2013 Tour de France Stages 1-3

While I don't feel like writing out (or copying) a long blog post, I will update you on what's been going on thus far in the Tour. I'll do a picture for each of the three stages and write a very short summary about them. If you want more details, please visit CyclingNews.com.

Stage 1 - June 29th 2013

How is this to kick off the 100th edition of the Tour de France: the Orica-GreenEdge bus gets stuck under the finish line banner. The finish line was then moved to 3km back when the peloton was 15km away. It was then moved AGAIN to the actual finish line when the bus got cleared in time. With all the confusion, there was a tremendous amount of crashes. In fact, two of the best sprinters, Mark Cavendish and Peter Sagan hit the ground, and it was Marcel Kittel who won the stage, and who wore the first yellow jersey. 

While riders were indeed hurt, they all finished the stage, and the finishing times were neutralized because all the events. All of the riders started stage 2.

Stage 2 - June 30th 2013

Although there were no bus crashes today, the brutal mountains hit the peloton hard. It's not usually on the second stage that riders get isolated and dropped from the main group. However, the stage played into Radioshack Leopard Trek's plan. Maybe Jan Bakelants isn't RSLT's GC contender, but he won the stage, and is now sitting 1" ahead of 92 riders. He looks pretty happy to be in Yellow. Let's hope RSLT can defend it.

Stage 3 - July 1st 2013

Today we had our first 2 DNFs, Yoann Bagot, who got food poisioning, and Andrey Kashechkin. Even with all the crashes on Stage 1, we've only just now started seeing DNFs. 

Today's sprint finish showed the world that Peter Sagan can be beat, when Simon Gerrans crossed the finish line a split second ahead. However, the consolation prize for Sagan was the Green Jersey. He was finally able to secure more sprint point than Kittel. 

I am wondering what Sagan is growing on his face though. It's not that I don't like it, I mean it does make him look older, but I just don't feel that it fits him.

...maybe in a few more days, I'll bring you up to speed again. But for now, you have to deal with my very random blog postings.

No Tour for Hushovd, Bruyneel/Schlecks, Dauphine

I found out some sad news today: Thor Hushovd will not be riding in the Tour de France. He is my favorite rider, so this is really breaking my heart. I know he was fighting a viral infection earlier this year, and he is still trying the heal up for the Olympics. Heal up Thor! We'll miss you!

Hushovd to skip Tour de France

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/hushovd-to-skip-tour-de-france)

Thor Hushovd, a two-time green jersey winner at the Tour de France, will skip this year’s event as he recovers from a viral infection.

The Norwegian pulled out of last month’s Giro d’Italia after less than a week of racing and will now forgo the Tour – instead competing in the Tour de Pologne later this month.

"We did perform some tests at the Mapei Sport Center after the Giro and found that he had signs of a viral infection from earlier in the year," said Max Test, BMC chief doctor.

Hushovd is hoping that the stint of racing in Poland will help him towards the Olympic Games which take place in London after the Tour de France.

"I needed more time to recover and it's always been a goal of mine to do well at the Olympics," Hushovd said.

"I also hope to be a part of the BMC Racing Team's team time trial squad at the world championships and to compete in the road race as well. So there are still a lot of goals left to prove to myself this year."

In other news, Johan Bruyneel and the Schlecks are at it again. Here is the newest from the boxing ring:

Bruyneel justifies press comments over Schlecks and RadioShack results

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/bruyneel-justifies-press-comments-over-schlecks-and-radioshack-results)

Since Fränk Schleck's controversial withdrawal from the Giro d'Italia, reports of increasing differences between the Schleck brothers and RadioShack-Nissan manager Johan Bruyneel have been abundant in the media. Most recently, Andy Schleck criticised Bruyneel's outspokenness, saying that if he was team manager, he "wouldn't try to solve problems with my riders through the press, but discuss them internally."

Now, the Belgian director has justified his comments, holding his ground on his ways of communicating. "I found it was the right moment to announce my opinion. Some people told me not to do this in the media, but I can't play-act, either. When a journalist asks me about the state of my team, then I have to say it's insufficient," Bruyneel told Sporza, blaming a lack of results for the frustrating situation.

"We should have won everywhere, but when I look at the outcome so far I see two wins by Cancellara and some placings of honour. Of course, there are the circumstances, but nobody can be satisfied.

"So I'm increasing the pressure. I'm seeing to it that there is no relaxing. It's also my task to point everyone at their responsibilities. Sometimes, hard words have to be said. If some guys don't like what I'm saying but then improve their performances, then that's fine my me," he added.

