Wednesday, June 29, 2011
3-time Tour de France Lanterne Rouge Vansevenant busted
Big news coming shortly before the 2011 Tour is that retired cyclist and 3-time Lanterne Rouge Wim Vansevenant has been arrested for receiving a shipment of high-end "ultra-modern" doping products from Australia.
His former long-term team, Omega Pharma Lotto, denies all knowledge. Wim claims that they were for personal use to shore up his apparently rapidly-aging body. He was scheduled to be a driver for VIP tours at the Tour de France but that gig was hastily canceled.
One wonders about the Australian connection on his former Belgian team - which could conceivably include Australian riders such as Cadel Evans, Robbie McEwen, and Adam Hansen.
Labels: Evans, Hansen, McEwen, Vansevenant
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Wim update
Cadel Evans posted on Twitter today this new photo of 3-time Tour de France Lanterne Rouge Wim Vansevenant: http://twitpic.com/3rcu5 "in his new role as 'VIP driver'. " Labels: Evans, Vansevenant
Monday, October 06, 2008
Three-time Lanterne Rouge Wim Vansevenant retires
The Eernegem criterium was the final race in the 14-year career of Wim Vansevenant, who will go down in history not only as a top domestique but also as the distinguished three-time finisher in the Lanterne Rouge position of the Tour de France in 2006, 2007, and 2008. Vansevenant raced his last six seasons with the Lotto team, notably defending the Tour de France podium position of team leader Cadel Evans.
Cyclingnews reported, "The Belgian realized that his Tour de France performances gave his popularity a major boost. "I'm proud that I've written a little bit of history with that Lanterne Rouge. It will always be linked to my name and I hope that I inspired other riders, just like the seven Tour de France victories from Lance Armstrong," Vansevenant said."
Cadel Evans attended to honor his teammate and quipped, "First of all I want to say sorry to 'Sevi' that we couldn't complete the double in the Tour de France this year. The plan was to be Lanterne Rouge in the Tour de France and yellow jersey in Paris and I let him down. Beyond that, I value every rider who contributes to the team whether that's with results or with the work they do for the team. Wim is one of the riders who you always want to have in your team, in every race you do. He's a real team player in every sense of the word and he's only going to be missed in that way."
A photo gallery of the day's festivities is here.
Best wishes to you in your future career in agriculture, Wim!
Cyclingnews reported, "The Belgian realized that his Tour de France performances gave his popularity a major boost. "I'm proud that I've written a little bit of history with that Lanterne Rouge. It will always be linked to my name and I hope that I inspired other riders, just like the seven Tour de France victories from Lance Armstrong," Vansevenant said."
Cadel Evans attended to honor his teammate and quipped, "First of all I want to say sorry to 'Sevi' that we couldn't complete the double in the Tour de France this year. The plan was to be Lanterne Rouge in the Tour de France and yellow jersey in Paris and I let him down. Beyond that, I value every rider who contributes to the team whether that's with results or with the work they do for the team. Wim is one of the riders who you always want to have in your team, in every race you do. He's a real team player in every sense of the word and he's only going to be missed in that way."
A photo gallery of the day's festivities is here.
Best wishes to you in your future career in agriculture, Wim!
Labels: Armstrong, Evans, Vansevenant
Friday, July 25, 2008
Stage Nineteen: Roanne to Montluçon
Unexpected drama in the Lanterne Rouge standings: Wim Vansevenant finished at 1:54 after the stage winner today, while a group of nine riders (including former Lanterne Rouge Aleksandr Kuschynski, Sven Krauss, and Bernard Eisel) crossed the line well back at 14:45.
The group of mostly fatigued and injured riders had fallen off the back of the peloton with 40 km to go and limped in to the finish together. They're all trying their best to hang on until Paris.
This drops Bernard Eisel of Team Columbia into last position in the general classification by 42 seconds. It also means that he will be the first starter in the Saturday individual time trial. It is probable that Wim Vansevenant will not know a precise cutoff time (that would result in his elimination), but he may learn of Eisel's finish time before he crosses the time trial finish line and attempt to finish a minute slower. However, Vansevenant's primary and extremely critical task will be to scope out any peculiarities of the time trial course and relay them back immediately after his finish to his teammate Cadel Evans.
In the Stage 4 Cholet time trial, Vansevenant finished 60 seconds behind Eisel over a 29.5 km course. If both riders were fresh, he might be expected to lose something like 1:37 to Eisel on a 53 km course. But anything can happen! As Allen Gathman points out, the time trial will likely determine both the maillot jaune and the Lanterne Rouge for the 2008 Tour.
Will the time trial, and consequently the Tour's finish in Paris, see the peloton becoming a Silence-Lotto sandwich with teammates on both ends of the general classification? Oh, the suspense!
At least they're both soldiering onward! There were five riders who didn't successfully finish the stage today, reducing the peloton to 145 riders:
DNS Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre
DNF Christophe Brandt (Bel) Silence - Lotto
HD Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Rabobank
HD Romain Feillu (Fra) Agritubel
HD Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner
A fairly typical tale of woe is related by cyclingnews.com: "Fabian Wegmann is experiencing . . . a nightmare. Numerous crashes have left their mark, as have the three weeks of stress. He had two nosebleeds during the stage yesterday, he says on his website, fabianwegmann.de. And not only do his injuries hurt, he is getting a rash from the bandages. "My fingers are so badly swollen that I can barely hold on to the handlebars. And my feet and bottom are bright red. They burn and itch like crazy. Normally you could treat that with cortisone, but not during the Tour."
The group of mostly fatigued and injured riders had fallen off the back of the peloton with 40 km to go and limped in to the finish together. They're all trying their best to hang on until Paris.
