TDF Stage 15 - 3 Catégorie Threes, A Two, Finishing On A One

Riders on a breakaway hoping not to be caught by the Peloton. Image Credit: Getty via Universal Sports

TDF Stage 15 - 3 Catégorie Threes, A Two, Finishing On A One

The Tour visits Switzerland during this stage for the second mountain-top finish of this year’s race. Setting out from Pontarlier, the course travels east passing by Lac de Neuchâtel and climbs six categorized climbs. The finishing climb to the ski resort town at Verbier, which has a category 1 rating, makes it’s début at the Tour de France this year. This stage suits the climbers and offers one of their main chances to chase yellow. Time gaps should open up by the finish, though the main contenders will likely remain close on time in Verbier.

Stage 15 Profile - Image Credit: Universal Sports

The Climbs:
Côte du Rafour 3.7 km, avg. 5.1 %, Catégorie 3
Col des Étroits 1.5 km, avg. 5 %, Catégorie 3
Côte de La Carrière 6.3 km, avg. 4.4 %, Catégorie 3
Côte de Prévonloup 4.5 km, avg. 4.7 %, Catégorie 3
Col des Mosses 13.8 km, avg. 4 %, Catégorie 2
Verbier 8.8 km, avg. 7.5 %, Catégorie 1
(ht: steephill.tv)

The riders have only spent about 10-12km in France today as the race attacks the Alps in Switzerland and we pick up the UPDATES today just before the final climb. The odds on favorite strategy that will play out is that Team Astana will look to support their best chances at gaining time with teammates Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong. Saxo Bank's Andy Schleck figures to also gain time on the final climb to this Stage 15 finish.

The best Lance Armstrong can do at 37 competing against guys about ten years his junior is to just be there, close, at the top of the mountian. Tomorrow is a day of rest and the tour's grandest event ... at least for Lance Armstrong, is still to come in the form of the individual Time Trial competition on Stage 18 - Thursday, July 23, 2009.

Right now at 100km to the finish, Team Astana is setting the pace of the Peloton.

Team Astana riding together in an effort to control the pace and give Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong a chance at being in a position to win the Tour de France. Image Credit: Reuters via Universal Sports

This excerpted and edited from VeloNews(VN), CyclingNews(CN), VERSUS(VS), and various sources -

(VS) - Stage 15 - Pontarlier to Verbier, 207km (129 miles)

PONTARLIER
A funny thing happened on the way to Pontarlier during the 2001 Tour. Fourteen riders broke away and took a considerable lead over the pack, which did not seem to care. Erik Dekker crossed the finish line with a 35-minute advance and O’Grady won the Yellow Jersey. A strict application of the rules led to the whole pack’s disqualification – eight days into the race!

VERBIER
A new stop-over town on the Tour de France, the Swiss ski resort has already played host to a number of decisive stages on the Tour de Suisse. The final climb, more than 9 kilometres long, provides the possibility for riders in top form to forge gaps, or at least triggers head on confrontation. For the record, in the last mountain finish in Switzerland on the Tour de France, in 1984, Laurent Fignon outclassed all opposition by winning, in yellow, at Crans-Montana, his third alpine stage of the year.

he second half of the Tour selection arrives with the entrance to the Swiss Alps. The race is far from over and this stage will be the last penultimate mountain top finish before the riders conquer Mt. Ventoux.

Starting in Verbier, for the first time, the riders will make sure nothing happens like what occurred in the 2001 Tour that finished here. A group of fourteen riders went up the road and instead of the peloton chasing they let them finish a full 35 minutes in front. This allowed Eric Dekker to take the win while Stuart O’Grady pulled on the yellow jersey.

A break will surely form on the first climb right out of the starting gate on the Cote de Rafou but the peloton might wait to respond until they reach the 13.8km Col des Mosses. After passing through Martigny the riders will start the tough 7% grade for 8.8km up to the ski resort in Verbier. For the riders that rode the 2008 Tour de Switzerland they will be familiar with the climb and perhaps Kim Kirchen can carry over his victory from the Swiss race to win this Tour stage.

The riders fighting for the overall will have to have good legs and the finish here will be a good indication of what to expect when we reach the Ventoux summit. The following day is a rest day as the riders will have to prepare to tackle more mountains once the race continues.

Stage 15 - Pontarlier to Verbier, 207km (129 miles) - Image Credit VERSUS

News Flashes (VS)
15:02:21 - Leaders On Col des Mosses
The leading 10 are on the slopes of the Col des Mosses. This is 13.8km long with an average gradient of four percent. The summit is at the 135km mark. It is a cat-2 ascent that rises to an altitude of 1,445m.

15:03:20 - Four Ascention Of Col des Mosses In Tour
The Col des Mosses has been part of the Tour's itinerary on three previous occasions. The first time was in 1949 when Jean Robic led over the summit. In 1997, first place went to Stephane Heulot and in 2000 the Italian Massimiliano Lelli led over the 1,445m high pass.

15:06:48 - Advantage Grows Again
At 122km the peloton is still being led by Astana riders. It is 4'10" behind Van den Broeck, Cancellara, Hesjedal, Astarloza, Gutierrez, Moncoutie, Moinard, Fedrigo, Spilak and Flecha.

15:09:31 - Average Speed For Third Hour
The average speed for the third hour is 38.0km/h. The average for the first three hours combined is 41.5km/h.

15:10:45 - Euskaltel Has Never Led The Tour...
At the moment, Mikel Astarloza is the virtual leader of the Tour. He was 3'02" behind Nocentini at the start of the stage. The rider who finished ninth overall in 2007 is now part of the escape group that's 4'40" ahead of the peloton (at 125km). No rider from his Euskaltel-Euskadi team has ever worn the yellow jersey before...

15:14:50 - Leaders 5km From Col des Mosses Summit
The 10 escapees are 5km from the top of the fifth climb with an advantage of 4'30".

15:19:00 - Lead Drops To 4'05"
With the peloton 5km from the top of the Col des Mosses, it is 4'05" behind Van den Broeck, Cancellara, Hesjedal, Astarloza, Gutierrez, Moncoutie, Moinard, Fedrigo, Spilak and Flecha. The maximum gain of the escape so far today was 4'40" at the 125km mark.

15:30:37 - Leaders At Summit
The escapees have reached the top of the Col des Mosses. We await confirmation of the places of riders before posting the results.

15:31:25 - Result Of Col des Mosses
The points of the fifth climb in stage 15 (at 135km) were won by:
1. Pierrick Fedrigo (BBO) 10pts
2. Mikel Astarloza (EUS) 9pts
3. Jurgen van den Broeck (SIL) 8pts
4. David Moncoutie (COF) 7pts
5. Amael Moinard (COF) 6pts
6. Jose Ivan Gutierrez (GCE) 5pts

15:33:09 - Peloton At Summit
The peloton has raced over the top of the Col des Mosses, 3'25" behind the 10 escapees. There were no attacks - either from the lead group or peloton - on this ascent.

15:34:01 - Liquigas Send Riders Forward
There are three riders from the Liquigas team now at the head of the peloton as it begins the descent of the col des Mosses.

15:39:50 - Comments From Cofifis
“For now, the Astana team is maintaining a reasonable gap and its riders are careful to protect themselves from the challenge by Astarloza,” said the directeur sportif of the Cofidis team, Francis Van Londersele when contacted by LeTour.fr recently. “We also that the race will be very fast in the valley leading to the final climb. Hopefully the leaders can resist the chase by the peloton. If Moinard and Moncoutie are still at the front at the base of the Verbier climb, we will try to take advantage of the situation. In this case Amael can be a very useful ally for David.”

15:41:35 - Cancellara Caught
The brief stint in the lead by Cancellara is now over. He has been caught by the nine other escapees.

(CN) 3.
15:51 CEST - Liquigas is still helping Astana in the pace making as they drive through some Swiss vineyards.
4.
15:57 CEST - There is still a light back wind down in the valley. This will help the break, but it might still be caught before the finish as it failed to build up a sufficient advantage due to the presence of Astarloza, 18th on general classification at 3.02 minutes of the leader, AG2R's Rinaldo Nocentini.
5.
16:00 CEST - Armstrong is back with his teammates at the front of the peloton. He took some time out earlier on the Col des Mosses and hid inside the bunch, letting his fellow Astana riders do their job alone.

Current situation:

- Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin), Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Silence), Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel), Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank), José Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d'Epargne), Amael Moinard, David Moncoutié (Cofidis), Pierrick Fedrigo (Bbox), Simon Spilak (Lampre), Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank)
- Peloton at 4.08



(VN)

4:08
CPelkey: With 38km remaining, the Astana team has moved to the front of the peloton. The gap is back down to 3:38.
4:12
CPelkey: The Ag2r team has done little of the chase work so far. This may well be Nocentini's last day in yellow. He's on his eighth day in the race lead, but no one is predicting that he'll hold it on this last climb. He and his team have done terrific work this past week. I have to say, though, he's been the quietest race leader we've had in years. He makes few statements to the press, makes no brash predictions and doesn't mouth off. He just rides. Chapeau.
4:13
CPelkey: Neal Rogers was at the start this morning and asked Lance Armstrong about the riders he'll be watching on this final climb today.

"The two Schleck brothers, Carlos Sastre and Cadel Evans, all the people we’ve thought since the beginning. They’re behind because of the TTT, but they are still a threat."
4:16
CPelkey: With 31km to go - and about 22km to go before the climb officially starts - the gap is now down to 3:15.
4:19
CPelkey: Neal ROgers also spoke with Mark Cavendish about the Hincapie jersey issue. Some have suggested that his team's effort to lead out Cavendish for the field sprint contributed to the loss of those critical five seconds:

"We knew we had George at 5 seconds, so we were trying to make the sprint as slow as possible, we wanted to leave it as late as possible. Obviously if someone goes, I have to go. If someone goes left or if someone goes right, I have to go. That’s what we were watching for yesterday. Either Thor thinks so highly of himself that he thinks we were doing that sprint to try and mess him up, or if he thinks so highly of our team that he thinks the only way to beat our team is to get us disqualified. It’s one or the other. That’s happened now, and what happened to me is the least of the problems with what happened yesterday. For a guy like George to lose the jersey like that, that’s the worst thing, and the tragedy of the woman who died yesterday, in horrific circumstances, that overshadows anything that happened."
4:21
CPelkey: Liquigas and Astana are setting tempo in the main field. With 28km to go, the gap is now down to 3:10.

Our leaders are approaching the day's second sprint mark - in Martigny (26.5km to go)
4:22
CPelkey: Cavendish said he was obviously bothered by the relegation:

"I take it as a compliment the only way they can beat us is like that. I’ve never, ever had anyone grab me after a stage, let alone put in a complaint. I’ve always been a correct in a sprint, I’ve always been a correct rider, and it’s upsetting that someone would think I’d ride deliberately like that. I’ve never been malice, I’ve never been unjust, and I lost a lot of respect for Thor yesterday — a lot of respect."

Asked if Hushovd has the green jersey locked up: “Absolutely not, no. I just have to concentrate on Paris now. I want to win on the Champs-Elysees, and I’ll do that.”
4:26
CPelkey: The peloton - under the power of Liquigas and Astana - has reached the sprint mark 3:02 behind the break.
4:27
CPelkey: Speaking of yesterday's yellow jersey argument - which will be moot by tonight - Bradley Wiggins spoke with Neal Rogers at the start this morning.

"I didn’t have my radio in last 20km, didn’t hear what was going on, but apparently Matt White told the boys to start riding tempo so we could stay near the front because we were getting bushwhacked a bit and we didn’t want to take any splits in the final few Ks. I don’t think anyone realized who was taking the jersey, or who was in the jersey, or was trying to stop someone from taking the jersey. I don’t quite understand what is going on. we’ve got two guys in the top 10 of the Tour de France going into the final week, and we were just defending those positions."
4:31
CPelkey: Spilak, the guy who was only allowed to continue because of a judges' ruling on his missing the time cut, is taking a dig off the front of the break, with 21km to go.
4:34
CPelkey: We're going to focus on today rather than yesterday from here on out, but we have one last word from Wiggins on yesterday's kerfuffle:

Asked if it was unfair to accuse Garmin of intentionally chasing down Hincapie, Wiggins said:

"Perhaps, yeah. You know how people are. You’ve got people saying about 9-11, that the Americans did it to themselves, so if people are going to say things like that, of course they’re going to say that we tried to keep George from taking yellow. But we don’t rise to the games anyone else plays. We just concentrate on our own race at the moment."

4:39
CPelkey: Spilak is now 50 seconds ahead of the break. The peloton is at 2:28.
4:41
CPelkey: 15km to go, Spilak has a minute on the chase. The peloton is about another minute behind the remnants of the break.
----
4:50
CPelkey: With Spilak on the base of the climb, he has 41 seconds on Astarloa. The chase group is at 1:10. The peloton is coming up fast. Saxo Bank is driving at the front right now.
4:51
CPelkey: The peloton's pace is such that Spilak is just 1:22 up the road.
4:52
CPelkey: Garmin as at the front.... Wiggins and Vande Velde are in good position.

Saxo Bank is driving now. Voigt is hammering at the front of the peloton.
4:52
CPelkey: The peloton is stretched off in single file.

Pellizotti has popped, so he's out of contention for KOM points.
4:53
CPelkey: Voigt is done. He's peeled off. He did his job on the opening 1500 meters of the climb
4:54
CPelkey: The remnants of the break are being swept up. Spilak is only about half-a-minute up the road.
4:54
CPelkey: Cancellara is caught and is doing his part to keep the pace high.
4:54
CPelkey: Hesjedal is doing the same.
4:55
CPelkey: Oh man, the peloton has really shrunk.

Hincapie is fading off the back.

So is Sastre?
4:55
CPelkey: Okay, the break is all gone.
4:56
CPelkey: Cancellara is still driving hard at the front of the peloton.
4:56
CPelkey: Armstrong and Contador are moving up to the front of the group
4:57
CPelkey: Frank Schleck is riding off the front. He has Contador on his wheel... and Armstrong is on his wheel.
4:57
CPelkey: The race is down to five guys.
4:57
CPelkey: Contador goes!
4:58
CPelkey: Contador is flying up the climb. Andy Schleck is chasing.

Armstrong is not chasing. He is with Frank Schleck and Bradley Wiggins.
----
(CN) 1.
16:57 CEST - Fränk Schleck tries something, marked by Contador. Armstrong jst behind.
2.
16:57 CEST - Yes! Contador attacks! Andy Schleck tries to follow. The race is finally on!
3.
16:58 CEST - Armstrong does not respond. he looks around at Fränk Schleck, Wiggins, etc. to chase.
4.
17:00 CEST - Evans is there, too, but doesn't look like he can do any chasing. Andy Schleck is still between the Armstrong group and Contador.
5.
17:01 CEST (4km remaining from 207.5km) - Nocentini has already lost more than a minute. Sastre tries to come back to the Armstrong group.
6.
17:03 CEST - Contador is likely to take the stage if he doesn't explode.

Klöden sets the pace in the Armstrong group, which also includesKreuziger and Nibali (Liquigas) riders.
----
(VN)5:05
CPelkey: Frank Schleck is working his way up to his brother.

Contador is just flying up the climb. He's 2.6km from the top.
5:05
CPelkey: Huge crowds out there today. Beautiful weather and they are getting a helluva show.
5:06
CPelkey: Contador has 35 seconds over Andy Schleck
5:07
CPelkey: Cadel Evans is trying to up the pace in the Armstrong group. Armstrong is at the front of the group and Evans may want to set a faster tempo... but he's not doing it.
5:07
CPelkey: Contador is now less than 2km from the top.

5:05
CPelkey: Huge crowds out there today. Beautiful weather and they are getting a helluva show.
5:06
CPelkey: Contador has 35 seconds over Andy Schleck
5:07
CPelkey:

Cadel Evans is trying to up the pace in the Armstrong group. Armstrong is at the front of the group and Evans may want to set a faster tempo... but he's not doing it.
5:07
CPelkey:

Contador is now less than 2km from the top.

5:07
CPelkey: Nibali and WIggins have joined Frank Schleck.
5:08
CPelkey: Contador is 1.7km from the top. Andy Schleck is at 40 seconds.
5:08
CPelkey: Sastre has attacked out of the Armstrong group. He's leaving Armstrong Kloden and Evans... He's bridging to Wiggins, Nibali and Frank Schleck.
5:09
CPelkey: Contador is now 1.25km from the top.
5:09
CPelkey: Andy Schleck is more than 40 seconds back.
5:09
CPelkey:

Armstrong is now at 1:12
5:10
CPelkey: Sastre has passed the Frank Schleck group He is third on the road.

Contador is on the final kilometer.
5:10
CPelkey: Contador has this stage - and mybe this Tour - won.
5:10
CPelkey: Sastre is closing in on Andy Schleck.
5:11
CPelkey: Contador is in the final 600 meters
5:11
CPelkey: Contador is flying toward the finish.
5:12
CPelkey: Alberto Contador - winner of the 2007 Tour de France - has won the stage. Pow... the pistol comes out.
5:12
CPelkey: Andy Schleck is actually in second, finishing at 42 seconds
5:13
CPelkey: Sastre has been grabbed back. Nibali gets third. Frank Schleck fourth
5:13
CPelkey: Evans at 1:25
5:13
CPelkey: Armstrong at 1:35.
5:13
CPelkey: Whewwwww.... what a ride.
5:14
CPelkey: Kreuziger is in at 2:06
5:14
CPelkey: Tony Martin a 2:14. It looks like Andy Schleck will be in white.
5:14
CPelkey: Vande Velde has finished with Nocentini ... at 2:35 or so
5:15
CPelkey: Wiggins, by the way, finished with Frank Schleck. Sorry to have not mentioned that one.
5:16
CPelkey: It looks like the GC picture has been changed. Obviously Contador is in yellow, but Armstrong is in second according to our usually bad math.
5:18
CPelkey: Preliminary results:
# 1. Alberto Contador Astana, 207.5km in 5:03:58
# 2. Andy Schleck Team Saxo Bank, at 0:43
# 3. Vincenzo Nibali Liquigas at 01:03
# 4. Frank Schleck Team Saxo Bank at 01:06
# 5. Bradley Wiggins Garmin - Slipstream at 01:06
# 6. Carlos Sastre Cervelo Test Team at 01:06
# 7. Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto at 01:26
# 8. Andréas Kloden Astana at 01:29
# 9. Lance Armstrong Astana at 01:35
# 10. Kim Kirchen Team Columbia - Htc at 01:55
# 11. Roman Kreuziger Liquigas at 02:06
# 12. Tony Martin Team Columbia - Htc at 02:13
# 13. Vladimir Karpets Team Katusha at 02:13
# 14. Maxime Monfort Team Columbia - Htc at 02:23
# 15. Christophe Le Mevel Francaise Des Jeux at 02:32
# 16. Igor Anton Euskaltel - Euskadi at 02:33
# 17. Broeck Jurgen Van Den Silence - Lotto at 02:33
# 18. Peter Velits Team Milram at 02:36
# 19. Rinaldo Nocentini Ag2r La Mondiale at 02:36
# 20. Jose Angel Gomez Marchante Cervelo Test Team at 02:36
# 21. Mikel Astarloza Euskaltel - Euskadi at 02:41
# 22. Christian Vande Velde Garmin - Slipstream at 02:41
# 23. Sandy Casar Francaise Des Jeux at 02:41
# 24. Matthew Lloyd Silence - Lotto at 02:52
# 25. Brice Feillu Agritubel at 03:14
# 26. Christophe Kern Cofidis Le Credit En Ligne at 03:14
# 27. Stephane Goubert Ag2r La Mondiale at 03:14
# 28. Luis-leon Sanchez Caisse D’epargne at 03:17
# 29. Pierre Rolland Bbox Bouygues Telecom at 03:24
# 30. Maxime Bouet Agritubel at 03:36
# 31. Amets Txurruka Euskaltel - Euskadi at 03:43
# 32. Alexandre Botcharov Team Katusha at 03:43
# 33. Volodymir Gustov Cervelo Test Team at 03:43
# 34. Yury Trofimov Bbox Bouygues Telecom at 03:43
# 35. Hubert Dupont Ag2r La Mondiale at 03:54
5:24
CPelkey: Preliminary GC:
# 1. Alberto Contador Astana, 63:17:56
# 2. Lance Armstrong Astana, at 1:37
# 3. Bradley Wiggins Garmin - Slipstream at 01:46
# 4. Andréas KlÖden Astana at 02:17
# 5. Andy Schleck Team Saxo Bank at 02:26
# 6. Rinaldo Nocentini Ag2r La Mondiale at 02:30
# 7. Vincenzo Nibali Liquigas at 02:51
# 8. Tony Martin Team Columbia - Htc at 03:07
# 9. Christophe Le Mevel Francaise Des Jeux at 03:09
# 10. Frank Schleck Team Saxo Bank at 03:25
# 11. Carlos Sastre Cervelo Test Team at 03:52
# 12. Christian Vande Velde Garmin - Slipstream at 03:59
# 13. George Hincapie Team Columbia - Htc at 04:05
# 14. Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto at 04:27
# 15. Maxime Monfort Team Columbia - Htc at 04:38
# 16. Roman Kreuziger Liquigas at 04:40
# 17. Kim Kirchen Team Columbia - Htc at 05:05
# 18. Luis-leon Sanchez Caisse D’epargne at 05:27
# 19. Mikel Astarloza Euskaltel - Euskadi at 05:37
# 20. Vladimir Karpets Team Katusha at 05:56
END OF UPDATES

So, Team Astana proves its status as the team and the riders to beat - Alberto Contador is first in the General Classification, Lance Armstrong is second, at 37 years old, only 1 minute and 37 seconds behind.

Tomorrow is a well earned day off from the competition of the Tour de France. We begin Stage 16 - Tuesday, July 21, 2009 - 159 km - Martigny(CH) → Bourg-Saint-Maurice.

TDF Stage 14 - Hincapie leads Breakaway, Hopes For Yellow

eColumbia-HTC rider, American George Hincapie, who has worn the Yellow Jersey before in the Tour de France, aims to wear the leader's again before the TDF visits the Alps on Stage 15. Image Credit: AP via Universal Sports

TDF Stage 14 - Hincapie leads Breakaway, Hopes For Yellow

This post begins with 100 km to go in the 14th stage of the 21 stage Tour de France epic team cycling race. Team Astana now leads the Peloton to try and rein in a breakaway of 12 riders which is currently pacing at over 5 min. and 25 seconds ... the time George Hincapie, former famed longtime teammate to Lance Armstrong and one of the most experienced TDF Americans now riding for Columbia-HTC. If this pace for the breakaway holds, the 1994 TDF rookie for Team Motorola will end the day wearing the Yellow Jersey as the leader of the 2009 Tour de France 2/3 of the way through.

Profile Details (ht: steephill.tv)

Stage 14 Profile - Image Credit: steephill.tv

Departing from Colmar, the stage begins with 87 kilometers of flat racing. The profile gains elevation slowly, but it’s unlikely that anyone will notice. The first intermediate sprint comes at kilometer 34 in the town of Pulversheim. After just over 33 kilometers of false-flat climbing, the riders will contest the second intermediate sprint in Dannemarie at kilometer 67.

The first categorized climb of the day, the Côte de Lebetain, summits at kilometer 90.5. The côte is rated category 3, and climbs 2.4 kilometers at an average gradient of 4.4%. Short and sweet, the Côte de Lebetain should not cause anyone too much difficulty. A brief descent follows the climb.

Less than ten kilometers later comes the second categorized climb of the day, the Côte de Blamont. Another category 3 climb, the Côte de Blamont climbs 2.9 kilometers at 4.9%. Another easy one, this climb should not slow the momentum of the main field, though it may cause a bit of pain in the breakaway.

