Changed the background colors for the Tour. It's not an accurate yellow but its good enough and frankly I don't feel like dorking around with it anymore.

Yesterday was crazy with last minute problems concerning flight plans. The story is WAY too long to repeat. My travel tip: Dont try and book 6 or 7 cyclists (with bike cases) on a dinky 50 passenger jet. Four or five people will soon find themselves looking for alternate routes to the desired destination.

One week to go before takeoff.

Hopped back on the bike tonight after a couple days off. The temperatures eased off a few degrees but it was still plenty humid. Tonight I went back to the Meramec Bottom and Suson route. In and out of Suson 5x's. Although, I think I may have lost count and did it six times. But, so as not to inflate my work, I will stick to the 5 reps. Ride time was roughly 1:15. If nothing else, I felt aggressive tonight. In recent weeks my ambition had been at a low ebb. There was no drive. As my hold HS Physics teacher Mr. Blecha would have said, I was "feeling logy" He is the only person I know that ever used the word logy. He was an interesting dude to say the least. A chiropractor teaching physics, armed with a quirky sense of humor. While I was a stunningly average physics student I came a way with the word logy in my vocubalary and a mental chuckle when the words walnut or monkey are mentioned. But, I digress. Tonight I rode with some passion and the desire to push myself. It felt good.

News Item of the Day: Jan Ullrich may well be happily in love once again - dating the sister of team-mate Tobias Steinhauser - but there seems to be no love lost within the T-Mobile ranks ahead of Saturday's Tour start. Bild reports that both Andreas Klöden and the snubbed Erik Zabel have had a pop at their team leader.

Ullrich, 31, separated from his long-term girlfriend, and mother of their two-year old child Sarah, Gaby Weiss, back in May this year. But German tabloid Bild announced on Monday that the five-time Tour runner-up had found new love in the arms of pal Steinhauser's sister, Sara. But while Ulle trains hard for July's headline event, calm in the knowledge that his blond filly Sara will be there to nurse his thighs and massage his back after a hard day in the saddle, team-mates Klöden and Zabel are less than impressed.

Klöden, who stole Ullrich's unenviable crown of Lance Armstrong's perennial runner-up by finishing second in 2004, raced in last Sunday's national championships. While Jan Ullrich opted out of putting in an appearance in a bid to hone his Tour de France preparations, it was thought that the 30-year-old Klöden was in favour of defending his national crown.

But Bild reported on Tuesday that the out-of-form Klöden was not "amused" as being "compelled" to ride the national championships, whereas Ullrich was given time off, presumably to cavort with new love Sara. "I asked to be released too. I would have loved to stay away from this championship," Klödie moaned. "Other people were allowed to". Klöden rode the 204 km race in Mannheim with little conviction, coming home in 57th place, 38 seconds off the pace.

Meanwhile, veteran sprinter Erik Zabel, who lost his place in the T-Mobile Tour line-up in a bid to strengthen Ullrich's assault on Armstrong's Tour hegemony, seemingly still holds a few sour grapes about his exclusion. "I wouldn't have prevented him from winning," vouched six-time green jersey winner Zabel. "When I become second or third it is a loss, yet other people are celebrated for that." Ouch!

Zabel's room-mate Rolf Aldag - also not included in T-Mobile's final nine - has joined the fray, claiming: "I would have left it up to a champion like Erik to decide whether he wanted to start or not."

Viewpoint: Tune in again next week for the next edition of "The Young and the Restless German Cyclists"

News Item of the Day: BMC, the leading Swiss high-end bicycle brand, has developed for the number 1 Pro Tour Team Phonak a new secret weapon for the Tour de France.

Last year, BMC had already introduced the revolutionary "Time Machine" during the Tour de France, which set the new standard for time trial bikes. This year, we can present another revolutionary bike the BMC "Pro Machine". The "Pro Machine is the first bicycle frame in the world which is made entirely using the revolutionary Easton CNT-Nanotechnology.

Nanotechnology is the next frontier in scientific research and advanced manufacturing, and has been used until today mainly in medicine and electronics. Nanotechnology deals with the manipulation of materials on an atomic or molecular scale measured in billionths of a meter. By using the innovative enhanced resin system with its carbon nanotubes (CNT) a revolutionary fibre was created that is also called "the strongest fiber that will ever be made". Nanotubes have a strength-to-weight ratio which is hundred times better than aluminum or many times better than normal carbon fibre.

BMC is the first frame builder in the world that has built a complete bicycle frame with Easton CNTNanotechnology. By using the CNT-Nanotechnology we are able to built a frame with minimal weight and maximal strength. Our engineers did not just use a revolutionary frame material but have also developed new engineering and manufacturing processes to build this state of the art frame. High investments in special molding technology allow us to build an easy to manufacture frame with excellent performance. The BMC " Pro Machine" frame weight is not only below one kilogram, but has also excellent stiffness and strength characteristics. Beside the innovative BMC Crosslock-Technology frame design a lot of innovative details were integrated in this frame. The bottom bracket threading is the only alloy part on this frame. That means that also dropouts and headset surface are entirely made with CNT technology. Also revolutionary is the fact that none of those parts have to be machined after production. Normally machining destroys carbon fibres and results in a damage of the fibre structure.

