Saturday, July 21, 2007
Stage 13: Albi 54km individual time trial
The roads are wet and Cancellara crashed on the course.
Here are standings of the last five riders in the GC after Stage 12 and the current provisional Stage 13 ITT time gaps from the interim leader, Bradley Wiggins, after the ITT is partially complete:
Was 162. KUSCHYNSKI Aleksandr 156 LIQUIGAS 4:43
Was 163. NUYENS Nick 145 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 5:55
Was 164. CHARTEAU Anthony 104 CREDIT AGRICOLE 7:01
Was 165. VERBRUGGHE Rik 148 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 3:39
Was 166. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 7:06
At the end of the day: the slowest time trials of the day were:
162. AERTS Mario 42 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 1h 18' 33" + 11' 59"
163. HALGAND Patrice 107 CREDIT AGRICOLE 1h 18' 52" + 12' 18"
164. RODRIGUEZ Fred 47 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 1h 19' 16" + 12' 42"
165. VENTOSO Francisco 209 SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR 1h 19' 59" + 13' 25"
166. JALABERT Nicolas 137 AGRITUBEL 1h 20' 18" + 13' 44"
So the slowest of 166 cyclists in the Tour completed this ITT course at an average pace of 40.34 km/hr or 25.07 mph. That pace includes any slips, crashes, bobbles, flats, tire changes, new bikes, or whatever else can happen in 54 kilometers of wet, slippery roads.
AFTER completion of the time trial, the last five riders in the General Classification are only very slightly shuffled with Verbrugghe's ride lifting him up one notch:
162. KUSCHYNSKI Aleksandr 156 LIQUIGAS 60h 41' 48" + 1h 55' 09"
163. NUYENS Nick 145 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 60h 43' 20" + 1h 56' 41"
164. VERBRUGGHE Rik 148 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 60h 43' 46" + 1h 57' 07"
165. CHARTEAU Anthony 104 CREDIT AGRICOLE 60h 45' 12" + 1h 58' 33"
166. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 60h 50' 13" + 2h 03' 34"
Wim Vansevenant retains his position as Lanterne Rouge after this individual time trial with a 5-minute gap to the next rider in the overall standings.
Thanks again to VeloNews for providing us with Stage Stats, including:
Medical report:
Cancellara (CSC), Isasi (Euskaltel), Gusev (Discovery Channel), Jalabert (Agritubel), Kashechkin and Klöden (both Astana) all crashed but did not require medical attention
Jury decisions:
Saunier Duval-Prodir sport director fined 200 CHF and relegated to last position in Sunday's stage for driving dangerously and provoking an accident
Elsewhere: I just noticed this short video entitled "The lantern rouge, and the suffering" at Cyclingnews.com, but it really only mentions the Lanterne Rouge in passing and focuses on how tough the Tour is on the riders, with lots of shots of sweaty grimacing pro cyclists.
Tomorrow's stage 14 entering the Pyrenees should be a classic to watch: 2 HC summits and a mountaintop finish on Plateau de Beille, where Armstrong and Pantani were victorious. Velonews says, "Given the climb's history, the stage winner could be standing on top of the podium in Paris."
Here are standings of the last five riders in the GC after Stage 12 and the current provisional Stage 13 ITT time gaps from the interim leader, Bradley Wiggins, after the ITT is partially complete:
Was 162. KUSCHYNSKI Aleksandr 156 LIQUIGAS 4:43
Was 163. NUYENS Nick 145 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 5:55
Was 164. CHARTEAU Anthony 104 CREDIT AGRICOLE 7:01
Was 165. VERBRUGGHE Rik 148 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 3:39
Was 166. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 7:06
At the end of the day: the slowest time trials of the day were:
162. AERTS Mario 42 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 1h 18' 33" + 11' 59"
163. HALGAND Patrice 107 CREDIT AGRICOLE 1h 18' 52" + 12' 18"
164. RODRIGUEZ Fred 47 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 1h 19' 16" + 12' 42"
165. VENTOSO Francisco 209 SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR 1h 19' 59" + 13' 25"
166. JALABERT Nicolas 137 AGRITUBEL 1h 20' 18" + 13' 44"
So the slowest of 166 cyclists in the Tour completed this ITT course at an average pace of 40.34 km/hr or 25.07 mph. That pace includes any slips, crashes, bobbles, flats, tire changes, new bikes, or whatever else can happen in 54 kilometers of wet, slippery roads.
