THE RACE LIVE
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Floyd Landis will wear the yellow jersey in the stage to Paris tomorrow. The new top five is:
1. Floyd Landis (USA - PHO)
2. Oscar Pereiro (ESP - CEI) - at 59"
3. Andreas Kloden (GER - TMO) - at 1’29"
4. Carlos Sastre (ESP - CSC) - at 3’13"
5. Cadel Evans (AUS - DVL) - at 5’08"

Oscar Pereiro has been woken from his yellow dream. He finished the 19th stage with the fourth best time but his leader’s jersey has been stolen by Floyd Landis who finished 1’29" ahead of the Spaniard.

Sastre has finished the stage in 19th place. He was 4’42" behind Honchar...

The yellow jersey will change at the end of the stage. With only 2km to go, Pereiro cannot make up the 1’30" deficit he had to Landis at the 51.5km mark.

With just Sastre and Pereiro to finish, the top five at the finish is:
1. HONCHAR (UKR, TMO) 01:07:45:810
2. KLÖDEN (GER, TMO) at 40"
3. LANDIS (USA, PHO) at 1’10"
4. LANG (GER, GST) 3’18"
5. ZABRISKIE (USA, CSC) at 3’35"

Landis looks like a man who has just won the Tour de France. He has finished the stage 1’10" behind Honchar, third place with just two more to reach the end of stage 19.

"Come on Floyd," insists John Lelangue, "this is the road to the yellow jersey...
"No risks in the last kilometer," is the order from the Phonak team manager. "Take it easy in the last curve to the right..."

Kloden is at the finish 40" behind Honchar. The T-Mobile rider caught Evans in the final kilometer. The new top five is:
1. HONCHAR (UKR, TMO) 01:07:45:810
2. KLÖDEN (GER, TMO) at 40"
3. LANG (GER, GST) at 3’18"
4. ZABRISKIE (USA, CSC) at 3’35"
5. EKIMOV (RUS, DSC) at 3’41"

Kloden is within sight of his three-minute man, Evans.

At the 3rd check, Kloden is 47" behind Honchar. It’s the 2nd best time of the day...

At the 51.1km mark, Evans is 3’39" slower than Honchar. The Australian has the seventh best time of the day so far.

At the 3rd check, Menchov has the 14th best time of the day 4’19" behind Honchar.

Landis is less than 10km from the finish. He is the virtual leader of the Tour de France and, although he may not win his second stage this year - because he was 26" behind Honchar at the 2nd check - he looks like the man who will wear the yellow jersey on the final day.

Landis is pushing a large gear. His chain is right down on the smallest cog of his rear cassette but his legs are turning at a rapid rate. It is, however, a contrast to the style employed by Armstrong who often had the chain on the 14 or 15-tooth cog. Landis is down on the 11...

Landis has spent most of the stage firmly planted in the saddle. He has just risen and turned the pedals about 10 times before sitting back down to assume his unique aerodynamic position.

The manager of the Phonak team John Lelangue is full of praise for Floyd Landis. "Come on," he can be heard telling his rider on France Television, "you are perfect! That’s the right line to follow. Good. You are turning the legs at a good rate..."

At the 2nd time check, the final top five is:
1. HONCHAR (UKR, TMO) 41’19"
2. LANDIS (USA, PHO) 26"
3. KLÖDEN (GER, TMO) 33"
4. PEREIRO SIO (ESP, CEI) 1’23"
5. LANG (GER, GST) at 2’08"

If Landis maintains his current pace, he is going to become the overall leader of the 2006 Tour de France again.

Pereiro’s time at the 34km mark was 42’42" - the 4th best of the day.
Floyd Landis is the virtual leader of the Tour de France.

At the 2nd time check Carlos Sastre has posted a time of 44’04" - it’s 2’46" slower than Honchar and 2’20" slower than Landis...!

Landis has 20km to ride in the 19th stage. We await the arrival of Pereiro at the second official time check before knowing if Floyd has made up the 30" deficit on Oscar...

