You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘Menchov’ tag.
How do you turn a mountain stage into a sprint stage? Put the climbs in the middle and add a 30km decent to a 30km flat into the finish. The result was that what was expected to be a battle in the GC leadership turned into a
Stage 9 Winner Fedrigo Takes a Sprint Finish over Pellizotti
typical sprint stage. Pierrick Fedrigo and Franco Pellizotti go one, two after working seamlessly for over 100km to hold off a fast chasing peloton. The GC battle fizzled as the mountains were just too far from the finish.
Leading the race on to the base of the Tourmalet was the veteran Jens Voigt accompanied by Franco Pellizotti and Pierrick Fedrigo. The first chase group included Broeck, Astana’s Paulinho, Garate, Van Den Broeck, Ten Dam, Martinez, Txurruka, Moncoutie, the KOM on the road Egoi Martinez, and Stage 5 winner, Thomas Voeckler. Thirty seconds back and trying to get on was Bouet who had just passed the Cofidis rider, Duque, who was going the other way. The peloton was 4:10 back and includes the GC favorites though several riders including Cancellara and Popovych have fallen off. The AG2R team was doing a great job leading for their yellow jersey teammate.
At 80km, Pellizotti jumped followed by Fedrigo. Voigt was riding within himself to keep contact without blowing up. Halfway up the climb the peloton was still a conspicuously large group. With 8km to go to the summit it was surprising that none of the contending teams pushed the pace forcing Astana to cover.
At the summit of the HC climb, Pellizotti and Fedrigo took the double points for 1st and 2nd place. The first chase came across at 2:50 minutes back having just picked up a struggling Jens Voigt. Martinez took seventh padding his lead in the KOM by 16 points. Bouet went to all the trouble to bridge up to the chase group only to fall back to the peloton after he was dropped on a steep section. The number of RV’s and cars that lined the final km was astounding. The peloton climbed steadily but didn’t make up much time on the climb at 4:50 back. The placement of the mountains in the center of the stage as expected really sucked the life out of what could have been another exciting stage. Considering tomorrows rest day, what was the point?
The first half of the Armstrong led decent was uneventful. Columbia was given the go ahead to catch the breaks and force a sprint for the team. At just under 5 minutes down, their work was cut out for them. The peloton caught the chase at 40km to go narrowing the gap to 3:50. Caisse d’Epargne came to the front in support of their sprinter Rojas. Rabobank came to the front to help salvage some glory today perhaps as Menchov has not panned out as expected. They were attempting to set up Oscar Freire for the sprint if possible. At 20km to go, the break was holding a tenuous lead over the peloton of 2:30 minutes. It was still touch and go whether Pellizotti and Fedrigo could hold out. They certainly were giving it there all. The teams for the breakaway riders, Liquigas and Bbox, moved to the front in an attempt to disrupt chasing peloton.
With 10 km to go the gap between the break and the peloton had dropped to 1:22. It seemed that the break would hold at this point. Caisse was doing the lion’s share of the work to bring the break back stringing out the peloton in the process.
- At 7km the gap was 60 seconds.
- At 5km the gap was 44 seconds thought the peloton was bunching
- At 4km the gap was 42 seconds Schleck flatted outside the 3km safety zone. The whole team fell back to help.
- At 3km the gap was 41 seconds. Voigt dragged Schleck back in no time flat
- At 2km the gap was 39 seconds. Liquigas did a great job of disrupting the fading Caisse chase.
- At 1km the gap was 36 seconds. The break was going to hold. Pellizotti no longer took a turn at the front. Pellizotti jumped prior to the final turn at the 500 meter mark. Bbox’s Pierrick Fedrigo tagged Pellizotti and came around to take the line.
Rabobank’s Oscar Freire took the field sprint for third. Rojas was only able to muster sixth. There was no change to the GC standings.
Well it looks like GC racing will be put on hold till the Stage 13 in the Alps on Friday. Tomorrow is a rest day followed by three stages through central France.