AFTER completion of the time trial, the last five riders in the General Classification are only very slightly shuffled with Verbrugghe's ride lifting him up one notch:
162. KUSCHYNSKI Aleksandr 156 LIQUIGAS 60h 41' 48" + 1h 55' 09"
163. NUYENS Nick 145 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 60h 43' 20" + 1h 56' 41"
164. VERBRUGGHE Rik 148 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 60h 43' 46" + 1h 57' 07"
165. CHARTEAU Anthony 104 CREDIT AGRICOLE 60h 45' 12" + 1h 58' 33"
166. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 60h 50' 13" + 2h 03' 34"
Wim Vansevenant retains his position as Lanterne Rouge after this individual time trial with a 5-minute gap to the next rider in the overall standings.Thanks again to VeloNews for providing us with Stage Stats, including:
Medical report:
Cancellara (CSC), Isasi (Euskaltel), Gusev (Discovery Channel), Jalabert (Agritubel), Kashechkin and Klöden (both Astana) all crashed but did not require medical attention
Jury decisions:
Saunier Duval-Prodir sport director fined 200 CHF and relegated to last position in Sunday's stage for driving dangerously and provoking an accident
Elsewhere: I just noticed this short video entitled "The lantern rouge, and the suffering" at Cyclingnews.com, but it really only mentions the Lanterne Rouge in passing and focuses on how tough the Tour is on the riders, with lots of shots of sweaty grimacing pro cyclists.
Tomorrow's stage 14 entering the Pyrenees should be a classic to watch: 2 HC summits and a mountaintop finish on Plateau de Beille, where Armstrong and Pantani were victorious. Velonews says, "Given the climb's history, the stage winner could be standing on top of the podium in Paris."
Labels: Aerts, Cancellara, Charteau, Halgand, ITT, Jalabert, Kuschynski, Nuyens, Rodriguez, Vansevenant, Ventoso, Verbrugghe
Friday, July 20, 2007
Stage 12: Montpellier to Castres
168 riders started today, with no overnight abandons noted. There are some smaller climbs today, a single category two about 3/4 of the way through the stage, and then a long downhill finish. It is unlikely that there will be many big changes in the general classification unless there are some strong winds splitting up the peloton (like yesterday) or some crashes that take riders out.
Speaking of crashes, Alberto Ongarato, an Italian rider for Milram, crashed at the 7 km mark and after checking with the race doctor, abandoned the Tour. He was in 159th place in the general classification. The peloton is now down to 167 riders, and Erik Zabel has one less leadout man.
Most riders finished within 7 minutes of the winner, but four riders came to the finish line in a grupetto, 9:27 after the stage winner:
163. MERCADO Juan Miguel 131 AGRITUBEL 4h 34' 59" + 09' 27"
164. BURGHARDT Marcus 22 T-MOBILE TEAM 4h 34' 59" + 09' 27"
165. KRAUSS Sven 96 GEROLSTEINER 4h 34' 59" + 09' 27"
166. VENTOSO Francisco 209 SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR 4h 34' 59" + 09' 27"
Stef Clement, a Dutch rider for Bouygues Telecom, was over the time limit at the finish line and will not be starting tomorrow. He crashed at about 117 km into the stage.
Geraint Thomas seems to be riding better in the temperatures of southern France (finishing 19th for the stage), so we have the following five at the end of the general classification now, with no change in the Lanterne Rouge:
162. KUSCHYNSKI Aleksandr 156 LIQUIGAS 59h 28' 18" + 1h 51' 08"
163. NUYENS Nick 145 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 59h 28' 38" + 1h 51' 28"
164. CHARTEAU Anthony 104 CREDIT AGRICOLE 59h 29' 24" + 1h 52' 14"
165. VERBRUGGHE Rik 148 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 59h 31' 20" + 1h 54' 10"
166. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 59h 34' 20" + 1h 57' 10"
Vansevenant has a 3:00 gap now until the next-placed rider. His placing earns him the right to roll down the ramp first at the individual time trial tomorrow. Anything can happen over 54 kilometers of roads!
