2009 TdF Stage 7 – Feillu Steps out as Contador Defects

Brice Feillu steps out of his brothers shadow today to bring the honor of a stage win to his family and team.  Feillu was part of a nine-man

Feillu splintered a nine man break to take Stage 7

break that whittled down on the mountain top finish in Arcalis.  Initially looking weak, Feillu surprised all by jumping halfway up the above category climb.  He held on to take the stage.  The rest of the break straggled in behind him.  Contador fired the third shot in the battle for Astana preeminence (the first being the time trial – expected & second Lance’s crosswind attack – on the margins).  He took it upon himself to attack rather than cover attackers in the most blatant self-serving move to date.  Outside of the politics, it was a brilliant move.  He clearly has the legs to challenge the best.

As it happened:  At about 45km a stable break formed to include Gutierrez, Martinez, Riblon, Nocentini, Kuschynski, Kern, Pineau, Feillu and Frohlinger.  The highest placing of the group was Nocentini at 3:13.  As such none were considered a threat by the GC contenders and were allowed to go up the road in the name of stabilizing the peloton.  The group extended their lead to more than 12 minutes over the next 140km.

The peloton largely stuck together with Astana taking the helm as if they held Yellow.  Saxo’s absence from the front was telling relative to their expectations of Cancellara.  With 25km to go, Astana started to turn up the dial as Paulinho, Popovych and Zubeldia set a blistering pace.  As they fell off one by one, the pressure ratcheted up but the gap had not fallen enough to clear all of the break riders from the GC standings.  The GC chase group, including all the favorites, continued to grab back time rapidly but was running out of real estate.  Ahead in the break, Feillu jumped at 5.5km fracturing the group in the process.  The GC chase heavy still with Astana riders stuck together until the Cadel took a shot.  He was marked rapidly but seconds later Contador took off.  Contador in his trademark acceleration pealed off the front leaving the chase in the dust.  He grew the lead steadily to the line putting distance all the favorites including his coleader, Lance.

Contador came close but did not gain enough time to garner the yellow.  The GC did shake up a little as the break rider, Nocentini, held enough of a gap to put himself in yellow.  Contador leaps Lance with Leipheimer and Wiggins rounding out the top 5.

When interviewed, Armstrong, Leipheimer and even the director Johan Bruyneel said that Contador was off script.  He was expected to work with the team as a group and prepare to cover the moves of the GC threats.  Contador’s was rather guarded in his after race interview.  He said he was testing his legs and was hopeful to put some distance on his competitors.  As if heeding Hinault’s words in commentary this morning, he effectively threw the gauntlet down.

Other Riders in the GC group look very good.  Though none has truly played their hand. Cadel Evans jump at the 2km mark showed excellent form though a straining chase group including Andy & Frank Schleck, Bradley Wiggins, Levi Leipheimer, Tony Martin, Lance Armstrong, Denis Menchov, Carlos Sastre, Vladimir Karpets and Christian Vande Velde were able to marked him. Team Garmin continues to looks strong with a strong performance by Wiggins and Vande Velde.  I think this group was content to shake out their legs in readiness for the next two mountain stages.  There is as they say, a long way to go.

Contador crosses the finish a few seconds shy of yellow

I’d love to be a fly on the wall on the Astana team bus tonight.  Things will probably get heated.  The individual and team expectation seem to be at odds.  Compounding the problem are matters of trust.  I wonder if Contador thinks the director favors Lance and as such is holding him back.  When riders are expected to sacrifice for the team, resentments are bound to follow especially when rolls are not defined. This seems like Lemond/Hinault all over again i.e. the senior statesman vs. the talent.  Were Contador to have earned the Yellow Jersey, Lance and the other riders’ options would be limited.  They would be expected to fall in line and support their rider.  As it is, the riders will feel less encumbered by prescribed strategy especially in the face of Contador’s defection from the team.  It will be interesting to see what face is put on this in the morning.

Now the final matter for today, what the heck is up with Boonen?  He can’t seem to catch a break in the last three days.

• Stage 5 – two flats
• Stage 6 – wreck
• Stage 7 – another wreck
• Not a single sprint point to date.

I’m throwing all the mojo I can muster at Booney to overcome his poor fortune and get in the mix.

Stage Profile

Stage 7 Profile

Stage 7 Map

Stage 7 Recap

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Stage 7 Results

1           Brice Feillu (Fra) Agritubel           6:11:31
2          Christophe Kern (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne          0:00:05
3          Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Milram          0:00:25
4          Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale          0:00:26
5          Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi          0:00:45
6          Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale          0:01:05
7          Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Quick Step          0:02:32
8          José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne          0:03:14
9          Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana          0:03:26
10          Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence – Lotto          0:03:47
11          Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank
12          Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin – Slipstream
13          Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank
14          Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana
15          Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana
16          Tony Martin (Ger) Team Columbia – HTC
17          Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank
18          Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Cervelo Test Team
19          Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Team Katusha
20          Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin – Slipstream

Polka Dot Jersey Overall

1           Brice Feillu (Fra) Agritubel           49            pts
2          Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale          46
3          Christophe Kern (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne          46
4          Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi          43
5          Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale          34
6          Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Milram          32
7          Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Quick Step          23
8          José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne          20
9          Aleksandr Kuschynski (Blr) Liquigas          17
10          Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana          15

Overall Standings

1           Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale           25:44:32
2          Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana          0:00:06
3          Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana          0:00:08
4          Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana          0:00:39
5          Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin – Slipstream          0:00:46
6          Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana          0:00:54
7          Tony Martin (Ger) Team Columbia – HTC          0:01:00
8          Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin – Slipstream          0:01:24
9          Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank          0:01:49
10          Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas          0:01:54
11          Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Quick Step          0:02:10
12          Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team Columbia – HTC          0:02:21
13          Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank          0:02:25
14          Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas          0:02:40
15          Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Cervelo Test Team          0:02:52
16          Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Milram          0:02:54
17          Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas          0:03:03
18          Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence – Lotto          0:03:07
19          Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi          0:03:10
20          Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia – HTC          0:03:16

Allez915

2009 TdF Stage 6 – Millar is Oh So Close but Hushovd Takes the Line

The highlights of the stage were an exceptionally well ridden break by David Millar followed by a blistering sprint by Thor “The Hamma” Hushovd. Besides that the stage was marked wreck after wreck on the rain slicked roads mostly on the later half of the race.

