Tour de France 2009 winner

September 3rd, 2009 PARIS — Two-time Tour de France champion Alberto Contador has decided to pull out of the cycling world championships later this month in Switzerland. Contador, who won his second Tour title in July, is not in top shape and doesn't want to prevent another rider from competing at the worlds, spokesman Jacinto Vidarte said Thursday in an e-mail.

July 26th, 2009 PARIS - Alberto Contador won the 2009 Tour de France Sunday, the second Tour title of his career, outsprinting Luxembourg's Andy Schleck and seven-time Tour champion Lance Armstrong. The 26-year-old Contador's margin over the 24-year-old Schleck was 4 minutes 11 seconds, the largest winning margin in several years.

July 26th, 2009 PARIS - The French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) will re-analyse a number of samples taken from more than a dozen riders during the 2008 Tour de France, the daily L'Equipe reported Sunday on its website. AFLD head Pierre Bordry sent a letter to the cyclists concerned just hours before this year's Tour de France began.

July 22nd, 2009 Beware cyclists, the Tour de France is not just a simple pleasure ride it can also sucks blood, Jens Voigt a German cyclist of team Saxo Bank is out of the race after having  a dabgerous bloody crash, Veteran rider Jens Voigt who was temporarily unconscious for three to four minutes had to be rushed for a hospital and forcefully withdrawn from Tour de France stage 16. While making a second toughest decent from the Col du Petit-Saint-Bernard Voigt lost the control and had the nastiest crash that heat the head first.

July 18th, 2009 PARIS - A 61-year-old woman watching the 14th stage of the 2009 Tour de France was killed Saturday when she was struck by a police motorcycle, the daily L'Equipe reported on its website. According to witnesses, the victim was struck as she was trying to cross the road near the town of Wittelsheim, located about 40 kilometres from the start of the stage in the city of Colmar.

July 17th, 2009 Armstrong's teammate Leipheimer has broken wristVITTEL, France — Lance Armstrong's teammate Levi Leipheimer withdrew from the Tour de France before Friday's 13th stage after breaking his wrist in a crash, his Astana team said. Leipheimer fell off his bike about 1.86 miles from the finish line Thursday in a crash involving two-time Tour runner-up Cadel Evans.

July 14th, 2009 The tenth leg of Tour de France 2009 witnessed an enthralling victory of Britains very own, Mark Cavendish, as the cyclist marked his third stage win as the race rolled over the undulating hills between Limoges and Issoudun. Mark Cavendish, the winner of the tenth stage, broke away from his team mates with around 750 m still to cover, as the former managed to defy the challenges put against him by Norway's Thor Hushovd, who after putting up a brave fight finished second and the all American, Tyler Farrar, who finished third.

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 apologizes to Sastre and Vande VeldeMONTPELLIER, France — Lance Armstrong said he was wrong and disrespectful when he called last year's Tour de France a "bit of a joke." In the new book, "Lance — The Making of the World's Greatest Champion" by John Wilcockson, Armstrong is said to have recounted his early musings about a possible comeback after the 2008 Tour, won by Carlos Sastre. "The Tour was a bit of a joke this year.

July 5th, 2009 MONACO - The second stage of the 2009 Tour de France got underway Sunday in the principality of Monaco, with Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara wearing the leader's yellow jersey and race favourite Alberto Contador in second place. The stage covers 187 kilometers from Monaco to Brignoles and is likely to end in a sprint to the finish, despite the presence of four modest climbs on the route.

June 30th, 2009 AP Interview: Armstrong set for Tour support rolePARIS — Lance Armstrong says he's capable of winning an eighth Tour de France but is ready, if necessary, to put his ambitions on hold for teammate and rival Alberto Contador. Contador and Armstrong will ride for the Astana team at the three-week race that starts Saturday.

June 25th, 2009 Astana team announces Tour de France lineupPARIS — Astana announced its lineup for the Tour de France on Thursday, with its challenge built around 2007 winner Alberto Contador as its leader and seven-time champion Lance Armstrong. In a glitzy presentation on its Web site, the Kazakh team said the two stars will be backed by past Tour podium finishers including Andreas Kloeden of Germany and American Levi Leipheimer.

June 19th, 2009 Armstrong earns spot on Astana's Tour teamLance Armstrong will be on Astana Cycling's final nine-rider roster for the Tour de France next month. Armstrong, a seven-time Tour winner, will be joined on the team by three-time Grand Tour winner Alberto Contador, Andreas Kloden, Levi Leipheimer, Yaroslav Popovych and Haimar Zubeldia.

June 5th, 2009 Lance Armstrong announces birth of son on TwitterLance Armstrong has announced the birth of his son on the social-networking site Twitter. Armstrong, who won the Tour de France seven straight years after overcoming testicular cancer, posted a tweet about 11:15 p.m.