Paris. Capital of France. One of the paramount cities of Europe. Home of the final Tour de France stage since 1975. The heralded ‘city of love’ provided a stunning backdrop for the finish of the historic 99th edition of Le Tour, truly a grand finale for this most prestigious of races.
Stage 20 went from Rambouillet to the Champs-Élysées of Paris, the flat road stage that rounds out every Tour de France. As usual the stage was more of a tradition than an actual race for most, a longstanding gentleman’s agreement in the peloton meaning that Bradley Wiggins would not be challenged for his yellow jersey on the final stage. Instead the peloton took an easy morning with Sky arranging themselves for the usual team photograph, spread across the road with their arms on their teammates’ shoulders.
The jovial mood was clear in the decorations of the riders for day. Each of the leaders of the four classifications - Bradley Wiggins in GC, Peter Sagan in sprints, Tejay van Garderen (BMC) in young rider and Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) in the mountains – was riding a bike that matched their jerseys as the leader of their respective classification. Team Sky had also made some changes to their wallpaper, the characteristic blue stripe on their black uniforms magically turning to yellow overnight, even on the team cars, in celebration of Wiggins’ impending victory.
The first 50 kilometres passed without incident, the highest forms of excitement a puncture in the peloton and six riders forming an ‘escape’ 50 metres ahead of the peloton. The race passed by Versailles, the palatial residence of the last French king, Louis XIV, located in huge grounds on the outskirts of Paris. By now the landmark synonymous with the French city was visible, the Eiffel Tower reaching up in front of the riders like a homing beacon.
Team Sky and its leader, Bradley Wiggins, were staying close to the front of the peloton as George Hincapie (BMC) and Chris Horner (Radioshack-Nissan-Trek) led the race over the finish line to begin eight laps of the 6.5 kilometre Champs-Élysées circuit. That was the signal for the attacks to commence, Jerome Pineau (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) happily obliging. He was soon joined by a number of other riders, but it was Jens Voigt (Radioshack-Nissan-Trek) and Danilo Hondo (Lampre-ISD) who made the cut, taking it in turns to ride on the front. The race began cycling between the landmarks of Paris, the Arc de Triomphe, Place de la Concorde and golden statue of young French martyr Joan of Arc dominating the visions of passing riders.
It was probably the only flat stage in which the intermediate sprint was uncontested, Team Sky following the now three-strong breakaway over the line with 35 kilometres left in the race. Another eight riders rode out to join the leaders, the 11 having less than 30” advantage on the Liquigas-led peloton. An attack from Jens Voigt at 13 kilometres to go shattered the escape group, most being quickly collected by the chase group while Voigt and two companions continued pushing the pedals up the front.
The second-to-final lap was when riders started hearing commands from their sports director to catch the breakaway in their earpieces, ready to set the stage up for a sprint finish. That proved easier said than done, though, Voigt and his companions holding onto enough seconds to stay off the front of the peloton. Only half a lap remained in the Tour de France by the time the Sky-controlled peloton finally caught the leading trio. The chase was now on.
The teams of the sprinters were now visible at the front, each trying to do something for their man to take the most coveted stage victory in professional road racing. Yellow jersey wearer Bradley Wiggins was setting the pace on the front of the peloton, swinging off just past the flamme rouge to make way for Mark Cavendish’s leadout train. Despite launching from the 350 metre mark once again, Cavendish reaffirmed his title as the ‘Manx Missile’, holding off Peter Sagan and Matt Goss (Orica-GreenEDGE) to take his third stage win of the 2012 Tour.
Bradley Wiggins ascended the podium as the first-ever British winner of the Tour de France, Sky teammate Chris Froome and Liquigas-Cannondale’s Vincenzo Nibali standing beside him in second and third places. Tejay van Garderen retained his hold on the white jersey, as did Peter Sagan his green and Thomas Voeckler his polka-dots, while Radioshack-Nissan-Trek took out the teams’ classification and Chris Anker Sorenson claimed the SuperCombativity Prize for the most spirited rider. All should be back next year to defend their titles in the 100th edition of the world’s oldest and most famous Grand Tour, which will be a showdown not to be missed.
Showing posts with label Vincenzo Nibali. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vincenzo Nibali. Show all posts
Monday, 23 July 2012
Sunday, 22 July 2012
Stage 19: Bonneval - Chartres
The most interesting thing about today’s time trial was the absence of the favourites. With riders like Fabian Cancellara, Tony Martin and Sylvain Chavanel out, we got to see some of the riders who are usually only second-best stepping up to the plate on the second-last stage before the Tour reaches Paris.
A much-reduced field began Stage 19 from Bonneval to Chartres, only 153 men left in the race from the 198 who started in Liège. As always the lanterne rouge left the starting house first, Saur-Sojasun’s Jimmy Engoulvent once again holding the unenviable title. The next 44 riders started one minute apart, 45th-placed Rubén Plaza Molina (Movistar) the first rider to start after a two-minute interval. Argos-Shimano’s Patrick Gretsch claimed the early lead, leading through both time checks at the 14 kilometre and 30.5 kilometre marks to finish in a time of 1h06’41”.
Gretsch continued to lead after American time trial Dave Zabriskie finished, the man known as ‘Captain America’ coming in 44” behind Gretsch to claim second place. The German’s reign wouldn’t last much longer, though. Despite Gretsch having bested the American champion in Zabriskie, Spanish national time trial champion Luis Léon Sánchez posted a time three seconds better than that of Gretsch at the first time check, following this up with a time 16 seconds faster at the second time check. An average speed of 48.6km/h helped Sánchez to finish in the leading time of 1h06’03”.
Sánchez was destined to spend quite some time in the ‘hot seat’ of the time trial’s leading rider, none of those following quite able to dislodge the Spaniard. Peter Velits (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) finished just 12 seconds behind, and Team Sky’s Richie Porte also slotted into third place, just ahead of early leader Gretsch. The big guns were yet to come out to play, though, the day’s fastest times expected from the GC contenders who would be the last out of the blocks.
