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."

Labels: Brandt, Cunego, Eisel, Evans, Feillu, Flecha, Krauss, Kuschynski, Vansevenant, Wegmann

Concerning yesterday's valiant finish on Alpe d'Huez by two-time Lanterne Rouge Jimmy Casper, Cyclingnews.com reports: "There was some discussion among the French about making Jimmy Casper the combative of the day yesterday. But the rules clearly state that a rider has to be classified to qualify. Casper crashed and bravely fought on by himself. It sure was an honourable performance. He reached the finish, but outside the time limit. "

It was sweet to see the teammates of the injured Damiano Cunego ride the only team time trial in this Tour and bring him home inside the time limits in a pink (magenta?) and blue Italian armada:

146. TIRALONGO Paolo 79 LAMPRE 4h 50' 33" + 20' 12"
147. MARZANO Marco 75 LAMPRE 4h 50' 33" + 20' 12"
148. RIGHI Daniele 77 LAMPRE 4h 50' 33" + 20' 12"
149. MORI Massimiliano 76 LAMPRE 4h 50' 33" + 20' 12"
150. CUNEGO Damiano 71 LAMPRE 4h 50' 33" + 20' 12"

Unfortunately that drops Cunego from 14th overall to 20th in the general classification, but he's still in the bike race. It seems he suffered a nasty chin injury that will require some patching up overnight. Update: According to VeloNews, Cunego will not start tomorrow. Sad to hear that after such a noble effort by him and his teammates in getting to the finish line on time.

Christophe Riblon of Ag2R-La Mondiale came in 19th for the stage, which moved him up one place in the final five.

In the TV coverage I was able to catch a very brief glimpse of Wim Vansevenant in his red and black kit, coming over the finish line protecting his Lanterne Rouge position in the last of the large group of 122 riders who came in between 6:50 and 7:07 after the stage winner.

The final five in the standings today, which will be shaken up somewhat in the final individual time trial on Saturday:

146. KRAUSS Sven 116 GEROLSTEINER 82h 47' 59" + 3h 31' 45"
147. RIBLON Christophe 108 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 82h 49' 52" + 3h 33' 38"
148. EISEL Bernhard 45 TEAM COLUMBIA 82h 49' 53" + 3h 33' 39"
149. SPRICK Matthieu 146 BOUYGUES TELECOM 82h 55' 54" + 3h 39' 40"
150. VANSEVENANT Wim 9 SILENCE - LOTTO 83h 02' 02" + 3h 45' 48"

Remember if you have local coverage of the start of the individual time trial on Saturday that Wim Vansevenant will probably have the honor (and challenge) of the first starting position. I'm sure Cadel Evans will be listening to, and benefitting from, every word he will relay about the course conditions afterwards.

Labels: Casper, Cunego, Eisel, Krauss, Marzano, Mori, Riblon, Righi, Sprick, Tiralongo, Vansevenant

Very sorry to see that 2-time Lanterne Rouge Jimmy Casper (riding for Agritubel) didn't make the time limit on Alpe d'Huez today and was eliminated. He is the 30th rider to depart the Tour this year. I believe that it was his seventh participation in the Tour. It may serve to highlight what a tremendous accomplishment it is for any rider to finally arrive at the finish line in Paris after making it through three grueling weeks - at any position in the standings.

The Daily Mail reported: "Such is the reverence in which the Alpe is held that Agritubel rider Jimmy Casper, in spite of the certain knowledge that he would be eliminated on time, refused to climb off his bike until he had crossed the line. He promptly burst into tears."

There were 69 riders in the autobus that arrived today at 38 minutes exactly after the stage winner. That means most of the guys that we have been following all got the same time today, and there were no rearrangements at the back of the standings. Wim Vansevenant is in a strong position to finish the 2008 Tour de France as Lanterne Rouge.