Stage 14 Map - Image Credit: steephill.tv

From the summit of the Côte de Blamont, it’s a bumpy 88 kilometers to the finish in Besançon. There are two un-categorized climbs to keep things interesting, but they should not prove difficult enough to trouble the sprinters. The stage passes through Dambelin at kilometer 128.5 and Branne at kilometer 148.5. With just under 40 kilometers to race to the finish, the final intermediate sprint comes in Baume-les-Dames.

Passing through Novillars with 20 kilometers to go, the course climbs slightly, then it’s a false-flat descent to the finish in Besançon. Just inside 3 kilometers to go, the road makes a sweeping left turn. The final kilometer is a straight shot to the line on the wide boulevard Ouest. It should be a fast sprint finish in Besançon.

Stage 13 start in the town of Vittel, France. Image Credit: Getty Images via Universal Sports

This excerpted and edited from VeloNews (VN), CyclingNews (CN), and various resources -

12:28
Charles Pelkey: Good day and welcome to VeloNews.com’s Live Coverage of the 14th stage of the 96th edition of the Tour de France, a 199-kilometer run from Colmar to Besançon.
12:28

Charles Pelkey: Today’s stage is scheduled to begin at about 12:40, after riders leave the village departé at around 12:30.
12:37
CPelkey: Today's route qualifies as a flat stage for purposes of points distribution, but there are two climbs along the way.

The Category 3 Côte de Lebetain is a 2.4 km climb that averages 4.4 percent and summits at 90.5km.

That is soon followed by the Category 3 Côte de Blamont, a 2.9 km climb that averages 4.9 percent and summits at 111.5km.

Points on both climbs are awarded to the first four riders across the summit: 4, 3, 2 and 1.

As you might imagine, after yesterday's hand-off of the Polka-Dot jersey, that contest is still relatively tight:

1. Franco Pellizotti, Liquigas, 98 points
2. Egoi Martinez, Euskaltel-Euskadi, 95 points
3. Brice Feillu, Agritubel, 64 points
4. Christophe Kern, Cofidis, 59 points
5. Sylvain Chavanel, Quick Step, 53 points
6. Pierrick Fedrigo, Bbox Bouygues Telecom, 49 points
7. Christophe Riblon, Ag2r La Mondiale, 46 points
8. Mikel Astarloza, Euskaltel-Euskadi, 46 points
9. Heinrich Haussler, Cervelo TestTeam, 45 points
10. Sandy Casar, Francaise Des Jeux, 43 points
12:38
CPelkey: We have 164 riders approaching the official starting line at kilometer zero.
12:41
CPelkey:

Yesterday's weather continues today. Right now it's raining lightly. Officially, there is a 50% chance of precipitation. It's cloudy, with relatively mild temperatures around 16°C. (61°F) Winds are from the west at 20km.
12:49
CPelkey: As mentioned, the day's stage is classified as flat for purposes of points distribution, meaning that the first 25 riders across the line at the finish will earn points according to the following formula:
35, 30, 26, 24, 22, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 points.

There are three intermediate sprints today, located in Pulversheim (34km), Dannemarie (67km) and Baume Les Dames (161.5km). The first three riders across the line at these points earn 6, 4 and 2 points.

As you can see from the points standings, every point counts in this contest right now:
1. Thor Hushovd, Cervelo TestTeam, 205 points
2. Mark Cavendish, Team Columbia-HTC, 200 points
3. Joaquin Rojas Jose, Caisse D’epargne, 116 points
4. Tyler Farrar, Garmin-Slipstream, 110 points
5. Gerald Ciolek, Milram, 100 points
6. Oscar Freire, Rabobank, 97 points
7. Franco Pellizotti, Liquigas, 81 points
8. Lloyd Mondory, Ag2r La Mondiale, 74 points
9. Leonardo Duque, Cofidis, 64 points
10. Sylvain Chavanel, Quick Step, 57 points
The Points race has really heated up, with Thor Hushovd taking the jersey yesterday by finishing sixth, making it across the day's big climbs with the GC crowd and taking second in the field sprint.

Saxo Bank's Rinaldo Nocentini hopes to keep wearing the leader's Yellow Jersey going into the Alps at the end of Stage 14. Image Credit: Image Credit: AP via Universal Sports

12:51
CPelkey: Just to show that Tour commisaires have a heart.

Poor Simon Spilak finished a full 45 minutes behind the winner yesterday, well outside the time cut. However, officials found that the Lampre rider's progress was impeded by crowds on the road, so they are letting him ride today.
12:52
CPelkey: The peloton is at 5.5km mark, riding together in the rain... sounds almost romantic.
12:55
[Comment From Kelly ]
How do they determine the time cut?
12:59
CPelkey: Tour organizers use a variable formula, based on a system similar to classifying stages for purposes of points distribution.

Yesterday was a medium mountain stage (the only one in this Tour, by the way). The time cut can range from 6 to 18 percent of the winner's time. The limit is bumped up if the winner was really fast that day.

Today's a flat stage and the time limit starts at four percent, but can go up to 12 percent, if the winner's time represents a speed of 48kph or more. If it's slower, the percentage drops, too.

The time cut on mountain stages ranges from five percent to 18 percent, again depending on the average speed of the winner.

Both individual and team time trials use a 25-percent time cut.

1:01
CPelkey: The peloton, riding in the rain, appears not to be interested in seeing a break go. The speed is high - average of 54kph so far - but no one is getting off the front.

They are now at the 15.5km mark.
1:03
CPelkey: We have a break of about 10 riders slipping off the front.
----
1:15
CPelkey: At 26km the gap is up to 40 seconds.

Hincapie is in there, too.
1:20
CPelkey:
Our leading 13 riders are:

1. Hayden Roulston (Cervelo)
2. Jens Voigt (Saxo Bank)
3. Martijn Maaskant (Garmin)
4. George Hincapie (Columbia)
5. Nicolas Roche (Ag2r)
6. Baniele Bennati (Liquigas)
7. Daniele Righi (Lampre)
8. Christophe Le Mevel (FdJ)
9. Sebastien Minard (Cofidis)
10. Frederik Willems (Liquigas)
11. Sergei Ivanov (Katusha)
12. Gerald Ciolek (Milram)
13. Albert Timer (Skil-Shimano)
----
At 100 km left:
----
2:59
CPelkey: The Astana team is setting tempo at the front of the peloton.

We're past the the halfway mark, so we'll switch to measuring the race in terms of the number of kilometers remaining in today's stage.

With 99km remaining, the gap is now 5:19.
3:00
[Comment From Toshiko ]
What kind of lunch do the rider eat while riding?
3:03
CPelkey: It varies. The Mussette bags are filled with things like energy bars, gel packs, sometimes dried fruit and energy drinks. It often depends on a rider's personal preferences. Grabbing mussettes, however, is a tricky proposition and sometimes riders - or their teammates - are forced to drop back to team cars for food and drink. They can do that until the 20km-to-go mark. After that, teams can be subject to fines.
3:05
CPelkey: With 95km remaining, the gap has bumped back up to 5:50.
3:08
[Comment From Todd ]
If a rider is busted for doping does he have to give the prize money back? I am thinking of Landis in 06.
3:10
CPelkey: Yes. In Landis's case, the positive test probably came at a time before prize distributions were finalized, but most WADA cases result in riders having to forego results and prize money.

Sometimes, that's easier said than done. The Tour de 'Toona in the U.S. is still trying to recover prize money from Genevieve Jeanson, who tested positive and had her results negated.
3:15
CPelkey: With 89km remaining, the gap is up to 6:11.

The Astana team is still driving the chase.
3:16
[Comment From Steve ]
The Department of Redundancy Department is complaining about your use of the term "Mussette Bag"
3:16
CPelkey: Yeah .... wait until I start mentioning that the guys in the break are riding velo bikes.
3:21
CPelkey: Our 12 leaders are over the day's second climb. With all of the KOM points scooped up by the break, Franco Pellizotti will stay in the polka-dot jersey for another day.
3:23
[Comment From Unc1eBuck ]
Re: Tyler Hamilton. Is it really important that they go for more than an 8 year ban?
3:26
CPelkey: Yeah, we have to admit that the WADA appeal is rather odd.

The eight-year suspension was in keeping with the provisions of the World Anti-Doping Code and USADA achieved that without having to adjudicate the case.

As USADA CEO Travis Tygart said, at Hamilton's age, an eight-year ban is effectively a lifetime ban in his case. "We wouldn't have gone for it if he was 24," Tygart said in an interview the other day.
----
(CN)#
15:19 CEST - They are nearing the top of the climb. There's a good crowd here, cheering, clapping, waving flags.
#
15:22 CEST - Columbia's Brian Holm has said that he expects Astana to keep the break within shouting distance, and that the sprinters' teams to chase later on. He said that he expects the twelve riders to dispute the stage win between him, though, and Nocentini to keep the race lead.

Minard, Ciolek and Willems go over the top in that order, with the rest of the break all together...nobody sprinted.
#
15:29 CEST - The question is, who will chase behind? Hushovd leads the green jersey classification but knows he is very unlikely to beat Cavendish if it comes down to a gallop. That would hurt his points total, so with Roulston up the road Cervelo are unlikely to chase. Milram and Liquigas have good sprinters there, while Garmin, Ag2r, Cofidis, Skil Shimano, Francaise des Jeux, Katusha and Lampre have riders present and are in with a shout.

The most likely winner of a bunch sprint would be Cavendish, and he could do with the points. But with Hincapie up there, will the Columbia HTC team chase?
#
15:31 CEST (79km remaining from 199km)

With just under 80 kilometres to go, they are 6'54 clear. We'll shortly see what's going to happen, as the bunch will need to start chasing quite soon if the move is to be brought back. Using the 'one minute per ten kilometres' rule of thumb vis a vis the peleton's ability to bring back a move, things have to start happening in the next ten kilometres or so.

----------

Situation:

Hayden Roulston (Cervélo Test Team), Martijn Maaskant (Garmin Slipstream), George Hincapie (Columbia HTC), Nicolas Roche (Ag2r La Mondiale), Daniele Bennati, Frederik Willems (Liquigas), Christophe Le Mevel (Française des Jeux), Sebastian Minard (Cofidis), Daniele Righi (Lampre), Serguei Ivanov (Katusha), Gerard Ciolek (Milram) and Albert Timmer (Skil Shimano)
----
(VN) 3:29
CPelkey: Sad news from the start today. According to the French wire service AFP, a spectator has been killed and two others injured on the Tour de France Saturday after being hit by a police motorbike.

The accident happened in the village of Wittelsheim, about 40km from the start of Saturday's stage in Colmar.

Organizers have confirmed earlier reports that three spectators were being treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken to hopsital in Mulhouse. One of the injured was later declared dead at the hospital.
3:31
CPelkey: The leading 12 have increased their advantage to 6:52. They are now 78km from the finish.

The pace has been a reasonable 43kph so far today.
3:33
CPelkey: Ahead now is the intermediate sprint at Baume Les Dames (161.5km). There's a little unrated climb after that and then a gradual descent to the finish.

The gap is now up to 7:14 with 77km remaining.
3:35
[Comment From Max ]
Any chance Astana is keeping the pace down a bit to give Big George a gift?
3:37
CPelkey: Well, the old saying is that there are no gifts at the Tour, but Hincapie may be viewed a deserving recipient, though.

Seven-time Tour winner, Team Astana's Lance Armstrong with race reporters just before the start of Stage 13. Image Credit: AP via Universal Sports

3:40
CPelkey: Armstrong is giving a thumbs up to the cameras. He sure isn't driving the chase.

The sun is coming out.

Our escapees are now 8:28 ahead of the peloton. If anyone wants to cut the gap, it's gonna have to fall to Ag2r to protect the overall lead of Nocentini.
3:41
[Comment From Bert ]
Do all horns/claxons in France have that ridiculous chime? Or just the ones used around the race?
3:42
CPelkey: Ridiculous?!?!?!? That's my ringtone on my phone.

It's not something commonly heard outside of the Tour. It's cool, though ... at least in my book.
3:43
CPelkey: Well, well, well ... With 70km to go, the gap is now up over 10 minutes.
3:46
CPelkey: Of course there is one rider in the break not doing any work. Nicolas Roche is a member of Nocentini's Ag2r team and now one expects him to do it.

His help isn't needed, though. With 68km remaining in today's stage, the gap is now 12:12.
3:49
CPelkey: Mmmmm.... race radio has issued a corrected time check.

We have to imagine that the 12-minute gap was just wrong.

It's now 8:12 with 67km remaining.
3:50
CPelkey: Either way, 12 minutes or 8 minutes, the gap is enough to keep Hincapie in the virtual yellow jersey.
----
(CN) #
15:55 CEST - The leaders are on a slight drag. The course tends to flatten out from here to the finish, although there are some small ramps.

All, bar Roche, have been riding through. There's good co-operation in this move.

The countryside is much flatter than they will experience in the days ahead.

Hmm...Contador is sitting near the back of the peloton. We wonder if something's not quite right with him today?
#
16:03 CEST - The peloton is 8'20 back, tackling a steep ramp out of the saddle. It's once again a relatively uncomplicated day. although the Astana team has done a lot of riding. They were tapping through for a long time but now there is a sense of urgency.
#
16:07 CEST - Gerard Ciolek is one of the fastest riders in the peloton, but he's long been keen to underline he's more than just a sprinter. Beating former team-mate Mark Cavendish was proving impossible so he's taken his chances in a break today. If they are still together at the end he's certainly one to watch.

You can read more about him here: www.cyclingnews.com/news/ciolek-i-am-not-a-sprinter-1

2.
16:18 CEST - Christian Vande Velde is one of the riders who will be nervously awaiting the mountain stages. He's currently seventh overall, 1'24" back, and will soon find out if he has got the same sort of legs as last year. He had a difficult run up to the race due to a bad crash in the Giro, but we hope he can perform to his considerable abilities. Here's the latest on CVV: www.cyclingnews.com/news/vande-velde-satisfied-after-tough-stage-13
3.
16:19 CEST (45km remaining from 199km) - With the lead still 8'18", Hincapie knows that yellow is within reach. If the bunch speeds up and takes three minutes back, it'll be gone; otherwise, he'll be in the running.
4.
16:22 CEST - As expected, the Ag2r La Mondiale team are now chasing. They want to keep Nocentini in yellow for one more day.

The race has been getting progressively faster in the second half of the stage. Up front, Maaskant rolls through. His team boss Jonathan Vaughters would love to see him get the stage, Twittering "This break is gone, for sure. Let's hope Martijn has one of the great days he is totally capable of having."
5.
16:27 CEST (40km remaining from 199km) - Sure enough, the gap is coming down under Ag2r La Mondiale's impetus. It's now 7'40". The break is pedalling along a wide river. It's warmer and drier here than earlier in the stage. Methinks the break will continue to work well together for another twenty kilometres or so, then the fun and games will start.
----
(VN) 4:35
CPelkey: Hincapie is picking up the pace up front.

With the peloton now at 7:05, he's motivated to keep the gap above 5:25.
4:39
CPelkey: The gap is now down below 7:00.

With 32km to go, the gap is 6:58.
4:43
CPelkey: With 29.5km to go, the gap is now 6:55.
4:49
CPelkey: With 25.5km remaining the gap is 6:42.

Recall that if the escapees hold a gap of 5:25 or more, Hincapie will be in yellow tonight. Ag2r is massed at the front of the peloton, though. Those guys are doing their best to ensure that doesn't happen.
----
(CN) 5.
16:42 CEST

The break is riding well together again. Hincapie is urging them onwards. His chances of a stage win will be affected if the gap remains above six minutes, because he'll put all his energy into trying to take yellow.

If it becomes clear he won't get it, he'll shift his focus.

Meanwhile, back in the bunch, Contador is back up near the front and smiles for the cameras.
6.
16:45 CEST (28km remaining from 199km)

The break is looking a bit more disjointed now, with the riders trying to get Roche to start working. His team are chasing behind to ensure Nocentini keeps yellow, so he won't contribute. It doesn't make any sense for him to do so, as it would counteract the Ag2r efforts.

--------

Situation:

Hayden Roulston (Cervélo Test Team), Martijn Maaskant (Garmin Slipstream), George Hincapie (Columbia HTC), Nicolas Roche (Ag2r La Mondiale), Daniele Bennati, Frederik Willems (Liquigas), Christophe Le Mevel (Française des Jeux), Sebastian Minard (Cofidis), Daniele Righi (Lampre), Serguei Ivanov (Katusha), Gerard Ciolek (Milram) and Albert Timmer (Skil Shimano)

Peloton: at 6'27
----
(VN) 4:56
CPelkey:

With the 17km to go, the gap is 6:46.
4:58
CPelkey: Hincapie is doing a good share of the work.

His big hope is to grab the jersey.
He is the lone Columbia in there. Liquigas has two riders. Of the riders in the break, Roche may be favored. He's been able to hover at the back of the break, since he's a member of Nocentini's Ag2r team.
4:59
CPelkey: Tom Boonen - who has not had the best of Tours - is chasing after having a flat. He's making his way through the cravan.
5:00
CPelkey: With 15km to go, the gap is holding at 6:43.
5:01
Who will win today's stage?
Baniele Bennati (Liquigas)
( 6% )
Martijn Maaskant (Garmin)
( 9% )
Nicolas Roche (Ag2r)
( 24% )
Gerald Ciolek (Milram)
( 9% )
George Hincapie (Columbia)
( 43% )
One of the other guys?
( 8% )
----
(CN) 1.
17:00 CEST (15km remaining from 199km) - Hincapie continues to push the pace, with less than 15km to go. The gap is 6'40 so he has a good chance of taking yellow.
2.
17:02 CEST - Bennati is now marking Roche, realising he will be the freshest.

Boonen gets back to the bunch without too much delay. Meanwhile Nocentini knows it will be touch and go for his jersey.
3.
17:04 CEST - The break is less organised, with some riders missing turns. Roche is now up to the middle of the group. He'll have to mark any attacks that go.
4.
17:04 CEST - It starts! Maaskant goes! He jumps hard on a hill, 11.8 km from the finish. Ivanov goes after him.
5.
17:05 CEST - They get back up to him, but it's going to be fireworks from now on.
6.
17:06 CEST - Le Mevel goes! Hincapie jumps up to him. The others are looking around. Bennati gets across too.
#
17:06 CEST (187.3km remaining from 199km) - Roche goes!
#
17:07 CEST - Bennati gets up to him... Roche looked quite sluggish, surprisingly...he has done a lot of riding for Nocentini in recent days. We'll see what happens now.
#
17:07 CEST - The others got up him, and now Ivanov goes....he's got a good gap.
#
17:08 CEST (10km remaining from 199km) - With ten clicks to go, the Amstel Gold winner has a good gap and is riding well.

Peloton: at 6:18

1.
17:11 CEST - Ivanov is now 21" ahead of the chasers. Roche was caught again.
2.
17:11 CEST (7km remaining from 199km) - Ivanov is looking good. The group behind is breaking up.

He is 27" ahead of the 12 rider group - a breakaway from the breakaway. Hincapie is a full 6 minutes ahead of the Peloton.

#
17:12 CEST - Ivanov is totally committed, knowing he can take Katusha's first ever Tour stage win today. He's being chased by a couple of others, while the rest of the break are together and marking each other out of it.
#
17:13 CEST - Roulston and Timmer are the chasers, but they are a long way back. They'll do what they can but Ivanov is not waiting around..
#
17:15 CEST - The chasing duo are 23" back, with the rest of the break a further seven seconds down. The peloton is 6'36", so Hincapie still has a chance of taking yellow.

1.
17:16 CEST

Roulston and Timmer are 24" back...they are working hard but the Russian national champion is not waiting around. He's pedalling well, not looking back at all.

----------

Situation:
Serguei Ivanov (Katusha)

Albert Timmer (Skil Shimano) and Hayden Roulston (Cervélo Test Team) at 0:23

Martijn Maaskant (Garmin Slipstream), George Hincapie (Columbia HTC), Nicolas Roche (Ag2r La Mondiale), Daniele Bennati, Frederik Willems (Liquigas), Christophe Le Mevel (Française des Jeux), Sebastian Minard (Cofidis), Daniele Righi (Lampre), Gerard Ciolek (Milram) at 030

Peloton: at 6:35
----
(VN)5:18
CPelkey: With 3km to go, Ivanov his holding his own against the chasers. Timer and Roulston are at 25 seconds.
5:19
CPelkey: With 2km to go, the gaps are still 27 and 38.... the peloton is at 6:32.
5:20
CPelkey: Ivanov looks like he has this one in the bag. He's still tickin' along at a good rate.
5:21
CPelkey: One kilometer to go.
5:21
CPelkey: Ivanov is heading to the line.
5:21
CPelkey: Roche has led the second group up to Timmer and Roulston.
5:22
CPelkey: Katusha! Ivanov wins
5:22
CPelkey: Roche takes second.
5:22
CPelkey: Now, we will all break out the stop watches.
5:23
CPelkey: It's an odd combination of Garmin and Ag2r at tthe front.
5:24
CPelkey: The peloton is now 3km from the finish. It's been 2:00 since the finish.
5:25
CPelkey: It's been 3:00 since the finish.
5:25
CPelkey: Two kilometers to go.
5:21
CPelkey: One kilometer to go.
5:21
CPelkey: Ivanov is heading to the line.
5:21
CPelkey: Roche has led the second group up to Timmer and Roulston.
5:22
CPelkey: Katusha! Ivanov wins
5:22
CPelkey: Roche takes second.
5:22
CPelkey: Now, we will all break out the stop watches.
5:23
CPelkey: It's an odd combination of Garmin and Ag2r at tthe front.
5:24
CPelkey: The peloton is now 3km from the finish. It's been 2:00 since the finish.
5:25
CPelkey: It's been 3:00 since the finish.
5:25
CPelkey: Two kilometers to go.
5:25
CPelkey: Ho ho... Columbia is moving up.
5:26
CPelkey: Silence Lotto is now setting tempo.
5:26
CPelkey: The peloton is in the final kilometer. 4:34 have ticked by.
5:27
CPelkey: Columbia is leading out Cav for points...
5:27
CPelkey: It's going to be close
5:27
CPelkey: Oh man....
5:28
CPelkey: It looks like Nocentini will keep the jersey... by about three or four seconds.
----
It's Official - The peloton crosses the line with five seconds to spare to reel in George Hinacapie of Columbia-HTC
----
5:32
CPelkey: Here are preliminary stage results:
# 1. Serguei Ivanov Team Katusha, 4:37:46
# 2. Nicolas Roche Ag2r La Mondiale, at 0:16
# 3. Hayden Roulston Cervelo Test Team at 00:16
# 4. Martijn Maaskant Garmin - Slipstream at 00:16
# 5. Sébastien Minard Cofidis Le Credit En Ligne at 00:16
# 6. Daniele Righi Lampre - N.g.c at 00:16
# 7. Christophe Le Mevel Francaise Des Jeux at 00:16
# 8. George Hincapie Team Columbia - Htc at 00:16
# 9. Daniele Bennati Liquigas at 00:16
# 10. Gerald Ciolek Team Milram at 00:22
# 11. Albert Timmer Skil-Shimano at 00:26
# 12. Frederik Willems Liquigas at 03:41
# 13. Mark Cavendish Team Columbia - Htc at 05:36
# 14. Thor Hushovd Cervelo Test Team at 05:36
# 15. Mark Renshaw Team Columbia - Htc at 05:36
# 16. Yauheni Hutarovich Francaise Des Jeux at 05:36
# 17. Joaquin Rojas Jose Caisse D’epargne at 05:36
# 18. Koen De Kort Skil-Shimano at 05:36
# 19. Marco Bandiera Lampre - N.g.c at 05:36
# 20. Daniel Lancaster Brett Cervelo Test Team at 05:36
# 21. Jérémy Roy Francaise Des Jeux at 05:36
# 22. Arnaud Coyot Caisse D’epargne at 05:36
# 23. Styn Vandenbergh Team Katusha at 05:36
# 24. Bernhard Eisel Team Columbia - Htc at 05:36
# 25. Heinrich Haussler Cervelo Test Team at 05:36
# 26. Nicolaï Trussov Team Katusha at 05:36
# 27. Steven De Jongh Quick Step at 05:36
# 28. Leonardo Duque Cofidis Le Credit En Ligne at 05:36
# 29. Maxime Monfort Team Columbia - Htc at 05:36
# 30. Stuart O’grady Team Saxo Bank at 05:36

5:35
CPelkey: And if we do the math, he finished 5:20 ahead of the peloton, so he'd be in second, one second ahead of Contador.

