accident highlights the pitfalls that could derail Armstrong's drive to tie Spanish great Miguel Indurain's record of five consecutive victories, from 1991-1995.

Before the race, Armstrong said his goal was to avoid trouble and save his energy for a team time trial later in the week and for punishing mountain stages, where he often leaves rivals in his wake.

``It's a dangerous week, as we all know, and you need to avoid problems and accidents,'' he said. ``We'll just stay out of trouble, try to avoid any problems.''

Those sounded like famous last words after the crash.

Two of Armstrong's teammates also went down during the crash. George Hincapie suffered cuts on his left knee, and Vjatceslav Ekimov had scratches.

The winner, Petacchi, beat out Robbie McEwen of Australia in the dash for the finish. German Erik Zabel was third. Petacchi covered the 104-mile course in 3 hours, 44 minutes and 33 seconds. McEwen and Zabel were just behind.

Australian Bradley McGee retained the yellow jersey awarded to the overall leader. McGee won the Tour's first event, an individual race against the clock over 4.03 miles in Paris on Saturday.

Armstrong is eighth overall, with 19 days of racing left. The 2,125-mile Tour finishes in Paris on July 27.

Wednesday's time trial is important because Tour favorites could fall behind if their team performs badly. They race against the clock over 43 miles, with each team member getting the overall finishing time. Armstrong said it was an opportunity to begin weeding out potential rivals.

``That day already starts to shape the race,'' he said. ``That day is more than survival, that's a day to make some selection.''

Sunday's stage started from Le Reveil Matin, a restaurant in the southeastern Paris suburb of Montgeron where the Tour started in 1903. Today, the restaurant serves French cuisine and Tex-Mex.

From there, the riders cycled south before turning east and then north to finish in Meaux, a town of 50,000 people known for its Brie cheese and mustard. This was the first time the Tour has stopped in Meaux, about 25 miles east of Paris.

The route took the riders past ripened fields of golden wheat, the lush forest of Fontainebleau and through picturesque villages. Waving fans along the route cheered the riders.

On Monday, the Tour's third day, the riders cover 126.8 miles, skirting Champagne country and the cathedral town of Reims, where French kings were crowned. They finish in Sedan, a town on the border with Belgium where German troops broke through during their invasion of France in 1940.

Marc Lotz of The Netherlands is treated for facial injuries after he was caught in a crash shortly before the finish of the first stage of the Tour de France cycling race between Montgeron, south of Paris, and Meaux, west of Paris, Sunday, July 6, 2003. Lotz was taken to Meaux hospital for x-rays.

Medics tend to US rider Tyler Hamilton in an ambulance after he was caught in a fall shortly before the finish of the first stage of the Tour de France cycling race between Montgeron, south of Paris, and Meaux, west of Paris, Sunday, July 6, 2003. Hamilton was suffering from severe bruises on his left shoulder and was taken to Meaux' hospital for x-rays.

Olaf Pollack of Germany, of Team Gerolsteiner, drags his bicycle as he crosses the finish after he was caught in a fall shortly before the finish line of the first stage of the Tour de France cycling race, between Montgeron, south of Paris, and Meaux, west of Paris, Sunday, July 6, 2003. Alessandro Petacchi of Italy won the stage, Bradley M Gee retains the overall lead. Pollack finished 194th of the stage.

Lance Armstrong: The Tour de France's backseat driver

By JOHN LEICESTER, Associated Press Writer
July 7, 2003

SEDAN, France (AP) -- For Lance Armstrong, finishing 54th Monday made for a good day -- perfect, actually -- on the Tour de France.

It may seem strange that the four-time champion is, for the moment at least, happy to hang back as he chases a record-tying fifth victory.

Experience has taught Armstrong there's little point in exhausting himself up front -- and risk being caught in crashes -- when there's 18 days of racing and many hard, long miles left.

For now, Armstrong and his formidable U.S. Postal Service team are happy to let other rider take the early stages that finish with fierce and sometimes dangerous sprints.

The Postals are setting their sights on crucial team time-trials Wednesday and the Alps, where Armstrong aims to start powering away from his rivals up lung-burning climbs.

On Monday, Armstrong finished in a pack behind winner Baden Cooke of Australia in the second stage of the Tour. He was in 10th place overall.

``A team like us just hopes for the mountains to come as fast as they can and get out unscathed,'' Dan Osipow, the Postal Service team's general manager, said as the riders set out on the relatively flat 126.8-mile second stage of the Tour to Sedan, a town near the border with Belgium.

Cooke, a sprinter who last year finished 127th overall, won the stage in a fierce dash at the finish, beating French rider Jean-Patrick Nazon and Estonian Jaan Kirsipuu by a whisker.

