LIVESTRONG Celebrates 15th Anniversary

In October of 1996, Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Shortly there after he would undergo treatment for the disease, and his subsequent recovery was nothing short of spectacular. The pro-cyclist who was all but unknown outside of his sport at the time, but he would go on to win seven consecutive Tour de France titles and become one of the most well known athletes on the planet.

In January of 1997, the Lance Armstrong Foundation was formed, with the hope of rallying people together against cancer. That foundation would evolve into what is now known as LIVESTRONG, an organization that has invested more than $275 million in cancer research and other intiaitives. That accounts for over 81% of every dollar that LIVESTRONG has raised, which is a remarkably high number for any charitable organization, and is a testament to how razor-focused Lance, and the rest of the team at LIVESTRONG, are on combatting the horrible disease.

Nearly everyone I know has been touched by cancer in their lives in some way or another, and through LIVESTRONG, we can all help find a cure. Not only can we continue to buy those ubiqutious yellow arm bands, which I'm seldom seen without, but Nike has an entire line of LIVESTRONG workout gear, whose proceeds go directly toward helping the cause. To checkout a sampling of that gear and to find 15 ways that you can LIVESTRONG, click here.

I personally own a number of LIVESTRONG articles of clothing and they are amongst my favorite t-shirts and running shorts. It doesn't hurt that I know that I'm helping to do good every time I buy one as well.

Congrats to Lance and the crew for an amazing first 15 years, and here's to many more to come.

Cycling News From Outside Mag

With the professional cycling season coming to an end for another year, fans of the sport are already looking ahead to 2012, when new teams, riders jumping ship to different squads, and a full schedule of races should keep things interesting. With that in mind, Outside magazine has a couple of interesting articles for us to think about.

First up, we get a nice first look at the just announced routes for both the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France. Both races will offer very different course from this year, which will have an impact on the peloton and just who has a legitimate chance of winning the race. The Giro, for instance, has done away with some of the long post-stage transfers that have bothered racers in the past, and now a more logical and liner route for the most part. The race will start out flat, but in the later stages it shifts into some very tough mountain stages, which will no doubt favor the climbers in the General Classification.

In contrast, the Tour will favor riders with outstanding time trial experience, offering three times as much TT action in 2012 then it did in 2011. That's not good news for the Schleck brothers, Andy and Frank, who have been in contention the past few years, but have not been able to keep pace in the individual time trials in particular. There will still be plenty of climbing of course, including some never before seen routes, but there is one fewer mountaintop finish this time out, and the course seems to favor the more skilled all around riders, like this year's winner Cadel Evans or three-time champ Alberto Contador.

Speaking of Contador, Outside also scored an interesting interview with the Spaniard, which you can read by clicking here. Contador is still awaiting a hearing over a pending drug suspension for a positive test of the banned substance clenbuterol in last year's Tour de France. In the interview, which is quite short, he touches upon how he got started in the sport, what he does to relax in the off season, and how it felt to finish off the podium in this year's Tour.

As of now, Contador's drug hearing is scheduled for November 22.

Cycling News: Leopard Trek and RadioShack Merge

Following a week of rumors, cycling teams RadioShack and Leopard Trek made it official yesterday. The two teams, already rich in talent, are joining forces, to create what Outside Magazine calls a superteam. The new roster will include Leopard vets Andy and Frank Schleck of course, along with time trial champion Fabian Cancellara, who will all continue on through the 2013 season. They'll be joined by RadioShack riders Chris Horner, Andreas Klöden, Matthew Busche, Jani Brajkovic, Nelson Oliveira and Robert Wagner, amongst others. The roster will be a full 30-man squad as is the standard under the Cycling Union's rules.

The team will also take on an additional sponsor in the form of Nissan, and will be re-branded as the RadioShack-Nissan-Trek Professional Cycling Team. The new squad will officially call Luxembourg home, which is where the Schleck's are from and Leopard-Trek was chartered.

Perhaps most interesting of all is that Johan Bruyneel will take over the reigns on this new team. Bruyneel is the man who led Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador to ten Tour de France titles, and his experience will go a long way with the new team as well. The Schlecks have to be excited about the possibility of working with Bruyneel and possibly earning themselves a Tour win at long last.

RadioShack and Leopard-Trek aren't the only teams making headlines however, as the Omega Pharma-Lotto and QuickStep have also joined forces to create the new Omega Pharma-QuickStep team. They'll boast such veterans as Tom Bonnen, Syvain Chavanel, and Andre Greipel in their stable. Not resting on their laurels, Team BMC, fresh off their win of Le Tour under Cadel Evans, have added rider of the year Philippe Gilbert to their squad, while the new GreenEdge Cycling team gets ready to hit the road with an all-Aussie squad.

Needless to say, the landscape in professional cycling will be dramatically altered next year. These "superteams" will be tough to compete with for sure, but they still have to find the right mix of chemistry and hope that their strategies can come to fruition, not to mention keeping all the riders healthy as well. It is an interesting turn for the sport to say the least.

Team BMC Cycling Adds The God of Thunder To The Roster

The Tour de France may be over for another year, but that doesn't mean there isn't plenty of cycling news to talk about. While teams gear up for the USA Pro Cycling Challenge in a few weeks, they are also re-configuring themselves to get better in the future.

Two days ago we received word that Australian rider Stuart O'Grady was leaving Team Leopard Trek to join the all Aussie squad of GreenEdge, which is forming up for next season. Today we get even bigger news, when it was announced that Team BMC had added Thor Hushovd to the line-up. Yep, that's right. This year's TdF champion Cadel Evans will now be riding alongside the God of Thunder himself.

According to this story from Velonews yesterday, Thor was no longer happy riding for Team Garmin, in part because the team dynamics had changed, and there were internal conflicts as to which rider would be the leader heading into various races. Apparently his role will be more clearly defined on BMC, where Evans is the clear-cut leader of the team.

Hushovd won't be joining the squad until 2012, and the contract is set to run for three years. He's not only joining Evans on the squad however, as the already packed roster also includes George Hincapie, Taylor Phinney, and Alessandro Ballan. This new "super squad" will definitely be a force to reckoned with when they hit the roads in Europe next year.

As the reigning World Road Champ, who has won multiple stages in the Tour de France, Thor says that his goal is to win the Paris-Roubaix race, a single day classic that has evaded him so far.

Outside Has The Cure For The Post TdF Blues!

With the 2011 Tour de France in the books, it is easy to let a post-race malaise set in as we wait patiently for 2012 to get here so we can cheer on our favorite riders once again. This is the time that we console ourselves with our own long rides while day dreaming about our own days in the Yellow Jersey. Fortunately, the post-Tour cycling coverage over at Outside Online can help ease the pain of not getting our daily fix of Paul Sherwen and Phil Liggett.