This drops Bernard Eisel of Team Columbia into last position in the general classification by 42 seconds. It also means that he will be the first starter in the Saturday individual time trial. It is probable that Wim Vansevenant will not know a precise cutoff time (that would result in his elimination), but he may learn of Eisel's finish time before he crosses the time trial finish line and attempt to finish a minute slower. However, Vansevenant's primary and extremely critical task will be to scope out any peculiarities of the time trial course and relay them back immediately after his finish to his teammate Cadel Evans.
In the Stage 4 Cholet time trial, Vansevenant finished 60 seconds behind Eisel over a 29.5 km course. If both riders were fresh, he might be expected to lose something like 1:37 to Eisel on a 53 km course. But anything can happen! As Allen Gathman points out, the time trial will likely determine both the maillot jaune and the Lanterne Rouge for the 2008 Tour.
Will the time trial, and consequently the Tour's finish in Paris, see the peloton becoming a Silence-Lotto sandwich with teammates on both ends of the general classification? Oh, the suspense!
At least they're both soldiering onward! There were five riders who didn't successfully finish the stage today, reducing the peloton to 145 riders:
DNS Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre
DNF Christophe Brandt (Bel) Silence - Lotto
HD Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Rabobank
HD Romain Feillu (Fra) Agritubel
HD Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner
A fairly typical tale of woe is related by cyclingnews.com: "Fabian Wegmann is experiencing . . . a nightmare. Numerous crashes have left their mark, as have the three weeks of stress. He had two nosebleeds during the stage yesterday, he says on his website, fabianwegmann.de. And not only do his injuries hurt, he is getting a rash from the bandages. "My fingers are so badly swollen that I can barely hold on to the handlebars. And my feet and bottom are bright red. They burn and itch like crazy. Normally you could treat that with cortisone, but not during the Tour."
Labels: Brandt, Cunego, Eisel, Evans, Feillu, Flecha, Krauss, Kuschynski, Vansevenant, Wegmann
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Vansevenant profiled in Wall Street Journal
Bill Strickland posted a piece in the Wall Street Journal today about Wim Vansevenant and his probable historic triple Lanterne Rouge finish.
He concludes: "Some cycling fans discover the lore of the Lanterne Rouge and become captivated by how it rewards fruitless struggle and alchemizes failure into a kind of success. You'll know you've become one of them if, Friday, you look first at the bottom of the standings instead of the top."
Once again, I beg to differ with his assessment that Wim Vansevenant's string of Tour de France finishes - in any position - represent anything remotely resembling failure or defeat.
No. Ricco's departure was defeat in disgrace. Magnus Backstedt's and Jimmy Casper's agonizing finishes while failing to meet the time cutoffs are glorious defeats.
Wim Vansevenant is a survivor, and as he labors to support his team leader, Cadel Evans, every day of the Tour, he is perhaps the noblest representative of the self-effacing efforts of every domestique in the peloton who rides, unnoticed, in the essential support of every podium finisher. We fans have nothing but respect for him and his fellows.
He concludes: "Some cycling fans discover the lore of the Lanterne Rouge and become captivated by how it rewards fruitless struggle and alchemizes failure into a kind of success. You'll know you've become one of them if, Friday, you look first at the bottom of the standings instead of the top."
Once again, I beg to differ with his assessment that Wim Vansevenant's string of Tour de France finishes - in any position - represent anything remotely resembling failure or defeat.
No. Ricco's departure was defeat in disgrace. Magnus Backstedt's and Jimmy Casper's agonizing finishes while failing to meet the time cutoffs are glorious defeats.
Wim Vansevenant is a survivor, and as he labors to support his team leader, Cadel Evans, every day of the Tour, he is perhaps the noblest representative of the self-effacing efforts of every domestique in the peloton who rides, unnoticed, in the essential support of every podium finisher. We fans have nothing but respect for him and his fellows.
Labels: Backstedt, Casper, Evans, Ricco, Vansevenant
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Stage Fourteen: Nîmes to Digne-les-Bains
Nicholas Jalabert from Agritubel abandoned about 90km into today's stage.
