The Cyclysm:
As many of you know, I have both been a racer and worked in the industry for many years. It’s now time to give back, on my life long passion, we call cycling.
I close friend has begun a quest, called The Bicycle Mart, he is a passionate collector of
cycling, his current collection is some 400 bicycles, from every shape and form. Original collection includes 1880's Penny Farthings and Bone Shakers, to today’s modern racing bikes. As self described orator of the collection, William "Bill' Collier, is also building a USA racing history. The origins start from the 1940's, Post War Era bicycles, includes Tour De France champions bikes,jerseys,and memorable. At this time we are building a sizable collection, of mementos. As the collection builds, all will be on display in a museum being built in Needles, California; it will be called "The Childhood Museum." As we get closer to construction in Needles, some time in early winter of 2007. The plans are being drawn; the architect already has all the specifications, for some 40,000 square feet on a 10 acre site.
We will be seeking to do different things in the future of the collection,
1-Showing the history of bicycles in America
2-Bulding and showing the history of bicycle racing
3-Highlighting the career of the racers like Greg Lemond, Lance Armstrong, The 7-11 team and domestic racing teams and clubs.
4-Highlight the people of the sport, and how their passions grew
5-The technology of the sport
· Highlights will be early bicycles
· The War years
· Post War era’s 1950’s
· 1960’s era racing
· Early Americana (Major Taylor, Six Days racing)
· 1970’s
· Early Pro racing,7-11
· Greg Lemond Era
· Lance Armstrong Era
· Future of the sport
Needs for the collection are continues. We will accept donations; also have a budget for ongoing collections. We especially seek early photographs, early bicycles, magazines, stickers, pins badges, magazines, articles and anything else. So if you can help in anyway please contact I direct, via email first. Then we can follow up by phone, would like to have originals, and copies of photos.
Eventually we will produce a documentary and a book on the series, and what it takes to accomplish the project. All will be on display and, all benefactors will be displayed and get proper identification will be given. So please open up you garages and basements, and let’s find that American Era nostalgia, and loan us your collection.
Merckx: Cycling will recover from recent doping scandals; 3/4 are cyclists are clean
"The illness is terrible, the situation always serious, but there are some signs of life," Merckx said in Friday's edition of Gazzetta dello Sport. "There are many honest people. I think that three-quarters of the group is clean."
This year's Tour was marred by numerous doping offenses. Race leader Michael Rasmussen was expelled by his Rabobank team for allegedly lying about his whereabouts to evade doping controls, while pre-race favorite Alexandre Vinokourov and Cristian Moreni were forced out for failing doping tests.
Alberto Contador of Spain won the prestigious multistage race, but some media reports have even linked him with the Spanish blood-doping investigation known as Operation Puerto.
"At the Tour, there weren't cases of team doping but of individuals that involved their teams," Merckx said.
Vinokourov's positive test for a banned blood transfusion after winning the 13th stage led to his Astana team's withdrawal. The same happened to Moreni's Cofidis team following his positive test for testosterone after the 11th stage.
Merckx, who won the Tour from 1969-72 and in '74, said those that dope were risking more than just getting caught.
"Riders who dope are playing Russian roulette with their lives," Merckx said.
The 62-year-old Belgian added that serious doping offenses should carry lifetime bans.
"There is doping and doping. I wouldn't ban Alessandro Petacchi for a couple of sprays too many, particularly since he has a medical certificate. But I'd have no mercy for blood transfusions."
Petacchi of Italy tested positive for elevated levels of an asthma drug during the Giro d'Italia. His national cycling federation cleared him of any doping violation, saying he had a legitimate reason for using the medication. However, the Italian Olympic Committee has appealed the ruling and wants him banned for one year.
Before this year's Tour, all racers signed a new UCI charter, saying that they were not involved in doping, will not breach anti-doping rules, and promising to submit DNA samples to Spanish authorities in the Operation Puerto investigation. Cyclists also had to agree to pay a year's salary on top of a two-year ban if caught cheating.
