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Ballan To Join Armstrong At RadioShack?

8/3/2009

Ballan could join RadioShack as leader for the Classics
(Photo: Roberto Bettini)

Ballan To Join Armstrong At RadioShack?
Despite suffering the curse of the rainbow jersey, Alessandro Ballan, the Italian world champion does not come cheap. And it appears Lampre is not willing to pay. Nevertheless Ballan has no shortage of offers, including one from Team RadioShack, the team of Lance Armstrong. When asked about joining RadioShack Ballan said, “being with Armstrong in a team would be fantastic." Along with RadioShack, Astana, Sky, and Rabobank have all reportedly made offers.

Alessandro Ballan rides since 2004 for the Italian team Lampre. "I always felt at Lampre, but I think our paths will separate," says the Italian La Gazzetta dello Sport. "I have received a proposal to extent my contract for one-year extension, but I cannot agree."

Napolitano will stay with Katusha through 2011
(Photo: Roberto Bettini)

Napolitano Stays With Katusha
Danilo Napolitano has extended his contract with Team Katusha for two more seasons. Napolitano has won four races this season including a stages at the Ruta del Sol, Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen and Tour of Luxembourg.

“I’m happy to renewal my contract with Katusha," said Napolitano. "I found a good team and because of it I was be able to get good results. I hope to continue to improve so I can thank them for the confidence they have shown."

Katusha director Andre Tchmil is equally happy Napolitano staying with the team saying "He showed his quality and he took responsibility when it was needed. We also knew he had good character and we appreciated it."

Furlan (C) gets the better of Tom Boonen earlier this year
(Photo: Roberto Bettini)

Furlan Scores In Poland
Italian Angelo Furlan of Lampre dominated a sprint finish to win the second stage of the Tour of Poland Monday. Furlan beat Belgian Jurgen Roelandts of Silence and Argentina's Juan Jose Haedo, of Saxo Bank, to victory in the 219km stage between Serock and Bialystok.

Menzies in action at the Tour of Elk Grove
(Photo: OUCH p/b Maxxis)

With only a final-stage criterium between Karl Menzies and the overall title of the Alexian Brothers Tour of Elk Grove, the task facing the OUCH Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis seemed pretty straightforward. However, throw in the fact that the crit was over 110 km long with strong winds on the long finishing straight, and the fact that the team had done a significant amount of work Saturday to put Menzies in position to take the leader’s jersey, and the job was far from simple.

“It was a hard race,” team director Mike Tamayo said simply. “The guys worked really hard to hold Karl’s position. With the wind, the length of the crit and yesterday’s effort, the guys were a bit tired. But they did what they had to do to get Karl the win. It was a great team effort.”

In the end, Menzies’ two lead-out men, Andrew Pinfold and John Murphy, delivered the big Tasmanian safely to 11th in the final sprint, which was more than enough to secure his overall title. “The boys were amazing again today,” Menzies said. “I think between yesterday and today, I spent maybe a couple minutes total with my nose in the wind. They made things easy on me.”

With time gaps tight within the top 25 overall coming into the crit, the team was going to have its work cut out for it. Early on, a group of nine riders got off the front and threatened Menzies’ lead. “That forced us to work a bit earlier than we would’ve like,” Tamayo said. “It took a bit of snap out of the legs later one.

"It’s great having guys like Rory (Sutherland), Floyd (Landis) and Bobby (Lea), who can get on the front and put in the long efforts you need to bring back moves like that,” Menzies added.

Once the nine-rider move was neutralized, a two-man break formed toward the end of the race that also posed a threat. “Fly V wanted to keep things together for a bunch sprint, so we got some help from then bringing back the two-man break,” Tamayo said. With that break back in the fold and the peloton coming into the final laps, “the sprinter’s teams started bunching up at the front,” Tamayo said. “A number of teams wanted a crack at the stage win.” Fly V wanted to set up Jonathan Cantwell, who took 3rd behind Menzies Saturday. Sebastian Haedo (Colavita/Sutter Home) was in the hunt for his second consecutive stage win.

“I had Murph and Pinner there protecting me again,” Menzies. “The headwind made the sprint a bit more dangerous. There was a lot of swarming and bunching up. I was just trying to follow the guys.”

The sprint played out similarly to Saturday’s, with Murphy leaving final lead-out duties to Pinfold coming out of the last corner.

“Pinned took the last corner full gas, but the wind knocked him back a bit,” Menzies said. “Yesterday it worked, today it didn’t. But the main thing was the GC, and if we got a result on top of that, then great. But we got the main result we wanted.”

