Alberto Contador says next year he will likely race two grand tours, with likely starts at the Tour de France and Vuelta a España. The three-time Tour champion raced just the French tour this year and has received some criticism from some who would like to see the sport’s top GC rider start another grand tour. In an interview with the Spanish sports daily MARCA, Contador said he’s leaning towards the Tour-Vuelta double next season. “If everything... 

Former Gerolsteiner manager Hans-Michael Holczer claims that American Levi Leipheimer showed blood values in the 2005 Tour de France so suspicious that he should have been ejected from the race. Leipheimer – seen here winning the 2005 Deutschland Tour – rode for Gerolsteiner in 2005 and 2006. | AFP file photo In a press conference announcing the release of his new memoir, “ Garantiert Positiv ” (Guaranteed Positive),... 

The WAY-integrated front end of Evan's bike allows his preferred super-low bar position. Saturday’s climactic time trial at the Tour de France didn’t create a huge GC shakeup. But it did provide only the second opportunity of the race for teams and riders to air out their slippery TT bikes. Three weeks ago in Rotterdam, we checked out the time trial bikes of early overall favorites Alberto Contador, Cadel Evans, and Ivan Basso. None... 

The United Kingdom’s Sport performance director Peter Keen is concerned his counterpart at British Cycling, Dave Brailsford, has taken a big risk trying to oversee a Tour de France team while still being in charge of the country’s Olympic program. Keen, Brailsford’s predecessor, said running a professional cycling team alongside an Olympic track squad is not something he would have attempted. “The stakes are higher,” Keen... 

Alberto Contador (Astana) is the new leader of the UCI World Ranking after winning the Tour de France. Contador tops the standings with 482 points. Fellow Spaniard Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha) sits second with 398, while former points leader Cadel Evans (BMC) is third with 390. Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) held onto fourth place with 304 points, despite not riding the Tour, while Spain’s…  Read More →

Stage 20, 2010 Tour de France Click here for Complete Video Coverage of 2010 Tour  Read More →

RadioShack’s Chris Horner is doing daily video diaries for VeloNews at the Tour de France. Stage 19’s is now posted on CompetitorTV. To see all the Horner diaries, please visit CompetitorTV. Watch the latest Chris Horner video diary, recorded after Saturday's time trial, on CompetitorTV  Read More →

Every year, a dozen or so riders set out in the Tour de France with hopes of winning or at least finishing on the podium in Paris. And every year most of them lose their dreams because of crashes, sickness or injuries — or they simply fail to find the good form they thought they had. This year, two contenders crashed out before four days were completed. Christian Vande Velde of Garmin-Transitions was one of scores of riders who fell on the overly... 

Chris Horner was the first American finisher on the Col du Tourmalet at eighth. Photo: Casey B. Gibson | www.cbgphoto.com When Ryder Hesjedal and Chris Horner began the Tour de France three weeks ago, both men entered the race in support roles, with no ambition of finishing inside the top-10. Instead, Hesjedal and Horner will finish the race Sunday as the top North Americans, Hesjedal in seventh and …  Read More →

It will be the Alberto’s third, but Mike’s first. Mike Sinyard, Specialized’s founder and owner, will soon be celebrating one of his sponsored riders winning the Tour de France — a first for the California company. For the last two weeks, his odds have looked pretty good, as Alberto Contador’s Astana squad and Andy Schleck’s Saxo Bank team ride Specialized bikes. Specialized has sponsored scores of winning bike racers over... 

We have grown used to multi-time Tour de France champions winning the final time trial. That was the case with Alberto Contador last year; Lance Armstrong did it at six of his seven winning Tours; Miguel Induráin and Bernard Hinault did it four times out of five, and Eddy Merckx five out of five. Contador has a chance to repeat his 2009 feat on Saturday in what is a very different type of time trial than last year’s — and there’s a strong... 

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Christian Vande Velde will return to major competition next month at the Vuelta a España. Vande Velde crashed out of the 2010 Tour in stage 2 with four broken ribs. Garmin-Transitions officials told VeloNews he will return to Europe this week and start the Vuelta with ambitions. “It depends on how his recovery goes, but he would like to get a grand tour in his legs. It will only help him next year,” said Garmin-Transitions sport director Matt... 

Every day at this Tour de France, Team RadioShack press officer Philippe Maertens comes to the press room with his laptop and sets up an audio file of Lance Armstrong’s post-stage comments. Normally, a dozen or so journalists gather round and poke their voice recorders at the computer and later use some of the seven-time winner’s quotes in their stories. The group of scribes was somewhat bigger on Tuesday. When Maertens walked into the middle... 

Since RadioShack rock star Lance Armstrong’s luck and legs aren’t cooperating at this year’s Tour de France, Levi Leipheimer has risen from lieutenant to team leader. So far, he’s battling bravely for a top ten in the overall classification. RadioShack mechanics, along with team sponsors Trek and SRAM, spare no effort to keep all the team riders content with their machines. Leipheimer doesn’t…  Read More →