Most of the riders are rolling in the neutral zone right now, but amid all the interviews and excitement after the positive test of Vinikourov, there are about a dozen riders who refuse to start riding.
Standing astride their bikes at the start line of the neutral zone, these riders delayed the race for about 30 seconds to a full minute and then started riding.
I can only surmise that this was in protest to the way in which testing is handled.
If you're not aware, the way I understand drug testing in cycling is that you are guilty until proven innocent; there are precious few 'baseline' tests done (so if someone has a superhuman day like Landis last year - then there's no way to see if that person's hormones are within an acceptable range of THEIR 'normal'); the appeals process is convoluted and fraught with single chances and riders are seldom if ever allowed to present their own tests or science.
That said, I still think cycling has some dirt in it that needs to be cleaned out.
Right now there's a live interview with the director of the race...but Stage 16 is rolling.
And from a pure sports point of view, this stage should decide with finality the winner of the 2007 Tour de France. I believe it will be Rasmussen, Cadel Evans, Contador or Levi Leipheimer. Maybe I shouldn't go so far out on a limb, but race position seldom changes much this far into a Tour.
25 July 2007
24 July 2007
Vinokourov OUT OUT OUT
After testing positive for a banned substance, Vinokourov and the entire Astana team have pulled out of the 2007 Tour de France.
As I wrote in an earlier post, my bet was for Rasmussen to test positive (as he was given a control test the other day), but the first rider to fall this year has been Vinokourov. Darn it.
Not because I was wrong, but because this was turning out to be a great Tour and the finish was not anywhere decided before today's rest day. Well, it's still not decided, but the main team that was putting chink after chink into Rasmussen's armor was Astana.
Now we'll see what shakes out from this development, how the comments come flying in from readers and fans alike, and if the final stage in Paris even occurs!
I worry for the sport and know that it might have to collapse completely to be reborn.
I'll be watching tomorrow's stage 16 to see if teams protest like they did in 1998 or if they go on like nothing happened. I also believe that control tests will be stepped up and UCI will spread the nets wider to collect a lot more riders before this tour ends on July 29.
I spent the day in Brussels talking with beer-drinking Belgians about Tom Boonen and the Tour in general and now I don't know what to feel. Paris might be great in the springtime and super around Tour time, but not if everyone and their brother is doped to the gills.
Pah, tre bien!!!
As I wrote in an earlier post, my bet was for Rasmussen to test positive (as he was given a control test the other day), but the first rider to fall this year has been Vinokourov. Darn it.
Not because I was wrong, but because this was turning out to be a great Tour and the finish was not anywhere decided before today's rest day. Well, it's still not decided, but the main team that was putting chink after chink into Rasmussen's armor was Astana.
Now we'll see what shakes out from this development, how the comments come flying in from readers and fans alike, and if the final stage in Paris even occurs!
I worry for the sport and know that it might have to collapse completely to be reborn.
I'll be watching tomorrow's stage 16 to see if teams protest like they did in 1998 or if they go on like nothing happened. I also believe that control tests will be stepped up and UCI will spread the nets wider to collect a lot more riders before this tour ends on July 29.
I spent the day in Brussels talking with beer-drinking Belgians about Tom Boonen and the Tour in general and now I don't know what to feel. Paris might be great in the springtime and super around Tour time, but not if everyone and their brother is doped to the gills.
Pah, tre bien!!!
23 July 2007
Top 10 in the GC after Stage 15
Here is the list of the top ten in the Tour de France after 15 stages...
1. Michael Rasmussen (DEN) RAB - 2,750.4km in 69h52'14" (39.359km/h)
2. Alberto Contador (ESP) DSC at 2'23"
3. Cadel Evans (AUS) PRL at 4'00"
4. Levi Leipheimer (USA) DSC at 5'25"
5. Andreas Kloden (GER) AST at 5'34"
6. Carlos Sastre (ESP) CSC at 6'46"
7. Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) EUS at 7'27"
8. Andrey Kashechkin (KAZ) AST at 7'54"
9. Kim Kirchen (LUX) TMO at 8'24"
10. Mikel Astarloza (EUS) at 9'21"
and here are the standings all the way back to Big George Hincapie (who, by the way, lead Contador down the descent on the other side of the last climb...cementing the Discovery Team rider's place in second)
11 018 VALVERDE, Alejandro ESP GCE 70:02:55.000 00:10:41.000
12 118 POPOVYCH, Yaroslav UKR DSC 70:04:43.000 00:12:29.000
13 011 PEREIRO SIO, Oscar ESP GCE 70:06:44.000 00:14:30.000
14 219 SOLER HERNANDEZ, Juan Mauricio COL BAR 70:07:14.000 00:15:00.000
15 012 ARROYO, David ESP GCE 70:09:25.000 00:17:11.000
16 015 KARPETS, Vladimir RUS GCE 70:10:41.000 00:18:27.000
17 044 HORNER, Christopher USA PRL 70:11:11.000 00:18:57.000
18 207 MAYO, Iban ESP SDV 70:11:14.000 00:19:00.000
19 052 BOOGERD, Michael NED RAB 70:17:22.000 00:25:08.000
20 153 BELTRAN, Manuel ESP LIQ 70:18:16.000 00:26:02.000
21 051 MENCHOV, Denis RUS RAB 70:18:39.000 00:26:25.000
22 036 SCHLECK, Frank LUX CSC 70:19:00.000 00:26:46.000
23 191 VINOKOUROV, Alexandre KAZ AST 70:20:35.000 00:28:21.000
24 088 VALJAVEC, Tadej SLO LAM 70:21:10.000 00:28:56.000
25 174 GARATE, Juan Manuel ESP QSI 70:25:00.000 00:32:46.000
26 218 SIUTSOU, Kanstantsin BLR BAR 70:25:12.000 00:32:58.000
27 204 COBO ACEBO, Juan Jose ESP SDV 70:27:42.000 00:35:28.000
28 078 TXURRUKA, Amets ESP EUS 70:30:31.000 00:38:17.000
29 014 GUTIERREZ, José Ivan ESP GCE 70:31:39.000 00:39:25.000
30 106 FOFONOV, Dmitriy KAZ C.A 70:32:01.000 00:39:47.000
31 114 HINCAPIE, George USA DSC 70:32:31.000 00:40:17.000
1. Michael Rasmussen (DEN) RAB - 2,750.4km in 69h52'14" (39.359km/h)
2. Alberto Contador (ESP) DSC at 2'23"
3. Cadel Evans (AUS) PRL at 4'00"
4. Levi Leipheimer (USA) DSC at 5'25"
5. Andreas Kloden (GER) AST at 5'34"
6. Carlos Sastre (ESP) CSC at 6'46"
7. Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) EUS at 7'27"
8. Andrey Kashechkin (KAZ) AST at 7'54"
9. Kim Kirchen (LUX) TMO at 8'24"
10. Mikel Astarloza (EUS) at 9'21"
and here are the standings all the way back to Big George Hincapie (who, by the way, lead Contador down the descent on the other side of the last climb...cementing the Discovery Team rider's place in second)
11 018 VALVERDE, Alejandro ESP GCE 70:02:55.000 00:10:41.000
12 118 POPOVYCH, Yaroslav UKR DSC 70:04:43.000 00:12:29.000
13 011 PEREIRO SIO, Oscar ESP GCE 70:06:44.000 00:14:30.000
14 219 SOLER HERNANDEZ, Juan Mauricio COL BAR 70:07:14.000 00:15:00.000
15 012 ARROYO, David ESP GCE 70:09:25.000 00:17:11.000
16 015 KARPETS, Vladimir RUS GCE 70:10:41.000 00:18:27.000
17 044 HORNER, Christopher USA PRL 70:11:11.000 00:18:57.000
18 207 MAYO, Iban ESP SDV 70:11:14.000 00:19:00.000
19 052 BOOGERD, Michael NED RAB 70:17:22.000 00:25:08.000
20 153 BELTRAN, Manuel ESP LIQ 70:18:16.000 00:26:02.000
21 051 MENCHOV, Denis RUS RAB 70:18:39.000 00:26:25.000
22 036 SCHLECK, Frank LUX CSC 70:19:00.000 00:26:46.000
23 191 VINOKOUROV, Alexandre KAZ AST 70:20:35.000 00:28:21.000
24 088 VALJAVEC, Tadej SLO LAM 70:21:10.000 00:28:56.000
25 174 GARATE, Juan Manuel ESP QSI 70:25:00.000 00:32:46.000
26 218 SIUTSOU, Kanstantsin BLR BAR 70:25:12.000 00:32:58.000
27 204 COBO ACEBO, Juan Jose ESP SDV 70:27:42.000 00:35:28.000
28 078 TXURRUKA, Amets ESP EUS 70:30:31.000 00:38:17.000
29 014 GUTIERREZ, José Ivan ESP GCE 70:31:39.000 00:39:25.000
30 106 FOFONOV, Dmitriy KAZ C.A 70:32:01.000 00:39:47.000
31 114 HINCAPIE, George USA DSC 70:32:31.000 00:40:17.000
Vinokourov!!
Not saying he's won the stage yet, but he's been a maniac attacking the lead groups and keeps jumping off the front.
Here's the flash from Versus.com...
Vinokourov began his move 6km from the top of the final climb. He know leads by:
30" - Zubeldia
35" - Cobo
(NOTE: the misspelling in that flash belonges solely to Versus)
Here's the flash from Versus.com...
Vinokourov began his move 6km from the top of the final climb. He know leads by:
30" - Zubeldia
35" - Cobo
(NOTE: the misspelling in that flash belonges solely to Versus)
130KM in, Five Riders Escape
At the 130KM mark (in a stage that is 196KM long, five riders have attacked the other leaders and are 00:00:20 ahead. But the disorganized 20 riders look a little winded and the five riders are putting some distance down quickly.
According to Versus, at the 138KM mark, the peloton had a deficit to the five stage leaders of 8'10". This was the same margin that the bunch was at when it passed the site of the 2nd intermediate sprint (at 127km).
According to Versus, at the 138KM mark, the peloton had a deficit to the five stage leaders of 8'10". This was the same margin that the bunch was at when it passed the site of the 2nd intermediate sprint (at 127km).
Stage 15 - another shake-up?
Who knows what today's stage 15 will bring, but here's a look...
I got up in time to watch the neutral zone roll-out and the early attacks. At one point a group of 25 riders was ahead of the peloton.
At 85KM into the race, the 25 guys in the lead group were more than eight minutes ahead. They were comprised of riders from 17 different teams. Here are the riders...
David Arroyo (ESP) GCE
Kim Kirchen (LUX) TMO
Kurt-Asle Arvesen (NOR) CSC
Christian Vande Velde (USA) CSC
Dens Menchov (RUS) RAB
Ludovic Turpin (FRA) A2R
Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) EUS
Inigo Landaluze (ESP) EUS
Ruben Perez (ESP) EUS
Daniele Bennati (ITA) LAM
Patxi Vila (ESP) LAM
Bernhard Kohl (AUT) GST
Patrice Halgand (FRA) C.A
George Hincapie (USA) DSC
Laurent Lefevre (FRA) BTL
Johann Tschopp (SUI) BTL
Michael Albasini (SUI) LIQ
Benoit Vaugrenard (FRA) FDJ
Juan Manuel Garate (ESP) QSI
Christian Knees (GER) MRM
Alexandre Vinokourov (KAZ) AST
Serguei Ivanov (RUS) AST
Daniel Navarro (ESP) AST
Juan Jose Cobo (ESP) SDV
I got up in time to watch the neutral zone roll-out and the early attacks. At one point a group of 25 riders was ahead of the peloton.
At 85KM into the race, the 25 guys in the lead group were more than eight minutes ahead. They were comprised of riders from 17 different teams. Here are the riders...
David Arroyo (ESP) GCE
Kim Kirchen (LUX) TMO
Kurt-Asle Arvesen (NOR) CSC
Christian Vande Velde (USA) CSC
Dens Menchov (RUS) RAB
Ludovic Turpin (FRA) A2R
Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) EUS
Inigo Landaluze (ESP) EUS
Ruben Perez (ESP) EUS
Daniele Bennati (ITA) LAM
Patxi Vila (ESP) LAM
Bernhard Kohl (AUT) GST
Patrice Halgand (FRA) C.A
George Hincapie (USA) DSC
Laurent Lefevre (FRA) BTL
Johann Tschopp (SUI) BTL
Michael Albasini (SUI) LIQ
Benoit Vaugrenard (FRA) FDJ
Juan Manuel Garate (ESP) QSI
Christian Knees (GER) MRM
Alexandre Vinokourov (KAZ) AST
Serguei Ivanov (RUS) AST
Daniel Navarro (ESP) AST
Juan Jose Cobo (ESP) SDV
22 July 2007
GC after 14 Stages
Rasmussen is still in the lead, Contador is in second. Maybe ANOTHER Discovery Channel Team Tour win? Three in the Top 10.
Here's the rest of the GC's Top 10...
3 041 EVANS, Cadel AUS PRL 64:15:19.000 00:03:04.000
4 111 LEIPHEIMER, Levi USA DSC 64:16:44.000 00:04:29.000
5 196 KLÖDEN, Andréas GER AST 64:16:53.000 00:04:38.000
6 031 SASTRE, Carlos ESP CSC 64:18:05.000 00:05:50.000
7 195 KASHECHKIN, Andrey KAZ AST 64:19:13.000 00:06:58.000
8 073 ASTARLOZA, Mikel ESP EUS 64:20:40.000 00:08:25.000
9 018 VALVERDE, Alejandro ESP GCE 64:22:00.000 00:09:45.000
10 118 POPOVYCH, Yaroslav UKR DSC 64:23:10.000 00:10:55.000
Here's the rest of the GC's Top 10...
3 041 EVANS, Cadel AUS PRL 64:15:19.000 00:03:04.000
4 111 LEIPHEIMER, Levi USA DSC 64:16:44.000 00:04:29.000
5 196 KLÖDEN, Andréas GER AST 64:16:53.000 00:04:38.000
6 031 SASTRE, Carlos ESP CSC 64:18:05.000 00:05:50.000
7 195 KASHECHKIN, Andrey KAZ AST 64:19:13.000 00:06:58.000
8 073 ASTARLOZA, Mikel ESP EUS 64:20:40.000 00:08:25.000
9 018 VALVERDE, Alejandro ESP GCE 64:22:00.000 00:09:45.000
10 118 POPOVYCH, Yaroslav UKR DSC 64:23:10.000 00:10:55.000
Hincapie WAY BACK
George Hincapie, who I thought was doing some serious work at the front of the peloton late in the race, has yet to cross the line and we're 00:04:45 back right now.
Two Discovery Team in the Top Four
Contador wins Stage 14. Levi Leipheimer takes 4th.
Top 10 will be posted shortly...I'm out of breath.
Top 10 will be posted shortly...I'm out of breath.
2KM to go
With two kilometers to go, it's Contador and Rasmussen at the front.
Rasmussen is asking Contador to do the work and he said he would give him the stage win if he worked at the front.
It seems like Contador has agreed to do so and will likely take the stage win. That's just what I surmise.
They're both taking turns with 1.5KM left in the stage.
Leipheimer and Cadel Evans are in pursuing groups and will likely not lose too much time today.
Rasmussen is asking Contador to do the work and he said he would give him the stage win if he worked at the front.
It seems like Contador has agreed to do so and will likely take the stage win. That's just what I surmise.
They're both taking turns with 1.5KM left in the stage.
Leipheimer and Cadel Evans are in pursuing groups and will likely not lose too much time today.
Group of three at the front
Now Contador, Rasmussen and the Colom (from Astagna) are at the front with 3.2KM left to go.
Looks again that Rasmussen is unbeatable.
**Bear in mind that Rasmussen is riding like a superman and he was in a control group for doping the other day. After his test he ran his mouth off about the testing and about doping and about the whole disgrace that drug use brings to the sport. I think he doth protest too much. We'll see what the results bring.
Looks again that Rasmussen is unbeatable.
**Bear in mind that Rasmussen is riding like a superman and he was in a control group for doping the other day. After his test he ran his mouth off about the testing and about doping and about the whole disgrace that drug use brings to the sport. I think he doth protest too much. We'll see what the results bring.
4.4KM left in Stage 14
Contador and Rasmussen are a mere 17 seconds back.
Then there are three chasers.
Then Levi Leipheimer.
Then Kloden.
Then Valverde.
Then the pack...all sucking wind on the side of the mountain.
Then there are three chasers.
Then Levi Leipheimer.
Then Kloden.
Then Valverde.
Then the pack...all sucking wind on the side of the mountain.
Stage 14 - Jeff-flashes
With 5.1KM left in the race, the leader is 34 seconds ahead of Rasmussen, Contador, Leipheimer and four others.
THEN the rest of the pack is scattered all over the mountain.
Contador and Rasmussen are only 28 seconds back now and are trying to bridge the gap. I've lost sight of Leipheimer and am worried he may have dropped off into no-man's land.
More in a second.
THEN the rest of the pack is scattered all over the mountain.
Contador and Rasmussen are only 28 seconds back now and are trying to bridge the gap. I've lost sight of Leipheimer and am worried he may have dropped off into no-man's land.
More in a second.
21 July 2007
How I watched Stage 13
I spent most of today wandering around Paris looking for a memory card reader for a digital camera. Having located one at an electronics store in the Latin Quarter, I strolled down to the side of the Seine and popped into a small bar that had a big LCD HDTV on the wall.
In broken French I asked the bartender about the Tour de France and she replied that she would see if it were on.
IT WAS. The national television station here in France was running today's stage live. So the coverage began early and I got to see the racers in a more romantic and genuine atmosphere.
By the way, for snacks at the bar, they had boiled eggs. I had one just to be polite. Otherwise I would have eaten two.
I also found out that the reason more bars don't have the Tour stages on television is because people who care about the Tour - and she assured me they were legion - were either at the Tour or at home watching on their own television.
I decided to be like a Parisian and rushed home at 4:20PM to watch the final four riders finish.
In broken French I asked the bartender about the Tour de France and she replied that she would see if it were on.
IT WAS. The national television station here in France was running today's stage live. So the coverage began early and I got to see the racers in a more romantic and genuine atmosphere.
