rabobank 2007 tour de france team

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Tour in Tatters: Team Ousts the Race Leader

By Edward Wyatt

• July 26, 2007

PAU, France, Thursday, July 26 — Chaos and disgrace enveloped the Tour de France early Thursday after the event’s overall leader, Michael Rasmussen, was removed from the race by his Rabobank team for lying about where he was training.

The announcement came hours after Rasmussen, who had already been riding under suspicion of doping, won the 16th stage Wednesday and appeared to be in position to claim the championship of cycling’s most prestigious event on Sunday in Paris. The news came shortly after the withdrawal of a second team in two days from the Tour amid the ever-widening doping scandal that has rocked the sport since last year’s champion, Floyd Landis, was found to have failed a drug test on his way to the title.

This year’s Tour has lost at least two teams, the winners of four stages and the overall leader. But organizers have so far said the event would not be canceled. Doing so, said Patrice Clerc, the president of the company that organizes the Tour, would mean victory for the riders who violate the rules.

Rasmussen, a 33-year-old Danish rider, was awarded the race leader’s yellow jersey for nine consecutive days, and, with his second stage victory of this Tour, he extended his lead to more than three minutes over his closest competitor. Almost from the time he gained the lead, however, questions have dogged him about his training and about why he missed at least three drugs tests this year after antidoping officials could not locate him.

On Wednesday, members of seven teams staged a protest at the beginning of the stage in Orthez, refusing to ride out with the other teams for a few minutes to bring attention to what they said was their united effort to combat doping. They soon joined the race, a 136-mile stage to the top of the Col d’Aubisque in the Pyrenees.

With Rasmussen gone, the new overall leader will be Alberto Contador, a Spanish rider for the Discovery Channel team who has fought a fierce battle with Rasmussen in the Pyrenees over the last three stages. The Rabobank team spokesman, Jacob Bergsma, said the team would announce later Thursday morning if the remaining riders would complete the Tour.

Many fans greeted Rasmussen with as many boos as cheers when he was introduced at the start of the stage Wednesday, and he was booed as he rode along the course and at the finish. Asked about the fans’ reaction at a postrace news conference, Rasmussen said he believed fans were taking out their frustration at the fact that another race favorite, Alexander Vinokourov, had failed a blood test. The actual race has become an afterthought amid the growing scandal.

Last year, Landis was found to have failed a drug test near the end of the race. In May, Bjarne Riis, the winner of the 1996 Tour, admitted that he used performance-enhancing drugs that year.

This year, Patrik Sinkewitz, a German rider for the T-Mobile team, which has heavily promoted its internal antidoping regimen, was told during the race that he had failed a drug screening administered by German antidoping officials weeks before the race began.

The Cofidis team, based in France, withdrew from the Tour after Wednesday’s stage when it was announced that an Italian rider for the team, Cristian Moreni, had tested positive for manufactured testosterone after the 11th stage.

That followed by one day the withdrawal of the Astana team, which is based in Switzerland but which is sponsored by a consortium of Kazakh companies, after its leader, Vinokourov, failed a blood test after the first of his two stage victories this year. Vinokourov tested positive for the presence of another person’s blood cells, which if confirmed by a second test would be considered a sign that he violated antidoping rules by having a transfusion during the race.

Tour officials, who have openly said that they would have tried to exclude Rasmussen from the Tour if they had known before it started that he had missed drug tests this spring, expressed satisfaction at the team’s decision. “We cannot say that Rasmussen cheated, but his flippancy and his lies on his whereabouts had become unbearable,” Christian Prudhomme, the director of the Tour de France, told the Associated Press.

Pat McQuaid, the president of the International Cycling Union, the sport’s governing body, said he supported the decision. “I can only applaud that,” he said. “It’s a zero-tolerance policy, and it’s a lesson for the future.”

On Tuesday, Rasmussen said he committed an “administrative error” by not informing cycling officials, as required, of his whereabouts this spring. He said at the time he was training in Mexico, near the home of his wife’s family.

But a Danish news report Wednesday quoted a former Italian rider saying that he had seen Rasmussen training in the Dolomite Mountains in Italy in mid-June, days before the Danish antidoping agency went to conduct a test on him at a different address. Confronted with the information by the Rabobank team manager Wednesday night, Rasmussen confessed, according to the team spokesman. A statement on the team’s Web site said Rasmussen had been fired.

Rasmussen’s story aroused suspicion from the beginning because it seemed to subtly shift each time he told it. Initially, he said he had missed only one drug test. Then, Danish antidoping officials revealed that he had in fact missed at least three — two by their agency, and one by the cycling union.

The missed tests came as antidoping officials showed up to test Rasmussen and could not find him at the address where he had said he would be. Professional cyclists must notify antidoping authorities of their whereabouts at all times so they can be tested outside of competition, a move designed to discourage doping by making sure that riders never know when they will be tested.

Rasmussen was also late in filing paperwork on his whereabouts with the cycling union in April 2006, which the organization also considered a missed test and which led to a formal warning.

Three missed tests are considered the same as a failed drug test, but the rules state that the three test attempts must be made by the same organization. Because Rasmussen’s missed tests were from two different organizations, he received only a warning from the cycling union. But the Danish authorities barred him from participating on the national team either in this year’s cycling world championships or the 2008 Olympics.

Rasmussen also said Tuesday that in April 2006, when he filed his forms late, he had spoken by telephone with the head of the cycling union’s antidoping agency, Anne Gripper. Informed Thursday that Gripper did not work for the agency at that time, Rasmussen said he must have been mistaken, and he also revised the date on which he said he talked to someone at the agency.