Cycling | Discovery Channel team will disband
AUSTIN, Texas — The Lance Armstrong era in cycling is over.
Another sad day in US Cycling, Citing fractious leadership in the sport, constant doping allegations and the struggles of finding a new sponsor, Armstrong and the owners of his former Discovery Channel team said Friday the squad will disband after this season.
Armstrong said it was the perfect time to go out on top: Discovery's Alberto Contador of Spain won the team's eighth Tour de France title in nine years last month.
"It's a sad day for cycling. Certainly a sad day for American cycling," Armstrong said. "We're proud of our record."
The decision shuts down the sport's lone elite professional team based in the United States. Armstrong retired from riding in 2005 but remained a visible co-owner of the team operated by Tailwind Sports.
Discovery announced in February it would not sponsor the team beyond this year. Team general manager Bill Stapleton acknowledged difficulty securing new sponsorship with the sport under the constant pressure of doping allegations.
"It's not an environment right now that's conducive to a lot of investment," said Stapleton, adding the team was in talks with several potential sponsors. "This was a difficult decision, not made any easier by our recent Tour de France success."
Armstrong said he believes a sponsor could have been found, but the ownership group decided now was the time to quit.
Armstrong is likely to focus on his cancer foundation and politics — he is hosting a cancer forum with presidential candidates later this month and is a key player behind a $3 billion research initiative in Texas — and team director Johan Bruyneel is retiring.
"This is not about the lack of a sponsor," Armstrong said. "Right now is a good time to step aside."
The team was a dominant force for almost a decade.
Armstrong won the first of his record seven consecutive Tour de France titles in 1999, racing under the U.S. Postal Service banner. The team built cycling's top lineup as Armstrong and his lieutenants powered their way through France and maintained that dominance when Contador won the Tour and American teammate Levi Leipheimer finished third.
Discovery will compete in this year's Tour of Spain and the Tour of Missouri, but the shutdown means Contador, Leipheimer and others must find new teams for 2008.
"They leave with the Discovery stamp," Bruyneel said. "I'm sure they will be very wanted."
Note
• The Italian Olympic Committee recommended Cristian Moreni, 34, be banned for two years after testing positive for testosterone during the Tour de France. The committee's anti-doping prosecutors ordered Moreni to face disciplinary proceedings from Italy's cycling federation.
Moreni acknowledged drug use when the positive was announced July 25, leading to the withdrawal of his Cofidis team from the Tour.
Shimano's carbon Dura-Ace cranks
We keep spotting this one at the tour, Shimano's carbon Dura-Ace cranks. It can hardly be top secret anymore considering it's been seen on a few of the team bikes. The one pictured was aboard one of the Specialized Gerolsteiner bikes, we've seen others on Rabobank Colnagos.
Even with the cranks on such public display we've still had no further details from Shimano so it's down to guess work on the details. Obviously styled on the current alloy cranks the carbon variant loses the preload cap on the left arm and adopts a preload collar for adjusting the bearings instead. This is identical to the setup used on the current XTR mountain bike cranks. It's a easier to use than the current preload cap and 5mm pinch bolts and it also takes the guess work out of preloading the bearings. The only difference here is that the Dura-Ace collar has been slimmed down to give it a lighter, road orientated appearance. It also looks like the cranks run on the regular Shimano external bearing units.
We've only got the pictures to go on so far but the cranks look very tidy even if they are only prototypes. Round the back of the spider everything looks typically tidy and surgically Shimano with no out of place carbon weave in sight. We're going to try and get hold of one of the team mechanics to see if we can get a weight. It'd also be interesting to know if those arms are hollow and if the spindle is carbon or alloy.
That's the technical details, now we'll open the debate on the looks. No doubt Shimano has been forced into making a carbon crank by its numerous competitors turning out cranks made from the black stuff. It's still the material of the moment and no doubt we'll be seeing carbon derailleur, shifters and brakes in the near future from Shimano. The thing is with all
that carbon around at the moment the alloy stuff looks pretty damn good.