By the way, for snacks at the bar, they had boiled eggs. I had one just to be polite. Otherwise I would have eaten two.
I also found out that the reason more bars don't have the Tour stages on television is because people who care about the Tour - and she assured me they were legion - were either at the Tour or at home watching on their own television.
I decided to be like a Parisian and rushed home at 4:20PM to watch the final four riders finish.
SPOILER - TIME TRIAL RESULTS
The leaderboard has been jumbled. Here's how the Top 10 finished today's Stage 13 Time Trial.
The top 10 in stage 13 is:
1. Alexandre Vinokourov (KAZ) AST - 54.0km in 1h06'34"610
2. Cadel Evans (AUS) PRL at 1'14"
3. Andreas Kloden (GER) AST at 1'39"
4. Andrey Kashechkin (KAZ) AST at 1'44"
5. Bradley Wiggins (GBR) COF at 2'14"
6. Yaroslav Popovych (UKR) DSC at 2'16"
7. Alberto Contador (ESP) DSC at 2'18"
8. Sylvain Chavanel (FRA) COF at 2'38"
9. Levi Leipheimer (USA) DSC at 2'39"
10. Mikel Astarloza (ESP) EUS at 2'42"
Rasmussen finished at 00:02:55 which allows him to remain in yellow, but the leaderboard now has a whole host of new names at the top. And other smiling faces have dropped down the board a ways.
Here's the new top 50...
1 058 RASMUSSEN, Michael DEN RAB 58:46:39.000 00:00:00.000
2 041 EVANS, Cadel AUS PRL 58:47:39.000 00:01:00.000
3 112 CONTADOR, Alberto ESP DSC 58:49:10.000 00:02:31.000
4 196 KLÖDEN, Andréas GER AST 58:49:13.000 00:02:34.000
5 111 LEIPHEIMER, Levi USA DSC 58:50:16.000 00:03:37.000
6 195 KASHECHKIN, Andrey KAZ AST 58:51:02.000 00:04:23.000
7 031 SASTRE, Carlos ESP CSC 58:51:24.000 00:04:45.000
8 073 ASTARLOZA, Mikel ESP EUS 58:51:46.000 00:05:07.000
9 191 VINOKOUROV, Alexandre KAZ AST 58:51:49.000 00:05:10.000
10 027 KIRCHEN, Kim LUX TMO 58:52:08.000 00:05:29.000
11 018 VALVERDE, Alejandro ESP GCE 58:52:27.000 00:05:48.000
12 207 MAYO, Iban ESP SDV 58:52:27.000 00:05:48.000
13 025 GERDEMANN, Linus GER TMO 58:53:38.000 00:06:59.000
14 011 PEREIRO SIO, Oscar ESP GCE 58:53:43.000 00:07:04.000
15 118 POPOVYCH, Yaroslav UKR DSC 58:54:16.000 00:07:37.000
16 051 MENCHOV, Denis RUS RAB 58:54:24.000 00:07:45.000
17 036 SCHLECK, Frank LUX CSC 58:54:28.000 00:07:49.000
18 071 ZUBELDIA, Haimar ESP EUS 58:54:57.000 00:08:18.000
19 015 KARPETS, Vladimir RUS GCE 58:55:52.000 00:09:13.000
20 218 SIUTSOU, Kanstantsin BLR BAR 58:57:04.000 00:10:25.000
21 044 HORNER, Christopher USA PRL 58:57:16.000 00:10:37.000
22 219 SOLER HERNANDEZ, Juan Mauricio COL BAR 58:57:29.000 00:10:50.000
23 061 MOREAU, Christophe FRA A2R 58:59:48.000 00:13:09.000
24 204 COBO ACEBO, Juan Jose ESP SDV 59:00:02.000 00:13:23.000
25 088 VALJAVEC, Tadej SLO LAM 59:00:20.000 00:13:41.000
26 174 GARATE, Juan Manuel ESP QSI 59:00:25.000 00:13:46.000
27 012 ARROYO, David ESP GCE 59:01:59.000 00:15:20.000
28 014 GUTIERREZ, José Ivan ESP GCE 59:02:00.000 00:15:21.000
29 153 BELTRAN, Manuel ESP LIQ 59:02:26.000 00:15:47.000
30 113 GUSEV, Vladimir RUS DSC 59:02:29.000 00:15:50.000
31 038 VOIGT, Jens GER CSC 59:06:00.000 00:19:21.000
32 093 FOTHEN, Markus GER GST 59:06:21.000 00:19:42.000
33 141 CHAVANEL, Sylvain FRA COF 59:06:34.000 00:19:55.000
34 052 BOOGERD, Michael NED RAB 59:07:33.000 00:20:54.000
35 114 HINCAPIE, George USA DSC 59:13:50.000 00:27:11.000
36 078 TXURRUKA, Amets ESP EUS 59:14:04.000 00:27:25.000
37 109 LE MEVEL, Christophe FRA C.A 59:14:32.000 00:27:53.000
38 106 FOFONOV, Dmitriy KAZ C.A 59:17:12.000 00:30:33.000
39 172 BARREDO, Carlos ESP QSI 59:18:16.000 00:31:37.000
40 054 DEKKER, Thomas NED RAB 59:19:40.000 00:33:01.000
41 089 VILA ERRANDONEA, Patxi ESP LAM 59:20:11.000 00:33:32.000
42 103 BOTCHAROV, Alexandre RUS C.A 59:22:00.000 00:35:21.000
43 177 TANKINK, Bram NED QSI 59:24:13.000 00:37:34.000
44 068 GOUBERT, Stephane FRA A2R 59:25:23.000 00:38:44.000
45 043 CIONI, Dario ITA PRL 59:25:23.000 00:38:44.000
46 037 VANDEVELDE, Christian USA CSC 59:26:00.000 00:39:21.000
47 193 IGLINSKIY, Maxim KAZ AST 59:26:51.000 00:40:12.000
48 069 TURPIN, Ludovic FRA A2R 59:27:21.000 00:40:42.000
49 107 HALGAND, Patrice FRA C.A 59:29:22.000 00:42:43.000
50 179 VASSEUR, Cédric FRA QSI 59:31:33.000 00:44:54.000
The top 10 in stage 13 is:
1. Alexandre Vinokourov (KAZ) AST - 54.0km in 1h06'34"610
2. Cadel Evans (AUS) PRL at 1'14"
3. Andreas Kloden (GER) AST at 1'39"
4. Andrey Kashechkin (KAZ) AST at 1'44"
5. Bradley Wiggins (GBR) COF at 2'14"
6. Yaroslav Popovych (UKR) DSC at 2'16"
7. Alberto Contador (ESP) DSC at 2'18"
8. Sylvain Chavanel (FRA) COF at 2'38"
9. Levi Leipheimer (USA) DSC at 2'39"
10. Mikel Astarloza (ESP) EUS at 2'42"
Rasmussen finished at 00:02:55 which allows him to remain in yellow, but the leaderboard now has a whole host of new names at the top. And other smiling faces have dropped down the board a ways.
Here's the new top 50...
1 058 RASMUSSEN, Michael DEN RAB 58:46:39.000 00:00:00.000
2 041 EVANS, Cadel AUS PRL 58:47:39.000 00:01:00.000
3 112 CONTADOR, Alberto ESP DSC 58:49:10.000 00:02:31.000
4 196 KLÖDEN, Andréas GER AST 58:49:13.000 00:02:34.000
5 111 LEIPHEIMER, Levi USA DSC 58:50:16.000 00:03:37.000
6 195 KASHECHKIN, Andrey KAZ AST 58:51:02.000 00:04:23.000
7 031 SASTRE, Carlos ESP CSC 58:51:24.000 00:04:45.000
8 073 ASTARLOZA, Mikel ESP EUS 58:51:46.000 00:05:07.000
9 191 VINOKOUROV, Alexandre KAZ AST 58:51:49.000 00:05:10.000
10 027 KIRCHEN, Kim LUX TMO 58:52:08.000 00:05:29.000
11 018 VALVERDE, Alejandro ESP GCE 58:52:27.000 00:05:48.000
12 207 MAYO, Iban ESP SDV 58:52:27.000 00:05:48.000
13 025 GERDEMANN, Linus GER TMO 58:53:38.000 00:06:59.000
14 011 PEREIRO SIO, Oscar ESP GCE 58:53:43.000 00:07:04.000
15 118 POPOVYCH, Yaroslav UKR DSC 58:54:16.000 00:07:37.000
16 051 MENCHOV, Denis RUS RAB 58:54:24.000 00:07:45.000
17 036 SCHLECK, Frank LUX CSC 58:54:28.000 00:07:49.000
18 071 ZUBELDIA, Haimar ESP EUS 58:54:57.000 00:08:18.000
19 015 KARPETS, Vladimir RUS GCE 58:55:52.000 00:09:13.000
20 218 SIUTSOU, Kanstantsin BLR BAR 58:57:04.000 00:10:25.000
21 044 HORNER, Christopher USA PRL 58:57:16.000 00:10:37.000
22 219 SOLER HERNANDEZ, Juan Mauricio COL BAR 58:57:29.000 00:10:50.000
23 061 MOREAU, Christophe FRA A2R 58:59:48.000 00:13:09.000
24 204 COBO ACEBO, Juan Jose ESP SDV 59:00:02.000 00:13:23.000
25 088 VALJAVEC, Tadej SLO LAM 59:00:20.000 00:13:41.000
26 174 GARATE, Juan Manuel ESP QSI 59:00:25.000 00:13:46.000
27 012 ARROYO, David ESP GCE 59:01:59.000 00:15:20.000
28 014 GUTIERREZ, José Ivan ESP GCE 59:02:00.000 00:15:21.000
29 153 BELTRAN, Manuel ESP LIQ 59:02:26.000 00:15:47.000
30 113 GUSEV, Vladimir RUS DSC 59:02:29.000 00:15:50.000
31 038 VOIGT, Jens GER CSC 59:06:00.000 00:19:21.000
32 093 FOTHEN, Markus GER GST 59:06:21.000 00:19:42.000
33 141 CHAVANEL, Sylvain FRA COF 59:06:34.000 00:19:55.000
34 052 BOOGERD, Michael NED RAB 59:07:33.000 00:20:54.000
35 114 HINCAPIE, George USA DSC 59:13:50.000 00:27:11.000
36 078 TXURRUKA, Amets ESP EUS 59:14:04.000 00:27:25.000
37 109 LE MEVEL, Christophe FRA C.A 59:14:32.000 00:27:53.000
38 106 FOFONOV, Dmitriy KAZ C.A 59:17:12.000 00:30:33.000
39 172 BARREDO, Carlos ESP QSI 59:18:16.000 00:31:37.000
40 054 DEKKER, Thomas NED RAB 59:19:40.000 00:33:01.000
41 089 VILA ERRANDONEA, Patxi ESP LAM 59:20:11.000 00:33:32.000
42 103 BOTCHAROV, Alexandre RUS C.A 59:22:00.000 00:35:21.000
43 177 TANKINK, Bram NED QSI 59:24:13.000 00:37:34.000
44 068 GOUBERT, Stephane FRA A2R 59:25:23.000 00:38:44.000
45 043 CIONI, Dario ITA PRL 59:25:23.000 00:38:44.000
46 037 VANDEVELDE, Christian USA CSC 59:26:00.000 00:39:21.000
47 193 IGLINSKIY, Maxim KAZ AST 59:26:51.000 00:40:12.000
48 069 TURPIN, Ludovic FRA A2R 59:27:21.000 00:40:42.000
49 107 HALGAND, Patrice FRA C.A 59:29:22.000 00:42:43.000
50 179 VASSEUR, Cédric FRA QSI 59:31:33.000 00:44:54.000
20 July 2007
Time (trial) to start focusing on Top Ten!!
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.
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.
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...
Tour de Jeff
Holy cow. Today (and I use that term loosely) I have been in a car, on a boat, in a plane, on a train, in the Metro and finally in my bed in my Paris apartment.
I missed all of the Eurosport coverage of the Tour de France today so I'll give you a recap of my activities. By the way, I will look on various other sites to find out the news of the day and add those to a few upcoming posts.
Here's a list of the events, beginning at 3:50PM on Monday, July 16...
Finish packing
Hop in Limo
Wait 20 minutes for boat
Boat to Logan Airport
Wait for plane
Plane to Heathrow
Tube to Waterloo Station
FOUR hours early for the Eurostar
Check bags with some bag checking firm
Wander around London
Dine on sausages, ham, beans, toast and tea
Get tea to go and then wander back down the Thames
Get back to Eurostar with 100 minutes to go
Had a French beer
Played a slot machine
Retrieved our bags
Got in the queue at the Eurostar
Waited 45 minutes
Hopped on the train
Moved our seats
Then got booted from our new seats by 14-year-old French kids
Got off in Paris
Took the Metro to Republique
Walked to the apartment
Got the walk-through
Paid the money and the deposit
Went food shopping
Bought paper towels instead of toilet paper because I don't know French
Went out to eat
Saw the edge of Notre Dame
Came back to the room - The Tour is still not on Eurosport
Wrote this post
How's that?
I missed all of the Eurosport coverage of the Tour de France today so I'll give you a recap of my activities. By the way, I will look on various other sites to find out the news of the day and add those to a few upcoming posts.
Here's a list of the events, beginning at 3:50PM on Monday, July 16...
Finish packing
Hop in Limo
Wait 20 minutes for boat
Boat to Logan Airport
Wait for plane
Plane to Heathrow
Tube to Waterloo Station
FOUR hours early for the Eurostar
Check bags with some bag checking firm
Wander around London
Dine on sausages, ham, beans, toast and tea
Get tea to go and then wander back down the Thames
Get back to Eurostar with 100 minutes to go
Had a French beer
Played a slot machine
Retrieved our bags
Got in the queue at the Eurostar
Waited 45 minutes
Hopped on the train
Moved our seats
Then got booted from our new seats by 14-year-old French kids
Got off in Paris
Took the Metro to Republique
Walked to the apartment
Got the walk-through
Paid the money and the deposit
Went food shopping
Bought paper towels instead of toilet paper because I don't know French
Went out to eat
Saw the edge of Notre Dame
Came back to the room - The Tour is still not on Eurosport
Wrote this post
How's that?
15 July 2007
SPOILER - TOP 45 OVERALL
Tomorrow is a rest day. I'll use it to complain about Versus and to cross my fingers for George and Levi.
I'll also be hopping on a plane to Paris so the next posts you read will probably go up online at 8 or 9PM Paris time.
Enjoy Stage 9 without my yammering. I will comment on the results of that stage but probably won't do play by play.
Here are the top 45 as promised. *The last place rider is at 01:17:14. David Zabriskie is second to last at 01:14:40 back. Yikes.
1 058 RASMUSSEN, Michael DEN RAB 39:37:42.000 00:00:00.000
2 025 GERDEMANN, Linus GER TMO 39:38:25.000 00:00:43.000
3 207 MAYO, Iban ESP SDV 39:40:21.000 00:02:39.000
4 018 VALVERDE, Alejandro ESP GCE 39:40:33.000 00:02:51.000
5 195 KASHECHKIN, Andrey KAZ AST 39:40:34.000 00:02:52.000
6 041 EVANS, Cadel AUS PRL 39:40:35.000 00:02:53.000
7 061 MOREAU, Christophe FRA A2R 39:40:48.000 00:03:06.000
8 112 CONTADOR, Alberto ESP DSC 39:40:52.000 00:03:10.000
9 036 SCHLECK, Frank LUX CSC 39:40:56.000 00:03:14.000
10 051 MENCHOV, Denis RUS RAB 39:41:01.000 00:03:19.000
11 031 SASTRE, Carlos ESP CSC 39:41:17.000 00:03:35.000
12 196 KLÖDEN, Andréas GER AST 39:41:28.000 00:03:46.000
13 111 LEIPHEIMER, Levi USA DSC 39:41:35.000 00:03:53.000
14 011 PEREIRO SIO, Oscar ESP GCE 39:41:36.000 00:03:54.000
15 071 ZUBELDIA, Haimar ESP EUS 39:41:42.000 00:04:00.000
16 153 BELTRAN, Manuel ESP LIQ 39:42:01.000 00:04:19.000
17 174 GARATE, Juan Manuel ESP QSI 39:42:04.000 00:04:22.000
18 012 ARROYO, David ESP GCE 39:42:33.000 00:04:51.000
19 027 KIRCHEN, Kim LUX TMO 39:42:44.000 00:05:02.000
20 088 VALJAVEC, Tadej SLO LAM 39:42:45.000 00:05:03.000
21 073 ASTARLOZA, Mikel ESP EUS 39:42:56.000 00:05:14.000
22 191 VINOKOUROV, Alexandre KAZ AST 39:43:05.000 00:05:23.000
23 015 KARPETS, Vladimir RUS GCE 39:43:51.000 00:06:09.000
24 218 SIUTSOU, Kanstantsin BLR BAR 39:44:00.000 00:06:18.000
25 044 HORNER, Christopher USA PRL 39:44:11.000 00:06:29.000
26 052 BOOGERD, Michael NED RAB 39:44:20.000 00:06:38.000
27 219 SOLER HERNANDEZ, Juan Mauricio COL BAR 39:45:13.000 00:07:31.000
28 118 POPOVYCH, Yaroslav UKR DSC 39:45:14.000 00:07:32.000
29 103 BOTCHAROV, Alexandre RUS C.A 39:46:15.000 00:08:33.000
30 204 COBO ACEBO, Juan Jose ESP SDV 39:46:33.000 00:08:51.000
31 113 GUSEV, Vladimir RUS DSC 39:47:05.000 00:09:23.000
32 093 FOTHEN, Markus GER GST 39:47:34.000 00:09:52.000
33 141 CHAVANEL, Sylvain FRA COF 39:48:32.000 00:10:50.000
34 014 GUTIERREZ, José Ivan ESP GCE 39:50:25.000 00:12:43.000
35 177 TANKINK, Bram NED QSI 39:50:48.000 00:13:06.000
36 078 TXURRUKA, Amets ESP EUS 39:51:03.000 00:13:21.000
37 038 VOIGT, Jens GER CSC 39:52:50.000 00:15:08.000
38 098 WEGMANN, Fabian GER GST 39:53:06.000 00:15:24.000
39 109 LE MEVEL, Christophe FRA C.A 39:53:53.000 00:16:11.000
40 076 LANDALUZE, Inigo ESP EUS 39:54:01.000 00:16:19.000
41 185 KNEES, Christian GER MRM 39:55:24.000 00:17:42.000
42 054 DEKKER, Thomas NED RAB 39:56:34.000 00:18:52.000
43 172 BARREDO, Carlos ESP QSI 39:56:46.000 00:19:04.000
44 089 VILA ERRANDONEA, Patxi ESP LAM 39:57:39.000 00:19:57.000
45 114 HINCAPIE, George USA DSC 39:58:01.000 00:20:19.000
I'll also be hopping on a plane to Paris so the next posts you read will probably go up online at 8 or 9PM Paris time.