Hushovd does a picture sprint to take the win and get back into contention on the green jersey competition

In early riding, Zabriskie, Hincapie, Fletcha, Millar and Freire all took a stab at a break today. At around the 50 km mark, by Millar, Auge and Chavanel. They quickly gained a minute on the field over the next 5k or so. The lead grew to its max of 3:30 by the 65km mark. The peloton learned from the previous day not to let the break get to far out either that or Millar was seen a significant enough of a threat to keep it close.

A light rain began at the 80km mark, which didn’t bode well relative to the hilly terrain ahead. Astana comes to the front to keep its riders out of trouble. Txurruka gets free and bridges to the break by the 110km mark. Just after the base of the final climb, Millar attacks his compatriots. He gets a gap the others can’t match. He had about a minute over the peloton with the mountain and decent, a flat section of about 10km and some steep rollers in the last 2km to conquer.

Millar’s lead over the peloton slips to 30 seconds but by the end of the decent is back up to over a minute. Millar is burying himself on the flats to hold on to the tenuous lead. After 10km of wrecks, and looking at each other, the peloton wakes up and accelerates. The question is will someone jump to snag a few seconds, will Millar take advantage of the indecisive peloton or will it go to an unexpected sprint?

As the peloton bears down on Millar, Columbia’s Martin is up front with Cavendish but where was his regular lead out guy, Renshaw? Millar was caught at the 1km after a supreme effort. Columbia’s Martin tried to control the pace through the final Km to set up the sprint for Cavendish to no avail. On the sprint, Pozzato went left and Freire went right with Hushovd on his wheel. Hushovd takes it at the line.

Hushovd narrowly missed taking over the Green jersey lead over Cavendish by one point. What was expected to be a Cavendish rout is shaping up to be a very competitive sprint competition.

The unexpected sprint wins the day.

All eyes are on stage 7 and the mountains near Andorra. Tomorrow is the day were we see who has got the legs and more importantly which of Astana’s leaders can assert control. I think Lance is counting on strategy and experience and maybe seniority to hold onto control where Contador has raw horsepower. Either way it goes, it will be exciting to watch. There are several riders including Cadel, Sastre, and Schleck who are in need of some seconds and minutes. They may just have to take a chance and scramble for it on what is likely a Astana dominated stage.

Climbs of the day
Km 32.0 – Côte de Sant Feliu de Guixols – 2.0 km climb to 5.4% – Category 4
Km 55.0 – Côte de Tossa de Mar – 3.8 km climb to 4.2% – Category 4
Km 98.0 – Côte de Sant Vicenc de Montalt – 3.3 km climb to 5.2% – Category 3
Km 110.0 – Collsacreu – 4.1 km climb to 5.2% – Category 3
Km 159.0 – Côte de la Conreria – 4.7 km climb to 4.5% – Category 4

Stage Profile

Stage 6 Profile

Stage 6 Recap
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Stage 6 Video
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Stage 6 Results
1 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team 4:21:33
2 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank
3 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne
4 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram
5 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas
6 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Team Katusha
7 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre – NGC
8 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
9 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence – Lotto
10 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team Saxo Bank
11 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana
12 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale
13 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank
14 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas
15 Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Quick Step
16 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team Columbia – HTC
17 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Quick Step
18 George Hincapie (USA) Team Columbia – HTC
19 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas
20 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana

Green Jersey Overall
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team Columbia – HTC 106 pts
2 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team 105
3 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram 66
4 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin – Slipstream 54
5 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team Saxo Bank 53

Overall Results
1 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team Saxo Bank 19:29:22
2 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana
3 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 0:00:19
4 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 0:00:23
5 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana 0:00:31
6 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin – Slipstream 0:00:38
7 Tony Martin (Ger) Team Columbia – HTC 0:00:52
8 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin – Slipstream 0:01:16
9 Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Team Saxo Bank 0:01:22
10 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team Columbia – HTC 0:01:29

Allez915

2009 TdF Stage 5 – Voeckler Wins as Peloton Can’t Close the Deal

Bbox’s Thomas Voeckler won the stage after a start to finish breakaway.  Voeckler was able to get a gap on his 5 other pirate friends on a round about at 5km.  He was able to hold the lead to the line to take the stage.

Voeckler takes the early break to the line with panache

Today’s stage was a southwesterly route in the south of France.  The racers battled stiff crosswinds all day that had them on edge.  Riders were battling to get to the front to stay out of trouble.  A group of six escaped including Voeckler, Geslin, Hutarovich, Sapa, Ignatiev and Timmer at about 28km.  The break got a small gap that grew to 1.5 minutes as the peloton stopped on mass for a nature stop.  The lead steadily grew to over 8 minutes.

There were two cat 4 climbs at about the halfway point at which time Astana and Saxo began working on the gap.  Even Cancellara worked to drive the pace.  Saxo’s efforts paid off as the field split into a group of 40 followed by a chase of the remaining riders.  During this time the crosswinds were taking a toll on the lead six that exacerbated the time loss.  The lead was reduced to 40 seconds at the 30km mark.  It wasn’t looking good for the break at that point.  Saxo realized there nothing to work for in that all the top riders were in the lead chase so they let up.  That allowed the six-man break to grow the lead back to 1:40 giving them a chance to bring it home.

At about 6km out, Ignatiev started the jumps.  He tried twice without success.  At just under 5km, Voeckler made a thunderous jump and held it to the line fighting a strong headwind solo for the win.  Ignatiev held on for second as the wildly undulating peloton bore down nearly stealing the spot.  Cavendish led the charge taking third in the process.

No change in the GC.

Ignatiev digs deep to hold second as Cavendish breaths down his neck

Stage 5 Recap

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Stage 5 Video

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Stage 5 Results

1. Thomas Voeckler Bbox Bouygues Telecom in 4:29:35
2. Mikhail Ignatiev Team Katusha in 4:29:42
3. Mark Cavendish Team Columbia – Htc in 4:29:42 at 00:07
4. Tyler Farrar Garmin – Slipstream in 4:29:42 at 00:07
5. Gerald Ciolek Team Milram in 4:29:42 at 00:07
6. Danilo Napolitano Team Katusha in 4:29:42 at 00:07
7. Joaquin Rojas Jose Caisse D’epargne in 4:29:42 at 00:07
8. Lloyd Mondory Ag2r-La Mondiale in 4:29:42 at 00:07
9. Oscar Freire Rabobank in 4:29:42 at 00:07
10. Thor Hushovd Cervelo Test Team in 4:29:42 at 00:07

Green Jersey Standings

1. Mark Cavendish Team Columbia – Htc 96 points
2. Thor Hushovd Cervelo Test Team 70 points
3. Tyler Farrar Garmin – Slipstream 54 points
4. Gerald Ciolek Team Milram 42 points
5. Thomas Voeckler Bbox Bouygues Telecom 41 points