The changing stories have created frustration for Tour officials, as well as for Rasmussen’s fellow riders and for cycling fans.

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Rasmussen booted out of Tour

The credibility of the Tour de France was in free fall last night after the race leader Michael Rasmussen was made to leave the race by his Rabobank team due to suspicions that he had lied to the squad over his whereabouts in June.

Rasmussen's exit was unprecedented. No yellow jersey wearer has been withdrawn from the race by his team over doping offences. The last race leader to leave the event in similar circumstances was the Belgian Michel Pollentier, caught trying to defraud a doping control in 1978.

Rabobank's decision was welcomed by the Tour de France organiser, Christian Prudhomme, who said last night: "You cannot take the Tour de France lightly. At the very least I feel we have kept some honour. We have done everything we can to get rid of suspicion."

It was reported that Rasmussen had told the team he was in Mexico in June but in fact he had been in Italy. "He has broken the team's rules. We are not certain that the team will continue in the race," a Rabobank spokesman said last night.

Rabobank's decision came after Rasmussen won the Tour's final mountain stage, finishing on top of the Col d'Aubisque in the Pyrénées. It was his second stage win and he extended his overall lead to some 3min over the Spaniard Alberto Contador, who should become the race leader today. It is possible that, as convention dictates, he may refuse to wear the yellow jersey.

Rasmussen had been under pressure for a week following an announcement by the Danish Cycling Federation that he would not be selected in their team for the world road-race championships or the Olympics because he had failed to register his whereabouts to enable testers to perform out-of-competition tests.

On Tuesday he was questioned over his whereabouts. It emerged that he had had four warnings in all from the International Cycling Union and the Danish Anti-Doping Agency. He underlined yesterday that he had been tested 14 times so far in this Tour and had been negative.

Yesterday he was tackled about a further inconsistency in his account of why he received a written warning for failing to register his whereabouts for out-of-competition testing in April 2006.

He said on Tuesday that he had called the ICU's head of anti-doping, Anne Gripper, to explain why he had not made contact. Gripper, however, did not take up her role until autumn 2006. Yesterday the Dane said: "I messed up the name and the date. I didn't talk to them on April 2 but April 4."

The exit of the Tour leader, who was booed yesterday, completed a chaotic day. The stage started with a protest by some teams over the presence of riders considered to be doping in the event and ended with the announcement that a Cofidis team cyclist, Cristian Moreni, had tested positive for testosterone last Friday.

This was followed by the withdrawal of Cofidis, which includes Britain's Olympic champion Bradley Wiggins, as police searched the team's hotel and vehicles.

• Tour de France
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Rasmussen retreats on Rabobank 2007 Tour statements

Rasmussen backtracks on statements over freire, flecha.

Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! >","name":"in-content-cta","type":"link"}}'>Download the app .

Michael Rasmussen has retreated from explosive comments he made to Danish television that he suggested that “100 percent” of Rabobank’s 2007 Tour de France squad was doped.

Rasmussen’s claims were met with incredulity from three-time world champion Óscar Freire, who challenged the veracity of the Dane’s statements , threatening to sue.

Freire, who retired last year, had never been linked to a doping scandal throughout his career. On Monday, he challenged Rasmussen to publicly apologize. Rasmussen did just that, telling Spain’s EFE wire service he never saw anything suspicious with Freire.

“I never saw Freire doping. And not (Juan Antonio) Flecha, either,” Rasmussen said. “It was a mistake to say that all the Rabobank riders took doping products. I don’t mention either of them in my book. I regret the speculation and accusations that resulted in the Spanish media.”

Rasmussen made his claims in an interview with Danish television to promote a new book, Yellow Fever .

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Rabobank 'right' over Ras

Published 12/11/2007 at 11:19 GMT

Rabobank were right to expel Dane Michael Rasmussen from this year's Tour de France because he lied about his training whereabouts, an independent inquiry has said.

CYCLING 2007 Tour de France - Michael Rasmussen, Rabobank

Image credit: Imago

Slipstream ready for Tour challenge

21/03/2008 at 14:44

Landis makes final stand

19/03/2008 at 07:52

Valverde plans late peak of form

09/01/2008 at 23:27

T-Mobile nine accused of doping

03/01/2008 at 06:29

2007 Tour de France

94th edition: july 7 - july 29, 2007, results, map, stages with runnning gc, photos.

2006 Tour | 2008 Tour | Tour de France Database | 2007 Tour Quick Facts | 2007 Tour de France Complete Final GC | Stage results with running GC | Route details

Prologue | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage 4 | Stage 5 | Stage 6 | Stage 7 | Stage 8 | Rest Day 1 | Stage 9 | Stage 10 | Stage 11 | Stage 12 | Stage 13 | Stage 14 | Stage 15 | Rest Day 2 | Stage 16 | Stage 17 | Stage 18 | Stage 19 | Stage 20 |

Map of the 2007 Tour de France

Les Woodland's book The Olympics' 50 Craziest Stories: A Five Ring Circus is available as an audiobook here. For the print and Kindle eBook versions, just click on the link on the right.

2007 Tour Quick Facts:

189 starters and 141 classified finishers.

3,569.9 km raced at an average speed of 39.226 km/hr

Alexandre Vinokourov of Astana and Cristian Moreni of Cofidis were positive for dope, causing their teams to withdraw.

Michael Rasmussen was leading the Tour but was forced to abandon when news surfaced that he had missed several out-of-competition drug tests.

