2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 5
In the end, Dumoulin and Schröder were caught about 2 kilometres from the finish line as Quick-Step–Innergetic, Davitamon–Lotto and Crédit Agricole had driven hard to close the gap. In the sprint, surprisingly Óscar Freire popped up out of nowhere to take the stage win. Tom Boonen finished second, took 12 bonus seconds and thereby insured that he was going to be wearing the yellow jersey at least one more day.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 6
7 July 2006 —  Lisieux to Vitré, 189 km (117.4 mi)


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 6
This somewhat shorter stage (189.0 km/117.4 miles) was also a sprinters' stage, with only one categorized climb: the Côte de la Hunière (Category 3 at 27.5 km/17.1 miles).


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 6
The three intermediate sprints were located in Villedieu-lès-Bailleul (at 46.0 km/28.6 miles), Chantrigné (at 116.5 km/72.3 miles) and Juvigné (162.5 km/101.0 miles).


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 6
In the beginning of the stage, many riders were trying to break away from the peloton to be part of the daily group of leaders, but in contrast to most earlier stages, it took a long time before finally a group got away from the peloton and was allowed to gain some time and distance.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 6
After the only categorized climb of the day, it's Giuseppe Guerini and David López who are just riding a few seconds in front of the peloton, followed by Jérôme Pineau, the holder of the polka dot jersey who successfully tried to enhance his lead in the king of the mountains classification. But the two leaders don't get away and at the first intermediate sprint in Villedieu-lès-Bailleul, new names pass the line first. Most important to remember is Benoit Vaugrenard winning the sprint and therefore taking 6 bonus seconds which move him past Markus Fothen in the classification for best young rider.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 6
After that a very large group of 17 riders forms who manage to ride away almost 2 minutes in front of the peloton, the most important riders in this group are — Tom Boonen, wearing the yellow jersey, Pavel Padrnos, Antonio Flecha, Axel Merckx, Thor Hushovd, Patrick Sinkewitz and Philippe Gilbert. However, the peloton does not want to let them go, mainly influenced by the teams Davitamon–Lotto and Discovery Channel. Three less important riders manage to break away from the leading group and when the peloton catches the other 14, they decide to let the three go.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 6
Those three are Anthony Geslin, Florent Brard the current French national champion, and Magnus Bäckstedt. They get caught just four kilometers before the finish line and so the sprinters can have another go at the stage victory. Robbie McEwen wins the sprint by a big margin after excellent work by his teammate Gert Steegmans. Robbie takes his third stage win in this tour and his eleventh overall.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 6
In the standings, Tom Boonen remains in yellow but is expected to lose it the next day when there is an individual time trial, Robbie McEwen enlarges the gap between him and the other sprinters in the standings for the green jersey. He will probably be wearing that jersey for another two days, just like Jérôme Pineau is not likely to lose the polka dot jersey any day soon since not many hills or mountains are to be overcome the next few days.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 6
Benoit Vaugrenard is now leader of the young rider classification, but will have to be faster than Markus Fothen and the other youngsters in the time trial as he only has a small time advantage over most opponents. Anthony Geslin wins the combativity-trophy for the day and Discovery Channel remains in the lead of the team classification.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 7
8 July 2006 — Saint-Grégoire to Rennes, 52 km (32.3 mi) (ITT)


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 7
The first time trial took place in Brittany. It was a flat stage with no major climbs. The stage was 52.0 km (32.3 mi) long.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 7
Due to the doping scandal a number of riders did not start in the tour, among those riders were the biggest favorites to win the tour, Jan Ullrich, Ivan Basso and Alexander Vinokourov. With those riders not starting, the 2006 Tour de France did not have real favorites and opinions were hugely divided over who was going to win the tour. Stage 7, an individual time trial, was going to be the first real test to see who was up to the task and who wasn't.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 7
Positive results came from T-Mobile Team, who were all very strong in the time trial with 6 riders in the top 16 and Serhiy Honchar, a Ukrainian time trial specialist topping it off to take first place in the stage and also the yellow jersey. Other positive results came from Floyd Landis, who finished second and Cadel Evans the Australian climber who manages to put himself into ninth position in the general standings.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 7
Disappointing results came from big time-trial favorite David Zabriskie, finishing out of the top 10 in 13th, The whole Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team underachieved, with George Hincapie, Paolo Savoldelli, Yaroslav Popovych and José Azevedo all setting moderate to bad results for their being. But the biggest surprises came from Levi Leipheimer, who finished more than 6 minutes behind Serhiy Honchar and Bobby Julich who crashed badly and injured his wrist and thigh severely before being driven away in an ambulance which means they can both forget about winning the tour this year.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 7
Leipheimer failed, but nevertheless there is still good news for Gerolsteiner as both Sebastian Lang and youngster Markus Fothen set good times and managed to finish in the top 10. Fothen now takes back the leading position in the young rider classification and has a considerable lead over his opponents. Other names worth mentioning are Gustav Larsson the Swede and Joost Posthuma the Dutchman who can be very happy with their top 10 place in the time trial.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 7
Looking at the general classification after stage 7, T-Mobile Team has 4 riders in the top 10 which looks promising going into the mountains. However the other major contenders for the victory in this tour seem to be Floyd Landis, Cadel Evans and Denis Menchov. It is unsure what to expect exactly from Vladimir Karpets, Markus Fothen and David Zabriskie but they have possibilities left too.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 7
Paolo Savoldelli and George Hincapie are not out of it yet also, being behind respectively 2'10" and 2'30", with a few other possible contenders between them in the standings as there are Carlos Sastre, Eddy Mazzoleni and French favorite Christophe Moreau. In conclusion, the tour is still wide open since not many people expect Serhiy Honchar to hold on to the jersey until Paris.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 7
The green and polka dot jersey stay with Robbie McEwen and Jérôme Pineau respectively, while the best team is now clearly T-Mobile Team.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 8
9 July 2006 — Saint-Méen-le-Grand to Lorient, 181 km (112.5 mi)


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 8
Stage 8 (181.0 km/112.5 miles in length) had a somewhat rolling profile, with four categorized climbs and three intermediate sprints. The weather was also a factor with the ocean winds blowing. The four climbs were as follows:


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 8
The three intermediate sprints were located in Plessala (at 38.0 km/23.6 miles), Locmalo (112.5 km/69.9 miles) and Plouay (142.0 km/88.2 miles).


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 8
In Stage 8, a group of five riders formed after about 50 kilometres (31 mi), consisting of the following riders:


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 8
with Patrice Halgand,  France, Crédit Agricole making the jump from the peloton to the leading group on his own before the gap became too big which made the final number of escapees in the breakaway group of this stage six.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 8
The peloton, mainly under influence of Phonak, did not let the lead grow too much, since Zabriskie and Kessler were both standing 2'03" behind the leader, or just 1'03 behind Phonak's leader, Floyd Landis. As the race progressed and the lead of the leaders was brought back from its maximum of 7'30 to about 3'30, the riders from the Phonak team stopped chasing as it was the sprinter's teams to start chasing and close the final gap.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 8
However, most teams were probably afraid of Davitamon–Lotto's Robbie McEwen as he had impressively won three sprinters' stages in this tour already, so there were no chasing riders from Quick-Step–Innergetic (for Tom Boonen), no riders from Lampre–Fondital (for Daniele Bennati) and no riders also for Davitamon–Lotto as they already had Mario Aerts in the lead. The only team that kept chasing was Française des Jeux, because they were the least successful French team so far in the tour and the lead group featured two riders from other French teams.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 8
Meanwhile, in the lead group, Sylvain Calzati had stormed away from the other five escapees with about 30 kilometres (19 mi) to go, only to be chased after somewhat later by Patrice Halgand and Kjell Carlström. The other three riders mainly looked at each other and did not believe they could stay out of the peloton's grip. However, the peloton would catch up with those three non-believers, but the other three were not to be caught before the finish line.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 8
Sylvain Calzati proved to be too strong for the other two as they coöperated to get back to him but never saw him again before Lorient, instead the gap only became bigger. In the end Sylvain Calzati scored his most beautiful professional victory of his career as he came over the finish line more than two minutes ahead of Carlström and Halgand, who both just ended a few seconds before the peloton. In the peloton, Robbie McEwen again won the sprint, enlarging his lead in the standings for the green jersey over the other sprinters.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 8
In the top 10 of the general standings and best young rider classification, nothing changed as all the main contenders finished together in the peloton. The polka dot jersey also remained with Jérôme Pineau.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 8
The intermediate sprints of this stage did not have any major influence on the classification for the best sprinter, but David Zabriskie, who was part of the breakaway group, took 10 bonus seconds and so moved into ninth position overall and reduced his deficit to 1'53" from the leader Serhiy Honchar.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 8
Sylvain Calzati did not only win the stage, he also came through first on top of all classified climbs of the day. He scored 4 points for de Mûr-de-Bretagne and 3 points for the three other côtes which made him end with 13 points and this moved him into fourth position in the polka dot jersey standings.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Rest Day
All the riders had flown from Lorient to Bordeaux on the evening of July 9 and now spent their rest day in Bordeaux or some place nearby. Important news on this day came from Floyd Landis, as he announced that he seriously injured his hip, during training in 2003, which still hinders him while riding due to a bad position on the bike and also causes sleeping problems. He has decided to undergo surgery to receive an artificial hip after the Tour which would hopefully relieve him of these problems.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Rest Day
However this also means that it is very well possible that he will never be able to ride at a professional level again. As a conclusion he mentions this is an extra motivation for him to try to win this Tour. Floyd's teammate Axel Merckx on this day signed a new contract with Phonak for one extra season. Merckx, who is now 33 years old, announced that the 2007 season will be his last season, as he wants to spend a lot more time with his family thereafter. The Phonak team will be called iShares next season.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 9
11 July 2006 — Bordeaux to Dax, 169.5 km (105.3 mi)


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 9
The peloton got a completely flat stage today, which was also relatively short (169.5 km/105.3 miles in length). This stage looked to be one of the last chances for the sprinters as the next day they were moving into the Pyrenees.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 9
The peloton did not have to pass by any categorized climbs during this stage but instead there were three intermediate sprints which were located at Le Barp (at 25.5 km/15.8 miles), Parentis-en-Born (72 km/44.7 miles) and Saint-Girons (128.0 km/79.5 miles).


