Tour de France 2011: Mark Cavendish Wins Stage 21 And Green; Cadel Evans Wins Tour

Tour de France 2011 Live, Stage 21 Results: Mark Cavendish Wins On Champs-Élysées, Cadel Evans Wins Tour

A number of breakaways tried to steal the show in the final day of the 2011 Tour de France on the Champs-Élysées, but all were unsuccessful. Once the peloton reeled in all of the attackers and HTC-Highroad got all of their riders to the front of the pack, there was only one likely result. Unsurprisingly, Mark Cavendish has won yet again in Paris, notching his fifth win of the 2011 Tour and his third straight win in Paris. With his win, Cavendish took home the Green Jersey. He's the first rider from the United Kingdom to win green in the Tour de France, and this green jersey is his second in a grand tour.

Cadel Evans did the traditional winner's ride on the final stage, sipping champagne as the stage started, then riding with his team BMC Racing as they led the rest of the pack onto the Champs-Élysées as the peloton entered Paris from the east. From that point, he just had to stick with the peloton and finish the race, which he did easily.

The other three competitions in the tour were won by Pierre Rolland, who won the White Jersey competition for the best young rider, Samuel Sanchez, who won the Polka Dot Jersey for the king of the mountains, and Garmin-Cervelo, who won the team competition.

Tour de France 2011 Live Coverage, TV Information For Stage 21

The 2011 Tour de France comes to an on Sunday with a 59-mile journey from Créteil to the familiar finish line at the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Cadel Evans will likely go unchallenged by Andy Schleck during this final portion of the Tour and will be the ultimate maillot jaune victor this year.

Versus wraps up its coverage of the 2011 Tour de France on Sunday morning. Its live broadcast of the final stage begins at 8 a.m. ET and will continue on until the final jersey ceremonies end, likely around 12 p.m. ET.

If you are unable to catch the live broadcast, Versus will re-air the final stage of the 2011 Tour de France four more times throughout the day: at 12 p.m. ET, 5 p.m. MT, 8 p.m. MT and 12 a.m. MT.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

2011 Tour de France Standings Update, Stage 20

The 2011 Tour de France has one final stage remaining on Sunday, but all was likely settled after Saturday's Stage 20 individual time trial. Tony Martin won the stage, but Cadel Evans finished in second to take a healthy lead over Andy Schleck for the yellow jersey.

Barring any extraordinary events on the ride into Paris on Sunday, Evans will become the first Australian cyclists to win the general classification portion of the race. The Schleck Bros. provided a tough challenger, but they will ultimately come up just behind Evans. Thomas Voeckler wore the yellow jersey for several days, but the last few mountains stages saw him lose that. Alberto Contador, the winner of the previous two races, jumped near the top of the leaderboard and will likely finish in fifth.

1.	EVANS Cadel	141	BMC RACING TEAM	83h 45' 20"
2.	SCHLECK Andy	11	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	83h 46' 54"	+ 01' 34"
3.	SCHLECK Frank	18	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	83h 47' 50"	+ 02' 30"
4.	VOECKLER Thomas	181	TEAM EUROPCAR	83h 48' 40"	+ 03' 20"
5.	CONTADOR Alberto	1	SAXO BANK SUNGARD	83h 49' 17"	+ 03' 57"

Mark Cavendish retained the green jersey following Saturday's stage, but there are still points to be won on Sunday. Cavendish will not want any slip ups as he enters Paris.

1.	CAVENDISH Mark	171	HTC - HIGHROAD	280 pts
2.	ROJAS Jose Joaquin	88	MOVISTAR TEAM	265 pts
3.	GILBERT Philippe	32	OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO	230 pts
4.	EVANS Cadel	141	BMC RACING TEAM	208 pts
5.	HUSHOVD Thor	51	TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO	195 pts

The King of the Mountains, the red polka dot jersey, is already settled as there are no more climbs. Samuel Sanchez is the King of the Mountains.

1.	SANCHEZ Samuel	21	EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI	108 pts
2.	SCHLECK Andy	11	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	98 pts
3.	VANENDERT Jelle	38	OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO	74 pts
4.	EVANS Cadel	141	BMC RACING TEAM	58 pts
5.	SCHLECK Frank	18	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	56 pts

Pierre Rolland is in place to win the best youth rider, but he has just a 46 second lead over Rein Taaramae. Team Garmin-Cervelo holds the overall team lead and will likely retain that as well:

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

2011 Tour de France Standings, Results And News After Stage 20

With a strong performance in Saturday's time trial, Cadel Evans assumed the yellow jersey ahead of the ride into Paris and, barring something spectacularly unprecedented, will win the 2011 Tour de France. Evans made up nearly a minute in the overall classification and then some, taking a 1:34 lead over Andy Schleck and 2:30 over his brother Frank Schleck. Heading into the time trial, Andy Schleck had 57 second lead over Evans, but saw it all evaporate with a poor performance.

Alberto Contador gave it a go on Saturday in an effort to climb onto the podium, but fell just short. He'll ride into Paris in fifth place in the general classification. Thomas Voeckler's surprising resilience, and lengthy time in yellow, nearly paid off with a podium, as well, though he will finish in fourth-place this year. Voeckler faded late, as expected, but is just 3:20 behind Evans.

Here is the top-5 in the general classification ahead of Sunday's final stage.

1.	EVANS Cadel	141	BMC RACING TEAM	83h 45' 20"
2.	SCHLECK Andy	11	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	83h 46' 54"	+ 01' 34"
3.	SCHLECK Frank	18	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	83h 47' 50"	+ 02' 30"
4.	VOECKLER Thomas	181	TEAM EUROPCAR	83h 48' 40"	+ 03' 20"
5.	CONTADOR Alberto	1	SAXO BANK SUNGARD	83h 49' 17"	+ 03' 57"

In the sprint standings, Mark Cavendish holds a 15 point lead over Jose Joaquin Rojas ahead of Sunday's ride through the streets of Paris.

1.	CAVENDISH Mark	171	HTC - HIGHROAD	280 pts
2.	ROJAS Jose Joaquin	88	MOVISTAR TEAM	265 pts
3.	GILBERT Philippe	32	OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO	230 pts
4.	EVANS Cadel	141	BMC RACING TEAM	208 pts
5.	HUSHOVD Thor	51	TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO	195 pts

And in the team standings, Garmin-Cervelo has put together quite the ride, leading the field by some 11 minutes in the standings.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011 Live, Stage 20 Results: Tony Martin Wins, Cadel Evans Takes Yellow Easily

Barring a major problem on Stage 21, the final stage of the Tour, 34-year-old Australian Cadel Evans is going to win the 2011 Tour de France after finishing as the runner up on two occasions. Tony Martin won the individual time trial with a fantastic ride through Grenoble, but he bested Evans by just seven seconds, as the Aussie obliterated the rest of the general classification contenders.

Alberto Contador put in a good ride to finish third on the stage and climb to fifth overall, while Andy and Frank Schleck put in decent rides, especially for being notably average time trialists, both finishing inside of the top 20. Thomas Voeckler also did well to finish in the top 20, and he will finish the Tour de France in an impressive fourth place.

Evans was just too good for all of the podium contenders on the day, though, easily wiping out Andy Schleck's 57-second advantage halfway through the race. Going into Sunday's final stage, Evans will lead Andy Schleck by 1:34, and Andy will not attack as Evans coasts to a Tour victory.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

2011 Tour de France Standings Update, Stage 19

It's a family affair atop the general classification of the 2011 Tour de France as Andy Schleck made his move and captured the yellow jersey on Friday. His brother, Frank Schleck, sits just behind, 53 seconds off the pace and in second place in the overall standings. The two are followed closely by Cadel Evans, who is just four seconds behind Frank Schleck and 57 seconds off the pace.

For Alberto Contador, the road to a Tour de France victory is now an uphill battle, with 3:55 separating him from the yellow jersey and only Saturday's time trial ahead as a chance to gain ground. Barring something spectacular, it looks like the fight for the 2011 Tour de France will come down to the Schlecks and Evans as they race against the clock for 26 miles in Grenoble.

Here is the general classification after 19 stages of the 2011 Tour de France.

1.	SCHLECK Andy	11	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	82h 48' 43"
2.	SCHLECK Frank	18	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	82h 49' 36"	+ 00' 53"
3.	EVANS Cadel	141	BMC RACING TEAM	82h 49' 40"	+ 00' 57"
4.	VOECKLER Thomas	181	TEAM EUROPCAR	82h 50' 53"	+ 02' 10"
5.	CUNEGO Damiano	161	LAMPRE - ISD	82h 52' 14"	+ 03' 31"
6.	CONTADOR Alberto	1	SAXO BANK SUNGARD	82h 52' 38"	+ 03' 55"
7.	SANCHEZ Samuel	21	EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI	82h 53' 05"	+ 04' 22"
8.	BASSO Ivan	91	LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE	82h 53' 23"	+ 04' 40"
9.	DANIELSON Tom	52	TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO	82h 55' 54"	+ 07' 11"
10.	ROLLAND Pierre	188	TEAM EUROPCAR	82h 57' 40"	+ 08' 57"

Mark Cavendish is still in green as the leader of the sprint points competition, though his lead sits at 15 points ahead of Saturday's time trial and Sunday's ride into Paris to complete the Tour de France.

1.	CAVENDISH Mark	171	HTC - HIGHROAD	280 pts
2.	ROJAS Jose Joaquin	88	MOVISTAR TEAM	265 pts
3.	GILBERT Philippe	32	OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO	230 pts
4.	HUSHOVD Thor	51	TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO	195 pts
5.	EVANS Cadel	141	BMC RACING TEAM	191 pts

In the race for the polka dot jersey, given to the Tour de France's best climber, Samuel Sanchez is assured of riding into Paris atop the standings. With no climbs remaining, he has already locked up the best climber title with 108 points, 10 more than Andy Schleck.

1.	SANCHEZ Samuel	21	EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI	108 pts
2.	SCHLECK Andy	11	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	98 pts
3.	VANENDERT Jelle	38	OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO	74 pts
4.	EVANS Cadel	141	BMC RACING TEAM	58 pts
5.	SCHLECK Frank	18	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	56 pts
6.	CONTADOR Alberto	1	SAXO BANK SUNGARD	51 pts

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

2011 Tour De France: Alberto Contador Tires Of Crazy Fan, Punches Him

Tour de France 2011: Andy Schleck Takes Overall Lead; Pierre Rolland Wins Stage 19

Andy Schleck finally tracked down Thomas Voeckler, claiming the yellow jersey as the 2011 Tour de France heads into its deciding stage. Luxembourg's Schleck finished ninth in Stage 19, but it was enough to overcome the roughly one-minute lead with which Thomas Voeckler entered the stage.

Schleck now leads Cadel Evans, his closest remaining rival, by 57 seconds as the Tour moves into the final day of racing, an individual time trial. That stage will consist of single riders going through a 26-mile course in Grenoble. Evans is widely considered to be the superior time trialist, leaving some to speculate that Schleck did not do enough to open up a sustainable gap.

Schleck, who has finished second to Spain's Alberto Contador in the previous two Tours, seemed satisfied with his yellow-jersey claiming efforts:

"My motivation is super. My legs are good. The condition is there. So I’m confident I can keep this into Paris."

Stage 19, which had a finish atop the famous Alpe d'Huez, was won by Pierre Rolland, but he was closely followed by Cantador, who had one of his best performances of the race. Contador did finish the stage in third, just 23 second behind Rolland, but it was likely too little too late as the two-time defending champion is nearly four minutes off the pace.