The risks of the Tour's early days, when riders still have fresh legs and newcomers are adjusting to racing in the large pack of nearly 200 cyclists, were highlighted in the first stage Sunday.

Spain's Jose Enrique Gutierrez lost control of his bike on the final turn, causing a dramatic pileup that took out about 35 riders -- Armstrong among them. Armstrong wasn't badly injured but suggested Monday that the Tour think about leaving some -- less experienced -- cyclists behind.

``The biggest problem is 200 fresh guys,'' Armstrong said. ``Given the intensity these days, 150 guys is a lot safer than 200.''

``Some of the guys have never done the Tour, they want to take risks, sort of like cowboys,'' he said.

Overall, Armstrong is 10th, just 11 seconds off current race leader Bradley McGee, an Australian sprint specialist who won the Tour's first event Saturday, a race against the clock through the streets of Paris.

Jan Ullrich, the 1997 winner and a key rival of Armstrong's, is 5th overall, just five seconds ahead of the Texan.

Cooke had never won a stage on the Tour before Monday.

``It's incredible. I can't believe it,'' he said. ``The final sprint was very, very dangerous ... Every day you take your chances. Usually it doesn't work, but today it worked.''

Like McGee, Cooke races for French squad Fdjeux.com, which now has won two of the three Tour races run so far.

``There's an incredible spirit in the team,'' McGee said. ``That's why we're working well together. On the Tour de France you need a good spirit because of all the stress.''

McGee finished 52nd Monday, close enough to Cooke to retain the coveted yellow jersey worn by the overall Tour leader.

Armstrong's former teammate, U.S. rider Tyler Hamilton, completed the second stage with a fractured collarbone suffered in Sunday's crash.

``I was aching all day, there was this really sharp pain. But if it was more than I could take then I would not have continued,'' Hamilton said after finishing 100th out of the 196 riders. He was eighth overall.

Two other injured riders, Marc Lotz of the Netherlands and U.S. cyclist Levi Leipheimer, were unable to race.

Injured Frenchman Jimmy Casper rode with a neck brace. Casper, also of Fdjeux.com, finished 189th, 10 minutes behind Cooke.

The stage started at La Ferte-sous-Jouarre, east of Paris. Cooke finished the route in 5 hours, 6 minutes and 33 seconds, averaging 25 miles per hour.

For a long while, French rider Frederic Finot looked set to take the stage, breaking away with another rider just three miles after the start. They built up a lead of more than 11 minutes at one point over the chasing pack. But the other rider, Lilian Jegou, finally dropped back, leaving Finot alone. He was caught by the pack just 1 1/2 miles before the finish.

Australians riders Robbie McEwen, left, wearing the best sprinter's green jersey, Baden Cooke, center, winner of the second stage, and overall leader Bradley McGee, right, pose following the second stage of the Tour de France between La Ferte-Sous-Jouarre and Sedan, eastern France, Monday July 7, 2003.

Baden Cooke of Australia, left, reacts as he wins the second stage of the Tour de France cycling race between La Ferte-sous-Jouarre and Sedan, eastern France, Monday, July 7, 2003. Erik Zabel of Germany, right, finished fourth behind Jean-Patrick Nazon of France and Jaan Kirsipuu of Estonia.

The injured leg of Frenchman Richard Virenque, with a scorpion tatoo, is seen prior to the start of the second stage of the Tour de France cycling race between La Ferte-sous-Jouarre and Sedan, eastern France, Monday, July 7, 2003. Virenque injured his leg in a crash at the end of the first stage in Meaux on Sunday.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie - Cooke, McGee, McEwen