Stage 9 Map
Stage 9 Profile
Stage 9 Recap
Bicycling Mag
Cycling News
Cycling Weekly
ESPN
Velonews
Yahoo Sports
Stage 9 Results
1 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom 4:05:31
2 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas
3 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank 0:00:34
4 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) Team Katusha
5 Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram
6 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne
7 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Silence – Lotto
8 Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Agritubel
9 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre – NGC
10 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale
Polka Dot Jersey Standings
1 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 78 pts
2 Christophe Kern (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 59
3 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas 55
4 Brice Feillu (Fra) Agritubel 49
5 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom 49
Green Jersey Standings
1 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team 117 pts
2 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team Columbia – HTC 106
3 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne 75
4 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram 66
5 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank 62
Overall Standings
1 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
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
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
Bicycle Magazine
Cycling News
Cycling Weekly
ESPN
Velonews
Yahoo Sports
Stage 7 Video
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
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 5th. 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 21st and Menchov 53rd 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
Stage 1 Video
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
It was all champagne and silliness on the final stage of the 2008 Tour de France. Team CSC did a
2008 TdF Champion - Carlos Sastre
brilliant tour capturing the Overall Championship in Carlos Sastre, the Young Rider Classification in Andy Schleck and the best team. Executing a masterful plan, Carlos was reserved for a definitive stage win, to get the required margin. Sacrificing team mates were the difference, driving the pace, protecting their leaders and getting into key breaks to offer assistance when required. The ultimate sacrifice was Frank Schleck giving up his chance for the podium to a better time trialist in Sastre. That the team could ask it of him is one thing, that he did it, demands respect. Sastre’s excellent time trial demonstrated that the right choice was made. Hats off to Sastre and CSC.
As for the green jersey, it is won by Oscar Freire. Oscar was consistent and persistent. He was regularly in the top ten and willing to dash for intermediate sprints along the way. In my mind it was more of a team win then an individual win. The team put him in position and went to measures to either set him up for intermediates or stole the points from others. Oscar was not the best sprinter, having only won a single stage (no small thing still). He was how ever strong enough for top 5 consistently. Secondly, he finished the tour with the ability to contest time after time. Congrats to him and the rest of Rabobank.
There are many that are at his footsteps and I’d be surprised to see him win it again. I would have liked to see McEwen freer to contest. He was unfortunately saddled with supporting Cadel rather then making his mark. Unfortunately, Tom Boonen wasn’t permitted to race because he would have challenged Oscar as well. From a sprinting perspective, Cavendish made the tour for me. Shades of McEwen, a young Zabel and even Abdoujaparov come to mind as you watch Mark peel away the competition. They simply can’t hang on to his wheel. I will be watching him at Beijing.
Stage 21 Winner - Steegmans
The stage today didn’t really get going until the peloton arrived in Paris. I don’t know about you, but the Champs Élysées circuit fascinates me. The 6.5km loop permits the riders to see each other coming or going. There is no getting lost in the trees or around turns. As such, breaks are harder than usually to get away. Today was a case in point. There were stacks of attempts to escape none of them sticking for any length of time. It was the rare successful Quick Step train by led by Matteo Tosatto and Steven De Jongh that put Steegmans in exactly the right spot to hold of an impressively charging Ciolek. Oscar pulled out a third followed by McEwen and Hushovd. It was a fabulous finish in Paris.
Well that does it for the 2008 Tour de France. Thanks for checking in on my little log from time to time for news about the race. I will be continuing writing about significant competitions including the 2008 Summer Olympics, Triathlons and the World Championships. Please come back for more of the Velo Noise perspective.
Allez915
Stage 21 Video Recap: http://tinyurl.com/6yc5pp
Stage 21 Race Reports:
Cycling News: http://tinyurl.com/657rch
Versus: http://tinyurl.com/65vhno
Velonews: http://tinyurl.com/6lcaur
Yahoo Sports: http://tinyurl.com/6blrlc
Stage 21 Results:
1 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Quick Step, 3.51.38 (37.04 km/h)
2 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Columbia, st.
