Meet Yohann Gene....Tour de France's First Black Cyclist

(Article and picture: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2082253,00.html#ixzz1TeCH1hUi)

This post is in partnership with Worldcrunch, a new global-news site that translates stories of note in foreign languages into English. The article below was originally published in Le Temps.

Yohann Gène smiles. At 30, the Guadeloupian member of the Europcar team is the first black cyclist to take part in the Tour de France. A professional racer since 2005, Gène is described by other cyclists as a model teammate and vital to support the leaders.

Gène was 17 when he first moved to Europe, and soon after discovered the passion for the green open spaces where his bike could bring him. "When I ride, I see all kinds of landscapes. I feel free." As a kid, he followed the Tour de France on television, but strangely imagined himself in another, far less well-known race. "I always dreamed of the Paris-Roubaix — because of its audience and its warrior-like competitors who always risk falling." And all that in the rough northern weather.

Having arrived with a friend, Rony Martias, the pair entered a special high school course for athletically-gifted pupils. Jean-René Bernaudeau, manager of the Europcar Team, remembers Gène's first steps on the European stage. "I was lucky to take both Yohann and Rony — I know the West Indies pretty well. Cycling is very much alive there. It's the only French department where cycling is more popular than soccer, The Tour de Guadeloupe is the event of the year."

Even though cycling has become increasingly globalized, Yohann Gène's presence is remarkable nevertheless. "We have been subject to racism," says his manager. "I had to deal with a few problems and contact sponsors of two foreign teams about it. After the doping incidents, I couldn't let racism be part of cycling."

Forerunner, Jean-René Bernaudeau would have liked to hire two Eritreans this year, but they didn't obtain their visas. "In the West Indies, cycling is a real culture. We only have to repeat what we did with Yohann Gène. In Africa, you need three years to transform someone's talent into a good cyclist and then help him enter the professional world. Right now there is an Ethiopian, Tsgabu Grmay, who could win the climb of the Alpes d'Huez. The cycling culture needs to open up. It's a small world, with a homogenous culture." That may be about to change.

Alberto Contador and His CAS Hearing

As discussed before, Alberto Contador is supposed to go before the Court of Arbitration for Sport for a hearing about his positive test of Clenbuterol in the 2010 Tour de France. However, this hearing has been postponed again! For the third time. The article below says it's because they need more time "to complete their evidence and arguments relating to some specific scientific issues", which in English translates to me "we don't have enough evidence yet, but want to bust him anyway".

Contador CAS hearing postponed until November

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/contador-cas-hearing-postponed-until-november)

Alberto Contador's hearing before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has been postponed again, until November. The exact hearing dates have not yet been set.

Both the International Cycling Union (UCI) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed the decision of the Spanish cycling federation (RFEC) to clear Contador of charges resulting from his positive doping control for Clenbuterol in the 2010 Tour de France.

The CAS said that it “has allowed a request for a second exchange of written submissions between the parties as well as for a new procedural calendar. Such request was formulated by WADA with the unanimous agreement of the three other parties.”

According to the CAS statement, issued Tuesday afternoon, "The second round of written submissions will allow the parties to complete their evidence and arguments relating to some specific scientific issues."

The RFEC issued its decision in February, and the UCI and WADA filed their appeals with the CAS in March. The CAS hearing was initially scheduled for early June but then postponed until August.

I just wish this nightmare for Contador was over. He had a rough Tour de France because all of the spectators were against him. He hasn't tested positive before or since that one time; I think it's okay to blame the meat he ate.

Good luck Alberto; my fingers are crossed for you!

Michael Rasmussen & The Lawsuit

Here's a name that I haven't said recently...Michael Rasmussen. One of my top contendors in previous years, but he's since stepped out of the limelight after being pulled out of the 2007 Tour de France and removed from his team...all because he lied about his where he was while training. So now, in order to make back the money he lost, he is suing his former team:

Rasmussen sues Rabobank for 5.6 million Euro

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/rasmussen-sues-rabobank-for-5-6-million-euro)

Michael Rasmussen is suing Rabobank for 42 million Danish kroner, or about 5.6 million euro.  He is claiming damages stemming from his dismissal from the team after the Tour de France 2007.

Rasmussen was wearing the yellow jersey in the Tour when he was removed from the race and he was subsequently fired by the Dutch team.  He was later suspended for two years after it was found that he had lied about his whereabouts whilst training for the Tour.

In July 2008, a Dutch court ruled that while Rabobank had rightfully dismissed the Dane, it still owed him 715,000 euros.

“I won the first case,” Rasmussen told De Telegraaf.  “However, the judge made a miscalculation.”  That payment included his Tour de France bonus payment and two months of salary. 

“My contract ran through the end of the year.  Furthermore, I was missing out on 300,000 euros in signed criterium contracts plus sponsorships and contributions.  Just based on that, I should be reimbursed 1.1 million euros.

“Now, however, I can demonstrate the consequences of the decision.  If I had won the Tour I would have had a contract for several million for a few years.  We demand more than 5.6 million.  We are not looking too high.”

The hearing is expected to be held sometime this fall.

I shall keep you all updated.

Mauricio Soler Update (as of 7/20/2011)

I know I should have posted this a week ago, but here is an update on Mauricio Soler, the cyclist who was critically injured during the 2011 Giro d'Italia. The good news is that he is recovering. The bad news is that is is going to be along and slow process.

Soler leaves intensive care unit

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/soler-leaves-intensive-care-unit)

Mauricio Soler has left the intensive care unit at the Clínica Universitaria de Navarra in Pamplona as he continues his recovery from the serious injuries he suffered in a crash at the Tour de Suisse last month.

The Colombian rider sustained head injuries and was placed in an induced coma after he collided with a spectator on stage 6 of the race. Soler spent three weeks in an ICU in St. Gallen, Switzerland, before he was transferred to Pamplona ten days ago.

A statement from his Movistar team said that Soler has experienced “notable improvement” in his condition since his arrival in Spain, although it explained that he will spend “a long period of time” at the medical centre. On Tuesday evening, Soler was moved to a room on the regular medicine floor of the hospital.