“That a rider of Brad McGee’s caliber is leading me out for the sprint says a lot about his character,” said Baden Cooke after winning the second stage of the Tour de France. Cooke’s comments reflect the camaraderie which exists between the Australian component of the FDJeux.com team. McGee’s overall lead was a slim one at the start of the day. Just four seconds separated him from another Anglophone rider, David Millar of the Cofidis team. In total, there were 30 riders within 20 seconds of the yellow jersey. And although Frederick Finot did his best to spoil McGee's golden parade in a day long display of grit and determination, the winner of the prologue managed to maintain his overall lead.
Finot attacked in the fifth kilometer of the stage and was only reeled in by a concerted chase by the sprint teams with 2.5km to race. Such is the cruel fate of an opportunists attempt in the first week of the Tour de France.
McGee wasn't baulked by Finot's gallant attempt. He, along with Paolo Bettini and David Millar, were prepared to attack the peloton on the rolling hills which led the peloton to the finish in Sedan. And then, when the sprint loomed, McGee still had the energy to lead out his good friend, Mr Cooke. The rider in the yellow jersey jumped around a strong Brioche la Boulagnere lead-out train in the final kilometer to give Baden the best opportunity to improve on his second place in the final stage of last year’s Tour. ‘Cookie’ didn’t disappoint. In the past, the new leader of the Best Young Rider classification has misjudged the final rush to the line.
In his first year with the FDJeux.com team in 2002, Cooke claimed many wins. But he missed out on celebrating success in his debut Tour one year ago. Not this time. “Today I had no choice but to wait,” said Cooke.
“I was caught behind (Jaan) Kirsipuu who was on the left-hand side of the road and moving towards the barriers to try and get around (Brioche’s Jean-Patrick) Nazon. It worked perfectly for me. With a bigger gear a better legs than yesterday I think the accidental tactic was ideal.
The time bonuses earned by Cooke’s win were enough to push him up from 48th overall to third, just four seconds behind McGee. The 24-year-old will start the third stage clad in the white jersey.
It means that FDJeux.com own three of the four prize jerseys in the Tour de France. There are as many Australians in the colors which reflect the respective leaders of the four classifications on Tour. Robbie McEwen, second in stage one, finished sixth today. With the points earned in the final rush to the line added to his two intermediate points, he maintains a tender lead in the race for the green jersey – just one point ahead of the champion of today’s stage.
The very fact that there were seven Aussie riders at the start of the centenary Tour was reason to celebrate. That, in itself, is a record (eclipsing the previous best of five Australian starters). But with riders from this antipodean nation now dressed in yellow, white and green, it’s an obvious sign of the wealth of talent on offer in Australia.
The catch-cry of the Sydney Olympics has never been more poignant. ‘Aussie, Aussie, Aussie – Oi, Oi Oi!’ could be heard all around the world three years ago. At the centenary edition of the Tour de France, there are enough Australian fans on hand to get the chant going. After today, however, the song should be formally changed. Aussie, Aussie, Aussie... yellow, white, green... McGee, Cooke, McEwen! There may be no musical rhyme, but at least it means something. Something wonderful for a nation which has come of age in the Tour de France in the past five years.

From Phil Liggett:

Stage 2

Frederic Finot became the darling of the Tour on this third day, and he really deserved that.

Breaking away with another first-timer in Lilian Jegou, the pair led almost to the end. Finot, in fact staying out front for 197 kilometers, before being pushed aside by the field with a mile to go.

It was heart-breaking, but it is the Tour de France. No one has a friend when you are in this great race.

The Australians -- most of whom are good friends of Paul and I as we met them a lot in their amateur international days while working in Australia -- continue their dream Tour.

Now "Cookey" has become the sixth Aussie to win a stage, while teammate Brad McGee continues in yellow. It gets even better, with Robbie McEwen heading up the green jersey and likely to be the next Australian to win a stage.

It is all too much for Mike Tomalaris, the host of the Australian network show being seen on their SBS cable program. He's now calling the race the Tour d'Australia!

This race already has its heroes, too. Tyler Hamilton limps on with his fractured collar bone. Fabio Baldato has a stitched up tendon in his finger, and fell again this day. While Jimmy Casper can only look forward because his neck remains in a brace after that second day pile-up.

It's all part of the colorful history of this event. And what a wonderful race the 100th year is turning out. What next, I ask, as I keep reminding myself that the race has hardly begun!

Phil

This guy is exhausting to listen to!

Gosh, a link to Maggie's Pants? Looks like I've made the big time. ;)

Bookmakers are giving 2/7 odds for Lance to win again.

New leader...