With Rasmussen gone, the way was open for Contador to win the Tour.

The 31-second podium spread was the closest in Tour history.

• Alberto Contador (Discovery) 91hr 0min 26sec
• Cadel Evans (Predictor-Lotto) @ 23sec
• Levi Leipheimer (Discovery) @ 31sec Disqualified
• Carlos Sastre (CSC) @ 7min 8sec
• Haimar Zubeldia (Euskaltel) @ 8min 17sec
• Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) @ 11min 37sec
• Kim Kirchen (T-Mobile) @ 12min 18sec
• Yaroslav Popovych (Discovery) @ 12min 25sec
• Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel) @ 14min 14sec
• Oscar Pereiro (Caisse d'Epargne) @ 14min 25sec
• Mauricio Soler (Barloworld) @ 16min 51sec
• Michael Boogerd (Rabobank) @ 21min 15sec
• David Arroyo (Caisse d'Epargne) @ 21min 49sec
• Vladimir Karpets (Caisse d'Epargne) @ 24min 15sec
• Chris Horner (Predictor-Lotto) @ 25min 19sec
• Iban Mayo (Saunier Duval) @ 27min 9sec
• Frank Schleck (CSC) @ 31min 48sec
• Manuel Beltran (Liquigas) @ 24min 14sec
• Tadej Valjavec (Lampre) @ 27min 8sec
• Juan José Cobo (Saunier Duval) @ 27min 14sec
• Juan Manuel Garate (Quck Step) @ 28min 16sec
• José Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d'Epargne) @ 45min 42sec
• Amets Txurruka (Euskaltel) @ 49min 34sec
• George Hincapie (Discovery) @ 54min 50sec
• Christian Vande Velde (CSC) @ 55min 50sec
• Dmitriy Fofonov (Credit Agricole) @ 56min 23sec
• Stéphane Goubert (Ag2r) @ 1hr 6min 30sec
• Jens Voigt (CSC) @ 1hr 8min 22sec
• Francisco Javier Vila (Lampre) @ 1hr 9min 37sec
• Patrice Halgand (Credit Agricole)
• Bernhard Kohl (Gerolsteiner) @ 1hr 13min 27sec
• Kanstantisin Sivtsov (Barloworld) @ 1hr 15min 16sec
• Alexandre Botcharov (Credit agricole) @ 1hr 22min 25sec
• Markus Fothen (Gerolsteiner) @ 1hr 30min 12sec
• Thomas Dekker (Rabobank) @ 1hr 30min 34sec
• Linus Gerdemann (T-Mobile) @ 1hr 30min 47sec
• Christopher Moreau (Ag2r) @ 1hr 33min 6sec
• Vladimir Gusev (Discovery) @ 1hr 33min 50sec
• Moises Duenas Nevado (Agritubel) @ 1hr 36min 33sec
• Bram Tankink (Quick Step) @ 1hr 36min 44sec
• Marzio Bruseghin (Lampre) s.t.
• Carlos Barredo (Quick Step) @ 1hr 36min 46sec
• Iñigo Landaluze (Euskaltel) @ 1hr 36min 50sec
• Ludovic Turpin (Ag2r) @ 1hr 44min 54sec
• Charles Wegelius (Liquigas) @ 1hr 46min 25sec
• Xavier Florencio (Bouygues Telecom) @ 1hr 52min 19sec
• Christian Knees (Milram) @ 1hr 53min 23sec
• Gorka Verdugo (Euskaltel) @ 1hr 53min 32sec
• David de la Fuente (Saunier Duval) @ 1hr 54min 50sec
• Ruben Perez (Euskaltel) @ 1hr 56min 15sec
• Iñigo Cuesta (CSC) @ 1hr 58min 45sec
• José Luis Arrieta (Ag2r) @ 2hr 0min 7sec
• Iker Camano (Saunier Duval) @ 2hr 5min 17sec
• John Gadret (Ag2r) @ 2hr 6min 50sec
• Cédric Vasseur (Quick Step) @ 2hr 8min 14sec
• Dario David Cioni (Predictor-Lotto) @ 2hr 10min 42sec
• Nicolas Portal (CAisse d'Epargne) @ 2hr 15min 14sec
• Laurent Lefevre (Bouygues Telecom) @ 2hr 15min 17sec
• Michael Albasini (Liquigas) @ 2hr 18min 35sec
• Fabian Wegmann (Gerolsteiner) @ 2hr 19min 36sec
• Egoi Martinez (Discovery) @ 2hr 20min 16sec
• Axel Merckx (T-Mobile) @ 2hr 21min 0sec
• Johan Van Summeren (Predictor-Lotto) @ 2hr 21min 57sec
• Thomas Lövkvist (FDJ) @ 2hr 22min 50sec
• Sergio Paulinho (Discovery) @ 2hr 23min 31sec
• Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom) @ 2hr 24min 34sec
• Kurt-Asle Arvesen (CSC) @ 2hr 24min 36sec
• Jérôme Pineau (Bouygues Telecom) @ 2hr 24min 59sec
• David Millar (Saunier Duval) @ 2hr 32min 7sec
• Mario Aerts (Predictor-Lotto) @ 2hr 32min 58sec
• Sandy Casar (FDJ) @ 2hr 33min 46sec
• Francisco Perez (Caisse d'Epargne) @ 2hr 37min 25sec
• Frederik Willems (Liquigas) @ 2hr 37min 30sec
• Martin Elmiger (Ag2r) @ 2hr 37min 41sec
• Andriy Grivko (Milram) @ 2hr 41min 41sec
• Kjell Carlström (Liquigas) @ 2hr 39min 34sec
• Christophe Rinero (Saunier Duval) @ 2hr 40min 59sec
• Erik Zabel (Milram) @ 2hr 42min 28sec
