"We will explain to the world why this is not a doping case but a natural occurrence"

Latest Landis Update

In his first public appearance since a positive test for high testosterone cast his title into doubt, the American cyclist said his body's natural metabolism - not doping of any kind - caused the result, and that he would soon have the test results to prove it.
"We will explain to the world why this is not a doping case but a natural occurrence," Landis said from the Spanish capital.

The day before, in a teleconference from a location in Europe he did not disclose, Landis said he didn't cheat but had no idea what might have caused his positive test on the Tour's 17th stage, where he staked his stirring comeback in the Alps.

During that Thursday call, Landis sounded downcast and heartbroken, saying he expected to clear his name but never his reputation. His demeanor was decidedly more fiery Friday, when he sat before a buzzing news conference and lashed out at the media for characterizing his plight as a drug scandal.

"I would like to make absolutely clear that I am not in any doping process," said Landis, wearing a baseball cap turned backward and a white shirt with the name of his Phonak team. "I ask not to be judged by anyone, much less sentenced by anyone."

Landis is still awaiting results from a backup sample, which would clear him immediately if found to be negative. But his lawyer, Luis Sanz, said he fully expected the backup test to come back with the same result, since the elevated testosterone was produced naturally by Landis's body.

And the 30-year-old cyclist said Friday that he would undergo additional testing to prove that "the levels that I've had during the Tour and all my career are natural and produced by my own organism."

Until those tests are conducted, Landis said, "I ask not to be judged, or much less to be sentenced by anyone."

But Landis saved his most aggressive tone for the defense of his title as Tour de France champion.

"I was the strongest guy. I deserved to win, and I'm proud of it," he said, wearing a red-and-black baseball cap turned backward and a white shirt with the name of his Phonak cycling team.

Landis appeared to lose any chance of victory during a disastrous 16th stage of the Tour, then broke out with one of the greatest performances in history the next day. After winning the 17th stage, he submitted to a drug test - standard for a stage winner - that showed an "unusual level of testosterone/epitestosterone."

Phonak suspended Landis after the International Cycling Union notified it Wednesday of the result, and he could stripped of his title and fired from the team if he does not clear his name.

Landis, a native of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, said he was shocked when told of the initial positive result. He said he had been tested six other times during the tour, and many other times during the year.

A homecoming parade planned for Landis next week in Ephrata, Pa., has been put on hold pending more test results, organizer Rich Ruoff said Friday. As many as 10,000 people and 500 cyclists were expected at the event.

The news of Landis' test has rocked the cycling world, already under a cloud following a wide-ranging doping investigation in Spain that led to the barring of several of the world's leading cyclists from the Tour.

On the eve of the Tour's start, nine riders - including pre-race favorites Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso - were ousted, implicated in a Spanish doping investigation. Their names turned up on a list of 56 cyclists who allegedly had contact with a Spanish doctor at the center of the probe. Landis was not implicated in that investigation.

Phonak confirms Landis rider in question

Well, an American in Paris once again, can’t be real, let’s put the press to him. They did it to Lance and they’ll do it again to every tour winner from here on out. A shame a rider can’t enjoy his victory for more than a week. Story based on speculation and one test. Let’s see what happens with the “B” sample and then go to trial. Besides, testosterone is not a one shot boost to the system that can be given the day of a performance. It has to be built up in the system over time to be utilized properly. Landis did not test positive before the race, so let’s wait and see what the second test shows. At that point we can make a fair statement. Innocent until proven guilty used to be they way until the media got involved. What’s your thought?

Phonak confirms Landis rider in question
By The Associated Press
This report filed July 27, 2006
The Phonak Cycling Team confirmed Thursday that Tour de France winner Floyd Landis is the rider who submitted a positive "A" sample following the 17th stage of this year's Tour de France.

Landis tested positive for high levels of testosterone during the race, his Phonak team said in a statement issued Thursday. The statement came a day after the UCI, cycling's world governing body, said an unidentified rider had failed a drug test during the Tour. And the statement came just four days after Landis stood on the victory podium on the Champs-Elysees, succeeding seven-time winner Lance Armstrong as an American winner in Paris.

