2012 Tour de France Stage 20, 7/22/12

July 22, Stage 20: Rambouillet - Paris Champs-Élysées 120km

Bradley Wiggins wins 2012 Tour de France

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour-de-france/stage-20/results)

Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) became the first Briton to win the Tour de France, taking the title of the 2012 Tour as he crossed the finish line on the Champs-Élysées Sunday afternoon. The final stage ended with the usual mass sprint, as Mark Cavendish easily took his fourth straight closing stage win. Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale), one of the stand-outs of the Tour, took second, with former Cavendish helper Matthew Goss of Orica-GreenEdge third.

Wiggins stood atop the podium with a gap of 3:21 over his most dangerous rival, Sky teammate Christopher Froome. Vincenzo Nibali of Liquigas-Cannondale rounded out the podium, finishing third at 6:19 down.

It was a historic moment for the British rider, who spent the entire race in first or second place overall. He stamped his authority on the race with two time trial victories, winning against the clock on stages 9 and 19 to assure himself of the title. The only rider really able to challenge him was his teammate and lieutenant, Froome.

"I've had 24 hours for this to soak in and today we were just on a mission to finish the job off with Cav," said Wiggins on the team website. "So job done and what a way for him to finish it off. I’m still buzzing from the Champs-Elysees.

"I've got to get used to going into the history books now, but I’m just trying to take everything in today first. It’s very surreal at the moment because this type of things [usually] happens to other people. You never imagine it happening to yourself."

Cavendish was jubliant with his stage win. "It’s incredible what we’ve achieved today – what a team. We got a one and two on GC but still we were riding to control things on the Champs-Elysees. It was an honour to have the yellow jersey leading me out. Bradley told me he’d go full gas to the last kilometre and then Edvald (Boasson Hagen) led me into the last corner. The finish couldn’t have been more perfect – no better end to this Tour,” he said on the team's website.

"It’s an incredible achievement for the team. Four years ago we said we were setting out to win the Tour, but we haven’t just done that, we’ve got second place as well and a handful of stages. Seven stages have been won by British guys this year so that’s one in three – not a bad stat."

Rush to the finish on the Champs-Élysées

The final stage followed its usual pattern, as the riders relaxed in the sun and in anticipation of successfully finishing the hard three weeks. There were even two category four ranked climbs in the first third of the race, with KOM Thomas Voeckler of Europcar picking up another point at the first one. The relaxed atmosphere only lasted until the sprinters could sense the approaching Champs-Élysées, and the racing then started. 

Two of the older riders, Christopher Horner (RadioShack-Nissan) and George Hincapie (BMC), who is retiring this season, were allowed to lead the way over the finish line as the field hit the Champs Elysees. They were then replaced by veterans Jens Voigt (RadioShack) and Danilo Hondo (Lampre-ISD), with a small group forming later around them.

Rui Costa (Movistar), Jens Voigt (RadioShack-Nissan), Marcus Burghardt (BMC), Sebastien Minard (AG2R), Lars Bak (Lotto Belisol), Maxim Iglinskiy (Astana), Nicolas Edet (Cofidis), Jean Marc Marino (Saur-Sojasun), Karsten Kroon (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank), Bram Tankink (Rabobank) and Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Katusha) built up a lead of up to 30 seconds on the closing circuit.

Sky led the chase for Cavendish to claim his fourth straight victory on the Champs Elysees, but as things progressed, they were joined by Liquigas riding to set up Peter Sagan. The lead group eventually fell apart, leaving only Minard, Voigt and Costa at the front.

The trio fought valiantly but never really had a chance, and with about 3 km to go, were caught. Shortly before that, a crash in the middle of the field took out two riders: Hondo and Mikael Cherel (AG2R).

None other than the yellow jersey Wiggins himself led the field under the flamme rouge for the final kilometer of the 2012 Tour. He peeled off to let Edvald Boasson Hagen make the final lead-out for Cavendish. Once the Manxman was in the wind on the finishing straight, there was no doubt as to his victory.

Wiggins rides to the top

Wiggins was never far from the top of the race, spending the entire race in either first or second place. He finished second in the race's prologue, three weeks ago, only seven seconds behind winner Fabian Cancellara. Wiggins successfully avoided the mass crash in the sixth stage, which took out a number of riders and put an end to the hopes of several contenders.

He made his move, though, on the race's first mountain stage. On stage seven, which featured the first mountaintop finish, Team Sky prepared the way for Wiggins by taking control of the stage and putting down a blistering pace the whole way.  By the time they approached the final climb up  La Planche des Belles Filles, the two Sky riders led the small group of favourites, dropping Cancellara along the way. Defending Tour champion Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team) jumped first, Froome caught and passed him for the stage win, but Wiggins caught up to cross the finish line in the same time as the Australian, and took over the yellow jersey, which he never gave up.

