Danielson might have a “home state” advantage in USA Pro Cycling Challenge in Colorado

Tom Danielson of Team Garmin-Cervelo

We’re just two weeks away from the inaugural USA Pro Cycling Challenge (Aug. 22-28) in Colorado. All the big names from the Tour de France podium (Cadel Evans, Andy Schleck, Frank Schleck) will be in the race, but many people say that the REAL favorite is Tom Danielson of Team Garmin-Cervelo.

Maybe that’s because he might have an “adopted” home-state advantage. After all, as the Denver Post reports, he did graduate from Fort Lewis College and now lives in Boulder. Perhaps more important, this season he owns a third-place finish in the Tour de California and a ninth-place finish in the Tour de France.  Read more.

Swany Gloves is dedicated to bringing you the best of outdoor adventure. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter for updates on the Tour and more adventures.

Tour de France champ Cadel Evans to race in USA Pro Cycling Challenge in Colorado

Cadel Evans

Maybe it’s time to start calling the upcoming USA Pro Cycling Challenge the “Tour de France West.” After all, the news that Tour champ Cadel Evans would compete in the Colorado stage race means the entire podium from the tour — brothers Andy and Frank Schleck committed to race earlier this week — will compete in the race that runs Aug. 22-28 .

Here’s what today’s story in the Denver Post said about Evans, as well as the odds that Alberto Contador might join them. Learn more about the Schlecks’ decision to race here.

Want to attend the USA Pro Cycling Challenge? Find out the route, see what jerseys its leaders will wear and more at the race’s official website.

Swany Gloves is dedicated to bringing you the best of outdoor adventure. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter for updates on the Tour and more adventures.

It’s official: Cadel Evans wins the Tour de France

After three days of high drama, the  Tour de France finished its 2011 edition with the usual uneventful ride into Paris. Uneventful, that is, for everyone but  Cadel Evans, whose stirring time-trial on Saturday vaulted him into the yellow jersey, making him the first Australian to win biking’s biggest prize. Evans’ biggest challenge might have been balancing his champagne glass as the Peleton cruised into the City of Light. As expected, Andy (2nd) and Frank Schleck (3rd) became the first brothers to grace the podium together.

There were some other titles to hand out as well: Sammy Sanchez was King of the Mountains, sprinter supreme Mark Cavendish earned the green jersey for most points, Pierre Rolland won the best young rider competition and Team Garmin-Cervelo was tops among teams.

Read more at the Tour de France website, including the overall standings.

Swany Gloves is dedicated to bringing you the best of outdoor adventure. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter for updates on the Tour and more adventures.

Contador attacks, but Andy Schleck scales to the top of Tour de France

Alberto Contador

On Thursday Andy Schleck went on the attack, in Friday’s Stage 19 of the Tour de France defending champion Alberto Contador tried the same strategy. While he did gain time on all of the riders ahead of him, Contador didn’t win the stage (trailing France’s Pierre Rolland and Spaniard Sammy Sanchez) and didn’t prevent Andy Schleck from taking the yellow jersey. Contador still trails the leader by nearly 4 minutes the day before Stage 20′s critical time trial.

Even better for Andy, his teammate and brother Frank is now in second place in the overall standings, trailed by Australian Cadel Evans. Although the gritty leader Thomas Voeckler finally fell out of first place, he continued his heroic riding in the stage that rose to its usual raucous finish at Alpe d’Huez.

Read more at the Tour de France website, including the details of today’s stage and the overall standings.

Swany Gloves is dedicated to bringing you the best of outdoor adventure. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter for updates on the Tour and more adventures.

Andy Schleck’s big move helps him close in on Tour De France lead

Andy Schleck

Andy Schleck went for all the marbles on Thursday in Stage 18 of the Tour de France. While he didn’t secure the yellow jersey by winning the the Tour’s highest finish ever at Galibier Serre-Chevalier, he might have taken the big step necessary to clinch the overall win.

Schleck made his move on the second climb of the day. It left Spaniards Sammy Sanchez and Alberto Contador, as well as his brother Frank and Cadel Evans, in the dust. Although the gritty leader Thomas Voeckler finished close enough to keep the yellow jersey, Andy Schleck is second and seems poised to take over the lead in Friday’s stage, which includes the famous finish at Alpe d’Huez.

Read more at the Tour de France website, including the details of today’s stage and the overall standings.