Hmm, seems like a lot of people are saying that current leader Cadel Evans has a weak team in Silence-Lotto, while Robbie McEwen has no leadout guys. Are Evans' team members purposely avoiding him? I'd love to be a fly on the wall inside the Silence-Lotto team bus. Cadel finished today with the first group and most of his team finished with the back of the autobus just behind Robbie:
145. MC EWEN Robbie 6 SILENCE - LOTTO 4h 20' 51" + 07' 43"
146. EISEL Bernhard 45 TEAM COLUMBIA 4h 20' 51" + 07' 43"
147. KUSCHYNSKI Aleksandr 66 LIQUIGAS 4h 20' 51" + 07' 43"
148. MÜLLER Martin 155 TEAM MILRAM 4h 20' 51" + 07' 43"
149. FÖRSTER Robert 112 GEROLSTEINER 4h 20' 51" + 07' 43"
150. FRISCHKORN William 194 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 4h 20' 51" + 07' 43"
151. CIONI Dario 4 SILENCE - LOTTO 4h 20' 51" + 07' 43"
152. HOSTE Leif 5 SILENCE - LOTTO 4h 20' 51" + 07' 43"
153. VAN SUMMEREN Johan 8 SILENCE - LOTTO 4h 20' 51" + 07' 43"
154. VANSEVENANT Wim 9 SILENCE - LOTTO 4h 20' 51" + 07' 43"
155. RENSHAW Mark 89 CREDIT AGRICOLE 4h 21' 37" + 08' 29"
156. SPRICK Matthieu 146 BOUYGUES TELECOM 4h 21' 41" + 08' 33"
157. CHAVANEL Sébastien 162 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 4h 26' 12" + 13' 04"
Naturally that keeps Vansevenant in the Lanterne Rouge position, although Sprick has reduced his time gap. Two-time Lanterne Rouge Jimmy Casper has moved up into 146th position in the rankings with some higher stage finishes. The final five have remained unchanged except Sprick moves down one notch:
153. EISEL Bernhard 45 TEAM COLUMBIA 61h 06' 47" + 2h 04' 52"
154. RIBLON Christophe 108 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 61h 07' 03" + 2h 05' 08"
155. AUGE Stéphane 182 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 61h 09' 13" + 2h 07' 18"
156. SPRICK Matthieu 146 BOUYGUES TELECOM 61h 12' 48" + 2h 10' 53"
157. VANSEVENANT Wim 9 SILENCE - LOTTO 61h 17' 40" + 2h 15' 45"
Hmm, seems like a lot of people are saying that current leader Cadel Evans has a weak team in Silence-Lotto, while Robbie McEwen has no leadout guys. Are Evans' team members purposely avoiding him? I'd love to be a fly on the wall inside the Silence-Lotto team bus. Cadel finished today with the first group and most of his team finished with the back of the autobus just behind Robbie:
145. MC EWEN Robbie 6 SILENCE - LOTTO 4h 20' 51" + 07' 43"
146. EISEL Bernhard 45 TEAM COLUMBIA 4h 20' 51" + 07' 43"
147. KUSCHYNSKI Aleksandr 66 LIQUIGAS 4h 20' 51" + 07' 43"
148. MÜLLER Martin 155 TEAM MILRAM 4h 20' 51" + 07' 43"
149. FÖRSTER Robert 112 GEROLSTEINER 4h 20' 51" + 07' 43"
150. FRISCHKORN William 194 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 4h 20' 51" + 07' 43"
151. CIONI Dario 4 SILENCE - LOTTO 4h 20' 51" + 07' 43"
152. HOSTE Leif 5 SILENCE - LOTTO 4h 20' 51" + 07' 43"
153. VAN SUMMEREN Johan 8 SILENCE - LOTTO 4h 20' 51" + 07' 43"
154. VANSEVENANT Wim 9 SILENCE - LOTTO 4h 20' 51" + 07' 43"
155. RENSHAW Mark 89 CREDIT AGRICOLE 4h 21' 37" + 08' 29"
156. SPRICK Matthieu 146 BOUYGUES TELECOM 4h 21' 41" + 08' 33"
157. CHAVANEL Sébastien 162 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 4h 26' 12" + 13' 04"
Naturally that keeps Vansevenant in the Lanterne Rouge position, although Sprick has reduced his time gap. Two-time Lanterne Rouge Jimmy Casper has moved up into 146th position in the rankings with some higher stage finishes. The final five have remained unchanged except Sprick moves down one notch:
153. EISEL Bernhard 45 TEAM COLUMBIA 61h 06' 47" + 2h 04' 52"
154. RIBLON Christophe 108 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 61h 07' 03" + 2h 05' 08"
155. AUGE Stéphane 182 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 61h 09' 13" + 2h 07' 18"
156. SPRICK Matthieu 146 BOUYGUES TELECOM 61h 12' 48" + 2h 10' 53"
157. VANSEVENANT Wim 9 SILENCE - LOTTO 61h 17' 40" + 2h 15' 45"
Labels: Auge, Casper, Chavanel, Eisel, Evans, Jalabert, McEwen, Riblon, Sprick, Vansevenant
Sunday, July 06, 2008
On Wim Vansevenant
John Flynn blogs for Australia's SBS on domestique Wim Vansevenant's role in the Tour working on behalf of GC favorite Cadel Evans (if I may note, with much greater respect than the average writer who simply makes a facile joke of the two-time Tour de France Lanterne Rouge):
". . . I spoke with [Evans'] team-mate and self-described “guardian angel” Wim Vansevenant. “Seve” as his team-mates call him is the heart and soul of Silence Lotto. He is listed in the Tour’s Guide Historique as a two-time winner of the Lantern Rouge, the prize for finishing last in the Grande Boucle. In any other sport, that would be a dubious honour, but not in this sport and especially not this race. “Seve” is a bloke who already should be awarded the Order of Australia for his work protecting Robbie McEwen over the years. He brings with him a working class “roll your sleeves up” attitude to getting the job done. It’s typical of the Belgians who live, eat and breathe the sport of cycling. The look in his eyes Saturday revealed more than words could say about the importance of his role protecting Cadel Evans. If you think it would mean a lot for an Australian to win the Tour de France, believe me, the Belgians feel just as strongly about bringing home cycling’s ultimate prize. If they can pull it off, Australia will owe a debt to this Belgian team that, from the outset, took a chance with an Australian G.C. rider who’d been plagued by injuries. It was concerning to hear both Vansevenant and Yaroslav Popovych were involved in incidents on course Saturday. I’m yet to get the full details, but according to Robbie McEwen, his good mate “Seve” went through a car window. Let’s hope both riders are fit to race on. Evans will need their help."