Results

Stage Results

1. Pierre Rolland (Eurocar)
2. Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) :14
3. Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank) :23
4. Peter Velits (HTC-Highroad) :57
5. Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team) :57

General Classification

1. Andy Schleck (Leopard Trek)
2. Fränk Schleck (Leopard Trek) :53
3. Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team) :57
4. Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) 2:10
5. Damiano Cunego (Lampre-ISD) 3:31
6. Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank) 3:55
7. Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel Euskadi) 4:22
8. Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Cannondale) 4:40
9. Tom Danielson (Garmin-Cervélo) 7:11
10. Pierre Rolland (Europcar) 8:57

For more on the Tour de France, make sure to check out SB Nation's cycling blog Podium Cafe.

2011 Tour de France Standings Update, Stage 18

After Andy Schleck's victory in Stage 18 of the 2011 Tour de France, Thomas Voeckler's overall lead in the tour standings keeps shrinking, with Andy Schleck now just 15 seconds off the pace. Andy's brother Frank took second place and Cadel Evans third in Stage 18, and are now each within 75 seconds of Voelcker, who finished fifth in the stage, behind the Schlecks, Evans, and Ivan Basso. The full results of the stage are here, and here's Kevin McCauley's recap of the stage.

Stage 19 is short (109.5 kilometers) but brutal. It begins with a 14-kilometer descent, but features two tough climbs in quick succession. Then there's a long descent before a third tough climb toward the finish. It will be a great stage for the climbers. Here's Podium Cafe's preview of what to expect. 

The stage will be broadcast at 8:00 AM Eastern on Versus, with rebroadcasts at noon, 2:30 PM and 8:00 PM, and at midnight on Saturday.

Here are the overall 2011 Tour de France standings.

Mark Cavendish leads in the race for the green jersey.

Jelle Vanendert leads the pack in the competition for the polka-dot jersey, with Evans and both the Schlecks charging up the leaderboard.

Team Garmin-Cervelo leads in the team standings.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011 Live, Stage 18 Results: Andy Schleck Wins Stage, Thomas Voeckler Hangs Onto Maillot Jaune

Attacks from general classification contenders half-way through a stage aren't terribly common. Though most believed that Andy Schleck had to attack today to make up his time gaps back to the other contenders in the race, he was expected to launch that attack on the final climb of the day on the road to Galibier Serre-Chevalier. Instead, Schleck took off on the Col d'Izoard, putting a large gap on the field before surviving the descent and the final climb of the day to win the stage.

However, he missed out on the ultimate goal - the maillot jaune. Schleck had a gap of more than four minutes on the other contenders at the start of the final climb of the day, but they cut that gap to under two minutes and 30 seconds at the end, with Thomas Voeckler doing enough to keep the race lead by 15 seconds. Also in that second finishing group were Andy's brother Frank Schleck, Cadel Evans and Ivan Basso. Damiano Cunego wasn't far behind, preserving his top 10 spot.

Well off the back on the final climb were Alberto Contador and Samuel Sanchez, both of whom lost enough time to not only fall behind the top four riders, but Basso and Cunego as well. Unless they can put together a spectacular performance on Alpe d'Huez on Friday, it's likely that the chances at a podium finish have evaporated for both riders.

It would be shocking to see Voeckler keep his yellow again on Alpe d'Huez, but then again, it was shocking to see him stick with Evans, Frank Schleck, Basso and Cunego on Thursday's stage. He even beat Contador and Sanchez while he exerted less energy than Evans and Andy Schleck, so who knows what might happen on Stage 18.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011 Live, Stage 17 Results: Edvald Boasson Hagen Notches Second Stage Win Of Tour

With Stage 18 being such a crucial stage for the general classification, conventional wisdom said that Stage 17, a mountain stage with no hors categorie climbs, would be one for the breakaway. Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen has shown in this 2011 Tour de France that this kind of stage sets up for him perfectly, and he's done it again, winning his second stage of the Tour with a great attack on the final climb and a flawless descent into Pinerolo.

The descent into the finish was an extremely tricky one, leading to more gaps being formed between the contenders going downhill than going uphill. All of the contenders stuck together up the hill, but once again, Samuel Sanchez and Alberto Contador were able to drop the other contenders. Unlike Stage 16, Cadel Evans didn't stick with them. Thomas Voeckler, a man who has a reputation for being a fantastic descender, lost control of his bike on two occasions to lose some time, but he was able to avoid injury on both occasions.

Once onto the less treacherous roads on the final three kilometers of the race, Sanchez and Contador gave all they had to try to pull away from the other favorites. Unbelievably, the other general classification contenders were all able to catch them in the end, surprisingly leaving no time gaps at the finish after Sanchez and Contador appeared to have pulled away. Voeckler recovered from his hiccups well enough to keep the yellow jersey, but he lost 27 seconds at the line to all of the men who are chasing him, leaving Cadel Evans one minute and 18 seconds behind the Frenchman, who will be hard pressed to keep his Maillot Jaune after Stage 18.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

2011 Tour de France Standings Update, Stage 16 Complete

Stage 16 of the 2011 Tour de France is in the books, and Norway's Thor Hushovd came away the day's big winner. The 33-year old fought off a slew of challenges from Edvald Boasson Hagen and Ryder Hesjedal during the exhilarating race from Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux to Gap to capture his third stage win of the 2011 Tour. 

In the overall standings, Frenchman Thomas Voeckler remains in control of the yellow jersey, 1:45 ahead of Englishman Cadel Evans. The brothers from Luxembourg, Frank and Andy Schleck, are caught in a fierce battle for third place, while Tom Danielson -- the highest ranking American -- sits in ninth.

The general classification ahead of Stage 17:

Standing	Rider	Rider number bib	Team	Time	Gaps
1.	VOECKLER Thomas	181	TEAM EUROPCAR	69h 00' 56"
2.	EVANS Cadel	141	BMC RACING TEAM	69h 02' 41"	+ 01' 45"
3.	SCHLECK Frank	18	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	69h 02' 45"	+ 01' 49"
4.	SCHLECK Andy	11	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	69h 03' 59"	+ 03' 03"
5.	SANCHEZ Samuel	21	EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI	69h 04' 22"	+ 03' 26"
6.	CONTADOR Alberto	1	SAXO BANK SUNGARD	69h 04' 38"	+ 03' 42"
7.	BASSO Ivan	91	LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE	69h 04' 45"	+ 03' 49"
8.	CUNEGO Damiano	161	LAMPRE - ISD	69h 04' 57"	+ 04' 01"
9.	DANIELSON Tom	52	TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO	69h 07' 00"	+ 06' 04"
10.	URAN Rigoberto	118	SKY PROCYCLING	69h 08' 51"	+ 07' 55"

As for the current team standings, Team Garmin-Cervelo streaked up the leaderboard during Stage 16 in stunning fashion to claim first place by a margin of 7:01. After clinging to the top of the rankings for most of the month, Team Leopard-Trek and Team Europcar moved down to second and third place, respectively. 

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011 Live: Schedule And Classification Ahead Of Stage 17

The 2011 Tour de France continues on Wednesday with Stage 17, a 179-km high mountain stage in the Alps. Stage 17 should merely be a prelude to much tougher mountain rides in Stages 18 and 19, however. After a strong showing in Stage 16, Alberto Contador, still mired in sixth place, will need to work hard during these mountain stages to make up for lost time. He'll face a battle against Cadel Evans, in particular, who had a slightly better time than Contador in Stage 16 and also gained time on overall leader Thomas Voeckler.

Stage 17 will be aired at 8:00 AM Eastern on VERSUS, and will re-air at 12:00 PM, 2:30 PM, and 8:00 PM Wednesday, as well as 12:00 AM Thursday.

Here is the general classification ahead of Stage 17.

In the race for the green jersey, Mark Cavendish leads by 34 points.

In the race for the polka dot jersey, Jelle Vanendert holds a small lead.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011 Live, Stage 16 Results: Thor Hushovd Wins, Evans Cuts Into Voeckler's Overall Lead

With some bad weather on a course that included just one climb - a category two - few fireworks were expected out of the general classification contenders on Stage 16 of the 2011 Tour de France. Instead, Alberto Contador attacked multiple times, creating improbable time gaps on a category two climb and a short descent. The big loser of the day was Andy Schleck, who lost nearly a minute to Contador, Cadel Evans and Samuel Sanchez, as well as a further 40 seconds to his brother Frank and Thomas Voeckler. The winner of the day was Thor Hushovd, beating out Edvald Boasson Hagen and his teammate Ryder Hesjedal after the three escaped as part of a breakaway.

The breakaway that won the day didn't go at the very beginning of the race, but instead made their move about halfway through the stage. A total of 15 riders were eventually successful in breaking away from the field, with 10 riders in the lead group and five in a chase group. That breakaway would get split up on the climb near the end of the race, with the survivors being Hesjedal, Boasson Hagen, and Hushovd. Hesjedal went over the climb first to claim maximum points in the King Of The Mountains race, but he was caught by his two rivals on the descent.

Meanwhile, back in the peloton, Contador shocked everyone by mounting an attack halfway through the climb. He was matched by both Schleck brothers, Fabian Cancellara, Evans and Voeckler, and eventually came back to the pack. He went a second time, this time taking the same riders with him minus Cancellara and plus Samuel Sanchez. However, he only created a small gap on the main field once again. His third attack was much more successful, as only Evans and Sanchez were able to match him while both Schleck brothers were left behind, along with Voeckler. Top 10 contenders Ivan Basso and Damiano Cunego were nowhere to be found.

On the descent, Voeckler, a fantastic descender, went to the front of his group and took risks in an attempt to bring back some of the time lost to Evans on the climb. Unfortunately for him, he was slowed by a crash by Arnold Jeannesson, who is involved with the fight for the white jersey.

Ahead of everyone, the three riders lined up for the sprint with Hesjedal in front of Boasson Hagen and his teammate Hushovd. Following the instructions of his teammate, Hesjedal delayed the start of the sprint and let Hushovd take off before Boasson Hagen could react, winning the stage easily to take his second individual stage win and third overall stage win of the 2011 Tour, as well as his 10th career individual stage win.

Back in the groups involving the general classification contenders, Evans attempted to open up a large gap on Contador and Sanchez before the finish. It appeared that he was going to succeed, but he was eventually reeled in by the two Spaniards, who lost just three seconds. Voeckler came in 21 seconds behind Evans in a group with Frank Schleck, keeping his yellow jersey. Andy Schleck fell behind at the end and lost nearly 40 seconds to Voeckler and nearly a minute to Evans. Andy is now 3:03 behind the yellow jersey, 1:18 behind Evans, and only 39 seconds ahead of Contador. Evans trails Voeckler by 1:45 in second place.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

2011 Tour de France Standings Update, Stage 15: Thomas Voeckler Remains In Yellow

The 2011 Tour de France heads into Gap, crosses the Col de Manse, then drops down again into the finish after completing a small circuit on Monday. Stage 16 is for the climbers and is known as a place where something completely unexpected usually happens.

Sunday was yet another big day for the Manx Missile, Mark Cavendish, as the Englishman has sprinted his way to his fourth win in the 2011 Tour de France and the 19th Tour win of his career, out-sprinting the field to take Stage 15. Tyler Ferrar and Alessandro Petacchi gave him a run for his money, finishing in second and third and within a bike length of the winner.

Here is the general classification ahead of Stage 16.

