GreatOutdoors.com: Tour de France 2008

Cavendish seals the deal in Paris, Contador wins the overall

heidiswift — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:12:26 -0700

He said he was going to win in Paris. He’s said it since day one. It’s bold to make such big claims with that brand of unflinching confidence, but Cavendish has a way of delivering the goods. And today on the storied Champs-Élysées was no different.

The Englishman stormed away from everyone to claim his 6th (and most dominating) win of this year’s Tour. The moment marked the 10th Tour de France stage win of his career and the realization of a major goal for the entire Columbia-HTC team.

How it unfolded

Champagne and smiles were the order of the day for the first half of today’s stage which saw the riders enjoying their final hours in the 2009 Tour de France. Some were celebrating GC victories, some were celebrating success in the classification competitions, but most were simply celebrating survival.

But when the group turned onto the storied Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris, it was back to business. On tap? A frenzied sprint and a bid for one of the highest honors in the sport – the top podium spot for the final stage win of the Tour. Glory in Paris is every sprinter’s dream.

Traditionally, the stage to Paris ends with an 8 lap race around a 7 kilometer circuit – the perfect venue to set up a dramatic finish.

The requisite attacks went out almost immediately as a few escape artists attempted to thwart the sprinter’s plans, but the Columbia-HTC train was having none of it. As the field sped along the circuit through the city, all 9 Columbia riders moved to the front to drive the pace and string out the 156-man peloton.

Heroic ride for Tony Martin on Mont Ventoux

heidiswift — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 07:38:06 -0700

With wind ripping at 25 mph near the summit of Bald Mountain, Columbia-HTC’s Tony Martin battled for a second place finish after riding in a breakaway for nearly the entire 104-mile stage. The strong winds battered the main field throughout the day and made for a challenging chase by the peloton, allowing Martin’s group to stretch their gap to as much as 8 minutes and 45 seconds with 28 miles until the finish.

Massive crowds lined the narrow roadway as the breakaway lifted the pace at the base of the final climb and the group shattered as the grade kicked up. One by one, riders faded backward down the hill as Martin pressed on through a wall of sound, flags, cowbells, noisemakers, and rabid screaming fans.

At the end of the day, he was among just two men to stay away from the chasing GC group of Contador, Armstrong, Wiggins, and the Brothers Schleck. Martin’s lone companion at the summit was Rabobank’s Juan Manuel Garate, who pulled away in the final meters to steal the stage victory from the young German.

Despite the near-miss for the day’s top honors, Martin’s incredible ride bodes well for the future of a man who is sure to become a top GC contender in the coming years. Keep your eye on this one!

The showdown: Schleck attacks not enough to shake up the GC

This was the day everyone was waiting for. 104 miles of truth. 5 climbs primed and ready for race leaders to lay down the pain. A final, grueling battle on the slopes of Mon Ventoux. Heat, wind, and relentless attacking.

When the sparks finally started to fly, Alberto Contador proved to be as unstoppable as many have suspected. Likewise Lance Armstrong, who fended off one attack after another in order to defend his third place position in the overall classification.

Cavendish surprises with win number five

heidiswift — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 07:35:40 -0700

They said he couldn’t win on an uphill finish. They said he couldn’t win without his long, roaring leadout train. The said he wouldn’t win today. But he did.

Nobody – and I mean nobody – expected Cavendish to make it over today’s Category 2 climb with the main field to be in position to contest a bunch finish. But there on the Col de l’Escrinet, the Englishman battled up the final slope, towed by loyal teammates, and crested with the field.

“It was so painful, it was so hard.” Cavendish reported moments after the stage, “I was just sitting there suffering and it hurt so much. I talked to the team before the stage and I said, ‘Just wait for me. Just wait for me…’”

After the climb, there was still 18k until the finish – and with two men still off the front, Columbia’s work wasn’t over. George Hincapie (who has a suspected broken collarbone but has refused x-rays because he wants to finish out the Tour) drilled the pace to bring back the two escapees: Alessandro Ballan (Lampre) and Laurent Lefèvre (Bbox).

The chase to close the gap consumed a precious portion of the Columbia-HTC leadout train, eating up energy that is usually used closer to the finish to launch Cavendish off the front at the very last second. As it was, Hincapie closed the gap to a very stubborn Ballan with just 2k to go, then peeled off to the left – head down, completely blown.

Most of the rest of Cav’s delivery train were missing in action, spent after the long chase, so it was the young climber, Tony Martin who took on the final leadout duties typically assigned to Mark Renshaw. Martin pounded down on the pedals for as long as he could hold on and then pulled off to the side as Cavendish came around him to start the long grind to the finish.