Petacchi: Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad

Alessandro Petacchi survived yet another fall in the final kilometer and celebrated his second stage victory in three days. So ended the rapid third stage of the centenary Tour de France. The perpetual flurry of action throughout the 167.5km trip from Charleville to Saint-Dizier always seemed destined to conclude with a battle of the sprinters. That’s exactly what transpired, but only after Jean-Patrick Nazon muscled his way to the top of the overall classification.
These were the highlights of a day which started quickly and almost ended in disaster.
The Italian Fassa Bortolo rider threw both arms in the air as he crossed the line in obvious delight. It’s a familiar emotion for the man who won six stages of the Giro d’Italia only a two months earlier. And that fact made Nazon’s coup all the more poignant.
The Jean Delatour sprinter was a member of the FDJeux.com team last year. His contract expired at the end of 2002 and his place in the peloton was in doubt during the off-season. Marc Madiot, the director of his former team – the same man who yesterday struggled to explain the emotions he felt when he saw his young charge, Baden Cooke, claim his first stage win – surrendered his right to re-sign Nazon. The 26-year-old was on the market and eventually joined the French team which earned its third wild-card invitation to the Tour de France. He finished 34th in the prologue, 30th in stage one, third yesterday... and steadily worked his way up to sixth place overall before today's stage.
Nazon was within striking distance of Brad McGee’s overall lead. All he needed was some time bonuses and he could justify not only his place on the team, but Jean Delatour’s place in the race. Second at the first intermediate sprint and first in the second pushed him ahead of the Australian prologue winner. Second in the final intermediate sprint sealed his yellow destiny.
The solution to FDJeux.com’s quandary of controlling the top of the overall classification was for Cooke to repeat his stage victory and inherit the overall lead with the 20 second time bonus. It was a viable plan given Cooke’s impressive sprinting ability.
Then came the chaos of the final sprint.
Out of the final turn, the Caldirola team of today’s runner-up, Romans Vainsteins, were in charge. Fassa Bortolo then took over. And on the left-hand side of the final straight there were more riders than there was room for them to fit.
Petacchi and Vainsteins had a head-butting bout at the front of the rapid rush. Behind them Cooke was primed to jump. So too was the rider in the green jersey, Robbie McEwen. Push came to shove and suddenly McEwen was sandwiched between his compatriot and the unluckiest rider of the day, Rene Haselbacher of the Gerolsteiner team.
Cooke unclipped from his pedal and miraculously stayed upright. McEwen benefited from his place in the middle, held his line and raced off to cross the line in fifth. And Haselbacher somersaulted off his bike, into the barricades, bouncing off his head onto his butt... and slid for several meters on the hot tarmac in Saint-Dizier.
Petacchi saluted. Cooke reflected on what might have been. McGee crossed the line in 12thth, relieved that he survived the carnage. And Nazon finished one place further back with the knowledge that he was destined for the podium.

The Liggett Report

Stage 3

It is the stuff that has made the Tour de France over the 100 years -- a Frenchman who would have been seen as a most unlikely leader of the race, gets the lead almost in sight of his home town of Epinal.

What is more, the Jean Delatour, preferred over the world champion Mario Cipollini's team, has vindicated the organizers over giving them preference.

The last French leader was Francois Simon, and the last French winner, Bernard Hinault in 1985. Nazon will not win, but he has now got one of the Centenary jerseys, and we can all understand that tear in his eye on the podium.

There were more crashes today, which is making everyone very nervous, but the team time trial might reduce the hopes of some who still think of a day in yellow.

Lance Armstrong is well placed, but if his team wins the TTT, it will be Victory Hugo Pena who will wear the yellow jersey, not Lance.

Lance will be very happy with that.

Armstrong takes it easy as Petacchi wins another stage

By JOHN LEICESTER, Associated Press Writer
July 8, 2003

SAINT-DIZIER, France (AP) -- Lance Armstrong finished 69th in the third stage of the Tour de France, conserving his strength for an important time trial and the grueling mountain climbs.

Italy's Alessandro Petacchi won his second stage of the Tour on Tuesday, speeding to the line in a sprint marked by another crash.

Armstrong is taking it easy in the early stages as he attempts to equal Miguel Indurain's record of five consecutive victories in cycling's showcase race.

Armstrong is 12th overall, 19 seconds behind leader France's Jean-Patrick Nazon with 17 days of racing left.

``They're still nervous, there are still crashes, still lucky not be involved, which means the team did a great job in protecting Lance,'' said Jogi Muller, a spokesman for Armstrong's U.S. Postal Service team.

Three of Armstrong's teammates, whose job includes shielding the Texan from the bumps and accidents in the main pack, finished grouped around him.

Jan Ullrich, the 1997 Tour winner and a threat this year, is sixth overall, five seconds ahead of Armstrong.

Tyler Hamilton, who broke his collarbone Sunday in a crash involving about 35 riders, finished 43rd. Before the injury, he had been considered another of Armstrong's potential rivals. He is 10th overall.

``I'm feeling about 80-85 percent,'' Hamilton said after Tuesday's stage. ``There is just this kind of dull numbing pain which nags away at me.''

Petacchi, winner of Sunday's first stage, beat Latvia's Romans Vainsteins and Spain's Oscar Freire in the dash into Saint-Dizier, the third of the three-week Tour's 20 stages. Germany's Erik Zabel was fourth and Australia's Robbie McEwen was fifth.

``I had a great sprint,'' said Petacchi, of the Italian Fassa Bortolo team. ``I'm starting to get into form.''

Nazon finished in 14th place and took the yellow jersey by picking up time bonuses in sprint stages along the 104-mile route. He is the first Frenchman to hold the overall lead since Francois Simon in 2001.

