Tour de France Page 9 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Let's All Take A Moment To Laugh At This Old Nike Commercial Featuring Lance Armstrong
This commercial came out in 2001, and it once was a chills-inducing spot that helped to build the legend of Lance Armstrong....

Nike Dumps Lance Armstrong In The Smarmiest Way Possible
In case you missed it earlier today, Lance Armstrong stepped down from his LiveStrong charity (but Rick Reilly says he's still an American treasure!), and Nike fired him with the following terse press release: ...

Lance Armstrong Steps Down As Chairman Of Livestrong
Lance Armstrong, having been hit with a set of doping allegations that portray him as a sort of East Germany on a bike, has decided to leave his position as chairman of Livestrong. Armstrong founded Livestrong in 1997 for the purpose of raising cancer awareness (not actual cancer research)....

Here Is (Some Of) USADA's 1,000-Page Report About Lance Armstrong Doping
We wrote about this earlier today, but now the full 1,000-page report is available online. [Update: We were promised 1,000 pages. The below falls well short. Was USADA's press release doping, too?] We'll be spending some time combing through it to see if anything stands out. The entire report is be...

The USADA Is Set To Publish A 1,000-Page Report Detailing Lance Armstrong's Involvement In A Doping Ring
To demonstrate that the US Anti-Doping Agency is in no way pursuing an over-the-top personal vendetta against Lance Armstrong, USADA CEO Travis Tygart released a statement this morning announcing that, with the cooperation of nearly a dozen of his ex-teammates, the organization has produced more th...

Wait, Lance Armstrong Owns A Coffee Shop Called Juan Pelota?
Lance Armstrong recently did an odd interview with Texas Monthly, the first he's given since being stripped of his Tour De France titles by the United States Anti Doping Agency....

An All-Time Great "Lance Armstrong Being A Dick" Story
Lance Armstrong's renowned temperament should probably be remembered as more than incidental to his story. It's unlikely things would have played out the way they have if not for how much of a jerk he was, by nearly all accounts. USADA wouldn't have so doggedly investigated him. His former teammates...

What The Hell Happened To Lance Armstrong? All Your Doping Scandal Questions, Answered
Some people pay attention to cycling. Others pay attention to cycling only when the most successful American cyclist of all time is banned from the sport and stripped of his seven Tour de France titles. If you're in that second group, Lance Armstrong's ban has likely left you with some questions. He...

All Seven Of Lance Armstrong's Tour De France Wins Would Now Go To Cyclists With Doping Scandals Of Their Own
Now Lance Armstrong has been stripped of his seven consecutive Tour de France titles, thanks to the persistent doping allegations against him. It's a sad day for the sport, but at least it vindicates all of the clean-riding cyclists who finished behind Armstrong. Right? So here are the runners-up wh...

Brits Placed First And Second At The Tour De France, Their Significant Others May Hate Each Other
Remember foul-mouthed Bradley Wiggins—the cyclist that called would-be steroid accusers "cunts" and "fucking wankers" a couple weeks ago while he was leading the Tour de France? Well, he ended up winning, becoming the first British person to do so in the race's history. He made no mention of wankers...

A Novel Tour De France Doping Defense: "I Was Poisoned"
Luxembourg's Frank Schleck, sitting in 12th place, was pulled by his team from the Tour de France after he tested positive for a banned diuretic. Schleck, who finished third last year and has been followed by doping allegations throughout his career, already has his defense planned:...

Caution: Running Alongside Bikers At The Tour De France May Result In Face Planting
Showing off your California state flag can be a fun way to enjoy the race. Just watch out for that joker who's recklessly standing there....

Tour De France Leader Bradley Wiggins Has Some Choice Words For Anyone Who Thinks He's Doping
Current leader of the Tour de France Bradley Wiggins doesn't much like it when he gets grouped in with the rest of professional cycling's dopers. Asked how he feels about those accusing him and his Team Sky teammates using steroids—or whatever other high tech potions cyclists inject into themselves ...

Going It Alone In The Tour De France Sucks, Even When You Have A Page 3 Girl In Your Corner
You can't win the tour alone. The flat stages featured in the first week tend to be fast, and feature a peloton riding as a single group through often narrow town streets. This is one reason crashes are most frequent during the first week. These stages favor the sprint specialists, and if the team h...

So, About Those Witnesses Against Lance Armstrong
The revived case against Lance Armstrong hinges on more than just blood samples from 2009 and 2010 that reportedly show evidence of doping. USADA, still humping this case years after most of us stopped caring about it, allege "a massive doping conspiracy from 1998 to 2007," involving Armstrong, his ...

At The Tour De France, A Star Rises (Then Does A Stupid Celebration)
Stage 3 of the 2012 edition of the Tour de France was taken by 22-year-old rising star Peter Sagan—the youngest winner of a Tour de France stage since Lance Armstrong did it at the age of 21 in 1993. Sagan has now won two stages, and you can expect him to win a couple more this tour (if not this wee...

Crazy Fans, Fierce Competition, Doping Disclaimers: A Guide To The 99th Tour De France
The 99th Tour de France (that's "Tour of France," for the non-Francophiles) starts on Saturday, and Deadspin's got something coming down the mountain shortly. In the meantime, Gunaxin has you covered—an eloquent defense of the sport's response to its doping problem, good profiles of the Americans in...

Professional Athlete Used Drug, Says Someone
Lance Armstrong, who you might remember as that guy who won a bunch of bike races while everyone said he was doping, is accused of winning a bunch of bike races while doping. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency formally charged Armstrong over blood samples collected in 2009 and 2010 that are "fully consiste...

Qatar Will Soon Host Every Sporting Event
Not content with a World Cup, the Emir of Qatar has set into motion his plans to host the ceremonial first leg of the 2016 Tour De France. While it's not unprecedented to hold the Grand Depart in a neighboring country, it would be something else to stick it in the Middle East, where, as FIFA seems t...

Tour De France, Stage 21: A Bloodless Conclusion To A Bloody Race
The last stage of the Tour de France is designed to make you forget all those times that Grand Tour cyclists come off like persnickety bitches. It's a day of good feelings. A gentleman's agreement obtains whereby no one attacks the yellow jersey, and there's champagne to sip along the first few kilo...