Another issue has been Bruyneel's decision not to include directeur sportif Kim Andersen in his Tour de France team. Andy Schleck, who is known to have a strong relationship with Andersen from the seasons spent together at Saxo Bank and Leopard-Trek, was adamant that the Dane's support was very important to him. "Even if Kim is not in the car behind us, he will be with us in another way. I will be talking to him every day at the Tour," said the Tour de France overall contender.

Again, Bruyneel justified his actions. "We decided this already in December. I don't understand why we have to talk about it again now," the Belgian told Sportweekend. "In any case, the situation is very clear to me. Andy rode his best Tour in 2010, even if Andersen was not present that year due to circumstances."

As a consequence of the publicly-staged quarrel, the collaboration between Lance Armstrong's director and the Schleck brothers can hardly be called a success so far, and Bruyneel did not deny this. "I knew it would take some time, but it takes longer than I expected," he said, before taking another opportunity to provoke his riders and especially Andy Schleck.

"This year, we'll do the best with what we have and I think in the coming years Andy has a great chance to win the Tour. But this year we are not the top favourite. We'll lose a lot of time against the clock. We'll have to take risks and race smart. But in a Grand Tour anything can happen."

And I guess I should also post the results from Stage 1 of the Criterium du Dauphine...especially since Andy Schleck came in over 3 minutes down on Cadel Evans, winner of the stage! Not a good sign if he is looking to ride in the Tour de France:

June 4, Stage 1: Seyssins - Saint-Vallier 187km

Evans wins Dauphiné stage 1

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/criterium-du-dauphine-2012/stage-1/results)

Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team) showed his pre-Tour de France form by winning the first stage of the Criterium du Dauphine. The defending Tour champion won the sprint of a three-man group which got away near the end, taking the win only seconds before the onrushing peloton. Jerome Coppel (Saur-Sojasun) took second and Andrey Kashechkin (Astana) in third.

Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) moved into the overall lead, as yellow jersey Luke Durbridge (Orica-GreenEdge) was dropped on the last of the day's six climbs. Also dropped, and more surprisingly, was Andy Schleck of RadioShack-Nissan. Riding next to Astana's Alexandre Vinokourov, the younger Schleck crossed the finish line more than three minutes after Evans, which will undoubtedly bring the next lecture from Johan Bruyneel.

Also in trouble on the stage was Samuel Sanchez of Euskaltel-Euskadi. The Basque rider crashed heavily early in the stage, but was determined to make it to the end, despite reports that he had suffered several broken ribs - which could endanger his build-up to the Tour de France and Olympics next month. Sanchez finished nearly 24 minutes down.


Evans got away on the final descent. “It was a bit of difficult descent, quite narrow. I saw a bit of an opportunity there in the little group in the peloton. Sometimes you see these opportunities and you have to try something.

“I rode a lot to try and keep the distance on the peloton and that isn’t normally favourable for the finish. But I came with good speed out of the corner and kept it to the line. It shows that the work I’ve been doing is good but we’ve still got a lot of work to do and some improvements to make before we get to the Tour,” he said after the stage.

“I’m a racer and I like to race. A lot of things needed to go my way today [for me to win] but sometimes you make things go your way.”


Wiggins, while glad to have the lead, respected Evans' performance and played down any suggestions that the Australian had outplayed him on the day. “It’s hard to look too much into the results today. I knew Cadel would be good as the Tour de France is coming up and he’s always good at the Tour. There’s no surprise there.

“There’s still a long way to the Tour. That’s the race most guys are preparing for. I’m just trying to concentrate on my own race and I stayed safe today in the front and felt good.”


Six-man break group with a big gap


The day's break got away early. Giovanni Bernaudeau (Europcar), Markel Irizar (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Nicolas Edet (Cofidis), Sep Vanmarcke (Garmin-Barracuda), Maarten Tjallingii (Rabobank) and Yukihiro Doi (Argos-Shimano) took off inside the first five kilometres of the day and quickly built up a lead of over 13 minutes. That was enough for the field to start the chase.


It was an up-and-down course with six ranked climbs, but none more than a category two. Saur-Sojasun, Sky and Orica-GreenEdge led the chase early, with BMC taking a turn before Omega Pharma-QuickStep moved in to take charges.


Sanchez crashed shortly after 50km were ridden, and struggled to continue, falling further and further behind. Race doctors said he had probably broken several ribs in the crash and would go to hospital after the stage.