The reset General Classification is:

# 1. Rinaldo Nocentini Ag2r La Mondiale, 58:13:52
# 2. George Hincapie Team Columbia - Htc, at 0:05
# 3. Alberto Contador Astana at 00:06
# 4. Lance Armstrong Astana at 00:08
# 5. Christophe Le Mevel Francaise Des Jeux at 00:43
# 6. Bradley Wiggins Garmin - Slipstream at 00:46
# 7. Andréas KlÖden Astana at 00:54
# 8. Tony Martin Team Columbia - Htc at 01:00
# 9. Christian Vande Velde Garmin - Slipstream at 01:24
# 10. Andy Schleck Team Saxo Bank at 01:49

5:39
CPelkey: Hincapie is not a happy man.

He says it was an insult that Astana was chasing earlier and that Garmin jumped into the mix later on.
END OF UPDATES

Two-thirds away through the Tour de France and the top four places are covered by only eight (8) seconds.

TDF Stage 13 - Radios And Climbs Are The Order Of The Day

The Tour de France Peloton as it snakes and makes its way to Vittel in Stage 12 on Thursday. Image Credit: Reuters via Universal Sports

TDF Stage 13 - Radios And Climbs Are The Order Of The Day

After a series of three flat stages the Tour arrives to the Vosges mountains, three small but difficult passes. This medium mountain route could be a launching pad for an aggressive rider.

VITTEL - It was Lawyer Louis Bouloumi’e who bought the G’er’moy Spring in 1854 and founded the Vittel Spa. Years later he decided to bottle the mineral water for use at home creating the Eaux Minerals de Vittel in 1882. Vittel still has one of their central laboratories located here in the city. Image Credit: VERSUS

A statement was issued by tour officials yesterday that stated - "To put an end to the controversy which is compromising the running of the Tour de France, the International Cycling Union Management Committee has decided not to repeat the experiment [as planned] of a stage without radio communication on Friday 17th July." - So, radio communications between team management and their riders will be allowed.

At kilometer 105 the riders will take on the 8.9km Cold de la Schlucht. It was on this final climb, in 2005, where surprisingly Armstrong ended up isolated from his entire team, finishing 27 seconds behind the winner Peter Weening. With only a 4.1% grade the tenacity of the riders will determine what happens on this first climb.

Then after a quick descent the riders go straight into the 8.7km Col du Platzerwasel and then the final 8.4km Col du Firstplan. This last climb peaks only 20km from the finish line in Colmar. In 2001 on Bastille Day the French rider Laurant Jalabert took the win into Colmar and who can forget the winning salute of Neil Stephens pretending to cradle a baby in his arms as he crossed the finish in 1997.

COLMAR - Prefecture of the Haut-Rhin and legal capital of the Alsace region, Colmar is situated at the foot of the Vosges, at the heart of the Rhin plain. 2h50 minutes away from Paris by high speed train (TGV), less than an hour from Strasbourg, Fribourg (Germany) and Bâle (Switzerland) by car, it is visited by more than two million people every year. Image Credit: VERSUS

A second category climb of the Col du Firstplan with only seven miles left to race is perfect for the strong riders to exercise their authority and we could see the first movement among the leaders overall since the order was established in the Pyrenees a week ago.
(ht: VERSUS, Frankie Andreu)

TDF Stage 13 Route Map - Image Credit: steephill.tv

Here is a summary of the big humps on the road during Stage 13, Vittel - Colmar, 200 km:

* Km 46: Côte de Xertigny, 2 km at 5.3 percent (Cat. 3)
* Km 105: Col de la Schlucht, 8.9 km at 4.2 (Cat. 2)
* Km 138.5: Col du Platzerwasel, 8.7 km at 7.6 (Cat. 1)
* Km 165.5: Col du Bannstein, 2.1 km at 5.1 (Cat. 3)
* Km 179.5: Col du Firstplan, 8.4 km at 5.4 (Cat. 2)


TDF Stage 13 Profile - Image Credit: VERSUS

These climbs may well affect the race for the Tour’s Polka-Dot climber’s jersey, with a nice race forming up between Euskaltel’s Egoi Martinez and Franco Pellizotti from Liquigas. With any KOM points remaining in the Tour, though, you probably can’t write off any of those in the top-five:
1. Egoi Martinez (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, 88 points
2. Franco Pellizotti (I), Liquigas, 71pts
3. Christophe Kern (F), Cofidis 59pts
4. Brice Feillu (F), Agritubel, 49pts
5. Pierrick Fedrigo (F), Bbox Bouygues Telecom, 49pts

This excerpted and edited from VeloNews (VN), CyclingNews (CN), VERSUS (VS) and various resources -

(VN) Today's weather is a bit on the spotty side. It's 19 degrees (C). Winds are picking up, and are now at 25kph. It's cloudy to partly cloudy and a chance of rain. A wet track will add to the potential for a shuffle in the GC.

The big story of the day, of course, is the news that came from the Astana team this morning. Levi Leipheimer, who was holding on to fourth place in the overall standings, pulled out of the Tour today, apparently having suffered a broken wrist in yesterday’s crash, just 2km from the finish.

www.velonews.com/article/95275

Leipheimer had initially felt the injury was not serious enough to even warrant an X-Ray last evening, however, he returned to the hospital this morning and was diagnosed with a broken wrist. He leaves the Tour while sitting in fourth place in the overall standings. It's a big loss to the Astana team.

(CN) Coming back to the overall classification, Leipheimer's misfortune has caused a reshuffle at the top of the GC list. There was a great show of solidarity from the peloton as Twitter was aflutter with sympathy for the Astana rider, who suffered a broken wrist in a crash on stage 12.

Following Leipheimer's withdrawal the top ten looks like this:

1 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 48:27:21
2 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana at 0:00:06
3 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana at 0:00:08
4 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin - Slipstream at 0:00:46
5 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana at 0:00:54
6 Tony Martin (Ger) Team Columbia - HTC at 0:01:00
7 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Slipstream at 0:01:24
8 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank at 0:01:49
9 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas at 0:01:54
10 Luis León Sánchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne at 0:02:16

(VN) There is another non-starter today. In addition to Levi Leipheimer, Milram's Peter Wrolich has not made it today. That means we're down to 164 riders, 16 fewer than the 180 who rode the initial time trial in Monaco, nearly two weeks ago.

12:31
CPelkey: Here is a picture Leipheimer posted on his Twitter account this morning. We can only imagine his frustration today.



12:56
Charles Pelkey: Well, the Category 1 Col du Platzerwasel is a biggie. It's also quite a ways from the finish, so we're not sure how great impact on the final result.

The last climb, the Category 2 Col du Firstplan, may have a greater impact.

Let's see.
12:58
Charles Pelkey: Speaking of climbs, here are some shots - starting at the bottom and ending on top - of the Category 2 Col de la Schlucht. It's an 9.9 km climb that averages 4.2 percent and summits at Km 105.0.

(CN) Situation

Heinrich Haussler (Cervelo), Reuben Perez (Euskatel-Euskadi) and Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step).

Peloton at 8:30

1.
14:32 CEST
Results at the second sprint were:

1. Reuben Perez (Euskatel-Euskadi)

2. Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step)

3. Heinrich Haussler (Cervelo TestTeam)
2.
14:38 CEST (103km remaining from 200km)
Miserable conditions for the riders today. Tom Boonen (Quick Step) grabs his raincoat from the team car.
Meanwhile, the leader's have pushed their advantage out to almost nine minutes.
3.
14:41 CEST
I can't say I've ever seen a brown cycling rain jacket before today. I'm sure that historically speaking they have existed, but right now, there's eight of them escorting race leader, Rinaldo Nocentini, at the front of the peloton.
4.
14:48 CEST (100km remaining from 200km)
Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Slipstream) has just grabbed his raincoat and is making his way back to the peloton. Vande Velde lies in seventh place on the overall classification, moving up from eighth with Leipheimer's departure.
5.
14:53 CEST
The Col de la Schlecht is lighting the race up right now, there's a flurry of attacks coming from the peloton.
6.
14:54 CEST
About 15 riders have attacked from the front of the peloton, led by a Cofidis rider. Fabien Cancellara is in the group too.

(VN) 2:55
Charles Pelkey: There is a nice group of riders now forming off the front of the peloton.
2:56
Charles Pelkey: There are 13 rriders in this large group.
Some of the riders we see:
Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel)
Amets Txurruka (Euskaltel)
Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas)
Fabian Cancellara (Saxo)
2:59
Charles Pelkey: Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel)
Amets Txurruka (Euskaltel)
Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas)
Fabian Cancellara (Saxo)
Sergio Paulhino (Astana)
Maxime Monfort (Columbia)
Christophe Kern (Cofidis)

We're still compiling the list, but the group is now 25 seconds up the road.

Monfort could be viewed as a threat. He's only 2:21 out of the lead.
3:01
Charles Pelkey: Our three leaders crested the climb a couple of minutes ago.... about 6:10 ahead of this big chase group.
3:03
Charles Pelkey: It looks like Brice Feillu has moved out of the chase group. He won a stage the other day and is showing some real class in his first Tour.
3:04
Charles Pelkey: It was a real drag race between Martinez and Pellizotti at the top of the climb. We couldn't tell who took it.

We're not sure if Feillu was reeled in before the chase group got to the top.
----
3:07
Charles Pelkey: It looks like the chase group has been pulled back. Monfort, for one, would have made any GC contender nervous about that one.

So, right now, everyone is over the climb and on the way down the Col de la Schucht.

Our three leaders are now 5:50 ahead of the peloton and they are 86 kilometers from the finish.
----
3:11
Charles Pelkey: KOM Results from the Col de la Schucht.
1. Perez Moreno (Euskaltel) 10 points
2. Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step), 9 pts
3. Heinrich Haussler (Cervelo) 8pts
4. Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel), 7pts
5. Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas), 6pts
6. Gorka Verdugo (Euskaltel), 5pts

3:14
Charles Pelkey: Our leaders are moving toward the bottom of the climb.

They are about 79km from the finish. They lead the peloton by about 5:45.

Linus Gerdemann is a few seconds ahead of the peloton. It's hard to ID riders, though, given that it's rain jacket weather.
1.
15:19 CEST
Martinez did pip Pellizotti at the top of the climb.

The results of the Cat 2 Col de la Schlucht were:

1. Perez (Euskatel Euskadi) 10 Pts
2. Chavanel (Quick Step) 9 Pts
3. Haussler (Cervelo) 8 Pts
4. Martinez (Euskatel Euskadi) 7 Pts
5. Pellizotti (Liquigas) 6 Pts
6.Verdugo (Euskatel Euskadi) 5 Pts
2.
15:20 CEST
Astana were the team primarily responsible for shutting down the move by the chasers on the Schucht.
3.
15:22 CEST (126km remaining from 200km)
Gerdemann's bid for the leaders is close to ending, he's just 15 seconds ahead of the peloton.
----
(VN) 3:21
Charles Pelkey: Our three leaders are now about 5:40 ahead of the field. They are 74km from the finish.

Linus Gerdemann (Milram) is out in no-man's-land, about 20 seconds ahead of the peloton... he's trying to get a little bit of a jump heading into the big Cat. 1 ahead.
3:24
Charles Pelkey: Our three leaders are on the Col du Platzerwasel, a Cat. 1 that averages 7.6 percent.
3:32
Charles Pelkey: Our three leaders are working their way up the climb. The gap is now about 7:30 again. Our three leaders:

* Heinrich Haussler (Cervelo)
* Ruben Perez Moreno (Euskaltel)
* Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step)

Gerdemann is out there about 1:30 ahead of the peloton.
3:33
Charles Pelkey: Christophe Kern is attacking on the base of the climb. He's hoping to snag some KOM points.
3:37
Charles Pelkey: The peloton is still 7:30 behind the leaders. Gerdemann is 1:40 ahead of the peloton. We still need an update on Kern's position.
3:39
Charles Pelkey: Kern is still only 20 seconds ahead of the peloton.

So, with 66.5km remaining, our three leaders are 5:30 ahead of Gerdemann and 7:20 ahead of the peloton.
3:40
Charles Pelkey: The rain is still falling out there. It's tough to ID riders, given most are in rain jackets.
3:41
Charles Pelkey: Ruben Perez is suffering on the climb. Haussler and Chavanel are moving ahead, with about 4.5km to go before the summit.
3:42
Charles Pelkey: Kern's attempt to sneak away to grab KOM points has failed. He's been pulled back by the peloton, still being led by Astana.
3:44
Charles Pelkey: Ruben Perez now trails Haussler and Chavanel by 25 seconds. Odd, given that we would have thought Perez was the better climber of the three.
3:45
Charles Pelkey: The peloton is now 6:05 behind the three leaders, with 65km to go in today's stage.
3:46
Charles Pelkey: Cavendish is among the victims of the Astana pace. The grupetto is certainly growing. There must be at least 45 riders in there by now.
3:47
Charles Pelkey: One of the rider who hasn't been dropped yet is Rinaldo Nocentini. He's doing his best to keep the yellow jersey today.
3:51
Charles Pelkey: Man, the pace is really ramping up in the peloton. Saxo Bank is putting riders to the front and setting a heard tempo. Yesterday's stage winner Nicki Sorensen put in a big effort.

One of the early victims is Bradley Wiggins. He's been spit off the back... but Vande Velde is still there. Armstrong, Contador ... they're there, too.
3:52
Charles Pelkey: Well, Gerdemann is about to be caught.
3:53
Charles Pelkey: Haussler and Chavanel are now less than a kilometer from the summit.
3:54
Charles Pelkey: Pellizotti is moving ahead of the peloton. He's in the hunt for KOM points and doesn't pose much of a GC threat, so he may be allowed to go ... at least by the GC players.
3:55
Charles Pelkey: One rider spit off of the back of the GC group is Egoi Martinez.
3:56
Charles Pelkey: Our two leaders are close to the top of the climb. There are big crowds out there, despite the rain.

Ruben Perez is at 40 seconds.
3:56
Charles Pelkey: Our two leaders are over the top. Chavanel first, Haussler second.
3:58
Charles Pelkey: Remarkably all of that activity in the peloton has really cut into the leaders' advantage. The peloton is only about 3:50 behind the leaders.
3:59
Charles Pelkey: The KOM mark, by the way is followed by another slight ascent... so Haussler and Chavanel are climbing still.
3:59
Charles Pelkey: It's Armstrong setting tempo at the front of the group. Contador is right there.
4:00
Charles Pelkey: Pelizotti snags fourth place points on the KOM.

----

(VS) 15:58:25 - Points Winners At 3rd Climb

1. Sylvain Chavanel (QST) 15pts

2. Heinrich Haussler (CTT) 13pts

3. Ruben Perez Moreno (EUS) 11pts - 2'45"

4. Franco Pellizotti (LIQ) 10pts - at 3'10"

5. Mikel Astarloza (EUS) 8pts

6. Alberto Contador (AST) 7pts

7. Lance Armstrong (AST) 6pts

8. Frank Schleck (SAX) 5pt

----

4:04
Charles Pelkey: So our two leaders are 59km from the finish.

They lead Perez by 2:05.

The Armstrong/Contador group is at 3:10. We are still trying to ID the riders in that group, but Wiggins seems to be the only major GC player dropped and he's likely to regain on the descent.
----
(CN) 1.
16:08 CEST
The first of the early breakaways, Reuben Perez (Euskatel-Euskadi), has meanwhile been pulled back into the yellow jersey group
2.
16:11 CEST (54km remaining from 200km)
Gerdemann has paid for his earlier exploits quickly dropping away from the yellow jersey after being caught on the Platzerwasel
3.
16:13 CEST
Astana are still commanding the front of the yellow jersey group. That group is down to about 25 riders.
4.
16:15 CEST
On a dry day the smooth roads that the Tour is racing over would be condusive to high speeds. Mind you, even in today's "moist" (to put it mildly) conditions the race has averaged 39km/h so far.
5.
16:17 CEST (49km remaining from 200km)
Haussler and Chavanel are negotiating another small descent as Txurruka and Feillu have built a 0:40 gap
6.
16:18 CEST
Haussler is descending much better than Chavanel in the treacherous conditions building a gap of 100m over the Frenchman
1.
16:19 CEST
Egoi Martinez has worked his way back into the Yellow jersey group and Popovych has rejoined his teammates at the front of the race too.
2.
16:21 CEST
None of the major favourites for overall honours appear to me missing from the yellow jersey group. Everyone is being attentive on today's risky stage.
3.
16:23 CEST (42km remaining from 200km)
Chavanel is leaving himself a lot of work to do at the end of the descent to pull Haussler back.
4.
16:25 CEST
Haussler isn't waiting for Chavanel as the road levels out.
5.
16:27 CEST (38.5km remaining from 200km)
Astana have pulled their foot off the gas back in the yellow jersey group
6.
16:29 CEST
The yellow, white and polka dot jerseys are all in the front group, which is beginning to resemble a peloton once again as riders have caught up on the descent of the Platzerwasel

Situation

Heinrich Haussler (Cervelo TestTeam)

Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) at 2:17

Amets Txurruka (Euskatel-Euskadi) and Brice Feillu (Agritubel) at 4:45

Peloton (including yellow, white and polka dot) at 7:36
----
(VN)4:47
CPelkey: The peloton is now on the climb.

This is the last chance for someone to attack out of the GC group.

It could be that the weather may keep things together. We'll see.
4:48
CPelkey: Haussler is now 25km from the finish. He's now nearly 3:00 ahead of Chavanel.
4:48
CPelkey: It looks like there is a bit of action in the GC group.
4:50
CPelkey: Astana shuts down a move by a Silence rider - it looks like Wegelius.

Wegelius is trying again, though.

4:51
CPelkey: Haussler is nearing the summit. He's about 2.5km from the top. He looks like he's on his way to a stage win.

Wegelius is not getting too far up the road. We'll watch the GC group, too, of course.
4:52
CPelkey: Andy Schleck has had a flat and just made a complete bike change. He's got some help from teammates and they are already nearly back in the field.
4:53
CPelkey: Man, the Saxo crew pulled that one off in text book fashion. That was pretty cool.
4:53
CPelkey: It's still very wet out there.
4:55
CPelkey: Haussler still holding a solid lead as he nears the top.

Back behind Chavanel, Txurruka has attacked Feillu... and he's now off on his own.
----
5:11
CPelkey: Haussler is now 10km from the finish. He is 3:40 ahead of Txurruka.
5:11
CPelkey: Chavanel is probably at 4:30, Feillu is at 5:10 and the peloton is 6:40 back.
5:12
CPelkey: We did not see any major action out of the GC group... as they now pass under the 15km to go mark.
5:12
CPelkey: So it looks like Nocentini is going to be in yellow again, tonight.
5:14
CPelkey: 7.5km to go for Haussler. He's on the flat leading to the finish. He's got a nice buffer on Txurrka, so he's set for a stage win.
5:15
CPelkey:

Haussler is relaxed out there. He's even grinning at the camera on the back of the TV moto. 6km to go.
5:16
CPelkey: Haussler is now 7:10 of the peloton.
5:17
CPelkey: Haussler is now 5km from the finish.
He's 3:30 ahead of Txurrka.
5:18
CPelkey: Well, there were no fireworks in the GC group, today.

Bummer, eh?
5:19
CPelkey: Haussler is now 3km from the finish.
5:20
CPelkey: It's a big win for Cervelo ... and a big win for the German fans who came across the border to catch a glimpse of the Tour.

Yeah, yeah... the Aussies claim him too, but he's German today.
5:21
CPelkey: Chavanel has been passed by Feillu.
5:22
CPelkey: Haussler is heading into the final kilometer.
5:22
CPelkey: Can you imagine how much fun he's having right now?
5:23
CPelkey: Haussler is grinning from ear-to-ear. He's enjoying the moment.
5:24
CPelkey: He's choking up... very happy. And he's in.
5:25
CPelkey: Txurruka is now heading into the finish. He's still 2km from the line, underscoring just how big Haussler's margin was today.
5:26
CPelkey: Txurruka is in the final kilometer.
5:28
CPelkey: Txurruka is now across the line.

He finishes at 4:08
5:28
CPelkey: Feillu is up next
5:28
CPelkey: Feillu is one kilometer from the finish.
5:29
CPelkey: Chavanel is not far behind him, by the way.
5:30
CPelkey: Feillu may not threaten the yellow jersey today, but he's sure moved up in the White Jersey race.
5:30
CPelkey: Here comes the peloton at around 6:45 or so.

5:31
CPelkey: No major change in GC.
5:33
CPelkey:

By the way, one sprinter in the main field was Haussler's teammate Thor Hushovd. He won the field sprint.

It's a medium mountain stage, so it looks like he just earned himself .... uhhhh.... 16 points!
5:34
[Comment From AF ]
any time bonuses on the line for today's stage?
5:35
CPelkey: No, there are not. There are no time bonuses available in this tour.
5:36
CPelkey: Well, here's a look at the GC picture. No major changes:

# 1. Rinaldo Nocentini Ag2r La Mondiale
# 2. Alberto Contador Astana, 0:06
# 3. Lance Armstrong Astana at 00:08
# 4. Bradley Wiggins Garmin - Slipstream at 00:46
# 5. Andréas KlÖden Astana at 00:54
# 6. Tony Martin Team Columbia - Htc at 01:00
# 7. Christian Vande Velde Garmin - Slipstream at 01:24
# 8. Andy Schleck Team Saxo Bank at 01:49
----
(CN)Stage result

1 Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Cervelo Test Team 4:56:26 (40.48km/h)
2 Amets Txurruka (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:04:10
3 Brice Feillu (Fra) Agritubel 0:06:12
4 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step 0:06:30
5 Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram 0:06:46
6 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team
END OF UPDATES

The next REAL mountain stage is coming up on Sunday. Team Astana proved that if pressed, they will take control of the Peloton and that the Team expects to make this edition of the Tour de France between Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong.

Tomorrow's Stage 14 from Colmar → Besançon - The Tour heads south through the Haut-Rhin region, and follows the trace of the French borders with Germany and Switzerland. There are two categorized climbs located about midway through the stage, but neither should cause anyone much difficulty. The finish on the boulevard Ouest in Besançon is flat and the stage should end with a sprint.

TDF Stage 12 - Sorensen Holds On Breakaway, Armstrong Survives Puncture

A punctured tire can't stop Lance Armstrong, who recovers to remain eight seconds behind the yellow jersey after Thursday's 12th stage of the Tour de France. Image Credit: Hertzog/Getty Images

TDF Stage 12 - Sorensen Holds On Breakaway, Armstrong Survives Puncture

In another stage described as varied terrain and bumpy (same as the previous two days) through central France, and the countryside favored by past French President Charles de Gaulle, a breakaway that happened soon after the Category 4 Côte d'Essoyes climb around 85 km from the end, held off the peloton by as much as 6 min. in the end. Nicki Sorensen of Demark won the stage for his first individual win at the Tour, finishing 48 seconds ahead of France's Laurent Lefevre.