Contador lives up to yellow with impressive individual time trial victory

heidiswift — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:13:52 -0700

Contador didn’t need to win today to protect his race lead, but win he did. The Spaniard rode away with the 40 kilometer individual time-trial, beating time-trial specialist Fabian Cancellara (a two-time former TT World Champion and Olympic gold medalist) by three seconds. Contador covered the course in 48 minutes and 30 seconds, averaging over 30 miles per hour.

Winning the individual time-trial is a point of pride for the maillot jaune - Armstrong did it in 6 of his 7 historic Tour de France wins. The victory puts a stamp of authority on Contador’s overall race lead - if there were any doubt up to this point, the performance confirms his worthiness of the Tour’s highest honor.

More changes in the GC

The individual time trial event almost always causes significant shakeup in the overall classification and today was no exception.

While Contador and A. Schleck remained in the 1st and 2nd place slots, Lance Armstrong’s performance (16th place, 1:30 off the lead pace) was good enough to bump him up a spot from 4th into 3rd overall. The Texan will be keen to keep a foot on the podium all the way to Paris and will likely set his sights on moving into second with a big ride up Mont Vontoux on Saturday.

Contador’s four minute lead over the rest of the field will be hard (if not impossible) to overcome in the remaining days. He’ll have to make a pretty serious mistake to open the door for his rivals to have a chance at stealing the maillot jaune. That said, there’s a very real battle shaping up for the remaining podium positions.

Astarloza takes Stage 16 to earn the first victory of his career

heidiswift — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 23:54:28 -0700

Basque rider Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel-Euskadi) did what the Basques do best today and conquered two major slopes in a bid for personal and national glory. After spending most of the day out ahead of the peloton, Astarloza successfully attacked 3 remaining breakaway companions with 2 kilometers to go, earning him the first ever victory of his 7-year professional career.

Behind the race for the stage win, GC contender Andy Schleck and his Saxo-Bank team fired several missiles in the battle for the overall classification, but were unable to shake Astana’s firm hold on the yellow jersey. Alberto Contador responded to every Saxo-Bank move with apparent ease and Lance Armstrong also showed impressive form that caught many off guard.

At the end of the day, the main group of GC contenders remained neutralized and finished together barring one notable exception – the dismal performance of Silence-Lott’s Cadel Evans. The Australian, who was second in last year’s Tour, was once considered a hopeful for the overall win in this year’s show, but lost 3 minutes on his rivals today. Now more than seven minutes back in the overall classification, it’s fairly safe to say that his chances of winning the 2009 Tour are over.

How the race unfolded

An early break of 21 riders went clear of the peloton early and opened up a 2 minute gap just 17 kilometers into the race. The group contained no serious threats to the race leaders, and their gap group to as much as five minutes over the course of the stage.

The first climb of the day shattered the large pack of leaders and Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas) and Vladimir Karpets (Katusha) led over the summit with a gap of 1:20 ever the rest of their breakaway companions and 2:30 over the peloton. Three groups strung out along the road between the two lone leaders and the main field.

Contador ends speculation with dominating Stage 15 victory on Verbier

heidiswift — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 23:52:48 -0700

Alberto Contador climbed into a wall of sound, legs ticking out a quick rhythm, face calm in the midst of a frenzied crowd. When his pace dropped, he stood up and accelerated. Pressing fans roared their support, clanging cowbells, banging sticks together, and screaming at top volume – often blocking the road ahead and moving clear just at the last second to reveal the pavement ahead. When they came too close, he threw two warning punches into the air – one to the left, and one to the right.

In the midst of the mountain-top chaos, the Spaniard pedaled smoothly away from his competition, winning the Tour’s first stage of the Alps 42 seconds ahead of his nearest rival, Andy Schleck (Saxo-Bank).

It was a performance that put an end to any doubt about who will lead the Astana squad (Armstrong is now second overall, but at 1’37” off the pace, it would be a tall order for him to overtake his teammate in the coming stages) and also established that he is the man to beat in this year’s Tour de France.

Three in the top fifteen for Columbia-HTC

Kim Kirchen, Tony Martin and Maxime Monfort all finished in the top 15 today (10th, 12th and 14th respectively) preserving their top-20 positions in the overall classification. Don’t be surprised if you see one of the three Columbia climbers find their way into a break in the coming days.

Kirchen looked solid on the steep slopes of Verbier and we should continue to see strong performances from him over the coming mountains. He has managed to increase his standing in the overall classification almost every day since the beginning of the Tour – if he can dig deep and deliver the ride of his life over one of the next four stages, we may be in for a sweet surprise.