Only four riders were left in the break group as they started up the day's final climb at about 12km to go, with the Omega Pharma-QuickStep-led field less than a minute back. Andy Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan) was dropped on the category three climb. Meanwhile his teammate Irizar was alone in the lead.


Irizar was caught soon enough and a high-powered group of Cadel Evans (BMC), Jerome Coppel (Saur-Sojasun) and Andrey Kashechkin (Astana) formed, slowly building up a slight lead over the field.


The trio stayed away to the end, crossing the finish line only seconds before the field. Evans led the charge, holding off Coppel at the finish line.

Full Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team	4:36:21
2	Jérôme Coppel (Fra) Saur - Sojasun
3	Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
4	Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat	0:00:04
5	Tony Gallopin (Fra) Radioshack-Nissan
6	Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team
7	Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
8	Julien Simon (Fra) Saur - Sojasun
9	Daniele Ratto (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
10	Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 17

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-17/results)

In taking the stage win atop Peña Cabarga this afternoon Team Sky's Chris Froome very nearly decided the fate of this year's Vuelta a España, forcing Juan José Cobo (Geox-TMC) to defend his red jersey in a stunning battle mano-a-mano on the tough slopes of the day's final climb.

The Brit won the day and undoubtedly the hearts of many fans with his stunning attack within the final two kilometres but the Spaniard held onto his overall advantage, narrowly finishing second to Froome on the stage, with Rabobank rider Bauke Mollema taking third, 21 seconds behind the duo. Daniel Martin finished fourth, three seconds behind Mollema.

While only 565m in altitude, the finishing climb of stage 17 provided a launch pad for plenty of attacks and some intriguing racing, as man after man tried his luck with forays off the front of the peloton, only to be dragged back. Froome bided his time and kicked hard when it mattered, turning himself inside out in the final 1,500 metres to take the spoils.

Despite not snatching the jersey off Cobo's shoulders, the Kenyan-born rider was pleased with his efforts. "That was indescribable," said Froome after the finish. "It was one of the hardest days on the bicycle of my life."

"It was the last mountain top finish and both Bradley and myself came into the stage trying to do as much as we could. But as you could see, Cobo was so strong and he holds the jersey by 13 seconds."

While Wiggins went into the Vuelta as Team Sky's leader, Froome's finishing move was an obvious sign that he's currently the stronger of the squad's two men who sit high on general classification and he explained the rationale of team leadership after the stage: "Some days Bradley is stronger [than me] and other days I'm stronger; the team has been fantastic – it's been a real team effort.

"The worst is now over – we still have to go out and make the most of it but the hardest is over," he added.

Sting in the tail

The Vuelta's 17th stage didn't appear too complicated or difficult on paper but at 211km and with climbing most of the day, it would prove to be taxing for most, even those who finished the day high on the standings.

Consequently, the peloton kept matters in check for over half of the parcours, despite an aggressive start to proceedings. A 20-man group containing the likes of Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step), Greg van Avermaet (BMC Racing), Oliver Kaisen (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Guillaume Bonnaford (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Evgeni Petrov (Astana) and Johannes Frohlinger (Skil-Shimano) got away with 116km raced.

With 80km until the finish, the group had 2:50, which was cut to 1:17 at the summit of the day's first climb, the third category Portillo de Bustos, where Christophe Le Mevel picked up the intermediate points.

On the slopes of the day's second climb, the Portillo de Lunada, Kaisen tried his luck with an attack but was reeled in by his breakaway companions with 57km remaining in the stage. Five kilometres later that leading group was caught by Marzio Bruseghin (Movistar), Mathias Frank (BMC Racing) and king of the mountains David Moncoutié (Cofidis) to form a potent combination at the head of the race.

While the leaders played around with mountains points, the peloton was getting stuck into the task of making progress ahead of the day's finishing climb. At the base of the descent the break's number was up, the cue for Andrey Kashechkin (Astana) and Pablo Lastras (Movistar) to counter-attack, albeit in a short-lived endeavour.

Let the attacks begin!

Despite some one-off attacks it wasn't until five kilometres remaining that the quality moves started in earnest as stage nine winner Dan Martin (Garmin-Cervélo) jumped clear, followed by Amets Txurruka (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Chris Anker Sorensen (Saxo Bank-Sungard) and Bruseghin in pursuit.

