Contador wins

Alberto Contador wins the Tour de France...

24-year-old Contador, from Madrid, retained the leader's yellow jersey after finishing fifth in yesterday's time trial, and did enough to win the tournament overall. The American Discovery Channel team was the youngest champion since Jan Ullrich of Germany in 1997. He was the first Spaniard to stand atop the winner's podium since the last of Miguel Indurain's five wins in 1995. However, the Daily Mail has suggested that he could now face allegations of doping himself. To read the claims, click here

Bennati wins stage 20

Italian Daniele Bennati wins his second stage win of the Tour.

It finished: 1. Bennati 2. Hushovd 3. Zabel 4. Hunter 5. Boonen 6. Sebastien Chavanel 7. Cancellara 8. Millar 9. Förster 10. Quinziato.

To see how it finished, click here

Split to help clean up?

Tour officials suggest split to clean up sport's act.

Tour de France officials have suggested the Tour could stop working with UCI, with the director even suggesting cycling chief Pat McQuaid steps down as the sport looks to clean its image. Christian Prudhomme's interview can be found in Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily

Cadel's best yet to come

Cadel Evans apologised to fellow Australians for not winning yesterday's time trial, but his former coach says the best is yet to come...

Aussie coach Damian Grundy, who coached Evans from the age of 14, said his old charge still has one or two years of improvement before we can expect to see the Predictor-Lotto rider win the Tour. To read the full interview with his former coach, click here

Cycling Weekly

This year's Tour de France just keeps on getting more and more exciting, and springing more and more surprises. Last weekend's first individual time trial featured a huge number of shocks – not least that yellow jersey Michael Rasmussen stayed on the road and produced a performance that kept him the race lead. Can he keep hold of it to Paris, or will emerging star Alberto Contador finally break him in the hills? Follow the last week of the 2007

Meanwhile in this week's magazine, the Tech team get their hands on Rasmussen's bike, as well as green jersey-elect Tom Boonen's race machine. Fitness gurus explain how riders should keep themselves hydrated during long days in the saddle.

Farcical start to Stage 16

From the BBC website:

0951: Farcical scenes as a significant group of riders refuse to start when the hooter sounds, they apparently want to show their disapproval of doping. After 30 seconds or so, some riders at the back have enough and sneak their bikes through the crowd to get started. A stubborn group at the front refuse to budge however and are eventually greeted with boos from the crowd before they eventually start. What a way to get this stage going, it can only get better from here.

T-Mobile's Marcus Burghardt says: "We just wanted to make out feelings known. The authorities have to take stern measures against those riders they think are not clean."

Link: Live Stage updates

Tour wakes up to bad hangover

With the furore surrounding Alexandre Vinokourov's positive drug test and the withdrawal of the Astana team, Stage 16's 218.5km route from Orthez to Col d'Aubisque:

Link: Stage 16

... started in a somewhat farcical manner.

Link: Rider protest

Meanwhile, the fall-out from yesterday's news continues to dominate thoughts. Tour director Christophe Prudhomme insists the structure of the sport needs a complete overhaul.

Link: Prudhomme wants revolution

Continue to have your say on the biggest scandal to hit this year's Tour de France.

Has the Tour now lost all credibility? Was Astana right to withdraw their whole team? And where do we go from here?

Link: Isporty Forum

The Astana team have however confirmed that they will continue racing in other events.

Link: Team remains

Astana out as Vino tests positive

The Tour was again thrown into disarray yesterday with the withdrawal of the entire Astana team following Alexandre Vinokourov's positive drugs test.

The BBC reports how events unfolded:

Link: Tour descends into farce

Tour organisers have responded by insisting they are winning the war against the drug cheats.

Link: Clerc satisfied

Have your say on the biggest scandal to hit this year's Tour de France.

Has the Tour now lost all credibility? Is Vinokourov innocent? Was Astana right to withdraw their whole team? And where do we go from here?

Link: Isporty Forum

No panic for Petacchi

Select group throw our inquiry.