Enjoy Stage 9 without my yammering. I will comment on the results of that stage but probably won't do play by play.
Here are the top 45 as promised. *The last place rider is at 01:17:14. David Zabriskie is second to last at 01:14:40 back. Yikes.
1 058 RASMUSSEN, Michael DEN RAB 39:37:42.000 00:00:00.000
2 025 GERDEMANN, Linus GER TMO 39:38:25.000 00:00:43.000
3 207 MAYO, Iban ESP SDV 39:40:21.000 00:02:39.000
4 018 VALVERDE, Alejandro ESP GCE 39:40:33.000 00:02:51.000
5 195 KASHECHKIN, Andrey KAZ AST 39:40:34.000 00:02:52.000
6 041 EVANS, Cadel AUS PRL 39:40:35.000 00:02:53.000
7 061 MOREAU, Christophe FRA A2R 39:40:48.000 00:03:06.000
8 112 CONTADOR, Alberto ESP DSC 39:40:52.000 00:03:10.000
9 036 SCHLECK, Frank LUX CSC 39:40:56.000 00:03:14.000
10 051 MENCHOV, Denis RUS RAB 39:41:01.000 00:03:19.000
11 031 SASTRE, Carlos ESP CSC 39:41:17.000 00:03:35.000
12 196 KLÖDEN, Andréas GER AST 39:41:28.000 00:03:46.000
13 111 LEIPHEIMER, Levi USA DSC 39:41:35.000 00:03:53.000
14 011 PEREIRO SIO, Oscar ESP GCE 39:41:36.000 00:03:54.000
15 071 ZUBELDIA, Haimar ESP EUS 39:41:42.000 00:04:00.000
16 153 BELTRAN, Manuel ESP LIQ 39:42:01.000 00:04:19.000
17 174 GARATE, Juan Manuel ESP QSI 39:42:04.000 00:04:22.000
18 012 ARROYO, David ESP GCE 39:42:33.000 00:04:51.000
19 027 KIRCHEN, Kim LUX TMO 39:42:44.000 00:05:02.000
20 088 VALJAVEC, Tadej SLO LAM 39:42:45.000 00:05:03.000
21 073 ASTARLOZA, Mikel ESP EUS 39:42:56.000 00:05:14.000
22 191 VINOKOUROV, Alexandre KAZ AST 39:43:05.000 00:05:23.000
23 015 KARPETS, Vladimir RUS GCE 39:43:51.000 00:06:09.000
24 218 SIUTSOU, Kanstantsin BLR BAR 39:44:00.000 00:06:18.000
25 044 HORNER, Christopher USA PRL 39:44:11.000 00:06:29.000
26 052 BOOGERD, Michael NED RAB 39:44:20.000 00:06:38.000
27 219 SOLER HERNANDEZ, Juan Mauricio COL BAR 39:45:13.000 00:07:31.000
28 118 POPOVYCH, Yaroslav UKR DSC 39:45:14.000 00:07:32.000
29 103 BOTCHAROV, Alexandre RUS C.A 39:46:15.000 00:08:33.000
30 204 COBO ACEBO, Juan Jose ESP SDV 39:46:33.000 00:08:51.000
31 113 GUSEV, Vladimir RUS DSC 39:47:05.000 00:09:23.000
32 093 FOTHEN, Markus GER GST 39:47:34.000 00:09:52.000
33 141 CHAVANEL, Sylvain FRA COF 39:48:32.000 00:10:50.000
34 014 GUTIERREZ, José Ivan ESP GCE 39:50:25.000 00:12:43.000
35 177 TANKINK, Bram NED QSI 39:50:48.000 00:13:06.000
36 078 TXURRUKA, Amets ESP EUS 39:51:03.000 00:13:21.000
37 038 VOIGT, Jens GER CSC 39:52:50.000 00:15:08.000
38 098 WEGMANN, Fabian GER GST 39:53:06.000 00:15:24.000
39 109 LE MEVEL, Christophe FRA C.A 39:53:53.000 00:16:11.000
40 076 LANDALUZE, Inigo ESP EUS 39:54:01.000 00:16:19.000
41 185 KNEES, Christian GER MRM 39:55:24.000 00:17:42.000
42 054 DEKKER, Thomas NED RAB 39:56:34.000 00:18:52.000
43 172 BARREDO, Carlos ESP QSI 39:56:46.000 00:19:04.000
44 089 VILA ERRANDONEA, Patxi ESP LAM 39:57:39.000 00:19:57.000
45 114 HINCAPIE, George USA DSC 39:58:01.000 00:20:19.000
SPOILER - TOP 10 in Stage 8
The top 10 in stage eight are:
1. Michael Rasmussen (DEN) RAB - 165km in 4h49'40" (34.177km/h)
2. Iban Mayo (ESP) SDV - at 2'47"
3. Alejandro Valverde (ESP) GCE - at 3'12"
4. Christophe Moreau (DEN) RAB - at 3'12"
5. Frank Schleck (LUX) CSC - at 3'12"
6. Cadel Evans (AUS) PRL - at 3'12"
7. Andrey Kashechkin (KAZ) AST - at 3'12"
8. Alberto Contador (ESP) DSC - at 3'31"
9. Denis Menchov (RUS) RAB - at 3'35"
10. Carlos Sastre (ESP) CSC - at3'35"
1. Michael Rasmussen (DEN) RAB - 165km in 4h49'40" (34.177km/h)
2. Iban Mayo (ESP) SDV - at 2'47"
3. Alejandro Valverde (ESP) GCE - at 3'12"
4. Christophe Moreau (DEN) RAB - at 3'12"
5. Frank Schleck (LUX) CSC - at 3'12"
6. Cadel Evans (AUS) PRL - at 3'12"
7. Andrey Kashechkin (KAZ) AST - at 3'12"
8. Alberto Contador (ESP) DSC - at 3'31"
9. Denis Menchov (RUS) RAB - at 3'35"
10. Carlos Sastre (ESP) CSC - at3'35"
Like I said, Versus blew it
Their morning broadcast of Stage 8 went off the air with 5.1KM to go.
ARGHHHHH!
ARGHHHHH!
Versus VERSUS Eurosport
If it kills me, I'm gonna scrap Versus television and set myself up with Eurosport. I cannot explain the full level of my frustration with Versus programming plan. I'm currently Tivo-ing through the morning broadcast and it looks again - FOR THE FOURTH TIME - that the broadcast is going to end without showing viewers the end of the stage.
Who's the idiot who purchased air time for the Tour? With 12.4KM to go, there are only 18 minutes left in the program. Why couldn't they be smart and do what the major networks do for NFL Football and other sports...add a half hour at the end so you NEVER miss the finish in the live broadcast.
IDIOTS. Now I'm gonna have to read the newsflashes and other news sites to see how Stage 8 ends.
I'll be back shortly with more about this stage.
FUMING!!!!
**Phil Ligget just mentioned that he'd "love to show you pictures of Rasmussen" but he can't because Versus hasn't sent enough staff to the Tour de France.
OK. This is a full-on rant. The thing that really burns me is that I spoke with Versus in December and January about heading over to France and helping them out with staffing and whatever they needed. BAH!
Who's the idiot who purchased air time for the Tour? With 12.4KM to go, there are only 18 minutes left in the program. Why couldn't they be smart and do what the major networks do for NFL Football and other sports...add a half hour at the end so you NEVER miss the finish in the live broadcast.
IDIOTS. Now I'm gonna have to read the newsflashes and other news sites to see how Stage 8 ends.
I'll be back shortly with more about this stage.
FUMING!!!!
**Phil Ligget just mentioned that he'd "love to show you pictures of Rasmussen" but he can't because Versus hasn't sent enough staff to the Tour de France.
OK. This is a full-on rant. The thing that really burns me is that I spoke with Versus in December and January about heading over to France and helping them out with staffing and whatever they needed. BAH!
Attrition
In a stage like this, you're going to see a lot of sprinters and other non-climbers drop off the back and sometimes even drop out of the race.
In no other sport do you have teams that lose players and are unable to add them back. If you lose a soccer player to injury, you can add one in his stead. If you have to pull out a fielder in baseball, you can substitute another player.
But in cycling, the teams are whittled down from a start count of nine riders. It's pretty severe.
By the way, at today's start of Stage 8, no team had lost more than one rider. When we see the figures later tonight and tomorrow morning, this WILL NOT be the case. Team CSC has had some bad luck as have a few other teams.
I would guess that many teams are down to 7 riders after all the dust settles.
In no other sport do you have teams that lose players and are unable to add them back. If you lose a soccer player to injury, you can add one in his stead. If you have to pull out a fielder in baseball, you can substitute another player.
But in cycling, the teams are whittled down from a start count of nine riders. It's pretty severe.
By the way, at today's start of Stage 8, no team had lost more than one rider. When we see the figures later tonight and tomorrow morning, this WILL NOT be the case. Team CSC has had some bad luck as have a few other teams.
I would guess that many teams are down to 7 riders after all the dust settles.
ROGERS OUT!!
After his crash and subsequent injuries, Michael Rogers has had to abandon with only about 29KM to go.
Bummer.
Bummer.
SPOILER - Rogers, Rasmussen and Hincapie
Rasmussen is up the road at 00:04:30 with only one rider with him. The second group is about a minute and a half back.
Michael Rogers was leading the Tour on the road and then slammed into a road barrier and injured his wrist (this is what I have assumed from the video at this point - it could be something totally different when we get the final news tonight).
Hincapie is in the chasing group and looks really good.
33.9KM to go.
Michael Rogers was leading the Tour on the road and then slammed into a road barrier and injured his wrist (this is what I have assumed from the video at this point - it could be something totally different when we get the final news tonight).
Hincapie is in the chasing group and looks really good.
33.9KM to go.
An amazing stage
I'm still watching the broadcast of Stage 8 and they've got about 37KM to go and it's a ride that's being controlled by Rasmussen. One large climb left - Montee d'Haughterville - and Rasmussen is 00:04:16 ahead.
Sorry for today's delay in posting - got caught up in packing and finishing work for Grampys while watching the greatest show on two wheels.
Rest day tomorrow. Hooray - we can recap on all our info and see what the next 10 days will bring before we get toward the final few stages of the Tour de France.
Sorry for today's delay in posting - got caught up in packing and finishing work for Grampys while watching the greatest show on two wheels.
Rest day tomorrow. Hooray - we can recap on all our info and see what the next 10 days will bring before we get toward the final few stages of the Tour de France.
Other resources
As I've mentioned since last Friday (no, not the 13th, Friday the 6th - the night before the prologue of the Tour), there are many places to get information about the Tour de France.
I've mentioned Steephill and Versus, but here's a site I just found because of a google report. The site offers easy-to-digest bits of cycling news...and it's not all focused on the Tour, so you can read it to find out what bike stuff is happening all over the place.
Enjoy. The name of the site is Cyclelicio.us - pretty cool URL.
I've mentioned Steephill and Versus, but here's a site I just found because of a google report. The site offers easy-to-digest bits of cycling news...and it's not all focused on the Tour, so you can read it to find out what bike stuff is happening all over the place.
Enjoy. The name of the site is Cyclelicio.us - pretty cool URL.
14 July 2007
Field has been shattered
Peloton of favorties shows up at the finish of Stage 7 almost four minutes back.
In a post-ride interview, Levi Leipheimer said that today went as expected and "Tomorrow's a hard day."
Stage 8 comes up in less than 24 hours.
Gerdemann is in the lead by 00:01:24.
Kloden is back 00:03:39.
Leipheimer is back 00:04:06
Hincapie is back (after being dropped on the final climb) 00:07:15
WOW.
In a post-ride interview, Levi Leipheimer said that today went as expected and "Tomorrow's a hard day."
Stage 8 comes up in less than 24 hours.
Gerdemann is in the lead by 00:01:24.
Kloden is back 00:03:39.
Leipheimer is back 00:04:06
Hincapie is back (after being dropped on the final climb) 00:07:15
WOW.
SPOILER
LINUS Gerdemann wins!!
Takes Stage 7 in a commanding way and takes over YELLOW! The first change of the Yellow Jersey in the 2007 Tour de France.
Gerdemann rides for T-Mobile. More to come later.
Takes Stage 7 in a commanding way and takes over YELLOW! The first change of the Yellow Jersey in the 2007 Tour de France.
Gerdemann rides for T-Mobile. More to come later.
180 Riders Left in the Tour
I know the theme today has been riders remaining. But Stage 7 will certainly shake out the pack and I bet that no fewer than three more riders will abandon by the end of today.
Here's the overnight info from Versus (minus the abandon/non-abandon and re-abandon of Enrico Degano).
26 Nations Represented In 94th Tour
The 180 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.
34 – 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.
19 – Germany
17 – Italy. Enrico Degano (BAR) abandoned during stage seven.
13 – Belgium
7 – The Netherlands
6 – USA and Russia
5 – Great Britain, Switzerland and Australia. Brett Lancaster (MRM) abandoned during the fifth stage.
4 – Kazakhstan
3 – Austria and Colombia
2 – Belarus, Luxembourg, Norway and Ukraine
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.
Here's the overnight info from Versus (minus the abandon/non-abandon and re-abandon of Enrico Degano).
26 Nations Represented In 94th Tour
The 180 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.
34 – 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.
19 – Germany
17 – Italy. Enrico Degano (BAR) abandoned during stage seven.
13 – Belgium
7 – The Netherlands
6 – USA and Russia
5 – Great Britain, Switzerland and Australia. Brett Lancaster (MRM) abandoned during the fifth stage.
4 – Kazakhstan
3 – Austria and Colombia
2 – Belarus, Luxembourg, Norway and Ukraine
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.
AND Now for some news
About an hour into the race, Enrico Degano has abandoned the 2007 Tour de France. I confirmed this with a number of sources just to be sure.
ERROR
Here's the apology from Versus Network. They rushed to report that a rider had abandoned yesterday, but they were wrong. Seems to me that the event is televised on Eurosport too, so couldn't they just look at the tape and see if a rider gets into a team car or an ambulance? I shake my head at shoddy reporting.
Correction: Enrico Degano Still In The Race
One of the Barloworld riders, Enrico Degano crashed in the feedzone of the sixth stage. It was announced during the live coverage on LeTour.fr (and in the stage summary) that the Italian sprinter – who currently holds the position of ‘Lanterne Rouge’ in the 2007 Tour de France – had, in fact, abandoned the race. This is incorrect and we offer our sincere apologies for any confusion caused by this error.
His team manager, Claudio Corti was contacted this morning by LeTour.fr and he explained that Degano did sustain some injuries in the crash but he still found the energy to finished 16th in the stage to Bourg-en-Bresse. “It will be difficult for him in the mountains today,” said Corti, “but hopefully we’ll have other riders who can perform in the mountains like the Colombians Felix Cardenas and Juan Soler.”
Once again, apologies for the error in yesterday’s report and best wishes to Mr Degano today.
Correction: Enrico Degano Still In The Race
One of the Barloworld riders, Enrico Degano crashed in the feedzone of the sixth stage. It was announced during the live coverage on LeTour.fr (and in the stage summary) that the Italian sprinter – who currently holds the position of ‘Lanterne Rouge’ in the 2007 Tour de France – had, in fact, abandoned the race. This is incorrect and we offer our sincere apologies for any confusion caused by this error.
His team manager, Claudio Corti was contacted this morning by LeTour.fr and he explained that Degano did sustain some injuries in the crash but he still found the energy to finished 16th in the stage to Bourg-en-Bresse. “It will be difficult for him in the mountains today,” said Corti, “but hopefully we’ll have other riders who can perform in the mountains like the Colombians Felix Cardenas and Juan Soler.”
Once again, apologies for the error in yesterday’s report and best wishes to Mr Degano today.
Stage 7
The photos below are from Stage 7 of the Tour de France with about 60KM left to ride.
I mention that because some readers (Tim McGuire for instance) are out in California and are probably still in bed as I write this. And he's certainly still in bed when the Tour begins each day.
Dear Tim - and others who don't want spoilers: Going forward each post will have SPOILER in the title if it gives away a 'critical' part of that stage's info. That would include the stage winner, an abandonment of someone notable, and a clear change of leadership in Yellow.
Keep reading and be assured that we've got your best interests at heart.
I mention that because some readers (Tim McGuire for instance) are out in California and are probably still in bed as I write this. And he's certainly still in bed when the Tour begins each day.
Dear Tim - and others who don't want spoilers: Going forward each post will have SPOILER in the title if it gives away a 'critical' part of that stage's info. That would include the stage winner, an abandonment of someone notable, and a clear change of leadership in Yellow.
Keep reading and be assured that we've got your best interests at heart.
13 July 2007
Top 25 Riders After 6 Stages
Here are the top 25 riders in the 2007 Tour de France, through six stages.
CANCELLARA, Fabian
KLÖDEN, Andréas
POZZATO, Filippo
MILLAR, David
FREIRE, Oscar
HINCAPIE, George
GUSEV, Vladimir
KARPETS, Vladimir
ZABEL, Erik
ASTARLOZA, Mikel
DEKKER, Thomas
VAUGRENARD, Benoît
GUTIERREZ, José Ivan
CONTADOR, Alberto
KASHECHKIN, Andrey
EVANS, Cadel
PEREZ, Ruben
ROGERS, Michael
PEREIRO SIO, Oscar
GERDEMANN, Linus
FLECHA, Juan Antonio
LEIPHEIMER, Levi
MENCHOV, Denis
FOTHEN, Markus
VALVERDE, Alejandro
WOWSA, Cadel Evans has snuck quietly into the mix at 16th overall. Hincapie is still in there and Levi Leipheimer is sitting nicely at 22nd.
