Giro d’Italia champion Denis Menchov and two other Rabobank riders met the Austrian Federal Criminal Police office (BKA) as part of an anti-doping investigation in Vienna, the team said on Tuesday.
“Three of our riders, Denis Menchov, Joost Posthuma and Pieter Weening went to Vienna (to meet the BKA) in April 2009,†Rabobank said in a statement.
“There is no reason why they should be summoned again. They are not involved in a doping scandal.â€Â … Details
The Tour de France jinx continued for Giro d’Italia winner Denis Menchov on Tuesday when the Russian crashed in the fourth stage team time-trial.
Menchov was unable to keep his line at a sharp turn early on the 39-km course and crashed into a barrier. He was able to make it back on his bike and ride on, helped by team-mates, but the whole Rabobank team lost valuable time.
World champion Alessandro Ballan of Italy also crashed at the same spot.
Menchov, one of the favourites to win this year, has had an unhappy start to the race…Â Details
A brief look at Tuesday’s fourth stage of the Tour de France:
Stage: A 39-kilometer (24.2-mile) team time-trial in and around Montpellier.
Winner: Lance Armstrong’s Astana team, in 46 minutes and 29 seconds. American team Garmin finished in second place, 18 seconds back. Fabian Cancellara’s Saxo Bank was third, trailing the winning team by 40 seconds.
Yellow Jersey: Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland, who maintained his lead by a fraction of a second over Armstrong…Â Details
Lance Armstrong prides himself on being a real-time athlete, blogging, Tweeting and video-logging his way through one of sport’s most anticipated comebacks.
Armstrong’s participation in the Tour de France is a hands-on experience as he constantly keeps his followers updated with the minutiae of his life, from what’s on his dinner plate to his current music of choice.
Yet three days into the event the 37-year-old is providing a veritable soap opera on the course itself, spinning a web of intrigue and speculation from his spoked wheels…Â Details
Briton Mark Cavendish won the Tour de France third stage while seven-times champion Lance Armstrong climbed up to third overall in the standings on Monday.
Cavendish, who also won the stage on Sunday, outsprinted Norway’s Thor Hushovd after 196.5 kms from Marseille to La Grande Motte, with France’s Cyril Lemoine coming home third.
Swiss Fabian Cancellara of the Saxo Bank team retained the overall leader’s yellow jersey and now leads German Tony Martin and American Armstrong by 33 and 40 seconds respectively.
Hot favourite Alberto Contador, who was trapped behind after a sharp acceleration by Cavendish’s Team Columbia by the end of the stage, dropped to … Details
Lance Armstrong’s comeback has boosted media coverage of cycling and it would be great if he would stay around for another year, the president of the International Cycling Union said on Monday.
“He brings more media interest, regardless of people’s opinion on what he has done or not done—which was not proven,†Pat McQuaid told Reuters by telephone as the Tour peloton was riding the third stage from Marseille to La Grande Motte.
The seven-times Tour de France champion, back on the saddle after 3-1/2 years in retirement, has received a warm welcome from French crowds, with whom he had a difficult relationship during his prime.
McQuaid, who was in Monaco until the start of the world’s greatest cycling race, said Armstrong’s presence on an event he dominated from 1999 to 2005 was … Details
