15.57 Win Number 3 For Dekker?
Dekker and Aerts have opened up a good break ont he peloton. Could Dekker win his 3rd stage this year?

15.56 2 Clear
Aerts and Dekker are clear of the peloton.

15.55 Attacks Left, Right & Centre
There are attacks coming from all angles. The latest rider to go clear is a Rabobank rider. 15.55 Aerts & Pascual-Llorente...
Two riders are clear in the final 4km. Armstrong has led a chase of the two escapees and they are now back.

15.54 5km To Go
Pascual-Llorente has attacked at the 5km to go mark. He is clear with a Lotto rider.

15.53 Result of Cote de Lausanne
1. Zaina 10pts 2. Vinokourov 7pts 3. Ullrich 5pts 4. Moreau 3pts 5. Zabel 1pt

15.52 Over Final Summit
There are 8km to go. The peloton passed the summit of the Cote de Lausanne as a group.

15.51 Furious Action On Final Climb
The 3 escapees are caught. There are now a number of riders, including a Mercatone Uno rider, trying to get clear.

15.50 Trio Lead By 10"
Hamburger's break is 10" clear of the peloton.

15.50 Hamburger Not Zberg
It's not the champion of Switzerland up front; it's the champion of Denmark, Hamburger...

15.48 Champion of Switzerland Clear
A Cofidis rider has attacked, he has been joined by the champion of Switzerland, Zberg.

15.48 9km To Go
Bo Larsen is waiting for the peloton. There are 9km to race.

15.47 Bo Larsen Holding On...
Bo Larsen is still clear of the peloton. His lead is just 50 meters... The Telekom train is closing in on the lone figure up front.

15.46 Bo Larsen Again...
Bo Larsen has attacked the Telekom train again. He has a lead of about 60 meters.

15.45 4km To Go To Cat-3 Summit
The peloton are now 4km from the final summit today. The Cote de Lausanne is at the 8km to go mark.

15.44 Bo Larsen Up front
As the leading trio were caught, Bo Larsen (MCJ) tried an attack. The Telekom train is now back at the front as they pass the 12km to go mark (the finishing site of today's stage.

15.43 13km To Go: Trio's Show Over...
The leading trio were caught with 13km to go.

15.43 Trio Holding On...
As the peloton passes the Olympic Museum on the streets of Lausanne, they sitll have a tender lead on the peloton of about 8".

15.41 Telekom Within Sight Of Leaders
The peloton is now just off the back of the leading trio. They are in the final 15km of today's stage. The latest time check has Lelli, Mengin and Velo 10" clear.

15.39 17" Now
The Telekom chase continues to bring the leading trio closer. They are now just 17" clear of the peloton.

15.39 20" Lead Now
A sprint looks likely now. The entire Telekom team is at the front of the chasing peloton. Zabel is in eighth place in the green jersey. They are just 20" behind the leading trio.

15.37 Lead Under Half a Minute
The trio are 25" ahead of the Telekom-led peloton.

15.35 20km To Go
The leading trio are int he final 20km of the stage. They'll pass the finisline in Lausanne in 8km time before doing a lap of the 5th most populated city in Switzerland. Their lead was 33".

15.33 35" Lead...
The trio are now 35" clear of a determined chase by the Telekom team.

15.31 Peloton 40" Behind At Sprint Site
The peloton were led by the Telekom train as they passed the site of the 2nd sprint. They were 40" behind the leading trio.

15.31 Results of Dezaley Sprint
The leaders have absorbed the points of the 2nd intermediate sprint at Dezaley. The results are: 1. Lelli (Cofidis) 6pts 2. Velo (Mercatone Uno) 4pts 3. Mengin (FDJ) 2pts.

15.29 Trio Lead By 50"
The leading trio are 50" clear of the peloton. Verheyen has been caught by the Telekom's chase at the front of the main pack.

15.28 Tom Steels Last Tour Stage Winner in Switzerland
The last Tour stage finish in Switzerland was in 1998 when Mapei's Tom Steels won the bunch sprint of the 18th stage.

