presents
						Vittoria Shoes: winner of the 1998 Tour de France, and 1998 & 2000 Giro

The route

Final 2004 Tour de France GC after Stage 20: Armstrong has won the 2nd fastest Tour in history at 40.553 km/hr. Only last year's Tour was faster at 40.940 km/hr.

1. Lance Armstrong (US Postal) 83hr 36min 2sec

2. Andreas Kloden (T-Mobile) @ 6min 19sec

3. Ivan Basso (CSC) @ 6min 40sec

4. Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) @ 8min 50sec

5. Jose Azevedo (US Postal) @ 14min 30sec

6. Francisco Mancebo (Illes Balears) @ 18min 1sec

7. Georg Totschnig (Gerolsteiner) 18min 27sec

8. Carlos Sastre (CSC) @ 19min 51sec

9. Levi Leipheimer (Rabobank) @ 20min 12sec

10. Oscar Pereiro (Phonak) @ 22min 54sec

11. Pietro Caucchioli (Alessio) @ 24min 21sec

12. Christophe Moreau (Credit Agricole) @ 24min 36sec

13. Vladimir Karpets (Illes Balears) @ 25min 11sec

14. Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank) @ 27min 16sec

15. Richard Virenque (Quick Step) @ 28min 11sec

16. Sandy Casar (FDJ) @ 28min 53sec

17. Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) @ 29min

18. Thomas Voeckler (Brioches La Boulangere) @ 31min 12sec

19. Jose Luis Rubiera (US Postal) @ 32min 50sec

20. Stephane Goubert (Ag2R) @ 37min 11sec

147. Lanterne Rouge Jimmy Casper (Cofidis) 3hr 55min 49sec

Points (Green Jersey)

1. Robbie McEwen (Lotto) 272 points

2. Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) 247

3. Erik Zabel (T-Mobile) 245

4. Stuart O'Grady (Cofidis) 234

5. Danilo Hondo (Gerolsteiner) 227

Climber (Polka Dot Jersey)

1. Richard Virenque (Quick Step) 226 points

2. Lance Armstrong (US Postal) 172

3. Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank) 119

4. Ivan Basso (CSC) 119

5. Christophe Moreau (Credit Agricole) 115

5. Jan Ullrich 115

Young Rider (White Jersey)

1. Vladimir Karpets (Illes Balears) 83hr 1min 13sec

2. Sandy Casar (FDJ) @ 3min 42sec

3. Thomas Voeckler (Brioches La Boulangere) @ 6min 1sec

Team GC:

1. T-Mobile 248hr 58min 43sec

2. US Postal @ 2min 42sec

3. CSC @ 10min 33sec

4. Illes Balears @ 52min 26sec

5. Quick Step @ 57min 33sec

Running from Saturday July 3rd to Sunday July 25th, the 2004 Tour de France will be made up of one prologue and 20 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,360 kilometers.

These 20 stages have the following profiles:

• 11 flat stages,
• 6 mountain stages,
• 2 individual time-trial stages,
• 1 team time-trial stage

Distinctive aspects of the race

• 3 mountain finishes,
• 2 rest days,
• 75 kilometers of individual time-trials,
• 65 kilometers of team time-trials,
• 1 transfer by plane and 1 transfer by train (TGV),
• 21 Category 1, Category 2 and highest level passes will be climbed
• 7 new stop-over towns: Waterloo, Cambrai, Chartres, Lamballe, Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat, Guéret, Annemasse

Automatic qualifiers for the 2004 Tour:

Fassa Bortolo (Italy)
Quick Step - Davitamon (Belgium)
T-mobile Team (Germany)
Saeco (Italy)
Illes Balears - Banesto (Spain)
Gerolsteiner (Germany)
Cofidis, le crédit par téléphone (France)
Rabobank (Netherlands)
Liberty-Seguros (Spain)
US Postal Service - Berry Floor (United States)
Team CSC (Denmark)
Alessio - Bianchi (Italy)
Euskaltel - Euskadi (Spain)
Fdjeux.com (France)

Wild Card invitations:

AG2R Prévoyance (France)
Brioches la Boulangère (France)
Crédit Agricole (France)
Domina Vacanze (Italy)
Lotto - Domo (Belgium)
Phonak Hearing Systems (Switzerland)
RAGT Semences - MG Rover (France)

Team Rosters with racing numbers as of Friday, July 2. These could change on Saturday.

US Postal:
1. Lance Armstrong
2. José Azevedo
3. Manuel Beltran
4. Viatcheslav Ekimov
5. George Hincapie
6. Floyd Landis
7. Benjamin Noval
8. Pavel Padrnos
9. José Luis Rubiera

T-Mobile:
11. Jan Ullrich
12. Rolf Aldag
13. Santiago Botero
14. Giuseppe Guerini
15. Serguei Ivanov
16. Matthias Kessler
17. Andreas Kloeden
18. Daniele Nardello
19. Erik Zabel

Phonak
21. Tyler Hamilton
22. Martin Elmiger
23. Santos Gonzalez
24. Bert Grabsch
25. José Enrique Gutierrez
26. Nicolas Jalabert
27. Oscar Pereiro
28. Santiago Perez
29. Oscar Sevilla

Euskaltel:
31. Iban Mayo
32. Iker Camano
33. David Etxebarria
34. Unai Etxebarria
35. Iker Flores
36. Inigo Landaluze
37. Egoi Martinez
38. Haimar Zubeldia

Fassa Bortolo:
41. Alessandro Petacchi
42. Marzio Bruseghin
43. Fabian Cancellara
44. Juan Antonio Flecha
45. Aitor Gonzalez
46. Kim Kirchen
47. Filippo Pozzato
48. Matteo Tosatto
49. Marco Velo

Crédit Agricole
51. Christophe Moreau
52. Alexandre Botcharov
53. Julian Dean
54. Pierrick Fédrigo
55. Patrice Halgand
56. Sébastien Hinault
57. Thor Hushovd
58. Sébastien Joly
59. Benoît Salmon

CSC:
61. Ivan Basso
62. Kurt-Asle Arvesen
63. Michele Bartoli
64. Bobby Julich
65. Andrea Peron
66. Jakob Piil
67. Carlos Sastre
68. Nicki Soerensen
69. Jens Voigt

Illes Baléares:
71. Francisco Mancebo
72. Daniel Becke
73. Vicente Garcia Acosta
74. José Ivan Gutierrez
75. Vladimir Karpets
76. Denis Menchov
77. Aitor Osa
78. Mikel Pradera
79. Xabier Zandio

Gerolsteiner
81. Georg Totschnig
82. René Haselbacher
83. Danilo Hondo
84. Sebastian Lang
85. Sven Montgomery
86. Uwe Peschel
87. Ronny Scholz
88. Fabian Wegmann
89. Peter Wrolich

Cofidis
91. Stuart O'Grady
92. Frédéric Bessy
93. Jimmy Casper
94. Christophe Edaleine
95. Jimmy Engoulvent
96. Dmitriy Fofonov
97. David Moncoutié
98. Janek Tombak
99. Matthew White

Quick Step:
101. Richard Virenque
102. Paolo Bettini
103. Tom Boonen
104. Davide Bramati
105. Laurent Dufaux
106. Servais Knaven
107. Juan Miguel Mercado
108. Michael Rogers
109. Stefano Zanini

Liberty Seguros:
111. Roberto Heras
112. Dariusz Baranowski
113. Allan Davis
114. Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano
115. Jan Hruska
116. Isidro Nozal
117. Marcos Serrano
118. Christian Vandevelde
119. Angel Vicioso