Speaking of crashes, Alberto Ongarato, an Italian rider for Milram, crashed at the 7 km mark and after checking with the race doctor, abandoned the Tour. He was in 159th place in the general classification. The peloton is now down to 167 riders, and Erik Zabel has one less leadout man.Most riders finished within 7 minutes of the winner, but four riders came to the finish line in a grupetto, 9:27 after the stage winner:
163. MERCADO Juan Miguel 131 AGRITUBEL 4h 34' 59" + 09' 27"
164. BURGHARDT Marcus 22 T-MOBILE TEAM 4h 34' 59" + 09' 27"
165. KRAUSS Sven 96 GEROLSTEINER 4h 34' 59" + 09' 27"
166. VENTOSO Francisco 209 SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR 4h 34' 59" + 09' 27"
Stef Clement, a Dutch rider for Bouygues Telecom, was over the time limit at the finish line and will not be starting tomorrow. He crashed at about 117 km into the stage.
Geraint Thomas seems to be riding better in the temperatures of southern France (finishing 19th for the stage), so we have the following five at the end of the general classification now, with no change in the Lanterne Rouge:
162. KUSCHYNSKI Aleksandr 156 LIQUIGAS 59h 28' 18" + 1h 51' 08"
163. NUYENS Nick 145 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 59h 28' 38" + 1h 51' 28"
164. CHARTEAU Anthony 104 CREDIT AGRICOLE 59h 29' 24" + 1h 52' 14"
165. VERBRUGGHE Rik 148 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 59h 31' 20" + 1h 54' 10"
166. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 59h 34' 20" + 1h 57' 10"
Vansevenant has a 3:00 gap now until the next-placed rider. His placing earns him the right to roll down the ramp first at the individual time trial tomorrow. Anything can happen over 54 kilometers of roads!
Labels: Burghardt, Charteau, Clement, Krauss, Kuschynski, Mercado, Nuyens, Ongarato, Vansevenant, Ventoso, Verbrugghe
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Stage 11: Marseille - Montpellier
In progress.
It's a flat sprinter's stage with no abandons reported. Christophe Moreau of AG2R had a small crash but is back on the bike. None of the BOP (back-of-the-peloton) riders that we have been following are in the current breakaway.
I'm usually a good speller, but I can never remember how to spell peloton. Peleton. Whatever. I'm only a good speller in American-English.
Don't you love it when CSC lets Jens Voigt off his leash? He's always fun to watch.
Later. . . .
Sadly, we lost three more riders today:
72 ANTON Igor (ESP) EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI withdrawls
63 CALZATI Sylvain (FRA) AG2R PREVOYANCE withdrawls
39 ZABRISKIE David (USA) TEAM CSC outside time limit
This is what I just posted over at Bruce Hildebrand's blog concerning the Big Z:
"Dave Zabriskie was listed as last place finisher in 2 stages (once when he arrived in an autobus of ~70 riders), but was never last place in the General Classification. Calling him the Lanterne Rouge is like calling the stage winner the yellow jersey wearer. Wim Vansevenant is the Lanterne Rouge and has been for 4 stages, and was also Lanterne Rouge for the 2006 Tour."
Although Zabriskie might have been the Lanterne Rouge now, if he had finished inside the time limits today. What a shame he didn't make it to the long individual time trial on Saturday! Seems that spare cycles agreed.
Today a grupetto of 14 riders finished at 10:13 after the stage winner, then Frenchman Benoit Vaugrenard from FdJ was the final official finisher of the stage at 12:26.
That leaves our final five in the General Classification (with Zabriskie gone, Steegmans finishing 57th for the stage, and Hoste finishing 140th) as:
164. CHARTEAU Anthony 104 CREDIT AGRICOLE 54h 57' 14" + 1h 45' 36"
165. VERBRUGGHE Rik 148 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 54h 59' 14" + 1h 47' 36"
166. NUYENS Nick 145 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 55h 00' 12" + 1h 48' 34"
167. GERAINT Thomas 215 BARLOWORLD 55h 02' 25" + 1h 50' 47"
168. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 55h 08' 48" + 1h 57' 10"
So Wim Vansevenant remains Lanterne Rouge of the Tour de France for the fourth consecutive stage.
