After three weeks of drama, the winner of the 2006 Tour de France will be decided by the Stage 19 individual time trial. Floyd Landis is the clear favorite to take the stage and the yellow jersey, but there's a lot more to this time trial than meets the eye.

Curiosity peaked by mosquitoes and the September feature story, "Itchy" by Jennifer Kahn? Here, some additional facts from the author, and from Andrew Spielman, professor of tropical public health at Harvard University, and author of Mosquito: A Natural History of Our Most Persistent and Deadly foe.

MORZINE, France – One day after his disastrous performance in the Alps, American Floyd Landis (Phonak) catapulted himself to within seconds of the Tour de France race lead Thursday with an equally dramatic stage win on the same famous mountain range. Floyd Landis Floyd Landis climbs to the first…

You know, maybe Floyd Landis and Oscar Pereiro are on to something here. The men currently sitting in first and third places overall both overcame seemingly insurmountable deficits to rise back to the top of the leaderboard, and the massive amounts of time they lost may actually have helped them get back into the race.

Early last week, Tour de France favorite Floyd Landis dropped a bombshell: The American rider has been suffering from the bone disease osteonecrosis for two seasons and will require career-altering hip replacement surgery after the Tour. The painful condition, caused by a 2003 crash, has hardly slowed the 30-year-old rider…

Oh, how quickly things change at the Tour de France. Yesterday, even by Lance Armstrong's estimation, Floyd Landis was the odds-on favorite to ride into Paris in yellow. Tonight he's more than eight minutes behind after cracking on the final climb of Stage 16 to La Toussuire. And a week ago, Oscar Pereiro started Stage 13 more than 28 minutes behind in the overall classification and finished with the yellow jersey. Now, after losing it for a day, he's back in it again!

While Mikael Rasmussen (Rabobank) of Denmark rode to a long solo breakaway win, Oscar Pereiro (Caisse d'Epargne) of Spain regained the race lead, and former race leader Floyd Landis (Phonak) of Murrieta, Calif., badly faltered Wednesday during the 16th stage of the Tour de France.

IT WAS FEBRUARY 2004 IN SUNNY BAGHDAD—back before everything totally hit the fan in Iraq and nation building still seemed like an iffy but viable concept. My friend Jeff and I were in our office at the city’s convention center, a cavernous building tucked inside the Green Zone, the walled-off…

L’ALPE D’HUEZ, France – Frank Schleck (CSC) of Luxembourg claimed the most important win of his career and American Floyd Landis (Phonak) of reclaimed the lead during Tuesday’s 25th anniversary stage finish to the most famous mountaintop of the Tour de France. L'Alpe d'Huez, Tour de France 2006…

If everything goes your way, riding conservatively can be a great way for a super-strong rider to win the Tour de France. Considering that Floyd Landis appears to be much stronger than any other overall contender in this year's race, this strategy might very well work for him. The risk with being conservative, however, is that you may not have enough of a time buffer to absorb the consequences of a bad day, a crash, or a mechanical problem.

The rest days during the Tour de France are a chance for riders to gather their thoughts, replenish their energy, and look forward to the racing yet to come. For the most part, riders stick to routines they have developed over years of racing. There is a rhythm to stage racing, and it's best not to disturb it.

GAP, France – Pierrick Fedrigo (Bouygues Telecom) of France outsprinted Salvatore Commesso (Lampre) of Italy on Sunday to claim the Tour de France’s 14th stage, while Oscar Pereiro (Caisse Espargne) of Spain retained the leader’s jersey for the second day. Frenchman Pierrick Fedrigo outsprints Italian Salvatore Commesso to…

It's normal to see dirt and grease on the underside of a bicycle after a long ride or stage in the Tour de France, but after today's stage there was there was road tar stuck to the paint jobs, and that's a bad sign because it means the roads are melting in the heat.

You have to be a little crazy to break away from the peloton more than 125 miles from the finish line on a day when the temperature’s in the mid- to high-90s Fahrenheit, but today Jens Voigt and Oscar Pereiro were handsomely rewarded for their efforts. Surviving a long-range breakaway…

MONTELIMAR, France – Jens Voigt (CSC) of Germany won the longest stage of the Tour de France on Saturday after the second straight day of hot weather in southern France. Meanwhile, in the overall classification standings, Oscar Pereiro (Caisse d’Espargne) of Spain became the race’s seventh yellow-jersey leader.

