GreatOutdoors.com: Tour de France 2008

Stage 21: Paris

bethschneider — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 11:57:22 -0700

Stage 21: Paris

Finally! Everyone must have been tired. The race was about 45 minutes later than expected. Usually there’s a break that’s exciting but today there was just a small one with Vogondy and Barredo. They were swallowed by the peloton and the stage ended in a sprint with Belgian Steegmans winning.

Carlos Sastre won the race. He had his kids on the podium and I think his son stole the show, making lots of faces and cheering.

Tomorrow it’s up at 5 am for the long flight home.

Stage 20: Cerilly - St Amand Montrond Time Trial

bethschneider — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 10:12:07 -0700

Stage 20: Cerilly – St Amand Montrond TT

Christian Vandevelde rode like crazy today and made up a minute and a half but he’s still behind by 3’12”. Cadel Evans also rode like crazy and made it up to second place. Stefan Schumacher from Gerolsteiner won the stage and Carlos Sastre retained the yellow jersey. The Paris podium will be Sastre, Evans and Kohl.

Stage19: Roanne-Montlucon

bethschneider — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 09:48:24 -0700

Stage 19: Roanne- Montlucon

I stopped in a small town, Chatel Montagne, to shoot. At that point, there was a break with Schumacher, Fedrigo, Martinez and Ballan. The peloton came by quickly behind.

It then took 2-1/2 hours to get to the finish and I’m surprised I made it. Sylvain Chavanel finally won a stage today in Montlucon.

Tomorrow is the last time trial and then a long drive to Paris for the finish on Sunday.

Stage 18: St Etienne

bethschneider — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:39:54 -0700

Stage 18: Bourg d’Oisans – St Etienne

Today was a tough day to shoot the race in a car. The route from Bourg d’Oisans was a two lane road with no room to pass. I’m exhausted so I just drove to the finish.

The peloton mostly stayed together except for a break with Astarloza, Burghardt and Barredo. Burghardt and Borredo duked it out the last kilometer with Burghardt winning the stage.

Tomorrow is another sprinters’ day and then the time trial on Saturday which will probably determine the race.

Stage 17: Alpe d'Huez

bethschneider — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:18:30 -0700

Stage 17: Alpe d’Huez

Alpe d’Huez is always exciting. I drove up last night, through hordes of drunk partying fans. It’s great not to have to spend 5 or more hours in traffic trying to get down the mountain after this stage.

Everything changed again in the race today. Carlos Sastre from CSC attacked on Alpe d’Huez and managed to stay away the whole mountain, win the stage and the yellow jersey. He’s enough ahead of his nearest rivals that if he has a good time trial on Saturday will win the Tour. Frank Schleck is 1’24” behind, Bernard Kohl 1’33” and Cadel Evans 1’34”. It will be exciting to see if any of them can make up that much time. Christian Vandevelde was with the chase group up the mountain but has dropped back to 6^th place and is now 4’41” behind and unlikely to make the podium in Paris.

Stage 16: Cuneo - Jausiers

bethschneider — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:10:53 -0700

Stage 16: Cuneo – Jausiers

Today we left Italy after a much needed rest day. The route was practically empty until the base of the first climb, the Col de Lombard, where it was packed with Italian racing fans, better known as tifosi. I continued on ahead to the Col de la Bonette-Restafond which is the highest road in Europe.

Schumacher from Gerolsteiner attacked on the Col de Lombard and stayed away with a lead of 4’40” but was caught by a group which included Evans, Vandevelde, Hincapie, Valverde, Menchov, Sastre, Sanchez, Schleck and Kohl. Frenchman Dessel and his group were ahead and he won the stage. Frank Schleck is still in yellow. Kohl and Evans are 07 and 08 seconds behind so depending upon what happens tomorrow at Alpe d’Huez, it could all come down to the time trial. Christian Vandevelde lost a lot of time and is now 3’15” behind.

Stage 15: Embrun - Prato Nevoso

bethschneider — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 10:32:49 -0700

Stage 15: Embrun – Prato Nevoso

Today was cool and wet, totally the opposite from yesterday which was sunny and blistering hot. I left early, so I wouldn’t have to negotiate around the publicity caravan on the Col d’Agnel. The weather when I drove over the pass was miserable, but apparently eased up when the race crossed. I waited at Prato Nevoso in Italy, a ski resort.