The final 14 riders of the day began their time trials three minutes apart. Young BMC rocket Tejay van Garderen had all eyes on him as he set out after his unexpected impressive fourth place performance in the Stage 9 time trial. The 23-year-old American was the first to knock Sánchez down to second place at the first time check, but the youngster had started too fast, three places down from Sánchez after 30 kilometres, finally finishing almost three minutes down from the Spaniard.
By this point the big names were out on the course, riders like Jurgen van den Broeck (Lotto Belisol) and Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) making one last attempt to move up in the general classification. The weeks of racing seemed to have taken their toll, however, and in the end only two riders mattered – Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome, Sky’s deadly duo.
Froome left the starting house first, topping the times at every checkpoint and finally displacing Sánchez from the hot seat by 34 seconds. History was repeating itself; thus far the stage mimicked the earlier time trial in Besancon, and that wasn’t about to change. Following the example set by his teammate, Wiggins became the first rider to pass inside 17’ at the first time check and 37’ at the second. It came as no surprise to anyone that he topped the leaderboard on his arrival in Chartres, 1’16” ahead of Froome in a time of 1h04’13”. The yellow jersey wearer showed the first signs of emotion in this year’s Tour, pumping his fist in the air as his Tour de France victory was assured.
Wiggins remains in the yellow jersey for tomorrow’s stage into Paris, his lead now 3’21” over Froome in the general classification, the stage set for the first British winner of the Tour de France. Thomas Voeckler will keep the King of the Mountains jersey in the absence of any more points in the classification, while Peter Sagan has an unassailable lead in the green jersey competition, regardless of the outcome of the Champs-Élysées sprint. Radioshack has also retained its lead over Sky in the teams classification, while Tejay van Garderen has a secure lead over Thibaut Pinot in the young riders’ classification that doesn’t look to be disturbed on Stage 20. Tomorrow, the final stage of the Tour, will arrive in Paris with a sprint finish. Mark Cavendish will be looking to claim a third victory for Sky, and Matt Goss will be seeking Orica-GreenEDGE’s elusive stage win one last time, while Andre Greipel and Peter Sagan will be hoping to add to their Tour stage totals as well. Whichever way the sprint goes, it’s guaranteed to be one worthy of the occasion of rounding out the 99th Tour de France.
A much-reduced field began Stage 19 from Bonneval to Chartres, only 153 men left in the race from the 198 who started in Liège. As always the lanterne rouge left the starting house first, Saur-Sojasun’s Jimmy Engoulvent once again holding the unenviable title. The next 44 riders started one minute apart, 45th-placed Rubén Plaza Molina (Movistar) the first rider to start after a two-minute interval. Argos-Shimano’s Patrick Gretsch claimed the early lead, leading through both time checks at the 14 kilometre and 30.5 kilometre marks to finish in a time of 1h06’41”.
Gretsch continued to lead after American time trial Dave Zabriskie finished, the man known as ‘Captain America’ coming in 44” behind Gretsch to claim second place. The German’s reign wouldn’t last much longer, though. Despite Gretsch having bested the American champion in Zabriskie, Spanish national time trial champion Luis Léon Sánchez posted a time three seconds better than that of Gretsch at the first time check, following this up with a time 16 seconds faster at the second time check. An average speed of 48.6km/h helped Sánchez to finish in the leading time of 1h06’03”.
Sánchez was destined to spend quite some time in the ‘hot seat’ of the time trial’s leading rider, none of those following quite able to dislodge the Spaniard. Peter Velits (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) finished just 12 seconds behind, and Team Sky’s Richie Porte also slotted into third place, just ahead of early leader Gretsch. The big guns were yet to come out to play, though, the day’s fastest times expected from the GC contenders who would be the last out of the blocks.
The final 14 riders of the day began their time trials three minutes apart. Young BMC rocket Tejay van Garderen had all eyes on him as he set out after his unexpected impressive fourth place performance in the Stage 9 time trial. The 23-year-old American was the first to knock Sánchez down to second place at the first time check, but the youngster had started too fast, three places down from Sánchez after 30 kilometres, finally finishing almost three minutes down from the Spaniard.
By this point the big names were out on the course, riders like Jurgen van den Broeck (Lotto Belisol) and Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) making one last attempt to move up in the general classification. The weeks of racing seemed to have taken their toll, however, and in the end only two riders mattered – Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome, Sky’s deadly duo.
Froome left the starting house first, topping the times at every checkpoint and finally displacing Sánchez from the hot seat by 34 seconds. History was repeating itself; thus far the stage mimicked the earlier time trial in Besancon, and that wasn’t about to change. Following the example set by his teammate, Wiggins became the first rider to pass inside 17’ at the first time check and 37’ at the second. It came as no surprise to anyone that he topped the leaderboard on his arrival in Chartres, 1’16” ahead of Froome in a time of 1h04’13”. The yellow jersey wearer showed the first signs of emotion in this year’s Tour, pumping his fist in the air as his Tour de France victory was assured.
Wiggins remains in the yellow jersey for tomorrow’s stage into Paris, his lead now 3’21” over Froome in the general classification, the stage set for the first British winner of the Tour de France. Thomas Voeckler will keep the King of the Mountains jersey in the absence of any more points in the classification, while Peter Sagan has an unassailable lead in the green jersey competition, regardless of the outcome of the Champs-Élysées sprint. Radioshack has also retained its lead over Sky in the teams classification, while Tejay van Garderen has a secure lead over Thibaut Pinot in the young riders’ classification that doesn’t look to be disturbed on Stage 20. Tomorrow, the final stage of the Tour, will arrive in Paris with a sprint finish. Mark Cavendish will be looking to claim a third victory for Sky, and Matt Goss will be seeking Orica-GreenEDGE’s elusive stage win one last time, while Andre Greipel and Peter Sagan will be hoping to add to their Tour stage totals as well. Whichever way the sprint goes, it’s guaranteed to be one worthy of the occasion of rounding out the 99th Tour de France.
Wednesday, 18 July 2012
Stage 16: Pau - Bagneres-de-Luchon
The Col d’Aspin, the Col d’Aubisque, the Col du Tourmalet. The grandes dames of the Tour de France; the elder statesmen of the hills as Eddy Merckx is of the riders. Today was the day for the riders to pay their respects to the peaks that have shaped the Tour de France, and one or two chose to respect the peaks with a mountain race that left those watching wanting to stand and applaud in awe.
