Saturday, July 26, 2008
Stage Twenty: The decisive ITT
Update thanks to Velonews.com live updates:
"Adam our official Live Update La[n]tern[e] Rouge historian writes in to say: Hey Live Update Guy, It looks like Wim Vansevenant will be creating history tomorrow. He started today's stage 42 seconds ahead of Bernhard Eisel of Team Columbia. Fortunately (?) he took 1 minute 35 seconds longer to finish the stage. As of right now as I write this 29 riders have finished. So the lowest man in the GC who hasn't finished as far as I know is Arnaud Coyot. He'd have to take 1 hour 51 minutes and 14 seconds to displace Wim, which is almost 40 minutes slower than the average pace set by the first 29 riders through to finish the stage. Cheers to Wim Vansevenant! Who if he avoids catastrophe and finishes tomorrow will be the first participant to win the Lantern[e] Rouge three times, and will have done it for three tours in a row! Thanks for the updates, Adam"
It seems Vansevenant rode almost exactly the same relative pace as the first time trial in Cholet. I'm still searching for Wim's official time but the first rider out, Bernard Eisel, went in 1:13:12. Everyone seems to only post the top tens rather than the full list of results as they go! Aaargh!
"Lance has seven titles, I have another record," said Vansevenant, who loyally helped the Australian Evans to do well at the Tour.
Update: Thanks to Allen Gathman for pointing out the official times on Le Tour site!
Bernard Eisel: 1:13:12
Wim Vansevenant: 1:14:47 (1:35 gap)
Slowest times of the day:
Matthieu Sprick: 1:15:02
Thomas Voeckler: 1:15:09
It doesn't seem that Wim Vansevenant slowed down at the end of the time trial to hit a particular goal time, but rather rode it just as he did the first time trial and maintained a fairly consistent position through all the splits:
VANSEVENANT Wim - SILENCE - LOTTO
Classement général individuel : 144th at 03:46:29 (position at the start of the stage)
start 2th parti at 11:20:01
chrono 1 18.0 km 143th at 00:03:49
chrono 2 36.0 km 145th at 00:07:33
chrono 3 47.5 km 145th at 00:10:00
arrivee 53.0 km 142th at 00:10:56
Final five ITT times for today:
141. RIGHI Daniele 77 LAMPRE 01:14:44 00:10:54
142. VANSEVENANT Wim 9 SILENCE - LOTTO 01:14:47 00:10:56
143. ENGOULVENT Jimmy 84 CREDIT AGRICOLE 01:14:55 00:11:04
144. SPRICK Matthieu 146 BOUYGUES TELECOM 01:15:02 00:11:12
145. VOECKLER Thomas 149 BOUYGUES TELECOM 01:15:09 00:11:19
Before anyone scoffs at Thomas Voeckler's time, please go out and find a nice hilly course of 33 miles and ride it at an average pace of well over 26 mph, as he did. Not to mention doing it after riding over 2000 miles in the preceding three weeks over the highest mountains in the Pyrenees and Alps!
Christophe Riblon of Ag2R was able to move up today into 138th place by riding an outstanding time trial in 37th place for the day.
The final five in the overall standings after the final time trial, which (barring any withdrawals or serious crashes) will most likely be the final order of finish for the 2008 Tour:
141. GARCIA ACOSTA Vicente 34 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 87h 40' 26" + 3h 39' 26"
142. SPRICK Matthieu 146 BOUYGUES TELECOM 87h 49' 18" + 3h 48' 18"
143. KRAUSS Sven 116 GEROLSTEINER 87h 52' 55" + 3h 51' 55"
144. EISEL Bernhard 45 TEAM COLUMBIA 87h 54' 58" + 3h 53' 58"
145. VANSEVENANT Wim 9 SILENCE - LOTTO 87h 55' 51" + 3h 54' 51"
"Adam our official Live Update La[n]tern[e] Rouge historian writes in to say: Hey Live Update Guy, It looks like Wim Vansevenant will be creating history tomorrow. He started today's stage 42 seconds ahead of Bernhard Eisel of Team Columbia. Fortunately (?) he took 1 minute 35 seconds longer to finish the stage. As of right now as I write this 29 riders have finished. So the lowest man in the GC who hasn't finished as far as I know is Arnaud Coyot. He'd have to take 1 hour 51 minutes and 14 seconds to displace Wim, which is almost 40 minutes slower than the average pace set by the first 29 riders through to finish the stage. Cheers to Wim Vansevenant! Who if he avoids catastrophe and finishes tomorrow will be the first participant to win the Lantern[e] Rouge three times, and will have done it for three tours in a row! Thanks for the updates, Adam"
It seems Vansevenant rode almost exactly the same relative pace as the first time trial in Cholet. I'm still searching for Wim's official time but the first rider out, Bernard Eisel, went in 1:13:12. Everyone seems to only post the top tens rather than the full list of results as they go! Aaargh!
"Lance has seven titles, I have another record," said Vansevenant, who loyally helped the Australian Evans to do well at the Tour.
Update: Thanks to Allen Gathman for pointing out the official times on Le Tour site!