CARCASSONNE, France — Yaroslav Popovych (Discovery Channel) used repeated late attacks Friday en route to becoming the second Ukrainian stage winner on a scorching Bastille Day at Stage 12 of the Tour de France. Floyd Landis American Floyd Landis, center, was able to hold on to the yellow…

Even though today's Stage 12 didn't cross any major mountain passes, finished at a lower elevation than it started, and raced most of the stage in a ripping tailwind, the stage was anything but easy. The heat has made the 2006 Tour de France much harder than it may otherwise have been, and the strain of staying hydrated is showing on many riders.

The yellow jersey is being tossed around like a hot potato this year, and though Floyd Landis showed the patience and power necessary to win the Tour de France today, the best thing that could happen to him right now is for Cyril Dessel to win a time bonus sprint and reclaim the jersey tomorrow afternoon. Landis might actually want to encourage him, maybe even give him a lead-out.

PLA-DE-BERET, Spain — Floyd Landis, degenerative hip working fine, became the sixth leader of this year’s Tour de France on Thursday when the Phonak rider from Murrieta, California, placed third in a three-rider breakaway finish to the largest ski resort in Spain. Floyd Landis, Tour de France…

PAU, France — Cyril Dessel (AG2R) of France surprisingly became the fifth leader of the Tour de France when he finished second Wednesday to Spain’s Juan Miguel Mercado (Agritubel) in the mountainous tenth stage of the Tour de France. Tour de France 2006 Cyril Dessel (AG2R) of France…

The first day in the mountains is always an important turning point for the Tour de France, but unlike previous years, the first major climbs in this year's race didn't provide much opportunity for any of the favorites to take control of the race. While the breakaway group rolled to a large lead and relieved T-Mobile of the yellow jersey, the overall contenders rode conservatively and saved their strength for what's certain to be an aggressively contested stage tomorrow.

DAX, France — Oscar Freire (Rabobank) of Spain launched a late sprint and held off Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) of Australia to claim his second stage win Tuesday in the 105.3-mile (169.5-kilometer) ninth stage of the Tour de France. Robbie McEwen pats Oscar Freire on the shoulder after Freire’s…

While Oscar Freire, Robbie McEwen, Erik Zabel, and Tom Boonen went hunting for the last sprint stage victory we'll see for a while, the major contenders for overall victory in the 2006 Tour de France played it cool today because their first major mountain test is on tap for tomorrow.

In Stage 8 of the 2006 Tour de France, we saw the beginning of a strategy that is likely to be prevalent throughout the second week of racing. Today’s breakaway group contained Dave Zabriskie (CSC) and Matthias Kessler (T-Mobile), both of whom are sitting in the top 11 overall after…

LORIENT, France — Sylvain Calzati (AG2R) of France broke from a six-rider pack with about 19 miles left in the stage to claimed the eighth stage of the Tour de France by more than two minutes Sunday. Sylvain Calzati winning Stage 8 of the Tour. (Beth Schneider) Sylvain…

RENNES, France — Former world titlist Serhiy Honchar (T-Mobile) of the Ukraine surprisingly became the fourth leader of the Tour de France after he rode to a dominating individual time trial victory Saturday. Honchar, who turned 36 four days ago and is one of the oldest riders in the…

After the short prologue time trial and the chaos of the first week, the first long individual time trial of the 2006 Tour de France was supposed to sort out the leaderboard and clear up any questions about the identities of the real yellow jersey contenders. And while the leaderboard…

VITRE, France – Australian Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) continued his dominating sprint finishes Friday, winning his third stage of the Tour de France and equaling his stage win total in last month’s Tour of Italy. Robbie McEwen, Tour de France 2006 Robbie McEwen snags his third stage win of…

Great performances against the clock are essential to any rider's hopes of winning the Tour de France, and when you have to ride 32.3 miles (52 kilometers) as fast as you can, all by yourself, it pays to look for even the smallest ways to save energy, deliver more power, and slip through the air faster.

CAEN, France – Three-time world road champion Oscar Freire (Rabobank) of Spain used a bold sprinting attack to claim the fifth stage and his second career Tour de France stage win Thursday. 2006 tour de france Stage 5: Oscar Freire outsprints yellow jersey holder Tom Boonen for the…

Stage 5 of the 2006 Tour de France played out according to the typical plan: A small breakaway group sat out front all day, only to be reeled in and passed a few miles before the finish. While this is a normal occurrence, what's unusual is that not a single one of these breakaway attempts has been successful so far. Typically, fortune shines on the front group at least once in the first week of the Tour, but the nature of the race this year has changed all that.