Top ten finishers of Stage 12 in the Tour de France. Image Credit: steephill.tv

Team Astana highlights from the Stage includes a crash by Levi Leipheimer. Leipheimer went down with Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) and others, causing multiple contusions and the inevitable road rash. He has a contusion of the right wrist and of his right upper and lower back, plus road rash on his right shoulder, lower back and hip ... ouch! This happened during an intense run to the finish that saw many left and right turns. It appeared Leipheimer got pushed wide and ended up riding over the curb of the roadside. Levi remounted his bike and rode to the finish, keeping his 4th place finish overall behind teammates Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong in 2nd and 3rd. The yellow jersey still rests with Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R).

This excerpted and edited from Daily News -

Tour de France Stage 12: Lance Armstrong recovers from tire trouble
BY Jon Wiener - DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER - 7-16-2009

Lance Armstrong avoided disaster in Thursday's 12th stage of the Tour de France after puncturing a back wheel tire with just 37 miles left in the 131-mile ride from Tonnerre to Vittel.
----
Fortunately for Armstrong, his Astana teammates were right there to fix the punctured tire and help Armstrong catch up without suffering a significant loss.

"It is stressful with the crashes, on a stage like this where you have nothing to gain and then you lose everything because of a crash or a split in the group," Armstrong had warned before the start of the stage. "You have to pay attention and try to avoid a crash."
Reference Here>>

Stage 12 Route Map - Image Credit: steephill.tv


This Stage 12 highlight description excerpted and edited from VeloNews -

12:28
CPelkey: Today’s route covers bumpy terrain featuring a total of six climbs along the way to Vittel:

The Category 4 Côte de Baon, a 2.2 km climb that averages 4.2 percent, and summits at Km 19.0
The Category 4 Côte de Gye-sur-Seine, a 2.4 km climb that averages 4.4 percent, and summits at Km 55.
The Category 4 Côte d'Essoyes, a 2.2 km climb that averages 5 percent, and summits at Km 64.5.
The Category 4 Côte des Grands-Bois, a 2.3 km climb that averages 5 percent, and summits at Km 150.
The Category 4 Côte de Morlaix, a 2.1 km climb that averages 4.2 percent, and summits at Km 156.5.
The Category 3 Côte de Bourmont, a 0.8 km climb that averages 11.1 percent, and summits at Km 170.5.

Stage 12 Profile - Image Credit: steephill.tv

12:32
CPelkey: If you're a regular viewer, you'll know that you can type in comments, questions, complaints or just about anything you want, into the reader comment box directly below our Live Update Window.
12:38
CPelkey:

There are six climbs out there today, with any single rider capable of earning as many as 19 KOM points out there (3 for each of the Cat. 4 climbs and 4 for cresting the Cat. 3 at the finish). Still, Euskaltel's Egoi Martinez has a 20-point lead in that contest, so if he makes it to the finish today, he'll keep the polka-dot jersey:
# 1. Egoi Martinez Euskaltel - Euskadi 79 points
# 2. Christophe Kern Cofidis Le Credit En Ligne 59 points
# 3. Franco Pellizotti Liquigas 56 points
# 4. Brice Feillu Agritubel 49 points
# 5. Pierrick Fedrigo Bbox Bouygues Telecom 49 points
# 6. Christophe Riblon Ag2r-La Mondiale 46 points
# 7. Sandy Casar Francaise Des Jeux 43 points
# 8. Mikel Astarloza Euskaltel - Euskadi 38 points
# 9. Vladimir Efimkin Ag2r-La Mondiale 35 points
# 10. Rinaldo Nocentini Ag2r-La Mondiale 34 points

12:40
CPelkey: As you can see we still have a tight contest for the Green Points Jersey.
# 1. Mark Cavendish Team Columbia - Htc 176 points
# 2. Thor Hushovd Cervelo Test Team 169 points
# 3. Joaquin Rojas Jose Caisse D’epargne 110 points
# 4. Tyler Farrar Garmin - Slipstream 110 points
# 5. Gerald Ciolek Team Milram 100 points
# 6. Oscar Freire Rabobank 97 points
# 7. Lloyd Mondory Ag2r-La Mondiale 74 points
# 8. Leonardo Duque Cofidis Le Credit En Ligne 64 points
# 9. Fabian Cancellara Team Saxo Bank 55 points
# 10. William Bonnet Bbox Bouygues Telecom 54 points

12:44
CPelkey: Today's route - despite its bumpy profile - is classified as a flat stage for purposes of points distribution at the finish line. That means the first 25 riders will receive points based on the following formula:
35, 30, 26, 24, 22, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1.

There are also three intermediate sprints, at which riders can earn 6, 4 and 2 points for being among the first three across the line at those points.

Those sprints are at:

* Channes - 32km
* Longchamp Sur Aujon - 90km
* St. Thiebault - 169km

12:49
CPelkey: Of course the big prize of the Tour is the yellow jersey contest. While that race is tight, it's unlikely that today's stage will have much impact on those standings. We'd have to predict that Nocentini will still be in yellow by day's end.

# 1. Rinaldo Nocentini (I), Ag2r-La Mondiale in 43:28:59
# 2. Alberto Contador (Sp), Astana, at 0:06
# 3. Lance Armstrong (USA), Astana, at 00:08
# 4. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Astana, at 00:39
# 5. Bradley Wiggins (GB), Garmin-Slipstream, at 00:46
# 6. Andréas Kloden (G), Astana, at 00:54
# 7. Tony Martin (G), Columbia-Htc, at 01:00
# 8. Christian Vande Velde (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, at 01:24
# 9. Andy Schleck (Lux), Saxo Bank, at 01:49
# 10. Vincenzo Nibali (I), Liquigas, at 01:54
----
CPelkey: There are 170 riders in the peloton today. The pace has been quite high since the peloton hit KM-0 at 12:42. They have already covered 12km, meaning that they've been cruising at about 51kph.
----
1:03
CPelkey: For those who embrace the benefits of modern technology, you will be pleased to hear that tomorrow's stage will not include a ban on the use of radios.

For grumpy old SOBs like me, well ... we didn't have radios when we raced... and we liked it! Bahh... humbug.
----
1:07
CPelkey: At 21km, we have three riders off the front.
The climb gave them a springboard. Let's see of they can hold it.
The KOM points were awarded as follows:
1. David Millar (GB), Garmin, 3pts
2. Daniel Bennati (I), Liquigas, 2pts
3. Franco Pellizotti (I), Liquigas, 1pt.
1:09
[Comment From RM ]
did race organizers give a reason for their change of heart?
1:09
CPelkey: It was the UCI and they said "To put an end to the controversy which is compromising the running of the Tour de France, the International Cycling Union Management Committee has decided not to repeat the experiment of a stage without radio communication on Friday 17th July," it said in a statement.

Race radios were banned for the 10th stage of the race, a move which prompted 14 of the Tour's 20 teams to submit a petition in protest. The UCI said it will "continue to consult" with those involved on the usage of radios during racing.
----
1:15
Who will win today's stage?
Cavendish
( 31% )
Farrar
( 25% )
Hushovd
( 7% )
Freire
( 3% )
Boonen
( 2% )
Someone from a break.
( 31% )
----
1:17
[Comment From Diana ]
Why doesn't Team Astana have a sprinter?
1:19
CPelkey: Because having a strong sprinter takes up resources that the team would want to spend on its GC hopes. Not only does it require a sprinter, but other riders are needed to help lead-out that sprinter. There are exceptions. Robbie McEwen has done well in the past, poaching rides on other teams' lead-out trains, but the bottom line is that Astana is all about GC. Bruyneels' teams have rarely featured strong sprinters. Boonen was an exception and that relationship didn't last long.
1:21
CPelkey: And the peloton has come through the sprint at Channes. We should have results soon.
1:23
[Comment From Pedalingsquares ]
How do you guys feel about TTT's? Does it make you think the Tour can be bought?
1:26
CPelkey: I actually love the team time trial. Cycling is a team sport and the TTT underscores that fact.

As for the suggestion that the Tour can be bought solely based on the TTT, it's probably not completely true. Obviously teams like Astana, Garmin and Saxo Bank have great interest in putting good time trialists on the squad. BBox, obviously didn't do that, eh?

Winning the Tour still requires a team to have good climbers - although I will concede that hasn't been as much of a factor as we'd hoped so far, but that will change next week. We hope.
1:27
CPelkey: Cavendish, by the way, grabbed the six points at 32km in Channes. Hushovd was second, for four points and Sandy Casar scored 2 points for third.
----
1:32
CPelkey: Finally. We have a break.

At 39km, 11 riders slipped off the front.

The gap is still quite small at 43km.
----
CPelkey: Ahhhh forget it.

They're back in the peloton.
1:42
[Comment From Guest ]
Could you explain in more graphic detail what the average % grades mean for the different climb categories? Scott, London
1:42
CPelkey:

There are no set rules on how the organizer can categorize hills or mountains. This is how the Tour de France climbs are defined:

* The easiest is a Category 4, which is typically less than 2km long and about 5 percent grade, or up to 5km at a 2-3 percent grade.
* A Category 3 can be as short as one mile with a very steep grade, perhaps 10 percent; or as long as six miles with a grade less than 5 percent.
* A Category 2 can be as short as 5km at 8 percent, or as long as 15km at 4 percent
* A Category 1, once the highest category, can be anything from 8km at 8 percent to 20km at 5 percent.
* An hors catégorie (“beyond category”) rating is given to exceptionally tough climbs. This could either be a Category 1 whose summit is also the finish of the stage, or one that is more than 10km long with an average grade of at least 7.5 percent, or up to 25km miles long at 6 percent or steeper.
----
1:58
CPelkey: One rider has been dropped by the peloton.

Vladimir Efimkin (Ag2r) is trailing. He got pretty banged-up in a crash yesterday.
1:59
CPelkey: At km 63, the peloton - with the sole exception of poor Mr. Efimkin - is still together. They are climbing the Category 4 Côte d'Essoyes, a 2.2 km climb that averages 5 percent, and summits at Km 64.5.
----
2:25
CPelkey: Okay, it's still getting sorted out there.
At 81km, we have seven riders. They are:
Laurent Lefevre (Bbox)
Sylvain Calzati (Agritubel)
Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas)
Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel)
Nicki Sorensen (Saxo)
Remi Pauriol (Cofidis)
Markus Fothen (Milram)

2:26
CPelkey: Our seven escapees are now at 83km. They have a lead of 1:05

1. Laurent Lefevre (Bbox)
2. Sylvain Calzati (Agritubel)
3. Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas)
4. Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel)
5. Nicki Sorensen (Saxo)
6. Remi Pauriol (Cofidis)
7. Markus Fothen (Milram)

2:29
CPelkey: At 85km our seven escapees are 1:45 ahead of the peloton. Finally... man, that took some time to sort out. We are still averaging 47kph today... which is pretty darn fast for a bumpy route like this one.
----
2:39
CPelkey: At 93km, the seven leaders are now 3:17 ahead of the peloton.
----
2:49
[Comment From Alex V ]
We know that 8 seconds between LeMond and Fignon in 1989 was the smallest margin of victory for a Tour. What was the largest margin between 1st and 2nd?
2:50
CPelkey: That goes back to the first Tour de France in 1903. Maurice Garin beat Lucien Pothier by two hours, 49 minutes and 45 seconds.

It's not really a fair comparison, though. The first Tour had more in common with RAAM than it did with the modern Tour.
----
3:48
[Comment From David ]
Do you draw any parallels between the Armstrong / Contador inter-team rivalry and the LeMond / Hinault one in '86? If so, do you foresee a similar result (i.e. the younger, anointed Contador getting the win in the end)?
3:50
CPelkey: Well, we're loath to predict how this one will shake-out, put there are some similarities. That said, by this point in the Tour there had been a helluva lot more attacking and tension between Hinault and LeMond than we've seen here.
----
4:01
When will the 7 escapees be caught?
40km to go
( 1% )
30km to go
( 1% )
20km to go
( 6% )
10km to go
( 39% )
the last kilometer
( 19% )
They will make it.
( 34% )

4:03
CPelkey: The seven leaders are on the Category 4 Côte des Grands-Bois, a 2.3 km climb that averages 5 percent, and summits at Km 150.

Remember Martinez is in there. So is Pellizotti, who started the day in third on the KOM standings.
4:05
CPelkey:

With 62.5km to go, the gap is 3:52.
----
4:35
CPelkey: The leaders are on the category 3 Côte de Bourmont, a 0.8 km climb that averages 11.1 percent, and summits at Km 170.5.
4:36
CPelkey: Pellizotti is setting the tempo on this short steep climb. Martinez is still glomped on his wheel.
4:38
CPelkey: This climb is quite steep... Pellizotti gets top points. The cool thing about the climb is that it's largely tucked into the urban streets of Bourmont, so the entire climb is lined with fans.

The peloton should be there soon.
4:42
CPelkey: The peloton is making its way up the climb. Some riders - including Thomas Voeckler - are trailing at the back, but despite the grade, it's short enough to allow anyone dropped on there to quickly re-gain contact with the field.
4:45
CPelkey: With 37km to go, the gap is now 3:50.
4:47
CPelkey: Flat tire for Cancellara.
4:48
CPelkey: Cancellara is on is way back to the field, working his way through the back of the caravan. He's cool. He'll be back.
----
3:43.

The sprinters' teams are playing you-do-it-no-you-do-it.
4:58
CPelkey: At the front of the peloton, the Ag2r is doing the chase work, simply setting tempo to maintain a reasonable gap.
5:04
CPelkey: Nicki Sorensen (Team Saxo Bank) has taken a dig. He's been joined by Calzati.
5:07
CPelkey: It looks like Sorensen and Calzati have a small 10-second gap, with 19km to go.
----
5:11
CPelkey: Ag2r is doing the chase work in the peloton.

Sorensen is the best-placed rider in the break, but he's 10:36 out of 1st, so Ag2r has no major concerns.

Sorensen and Calzati have 12 seconds on the other five.

39. Nicki Sorensen Team Saxo Bank at 10:36
49. Franco Pellizotti Liquigas, at 16:44
47. Egoi Martinez Euskaltel - Euskadi, at 15:30
51. Laurent Lefevre Bbox Bouygues Telecom, at 16:52
61. Rémi Pauriol Cofidis Le Credit En Ligne in 43:55:42 at 26:43
90. Sylvain Calzati Agritubel, at 42:38
115. Markus Fothen Team Milram at 1:00:08
5:12
CPelkey: The peloton is at the 20km-to-go mark. The gap is nearly five minutes.

Ag2r is at the front.
----
5:19
CPelkey: Actually, it's 10km to go for our two leaders. The gap back to the peloton is now 6:06.
5:21
CPelkey: The two leaders are still holding on to a 16-second lead. The peloton has pretty much shut down.

All Ag2r needs to do is to is keep it under 10 minutes. They'll do that.
5:22
CPelkey: The five chasers are cutting into the two leaders' advantage. The gap is 10 seconds, with 7km to go.
5:24
CPelkey: The two leaders are now just nine seconds ahead of the other five.
5:24
CPelkey: 5.5km to go - seven seconds.
5:24
CPelkey: Soresnen attacks on his own.
5:25
CPelkey: Calzati rejoins the five chasers. Sorensen is off on his own, 12 seconds ahead.
5:26
CPelkey: 17 seconds with 4.25km to go
5:26
CPelkey: 4km to go and Sorensen has 20 seconds.
5:26
CPelkey: Remi Pauriol (Cofidis) has blown. He's off the back.
5:27
CPelkey: The peloton, by the way is at 6:25.
5:27
[Comment From Shane ]
I guess you won't be posting the "It's over!" picture today.
5:27
CPelkey: Nope.
5:28
CPelkey: So Sorensen has 27 seconds, with 3km to go.
5:28
CPelkey:

Oh man, it's more than that. It's 32 seconds.
5:29
CPelkey: The chasers are attacking each other. Calzatti has popped.
5:29
CPelkey: Sorensen is 2km from the finish. He's holding a thirty-second lead.
5:29
CPelkey: Pellizotti has tried to attack, but he's marked.
5:30
CPelkey: Sorensen is under the red kite. One kilometer to go and he has 34 seconds.

Buh-bye
5:31
CPelkey: Sorensen is grinning. He knows he has it in the bag.
5:32
CPelkey: Win!

Team Saxo Bank's Nicki Sorensen of Demark, won the stage for his first individual win at the Tour, finishing 48 seconds ahead of France's Laurent Lefevre. Image Credit: steephill.tv/sirotti

Sorensen looks happy ... and a little surprised.
5:32
CPelkey: Our five chasers - Calzatti got back on - are now coming through..
5:32
CPelkey: Lefevre gets second at 49 seconds or so.
5:33
CPelkey: Remi Pauriol (Cofidis) comes through at 1:35.
5:34
CPelkey: The peloton is still out there... trailing at around six or seven minutes.

There are still points on the line, so Cavendish, Hushovd and others will be sprinting for points.
5:35
CPelkey: There are still plenty of points up for grabs out there: 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1.
5:36
CPelkey: The peloton is being led by Columbia. Cavendish is getting a nice lead out. He wants the points.
5:38
CPelkey: Gee there's a shocker. Guess who won the field sprint.
5:39
CPelkey: There was a crash back in the field. Leipheimer and Cadel Evans were involved.

We have to assume that it was within the final three km, cuz these guys looked relaxed.
5:39
CPelkey: The field sprint was, of course, taken by Cavendish and he beat Hushovd to the line.
5:43
CPelkey: Preliminary stage results:
# 1. Nicki Sorensen Team Saxo Bank, 211.5km in 4:52:24
# 2. Laurent Lefevre Bbox Bouygues Telecom, at 0:48
# 3. Franco Pellizotti Liquigas at 00:48
# 4. Markus Fothen Team Milram at 00:48
# 5. Egoi Martinez Euskaltel - Euskadi at 00:48
# 6. Sylvain Calzati Agritubel at 00:48
# 7. Rémi Pauriol Cofidis Le Credit En Ligne at 01:33
# 8. Mark Cavendish Team Columbia - Htc at 05:58
# 9. Thor Hushovd Cervelo Test Team at 05:58
# 10. Marco Bandiera Lampre - N.g.c at 05:58
# 11. Mauro Santambrogio Lampre - N.g.c at 05:58
# 12. Steven De Jongh Quick Step at 05:58
# 13. Cyril Lemoine Skil-Shimano at 05:58
# 14. Nicolaï Trussov Team Katusha at 05:58
# 15. Yaroslav Popovych Astana at 05:58
# 16. Lance Armstrong Astana at 05:58
# 17. Bradley Wiggins Garmin - Slipstream at 05:58
# 18. Christian Vande Velde Garmin - Slipstream at 05:58
# 19. Yauheni Hutarovich Francaise Des Jeux at 05:58
# 20. Joaquin Rojas Jose Caisse D’epargne at 05:58

5:49
CPelkey: We're still waiting for points and KOM numbers, but none of the jerseys have changed hands today.

We may see a change in team GC, but we'll find out soon.
5:51
CPelkey: Preliminary GC after Stage 12:
# 1. Rinaldo Nocentini Ag2r-La Mondiale, 48:27:21
# 2. Alberto Contador Astana, at 0:06
# 3. Lance Armstrong Astana at 00:08
# 4. Levi Leipheimer Astana at 00:39
# 5. Bradley Wiggins Garmin - Slipstream at 00:46
# 6. Andréas KlÖden Astana at 00:54
# 7. Tony Martin Team Columbia - Htc at 01:00
# 8. Christian Vande Velde Garmin - Slipstream at 01:24
# 9. Andy Schleck Team Saxo Bank at 01:49
# 10. Vincenzo Nibali Liquigas at 01:54
# 11. Luis-leon Sanchez Caisse D’epargne at 02:16
# 12. Maxime Monfort Team Columbia - Htc at 02:21
# 13. Frank Schleck Team Saxo Bank at 02:25
# 14. Roman Kreuziger Liquigas at 02:40
# 15. Vladimir Efimkin Ag2r-La Mondiale at 02:45
# 16. Carlos Sastre Cervelo Test Team at 02:52
# 17. Mikel Astarloza Euskaltel - Euskadi at 03:02
# 18. Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto at 03:07
# 19. Kim Kirchen Team Columbia - Htc at 03:16
# 20. Vladimir Karpets Team Katusha at 03:49

5:52
[Comment From Mike from MN ]
Was the afore mentioned crash seemingly harmless?
5:53
CPelkey: It was in terms of GC. It happened within 3km of the finish, meaning the crash victims got the same time as the peloton. No one seems the worse for wear. Not even road rash that we could see.

Tomorrow will begin to separate the field - There is an opportunity for an ambitious general classification rider and his team to ride here. With a descending finish and significant, but not extreme climbing, it will take some hard riding to gain an advantage, though. Most will likely wait for the Alps, but don’t be surprised if a big name attacks on this hilly Stage 13.

TDF Stage 11 - A Green Jersey Competition Hosted By Virgins

Stage 11 Map / Vatan → Saint-Fargeau - Image Credit: steephill.tv

TDF Stage 11 - A Green Jersey Competition Hosted By Virgins

This stage begins in Vatan and travels northeast to finish in Saint-Fargeau. Two categorized climbs enliven the proceedings, though they are unlikely to prove decisive in the end. This stage should end in a sprint. The final kilometer is slightly bowl-shaped, with a slight descent than a false-flat climb to the line. In the event of a headwind, timing the sprint correctly could prove tricky. Either way, it’s a finish for the fast men and an opportunity to chase points in the Green Jersey competition.

Stage 11 Profile / Vatan → Saint-Fargeau - Image Credit: steephill.tv

Both Vatan and Saint-Fargeau are Tour de France virgins. Neither town has ever hosted a Tour start or finish before this year. Vatan lies in the Champagne berrichonne, an open space of plainsland in central France. Also known as Septaine, this region is traversed by the Cher and Indre rivers and dotted with small villages and towns. Vatan is home to not much more than 2000 inhabitants.

Saint-Fargeau is similarly small, though it boasts a chateau dating from the tenth century. The Chateau de Saint-Fargeau holds annual festivals re-enacting events from its lengthy history, from knights in armor to American military vehicles from the Liberation. Saint-Fargeau is also known for its water-sports on the nearby lac du Bourdon.
(ht:steephill.tv)

So what we expect to witness today is pretty much the same as Stage 10, bumpy terrin with a couple of climbs that will not challenge the integrity of the peloton. Look to Team Astana to force Ag2r-La Mondiale to defend the Yellow Jersey by leading the Peloton except toward the end when the strong "SPRINT" teams will be working to place their riders in a good position to take the stage.

Of course, with things as tight as they are, there is always the potential to shuffle the deck a bit. Yesterday’s stage resulted in several riders being delayed by 15 seconds near the end of the stage and, at the end of yesterday, Tour officials had both Levi Leipheimer and Bradley Wiggins suffer the impact of that split. Leipheimer dropped from fourth on GC to fifth and Wiggins dropped from fifth to seventh. Tour officials have been busy overnight ... they have reconsidered and negated that 15 second split in yesterday's finish. That means that the GC results were not altered as they had been at the end of the day, yesterday.

We’ll be watching those GC positions today, but smart riding and radio communications being restored may keep the General Classification pretty much the same.

officials have also been discussing yesterday's radio ban. It appears that they UCI is poised to force a reversal of plans to ban them again on Friday's stage from Vittel to Colmar.

