AFP on Ricco Positive Test

Good to see the story that most other MSM outlets will be using.  One thing that comes up and hasn't been reported in the cycling press, is that Ricco has a high hematocrit reading.  He might be one of those riders who gets special dispensation from the UCI.

Ricco fails drugs test on Tour de France
AFP -
So for the sake of our team and the Tour de France we have made this
decision. We can't act as though nothing has happened, we have to accept

the reality. ...

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gmZR3tBs4K57qFMoEQMAIn5HD7VQ

LA Times: doing the tour/olympics double

This is just a blurb in the LA Times. Wonder why they bothered.
Yes, it's difficult to do the double, but others have done it in the
past. There's also a hint that this might be the end of Hincapie's
career

Tour de France/Olympics double
Los Angeles Times - CA,USA
Cyclists are struggling with that decision during these three weeks of the
Tour de France. While the Tour is the biggest race of the year, especially
for ...
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/olympics_blog/2008/07/tour-de-franceo.html

Tour de France Should inspire the use of...bicycles

Yes, it's obvious.  But many don't see the connection.  The source is a Korea-based Citizen Journalism site.

After Oil - Bicycles

OhMy News--Korea

Turn on the Tour de France and let the inspiration (and perspiration) begin

by Nicholas Van Der Leek

"Modern bicycles, based on technological innovations from the late 19th century, remain the most efficient means of human transportation ever invented." --William P. Ancker  It is not a gimmick, it is not radical, but it also is not what most people have in mind when they think of "alternative energy." Yet it should be....

http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?article_class=7&no=383069&rel_no=1

CVV checks in with the Chicago Tribune

And flacks some burrito action.

TOUR DE FRANCE JOURNAL
Chicago Tribune - United States
By Christian Vande Velde | Special to the Chicago Tribune After 10 stages
and more than 46 hours of racing, Lemont cyclist Christian Vande Velde
enjoyed a ...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/olympics/cs-16-vandevelde-tourjul16,0,3503732.story>

Clothing Company jumps on V bandwagon

Castelli cycling clothing's majority owner is in Portland, Oregon.  Since they sponsor Saunier-Duval, they've been hanging banners out the company window.

Castelli's turn to celebrate Tour de France win
The Oregonian - OregonLive.com - Portland,OR,USA
... anchored by water bottles, first appeared Monday at Castelli's US
headquarters not long after Ricco's team took the lead in the Tour de

France. ...

http://blog.oregonlive.com/playbooksandprofits/2008/07/castellis_turn_to_celebrate_to.html

Chris Carmichael on the mafia-racing link

Never thought of Carmichael as a writer, but he, or his ghost, turned in this nugget: "A mountain stage is like a knife fightŠ close-contact, personal, and brutal."

Rest Day: Inside the Tour de France Turf War
Examiner.com - USA
The Discovery Channel team, and the US Postal team that preceded it, was
the dominant family at the Tour de France for seven years from 1999-2005,
...

http://www.examiner.com/x-439-Tour-De-France-Examiner~y2008m7d15-Rest-Day-Inside-the-Tour-de-France-Turf-War

Roberto Heras, doper, linked to Moises Duenas, doper?

This might be a stretch, but they both come from the same Spanish town.  Don't know why the bloomberg reporter mentioned it, but it's a new twist.

Second Tour de France Rider Tests Positive for EPO (Update1)
Bloomberg - USA
By Alex Duff July 16 (Bloomberg) -- Spanish rider Moises Duenas was
withdrawn from the Tour de France by his team after testing positive for

banned drug ...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aCZcTR.tpOhg&refer=europe

The Tour de France is 2/3 Over

THat is the sailing TdF is 2/3 over.

Tour De France Sailing Race
ScubaWeb - Italy
From the Channel to the Atlantic Ocean, the twenty-seven competitors of the
Tour de France Sailing Race have already sailed two thirds of their trip.

...

http://www.nautica.it/service/notizie.htm?2008-07-247

Cadel Evans Blog?

This blog is so short and so lacking insight it's hard to believe they even contacted Cadel for this thing.  It's as if they cut and pasted random sentences from TV interviews. 

Cadel Evans:The target is the Maillot Jaune in Paris

15 July 2008 | 9:53

Ever wondered what it's like to be the Tour de France favourite? Well Silence Lotto's Australian star Cadel Evans offers SBS his daily thoughts on his journey to Paris - now wearing the famous overall race leader's yellow jersey as the great race takes a break after the stage from Pau to Hautacam.

http://tdf.sbs.com.au/tdf2008/blog/index/b/22

and

http://tdf.sbs.com.au/tdf2008/blog/article/a/810/h/The-target-is-the-Maillot-Jaune-in-Paris

Australia's SBS picks Menchov and Sastre

Here's an odd report from Australias SBS.  They broadcast the Tour, but aren't giving any special props to their homeboy leading the race. 