The Swiss-based Phonak team said it was notified by the UCI on Wednesday that Landis' sample showed "an unusual level of testosterone/epitestosterone" when he was tested after stage 17 of the race last Thursday. Landis has been suspended by his team pending the results. If the second sample confirms the initial finding, he will be fired from the team, Phonak said. Landis made a remarkable comeback in that Alpine stage, racing far ahead of the field for a solo win that moved him from 11th to third in the overall standings. He regained the leader's yellow jersey two days later.

Landis rode the Tour with a degenerative hip condition that he has said will require surgery in the coming weeks or months. Arlene Landis, his mother, said Thursday that she wouldn't blame her son if he was taking medication to treat the pain in his injured hip, but "if it's something worse than that, then he doesn't deserve to win."

"I didn't talk to him since that hit the fan, but I'm keeping things even keel until I know what the facts are," she said in a phone interview from her home in Farmersville, Pennsylvania. "I know that this is a temptation to every rider but I'm not going to jump to conclusions ... It disappoints me."

"He is prominent and temptation is strong," she said. "He is still my wonderful son. If it has happened I love him as much as if he had won... (his) temptations are different than mine."
Phonak said Landis would ask for an analysis of his backup "B" sample "to prove either that this result is coming from a natural process or that this is resulting from a mistake."
"The team management and the rider were both totally surprised of this physiological result," the Phonak statement said.

Landis wrapped up his Tour de France win on Sunday, keeping the title in U.S. hands for the eighth straight year. Armstrong, long dogged by doping whispers and allegations, won the previous seven. Armstrong never has tested positive for drugs and vehemently has denied doping.

Speculation that Landis had tested positive spread earlier Thursday after he failed to show up for a one-day race in Denmark on Thursday. A day earlier, he missed a scheduled event in the Netherlands.

On the eve of the Tour's start, nine riders -- including pre-race favorites Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso -- were ousted, implicated in a Spanish doping investigation. The names of Ullrich and Basso turned up on a list of 56 cyclists who allegedly had contact with Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, who's at the center of the Spanish doping probe.
Landis plans to have hip replacement surgery this fall to ease pain in the arthritic joint still aching from a 2003 crash during a training ride.

The Phonak Cycling Team issued the following statement Thursday:
The Phonak Cycling Team was notified yesterday by the UCI of an unusual level of Testosteron/Epitestosteron ratio in the test made on Floyd Landis after stage 17 of the Tour de France. The Team Management and the rider were both totally surprised of this physiological result. The rider will ask in the upcoming days for the counter analysis to prove either that this result is coming from a natural process or that this is resulting from a mistake in the confirmation. In application of the Pro Tour Ethical Code, the rider will not race anymore until this problem is totally clear. If the result of the B sample analysis confirms the result of the A sample the rider will be dismissed and will then pass the corresponding endocrinological examinations. Please understand that we cannot at this time give you more detailed comments.

Honda/Iron Horse rider Duncan Riffle new 2006 US National DH champion

Our man Duncan took the 2006 National DH Title! Way to go Duncan! He is on, of course, an IH Sunday Frame (the best) with a SRAM drivetrain (our shop’s favorite)!

This guy is super fast, and it shows… those Iron Horse Sundays are doing really well on the circuit as well, with Sam Hill Leading the UCI points in the World Cup and Duncan Rifle already Winning the National Title here in the states!

Now I just need to find out how to get one of those fly frames in white…

Here’s the article!

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=211006

July 18, 2006
Sonoma California.

Honda/Iron Horse rider, Duncan Riffle, 19, from Santa Barbara California is the new 2006 US National DH champion. Under blazing sun and triple digit temperatures at the Infineon Raceway near Sonoma, CA, Riffle put together a clean quick run in the rapidly deteriorating conditions, which was enough to give him the title.