Link: Podium Cafe Breaking News

Rasmussen in the dock

No such thing as a rest-day for Tour leader Michael Rasmussen. He may have shaken off most of his yellow jersey rivals, but the authorities will be less easy to escape.

Link: BBC - Ras in drug-test query

At a press conference last night however, Rasmussen was concentrating solely on the matter in hand - his battle with Alberto Contador on a memorable day's racing. Check out Stage winner Alexandre Vinokourov's comments also.

Link: Le Tour Guide quotes package

Tour awaits search results

The support cars of three Tour teams were searched en route during today's Stage 15.

The results of the searches are yet to be announced, as News Press takes up the story:

Link: Customs officials swoop

Vino victorious

Alexandre Vinokourov clinched a thrilling Stage 15 in the Pyrenees, though it was Michael Rasmussen's endless pursuit of Alberto Contador that now leaves the Dane in pole position for this year's big prize.

Link: BBC Report

Meanwhile, the furore surrounding the Tour leader's lack of communication over a drugs test has overshadowed the whole event, according to Britain's David Millar:

Link: Telegraph article

Stage 15 - Contador ready to attack

Alberto Contador is ready to spring more surprises as today's journey through the Pyrenees continues with a 196km ride from Foux to Loudenvielle-Louron.

Link: Stage 15 preview

With two category one and one 'out of category' climb, we can expect fireworks again today, and Contador, the Spanish challenger to Michael Rasmussen's leader's yellow jersey, insisted last night he was ready:

"I have to attack Rasmussen and I will try to do just that," he said.

"Yesterday, my team decided to take its responsibility. We sent Hincapie and Popovych to the front leading to the final climb to take charge and then I chose the moment to attack when my legs were good.

"At the moment, however, he’s the leader and he continues to demonstrate that he’s really strong."

Meanwhile, following a devastating time trial on the previous day, Alexandre Vinokourov was finally found-out on the slopes yesterday, and as The Times reports, his 2007 Tour challenge is now definitely over.

He'll be certain to lend all of his support though to 5th-placed Andreas Kloden.

Link: No victory for Vino

Brits hanging on in there

News Wales reports the latest situation with our British riders, with the Tour's youngest participant, Welshman Geraint Thomas, still maintaining his small buffer to the dreaded Lanterne Rouge.

Link:Brit Watch

Contador home first

A dramatic and telling stage in this year's Tour de France, as Alberto Contador and Michael Rasmussen dropped a number of rival riders on the climb up to Plateau-de-Beille.

Link: Stage 14 in words

Link: Latest Tour standings

Stage 14 - the Pyrenees beckon

The first of three massive days in the most open Tour de France in recent memory.

The riders head into the Pyrenees with the overall classification thrown wide open following yesterday's gripping time trial.

Link:Today's stage, Mazamet to Plateau-de-Beille

Astana dominant in Albi

Alexandre Vinokourov roared back to form with a stunning with in Stage 13's Albi time trial, but Michael Rasmussen confounded many of the pundits by retaining the overall leader's yellow jersey.

Link: Stage 13 result

Time trial drama, 1989

On a day of what should prove some stirring time trial entertainment, what better time than to reflect on surely the most dramatic of them all?

Link: Fignon vs LeMond, 1989

Ras allegations come out

Mail and Guardian Online report the story of a former friend of tour leader Michael Rasmussen with allegations of carrying illicit doping materials into Italy.

Does make you wonder why he has only thought to report this now though?

Link: Rasmussen in the dock

Rasmussen's big test

Today's time trial stage around Albi is certain to test yellow jersey holder Michael Rasmussen.

With the chasing pack ready to pounce, the Dane will be keen not to mark a repeat of his performances last year, where he lost over twelve minutes to fellow rider Andreas Kloeden.

Kloden sits just 3 minutes 50 seconds minutes behind him in the overall classification.

Link: New yellow jersey tonight?

It remains unclear whether Kloeden will take lead-rider responsibilities, though rest assured that the Astana team will have a huge part to play over the coming days as the race enters the Pyrenees.