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 9
Like many of the preceding stages, an early break away was allowed to escape, but kept within reach of the sprinter teams. In this stage, the break away consisted of Christian Knees (Team Milram)  who initiated the break away, and Walter Bénéteau (Bouygues Télécom) and Stéphane Augé (Cofidis) who joined soon after. The break away was eliminated with four kilometers to go, and so was an attack from Stuart O'Grady (Team CSC) two kilometers later. The final sprint was won by Óscar Freire (Rabobank), after an impressive maneuvre by Robbie McEwen (Davitamon–Lotto).


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 9
Important detail at the finish line was that many riders lost a few seconds because the peloton broke into groups during the sprint. Important riders who lost 13" — Matthias Kessler, Denis Menchov and Markus Fothen.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 10
12 July 2006 — Cambo-les-Bains to Pau, 190.5 km (118.4 mi)


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 10
Stage 10 (190.5 km/118.3 miles) enters the Pyrenees and is the first mountain stage. It is considered an in-between stage, as it features two major mountains, but the finish line lies more than 40 kilometres beyond the last climb of the day. Expected is that the winner of the stage will not be a climber, maybe even a sprinter.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 10
Being a mountain stage, it has only two intermediate sprints instead of the regular three: at Larceveau (at 37.5 km/23.3 miles) and Laguinge (at 74.5 km/46.3 miles)


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 10
During the first 40 kilometres, no riders managed to get away from the peloton. At the sprint in Larceveau a few riders sprinted for the points and that group grew to 15 riders who were allowed to break away from the peloton:


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 10
Hushovd and Steegmans dropped on the Col d'Osquich, then the rest of the group got split into lots of different smaller groups during the climb of the Col de Soudet with Cyril Dessel and Juan Miguel Mercado passing the top of the climb first. During the descent Landaluze, Rinero, Isasi, Vasseur and Moreni managed to return. The peloton was about 10 minutes behind at that time, as T-Mobile Team had decided they were not going to defend their yellow jersey and leave the work for the next stages for some other team.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 10
During the climb of the Col de Marie-Blanque, Dessel and Mercado again proved to be the strongest with Dessel coming through first as he had done on the two earlier climbs already: the polka dot jersey was his. Landaluze came closest to coming back as he was about 50 meters behind at some point during the descent, but the two leaders worked together not to let that happen.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 10
However, about 15 kilometres before the finish line, Mercado was hoping to make a deal with Dessel: since Dessel was going to be winning the yellow and polka dot jersey, he was hoping to be getting the stage win from Dessel in return for helping him. However Dessel wanted it all, so Mercado stopped helping and Dessel had to maintain the lead by himself to prevent Landaluze from coming back. In the end, Mercado sprinted past Dessel about 300 metres from the finish and won the stage. Landaluze finished third about a minute behind. Moreni, Rinero, Isasi and Vasseur also managed to stay in front of the pelont, the others were caught.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 10
Sprinters Erik Zabel and Daniele Bennati were able to stay in the peloton and therefore they took points in the competition for the green jersey as they sprinted for the eighth place behind the seven of fifteen escaped riders that were not caught. Bennati won the sprint and finished 7'23" behind Mercado and Dessel.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 10
As a result of this stage, Cyril Dessel is now holding the yellow and polka dot jersey, Robbie McEwen is still in green and Markus Fothen is still in white. The best team is now AG2R Prévoyance. Other important facts:


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 10
Note: Juan Miguel Mercado got to wear the polka dot jersey, as a rider cannot wear two leading jerseys at the same time.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 11
13 July 2006 — Tarbes to Val d'Aran, Pla-de-Beret (Spain), 206.5 km (128.3 mi)


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 11
Stage 11 is a mountain stage with five categorized climbs: the Col du Tourmalet (Hors catégorie) with an ascent of 7.7% over 18.4 km, the Col d'Aspin (Category 1) with an ascent of 5.2% over 12.3 km, the Col de Peyresourde (Category 1) with an ascent of 7.1% over 9.5 km, the Col du Portillon (Category 1) with an ascent of 8.4% over 7.9 km, and the Pla-de-Beret (Category 1 in Spain) with an ascent of 5.4% over 13.5 km. It begins at Tarbes at 325 m and ends at Val d'Aran at 1830 m.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 11
In contrast to the previous stage, many fewer riders were interested in joining an early breakaway group as the stage featured over 60 kilometers of climbing. 17.5 kilometres into the stage, at the first sprint, there were still no riders who had escaped and so Robbie McEwen saw the possibility of going for it. He succeeded, but mainly because the other sprinters did not even challenge him; this means that they have probably given up for the points classification. It seems now that McEwen just needs to make it to Paris to win that green jersey.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 11
Not much later, four riders did get away from the peloton. They included three Spaniards:


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 11
They left, together with Fabian Wegmann, the German from Gerolsteiner. All this happened before the first climb of the day, the Col du Tourmalet. On the Tourmalet, Wegmann and de la Fuente looked to be somewhat stronger than their two companions as they both sprinted to finish first on the top. De la Fuente won the sprint and so took the most points for the polka dot jersey, but also he won the Souvenir Jacques Goddet for coming through first on the top of the highest climb in the Pyrenees of this Tour which rendered him 5000 Euros.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 11
In the peloton, the team of AG2R Prévoyance maintained the tempo to keep the leaders within reasonable distance and thus protect their yellow jersey. Thomas Voeckler won the sprint against Michael Rasmussen for the remaining points on top of the Tourmalet and he kept going. Although the leaders were about 4 minutes ahead at that time, he thought it would be useful to go after them on his own. At first, his plan appeared to be correct, as he closed the gap during the descent and managed to climb faster than the leaders on the Col d'Aspin. Halfway up the Aspin he was only 2'30" behind, on top of the Aspin only 1'30". The four leaders stayed together on the Aspin, with now Wegmann sprinting faster than de la Fuente at the top. In the peloton, Rasmussen again took the points, but nothing more happened.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 11
During the climb of the Col de Peyresourde, Wegmann suddenly attacked and de la Fuente easily followed and beat him at the top for the points. Flecha had tried to follow them but came through more than 2 minutes behind at the top. Camano and Voeckler, whose plan had not been so smart after all, had used up most of their strengths and had been overtaken by the peloton before the top, who were 3 minutes behind at the top with yet again Rasmussen taking the points.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 11
Flecha was caught in the descent and on the Col du Portillon Wegmann was also caught; he had not been able to counter an attack from de la Fuente. On the Portillon something happened in the peloton also, because now suddenly it were the riders from T-Mobile Team who took over from the guys from AG2R Prévoyance and pumped up the pace. As a result, the peloton grew thinner and thinner, until only 19 riders remained:


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 11
Cyril Dessel, the holder of the yellow jersey, was already about 2 minutes behind at that time. In the valley that came between the Col du Portillon and Pla-de-Beret, Arroyo and Cunego broke away from that elite group and closed the gap to de la Fuente, but they were all caught even before the climb towards Pla-de-Beret. On the last climb it was due to some extraordinary work by Michael Boogerd that the group kept getting smaller and smaller, with only five riders remaining in the end:


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 11
Evans and Sastre had to give in at the end and finished only 17 seconds behind the other three who sprinted for the victory at the top. Menchov outsprinted both Americans and won the stage, the third stage victory already for Rabobank during this Tour. In the General Classification, Floyd Landis became the leader and thus holder of the yellow jersey, as Cyril Dessel finished 4'45" behind, the exact time he was in front of Landis before the stage—but since Landis finished third, he won 8 bonus seconds and so he moved into the lead with an eight-second advantage.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 11
Looking at the "lesser climbers", 37 riders just managed to avoid being disqualified for finishing late, as a group of 36 came in 44'20" behind Denis Menchov and Christophe Mengin even managed to finish 46'13" behind. The time limit was about 46'30". Amongst this group were sprinters Robbie McEwen, Thor Hushovd and Óscar Freire. Tom Boonen would have been delighted to see them finish late as he was in an earlier group. Being on time however, Robbie McEwen remains the leader of the points classification.


2006 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11, Stage 11
Cyril Dessel not only lost his yellow jersey; he also lost the polka dot jersey, which went to David de la Fuente—who also got the combativity award for the day. Of the youngsters, only Markus Fothen was able to keep up with the pace during the day, he now has a big lead of exactly twelve minutes over the number two in the young rider classification and almost half an hour or more over all the other youngsters in this tour.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20
The 2006 Tour de France was the 93rd edition of Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Tour began in Strasbourg with a prologue individual time trial on 1 July and Stage 12 occurred on 14 July with a hilly stage from Bagnères-de-Luchon. The race finished on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, on 23 July.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20
A positive test for epitestosterone by Floyd Landis after Stage 17, however, left the results of the Tour de France in doubt, with the possibility that all of his records may be expunged, pending a hearing with the Court of Arbitration for Sport. On 20 September 2007, Landis was found guilty of doping and ordered that he forfeit his 2006 Tour de France victory, making Pereiro the official winner.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 12
14 July 2006 — Luchon to Carcassonne, 212 km (131.7 mi)


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 12
Stage 12 started in the Luchon, which held big celebrations because this was the fiftieth time that the Tour de France visited the city. The stage end location was Carcassonne and in between those cities the course featured four categorized climbs:


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 12
There were also two intermediate sprints in Caumont (at 76.0 km/47.2 miles) and Mirepoix (162.0 km/100.7 miles).


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 12
This being the first stage after the Pyrenees, many riders were hoping to get an easy day, sitting at the back of the peloton; however, there were also a lot of riders who had lost a lot of time during those mountain stages and who knew that they were not going to get a good position in the general standings. Those riders all tried to get into the escape group which led to everyone chasing everyone for the first 100 kilometers and an extremely fast pace which caused the first riders already passing the 46-kilometre mark after just one hour.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 12
As a result, 4 riders dropped from the race during the first hour; among those were Paolo Savoldelli and Benjamín Noval from Discovery Channel and the sprinter Isaac Gálvez. Another important fact for the large number of riders trying to escape was the fact that it was 14 July, in France known as Bastille Day. On this day the French are extra motivated as it is their national holiday, which shows in the results of the latest years with David Moncoutié winning in 2005 and Richard Virenque in 2004 on this day.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 12
So a lot of changing situations during the first hours of this race, as there was always some team not happy with the current group of escapees. On the first climb of the day the first serious group formed, consisting of 15 riders:


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 12
This group looked to be getting away from the peloton at first, but suddenly Davitamon–Lotto started working for Robbie McEwen as sprinters Bennati and Hushovd were in this group. They were working hard to keep the gap between the peloton and the group reasonable, but of course the leaders tried to stay ahead too. This led to the gap fluctuating between 45" and 1'15" for a very long time. From this group which formed after about 30 kilometres, six riders dropped as they waited for the peloton after 70 kilometres, knowing that they would not let the group go.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 12
Meanwhile, Albasini, Bennati, Goubert, Guerini, Hincapie, Millar, Moncoutié, Verdugo and Voigt pushed on. Bennati then won the intermediate sprint and Davitamon–Lotto stopped working, but now the teams from Bouygues Télécom and Team Milram were trying to close the gap as they did not have any riders up front. Finally they succeeded at kilometre 94. As soon as the breakaway group was caught, a new group formed which now consisted of only four riders:


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 12
Robbie McEwen was not happy again with Óscar Freire among this group, but when he tried to start up the chase again, almost the whole peloton was mad at him as they had been now riding at a huge pace for over 100 kilometres, just one day after a heavy mountain stage. It took him a few kilometres to settle down and give in and so the group did get away. Phonak was now maintaining a moderate pace just to keep the riders within a reasonable distance but without wasting too much energy. Most riders were happy to catch a break and at that time it was almost sure one of the 4 leaders was going to win the stage.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 12
Looking at the leading group, it was reasonable to think that Ballan, Le Mével or Popovych was going to attack sooner or later, as Freire is a top-class sprinter and would probably beat them all if they went to the finish line together. Yaroslav Popovych was the first to attack and immediately the French got disappointed as Christophe Le Mével dropped and never managed to come back. Alessandro Ballan however closed the gap and brought Óscar Freire back in his wheel. It was then Freire's turn to attack, but again Ballan closed the gap and now brought back Popovych.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 12
Popovych and Freire both took turns in attacking but Ballan seemed to be the strongest as he closed the gap every time. However, after a while he was also getting tired and could not respond to yet another attack by Popovych. He did not get any help from Freire in closing the gap and so Popovych won the stage. Freire knew he did not deserve the second place and left it to Ballan; however, this could cost him the green jersey in the end. Le Mével finished as fourth and in the peloton it was Tom Boonen who convincingly won the sprint for the fifth place, 4'25" behind Popovych.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 12
As a result of this stage Floyd Landis remains in yellow and Yaroslav Popovych just moved into the top 10 at place 10. Robbie McEwen still holds a considerable lead of 25 points over Óscar Freire in the standings for the green jersey but sees Freire come 11 points closer, Daniele Bennati 3 points and Tom Boonen 1 point. Michael Rasmussen scored 12 points today for the polka dot jersey, but is still 19 points behind David de la Fuente.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 12
Markus Fothen stays the best rider under 23 and also in the team standings nothing changes, T-Mobile Team keeps a small lead over Gerolsteiner. Next to the earlier mentioned quitters, today Agritubel also loses two riders who give up — José Alberto Martínez and Samuel Plouhinec. Daniele Bennati, who was not amongst the escaped riders but was almost constantly in the offense during the first 100 kilometres, received the combativity trophy for the day.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 13
15 July 2006 — Béziers to Montélimar, 230 km (142.9 mi)


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 13
This stage had five categorized climbs, all Category 4. It started at Béziers and ended at Montélimar.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 13
This stage was characterized by an early attack including six riders — Voigt, Pereiro, Chavanel, Coyot, Quinziato, and Grivko, who attacked about 20 km into the race. As Cofidis had two riders in the lead group, Chavanel and Coyot, they decided to have Coyot wait for the peloton.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 13
The main peloton, including Floyd Landis, did not see anyone in this group as a threat, so they allowed them to get away and stay away. The attack group of five had a lead of 30 seconds at 27 km. They continued to increase their lead—to 3 minutes at 37 km, 6'20" at 47.5 km, and 11'05" at 61.5 km after the category-4 Cóte de Puéchabon climb. At the beginning of the third climb, the Cóte de L'Arbousset at 119.5 km, the lead was 18'50". The lead grew to 24'45" at the 146.5 mark, and to 27'10" at 172.5 km. Pereiro had begun the stage 28'50" behind Landis. Now he was threatening Landis's yellow.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 13
But this was intentional, because the previous mountain stages had shown that from Landis's teammates, only Axel Merckx was somewhat able to stay with Landis and help him. Through losing the yellow jersey, the Phonak team made sure that those teammates did not have to ride after the escaped riders every day; instead they now leave that responsibility to Pereiro's team, Caisse d'Epargne–Illes Balears.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 13
On the final climb, the Cóte de Villeneuve de Berg, youngster Grivko attacked. Just like most times, the first attacker is not the winning rider, as the group was able to catch and pass him. Grivko never managed to return and finished fifth. In the final five kilometres, Voigt and Pereiro broke away from Chavanel and Quinziato, who were both expecting the other to close the gap. Neither of them did, and the other two maintained their lead the rest of the way. In the final hundred meters, Pereiro was on Voigt's rear wheel, angling to pass him at the finish. Voigt held him off and barely won the stage.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 13
In the peloton, the teammates of Menchov from Rabobank started increasing the pace, as they wanted Landis to remain in yellow to have his teammates work hard the next few days. After a few kilometres, however, they gave up and so the peloton finished 29'57" behind Voigt. Pereiro was rewarded for ending second and earned the yellow—one minute, 29 seconds ahead of Landis. The peloton came in past the time limit of 29'00", but since more than 20% of all riders were involved, they were allowed to stay in the race. Apart from the team standing, where Team CSC took the lead, all other jerseys remained with their rider, as the breakaway group had taken most points of the climbs and sprints.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 14
16 July 2006 — Montélimar to Gap 230 km (142.9 mi)


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 14
This stage had four categorized climbs— two Category 3, and two Category 2. It started at Montélimar and ended at Gap.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 14
There were also two intermediate sprints in La Bonté (at 50.0 km) and La Plaine (at 160.5 km).


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 14
After 39 kilometres, five riders broke away — Egoi Martínez, Matthias Kessler, Pierrick Fédrigo, Mario Aerts and Salvatore Commesso. Rik Verbrugghe and David Cañada joined the group later on, while Martinez dropped out.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 14
With 39 kilometres to go, Verbrugghe, Kessler and Cañada were involved in a crash at downhill right-hander. Verbrugghe and Cañada were injured and had to abandon the race. Kessler could continue but was soon caught by the peloton. Of the remaining three riders, Aerts was dropped and caught by a peloton. The peloton was not able to catch Fédrigo and Commesso who had a sprint for a stage victory, with the Frenchman taking the glory. Christian Vande Velde attacked from the peloton late to get third place. Óscar Pereiro finished 26th and retained the yellow jersey.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 15
18 July 2006 — Gap to L'Alpe-d'Huez, 187 km (116.2 mi)


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 15
This was a mountain stage with three categorized climbs: the Col d'Izoard (Highest Level) with an ascent of 7% over 14.5 km, the Col du Lautaret (Category 2) with an ascent of 4.4% over 12.1 km and L'Alpe d'Huez (Highest Level) with an ascent of 7.9% over 13.8 km. It started at Gap at 785 m and ended at L'Alpe-d'Huez at 1850 m.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 15
L'Alpe d'Huez is one of the famous climbs that often figures on the Tour de France. Although Fränk Schleck from Luxembourg won the stage, American Floyd Landis' fourth-place finish was enough to regain the yellow jersey.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 16
19 July 2006 — Bourg-d'Oisans to La Toussuire, 182 km (113.1 mi)


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 16
This was a mountain stage with four categorized climbs: the Col du Galibier (Hors categorie) with a 4.5% ascent over 42.8 km, the Col de la Croix-de-Fer (Hors categorie) with a 6.9% ascent over 22.7 km, the Col du Mollard (Category 2) with a 6.8% ascent over 5.8 km, and La Toussuire (Category 1) with an ascent of 6% over 18.4 km. It began at Bourg-d'Oisans and ended at La Toussuire.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 16
The Dane, Michael Rasmussen won the stage, and Spaniard Óscar Pereiro came in third, retaking the yellow jersey from American Floyd Landis, who came in 23rd on the day dropping to 11th overall.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 16
Italian Daniele Bennati of the Lampre team was injured in a fall and unable to continue the race. French rider Sylvain Chavanel fell in the same descent, but continued after being examined.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 17
20 July 2006 — St.-Jean-de-Maurienne to Morzine, 201 km (124.9 mi)


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 17
This was a mountain stage with five categorized climbs: the Col des Saisies (Category 1) with an ascent of 6.4% over 14.9 km, the Col des Aravis (Category 2) with an ascent of 7.7% over 5.9 km, the Col de la Colombière (Category 1) with an ascent of 5% over 11.8 km, the Côte de Châtillon (Category 3) with an ascent of 4.9% over 5.1 km, and the Col de Joux-Plane (Highest Level) with an ascent of 8.7% over 11.7 km. It started at St.-Jean-de-Maurienne and ended at Morzine-Avoriaz.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 17
American Floyd Landis put himself back in contention by winning the stage after a 120 km solo breakaway attack, advancing to third place overall. Spaniard Óscar Pereiro finished the stage in seventh place and now leads Carlos Sastre by only 12 seconds.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 17
As is the case with all stage winners, Landis was tested as part of the Tour's standard doping precautions. On 27 July 2006, one week after the stage finished, the Phonak announced that the "A" test on Landis's urine sample had come back "positive" for banned synthetic testosterone as well as a ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone nearly three times the limit allowed by World Anti- Doping Agency rules. On 5 August 2006, the "B" test confirmed the initial findings and Landis was immediately dismissed by the Phonak team. In June 2008, the International Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed Landis's appeal, disqualifying him from the 2006 Tour de France, and so stripping him of his win and suspending him from the sport for two years.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 18
21 July 2006 — Morzine to Mâcon, 197 km (122.4 mi)


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 18
This stage had three categorized climbs: the Côte de Châtillon-en-Michaille (Category 3) with an ascent of 3.7% over 51. km, the Col du Berthiand (Category 2) with an ascent of 6% over 4.7 km, and the Côte de Chambod (Category 4) with an ascent of 6.4 over 1.9 km. It started at Morzine and ended at Mâcon.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 18
The Italian Matteo Tosatto gave the Quick-Step–Innergetic team their first stage victory, after team leader Tom Boonen dropped out of the Tour in the Alps. Tosatto's compatriot Cristian Moreni took second, while the yellow-jersey wearer Óscar Pereiro coasted along with American Floyd Landis on his tail.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 19
22 July 2006 — Le Creusot to Montceau-les-Mines, 57 km (35.4 mi) (ITT)


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 19
This was the last time trial of the 2006 Tour de France.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 19
American Floyd Landis put all his rivals behind him in this stage and virtually sealed an unprecedented come-from-behind victory.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 20
23 July 2006 — Sceaux to Paris, 155 km (96.3 mi)


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 20
The last stage had two categorized climbs (both Category 4). It started at Sceaux-Antony and ended at Paris on the Champs-Elysées.


2006 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 20, Stage 20
As expected after the time trials on Saturday, American Floyd Landis won the 2006 Tour de France, before it was taken away due to doping and handed to eventual winner Óscar Pereiro. Norwegian Thor Hushovd won the stage, edging out Australian sprint champion (and points winner) Robbie McEwen in the dash for the line. This makes Hushovd the first and as of 2020, the only person to win either the first stage or prologue and the last stage of the Tour de France in the same year.


2006 Tour de Georgia
The 2006 Tour de Georgia was a six-stage race held April 18 through April 23, 2006 with the overall title won by Floyd Landis of the Phonak. American Fred Rodriguez (Davitamon–Lotto) claimed the points jersey for sprinters. Jason McCartney (Discovery Channel) won his second KOM crown; he previously won the 2004 climbers title. McCartney's teammate Janez Brajkovič won the Best Young Rider competition. Celebrity bike riders from Mountain Home, Arkansas, Gary and Zach Beck, made cameo appearances at the fifth stage to the Brasstown Bald and the final stage to Alpharetta.


2006 Tour de Hongrie
The 2006 Tour de Hongrie was the 33rd edition of the Tour de Hongrie cycle race and was held from 26 to 29 July 2006. The race started in Miskolc and finished in Bükkszentkereszt. The race was won by Martin Riška.


2006 Tour de Langkawi
The 2006 Tour de Langkawi was the 11th edition of the Tour de Langkawi, a cycling stage race that took place in Malaysia. It started on 3 February in Kuala Lumpur and ended on 12 February in Kuala Lumpur. In fact, this race was rated by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) as a 2.HC (hors category) race on the 2005–06 UCI Asia Tour calendar.


2006 Tour de Langkawi
David George of South Africa won the race, followed by Francesco Bellotti of Italy second and Gabriele Missaglia of Italy third. Steffen Radochla of Germany won the points classification category and David George won the mountains classification category. South Africa won the team classification category.


2006 Tour de Langkawi, Stages
The cyclists competed in 10 stages, covering a distance of 1,161.4 kilometres. Due to the extreme weather conditions(heavy downpour) experienced during the Stage 10 of the 2006 Tour de Langkawi, the stage result was abandoned according to the decision of the College of Commissaires and the Race Organizer. All classification would be as at the end of Stage 9. However, Angel Vallejo Dominguez (Relax–GAM) who had a substantial lone lead at the time of the decision abandon was made had been awarded the stage.


2006 Tour de Langkawi, List of teams and riders
A total of 20 teams were invited to participate in the 2006 Tour de Langkawi. Out of the 119 riders, a total of 102 riders made it to the finish in Kuala Lumpur.


2006 Tour de Pologne
The 2006 Tour de Pologne road cycling race took place from September 4 until September 10. German Stefan Schumacher won the last the two last stages on his way to capturing his second consecutive stage race; previously winning the Eneco Tour of Benelux.


2006 Tour de Pologne, KOM Classification
The leader of the climbers classification (or King of the Mountains) is determined by obtaining points for reaching 19 mountain primes ahead of the competition. The classification leader will wear green jersey. Order of riders will be decided by the total number of points scored during the mountain primes.


2006 Tour de Romandie
The 60th Tour de Romandie took place from April 25 through April 30. It is a six-stage cycling tour. It was won by Australian climber Cadel Evans of the Davitamon–Lotto who surprisingly won the final time trial stage and won the Overall Classification despite starting the time trial in the third overall position.


2006 Tour de Romandie, Stage Results, Prologue - April 25: Geneva ITT, 3.4km
The stage was a short individual time trial. Pre -Tour favorite, Jan Ullrich, a notable time trialist and Tour de France winner, underperformed; clocking only 4 minutes 53 seconds, almost 30 seconds behind the fastest time of the day.


2006 Tour de Romandie, Stage Results, Stage 2 - April 27: Porrentruy-Porrentruy , 171.2km
Following an early breakaway by Swiss cyclists Roger Beuchat and David Loosli, which lasted for the majority of the stage, they were finally caught at the final climb of the day (less than 20  km from the finish), the 1st Category Col de la Croix; which is particularly steep at some points. On the climb itself a 15-man group which was led by Spaniard Joaquim Rodríguez was quickly formed, including provisional leader Paolo Savoldelli, but excluding General Classement favorites Bradley McGee and Óscar Pereiro.


2006 Tour de Romandie, Stage Results, Stage 2 - April 27: Porrentruy-Porrentruy , 171.2km
Following the climb, the descent led by specialist Savoldelli stretched the lead group out even further, and the leaders' group was split into two groups. With 5  km to go the second of the two groups were looking to approach the lead, and Davitamon–Lotto's Christopher Horner used this as a springboard for his own attack, and managed to stay ahead of the chase group to take the stage.


2006 Tour de Romandie, Stage Results, Stage 3 - April 28: Bienne-Leysin , 164.6km
Stage Three featured a relatively flat stage profile until the final 15 km, where the course shifted to a 1st Category climb up to the Swiss mountain resort of Leysin. A breakaway from the peloton after 25 km, led by Wouter Weylandt of the Quick-Step–Innergetic team, and joined by Jose Redondo Ramos of the Liberty Seguros team gained a quick lead, which expanded to a maximum of 9'20 minutes at around the 100 km mark.


2006 Tour de Romandie, Stage Results, Stage 3 - April 28: Bienne-Leysin , 164.6km
The lead was reduced by the peloton to about three minutes at the start of the final climb of the day. On the climb, Ramos quickly shook off Weylandt, and started up the climb by himself. Several early attacks from out of the peloton were pulled back, but the first which succeeded was by Spanish T-Mobile Team climber Oscar Sevilla who quickly opened a lead of several hundred meters. He was shortly followed by Liquigas's Dario Cioni, and as the climb entered its steepest final stage, the solo leader Ramos was caught and passed.


2006 Tour de Romandie, Stage Results, Stage 3 - April 28: Bienne-Leysin , 164.6km
A drive from the GC leaders in the group chasing Sevila and Cioni eventually led to the two being pulled in with several kilometer left to go, and as the climb approached the summit 23-year-old Spanish all-rounder Alberto Contador launched an attack up the hill that quickly gained a lead of 20 seconds, which was held until the summit and the finish.


2006 Tour de Romandie, Stage Results, Stage 3 - April 28: Bienne-Leysin , 164.6km
A notable underperformance of the stage was Discovery Channel's Paolo Savoldelli, 2nd in the GC that day, who suffered from diarrhoea and had to stop several times during the stage, and eventually lost 12 minutes on the leaders. Also Overall Leader Christopher Horner and local favorite Alexandre Moos were not able to keep up with the blistering pace on the final climb and both lost over a minute to stage winner Contador.


2006 Tour de Romandie, Stage Results, Stage 5 - April 30: Lausanne ITT, 20.4km
The stage was an individual time trial. Cadel Evans rode superbly in the last few kilometers, taking the provisional lead, and when General Classement leader Alberto Contador and close GC number 2 Alejandro Valverde both lost more than 50 seconds to Evans, the Australian all-rounder rode to overall victory.


2006 Tour de Suisse
The 2006 Tour de Suisse was the 70th edition of the Tour de Suisse road cycling stage race, which took place from 10 to 18 June 2006. The race consisted of nine stages, covering a total of 1,468 km (912 mi), starting in Baden and finishing in Bern.


2006 Tour de Suisse
2004 champion Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile Team) overcame a 50-second deficit on the final stage to win the overall title and the yellow jersey, in what became the last race of his career. Koldo Gil and Jörg Jaksche finished second and third, respectively, to complete the podium. In February 2012 Ulrich was found guilty of a doping offence by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. In consequence all his results gained since May 2005 were removed from his Palmares, including this one. The official website of the race however still states Ullrich as the winner of 2006.


2006 Tour de Suisse
Daniele Bennati (Lampre–Fondital) won the points classification as the most consistent finisher. Astana-Würth Cycling Team captured the team classification while Michael Albasini (Liquigas) captured the King of the Mountains and the intermediate sprints jerseys.


2006 Tour de Suisse, Stages, Stage 1
10 June - Baden to Baden, 154 km (96 mi)


2006 Tour de Suisse, Stages, Stage 2
11 June - Bremgarten to Einsiedeln, 165 km (103 mi)


2006 Tour de Suisse, Stages, Stage 3
12 June - Einsiedeln to Arlesheim, 160 km (99 mi)


2006 Tour de Suisse, Stages, Stage 4
13 June - Niederbipp to La Chaux-de-Fonds, 151 km (94 mi)


2006 Tour de Suisse, Stages, Stage 5
14 June - La Chaux-de-Fonds to Leukerbad, 210 km (130 mi)


2006 Tour de Suisse, Stages, Stage 6
15 June - Fiesch to La Punt, 210 km (130 mi)


2006 Tour de Suisse, Stages, Stage 7
16 June - St. Moritz to Ascona, 233 km (145 mi)


2006 Tour de Suisse, Stages, Stage 8
17 June - Ambrì to Ambri, 155 km (96 mi)


2006 Tour de Suisse, Stages, Stage 9
18 June - Kerzers to Bern, 30 km (19 mi)


2006 Tour de Suisse, Final standings, Points classification
The Points Classification of the Tour de Suisse is for points awarded for most consistently high finisher of the stages (equivalent to the Tour de France's green jersey). The Sprints Classification is for intermediate sprints.


2006 Tour de Suisse, Final standings, Sprint classification
The Sprints Classification of the Tour de Suisse is for intermediate sprints. The Points Classification is for points awarded for most consistently high finisher of the stages (equivalent to the Tour de France's green jersey).


2006 Tour de la Région Wallonne
The 2006 Tour de la Région Wallonne was the 33rd edition of the Tour de Wallonie cycle race and was held on 24 July to 28 July 2006. The race started in Flobecq and finished in Wanze. The race was won by Fabrizio Guidi.


2006 Tour du Haut Var
The 2006 Tour du Haut Var was the 38th edition of the Tour du Haut Var cycle race and was held on 18 February 2006. The race started and finished in Draguignan. The race was won by Leonardo Bertagnolli.


2006 Tour of Azerbaijan (Iran)
Tour of Azerbaijan 2006 was the 21st running of the Tour of Iran (Azerbaijan), which took place between 22 May and 29 May 2006 in Iranian Azerbaijan. The tour had 7 stages, in which Ghader Mizbani from Iran won the first place in over all of the tour.


2006 Tour of Britain
The 2006 Tour of Britain took place in Great Britain from 29 August to 3 September 2006. A UCI category 2.1 event, the tour consisted of six stages covering a distance of 870.5 km (540.9 mi), starting in Glasgow and finishing in The Mall, London.


2006 Tour of Britain, Stages, Stage 1
The stage was dominated by an early breakaway of three riders who were never caught, finishing 2½ minutes ahead of the peloton.


2006 Tour of Britain, Stages, Stage 2
The stage ended in a mass sprint. During the race, Goss won enough time bonuses in the sprints to take the overall lead from Pedersen.


2006 Tour of Britain, Stages, Stage 3
The stage was dominated by a crosswind. Pedersen's teammates split the peloton and ensured his return to the lead, but could not manage to catch Filippo Pozzato, who escaped from the lead group near the finish.


2006 Tour of Britain, Stages, Stage 4
Another stage where a group escaped early on, and the peloton was unsuccessful in catching them again. Manning was leading as the race reached the final roundabout but he was sent the wrong way and lost the stage.


2006 Tour of Britain, Stages, Stage 5
The riders went on strike, after being led astray by race officials. Their main complaint was poor security. The riders eventually resumed the race, and the stage ended in a mass sprint.


2006 Tour of Britain, Stages, Stage 6
There was a number of breakaways on the final stage, but all were eliminated, and the stage ended in a mass sprint.


2006 Tour of California
The 2006 Tour of California  was the inaugural edition of a professional road cycling stage race that made its debut on February 19, 2006. Sponsored by the biotechnology company Amgen, the eight-day, 700 mile (1,126 km) race started in San Francisco, winding its way down the California coast to finish in Redondo Beach. With eight of the twenty European UCI ProTour teams in attendance, the inaugural Tour of California proved to be one of the largest cycling races in the United States since the demise of the Coors Classic in 1988.


2006 Tour of California
Among the professional cyclists in attendance were George Hincapie (Discovery Channel), Floyd Landis (Phonak), Chris Horner and Freddy Rodriguez (Davitamon–Lotto), Bobby Julich and Dave Zabriskie (Team CSC), Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner), and Gilberto Simoni (Saunier Duval–Prodir).


2006 Tour of California, Stages of the 2006 Tour of California, San Francisco individual time trial
Bay Area resident Levi Leipheimer took the early lead in the Tour and secured the leader's golden jersey by winning the prologue time trial. His time of 4:53.43 put him ahead of second-place finisher Bobby Julich, who finished five seconds behind the leader . Americans swept the first five spots with George Hincapie finishing third, followed by Floyd Landis and David Zabriskie. The 1.9 mile  (3.1 km) prologue began at San Francisco's Ferry Building and climbed up Telegraph Hill to finish at the base of Coit Tower.


2006 Tour of California, Stages of the 2006 Tour of California, Sausalito to Santa Rosa
Juan José Haedo won the stage after a mass sprint, ahead of veterans Olaf Pollack and Stuart O'Grady from the UCI ProTour teams T-Mobile Team and Team CSC. This was the first win for team Toyota-United Pro.


2006 Tour of California, Stages of the 2006 Tour of California, Sausalito to Santa Rosa
Gerolsteiner controlled the race, letting Jean Marc Marino (Crédit Agricole) and Jackson Stewart (Kodakgallery.Com-Sierra Nevada) escape, but keeping the time gap small enough to catch them before the finish.


2006 Tour of California, Stages of the 2006 Tour of California, Sausalito to Santa Rosa
Arriving in his hometown in the leader's golden jersey, Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) was greeted by tens of thousands of his fans. By finishing near the front of the main pack, he retained the jersey for the next day.


2006 Tour of California, Stages of the 2006 Tour of California, Martinez to San José
Mike Creed (TIAA-CREF) sprinted away from the field just nine miles (14 km) after the start. He was followed by Mads Kaggestad (Crédit Agricole) and Ben Jaques-Maynes (Kodak Gallery.com/Sierra Nevada). The three remained in front for the next 40 miles (64 km) or so, until they were caught by the peloton. Bernhard Kohl (T-Mobile) won the King of the Mountain for the day.


2006 Tour of California, Stages of the 2006 Tour of California, Martinez to San José
George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) won the stage and with the ten second time bonus took the lead from Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner). This put Leipheimer in second place, four seconds behind Hincapie.


2006 Tour of California, Stages of the 2006 Tour of California, San José individual time trial
Floyd Landis won the time trial and took over the lead in the overall with a time of 35:58 for the 17-mile course, 26 seconds faster than second-place finisher David Zabriskie, whose time for the third stage was 36:24. Landis' outstanding performance allowed him to gain 55 seconds on George Hincapie and 1:16 over Levi Leipheimer, establishing overall gaps of 45 seconds and 1:10 respectively, which were never to change throughout the remainder of the tour.


2006 Tour of California, Stages of the 2006 Tour of California, Monterey to San Luis Obispo
The longest stage of the tour closed with a mass sprint in San Luis Obispo, with Juan José Haedo taking his second stage of the race. Floyd Landis maintained the overall lead.


2006 Tour of California, Stages of the 2006 Tour of California, San Luis Obispo to Santa Barbara
Another sprint to the finish line, and George Hincapie won his second ToC stage; however, the overall standings remained the same, with Floyd Landis holding on to the gold Leader's jersey. Hincapie did take the Sprinter's jersey while Levi Leipheimer, true to his strength, took the King of the Mountain jersey by collecting the first place points on the biggest climb of the stage, the category 1 climb of San Marcos Pass, 15 miles (24 km) from the finish. He was caught, however, on the downhill.


2006 Tour of California, Stages of the 2006 Tour of California, Santa Barbara to Thousand Oaks
This short stage was won following yet another sprint to the finish; this time, by Olaf Pollack of Team T-Mobile. Pollack finished in 3:26:39 to take his first stage win in a major race in about 18 months. Floyd Landis maintains a 29-second overall lead heading into the final stage, a 10-lap, 76.5-mile circuit race in Redondo Beach.


2006 Tour of California, Stages of the 2006 Tour of California, Redondo Beach circuit race
Olaf Pollack again won the stage and the green sprinter's jersey. Floyd Landis' lead proved insurmountable, giving him the golden jersey signifying the overall win in the inaugural Amgen Tour of California by 29 seconds. The second- through seventh-place finishers (Zabriskie, Julich, Hincapie, O'Neill, Leipheimer and Evans) all were less than 1:30 off the lead. Leipheimer won the King of the Mountain (orange) jersey. Team CSC (sponsored by the Danish subsidiary of the California-based Computer Sciences Corporation) took Best Team honors.


2006 Tour of Flanders
The 2006 Tour of Flanders was the 90th edition of the Tour of Flanders cycling classic, taking place on 2 April 2006. Last year's winner Tom Boonen was the favourite before the start and he won the second time in a row.


2006 Tour of Flanders for Women
The third running of the Tour of Flanders for Women, a women's road cycling race in Belgium, was held on 2 April 2006. The race started in Oudenaarde and finished in Meerbeke, taking in 12 climbs and covering a total distance of 112 kilometres (70 miles). It was the third round of the 2006 UCI Women's Road World Cup. Dutch rider Mirjam Melchers-Van Poppel won her second consecutive Tour of Flanders in a two-up sprint with Austrian Christiane Soeder.


2006 Tour of Flanders for Women, Race summary
159 riders started the race in Oudenaarde at 11:30. the peloton was thinned out on the wet and slick cobbled sector of the Paddestraat, after 24 km, after which only 50 riders remained at the front of the race. On the cobbled sector of the Haaghoek, after 69 km, Mirjam Melchers, Christiane Soeder, Edwige Pitel and Kimberly Anderson broke clear. Anderson was dropped 6 km later, on the Berendries climb, and the leading trio increased their lead to over a minute on the peloton as they addressed the Valkenberg, at 32 km from the finish. Melchers accelerated on the Valkenberg and dropped the other two, with Tenbosse, the Muur van Geraardsbergen and the Bosberg still to come.


2006 Tour of Flanders for Women, Race summary
Melchers crested the top of the Muur with a one-minute lead on Soeder, who left Pitel behind, but began to lose speed on the Bosberg. The Austrian set off in pursuit of Melchers and bridged across in Ninove, with two kilometres remaining. The race was decided in a two-up sprint in Meerbeke, with Melchers taking the honours before a worn-out Soeder. Dutchwoman Loes Gunnewijk broke clear from the chasing group and completed the podium at 53 seconds. Melchers would later say that she "experienced the race like a war".


2006 Tour of the Basque Country
The 2006 Tour of the Basque Country was the 46th Tour of the Basque Country road cycling race and was held over six stages from 3 April to 8 April 2006. It was won by Spaniard José Ángel Gómez Marchante of the Saunier Duval–Prodir cycling team.


2006 Tour of the Basque Country, Stages, Stage 1
3 April 2006 - Irun to Irun, 130 km (81 mi)


2006 Tour of the Basque Country, Stages, Stage 2
4 April 2006 - Irun to Segura, 155 km (96 mi)


2006 Tour of the Basque Country, Stages, Stage 3
5 April 2006 - Segura to Lerín, 170 km (110 mi)


2006 Tour of the Basque Country, Stages, Stage 4
6 April 2005 - Lerín to Vitoria-Gasteiz, 172 km (107 mi)


2006 Tour of the Basque Country, Stages, Stage 5
7 April 2006 - Vitoria-Gasteiz to Zalla, 178 km (111 mi)


2006 Tour of the Basque Country, Stages, Stage 6
8 April 2006 - Zalla to Zalla, 24 km (15 mi) (ITT)


2006 Tower Hamlets London Borough Council election
Elections to Tower Hamlets London Borough Council were held on 4 May 2006. The entire council stood for election, and the Labour party retained control.


2006 Towson Tigers football team
The 2006 Towson Tigers football team represented Towson University in the 2006 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 15th-year head coach Gordy Combs and played their home games at Johnny Unitas Stadium. They played as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 7–4, 4–4 in A-10 play to finish in third place in the South division.


2006 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
The 2006 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was the first round of the 2006 Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford season, held on April 9, 2006 on the streets of Long Beach, California. The pole and race win were both captured by the two-time running Champ Car champion, Sébastien Bourdais.


2006 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
The race was billed at the time as Jimmy Vasser's final Champ Car race, ending a 15-year career that featured 10 wins and the series championship in 1996, though he would later make a come out of retirement to drive in the 2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, the final race run under Champ Car sanction.


2006 Toyota Indy 300
The 2006 Toyota Indy 300 was the first round of the 2006 IndyCar Series season, held on March 26, 2006 on the Homestead-Miami Speedway and covered by ABC. The race was marred by a violent crash in the final practice session. Paul Dana was killed in the crash and teammates Danica Patrick and Buddy Rice withdrew from the race to honor his memory. He was the third driver to lose his life in the IRL. Ed Carpenter who was crashed into by Dana's car was also injured, but recovered.


2006 Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council election
Elections to Trafford Council were held on 4 May 2006. One third of the council was up for election, with each successful candidate to serve a four-year term of office, expiring in 2010. The Conservative Party retained overall control of the council.


2006 Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council election
After the election, the composition of the council was as follows:


2006 Trail Appliances Autumn Gold Curling Classic
The 2006 Trail Appliances Autumn Gold Curling Classic was the 29th annual edition of the event. It marked the first Grand Slam event of the Women's World Curling Tour. It was also the first ever women's Grand Slam event to be held, as it was the first season for the women's Grand Slam. The event was held October 6-9 at the Calgary Curling Club in Calgary, Alberta. The total purse for the event was $51,000 with $14,000 going to the winning team of Kelly Scott, Jeanna Schraeder, Sasha Carter and Renee Simons. They beat Crystal Webster's rink in the final.


2006 Transnistrian customs crisis
The 2006 Transnistrian customs crisis started on March 3, 2006, when Ukraine imposed new customs regulations on its border with Moldova on the Transnistrian region by declaring that it will only import goods from Transnistria with documents processed by Moldovan customs offices, as part of the implementation of a joint customs protocol between Ukraine and Moldova on December 30, 2005.


2006 Transnistrian customs crisis, Background
From February 1996 to 2001, there was an agreement between Moldovan and Transnistrian authorities, according to which Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR) export and import goods were not subject to Moldovan taxes, PMR was granted the right to use the customs seal of the Republic of Moldova on its goods, and PMR agreed to establish joint customs centers with Moldova on the border with Ukraine. PMR did not honor the agreement and Moldovan officials are still not allowed to enter PMR territory.


2006 Transnistrian customs crisis, The conflict
On March 3, 2006, Ukraine implemented the decision to allow exports originating in Transnistria (to Ukraine or via Ukraine) enter Ukrainian territory only if they carry Moldovan customs stamps, and that imports bound for Transnistria (from or via Ukraine) can enter Transnistria only through Moldovan customs checkpoints, which are situated on Moldovan-controlled territory.


2006 Transnistrian customs crisis, The conflict
Moldova announced it had created favorable conditions for the registration of Transnistria-based businesses:half-hour long procedure to obtain a six-month export license; granted tax breaks and duty exemptions to Transnistria-based companies that register as Moldovan. (such companies are then entitled to all trading privileges that Moldovan companies enjoy, Moldova being a member of the World Trade Organization). Moldovan authorities had held a series of joint conferences with Transnistria companies, Ukrainian authorities, and EU representatives from December through February, informing Transnistria business in detail about Moldovan registration procedures and the introduction of Moldovan customs documents on that border sector.


2006 Transnistrian customs crisis, The conflict
Transnistria's Minister of Economy, Elena Chernenko, says that Transnistria loses $2–2.5 million daily from the Ukrainian regulations. (Transnistrian GDP is about $420 million) Transnistrian and some Russian authorities have termed the act an "economic blockade," a violation of the 1997 Moscow memorandum in the part about the right of Transnistria to maintain international relations.


2006 Transnistrian customs crisis, The conflict
According to the data of the Moldovan Ministry of Reintegration, during the two days of the partial border de-blocking by Tiraspol, various companies had managed to import nearly 1,400 tons of chicken meat into the Transnistrian region. And since the beginning of the year, Transnistria has already imported 12,600 tons of foodstuffs, including 9,700 tons of meat, 890 tons of fish, over a thousand tons of sugar, 18 tons of medicines.


2006 Transnistrian customs crisis, The conflict
Out of the major mediators of the regional conflict, the United States, the European Union and the OSCE approved of the Ukrainian move, while Russia sees it as a form of political pressure, and its Ministry of Internal Affairs issued a statement that said in part: "The Russian Federation as the guarantor country of settlement whose interests are directly affected calls for reviewing the customs regime imposed for Transnistria and for starting immediate consultations among all the parties concerned in order to work out mutually acceptable ways to solve problems."


2006 Transnistrian customs crisis, The conflict
For all of 2006, Transnistria's president Igor Smirnov estimated the losses to Transnistria at $420 million.


2006 Transnistrian customs crisis, The conflict
In the current scheme of things, the Yankukovich's government in Kiev in February and the Russian annexation of Crimea are currently having a dispute with Eastern Ukraine. However, the result caused a dramatic reassessment of Transnistria in Kiev, where policymakers began to view it as a possible entry point for Russian provocateurs and special forces into Odessa.


2006 Transnistrian customs crisis, Timeline
On March 3, 2006, Ukraine started implementing the Ukraine-Moldova agreement on introducing a legal trade regime on that border, citing EU requirements to Ukraine as well as the 2005 Ukraine-Moldova-EU Commission Memorandum on measures against illicit activities on that border. Ukraine's Customs Service Chairman issued the relevant orders that same day.


2006 Transnistrian customs crisis, Timeline
On March 4, Tiraspol retaliated by blocking Moldovan and Ukrainian transport at the borders of Transnistria.


2006 Transnistrian customs crisis, Timeline
On March 10, Russian State Duma reaffirmed Russia's earlier definition of the event as a "blockade," called for return to pre-March 3 status and warned that the event may lead to a "humanitarian disaster." Earlier, Russia promised humanitarian assistance to Transnistria in response to this event. The Nagorno Karabakh Republic, another unrecognized state, similarly blocked by Azerbaijan, also warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in the area.


2006 Transnistrian customs crisis, Timeline
On March 16, Valery Litskay, Transnistria's Foreign Affairs Minister, refused to participate in conflict negotiations in Odessa declaring he would only attend together with the Russian side.


2006 Transnistrian customs crisis, Timeline
On March 17, The President of Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko, personally invited Transnistria's leader Igor Smirnov for a meeting in Kyiv. Smirnov accepted in principle, but only if Kyiv agrees to suspend the border and customs regime that were introduced on March 3. The same day, Tiraspol warned about a possible suspension of electricity supply to the bordering Odessa Oblast of Ukraine.


2006 Transnistrian customs crisis, Timeline
On March 18, Transnistria's block on Ukrainian transports was lifted, as a sign of good faith.


2006 Transnistrian customs crisis, Timeline
On March 22, Moldova recalled its Ambassador from Russia. It was done in response to Russian Ambassador Nikolay Ryabov's remarks placing "primary responsibility" on Moldova for the conflict.


2006 Transnistrian customs crisis, Timeline
Ukrainian authorities have been accused in the Eurasia Daily Monitor of colluding in bypassing Moldovan customs by allowing road transport to enter Transnistria directly from Ukrainian territory. Official statements from Kyiv portray the passage of such transport as a welcome sign that Transnistria's authorities are lifting the blockade they had installed after March 3 on the border with Ukraine.


2006 Transnistrian independence referendum
A double referendum was held in Transnistria on 17 September 2006. Voters were asked whether they approved of the possibility of renouncing independence and integration with Moldova, or alternatively independence and a possible future integration into the Russian Federation.


2006 Transnistrian independence referendum, Background
Pro -Moldovan organisations announced before the referendum that they would not recognise its results. Ballots for the referendum were reprinted three times, as the chairman of electoral commission, Piotr Denisenko, announced a shrinkage of electorate of 7% compared with previous year.


2006 Transnistrian independence referendum, Results, Independence and potential future integration into Russia
Of  the total of 394,861 registered voters, the voter turnout was 78.6%, substantially more than the 50%+1 required by law to validate the referendum. On the day of the referendum, no exit polling was allowed within 25 meters of polling stations, to prevent disruption of voting.


2006 Transnistrian independence referendum, Reactions
International organisations, such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, European Union, GUAM, and some other countries (Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Serbia, Macedonia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Albania, Norway, Iceland) did not recognise the referendum.


2006 Transnistrian independence referendum, Reactions
According to Russian News Agency RIA Novosti, more than 130 international observers monitored the referendum and reported that "they did not register any procedural violations during the secret balloting", and the representative of the Congress of Russian Communities from Moldova declared that the referendum was held according to international standards. However, no internationally recognised monitoring organisations had observers present.


2006 Transnistrian independence referendum, Reactions
Viktor Alksnis, a deputy from the Russian party "Rodina" stated that referendum in Transnistria was held without any violations of legislation and democratic standards. Viktor Alksnis is known to have previously described the Transnistrian Republic as the base from which the Soviet Union's restoration would begin.


2006 Transnistrian independence referendum, Reactions
In the opinion of the Ukrainian foreign ministry, the situation in Transnistria fails to meet the conditions of a free will expression by citizens.


2006 Transnistrian independence referendum, Reactions
According to the OSCE, the media climate in the Transdniestrian region is restrictive, as authorities there continue a long-standing campaign to silence independent opposition voices and movements. Although the OSCE decided not to send any observers to monitor the referendum, 130 observers from CIS and Europe and from eleven election monitoring organizations who did attend the referendum had different reactions.


2006 Transnistrian independence referendum, Reactions
In contrast, the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Moldova (HCHRM) claims to have observed a series of infringements at the referendum:


2006 Transnistrian independence referendum, Reactions
Karel De Gucht (Chairman of the OSCE) expressed an opinion about the "lack of basic requirements for free and fair elections, such as freedom of the media, freedom of assembly and political pluralism, in the region pre-determined the results" and argued that the questions in the referendum are suggestively worded. In a possible manipulation of the public opinion, people are asked to choose between freedom ("free association") and loss of independence ("renounce the Transnistria's independent status"), between reality ("support the course") and possibility ("consider it possible") This formulation could have resulted in a response bias.


2006 Transnistrian independence referendum, Reactions
Victor Josu, deputy editor-in-chief of Russian-language Moldovan newspaper Moldavskiye Vedomosti, an accredited observer, described the referendum as a successful public relations action (regardless of violations and a lack of recognition) and reported favorably on a comparison between "recognized Chişinau" and "unrecognized Tiraspol" in an article which emphasized the openness, transparency and glasnost of the referendum process.