Cable guides are not glued in the frame but are part of the frame structure. Special tube shapes in the steering tube, in the chainstay area and the bottom bracket area result in a high performance frame that is extremely efficient in transferring the riders force into immediate acceleration.

The CNT-Nanotechnology frame not only performs better, but its radical look also differentiates the BMC "Pro Machine" from the rest of the pack.

We from BMC are convinced, that we have built a frame that will set a new trend in the bicycle industry. We are extremely proud to offer this frame with Easton CNT-Nanotechnology exclusively to the Phonak Cycling Team. We are sure that we can motivate the Team with this performance advantage for even better results.

The BMC "Pro Machine" will be exclusively presented for the first time during the official press conference of the Tour de France.

It was frickin' hot today. Seemed like a good day to hide inside although I did go out to do a little shopping.

News Item of the Day: Lance Armstrong says he feels better than ever despite a training accident that left him bruised and battered.

Armstrong, who will retire after the Tour de France, crashed and damaged his time trial bike last Wednesday. "The unfortunate thing is I hit my head which cracked the helmet in two," said the 33-year-old Texan. "It wasn't that serious and nothing was wrong, no breaks. I feel very good on the bike and I'd even venture to say I feel better than I've ever felt." The six-times winner added: "Fortunately, I haven't felt any ill effects from the crash in terms of pedalling. I feel I'm just as fluid as I was before."

Armstrong, who finished fourth earlier this month in the week-long Dauphine Libere, said he was looking forward to his last race. "I'm excited about the Tour because I'm ready and I love the event, but at the same time I'm excited to move on and do something else with my life," he said. "I've come to the realisation that athletes can't play at the highest level forever. I'm not interested in going out on my back."

From Eurosport discussing possible polka dot jersey winners: "The Spanish Euskaltel team took a serious crap in its pants at the 2004 Tour de France, a race that was supposed to loft its leaders -- Iban Mayo and Haimar Zubeldia -- to cycling's stratosphere". What kind of journalists are we turning out in this country? None of our master wordsmiths ever craft lovely lines like "The Cardinals took a serious crap in its pants during their series with the Reds."

Now that our velodrome is renovated a nice group of 15-20 guys showed up tonight to both learn a little about riding the track and to re-introduce the experienced trackies. When I first arrived people seemed to be doing their own warmup laps but before long a nice paceline of about eight settled in with the lead rider taking one lap pulls. That was fun and kind of hard. Everyone gathered and listened to Bill talk about the different markings on the track and explain their meaning. We warmed up again with another paceline before doing a series of scratch races and a couple miss-and-outs. There is learning curve on the track and I spent my time trying to get a feel for the track. Crit racing is an acquired to taste for some in terms of feeling comfortable in a pack. Track racing is whole other level. Put yourself in a pack and remove the brakes. The nerve-o-meter definitely goes up. One thing is certain. I was undergeared with my 42x14. There was no top-end, but rather just hanging on for dear life. I'll have to look into getting something like a 48 to be more competitive.

News Item of the Day: Organizers of the Tour de France plan to use the same test for illicit blood transfusions first employed at last year's summer Olympics in Athens, the French national drug screening laboratory (LNDD) announced on Thursday.

The test, approved for use last summer, is at the center of two appeals being brought before the international Court of Arbitration for Sport by American Tyler Hamilton and his former Phonak teammate Santiago Perez after both were found to be positive for so-called homologous blood doping.

Blood doping is a means of enhancing endurance by increasing the amount of oxygen-carrying red blood cells, using one's own blood or that of a donor of the same blood group. Both practices are prohibited under UCI rules and the World Anti-Doping Code, but the test developed in Australia is only capable of detecting foreign blood cells and not those that an individual might extract, store and reinject.

Hamilton tested positive at the Vuelta a España last September for an illicit transfusion of what testers said were donor blood cells. The Vuelta test was ordered after a sample Hamilton submitted at the Olympics was deemed positive by a review panel, but could not be confirmed by a B-sample that had already been destroyed. Hamilton was then sacked by his professional team, Phonak, and given a two-year ban by the United States Anti Doping Agency.

Perez, also a member of Phonak, was found positive in a test after the Vuelta. He, too, was suspended for two years by the Spanish Cycling Federation. The two remain the only athletes to ever have tested positive using the method developed in Australia. "It's this detection technique that caught Tyler Hamilton out," said the laboratory's director, Jacques de Ceaurriz. Hamilton and Perez have adamantly proclaimed their innocence and have appealed their suspensions to the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Other doping tests on the Tour will mirror last year's, with some 150 blood and/or urine tests, and around 100 tests for EPO (Erythropoietin), the banned red-blood-cell booster, de Ceaurriz said. However the doctor added that the LNDD still did not have the means to be able to detect growth hormones. "The technique already exists," he added. "But we can't yet apply it because it requires a large amount of anti-bodies which we just don't have at our disposal yet."

