2013 Tour de France Stage 8

This is late because I admit that I had no motivation last night. I'm going to warn you now that I may not do every stage recaps. I used to force myself to write and then it wasn't fun. I don't want this to feel like a job, so I will post when I can.

Stage 8:

This stage offered the first real taste of the mountains. This year the peloton is hitting the Pyrenees first with Ax 3 Domaines as a summit finish, not to mention the HC climb that came just before the last category 1 climb. I knew the sprinters would be distanced, and I hoped they could make the time cut. I didn't want another Ted King situation on the UCI's already bloody hands.

Just as the peloton left the neutral zone, Johnny Hoogerland attacked. I know his crash was two years ago, but it still makes me smile everytime I see his name in a break. He was then join by Jean-Marc Marino, Christophe Riblon, and Rudy Molard. They hit their max time of 9', taking the top four spots on the intermediate sprint, before being reeled back in by the peloton. Greipel lead the peloton over the sprint line, ahead of Sagan and Cavendish. By the time the base of the HC climb hit, the four riders were only down to 1'.

Hoogerland tried to attack the break, but it didn't work, as the peloton was closing in. Then Riblon attacked,  Marino and Hoogerland countered, but to no avail. Riblon went solo.

Robert Gesink attacked the peloton and Thomas Voeckler tried to bridge to him. The back of the peloton fell apart as the pace increased. Damiano Cunego was dropped with the sprinters, as was Daryl Impey, the Yellow Jersey. I have to give Impey credit for trying to hold on for as long as he could, but he started slowing down.

Nairo Quintana attacked next, passed Voeckler, and bridged to Gesink. He passed Gesink before passing Riblon! However, with only 34km left of the stage, the chase was on! Thirty riders, CG contendors, climbers, and teammates to help, began chasing Quintana. All wanting the Yellow Jersey on their shoulders, or for their team. Included in this chase were some big names: Christopher Froome, Richie Porte, Cadel Evans, Alberto Contador, Andy Schleck, Jakob Fuglsang, Dan Martin, Andrew Talansky, Joaquim Rodriguez, Pierre Rolland, and Alejandro Valverde. Missing however was Tejay van Garderen, who was dropped. This surprised me since he was the White Jersey winner last year, and overall had a much better 2012 Tour de France than team leader Evans.

At the top of the climb, Riblon was 27" behind Quintana, and the chase group was at 55". Rolland attacked out of the chase group, wanting extra KOM points. His effort paid off, as he earned back the Polka-Dot Jersey for the time being, but we'd have to see how the final climb would play out. Rolland finally caught Quintana at the very end of the descent, but the chasers were only 22" behind as the category 1 climb started right away.

After battling the HC climb first, Evans, Schleck, D. Martin, Talansky, Fuglsang, Rodriguez and some others were dropped through the descent and the beginning of this next climb, leaving only 10 riders chasing Quintana.

Then more began to fall, leaving only the big names: Froome, Valverde, Contador, Porte, and Kreuzinger. And even they began to shake. It was only Froome and Porte left when Quintana was caught, and Froome attacked solo with about 4km left. The big names who had given up chase were being distanced quite well by Froome, while some, like Evans, was being passed over and over again by other riders.

Froome took the stage with a 51" lead over teammate Porte, and in doing so, earned the Yellow Jersey and tied with Rolland for the KOM jersey. Although he didn't win the stage, Quintana still walked away with the White Jersey.

If this is a hint to what the next two weeks will be like, it looks like Sky might have another 1-2 victory this year.

Even with Andy Schleck on the team, I was surprised that Haimar Zubeldia is actually the highest placed RadioShack Leopard trek rider, broken hand and all.

And, if memory serves me correctly, through 8 stages, we have had 8 separate stage winners.

2013 Tour de France Stages 6-7

Stage 6:

I know the picture above isn't actually of the stage, but I thought this was the most beautiful picture of the day. Simon Gerrans "passed" the Yellow Jersey on to his Orica-GreenEdge teammate Daryl Impey, and in doing this Impey became the first African, or South African to be more specific, to ever wear the Yellow Jersey. Impey now has a 3 second lead over Edvald Boasson Hagen and 5 second lead over Gerrans.