As expected, Wiggins really won the Tour in the time trials. He won both of them, with Froome second in both. Even four-time World time trial champion Cancellara couldn't come close to him in the first time trial. But it was the second time trial, held yesterday, which really sealed the matter. Wiggins covered the rolling 53.5km over a minute faster than Froome.

Wiggins and Froome quickly became an inseparable pair, although there were often indications that Froome was unhappy with the relationship. The younger Briton was obviously the stronger rider on the climbs, and showed his impatience at being held back by his captain. He went public with his indignation at not being allowed to win the Tour, before belatedly realizing it was better to say nothing.

The jerseys

Wiggins and Cavendish were not the only winners of the day, though. Peter Sagan of Liquigas-Cannondale took the green jersey for the points classification, having won three stages. He also fought to take points at the intermediate sprints and made a reputation for his victory celebrations, ranging from the Hulk to Forrest Gump. It was in incredibly impressive Tour debut for the 22-year-old Slovakian.

Thomas Voeckler claimed the King of the Mountains classification and its polka-dot jersey. He wrestled it away from Astana's Fredrik Kessiakoff with his first of two stage wins, in the 16th stage. The Europcar rider aggressively defended it through the remaining few stages.

Best young rider was 23-year-old Tejay van Garderen. The 23-year-old American riding for BMC Racing Team finished his second Tour in fifth place, eleven minutes down, but six minutes ahead of the second-best young rider, Thibaut Pinot (FDJ-Big Mat).

Team RadioShack-Nissan went from the high of Fabian Cancellara's prologue win to the low of Fränk Schleck leaving the race under suspicion of doping, and along the way managed to win the team title.

Hincapie says adieu

A long-time popular rider took his final bow in the Tour. George Hincapie of BMC Racing Team finished his 17th Tour at 38th overall, an hour and a half down. Over the years, he rode in support of nine winners: Lance Armstrong (seven times) and Alberto Contador and Cadel Evans (once each).

Hincapie wore the yellow jersey for two stages in 2006, and won a total of four stages, three of which were team time trials. But perhaps his most important victory was winning the heart and hand of podium girl Melanie Simonneau.

The sprinters

All eyes were on Mark Cavendish at the Tour, but from even before the race it was clear that it would be difficult if not impossible for Sky to support both Wiggins and Cavendish. The reigning world champion got the short end of the deal, but by the end of the race, he, too, was doing his share to support the team leader and sacrificing his own chances. Cavendish ended up with three wins, as did Greipel and Sagan.

Cavendish was overshadowed this year by none other than former teammate Andre Greipel, whom he once said could win only “little shit races.” The Lotto Belisol rider put that to the test, and took three sprint wins. Equally impressively, he finished second to Sagan on the sixth stage after crashing twice and having a suspected dislocated shoulder, which fortunately proved not to be so.

Full Results

1	Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling	3:08:07
2	Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale
3	Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
4	Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
5	Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
6	Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol Team
7	Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team
8	André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team
9	Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling
10	Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Saur - Sojasun

 

Final general classification

1	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	87:34:47
2	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:03:21
3	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:06:19
4	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team	0:10:15
5	Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team	0:11:04
6	Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) RadioShack-Nissan	0:15:41
7	Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team	0:15:49
8	Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar	0:16:26
9	Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team	0:16:33
10	Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat	0:17:17

 

2012 Tour de France Stage 19, 7/21/12

July 21, Stage 19: Bonneval - Chartres (ITT) 53.5km

Wiggins wins Tour's final time trial in Chartres

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour-de-france/stage-19/results)

Bradley Wiggins was in a class of his own as he claimed his second time trial victory in this year’s race and with it cleared the final hurdle on his way to becoming the first British rider to win the Tour de France. Fastest at all of the intermediate check points, Wiggins completed the 53.5km course between Bonneval and Chartres in 1:04:13, putting him 1:16 ahead of his Sky teammate Chris Froome, who consolidated his position in second place overall.

Third place on the day went to Rabobank’s Luis León Sánchez, who held the lead for a substantial part of the afternoon but ended up 1:50 down on Wiggins. Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) produced another competitive performance to cement his grip on the third spot on the podium. But there was a significant change further down the top 10 as defending champion Cadel Evans finished outside the top 50 on the day to drop to seventh place overall behind Haimar Zubeldia.

As has been the case so often during this race, the day was all about Team Sky and, of course, Wiggins. “This is what I wanted to do, to go out with a bang,” said the Briton, who is set to be crowned Tour de France champion in Paris tomorrow afternoon. “The Tour isn’t over until now, but this is what I do best. I came out here in March with Sean to look at the course and I knew it would suit me.”

Wiggins has looked stronger than all of his rivals during the Tour’s final week and said that he knew from his first pedal stroke as he warmed up that he was going to perform well.