Stage 16 from Pau to Bagnères-de-Luchon was always going to be interesting, being one of the high Pyrénéan stages of this year’s Tour – and the Pyrenees, as anyone who watches the Tour regularly knows, are always exciting. The stage began with a move that was more unusual than exciting – after 20 kilometres of trying, the day’s breakaway was established, 38 riders being considerably more than are usually allowed in a breakaway. Despite the presence of several very strong riders, there was clearly no-one in the group high enough on the general classification to concern the peloton, and the break was allowed to leave the bunch.
The breakaway had a lead of 3’45” as they began the climb of the Col d’Aubisque around the 40 kilometre mark. While polka-dot jersey wearer Fredrik Kessiakoff (Astana) was in the break, it was Thomas Voeckler’s Europcar teammate, Yukiya Arashiro, who led out Voeckler over the climb to take the maximum 25 points available, helping the Frenchman encroach on Kessiakoff’s lead. Sky was leading the peloton as the main group passed over the climb, BMC Racing Team moving forward as they reached the top.
A crash in the peloton that sent two riders flying into barbed wire on the descent ended badly for one of them. Vladimir Gusev (Katusha) reduced the number of riders in the Tour to just 154 after abandoning the race with a broken collarbone, courtesy of the fence. Up ahead, the blissfully unaware breakaway was passing through the feed zone, preparing for the start of the Tourmalet, the highest pass of the Pyrénées. As the gradient started going up, though, the size of the breakaway began going down as riders fell off the back of the escape now being strongly led by Danilo Hondo (Lampre-ISD). With an extra push by Daniel Martin (Garmin-Sharp) the breakaway began to reduce further, shattering on the slopes of the Col du Tourmalet.
Of the 38 riders who began the stage in the lead, only two could follow Martin when he attacked again: one being eternal favourite Voeckler and the other being Brice Feillu (Soar-Sojasun), who spent much of the past two weeks off the back of the peloton with illness. The two caught and passed Martin on the climb and continued on, launching themselves into the stage lead. As Martin continued trying to chase down the pair, a group of poursuivants was forming further down from the remnants of the breakaway that Martin had shattered not long before.
The leading duo having reached the top of the Tourmalet, Voeckler took another 25 points to bolster his second place in the King of the Mountains classification as they continued racing along the stage, the two Frenchman co-operating to maintain their lead. Behind them, Sky was still leading the peloton, Christian Knees now responsible for inflicting the pain as he hauled the bunch up the Tourmalet much faster than many would have liked. Between the leaders and the main group were the chasing groups, several pairs or small collections of riders from the old breakaway bearing down on Voeckler and Feillu in the lead, 10’25” ahead of the peloton.
It really was chaos on the road as the Pyrénées continued to inflict their damage on the riders, some dropping back and some surging forward between the myriad tiny groups of riders chasing down the lead. The riders were inflicting the damage too, three Liquigas-Cannondale riders coming forward to dramatically increase the tempo of the peloton and shelling off a lot of riders in the process. The results were maybe not what they’d expected, Cadel Evans (BMC) disappearing from yet another mountain stage as he fell off the peloton. The other major contenders reached the top of the Col d’Aspin with a 45” advantage on Evans, but after some sterling riding from his team, Evans reappeared in the main peloton on the way down the far side of the Aspin, avoiding losing more time to his rivals.
Now on the final climb of the day, the Category 1 Col du Peyresoude, Voeckler managed to drop his breakmate Feillu and continued on ahead alone, Feillu soon being passed by the distinctive bobbing motion of Chris Anker Sorenson (Saobank-Tinkoff Bank). Voeckler was riding with his usual persistent style, however, claiming more mountain points as he topped the Col de Peyresoude, a minute ahead of the chasing Sorenson.
But back in the peloton drama was afoot, as Evans looked to be in trouble again while Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) attacked the yellow jersey group. Chris Froome (Sky) was once again responsible for bridging the gap to Bradley Wiggins (Sky), leaving the three top-ranked riders in the Tour de France on their own behind the various breakaways. Nibali was dissatisfied with his first attempt and attacked again, trying to gain some time on the yellow jersey, but the British duo bridged the gap once again, the trio still together as they crested the Col du Peyresoude.
Out in the lead, Voeckler was in the final five kilometres of the stage with almost a two minute lead over Sorenson. The stage win was inevitable for the former 2011 yellow jersey wearer, Voeckler’s arms going over his head in the classic victory salute. Sorenson rolled in just over a minute and a half behind him, Gorka Izaguirre (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) and Feillu rounding out the top five over a five-minute period.
It was the first major shake-up in the GC, Evans out of the overall top five long before he crossed the line, instead dropping into seventh place at eight minutes down behind sixth-placed teammate Tejay van Garderen. Tomorrow is the final mountain stage of the Tour, as well as being a mountaintop finish, so look out for Nibali to attack again, Voeckler to defend his newfound mountains lead as well as other opportune breakaways looking for their own stage win.
Stage 16 from Pau to Bagnères-de-Luchon was always going to be interesting, being one of the high Pyrénéan stages of this year’s Tour – and the Pyrenees, as anyone who watches the Tour regularly knows, are always exciting. The stage began with a move that was more unusual than exciting – after 20 kilometres of trying, the day’s breakaway was established, 38 riders being considerably more than are usually allowed in a breakaway. Despite the presence of several very strong riders, there was clearly no-one in the group high enough on the general classification to concern the peloton, and the break was allowed to leave the bunch.
The breakaway had a lead of 3’45” as they began the climb of the Col d’Aubisque around the 40 kilometre mark. While polka-dot jersey wearer Fredrik Kessiakoff (Astana) was in the break, it was Thomas Voeckler’s Europcar teammate, Yukiya Arashiro, who led out Voeckler over the climb to take the maximum 25 points available, helping the Frenchman encroach on Kessiakoff’s lead. Sky was leading the peloton as the main group passed over the climb, BMC Racing Team moving forward as they reached the top.