Standing	Rider	Rider number bib	Team	Time	Gaps
1.	VOECKLER Thomas	181	TEAM EUROPCAR	65h 24' 34"
2.	SCHLECK Frank	18	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	65h 26' 23"	+ 01' 49"
3.	EVANS Cadel	141	BMC RACING TEAM	65h 26' 40"	+ 02' 06"
4.	SCHLECK Andy	11	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	65h 26' 49"	+ 02' 15"
5.	BASSO Ivan	91	LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE	65h 27' 50"	+ 03' 16"
6.	SANCHEZ Samuel	21	EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI	65h 28' 18"	+ 03' 44"
7.	CONTADOR Alberto	1	SAXO BANK SUNGARD	65h 28' 34"	+ 04' 00"
8.	CUNEGO Damiano	161	LAMPRE - ISD	65h 28' 35"	+ 04' 01"
9.	DANIELSON Tom	52	TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO	65h 30' 20"	+ 05' 46"
10.	DE WEERT Kevin	124	QUICK STEP CYCLING TEAM	65h 30' 52"	+ 06' 18"

In the race for the green jersey, Mark Cavendish is in the lead, holding a 37 point advantage over Jose Joaquin Rojas.

Standing	Rider	Rider number bib	Team	Points
1.	CAVENDISH Mark	171	HTC - HIGHROAD	319 pts
2.	ROJAS Jose Joaquin	88	MOVISTAR TEAM	282 pts
3.	GILBERT Philippe	32	OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO	248 pts
4.	HUSHOVD Thor	51	TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO	192 pts
5.	GREIPEL André	33	OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO	170 pts

In the race for the polka dot jersey, Vanendert holds a slim lead over Samuel Sanchez, with the two holding a considerable advantage over the rest of the field.

Standing	Rider	Rider number bib	Team	Points
1.	VANENDERT Jelle	38	OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO	74 pts
2.	SANCHEZ Samuel	21	EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI	72 pts
3.	ROY Jérémy	138	FDJ	45 pts
4.	SCHLECK Andy	11	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	28 pts
5.	EVANS Cadel	141	BMC RACING TEAM	26 pts

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011 Live, Stage 15 Results: Mark Cavendish Wins, Out-Sprints Tyler Ferrar, Alessandro Petacchi

It's yet another big day for the Manx Missile, Mark Cavendish, as the Englishman has sprinted his way to his fourth win in the 2011 Tour de France and the 19th Tour win of his career, out-sprinting the field to take Stage 15. Tyler Ferrar and Alessandro Petacchi gave him a run for his money, finishing in second and third and within a bike length of the winner. Cavendish, the green jersey holder, also significantly strengthened his lead in the points classification as Andre Greipel and Phillipe Gilbert  were nowhere to be found in the top 10. Jose Joaquin Rojas finished in fifth place. 

Gilbert attempted to mount an attack near the end of the race after the peloton caught the breakaway easily, but Gilbert was reeled back in and was ultimately a non-factor in the finish. Gilbert and Rojas are still well within striking distance of Cavendish's green jersey, and he will likely have to fight for it all the way to the Champs-Elysees. 

With his win today, Cavendish moves into a tie for seventh for all-time stage wins in the tour. He's three behind Lance Armstrong's 22, which is a tie for fourth. Eddy Merckx holds the record for all-time stage wins with 34. 

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

2011 Tour de France Standings Update, Stage 14: Thomas Voeckler Remains In Yellow

The Tour de France heads back to flat land on Sunday after three days in the mountains. Stage 15 is for the sprinters, and comes before a rest day leading up to the final mountain stages that will decide the 2011 Tour de France now. As it stands, Thomas Voeckler is in the yellow jersey, with many wondering when he'll fade and relinquish his lead. It hasn't happened yet, and barring a disaster Voeckler will be in yellow for at least two more days -- Sunday's flat stage and Monday's rest day.

Stage 14 saw no major changes in the general classification, a surprise to many who expected the contenders to make a move in the final Pyrenees stage. Voeckler kept his lead, with Alberto Cantador, Cadel Evans and Andy Schleck all staying on each other's wheels until near the finish line. Schleck did break away momentarily near the end, taking two more seconds from Contador.

Here is the general classification ahead of Stage 15.

1.	VOECKLER Thomas	181	TEAM EUROPCAR	61h 04' 10"
2.	SCHLECK Frank	18	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	61h 05' 59"	+ 01' 49"
3.	EVANS Cadel	141	BMC RACING TEAM	61h 06' 16"	+ 02' 06"
4.	SCHLECK Andy	11	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	61h 06' 25"	+ 02' 15"
5.	BASSO Ivan	91	LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE	61h 07' 26"	+ 03' 16"
6.	SANCHEZ Samuel	21	EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI	61h 07' 54"	+ 03' 44"
7.	CONTADOR Alberto	1	SAXO BANK SUNGARD	61h 08' 10"	+ 04' 00"

In the race for the green jersey, Mark Cavendish is in the lead, holding a 13 point advantage over Jose Joaquin Rojas.

1.	CAVENDISH Mark	171	HTC - HIGHROAD	264 pts
2.	ROJAS Jose Joaquin	88	MOVISTAR TEAM	251 pts
3.	GILBERT Philippe	32	OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO	240 pts
4.	HUSHOVD Thor	51	TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO	192 pts
5.	GREIPEL André	33	OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO	164 pts
6.	EVANS Cadel	141	BMC RACING TEAM	159 pts
7.	FARRAR Tyler	54	TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO	106 pts

In the race for the polka dot jersey, Vanendert holds a slim lead over Samuel Sanchez, with the two holding a considerable advantage over the rest of the field.

1.	VANENDERT Jelle	38	OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO	74 pts
2.	SANCHEZ Samuel	21	EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI	72 pts
3.	ROY Jérémy	138	FDJ	45 pts
4.	SCHLECK Andy	11	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	28 pts
5.	EVANS Cadel	141	BMC RACING TEAM	26 pts

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

2011 Tour de France Standings, Results And News After Stage 14

The Tour de France's trip through the Pyrenees ended with a fizzle rather than a bang on Saturday as the general classification remained unchanged and the biggest contenders for the 2011 title failed to mount serious attacks. Instead, Jelle Vanendert, riding in his first Tour de France, surged to the stage win, putting 21 seconds between himself and the second-place finisher, Samuel Sanchez. Andy Schleck finished in third, 48 seconds behind Vanendert.

It was slow-going for the top-contenders, who struggled to breakaway from the pack, and away from each other, in the mountainous stage. While Contado, Evans and Andy Schleck did engage in a back-and-forth battle over the final climb. Schleck picked up two seconds on the other two, more of a moral victory than anything else, and the general classification stayed relatively the same, far from the major change expected before the stage.

Here's a look at the top-seven after Saturday's stage.

1.	VOECKLER Thomas	181	TEAM EUROPCAR	61h 04' 10"
2.	SCHLECK Frank	18	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	61h 05' 59"	+ 01' 49"
3.	EVANS Cadel	141	BMC RACING TEAM	61h 06' 16"	+ 02' 06"
4.	SCHLECK Andy	11	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	61h 06' 25"	+ 02' 15"
5.	BASSO Ivan	91	LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE	61h 07' 26"	+ 03' 16"
6.	SANCHEZ Samuel	21	EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI	61h 07' 54"	+ 03' 44"
7.	CONTADOR Alberto	1	SAXO BANK SUNGARD	61h 08' 10"	+ 04' 00"

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

2011 Tour de France Standings Update, Stage 13

After 13 stages, the 2011 Tour de France is still topped by Thomas Voeckler, who gained the yellow jersey over the weekend when the mountain stages entered the race. Voeckler finished with the peloton in Stage 13's route from Pau to Lourdes, France. However, he still holds a 1:49 lead over Frank Schleck with the race holding one more mountain stage in the Pyrenees on Saturday.

The top American cyclist is Tom Danielson of Team Garmin-Cervelo, currently in a tie for ninth place (+4:35) with Philippe Gilbert of Omega Pharma-Lotto. Thor Hushovd, Danielson's teammate, captured the Stage 13 victory, an unlikely victory and his first since the start of the mountain stages. Hushovd wore the maillot jaune Stages 2-9, but the sprinter lost ground since last weekend. The Norwegian is now No. 48 in the general classification and nearly 30 minutes behind Voeckler.

The green jersey for the points leader is still with Mark Cavendish (264 points), though Jose Joaquin Rojas (251) and Philippe Gilbert (240) are still hanging in there.

The current top 10 leaderboard for the general classification:

Standing	Rider	Rider number bib	Team	Time	Gaps
1.	VOECKLER Thomas	181	TEAM EUROPCAR	55h 49' 57"
2.	SCHLECK Frank	18	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	55h 51' 46"	+ 01' 49"
3.	EVANS Cadel	141	BMC RACING TEAM	55h 52' 03"	+ 02' 06"
4.	SCHLECK Andy	11	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	55h 52' 14"	+ 02' 17"
5.	BASSO Ivan	91	LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE	55h 53' 13"	+ 03' 16"
6.	CUNEGO Damiano	161	LAMPRE - ISD	55h 53' 19"	+ 03' 22"
7.	CONTADOR Alberto	1	SAXO BANK SUNGARD	55h 53' 57"	+ 04' 00"
8.	SANCHEZ Samuel	21	EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI	55h 54' 08"	+ 04' 11"
9.	GILBERT Philippe	32	OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO	55h 54' 32"	+ 04' 35"
10.	DANIELSON Tom	52	TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO	55h 54' 32"	+ 04' 35"

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011, Stage 13: Mighty Thor Hushovd Wins Stage 13

Thor Hushovd, the world champion, won Stage 13 of the 2011 Tour de France on Friday, a 101-mile ride from Pau to Lourdes, France, that featured a hors catégorie climb up the Col d'Aubisque followed by a chilling descent to the finish line. Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) beat  France's David Moncoutie (Cofidis) by 10 seconds to capture the stage win. 

Hushovd was part of an early breakaway that fell apart on the climb, and by the summit, he found himself a full two minutes behind the leader, Jérémy Roy. But Hushovd's skills in the long descent were on full display, as he teamed with Moncoutie to pull in Roy, eventually passing him with under 3km left. (Visit our excellent cycling blog, Podium Cafe, for a full play-by-play -- pedal-by-pedal? -- of the final 20 km.)

Roy's small consolation for missing out on the stage victory is that he now gets to put on the polka dot jersey as the king of the mountains. 

Afterward, Hushovd, who is a sprinter, proclaimed attacking on Friday was the "craziest" thing he'd ever done. 

"This is the best moment of my career," the 33-year-old Hushovd said after securing his 10th Tour stage win. "Winning alone after a hard climb like the Col d'Aubisque is incredible. It's the craziest thing I have ever done. I took it easy in the mountains yesterday and saved my legs, which is why I won today."

It was the ninth Tour victory of Hushovd's career, who now sits 48th in general classification after wearing the Yellow Jersey from Stage 2 through Stage 9.

The overall standings remain unchanged, means Thomas Voeckler keeps the Yellow Jersey for at least another stage. He's followed by Frank Schleck (+1:49) and Cadel Evans (+2:06). Mark Cavendish will continue to ride in the green jersey as the Tour's points leader.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011 Live, Stage 12 Results: Samuel Sanchez Wins While Voeckler Keeps Yellow, Contador Loses Time

Samuel Sanchez has had some excellent rides in the Tour de France since winning the Olympic gold medal in 2008, but he hasn't yet come close to matching that achievement. That is, until Stage 12 of the Tour de France, where Sanchez picked up the first or second biggest win - depending on who you ask - of his professional cycling career with a win on the slopes of the Luz-Ardiden.