• Juan Miguel Mercado (Agritubel) @ 2hr 44min 27sec
• Ronny Scholz (Gerolsteiner) @ 2hr 44min 39sec
• Jorge Azanza (Euskaltel) @ 2hr 50min 30sec
• Benoît Vaugrenard (FDJ) @ 2hr 50min 54sec
• Pierrick Fedrigo (Bouygues Telecom) @ 2hr 53min 42sec
• Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank) @ 2hr 55min 58sec
• Grischa Niermann (Rabobank) @ 2hr 56min 9sec
• Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) @ 2hr 56min 30sec
• Alessandro Ballan (Lampre) @ 2hr 57min 5sec
• Aleksandr Kuchynski (Liquigas) @ 2hr 58min 46sec
• Iñaki Isasi (Euskaltel) @ 2hr 59min 37sec
• José Vicente Garcia Acosta (Caisse d'Epargne) @ 3hr 0min 38sec
• Nicolas Vogondy (Agritubel) @ 3hr 0min 50sec
• Johann Tschopp (Bouygues Telecom) @ 3hr 7min 19sec
• Simon Gerrans (Ag2r) @ 3hr 9min 19sec
• Paolo Bossoni (Lampre) @ 3hr 9min 56sec
• Daniele Righi (Lampre) @ 3hr 10min 35sec
• Lilian Jégou (FDJ) @ 3hr 14min 11sec
• Anthony Geslin (Bouygues Telecom) @ 3hr 14min 15sec
• Alexander Efimkin (Barloworld) @ 3hr 14min 19sec
• Fabian Cancellara (CSC) @ 3hr 15min 48sec
• Murilo Fischer (Liquigas) @ 3hr 16min 8sec
• Freddy Bichot (Agritubel) @ 3hr 16min 58sec
• David Cañada (Saunier Duval) @ 3hr 17min 19sec
• Sébastien Rosseler (Quick Step) @ 3hr 18min 25sec
• Bert Grabswch (T-Mobile) @ 3hr 18min 58sec
• Félix Rafael Cardenas (Barloworld) s.t.
• Julian Dean (Credit Agricole) @ 3hr 21min 57sec
• Matteo Tosatto (Quick Step) @ 3hr 22min 14sec
• William Bonnet (Credit Agricole) @ 3hr 22min 59sec
• Leif Hoste (Predictor Lotto) @ 3hr 23min 2sec
• Giampaolo Cheula (Barloworld) @ 3hr 23min 11sec
• Mathieu Ladagnous (FDJ) @ 3hr 23min 17sec
• Manuel Quinziato (Liquigas) @ 3hr 23min 42sec
• Nicolas Jalabert (Agritubel) @ 3hr 24min 2sec
• Benjamin Noval (Discovery) @ 3hr 24min 13sec
• Ralf Grabsch (Milram) @ 3hr 24min 35sec
• Mickael Delage (FDJ) @ 3hr 24min 46sec
• Robert Hunter (Barloworld) @ 3hr 26min 12sec
• Tom Boonen (Quick Step) @ 3hr 26min 19sec
• Marcel Sieberg (Milram) @ 3hr 26min 48sec
• Bernhard Eisel (T-Mobile) @ 3hr 26min 57sec
• Alessandro Cortinovis (Milram) @ 3hr 27min 4sec
• Steven De Jongh (Quick Step) @ 3hr 27min 45sec
• Paolo Longo Borghini (Barloworld) @ 3hr 27min 48sec
• Benoît Salmon (Agritubel) @ 3hr 28min 59sec
• Claudio Corioni (Lampre) @ 3hr 29min 26sec
• Marcus Burghardt (T-Mobile) @ 3hr 29min 37sec
• Pieter Weening (Rabobank) @ 3hr 31min 49sec
• Heinrich Haussler (Gerolsteiner) @ 3hr 32min 30sec
• Sébastien Chavanel (FDJ) @ 3hr 35min 25sec
• Enrico Poitschke (Milram) @ 3hr 35min 28sec
• Sébastien Hinault (Credit Agricole) @ 3hr 35min 37sec
• Peter Wrolich (Gerolsteiner) @ 3hr 36min 5sec
• Bram de Groot (Rabobank) 2 3hr 37min 46sec
• Robert Förster (Gerolsteiner) @ 3hr 40min 10sec
• Anthony Charteau (Credit Agricole) @ 3hr 40min 44sec
• Sven Krauss (Gerolsteiner) @ 3hr 40min 51sec
• Gert Steegmans (Quick Step) @ 3hr 41min 38sec
• Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) @ 3hr 41min 57sec
• Geriant Thomas (Barloworld) @ 3hr 46min 51sec
• Wim Vansevenant (Predictor-Lotto) @ 3hr 52min 54sec
• Mauricio Soler (Barloworld): 206 points
• Alberto Contador (Discovery): 128
• Yaroslav Popovych (Discovery): 105
• Cadel EVans (Predictor-Lotto): 92
• Laurent Lefevre (Bouygues Telecom): 85
• Juan Manuel Garate (Quick Step): 77
• Carlos Sastre (CSC): 74
• Juan José Cobo (Saunier Duval): 68
• Levi Leipheimer (Discovery): 64
• Haimar Zubeldia (Euskaltel): 64
• Tom Boonen (Quick Step): 256 points
• Robert Hunter (Barloworld): 234
• Erik Zabel (Milram) 232
• Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole): 186
• Sébastien Chavanel (FDJ): 181
• Daniele Bennati (Lampre): 160
• Robert Förster (Gerolsteiner): 140
• Fabian Cancellara (CSC): 112
• Cadel Evans (Predictor-Lotto): 109
• Alberto Contador (Discovery): 88
• Alberto Contador (Discovery) 91hr 26sec
• Kanstantsin Sivtsov (Barloworld) @ 1hr 15min 16sec