Andre Greipel was the winner of the stage. He has led the peloton over the intermediate sprints for most of the stages this Tour, but today he took his first win of the 2013 Tour de France. He beat Peter Sagan, Marcel Kittel, and Mark Cavendish respectively.

I was sad to see that Nacer Bouhanni had to abandon during this stage. He got caught up in a crash at the end of Stage 5, and couldn't make it to the finish of Stage 6. This is the first Tour de France for the 22 year old, who is quickly becoming a contender in the mass sprints.

Stage 7: 

Apparently, even World Champions have tight leashes on. This morning, and article came out about Philippe Gilbert not being allowed to try to get in a breakaway and win this stage, which is suited for a rider like him. Although the article isn't in English, Google translate helped me get the gist of it. The team's decision is to keep Evans safe and all team members around him. This is a race for Evans and no one is to go on their own (Sporza.be). Haven't we seen this before? Oh, right...in last year's Tour de France with Mark Cavendish on Team Sky. He wasn't allowed to sprint for himself, it was all about protecting Wiggins.

More came out today about Frank Schleck's release from Radioshack Leopard Trek. He had been training with them even during his suspension, but yet the team still released him. His own country, Luxembourg, believes that Frank didn't intentionally take this diuretic, and even the UCI admitted that the suspension had nothing to do with doping. Yet, the team still released him. Frank is hoping he can find another team before the Vuelta, although with it being mid-season, that may be difficult. His brother Andy even came out and said, "I will not ride in another team with Frank" (CyclingWeekly, and Sporten.tv2.dk with help of Google Translate).

But anyway, back to Stage 7. Jens Voigt was part of a 6-man attack very early into the stage, but the break only got about 10" ahead before being caught. Then Voigt attacked again, this time with Blel Kadri, and that became the break of the day. Unfortunately, as the two broke away, a crash happened in the peloton involving several riders. Because of his injuries from a crash two days ago, and now this crash, Christian Vande Velde abandoned. This was to be his last Tour de France before retiring, and it's sad he couldn't make it all the way to Paris.

Voigt and Kadri, who earned the KOM Jersey today, were caught 94km from the finish as the sprint teams kept the pace of the peloton high. The problem with that was some of the sprinters fell off the back with the mountains; Andre Greipel, Mark Cavendish, and Marcel Kittel all lost sprint points today to intermediate sprint and eventual stage winner Peter Sagan.

After the intermediate sprint, Jan Bakelants make an attack, which ended up giving him Most Aggressive Rider for the stage. He was quickly joined by Cyril Gautier and Juan Jose Oroz. However, their lead of just over a minute was cut fairly quickly when Daryl Impey's Yellow Jersey was threatened. This breakaway was caught just after the 3km flag.

And as I already said, the winner of the Stage 7 was Peter Sagan, and Daryl Impey stays in Yellow for another day.

2013 Tour de France Stages 4-5

Here is an brief summary of stages 4 and 5 of the 2013 Tour de France:

Stage 4:

This stage was a team time trial. As one of my Twitter-friends said, "A team TT is a perfect blend of teamwork, sport, and art"(c/o @Beal88). I couldn't have said it better myself.

As soon as Cannondale started their TTT, Ted King was dropped. Because of his injuries from the Stage 1 crash, he couldn't hold on to the fast-pace of his teammates. However, unlike a normal stage, the cut-off time is not known until the last team crossed the finish line. Unfortunately, 7 seconds was all it took for Ted King to be outside the time limit.

Going into the TTT, there were two teams that most people thought would win: Team Sky (dominators of last year's Tour de France) and Omega Pharma-Quickstep (TT World Champions). However, it was in fact Orica-GreenEdge that took the win, placing Simon Gerrans in the Yellow Jersey.

As much as I would have loved Jan Bakelants to remain in Yellow some more, with only 1" separating him and a bunch of other riders, I knew Radioshack Leopard Trek could not hold the lead. They aren't exactly a team known for time trials.

Stage 5:

All I really need to say is that this was Mark Cavendish's comeback stage! After getting caught up in a crash in Stage 1, and then fighting two mountainous stages, this was the first chance that we actually were able to see Cavendish sprint to the finish. Not to mention, he is also recovering from bronchitis! He beat Edvald Boassan Hagen and Peter Sagan, respectively, while most of the peloton was held up in the last 200m because of a crash.

