Cycling: Gold eases Hamilton's hard times

Tyler Hamilton had bruises splotched all over his back, painful souvenirs of a Tour de France gone terribly wrong. But Hamilton also had a red dog tag affixed to the inside of his helmet Wednesday, the memory of his golden retriever, Tugboat, keeping him company on the solo seaside sprint to victory.



Last month Hamilton had to pull out of cycling's most prestigious race in the 13th stage, after an earlier horrific crash. Then he suffered the death of his dog, a constant companion well-known in the cycling world.