146. KRAUSS Sven 116 GEROLSTEINER 78h 10' 48" + 3h 31' 45"
147. EISEL Bernhard 45 TEAM COLUMBIA 78h 12' 25" + 3h 33' 22"
148. RIBLON Christophe 108 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 78h 12' 41" + 3h 33' 38"
149. SPRICK Matthieu 146 BOUYGUES TELECOM 78h 18' 26" + 3h 39' 23"
150. VANSEVENANT Wim 9 SILENCE - LOTTO 78h 24' 24" + 3h 45' 21"

It seems Bernhard Eisel had a rough day out there too, especially on the first big descent: "Eisel tumbles on the descent. Then Perez goes off road. Hincapie goes down. Eisel makes it a double as he falls again. My god, this has turned into a demolition derby."

Labels: Casper, Eisel, Krauss, Riblon, Sprick, Vansevenant

Wim Vansevenant of Silence-Lotto is back in the Lanterne Rouge slot, since Sébastien Chavanel of FdeJ is apparently out.

However, the stage results are not coming up yet on the official Tour de France site. More later!

---

Ahhh, here we are:
Two more out, bringing the peloton down to 151 men:
162 CHAVANEL Sébastien (FRA) FRANCAISE DES JEUX withdrawal
63 CHICCHI Francesco (ITA) LIQUIGAS outside time limit

Chavanel must not have been feeling well - he dropped out about halfway up the first climb of the day. Epoch Times said, with a hint of disdain, ". . . he was in last place in the General Classification, and his team no longer needed his efforts." No reports on Chicchi, but he's a sprinter with enormous thighs and so probably not well-suited to the steepest climbs.

The big autobus that came over the line at 31:56 after the stage winner held 57 riders including most of the guys we have talked about on this blog. Again, I'm not sure what the cutoff was today but you're pretty safe from elimination at the Tour if you have 56 other riders in your grupetto.

Final five in the overall standings:

147. KRAUSS Sven 116 GEROLSTEINER 71h 24' 50" + 2h 54' 34"
148. EISEL Bernhard 45 TEAM COLUMBIA 71h 26' 27" + 2h 56' 11"
149. RIBLON Christophe 108 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 71h 26' 43" + 2h 56' 27"
150. SPRICK Matthieu 146 BOUYGUES TELECOM 71h 32' 28" + 3h 02' 12"
151. VANSEVENANT Wim 9 SILENCE - LOTTO 71h 38' 26" + 3h 08' 10"

It's worth noting that the time gap between the current Lanterne Rouge and the nearest rider in the standings is now nearly six minutes. Unless something unusual happens or he is forced to abandon, Wim Vansevenant is in a very strong position to make Tour de France history by finishing in the Lanterne Rouge position for an unprecedented third consecutive year.

Incidentally, the Silence-Lotto team website seems to take no notice of this other than on Vansevenant's individual page.

I'm sure they're all tired and dreading what tomorrow may bring. Best wishes and safe journey, gentlemen.

Labels: Chavanel, Chicchi, Eisel, Krauss, Riblon, Sprick, Vansevenant

I wonder what the cutoff time was today? Sébastien Chavanel, riding for the Francaise de Jeux team, crossed the line at 42:59 after the stage winner, 12:07 after any other rider. Maybe the cutoffs are different for French riders.

Chavanel had to stop at 44km into the stage when his jacket got tangled in his bike. Not sure what else went wrong for him today.

Cavendish did not start, as predicted, and Oscar Pereiro (of Caisse d'Epargne; official winner in 2006, Floyd's year) had a dramatic crash which took him out with a sprained shoulder. On the first climb of the day, the Col Agnel, Mark Renshaw (Credit Agricole) and Stijn Devolder (Quick Step leader) were dropped and abandoned the race.

Otherwise the last several riders over the line were familiar:
148. VANSEVENANT Wim 9 SILENCE - LOTTO 5h 17' 23" + 26' 39"
149. CASPER Jimmy 123 AGRITUBEL 5h 17' 40" + 26' 56"
150. KRAUSS Sven 116 GEROLSTEINER 5h 20' 30" + 29' 46"
151. CHICCHI Francesco 63 LIQUIGAS 5h 21' 36" + 30' 52"
152. BRANDT Christophe 3 SILENCE - LOTTO 5h 21' 36" + 30' 52"
153. CHAVANEL Sébastien 162 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 5h 33' 43" + 42' 59"

That shakes up the bottom of the general classification a bit and gives us a new Lanterne Rouge for the 2008 Tour!

