Cycling News reports on more competitive cycling than any other web site. If you want regional, national or international results the Australian site will likely have them.

And if you want nuances, the site will provide those, too, like its report on the famed climb to L’Alpe d’Huez in stage 17 of the Tour de France.

Carlos Sastre (CSC) of Spain rode to an impressive solo victory. But his time (39 minutes, 31 seconds) ranked only 17th among all-time performances up the famed ascent. And his effort was nearly two minutes slower than the record Marco Pantani of Italy set in 1997 of 37:35.

Each year the climb is contested in different conditions, of course, so comparing finishing times on
L’Alpe d’Huez is largely just for Tour de France statistics junkies.

And so here’s the top-10, according to www.cyclingnews.com, fastest ascents of the epic climb in the Alps.

Note: The times of Armstrong and Ullrich in 2004 were set when the stage was an individual time trial. The rest of the times occurred when the climb was the finish to a road stage.

1. Marco Pantani, Italy, 37 minutes, 35 seconds 1997); 2. Lance Armstrong, United States, 37:36 (2004); 3. Marco Pantani, Italy (1994), 38:00; 4. Lance Armstrong, United States (2001), 38:01; 5. Marco Pantani, Italy (1995), 38:04; 6. Jan Ullrich, Germany (1997), 38:23; 7. Floyd Landis, United States (2006) 38:34; 8. Andreas Kloden, Germany (2006) 38:35; 9. Jan Ullrich, Germany (2004) 38:37; 10. Richard Virenque, France (1997) 39:02.