15.26 Trio 49" Clear of Peloton
Velo, Mengin and Lelli are 49" ahead of the peloton.

15.25 Leading Trio 30" Clear
Velo, Lelli and Mengin are 30" ahead of the rider in 4th on the road, Verheyen. The other five early escapees are back with the peloton. They were caught at the 128km mark.

15.23 3 Lead Peloton By 39"
The three leaders are just 39" clear of the peloton. They are followed by a solo Verheyen the 5 other remnants of the break.

15.22 Attacking Action Up Front
Three riders have attacked at the front, they are Mengin, Lelli and Velo.

15.20 Verheyen Caught
The leaders are at the 123km mark. Verheyen has been caught by the other riders in the break.

15.19 Verheyen Attacks
With the leading nine just 45" ahead of the peloton, Geert Verheyen (the Lotto rider up front) has attacked.

15.17 Lead Now A Tender One
The nine-man break is now just 45" ahead of the peloton.

15.17 Lotz On The Attack...
There was a small attack at the front of the race which was quickly reeled in. Lotz immediately counter-attacked, but he too has been caught.

15.12 115km Raced
The leaders are in the final 40km of today's stage. Their advantage is now 1'15".

15.09 Former Yellow Jersey Driving The Chase
Alberto Elli, who wore the yellow jersey early in the 2000 Tour, is at the front of the chasing peloton. He leads three Telekom team-mates ahead of a group of Postal riders.

15.07 110km Race
The leading nine are 1'25" clear of the peloton - which is being led by three Telekom riders - at the 110km mark.

15.06 Nine-Man Break 1'30" Clear at 108km
The riders in the lead of the stage - Velo, Zaina, Heppner, Van Heeswijk, Lotz, Lelli, Mengin, Verheyen and Beneteau - were 1'30" ahead of the peloton at the 108km mark.

15.04 Chris Peers - Cofidis, Not Lotto
The latest rider to retire from the Tour, Chris Peers, was in the Cofidis team, not the Lotto team as was just reported.

15.02 50km To Race
The nine leaders are now in the final 50km. Their lead over the peloton at the 105km mark was 1'40".

15.01 Chris Peers Abandons
Lotto's Chris Peers is the latest rider to retire from the Tour de France. There are now 130 riders in the race.

14.58 9-Man Escape Lead Now 1'30"
The 9-man lead group are 1'30" ahead of the US Postal/Telekom-led peloton.

14.57 Bartali The First Tour Stage Winner In Lausanne
The man who would have been 87 yesterday, Gino Bartali was the first Tour stage winner in Lausanne. His win in 1948 gave him a hat-trick of wins in the year in which he won the final yellow jersey, and a grand total of seven stages.

14.53 5th Tour Finish In Lausanne
The last time the Tour featured a stage finish in the Swiss city of Lausanne was in 1978 when Gerrie Knetemann was the winner. Today's finish is the 5th time the Tour has finished in Lausanne.

14.51 57.5km To Race
The leader have 57.5km to race. Their advantage over the peleton is 1'42".

14.49 Climb On Finishing Circuit
The 17th stage concludes with a 12km lap around Lausanne. The final climb today, the cat-3 Cote de Lausanne, is 7km from the finish of the stage.

14.47 Lead Grows Again...
The nine-man escape is 1'43" ahead of the US Postal/Telekom-led peloton. The chase group had bought the leaders' advantage back to 1'25" at the 92.5km mark. The nine leaders are now at the 95km mark.

14.43 92.5km Raced
The nine leaders are in the town of Bulle (92.5km). They lead the peloton by 1'25".

14.38 Telekom & Postal Lead Peloton's Chase
The Telekom and US Postal teams are in charge at the head of the peloton. They are 1'17" behind the nine leaders.

14.37 Average Speeds For 2nd Hour
The average speed for the 2nd hour of racing today is 41.2kph. The total average for the first two hours is 42.8kph.

14.36 The Nine Leaders
The group at the head of the stage are: Lelli (Cofidis), Heppner (Telekom), Zaina & Velo (Mercatone Uno), Van Heeswijk (Mapei), Verheyen (Lotto), Mengin (FDJ), Beneteau (Bonjour) and Lotz (Rabobank). They are 1'25" ahead of the peloton.

