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French cyclist Julien Bernard has given a light-hearted apology after being fined for kissing his wife during a Tour de France time trial. The Lidl-Trek rider was made to pay 200 Swiss francs ($223) by the International Cycling Union for stopping briefly during stage seven of the race. ... Writing on social media, Bernard apologised to the UCI for "having damaged the image of sport" but said he was willing to pay the fine "every day and relive this moment". Stage seven of the Tour de France is a short course of 23.3km (14.5 miles) and is one of two...

I struggled with what to write about the finale of this year’s Tour de France. Even though the Tour lasts for the better part of the month, when it ends, I always feel like it went by too fast. I love the spring classics season but they are just one individual day of drama compared to the saga that is the Tour. The Giro is like the kid brother and does little more than to prime the appetite for what’s to come in a few weeks. Of course there’s the Vuelta but if the Giro is the kid brother, the...

Mark Cavendish significantly closed the gap in the points competition with an emphatic win in today’s stage 18 in Bordeaux. Without his lead out man Mark Renshaw to deliver him to the finish; Cavendish deftly maneuvered from wheel to wheel in the last kilometer. Team Sky was dominating the front when they crossed under the 1 kilometer banner with Cavendish sitting in eighth position. Then Cervelo broke through, guiding points leader Thor Hushovd to the front. Cavendish quickly jumped on his wheel with Allesandro Petacchi behind him. Petacchi jumped first and this proved to be his undoing. Cavendish followed Petacchi...

Cavendish stamps his authority over the top sprinters in the world taking his third stage in this year’s Tour and the thirteenth in his very young career. His lead out man Mark Renshaw was ejected from the Tour by race officials for head-butting Garmin Transitions rider Julian Dean in the closing kilometer. Personally I didn’t have a problem with the head-butting although he probably could have just put a shoulder into Dean and accomplished the same thing. That being said, I did have a problem with him coming off his line and pushing Tyler Farrar into the barrier. At 70...

The favorites for the overall classification took it easy today conserving their energy in the comfort of the peloton. Team Radio Shack moved to the front enmasse with about 30k to go as the peloton, which had been riding into a stiff headwind, was going to take a 90 degree right hand turn which would create a cross wind. In an interview after the stage Armstrong said they were looking to split the pack but the winds weren’t strong enough to cause a seperation.

Mark Cavendish silenced his critics today taking a decisive win in Thursday’s fifth stage. Cavendish timed his move perfectly as Garmin had set up what looked like the perfect lead out for their man Tyler Farrar. Gerald Ciolek also jumped at the same time but Cavendish was not going to be denied beating the German to the line by a convincing two bike lengths. Cav’s former lead out man Edvald Boasson Hagen claimed third, and overall points leader Thor Hushovd finished fifth. An emotional Cavendish had tears in his eyes as he stood on the podium today. Following today’s win...

Ale-Jet Rockets to Second Stage Win Posted on July 7, 2010 by Todd Kinsey Ale-Jet Rockets to Second Stage Win - photo by: Laurent Rebours The only surprise in today’s stage 4 was that Alessandro Petacchi took a decisive stage win out sprinting the likes of Mark Cavendish and Thor Hushovd. At 36 years of age, Ale-Jet appears to have found the fountain of youth. With about 200 meters to go, Cavendish was being lead out by Mark Renshaw. As Renshaw pulled off to let Cavendish take it to the line, Alessandro Petacchi had launched his attack down the left...

Petacchi wins it and it will be interesting to see who all crashed. Cavendish was involved in the first crash, the second took out 90 of the peloton, the third took out Tyler Farrar. WOW!!!