With all of Shimano's history and engineering know, how much better do a set of carbon cranks really perform over the current Dura-Ace model? If it's big weight saving matched with an increase in stiffness then why not. But there's also a certain amount of engineering romanticism about forging and machining a component out of a block of alloy.
So, are you a fan of the new carbon cranks or do you like a bit of shininess in an otherwise dark world?
Rasmussen takes it all
Rasmussen takes it all (AFP Photo)
Denmark's Michael Rasmussen strode towards a third consecutive King of the Mountains title after claiming victory on the Tour de France's eighth stage to pull on the leader's yellow jersey.
The Rabobank rider finished the 165km run from Le Grand-Bornand to the first summit finish of the race Sunday with the same classic display of climbing that has won him the race's polka dot jersey for the past two years.
On the second of three days in the Alps the race sprang into life on the day's climb to the first summit finish, on which yellow jersey favourites Alexandre Vinokourov and Andreas Klöden lost more time to their rivals. The Astana team pair, riding with injuries picked up on Thursday's fifth stage, could do little when French champion Christophe Moreau launched the first of a series of attacks late on the 18km climb to the summit finish.
They eventually finished over four minutes behind Rasmussen, and pre-race favourite Vinokourov lost nearly a minute and a half to a handful of his more credible rivals.
Rasmussen took over what should be temporary possession of the yellow jersey from German race debutant Linus Gerdemann, who battled hard over the day's six climbs but missed out by less than a minute. Rasmussen now leads the 24-year-old T-Mobile rider by 43secs in the general classification going into Monday's first rest day, but the skinny Dane said he has no aims of keeping it all the way to Paris.
"There's still two weeks of racing left, and 110km of time trialling - and I think I've showed in the past it's not exactly my speciality," said Rasmussen, who now has three stage wins on the race. The Dane famously crashed a number of times in the race's second time trial in 2005.
Rasmussen started his attack on the Cormet de Roselend after 81km with a small group of riders, and he left his only remaining companion, Antonio Colom of Astana, 18km from the summit of the final climb.
In the end Rasmussen came over the finish with a lead of 2min 47sec on Spaniard Iban Mayo, of Saunier Duval, with Alejandro Valverde finishing 01sec ahead of a handful of fellow yellow jersey contenders, including Christophe Moreau, Cadel Evans and Andrey Kashechkin.
Rasmussen didn't celebrate at the finish, and later admitted: "I knew it would be pretty tight for the yellow jersey, that's why I didn't celebrate today. We can do that tonight. It was just a matter of taking as much time out of my competitors as possible."
Some of the more credible yellow jersey contenders meanwhile will be nursing their wounds.
Vinokourov, who struggled in the final kilometres of the day's sixth and last climb as Moreau launched attack after attack, finally came in 19th at 4:29 behind Rasmussen. More importantly, the Kazakh lost over a minute to Alejandro Valverde, Cadel Evans and Moreau and is now 5min 23sec behind the overall leader.
A defiant Vinokourov, riding his third consecutive day with over 30 stitches in deep cuts on his knees following a crash, says his Tour is far from over. "If I had lost five minutes today, it would have been over," he said.
Evans said it had been one of the most dramatic days of racing his career. "I've never seen the GC (general classification) riders attacking each other so much. When there's no one to ride (with), trust me, it's not easy."
Evans, who finished fifth overall last year, is one of the few remaining Australians on the race. Michael Rogers, of Gerdemann's T-Mobile team, was in the virtual race lead when he crashed out of the race while travelling in excess of 60km/h on the descent of the Cormet de Roselend. He later abandoned with injuries to his right hand, shoulder and knee.
Half an hour earlier compatriot Stuart O'Grady, of the CSC team, was taken to hospital after he also crashed on the descent of the Cormet de Roselend climb.
A third Australian, Robbie McEwen of Evans' Predictor-Lotto team, failed to finish within the time limits.