14.34 Nine Leaders
Lelli has been caught by the chasing group of eight with 70km to race.

14.29 Lelli Waits For 8
Lelli is waiting for the 8 counter-attackers.

14.29 Lelli's Lead To 8:- 45"
Lelli is ahead of the eight chasers by 45".

14.28 The Situation Now...
Lelli leads 8 riders by 1'00". They are Van Heeswijk, Lotz, Heppner, Velo, Zaina, Verheyen, Mengin, Beneteau. The peloton is at 2'00".

14.27 Van Heeswijk & Mengin Catch Six
The counter attack by Van Heeswijk and Mengin has caught the six riders who attacked on the descent from the Col des Mosses.

14.24 Mengin and Van Heeswijk In Pursuit of Six
Lelli leads six chasers - Heppner, Zaini, Velo, Lotz, Verheyen and Beneteau - by 57". A chase by Van Heeswijk and Mengin is at 1'17". The peloton is behind Lelli by 1'40".

14.16 At 69.5km
At the 6.95km mark, Lelli leads the six counter-attackers by 1'10". The peloton is behind Lelli's lead by 1'25".

14.08 Six Chasing Lelli
Lotz, Heppner, Velo, Zaina, Verheyen and Beneteau have attacked the peloton and are 1'40" behind Lelli. The peloton is 1'50" off the lead of Lelli.

14.07 Zaina Back In Bunch
Zaini has been caught by the peloton of Armstrong. There is just Massimiliano Lelli at the front of the stage. His lead is 2'00" on the group of Armstrong.

14.04 Lelli Leads Zaini by 1'47"
Lelli leads Zaina by 1'47". Herve is back in the peloton which is 2'00" behind the stage leader.

14.00 Results of Col des Mosses (54km)
1. Lelli (Cofidis) 2. Herve at 1'40" 3. Zaini 4. Den Bakker at 2'00" 5. Mancebo at 2'10" 6. Escartin 7. Moreau 8. Mattan 2'17" 9. Millar 10. Heppner Vinokourov led the rest of the peloton over the summit of the final cat-2 climb.

13.58 Herve & Zaina Behind by 1'40"
At the summit to the counter-attack by Herve & Zaina is 1'40" behind the lead of Lelli.

13.57 1km To Climb For Armstrong's Group
The yellow jersey's peloton has been attacked by Mancebo, Escartin and Moreau in the final kilometer of climbing to the summit of the Col des Mosses.

13.56 Lelli Takes Col des Mosses Points
Lelli is over the cat-2 summit of the Col des Mosses.

13.55 1km From Col des Mosses Summit
Lelli is 1km away from the summit of the Col des Mosses. He leads Herve and Zaina by 1'40" and the peloton by 2'20". Den Bakker is off the front of the peloton in pursuit of Herve and Zaina.

13.53 Only The Posties Have Their Full Line-Up
The retirement of Banesto's Zulle means that there is just one team with their full contingent of nine riders in the 2000 Tour de France. That is the US Postal team of Lance Armstrong.

13.52 Zulle Abandons
Last year's runner-up, Alex Zulle has retired from the Tour de France! He began the day in 47th place, 1h26'01" off the lead of Armstrong.

13.50 Situation At 50km
Lelli leads Zaini and Herve by 1'45", the yellow jersey's peloton is at 2'20".

13.49 Zabel Rejoins Yellow Group
The green jersey of Zabel is back with the group of the yellow jersey.

13.47 Two Riders Chase Lelli
Zaini and Herve are in pursuit of Lelli. The summit of the Col des Mosses is at 54km. The counter-attackers are in the 50th kilometer of today's 155km stage.

13.45 49km: 2'05"
At the 49km mark, Lelli leads the yellow jersey's peloton by 2'05".

13.44 40 Riders In Yellow Pack
There are 40 riders left in the group of the yellow jersey. They are over two minutes behind the lone leader, Lelli.