Brioches La Boulangère:
121. Sylvain Chavanel
122. Walter Bénéteau
123. Anthony Charteau
124. Maryan Hary
125. Laurent Lefèvre
126. Jérôme Pineau
127. Franck Renier
128. Didier Rous
129. Thomas Voeckler

Alessio:
131. Magnus Backstedt
132. Fabio Baldato
133. Alessandro Bertolini
134. Pietro Caucchioli
135. Martin Hvastija
136. Marcus Ljungqvist
137. Claus Michael Moller
138. Andrea Noè
139. Scott Sunderland

Ag2R:
141. Laurent Brochard
142. Mikel Astarloza
143. Samuel Dumoulin
144. Stéphane Goubert
145. Jaan Kirsipuu
146. Yuriy Krivtsov
147. Jean-Patrick Nazon
148. Nicolas Portal
149. Mark Scanlon

Rabobank:
151. Levi Leipheimer
152. Michael Boogerd
153. Bram De Groot
154. Erik Dekker
155. Karsten Kroon
156. Marc Lotz
157. Grischa Niermann
158. Michael Rasmussen
159. Marc Wauters

Fdjeux.com :
161. Bradley McGee
162. Sandy Casar
163. Baden Cooke
164. Carlos Da Cruz
165. Bernhard Eisel
166. Frédéric Guesdon
167. Christophe Mengin
168. Jean-Cyril Robin
169. Matthew Wilson

Saeco:
171. Gilberto Simoni
172. Stefano Casagranda
173. Mirko Celestino
174. Salvatore Commesso
175. Gerrit Glomser
176. David Loosli
177. Jorg Ludewig
178. Evgueni Petrov
179. Marius Sabaliauskas

Lotto:
181. Robbie McEwen
182. Christophe Brandt
183. Nick Gates
184. Thierry Marichal
185. Axel Merckx,
186. Koos Moerenhout
187. Wim Vansevenant
188. Rik Verbrugghe
189. Aart Vierhouten

Domina Vacanze:
191. Mario Cipollini
192. Gian Matteo Fagnini
193. Massimo Giunti
194. Sergio Marinangeli
195. Massimiliano Mori
196. Michele Scarponi
197. Francesco Secchiari
198. Filippo Simeoni
199. Paolo Valoti

RAGT Semences-MG Rover:
201. Christophe Rinero
202. Guillaume Auger
203. Pierre Bourquenoud
204. Gilles Bouvard
205. Sylvain Calzati
206. Frédéric Finot
207. Christophe Laurent
208. Ludovic Martin
209. Eddy Seigneur

The split by nationality is as follows:

France: 6
Italy: 4
Spain: 3
Belgium: 2
Germany: 2
Switzerland: 1
Denmark: 1
Netherlands: 1
United States: 1

Stages, rated climbs and results

The individual stage results are posted first on the Torelli home page. They are copied to this page later in the day.

Saturday, July 3: 6.1 km, Liège Prologue (Individual Time Trial). Flat with only 4 corners. Should be fast. First rider, Pierre Bourquenoud (RAGT), off at 4:01 PM Belgium time (should be 7:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time). Last rider, Armstrong, off at 7:08 PM and should finish at 7:15 (10:15 AM PDT). The last 5 riders will be: Petacchi, Mayo, Hamilton, Ullrich and Armstrong.

Weather in Liege at 1:42 PM local time: Showers predicted. 58F (14C), wind from the WSW at 14 mph (23 kph). It did rain, but the riders have had dry streets and some wind.

Results:

Mr. Armstrong delivered a message that cannot be ignored. At almost 33 years old, he can pound out the watts as well as any short time-trial specialist. He took 15 seconds out of Ullrich and 16 out of Hamilton. It's early days, but they have their work cut out for them.

1. Fabian Cancellara (Fassa Bortolo) 6min 50sec

2. Lance Armstrong (US Postal) @ 2sec

3. Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Illes Balears) @ 8sec

4. Bradley McGee (FDJ) @ 9sec

5. Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) 10sec

6. Oscar Pereiro (Phonak) @ 11sec

7. Jens Voigt (CSC) s.t.

8. Christophe Moreau (Credit Agricole) @ 12sec

9. Bobby Julich (CSC) s.t.

10. George Hincapie (US Postal) s.t.

13. Levi Leipheimer (Rabobank) @ 15sec

16. Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) @ 17sec

18. Tyler Hamilton (Phonak) @ 18sec

26. Iban Mayo (Euskaltel) @ 21sec

70. Ivan Basso (CSC) @ 29sec

71. Santiago Botero (T-Mobile) s.t.

143. Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) @ 42sec

188 riders finished the course.

Points (Green Jersey)

1. Fabian Cancellara (Fassa Bortolo) 15 points

2. Lance Armstrong (US Postal) 12points

3. Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Illes Balears) 10points

4. Bradley McGee (FDJ) 8points

5. Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) 6 points

Young Rider (White Jersey)

1. Fabian Cancellara (Fassa Bortolo) 6min 50sec

2. Tom Boonen (Quick Step) @ 21sec

3. Benjamin Noval Gonzalez (US Postal) @ 22sec

4. Vladimire Karpets (Illes Balears) s.t.

5. Sebastian Lang (Gerolsteiner) @ 23sec

Team GC

1. US Postal 21min 2sec

2. CSC @ 6sec

3. Phonak @ 11sec

4. Fassa Bortolo @ 14sec

5. Illes Balears @ 18sec

Cofidis' Mathew White crashed while warming up. He broke his collarbone and will not be able to start the Tour. White, from Australia, is a former US Postal rider who switched to Cofidis after being passed over by Postal in its Tour team selection in previous years. Cofidis has replace White with Peter Farazijn, who had to jump in his car and drive to the race.

Stage 1: Sunday, July 4: 202.5 km, Liège - Charleroi

The rated climbs:

Km 15.0: Côte de Florzé: 1.2 km climb at 5.0%, 4th Cat
Km 21.0: Côte de Awan, 1.8 km climb at 4.1%, 4th Cat
Km 33.5: Côte de Werbomont, 1.8 km climb at 4.4%, 4th Cat
Km 101.5: Côte de Borlon, 4.4 km climb at 4.4%, 3rd Cat
Km 107.0: Côte de Ocquier, 1.4 km climb at 4.4%, 4th Cat

Sunday Stage 1 weather: At 2:00 PM local time in Liege, Cloudy with a chance of showers. 60F (16C), wind from the SW at 10 mph (16 kph).

Live updates are below the results.

Results:

1. Jan Kirsupuu (Ag2R) 4hr 40min 29sec

2. Robbi McEwen (Lotto) s.t.

3. Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) s.t.

4. Danilo Hondo (Gerolsteiner) s.t.

5. Jean-Patrick Nazon (Ag2R) s.t.

6. Baden Cooke (FDJ) s.t.

7. Kurt-Asle Arvesen (CSC) s.t.

8. Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) s.t.

9. Erik Zabel (T-Mobile) s.t.

10. Allan Davis (Liberty Seguros) s.t.

General Classification after stage 1:

1. Fabian Cacellara (Fassa Bortolo) 4hr 47min 13sec

2. Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) @ 2sec

3. Lance Armstrong (US Postal) @ 8 sec

4. Jens Voigt (CSC) @ 15sec

5. Jose Ivan Gutierrez (ille Balears) @ 16sec

6. Oscar Pereiro (Phonak) s.t.

7. Christophe Moreau (Credit Agricole) @ 20sec

8. Bobby Julich (CSC) s.t.

9. George Hincapie (US Postal) s.t.

10. Jose Enrique Gutierrez (Phonak) @ 22sec

12. Levi Leipheimer (Rabobank) @ 23sec

16. Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) @ 25sec

18. Tyler Hamilton (Phonak) @ 26sec

19. Iban Mayo (Euskaltel) @ 29sec

69. Ivan Basso (CSC) @ 27sec

139. Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) @ 50sec

186 classified finishers.

