With the time trial ahead, the Tour has now become a race that Rasmussen can only lose. Some great names (and great climbers) are in the top ten right now. All Rasmussen has to do is hang on.
You realize that I hope he stops to sign autographs during tomorrow's stage and lets Levi up into second place. C'est la vie.
Here's the top ten after Stage 12...
1 058 RASMUSSEN, Michael
2 018 VALVERDE, Alejandro 00:02:35.000
3 207 MAYO, Iban ESP 00:02:39.000
4 041 EVANS, Cadel AUS 00:02:41.000
5 112 CONTADOR, Alberto 00:03:08.000
6 031 SASTRE, Carlos ESP 00:03:39.000
7 196 KLÖDEN, Andréas 00:03:50.000
8 111 LEIPHEIMER, Levi 00:03:53.000
9 027 KIRCHEN, Kim 00:05:06.000
Of these guys, I can see any of the top eight spots winning this race. Smart money might go with Cadel Evans or Levi Leipheimer. Cagey money would pick Kloden or Mayo. And it will probably just be Valverde by two minutes in Paris on July 29.
20 July 2007
Riders Remaining
According to a race fan, one of her favorite riders (David Zabriskie) hasn't been seen or heard from recently. She wanted to know why.
Well, ma'am, that's because Zabriskie is now OUT of the Tour. He finished outside of the time allowance in stage 11 and therefore cannot continue.
I don't know what the exact formula is, but if the leaders in a stage finish at XX, then you must finish within XX% of that finishing time or you're out.
For example, if the stage took riders five hours to finish, then you might get a 10% time allotment. That would mean that anyone who finishes at 05:50:01 and later is OUT OUT OUT.
By the way, here's the list of countries with riders remaining. The count is down to 167 (this was current as of the start of today's Stage 12.
The 167 riders remaining in the 2007 Tour de France represent 26 countries.
The breakdown is:
36 – Spain. Eduardo Gonzalo Ramirez (AGR) abandoned during stage one after a crash; Xabier Zandio (GCE) abandoned during stage four because of injuries sustained in a crash in stage one. Oscar Freire (RAB) and Rubens Lobato (SDV) didn’t start stage seven. Igor Anton (EUS) abandoned during stage 11.
31 – France. Remy Di Gregorio (FDJ) didn’t start stage five after fracturing his elbow in a fall early in stage four. Geoffroy Lequartre (COF) didn’t start stage six after being caught up in a crash in stage five. Romain Feillu (AGR) abandoned during stage eight. Cedric Herve (AGR) finished outside the time limit in stage eight. Sylvain Calzati (A2R) abandoned during stage 11.
18 – Germany. Patrick Sinkewitz (TMO) didn’t start stage nine.
15 – Italy. Enrico Degano (BAR) abandoned during stage seven. Danilo Napolitano (LAM) finished outside the time limit in stage eight. Alberto Ongarato (MRM) crashed at the stage of stage 12 and abandoned shortly afterwards.
13 – Belgium
7 – The Netherlands
6 –Russia
5 – Switzerland and USA. Dave Zabriskie (CSC) finished outside the time limit in stage 11.
4 – Kazakhstan, Great Britain. Mark Cavendish (TMO) abandoned during stage eight.
3 – Austria.
2 – Belarus, Luxembourg, Norway, Ukraine, Australia and Colombia. Brett Lancaster (MRM) abandoned during the fifth stage. Michael Rogers (TMO) abandoned during stage eight after crashing and dislocating his right shoulder. Stuart O’Grady (CSC) abandoned during stage eight after crashing and breaking five ribs, dislocating his AC joint and sustaining numerous other injuries. Robbie McEwen (PRL) finished outside the time limit in stage eight. Ivan Parra (COF) abandoned during stage eight.
1 – South Africa, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden
Lithuania had one representative but Thomas Vaitkus didn’t start stage three because of a broken thumb sustained in a crash at the end of stage two.
Well, ma'am, that's because Zabriskie is now OUT of the Tour. He finished outside of the time allowance in stage 11 and therefore cannot continue.
I don't know what the exact formula is, but if the leaders in a stage finish at XX, then you must finish within XX% of that finishing time or you're out.
For example, if the stage took riders five hours to finish, then you might get a 10% time allotment. That would mean that anyone who finishes at 05:50:01 and later is OUT OUT OUT.
By the way, here's the list of countries with riders remaining. The count is down to 167 (this was current as of the start of today's Stage 12.
The 167 riders remaining in the 2007 Tour de France represent 26 countries.
The breakdown is:
36 – Spain. Eduardo Gonzalo Ramirez (AGR) abandoned during stage one after a crash; Xabier Zandio (GCE) abandoned during stage four because of injuries sustained in a crash in stage one. Oscar Freire (RAB) and Rubens Lobato (SDV) didn’t start stage seven. Igor Anton (EUS) abandoned during stage 11.
31 – France. Remy Di Gregorio (FDJ) didn’t start stage five after fracturing his elbow in a fall early in stage four. Geoffroy Lequartre (COF) didn’t start stage six after being caught up in a crash in stage five. Romain Feillu (AGR) abandoned during stage eight. Cedric Herve (AGR) finished outside the time limit in stage eight. Sylvain Calzati (A2R) abandoned during stage 11.
18 – Germany. Patrick Sinkewitz (TMO) didn’t start stage nine.
15 – Italy. Enrico Degano (BAR) abandoned during stage seven. Danilo Napolitano (LAM) finished outside the time limit in stage eight. Alberto Ongarato (MRM) crashed at the stage of stage 12 and abandoned shortly afterwards.
13 – Belgium
7 – The Netherlands
6 –Russia
5 – Switzerland and USA. Dave Zabriskie (CSC) finished outside the time limit in stage 11.
4 – Kazakhstan, Great Britain. Mark Cavendish (TMO) abandoned during stage eight.
3 – Austria.
