Sunday, May 09, 2010
Giro underway!
The 2010 Giro d'Italia has begun! The first Lanterne Rouge from the Stage 1 individual time trial in Amsterdam (of 198 starters) is Guillaume Blot, French rider for Cofidis.
I won't be posting about it here much, but I will be continuing to tweet about the Giro Lanternes Rouges here, as well as discussing it on our Lanterne Rouge Facebook page.
In unrelated cycling news (that I missed earlier), a 2-time (2006, 2007) Tour de France Prologue Lanterne Rouge, Ruben Lobato, was nabbed last June for violating the biological passport standards.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Early-onset mountain fever
It's reported that Spaniard Oscar Freire of Rabobank will not be starting today, due to a cyst in his saddle area, and presumably also some kind of allergy to mountains. He only finished one Tour, in 2003, and pulled out in his other two Tours, in 2002 and 2006. He had been in third position in the sprinter's competition for the green jersey, and 5th overall.
Two previous Lanterne Rouges of this Tour, Ruben Lobato of Saunier Duval-Prodir (DNS) and Enrico Degano of Barloworld (withdrew), are also out of the 2007 Tour. We will have a new Lanterne Rouge at the end of the day and no more than 180 riders will cross the finish line.
There has already been some talk of other sprinters quitting Le Tour now that it is entering the Alps, but we'll wait and see who is listed when the official withdrawal list is updated. Maybe they'll tough it out until the rest day Monday and then not show up for work on Tuesday.
Update: Mark "Cannonball" Cavendish, the British rider for T-Mobile, is our new Lanterne Rouge in 180th position in the General Classification. Cavendish will only serve a short time in this role, since he has already been scheduled to leave the Tour after Sunday's stage. In yesterday's finishing sprint he was briefly in trouble as Tom Boonen's pedal or derailleur got tangled in his wheel and tore out a few spokes. Earlier in the Tour he was involved in a couple of crashes.
Update 2: Lobato had withdrawn due to the death of his maternal grandfather, and flew to Madrid to be with family. Our condolences to him.
Two previous Lanterne Rouges of this Tour, Ruben Lobato of Saunier Duval-Prodir (DNS) and Enrico Degano of Barloworld (withdrew), are also out of the 2007 Tour. We will have a new Lanterne Rouge at the end of the day and no more than 180 riders will cross the finish line.
There has already been some talk of other sprinters quitting Le Tour now that it is entering the Alps, but we'll wait and see who is listed when the official withdrawal list is updated. Maybe they'll tough it out until the rest day Monday and then not show up for work on Tuesday.
Update: Mark "Cannonball" Cavendish, the British rider for T-Mobile, is our new Lanterne Rouge in 180th position in the General Classification. Cavendish will only serve a short time in this role, since he has already been scheduled to leave the Tour after Sunday's stage. In yesterday's finishing sprint he was briefly in trouble as Tom Boonen's pedal or derailleur got tangled in his wheel and tore out a few spokes. Earlier in the Tour he was involved in a couple of crashes.
Update 2: Lobato had withdrawn due to the death of his maternal grandfather, and flew to Madrid to be with family. Our condolences to him.
Labels: Degano, Freire, Lobato
Saturday, July 07, 2007
He did it again!!
Here are the final five finishers of the 2007 Tour de France Prologue in London:
185. HERVE Cédric 136 AGRITUBEL 00:10:20 + 00:01:30
186. DEGANO Enrico 214 BARLOWORLD 00:10:20 + 00:01:30
187. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 00:10:22 + 00:01:32
188. NAPOLITANO Danilo 86 LAMPRE-FONDITAL 00:10:23 + 00:01:33
189. LOBATO Ruben 206 SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR 00:10:41 + 00:01:51
Wim Vansevenant was the overall Lanterne Rouge of the 2006 Tour de France, but amazingly, Ruben Lobato is in the exact same position he was in after last year's prologue in the Lanterne Rouge spot. In comparison, Stuart O'Grady of CSC who crashed on the course finished 28 seconds faster than Lobato, coming to the line in 00:10:13 in the 179th slot.