There was no change overall as Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R) kept the yellow jersey for another day and Team Astana now hold 2nd through positions on GC with Alberto Contador six seconds off the pace, Lance Armstrong another two second behind, with Andreas Klöden and Levi Leipheimer tied at 54-seconds off the lead. Leipheimer lost a few seconds today, perhaps held up by a closing crash that took out a Katusha rider. /// "Riders were not happy being unable to listen," said Contador after the race. "It was dangerous. The race organizers wanted more spectacle but they got less. Cycling has changed--it's dangrious with so many car in the peloton. It was a pity for the public." He continued with, "On the other hand it was a flat stage so you could not expect a lot. But it would be better to do experiments in other races," he concluded. /// General Manager Johan Bruyneel agreed. "I understand the reason for no radios was to have more attractive racing and that's obviously not what happened. If that's what they wanted to accomplish it's been a failure and I just think it's a bad idea to go back twenty years and do something like this in the biggest race of the year. It took away a tool that everybody uses everyday." Caption and Image Credit: Team Astana

General Classification after Stage 10

1 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 39:11:04

2 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 0:00:06

3 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana 0:00:08

4 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 0:00:54

5 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana

6 Tony Martin (Ger) Team Columbia - HTC 0:01:00

7 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin - Slipstream 0:01:01

8 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Slipstream 0:01:24

9 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:01:49

10 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas 0:01:54

This excerpted and edited primarily from VeloNews and may include other resources -

The weather today is again ideal for a bike race. It's sunny and about 23 degrees (C) - 73 degrees Fahrenheit - and very little wind.

2:05
CPelkey: At 55km, our two leaders - Johan Vansummeren (Silence-Lotto) and Marcin Sapa (Lampre) - are holding on to a lead of 4:30. That appears to be about as much rope as the peloton is willing to give them today.
2:06
[Comment From PJ ]
What Tour was decided by less than 15 sec and who was involved?
2:07
CPelkey: That would be the 1989 Tour de France, which was decided on an unusual final-day time trial into Paris. Greg LeMond trailed Laurent Fignon by 50 seconds at the start of the day, but completed the 24.5km time trial at a speed 58 seconds faster than Fignon, thus winning the Tour by the narrowest margin in history, a scant eight seconds.
----
2:16
[Comment From Lou ]
How does the new electronic shifters appear to be working or is anyone using them?
2:17
CPelkey: We haven't heard any complaints. Certainly the Skil Shimano team is using them.

The systems seem to be working quite nicely, too. Certainly much better than the first electronic shifting system that appeared in the peloton back in the mid-90s. Remember Mavic Zap? Our favorite moment was when one poor rider had his derailleur unexpectedly shift whenever he passed under high capacity electrical wires.
2:21
CPelkey: And, indeed, it looks like our two escapees did, in fact, hit the limit of the leash a few kilometers back. Now at 63km, their advantage has been trimmed to four minutes even.
2:25
CPelkey: At 67km, the gap has been pulled back to 3:45.
2:29
CPelkey:

The gap is coming down largely due to the efforts of the Columbia team, which seems intent upon delivering Cavendish to the line for another sprint win. It would be his eighth Tour de France stage win, which would tie him for the record of stage victories by a British rider.

Our own Brit-in-da-house, John Wilcockson looked at Cav's chances of matching - and eventually topping - the record set more than 30 years ago by Barry Hoban: http://velonews.com/article/95168
2:34
[Comment From Tom in Albany, NY ]
Who owns the record irrespective of country of origin?
2:35
CPelkey: Oh, that's an easy one. Eddy Merckx. He's got 34 stage wins to his credit. Next on the list is Bernard Hinault, at 28.
----
2:41
CPelkey: Garmin, Columbia and Ag2r have riders at the front of the peloton. The gap at 78km is 3:08.
----
2:55
CPelkey: Here is the official ruling from the Tour's race jury:

Moments after the review of the general classification was posted, Radio Tour announced that the jury has decided that the 15” that separated the first 52 riders from the second peloton will be void. This means that the top order of the general classification remains the same as it was before the 10th stage.

2:57
CPelkey: As our two leaders head to the feed zone, the gap is now 3:35.
3:00
Should the UCI reverse the no-radio rule for stage 13?
Yes
( 55% )
No
( 45% )
----
3:05
CPelkey: With 95km remaining in today's stage, our two leaders are 3:37 ahead of the peloton.
3:06
[Comment From IdahoMike ]
Do we have details about exactly what happened near the finish, and why the negation of the gap?
3:10
CPelkey: Yeah, it was a weird ruling to begin with.

If you look at the film, the gap between the back of the peloton and the next group was rather small. So commisaires decided that the gap was more than a second, meaning that the next group got a fresh time. The problem is that when there is a gap of more than a second, the timing is based on the front of the leading group ... meaning that while the Wiggins/Leipheimer group of 52 riders appeared to be just a second or two behind the group ahead, the were credited with a time that put them 15 seconds back.
3:12
[Comment From Jeremy Clarkson ]
Was the gap caused by the result of the Karpets crash?
3:13
CPelkey: It may have been, but Karpets was the only rider to go down in that one and the flow of the peloton didn't seem to slow going through that turn.
3:15
CPelkey: With 89km remaining, the gap has grown slightly to 3:30, probably a sign that the peloton has slowed a bit while they get lunch.
3:22
CPelkey: With 84km remaining, the gap is coming back down and is now 3:17.
3:25
CPelkey: The Ag2r and Columbia teams are doing the bulk of the work up front in the peloton right now.
3:29
Will the break stick?
Yes
( 4% )
No
( 96% )

3:31
CPelkey: And with 77km remaining, the gap is down to 3:00.
3:36
CPelkey: Today's finish in Saint Fargeau may present some issues for the pure sprinters. There's a bit of rise in the last kilometer. While the profile indicates that it only bumps up 32 meters in the last km, it sure feels like it's more than that.
----
3:39
[Comment From JR ]
Is this the way the TDF 09 is going to be this year - ie "unexciting"?
3:40
CPelkey: We have to agree that these first two weeks have been a little on the slow side at times, but honestly think the last week is going to be spectacular.
3:43
Who will win today's stage?
Cavendish
( 58% )
Hushovd
( 18% )
Farrar
( 12% )
Peirero
( 1% )
Boonen
( 4% )
Someone else?
( 6% )

3:44
[Comment From Bo Zo ]
I disagree with your (and everyone else's assesment of the tour not being decided until the end. I'll make you a gentleman's bet that by the end of stage 18, it will be apparent who the winner will be.
----
3:49
CPelkey: Word at the start is that a frustrated Tom Boonen, who hasn't contested a field sprint yet and has said this might be his last Tour de France, had a change of heart overnight and promised to try to win the stage today.
3:52
3:53
CPelkey: With 62km remaining, the Ag2r team is setting tempo and the gap is now 3:26.
----
4:01
CPelkey: Time for a mechanical repair. George Hincapie - riding his 14th straight Tour - is back at the team car for a quick adjustment.
4:02
CPelkey: efore the stage Columbia boss Bob Stapleton said his team's biggest concern is whether or not any other sprinters' teams will be willing to ride at the front to chase back today's breakaway, given Cavendish's success rate in field sprints.

While Columbia is up front today, it's Ag2r that seems to be doing the bulk of the chase work.
4:07
CPelkey: With 53km remaining, the gap is down to 2:22.
----
4:13
CPelkey: With 49km remaining in today's stage, the gap is now at two minutes.
4:16
CPelkey: Rabobank has moved to the front, too, now.
4:17
CPelkey: OUCH!
We Ryder just hit the deck.
4:18
CPelkey: Ryder Hesjedal is up.

Man, oh man... he touched a wheel. He flipped over his bike, but he seems okay.
----
4:25
CPelkey:

The leaders are 41km from the finish. They are 2:01 ahead of the peloton. We expect a catch at -- a guess here -- 15km to go.
----
4:31
CPelkey: Vrooom, vroom... the pace is picking up in the peloton.
Our two leaders are now 1:40 with 36km to go.
4:32
CPelkey: It's Columbia driving at the front of the peloton.

Nocentini is right up there... doing a fine job as the yellow jersey.
----
4:40
CPelkey: 30km to go and the gap is 1:26.
----
4:49
CPelkey: With 22km remaining, the gap is 50 seconds.
----
4:52
CPelkey: We have Columbia at the front of the peloton. Rabobank is also setting tempo. THe gap will be around 45 seconds at the 20km-to-go mark.
----
4:56
CPelkey: Columbia is doing the work up front. Garmin and Rabobank are also lending a hand.

The gap, with 16km is now 33 seconds.

Do I hear singing?
4:57
[Comment From Eric ]
Where's Astana?
4:58
CPelkey: Astana the team is tucked in behind the chasers... but still near the front.

[ALSO] Astana, the capitol city in Kazakhstan.
4:58
CPelkey: 15km to go and the gap is now down to 25 seconds.
----
5:05
CPelkey: Okay, we're gonna see a field sprint, folks.

10km to go, the gap is 19 seconds. It would take some sort of divine intervention to keep these two from being caught.... and we haven't seen the Jesus-Fan-Dude since the Tourmalet.
5:06
CPelkey: We have two finishing trains forming up. Milram and Columbia have both teams at the front.
5:08
CPelkey: 12 seconds. Tick, tick, tick...
5:08
CPelkey: 6.5km and it's nine seconds.
5:09
CPelkey: 6km... and it's no more than five seconds.
5:10
CPelkey: maybe 20 meters
5:10
CPelkey: And

5:10

5:10
CPelkey: Five kilometers to go and now we have a bike race.
5:12
CPelkey: With 3km to go, the peloton is flying tdown the road.
5:13
CPelkey: We have three finishing trains jockeying for position. Garmin, Columbia... Milram.
5:13
CPelkey: 2km to go
5:13
CPelkey: Hushovd is going to have to poach a ride on one of those trains.
5:13
CPelkey: Milram is really pushing the pace. Yeeeeeeehaw.
5:14
CPelkey: Final kilometer
5:14
CPelkey:

Columbia at the front...
5:14
CPelkey: Hitting the hill, Hincapie at the front.
5:14
CPelkey: Hushovd goes....
5:15
CPelkey: Farrar... comes up... but nope
5:15
CPelkey: Cavendish gets it.
5:15
CPelkey: Man, that boy has a kick....

Mark Cavendish (Columbia-HTC) wins again in France. Cavendish takes his eighth Tour de France stage win, equalling Barry Hoban's British record. Image Credit: AFP

5:16
CPelkey: Farrar gets second and it looks like Hushovd faded back to fifth. That means Cavendish will get that jersey to match his glasses.
5:17
[Comment From Tom ]
Darn that Wilcockson suckering me into thinking the hill might impede Cav a bit...
5:18
CPelkey: Yeah, that's just one of the manipulative tools we journalists use to generate interest.
5:21
CPelkey:

Preliminary results from Stage 11:

# 1. Mark Cavendish Team Columbia - Htc, 192km in 4:17:55
# 2. Tyler Farrar Garmin - Slipstream
# 3. Yauheni Hutarovich Francaise Des Jeux
# 4. Oscar Freire Rabobank
# 5. Thor Hushovd Cervelo Test Team
# 6. Leonardo Duque Cofidis Le Credit En Ligne
# 7. Gerald Ciolek Team Milram
# 8. Lloyd Mondory Ag2r-La Mondiale
# 9. William Bonnet Bbox Bouygues Telecom
# 10. Nicolaï Trussov Team Katusha
# 11. Marco Bandiera Lampre - N.g.c
# 12. Serguei Ivanov Team Katusha
# 13. Joaquin Rojas Jose Caisse D’epargne
# 14. Daniele Bennati Liquigas
# 15. Kenny Robert Van Hummel Skil-Shimano
# 16. Tom Boonen Quick Step
# 17. Andréas KlÖden Astana
# 18. Cyril Lemoine Skil-Shimano
# 19. Filippo Pozzato Team Katusha
# 20. Angelo Furlan Lampre - N.g.c

5:24
CPelkey: Top ten after today's stage:

5:25
# CPelkey: 1. Rinaldo Nocentini Ag2r-La Mondiale, 43:28:59
# 2. Alberto Contador Astana, at 0:06
# 3. Lance Armstrong Astana at 00:08
# 4. Levi Leipheimer Astana at 00:39
# 5. Bradley Wiggins Garmin - Slipstream at 00:46
# 6. Andréas KlÖden Astana at 00:54
# 7. Tony Martin Team Columbia - Htc at 01:00
# 8. Christian Vande Velde Garmin - Slipstream at 01:24
# 9. Andy Schleck Team Saxo Bank at 01:49
# 10. Vincenzo Nibali Liquigas at 01:54

Cavendish is likely to have inherited the green jersey too!

Tomorrow's Stage 12 - Thursday, July 16 - 211 km - Tonnerre → Vittel

Terrain Type: Hilly, but not mountainous. Breakaway country.

GC Importance: None, though the GC teams should keep an eye on the breakaways.

TDF Stage 10 - Bastille Day Breakaway From The Red City

Alberto Contador, Team Astana climbing the Col du Tourmalet on Stage 9 - Excerpted Q&A on rest day - Q: Armstrong has said yesterday that there was a little tension in the team. Do you feel alone? Contador: I have seen his statements, but for me there is no tension at all, I am very relaxed. /// Q:Do you feel alone? Is your principal opposition inside Astana? Contador: I do not feel alone at all, because I have around me people who completely support me in this Tour and that are being very important. In my team there are riders with many options and that are clear candidates, but I do not think about it either. There remains a lot of Tour to race and in any case, it's better that the victory remain in the team than goes anywhere else. /// Q: What will the situation be if Armstrong attacks in the mountain? Do you go to catch him or not? Contador: If Armstrong attacks I am not going to catch him. That will have to be done by others. Caption & Image Credit: Team Astana

TDF Stage 10 - Bastille Day Breakaway From The Red City

Today’s stage coincides with the French National Holiday, Bastille Day, on the 14th of July. We can expect to see the French teams and riders animating the stage from start to finish. Certainly, they have a chance to steal the day’s glory from the sprinters on this bumpy 194.5-kilometer ride from Limoges to Issoudun. But it will be far from easy, as the climbs all come early in the stage before it descends to a flat finish. Though the early kilometers favor the escape, the mostly descending finish shifts the advantage to the chase.

Stage 10 Map & Profile - Image Credit: steephill.tv

Limoges (famed for the production of porcelain) has hosted the Tour de France on 13 occasions. The city holds the nickname of la ville rouge, the Red City, because of its leftist political tradition. France’s main trades union, the Confédération générale du travail, originated in Limoges in the late 19th century. The stage finishes in Issoudun, and this year marks the first visit of the Tour to this town in central France.

As for a prediction for who will win this two-wheel epic when it reached Paris on Stage 21, July 26, 2009 now that we are through the first stages of mountains ... can not say, but there is a good bet that Team Astana may populate the podium.

Since 1976, there have only been five instances when riders from the same team have been on the final podium in Paris and the last time that happened was 13 years ago. Interstingly, Greg LeMond was involved in three of those:

* 1996 – Telekom 1st & 2nd – Bjarne Riis and Jan Ullrich
* 1986 – La vie Claire 1st & 2nd – Greg LeMond and Bernard Hinault
* 1985 – La Vie Claire 1st & 2nd – Bernard Hinault and Greg LeMond
* 1984 – Renault-Elf 1st & 3rd – Laurent Fignon and Greg LeMond
* 1976 – GAN-Mercier 2nd & 3rd – Joop Zootemelk and Raymond Poulidor

Today's stage begins after a day of rest and will not be much more than a hilly ride through central France. This stage crosses terrain wrinkled with small climbs and bumps, but none of them should cause the sprinters’ teams too much difficulty.

From the start in Limoges, the first ten kilometers are mostly flat. The first categorized climb of the day summits at kilometer 12.5. The category 4 Côte de Salvanet climbs 1.8 kilometers at an average gradient of 4.5%. It’s a nice warm-up and should serve to send an early breakaway off the front.

There is space here for a breakaway to hide, but the sprinters’ teams should prove able to bring back the escape before the finish. At kilometer 122, there is a second intermediate sprint in the town of Aigurande. The final intermediate sprint comes with 27.5 kilometers to race in Saint-Aoüt. From there, the course descends, passing through Meunet Planches on the way to the flat finish in Issoudun.

There are a few sweeping corners on the way to the finish, and a right-hand bend just before the red kite. Then, it’s a straight shot to the line. The stage finishes on the boulevard Roosevelt and should be a day for the sprinters.
(ht: steephill.tv & VeloNews)

This excerpted and edited from VERSUS -

The outcome of the stage, or at least what the peloton is aiming for is quite obvious due to who is on the front. Most of the top sprinters' teams -- Columbia-HTC, Garmin-Slipstream, Lampre, Liquigas -- are on the front setting the pace.

The time gap seems to be fluctuating much more than usual.

Regardless of the opinion, this will make for an interesting stage that would otherwise be a nondescript 'transfer' stage.

Riders are always given course maps and profiles, but you can see the riders using them more, as they are no longer getting information in their ear (team radio communications were banned for this stage by race organizers).

Even with radios the peloton has had trouble doing this in the previous few stages.

The question is whether the peloton will be able to time the catch of a breakaway close enough to the finish to discourage counter-attacks -- but far enough to still catch all the break riders.

Le Tour... unplugged. Today is the first stage that is without radio communication between the riders and their team directors.
Reference Here>>

This excerpted and edited from VeloNews and other race broadcast resources -

12:40
CPelkey: We still have no indication that the Tour has backed off its position on radios today, despite the vehement objections of 15 of the 20 teams racing in the Tour.

12:41

1
CPelkey: Here's a shot of Rabobank's Grischa Niermann chatting with reporters at the start about the radio ban.

12:43

CPelkey: Johan Bruyneel and Jonathan Vaughters chat about the radio rule this morning.

12:46
CPelkey: Riders have passed the start. We have 171 riders in the peloton.

As they say, "you can't tell the players without a scorecard," so we've updated the roster sheet to reflect changes over the past week: http://tour-de-france.velonews.com/article/93739
12:49
CPelkey: You might wonder why reporters were glomping onto Niermann this morning. Perhaps this shot might show a little more of his small act of civil disobedience.

12:49

CPelkey: Neirmann was quoted as saying the radio ban is "bullshit," but despite that feeling, he started and is off riding the stage.

12:51
CPelkey: One item of VeloNews interest. Our friend and colleague, John Wilcockson was recognized at the start this morning for having covered 40 - yup, that's forty - Tours de France.
----
1:02
CPelkey: With the absence of rider radios today, we can imagine that riders will be paying closer attention to the "chalkboard man" on the motorcycle. The Tour has continued to rely on the chalkboard man to report time gaps to the peloton, despite the fact that riders have been getting more accurate information over their radios.
1:06
CPelkey: Mmmmmm... at 18km, the gap is up to 3:10.
1:08
CPelkey: While you suggest that the radio ban contributed to the rather rapid growth in the gap, but part of that may be due to ... less technological factors. There were several members of the peloton who needed to rid themselves of this morning's coffee before carrying on. Tradition dictates that the peloton will slow if a significant number of riders answer the call of nature at the same time.
1:16
CPelkey: At 22km, the gap is now 3:40. It looks like this one will stick for a while. None of these riders poses a threat on GC
1:18
CPelkey:
Rumors of a potential pre-stage strike due to the radio ban swirled around the start line, however those rumors turned out to be just that - rumors - as the pack rolled away and did so right on schedule.

Others suggested the majority of the peloton might simply neutralize the stage by riding tempo, however given that it’s Bastille Day, the likelihood of French riders and teams giving up the opportunity to win on the national holiday seemed unlikely.

Another possibility is that each team that is against the ban would put two riders at the front to neutralize a potential French breakaway attempt.... but as you can see, that doesn't appear to be the case either.

Garmin-Slipstream’s Christan Vande Velde said he could see both sides of the argument, but didn’t like the added danger of team directors driving in and out of the peloton to talk to their riders.

Tom Boonen said the speculation surrounding possible ways to act out against the radio ban was just another classic example of chaos at the Tour de France.

“Today should be a perfect opportunity for riders to make a statement and tell the race that the ban on radios is bullshit,” Boonen told VeloNews. “But of course it’s the Tour, and everyone has different interests, and nobody knows what’s going to happen. It’s just another crazy day at the Tour.”

Rabobank’s Grischa Niermann made his own statement by implanting a car radio antenna on the back of his Giro helmet, drawing scores of photographers at sign-in. Niermann also used the term “bullshit” when discussing the radio ban, telling VeloNews, “we’ve been racing with radios for 10 or 12 years. Why are we going back in time now?”

Niermann’s teammate, sprinter Oscar Friere, said normally today’s stage would be ideal for a field sprint, however given the unpredictability of racing without radios, as well as the possibility of a neutralized stage, he didn’t know what to expect.
----
2:07
CPelkey: Our four leaders are being kept on a relatively tight leash today.

At 57km, their advantage is just 2:38.
2:09
CPelkey: We still haven't seen Mr. Hood in the press room today.

Checking in on his latest Twitter updates (at http://twitter.com/EuroHoody) it seems he hasn't made an entry since yesterday, when his focus appears to have been on things non-journalistic:

"Time to get some "rest" in this rest day; I think there's a bottle of chilled rose somewhere calling my name."

2:11
CPelkey: Andy Schleck has just returned to the peloton after getting a wheel change. He flatted, but had no difficulty getting back into the field.
2:13
CPelkey:

The peloton is being led by a combination of Ag2r and Rabobank riders. Ag2r is obviously intent upon ensuring that Nocentini keeps the jersey, while Rabobank is probably interested in getting Oscar Freire to the line in a mass sprint. Of course, the three-time world champion has to get past Mark Cavendish and Thor Hushovd and Tyler Farrar if he wants a win today.
----
2:18
[Comment From Gary ]
I know that the bikes have a sensor attached for their time checks but what happens if the rider has to switch bikes during the ride? How time checked in that situation?
2:20
CPelkey: A few replacement bikes have sensors, too. The Tour keeps track of bike changes and those codes are typed into the computer. If a rider gets a bike without a sensor, the rider's finishing position is double-checked on film. That's one reason preliminary results go through a confirmation process before they are declared to be official.
2:22
CPelkey: The Quick Step and Lampre teams are now lending a hand in the chase. Quick Step may be hoping to give Tom Boonen a shot at a stage win today. He's been having all sorts of trouble this Tour and a stage win might get him back on track in the points competition.
2:28
CPelkey: Back at the 58.5km mark, the four leader crossed the top of the Côte de Bénévent-l'Abbaye.

1. Thierry Hupond (Skil-Shimano), 3 points
2. Benoit Vaugrenard (Francaise des Jeux), 2 points
3. Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis), 1 point

That's the last ranked climb of the day and the three Cat. 4s have had no significant impact on the KOM contest. Martinez will keep the polka-dot jersey for another day.

2:28
CPelkey: At 68km, the gap has bumped back up to the 3:15 mark.
----
4:33
CPelkey: With 46.5km to go, the gap is at 1:42.

We could predict a catch somewhere after the 20km-to-go mark.
4:36
CPelkey: With 42km to go, the gap is 1:39.

It's still a good mix of riders at the front of the peloton.

4:38

CPelkey: Here's a look at the finish line.

4:40
[Comment From Pedalingsquares ]
How many kms from the finish do you think Ignatiev will give it a go?
4:41
CPelkey: You're right. Of the four, Ignatiev has done the least amount of work. He may be saving himself for a last frantic dash to the line. I'd still bet on a field sprint today, though.
4:45
CPelkey: Columbia is moving up. They are beginning to smell the finish line.
4:46
4:49
CPelkey: With 33km to go, the gap is 1:13.

