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Tour de France, 2006-1997

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Lanterne Rouge: The Honor Of Being Last In The Tour de France

The French sporting public likes compatriot champions. They also cheer for any countrymen in the Tour de France -- even if he has no chance of winning but displays perseverance.

A French rider hasn't claimed the Tour since Bernard Hinault in 1985, so sometimes fans resort to etching favorite former riders' names in chalk on race roads.

On other occasions, fans wave huge handmade signs on mountaintops for retired French riders as if their ghosts are still in the race.

With nearly equal fervor, enthusiasts who camp for days in the Alps and Pyrenees to watch Tour de France riders pass in a flash, appreciate the underdog.

Nothing demonstrates this more than the tradition of the lanterne rouge or red lantern. It's the honor given to the rider who finishes in last place in the overall Tour de France standings.

The Greatest Cyclists In Tour de France History (Part Two : Miguel Indurain to Joop Zoetemelk)

Tour de France champions all have different styles. But through the race’s more than 100-year history, the best have also all been the same in some respects. They've  all had great individual skills and a focused desire to win.

Naming five of the best Tour de France riders is easy. Each dominated the event during their past or current tenures.

Lance Armstrong won a record seven consecutive Tour titles. Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault (both Frenchmen), Eddy Merckx of Belgium, and Spaniard Miguel Indurain all captured the race five times.

Great champions like Gino Bartali, Fausto Coppi, Greg LeMond, Jan Ullrich, and Joop Zoetemelk are listed for diverse reasons — longevity, perseverance and their ability to overcome personal tragedy.

Plenty of other great bicyclists have competed in the Tour, but here's the second half of my list of the 10 finest in history.

The Greatest Cyclists In Tour de France History (Part One : Jacques Anquetil to Bernard Hinault)

Tour de France champions all have different styles. But through the race’s more than 100-year history, the best have also all been the same in some respects. They've  all had great individual skills and a focused desire to win.

Naming five of the best Tour de France riders is easy. Each dominated the event during their past or current tenures.

Lance Armstrong won a record seven consecutive Tour titles. Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault (both Frenchmen), Eddy Merckx of Belgium, and Spaniard Miguel Indurain all captured the race five times.

Great champions like Gino Bartali, Fausto Coppi, Greg LeMond, Jan Ullrich, and Joop Zoetemelk are listed for diverse reasons — longevity, perseverance and their ability to overcome personal tragedy.

Plenty of other great bicyclists have competed in the Tour, but here's my list of the 10 finest in history.

2006 Tour de France: If It's July, It Must Be Strasbourg

It's been 53 years since the Tour de France started in this ancient city near the German-French border.

But considering the long, tumultuous history of the city known for its historic ramparts, modern European parliament buildings and huge gothic cathedral, a half-century isn't too long to wait.

Strasbourg has been around since the Roman Empire. It's switched countries a few times and it's withstood political jousting and military battles.

Beginning Saturday with prologue and continuing Sunday with stage 1, the city will entertain its latest challenge — the opening weekend of cycling's grand affair.

The three-week race, featuring 21 teams and 189 riders, is scheduled to begin at 12:50 p.m. local time when the first rider rolls off the starting ramp for the 7.1-kilometer (4.4-mile) individual race against the clock.


Pro Cycling: It's All About The Team, Really!

Cycling is not always understood as a team sport. But as Lance Armstrong continues his quest for a fourth straight Tour de France title, the two leading teams in the race have provided ideal examples of how the sport works.

In the 10th stage last Thursday, Armstrong regained the lead he held previously only after the prologue July 6.

But while he won the 11th stage and subsequently the 12th stage Friday, it was the remainder of his eight-rider U.S. Postal Service team that surrounded him. Whether it was on the flats or in the mountains, team's collective job was to protect, support and provide drafting its team leader.


Levi Leipheimer's Disappointing 2006 Tour de France

After 21 days and more than 2,200 miles of racing in six countries, Levi Leipheimer concluded the Tour de France safely and absorbing the final stage's celebratory waning miles along the famed Champs Elysees.

But Leipheimer, a pre-race favorite, finished a disappointing 13th overall after finishing 35 inthe final stage in the main field.

Leipheimer was the second of six American finishers trailing compatriot race winner Floyd Landis by 19 minutes and 22 seconds.

Leipheimer has three top-10 overall Tour finishes and his sixth place last year made him the leading returning 2005 entrant.

But the part-time Santa Rosa rider's chances for top finish were squelched in the seventh stage to Rennes when he finished 96th in the race's first of two individual time trials.

Floyd Landis Profile — Title Contender, 2006 Tour de France

Floyd Landis has ridden bicycles -- inexpensive mountain bikes to custom-made road racing machines -- for half his life. He's raced thousands of miles and won races throughout the world, Oregon to Portugal.

But it was only two years ago when Landis' cycling epiphany occurred one day in July while he was pedaling with a purpose in the French Alps.

It was also the same ride, stage 17th of the 2004 Tour de France, that catapulted Landis into the sport's top echelon.

Fast-forward two years. With Lance Armstrong, the seven-time consecutive winner retired, Landis, 30, now an eight-year pro, is being touted as a Tour de France title contender.

Lance Armstrong: Seven Tour Titles, One Lasting Memory

With his pending retirement Sunday in Paris and all the celebration that will envelope him as a seven-time Tour de France titlist, people will still ask: Is Lance Armstrong a "clean athlete?"

I've reported on Armstrong for more than 15 years. I've seen him win dozens of races. I've viewed all of his wondrous and bizarre Tour moments and witnessed his interaction with fans and the media. I've seen his bravado and heard his biting wit.

And we know each other some, although I'm not part of his small corps of trusted "journalists," some of whom he seemingly has as employees.

I have no idea if Armstrong has found a way not to test positive. Maybe some report will surprise those who've reported on him or been inspired by his cancer recovery and cycling achievements.

An Open Letter To 2006 Tour de France Winner Floyd Landis

Dear Floyd: You likely don't remember me. But since you were a late Tour de France pick for U.S. Postal Service team in 2002, I've been among the media corps following you around the globe.

We've had our moments. Early in your first Tour, I was staying in same hotel as your team. I came back from a run one morning and introduced myself in the hotel lobby. I grabbed my tape recorder and we talked for more than 30 minutes. I remember thinking, "Quiet, honest, unassuming guy."

The next spring, you competed in the Sea Otter Classic on the Monterey Peninsula. It was part of your recovery from your now well-documented, off-season crash. You were still walking with a limp. I was covering the race as a print reporter for a few newspapers. But I also co-hosted an internet radio show, Adventure Sports Radio, in Sacramento. We were on site, just off the finish line. There was a mix up in the road race in Redwood City, and I asked you spur-of-the-moment at the finish if you were available for a radio interview. You obliged and gave your time willingly. Again, your absence of ego was appreciated.

Floyd Landis Claims Improbable 2006 Tour de France Title

With his cycling future unknown, Floyd Landis secured his improbable Tour de France victory Sunday with a casual, celebratory four-hour ride to the French capital.

Landis, 30, of Murrieta, Calif., leader of the Phonak team, finished the 154.5-kilometer (95.9-mile) 20th stage in 69th in the main pack and maintained the race leadership he regained in the 19th stage Saturday.

Riding in his fifth Tour, Landis joined Greg LeMond and Lance Armstrong as American winners of cycling's most important race. With LeMond's three titles (1986,'89-'90) and Armstrong's seven titles (1999-2005), Landis became the eighth consecutive U.S race titlist and the 11th American winner in the past 21 years.

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