Jelle Vanendert, his partner in the breakaway, finished second while Frank Schleck, who was able to get away from the general classification contenders on the first big selection of the tour finished third. Thomas Voeckler was finally slowed down a bit on the Luz-Ardiden after an impressive performance on the Col du Tormalet, but he did more than enough to keep his yellow jersey on Bastille Day. The big loser of the day was Alberto Contador, who lost seven seconds to Damiano Cunego, 13 seconds to Andy Schleck, Cadel Evans and Ivan Basso, and 33 seconds to Frank Schleck.

Voeckler still holds the yellow jersey by one minute and 49 seconds. With only one major climb tomorrow and a big descent, then a flat section before the finish, he will have a very good chance at keeping it tomorrow. With the 20 second gap that he put on his brother Andy and Evans, Frank Schleck is now in second place and in good position to take over yellow from Voeckler on the Plateau de Beille, the beyond category climb where Stage 14 concludes.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

2011 Tour de France Standings Update, Stage 11

Andre Greipel nearly followed the first victory of his Tour de France career with a second, but this time Mark Cavendish would have none of it. A day after narrowing losing Stage 10 to the German, Cavendish roared back in the race to Lavaur, claiming the Stage 11 win and the 18th Tour victory of the Brit's career.

Overall, 32-year old Thomas Voeckler once again maintained the yellow jersey, and seems to be in a comfortable position with just ten stages to go. The Frenchman preserved his 1:49 lead over his nearest competitor, Spainard Luis-Leon Sanchez. Australian Cadel Evans retained his third place postion and currently sits 2:26 behind the lead. 

Standing	Rider	Rider number bib	Team	Time	Gaps
1.	VOECKLER Thomas	181	TEAM EUROPCAR	45h 52' 39"
2.	SANCHEZ Luis-Leon	47	RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM	45h 54' 28"	+ 01' 49"
3.	EVANS Cadel	141	BMC RACING TEAM	45h 55' 05"	+ 02' 26"
4.	SCHLECK Frank	18	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	45h 55' 08"	+ 02' 29"
5.	SCHLECK Andy	11	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	45h 55' 16"	+ 02' 37"
6.	MARTIN Tony	175	HTC - HIGHROAD	45h 55' 17"	+ 02' 38"
7.	VELITS Peter	179	HTC - HIGHROAD	45h 55' 17"	+ 02' 38"
8.	KLÖDEN Andréas	74	TEAM RADIOSHACK	45h 55' 22"	+ 02' 43"
9.	GILBERT Philippe	32	OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO	45h 55' 34"	+ 02' 55"
10.	FUGLSANG Jakob	13	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	45h 55' 47"	+ 03' 08"

Following the conclusion of Stage 11, Team Europcar maintained their wide lead at the top of the leaderboard over Team Leopard-Trek. The rest of the field continues to trail significantly behind, with Team Radioshack currently wedged in third place.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011 Live, Stage 11 Results: Mark Cavendish Gets 18th Career Tour Stage Win

Another day, another great ride by the Manx Missle. Tuesday, on Stage 10, Mark Cavendish finished in second place as he was foiled by German Andre Greipel, but Cavendish got him back on Wednesday, beating him to the line to grab the victory in Stage 11, the 18th stage victory of Cavendish's career. Greipel finished second, while Tyler Farrar finished third.

Phillipe Gilbert did not finish in the top 10 in the race, and as a result has lost his green jersey to Cavendish, who now sits 20 points ahead of the Belgian champion. Jose Joaqun Rojas finished in seventh place in the sprint, keeping him very much in contention for green. This is the first time since 2009 that Cavendish has worn the green jersey.

The three other jerseys will all stay with their previous owners. Robert Gessink stays in white, the badly injured Johnny Hoogerland is still on the road, keeping his polka-dots and Thomas Voeckler remains in yellow.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

2011 Tour de France Standings, Results And News After Stage 10

Stage 10 concluded as German rider Andre Greipel completed a stunning sprint to the finish to defeat Mark Cavendish, Jose Joaquin Rojas, and Thor Hushovd for the stage victory. The performance was the first Tour de France victory of the Omega Pharma-Lotto rider's career. 

Frenchman Thomas Voeckler kept the yellow jersey following the hard fought race to Carmaux. The 32-year old maintained a strong 1:49 lead over second place rider, Spain's Luis-Leon Sanchez. Australian Cadel Evans ranks in third, 2:26 behind the front.  

Standing	Rider	Rider number bib	Team	Time	Gaps
1.	VOECKLER Thomas	181	TEAM EUROPCAR	42h 06' 32"
2.	SANCHEZ Luis-Leon	47	RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM	42h 08' 21"	+ 01' 49"
3.	EVANS Cadel	141	BMC RACING TEAM	42h 08' 58"	+ 02' 26"
4.	SCHLECK Frank	18	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	42h 09' 01"	+ 02' 29"
5.	SCHLECK Andy	11	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	42h 09' 09"	+ 02' 37"
6.	MARTIN Tony	175	HTC - HIGHROAD	42h 09' 10"	+ 02' 38"
7.	VELITS Peter	179	HTC - HIGHROAD	42h 09' 10"	+ 02' 38"
8.	KLÖDEN Andréas	74	TEAM RADIOSHACK	42h 09' 15"	+ 02' 43"
9.	GILBERT Philippe	32	OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO	42h 09' 27"	+ 02' 55"
10.	FUGLSANG Jakob	13	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	42h 09' 40"	+ 03' 08"

In regards to the overall team standings, Team Europcar maintained their stout lead over Team Leopard-Trek. Though, the dramatic drop-off between the 1-2 pair and the rest of the field was preserved as well. 

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011 Live, Stage 10 Results: Andre Greipel Upstages Mark Cavendish To Win Stage

Mark Cavendish, Jose Joaquin Rojas, and Thor Hushovd were the tour's biggest name sprinters who made it to the end of Stage 10 in the 2011 Tour de France, but they were upstaged by Omega Pharma-Lotto's Andre Greipel. The German rider beat the three of them in a sprint finish to grab the first Tour de France victory of his career.

Greipel is a great sprinter who has won two stages of the Giro d'Italia, four stages of the Vuelta a España, and the points classification in the 2009 edition of the latter race. Greipel, who has previously skipped the Tour during his season, finally duplicated those results from the other grand tours on Tuesday. 

With 16 kilometers to go in the stage, the peloton caught the breakaway, which was much too early for the teams of the sprinters. Immediately after the initial break was caught, a new attack launched off the front with five riders, including green jersey holder and Greipel's teammate Phillipe Gilbert, along with yellow jersey holder Thomas Voeckler. Gilbert was the final survivor in the group, but he was eventually caught with seven kilometers to go.

There were a variety of small attacks from then until the finish, but the peloton stuffed all of them, setting up a sprint. Cavendish was well set up by his team, but was surprisingly beaten at the line by Greipel. Rojas and Hushovd were there as well, finishing in third and fourth places. Voeckler did more than enough to hold on to his yellow jersey, as he leads by nearly two minutes.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011 Live: Yaroslav Popovych Does Not Start Stage 10, Withdraws

Team RadioShack is having a rough year in the 2011 Tour de France. First, promising rider Janez Brajkovic, the national champion of Slovenia was forced out of the race early by a crash. Not long afterwards, American Chris Horner, arguably RadioShack's best hope for a top 10 finish, withdrew as well. Multiple crashes gave him a nasty concussion, causing Horner to forget where he was and that he was a professional bike racer. Now, prior to Stage 10, another RadioShack rider has been forced to abandon the Tour, with Yaroslav Popovych not showing for the start of the race Tuesday.

Popovych reportedly has a high fever, bad enough that he was not able to race today. While it's never good news when a rider has to withdraw from the Tour, at least Popovych will be better in a couple of days. The same probably can't be said for Brajkovic and Horner, who might still be hurting from their crashes.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

2011 Tour de France Standings, Results And News After Stage 9

Frenchman Thomas Voeckler slipped into the yellow jersey at the Tour de France on Sunday after a chaotic Stage 9, won by Spain's Luis Leon Sanchez.

Voeckler, a French fan favorite who had a memorable run in the yellow jersey in 2004, took over the race lead from Norway's Thor Hushovd and holds a 1:49 advantage over Sanchez in the overall standings. Australian Cadel Evans is third, 2:26 behind Voeckler.

Standing	Rider	Rider number bib	Team	Time	Gaps
1.	VOECKLER Thomas	181	TEAM EUROPCAR	38h 35' 11"
2.	SANCHEZ Luis-Leon	47	RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM	38h 37' 00"	+ 01' 49"
3.	EVANS Cadel	141	BMC RACING TEAM	38h 37' 37"	+ 02' 26"
4.	SCHLECK Frank	18	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	38h 37' 40"	+ 02' 29"
5.	SCHLECK Andy	11	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	38h 37' 48"	+ 02' 37"
6.	MARTIN Tony	175	HTC - HIGHROAD	38h 37' 49"	+ 02' 38"
7.	VELITS Peter	179	HTC - HIGHROAD	38h 37' 49"	+ 02' 38"
8.	KLÖDEN Andréas	74	TEAM RADIOSHACK	38h 37' 54"	+ 02' 43"
9.	GILBERT Philippe	32	OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO	38h 38' 06"	+ 02' 55"
10.	FUGLSANG Jakob	13	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	38h 38' 19"	+ 03' 08"

Team Europcar has extended some space between then and the next team, Leopard-Trek. And things really drop off after them.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

VIDEO: French TV Car Causes Ridiculous Tour De France Crash

Tour de France 2011 Live, Stage 9 Results: Luis Leon Sanchez Wins, Thomas Voeckler Takes Yellow

In a day filled with crashes caused by dumb luck, dumb people and bad weather, the end of the race thankfully ended up being about people riding bikes well, as Spaniard Luis Leon Sanchez out-sprinted Thomas Voeckler at the end of Stage 9 to take the win on the day. Though he will be happy with the stage victory, the big winner of the day is Voeckler, who captured yellow by finishing second in the breakaway, well ahead of the peloton.

The breakaway included five men for most of the race, but a bizarre crash in which a French TV car hit Juan Antonio Flecha and Johnny Hoogerland, injuring both. They both continued after the crash, but both fell well off the back of the peloton. Earlier in the day, a crash on a descent forced all of Alexander Vinokourov, David Zabriskie, and Jurgen van den Broeck to withdraw from the race. David Millar and Andreas Kloden were also involved, but were able to continue.

Philippe Gilbert won the sprint among the members of the peloton, finishing in fourth place and expanding his lead in the green jersey competition. Though, despite that, the crashes, and Sanchez's win, the story on Sunday night and Monday's rest day will be Frenchman Thomas Voeckler, who once again has captured a yellow jersey with some aggressive riding.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011 Live, Stage 9 Update: French TV Car Takes Out Johnny Hoogerland, Juan Antonio Flecha

In an absolutely jaw-dropping accident, featuring unfathomable levels of stupidity, the driver of a French television car has crashed into the leaders. In an attempt to avoid a tree that stuck out a foot into the road, a television car swerved sharply into the center of the road. The leaders of the race were right next to the car, and Juan Antonio Flecha was hit at a high speed. He went crashing into Johnny Hoogerland, who went flying into a fence.

Thankfully, neither Hoogerland or Flecha is seriously injured as both are up and racing, but Hoogerland is receiving treatment from the mobile doctor and appears to be in a good deal of pain. He should re-join the peloton shortly. Flecha has a chance to catch up to the leading three riders, but it appears that they have pulled away from him. One thing is certain, though: The driver of that car won't be around to crash into anyone tomorrow. There's no way he'll be performing the same task on Stage 10.

