What a time of year to be a cyclist in Aus!  The Bay Crits have just finished and now it’s time to turn things up a notch.  The Austrailan Open Road Nationals are this weekend and it’s gonna be a hoot.

The Melbourne to Warrnambool cycling classic – the world's second oldest bike race – will undergo evolutionary change this year when the event becomes a teams race.

The Vuelta a España or the Tour of Spain is a three-week road race that is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI ProTour circuit. The other 2 races in the Grand Tour are Tour de France and Giro d'Italia, all three races are similar in format being multi-week races with daily stages. The Vuelta was first held in 1935 and annually since 1955, the Vuelta runs for three weeks in a changing route across Spain.

A video interview with Jens Voigt regarding the recent TDF

95th Tour de France

Location: France
UCI Classification: Grand Tour
Dates: 5-27 July, 2008
Starting field: 180 riders, 20 teams

Stage 21 - Sunday, July 27: Étampes - Paris/Champs Élysées, 143km
As expected, the final placings did not change in the stage to Paris but some of the final times did. Gert Steegmans from Quick Step won the final sprint. Cadel finished in a group 0'07 ahead of the group that Sastre was in and moved a little bit closer.

I, for one, think that Cadel pulled off an incredible effort. Based on many of your messages to me (and my apologies if I have not replied to them all), you all think so as well.
Cadel, hearty congratulations from all of us!!

A full report is here.

Photos of Cadel: Photo 1, Photo 2

Main results:
1 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Quick Step 3.51.38 (37.04 km/h)
2 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Columbia
3 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank
...
24 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto 0.07
...
26 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner
...
30 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30
...
62 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 0.14
...
107 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 0.24
...
(145 riders started and finished)

Final GC results:
1 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 87.52.52
2 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto 0.58
3 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner 1.13
4 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 2.10
5 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30 3.05
...
Final points (green jersey) results:
1 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank 270 pts
2 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole 220
3 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram 217
...
14 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto 103
...
Final mountains (red-spot jersey) results:
1 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner 128 pts
2 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 80
3 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 80
...
16 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto 46
...
Final teams results:
1 Team CSC Saxo Bank 263.29.57
2 AG2R-La Mondiale 15.35
3 Rabobank 1.05.26
...
5 Silence - Lotto 1.17.15
...
Next Race
Cadel is heading to Beijing for the Olympics. I'm not sure if there are any appearance races before he goes.

Reproduced with permission from Geoff Schmidt who is unashamedly biased towards following Cadel Evans.

95th Tour de France

Location: France
UCI Classification: Grand Tour
Dates: 5-27 July, 2008
Starting field: 180 riders, 20 teams

Stage 20 - Saturday, July 26: Cérilly - Saint Amand Montrond (ITT), 53km
Carlos Sastre from Team CSC rode one of his best time trials to keep Cadel within the 94 sec gap with which they started the stage. Stefan Schumacher from Gerolsteiner won the time trial. Cadel finished in 7th place, 2'05 behind Schumacher and 0'29 ahead of Sastre in 12th place. Sastre will be wearing the yellow jersey on the ride to Paris tomorrow. Frank Schlek's time dropped him out of the top 5. Cadel finished better than Bernhard Kohl from Gerolsteiner to move up to second place overall. A full report is here.

Photo of Cadel:

Main results:
1 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 1.03.50 (49.817 km/h)
2 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 0.21
3 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia 1.01
4 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30 1.05
...
6 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 1.55
7 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto 2.05
...
9 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner 2.21
...
12 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 2.34
...
(145 riders started and finished)

Main GC results after stage 20:
1 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 84.01.00
2 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto 1.05
3 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner 1.20
4 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 2.00
5 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30 3.12
...
Next Stage
Stage 21: Étampes - Paris/Champs Élysées, 143km. The final stage into Paris is not likely to see any changes in the overall standings. Profile.

Reproduced with permission from Geoff Schmidt who is unashamedly biased towards following Cadel Evans.

95th Tour de France

Location: France
UCI Classification: Grand Tour
Dates: 5-27 July, 2008
Starting field: 180 riders, 20 teams

Stage 19 - Friday, July 25: Roanne - Montluçon, 165.5km
The sprint teams didn't do their calculations very well this time. Sylvain Chavanel from Cofidis won the stage from a break-away.  The sprint teams tried to pull it back but left their run too late and the peloton finished over a minute later. The peloton finished together, so the GC standings remain the same.  It is all down to the individual time trial tomorrow. A full report is here.

If everything was crossed before, can you now double-cross everything for Cadel.

Main results:
1 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis 3.37.09 (45.73 km/h)
2 Jérémy Roy (Fra) Française des Jeux
3 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Columbia 1.13
...
22 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto
...
32 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank
...
38 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank
...
46 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC - Saxo Bank
...
?? Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner
...

Main GC results after stage 19:
1 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 82.54.36
2 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 1.24
3 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner 1.33
4 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto 1.34
5 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 2.39
...
Next Stage
Stage 20: Cérilly - Saint Amand Montrond (ITT), 53km. This is it - the decider. Assuming Carlos Sastre is the best of the top riders, Cadel needs to ride an average of 1.77 secs/km faster than Sastre to grab the yellow jersey. Profile.

Reproduced with permission from Geoff Schmidt who is unashamedly biased towards following Cadel Evans.

95th Tour de France

Location: France
UCI Classification: Grand Tour
Dates: 5-27 July, 2008
Starting field: 180 riders, 20 teams

Stage 18 - Thursday, July 24: Bourg d'Oisans - Saint Étienne, 196.5km
Marcus Burghardt from Team Columbia won stage 18 from a breakaway that occurred over the first climb. The main GC contenders kept together to finish on the same time, so Cadel remains in fourth place overall. There was no moves to try to carve out more time from Cadel, which was interesting. There is even less opportunity to gain time on stage 19. A full report is here.