“His improvements are slow, but constant and positive,” Movistar doctor Alfredo Zúñiga said. “He already recognises the people from his environment and has started talking. You can keep short conversations with him. He's still really tired, and that's normal due to the magnitude of the blow he suffered, but his progress is good, especially during this last week.”

Just days before his accident, Soler won stage two of the Tour de Suisse to Crans-Montana, dedicating his victory to his late teammate Xavier Tondo.

Robbie McEwen...What's He Up To?

One of the cyclists that I love to watch race, was missing from the Tour de France: Robbie McEwen. Remember the clash he had with Stuart O'Grady a few years ago?

To my disapointment Robbie McEwen, decided to take a month off and thus miss the Tour. However, as I am writing this, he is competing in the Tour de Wallonie in Belgium. How's he doing, you ask? Not too shabby:

McEwen on track for road Worlds
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/mcewen-on-track-for-road-worlds)

After taking a more than one-month break from competition, Robbie McEwen (RadioShack) returned to racing in Belgium at the Tour de Wallonie and today sprinted to victory in the penultimate stage. It was the first win of the season for the 39-year-old Australian and a good harbinger of form as he builds for his goal of winning the road world championship in Copenhagen, Denmark this September.

McEwen, winner of 12 Tour de France stages and a three-time green jersey winner at the French Grand Tour, was not selected to RadioShack's.

"I didn't see much of the Tour de France as I was concentrated on my own training," said McEwen. "I just trained at home easy for a week, then I went to the South of France and trained a lot in the hills. Just four hours a day, medium tempo, just building up my condition.

"A week before this race, back in Belgium I trained in the hills of the Flemish Ardennes and planned to used this Tour de Wallonie to get some rhythm back again. Apparently I found my rhythm quite quickly. This is promising for the next couple of months."

McEwen intended to work for teammate Manuel Cardoso in the finale of the Tour de Wallonie's fourth stage, but instead found himself in perfect position on the wheel of Daniele Bennati whose wheel he jumped off of for victory in Mouscron

"I am still very ambitious," said McEwen. "Since the beginning of the season the world championships in Copenhagen is a big objective. I think I can do a big preparation by doing this race and races like Eneco Tour, Hamburg, Plouay and Fourmies. I just need to be selected now. Hopefully that will be the case."Tour de France squad and spent the time training.

What is "Flat"? The Huge Saddle Debate

Bike seat positions are important for two reasons: 1) To ensure comfort to the rider and 2) to give the rider an aerodynamic advantage. And yes, while the guidelines have always said that the saddle must be flat, as long as they were "flattish" no one seemed to care...until the Team Time Trial, in Stage 2 of this year's Tour de France. Two team managers got fined for their riders not having perfectly flat seats...some were as little as 2mm off! This became a controvery; as Cadel Evans points out below, its the same thing as speeding, some cops let you go 10mph over the posted limit, while some will bust you for 5mph over.

Blazing saddles: Row erupts over rider positions in TTT(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/blazing-saddles-row-erupts-over-rider-positions-in-ttt)

Johan Bruyneel (RadioShack) and Bradley McGee (Saxo Bank SunGard) drew the ire of race officials at the start line of the Tour de France's second stage, the team time trial around Les Essarts on Sunday.

Bruyneel and McGee were both on the end of fines for "improper conduct towards officials in the zone where the bikes were being checked," organisers said, and each hit with a penalty of 200 Swiss francs.

The UCI said that teams had been warned last month that saddles should be parallel to the ground for time trials (as per UCI rule 1.3.012). Tempers flared on Sunday given the belief that the rule that was not previously strictly enforced and UCI commissaires were 'suddenly' putting equipment under the microscope on race day. The idea being that with a slight tilt of the saddle nose of the saddle towards the ground, the rider is provided with better lumbar support while they can also push a bigger gear.

"Before it just had to be 'flattish', now it has to be perfectly flat to the ground," BMC Racing chief mechanic, Ian Sherburne told news agency Reuters. "They were insisting that the saddle be perfectly level which isn't how the rules had been interpreted. They're deciding to enforce the rule in a different way, right now."

BMC team leader, Cadel Evans described the situation as "nearly ridiculous".

"I suppose it compares with speeding motorists; on an Italian freeway the police tolerate 20-30km/h over the limit," the Australian said on his website. "In Australia they tolerate 2-3km/h over the limit. Today it was out with the spirit level to check that everyone seats were 'horizontal' as the rules state. Check any seat with a scoop or channel in the back and that rule has a wide grey area of interpretation, a lot more that can be measured with a spirit level anyway."

" I try to set up my bike as much as I can within the position rules without loosing [sic] too much of the very aerodynamic advantage that we work so hard to achieve, always in anticipation of how the rule maybe interpreted," Evans continued. "We only had to move the nose of my seat 2mm upward, just a little more unhealthy and uncomfortable."

Bruyneel was frustrated by the timing of the action from race officials, saying that the action: "led to an unprofessional spectacle in front of everyone to see - An embarrassment for our sport," on his personal blog.

"... riders have been using this exact same position throughout the year (most recently at the Dauphiné Liberé and Tour de Suisse TT). Now imagine yourself as a rider - you have been using this position in races and training (and previously/several times the position has been approved by UCI commissaires as suitable). You then show up to the biggest race in the world and are told that the same position you have been using is now illegal!!"

And of course, after the team managers had been fined, there was an outcry, so the UCI had to fire back:

UCI fire back on saddle issue(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/uci-fire-back-on-saddle-issue)

The UCI has reacted angrily to criticism from riders and teams following yesterday's team time trial at the Tour de France.

Johan Bruyneel and Bradley McGee were both slapped with fines from the sport's governing body for "improper conduct towards officials in the zone where the bikes were being checked."

The dispute relates to UCI regulation 1.3.014 which dictates the position of saddles. A number of unsavoury scenes erupted before the time trial but according to a UCI spokesperson teams had been given a number of chances to make sure that their equipment met the needed standards.

"If there's an element of unprofessional behaviour it's not coming from the UCI but from the teams. Once again it's disappointing because it's a very simple rule that must be respected. There's no other function of the UCI rule book than to lay down the rules that must be respected," the UCI spokesperson told Cyclingnews.

"The UCI can't accept the behaviour of certain people like Mr Buyneel who have been fined for their behaviour.