Summer has settled in quite nicely. High in the 90's and plenty of humidity to make you untidy in a moments notice. I got tired of doing my usual stuff and decided to do some hill repeats on Hadley Hill. Hadley is a dead end road. There is a moderate sized subdivision but with no thru traffic there is little problem with cars. From the bottom there is a small rise, a flat of a couple hundred feet and then the road kicks up pretty good. The grade eases briefly in the middle before pointing up again. Near the top if flattens out again for short bit before a gradual rise for the last couple hundred feet. It's a good test.

First I did it in an easy 39x21 and snapped some pics of the climb. After that I did three climbs in each of the 16, 17 and 19. After ten ascents I had left enough sweat on the road and headed home. I think I rode okay. Nothing spectacular but better than yesterday.

News Item of the Day: DISCOVERY'S TOUR DE FRANCE TEAM
Lance Armstrong (US)
George Hincapie (US)
Jose Luis Rubiera, Manuel Beltran, Benjamin Nadal (all Spain)
Pavel Padrnos (Czech Republic)
Jose Azevedo (Portugal)
Paolo Savoldelli (Italy)
Yaroslav Popovych (Ukraine)

Viewpoint: No real surprises. Strong as usual.

Since I have called off the racing until after the trip I avoided the Worlds tonight and instead headed out on my own. I did a similar route to last Thursday down to Meramec Bottom and, on the way back, doing Hagemann and in and out of Suson Park. This time I upped the Suson reps to five.

While I rode okay, I had no enthusiasm. Rolling down the driveway I had no spark and it only improved slightly as I rode. Not sure what the problem was. The last couple nights were not the best nights of sleep so maybe I'm a little tired.

Since I recovered well last week from my injuries, I gave another attempt at the covered bridge ride Saturday. Mark H and Mark G showed up as well. We started by heading to High Ridge. G wound up in front on the last stretch of Hillsboro-Valley Park. Being nice guys, we just sat on his wheel and waited for the almost inevitable sprint up the last hill. I was not going to go unless H had a go. A couple hundred feet to go and I saw him moving up on my right, out of the saddle. He had half a bike on me before I got up to speed. We were pretty even at the top. Being the vindictive sort, I was going to make H suffer a bit. Seeing that no cars were coming, we blew through the stop, turned left but I kept the pace high. Mark grunted but hung tough. Then up the smaller hill and I heard gasping. Over the hill and I get out of saddle for another little effort. He did well to stay close, but it hurt. I should have shifted a little bigger. I felt spun out on the flatter sections. Meanwhile G unexpectedly had gotten ambushed by us and came limping into the gas station ready to turn around. He didn't want to hold us up. As if we were going to attack every hill like that. Not a chance. We convinced him to push on and did reasonably well the rest of the way despite a little bit of struggles on the hills.

I rode fairly well. The legs felt stronger than last week and I did some good things on the hills. Last week I only kept a tempo up the hills. But this week, when Mark was sitting on my wheel, I was able to occasionally raise tempo, open up a gap, and keep that pace for a while.

More encouraging than anything was that I was pain free for the whole 75+ miles. Total elapsed time was 5:15 with 15 minutes of waiting at Meramec in the morning, 3 stops equalling probably another 15 minutes and then another post-ride stop to chat and then wait for the train to go by. About 15 minutes wasted were wasted then as well.

News Item of the Day: Although he is enjoying good support from Quick.Step in the Tour de Suisse, Michael Rogers will ride his next season in the pro peloton in the colours of T-Mobile. The official announcement is due only after September 1, 2005 - the beginning of the transfer period - but Belgian paper Het Nieuwsblad had the story already today.

"It's a pity," said Quick.Step's manager Patrick Lefévère. "But it's a reality. He's leaving us." Although Lefévère did not say whether he knew if Rogers was signing with T-Mobile, he said, "When I heard the price from his manager Paul De Geyter, I said 'Good luck'. The problem is that boys of his level get paid for what they are expected to achieve, not on the basis of what they've achieved in the past. But he will not be substituted for another big Tour hope. We simply cannot pay for that."

Viewpoint: Good god Michael. Do not go to the Magenta Hole of Death. See you in 2 or 3 yrs after your career is in tatters.

And, theUgly TT Helmet of the Week award goes to....

I have a craving for some cheesecake

I really dislike fresh chip and seal roads. The County street folks were kind of enough to bless Kerth Rd with the process today. I dont mind the roads once they get settled in that loose gravel is awful. And why do they feel the need to do the chip and seal EVERY year whether the road is in good condition, or not.

With that gripe out of the way I rode again today. This time for a little more than an hour. Since my leg problems have occured mainly when going uphill I tested the leg today by taking the hilly subdivisions down to Meramec Bottom and on the way back added in a trip up Hagemann and 3x's in and out of Suson Park. Today was better than yesterday, even with the harder terrain, so progress is being made.

Also, I got a list of the hotels we will be in while in France. Looking at the websites, the only one that mentions internet is the last night. If the hotel in Lourdes does not have internet perhaps I can sneak over to last years hotel and "borrow" their computer once or twice.