Link: Kazakh comeback

Wheels and Boonen

Tom Boonen wins stage 12 by half a bike length from Erik Zabel.

The peloton swept past long-time leaders Txurruka and Fedrigo as Boonen knicks it. Stage-11 winner Robbie Hunter finishes third. Find out how the final closing moments unfolded here

For the top 10 stage winners and overall standings click here

To read Tom's diary of the Tour so far, click here

Stage 12 live!

Follow the hilly 178.5-kilometer ride form Montpellier to Castres live...

Amets Txurruka (Euskaltel) and Pierrick Fedrigo (Bouygues Telecom) lead the pelaton - and you can all the action here.

Sponsors to pull plug?

More controversy in the Tour de France as German sponsors threaten to pull the plug....

The latest news suggests Adidas may stop sponsoring cycling after another doping scandal hit the Tour de France this week.

Link

Broadcasters protest

A German television broadcaster has pulled its coverage of the Tour de France.

In the first move of its kind by any of the broadcasters that cover the race, the German state television channels ARD and ZDF have left the race and will stop covering it following the positive drugs test by the German cyclist Patrick Sinkewitz. [link](http://sport.guardian.co.uk/tourdefrance2007/story/0,,2129787,00.html?

Rasmussen free to ride

Race leader Michael Rasmussen has been cleared to start in today’s 12th stage by Tour de France organizers.

Rasmussen was yesterday expelled from the Danish national team.

link

Germans get their Tour back

German broadcaster Sat.1 has jumped in following the fall-out over the Sinkewitz scandal.

Link: Germans back in the race

Stage 12 Preview

There's a category two climb en route for today's stage between Montpellier and Castre, with two sprint points and four climbs overall.

Link: Stage 12 Preview

Overnight, David Zabriskie, who has been riding for the CSC team, became the latest rider to leave the Tour, having struggled with the rigours and legacy of the Pyrenees.

Link: Too much for Zab

Ras dumped by Denmark

Tour de France leader, though not good enough for the Danish team, Michael Rasmussen was dumped today.

Nice however to see that postal inefficiencies aren't restricted just to the UK.

Link: Danes dump Rasmussen

Battle for green

Check out Podium Cafe's assessment of the race for the green jersey following Robbie Hunter's sprint success on Montpellier.

Link: Boonen still in box seat

Morbid Moreau

Robbie Hunter clinched victory in the flat Stage 11 into Montpellier, though French favourite Christophe Moreau's hopes of Tour success were dashed.

Link: Stage 11 report

Stage 11 - Live blog updates

Follow this afternoon's pancake-flat Stage 11 via the entertaining TDF Blog. As predicted, breakaways are the order of the day:

Link: TDF Blog

Cycling Weekly

In this week's mag

There's never a dull moment in this year's Tour de France. Every day there's a have-a-go hero, including our own Bradley Wiggins, Tour rookie Linus Gerdemann and supreme climber Michael Rasmussen in a triple whammy of great rides beginning last Friday. Read about the first week in detail in this week's 100-page Cycling Weekly.

The team look at the new prototype groupsets that the big three – Shimano, Campagnolo and SRAM – are airing at the Tour. We can't wait for that new carbon Dura-Ace crankset to hit the shelves.

Leading from the front?

An unusual pace setter for the Peloton

Who said anything about horse power?

Stage 11 - Flat and fast

Today's stage from Marseille to Montpelier is as flat as they come, and true sprint fodder.

A great chance for those finish-line specialists to shake off the rigours of the mountain stages.

Link: Stage 11 Preview

Overnight, the row surrounding T-Mobile rider Patrick Sinkewitz and his positive test for elevated levels of testosterone spilled over to German state broadcasters, who are calling a halt to transmissions until the case is resolved.

Link: State TV in disarray

Meanwhile, the world's press are still all over Marcus Burghardt's collision with a dog two days ago. A Google search of 'Tour de France dog' brings up the small matter of over 2.8million links!

