By James Raia
E-Mail: address@hidden
Web site: ByJamesRaia.com
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PUBLISHER'S NOTES
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So much is happening as the Tour de France approaches, Tour de France Times is publishing a special issue. We'll be back next week with another special issue and then daily issues beginning July 3 in Liege, Belgium.
As a TFT subscriber, could you please do me a favor? Tell friends and colleagues about the free electronic newsletter or forward them this issue for their consideration. To subscribe, visit:
BYJAMESRAIA.COM
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TOUR NEWS, NOTES AND QUOTES
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Jan Ullrich, the cyclist Lance Armstrong continues to predict as his toughest opponent, won the 68th Tour de Suisse by one-second Sunday after a final-day time trial win in Lugano, Switzerland. Ullrich (T-Mobile), the 1997 Tour de France winner and second to Armstrong las year, won the 26.5km final stage by eight seconds to claim his single-second triumph over Fabian Jeker . . . After losing time in the mountain stages, Bobby Julich, the CSC rider from Reno, Nev., finished fifth in the final time trial and placed 13th overall, trailing Ullrich by 6:30 . . . Two-time world road titlist Oscar Freire (Rabobank) will not compete in the Tour de France after undergoing surgery to remove a cyst . . . Several teams have released their Tour de France lineups, including the most recent announcement of the Quick-Step Davitamon contingent. It will include a strong lineup group of Tour veterans and full complement capable of claiming stages: The team's nine riders include: Paolo Bettini, Tom Boonen, Davide Bramati, Laurent Dufaux, Servais Knaven, Juan Miguel Mercado, Michael Rogers, Richard Virenque, and Stefano Zanini . . . One of the most clever marketing campaigns TFT has seen will debut July 3, the prologue day of the Tour de France, when Tyler Hamilton, via Watch City Brewery in Waltham, Mass., unveils his nedw beer label, Tyler Clavicale. The 4.8 percent alcohol hefeweizen will be available only during the Tour de France . . . And finally, after watching the final day of the U.S. Open, we're convinced the marketing team for Tiger Woods should take a look at Tyler Hamilton's web site to check out the rider's logo. Woods' logo looks like a high school art class assignment compared to Hamilton's classy design.
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POSTCARD FROM LE TOUR
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FALL INTO THE GAP (FRANCE), 2000
There are several strategies on how to book hotels for the Tour de France. The official race agency is VSO, but its personnel can get you a great room one night and the next night they can make you a reservation 50 miles from the race site. Some journalists never book rooms. For them, it's the "spirit of adventure" that's half the fun. They end their day's work, drive to a city en route to the next day's race and take their chances. To read the complete article, visit:
FALL INTO THE GAP (FRANCE)
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TOUR DE FRANCE FLASHBACK 2003
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AN AMERICAN IN PARIS: LANCE WINS AGAIN
Lance Armstrong arrived in Paris on Sunday after a ceremonial 94-mile ride, his place among cycling's icons secure with slightly more than a minute to spare. The leader of the race's centenary for the final 13 days, Armstrong claimed his record-tying fifth consecutive Tour de France inafter enduring nearly three weeks of crashes, mechanical mishaps, poor-fitting shoes, dehydration and diarrhea. To read the complete article, visit:
ARMSTRONG WINS FIFTH TOUR TITLE
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TFT'S TOUR DE FRANCE ARTICLE SHOWCASE
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COMING TO A THEATRE NEAR YOU, LE TOUR
The Tyler Hamilton Foundation (THF) has announced it will host a live viewing of stage 13 of the Tour de France on movie screens across the United States. Scheduled for Saturday, July 17, 2004, the nationwide fundraiser's two lead sponsors are Outdoor Life Network (OLN) and Regal CineMedia(SM). The event will be presented in 19 Regal Entertainment Group (REG) movie theaters, and the occasion will mark the first time that U.S. cycling fans will be able to view a live European cycling race on a high-definition screen. To read the complete article, visit:
COMING TO A THEATER NEAR YOU, LE TOUR
NEW SPONSOR, LONGER CAREER FOR LANCE
Lance Armstrong has negotiated a sweet deal that will continue his cycling career through at least the 2005 season. Discovery Communications has announced a new global partnership to become the title sponsor of five-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong's U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team, the only American team to have won the Tour de France. To read the complete article,visit:
NEW SPONSOR, LONGER CAREEER FOR ARMSTRONG
THE TOUR DE FRANCE AT A GLANCE
The Tour de France is the world's largest free sporting event. Spectators can watch every stage in person along the entire route, this year beginning in Liege, Belgium on July 3 and continuing to Paris, France on July 25. To read the complete article, visit:
THE TOUR DE FRANCE AT A GLANCE
HAVE FOLDING BIKE: WILL RIDE THE TOUR ROUTE?