``People will remember that I'm the first French rider in a yellow jersey at this centennial,'' said Nazon, of the French Jean Delatour team. ``It has happened so quickly. I'm having a lot of difficulty understanding what's happening.''

On a hot, sunny day, Petacchi completed the race in 3 hours 27 minutes, 39 seconds.

The stage was marked by a crash involving Rene Haselbacher of Austria. Doctors treated him by the side of the road and he finished 193rd of the 196 riders.

Armstrong aims to start winnowing out challengers in the team time trial Wednesday in which squads race against the clock over a 43-mile course from Joinville back to Saint-Dizier.

Each rider gets the time of the whole team, meaning a cyclist can lose valuable minutes with a weak squad.

Armstrong's team races last because it leads the overall standings among the Tour's 22 teams. That will allow the riders to see how Armstrong's key rivals have done.

``It's a big advantage,'' Armstrong said.

Wednesday ``is really the first decisive move of the race,'' said Dan Osipow, the team's general manager. ``With a bad team time trial, you can lose a handful of minutes, and where do you find those minutes again when the Alps come?''

Australian riders, Baden Cooke, left foreground, overall leader Bradley McGee, center wearing yellow jersey, and Robbie McEwen, right, ride ahead of the pack in the early kilometers of the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race between Charleville-Mezieres and Saint-Dizier, France, Tuesday, July 8, 2003.

New overall leader Jean-Patrick Nazon of France reacts on the podium after the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race between Charleville-Mezieres and Saint-Dizier, France, Tuesday, July 8, 2003.

Alessandro Petacchi of Italy reacts as he wins the third stage of the Tour de France cycling race between Charleville-Mezieres and Saint-Dizier, France, Tuesday, July 8, 2003.

Well damn davis, post something. I've been ill the last few days and not paying too much attention.

Holy cow, USPS kicked some ass yesterday!

A Collective Effort Delivers A Victory For Victor

There is a rich history of success for Colombian riders in the Tour de France. A total of 63 riders from this South American nation have started the race, seven of them have won 12 stages, two of them have claimed the overall climbing prize and one has finished third overall. And today Victor Hugo Pena gave the country's vocal commentators something more to scream about. He will celebrate his 29th birthday tomorrow by lining up for the fifth stage in the yellow jersey of overall leader.
It’s a fitting reward for a rider who has been a part of the US Postal Service team since the start of the 2001 season. The golden prize is the result, however, of a cooperative effort from the American-registered team which won the team time trial. They finished 30 seconds ahead of the ONCE-Eroski formation which has robbed the Posties of victory in the collective effort twice in the last three years.
Pena’s one second advantage over Lance Armstrong at the top of the overall classification also makes him the first Colombian in history to wear the Tour’s maillot jaune.
On the eve of the race’s departure from the region famous for its production of champagne – and moves into the Bourgogne – these are some reasonable excuses for the US Postal Service team to pop a few corks from the bottles of the local produce, even if there’s likely to be more to toast in the following weeks.
The blue train were patient with their effort today. At the first of three intermediate time checks they trailed six other teams. Telekom set the early standard before being overtaken by four other teams at the 44.5km mark. Leading the charge were Joseba Beloki’s ONCE-Eroski crew. They were six seconds up on the Postal formation and 11 seconds ahead of an impressive performance by iBanesto.com. Then came the Postal push. With 10km to go, Pena, Armstrong and their seven comrades – Roberto Heras, Manuel Beltran, Vjatcheslav Ekimov, George Hincapie, Floyd Landis, Pavel Padrnos and Jose Luis Rubiera – took control. They past the 59km time check 17 seconds clear of their nearest rivals. And Pena’s birthday celebrations seemed destined to turn yellow.
When all nine riders raced across the line the elation was obvious. George Hincapie threw an arm in the air to signal the joy he felt from his first stage success from eight Tour starts. Rubiera led the blue brigade over the line ahead of a beaming Pena. Armstrong, who is likely to experience more glory in the coming weeks waited at the back and grinned at the knowledge of his team’s coup. His colleagues had, after all, ridden well enough to place eight of their riders into the top 10 in the overall classification. Beloki is the nearest challenger in ninth, 33 seconds behind tomorrow’s birthday boy.
Yes, they’re back... back again. Only this time, the Posties enjoyed success as a collective train!