Link: Paws for thought on Le Tour

Allez les Cedric

France finally climbed their first Stage win of this year's Tour after Cedric Vassuer led home a five-man sprint to claim victory in the Tallard to Marseille race.

Link: Ten-minute victory margin for group

While Rasmussen retains yellow, the big winner of the day was surely Aleksandr Kuschynski who, coming in down on the leaders yet some eight minutes ahead of the main field, elevated himself in some style from his previous berth of 169th (out of 171 riders) to 150th. Look out Ras!

Link: Kuschynski on a flyer

Out of the Alps - Stage 10

Dogs, fence-posts and spectators - the Alps have provided a whole range of obstacles for our Tour de France cyclists, and that's not even factoring in the odd mountain.

So it will be with some relief today that they depart the High Alps, with a gentle downward Stage from Tallard to Marseille, 229.5km in total.

Here's the Stage rundown:

Link: Le Tour

Stage 9 aftermath

Cycling Post talks us through it's Stage 9 winners and losers after another gripping day's action.

Link: Vino slipping away

It could always be worse for the Kazakh though, as TDF Lantern Rouge guides through a rather saracastic look at the legacy of the Tour's slowest rider.

Link: Plenty of overtaking opportunities

.. meanwhile, check the reaction of all of today's big riders via Channel News Asia's excellent coverage:

Link: Stage 9 Reflections

Rasmussen retains yellow

It was another day for the relative unknowns as Barloworld rider Juan Mauricio Soler Hernandez claimed stage nine in the Alps.

Link: Stage Nine result

Most of the Tour frontrunners finished together, though it was another difficult day for Alexandre Vinokourov who was again dropped by his main rivals.

Vino still looking shadow of former self

The energy of Rasmussen has been mirrored somewhat by the apathy of Vinokourov over the past few days.

The Astana rider has had a rough time of it after his horror smash, leaving many to speculate whether the pre-Tour favourite has anything left in the tank.

Link: Times Online piece

Stage 9 Live

Follow Stage Nine as it happens, courtesy of TDF Blog

Link: Live Tour de France action

Heart rate monitors on Stage Nine

For a different look at today's gruelling stage, check out Polar France's live race data which assesses the heart rates of a select handful of riders.

Link: Polar France

Stage Nine

After a well-earned rest-day the riders are back in action this morning, and then some.

Podium Cafe talks us through what promises to be another energy-sapping day in the saddle.

Link: Val-D'Isere and Briancon

Rasmussen's climb into yellow

Only 23 of the Tour's 189 riders finished behind Michael Rasmussen after the Prologue stage in London nine days ago.

His ascent into the yellow jersey has been almost as clincial as his tackling of yesterday's category one climb at Montee de Tignes.

Link: Rasmussen's mighty climb

Brit-watch

The mountains have thrown our riders down the overall classification, though David Millar remains in the top-half.

In total, 172 of the 189 riders who started Le Tour are still riding.

Link: Brit-watch

Rest day comes at last

A blessed rest day for the Tour de France allows riders a great chance to recuperate around the relative luxury of trainers, masseures, and vehicles that are powered by pedals.

It has been a tour littered with crashes thus far, and none more so than yesterday after a number of riders crashed out on high-speed decents.

Stuart O'Grady could still manage a smile though:

Link: Aussie grit

.. while the likes of Vinokourov and Kloden will be hoping that their bodies can recover in preparation for a return to the saddle tomorrow. Vino, in particular, was clearly struggling on yesterday's climb up to Tignes.

T-Mobile hopes disconnected

Not a day the T-Mobile team will look back upon with any fondness.

The team's website will have supporters rapidly searching for the net's best new phone deals on a very off-peak Stage. Strange to think that just 24 hours Michael Rogers was claiming it as a landmark day in the history of the team.

Links:

Cavendish quits

Virtual-yellow Rogers crashes out

Gerdemann's grip on yellow slips

Rasmussen in control

Denmark's Michael Rasmussen laid down the gauntlet on a stirring Stage Eight which saw the Radobank rider swipe the yellow jersey from Linus Gerdemann, and put clear distance between himself and the other Tour contenders.