149. RIBLON Christophe 108 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 66h 23' 20" + 2h 25' 59"
150. CHICCHI Francesco 63 LIQUIGAS 66h 26' 39" + 2h 29' 18"
151. SPRICK Matthieu 146 BOUYGUES TELECOM 66h 29' 05" + 2h 31' 44"
152. VANSEVENANT Wim 9 SILENCE - LOTTO 66h 35' 03" + 2h 37' 42"
153. CHAVANEL Sébastien 162 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 66h 39' 36" + 2h 42' 15"

Chavanel now has a significant gap of 4:33 behind Wim Vansevenant. If Vansevenant wants to score a record third Lanterne Rouge finish at the end of the Tour, he will have to keep an eye on Chavanel's position and be sure to finish well behind him on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Labels: Brandt, Casper, Cavendish, Chavanel, Chicchi, Devolder, Krauss, Pereiro, Renshaw, Riblon, Sprick, Vansevenant

Things are winding down, and soon the 2007 Tour will be history.

In Lanterne Rouge news, ". . . Lilian Jegou, of Française des Jeux, states: 'You have more sporting credibility if you are at the back of the race.' To celebrate this new phenomenon, the paper Liberation announces that it is now supporting only the lanterne rouge, as the last rider in the race is nicknamed, after the red lantern that hangs on the back of a train. In the old days, cyclists in contention for this position would 'race' to lose time, without actually losing so much that they had to leave the race, because there was a certain notoriety - and lucrative appearance contracts - for the last man to finish the Tour. Acting no doubt on the biblical principle that the last shall be first and the first shall be last (in terms of credibility), Libe exhorts the current incumbent, the Belgian domestique Wim Vansevenant, to 'go slower!'"

After the Moreni incident, personally I'm not convinced that the unranked pro cyclists are any more or less likely to dope than the ones who have gained a few UCI points this year. The pressure to perform is there for every pro cyclist -- to move up in the rankings, ride faster, recover faster, hang with the peloton and not get dropped -- whether winning races or supporting their team leader. The leaders are just more likely to be drug-tested after they win races. For myself, I simply like to follow the back-of-the-packers because they all have interesting personal stories and the media is saturated with stories only of the leaders.

A bad translation of a brief piece on the Liberation site: "Wim fulfills its role: "Domestic." Man of the shade, it leaves the sun with the others. "My wife is a hairdresser. She says: There is much respect for you, always suffering when the others already arrived "After twenty years of career, the Belgian will hang up again the next year, at 37 years. "I am content with my career. Now, it is time for the young people.""

Elsewhere. . . . I just stumbled upon a fabulous French-language archive of Tour de France records. I've been filling out the past Lanternes Rouges in the right sidebar and will continue when time permits.

Rose Cantine reports on a TV interview with Lanterne Rouge Wim Vansevenant, which seems to imply his finish position this year was indeed deliberate. But don't worry, Wim, we will remember you!

Details of the (probably) anticlimactic final stage 20 to follow later. I haven't heard of any riders leaving the Tour in stages 18, 19, or 20.

---

And it was a traditional bunch sprint from the peloton to finish this crazy Tour! No changes in most of the lineup, and even though Thor Hushovd was 2nd in the stage he didn't change his placement. It was nice to see that Tom Boonen was able to finally withstand the onslaught of mountain fever that has taken him out of the Tour in previous years in order to collect his green jersey.

Seven riders gained more than a minute in the final stage:

135. HINAULT Sébastien 108 CREDIT AGRICOLE 3h 52' 09" + 01' 06"
136. CHEULA Gianpaolo 213 BARLOWORLD 3h 52' 15" + 01' 12"
137. FISCHER Murilo Antoniobil 155 LIQUIGAS 3h 52' 15" + 01' 12"
138. BALLAN Alessandro 81 LAMPRE-FONDITAL 3h 52' 15" + 01' 12"
139. EFIMKIN Alexander 211 BARLOWORLD 3h 52' 15" + 01' 12"
140. CHARTEAU Anthony 104 CREDIT AGRICOLE 3h 52' 37" + 01' 34"
with
141. VOECKLER Thomas 129 BOUYGUES TELECOM 3h 55' 11" + 04' 08"
the final rider over the finish line in the final stage of the Tour.

