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 5, 7/05/12

Part of me wants to post all the articles of the newest information about Lance Armstrong's USADA investigation. The news this morning ruined my day. Maybe I'll post it later...

...for now let's celebrate Andre Greipel's 2nd win:

July 5, Stage 5: Rouen - Saint-Quentin 196.5km

Greipel doubles up on Tour de France stage 5

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

Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) sprinted to victory at stage five of the 2012 Tour de France in the town of Saint-Quentin for his second consecutive stage win. He took advantage of a flat and fast run-in and swooped very late to deny Matthew Goss (Orica-GreenEdge), JJ Haedo (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank) and Mark Cavendish (Sky).

"I'm happy because I won another stage in the Tour de France," said Greipel. "There was a bit of a crash and I was behind it at 3k to go, but Greg Henderson was waiting for me. The Lotto Belisol train was working perfectly today. It was a hard sprint, I think it was one of the hardest sprints I've ever done."

For the second consecutive day the finale was marred by a large crash less than 3km from the finish, with the most high profile victim being points leader Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale), who was well-placed at the time but was forced to check his momentum dramatically as several riders hit the floor around him. Ultimately a downed bike caused the Slovak to tumble, leaving contusions on his left elbow and buttock, but he was more concerned with the lost points toward the green jersey competition.

"I missed a great opportunity, especially for points toward winning the green jersey," said Sagan. "Unfortunately, every time there is a sprint the script is always the same: everyone wants to stay ahead, everyone thinks they have good legs and do manoeuvres that cause crashes. We are at the Tour de France and a victory here is worth a lot, but the risks are just too high. Though the thought that I could have been hurt worse helps me overcome the sorrow."

Garmin-Sharp's Tyler Farrar, his arm dripping blood after being taken down in a squeeze between Tom Veelers (Argos-Shimano) and a Lampre rider, was furious following his second major spill in as many days. He attempted to enter the Argos team bus to have it out with Veelers, but was pulled away by team staff.

Veelers explained via the team's press release: "Tyler wanted to get in the wheel of Koen de Kort, but I was already there. He didn't respect my train, but that's his problem. I get why he’s upset, because a crash is never very pleasant."

Emotions are running high as the pressure is on for the sprinters, who have just one flat stage left tomorrow before the race hits the hills on Saturday. The next possible sprint stage after stage 6 to Metz comes on July 13, when stage 12 hits a plateau after a cat 3 climb near the finish, or the following stage to Le Cap d'Agde.

Cavendish, still smarting from his crash the previous day, did not blame his injuries on the fifth place finish, rather he said he intentionally positioned himself behind in order to get a run at the finish but found himself too far back.

"The final didn't work out quite how we wanted it but the guys were all there and they did a good job," said Sky director Sean Yates. "We upped the ante and next time it will be better. Cav dropped back a bit at the finish and had a bit too much work to do at the end.

"We need to keep this going starting tomorrow and we will look to keep Bradley safe and set Mark up heading into the finish."

After today's stage Sagan adds only 8 points (won in the intermediate sprint) to his booty for the green jersey. The ranking sees him still in first place with 155 points, followed by Goss, who moves closer at 137, Greipel (winner today) at 132 and Cavendish at 119, although Goss said that he doesn't want to gain an advantage because of crashes.

"It's not the way I want to take points, I don't want to gain in the competition because someone has crashed but we did definitely take back quite a lot of points today," Goss said.

Meanwhile, it was another quiet day for the general classification contenders, who steered clear of the sprinters in the finale.

The overall race lead remains with Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Nissan), who expects to concede the yellow jersey on the first major uphill finish in La Planche des Belles Filles on Saturday.

"Everything is possible in life if you believe in it. However, in my opinion, from what I’ve seen of the Planche des Belles Filles climb and what I’ve heard about it, it’s a little bit too hard for me," Cancellara admitted.

It was another hectic day in Northern France, with more wind, more narrow roads and nerves. The only abandon of the day came from Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano), who finally gave up after nearly a week of fighting gastroenteritis and knee pain.

The majority of the race was dominated by a four-man breakaway, who went clear just three kilometres into the stage. Matthieu Ladagnous (FDJ-BigMat), Pablo Urtasun (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Jan Ghyselinck (Cofidis) and Julien Simon (Saur-Sojasun) rode on the front for over 190km.