First up, Outside says that we can fight our annual "Tour withdrawal" by drooling over all the new bikes that made their debut there and will be arriving in our stores soon. In this article, they preview some of those hot new bikes, which includes offerings from Cannondale, Cervelo, Pinarello, and more. These are state of the art bikes, and as you would expect, they come with hefty price tags. Some of them are approaching $10,000, which is out of the price range for most cyclists, but it is still fun to dream. Plus, by the time the 2012 Tour is over, features from these bikes will start to trickle down to something a bit more within our budgets.

Late July also happens to mark the start of RAGBRAI, one of the biggest cycling events in the world .The name stands for the Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa, and each year more than 20,000 riders take part in the annual event. The ride kicked off this past weekend, and even Lance Armstrong dropped by for a spin. Outside takes a look at some of the statistics from this event, which is hugely popular back in my home state. For instance, more than 700 cases of beer are sold nightly at the camps for the event, making RAGBRAI as much of a party as it is a challenge. There are also an estimated 1500 support vehicles following the Peloton as well. It is a fun, not-too-serious event that I'd recommend to any cyclist.

Finally, have you ever wondered what kind of food the riders eat to keep them powering on the road for 3+ weeks? Outside also has one of the favorite recipes of Team HTC-Highroad. The simple, yet tasty-sounding, Potato Gnocchi Tourmalet includes two pounds of potatoes, eggs, zucchini, garlic, and more, and is guaranteed to power you through a mountain stage. Sounds good to me!

So how do you combat the Post-Tour Blues?

Tour 2011: Cadel Evans Wins Le Tour

Yesterday one of the best Tours de France in recent history came to an end when Cadel Evans rode onto the Champs Elysees in Paris wearing the race's famed Yellow Jersey. In doing so, he became the first man from Australia to win the race and showed that he is without a doubt amongst the elite riders in the world.

The traditional Sunday ride into Paris during the Tour is largely a ceremonial affair. The Peloton calls a truce against the Yellow Jersey, and everyone enjoys a quiet morning before the sprinters move to the front of the pack and charge for the final Green Jersey points that are available on the streets of Paris. This gave Evans an opportunity to savor his victory and enjoy the moment as much as possible – and enjoy it he most certainly did.

The win comes after three very smart weeks of racing. Evans kept himself at the front of the Peloton for most of the stages. With the help of his team and some very savvy riding, he was able to stay out of trouble and avoid some of the mishaps that have plagued him in the past. He also didn't panic when some of the other pre-race contenders went on daring breakaways that could have cost him major time. Instead, he stuck to his game plan and worked hard to keep everyone within striking distance. No where was this as evident as it was on Stage 18 when Andy Schleck rode away to a four minute lead on the road, but Evans was able to draw him back in, doing the work completely on his own, and shaving two minutes off the lead on the final climb up the Galibier at the end of the day.

As a result of all of this hard work, Evans was sitting in third place coming out of the big mountain stages and heading into Saturday's individual time trial. He trailed only the Schleck brothers with Andy in first place 57 seconds ahead, and Frank in second just four seconds out of reach. During that time trial, Cadel rode like a man who knew he had the Tour de France in his grasp. Neither of the Schlecks are particularly adept at time trialing, and it showed. By the end of the day, Evans had not only erased their leads, he had taken first place and was ahead of Andy by 1:34. A remarkable time for sure.

Andy and Frank rode good a Tour as well, and their strategy was a sound one. They had built an excellent team around themselves in the newly launched Leopard Trek squad, and that allowed them both to stand on the podium in Paris. That said, their goal was to win the Tour and anything less has to be viewed as a bit of a failure. It is becoming increasingly evident however that neither man will ever win the race if they don't improve their ability to ride an individual time trial. It is their achilles heal in an otherwise impressive set of cycling skills.

Two of the three other jerseys that were up for grabs in the race were decided before arriving in Paris. Spain's Samuel Sanchez locked up the Polka Dot Jersey as the King of the Mountains in climbing and France's Pierre Rolland claimed the White Jersey after an impressive ride up Alpe d'Huez on Friday and a solid time trial on Saturday. That left just the Green Jersey up for grabs on the Champs Elysees, which Mark Cavendish locked up with an impressive ride yesterday and a big stage win.

With the 2011 Tour now officially over, we can look back and reflect somewhat on what transpired. This was definitely one of the best Tours in recent history for a number of reasons, not the least of which was the dramatics provided by the riders out on the rode. There were some daring breakaways and inspiring individual performance, such as Thomas Voeckler's fantastic efforts to not only grab the Yellow Jersey mid-way through the race, but also hold on to it for ten stages afterwards. He rode like a man on a mission, and while the Alps eventually killed his legs, it was hard to not cheer for the guy.

It was also a relatively scandal free Tour de France as well. The race organizers had instituted even more stringent drug testing and yet they had only one doping violation the entire race. That came about when Russian rider Alexander Kolobnev tested positive for a banned masking agent and retired from the race. This is a far cry from recent Tours when there were violations occurring on a regular basis, some of which had a direct effect on the final podium placement. As a fan of the race, I'm happy to have no black clouds looming over the event, at least for now.

So ends another Tour de France and those of us who love the race will begin to count the days until next year's iteration arrives. Huge congratulations to Cadel Evans. This is a much deserved win for the Aussie and I was glad to see him stand on top of the podium in Paris yesterday.

Tour 2011: Alpe d'Huez Lives Up To Its Legacy

Yesterday was a great day in the Tour de France. Today was even better.

There are certain stages that always deliver on the promise of high drama and theatrics in Le Tour, and Alpe d'Huez is right up there with the best of them. With its 21 iconic switchbacks, and nearly 15km (9.3 miles) of climbing, often at grades in excess of 10%, the mountain has dashed many riders hopes of winning the race. This year was no exception, delivering unprecedented suffering to the Peloton.

Today's stage was a short one, just 109.5km (68 miles), but all the climbing brought new levels of punishment to the riders. Early on, defending champ Alberto Contador made a breakaway in hopes of gaining a stage win and picking up enough time to get himself into contention for the the podium if not the the Yellow Jersey. He was shadowed by Andy Schleck for much of the way, and a game Thomas Voeckler, who wore the Maillot Jaune for the past nine days, tried to hang with the group as well. Cadel Evans found himself in trouble early when he experienced mechanical issues with his bike, throwing him off the pace, and eventually dropping him back to the Peloton. For a time, it looked as if his troubles in the Le Tour would strike once again this year.