It's a flat sprinter's stage with no abandons reported. Christophe Moreau of AG2R had a small crash but is back on the bike. None of the BOP (back-of-the-peloton) riders that we have been following are in the current breakaway.
I'm usually a good speller, but I can never remember how to spell peloton. Peleton. Whatever. I'm only a good speller in American-English.
Don't you love it when CSC lets Jens Voigt off his leash? He's always fun to watch.
Later. . . .
Sadly, we lost three more riders today:
72 ANTON Igor (ESP) EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI withdrawls
63 CALZATI Sylvain (FRA) AG2R PREVOYANCE withdrawls
39 ZABRISKIE David (USA) TEAM CSC outside time limit
This is what I just posted over at Bruce Hildebrand's blog concerning the Big Z:
"Dave Zabriskie was listed as last place finisher in 2 stages (once when he arrived in an autobus of ~70 riders), but was never last place in the General Classification. Calling him the Lanterne Rouge is like calling the stage winner the yellow jersey wearer. Wim Vansevenant is the Lanterne Rouge and has been for 4 stages, and was also Lanterne Rouge for the 2006 Tour."
Although Zabriskie might have been the Lanterne Rouge now, if he had finished inside the time limits today. What a shame he didn't make it to the long individual time trial on Saturday! Seems that spare cycles agreed.
Today a grupetto of 14 riders finished at 10:13 after the stage winner, then Frenchman Benoit Vaugrenard from FdJ was the final official finisher of the stage at 12:26.
That leaves our final five in the General Classification (with Zabriskie gone, Steegmans finishing 57th for the stage, and Hoste finishing 140th) as:
164. CHARTEAU Anthony 104 CREDIT AGRICOLE 54h 57' 14" + 1h 45' 36"
165. VERBRUGGHE Rik 148 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 54h 59' 14" + 1h 47' 36"
166. NUYENS Nick 145 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 55h 00' 12" + 1h 48' 34"
167. GERAINT Thomas 215 BARLOWORLD 55h 02' 25" + 1h 50' 47"
168. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 55h 08' 48" + 1h 57' 10"
So Wim Vansevenant remains Lanterne Rouge of the Tour de France for the fourth consecutive stage.
Labels: Anton, Calzati, Charteau, Moreau, Nuyens, Thomas, Vaugrenard, Vergrugghe, Voigt, Zabriskie
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Stage 10: Tallard to Marseille
All 171 finishers and survivors of the Alps from yesterday appear to be riding today's flatter stage, in progress.
Former Lanterne Rouge Aleksandr Kuschynski (stages 1-3) of Liquigas is a member of the breakaway, which will significantly boost him in the standings if it survives. Fly!
Later. . . .
Yes! Aleksandr Kuschynski finished 9th in the stage, which moves him well up in the GC to 150th overall.
Here are all the riders that came to the finish line today after the arrival of the 10:36 autobus:
165. CORTINOVIS Alessandro 182 TEAM MILRAM 5h 31' 49" + 11' 25"
166. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 5h 32' 34" + 12' 10"
167. FÖRSTER Robert 92 GEROLSTEINER 5h 34' 03" + 13' 39"
168. KRAUSS Sven 96 GEROLSTEINER 5h 34' 03" + 13' 39"
169. WROLICH Peter 99 GEROLSTEINER 5h 34' 03" + 13' 39"
170. GERAINT Thomas 215 BARLOWORLD 5h 34' 03" + 13' 39"
171. STEEGMANS Gert 176 QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC 5h 35' 34" + 15' 10"
Apparently the Welshman Geraint Thomas suffered from the heat today. "It's not like this back in Cardiff." Uh, no, Geraint, welcome to the French-freakin'-Riviera.
