Armstrong Lives Strong for Kazakhstan?

Spanish cyclist eclipses Armstrong in second Tour triumph

(AP) - Alberto Contador won the Tour de France for a second time today, and Lance Armstrong capped his return to the race with an impressive third-place finish. Mark Cavendish of Britain became the first rider to win six Tour stages in a sprint, collecting his sixth stage win after the 101.9-mile course ride from Montereau-Fault-Yonne to the Champs-Elysees. More»

(NEWSER) - Lance Armstrong is in third place going into the 10th stage of the Tour de France today—eight seconds behind the leader, and just two seconds behind Astana teammate Alberto Contador. The two cyclists have faced endless questions about a rift, reports the BBC, and it's unclear who will lead as the race wends its way into Paris. Recently Armstrong conceded that "the honest truth is that there is a little tension" and that third place would not be a good enough finish for him. More»

(NEWSER) - Lance Armstrong suffered a late setback today as a teammate made a last-minute push in the seventh stage of the Tour de France, the New York Times reports. Armstrong's Astana teammate Alfredo Contador didn't win the longest stage of the Tour—Brice Feillu did—and Rinaldo Nocentini still holds the overall lead. But his assertive move may have answered the intra-Astana question of who’s working for whom. More»

Fabian Cancellara hangs onto jersey

(NEWSER) - Lance Armstrong missed taking the yellow jersey by two-tenths of a second today as his Astana team hammered its rival in the Tour de France’s fourth-stage time trial, AFP reports. Though Astana beat Saxo Bank by 40 seconds, Fabian Cancellara held onto the lead. “It’s a little bit of a disappointment, but the yellow jersey is on the horizon,” said Armstrong, who’s less than a second off the overall lead More»

Armstrong's defense asks for on-air apology for dope story

(AP) - Steadfast in his innocence, Lance Armstrong’s attorneys are demanding an on-air apology from 60 Minutes after the head of Switzerland's anti-doping laboratory denied allegations that the cyclist tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs at the 2001 Tour de Suisse. Armstrong’s lawyer said the May 22 segment was built on a series of falsehoods, and accused the CBS show of sloppy journalism, in a letter sent today to the executive producer for 60 Minutes. "In the cold light of morning your story was either extraordinarily shoddy, to the point of being reckless and unprofessional, or a vicious hit-and-run job," the lawyer wrote. "In either case, a categorical on-air apology is required." More»