“I knew I was on it when I went down the start ramp. In the last 15-20k I knew what my advantage was and I was thinking about my wife and kids, my mum, all of the people who’ve helped me get to where I am… I know it sounds cheesy but I was thinking about the fact that I’ve spent my whole life working to get to this point – this is the defining moment. It’s all been summed up today.” 

Team Sky boss Dave Brailsford, whose daily mantra has been “We’re taking it one day at a time”, acknowledged: “We can start thinking about winning this race barring accidents.”

Brailsford was fulsome in his praise for his team leader and the rest of the Sky team. “I think Brad showed today why he is the leader of this team. He smashed the best time and Froomey did the same as well. It’s good to have two guys who can top the world in a sport that, quite honestly, we weren’t all that good at not so long ago. For Brad as a British rider to win this race in a British team with a British sponsor is a fantastic achievement,” said Brailsford.

He added: “People laughed when I said that our aim was to win the Tour within five years with a clean British rider. But I wouldn’t underestimate the effect that our Olympic experience has had. But this is a different sport on a very different playing field. But today is all about Bradley Wiggins and his incredible achievement.”

 Gretsch and Sánchez set early pace

Argos-Shimano’s Patrick Gretsch set the fastest time for the 53.5km course among the early starters. Almost two hours passed before Luis León Sánchez clipped 38 seconds off Gretsch’s mark, the Spaniard crossing the line in 1:06:03.

The Rabobank rider remained in pole position for another two-and-a-half hours. During that period Peter Velits came closest to Sánchez’s time, finishing 12 seconds down just as Froome and Wiggins were making their final preparations before taking to the start ramp.

There were huge cheers when Wiggins set off down the ramp. Up ahead of Wiggins, Froome and Nibali, best young rider Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing) set the fastest time at the first check point, but that mark lasted just a matter of minutes. Froome went through 23 seconds quicker, then Wiggins followed another 12 seconds faster.

By the second check, Van Garderen’s fast start appeared to be taking a toll as he went through fourth fastest. However, by that point the young American had his team leader Evans in his sights and seemed to get a lift as he blasted by the defending champion. Froome also looked to be slipping slightly as he came through just four seconds faster than Sánchez. Wiggins, though, was unstoppable. Now 54 seconds up on Froome, he had his second stage win in his sights.

Wiggins fastest from first to last

Froome picked up his pace again coming into the final quarter of the test. He went through the third time check 22 seconds up on Sánchez. However, Wiggins was still pulling away. Now 1:15 up on his team-mate, he looked as smooth and faultless as ever.

At the line, Froome was not far off catching his three-minute man, Nibali, as he bettered Sánchez’s mark by 34 seconds. But Froome’s lead lasted little more than 90 seconds.

Wiggins powered relentlessly on towards the line, only sitting up out of his tuck in the very final metres to punch the air and celebrate his victory. It had been a superbly judged ride rounding off a fantastic performance over the whole three weeks. Chapeau, Brad!

Full Results

1	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	1:04:13
2	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:01:16
3	Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:01:50
4	Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-QuickStep	0:02:02
5	Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling	0:02:25
6	Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Argos - Shimano	0:02:28
7	Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team	0:02:34
8	Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Movistar Team	0:02:46
9	Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne	0:02:50
10	Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat	0:03:05

 

One of the best things about today was when Tejay van Garderen caught up and PASSED his team leader, and last year's winner, Cadel Evans in the individual time trial of the Tour, overcoming a deficit of 3 minutes. (Evans started the ITT 3 minutes before van Garderen.) Tejay is also taking the Best Young Rider Jersey into Paris tomorrow.

 

2012 Tour de France Stage 18, 7/20/12

July 20, Stage 18: Blagnac - Brive-la-Gaillarde 222.5km

Cavendish sprints to stage 18 victory in the Tour de France

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour-de-france/stage-18/results#5)

Mark Cavendish (Team Sky) stormed to his second stage win in this year's Tour de France with another superb sprint finish on stage 18. The world champion showed his tactical nous to reel in a late break and to beat Matt Goss (Orica-GreenEdge) and Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) on the line.

Sky had led a relatively easy life on the undulating stage, posting Edvald Boasson Hagen in the early break, while Bradley Wiggins continued his march towards Paris. But in the closing stages, with a sprint chance for Cavendish in the cards, Sky called back its Norwegian star as Wiggins himself lead the pursuit of a last ditch six-man break.

Cavendish has certainly lacked his usual, supreme leadout in this year's Tour, but it has at least allowed him to demonstrate to the global audience just how exceptional his sprint is. With Nicholas Roche (AG2R La Mondiale) ahead, and a poised looking Luis Leon Sanchez (Rabobank) tucked behind the Irishman, Cavendish surged from the bunch in the final 200 meters, not just leaving the two leaders behind but distancing his main sprint rivals.