A crash in the peloton that sent two riders flying into barbed wire on the descent ended badly for one of them. Vladimir Gusev (Katusha) reduced the number of riders in the Tour to just 154 after abandoning the race with a broken collarbone, courtesy of the fence. Up ahead, the blissfully unaware breakaway was passing through the feed zone, preparing for the start of the Tourmalet, the highest pass of the Pyrénées. As the gradient started going up, though, the size of the breakaway began going down as riders fell off the back of the escape now being strongly led by Danilo Hondo (Lampre-ISD). With an extra push by Daniel Martin (Garmin-Sharp) the breakaway began to reduce further, shattering on the slopes of the Col du Tourmalet.
Of the 38 riders who began the stage in the lead, only two could follow Martin when he attacked again: one being eternal favourite Voeckler and the other being Brice Feillu (Soar-Sojasun), who spent much of the past two weeks off the back of the peloton with illness. The two caught and passed Martin on the climb and continued on, launching themselves into the stage lead. As Martin continued trying to chase down the pair, a group of poursuivants was forming further down from the remnants of the breakaway that Martin had shattered not long before.
The leading duo having reached the top of the Tourmalet, Voeckler took another 25 points to bolster his second place in the King of the Mountains classification as they continued racing along the stage, the two Frenchman co-operating to maintain their lead. Behind them, Sky was still leading the peloton, Christian Knees now responsible for inflicting the pain as he hauled the bunch up the Tourmalet much faster than many would have liked. Between the leaders and the main group were the chasing groups, several pairs or small collections of riders from the old breakaway bearing down on Voeckler and Feillu in the lead, 10’25” ahead of the peloton.
It really was chaos on the road as the Pyrénées continued to inflict their damage on the riders, some dropping back and some surging forward between the myriad tiny groups of riders chasing down the lead. The riders were inflicting the damage too, three Liquigas-Cannondale riders coming forward to dramatically increase the tempo of the peloton and shelling off a lot of riders in the process. The results were maybe not what they’d expected, Cadel Evans (BMC) disappearing from yet another mountain stage as he fell off the peloton. The other major contenders reached the top of the Col d’Aspin with a 45” advantage on Evans, but after some sterling riding from his team, Evans reappeared in the main peloton on the way down the far side of the Aspin, avoiding losing more time to his rivals.
Now on the final climb of the day, the Category 1 Col du Peyresoude, Voeckler managed to drop his breakmate Feillu and continued on ahead alone, Feillu soon being passed by the distinctive bobbing motion of Chris Anker Sorenson (Saobank-Tinkoff Bank). Voeckler was riding with his usual persistent style, however, claiming more mountain points as he topped the Col de Peyresoude, a minute ahead of the chasing Sorenson.
But back in the peloton drama was afoot, as Evans looked to be in trouble again while Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) attacked the yellow jersey group. Chris Froome (Sky) was once again responsible for bridging the gap to Bradley Wiggins (Sky), leaving the three top-ranked riders in the Tour de France on their own behind the various breakaways. Nibali was dissatisfied with his first attempt and attacked again, trying to gain some time on the yellow jersey, but the British duo bridged the gap once again, the trio still together as they crested the Col du Peyresoude.
Out in the lead, Voeckler was in the final five kilometres of the stage with almost a two minute lead over Sorenson. The stage win was inevitable for the former 2011 yellow jersey wearer, Voeckler’s arms going over his head in the classic victory salute. Sorenson rolled in just over a minute and a half behind him, Gorka Izaguirre (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) and Feillu rounding out the top five over a five-minute period.
It was the first major shake-up in the GC, Evans out of the overall top five long before he crossed the line, instead dropping into seventh place at eight minutes down behind sixth-placed teammate Tejay van Garderen. Tomorrow is the final mountain stage of the Tour, as well as being a mountaintop finish, so look out for Nibali to attack again, Voeckler to defend his newfound mountains lead as well as other opportune breakaways looking for their own stage win.
Thursday, 12 July 2012
Stage 10: Mâcon - Bellegarde-sur-Valserine
The mountains
are always the most fun part of the Tour de France. It’s where you get the
uplifting performances, the heart-breaking disappointments, the surprises, the
shocks and the real Tour de France. Today was a day for the surprises, some
unanticipated moves and an unexpected finish keeping things fresh and
interesting after a day out of the saddle.
More riders failed to make the start today, as the Tour toll rose to 23. Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) pulled out after the Stage 9 time trial to try and allow his broken scaphoid to heal, while Australia’s Matt Lloyd (Lampre-ISD) lost his Tour to a broken elbow. Rémy Di Gregorio (Cofidis) left under much less savoury circumstances, arrested in a doping scandal and suspended by his team during the rest day.
Stage 10 from Mâcon to Bellegarde-sur-Valserine started hard and fast, green jersey wearer Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) jumping away just two kilometres in with two companions. Apparently Sagan wasn’t a popular peloton choice for the breakaway, numerous large groups trying to chase him and Andriy Grivko (Astana) down, the third member of their trio already having been dropped. In the end it took 30 kilometres before two merged chase groups comprising 23 riders finally bridged the gap to the duo, and the race was on. With enough riders to do the pace-making, the mini-peloton out the front built up a lead of 5’55” ahead of the fast-chasing peloton.
That lead was nearer seven minutes as the 25-strong breakaway reached the first climb of the day, the Category 2 Côte de Corlier. Former polka-dot jersey wearer Michael Morkov surged forward to take top points, leading out Grivko, rouleur Jens Voigt (Radioshack-Nissan-Trek) and French favourite Thomas Voeckler (Europcar). As the peloton neared the top of the climb they were only 6’45” behind, Team Sky beginning to pull back the escapees.
A couple of punctures for leaders Sánchez and Voeckler didn’t stop them, each soon rejoining the breakaway after their respective technical difficulties. They were irrelevant, however, as the intermediate sprint approached, soon revealing the real reason why Sagan initiated the breakaway and why so many sprinters chose to join it. With Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEDGE) leading out team sprinter Matt Goss, Goss, Sagan and FDJ-Bigmat sprinter Yauheni Hutarovich raced each other to the line, Goss outmanoeuvring both to take the 20 points on offer for first, chipping another five points off Sagan’s lead in the green jersey competition. Shortly after both the Australian Goss and the Belarusian Hutarovich were seen dropping rapidly off the back of the breakaway, exercise done for the day.