3 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank, st.
4 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Silence – Lotto, st.
5 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole, st.
6 Julian Dean (NZl) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30, st.
7 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner, st.
8 Robert Förster (Ger) Gerolsteiner, st.
9 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis – Le Crédit par Téléphone, st.
10 Robert Hunter (RSA) Barloworld, st.
11 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram, st.
12 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre, st.
13 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, st.
14 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Liquigas, st.
15 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne, st.
Overall Standings, Yellow Jersey:
1 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, 87.52.52
2 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence – Lotto, 0.58
3 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner, 1.13
4 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank, 2.10
5 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30, 3.05
6 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, 4.28
7 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi, 6.25
8 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia, 6.55
9 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne, 7.12
10 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) AG2R La Mondiale, 9.05
Team Competition:
1 Team CSC Saxo Bank, 263.29.57
2 AG2R-La Mondiale, 15.35
3 Rabobank, 1.05.26
4 Euskaltel – Euskadi, 1.16.26
5 Silence – Lotto, 1.17.15
6 Caisse d’Epargne, 1.20.28
7 Team Columbia, 1.23.00
8 Lampre, 1.26.24
9 Gerolsteiner, 1.27.40
10 Credit Agricole, 1.37.16
Green Jersey (Best Sprinter):
1 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank, 270 pts
2 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole, 220
3 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram, 217
4 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis – Le Crédit par Téléphone, 181
5 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia, 155
6 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne, 136
7 Robert Hunter (RSA) Barloworld, 131
8 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Silence – Lotto, 129
9 Julian Dean (NZl) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30, 119
10 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Columbia, 116
White Jersey (Best Young Rider):
1 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, 88.04.24
2 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas, 1.27
3 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas, 17.01
4 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Cofidis – Le Crédit par Téléphone, 24.09
5 Eduardo Gonzalo Ramirez (Spa) Agritubel, 1.08.34
6 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Team Columbia, 1.13.55
7 John-Lee Augustyn (RSA) Barloworld, 1.24.49
8 Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram, 1.38.17
9 Rémy Di Grégorio (Fra) Française des Jeux, 1.38.22
10 Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne, 1.44.07
Pokadot Jersey (Mountain Climbing):
1 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner, 128 pts
2 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, 80
3 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, 80
4 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bouygues Telecom, 65
5 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner, 62
6 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner, 61
7 John-Lee Augustyn (RSA) Barloworld, 61
8 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne, 58
9 Rémy Di Grégorio (Fra) Française des Jeux, 52
10 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi, 51
As was said all day long today by comment makers, wearing the yellow brings out the best in riders.
Stage 20 Winner - Schumacher
Sastre was a case in point. While not able to best Evans, he put in the ride of a lifetime to hold the line and retain first on GC. In the end he gave up a mere 31 seconds to a desperate Cadel Evans. Cadel, showing the wear of three weeks of nearly isolated riding, was never able to put his best into it.
It boils down like this:
- Sastre and Kohl deliver exceptional performances to earn 1st and third on the podium in Paris tomorrow.
- Cadel Evans, while not able to put up his best, was able to surpass Kohl to get the second step.
- Menchov gets fourth as he was just not able to get it rolling to the level required to chase down the surging Kohl.
- Vande Velde did a great time trial but was not able to overcome the large deficit he had racked up on the last two mountain stages. He ends up 5th on GC.
- Frank Schleck faded badly losing four places, proving the decision by CSC to bank on Sastre. He ends up 6th
- Kirchen placed third on the day by putting up a blistering time surpassing Vande Velde but not Cancellara. He moved to 8th on GC, moving up three places from 11th.