As you can see from the sprint photo above, Cavendish, third from right, had the most aerodynamic position for speed! I think it's going to be a showdown between Sagan and Cavendish for the Green Jersey, although Sagan is up by 35 points as of right now. We'll have to wait and see what the road to Paris brings.

It seems to me that Sagan and Cavendish are only contesting the finish line, as Andre Greipel has won all of the intermediate sprints.

Why Am I Not Surprised???

Although I can not take credit for the phrase, but I do believe that Andy Schleck had once again "deployed his Schleckchute"...

"Schleckchute" was a term coined last year on Twitter, with all the races that the Schleck Brothers pulled out of. There was even a shirt created for just the occasion: Pulling the SchleckChute T-shirt!

I now use this image as the background of my phone...

Anyway, the Schleckchute was pulled again today. I'm starting to wonder how many times it can be deployed before it needs to be replaced??

Andy Schleck quits the Tour Méditerranéen

Andy Schleck failed to finish stage one of the Tour Méditerranéen after being dropped after 104km of the stage won by Andre Greipel (Lotto Belisol).

The troubled Luxembourger is suffering with a respiratory problem according to his RadioShack Leopard team but hopes to recover and race again in time for the Tour du Haut-Var (February 16-17).

"This morning I already had breathing problems. Instead of getting better, it just got worse during the race because of the cold and the wind," Schleck said in a press release.

"I didn't want to abandon out of respect for the fans and the organization, but also because I need this competition. After the Tour Down Under I felt I was in a good way and I was really looking forward to this race. I am now sicker than I was before. I need to let my body recover and I hope I can resume training as soon as possible. In theory my race program will not change."

Schleck fractured his pelvis during the time trial stage of the Criterium du Dauphine in early June. He missed the Tour de France and hardly raced for the rest of the 2012 season, completing only 28 days of racing in the whole season. He is determined to bounce back and be a contender at the Tour de France in July but has not finished a race since last year's Liege-Bastogne-Liege after also quitting the Tour of Beijing last October and the Tour Down Under in January.

RSLT is full of young talent, as well as some veteran riders. Fabian Cancellara, Chris Horner, Yaroslav Popovych, and Jens Voigt are in the position to teach the younger riders like George Bennett, Matthew Busche, Ben Hermans, Hayden Roulston, and Jesse Sergent, just to name a few. Roulston and Bennett took 1st and 2nd place respectively in the 2013 New Zealand Road Race Championships. Today, Giacomo Nizzolo had an amazing sprint finish in Stage 4 of the Tour of Qatar. With these recent results, among many otherts, it is easy to see that the young riders are quite talented on RSLT.

Andy Out, Giacomo Strong in Tour Méditerranéen

 

Due to an infection of the respiratory tract, Andy Schleck will not take the start of Stage 2 of the Tour Méditerraneen. Schleck, already suffering before the start, abandoned in the finale of Stage 1, unable to finish the race in good health.

 

“This morning I already had breathing problems," explained Andy Schleck. “Instead of getting better, it just got worse during the race because of the cold and the wind. I didn’t want to abandon out of respect for the fans and the organization, but also because I need this competition. After the Tour Down Under I felt I was in a good way and I was really looking forward to this race. I am now sicker than I was before. I need to let my body recover and I hope I can resume training as soon as possible. In theory my race program will not change.” Andy Schleck is expected to resume competition in the Tour du Haut-Var (February 16-17).

On the other hand, it was a nice performance from the rest of the team with Giacomo Nizzolo taking 4-th in a group sprint behind stage winner Andre Greipel (Lotto Belisol).

Team director Jose Azevedo explained the racing action after three riders who formed a day-long break (Will Routley of Accent Jobs – Wanty, Théo Vimpère of BigMat - Auber93, and Thomas Vaubourzeix of La Pomme Marseille) were finally caught: “It was a nervous race with lots of wind. They were caught at 10K finish and Lotto-Belisol did everything for Greipel. But our team did too. We believed in Nizzolo and all worked to bring him to the front. Danilo Hondo did the last finishing touch."

Nizzolo: "When Greipel started his sprint, I did exactly the same on the other side of the road. In the end Greipel was better than me, I can live with that, but two other guys just came over me in the last meters as they were protected from the wind behind me." Second and third places went to Matteo Pelucchi and Maxime Daniel.