Overall Standings

1. Fabian Cancellara Team Saxo Bank in 15:07:49
2. Lance Armstrong Astana
3. Alberto Contador Astana in 15:08:08 at 00:19
4. Andréas KlÖden Astana in 15:08:12 at 00:23
5. Levi Leipheimer Astana in 15:08:20 at 00:31
6. Bradley Wiggins Garmin – Slipstream in 15:08:27 at 00:38
7. Haimar Zubeldia Astana in 15:08:40 at 00:51
8. Tony Martin Team Columbia – Htc in 15:08:41 at 00:52
9. David Zabriskie Garmin – Slipstream in 15:08:55 at 01:06
10. David Millar Garmin – Slipstream in 15:08:56 at 01:07

Allez915

2009 TdF Stage 4 – Armstrong’s Leads Astana to TTT Win

The Astana squad did an exceptionally well-orchestrated turn in the team time trial today to win the Stage 4. In doing so, they placed 4 riders in the top 5 and nearly took the Yellow Jersey from Cancellara.

Astana Rolls to a Win in Stage 4

The team time trial is a special event which is held every so often in the tour.  The last was held on Lance’s supposed farewell tour of 2005.  In previous years the potential to take time out of opponents was limited.  This year the actual time of the team or finishing rider was straight off the clock.  If you finish with the team, no matter what place, you get the fifth man’s time.  If you fall off pace you get the time you clock in with.  While the 39km route was relatively short, there was plenty of distance to take contenders completely out of the tour.  That is exactly how it played out.

There was high drama from the opening team to the last.  The horseshoe shaped from starting and ending in the city of Montpellier was very technical in nature.  Several teams had members wreck around corners due to winds or misjudgments.  Rabobank’s Menchov had a spill into the barriers on a tight corner early in the ride.  His tour is seriously on the ropes at 3:52 back.  It is unlikely he will find a way back into contention.  One team, BBox, lost 4 riders on a sweeping windy turn that ultimately cost the entire team several minutes.  All this falling set the stage for the strongest teams at the end of the start list.

The four teams that were favored to contend for the stage did not disappoint.  Only Liquigas snuck in to steal on of the top four spots, nudging Columbia into fifth.  Most of the drama surrounded the top three teams including Cancellara’s Saxo Bank, Martin and Vande Velde’s Garmin/Slipstream, and Lance and Contador’s Astana squad.  First out of the blocks was Saxo Bank.  Cancellara led the team from a really slow start to a powerful finish placing the team third overall.  Garmin shed all but the required five riders by the halfway point and still was able to bring home a great ride.  Considering four of the five Garmin riders were TT specialists including Bradley Wiggins, David Millar, David Zabriskie and Christian Vande Velde, it is a wonder the fifth, Hesjedal, was able to hang on at all.  They placed an impressive second.  It was the Astana squad that dazzled though.  It was widely predicted that they would win.  And win they did.  They rode smoothly and powerfully in perfect form the entire route.  Dropping Popovych is testimony of the pace they were going.  Popo doesn’t get dropped without cause you see.  Astana took the top spot on the day with a gap of 18 seconds over Garmin and 40 seconds over Saxo Bank.

As for the overall, Lance was 40 seconds behind Cancellara at the start giving them both the same time.  The overall was given to Cancellara due to a millisecond lead on the Stage one time trial.  Other riders including Menchov, Cadel, Sastre, and the Schleck’s took a real beating today.  It will be extremely challenging for them to make up the time.  For Menchov and Cadel, their chance to podium is likely over.

With Armstrong leading the Astana squad, it will be interesting to see if they leverage Saxo Bank to manage the race or press for yellow.  I suspect they will ride eyes open for opportunity but will hold off till the first mountain stage, (Stage 7, Friday, 7/10) to make a move.  That should be a barn burner.

Time Checks:

First time check at Grabels (10km)

1. Caisse d’Epargne 12.35
2. Astana .07
3. Garmin-Slipstream .07
4. Team Katusha .09
5. Liquigas .12

Second time check at Murviel-Les-Montpellier (19.5km)

1. Astana 25.27
2. Garmin-Slipstream .23
3. Liquigas .34
4. Team Saxo Bank .38
5. Caisse d’Epargne .42

Third time check at Pignan (30.5km)

1. Astana 37.32
2. Garmin-Slipstream .17
3. Team Saxo Bank .41
4. Liquigas .48
5. Columbia-HTC .57

Finish at Montpellier (39km)

1. Astana 46.29
2. Garmin-Slipstream .18
3. Team Saxo Bank .40
4. Liquigas .58
5. Columbia-HTC .59
6. Team Katusha 1.23
7. Caisse d’Epargne 1.29
8. Cervélo TestTeam 1.37
9. AG2R La Mondiale 1.48
10. Euskatel-Euskadi 2.09
11. Rabobank 2.20
12. Quick Step 2.26
13. Silence-Lotto 2.35
14. Française des Jeux 2.46
15. Team Milram 2.48
16. Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 2.58
17. Lampre-NGC 3.24
18. Agritubel 4.17
19. BBox Bouygues Telecom 4.41
20. Skil-Shimano 5.23

Stage 4 Race Reports

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Stage 4 Video

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Stage 4 Results

1. Astana 46.29
2. Garmin-Slipstream .18
3. Team Saxo Bank .40
4. Liquigas .58
5. Columbia-HTC .59
6. Team Katusha 1.23
7. Caisse d’Epargne 1.39
8. Cervélo TestTeam 1.37
9. AG2R La Mondiale 1.48
10. Euskatel-Euskadi 2.09
11. Rabobank 2.38
12. Quick Step 2.44
13. Silence-Lotto 2.35
14. Française des Jeux 2.46
15. Team Milram 2.48
16. Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 2.58
17. Lampre-NGC 3.24
18. Agritubel 4.17
19. BBox Bouygues Telecom 4.41
20. Skil-Shimano 5.23