Stage 20 - Carlos Sastre
There were several standout performances on the Stage 20 time trial today. Danny Pate set the early mark of 1:06:44 which held for almost 45 riders. Eventually his Canadian team mate, Ryder Hesjedal, beat his time by 18 seconds. Lang, then Miller topped the boards momentarily. The world TT champ Fabian Cancellara put up a 1:04:11 to take over the top spot. The big guns struggled to beat that mark for the remainder of the day. In the end, only Schumacher could surpass his time. Schumacher performance today and on several other stages, speaks well for his GC chances in years to come.
Race Splits:
| Place | Rider | Finish | 18km | Position | 36km | Position | 47.5km | Position |
| 1 | Stefan Schumacher | 1.03.50 | 0.21.30 | 1 | 0.42.50 | 2 | 0.58.12 | 1 |
| 2 | Fabian Cancellara | 0.22 | 0.00 | 1 | -0.12 | 1 | 0.14 | 2 |
| 3 | Kim Kirchen | 1.01 | 0.24 | 4 | 0.45 | 3 | 0.56 | 3 |
| 4 | Christian Vande Velde | 1.05 | 0.28 | 5 | 0.46 | 4 | 1.06 | 4 |
| 5 | David Millar | 1.37 | 0.43 | 9 | 0.51 | 5 | 1.24 | 5 |
| 6 | Denis Menchov | 1.55 | 0.22 | 3 | 0.56 | 6 | 1.38 | 6 |
| 7 | Cadel Evans | 2.06 | 0.38 | 7 | 1.18 | 7 | 1.52 | 7 |
| 8 | Sebastian Lang | 2.19 | 0.56 | 18 | 1.22 | 9 | 2.00 | 8 |
| 9 | Bernhard Kohl | 2.21 | 0.34 | 6 | 1.21 | 8 | 2.07 | 9 |
| 10 | George Hincapie | 2.29 | 0.51 | 14 | 1.29 | 11 | 2.08 | 10 |
| 11 | Thomas Lövkvist | 2.29 | 0.46 | 10 | 1.26 | 10 | 2.17 | 12 |
| 12 | Carlos Sastre Candil | 2.35 | 0.46 | 10 | 1.41 | 14 | 2.12 | 11 |
| 13 | Ryder Hesjedal | 2.37 | 1.12 | 28 | 1.46 | 15 | 2.28 | 13 |
| 14 | Danny Pate | 2.55 | 0.47 | 12 | 1.37 | 12 | 2.35 | 14 |
| 15 | Jens Voigt | 2.59 | 1.15 | 32 | 1.58 | 18 | 2.35 | 14 |
| 16 | Christopher Froome | 3.01 | 0.54 | 17 | 1.57 | 17 | 2.40 | 16 |
| 17 | Amaël Moinard | 3.05 | 0.53 | 16 | 2.06 | 22 | 2.44 | 17 |
| 18 | Kanstantsin Siutsou | 3.08 | 0.58 | 19 | 1.54 | 16 | 2.46 | 18 |
| 19 | Sylvain Chavanel | 3.11 | 0.41 | 8 | 1.40 | 13 | 2.47 | 19 |
| 20 | Joost Posthuma | 3.13 | 1.29 | 41 | 2.21 | 27 | 2.53 | 20 |
Stage 20 Video Recap: http://tinyurl.com/cjp6a
Stage 20 Race Reports:
Cycling News: http://tinyurl.com/59mmlr
Velonews: http://tinyurl.com/6nv428
Versus: http://tinyurl.com/6rqpmx
Yahoo Sports: http://tinyurl.com/6blrlc
Stage 20 Results:
1 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner, 1.03.50 (49.817 km/h)
2 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, 0.21
3 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia, 1.01
4 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30, 1.05
5 David Millar (GBr) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30, 1.37
6 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank, 1.55
7 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence – Lotto, 2.05
8 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner, 2.19
9 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner, 2.21
10 George Hincapie (USA) Team Columbia, 2.28
Overall Standings:
1 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, 84.01.00
2 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence – Lotto, 1.05
3 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner, 1.20
4 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank, 2.00
5 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30, 3.12
6 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, 4.28
7 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi, 6.32
8 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia, 7.02
9 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne, 7.26
10 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) AG2R La Mondiale, 9.12
The main move of the day came when Chavanel attacked at around 80km steadily putting time on the
Stage 19 Finish, Roy & Chavanel
peloton. He was nearly reeled him back in when Jeremy Roy jumped from the field adding juice to the break at just the right time. The duo was able to put five minutes on the peloton with steady pace lining. The majority probably didn’t want to over do it coming into the time trial tomorrow.