"I don't know how much I won by, but I had to go early. I haven't done anything this Tour because I saved so much energy. I knew I'd be able to go long. I knew I'd get it. I felt really good today," the Sky sprinter said on the line.

"I said earlier on in the Tour, we looked at the files and the reason I wasn't winning sprints was because I was training in the mountains. I wasn't able to show anything in this Tour because we had the yellow jersey. Today we spoke with the boss at the start, and I said please give me a chance, and the guys were like, 'Ok we're going to make a sprint today.' I'm so happy."

Sky's sprint chances looked out of the picture earlier in the stage. A large group containing Yaroslav Popovych (RadioShack-Nissan), Yukiya Arashiro (Europcar), Davis Millar (Garmin-Sharp), Julien Fouchard (Cofidis), Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky), Adam Hansen (Lotto Belisol), Jelle Vanendert (Lotto Belisol), Kris Boeckmans (Vacansoliel-DCM), Luca Paolini (Katusha), Jeremy Roy (FDJ-Big Mat), Rui Costa (Movistar), Karsten Kroon (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank, Nick Nuyens (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank), Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana), Michael Albasini (Orica-GreenEdge) and Patrick Gretsch (Argos-Shimano) escaped on the first climb after 67 kilometres.

It was a collective bound by convenience and necessity. With just one open stage remaining and 13 teams yet to win a stage, the day's racing began with a flurry of attacks. Rider after rider, fuelled by a desire to rescue their Tour and that of their teams, jettisoned from the front. But it took almost an hour for the final selection to settle. The majority of teams was represented but with the demoralized Cofidis and AGR2 two of the notable exceptions.

With the stakes so high, the gap was never going to remain out of reach and despite relative organisation in the break the margin of acceptance never crept above four minutes.

With the gap at just over a minute, Millar was the first to attack, splitting the group inside the final 43 kilometers. The evergreen, ever-present Vinokourov was the first rider to match the Scot. Albasini and Boasson Hagen also reacted, but it was the Norwegian, with the bit between his teeth, who pressed on alone, unleashed from his burdening duties as Sky's all-round dogsbody. He was soon closed down but marshalled by Vinokourov, the gap increased to nearly 1:40.
The pace increased and the desperation was palpable; the next phase of the race became critical as the bunch strained to a breaking point in a bid to hold onto the break.

Second by second, the gap came down. 1:09 as Millar and company passed under the 30-kilometre-to-go banner.
The break needed another injection of pace. Too many riders were hanging on without taking a turn. It failed to materialise, and the peloton with the likes of ten Dam (Rabobank) won the tug of war.

Gretch, Vinokourov, Millar, Costa kept the fires burning but with 20 seconds shaved off, the possibility of the Sagan sprint show increased but with a fourth category climb inside the last 10 kilometres, all was still possible. Millar hadn't given up hope though, again accelerating in a bid to dislodge the dead wood and ad impetus to the break's chances.
Liquigas could smell blood massing near the front of the bunch. Millar's efforts had failed again but Hansen accelerated. Roy was attentive enough to follow, as Arashiro led a counter attack.

GreenEdge soon allied with the chasers, and Sky, with Wiggins leading Cavendish, also sensing a rare chance for the world champion in this year's Tour.

Roy and Hansen had 30 seconds, but were soon joined by Vinokourov, Nuyens and Paolini: the last stand from the early break. Vinokourov, in his last Tour led affairs berating his accomplices as they reached the foot of the last climb, still with 30 seconds.

Weening with Goss in mind set the pace for the bunch as Roy and Nuyens cracked to leave Vinokourov, Hansen and Paolini ahead. GreenEdge replaced Weening. The Australian team is looking for its first stage win.

Just 12 seconds ahead, Vinokourov, still leading the trio, accelerated again and with nine kilometres to go a win seemed possible. Kloden, Roche and Luis Leon Sanchez led a counter.

Paolini missed a turn, and Vinokourov flapped his arms as Hansen, the best sprinter kept his head down. The Sanchez group latched on with six men holding an eight-second lead with four kilometres to go. Roche, sensing the lack of collaboration, accelerated.

Behind, just by six seconds, Wiggins moved to the front, Boasson Hagen on his wheel, with the world champion in attendance. Roche led out, still in search of his maiden Grand Tour stage but as Wiggins and then Boasson Hagen faded, Cavendish's rainbow jersey burst through.

Full Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling	4:54:12
2	Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
3	Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale
4	Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team
5	Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale
6	Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Sharp
7	Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team
8	Sébastien Hinault (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
9	Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
10	Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne

2012 Tour de France Stage 17, 7/19/12

I'm back from vacation and slacking...