Landis has reached the second check with a time that’s 26" slower than Honchar and 7" faster than Kloden. "We’re on schedule with what we wanted to do," said the Phonak team mananager, John Lelangue. "We don’t want to base our times on what’s been set by Honchar..."

At the 2nd time check, Kloden is 33" behind his team-mate Honchard. T-Mobile have the first and second best riders at the 34km mark... with just Landis, Sastre and Pereiro to reach that check.

The new top five at the 2nd time check is:
1. HONCHAR (UKR, TMO) 00:41:19
2. LANG (GER, GST) at 2’08"
3. CUNEGO (ITA, LAM) at 2’08"
4. GRABSCH (GER, PHO) at 2’09"
5. EVANS (AUS, DVL) at 2’16"

Damiano Cunego has posted the sixth best time of the stage. He is going to wear the white jersey in the final stage of the 2006 Tour de France.

At the 3rd check, Cunego is 35" ahead of Fothen. The new top five at the 51.5km mark is:
1. HONCHAR (UKR, TMO) 01:02:36
2. LANG (GER, GST) at 3’21"
3. EKIMOV (RUS, DSC) at 3’26"
4. ZABRISKIE (USA, CSC) at 3’27"
5. CUNEGO (ITA, LAM) at 3’32"

Don’t expect the white jersey to change at the end of the day. Fothen is 4’14" behind Honchar’s time at the 3rd check... Cunego has been third at the first two checks while Fothen has been outside the top 10...

Pereiro has not lost too much time to Landis. At the first check, the Spaniard is in third place, 10" behind the American.
1. LANDIS (USA, PHO) 16.5km in 19:46
2. HONCHAR (UKR, TMO) at 1"
3. PEREIRO SIO (ESP, CEI) at 10"
4. KLÖDEN (GER, TMO) at 11"
5. LANG (GER, GST) at 43"

France Television has a microphone in the Phonak team car that is following Landis. John Lelangue has been explaining every detail of the route and ensuring that Landis remembers the fundamentals. The latest call over the two-way radio was, "Don’t forget to drink..."

At the first time check, Sastre has the 14th best time. The CSC rider has lost his second place in the general classification, passing the 16.5km mark 1’05" behind Landis!

Landis has beaten Honchar’s time at the first check. The American is one second faster than the Ukrainian!

1. HONCHAR (UKR, TMO) 00:19:47
2. KLÖDEN (GER, TMO) at 10"
3. LANG (GER, GST) at 42"
4. CUNEGO (ITA, LAM) at 46"
5. GRABSCH (GER, PHO) at 56"

Two T-Mobile riders are in control of the rankings at the 16.5km mark. Kloden is just 10" behind Honchar while third place - Lang (GST) - is 42" behind the Ukrainian leader.

Evans is 1’03" behind Honchar at the first check. The Australian has the 11th best time for the day with just four men yet to reach the 16.5km mark.

At the 8.5km mark, an unofficial time check from France Television has Landis 30" ahead of Pereiro...

Honchar could win his second successful Tour time trial. The Ukrainian is 59" ahead of the Russian Rabobank rider Menchov after just 16.5km of racing.

The rider who finished second at the summit of L’Alpe d’Huez has improved his time trialing ability a lot recently. Damiano Cunego has posted the same time as the German time trial champion at the 34km mark. The new top five of the 2nd check is:
1. HONCHAR (UKR, TMO) 41’19"
2. LANG (GER, GST) 2’08"
3. CUNEGO (ITA, LAM) at 2’08"
4. GRABSCH (GER, PHO) at 2’09"
5. EKIMOV (RUS, DSC) at 2’17"

Cunego has reached the second time check with an advantage over his rival in the youth classification (Marcus Fothen) of 59 seconds. The Italian appears destined to wear the white jersey to Paris tomorrow...!

The yellow jersey has just left the start house. Oscar Pereiro has said that every day in the lead of the Tour de France is a bonus. "I’ll go to my limit," he said yesterday about his plans for today’s stage.