Everything changed today in the race. Cadel Evans lost the yellow jersey to Frank Schleck and another Australian, Simon Gerrans won the stage. American Danny Pate was in the group of 3 with Gerrans and Martinez first to the finish.

Tomorrow is a rest day in Italy.

Stage 14: Nimes - Dignes-les-Bain

bethschneider — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 09:42:48 -0700

Stage 14: Nimes – Digne-les-Bains

About 30 minutes before the race start today, a local photographer canceled his day on the motorcycle so I got a bonus day. The course was really uninteresting and we spent way too much time looking for lavender. But at least we finally found some. We had to stay behind and couldn’t pass to the finish but were able to get a few shots on the way in.

Tomorrow is Italy and some big mountains. I’ll be surprised if things aren’t more disorganized there; in the past that’s how it’s been. But a lot of people are looking forward to it – good coffee and good food!

Stage 13 : Narbonne - Nimes

bethschneider — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:24:05 -0700

Stage 13: Nimes-Narbonne

Today was a pretty flat, uninteresting stage. It was really hot, at least 100 degrees. The peloton was mostly together and there was a bunch sprint at the finish with Mark Cavendish winning again.

Yesterday morning the entire Saunier Duval team was thrown out of the race because of a positive test from Riccardo Ricco. It was pretty obvious when he was on the podium-he had been really nervous, never smiled and didn’t seem happy to be there. Today the gossip is that his teammate Piepoli was almost positive-internal controls showed some irregularities, so he was fired from his team. And so, it continues….

Stage 12: Lavelanet – Narbonne

bethschneider — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:20:31 -0700

Today was my stage on the motorcycle. It was a hilly day with tight roads and difficult to pass. We were able to make a couple of passes but then at around 100k we got stuck behind the peloton for around 40 kilometers, until it was time to speed to the finish.

The morning was scandal time. Apparently Riccardo Ricco was doping, so he and his whole team were thrown out of the race. Hopefully that's the end of it, but who knows. I guess they never got the memos.

Stage 11 - Col de Portel

bethschneider — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:44:17 -0700

Stage 11: Lannemezan – Foix

Today was a pretty unexciting day in the race. There was an early break of 12 guys. The peloton didn’t expend much energy chasing as the weather has finally stopped raining and it’s beginning to get hot. There was a cat 1 climb, the Col du Portel. The first guy over the top was Moinard from the Cofidis team but he was passed on the descent to the finish. The stage was won by Arvesen from CSC and Cadel Evans is still in yellow.

I’m on the moto tomorrow and hope there will be some scenery and good opportunities for photos.

Stage 10 - Montee du Hautacam

bethschneider — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:29:26 -0700

What a great stage. Lots of Spanish fans and lots of energy. Juan Jose Cobo Acebo and Leonardo Piepoli came up the Hautacam together and Piepoli won the stage. Cadel Evans is now in yellow. He was really emotional stepping on the podium and receiving it. He was fighting back tears of emotion and ended up kissing the stuffed lion really hard! Christian Vandevelde is still in third place and gained about 6 seconds from yesterday. He’s the only American in contention.

Stage 9 - Col d'Aspin

bethschneider — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 10:02:59 -0700

Stage 9: Toulouse-Bagneres-de-Bigorre

The race is finally beginning to take shape. Cadel Evans crashed at 105k, changed his bike and continued. The doctors said he might have some problems climbing but that remains to be seen. He’s still in second place in GC.

Sebastien Lang came over the top of the Col d’Aspin ahead of the eventual winner, Riccardo Ricco. Kim Kirchen finished 9^th and he now has the yellow jersey.

The weather is beginning to ease up and tomorrow may actually be the first day without rain.

Stage 8 - Figeac-Toulouse

bethschneider — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 09:53:07 -0700

Today was an incredibly miserable day. It rained all day long. It was too dangerous to drive as fast as needed to get ahead of the peloton, so I waited at the finish. There were some breaks that didn’t hold and non-serious crashes. This is the last day for the sprinters until after the Pyrenees, which start tomorrow. Steegmans of Quickstep was expecting to win but he was eclipsed by Mark Cavendish who managed to get around him and win the stage.