Rest day wrap: Spaniards plot the Maillot Jaune's demise
Special Broadcasting Service - Australia
The riders are no doubt enjoying the first of two regulation rest days of
the Tour de France, a special time that in the past was spent filling up

blood ...

http://www.sbs.com.au/article/108095/rest-day-wrap-spaniards-plot-the-maillot-jaunes-demise

Eurosport publishes fabulist epistles

Eurosport tries spicing up their Tour coverage by imagining the letters top Tour riders are sending home--that is if they're actually putting pen to paper, affixing a stamp and sending it via post.  As with all comedy, this humor isn't for everyone.

Tour de France - Blazin' Saddles: Wish you were here
Yahoo! Eurosport - London,UK
Finally I win a stage on the Tour de France. I thought this year, no,
because Ricco is attacking all the time, but Cobo and me, we tell him to

let us go ...

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/16072008/58/tour-de-france-blazin-saddles-wish.html

Bangkok Post: Rasmussion smarting from TdF Eviction

Seems like the cycing world has already forgotten.

Danish cyclist Rasmussen still hurt over Tour de France eviction
Bangkok Post - Thailand
Copenhagen (dpa) - Danish cyclist Michael Rasmussen, who was thrown out of
the 2007 Tour de France, has not seen any of the broadcasts from this

year's race ...

http://www.bangkokpost.com/sportsplus/sportsplus.php?id=128876

Salmon logic: Spectate the Descents

Finally! someone offers some contrary wisdom.  Short version, spectate on the fastest part of the descents.

Tour de France: Tourmalet descent excites
Telegraph.co.uk - United Kingdom
By Brendan Gallagher I have never quite understood the obsession with
packing the uphill slopes of the great mountain climbs on the Tour de

France. ...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=A1YourView&xml=/sport/2008/07/15/sogall115.xml

Christian Vande Velde dreams of Chicago while Descending the Aspin

Going home is in his dreams, even as he climbs the standings.

TOUR DE FRANCE JOURNAL
Chicago Tribune - United States
By Christian Vande Velde | Special to the Chicago Tribune Riccardo Ricco
calls the mountains "my turf." The Italian showed his strength in the
Pyrenees on ...
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/cs-14-tourjul14,0,5509417.story

Le Burrito goes to Le Tour

Nothing like a fast food burrito on a Tour rest day.  Maybe LeMond, a famous lover of Mex, is at the Tour to eat some Chipotle...

Tour de France gets it to go
Denver Post - Denver,CO,USA
Ells will be in France on Tuesday to feed his Tour de France team. (Mark
Lennihan, Associated Press file photo ) Team Garmin-Chipotle riders will

get a ...

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_9871143

Brit Hoban looks forward to seeing his record broken

Barry Hoban, a Briton who won six stages at the Tour over his professional career, is looking forward to seeing Mark Cavendish break his stage win record.  The rare retired athlete who seems excited at the prospect of seeing his record eclipsed.

Mark Cavendish can break my Tour de France record, predicts Barry ...
Telegraph.co.uk - United Kingdom
By Brendan Gallagher "He is a phenomenal young rider, a pure sprinter who
is now clearly the quickest finisher in the world," says Hoban, who twice

won two ...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/sport/2008/07/14/sogall114.xml

Carmichael says Team Columbia Success Best answer to Doping Scandals

Carmichael is right. Mostly. But it seems odd. Here's a
guy whose company works with many professional athletes and has been
for years. He's giving others praise for documenting that their
riders are clean. Maybe it's just me, but why didn't Carmichael or
his company think of that?

Stage 8: Team Columbia Provides Tour de France Peloton's Best ...
Examiner.com - USA
With the first rider removed from the 2008 Tour de France yesterday for
failing a test for the red-blood-cell-boosting drug EPO, the integrity of
every ...
http://www.examiner.com/x-439-Tour-De-France-Examiner~y2008m7d12-Stage-8-Team-Columbia-Provides-Tour-de-France-Pelotons-Best-Reply-to-Doping-Scandal

The Denver Post goes for a ride in the Garmin team car

While this is kind of standard-fare from the non-cycling press, every Tour fan should probably read one team car article a year.  It's when the bored journos cover Didi Senft and the moustache guy taht you know they're bored.

tour de france Chasing the peloton at 70 mph
Denver Post - Denver,CO,USA
says Matt White, Team Garmin-Chipotle's lead driver and strategist in the
Tour de France. White slams his foot halfway through the floorboard and

hits 50 ...

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_9864246

LA Times: TdF Still has dopes

The opening lines of the story are pretty good: "If there is still Reader's Digest (there is, right?) and if it still does a feature called 'Can this marriage be saved?' we have a suggestion for a change of topic.  Can cycling be saved?"

Tour de France still has its dopes
Los Angeles Times - CA,USA
Reportedly police searched rooms of other Liquigas riders though the team

has not been kicked out of the Tour de France. Beltran has. ...

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-pucin12-2008jul12,0,4474643.story

Bangkok Post has insight on Beltran Doping Case

Just like seeing a Thai newspaper covering the Tour.  They go a bit further than most wire stories I've read on the subject.

Cyclist Beltran detained for drug use, out of Tour de France
Bangkok Post - Thailand
Paris (dpa) - Spanish cyclist Manuel Beltran was kicked out of the Tour de
France by his team and led away by police for questioning after failing a

doping ...

http://www.bangkokpost.com/sportsplus/sportsplus.php?id=128829