Here is what Duncan has to say about the race: “The course was super narrow and hard to gauge your speed properly. You had to push as hard as you could in some sections and slow it way down for others as to exit with good speed.” He went on to add: “By race day the course was very blown out with large holes and ruts making it pretty difficult to ride fast but there wasn’t a whole lot of technical assets to the course so it made things a bit better in reality. Some people opted to race their short travel bikes but I decided if our Downhill National Championships could be won on a small bike then it was a joke anyway. My dw-link Iron Horse Sunday was the perfect bike for the course!”

Duncan, also the 2004 DH National Champion, is currently the highest ranked US rider on the UCI World Cup circuit. He is competing in both the UCI World Cup series and the NMBS series. Duncan will be joined by fellow Honda/Iron Horse riders Sven Martin and Anka Martin at the World Championships in Rotorua, New Zealand next month.

Honda/Iron Horses amateur riders Linda Travis, Stuart Travis and Don Herner brought in another 5 podiums including an Expert DH National Championship title for Linda Travis.

2006 Sponsors: Honda, Iron Horse, Sram, Michelin, SDG, Rock Shox, Avid, Truvativ, e.thirteen, Cane Creek, Troy Lee Designs, Crankbrothers, Mavic, Hadley, The Bike Company, ODI, Sign Source, and Yakima

Fantasy Tour de France Game

Like us many of you are closely following the Tour de France and are looking forward to watch the coverage live each morning or one of its may repeats throughout the day. Now you can take your excitement to the next level with the cyclingnews.com fantasy Tour de France game where you can play to win free Tour de France gear. Registration for the game is at the following link: http://fantasy.cyclingnews.com/game/register.htm.

Randall Scott staff hits Buffalo Creek trails in Pine Grove, CO

After hearing great things about the trails at Buffalo Creek, we decided that we better check this one out for ourselves to see if the rumors are true. They say we get over 300 sunny days a year out here in Colorado and of course the day we chose the weather report called for rain all day.

The RS Cycle Guys (Dan, Chris and Michael) at Buffalo Creek

We left Boulder around 8:30 am and the sky looked ominous, but no rain yet. That didn’t last long, not more than a half hour later the rain came and continued as we drove through Golden and down to Pine Grove. By the time we arrived at the trailhead, the rain was consistent, but we had come this far so why not continue on, which is exactly what we did.

Michael (the happy guy in spandex) Throwing the Camera a Smile

Surprisingly the trails were fine condition despite the rain, only a few puddles in places and scattered patches of mud. What an amazing place, the trails are really buff.

Sam's Sweet Iron Horse MKIII Team Covered in Mud

We started on the Colorado trail and took it to Green Mountain loop and then back the way we came in on the CT. The ride was awesome with nice climbs and killer downhill sections. Nothing too technical, mostly rollers, and at times true single track. We highly recommend this ride and look forward to returning to explore other trails in the area.

Ullrich's doping plan

The Suddeutsche Zeitung has published what it claims was Jan Ullrich's doping plan for the first week of the Tour de France 2005, based on information from Operacion Puerto. For the first seven days of the Tour, Dr. Fuentes prepared him a series of hormones, insulin, cortisone, testosterone and blood transfusions, the newspaper alleged. It claimed that there was a "Roadbook" for the Tour 2005, which investigators link to Ullrich.
On the first day, according to the SZ, the hormone HZ was listed, the second day insulin I-3, the hormone TGN and cortisone, the third day TGN and PCH (a testosterone shot), on the fourth day HMG, a hormone mixture, a "rest day" on the fifth day, the sixth day insulin I-3, and on the last day, the re-infusion of his own blood, as well as insulin I-3 and vitamin E.
The newspaper also notes that it is not clear who might have helped Ullrich with possible transfusions, and notes that experts say that Pevenage or Ullrich himself might have managed it. There is no indication that the medical or support personnel of the team were involved, according to the SZ.

Chris Carmichael Says HOT POTATO to the Yellow Jersey

Hot Potato!
By Chris Carmichael


The yellow jersey is being tossed around like a hot potato this year, and though Floyd Landis showed the patience and power necessary to win the Tour de France today, the best thing that could happen to him right now is for Cyril Dessel to win a time bonus sprint and reclaim the jersey tomorrow afternoon. Landis might actually want to encourage him, maybe even give him a leadout.