2 – Belarus, Luxembourg, Norway, Ukraine, Australia and Colombia. Brett Lancaster (MRM) abandoned during the fifth stage. Michael Rogers (TMO) abandoned during stage eight after crashing and dislocating his right shoulder. Stuart O’Grady (CSC) abandoned during stage eight after crashing and breaking five ribs, dislocating his AC joint and sustaining numerous other injuries. Robbie McEwen (PRL) finished outside the time limit in stage eight. Ivan Parra (COF) abandoned during stage eight.
1 – South Africa, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden
Lithuania had one representative but Thomas Vaitkus didn’t start stage three because of a broken thumb sustained in a crash at the end of stage two.
Speed during the sprint
Tom Boonen got his bike going 65.21KMH during the final sprint today. Not too shabby!
SPOILER - Stage 12
More to come later, but as I sit in my Paris apartment watching Eurosport's coverage of the Tour de France, I wanted to impart my excitement and absolute chills after watching the end of Stage 12.
Tom Boonen = Superman, wins the stage and brings to six the number of wins he's got in the TDF.
Erik Zabel took second and Robbie Hunter - winner of Stage 11 - took third.
Rasmussen is still in the lead, Levi Leipheimer is in 8th position.
Tom Boonen = Superman, wins the stage and brings to six the number of wins he's got in the TDF.
Erik Zabel took second and Robbie Hunter - winner of Stage 11 - took third.
Rasmussen is still in the lead, Levi Leipheimer is in 8th position.
19 July 2007
Top 50 and Last Place
Here are the Top 50 riders in the Tour de France after 11 stages... down the bottom I've given you info on the last place rider too.
1 058 RASMUSSEN, Michael DEN RAB 53:11:38.000 00:00:00.000
2 018 VALVERDE, Alejandro ESP GCE 53:14:13.000 00:02:35.000
3 207 MAYO, Iban ESP SDV 53:14:17.000 00:02:39.000
4 041 EVANS, Cadel AUS PRL 53:14:19.000 00:02:41.000
5 112 CONTADOR, Alberto ESP DSC 53:14:46.000 00:03:08.000
6 031 SASTRE, Carlos ESP CSC 53:15:17.000 00:03:39.000
7 196 KLÖDEN, Andréas GER AST 53:15:28.000 00:03:50.000
8 111 LEIPHEIMER, Levi USA DSC 53:15:31.000 00:03:53.000
9 027 KIRCHEN, Kim LUX TMO 53:16:44.000 00:05:06.000
10 073 ASTARLOZA, Mikel ESP EUS 53:16:58.000 00:05:20.000
11 195 KASHECHKIN, Andrey KAZ AST 53:17:12.000 00:05:34.000
12 036 SCHLECK, Frank LUX CSC 53:17:34.000 00:05:56.000
13 011 PEREIRO SIO, Oscar ESP GCE 53:18:14.000 00:06:36.000
14 061 MOREAU, Christophe FRA A2R 53:18:16.000 00:06:38.000
15 071 ZUBELDIA, Haimar ESP EUS 53:18:20.000 00:06:42.000
16 025 GERDEMANN, Linus GER TMO 53:18:23.000 00:06:45.000
17 219 SOLER HERNANDEZ, Juan Mauricio COL BAR 53:18:27.000 00:06:49.000
18 051 MENCHOV, Denis RUS RAB 53:18:48.000 00:07:10.000
19 191 VINOKOUROV, Alexandre KAZ AST 53:19:43.000 00:08:05.000
20 118 POPOVYCH, Yaroslav UKR DSC 53:19:54.000 00:08:16.000
21 015 KARPETS, Vladimir RUS GCE 53:20:29.000 00:08:51.000
22 218 SIUTSOU, Kanstantsin BLR BAR 53:20:38.000 00:09:00.000
23 044 HORNER, Christopher USA PRL 53:20:49.000 00:09:11.000
24 012 ARROYO, David ESP GCE 53:22:40.000 00:11:02.000
25 088 VALJAVEC, Tadej SLO LAM 53:22:43.000 00:11:05.000
26 204 COBO ACEBO, Juan Jose ESP SDV 53:24:43.000 00:13:05.000
27 153 BELTRAN, Manuel ESP LIQ 53:25:07.000 00:13:29.000
28 174 GARATE, Juan Manuel ESP QSI 53:25:07.000 00:13:29.000
29 014 GUTIERREZ, José Ivan ESP GCE 53:25:22.000 00:13:44.000
30 113 GUSEV, Vladimir RUS DSC 53:27:27.000 00:15:49.000
31 038 VOIGT, Jens GER CSC 53:28:57.000 00:17:19.000
32 093 FOTHEN, Markus GER GST 53:30:36.000 00:18:58.000
33 052 BOOGERD, Michael NED RAB 53:31:45.000 00:20:07.000
34 141 CHAVANEL, Sylvain FRA COF 53:31:50.000 00:20:12.000
35 078 TXURRUKA, Amets ESP EUS 53:34:15.000 00:22:37.000
36 109 LE MEVEL, Christophe FRA C.A 53:34:23.000 00:22:45.000
37 114 HINCAPIE, George USA DSC 53:37:59.000 00:26:21.000
38 106 FOFONOV, Dmitriy KAZ C.A 53:39:48.000 00:28:10.000
39 089 VILA ERRANDONEA, Patxi ESP LAM 53:41:06.000 00:29:28.000
40 172 BARREDO, Carlos ESP QSI 53:41:19.000 00:29:41.000
41 103 BOTCHAROV, Alexandre RUS C.A 53:42:19.000 00:30:41.000
42 054 DEKKER, Thomas NED RAB 53:43:30.000 00:31:52.000
43 037 VANDEVELDE, Christian USA CSC 53:44:24.000 00:32:46.000
44 193 IGLINSKIY, Maxim KAZ AST 53:44:44.000 00:33:06.000
45 069 TURPIN, Ludovic FRA A2R 53:44:44.000 00:33:06.000
46 043 CIONI, Dario ITA PRL 53:44:47.000 00:33:09.000
47 177 TANKINK, Bram NED QSI 53:44:56.000 00:33:18.000
48 107 HALGAND, Patrice FRA C.A 53:44:58.000 00:33:20.000
49 068 GOUBERT, Stephane FRA A2R 53:45:45.000 00:34:07.000
50 131 MERCADO, Juan Miguel ESP AGR 53:47:54.000 00:36:16.000
Last place in the race, at one hour 57 minutes back, is Wim Vansevanant of Belgium.