"Before the Dauphine the teams were informed by the new rules. We had a member of the UCI at the Dauphine who was at their disposal if they wanted clarity over the rules. After the Dauphine he returned. No teams talked to him at the race so he sent them a letter saying that the rules would be enforced at the Tour. We then reminded the teams again at the teams' meeting before the Tour."

Bruyneel was frustrated by the timing of the action from race officials, saying that the action "led to an unprofessional spectacle in front of everyone to see – An embarrassment for our sport," on his personal blog.

And so, the Association International des Groupes Cyclistes Professionels (or AIGCP) got involved and pretty much said that the UCI was wrong because they should have been clearer with the rules prior to this specific race.
 

AIGCP weighs in on UCI saddle regulations(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/aigcp-weighs-in-on-uci-saddle-regulations)

The AIGCP (Association International des Groupes Cyclistes Professionels) has added their voice to the continued dispute over saddle regulations. The argument erupted during the team trial on stage 2 of the Tour de France. The UCI had deemed a number of saddle positions to be against their regulations and a number of fines were handed out after teams began to dispute the jury at the race.

In a statement released Saturday, the AICGP stated: “The continued goal of the AIGCP is to have productive relationship with the UCI. Our hope remains that the UCI will recognize our voice in matters such as the saddle inspection issue. With that said, the AIGCP members would like to make a few important points about saddle inspection.”

The body went on to make three points, arguing that the rules laid down by the UCI were not defined and the “measurements taken are not reliable or repeatable” with the instrument used to measure saddles not accurate. They also argue that trying to enforce riders to adhere to using flat saddles raises risks relating to prostate health and comfort, putting forward that a + or – 5 degree guideline could be a solution.

The final point raised was over the way in which the UCI have implemented the rule change. The governing body contacted Cyclingnews after the initial dispute, telling the website that teams had been notified of the rule change before the Dauphine in June and that they had been given the chance to meet with the UCI’s commissars at the race in order to avoid and clear up any confusion.

However the AIGCP countered this: “The UCI has had all year to make these inspections and did not do so. Waiting until the start of the Tour de France, when riders have been riding in the same position all year, was counterproductive. This should have and could have happened earlier in the season.  And, waiting until the biggest race in the world, on the world’s stage, does nothing to further the image of sport we all love.”

The UCI and AIGCP have clashed over a number of issues this year, most notably race radios and this is the latest episode to arise, stemming from a lack of both guidance and fair council within the sport.

  Funny, once this came out about the AIGCP essentially putting their foot down, we haven't heard about this issue anymore. Probably because UCI knew they were in the wrong. But of course, there will be another issue arising soon...

Mark Cavendish, My Thoughts

I've been a fan of cycling since 2003 and from the beginning I have loved to watch the bunch sprints. Thor Hushovd and Tom Boonen have been my two favorites for the longest time.
When Mark Cavendish began his first Tour in 2007, I really didn't hear that much about him, but in 2008 when he began winning stages, I couldn't stand him. Here he was, taking wins away from my favorites. I found Cavendish very arrogant and egocentric; I hated every time he won. I never denied he was a great sprinter, but I just couldn't stand him.

However, about six months ago, I starting following him on Twitter. I wanted to learn more about this amazing cyclists that I didn't like, and hoped he would be able to prove me wrong in my feeling against him, which he has done. He is not egocentric as I originally thought. Cavendish makes sure to thank his team when he wins. He knows that while it may be his win, it is his team that helps.

Yesterday on the final stage of the Tour de France, and because I knew that Hushovd had no chance for the Green Jersey this year, I was crossing my fingers that Mark Cavendish could pull it off, and win for the third time in a row in Paris. Not only was he able to win, but he was also able to keep the Green Jersey that him and his team worked so hard to defend!

In fact, via Twitter, I recently found an article that also really helped me overcome my dislike for Cavendish.

Consistent Cav, an exceptional talent(http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/mattslater/2011/07/consistent_cav_the_great_briti.html)

Jeff Powell was on BBC Radio 5 live several days ago talking about David Haye's defeat by Wladimir Klitschko, a total embarrassment for British sport that pushed the veteran Daily Mail sports writer into full rant mode: Andy Murray, English football and Mark Cavendish, who had just finished fifth in the Tour de France's first bunch sprint. Losers, all of them.

Two days later, Cavendish won the race's fifth stage, delivering the perfect riposte to those who say he can't win without being delivered to the line by his team or when the finish isn't pancake flat.

But most of all he silenced the "ignoramuses" who wrote him off.

OK, I am being unfair. Powell is one of Britain's best boxing writers and his appraisal of Haye's hapless shift in Hamburg was knockout stuff. And neither can he really be blamed for stretching his argument about British inadequacy at the highest level to include the admirable but not-quite-good-enough Murray and England's self-evidently second-rate footballers.

But Powell's throwaway remark about Cavendish had me shaking my head at the radio.

When will they learn?

Cav's not the like the rest of them. He is an anomaly, a British sportsman who beats the best in the world, when it really matters, again and again and again.

Name another home-grown hero/heroine who has been so good for so long? Wayne Rooney? Nearly. Jess Ennis? Maybe next year. Alastair Cook? Let's see how he goes against India. Chrissie Wellington? OK but she is even further from the mainstream than Cavendish.

The Isle of Man-born phenomenon, now 26, has been blitzing sprints around the world almost from the moment he exploded onto the road racing scene in 2007.

Three more Tour de France stage wins have come in the last 10 days, taking his career haul to 19, good enough for joint seventh place on the all-time list, only three behind Lance Armstrong. There have also been notable victories in stellar races such as the Giro d'Italia, Milan-San Remo and Spain's Vuelta.

But it is not just the quality and quantity of his successes that set Cavendish apart from most British stars. It is how he succeeds that causes so much confusion.

Let's be honest, the majority of us still don't really get cycling - too many foreign locations, names and words for our Anglocentric tastes. How can Cavendish keep winning races and still be two hours behind the little Spanish chap in the yellow jersey? He's the winner, isn't he?

The short answer to that question - and it is one I frequently get in the BBC newsroom - is yes, Cavendish is not "winning" the Tour de France itself and he never will. Quite simply, he is the wrong shape to win a 2,000-mile, three-week slog that passes through two mountain ranges. No amount of training will ever change that.