Having Dessel in second place overall by just eight seconds is an unusual opportunity for Landis. Typically, after a decisive mountain stage that completely shuffles the overall standings, all the men in the top five are threats for the overall lead, so the man in the yellow jersey has to work to keep it. Dessel isn’t a threat to win the Tour this year, and his team leader Christophe Moreau doesn’t appear to be either, so there’s a chance that as a Frenchman, Dessel might indeed contest a few intermediate sprints tomorrow in order to reclaim the yellow jersey on Bastille Day.

Giving up the jersey to a rider who is certain to fall in the standings as soon as the race hits the Alps is a good option because it relieves the Phonak team of the stress of setting the pace at the front of the peloton during the transitional stages across southern France. It also means Landis doesn’t have to stick around for the podium ceremony, press conference, and dope control that are required stops for the race leader after each stage. This again reduces stress and can make it easier for a rider to recover after long days in the saddle.

Reducing the amount of work he and his teammates have to do in the next two stages is important because the next rendezvous with hard mountains is coming on Tuesday, directly after the Tour’s second rest day. The three back-to-back stages in the Alps are going to be harder than the two stages in the Pyrenees were. Stage 15 is a summit finish atop the 21-switchbacks of l’Alp d’Huez, and Stage 16 is another summit finish at La Toussuire. You also have to remember that the Alpine passes tend to be at higher altitudes than the ones in the Pyrenees, which means athletes have to deal with thinner air. Some riders perform well at altitude, whereas others start to struggle when the roads ascend upward of about 5500 feet above sea level. Landis is going to need all of his strength, and the collective strength of his teammates, to control the race in the Alps and consolidate his lead over men like Denis Menchov, Cadel Evans, and Andreas Kloden.

The Other Americans
In terms of the other Americans in the race, Stage 11 saw Levi Leipheimer return to the front of the pack. Had he not lost six minutes in the Stage 7 individual time trial, he might have ridden himself into position to challenge for the yellow jersey today. However, with the deficit he has to overcome, it seems like the best he might be able to do is a top five finish… assuming he continues to ride as powerfully as he did today.

George Hincapie lost contact with the lead group on the penultimate climb of the day and lost more than 21 minutes to Landis by the time he reached the finish line. While his chances of challenging for the yellow jersey are over, Hincapie is going to play an important role in supporting Jose Azevedo, the team’s top ride in the general classification.

Christian Vandevelde of the CSC team rode well today in support of his new team leader, Carlos Sastre. Vandevelde stayed with the lead group until the penultimate climb, and after having done his work, backed off the intensity to save some energy so he can continue riding well for Sastre.

Far behind Vandevelde, another CSC teammate, Dave Zabriskie, finished safely with the sprinters’ group. At the very back of the race, a large group of riders forms because there’s safety in numbers. They don’t need safety from cars or fans, but from the time cut. Riders can be eliminated from the race if they finish a stage too far behind the winner, but by forming a large pack, the riders protect themselves from the time cut because the race organization isn’t going to eliminate 50 riders in one shot. Zabriskie is in uncharted territory for him right now. Last year, he dropped out of the Tour de France at the end of the first week, so even though he’s ridden the Tour of Spain and Tour of Italy, he’s busy learning and gaining experience in his first mountain stages of the Tour de France.

Landis in Yellow!

Looks like the Americans are finally getting some Tour Love! Landis is in Yellow, Levi took a podium... my boy George is down, but not out... Maybe the Mountains will bring them back to the front. T-mobile continues to be scary fast, but it wouldn't be a good race without some stiff competition!

Here's the story!

PLA-DE-BERET, Spain (Reuters) - American Floyd Landis took over the Tour de France yellow jersey on Thursday after Russian Denis Menchov won the tough 206.5-km 11th stage through the Pyrenees which caught out several leading riders.
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After over six hours in the saddle, Menchov outsprinted American Levi Leipheimer and compatriot Landis.

Landis relieved Frenchman Cyril Dessel of the leader's jersey thanks to bonus points.