Which leaves the final five in the General Classification of the 2007 Tour de France unchanged from yesterday (apologies for messed-up spacing courtesy of Blogger). Our CONGRATULATIONS to each one of them for surviving a tough Tour de France!

137. KRAUSS Sven (Germany) 96 GEROLSTEINER 94h 41' 17" + 3h 40' 51"








138. STEEGMANS Gert (Belgium) 176 QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC 94h 42' 04" + 3h 41' 38"







139. HUSHOVD Thor (Norway) 101 CREDIT AGRICOLE 94h 42' 23" + 3h 41' 57"








140. THOMAS Geraint (Wales) 215 BARLOWORLD 94h 47' 17" + 3h 46' 51"

"Everyone dreams of riding down the Champs-Elysee and finishing the Tour, I'm happy to get here but feeling it," the Cardiff rider told the BBC. "I was always going to go as far as I could. I couldn't see the point in going home after a few days, it was always in my mind to try to finish and it's awesome to be at the end."

and for the second consecutive time as the Lanterne Rouge of the Tour de France, we conclude with:

141. VANSEVENANT Wim (Belgium) 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 94h 53' 20" + 3h 52' 54"

Labels: Hushovd, Jegou, Krauss, Steegmans, Thomas, Vansevenant

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.

Labels: De Groot, Evans, Hushovd, Krauss, Leipheimer, Steegmans, Thomas, Vansevenant

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.

• Born on December 23, 1971 in Dixmuide, Belgium
• Lives in Eerhegem, Belgium
• Height : 1.74 m (5'8.5")
• Weight : 65 kg (143 pounds)

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

Velonews has already answered the first question of the day, for those of us tuning in online:

"There will be no yellow jersey worn in today's stage, although there will be a jersey awarded on the podium in Castelsarrasin. Rasmussen's teammates - the guys who rode their hearts out for the guy - are staying in the Tour."

So Rabobank is still in, and there should have been 142 starters if there were no other DNSs in the morning. I feel badly for the teammates - I wish they could pull off something like a stage win today, but probably they haven't gotten a lot of sleep lately.

Velonews adds, about the mood in the peloton, "A lot of riders appear to be relieved... some are just pissed. Really, you can't blame them, especially those who have made a real commitment to riding this Tour clean."

And Rasmussen is pleading innocence: "I'm shattered. I'm on the verge of tears," said Rasmussen today, quoted in the Danish tabloid BT. "I was not in Italy. Not at all. That's the story of one man who believes he recognised me. There is no hint of evidence."

Um, if he was in Mexico in June, shouldn't it be pretty simple to prove? Passport stamps? Plane tickets? Luggage tags? Photos wearing a big stupid sombrero and swilling Dos Equis? There are records of these things, Michael. Let's see them.

Here's a list of the fallen of stage 17:
149 WIGGINS Bradley (GBR) COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE non partant
148 VERBRUGGHE Rik (BEL) COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE non partant
147 SCHEIRLINCKX Staf (BEL) COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE non partant
145 NUYENS Nick (BEL) COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE non partant
142 AUGE Stéphane (FRA) COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE non partant
141 CHAVANEL Sylvain (FRA) COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE non partant
58 RASMUSSEN Michael (DEN) RABOBANK non partant
51 MENCHOV Denis (RUS) RABOBANK abandon

Many people are feeling very badly for Denis Menchov who worked hard for Rasmussen and now has been cheated by his teammate, and probably was exhausted already at the beginning the stage today, doubtlessly with little sleep last night.

Velonews tells the tale: "Menchov has pulled out of the Tour. He has climbed off of his bike in the feed zone. We don't see a physical reason... but an emotional reason? For sure. Do recall that Menchov won the Vuelta a Espana in 2005... but he was denied the chance to celebrate that victory, because Roberto Heras got to spend the day on the podium in Madrid. Folks thought that Heras had won... until the guy tripped the dopo-meter. Menchov, who began the Tour as Rabobank's team leader, deferred to Michael Rasmussen and then worked his arse off to help the skinny little cheat hold the lead. You have to feel for Menchov... sigh."