Points (Green Jersey)

1. Thor Hoshovd (Credit Agricole) 38points

2. Jaan Kirsipuu (Ag2R) 35

3. Robbie McEwen (Lotto) 30

Climber (Polka Dot Jersey)

1. Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) 13 points

2. Janeck Tomback (Cofidis) 12

3. Jens Voigt (CSC) 4

Young Rider (White Jersey)

1. Fabian Cancellara (Fassa Bortolo) 4hr 47min 11sec

2. Bernhard Eisel (FDJ) @ 26sec

3. Tom Boonen (Quick Step) @ 27sec

Team GC:

1. US Postal 14hr 22min 29sec

2. CSC @ 6sec

3. Phonak @ 11sec

Live updates for stage 1:

Km 60: It has started to rain. Fassa Bortolo is at the front, protecting both the yellow jersey of Fabian Cancellara and the chances for a sprint win of their ace speedster, Alessandro Petacchi. At km 4 Walter Beneteau (Brioches La Boulngere) took off. Over the next several kilometers, 4 other riders bridged up to him. They are still away with a lead of 3min 5sec. The riders in the break are: Jens Voigt (CSC), Janeck Tomback (COF), Paolo Bettini (QSD), Frank Renier (BLB) and Bernhard Eisel (FDJ). Mario Cipollini was involved in a crash, but he is back in the field.

Km 92: Gap remains at 3min 5sec. For the first two hours, the average speed of the stage is 41.3 km/hr.

Km 106: The gap is down to 2min 10sec. Cipollini and McGee came off on on the 3rd category Borlon climb. It's still rather soggy.

Km 117: It's really raining. The gap is down to 30 seconds. Eisel fell while talking to his team car, but he got up and rejoined the break. Fassa Bortolo is at the front and really pouring on the gas. Cipollini is in a chase group. An earlier posting said he was back in the field. He's not and his group of about 10 is working like dogs trying to rejoin.

Km 132: Everyone is back together. The Cipollini-McGee chase group has made it back on to the back of the peloton after a 30 kilometer all-out chase. The break of 5 up front has been caught as well. There was a crash in the center of the peloton a few kilometers back. Armstrong and the Posties were up front, as usual. Mayo's Euskaltel team, being caught in the back half led the chase to reunite the peloton. Average speed for the 3rd hour is 43.8 km/hr. There are lots of flat tires with the wet road causing debris to stick to the riders' tires.

Km 141: The break lasted 116 km. The rain has stopped. The peloton seems content to ride behind Fassa Bortolo for now.

Km 163, 39.5 to go: After the third intermediate sprint (won by Stuart O'Grady), Marc Wauters (Rabobank) and Jakob Piil (CSC) counter-attacked. They now have about 1 minute on the field. A larger break of 5 tried to get up to them, but the pack was having none of that and quickly caught them. Bradley McGee (FDJ) is having trouble staying with the field. He had a talk with the Tour doctor. He injured his back in one of the many crashes. He is just trying to make to the finish.

Km 169: Wauters is a (I think) 2-time Belgian time trial champion and Piil is also a very powerful rider. They are working together very well. Their gap is now 1min 37sec. Fassa is stringing it out a bit with Postal sitting just behind them.

Km 173, 30 to go: The gap is up to 1min 54sec. There doesn't seem to be any panic in the field. The average speed for the stage over the first 4 hours is 42.7 km/hr.

Km 181: The gap is 1min 45sec. Quick Step and Lotto have moved to the front and are doing work in the field to help Fassa Bortolo chase Piil and Wauters. Piil and Wauters look good are are fairly sharing the work.

Km 186, 16 to go. The gap is down to 1min 20sec. The pair are showing some signs of their effort, but theyr are not slackening in any way. Bradley McGee is sitting about 100 meters, alone, off the back of the pack.

Km 191, 12 to go. The gap is 55 seconds. The peloton is getting organized and chasing hard now. Credit Agricole has joined the chase.

4 Km to go, the gap is 20 seconds.

1.5 km to go. The pair are caught. Now it's time for the drag race to the finish.

The finish. Fassa Bortolo was completely unable to impose its will upon the pack. Thor Hushovd went first up the right hand side against the barriers. Jaan Kirsipuu and Robbie Mcewen came around him. I couldn't see Petacchi in the front of the sprint.

Stage 2: Monday, July 5: 197 km, Charleroi - Namur

Km 7.0: Côte de l'M de Bomeree, 2.0 km climb at 4.2%, 4th Cat
Km 141.5: Côte de Silenrieux, 1.1 km climb at 6.9%, 4th Cat

Stage 2:

Live updates for Stage 2 begin after the results listed below.

Unofficial results:

1. Robbie McEwen (Lotto) 4hr 18min 39sec

2. Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) s.t.

3. Jean-Patrick Nazon (Ag2R) s.t.

4. Danilo Hondo (Gerolsteiner) s.t.

5. Stuart O'Grady (Cofidis) s.t.

6. Jaan Kirsipuu (Ag2R) s.t.

7. Erik Zabel (T-Mobile) s.t.

8. Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) s.t.

9. Gerrit Glomser (Saeco) s.t.

10. Mario Cipollini (Domina Vacanze)

General Classification after Stage 2:

1. Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) 9hr 5min 42sec

2. Fabian Cancellara (Fassa Bortolo ) @ 8sec

3. Robbie McEwen (Lotto) @ 17sec

4. Lance Armstrong (US Postal) @ 18sec

5. Jens Voigt (CSC) @ 23sec

6. Jose Ivan Guttierez (Illes Balears) @ 24sec

7. Oscar Pereiro (Phonak) @ 27sec

8. Christophe Moreau (Credit Agricole) @ 28sec

9. Bobby Julich (CSC) s.t.

10. George Hincapie (US Postal) s.t.

13. Levi Leipheimer (Rabobank) @ 31sec

17. Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) @ 33sec

19. Tyler Hamilton (Phonak) @ 34sec

31. Iban Mayo (Euskaltel) @ 37sec

73. Ivan Basso (CSC) @ 45sec

102. Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) @ 53sec

138. Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) @ 58sec

Points (Green Jersey):

1. Thor Hushovd (Credit agricole) 68 points

2. Robbie McEwen (lotto) 65

3. Jaan Kirsipuu (Ag2R) 55

Climber (Polka-Dot Jersey)

1. Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) 16 points

2. Janeck Tombak (Cofidis) 14

3. Jens Voigt (CSC) 4

Young Rider (white Jersey)

1. Fabian Cancellara (Fassa Bortolo) 9hr 5min 50sec

2. Bernhard Eisel (FDJ) @ 26sec

3. Tom Boonen (Quick Step) @ 27sec

Team GC:

1. US Postal 27hr 18min 26sec

2. CSC @ 6sec

3. Phonak @ 11sec

Stage 2 Live Updates:

The weather should be nicer today: 63F (17C), mostly sunny with the wind from the NW at 7 mph (11 kph) at 2:00 PM local time.

One rider did not start today. Lotto's Nick Gates crashed in Stage 1 and banged his knee against his handlebars. He finished the stage, but came in 31 minutes 43 seconds after the stage winner Kirsipuu, a little more than 5 minutes after the cutoff time. Bradley McGee, who is suffering from back problems did start.