Sorry for not keeping up with the blog. I'm not going to post all the stages I missed, but i will try to post from here on out:

July 19, Stage 17: Bagnères-de-Luchon - Peyragudes 143.5km

Valverde lays claim to final mountain stage

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour-de-france/stage-17/results)

Alejandro Valverde salvaged the 2012 Tour de France for himself and his Movistar squad as the Spaniard soloed to victory on stage 17, the final day in the high mountains. Valverde, part of the day's early escape, rode the final 35km of the Pyrenean stage from Bagnères-de-Luchon to Peyragudes alone, having dispatched of his breakaway companions for good on the hors categorie-rated ascent of the Port de Bales.

Sky's Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome once again asserted their dominance, dropping their general classification rivals on the mountain finish to Peyragudes to cross the line together just 19 seconds in arrears of Valverde. In the final kilometre, as the Sky duo had dropped the remains of a very select group formed on the climb to the finish, it appeared that Froome had the legs to bridge to Valverde, but Wiggins' super domestique backed off the throttle to pace Wiggins to the finish line.

Thibaut Pinot (FDJ-BigMat) crossed the finish for fourth three seconds later while Pierre Rolland (Europcar) pipped Jurgen van den Broeck (Lotto Belisol) for fifth at 26 seconds.

Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) arrived alone in seventh place, 18 seconds behind the Sky duo of Froome and Wiggins, on a stage which must have proved bitterly disappointing for the Sicilian. Starting the day third on general classification behind the Sky pair, Nibali had his team on the front of the peloton for most of the stage in an attempt to crack Wiggins and Sky. In the stage finale, however, the Sicilian did not have the legs to even launch an attack on the climb to Peyragudes as he found himself in the final selection of Wiggins, Froome, Pinot, Rolland, Van den Broeck, Tejay van Garderen (BMC) and Chris Horner (RadioShack-Nissan).

Wiggins remains first on general classification, continuing to lead his teammate Froome by 2:05. Nibali keeps his third place position, but ceded some time on the final day in the mountains to trail Wiggins by 2:41. Jurgen Van den Broeck maintains his fourth place position overall, at 5:53, while BMC teammates Tejay van Garderen and Cadel Evans each move up a position to fifth and sixth respectively as Haimar Zubeldia(RadioShack-Nissan) cracked in the stage's endgame and dropped from fifth to eighth at 10:11.

Last chance for the climbers

At just 143.5km in length, the shortest and last stage in the Tour's high mountains provided a tantalizing medium for several Tour sub-plots to perhaps find resolution. With a 53.5km individual time trial on Saturday, Nibali's final chance to put time into Wiggins and Froome, both more talented against the clock, would be today.

The mountains classification was still very much up for grabs between Thomas Voeckler (Europcar), ensconced in polka dots after sweeping all four KOMs en route to stage victory yesterday, and Fredrik Kessiakoff (Astana), who lost the jersey the previous day but trailed the Frenchman by just four points, 107 to 103. As a maximum of 65 points were up for grabs on the day's five classified climbs, the polka dot jersey could still change hands.

And finally, only eight different teams had scored stage wins thus far in the Tour, and many squads with talented climbers yet to leave their mark on this year's La Grande Boucle were itching for a chance to deliver a stage victory on the last day of climbing.

Attacks were launched from the gun as the peloton sped out of Bagnères-de-Luchon, but nothing stuck until the peloton arrived at the lower slopes of the day's first ascent, the category 1 Col de Menté.

A fairly large group went out on the attack with riders such as Denis Menchov (Katusha), Movistar's Juan Jose Cobo and Alejandro Valverde, Europcar's Pierre Rolland and Thomas Voeckler, Chris Horner
(RadioShack-Nissan) and Chris Anker Sorensen (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank) prominent in the mix on the mist-shrouded ascent.

The battle for the mountains classification picked up where it left off yesterday as Voeckler and Kessiakoff locked horns again. Voeckler's teammate Rolland was alone in the lead near the climb's summit, but waited for his team captain after Kessiakoff dropped Voeckler. With Rolland's help, Voeckler reached Kessiakoff in time to take maximum points atop the Menté, with Kessiakoff taking second.

On a wet and dangerous descent, conditions almost as treacherous as those which spelled Luis Ocana's doom in the 1971 Tour de France, Vincenzo Nibali took advantage of his descending prowess to bridge the gap from the maillot jaune group to the break. Sky remained vigilant, however, and closed the gap to within 20 seconds, prompting Nibali to sit up and be caught while the break could once again stretch its advantage.

Seven riders emerged at the head of affairs after the descent of the Col de Menté including Voeckler, Kessiakoff, Movistar's Alejandro Valverde and Rui Costa, Sandy Casar (FDJ-BigMat), Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Jean-Christophe Peraud (AG2R La Mondiale).