Four kilometres from home, Martin had eight seconds over Bruseghin but that would only last for another 600 metres, as the Italian caught his Irish rival and pushed the pace even higher. With three clicks until the finish they were joined in their advance and held 14 seconds over the peloton, with Sorensen somewhere in the middle.

Unwavering in his pursuit of the leading duo, Sorensen caught Martin and Bruseghin just as Omega Pharma-Lotto's Jurgen Van Den Broeck launched the attack he'd been threatening to unleash for some time. The Belgian pinned his ears back and within 500 metres had caught and passed the front three, his sights set on the finish.

The final 1.5km averaged 13 percent and boasted a maximum gradient of 19 percent and it hurt Van Den Broeck – he was caught ahead of the flamme rouge, with Nieve keeping pace ahead of Cobo, Wiggins and Froome.

Undeterred, he attacked again, putting Wiggins in difficulty while Froome went with the Belgian's move and impressively countered in an attempt to take the overall lead; belting out the final metres of the stage, his face wracked in agony, Team Sky's second in charge signaled his status as the squad's main man during the final week of racing.

He carried on his run to the line as attention turned to Cobo, whose red jersey was at stake. He was briefly distanced and looked to be losing time to Froome, but he defended valiantly to battle back to the Sky rider's wheel and very nearly took the stage win. Froome dug deep and dove into the last corner to take the stage with Cobo only just falling short. Both riders were completely spent and sitting on the ground in agony after the finish.

Behind the exhausted duo at the front, Bruseghin, Igor Anton and his Euskaltel-Euskadi teammate Mikel Nieve, Van Den Broeck and Denis Menchov (Geox-TMC) rolled in over the next 30 seconds. Wiggins would finish 39 seconds behind but remains in third overall and now looks destined to take his first Grand Tour podium, although it could have been so much more.

1	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling	4:52:38
2	Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC	0:00:01
3	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:00:21
4	Daniel Martin (Irl) Team Garmin-Cervelo	0:00:24
5	Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	0:00:27
6	Mikel Nieve Ituralde (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
7	Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Movistar Team	0:00:29
8	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:00:31
9	Denis Menchov (Rus) Geox-TMC
10	Beñat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar Team	0:00:35

GC Overall

1	Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC	69:31:41
2	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:13
3	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:01:41
4	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:02:05
5	Denis Menchov (Rus) Geox-TMC	0:03:48
6	Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard Trek	0:04:13
7	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:04:31
8	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:04:45
9	Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha Team	0:05:20
10	Mikel Nieve Ituralde (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	0:05:33

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 9

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-9/results)

The first ‘real’ summit finish of this year’s Vuelta a España produced the desired effect and sparked fireworks as Garmin-Cervélo’s Daniel Martin took his first Grand Tour stage win at the end of a tough opening week.

The Irishman claimed the spoils for his toil over the final seven kilometres of the stage – when the finishing climb to La Covatilla hit its hardest slopes – beating Rabobank’s Bauke Mollema and Geox-TMC’s Juan Jose Cobo, who finished second and third respectively.

Overnight general classification leader Joaquin Rodriguez lost his red jersey after finishing 49 seconds behind the front group as Mollema gained the overall ascendancy by a single second over the Spaniard.

Defending champion Vincenzo Nibali now sits in third overall and featured in the finale as did Team Sky leader Bradley Wiggins, who now occupies 13th overall and goes into tomorrow’s 40km time trial well poised to make a massive jump on the general classification thanks to his sterling performance on today’s final climb and his prowess against the clock.

Martin sits one place above Wiggins, and the 25-year-old Irishman was ecstatic with his first Grand Tour stage win as he benefited from a gutsy and uncompromising performance in the finale to reap the rewards of persistence in the face of such a tough proposition.

Getting to the main course

After the day’s opening climb, the Puerto de la Cruz di Hierro, Omega Pharma-Lotto man Sebastian Lang instigated the move of the day – the German was joined by local boy Jose Vicente Toribio Alcolea of Andalucia Caja Granada and later Vacansoleil-DCM duo Pim Ligthart and Martijn Keizer to form the leading quartet with 45km traveled.

After 80km of racing the leaders had themselves an advantage in excess of nine minutes, with the peloton content to leave them plenty of leash. 14km later that had dropped to 7:50 and a further 25km down the road, the leading quartet had become a brace of duos, with Ligthart and Lang leaving Toribio and Keizer behind.

With 30km remaining, the gap between the ‘Two Ls’ and their chasers stood at 2:40, with the peloton – unsurprisingly led by the Katusha team of Rodriguez and Dani Moreno – over six minutes behind the leading duo. But as the climb to La Covatilla loomed, that main bunch would soon be split.