Riding aggressively, Contador and Schleck built up a considerable lead on the road, going out to more than three minutes ahead. But as the stage wore on, Evans picked up the pace and started to reel them back in. By the time they reached the base of Alpe d'Huez, the GC contenders were all even once again although Voeckler, who had cracked on a previous climb, was a minute and a half back.

Once the final climb got underway, Contador went on the attack once again, dropping his rivals. Evans was content to shadow Andy Schleck, knowing that if he keeps him in sight, he can try to grab the win tomorrow in the individual time trial. At one point, Schleck tried to implore Evans to help him drive the pace, and if you could read Evans lips, you could tell exactly what he thought of that idea. In a nutshell, the letters "F" and "U" come to mind.

As the stage ground on, and the climb up Alpe d'Huez took it's toll, Contador began to run out of gas, and suffer mightily. That allowed fellow countryman Sammy Sanchez, and and French rider Pierre Rolland to catch him on the slopes. Rolland immediately went on the attack, leaving Contador in the dust, and crawling on to the stage win, giving France its first win of the year, and hope for a future Tour contender. Sanchez came in second, assuring him the Polka Dot Jersey for the King of the Mountains, and Contador limped home in third place, a beaten man.

A minute back, Evans and the Schleck brothers picked up the pace and went on the attack, but came in together, setting up a huge day tomorrow when the three of them will duel one another for the win, and to decide who rides into Paris on Sunday in Yellow.

So, when the dust settled at the end of this epic stage, it was Andy Schleck who donned the Yellow Jersey, while brother Frank moved up into third place, 53 seconds back. Cadel Evans is now in third 57 seconds off the pace. The Green Jersey still belongs to Mark Cavendish, who will have to fight off Jose Rohas on the Champs Élysées on Sunday if he hopes to go home as the top sprinter. The King of the Mountain, as mentioned, has been decided, with Spain's Samuel Sanchez taking the title as the best climber in this year's Tour. With his big win today, Perre Rolland of Team Europcar earns the White Jersey as the best rider under the age of 25, giving the entire country of France hope for the future.

Hats off to Thomas Voeckler for continuing to battle not only today, but for the past week. He fell well off the pace today, but continued to ride hard, and didn't give up the Maillot Jaune easily. He has shown what a tough rider he is and deserves a lot of respect.

Tomorrow will now be one fantastic day of riding around Grenoble. It is a 42.5km (26.4 mile) individual time trial that will have the riders going head to head against one another for final positioning. While world time trial champion Fabian Cancellara will most likely put in the best time of the day, all eyes will be on the Brothers Schleck and Australia Cadel Evans. Evans is by far the more accomplished time trialist, and it will take a miracle for Frank to hold him off, especially considering just four seconds separate the two riders. Andy isn't the best time trialist either, although he has improved in that discipline over the past few years. The question now is, whether or not his 57 second lead will be enough to hold off Evans. They'll leave the gate tomorrow as the last and second to last riders respectively, and it'll all be decided out on the road.

Whew! After the past two stages, I'm exhausted just watching the Tour. Such a fantastic way to end another great race. I'm going to miss it when it ends on Sunday.

Tour 2011: The Alps Deliver High Drama

Heading into today's Stage 18 of the Tour de France, we knew that we could expect some fireworks between the top contenders in the GC. But what we didn't know was that one of those contenders would put in an amazing attack, while another would see his hopes of winning dashed beyond repair.

The 200.5km (124.5 mile) stage ran between Pinerolo and Galibier-Serre Chevalier and featured high mountain passes, and three uncategorized climbs to sap the strength of the riders in the Peloton. The ride started as expected, with the top riders all shadowing one another, waiting patiently, and biding their time. But then, something unexpected happened 60km into the ride. Andy Schleck went on the attack and left his rivals behind while building a huge lead through the final climbs of the day. At one point, he was as much as 4 minutes out, and was the virtual leader of the Tour. He even caught an earlier breakaway, and steamed passed them, eventually earning a stage win, crossing the finish line more than 2 minutes ahead of his brother Frank, who came in second and 2:15 in front of Cadel Evans, who did most of the work to reel Andy back in on the last climb of the day. The Yellow Jersey, on the shoulders of Thomas Voeckler, was in that group as well, allowing the tough Frenchman to hold on to the lead for one more day.

This big move was an impressive display of strength and extremely bold on the part of Schleck, who needed to be aggressive in order to gain some time and put himself into position to win the race. The gamble paid off, as he is now in second place, just 15 seconds behind Voeckler. Brother Frank holds down third place, 1:08 back, while Australian Cadel Evans is now in fourth, 1:12 off the lead. Tomorrow, on the slopes of Alpe-d'Huez, these men should be throwing attacks at one another to decide who will have the Maillot Jaune headed into Saturday's time trial.

One name conspicuously absent from that list is defending champ Alberto Contador. The Spanish rider lost precious time today and was dropped from the pack on the final climb when Evans made a move to pull in Andy. Contador looked like he was in pain on that part of the ride, and as a result, he is now sitting in 7th place, 4:44 behind Voeckler. With the attack from Andy today, combined with his inability to follow the lead group, it now seems that Contador's chances of winning the race are over, and he may well struggle to even get into the top five. He'll have an opportunity to show his mettle tomorrow, on the final mountain stage of the year. He is also a fantastic time trialist, so he may hope to make up some time on Saturday as well.

No matter who ends up heading to Paris in Yellow, you have to give Thomas Voeckler the respect he is due. The Frenchman has carried the Maillot Jaune with honor and dignity for his country, and as nearly every new stage began, everyone thought "this will be the day" that he drops the Jersey. It hasn't happened yet, and while it seems inevitable tomorrow, it doesn't take anything away from how well he has ridden and how well he has defended the lead. Voeckler is what the Tour is all about, and he has given it his all, as evidenced by the final shots of him today at the finish line. Clearly, he was spent.

As for the other jersey competitions, Mark Cavendish keeps the Green and really doesn't face any competition until the race reaches the Champs-Élysées on Sunday. Jelle Vanendert kept the Polka Dot Jersey, but Andy Schleck moved into third place just four points back. He's likely to gain more points tomorrow, which could lead to the possibility of a winner taking home both the Yellow and the Polka Dot in the same year. Rein Taaramae of Cofidis claimed the White Jersey today as the best young rider in the field as well.

Tomorrow's stage is a short, but brutal one. Just 109.5km (68 miles) in length, it features an awful lot of climbing. THings get started early with a Category 1 climb, followed almost immediately by a Beyond Category climb up the Col du Galbier. From there, it is a long, steady descent, that will test the riders technical skills, but give their legs a bit of a break, before the final climb of the day, a tough slog up Alpe-d'Huez, a Beyond Category climb that is amongst the most storied and feared in the history of Le Tour. It will be on those final slopes that the fate of the riders will be decided.

