Central France (GenevaLunch) – Mark Cavendish won his third sprint of the 2009 Tour, ably assisted by his Columbia teammates. A group of four riders, including three French, led a break-away group but they were overhauled in the last few kilometres, setting the stage for the final sprint. When it comes to sprinting there is not much doubt about who is fastest, at least according to Cavendish:
Southern France (GenevaLunch) – The end of the first week leaves the tour very open, with two main dramas being played, one between the Astana team and the other teams and a more personal conflict between seven-time winner Lance Armstrongand his teammate, the theoretical leader of the Astana team Alberto Contador.
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Swiss Olympic Champion Fabian Cancellara won the Tour de Suisse, coming in first in the final day time trial in Bern. Cancellara won gold in the time trial and bronze in the road race in the Beijing Olympics. He is not considered likely to win the Tour de France, which starts 4 July but could well take the yellow jersey in the first stage time trial in Monte Carlo. Details, swissinfo
Davos, Graubuenden, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Swiss Olympic gold medallist Fabian Cancellara won on Saturday and finished a few seconds behind Austrian Bernard Eisel on Sunday to retain a 22-second lead after two days of the Tour de Suisse, which started in eastern Switzerland and moves west during the week. Details, Swissinfo
Title: Tour de Romandie
Location: Geneva, Vaud, Valais
Link out: Click here
Description: A stage of the UCI Pro Tour cycling competition, departing from Lausanne and going around French-speaking Switzerland.
Start Date: 28 Apr 2009
End Date: 03 May 2009
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The popular Tour de Romandie bike race route for 2009 was announced Wednesday. The race, from 28 April to 3 May, will start in Lausanne, move to Montreux, Fribourg, Yverdon and end up in Geneva after passing through the Jura.
Paris, France (GenevaLunch) – The Tour de France is touring beyond French borders. The race will begin in Monte Carlo, Monaco and head to Spain, Andorra, Switzerland and Italy before its traditional finish in Paris. Among the Swiss cities to receive the peloton are Verbier and Martigny. If you miss the pass of what is considered the best cycling race in the world, do not worry, Annecy in neighbouring France will also host a counter-clock race.
Austria (20 Minutes, Fre) – Bernhard Kohl, who placed third in the Tour de France and was the best climber, has admitted to doping after he took a hard fall in the Dauphiné.
Lance Armstrong announced Tuesday that he is coming out of retirement to ride in the 2009 Tour de France as a professional cyclist, in order to draw attention to cancer, which will take 8 million lives this year. Armstrong, age 37, recovered from cancer and went on to win the Tour a record seven times before he retired in 2005. BBC (Ed. note: thanks to an alert reader, Nancy, who was a little surprised that the man on the moon is taking to a bike! Editor’s apologies to those who saw Neil instead of Lance here.)
Title: Samedi du velo
Location: Geneva
Description: Free bicycle guided tours for families first Saturday of each month
Date: 2008-10-04