Team Classification

• Discovery 273hr 12min 52sec
• CSC @ 19min 36sec
• Caisse d'Epargne @ 22min 10sec
• Rabobank @ 36min 24sec
• Euskaltel @ 46min 46sec
• Saunier Duval @ 1hr 44min 33sec
• Predictor-Lotto @ 1hr 50min 21sec
• Lampre @ 2hr 19min 41sec
• Credit Agricole @ 2hr 25min 44sec
• Ag2r @ 2hr 26min 8sec

Content continues below the ads

The stages and results with running GC:

Prologue: Saturday, July 7, London - London, 7.9 km

Stage 1: Sunday, July 8, London - Canterbury, 203 km

Stage 2: Monday, July 9, Dunkirk - Gent, 168.5 km

The Tour transfers to the continent for the start in Dunkirk, France.

Stage 3: Tuesday, July 10, Waregem - Compiègne, 236.5 km

Stage 4: Wednesday, July 11, Villers-Cotterêts - Joigny, 193 km

Stage 5: Thursday, July 12, 184 km, Chablis - Autun, 182.5 km

The finish: Filippo Pozzato wins the stage. Cancellara is in that lead group so he stays in Yellow. Vinokourov comes in about 1 minute 17 seconds later.

4 km to go: On the start of a very scary-ass descent Vino has hooked up with the Tom Boonen group and is getting help.

10 kilometers to go: Unbelievable! Vinokourov is on the final climb. He has burned off all of his team and is chasing solo. He's within a minute of the field as he makes his way through the dropped riders. What a champion!

Flash: 8:00 AM, PDT: Alexandre Vinokourov has crashed with about 20 kilometers to go in the stage. 6 of his teammates (less Kloden) have dropped back to pace him back. The gap to the peloton is over 2 minutes and Vinokourov seems to be really hurt.

Stage 6: Friday, July 13, Semur-en-Auxois - Bourg-en-Bresse, 199.5 km

Stage 7: Saturday, July 14, Bourg-en-Bresse - Le Grand-Bornand, 197.5 km

Results. It looks like all of the major GC contenders came in at 3min 38sec in the group led in by Garate:

Stage 8: Sunday, July 15, Le Grand-Bornand - Tignes, 165 km. Hilltop finish

Rest Day: Monday 16 July 2007, Tignes

Stage 9: Tuesday, July 17, Val-d'Isère - Briançon, 161 km.

Stage10: Wednesday, July 18, Tallard - Marseille, 229 km.

Stage 11: Thursday, July 19, Marseille - Montpellier, 182.5 km

Stage 12: Friday, July 20, 179 km, Montpellier - Castres, 178.5 km.

Stage 13: Saturday, July 21, Albi - Albi 54 km individual time trial

Stage 14: Sunday, July 22, Mazamet - Plateau-de-Beille, 197 km

Stage 15: Monday, July 23: Foix - Loudenvielle-Le Louron, 196 km.

Rest Day: Tuesday, July 24, Pau

Stage 16: Wednesday, July 25, Orthez - Gourette-Col d'Aubisque, 218.5 km. Hilltop finish.

Stage 17: Thursday, July 26, Pau - Castelsarrasin, 188.5 km

Stage 18: Friday, July 27, Cahors - Angoulême, 211 km

Stage 19: Saturday, July 28, Cognac - Angoulême 55.5 km individual time trial

Stage 20: Sunday, July 29, Marcoussis - Paris Champs-Élysées, 146 km.

Complete final 2007 Tour de France General Classification

Route details :

Running from Saturday July 7th to Sunday July 29th 2007, the 94th Tour de France will be made up of a prologue and 20 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,550 kilometres.

These 20 stages have the following profiles:

Distinctive aspects of the race:

© McGann Publishing

TOUR DE FRANCE 2007 TEAM GUIDE

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Cyclingweekly.co.uk presents our online guide to every team - and its riders - taking part in this year's Tour de France. All teams have now confirmed their line-ups.

A total of 21 teams comprising of nine members per squad make up the 189 riders taking part in this year's Tour de France. The majority of squads belong to the Union Cycliste International's top-level ProTour, with two wildcard additions: Barloworld and Agritubel.

One ProTour squad is notable by its absence. Unibet.com, which includes British sprinter Jeremy Hunt, have been excluded due to a disagreement over their sponsorship.

For a list of this year's Tour de France stages click here.

AG2R PREVOYANCE

Team website: www.ag2r-cyclisme.com

Sponsor: Insurance company

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Bikes: B'Twin frames, Campagnolo components

Team line-up (confirmed):

Overall contender:

Christophe Moreau Fra

Other riders:

Cyril Dessel Fra

Jose Luis Arrieta Spa

Sylvain Calzati Fra

Martin Elmiger Swi

John Gadret Fra

Stephane Goubert Fra

Ludovic Turpin Fra

Simon Gerrans Aus

Cyclingweekly.co.uk says:

If they can get special dispensation for Moreau's zimmer frame, they could just make the top 10. We can't work out why the Frenchman doesn't target the King of the Mountains competition a la Virenque. Dessel will be just another domestic rider this time.