Ladagnous took the maximum points at the day's intermediate sprint in Breteuil as the four leaders rolled through the line. Behind, the peloton's green jersey battle continued, with Cavendish getting the better of Goss, Renshaw and Sagan for the points.

The four leaders eked out an advantage of 5:40 but after the sprint the elastic began to contract again, and they were reeled in steadily by the chasing sprinters' teams.

The four kept working together to hold a handful of seconds inside the 3km to go banner, and Ghyselinck panicked: he made a bold attack for the finish line with just over 1km to go. The Belgian could not hang on, however. Urtasun was able to come by, but he, too, was caught and left behind by the marauding pack in the final 100 metres.

Full Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team	4:41:30
2	Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
3	Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
4	Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
5	Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling
6	Tom Veelers (Ned) Argos-Shimano
7	Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Katusha Team
8	Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD
9	Sébastien Hinault (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
10	Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar

2012 Skoda TdL Stage 4 and Dauphine Prologue

The Skoda-Tour de Luxembourg ended with Jakob Fuglsang 1st overall, and RadioShack Nissan Trek the overall team winner! Frank Schleck was 3rd overall, and Maxime Monfort finished 8th overall. I'd say that Johan Bruyneel should be quite proud of his team.

However, the prologue for the Criterium du Dauphine is a different story. Andy Schleck's came in 102nd in the Individual Time Trial. Then, of course, Schleck had a few words to say about his team manager and how Bruyneel has handled team issues by talking to the press:

June 3, Stage 4: Mersch - Luxembourg 153.5km

Roelandts bests Swift in Luxembourg finale

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/skoda-tour-de-luxembourg-2012/stage-4/results)

Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto Belisol) raised his arms in victory for the first time since the 2008 Circuit Franco-Belge after soloing away from his breakaway companions in the final stage of the Tour of Luxembourg today.

Jakob Fuglsang gave RadioShack-Nissan its first stage race win of the season, coming tenth on the stage and holding onto his two second lead over stage 3 winner Wout Poels (Vacansoleil-DCM), with teammate Frank Schleck taking third overall.

"Luxembourg is my second home so to win the national tour of Luxembourg is important to the team but also to me,” said Fuglsang. “Especially after the difficult spring I had with bad luck and injuries. It’s nice to make a comeback like this. It was the right decision for me to not start the Giro d’Italia and give my knee more time to heal. Now I have this victory and I am very, very happy. The team was riding very strong and I have to thank them.

"The team dedicated themselves to winning, and I really have to thank them all," Fuglsang said. "We had such a strong team here. Working together on all five stages made this possible and I’m so happy it worked out for us.”

The weather on the final stage was so bad that a third of the field abandoned and officials neutralized the general classification at the start of the final circuits with 47km left to race.

"I think the organization made the right decision by ending the GC battle at that point," Fuglsang said. "There was a real risk of crashes and everyone was nervous to stay upright."

Heavy rains pounded the riders as they set out for the final 158km stage from Mersch, but it was no matter to Roelandts, who escaped early into the stage with three companions: Tom Stamsnijder (Argos-Shimano), Damien Gaudin (Europcar) and Jimmy Casper (FDJ-Big Mat). The former Belgian champion claimed the three mountain primes that were on offer, and then rode away from his companions in the final 10km to claim the stage win.

The three escapees were caught by the chasing peloton, from which Ben Swift (Sky) took the sprint ahead of teammate Davide Appollonio and Kristof Goddaert (AG2R).

(Picture from: http://www.radioshacknissantrek.com/gallery/tour-luxembourg-stage-4)

Stage 4 Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team	2:39:58
2	Ben Swift (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:25
3	Davide Appollonio (Ita) Sky Procycling
4	Kristof Goddaert (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
5	Wouter Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
6	Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
7	Koen De Kort (Ned) Argos-Shimano
8	Eliot Lietaer (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
9	Dirk Bellemakers (Ned) Landbouwkrediet-Euphony
10	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Radioshack-Nissan

 

Overall Results

1	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Radioshack-Nissan	17:08:40
2	Wouter Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team	0:00:02
3	Frank Schleck (Lux) Radioshack-Nissan	0:00:05
4	Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Saur - Sojasun	0:00:20
5	Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Argos-Shimano	0:00:24
6	Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne	0:00:25
7	Sébastien Delfosse (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Euphony	0:00:28
8	Maxime Monfort (Bel) Radioshack-Nissan	0:00:29
9	Bob Jungels (Lux) Luxembourg
10	Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale	0:00:32

June 3, Prologue - (ITT): Grenoble 5.7km

Durbridge wins Criterium du Dauphine prologue in Grenoble

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/criterium-du-dauphine-2012/prologue-itt/results)

Australian rider Luke Durbridge (Orica-GreenEdge) sped to victory in the 5.7km time trial prologue to the 2012 Criterium du Dauphine, holding off a spirited effort from pre-race favourite and defending champion Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky), who was the last man to ride.