It's a mix of Columbia and Rabobank riders at the front.
4:49
[Comment From Sean ]
I think Cavendish needs a cool nickname to be the best sprinter. I miss Robbie the Rocket McEwen.
4:50
CPelkey: Cavendish, who grew up on the Isle of Man, is know as the "Manx Missile." That's pretty cool, no?
4:52
CPelkey: Under a minute. Our leaders are 31km from the finish and now just 58 seconds ahead of the peloton.
4:52
CPelkey: Tick, tick, tick ...
4:53
[Comment From Guest ]
I saw that Bicycling magazine misquoted Cavendish once as the 'Man Missile' .... that drastically changes the moniker
4:54
CPelkey: That would have to rank as one of the cycling world's most unfortunate typos, yes.
4:57
CPelkey: Okay, our four leaders are now 26km from the finish. The gap is holding at 1:00.
4:59
CPelkey: The peloton is 25km from the finish. The gap has dropped to 45 seconds.
5:01
[Comment From Peter ]
Do the riders in the break away get regular reports on how far back the peloton is?
5:01
CPelkey: They also benefit from the Chalkboard Man ... who is delivering bad news to the four leaders.

22km to go, 40-second gap.
----
5:04
CPelkey: Carlos Sastre has pretty much accepted he won't be winning this year's Tour: "I am resigned? No. I am a realist. There's one team (Astana) that's clogging up the of the GC, holding up the race. This Tour didn't have the prerequisites for me to win again. The second week is tough enough and then the third week will decide everything. Whoever has the legs will win this Tour."
5:06
CPelkey: Arvesen is still hanging at the back of the peloton. We think he'll make it to the finish and we hope he's able to continue tomorrow.
5:08
CPelkey: With 16km to go, the gap is 41 seconds. If any of these guys want to win, one of them is going to have to make a move soon. You can see the peloton coming up fast.
5:10
[Comment From Steve ]
Is there a jersey for the current holder of the Lanterne Rouge?
5:10
CPelkey: No. No there is not.
5:13
CPelkey: Benoit Vaugrenard (Francaise des Jeux), Thierry Hupond (Skil-Shimano), Mikhail Ignatiev (Katusha) and Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis) continue to hold off the chase.

They seem to have a bit of reserve in the tank after the moderate pace today. Are we gonna see a drag race?
5:13
[Comment From Westy ]
What is the Lanterne Rouge?
5:14
CPelkey: It is an honor given to the last rider on GC - the overall standings. The name is based on the red light on the back of a train.
5:14
[Comment From Brian ]
Don't they wear red numbers..?
5:14
CPelkey: No. That is awarded to the most aggressive rider.
5:17
CPelkey: With less than 8km remaining, the gap is in the 20-second range.
5:17
CPelkey: Actually, we're at 6.5km from the finish. Time to chase boys.
5:18
CPelkey: Twenty-one seconds, with 5.8km to go.
5:19
CPelkey: Columbia and Garmin are massing at the front.
5:19
CPelkey: Mmmmmm.... five km to go.
5:20
CPelkey: Garmin, Columbia and Quick Step are driving the chase. There are no attacks out of the front group.
5:20
CPelkey: Are these guys gonna make it? They still have 20 seconds with four kilometers to go.
5:21
CPelkey:

Ignatiev tries a dig. The others were expecting it, though.

3km to go, 12 seconds.
5:22
CPelkey: 2.5km to go, the gap is down to 11 seconds.
5:22
CPelkey: The roads are twisty here at the finish....

5:22
CPelkey: With 2km to go, the gap is seven seconds.

5:23
CPelkey: Caught
5:23
CPelkey: Crash on the turn... Karpets?
5:23
CPelkey: In the final km
5:23
CPelkey: Hincapie at the front
5:24
CPelkey:

Farrar is goin...
5:24
CPelkey: Cavendish and crew have control again
5:24
CPelkey: Cavendish charges ,.... and makes it look oh so very easy.
5:25
CPelkey: Wow he is good.

5:25
CPelkey:

It looks like by coming in second, Hushovd keeps the green jersey.

Farrar was third.
5:27
CPelkey: 1. Mark Cavendish (GB), Columbia-HTC
2. Thor Hushovd (N), Cervelo
3. Tyler Farrar (USA), Garmin-Slipstream.
5:29
[Comment From Matthew ]
Wow. not having radios changed everything!
5:29
CPelkey: Yeah, we noticed that, too.

5:30

CPelkey:

1. Mark Cavendish Team Columbia - HTC, 194.5km in 4:46:43

2. Thor Hushovd Cervelo Test Team

3. Tyler Farrar Garmin - Slipstream

4. Leonardo Duque Cofidis Le Credit En Ligne

5. Joaquin Rojas Jose Caisse D’epargne

6. Lloyd Mondory Ag2r-La Mondiale

7. Kenny Robert Van Hummel Skil-Shimano

8. William Bonnet Bbox Bouygues Telecom

9. Daniele Bennati Liquigas

10. Saïd Haddou Bbox Bouygues Telecom

11. Gerald Ciolek Team Milram

5:32
CPelkey: As expected, there was no real impact on GC:
# 1. Rinaldo Nocentini Ag2r-La Mondiale
# 2. Alberto Contador Astana, at 0:06
# 3. Lance Armstrong Astana at 00:08
# 4. Andréas KlÖden Astana at 00:54
# 5. Levi Leipheimer Astana at 00:54
# 6. Tony Martin Team Columbia - Htc at 01:00
# 7. Bradley Wiggins Garmin - Slipstream at 01:01
# 8. Christian Vande Velde Garmin - Slipstream at 01:24
# 9. Andy Schleck Team Saxo Bank at 01:49
# 10. Vincenzo Nibali Liquigas at 01:54

5:34
CPelkey: We're still waiting for KOM and points standings, but there is no change in ownership of either of those jerseys. Hushovd keeps the points jersey. Martinez keeps the KOM.

Tomorrow: Stage 11 - Wednesday, July 15 - 192 km - Vatan to Saint-Fargeau

TDF Stage 9 - Col du Tourmalet, Spinning Class On Steroids

A lone rider on the Col du Tourmalet. Image Credit: steephill.tv

TDF Stage 9 - Col du Tourmalet, Spinning Class On Steroids

A great, tactical, and very professional Tour de France has been shaping up in the previous eight days. Team rules take the day in the last day in Stage 9 - Saint-Gaudens → Tarbes - in the Pyrenees featuring a big climb up the Col du Tourmalet before a day off and a group of Stages in the middle flat of France before reaching the Alps, and a chance to create separation in about a week.

Col du Tourmalet from Luz Saint Sauveur in 3D, on Googleearth! Image Credit: climbbybike.com

It doesn't really make sense to waste energy needlessly when a team can control it's destiny with level headed tactics. Team Astana was content to have someone else wear, and some other team protect, the Yellow Jersey over the next several days while keeping their own strength up in the Peloton. No real attack, no real drama, just keep the Yellow Jersey in the group and take control of the Peloton when necessary so that no time is lost to the leader.

One can not blame Team Astana when they have three top riders just 6 seconds - Alberto Contador, 8 seconds - Lance Armstrong, and 39 seconds - Levi Leipheimer behind Rinaldo Nocentini and several days of flat stage work ahead ... with having the Yellow Jersey holding Team AG2R-La Mondiale (ALM) out in front to break the wind.

The Col du Tourmalet is situated in Pyrenees. Starting from Luz Saint Sauveur, the Col du Tourmalet is 19 km long. Over this distance, you climb 1404 heightmeters. The average percentage is thus 7.4 % and represents some of the toughest mountain cycling in Pyrenees. Image Credit: Patrick Giraud via Wikipedia

Today was a very pretty stage and one that shows the fanatic following of the event up the long climb to the top of the Col du Tourmalet. The crowds were not able to drive up the mountain a full day before the tour was due to visit, so one either had to drive in and stay overnight to camp out, or climb up to secure a vantage point and watch the 180 riders conduct their "spinning" class and maintain their position before going over the crest and on down the back of the mountain at 55 mph+ before another 50k of slightly downhill/flat cycling to the finish.

With no real changes in the General Classification in Stage 9 with today amounting to a real strenuous and long "Spinning Class" workout (slang - "on steroids") to end. The finish line presents the riders with an airplane ticket and a full day off before the tour resumes on July 14, 2009 with Stage 10 - Limoges → Issoudun - with 15 more days of battle to end through the streets of Paris.

Col du Tourmalet - One of the "big three" in the tour, together with the Aubisque and the Galibier. On its west side (Luz), the Tourmalet is a very regular climb at nearly 8%. Yet, it takes 18 km and 2 hours to reach the top at 2115 m. Image Credit: climbbybike.com

This end of stage entry excerpted and edited from VeloNews -

3:59
CPelkey: 31km to go.

Rabobank is setting tempo' at the front.
4:01
CPelkey: With 30km to go, the gap is now 2:40.

No way they're gonna stay out there.

We'll have to look through the archives to dredge up a stage that included the Tourmalet and ended in a freakin' field sprint.

Kinda sux.
4:04
CPelkey: One rider missing from the main field is points jersey leader Thor Hushovd.

We still can't figure out if Cavendish is in there, but reason would suggest that he is not.
4:06
CPelkey: The leaders are 26km from the finish. The gap is now 2:30.
4:07
CPelkey: The Rabobank and Caisse d'Epargne teams are setting tempo at the front of the peloton. The gap is being cut. We'll see if the two leaders hold on.
4:09
[Comment From Mr. Matt ]
How many riders are scored into the team competition?
4:10
CPelkey: The team competition is not based on overall GC. It's based on the times of each team's top three riders each day. That's why Ag2r - with riders in breaks these past two days - now leads the Team standings.
4:11
CPelkey: Our two leaders are 22km from the finish. They have been able to maintain the 2:30 gap.
4:16
VeloNews.com: Vande Velde: "didn't realize that wasn't part of their (Astana) plan"

Click link to view comment from C. Vande Velde - Flash Required / Mobile options coming soon.
4:16
CPelkey: These guys are doing a good job. They're holding their lead and have 20km to go.
4:16
[Comment From Peggy ]
Compare Lance's team this year to previous--team, strategy, standings. TY
4:18
CPelkey: Well, to start, the dynamic is quite different this time. Since his win in '99, he's never been in a situation where his leadership of the team is in doubt.
4:20
CPelkey: That's kinda cool.
The Liquigas and BBox teams are up front, not chasing, but allowing little gaps to develop in the chase. It's a nice example of how a team can disrupt a chase.
4:20
[Comment From Mtnbyked ]
What wheelset is Armstrong using today?
4:20
CPelkey: Heck, I dunno.
They look round.
4:22
CPelkey: With 14km to go, the gap is 1:59. The chase is making some progress, but will it be enough?
4:24
CPelkey: With 12km remaining, the gap is 1:45.

This is going to be tight. Caisse d'Epargne and Rabobank are setting tempo at the front.
4:25
[Comment From Mark ]
Will Lance win the ITT of put time into Contador?
4:27
CPelkey: Not sure. Do recall that Contador actually finished the Monaco time trial ahead of Armstrong. He's been working on his time trialing and continues to improve. The next TT is 40km, so the results may be quite different. Who knows? If I was good at predicting the future, I'd have bought Microsoft stock back in the '80s.
4:28
CPelkey: Our leaders are 9km from the finish. The gap is coming down now. 1:16.
4:28
[Comment From REG ]
All the Lance questions are annoying. There's 175 other riders in the race too
4:29
CPelkey: With 8km remaining, the gap is 1:10.
4:29
CPelkey: Caisse d'Epargne and Rabobank are driving hard. The effort to disrupt the chase hasn't had a huge impact.
4:30
CPelkey: Lots of road furniture in town here.
4:30
CPelkey: With 7km to go, the gap is 59 seconds.
4:31
CPelkey: 6km to go and the gap is 52 seconds.
4:32
CPelkey: The peloton includes all of the usual GC suspects, Sastre, Armstrong, Vande Velde, Contador ... no big players are missing.
4:32
CPelkey: Five kilometers to go.
The gap is 44 seconds.
4:34
CPelkey: Psssssssssssssss Andy Schleck has flatted. He's chasing and this happened outside of the 3km limit. He needs to chase.
4:35
CPelkey: Our two leaders are at 3.2km and have 41 seconds.
4:36
CPelkey: With 3km to go, the gap is holding.

Schleck is back, having been towed back to the field by Jens Voigt.
4:36
CPelkey: 2.5 km to go... 40 seconds.
4:36
CPelkey: 2km to go, and the gap is 39 seconds.
4:37
CPelkey: Liquigas is muddling up the chase a bit.
4:37
CPelkey: With 1.4 km to go, the gap is STILL 38 seconds.
4:37
CPelkey: Red Kite.
4:38
CPelkey: The two are still cooperating. Thaty will end in a couple of meters.
4:38
CPelkey: Pellizotti is trailing and not taking a pull.
4:38
CPelkey: Pellizotti attacks!
4:39
CPelkey: Chaaaaaaarge!
4:39
CPelkey: No he went to early
Pierrik Fedrigo (BBox) gets it
4:40
CPelkey: Freire gets the field sprint at about 35 seconds.
4:40
CPelkey: Well, nice move on Pierrik Fedrigo's part.
4:43
CPelkey: Well we have to credit Fedrigo and Pellizotti for at least doing their part from making this stage a complete embarrassment. A field sprint at the end of stage with the Tourmalet would be nuts.
4:45
[Comment From Sal Ruibal ]
hang in there CP. rest day coming up. woot woot
4:46
CPelkey: Ahhhh, Mr. Ruibal. Leave it to a member of the press corps to remind us that we get a day off tomorrow.
4:47
CPelkey: Tomorrow is, indeed, the first rest day of the Tour, folks. So we'll be back on Tuesday with Live Coverage of Stage 10.
4:49
CPelkey:

As you might have guessed, today's stage had very little impact on the GC picture:
# 1. Rinaldo Nocentini Ag2r-La Mondiale
# 2. Alberto Contador Astana, at 00:06
# 3. Lance Armstrong Astana at 00:08
# 4. Levi Leipheimer Astana at 00:39
# 5. Bradley Wiggins Garmin - Slipstream at 00:46
# 6. Andréas KlÖden Astana at 00:54
# 7. Tony Martin Team Columbia - Htc at 01:00
# 8. Christian Vande Velde Garmin - Slipstream at 01:24
# 9. Andy Schleck Team Saxo Bank at 01:49
# 10. Vincenzo Nibali Liquigas at 01:54
# 11. Luis-leon Sanchez Caisse D’epargne at 02:16
# 12. Maxime Monfort Team Columbia - Htc at 02:21
# 13. Frank Schleck Team Saxo Bank at 02:25
# 14. Roman Kreuziger Liquigas at 02:40
# 15. Vladimir Efimkin Ag2r-La Mondiale at 02:45
# 16. Carlos Sastre Cervelo Test Team at 02:52
# 17. Mikel Astarloza Euskaltel - Euskadi at 03:02
# 18. Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto at 03:07
# 19. Kim Kirchen Team Columbia - Htc at 03:16
# 20. Vladimir Karpets Team Katusha at 03:49

4:50
CPelkey: Today's stage results:
# 1. Pierrick Fedrigo Bbox Bouygues Telecom
# 2. Franco Pellizotti Liquigas
# 3. Oscar Freire Rabobank at 00:34
# 4. Serguei Ivanov Team Katusha at 00:34
# 5. Peter Velits Team Milram at 00:34
# 6. Joaquin Rojas Jose Caisse D’epargne at 00:34
# 7. Greg Van Avermaet Silence - Lotto at 00:34
# 8. Geoffroy Lequatre Agritubel at 00:34
# 9. Alessandro Ballan Lampre - N.g.c at 00:34
# 10. Nicolas Roche Ag2r-La Mondiale at 00:34
# 11. Jérémy Roy Francaise Des Jeux at 00:34
# 12. Christophe Le Mevel Francaise Des Jeux at 00:34
# 13. Sylvain Chavanel Quick Step at 00:34
# 14. Sébastien Minard Cofidis Le Credit En Ligne at 00:34
# 15. Brice Feillu Agritubel at 00:34
# 16. George Hincapie Team Columbia - Htc at 00:34
# 17. Andréas KlÖden Astana at 00:34
# 18. Pierre Rolland Bbox Bouygues Telecom at 00:34
# 19. Vincenzo Nibali Liquigas at 00:34
# 20. Mikel Astarloza Euskaltel - Euskadi at 00:34

4:50
[Comment From Franz Lani ]
Where can we get the results complete for Stage 9 and overall standings?
4:50
CPelkey: We should have those posted momentarily.
4:55
CPelkey: While we won't be offering Live Coverage tomorrow, we will continue with Rest Day stories and news from press conferences.

Later today, our video crew will posting the latest edition of VeloCenter. It's usually up by 4:00 p.m. EDT.

They, too, will be working tomorrow producing a Rest Day edition of our daily reports on VeloNews.TV.
4:56
CPelkey: After the two big climbs today, the KOM picture has changed:
# 1. Egoi Martinez Euskaltel - Euskadi 78 points
# 2. Christophe Kern Cofidis Le Credit En Ligne 59 points
# 3. Franco Pellizotti Liquigas 55 points
# 4. Brice Feillu Agritubel 49 points
# 5. Pierrick Fedrigo Bbox Bouygues Telecom 49 points
# 6. Christophe Riblon Ag2r-La Mondiale 46 points
# 7. Sandy Casar Francaise Des Jeux 43 points
# 8. Mikel Astarloza Euskaltel - Euskadi 38 points
# 9. Vladimir Efimkin Ag2r-La Mondiale 35 points
# 10. Rinaldo Nocentini Ag2r-La Mondiale 34 points

4:58
CPelkey: Today's stage didn't have much impact on the points race, though:
# 1. Thor Hushovd Cervelo Test Team 117 points
# 2. Mark Cavendish Team Columbia - Htc 106 points
# 3. Joaquin Rojas Jose Caisse D’epargne 75 points
# 4. Gerald Ciolek Team Milram 66 points
# 5. Oscar Freire Rabobank 62 points
# 6. Fabian Cancellara Team Saxo Bank 55 points
# 7. Tyler Farrar Garmin - Slipstream 54 points
# 8. Thomas Voeckler Bbox Bouygues Telecom 47 points
# 9. Franco Pellizotti Liquigas 47 points
# 10. Jérôme Pineau Quick Step 46 points

TDF Stage 8 - Three Climbs And Still 3 Sundays To Go

Image & Caption Credit: steephill.tv

TDF Stage 8 - Three Climbs And Still 3 Sundays To Go

This Tour de France held each year may well be the most epic human competition that exists in any sport, anywhere in the world. Imagine that we have already witnessed seven days of racing competition and we are now in the middle of race day number eight.

Today starts off with a category 1 climb and is followed by a long decent into a valley followed by two more climbs of a category 2 and a category 1 and another long decent to the end.

The day started with a breakaway of nine riders that included long time former teammate to Lance Armstrong, American George Hinacapi of Columbia-HTC and Team Saxo Bank's former Yellow Jersey rider, Fabian Cancellara. Other riders include Juan Antonio Flech (Rabobank), Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Vladimir Efimkin (Ag2r), Sandy Casar (Francaise des Jeux), Luis Leon Sanchez (Caisse d'Epargne), Sébastien Rosseler (Quick Step), Mikhail Ignatiev (Katusha).

The breakaway at one point led by as much as a little over 3 minutes.

The most important fact remains that the main contenders are in the peloton and all that needs to happen for the Yellow Jersey worn by Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r-La Mondiale) to change riders is a separation to happen with the leaders that trail by only seconds - #2 Alberto Contador (Astana) at 00:06, #3 Lance Armstrong (Astana) at 00:08, and #3 Levi Leipheimer (Astana) at 00:39!

Team Astana remains in control on the last climb where we now begin coverage.

TDF Stage 8 Map and Profile. Today’s stage takes the riders 176.5 kilometres from Andorra La Vieille to Saint Girons, and is the second mountain stage of this year’s race. Three climbs feature – they are the Port d'Envalira (23.2km at 5.1 percent), topping out 23.5 km after the start, then the Col de Port (11.4 km at 5.5 percent, km 102) and the Col d'Agnès (12.4 km at 6.5 percent), which summits some 44 clicks before the finish in the valley. Caption Credit: CyclingNews / Image Credit: steephill.tv

This excerpted and edited by VeloNews with added material from various resources -

3:19
CPelkey: No, there is still the Category 1 Col d'Agnès, which starts at 120.1km, averages 6 percent over 12.4km and summits at 132.5km, 1570 meters above sea level.
From there it’s all downhill to the finish at Saint Girons, at an altitude of 425 meters.

As a reminder, the men in the break are:

1. Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank)
2. Juan Antonio Flech (Rabobank)
3. Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
4. George Hincapie (Columbia)
5. Vladimir Efimkin (Ag2r)
6. Sandy Casar (Francaise des Jeux)
7. Luis Leon Sanchez (Caisse d'Epargne)
8. Sébastien Rosseler (Quick Step)
9. Mikhail Ignatiev (Katusha)

3:23
[Comment From Craig ]
I suppose Hincapie is up front to support Cavendish if he can rejoin the peleton for a sprint?
3:25
CPelkey: Probably not, Craig. Hincapie did his best to mitigate Hushovd's impact on the points contest, but I doubt the Columbia team has a realistic expectation that Cavendish will be able to crest the summit of the final climb in time to rejoin.

Hincapie is up there in hopes of snagging a stage win.
3:32
CPelkey: The leading nine are now just 2:05 ahead of the peloton, with 59km remaining.
3:33
CPelkey: Our leaders are on the day's final climb, the Category 1 Col d'Agnès.
3:37
[Comment From Retired... ]
Why are people hating on Contador so much? Yesterday's attack sent a tough and somewhat selfish message to his team but if you're the best racer in the Tour, are you going to seize the moment or let your opportunity slip by? His legs fire like pistons, nobody can match his explosiveness.
3:39
CPelkey: It's an interesting team dynamic and fans tend to stake out positions based on their preferences. I happen to agree that at this point in their careers, Contador is probably the best climber on the team. Indeed, he's improved as a time trialist, too.
3:41
CPelkey: Cancellara has popped off the back of the break. He's struggling on.
3:48
CPelkey: There are attacks in the main field. Andy Schleck has made a dig. He's got Armstrong and Contador and most of the GC contenders on his wheel ... with the sole exception of Nocentini.
3:50
CPelkey: Schleck is still setting tempo at the front of the group. They are already sweeping up riders from the break.

Up front, Hincapie has been dropped. Astarloza, Efimkin and Sanchez are at the front.

3:51
CPelkey: Nocentini has been spit off the back under the pressure of the Schleck move.
3:52
CPelkey: Sandy Casar has fought back and rejoined the leading trio.
3:53
CPelkey: That GC group includes, Leipheimer, Contador, Vande Velde, Sastre, Menchov, Kreuziger, Schleck and Schleck, Martin, Wiggins.
3:53
CPelkey: It's bigger than that, but we're still working to ID these guys.
3:56
CPelkey: We see Evans in the mix. Karpets is in there, too. Kim Kirchen has rejoined that group.

We'll see a new rider in yellow tonight. Contador? Armstrong? Someone else?