They weren’t the only ones to go, the Europcar riders setting a tough pace that some in the breakaway couldn’t follow. It was a common theme with the peloton, too, where some of the big names were being shelled off the back from the pace set by Sky as they chased the now-16 man escape. The number kept going down until eventually Sanchez, Voeckler, Michele Scarponi (Lampre-ISD), Jean-Christophe Peraud (AG2R La Mondiale) and Dries Devenyns (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) had shed every one of their breakaway companions. After several minutes of attacks, escapes and catches, Sanchez, Voeckler, Scarponi and Devenyns found themselves alone in the lead on their way up the hors catégorie Col de Grand Colombier.
One could be forgiven for thinking that it was a Norwegian national holiday from all the red, blue and white flags lining the race route up the second climb of the day. Edvald Boasson Hagen’s countrymen had turned out in force to support him as he led the peloton up the HC climb in the Norwegian national jersey, working as a domestique for Sky team leader Bradley Wiggins. The slope of the climb took its toll, though, a handful of the big favourites making it over the climb in a little group, a short way ahead of the remainder of the peloton. Vincenzi Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) led the descending peloton down the other side, Bradley Wiggins and his Sky teammates hovering in constant attendance around reigning champion Cadel Evans (BMC). Without such stringent supervision, Nibali leapt off the front of the group and caught up to teammate Peter Sagan, waiting further on down the road, as the two attempted the same manoeuvre as Andy Schleck did with teammates Maxime Monfort and Joost Posthuma last year, though without Schleck’s level of success. Sky soon wound Nibali back in as the peloton regrouped for the final 30 kilometres of the stage.
Meanwhile, out the front, Voeckler had led the breakaway quartet over the final two climbs of the day, giving him enough King of the Mountain points to take the polka-dot jersey. Inside the final 20 kilometres, the four were so focussed on preparing to race each other for the stage win that they failed to notice Jens Voigt speeding up behind them, having sat in no-man’s land between the peloton and the breakaway for a large part of the day. The addition of Voigt into the mix was not a welcome one, Scarponi attacking early to try and shake the strong German off his tail before the finish line. The rest of the break caught him on the end of the descent, before being surprised as Devenyns jumped off the front. The remaining four were reluctant to chase, Voigt finally taking responsibility to allow himself a chance at the stage win.
Devenyns caught, Voeckler began coming up alongside Voigt, trying to outrace the German, but Sanchez was also coming from behind, trying to salvage a stage win after his efforts of the day. The almost comically slow sprint finish from three very tired riders ended with the combination pain-and-triumph expression so familiar on Thomas Voeckler’s face as he claimed France’s second stage win of the Tour, every effort of the victory etched in his features. As the remaining breakaway riders rolled in from no-man’s land, a black and red jersey could be seen sprinting towards the line, followed by a yellow one. Brad Wiggins refused to let Cadel Evans escape his clutches right to the finish line, chasing far more vigorously than during Jurgen van den Broeck’s (Lotto Belisol) attacks earlier in the stage to defend his yellow jersey.
Stage 11 hits the Alps, with two HC climbs as well as a Cat 1 and a Cat 2. It seems even more unlikely that a breakaway will succeed than it did today, but this is the Tour de France, and anything is possible. The most likely scenario (and a fairly exciting one at that) would have Team Sky hauling Cadel Evans, Vincenzo Nibali, Jurgen van den Broeck and Denis Menchov, plus a few extras, through the Alps at top speed, though Evans’ and van den Broeck’s propensity for attacking will certainly keep things lively. That said, the mountain breakaway has already succeeded once, so just maybe they could pull it off again.
More riders failed to make the start today, as the Tour toll rose to 23. Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) pulled out after the Stage 9 time trial to try and allow his broken scaphoid to heal, while Australia’s Matt Lloyd (Lampre-ISD) lost his Tour to a broken elbow. Rémy Di Gregorio (Cofidis) left under much less savoury circumstances, arrested in a doping scandal and suspended by his team during the rest day.
Stage 10 from Mâcon to Bellegarde-sur-Valserine started hard and fast, green jersey wearer Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) jumping away just two kilometres in with two companions. Apparently Sagan wasn’t a popular peloton choice for the breakaway, numerous large groups trying to chase him and Andriy Grivko (Astana) down, the third member of their trio already having been dropped. In the end it took 30 kilometres before two merged chase groups comprising 23 riders finally bridged the gap to the duo, and the race was on. With enough riders to do the pace-making, the mini-peloton out the front built up a lead of 5’55” ahead of the fast-chasing peloton.
That lead was nearer seven minutes as the 25-strong breakaway reached the first climb of the day, the Category 2 Côte de Corlier. Former polka-dot jersey wearer Michael Morkov surged forward to take top points, leading out Grivko, rouleur Jens Voigt (Radioshack-Nissan-Trek) and French favourite Thomas Voeckler (Europcar). As the peloton neared the top of the climb they were only 6’45” behind, Team Sky beginning to pull back the escapees.
A couple of punctures for leaders Sánchez and Voeckler didn’t stop them, each soon rejoining the breakaway after their respective technical difficulties. They were irrelevant, however, as the intermediate sprint approached, soon revealing the real reason why Sagan initiated the breakaway and why so many sprinters chose to join it. With Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEDGE) leading out team sprinter Matt Goss, Goss, Sagan and FDJ-Bigmat sprinter Yauheni Hutarovich raced each other to the line, Goss outmanoeuvring both to take the 20 points on offer for first, chipping another five points off Sagan’s lead in the green jersey competition. Shortly after both the Australian Goss and the Belarusian Hutarovich were seen dropping rapidly off the back of the breakaway, exercise done for the day.
They weren’t the only ones to go, the Europcar riders setting a tough pace that some in the breakaway couldn’t follow. It was a common theme with the peloton, too, where some of the big names were being shelled off the back from the pace set by Sky as they chased the now-16 man escape. The number kept going down until eventually Sanchez, Voeckler, Michele Scarponi (Lampre-ISD), Jean-Christophe Peraud (AG2R La Mondiale) and Dries Devenyns (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) had shed every one of their breakaway companions. After several minutes of attacks, escapes and catches, Sanchez, Voeckler, Scarponi and Devenyns found themselves alone in the lead on their way up the hors catégorie Col de Grand Colombier.
