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Tour de France 2010: Alberto Contador Wins, But Andy Schleck Makes A Statement
The most grueling race is sports is underway: one prologue, 20 stages, 23 days and a total distance of 2,263 miles. Throughout the month, you can follow along, both here in this SB Nation StoryStream and over at our cycling blog, Podium Cafe.
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July 22, 2010
Tour de France 2010, Stage 17: Andy Schleck Wins The Day, But Alberto Contador Keeps Yellow Jersey
On a cold, rainy and generally nasty day in the Pyrenees, the final day of mountains in the 2010 Tour de France, Andy Schleck rode to victory in Stage 17, crossing the finish line at the top of the famous Col du Tourmalet just before rival Alberto Contador, who conceded the stage win to the man from Saxo Bank -- but not his eight-second overall lead in the Tour.
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July 20, 2010
Tour de France 2010, Stage 16: Lance Armstrong Narrowly Misses Stage Win In What Was Likely Final Chance
The tough day culminated in a sprint finish in Pau, with Armstrong digging for the win in the final few hundred meters, but he just did not have enough left in the tank as French cyclist Pierrick Fedrigo (team Bbox Bouygues) took the stage victory.
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July 19, 2010
Tour de France 2010, Stage 15: Thomas Voeckler Climbs His Way To Victory, Contador Now In Yellow
The French success at the 2010 Tour de France continued on Monday's Stage 15, the second day in the Pyrenees, with countryman Thomas Voeckler climbing his way to a victory. Voeckler broke away from a 12-man lead group during the tough ascent up the hors catègorie Port de Balès and crossed the line a full 1:20 before Alessandro Ballan, who finished second.
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July 16, 2010
Tour de France 2010, Stage 12: Rodriguez Wins, Contador Sends Message, Schleck Stays In Yellow
Rodriguez proved to be the faster sprinter to the finish line to earn the win in Stage 12, but Contador managed to gain a valuable 10 seconds, and now trails Schleck by only 31 seconds.
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July 15, 2010
VIDEO: Mark Renshaw Head-butts His Way To Tour de France Disqualification
Mark Cavendish won Thursday's Stage 11, but it was not without controversy. Mark Renshaw, his HTC-Columbia teammate, was seen head-butting Garmin-Transition's Julian Dean three times during the final 400m of the sprint, and then also was seemingly trying to block the advance of Garmin's Tyler Farrar.
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July 15, 2010
Tour de France 2010, Stage 11: Mark Cavendish Wins Third Stage Of Tour, Teammate Mark Renshaw Kicked Out
The Tour de France officially left the Alps on Thursday's Stage 11, with a mostly downhill, 119-mile course, meaning it was time relax and exhale after a tough few days in the mountains. It also meant that it was time for the sprinters to re-emerge. The finish set-up perfectly for a mass sprint, and for the third time in 2010, it was HTC-Columbia perfectly positioning Mark Cavendish for another win.
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July 14, 2010
Tour de France 2010, Stage 10: Portugal's Sergio Paulinho Sprints To Radioshack's First Win
Sergio Vasil Paulinho became the first Portuguese rider to win a stage in the Tour de France in 21 years when he narrowly edged Vasil Kiryienk in Wednesday's Stage 10, a 111-mile stretch from Chambéry to Gap that saw the Tour work its way out of the Alps on Bastille Day.
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July 13, 2010
Tour de France 2010, Stage 9: Andy Schleck Trades Attacks With Alberto Contador On Col de la Madeleine, Takes Yellow
And it was on the Col de la Madeleine where the Tour may have become a two-man race to Paris, with Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck setting a blistering pace during the 25km climb that left behind a group of contenders, including Levi Leipheimer, and completely broke Cadel Evans, who not only lost significant time, but also the yellow jersey after Tuesday.
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July 12, 2010
Tour de France 2010, Rest Day: Do The Riders Really Rest?
So, the riders are now surely lounging around the hotel, taking advantage of hot tub and professional massages, right? Not quite. In fact, typically none of the riders actually "rest" on the rest day.
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July 9, 2010
VIDEO: Pair Of Tour de France Cyclists Fight After Stage 6
Carlos Barredo (Quick Step) went after Rui Costa (team Caisse d'Epargne) shortly after the finish on Friday, and since he is a cyclist, Barredo used his front wheel as a weapon to attack Costa, naturally.
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July 9, 2010
Tour de France, Stage 6: Mark Cavendish Earns Second Stage Win In As Many Days
This should end concerns and answer any questions critics may of had about Mark Cavendish. The Manx Missile won Friday's Stage 6, the longest of the Tour, a 141-mile ride from Montargis to Gueugnon -- his second consecutive stage win -- out-sprinting American Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Transitions) to the line.
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July 8, 2010
Tour de France 2010, Stage 5: Mark Cavendish Sprints His Way To First Stage Win This Tour
Thursday's Stage 5 was another ride that belonged to the sprinters. The flat course stretching roughly 116 miles from Épernay to Montargis, France, was won by Mark Cavendish (HTC-Columbia) with a furious dash to the line, narrowly edging out Germany's Gerald Ciolek.
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July 7, 2010
Tour de France 2010, Stage 4: Alessandro Petacchi Earns Second Win Of Tour In Another Sprint Finish
Team HTC-Columbia, led by Mark Renshaw, did its best to get their man, Mark Cavendish, into position for the final, furious dash to the finish line, but in the end it was Italy's Alessandro Petacchi (team Lampre-Farnese) coming from the outside with speed that was too quick to catch to win the stage, his second victory of the 2010 Tour.
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July 6, 2010
Tour de France 2010, Stage 3: Thor Hushovd Emerges From Hell Of The North, Cancellara Reclaims Yellow Jersey
A wild fourth day -- a 132-mile ride from Wanze, Belgium to Arenberg Porte du Hainaut, and the first day that featured cycling in France -- was won by Norway's Thor Hushovd ("The God of Thunder"). Chavanel rode with the maillot jaune, but the cobblestones were too much to overcome, twice giving him flat tires and causing him to switch bikes.
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July 5, 2010
Tour de France 2010: Lance Armstrong Crashes In Monday's Stage 2
Now that the stage is complete and those involved are able to asses the damage, we know that at least one of of the GC riders, Lance Armstrong, was involved. Because he tweeted it, of course.
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July 5, 2010
Tour de France 2010: Sylvain Chavanel Wins Wild Stage 2, Takes Maillot Jaune
Emerging from another rainy, chaotic day at the 2010 Tour de France, the third day of racing, was Sylvain Chavanel, the Frenchman who rides for Quick Step. Chavanel attacked early and often, breaking away just 17 km into the race from Brussels to Spa, and stayed out in front for the rest of the day, crossing the finish line first some 183 km later.
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July 5, 2010
Tour de France 2010, Stage 2: Nine Quick Climbs Highlight Rainy Ride From Brussels To Spa
Monday's Stage 2 of the 2010 Tour de France, a 201 km (124.9 mile) ride in Belgium, from Brussels to Spa, is an up-and-down course, featuring a series of nine quick, steep climbs. It's "a tribute to the Ardennes classics," writes SB Nation's cycling blog, Podium Cafe, in their Stage 2 preview.