So clearly Vansevenant will retain his position as Lanterne Rouge for another day. These hard-working riders are not strangers to the tail end of the peleton. We've seen Forster before on this blog, with a 5th from last finish overall in the 2005 Tour. Wrolich finished 5th from last overall in the 2006 Tour, the year that Steegmans was 3rd from last (and Charteau spent a lot of time toward the end of the standings that year too). By his late finish today, stage 3 winner Gert Steegmans was pulled down right into Kuschinski's spot from yesterday, with no other significant changes:
167. CHARTEAU Anthony 104 CREDIT AGRICOLE 51h 05' 34" + 1h 41' 46"
168. HOSTE Leif 45 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 51h 05' 43" + 1h 41' 55"
169. STEEGMANS Gert 176 QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC 51h 05' 48" + 1h 42' 00"
170. ZABRISKIE David 39 TEAM CSC 51h 06' 37" + 1h 42' 49"
171. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 51h 10' 45" + 1h 46' 57"
Former Lanterne Rouge Aleksandr Kuschynski (stages 1-3) of Liquigas is a member of the breakaway, which will significantly boost him in the standings if it survives. Fly!
Later. . . .
Yes! Aleksandr Kuschynski finished 9th in the stage, which moves him well up in the GC to 150th overall.
Here are all the riders that came to the finish line today after the arrival of the 10:36 autobus:
165. CORTINOVIS Alessandro 182 TEAM MILRAM 5h 31' 49" + 11' 25"
166. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 5h 32' 34" + 12' 10"
167. FÖRSTER Robert 92 GEROLSTEINER 5h 34' 03" + 13' 39"
168. KRAUSS Sven 96 GEROLSTEINER 5h 34' 03" + 13' 39"
169. WROLICH Peter 99 GEROLSTEINER 5h 34' 03" + 13' 39"
170. GERAINT Thomas 215 BARLOWORLD 5h 34' 03" + 13' 39"
171. STEEGMANS Gert 176 QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC 5h 35' 34" + 15' 10"
Apparently the Welshman Geraint Thomas suffered from the heat today. "It's not like this back in Cardiff." Uh, no, Geraint, welcome to the French-freakin'-Riviera.
So clearly Vansevenant will retain his position as Lanterne Rouge for another day. These hard-working riders are not strangers to the tail end of the peleton. We've seen Forster before on this blog, with a 5th from last finish overall in the 2005 Tour. Wrolich finished 5th from last overall in the 2006 Tour, the year that Steegmans was 3rd from last (and Charteau spent a lot of time toward the end of the standings that year too). By his late finish today, stage 3 winner Gert Steegmans was pulled down right into Kuschinski's spot from yesterday, with no other significant changes:
167. CHARTEAU Anthony 104 CREDIT AGRICOLE 51h 05' 34" + 1h 41' 46"
168. HOSTE Leif 45 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 51h 05' 43" + 1h 41' 55"
169. STEEGMANS Gert 176 QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC 51h 05' 48" + 1h 42' 00"
170. ZABRISKIE David 39 TEAM CSC 51h 06' 37" + 1h 42' 49"
171. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 51h 10' 45" + 1h 46' 57"
Labels: Charteau, Cortinovis, Forster, Hoste, Krauss, Kuschynski, Steegmans, Thomas, Vansevenant, Wrolich, Zagbriskie
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Stage 9: Val-d’Isère - Briançon
No reports yet of any unexpected withdrawals in the starting lineup, so I believe we should have 171 riders on the road. And hooray, everyone finished the stage today!
And Zabriskie does it again!! He's listed as the final rider in the stage today!!!!! That's fine - there is no need for him to expend a single extra calorie of effort in this stage doing anything that's not directly related to support of the team leader or making it over the line in front of the cutoff. Final five listed in the stage standings are:
167. CHARTEAU Anthony 104 CREDIT AGRICOLE 4h 43' 15" + 28' 51"
168. STEEGMANS Gert 176 QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC 4h 43' 15" + 28' 51"
169. CHAVANEL Sébastien 162 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 4h 43' 15" + 28' 51"
170. HUSHOVD Thor 101 CREDIT AGRICOLE 4h 43' 15" + 28' 51"
171. ZABRISKIE David 39 TEAM CSC 4h 43' 15" + 28' 51"
But that belies the fact that 72 riders arrived in the enormous autobus at the end of the stage and were assigned the same time. Wim Vansevenant arrived at the finish line as one of those riders in the autobus and so he does not move up in the overall standings, remaining in the Lanterne Rouge position for another day.