And just as those splits occurred, a blast from the past in the form of Andrey Kashechkin found his way to the front, the Astana man revisiting the scene of a success in 2007, when he finished third on the stage to La Covatilla – the last time the Vuelta visited the town.

Ready for the sparks to fly

As the peloton began the climb in earnest, the gap between it and the leading two had decreased to five minutes; with a little over 20km before the finish and neither man a particular mountain goat of note, they would surely be reeled in – it was merely a question of when.

Heading through the town of Bejar, the leaders had themselves four minutes, although it was game over for their chasers, Toribio and Keizer, who were swallowed up and spat out by a peloton blazing in its pursuit of the plucky characters holding court at the front of the race.

When the peloton hit Bejar that gap had been lowered to 3:29 as Katusha continued to lead the field with Moreno and Rodriguez in tow. With the Russian squad’s pursuit of the leaders, that mark continued to fall and dropped to 1:13 when the peloton passed under the 10km-to-go banner.

By that stage Lang had dropped his Dutch companion and continued on his march to the finish, the hardest slopes of the climb still to ride and the big teams – Katusha, Liquigas-Cannondale, Lampre-ISD and Team Sky – charging their batteries for a manic dash to the line. And they needed to; as the bunch passed eight kilometres remaining, the road noticeably tilted skywards and instantly claimed victims on the 12 percent gradient.

Lang himself became a victim a kilometre later when the man who had kicked off the day’s break became the last card to be drawn back into the pack, which was being controlled by Lampre’s fearless troops who continued to set a blistering pace.

It takes one to start the fight

Active in yesterday’s finale, Rein Taaramae was at it again within the final six kilometres, slicing past Jurgen Van Den Broeck and Michele Scarponi at the front of the bunch and chancing his hand at breaking up the group of overall favourites. But the Italian wasn’t going to let the plucky Estonian steal his thunder, and he countered, forcing the remaining big names to follow his lead.

One man not present was Igor Anton, the Euskaltel-Euskadi captain’s poor showing at this Vuelta continuing as he slipped further back. His life wasn’t made any easier when Kevin Seeldrayers (Quick Step) and Sergio Pardilla (Movistar) hit out hard and defending champion Vincenzo Nibali immediately chased with Van Den Broeck on his wheel.

When they were reeled in, Garmin-Cervélo’s Daniel Martin and his cousin Nicolas Roche (Ag2r-La Mondiale) were the next riders to go off the front, with the two working as a good family should and swapping off to try and stay clear.

While Roche dropped back to Scarponi and co, Martin continued his march alone with just four kilometres – but so much suffering – left until the finish. The Irishman was joined shortly afterwards by Vincenzo Nibali, and he worked with the Italian into a stiff headwind to keep the charging peloton behind at bay.

When seven is better than two…

With Christopher Froome dragging his Team Sky captain Bradley Wiggins back to the two leaders, Martin and Nibali’s time at the head of the race seemed limited and 2km from the line, the elite selection at the front that also boasted Van Den Broeck, Cobo and Mollema caught and began working with the hitherto leading duo.

Behind them, Rodriguez was slipping out of contention for the stage win and the overall lead, falling over 40 seconds in arrears while Wiggins forced the pace hard at the front of the race. With 250 metres to go, Martin opened the sprint to the line, kicking hard over the final crest and winning his first grand tour stage and reaping the rewards of his persistence at the front of affairs.

A whopping 49 seconds later Rodriguez rolled over the line, his red jersey just slipping away and with a flat time trial facing the Katusha captain, a place in the podium spots could be gone after tomorrow’s test against the clock. Another man to lose plenty of time was Scarponi, who eventually finished over a minute in arrears.

Result
1	Daniel Martin (Irl) Team Garmin-Cervelo	4:52:14
2	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
3	Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC	0:00:03
4	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:04
5	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:07
6	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:11
7	Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne	0:00:12
8	Denis Menchov (Rus) Geox-TMC
9	Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) Team RadioShack
10	Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Pro Team Astana

GC Overall

Result
1	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team	37:11:17
2	Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team	0:00:01
3	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:09
4	Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Pro Team Astana	0:00:18
5	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:00:27
6	Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha Team	0:00:35
7	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek	0:00:37
8	Kevin Seeldraeyers (Bel) Quickstep Cycling Team	0:00:42
9	Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) Team RadioShack
10	Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC	0:00:46