Dessel, who came home in 18th at four minutes 45 seconds behind Menchov, is now second overall, eight seconds behind Landis with Menchov in third at 1:01.

Landis, who announced on Monday he would undergo hip surgery after the Tour, said: "I would just as soon have waited to get the yellow jersey and race easy just to let someone else do the work but you can't turn down the chance."

Landis, a former lieutenant of Lance Armstrong, quit Discovery Channel to join Phonak in 2005.

On an exhausting stage, the decisive battle was waged on the final ascent, the first-category Pla-de-Beret.

Menchov, Leipheimer and Landis were among the first group of eight riders to reach the 7.5-km slope which has an average gradient of 5.5 percent.

Christophe Moreau of France, Andreas Kloeden of Germany and Michael Boogerd of the Netherlands were soon dropped, followed by Spaniard Carlos Sastre and Australian Cadel Evans.

Menchov, Leipheimer and Landis were left to force their way between two undulating walls of orange-clad Spanish supporters.

Spaniard David De La Fuente claimed the best climber's polka-dot jersey from Dessel after breaking away with three other riders.

The arduous high mountain passes and the heat took their toll on big names such as Italian Paolo Savoldelli, winner of the Giro d'Italia in 2005, and Ukraine's Yaroslav Popovych.

In addition, Discovery Channel leader George Hincapie finished 21 minutes off the pace and Euskaltel's Iban Mayo, sixth overall in the 2003 Tour, struggled from the Tourmalet and, deserted by his team mates, finally pulled out.

Friday's 211.5-km 12th stage is from Luchon to Carcassonne.

Landis haveing Hip Surgery After Tour?

Landis may face hip surgery after Tour
By Rupert Guinness
VeloNews.com
This report filed July 9, 2006
American Tour de France favorite Floyd Landis (Phonak) will hold a press conference on Monday to respond to press reports that he is suffering from a degenerative condition that could threaten his career and may undergo hip surgery following this year's race.

Landis, sitting second in the Tour de France behind race leader Sergei Gontchar (T-Mobile), will meet the press on Monday afternoon at his team hotel in Bordeaux, where the 4500-strong Tour entourage is based for an official rest day.

On Sunday, the website www.bicycling.com announced that Landis's cycling days "may be numbered," reporting on a degenerative condition called osteonecrosis, or bone death, that affects his right hip.

Also called avascular necrosis, the condition is the same one that forced Bo Jackson, the star football and baseball player, to get a hip replacement in 1992.

Following the bicycling.com announcement, The New York Times published a story by Samuel Abt of the International Herald Tribune alongside a more detailed piece slated to run next weekend in the newspaper's Sunday magazine.

Landis (Phonak) proved he is one of the most favored contenders to win this year's Tour by finishing second in Saturday's stage seven time trial. Gontchar is not considered a challenger for the title. His hip condition has its origin in a 2002 training accident, the reports say.

"The hip, instead of rebuilding itself, has broken down as degenerative scar tissue, closed blood vessels and caused the ball on the hip to collapse, putting Landis in constant pain," the website reported.

Surgery to treat the condition after the 2004 season failed, according to the site, adding that the procedure impaired Landis's 2005 season and prompted fears his career would be over.

But Landis's fortunes turned around early this year. Before starting the Tour de France, he already had wins in the Tour of California, Tour of Georgia and Paris-Nice stage races.

"It doesn't affect his riding, of course -- don't worry," Phonak sporting director John Lelangue told The Associated Press, adding that he had known about the condition since January. He declined to provide additional details, saying more information would be made available during Monday's news conference.

The Tour will resume on Tuesday with stage nine, a 169.5km leg from Bordeaux to Dax from where it will head into the Pyrenees for two days on Wednesday and Thursday.

Petition for Directional Mountain Bike Trails at Jefferson County Open Space Parks

Conflicts between downhill and uphill cyclists are still a growing problem with no feasible solution until now. Implementing directional trails in Jefferson County would be a responsible and safety-conscious move on the part of Jefferson County Open Space to reduce the colflicts between the downhill crowd and the rest of the mountain bike community. Help us by signing this online petition for directional mountain bike trails in Jefferson County, CO.