RadioShack Undergoing Major Rebranding
The cycling world has been rife with rumors and speculation about why Lance Armstrong and Johan Bruyneel would hitch their wagon to a brand that is generally as on the downswing, not the upswing.

It seems RadioShack is about to rebrand itself in a major way. Gone will be the “radio” which hasn’t been modern technology since Jimi Hendrix hit the airwaves. Going forward, stores will simple be called “The Shack,” which, while not exactly cutting edge in sound, will allow for new associations.

At the corporate level the company will still be RadioShack. Executives are positioning it as a major player in the cell phone wars. The company just inked a deal with T-Mobile, which will join the retailer’s growing line of electronics. For those who haven’t entered a RadioShack since they owned a cassette recorder, the company now sells computers, digital cameras, iPods, TVs, DVD players, GPS devices, and yes, they still have radios of the Ham and short-wave variety. Think Best Buy with a much smaller footprint.

We might as well think of “The Shack” as a new company and into those waters will float the RadioShack cycling team. There’s still no word on the look of the team, but we can expect it to reflect this identity, but don’t be surprised if you see a headline here along the lines of “The Shack Builds on Tour of California Success.” We suspect this is one shack that won’t fall down.

Contador to El Pais: 'A Single Man in Command'

7/31/2009

Contador on the podium
(Photo: Yuzuru Sunada)

Interviewed by the Spanish paper El Pais, Alberto Contador quoted Fausto Coppi in the 1949 Giro d’Italia when he spoke of “a single man in command.” The paper paints Contador as a man alone, besieged even by his own team.

Contador said psychologically, the worst day of the Tour for him was the day after Arcalis. Bruyneel and Armstrong criticized him for his move. Armstrong said, ‘I have always obeyed the instructions of the team and I have won seven Tours.’ From that point on Contador said he acted as if Bruyneel and Armstrong simply didn’t exist.

Apparentely, other riders loyal to Armstrong also spoke up, but he said he turned to his small cadre of supporters: Paulinho, his mechanic, his soigneur and his brother who serves as his manager. Team staff remained neutral throughout the race.

Contador said that the fact that he gave his press conferences in Spanish was for two reasons. First, Bruyneel believes it is best to speak your native language. Second, it was a line in the sand between Contador and Armstrong, with Armstrong only speaking in English. The Spanish paper accused Bruyneel of deliberately isolating Contador even further by attending only the first press conference with him in Monaco. Bruyneel spun if differently, saying “If the questions don’t all come to me than I can’t diminish the role of anyone.”

Contador said when it was time for him to go to the time trial in Annecy that all the Astana support vehicles were being used to ferry Radio Schack VIPs and Armstrong entourage members; he took a hotel car to the start. That was the height of the psychological warfare, from his point of view.

And despite earlier saying Contador’s worst day was the one following the finish on Arcalis, the paper says his worst moment came at breakfast the morning following the stage over le Grand Bornand.

The paper quoted Caisse d’Epargne rider Ivan Gutierrez who tried to offer Contador his bottle when he saw Contador was without water. Armstrong was between them, accepted the bottle, took a sip and passed it on to Contador, who refused the bottle, despite the Caisse d’Epargne logo. Afterwards, Gutierrez went to Contador and told him he offered the bottle.

On the Champs Elysees Contador toasted most of his teammates with champagne, but not Armstrong. A member of another team called it ‘a funeral in yellow.’

Contador Declines Astana Contract
Alberto Contador has declined a contract extension offered to him by the Astana team. L’Equipe reported that Astana offered Contador a four-year contract at four million euro per year and sole leadership of the team. Contador’s brother Francisco Javier acts as his manager and admitted it was “a rather appealing offer.” Javier went on to say that, we refuse and that Alberto's future "wasn't about money only."

Wiggins at the Annecy Time Trial
(Photo: Yuzuru Sunada)

Wiggins Releases Blood Profile
Garmin-Slipstream rider Bradley Wiggins has released his blood profile from this year's Tour de France as well as two previous profiles, one from earlier this year and another from 2008. “Brad is an exceptionally talented athlete and it was great to see him do so well in the Tour de France,” said Jonathan Vaughters, CEO of Slipstream Sports. “He’s always been an outspoken advocate of clean cycling. He requested that we release his results after the Tour and his decision makes me and the entire team proud.”