Petacchi Pushes To Within A Point Of Green Lead

Were it not for the obligatory attempts of several opportunists, the report for the fifth stage of the Tour de France could virtually have been written without the need to send the 196 riders through the sun-filled sauna on the roads connecting Troyes to Nevers. One glance at the profile suggested a sprint finish loomed. That’s exactly what happened. And, as we’ve already seen twice before today, the dominant force in the bunch gallop is Alessandro Petacchi.
The Italian’s force in the final rush is such that it didn’t matter who was ahead of him. Victory was his destiny.
Baden Cooke is the only rider to interrupt Petacchi’s winning streak in the road stages this year. And it was the Australian’s FDJeux.com team who set things up perfectly in the final kilometer. The prologue winner, Brad McGee, rounded the final turn at the front of the complete peloton and surged forward with enormous strength until, exhausted from his effort, he dropped his head and moved over to allow his mate, Cooke, to sprint through on his right. The timing was perfect. With 300 meters to go, Baden bolted into the lead. That was, however, the end of the Australian show.
Further down the sprint train the 29-year-old Petacchi was sheltered from the wind by his rivals. He saw McGee’s move to the left and rose from the saddle. One pedal stroke pushed him ahead of Stuart O’Grady. Another rotation of his cranks and he was past Cooke. Within a matter of 100 meters, the champion of stages one and three was at the front of the pack. His third victory salute came over a bike length clear of the charging Estonian, Jaan Kirsipuu. Petacchi was already rushing beyond the finish line photographers while those who hoped to cause a hiccup to his dominance were shaking their heads and dreaming up excuses.
There’s no need for excuses. Petacchi was just too good. Read the results. See the names. And understand that he eclipsed the best efforts of the finest sprinters in cycling with perhaps the exception of one riders. But, well, somewhere else is the rainbow...
Even without the current world champion, Mario Cipollini’s presence, Petacchi can take heart in what he’s achieved today. It was a display which was more enjoyable to watch than his first two victories. Instead of considering the carnage behind him – as has been the case in the final straights in stages one and three – fans of the Tour could simply enjoy watching the sheer acceleration of a man on a mission. Alessandro now trails McEwen by just one point in the sprint classification, but with one more flat stage before the Alps beckon it’s likely that Fassa Bortolo will have a new, green hero after tomorrow’s stage.

I hope Petacchi is enjoying his moment, he deserves it.

Armstrong's team in good shape as Alps loom

By JOHN LEICESTER, Associated Press Writer
July 10, 2003

NEVERS, France (AP) -- Lance Armstrong's team has plenty of champagne in stock.

But while the four-time champion is in good position for another Tour de France victory, he is not about to start popping corks with more than two weeks of racing left.

The Texan remained in second place overall behind teammate Victor Hugo Pena, playing it safe and finishing 53rd in Thursday's fifth stage of cycling's showcase event.

Alessandro Petacchi, an Italian proving to be the sprint king of this centennial Tour, took the stage. It was his third stage victory in five days.

Armstrong is preserving his strength for the mountains, using his U.S. Postal Service teammates to shield him from accidents -- a clear risk in the flat and fast early races.

``We're in good shape,'' teammate George Hincapie said. ``Our main strategy is to keep Lance out of trouble, and let him do the least work possible. Keep him out of trouble and out of the wind.''

Armstrong was sandwiched between teammates Hincapie (52nd) and Pavel Padrnos (54th) in the 122.03-mile race to Nevers. In the overall standings, U.S. Postal holds the top eight spots.

``It worked out well today,'' teammate Floyd Landis said. ``We didn't have to push too hard or do too much work.''

The team routed its rivals in time trials Wednesday when squads raced against the clock. The win, the team's first in the event, put Armstrong 38 seconds ahead of Jan Ullrich, the 1997 winner, and three minutes ahead of Gilberto Simoni, winner of this year's Giro d'Italia.

Simoni is strong in the mountains, but so is Armstrong. The Italian will have trouble making up the lost time in the Alps' painful climbs that begin Saturday.

``Three minutes, that's important -- that's a big slide,'' U.S. Postal sporting director Johan Bruyneel said.

Pena took the leader's yellow jersey Wednesday and kept it Thursday, his 29th birthday.

``It's the best birthday present I've had,'' he said. ``I feel like I'm living in a dream.''

Pena, the first Colombian to lead the Tour in the race's 100-year history, is a second ahead of Armstrong because he was that much faster in the first race, a sprint through Paris last Saturday.

As leader, Pena received a gift of his body weight in champagne from the town of Troyes on Thursday, where the stage started, organizers said. Pena weighs about 154 pounds.

U.S. Postal staff loaded about a dozen boxes of the sparkling wine aboard its bus. It surely will come in handy if Armstrong wins in Paris on July 27, equaling the feat of five straight victories by Spain's Miguel Indurain.

``We have to be prepared for the mountains and not get overexcited,'' Hincapie said. ``It's wonderful to put time over our rivals, but the mountains are a whole different story.''

At the finish in Nevers, Petacchi beat Jaan Kirsipuu of Estonia and Baden Cooke of Australia with a burst in the last 200 yards.