With all the riding I do, you'd think I would understand and appreciate what the pros do in the Tour de France. Not so, until I rode the route of a mountain stage this summer. I suspected it was hard, but I didn't know how hard until I tried it. I suspected they were fast, but I didn't know how fast until I tried it. To read the complete article, visit:
HAVE FOLDING BIKE, WILL RIDE THE TOUR
TOUR DE FRANCE: 2003, THE BEST YEAR EVER?
The Tour de France celebrated its 100th anniversary last July with what many believe was the best of the race's 90 editions. Lance Armstrong overcame several well-documented obstacles on and off the bike to claim his fifth straight title. In all, 53 different cyclists have now won the race. But was the 2003 Tour de France the best in history? To read the complete article, visit:
WAS THE 2003 TOUR DE FRANCE THE BEST EVER?
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TFT'S QUICK PEDAL STROKES
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AMAZON.COM
The top-selling books and everything else offered by the internet's largest online retailer. Visit:
AMAZON.COM
ENDURANCE SPORTS NEWS
Timely, pertinent, free. To subscribe, visit:
ENDURANCE SPORTS NEWS
ROCK & ROLL BOB ROLL & THE TOUR DE FRANCE
To read the complete article, visit:
ROCK & ROLL BOB ROLL
STRETCHING: IT'S FOR CYCLISTS, TOO
To read the complete article, visit:
STRETCHING FOR CYCLISTS
TOUR DE FRANCE TIMES' ONLINE STORE
Amazon.com to Rudy Project Sunglasses, Land's End to R.E.I., visit:
TFT'S ONLINE STORE
TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE: CYCLING'S BEST MOVIE
To read the article, visit:
THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE
THE TOUR WITHIN THE TOUR DE FRANCE
The cyclists, people and unique places. Visit:
THE TOUR WITHIN THE TOUR
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TFT'S BUSINES PARTNER SPOTLIGHT
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Tour de France Times wishes to acknowledge and encourages the support of the our new business partners:
www.allsportcentral.com
www.bikecafe.net
www.dirtragmag.com
www.lufthansa.com
www.rudyproject.com
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2004 TOUR DE FRANCE SCHEDULE
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Prologue - July 3: Prologue Liege ITT, 6 km
Stage 1 - July 4: Liège-Charleroi, 195 km
Stage 2 - July 5: Charleroi-Namur, 195 km
Stage 3 - July 6: Waterloo - Wasquehal, 195 km
Stage 4 - July 7: Cambrai - Arras TTT, 65 km
Stage 5 - July 8: Amiens - Chartres, 195 km
Stage 6 - July 9: Bonneval - Angers, 190 km
Stage 7 - July 10: Chateaubriant - Saint Brieuc, 208 km
Stage 8 - July 11: Lamballe - Quimper, 172 km
July 12: Rest Day: Transfer to Limoges
Stage 9 - July 13: St Leonard de Noblat - Guéret, 160 km
Stage 10 - July 14: Limoges - St. Flour, 237 km
Stage 11 - July 15: St Flour - Figeac, 164 km
Stage 12 - July 16: Castelsarrasin - La Mongie, 199 km
Stage 13 - July 17: Lannemezan - Plateau de Beille, 217 km
Stage 14 - July 18: Carcassonne - Nimes, 200 km
July 19 - Rest Day: Transfer to Nimes
Stage 15 - July 20: Valreas - Villard-de-Lans, 179 km
Stage 16 - July 21: Bourg d'Oisans - Alpe d'Huez ITT, 15 km
Stage 17 - July 22: Bourg d'Oisans - Le Grand Bornand, 212 km
Stage 18 - July 23: Annemasse - Lons le Saulnier, 166 km
Stage 19 - July 24: Besancon - Besancon ITT, 60 km
Stage 20 - July 25: Montreau - Paris-Champs-Elysees, 165 km
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PUBLISHER'S NOTICES
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Tour de France Times (TFT), an electronic newsletter about cycling's pinnacle event and the cyclists who compete in it, is written, edited and published by James Raia, a journalist in Sacramento, California. Tour de France Times is published monthly, except daily during the three-week Tour de France.
Story links, race information, suggestions and letters to the editor are encouraged via e-mail.
Send correspondence to: address@hidden Please include your name and city and state of residence. Names held upon request.
Use of this newsletter in electronic formats is encouraged with the publisher's permission. Cheers, James Raia