Poor Wiggins is now nine minutes and four seconds back of the leader and the last-place rider is a full 25 minutes and 19 seconds back.
Happy Bastille Day tomorrow.
CANCELLARA, Fabian
KLÖDEN, Andréas
POZZATO, Filippo
MILLAR, David
FREIRE, Oscar
HINCAPIE, George
GUSEV, Vladimir
KARPETS, Vladimir
ZABEL, Erik
ASTARLOZA, Mikel
DEKKER, Thomas
VAUGRENARD, Benoît
GUTIERREZ, José Ivan
CONTADOR, Alberto
KASHECHKIN, Andrey
EVANS, Cadel
PEREZ, Ruben
ROGERS, Michael
PEREIRO SIO, Oscar
GERDEMANN, Linus
FLECHA, Juan Antonio
LEIPHEIMER, Levi
MENCHOV, Denis
FOTHEN, Markus
VALVERDE, Alejandro
WOWSA, Cadel Evans has snuck quietly into the mix at 16th overall. Hincapie is still in there and Levi Leipheimer is sitting nicely at 22nd.
Poor Wiggins is now nine minutes and four seconds back of the leader and the last-place rider is a full 25 minutes and 19 seconds back.
Happy Bastille Day tomorrow.
Results of Stage 6
The top 10 finishers for the 6th stage of the 2007 Tour de France are...
1. Tom Boonen
2. Oscar Freire
3. Erik Zabel
4. Sebastian Chavanel
5. Thor Hushovd
6. Daniele Bennati
7. Robert Forster
8. Robert Hunter
9. Romain Feillu
10. Murilo Fischer
Overall standings coming up.
By the way, Wiggins, who jumped off the front at the 2KM mark stayed away until there were just 7KM left in the race. Looking now to see where he finished as he got dropped off the back of the peloton with a mere 5KM to go in the stage.
1. Tom Boonen
2. Oscar Freire
3. Erik Zabel
4. Sebastian Chavanel
5. Thor Hushovd
6. Daniele Bennati
7. Robert Forster
8. Robert Hunter
9. Romain Feillu
10. Murilo Fischer
Overall standings coming up.
By the way, Wiggins, who jumped off the front at the 2KM mark stayed away until there were just 7KM left in the race. Looking now to see where he finished as he got dropped off the back of the peloton with a mere 5KM to go in the stage.
HUGE Escape
The Wiggins escape has now reached 15 minutes at the 50KM mark.
There are 199.5KM in today's stage 6.
According to Versus Television, Wiggins is currently 15'40" ahead of the peloton.
There are 199.5KM in today's stage 6.
According to Versus Television, Wiggins is currently 15'40" ahead of the peloton.
Only 183 Riders remaining
Here's the newsflash from Versus...
The 183 riders remaining in the 2007 Tour de France represent 26 countries.
The breakdown is:
39 – Spain. Eduardo Gonzalo Ramirez (AGR) abandoned during stage one after a crash; Xabier Zandio abandoned during stage four because of injuries sustained in a crash in stage one.
34 – 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.
19 – Germany
18 – Italy
13 – Belgium
7 – The Netherlands
6 – USA and Russia
5 – Great Britain, Switzerland and Australia. Brett Lancaster (MRM) abandoned during the fifth stage.
4 – Kazakhstan
3 – Austria and Colombia
2 – Belarus, Luxembourg, Norway and Ukraine
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 183 riders remaining in the 2007 Tour de France represent 26 countries.
The breakdown is:
39 – Spain. Eduardo Gonzalo Ramirez (AGR) abandoned during stage one after a crash; Xabier Zandio abandoned during stage four because of injuries sustained in a crash in stage one.
34 – 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.
19 – Germany
18 – Italy
13 – Belgium
7 – The Netherlands
6 – USA and Russia
5 – Great Britain, Switzerland and Australia. Brett Lancaster (MRM) abandoned during the fifth stage.
4 – Kazakhstan
3 – Austria and Colombia
2 – Belarus, Luxembourg, Norway and Ukraine
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.
Stage 6 Underway
Erik Zabel is in Green and Stage 6 of the 2007 Tour de France is underway.
An early attack by Wiggins, nice weather and the glory of the French countryside. Sweet!
An early attack by Wiggins, nice weather and the glory of the French countryside. Sweet!
12 July 2007
COMPLETE standings of the Tour de France
Here is the whole group, all 184 riders, listed in their current position after Stage 5. You will notice, that the time gaps are starting to rise. The amount of time from first to worst is now 48 minutes and change.
This will continue to rise as more people crash, more climbs appear, and more time passes.
Cancellara still wears YELLOW.
1 033 CANCELLARA, Fabian SUI CSC 24:28:56.000 00:00:00.000
2 196 KLÖDEN, Andréas GER AST 24:29:29.000 00:00:33.000
3 151 POZZATO, Filippo ITA LIQ 24:29:31.000 00:00:35.000
4 201 MILLAR, David GBR SDV 24:29:37.000 00:00:41.000
5 114 HINCAPIE, George USA DSC 24:29:39.000 00:00:43.000
6 113 GUSEV, Vladimir RUS DSC 24:29:41.000 00:00:45.000
7 015 KARPETS, Vladimir RUS GCE 24:29:42.000 00:00:46.000
8 073 ASTARLOZA, Mikel ESP EUS 24:29:45.000 00:00:49.000
9 054 DEKKER, Thomas NED RAB 24:29:47.000 00:00:51.000
10 169 VAUGRENARD, Benoît FRA FDJ 24:29:48.000 00:00:52.000
11 014 GUTIERREZ, José Ivan ESP GCE 24:29:49.000 00:00:53.000
12 112 CONTADOR, Alberto ESP DSC 24:29:51.000 00:00:55.000
13 056 FREIRE, Oscar ESP RAB 24:29:51.000 00:00:55.000
14 195 KASHECHKIN, Andrey KAZ AST 24:29:51.000 00:00:55.000
15 041 EVANS, Cadel AUS PRL 24:29:52.000 00:00:56.000
16 077 PEREZ, Ruben ESP EUS 24:29:52.000 00:00:56.000
17 021 ROGERS, Michael AUS TMO 24:29:53.000 00:00:57.000
18 011 PEREIRO SIO, Oscar ESP GCE 24:29:53.000 00:00:57.000
19 181 ZABEL, Erik GER MRM 24:29:54.000 00:00:58.000
20 025 GERDEMANN, Linus GER TMO 24:29:54.000 00:00:58.000
21 055 FLECHA, Juan Antonio ESP RAB 24:29:56.000 00:01:00.000
22 111 LEIPHEIMER, Levi USA DSC 24:29:56.000 00:01:00.000
23 051 MENCHOV, Denis RUS RAB 24:29:56.000 00:01:00.000
24 093 FOTHEN, Markus GER GST 24:29:59.000 00:01:03.000
25 018 VALVERDE, Alejandro ESP GCE 24:29:59.000 00:01:03.000
26 095 KOHL, Bernhard AUT GST 24:30:00.000 00:01:04.000
27 091 SCHUMACHER, Stefan GER GST 24:30:01.000 00:01:05.000
28 144 MORENI, Cristian ITA COF 24:30:01.000 00:01:05.000
29 125 LEFEVRE, Laurent FRA BTL 24:30:02.000 00:01:06.000
30 172 BARREDO, Carlos ESP QSI 24:30:03.000 00:01:07.000
31 115 MARTINEZ, Egoi ESP DSC 24:30:03.000 00:01:07.000
32 118 POPOVYCH, Yaroslav UKR DSC 24:30:04.000 00:01:08.000
33 168 LÖVKVIST, Thomas SWE FDJ 24:30:04.000 00:01:08.000
34 027 KIRCHEN, Kim LUX TMO 24:30:04.000 00:01:08.000
35 038 VOIGT, Jens GER CSC 24:30:04.000 00:01:08.000
36 061 MOREAU, Christophe FRA A2R 24:30:05.000 00:01:09.000
37 174 GARATE, Juan Manuel ESP QSI 24:30:05.000 00:01:09.000
38 161 CASAR, Sandy FRA FDJ 24:30:07.000 00:01:11.000
39 084 BRUSEGHIN, Marzio ITA LAM 24:30:07.000 00:01:11.000
40 129 VOECKLER, Thomas FRA BTL 24:30:08.000 00:01:12.000
41 044 HORNER, Christopher USA PRL 24:30:09.000 00:01:13.000
42 065 ELMIGER, Martin SUI A2R 24:30:09.000 00:01:13.000
43 029 SINKEWITZ, Patrik GER TMO 24:30:10.000 00:01:14.000
44 088 VALJAVEC, Tadej SLO LAM 24:30:10.000 00:01:14.000
45 028 MERCKX, Axel BEL TMO 24:30:10.000 00:01:14.000
46 081 BALLAN, Alessandro ITA LAM 24:30:11.000 00:01:15.000
47 031 SASTRE, Carlos ESP CSC 24:30:12.000 00:01:16.000
48 036 SCHLECK, Frank LUX CSC 24:30:13.000 00:01:17.000
49 071 ZUBELDIA, Haimar ESP EUS 24:30:13.000 00:01:17.000
50 043 CIONI, Dario ITA PRL 24:30:13.000 00:01:17.000
51 123 FLORENCIO, Xavier ESP BTL 24:30:13.000 00:01:17.000
52 177 TANKINK, Bram NED QSI 24:30:14.000 00:01:18.000
53 207 MAYO, Iban ESP SDV 24:30:16.000 00:01:20.000
54 062 ARRIETA, Jose Luis ESP A2R 24:30:17.000 00:01:21.000
55 106 FOFONOV, Dmitriy KAZ C.A 24:30:17.000 00:01:21.000
56 052 BOOGERD, Michael NED RAB 24:30:18.000 00:01:22.000
57 153 BELTRAN, Manuel ESP LIQ 24:30:18.000 00:01:22.000
58 219 SOLER HERNANDEZ, Juan Mauricio COL BAR 24:30:19.000 00:01:23.000
59 083 BOSSONI, Paolo ITA LAM 24:30:20.000 00:01:24.000
60 063 CALZATI, Sylvain FRA A2R 24:30:22.000 00:01:26.000
61 042 AERTS, Mario BEL PRL 24:30:22.000 00:01:26.000
62 126 PINEAU, Jérôme FRA BTL 24:30:22.000 00:01:26.000
63 131 MERCADO, Juan Miguel ESP AGR 24:30:22.000 00:01:26.000
64 103 BOTCHAROV, Alexandre RUS C.A 24:30:22.000 00:01:26.000
65 109 LE MEVEL, Christophe FRA C.A 24:30:23.000 00:01:27.000
66 076 LANDALUZE, Inigo ESP EUS 24:30:24.000 00:01:28.000
67 089 VILA ERRANDONEA, Patxi ESP LAM 24:30:28.000 00:01:32.000
68 058 RASMUSSEN, Michael DEN RAB 24:30:32.000 00:01:36.000
69 066 GADRET, John FRA A2R 24:30:34.000 00:01:38.000
70 069 TURPIN, Ludovic FRA A2R 24:30:34.000 00:01:38.000
71 012 ARROYO, David ESP GCE 24:30:34.000 00:01:38.000
72 107 HALGAND, Patrice FRA C.A 24:30:39.000 00:01:43.000
73 205 DE LA FUENTE, David ESP SDV 24:30:42.000 00:01:46.000
74 218 SIUTSOU, Kanstantsin BLR BAR 24:30:43.000 00:01:47.000
75 146 PARRA, Ivan Ramiro COL COF 24:30:44.000 00:01:48.000
76 068 GOUBERT, Stephane FRA A2R 24:30:46.000 00:01:50.000
77 121 FEDRIGO, Pierrick FRA BTL 24:30:47.000 00:01:51.000
78 141 CHAVANEL, Sylvain FRA COF 24:30:52.000 00:01:56.000
79 082 BENNATI, Daniele ITA LAM 24:31:01.000 00:02:05.000
80 171 BOONEN, Tom BEL QSI 24:31:02.000 00:02:06.000
81 191 VINOKOUROV, Alexandre KAZ AST 24:31:06.000 00:02:10.000
82 184 GRIVKO, Andriy UKR MRM 24:31:09.000 00:02:13.000
83 128 TSCHOPP, Johann SUI BTL 24:31:21.000 00:02:25.000
84 138 SALMON, Benoit FRA AGR 24:31:21.000 00:02:25.000
85 137 JALABERT, Nicolas FRA AGR 24:31:25.000 00:02:29.000
86 016 PEREZ SANCHEZ, Francisco ESP GCE 24:31:28.000 00:02:32.000
87 179 VASSEUR, Cédric FRA QSI 24:31:29.000 00:02:33.000
88 072 ANTON, Igor ESP EUS 24:31:29.000 00:02:33.000
89 098 WEGMANN, Fabian GER GST 24:31:29.000 00:02:33.000
90 024 EISEL, Bernhard AUT TMO 24:31:31.000 00:02:35.000
91 202 CAMANO, Iker ESP SDV 24:31:31.000 00:02:35.000
92 185 KNEES, Christian GER MRM 24:31:34.000 00:02:38.000
93 133 DUENAS NEVADO, Moises ESP AGR 24:31:36.000 00:02:40.000
94 166 JEGOU, Lilian FRA FDJ 24:31:39.000 00:02:43.000
95 078 TXURRUKA, Amets ESP EUS 24:31:44.000 00:02:48.000
96 124 GESLIN, Anthony FRA BTL 24:31:46.000 00:02:50.000
97 178 TOSATTO, Matteo ITA QSI 24:31:48.000 00:02:52.000
98 075 ISASI, Inaki ESP EUS 24:31:52.000 00:02:56.000
99 074 AZANZA, Jorge ESP EUS 24:31:52.000 00:02:56.000
100 208 RINERO, Christophe FRA SDV 24:31:57.000 00:03:01.000
101 203 CANADA, David ESP SDV 24:32:32.000 00:03:36.000
102 165 GILBERT, Philippe BEL FDJ 24:34:17.000 00:05:21.000
103 097 SCHOLZ, Ronny GER GST 24:34:30.000 00:05:34.000
104 122 CLEMENT, Stef NED BTL 24:34:32.000 00:05:36.000
105 149 WIGGINS, Bradley GBR COF 24:34:36.000 00:05:40.000
106 105 DEAN, Julian NZL C.A 24:34:46.000 00:05:50.000
107 139 VOGONDY, Nicolas FRA AGR 24:34:51.000 00:05:55.000
108 175 ROSSELER, Sébastien BEL QSI 24:34:52.000 00:05:56.000
109 017 PORTAL, Nicolas FRA GCE 24:34:57.000 00:06:01.000
110 163 DELAGE, Mickaël FRA FDJ 24:34:58.000 00:06:02.000
111 193 IGLINSKIY, Maxim KAZ AST 24:35:01.000 00:06:05.000
112 204 COBO ACEBO, Juan Jose ESP SDV 24:35:04.000 00:06:08.000
113 167 LADAGNOUS, Matthieu FRA FDJ 24:35:04.000 00:06:08.000
114 194 IVANOV, Serguei RUS AST 24:35:08.000 00:06:12.000
115 094 HAUSSLER, Heinrich GER GST 24:35:13.000 00:06:17.000
116 022 BURGHARDT, Marcus GER TMO 24:35:17.000 00:06:21.000
117 067 GERRANS, Simon AUS A2R 24:35:19.000 00:06:23.000
118 059 WEENING, Pieter NED RAB 24:35:23.000 00:06:27.000
119 188 POITSCHKE, Enrico GER MRM 24:35:23.000 00:06:27.000
120 147 SCHEIRLINCKX, Staf BEL COF 24:35:26.000 00:06:30.000
121 085 CORIONI, Claudio ITA LAM 24:35:32.000 00:06:36.000
122 217 LONGO BORGHINI, Paolo ITA BAR 24:35:39.000 00:06:43.000
123 102 BONNET, William FRA C.A 24:36:44.000 00:07:48.000
124 216 HUNTER, Robert RSA BAR 24:36:57.000 00:08:01.000
125 199 SAVOLDELLI, Paolo ITA AST 24:36:58.000 00:08:02.000
126 155 FISCHER, Murilo Antoniobil BRA LIQ 24:36:59.000 00:08:03.000
127 192 COLOM, Antonio ESP AST 24:37:03.000 00:08:07.000
128 117 PAULINHO, Sergio POR DSC 24:37:04.000 00:08:08.000
129 209 VENTOSO, Francisco ESP SDV 24:37:11.000 00:08:15.000
130 026 GRABSCH, Bert GER TMO 24:37:13.000 00:08:17.000
131 189 SIEBERG, Marcel GER MRM 24:37:15.000 00:08:19.000
132 211 EFIMKIN, Alexander RUS BAR 24:37:21.000 00:08:25.000
133 057 NIERMANN, Grischa GER RAB 24:37:21.000 00:08:25.000
134 162 CHAVANEL, Sébastien FRA FDJ 24:37:23.000 00:08:27.000
135 047 RODRIGUEZ, Fred USA PRL 24:37:25.000 00:08:29.000
136 183 GRABSCH, Ralf GER MRM 24:37:26.000 00:08:30.000
137 182 CORTINOVIS, Alessandro ITA MRM 24:37:29.000 00:08:33.000
138 173 DE JONGH, Steven NED QSI 24:37:30.000 00:08:34.000
139 127 SPRICK, Matthieu FRA BTL 24:37:39.000 00:08:43.000
140 079 VERDUGO, Gorka ESP EUS 24:37:43.000 00:08:47.000
141 099 WROLICH, Peter AUT GST 24:37:45.000 00:08:49.000
142 136 HERVE, Cédric FRA AGR 24:37:46.000 00:08:50.000
143 034 CUESTA, Inigo ESP CSC 24:37:53.000 00:08:57.000
144 212 CARDENAS, Félix COL BAR 24:38:12.000 00:09:16.000
145 092 FÖRSTER, Robert GER GST 24:39:09.000 00:10:13.000
146 116 NOVAL GONZALEZ, Benjamin ESP DSC 24:39:13.000 00:10:17.000
147 087 RIGHI, Daniele ITA LAM 24:39:45.000 00:10:49.000
148 013 GARCIA ACOSTA, Vicente ESP GCE 24:39:47.000 00:10:51.000
149 197 NAVARRO, Daniel ESP AST 24:39:49.000 00:10:53.000
150 032 ARVESEN, Kurt-Asle NOR CSC 24:40:27.000 00:11:31.000
151 157 QUINZIATO, Manuel ITA LIQ 24:41:03.000 00:12:07.000
152 148 VERBRUGGHE, Rik BEL COF 24:41:10.000 00:12:14.000
153 176 STEEGMANS, Gert BEL QSI 24:41:15.000 00:12:19.000
154 215 GERAINT, Thomas GBR BAR 24:41:18.000 00:12:22.000
155 046 MC EWEN, Robbie AUS PRL 24:41:20.000 00:12:24.000
156 096 KRAUSS, Sven GER GST 24:41:21.000 00:12:25.000
157 048 VAN SUMMEREN, Johan BEL PRL 24:41:23.000 00:12:27.000
158 159 WILLEMS, Frederik BEL LIQ 24:41:26.000 00:12:30.000
159 158 WEGELIUS, Charles GBR LIQ 24:41:27.000 00:12:31.000
160 152 ALBASINI, Michael SUI LIQ 24:41:27.000 00:12:31.000
161 154 CARLSTRÖM, Kjell FIN LIQ 24:41:32.000 00:12:36.000
162 132 BICHOT, Freddy FRA AGR 24:41:35.000 00:12:39.000
163 198 RAST, Gregory SUI AST 24:41:37.000 00:12:41.000
164 064 DESSEL, Cyril FRA A2R 24:41:39.000 00:12:43.000
165 145 NUYENS, Nick BEL COF 24:42:12.000 00:13:16.000
166 206 LOBATO, Ruben ESP SDV 24:42:22.000 00:13:26.000
167 213 CHEULA, Gianpaolo ITA BAR 24:42:50.000 00:13:54.000
168 035 O’GRADY, Stuart AUS CSC 24:42:51.000 00:13:55.000
169 187 ONGARATO, Alberto ITA MRM 24:42:55.000 00:13:59.000
170 101 HUSHOVD, Thor NOR C.A 24:43:31.000 00:14:35.000
171 037 VANDEVELDE, Christian USA CSC 24:44:05.000 00:15:09.000
172 045 HOSTE, Leif BEL PRL 24:44:13.000 00:15:17.000
173 142 AUGE, Stéphane FRA COF 24:44:25.000 00:15:29.000
174 134 FEILLU, Romain FRA AGR 24:44:34.000 00:15:38.000
175 053 DE GROOT, Bram NED RAB 24:44:58.000 00:16:02.000
176 108 HINAULT, Sébastien FRA C.A 24:45:23.000 00:16:27.000
177 104 CHARTEAU, Anthony FRA C.A 24:45:33.000 00:16:37.000
178 039 ZABRISKIE, David USA CSC 24:47:20.000 00:18:24.000
179 049 VANSEVENANT, Wim BEL PRL 24:47:41.000 00:18:45.000
180 156 KUSCHYNSKI, Aleksandr BLR LIQ 24:49:12.000 00:20:16.000
181 086 NAPOLITANO, Danilo ITA LAM 24:49:29.000 00:20:33.000
182 023 CAVENDISH, Mark GBR TMO 24:51:25.000 00:22:29.000
183 214 DEGANO, Enrico ITA BAR 24:54:15.000 00:25:19.000
184 143 LEQUATRE, Geoffroy FRA COF 25:14:34.000 00:45:38.000
This will continue to rise as more people crash, more climbs appear, and more time passes.