". . . I spoke with [Evans'] team-mate and self-described “guardian angel” Wim Vansevenant. “Seve” as his team-mates call him is the heart and soul of Silence Lotto. He is listed in the Tour’s Guide Historique as a two-time winner of the Lantern Rouge, the prize for finishing last in the Grande Boucle. In any other sport, that would be a dubious honour, but not in this sport and especially not this race. “Seve” is a bloke who already should be awarded the Order of Australia for his work protecting Robbie McEwen over the years. He brings with him a working class “roll your sleeves up” attitude to getting the job done. It’s typical of the Belgians who live, eat and breathe the sport of cycling. The look in his eyes Saturday revealed more than words could say about the importance of his role protecting Cadel Evans. If you think it would mean a lot for an Australian to win the Tour de France, believe me, the Belgians feel just as strongly about bringing home cycling’s ultimate prize. If they can pull it off, Australia will owe a debt to this Belgian team that, from the outset, took a chance with an Australian G.C. rider who’d been plagued by injuries. It was concerning to hear both Vansevenant and Yaroslav Popovych were involved in incidents on course Saturday. I’m yet to get the full details, but according to Robbie McEwen, his good mate “Seve” went through a car window. Let’s hope both riders are fit to race on. Evans will need their help."
Labels: Evans, McEwen, Popovych, Vansevenant
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Stage One: Brest to Plumelec
A group of six riders, many of them familiar to us, finished the first stage of the 2008 Tour at the back of the pack. These included teammates Christopher Froome and Gianpaolo Cheula from Barloworld (4:04 back from the leader). Final group finishing at 4:56 back: two-time Lanterne Rouge Wim Vansevenant of Silence-Lotto; Stéphane Auge of Cofidis; Magnus Backstedt of Garmin Chipotle (stage 4 Lanterne Rouge in the 2006 Tour); and officially the last rider over the line today - becoming the first Lanterne Rouge of the 2008 Tour - was Aleksandr Kuschynski of Liquigas.This is a repeat performance - curiously, Kuschynski was also the Stage One Lanterne Rouge in the 2007 Tour. (Note: his team website spells his name Aliaksandr Kuchynski).
It already seems that Wim Vansevenant truly wants to retain the position of Lanterne Rouge for the third year and set a new record. Since it's a tremendously difficult accomplishment to even finish the entire 3500 km of Le Tour, let's wish him the best in accomplishing that goal. It should be noted that he is a teammate of favorite Cadel Evans and will be working on his behalf throughout the Tour.
According to Cycling News: "Wim Vansevenant (Silence-Lotto), the flamme rouge [sic] in the past has some plays on repeating for 2008. "It is not a goal, but why not?" he stated to compatriot Decaluwé at the day's start in Brest. He warned is not all that easy to be the last placed rider by the race's finish in Paris, "You need to do something for it." Vansevenant's team-mate Van Summeren joked, "wasn't there a day when you fell before the finish to gain time on your rivals!""
Two-time Tour de France Lanterne Rouge Jimmy Casper (Agritubel) was involved in a crash at 52 km to go, but went on to finish 1:52 behind the leader.
Labels: Auge, Backstedt, Casper, Cheula, Evans, Froome, Kuschynski, Van Summeren, Vansevenant
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Stage 19: Cognac to Angoulême ITT
No withdrawals prior to the stage, despite false rumors circulating last night.
There were 8 time trials more than 10 minutes slower than from the stage winner - if Levi Leipheimer had ridden behind them he would have passed three riders on the course! Forster had the slowest ITT of the day - at an average speed of 45.12 kph or 28.04 mph. Incredible!
134. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 1h 12' 45" + 10' 01"
135. BENNATI Daniele 82 LAMPRE-FONDITAL 1h 12' 55" + 10' 11"
136. SALMON Benoit 138 AGRITUBEL 1h 13' 02" + 10' 18"
137. CARDENAS Félix 212 BARLOWORLD 1h 13' 10" + 10' 26"
138. BURGHARDT Marcus 22 T-MOBILE TEAM 1h 13' 19" + 10' 35"
139. TSCHOPP Johann 128 BOUYGUES TELECOM 1h 13' 26" + 10' 42"
140. WROLICH Peter 99 GEROLSTEINER 1h 13' 44" + 11' 00"
141. FÖRSTER Robert 92 GEROLSTEINER 1h 13' 48" + 11' 04"
The final five in the overall standings at the end of Stage 19 are as follows, which is unlikely to change tomorrow on the ride into Paris, unless some of the sprinters finish in a fast breakaway (such as Thor Hushovd, who won the final stage last year):
137. KRAUSS Sven 96 GEROLSTEINER 90h 50' 14" + 3h 40' 56"
138. STEEGMANS Gert 176 QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC 90h 51' 01" + 3h 41' 43"
139. HUSHOVD Thor 101 CREDIT AGRICOLE 90h 51' 32" + 3h 42' 14"
140. THOMAS Geraint 215 BARLOWORLD 90h 55' 23" + 3h 46' 05"
141. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 91h 02' 02" + 3h 52' 44"
Bram DeGroot moved out of the final five with an excellent 39th-place time trial. Sven Krauss (49th place ITT) moved up relative to Thor Hushovd (123rd place ITT), and 2007 stage winner Gert Steegmans (127th place ITT) dropped down into the final five. They encompass a span of 12 minutes in aggregate time over the 19 stages.
They've switched around young Welshman Geraint Thomas's name and gotten it correct on the official Tour website finally, just in time for the end of the Tour! He rode a very respectable ITT, finishing 107th for the stage.
The only former Lanterne Rouge of this Tour other than Vansevenant who is still riding, Aleksandr Kuschynski of Liquigas, finished 38th for this ITT stage which puts him 89th overall in the Tour General Classification.
Wim Vansevenant's second consecutive finish as the Lanterne Rouge in the 2007 Tour de France is virtually assured, while he has ably assisted his Predictor-Lotto team leader Cadel Evans into a 2nd place finish on the podium. Gert Steegmans finished 137th and 3rd from last in the 2006 Tour de France, and if there are no withdrawals overnight he will probably finish 138th and 4th from last in 2007.