The field did get busy chasing eventually trying to keep it contained to some degree. They were able to drop the gap to near four minutes. At that point Chavanel and Roy put on the burner on bringing the gap back over 5 minutes with about 28km to go. From then on the advantage decayed steadily to the line but was enough to permit a little goofing around in the final kilometer.
Coming into the sprint Roy was following Chavanel and wouldn’t come through. Chavanel slowed, put it in a big gear and eyeballed Roy in anticipation of the move. He smartly hugged the left barrier allowing only one direction of attack. Roy jumped at 200m but didn’t have the juice to get by Chavanel.
Stage 19 Bunch Sprint
The field eventually resigned themselves to crumb scrapping starting from third place. The sprint wound up nicely with teams for Zabel, Hushovd, Ciolek, Duque and Freire jockeying for position. In the end Ciolek had the better line and hit the gas in another fine finish for Team Columbia. Zabel was there but unable to get by. Freire got boxed out. The others finished top ten.
There was no change to the GC resulting from today’s stage. The final GC test is set for tomorrow in the form of a 53km time trial. Speculation was thick today from the commentators during the race. They think that while Cadel has the edge, Sastre’s performance is less predictable. The Yellow jersey can do strange things. Most are betting on Cadel. He is my bet as well. Menchov has a good chance for a podium spot while Vande Velde has his work cut out to oust Cadel, Schleck or Menchov from the three top spots. Good bet he finishes the day in 4th or 5th on GC.
Stage 19 Video Recap: http://tinyurl.com/cjp6a
Stage 19 Race Reports
Cycling News: http://tinyurl.com/5tjd35
Velonews: http://tinyurl.com/5aj26x
Versus: http://tinyurl.com/6gd5ke
Yahoo Sports: http://tinyurl.com/6blrlc
Stage 19 Results:
1 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis, 3.37.09 (45.73 km/h)
2 Jérémy Roy (Fra) Française des Jeux, st.
3 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Columbia, 1.13
4 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram, st.
5 Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Gerolsteiner, st.
6 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis, st.
7 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Liquigas, st.
8 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole, st.
9 Robert Förster (Ger) Gerolsteiner, st.
10 Julian Dean (NZl) Garmin Chipotle – H30, st.
Overall Results:
1 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, 82.54.36
2 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, 1.24
3 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner, 1.33
4 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence – Lotto, 1.34
5 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank, 2.39
6 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30, 4.41
7 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne, 5.35
8 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi, 5.52
9 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) AG2R La Mondiale, 8.10
10 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale, 8.24
Burghardt and Barredo gave the fans a treat to close stage 18 today. After cat and mouse for 20km the two employed
Stage 18 Winner - Burghardt of Team Columbia
track tactics to setup for the final 500 meters. Burghardt overpowered a very disappointed Barredo from the forward position to get the win. Team Columbia has had a stellar Tour to date with 5 wins, holder at times of the Green, White and Yellow Jersey on top of becoming the poster child for dope free racing. I mean this is a Tour they can write home about.
Barredo escaped the peloton at about the 70km. Soon after, Burghardt and Feillu escaped as well though Burghardt later dropped Feillu bridging to Barredo on the decent of the col de Parmenie. Astarloza and Le Mevel escaped about then and tried to bridge to the leaders catching up with Feillu by 85km. The peloton was seven or eight minutes back at that point though the lead grew as high as ten minutes before CSC fired up the big engines. Burghardt and Barredo held of the chasers to contest the sprint. Feillu, Le Mevel and Astarloza came in a little more than three minutes later. The peloton with a small leading group sprinted in a little less than four minutes later.