Katusha's Sergei Ivanov takes Stage 14 win, Hincapie misses yellow by 5 seconds

heidiswift — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 16:46:35 -0700

Sergei Ivanov delivered the first Russian victory of this year’s tour with a massive effort in the final ten kilometers of the race. Ivanov had been in a break of 12 men for the better part of the 199 kilometer stage when he attacked his breakaway companions with 10 kilometers to go.

With such a long way still to go to the finish, it seemed like a risky move, but the six-time Russian National Champion used his time-trialing skills to stay clear of the group, crossing the line with a comfortable margin of 16 seconds.

Just behind him, Team-Columbia’s George Hincapie finished with the rest of the breakaway and, for a moment, it looked like his efforts might payoff with a day in the yellow jersey as the main field was still almost six minutes back.

But it was not to be. A big push from AG2R (attempting to defend Nocentini’s race lead) and Garmin-Slipstream brought the gap down just enough to deny Hincapie his day in the maillot jaune. He’s now sitting second in the overall standings, 5 seconds off the pace of Nocentini, with Contador and Armstrong just behind in 3rd and 4th.

Woman killed by caravan vehicle

Overshadowing today’s race was the tragic news of a 60-year-old woman who was struck and killed while crossing the road after a breakaway group of riders had passed. She was hit by one of the several police motorbikes which accompany the race.

It was the first fatality since two children were killed in 2000 and 2002 hit by cars from the publicity caravan.

The biggest accident in the Tour’s 106-year history took place in 1964, when a police supply van struck a bridge in the Dordogne region, killing 20 people.

Racers are constantly engaged in close calls with spectators, who line the courses and congregate en masse (especially up the mountain-top finishes).

Heinrich Haussler takes an emotional Stage 13 victory

heidiswift — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:49:10 -0700

There’s no crying in cycling, but don’t tell that to Cervelo’s Heinrich Haussler.

The powerful Australian-born German crossed the line first today in a classic solo win over a challenging mountain stage. With his nearest challenger more than four minutes back, he had time to relish the moment of the first Tour de France stage win of his career – and the moment overwhelmed him.

Covering his face, rain-soaked and exhausted, Haussler sobbed visibly as he raised his hands for a victory salute.

Better known for his sprinting prowess, Haussler often serves as the key leadout man for Thor Hushovd. Today, however, the glory was all his. Heinrich went with a break of 7 that formed just 5k into today’s stage – by the time he’d shed his companions to cross the line alone he’d been off the front of the race for a grueling 195 kilometers.

How it unfolded

Biblical rain pounded the race as the riders set out to conquer five climbs including the Category 1 Col du Platzerwasel, an 8.7 km climb that averages 7.6 percent. The tough, winding 200k route, coupled with the abysmal weather made this a perfect day for a hard man to ride away with the win.

When the break of 7 formed early in the race, the peloton was determined to keep it on a short leash because of Rabobank’s Manuel Garate presence among the would-be escapees. At just 6:56 back from the race lead, he presented a serious threat to the yellow jersey.

Haussler eventually attacked at 60k with two others from the group: Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) and Ruben Perez Moreno (Euskaltel-Euskadi). The four remaining riders faded back to rejoin the peloton and the trio up front soon had a sizable gap that grew to as much as 9 minutes over the course of the race.

Niki Sorensen rides away with stage 12, Nocentini in yellow for one more day

heidiswift — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 06:49:24 -0700

Saxo-Banks’ Niki Sorensen laid it all on the line today. His efforts were rewarded as he crossed the line first in Vittel, 48 seconds of his nearest challenger. Sorensen was part of a seven man break that got away from the main field at 64 kilometers into the race.

He and break-mate Agritubel's Sylvain Calzati attacked with about 20k to go, putting a quick gap on the five men behind. With 5k to go, Sorensen attacked Calzati, who faded quietly back into the five-man chase behind him.

With a sizable gap established, Sorensen gritted his teeth and powered away for the solo victory, crossing the line with a look of utter disbelief and joy.

The day started out at a blistering pace as the field averaged over 30mph for the first hour of racing, with attacks coming fast and furious from all directions. When the break finally got away, the peloton was already hurting and chasing duties were left to yellow jersey holder Rinaldo Nocentini’s AG2R team (one rider in the break presented a possible threat to Nocentini’s race lead.)

The teams of the other GC contenders were unmotivated to do much work and the sprinter’s teams seemed equally content to save their legs for tomorrow’s challenging mountain stage. The main field finished six minutes behind the breakaway and Rinaldo Nocentini was able to hold onto the yellow race leader’s jersey for another day.

Cavendish extends his lead in the Points Classification

Mark Cavendish has been claiming not to be interested in winning the Points Classification this year, but it appears that a few days in green may have changed his mind – and his strategy.

