Though the signs outside identified it as a hotel, the Cavendish was no place for the unsuspecting tourist. Most strangers who ventured into the dim, cluttered lobby at 82 Jermyn Street were sternly told to try elsewhere. Others, if they were lucky enough to remind the proprietress of some long-vanished Victorian buck or Bostonian pooh-bah, would be clasped to her shapely bosom and regaled with surrealistic reminiscences about old Lord Droopy Drawers and Lady You-Know-'Oo, or "the time we went ...

A suspected U.S. drone attack killed five militants Friday when a missile was fired on a Taliban stronghold into a village in northwest Pakistan, Pakistani government sources told CNN. Leipheimer pulled out before the start of the 200 kilometer run from Vittel to Colmar, his right wrist in plaster after a late crash on the previous stage. The American is a close friend of Armstrong and was not without hope of overall victory himself as he sat only 39 seconds ...

Thor Hushovd led a mass sprint finish win the sixth stage of the Tour de France in wet conditions on Thursday, while overall leader Fabian Cancellara remained a second ahead of comeback king Lance Armstrong. The Norwegian headed off last year's green jersey winner Oscar Freire and another Spaniard in Jose Joaquin Rojas to give his Cervelo team its first stage win in cycling's premier event, and his sixth. The top 43 riders were all classified with a time of ...

Thomas Voeckler won the fifth stage of the Tour de France as Lance Armstrong remained in second place in the overall standings behind Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara. It was a hugely popular victory for one of the heroes of French cycling, who had been part of a six-man breakaway group for much of the 196.5 km stage from Cap d'Agde to Perpignan. The 30-year-old Bouygues Telecom rider achieved cult status when he held the yellow jersey for ten days in ...

Mark Cavendish has won the third stage of the Tour de France to cement his reputation as the fastest man in cycling, following a devastating spell of riding by his Team Columbia colleagues. Cavendish, who is now becoming unbeatable in sprint finishes, once again showed his rivals a clean pair of heels, beating Norwegian Thor Hushovd to the line at the end of a dramatic 196km stage from Marseille to La Grand Motte. The victory, Cavendish's second after ...