Swany Gloves is dedicated to bringing you the best of outdoor adventure. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter for updates on the Tour and more adventures.

Evans, Contador, Schleck edge closer to lead in Tour de France

Once again, the winners were less interesting than those who followed in Stage 17 of the Tour de France on Wednesday. That’s because everyone farther back keep inching up on the leader — but couldn’t separate from each other.

Young Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen won the stage, but the drama came when Spaniards Sammy Sanchez and Alberto Contador tried again to crack the Schleck brothers and Cadel Evans with a late breakaway. Try as the two might,  however, there were no changes in the leaderboard. And even though Thomas Voeckler has said he won’t remain in the yellow jersey, there he is again at the end of this stage. All of which will make Stage 18 , which will have the Tour’s highest finish ever when it reaches Galibier Serre-Chevalier after three climbs, a big newsmaker.

Read more at the Tour de France website, including the details of today’s stage and the overall standings.

Swany Gloves is dedicated to bringing you the best of outdoor adventure. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter for updates on the Tour and more adventures.

Hushovd wins Stage 16 but Contador, Evans take time away from Schleck brothers

Cadel Evans

Thor Hushovd deserves acclaim for winning a rainy Stage 16 in the Tour de France on Tuesday in a clever sprint finish in Gap. But the big news came farther back in the race, where Alberto Contador cracked the Schleck brothers with a late climb and Cadel Evans took advantage of the same attack to put time into the Schlecks and Contador. 

The stage result leaves Thomas Voeckler in the yellow jersey for perhaps the last day, while moving Evans into second place four seconds ahead of Andy Schleck. And while Contador remains 3 minutes and 42 seconds out of first, the Spaniard is clearly a huge threat in the Alps stages ahead. Stage 17, which winds into Italy on Wednesday, should prove highly entertaining.

Read more at the Tour de France website, including the details of today’s stage and the overall standings.

Swany Gloves is dedicated to bringing you the best of outdoor adventure. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter for updates on the Tour and more adventures.

Cavendish wins again, closes in on Green Jersey in Tour de France; Voeckler remains in yellow

Mark Cavendish

After a weekend of climbing, the Tour de France got back on mostly level ground for Stage 15, which meant a win by a most familiar sprinter: Mark Cavendish. The Team HTC sprinter prevailed at the finish line in Montpellier, his fourth stage win of this Tour and his 19th stage win overall.

Just as the win was predictable, so were the standings among the top riders, with Thomas Voeckler still wearing the yellow jersey. Find out where Frank Schleck, Cadel Evans, Ivan Basso, Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador finished for the day at the Tour de France website. Read more about today’s stage and the overall standings.

Swany Gloves is dedicated to bringing you the best of outdoor adventure. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter for updates on the Tour and more adventures.

Hushovd stages surprise attack to win mountain stage at Tour de France

The Tour de France stayed in the mountains for Stage 13, but today’s climbs didn’t generate as much turbulence as Thursday’s stage.

Thor Hushovd (Norway) of Team Garmin-Cevelo staged a surprising attack at the base of the Col d’Aubisque and was able to stay ahead of the peloton for the rest of the day. And once near the finish in Lourdes, he overtook Frenchman David Moncoutie for the stage win.

That surprise aside, the yellow jersey remains with Thomas Voeckler,  but some well known riders dropped out of the race due to injuries. Find out who abandoned the race and get the latest on Frank Schleck, Cadel Evans, Ivan Basso, Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador at the Tour de France website. Read more about today’s stage and the overall standings.

Swany Gloves is dedicated to bringing you the best of outdoor adventure. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter for updates on the Tour and more adventures.

Sanchez wins first mountain stage as Schleck, Evans and Contador battle in Tour de France

Sure, the Tour de France had seen 11 stages pass in this year’s annual event. But the truth is the race REALLY gets started when it heads uphill, as it did today in Stage 12, which featured two huge climbs on the Col du Tourmalet and an uphill finish.

Samuel Sanchez of Spain won the stage, but the big names were right there at the end. Frank Schleck, Cadel Evans, Ivan Basso, Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador were all together on the final climb. Contador, the defending champ, did lose some time in what is beginning to look like a lost cause for him after being involved in several crashes earlier in the tour. Through it all, the Yellow Jersey remains with Thomas Voeckler.

Learn more about today’s stage and the overall standings at the Tour de France website.

Swany Gloves is dedicated to bringing you the best of outdoor adventure. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter.