1.   The chip on the shoulder is smaller now, but Armstrong is still not above feuding with other cycling stars such as Marco Pantani.

2.   Ullrich, the German cycling star, has been plagued by injuries and weight problems.

3.   Other signs showed support for Richard Virenque, the French cycling star who is under formal investigation on doping charges and denies using drugs.

4.   Cycling stars Oliverio Rincon and Luis Herrera were also seized, though Herrera was only kept one day.

5.   Estrada is the third major Colombian sports figure to be kidnapped this year, joining cycling stars Oliverio Rincon and Luis Herrera.

6.   Former cycling star Miguel Indurain said Monday that the doping scandals engulfing the sport would discourage him from taking part in the Tour de France.

7.   French cycling star Laurent Jalabert is absent because of injuries, his Danish CSC Tiscali team said.