Also, in addition to Alexander Vinokourov and Jurgen van den Broeck, David Zabriskie has been forced to withdraw from the race due to injuries sustained on a crash.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011 Live, Stage 9 Update: Big Crash On Descent Claims Alexander Vinokourov, Others

On the decent of the first category two climb of Stage 9 of the 2011 Tour de France, the Col du Pas de Peyrol, a terrible high speed crash has claimed three riders, two of which have withdrawn from the Tour de France. Alexander Vinokourov of Team Astana, Jurgen van den Broeck of Omega Pharma-Lotto, and David Millar of Garmin-Cervelo were the riders involved. Vinokourov and van den Broeck got the worst of the crash, with Vinokourov falling off the side of the road into the woods. Both van den Broeck and Vinokourov have withdrawn from the race with serious injuries, while Millar is attempting to continue.

Andreas Kloden was also involved, but has re-joined the peloton. The crash has caused the peloton to agree to a truce, and they are not racing up the Col de Perthus as they wait for the dropped riders to return. The leading group, containing Thomas Voeckler, has not stopped racing and Voeckler is the virtual yellow jersey on the road by some distance as a result. At the current time gap of over seven minutes, Luis Leon Sanchez would take second place in the overall classification behind Voeckler.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011, Stage 8 Results: Rui Costa Climbs To Win, Thor Hushovd Keeps Yellow

Poutugal's Rui Costa (Movistar Team) was part of a nine-man breakaway that took off early in Stage 8 in the 2011 Tour de France and then maintained the lead for the entirety of the 189 km from Aigurande to Super-Besse to earn the win on the Tour's first real day of climbs, including the category 2 trek up the Col de la Croix Saint-Robert. 

Costa was able to hold off  Astana's Alexandre Vinokourov, who eventually faded on the final climb to the finish line. Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) ending up in second place, while Cadel Evans (BMC) took third in Stage 8. 

While Costa was certainly impressive, the ride of the day may have gone to Thor Hushovd, who surprised everyone by performing well enough to keep the Yellow Jersey. He maintains a one-second lead of Evans, and and four-second advantage of Frank Schleck. 

The Stage 8 win caps a great year for Costa, writes Podium Cafe: 

Costa, surviving from an early breakaway, saved enough energy in his legs to escape for good at the bottom of the day's final climb, and was never reeled in as he flew up the last 2km with chasers in sight. This caps off a remarkable 12 months in which he was attacked by a fellow rider after a Tour stage last year and was suspended for doping only to have the suspension lifted when he successfully proved that the source was a contaminated vitamin supplement. The victory is his second major result since returning to racing in April -- he won the Vuelta a la Communidad de Madrid -- and his first-ever major result at the Tour.

The Tour continues on Sunday with Stage 9, an up-and-down day if there ever was one. A total of eight categorized climbs are sure to destroy legs, especially the three category 2 ascents, highlighted by the first-eve climb of the Col du Perthus (4.4 km at a 7.9 % grade). 

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011, Stage 7 Results: Mark Cavendish Wins Sprint Finish On Wild Day

The HTC-Highroad team was in was textbook form Friday in Stage 7 of the 2011 Tour de France, providing a perfect leadout for Mark Cavendish who held off Alessandro Petacchi with a sprint to the finish for the stage win. It is Cavenish's second win of this year's Tour, and his 17th career win. 

On a flat, flat (and flat) stage that stretched 218 km (135 miles) from Le Mans to Châteauroux, it was team HTC-Highroad that did most of the day's work, setting it up for their sprinter Cavendish, the self-proclaimed fastest man in the world, and they did it perfectly. Over the final few kilometers leading up to the finish, HTC had their full nine-man lead-out train to deliver the Manx Missile to the win. 

Thor Hushovd (Team Garmin-Cervelo) remains in the maillot jaune after Stage 7, but with Saturday bringing the Tour's highest point thus far, it's likely that the sprinter's time in the yellow jersey may soon be coming to an end. He's followed in the overall standings by Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team) and Frank Schleck (Team Leopard Trek). 

Thursday's Stage 7, while very flat and very long, still managed to produce some wild results. Early on, former world champion Tom Boonen (Team Quick Step) dropped out of the Tour, suffering from lingering pain as a result of his crash two days ago. 

Later, with about 38 km left in the stage, a huge crash split the peloton, forming a new chase group of about 100 riders that included Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner as Team Radioshack's terrible luck continued. American Tyler Farrar was also forced to play catch-up after getting caught in the crash.

But the crash's biggest victim claimed was podium-favorite Bradley Wiggins, who was immediately forced to end his Tour with a broken collarbone. 

Saturday's State 8 brings the Tour 189 km from Aigurande to Super-Besse with a taste of the race's first real climbs, including a category 2 trek up the Col de la Croix Saint-Robert.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

2011 Tour de France Standings Update, Stage 6: Thor Hushovd Continues His Time With Yellow Jersey

Here are the 2011 Tour de France results from Thursday. Edvald Boasson Hagen of Sky Procycling won Stage 6, beating out Matt Goss and Thor Hushovd (who wears the yellow jersey). 

Stage 7 of the tour will take place Friday, and will be a 218 km flat stage from Le Mans to Châteauroux. This is among the flattest stages in the course, and therefore could be dominated by sprinters contending for the green jersey.

Here are the current standings.

Place	Name	Time	Time Gap	Team	Bib #	Age
1	Thor HUSHOVD	22:50:34	00:00:00	GRM	051	33
2	Cadel EVANS	22:50:35	00:00:01	BMC	141	34
3	Frank SCHLECK	22:50:38	00:00:04	LEO	018	31
4	David MILLAR	22:50:42	00:00:08	GRM	056	34
5	Andréas KLÖDEN	22:50:44	00:00:10	RSH	074	36
6	Bradley WIGGINS	22:50:44	00:00:10	SKY	111	31
7	Geraint THOMAS	22:50:46	00:00:12	SKY	117	25
8	Edvald Boasson HAGEN	22:50:46	00:00:12	SKY	114	24
9	Jakob FUGLSANG	22:50:46	00:00:12	LEO	013	26
10	Andy SCHLECK	22:50:46	00:00:12	LEO	011	26

Here are the sprint standings after Stage 6. Philippe Gilbert is still in the lead, although Jose Joaquin Rojas is making strides towards coming back after losing his green jersey to Gilbert in Stage 5, following Tour officials' determination that Rojas blocked Mark Cavendish. Rojas finished fifth in Stage 6.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

2011 Tour De France Crop Circles Put Other Designs To Shame

Tour de France 2011 Live: Edvald Boasson Hagen Wins Stage 6

With three categorized climbs, some serious rain, and a dangerous finish with turns and hills, Stage 6 of the 2011 Tour de France did not end up being one for the pure sprinters, despite the efforts of the sprinters' teams to set up their men for the win. An early breakaway held on for the majority of the race, while some attacks at the end foiled the pure sprinters. In the end, the best ride was put in by Norway's Edvald Boasson Hagen of Team Sky, as he bested Thor Hushovd, Jose Joaquin Rojas, Phillipe Gilbert, and others for the win.

Adriano Malori was the most notable of the breakaway members, as he survived the longest. Five men attacked to start the day, but Malori was the lone survivor at the very end. He put in a fantastic ride, but was eventually caught by the peloton with three kilometers to go.

At that point, the lead-out started with team HTC-Highroad pushing the pace at the front in an attempt to set up Mark Cavendish for the win. Their plan was foiled by the nature of the finish and some attacks, though, with Belgian Jurgen van den Broeck launching the first attack after Malori was caught. Thomas Voeckler launched an attack and passed him, but both were caught by the pack with one kilometer remaining.

Alexander Vinokourov attacked as well, to the surprise of no one, but he was also quickly matched by the rest of the pack. The sprint featured more of the all-around and stage riders like Hushovd and Gilbert than it did pure sprinters, and Hagen was the man who prevailed at the end. He's put in some great performances in his career, winning the Norwegian national championship five years in a row and winning a stage at the Giro d'Italia, but this stage win will almost certainly be the biggest win of his career.

In the green jersey race, Rojas did very well to finish inside of the top ten and keep pace in the green jersey race and make a dent in Gilbert's lead, but Gilbert finished close enough to Rojas to keep the green jersey on his shoulders.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011 Live: Stage 6, Mark Cavendish Takes Maximum Points From Intermediate Sprint

On Stage 5, Mark Cavendish was blocked on the intermediate sprint by Jose Joaquin Rojas and Tom Boonen. They were bumping and banging while using some questionable tactics, and the Tour de France race referees showed some consistency by disqualifying both of them from the sprint, just like Cavendish and Hushovd were disqualified from the intermediate sprint on Stage 3. This took the green jersey off the the shoulders of Rojas and put it back into the shoulders of Phillipe Gilbert, but perhaps more importantly, it put Cavendish and Tyler Farrar back into contention for green.

Stage 6 has seen a five-man breakaway open up a good gap on the pack, so the intermediate sprint was for sixth place. Cavendish got a brilliant lead-out from his team on the sprint and didn't even have to exert maximum effort to win, holding off Rojas as he coasted across the line with maximum points. Gilbert and Farrar were two of the other riders who picked up points, so the shake-up in the green jersey race was minimal. 

Thanks to the work of guys like Dave Zabriskie at the front of the pack, the peloton is cruising and should be able to catch the breakaway exactly where they want to, which could set up a sprint finish with all of the pure sprinters for the stage win.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011: Live Coverage Of Stage 6 Begins At 8:00 A.M.

The 2011 Tour de France continues early Thursday morning as the sixth, and longest, stage of the race -- Dinan to Lisieux -- gets underway. Versus will begin broadcast of the competition at 7:30 a.m. EDT.

The sixth stage is a 226.5 km trek through the rolling hills of Normandy is the longest of the tour. It includes a trio of climbs but a flat finish, so it should favor climbers but don't count out those who can balance climbing and sprinting together.

A replay of stage six will be broadcast on Versus at 12 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 8 p.m. and 12 a.m. Versus will also continue coverage and analysis of the 2011 Tour de France throughout the day, including a pre-race show scheduled at 7:30 a.m.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

2011 Tour de France Standings Update, Stage 5: Thor Hushovd Keeps Yellow Jersey

You can find the results for Stage 5 of the 2011 Tour de France here -- Great Britain's Mark Cavendish won Stage 5 Wednesday, outsprinting a large group to the finish line for his 16th career stage win. Norway's Thor Hushovd finished 10th with the same time as the stage winner, and will again wear the coveted yellow jersey as the overall leader of cycling's most prestigious event for a fourth straight day.

Here are the current standings:

1.	HUSHOVD Thor	51	TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO	17h 36' 57"
2.	EVANS Cadel	141	BMC RACING TEAM	17h 36' 58"	+ 00' 01"
3.	SCHLECK Frank	18	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	17h 37' 01"	+ 00' 04"
4.	MILLAR David	56	TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO	17h 37' 05"	+ 00' 08"
5.	KLÖDEN Andréas	74	TEAM RADIOSHACK	17h 37' 07"	+ 00' 10"
6.	WIGGINS Bradley	111	SKY PROCYCLING	17h 37' 07"	+ 00' 10"
7.	THOMAS Geraint	117	SKY PROCYCLING	17h 37' 09"	+ 00' 12"
8.	HAGEN Edvald Boasson	114	SKY PROCYCLING	17h 37' 09"	+ 00' 12"
9.	FUGLSANG Jakob	13	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	17h 37' 09"	+ 00' 12"
10.	SCHLECK Andy	11	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	17h 37' 09"	+ 00' 12

Another chance for the sprinters to excel comes Thursday in Stage 6. The longest stage of this year's event features a trio of climbs but a flat finish, as it takes the riders 226.5 kilometers from Dinan to Lisieux.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011 Results: Mark Cavendish Wins Stage 5 With Impressive Sprint

Stage 5 of the 2011 Tour de France featured a variety of crashes, a couple of breakaways, and a windy, difficult sprint, but that didn't stop the typical result from coming at the end. No matter what the circumstances are, it appears that Mark Cavendish is too good to be beat when he is at his absolute best, and he was exactly that today as he won his first stage of this year's Tour.