Directional Mountain Bike Trails at Jefferson County Open Space Parks Petition

Hinapie's Success!

Guess who's in Yellow!! George!!
He doesn't fit the mold, he's big and he's known for one day races - so does he have a chance? Could George Hinacapie win the Tour? The scandall certainlly helps his chances, but we'll see! We are all rooting for George!!!
Floyd also stands a good chance! It's too bad about his flat, but I hope that we can get a few American's into podium space this year. I think that Cadel will be a threat, but Levi, Floyd and George should all finish well!!
For today's shameless plug (got to pay the bills) - check out Hincapie Clothing at http://www.rscycle.com/s.nl/sc.2/category.1172/.f

Here's the story as told be VeloNews -

Hincapie in yellow as Casper snags first win

By Kip Mikler
VeloNews editor

This report filed July 2, 2006

In the absence of his friend and longtime Tour de France team leader Lance Armstrong, George Hincapie proved on Sunday that he has no problems taking things into his own hands. In the first road stage of the 2006 Tour, the Discovery Channel rider made a crafty move at an intermediate sprint spot to grab a small time bonus and launch himself into the race lead to become just the fourth American to wear the yellow jersey in Tour history.
Stage 1, a mostly flat 184.5km loop that started and finished in the city of Strasbourg, was billed as a sprinters' affair and that's how it turned out as the 28-year-old French rider Jimmy Casper of Cofidis scored the first Tour de France stage win of his erratic eight-year career.
Today's Results

Hincapie, who lost Saturday's prologue by less than one second to Norwegian Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole), and started Sunday's stage 1 with the same GC time as Hushovd, made a surprise move to take third place in the last intermediate sprint 9km from the finish and pick up a two-second bonus. That proved to be the difference, but Hincapie's shining moment was somewhat overshadowed by an unfortunate accident in the dash to the line that left Hushovd injured by a cardboard sponsor sign being waved by a spectator leaning over the crowd barriers in 40 meters from the finish.

In the chaotic bunch sprint, Hushovd was riding close to the barriers on the right side of the road when his right arm was slashed by the green, oversized hand. Hushovd didn't crash, but his wound was bleeding profusely. He collapsed in pain after crossing the finish line in ninth place. Boonen, too, was hit by an object, and the world champ had to stop his sprint with about 300 meters to go. Boonen thought the projectile was a camera, but McEwen later said it was a small plastic bag filled with water that was thrown by a spectator, injuring Boonen and grazing McEwen.

Though a top-three finish would have given Hushovd the necessary time bonus to keep the yellow jersey, he was unable to contest the sprint. Australian Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) was second, and German Erik Zabel (Milram) was third.

Hushovd suffered cuts on his right arm and was transferred to a hospital in Strasbourg, where the main gash needed several stitches. He was listed as a probable starter for Monday's stage 2.

Hushovd crosses the line, with an arm already covered in blood.

photo: Graham Watson

"Those [signs] are dangerous, and it's not the first time this has happened," said stage winner Casper. "I think we should not have them in the last 500 meters."

Indeed, Tour officials agreed and issued a communiqué late Sunday evening ordering the giant plastic hands to be banned in the final two kilometers of flat stages, where mass sprints are more likely than not.

While it might not have been the ideal way for Hincapie to take his first yellow jersey, the 33-year-old certainly made a statement in the first stage of the first Tour de France in Discovery's post-Armstrong era.

"I was definitely very disappointed to lose by such a close [margin] yesterday," Hincapie said. "I was really gunning for the prologue and I thought I did a great ride, but I got beat by a great rider. Today it wasn't really the plan to go for any bonus sprints, but when we caught the breakaway I saw an opportunity that I couldn't pass up. I took it, and I think I made a great decision."

The cut turned out not to be as serious as it looked.

photo: AFP

It's that kind of take-charge, on-the-road aggression that Discovery Channel boss Johan Bruyneel has been preaching before the team's first Tour in the wake of Armstrong's retirement. Bruyneel promised that Discovery riders would no longer be tied to strict roles and would be given the opportunity to be more reactive and aggressive.