Other notables not in the top 50 include Juan Antonio Flecha and Sandy Casar.
1 058 RASMUSSEN, Michael DEN RAB 53:11:38.000 00:00:00.000
2 018 VALVERDE, Alejandro ESP GCE 53:14:13.000 00:02:35.000
3 207 MAYO, Iban ESP SDV 53:14:17.000 00:02:39.000
4 041 EVANS, Cadel AUS PRL 53:14:19.000 00:02:41.000
5 112 CONTADOR, Alberto ESP DSC 53:14:46.000 00:03:08.000
6 031 SASTRE, Carlos ESP CSC 53:15:17.000 00:03:39.000
7 196 KLÖDEN, Andréas GER AST 53:15:28.000 00:03:50.000
8 111 LEIPHEIMER, Levi USA DSC 53:15:31.000 00:03:53.000
9 027 KIRCHEN, Kim LUX TMO 53:16:44.000 00:05:06.000
10 073 ASTARLOZA, Mikel ESP EUS 53:16:58.000 00:05:20.000
11 195 KASHECHKIN, Andrey KAZ AST 53:17:12.000 00:05:34.000
12 036 SCHLECK, Frank LUX CSC 53:17:34.000 00:05:56.000
13 011 PEREIRO SIO, Oscar ESP GCE 53:18:14.000 00:06:36.000
14 061 MOREAU, Christophe FRA A2R 53:18:16.000 00:06:38.000
15 071 ZUBELDIA, Haimar ESP EUS 53:18:20.000 00:06:42.000
16 025 GERDEMANN, Linus GER TMO 53:18:23.000 00:06:45.000
17 219 SOLER HERNANDEZ, Juan Mauricio COL BAR 53:18:27.000 00:06:49.000
18 051 MENCHOV, Denis RUS RAB 53:18:48.000 00:07:10.000
19 191 VINOKOUROV, Alexandre KAZ AST 53:19:43.000 00:08:05.000
20 118 POPOVYCH, Yaroslav UKR DSC 53:19:54.000 00:08:16.000
21 015 KARPETS, Vladimir RUS GCE 53:20:29.000 00:08:51.000
22 218 SIUTSOU, Kanstantsin BLR BAR 53:20:38.000 00:09:00.000
23 044 HORNER, Christopher USA PRL 53:20:49.000 00:09:11.000
24 012 ARROYO, David ESP GCE 53:22:40.000 00:11:02.000
25 088 VALJAVEC, Tadej SLO LAM 53:22:43.000 00:11:05.000
26 204 COBO ACEBO, Juan Jose ESP SDV 53:24:43.000 00:13:05.000
27 153 BELTRAN, Manuel ESP LIQ 53:25:07.000 00:13:29.000
28 174 GARATE, Juan Manuel ESP QSI 53:25:07.000 00:13:29.000
29 014 GUTIERREZ, José Ivan ESP GCE 53:25:22.000 00:13:44.000
30 113 GUSEV, Vladimir RUS DSC 53:27:27.000 00:15:49.000
31 038 VOIGT, Jens GER CSC 53:28:57.000 00:17:19.000
32 093 FOTHEN, Markus GER GST 53:30:36.000 00:18:58.000
33 052 BOOGERD, Michael NED RAB 53:31:45.000 00:20:07.000
34 141 CHAVANEL, Sylvain FRA COF 53:31:50.000 00:20:12.000
35 078 TXURRUKA, Amets ESP EUS 53:34:15.000 00:22:37.000
36 109 LE MEVEL, Christophe FRA C.A 53:34:23.000 00:22:45.000
37 114 HINCAPIE, George USA DSC 53:37:59.000 00:26:21.000
38 106 FOFONOV, Dmitriy KAZ C.A 53:39:48.000 00:28:10.000
39 089 VILA ERRANDONEA, Patxi ESP LAM 53:41:06.000 00:29:28.000
40 172 BARREDO, Carlos ESP QSI 53:41:19.000 00:29:41.000
41 103 BOTCHAROV, Alexandre RUS C.A 53:42:19.000 00:30:41.000
42 054 DEKKER, Thomas NED RAB 53:43:30.000 00:31:52.000
43 037 VANDEVELDE, Christian USA CSC 53:44:24.000 00:32:46.000
44 193 IGLINSKIY, Maxim KAZ AST 53:44:44.000 00:33:06.000
45 069 TURPIN, Ludovic FRA A2R 53:44:44.000 00:33:06.000
46 043 CIONI, Dario ITA PRL 53:44:47.000 00:33:09.000
47 177 TANKINK, Bram NED QSI 53:44:56.000 00:33:18.000
48 107 HALGAND, Patrice FRA C.A 53:44:58.000 00:33:20.000
49 068 GOUBERT, Stephane FRA A2R 53:45:45.000 00:34:07.000
50 131 MERCADO, Juan Miguel ESP AGR 53:47:54.000 00:36:16.000
Last place in the race, at one hour 57 minutes back, is Wim Vansevanant of Belgium.
Other notables not in the top 50 include Juan Antonio Flecha and Sandy Casar.
The Top 10 in Stage 11
Here you go...Robbie Hunter took it at the line and here are the rest of the top 10.
2. Fabian Cancellara (SUI) CSC
3. Murilo Fischer (BRA) LIQ
4. Filippo Pozzato (ITA) LIQ
5. Alessandro Ballan (ITA) LAM
6. Paolo Bossoni (ITA) LAM
7. Claudio Corioni (ITA) LAM
8. Philippe Gilbert (BEL) FDJ
9. William Bonnet (FRA) C.A
10. Kim Kirchen (LUX) TMO
By the way, Hunter is the first South African to win a stage of the Tour de France. Top 50 coming up.
2. Fabian Cancellara (SUI) CSC
3. Murilo Fischer (BRA) LIQ
4. Filippo Pozzato (ITA) LIQ
5. Alessandro Ballan (ITA) LAM
6. Paolo Bossoni (ITA) LAM
7. Claudio Corioni (ITA) LAM
8. Philippe Gilbert (BEL) FDJ
9. William Bonnet (FRA) C.A
10. Kim Kirchen (LUX) TMO
By the way, Hunter is the first South African to win a stage of the Tour de France. Top 50 coming up.
38KM to go in Stage 11
With 38KM left in today's stage, Rasmussen and the Yellow Jersey have caught all escapees and dashed any hopes people had of taking the jersey away today.
All that will likely change in the next couple of days with a time trial and a mountain stage on the horizon.
All that will likely change in the next couple of days with a time trial and a mountain stage on the horizon.
Mini attacks all day
Stage 11 saw a handful of attacks all day, but none were of any consequence. It's interesting because the stage was all downhill (if you follow my earlier logic) and I assumed that someone would blow the field apart by jumping from the start.
In fact I had hoped someone like big George Hincapie or similar would just put the hammer down and gobble back some time. Didn't happen my friends. More results coming up.
In fact I had hoped someone like big George Hincapie or similar would just put the hammer down and gobble back some time. Didn't happen my friends. More results coming up.
Stage 11
You'll notice that the posts on each Tour stage are coming pretty much on time, but not exactly. That's because I'm in Paris enjoying myself and trying to fit this blog in between my other pursuits.
Today I combined the two for a little bit.
In a tiny bistro/cafe in the Latin Quarter, I watched a bit of the Tour and was enthralled by the crowd that had formed to see the race. On the day after a Frenchman won a stage, the turnout was amazing.
AMAZING IN A BAD WAY!!
I'm am beside myself in trying to understand what has changed over here. Perhaps I'm expecting too much of the French, but I thought that the city of Paris ground to a halt for 21 days during the Tour de France. I was wrong.
After searching all over the city, I only found a handful of bars that had the Tour on television and in those bars I found only about half a dozen people watching.
OK, in the interest of full-disclosure, it is a school day and people have to work. But Eurosport doesn't run the Tour as a repeat and I'm not sure how prevalent Tivo is over here. SO, wouldn't you think that a three-hour lunch might happen daily for a couple weeks in July?
Me too.
I'm disappointed but will continue this experiment for a the rest of my stay.
Next few posts are about the race. If you're French, leave me a comment and tell me what's going on. If you're not French, give me your thoughts and ask me your questions.
Today I combined the two for a little bit.
In a tiny bistro/cafe in the Latin Quarter, I watched a bit of the Tour and was enthralled by the crowd that had formed to see the race. On the day after a Frenchman won a stage, the turnout was amazing.
AMAZING IN A BAD WAY!!
I'm am beside myself in trying to understand what has changed over here. Perhaps I'm expecting too much of the French, but I thought that the city of Paris ground to a halt for 21 days during the Tour de France. I was wrong.
After searching all over the city, I only found a handful of bars that had the Tour on television and in those bars I found only about half a dozen people watching.
OK, in the interest of full-disclosure, it is a school day and people have to work. But Eurosport doesn't run the Tour as a repeat and I'm not sure how prevalent Tivo is over here. SO, wouldn't you think that a three-hour lunch might happen daily for a couple weeks in July?
Me too.
I'm disappointed but will continue this experiment for a the rest of my stay.
Next few posts are about the race. If you're French, leave me a comment and tell me what's going on. If you're not French, give me your thoughts and ask me your questions.
Questions Questions Questions
The questions keep rolling in. This one came from a reader who saw a weird thing in the feed zone of yesterday's stage.
Dear Jeff:
When I watched the coverage yesterday I saw a guy from rabobank who was at the front of the peloton go through his feed bag. And I am almost positive he pulled out a can of coke. Is that possible. Would any rider drink coke in the middle of the race? It was definitely a drink in a can as they showed him struggling a bit to pop it open. Thoughts?
SK in the USA
Dear SK:
Coke is great. It's got caffeine and sugar and liquid. Many riders I know who I used race with (mountain bikes) would shake up and pour out a can of coke so it would get flat. Then, during a race they would chug it between laps. It's even better that way because you don't get indigestion from the bubbles.
Gatorade has a lot more sugar than is necessary in a recovery beverage, therefore the teams mix their own recovery drink and prep all the bottles in the SAG wagon before each stage.
OK, you're gonna ask so here goes. I know there's a fancy name for the SAG wagon, but the way I remember it is that it's Support And Gear.
Send all your questions to me at jeff@jeffcutler.com and I'll try and answer them right here on TDF07.com.
Dear Jeff:
When I watched the coverage yesterday I saw a guy from rabobank who was at the front of the peloton go through his feed bag. And I am almost positive he pulled out a can of coke. Is that possible. Would any rider drink coke in the middle of the race? It was definitely a drink in a can as they showed him struggling a bit to pop it open. Thoughts?
SK in the USA
Dear SK:
Coke is great. It's got caffeine and sugar and liquid. Many riders I know who I used race with (mountain bikes) would shake up and pour out a can of coke so it would get flat. Then, during a race they would chug it between laps. It's even better that way because you don't get indigestion from the bubbles.
Gatorade has a lot more sugar than is necessary in a recovery beverage, therefore the teams mix their own recovery drink and prep all the bottles in the SAG wagon before each stage.
OK, you're gonna ask so here goes. I know there's a fancy name for the SAG wagon, but the way I remember it is that it's Support And Gear.
Send all your questions to me at jeff@jeffcutler.com and I'll try and answer them right here on TDF07.com.
Today - Stage 11
At 182KM, today's Stage 11 is mostly downhill. Well, to look at elevations on a map, it is. The start in Marseille is 107KM above sea level and the finish in Montpellier is 72KM above.
Race starts at 12:45 and is expected to end between 5:08PM and 5:31PM depending on speed.
One note from my Parisian adventures yesterday. I went to no fewer than five cafes looking for the Tour on television. NOBODY had it on.