The initial breakaway was caught much too early, allowing a second attack to take off from the peloton around 20 kilometers from the finish. That breakaway involved the darling of French cycling and a two-time Tour de France stage winner, Thomas Voeckler, who held on until the very last minutes. The peloton caught Voeckler just before the setup for the sprint began, taking what would have been a much deserved victory from the always entertaining Frenchman.

Yellow Jersey holder Thor Hushovd, Green Jersey holder Jose Joaquin Rojas, Stage 1 winner Phillipe Gilbert, and Cavendish were the men involved in the windy, uphill sprint at the very end, but Cavendish showed his superiority in sprints at the very end, leading his other competitors behind to take the stage win. Though Cavendish is the story of the day with his 16th career Tour win, Rojas and Hushovd will be very satisfied with their performances, as they will keep their jerseys for another day.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011 Live: Stage 5, Three Big Names Crash, Borut Bozic Wins Peloton Intermediate Sprint

Stage 5 of the 2011 Tour de France has been a nasty one so far, with big names getting pushed out of the intermediate sprint and equally big names crashing. Mark Cavendish got muscled out of the sprint and failed to gain ground in the green jersey competition, while three riders who were gunning for top ten finishes in the general classification have hit the pavement.

Cavendish appeared to be very well positioned to get maximum points from the sprint, sitting just behind the two Movistar riders in front of him, as well as Tom Boonen, but Cavendish underestimated how hard it is to get around the massive Belgian. Boonen blocked Cavendish, a visibly frustrated Cavendish stopped sprinting his hardest, and Borut Bozic finished in the highest place among the peloton. Tyler Farrar was a non-factor while Jose Joaquin Rojas expanded his points lead by picking up seven points.

Shortly after the sprint, crashes claimed three riders. Robert Gessink, a contender for the podium and Alberto Contador, the pre-race favorite, both went down but have since re-joined the peloton. However, Team RadioShack rider Janez Brajkovic, an outside contender for the top 10, has been forced to withdraw after hitting his head hard on a crash. Interestingly enough, team Leopard Trek, the team of Andy Schleck, went to the front and started making the pace after the crashes occurred. Do as I say, not as I do, right Andy?

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011: Live Coverage Of Stage 5 Begins At 7:30 A.M.

The 2011 Tour de France continues early Wednesday morning as the fifth stage of the race -- Carhaix to Cap Frehel -- gets underway. Versus will begin broadcast of the competition at 7:30 a.m. EDT.

The fifth stage is a 164.49 km trek north from the western metropolis of Carhaix to Cap Frehel. Built by the Romans over 2,000 years ago, Carhaix is considered one of France's oldest cities, and sits directly between the Montagne Noires - also known as the Black Mountains - and the Monts d'Arrée. As the riders make their way to Cap Frehel, they will travel from an elevation of 293 meters to one of just two meters. A course comprised of steep cliffs against a backdrop of lush wilderness await the leaders as they close in on their destination.

A replay of stage five will be broadcast on Versus at 12 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 8 p.m. and 12 a.m. Versus will also continue coverage and analysis of the 2011 Tour de France throughout the day, including a pre-race show scheduled at 7 a.m.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

2011 Tour de France Standings Update, Stage 4: Thor Hushovd Retains Yellow Jersey

You can find the results for Stage 4 of the 2011 Tour de France here -- Cadel Evans won the stage, edging out Alberto Contador, and Thor Hushovd surprisingly retained his overall lead and his yellow jersey with a solid performance. 

Here are the current standings:

1.	HUSHOVD Thor	51	TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO	13h 58' 25"
2.	EVANS Cadel	141	BMC RACING TEAM	13h 58' 26"	+ 00' 01"
3.	SCHLECK Frank	18	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	13h 58' 29"	+ 00' 04"
4.	MILLAR David	56	TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO	13h 58' 33"	+ 00' 08"
5.	KLÖDEN Andréas	74	TEAM RADIOSHACK	13h 58' 35"	+ 00' 10"
6.	WIGGINS Bradley	111	SKY PROCYCLING	13h 58' 35"	+ 00' 10"
7.	THOMAS Geraint	117	SKY PROCYCLING	13h 58' 37"	+ 00' 12"
8.	HAGEN Edvald Boasson	114	SKY PROCYCLING	13h 58' 37"	+ 00' 12"
9.	SCHLECK Andy	11	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	13h 58' 37"	+ 00' 12"
10.	FUGLSANG Jakob	13	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	13h 58' 37"	+ 00' 12

Contador isn't in the top 10, but his near-victory in Stage 4 demonstrated his viability in the race.

The stage still showed that Contador, who has faced a series of early setbacks in this Tour already, is in shape to compete.

Contador did poorly in Stage 1 after getting held up after a crash, but bounced back in Stage 4, nearly beating the field to the line for the win. Evans edged him in a photo finish, but his late-surge put the field on notice in the early stages of the 2011 Tour de France.

Jose Joaquin Rojas still leads the sprint standings, with Evans just two points behind. Of the green jersey contenders, Thor Hushovd has 70 points, followed closely by Garmin-Cervelo teammate Tyler Farrar's 68 points.

1.	ROJAS Jose Joaquin	88	MOVISTAR TEAM	82 pts
2.	EVANS Cadel	141	BMC RACING TEAM	80 pts
3.	GILBERT Philippe	32	OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO	77 pts
4.	HUSHOVD Thor	51	TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO	70 pts
5.	FARRAR Tyler	54	TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO	68 pts
6.	FEILLU Romain	201	VACANSOLEIL-DCM	38 pts
7.	ROY Jérémy	138	FDJ	37 pts
8.	VAN DEN BROECK Jurgen	31	OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO	36 pts
9.	BOZIC Borut	202	VACANSOLEIL-DCM	36 pts
10.	CONTADOR Alberto	1	SAXO BANK SUNGARD	35 pts

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Forget The Tour De France: These Are The World's Most Insane Endurance Races

The Tour De France is very difficult, and you should never, ever do it. There are worse endurance races, however. You shouldn't do any of these, either.

Tour de France 2011 Results: Cadel Evans Edges Alberto Contador For Stage 4 Win, Thor Hushovd Keeps Yellow

With a steep, short climb at the end of Stage 4 of the 2011 Tour de France, the stage promised to be an exciting one with some of the tour's biggest names fighting for the win. The finish didn't disappoint at all, as all of the big general classification and stage racers fought it out to the end, with Cadel Evans edging out Alberto Contador by mere inches to win the stage, while Thor Hushovd put together an impressive ride to keep the race lead.

The breakaway was caught at four kilometers to go, at which point the real race started. The climb officially started at two kilometers from the finish, but the incline started right before the peloton caught the break. After the breakaway was absorbed into the pack, BMC rider George Hincape went to the front and started to set a blistering pace, causing some of the pack to be dropped. Right after the start of the true climb, after about three kilometers of pacemaking from Hincapie, Alberto Contador made his move.

Contador lost serious time to his competitors in Stage 1 and on the team time trial, so he was looking to cut into his deficit before the mountain stages begin. He made the first major attack of the climb, and a number of riders were able to match it, including Stage 1 winner Phillipe Gilbert, yellow jersey holder Thor Hushovd, and Cadel Evans. Those riders and a handful of others stayed together until the end, where Evans was the first to take off.

It appeared that Evans might have started his sprint a bit too early as Contador chased him down, but Evans just barely hung on by about a quarter of a bike length, winning the stage. However, with the elimination of time bonuses, Evans will not be in yellow on Tuesday night. Thor Hushovd, discounted by experts for the most part, hung with the elite climbers at the end of the day and finished in the same group as Evans and Contador, hanging on to the race lead for one more day.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011 Live Coverage: Tyler Farrar Picks Up Points In Stage 4 Intermediate Sprint

With many of the great sprinters of the last era on their way out and a few tours behind him, Tyler Farrar finally looks like a man who can regularly compete for stage wins and green jerseys in the Tour de France. In this year's 2011 edition, he's very much after both, and he's strengthened his standing in the latter area Tuesday by getting maximum points from Stage 4's intermediate sprint, finishing in sixth place overall and first place among the peloton, who are chasing a five-rider breakaway.

Thanks to that sprint, Farrar gained some ground on Jose Joaquin Rojas, who has the green jersey on his shoulders at present. Joaquin is now sitting on 74 points, while Farrar has 68. The next best is Phillipe Gilbert, who is not a true sprinter, while Mark Cavendish is back a bit after being disqualified from Stage 3's intermediate sprint, along with Thor Hushovd.

The sprinters are now done for the day, as the finish of the race is on top of a steep Category 3 climb. Gilbert is the heavy favorite to win the stage, but the likes of yellow jersey holder Thor Hushovd and yellow hopefuls Cadel Evans and Geraint Thomas could make a move. Also, it wouldn't be shocking to see Alberto Contador get aggressive in a bid to make up some time.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011: Live Coverage Of Stage 4 Begins At 8 A.M.

The 2011 Tour de France gets back at it bright and early on Tuesday morning as the fourth stage of the race gets underway. Versus will begin their telecast at 8 a.m. EDT.

This stage provides a big finish on the summit of the Mûr-de-Bretagne, which comes at the end of a beautiful but very tough two-kilometer climb. Before that, there is a series of hills in central Brittany where the twisting roads can make for trouble. Don't expect any sprinters to make any moves in these hilly conditions, which favor riders like Philippe Gilbert and Thomas Voeckler.

A replay of the stage will be shown on Versus at 12 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 8 p.m. and 12 a.m. Versus will also be broadcasting Tour de France related shows throughout the day, including a pre-race show at 7 a.m.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

2011 Tour de France Standings Update, Stage 3

Two stages are in the books in the 2011 Tour de France. American sprinter Tyler Farrar, partially thanks to some disorganization in the peloton and a great lead-out from his team, won his first career Tour de France stage, winning a sprint on Stage 3. HTC-Highroad, the team of Mark Cavendish, appeared to be in control for most of the lead-in to the sprint, but Garmin-Cervelo eventually took control at the front of the pack and were successful in getting a second stage win of the tour, after winning the team time trial in Stage 2.

Here is the overall individual standings after the third stage. Thor Hushovd is in the yellow jersey, Jose Joaquin Rojas holds the green and Philippe Gilbert continues to hold the polkadot jersey.

Standing	Rider	Rider number bib	Team	Time	Gaps
1.	HUSHOVD Thor	51	TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO	9h 46' 46"
2.	MILLAR David	56	TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO	9h 46' 46"	+ 00' 00"
3.	EVANS Cadel	141	BMC RACING TEAM	9h 46' 47"	+ 00' 01"
4.	THOMAS Geraint	117	SKY PROCYCLING	9h 46' 50"	+ 00' 04"
5.	GERDEMANN Linus	14	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	9h 46' 50"	+ 00' 04"
6.	HAGEN Edvald Boasson	114	SKY PROCYCLING	9h 46' 50"	+ 00' 04"
7.	SCHLECK Frank	18	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	9h 46' 50"	+ 00' 04"
8.	SCHLECK Andy	11	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	9h 46' 50"	+ 00' 04"
9.	FUGLSANG Jakob	13	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	9h 46' 50"	+ 00' 04"
10.	WIGGINS Bradley	111	SKY PROCYCLING	9h 46' 50"	+ 00' 04"

And here is where the teams stand after three days of racing. The top ten stayed exactly the same from the 2nd stage. Six teams remain ahead of the pack with Garmin-Cervelo clinging to the lead.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race

2011 Tour De France: Thor Hushovd, Mark Cavendish Disqualified From Stage 3 Intermediate Sprint

Mark Cavendish picked up valuable sprint points during the third stage of the 2011 Tour de France, beating a cluster of riders to the line during the intermediate sprint behind a breakaway. But Cavendish and fellow sprinter Thor Hushovd both learned they were disqualified from the sprint following the stage after race officials deemed their actions inappropriate. The two made contact during the sprint to the line, though it seemed like ordinary racing at the time.