There was no real action in the GC as the key riders marked each other closely. The only real shift was that Cunego wrecked at 28km cracking his chin. Three of his teammates fell back to support him though he still lost nearly 13 minutes to the peloton. Cunego has really struggled this tour without much to show for it. I’m afraid too much expectation was placed on him.
Stage 18 Video Recap: http://tinyurl.com/56q2cn
Stage 18 Race Reports:
Cycling News: http://tinyurl.com/69lm2e
Velonews: http://tinyurl.com/5nfl37
Versus: http://tinyurl.com/6ksbmj
Yahoo Sports: http://tinyurl.com/6qr2jq
Stage 18 Results:
1 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) Team Columbia, 4.30.21 (43.61 km/h)
2 Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Spa) Quick Step, st.
3 Romain Feillu (Fra) Agritubel, 3.33
4 Christophe Le Mével (Fra) Crédit Agricole, st.
5 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi, 3.35
6 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis – Le Crédit par Téléphone, 6.39
7 Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale, st.
8 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas, st.
9 Leif Hoste (Bel) Silence – Lotto, st.
10 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, st.
Overall Team Standings:
1 Team CSC Saxo Bank, 237.42.06
2 AG2R-La Mondiale, 9.27
3 Rabobank, 1.01.17
4 Euskaltel – Euskadi, 1.07.57
5 Caisse d’Epargne, 1.11.56
6 Silence – Lotto, 1.13.29
7 Lampre, 1.18.16
8 Team Columbia, 1.23.09
9 Credit Agricole, 1.25.27
10 Gerolsteiner, 1.29.14
Overall Standings:
1 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, 79.16.14
2 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, 1.24
3 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner, 1.33
4 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence – Lotto, 1.34
5 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank, 2.39
6 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30, 4.41
7 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne, 5.35
8 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi, 5.52
9 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) AG2R La Mondiale, 8.10
10 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale, 8.24
Sastre patiently waited for his chance to shine and then delivered on L’Alpe d’Huez. The CSC
Stage 17 Winner - Carlos Sastre
strategy appears to have been to fake the GC contenders into following Frank Schleck then hit em with a blistering Sastre acceleration. Make no mistake, Sastre attacked the yellow jersey group. He wasn’t trying to pace Frank. He was clearly going for the win and unless he broke ranks, he had the blessing of the team to do it. The decider may have been Sastre’s better potential in the time trials. Either way, it was a masterful team play which leveraged a hand of aces this team possesses. Cadel was happy to have the little help he had and did well to limit the damage.
The riders come out of the Alps tomorrow in Stage 18. While there are a few climbs including a Cat 2 climb toward the end, it is unlikely that the GC guys will contest. Stage 19 heads into the flat lands leaving little chance for a GC shakeup. It is more likely that the Tour will be decided on the Stage 20 time trial. So the lingering question is..was it enough?
Stage 4 results offer a glimpse of the time trial potential for Cadel and Carlos. Cadel placed third in the time trial, 27 seconds off the winning time. Sastre finished at 28th about 1:39 back for a gap of 1:12. The Stage 20 time trial is rolling but also longer at 53km versus the relatively flat 29.5km TT of stage 4. Simple math suggests a relative gap of 2:09. As Cadel is 1:34 behind on GC after today’s stage, it is a good bet that Cadel is within striking range. There are plenty of other variables you could consider when handicapping the Stage 20. I’ll leave that to those who are inclined. Suffice to say it will be a dog fight.
Stage 4 Elevation Profile
Stage 2 Elevation Profile
Sastre will have three days to enjoy the armor of the yellow and convince himself that he is more than even he thought, a time trial guy. The team dynamic is strong in CSC. Many sacrifices were made to put him in position. Carlos will be riding beyond himself with that in mind on Saturday.