News Item of the Day: Chris Horner won the sixth stage of the Tour of Switzerland, as Australia's Michael Rogers took the yellow jersey. Saunier Duval rider Horner broke away in the final climb to Arosa to come in 1min 12secs ahead of Italian Vincenzo Nibali. Rogers was third (1min 14secs).

The Australian took the overall race lead from Germany's Jan Ullrich, who finished in a group over 30secs behind. Quick Step's Rogers now has a 20-second lead on Ullrich with Australian Bradley McGee in third at 22secs. "I was riding to win the stage or take the race lead so it was a good day for me," said Rogers.

Triumphant Horner, meanwhile, was delighted with his first major stage win in Europe. "I'm very, very happy to have finally won a big race in Europe," he said. "I raced in the French Francaise des Jeux team for three years in the 1990s but never won a race."

Viewpoint: I'm no fan of Horner but I'll give him credit for a nice race today. He was aggressive and earned the win with his hard work. Ullrich's difficulty on the final climb is interesting. He was very strong in the TT but he seems to have room for improvement in the mountains.

I was asked whether I will be making any blog entries while over in France. Maybe. If we stay in the same hotel as last year they had free internet access. I should be able to make some entries on the 8th, 9th, 10th and maybe the 11th after the race depending on how tight our schedule is before we catch the train to the Alps. Beyond that I really don't know. If not, I might write notes and post them upon returning.

Tested the leg again tonight but this time on my 'dale. The strange feeling I had yesterday was still there but definitely different than the pain that I have been experiencing. This feels like a ligament is slightly out of place and getting tweaked a little at times. Out of the saddle I have no problems. Only when the knee goes past a certain position does it "rub". Maybe with more stretching it will pop back into place.

News Item of the Day: Italian cyclist Alessio Galletti died after passing out on a climb in a race in the northern Spanish region of Asturias on Wednesday.

The 37-year-old, who rode for the Naturino-Sapore di Mare team, had difficulties breathing while riding up to the Alto de La Manzaneda peak about 15 km from the finish of the annual race that ends with an ascent of the Naranco mountain near Oviedo. "Alessio was riding in a group that was a little behind us and he was saying that his chest was causing him some pain," team mate Mario de Sarraga told Spanish national radio (RNE). "Suddenly when we were climbing he stopped and said his chest was hurting him a lot. He passed out there on the road and we stopped and did all that we could to help him until the ambulance arrived." Local media reported that Galletti was attended to by medical staff before being taken to hospital in Oviedo but was dead on arrival.

Galletti, who was born in the Italian city of Pisa, turned professional in 1994. He had competed in the Giro d'Italia, finishing 73rd in 1996 and 89th in 2004, and his professional victories included winning the Fred Mengoni Grand Prix in 2003 and a stage in the Tour Down Under in Australia in 2001.

Viewpoint: When I first read the headline that Galletti had died I surprised but the name didn't register in my mind until I saw his picture. Immediately I knew who he was. He took part in the '04 Tour of Georgia. He had a very distinctive look with his longish blonde hair. He was so memorable because while I was taking pictures of the early riders in the TT he slowly rolled right by me next to the curb. I snapped a quick picture of him (who's that guy in the background?). This is how I remember Alessio Galletti.

Rather than go to the Worlds I decided to be gentle on the knee and spin around the neighborhood a few times on the fixed gear. For the most part, the leg felt good albeit for only a 45 min ride. The were some odd twinges but no pain. I think this could be as much a matter of different position on the bike as actual leg problems.

Tomorrow I think I will take the 'dale out and see if the same sensations occur. In the mean time, it is back to stretching 2-3x's a day to get this darn thing straightened out.

On an unrelated note, the shop called and said the bearings in my rear AmClassic's are basically shot and new ones are needed. So, I ordered the new bearins and should have the wheels back by the end of next week. The guy said I could ride them wheels the way they were but there be a little resistance. Why would I want that? Besides I plan on these being my mountain wheels in France. They need to be rolling nicely.

News Item of the Day: A University of Texas-Austin researcher, using the example of Tour de France celebrity Lance Armstrong, says hard training raises muscle power sharply. The study says by studying the physiology of such athletes, one can learn what training and dedication can accomplish.

What Edward F. Coyle found about Armstrong was that from 1992-1999 the characteristic that improved most (was) an 8-percent improvement in muscular efficiency and thus power production when cycling at a given maximal oxygen uptake. Combining the increased muscular efficiency with a planned 7-percent reduction in body weight and fat leading up to each Tour de France race, contributed equally to a remarkable 18-percent improvement in his steady-state power per kilogram output, the Coyle study said.

Coyle's study appears in the June issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology, published by the American Physiological Society. The study said the findings could be important because it provides insight, although limited, regarding the recovery of 'performance physiology' after successful treatment for advanced cancer.

It didn't feel right not riding today on a perfectly nice Sunday. I almost went over to the Columbia ride but, uncommonly, my common sense kicked in and I stayed off the bike. Even if I had gone over just to ride at my own easy pace, the testosterone would have kicked in and I would have ridden further and harder than I should have. The leg feels a little better today.