Durbridge took the lead from Astana's Andriy Grivko and held onto it for over 90 minutes. Wiggins pushed hard as the wind increased and in the end was only a second down on Durbridge's winning time of 6:38:52.

The prologue has set the race up nicely, with plenty of big names in the top ten. Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), Cadel Evans (BMC) and Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge) are all in there too.

Conditions definitely favoured the early starters in Grenoble, with the flat course winding through the streets of the city in the foot of the French Alps. Calm and dry conditions deteriorated slightly as the day wore on, with a light shower coming in the middle of the stage and the winding picking up significantly towards the end of the stage. With some tight bends dotted around the course, it wasn’t for the faint-hearted.

It was hardly a surprise, therefore, that half of the eventual top ten set off within the first half an hour of racing. These five included Durbridge, who posted the best time of the three Australians in the top ten.

“I’m speechless,” the 21-year-old said after watching Wiggins narrowly fail to beat his time. “I was lucky with the wind and the rain and it could have gone either way. Sometimes you just need some luck. Wearing the yellow jersey at the Dauphine? I’ll take that. It’s going to take a while for it to sink in.”

Wiggins was happy with the outcome. Despite his narrow defeat he has put himself in an excellent position for the remainder of the race, which begins in earnest tomorrow with a 187km stage featuring six categorised climbs.

"I'm happy enough to finish second but it's about the whole week. I couldn't have asked for better today," Wiggins said.

"It's always the same with prologues. With riders going three hours apart there's always different conditions. The wind changed massively today. Some guys had disadvantages on the course elsewhere at the start and also advantages.
“I'm just pleased it stayed dry really because it's never nice riding a prologue in the rain. It was perfect. I stayed safe and I'm where I want to be at the moment and I'm just trying to enjoy it."

Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica GreenEdge	0:06:38
2	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:01
3	Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team	0:00:03
4	Carlos Barredo (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team
5	Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quick Step	0:00:05
6	Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica GreenEdge
7	Paul Martens (Ger) Rabobank Cycling Team
8	Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quick Step	0:00:06
9	Cadel Evans (Aus) Bmc Racing Team
10	Andrey Amador (CRc) Movistar Team	0:00:07

 

Andy Schleck has a dig at Bruyneel at Dauphiné prologue

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/andy-schleck-has-a-dig-at-bruyneel-at-dauphine-prologue)

Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad has reported that RadioShack-Nissan rider Andy Schleck spoke out in frustration at team manager Johan Bruyneel's use of the media in recent weeks at today's Critérium du Dauphiné prologue.

Bruyneel has been outspoken in his criticism of Schleck and his brother Frank since the latter withdrew from the Giro d'Italia during stage 15 with a injuries to his shoulder and neck following a crash. Bruyneel implied publicly that the injuries weren't bad enough to warrant a withdrawal from the race and then later criticised the brothers from Luxembourg for a lack of leadership this season.

He also stated that neither rider, who both finished on the podium at last year's Tour de France, are certain to make it to the start line for this year's race in Bruges later this month. He subsequently stated that he was only using the press as a motivating tool.

"Personally, if I was a manager I wouldn't try to solve problems with my riders through the press," Schleck is quoted in the newspaper as saying. "I would discuss them internally. Maybe Bruyneel was being rushed by the team sponsors, who might be getting impatient."

Schleck finished in 102nd position at today's prologue, 29 seconds down on winner Luke Durbridge (Orica-GreenEdge).

Skoda-Tour of Luxembourg Stage 3

Another FANTASTIC stage for the RadioShack-Nissan Trek Team!!! Johan Bruyneel must be so proud. Although the stage wasn't won by a RSNT rider, the Luxemburger Wort Yellow Jersey is now being work by Jakob Fuglsang. And for those paying attention, Fuglsang is one of my picks for my RSNT Tour de France team.