Perhaps coincidentally, the last time Hincapie came this close to the yellow jersey was the last time he rode without Armstrong. "In '98 I was two seconds behind [the overall leader Bo Hamburger], and that was probably the longest two seconds of my career," Hincapie said. "It was so hard, and I was sprinting against [Stuart] O'Grady back then. But today it wasn't even actually planned to sprint for the bonuses."
Today's Results

Hincapie's instinctual attack, which came just as a breakaway group was being mopped up in the last few kilometers, put him two seconds ahead of Hushovd on GC, while American Dave Zabriskie (CSC) finished in the main group to maintain his third-place GC standing. Hincapie is just the fourth U.S. rider to wear the yellow jersey after Zabriskie last year, seven-time champion Armstrong and three-time winner Greg LeMond. It also leaves Discovery Channel with a choice: Defend the jersey or not?

"I'd love to keep it as long as possible, but I just don't know," Hincapie said. "I don't have much time, and for me to sprint against Thor [Hushovd] and Tom Boonen and those guys, that's not really my thing any more. All I've been training for lately is time trials and climbing, so my sprint has gotten slower for sure."

Open race on the open road
One day after the 2006 Tour began in the wake of a massive doping scandal implicating several of the sport's marquee names - Ivan Basso (CSC) and Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) included - there was heightened anticipation of how the first road stage would play out. Even before the shocking ejection of some of the sport's top stars, many expected this year's Tour to be a wide-open affair - with Armstrong and his devastating support crew no longer here to control the peloton, no one knew just what to expect.

"Now if you let a 10-minute break get away, there might not be any teams capable of bringing back 10 minutes," said Davitamon-Lotto's American Chris Horner. "It's not like where Lance could bring back 10 minutes on just about anyone other than two guys."

Before their leader was controversially ejected on the eve of the three-week race, the team that most expected to take control was CSC. Bjarne Riis's tight-knit squad had delivered their leader to a win at the Giro d'Italia in May and was generally considered top dog in the lead-up to the Tour.

Julich expects a much more open Tour

photo: Graham Watson

"Now it's going to be much more open," said CSC's American rider Bobby Julich. "I think before, the other teams could have pretty much relied on us to control the race. So now the race just got a lot harder for them."

While the unexpected can probably be expected in the coming weeks, Sunday's stage, was, on paper, a sprinters' affair. With just one Cat. 4 climb, the Côte de Heiligenstein, near the 100km mark in the foothills of the Vosges mountains - and with speedsters such as Hushovd, Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic), McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) and Zabel (Milram) salivating at the thought of a stage win - a thundering herd was expected to arrive back in Strasbourg on Sunday afternoon after their loop through Alsace and Germany.

Before the start, Hushovd offered his ideal scenario for keeping that jersey for at least one more day: "The perfect day for us is for a break of a few guys to go early," he said. "And then hopefully the sprinters' teams will work to bring it back and there will be a fight between the sprinters like me and Robbie [McEwen] and Boonen."

The field of 176 riders assembled on a cobbled, tree-lined boulevard in front of Strasbourg's Council of Europe building for a 1 p.m. start. Hincapie rolled up to the start in the green points leader's jersey, earned by way of his second-place prologue finish, while Boonen, wearing the world champion's rainbow jersey, smiled and posed for photos.

The day's early break never got more than five minutes...

photo: Graham Watson

Shortly after starting the counterclockwise circuit of the Alsatian countryside sandwiched between the Rhine River and the Vosges foothills of eastern France, the race began to unfold as Hushovd had hoped: Frenchman Stéphane Augé (Cofidis) initiated a break of seven riders just 3km into the race.

Joining Auge were two Bouygues Télécom riders (Walter Bénéteau and Matthieu Sprick), along with Fabian Wegmann (Gerolsteiner), Nicolas Portal (Caisse d'Épargne-Illes Balears), Benoît Vaugrenard (Française des Jeux) and Unai Etxebarria (Euskaltel-Euskadi). For the first hour of the race, the peloton was content to give the group some breathing room, but when the break reached a gap close to five minutes after 40km Hushovd's Crédit Agricole troops upped the peloton's tempo. With the yellow jersey tucked in safely behind the green-and-white Crédit Agricole uniforms, the gap was cut to 4:15 at the 50km mark.