The question now is, does Andy Schleck have anything left in the tank for another tough mountain stage tomorrow? He needs 15 seconds to shake Voeckler out of the Yellow Jersey, but more importantly, he needs to put more time between himself and Cadel Evans. Neither of the Schleck brothers are particularly great time trialists, and they shouldn't feel comfortable with anything less than a two minute lead on Evans, who excels in the discipline. If Andy falters, will Frank take up the mantle for Team Leopard-Trek? There is going to be a lot more high drama in the High Alps tomorrow. Don't miss it!

Win TdF Prizes From Versus

The Versus channel continues to do an excellent job of delivering Tour de France coverage once again this year. Lets face it, the sport is certainly not the easiest one to sell to none cycling fans, and yet the great team  at Versus finds a way to make it compelling television year in and year out. If you haven't been watching these past few weeks, you're in luck, as today and tomorrow are likely to be excellent. Depending on the standings, Saturday's individual time trial should be fantastic as well.

Before the Tour wraps up for another year, Versus is giving us all a couple of chances to win some great prizes in their Defining Moments Fan Challenge on Facebook. To enter, simply logon to FB and click the "Like" button on the Versus cycling page (That's easy!). From there, you'll have the opportunity to share your personal story of overcoming long odds or coming up just short in your attempt at glory. Other fans will read and vote on the stories they like best, with the top vote getters squaring off to take home a new Cannondale Synapse road bike – a machine that is worth more than $3000. There are also several daily prizes to be had as well, like cycling helmets, helmet cams, and gift certificates.

While yore on the site, be sure to click on the Headsweats Ask Bobke button, located on the side of the page, to get the opportunity to ask commentator and fan favorite Bob Roll a question about the tour. If they find your question interesting enough, it may be used on the air in the nightly encore broadcasts.

Speaking of Headsweats, they're also running a Tour de France related special for Versus fans. When you make a purchase now, you can enter the promo code "Bobke" to get 25% off your next purchase. That's a pretty good deal for some great headwear to use during active outdoor pursuits.

With the days of the 2011 Tour starting to run short, enjoy ever minute of these last few stages. They should be great ones.

Tour 2011: Warning! Epic Showdowns Ahead!

Earlier today, the Tour de France returned to the high mountains, as the riders moved into the Alps at last, heralding the arrival of the biggest, and most important, stages of the race. Over the course of the next two days, there will be some epic showdowns to say the least, as the GC contenders do their best to shake Thomas Voeckler out of the Yellow Jersey and position themselves to take the crown.

But that is what lies ahead. Today's course featured 179km (111.2 miles) of racing between Gap and Pinerolo that featured a number of climbs, the last of which was a Category 2 affair that led up to the the top of the Pramartino Slope, before making a harrowing descent to the finish line. That descent was fast and technical, leaving more than one rider to scramble for his life as his bike went careening off the road. Even Voeckler found himself in a bit of trouble as he scrambled to keep the pace, at one point the Frenchman slid off the road and onto a parking lot alongside the route. The narrow roads and thickly wooded countryside were scary to watch, and many of the cyclists seemed wary as they dropped.

In the end however, there was one rider that survived the break, and rode alone to the finish line. That was Norway's Edvald Boasson Hagen, who claimed his second stage win of the year, and made up for some of the disappointment from yesterday, when he was out sprinted by Thor Hushovd. It has been a great year for Norway in Le Tour, as they have just two riders in the race, but four stage wins between them. Hushovd also spent several days in Yellow in the early part of the race.

Coming in second place today was Bauke Mollema, 40 seconds behind Boasson Hagen and third went to a game Sandy Casar, another ten seconds back.

In the GC, it was an eventful day which featured more attacks from defending champ Alberto Contador, who knows that he has to make up ground on his main rivals if he hopes to reach the podium in Paris. Contador attacked on the final climb of the day, but unlike yesterday, Andy Schleck was able to answer and stick on his wheel. After they went over the top, Contador once again pulled away on the descent, working closely with fellow Spaniard Samuel Sanchez to try to make up ground. In the end however, it was all for nought, and the Schleck Brothers, along with Cadel Evans, caught the two Spanish riders before the line.

While Contador failed to gain any time on the other GC contenders, he did show that he is in fine form and ready to attack on the two stages ahead. Those stages are more to his personal style, allowing him to attack on the steep mountains ahead. Thursday and Friday's stages are each mountaintop finishes, which is where the three-time winner thrives. The Schlecks and Evans will have to be prepared for those attacks if they hope to hold off Contador, and Sanchez, as the two men seem to have formed an alliance of sorts.

While Voeckler still clings to the Yellow Jersey, Evans has closed the gap some. He now sits 1:18 behind the leader, and 4 seconds in front of Frank Schleck in third. It seems unlikely that Voeckler can hold on to the Maillot Jaune after tomorrows massive climbs, but the popular Frenchman has surprised us at every turn in this race, and perhaps he'll do it again tomorrow. We'll just have to wait and see.

There wasn't a whole lot for the sprinters to do today, although there were a few points to be picked up on an intermediate sprint. As a result, Mark Cavendish kept the Green Jersey once again. Likewise, the standings in the King of the Mountain competition remain largely unchanged, as Jelle Vanendert keeps the Polka Dot Jersey. Rigoberto Uran held on to the White Jersey as well as the Tour's best placed rider under the age of 25.

As mentioned, tomorrow's stage is going to be a true test of skill and stamina. The Peloton faces a grueling 200.5km (124.5 mile) ride from Galibier to Serre Chevalier that features three Beyond Category climbs, including a very long and tough climb to the finish. By the time the riders reach that final ascent, expect to see only the best climbers out in front, including Contador, the Schlecks, Sanchez, and Evans, who is a two time world champion in mountain biking and knows a thing or two about climbing. Contador will need to press the attack to gain time, and everyone else will need to be in top form in order to respond. To make matters worse, tomorrow's finish will be at the highest altitude ever for the Tour, throwing a little thin air into the mix.

On Friday, the famed Alpe-d'Huez, perhaps the most storied climbing in Tour history, will await the contenders.

Tour 2011: Contador Throws Down The Gauntlet, Evans Takes The Challenge

It is becoming increasingly clear that in the 2011 Tour de France you should expect the unexpected. Case in point was today's 162.5km (101 mile) stage between Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux and Gap which was expected to be  a great opportunity for a breakaway, but not have much of an impact on the GC itself. Those expectations were both right and wrong in so many ways, and with the rain, and sometimes snow, steadily falling throughout the day, the riders once again put on a show.