News Item of the Day: Alexander Vinokourov, one of Lance Armstrong's main rivals in next month's Tour de France, is reportedly being courted as the next Discovery Channel leader next season. The 31-year old Kazakh, whose contract with T-Mobile expires at the end of the season, would replace the retiring American.

According to French newspaper Le Parisien/Aujourd'hui, Vinokourov ranks high on a shortlist of potential successors. The paper adds that with three weeks to go to Armstrong's bid to win an unprecedented seventh Tour, the team would neither confirm nor deny the news. "There exists a list of riders, but we can't tell you if Vino is on it or not," Armstrong's agent Bill Stapleton told the paper. "Ask Johan," quipped a coy Armstrong sending the newspaper's reporter to see team manager Johan Bruyneel who in Sphinx-like fashion replied "every great rider at the end of his contract interests us." Stapleton, Armstrong, and Bruyneel each control one-third of the team's capital.

Vinokourov himself neither confirms nor denies the approach: "It's hard to say," the recent winner of Liège-Bastogne-Liège told Le Parisien. "It's true that I'm at the end of my contract with T-Mobile but for the moment, I'm not committed. Come what may, I'm going to wait to see the results of the Tour to make a decision."

Last year, the two-time Paris-Nice winner missed the Tour through injury and his alliance with Armstrong's eternal nemesis Jan Ullrich is hands-down the biggest threat to Discovery Channel's bid for seven. Conscious of the stir transfer speculation of this magnitutde could cause so close to the start of the Grande Boucle, the paper wonders aloud why no one has simply issued a flat denial.

After torturing my legs in Rolla last week I thought I was in the clear. But, today Mark and I headed out to the covered bridge. By the time we got down there I new it was probably not going to be a good trip back. Sure enough. From Arnold on, the right knee began to hurt more and more. DAMN!!! Time to start nursing it back to health again. I have 3 1/2 weeks to get this f'ing knee squared away. That's enough time to heal up but the whole while I'm going to be fearing another relapse.

News Item of the Day: Stage 6 was a tough day for the Dauphiné Libéré peloton in the French Alps. Starting in Albertville, the riders tackled three Cat. 1 climbs before doing the hors categorie Col de Joux-Plane, then descending into Morzine for the finish. As expected, all the GC riders tried to break each other's legs on the last couple of climbs, with Santi Botero (Phonak) and David Moncoutié (Cofidis) crossing the summit of the Joux-Plane first, ahead of Francisco Mancebo (Illes Balears), Christophe Moreau (Credit Agricole), and Marzio Bruseghin (Fassa Bortolo), then a group containing Lance Armstrong (Discovery), Alexandre Vinokourov (T-Mobile), Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner), David Arroyo (Illes Balears), and Jose Gomez Marchante (Saunier Duval).

On the descent, Botero dropped Moncoutié and stayed away to win the stage by 23 seconds, with the rest of the contenders coming in in dribs and drabs. As expected, race leader Iñigo Landaluze (Euskaltel-Euskadi) was isolated from his few remaining teammates, but managed to limit the damage to 4'17 at the end of the day, and saved his yellow jersey. He now leads Botero by 49 seconds with Leipheimer back in third at 1'16 and Armstrong fourth at 1'37. There's one more stage to come tomorrow in Sallanches, and all the GC riders will have to be alert, as the finishing circuit (ridden seven times) contains the Cat. 4 Côte de Domancy. It could be just enough for one of the top five to put Landaluze under enough pressure to take the lead.

News Item of the Day: Axel (son of Eddy "The Cannibal") Merckx put in a great escape Friday, soloing to victory in Stage 5 of the Dauphiné Libéré. Second on the stage Inigo Landaluze of Spain (Euskaltel) usurped the overall race lead as a lackadaisical peloton rolled home nine minutes off the back.

A 219-km, roller-coaster route between Vaison-La-Romaine and the French Alps capital of Grenoble, Friday's race was decided on the Grimone climb, the second of five categorised ascents on Stage 5's mountain menu. Peeling free seven kilometres from the summit of the category-two Grimone, Davitamon-Lotto rider Merckx ratcheted to a 1 min 20 sec solo lead at the mountain's top. Diving into the drops, Merckx fired on full pistons for the remaining 103 km in the race, crossing the finish 2 min 15 sec free of second-placed Landaluze. "I just stood up on the pedals, looked back and realised nobody was following. So I continued," said Merckx, 32, the road race bronze medallist at the 2004 Athens Olympics. "I suffered and it took courage but I enjoyed it. I worked hard... and I'm glad the work paid off," he said.

Landaluze, riding for the Spanish formation Euskaltel, overtook the top of the Dauphiné Libéré's general classification, benefiting from a ho-hum attitude in the main field that brought the peloton home a yawning 9 min 36 sec adrift of stage winner Merckx. Landaluze, 11th and 4 min 30 sec off the pace overnight, saw his stock rise all the way to the yellow-and-blue jersey of the Dauphiné Libéré's overall leadership Friday. Spanish climber extraordinaire Landaluze now lords a 2 min 32 sec advantage in the overall standings over Merckx.