At the second time check, Fothen (GST) has posted the 11th best time of the day. He is trying to finish at least five seconds ahead of Cunego (LAM); if that happens, he’ll be back in the white jersey at the end of the day.

The other rider within striking distance of the yellow jersey today is Carlos Sastre. The CSC rider has just started what he hopes will be the best time trial of his life. He ended the 18th stage with a deficit of just 12" to Pereiro (CEI).

At the first time check, the world time trial champion is in 7th place. Rogers’ time is 59" slower than his team-mate Honchar.

"I’m confident in my time trialing form," said Landis on the day that he moved up to third overall after winning the stage to Morzine. "I know what I’ve got to do and I know what I want: I want to win the race!"
The American has already ridden the 57km course early this morning. That was when it was raining. He has just burst out of the start house and, in a little over an hour, we’ll know if he’s going to be the third American to win the Tour de France...

After 16.5km the rider who was voted the Most Aggressive in stage 18 has posted a time that’s 1’22" slower than Honchar. Levi Leipheimer is currently 22nd at the first check.

There are just five riders yet to start the time trial. Denis Menchov (RAB) has just left the start house.

The local authorities are spraying the road at the site of today’s finish. It is so hot today that the bitumen is beginning to go soft...

The rider in the white jersey, Damiano Cunego (LAM), is determined to maintain his lead in the youth classification. He has posted the third best time at the 16.5km mark - 12" better than Marcus Fothen (GST).
The new top five is:
1. HONCHAR (UKR, TMO) 19’47"
2. LANG (GER, GST) at 42"
3. CUNEGO (ITA, LAM) at 46"
4. GRABSCH (GER, PHO) at 56"
5. EKIMOV (RUS, DSC) at 57"

Michael Rogers, the triple world time trial champion, is about to start today’s stage. He is clad in the rainbow jersey and looking to improve on his fourth place in the 7th stage.

Robbie Hunter (PHO) will not be allowed to start the final stage of the Tour. He has already finished outside the time limit of the stage just going on the difference of his time (1h25’54") that’s 18’09" slower than Honchar.

The last 20 riders are starting three minutes after each other. Michael Boogerd is the 12th last man to start the stage... and he’s currently on his way to the first time check.

At the moment, the only South African in the Tour de France faces elimination. Robbie Hunter finished with a time that’s 18’09" slower than Serhiy Honchar; this means that he’s outside the time limit and may not get to ride the stage to Paris. There have, however, been a few exceptions to the ’hors delai’ rule this year... but they did involve a lot more riders than just one.

“The course suits the one who is the strongest, that’s for sure,” said Voigt when asked for an appraisal about which of the three final riders the route will favor most. “It’s complicated to explain but I think the first course was better for Landis because it was more flat and had a better surface so it was more for the aerodynamic guys – for the ‘rouleurs’. Today it’s lot more up and down. It’s a dead road – meaning that the surface is not really good or fast – and so I think it’s better for Carlos this time.”

“I had a different ambition for the first time trial: to save energy,” said Jens Voigt after posting the eighth best time of the day so far.
“Today is the second last stage and I just wanted to throw all my left over power out and see what happened. I looked at the stage before and thought, ‘Okay, I think I should catch the two riders in front of me – De la Fuente and Commesso – and, if everything works well maybe I can hang onto a top 20.’ That would be pleasing."

The rider who led the youth classification for most of the 2006 Tour de France has just begun his time trial. Marcus Fothen is just five seconds behind Damiano Cunego in the race for the white jersey: it’s a deficit that even the new leader of the Best Young Rider competition believes the German can easily make up.
Fothen was the under-23 world time trial champion in 2003.

At the first time check, Yaroslav Popovych is 1’12" behind Honchar.

The rider who finished last in the time trial for stage seven was Jens Voigt (CSC). The German has just reached the third time check in 8th place, 4’04" behind Honchar.