Km 55: Paolo Bettini took the first climb, the Bomeree. He holds the Polka-dot Climber's jersey and he is looking to keep it. Just after the climb, six riders went clear and now have a lead of 4min 50sec:

Jerome Pineau (Brioches La Boulangere)
Jakob Piil (CSC)
Sebastian Lang (Gerlsteiner)
Christophe Edelaine (Cofidis)
Mark Scanlon (Ag2R)
Christophe Mengin (FDJ)

Km 97: The lead is down to 3min 31sec. Credit Agricole, wanting to put their Thor Hushovd into yellow, is leading the chase. Hushovd is only 2 seconds behind Fassa Bortolo's Fabian Cancellara in General Classification.

Km. 106: The break passed through the feed zone. After getting their food stowed, they settled down to a good, neat pace line. Their lead is down to 3min. An earlier posting of 2 1/2 minutes was in error. Credit Agricole is still doing the lion's share of the work with some help from Quick Step.

Km 130: The break just finished the 2nd intermediate sprint, taken by Christophe Edelaine. He'll get a 6sec time bonus. The break had been working beautifully, running a tight, circular pace line, each rider taking short pulls. As the riders closed in on the sprint, they started jockeying for position, losing some time. They've settled back to work. In the pack, there are lots of orange Euskaltel jerseys near the front. They aren't doing any work. They may have some religion after being caught in the back half of the field during a crash yesterday. They were separated from the leading group and had to work hard to close the gap.

The highest placed rider in the break is Sebastian Lang at 31sec.

Km 142: The average speed for the first three hours is 44.3 km/hr. The lead break is now 2min 20sec ahead of the field.

Km 150: Pineau took the 4th category Silenrieux climb. Paolo Bettini's Polka-Dot jersey is in no danger today. The gap to the 6 breakaways is 2min 15sec. Fassa Bortolo learned that The Tour de France ain't the Giro. In the Giro they were able to control the stages that might be won by Alessandro Petacchi. Day after day they rode at the front, chasing down the breaks. Then they still had suds left to do a powerful leadout. They tried the same strategy yesterday and got their heads handed to them. I haven't seen any Blue/White Fassa Bortolo jerseys at the front of the pack yet today.

Km 157: The gap is down to 1min 44sec. No sooner had I written the above posting about Fassa Bortolo when their Mario Bruseghin showed up at the front of the pack. It's still a big difference from riding tempo at the front all day as they did at the Giro or as they did yesterday.

Km 164: The gap is down to 1min 15 sec. The pack can see the break down the long, straight road. Pineau took the last intermediate sprint. There was a big crash at the back of the field. Everyone got up and chased except Domina leadout master Gian Matteo Fagnini. It looks like he broke his left collarbone. He's being taken away in an ambulance.

Km 172. The gap is 20 seconds. They will be caught rather quickly. Phonak and Lotto are working the front of the pack now.

Km 178. The break has been caught. They were gone for 164 kilometers. There's another crash at the back. Thor Hushovd went down and has remounted. Cofidis' Bessy took a lot longer to get back on his bike. He has a hard 20 kilometers to go to get across the finish line and beat the elimination time cut. He looks really sore.

Km 184, 13 to go. Hushovd made it back to the pack with lots of help from his team.

5 km to go. It's together. The speed looks really high. Fassa and Quick Step are driving the front.

The finish. Fassa did some monster pulls, but they didn't get Petacchi in position. Yellow jersey Cancellara was pulling for over 2 kilometers, but for no good result. McEwen took it. He just jumped out from the field with about 200 meters to go, going far faster than the others. Thor Hushovd's 2nd place earns him a 12 second time bonus and the Yellow Jersey.

Stage 3: Tuesday, July 6: 210 km, Waterloo - Wasquehal

Km 14.0: Bruineput, 0.7 km climb at 9.4%, 4th Cat
Km 61.0: Muur (Geraardbergen), 1.0 km climb at 7.2%, 3rd Cat

Unofficial Results. Live report below results. In the first section of pave, Postal's Ekimov took a huge pull, causing several splits. Mayo and Moreau were caught in the back and were never able to regain the front group:

1. Jean-Patrick Nazon (Ag2R) 4hr 36min 45sec

2. Erik Zabel (T-Mobile) s.t.

3. Robbie McEwen (Lotto) s.t.

4. Tom Boonen (Quick Step) s.t.

5. Kim Kirchen (Fassa Bortolo) s.t.

6. Danilo Hondo (Gerolsteiner) s.t.

7. Jaan Kirsipuu (Ag2R) s.t.

8. Alessandro Bertolini (ALessio) s.t.

9. Fabio Baldato (Alessio) s.t.

10. Jose Enrique Gutierrez (Phonak) s.t.

12. Levi Leipheimer (Rabobank s.t.

At 5 seconds becuase of a split in the lead group during the sprint: Ullrich, Voigt, Heras, Simoni, Armstrong, Julich, Hamilton

At 3 minutes 53 seconds: Botero, Moreau, Mayo, O'Grady, Moncoutie, Bettini

GC after Stage 3:

1. Robbie McEwen (Lotto) 13hr 42min 34sec

2. Fabian Cancellara (Fassa Bortolo) @ 1sec

3. Jens Voigt (CSC) @ 9sec

4. Jean-Patrick Nazon (Ag2R) @ 12sec

5. Lance Armstrong (US Postal) @ 16sec

6. Danilo Hondo (Gerolsteiner) @ 22sec

7. Erik Zabel (T-Mobile) @ 23sec

8. Jose Enrique Gutierrez (Phonak) s.t.

9. Levi Leipheimer (Rabobank) @ 24sec

10. Oscar Pereiro (Phonak) @ 25sec

11. Bobby Julich (CSC) @ 26sec

12. George Hincapie (US Postal) s.t.

18. Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) @ 31sec

20. Tyler Hamilton (Phonak) @ 32sec

42. Ivan Basso (CSC) @ 43sec

57. Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) @ 51sec

71. Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) @ 56sec

92. Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) @ 3min 44sec

94. Christophe Moreau (Credit Agricole) @ 4min 14sec

101. Iban Mayo (Euskaltel) @ 4min 23sec

Points (Green Jersey)

1. Robbie McEwen (Lotto) 93 points

2. Jean-Patrick Nazon 85

3. Jaan Kirsipuu (Ag2R) 74

Climber (Polka Dot Jersey)

1. Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) 19points

2. Janeck Tombak (Cofidis) 14

3. Jens Voigt (CSC) 9

Young Rider (White Jersey)

1.Fabian Canellara(Fassa Bortolo) 13hr 42min 35sec

2. Tom Boonen (Quick Step) @ 27sec

3. Michele Scarponi (Domina Vacanze) @ 32sec

Team GC:

1. US Postal 41hr 8min 56sec

2. Fassa Bortolo @ 4sec

3. CSC @ 6sec

Stage 3 Live Report:

There were a couple of casualties from yesterday's crashes. Domina's super leadout man Fagnini as well as Cofidis' Frederic Bessy could not start today. That puts the peloton at 185 riders.

This stage has a few kilometers of mild cobbled pave. 64 kilometers before the finish there is a 2.8 km section and at the 25 km to go there is a 1.1 km section. This is the first time since 1985 that the Tour has included cobbled sections used in Paris Roubaix. The main GC men will be nervous. Their goal will be to come out of this stage with their collarbones intact. As in the Spring classics, there should be some hard racing to get to the front before these sections.

At least the cobbles should be dry. It's mostly sunny, 70F (21C) with only the mildest breeze from the east.

Km 76: In the third kilometer Jens Voigt (CSC) and Bram de Groot (Rabobank) took off. They now have a lead of 4min 10sec. At Km 39 their lead had been over 6 minutes. Credit Agricole is at the front, protecting Thor Hushovd's Yellow Jersey.

Paolo Bettini won the field sprint for third place over the two categorized climbs, so he has tightened his grip on the Polka-dot Climber's Jersey. Richard Virenque took 4th in the Muur de Geraardsbergen climb, so we know how he plans to spend this Tour. Virenque plans to be wearing the Dots in Paris.