Azevedo: “Just a beginner's mistake but it’s nice to see that Giacomo dares to sprint against Greipel. This is his first race of the season and promises a lot... 4th is a good sign."

 

(above article and picture from RadioshackLeopardTrek.com)

 

Tour Down Under Final Rankings

I woke up this morning and right away jumped on Twitter to check out the final stage and classification of the Santos Tour Down Under. It was no surprise that Andre Greipel won the sprint, but what surprised me, was that was his 100th career win! It also didn't surprise me that Andy Schleck didn't finish well, but what did surprise me was that he DNF. He had a flat tire and then couldn't make it back to the pack! Wow!! For someone who has come in 2nd in the Tour de France multiple times, that is just strange to me: that he couldn't make it back up to the peleton. I know he has a massive injury last season, but it still doesn't sit right with me. Something is wrong. Of course, no one at RSLT will admit this...

Even though Schleck was no where to be found after the race (he ended up going back to the hotel), RSLT did walk away with the Best Team classification! I'm not sure if was just because he wasn't allowed to be on stage with his team since he abandoned, but I find it sad Andy didn't show support for his teammates. Along with Best Team, RSLT riders Ben Hermans and Tiago Machado, both ended up in the Top 10 GC at 5th and 9th respectively. I believe that these two riders, along with a few others, are going to be the future of this team. Maybe not this year, with Cancellara and Voigt still racing, but watch for Hermans and Machado in the next few months and years.

RSLT Earn Top Team Honors

 

Straight from the gun it was a battle of seconds. Ben Hermans started the race in third place but bonus seconds along the way were up for grabs and sprinter Geraint Thomas (Sky) made sure he took them when the opportunity arose. RADIOSHACK LEOPARD TREK didn’t walk away empty handed, however. The team racing Down Under earned the general classification Teams award with consistent racing and hard work from the riders every day.

 

Team director José Azevedo assessed the team’s performance: “We tried to protect the bonification points along the way as we knew we didn’t have a chance in the final sprint. Right from the beginning we sent a rider in the break but Sky was always at the front. And Thomas earned four seconds along the way and got onto the podium. So we come away with fifth and ninth on GC plus the team classification. The team did good work all week. They worked hard and were very motivated. I think this looks good for future races.”

The final sprint in Adelaide City was won by Andre Greipel (Lotto Belisol), marking his 14-th win at the Tour Down Under and 100-th career victory. The overall went to 23-year old Tom-Jelte Slagter (Blanco) in his first stage race and WorldTour win.

Stage six was a 90km/56mi, 20-lap circuit in Adelaide. Only four seconds separated Hermans in third from Thomas in fifth. An early attack by RSLT’s Laurent Didier was part of the plan to deny Thomas the chance to sprint for the bonus seconds. Teammate Jens Voigt joined to break to add some fire power, but the seven riders never held enough time to make the break stick with Sky doing all the chasing and controlling from the main field. 
 
Didier: “I went right at the first second. That was our plan. It was quite hard but we never got more than 15 seconds, and they caught us too soon. I did such a big effort in the beginning so it was hard to follow the rest of the race. But we did win the team classification and that is good to win, also.” Once the break was shut down, Sky put Thomas in a good position to sprint for the seconds, moving him onto the podium in Herman’s place.

Ben Hermans: “I wanted to be on the podium so whether I’m fourth or fifth doesn’t matter so much to me. I lost points along the way but I think I will get over this quickly. The team did what we could without having a sprinter here. It’s important to have climbers here for the GC but it’s a pity we didn’t have a sprinter to take the seconds along the way. At the end there was a gap and I tried to close it, but I still lost some more seconds,” he said, referring to his final fifth place finish on GC.

After a tough injury last year, the Santos Tour Down Under marked a return to racing for Andy Schleck. On Saturday night he was a guest at the Legend’s Dinner. Asked if he enjoyed himself, Andy said, “I was fun to do something different.  I’ve been here for two weeks, so it was good to do something other than be in the hotel every night. It was a great night that I will remember. I hope to come back again next year. I have great memories of the Tour Down Under and I hope to be here again next time.”

Azevedo kept a close eye on Schleck’s performance all week: “Andy made progress this week too,” said Azevedo. “His condition improved and I think he’s doing fine. He had bad luck with a mechanical problem today and he couldn’t come back to the group, but he’s on the right track and his will be on track to meet his goals.”