But Le Tour is not like most sports events. There are different races, which appeal to different racers, within the main race. It is not a Test match, it is a series of T20 contests sprinkled throughout a Test and Cavendish is the master blaster who empties the bar every time he comes to the wicket.

His specialty, the bunch sprint, is supposed to be cycling's great lottery. A cavalry charge of colours and grimaces, there are few sights in sport that can match 100 riders or more arriving in a town centre at 45mph. Cavendish, however, has made the unpredictable predictable. After all, he can hit 48mph.

Over the last four years, he has won half of all the "flat" stages contested at the Tour de France, the one event in the calendar that every top rider turns up for in peak condition. And when you look only at the stages that actually finished in bunch sprints (i.e. you strip out the breakaway wins and stages affected by crashes), his success rate climbs to almost 90%. This is not supposed to happen.

Such is Cavendish's domination that his rare defeats become bigger news events than his victories. When former team-mate and verbal sparring partner Andre Greipel beat him to the line for the first time on Tuesday last week, Cav was the story. That he would avenge this loss on Wednesday, in emphatic fashion, was the least surprising sports result in France since New Zealand beat Portugal at the last Rugby World Cup.

This brings in another ingredient to the Cavendish mix: his ability to cope with expectation. The HTC-Highroad team has been put together to give him the best chance of success. But that brings with it extreme pressure. There are almost 80 team employees whose livelihoods depend on Cav's ability to deliver the media exposure the sponsors demand. It is his job to win - and he takes that responsibility seriously.

This partly explains why he sometimes comes across as an arrogant so-and-so. Put a microphone under his nose 30 seconds after he has won another sprint and what you get is a heart-pumping release of self-belief that can upset listeners of a more Corinthian persuasion.

But mixed up with all the bravado is usually a lot of respect for the race, gratitude for his team-mates and honesty about his performance. He knows he is good. To deny that would be to abdicate his responsibility to his team.

He is also - and this is becoming ever clearer - a bright spark with a great sense of humour. I will be surprised if there is a funnier post-race interview this year than the one in which he answered claims he was helped up a Giro d'Italia mountain stage by the team car. Cavendish invited his critics to join him at the back of the field with the marching band and ice cream van to see for themselves.

And yet despite the wins, occasional whines and frequent wind-ups, he remains a down-to-earth bloke from Douglas. As polite and softly-spoken off the bike as he is bold and brassy on it.

We probably won't hear much from the Manx mouth for a few days now but there will be a further chance for Cavendish to empty the bars: the final dash up the Champs-Elysees.

I think he will win that. He should also earn the green jersey, given to the Tour's most consistent finisher, a title he has held within British sport for the last four years.

Will this finally bring him the credit he deserves back in Blighty? Probably not but hopefully he won't be mentioned in despatches the next time another British hope conforms to type and comes up just short on the big stage.


So, I feel I owe a huge apology to Mark Cavendish for jumping to conclusions about him before I took the time to learn about him. He truly is one of the best sprinters, if not the best around.

Unfortunately, this wasn't the first time, nor will it probably be the last time that I don't like an athlete just because they are so much better than other. Derek Jeter, for example, I'm not a fan of; however, he just broke NY Yankees history with his 3,000th career home run. Lebron James, I'm also not a fan because I feel he's too arrogant, and while he's a team-player, I just never felt like he was as good as he thinks he is. Then add in the whole traitor issue, and I can go on forever. Although I can't argue that they are great athletes, I just don't like them. At least the Yankees have won championships with Jeter, both the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat have made it to the finals, but James choked both times.
However, while I'm still a HUGE Thor Hushovd fan, when a mass sprint comes up, and Mark Cavendish crosses that line first, I'll still smile. Cavendish now has my vote. And the bottom line is, Cavendish is as good as he knows he his!!

Congrats on your Green Jersey win! You deserved it!!

2011 Tour de France, Stage 21

The last stage of the 2011 Tour de France takes the riders into Paris. They will cross the finish line 7 times before the mass sprint for the finish.

There is really not a lot to say today, as the only jersey being contested is the Green/Points Jersey. Which doesn't come until the intermediate sprint and the end.

Cadel Evans is the happy winner from this 98th Tour de France. Other than the sprint finish, this ride into and around Paris is a processional for his honor, and the honor for all of the riders who have make the 3500km trek around France.

Third placed Frank Schleck, winner Cadel Evans, and second placed Andy Schleck rider together in route to Paris.

There was a breakaway of six riders right after the group crossed the finish line the first time. They had a maximum lead of 43 seconds with 22km remaining. However they were caught, along with other attacks with under a kilometer remaining, and Cavendish takes the stage win and the Green Jersey!

Stage 21 Results:

1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) HTC-Highroad 2:27:02
2 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling 0:00:00
3 André Greipel (Ger) Omega Pharma-Lotto 0:00:00
4 Tyler Farrar (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo 0:00:00
5 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Leopard Trek 0:00:00
6 Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:00:00
7 Borut Bozic (Slo) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:00:00
8 Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu) Pro Team Astana 0:00:00
9 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Quickstep Cycling Team 0:00:00
10 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 0:00:00

2011 Tour de France, Stage 20

Today's stage is a 42.5km individual time trial at Grenoble. After 3 weeks of having  teammates with  to help; to help drag up mountains, and to talk through pain, the riders are now on thier own. Your teammates brought you this far, now you have to show everyone how strong you are!

Riders start 2 minutes apart, except for the top 20, who start 3 minutes apart. Before the top 20 started, Tony Martin had the best time with 55'33", and he was able to keep the best time for the stage win!

This stage brought the question, would Evans be able to take back the time from the Schlecks? From the way Evans started compared to A. Schleck, the answer was clear:

There's just something more aerodynamic from Evans's ride, which was why he was able to pull into 1st place overall, thus earning him the Yellow Jersey on the ride into Paris tomorrow. A. Schleck would be in 2nd place for the 3rd year in a row.

