BREST, France AFP — The Tour de France sprinters are hoping to officially announce their race entry with a bunch finish on Sunday, but there are plenty of 'punchers' who will look to kick that plan into touch. At just 164.5km long, the second stage takes the peloton north...
BREST, France AFP — In terms of team bonding, Aussie sprinter Robbie McEwen has done little to curry favour with team-mate Cadel Evans ahead of the Tour de France opener here Saturday. But given the bigger prize on offer at the end of the three-week race, Evans is likely...
VERBIER, Switzerland AFP — Luxembourg's Kim Kirchen, riding for the High Road team, surged into the overall lead of the Tour of Switzerland after keeping his cool to win the sixth stage here on Thursday. Kirchen showed his strength and composure in the tough Verbier climb, taking control of...
NEW YORK AFP — Alain Robert, best known as the "French Spider Man" for climbing buildings and monuments around the world, was charged in a Manhattan court Friday and released on parole for scaling the New York Times skyscraper, court officials said. Robert, 45, was charged with reckless endangerment...
ANS, Belgium AFP — Spaniard Alejandro Valverde held his nerve in a thrilling finish to Liege-Bastogne-Liege to claim his second career victory in cycling's oldest one-day classic here on Sunday. Valverde, runner-up last year to Italian Danilo Di Luca and winner in 2006, capped a tactically astute 261 km...
LIEGE, Belgium AFP — Former two-time winner Paolo Bettini has played down his chances of a third victory in the prestigious one-day classic Liege-Bastogne-Liege this Sunday. The reigning world and Olympic champion will saddle up as the Quick Step team's biggest hope of winning the 261km race but the...
HUY, Belgium AFP — Luxembourg's Kim Kirchen of the High Road team won the Fleche Wallonne classic race Wednesday, seeing off Australian Cadel Evans and Italian Damiano Cunego. Kirchen, 29 and the first man from the Grand Duchy to win the event in this its 72nd edition, just edged...
When Dave Cooper pulled up to the trailhead of Atlantic Peak on the first Saturday of spring, the thermometer in his little, red Toyota read minus 9 degrees. "You almost wish they didn't put these things in cars. It's better not to know," the retired physicist and...
MONT SEREIN, France AFP — Australian Cadel Evans, riding for the Silence team, won the fourth stage of the Paris-Nice cycling race on Thursday at Mont Serein ahead of Dutch rider Robert Gesink. Gesink, 21, of Rabobank takes the overall leader's yellow jersey after the 176km stage which finished...
MANILA AFP — Taiwan's Wu Chia-ching and Oliver Ortmann of Germany became the latest big names to be defeated here Friday, leaving 16 players to contest the World Pool Championships. Rookie Joven Bustamante of the Philippines stunned former champion Wu 10-8 while Kuo Po-cheng salvaged Taiwanese pride by ousting...
TALAVERA DE LA REINA, Spain AFP — Spaniard Luis Perez Rodriguez, riding for Caja Sur, won Thursday's 153.5km 18th stage of the Tour of Spain between Talavera de la Reina and Avila. However Russia's Denis Menchov fought off continued attacks by the third-placed Spaniard Carlos Sastre to retain the...
GOURETTE, France AFP — Denmark's Michael Rasmussen took a significant step towards winning the Tour de France's yellow jersey here Wednesday by dominating Spanish rival Alberto Contador on the 16th stage. Contador, who beat the Rabobank climber on their 15th stage duel to the Plateau de Beille on Monday,...
TIGNES, France AFP — Denmark's Michael Rasmussen strode towards a third consecutive King of the Mountains title after claiming victory on the Tour de France's eighth stage to pull on the leader's yellow jersey. The Rabobank rider finished the 165km run from Le Grand-Bornand to the first summit finish...
AUTUN, France AFP — Italy's Filippo Pozzato Liguigas won a sprint finish to the fifth stage of the Tour de France, a 182.5km run between Chablis and here on Thursday. Fabien Cancellara CSC, winner of the prologue and the third stage, retained the yellow jersey with a 33sec lead...
VALLOIRE, France AFP — Christophe Moreau took possession of the leader's yellow jersey after Saturday's sixth and penultimate stage of the Dauphine Libere was won by Kazakh Maxim Iglinskiy. France's Moreau, who overnight was lying second 14sec adrift of Andrey Kashechkin in the overall standings, made his move nine...
DIGNE-LES-BAINS, France AFP — Alexandre Vinokourov's Astana team led the peloton a merry dance on the fifth stage of the Dauphine Libere to claim their second one-two of the week-long race here Friday. Spaniard Antonio Colom took the stage win, but only after being prompted over the finish line...
AURONZO, Italy AFP — Versatile Italian Danilo Di Luca beat some of the world's best climbers to extend his race lead after a thrilling 15th stage of the Tour of Italy here Sunday. Italian Riccardo Ricco won the monumental stage in the Dolomite mountains after being prodded over the...
BRIANCON, France AFP — Italy's Danilo Di Luca, riding for the Liquigas team, won the 12th stage of the Tour of Italy here on Thursday to regain the overall leader's pink jersey. Di Luca finished ahead of two-time Giro winner Gilberto Simoni in the summit finish at Briancon after...
LIEGE, Belgium AFP — Italian Danilo Di Luca was under no illusions about the significance of his achievement after winning the Liege-Bastogne-Liege one-day classic for the first time here Sunday. "It's the hardest race in the world. It destroys you," said the Italian, who finished a few seconds ahead...
HUY, Belgium AFP — Italy's Davide Rebellin, riding for the Gerolsteiner team, won the Fleche Wallonne one-day classic for the second time here on Wednesday. The 2004 titleholder easily accounted for the last two winners of the ProTour event, Spain's Alejandro Valverde and fellow Italian Danilo Di Luca who...