Team website: www.agritubel-cycling.com

Sponsor: Agricultural equipment

Bikes: MBK frames, Shimano components

Juan Miguel Mercado Spa

Freddy Bichot Fra

Moises Duenas Spa

Nicolas Jalabert Fra

Benoit Salmon Fra

Nicolas Vogondy Fra

Cedric Herve Spa

Romain Feillu Fra

Eduardo Gonzalo Spa

We've learned our lesson after last year. Agritubel have absolutely no chance of a stage win this year. But they do have some nice, friendly-looking cows painted on their team vehicles, so they're alright by us.

Team website: www.astanateam.com

Sponsor: Kazakhstan companies

Bikes: BMC frames

Overall contenders:

Alexandre Vinokourov Kaz

Andreas Kloden Ger

Andrey Kashechkin Kaz

Paolo Salvoldelli Ita

Antonio Colom Spa

Maxim Iglinskiy Kaz

Serguei Ivanov Rus

Daniel Navarro Spa

Gregory Rast Swi

Astana look powerful. If either Vinokourov or Kloden does not make the podium it'll be a big disappointment for them.

Team website: www.teambarloworld.com

Sponsor: Brand management company

Bikes: Cannondale frames, Campagnolo components

Felix Cardenas Col

Robert Hunter RSA

Gianpaolo Cheula Ita

Alexander Efimkin Rus

Mauricio Soler Col

Geraint Thomas GBr

Kanstantin Siutsou Blr

Enrico Degano Ita

Without being disrespectful to Barloworld, it is outrageous that they have been given a place in the race at the expense of Unibet. The Belgian squad have better riders, better results and the row over the team's sponsor - a gambling website - breaking the advertising laws in France may be valid, but it is not enough to bar the team. They have been racing under the name of their bike supplier, Canyon, in other French races. Barloworld's goals will be modest.

BOUYGUES TELECOM

Team website: www.equipebouygestelecom.fr

Sponsor: Telecommunications company

Bikes: Time frames, Campagnolo components

Pierrick Fédrigo Fra

Thomas Voeckler Fra

Stef Clement Hol

Xavier Florencio Spa

Anthony Geslin Fra

Laurent Lefèvre Fra

Jérôme Pineau Fra

Matthieu Sprick Fra

Johann Tschopp Swi

Same old story - they'll do well to win a stage, they have no one capable of finishing high up overall. It's not being disrespectful to say they will be fighting for the scraps left over by the big teams. As the squads with big budgets hoover up all the best riders it's becoming ever harder for teams like Bouygues Telecom to compete. A stage win, therefore, is a big feather in the cap.

CAISSE D'EPARGNE

Team website: www.illesbalearsteam.com

Sponsor: French bank

Bikes: Pinarello frames, Campagnolo components

Oscar Pereiro Spa

Vladimir Karpets Rus

Alejandro Valverde Spa

Florent Brard Fra

Jose Vicente Garcia Acosta Spa

Francisco Perez Spa

Nicolas Portal Fra

Luis Leon Sanchez Spa

Xavier Zandio Spa

The clincher will be if Valverde rides. If he does he will be expected to challenge strongly, all the while with L'Equipe publishing allegations against him, no doubt. The paper maintains that EPO was found in blood labelled Valv.Piti. which makes the lack of action from the Spanish Cycling Federation remarkable.

Team website: www.equipe-cofidis.com

Sponsor: Credit provider

Bikes: Time bikes, Campagnolo components

Sylvain Chavanel Fra

Bradley Wiggins GBr

Stephane Auge Fra

Geoffroy Lequatre Fra

Cristian Moreni Ita

Nick Nuyens Bel

Ivan Parra Col

Staf Scheirlincknx Bel

Rik Verbrugghe Bel

The fantasy scenario is that Wiggins wins the prologue, keeps the jersey until they pop back over the channel and then someone else - perhaps Chavanel - pops up to win another stage later in the race. It's a big ask. A great result for Wiggins would be top three in London but a win is not out of the question. The rest need to catch a break.

CREDIT AGRICOLE

Team website: http://au-veloclubdeparis.fr

Bikes: Look frames, Shimano components

Thor Hushovd Nor

William Bonnet Fra

Alexandre Botcharov Rus

Anthony Charteau Fra

Julian Dean NZ

Patrice Halgand Fra

Sebastien Hinault Fra

Christophe Le Mevel Fra

Dimitri Fofonov Kaz

Don't expect them to push for the yellow jersey. They'll be limited to attacking in the hope that they get lucky, then hoping for Hushovd to do the business in the sprints. The big goal will be another green jersey.

Team website: www.team-csc.com

Sponsor: Information technology consultants

Bikes: Cervelo

Carlos Sastre Spa

Frank Schleck Lux

Kurt Asle Arvensen Den

Fabian Cancellara Swi

Inigo Cuesta Spa

Stuart O'Grady Aus

Chris Vandevelde USA

Jens Voigt Ger

David Zabriskie USA

It's hard to see Sastre being able to win the Tour, but watch out for Schleck. A spell with the yellow jersey - courtesy of Cancellara or Zabriskie - would get the Tour off to a flayer. After that, though, there are better riders who bar CSC's way to the final podium.