© AFP 2007
Also see: stage 8 live report.
Results
1 Michael Rasmussen (Den ¦ Rabobank) 04:49:40
2 Iban Mayo (Spa ¦ Saunier Duval - Prodir) 00:02:47
3 Alejandro Valverde (Spa ¦ Caisse D'Epargne) 00:03:12
4 Christophe Moreau (Fra ¦ Ag2R Prevoyance) 00:03:13
5 Frank Schleck (Lux ¦ Team CSC) 00:03:13
6 Cadel Evans (Aus ¦ Predictor - Lotto) 00:03:13
7 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz ¦ Astana) 00:03:13
8 Alberto Contador (Spa ¦ Discovery Channel Team) 00:03:31
9 Denis Menchov (Rus ¦ Rabobank) 00:03:35
10 Carlos Sastre (Spa ¦ Team CSC) 00:03:35
11 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa ¦ Euskaltel - Euskadi) 00:03:59
12 Levi Leipheimer (USA ¦ Discovery Channel Team) 00:03:59
13 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa ¦ Saunier Duval - Prodir) 00:03:59
14 Manuel Beltran (Spa ¦ Liquigas) 00:04:13
15 Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spa ¦ Caisse D'Epargne) 00:04:13
16 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa ¦ Quick Step - Innergetic) 00:04:29
17 David Arroyo (Spa ¦ Caisse D'Epargne) 00:04:29
18 Andréas Klöden (Ger ¦ Astana) 00:04:29
19 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz ¦ Astana) 00:04:29
20 Linus Gerdemann (Ger ¦ T-Mobile Team) 00:05:05
21 Tadej Valjavec (Slo ¦ Lampre-Fondital) 00:05:05
22 Kim Kirchen (Lux ¦ T-Mobile Team) 00:05:10
23 Mikel Astarloza (Spa ¦ Euskaltel - Euskadi) 00:05:41
24 Jens Voigt (Ger ¦ Team CSC) 00:05:47
25 Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr ¦ Barloworld) 00:05:47
26 Michael Boogerd (Ned ¦ Rabobank) 00:06:32
27 Christopher Horner (USA ¦ Predictor - Lotto) 00:06:32
28 Vladimir Karpets (Rus ¦ Caisse D'Epargne) 00:06:39
29 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr ¦ Discovery Channel Team) 00:07:40
30 Amets Txurruka (Spa ¦ Euskaltel - Euskadi) 00:08:23
31 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra ¦ Cofidis Credit Par Telephone) 00:08:23
32 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus ¦ Credit Agricole) 00:08:23
33 Juan Mauricio Soler Hernandez (Col ¦ Barloworld 00:08:48
34 Christian Knees (Ger ¦ Team Milram) 00:09:44
35 Vladimir Gusev (Rus ¦ Discovery Channel Team) 00:09:44
36 Markus Fothen (Ger ¦ Gerolsteiner) 00:09:44
37 Bram Tankink (Ned ¦ Quick Step - Innergetic) 00:12:45
38 Christian Vandevelde (USA ¦ Team CSC) 00:12:45
39 José Ivan Gutierrez (Spa ¦ Caisse D'Epargne) 00:12:45
40 Ludovic Turpin (Fra ¦ Ag2R Prevoyance) 00:12:45
41 Simon Gerrans (Aus ¦ Ag2R Prevoyance) 00:13:12
42 Kjell Carlström (Fin ¦ Liquigas) 00:14:13
43 Fabian Wegmann (Ger ¦ Gerolsteiner) 00:14:13
44 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra ¦ Credit Agricole) 00:14:13
45 Patxi Vila Errandonea (Spa ¦ Lampre-Fondital) 00:15:16
46 Thomas Voeckler (Fra ¦ Bouygues Telecom) 00:15:33