2006 Transnistrian independence referendum, Reactions
Sergei Bagapsh, president of Abkhazia (Abkhazia claims independence from Georgia, but has a disputed status), has said his republic "supports the aspirations of Transniestria toward independence and its choice of unification with Russia."


2006 Transnistrian presidential election
The 2006 presidential election in Transnistria was held on December 10 of that year. Incumbent President Igor Smirnov won despite opposition having stiffened during the final weeks of the campaign. Three candidates registered to run besides the incumbent Smirnov: Bender MP for the Renewal party Peter Tomaily, Pridnestrovie Communist Party candidate Nadezhda Bondarenko and journalist Andrey Safonov.


2006 Transnistrian presidential election, Preelection period
Andrey Safonov's candidacy was at first rejected on the basis of insufficient and allegedly fraudulent signatures, but on 30 November the Tiraspol law court accepted it.


2006 Transnistrian presidential election, Preelection period
Despite the court ruling, at the Electoral Commission meeting on 27 November Safonov's registration was not accepted with some members claiming that the court decision needed to be challenged at a higher instance. The Commission finally allowed the candidacy on 5 December.


2006 Transnistrian presidential election, Preelection period
Starting with 7 December, early voting was allowed for those persons for whom it was impossible to come to the polls on 10 December.


2006 Transnistrian presidential election, Contesting
Andrey Safonov, one of the opposition candidates, suggested that election results were rigged in favour of the incumbent leader. He claimed that there was a strange difference between the exit polls results and the official results and proceeded to challenge the election results in court.


2006 Tri Nations Series
The 2006 Tri Nations Series was the 10th Tri Nations Series, an annual rugby union competition between the national teams of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. New Zealand won the competition with three rounds still to play after their victory over Australia on 19 August, their 21st consecutive home win.


2006 Tri Nations Series
For the first time, in 2006 each team played the others three times, instead of twice, as had been the case previously. This was the result of a new television deal between SANZAR, the consortium of the three countries' rugby federations that organises the tournament, and broadcasters in the SANZAR countries and the United Kingdom. As a result, the duration of the competition was extended and it ran from 8 July to 9 September.


2006 Tri Nations Series
New Zealand won all three matches against Australia, thus retaining the Bledisloe Cup. They also won two of their three matches against South Africa, thereby winning the Freedom Cup for the first time. Australia regained the Mandela Challenge Plate after winning their two home tests against South Africa.


2006 Tri Nations Series, The run-up, Australia
At the end of 2005, the Wallabies looked to be in decline after having just ended an all-time record Test losing streak of seven. The streak led to the sacking of coach Eddie Jones and his replacement by John Connolly. The 2006 mid-year Tests saw improvement with two wins over England and a win over Ireland. Ireland's captain Brian O'Driscoll – who played against both Australia and New Zealand in Ireland's mid-year Tests – was more impressed by the Wallabies, and tipped them as favourites over the All Blacks.


2006 Tri Nations Series, The run-up, New Zealand
Going into the competition, notwithstanding O'Driscoll's assessment, New Zealand were the clear favourites as the top-ranked team in the world, having lost just one Test in 2005 (their away fixture against South Africa in the Tri Nations) and gone undefeated through the 2006 mid-year Tests. However, All Blacks coach Graham Henry used the mid-year Tests to experiment with his squad. They had to come back in the last 20 minutes to win their first Test against Ireland, and had to survive a last-minute push by Argentina at José Amalfitani Stadium in Buenos Aires. Despite these close victories amid much New Zealand complacency, the All Blacks possessed a strong, co-ordinated forward pack, quality playmakers, explosive backs and blistering pace out wide. Their most important asset was arguably their depth in all positions.


2006 Tri Nations Series, The run-up, New Zealand
Before the first test, the Australian television channel Seven aired an advertisement in which the All Blacks performed the Ka Mate haka with digitally inserted handbags, a reference to an incident where Tana Umaga hit a Hurricane teammate over the head with a woman's handbag, breaking her cellular phone. This advertisement was seen by some as offensive to both Maori and the All Blacks. The All Blacks performed the new Kapa o Pango haka instead of the Ka Mate in Christchurch for the first time against Australia. Some observers found gestures used in this haka to be offensive.


2006 Tri Nations Series, The run-up, South Africa
Of the three teams in the competition, the Springboks entered with the most questions. The selection policy of coach Jake White was controversial in 2005, with White choosing to primarily stay with veterans of South Africa's victorious 2004 Tri Nations squad. His choices eventually panned out, with the Boks only narrowly losing out to New Zealand in the 2005 Tri Nations.


2006 Tri Nations Series, The run-up, South Africa
White largely stayed with his veterans in the 2006 mid-year Tests, which led to even more controversy among Boks supporters. In the meantime, several key Boks players were unavailable during the mid-year Tests due to injury, among them André Pretorius and Bakkies Botha. The Boks won two Tests over Scotland, but suffered a huge blow in the second Test when 2004 World Player of the Year Schalk Burger suffered a career-threatening neck injury. Recent articles indicated that Schalk Burger had a successful operation to his neck and he may play again next year.


2006 Tri Nations Series, The run-up, South Africa
They went on to lose to France at Newlands, their first home loss since 2003. In that Test, they lost two key backs, Jean de Villiers and Bryan Habana, to rib injuries. De Villiers was initially expected to be out for the entire Tri Nations, though he returned for the final two matches, but Habana recovered in time for the series opener. As for other players, Pretorius would be out for at least the first two Boks matches, while Botha was out for the entire series. Partly due to the injuries, White named four newcomers to his Tri Nations squad.


2006 Tri Nations Series, The run-up, South Africa
During the lead-in to the Tri Nations, White also caused considerable controversy by publicly seeking an extension to his contract through 2009, even after the loss to France. Also, he was heavily criticised for his refusal to select flanker Luke Watson, arguably the country's form player, even after the loss of Burger. The criticism became more intense after the Boks' hammering in their Tri Nations opener.


2006 Triglav Trophy
The 2006 Triglav Trophy was held between April 12 and 16, 2006. It was an international figure skating competition held annually in Jesenice, Slovenia. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's and ladies' singles across the levels of senior, junior, and novice.


2006 Trincomalee massacre of NGO workers
The 2006 Trincomalee Massacre of NGO Workers, also known as the Muttur Massacre, took place on 4 or 5 August 2006, when 17 employees of the French INGO Action Against Hunger (known internationally as Action Contre la Faim, or ACF) were shot at close range in the city of Muttur, Sri Lanka, close to Trincomalee. The victims included sixteen minority Sri Lankan Tamils and one Sri Lankan Muslim.


2006 Trincomalee massacre of NGO workers, Incident
The bodies were discovered after the town of Muttur had come under the control of the government forces. There was fierce fighting between government forces and rebel LTTE forces the previous week prior to the discovery of the bodies.


2006 Trincomalee massacre of NGO workers, Reactions, SLMM
The Sri Lankan government denied responsibility but the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission suspected that the Sri Lankan Army was responsible for the killings. According to the SLMM, " ...  [it] is convinced that there cannot be any other armed groups than the security forces who could actually have been behind the act". The outgoing head of the Mission, the retired Swedish Colonel Ulf Henricsson, said that this was "one of the most serious recent crimes against humanitarian aid workers worldwide".


2006 Trincomalee massacre of NGO workers, Reactions, Action Against Hunger
Action Against Hunger, the non-governmental organization (NGO) for whom the victims worked, termed it a war crime.


2006 Trincomalee massacre of NGO workers, Investigation
In September 2006, under increasing pressure from the international community to investigate this incident, Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse announced the formation of a Commission of Inquiry with a mandate to look into 15 specified alleged violations, including the Muttur massacre of ACF staff. With the dubious track record of previous Commissions of Inquiry in mind, a group of bilateral donors negotiated for the formation of a group of International Independent Eminent Persons (IIGEP) that, invited by the president, have the mandate to observe the investigations of the Commission of Inquiry. Australia nominated an Eminent Person (EP).


2006 Trincomalee massacre of NGO workers, UTHR Report
On 1 April 2008, the organisation University Teachers for Human Rights (UTHR), which is run by former teachers at the University of Jaffna—known to be openly critical both of the LTTE and the Government of Sri Lanka—released their "Special Report #30", which exclusively deals with the massacre of ACF staff.


2006 Trincomalee massacre of NGO workers, UTHR Report
UTHR names one member of the Sri Lankan Home Guard—now the Civil Defence Force—and two Police Constables based in the Muthur Police Station as perpetrators, but adds that several Sri Lanka Navy Special Forces were part of the group that entered the ACF compound and remained passive as the ACF staff were murdered.


2006 Trincomalee massacre of students
The incident referred to as Trincomalee massacre in 2006 happened when five minority Sri Lankan Tamil high school students playing by the beach were briefly detained and then shot dead by Special Task Force.


2006 Trincomalee massacre of students, Reactions, Sri Lankan government
The government claims were contradicted by the results of the local coroner, who said that they were killed by gunshot wound in execution style. Although a court case is still pending, a Human Rights agency known as UTHR accused that a local police superintendent as the mastermind of the operation to kill the students.


2006 Trincomalee massacre of students, Investigation
The official inquiry into this incident is still undergoing and Special Task Force personnel were remanded in connection with the murder and further remanded on 18 July 2013 by the Trincomalee Magistrate court.


2006 Trincomalee massacre of students, Witnesses
The only witness who came forward is the target of threats to his safety. Dr. Manoharan, the father of one of the victims, has been threatened by some elements of the Sri Lankan security forces. Human Rights Watch has called on the government to provide adequate protection for the doctor.


2006 Trincomalee massacre of students, Witnesses
According to RSF a minority Tamil journalist Subramaniyam Sugirdharajan who took pictures of the slain students that proved that they died of gunshot injuries not by an explosion of a grenade as claimed by local military authorities was shot dead by unknown gunmen suspected to be paramilitary men.


2006 Trincomalee massacre of students, Court Judgement
In 3 July the accused IPs Sarath Chandra Perera and Rohitha Vijithakumara, Sgt. M.G. Jayalath, A.P. Amal Pradeep, PCs R.K. Ratnayake, M. Chaminda Lalitha, R.M. Udhaya Mahinda Bandara, M.G.H. Sanjeewa, K.A. Tharaka Ruwansiri, J.M. Nimal Bandara, J.M. Senarath Dissanyake, S.J. Indika Thushara of the STF and SI (Retired) P.G. Ananda Bulanawewa of the Police were acquitted by Chief Magistrate M.M. Mohammed Hamza after a lengthy hearing due to the non-availability of evidence against the accused.