Cancellara still wears YELLOW.
1 033 CANCELLARA, Fabian SUI CSC 24:28:56.000 00:00:00.000
2 196 KLÖDEN, Andréas GER AST 24:29:29.000 00:00:33.000
3 151 POZZATO, Filippo ITA LIQ 24:29:31.000 00:00:35.000
4 201 MILLAR, David GBR SDV 24:29:37.000 00:00:41.000
5 114 HINCAPIE, George USA DSC 24:29:39.000 00:00:43.000
6 113 GUSEV, Vladimir RUS DSC 24:29:41.000 00:00:45.000
7 015 KARPETS, Vladimir RUS GCE 24:29:42.000 00:00:46.000
8 073 ASTARLOZA, Mikel ESP EUS 24:29:45.000 00:00:49.000
9 054 DEKKER, Thomas NED RAB 24:29:47.000 00:00:51.000
10 169 VAUGRENARD, Benoît FRA FDJ 24:29:48.000 00:00:52.000
11 014 GUTIERREZ, José Ivan ESP GCE 24:29:49.000 00:00:53.000
12 112 CONTADOR, Alberto ESP DSC 24:29:51.000 00:00:55.000
13 056 FREIRE, Oscar ESP RAB 24:29:51.000 00:00:55.000
14 195 KASHECHKIN, Andrey KAZ AST 24:29:51.000 00:00:55.000
15 041 EVANS, Cadel AUS PRL 24:29:52.000 00:00:56.000
16 077 PEREZ, Ruben ESP EUS 24:29:52.000 00:00:56.000
17 021 ROGERS, Michael AUS TMO 24:29:53.000 00:00:57.000
18 011 PEREIRO SIO, Oscar ESP GCE 24:29:53.000 00:00:57.000
19 181 ZABEL, Erik GER MRM 24:29:54.000 00:00:58.000
20 025 GERDEMANN, Linus GER TMO 24:29:54.000 00:00:58.000
21 055 FLECHA, Juan Antonio ESP RAB 24:29:56.000 00:01:00.000
22 111 LEIPHEIMER, Levi USA DSC 24:29:56.000 00:01:00.000
23 051 MENCHOV, Denis RUS RAB 24:29:56.000 00:01:00.000
24 093 FOTHEN, Markus GER GST 24:29:59.000 00:01:03.000
25 018 VALVERDE, Alejandro ESP GCE 24:29:59.000 00:01:03.000
26 095 KOHL, Bernhard AUT GST 24:30:00.000 00:01:04.000
27 091 SCHUMACHER, Stefan GER GST 24:30:01.000 00:01:05.000
28 144 MORENI, Cristian ITA COF 24:30:01.000 00:01:05.000
29 125 LEFEVRE, Laurent FRA BTL 24:30:02.000 00:01:06.000
30 172 BARREDO, Carlos ESP QSI 24:30:03.000 00:01:07.000
31 115 MARTINEZ, Egoi ESP DSC 24:30:03.000 00:01:07.000
32 118 POPOVYCH, Yaroslav UKR DSC 24:30:04.000 00:01:08.000
33 168 LÖVKVIST, Thomas SWE FDJ 24:30:04.000 00:01:08.000
34 027 KIRCHEN, Kim LUX TMO 24:30:04.000 00:01:08.000
35 038 VOIGT, Jens GER CSC 24:30:04.000 00:01:08.000
36 061 MOREAU, Christophe FRA A2R 24:30:05.000 00:01:09.000
37 174 GARATE, Juan Manuel ESP QSI 24:30:05.000 00:01:09.000
38 161 CASAR, Sandy FRA FDJ 24:30:07.000 00:01:11.000
39 084 BRUSEGHIN, Marzio ITA LAM 24:30:07.000 00:01:11.000
40 129 VOECKLER, Thomas FRA BTL 24:30:08.000 00:01:12.000
41 044 HORNER, Christopher USA PRL 24:30:09.000 00:01:13.000
42 065 ELMIGER, Martin SUI A2R 24:30:09.000 00:01:13.000
43 029 SINKEWITZ, Patrik GER TMO 24:30:10.000 00:01:14.000
44 088 VALJAVEC, Tadej SLO LAM 24:30:10.000 00:01:14.000
45 028 MERCKX, Axel BEL TMO 24:30:10.000 00:01:14.000
46 081 BALLAN, Alessandro ITA LAM 24:30:11.000 00:01:15.000
47 031 SASTRE, Carlos ESP CSC 24:30:12.000 00:01:16.000
48 036 SCHLECK, Frank LUX CSC 24:30:13.000 00:01:17.000
49 071 ZUBELDIA, Haimar ESP EUS 24:30:13.000 00:01:17.000
50 043 CIONI, Dario ITA PRL 24:30:13.000 00:01:17.000
51 123 FLORENCIO, Xavier ESP BTL 24:30:13.000 00:01:17.000
52 177 TANKINK, Bram NED QSI 24:30:14.000 00:01:18.000
53 207 MAYO, Iban ESP SDV 24:30:16.000 00:01:20.000
54 062 ARRIETA, Jose Luis ESP A2R 24:30:17.000 00:01:21.000
55 106 FOFONOV, Dmitriy KAZ C.A 24:30:17.000 00:01:21.000
56 052 BOOGERD, Michael NED RAB 24:30:18.000 00:01:22.000
57 153 BELTRAN, Manuel ESP LIQ 24:30:18.000 00:01:22.000
58 219 SOLER HERNANDEZ, Juan Mauricio COL BAR 24:30:19.000 00:01:23.000
59 083 BOSSONI, Paolo ITA LAM 24:30:20.000 00:01:24.000
60 063 CALZATI, Sylvain FRA A2R 24:30:22.000 00:01:26.000
61 042 AERTS, Mario BEL PRL 24:30:22.000 00:01:26.000
62 126 PINEAU, Jérôme FRA BTL 24:30:22.000 00:01:26.000
63 131 MERCADO, Juan Miguel ESP AGR 24:30:22.000 00:01:26.000
64 103 BOTCHAROV, Alexandre RUS C.A 24:30:22.000 00:01:26.000
65 109 LE MEVEL, Christophe FRA C.A 24:30:23.000 00:01:27.000
66 076 LANDALUZE, Inigo ESP EUS 24:30:24.000 00:01:28.000
67 089 VILA ERRANDONEA, Patxi ESP LAM 24:30:28.000 00:01:32.000
68 058 RASMUSSEN, Michael DEN RAB 24:30:32.000 00:01:36.000
69 066 GADRET, John FRA A2R 24:30:34.000 00:01:38.000
70 069 TURPIN, Ludovic FRA A2R 24:30:34.000 00:01:38.000
71 012 ARROYO, David ESP GCE 24:30:34.000 00:01:38.000
72 107 HALGAND, Patrice FRA C.A 24:30:39.000 00:01:43.000
73 205 DE LA FUENTE, David ESP SDV 24:30:42.000 00:01:46.000
74 218 SIUTSOU, Kanstantsin BLR BAR 24:30:43.000 00:01:47.000
75 146 PARRA, Ivan Ramiro COL COF 24:30:44.000 00:01:48.000
76 068 GOUBERT, Stephane FRA A2R 24:30:46.000 00:01:50.000
77 121 FEDRIGO, Pierrick FRA BTL 24:30:47.000 00:01:51.000
78 141 CHAVANEL, Sylvain FRA COF 24:30:52.000 00:01:56.000
79 082 BENNATI, Daniele ITA LAM 24:31:01.000 00:02:05.000
80 171 BOONEN, Tom BEL QSI 24:31:02.000 00:02:06.000
81 191 VINOKOUROV, Alexandre KAZ AST 24:31:06.000 00:02:10.000
82 184 GRIVKO, Andriy UKR MRM 24:31:09.000 00:02:13.000
83 128 TSCHOPP, Johann SUI BTL 24:31:21.000 00:02:25.000
84 138 SALMON, Benoit FRA AGR 24:31:21.000 00:02:25.000
85 137 JALABERT, Nicolas FRA AGR 24:31:25.000 00:02:29.000
86 016 PEREZ SANCHEZ, Francisco ESP GCE 24:31:28.000 00:02:32.000
87 179 VASSEUR, Cédric FRA QSI 24:31:29.000 00:02:33.000
88 072 ANTON, Igor ESP EUS 24:31:29.000 00:02:33.000
89 098 WEGMANN, Fabian GER GST 24:31:29.000 00:02:33.000
90 024 EISEL, Bernhard AUT TMO 24:31:31.000 00:02:35.000
91 202 CAMANO, Iker ESP SDV 24:31:31.000 00:02:35.000
92 185 KNEES, Christian GER MRM 24:31:34.000 00:02:38.000
93 133 DUENAS NEVADO, Moises ESP AGR 24:31:36.000 00:02:40.000
94 166 JEGOU, Lilian FRA FDJ 24:31:39.000 00:02:43.000
95 078 TXURRUKA, Amets ESP EUS 24:31:44.000 00:02:48.000
96 124 GESLIN, Anthony FRA BTL 24:31:46.000 00:02:50.000
97 178 TOSATTO, Matteo ITA QSI 24:31:48.000 00:02:52.000
98 075 ISASI, Inaki ESP EUS 24:31:52.000 00:02:56.000
99 074 AZANZA, Jorge ESP EUS 24:31:52.000 00:02:56.000
100 208 RINERO, Christophe FRA SDV 24:31:57.000 00:03:01.000
101 203 CANADA, David ESP SDV 24:32:32.000 00:03:36.000
102 165 GILBERT, Philippe BEL FDJ 24:34:17.000 00:05:21.000
103 097 SCHOLZ, Ronny GER GST 24:34:30.000 00:05:34.000
104 122 CLEMENT, Stef NED BTL 24:34:32.000 00:05:36.000
105 149 WIGGINS, Bradley GBR COF 24:34:36.000 00:05:40.000
106 105 DEAN, Julian NZL C.A 24:34:46.000 00:05:50.000
107 139 VOGONDY, Nicolas FRA AGR 24:34:51.000 00:05:55.000
108 175 ROSSELER, Sébastien BEL QSI 24:34:52.000 00:05:56.000
109 017 PORTAL, Nicolas FRA GCE 24:34:57.000 00:06:01.000
110 163 DELAGE, Mickaël FRA FDJ 24:34:58.000 00:06:02.000
111 193 IGLINSKIY, Maxim KAZ AST 24:35:01.000 00:06:05.000
112 204 COBO ACEBO, Juan Jose ESP SDV 24:35:04.000 00:06:08.000
113 167 LADAGNOUS, Matthieu FRA FDJ 24:35:04.000 00:06:08.000
114 194 IVANOV, Serguei RUS AST 24:35:08.000 00:06:12.000
115 094 HAUSSLER, Heinrich GER GST 24:35:13.000 00:06:17.000
116 022 BURGHARDT, Marcus GER TMO 24:35:17.000 00:06:21.000
117 067 GERRANS, Simon AUS A2R 24:35:19.000 00:06:23.000
118 059 WEENING, Pieter NED RAB 24:35:23.000 00:06:27.000
119 188 POITSCHKE, Enrico GER MRM 24:35:23.000 00:06:27.000
120 147 SCHEIRLINCKX, Staf BEL COF 24:35:26.000 00:06:30.000
121 085 CORIONI, Claudio ITA LAM 24:35:32.000 00:06:36.000
122 217 LONGO BORGHINI, Paolo ITA BAR 24:35:39.000 00:06:43.000
123 102 BONNET, William FRA C.A 24:36:44.000 00:07:48.000
124 216 HUNTER, Robert RSA BAR 24:36:57.000 00:08:01.000
125 199 SAVOLDELLI, Paolo ITA AST 24:36:58.000 00:08:02.000
126 155 FISCHER, Murilo Antoniobil BRA LIQ 24:36:59.000 00:08:03.000
127 192 COLOM, Antonio ESP AST 24:37:03.000 00:08:07.000
128 117 PAULINHO, Sergio POR DSC 24:37:04.000 00:08:08.000
129 209 VENTOSO, Francisco ESP SDV 24:37:11.000 00:08:15.000
130 026 GRABSCH, Bert GER TMO 24:37:13.000 00:08:17.000
131 189 SIEBERG, Marcel GER MRM 24:37:15.000 00:08:19.000
132 211 EFIMKIN, Alexander RUS BAR 24:37:21.000 00:08:25.000
133 057 NIERMANN, Grischa GER RAB 24:37:21.000 00:08:25.000
134 162 CHAVANEL, Sébastien FRA FDJ 24:37:23.000 00:08:27.000
135 047 RODRIGUEZ, Fred USA PRL 24:37:25.000 00:08:29.000
136 183 GRABSCH, Ralf GER MRM 24:37:26.000 00:08:30.000
137 182 CORTINOVIS, Alessandro ITA MRM 24:37:29.000 00:08:33.000
138 173 DE JONGH, Steven NED QSI 24:37:30.000 00:08:34.000
139 127 SPRICK, Matthieu FRA BTL 24:37:39.000 00:08:43.000
140 079 VERDUGO, Gorka ESP EUS 24:37:43.000 00:08:47.000
141 099 WROLICH, Peter AUT GST 24:37:45.000 00:08:49.000
142 136 HERVE, Cédric FRA AGR 24:37:46.000 00:08:50.000
143 034 CUESTA, Inigo ESP CSC 24:37:53.000 00:08:57.000
144 212 CARDENAS, Félix COL BAR 24:38:12.000 00:09:16.000
145 092 FÖRSTER, Robert GER GST 24:39:09.000 00:10:13.000
146 116 NOVAL GONZALEZ, Benjamin ESP DSC 24:39:13.000 00:10:17.000
147 087 RIGHI, Daniele ITA LAM 24:39:45.000 00:10:49.000
148 013 GARCIA ACOSTA, Vicente ESP GCE 24:39:47.000 00:10:51.000
149 197 NAVARRO, Daniel ESP AST 24:39:49.000 00:10:53.000
150 032 ARVESEN, Kurt-Asle NOR CSC 24:40:27.000 00:11:31.000
151 157 QUINZIATO, Manuel ITA LIQ 24:41:03.000 00:12:07.000
152 148 VERBRUGGHE, Rik BEL COF 24:41:10.000 00:12:14.000
153 176 STEEGMANS, Gert BEL QSI 24:41:15.000 00:12:19.000
154 215 GERAINT, Thomas GBR BAR 24:41:18.000 00:12:22.000
155 046 MC EWEN, Robbie AUS PRL 24:41:20.000 00:12:24.000
156 096 KRAUSS, Sven GER GST 24:41:21.000 00:12:25.000
157 048 VAN SUMMEREN, Johan BEL PRL 24:41:23.000 00:12:27.000
158 159 WILLEMS, Frederik BEL LIQ 24:41:26.000 00:12:30.000
159 158 WEGELIUS, Charles GBR LIQ 24:41:27.000 00:12:31.000
160 152 ALBASINI, Michael SUI LIQ 24:41:27.000 00:12:31.000
161 154 CARLSTRÖM, Kjell FIN LIQ 24:41:32.000 00:12:36.000
162 132 BICHOT, Freddy FRA AGR 24:41:35.000 00:12:39.000
163 198 RAST, Gregory SUI AST 24:41:37.000 00:12:41.000
164 064 DESSEL, Cyril FRA A2R 24:41:39.000 00:12:43.000
165 145 NUYENS, Nick BEL COF 24:42:12.000 00:13:16.000
166 206 LOBATO, Ruben ESP SDV 24:42:22.000 00:13:26.000
167 213 CHEULA, Gianpaolo ITA BAR 24:42:50.000 00:13:54.000
168 035 O’GRADY, Stuart AUS CSC 24:42:51.000 00:13:55.000
169 187 ONGARATO, Alberto ITA MRM 24:42:55.000 00:13:59.000
170 101 HUSHOVD, Thor NOR C.A 24:43:31.000 00:14:35.000
171 037 VANDEVELDE, Christian USA CSC 24:44:05.000 00:15:09.000
172 045 HOSTE, Leif BEL PRL 24:44:13.000 00:15:17.000
173 142 AUGE, Stéphane FRA COF 24:44:25.000 00:15:29.000
174 134 FEILLU, Romain FRA AGR 24:44:34.000 00:15:38.000
175 053 DE GROOT, Bram NED RAB 24:44:58.000 00:16:02.000
176 108 HINAULT, Sébastien FRA C.A 24:45:23.000 00:16:27.000
177 104 CHARTEAU, Anthony FRA C.A 24:45:33.000 00:16:37.000
178 039 ZABRISKIE, David USA CSC 24:47:20.000 00:18:24.000
179 049 VANSEVENANT, Wim BEL PRL 24:47:41.000 00:18:45.000
180 156 KUSCHYNSKI, Aleksandr BLR LIQ 24:49:12.000 00:20:16.000
181 086 NAPOLITANO, Danilo ITA LAM 24:49:29.000 00:20:33.000
182 023 CAVENDISH, Mark GBR TMO 24:51:25.000 00:22:29.000
183 214 DEGANO, Enrico ITA BAR 24:54:15.000 00:25:19.000
184 143 LEQUATRE, Geoffroy FRA COF 25:14:34.000 00:45:38.000
Results of Stage 5 - SPOILER!!