The racers have been really cooking with gas. The average speed for the first hour was 46.8 km/hr.

Km 93: Voigt and de Groot have a lead of 5min 38sec. The second hour was raced at 42.6 km/hr. The average for the first two hours is 44.5 km/hr. Voigt is currently 5th in GC at only 23 seconds. That will concentrate the attention of Credit Agricole.

Km 121: Voigt and de Groot have extended their lead to 6 minutes, 34 seconds. Credit Agricole remains at the front doing the work. Just behind them is US Postal, Euskaltel, Phonak and T- Mobile. The contenders are staying up front and watchful. Ullrich is clearly visible in the first group of riders. T-Mobile's Botero is about at the front, then Guerini and then Ullrich.

Levi Leipheimer flatted. 4 Rabobank riders including Dutch road champion Erik Dekker dropped back and motored him back into the peloton.

Km 134. Voigt and de Groot have had their lead shaved to 5 min 34 seconds. US Postal is leading the pack and stringing it out. With about 10 kilometers to the first section of cobbles, they want Armstrong up front and out of trouble and are willing to pay for that privilege in watts. Alessio's Magnus Backstedt flatted and got a perfect wheel change. He was back on his bike and chasing before the following caravan had passed. Jens Voigt did a bike swap to get one that is better suited for the cobbles. Many riders have stouter wheels with fatter tires today.

Km 145: A big crash at the front. US Postal rider Noval went down. Iban Mayo is back up and chasing alone with shredded shorts. I was just about to post that the riders at the front were looking nervous, constantly looking around for their team leaders. As the domestiques were looking arond, their bikes were swerving slightly, a perfect recipe for disaster.

The Voigt-de Groot lead just went under 4 minutes.

Km 151. The lead is down to 2min 19sec. Hincapie led the Postal squad and the peloton into the first section of cobbles. Ullrich and Armstrong are fine and up front. Mayo has almost his entire team pulling him back up to the field.

Km 156: Ekimov went to the front of the peloton and took a monster pull that split the pack a million ways to Sunday. A Rabobank rider went to the front near the end of the pave section to try to slow down the Posties and protect de Groot, who is now less than 2 minutes up the road with Voigt.

After the pave section, Ullrich and Armstrong are in a lead split and are working to put the big hurt on the Spaniards Heras and Mayo who are back chasing. Hot spit! This is bike racing.

Km 165. Voigt and de Groot have been caught. There has been a terrific chase. Leiphimer and Heras made it up to the front Armstrong/Ullrich/Hamilton group. Mayo and the Yellow Jersey, Thor Hushovd, are about 2 minutes back. There is still another section of pave to go.

Credit Agricole's Christophe Moreau is in the chase group. I would expect that he is CA's GC man. Postal with help from T-Mobile and Phonak are pounding the big meat, doing their best to end Mayo's threat to Tour victory today. Even if Mayo makes up to the peloton, Euskaltel will be drained the day before the team time trial.

Km 177. The Tour reports that Roberto Heras is in the second group with Mayo, Hushovd and Moreau. But Paul sherwin on OLN just spotted Heras in the front group. The gap is growing, not shrinking. It's up to 2min 6sec. Robbie McEwen is in the first group. He will surely be thinking of winning the stage, the time bonus and the Yellow Jersey today.

Km 189. The second section of pave is finished with a lot less drama than the first. Stuart O'Grady went down, but was back up instantly. Alessio's Martin Hvastija is having a go off the front. The Mayo/Moreau chase group is now 2min 30 seconds back.

Km 194. It looks like the Mayo/Moreau has about given up. There are very few Euskaltel riders working to close the gap. Stuart O'Grady had more bad luck. As he was chasing to get back to the front group, a railway crossing was closed. The gap back to Mayo is now 3min 2sec.

4 km to go. The lead group is compact after some abortive attacks. In the Mayo chase group, Euskaltel is back at the front working to limit the day's losses.

The finish: Fassa Bortolo and the Gerolsteiner kept the speed terribly high through the winding streets leading up to the slightly uphill finsh. Ag2R's Jean-Patrick Nazon just pipped Erik Zabel at the line. It was close. And somehow, McEwen came from nowhere and nailed 3rd place. He may have the Yellow by a second. We'll have to wait and see. It looks like the Mayo group came in about 3min 52 seconds later.

Stage 4: Wednesday, July 7: 64.5 km, Cambrai - Arras (Team Time Trial)

Stage 4 :

Updates and stage information below the results:

Unofficial results. The number in parenthesis is the actual time difference that will be added to the rider's times under the new rules for team time trials (I hope I got that part right).

1. US Postal 1hr 12min 3sec

2. Phonak @ 1 min 7sec (20sec)

3. Illes Balears @ 1min 15sec (30sec)

4. T-Mobile @ 1min 19sec (40sec)

5. CSC @ 1min 46sec (50sec)

6. Rabobank @ 1min 53sec (1min)

7. Liberty Seguros @ 2min 25sec (1min 10sec)

8. Euskaltel @ 2min 35sec (1min 20sec)

9. Saeco @ 2min 36sec (1min 30sec)

10. Alessio @ 2min 57sec (1min 40sec)

11. Quick Step @ 3min 29sec (1min 50sec)

12. Credit Agricole @ 3min 32sec (2min)

13. Ag2R @ 4min 5sec (2min 10sec)

14. Brioches La Boulangere @ 4min 17sec (2min 20sec)

15. Domina Vacanze @ 4min 22sec (2min 30sec)

16. Gerolsteiner @ 4min 36sec (2min 40sec)

17. Fassa Bortolo @ 4min 52sec (2min 50sec)

18. Lotto @ 5min 19sec (3min)

19. Cofidis @ 5min 34sec (3min)

20. RAGT @ 5min 37sec (3min)

21. FDJ @ 7min 34sec (3min)

GC after Stage 4:

1. Lance Armstrong (US Postal) 14hr 54min 53sec

2. George Hincapie (US Postal) @ 10sec

3. Floyd Landis (US ostal) @ 16sec

4. Jose Azevedo (US Postal) @ 22sec

5. Jose Luis Robiera (US Postal) @ 24sec

6. Jose Enrique Gutierrez (Phonak) @ 27sec

7. Viatcheslav Ekimov (US Postal) @ 30sec

8. Tyler Hamilton (Phonak) @ 36sec

9. Santos Gonzalez (Phonak) @ 37sec

10. Bert Grabsch (Phonak) @ 41sec

11. Jens Voigt (CSC) @ 43sec

12. Oscar Sevilla (Phonak) @ 44sec

13. Manual Beltran (US Postal) @ 47sec

15. Mikel Pradera (Illes Balears) @ 55sec

16. Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) s.t.

17. Andreas Kloden (T-Mobile) @ 57sec

18. Bobby Julich (CSC) @ 1min

19. Francisco Mancebo (Ille Balears) @ 1min 1sec

20. Kurt-Asle Arvesen (CSC) @ 1min 4sec

Points (Green Jersey)

1. Robbie McEwen (Lotto) 93 points

2. Jean-Patrick Nazon 85

3. Jaan Kirsipuu (Ag2R) 74

Climber (Polka Dot Jersey)

1. Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) 19 points

2. Janeck Tombak (Cofidis) 14

3. Jens Voigt (CSC) 9

Young Rider (White Jersey)

1. Matthias Kessler (T-Mobile) 14hr 56min 7sec

2. Tom Boonen (Quick Step) @ 48sec

3. Fabian Cacellara (Fassa Bortolo) 2 1min 11sec

Team GC:

1. US Postal 42hr 20min 59sec

2. Phonak @ 1min 13sec

3. T-Mobile @ 1min 44sec

4. CSC @ 1min 52sec

Stage 4 introduction:

The weather is not planning to be friendly to the racers today. It is expected to rain in the afternoon, sometimes hard. It should also be windy with strong gusts.

