海角大神

Mark Cavendish blew kisses to the crowd as he crossed the finish line in Lavaur, France yesterday. HTC-Highroad鈥檚 British sprinter was celebrating his third stage win of this year鈥檚 Tour de France, but also bidding adieu: He won鈥檛 have many more chances to win a stage until the 颁丑补尘辫蝉-脡濒测蝉茅别蝉.

Mr. Cavendish and his fellow sprinters are now moving aside as the battle for the yellow jersey 鈥� professional cycling鈥檚 most coveted prize 鈥� begins in earnest, when riders tackle steep gradients and long descents throughout the 笔测谤茅苍茅别蝉.

The Franco-Spanish mountain range hosted last year鈥檚 deciding stages, where Spain鈥檚 Alberto Contador overcame the Luxembourger Andy Schleck en route to his third Tour de France victory.

Once again, the two-time defending champion Contador is favored heading into the Pyr茅n茅an climbs and next week鈥檚 Alpine stages.

Unlike last year, he has outside pressures that could affect his performance. He鈥檚 riding in this year鈥檚 race despite testing positive for clenbuterol, a banned muscle-building drug, during his 2010 Tour win. A hearing in August at the Court of Arbitration for Sport will determine his fate; if he鈥檚 found guilty, he鈥檒l be stripped of all of his titles since last year鈥檚 Tour de France, including a victory in May鈥檚 Giro D鈥橧talia.

For now, Contador鈥檚 focus is on his fellow yellow jersey contenders 鈥� Australian Cadel Evans and the Schleck brothers, Andy and Fr盲nk, among other riders.

After losing valuable time in a crash on the race鈥檚 first stage, Contador is currently 1 minute and 31 seconds behind the third-placed Evans, but is optimistic he can make the time deficit up.

鈥淲e can鈥檛 make any big conclusions from what鈥檚 happened so far,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e haven鈥檛 had an important climb to test everyone鈥檚 conditioning.鈥�

Thomas Voeckler, the plucky Frenchman currently leading the race, isn鈥檛 considered to be an adversary.

鈥淚t will be difficult for me to defend the jersey tomorrow,鈥� Voeckler said after Wednesday鈥檚 stage. 鈥淭he general classification hopefuls will attack early in the stage.鈥�

Thursday鈥檚 Stage 12, which ends at the ski resort of Luz-Ardiden, will also be a chance for Contador to quell concerns about a right knee injury he suffered during a solo spill on Sunday. It was his fifth crash of the race.

A series of crashes

Indeed, this year鈥檚 Tour has been marked by crashes. Some have been small pileups, others severe enough to force riders out of the race.

Toward the end of last Friday鈥檚 Stage 7, American Christopher Horner of RadioShack broke his nose and sustained a concussion during a spill. He finished the stage, but abandoned the Tour that night.

"Unfortunately, the race is being decided by crashes,鈥� Horner鈥檚 compatriot and teammate Levi Leipheimer said last week. 鈥淥f course, they鈥檙e part of the sport, but I don't think it's right to have [them] to this degree.鈥�

On Sunday鈥檚 Stage 9, four riders withdrew after crashing on a slick descent. Astana鈥檚 Alexandre Vinokourov, unable to walk after suffering an injury, had to be pulled out of a ravine by teammates.

Sunday also saw the most terrifying crash of this year鈥檚 race 鈥� a French television car hit Spain鈥檚 Juan Antonio Flecha, who slid into Holland鈥檚 Johnny Hoogerland. Flecha hit the pavement and Hoogerland was flung into a barbed wire fence.

The car, which was authorized to be on the race course, was immediately suspended; Tour officials announced Tuesday that there would be more restrictive measures placed on media vehicles driving alongside the peloton. Flecha鈥檚 Team Sky and Hoogerland鈥檚 Vacansoleil teams are also pondering legal action against the driver, whose identity has not been released.

Doping worries

It鈥檚 not a typical Tour de France without doping casting a dark shadow over the race.

In addition to Contador鈥檚 participation, which Tour officials have downplayed, Russian Alexandr Kolobnev failed a drug test taken after last Wednesday鈥檚 stage 5.

Mr. Kolobnev, a rider for Katusha, tested positive for hydrochlorothiazide, a diuretic often used to mask other drugs. He left the Tour on Monday and has said he 鈥渄oes not know where [the diuretic] came from.鈥�

Also on Monday, French anti-doping police searched Kolobnev鈥檚 hotel room for banned drugs, finding nothing.

It was their second publicized drug search of this Tour; on the eve of stage one, they seized and rifled through the bus of the Belgian team Quick Step.

"Fighting against doping is extremely complicated, but it's much easier when it's done together," said Tour director 海角大神 Prudhomme on Wednesday. "And here is a good example of the anti-doping authorities working together.鈥