In fact, in one cafe they refused to turn the channel to Eurosport because MTV had given them the flatscreen and they had to keep the channel on MTV.
I don't know what to make of this apathy here in France, but I'll keep you up-to-date with the way Parisians see this event.
Race starts at 12:45 and is expected to end between 5:08PM and 5:31PM depending on speed.
One note from my Parisian adventures yesterday. I went to no fewer than five cafes looking for the Tour on television. NOBODY had it on.
In fact, in one cafe they refused to turn the channel to Eurosport because MTV had given them the flatscreen and they had to keep the channel on MTV.
I don't know what to make of this apathy here in France, but I'll keep you up-to-date with the way Parisians see this event.
Gap of 00:10:39
Forgot to mention that Vasseur finished 00:10:39 ahead of the main peloton (that of the yellow jersey).
Now the Tour de France standings look like this...
These are the top 52 taken from the Versus Standings page. You'll notice that Vasseur is still back a ways. That's because he was nearly 50 minutes behind the leader when he started stage 10.
1 058 RASMUSSEN, Michael DEN RAB 49:23:48.000 00:00:00.000
2 018 VALVERDE, Alejandro ESP GCE 49:26:23.000 00:02:35.000
3 207 MAYO, Iban ESP SDV 49:26:27.000 00:02:39.000
4 041 EVANS, Cadel AUS PRL 49:26:29.000 00:02:41.000
5 112 CONTADOR, Alberto ESP DSC 49:26:56.000 00:03:08.000
6 061 MOREAU, Christophe FRA A2R 49:27:06.000 00:03:18.000
7 031 SASTRE, Carlos ESP CSC 49:27:27.000 00:03:39.000
8 196 KLÖDEN, Andréas GER AST 49:27:38.000 00:03:50.000
9 111 LEIPHEIMER, Levi USA DSC 49:27:41.000 00:03:53.000
10 027 KIRCHEN, Kim LUX TMO 49:28:54.000 00:05:06.000
11 073 ASTARLOZA, Mikel ESP EUS 49:29:08.000 00:05:20.000
12 195 KASHECHKIN, Andrey KAZ AST 49:29:22.000 00:05:34.000
13 036 SCHLECK, Frank LUX CSC 49:29:44.000 00:05:56.000
14 011 PEREIRO SIO, Oscar ESP GCE 49:30:24.000 00:06:36.000
15 071 ZUBELDIA, Haimar ESP EUS 49:30:30.000 00:06:42.000
16 025 GERDEMANN, Linus GER TMO 49:30:33.000 00:06:45.000
17 219 SOLER HERNANDEZ, Juan Mauricio COL BAR 49:30:37.000 00:06:49.000
18 051 MENCHOV, Denis RUS RAB 49:30:58.000 00:07:10.000
19 012 ARROYO, David ESP GCE 49:31:21.000 00:07:33.000
20 088 VALJAVEC, Tadej SLO LAM 49:31:33.000 00:07:45.000
21 191 VINOKOUROV, Alexandre KAZ AST 49:31:53.000 00:08:05.000
22 118 POPOVYCH, Yaroslav UKR DSC 49:32:04.000 00:08:16.000
23 015 KARPETS, Vladimir RUS GCE 49:32:39.000 00:08:51.000
24 218 SIUTSOU, Kanstantsin BLR BAR 49:32:48.000 00:09:00.000
25 044 HORNER, Christopher USA PRL 49:32:59.000 00:09:11.000
26 204 COBO ACEBO, Juan Jose ESP SDV 49:33:33.000 00:09:45.000
27 153 BELTRAN, Manuel ESP LIQ 49:33:57.000 00:10:09.000
28 174 GARATE, Juan Manuel ESP QSI 49:33:57.000 00:10:09.000
29 113 GUSEV, Vladimir RUS DSC 49:36:08.000 00:12:20.000
30 014 GUTIERREZ, José Ivan ESP GCE 49:37:32.000 00:13:44.000
31 038 VOIGT, Jens GER CSC 49:37:47.000 00:13:59.000
32 052 BOOGERD, Michael NED RAB 49:39:57.000 00:16:09.000
33 141 CHAVANEL, Sylvain FRA COF 49:40:40.000 00:16:52.000
34 093 FOTHEN, Markus GER GST 49:42:46.000 00:18:58.000
35 078 TXURRUKA, Amets ESP EUS 49:42:56.000 00:19:08.000
36 109 LE MEVEL, Christophe FRA C.A 49:46:33.000 00:22:45.000
37 089 VILA ERRANDONEA, Patxi ESP LAM 49:49:47.000 00:25:59.000
38 172 BARREDO, Carlos ESP QSI 49:50:09.000 00:26:21.000
39 114 HINCAPIE, George USA DSC 49:50:09.000 00:26:21.000
40 106 FOFONOV, Dmitriy KAZ C.A 49:51:58.000 00:28:10.000
41 054 DEKKER, Thomas NED RAB 49:52:11.000 00:28:23.000
42 069 TURPIN, Ludovic FRA A2R 49:53:13.000 00:29:25.000
43 177 TANKINK, Bram NED QSI 49:53:46.000 00:29:58.000
44 107 HALGAND, Patrice FRA C.A 49:53:48.000 00:30:00.000
45 103 BOTCHAROV, Alexandre RUS C.A 49:54:29.000 00:30:41.000
46 063 CALZATI, Sylvain FRA A2R 49:54:33.000 00:30:45.000
47 068 GOUBERT, Stephane FRA A2R 49:54:35.000 00:30:47.000
48 037 VANDEVELDE, Christian USA CSC 49:56:34.000 00:32:46.000
49 131 MERCADO, Juan Miguel ESP AGR 49:56:35.000 00:32:47.000
50 193 IGLINSKIY, Maxim KAZ AST 49:56:54.000 00:33:06.000
51 043 CIONI, Dario ITA PRL 49:56:57.000 00:33:09.000
52 179 VASSEUR, Cédric FRA QSI 49:59:53.000 00:36:05.000
Now the Tour de France standings look like this...