Cavendish defies critics to claim his 4th victory of the 2009 Tour de France

heidiswift — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:48:50 -0700

Heading into today’s stage, Mark Cavendish had seven Tour de France stage victories to his name. Four in last year’s Tour and three in 2009. The common denominator? Every victory came on a pancake-flat finish.

They said he wouldn’t win if he had to sprint uphill. They were wrong.

What they forgot is that Mark Cavendish is riding with the best lead-out train in the pro peloton. Today, that team navigated a hair-raising final 10 kilometers to put the blazing Englishman within firing distance of a finish line that sat at the end of a slightly uphill run-in. By the time his sprint captain, Mark Renshaw, peeled off in the final meters of the race, Cavendish was in prime position to turn on the afterburners and smoke his charging rivals.

Garmin-Slipstream’s Tyler Farrar came close – pulling up alongside the Englishman for a brief moment – but was unable to seal the deal. Rival Thor Hushovd faded to fifth, which will force him to hand the green jersey of the Points Classification leader back to Cavendish for tomorrow’s stage. Cavendish now leads Hushovd in the heated battle for green by 7 points.

In addition to riding himself back into green, Cav’ also managed to ride his way into the history books. The win marked his eighth career Tour de France stage victory, which matches Barry Hoben’s previously held record for the most stage wins in the Tour de France by a British rider (Hoben won eight between 1967 to 1975). No doubt Cavendish will be keen to break the record outright in this year’s Tour – if not in another flat stage tomorrow, then on the storied Champs D’Élysées in the final stage heading into Paris.

How it unfolded

Tour de France Stage 10: Cavendish rides away with win number three

heidiswift — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:28:11 -0700

The Manx Missile showed once again that he is the man to beat when the finish is flat and fast. Following the wheel of trusted first lieutenant Mark Renshaw, Cavendish looked positively unstoppable today as he rode away from rivals Thor Hushovd (Cervelo) and Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream) to claim the day’s top honors.

The stage win (Cavendish’s third of this tour and the seventh Tour de France stage victory of his career) nudges him 5 points closer to reclaiming the green jersey of the Points Classification leader. He now trails Thor Hushovd in that competition by only six points.

How it unfolded
Thierry Hupond (Skil-Shimano) attacked four kilometers into today’s stage and was soon joined by Benoït Vaugrenard (Française des Jeux), Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne), and Mikhail Ignatiev (Team Katusha).

The quartet (which included three Frenchman looking for a little Bastille Day glory), enjoyed a lead over the main field that grew to as much as 3:20, but the peloton was reluctant to let them get much further up the road and at the 27.5k mark, they began to slowly close the gap.

At 12k to the finish, the break still had 40 seconds on the main field, but Team Columbia-HTC, Quick Step, Rabobank and Team Milram were on the front of the group with visions of a bunch sprint driving the pace. When they dropped the hammer, the gap came down in quick order and executed a perfectly timed catch, reabsorbing the breakaway with 1.6 kilometers to the finish – just in time to set up their leadout trains for the big crush to the line.

Luis León Sánchez takes stage 8, Nocentini remains in yellow

heidiswift — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 13:12:24 -0700

July 11, 2009
Tour de France Stage Eight: Andorre-la-Vieille—Saint-Girons
176.5km (109.6 miles)

Luis León Sánchez (Caisse d'Epargne) pipped Sandy Casar (Française des Jeux) to claim the day’s top honors with a stage win in Saint-Girons. The men came to the line as part of a four-man group that also included Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Vladimir Efimkin (Ag2r) – they’d been riding in the breakaway (which changes composition several times during the race) for the better part of 150 kilometers.

In the main field, GC contenders worked to keep the gap down after a flurry of initial attacks including an ambitious move launched by GC-hopeful Cadel Evans. Astana drove the pace for most of the day eventually brought back all the important escapees. An attack on the final climb put yellow-jersey holder Rinaldo Nocentini into difficulty, but the feisty Italian was able to battle his way back into the group in order to retain his lead in the general classification and keep the maillot jaune for one more day.

Tony Martin remains in white, Cavendish relinquishes green… for the moment.
Columbia-HTC’s Tony Martin continued what is shaping up to be an impressive Tour de France performance, hanging in with the other GC contenders as they drove the pace up three major climbs. The effort allowed him to maintain his 7th place position in the overall classification and retain control of the white jersey given to the leader of the Best Young Rider’s competition.

Cavendish was not so lucky today and was forced to hand the green sprinter’s jersey over to rival Thor Hushovd, who went with an early breakaway to claim two intermediate sprints along the way. Teammate George Hincapie grabbed the second place points at both the intermediate sprints to minimize the damage to Cav's points position.