At the finish line today there were just three stragglers with familiar names, after a huge group of 124 riders came in at 9:39:

139. CANCELLARA Fabian 33 TEAM CSC 4h 24' 12" + 10' 08"
140. GUSEV Vladimir 113 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM 4h 24' 12" + 10' 08"
141. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 4h 24' 26" + 10' 22"

Is Wim trying to conserve his position? That's just the way to do it! I don't see any mention of him during the stage -- perhaps he worked hard to protect Cadel Evans today in his probable podium spot. He's got over a 4 minute gap to the next rider now.

So here are our final five in the standings after the stage:

137. DE GROOT Bram 53 RABOBANK 84h 16' 06" + 3h 33' 58"
138. HUSHOVD Thor 101 CREDIT AGRICOLE 84h 17' 01" + 3h 34' 53"
139. KRAUSS Sven 96 GEROLSTEINER 84h 19' 27" + 3h 37' 19"
140. GERAINT Thomas 215 BARLOWORLD 84h 21' 05" + 3h 38' 57"
141. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 84h 26' 48" + 3h 44' 40"

Sadly, the folks at VeloNews appear to have been too busy today to produce Stage Stats for Stage 17, so I don't have any medical reports or jury decisions from them to pass along here. If anyone else has another place that those are available online, please let me know!

---

We now have late-arriving brief Stage Stats:

Medical report: no report

Jury decisions:
Voigt (CSC) fined 50 CHF, penalized 5 points and 10 seconds for pull on team car during mechanical
Pineau (Bouygues Telecom) fined 50 CHF, penalized 5 points and 10 seconds for bidon pull

Labels: Auge, Chavanel, De Groot, Hushovd, Krauss, Menchov, Nuyens, Rasmussen, Scheirlinckx, Thomas, Vansevenant, Verbrugghe, Wiggins

It seems that all 151 remaining riders are on their bikes today in the toughest stage of the '07 Tour. However, there was a small anti-doping protest at the start:

Cyclingnews.com says, "The French and German teams stayed at the start for a minute or so to protest at doping in the sport. Others such as Discovery Channel, Euskaltel, Lampre, Caisse d'Epargne and Preditor Lotto didn't feel the same way and left. Michael Rasmussen also left with these. Strangely, T-Mobile and CSC also moved off, even though they have strong anti-doping programmes. Hmm, what about solidarity, guys? . . . There was some booing from the crowd. We don't know if that was for those who left, or those who stayed."

According to Reuters, it was Rasmussen who was booed by the crowd.

Velonews.com summarized it: "Today's stage began with a riders' protest, from teams expressing frustration at yesterday's news of a positive doping test from Alexander Vinokourov. The teams were also angry that the Tour is being led by a man many regard as suspicious."

While I'm on the topic (and I don't intend to dwell on it on this blog, because - call me naive - I honestly don't think most of the riders in the back of the pack are dopers), I particularly liked this viewpoint on the subject of unannounced tests by Bobby Julich, who is in a position to know.

And Rasmussen wins the stage and probably the Tour, but loses in the court of public opinion - he is booed at the finish line. That's the first time I've heard of that happening to a stage winner.

Ronan Pensec said, "People along the road today were whistling at him and telling him things I won’t translate here. It is really like no one wants to see him win anymore with all these drug-taking problems. The atmosphere is more than tense, it is really bad. Everybody is tired of all these problems and they all pretty much want to be at the end already."

---

Matthieu Sprick, a French rider for Bouygues Telecom, withdrew during the stage, bringing the peloton down to 150 riders. A note on the BT team website says, in a funny translation, "It should be noted that Matthieu SPRICK has to pose foot with ground after respiratory problems." I suppose that means "step down from the Tour" in English.

The autobus arrived at 41:49 today, and contained 72 riders, nearly half the active remaining cyclists in the Tour. No stragglers.