France Television recently interviewed the manager of Floyd Landis’ Phonak team, John Lelangue. The Belgian boss explained the schedule for today...
“Floyd woke up early and had breakfast at 7.15am and then we went on a reconnaissance of the parcours," said Lelangue. "He rode the entire course in the rain this morning. After that we went back to the hotel where he got some rest. He’ll arrive at the site of the start an hour and a half before he is due to begin the time trial and have a 40 minute warm-up on the stationary trainer.
“I’ve taken some notes because Floyd likes to ride with an earpiece to receive information about the course. The nature of his position on the bike means that he looks more directly at the ground than at the road in the distance… and because of this, it’s important for me to explain what’s coming up.”

With Honchar at the finish, the new top five is:
1. HONCHAR (UKR, TMO) 01:07:45:810
2. LANG (GER, GST) at 3’18"
3. ZABRISKIE (USA, CSC) at 3’35"
4. EKIMOV (RUS, DSC) at 3’41"
5. GRABSCH (GER, PHO) at 3’43"

The winner of stage seven has posted another remarkable time. Serhiy Honchar finished the 57.0km course in 1h07’45" - 50.5km/h!
He is 3’18" better than Lang.

The new top five at the 51.5km mark is:
1.HONCHAR (UKR, TMO) 1h02’36"
2. LANG (GER, GST) at 3’21"
3. EKIMOV (RUS, DSC) at 3’26"
4. ZABRISKIE (USA, CSC) at 3’27"
5. GRABSCH (GER, PHO) at 3’34"

It’s a long time ago but, for interests sake, it’s worth having a look at the top 10 in the penultimate stage of the 1998 Tour because that was a time trial that started at the site of today’s finish and concluded at the site of today’s start...
1. Jan Ullrich (GER) 52.0km in 1h03’52"
2. Bobby Julich (USA) at 1’01”
3. Marco Pantani (ITA) at 2’35”
4. Daruiz Baranowski (POL) at 3’11”
5. Andrej Teteriouk (KAZ) at 3’46”
6. Viatcheslav Ekimov (RUS) at 3’48”
7. Christophe Rinero (FRA) at 3’50”
8. Riccardo Forconi (ITA) at 3’55”
9. Axel Merckx (BEL) at 3’59”
10. Roland Meier (SUI) at 4’29”
Ekimov, Rinero and Merckx are the only riders from this group at the 2006 Tour and the oldest man in the race currently has the best time at the finish...

Christophe Rinero has just reached the first time check. He has lost 2’54" to Honchar after just 16.5km of racing. When the Tour last raced a time trial between the towns of Montceau les Mines and Le Creusot the Frenchman finished the stage with the 8th best time, 3’50" behind Ullrich in stage 20 of the 1998 Tour... how times have changed!

Following Hincapie are: Karpets (CEI), Merckx (PHO), Fedrigo (BTL), Mazzoleni (TMO), Arrieta (A2R), Guerini (TMO), Popovych (DSC), Vandevelde (CSC), Sinkewitz (TMO), Bruseghin (LAM), Vila Errandonea (LAM), Arroyo (CEI), Azevedo (DSC), Rasmussen (RAB), Valjavec (LAM), Fothen (GST), Cunego (LAM), Caucchioli (C.A), Leipheimer (GST), Boogerd (RAB), Schleck (CSC), Rogers (TMO), Moreau (A2R), Zubeldia (EUS), Dessel (A2R), Menchov (RAB), Evans (DVL), Kloden (TMO), Landis (PHO), Sastre (CSC) and Pereiro (CEI). The yellow jersey’s scheduled start time is 4.15pm.

The rider who finished 8th in the last time trial in 2005, George Hincapie (DSC) has just started stage 19. There are 31 riders yet to begin the race today.

The 72nd rider to start the stage has posted the best time so far. Sebastian Lang rode the 57.0km course at an average speed of 48.1km/h. He is 17" faster than Zabriskie.

At the 3rd check, Lang (GST) is 5" ahead of Ekimov (DSC) and 6" ahead of Zabriskie (CSC).