RBA Newsflash: Astarloza Fails Doping Test

7/31/2009

(Photo: Yuzuru Sunada)

Spanish cyclist Mikel Astarloza, who won the 16th stage of the Tour de France, has been suspended after he failed an out of competition doping test, international cycling's governing body said Friday.

The International Cycling Union (UCI) said it had informed Astarloza of the provisional suspension while the Spanish cycling federation holds a disciplinary hearing on the positive test for EPO last month, before the Tour began. "The decision to provisionally suspend Mr Astarloza was made in response to a report from the WADA accredited laboratory in Madrid indicating an Adverse Analytical Finding of Recombinant EPO in a urine sample collected from him at an out-of-competition test on 26 June 2009," UCI said in a statement. Astarloza can call for an analysis of his B sample in case of doubts about the laboratory test. The Spanish rider, who finished 11th in the overall standings of the 2009 Tour de France, which began on July 4, could face disqualification from the event on top of a ban from cycling.

Ten Defining Moments Of The 2009 Tour de France

7/29/2009

1. The Return Of Lance
Lance Armstrong's presence defined and shaped this year’s Tour de France more than any one single event. From race tactics, media coverage, and even product releases, the Tour revolved around Armstrong. Despite not winning, the 2009 Tour de France was Tour de Lance.

2. Cancellara’s Stage One Victory
If his domination on the final time trial at the Tour of Switzerland didn’t convince you that Cancellara is the best time trialist in the world, then his stage one victory did. Cancellara powered around the streets of Monaco with such strength that he held on to yellow until the first mountain stage.

3. Cavendish Times Six
There are simply too many Cavendish moments from the 2009 Tour de France to pick just one. Because of this we are rolling all six-stage victories together. Cavendish was unbeatable in sprints, usually finishing bike lengths ahead of riders like Tom Boonen, Thor Hushovd, Tyler Farrar and Oscar Freire. While Cavendish failed to capture the Green Jersey, he broke the record for number of stage victories by a British rider and tied the record number of sprint victories in a single Tour. When the road was flat, Cavendish ruled the Tour.

4. Armstrong Puts The Hammer Down
If there were ever any questions about Armstrong’s intentions and his feelings toward Alberto Contador they were put to rest on stage three. As the peloton broke apart in stiff cross winds a gap opened between Armstrong and Contador. Instead of backing off and letting Contador bridge, Armstrong marshaled the members of Astana loyal to him, mainly Yaroslav Popovych and Haimar Zubeldia and drove the group to the finish. The work of Popovych and Zubeldia led to Contador losing 40 seconds to Armstrong.

5. Voeckler’s Stage Win
Thomas Voeckler isn’t a big winner, yet he has managed to carve out an amazing palmares including the 2004 French national title, 10 days in the yellow jersey during the 2004 edition of the Tour de France, the GP Plouay classic and now a stage of the Tour de France. Voeckler’s win was tactically brilliant as he attacked at the right moment and then held his gap just long enough to break the will of his pursuers. Voeckler’s win is confirmation for the darling of French cycling and served as notice that the French are again winners in their own race.

6. Contador Attacks
The question loomed over the Astana team and the race. Who is the leader of Astana? Contador answered this question in no uncertain terms on stage seven. As Brice Feillu was winning the stage, Contador attacked the favorites with only Andy Schleck being able to give chase. In just a few short kilometers Contador made it clear that he was a level above anyone else in the race – including Armstrong.

7. Crash of Jens Voigt
Jens Voigt is one of Road Bike Action’s favorite riders. His strength and aggression are so legendary that there is an old joke in the peloton that his legs are named Law and Order. Voigt’s crash on stage 16 was horrible and served as a reminder of the dangers of the sport. It was also a reminder that bad things happen to good people. Thankfully Voigt will make a full recovery and be back next year.

8. Contador attacks Kloden and Armstrong
Any calm within in Astana was smashed on stage 15 when Contador, while in the company of the Schleck brothers and his own Astana teammate Andreas Kloden, attacked dropping Kloden and preventing Armstrong from bridging to the lead group. From Contador’s point of view it was wise to attack, as it is clear he did not trust Armstrong or Kloden. However in doing so he dragged both Frank and Andy Schleck over Kloden and Armstrong in the general classification and ended the chances of an Astana sweep of the podium. The move also shattered any unity in the Astana team and brought upon the wrath of Johan Bruyneel who had ordered Contador not to attack.