The teams will go off in 5 minute intervals in reverse Team GC order. Euskaltel, who had their entire team in the second group in yesterday's stage will go first, then Credit Agricole. Fassa Bortolo, CSC and finally US Postal should be the final 3.

As expected, the riders who lost a lot of time were very upset with the inclusion of the pave in yesterday's stage. Also the Spanish press thinks US Postal was unsportsmanlike in their attack on the first section of the pave when Mayo was trying to regain the field after crashing. I think with riders everywhere falling in the leadup frenzy to the cobbles, it would have been impossible to implement any aggresive strategy if it were required that all attacks wait until the pack was intact. If a racer feels like waiting, that's his choice. But it's a race. I would expect that there will be less reluctance to attack Armstrong now when and if he has problems.

There is a new rule that substantially limits how much time a rider can lose in the team time trial. It's about as complex as the IRS code. The time for the team is that of the 5th rider across the line. The most any team can lose to the winning team is 3 minutes. The most the second place team can lose is 20 seconds. Third place can only lose 30 seconds. Got your green eyeshade?

At lot has been written about this rule, most of it negative. Here is my view:

I might submit that this rule goes to the heart of Tour de France culture and it's origins.

The Tour's founder, Henri Desgrange, felt very strongly that the winner of the Tour should be the victor by virtue of his own efforts. He detested the idea that a weaker rider might win because he had a stronger team or that a better rider might fail to win because his team was not strong enough.

It all came to a head in the 1929 tour when an ailing Maurice Dewaele was nursed through the final stages and eventual overall victory by his powerful Alcyon team. This enraged Desgrange.

The next year, trying to solve the problem, Desgrange did away with trade teams and switched to a national team format. This did not bring about the resolution Desgrange sought, but it demonstrates the seriousness with which this question was viewed.

In the 21st century, we don't take these concerns as seriously as Desgrange did, but the strength of the Tour culture cannot be ignored.

The race: It's raining. It doesn't seem too windy. With the teams using rear disc wheels, that is a mercy. Leaving the town of Cambrai the riders are taking the corners very carefully. The white lines painted on the roads are very slippery. It looks like the teams are waiting to get on the open road before pouring on the coals.

So far, it looks like the teams have chosen to ride single rather than double pace lines. US Postal's director Bruyneel has already said that his team will be using a single line.

T-Mobile just took off. Several of the riders looked rather tightly wound. As they rolled off to start, one rider's rear wheel slipped on a white line. That must have been a scary moment.

Euskaltel has finished. The finish is terrible on a raining day with corners on cobbles. As RAGT came into the final corner on the cobles, some of the riders pulled their feet out of the clips.

US Postal is off. They quickly and neatly formed a line with Ekimov taking the team through the first corner. Eveyone is now either in the barn or riding in the rain.

T-Mobile's Guerini punctures. They don't wait.

Phonak loses a guy. Tyler holds things up. They are back together.

Phonak gets another flat.

CSC has a three man pileup in a corner. Basso needs a new bike.

US Postal loses Noval. He crashed yesterday. He must be hurting.

Oh no. Phonak gets another flat. It looks like they are down to 6 riders.

Now that's riding! Liberty Seguros has caught FDJ, who started 5 minutes ahead of them.

Phonak is down to 5 riders and they are hauling! At the third time check they are in 2nd place.

Tyler and his band of 4 brave Phonaks crossed the line and have set the best time so far.

Postal crosses the line with the fastest time. They came in about 1 whole minute faster than Phonak! Armstrong is solidly in Yellow.

Stage 5: Thursday, July 8: 200.5 km, Amiens - Chartres

Km 70.0: Mont des Fourches, 1.8 km climb at 4.3%, 4th Cat

Results:

1. Stuart O'Grady (Cofidis) 5hr 5min 58sec

2. Jakob Piil (CSC) s.t.

3. Sandy Casar (FDJ) s.t.

4. Thomas Voeckler (Brioches La Boulangere) s.t.

5. Magnus Backstedt (Alessio) @ 3sec

6. Robbie McEwen (Lotto) @ 12min 33sec

7. Janeck Tomback (Cofidis) s.t.

8. Thor Hoshovd (Credit Agricole) s.t.

9. Rene Haselbacher (Gerolsteiner) s.t.

10. Jean-Patrick Nazon (Ag2R) s.t.

GC after Stage 5:

1. Thomas Voeckler (Brioches La Boulangere) 20hr 3min 39sec

2. Stuart O'Grady (Cofidis) @ 3min 13sec

3. Sandy Casar (FDJ) @ 4min 6sec

4. Magnus Backstedt (Alessio) @ 6min 3sec

5. Jakob Piil (CSC) @ 6min 58sec

6. Lance Armstrong (US Postal) @ 9min 35sec

7. George Hincapie (US Postal) @ 9min 45sec

8. Floyd Landis (US Postal) @ 9min 51sec

9. Jose Azevedo (US Postal) @ 9min 57sec

10. Jose Luis Rubiera (Us Postal) @ 9min 59sec

11. Jose Enrique Gutierrez (Phonak) @ 10min 2sec

12. Viatcheslav Ekimov (US Postal) @ 10min 5sec

13. Tyler Hamilton (Phonak) @ 10min 11sec

21. Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) @ 10min 30sec

23. Bobby Julich (CSC) @ 10min 35sec

24. Francisco Mancebo (Ille Balears) @ 10min 36sec

26. Levi Leipheimer (Rabobank) @ 10min 43sec

31. Ivan Basso (CSC) @ 10min 52sec

38. Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) @ 11min 20sec

73. Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) @ 12min 57sec

95. Iban Mayo (Euskaltel) @ 15min 2sec

181 Classified finishers

Points (Green Jersey):

1. Robbie McEwen 113 points

2. Jean-Patrick Nazon (Ag2R) 101

3. Jaan Kisipuu (Agr2R) 88

Climber (Polka Dot Jersey):

1. Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) 19 points

2. Janeck Tombak (Cofidis) 14

3. Jens Voigt (CSC) 9

Young Rider (white Jersey):

1. Thomas Voeckler (Brioches La Boulangere) 20hr 3min 49sec

2. Sandy Casar (FDJ) @ 4min 6sec

3. Matthias Kessler (T-Mobile) @ 10min 49sec

Team GC:

1. CSC 58hr 5min 51sec

2. Alessio @ 2min 4sec

3. Brioches La Boulangere @ 3min 16sec

4. FDJ @ 6min 12sec

5. US Postal @ 10min 41sec

Stage 5:

Lance Armstrong will tie Miguel Indurain's 60 days in yellow today. Ahead of both of them are Bernard Hinault at 78 and Eddy Merckx at 96 days. Jacques Anquetil sits behind them all at 51 days in the lead.

Wet and windy for today. At the 30 kilometer mark the riders were having their rain vests brought up to them.

The only categorized climb, the Mont des Fourches carries only 3 points for the winner. Paolo Bettini has a 5 point lead in the competion for the spotted jersey, so he can't lose it today.

185 riders started today. Eddy Seigneur of RAGT finished outside the time limit in yesterday's team time trial. Also, Fassa Bortolo's Marco Velo had to quit after crashing in stage two. He broke his collarbone and severely cut his shoulder when he landed on a broken bottle. This is a serious loss for Fassa Bortolo because his is the designated final lead-out man for Alessandro Petacchi. For all the crashes in yesterday's rainy, slippery team time trial, no one was seriously injured.