Stage 20 Results:
1.Tony Martin (HTC-Highroad) 55:33
2.Cadel Evans (BMC) 55:40
3.Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Sungard 56:39
4.Thomas De Gendt (Vacansoleil-DC) 57:02
5.Richie Porte (Saxo Bank-Sungard) 57:03
6.Jean-Christophe Peraud (AG2R) 57:06
7.Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) 57:10
8.Fabian Cancellara (Leopard Trek) 57:15
9.Peter Velits (HTC-Highroad) 57:36
10.Rein Taaramae (Cofidis) 57:36

17. Andy Schleck (Leopard Trek) 58:11
19. Fränk Schleck (Leopard Trek) 58:14

2011 Tour de France, Stage 19

Today is the final mountain stage of the 2011 Tour de France. This is a 109km stage, starting in Mondane and ending on the Alpe-d’Huez. It contains one category 1 climb and two HC climbs, including my favorite: Alpe d'Huez:



And right out of the start gate we have an attack: Izagirre, Urtasun, Greipel, Iglinsky, Costa, Gutierrez, Koren, Riblon, Pineau, Burghardt, Buffaz, Duque, and Hoogerland. The break had a 2'40" gap with 93km remaining.

Back in the peloton, Sorensen attacks as Greipel is dropped from the leaders. A. Schleck is on Sorensen's wheel and bring him back. Then Contador takes off with another teammate but both Schlecks and Evans follow. Voeckler moves up to Contador's group along with a few other riders. However, as Contador is pacing the bunch, riders are being dropped. Its only A. Schleck, Voeckler, and Evans who can hang on to Contador.

Burghardt drops from the lead group to help Evans as the peloton closes in on 15" behind the Contador group. Cavendish, Cancellara, and Hushovd are dropped.

With 5km from the summit of the first climb, Contador attacks again and Voeckler and Evans can't hang on. Contador catches the original breakaway soon after, and plows right through them. Pineau is helping Voeckler back to the Contador group.

As the leaders start the second climb, Contador asks for help, but no one assists. He is dropping more and more riders with his pace. Voeckler is still trying to catch Contador using what riders are left from the original breakaway.

A. Schleck and Contador have a few words and then Schleck take a turn pulling the group up the HC climb. Back in the peloton, BMC takes over the chase to bring the gap down from 1'32" and Vanendert is dropped. With 69km left, the gap had creeped up to 1'52". Voeckler is losing it as is Taaramae in the peloton.

Schleck and Contador are taking turns on the front while BMC cracked. Only Evans is left but F. Schleck and about 20 other riders are on his wheel. Voeckler joined with the Evans group as Basso was dropped for a few minutes.

S. Sanchez attacks the Evans/Yellow Jersey group and Evans bridges with F. Schleck and Rolland. S. Sanchez keeps going on his own though. Cunego and Hesjedal eventually join Evans, but Basso is dropped. Even though Europcar is leading the peloton, Voeckler can't hold on and he is dropped as well. With about 50km left, S. Sanchez joins forces with Contador, while Garmin is pulling the peloton harder to drop Basso. Voeckler and Basso join together. 

With 25km to go, the Evans group catches the Contador group. The Yellow Jersey group is 1'21' behind. There are a lot of attacks in the lead group. Rolland does first and Jeannesson responds as they are both fighting for White, but it is ultimately Hesjedal who joins him. Hesjedal takes the maximum points on the intermediate sprint. The next group back is Riblon, Costa and Jeannesson, just ahead of the GC contenders. With 15km left, Basso and Voeckler are back with the rest of the GC contenders.

In the last 13km there are so many attacks. Both Schlecks, Evans, and Contador are attacking each other, all trying to gain time for the Yellow Jersey. Contador reaches the two leaders and takes off again. Hesjedal is dropped, but Rolland hangs on for a few before being dropped.

Sanchez and Velits catch up to Rolland, but Veltis is soon dropped. Sanchez and Rolland catch Contador, and Rolland continues solo. It his Rolland who will take the stage!

Stage 19 Results:

1 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar
2 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
3 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Saxo Bank Sungard
4 Peter Velits (Svk) HTC-Highroad
5 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
6 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
7 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - ISD
8 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek
9 Andy Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek
10 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Team Garmin-Cervelo

2011 Tour de France, Stage 18

Today’s stage was 200.5km, starting in Pinerolo and taking the riders to Galibier-Serre Chevalier. There were 3 HC climbs today.

An early breakaway of 20 didn’t last long. Then there was an attack by Meersman and Marcato, which again didn’t last. However, right before the intermediate sprint, a group of 16 fled and got the points: Duque, Posthuma, Delaplace, Devenyns, Tjallingii, Bookwalter, Irizar, Erviti, Hondo, Navardauskas, Perez, Urtasun, Ignlinsky,  Monfort, and Roche. Hoogerland is the 16th man. Burghardt, Delage, and Silin were able to bridge to the breakaway.

With 115km left, the breakaway has almost 9 minutes.

With 99 to go, Zeits and Gilbert have attacked the peloton. They were soon joined by Barredo, Leipheimer, Riblon, Di Gregorio, and Koren. Meanwhile, Hondo have dropped from the lead group. Cavendish and Petacchi are being dropped from the high-paced peloton.

Leipheimer, Di Gregorio, and Westra have attacked the chasing group. They get 30” clear of the peloton and are joined by Gesink and Moncoutie. The rest of their groupare back to the peloton.
Duque, Delage, Erviti, Irizar and Bookwalter are all being dropped by the leaders.

Ignlinsky is the first man over the summit of the first climb. Hoogerland, Devenyns, and Monfort follow, but Ignlinsky continues solo.

Gilbert, Voeckler, and Vanendert bridge to the Leipheimer, but the peloton is closing in. A lot of the riders in the lead group are also falling back.

With 60km left, A. Schleck attacks and opens up a good gap. Rolland tried to follow, but couldn’t. With 58km remaining, he has a 45” lead over the group with the Yellow Jersey. Schleck was able to make it to Posthuma, who fell back from the leaders. Posthuma is working hard for his team leader. Three kilometers later, Schleck takes off on his own. He now has a 2 minute advantage over the other GC contenders who are working hard to chase him down.

No surprise, Ignlinaky is first over the 2nd summit. As the peloton continues the climb, Uran is dropped off the back.

Monfort waits on the descent for Schleck. The two soon join forces with Devenyns and Silin. Only Roche is between them and Ignlinsky. And soon, they are with Roche. Only Monfort seems willing to work with Schleck.