Brice Feillu wins, Rinaldo Nocentini becomes first Italian in yellow in 9 years

heidiswift — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:41:44 -0700

July 9, 2009
Tour de France Stage Seven: Barcelone to Andorre Arcalis
224 km (139 miles)

In a phenomenal breakout performance, newly-minted professional Brice Feillu rode away from eight break-mates today to cross the line alone at the top of Andorre Arcalis. After looking a bit haggard toward the bottom of the final climb, the rookie 23-year-old Agritubel rider delivered a career-making attack and accelerated away from the lead group to take the win. He’d been riding in the break for more than 200 kilometers.

Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r) crossed the line 26 seconds later. He had been the highest placed rider in the break at the start of the day (32nd place on the GC, 3:13 down) and managed to cross the line with a wide enough margin to catapult him to the front of the general classification and make him the first Italian in 9 years to wear the coveted maillot jaune.

The bigger race, however, was happening behind the breakaway finishers as Astana’s Alberto Contador attacked the front of the chase group, putting 21 seconds into his nearest challenger, teammate Lance Armstrong. The ride moved Contador from 3rd to 2nd overall, two seconds ahead of Armstrong, going into another big mountain stage tomorrow.

Cavendish remains in green for 7th straight day, Tony Martin 7th in GC

Today wasn’t a day for the sprinters, but Cavendish got a little help from the boys in the break and maintained control of the Points Classification. Members of the breakaway claimed all of the intermediate sprint points along the way, ensuring that sprinting rival Thor Hushovd didn’t snag any of them to move into the lead in what’s shaping up to be an epic battle for the green Points Classification jersey. Cavendish remains in the lead for today and will wear the maillot vert again tomorrow for the 7th day running.

Stage 6: Thunder God dominates stormy day

heidiswift — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:24:31 -0700

Rain and wind battered the peloton in the second half of today’s stage, creating slick roads and dangerous conditions. Cervelo Test-Team’s Thor Hushovd (nicknamed “The God of Thunder”) roared to victory on the uphill finish, after the peloton reeled in an impressive solo escape attempt by Garmin-Slipstream’s David Millar.

Today’s stage did not affect the top tier of the GC – Cancellara (Saxo-Bank) remains in the yellow jersey heading into tomorrow’s first mountain stage with Astana’s Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador nipping at his heels in second and third place. Sitting in 7th place, Tony Martin remains Columbia-HTC’s highest place rider in the overall classification.

Cavendish remains in green, Mick Rogers involved in a nasty crash

The finish didn’t suit Mark Cavendish’s strengths and he crossed the line in 16th position but managed to retain his lead in the points classification by just a single point, so he will once again ride in the green jersey tomorrow. As the race now heads up and into the mountains, Cavendish will have to wait until Stage 10 before he gets another opportunity to go after his third stage victory.

Today’s stage was riddled with crashes – including one that took out Columbia-HTC’s George Hincapie and Mick Rogers. Hincapie suffered minimal road rash and rejoined the main field to finish the day in 18th. Rogers was not as lucky and looked to be badly hurt – he finished the stage but lost just over 13 minutes dropping from 16th to 159th in the overall classification, dashing any hopes for GC contention. X-rays confirmed that he suffered no broken bones and he is scheduled to start Stage 7 tomorrow.

How it unfolded: David Millar’s near miss

Tour 101: The Magic of the Breakaway

heidiswift — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:41:54 -0700

Voeckler’s incredible win today was a shining example of why riders will turn themselves inside out to get into a break early in the race. 99% of the time they’ll be pulled back by the main field with just a few kilometers to go - but sometimes?

Sometimes the breakaway sticks.

It requires a bit of luck, a few suitcases of courage, and a little disorganization in the main field – but when it happens, it can make a lesser-known rider’s entire career.

The anatomy of the break

Typically, at the beginning of the race, the peloton will “cover” (chase down) attacks until the right combination of riders gets away. In the Tour, race favorites, teammates of race favorites and other major players are never allowed to make the break. Instead, you’ll see no-name riders from smaller teams. (The best-placed GC rider in today’s break was Mikhail Ignatiev (Katusha) who was 3:02 behind Cancellara and Astana's Lance Armstrong).

Making the break is important for these riders because even if they may never manage to win a stage and probably won’t place very high in the overall tour standings, their time in front of the television cameras while they’re out ahead of the peloton is invaluable to their sponsors.

Since they aren’t a threat to any of the big dogs, the peloton is content to let them ride ahead for an (unlikely) go at glory – and will keep them at least 4 minutes or more out in front in order to discourage more riders from attacking the field to try to bridge up to the lead group.

