Stories by Andrew Hood

• Posted: Sat, Jul 5th
  Andrew Hood's Tour de France Notebook, stage 1
  BANG-BAM-BOOM: Tour brass will surely preen with pride at the huge crowds lining the route across the heart of Brittany, but not everyone was happy that the opening prologue was ditched in favor of a hectic, nervous road stage. Since 1967, the Tour started with some ...
• Posted: Fri, Jul 4th
  Caisse d'Épargne: Valverde aiming for podium
  Spain’s Green Bullet isn’t sweating it. Alejandro Valverde says if he doesn’t win the Tour de France this year, he’s got plenty more in his legs. That’s not to say that he’s shying away from a unique opportunity to become the third consecutive Spanish winner, but ...
• Posted: Fri, Jul 4th
  CSC-Saxo Bank ready to roll
  Just looking at the faces of Team CSC-Saxo Bank’s nine-man lineup Tour de France squad and it’s obvious that this team means business. With the lone exception of baby-faced Tour rookie Andy Schleck, CSC consists of hard-nosed, bad-asses who intend to impose their will on ...
• Posted: Tue, Jul 1st
  A conversation with Alain Rumpf: ‘Full steam ahead for ProTour’
  The Tour de France starts this weekend as a rebel race. Or at least as a race that’s no longer part of the ProTour format. Cycling’s civil war has now simmered down to a Cold War, as the breakaway races, including the Tour, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España continue ...
• Posted: Mon, Jun 30th
  Lampre says a clean Cunego will lead its charge at the Tour
  Damiano Cunego will be brandishing a new look for the Tour de France and it won’t just be a fresh dye-job on his curly locks. The 2004 Giro d’Italia champ and Lampre team leader is supporting a new anti-doping campaign and has had its slogan tattooed on his left arm. It ...
• Posted: Mon, Jun 30th
  Tour de France: Bouygues eyes stages
  Bouygues Telecom will start the Tour de France with a squad loaded with stage-hunters and almost no one for the overall classification. The French team will be headlined by Thomas Voeckler, remembered for his heroic defense of the maillot jaune in the 2004 Tour, and ...
• Posted: Mon, Jun 30th
  Tour de France: Dessel, Valjavec leading charge for Ag2r
  Heading into this week's Tour de France, the French Ag2r-La Mondiale team will be looking to fill the void left by the departure of consistent Christophe Moreau with Cyril Dessel and Tadej Valjavec. Moreau, who has consistently been the best French performer in the Tour the ...
• Posted: Sat, Jun 28th
  A conversation with Samuel Sánchez: In the hunt for Tour stages
  Samuel Sánchez will be back at the Tour de France only for the third time in his career, so he’s looking to make up for lost time. His two previous Tour starts, in 2002 and 2003, both ended early when he missed time cuts. Since then, Sánchez has grown in stature both as a ...
• Posted: Thu, Jun 26th
  Liquigas releases Tour roster
  Liquigas will lineup without green-jersey candidate Daniele Bennati for next week’s Tour de France. The Italian sprinter has been forced out of the Tour after problems with his Achilles tendon that flared up during Giro d’Italia, where he won three stages and the points ...
• Posted: Thu, Jun 26th
  Tour de France: Hincapie aiming for stage win
  George Hincapie will be heading to France for the 13th time of his career as part of the Team Columbia-High Road roster revealed Wednesday. Hincapie, 35 on Sunday, said the team brings a diverse squad with strong options for stage victories and a shot at the top ...
• Posted: Thu, Jun 26th
  Irish tour back for second edition
  The Tour of Ireland is back for 2008 and both top-level American teams will be starting the five-day, five-stage race across the green hills of the Emerald Isle set for August 27-31. Team Columbia, with likely starts from Mark Cavendish and Michael Rogers, and ...
• Posted: Tue, Jun 24th
  Riccardo Ricco will aim for white jersey at the Tour de France
  This year’s Tour de France should be a little more interesting following news Tuesday that outspoken Italian rider Riccardo Riccò will take the July 5 start in Brest. Riccò ─ whose verbal outbursts are almost as lethal as his accelerations in the mountains ─ will take ...