The final five riders in the General Classification are now:
167. CHARTEAU Anthony 104 CREDIT AGRICOLE 45h 34' 34" + 1h 41' 46"
168. HOSTE Leif 45 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 45h 34' 43" + 1h 41' 55"
169. KUSCHYNSKI Aleksandr 156 LIQUIGAS 45h 35' 11" + 1h 42' 23"
170. ZABRISKIE David 39 TEAM CSC 45h 35' 37" + 1h 42' 49"
171. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 45h 38' 11" + 1h 45' 23"
And Zabriskie does it again!! He's listed as the final rider in the stage today!!!!! That's fine - there is no need for him to expend a single extra calorie of effort in this stage doing anything that's not directly related to support of the team leader or making it over the line in front of the cutoff. Final five listed in the stage standings are:167. CHARTEAU Anthony 104 CREDIT AGRICOLE 4h 43' 15" + 28' 51"
168. STEEGMANS Gert 176 QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC 4h 43' 15" + 28' 51"
169. CHAVANEL Sébastien 162 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 4h 43' 15" + 28' 51"
170. HUSHOVD Thor 101 CREDIT AGRICOLE 4h 43' 15" + 28' 51"
171. ZABRISKIE David 39 TEAM CSC 4h 43' 15" + 28' 51"
But that belies the fact that 72 riders arrived in the enormous autobus at the end of the stage and were assigned the same time. Wim Vansevenant arrived at the finish line as one of those riders in the autobus and so he does not move up in the overall standings, remaining in the Lanterne Rouge position for another day.
The final five riders in the General Classification are now:
167. CHARTEAU Anthony 104 CREDIT AGRICOLE 45h 34' 34" + 1h 41' 46"
168. HOSTE Leif 45 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 45h 34' 43" + 1h 41' 55"
169. KUSCHYNSKI Aleksandr 156 LIQUIGAS 45h 35' 11" + 1h 42' 23"
170. ZABRISKIE David 39 TEAM CSC 45h 35' 37" + 1h 42' 49"
171. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 45h 38' 11" + 1h 45' 23"
Labels: Charteau, Chavanel, Hoste, Hushovd, Kuschynski, Steegmans, Zabriskie
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Carnage in the Alps
I haven't been able to watch the stage yet, so I actually gasped when I saw the list of today's 8 withdrawals:146 PARRA Ivan Ramiro (COL) COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE withdrawls
136 HERVE Cédric (FRA) AGRITUBEL outside time limit
134 FEILLU Romain (FRA) AGRITUBEL withdrawls
86 NAPOLITANO Danilo (ITA) LAMPRE-FONDITAL outside time limit
46 MC EWEN Robbie (AUS) PREDICTOR - LOTTO outside time limit
35 O’GRADY Stuart (AUS) TEAM CSC withdrawls
23 CAVENDISH Mark (GBR) T-MOBILE TEAM withdrawls
21 ROGERS Michael (AUS) T-MOBILE TEAM withdrawls
O'Grady crashed and his injuries sound serious: "punctured one lung, broke his collarbone, shoulder blade, five ribs as well as some bones in his spine".
Personally, I hope this day - with O'Grady and McEwen out - improves old Erik Zabel's chances of wearing the green jersey a few more times, particularly on the last day in Paris. I think the decision to strip his green jersey win from 11 years ago is nasty, particularly when other living Tour winners have admitted to taking anabolic steroids while competing. Like, for example, Floyd Landis is accused of doing. But they're French. (Right now Zabel is in 2nd place with 134 points to Tom Boonen's 147 points, and Boonen couldn't finish the Tour in 2005 and 2006).
Our old friend Wim Vansevenant (Lanterne Rouge for the 2006 Tour, Belgian rider for Predictor-Lotto) is our new Lanterne Rouge from this stage. This is his 4th Tour de France. He's already shown that he's capable of surviving the entire 3 weeks of the Tour, and he's made it to the rest day now - maybe he'll make it to the bitter end.Vansevenant is the seventh man to hold the Lanterne Rouge title in this up-for-grabs Tour, and we're only at the end of Stage 8. However, he's far ahead of five of the previous holders of the title - he's still in the Tour, and they're not. Vansevenant has been earning his paycheck riding in support of his teammate, sprinter Robbie McEwen, although obviously now that tactic will change since McEwen is out of the Tour.