Blood tests were administered to 33 riders, all were found to be OK.

The race:

Km 60: After a flurry of attacks, a break managed to establish itself by about the 20th kilometer. The pack has let them have their way for now. Their lead is 12min 15sec. Postal is riding at the front and seems unworried. For now, while they are all excellent racers, none in the break are threats to the general classification:

Thomas Voeckler (Brioches la Boulangere) is 59th in GC @ 3min
Stuart O'Grady (Cofidis) 120th @ 6min 49sec
Sandy Casar (FDJ) 131st @ 7min 16sec
Magnus Backstedt (Alessio) 141st @ 9min 9sec
Jakob Piil (CSC) 144th @ 10min 12sec

Km 82. Clearly the US Postal team is living up to its promise of not working to defend Armstong's Yellow Jersey. The lead is up to 14min 30sec with 118 km to go. If the sprinter's teams want a piece of this stage they had better think about closing the gap.

Km 90. The gap is now 15min 43sec. Quick Step has sent a couple of riders to help the chase. These guys may be gone.

Km 111. The winds and the higher pace has caused some havoc in the peloton. The gap is down to 15min 8sec. Gerolsteiner, Lotto and Fassa Bortolo are helping at the front. The peloton has split and regrouped and is now split into three groups again. Bradley McGee is in trouble as is Mario Cipollini. The rain has stopped for now.

There has been a crash at the front of the peloton. Several US Postal riders are involved, but not Lance. Petacchi and Rabobank's Boogered might have gone down.

Km 121. The pace of the chase has eased with the crash. The gap to the 5 breakaways is now 16min 11sec. Petacchi and Boogerd seems to be up and OK. Most of the Fassa Bortolo team went back to pace Petacchi.

The Petacchi group is back in the peloton. It's wetting up a bit again and the wind is blowing. It's a charming summer day in France. Postal is leading the peloton.

Km 127. The gap has risen to 16min 52 seconds. The 5 riders in the break are ridng well together, no one is missing his turn at the front. Tyler Hamilton is being paced back up to the peloton by a bunch of Phonaks. Probably a flat, he wasn't caught in the crash. It's drying out again. Jackets and booties are coming off.

Well, heck! FDJ has just reported that Bradley McGee has abandoned the Tour because of back problems.

Km 150. The gap is 15min 13sec. Postal is leading the field in the rain.

Km 162. The gap is 14min 41sec. Thomas Voeckler, barring misfortune, will be in yellow in about 37 kilometers.

Km 174. The gap is back up to 15min 15sec. The 5 riders in the break look really tired. Voeckler, in his French Champion's jersey is starting to rock his shoulders. The pack seems very uninterested in much of anything except getting the stage over with. At one point the speed of the Postal-led peloton was measured at 30 km/hr. If Voeckler gets the yellow with a 10 or 12 minute lead, he should be well able to keep it until next Friday with the ride over the Aspin and the climb to La Mongie.

Km 180. A crash in the middle of the peloton. The pack was going rather slowly through a right hand corner that might have had a reverse camber. There was a super-slick place and the riders just had their bikes slide out from under them. McEwen, Bettini and Kessler, among others, went down. No one seems hurt. The gap up to the break is 14min 41sec. The riders in the break can see the towers of the cathedral of Chartres. They are going straight into a strong headwind that has the flags by the road straight out.

Km 190, 10 to go. Ok, now it's started. Backstedt attacks his breakaway companions. Piil grinds slowly back up to him, bringing the others. Voeckler counters and he's caught.

5 km to go. The attacks and counters are constant now. The gap is staying over 14 minutes so the pack has really given up as the breakaway riders slow and speed up.

Piil goes, O'Grady goes after him. Voeckler, behind Backstedt and Casar has to go around and bridge.

Now it's O'Grady, Voeckler and Piil.

O'Grady goes! Voeckler and Pill are working to catch him but he has a nice gap.

2 km to go. Piil and Voecker bridge back up.

BAM! Voeckler goes. O'Grady drags Piil back up to him

The finish. While the 3 slow down to play cat and mouse, Backstedt and Casar arrive.

Backstedt takes the responsibility to get the race going again and lead it out. O'Grady takes it with Piil 2nd and Casar 3rd.

Voeckler is in Yellow, but we don't know by how much. The pack is a ways back. There was a crash in the middle of the field on the roads leading into town. No one seemed to be hurt.

Robbie McEwen won the field sprint, with the pack coming in 12minutes 36 seconds after the break.

The results are posted at the top of this stage's information.

Stage 6: Friday, July 9: 196 km, Bonneval - Angers

Stage 6 Results:

1. Tom Boonen (Quick Step) 4hr 33min 41sec

2. Stuart O'Grady (Cofidis) s.t.

3. Erik Zabel (T-Mobile) s.t.

4. Danilo Hondo (Gerolsteiner) s.t.

5. Baden Cooke (FDJ) s.t.

6. Sergio Marinangeli (Domina Vacanze) s.t.

7. Jerome Pineau (Brioches La Boulangere) s.t.

8. Julian Dean (Credit Agricole) s.t.

9. Janeck Tombak (Cofidis) s.t.

10. Samuel Dumoulin (Ag2R) s.t.

GC after Stage 6:

1. Thomas Voeckler (Brioches La Boulangere) 24hr 37min 30sec

2. Stuart O'Grady (Cofidis) @ 3min 1sec

3. Sandy Casar (FDJ) @ 4min 6sec

4. Magnus Backstedt (Alessio) @ 6min 6sec

5. Jakob Piil (CSC) @ 6min 58sec

6. Lance Armstrong (US Postal) @ 9min 35sec

7. George Hincapie (US Postal) @ 9min 45sec

8. Floyd Landis (US Postal) @ 9min 51sec

9. Jose Azevedo (US Postal) @ 9min 57sec

10. Jose Luis Rubiera (Us Postal) @ 9min 59sec

11. Jose Enrique Gutierrez (Phonak) @ 10min 2sec

12. Viatcheslav Ekimov (US Postal) @ 10min 5sec

13. Tyler Hamilton (Phonak) @ 10min 11sec

21. Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) @ 10min 30sec

24. Bobby Julich (CSC) @ 10min 35sec

25. Francisco Mancebo (Ille Balears) @ 10min 36sec

26. Levi Leipheimer (Rabobank) @ 10min 43sec

31. Ivan Basso (CSC) @ 10min 52sec

39. Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) @ 11min 20sec

73. Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) @ 12min 57sec

94. Iban Mayo (Euskaltel) @ 15min 2sec

179 Classified finishers

Points (Green Jersey):

1. Stuart O'Grady (Cofidis) 115 points

2. Robbie McEwen (Lotto) 113

3. Danilo Hondo (Gerolsteiner) 111

4. Erik Zabel (T-Mobile) 107

5. Jean-Patrick Nazon (Ag2R) 101

6. Jaan Kisipuu (Agr2R) 89

Climber (Polka Dot Jersey):

1. Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) 19 points

2. Janeck Tombak (Cofidis) 14

3. Jens Voigt (CSC) 9

Young Rider (white Jersey):

1. Thomas Voeckler (Brioches La Boulangere) 24hr 37min 30sec

2. Sandy Casar (FDJ) @ 4min 6sec

3. Matthias Kessler (T-Mobile) @ 10min 49sec

Team GC:

1. CSC 71hr 46min 54sec

2. Alessio @ 2min 4sec

3. Brioches La Boulangere @ 3min 16sec

4. FDJ @ 6min 12sec

5. US Postal @ 10min 41sec

Stage 6:

There are no categorized climbs on stage 6. Therefore Paolo Bettini's Polka Dotted Climber's jersey is absolutely safe for another day. Excepting the time trial stages, today and Stage 14 are the only remaining stages without rated climbs.

