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An emotional
Erik Dekker
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Third victory for Dekker
JULY 19th: Dutch rider Erik Dekker won his third stage of this year's Tour de France, a 155km race from Evian-les-Bains to Lausanne today.
Driver may face prison term
JULY 19th: The driver of the car which struck down and killed a 12-year-old
boy in an accident during Friday's 13th stage of the Tour de France will
appear in court next month charged with involuntary homicide, according
to a judicial source.
Pantani out of le tour
JULY 19th: Italian cyclist Marco Pantani, the 1998 winner of the Tour de
France, has pulled out of this year’s tour due to illness.
Frenchman Virenque wins 16th stage
JULY 18th: Controversial French rider Richard Virenque won the 16th stage
of the Tour de France to gain some compensation for surrendering the
King of the Mountains title which he had been chasing for a sixth time.
Riders observe minute's silence
JULY 18th: Tour de France riders observed a minute's silence at the start
of the 16th stage in Courchevel to mourn the death of a 12-year-old boy
killed by a Tour car.
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David Millar
(© Allsport)
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Millar's Sydney aim
JULY 18th: David Millar, the young Briton who won the opening timetrial
stage of the Tour de France, is confident he has a strong chance of
taking a medal in the Sydney Olympics time-trial.
Ullrich finds talent is not enough
JULY 17th: As the years go by, the chances of Jan Ullrich winning a record
six Tours de France are becoming slimmer, unlike the German cyclist.
Second success for Pantani
JULY 16th: Marco Pantani scored his second stage win of the Tour de France in four
days today when he won the 15th stage, a 173.5km Alpine ride from Briancon to Courchevel, in 5hr 34min 46sec.
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Santiago Botero
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Botero savours ‘incredible moment’
JULY 15th: Colombia's Santiago Botero of Kelme - ranked just 823rd in the world and who served a six month suspension
for doping last year - won the 14th stage of the Tour de France today. Botero completed the long 249.5km Alpine slog from Draguignan to Briancon in 7hr 56min 13sec.
French fight dampened on Bastille Day
JULY 15th: In the last half-century, only 12 Frenchmen have taken Bastille
Day stages and yesterday seven who figured in a 13-rider breakaway
group were outridden by a Spaniard, Vicente Garcia-Acosta of Miguel
Indurain's old team Banesto.
First win for Garcia-Acosta
JULY 14th: Vicente Garcia-Acosta of Spain, riding for Banesto, won the 13th
stage of the Tour de France, a 185.5km ride from Avignon to Draguigna.
Bartoli retires from Tour
JULY 14th: Italian champion Michele Bartoli became the latest casualty of
the Tour de France today when he retired after 100km of the 13th stage
from Avignon to Draguignan.
Millar’s hopes high despite crash
JULY 14th: Scotland’s David Millar survived a horrific crash on the 12th
stage of the Tour de France, but the rider still hopes to finish cycling's
premier race in Paris on July 23rd.
Pirate Pantani plunders prize
JULY 13th: Of all the climbs raced by the riders of the Tour de France, none
offers the mystique of the infamous Mont Ventoux.
Dekker does it again
JULY 11th: Success might have eluded the famous orange squad of
Holland’s football team when they were co-hosts of the European Cup;
but today the Dutch colors flew across the line to redeem their sporting
reputation.
Otxoa wins, Armstrong stars
JULY 10th: With the first week prelude out of the way, the real race for
overall honors in the Tour de France began today.
Bettini takes Dax sprint
JULY 9th: With the real race for overall honors beginning tomorrow when the Tour
heads toward the mountain-top finish at Hautacam, the first week of the
2000 Tour de France has already delivered a vast array of stage finishing
options.
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Erik Dekker
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Dekker doubles up
JULY 8th: There might have been 174 riders in the race today, but the day belonged to just one man: Erik Dekker. From the moment the flag dropped to signal the start of the 203.5km stage from Limoges to Villeneuve-sur-Lot the action never stopped.
Agnolutto Delivers French Victory
JULY 7th: Holding true to the tradition of variety which is beginning to develop in this edition of the Tour de France, today’s seventh stage delivered yet another example of the plethora of stage-wins available in the three-week summer cycling festival.