9. Armstrong Announces RadioShack Team
The final nail in the coffin of Astana came with the announcement from Armstrong that he had formed a new team for the 2010 season with title sponsor RadioShack. Expected to follow Armstrong to the new team is Johan Bruyneel, Levi Leipheimer, Yaroslav Popovych, Andreas Kloden, Chris Horner, Haimar Zubeldia Janez Brajkovic and Tomas Vaitkus. Team RadioShack is basically a rebooted version of the dominating US Postal and Discovery teams that brought Armstrong and Bruyneel their seven consecutive Tour de France titles.

10. Mount Ventoux
Mount Ventoux didn’t decide the Tour in the manner that Tour organizers were hoping. There was no last minute shuffling of the podium and the favorites failed to crack each other. However, the Ventoux still played a major role in the outcome of the 2009 Tour de France. From the second rest day on all the favorites judged their efforts and held their cards close to the chest in anticipation of an epic battle on the Ventoux. The only rider to risk failure on the Ventoux in the final week was Andy Schleck who attacked repeatedly in a vain attempt to break Contador.

More Praise For Contador

7/29/2009

Spain's prime minister says Contador is "unrivaled"
(Photo: Roberto Bettini)

More Praise For Contador
Spain's prime minister praised 2009 Tour de France winner Alberto Contador, saying on Wednesday that the Spaniard, who was locked in a tense duel with his US teammate Lance Armstrong during the race, is unrivaled. "He has no rival, even if that is hard to accept for some," Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero told reporters after receiving Contador at his official residence in Madrid to personally congratulate the rider. "I watched the final moments of several stages of this Tour and I have to say that you managed to get my pulse racing, as you did for many Spaniards," he added.

Contador won the Tour on Sunday by 4:11 over Andy Schleck, from Luxembourg. Armstrong, a seven-time Tour winner, was 5:24 behind his Astana teammate Contador, who also won the race in 2007. "My relationship with Lance is non-existent. Even if he is a great champion, I have never had admiration for him and I never will," Contador told reporters when he arrived back in Madrid on Monday.

Armstrong, who came out of retirement to take part in the Tour, hit back at Contador, saying in a message posted on Tuesday on his Twitter feed that the Spaniard has "lots to learn". "A champion is also measured on how much he respects his teammates and opponents. There is no 'i' in 'team'," he added.

Tim Johnson will captain the OUCH p/b Maxxis team.

OUCH Announces Tour of Elk Grove Roster
The OUCH Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis heads to the Chicago area for the Alexian Brothers Tour of Elk Grove with an eight-man roster tailored to the short, hard stage race. Rory Sutherland “With a time trial, road race and criterium, we’re bringing guys who not only can do well in the overall, but also in individual stages,” said team directeur sportif Mike Tamayo.

The squad will be led by 2007 and 2008 NRC points champion Rory Sutherland and Chris Baldwin, both coming off 4th and 5th overall performances respectively at the Cascade Classic last week. Floyd Landis will bolster the stage race side of the roster. All three are strong riders against the clock.

OUCH Presented by Maxxis is also bringing four fast men for the road race and criterium in particular. After a win during Superweek and a 3rd place at the Chicago Criterium, Tasmanian Karl Menzies will return to Chicagoland from his home in Michigan. His two teammates for the Chicago Criterium, John Murphy and Bobby Lea, remained in the area and will add firepower to the team’s lead-out train for the Elk Grove road race and criterium.

Andrew Pinfold. Also joining the team post-Cascade will be Canadian strong man Andrew Pinfold, who delivered a 3rd place that Cascade criterium on Saturday. Pinfold comes into Elk Grove on excellent form, having also posted several wins during BC Superweek earlier this month. Team captain Tim Johnson once again will be called upon to deliver his usual Herculean efforts on behalf of his teammates.

“We did pretty well at Chicago on Sunday,” noted Menzies. “It was a bit hard with just three of us, especially at the end when I think we could’ve used one more guy for the lead-out. But it’ll be great to have a full squad for Elk Grove. All those guys are coming into it with good form after Cascade. It should be a good weekend.”

The Alexian Brothers Tour of Elk Grove opens Friday with the 4.5-mile MTI Construction Time Trial. Saturday throws the 150km Chicago Blackhawks Circuit Race through Elk Grove at the peloton. The race concludes Sunday with the 110km Gullo International Criterium, run on a roughly 1.6km course in Elk Grove.

