On a relatively flat stage in central France, Johan Van Summeren and Marcin Sapa escaped the peloton at 27km. They valiantly fought to stay out front but with only the two of them there was little chance of bringing it home. Still,
Stage 11 Winner Mark Cavendish just holds off Farrar at the line
they pedaled steadily for hours and hours achieving a maximum gap of 4:15 before they were reeled in like a marlin on 80lb test. The fishermen of the day were the teams of Columbia, Rabobank, AG2R, Milram and Garmin/Slipstream, each trying to give their sprint monsters a chance for Glooorrreeee as it were. They were finally caught with at 5km remaining and quickly shuffled to the back of the train…so sad, so so sad. Makes you just want to go over there and bring them a batch of warm cookies for there trouble.
Here is what the break riders had to say:
Johan Van Summeren (Silence-Lotto)
“The team was not in a good mood, I had the impression that some were growing nervous. Today’s instructions were short but precise: one of us with each attack.
“After the peloton started again after a big crash, Chavanel attacked. As soon as he was caught, I jumped away on the other side of the road. Only Sapa joined me. With so far [to ride], and just having two [in the break], I knew that dreaming was useless.
I was always at top speed… it was pleasant to spend so much time at the head. I did enjoy it. An as Most Combative Rider of the Day, I had the pleasure of kissing Gert Steegmans’s girl; she is an hostess with the sponsor of that challenge.”
Marcin Sapa (Lampre)
“When I’m in a breakaway I’m happy even if, as today, it’s very tough to get amongst the action. With Van Summeren the agreement was good, but this time it [the break] was neutralized when there were a few kilometers to go”.
So here we are at 5km. Columbia is formed up five deep with Kirchen winding it up on a downward grade hitting speeds of over 70km/hour. I think a “holy wiener schnitzel” is in order here. All the while Milram tried to weasel their feral claws into the leadout for Ciolek, nearly disrupting the glorious Columbia train. It was not to be as Hincapie shepherded the whole chaotic mess through the chicane to the 500. At that point it was the Renshaw Cavendish show. Hushovd and Farrar were lined up tight to Cavendish as Renshaw drove the field up the inclined finish pulling off in the last 200. In the end Farrar came around strong but missed it by a length. Hushovd didn’t have it, falling of the wheel for a fifth place finish. Cavendish and his team earned the Green Jersey their effort while Thor was singing an familiar old song …
Here is what a couple of players had to say:
Thor Hushovd (Cervélo TestTeam)
“I was in good position for the sprint, but it just wasn’t my day. I am very disappointed of course, and will continue to fight for the green jersey.”
“I still want to fight for the green jersey. It’s still a long way to Paris. It was a hard fight for [Cavendish’s] wheel. It was difficult because everyone knows that is where you want to be. I will try to win another stage before this Tour is over. I will take it day-by-day.”
Julian Dean (Garmin-Slipstream)
“Today we took a different approach – I decided to wait back a little longer. Dave took me to 500 meters to go, and took me in with a heap of speed. George [Hincapie] moved off and Renshaw came over, so it took some of my speed away. But I think if that didn’t happen I could have set Tyler up for the win. He has the power and I have the power – it’s just about getting around the Columbia train.”
And a couple of GC contenders:
Alberto Contador (Astana)
“It was a transition day… boring for those who saw it on television, but it was also a day with a lot of tension at the beginning. There were some complicated falls but we avoided them.
“It calmed down up to the last 20 kilometers, where the whole world wants to be ahead to avoid losing any time and the truth is that I was fearful due to the speed we passed close to the fences. The two accidents I saw were ahead of me but I had time to stop the bike.
“I feel good, though it was one more day of punishment in the legs but also one less day of suffering. At the moment I want to think of nothing more than tomorrow, which is another difficult day and which I have to ride without losing time and without any type of falls. Then I will think about the mountains, which I want to arrive already.”
Carlos Sastre (Cervélo TestTeam)
“Today’s stage was a very fast, atypical and strange stage. There was a huge number of falls right from the outset and then the race was neutralized when one of the advertising balloons deflated, meaning that the pack split into two parts.
“It was a pretty strange race in which speeds didn’t fall below 45km/h on a really tough route with constant climbs and descents and badly surfaced roads… I think these stages are not really telling us anything about this Tour de France but they are adding to the tiredness of riders in the heart of the pack in the lead up to the last week of the race.
As far as I’m concerned, I didn’t have any problems today and I felt protected by my teammates again. It’s a shame that we lost Thor Hushovd’s green jersey but Cavendish is the world’s fastest rider right now and the most important thing is that we still have the chance to win it back. We will keep fighting it out to win another stage and to get that green jersey, as well as trying for other personal aims.”
Well that’s it for today. No GC changes today. Lots of rollers in tomorrows stage. A break should have a better chance of sticking.
Thanks to Cycling News for the Quote Clips.
Stage 11 Map
Stage 11 Profile
Stage 11 Recap
Bicycling Magazine
Cycling News
Cycling Weekly
ESPN
Velonews
Yahoo Sports
Stage 11 Video
Stage 11 Results
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team Columbia – HTC 4:17:55
2 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin – Slipstream
3 Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Française des Jeux
4 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank
5 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team
6 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
7 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram
8 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
9 William Bonnet (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom
10 Nikolai Troussov (Rus) Team Katusha
11 Marco Bandiera (Ita) Lampre – NGC
12 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) Team Katusha
13 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne
14 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas
15 Kenny Robert van Hummel (Ned) Skil-Shimano
16 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step
17 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana
18 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Skil-Shimano
19 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Team Katusha
20 Angelo Furlan (Ita) Lampre – NGC
Green Jersey Standings
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team Columbia – HTC 176 pts
2 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team 169
3 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne 110
4 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin – Slipstream 110
5 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram 100
6 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank 97
7 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 74
8 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 64
9 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team Saxo Bank 55
10 William Bonnet (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom 54
Overall Standings
1 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 43:28:59
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
Allez915
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2 comments
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July 17, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Sally Lee
I was there watching in Monaco when they left…
What a stunning site 🙂
July 17, 2009 at 1:00 pm
allez915
I’m envious. I hope one day to make the journey to watch the race in person. I’d like to do one of those tours where you do a selection of the popular mountain stages. I hear Monaco is a sight to see. That seems like a trip unto itself.
Cheers