Overall Standings

1 Fabian CANCELLARA, SAX 10h38′07” 00”
2 Lance ARMSTRONG, AST 10h38′07” 00”
3 Alberto CONTADOR, AST 10h38′26” 19”
4 Andréas KLÖDEN, AST 10h38′30” 23”
5 Levi LEIPHEIMER, AST 10h38′38” 31”
6 Bradley WIGGINS, GRM 10h38′45” 38”
7 Haimar ZUBELDIA, AST 10h38′58” 51”
8 Tony MARTIN, THR 10h38′59” 52”
9 David ZABRISKIE, GRM 10h39′13” 1′06”
10 David MILLAR, GRM 10h39′14” 1′07”
11 Sergio PAULINHO, AST 10h39′23” 1′16”
12 Christian VANDE VELDE, GRM 10h39′23” 1′16”
13 Gustav LARSSON, SAX 10h39′29” 1′22”
14 Maxime MONFORT, THR 10h39′36” 1′29”
15 Roman KREUZIGER, LIQ 10h39′38” 1′31”
16 Michael ROGERS, THR 10h39′39” 1′32”
17 George HINCAPIE, THR 10h39′43” 1′36”
18 Yaroslav POPOVYCH, AST 10h39′43” 1′36”
19 Vincenzo NIBALI, LIQ 10h39′43” 1′36”
20 Andy SCHLECK, SAX 10h39′48” 1′41”
21 Ryder HESJEDAL, GRM 10h39′53” 1′46”
22 Jens VOIGT, SAX 10h40′10” 2′03”
23 Kurt-Asle ARVESEN, SAX 10h40′12” 2′05”
24 Kim KIRCHEN, THR 10h40′23” 2′16”
25 Frank SCHLECK, SAX 10h40′24” 2′17”
26 Brian VANDBORG, LIQ 10h40′32” 2′25”
27 Vladimir KARPETS, KAT 10h40′38” 2′31”
28 Franco PELLIZOTTI, LIQ 10h40′39” 2′32”
29 Carlos SASTRE, CTT 10h40′51” 2′44”
30 Nicki SORENSEN, SAX 10h40′51” 2′44”
31 Fabio SABATINI, LIQ 10h40′57” 2′50”
32 Bert GRABSCH, THR 10h40′58” 2′51”
33 Mikel ASTARLOZA, EUS 10h41′01” 2′54”
34 Luis PASAMONTES, GCE 10h41′03” 2′56”
35 Cadel EVANS, SIL 10h41′06” 2′59”

Allez915

2009 TdF Stage 3 – Win Number Two for Cavendish

Cavendish utilized his team to perfection winning his second stage in as many days.  The real news was a crosswind induced break that led to an irreparable split in the field that shook up the GC standings.

It was another hot stage today in southern France.  The 196km Marseille to Le Grande Motte route was rolling on the first half and dead flat on the later half.  Strong crosswinds were expected on the flats which have the potential to force echelon formations and possibly induce breaks in the peloton.

Stage 3 Winner, Mark Cavendish

A single break got away from the gun which included Moreno, Bouet, De Kort and Domoulin.  They held a lead over much of the stage with a gap of as much as 11 minutes.  The peloton was content to pedal at a comfortable pace, seemingly not worried about the break.  About halfway through the stage Saxo Bank, Rabobank then Columbia moved to the front in sequence to do the work of reeling in the escapees.  The lead steadily fell over the next 70km.  As the Columbia led peloton approached the break, the pace and cross winds, fractured the field.  Almost all of the Columbia team made the front group of 29 as well as Cancellara, Cavendish, Martin and Hushovd.  Three Astana riders made it including Armstrong, Zubeldia and Popo. Many contenders were in the chase group including Contador, Evans, Sastre, Leipheimer, the Schlecks and several of the sprinters. The gap hovered between 20 to 40 seconds into the final kilometers.  Even with strong chase effort the lead group held on to the line taking 40+ seconds out of the chase.

Cavendish was well positioned for the sprint with a single rider left on lead out.  Hushovd was on his wheel but didn’t have enough to get by.  Another great win for Cav.  Cancellara made a nice effort to snag 6^th.  The GC changed considerably with Armstrong and Martin moving up and Contador, Kloden, Evans and Leipheimer moving down.

I’ll be very interested in reviewing the video and race reports today.  It seems Armstrong was urging his team on in the lead group even though his team lead, Contador, got caught in the chase group.  Hopefully an interviewer will extract an explanation.  Regardless, Lance has situated himself to possibly take the Yellow Jersey tomorrow with a high probability win tomorrow in the TTT.  That of course would have him protected as leader till the mountain top finish in Arcalis on Stage 7.  All bets are off at that point.

P.S. After reading and viewing interviews and commentary, It seems to me that Lance thought under the conditions that it was wise to stay up front in case a split developed.  Contador had been near the split but missed by a hair.  At that point, Lance mostly hung on to the Columbia freight train and ended up with a windfall.  Lance was unapologetic mind you but seemed to have a proper perspective of the time gain relative to the weeks ahead in the context of team politics.  Contador didn’t seem concerned in the least.

Stage 3 Race Reports

ESPN (best of the reports)
Velonews
Cycling News
Cycling Weekly
Yahoo Sports
Cycling Weekly (Lances Motives…Not to Top Contador)

Stage 3 Video

Versus Race Recap
Versus Post Race Recap

Stage 3 Results

1. Mark Cavendish Team Columbia – Htc in 5:01:24
2. Thor Hushovd Cervelo Test Team
3. Cyril Lemoine Skil-Shimano at 00:00
4. Samuel Dumoulin Cofidis Le Credit En Ligne at s.t.
5. Jérôme Pineau Quick Step at s.t.
6. Fabian Cancellara Team Saxo Bank at s.t.
7. Fabian Wegmann Team Milram at s.t.
8. Fumiyuki Beppu Skil-Shimano at s.t.
9. Maxime Bouet Agritubel at s.t.
10. Linus Gerdemann Team Milram at s.t.

GC Standings

1. Fabian Cancellara Team Saxo Bank in 9:50:58
2. Tony Martin Team Columbia – Htc in 9:51:31
3. Lance Armstrong Astana in 9:51:38 at 00:40
4. Alberto Contador Astana in 9:51:57 at 00:59
5. Bradley Wiggins Garmin – Slipstream in 9:51:58 at 01:00
6. Andréas KlÖden Astana in 9:52:01 at 01:03
7. Linus Gerdemann Team Milram in 9:52:01 at 01:03
8. Cadel Evans Silence – Lotto in 9:52:02 at 01:04
9. Maxime Monfort Team Columbia – Htc in 9:52:08 at 01:10
10. Levi Leipheimer Astana in 9:52:09 at 01:11
11. Michael Rogers Team Columbia – Htc in 9:52:11 at 01:13
12. Roman Kreuziger Liquigas in 9:52:11 at 01:13
13. George Hincapie Team Columbia – Htc in 9:52:15 at 01:17
14. Vincenzo Nibali Liquigas in 9:52:16 at 01:18
15. Gustav Larsson Team Saxo Bank in 9:52:20 at 01:22
16. Mikel Astarloza Euskaltel – Euskadi in 9:52:23 at 01:25
17. David Zabriskie Garmin – Slipstream in 9:52:26 at 01:28
18. David Millar Garmin – Slipstream in 9:52:27 at 01:29
19. Jérôme Pineau Quick Step in 9:52:29 at 01:31
20. Haimar Zubeldia Astana in 9:52:29 at 01:31

Allez915

2009 TdF Stage 2 – Cavendish the Conductor

There is nothing more beautiful in cycling than a well executed team sprint. All the energy, chaos, danger and shear force of will to simply cross the line first is fascinating. Team Columbia’s and its sprinter extraordinaire Mark Cavendish has perfected the art. Today’s stage was a brilliant example of art in motion.