I may have to reevaluate my choice for the Tour overall champion. Please notice that George Hincapie is again in the top 10 at the finish line. He's hanging tight and doesn't look like he's even suffering at all.
I'll let you know if I swap Levi for George.
Here are the top 10 finishers today...
1. Filippo Pozzato (LIQ) 182.5km in 4h39'01" (39.244km/h)
2. Oscar Freire (RAB)
3. Daniel Bennati (LAM)
4. Kim Kirchen (TMO)
5. Erik Zabel (MRM)
6. George Hincapie (DSC)
7. Cristian Moreni (COF)
8. Stefan Schumacher (GST)
9. Bram Tankink (QSI)
10. Jerome Pineau (BTL)
I'll let you know if I swap Levi for George.
Here are the top 10 finishers today...
1. Filippo Pozzato (LIQ) 182.5km in 4h39'01" (39.244km/h)
2. Oscar Freire (RAB)
3. Daniel Bennati (LAM)
4. Kim Kirchen (TMO)
5. Erik Zabel (MRM)
6. George Hincapie (DSC)
7. Cristian Moreni (COF)
8. Stefan Schumacher (GST)
9. Bram Tankink (QSI)
10. Jerome Pineau (BTL)
Only 184 remain
Here's the update on how many riders from individual nations are left in the 2007 Tour de France.
Again, thanks to Versus for this information.
15:06:40 - 26 Nations Represented In 94th Tour
The 184 riders remaining in the 2007 Tour de France represent 26 countries.
The breakdown is:
39 – Spain. Eduardo Gonzalo Ramirez (AGR) abandoned during stage one after a crash; Xabier Zandio abandoned during stage four because of injuries sustained in a crash in stage one.
35 – France. Remy Di Gregorio (FDJ) didn’t start stage five after fracturing his elbow in a fall early in stage four.
19 – Germany
18 – Italy
13 – Belgium
7 – The Netherlands
6 – USA and Russia
5 – Great Britain, Switzerland and Australia. Brett Lancaster (MRM) abandoned during the fifth stage.
4 – Kazakhstan
3 – Austria and Colombia
2 – Belarus, Luxembourg, Norway and Ukraine
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.
Again, thanks to Versus for this information.
15:06:40 - 26 Nations Represented In 94th Tour
The 184 riders remaining in the 2007 Tour de France represent 26 countries.
The breakdown is:
39 – Spain. Eduardo Gonzalo Ramirez (AGR) abandoned during stage one after a crash; Xabier Zandio abandoned during stage four because of injuries sustained in a crash in stage one.
35 – France. Remy Di Gregorio (FDJ) didn’t start stage five after fracturing his elbow in a fall early in stage four.
19 – Germany
18 – Italy
13 – Belgium
7 – The Netherlands
6 – USA and Russia
5 – Great Britain, Switzerland and Australia. Brett Lancaster (MRM) abandoned during the fifth stage.
4 – Kazakhstan
3 – Austria and Colombia
2 – Belarus, Luxembourg, Norway and Ukraine
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.
Update as of 2:28PM France Time
At around the 50KM mark of today's 190+KM Stage 5, the three men who attacked the peloton are 14:28:04 ahead.
This is a huge lead that has been made easier because the CSC team has decided not to exhaust itself trying to maintain possession of the yellow jersey.
They seem to realize that with the mountains coming up soon, that Cancellara won't be able to hang on to the lead for much longer so they are conserving energy and preparing as a team for the next 14 stages.
This is a huge lead that has been made easier because the CSC team has decided not to exhaust itself trying to maintain possession of the yellow jersey.
They seem to realize that with the mountains coming up soon, that Cancellara won't be able to hang on to the lead for much longer so they are conserving energy and preparing as a team for the next 14 stages.
Jerseys still in the same spot
Yellow, Green, Polka-dot and White are all still on the backs of the same riders as yesterday.
Stage 5 is underway! Updates coming up (hmmm, redundant).
Stage 5 is underway! Updates coming up (hmmm, redundant).
11 July 2007
00:09:31
That's the amount of time that separates the top rider in the Tour de France from the last guy at 186th after four stages ridden.
Here are the standings after today's Stage 4...
1 033 CANCELLARA, Fabian SUI CSC 19:49:55.000 00:00:00.000
2 101 HUSHOVD, Thor NOR C.A 19:50:24.000 00:00:29.000
3 196 KLÖDEN, Andréas GER AST 19:50:28.000 00:00:33.000
4 201 MILLAR, David GBR SDV 19:50:36.000 00:00:41.000
5 114 HINCAPIE, George USA DSC 19:50:38.000 00:00:43.000
6 149 WIGGINS, Bradley GBR COF 19:50:38.000 00:00:43.000
7 141 CHAVANEL, Sylvain FRA COF 19:50:39.000 00:00:44.000
8 113 GUSEV, Vladimir RUS DSC 19:50:40.000 00:00:45.000
9 171 BOONEN, Tom BEL QSI 19:50:41.000 00:00:46.000
10 015 KARPETS, Vladimir RUS GCE 19:50:41.000 00:00:46.000
11 073 ASTARLOZA, Mikel ESP EUS 19:50:44.000 00:00:49.000
12 191 VINOKOUROV, Alexandre KAZ AST 19:50:45.000 00:00:50.000
13 054 DEKKER, Thomas NED RAB 19:50:46.000 00:00:51.000
14 157 QUINZIATO, Manuel ITA LIQ 19:50:47.000 00:00:52.000
15 169 VAUGRENARD, Benoît FRA FDJ 19:50:47.000 00:00:52.000
16 014 GUTIERREZ, José Ivan ESP GCE 19:50:48.000 00:00:53.000
17 184 GRIVKO, Andriy UKR MRM 19:50:48.000 00:00:53.000
18 151 POZZATO, Filippo ITA LIQ 19:50:50.000 00:00:55.000
19 112 CONTADOR, Alberto ESP DSC 19:50:50.000 00:00:55.000
20 195 KASHECHKIN, Andrey KAZ AST 19:50:50.000 00:00:55.000
21 041 EVANS, Cadel AUS PRL 19:50:51.000 00:00:56.000
22 102 BONNET, William FRA C.A 19:50:51.000 00:00:56.000
23 077 PEREZ, Ruben ESP EUS 19:50:51.000 00:00:56.000
24 021 ROGERS, Michael AUS TMO 19:50:52.000 00:00:57.000
25 011 PEREIRO SIO, Oscar ESP GCE 19:50:52.000 00:00:57.000
26 181 ZABEL, Erik GER MRM 19:50:53.000 00:00:58.000
27 139 VOGONDY, Nicolas FRA AGR 19:50:53.000 00:00:58.000
28 025 GERDEMANN, Linus GER TMO 19:50:53.000 00:00:58.000
29 199 SAVOLDELLI, Paolo ITA AST 19:50:53.000 00:00:58.000
30 216 HUNTER, Robert RSA BAR 19:50:54.000 00:00:59.000
31 175 ROSSELER, Sébastien BEL QSI 19:50:54.000 00:00:59.000
32 148 VERBRUGGHE, Rik BEL COF 19:50:54.000 00:00:59.000
33 055 FLECHA, Juan Antonio ESP RAB 19:50:55.000 00:01:00.000
34 111 LEIPHEIMER, Levi USA DSC 19:50:55.000 00:01:00.000
35 051 MENCHOV, Denis RUS RAB 19:50:55.000 00:01:00.000
36 093 FOTHEN, Markus GER GST 19:50:58.000 00:01:03.000
37 018 VALVERDE, Alejandro ESP GCE 19:50:58.000 00:01:03.000
38 192 COLOM, Antonio ESP AST 19:50:58.000 00:01:03.000
39 095 KOHL, Bernhard AUT GST 19:50:59.000 00:01:04.000
40 176 STEEGMANS, Gert BEL QSI 19:50:59.000 00:01:04.000
41 117 PAULINHO, Sergio POR DSC 19:50:59.000 00:01:04.000
42 091 SCHUMACHER, Stefan GER GST 19:51:00.000 00:01:05.000
43 144 MORENI, Cristian ITA COF 19:51:00.000 00:01:05.000
44 097 SCHOLZ, Ronny GER GST 19:51:00.000 00:01:05.000
45 165 GILBERT, Philippe BEL FDJ 19:51:01.000 00:01:06.000
46 125 LEFEVRE, Laurent FRA BTL 19:51:01.000 00:01:06.000
47 215 GERAINT, Thomas GBR BAR 19:51:02.000 00:01:07.000
48 122 CLEMENT, Stef NED BTL 19:51:02.000 00:01:07.000
49 172 BARREDO, Carlos ESP QSI 19:51:02.000 00:01:07.000
50 056 FREIRE, Oscar ESP RAB 19:51:02.000 00:01:07.000
Here are the standings after today's Stage 4...
1 033 CANCELLARA, Fabian SUI CSC 19:49:55.000 00:00:00.000
2 101 HUSHOVD, Thor NOR C.A 19:50:24.000 00:00:29.000
3 196 KLÖDEN, Andréas GER AST 19:50:28.000 00:00:33.000
4 201 MILLAR, David GBR SDV 19:50:36.000 00:00:41.000
5 114 HINCAPIE, George USA DSC 19:50:38.000 00:00:43.000
6 149 WIGGINS, Bradley GBR COF 19:50:38.000 00:00:43.000
7 141 CHAVANEL, Sylvain FRA COF 19:50:39.000 00:00:44.000
8 113 GUSEV, Vladimir RUS DSC 19:50:40.000 00:00:45.000
9 171 BOONEN, Tom BEL QSI 19:50:41.000 00:00:46.000
10 015 KARPETS, Vladimir RUS GCE 19:50:41.000 00:00:46.000
11 073 ASTARLOZA, Mikel ESP EUS 19:50:44.000 00:00:49.000
12 191 VINOKOUROV, Alexandre KAZ AST 19:50:45.000 00:00:50.000
13 054 DEKKER, Thomas NED RAB 19:50:46.000 00:00:51.000
14 157 QUINZIATO, Manuel ITA LIQ 19:50:47.000 00:00:52.000
15 169 VAUGRENARD, Benoît FRA FDJ 19:50:47.000 00:00:52.000
16 014 GUTIERREZ, José Ivan ESP GCE 19:50:48.000 00:00:53.000
17 184 GRIVKO, Andriy UKR MRM 19:50:48.000 00:00:53.000
18 151 POZZATO, Filippo ITA LIQ 19:50:50.000 00:00:55.000
19 112 CONTADOR, Alberto ESP DSC 19:50:50.000 00:00:55.000
20 195 KASHECHKIN, Andrey KAZ AST 19:50:50.000 00:00:55.000
21 041 EVANS, Cadel AUS PRL 19:50:51.000 00:00:56.000
22 102 BONNET, William FRA C.A 19:50:51.000 00:00:56.000
23 077 PEREZ, Ruben ESP EUS 19:50:51.000 00:00:56.000
24 021 ROGERS, Michael AUS TMO 19:50:52.000 00:00:57.000
25 011 PEREIRO SIO, Oscar ESP GCE 19:50:52.000 00:00:57.000
26 181 ZABEL, Erik GER MRM 19:50:53.000 00:00:58.000
27 139 VOGONDY, Nicolas FRA AGR 19:50:53.000 00:00:58.000
28 025 GERDEMANN, Linus GER TMO 19:50:53.000 00:00:58.000
29 199 SAVOLDELLI, Paolo ITA AST 19:50:53.000 00:00:58.000
30 216 HUNTER, Robert RSA BAR 19:50:54.000 00:00:59.000
31 175 ROSSELER, Sébastien BEL QSI 19:50:54.000 00:00:59.000
32 148 VERBRUGGHE, Rik BEL COF 19:50:54.000 00:00:59.000
33 055 FLECHA, Juan Antonio ESP RAB 19:50:55.000 00:01:00.000
34 111 LEIPHEIMER, Levi USA DSC 19:50:55.000 00:01:00.000
35 051 MENCHOV, Denis RUS RAB 19:50:55.000 00:01:00.000
36 093 FOTHEN, Markus GER GST 19:50:58.000 00:01:03.000
37 018 VALVERDE, Alejandro ESP GCE 19:50:58.000 00:01:03.000
38 192 COLOM, Antonio ESP AST 19:50:58.000 00:01:03.000
39 095 KOHL, Bernhard AUT GST 19:50:59.000 00:01:04.000
40 176 STEEGMANS, Gert BEL QSI 19:50:59.000 00:01:04.000
41 117 PAULINHO, Sergio POR DSC 19:50:59.000 00:01:04.000
42 091 SCHUMACHER, Stefan GER GST 19:51:00.000 00:01:05.000
43 144 MORENI, Cristian ITA COF 19:51:00.000 00:01:05.000
44 097 SCHOLZ, Ronny GER GST 19:51:00.000 00:01:05.000
45 165 GILBERT, Philippe BEL FDJ 19:51:01.000 00:01:06.000
46 125 LEFEVRE, Laurent FRA BTL 19:51:01.000 00:01:06.000
47 215 GERAINT, Thomas GBR BAR 19:51:02.000 00:01:07.000
48 122 CLEMENT, Stef NED BTL 19:51:02.000 00:01:07.000
49 172 BARREDO, Carlos ESP QSI 19:51:02.000 00:01:07.000
50 056 FREIRE, Oscar ESP RAB 19:51:02.000 00:01:07.000
Results of Stage 4
Thanks again to Versus for this information. Next year I'll get a head start on working for them in Europe. This year I was a little late to the line...just like Robbie Hunter in today's stage.
The top 10 in stage four is as follows:
1. Thor Hushovd (NOR) C.A 193km in 4h37'37 (41.687km/h)
2. Robbie Hunter (RSA) BAR
3. Oscar Freire (ESP) RAB
4. Erik Zabel (GER) MRM
5. Danilo Napolitano (ITA) LAM
6. Gert Steegmans (BEL) QSI
7. Robert Forster (GER) GST
8. Tom Boonen (BEL) QSI
9. Sebastien Chavanel (FRA) FDJ
10. Mark Cavendish (GBR) TMO
The top 10 in stage four is as follows:
1. Thor Hushovd (NOR) C.A 193km in 4h37'37 (41.687km/h)
2. Robbie Hunter (RSA) BAR
3. Oscar Freire (ESP) RAB
4. Erik Zabel (GER) MRM
5. Danilo Napolitano (ITA) LAM
6. Gert Steegmans (BEL) QSI
7. Robert Forster (GER) GST
8. Tom Boonen (BEL) QSI
9. Sebastien Chavanel (FRA) FDJ
10. Mark Cavendish (GBR) TMO
187 Riders Still
The race today started with 187 riders, but after only two hours of riding Xabier Zandio (who crashed in Stage 1) has abandoned the Tour de France. Now there are 186.
In an upcoming post, probably over the weekend, I'll list which teams still have all their riders as I expect a handful of cyclists to drop out by the end of Stage 7.
In an upcoming post, probably over the weekend, I'll list which teams still have all their riders as I expect a handful of cyclists to drop out by the end of Stage 7.
Stage 4 - Jersey list
Cancellara is still in Yellow
Tom Boonen is still in Green
Stephane Auge of Cofidis is now in Polka Dot (taking it away from Millar)
And in the White jersey (the youth classification open to riders born after 1/1/82) Vladimir Gusev of Team Discovery
They're racing now in France and there shall be spoilers to come later today.