47 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita ¦ Astana) 00:17:26
48 Antonio Colom (Spa ¦ Astana) 00:17:26
49 Axel Merckx (Bel ¦ T-Mobile Team) 00:17:26
50 George Hincapie (USA ¦ Discovery Channel Team) 00:17:26
51 Carlos Barredo (Spa ¦ Quick Step - Innergetic) 00:17:26
52 Cristian Moreni (Ita ¦ Cofidis Credit Par Telephone) 00:18:06
53 Serguei Ivanov (Rus ¦ Astana) 00:19:17
54 Mario Aerts (Bel ¦ Predictor - Lotto) 00:19:17
55 Thomas Dekker (Ned ¦ Rabobank) 00:19:17
56 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor ¦ Team CSC) 00:19:17
57 Erik Zabel (Ger ¦ Team Milram) 00:19:17
58 Johan Van Summeren (Bel ¦ Predictor - Lotto) 00:19:17
59 Cédric Vasseur (Fra ¦ Quick Step - Innergetic) 00:19:17
60 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz ¦ Astana) 00:19:17
61 Sylvain Calzati (Fra ¦ Ag2R Prevoyance) 00:19:17
62 Stephane Goubert (Fra ¦ Ag2R Prevoyance) 00:19:17
63 Jérôme Pineau (Fra ¦ Bouygues Telecom) 00:19:17
64 Grischa Niermann (Ger ¦ Rabobank) 00:19:17
65 Gorka Verdugo (Spa ¦ Euskaltel - Euskadi) 00:19:17
66 Inigo Cuesta (Spa ¦ Team CSC) 00:19:17
67 Gregory Rast (Swi ¦ Astana) 00:19:17
68 Patrik Sinkewitz (Ger ¦ T-Mobile Team) 00:19:17
69 Inigo Landaluze (Spa ¦ Euskaltel - Euskadi) 00:19:17
70 Sergio Paulinho (Por ¦ Discovery Channel Team) 00:20:05
71 Francisco Ventoso (Spa ¦ Saunier Duval - Prodir) 00:20:05
72 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz ¦ Credit Agricole) 00:22:03
73 Dario Cioni (Ita ¦ Predictor - Lotto) 00:22:59
74 Bernhard Kohl (Aut ¦ Gerolsteiner) 00:24:18
75 Ronny Scholz (Ger ¦ Gerolsteiner) 00:24:18
76 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe ¦ Francaise Des Jeux) 00:29:11
77 Martin Elmiger (Swi ¦ Ag2R Prevoyance) 00:29:11
78 Matthieu Sprick (Fra ¦ Bouygues Telecom) 00:29:11
79 Juan Miguel Mercado (Spa ¦ Agritubel) 00:29:11
80 Ruben Perez (Spa ¦ Euskaltel - Euskadi) 00:29:11
81 Jose Luis Arrieta (Spa ¦ Ag2R Prevoyance) 00:29:11
82 Patrice Halgand (Fra ¦ Credit Agricole) 00:29:11
83 John Gadret (Fra ¦ Ag2R Prevoyance) 00:29:11
84 Iker Camano (Spa ¦ Saunier Duval - Prodir) 00:29:11
85 Michael Albasini (Swi ¦ Liquigas) 00:29:11
86 Daniele Bennati (Ita ¦ Lampre-Fondital) 00:29:11
87 Frederik Willems (Bel ¦ Liquigas) 00:29:11
88 Murilo Antonio Fischer (Bra ¦ Liquigas) 00:29:11
89 Freddy Bichot (Fra ¦ Agritubel) 00:29:11
90 Alessandro Ballan (Ita ¦ Lampre-Fondital) 00:33:45
91 Fabian Cancellara (Swi ¦ Team CSC) 00:33:45
92 Daniel Navarro (Spa ¦ Astana) 00:33:45
93 Philippe Gilbert (Bel ¦ Francaise Des Jeux) 00:33:45
94 Stefan Schumacher (Ger ¦ Gerolsteiner) 00:33:45
95 Egoi Martinez (Spa ¦ Discovery Channel Team) 00:33:45
96 Francisco Perez Sanchez (Spa ¦ Caisse D'Epargne) 00:33:45
97 Stef Clement (Ned ¦ Bouygues Telecom) 00:33:45
98 Jorge Azanza (Spa ¦ Euskaltel - Euskadi) 00:33:45
99 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra ¦ Bouygues Telecom) 00:33:45