Along the way in the 2007 Tour, 48 cyclists have left the Tour. The Belgian rider Vansevenant will finish ahead of every one of them.
And chapeau to Bob Mina for calling the finish! Yes, I'd guess that having both Johan Bruyneel and Lance Armstrong shouting in your ear over an hour ride might be worth 20 seconds in the finish time. Well, count me as a new big fan of Alberto Contador. I'll enjoy watching him as his career progresses, hopefully for many years.
There were 8 time trials more than 10 minutes slower than from the stage winner - if Levi Leipheimer had ridden behind them he would have passed three riders on the course! Forster had the slowest ITT of the day - at an average speed of 45.12 kph or 28.04 mph. Incredible!
134. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 1h 12' 45" + 10' 01"
135. BENNATI Daniele 82 LAMPRE-FONDITAL 1h 12' 55" + 10' 11"
136. SALMON Benoit 138 AGRITUBEL 1h 13' 02" + 10' 18"
137. CARDENAS Félix 212 BARLOWORLD 1h 13' 10" + 10' 26"
138. BURGHARDT Marcus 22 T-MOBILE TEAM 1h 13' 19" + 10' 35"
139. TSCHOPP Johann 128 BOUYGUES TELECOM 1h 13' 26" + 10' 42"
140. WROLICH Peter 99 GEROLSTEINER 1h 13' 44" + 11' 00"
141. FÖRSTER Robert 92 GEROLSTEINER 1h 13' 48" + 11' 04"
The final five in the overall standings at the end of Stage 19 are as follows, which is unlikely to change tomorrow on the ride into Paris, unless some of the sprinters finish in a fast breakaway (such as Thor Hushovd, who won the final stage last year):
137. KRAUSS Sven 96 GEROLSTEINER 90h 50' 14" + 3h 40' 56"
138. STEEGMANS Gert 176 QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC 90h 51' 01" + 3h 41' 43"
139. HUSHOVD Thor 101 CREDIT AGRICOLE 90h 51' 32" + 3h 42' 14"
140. THOMAS Geraint 215 BARLOWORLD 90h 55' 23" + 3h 46' 05"
141. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 91h 02' 02" + 3h 52' 44"
Bram DeGroot moved out of the final five with an excellent 39th-place time trial. Sven Krauss (49th place ITT) moved up relative to Thor Hushovd (123rd place ITT), and 2007 stage winner Gert Steegmans (127th place ITT) dropped down into the final five. They encompass a span of 12 minutes in aggregate time over the 19 stages.
They've switched around young Welshman Geraint Thomas's name and gotten it correct on the official Tour website finally, just in time for the end of the Tour! He rode a very respectable ITT, finishing 107th for the stage.
The only former Lanterne Rouge of this Tour other than Vansevenant who is still riding, Aleksandr Kuschynski of Liquigas, finished 38th for this ITT stage which puts him 89th overall in the Tour General Classification.
Wim Vansevenant's second consecutive finish as the Lanterne Rouge in the 2007 Tour de France is virtually assured, while he has ably assisted his Predictor-Lotto team leader Cadel Evans into a 2nd place finish on the podium. Gert Steegmans finished 137th and 3rd from last in the 2006 Tour de France, and if there are no withdrawals overnight he will probably finish 138th and 4th from last in 2007.
Along the way in the 2007 Tour, 48 cyclists have left the Tour. The Belgian rider Vansevenant will finish ahead of every one of them.
And chapeau to Bob Mina for calling the finish! Yes, I'd guess that having both Johan Bruyneel and Lance Armstrong shouting in your ear over an hour ride might be worth 20 seconds in the finish time. Well, count me as a new big fan of Alberto Contador. I'll enjoy watching him as his career progresses, hopefully for many years.
Labels: De Groot, Evans, Hushovd, Krauss, Leipheimer, Steegmans, Thomas, Vansevenant
Friday, July 27, 2007
So who is your pick?
To win, that is. Personally, I think Wim Vansevenant has the Lanterne Rouge slot pretty well sewn up. It would take some special kind of disaster for anyone to penetrate the 5:17 buffer he has in place.
Now at the opposite end of the peloton, we have 3 guys with half as much time between them:
Current standings - 27 July 2007
1. CONTADOR Alberto 112 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM 86h 04' 16"
2. EVANS Cadel 41 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 86h 06' 06" + 01' 50"
3. LEIPHEIMER Levi 111 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM 86h 07' 05" + 02' 49"
4. SASTRE Carlos 31 TEAM CSC 86h 10' 18" + 06' 02"
Prologue in London
15. CONTADOR Alberto 112 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM 09' 25" + 00' 35"
17. EVANS Cadel 41 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 09' 26" + 00' 36"
26. LEIPHEIMER Levi 111 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM 09' 30" + 00' 40"
Stage 13 ITT
2. EVANS Cadel 41 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 58h 47' 39" + 01' 00"
3. CONTADOR Alberto 112 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM 58h 49' 10" + 02' 31"
5. LEIPHEIMER Levi 111 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM 58h 50' 16" + 03' 37"
Most people seem to think the flat ITT tomorrow will favor Evans. We'll see. . . . I think it's still anybody's stage, but whether anyone will gain enough time to change the placements is the question! It could be less than 8 seconds deciding the Tour this year, possibly.
I'm hoping Evans wins in the GC tomorrow, if only because it will make a nice Predictor-Lotto sandwich of the peloton, and also allow the Lanterne Rouge to ride with the maillot jaune in the honorary procession into Paris on Sunday.