With 30km remaining, the Schleck group catches Ignlinsky. With 20km remaining, they have almost 4 minutes over the Contador group. But then there were 3, as only Ignlinsky and Roche can hold Schleck’s wheel.

The Yellow jersey group can not seem to work together. The leaders are gaining more and more of a gap. Schleck is soon up to 4’15” with 11km left.

With about 9km left, Evans attacks the Yellow Jersey group. Soon the others are back with him, but they are chasing A. Schleck harder.

With 2km from the finish, Contador is dropped!

In the final kilometer, F. Schelck attacked the Yellow Jersey group to make it a Schleck-Schleck 1-2. Voeckler keep the Yellow by just 16 seconds!!

Stage 18 Results:
1 Andy Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek 6:07:56
2 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek 0:02:07
3 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:02:15
4 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:02:18
5 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar 0:02:21
6 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar 0:02:27
7 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - ISD 0:02:33
8 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 0:03:22
9 Thomas Danielson (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo 0:03:25

Cavendish and others come in over 35 minutes later. They were not disqualified but they did loose points.

2011 Tour de France, Stage 17

Today’s stage is 179km and runs from Gap to Pinerolo; yes, the Tour de France will head into Italy today.

Within the firs 10km, a 10-man break has formed: Gerdermann, Thomas, Hagen, Di Gregorio, Sanchez ,  Costa, Casar, Hondo, Van Garderen, De Gendt. Hushovd and Roche tried to attack the peloton to bridge a gap to the breakaway sitting at about 40” ahead, but the peloton wouldn’t let them go. However, with 139km remaining the group was brought back.

With 119km left, a new attack group has formed, and they quickly have 1’30” on the peloton: Hagen, Perez, Tjallingii, Fofonov, Muravyev, Amador, Paterski, Chavanel, El Fares, Casar, Bozic, Leukmans, Hivert, and Mollema. By the beginning of the first climb, the lead was 4’30”.

Tiralongo has abandoned the race.

At the summit, Chavanel take the most KOM points, followed by El Fares. Caser takes the lead over the intermediate sprint line. At the second climb Chavanel got 2 points while Leukmans got 1.

With 88km remaining, the lead grew to 7’15”.

Chavanel takes maximum points at the 3rd summit.

82km from the finish, Hoogerland, Roche, and De Weert attack the peloton and try to chase down the breakaway. De Weert is doing the most work and is able to cut the gap to the leaders in half within minutes.

Perez attacked the breakaway with 4km to go until the summit. He hit the summit solo, and Chavanel brought the rest of the leaders over the line. With 31km remaining, Perez has an 8’10” gap over the peloton.

The peloton drops a lot of riders on this final climb, including Farrar and Cavendish.

Perez is caught on the ascent, and Chavanel attacks. Hagen catches up to him and then attacks. The leaders catch up to Chavanel, and he attacks again to no avail. Then Hivert attacks. Hagen has a 25 second lead with 10km to go. Chavanel goes again and then Mollema while Contador attacks the peloton.

A. Schleck, Voeckler, and Evans follow Contador and soon they are all back together.

Contador attacks again, followed by A. Schleck and Evans. Then F. Schleck attacks and is followed by Contador and others.

Hivert crashes on the descent, but is able to get back up and chase.

Basso sets the pace for the rest of the acsent and A. Schleck leads the CG contenders down. Hivert again crashes, this time into a parked car. Again, he is okay.

Voeckler attacks, but almost misses a corner. Contador attacks and is clear. Voeckler ends up crashing into the same parked car as Hivert in another missed corner. The GC contenders finish together though, but it is Hagen who takes the win!

 Stage 17 Results:
1 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling 4:18:00
2 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:00:40
3 Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ 0:00:50
4 Julien El Fares (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 0:00:50
5 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quickstep Cycling Team 0:00:50
6 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Pro Team Astana 0:01:10
7 Maciej Paterski (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:01:10
8 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Team RadioShack 0:01:10
9 Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 0:01:15

2011 Tour de France, Stage 16

Today's stage runs from Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux to Gap for a 162.5 km ride, in which the riders will begin to tackle the Alps.



There have been a lot of attacks since the beginning of the stage, but no breaks have been allowed by the very fast-paced peloton. Nothing amounted to any more than a few seconds until Devenyns had an 8” gap with 127km left, but he was caught. Then Millar attacked, has 15” and then was joined by Chavanel, Martin, Bole, Flecha, Zubeldia, and more. Millar and company are soon caught, and another attack has formed but the peloton won’t let up their speed. Another group of 5 tries their luck, but again its to no avail. 

With about 90km left, Westra gets a 150 meter gap, but as soon as other riders attempt to bridge to him, the peloton tries to swallow them all back. With about 75km to go, next set of attackers go: Roy, Coppel, Roche, Hoogerland, Kreuziger, Jeannesson, Mollema, Di Gregorio, Knees, Zandio, Gallpin, Marcato, Hesjedal. However, there is a lot of conflict in the group; no one seems to want to work together, although they have 13” on the peloton.

Through more bridges and some escapees sitting up for the peloton to reel them in, the new leaders become: Marcato, Martin, Grivko, Hushovd, Perez, Hagen, Hesjedal, Devenyns, Ignatiev, and Roy. Finally a breakaway was able to escape; it only took 100km into the stage. With 21km left to go, the gap is 6’16”.

When the leaders get on the climb. Ignatiev attacked and tried solo. Although he had about 15”, he was being chased down by Perez and Devenyns. During the chase, Devenyns attacks Perez. Perez was then caught by the rest of the break as Marcato was dropped by the increasing pace uphill.

With 16km left, Hesjedal jumpas and catches and passes Ignatiev, who can’t keep the pace.

With 15km left, Contador attacks the peloton. Cancellara chases with both Schlecks, Evans, Sanchez, and Voeckler. However, they are soon caught by the peloton.

Contador attacks again; Voeckler and A. Schleck stay with him. Evans chases with F. Schleck on his wheel. They are all caught again. Contador attacks for a third time with Evans and Sanchez. Voeckler is losing ground. A. Schleck is dropped too.

Further up. Hesjedal is caught by Hushovd and Hagen.

