Tour de France

A third place for Bradley Wiggins in the Tour of Murcia has put him on track for a spectacular Tour de France, says Team Sky coach Rod Ellingworth.

HTC-Columbia leader Frantisek Rabon took both the final stage and, ultimately, the overall classification, Wiggins finished 48 seconds behind Rabon but three places higher than Lance Armstrong.

"Bradley put himself on the line for the win but this is a process and one that's coming together well," said Ellingworth. "He's getting increasingly consistent, and rode strongly in the mountains."

France’s anti-doping authority, l'Agence Française de lutte contre le dopage (AFLD), has revealed that an international arrest warrant has been issued for the American cyclist Floyd Landis after he failed failing to appear before a judge to explain how he came by certain information used in his defence as he tried to clear his name after being stripped of his 2006 Tour de France.

The Tour de France is set to become a distinctly global affair in the next few years, with the announcement that Australia and Canada hope to field national teams.

The Melbourne-based Australia Road Cycling group plans to apply for a ProTour licence that could see a new team enter the Tour in 2011. While the Aussies have made several attempts to put together a national team in the past, lack of financial support has hampered their efforts.

Following this year’s Grand Départ in Rotterdam, the 2011 Tour de France will get under way on home roads, and in a break with what has become the established format of the race, the opening stage will not feature a time trial but will instead see the peloton negotiate an uphill finish on the 232-metre high Mont des Alouettes, near the town of Les Herbiers.

Lance Armstrong believes he can see off former team-mate Alberto Contador to land an unprecedented eighth Tour de France title in Paris this July, and expects the rivalry between them to intensify now they are riding for different teams.

Team Astana are being investigated regarding a “penal infraction” relating to blood transfusion equipment seized from the team during the 2009 Tour de France according to a report on the Le Monde website.

The race was won by Astana rider Alberto Contador, with Lance Armstrong – then riding for Astana - coming third. 

Geraint Thomas, who has ridden to Olympic and World Championship success with Bradley Wiggins in the GB team pursuit squad, hopes to play a leading role in helping Team Sky’s new leader become the first Briton to win the Tour de France.

Thomas, who is focusing on the road for the next two seasons before getting back on the track ahead of London 2012, was one of the first signings announced by Team Sky earlier this year.

We know that many of you look forward to Cervélo TestTeam’sBeyond The Peloton films, which give a fly-on-the-wall take on the ProTour outfit’s debut season, as much as we do here at road.cc.

Now, the fourth and final video covering the team’s Tour de France campaign this year has been put online and like its predecessors, it’s essential viewing for any cycling fan.

Lance Armstrong has said that he plans to retire again from cycling in 2011. In an interview with Gazzeta dello Sport the seven time Tour de France winner who came third in the world's greatest bike race in his comeback year behind then team mate Alberto Contador also said that he could improve on this year's result because he had the strongest team to support him and he would have an extra year of preparation too.

Ivan Basso will return to the Tour de France next year after a four-year absence and will lead the Liquigas team when the race gets under way in Rotterdam next July, according to Italian daily La Gazzettta dello Sport.