These are the top 52 taken from the Versus Standings page. You'll notice that Vasseur is still back a ways. That's because he was nearly 50 minutes behind the leader when he started stage 10.
1 058 RASMUSSEN, Michael DEN RAB 49:23:48.000 00:00:00.000
2 018 VALVERDE, Alejandro ESP GCE 49:26:23.000 00:02:35.000
3 207 MAYO, Iban ESP SDV 49:26:27.000 00:02:39.000
4 041 EVANS, Cadel AUS PRL 49:26:29.000 00:02:41.000
5 112 CONTADOR, Alberto ESP DSC 49:26:56.000 00:03:08.000
6 061 MOREAU, Christophe FRA A2R 49:27:06.000 00:03:18.000
7 031 SASTRE, Carlos ESP CSC 49:27:27.000 00:03:39.000
8 196 KLÖDEN, Andréas GER AST 49:27:38.000 00:03:50.000
9 111 LEIPHEIMER, Levi USA DSC 49:27:41.000 00:03:53.000
10 027 KIRCHEN, Kim LUX TMO 49:28:54.000 00:05:06.000
11 073 ASTARLOZA, Mikel ESP EUS 49:29:08.000 00:05:20.000
12 195 KASHECHKIN, Andrey KAZ AST 49:29:22.000 00:05:34.000
13 036 SCHLECK, Frank LUX CSC 49:29:44.000 00:05:56.000
14 011 PEREIRO SIO, Oscar ESP GCE 49:30:24.000 00:06:36.000
15 071 ZUBELDIA, Haimar ESP EUS 49:30:30.000 00:06:42.000
16 025 GERDEMANN, Linus GER TMO 49:30:33.000 00:06:45.000
17 219 SOLER HERNANDEZ, Juan Mauricio COL BAR 49:30:37.000 00:06:49.000
18 051 MENCHOV, Denis RUS RAB 49:30:58.000 00:07:10.000
19 012 ARROYO, David ESP GCE 49:31:21.000 00:07:33.000
20 088 VALJAVEC, Tadej SLO LAM 49:31:33.000 00:07:45.000
21 191 VINOKOUROV, Alexandre KAZ AST 49:31:53.000 00:08:05.000
22 118 POPOVYCH, Yaroslav UKR DSC 49:32:04.000 00:08:16.000
23 015 KARPETS, Vladimir RUS GCE 49:32:39.000 00:08:51.000
24 218 SIUTSOU, Kanstantsin BLR BAR 49:32:48.000 00:09:00.000
25 044 HORNER, Christopher USA PRL 49:32:59.000 00:09:11.000
26 204 COBO ACEBO, Juan Jose ESP SDV 49:33:33.000 00:09:45.000
27 153 BELTRAN, Manuel ESP LIQ 49:33:57.000 00:10:09.000
28 174 GARATE, Juan Manuel ESP QSI 49:33:57.000 00:10:09.000
29 113 GUSEV, Vladimir RUS DSC 49:36:08.000 00:12:20.000
30 014 GUTIERREZ, José Ivan ESP GCE 49:37:32.000 00:13:44.000
31 038 VOIGT, Jens GER CSC 49:37:47.000 00:13:59.000
32 052 BOOGERD, Michael NED RAB 49:39:57.000 00:16:09.000
33 141 CHAVANEL, Sylvain FRA COF 49:40:40.000 00:16:52.000
34 093 FOTHEN, Markus GER GST 49:42:46.000 00:18:58.000
35 078 TXURRUKA, Amets ESP EUS 49:42:56.000 00:19:08.000
36 109 LE MEVEL, Christophe FRA C.A 49:46:33.000 00:22:45.000
37 089 VILA ERRANDONEA, Patxi ESP LAM 49:49:47.000 00:25:59.000
38 172 BARREDO, Carlos ESP QSI 49:50:09.000 00:26:21.000
39 114 HINCAPIE, George USA DSC 49:50:09.000 00:26:21.000
40 106 FOFONOV, Dmitriy KAZ C.A 49:51:58.000 00:28:10.000
41 054 DEKKER, Thomas NED RAB 49:52:11.000 00:28:23.000
42 069 TURPIN, Ludovic FRA A2R 49:53:13.000 00:29:25.000
43 177 TANKINK, Bram NED QSI 49:53:46.000 00:29:58.000
44 107 HALGAND, Patrice FRA C.A 49:53:48.000 00:30:00.000
45 103 BOTCHAROV, Alexandre RUS C.A 49:54:29.000 00:30:41.000
46 063 CALZATI, Sylvain FRA A2R 49:54:33.000 00:30:45.000
47 068 GOUBERT, Stephane FRA A2R 49:54:35.000 00:30:47.000
48 037 VANDEVELDE, Christian USA CSC 49:56:34.000 00:32:46.000
49 131 MERCADO, Juan Miguel ESP AGR 49:56:35.000 00:32:47.000
50 193 IGLINSKIY, Maxim KAZ AST 49:56:54.000 00:33:06.000
51 043 CIONI, Dario ITA PRL 49:56:57.000 00:33:09.000
52 179 VASSEUR, Cédric FRA QSI 49:59:53.000 00:36:05.000
Stage 10
Another day of the Tour de France, another shake up. I'm writing this at 9:44AM local time (France) and am just stunned at the flip-flopping of riders, absence of a strong team and a cloudy outcome to the race.
Above all, I'm thrilled. This is how the Tour is supposed to shake out.
Better still, Stage 10 was won by a Frenchman!!
Just after the 73KM mark, there was a breakaway with ten riders in it. They were chasing two other riders and finally caught them at the 81KM mark. Then, the core of this 10-rider group stayed away to the finish.
In the lead group of 11 riders at 81KM were Burghardt (TMO), Voigt (CSC), Flecha (RAB), Bossoni (LAM), Halgand (C.A), Scheirlinckx (COF), Albasini and Kuschynski (LIQ), Casar (FDJ), Vasseur (QSI) and Grivko (MRM).