But as my buddy Bob Mina points out, if anyone can talk the new kid through the world's most important time trial like it was a Wednesday workout, Johann Bruyneel can. I'm trying to figure out how Bruyneel will advise Contador to race against Levi, and vice versa. I suppose they'll just shake hands and go out fighting and let the best rider win, but. . . . it would certainly be interesting to be a fly on the wall for that final meeting in the Disco bus.
Now at the opposite end of the peloton, we have 3 guys with half as much time between them:
Current standings - 27 July 2007
1. CONTADOR Alberto 112 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM 86h 04' 16"
2. EVANS Cadel 41 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 86h 06' 06" + 01' 50"
3. LEIPHEIMER Levi 111 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM 86h 07' 05" + 02' 49"
4. SASTRE Carlos 31 TEAM CSC 86h 10' 18" + 06' 02"
Prologue in London
15. CONTADOR Alberto 112 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM 09' 25" + 00' 35"
17. EVANS Cadel 41 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 09' 26" + 00' 36"
26. LEIPHEIMER Levi 111 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM 09' 30" + 00' 40"
Stage 13 ITT
2. EVANS Cadel 41 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 58h 47' 39" + 01' 00"
3. CONTADOR Alberto 112 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM 58h 49' 10" + 02' 31"
5. LEIPHEIMER Levi 111 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM 58h 50' 16" + 03' 37"
Most people seem to think the flat ITT tomorrow will favor Evans. We'll see. . . . I think it's still anybody's stage, but whether anyone will gain enough time to change the placements is the question! It could be less than 8 seconds deciding the Tour this year, possibly.
I'm hoping Evans wins in the GC tomorrow, if only because it will make a nice Predictor-Lotto sandwich of the peloton, and also allow the Lanterne Rouge to ride with the maillot jaune in the honorary procession into Paris on Sunday.
But as my buddy Bob Mina points out, if anyone can talk the new kid through the world's most important time trial like it was a Wednesday workout, Johann Bruyneel can. I'm trying to figure out how Bruyneel will advise Contador to race against Levi, and vice versa. I suppose they'll just shake hands and go out fighting and let the best rider win, but. . . . it would certainly be interesting to be a fly on the wall for that final meeting in the Disco bus.
Labels: Contador, Evans, Leipheimer, Vansevenant
Stage 18: Cahors to Angoulême
Podium Cafe notes that Predictor Lotto has the chance to pull off the rare maillot jaune-Lanterne Rouge double if Cadel Evans rides well in the final time trial tomorrow. That's in addition to the feat of Vansevenant possibly becoming Lanterne Rouge in two consecutive Tours de France. Tomorrow will tell the tale! Unless something else crazy happens, most of the riders including our Lanterne Rouge Wim Vansevenant will hold position until that day when their tired legs will give it one final hurrah.So let's take a look at Lanterne Rouge Wim Vansevenant's record, while we have a breather:
- Born on December 23, 1971 in Dixmuide, Belgium
- Lives in Eerhegem, Belgium
- Height : 1.74 m (5'8.5")
- Weight : 65 kg (143 pounds)
He's been a professional cyclist for 13 years, and has been a solid supporting player on a number of teams.
2007. Predictor-Lotto
9e une étape du Tour Down Under
2006. Davitamon-Lotto
2006. Davitamon-Lotto
139e du Tour de France (dernier)
2005. Davitamon-Lotto
2005. Davitamon-Lotto
11e du Tour de Belgique
154e du Tour de France
2004. Lotto-Domo
2004. Lotto-Domo
141e du Tour de France
2003. Lotto-Domo
2003. Lotto-Domo
3e du Grand Prix Tistaert
5e du Championnat de Belgique CLM
13e de Paris-Bruxelles
2002. Collstrop-Palmans
2002. Collstrop-Palmans
3e de Cholet-Pays de Loire
8e du Championnat de Belgique CLM
2001. Mercury-Viatel
2001. Mercury-Viatel
2e une étape du Circuit Franco-Belge
4e du Championnat de Belgique CLM
5e du Grand Prix de Wallonie
6e du Grand Prix Tistaert
10e du Grand Prix Van Steenbergen
2000. Farm Frites
2000. Farm Frites
3e du Grand Prix de Villers-Cotterets
4e de la Clasica Sabinanigo
7e du Grand Prix Tistaert
1999. Collstrop
1999. Collstrop
3e une étape du Tour de la Somme
15e du Grand Prix Pino-Cerami
1998. Vlaanderen 2002
1998. Vlaanderen 2002
3e une étape du Tour d'Autriche
8e du Circuit des Ardennes Flamandes, une étape du Grand Prix Midi-Libre, de la Flèche Ardennaise, du Tour d'Autriche
1997. Vlaanderen 2002
1997. Vlaanderen 2002
6e du Circuit Franco-Belge
9e de A Travers la Belgique, du Grand Prix Fréquence-Nord
Taux d'hématocrites trop élevé en avril
1996. Vlaanderen 2002
1er une étape du Tour du Vaucluse (Cairanne)
2e de la Course du Raisin
3e une étape du Tour de l'Avenir
5e une étape de la Hofbrau Cup
8e du Tour du Vaucluse
1995. Débuts pros chez Vlaanderen 2002
1995. Débuts pros chez Vlaanderen 2002
2e une étape du Regio Tour
18e des Trois Jours de La Panne
1994 (Août).
Stagiaire chez Word Perfect
This is Vansevenant's fourth Tour de France, which is a proud record for any professional cyclist. In 2004, he finished 140th. In 2005, 154th. In 2006, he was the 139th and last rider in the General Classification.