Link: Rasmussen in control

It was a day of casualties on the 165-km stage from Le Grand-Bornand to Tignes, with Mark Cavendish withdrawing from the race just 35km in.

Other retiring riders including crash victims ...

Link: Michael Rogers, and

Link: Stuart O'Grady

Sean Kelly in the Guardian

Refusing the temptation to title this one 'Sean Kelly on drugs', there was nevertheless an interesting piece published by the Guardian on Friday surrounding the growing place of banned substances in cycling from the Irishman's days of professional racing.

Link: Guardian piece

All over for Cavendish

Britain's Mark Cavendish has abandoned on Stage Seven 35km into today's trek.

As expected, the T-Mobile racer has called it quits following an impressive Tour debut which saw him involved in crashes and sprint-finishes alike.

Link: Cav retires

He has also helped teammate Linus Gerdemann into the leader's yellow jersey.

Stage Eight - Sunday

With a rest day within touching distance and a relative unknown leading the way in the Tour de France, today might be a good day for one of the race's leading lights to stamp down their authority.

It's another challenging day's riding, and not for the weak-hearted (or legged).

Link: Le-Grand Bornand to Tignes

Meanwhile, veteran Erik Zabel said last night that he was willing to hand back the green jersey he won in 1996 having admitted to using banned substances during the Tour eleven years ago.

Link: Zabel's offer

Gerdemann takes yellow jersey

Linus Gerdemann announced himself in spectacular style with a victory in the mountainous Stage Seven that handed the young German rider the overall lead of this year's Tour de France.

Link: BBC Sport report

A new name to many, the 25-year-old emerged from a breaking group to establish the best win of his career.

Link: Wikipedia's Gerdemann factfile

Former leader Fabian Cancellara tailed off the back of the peleton and finished over twenty minutes behind the winer.

Live Stage 7 updates

Fifteen riders break off the front as the Tour's unrelenting pace continues.

Check out the excellent TDF Blog for regular updates >>

Link: TDF Blog

Or for a visual representation >>

Link: EuroSport website

.. or if the other half allows, it's on Eurosport (channel 410).

Eyes on Astana

They say the Tour de France can't be won on a day like today, though it can certainly be lost.

Vinokourov and Kloden will be looking to prove their injuries aren't as bad as first feared as they tackle the fearsome Col de la Columbiere.

Here's your Stage Seven preview:

Link: Cycling Post

Overnight, former green jersey contender Oscar Friere called it a day.

Link: Yahoo Sports

Green with envy

Check out Podium Cafe's latest (Runners and) Riders in their Green Jersey rankings.

Link: Green with envy

LeMond on Les Alpes

It's not often that the sight of a gradient profile can send shivers down one's neck, but three Stages over the next four days have the potential to do just that, as former Tour winner Greg LeMond gives his rundown of what may be in store from a torturous weekend of climbs and decents.

Link: LeMond on Les Alpes

Warrior Wiggins reeled in

Tom Boonen picked up his first Stage victory after Bradley Wiggins' incredible one-man show finally ended just 7km short of the finish.

Link: Stage 6 Story

Lets hope he has saved some energy for the next four days, which will see the Alps dominate proceedings.

Here's your Overall Classification:

Link: Cancellara retains yellow

Wiggins breaks

Britian's Bradley Wiggins has broken away from the rest in stage six...

Follow the Cofidis rider in his bid to win his first stage as events unfold here

Cavendish to pull out

Brit Mark Cavendish has admitted he'll ride in the weekend's mountain stages before retiring Monday…

T-Mobile's Cavendish, who has won back to back 10th placed finishes, will stay on while many of the sprinters are expected to retire Saturday. Link

Toughest day so far

T-Mobile's Mick Rogers tells us why stage 5 was the toughest so far.

It was carnage during stage 5, with riders falling off all over the place as T-Mobile's Mick Rogers reveals in his daily blog.

More le Tour

Tour de France - Kent style

le Tour heading from Maidstone to Canterbury