June 2, Stage 3: Eschweiler - Differdange 205.4km

Poels wins queen stage in Luxembourg

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/skoda-tour-de-luxembourg-2012/stage-3/results)

Wout Poels (Vacansoleil-DCM) claimed his first win of the season and one of his most prestigious victories of his career on the queen stage of the Tour de Luxembourg today. At the end of the 205km stage from Eschweiler to Differdange, Poels out-paced Jakob Fuglsand and Fränk Schleck of the RadioShack-Nissan team. With his second place, Fuglsang took over the race lead from Saur-Sojasun's Jimmy Engoulvent.

The day's breakaway went early, with Mathew Hayman (Sky), Jens Debusschere (Lotto-Belisol), Jérôme Cousin (Europcar), Albert Timmer (Argos-Shimano) and Staf Scheirlinckx (Accent.Jobs-Willems Verandas) built up a four minute lead in the lead-up to the hills. Timmer claimed the first four mountain primes, but as the race hit the closing circuits the five riders were being chased in earnest by the Radioshack-led peloton.

The breakaway was finally caught ahead of the Col de l'Europe, which was taken in three times in the closing circuits. Fränk Schleck attacked the first trip to take the most points, pulling away a new leading group with Fuglsang, Poels and his own teammate Andreas Klöden.

Klöden was dropped from the lead group, and the trio went to the line with a small lead. Schleck claimed all three mountain sprints on the Col de l'Europe but wasn't able to get the better of the Dutch rider in the dash to the finish.

(Photo from RadioShack-Nissan Trek: http://lockerz.com/s/213865650)

Full Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Wout Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team	5:01:11
2	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Radioshack-Nissan
3	Frank Schleck (Lux) Radioshack-Nissan
4	Michael Barry (Can) Sky Procycling	0:00:24
5	Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Sky Procycling
6	Vincent Jerome (Fra) Team Europcar
7	Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale
8	Thomas Damuseau (Fra) Argos-Shimano
9	Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
10	Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team

2012 Skoda-Tour de Luxembourg Stage 2

It is hard to find information on the Skoda-Tour de Luxembourg, so I'm using other sites.

Greipel triumphs yet again in Tour of Luxembourg

(http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/12009/Greipel-triumphs-yet-again-in-Tour-of-Luxembourg.aspx)

 

André Greipel repeated his performance of yesterday and scooped up another win in the Skoda Tour of Luxembourg. The Lotto-Belisol rider beat Ben Swift (Sky Procycling) by over a bike length, with Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto Belisol) third. French rider Jimmy Engoulvent, who won the prologue on Wednesday, keeps the yellow leader's jersey.

Gripel’s ride netted his fifth win in nine days and his eleventh of the season. "It may look simple to the people watching, but it's not," the German said after the finish. "The final was hard but in the end all went well."

The first hour of today's 183.9 kilometers long stage from Schifflange to Leudelange went at a very high pace. The peloton reached an average of almost 50 kilometers per hour as Radioshack kept the pressure on and let no one escape. Kim Andersen: "We are a Luxembourg team so this race is very important to us. Yesterday we tried to make the race tough with the wind but it didn't work out. We'll try again today," Radioshack's directeur sportif said before the start.

After an hour into the race two riders from smaller teams were allowed to break away. Kevin van Melsen from Accent Jobs-Willems Veranda's and Gediminas Kaupas of local team Differdange quickly gained a lead on the bunch who were tired after the fast first hour. The two had seven minutes before Radioshack, Team Sky and Lotto-Belisol started the chase.

In the last of the three local loops Van Melsen and Kaupas were caught. The sprinter teams kept everything together for a new bunch sprint. Before the final kilometer Andreas Klöden of Radioshack-Nissan-Trek attacked. "The only goal here is to win the yellow jersey on Sunday, everything else is a bonus. Last year we won with Gerdemann. I don't care who of the team will take the overall, as long as it is a Radioshack-Nissan-Trek rider'" Andersen said.

Klöden was caught in the final, 300 meters straight road to the finish. There it was Lotto-Belisol's André Greipel who triumphed ahead of Swift. His team-mate Jurgen Roelandts, who has only been back in competition for two weeks after a broken vertebra in the Tour Down Under, got a good third place.

Tomorrow the Tour of Luxembourg has its key stage from Eschweiler to Differdange, running over 205,4 kilometers. It has seven categorised climbs including the Col de l'Europe, a 7.6% climb which is included in the 9.5 kilometres long local circuit. Traditionally the overall classification will be determined in this stage.