One could be forgiven for thinking that it was a Norwegian national holiday from all the red, blue and white flags lining the race route up the second climb of the day. Edvald Boasson Hagen’s countrymen had turned out in force to support him as he led the peloton up the HC climb in the Norwegian national jersey, working as a domestique for Sky team leader Bradley Wiggins. The slope of the climb took its toll, though, a handful of the big favourites making it over the climb in a little group, a short way ahead of the remainder of the peloton. Vincenzi Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) led the descending peloton down the other side, Bradley Wiggins and his Sky teammates hovering in constant attendance around reigning champion Cadel Evans (BMC). Without such stringent supervision, Nibali leapt off the front of the group and caught up to teammate Peter Sagan, waiting further on down the road, as the two attempted the same manoeuvre as Andy Schleck did with teammates Maxime Monfort and Joost Posthuma last year, though without Schleck’s level of success. Sky soon wound Nibali back in as the peloton regrouped for the final 30 kilometres of the stage.
Meanwhile, out the front, Voeckler had led the breakaway quartet over the final two climbs of the day, giving him enough King of the Mountain points to take the polka-dot jersey. Inside the final 20 kilometres, the four were so focussed on preparing to race each other for the stage win that they failed to notice Jens Voigt speeding up behind them, having sat in no-man’s land between the peloton and the breakaway for a large part of the day. The addition of Voigt into the mix was not a welcome one, Scarponi attacking early to try and shake the strong German off his tail before the finish line. The rest of the break caught him on the end of the descent, before being surprised as Devenyns jumped off the front. The remaining four were reluctant to chase, Voigt finally taking responsibility to allow himself a chance at the stage win.
Devenyns caught, Voeckler began coming up alongside Voigt, trying to outrace the German, but Sanchez was also coming from behind, trying to salvage a stage win after his efforts of the day. The almost comically slow sprint finish from three very tired riders ended with the combination pain-and-triumph expression so familiar on Thomas Voeckler’s face as he claimed France’s second stage win of the Tour, every effort of the victory etched in his features. As the remaining breakaway riders rolled in from no-man’s land, a black and red jersey could be seen sprinting towards the line, followed by a yellow one. Brad Wiggins refused to let Cadel Evans escape his clutches right to the finish line, chasing far more vigorously than during Jurgen van den Broeck’s (Lotto Belisol) attacks earlier in the stage to defend his yellow jersey.
Stage 11 hits the Alps, with two HC climbs as well as a Cat 1 and a Cat 2. It seems even more unlikely that a breakaway will succeed than it did today, but this is the Tour de France, and anything is possible. The most likely scenario (and a fairly exciting one at that) would have Team Sky hauling Cadel Evans, Vincenzo Nibali, Jurgen van den Broeck and Denis Menchov, plus a few extras, through the Alps at top speed, though Evans’ and van den Broeck’s propensity for attacking will certainly keep things lively. That said, the mountain breakaway has already succeeded once, so just maybe they could pull it off again.
Tuesday, 10 July 2012
Stage 9: Arc-et-Senans – Besançon (ITT)
A time trial usually provides some good variety in the middle of a three-week race. In this race,
though, a time trial becomes a battleground, a chance for one or other
of the favourites to stamp their authority on the yellow jersey. That’s
exactly what it became, the 41 kilometre 9th stage from Arc-et-Senans to
Besançon turning into a huge game of tug-o’-war as the world’s best
time triallists tugged on the advantage of the maillot jaune.
The early starters provided no real surprise, Vacansoleil’s Lieuwe Westra holding the early lead before it was claimed by World Time Trial Champion Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quickstep). The German had another jinxed run, a flat tyre ending his chances at a stage win, but still managing to top the leaderboard in a time of 53’40”. Martin’s reign lasted until the ride of four-time former World Time Trial Champion Fabian Cancellara (Radioshack-Nissan-Trek), who ousted his younger successor with a time 1’19” faster.
The locals of the département of Doubs were providing the entertainment of the day with several Nazca Lines-style patterns carved into the fields surrounding the race. A particularly elaborate one featured one of the renowned local clocks as the rear wheel of a time trial bike complete with rider, massive in comparison to the pro cyclists passing along the road beneath. It wasn’t until the final two and a half hours of racing that things really got exciting; the better time triallists hitting the course in the final 30 riders. Riders like Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) and Denis Menchov (Katusha) lived up to their reputations, putting in top 10 performances, while Radioshack’s riders filled in the gaps, with six riders in the top 20.
The real surprise of the day came from Cadel Evans’ young American teammate, Tejay van Garderen (BMC), who caused a stir when he raced through the first time check three seconds ahead of Cancellara. The 23-year-old was still going strong at the second time check, two seconds ahead of the dominant Swiss, and managed to maintain enough of a lead to cross the line just eight seconds behind ‘Spartacus’ and reclaim his white jersey from Cofidis’ Rein Taaramae.
Naturally it was the last few riders of the day who generated the most interest, the focus on the battle for yellow raging between Bradley Wiggins (Sky) and Cadel Evans (BMC). Evans had more to worry about than just the Briton in the yellow jersey, with Wiggins’ Sky teammate Chris Froome posting a 23-second best time at the first time check. Evans was unable to keep up, falling outside of the top 10 at the 16 kilometre mark, but he found his rhythm in the second third of the race and placed 6th at the 31 kilometre time check.
It wasn’t going to be enough, though, Froome second at each time check and Wiggins dominating in 1st place, over a minute ahead of the Tour de France defending champion. Not only was Evans sacrificing precious seconds in the race for yellow, but Froome was now jeopardising Evans’ hold on second place as well. Though Evans managed to reach Besançon just 1’08” behind Froome, Wiggins was showing why he’s known as a specialist in the discipline, storming over the line in a stage-winning 51’24”, solidifying his lead on yellow.