100 Laurent Lefevre (Fra ¦ Bouygues Telecom) 00:33:45
101 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra ¦ Francaise Des Jeux) 00:33:45
102 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra ¦ Agritubel) 00:33:45
103 Gianpaolo Cheula (Ita ¦ Barloworld) 00:33:45
104 Daniele Righi (Ita ¦ Lampre-Fondital) 00:33:45
105 Félix Cardenas (Col ¦ Barloworld) 00:36:49
106 Filippo Pozzato (Ita ¦ Liquigas) 00:39:07
107 Aleksandr Kuschynski (Blr ¦ Liquigas) 00:39:07
108 Matteo Tosatto (Ita ¦ Quick Step - Innergetic) 00:39:07
109 Robert Hunter (RSA ¦ Barloworld) 00:39:07
110 Steven De Jongh (Ned ¦ Quick Step - Innergetic) 00:39:07
111 Manuel Quinziato (Ita ¦ Liquigas) 00:39:07
112 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra ¦ Francaise Des Jeux) 00:39:07
113 Alessandro Cortinovis (Ita ¦ Team Milram) 00:39:07
114 Tom Boonen (Bel ¦ Quick Step - Innergetic) 00:39:07
115 Claudio Corioni (Ita ¦ Lampre-Fondital) 00:39:07
116 Cyril Dessel (Fra ¦ Ag2R Prevoyance) 00:39:07
117 Alberto Ongarato (Ita ¦ Team Milram) 00:39:07
118 Ralf Grabsch (Ger ¦ Team Milram) 00:39:07
119 Bert Grabsch (Ger ¦ T-Mobile Team) 00:39:07
120 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita ¦ Lampre-Fondital) 00:39:07
121 Andriy Grivko (Ukr ¦ Team Milram) 00:39:07
122 Marcel Sieberg (Ger ¦ Team Milram) 00:39:07
123 Wim Vansevenant (Bel ¦ Predictor - Lotto) 00:39:07
124 Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel ¦ Cofidis Credit Par Telephone) 00:39:07
125 Sébastien Rosseler (Bel ¦ Quick Step - Innergetic) 00:39:07
126 Anthony Geslin (Fra ¦ Bouygues Telecom) 00:39:07
127 Mickaël Delage (Fra ¦ Francaise Des Jeux) 00:39:07
128 Paolo Bossoni (Ita ¦ Lampre-Fondital) 00:39:07
129 Leif Hoste (Bel ¦ Predictor - Lotto) 00:39:07
130 David Millar (GBr ¦ Saunier Duval - Prodir) 00:39:07
131 David Canada (Spa ¦ Saunier Duval - Prodir) 00:39:07
132 Christophe Rinero (Fra ¦ Saunier Duval - Prodir) 00:39:07
133 Benjamin Noval Gonzalez (Spa ¦ Discovery Channel Team) 00:39:07
134 Nicolas Portal (Fra ¦ Caisse D'Epargne) 00:39:07
135 Benoit Salmon (Fra ¦ Agritubel) 00:39:07
136 Alexander Efimkin (Rus ¦ Barloworld) 00:39:07
137 Lilian Jegou (Fra ¦ Francaise Des Jeux) 00:39:07
138 Sébastien Hinault (Fra ¦ Credit Agricole) 00:39:07
139 Anthony Charteau (Fra ¦ Credit Agricole) 00:39:07
140 Robert Förster (Ger ¦ Gerolsteiner) 00:39:07
141 Gert Steegmans (Bel ¦ Quick Step - Innergetic) 00:39:07
142 Igor Anton (Spa ¦ Euskaltel - Euskadi) 00:39:07
143 Inaki Isasi (Spa ¦ Euskaltel - Euskadi) 00:39:07
144 Bradley Wiggins (GBr ¦ Cofidis Credit Par Telephone) 00:39:07
145 William Bonnet (Fra ¦ Credit Agricole) 00:39:07
146 Johann Tschopp (Swi ¦ Bouygues Telecom) 00:39:07
147 Enrico Poitschke (Ger ¦ Team Milram) 00:39:07
148 Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita ¦ Barloworld) 00:39:07