Stage 7 - Brioude - Aurillac

bethschneider — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 10:25:51 -0700

Today was kind of a gloomy day. It threatened rain all day and actually rained a little bit. On top of the biggest climb of the day it was so foggy that you could see only about 1 car ahead. This region, the Massif Central, is very hilly and lots of tight, windy roads. There were some attacks today, including one by some of the stronger riders-Evans, Sastre, the Schlecks, Vandevelde and several others. Lampre was the main force that reeled them back in. At 4 k from the finish, Luis Sanchez from Caisse d’Epargne broke away and won the stage. Kim Kirchen still has the yellow jersey.

Stage 6 - Super Besse

bethschneider — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:56:05 -0700

Today began some climbing with tow cat 4 climbs and two cat 2 and a climb to the finish. There were several breaks that all were reeled in by the time the reached the climb to the finish. En route to the finish line, Schumacher crashed by himself and Riccardo Ricco made it to the finish first. Kim Kirchen from Team Columbia is now in both the yellow leader jersey and the green sprint jersey.

I’ve just arrived from the US after traveling all the way across the country, across the Atlantic Ocean and having had to drive more than 500 kilometers to get here. I made it through the police barricades without my yet having gotten my credentials, but was so worried about getting through early enough, I didn’t stop for gas and am worried that I’m going to run out during the traffic jam on the way down. If you don’t hear from me tomorrow, you’ll know why!

Stage 5 - Yellow Jersey Unchanged

peterp — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:38:28 -0700

British rider Mark Cavendish, of American Team Columbia, won the fifth stage of the 2008 Tour de France on Wednesday. It was his first stage victory in cycling's premier race. Cavendish was behind a three rider breakway that led almost the entire way on the Tour's longest leg, but the British racer caught them within sight of the finish line.

Stage 4 - Cholet Time Trial

bethschneider — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 09:44:04 -0700

The race is finally starting to shape up. The course was 29.5 kilometers around Cholet.

Gerolsteiner’s Stefan Schumacher won the stage in a time of 35.44 minutes and also took over the yellow jersey. As expected, Cadel Evans moved up and now sits just 21 seconds behind the leader. David Millar of the Garmin-Chipotle team finished second. Americans Christian Vandevelde finished in 6^th place and George Hincapie finished 7^th place. They’re now in 8^th and 9^th place. Tomorrow will be a flatter day and then Thursday will be a hilltop finish at Super Besse.

Frenchman Dumoulin wins in Nantes

bethschneider — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:26:06 -0700

Stage 3: St Malo – Nantes

The race headed slightly inland today, away from Brittany into the Vendee region. At 2k from the start a group of four riders broke away from the peloton and stayed away all day. In the break were William Frischkorn from Boulder, Colorado on the Garmin/Chipotle team, Romain Feilleu from AGR, Paolo Longo Borghini, and Samuel Dumoulin. It was a very flat stage, 208k and raining most of the day. Some protesters tried to use the race to get attention for their cause, but the race managed to continue around them. Samuel Dumoulin won the stage and Feilleu is now in the yellow jersey. Tomorrow is a time trial so it will be interesting to see what happens.

Stage 2 Hushovd sprints to win

bethschneider — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 08:25:08 -0700

Stage 2 was won in a sprint by Norwegian Thor Hushovd of the Credit Agricole team. Valverde is still in yellow. Soler Hernandez is suffering badly from the crash yesterday and may have to drop out. He’s now 7 minutes behind. The day was cloudy and threatening rain, kind of gloomy.

Valverde wins Stage 1

bethschneider — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:09:07 -0700

This is the first year since 1967 that the Tour de France has not started with a Prologue. New Tour organizer Christian Prudhomme is trying new things in an attempt to reinvigorate the race.

Brittany is typically very hilly and often windy. Today’s course from Brest to Plumelec was no exception. As is typical, Jimmy Casper was involved in a crash on Stage 1. Later in the race Colombian mountain climber Juan Soler Hernandez was involved in another crash and it’s not known at this point how serious. There were some minor breakaways during the stage with the peloton eventually catching up. The finish sprint was won by Alejandro Valverde of Murcia, Spain on the Caisse d’Epargne team.

The top placed American cyclists were Christian Vandevelde in 18^th place and George Hincapie in 29^th. My Tour favorite, Cadel Evans, finished in 6^th.

2008 Tour Map and Video

kais — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:21:20 -0700

Source: letour.fr

Tour de France 2008 Preview

bethschneider — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:08:55 -0700

See Beth's new images and daily commentary for every stage of the Tour de France