Honchar has smashed the previous best time at the 34.0km check. The new top five is:
1. HONCHAR (UKR, TMO) 41’19"
2. LANG (GER, GST) 2’08"
3. GRABSCH (GER, PHO) at 2’09"
4. EKIMOV (RUS, DSC) at 2’17"
5. POSTHUMA (NED, RAB) at 2’27"

Millar (SDV) had the sixth best time at the first check. At the 34.0km mark he has the same position. The Scotsman is 25" slower than Lang...

Dave Zabriskie (CSC) has posted the best time of the day. He rode the 57km course at an average speed of 47.9km/h and leads Ekimov by six seconds.

Serhiy Honchar (TMO) is pushing a huge gear and has the best time of the stage at the 16.5km mark. He passed his two-minute man after just 10km and now has Gilberto Simoni in his sights. The Saunier Duval-Prodir rider started four minutes ahead of the Ukrainian.

The winner of the first long time trial of the 2006 Tour has just past the first time check at the 16.5km mark. The new top five is:
1. HONCHAR (UKR, TMO) 16.5km in 19’47"
2. LANG (GER, GST) at 42"
3. GRABSCH (GER, PHO) at 56"
4. EKIMOV (RUS, DSC) at 57"
5. LARSSON (SWE, FDJ) at 59"

Lang has beaten Grabsch’s time at the 34.0km mark. The German Gerolsteiner rider who finished third in the first long time trial is one second faster than his compatriot.

At the first time check, David Millar (SDV) is 23" behind Sebastian Lang (GST).

The winner of stage seven, Serhiy Honchar (TMO) has caught his two-minute man David Moncoutie (COF) before the 16.5km mark.

Stuart O’Grady crashed during stage four of this year’s Tour. He has ridden with a hairline fracture of his fourth lumbar vertebrae ever since. LeTour.fr caught up with him after his time trial today to get his thoughts on his 10th attempt at the Tour.
“Paris is now only a train stop away,” said the rider who turns 33 a fortnight after the Tour. “Number 10 will be under the belt in a couple of days. It’s been my worst Tour physically but it’s been such a different experience to be part of a team that’s going for the overall victory. Everyday we’ve had a strategy and a plan and I’ve taken on a different role and it’s been fantastic to be part of this squad. If Carlos can pull off a podium finish with only six team-mates it’s a pretty big coup.
“It’s not like I’m getting around in a wheelchair but my back does hurt. The bone is still broken but what doesn’t hurt at the moment? My earlobes are about the only part of my body that doesn’t hurt.”

Sebastian Lang has set the best time of the day at the first check. He is 14" faster than Grabsch at the 16.5km mark.

LeTour.fr recently caught up with one of the physios for the CSC team, Geert Van Diepe. We asked him how Carlos Sastre was early this morning if he rode the course before his time trial this afternoon.
“Carlos feels good, just like he has for the last three days. He has no stress and he says that he’ll do his best: what more can he do? He trained a little bit over the last part of the course this morning along with Bjarne. After that he went back to the hotel to eat something. He won’t follow any team-mate in the car before his race (which begins at 4.09pm).”

The 2000 Olympic time trial champion, Viatcheslav Ekimov (DSC) has posted the best time at the finish. He is 2" ahead of Grabsch and 22" ahead of Posthuma.

At the 3rd check, the new top five is:
1. EKIMOV (RUS, DSC) 01:06:01
2. GRABSCH (GER, PHO) at 08"
3. POSTHUMA (NED, RAB) at 15"
4. LARSSON (SWE, FDJ) at 43"
5. PORTAL (FRA, CEI) at 47"

The Rabobank rider who earned the first white jersey of the 2006 Tour, Joost Posthuma, has finished today’s stage with the 2nd best time of the day. He is 19" behind Grabsch.

With 48 riders past the third time check, the top five is:
1. GRABSCH (GER, PHO) 01:06:09
2. LARSSON (SWE, FDJ) at 35"
3. PORTAL (FRA, CEI) at 39"
4. O’GRADY (AUS, CSC) at 1’03"
5. VANSUMMEREN (BEL, DVL) at 2’05"

David Millar, the winner of the penultimate stage of the 2003 Tour, is the next rider to start the 19th stage.