(Picture from: http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/12009/Greipel-triumphs-yet-again-in-Tour-of-Luxembourg.aspx)

Results:

1	André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team	4:29:20
2	Ben Swift (GBr) Sky Procycling
3	Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
4	Romain Feillu (Fra) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
5	Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's
6	Michael Van Staeyen (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
7	Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
8	Roy Curvers (Ned) Argos-Shimano
9	Maxime Monfort (Bel) Radioshack-Nissan
10	Wouter Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team

2012 Skoda-Tour de Luxembourg Stage 1

After an amazing RadioShack Nissan Trek showing at the Prologue Individual Time Trial yesterday, where out of 128 riders, all 8 of the RSNT team finished 61st and above: Gregory Rast - 2nd, Jakob Fuglsang - 5th, Maxime Monfort - 22nd, Frank Schleck - 25th, Jens Voigt - 45th, Andreas Kloden - 46th, Linus Gerdemann - 58th, Laurent Didier - 61st. That's a team Johan Bruyneel should be proud of.

Even today, Voigt managed to get a 3 minute solo breakaway, but he was chased down my the sprinters' teams before the finish. However, I'm confused as to why he crossed the finish line over 4 minutes down. The Skoda-Tour de Luxembourg isn't a Grand Tour, so trying to find information on it is next to impossible. But I am still working on it. In fact, if you look at the cyclingnews.com summary below, you can tell it's about half the length of a normal race's summary. But before the race summary, I want to share an article I saw on the RSNT site:

On the giving end of pain

(http://www.radioshacknissantrek.com/news/giving-end-pain)

When it’s time to dish out some pain, who better to deliver the goods than Jens Voigt? The Jensie was waging battle in the Tour of Luxembourg on Thursday, earning himself the most aggressive rider jersey for his heart-felt ‘all in’ attack.

 

“We had a plan from the beginning that we’d let a little group go so we could control the situation,” said Jens Voigt after stage 1.  “We knew the team of the yellow jersey would ride.  We planned to go pretty hard on the last climb with 65k to go. The whole team was together going hard for another 10-15km but we needed a little bit of wind to split things up. 

"I think we did hurt some people but in general it wasn’t working the way we wanted it to.  So Fränk suggested that we back off some to save energy and I could go again.  That’s what I did.  I was hiding in the group for another 5km and then when things slowed down a little bit, that’s when I went." 

The field of 16 teams rode 181km/112mi from Luxembourg to Hesperange on a day with three rated climbs and one sprint point.   An immediate attack put in by Jesus Rosendo of Andalucia from kilometer zero resulted in a successful getaway.  He was joined by Albert Timmer (Argos-Shimano) and the main field let the time advantage to the duo go out to near three minutes.  Once RSNT started riding hard, the duo were caught, setting up the chance for Voigt to make his solo attack soon after.   With an advantage of almost three minutes, victory looked possible for Jens, but the motivated teams of the sprinters brought him back, setting up a group sprint won by Andre Greipel of Lotto-Belisol.  Second and third went to David Appollonio (Sky) and Samuel Dumoulin of Cofidis.  For the overall Jimmy Engoulvent (Saur-Sojasun) continues to lead with Gregy Rast sitting close in second at 3-seconds off the pace.  Teammate Jakob Fuglsang still holds fifth on the GC at seven seconds back. 

Voigt: “I was always alone on my ride but I was all in.  I thought maybe I could take the stage win and the yellow jersey.  I was believing in myself today, especially when the gap was something close to three minutes.  I gave it everything I had.  It felt like the good ol’ days with Jensie off the front, everyone chasing from behind, people hating me because I’m attacking all the time…….It was beautiful.  Like I always say:  ‘It’s better to be on the giving end of pain rather than on the receiving end.’ 

There is more road action to come as the Luxembourg tour continues Friday with stage 2.  The stage begins in Schifflange and ends in Leudelange.  At 184km the profile includes more up and down rollers throughout the day along with three rated climbs before arriving in Leudelange.   

“I think tomorrow is really for the sprinters, but maybe if we do some more work and take the jersey in a few days, then I will be able to attack again.” 

It doesn’t take much to please Mr. Voigt. 

(Picture from: http://www.radioshacknissantrek.com/team/riders/jens-voigt)

May 31, Stage 1: Luxembourg - Hesperange 181km

Greipel takes sprint victory in Hesperange

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/skoda-tour-de-luxembourg-2012/stage-1/results)

Having won three straight stages at the Tour of Belgium last week, Andre Greipel (Lotto Belisol) continued his run of top form with a sprint victory in the opening road stage at the Skoda-Tour de Luxembourg. Davide Appollonio (Sky) finished second behind Greipel, followed by Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis) in third place for the 181km stage.