Bernard Eisel: 1:13:12
Wim Vansevenant: 1:14:47 (1:35 gap)
Slowest times of the day:
Matthieu Sprick: 1:15:02
Thomas Voeckler: 1:15:09
It doesn't seem that Wim Vansevenant slowed down at the end of the time trial to hit a particular goal time, but rather rode it just as he did the first time trial and maintained a fairly consistent position through all the splits:
VANSEVENANT Wim - SILENCE - LOTTO
Classement général individuel : 144th at 03:46:29 (position at the start of the stage)
start 2th parti at 11:20:01
chrono 1 18.0 km 143th at 00:03:49
chrono 2 36.0 km 145th at 00:07:33
chrono 3 47.5 km 145th at 00:10:00
arrivee 53.0 km 142th at 00:10:56
Final five ITT times for today:
141. RIGHI Daniele 77 LAMPRE 01:14:44 00:10:54
142. VANSEVENANT Wim 9 SILENCE - LOTTO 01:14:47 00:10:56
143. ENGOULVENT Jimmy 84 CREDIT AGRICOLE 01:14:55 00:11:04
144. SPRICK Matthieu 146 BOUYGUES TELECOM 01:15:02 00:11:12
145. VOECKLER Thomas 149 BOUYGUES TELECOM 01:15:09 00:11:19
Before anyone scoffs at Thomas Voeckler's time, please go out and find a nice hilly course of 33 miles and ride it at an average pace of well over 26 mph, as he did. Not to mention doing it after riding over 2000 miles in the preceding three weeks over the highest mountains in the Pyrenees and Alps!
Christophe Riblon of Ag2R was able to move up today into 138th place by riding an outstanding time trial in 37th place for the day.
The final five in the overall standings after the final time trial, which (barring any withdrawals or serious crashes) will most likely be the final order of finish for the 2008 Tour:
141. GARCIA ACOSTA Vicente 34 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 87h 40' 26" + 3h 39' 26"
142. SPRICK Matthieu 146 BOUYGUES TELECOM 87h 49' 18" + 3h 48' 18"
143. KRAUSS Sven 116 GEROLSTEINER 87h 52' 55" + 3h 51' 55"
144. EISEL Bernhard 45 TEAM COLUMBIA 87h 54' 58" + 3h 53' 58"
145. VANSEVENANT Wim 9 SILENCE - LOTTO 87h 55' 51" + 3h 54' 51"
Labels: Coyot, Eisel, Engoulvent, Garcia Acosta, Righi, Sprick, Vansevenant, Voeckler
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Stage Eighteen: Bourg-d'Oisans to Saint-Étienne
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.
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
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Stage 4: Villers-Cotterêts to Joigny
Today's stage saw the withdrawal of one rider, Xabier Zandio, a Spaniard on the Caisse d'Epargne team. He was in 178th position in the General Classification. This reduces the peleton to a total of 186 riders.Thirteen riders lost time on the stage today as they straggled in after the main peleton. Ten of them gained more than two minutes:
177. VANDEVELDE Christian 37 TEAM CSC 04:40:28 + 00:02:41
178. DE GROOT Bram 53 RABOBANK 04:40:28 + 00:02:41
179. ARVESEN Kurt-Asle 32 TEAM CSC 04:40:28 + 00:02:41
180. RIGHI Daniele 87 LAMPRE-FONDITAL 04:40:28 + 00:02:41
181. CARDENAS Félix 212 BARLOWORLD 04:40:28 + 00:02:41
182. ZABRISKIE David 39 TEAM CSC 04:40:32 + 00:02:45
183. VERDUGO Gorka 79 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 04:40:53 + 00:03:06
184. SPRICK Matthieu 127 BOUYGUES TELECOM 04:40:55 + 00:03:08
185. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 04:40:56 + 00:03:09
186. DI GREGORIO Rémy 164 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 04:45:45 + 00:07:58
Again, many of these are riders like Dave Zabriskie who was undoubtably worn out after taking several big turns on the front of the peleton chasing down the breakaway, in support of their team leaders.
The order at the bottom of the GC has been shaken up a bit and Di Gregorio gaining nearly 8 minutes today puts him into the Lanterne Rouge position for the first time:
182. DE GROOT Bram 53 RABOBANK 19:54:42 + 00:04:47
183. ZABRISKIE David 39 TEAM CSC 19:57:04 + 00:07:09
184. VANSEVENANT Wim 49 PREDICTOR - LOTTO 19:57:25 + 00:07:30
185. KUSCHYNSKI Aleksandr 156 LIQUIGAS 19:58:56 + 00:09:01
186. DI GREGORIO Rémy 164 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 19:59:26 + 00:09:31
Zandio and Di Gregorio were both involved in a crash at about 62 km on the course today, which forced Zandio to abandon from a fractured collarbone. It took nearly 20 km for Di Gregorio to chase back to the peleton, with the aid of his teammate Lilian Jégou, but he still required treatments from the Tour doctor for an injured elbow at about 95 km. It was reported he was so injured that he needed help from a teammate with his musette bad in the feed zone, and he was struggling as he dropped off the back of the field with about 15 km to go to the finish line.
In other Lanterne Rouge press, there's a somewhat snarky piece at Bicycling.com that refers to the Lanterne Rouge as "first worst". That's certainly not what I would call some of the hardest-working, least-recognized riders in the peleton, but YMMV.
Update: Lanterne Rouge Rémy Di Gregorio has broken a bone in his arm which will require surgery, so he will be a DNS for Stage 5. We wish him a speedy recovery and a quick return to form. That will bring the number of riders down to no more than 185 in tomorrow's start.Labels: Arvesen, Cardenas, De Groot, Di Gregorio, Kuschynski, Righi, Sprick, Vandevelde, Vansevenant, Verdugo, Zabriskie, Zandio