At the first time check, Dave Zabriskie has the fifth best time of the day. He is 15" behind Grabsch at the 16.5km mark.

Bert Grabsch (PHO) has the best time of the day. He is 2’52" faster than Ralf Grabsch (MRM).

At the 34km mark, Ekimov is still within striking distance of Grabsch. The top five after the Russian reached the second check is:
1. GRABSCH (GER, PHO) 34.0km in 43’27"
2. EKIMOV (RUS, DSC) at 08"
3. POSTHUMA (NED, RAB) at 18"
4. LARSSON (SWE, FDJ) at 29"
5. PORTAL (FRA, CEI) at 50"

The only South African in the 2006 Tour is Robbie Hunter. The Phonak rider risks being eliminated because of finishing outside the time limit. Already he has lost 14’26" to the current leader, his team-mate Bert Grabsch...

If Sebastian Lang is as good at the end of the Tour as he was at the start, we can expect the best times to be beaten soon. The Gerolsteiner rider who was 4th and 3rd in the prologue and stage seven time trial is the latest to leave the start house.

With 35 riders at the finish, the top five is:
1. GRABSCH (GER, PHO) 57.0km in 1h11’28"850
2. LARSSON (SWE, FDJ) at 37"
3. VANSUMMEREN (BEL, DVL) 2’37"
4. GILBERT (BEL, FDJ) at 3’16"
5. MUGERLI (SLO, LIQ) at 3’25"

Philippe Gilbert (FDJ) is finishing quickly. He has the 11th best time at the first check, 8th best at the second check and 2nd best at the 51.5km mark. He is 43" behind Vansummeren at the third check.

With 27 riders at the finish, the difference between the best time and worst is significant... Johan Vansummeren leads Jimmy Casper 71’17" after 57km of racing.

The rider who finished 3rd in the time trial of stage seven, Sebastian Lang (GST) is the 72nd rider to start today’s stage. We can expect to see his name at the top of the rankings soon...

At the end of the 57km stage, Johan Vansummeren is 49" faster than Mugerli. The tallest rider in the Tour posted a time of 1h14’05".

With 50 rider at the first time check, the top five is:
1. GRABSCH (GER, PHO) 16.5km in 20’42"
2. EKIMOV (RUS, DSC) at 01"
3. LARSSON (SWE, FDJ) at 03"
4. POSTHUMA (NED, RAB) at 09"
5. O’GRADY (AUS, CSC) at 23"

The oldest rider in the 2006 Tour is second at the first time check. Viatcheslav Ekimov was sixth in the time trial at the end of his first Tour in 1991 (which concluded in Macon). Fifteen years later he’s still a consistent performer. He is just one second behind Grabsch (PHO) at the 16.5km mark.

LeTour.fr spoke with Julian Dean of the Credit Agricole team to get his appraisal of the course. He was the 12th rider to start the stage and this is what he had to say: ”The course is fast. I was averaging a heart-rate of about 130-140bpm and I banged it out in about one hour 17 minutes… so I imagine the top guys are going to be able to manage over 50km/h. There was hardly any wind at all and it’s quite rolling. You can come off a descent and roll over the next hill by carrying the speed. It’ll be the strong guys who do better. It suits someone like Landis perfectly but Sastre is probably not quite as strong on the flat stuff. It’s also going to be good for Pereiro.
“A couple of times I got out of the saddle to keep the speed over a couple of the little climbs but I don’t think the stars who are going really fast will need to get out of the saddle at all. There aren’t too many corners and I found I held my speed all the way.”

Matej Mugerli (LIQ) has beaten Wiggins’ time by 27". The Slovenian finished the 57.0km course in 1 hour 14 minutes 54 seconds.