The GC has been turned upside down yet again as the time triallists are catapulted up the ranking, Wiggins still leading the classification ahead of Evans at 1’53” and Froome at 2’07”. Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) and Denis Menchov round out the top 5. Tomorrow is a rest day before the race heads into the mountains again, so watch the top 5 riders as well as riders like Jurgen van den Broeck (Lotto Belisol) and Team Radioshack-Nissan-Trek. Cadel Evans in particular needs to make up time on Wiggins, so Stage 10 could be where we see if the Australian can seriously defend his title.
The early starters provided no real surprise, Vacansoleil’s Lieuwe Westra holding the early lead before it was claimed by World Time Trial Champion Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quickstep). The German had another jinxed run, a flat tyre ending his chances at a stage win, but still managing to top the leaderboard in a time of 53’40”. Martin’s reign lasted until the ride of four-time former World Time Trial Champion Fabian Cancellara (Radioshack-Nissan-Trek), who ousted his younger successor with a time 1’19” faster.
The locals of the département of Doubs were providing the entertainment of the day with several Nazca Lines-style patterns carved into the fields surrounding the race. A particularly elaborate one featured one of the renowned local clocks as the rear wheel of a time trial bike complete with rider, massive in comparison to the pro cyclists passing along the road beneath. It wasn’t until the final two and a half hours of racing that things really got exciting; the better time triallists hitting the course in the final 30 riders. Riders like Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) and Denis Menchov (Katusha) lived up to their reputations, putting in top 10 performances, while Radioshack’s riders filled in the gaps, with six riders in the top 20.
The real surprise of the day came from Cadel Evans’ young American teammate, Tejay van Garderen (BMC), who caused a stir when he raced through the first time check three seconds ahead of Cancellara. The 23-year-old was still going strong at the second time check, two seconds ahead of the dominant Swiss, and managed to maintain enough of a lead to cross the line just eight seconds behind ‘Spartacus’ and reclaim his white jersey from Cofidis’ Rein Taaramae.
Naturally it was the last few riders of the day who generated the most interest, the focus on the battle for yellow raging between Bradley Wiggins (Sky) and Cadel Evans (BMC). Evans had more to worry about than just the Briton in the yellow jersey, with Wiggins’ Sky teammate Chris Froome posting a 23-second best time at the first time check. Evans was unable to keep up, falling outside of the top 10 at the 16 kilometre mark, but he found his rhythm in the second third of the race and placed 6th at the 31 kilometre time check.
It wasn’t going to be enough, though, Froome second at each time check and Wiggins dominating in 1st place, over a minute ahead of the Tour de France defending champion. Not only was Evans sacrificing precious seconds in the race for yellow, but Froome was now jeopardising Evans’ hold on second place as well. Though Evans managed to reach Besançon just 1’08” behind Froome, Wiggins was showing why he’s known as a specialist in the discipline, storming over the line in a stage-winning 51’24”, solidifying his lead on yellow.
The GC has been turned upside down yet again as the time triallists are catapulted up the ranking, Wiggins still leading the classification ahead of Evans at 1’53” and Froome at 2’07”. Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) and Denis Menchov round out the top 5. Tomorrow is a rest day before the race heads into the mountains again, so watch the top 5 riders as well as riders like Jurgen van den Broeck (Lotto Belisol) and Team Radioshack-Nissan-Trek. Cadel Evans in particular needs to make up time on Wiggins, so Stage 10 could be where we see if the Australian can seriously defend his title.
Monday, 9 July 2012
Stage 8: Belfort – Porrentruy
When it comes to exciting in the Tour de France, it’s the mountains that
deliver, and we’ve only just seen the beginning of the hills in the Grande Boucle.
Today’s stage from Belfort to Porrentruy was gripping, exciting and
tantalising, and this was only a taste of what’s to come once the Tour
reaches the Alps and the Pyrenees.
Today was tipped as a day for the breakaways and that certainly turned out to be the case. The race moved east under sunny skies towards the French-Swiss border, 11 riders from various teams jumping off the front of the peloton a few kilometres in. They hovered 20 to 30 seconds off the front of the peloton for almost 10 kilometres, until the peloton managed to reel them in.
Jens Voigt (Radioshack-Nissan-Trek), however, pre-empting the breakaway’s capture, attacked on his own and began a solo breakaway up and over the first climb of the day. The oldest man in the Tour de France was sitting 30” ahead of the bunch as various groups of riders tried to bridge the gap to the super-domestique. A group of eight and a group of four managed to stay away from the peloton long enough to join forces and begin attempting Voigt’s capture. Before they could achieve it, though, the peloton surged forward to swallow them up, and instead Pieter Weening (Orica-GreenEDGE) and Chris Anker Sorenson (Saxobank-Tinkoff Bank) had a try.
The theme of fluid breakaways would continue over the course of the day, as a stubborn Jens Voigt refused to be caught. The feat was eventually achieved by a group of six riders that soon swelled to a breakaway of 11, but as the peloton once again threatened to catch them Voigt took off on his own again. Steven Kruijswijk of Rabobank decided to join him, and the pair led a field that was split into four or five groups with riders constantly being tailed off the back. The first few groups on the road amalgamated to form a super-breakaway of 24, still only a handful of seconds ahead of the peloton.
That was when Jérémy Roy, SuperCombative rider of the 2011 Tour, decided the day just wasn’t interesting enough and bridged the gap to the breakaway and passed them, beginning a solo time trial in the lead. The main peloton was having its own kind of excitement, as yet another crash of the kind that has defined this year’s Tour forced Euskaltel-Euskadi’s main man Samuel Sanchez to retire with a broken collarbone and hand. Alejandro Valverde of Movistar also took another tumble, adding to his list of bad luck in this year’s Tour.
Meanwhile Roy had left France behind him altogether and entered Switzerland, leading Vasil Kiryienka (Movistar) and their group of 20 chasers over the fourth climb and into the trilingual country. Roy was soon joined by Fredrik Kessiakoff, who had leapfrogged Kiryienka to take the lead, 3’40” ahead of the peloton. The duo were quickly caught by four other riders, including Roy’s FDJ-Bigmat teammate Thibaut Pinot, as they made their way over the fifth climb of the day, the Category 2 Cote de Saulcy. Having taken maximum points, Kessiakoff decided to go it alone, vaulting off the front of the leading sextet and building up almost a minute’s lead for himself.