DISCOVERY CHANNEL

Team website: http://team.discovery.com

Sponsor: Television company

Bikes: Trek frames, Shimano components

Alberto Contador Spa

Levi Leipheimer USA

Vladimir Gusev Rus

George Hincapie USA

Egoi Martinez Spa

Benjamin Noval Spa

Sergio Paulinho Por

Yaroslav Popovych Ukr

Tomas Vaitkus Lit

They need a good Tour. For all team manager Johan Bruyneel's bluster they've never needed a good result more than this year. With Ivan Basso finally admitting (or not) that he used performance-enhancing techniques (or thought about using them) the team are left with Plan D - leading with Levi Leipheimer. So, unless young gun Contador can rise sharply, it looks like another damp squib.

EUSKALTEL-EUSKADI

Team website: www.fundacioneuskadi.com

Sponsor: Telecommunications company, Basque tourism office

Bikes: Orbea frames, Shimano components

Igor Anton Spa

Haimar Zubeldia Spa

Mikel Astarloza Spa

Jorge Azanza Spa

Inaki Isasi Spa

Inigo Landaluze Spa

Ruben Perez Spa

Amets Txurruka Spa

Gorka Verdugo Spa

They really need a stage win but without Sammy Sanchez they'll be up against it. The lack of strength against the clock will count both him and Zubeldia out of any chance of making the podium.

FRANCAISE DES JEUX

Team website: www.fdjeux.com

Sponsor: French lottery

Bikes: Lapierre frames, Shimano components

Sandy Casar Fra

Philippe Gilbert Bel

Sebastien Chavanel Fra

Mickael Delange Fra

Remy Di Gregorio Fra

Mathieu Ladagnous Fra

Thomas Lovkvist Swe

Benoit Vaugrenard Fra

Sebastien Joly Fra

It's one of the cliches of cycling that Francaise des Jeux will have a brilliant team any year now. They looked on course when Brad McGee and Baden Cooke led them rampant through the 2003 Tour. Now they pin their hopes on the likes of Gilbert, Lovkvist and Di Gregorio, who L'Equipe have been bigging up.

GEROLSTEINER

Team website: www.gerolsteiner.de

Sponsor: Mineral water

Bikes: Specialized frames, Shimano components

Markus Fothen Ger

Bernhard Kohl Aut

Stefan Schumacher Ger

Heinrich Haussler Ger

Robert Forster Ger

Ronny Scholz Ger

Fabian Wegmann Ger

Peter Wrolich Aus

Sven Krauss Ger

Leipheimer has moved on to lead Discovery Channel and Georg Totschnig has retired. So it's down to the kids - Kohl, Fothen, Haussler. There's a distinct lack of older heads in the team.

LAMPRE-FONDITAL

Team website: www.lampre-fondital.com

Sponsor: Sheet metal manufacturer

Bikes: Wilier frame, Campagnolo components

Daniele Bennati Ita

Tadej Valjavec Slo

Alessandro Ballan Ita

Paolo Bossoni Ita

Marzio Bruseghin Ita

Danilo Napolitano Ita

Daniele Righi Ita

Patxi Vila Spa

Claudio Corioni Ita

Without Damiano Cunego - who is not riding the Tour after a so-so Giro d'Italia - Lampre look very ordinary indeed. The best they can hope for is a stage win or two from Bennati, Valjavec or Ballan.

Team website: www.teamliquigas.it

Sponsor: Bottled gas

Bikes: Cannondale

Filippo Pozzato Ita

Manuel Beltran Spa

Murilo Fischer Bra

Manuel Quinziato Ita

Charly Wegelius GBr

Frederik Willems Bel

Michael Albasini Sui

Kjell Carlstrom Fin

Aliaksandr Kuchynski Blr

There's no disguising the team are not equipped to give the Tour their full attention after riding the Giro at full pelt. Unless they put one of the Giro lot - Di Luca or Pellizotti - into the Tour, they have very little chance of doing anything overall. Apart from Pellizotti and Paolini perhaps the best chance of success will come from sprinters Francesco Chicchi or Brazil's Murilo Fischer.

Team website: www.team-milram.com

Sponsor: Dairy products

Bikes: Colnago frames, Campagnolo components

Andriy Grivko Ukr replaces Alessandro Petacchi, not riding due to ban

Erik Zabel Ger

Marcel Sieberg Ger

Ralf Grabsch Ger

Christian Knees Ger

Brett Lancaster Aus

Alberto Ongarato Ita

Enrico Poitschke Ger

Alessandro Cortinovis Ita

Brett Lancaster is on the very long list of prologue contenders, somewhere near the bottom, included on the basis that he won the 1km Giro prologue a couple of years ago and that he said in an interview he reckons he's got a chance. Then it's all about Erik, with Petacchi out of the Tour squad due to a pending one year ban for testing positive for Salbutamol. Other than that there's a few jumpy riders who could fancy a stage win, such as Andriy Grivko and the brilliantly-named Christian Knees.

PREDICTOR-LOTTO

Team website: www.davitamon-lotto.com

Sponsor: Pregnancy testing kits, Belgian national lottery

Bikes: Ridley frames, Campagnolo components

Cadel Evans Aus

Robbie McEwen Aus

Mario Aerts Bel

Dario Cioni Ita

Chris Horner USA

Lief Hoste Bel

Fred Rodriguez USA

Wim Vansevenant Bel

Johan Vansummeren Bel

Cadel Evans is dreaming of the podium - perhaps even of becoming the first Australian to win the Tour. Certainly he's on the long list of favourites but the lack of willingness to attack will hold him back. Top five will be a good result. McEwen, the fastest stage race sprinter in the world, will be aiming for another green jersey. McEwen is a master at finishing the Tour - something that his chief rivals, Tom Boonen, Alessandro Petacchi and Oscar Freire among them, cannot say.