Here is a time saving recap from Versus Link

Stage 2 Race Reports
Cycling News
Velonews
Cycling Weekly
Bicycling Magazine
Yahoo Sports
Cycling Weekly (Team Columbia Must Step Up)

Stage 2 Photos

Stage 2 Results
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team Columbia – HTC 4:30:02
2 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin – Slipstream
3 Romain Feillu (Fra) Agritubel
4 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team
5 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) BBOX Bouygues Telecom
6 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram
7 William Bonnet (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom
8 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale
9 Koen de Kort (Ned) Skil-Shimano
10 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale

Allez915

2009 TdF Stage 1 – Contador Securely at the Helm

The 15km time trial in Monaco exposed the field in this year’s tour.  As Phil Liggett predicted, Fabian Cancellara took the podium.  Considering his win at the Tour de Suisse this year beating out Martin, KlÖden and Cunego, the rest of

Contador Pounds the Field

the field will be keeping an eye on him.  Great performance but the spots below reveal the GC potential on the non-specialists.  Contador solidified his position as Astana team lead with a blistering performance today.   Only Cancellara had the guns to keep him at bay.  Lance put in a solid performance but for the second time this year appears to be fetching bottles for his ridiculously strong team.  Astana has 4 riders in the top 10 for the love of god. Joining Contador in the top ten were KlÖden, Leipheimer and Lance.

Cadel Evans had a great performance today besting Leipheimer to take 5^th.  He looks to be on form and likely able to stick with the leaders on the tough stuff.  Unfortunately his GC hopes are a tough road considering the poor performance of his team.  Not only will Lotto probably take a beating on Tuesday’s TTT but he is unlikely to have much support as the grade steepens.  While Cadel is very strong in the mountains, in the past he has been unable to attack in a way that will help him reclaim the time required to find a podium spot.

Sastre 21^st and Menchov 53^rd each gave up a minute or more to leader.  Sastre had a great Giro showing best of the bunch form on the mountains.  This field is stronger still.  While Levi and Lance maintained their relative placing in the field of racers from the Giro to the Tour, this trio appears to have faded from top form.  Sastre in particular has shown an ability to bury himself on a time trial when necessary.  This day it was not to be.  He has some ground to make up.  His team didn’t fair to well either today.  The stage is set for widening the gap on the TTT.   What is up with Menchov?  I find it hard to understand his lack of form.  He has some ground to make up and probably more still on Tuesday.

The Stage 4 team time trial set for Tuesday should prove out that Astana is the cream of the field. Team Garmin and Team Columbia looked very strong today and aught to be able to elevate the team riders as a whole in the TTT as well.  I for one can’t wait.  There will likely be a stack of green and yellow riders at the top of the GC on Wednesday morning.  Many of the American riders should have a great showing.

Stage 1 Race Reports

• Cycling News
• Velonews
• Cycling Weekly
• Bicycling Magazine
• Yahoo Sports

• Yahoo Sports (Astana Drama)

Stage 1 Video

• Versus

Stage 1 Results

1. Fabian Cancellara Team Saxo Bank in 19:32
2. Alberto Contador Astana in 19:50
3. Bradley Wiggins Garmin – Slipstream in 19:51 at 00:19
4. Andréas KlÖden Astana in 19:54 at 00:22
5. Cadel Evans Silence – Lotto in 19:55 at 00:23
6. Levi Leipheimer Astana in 20:02 at 00:30
7. Roman Kreuziger Liquigas in 20:04 at 00:32
8. Tony Martin Team Columbia – Htc in 20:05 at 00:33
9. Vincenzo Nibali Liquigas in 20:09 at 00:37
10. Lance Armstrong Astana in 20:12 at 00:40
11. Gustav Larsson Team Saxo Bank in 20:13 at 00:41
12. Mikel Astarloza Euskaltel – Euskadi in 20:16 at 00:44
13. David Zabriskie Garmin – Slipstream in 20:19 at 00:47
14. David Millar Garmin – Slipstream in 20:20 at 00:48
15. Jérôme Coppel Francaise Des Jejuna in 20:23 at 00:51
16. Sylvain Chavanel Quick Step in 20:28 at 00:56
17. Christian Vande Velde Garmin – Slipstream in 20:29 at 00:57
18. Andy Schleck Team Saxo Bank in 20:32 at 01:00
19. Linus Gerdemann Team Milram in 20:35 at 01:03
20. Rémi Pauriol Cofidis Le Credit En Ligne in 20:37 at 01:05
21. Carlos Sastre Cervelo Test Team in 20:38 at 01:06
22. Vladimir Karpets Team Katusha in 20:39 at 01:07
23. Alessandro Ballan Lampre – N.g.c in 20:42 at 01:10
24. Maxime Monfort Team Columbia – Htc in 20:42 at 01:10
25. Broeck Jurgen Van Den Silence – Lotto in 20:43 at 01:11

Allez915

Jan Frodeno Sprints for the Win in the Men’s Olympic Triathlon

2008 Olympic Triathlon Gold Medalist Jan Frodeno

Jan Frodeno had a stellar run to sprint past the cream of the field at the line in an exciting olympic triathlon finish.  The main action of the race fell to the run. Only two breakaway riders were able to escape with a gap of 50 seconds at transition.  The small lead the riders had was quickly eaten up by a hard charging field who bridged to them within the first half lap. The field narrowed throughout the four lap run leaving only four as they enter the stadium for the finish.  A resurgent Simon Whitfield of Canada took silver with Bevan Docherty of New Zealand hanging on for bronze.  ITU number one ranked Francisco Gomez of Spain was out kicked at the final turn and ended up fourth. USA’s Hunter Kemper had a fine race finishing 7th, 55 seconds off the pace. American’s Jarrod Shoemaker finished 17th 1:53 back and Matt Reed finished 31st 3:37 back.