Prologue time trial winner Jimmy Engoulvent (Saur-Sojasun) finished safely in the peloton and remains in the general classification lead, as no time bonuses were allotted during today's stage. Grégory Rast (Radioshack-Nissan) and Jonathan Hivert (Saur-Sojasun) hold second and third overall respectively, tied on time at three seconds behind Engoulvent.

The attacks came literally from the gun in the Tour of Luxembourg's first road stage, as Jesus Rosendo Prado (Andalucia) jumped away from the peloton at kilometre zero. The Spaniard was soon joined by Albert Timmer (Argos-Shimano) to form the early break. The duo's advantage was pegged at two to three minutes and their escape continued through the third and final classified climb at 117.9km.

The RadioShack-Nissan team set a strong tempo over the final ascent in hope of splintering the field, and while the team was successful in neutralising the escape their plan didn't break up the peloton as planned. However, several kilometres later, Jens Voigt (RadioShack-Nissan) launched a solo attack and soon found himself with a lead of approximately three minutes over the peloton in the approach to the 16km finishing circuit.

"I thought maybe I could take the stage win and the yellow jersey," said Voigt on his team website. "I was believing in myself today, especially when the gap was something close to three minutes. I gave it everything I had."

The teams of the sprinters, however, increased the tempo in the peloton and caught Voigt inside the final 10 kilometres and set the stage for a field sprint finale.

(Picture from: http://www.wort.lu/de/view/skoda-tour-andre-greipel-gewinnt-erste-etappe-im-sprint-4fc79975e4b0409e8f7a4f48)

Full Results

1	André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team	4:53:56
2	Davide Appollonio (Ita) Sky Procycling
3	Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
4	Romain Feillu (Fra) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
5	Koen De Kort (Ned) Argos-Shimano
6	Sascha Weber (Ger) Team Differdange - Magic-Sportfood.de
7	Roy Curvers (Ned) Argos-Shimano
8	Vincent Baestaens (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Euphony
9	Ben Swift (GBr) Sky Procycling
10	Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar

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 1

Today's stage went from Passage du Gois La Barre-de-Monts to Mont des Alouettes Les Herbiers for a total of 191 km (118.68 miles). A pretty flat stage, which would sound like a sprinter finish, however, the category 4 climb at the end could prove to be better for classics riders.

The first part of the stage, Passage du Gois, is a part of France that is only uncovered during low tide. The cyclists have to ride over mud-covered ground.

The first breakaway of the day involved Perrig Quemeneur (Europcar), Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil) and Jeremy Roy (FdJ). Quemeneur, who is racing in his first Tour, initiated the escape right after the race started. Their max time was 6'40", and at 20 km to go the peloton caught up and the trio ended their escape with handshakes all around.



Here is a cool picture of the pack riding together:



The intermediate sprint of the day came around kilometer 87. Roy crossed first earning himself 20 points for the green jersey, followed by Westra (17) and Quemeneur (15). The peloton crossed about 3 minutes after the breakaway, in real sprint fashion: Farrar (13), Greipel (11), Ventoso (10), Galimzyanov (9), Bozic (8), Boonen (7), Engoulvent (6), Cavendish (5), Petacchi (4), Delage (3), Dumoulin (2) and Sabatini (1).

There were a lot of crashes today, although probably no more than usual. However, the two big ones came at the end. At 8km out, the peloton was split into two groups; Contador was in the 2nd group, initally about 32 seconds behind. At 2 km out another crash happened (although since this one was under 3km, all riders involved were given the same time as the first finishers). Philippe Gilbert won the stage; his first Tour victory. He has the Yellow Jersey, KOM Jersey, and Green Jersey. Geraint Thomas earns the White Jersey. Contador finshed 1'21" behind.

Stage 1, Results:

1. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto 4:41:31 

2. Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:00:03 
3. Thor Hushovd (Nor) Team Garmin-Cervelo 0:00:06 
4. Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar Team  
5. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto  
6. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky ProCycling  
7. Andreas Klöden (Ger) Team RadioShack  
8. Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 
9. Christopher Horner (USA) Team RadioShack  
10. Tony Martin (Ger) HTC Highroad

(Note: All pictures courtesy of Yahoo Sports)