Rose Cantine found this information: The only other two riders to consecutive titles as Lanterne Rouge are the Belgian Daniel Masson (1922 and 1923) and Austrian Gerhard Schönbacher (1979 and 1980). There is also an interview with Vansevenant online in Flemish, with French subtitles. Neither of which help the linguistically-challenged like me, unfortunately!
This is Vansevenant's fourth Tour de France, which is a proud record for any professional cyclist. In 2004, he finished 140th. In 2005, 154th. In 2006, he was the 139th and last rider in the General Classification.
Rose Cantine found this information: The only other two riders to consecutive titles as Lanterne Rouge are the Belgian Daniel Masson (1922 and 1923) and Austrian Gerhard Schönbacher (1979 and 1980). There is also an interview with Vansevenant online in Flemish, with French subtitles. Neither of which help the linguistically-challenged like me, unfortunately!
In former Lanterne Rouge news, 28-year-old Sebastian Joly will be taking time out from cycling to undergo chemotherapy and radiation for a cancerous tumor. Best wishes to him for a complete recovery. He can be contacted here.
Just for the sake of completeness, here are today's stage results:
We had a lot of riders come in at 9 and 10 minutes, and then our Final Four, saving everything for tomorrow:
138. CANCELLARA Fabian 33 TEAM CSC 5h 24' 33" + 11' 02"
139. MILLAR David 201 SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR 5h 24' 33" + 11' 02"
140. CARDENAS Félix 212 BARLOWORLD 5h 24' 33" + 11' 02"
141. WILLEMS Frederik 159 LIQUIGAS 5h 24' 33" + 11' 02"
Our standings at the back of the peloton before the final deciding time trial are:
137. DE GROOT Bram 53 RABOBANK 89h 39' 01" + 3h 34' 45"
138. HUSHOVD Thor 101 CREDIT AGRICOLE 89h 39' 06" + 3h 34' 50"
139. KRAUSS Sven 96 GEROLSTEINER 89h 41' 35" + 3h 37' 19"
140. GERAINT Thomas 215 BARLOWORLD 89h 44' 00" + 3h 39' 44"
141. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 89h 49' 17" + 3h 45' 01"
So Vansevenant holds the Lanterne Rouge spot by 5:17, even though he finished the stage way up in 78th place today. I'm not sure what the cutoff will be for elimination during the time trial tomorrow, but I'd say Vansevenant has a pretty firm grip on the final slot in the General Classification of the 2007 Tour de France.
Wonderful article today by Samuel Abt about Wim Vansevenant here (first spotted by Podium Cafe, who also provide the first mention I've seen of a new doping result in Stage 14).
Stage reports are back in business at VeloNews:
Medical report:
Casar (FDJeux) and Willems (Liquigas), both crashed at 28km, minor cuts and scrapes. (Apparently another dog incident - I hope it wasn't a French Lab).
Hinault (Credit Agricole) breathing problems.
Burghardt (T-Mobile) breathing problems.
Gadret (Ag2r) headache.
Azanza (Euskaltel) digestive troubles.
Quinziato (Liquigas) digestive problems.
Boogerd (Rabobank) insect bite
Jury decisions: no report
Labels: Cancellara, Cardenas, De Groot, Evans, Hushovd, Joly, Krauss, Masson, Millar, Schönbacher, Thomas, Vansevenant, Willems
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Rasmussen out
I just got word that the Danish Tour de France leader Michael Rasmussen is out of the Tour as well. Removed by his own team, Rabobank.
". . . the team has learnt that Rasmussen lied to them over where and what he was up to during the month of June when he was in fact in Italy and not in Mexico as he had told them. . . . His departure leaves young Spaniard Alberto Contador in the lead with Australian Cadel Evans in second."
The significance of this is that such a deception would make Rasmussen unavailable for out-of-competition drug testing (as described by Bobby Julich).
This puts Contador in the yellow jersey tomorrow for Discovery, Juan Mauricio Soler Hernandez in the white youth jersey for Barloworld (and ninth overall), and no more than 142 riders starting the stage, with 47 DNFs (24.8%) to date. Here is a provisional active rider list, which still does not reflect changes in the Rabobank roster.
". . . the team has learnt that Rasmussen lied to them over where and what he was up to during the month of June when he was in fact in Italy and not in Mexico as he had told them. . . . His departure leaves young Spaniard Alberto Contador in the lead with Australian Cadel Evans in second."
The significance of this is that such a deception would make Rasmussen unavailable for out-of-competition drug testing (as described by Bobby Julich).
This puts Contador in the yellow jersey tomorrow for Discovery, Juan Mauricio Soler Hernandez in the white youth jersey for Barloworld (and ninth overall), and no more than 142 riders starting the stage, with 47 DNFs (24.8%) to date. Here is a provisional active rider list, which still does not reflect changes in the Rabobank roster.
Labels: Contador, Evans, Julich, Rasmussen, Soler
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Stage 14: Mazamet to Plateau-de-Beille
An exciting stage to watch! Waiting for the official stage results to pop up. . . .
There was one non-starter today:
209 VENTOSO Francisco (ESP) SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR non-starter
. . . which brings us down to 165 riders starting the stage today. Ventoso was not mentioned in the medical report from the ITT yesterday. From the Saunier-Duval Prodir Team website: "The rider of SAUNIER DUVAL-PRODIR had been suffering terribly with his left hand since he fell in Montpellier, and thus decided to quit. As the swelling didn´t go down, he left for Spain early in the morning, departing from Toulouse."
I haven't heard of any abandons today, but it's possible some riders may not make the cutoff time at the finish.
Ahhhh. . . . all is revealed.