Evan leads the chasing group down the descent as both Schlecks, Voeckler, Cunego, and Basso chase the chasing group. Voeckler attacks as Hushovd attacks his group. Hagen then attacks Hushovd but Hushovd chases. Its Hushovd who takes the win.

1 Hushovd
2 Hagen
3 Hesjedal
4 Martin
5 Ignatyev
6 Perez
7 Devenyns
8 Roy
9 Marcato
10 Grivko

The Only Doping Case This Year (So Far)

Again, like the last rest day, I'm going to post an old article that I haven't had the time to discuss. I have a whole mess of articles waiting to be posted, but I wanted to talk about this one today.

I must give the UCI a lot of credit. They are really trying to make cycling a completely clean sport, which can not be said about some other sports (at least in the US). With all of the doping cases that have been haunting the Tour de France in recent years, so far this year we have only seen one. After Stage 5, Alexandr Kolobnev tested positive for diuretic hydrochlorothiazide. Now as the article states, this drug could have came into the body in other ways (ie through food), and the rider has a chance to defend himself, however in the other article on the same subject, Kolobnev took it upon himself to suspend himself. So does this make him guilty?

Also the two articles below that I posted seem to contradict each other. Even the second article gives different information in each paragrah it seems. At first it says Kolobnev pulled himself out of the Tour. Then it says the UCI had his team remove him ("indirectly", of course). So, as previously stated, he must know he's guilty. Let me know your thoughts.

Kolobnev Tour de France's first doping case(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/kolobnev-tour-de-frances-first-doping-case)

L'Equipe has reported that Katusha's Alexandr Kolobnev has tested positive for a diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) in the first week of the Tour de France, and has been removed from the race on the first rest day. The positive sample was taken the day of stage 5 on July 6, 2011.

The Russian champion's A sample reportedly showed evidence of the substance, which can be used as a masking agent and is on the World Anti-Doping Agency's prohibited list. It is the first doping case of the 2011 Tour.

The French newspaper received confirmation of the results of the test performed by the laboratory in Chatenay-Malabry before the rider himself was notified.

The UCI later confirmed the news, but said it will not provisionally suspend the rider because HCT is not a "specified substance". This means the rider can continue to compete, but the UCI press release stated it is "confident that his team will take the necessary steps to enable the Tour de France to continue in serenity and to ensure that their rider has the opportunity to properly prepare his defense in particular within the legal timeline, which allows four days for him to have his B sample analyzed".

In the UCI's anti-doping rules, if a rider can explain how a "specified substance" may have entered his system, he can receive anywhere from a warning and a time penalty of one percent on the stage for which he tested positive to a two-year ban from the sport.

HCT is the same substance for which Belgian track star Iljo Keisse tested positive in 2008. He blamed the result on a contaminated supplement, and was able to convince the Belgian cycling federation not to suspend him. However, the UCI appealed the decision and Keisse was given a two-year suspension by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Kolobnev suspends himself after doping positive(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/kolobnev-suspends-himself-after-doping-positive)

Russian champion Alexandr Kolobnev has quit the Tour de France after testing positive for a banned diuretic following stage 5. His Katusha team announced that he had taken the action and said that team rules state that if his B-sample is also positive he will be fired and have to pay five times his salary as a fine.

French police arrived at the team's hotel during the first rest day of the Tour after the doping positive was announced.

"The President of the sport group Andrei Tchmil went voluntarily to the police, together with Kolobnev and his roommate [Egor] Silin, in order to translate and reinforce the fact that he and the team are not involved to the contested facts," said the team's press release.

The positive test for hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) was announced on Monday, and although the International Cycling Union (UCI) confirmed the news, it said it would not issue a provisional suspension because the drug is a "specified substance" under its anti-doping rules, meaning that even though it is banned in and out of competition, there is a chance HCT could have been ingested through no fault of the rider.

The UCI did, however, indirectly call for the team to pull Kolobnev from the race in order to "enable the Tour de France to continue in serenity".

Despite having an opportunity to defend himself with a B-sample analysis in the coming days, the Katusha team pulled Kolobnev from the race and gave him his walking papers.

The doping case is the third for Katusha in its history after Antonio Colom Mas (EPO) and Christian Pfannberger (also EPO) in 2009.

The 30-year-old Kolobnev twice placed second in the world championships, and was awarded the bronze medal from the Beijing Olympic Games road race in 2008 after placing fourth behind disqualified Italian runner-up Davide Rebellin.

At the time of his ejection from the Tour de France, he was sitting in 69th place, 22:15 behind race leader Thomas Voeckler.

2011 Tour de France, Stage 15

Today's stage is a 187km ride from Limoux to Montpellier. This is only one category 4 climb today and the intermediate sprint fairly close to the finish.

Bonnet didn't start today, after missing the time cut yesterday.

The breakaway of the day started as soon as the race began. Delage was first to attack, and was joined by Terpstra, Dumoulin, Ignatiev, and Delaplace. The maximum gap was 4 minutes with 122km left.

At the top of the first climb, Igantiev gets the one lone KOM point.

Delage crossed the intermediate sprint first, taking the majority of the points and Cavendish led the peloton over.

With about 25km left, Ignatiev attacks the leaders and is followed by Terpstra. The duo had a maximum gap of 46 seconds with 14.6km to go. The remaining 3 were caught with a little more than 10km to go.

With only a 12 second gap left, Ignatiev gives up as Terpstra continues on his own for a few more minutes. Right before the peloton catches Terpstra, Gilbert and two other riders attack and pass the lone original attacker. This new trio is caught before the last kilometer.

With a nice leadout by Renshaw, Cavendish takes the win!

Stage 15 Results:
1 Cavendish
2 Farrar
3 Petacchi
4 Oss
5 Rojas
6 Swift
7 Ciolek
8 Gallopin
9 Ventoso
10 Hinault

2011 Tour de France, Stage 14

Stage 14 runs 168km, from Saint-Gaudens to Plateau de Beille. Today's stage has 6 categorized climbs, including a HC finish.

