TDF Pics--Pre-race

[BumbleBeeDave]

so here we are at the Tour again. When I checked with the folks at AP last year, they said it was not a copyright no-no to re-post these pics if they are not for profit and just to show my friends. Most of these I could have scarfed from various already-published sites, anyway. So I will post what I can from each day, but will be on vacation the last week, so I'm not sure what I can do for that.

BBDave


Jan Ullrich of Germany, left, leader of German cycling team T-Mobile, and teammate Aleksander Vinokourov of Kazakhstan, train with their team outside Saint-Jean-de-Monts, western France, Thursday, June 30, 2005, ahead of the 92nd edition of the Tour de France cycling race. The race runs through July 2 - 24, starting with a 19-kilometer (11.80-mile) individual time trial between Fromentine and the western island of Noirmoutier. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

[BumbleBeeDave]

Jan Ullrich of Germany, leader of German cycling team T-Mobile, trains outside Saint-Jean-de-Monts, western France, Thursday, June 30, 2005, ahead of the 92nd edition of the Tour de France cycling race. The race runs through July 2 - 24, starting with a 19-kilometer (11.80-mile) individual time trial between Fromentine and the western island of Noirmoutier. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

[BumbleBeeDave]

Team leader of the German cycling team Gerolsteiner, Levi Leipheimer of the U.S., undergoes medical checks in Challans, western France, Thursday, June 30, 2005, ahead of the 92nd edition of the Tour de France cycling race. The race runs through July 2 - 24, starting with a 19-kilometer (11.80-mile) individual time trial between Fromentine and the western island of Noirmoutier. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)

[BumbleBeeDave]

Six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, of Austin, Texas, leader of the American Discovery Channel cycling team, foreground left, trains with his teammates on the island of Noirmoutier,western France, Thursday, June 30, 2005, ahead of the 92nd edition of the Tour de France cycling race. The race runs through July 2 - 24, starting with a 19-kilometer (11.80-mile) individual time trial between Fromentine and the western island of Noirmoutier. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

[BumbleBeeDave]

Six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, of Austin, Texas, leader of the American Discovery Channel cycling team, foreground left, rides with his teammates as they train on the island of Noirmoutier, western France, Thursday, June 30, 2005, ahead of the 92nd edition of the Tour de France cycling race. The race runs through July 2 - 24, starting with a 19-kilometer (11.80-mile) individual time trial between Fromentine and the western island of Noirmoutier. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

[Kevan]

Didn't you know? Hairy arm pits are accepted in France.

[BumbleBeeDave]

Lance Armstrong, of Austin, Texas, leader of the American cycling team Discovery Channel, undergoes medical checks in Challans, western France, Thursday, June 30, 2005, ahead of the 92nd edition of the Tour de France cycling race. The race runs through July 2 - 24, starting with a 19-kilometer (11.80-mile) individual time trial between Fromentine and the western island of Noirmoutier. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)

[BumbleBeeDave]

Lance Armstrong, of Austin, Texas, right, leader of the American cycling team Discovery Channel, blows into a spyrometer as he undergoes medical checks in Challans, western France, Thursday, June 30, 2005, ahead of the 92nd edition of the Tour de France cycling race. The race runs through July 2 - 24, starting with a 19-kilometer (11.80-mile) individual time trial between Fromentine and the western island of Noirmoutier. (AP Photo/Franck Fife/Pool)

[BumbleBeeDave]

Six-time Tour de France winner, Lance Armstrong, of Austin, Texas, right, rides with teammate and compatriot George Hincapie as they train outside La Chapelle-sur-Erdre, near Nantes, western France, Friday, July 1, 2005, ahead of the 92nd Tour de France cycling race. The race starts Saturday with a 19-kilometer (11.80-mile) individual time trial between the western town of Fromentine and the island of Noirmoutier. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

[BumbleBeeDave]

Six-time Tour de France winner, Lance Armstrong, of Austin, Texas, pedals as he trains outside La Chapelle-sur-Erdre, near Nantes, western France, Friday, July 1, 2005, ahead of the 92nd Tour de France cycling race. The race starts Saturday with a 19-kilometer (11.80-mile) individual time trial between the western town of Fromentine and the island of Noirmoutier. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

[BumbleBeeDave]

Leader of Danish cycling team CSC, Ivan Basso of Italy, second left, undergoes medical examinations in Challans, western France, Friday, July 1, 2005, as press photographers take pictures, ahead of the 92nd Tour de France cycling race. The race starts Saturday with a 19-kilometer (11.80-mile) individual time trial between the western town of Fromentine and the island of Noirmoutier. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

[BumbleBeeDave]

Leader of Danish cycling team CSC, Ivan Basso of Italy, right, undergoes medical examinations in Challans, western France, Friday, July 1, 2005, ahead of the 92nd Tour de France cycling race. The race starts Saturday with a 19-kilometer (11.80-mile) individual time trial between the western town of Fromentine and the island of Noirmoutier. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

[BumbleBeeDave]

Bobby Julich of the U.S., rider of Danish cycling team CSC, blows into a spyrometer as he undergoes medical examinations in Challans, western France, Friday, July 1, 2005, ahead of the 92nd Tour de France cycling race. The race starts Saturday with a 19-kilometer (11.80-mile) individual time trial between the western town of Fromentine and the island of Noirmoutier. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

[Tom]

Apparently bong hits are the new training secret.

[BumbleBeeDave]

Where YOU been? ;)

BBDave

[Dr. Doofus]

levi is shaved in that pic...dig the chest and stomach stubble if you look a little closer...levi is one of the hairier little guys on the planet...he will scare his grandkids....

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . because they can't find an earpiece that fits after he braids his ear hair and tucks it back in there. :banana:

BBDave

[Moveitfred]

Looks like prep for a spring classic with all those jackets and warmers. Thanks for the pics.

[rnhood]

Nothing elevates TDF excitment like a few great pictures...and here we have them. Thanks for posting.

[gasman]

Thanks for posting the photos BBD.
Did you tell the AP that you have some 2,500 friends on this board ? Or should that be "friends".

[slowgoing]

I can't remember if this was true last year, but Jan is riding Shimano!

[slowgoing]

Also, what good are those spirometers? I know asthma patients use them to track how much the disease is acting up, but do they really give any useful information for cyclists? I can blow readings off the chart on those things, and the doctors seem surprised given my height (apparently taller people blow higher numbers), but I am and have always been slowgoing.

[Frustration]

I love loving a sport where the top players look like they've been POW's for the last 9 years and couldn't walk up a set of steps!