Free Republic

The Wall Street Journal has an excellent story today on the return of Lance Armstrong to the Tour de France, cycling’s most prestigious race. At this moment he is in second place, only a fraction of a second behind. At 37, ancient by cycling standards... The story is about the French warming up to him. It’s about time!... "[M]any of the locals saw him as cold, arrogant and overly competitive." If they watched him race, they couldn't feel that way. When Lance's arch rival, Jan Uhlrich, took a spill on a hill climb, Lance doubled back to wait for him...

Armstrong poised to ride into history The Western Mail LANCE ARMSTRONG took what looks like an unshakeable grip on the yellow jersey in yesterday's time-trial with a performance worthy of a man about to enter history by becoming the first cyclist to win a sixth Tour de France.The American levelled the infamous slopes of the Alpe d'Huez, finishing over a minute ahead of his nearest rival to win his second stage of the 91st Tour.The young Italian, Ivan Basso, was the only rider who could have harboured serious ambitions of overtaking Armstrong before Paris as he trailed him by one...

The USA's Tyler Hamilton the only man to beat Lance Armstong head to head this year in mountain competition was taken to a hospital for X-Rays after a massive crash at the end of Stage 1 of the Tour De France. As many as 200 world class cyclists were involved in the pileup, which occurred less than 1km from the finish line and forced 4 time Tour De France champion Lance Armstrong to finish on a teammates bicycle after falling in the melee. All riders will be awarded the winners time since the accident occurred in the closing stage fo...