Interesting Fact of the Day: This is the 5th time a stage has finished at Plateau de Beille, and the stage winner has always gone on to win the tour. Will that be the case this year?
Almost instantly Chavanel attacks and soon Voigt and Millar are going clear as well. Then there were 19 riders trying to reach Chavanel as well as others back in the peloton trying to bridge the gap. They were able to catch Chavanel, as well as other chasers who had a chance to catch the lead group. So the breakaway became: El Fares, Millar, Casar, Voigt, L. Sanchez, Izagirre, Mollema, Koren, Chavanel, Di Gregorio, Riblon, Bouet, Vichot, Gerdemann, Charteau, Quinziato, Silin, Matcato, Delage, Malori, Perez, Pineau, Zandio, and Costa. Some big names, and a lot of familiar names. The best place attacker is Casar at 21, sitting 8'47" back from Yellow.

At the summit of the first climb, Delage took the most KOM points and Mollema took second. Delage also crossed the sprint line first taking points there as well. The second summit of the day also belonged to Delage. Cavendish is off the back of the peloton having difficulty making it up the second mountain, however on the descent he caught back up.

Millar, Casar, and El Fares have upped the pace in the breakaway and soon are the leading trio. With 87km to go, they lead the peloton by 7 minutes. With 75km remaining that lead jumped another two minutes as other breakaway members are either trying to reach the trio or are being dropped on the acsent. As Leopard-Trek takes over the control of the peloton, Roy is being dropped off the back. Hushovd is also being dropped.

At the third summit of the say, this time it is Casar who takes it. On the descent, Riblon catches the trio, however, soon Millar is dropped on the ascent of the 4th climb. Silin passes Millar on his way to the new trio in the lead. As Silin gets close, the rest of the chasers are making their way back up as well. There are now 10 riders up front: El Fares, Silin, Riblon, Casar, Di Gregorio, Millar, Voigt, Charteau, Zandio, and Izagirre.

The 4th climb of the day goes to Chavanel, who just eclipsed Charteau right before the line.

There was a crash on the 4th descent. Ten Dam went down pretty hard, but he got back up and continued on.

Right away there is a category 3 ascent for the 5th climb and Izagirre takes it.

Voigt crashed on this descent, but he too was able to get back up. He crashed again a few minutes later when his wheel locked up. He is able to make his way back to his team who is leading the peloton down the mountain. Izagirre is leading with about a minute on the chasing group. L Sanchez attacked the chasing group but no one responds to help him. Then Millar tries. This is the issue with big groups; they can't work well together.

On the final climb of the day Leopard-Trek continues to keep it at a fast pace. Riders are dropping off the back, including Hincapie, Gesink, and Martin. With 13km left of the stage, most of the riders from the original breakaway had been caught with Casar still ahead. BMC is helping Leopard-Trek pace, and soon there are 20 or so riders left in the peloton.

A. Schelck attacks and Contador follows. Evans, Basso, Cunego, F. Schleck and Voeckler respond. Danielson has been gapped. A. Schelck attacks again and this time Vanenert is with him. S. Sanchez, Basso, Cunego, and Uran follow. He goes again and Evans bridges to him. This is a 12 rider group, and with 8km remaining, Casar has less than a minute lead.

With 6km left, Casar has 20 seconds but Vanenert attacks an surges past Casar. A. Schelck keep attacking his group, but he can't get anywhere. With 5km left, Vanenert has 18". Its Basso who is setting the pace, but Voeckler stays on his wheel. In the flatter section, S. Sanchez attacks and is in the middle of Vanenert and the chasers.

Basso creates a gap, and Evans, Voeckler, and Peraud bridge, but they are caught before the end. Vanenert wins the stage with S. Sanchez second.

Stage 14 Results:
1 Vanendert
2 S Sanchez
3 A Schleck
4 Evans
5 Uran
6 Contador
7 Voeckler
8 F Schleck
9 Peraud
10 Rolland

2011 Tour de France, Stage 13

Today’s stage is a short 156km from Pau to Lourdes, with only one huge climb, but three climbs total, a category 3, a category 4, and an HC.

We are down to 174 riders. There were two non-starters today: Steegmans, who was in a stage 5 crash, just found out that he fractured a wrist bone, and Galimzyanov, who finished outside the time limit yesterday. He crossed the finish line almost an hour after Sanchez!

There was an initial breakaway of two riders and five more joined them. However before any names could be announced the peloton caught them while averaging 50-60km/h!

Then there was a 15 man group, but again they couldn’t get far.

At about 122km left of the stage, Kloden abandoned. He’s been suffering since his crash yesterday, and hasn’t had time to recover. Also Isaichev threw in the towel.

Vandenert takes the most points over the top of the first climb.

There were many more attacks large groups that get swallowed back up.

Boom also abandoned today after losing over 5 minutes on the peloton.

At 90km from the finish, we finally have a stable breakaway: Tjallingii, Hushovd, Fofonov, Hagen, Pineau, Roy, Moncoutié, Petacchi, Gusev, and Bak. A lot of big names, but Gusev is the best placed rider, sitting at 28th, down 11'13". At 87km from the finsh, the breakaway had over 4 minutes.

Roy took the lone KOM point on the category 4 climb.

The leading 10 did not sprint at the intermediate sprint. Hagen took the most points, followed by Moncoutié. Rojas led the peloton across, in front of Cavendish.

After the sprint, Hushovd attacked his group. He reached a 17” lead before he was joined by Roy.  Moncoutié and Hagen formed a 2-man chase group. Back in the peloton there were a bunch of counter-attacks.

As the last climb gets steeper, riders are being dropped from the peloton: Farrar, Cavendish (who’s being helped by teammate Eisel), Cancellara, Greipel, Hoogerland, Thomas, and Chavanel. Roy has also managed to loose Hushovd, however Moncoutié has caught up and passed Hushovd on his way to Roy.

Of course Roy crossed the summit first, with Hushovd two minutes back. Hushovd caught Moncoutié on the descent. Gilbert had attacked the peloton as goes solo.

With 6km to go, Moncoutié is not helping Hushovd, so Hushovd attacks and is able to catch Roy. Moncoutié catches up and Roy can’t go anymore. Hushovd attacks again and he is the winner of Stage 13!!

Stage 13 Results:
1 Hushovd
2 Moncoutie
3 Roy
4 Bak
5 Pineau
6 Hagen
7 Gusev
8 Tjallingii
9 Petacchi
10 Gilbert