Deposed race leader Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) -- victim to but unscathed by a crash on the day's final downhill -- sits in current third (at 2 min 51 sec) with fellow American and six-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong occupying fourth, 3 min 12 sec adrift.

Viewpoint: I see a lot of people panicking and saying the big guys have let the race slip away by giving Landaluze such a lead. He's a decent climber, but he's very crackable. They will have to work but it's not a lost cause. Saturday is a tough stage. He will be tested.

A bunch of thunder and lightening rolled in this evening just as I was about to head out on a ride. I can't muster the determination to hop on the trainer at this point so blowing off the day's training.

News Item of the Day: Alexandre Vinokourov won Thursday's fourth stage, breaking clear of Jose Angel Gomez Marchante 300 metres from the summit of Mont Ventoux to land the treasured prize. Levi Leipheimer maintained his overall lead, arriving 46' off the Kazakh's pace, nine seconds behind compatriot Lance Armstrong.

The T-Mobile pocket Hercules, along with Saunier's Gomez, broke clear of a select group riders - including big name favourites Lance Armstrong, Floyd Landis and race leader Levi Leipheimer - with five kilometres until the finish. Having caught Davitamon's Wim Van Huffel - the sole remanding rider from an initial seven-man break away on the flat before the uphill finale - the two riders rode clear with a couple of kilometres to go. But the solid man from Kazakhstan proved his condition three weeks ahead of the Tour de France by sprinting ahead with 300 metres left and record a superb victory. Vinoukorov finished six seconds ahead of the Spaniard, with Belgium's Van Huffel coming home a further ten seconds back.

The victory was all the more sweet for Vinokourov seeing that he narrowly missed out on the prize back in 1999 to American rider Jonathan Vaughters. The win was a further relief for Vinokourov who finished a disappointing fifth in Wednesday's individual time-trial, losing one minute to winner Santiago Botero (Phonak). Despite pre-stage claims of mountain strength, the Colombian, second after his fine performance against the clock, found the barren, windswept slopes of the Ventoux a tad demanding and finished 16th, almost three minutes off the pace.

Armstrong, who tipped compatriot Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) for victory prior to the stage, finished fourth, leading a trio including Credit Agricole's Andrey Kashechkin and Phonak's Floyd Landis over the line, 37 seconds in arrears. It was a solid performance for the American who, warming up for his attempt to win a seventh consecutive Tour de France, managed to fight his way back into the group after dropping behind on two separate occasions. Armstrong's showing confirmed that physically he is improving after he took third in Wednesday's individual time trial. Leipheimer finished in seventh, nine seconds behind compatriot Armstrong, to retain the leader's yellow and blue jersey. The Texan is now second overall, trailing Leipheimer by 21 seconds.

After a rather less demanding 219-km fifth stage from Vaison-la-Romaine to Grenoble on Friday, Armstrong will face a last real test in Saturday's gruelling sixth stage between Albertville and Morzine. The penultimate stage of the Dauphine Libere includes three first category climbs and finishes in Joux Plane, a mountain pass on which the American suffered one of his worst days on the Tour in 2001.

Viewpoint: Just as I predicted a couple days ago. Vino would win the Ventoux stage. :)

We had a good storm blow threw this evening so I am taking a rest day. Time for a few pictures.
Sunday's sunrise before leaving for Rolla.


Clouds today as the storm blew in.


Some Tuesday Nite Worlds action last night.


News Item of the Day: Santiago Botero won Wednesday's time-trial stage of the Dauphine Libere, with Lance Armstrong third. The Colombian edged out American Levi Leipheimer, who took the overall lead, by one second with the six-times Tour de France champion 26secs adrift. Botero completed the 46.5km stage in one hour six seconds.

Armstrong said: "I'm not overwhelmingly pleased but I'm not disappointed. It was hard - 100% effort all the way. I'm on my schedule (for the Tour)." Armstrong had said the stage was an important stepping stone in his preparation for the Tour next month. The director of Armstrong's Discovery Channel team, Johan Bruyneel, said: "We needed a real test, and in this sense it is a good performance. "This time trial was really the stage that mattered, the real test for us. And from what I saw, we have every reason to be satisfied."

"There's still some work ahead of us but the timing is right," said Bruyneel, adding that Armstrong's performance in the rest of the Dauphine Libere depends on "his sensations". Armstrong, who has yet to win a race this season, said he felt Leipheimer was now the favourite for overall victory in the Dauphine Libere. Thursday's fourth stage takes the riders over 182 km up the gruelling Mont Ventoux, a climb the American has never won.

However, winning a seventh Tour de France in July is the only thing that really matters for Armstrong and Leipheimer said the Tour was also his main goal this season. "I didn't know what to expect in this time trial. I thought Botero, Lance and Landis were the favourites," said Leipheimer. "But I had done a good prologue and I have been using a new bike here in the Dauphine which suits me fine. "Of course, if I have a chance for the overall classification I will not let it pass, but my main objective is the Tour.