66 riders arrived at the finish line and their well-earned rest day in the huge autobus, all assigned a time of 39:07 after the stage winner. That results in our final five riders in the General Classification as:
168. CHARTEAU Anthony 104 CREDIT AGRICOLE 16:51:19 + 01:13:37
169. HOSTE Leif 45 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 16:51:28 + 01:13:46
170. KUSCHYNSKI Aleksandr 156 LIQUIGAS 16:51:56 + 01:14:14
171. ZABRISKIE David 39 TEAM CSC 16:52:22 + 01:14:40
172. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 16:54:56 + 01:17:14
Well, if the Big Z loses a couple more minutes to Vansevenant, we may be able to talk about him as Lanterne Rouge after all. I have a feeling he would just laugh and bide his time until the 54-km individual time trial next Saturday, July 21st. Right now he's doing the job he is paid to do out there.
Labels: Boonen, Cavendish, Charteau, Herve Feillu, Hoste, Kuschynski, McEwen, Napolitano, O'Grady, Parra, Rogers, Vansevenant, Zabel, Zabriskie
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Stage 3: Waregem - Compiègne
Stéphane Vervalle captured Tomas Vaitkus's pain after the crash in Stage 2. He had surgery that evening for multiple breaks of his thumb.Despite the incredible size of the pileup in yesterday's stage, and an endless 236.5-km stage to ride today, Vaitkus was the only rider involved to leave the Tour. 187 riders remain.
Fully 14 riders lost small amounts of time in today's stage as they straggled in after a long, long ride:
174. ARVESEN Kurt-Asle 32 TEAM CSC 06:36:52 + 00:00:37
175. ANTON Igor 72 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 06:36:58 + 00:00:43
176. TOSATTO Matteo 178 QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC 06:36:58 + 00:00:43
177. HINAULT Sébastien 108 CREDIT AGRICOLE 06:37:04 + 00:00:49
178. ZANDIO Xabier 19 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 06:37:07 + 00:00:52
179. CUESTA Inigo 34 TEAM CSC 06:37:07 + 00:00:52
180. BENNATI Daniele 82 LAMPRE-FONDITAL 06:37:07 + 00:00:52
181. DE GROOT Bram 53 RABOBANK 06:37:07 + 00:00:52
182. NUYENS Nick 145 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 06:37:07 + 00:00:52
183. CHARTEAU Anthony 104 CREDIT AGRICOLE 06:37:07 + 00:00:52
184. ONGARATO Alberto 187 TEAM MILRAM 06:37:12 + 00:00:57
185. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 06:37:12 + 00:00:57
186. O’GRADY Stuart 35 TEAM CSC 06:37:12 + 00:00:57
187. ZABRISKIE David 39 TEAM CSC 06:37:20 + 00:01:05
Cuesta, O'Grady, and Zabriskie probably wore themselves out working hard to protect the yellow jersey on their teammate Cancellara - which paid off enormously, saving Cancellara enough energy on the long route to allow him to dramatically won another stage today.
However, with a 9-minute deficit, our current Lanterne Rouge Aleksandr Kuschynski may not be dislodged until the mountain stages. Here are our final five riders in the General Classification after Stage 3:
183. AUGE Stéphane 142 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 15:16:22 + 00:04:14
184. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 15:16:29 + 00:04:21
185. HERVE Cédric 136 AGRITUBEL 15:16:29 + 00:04:21
186. ZABRISKIE David 39 TEAM CSC 15:16:32 + 00:04:24
187. KUSCHYNSKI Aleksandr 156 LIQUIGAS 15:21:09 + 00:09:01
Auge joined the breakaway today at about 58 km before the finish, and tonight will sleep in the polka-dot jersey.
Labels: Anton, Arvesen, Auge, Bennati, Charteau, Cuesta, De Groot, Herve, Hinault, Kuschynski, Nuyens, O'Grady, Ongarato, Tosatto, Vaitkus, Vansevenant, Zabriskie, Zandio