Someone sent in some analysis of the previous time trials which shows that Cadel rides on average 3 secs/km faster than Carols Sastre. If he can do it again, he'll have the yellow jersey going into Paris. We all need to keep everything crossed for Cadel!

Photo with Cadel.

Main results:
1 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) Team Columbia 4.30.21 (43.61 km/h)
2 Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Spa) Quick Step
3 Romain Feillu (Fra) Agritubel 3.33
...
22 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto 6.50
...
34 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank
...
36 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC - Saxo Bank
37 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank
...
42 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner
...
(150 riders started and finished)

Main GC results after stage 18:
1 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 79.16.14
2 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC - Saxo Bank  1.24
3 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner 1.33
4 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto 1.34
5 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 2.39
...

Next Stage
Stage 19: Roanne - Montluçon, 165.5km. A stage for the sprinters. There are a couple of small categorised climbs early in the route. Profile.

Reproduced with permission from Geoff Schmidt who is unashamedly biased towards following Cadel Evans.

95th Tour de France

Location: France
UCI Classification: Grand Tour
Dates: 5-27 July, 2008
Starting field: 180 riders, 20 teams

Stage 17 - Wednesday, July 23: Embrun - L'Alpe d'Huez, 210.5km
The peloton forming the main contenders hit the bottom of the final climb, L'Alpe d'Huez, in one group, despite Team CSC blistering pace for the day. Soon after the climb started, Carlos Sastre from Team CSC attacked a couple of times then went clear, to power up the climb all the way to a solo finish. Meanwhile, the remaining group was watched over by the Schleck brothers, who covered any other moves made.
Sastre's attack was decisive, and moved him into the yellow jersey, and pushed Cadel down to fourth place. This race is going to the wire! A full report is here.

Photos of Cadel: Photo 1, Photo 2, Photo 3, Photo 4, Photo 5

Main results:
1 Carlos Sastre (Spa) CSC-Saxo Bank 6.07.58 (34.32 km/h)
2 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 2.03
3 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC - Saxo Bank
4 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 2.13
5 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC - Saxo Bank
6 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale 2.15
7 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto
8 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank
...
(151 riders started and finished, but one was outside the allowed time)

Main GC results after stage 17:
1 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 74.39.03
2 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 1.24
3 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner 1.33
4 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto 1.34
5 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 2.39
...

Next Stage
Stage 18: Bourg d'Oisans - Saint Étienne, 196.5km. Leaving the Alps, the stage is not as mountainous, but still contains three categorised climbs. Profile.

Reproduced with permission from Geoff Schmidt who is unashamedly biased towards following Cadel Evans.

95th Tour de France

Location: France
UCI Classification: Grand Tour
Dates: 5-27 July, 2008
Starting field: 180 riders, 20 teams

Stage 16 - Tuesday, July 22: Cuneo - Jausiers, 157km

The tension is starting to get too much!
Stage 16 was basically two very large climbs, with a very fast decent straight to the finish line. Stefan Schumacher from Gerolsteiner had a solo lead for most of the day until he cracked near the end of the second climb over Cime de la Bonnette-Restefond. He was overtaken by a large breakaway group. This group made for some interesting team tactics, as it included team members from all the main GC teams. In the end, Team CSC seemed content to control the race and put as much pressure on Cadel and the other GC contenders as possible, rather than attacking via multiple team members. The danger of the fast and technical final descent was demonstrated by John-Lee Augustyn from Barloworld, who missed a corner and went straight over the edge and down a very slippery slope. He was able to climb back to the top, but his bike was too far down to retrieve. I wonder if some poor team helper was sent back later that night to retrieve it?

The stage was won by Cyril Dessel from AG2R. The main GC contenders came in 1'28 later. Cadel finished with Frank Schleck from Team CSC and Bernhard Kohl from Gerolsteiner, so no change in the top three results. However, Denis Menchov from Rabobank was not as brave (or as foolhardy?) as the other GC riders, and lost 0'35 on the final descent which moved Carlos Sastre up to fourth place overall. Christian Vande Velde from Team Garmin was not able to keep up on the final climb and lost 2'36 in his GC placing, dropping out of the top 5. A full report is here.

Main results:
1 Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 4.31.27 (34.70 km/h)
2 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux
3 David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
4 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Silence - Lotto 0.03
5 George Hincapie (USA) Team Columbia 0.24
6 Nicolas Portal (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne
7 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) AG2R La Mondiale
8 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 1.03
9 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 1.28
10 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner
11 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto
12 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC - Saxo Bank
13 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
14 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre
15 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank
16 Johann Tschopp (Swi) Bouygues Telecom
17 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 1.32
18 Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Team Columbia
19 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia 2.03
20 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Lampre
21 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank
22 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram 2.36
23 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Crédit Agricole
24 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 3.21
25 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas 4.04
26 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30
...
(153 riders started, 152 finished but one was outside the allowed time)

Main GC results after stage 16:
1 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 68.30.16
2 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner 0.07
3 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto 0.08
4 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 0.49
5 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 1.13
...
Next Stage
Stage 17 is the make-or-break stage, I think. If Cadel can stay in touch with the other top 5 riders, he should be able to reclaim the yellow jersey in the time trial on Saturday. The next best time trialler in the top 5 is Denis Menchov.

Stage 17: Embrun - L'Alpe d'Huez, 210.5km. Two cat.HC climbs en-route over the Col du Galibier and Col del la Croix de Fer, before finishing on the famous L'Alpe d'Huez. Profile.

Reproduced with permission from Geoff Schmidt who is unashamedly biased towards following Cadel Evans.