That leaves the bottom of the standings essentially unchanged:

146. HUSHOVD Thor 101 CREDIT AGRICOLE 79h 53' 18" + 3h 38' 03"
147. KRAUSS Sven 96 GEROLSTEINER 79h 55' 44" + 3h 40' 29"
148. GERAINT Thomas 215 BARLOWORLD 79h 57' 22" + 3h 42' 07"
149. NUYENS Nick 145 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 79h 59' 23" + 3h 44' 08"
150. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 80h 02' 22" + 3h 47' 07"

Barring any major crashes or climbs in the rankings from a breakaway, this may be what we see in the back of the rankings all the way to Paris. But we must never forget that these riders have already been able to accomplish what 39 others have failed to do: survive the Alps and the Pyrenees and remain in the Tour.

Probably the peloton will be down to no more than 149 tomorrow, since Christian Moreni of Cofidis tested positive for exogenous testosterone. He finished 41st in today's stage and was 54th overall. Unless the entire Cofidis team chooses to withdraw as well. . . .

Cyclingnews.com and TDFBlog note with some irony that the Cofidis squad was part of the anti-doping protest today.

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Cyclingnews.com discusses the scoring issues that have arisen from the Astana team's departure - since their riders were all technically a DNS today, since Vinokourov was not disqualified. Yet.

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Update: Um, I was joking. But yes indeed, the entire freaking Cofidis team is leaving the 2007 Tour too. I have to go look at the standings again. . . .

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Here is part of the stage stats again, from Velonews. Maybe I'm the only one who finds these tidbits interesting, but I can't find them anywhere else, and there's a lot of stories in each item, I'm sure:

Medical report:
Horner (Predictor-Lotto), Quinziato (Liquigas), Tosatto (QuickStep-Innergetic) all digestive problems.
Barredo (QuickStep-Innergetic) contusion on left knee.
Sprick (Bouygues) abandon for abdominal pains.
Ballan (Lampre) crash at 134, superficial cuts and scrapes.
Voigt (CSC) crash at 137km, superficial cuts.

Jury decisions:
Arrieta (Ag2r) and Camano (Saunier Duval-Prodir), fined 50 CHF, penalized five points and 10 seconds in GC for pushing off vehicles.
Flecha (Rabobank), Kohl (Gerolsteiner), Tankink (QuickStep), fined 50 CHF, penalized five points and 10 seconds in GC for bidon pulls.
Niermann and Weening (both Rabobank), fined 100 CHF, penalized 20 seconds in GC (two infractions each) for following too long behind vehicles.
Rabobank sport director fined 400 CHF for above infractions.
Arrieta (Ag2r), Zubeldia (Euskaltel) and Fofonov (Credit Agricole), fined 50 CHF for irregular feeds.
Ag2r, Euskaltel and Credit Agricole directors each fined 200 CHF for above infractions.
Cofidis sport director fined 200 CHF for not respecting commissaire.
After receiving news about failed doping control taken after 11th stage into Montepellier, Moreni (Cofidis) accepts the results without request for "B" sample.

Labels: Geraint, Hushovd, Julich, Krauss, Moreni, Nuyens, Rasmussen, Sprick, Vansevenant, Vinokourov

Here's a poetic tribute to the Lanterne Rouge.

I don't yet have confirmation of any DNSs for the day. Possibly Philippe Gilbert? Ah, yes, Velonews says: "We see that Francaise des Jeux's Philippe Gilbert and Liquigas's Filippo Pozzato opted not to start." Pozzato was the Lanterne Rouge of Stage 3 in 2006. There are 163 riders at the start of the day.

Here's a somewhat garbled note in the Cyclingnews.com coverage about our Lanterne Rouge: "Philippe Gilbert had a fever yesterday and struggled to last place, some 40-odd minutes down. He made the time cut but Wim Vansevenant didn't (Predictor-Lotto) didn't think he'd be able to start and he didn't. Vansevenant for himself told Brecht Decaluwè that he is the master of managing the time cuts, but acknowledged it will be really hard today to make it. It's a very difficult stage. We'll keep you posted on the Belgian rider, who wants to save his Lanterne Rouge place all the way to Paris.""