The group that broke off of this group was made up of Voigt, Casar, Halgand, Vasseur and Albasini.
They stayed away with around 18KM left in the race to give France a win by 3CM - that's right, three centimeters. Vasseur took the stage with the rest of the five riders zipping home right on his wheel.
Here's the top five list for Stage 10.
1. Cedric Vasseur (QSI) 229.5km in 5h20'24" (42.977km/h)
2. Sandy Casar (FDJ)
3. Michael Albasini (LIQ)
4. Patrice Halgand (C.A)
5. Jens Voigt (CSC)
Above all, I'm thrilled. This is how the Tour is supposed to shake out.
Better still, Stage 10 was won by a Frenchman!!
Just after the 73KM mark, there was a breakaway with ten riders in it. They were chasing two other riders and finally caught them at the 81KM mark. Then, the core of this 10-rider group stayed away to the finish.
In the lead group of 11 riders at 81KM were Burghardt (TMO), Voigt (CSC), Flecha (RAB), Bossoni (LAM), Halgand (C.A), Scheirlinckx (COF), Albasini and Kuschynski (LIQ), Casar (FDJ), Vasseur (QSI) and Grivko (MRM).
The group that broke off of this group was made up of Voigt, Casar, Halgand, Vasseur and Albasini.
They stayed away with around 18KM left in the race to give France a win by 3CM - that's right, three centimeters. Vasseur took the stage with the rest of the five riders zipping home right on his wheel.
Here's the top five list for Stage 10.
1. Cedric Vasseur (QSI) 229.5km in 5h20'24" (42.977km/h)
2. Sandy Casar (FDJ)
3. Michael Albasini (LIQ)
4. Patrice Halgand (C.A)
5. Jens Voigt (CSC)
Cycling Jerseys
A reader wrote to me directly and asked about jerseys. She wanted to know how they had the 'right' jersey on hand each day when sometimes the stage winner is totally unexpected. My answer to her...
The organization - Le Tour - has a team of people who make up jerseys for each team of EVERY jersey. They bring them with them for the entire race to each finish and then they have a jersey ready for the podium no matter what the finish.
The excess jerseys are guarded 24-hours by armed guards and are transported in armored vehicle (if I recall this part correctly).
I saw a special on the jerseys a few years back and I was thrilled to find out because I had wondered the same thing.
**The jersey the people put on at the podium is NOT the same jersey they wear in the race. That one is purely for photo ops. It zips up in the back and is worn like a smock. The jersey they wear in the race is their choice of long or short sleeved and is a normal cycling jersey.
Coming up a recap - briefly - of stage 10 and some other Tour rambling.
The organization - Le Tour - has a team of people who make up jerseys for each team of EVERY jersey. They bring them with them for the entire race to each finish and then they have a jersey ready for the podium no matter what the finish.
The excess jerseys are guarded 24-hours by armed guards and are transported in armored vehicle (if I recall this part correctly).
I saw a special on the jerseys a few years back and I was thrilled to find out because I had wondered the same thing.
**The jersey the people put on at the podium is NOT the same jersey they wear in the race. That one is purely for photo ops. It zips up in the back and is worn like a smock. The jersey they wear in the race is their choice of long or short sleeved and is a normal cycling jersey.
Coming up a recap - briefly - of stage 10 and some other Tour rambling.
17 July 2007
Some random placements
Here are a few of my faves and where they are after nine races...
1 058 RASMUSSEN, Michael DEN RAB 43:52:48.000 00:00:00.000
2 018 VALVERDE, Alejandro ESP GCE 43:55:23.000 00:02:35.000
3 207 MAYO, Iban ESP SDV 43:55:27.000 00:02:39.000
4 041 EVANS, Cadel AUS PRL 43:55:29.000 00:02:41.000
5 112 CONTADOR, Alberto ESP DSC 43:55:56.000 00:03:08.000
8 196 KLÖDEN, Andréas GER AST 43:56:38.000 00:03:50.000
9 111 LEIPHEIMER, Levi USA
21 191 VINOKOUROV, Alexandre KAZ
47 037 VANDEVELDE, Christian USA
74 028 MERCKX, Axel BEL
1 058 RASMUSSEN, Michael DEN RAB 43:52:48.000 00:00:00.000
2 018 VALVERDE, Alejandro ESP GCE 43:55:23.000 00:02:35.000
3 207 MAYO, Iban ESP SDV 43:55:27.000 00:02:39.000
4 041 EVANS, Cadel AUS PRL 43:55:29.000 00:02:41.000
5 112 CONTADOR, Alberto ESP DSC 43:55:56.000 00:03:08.000
8 196 KLÖDEN, Andréas GER AST 43:56:38.000 00:03:50.000
9 111 LEIPHEIMER, Levi USA
21 191 VINOKOUROV, Alexandre KAZ
47 037 VANDEVELDE, Christian USA
74 028 MERCKX, Axel BEL
Top 10
The results for the ninth stage:
1. Juan Mauricio Soler (COL) BAR 159.5km in 4h14'24" (37.617km/h)
2. Alejandro Valverde (ESP) GCE - at 38"
3. Cadel Evans (AUS) PRL - at 38"
4. Alberto Contador (ESP) DSC - at 40"
5. Iban Mayo (ESP) SDV - at 42"
6. Michael Rasmussen (DEN) RAB - at 42"
7. Levi Leipheimer (USA) DSC - at 42"
8. Kim Kirchen (LUX) TMO - at 46"
9. Andreas Kloden (GER) AST - at 47"
10. Carlos Sastre (ESP) CSC - at 47"
1. Juan Mauricio Soler (COL) BAR 159.5km in 4h14'24" (37.617km/h)
2. Alejandro Valverde (ESP) GCE - at 38"
3. Cadel Evans (AUS) PRL - at 38"
4. Alberto Contador (ESP) DSC - at 40"
5. Iban Mayo (ESP) SDV - at 42"
6. Michael Rasmussen (DEN) RAB - at 42"
7. Levi Leipheimer (USA) DSC - at 42"
8. Kim Kirchen (LUX) TMO - at 46"
9. Andreas Kloden (GER) AST - at 47"
10. Carlos Sastre (ESP) CSC - at 47"
Dog Crash
One of the odd happenings in Stage 9 was a rider slamming into the side of a dog that was crossing the race course. The rider and dog were both fine.