Like many ITU races, the swim was the warmup to the race.  The top 30 finishers all finished within 50 seconds.  Hunter Kemper of the US was near the front as was Gomez, Belaubre, Sysoev and Prochnow. The field cleared T1 and headed out on the bike 40+ strong. The group stayed together with only a few attempts from riders to clear, none of any consequence until lap four. On the hill of lap four, Serrano attacked and got clear with Zeebroek quickly bridging. The two worked together to extend a few seconds of lead to 20 seconds by the top of the hill. Dirk Bockel of Luxembourg successfully bridged on the descent catching on before the stadium.  The three worked together to extend the lead to 33 seconds at by the end of lap four.  The chase group was reluctant to pursue in ernest allowing the gap to increase to 55 seconds as the breakaway riders entered the stadium for the last time.  Zeebroek and Bockel were able to gap Serrano on the final hill of the ride. The two slapped hands as they entered the stadium and prepared for the run.  Serrano was in no mans land till T2, losing 45 seconds on the leaders.  The feild closed in on him as they came into transition. 

On the run, the entire field started out almost together. By the time they exited the stadium, the field had strung out in to a group of twenty followed by a thinning line of the remaining runners. At the close of the first lap, the field had captured the leaders and narrowed to about twelve including Gomez, Rana, Whitfield, Brownlee, Docherty, Frodeno, Kemper and a few others. By the close of lap three, the lead group had been whittled down to six. Brownlee and Rana dropped off at the beginning of lap four leaving only Gomez, Whitfield, Docherty and Frodeno, as they neared the stadium for the final time. The leaders dropped Whitfield as they entered the stadium though he was able to latch back on as the three leaders slowed to prepare for the sprint. It was Whitfield who jumped just prior to the final turn dropping Gomez in the process. Frodeno was able to hold on but Docherty fell off halfway to the line. Jan Frodeno had the legs to get by Whitfield to take the win.

Men’s Triathon Results

Rk

Name

Total Time

Time Diff

Swim

Trans. 1

Bike

Trans. 2

Run

(1.5 km)

(40 km)

(10 km)