CyclingNews (CN) - 1.
16:02 CEST - Kloden is on the front. This group appears to be getting larger.
2.
16:03 CEST - Yes, it's got a lot bigger. Nocentini is back up here, so he's protecting his jersey.. Stephane Goubert helped him get back by driving the pace.
3.
16:05 CEST (46.3km remaining from 176.5km)
______________
Situation
Luis León Sánchez (Caisse d'Epargne), Vladimir Efimkin (AG2R La Mondiale), Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Sandy Casar (Française des Jeux)
Favourites and yellow jersey group at 1:41

VeloNews (VN) - 4:01
CPelkey: Nocentini [Yellow Jersey] is suffering, but he's only about 35 seconds behind the GC group.
4:03
CPelkey: An update on Hincapie. He's caught between the four leaders and about a minute up on the GC leaders' group.
4:04
[Comment From Manuel in Nicaragua ]
All this excitement before the summit and it looks like they are going to end together thanks to the long down hill. BTW I figured out that the helmets are the new Giro Pro Light model
4:05
CPelkey: The 40+ kilometers of doownhill mean there will be significant regrouping, for sure. Indeed, Hincapie may be one rider that might rejoin the four leaders is Hincapie. He's only 25 seconds behind the leading four.
4:06
CPelkey: Nocentini has managed to fight his way back to othe GC group on a lull in the slope of the climb.
4:08
CPelkey: Efimkin is stepping up the tempo at the front, with about 1.6km before the the summit. Casar is the victim of that one.
4:09
CPelkey: Efimkin is working hard, but he can get rid of Sanchez and Astarloza.
4:10
CPelkey: The gap to our three leaders is now 2:20, with a few riders caught in the middle.
4:12
CPelkey: It's all Astana at the front of the GC group. The pace back there has moderated.

The leading three have crested the climb.

4:12
CPelkey: This is a view from the top of this climb, by the way.
4:13
CPelkey: Casar has summitted at 20 seconds.
Hincapie, by the way, is back in with the GC group.
4:15
CPelkey: The peloton, under the command of the Astana team, crested at 2:40.
4:15
CPelkey: It's a long way down. Up front, by the way, Casar is about to rejoin the leaders.
4:15
CPelkey: The descent off the final climb is very steep and very fast. Road surfaces are rough and speeds could hit triple-digits.
4:16
CPelkey: The break should be able to carry speed until about 20km, then there's a slight headwind coming into Saint-Girons
4:17
CPelkey: The final kilometers are lined with huge crowds. There's a major round-about with 2.5km, but with the pack all busted up, it shouldn't present too much danger.
4:18
CPelkey: he course sweeps left to the Salat river, with another round-about at -1km to go. From there, it's a mostly straight run to the line down the Avenue de la Resistance
4:24
CPelkey: Hey, hey correction.
Hincapie was NOT caught by the GC group. He's flying down the descent. He's trailing the four leaders by 1:10.

CN - 4.
16:21 CEST (36km remaining from 176.5km) - It's looking good for the break...they have 2'53 on this descent. Hincapie is chasing hard behind.
5.
16:22 CEST - He's low on the bike, pushing hard into the corners. Further ahead, Sanchez leads, with Casar hanging a little off the back of the other two. He took risks getting back up to them but now is content to take things a little handier.
6.
16:25 CEST - It's going to be hard for Hincapie, who is at 1'11 at this point. The Astana bunch is 2'53 back. All are on this long descent, which is fast and tree-lined.
____________
Situation
Vladimir Efimkin (AG2R La Mondiale), Luis León Sánchez (Caisse d'Epargne), Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Sandy Casar (Française des Jeux)
Favourites and yellow jersey group at 2:52

1.
16:26 CEST (31km remaining from 176.5km) - Hincapie looks like he is losing a bit of hope...he realises it's a tough task. The front four are rolling through nicely. Luis Leon Sanchez looks to be the strongest, although it's hard to tell.
2.
16:28 CEST - So, the final mountain is too far from the finish for the main riders to make the most of it... Hard to know why ASO includes profiles like this; it makes for good racing by those going for the stage win, but the race favourites don't give it everything.

VN -

4:25
CPelkey: Cheerleaders!
4:26
CPelkey: That was a photo from the start village this morning. Mr. Hood focuses on what interests him.
4:28
CPelkey: Our four leaders are gaining time on Hincapie... he's now 1:45 behind the four.
4:30
CPelkey: It's Astana at the front of the peloton. Nocentini is in there, too. He may well hold the jersey.

Our four riders are now 2:50 ahead of the main field.

4:31
[Comment From Steve ]
Is tomorrow a rest day?
4:32
CPelkey: Nope. Tomorrow is another biggie. Monday is the rest day. You will probably never see a grand tour with a weekend rest day. Those are great days for fans to get out and see the race for themselves.

CN - #
16:30 CEST (26km remaining from 176.5km) - Astana are leading things along...the other teams will hope they will wear themselves out as the race progresses.

Four riders remain up front - who will win? They've just over 25 kilometres to go, and surely won't be caught now.
#
16:31 CEST - Hincapie is now 2'21 down, 30 seconds ahead of the peloton. He's going to be caught very soon.
#
16:33 CEST (24.8km remaining from 176.5km) - Sure enough, Hincapie is caught.

20 km to go to the finish
______________
Situation
Vladimir Efimkin (AG2R La Mondiale), Luis León Sánchez (Caisse d'Epargne), Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Sandy Casar (Française des Jeux)
Favourites and yellow jersey group at 2:40

VN - 4:41
CPelkey: They have 2:38 on the peloton. It's clear the winner will emerge from this group.

1. Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
2. Vladimir Efimkin (Ag2r)
3. Sandy Casar (Francaise des Jeux)
4. Luis Leon Sanchez (Caisse d'Epargne)


4:43
[Comment From Don Stewart ]
In the last 10 Km, what do you expect Astana tp do to get either Contador or Armstrong into the yellow jersey?
4:44
CPelkey: Astana really has no reason to take the yellow jersey. Nocentini is back in the peloton. He'll probably have the jersey tonight. His odds of keeping it after the Tourmalet tomorrow are slight.
4:47
4:52
CPelkey: 10km to go. The gap is now 2:13.
4:52
[Comment From Lewis ]
Will there be any change in the top 10 GC today?
4:53
CPelkey: It sure doesn't look like it.
4:57
CPelkey: With 6km remaining our leading four riders are 1:43 ahead of the field.
4:58
CPelkey: Efimkin is still hanging at the back of the group. He's a member of Nocentini's team, so he's really not obligated to pull.

He may be in the position to win today, which would be his second Tour de France stage win.
4:59
CPelkey: With 5km to go, the gap is 1:32.
They won't be caught.

CN - #
16:57 CEST - Casar is 30 years of age and a pro since 2000. He's been with Française des Jeux his whole career. In 2002 he was second overall in Paris-Nice and was heralded as the next big French rider, but never quite lived up to that early promise. He's had a good career, no doubt, but not spectacular.

#
16:59 CEST (5km remaining from 176.5km) - Sanchez is 25 and has a number of big results to his name, including overall wins in the Tour Down Under (2005), the Vuelta a Mallorca (2007) and this year's Paris-Nice. Last year he won both the Spanish time trial championships and stage 7 of the Tour de France.
#
17:00 CEST (4.7km remaining from 176.5km) - Astarloza goes! He clips away, followed by Casar. Sanchez gets up to him with Efimkin on his wheel. Efimkin now goes!
#
17:01 CEST - Efimkin was sitting on quite a bit, and he's gone! Casar saw him going, tried to get out of the saddle but his legs shouted 'non!'

The three are chasing now.
#
17:01 CEST (2.8km remaining from 176.5km) - He's got the head down and is riding strongly...

VN - 5:03
CPelkey: 1km to go, and he's got maybe 2 seconds.
5:04
CPelkey: Efimkin, is still powering on. Is he gonna hold 'em off?
5:04
CPelkey: Caught
5:04
CPelkey: Casar attacks
5:05
CPelkey: Sanchez comes around Casar. Astarloza third, Efimkin fourth.
5:06
CPelkey:

1. Luis Leon Sanchez (Caisse d'Epargne)
2. Sandy Casar (Francaise des Jeux)
3. Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
4. Vladimir Efimkin (Ag2r)

5:06
CPelkey: Field sprint... doesn't look like Hushovd is in there.
5:06
[Comment From epicryd ]
Any time bonus left after 4th place today?
5:07
CPelkey: There are no time bonuses at all in this edition of the Tour.

CN - 17:08 CEST - Here's the bunch... looks like either Rigoberto Uran or Jose Joaquin Rojas Gill who takes the sprint, sitting up out of the saddle and celebrating the Caisse d'Epargne win... Nocentini is in the bunch, so he holds yellow...

Situation
Vladimir Efimkin (AG2R La Mondiale)
Luis León Sánchez (Caisse d'Epargne), Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Sandy Casar (Française des Jeux) at 5"

Favourites and yellow jersey group at 1:49

No Chance in the General Classification. Tomorrow, another Sunday down and more mountains - could be a day of separation led by Team Astana!

TDF Stage 7 - Longest & Highest Finishing Test Of Tour

A series of unpredictable alliances could conspire to disrupt the yellow jersey hopes of Lance Armstrong and his Astana team on the seventh stage of the Tour de France on Friday. Image Credit: AFP

TDF Stage 7 - Longest & Highest Finishing Test Of Tour

The first summit finish of the race is at the Andorran ski station of Arcalis but, although important in the grand scheme of things, it will take many more battles in the mountains before this year's race is decided.

Nevertheless, after just five days of unexpected drama Astana have taken significant steps towards eliminating some of their rivals.

Ahead of Thursday's sixth stage to Barcelona seven-time champion Armstrong was just 0.22secs behind race leader Fabian Cancellara, with 2007 winner Alberto Contador in third at just 19sec. Two other Astana riders, Andreas Klöden and Levi Leipheimer, sit in fourth and fifth respectively.

The Kazakh-backed team's strong position ahead of three consecutive mountain stages gives them "plenty of cards to play", according to Australia's Michael Rogers, who rides for Columbia.

But it also means the likes of Denis Menchov (3:59), defending champion Carlos Sastre (2:44) and two-time runner-up Cadel Evans (2:59) and Luxembourger Andy Schleck (1:41) will have to attack, at one time or another, in an attempt to close their deficits.

Stage 7 Route Map. Image Credit: steephill.tv

The stage departs from the city of Barcelona and heads into the Pyrénées. Leaving Spain, the Tour heads into the independent principality of Andorre. The stage finishes at the ski resort in Arcalis. There are five categorized climbs on the route, though three of the five are not especially difficult. The final climb at Arcalis, rated hors catégorie, should provide an early indication of who has brought his climbing legs to this Tour de France.

The Climbs

Côte de Montserrat 4.1 km, avg. 3.8 %, catégorie 4

Port de Solsona 5.8 km, avg. 4.3 %, catégorie 3

Col de Serra-Seca 7.7 km, avg. 7.1 %, catégorie 1

Port del Comte 3.1 km, avg. 5.3 %, catégorie 3

Andorre Arcalis 10.6 km, avg. 7.1 %, catégorie HC

Stage 7 Profile. Image Credit: VeloNews

The race sees both its longest stage and first mountain stage in this, its seventh day. Riders face five categorized climbs, culminating with this 2009 TDF’s first and highest mountaintop finish atop the "hors-category" (beyond categorization) climb to the Arcalis ski station. The mid-stage Category 1 climb of Col de Serra-Seca should separate the field, but with almost 100 kilometers to the finish, a large group should arrive at the base of the finishing climb. The climb to Arcalis is 10.6 kilometers in length with an average grade of seven percent over a wide, well-engineered road, an anomaly in the Pyrénéan mountains.

Live updates excerpted and edited from VeloNews, Twitter, VERSUS, EuroSport, and various resources -

This from Phil Liggett, VERSUS, "So, as they say, the shadow boxing is over and now the contenders must fight to keep their reputations as a likely race winner."

stevenboss: @LeviLeipheimer Excellent coverage. We've been following the TDF for 22 years and really enjoying this year. Go Astana!

EuroSport (ES) - Le Tour heads to Andorra on stage seven, and the first mountain-top finish of this year's race. There is every chance of seeing a new man in yellow at the end of the day. But will it be Lance Armstrong, Alberto Contador or somebody else? Stage 7 description

ES - It may have been a tense evening chez Astana last night. The simmering tension between Armstrong and Contador could come to a head, and it is up to team boss Johan Bruyneel to decide who is his main man. Astana face dilemma in mountains

ES - 10:30 - Today's 224km hike is under way, and already there is a three-man breakaway - Egoi Martinez, Christophe Riblon and Jose Ivan Gutierrez having escaped the peloton. It promises to be a long old day for all concerned

ES - 10:45 - Visit our video section for highlights and reaction from yesterday's stage six. Tour de France videos

ES - 11:00 - If you are near a TV, you can watch today's stage LIVE on British Eurosport from 12:30pm. It is also available on the Eurosport Player, which has live internet streaming of British Eurosport. British Eurosport 2 and all sorts of bonus content. Eurosport Player

ES - 11:05 - Former Tour de France winner Stephen Roche thinks today could be the perfect occasion for forgotten man Cadel Evans to try and catch Astana out. Roche: Time for Evans to attack

VeloNews -

Charles Pelkey:
Good day and welcome to VeloNews.com’s Live Coverage of the seventh stage of the 96th edition of the Tour de France, a 224-kilometer ride from Barcelona to the ski station of Arcalis in the principality of Andorra.

This is the one a lot of people have been waiting for, the first mountain-top finish of this year’s Tour. As you can see from the course profile, this is one of those days made for the climbers. Not only is it long, at 224km, most of the route today angles upward, starting in Barcelona at 230 meters above sea level and ending at Arcalis at 2240m. Up, up and away, as it were.
12:20
CPelkey:
Today’s stage features five climbs, the first of which is a relatively easy Category 4 climb at 32 kilometers and ends with the hors catégorie ride to the finish.

Those climbs are as follows:

* Summiting at 32km, the Category 4 Côte de Montserrat, a 4.1 km climb, with an average grade of 3.8 percent.
* Summiting at 97km, the Category 3 Port de Solsona, a 5.8 km climb, with an average grade of 4.3 percent.
* Summiting at 127km, the Category 1 Col de Serra-Seca, a 7.7 km climb, with an average grade of 7.1 percent.
* Summiting at 136.5km, the Category 3 Port del Comte, a 3.1 km climb, with an average grade of 5.3 percent.
* Summiting at 224km, the hor catégorie Andorre Arcalis, a 10.6 km climb, with an average grade of 7.1 percent.

12:21
CPelkey:
The real beauty of a stage like this is that it will probably put something of a dent in the seemingly endless speculation and chin-flapping by members of my own honorable profession. The question about who is and is not a contender for the overall title at the Tour should be a little clearer. So, too, will be questions surrounding the leadership roles on teams … okay, okay, the questions surrounding the leadership roles on one team in particular.

One thing is nearly certain today and that is that we will undoubtedly have a new race leader by day’s end. While Swiss champion Fabian Cancellara is a tough-as-nails time trialist and relatively solid performer in shorter stage races – such as this year’s Tour de Suisse, which he won – today’s stage does not suit his talents and he’s quite likely to lose the maillot jaune by day’s end.
1. Fabian Cancellara (Swi), Saxo Bank in 19:29:22
2. Lance Armstrong (USA), Astana same time
3. Alberto Contador (Sp), Astana, at 00:19
4. Andréas Klöden (G), at 00:23
5. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Astana, at 00:31
6. Bradley Wiggins (GB), Garmin-Slipstream, at 00:38
7. Tony Martin (G), Columbia-HTC, at 00:52
8. Christian Vande Velde (USA), Garmin-Slipstream, at 01:16
9. Gustav Larsson (S), Saxo Bank, at 01:22
10. Maxime Monfort (B), Columbia-HTC, at 01:29
12:22
CPelkey:
While not normally driven to fits of nationalistic frenzy, I have to admit it’s pretty cool to see three Americans in the top 10 on GC in the Tour de France, especially since I remember 1981, the year the first American to ever even ride the Tour toed the line in Nice on June 25th that year. Who would have thought that an American would reach the podium in just three years and win the darn thing within five? Back then, the Tour seemed to be the nearly exclusive stomping grounds of French, Belgian and Italian riders. Since then, however, we haven’t even seen a Belgian winner, the French haven’t won a Tour since 1985 and … well, Pantani was the only Italian to win the Tour in these past 28 years.

In American sports terms, that would be like if baseball’s so-called “World Series” actually lived up to that name, opened the event to an international field of competitors and then Americans never won the darn thing for 25 or 30 years.

Since 1986, we’ve witnessed 10 Tour wins by Americans. Remarkable, eh?
12:29
CPelkey: Today's stage began at 11:10 and the pace has been fairly high since the 177 riders remaining in this Tour rolled through kilometer Zero at the edge of Barcelona.

We saw an early attack of three riders, who were soon joined by six more.

We now have nine riders at the 57km mark, with a lead of 10:30. The riders in the break are as follows:
Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d'Epargne)
Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel)
Christophe Riblon (Ag2r)
Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r)
Aleksandr Kuschynski (Liquigas)
Christophe Kern (Cofidis)
Jerome Pineau (Quick Step)
Brice Feillu (Agritubel)
Johannes Frohlinger (Milram)
12:33
CPelkey: Earlier in the stage, the leaders hit the Category 4 Côte de Montserrat.
The KOM points were distributed as follows:
1. Christophe Riblon (Ag2r), 3 points
2. Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel), 2 pts
3. Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d'Epargne), 1 pt.
12:37
CPelkey: Our latest time check gives the nine leaders an advantage of 12:10, a sure sign that the main contenders are more worried about the final climb than they are about chasing a group of riders who don't appear to pose much of a long-term GC threat.


12:41
CPelkey: Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r) is the current leader of the Tour de France, having started his day in 32nd place, at 3:13.

He and his fellow escapees are now at the 66km mark and their lead has bumped up to 14:20. Of course, there are 158 really tough kilometers ahead and we're still not willing to bet the rent on the chances of the break making it all the way to Andora in front.
----
1:03
CPelkey: The weather today is almost ideal for a stage like this. The sky is relatively clear and the temperature is currently 23 degrees (C) - that's 74 degrees for fans of Fahrenheit - and there's a slight 10kph wind from the south.
1:04
1:06
CPelkey: With 86km covered and 138km remaining, our leading nine riders are now 13:20 ahead of the peloton, as they head toward the lower slopes of the Category 3 Port de Solsona, a 5.8 km climb, with an average grade of 4.3 percent. It summits at 97km.

Points will be awarded to the first four across the top, starting with four points for the first rider to hit the KOM mark.
----
1:19
CPelkey: Another near certainty today is that the polka-dot jersey will trade hands by the end of the stage.

As of last night, the KOM contest stands as follows:
1. Stéphane Auge (F), Cofidis, 14 points
2. Jussi Veikkanen (Fin), Francaise des Jeux, 9 points
3. David Millar (GB), Garmin-Slipstream, 8 points
4. Sylvain Chavanel (F), Quick Step, 8 points
5. Tony Martin (G), Columbia-HTC 6 points

There are many, many points at stake in this stage.

As we noted, Category 4 climbs offer 3, 2 and 1 points to the top three riders over the top. Category 3 climbs offer 4, 3, 2 and 1 points to the top four.

There are no Cat. 2 climbs on the route today, but there are two Cat. 3s and a Cat 1. That's all capped off by an hors categorie climb to the finish.

Category 1 climbs offer 15, 13, 11, 9, 8, 7, 6 and 5.

Hors categorie climbs offer 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 7, 6 and 5, but that's doubled on finishing climbs.

1:22
CPelkey: At 94km, our nine leaders are an even 13 minutes ahead of the field. It's still Astana setting tempo up there.

Armstrong is among those at the front and Contador is sitting in a relatively protected position. That could be an indicator of how the team itself views the question of leadership on Astana. It's an interesting question that will probably be answered by day's end.
----
1:30
CPelkey: The leaders are approaching the summit of the Category 3 Port de Solsona, and their lead has been trimmed to 12:05.
----
1:41
CPelkey: Our leaders are on the descent of the Category 3 Port de Solsona and heading to the feedzone before tackling that big Cat. 1.

1. Christophe Riblon (Ag2r), 4 points
2. Aleksandr Kuschynski (Liquigas), 3pts
3. Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel), 2pts
4. Brice Feillu (Agritubel), 1pt
----
1:45
CPelkey: As the leading nine riders make their way toward the feedzone, their advantage has been trimmed to 10:45.
1:58
CPelkey: Our leaders are at the 109km mark. They are approaching the Category 1 Col de Serra-Seca. That climb summits at 127km and then is quickly followed by the Cat. 3 Port del Comte, wich summits at 136.5km. The gap is holding at around 11 minutes. We might expect that nine-man group to come apart on the Serra-Seca.
2:03
CPelkey: The weather is holding nicely today. The rain from yesterday's stage is but a fading memory at this point.
----
2:29
CPelkey: The leaders are still riding together as they work their way up the Cat. 1 Col de Serra-Seca. They are about 3km from the summit and are still holding an 11-minute lead over the field.
2:33
CPelkey: The peloton is ticking along nicely. We're seeing some riders popping off the back, but those are largely sprinters and we could see the "laughing group" forming up soon.

Up front, the Astana squad is still setting tempo, but the pace is relatively moderate at this point.
----
2:45
CPelkey: The peloton is now 1km from the summit.

Astana is still setting tempo. Cancellara is there, too. He's tucked in safely, although we don't expect him to be among the leaders on the final climb today.
----
2:49
CPelkey: And the peloton is nearing the top of the climb. They are now more than 12 minutes behind the break. Astana leads over the top. The crowds are huge on this climb and they are even bigger on the climb to the finish.
2:52
CPelkey: Up next, summiting at 136.5km, is the Category 3 Port del Comte, a 3.1 km climb, with an average grade of 5.3 percent.

Then comes the biggie, the hor catégorie Andorre Arcalis, a 10.6 km climb to the finish, with an average grade of 7.1 percent.
2:54
CPelkey: The last time the Tour took on the climb to Arcalis was in 1997. Indeed, that was the only time the Tour hit this climb. Jan Ullrich won that one - the 10th stage of the '97 Tour - on his way to his one and only overall Tour victory.
----
3:04
CPelkey: Results from the Port del Comte:
1. Christophe Riblon (Ag2r)
2. Aleksandr Kuschynski (Liquigas)
3. Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel)
4. Christophe Kern (Cofidis)
3:07
CPelkey: In case you're wondering, Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r) is the current leader on the road, having started his day in 32nd place, at 3:13. He is the highest placed rider in the break.

Stage 7 Barcelone - Andorre Arcalis 224km - last kilometres profile. The Andorre Arcalis is rated hors catégorie and has an average gradient of 7.1%. The maximum gradient comes in the first kilometer of the climb and reaches 8.7%. For the first four kilometers, the gradient hovers in the 7% range, then the climb relaxes to a more comfy 6.7%. The final kilometer is gentler still at 4%. It should be a small group at the finish here, and the stage winner may need a bit of speed to make the difference. The finish line perches at 2200 meters above sea level and is one of the highest stage finishes of the Tour de France. Image Credit ©Societe du Tour de France

CyclingNews (CN)
15:45 CEST (50km remaining from 224km)

Christian Vande Velde's Garmin Slipstream team are sitting just behind the two Astana riders leading the peloton. Today's stage will be a big test for CVV, who is coming back from a bad crash in the Giro. He seemed strong in the team time trial and will be hoping to fare well on the climb to Andorra.

With precisely 50km to go for the leaders, they are 12'07 ahead. That's not a bad lead...
2.
15:49 CEST

Don't be surprised if you see a few wrinkly spectators hopping up and down on the final climb, and hobbling speedily after their favourite riders; as Cyclingnews' Gregor Brown points out, the country has the highest life expectancy in the world. It's estimated at 85 years, exceeding that of Japan.