Additionally, an 11-man chase group had escaped from the peloton in pursuit of the leaders. On the attack in this selection were Laurens Ten Dam (Rabobank), Johnny Hoogerland (Vacansoleil-DCM), Blel Kadri (AG2R La Mondiale), Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana), Gorka Izaguirre and Jorge Azana (both Euskaltel-Euskadi), Pieter Weening (Orica GreenEdge), Ruben Plaza (Movistar), Levi Leipheimer (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), Simone Stortoni (Lampre-ISD) and Chris Anker Sorensen (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank).

On the summit of the next climb, the category 1 Col de Ares at 55.5km, Voeckler once again edged Kessiakoff for top honours, extending his lead on the KOM standings to eight points, 122 to 114.

After another tricky descent the chase group finally made contact with the seven leaders, albeit without one member, Chris Anker Sorensen, who suffered an injury to several fingers as he tried to extract a newspaper from his front wheel at the top of the descent. Sorensen received treatment from the Tour doctor and returned to the peloton.

Liquigas-Cannondale continued to set the pace in the peloton and kept the break's lead pegged at approximately 2:30 as Voeckler once again beat Kessiakoff to the stage's next KOM, the category 3 Côte de Burs with 67.5km remaining.

Port de Bales looms

With the monster ascent of stage 17 looming, the hors categorie Port de Bales, the Euskaltel duo of Azana and Izaguirre attacked the break and were joined by Kadri on the wooded, false flat valley road leading to the base of the climb. The three Movistar riders tapped out a steady tempo for the remainder of the escapees while the Liquigas-led peloton continued to trail at 2:30.

Once the leaders began to ascend the Port de Bales whatever cohesion remaining in the group remained was shattered as the better climbers pushed the pace. At the front Izaguirre and Kadri dropped Azana while four riders emerged from the chase group: Valverde, Costa, Leipheimer and Martinez. The quartet would catch Izaguirre and Kadri with 8.5km of climbing remaining to the summit and almost immediately Costa surged ahead alone in the lead.

Five kilometres from the summit, Costa still climbed alone in the lead while the first chase group was trimmed to contain just Valverde, Martinez and Leipheimer, who at 15 seconds back had the Portuguese rider in sight. Further down the slope Voeckler was glued to Kessiakoff's wheel, the duo one minute behind Costa, while Liquigas-Cannondale's tempo had reduced the yellow jersey group to approximately 30 riders.

Soon Valverde made his move with a sharp surge that immediately distanced Martinez and Leipheimer. The Spaniard crossed the gap to his Movistar teammate Rui Costa with ease and after sharing the pace for several hundred metres Valverde's pace proved too much for Costa as well.

Once Valverde ascended through the tree line the mist enshrouding the climb disappeared as he kept a steady rhythm through the exposed switchbacks approaching the Port de Bales summit. Valverde took maximum points at the top, followed by Costa and Martinez. Kadri and Leipheimer crossed together in fourth and fifth, while Voeckler once again outsprinted Kessiakoff at a KOM for the fourth time today as the pair rode topped the hors categorie climb in sixth and seventh place respectively.

The select maillot jaune group was led over the KOM by Jurgen Van den Broeck, who accelerated in the approach to the summit, and still trailing Valverde by more than two minutes.

After another treacherous, Pyrenean descent the race had now arrived at the final kick to the finish, first ascending the Col de Peyresourde on the side they descended the previous day, followed by a turn onto the climb of the Peyragudes for the stage finish.

With Liquigas-Cannondale still setting the tempo in the maillot jaune group, one-by-one the escapees were absorbed and dropped on the Peyresourde until only Valverde remained off the front. At 10.5km to go Valverde still held a lead of 2:20, but the strain of his day's effort began to creep into his pedal stroke while behind the yellow jersey group's tempo increased significantly as attacks started to occur.

After cresting the Peyresourde and enjoying a bit of recovery on a short descent, Valverde began his climb to the finish at Peyragudes with a lead reduced to 1:15 ahead of a 14-rider group containing the general classification contenders. The maillot jaune group was led by Liquigas-Cannondale's Ivan Basso and Vincenzo Nibali, with the Sicilian still not showing any sign of aggression since his initial dig in the early portion of the stage.

Indeed it would be Lotto Belisol who would commence attacking on the final climb, as Jelle Vanendert sped up the road soon to be joined by teammate Jurgen Van den Broeck. A re-shuffling took place culminating with eight riders climbing together in pursuit of Valverde: Wiggins, Froome, Nibali, Van den Broeck, Pinot, Rolland, Horner and van Garderen.