What an exciting start to a fascinating Tour!
Oh, and just in case anyone scoffs at Robato's performance - he completed the course at an average of 27.5 mph. Just try maintaining that on a bike for 4.9 miles on a loop course and report back before you declare that is anything but amazing speed.
185. HERVE Cédric 136 AGRITUBEL 00:10:20 + 00:01:30
186. DEGANO Enrico 214 BARLOWORLD 00:10:20 + 00:01:30
187. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 00:10:22 + 00:01:32
188. NAPOLITANO Danilo 86 LAMPRE-FONDITAL 00:10:23 + 00:01:33
189. LOBATO Ruben 206 SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR 00:10:41 + 00:01:51Wim Vansevenant was the overall Lanterne Rouge of the 2006 Tour de France, but amazingly, Ruben Lobato is in the exact same position he was in after last year's prologue in the Lanterne Rouge spot. In comparison, Stuart O'Grady of CSC who crashed on the course finished 28 seconds faster than Lobato, coming to the line in 00:10:13 in the 179th slot.
What an exciting start to a fascinating Tour!
Oh, and just in case anyone scoffs at Robato's performance - he completed the course at an average of 27.5 mph. Just try maintaining that on a bike for 4.9 miles on a loop course and report back before you declare that is anything but amazing speed.
Labels: Degano, Herve, Lobato, Napolitano, O'Grady, Vansevenant
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Past Tour de France Lanternes Rouges in 2007
Here's an update on what I've been able to dig up about the current situation of the Tour de France Lanternes Rouges of recent years. If you have any additional current information on any of these, please leave it in the comments!
2006 Prologue Lanterne Rouge Ruben Lobato Elvira will be in the 2007 Tour de France riding for Saunier Duval-Prodir.
2006 Stage 1 Lanterne Rouge Danilo Di Luca won the 2007 Giro d'Italia for Team Liquigas, and then announced that he would not be riding Le Tour, but soon after came under suspicion of doping. His case is still awaiting a resolution.
2006 Stage 2 Lanterne Rouge Aitor Hernandez Gutierrez was not named for the 2007 Tour de France roster for his team, Euskaltel-Euskadi.
2006 Stage 3 Lanterne Rouge Filippo Pozzato is on the Liquigas Team (which has not named their Tour roster yet) and will compete in the Italian national road race championship on July 1st, 2007.
2006 Stage 4 Lanterne Rouge Magnus Backstedt is on the Liquigas Team (which has not named their Tour roster yet) and will compete in the Swedish national road race championship on July 1st, 2007.
2006 Lanterne Rouge of 9 Stages, Sébastien Joly, is a member of the Française des Jeux team which has not yet announced its 2007 Tour de France rider roster. In his earlier years he rode with Bonjour alongside fellow Lanternes Rouges of 1998, Damien Nazon, and 2000, Olivier Parraudeau.
2006 overall Lanterne Rouge Wim Vansevenant is a member of the Predictor-Lotto team which has not yet announced its 2007 Tour de France rider roster.
2005 Stages 1-3 Lanterne Rouge Leonardo Piepoli, mountain climber for Saunier Duval-Prodir, won the mountain climber competition at the 2007 Giro d'Italia, but is under investigation for excessive levels of asthma medication during the Giro, and is not on their 2007 Tour de France roster.
2005 Stages 5 and 7 Lanterne Rouge Janeck Tombak, an Estonian now riding for the second-tier Jartazi Promo Fashion team, not a Team in the 2007 Tour. He recently won the 4th stage in the Tour of Picardie.
2005 Stage 6 Lanterne Rouge Steve Zampieri was a member of the now-disbanded Phonak cycling team. He now rides for Cofidis but was not named for their 2007 Tour de France team.
2005 overall Lanterne Rouge Iker Flores (brother of 2002 Lanterne Rouge Igor Flores) is now riding for Fuerteventura (a new pro-continental team, formerly Comunidad Valenciana-Kelme) and is "one of the favourites to win the Euskal Bizikleta which kicks off on June 8th in the Basque country of Spain."