2006 Tro-Bro Léon
The 2006 Tro-Bro Léon was the 23rd edition of the Tro-Bro Léon cycle race and was held on 16 April 2006. The race was won by Mark Renshaw.


2006 Tropfest finalists
The Tropfest short film festival is held in Sydney, Australia each year. This is the List of 2006's Short Listed films and winners.


2006 Tropfest finalists, A Room with Askew
Synopsis: A room askew and a meal that may never happen.


2006 Tropfest finalists, Applause
Synopsis: Struggling to find motivation, office worker Werner Brim is confronted with a most unusual situation - replacing the couch and coffee table in his office is a live audience...and they want to be entertained!


2006 Tropfest finalists, Carmichael & Shane (Winner 2006)
Synopsis: A single father has a unique approach to raising his two-year-old twin boys- pick a favourite.


2006 Tropfest finalists, Carnivore Reflux
Synopsis: In their lifetime the average meat-eating human will consume; 10 cows, 1/2 tonne of fish, 760 chickens, 37 sheep and 42 pigs.


2006 Tropfest finalists, Fishy
Synopsis: A perfect Christmas dinner is wasted on a demanding picky, fussy snapper with impossibly high standards.


2006 Tropfest finalists, Glitch
Synopsis: Tim has a problem. The house he lives in no longer obeys the laws of logic. At times like this, there's only one man that can help.


2006 Tropfest finalists, Goggles
Synopsis: Seven-year-old Billy encounters a couple of bullies on his way to the pool.


2006 Tropfest finalists, Goggles
Key Cast: Morgan Baker Emily Milledge Ellen Watson Olivia Northwood-Blyth


2006 Tropfest finalists, How many Doctors does it take to change a Lightbulb?
Synopsis: Rosie visits the local medical centre for a routine check-up... unfortunately it's anything but routine! Are you due for a check-up?


2006 Tropfest finalists, How many Doctors does it take to change a Lightbulb?
Key Cast: Rob Carlton Helen Sutermeister Marty Lynes Shane Emmett


2006 Tropfest finalists, Last Stop
Synopsis: Even the simple act of taking public transport seems to be fraught with peril these days. Especially if you're from somewhere else.


2006 Tropfest finalists, Last Stop
Key Cast: Donna McRae Steve Adams Brendan Bacon Katrina Mathers Tamara Donnellan Ella Tingwell Simon King Ross Thompson Jacob Oberman


2006 Tropfest finalists, Pacific
Synopsis: On a lonely beach, a chance encounter with a fisherman is the key to a young man letting go of his past and embracing his future.


2006 Tropfest finalists, Silencer
Synopsis: A secret rendezvous. A loaded gun. A most unexpected arrival. Nobody said it was easy offing your best mate. Beware the thoughts of ordinary evil men.


2006 Tropfest finalists, Sister, The
Synopsis: Amelia finally stands up to her sister, and discovers it's a piece of cake.


2006 Tropfest finalists, Snakepit
Synopsis: Australia, two guys, a small room, sixty-three deadly snakes ... only one man is at home.


2006 Tropfest finalists, Story of the Bubbleboy, The
Synopsis: In a stab-happy world, a sad outcast wrestles with his demons. The story of bubbleboy is a film about being trapped by the past and redeemed by the future.


2006 Tropfest finalists, Tough Crowd
Synopsis: A petulant little girl proves to be a tough crowd for a tireless mime artist.


2006 Tropfest finalists, Tough Crowd
Dairy Farmers Youth Award 2006 Directed by Sarah Goddard and Emily-Kate Byrne Shot on: 16mm


2006 Trophée des Champions
The 2006 Trophée des Champions was a football match held at Stade Gerland, Lyon on 30 July 2006 that saw 2005–06 Ligue 1 champions Lyon defeat 2005–06 Coupe de France champions Paris Saint-Germain 5–4 on penalties following a 1–1 draw after normal time.


2006 Trophée Éric Bompard
The 2006 Trophée Éric Bompard was the fourth event of six in the 2006–07 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Palais Omnisports Paris Bercy in Paris on November 17–19. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Skaters earned points toward qualifying for the 2006–07 Grand Prix Final.


2006 Trophée Éric Bompard
The competition was named after the Éric Bompard company, which became its chief sponsor in 2004.


2006 Troy Trojans football team
The 2006 Troy Trojans football team represented Troy University in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They played their home games at Movie Gallery Stadium in Troy, Alabama and competed in the Sun Belt Conference. This was the Trojans first Sun Belt championship since joining the conference only two years prior in 2004. The team finished the regular season with an 8–5 overall record, going 6–1 in conference play. They were invited to the New Orleans Bowl, where they played Conference USA's Rice, routing the Owls by a score of 41–17.


2006 Tulane Green Wave football team
The 2006 Tulane Green Wave football team represented Tulane University in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Green Wave played their home games at the Louisiana Superdome. They competed in the West Division of Conference USA. The team was coached by head coach Chris Scelfo, who was fired after the season.


2006 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team
The 2006 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team represented the University of Tulsa in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head coach was Steve Kragthorpe, who resigned at the conclusion of the season. They played home games at Skelly Stadium in Tulsa, Oklahoma and competed in the West Division of Conference USA.


2006 Tulsa, Oklahoma mayoral election
The 2006 Tulsa mayoral election was held on April 4, 2006 to elect the mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Partisan primary elections were held on March 7, 2006.


2006 Tulsa, Oklahoma mayoral election
Incumbent Republican Bill LaFortune ran for re-election. He was defeated in the general election by Democratic nominee Kathy Taylor, who became the second female mayor of Tulsa after Susan Savage.


2006 Tulsa, Oklahoma mayoral election
As of 2021, this is the last time a Democratic candidate won a citywide race in Tulsa.


2006 Tunbridge Wells Borough Council election
The 2006 Tunbridge Wells Borough Council election took place on 4 May 2006 to elect members of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council in Kent, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.


2006 Turkish Cup Final
The 2006 Turkish Cup Final was a football match played on 3 May 2006 at the İzmir Atatürk Stadium in İzmir. It was the final and deciding match of the 2005–06 Türkiye Kupası (Turkish Cup).


2006 Turkish Cup Final, Match details
Man of the match: Tümer Metin (Beşiktaş)Referee:  Bülent Demirlek Assistant Referees: Erhan Sönmez Alper Ulusoy Çetin Sarıgül


2006 Turkish Grand Prix
The 2006 Turkish Grand Prix (officially the 2006 Formula 1 Petrol Ofisi Turkish Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race, held on 27 August 2006. The 58-lap race, which was the fourteenth round of the 2006 Formula One season, and the second Turkish Grand Prix, was held at Istanbul Park in Tuzla, Turkey. Felipe Massa, driving for the Ferrari team, took his first pole position, and then his first race victory. Fernando Alonso, who drove for Renault finished the race in second position and Massa's teammate Michael Schumacher occupied the final position on the podium. The race was also the first Grand Prix meeting for future quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel, who was assigned a Friday test driver role for the BMW Sauber team. Vettel received a $1,000 fine for speeding in the pit-lane only 6 seconds after he got out onto the track.


2006 Turkish Grand Prix
As a consequence of the race, Fernando Alonso extended his lead in the Drivers' Championship to 12 points from Michael Schumacher. With victory, Felipe Massa retained third place in the standings, and despite closing the gap between himself and Schumacher to 34 points, it was still near impossible for him to surpass his teammate's points total. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari closed the gap to leaders Renault to just two points. McLaren remained in third position, 69 points behind the top two teams.


2006 Turkish Grand Prix, Report, Background
Prior to the Grand Prix weekend, Renault's Fernando Alonso led the Formula One World Drivers' Championship on 100 points. He held a ten-point lead over his main rival Michael Schumacher, despite retiring from the preceding race in Hungary. Ferrari teammates, Schumacher and Felipe Massa lay second and third in the standings on 90 and 52 points respectively, ahead of the second Renault of Giancarlo Fisichella and the McLaren of Kimi Räikkönen, both on 49 points.


2006 Turkish Grand Prix, Report, Background
Renault led the Constructors' Championship with 149 points, seven clear of Ferrari, while McLaren were in third position with 89 points. They were ahead of Honda F1, who sat in fourth with 52 after picking up their first and to be only victory since their return, three weeks before in Hungary. BMW Sauber completed the top five with 26 points.


2006 Turkish Grand Prix, Report, Friday drivers
The bottom 6 teams in the 2005 Constructors' Championship and Super Aguri were entitled to run a third car in free practice on Friday. These drivers drove on Friday but did not compete in qualifying or the race.


2006 Turkish Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
Kimi Räikkönen set the fastest time in the first free practice session, despite only completing five laps; ahead of Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button, who were both just within half a second of Räikkönen's time. In the bottom half of the order, Felipe Massa finished the session 17th and Fernando Alonso 23rd. Neither of the Williams left the garage during the session. Sebastian Vettel impressed many as he set the fastest time in the second free practice session, on his first Grand Prix weekend appearance.


2006 Turkish Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
The following day in qualifying, however, it was Felipe Massa who set the fastest time, taking the first pole position of his career, ahead of Schumacher by one tenth of a second. The two Renaults occupied the next row with Alonso in front of Fisichella again. Fifth spot was initially taken up by Ralf Schumacher's Toyota, before he was demoted to fifteenth for a gearbox change. This was also true for Christijan Albers, who was taken from a good sixteenth place qualifying for the Midland team, to the back of the grid. Only four hundredths of a second separated Nick Heidfeld, Button and Räikkönen qualified from sixth to eighth before all moving up a place after Ralf Schumacher's penalty. Robert Kubica and Mark Webber completed the top ten fastest times, with Christian Klien completing the top ten on the starting grid.


2006 Turkish Grand Prix, Report, Race
The start of the race was affected by a multi-car accident entering the first corner. Massa, Michael Schumacher, Alonso and Fisichella all battled for position entering the first corner, with Fisichella spinning, causing a chain reaction behind him. During the chain reaction, Scott Speed collided with the McLaren of Räikkönen, causing one of Räikkönen's rear tyres to puncture. Räikkönen pitted for a new set of tyres, but soon faced a similar problem due to damaged bodywork; because of this he went straight off the outside of turn 4 and into a barrier, on the next lap. Nick Heidfeld, Fisichella, Speed and Ralf Schumacher all needed repairs from the incident, and the Midland of Tiago Monteiro was forced to retire.