As predicted, there was indeed a major breakaway early on in the stage, with a large group of riders pulling away from the Peloton. Over the miles however, that group began to splinter, as the course steadily climbed throughout the morning. By the time they lead riders topped out on the Col de Manse, a Category 2 climb that gave way to a treacherous descent to the finish, only Norwegians Edvald Boasson Hagen and Thor Hushovd, along with Canada's favorite son Ryder Hesjedal remained. Both Thor and Boasson Hagen had already won stages this year, and were sparring back and fourth down the stretch, with Hesjedal, a team mate of Thor's on Team Garmin - Cervelo, aiding in the pursuit. In the end, the Garmin boys were too much for Edvald, who took second behind Hushovd, who is continuing to have a fantastic Tour.

While the breakaway boys were jousting at the finish line however, the real story was back in the Peloton, where Alberto Contador finally made his presence known. On a day that was not expected to be all that exciting for the top contenders, Contador went on the attack, and in the process made his rivals Frank and Andy Schleck look weak. Andy in particular appeared to have no answer to the Spaniards acceleration, and was soon dropped on a climb that should have been easy for him. In the end, he gave up precious seconds to his rival, opening the door for Contador to really challenge in the high Alps, which start tomorrow.

One rider who didn't crack under the pressure however was Aussie Cadel Evans, who not only matched Contador move for move, but also pulled away from him down the stretch. Evans made up enough time to climb into second place, serving notice to the field that he isn't going away this year. He looked extremely comfortable following Contador's attack, and then putting in one of his own, and considering how great of an individual time trial rider he is, he seems to be the front runner at the moment.

For the most part, Thomas Voeckler let Contador and Evans duel it out ahead of him, seemingly unable or unwilling to follow. At the end of the day, he remained in the Yellow Jersey, although Evans closed the gap to 1:45 seconds. Frank Schleck dropped to third and Andy is in Fourth, but both looked out of their element today. Contador moved up just one place into sixth, and is now 3:42 off the lead. More importantly however, he has narrowed the gap with everyone except Cadel Evans.

There were a few sprint points to be had today, but for the most part they were given away to riders not in competition for the Green Jersey. Mark Cavendish holds on to that coveted title and rode very well today through some tough hills. He'll find it much tougher over the next three days however, and will just hope to avoid elimination in the big mountains. Jelle Vandendert of Omega Pharma Lotto kept his Polka Dot Jersey, although that will surely be challenged in the next three days as well. The White Jersey was retained by Rigoberto Uran of Team Sky as well.

Tomorrow should be a great day for cycling fans, as the high mountains of the Alps are here at last. It is going to be a challenging 179km (111.2 mile) ride from Gap to Pinerolo that features multiple Category 2 and 3 climbs, as well as Cat 1. Most of the day will be spent going up, with a long, rapid descent following the slog up to Sestieres. After that, there is one Cat 2 before a very fast descent to the finish. It'll be a good opportunity for a break once again, as the next two days will have mountain top finishers that will be dominated by the sports best climbers, and most likely the GC contenders.

The next three days should provide some amazingly compelling cycling. Contador has shown that not only is he strong and able, but that he is also willing to go on the attack to try to get himself onto the podium in Paris. The Schlecks looked like they were unable to pursue him today, which should be worrisome heading into the Alps. If their form doesn't improve, they could find themselves off the podium altogether. Their new team, Leopard-Trek, had very high expectations going into this Tour. It is practically an all-star squad with the one-two combination of the Brothers Schleck as their ultimate weapon. But if they don't have a better outing tomorrow, they could have some real problems on Thursday and Friday.

Perhaps it's time they focused on Frank's options instead of Andy's.

Tour 2011: Rest Day Recap

Today brings a much deserved respite from the road for the riders in this year's Tour de France. The 2011 race has been plagued with crashes, leaving many of the cyclists bruised and battered, while the Pyrenees sapped their strength over the weekend. While the past few days in the mountains were good sparring sessions between the GC contenders, we've now come out of the first big mountain stages with more questions than answers.

The two weekend stages didn't bring any changes to the chase for the Yellow Jersey. French rider Thomas Voeckler still leads the pack, a minute and 49 seconds ahead of Frank Schleck. Cadel Evans holds down the third position with Andy Schleck picking up a few seconds on Saturday, and staying in fourth place. Defending champ Alberto Contador held his spot in 7th place, and looked much more comfortable on Saturday and Sunday, although he hasn't gained any ground on his rivals.

Conventional wisdom says that Voeckler can't survive in the Alps and that he'll drop the Maillot Jaune once those tough stages begin on Wednesday of this week. But the Frenchman has been more than game to challenge the top contenders, who are finding it far harder to get him out of the Yellow Jersey than it would have been to simply prevent him from getting it in the first place. We've been hearing predictions of his demise for the past few days, and yet he keeps riding very well, and is hanging with some of the best climbers in cycling, even though the experts say he shouldn't be. There is a possibility that he'll continue to do so in the Alps, and could be in Yellow heading into the penultimate stage on Saturday, which is an individual time trial.

The Alps are a different kind of climb however, with higher altitudes and more challenge grades, so it is my belief that he'll drop the Jersey by Friday, when the true contenders will joust on Alp d'Huez. That isn't a given however, and one of the fun things about this year's Tour is that there is still a lot of uncertainty heading into the final week. In the past few years, the top two or three riders were clearly in command, it was just a matter of how they were going to finish. This year, it seems to be an open race between at least four or five riders.

The sprinters will now take a backseat, and just try to hang on until Paris, as there are few sprint points to be had until the final day. Mark Cavendish still holds that coveted jersey, with Jose Rojas and Philippe Gilbert both holding out hope to pick up important points on the Champs-Élysées. The Polk Dot Jersey is on the shoulders of Jelle Vandendert a rider from Belgium who performed well in the Pyrenees. With a lot of climbing yet to come however, this competition is far from decided. Rigoberto Uran of Sky is now in the White Jersey as the Tour's best young rider.

The week ahead is going to be an exciting one, with lots of mountains to conquer. The true GC contenders have to push the attack on Voeckler to drop him from the field and allow them to start the in-fighting amongst themselves. I think they'll try to do that as early as Wednesday, but it could take until Friday to finally shake him off. In the meantime, someone needs to get more aggressive if they want to take the lead in this race, and Alberto Contador really has to make a bold move if he has designs on winning it again. I personally don't believe he has it in him to make that move this year however.

Tomorrow brings us the 16th stage of this year's race. It is a 162.5km (101 mile) ride from Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateauz to Gap, through a medium mountain region. The route will be a steady climb throughout most of the day, with a single Category 2 climb near the end, before a fast descent to the finish. The GC won't change at all on this stage, but it will be open for someone to lead a breakaway to glory.

On Wednesday, things get very interesting and exciting again, as we return to the big mountains of the Alps.