Stuart O'Grady a Mess
Again, according to Versus' newsflash, Stuart O'Grady, the CSC rider who crashed in stage eight and was taken to hospital in an ambulance, received several visitors yesterday. His brother, Darren, is in France and working as a host for guests of the CSC team during the Tour. He saw Stuart yesterday and said that, despite the injuries, he was in good spirits. "His legs and head are good," said Darren O'Grady, "even if the rest of his body is a mess.
"He has five broken ribs and has had a lot of treatment from the medical staff, but we managed to get a smile from him before we left."
The injuries are enough for most riders to consider ending their season but O'Grady told his brother: "I've got about seven weeks to get better, so I've told the team: sign me up for the Vuelta a Espana! I'm not wasting the good form I've got... a few broken ribs shouldn't slow me down for too long."
"He has five broken ribs and has had a lot of treatment from the medical staff, but we managed to get a smile from him before we left."
The injuries are enough for most riders to consider ending their season but O'Grady told his brother: "I've got about seven weeks to get better, so I've told the team: sign me up for the Vuelta a Espana! I'm not wasting the good form I've got... a few broken ribs shouldn't slow me down for too long."
171 Riders Left
Right from the scribes at Versus (even though they can't keep the show running to the end of a stage)...
The 171 riders remaining in the 2007 Tour de France represent 26 countries.
The breakdown is:
37 – Spain. Eduardo Gonzalo Ramirez (AGR) abandoned during stage one after a crash; Xabier Zandio (GCE) abandoned during stage four because of injuries sustained in a crash in stage one. Oscar Freire (RAB) and Rubens Lobato (SDV) didn’t start stage seven.
32 – France. Remy Di Gregorio (FDJ) didn’t start stage five after fracturing his elbow in a fall early in stage four. Geoffroy Lequartre (COF) didn’t start stage six after being caught up in a crash in stage five. Romain Feillu (AGR) abandoned during stage eight. Cedric Herve (AGR) finished outside the time limit in stage eight.
19 – Germany
16 – Italy. Enrico Degano (BAR) abandoned during stage seven. Danilo Napolitano (LAM) finished outside the time limit in stage eight.
13 – Belgium
7 – The Netherlands
6 – USA and Russia
5 – Switzerland.
4 – Kazakhstan, Great Britain. Mark Cavendish (TMO) abandoned during stage eight.
3 – Austria.
2 – Belarus, Luxembourg, Norway, Ukraine, Australia and Colombia. Brett Lancaster (MRM) abandoned during the fifth stage. Michael Rogers (TMO) abandoned during stage eight after crashing and dislocating his right shoulder. Stuart O’Grady (CSC) abandoned during stage eight after crashing and breaking five ribs, dislocating his AC joint and sustaining numerous other injuries. Robbie McEwen (PRL) finished outside the time limit in stage eight. Ivan Parra (COF) abandoned during stage eight.
1 – South Africa, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden
Lithuania had one reprentative but Toomas Vaitkus didn’t start stage three because of a broken thumb sustained in a crash at the end of stage two.
The 171 riders remaining in the 2007 Tour de France represent 26 countries.
The breakdown is:
37 – Spain. Eduardo Gonzalo Ramirez (AGR) abandoned during stage one after a crash; Xabier Zandio (GCE) abandoned during stage four because of injuries sustained in a crash in stage one. Oscar Freire (RAB) and Rubens Lobato (SDV) didn’t start stage seven.
32 – France. Remy Di Gregorio (FDJ) didn’t start stage five after fracturing his elbow in a fall early in stage four. Geoffroy Lequartre (COF) didn’t start stage six after being caught up in a crash in stage five. Romain Feillu (AGR) abandoned during stage eight. Cedric Herve (AGR) finished outside the time limit in stage eight.
19 – Germany
16 – Italy. Enrico Degano (BAR) abandoned during stage seven. Danilo Napolitano (LAM) finished outside the time limit in stage eight.
13 – Belgium
7 – The Netherlands
6 – USA and Russia
5 – Switzerland.
4 – Kazakhstan, Great Britain. Mark Cavendish (TMO) abandoned during stage eight.
3 – Austria.
2 – Belarus, Luxembourg, Norway, Ukraine, Australia and Colombia. Brett Lancaster (MRM) abandoned during the fifth stage. Michael Rogers (TMO) abandoned during stage eight after crashing and dislocating his right shoulder. Stuart O’Grady (CSC) abandoned during stage eight after crashing and breaking five ribs, dislocating his AC joint and sustaining numerous other injuries. Robbie McEwen (PRL) finished outside the time limit in stage eight. Ivan Parra (COF) abandoned during stage eight.
1 – South Africa, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden
Lithuania had one reprentative but Toomas Vaitkus didn’t start stage three because of a broken thumb sustained in a crash at the end of stage two.
‘hors categorie’
Stage 9 has two ‘hors categorie’ climbs in it.
That means the mountain climb the riders are about to undertake is so hard that the judges cannot even catogorize it. Sort of self-explanatory, but there it is.
By the way, looking at the way things shook out two days ago - a bunch of riders OUT OUT OUT and Rasmussen firmly in command - I think only more riders will be dropped today and that Rasmussen will either cement his place or end up with a position precariously close to sharing the Yellow at the end of the day.
YES, I am writing this without any knowledge of the resutls. Let's see how far off I am...
That means the mountain climb the riders are about to undertake is so hard that the judges cannot even catogorize it. Sort of self-explanatory, but there it is.
By the way, looking at the way things shook out two days ago - a bunch of riders OUT OUT OUT and Rasmussen firmly in command - I think only more riders will be dropped today and that Rasmussen will either cement his place or end up with a position precariously close to sharing the Yellow at the end of the day.
YES, I am writing this without any knowledge of the resutls. Let's see how far off I am...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