Tom Boonen is still in Green
Stephane Auge of Cofidis is now in Polka Dot (taking it away from Millar)
And in the White jersey (the youth classification open to riders born after 1/1/82) Vladimir Gusev of Team Discovery
They're racing now in France and there shall be spoilers to come later today.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
Here's the result of Stage 3 of the 2007 Tour de France...
Cancellara
Zabel
Napolitano
Boonen
Hushovd
Forster
McEwen
Eisel
Cavendish
Haussler
That's right! Cancellara led out with about a kilometer to go and just blasted past the break-away bunch and fended off the chasing sprinters. He's still in yellow and is putting his own brand on this race. YIKES!
Remember, Cancellara is supposed to be a time trial and sprint specialist. We'll see what happens to him in a few stages when the roads turn upward.
Standings after Stage 3...(pasted right from Versus' site)
(Here's your top 50 - the numbers on the far right are the minutes and seconds the rider is behind Cancellara. For example, Millar is 41 seconds back and Boonen is 46 seconds back.)
Pos. No. Name Nat. Team Time Gap
1 033 CANCELLARA, Fabian SUI CSC 15:12:08.000 00:00:00.000
2 196 KLÖDEN, Andréas GER AST 15:12:41.000 00:00:33.000
3 201 MILLAR, David GBR SDV 15:12:49.000 00:00:41.000
4 114 HINCAPIE, George USA DSC 15:12:51.000 00:00:43.000
5 149 WIGGINS, Bradley GBR COF 15:12:51.000 00:00:43.000
6 113 GUSEV, Vladimir RUS DSC 15:12:53.000 00:00:45.000
7 171 BOONEN, Tom BEL QSI 15:12:54.000 00:00:46.000
8 015 KARPETS, Vladimir RUS GCE 15:12:54.000 00:00:46.000
9 101 HUSHOVD, Thor NOR C.A 15:12:57.000 00:00:49.000
10 073 ASTARLOZA, Mikel ESP EUS 15:12:57.000 00:00:49.000
11 191 VINOKOUROV, Alexandre KAZ AST 15:12:58.000 00:00:50.000
12 054 DEKKER, Thomas NED RAB 15:12:59.000 00:00:51.000
13 157 QUINZIATO, Manuel ITA LIQ 15:13:00.000 00:00:52.000
14 169 VAUGRENARD, Benoît FRA FDJ 15:13:00.000 00:00:52.000
15 014 GUTIERREZ, José Ivan ESP GCE 15:13:01.000 00:00:53.000
16 184 GRIVKO, Andriy UKR MRM 15:13:01.000 00:00:53.000
17 151 POZZATO, Filippo ITA LIQ 15:13:03.000 00:00:55.000
18 112 CONTADOR, Alberto ESP DSC 15:13:03.000 00:00:55.000
19 195 KASHECHKIN, Andrey KAZ AST 15:13:03.000 00:00:55.000
20 041 EVANS, Cadel AUS PRL 15:13:04.000 00:00:56.000
21 102 BONNET, William FRA C.A 15:13:04.000 00:00:56.000
22 077 PEREZ, Ruben ESP EUS 15:13:04.000 00:00:56.000
23 141 CHAVANEL, Sylvain FRA COF 15:13:04.000 00:00:56.000
24 021 ROGERS, Michael AUS TMO 15:13:05.000 00:00:57.000
25 011 PEREIRO SIO, Oscar ESP GCE 15:13:05.000 00:00:57.000
26 181 ZABEL, Erik GER MRM 15:13:06.000 00:00:58.000
27 139 VOGONDY, Nicolas FRA AGR 15:13:06.000 00:00:58.000
28 025 GERDEMANN, Linus GER TMO 15:13:06.000 00:00:58.000
29 199 SAVOLDELLI, Paolo ITA AST 15:13:06.000 00:00:58.000
30 175 ROSSELER, Sébastien BEL QSI 15:13:07.000 00:00:59.000
31 148 VERBRUGGHE, Rik BEL COF 15:13:07.000 00:00:59.000
32 111 LEIPHEIMER, Levi USA DSC 15:13:08.000 00:01:00.000
33 051 MENCHOV, Denis RUS RAB 15:13:08.000 00:01:00.000
34 093 FOTHEN, Markus GER GST 15:13:11.000 00:01:03.000
35 018 VALVERDE, Alejandro ESP GCE 15:13:11.000 00:01:03.000
36 192 COLOM, Antonio ESP AST 15:13:11.000 00:01:03.000
37 095 KOHL, Bernhard AUT GST 15:13:12.000 00:01:04.000
38 176 STEEGMANS, Gert BEL QSI 15:13:12.000 00:01:04.000
39 117 PAULINHO, Sergio POR DSC 15:13:12.000 00:01:04.000
40 091 SCHUMACHER, Stefan GER GST 15:13:13.000 00:01:05.000
41 144 MORENI, Cristian ITA COF 15:13:13.000 00:01:05.000
42 097 SCHOLZ, Ronny GER GST 15:13:13.000 00:01:05.000
43 165 GILBERT, Philippe BEL FDJ 15:13:14.000 00:01:06.000
44 125 LEFEVRE, Laurent FRA BTL 15:13:14.000 00:01:06.000
45 215 GERAINT, Thomas GBR BAR 15:13:15.000 00:01:07.000
46 122 CLEMENT, Stef NED BTL 15:13:15.000 00:01:07.000
47 172 BARREDO, Carlos ESP QSI 15:13:15.000 00:01:07.000
48 115 MARTINEZ, Egoi ESP DSC 15:13:15.000 00:01:07.000
49 193 IGLINSKIY, Maxim KAZ AST 15:13:16.000 00:01:08.000
50 118 POPOVYCH, Yaroslav UKR DSC 15:13:16.000 00:01:08.000
Cancellara
Zabel
Napolitano
Boonen
Hushovd
Forster
McEwen
Eisel
Cavendish
Haussler
That's right! Cancellara led out with about a kilometer to go and just blasted past the break-away bunch and fended off the chasing sprinters. He's still in yellow and is putting his own brand on this race. YIKES!
Remember, Cancellara is supposed to be a time trial and sprint specialist. We'll see what happens to him in a few stages when the roads turn upward.
Standings after Stage 3...(pasted right from Versus' site)
(Here's your top 50 - the numbers on the far right are the minutes and seconds the rider is behind Cancellara. For example, Millar is 41 seconds back and Boonen is 46 seconds back.)
Pos. No. Name Nat. Team Time Gap
1 033 CANCELLARA, Fabian SUI CSC 15:12:08.000 00:00:00.000
2 196 KLÖDEN, Andréas GER AST 15:12:41.000 00:00:33.000
3 201 MILLAR, David GBR SDV 15:12:49.000 00:00:41.000
4 114 HINCAPIE, George USA DSC 15:12:51.000 00:00:43.000
5 149 WIGGINS, Bradley GBR COF 15:12:51.000 00:00:43.000
6 113 GUSEV, Vladimir RUS DSC 15:12:53.000 00:00:45.000
7 171 BOONEN, Tom BEL QSI 15:12:54.000 00:00:46.000
8 015 KARPETS, Vladimir RUS GCE 15:12:54.000 00:00:46.000
9 101 HUSHOVD, Thor NOR C.A 15:12:57.000 00:00:49.000
10 073 ASTARLOZA, Mikel ESP EUS 15:12:57.000 00:00:49.000
11 191 VINOKOUROV, Alexandre KAZ AST 15:12:58.000 00:00:50.000
12 054 DEKKER, Thomas NED RAB 15:12:59.000 00:00:51.000
13 157 QUINZIATO, Manuel ITA LIQ 15:13:00.000 00:00:52.000
14 169 VAUGRENARD, Benoît FRA FDJ 15:13:00.000 00:00:52.000
15 014 GUTIERREZ, José Ivan ESP GCE 15:13:01.000 00:00:53.000
16 184 GRIVKO, Andriy UKR MRM 15:13:01.000 00:00:53.000
17 151 POZZATO, Filippo ITA LIQ 15:13:03.000 00:00:55.000
18 112 CONTADOR, Alberto ESP DSC 15:13:03.000 00:00:55.000
19 195 KASHECHKIN, Andrey KAZ AST 15:13:03.000 00:00:55.000
20 041 EVANS, Cadel AUS PRL 15:13:04.000 00:00:56.000
21 102 BONNET, William FRA C.A 15:13:04.000 00:00:56.000
22 077 PEREZ, Ruben ESP EUS 15:13:04.000 00:00:56.000
23 141 CHAVANEL, Sylvain FRA COF 15:13:04.000 00:00:56.000
24 021 ROGERS, Michael AUS TMO 15:13:05.000 00:00:57.000
25 011 PEREIRO SIO, Oscar ESP GCE 15:13:05.000 00:00:57.000
26 181 ZABEL, Erik GER MRM 15:13:06.000 00:00:58.000
27 139 VOGONDY, Nicolas FRA AGR 15:13:06.000 00:00:58.000
28 025 GERDEMANN, Linus GER TMO 15:13:06.000 00:00:58.000
29 199 SAVOLDELLI, Paolo ITA AST 15:13:06.000 00:00:58.000
30 175 ROSSELER, Sébastien BEL QSI 15:13:07.000 00:00:59.000
31 148 VERBRUGGHE, Rik BEL COF 15:13:07.000 00:00:59.000
32 111 LEIPHEIMER, Levi USA DSC 15:13:08.000 00:01:00.000
33 051 MENCHOV, Denis RUS RAB 15:13:08.000 00:01:00.000
34 093 FOTHEN, Markus GER GST 15:13:11.000 00:01:03.000
35 018 VALVERDE, Alejandro ESP GCE 15:13:11.000 00:01:03.000
36 192 COLOM, Antonio ESP AST 15:13:11.000 00:01:03.000
37 095 KOHL, Bernhard AUT GST 15:13:12.000 00:01:04.000
38 176 STEEGMANS, Gert BEL QSI 15:13:12.000 00:01:04.000
39 117 PAULINHO, Sergio POR DSC 15:13:12.000 00:01:04.000
40 091 SCHUMACHER, Stefan GER GST 15:13:13.000 00:01:05.000
41 144 MORENI, Cristian ITA COF 15:13:13.000 00:01:05.000
42 097 SCHOLZ, Ronny GER GST 15:13:13.000 00:01:05.000
43 165 GILBERT, Philippe BEL FDJ 15:13:14.000 00:01:06.000
44 125 LEFEVRE, Laurent FRA BTL 15:13:14.000 00:01:06.000
45 215 GERAINT, Thomas GBR BAR 15:13:15.000 00:01:07.000
46 122 CLEMENT, Stef NED BTL 15:13:15.000 00:01:07.000
47 172 BARREDO, Carlos ESP QSI 15:13:15.000 00:01:07.000
48 115 MARTINEZ, Egoi ESP DSC 15:13:15.000 00:01:07.000
49 193 IGLINSKIY, Maxim KAZ AST 15:13:16.000 00:01:08.000
50 118 POPOVYCH, Yaroslav UKR DSC 15:13:16.000 00:01:08.000
Longest Stage
Even though the stage today is fairly flat (when compared to the upcoming Alpes), it's the longest in the 2007 Tour de France.
236+KM.
236+KM.
10 July 2007
Stage 3 News
Spoiler Alert. Again, if you're saving the Tour de France via Tivo or some other DVR, then don't read this post until later tonight after you've watched the stage.
OK, here's a quick recap of the race after a couple hours of Stage 3...
Thomas Vaitkus of Team Discovery abandoned the Tour with a broken thumb after yesterday's crash.
187 riders are still in the 2007 Tour de France.
Tom Boonen is in Green.
David Millar is still wearing the Polka-Dot jersey.
Fabian Cancellara is still in Yellow (no update on injuries from the crash in stage 2).
Nicolas Vogondy of France had a lead of nearly 14 minutes at one point in today's stage. He was joined in his break-away by Matthieu Ladagnous.
With less than 100KM to go in the stage, the two riders in the break-away are still more than four minutes ahead of the peloton.
More to come...
OK, here's a quick recap of the race after a couple hours of Stage 3...
Thomas Vaitkus of Team Discovery abandoned the Tour with a broken thumb after yesterday's crash.
187 riders are still in the 2007 Tour de France.
Tom Boonen is in Green.
David Millar is still wearing the Polka-Dot jersey.
Fabian Cancellara is still in Yellow (no update on injuries from the crash in stage 2).
Nicolas Vogondy of France had a lead of nearly 14 minutes at one point in today's stage. He was joined in his break-away by Matthieu Ladagnous.
With less than 100KM to go in the stage, the two riders in the break-away are still more than four minutes ahead of the peloton.
More to come...
Doping? Not yet.
So far the results of the Tour de France have been seemingly devoid of dope-enhanced performances. Less than a minute separates most of the field and none of the break-aways have been able to stay away. In fact, if I'm looking at the right stat sheet, the largest break-away margin was less than five minutes. So what's the big deal with all the doping talk!?
Well, in today's issue of the Boston Globe, an opinion piece by Matthew Stevenson rails against the sport of cycling and even seems to suggest that it might have been better for the Tour de France if the 2007 edition was shelved. That's right, Stevenson indicates that some people thought a year off would help the sport.
I disagree. I think that cycling is already rebounding. The riders are probably still doping and some will definitely get caught this year. But it's not going to disable cycling and it certainly won't wreck the Tour de France.
I also feel that Floyd Landis will be found innocent soon and that will bolster interest in cycling, not create more cynicism. The trouble is really the limited understanding people have when it comes to the testing procedures, the demands of the sport, the guilty until proven innocent pattern, and the dictatorship that is the UCI.
This year, riders couldn't even ride in the Tour de France unless they signed a contract with the UCI saying that they would forfeit all of their 2007 earnings if they were found guilty of using banned substances.
Here's the conundrum for a rider...up until July, unless you're a top top top rider, you have made only a fraction of the possible money you could make for the year. If you do poorly in the TDF, then you still are making minimal money for a pro athlete (other than those who have HUGE endorsement deals).
SO, if you need to finish high in the Tour de France to make more money. AND if you can only finish high in the Tour by doping. What do you have to lose? If you don't get caught, you have more money and a better record. If you do get caught, you lose the money that doping helped you earn. It's a gamble, but for about 150 of the 189 riders in the race, they won't be on the podium and therefore won't be locks to get tested. So the gamble is minimal.
Before today's stage, there were 53 riders tested randomly. I'll keep you updated on those results.
I still think the sport is as clean as any other major sport - maybe cleaner. The overreaching issue is the amount of information we have about the drugs and testing process in cycling.
If we had better access to Major League Baseball - or if the sport had the guts to open its doors to independent testing organizations - that would be the sport facing extinction.
For now, the wheels in the Tour de France keep turning. That's the way it should be.
Updates on Stage 3 coming up.
Well, in today's issue of the Boston Globe, an opinion piece by Matthew Stevenson rails against the sport of cycling and even seems to suggest that it might have been better for the Tour de France if the 2007 edition was shelved. That's right, Stevenson indicates that some people thought a year off would help the sport.
I disagree. I think that cycling is already rebounding. The riders are probably still doping and some will definitely get caught this year. But it's not going to disable cycling and it certainly won't wreck the Tour de France.
I also feel that Floyd Landis will be found innocent soon and that will bolster interest in cycling, not create more cynicism. The trouble is really the limited understanding people have when it comes to the testing procedures, the demands of the sport, the guilty until proven innocent pattern, and the dictatorship that is the UCI.
This year, riders couldn't even ride in the Tour de France unless they signed a contract with the UCI saying that they would forfeit all of their 2007 earnings if they were found guilty of using banned substances.
Here's the conundrum for a rider...up until July, unless you're a top top top rider, you have made only a fraction of the possible money you could make for the year. If you do poorly in the TDF, then you still are making minimal money for a pro athlete (other than those who have HUGE endorsement deals).
SO, if you need to finish high in the Tour de France to make more money. AND if you can only finish high in the Tour by doping. What do you have to lose? If you don't get caught, you have more money and a better record. If you do get caught, you lose the money that doping helped you earn. It's a gamble, but for about 150 of the 189 riders in the race, they won't be on the podium and therefore won't be locks to get tested. So the gamble is minimal.
Before today's stage, there were 53 riders tested randomly. I'll keep you updated on those results.
I still think the sport is as clean as any other major sport - maybe cleaner. The overreaching issue is the amount of information we have about the drugs and testing process in cycling.
If we had better access to Major League Baseball - or if the sport had the guts to open its doors to independent testing organizations - that would be the sport facing extinction.
For now, the wheels in the Tour de France keep turning. That's the way it should be.
Updates on Stage 3 coming up.
09 July 2007
Top Ten Finishers Today
Here's how they finished today, in order at the finish line...
1. Gert Steegmans (QSI)
2. Tom Boonen (QSI)
3. Filippo Pozzato (LIQ)
4. Robert Hunter (BAR)
5. Romain Feillu (AGR)
6. Robbie McEwen (PRL)
7. Erik Zabel (MRM)
8. Heinrich Haussler (GST)
9. Oscar Freire (RAB)
10. Sebastien Chavanel (FDJ)
Here is how the top 50 riders stack up overall...
1 CANCELLARA, Fabian
2 KLÖDEN, Andréas
3 MILLAR, David
4 HINCAPIE, George
5 WIGGINS, Bradley
6 GUSEV, Vladimir
7 BOONEN, Tom
8 KARPETS, Vladimir
9 HUSHOVD, Thor
10 VINOKOUROV, Alexandre
11 DEKKER, Thomas
12 QUINZIATO, Manuel
13 VAUGRENARD, Benoît
14 GUTIERREZ, José Ivan
15 GRIVKO, Andriy
16 ASTARLOZA, Mikel
17 POZZATO, Filippo
18 CONTADOR, Alberto
19 KASHECHKIN, Andrey
20 EVANS, Cadel
21 BONNET, William
22 PEREZ, Ruben
23 CHAVANEL, Sylvain
24 ROGERS, Michael
25 PEREIRO SIO, Oscar
26 GERDEMANN, Linus
27 SAVOLDELLI, Paolo
28 ROSSELER, Sébastien
29 VERBRUGGHE, Rik
30 LEIPHEIMER, Levi
31 MENCHOV, Denis
32 VAITKUS, Tomas
33 FOTHEN, Markus
34 VALVERDE, Alejandro
35 BENNATI, Daniele
36 COLOM, Antonio
37 KOHL, Bernhard
38 STEEGMANS, Gert
39 PAULINHO, Sergio
40 SCHUMACHER, Stefan
41 MORENI, Cristian
42 SCHOLZ, Ronny
43 GILBERT, Philippe
44 LEFEVRE, Laurent
45 GERAINT, Thomas
46 CLEMENT, Stef
47 BARREDO, Carlos
48 MARTINEZ, Egoi
49 IGLINSKIY, Maxim
50 POPOVYCH, Yaroslav
The gap from Cancellara to 50th spot is only 48 seconds! This is shaping up to be a great Tour de France.