149 Nicolas Jalabert (Fra ¦ Agritubel) 00:39:07
150 Peter Wrolich (Aut ¦ Gerolsteiner) 00:39:07
151 Pieter Weening (Ned ¦ Rabobank) 00:39:07
152 Heinrich Haussler (Ger ¦ Gerolsteiner) 00:39:07
153 Sven Krauss (Ger ¦ Gerolsteiner) 00:39:07
154 Moises Duenas Nevado (Spa ¦ Agritubel) 00:39:07
155 David De La Fuente (Spa ¦ Saunier Duval - Prodir) 00:39:07
156 Stéphane Augé (Fra ¦ Cofidis Credit Par Telephone) 00:39:07
157 Xavier Florencio (Spa ¦ Bouygues Telecom) 00:39:07
158 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel ¦ Cofidis Credit Par Telephone) 00:39:07
159 Thomas Geraint (GBr ¦ Barloworld) 00:39:07
160 Sandy Casar (Fra ¦ Francaise Des Jeux) 00:39:07
161 Thor Hushovd (Nor ¦ Credit Agricole) 00:39:07
162 Bernhard Eisel (Aut ¦ T-Mobile Team) 00:39:07
163 Julian Dean (NZl ¦ Credit Agricole) 00:39:07
164 Bram De Groot (Ned ¦ Rabobank) 00:39:07
165 Nick Nuyens (Bel ¦ Cofidis Credit Par Telephone) 00:39:07
166 David Zabriskie (USA ¦ Team CSC) 00:39:07
167 Juan Antonio Flecha (Spa ¦ Rabobank) 00:39:07
168 Fred Rodriguez (USA ¦ Predictor - Lotto) 00:39:07
169 Marcus Burghardt (Ger ¦ T-Mobile Team) 00:39:07
170 Vicente Garcia Acosta (Spa ¦ Caisse D'Epargne) 00:39:07
171 Sébastien Chavanel (Fra ¦ Francaise Des Jeux) 00:39:07
172 Charles Wegelius (GBr ¦ Liquigas) 00:39:07
General classification after stage 8
1 Michael Rasmussen (Den ¦ Rabobank) 39:37:42
2 Linus Gerdemann (Ger ¦ T-Mobile Team) 00:00:43
3 Iban Mayo (Spa ¦ Saunier Duval - Prodir) 00:02:39
4 Alejandro Valverde (Spa ¦ Caisse D'Epargne) 00:02:51
5 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz ¦ Astana) 00:02:52
6 Cadel Evans (Aus ¦ Predictor - Lotto) 00:02:53
7 Christophe Moreau (Fra ¦ Ag2R Prevoyance) 00:03:06
8 Alberto Contador (Spa ¦ Discovery Channel Team) 00:03:10
9 Frank Schleck (Lux ¦ Team CSC) 00:03:14
10 Denis Menchov (Rus ¦ Rabobank) 00:03:19
11 Carlos Sastre (Spa ¦ Team CSC) 00:03:35
12 Andréas Klöden (Ger ¦ Astana) 00:03:46
13 Levi Leipheimer (USA ¦ Discovery Channel Team) 00:03:53
14 Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spa ¦ Caisse D'Epargne) 00:03:54
15 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa ¦ Euskaltel - Euskadi) 00:04:00
16 Manuel Beltran (Spa ¦ Liquigas) 00:04:19
17 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa ¦ Quick Step - Innergetic) 00:04:22
18 David Arroyo (Spa ¦ Caisse D'Epargne) 00:04:51
19 Kim Kirchen (Lux ¦ T-Mobile Team) 00:05:02
20 Tadej Valjavec (Slo ¦ Lampre-Fondital) 00:05:03
21 Mikel Astarloza (Spa ¦ Euskaltel - Euskadi) 00:05:14
22 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz ¦ Astana) 00:05:23
23 Vladimir Karpets (Rus ¦ Caisse D'Epargne) 00:06:09
24 Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr ¦ Barloworld) 00:06:18
25 Christopher Horner (USA ¦ Predictor - Lotto) 00:06:29