Two-time Lanterne Rouge (2001 and 2004) Jimmy Casper now is a member of the Unibet.com cycling team, which as a gambling concern has been barred from racing (and thereby advertising their product) on French soil.
2003 overall Lanterne Rouge Hans de Clerq rode for Lotto-Domo, which has turned into the Predictor-Lotto team. According to the Dutch Wikipedia, "Hans De Clercq is since 2006 also competition leader of the Per Tour-competition Ghent-Wevelgem and since 2007 team leader of the cyclo-cross race team Sunweb-ProJob".
2002 overall Lanterne Rouge Igor Flores rode for Euskaltel-Euskadi and currently rides as a guide for Grupetto Tours.
2000 overall Lanterne Rouge Olivier Perraudeau rode for Bonjour in 2002 along with 1998 Lanterne Rouge Damien Nazon and subsequent 2006 stage Lanterne Rouge Sébastien Joly. I haven't found more recent news.
1999 overall Lanterne Rouge Jacky Durand worked for Eurosport in 2006.
1998 overall Lanterne Rouge Damien Nazon also rode for Bonjour in 2002 with subsequent Lanterne Rouge Olivier Parraudeau of 2000 and 2006 stage Lanterne Rouge Sébastien Joly. Until 2005 he rode for Credit Agricole.
2006 Prologue Lanterne Rouge Ruben Lobato Elvira will be in the 2007 Tour de France riding for Saunier Duval-Prodir.
2006 Stage 1 Lanterne Rouge Danilo Di Luca won the 2007 Giro d'Italia for Team Liquigas, and then announced that he would not be riding Le Tour, but soon after came under suspicion of doping. His case is still awaiting a resolution.
2006 Stage 2 Lanterne Rouge Aitor Hernandez Gutierrez was not named for the 2007 Tour de France roster for his team, Euskaltel-Euskadi.
2006 Stage 3 Lanterne Rouge Filippo Pozzato is on the Liquigas Team (which has not named their Tour roster yet) and will compete in the Italian national road race championship on July 1st, 2007.
2006 Stage 4 Lanterne Rouge Magnus Backstedt is on the Liquigas Team (which has not named their Tour roster yet) and will compete in the Swedish national road race championship on July 1st, 2007.
2006 Lanterne Rouge of 9 Stages, Sébastien Joly, is a member of the Française des Jeux team which has not yet announced its 2007 Tour de France rider roster. In his earlier years he rode with Bonjour alongside fellow Lanternes Rouges of 1998, Damien Nazon, and 2000, Olivier Parraudeau.
2006 overall Lanterne Rouge Wim Vansevenant is a member of the Predictor-Lotto team which has not yet announced its 2007 Tour de France rider roster.
2005 Stages 1-3 Lanterne Rouge Leonardo Piepoli, mountain climber for Saunier Duval-Prodir, won the mountain climber competition at the 2007 Giro d'Italia, but is under investigation for excessive levels of asthma medication during the Giro, and is not on their 2007 Tour de France roster.
2005 Stages 5 and 7 Lanterne Rouge Janeck Tombak, an Estonian now riding for the second-tier Jartazi Promo Fashion team, not a Team in the 2007 Tour. He recently won the 4th stage in the Tour of Picardie.
2005 Stage 6 Lanterne Rouge Steve Zampieri was a member of the now-disbanded Phonak cycling team. He now rides for Cofidis but was not named for their 2007 Tour de France team.
2005 overall Lanterne Rouge Iker Flores (brother of 2002 Lanterne Rouge Igor Flores) is now riding for Fuerteventura (a new pro-continental team, formerly Comunidad Valenciana-Kelme) and is "one of the favourites to win the Euskal Bizikleta which kicks off on June 8th in the Basque country of Spain."
Two-time Lanterne Rouge (2001 and 2004) Jimmy Casper now is a member of the Unibet.com cycling team, which as a gambling concern has been barred from racing (and thereby advertising their product) on French soil.