The weather should not be as bad as yesterday. There should be wind and some showers, but it should clear up by the finish.

In addidtion to Bradley McGee, Brioches La Boulangere rider Maryan Hary will not start today. He missed the time cutoff yesterday. Alessandro Petacchi crashed yesterday. No broken bones, but he's pretty bruised. He is going back to Italy today. Mario Cipollini is also withdrawing from the race because of crash injuries. That makes a total of 8 Tour starts for Super Mario. He has never managed to finish the Tour de France.

The Race:

Km 32: There was a crash involving Armstrong in the early kilometers. He was up and chasing with the help of his teammates immediately and rejoined the pack. There were a flurry of escape attempts and now one looks like it might stick. Six riders have a gap of 30 seconds:

Carlos Da Cruz (FDJ)
Alessandro Bertolini (Alessio)
Marc Lotz (Rabobank)
Antonio Flecha (Fassa Bortolo)
Jimmy Engouvlent (Cofidis)
Kurt-Asle Arveson (CSC)

I don't think any of them can be considered GC threats.

Km 49: The lead is up to 2min 50sec. The best placed rider in the break is Arvessen. He is in 25th place in GC, down 10min 39sec. Brioches La Boulangere is at the front working to protect Thomas Voeckler's lead. They look like they will need some more help to do that. The riders in the break can all pound the big ring rather well.

Km 73: The gap is at 4min 9sec. Quick Step is helping a bit in the chase.

Km 97. The gap has grown to 4min 25sec. The speed increased in the second hour to 44.3 km/hr. The average speed for the first two hours combined is 42.9km/hr. The racing seems to have taken a slight pause as the race passes through the feed zone and riders in both the break and the peloton empty their bladders. Everyone is regrouped and racing again.

Km 105: Lotto has come to the front to join Brioches and Quick Step. They poured on a bit of gas and the peloton is strung out. The gap has come down to 3min 57sec. The 6 riders in the break are doing a beautiful textbook circular paceline with nice, short pulls. No one seems to be avoiding his share of the work. The wind is either in the rider's faces or a crosswind. It is predicted that towards the end of the stage it could switch to a tailwind.

Km 129. The gap has grown to 4min 27sec. Lotto has pulled off the front to go back and pace Robbie McEwen back into the field. He must be having stomach problems because the braces of his bib shorts are flying. He's now safely with the peloton and his fixing his shorts and getting the suspenders under his jersey.

The pace is getting whipped up again and the field is strung out. The sky is clear. The roads have been a bit wet, but no rain has fallen on the racers.

Km 138. The gap went down fast. It's at 3min 37sec. Ag2R and Gerolsteiner have sent some riders up to help. The paceline at the front of the field looks crisp and fast. I don't think the six guys out front will make it. After being denied yesterday, the sprinters want a piece of today's action.

Km 146. The gap to the 6 breakaways is 2min 52sec. A few drops did fall earlier. There are big, nasty-looking black clouds hovering behind the peloton. I'm sure they want to beat them home.

Km 160, 35 to go. The gap just fell under 2 minutes. The 6 breakways are still working hard, but they must know that they will be caught.

Km 171. Jimmy Engoulvent took off and won the last intermediate sprint. In doing so the break lost Bertolini and Arvesen. The break is down to 4, Engoulvent, Flecha, Lotz and Dacruz. It doesn't mean a whole lot at this point, the gap is 1min 39sec.

Km 178. And maybe I'm wrong. The gap is staying at 1 min 37sec. Brioches has pulled its men off the front. Voeckler's Yellow Jersey is safe. Armstrong has nothing to fear from the 4 riders up front. Only the sprinters have a dog in this fight. Lotto is working, but I wonder if it's enough.

Km 184, 12 to go. Ok, now the pack is working with Gerolsteiner, Lotto, Credit Agricole among the others taking hard pulls. The gap just fell to 1min 8sec. The 4 breakways are not giving up. They continue to work together, doing their best to stay away.

Km 187, 9 to go. The pack can see the break now, about 30 seconds up the road.

5 Km to go. Flecha (Fassa Bortolo) attacks the break and gets away. He has a lot of steam left and actually increases his lead to 17 seconds over the pack. They're in the streets of the city and he's out of sight.

3 Km to go. Flecha has 13 seconds. The other 3 breakways have been caught. He's alone out there, but looking very strong.

1 km to go. He's caught. the sprinters will have their romp.

The finish. With the hard chase, things are a bit disorganized at the front. Quick Step's Tom Boonen takes the sprint easily with Stuart O'Grady second. There is a bad crash at the 1 km to go banner. It look like someone hit the right-hand barrier. According to Tour rules, everyone should get the same time if the accident happens with 1 kilometer to go. Robbie McEwen's shorts are all ripped up. A Gerolsteiner rider is still on the gound with a photographer in his face taking pictures. Armstrong crosses the line with Hincapie and I think Hamilton.

1. Tom Boonen

2. Stuart O'Grady

3. Erik Zabel.

Stage 7: Saturday, July 10: 204.5 km, Châteaubriant - Saint-Brieuc

Km 113.5: Côte de Dinan, 1.1 km climb at 4.3%, 4th Cat
Km 149.0: Côte de Saint-Aide, 1.0 km climb at 6.0%, 3rd Cat

Stage 7 Unofficial results:

1. Filippo Pozzatto (Fassa Bortolo) 4hr 31min 34sec

2. Iker Flores (Euskaltel) s.t.

3. Francisco Mancebo (Illes Balears) s.t.

4. Laurent Brochard (Ag2R) @ 10sec

5. Sebastien Hinault (Credit Agricole) s.t.

6. Michele Scarponi (Domina Vacanze) s.t.

7. Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) s.t.

8. Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) s.t.

9. Scott Sunderland (Alessio) s.t.

10. Stuart O'Grady (Cofidis) s.t.

43. Thomas Voeckler (Brioches La Boulangere) s.t.

GC after Stage 7:

1. Thomas Voeckler (Brioches La Boulangere) 29hr 9min 14sec

2. Stuart O'Grady (Cofidis) @ 3min 1sec

3. Sandy Casar (FDJ) @ 4min 6sec

4. Magnus Backstedt (Alessio) @ 6min 6sec

5. Jakob Piil (CSC) @ 6min 58sec

6. Lance Armstrong (US Postal) @ 9min 35sec

7. George Hincapie (US Postal) @ 9min 45sec

8. Floyd Landis (US Postal) @ 9min 51sec

9. Jose Azevedo (US Postal) @ 9min 57sec

10. Jose Luis Rubiera (Us Postal) @ 9min 59sec

11. Jose Enrique Gutierrez (Phonak) @ 10min 2sec

12. Viatcheslav Ekimov (US Postal) @ 10min 5sec

13. Tyler Hamilton (Phonak) @ 10min 11sec

18. Francisco Mancebo (Illes Balears) @ 10min 18sec

22. Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) @ 10min 30sec

25. Bobby Julich (CSC) @ 10min 35sec

25. Francisco Mancebo (Ille Balears) @ 10min 36sec

26. Levi Leipheimer (Rabobank) @ 10min 43sec

31. Ivan Basso (CSC) @ 10min 52sec

38. Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) @ 11min 20sec

69. Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) @ 12min 57sec

89. Iban Mayo (Euskaltel) @ 15min 2sec

176 Classified finishers

Points (Green Jersey):

1. Stuart O'Grady (Cofidis) 131 points

2. Robbie McEwen (Lotto) 130

3. Danilo Hondo (Gerolsteiner) 123

4. Erik Zabel (T-Mobile) 122

Climber (Polka Dot Jersey):

1. Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) 20 points