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After twice finishing second in the sport’s greatest race (2007 and 2008), and 20 Tour Stage victories to his credit, Cadel Evans finally stood on the top of the podium in Paris.

The first three stages through the Pyrenees haven’t yielded the clear leader most of us were hoping for. Instead, the 31 second lead held by Andy Schleck has been erased, and Alberto Contador now holds an 8 second lead. Since my last post, both Denis Menchov (2 minutes back) and Samuel Sanchez (2 minutes 13 seconds back) have been able to close the gap on the leaders.

YELL FOR CADEL goes behind the scenes at the Tour de France to reveal how a world class cyclist – Australian Cadel Evans, the recent winner of the World Championships – prepares for the world’s toughest bike race.

It is a tough criteria, some play longer seasons, others go solo, a few operate complex machinery while others merely navigate their bodies through wind or water.

On October 14, 2009 the Tour de France organizers released he map for the 2010 tour. 2010 makrs the 100th anniversary to the Tour’s first time through the Pyrenees. The 2010 tour will be more brutal than average, really separating thee players, beginning with a short 8 km prolouge in Rotterdam and culminating with the only timetrail (51 km) from Bordeaux to Pauillac 19 stages later.

Cleveland Cavaliers center Shaquille O’Neal returns to ABC with a new reality series.

Debuting August 18th, in “Shaq TV” the 15-time NBA All-Star will pit his athletic skills against an interesting array of opponents in their sport specialty.

One of the biggest stories of the 2009 Tour de France is that there were NO scandals or drug accusations. Alberto Contador’s 2007 victory was marred by the number of riders excluded for positive drug tests or missed testing during training.

It is obvious that either Alberto Contador, currently first overall or Andy Schleck, currently second overall, could have battled for the stage win at the top of Mont Ventoux and closed the 38 second gap to stage winner Juan Manuel Garate. Instead, both leaders chose to be great teammates and lead their team’s battle for podium places in Paris

Alberto Contador ended all questions today about who is the best rider in the tour, and who is the leader of Astana. 7 time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong climbed to third place today while losing 1 minute and 30 seconds and finishing 16th on the stage to time trial and apparent Tour de France winner Alberto Contador.

With 17 stages complete, the 2009 Tour de France podium is still up for grabs. There are 2 major stages left to determine the Yellow Jersey, and 2 contenders (Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck).