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Sunday, June 11, 2006
Below is a guide to live internet coverage of the 2006 Dauphiné Libéré 
Dauphiné Libéré: A group descends the Galibier Pass on its way to La Toussuire Note: Sunday's final stage of the Dauphiné Libéré is a short one and with an early finish. The peloton is expected in Grenoble between 14:00 and 14:30 CET (between 8am and 8:30am U.S. EST)) Briefly: - Bobby Julich and CSC team manager Bjarne Riis were seen descending the Galibier Pass late Saturday morning ahead of the Dauphiné Libéré peloton. Everyone is focusing on preparing for the Tour's stage 16 which will visit the very same climbs. - We asked two-time Tour winner (1975, 1977) Bernard Thevenet on Friday who he thought were the favorites for next month's Tour. His answer: "Basso, Ullrich and Landis," though he added he was no longer sure about Landis after Thursday's stage to Mont Ventoux! Also on June 10-18: Tour de Suisse (Tour of Switzerland) Also on June 4, 8, 11: Commerce Bank Triple Crown ( live ticker )
Saturday, June 10, 2006 Below is a guide to live internet coverage of the 2006 Dauphiné Libéré Also on June 10-18: Tour de Suisse (Tour of Switzerland) Also on June 4, 8, 11: Commerce Bank Triple Crown ( live ticker )
Friday, June 9, 2006 Below is a guide to live online coverage of the 2006 Dauphiné Libéré Menchov wins Ventoux
Leipheimer controls and takes race lead 
With José Azevedo having attacked on Mont Ventoux, Levi Leipheimer, with Denis Menchov on his wheel, looks back to see if anyone is going to react Denis Menchov of Rabobank won yesterday's stage to Mont Ventoux. Gerolsteiner's Levi Leipheimer (photo) controlled things perfectly on the "Giant of Provence" for the second consecutive year. The difference this year is that heading into the stage he didn't yet have the yellow jersey. He does now. Menchov's win vaulted him into second overall while previous race leader Philippe Gilbert dropped to third. Leipheimer likely is determined to defend his race lead, something the team let slip away last year. It would be a rare win for the American, he's in form, and it can help earn the team, and Leipheimer, confidence ahead of the Tour de France. But there are plenty of mountains left in this Dauphiné. Tomorrow's stage in particular is nearly identical to the Tour's stage 16 and some Tour contenders, including Alexandre Vinokourov, are considering it a practice run in competition before the July battle. Also on June 4, 8, 11: Commerce Bank Triple Crown ( live ticker )
Thursday, June 8, 2006 Below is a guide to live online coverage of the 2006 Dauphiné Libéré "Z"...tops them all as Americans dominate
Dauphiné time trial
Landis leads contenders as Mont Ventoux looms 
Mont Ventoux seen from Bédoin So THAT's why Floyd Landis stopped listening to ZZ Top... Nevermind. David Zabriskie, or "Z," has a promising career in entertainment awaiting him if this bike thing doesn't work out. Though we've yet to hear him sing, if his promotional spots on cycling.tv are any indication, he's about as natural a comedian as he is a world class time trialist. Or how about as a magician: "And now....The Great Zabriskie will make all his rivals disappear!" Zabriskie stormed to yet another time trial victory yesterday, as the only American with stage wins in the Tours of Italy, France and Spain continues to make a name for himself. Not surprisingly, Americans swept the top four spots, with Landis nearly a minute back, followed by Levi Leipheimer and George Hincapie at 1:16 and 1:34, respectively. For the second consecutive year, Landis, Leipheimer and Hincapie are in the top 5 overall after the long time trial and heading into the stage to Mont Ventoux. Landis and Leipheimer have to be happy with their performances and they look on track for another top-10 in the Tour. Hincapie is an unknown quantity as a team leader in the Tour; perhaps he'll provide some answers over the next few days in the mountains. Landis or Leipheimer in the days ahead could provide a glimpse at just how deep into the top-10 of the Tour they might go. Ditto for Alejandro Valverde and Alexandre Vinokourov. "Vino" was well off the pace in the time trial, in 17th place at 2:40, perhaps due to the stress of his team's situation as the UCI's ProTour license commission evaluates the team's status in the wake of the doping scandal in Spain. He is something of an enigma, hasn't raced much this season as his sole focus is the Tour. June is certainly not too early to be performing well in a big time trial as Lance Armstrong demonstrated many times; Jan Ullrich won May's big time trial of the Giro d'Italia. Vinokourov, who won last year's stage to Ventoux, says he is targeting Saturday's difficult stage. It is nearly identical to the Tour's stage 16... Quote of the day:
Briefly: - Speaking of Bernard Thevenet, he has a new book just out (it's that time of year, right before the Tour) and has scheduled signing sessions during the Dauphiné Libéré. - Last year, we proved where the Apollo moon missions REALLY took place: 
Perhaps there is a reason why Mont Ventoux is lunar-like... Or should we say that the moon is Mont Ventoux-like? (note: aside from scaling the images, no editing of the two images was undertaken.) Note to NASA: Just a joke, please don't mess with our satellite reception. We love what you do. Keep exploring new worlds... Just please bring us back a Ventoux rock from your next moon mission, thanks. 