His sister, Ilaria, was astounded.

``I don't have a brother, I've discovered that he's a motorcycle,'' she told the Italian news agency ANSA from her home in Italy.

Petacchi, of the Italian Fassa Bortolo team, completed the 121.8-mile hilly course in 4 hours, 9 minutes, 47 seconds. He averaged 29 mph.

Petacchi also won sprint finishes in the first and third stages of the 20-stage race, which covers 2,125 miles.

``A sprint is a question of centimeters ... You need just a little problem for it to go badly,'' he said. ``Up until now, it's gone well. But I can't say that I'm the king of the sprinters because there are other good sprinters.''

This guy is insane...

NEVERS, France (AFP) - American rider Tyler Hamilton has been given the all-clear to continue in the Tour de France after undergoing new x-rays follwing the fifth stage.

The 32-year-old frontman of the Danish CSC rider fractured his collarbone in a crash in the first stage last Sunday. Since then, he has been riding in the Tour wearing strapping and after having regular painkilling injections.

He finished in the mass bunched finish behind winner Alessandro Petacchi of Italy on Thursday.

CSC team boss Bjarne Riis said: "It's too early to say the healing process has begun but the bones haven't moved so Tyler will continue for the time being."

Overall standings

Alessandro Petacchi of Italy won Stage 5 of the Tour
de France. The following are the top 20 overall cyclists:

1. Victor Hugo Pena (Colombia) 17 hours, 54 minutes, 31 seconds
 2. Lance Armstrong (USA) 1 second behind
 3. Viatcheslav Ekimov (Russia) 00:05
 4. George Hincapie (USA) 00:05
 5. Jose Luis Rubiera (Spain) 00:23
 6. Roberto Heras (Spain) 00:27
 7. Pavel Padrnos (Czech Republic) 00:27
 8. Floyd Landis (USA) 00:28
 9. Joseba Beloki (Spain) 00:33
10. Jorg Jaksche (Germany) 00:38
11. Manuel Beltran (Spain) 00:39
12. Jan Ullrich (Germany) 00:39
13. Isidro Nozal (Spain) 00:44
14. Tobias Steinhauser (Germany) 00:51
15. Mikel Pradera (Spain) 00:58
16. Angel Casero (Spain) 00:58
17. Jose Azevedo (Portugal) 01:01
18. Marcos Serrano (Spain) 01:04
19. Vladimir Karpets (Russia) 01:11
21. Laszlo Bodrogi (Hungary) 01:12

Mr. Broken Collarbone

Colombian Victor Hugo Pena (US Postal/USA) celebrates on the podium at the end of fifth stage of the 90th Tour de France cycling race between Troyes and Nevers.

USPS train

I'm stoked for the mountain stages to begin. Enough of these wheat fields, let's see some poor bastards climbing the Alps!

Stage 6 Results
1 PETACCHI Alessandro ITA FAS in 5h 08' 35"
2 COOKE Baden AUS FDJ at 00' 00"
3 GUIDI Fabrizio ITA TBI at 00' 00"
4 HUSHOVD Thor NOR C.A at 00' 00"
5 VAINSTEINS Romans LAT CAL at 00' 00"
6 NAZON Damien FRA BLB at 00' 00"
7 HINAULT Sébastien FRA C.A at 00' 00"
8 GLOMSER Gerrit AUT SAE at 00' 00"
9 KRIVTSOV Yuriy UKR DEL at 00' 00"
10 PAOLINI Luca ITA QSD at 00' 00"

Also:
33 RUBIERA José Luis ESP USP at 00' 00"
39 ARMSTRONG Lance USA USP at 00' 00"
40 HINCAPIE George USA USP at 00' 00"
47 BELTRAN Manuel ESP USP at 00' 00"
51 PEÑA Victor Hugo COL USP at 00' 00"
55 HERAS Roberto ESP USP at 00' 00"
63 PADRNOS Pavel CZE USP at 00' 00"
69 EKIMOV Vjatceslav RUS USP at 00' 00"
108 LANDIS Floyd USA USP at 00' 00"

Overall Results through Stage 6
1 PEÑA Victor Hugo COL USP in 23h 03' 06"
2 ARMSTRONG Lance USA USP at 00' 01"
3 EKIMOV Vjatceslav RUS USP at 00' 05"
4 HINCAPIE George USA USP at 00' 05"
5 RUBIERA José Luis ESP USP at 00' 23"
6 HERAS Roberto ESP USP at 00' 27"
7 PADRNOS Pavel CZE USP at 00' 27"
8 LANDIS Floyd USA USP at 00' 28"
9 BELOKI Joseba ESP ONE at 00' 33"
10 JAKSCHE Jorg GER ONE at 00' 38"
11 BELTRAN Manuel ESP USP at 00' 39"
12 ULLRICH Jan GER TBI at 00' 39"