The OUCH Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis for the Alexian Brothers Tour of Elk Grove:
Chris Baldwin, USA
Tim Johnson, USA
Floyd Landis, USA
Bobby Lea, USA
Karl Menzies, TAS
John Murphy. USA
Andrew Pinfold, CAN
Rory Sutherland, AUS

Kelly Benefit brings a strong team led by Andrew Bajadali and David Veilleux
(Photo: Kelly Benefit)

KBS Roster For Tour of Elk Grove
The Kelly Benefit Strategies pro team couldn’t ask for any better momentum going into this weekend’s upcoming Tour of Elk Grove and David Veilleux’s defense of his 2008 win. Fresh off the plane from Mexico’s Pan Am Championships last week, Veilleux rejoined his KBS teammates to win the most prestigious stage of Superweek: the Great Downer Avenue Bike Race, only days after Andrew Bajadali soloed the last three laps to take the Cedarburg stage.

“We came to Superweek to prep the team for the Chicago Criterium, Tour of Elk Grove, Charlotte and the USPRO Criterium,” says performance director, Jonas Carney. “But our guys can’t help competing all out. We came with the goal of winning the Downer Avenue Bike Race, so it was a great bonus when Baj solo’d the Cedarburg Stage. With this kind of racing, we are more than ready for the upcoming events.”

Veilleux spent most of the day out in front, first in a three-man break that stayed off the front for 20 laps and then in a break of 13 riders that also included KBS teammate Neil Shirley. The break eventually split with Veilleux and six other riders lapping the field and the remaining riders being caught by the field. The squad immediately took the front to control the race and protect Veilleux’s position with Neil Shirley abandoning the remnants of the break to drive the front with Bajadali and Dan Bowman for fifteen laps. Alex Candelario and Jake Keough then executed the leadout for Veilleux. Keough won the field sprint and Veilleux came in second, taking the win ahead of his breakaway partners. Veilleux and the rest of the KBS pro team head to the Tour of Elk Grove, starting this Friday July 31.

“This was excellent training for Elk Grove,” adds Carney. “We are ready and are starting a very strong squad at Elk Grove. As usual it’s going to come down to a battle between the time trial specialists and the sprinters at the race – but we are strong in both of those areas and have guys who can do both extremely well.”

Kelly Benefit Strategies Tour of Elk Grove Roster
Alex Candelario
Andrew Bajadali
Reid Mumford
David Veilleux
Zach Bell
Ryan Anderson
Scott Zwizanski
Neil Shirley

Netherlands Remains Number One Bicycle Producer In Europe
The Netherlands has increased its lead as Europe's biggest bicycle maker, raising its share of production from 20 to 30 percent in four years, Dutch statistics agency CBS said on Wednesday. "Bicycles worth a total 1.9 billion euros were produced in the European Union in 2008," the agency said in a statement. "Of that, more than 30 percent were from the Netherlands."

The value-share of Dutch bike production in Europe grew by about ten percent from a fifth in 2004, said the statement. In 2008, the Netherlands counted about 18 million bicycles for 16.5 million citizens, according to figures provided by manufacturer organizations RAI and Bovag. The Dutch traveled 14.2 billion kilometers by bike in 2007, compared to 21.5 billion kilometers with public transport and 97.5 billion kilometers by car.

Armstrong Hits Back At Contador

7/28/2009

Armstrong and Contador continue their war of words
(Photo: Roberto Bettini)

Armstrong Hits Back At Contador
Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong has hit back following a stinging attack by this year's Tour winner Alberto Contador. Contador won the Tour de France title for the second time here on Sunday, with US rider Armstrong, who came out of retirement, finishing third. But just hours after collecting his trophy on the Champs Elysees the 26-year-old Spaniard launched an extraordinary attack on his Astana teammate. "My relationship with Lance is non-existent," Contador told a press conference in Madrid. "Even if he is a great champion, I have never had admiration for him and I never will."

Armstrong, 37, hit back Tuesday, posting on his Twitter feed: "Seeing these comments from AC (Alberto Contador). If I were him I'd drop this drivel and start thanking his team. Without them, he doesn't win." The American also claimed the Spaniard has "lots to learn". Armstrong added: "A champion is also measured on how much he respects his teammates and opponents. There is no 'i' in 'team'. What did I say in March? Lots to learn. Restated."

Contador had compared their relationship to that of Formula One drivers Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton during their contentious season at McLaren in 2007. "It was a delicate situation, tense, the two riders who had most weight on the team did not have an easy relationship and that puts the rest of the technical staff and the riders in an uncomfortable position," said the Spaniard, who also won the Tour in 2007. But "we knew that if we kept cool heads, there would be no big problem," he said.