Wiggins had a word with Froome and soon Froome upped the tempo enough to drop everyone but his teammate in the yellow jersey. Soon, however, even Wiggins couldn't handle the pace as they drove into the final kilometre, rapidly closing the gap to Valverde who was clinging to hopes of a stage win with all his might. Froome waited for his captain, however, and while they may have lost the opportunity for another Sky stage win, they crossed the finish line together 19 seconds behind the Spanish stage winner and ahead of their general classification rivals yet again. As was the case to the finish in La Toussuire, however, the question remained as to who amongst the Sky duo was indeed the strongest.

Full Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team	4:12:11
2	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:19
3	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling
4	Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat	0:00:22
5	Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar	0:00:26
6	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
7	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:37
8	Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team	0:00:54
9	Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan	0:01:02
10	Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin - Sharp	0:01:11

2012 Tour de France Stage 9, 7/09/12

July 9, Stage 9: Arc-et-Senans - Besançon (ITT) 41.5km

Wiggins crushes time trial in Besançon

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour-de-france/stage-9/results)

Team Sky stamped their authority on the Tour de France with a commanding display in the 41.5-kilometre time trial to Besançon. Race leader Bradley Wiggins won in a time of 51:24 with teammate Chris Froome in second at 35 seconds. The result moved Froome up to third in the general classification and strengthened Wiggins’s grip on yellow.

Defending champion Cadel Evans (BMC) lost time at each time check point before finishing 6th, 1:43 behind Wiggins. Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale), who started the day in third place overall, managed to limit his losses, finishing in 8th, 2:07 down on Wiggins, and now lies 4th in the race for yellow.

"I'm just really pleased with how I put the day together, mentally, too. The noise when I rolled off the ramp was incredible and not letting that phase me and not going out too hard. So I’m just really satisfied with how I put the whole day together an that’s what I’ve been focusing. So at the moment it’s just relief and pride in myself for doing that," Wiggins said.

"When I get back tonight, that when you start thinking about the context of how it fits into the whole Tour and everything. Numbers are being thrown around, you got this on Cadel, this on him but at the moment it’s a lot to take in."

Heading into the stage BMC had hoped to limit their losses to less than a minute but after just a few kilometres of Evans’s ride Wiggins was up on the 2011 winner. At the first time check, 16.5km into the stage, Wiggins cruised through at a time of 21:05, five seconds up on Froome but already over a minute up on Evans. The Sky pair obliterated the time of Fabian Cancellara and from there Evans began a campaign of damage limitation.

At the second time check at 31.5 kilometres it looked to be working with Wiggins only adding 19 seconds to his time on the Australian but by the finish the British rider had extended his lead to 1:43, the exact time gap between the two riders posted at last month’s Dauphine.

Earlier in the day, world time trial champion Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) cut a sorry figure on the start ramp in Arc-et-Senans. With a wrist strapped due to a broken bone the German was perhaps riding his last stage in this year’s Tour but his luck, which as deserted him throughout the race, was in no mood of changing, and within the first few kilometres suffered a puncture. Despite the misfortune Martin posted the fastest time at each check point to take an early but incomprehensive lead.

Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Nissan) put Martin out of his misery setting a time 39 seconds faster at the first check, and 1:19 quicker at the finish. However, when French time trial champion Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) came through the first check just a handful of seconds down on the Swiss rider, it was clear that the former world time trial champion was far from firing on all cylinders.

It wasn’t until Tejay van Garderen (BMC) came through the first check three seconds faster that it was confirmed that Cancellara would not repeat his prologue success. The American, riding in just his second Tour, looked at ease over the testing first part of the course, catching Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Cannondale) for three minutes and going fastest at the second check. Although he tired by the finish, crossing the line nine seconds down on Cancellara, the RadioShack-Nissan rider’s position was in the line of fire.

By now the GC contenders, Froome included in that echelon, were on the road. The Kenyan-born rider, who beat Wiggins in an individual time trial at the Vuelta last September, stormed to a 24-second lead at the first check. Denis Menchov (Katusha), in his Russian national time trial champion's kit, could only manage 7th with Nibali in 10th and Evans 12th. Wiggins was still to reach the 16.5km mark but his rhythm and speed looked on course, and he crossed the check point five seconds faster than Froome.

Sky’s Froome was looking almost as assured as Wiggins in his time trial position, out of the saddle on the rolling terrain, and faster than Van Garderen at the second check point. Wiggins came in 16 seconds faster than Froome, cementing his position as Sky’s undoubted leader in the race.

Menchov crossed the line, then Nibali, but both were off the pace and looking set to lose over two minutes. Froome meanwhile had crushed Cancellara by 22 seconds with just Evans and Wiggins left on the road.

Having gained 35 seconds on Froome, 1:43 on Evans and over 2 minutes on his nearest rival Wiggins will be greatly satisfied with his day and tomorrow’s rest day will give the British rider time to let the events sink in. The Tour is far from over but Wiggins has landed a heavy blow.