Yellow Jersey: Victor Hugo PENA
Green Jersey: Alessandro PETACCHI
Polka-dot Jersey: Christophe MENGIN
White Jersey: Vladimir KARPETS

One Winner: Two Stars

Alessandro Petacchi may have celebrated his fourth victory in the 2003 Tour de France, but the real champions of the sixth stage were the riders who finished 20th and 59th, Stuart O’Grady and Antony Geslin.
Virtually unstoppable in the bunch sprint, the Italian’s speed was so impressive in the final surge that he was able to cease pedaling in the final 50 meters. To rub salt into the wounds of his rivals, Petacchi sat up, lifted his hands from the bars and took a cheeky glance over his left shoulder before throwing his arms aloft as he coasted over the finish line in Lyon.
Two years ago, on the climb to the summit of l’Alpe d’Huez, Lance Armstrong was scolded by some of the media for what they suggested was a display of arrogance when he checked on the position of his rival, Jan Ullrich, before going on the attack and demoralizing the 1997 champion. Petacchi is not likely to suffer the same disdain despite the fact that he stared down his opposition who were still wrestling their bikes at about 70km/h in a futile attempt to match the new king of sprinting.
Who really cares what the media had to say about the rider who is expected to shine once the race arrives in the mountains which will welcome the Tour this coming weekend? Today’s tale is about a sprint finish which spoiled the work of two ‘rouleurs’ in the final 500 meters of a 230 kilometer epic.
O’Grady and Geslin went on the attack at the 35th kilometer mark. They managed to build up an advantage of several seconds as they contested the first of three intermediate sprints. And, once clear of the peloton which covered almost 50 kilometers in the first hour, they opted to push on with their attack. They pushed on until reaching a maximum gain of over 18 minutes. And then the race for stage honors began...
Summer is shining on the Tour and the heat of the sixth stage was so intense that, by the time the television images began to display the fugitive figures, salt from Geslin’s sweat had already crystallized on the back of his red Brioche la Boulangere jersey.
The third youngest rider in the race wasn’t complaining. Until his escape in the third stage of the centenary Tour, few people knew he had even signed a professional contract. With the help of the Australian champion he has become an example of the inspiration the Tour generates. They cooperated through to the dying meters of the stage.
While hearing the heartbeat of the peloton as it slowly closed in on their advantage, they pushed on through to build the suspense of what could have been a rather dull, predictable affair.
After a long day of toil, the pair should have waved the white flag and surrendered their lead when their advantage dropped from over five minutes at the start of the small final rise to two minutes at the summit. Instead O’Grady and Geslin swapped turns through to the final 500 meters. It was touch and go until that moment. Would they survive or would the sprinters have their way? A fall in the closing kilometers – which involved the riders who together have won the green jersey of best sprinter in the Tour for the past seven years, Erik Zabel and Robbie McEwen – ruined the hope of a pure bunch gallop. But with Petacchi having won 16 of the 20 sprints he’s contested in 2003, it probably didn’t matter that these two hopefuls were missing.
Alessandro began the day one point shy of McEwen’s green lead. He finished it 26 points ahead. That should be the end of the Fassa Bortolo rider’s winning streak... for a few days at least. Tune in tomorrow to see who is best in The Next Phase. The mountains are calling. It’s time for the battle for the overall title to begin!

Phil didn't have anything much to say about Petacchi in the mountains, but Paul Stewart does:

Stage 6
I felt sorry for Stuey O'Grady today. He had been away so long and got caught so close to the line -- almost right under the "flamme rouge." That's the nature of the beast I suppose, because a couple of years ago, a breakaway like that succeeded and gave him the yellow jersey.

I do find it a bit strange though that whenever there is a French team on the attack, it is always the French who want to chase them down. The bulk of the work to chase down O'Grady and Anthony Geslin came from the other French teams in the race.

And for what? To get blown away by Alessandro Petacchi at the end in another masterful demonstration. There seems to be no stopping him now as the new King of the Sprints.

In the all time record books, Petacchi has moved up into third spot with Eddy Merckx as winner of the most stages in the Giro and Tour in the same year. Eddy still remains the greatest, winning more than ten stages in the two Tours on four occasions. His best performance was with 12 wins in 1970 (three stages at Giro, and nine at the Tour).

Petacchi will have a hard time for the next three days as the sprinters just try to stay in the bike race. We enter the mountains for the first time and spend three days in the Alpes. After the hot flat days, it will be a complete change of rhythm and a different set of names that will be conjured up. I just can't wait.