Timing the catch

Voeckler rides to solo glory, Cavendish must settle for third but remains in green

heidiswift — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:03:38 -0700

July 8, 2009
Tour de France Stage Five: Le Cap d'Agde to Perpignan 196.5 kilometers
196.5 kilometers (122 miles)

Thomas Voeckler (Bbox Bouygues Telecom) stole the show today after dropping his breakaway companions in the final 5k to take the solo win, ahead of a hard-charging peloton. The six-man break had been away from the field for almost the entire 122 mile race and the main field, who waited just a fraction too long to orchestrate their chase, was unable to catch the runaway Frenchman.

Finishing with the main group just behind Voeckler, Team Columbia-HTC’s Mark Cavendish was able to sprint for third place, grabbing a few more precious sprint points to bring his total to 96. He is currently 20 points ahead of nearest rival, Thor Hushovd, and will ride in the green sprinter’s jersey again tomorrow.

How it unfolded

Today should have been a day for the sprinters: a relatively flat stage with a long, straight run into the finish. As it was, the 196.5 kilometer run from Le Cap d'Agde to Perpignan had something different in store.

Incredible glory for the French, the return of an old hero, and a finish that would ultimately confound a nervous peloton.

Thomas Voeckler attacked from the gun, riding into the fierce 'Tramontane' winds to initiate a break that quickly stormed away from the main field. Though not a GC contender or threat to any of the major teams, Voeckler is not a complete unknown: in 2004 he wore the maillot jaune for an impressive 10 days, solidifying his station as a French national hero and capturing the hearts of many.

Along for the ride with Voeckler: Anthony Geslin (Française des Jeux), Marcin Sapa (Lampre), Thomas Yauheni Hutarovich (Française des Jeux), Mikhael Ignatiev (Katusha) and Albert Timmer (Skil-Shimano).

Team Astana dominates the Team Time Trial, Team Columbia-HTC battles for fifth

heidiswift — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:26:49 -0700

July 7, 2009
Tour de France Stage Four: Montpellier to Montpellier (TTT)
39 kilometers (24.2 miles)

Coming off a herculean effort in yesterday’s road stage, Team Columbia-HTC rallied to hammer through a tough and technical team time trial course today, finishing the 39 kilometer (24.2mi) course in 47:28, averaging just about 30mph. The ride was good enough to put them in fifth place on the day.

Narrow roads and winding turns challenged nerves as well as legs, as the team worked together to keep the speed high and the paceline tight. Starting second-to-last (teams started in inverse order of their position in the overall team classification competition) they hit the pavement and set out to conserve time and defend the GC positions of yellow-jersey contenders Kim Kirchen and Michael (Mick) Rogers.

Starting behind them, Team Astana was heavily favored to win the day - and they delivered on the hype. Covering the course in 46:29 at an average of 31.2 miles per hour, previous Tour de France winners Alberto Contador (2007) and Lance Armstrong (1999-2005) hammered at the front of front of the blue-and-yellow train to drive the pace, with long pulls from previous tour podium finishers Levi Leipheimer (3rd in 2007) and Andreas Kloden (2nd in 2006).

The stacked Astana crew bested second place Garmin-Slipstream by 18 seconds and put 40 seconds into Team Saxo-Bank, coming within hundredths of a second of taking the overall race lead from Saxo-Bank’s Fabian Cancellara.

The margin between Cancellara and Armstrong in the overall standings was so slight that it is being listed at “zero seconds” in the official race results. Half a second faster and Armstrong would have been in back in the yellow jersey for the first time since his retirement in 2005 – as it is, he’ll have to settle for second on the GC, at least for the moment.

Looking ahead to Stage Four: Team Time Trial

heidiswift — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:03:38 -0700

Recap: How the TTT Works
The team time trial (TTT) follows the same basic principle of the ITT (teams ride alone and the team with the fastest time wins) but requires each team to work closely together. Riders draft in an aerodynamic line, each member taking a turn at the front while teammates 'sit in' behind. After their turn, the lead rider will swing over, allowing the next rider to take the lead, while the leader goes to the back of the line. By rotating this way, the team is able to maximize recovery and speed, moving far faster than a single rider could on their own. The official team time is clocked when the 5th rider crosses the line.

Why It’s Important
The Tour de France hasn’t featured a Team Time Trial since 2005 and its inclusion this year will be extremely important in the yellow jersey and team competitions. In years past, organizers limited the amount of time any given team could lose in the TTT (in an attempt to control its effect on the GC competition), but they’ve chosen not to do that this time around. This means GC contenders on weaker teams risk losing serious time in the overall classification.