Time

Rk

Time

Rk

Time

Time

Rk

Time

Rk

1

FRODENO Jan

GER

1:48:53.28

00:00.0

18:14

16

0:26

2

59:01:00

0:26

1

30:46:00

1

2

WHITFIELD Simon

CAN

1:48:58.47

+0:05.19

18:18

22

0:27

13

58:56:00

0:29

18

30:48:00

2

3

DOCHERTY Bevan

NZL

1:49:05.59

+0:12.31

18:23

31

0:28

25

58:51:00

0:26

1

30:57:00

3

4

GOMEZ Francisco Javier

ESP

1:49:13.92

+0:20.64

18:08

8

0:27

13

59:06:00

0:29

18

31:03:00

4

5

RANA Ivan

ESP

1:49:22.03

+0:28.75

18:22

29

0:26

2

58:52:00

0:28

10

31:14:00

5

6

UNGER Daniel

GER

1:49:43.78

+0:50.50

18:25

37

0:27

13

58:49:00

0:27

3

31:35:00

6

7

KEMPER Hunter

USA

1:49:48.75

+0:55.47

18:04

4

0:30

46

59:06:00

0:28

10

31:40:00

7

8

HENNING Rasmus

DEN

1:49:57.47

+1:04.19

18:18

21

0:26

2

58:57:00

0:28

10

31:48:00

9

9

SYSOEV Igor

RUS

1:49:59.38

+1:06.10

18:02

2

0:32

53

59:15:00

0:29

18

31:41:00

8

10

BELAUBRE Frederic

FRA

1:50:00.30

+1:07.02

18:03

3

0:28

25

59:11:00

0:30

32

31:48:00

10

11

ATKINSON Courtney

AUS

1:50:10.02

+1:16.74

18:06

6

0:27

13

59:08:00

0:29

18

32:00:00

11

12

BROWNLEE Alistair

GBR

1:50:19.62

+1:26.34

18:11

13

0:27

13

59:05:00

0:29

18

32:07:00

12

13

ZEEBROEK Axel

BEL

1:50:30.90

+1:37.62

18:30

43

0:27

13

57:48:00

0:30

32

33:15:00

13

14

CLARKE Will

GBR

1:50:32.07

+1:38.79

18:53

47

0:27

13

58:23:00

0:31

38

32:18:00

14

15

PROCHNOW Christian

GER

1:50:33.90

+1:40.62

18:23

30

0:26

2

58:56:00

0:27

3

32:21:00

15

16

KAHLEFELDT Brad

AUS

1:50:36.00

+1:42.72

18:17

19

0:29

34

58:56:00

0:28

10

32:26:00

16

17

SHOEMAKER Jarrod

USA

1:50:46.39

+1:53.11

18:19

23

0:29

34

59:03:00

0:28

10

32:27:00

17

18

MARCEAU Olivier

SUI

1:50:50.07

+1:56.79

18:55

52

0:29

34

58:18:00

0:31

38

32:37:00

18

19

OSPALY Filip

CZE

1:50:53.69

+2:00.41

18:17

19

0:30

46

58:56:00

0:29

18

32:41:00

19

20

SAPUNOV Daniil

KAZ

1:50:58.98

+2:05.70

18:11

12

0:29

34

59:05:00

0:31

38

32:42:00

20

21

POLYANSKIY Dmitriy

RUS

1:51:11.61

+2:18.33

18:15

18

0:27

13

59:07:00

0:29

18

32:53:00

21

22

RIEDERER Sven

SUI

1:51:19.45

+2:26.17

18:14

17

0:34

54

58:52:00

0:28

10

33:11:00

23

23

BRYUKHANKOV Alexander

RUS

1:51:22.59

+2:29.31

18:10

11

0:30

46

59:08:00

0:33

45

33:01:00

22

24

BOCKEL Dirk

LUX

1:51:31.01

+2:37.73

18:26

39

0:27

13

57:52:00

0:27

3

34:19:00

30

25

MOREIRA JUNIOR Juraci

BRA

1:51:35.57

+2:42.29

18:24

34

0:29

34

58:50:00

0:30

32

33:22:00

24

26

CROES Peter

BEL

1:51:40.94

+2:47.66

18:26

38

0:26

2

58:51:00

0:32

43

33:25:00

25

27

TICHELAAR Paul

CAN

1:51:46.81

+2:53.53

18:24

35

0:27

13

58:51:00

0:30

32

33:34:00

26

28

HUG Reto

SUI

1:52:04.93

+3:11.65

18:55

50

0:27

13

58:20:00

0:29

18

33:53:00

27

29

YAMAMOTO Ryosuke

JPN

1:52:11.98

+3:18.70

18:27

40

0:26

2

58:53:00

0:29

18

33:56:00

28

30

BERK Sander

NED

1:52:18.09

+3:24.81

18:13

15

0:28

25

59:06:00

0:34

49

33:57:00

29

31

REED Matty

USA

1:52:30.44

+3:37.16

18:25

36

0:30

46

58:48:00

0:28

10

34:19:00

31

Allez915

Snowsill Takes the Gold for Austrialia in the Women’s Olympic Triathlon

Emma Snowsill Runs Away from Field in the Olympic Triathlon

Austrailia’s wins gold and bronze in the Olympic triathlon. Emma Snowsill made her move before leaving the stadium on the run and never looked back. She improved her lead over the four lap course putting 1:06 on number one ranked Vanessa Fernandes of Portugal who took the silver. Snowsill’s team mate Emma Moffatt placed third to take the bronze rallying past several runners. Team USA’s Laura Bennett came in 26 seconds later in fourth digging in deep to accelerate past a fading Ide who had gapped her ealier in the run. Team USA’s Sarah Haskins finished 11th 2:54 minutes back while Julie Swail-Ertel finished 19th 4:11 back.

The swim was fast though uneventful. The field finished very close together with team USA, AUS and Switzerland exiting near the front. About 40 riders exited T1 mostly together and serpentined out of the stadium area. The ride was 6 laps of a 6.55km loop. There was one significant hill which split the field on the first pass. A lead group of 19 distanced the main group on a punishing assault of the hill. The US, Austrailian and swiss women were in the group among others. The next three laps the women in the lead group worked together to gap the chase who struggled to maintain connection. The lead group continued to build on the lead into T2 on the next two laps. Ertel struggled the last two passes of the hill to maintain contact. She was able to bridge back on the descent each time.

The chase group had an wreck at the close of the fifth lap though it wasn’t clear why. A Russian rider looked to be splinted up with a possible fracture. The main group entered the stadium to finish the ride putting over two minutes on the first chase group. The nineteen leaders shot into and out of T2 very close in. Snowsill quickly gapped the field with Fernandes in tow. Close behind were Bennett, Moffatt, Spirig, and Hewitt. Bennett looked strong and challenged Fernandez as she faded from Snowsills vigorous pace. She rallied on lap two to retake the second spot from Bennett. Bennett began to fade soon after. Moffatt surged past Bennett on lap three to take and hold onto third. Ide also passed Bennett though she later rallied in the stadium to retake the forth spot.

Women’s Race Results

Name

Total Time

Time Diff

Swim

Trans. 1

Bike

Trans. 2

Run

(1.5 km)

(40 km)

(10 km)

Time

Rk

Time

Rk

Time

Time

Rk

Time

Rk

SNOWSILL Emma

AUS

1:58:27.66

00:00.0

19:51

5

0:28

3

1:04:20

0:31

5

33:17:00

1

FERNANDES Vanessa

POR

1:59:34.63

+1:06.97

19:53

9

0:29

9

1:04:18

0:33

12

34:21:00

2

MOFFATT Emma

AUS

1:59:55.84

+1:28.18

19:55

12

0:31

14

1:04:12

0:31

2

34:46:00

3

BENNETT Laura

USA

2:00:21.54

+1:53.88

19:49

1

0:30

1

1:04:23

0:29

8

35:10:00

4

IDE Juri

JPN

2:00:23.77

+1:56.11

19:50

4

0:29

2

1:04:24

0:35

18

35:05:00

5

SPIRIG Nicola

SWI

2:00:30.48

+2:02.82

20:17

36

0:28

34

1:03:54

0:31

4

35:20:00

6

RYF Daniela

SWI

2:00:40.20

+2:12.54

19:56

13

0:26

8

1:04:17

0:30

3

35:31:00

7

HEWITT Andrea

NZL

2:00:45.99

+2:18.33

19:54

10

0:29

11

1:04:15

0:29

1

35:38:00

8

NIWATA Kiyomi

JPN

2:00:51.85

+2:24.19

19:56

14

0:34

24

1:04:14

0:31

13

35:36:00

9

TANNER Debbie

NZL

2:01:06.92

+2:39.26

19:57

17

0:29

13

1:04:17

0:29

11

35:54:00

10

HASKINS Sarah

USA

2:01:22.57

+2:54.91

19:50

3

0:32

7

1:04:18

0:32

9

36:10:00

11

HARRISON Jessica

FRA

2:01:31.74

+3:04.08

19:56

16

0:30

15

1:04:14

0:32

10

36:19:00

12

di MARCO Magali

SWI

2:01:50.74

+3:23.08

19:50

2

0:30

5

1:04:22

0:29

7

36:39:00

13

ALLEN Katherine

AUT

2:02:00.69

+3:33.03

20:57

48

0:32

49

1:05:24

0:35

35

34:32:00

14

LISK Ricarda

GER

2:02:07.75

+3:40.09

20:00

23

0:30

23

1:04:12

0:39

20

36:46:00

15

WARRINER Sam

NZL

2:02:13.60

+3:45.94

19:58

19

0:30

18

1:04:15

0:35

17

36:55:00

16

UEDA Ai

JPN

2:02:19.09

+3:51.43

20:17

37

0:29

35

1:03:56

0:28

6

37:09:00

17

NORDEN Lisa

SWE

2:02:27.47

+3:59.81

20:56

46

0:29

46

1:05:26

0:31

23

35:05:00

18

SWAIL-ERTEL Julie

USA

2:02:39.22

+4:11.56

19:51

6

0:30

6

1:04:24

0:32

16

37:22:00

19

BURGOS Ana

ESP

2:02:43.85

+4:16.19

20:57

47

0:31

48

1:05:28

0:36

39

35:11:00

20

 

Allez915

2008 Beijing Olympic Triathlon Preview

The women’s triathlon begins tonight at 10pm EST and the men’s race is at the same time tomorrow night.  All but a few of the top ranked are here to compete for an olympic medal.  I’ve assembled some articles about the triathlon, the course, maps and the venue that I found interesting. 

It has been difficult finding elevations for all of the cycling events from the Beijing Olympics and this race has been no different.  I did find a chart with elevation values at a series of points on the 6.55km loop and put together a profile. 

I’ve also included the start list but have ordered in in ITU rank order.  That way it is more clear who is likely to be in contention for a medal.  Looking at the chart, I would argue that the US women have a far greater shot at a medal than the men.  Two of the three US women are ranked top 10 where all the US men are ranked south of 25. 