- If you understand French, France Bleu radio, which provides live race coverage, has an interesting post-race show. They also have reports before their live coverage; yesterday, former pro Charly Mottet, who designed the Dauphiné course, spoke about the time trial. Also on June 4, 8, 11: Commerce Bank Triple Crown ( live ticker )
Wednesday, June 7, 2006 Below is a guide to live internet coverage of the 2006 Dauphiné Libéré Big Time Trial Battle Today in Dauphiné
Libéré
It's called the "race of truth"...and today's long time trial at the Dauphiné Libéré will deliver a verdict of sorts because all riders here contending for the top spots at July's Tour de France, especially with plenty of time trialing, will want to test themselves and their equipment to see just how fast they can go. They will want to show they are among the best in this discipline. The American riders, notably Floyd Landis, Levi Leipheimer, George Hincapie and David Zabriskie, can be expected to turn in top performances today. (Landis, Leipheimer and Hincapie were in the top 7 of last year's long time trial.) But today is also a test for Alexandre Vinokourov, who has had off-the-bike concerns lately, Alejandro Valverde, Francisco Mancebo, Iban Mayo, and Yaroslav Popovych to name a few. Popovych was well off the pace in last year's long time trial, in 36th place at 3:29, while Hincapie was 7th at 1:11 behind stage winner Santiago Botero. Hincapie vs. Popovych? They are of course teammates but team leader status for the Tour is still up for grabs and will be decided on the road. And will José Azevedo get his word in? Today will be a first indication of what we can perhaps expect in a few weeks from Discovery Channel in terms of team leadership. Other lesser-known riders will be looking to earn spots on their teams' Tour rosters. These are all among the reasons the Dauphiné is an important race. Note: We've added links, both in the Archive media clips section and the "Live Guide," to France Bleu radio's coverage (French obviously) of the Dauphiné. (Thanks to cycling fan Yonathan for the tip!) Also on June 4, 8, 11: Commerce Bank Triple Crown ( live ticker )
Tuesday, June 6, 2006 Below is a guide to live internet coverage of the 2006 Dauphiné Libéré Quote of the day:
Monday, June 5, 2006 Below is a guide to live internet coverage of the 2006 Dauphiné Libéré 
Dave Zabriskie Currently the hottest item in our wallpaper section We put up Fabian Cancellara wallpaper and a few weeks later he won Paris-Roubaix. We put up Team CSC wallpaper, then weeks later Ivan Basso won the Giro d'Italia. We put up Dave Zabriskie wallpaper weeks ago...and yesterday he won the prologue of the Dauphiné Libéré. Hmm...cause and effect? Probably not...but you never know. So, what rider or team should be the subject of our next wallpaper less than a month before the Tour de France? Let us know! Vandevelde wins Luxembourg, Zabriskie
takes Dauphiné prologue
Christian Vandevelde (left) and David Zabriskie 2006 Paris-Nice prologue They may be ex-Posties, but they still deliver. Sunday was a good day for American cyclists, and for Team CSC, as Christian Vandevelde won the Tour de Luxembourg and Dave Zabriskie won the prologue of the Dauphiné Libéré in France. George Hincapie of Discovery Channel nearly repeated his prologue win of 2005, finishing in second at less than two seconds behind "Z". Vandevelde was a member of Lance Armstrong's USPS Tour teams in 1999 and 2001. He also wore the best young rider's jersey during the 1999 Tour. Zabriskie wore the first yellow jersey of the 2005 Tour de France after winning the prologue (and he's obviously coming into form at the right time with the Tour prologue in Strasbourg less than a month away) and is also the only American to have stage wins in all three Grand Tours: France, Italy and Spain. Quote of the day:
Sunday, June 4, 2006 Note: Commerce Bank Triple Crown is underway today: Live ticker Note: French regional championships were on this weekend. France 3 TV news reports for some of them are in the Archive video clips section. Reminder: France 3 regional news video links are only valid for about 48 hours. Below is a guide to live internet coverage of the 2006 Dauphiné Libéré Note: More links to live cycling coverage will be coming, to the extent that more sites go live. It can take a day or so for other sites to make themselves known. Also on June 4, 8, 11: Commerce Bank Triple Crown ( live ticker )
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