Who to Watch
Team Astana is the runaway favorite to win, with a stacked squad and four time-trial powerhouses. Four other squads are capable of delivering an upset, but it will take a near perfect ride to pull it off. Among them, of course, Team Columbia-HTC. Coming off a TTT win in the Giro D’Italia earlier this May, they’ve shown that they’re capable of riding with the best and will look to deliver another dominating performance.

Cavendish roars to second consecutive stage victory

heidiswift — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:01:43 -0700

July 6, 2009
Tour de France Stage Three: Marseille to La Grande Motte
196.5 kilometers (122 miles)

Mind-blowing. That’s the only way to describe it. Team Columbia-HTC has officially put its stamp on the 2009 Tour de France.

The crew launched a massive coup in the peloton during today’s stage, splitting the field and sending the entire 9-man Columbia-HTC squad off the front to form a 27-man break that held until the finish. The incredible team effort (followed by another impressive leadout) gave boy-wonder Mark Cavendish an entrée to deliver his second consecutive stage win of this Tour and the sixth Tour victory of his career.

How it unfolded
A four man breakaway formed early on in today’s stage, gaining as much as 13 minutes on the peloton. With 112k to go, Team Saxo-Bank began to bring them back in order to protect their lead in the general classification.

Crosswinds confounded the peloton in the second half of the stage and the gap came down slowly. With 28k Team Columbia-HTC moved to the front and dropped the hammer as the road curved to the right, hanging the rest of the peloton out in the wind. The brilliant tactical move caught everyone off guard and opened up an immediate gap.

Panic ensued in the main field and the entire Columbia-HTC squad managed to make the break, dragging a total of 27 riders up the road and increasing the gap to 30 seconds in short order. With all 9 men in the break, Columbia-HTC went to work, driving the pace at the front to put time into the field and gain valuable seconds for GC contenders Mick Rogers and Kim Kirchen.

Tour 101: Classification Jerseys

heidiswift — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 10:02:29 -0700

Most people only think of the yellow jersey when they think of the Tour de Fance, but there are actually four major classification competitions that make for several exciting “races within the race”. Cavendish will be in the green sprinter’s jersey tomorrow – here’s what you need to know.

Overall Leader – The Yellow Jersey
The yellow jersey (maillot jaune in French) is worn by the overall leader of the race. It was introduced in 1919 to reflect the color of the sponsoring newspaper, L’Auto (the winner of the first Tour in 1903 wore a green armband instead). Lance Armstrong famoulsy mispronounced “maillot jaune” and earned the sometimes-nickname “Mellow Johnny” – which is now the name of his bike shop.
Team Columbia-HTC angle: Kim Kirchen wore the coveted maillot jaune for four days in last year’s Tour, a crowning moment both for him personally and Columbia-HTC. Kirchen is the team’s best hope for yellow this year, though he lost significant time in the tricky Stage 1 time trial so finding his way into yellow will now take a herculean effort in the mountains.

Points Classification – The Green Jersey
The green jersey is awarded to the most consistent rider, and is hotly contested by the world’s best sprinters (it’s often referred to as “the sprinters jersey”). At the end of each stage, points are earned by the riders who finish first, second, etc. Points are higher for flat stages, as sprints are more likely, and less for mountain stages, where climbers usually win. There are also points awarded for “intermediate sprints” at designated points throughout a stage.

Cavendish cruises to fifth Tour de France stage victory

heidiswift — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 09:59:46 -0700

July 5, 2009
Tour de France Stage Two: Monaco to Brignoles
187 kilometers (119 miles)

Mark Cavendish delivered in dominating fashion today, stomping his way to his first Tour de France stage win this year and the fifth of his career. A heavy favorite going into the stage, the Englishman from Isle of Man rose to the occasion, playing off a picture-perfect set-up from his teammates to ride away from the competition.

How it unfolded
A breakaway of four men formed early in the stage as Cancellara’s Saxo-Bank team controlled the pace in defense of the yellow jersey. Things started to heat up with about 43k to go as Team Columbia-HTC’s Bernhard Eisel, Bert Grabsch and Mark Renshaw went to the front of the peloton and did the lion’s share of the work to bring back the escapees to set Cavendish up for the win.

Tensions rose as the finish line drew near and the peloton caught the breakaway with just over 9 kilometers to go. Leading into the sprint, the front of the field became physical with riders bumping shoulders left and right and Columbia-HTC’s George Hincapie and Michael (Mick) Rogers laid down a brutal pace to keep Cavendish safely at the front of the group and launch him toward the line.

Rivals Tyler Farrar and Thor Hushovd got into the mix, but in the end no one could come close to matching Cav’s firepower – coming off of Hincapie’s wheel, he turned on the afterburners and delivered a long, commanding sprint to ride away from the bunch.
Crossing the line with four bike lengths on his next challenger (Farrar), Cavendish had enough of a gap to deliver a celebratory victory salute and a million dollar smile.