----------

Situation

Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel Euskadi), José Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d’Epargne), Christophe Riblon (AG2R La Mondiale), Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R La Mondiale), Aleksandr Kuschynski (Liquigas), Christophe Kern (Cofidis), Jérôme Pineau (Quick Step), Brice Feillu (Agritubel) and Johannes Fröhlinger (Milram).

Peloton: at 12'11

Live Rider Stats - Updated: 15:45 CEST

* Johannes Froehlinger - Milram
o Distance: 0km, Speed: 36km/h, Power: 286watts, Cadence: 104rpm
* Bert Grabsch - Columbia-HTC
o Distance: 0km, Speed: 30km/h, Power: 481watts, Cadence: 68rpm
* Brian Vandborg - Liquigas
o Distance: 0km, Speed: 68km/h, Power: 344watts, Cadence: 81rpm
* Chris Sorensen - Saxo Bank
o Distance: 0km, Speed: 0km/h, Power: 296watts, Cadence: 99rpm
* Nicki Sorensen - Saxo Bank
o Distance: 0km, Speed: 0km/h, Power: 418watts, Cadence: 78rpm

VN -4:00 CPelkey: With 40km remaining, the gap is still at 12 minutes.

CN - 16:01 CEST (39km remaining from 224km)

6. The road is inching upwards little by little, and the non-climbers in the break will be wondering when the jumping around will start. We imagine it'll be a while yet, as this group continues to work well.

----------

Situation

Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel Euskadi), José Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d’Epargne), Christophe Riblon (AG2R La Mondiale), Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R La Mondiale), Aleksandr Kuschynski (Liquigas), Christophe Kern (Cofidis), Jérôme Pineau (Quick Step), Brice Feillu (Agritubel) and Johannes Fröhlinger (Milram).

Peloton: at 12'11

VN - 4:03
CPelkey: With 38km remaining, Astana's domestiques continue to lead the peloton.
4:03
CPelkey: The time gap is now 11:45.
4:03
CPelkey: Our leaders have just passed into Andorra.
4:04
CPelkey: Through the border station, the nine leaders have not been asked to present passports.
4:08
CPelkey: Andorra is a small country, with a population of just around 90,000. Nestled in the Pyrenees, it's official status is that of a principality.

It attained its initial charter from Charles the Great (a.k.a. Charlemagne) after the locals lent a hand in fighting off further expansion of Moorish invaders.
4:15
CPelkey: The nine leaders are heading to the first of two rather oddly placed intermediate sprint marks on the road leading to the climb.

The peloton has crossed through the border check point now, 11:22 behind the men in the break.
4:20
CPelkey: Cut, cut, ... the gap, with 27km remaining is down to 10:19. We'd still have to predict that someone in the break is the most likely candidate to win the stage.
4:20
CPelkey: The full Astana team is up front. Contador, Leipheimer and Armstrong are in protected spots, but they are near the front.

CN - 16:31 CEST (23km remaining from 224km)

Several riders crashed in the bunch, including Mickaël Delage (Silence-Lotto), Mark Cavendish (Columbia-HTC), Levi Leipheimer (Astana) and Bernhard Eisel (Columbia-HTC). Leipheimer won't be happy with that as he was one of the Astana riders hoping to figure today.

He's chasing back on now, but would have preferred to use that energy a bit later on.
#
16:37 CEST (18.1km remaining from 224km)

Situation
Egoi Martínez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Iván Gutiérrez (Caisse d'Epargne), Christophe Riblon (AG2R La Mondiale), Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R La Mondiale), Aleksandr Kuschynski (Liquigas), Christophe Kern (Cofidis), Jérôme Pineau (Quick Step), Brice Feillu (Agritubel) and Johannes Fröhlinger (Milram)
Peloton at 8:00
3.
16:41 CEST

Pozatto is one of the riders who has also drifted off the back. Gutierrez takes the final sprint (without sprinting), ahead of Pineau and Fröhlinger.
4.
16:43 CEST

We could see a new yellow jersey tonight, but it might be from this break... The peloton is thinning down all the time. Sastre is quite far back, while Armstrong sits behind his domestiques, Contador on his wheel.
5.
16:45 CEST (14.7km remaining from 224km)

Dave Zabriskie and Christian Vande Velde are up there near the front, as is Irish road race champion Nicolas Roche (Ag2r La Mondiale).

Situation
Egoi Martínez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Iván Gutiérrez (Caisse d'Epargne), Christophe Riblon (AG2R La Mondiale), Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R La Mondiale), Aleksandr Kuschynski (Liquigas), Christophe Kern (Cofidis), Jérôme Pineau (Quick Step), Brice Feillu (Agritubel) and Johannes Fröhlinger (Milram)
Peloton at 7:45

The lead group has just lost one man so they are down to eight at 8 km to go - Time difference with lead Peloton that contains the current tour leaders - 6min. 34sec.

VN - 4:55
CPelkey: Astana is driving at the front of the peloton. The gap is down to 6:30.
4:57
CPelkey: Astana's Sergio Paulinho is setting tempo at the front. Popovych is right on his wheel and Haimar Zubeldia is up there, too. Tucked in behind them, are Contador and Armstrong.
4:58
CPelkey:

The gap is continuing to fall. The leaders are now just 6:05 ahead of the peloton.

5:00
CPelkey: Our eight leaders are moving at a pace considerably slower than the pace of the peloton.
5:01
CPelkey: Sergio Paulinho has done his work for the day. He's popped off the back of the peloton. He did his work for Astana and will just take his time in covering these last few kilometers.
5:01
CPelkey: Haimar Zubeldia is now doing duty at the front of the peloton.
5:02
CPelkey: Christophe Riblon (Ag2r) has launched an attack out of the lead group. His effort has cut the size of the lead group in half... well, no. They have regrouped.
5:02
CPelkey: Hincapie has been dropped by the peloton.
5:03
CPelkey: The leaders have just passed by Didi "the devil" Senft, the German sculptor and die-hard cycling fan.
5:04
CPelkey: Christophe Kern (Cofidis) has tried a dig at the front group.
5:04
CPelkey: With 6.4km to go, the gap is now 5:20.
5:05
CPelkey: Haimar Zubeldia continues to set tempo at the front of the peloton. Cancellara is still there. He's struggling a bit, though.

TEAM ASTANA DROPS FABIAN CANCELLARA - LANCE ARMSTRONG AND TEAM ASTANA PUTS DOWN THE HAMMER TO THE END!

CN - 17:10 CEST

Feillu is going further ahead and giving Agritubel their day of glory...great ride. He looks under his arm, checking out the gap...it's growing, keep going...
#
17:10 CEST (4.2km remaining from 224km)

Situation
Brice Feillu (Agritubel)
Christophe Kern (Cofidis), Johannes Fröhlinger (Milram), Christophe Riblon (AG2R La Mondiale), Egoi Martínez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R La Mondiale) at 15"
Iván Gutiérrez (Caisse d'Epargne), Jérôme Pineau (Quick Step) at 35"
Favourites group at 5:08
Yellow jersey Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank) further back
#
17:11 CEST

Cancellara is going to lose quite a bit of time... He's already 23" back. Meanwhile, Feillu is 29" ahead of four chasers...looking good.
#
17:11 CEST (3.8km remaining from 224km)

Situation
Brice Feillu (Agritubel)
Christophe Kern (Cofidis), Johannes Fröhlinger (Milram), Christophe Riblon (AG2R La Mondiale), Egoi Martínez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R La Mondiale) at 29"
Iván Gutiérrez (Caisse d'Epargne), Jérôme Pineau (Quick Step) at 55"
Favourites group at 5:11
Yellow jersey Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank) further back, 5.34
#
17:12 CEST (3.8km remaining from 224km)

Armstrong and Contador sit third and fourth wheel.

1.
17:13 CEST (3.5km remaining from 224km)

Feillu has just 3.5 kilometres to go, while the peloton is further down the mountain. No attacks as yet from that group. The peloton is 5'14" back...
2.
17:14 CEST (3km remaining from 224km)

Feillu has just 3km to go now...he's looking strong and focussed...

Situation
Brice Feillu (Agritubel)
Christophe Kern (Cofidis), Johannes Fröhlinger (Milram), Christophe Riblon (AG2R La Mondiale), Egoi Martínez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R La Mondiale) at 29"
Iván Gutiérrez (Caisse d'Epargne), Jérôme Pineau (Quick Step) at 55"
Favourites group at 5:08
Yellow jersey group further back, 5.48

Cadel Evens launches an attack ... Team Astana responds and begins to catch up!

5:19
CPelkey: Good on 'im. Evans knows he has to do something. He's shattered the group, but he has Armstrong and Contador on his wheel. Kloden... is in there.
5:20
CPelkey: Menchov (remember him?) he's been spit off the back.

Kloden is now setting tempo.
5:20
CPelkey: Up front Feillu is now 1km from the finish.
5:21
CPelkey: Jurgen Van den Broeck has attacked out of the group... caught and passed by Contador.
5:21
CPelkey: Contador is being chased by Schleck. Armstrong is right on Schleck's wheel.
5:22
CPelkey: Ooooooo Contador is flyin'
5:22
CPelkey: Feillu, meanwhile, is on his way. He's won a biggie.
5:22
CPelkey: Kern finishes second.
5:23
CPelkey: Now Contador is on his own and rocketing up the climb. He has a substantial gap.
5:24
CPelkey: Evans is chasing, but he's pulling a big crew on his wheel.
5:25
CPelkey: Contador is closing in on the finish. We still have to measure his time compared to the men in the break. It could be that one of them may be in yellow tonight.
5:26
CPelkey: Contador is finished and the chase group of Evans, Armstrong, Frank and Andy Schleck ... are across.
5:27
CPelkey: Time to do the math... Contador finished strongly, but we're not sure if he was close enough to grab the jersey.
5:28
CPelkey: Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r) may have taken over.
5:28
CPelkey: Interestingly, Contador finished 19 seconds ahead of Armstrong. Wasn't that the gap at the start of the day. Another tie?
5:32
CPelkey: Nocentini has a six-second lead on Contador. Armstrong is in third at eight seconds. Leipheimer is in fourth at 39 and Wiggins is in fifth at 46
----

So at the end of Stage 7 and the first mountain stage of the Tour de France the top ten of the General Classification is as follows:

* Race Leader: Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r-La Mondiale)
* Points: Mark Cavendish (Columbia-HTC)
* KOM: Brice Feillu (Agritubel)
* Young Rider: Tony Martin (Columbia - HTC)
* Team: Astana

1. Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r-La Mondiale) in 25:44:32
2. Alberto Contador (Astana) at 00:06
3. Lance Armstrong (Astana) at 00:08
4. Levi Leipheimer (Astana) at 00:39
5. Bradley Wiggins (Garmin - Slipstream) at 00:46
6. Andréas Klöden (Astana) at 00:54
7. Tony Martin (Columbia - HTC) at 01:00
8. Christian Vande Velde (Garmin - Slipstream) at 01:24
9. Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) at 01:49
10. Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) at 01:54

TDF Stage 5 - Small Breakaway Succeeds For France

Map of the course for Stage 5, Tour de France - From Le Cap D'Agde (top) to Perpignan (at bottom). Image Credit: VeloNews

TDF Stage 5 - Small Breakaway Succeeds For France

Today's stage was expected to be one "by the numbers", in that, the teams would push and test each other up and down a couple of small climbs ... then maybe, take advantage of the winds off of the coast to break up the peloton with echelon formation moves as was done in Stage 3 to gain an advantage on other teams riders (this was how Lance Armstrong was able to move up from 10th overall in the General Classification to third ... and set up a tie in time to #1 with having the same overall time as Fabian Cancelara).

This prediction, however, was thrown out the window when six riders were able to breakaway from the Peloton and maintain the break with one rider, Thomas Voeckler riding for Bbox Bouygues Telecom sprinting to the finishline first and winning the stage by a scant seven seconds before the rest of the field finished the Stage.

The following text entries are picked up in the flat last third of Stage 5 along the coast with about 40km to go.

Elevation profile of the course for Stage 5, Tour de France - From Le Cap D'Agde (top) to Perpignan (at bottom). Image Credit: VeloNews

This excerpted and edited from VeloNews -

VeloNews Live Update - Stage 5 July 8, 2009

4:28
CPelkey: So the situation on the road, with about 40km remaining, the peloton is growing. It's 56 seconds behind the six leaders. There is a group of 30 chasing hard and they're about 45 seconds behind the main field. Gesink is still chasing.
4:29
CPelkey: It doesn't appear that there are any major GC contenders who've been caught out in the split... with the exception of Gesink, a talented rider who could be considered to be an overall contender.
4:31
[Comment From Gregory ]
Is Gesink using his wrist yet?
4:31
CPelkey: Gesink is in the big chase group. Tom Boonen is in there, too. The gap back to them is now 52 seconds.
4:32
CPelkey: He seems to be favoring that wrist. It could be a small fracture, something quite common in cycling... but hey, I'm no doctor.
4:35
CPelkey: The pace has eased off a bit. The pace is still high, but the gap back to the chasers is narrowing. The six leaders, with 33km remaining, have 52 seconds.
4:36
[Comment From Max ]
What is Astana's interests in leading the chase? Any GC threats in the break?
4:38
CPelkey: It's hard to gauge anyone's motives, but Gesink is chasing, so they have the benefit of shedding at least one possible threat.
4:41
[Comment From dapheel ]
Do you believe Johan Bruyneel will stay with Astana after the Tour de France is over? How about after the season?
4:43
CPelkey: I really have no idea. If what Vinokourov said the other day carries weight in Kazakhstan, then maybe so. If he does leave, we can imagine he won't have to wait too long to get another team to run. He has eight Tour wins to his credit. That counts for something.
4:44
CPelkey: Out on the road, the leaders are 25km from the finish and the gap is now 39 seconds. The chase group with Boonen and Gesink is another 45 seconds back.
4:46
CPelkey: Gesink has dropped back to his team car... it's clear he's suffering today. We sure hope he is able to continue the Tour.
4:51
CPelkey: With 20km to go, the Boonen group has caught the peloton. Gesink is in there, too ... we THINK.
4:52
CPelkey: The gap to the six leaders is down to 45 seconds.
4:53
CPelkey: The gap is actually bigger than we thought. It's 1:18 to the six leaders.
4:53
[Comment From Bradley ]
Are teams allowed to substitute riders the day following injuries?
4:53
CPelkey: Nope. Never. Once out, you're out and the team loses a rider.
4:55
CPelkey: Gesink is not in the peloton. He's trailing and may not make it back today. We just hope his injuries are such that he can continue.
4:56
CPelkey: It looks like the bulk of the work has now fallen to Columbia and Garmin. Hey, they have the top two sprinters in the bunch, they should be doing the work.
4:56
[Comment From Michel ]
Could you recap who the 6 leaders are? Thanks
4:57
CPelkey: We have their names in the little box right there, but as a reminder, they are Anthony Geslin (FdJ), Thomas Voekler (BBox), Marcin Sapa (Lampre), Albert Timmer (Skil Shimano), Mikhail Ignatiev (Katusha) and Yauheni Hutarovich (FdJ).
4:57
CPelkey: The gap is now at 1:26 with 17km remaining.
4:59
CPelkey: Actually we were wrong on that last distance check. With 12km remaining now, the gap is 1:19.
5:01
CPelkey: Gesink is now trailing the peloton by 2:30.

5:02
CPelkey: The leaders are now at the 10km to go banner and the gap is 1:18. Mmmmm.
5:02
CPelkey: Agritubel is moving some riders into the chase... they have to do something and do it soon.
5:04
Will the break stay away?
Yes
( 38% )
No
( 62% )
5:06
CPelkey: Of the men in the break, we'd have to favor Ignatiev to launch a late attack and hold on for the win, but Yauheni Hutarovich (FdJ) is the new national champion of Belarus. And we don't know much about the guy.
5:06
CPelkey: With 7km to go, the gap is still at 1 minute. Mmmmmm
5:06
CPelkey: And there goes Ignatiev.
5:07
CPelkey: Yauheni Hutarovich didn't look all that hot. Ignatiev goes again.
5:08
CPelkey: Voeckler clamped on to the Katusha rider's wheel. Despite the back-and-forth up front, the gap is holding.
5:09
CPelkey: With 5km to go, it's at 1:00 again.
5:09
CPelkey: Voeckler goes...
5:09
CPelkey: He has a gap.
5:10
CPelkey: Nice gap. He's being chased by Hutarovich, Ignatiev and Timmer. The two FdJ riders are OTB.
5:10
CPelkey: With less than 4km to go, Voeckler is on his own. He's got maybe 10 seconds.
5:11
CPelkey: Ignatiev is chasing by himself. The peloton is back at 41 seconds.
5:12
CPelkey: Three kilometers to go. Voeckler is still on his own. He may hold this one.
5:13
CPelkey: It's Timmer in pursuit of Voeckler. He's still trailing by 10 seconds or so. Voeckler is 2km from the finish.
5:13
CPelkey: No way the peloton is going to catch.
5:13
CPelkey: Timmer is at six seconds. Voeckler is 1.5km from the finish.
5:14
CPelkey: Big crowds and they're happy to see Voeckler winning. He's not only French, but very popular here.
5:14
CPelkey: One kilometer to go. He's nervous. He's looking over his shoulder.
5:14
CPelkey: The gap is 10 seconds. It looks like Voeckler has it.
5:15
CPelkey: He wore the yellow jersey a few years back, but he is now going to earn his first ever stage victory.
5:16
CPelkey: An Thomas Voeckler wins the fifth stage of the 2009 Tour.
5:16
CPelkey: Nice win.
5:16
CPelkey: The peloton comes in together. And there will be no change in GC.
5:17
CPelkey: It's days like this, folks, that answer that age-old question about riders who try these seemingly futile breaks. Every once-in-a-while they WORK!
5:20
CPelkey: Voeckler, in fact, was the only rider to have stayed away. The rest were swooped up by the peloton, which finished a scant seven seconds behind the winner.

Voeckler celebrates in Perpignan. Voeckler dedicated this Stage 5 win to his wife and son. Image Credit: sportweek.nl

5:20
CPelkey:
# 1. Thomas Voeckler Bbox Bouygues Telecom
# 2. Mikhail Ignatiev Team Katusha, at 00:07
# 3. Mark Cavendish Team Columbia - Htc at 00:07
# 4. Tyler Farrar Garmin - Slipstream at 00:07
# 5. Gerald Ciolek Team Milram at 00:07
# 6. Danilo Napolitano Team Katusha at 00:07
# 7. Joaquin Rojas Jose Caisse D’epargne at 00:07
# 8. Lloyd Mondory Ag2r-La Mondiale at 00:07
# 9. Oscar Freire Rabobank at 00:07
# 10. Thor Hushovd Cervelo Test Team at 00:07
# 11. Angelo Furlan Lampre - N.g.c at 00:07
# 12. Leonardo Duque Cofidis Le Credit En Ligne at 00:07
# 13. Romain Feillu Agritubel at 00:07
# 14. Kenny Robert Van Hummel Skil-Shimano at 00:07
# 15. Albert Timmer Skil-Shimano at 00:07
# 16. Koldo Fernandez Euskaltel - Euskadi at 00:07
# 17. Andréas KlÖden Astana at 00:07
# 18. Yukiya Arashiro Bbox Bouygues Telecom at 00:07
# 19. Roman Kreuziger Liquigas at 00:07
# 20. Mark Renshaw Team Columbia - Htc at 00:07
5:21
CPelkey: Armstrong, Contador, Cancellara and the other top GC contenders finished in the field.
5:22
CPelkey: Gesink is still out there [injured]. He'll finish today, but he's lost a lot of time. Well over 9 minutes back.
5:26
CPelkey: Gesink is in, nearly 10 minutes down. We hope his injuries are such that he can recover enough overnight and maybe aim for a stage win along the way. Gesink is a remarkable talent and even if he pulls out of this Tour, he's bound to make a mark on future Tours.
5:30
CPelkey: Okay folks, that turned out to be quite a good one today. It's always refreshing to see the peloton flub the timing on a catch. When you see the picture of today's finish, you'll see how close they came to catching him, too... but this isn't horseshoes and close don't count.
Reference Here>>

So, Stage 6 tomorrow will feature Barcelona, with a strong North wind present to potentially set up more echelon tactic team racing.

TDF Stage Four - Team Time Trial Shows The Way

Stage 4, Team Time Trial for the 2009 Tour de France start for Team Robo Bank. Image Credit: steephill.tv

TDF Stage Four - Team Time Trial Shows The Way

At the beginning of the day, Lance Armstrong was interviewed by the press corps and in his view, he stated that

if he were a betting man, his money would be on Team Saxo Bank would win and Fabian Cancellara would retain the

Yellow Jersey.

Asked how would it feel if Team Astana were to win the stage ... and by enough time to win the Yellow Jersey,

Lance said, "That would be cool, not realistic but very cool indeed."

Stage 4, Team Time Trial for the 2009 Tour de France (ctrl-click to launch map). Image and Link Credit: steephill.tv

During the interview, Lance was very clear to make the point that Team Astana has at least four riders that could contest as team leader and possible winner of the Tour de France. Of course, Lance would have to be considered due to the fact he has won seven previous TDF's but Alberto Contador (who has been riding and winning well over the last 18 months), Levi Leipheimer (who is having a good year this year), and Andreas Kloden (a strong rider in his own right) all could become factors when the team reaches the mountains. "The mountains will tell." said Lance.

Team Astana driving toward the finish line in a last big push. VERSUS broadcast video edit of Team Astana, Team Garmin-Slipstream, and Team Saxo Bank in competition - crtl-click on photo to launch video. Image Credit: AFP

Team Astana has been able to finish exactly 40 seconds ahead of Team Saxo Bank as well as finish first in the Team Time Trial. The Yellow Jersey is still in doubt at this very moment because the timing has to come down to the tenths of a second and the judges need to review the individual and the team time trial timings between Armstrong and Cancellara in order to determine who will be in the Yellow Jersey tomorrow!

It's official ... the time advantage is virtually ZERO (tenths and possibly thousandths of a second) so the Yellow Jersey is retained by Fabian Cancellara of Team Saxo Bank going on into the Pyrenees.

This excerpted and edited from VeloNews -

Astana steamrolls team time trial
Cancellara keeps the jersey by a fraction of a second over Armstrong
By VeloNews.com - Published: Jul. 7, 2009

Team Astana blazed through the team time trial to win stage 4. Astana came across the line 40 seconds ahead of the Saxo Bank squad of race leader Fabian Cancellara — the exact margin by which Cancellara led Lance Armstrong on general classification. After some careful math by race officials, Cancellara now holds the yellow jersey by a fraction of a second over Armstrong.

Garmin-Slipstream finished second on the day, 18 seconds down.

Astana came into the stage with four riders in the top 10 thanks to their time trialing ability, and that strength showed again on the 39km stage around Montpellier. Held largely on narrow roads, the technical course featured more than a few dicey corners that put riders from several teams on the ground.

Giro d’Italia champion Denis Menchov (Rabobank) was the first to go down, sliding out on a tight left-hand bend that soon felled World champion Alessandro Ballan (Lampre).

But Astana, having previewed the course several times, rode with precision and focused determination, avoiding any mishaps. They were rewarded for their efforts with Armstrong slotting into second overall, followed by Alberto Contador, Andreas Klöden and Levi Leipheimer in third through fifth, respectively.

"It's a little bit of a disappointment," Armstrong said of the narrow miss. "But the yellow jersey is on the horizon. Astana did their maximum."
Reference Here>>