There was an enormous group of 77 riders who finished at 34:52 after the stage winner (not far behind Vinokourov, who finished at 28:50 - ouch! dropping him from 9th place to 30th place overall). Then there was one final rider over the line at 42:08 after the stage winner: Belgian Philippe Gilbert, riding for Francaise de Jeux.
Former Lanterne Rouge Alexandr Kuschynski (the rider from Belarus on the Liquigas team) had a fantastic finish today, 38th for the stage with a time gap of 11:10 from the stage winner, which blasts him out of the back of the General Classification into 113th place overall. Similarly, the Frenchman riding for Credit Agricole Anthony Charteau (who was next to last in the standings) had a strong day in the mountains and finished at 26:26 and 69th place for the stage, lifting him to 159th place overall. Here are the final five overall after Stage 14:
161. KRAUSS Sven 96 GEROLSTEINER 66h 40' 21" + 2h 28' 06"
162. GERAINT Thomas 215 BARLOWORLD 66h 41' 59" + 2h 29' 44"
163. NUYENS Nick 145 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 66h 44' 00" + 2h 31' 45"
164. VERBRUGGHE Rik 148 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 66h 44' 26" + 2h 32' 11"
165. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 66h 50' 53" + 2h 38' 38"
Geraint Thomas, the Welsh rider for Barloworld, is the youngest rider in the Tour at 21 years of age. To his credit, he "is finding the going tough - but he keeps going."
Wim Vansevenant, the Belgian on the Predictor-Lotto team, holds his position as Lanterne Rouge and now has a time gap of 6:27 to the next closest rider in the standings. He has held that position for seven consecutive stages now, and if he continues to finish in the main peloton each day it's entirely possible that he will earn the overall Lanterne Rouge title for two consecutive Tours de France. He's still got a lot of work to do to support his team leader, Aussie Cadel Evans!
This (perhaps prophetic?) photo of Vansevenant on the roadside with the peloton passing by was taken during the Stage 1 rollout from London by placid casual:
There was one non-starter today:
209 VENTOSO Francisco (ESP) SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR non-starter
. . . which brings us down to 165 riders starting the stage today. Ventoso was not mentioned in the medical report from the ITT yesterday. From the Saunier-Duval Prodir Team website: "The rider of SAUNIER DUVAL-PRODIR had been suffering terribly with his left hand since he fell in Montpellier, and thus decided to quit. As the swelling didn´t go down, he left for Spain early in the morning, departing from Toulouse."
I haven't heard of any abandons today, but it's possible some riders may not make the cutoff time at the finish.
Ahhhh. . . . all is revealed.
There was an enormous group of 77 riders who finished at 34:52 after the stage winner (not far behind Vinokourov, who finished at 28:50 - ouch! dropping him from 9th place to 30th place overall). Then there was one final rider over the line at 42:08 after the stage winner: Belgian Philippe Gilbert, riding for Francaise de Jeux.
Former Lanterne Rouge Alexandr Kuschynski (the rider from Belarus on the Liquigas team) had a fantastic finish today, 38th for the stage with a time gap of 11:10 from the stage winner, which blasts him out of the back of the General Classification into 113th place overall. Similarly, the Frenchman riding for Credit Agricole Anthony Charteau (who was next to last in the standings) had a strong day in the mountains and finished at 26:26 and 69th place for the stage, lifting him to 159th place overall. Here are the final five overall after Stage 14:
161. KRAUSS Sven 96 GEROLSTEINER 66h 40' 21" + 2h 28' 06"
162. GERAINT Thomas 215 BARLOWORLD 66h 41' 59" + 2h 29' 44"
163. NUYENS Nick 145 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 66h 44' 00" + 2h 31' 45"
164. VERBRUGGHE Rik 148 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 66h 44' 26" + 2h 32' 11"
165. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 66h 50' 53" + 2h 38' 38"
Geraint Thomas, the Welsh rider for Barloworld, is the youngest rider in the Tour at 21 years of age. To his credit, he "is finding the going tough - but he keeps going."
Wim Vansevenant, the Belgian on the Predictor-Lotto team, holds his position as Lanterne Rouge and now has a time gap of 6:27 to the next closest rider in the standings. He has held that position for seven consecutive stages now, and if he continues to finish in the main peloton each day it's entirely possible that he will earn the overall Lanterne Rouge title for two consecutive Tours de France. He's still got a lot of work to do to support his team leader, Aussie Cadel Evans!
This (perhaps prophetic?) photo of Vansevenant on the roadside with the peloton passing by was taken during the Stage 1 rollout from London by placid casual:
Labels: Evans, Geraint, Gilbert, Krauss, Kuschynski, Nuyens, Vansevenant, Ventoso, Verbrugge, Vinokourov
Monday, July 02, 2007
No helmets = idiocy
So what is it with riding in the mountains with no helmets, anyway?
Here are a few riders training for Le Tour (Dario Cioni, Cadel Evans, Matthew Lloyd, Mario Aerts, Johan Van Summeren) demonstrating their idiocy:
http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=5032&status=True
Sheesh.
Yeah, they're professionals, I know. I would think that should mean they would have the intelligence to learn from the mistakes of others.
But nooo. . . .
Here are a few riders training for Le Tour (Dario Cioni, Cadel Evans, Matthew Lloyd, Mario Aerts, Johan Van Summeren) demonstrating their idiocy:
http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=5032&status=True
Sheesh.
Yeah, they're professionals, I know. I would think that should mean they would have the intelligence to learn from the mistakes of others.
But nooo. . . .
Labels: Aerts, Cioni, Evans, helmets, Lloyd, Van Summeren