A judge said Cavendish used his head to stay on balance after Hushovd deviate from his line, forcing the two to make contact (via Cycling News).

HTC-Highroad's Rolf Aldag confirmed the news to Cyclingnews. “The chief commissar confirmed the news and talked to Allan Peiper. He said that Thor and Cav were disqualified. Thor lost his line but Cav can’t use his head."

Cavendish took to his ever-entertaining Twitter account following the stage to express disappointment while adding Hushovd offered to take the penalty himself.

Just discovered Thor & I have been disqualified from the intermediate sprint today. Seriously no idea why?! #devastated. Just heard that Thor's offered to take the punishment solely. What a true gentleman. I reckon it won't change f***-all though. But thank you

Hushovd is in yellow after Garmin-Cervelo took home top honors in the team time trials on Sunday. The disqualification dropped Hushovd from third to fourth in the sprint standings, though teammate Tyler Farrar still sits in second behind Jose Joaquin Rojas, the current holder of the green jersey.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011 Live Coverage: Tyler Farrar Wins Stage 3, Captures First Ever Stage Win

American sprinter Tyler Farrar, partially thanks to some disorganization in the peloton and a great lead-out from his team, has won his first career Tour de France stage, winning a sprint on Stage 3. HTC-Highroad, the team of Mark Cavendish, appeared to be in control for most of the lead-in to the sprint, but Garmin-Cervelo eventually took control at the front of the pack and were successful in getting a second stage win of the tour, after winning the team time trial in Stage 2.

The entire HTC-Highroad team was at the front with three kilometers to go, but Cavendish somehow lost the wheel of his lead-out man Mark Renshaw and ended up behind a couple of other riders, making room for another team to take control. Garmin-Cervelo took over, and Farrar's lead-out was perfect. Thor Hushovd, wearing the Maillot Jaune, did most of the lead-out with Julian Dean taking Ferrar the rest of the way from around 700 meters to 200 meters, when Farrar took off by himself to get the win. Cavendish recovered well to get fifth place, but he'll be left wondering what could have been after squandering his team's dominance at the front.

Jose Joaquin Rojas grabbed the green jersey with his third place finish today, but Farrar and Cavendish went a long way towards getting into that competition. With his finish in the leading group, Hushovd will hang on to yellow. Tomorrow's finish is an uphill one, so Hushovd will have some competition for his yellow from the likes of Cadel Evans, Fabian Cancellara and Geraint Thomas, who is wearing the white jersey.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011 Live Coverage: Mark Cavendish Takes Points In Stage 3 Intermediate Sprint

A five-man breakaway minimized the number of points available to the sprinters in Stage 3's intermediate sprint, but an extremely valuable 10 points were still on offer for the man who was able to make it to the line first out of the peloton. That got all of the big sprinters up and racing towards the line, and it was no surprise that the man who beat everyone to the punch was a man who has 15 Tour de France and 25 grand tour stage wins, Mark Cavendish.

The lead-out appeared to set up well for Alessandro Petacchi, but the Italian veteran made his move too soon and fell back as the other sprinters picked up steam. Thor Hushovd and Phillipe Gilbert looked good to grab the points at the front for a few seconds, but Cavendish timed his move perfecting and shot past both of them and the rest of the sprinters, going across the line first out of the peloton and sixth overall. The best sprinter in Stage 1's intermediate sprint, Tyler Farrar, was nowhere to be found. 

Currently, with 80 kilometers to go, the leading group has a five minute gap on the peloton. They will probably be intercepted, but much later than the leaders were caught on Stage 1.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011: Live Coverage Of Stage 3 Begins At 8 A.M.

2011 Tour De France Standings Update After Stage 2

With one stage in the books in the 2011 Tour de France, Philippe Gilbert holds a three second lead over the field after surviving chaos late in the race on Saturday and powering to the finish. A crash near the end of the race wiped out much of the field, including favorite Alberto Contador. The wipe-out cost Contador 1:20 in race time, though he'll likely be able to make up the difference as the race hits the mountains.

Here is the overall individual standings after the second stage. Thor Hushovd is in the yellow jersey,  while Philippe Gilbert holds the green and polkadot jerseys after two jerseys.

Standing	Rider	Rider number bib	Team	Time	Gaps
1.	HUSHOVD Thor	51	TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO	5h 06' 25"
2.	MILLAR David	56	TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO	5h 06' 25"	+ 00' 00"
3.	EVANS Cadel	141	BMC RACING TEAM	5h 06' 26"	+ 00' 01"
4.	THOMAS Geraint	117	SKY PROCYCLING	5h 06' 29"	+ 00' 04"
5.	GERDEMANN Linus	14	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	5h 06' 29"	+ 00' 04"
6.	SCHLECK Frank	18	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	5h 06' 29"	+ 00' 04"
7.	CANCELLARA Fabian	12	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	5h 06' 29"	+ 00' 04"
8.	HAGEN Edvald Boasson	114	SKY PROCYCLING	5h 06' 29"	+ 00' 04"
9.	QUINZIATO Manuel	147	BMC RACING TEAM	5h 06' 29"	+ 00' 04"
10.	SCHLECK Andy	11	TEAM LEOPARD-TREK	5h 06' 29"	+ 00' 04"

And here is where the teams stand after two days of racing. Five teams have separated themselves slightly, with Garmin edging out BMC by a mere second for the lead.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race

Tour de France 2011 Live Coverage: Garmin-Cervelo Win Stage 2 Team Time Trial, Hushovd Beats Evans For Yellow By One Second

Garmin-Cervelo came into the 2011 Tour de France targeting Stage 2 as their day to shine, and things have gone even better than they could have expected. Not only did they win the stage, but they defeated Team BSC, the team of Cadel Evans, by four seconds. Coming into Stage 2, Evans had a three second advantage in the general classification over Thor Hushovd, who finished in third place in Stage 1, so Garmin-Cervelo's ride will see them not only take the stage win, but put Thor Hushovd in the yellow jersey.

Even though he won't wear yellow in Stage 3 or for quite some time, Cadel Evans can still say that he had an absolutely massive day, as he picked up a bit of time on Andy Schleck and quite a bit of time on Alberto Contador. The Spaniard, who is aiming to both repeat as Tour champion and win all three Grand Tours in one year, now has many literal and figurative mountains to climb if he wants to get back into the race against Schleck and Evans. Unless his main rivals crack considerably in the mountains, he will have to wait until the 20th stage of the race - the individual time trial - to get into the lead.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011 Live Coverage: Garmin-Cervelo Lead Stage 2 Team Time Trial, Sky On The Road

Team Rabobank's best time of Stage 2 has fallen, as the loaded Garmin-Cervelo team have met expectations and passed the finish line in the best time of the afternoon so far, beating Rabobank by a considerably margin in a time of 24:48. With riders like Thor Hushovd, David Zabriskie and David Millar, a great finish in the team time trial was the expectation for Garmin-Cervelo, but they have a serious threat behind them in Team Sky.

Sky also have a team of fantastic time trialists with Bradley Wiggins, Geraint Thomas and Edvald Boasson Hagen, the national time trial champion of Norway. They should be somewhere in the vicinity of Garmin-Cervelo's time at the end, but there's no indication yet of whether or not they'll be able to win the stage. At the nine kilometer checkpoint, Sky had the better time, but they bettered their rivals by less than a second at that distance.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011 Live Coverage: Rabobank Takes Best Time In Stage 2 Team Time Trial

Though Alberto Contador might be more concerned with the Schleck brothers and Cadel Evans than he is with Robert Gesink, last year's sixth place finisher in the Tour de France, he won't like seeing that Gesink's team, Rabobank, has just posted the best time of the day so far in Stage 2's team time trial. Gesink was not involved in yesterday's crash and finished just six seconds behind Phillipe Gilbert, so he already had a significant advantage on Contador. Sunday, he added to that advantage by another 16 seconds.

Now out on the road is Cervelo, who many think are the favorites to win today's stage. With the likes of Thor Hushovd, David Zabriskie and David Millar riding for them, this is a team that is built to win this stage. They have gone through the first time check in the best time, as expected. They don't have a contender for the GC, though, so they will be of no concern to Saxo Bank.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011 Live Coverage: Alberto Contador's Saxo Bank Finishes Stage 2 Team Time Trial In Great Time

Alberto Contador still won't be happy that he has 90 seconds to make up on most of his rivals and a little less than that on Andy Schleck and Bradley Wiggins, but he appears to have taken the first step to getting back some of that time today. The other stars of the 2011 Tour de France won't be taking off for quite some time, but they will all have a seriously tough time to catch up to. Saxo Bank finished the 23 kilometer team time trial in just over 25 minutes, a blistering pace.

In their effort to bring Contador back into the race, Saxo Bank set an absolutely blistering pace and ended up dropping just under half of their team. Only the fifth man who crosses the line counts in the team time trial and that's the number that crossed for Saxo Bank, as they had dropped four of their original nine. 

Saxo Bank's time was good, but it doesn't look invincible. AG2R have crossed the line with a time 30 seconds slower than Saxo Bank's, while Rabobank crossed the nine kilometer time check in a faster time than Saxo Bank.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011 Live Coverage: Alberto Contador's Saxo Bank Already Out In Stage 2's Team Time Trial

When the 2011 Tour de France started, few would have guessed that Team Saxo Bank, the team of Alberto Contador, would be among the first teams out on the road for the team time trial. They might be at an advantage, as there is no time to beat and therefore, they can just ride, but it could also provide an advantage to the other contenders. Most of the men fighting for a podium finish will be able to see Saxo Bank's time and know exactly what they have to do to keep him down on time.

So far, Saxo Bank are off to a great start. They went through the nine kilometer checkpoint in a time of 9:15, which, even with nothing to compare it to, is a pretty blistering pace. The total length of the course is 23 kilometers, and Saxo Bank will finish before most of the other GC men start. Incredibly, Saxo Bank have already dropped two of their nine riders. The fifth man to cross the finish line is the one who sets the team's time.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011: Live Coverage Of Team Time Trial Begins At 8 A.M.

The Tour de France gets back at it bright and early on Sunday morning as the team trial, the second stage of the race, gets underway. Unlike the first stage, which featured the mass of riders known as the peloton to go along with the intermediate sprint and sprint to the finish, Sunday's stage is a race against the clock, with teams set to leave the starting gate together at pre-determined intervals.

Coverage of the team time trial begins at 8 a.m. on Versus. The route for Sunday's race is much shorter, and spans just 14 miles in Les Essarts. But unlike Saturday's stage, those 14 miles will be an all-out sprint, with riders drafting off team members and engaging in a fun cycle where the rider at the front drops to the back as to change the lead racer frequently.