13.44 Zabel & Julich Drop Off Too
Erik Zabel and Bobby Julich are now also off the back of the peloton.

13.43 Lelli Leads By 2'05"
Lelli is now alone at the front of the stage again. His lead is now 2'05".

13.43 Chasing Pair Give In
The chasing duo have given up their pursuit of Lelli. They are now back in the peloton.

13.41 Zulle Going Off Back Too
Last year's overall runner-up, Alex Zulle (Banesto) is also off the back of the peloton.

13.40 Three More Off Back
Backstedt, Hinault and Zberg are also off the back of the peloton on the Col des Mosses.

13.39 Commesso Off Back Of Pack
Commesso has dropped off the back of the peloton.

13.39 46km Raced
Garcia-Acosta and Marichal are 1'35" off the lead of Lelli. The peloton is at 2'06" behind the Cofidis rider who leads stage.

13.37 Average Speed For The First Hour
The average speed for the first hour of the 17th stage is 44.4kph.

13.37 Kelme Lead Bunch Now
The Kelme team are now at the front of the chasing peloton.

13.35 Lelli's Latest Lead...
Lelli leads Garcia-Acosta and Marichal by 1'50". The peloton is being led by the Postal team 2'10" behind Lelli.

13.33 Two Riders Chasing Lelli
Marichal & Garcia-Acosta are in pursuit of Lelli at the front of the stage. They began their chase at the 43rd kilometer mark.

13.32 Lead Up To 1'50"
The US Postal team of Lance Armstrong is at the head of the peloton. Their deficit to the lone leader, Lelli, is 1'50".

13.29 42km Raced
Lelli leads by 1'30" at the 42km mark.

13.23 Lelli 50" Ahead
Lelli has pushed his lead to 50" ahead of the Postal-led peloton.

13.22 Boven Retires
The first rider to drop off the back of the bunch today, Jan Boven (Rabobank), has retired from his first Tour de France. There are 132 riders still in the race.

13.21 Lelli's Lead Growing Quickly
Lelli now leads by 40".

13.20 Lelli Leads By 30"
Lelli is alone at the front of the race by 30".

13.20 Nazon Off The Back
Damien Nazon (Bonjour) has lost touch with the back of the peloton.

13.19 Lelli's Lead Now 20"
The peloton is on the final big climb of the Tour - the Col des Mosses. Massimiliano Lelli is in the lead with an advantage of 20" on the peloton.

13.19 Lelli 10" Clear
Lelli (Cofidis) has attacked and is alone by 10" at the front of the stage.

13.18 Only 10 "Young Riders" Still In The Tour
Of the 19 riders who began the Tour in the under-25 'Best Young Rider' classification, nine have retired. The 10 remaining are led by Francisco Mancebo (Banesto). Then comes Trentin (Vini Caldirola), Niermann (Rabobank), Canada (ONCE), Millar (Cofidis), Commesso (Saeco), Moncoutie (Cofidis), Joachim (US Postal), Klier (Farm Frites) and Backstedt (CA).

13.16 18km From Summit
The peloton is 18km away from the summit of the cat-2 climb over the Col des Mosses.

13.12 Chiappucci In Lausanne Today
'Il Diablo', Claudio Chiappucci, the runner-up in the 1990 and 1992 Tours de France, is at the finish in Lausanne today.

13.10 Boven Off The Back
Jan Boven (Rabobank) is off the back of the peloton.

13.07 Escape Over
The six escapees were caught at the 30km mark. The peloton is all together again.

13.06 Six More Attack
Arrieta, Garcia-Acosta, Otxoa, Pascual-Llorente, Lotz and Agnolutto are now on the attack.

12.57 Posties Drive Peloton
The only US Postal representative at the front of the stage is Ekimov. The Postal train is driving the chasing peloton.

12.56 Five More Riders Join Escape
Ekimov, Zberg, Elli, Chanteur and Sacchi now also up front. There are now 17 riders at the front of the stage.

12.55 12 Leaders At 19km Mark
Commesso has caught the 11 early attackers. He joined them at the lead at the 19km mark. There are now 12 riders at the front of the stage.

12.55 Commesso Now Chasing
Salvatore Commesso is in pursuit of the 11 leaders.

12.54 Attack Came at 13th Kilometer
13H54 - Rodriguez, Rodrigues, Apollinio and Pascual-Llorente have chased and caught the seven leaders.