Team website: www.qsi-cycling.com/eng/home.php

Sponsor: Flooring company

Bikes: Specialized frames, Campagnolo components

Carlos Barredo Spa

Tom Boonen Bel

Steve De Jongh Hol

Juan Manuel Garate Spa

Gert Steegmans Bel

Bram Tankink Hol

Matteo Tosatto Ita

Cedric Vasseur Fra

Sebastien Rosseler Bel

Boonen has to win a stage. Perhaps by way of an insurance policy, Garate is likely to ride and that will give the team some kind of presence in the general classification. With Bettini concentrating on the Giro it's unlikely he'll ride the Tour, so the onus will fall on Boonen. The big goal is to win the green jersey, but after failing to win a stage last year, it's back to basics.

Team website: www.rabobank.nl/particulieren/sponsoring/wielrennen/

Sponsor: Bank

Bikes: Colnago frames, Shimano components

Denis Menchov Rus

Michael Rasmussen Den

Oscar Freire Spa

Michael Boogerd Hol

Bram De Groot Hol

Thomas Dekker Hol

Juan Antonio Flecha Spa

Pieter Weening Hol

Grischa Niermann Ger

Menchov will improve but not enough to make the podium. Freire will win at least a stage. Dekker will announce himself on the big stage and Michael Rasmussen will strategically lose time overall so he can hoover up the points in the King of the Mountains.

SAUNIER DUVAL-PRODIR

Team website: www.saunierduvalteam.com

Sponsor: Boilers, pen company

Bikes: Scott frames, SRAM components

David Millar GBr

Iban Mayo Spa

Iker Camano Spa

David De La Fuente Rus

Juan Jose Cobo Spa

Ruben Lobato Spa

Christophe Rinero Fra

Francisco Ventoso Spa

David Canada Gracia Spa

We'll eat our hats if a Saunier Duval rider doesn't make the top 10 - and probably the upper reaches of it - this July. Their results everywhere else have been remarkable this season and they seem to unearth riders left, right and centre. Who knows, they may even put Iban Mayo back on course.

Team website: www.t-mobile-team.com

Bikes: Giant frames, Shimano components

Michael Rogers Aus

Marcus Burghardt Ger

Mark Cavendish GBr

Linus Gerdemann Ger

Kim Kirchen Lux

Bernhard Eisel Aut

Bert Grabsch Ger

Patrik Sinkewitz Ger

Axel Merckx Bel

It'll take a remarkable ride by Rogers to see a T-Mobile jersey on the podium. The team's response to the doping problems has meant they don't have an overall contender but they still have plenty of possible stage winners, and Rogers can be in the top five.

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Founded in 1891, Cycling Weekly and its team of expert journalists brings cyclists in-depth reviews, extensive coverage of both professional and domestic racing, as well as fitness advice and 'brew a cuppa and put your feet up' features. Cycling Weekly serves its audience across a range of platforms, from good old-fashioned print to online journalism, and video.

The ultra-distance benchmark that pits riders against a 4,000km self-supported Europe-wide trek reaches double figures

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Charming, simple, and always a great workout, this is the perfect town bike

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Sprint | La Fare-les-Oliviers (33.6 km)

Sprint | arles (97.6 km), finishline points, mountain sprint | cote de calissanne (39.1 km), team day classification, race information.

• Date: 19 July 2007
• Start time: -
• Avg. speed winner: 48.06 km/h
• Race category: ME - Men Elite
• Distance: 182.5 km
• Points scale: GT.A.Stage
• Parcours type:
• ProfileScore: 7
• Vert. meters: 854
• Departure: Marseille
• Arrival: Montpellier
• Race ranking: 0
• Startlist quality score: 1612
• Won how: Sprint of large group
• Avg. temperature:

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Rasmussen retracts doping allegations against Freire, Flecha

Weening yet to comment

The fallout from Michael Rasmussen's tell all auto-biography and his subsequent media appointments continues with the Dane backtracking in his allegations against Oscar Freire and Juan-Antonia Flecha. Rasmussen originally implied that both of his former teammates had doped, but he carefully re-worded his statement after Freire threatened legal action .

Rasmussen: Entire 2007 Rabobank Tour de France team doped

Orica-GreenEdge asks Weening to confirm anti-doping statement

Freire seeks retraction from Rasmussen regarding doping at 2007 Tour

"There was organized doping, but it did not include all the riders," he told EFE . "Not once in my life did I see Oscar Freire doping. Flecha as well, he also didn't know anything."

Rasmussen aired many of his assertions on Danish broadcaster DR on Sunday night, following this he participated in an online chat on dr.dk where one of the questions put to him related to the percentage of riders he thought to be doping during the 2007 Tour.

"Within the Rabobank team: 100% [used doping products]. Not everyone took the same products, but all riders were on some form of doping provided by the team. I would not want to guess at, the proportion of the total field that was doped," Rasmussen answered.

Such wording implied the entire Rabobank team of Dennis Menchov, Michael Boogerd, Bram de Groot, Thomas Dekker, Juan Antonio Flecha, Oscar Freire, Grischa Niermann and Pieter Weening had all used banned substances, although Rasmussen did not specify names or whether he had witnessed their supposed doping.

One of the riders cast under aspersion, Pieter Weening (Orica-GreenEdge), is yet to comment publicly regarding Rasmussen's allegations, although Orica-GreenEdge has released their own statement asking for Weening to confirm the anti-doping declaration he has already signed.

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