2003 overall Lanterne Rouge Hans de Clerq rode for Lotto-Domo, which has turned into the Predictor-Lotto team. According to the Dutch Wikipedia, "Hans De Clercq is since 2006 also competition leader of the Per Tour-competition Ghent-Wevelgem and since 2007 team leader of the cyclo-cross race team Sunweb-ProJob".
2002 overall Lanterne Rouge Igor Flores rode for Euskaltel-Euskadi and currently rides as a guide for Grupetto Tours.
2000 overall Lanterne Rouge Olivier Perraudeau rode for Bonjour in 2002 along with 1998 Lanterne Rouge Damien Nazon and subsequent 2006 stage Lanterne Rouge Sébastien Joly. I haven't found more recent news.
1999 overall Lanterne Rouge Jacky Durand worked for Eurosport in 2006.
1998 overall Lanterne Rouge Damien Nazon also rode for Bonjour in 2002 with subsequent Lanterne Rouge Olivier Parraudeau of 2000 and 2006 stage Lanterne Rouge Sébastien Joly. Until 2005 he rode for Credit Agricole.
Labels: Backstedt, Casper, de Clerq, DiLuca, Durand, Flores, Hernandez, Joly, Lobato, Nazon, Perraudeau, Piepoli, Pozzato, Tombak, Vansevenant, Zampieri
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Today is Sinko de Mayo
Iban Mayo's sunk. The highly-regarded Spaniard, leader of the Euskaltel-Euskadi team and once thought to be a podium contender, abandoned about 3:40 PM local time, after struggling all day yesterday and in the first part of today's stage. "The Spanish team said earlier on Thursday that Mayo had caught a cold on the plane from Lorient to Bordeaux on Sunday." It was also reported that he had knee problems.Another interesting account: "Euskaltel team leader Iban Mayo showed his anger at a cameraman tracking his progress on Thursday afternoon as the Spaniard was unable to keep pace with the peloton. Apparently unwilling to be filmed abandoning the race, Mayo instructed the cameraman tracking his progress to continue up the road, before eventually stepping down off his bike. The 29 year-old has been suffering from a sore throat for the last couple of days, reportedly brought on by air conditioning in his hotel room." Gosh, I forgot that air conditioning is so rare at the riders' lodgings that when it's encountered it carries the threat of disease.
Giovanni Lombardi, an Italian on the CSC team also abandoned earlier in the day. Additionally, Wilfried Cretskens, Belgian rider on the Quickstep-Innergetic team, abandoned today. No news yet on the reasons for these withdrawals. (CSC cycling is usually prompt with their news updates, but nothing about Lombardi yet. Nothing new has been posted on the Quickstep team site for an entire week! Jeez, help us out here!) (Update: CSC's site says now that Lombardi had stomach problems.)
That leaves 165 riders still in the 2006 Tour.
The final finisher of this monster stage was Cristophe Mengin, French rider on the Française des Jeux team, at a colossal time gap of 46:13 behind the stage winner. Our former Lanterne Rouge and his teammate, Sébastien Joly, finished well up at 107th place at 35:47 today.
That allowed Joly to move up one place in the standings and means that we have a new Lanterne Rouge: Wim Vansevenant, a Belgian rider on the Davitamon-Lotto team. He finished in the autobus today at 44:20 for the stage. He actually had been in 166th place yesterday and moves UP to 165th, but with the three abandons today that gives him the greatest aggregate time of the riders remaining in the peleton. He finished the 2005 Tour in 154th place, the penultimate position.Stage finish positions for the other previous Lanterne Rouges of the 2006 Tour: Rubén Lobato 28th (7:22), Aitor Hernandez 108th (35:47), Filippo Pozzato 109th (40:32), Magnus Backstedt 140th (44:20).
Labels: Backstedt, Cretskens, Hernandez, Joly, Lobato, Lombardi, Mayo, Mengin, Pozzato, Vansevenant