Botero, winner of his second Dauphine Libere time trial after his 2002 victory, also has a good chance of overall success.

I drove my stiff, weary legs to the Tuesday Nite Worlds this evening. Three or four laps of warmup and my legs were not feeling spry. I had doubts whether I would hang long if the pace started quickly. Thankfully, it did not and I had some time to get my legs loosened up. It was an unspectacular race. I put my nose out front a little bit but did not work much and stayed in good position the rest of the race. The race seemed well under control tonight without any terribly hard pace.

Viewpoint: I will predict now that Armstrong will win the Ventoux stage of the Dauphine in a couple days. It's his last chance to win on that mountain and unless they let some people low on GC get too big of a gap he will play it cool until the last 2k, where the mountain gets steeper, and then leave any remaining riders in the dust.

My inner thighs remain a little stiff and sore from the cramping during yesterday's race. The rest of the legs feel remarkably good. There wasn't much of my legs that did not cramp up at one point or another. So, to feel this well is surprising.

News Item of the Day: Thor Hushovd of the Credit Agricole team claimed the first stage of the Dauphine Libere race on Monday. The Norwegian edged out South African Robert Hunter in a late dash for the line to seal the 224-km stage, from Aix-les-Bains to Givors in France. But the Discovery Channel team's George Hincapie retained the overall lead in the event when he finished 26th. American Hincapie captured Sunday's prologue, overcoming compatriot Levi Leipheimer by one second.

Hushovd, who clocked a winning time of five hours, 10 minutes, 55 seconds, thanked team-mate Damien Nazon for shielding him during the final sprint. "It was a bit long to go for a sprint 250m from the line," Hushovd said. "There was a lot of movement toward the end. It was a bit hard, but Damien was brilliant. "That's three years in a row I have won a stage here," he added. "I feel even more confident than last year."

Hincapie and six-time Tour de France winnner Lance Armstrong were in huge chasing group of around 90 riders who were all accorded the same time - three seconds back - when they crossed the line in 26th and 79th respectively. And Hincapie thanked Armstrong and his Discovery Channel team for working to help him keep the leader's yellow jersey.

Normally, Hincapie has only one goal - to help Armstrong win - so he appreciated the favor being returned this time. "They rode hard as a present for me, to keep me in the yellow jersey," Hincapie said. "This is a really big deal for me and my family. Especially as Lance also has his own preparations for the Tour. "For them to do that for me - I say a big thanks to them."

Viewpoint: If you want to follow the Dauphine live and practice your french at the same time then go to the Dauphine Libere live coverage website.

Saturday I rode down into Fenton and back for a total ride time of 1:45. I never pushed real hard but gave a good solid effort. The goal was simply to make the legs work a little in prep for today in Rolla.

Today was the Hellbender RR in Rolla along roads that I was familiar with since most of them are part of the Tour of the Ozarks that I've done twice. Only difference is that we rode in an opposite direction. This was the first really warm, borderline hot, weekend of the year. We started "early" so we were able to avoid some of the heat and a stiff breeze kept the temps seem more manageable. We were sheduled for a 9:10 start but it was probably at least 9:30 before we rolled. A typically timely race.

According to the race profile there were two main climbs on the 35-mile loop. Without any feed help I was weighted down with two bottles in the jersey and two Clif Bars. The first lap started well and the first hill seemed moderate. It wasn't insanely steep but was a good length. After the hill, Hwy T was a bunch of small rollers. Mesa was aggressive early with a couple brief efforts but everyone was attentive and was willing to let much go until Joe and Dan took flyer. They built a quick gap and eventually got out of sight.

We stayed patient and Dan slowly began to be reeled in after dropping off Joe's pace. We caught Joe a little before the 2nd climb of the day. The profile made this look to be the tougher of the two. It did not disappoint. Scott Rendall seemed to put the cat amongst the pigeons along with Shaun and an out-of-towner. I kept things close and a handful of others came around me near the top but all was good as I tacked on pretty comfortably. Much of the pack was still as one but the lead group of three continued to press on. A Gateway and I did the bulk of the pulling. Breslin sat on since Rendall was in the break. Everyone else seemed content to sit. AJ came up too and lent a hand to the chase that could bring back the others. Finally, in the final miles before town we brought Rendall back but the other two had opened a big gap and it would be tough to bring them back on the final lap.

I felt the legs tighten occasionally but I was eating and drinking and keeping the condition under control. Going through the feed zone, someone yelled that we were 3 minutes down. Not good. Justin set the early tempo on the first climb. Breslin got on his wheel and then me. About then I heard AJ say he was cramping, never to be seen again. I took over for Justin and led the pack up the climb. Two-thirds of the way up, others began to stream around. I tried to bear down and hold the wheels but I had popped. From there it was up to Justin, Ryan and Jose to fly the Shark colors. I did my best but I was alone and the chase was futile.