"When we put two guys in front it means we mean business... Today we meant business," he said after the finish.

Cavendish in Green

Cancellara wins opening time trial, Contador answers Astana questions

heidiswift — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 13:49:52 -0700

Cancellara dominates, Contador answers Astana questions

The time trial is often called “the race of truth” and today under the hot Monaco sun, more than a few truths were revealed. Among them? Fabian Cancellara (Saxo-Bank) is still a master of the time trial and Alberto Contador looks to be the undisputed leader on Team Astana.

Starting 4th from last, Cancellara delivered an incredible ride to win in commanding fashion, 18 seconds ahead second-place Alberto Contador.

A two-time World Time Trial Champion and the current Olympic gold medalist in the discipline, 28-year-old Cancellara was a heavy favorite to win today’s stage. The victory marks the third Tour de France prologue win of his career and puts him into the yellow race leader’s jersey heading into Stage 2.

The 15.5 kilometer time trial in Monaco took riders high above the Mediterranean coast into the hills behind Monte Carlo, down a technical descent back into the city, and along a few flat kilometers along the waterfront. Cancellara leveraged his heavier build and huge power to nail the final descent and seal up the victory.

Explosive rides by Bradley Wiggins (Garmin-Slipstream), Andreas Kloden (Astana), And Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) filled in the positions behind Cancellara and Contador, with Leipheimer hanging on for 6th.

The challenging course created significant time gaps among the top ten (Armstrong is sitting in 10th position, 40 seconds off the lead pace) and saw many riders losing as much as 2 or 3 minutes. But with 20 stages left to ride, there’s plenty of time to make up those deficits in the mountains.

Tour de France 2009 Kicks off Tomorrow: Course Overview

heidiswift — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:21:28 -0700

Expect Suspense: Course Overview

This year’s course covers 3445 kilometers, visits a total of six nations (Monaco, France, Spain, Andorra, Switzerland, and Italy) and includes a team time trial for the first time since 2005.

Tour organizers have done their best to put together a course that will leave us on the edge of our seats until the final mountain stage on Saturday, July 25th. Instead of the usual prologue, things kick off with a full length TT (15.5k) that features almost 7 miles of climbing. The challenging first stage should begin to separate the men from the boys right off the bat.

Watch for Cavendish to come out swinging in the first week when the roads are relatively flat and his legs are fresh – Columbia-HTC will be eager to strike with early stage wins so that they can focus on supporting team leader and GC-contender Kim Kirchen as the tour hits the first of the mountain stages,

In Stage 7, the race heads into the Pyrenees mountains of Spain for three days where the race for the overall lead will begin to take shape. After returning to France, racers will enjoy a few more flat stages during week two before heading back into the mountains – the Alps this time - for a Stage 15 mountain-top finish in Verbier, followed by two more days of mountainous terrain.

The Alps will finish what the Pyrenees started. For the first time in history, Tour organizers have left the final, decisive mountaintop finish until Stage 20, the penultimate day ahead of the finish in Paris. The infamous Mt Ventoux claimed British cyclist Tom Simpsons life in 1967 and is considered one of the most legendary climbs in the history of the Tour.

Tour de France 2009 Preview

Heidi Swift — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:04:22 -0700

SEE HEIDI SWIFT'S DAILY DISPATCHES ON THE RACING ACTION

Team Columbia-HTC Prepares to Attack the 2009 Tour de France

The roster is stacked, long training miles are banked and the boys of Team Columbia-HTC are headed to Paris. Poised to continue the impressive winning streak that has characterized their 2009 season, they’ll ride into the Tour de France boasting 49 wins (including 6 National Championship titles) already this year – the most of any team in professional cycling.

With a new co-sponsor added early this week (HTC, a designer of mobile phones), the pre-Tour excitement has reached a fever pitch. A new co-sponsor means new kits (team uniforms) so keep your eyes out for a fresh look just in time for the big show. They’ll reveal their updated spandex super-hero outfits in Monaco on July 3rd, the day before things kick off on Stage One.

Last year, the team managed to pull off a stunning debut Tour de France performance with 5 individual stage wins and 4 days in the yellow jersey as well as a host of other honors. And we’re expecting them to go just as big for 2009.

The fastest man in the world?

Worried about whether you’ll be able to recognize the team in their new gear? Don’t be. If world-class sprinter and human land-rocket Mark Cavendish has anything to say about it, Team Columbia-HTC should be hard to miss during the opening stages.

2009 Tour Route

GreatOutdoors-Staff — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:33:15 -0700

Source: le Tour de France