A replay of the team time trials, in condensed form, can be found on NBC at 12 p.m. Versus will also be broadcasting Tour de France related shows throughout the day, including a pre-race show at 7 a.m.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

2011 Tour De France Standings Update After Stage 1

With one stage in the books in the 2011 Tour de France, Philippe Gilbert holds a three second lead over the field after surviving chaos late in the race on Saturday and powering to the finish. A crash near the end of the race wiped out much of the field, including favorite Alberto Contador. The wipe-out cost Contador 1:20 in race time, though he'll likely be able to make up the difference as the race hits the mountains.

On Sunday, it's all about teamwork in the Tour de France, or at least more so than usual. The team trial is set for Sunday morning, with teams simultaneously hitting the course and racing the clock. It's an opportunity for some of the top teams to make-up some time in both the individual and team races.

Here is the overall individual standings after the first stage. Phillippe Gilbert is in the yellow jersey, and technically holds the green and polkadot jerseys, after the first stage.

Standing	Rider	Rider number bib	Team	Time	Gaps
1.	GILBERT Philippe	32	OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO	4h 41' 31"
2.	EVANS Cadel	141	BMC RACING TEAM	4h 41' 34"	+ 00' 03"
3.	HUSHOVD Thor	51	TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO	4h 41' 37"	+ 00' 06"
4.	ROJAS Jose Joaquin	88	MOVISTAR TEAM	4h 41' 37"	+ 00' 06"
5.	VAN DEN BROECK Jurgen	31	OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO	4h 41' 37"	+ 00' 06"
6.	THOMAS Geraint	117	SKY PROCYCLING	4h 41' 37"	+ 00' 06"
7.	KLÖDEN Andréas	74	TEAM RADIOSHACK	4h 41' 37"	+ 00' 06"
8.	TAARAMAE Rein	151	COFIDIS LE CREDIT EN LIGNE	4h 41' 37"	+ 00' 06"
9.	HORNER Christopher	72	TEAM RADIOSHACK	4h 41' 37"	+ 00' 06"
10.	MARTIN Tony	175	HTC - HIGHROAD	4h 41' 37"	+ 00' 06"

And here is where the teams stand after one day of racing. Most teams are in a large group six seconds off the pace; one stage is hardly enough to determine anything of value in the Tour de France.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Mark Cavendish Describes Phillipe Gilbert's Tour De France Stage Win In Simple Terms

Tour de France 2011 Live Coverage: Phillipe Gilbert Wins Stage 1; Alberto Contador Crashes, Loses Time

The 2011 Tour de France has already featured some major drama, as Stage 1 was incredibly eventful, featuring a great finish and a crash that included Alberto Contador, Bradley Wiggins and Andy Schleck, who all finished well behind the leaders. The winner of the stage was Phillipe Gilbert, the champion of Belgium and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, as he out-dueled Cadel Evans and Fabian Cancellara at the end.

The breakaway was caught at 25 kilometers to go, and the peloton started pushing the pace and jockeying for position early. Europcar, the team of Thomas Voeckler, and Omega Pharma-Lotto, Gilbert's team, controlled the pace at the front starting at that point. With 10 kilometers to go, the teams spread out a bit with multiple teams vying for position, but a massive crash at 9.3 kilometers to go completely changed everyone's gameplan.

Alberto Contador was caught up in that crash, which was started when a spectator got too close to the road and bumped an unidentifiable Astana rider. This caused a massive split in the peloton and a leading group of around 50 riders broke away. Andy Schleck and Bradley Wiggins were stuck in a group between Contador and the leaders, but they had a second crash of their own, causing the trio of Contador, Schleck and Wiggins to finish together.

Up ahead of them, on the finishing hill, the pace of the climb caused the sprinters to be selected out, as the individual stage and classics riders ruled the day. Cancellara made the first major attack, but he went too early and was caught by Gilbert with around one kilometer to go. Gilbert started to run out of gas with 500 meters remaining and Evans closed, but Gilbert held on for the stage win, which will also give him the yellow jersey.

Though he did not win the stage, today was still a massive victory for second placed Cadel Evans. Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador lost nearly 90 seconds to Evans today, which will be a massive boost in his bid to win the Tour. On Sunday, his BMC team will have to help him keep that gap up in the team time trial, as Saxo Bank and Leopard Trek will try to bring back some time for Contador and Schleck.

Despite the crash and the massive early shake-up in the general classification, today is Phillipe Gilbert's day, as he has captured his first Tour de France stage win and his first Maillot Jaune.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011 Live Coverage: Tyler Farrar Maximizes Green Jersey Points In Stage 1 Intermediate Sprint

One of the massive changes to the 2011 Tour de France has been the change to the intermediate sprint system, where considerably more points are awarded for the intermediate sprints than in years passed. Before, those gunning for the green jersey would, for the most part, ignore the intermediate sprints as they didn't have enough points to make a serious impact on the race. Additionally, only three riders received points. This year, the intermediate sprints are crucial, and American sprinter Tyler Farrar has taken advantage by maximizing his points.

The breakaway is still away and as a result, got the top three spots, but 13 points were still on offer for whoever could finish the best in the sprint from the peloton. Mark Cavendish got a great lead-out and looked like a shoo in for the points, but Farrar snuck up behind him and took off with a great move. Cavendish lost his focus and didn't see Farrar's move until it was too late, allowing the American to capture 13 crucial points.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011 Live Coverage: Three-Man Breakaway Being Pulled Back In Stage 1

The 2011 Tour de France is underway, and unsurprisingly, it didn't take long for a breakaway to get away from the peloton. The race started with a symbolic ride across the historic Passage du Gois, a path covered by the ocean during high tide, from the Isle of Noirmoutier to the mainland. It didn't take long for the breakaway to take off after the peloton was clear of the Passage du Gois, and the pack will now have to bring them back.

Jeremy Roy, Perrig Quemeneur and Lieuwe Estra were the three men who took off and they were allowed to build a sizable lead, to about seven minutes. However, once it got that large the teams of the sprinters took over up front and the peloton has brought them back to a gap just under five minutes, which they will hold for a while. It would be surprising if this group of three was able to survive.

Today's stage isn't a true sprinters' stage, as it ends with a small category four climb. Look for balanced sprinters like Oscar Friere and Thor Hushovd to be in contention, along with time trial and classics specialist Fabian Cancellara.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011 Live Coverage, TV Information For Stage One

The 2011 Tour de France begins on Saturday with a 119 mile journey beginning in Passage du Gois and ending in Mont des Alouettes. The first stage of the 2011 race is a sprint stage, with mostly flat terrain and a finish that encourages sprinters to shine. The early stages in the Tour de France are all about the sprint, with the real work to be done later as the race hits the mountains.

Coverage of the first stage in the 2011 Tour de France can be found on Versus. The live broadcast begins at 8 a.m. EDT on Saturday morning and Versus will be there throughout the stage to cover all the action from start to finish. In addition to the Versus broadcast, NBC will swoop in at 2 p.m. EDT to broadcast a condensed version of the day's stage.

With 119 miles, or 191.5 kilometers, to cover on Saturday, there will be plenty of cycling action to keep track of. Versus has three and a half hours blocked off for the broadcast, stretching from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. EDT. The Tour de France preview show is scheduled to hit the airwaves at 7 a.m. EDT, one hour before racing begins.

If you're looking for live coverage and updates online, be sure to stay with our 2011 Tour de France StoryStream. Get geared up for the 2011 Tour de France with Podium Cafe's five storylines to watch. Also be sure to check out the full route and schedule for this year's race.

Tour de France 2011 Route: Previewing The Course For The 98th TdF

The 98th Tour de France runs from July 2, where it begins at Passage du Gois La Barre-de-Monts, until July 24, when it ends at Paris Champs-Élysées. Here's a look at the 2011 Tour de France course map.

2011 marks the 100th anniversary of the first time the tour ascended the Alps, so the course will focus heavily on the Alps this year, as compared to the Pyrenees in 2010. The 2010 course began in the Netherlands and went through Belgium before heading into France. The 2011 course, meanwhile, begins in the west of France, near the Bay of Biscay, with a 191.5-kilometer flat stage, then travels south before heading, briefly, into Italy, then returns to France for its conclusion.

Here's a look at the individual stages of this year's course:

These stages have the following profiles:

10 flat stages,
6 mountain stages and 4 summit finishes,
3 medium mountain stages,
1 individual time-trial stage (42.5 km).
1 team time-trial stage (23 km).

For much more on the Tour de France, check out Podium Cafe, which currently features a piece on the top storylines to watch in the 2011 Tour de France. 

Tour de France 2011 News: Lampre-ISD Team Named, Headlined By Alessandro Petacchi And Damiano Cunego

Italian-based team Lampre-ISD has named their squad for the 2011 Tour de France, and their roster is largely as expected. Damiano Cunego, the one-time Giro d'Italia winner and a former winner of the young rider classification (white jersey) at the Tour de France is the squad's best hope for a high finish in the general classification, while the great veteran sprinter Alessandro Petacchi will once again be gunning for the green jersey.

Petacchi won the jersey last year for the first time as he won two stages in the tour. Petacchi has won the points classification once in each grand tour and he is third all-time in stage wins in grand tours. His lead-out man, Danilo Hondo, is one of the best in the business. His age could be catching up to him, but he should still challenge for stage wins.

Cunego has said that he doesn't know whether or not his goal will be to finish high in the general classification or to win a stage. He's won two stages at the Vuelte a España and four at the Giro d'Italia, but he has never won a stage at the Tour de France. 

For more on the 2011 Tour de France, stay tuned to this StoryStream and check out SB Nation's cycling blog, Podium Cafe.

Tour de France Video Game To Be Released On Friday

For those of you who like pretty flashing pictures that you control, the official 2011 Tour de France video game will be released this Friday, one day before the tour itself starts. It's from the same folks who make the critically acclaimed Pro Cycling Manager series, and you will be able to purchase the game for both Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

The awesome thing about these officially licensed games for various massive sporting events is the great detail that they can include as a result. It looks like this game will be no exception, as it's going to include all 21 stages of the Tour de France, playable in the same format as the real Tour de France.

To anyone who picks up this game and plays out the entire Tour in real life speed, going through five hour stages: You are a shiny golden god of the world of sports video games.

For more on the 2011 Tour de France, stay tuned to this StoryStream and check out SB Nation's cycling blog, Podium Cafe.

2011 Tour De France Schedule: News, Schedule Of All 21 Stages, And Stages To Watch

The 2011 Tour de France, the 98th edition of the race, starts on July 2 with a day for the sprinters at Mont des Alouettes, and it will finish, as always, on the Champs-Elysees on July 24. The stages in the Alps are mean this year, in contrast to last year when the biggest stages were on the Pyrenees, including two battles on the Col du Tourmalet. Here's a complete schedule of all of the tour's stages.

The sprints should be a blast on the flats while the medium-mountain stages provide chances for aggressive riders to get some individual stage glory, but here are the stages to watch as far as the general classification is concerned:

Stage 2 - The team time trial returns to the tour this year and represents the first chance for the favorites to get some separation.

Stage 12 - The first true mountain stage of the tour features two beyond category climbs, including a mountain-top finish on the Luz-Ardiden.

Stage 14- This stage finishes on the top of the Plateau De Beille, but the number of smaller climbs before the finish will provide an opportunity for a breakaway to succeed.

Stage 19 - Any regular viewer of the Tour hears Alpe-d'Huez and knows that the stage could be a potential tour decider. Stage 19 is a short one, but with Alpe-d'Huez as the last of three big climbs, it will also be extremely difficult

Stage 20 - A day after Alpe-d'Huez, the individual time trial could be a chance for a rider left behind on Stage 19 to move back up in the GC.

For more on the 2011 Tour de France, stay tuned to this StoryStream and check out SB Nation's cycling blog, Podium Cafe.