By the way, we're waiting to see if Cancellara is OK after a nasty fall in a crash near the end of today's stage. THAT would be unreal. If Cancellara is out, then the Tour is anyone's for the taking.
1. Gert Steegmans (QSI)
2. Tom Boonen (QSI)
3. Filippo Pozzato (LIQ)
4. Robert Hunter (BAR)
5. Romain Feillu (AGR)
6. Robbie McEwen (PRL)
7. Erik Zabel (MRM)
8. Heinrich Haussler (GST)
9. Oscar Freire (RAB)
10. Sebastien Chavanel (FDJ)
Here is how the top 50 riders stack up overall...
1 CANCELLARA, Fabian
2 KLÖDEN, Andréas
3 MILLAR, David
4 HINCAPIE, George
5 WIGGINS, Bradley
6 GUSEV, Vladimir
7 BOONEN, Tom
8 KARPETS, Vladimir
9 HUSHOVD, Thor
10 VINOKOUROV, Alexandre
11 DEKKER, Thomas
12 QUINZIATO, Manuel
13 VAUGRENARD, Benoît
14 GUTIERREZ, José Ivan
15 GRIVKO, Andriy
16 ASTARLOZA, Mikel
17 POZZATO, Filippo
18 CONTADOR, Alberto
19 KASHECHKIN, Andrey
20 EVANS, Cadel
21 BONNET, William
22 PEREZ, Ruben
23 CHAVANEL, Sylvain
24 ROGERS, Michael
25 PEREIRO SIO, Oscar
26 GERDEMANN, Linus
27 SAVOLDELLI, Paolo
28 ROSSELER, Sébastien
29 VERBRUGGHE, Rik
30 LEIPHEIMER, Levi
31 MENCHOV, Denis
32 VAITKUS, Tomas
33 FOTHEN, Markus
34 VALVERDE, Alejandro
35 BENNATI, Daniele
36 COLOM, Antonio
37 KOHL, Bernhard
38 STEEGMANS, Gert
39 PAULINHO, Sergio
40 SCHUMACHER, Stefan
41 MORENI, Cristian
42 SCHOLZ, Ronny
43 GILBERT, Philippe
44 LEFEVRE, Laurent
45 GERAINT, Thomas
46 CLEMENT, Stef
47 BARREDO, Carlos
48 MARTINEZ, Egoi
49 IGLINSKIY, Maxim
50 POPOVYCH, Yaroslav
The gap from Cancellara to 50th spot is only 48 seconds! This is shaping up to be a great Tour de France.
By the way, we're waiting to see if Cancellara is OK after a nasty fall in a crash near the end of today's stage. THAT would be unreal. If Cancellara is out, then the Tour is anyone's for the taking.
And they're in Belgium
The peloton is in Belgium already and has 100KM to ride in today's second stage of the 2007 Tour de France.
Check out the dispatches/newsflashes at this link for up to the minute info.
Check out the dispatches/newsflashes at this link for up to the minute info.
Listen LIVE
Hey, if you've got headphones at work, you can listen live to the 2007 Tour de France on Eurosport.
Scroll down once you're on the site and look for the listen live link.
Enjoy.
Scroll down once you're on the site and look for the listen live link.
Enjoy.
08 July 2007
GC Standings after Stage 1
Here is how Versus has the General Classification standings after Stage One of the 2007 Tour de France...
1 033 CANCELLARA, Fabian 00:00:00.000
2 196 KLÖDEN, Andréas 00:00:13.000
3 201 MILLAR, David GBR 00:00:21.000
4 114 HINCAPIE, George 00:00:23.000
5 149 WIGGINS, Bradley 00:00:23.000
6 113 GUSEV, Vladimir 00:00:25.000
7 015 KARPETS, Vladimir 00:00:26.000
8 101 HUSHOVD, Thor NOR 00:00:29.000
9 191 VINOKOUROV, Alexandre 00:00:30.000
10 054 DEKKER, Thomas NED 00:00:31.000
11 157 QUINZIATO, Manuel 00:00:32.000
12 169 VAUGRENARD, Benoît 00:00:32.000
13 014 GUTIERREZ, José Ivan 00:00:33.000
14 184 GRIVKO, Andriy UKR 00:00:33.000
15 073 ASTARLOZA, Mikel 00:00:33.000
16 112 CONTADOR, Alberto 00:00:35.000
17 195 KASHECHKIN, Andrey 00:00:35.000
18 041 EVANS, Cadel AUS 00:00:36.000
19 102 BONNET, William 00:00:36.000
20 141 CHAVANEL, Sylvain 00:00:36.000
This also seems to indicate that my pick for the overall winner in 2007 has a little work to do. Everyone's favorite American (at least the 'team leader' on the American Discovery Channel Team) is 40 seconds back. Oh, his name is Levi Leipheimer.
His only issue today was a puncture during the first half of the stage. After that he was able to rejoin the peloton and finish a few seconds back of the sprinters.
1 033 CANCELLARA, Fabian 00:00:00.000
2 196 KLÖDEN, Andréas 00:00:13.000
3 201 MILLAR, David GBR 00:00:21.000
4 114 HINCAPIE, George 00:00:23.000
5 149 WIGGINS, Bradley 00:00:23.000
6 113 GUSEV, Vladimir 00:00:25.000
7 015 KARPETS, Vladimir 00:00:26.000
8 101 HUSHOVD, Thor NOR 00:00:29.000
9 191 VINOKOUROV, Alexandre 00:00:30.000
10 054 DEKKER, Thomas NED 00:00:31.000
11 157 QUINZIATO, Manuel 00:00:32.000
12 169 VAUGRENARD, Benoît 00:00:32.000
13 014 GUTIERREZ, José Ivan 00:00:33.000
14 184 GRIVKO, Andriy UKR 00:00:33.000
15 073 ASTARLOZA, Mikel 00:00:33.000
16 112 CONTADOR, Alberto 00:00:35.000
17 195 KASHECHKIN, Andrey 00:00:35.000
18 041 EVANS, Cadel AUS 00:00:36.000
19 102 BONNET, William 00:00:36.000
20 141 CHAVANEL, Sylvain 00:00:36.000
This also seems to indicate that my pick for the overall winner in 2007 has a little work to do. Everyone's favorite American (at least the 'team leader' on the American Discovery Channel Team) is 40 seconds back. Oh, his name is Levi Leipheimer.
His only issue today was a puncture during the first half of the stage. After that he was able to rejoin the peloton and finish a few seconds back of the sprinters.
Stage One Results
The results of the first stage of the 2007 Tour de France are:
1. Robbie McEwen
2. Thor Hushovd
3. Tom Boonen
4. Sebastien Chavanel
5. Romain Feillu
6. Robert Forster
7. Marcus Burghardt
8. Oscar Freire
9. Francisco Ventoso
10. Thomas Vaitkus
1. Robbie McEwen
2. Thor Hushovd
3. Tom Boonen
4. Sebastien Chavanel
5. Romain Feillu
6. Robert Forster
7. Marcus Burghardt
8. Oscar Freire
9. Francisco Ventoso
10. Thomas Vaitkus
Back at the office -Tour de France
Well, I hope you enjoyed all those random bike pictures. I was unable to get a spot to watch the tour and blog about it, so I was going about the city taking photos of bikes in various stages of use.
Now I'm back at the office and here are some bits of info about the Tour de France and about today's stage one events - courtesy of Versus.com and other outlets.
(Info that appeared on the Versus Newsflashes today) -----------
One of the five British riders in the peloton is also the youngest in the 94th edition of the Tour de France. Geraint Thomas of the Barloworld team was born on 25 May 1986.
The average age of competitors in the 2007 Tour de France is 28.5 years.
The tallest rider is Marcel Sieberg (MRM) – 198cm.
The shortest rider is Alexandre Botcharov (C.A) – 164cm.
The average height is 179cm.
The heaviest riders are Robert Forster (GST) and Gert Steegmans (QSI) – 87kg
The lightest rider is Amets Txurruka (EUS) – 56kg.
The average weight is 70kg.
------------------------------------
News outlets are also still harping about doping and how tarnished the Tour de France has become. I only hope that none of the riders are caught this year. It might make it tremendously easy to get rooms all over France to follow TDF08, but I would hate the spectacle of it all.
**By the way, I plan to do the full Tour de France excursion in 2008 and will be blogging it from TDF08.com. That is unless someone purchases that domain name from me.
More info shortly.
Now I'm back at the office and here are some bits of info about the Tour de France and about today's stage one events - courtesy of Versus.com and other outlets.
(Info that appeared on the Versus Newsflashes today) -----------
One of the five British riders in the peloton is also the youngest in the 94th edition of the Tour de France. Geraint Thomas of the Barloworld team was born on 25 May 1986.
The average age of competitors in the 2007 Tour de France is 28.5 years.
The tallest rider is Marcel Sieberg (MRM) – 198cm.
The shortest rider is Alexandre Botcharov (C.A) – 164cm.
The average height is 179cm.
The heaviest riders are Robert Forster (GST) and Gert Steegmans (QSI) – 87kg
The lightest rider is Amets Txurruka (EUS) – 56kg.
The average weight is 70kg.
------------------------------------
News outlets are also still harping about doping and how tarnished the Tour de France has become. I only hope that none of the riders are caught this year. It might make it tremendously easy to get rooms all over France to follow TDF08, but I would hate the spectacle of it all.
**By the way, I plan to do the full Tour de France excursion in 2008 and will be blogging it from TDF08.com. That is unless someone purchases that domain name from me.
More info shortly.
07 July 2007
Versus Television Newsflashes/Dispatches
I promised to put this link up. It's the address of the Versus Television dispatches. Wonderful for keeping up with the results - up to the second - while at work.
Stuart O'Grady CRASH
I should warn you here, that when I'm in France (headed over there soon), I'll be trying to moblog to this site. That means that you might see SPOILERS here before you've had the chance to get home to your TIVO and watch the current-day's stage.
That said, I'll keep results talk to a minimum but I will likely make a big deal about in-stage events.
AND, regarding the subject line, Stuart O'Grady crashed before the halfway point of today's prologue time trial. He had to swap to another bike after slapping his right foot and pedal into the foam barrier.
He was tossed down quickly and ended his time trial with a time of 10:05 or 10:06.
That said, I'll keep results talk to a minimum but I will likely make a big deal about in-stage events.
AND, regarding the subject line, Stuart O'Grady crashed before the halfway point of today's prologue time trial. He had to swap to another bike after slapping his right foot and pedal into the foam barrier.
He was tossed down quickly and ended his time trial with a time of 10:05 or 10:06.
Time Trial Underway
The Prologue is underway and my choice/prediction for the overall Tour de France winner will departe at 12:58 EST US. Levi!!
Commentators on Versus TV are the same cast of pros we've seen every year.
Weather is perfect, just a touch of wind.
Best time so far is 9:26.
**If you're checking out the Google map of the Tour, visit the comments on that post. There's been an update.
Commentators on Versus TV are the same cast of pros we've seen every year.
Weather is perfect, just a touch of wind.
Best time so far is 9:26.
**If you're checking out the Google map of the Tour, visit the comments on that post. There's been an update.
A comment I posted
Here's a comment I just posted at a site asking all readers what can be done about the doping issue in the Tour de France and in cycling in general. Here's the link to the article.
This year I'm blogging about the tour at http://www.tdf07.com and I feel my greatest challenge will be learning new names and faces while the riders whirl past me.
Having watched the tour in 1998 in Ireland and in 2005 in Meribel and Courchevel, I have grown to love this sport.
But the only thing I see as a fix for the doping issue is a complete collapse and rebuild. Unfortunately, that will likely cause the sport to lose its American fan base (as many people over here are fickle and selfish) and that could affect the profitability of the sport.
All of which might send the sport and the Tour de France into a spiral again where people feel the need to dope to create magnificent performances.
C'est la vie.
This year I'm blogging about the tour at http://www.tdf07.com and I feel my greatest challenge will be learning new names and faces while the riders whirl past me.
Having watched the tour in 1998 in Ireland and in 2005 in Meribel and Courchevel, I have grown to love this sport.
But the only thing I see as a fix for the doping issue is a complete collapse and rebuild. Unfortunately, that will likely cause the sport to lose its American fan base (as many people over here are fickle and selfish) and that could affect the profitability of the sport.
All of which might send the sport and the Tour de France into a spiral again where people feel the need to dope to create magnificent performances.
C'est la vie.
It's Now Race Day
It's now past 12AM in London and the race is mere hours away. Actually, it's just a short time trial, and it doesn't go off until 3PM local time (10AM on the East Coast of the United States), but it's the day!
Updates to come. I'll also put a link here to OLN/Versus dispatches so you can see how racers are doing.
Updates to come. I'll also put a link here to OLN/Versus dispatches so you can see how racers are doing.
06 July 2007
Who's riding?
One of the readers of TDF07.com just sent me a note with a New York Times article attached. Here's an excerpt and a link to the full article. Essentially, this is a program for telling the riders apart and a great perspective on doping and who is poised to win the 2007 Tour de France.
A COUPLE PARAGRAPHS EXCERPTED FROM THE NY TIMES -------------
Without Key Riders, Tour de France Is Left Wide Open
By EDWARD WYATT
Published: July 6, 2007
For the second straight year, no rider is expected to dominate the Tour, in part because many of the cyclists who would have been expected to compete for the victory are not here.
The race is to be considered a wide-open affair, with any one of nearly a dozen riders viewed as a possible winner. If anyone is considered the favorite, it is Alexander Vinokourov, a 33-year old Kazakh who rides for Astana.
The top American in the field is Levi Leipheimer, who has finished in the top 10 three times with other teams but who this year will have a stronger support group around him in the Discovery Channel team.
Most of the riders know that whatever happens over the next three weeks of racing will be suspect, in some respects.
END OF EXCERPTED TEXT -----------
Here's the link to the entire article. A great read.
ONE DAY TO GO - London, tomorrow!!!
A COUPLE PARAGRAPHS EXCERPTED FROM THE NY TIMES -------------
Without Key Riders, Tour de France Is Left Wide Open
By EDWARD WYATT
Published: July 6, 2007
For the second straight year, no rider is expected to dominate the Tour, in part because many of the cyclists who would have been expected to compete for the victory are not here.
The race is to be considered a wide-open affair, with any one of nearly a dozen riders viewed as a possible winner. If anyone is considered the favorite, it is Alexander Vinokourov, a 33-year old Kazakh who rides for Astana.
The top American in the field is Levi Leipheimer, who has finished in the top 10 three times with other teams but who this year will have a stronger support group around him in the Discovery Channel team.
Most of the riders know that whatever happens over the next three weeks of racing will be suspect, in some respects.
END OF EXCERPTED TEXT -----------
Here's the link to the entire article. A great read.
ONE DAY TO GO - London, tomorrow!!!
Map of the route
Go to this site NOW. DO IT. There is a google-maps file that shows you every street and view of this year's Tour de France. Oh, my! It's great.
More coming soon. The 2007 Tour de France starts TOMORROW!!
More coming soon. The 2007 Tour de France starts TOMORROW!!
05 July 2007
Two Days to Go
In a conversation I had yesterday with my uncle Paul, I mentioned that for the first time in a long time the Tour de France would be a true athletic challenge.
When asked why, I responded that the Tour de France was now drug-free and only the pure athletes were participating. No more EPO or Testoterone or speed or steroids or coffee or any recognized drug.
But isn't that the real problem? We're only poised to take on the athletes using 'recognized' illegal substances. And in a magazine article recently (I think it was Wired or PopSci) the assertion was made that the UCI and other Tour de France and cycling legislative bodies can only look for substances they are aware of.
And with millions of dollars at stake, wouldn't it behoove the teams and even the riders to find an edge with brand-new designer drugs?
I'm not advocating cheating. But until something is listed as being a cheat, can't it be used to help an athlete win?
Switching from the Tour de France to American baseball for a second, look at Barry Bonds. For the bulk (literally) of his career, he was hopped up on steroids. But the types of steroids he was using weren't detectable and the records he compiled while on the juice should stay in the books.
It's pretty much what all burglars and thieves say (I'm guessing because I don't hang around with too many of them), "It's only illegal if you get caught."
Well, for years that's been how cycling has operated. With two days to go before the 2007 Tour de France, I hope things have changed.
Jeff Cutler
When asked why, I responded that the Tour de France was now drug-free and only the pure athletes were participating. No more EPO or Testoterone or speed or steroids or coffee or any recognized drug.
But isn't that the real problem? We're only poised to take on the athletes using 'recognized' illegal substances. And in a magazine article recently (I think it was Wired or PopSci) the assertion was made that the UCI and other Tour de France and cycling legislative bodies can only look for substances they are aware of.
And with millions of dollars at stake, wouldn't it behoove the teams and even the riders to find an edge with brand-new designer drugs?
I'm not advocating cheating. But until something is listed as being a cheat, can't it be used to help an athlete win?
Switching from the Tour de France to American baseball for a second, look at Barry Bonds. For the bulk (literally) of his career, he was hopped up on steroids. But the types of steroids he was using weren't detectable and the records he compiled while on the juice should stay in the books.
It's pretty much what all burglars and thieves say (I'm guessing because I don't hang around with too many of them), "It's only illegal if you get caught."
Well, for years that's been how cycling has operated. With two days to go before the 2007 Tour de France, I hope things have changed.
Jeff Cutler
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