Stage 17 Video Recap: http://tinyurl.com/cjp6a
Stage 17 Race Reports
Bike Radar: http://tinyurl.com/57rez3
Velonews: http://tinyurl.com/6qxj8f
Cycling News: http://tinyurl.com/55lsfw
Versus: http://preview.tinyurl.com/57fuls
Yahoo Sports: http://tinyurl.com/5g5bmf
Stage 17 Results:
1 Carlos Sastre (Spa) CSC-Saxo Bank, 6.07.58 (34.32 km/h)
2 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi, 2.03
3 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, st.
4 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne, 2.13
5 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, st.
6 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale, 2.15
7 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence – Lotto, st.
8 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank, st.
9 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30
10 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner, st.
Overall Standings:
1 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, 74.39.03
2 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, 1.24
3 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner, 1.33
4 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence – Lotto, 1.34
5 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank, 2.39
6 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30, 4.41
7 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne, 5.35
8 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi, 5.52
9 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) AG2R La Mondiale, 8.10
10 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale, 8.24
A brilliant performance by Andy Schleck of team CSC up the final climb of the
Stage 16 - Scheck, Kohl & Menchov
day helped keep brother Frank in Yellow today on Stage 16. Menchov and Vandevelde were on the negative side as each lost time on GC. Menchov was dropped on the final decent, Vandevelde on the climb prior. Vandevelde had a spill on the high part of the decent as he raced to make up ground. Unfortunately he ended up losing over two and a half minutes to Frank. Menchov held his losses to 35 seconds. Cadel, Sastre and Kohl put in excellent performances today retaining their positions on the GC. The GC guys finished about a minute and half behind several shattered breakaway groups.
Stage 16 Winner Cyril Dessel followed by Sandy Casar
As for the action up front, Dumoulin, Rosseler, Le Mevel, Schumacher and Voeckler escaped the peloton at 40km. A second chase formed behind them of 20 riders including Freire, Hincapie and Pate. Schumacher broke free of the original 5 at 60km holding out till 130km when he was finally absorbed by the first chase. The second chase grew over that time to 29 riders including Dessel, picked up the leftovers of the Schumacher group. Eight of those got a gap and picked up Schumacher. That group included Hincapie, Sivtsov, Arroyo, Portal, Popovych, Augustyn, Valjavec and Casar. Augustyn bolted for the summit of the final mountain and got it but missed a turn on the decent and slid down the mountain without his bike. The remaining Eight split into two groups, the first of which included Popovych, Dessel, Arroyo and Casar. Arroyo made the first move but was countered by Dessel at the line.
The stage is set for a fabulous showdown on L’Alpe-d’Huez. For Schleck, Sastre and Kohl it is probably their last chance to put time on Cadel before the time trial on Saturday If Cadel can hang on tomorrow, only a major mistake by him or an inspired performance by possibly Menchov could keep him from rising to Yellow. The other contenders are just not competitive with Cadel on the Time Trial and baring riding beyond themselves are unlikely to hold him off. The dark horse is Valverde or Vandevelde who could through caution to the wind and reap reward, though the chance of that is slim at this point.
Stage 17 Elevation Profile
Stage 16 Video Recap: http://tinyurl.com/5zgqqf
Stage 16 Race Reports:
Yahoo Sports: http://tinyurl.com/5jmesz
Velonews: http://tinyurl.com/5h5bu6
Cycling News: http://tinyurl.com/6zupde
Versus: http://tinyurl.com/5udqjd
Stage 16 Results:
1 Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale, 4.31.27 (34.70 km/h)
2 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux, st.
3 David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne, st.
4 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Silence – Lotto, 0.03
5 George Hincapie (USA) Team Columbia, 0.24
6 Nicolas Portal (Fra) Caisse d’Epargne, st.
7 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) AG2R La Mondiale, st.
8 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner, 1.03
9 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, 1.28
10 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner, st.
11 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence – Lotto, st.
12 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, st.
13 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne, st.
14 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre, st.