Another strong performance came from George Bennett. All week the young New Zealander showed good form and strong work ethic, making a good start for his 2013 season. Bennett: “For sure this week I was active and showed signs of getting results, but it was another miss. This year I need to work on getting a result. I hope to turn my strengths to results this year.”

The next race on the schedule is the Tour of Qatar, February 3 to 8.

 

Andy Schleck skips TDU Presentation after Stage 6

Andy Schleck was missing from Radioshack Leopard Trek‘s Tour Down Under-winning team’s presentation after abandoning Stage 6 and riding back to his hotel.

Schleck had a problem with his chain early in the 90km stage through the city and was unable to rejoin the peloton.

After the race his teammates were trying to contact him after they clinched the winning teams’ classification.

They were due to be presented on stage shortly after, but Schleck was nowhere to be seen.
The team’s press officer confirmed Schleck was back at the team hotel.

The 2010 Tour de France champion was in 127th place going into today’s final stage.

Source: heraldsun.com.au

I know I am very biased to RSLT, because it is my favorite team, but here are the rest of the results for the Santos Tour Down Under. And a very special congratulations to Andre Greipel for his 100th career win and Tom-Jelte Slagter's overall win!

100th career victory for Greipel in Adelaide City

André Greipel has repaid his hardworking Lotto Belisol team once again by winning the final stage at the Santos Tour Down Under. Greipel captured his 100th professional victory along the streets of Adelaide City. As Greipel celebrated yet another win in Australia, the team of Blanco was rejoicing as Tom-Jelte Slagter safely crossed the line in the ochre jersey.

Tom-Jelte Slagter was perfectly escorted to the finish by his Blanco teammates and crossed the line as the winner of the opening round of the WorldTour in Australia. The young Dutchman captured his first professional victory earlier in the week by winning Stage 3 into Stirling and capped-off an amazing week for the third-year professional by winning the final ochre jersey.

"I've never won a race like this," said Slagter at the finish. "My first win was on Stirling and that I take the jersey now, it's really amazing. I can't believe it."

The overall victory by Slagter at the 15th edition of the Tour Down Under brought a refreshing change for the revitalised Dutch team that lost its long-serving sponsor Rabobank at the end of 2012. For Slagter, it's the start of a season which will no doubt be filled with expectation. The season however, does not start and end in January.

"It brings some pressure also for me. It's the first race of the year. I win it directly, it's still a long season and I want to keep this level but the start couldn't be better, for the team and for me.

The other big winners of the week was the team of Lotto Belisol and more specifically André Greipel - who took three wins at the WorldTour event in addition to winning the People's Choice Classic.

His win around the streets of Adelaide appeared to be a forgone conclusion entering the final few hundred metres but that was until Mark Renshaw (Blanco) hit out early. Renshaw seemed to have gotten the jump on Greipel before the 'Gorilla' unleashed his crushing blow. Renshaw would eventually finish second to the German who clinched his 100th career win while Sky's Edvald Boasson Hagen rounded-out the podium with third-place.

"I don't know, I didn't count," said a surprised Greipel after being informed of his 100th professional victory. "I thought I already had 100.

"It was nearly the scenario as last year," said Greipel in response to the early acceleration of Renshaw. "He surprised me a bit but I had some power left to pass him again."

While Slagter's overall victory was never really in doubt entering today's stage, the final spot on the podium and remaining places in the top-10 were up for grabs.

Geraint Thomas, after losing the overall lead and dropping to fifth overall at the end of yesterday's stage, was on a mission. His Sky Procycling team were on the front from the first pedal strokes and ensured the team could launch him to the line at each of the two intermediate sprints.

Thomas' sprinting ability meant he picked up four-seconds and that was enough to push Ben Hermans (RadioShack Leopard) off the final podium step.

"We were disappointed yesterday but there was still one day of racing left and we still had the chance of getting third," explained Thomas after he also collected the blue Jayco Sprints jersey from the stage.

"The boys [were] just incredible again really, all I had to do was just, well, try and get passed Eddy [Boasson Hagen].
"It was a perfect day really," said Thomas.

How it happened

The final stage of the 2013 Santos Tour Down Under got underway around the streets of Adelaide City on a perfect summer day. There were no abandonments from yesterday's stage to Old Willunga Hill and all 128 riders took to the start for the final 90km circuit race.