O'Grady out of tour
JULY 7th: Australian cyclist Stuart O'Grady has been forced to pull out of the Tour de France after fracturing a collarbone.
Double joy for Rabobank
JULY 6th: Question: When is seven minutes and 49 seconds a long time? Answer: When it’s the winning margin of a day long break in a stage of the Tour de France which involved 12 riders all of whom were looking for their moment in the sun.
Big guns ready to fire
JULY 6th: With one quarter of the Tour de France virtually over, it's looking good for three past winners.
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Marcel Wust
(© Allsport)
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Festina's Wust gains unlikely victory
JULY 5th: One month shy of his 33rd birthday, Marcel Wust shot out of the blue and yellow haze of his committed Festina team train, to win his first Tour de France stage in his 12th year as a professional.
ONCE and Jalabert celebrate
JULY 4th: What a difference a day makes! Today’s team time trial stage
was one of the most anticipated stages of this year’s Tour de France.
Steels wins again
JULY 3rd: Tom Steels took advantage of ideal sprint conditions – and superb work by his team-mates – to add to his rapidly growing collection of Tour de France stage-winning memories today.
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Mario Cipollini
(© Allsport)
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Riders missing Cipollini
JULY 3rd: It is not just Mario Cipollini's team mates who say they are
missing him on the Tour de France. Even his fiercest rivals wish the
Italian sprinter was there.
Steels sprints to glory
JULY 2nd: Belgium's Tom Steels prevailed in a sprint to win the second stage of the Tour de France, a 194km run between Futuroscope and Loudun today.
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"It's a dream."
- David Millar
(© Allsport)
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Millar's dream comes true
JULY 1st: Cofidis rider David Millar, who was born in Malta and brought up in Hong Kong, won the first stage of the Tour de France - a 16.5km time-trial - today.
Three riders fail blood tests
JULY 1st: Three cyclists have been excluded from the starting line of the Tour de France which gets underway today after failing blood tests, officials confirmed.
Three riders fail blood tests
JULY 1st: Three cyclists have been excluded from the starting line of the Tour de France which gets underway today after failing blood tests, officials confirmed.
Fewer climbs and time-trials leave Tour open
JUNE 30th: Fewer mountain climbs and time trials make this year's Tour de France one of the most open races in years.
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Lance Armstrong
(© Allsport)
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Tough course will test Armstrong's title bid
JUNE 30th: Let battle commence. Tomorrow begins the hardest Tour in recent years. The most open Tour in recent years. The most important Tour in recent years. And, if the pre-race vows of the organisers are to be believed, the cleanest Tour in recent years.
Tonkov withdraws to focus on Olympics
JUNE 29th: Former Giro d'Italia winner Pavel Tonkov has pulled out of the Tour de France to concentrate on his preparations for the Sydney Olympics, according to the Russian cycling federation (RCF).
Race faces credibility test
JUNE 29th: The Tour de France and its last winner, American Lance
Armstrong, face a credibility test when the world's most prestigious
cycling race begins from the Futuroscope on Saturday.
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Chris Boardman
(© Allsport)
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Boardman won't compete in Tour
JUNE 27th: Britain’s Chris Boardman has pulled out of the Tour de
France after failing to recover from a sinus infection.
Tight drug controls at Tour
JUNE 26th: The Tour de France, which begins on July 1st will be the
most controlled sporting event ever in terms of doping, according to
French Cycling Federation (FFC) president Daniel Baal.
Samples to be frozen
JUNE 26th: Urine samples from cyclists competing in this year's Tour
de France are to be frozen and tested for the banned substance EPO
(erythropoietine) when a reliable method for detecting the drug has
been perfected, the International Cycling Union (UCI) confirmed
today.
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Mario Cipollini
(© Allsport)
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Super Mario’s season worsens
JUNE 26th: Italian cycling star Mario Cipollini has been forced to pull out of
the Tour de France. The 33-year-old sprint specialist, known both as 'SuperMario' and the 'Lion King', is suffering from breathing difficulties after a heavy crash earlier this month.
Fewer races for Museeuw
JUNE 25th: Belgian cyclist Johan Museeuw has pulled out of the Tour de France in order to focus on lesser events later on in the year. Museeuw is currently with the Mapei team.
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