All alone, Hwy T was much more difficult this time. What was rollers the first time suddenly became a steady, slight uphill with the occasional bumps in the road. The poor roads and wind took its toll. I glanced back occasionally and no one was in sight so I must have been going okay despite the increasingly crampy legs. I nursed myself up to the base of the second climb. Once it began to kick up, my legs seized up. Calves, just about the knees and thighs all gripped hard in both legs. I shifted down and tried to ride through them best I could. The pain eased somewhat but the cramps never fully went away, making the hill seem interminable. Oh my, that hurt. Bad. Once over the top I tried to be as smooth as possible and drink but still have enough for the final 15 miles.
From then on it was hard going. I had good stretches but then I'd start to cramp again. It happened probably 4 times. In the last 5-6 miles Doug Davis caught me. Not sure where he came from. He may have been the one to blow a wheel on the downhill into town on the first lap. He seemed pretty strong and I had no answer for him. At this point it was all about survival. It seems that most everyone who got gapped on the first hill of the last lap quit. I can't imagine others not being able to catch me as much trouble as I had. I got 13th place. I'm not happy with the performance but satisfied. I showed determination and fought as hard as I could. This cramping problem is something I need to get behind me.

This first Hellbender was a deceptively tough course and that 2nd hill was a deciding factor. Morgan Bearden does a good job with these races. It's a shame more people don't turn out for the races. He does a good job.

News Item of the Day: George Hincapie of the Discovery Channel team won the Dauphine Libere's prologue, a 7.9 km individual time-trial around Aix-Les-Bains on Sunday. Hincapie clocked nine minutes 55 seconds to beat compatriot Levi Leipheimer of the Gerolsteiner team, who came home in second place one second behind.

Kazakhstan's Andryi Kashechkin of the Credit Agricole team finishing third three seconds off the pace. Six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong came home fifth in 10:01, a second behind former team-mate Floyd Landis, now riding in the colours of Phonak. Armstrong's performance was closely watched, the Texan making it back in action after a break of over a month to finish six seconds behind Hincapie. The American, who will bid for an unprecedented seventh Tour de France win in July, was strong but not strong enough to snatch the first victory of his farewell season.

The week-long Dauphine Libere was won by Armstrong in 2002 and 2003 but he has been out of competitive action this season since the Tour of Georgia in late April. One-day classic specialist Hincapie said: "It's the first time I have ever beaten Lance in a time-trial and it's very special because he is a very, very dear friend." Armstrong said: "I'm not a prologue specialist any more. In the last four years I have not ridden a good prologue. Last year's Tour de France prologue was an exception. I was super that day. It's a violent effort the older you get."

Armstrong's foot skidded off the pedals on the demanding Biolay climb, costing him valuable seconds. He at least had the consolation that victory went to close friend Hincapie, winner of the Kurne-Brussels Kurne classic this season and second in the Paris-Roubaix. Armstrong said: "This was a good course for George, with a hard climb and a long descent. He was very strong in the climb and in the long and hard stretch home."

Two riders, Spaniard Izidro Nozal and Italian Michele Scotto d'Abusco, were prevented from starting the race after blood tests showed a haematocrit level over the 50 percent limit.

I woke up this morning with the top of my left knee hurting. By mid-morning everything was fine but I'm getting tired of these little knee problems.

News Item of the Day: Lampre-Caffita sees the future and it includes Damiano Cunego, but not Gilberto Simoni. According to a report in L'Equipe, the Italian team will extend Cunego's contract for three more years while Simoni be allowed to leave the team despite finishing second in last month's Giro d'Italia.

Simoni and Cunego have often clashed on Lampre and the former incarnation of the team, Saeco. Simoni, who was already rumored to be in negotiations with Domina Vacanze for the upcoming season, criticized the work of his team during the Giro, above all Cunego, who he said let him down.

Cunego responded to the charge by insisting the team fully supported Simoni. "The team did everything we could to help Simoni. What else could we do? Push him?" Cunego said in La Gazzetta dello Sport. "For me, the Giro was very difficult, more so because of all the hard climbs, the difficulty of the stages and the psychological situation I found myself in. I carried a huge pressure and because of this it was hard to do well. When you're 23 years old, that's hard to carry."

Cunego aims next for the Tour de France where he insists he'll race simply to learn about the race.

Viewpoint: "What else could we do? Push him?" Nice one, Damiano. Sounds like he has had that line stored up for a while, waiting for Simoni to open his big pie-hole.

Went to JB again tonight. I had no ambition to go this evening. This ride was purely a case of knowing I should ride and forcing myself to go. I felt so lethargic the whole way over there and wondered why I even bothered riding. But, after 45 minutes the legs began to loosen and I gave progressively harder laps. Each time trying to better the previous and I succeeded. My last effort was 6:35 and then stomach cramps began to set in so I eased up for the rest of the ride. This wasn't a great workout but, considering my mood at the start, I'm satisfied. My legs even began to have a little snap on the climbs. There is still a lot of work to do but I might at least be able to hang in the race at Rolla this weekend. Who the hell am I kidding. It's a road race. I'll be A) Spit out the back of the pack on a climb B) cramp up and be spit out the back of the pack C) not eat or drink enough and be spit out the back of the pack. Take your pick. One is bound to be a winner.