The pace around the 4.5km course was so fast that small groups could never really establish themselves off the front. The biggest gap ballooned at around 20 seconds before the Sky-lead reeled them in for each of the intermediate sprints.

Sky's interest in pushing Thomas back up the standings was no secret. Bernhard Eisel and Ian Stannard (Sky) controlled the tempo and futile escapees while the remaining teammates waited until the final straight to launch Thomas into action. Mathew Hayman was the final man to hit out before Edvald Boasson Hagen took off with Thomas on his wheel.

Thomas took maximum points and three-seconds bonus at Jayco Sprint #1 much to the frustration of Euskaltel-Euskadi was evident. Thomas' first place across the line had just bumped him over the top of Ion Izagirre and into fifth place.
At the next sprint it was a similar situation with Hayman again one of the final men to line the bunch out. Thomas did enough to get a one-second bonus and move into third-overall on GC. That move also earned him the overall lead in the sprint classification - which he was not aware of until the finish.

Coming into the final lap Lotto Belisol was around the front but allowed Sky to do much of the early work. The British team had stepped on the gas too early and with a full contingent of Lotto riders now at the front with less than 2km remaining, the whole bunch was struggling merely to hold on.

Entering the final straight it was Greipel's teammate Greg Henderson who was about to up the speed and was caught out by a fast charging Renshaw. The Australian riding for the former Rabobank team looked like he had got the better of the German but Greipel was merely waiting to pounce.

Greipel hit-out and his win was immediately secure. Renshaw held on for another podium spot for the week with Boasson Hagen rounding out an impressive tour for Sky.

Full Results

1	André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol	1:52:59
2	Mark Renshaw (Aus) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
3	Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling
4	Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
5	Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Sharp
6	Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Procycling
7	Klaas Lodewyck (Bel) BMC Racing Team
8	Barry Markus (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
9	Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) AG2R La Mondiale
10	Kenny Robert van Hummel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team

Final general classification

1	Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team	18:28:32
2	Javier Moreno Bazan (Spa) Movistar Team	0:00:17
3	Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:25
4	Jon Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	0:00:32
5	Ben Hermans (Bel) RadioShack Leopard	0:00:34
6	Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
7	Gorka Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	0:00:36
8	Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) Lampre-Merida
9	Tiago Machado (Por) RadioShack Leopard	0:00:38
10	Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) FDJ	0:00:41

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 6, 07/06/12

July 6, Stage 6: Épernay - Metz 207.5km

Sagan wins Tour de France stage 6 in Metz

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour-de-france/stage-6/results)

Sagan… The name has become a byword for ‘sensational’ at this year’s Tour de France as the 22-year-old Slovak took yet another stage win to make it a triple treat in 2012. The Liquigas-Cannondale rider simply out-powered André Greipel and Matthew Goss to the line in Metz, despite the best efforts of the Lotto-Belisol and Orica-GreenEdge teams respectively.

"Another win and I called this one ‘The Hulk'," said Peter Sagan, regarding his victory salute in Metz. "I'm very happy when I can win a stage like today. Yesterday I was unlucky with the crash but also content that nothing was broken and that I didn't have any injuries.

"This is already more than I ever expected. It's surprised me, too. I wanted to do well but I need to say that this is only the start of the Tour de France and tomorrow is when the race really begins because it's the climbs and I think that after two weeks, by the start of the third week, it's going to be really hard.

"I want the green jersey and I think I can hold on to it all the way to Paris."

With a properly flat parcours and on the eve of a foray into the mountains most would ensure a stage without high drama at this year’s Tour but you’d be wrong as the day was again characterized by crashes and calamity. Runner-up Greipel was involved in two crashes, but still figured in the finale.

"I crashed at 35km and then again at the mountain ranking," Greipel told Radsport-News.com. "I didn't want to sprint, but my teammates talked me into it. It was unbelievably painful." The German sprinter is believed to have dislocated his left shoulder.

For some of the Tour’s big general classification contenders, the day was defined by a massive crash just 25km from home that saw the likes of Garmin-Sharp’s Ryder Hesjedal (who lost more than 13 minutes), Frank Schleck (Radioshack-Nissan-Trek) and Rabobank’s Robert Gesink forego a significant swathe of time; tomorrow’s hills will prove that much harder after the accident as four riders were forced to abandon due to the injuries they suffered.