The peloton was taking the day off, the number of escapees meaning there were no points up for grabs at the intermediate sprint. The teams kept the pace high, though, continuing to shell riders off the back as they went up and down the Jura mountains. The action was still on out the front, the chase on for lone leader Kessiakoff by the Frenchmen Pinot and Tony Gallopin (Radioshack-Nissan-Trek). Pinot soon dropped Gallopin and started coming for Kessiakoff, less than a minute ahead, as the peloton fractured and died, the only group on the road a small collection of the top GC contenders, including yellow jersey wearer Bradley Wiggins (Sky), Cadel Evans (BMC) and Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale).
Three minutes ahead, Pinot was bolting for the finish line, FDJ-Bigmat sports director Marc Madiot bellowing at him from the team car with more and more enthusiasm as Pinot raced closer and closer to home. Though he was being chased by the elite group of GC riders and climbers who were coming ever closer, the 22-year-old Frenchman held off the hordes long enough to raise his arms in tired but exultant triumph as he crossed the line in Porrentruy, the first French victory of the Tour. Behind him Evans and Jurgen van den Broeck (Lotto Belisol) were playing mind games with their enemies, Wiggins marking Evans carefully to avoid losing time to his rival. Despite Evans’ attacks, the group crossed the line as one, Evans taking second and the previously dropped Gallopin hanging in for third.
The general classification received another good shake-up today, though nothing has changed between top contenders Wiggins and Evans. Tomorrow’s time trial will certainly keep things interesting, and it’s hard to go past Wiggins or Fabian Cancellara (Radioshack-Nissan-Trek). Omega Pharma-Quickstep’s Tony Martin may or may not be in the mix, depending on how well his wrist has healed up. Watch out, too, for Cadel Evans. Though not as good a time triallist as the other three, Evans is in superlative form and he may prove a surprise in his attempt to claim the yellow.
Today was tipped as a day for the breakaways and that certainly turned out to be the case. The race moved east under sunny skies towards the French-Swiss border, 11 riders from various teams jumping off the front of the peloton a few kilometres in. They hovered 20 to 30 seconds off the front of the peloton for almost 10 kilometres, until the peloton managed to reel them in.
Jens Voigt (Radioshack-Nissan-Trek), however, pre-empting the breakaway’s capture, attacked on his own and began a solo breakaway up and over the first climb of the day. The oldest man in the Tour de France was sitting 30” ahead of the bunch as various groups of riders tried to bridge the gap to the super-domestique. A group of eight and a group of four managed to stay away from the peloton long enough to join forces and begin attempting Voigt’s capture. Before they could achieve it, though, the peloton surged forward to swallow them up, and instead Pieter Weening (Orica-GreenEDGE) and Chris Anker Sorenson (Saxobank-Tinkoff Bank) had a try.
The theme of fluid breakaways would continue over the course of the day, as a stubborn Jens Voigt refused to be caught. The feat was eventually achieved by a group of six riders that soon swelled to a breakaway of 11, but as the peloton once again threatened to catch them Voigt took off on his own again. Steven Kruijswijk of Rabobank decided to join him, and the pair led a field that was split into four or five groups with riders constantly being tailed off the back. The first few groups on the road amalgamated to form a super-breakaway of 24, still only a handful of seconds ahead of the peloton.
That was when Jérémy Roy, SuperCombative rider of the 2011 Tour, decided the day just wasn’t interesting enough and bridged the gap to the breakaway and passed them, beginning a solo time trial in the lead. The main peloton was having its own kind of excitement, as yet another crash of the kind that has defined this year’s Tour forced Euskaltel-Euskadi’s main man Samuel Sanchez to retire with a broken collarbone and hand. Alejandro Valverde of Movistar also took another tumble, adding to his list of bad luck in this year’s Tour.
Meanwhile Roy had left France behind him altogether and entered Switzerland, leading Vasil Kiryienka (Movistar) and their group of 20 chasers over the fourth climb and into the trilingual country. Roy was soon joined by Fredrik Kessiakoff, who had leapfrogged Kiryienka to take the lead, 3’40” ahead of the peloton. The duo were quickly caught by four other riders, including Roy’s FDJ-Bigmat teammate Thibaut Pinot, as they made their way over the fifth climb of the day, the Category 2 Cote de Saulcy. Having taken maximum points, Kessiakoff decided to go it alone, vaulting off the front of the leading sextet and building up almost a minute’s lead for himself.
The peloton was taking the day off, the number of escapees meaning there were no points up for grabs at the intermediate sprint. The teams kept the pace high, though, continuing to shell riders off the back as they went up and down the Jura mountains. The action was still on out the front, the chase on for lone leader Kessiakoff by the Frenchmen Pinot and Tony Gallopin (Radioshack-Nissan-Trek). Pinot soon dropped Gallopin and started coming for Kessiakoff, less than a minute ahead, as the peloton fractured and died, the only group on the road a small collection of the top GC contenders, including yellow jersey wearer Bradley Wiggins (Sky), Cadel Evans (BMC) and Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale).
Three minutes ahead, Pinot was bolting for the finish line, FDJ-Bigmat sports director Marc Madiot bellowing at him from the team car with more and more enthusiasm as Pinot raced closer and closer to home. Though he was being chased by the elite group of GC riders and climbers who were coming ever closer, the 22-year-old Frenchman held off the hordes long enough to raise his arms in tired but exultant triumph as he crossed the line in Porrentruy, the first French victory of the Tour. Behind him Evans and Jurgen van den Broeck (Lotto Belisol) were playing mind games with their enemies, Wiggins marking Evans carefully to avoid losing time to his rival. Despite Evans’ attacks, the group crossed the line as one, Evans taking second and the previously dropped Gallopin hanging in for third.
The general classification received another good shake-up today, though nothing has changed between top contenders Wiggins and Evans. Tomorrow’s time trial will certainly keep things interesting, and it’s hard to go past Wiggins or Fabian Cancellara (Radioshack-Nissan-Trek). Omega Pharma-Quickstep’s Tony Martin may or may not be in the mix, depending on how well his wrist has healed up. Watch out, too, for Cadel Evans. Though not as good a time triallist as the other three, Evans is in superlative form and he may prove a surprise in his attempt to claim the yellow.
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