Tour 2011: The God of Thunder Roars!

Today's stage in the Tour de France was not expected to bring many changes to the General Classification, as it featured only one big mountain climb in the middle of the course, with a long descent and a fairly flat run to the finish line, which was in Lourdes for the first time in more than 60 years. True to form, there were no changes in the standings of the GC, but there were still plenty of dramatics to be had.

Early in the day a group of riders attempted a breakaway. That group included Jérémy Roy, David Moncoutie, Alessandro Petacchi, Maarten Tjallingii, Edvald Hagen, Lars Bak, Thor Hushovd and a few others. Over the course of the ride, most of them fell away, and when they reached the Col d'Aubisque, the lone Beyond Category climb of the day, it was down to Roy, Hushovd, and Moncoutie. Roy crossed the summit first and began a fast descent, with Thor and Moncoutie in pursuit. Working together, the two chase riders were able to close the gap. With a little over 2km to go, Thor put the hammer down and blasted past a quickly fading Roy, and cruised to the stage win. Moncoutie took second, and a clearly dejected Roy coasted through in third. It was a fantastic chase, and you couldn't help but feel bad for Roy, who was so aggressive all day long.

As mentioned, the GC remains the same with Thomas Voeckler in Yellow for at least one more day. He'll be sorely tested tomorrow on another big mountain stage, but if he comes out of it still in the maillot jaune, he'll take it to the Alps late next week. With few sprint points on the line today, Mark Cavendish kept the Green Jersey, and he'll be looking to just survive tomorrow before the sprinters get a chance to do their thing into next week. The Polka Dot Jersey was the consolation prize for Jérémy Roy today, who picked up enough points to take the King of the Mountain title away from Samuel Sanchez. The standings are close however, and that one will be decided in the Alps as well. Finally, Arnold Jeannesson kept the White Jersey as the Tour's best young rider as well.

Tomorrow will be another one for the ages, and the high Pyrenees once again loom. The 168.5km (104.69 mile) course between Saint-Gaudens and Plateau de Beille features a series of tough climbs, with several Category 1 and 2 peaks to be overcome before the final challenge of the day, a tough slog up an uncategorized climb with the finish line at the summit located at 1800 meters (5905 ft). The GC contenders will be fighting it out on that slope, with the Schlecks, Frank and Andy, hoping to put more time into Cadel Evans, and hopefully finally pulling the Yellow Jersey off Voeckler.

As for defending champ Alberto Contador, he almost certainly has to try something on this stage, as it is imperative that he draw back time on his rivals. He'll have to attack on the climb up to the Plateau de Beille if he hopes to win this year, but judging from his form thus far, it's hard to say if he has it in him to make such an attack with any hope of success.

Either way, tomorrow is another "don't miss it" stage in the 2011 Tour. It is going to be a good one.

Tour 2011: The Pyrenees Start To Sort Out The Contenders

Each year, when the Tour de France announces it's intended route, fans circle a few dates as the ones that will really sort out the General Classification. Usually those days involve big mountain climbs which leave the Peloton in tatters and give the contenders a chance to rise to the top. Today was just such a day, as the 2011 Tour arrived in the Pyrenees at last.

The day started off rather typical, with a fairly flat beginning, that soon gave way to a slow, but steady climb. That all changed following the intermediate sprint however, as there were big climbs ahead, including two Beyond Category climbs, one of which went up the famed Tourmalet. That was the middle climb of the day however, and while it dropped the pretenders from the crowd, it was the final uncategorized climb into Luz that really brought the dramatics to the forefront.

The stage win went to Sammy Sanchez of Euskaltel - Euskadi, who was part of a break away that survived to the end, although they were nearly caught by the trailing riders. Sanchez finished just ahead of Belgian Jelle Vanendert, with Frank Schleck taking third, after charging up hard in the final stretch of the climb.

Schleck's move answered a few questions about this year's race that only the mountains could give. Frank looked in top form as he powered up the Pyrenees, but brother Andy seemed to struggle a bit on the final push. He finished in sixth place, behind Ivan Basso and Cadel Evans, who were 4th and 5th respectively. Basso looked strong, and Evans was calm and collected on the final climb as well.

One name you don't see listed in that group is defending champ Alberto Contador. He finished in 8th place for the day, but gave up precious seconds to his rivals, second he couldn't afford to lose when he's already more than a minute and a half back. Contador looked tired and in pain when he approached the finish line, which is not something we're use to seeing out of the Spaniard. Perhaps that bad knee is bothering him more than we know.

Another surprise of the day was that French rider Thomas Voeckler managed to hang on to the Yellow Jersey, making a gritty ride which seemed fitting on Bastille Day. He did give up time, but he rode with the heart of a champion with some big mountain climbers he had no business hanging with. There is a good chance he'll keep the Jersey tomorrow as well, with Saturday bringing the next really tough climbs. With his performance today, Frank Schleck has now moved into second place, 1:49 behind Voeckler, with Cadel Evans now in Third, 2:06 back. Considering that Evans is a better individual time trialist, the Schlecks are going to need to build a bigger gap before the end of the race.

Today was not a day for the sprinters, most of whom just hung on for a finish atop the mountain. As a result, the Green Jersey remained with Mark Cavendish. The climbers did get into the action with the Polka Dot Jersey, and while he was game for awhile, Johnny Hoogerland ended up handing off the King of the Mountain title to Sammy Sanchez. With a lot of climbing in the next few days, it'll be interesting to see who goes out and gets the points. Robert Gesink, the man who had been in the White Jersey for the Tour's best young rider, ended up having a horrible day out on the road, dropping back considerably. As a result, Arnold Jeannesson of France has claimed the White, at least for now.

Tomorrow brings us another high mountains stage, although it won't be as hard as it was today and it ends on a descent, rather than a climb. There is a big beyond category climb in the final part of the ride, but the fast descent will allow good technical riders to catch-up before the finish line, which is flat. The course runs from Pau to Lourdes and is 152.5km (94.75 miles) and is likely to have little change on the GC unless one of the big riders attacks.

Saturday will be a different story. It is a series of Category 1,2, and 3 climbs, ending with Beyond Category climb that ends with another mountaintop finish.

A T-Shirt Only TdF Fans Can Appreciate

Obviously I'm a big fan of the Tour de France, or I wouldn't write stage by stage recaps each day, nor pay for the All Access option so I can watch it where ever I am. Maybe that's why I got such a kick out of the t-shirts that are available from Stomach of Anger (Which is a 2010 Tour reference in and of itself). I'm particularly impressed with the shirt below, which is up for pre-order now and will ship after this year's Tour ends. It is a reference to Johnny Hoogerland, the Dutch rider who crashed into the barbed wire fence on Sunday, spectacularly earning his place in Tour history. Who else wants one of these?