Consequently, the overall standings took on a different complexion by day’s end, with Hesjedal gone from the top 10 to leave Garmin-Sharp’s hopes in shreds, along with Edvald Boasson Hagen, who found himself caught in the day’s big crash. Radioshack-Nissan’s Fabian Cancellara remains in yellow – he’ll celebrate a week in the jersey tomorrow – whilst his teammate Maxime Monfort slips into the first ten. He’ll be one to watch in the next week.

A tranquil day… Who are we kidding?

With the mountains beckoning and yesterday’s finish line palpitations fresh in their minds, the men working for the Tour’s sprinters kept the day’s break on a short leash. Experienced stager David Zabriskie (Garmin-Sharp) attacked early in the day and was joined by Davide Malacarne (Europcar), Romain Zingle (Cofidis) and Karsten Kroon (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank) to form the day’s escaping quartet after about 10km.

The break was allowed a maximum advantage nudging seven minutes before it was time to start pegging back the plucky escapees. The flat parcours lent itself to doing so with ease and the sprinters’ teams could pick and choose how much and when the time would be erased from the break.

There was a crash about 50km into the stage as double stage winner Greipel, his Lotto-Belisol teammate Francis de Greefe, Movistar duo José Ivan Gutierrez and Alejandro Valverde and Gesink and Vacansoleil-DCM pair Lieuwe Westra and Kris Boeckmans all touched down.

With much toil from several of his Lotto-Belisol teammates, Greipel could be seen taking a tow back to the peloton – the opportunity for further stage win glory driving the German and his lieutenants on as the pace increased at the front of the bunch.

Another day of toil for the medical staff

This year’s crash-fest continued 25km from the finish, the road resembling a bike swap meet as wheels, bikes, riders and mechanics cluttered the road whilst Orica-GreenEdge continued at tempo on the front in pursuit of a stage win for Goss. Bad news for Hesjedal, the Giro d’Italia champion caught in the fracas, as was Schleck, Lampre’s Michele Scarponi and AG2R-La Mondiale rider Jean-Christophe Peraud, who had already been held up earlier in the day.

With his BMC Racing teammates around him, fellow general classification contender Cadel Evans remained protected at the head of proceedings, however, the chase of the break taking on an Australian flavour with the reigning champion and his compatriots filling the front seats of the pursuit car.

The story would be different for Garmin-Sharp, however, with the likes of Hesjedal, Christian Vande Velde and Daniel Martin eventually finishing more than 13 minutes after Sagan had crossed the line, with teammate Johan Vansummeren a further three minutes behind.

Before that point, and with the peloton effectively split in half with just 20km remaining in the stage, the break was in the crosshairs of Orica-GreenEdge. Behind, the battered and bruised received attention, medical or otherwise. With 15km remaining there was 2:30 separating the two segments of the field, as Robert Gesink noticeably struggled – a frustratingly familiar story for the first week of the Tour for the Dutchman.

Flying run to the finish

The 10km banner saw the break holding onto a 14-second lead, with Goss increasingly looking the favourite to take line honours given that Greipel and Cavendish had suffered mishaps throughout the day. The latter had been slowed by the crash and wouldn’t figure in the finale at all. Behind them, the group containing Schleck continued to claw back time on the front group, the band of chasers resembling a casualty ward… And their faces spoke volumes for the pain they were enduring.

The final three kilometres saw Zabriskie kick away from his three companions, who were caught by a Lotto-led peloton just 500m later. Grimacing with pain, the veteran called upon the superhero strength of Captain America to stay away but with 1,300m remaining it was the end of Zabriskie’s game.

Soon after the catch was made a long sprint ensued, with Greg Henderson leading out Greipel for what seemed like an eternity (in sprinting terms) but as Peter Sagan’s high cadence kick reached full pitch, the German could only shake his head as he rode to a runner-up position ahead of Goss, who had again valiantly laid everything on the line in pursuit of a stage win.

Full Results

1	Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale	4:37:00
2	André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team
3	Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
4	Kenny Robert Van Hummel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
5	Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
6	Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol Team
7	Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD
8	Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha Team
9	Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
10	Brett Lancaster (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team	0:00:04

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