They said on Versus that Cyril Dessel (Ag2r Prevoyance) abandoned today. Yes, at around 39 km into the stage. The head count is now 162, with 27 riders lost en route thus far in the Tour.

Alexandre Vinokourov should be nicknamed Rasputin. They can't kill him. Stabbing? Poison? Clubbing? Shooting? Drowning? Stupid spectators? Nothing can get that man down for long.

Oh no! The web updates reveal some more abandons that weren't covered on TV. Here's the full list for the day of riders who are finished with the 2007 Tour de France:

165 GILBERT Philippe (BEL) FRANCAISE DES JEUX non-starter
151 POZZATO Filippo (ITA) LIQUIGAS non-starter
109 LE MEVEL Christophe (FRA) CREDIT AGRICOLE withdrawls
64 DESSEL Cyril (FRA) AG2R PREVOYANCE withdrawls
47 RODRIGUEZ Fred (USA) PREDICTOR - LOTTO withdrawls

Le Mevel was the C.A. rider who crashed going around a right-hand curve at about the 40 km mark and then a rider in orange flipped over him, Jorge Azanza from Euskaltel-Euskadi.

I haven't found word about exactly what happened to Fast Freddie Rodriguez today, but he abandoned before the fourth climb. He said on his blog before the stage, "I managed to survive yesterday’s race with a real bad stomach. Don't ask me how. I think I really went deep mentally, because physically I was empty. I woke up with the same bad stomach this morning. This will be my chance to fight again and hang on."

Rik Verbrugge, Cofidis rider who was in our final five yesterday, had a great ride today and finished in 56th place, moving him up from the penultimate rider in the GC to 144th overall. There was a huge autobus of 47 riders who arrived at the finish line at 35:45 after the stage winner, with no late stragglers. Wim Vansevenant, the Lanterne Rouge, arrived about 4 minutes ahead of it, so that modified his time gap slightly. There are 160 remaining in the Tour.

Our final five in the standings are now:

156. HUSHOVD Thor 101 CREDIT AGRICOLE 72h 48' 08" + 2h 55' 54"
157. KRAUSS Sven 96 GEROLSTEINER 72h 50' 34" + 2h 58' 20"
158. GERAINT Thomas 215 BARLOWORLD 72h 52' 12" + 2h 59' 58"
159. NUYENS Nick 145 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 72h 54' 13" + 3h 01' 59"
160. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 72h 57' 12" + 3h 04' 58"

(Um, their name in the official Tour standings is backwards, not me, the given name is Geraint, the family name is Thomas).

It seems that Thor Hushovd threw out his back while taking a leak off the bike earlier in the Tour. He indicated he might have been unable to continue if the rest day hadn't fortunately been next.

And here are the stage stats, courtesy of VeloNews:

Medical report:
Le Mevel (Credit Agricole) fall on the Col de Port, traumatism on right shoulder, transferred to hospital in Saint-Girons, X-rays revealed a fracture in the right clavicle
Efimkin (Barloworld) crash on Col de Port, superficial cuts and scrapes
Iglinskiy (Astana) crash at 100km, without apparent serious injuries
Rodriguez and Van Summeren (Predictor-Lotto), Moreau (Ag2r), Mercado (Agritubel), Nuyens (Cofidis), Sieberg (Milram) - all digestive problems

Jury decisions: No rulings

Labels: Azanza, Dessel, Gilbert, Hushovd, Krauss, Le Mevel, Nuyens, Pozzato, Rodriguez, Thomas, Vansevenant, Verbrugge, Vinokourov

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:

Labels: Evans, Geraint, Gilbert, Krauss, Kuschynski, Nuyens, Vansevenant, Ventoso, Verbrugge, Vinokourov

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!

Labels: Burghardt, Charteau, Clement, Krauss, Kuschynski, Mercado, Nuyens, Ongarato, Vansevenant, Ventoso, Verbrugghe

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"

Labels: Charteau, Cortinovis, Forster, Hoste, Krauss, Kuschynski, Steegmans, Thomas, Vansevenant, Wrolich, Zagbriskie