26 Michael Boogerd (Ned ¦ Rabobank) 00:06:38
27 Juan Mauricio Soler Hernandez (Col ¦ Barloworld 00:07:31
28 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr ¦ Discovery Channel Team) 00:07:32
29 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus ¦ Credit Agricole) 00:08:33
30 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa ¦ Saunier Duval - Prodir) 00:08:51
Italy's cycling federation gives Michele Scarponi 18-month ban for doping
Listen to Article
ROME: Italian cyclist Michele Scarponi was suspended for 18 months Friday for his involvement in the Spanish doping scandal known as Operation Puerto.
The Italian cycling federation's disciplinary commission heeded a recommendation by the Italian Olympic Committee's anti-doping prosecutors.
Scarponi was spared the maximum two-year ban because he cooperated with the investigation, the federation said.
Scarponi, who has 10 career victories, was accused of "the use or attempted use of a banned substance or method" and of "possession of banned substances and methods."
The 27-year-old rider from the Acqua & Sapone team has admitted involvement in the scandal but denied doping. The federation last month banned 2006 Giro d'Italia champion Ivan Basso for two years on similar charges.
Scarponi's ban ends Nov. 15, 2008, taking into account that the rider has been suspended since May 15.
OVERALL POINTS STANDING
Result after stage 4
Total distance covered: 193 km
| Standing | Rider | Rider number bib | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  BOONEN Tom |
171 | QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC | 98 pts |
| 2. |  ZABEL Erik |
181 | TEAM MILRAM | 86 pts |
| 3. |  MC EWEN Robbie |
46 | PREDICTOR - LOTTO | 84 pts |
| 4. |  HUNTER Robert |
216 | BARLOWORLD | 81 pts |
| 5. |  HUSHOVD Thor |
101 | CREDIT AGRICOLE | 79 pts |
| 6. |  CHAVANEL Sébastien |
162 | FRANCAISE DES JEUX | 70 pts |
| 7. | STEEGMANS Gert |
176 | QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC | 66 pts |
| 8. |  FREIRE Oscar |
56 | RABOBANK | 62 pts |
| 9. | FÖRSTER Robert |
92 | GEROLSTEINER | 59 pts |
| 10. | FEILLU Romain |
134 | AGRITUBEL | 57 pts |
| 11. |  NAPOLITANO Danilo |
86 | LAMPRE-FONDITAL | 55 pts |
| 12. |  CANCELLARA Fabian |
33 | TEAM CSC | 54 pts |
| 13. |  EISEL Bernhard |
24 | T-MOBILE TEAM | 47 pts |
| 14. | BURGHARDT Marcus |
22 | T-MOBILE TEAM | 40 pts |
| 15. | LADAGNOUS Matthieu |
167 | FRANCAISE DES JEUX | 39 pts |
| 16. | HAUSSLER Heinrich |
94 | GEROLSTEINER | 34 pts |
| 17. |  CAVENDISH Mark |
23 | T-MOBILE TEAM | 33 pts |
| 18. | FLECHA Juan Antonio |
55 | RABOBANK | 32 pts |
| 19. | VENTOSO Francisco |
209 | SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR | 32 pts |
| 20. |  FISCHER Murilo Antoniobil |
155 | LIQUIGAS | 31 pts |
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