Time bonuses of six, four and two seconds were on offer at three intermediate sprint spots, and at the first one, at 53km, Vaugrenard became the first man to win a road sprint at the 2006 Tour. For his effort, the 24-year-old Frenchman gained back six of the 20 seconds he had given up to Hushovd in Saturday's prologue, which he finished in 31st place. That was enough to help vault Vaugrenard into the white jersey of the best young rider (25 and under) at the end of the day.

... as Hushovd's crew kept a close eye on the gap.

photo: Graham Watson

The break hovered around the 4:30 mark until Wegmann took the first KOM points of this year's Tour de France on the Cote de Heiligenstein climb with 83km to go. That being the only climb of the day, Wegmann claimed the polka-dot jersey as leader of the KoM competition.

Chase heats up
As the peloton began to head north toward the second sprint at Plobsheim, the teams of Milram, Quick Step and Davitamon-Lotto began taking pulls at the front. With 55km to go, the gap had been cut to 3:30, and at the second sprint, with 47.5km to go, it was down to two minutes. Bénéteau took the sprint, followed by fellow French riders Vaugrenard and Sprick.

With 43km to go, riders crossed the Rhine and looped into Germany for 32km before passing back into France over the same river. Germany marked the first of five other countries outside of France that the 2006 Tour will visit. The others are Luxembourg (stages 2 and 3); Belgium (stage 3 and 4), the Netherlands (stage 3) and Spain (stage 11).

Traveling through the scenic towns of Germany, where fans lining the roads stood side-by-side waving both French and German flags, the chase heated up. With 25km to go, the gap had been cut to less than a minute. Wegmann and the other breakaways were fighting it, but the aggression from the sprinters' teams made it a losing battle; with 18km to go, Bénéteau made a last-ditch effort, attacking on his own and splitting the breakaway group.

The others were absorbed by the peloton shortly after that, while Bénéteau went it alone for a few kilometers. The Frenchman managed to cross the border and re-enter his home country in the lead, taking some more sprint points along the way, but he wouldn't survive much longer.

It was close... but Casper knew he had it.

photo: Graham Watson

Meanwhile, Hincapie sensed his opportunity and seized it. The Discovery Channel rider exploded out of the main group, surprising Hushovd and the other GC contenders. Hushovd's French teammate Sébastien Hinault got on Hincapie's wheel and came around him to take second, but the two seconds for third was all Hincapie needed to take it to the line and seize the overall lead.

The final sprint was a chaotic affair, with Boonen jumping early and no single team taking control. "It's really the kind of sprint I like, and it's an honor to beat great champions like Boonen and McEwen," Casper said.

Results - Stage 1
1. Jimmy Casper (F), Cofidis
2. Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto, 00:00
3. Erik Zabel (G), Milram, 00:00
4. Daniele Bennati (I), Lampre, 00:00
5. Luca Paolini (I), Liquigas-Bianchi, 00:00
6. Isaac Galvez (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne-I.B., 00:00
7. Stuart O´Grady (Aus), CSC, 00:00
8. Bernhard Eisel (A), Francaise des Jeux, 00:00
9. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Credit Agricole, 00:00
10. Oscar Freire (Sp), Rabobank, 00:00

1. George Hincapie (USA), Discovery Channel
2. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Credit Agricole, 00:02
3. David Zabriskie (USA), CSC, 00:06
4. Sebastian Lang (G), Gerolsteiner, 00:06
5. Alejandro Valverde (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne-I.B., 00:06
6. Stuart O'Grady (Aus), CSC, 00:06
7. Michael Rogers (Aus), T-Mobile, 00:08
8. Paolo Savoldelli (I), Discovery Channel, 00:10
9. Floyd Landis (USA), Phonak, 00:11
10. Benoít Vaugrenard (F), Francaise des Jeux, 00:11

Full Results

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