Tour 2011: Rain Falls as the Pyrenees Loom

Every year their are a few rain soaked days on the Tour de France, and 2011 is no exception. Today was one of those days, with a steady rain, and sometimes a downpour, falling on the riders throughout the day. It didn't seem to detract from their spirits however, as the sprinters faced off one more time before taking a backseat as we head into the mountains tomorrow.

Todays stage was 167.5km (104 miles) in length between Blaye-les-Mines and Lavaur. While it did provide some hills, there were no major climbs to challenge the Peloton today, resulting in another day for the sprinters to stretch their legs. The result was a mad dash to the finish line, with some of the fastest riders in the world going head-to-head, with HTC-Highroad rider Mark Cavendish claiming the stage victory, the 18th of his career. Just behind him was yesterday's winner, André Greipel, followed by American Tyler Farrar. The win by Cavendish put him in the Green Jersey, which he wrested of the back of Philippe Gilbert.

There were no changes in the General Classification today, with Thomas Voeckler remaining in Yellow for another day. That's likely to change tomorrow when the riders hit the first big mountain stage however. With no climbing points up for grabs today, Johnny Hoogerland kept the Polka Dot Jersey. He'll have a chance to show off his abilities tomorrow as well. The White Jersey for the Tour's best young rider stayed with Robert Gesink of Rabobank as well.

As I've alluded to multiple times this week, tomorrow is the day that we've all been waiting for. The 12th Stage of the Le Tour is 211km (131 miles) that runs from Cugnaux to the top of the Luz-Ardiden. The route will begin with a shallow climb that leads up to an intermediate sprint point, before heading up into the Pyrenees themselves. The first real test of the day will come on Category 1 climb, but that is quickly followed by two Beyond Category climbs, including one that leads to the finish line.

This is the stage where the pretenders will fall away, and the real Tour contenders will take their place at the top of the GC. Not only will Voeckler fall off the pace, second place rider Luis-Leon Sanchez will likely fade away as well. Sanchez had improved his climbing abilities in recent years, but still struggles on the big mountains. That means that riders like Cadel Evans and Frank and Andy Schleck, will have an opportunity to wear the Maillot Jaune in the days ahead. We'll also have the opportunity to see if Alberto Contador can make a move to get himself back into contention.

Tomorrow we'll learn a lot about the riders and some questions will be answered at last. For instance, does Andy Schleck have the form that carried him to two second place finishes over the past few years? Will is brother carry the flag for the Leopard-Trek team heading into the second half of the race? Can Cadel Evans avoid a meltdown in the mountains? Does Contador have the legs, and heart, to battle back into this one? Is there anyone else who can emerge from the Peloton to provide a surprise challenge?

The Pyrenees are here at last, and I can't wait to see what happens next.

Tour 2011: Back To Racing

Following the rest day yesterday, the riders at this year's Tour de France went back out onto the road today, where they continued their ride through the French countryside. The day started with wind, rain, and even hale at the start, and ended with a clash of sprinters at the end.

Stage 10 was another hilly affair, with two Category 3 and 4 climbs. Despite that however, it was a blisteringly fast ride that had the Peloton sweeping across the course in a very workmen like fashion. When it was all said and done, the top sprinters in the sport had may there way to the front, and a mad dash to the finish saw André Greipel of Omega Pharma out sprint Mark Cavendish to the line after 158km (98.17 miles) of riding. Jose Rojas finished third a short distance back.

As a result of the sprints today, Cavendish made up ground in the race for the Green Jersey, which still sits on the shoulders of Philippe Gilbert. Cav is still in third place in that competition, behind Rojas, but the gap has narrowed considerably, which should mean some real spirited rides in the stages to come. As expected, French rider Thomas Voeckler remains in Yellow today, Johnny Hoogerland keeps the Polka Dot Jersey. Hoogerland suffered through the ride today with 33 stitches in his legs following the horrific crash on Sunday that sent him into a barb wire fence. Dutch rider Robert Gesink held on to the White Jersey today as well.

Tomorrow's stage is the calm before the storm. It features a 167.5km (104.7 miles) of racing between Blayes-les-Mines and Lavaur. The course will once again undulate across the French countryside, but will only have a single Cat 3 and 4 climb. An intermediate sprint point, almost exactly in the middle of the stage, will provide some fireworks as Cavendish looks to close the gap on the Green Jersey even further. Otherwise, it is unlikely that tomorrows stage will provide any major changes in the standings.

On Thursday, the Pyrenees loom at last.

One other note, RadioShack rider Yaroslav Popovych has retired from the race due to a fever. He is the third rider from that team to go home, following Chris Horner, who left with a broken nose and a concussion, and Janez Brajkovic, who withdrew with a broken collar bone. Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Klöden are also riding with injuries sustained in various crashes throughout the first week of the race. It is safe to say that the RadioShack squad is one beat-up unit at the moment.

Tour 2011: Carnage On The Roads In France

It certainly was an interesting weekend in the Tour de France, where the race moved into the first medium mountain stages, giving the Peloton its first taste of the pain that lies ahead in the Alps and the Pyrenees. After two long days of racing, leading to a rest day today, we ended up with a new overall leader in the Tour, but we also had an inordinate number of crashes, some of which will no doubt have an impact on the final standings in Paris.

Heading into the weekend, Norwegian cyclist Thor Hushovd was in the Yellow Jersey, but he was expected to drop it on Saturday when the riders hit the medium mountain stages. Much to the surprise of many however, Thor rode well and held onto the Jersey for an extra day. That stage was won by Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa of Portugal, who was the lone survivor of an early breakaway.

Sunday brought a similar story, where an early break went on to succeed late in the day, as Rabobank's Luis-Leon Sanchez crossed the finish line ahead of the crowd. Just behind him was Thomas Voeckler of Team Europcar, who managed wrest the Yellow Jersey away from Thor, who was caught out with the rest of the Peloton following a series of crashes. Voeckler, who is hugely popular in his home country of France, now has a 1:49 lead over Sanchez, who sits in second place in the General Classification. Neither of those two men are considered serious contenders to win the race, although Cadel Evans, sitting in third place is. He's 2:26 off the pace, while Frank and Andy Schleck are 2:29 and 2:37 respectively.

Philippe Gilber of Belgium currently wears the Green Jersey, and that looks to be quite the spirited competition all the way to Paris. Behind him are Jose Rojas and Mark Cavendish, both of which would love to wear the Green on the final day. The competition for the Polka Dot Jersey will get interesting in a few days and it currently belongs to Johnny Hoogerland, who was in a horrific crash yesterday that sent him flying into a barbed wire fence alongside the road.  He was very shaken up, but managed to finish the ride. We'll see if he manages to answer the bell tomorrow. Finally, Robert Gesink has claimed the White Jersey, for the Tour's best young rider under the age of 25.