Articles
Team USA – Women’s Triathlon
ITU Women’s Race Overview
Matt Reed Overview for Colorado Runner Magazine
Olympic Men’s Triathlon Article from the Kentucky Herald/Leader
CBC.CA Provides a Nice Triathlon Venue Overview
Telegraph.co.uk Article about Great Britain’s Chances

Triathlon Course
Triathlon.Org Satellite Image of Triathlon Course
Map Google Earth Link
Nice New York Times Interactive Overview of the Triathlon Course with video from Jarrod Shoemaker

Triathlon Cycling Elevation Profile

2008 Olympic Triathlon Elevation Profile

Video Interviews

Sarah Haskins Interview

Julie Swail Interview

Hunter Kemper Interview

Olympic Triathlon Women’s Start List
Start Number, Name, Country, ITU Rank

Start Number	Name		Country	ITU Rank
54	FERNANDES	Vanessa	Portugal	1
27	WARRINER	Sam	New Zealand	2
34	SNOWSILL	Emma	Australia	3
33	MOFFATT	Emma	Australia	4
26	TANNER	Debbie	New Zealand	5
42	HASKINS	Sarah	USA	6
40	BENNETT	Laura	USA	7
3	DITTMER	Anja	Germany	8
25	HEWITT	Andrea	New Zealand	11
8	SPIRIG	Nicola	Switzerland	12
20	GROVES	Lauren	Canada	13
56	MAY	Elizabeth Holst	Luxembourg	14
9	HARRISON	Jessica	France	15
6	Di MARCO	Magali	Switzerland	16
4	LISK	Ricarda	Germany	17
32	DENSHAM	Erin	Australia	19
10	PEON	Carole	France	20
12	DOLLINGER	Eva	Austria	21
16	NIWATA	Kiyomi	Japan	22
17	UEDA	Ai	Japan	23
15	IDE	Juri	Japan	25
50	NORDEN	Lisa	Sweden	27
41	SWAIL-ERTEL	Julie	USA	29
5	PILZ	Christiane	Germany	30
7	RYF	Daniela	Switzerland	31
22	TREMBLAY	Kathy	Canada	32
21	MURRAY	Carolyn	Canada	34
23	FRINTOVA	Vendula	Czech Repubic	35
31	TUCKER	Helen	Great Britain	36
38	MURUA	Ainhoa	Spain	37
51	ABYSOVA	Irina	Russian Fed.	39
47	ROBERTS	Kate	South Africa	40
48	OHATA	Mariana	Brazil	41
14	HAIBOECK	Tania	Austria	42
24	ZEMANOVA	Lenka	Czech Repubic	44
37	BURGOS	Ana	Spain	45
11	ALLEN	Kate	Austria	46
46	RABIE	Mari	South Africa	47
19	DEDERKO	Ewa	Poland	50
53	DAVIS	Emma	Ireland	51
44	XING	Lin	China	52
39	MENSINK	Lisa	Netherlands	54
18	CZESNIK	Maria	Poland	57
43	SAPUNOVA	Yuliya	Ukraine	58
52	ZAUSAYLOVA	Olga	Russian Fed.	59
28	DUFFY	Flora	Bermuda	62
1	BONIN	Charlotte	Italy	64
30	AVIL	Hollie	Great Britain	67
2	CHMET	Daniela	Italy	68
36	SZABO	Zita Livia	Hungary	70
29	CORONA	Adriana Faviola	Mexico	76
35	RIVEROS	Barbara	Chile	108
45	ZHANG	Yi	China	121
49	MAK	So Ning Tania	China	191
55	DIMAKI	Nteniz Marina	Greece	286

 

Olympic Triathlon Men’s Start List

Start Number	Name		Country	ITU Rank
30	GOMEZ	Francisco Javier	Spain	1
27	DOCHERTY	Bevan	New Zealand	2
12	KAHLEFELDT	Brad	Australia	3
16	WHITFIELD	Simon	Canada	4
28	GEMMELL	Kris	New Zealand	5
37	DON	Tim	Great Britain	6
19	POLIKARPENKO	Volodymyr	Ukraine	7
38	BELAUBRE	Frederic	France	8
32	FRODENO	Jan	Germany	11
45	RIEDERER	Sven	Switzerland	12
36	CLARKE	Will	Great Britain	14
34	UNGER	Daniel	Germany	15
39	MOULAI	Tony	France	17
15	TICHELAAR	Paul	Canada	18
43	HUG	Reto	Switzerland	19
31	RANA	Ivan	Spain	20
26	SYSOEV	Igor	Russian Fed.	21
24	BRYUKHANKOV	Alexander	Russian Fed.	22
42	OSPALY	Filip	Czech Republic	24
23	SHOEMAKER	Jarrod	USA	25
54	PAIS	Bruno	Portugal	26
22	REED	Matty	USA	27
5	TAYAMA	Hirokatsu	Japan	28
44	MARCEAU	Olivier	Switzerland	29
25	POLYANSKIY	Dmitriy	Russian Fed.	31
11	ATKINSON	Courtney	Australia	33
40	VIDAL	Laurent	France	37
29	REED	Shane	New Zealand	38
49	JASKOLKA	Marek	Poland	41
41	HENNING	Rasmus	Denmark	42
10	FONTANA	Daniel	Italy	43
7	COLUCCI	Reinaldo	Brazil	44
52	SAPUNOV	Daniil	Kazakhstan	49
21	KEMPER	Hunter	USA	50
17	CROES	Peter	Belgium	52
53	MARQUES	Duarte	Portugal	55
18	ZEEBROEK	Axel	Belgium	57
6	YAMAMOTO	Ryosuke	Japan	58
2	BERK	Sander	Netherlands	59
47	AGOSTON	Simon	Austria	61
4	ALBERT	Marko	Estonia	64
55	BOCKEL	Dirk	Luxembourg	66
9	D’AQUINO	Emilio	Italy	67
8	MOREIRA Jr.	Juraci	Brazil	68
1	GLUSCHENKO	Andriy	Ukraine	69
51	KUTTOR	Csaba	Hungary	72
14	JENKINS	Colin	Canada	80
35	BROWNLEE	Alistair	Great Britain	84
33	PROCHNOW	Christian	Germany	89
50	LEE	Chi-Wo	Daniel	92
3	SERRANO	Francisco	Mexico	96
20	FELGATE	Christopher	Zimbabwe	102
48	TAYARA	Omar	Syrian	104
46	SIMKO	Pavel	Slovakia	141
56	WANG	Daqing	China	168

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