Full Results

1	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:51:24
2	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:35
3	Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan	0:00:57
4	Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team	0:01:06
5	Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-QuickStep	0:01:24
6	Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team	0:01:43
7	Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-QuickStep	0:01:59
8	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:02:07
9	Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha Team	0:02:08
10	Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan	0:02:09

2012 Tour de France Stage 8, 7/08/12

July 8, Stage 8: Belfort - Porrentruy 157.5km

Pinot rides to glory in Porrentruy

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour-de-france/stage-8/results)

Thibaut Pinot (FDJ-BigMat) pulled off a famous home victory in stage 8 of the 2012 Tour de France. The Tour’s youngest competitor passed leader Frederik Kessiakoff (Astana) with 17km to race and launched a bold attack that left him with enough of a gap to hold off a host of big name challengers who pursued him intensely, but ultimately in vain, over the final kilometres. There were ecstatic scenes of jubilation from the home fans and from Pinot’s team as he crossed the line with 26 seconds to spare.

Cadel Evans (BMC) took second place ahead of Tony Gallopin (RadioShack-Nissan). Team Sky’s Bradley Wiggins kept his GC rival Evans comfortably in his sights and retained the yellow jersey with his fourth placed finish.

"Those were the longest ten kilometers of my life," Pinot said afterward. "When I saw 10km to go and the peloton was coming back, I was really afraid."

Pinot was able to take advantage of having a teammate in the breakaway all day, and he dedicated the victory to Jeremy Roy. "When Jeremy [Roy] was away I wasn't really riding, and then he truly sacrificed himself for me. I'm really happy."

The young Frenchman looked set to take over the white jersey from Cofidis's Rein Taaramae, but the Estonian battled back to come in 2:21 behind the winner to save his best young rider classification.

Pinot was overjoyed with his stage victory, but played down his chances for the overall classification. "Tomorrow my legs will really hurt so I have no real plans for the rest of the Tour, I will take it day by day."

The tone for the 157km stage, which contained a grand total of seven categorised climbs, was set very early on as Jens Voigt (RadioShack-Nissan) led an early break of ten riders. Within a few kilometres Voigt was on his own but a few minutes later he was passed and dropped by Roy.

As Roy ploughed a lone furrow up the road, 60km in there was a major crash involving three Spaniards – Samuel Sanchez, Jorge Azanza (both Euskaltel-Esukadi) and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar). In the end it was Sanchez who came off worst, with the 2008 Olympic road race champion having to withdraw with injuries that include a broken collarbone and a dislocated shoulder. It will take a miracle for him to be declared fit to defend his Olympic title in London at the end of this month.

Meanwhile, further up the road, Roy was caught by Kessiakoff with just over 80km to go and the two men worked together to build a healthy lead over the rest of the pack. Pinot then made his first significant move of the afternoon, attacking from the main peloton and forming part of a large 22-man group that went off in chase of the two leaders.

Shortly before the fifth categorised climb of the day – the Cote de Saulcy – Pinot launched a successful bid to bridge the gap to the leading duo, joined by Kevin de Weert (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) and Steven Kruiswijk (Rabobank). Kessiakoff responded immediately and attacked, opening up a lead that peaked at 1:45 and one that he would hold until well inside the final 20km.

Pinot and Tony Gallopin (RadioShack-Nissan) burst clear of the pack and Pinot eventually proved the stronger, passing Kessiakoff with 17km left – just at the top of the final Col de la Croix climb. He then made a daring bid for the winning line on the fast descent into Porrentruy, chased by some of the race’s biggest favourites. Evans, Wiggins, Nibali, Menchov and Frank Schleck were amongst the names that went off in hot pursuit of the youngster.

With these stellar names bearing down on him, it would have been excusable if such a relatively inexperienced rider buckled. But the 22-year-old, who rode through his home town on yesterday’s seventh stage, held his nerve impressively and had time to savour the final 200 metres before celebrating what is easily the biggest win of his highly promising career to date.

As for Wiggins, he find himself in a commanding position - tomorrow's stage is a 41.5km individual time trial that should play to his strengths. But as he revealed on the Team Sky website after the finish, today's stage wasn't as easy as he had anticipated.

"That stage was a lot harder than I expected it to be," he said. "The boys were incredible again today and really marshalled the race. They set us up to be able to go with the others on that last climb.

"Early on we had to wait to let the right break go, and that took a long time and a lot of work. We were racing from the off and that didn’t stop for two hours really. The peloton was decimated and it was a tough day for a lot of people. We’re still in a fantastic position after this first week and that’s two tough days down now. We’ve got a time trial ahead of us now and then a rest day."

Full Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat	3:56:10
2	Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team	0:00:26
3	Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack-Nissan
4	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling
5	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
6	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
7	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling
8	Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha Team
9	Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) RadioShack-Nissan
10	Frank Schleck (Lux) RadioShack-Nissan	0:00:30