As mentioned, crashes have left their mark on the race this year, and the weekend was no exception. A terrible crash on a fast descent yesterday took Astana's Alexander Vinokourov out of the race with a broken femur. That same crash also took out Jurgen Van den Broeck of Belgium, who also had designs on winning the race. Radioshack's Andreas Kloden also went down, but managed to get back up and finish the stage, although he was taken to the hospital afterwards. Later, Hoogerland, who was part of the break, crashed while trying to avoid a media car that swerved into Juan Antonio Fletcha of Team Sky. Fletcha was knocked down hard, but managed to get up and complete the stage as well. Both men seemed quite hurt, and I wouldn't be surprised if they can't continue after the rest day.

Speaking of crashes, defending champ Alberto Contador went down a couple of times over the weekend as well, and while he hasn't suffered any serious damage, the crashes are taking their toll. Contador is currently in 16th place, 4:07 off the leader, and hasn't had a lot of luck with his bikes either. On more than one occasion he has had to swap out machines mid-way through a stage. The Spaniard had found himself in quite a whole on the first rest day, and has a lot of work ahead of him if he hopes to win again. He is also suffering from a bad knee, that will certainly add to the difficulties.

Tomorrow, the riders will head back out on to the road with a 158km (98.17 mile) ride from Aurillac to Carmaux. The course will feature more medium level climbs, including two Category 3 and Category 4 climbs. The sprinters will want to grab the intermediate points early on, then hold on through the climbs ahead.

Things get really interesting on Thursday, when the race heads into the Pyrenees at last. That day will start out mostly flat, but eventually gives way to a single Category 1 climb and two Beyond Category climbs, including one with a finish at the summit. I can't wait!

Update: Here's the video from yesterday's car accident. Ugh!

Tour 2011: Sprinting Ahead

If you were looking for excitement and fireworks on the Tour de France, today was not the day to tune in. The 218km (135.44 mile) stage 7 was mostly flat and fast, which predictably made it a day for the sprinters to show off their talents, with a just as predictable winner.

It was Mark Cavendish of HTC - Highroad who claimed his 17th career stage win today by out sprinting Alessandro Petacchi andAndré Greipel to the line. Cavendish's team mates shadowed him well all day long, and led him not only to the stage win, but a high placement in an intermediate sprint that earned him more points toward the coveted Green Jersey.

The weather was an improvement over yesterday, when rains soaked the course, but that didn't make it any safer for the riders. There were once again a number of big crashes, resulting in a couple of more riders pulling out of the race. The two big names were to exit were Brit Bradley Wiggins, who was a podium contender for Sky Procycling and Belgian Tom Boonen of Quick Step. Boonen withdrew due to injuries suffered in a crash yesterday that made it too painful to continue today.

As far as the standings go, Team Garmin-Cervelo's Thor Hushovd remained in Yellow for another day, although he is likely to drop that jersey tomorrow in the first real climbs of this year's race. Who will pick it up remains to be seen however. Jose Rojas re-claimed the Green Jersey today and picked up a number of sprint points over Philippe Gilbert. Those two riders have been battling over the jersey thus far, but Cavendish is now hot on their trail and in third place in that competition. The Polka Dot Jersey is still with Johnny Hoogerland today, although the climbers will begin their fight in earnest tomorrow. Finally, the White Jersey for the Tour's best young rider has passed over to Robert Gesink of Rabobank after Geraint Thomas got caught up in one of the crashes today.

As mentioned, tomorrow's stage will finally mix in some real climbing, including a Category 2 near the finish and an uphill Cat 3 at the line. While it isn't a big mountain stage, those are a week away yet, it will put some order to the Peloton and sort out the contenders. The question is, will Alberto Contador try to make up some time. You have to think he'll try to earn some time back before hitting the Pyrenees.

The course tomorrow stretches for 189km (117.43 miles) between Aigurande and Super-Besse Sancy. I promise it'll offer more drama and suspense than today's leg.

Tour 2011: The Longest Stage of the Race

Stage 6 of the 2011 Tour de France was a mostly by-the-numbers affair that gave the sprinters a chance to stretch their legs some, but in the end, it didn't provide a whole lot of fireworks out on the course. At 226.5km (140.72 miles) in length, today's leg of the race was the longest the riders will face this year. Stretching from Dinan to Lisieux, the day began as wet, rainy one, and ended with the sun finally peeking out as the riders crossed the finished line.

The winner of today's stage was Edvald Boasson Hagen, a 24-year old Norwegian rider on Sky Procycling. He rode to a clean sprint finish just ahead of Australian Matthew Harley Goss and Thor Hushovd, who finished in second and third respectively. The rest of the pack streamed in behind them, with most of the major contenders for the GC holding their positions in the overall standings.

At the end of the day, Hushovd stayed in Yellow once again, and will likely do so into the weekend at this point. Johnny Hoogerland of the Netherlands claimed the Polka Dot Jersey after leading a breakaway for several hours. He, and the rest of his mates in the break, easily cleaned up the climbing points that were available on the two Category 3 and single Category 4 climbs that were on the course today. The real climbers will have their chance to earn points in the Pyrenees and the Alps soon enough. Once again, Thomas Geraint holds on to the White Jersey as the best young rider in the race.

The battle for the Green Jersey, awarded to the sprinters, is heating up, as Belgian Philippe Gilbert now holds a one point margin over Jose Joaquin Rojas of spain. Both have worn the Jersey on previous stages, and it looks like they intend to challenge one another throughout the course. Other big sprinters, like Mark Cavendish and Tyler Farrar are further back in the standings, but there are still plenty of sprint points to be earned over the next few weeks.

Despite the rain-slicked roads, there were fewer crashes today than yesterday, although American rider Levi Leipheimer did go down in a solo crash late in the race. Leipheimer skidded across a very slick white line on the side of the road, causing him to go down at the 5km mark. He appeared un-hurt, and quickly climbed back on his bike, but ended up losing precious time. Heading into today, he was mixed in with a group of riders just a few seconds off the pace, but after the fall, he dropped to 31st place, 1:23 back.

Tomorrow's stage will run from Le Mans to Chateauroux, covering 218km (135.44 miles) on a mostly flat route that never rises above 100 meters in height. There will be more sprint points up for grabs, so watch for the big guns, like Cavendish, Farrar, Rojas and Gilbert to be jockeying for position. The sprinters have been looking forward to tomorrow, and they should set a very high pace. The weekend will bring the first real challenging climbs to the race, although the first true mountain stages are still a week away.