Breakaway riders attack at start of 3rd Tour de France stage

July 23rd, 2009 Contador wins time trial; Armstrong in 3rd placeANNECY, France — Alberto Contador has won the final time trial in the Tour de France, and Lance Armstrong moved up a spot to third place overall. Contador now looks all but assured of his second Tour victory after increasing his overall lead in Thursday's 18th stage.

July 18th, 2009 Armstrong drops to 4th at Tour; spectator diesBESANCON, France — Lance Armstrong dropped one spot to fourth place Saturday at the Tour de France during a stage shadowed by the roadside death of a woman hit by a police motorcycle. Serguei Ivanov of Russia won the 14th stage and Armstrong's former teammate George Hincapie rose to second.

July 18th, 2009 Russia's Ivanov wins Tour stage; spectator diesBESANCON, France — Serguei Ivanov of Russia has won the 14th stage of the Tour de France. The day's ride was marked by the death of a fan who was hit by a police motorcycle escorting the cyclists.

July 16th, 2009 Earpiece ban overturned at Tour de FranceVITTEL, France — The earpiece ban at the Tour de France was overturned Thursday, and riders will again be able to race with electronic radio equipment. The decision was announced by the International Cycling Union as Rinaldo Nocentini of Italy wore the yellow jersey to begin the 12th stage of the Tour.

July 16th, 2009 PARIS - A radio communications ban for Friday's 13th stage of the Tour de France has been lifted, the world governing body UCI said on its website Thursday. The UCI's management committee had approved a request by Tour organizers to ban radio contacts between riders and their team managers during two stages of this year's race on a trial basis.

July 16th, 2009 Tonnerre,FRANCE - The 12th stage of the 2009 Tour de France got underway Thursday with sprinters looking at one of their last chances for a stage win before the race heads into the Alps. The 211.5-km course includes six modest climbs, the most difficult of which is rated Category 3 and comes 40 km from the finish line in the spa resort of Vittel.

July 15th, 2009 Vatan,FRANCE - The 11th stage of the 2009 Tour de France got underway Wednesday in the town of Vatan with riders and their team managers able again to communicate via radio. The ride over the flat 192km course to Saint-Fargeau is expected to be more rapid than Tuesday's stage, during which the riders staged a slowdown to protest the experimental ban of the use of the radios during the stage.

July 14th, 2009 Nocentini defends lead in Tour's 10th stageISSOUDUN, France — Rinaldo Nocentini of Italy set off in the yellow jersey Tuesday, with Tour de France organizers banning rider earpieces for this stage and forcing cyclists to devise tactics without radio instructions from team cars. The flat, 121-mile course from Limoges and Issoudun favored sprinters, meaning the overall standings were not expected to change significantly.

July 12th, 2009 Saint-Gaudens,FRANCE - The ninth stage of the 2009 Tour de France got underway Sunday in the Pyrenean city of Saint-Gaudens with Italian Rinaldo Nocentini still the surprise leader of the race. The 160.5km course to Tarbes, the last of three stages in the Pyrenees Mountains, will take the 172 riders left in the race over two formidable climbs.

July 11th, 2009 ANDORRA LA VELLA - The eighth stage of the 2009 Tour de France got underway Saturday in the city of Andorra la Vella, in Andorra, with Italian Tour novice Rinaldo Nocentini wearing the race leader's yellow jersey. The 176.5km course to Saint-Girons in France takes the 176 riders left in the race over three mountains, two of them rated category 1 in difficulty, and is ideal for a long breakaway by riders with little hope of winning the Tour but eager to grab a stage victory.

July 9th, 2009 GERONA, Spain — Tour de France riders have set off on the sixth stage as cycling's premiere race dips into Spain for two days. The 177 riders are heading southwest along the Mediterranean on a 112.8-mile course along plains, the coast and a few small hills from Gerona to Barcelona.

July 8th, 2009 Armstrong just off lead as Tour's 5th stage beginsCAP D'AGDE, France — Lance Armstrong was trailing race leader Fabian Cancellara by a fraction of a second as Tour de France riders left for the fifth stage along the Mediterranean coast. Breakaway riders are expected to shine in Wednesday's 122-mile ride from Le Cap d'Agde to Perpignan, though the finale could also involve a sprint.

July 7th, 2009 Menchov crashes during Tour team time-trial MONTPELLIER, France — Giro d'Italia winner Denis Menchov of Russia crashed during Tuesday's fourth stage of the Tour de France but got back on his bike without any serious injuries. Menchov was behind a Rabobank teammate when he misjudged a left turn and skidded into the barriers shortly after the start of the 24.2-mile team time-trial in and around Montpellier.

July 6th, 2009 Cavendish wins 3rd Tour stage; Armstrong advancesLA GRANDE-MOTTE, France — Britain's Mark Cavendish has won his second straight stage at the Tour de France, and Lance Armstrong has gained ground and is now third overall. Fabian Cancellara extended his lead to 33 seconds after Monday's third stage.

July 5th, 2009 Cancellara in yellow for Tour's 2nd stageMONACO — Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland was wearing the race leader's yellow jersey as 180 cyclists rode in the second stage of the Tour de France. Seven-time winner Lance Armstrong, prerace favorite Alberto Contador and other possible title contenders are likely to ride conservatively Sunday in the 116.2-mile stage from Monaco to Brignoles.