For yellow jersey contenders, the first week of the Tour de France is a contest to see who can use the least energy. Currently, it seems that Floyd Landis of the Phonak team and Levi Leipheimer from Gerolsteiner are winning this competition, and Iban Mayo of the Euskaltel Euskadi team is losing it.

Australia's veteran sprint specialist finishes strongly for his second stage win of the 2006 Tour de France and the tenth of his Tour career. Meanwhile, the 129-mile Stage 4 brings little change to the overall leaderboard, with Tom Boonen holding a slim one-second lead.

VALKENBURG, Netherlands Germany’s Matthias Kessler (T-Mobile) claimed his first Tour de France stage win, while Belgium’s Tom Boonen (Quick-Step) assumed the Tour de France lead Tuesday after a hot, crash-marred third stage. Matthias Kessler T-Mobile’s Matthias Kessler celebrates the first Tour stage win of his career. Kessler broke…

Matthias Kessler got his revenge on the sprinters this afternoon. After getting swarmed by the pack just 50 meters from the finish line yesterday, he struck out on his own again today, and this time those 50 meters worked to his favor. His attacks over the past two days were…

Depending on how you look at it, Thor Hushovd is either the luckiest man in cycling or he’s cursed. Ever since powering his way into the yellow jersey in Saturday’s prologue time trial, he’s been dancing with disaster. But that’s the life of a field sprinter, and at the end…

ESCH-SUR-ALZETTE, Luxembourg Veteran Australian sprinter Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) added to his nearly 100 career wins Monday in Stage 2 of the Tour de France, while Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) of Norway regained the overall lead in the 93rd running of the race. Robbie McEwen Australia’s Robbie McEwen gets the…

STRASBOURG, France While Jimmy Casper (Cofidis) of France out-sprinted the field to win his first career Tour de France stage, George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) of Greenville, South Carolina, opportunistically rode his way into the race lead on Sunday. Casper, who twice has finished last in the Tour, used a clear,…

The first stage of the 2006 Tour de France provided a great example of a scenario you can expect to see repeated several times throughout the next week. Well, at least in part… let’s hope we don’t see a repeat of the bizarre injury Thor Hushovd suffered during the final…

STRASBOURG, France Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) of Norway, a two-time Tour de France stage winner, edged George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) of Greenville, South Carolina, by less than one second Saturday to claim the prologue and the first yellow jersey of the Tour de France’s 93rd edition. George Hincapie…

So, how important can an eight-minute effort be in the grand scheme of an event that lasts 23 days? With all the challenges ahead of the riders in this year’s Tour de France, it may seem like they wouldn’t pay much attention to an event as short as a seven-kilometer…

June 30, 2006 The top names in cycling are out of the Tour de France after the biggest scandal ever to hit cycling swept through the peloton on the eve of the sport’s marquee event. Pre-race favorites Ivan Basso and Jan Ullrich have both been suspended, along with a…

Here, read a conversation with writer Mark Anders and professional surfer Rob Machado continued from our August 2006 Letters section.

Check back on July 1 for the first stage report from the 2006 Tour de France.

Check back on July 1 for Chris Carmichael’s analysis of Stage 1 of the 2006 Tour de France.

Discovery Team's sports director Johan Bruyneel and 2005 Tour stage winner George Hincapie on their first year without Lance, the game plan, and how the Americans are looking this year.

We could tell you that the Tour de France battle between Germany’s Jan Ullrich and Italy’s Ivan Basso will be one for the ages. Or we could say that brash American Floyd Landis will smoke them both and score another win for the Yanks. Honestly, though, we don’t know what’s…

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A life-threatening injury sidelines America's next great hope

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From his offbeat stunts (he once drank 15 cappuccinos in one sitting) to his anything-goes demeanor (see Exhibit a—the fur coat—on page 4), Floyd Landis is the anti-Lance in every way but one: He'll stop at nothing in his quest to finish the Tour de France wearing the yellow jersey.

Since May 7th, we at Patagonia have had much discussion and debate about where the company stands on Dean’s controversial climb. Historically, we have always stood by our Ambassadors and their actions. Our Ambassadors are a part of Patagonia’s close-knit family, and we trust them to act in ways that…

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All Tour, all the time. Get all your Tour de France updates and exclusive content from Outside Online here.

Watersports

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