15 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, st.
16 Johann Tschopp (Swi) Bouygues Telecom, st.
17 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi, 1.32
18 Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Team Columbia, st.
19 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia, 2.03
20 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Lampre, st.
21 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank, st.
22 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram, 2.36
23 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Crédit Agricole, st.
24 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, 3.21
25 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas, 4.04
26 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b
H30, st.
27 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis – Le Crédit par Téléphone, 4.13
28 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi, st.
29 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Cofidis – Le Crédit par Téléphone, st.
30 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30, 4.27
Overall Standings:
1 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, 68.30.16
2 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner, 0.07
3 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence – Lotto, 0.08
4 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, 0.49
5 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank, 1.13
6 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30, 3.15
7 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia, 3.23
8 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne, 4.11
9 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi, 4.38
10 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) AG2R La Mondiale, 5.23
Stage 15 Winner - Gerrans
The riders faced a rather unpleasant start to the stage 15 with rain, cold and possible snow on the climbs. Four riders escaped the peloton at 15km including Martinez, Pate and Arrieta followed by Gerrans who bridged up a few minutes later. The grouped worked exceptionally well retaining a substantial lead most of the way to the finish. The break had a 12 minutes lead at the base of the final climb which was whittled down to about 4 minutes after the GC guys came in. Arrieta fell off as the break neared the final kilometers. Gerrans craftily accelerated to the line ahead of Martinez and a fading Pate to take the win.
The slippery roads and sharp descents caused many to go down and including the previous Tour
Stage 15 Oscar Pereiro Hits the Deck
winner Oscar Pereiro. He lost his line on a hairpin and flipped over a guardrail launching down an embankment to the switchback below. He was originally thought to have broken a femur but it was determined that it was his shoulder bone. As it is, he is out of the Tour. There were other crashes including a massive pavement hugger on both sides of a roundabout at about 50k to go taking down several of the GC contenders.
The real fireworks came as CSC led a blistering attack up the Prato Nevoso led by Andy Schleck of CSC-Saxo Bank. The remainder of the peloton blistered away leaving the Evans, Menchov, Vande Velde, Bernhard Kohl, Valverde, Sastre, Frank Schleck and Andy Schleck, Kreuziger and Sánchez. Menchov attacked this group though he fell allowing the group to regain position. Kohl, Menchov and Sastre eventually escaped with Valverde bridging to get on with a few km left. Menchov fell off the back as the break approached the line. As Cadel and Frank approached the line 30 seconds back, Frank dashed to the line to take the last few seconds to take yellow. It was a very exciting finish
Cavendish bid farewell to the Tour before race start as was widely predicted. He would likely have been competitive at the finish in Paris though the beating of three mountain stages and a time trial might have done him in anyway. The price to play on the final day was just too steep literally. I think prioritizing Beijing was an obvious good choice. He will be missed.
Stage 15 Video Recap: http://tinyurl.com/55bbse
Stage 15 Race Reports:
Cycling News: http://tinyurl.com/5g4ssp
Velonews: http://tinyurl.com/56hzza
Versus: http://tinyurl.com/6puz9z
Stage 15 Results:
1 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Crédit Agricole, 4.50.44 (37.77 km/h)
2 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi, 0.03
3 Danny Pate (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30, 0.10
4 José Luis Arrieta Lujambio (Spa) AG2R La Mondiale, 0.55
5 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner, 4.03
6 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, st.
7 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne, 4.12
8 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank, 4.23
9 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, 4.41
10 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30, 4.43
11 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas, 4.46
12 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi, 4.50
13 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence – Lotto, st.
14 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, 4.58
15 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia, 5.34
Overall Standings:
1 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, 63.57.21
2 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner, 0.07
3 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence – Lotto, 0.08
4 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank, 0.38
5 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30, 0.39
6 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, 0.49
7 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia, 2.48
8 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale, 3.36
9 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne, 4.11
10 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi, 4.34
Velo Noise 