12.53 Attack Came at 13th Kilometer
The 7 leaders attacked the peloton at the 13th kilometer. Their latest time check has them 10" clear of the bunch.

12.52 First Successful Attack
Vidal, Dekker, Knaven, Hoj, Voskamp, Voigt and Garcia-Acosta have escaped the grasp of the fast-moving peloton. They at 11" clear of the peloton.

12.50 Kelme Lead Teams Classification
Despite their strong showing throughout the Tour, the Kelme team only moved to the front of the teams classification for the first time yesterday.

12.47 11km Raced
The peloton is all together despite several escpae attempts. They are at the 11km mark.

12.46 The 6 Teams Tested This Morning
US Postal, Festina, Telekom, Kelme, Banesto and Polti were the teams tested in the blood controls this morning. All the results were negative. A total of 13 riders were tested between 7.00am and 8.00am.

12.44 Peloton At 8km
The peloton is now in the village of Meillerie at the 8th kilometer. They are riding at a rapid tempo early today.

12.42 Peloton React Swiftly
The peloton has reeled in the 3 escapees at the 6km mark.

12.41 5km Raced: Two Riders Attempt An Escape
Agnolutto (AG2R) and Sacchi (Polti) have instigated the first successful escape today. They have been joined by Mapei's Beltran.

12.40 Two Climbs Today
The Tour leaves both France and the high climbs of the Alpes today. There are still two rises in the 155km of racing, but they are lower-ranked ones. The first, a cat-2 rise at the 1,445m Col des Mosses, is at the 54km mark. The second is the cat-3 Cote de Lausanne, 12km from the finish.

12.38 At 2km Mark
The 17th stage has begun with attacks from Rabobank, Farm Frites and Bonjour. The peloton is currently all together, but the pace is very high early today.

12.37 Attacking From Kilometer 0
A Rabobank rider began the attacking action as soon as the start-flag was dropped for the official start. There is no time check, but the peloton is already moving at a rapid pace.

12.35 133 Riders Still In The Tour
There were 133 riders at the start today. The only overnight withdrawal was that of the winner of stages 12 and 15, Marco Pantani.

12.35 Racing
The 17th stage officially began at 12.34.

12.34 15km In France
There are only 15km of racing in France today. The riders leave the Haute Savoie with 139.5km to race - all of which will be on Swiss soil.

12.33 Riders In Neutral Zone
The riders are currently en-route to the official start. There is a 1.6km neutral-zone to take riders to the site of the start-proper.

12.32 25 Degrees In Lausanne
At the finish today, the predicted maximum is 25 degrees (C). There is only a light breeze for today's 17th stage.

12.31 Warm Conditions For 17th Stage
The temperature at the start in Evian-les-Bains was 30 degrees (C) in the air, and 38 degrees (C) on the road. On the category-2 climb today, the 1,445m Col des Mosses (45.5km), the temperature is 19 degrees (C).

12.30 Other Drug Control News
The UCI's doping controls for the first nine stages also returned only negative readings. Aside from the 3 riders who weren't allowed to take the start of the 2000 Tour (Rossano Brasi, Andrej Hauptman and Sergei Ivanov), there have been no problems at the drug controls.

12.28 All Clear After Doping Controls
This morning 13 riders were given blood tests - including the first 9 in the overall classification. The tests, which were taken between 7.00am and 8.00am, all returned negative results. The 13 riders were from six teams.

12.23 Pantani's Retirement Due To Illness
Pantani's reason for retiring from his 5th Tour de France was that he was sick after yesterday's 15th stage. He was in 14th place overall before his retirement (20'46" off the lead of Armstrong).

12.21 No Pantani For 17th Stage
Marco Pantani announced his retirement from the Tour de France overnight. The winner of the 12th and 15th stages won 80 points in the King of the Mountain classification with an attacking start to yesterday's stage, but he paid the price for his early efforts - he finished 13'44" behind the winning time of Richard Virenque.

11.30 Race Due To Start At 12.34
Today's 17th stage, which takes the riders from Évian-les-Bains to Lausanne, is scheduled to start at 12.34.