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Tour de France rider galleries
Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) leads Astana teammates Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong
Epic shots of Armstrong, Contador, Cavendish, Vande Velde, Wiggins, Evans, Schleck and Hushovd - UPDATED
It has been another battle royale on the roads of France and it isn't over yet. Cyclingnews presents images of just some of the riders who have illuminated this year's edition of the Grande Boucle.
Some have had a great Tour, some haven't fared quite so well. Every rider at the Tour has a different story to tell and each of the images in these galleries paints a tale of its own.
Click on the links below, or right, to view each rider's gallery:
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Related articles
Tour gallery: Lance Armstrong
Snapshots from Lance's return to France
July 21, 2009, 16:52
Tour gallery: Alberto Contador
Photographs from Contador's tilt at number two
July 21, 2009, 20:04
Tour gallery: Mark Cavendish
Shots of Cavendish's sprint supremacy
July 21, 2009, 20:43
Tour gallery: Christian Vande Velde
Photos of Vande Velde's journey in the top ten
July 21, 2009, 21:20
Tour gallery: Bradley Wiggins
Images of the Tour's revelation
July 21, 2009, 21:24
Tour gallery: Cadel Evans
Snapshots of a tough Tour for Aussie
July 21, 2009, 21:28
Tour gallery: Andy Schleck
Images of the Luxembourger champion in France
July 21, 2009, 21:30
Tour gallery: Thor Hushovd
Snapshots of a bid for green
July 21, 2009, 21:32
Related riders
Alberto Contador Velasco
Key wins
Tour de France 2007, 2009, 2010
Giro d’Italia 2008, 2011
Vuelta a España2008
Paris-Nice 2007, 2010
Spanish TT Champ 2009
UCI World Ranking 2009
Thor Hushovd
Age: 33
Team: Garmin-Cervélo
Nationality: Norwegian
Bradley Wiggins
Andy Schleck
2nd GC, Tour de France 2009, 2010, 2011
Best Young Rider, Tour de France, 2008, 2009, 2010
1st Tour de France Stages: 8 & 17, 2010; 18, 2011
2nd Giro d’Italia 2007
1st Liège–Bastogne–Liège 2009
2nd Flèche Wallonne 2009
3rdLiège–Bastogne–Liège, 2011Looking ahead to 2012
The big question about Andy Schleck in 2012 will be how his move to a team run by Johan Bruyneel will affect his racing. Schleck has lacked the competitive edge that Bruyneel is famous for – Schleck’s statement that he’d rather end up in second place on the Tour de France podium with his brother Fränk in third than win the race certainly doesn’t fit the Bruyneel philosophy! But Bruyneel’s attention to detail should aid Andy through this year’s Tour – and with 96km of individual time trialling, notoriously Schleck’s weak spot, he’ll need all the help he can get, if he wants to take that elusive win.
Away from the Tour, look for Andy in the Ardennes Classics, and then aiming to become the World Champion, on the hilly Valkenburg course.
Christian Vande Velde
Lance Armstrong
Lance Amstrong retired in 2011. Before that he had one of the most successful but controversial careers in professional cycling. He won 7 Tour de France from 1999 to 2005, after coming back from cancer.
Lance Armstrong retired from the sport in 2005 only to announce a comeback in 2008. He rode for Astana in 2009, finishing third in the Tour de France. The following season he again rode the Tour but failed to challenge for the yellow jersey. He made his last professional outing at the 2011 Tour Down Under.
Cadel Evans
Mark Cavendish
Key results
1st World Road Championships 2011
1st World Track Championships, Madison 2005, 2008
1st Points competition, Tour de France 2011
20 stage wins, Tour de France 2008-11
9 stage wins, Giro d’Italia, 2008-11
1st Points competition, Vuelta a España 2010
4 stages wins, Vuelta a España 2010
1st Milan-San Remo 2009
1st Scheleprijs 2007, 2008, 2011
2nd Points competition, Tour de France 2009, 2010Looking ahead to 2012
It will be hard for Mark Cavendish to top his 2011 season, winning the green jersey in the Tour de France and the rainbow stripes of World Champion – but Cavendish has big dreams, and they’re centred around July, riding the Tour de France and then the Olympic road race in London. Not that the rest of the peloton will be making it easy for him – and it will be interesting to see whether the move from HTC to Sky will affect his racing. Whatever happens, there are sure to be the usual fireworks!