“I started hard to see how I was going," said Bradley Wiggins (COF) at the finish. "The tank was pretty empty so I just held a good tempo to make sure that I didn’t get eliminated more than anything.
"It’s a long time trial and you never know how fast guys like Landis are going to go and the last thing I wanted to do was be eliminated in a time trial.
“I really want to be good on the Champs-Elysees. The Tour’s not over yet. Jimmy is up for the sprint and it’s going to be a bit disorganised because Boonen has gone home and Benatti is gone, so there’s only McEwen as a top sprinter. We’ve got Jimmy Casper there as a chance, as well as myself if I get an opportunity in an escape. I want to show myself tomorrow because my family will be there.”

Brad Wiggins (COF) has the best time of the day. His former team-mate Thor Hushovd (C.A) is the latest rider home with a time of 1h16’05", 45" slower than Wiggins.

At the 51.5km mark, Bradley Wiggins leads Christophe Mengin by 18" and Pozatto by 19".

The Swedish time trial champion Gustav Larsson has come close to Grabsch time at the first check. The top five at the 16.5km mark is currently:
1. Grabsch (PHO) 20’42"
2. Larsson (FDJ) at 03"
3. Brard (CEI) at 26"
4. Vansummeren (DVL) at 29"
5. Hernandez (EUS) at 31"

Bert Grabsch is the third Phonak rider to start the time trial. He is 26" faster than Brard at the first time check.

Christophe Mengin has beaten Pozatto’s time at the 3rd check. The Frenchman is just one second faster than the Italian at the 51.5km mark.

Florent Brard has posted the best times of the day at the first and second checks. He is six seconds ahead of Bradley Wiggins at the 34.0km mark.

Wim Vansevenant’s time for the 57.0km time trial is 1h19’11". He was fourth last in the first long time trial this year, finishing 8’55" behind Honchar in Rennes.

Three riders have reached the 3rd intermediate check. Hernandez (EUS) is 2’35" ahead of Steegmans (DVL) and 2’45" ahead of Vansevenant (DVL) after 51.5km.

The tallest rider in the 93rd Tour, Johan Vansummeren is 2" behind Brard at the first time check. It’s enough to put the Belgian in second place at the 16.5km mark.

The Olympic pursuit champion Bradley Wiggins has beaten Pozatto’s time at the 2nd check. The Brit is nine seconds faster than the Italian.

The rider in the green jersey, Robbie McEwen, has the 14th best time at the 16.5km check. He is 1’04" slower than Brard.

The winner of stage 18 Matteo Tosatto (QSI) is 1’32" slower than Brard (CEI) at the first time check.

Brard (CEI) has posted a time that’s 5" faster than Hernandez (EUS) at the first time check.
At the 34.0km mark, Pozatto (QSI) has the best time, 3" faster than Hernandez.

The penultimate stage of the 2005 Tour de France was a 55.5km stage around Saint-Etienne. In the car that followed the eventual winner, Lance Armstrong, was John Kerry. He got to see his compatriot claim the last of his 25 stage wins at the Tour.
The top 10 in stage 20 last year was:
1. Lance Armstrong (USA) 55.5km in 1h11’46” (46.4km/h)
2. Jan Ullrich (GER) at 23”
3. Alexandre Vinokourov (KAZ) at 1’16”
4. Bobby Julich (USA) at 1’33”
5. Ivan Basso (ITA) at 1’54”
6. Floyd Landis (USA) at 2’02”
7. Cadel Evans (AUS) at 2’06”
8. George Hincapie (USA) at 2’25”
9. Francisco Mancebo (ESP) at 2’51”
10. Vladimir Karpets (RUS) at 3’05”
The leader of the 2006 Tour de France after 18 stages, Oscar Pereiro, was 15th in the final time trial of last year’s race. He finished 3’25” behind Armstrong.

The first time posted at the 34.0km is 48’15". Wim Vansevenant (DVL) is the first man to start the stage. He was 1’39" slower than Hernandez at the first check...

Bradley Wiggins (COF) has posted a time that’s just five seconds slower than Hernandez (EUS) at the 16.5km mark.

The winner of the stage to Macon yesterday, Matteo Tosatto, has just begun the time trial. He is 119th overall after 18 stages, 3h15’42" behind Pereiro.

LeTour.fr spoke with the race’s director of competition Jean-Francois Pescheux earlier today to get his thoughts on the course for the time trial. “It’s really different to the time trial course in Rennes," said the man who was also the voice of Radio Tour yesterday. "It’s a lot more difficult because there are quite a few small ascents, especially in the second half of the route. It’s hard for the riders to maintain a steady tempo, a stark contrast to stage seven this year when there were plenty of long straights which allowed riders to get into a rhythm.
“It’s possible that conditions will get very hot later in the day and this is going to make the job more difficult for the late starters. The result will depend on who has been able to cope best with the pace of the race after 18 tough stages. Only the most solid men will be able post good times on a course like this… after three weeks of racing.”

The only Colombian rider to lead the Tour de France, Victor Hugo Pena (PHO), has just begun the 19th stage. He has won time trials in the Giro d’Italia, that was back in 2000 when he beat Jan Hruska by 11" and Serhiy Honchar by 1’06" in a 42km test from Lignano to Bibione.

The winner of the prologue three weeks ago, Thor Hushovd (C.A), is the next man to start the 57.0km 19th stage. The Norwegian rider was 140th in the long time trial to Rennes in stage seven.

So far four riders have reached the 15.5km mark. The best time is held by the fourth man to start, Aitor Hernandez (EUS): 21’14"... this is 1’30" better than Steegmans (DVL) and 1’39" ahead of Vansevenant (DVL).

The first true time trial specialist to start today’s stage is Bradley Wiggins (COF). The Brit is known for his strength racing against the clock, but his forte is short course races. The reigning Olympic 4,000m pursuit champion is due to start at 11.41am.

Arnaud Coyot (COF) is the 10th rider to start the 19th stage. The first starter has not yet reached the site of the premier time check at the 15.5km mark.

After 18 stages of racing, the last rider in the general classification rankings is Wim Vansevenant. The Belgian Davitamon-Lotto rider is three hours, 50 minutes and 36 seconds behind Oscar Pereiro.
At the same stage of the 2005 Tour de France, Vansevenant was second-last four hours and four seconds behind Lance Armstrong. (Iker Flores was the ’lanterne rouge’, 4h08’35" behind the eventual race winner.)

The final time trial of the 1998 Tour de France was from Montceau les Mines to Le Creusot, the opposite to today’s start and finish. The route for stage 20 that year was 52.0km long and it was a rainy day on 1 August, when Jan Ullrich beat Bobby Julich by 1’01".

The sixth rider to start the 19th stage is Quickstep-Innergetic’s Filippo Pozzato. The youngest stage winner of the 2004 Tour (in Saint-Brieuc) began the time trial at 11.25am.

It rained earlier today but at the moment the riders are racing on dry roads. The conditions are overcast and the forecast is for showers later in the afternoon. It has been hot in the last few days but the temperature at the start of stage 19 is about 28 degrees Celsius.

During the time trial, there are three intermediate checks. The first is in Montchanin-le-Haut at the 16.5km mark, the next in Montcenis at 34.0km and the third in Villa-Sirot at 51.5km.

The first rider has started the time trial to Montceau-les-Mines. Wim Vansevenant’s team-mate Geert Steegmans is the next to start the 19th stage; and then comes the winner of stage one Jimmy Casper (COF).

The penultimate stage of the 2006 Tour de France, a 57.0km time trial from Le Creusot to Montceau-les-Mines, is due to get underway at 11.15am.
The first rider to start the 19th stage is the ’Lanterne Rouge’ (ie. last rider on general classification after 18 stages), Wim Vansevenant of the Davitamon-Lotto team.
Riders will depart at two minute intervals until to the final 20; and then three minutes will separate each starter. The yellow jersey, Oscar Pereiro (CEI) is due to start at 4.15pm.
Live coverage will commence shortly.