After his fourth place finish, Wiggins will now focus on the Tour de France
(Photo: Roberto Bettini)

Wiggins To Focus On Tour
British rider Bradley Wiggins will focus his attention solely on the Tour de France for the next two years in an effort to win cycling's most daunting race. Wiggins equaled the best Tour finish by a Briton with fourth place at this year's event and wants to surpass that feat by 2011.

The 29-year-old has held discussions with the British-funded Team Sky being put together by British Cycling performance director Dave Brailsford with the intention of winning the Tour. He plans to ignore the track events, which have produced three Olympic gold medals for him until 2012 when the Olympic Games come to London. "A lot has changed now and the obvious path for me is to try and win the Tour de France within the next three years," he said. "It's the biggest bike race in the world and finishing fourth has opened up a whole new set of doors for me. What a challenge winning it is and I want a go at it. There will be no track racing for the next two years, it will just be full on for the tour. In 2012 I'll try and do both, which would be an even greater achievement. I'd like to win Olympic gold and then win the Tour in the same year. I believe it's possible and can be done."

Wiggins was encouraged by his mental toughness throughout the Tour, an area he feared could undermine his pre-race ambition of finishing inside the top 20. "Usually I find the mental side of it consuming, it really takes it out of you," he said. "I always thought that I might collapse mentally after two weeks because I wouldn't be able to concentrate or would suffer lapses in concentration through fatigue, losing contact on a climb. But mentally I held it together very well and I feel like I've taken it to another level now. It's made me think about what I can achieve and has shown what I'm capable of. My success this year has fed my hunger."

Hincapie suffered through the final stages of the Tour with a broken collarbone
(Photo: Roberto Bettini)

Hincapie Finished Tour With Broken Collarbone
George Hincapie made it through the final stages of the Tour de France with a broken collarbone. This was reveled in X-rays taken on Tuesday. "I got bad news this morning. The X-rays confirm that my collarbone is broken," said Hincapie on his Twitter page.

Hincapie came down in the seventeenth stage of the Tour and it was initially thought that the rider from Columbia-HTC had only a bruised collarbone. Hincapie then refused an X-ray, knowing that a fracture would rule out a finish in Paris in what might be his last Tour de France.

L'Equipe says that RadioShack wants Andy Schleck, but not Frank
(Photo: Roberto Bettini)

Schleck Linked To RadioShack
French newspaper L'Equipe has reported that Lance Armstrong is attempting to recruit Andy Schleck to ride for his RadioShack team. L'Equipe says that negotiations between Schleck and the new are team are in the “advanced stages” but that Armstrong doesn’t want older brother Frank because he feels Frank will hinder Andy's progression as a grand tour rider. Despite the reports in L’Equipe it is unlikely that either Schleck will be leaving Sxao Bank before the 2011 season as both Frank and Andy have contracts with the team of Bjarne Riis through the 2010 season.

Rasmussen before the fall
(Photo: Roberto Bettini)

Rasmussen Returns
In his first race back from a two-year doping suspension Michael Rasmussen finished second to Aleksejs Saramotins (Team Designa Køkken) at the Designa Grand Prix in Kjellerup, Denmark. Rasmussen’s return comes two years after he was thrown out of the Tour de France, while leading the race, for lying about his whereabouts in the months leading up the race. Afterwards he was quietly fired from his Rabobank team and fled France. Rasmussen’s lies were uncovered when Italian cycling commentator Davide Cassani, mentioned that he had seen Rasmussen training in Italy’s Dolomite Mountains in June. Rasmussen’s UCI anti-doping whereabouts form had Rasmussen in Mexico at this time.

RBA Newsflash: Contador Lashes Out At Armstrong

7/27/2009

(Photo: Roberto Bettini)

Tour de France winner Alberto Contador launched a stinging attack on teammate Lance Armstrong, saying relations between the two were tense throughout the race. "My relationship with Lance is non-existent. Even if he is a great champion, I have never had admiration for him and I never will," the Spaniard told a news conference in Madrid.

Contador won the Tour on Sunday with a comfortable lead over his rivals. His Astana teammate Armstrong, a seven-time Tour de France champion who came out of retirement for the 2009 event, came third. "It was a delicate situation, tense, the two riders who had most weight on the team did not have an easy relationship and that puts the rest of the technical staff and the riders in an uncomfortable position," said the 26-year-old, who also won the Tour in 2007. But "we knew that if kept cool heads, there would be no big problem."