MY PRO CYCLING BLOG

End of Blog

2011-07-23T21:37:00.000-07:00

Recently, not able to keep up with cycling news or with blog.
I will be removing blog off line until further notice.
If unable to continue when fees are due for domain name, I will permanently remove
blog.
If there is anybody that would like to own this domain name, please contact.
joeshico@gmail.com.

PS: Congrats to Cadel Evans for winning and all others who participated in a memorable Tour de France.

USA Wins Stage.

2011-07-04T12:12:00.000-07:00

Not getting much time to even watch most of the stages in this years Tour, but would like to keep this blog up and running. I will post as many of the stages as possible with pre-stage predictions.
Today belonged to the USA with Tyler Farrar finally winning a TDF stage. He now is only 6 points out of the lead in the points classification, and will have to win one or two more sprints if he is to wear the green jersey in Paris.
I still think that will be a three way battle between Farrar, Cavendish and Greipel. I will still stick with Cavendish to win in the end.
Stage 4 will not be easy with a series of short climbs and a sprinters nightmare uphill sprint to the line.
I don't think the specialist will be there at the finish. This would be a great stage for a breakaway to succeed. It could also be a win for a much better looking Cadel Evans. Others that can surprise may be Tony Martin, Vinokourov or Danny Pate.

Top 10 Finishers Stage 3

1. Tyler Farrar, USA, (Garmin Cervelo) 4:40:21
2. Romain Feillu, FRA (Vacansoleil-DCM)
3. Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil, ESP, (Movistar)
4. Sebastien Hinault, FRA, (AG2R La Mondiale)
5. Mark Cavendish, GBR, HTC Highroad
6.Thor Hushovd, NOR, (Garmin Cervelo)
7. Julian Dean, NZL, (Garmin Cervelo)
8. Borut Bozic, SLO, (Vacansoleil-DCM)
9. Andre Greipel, GER, (Omega Pharma-Lotto)
10.Jimmy Engoulvent, FRA, (Saur-Sojason)

Tour de France 2011 Team

2011-04-10T18:01:00.000-07:00

The following 18 teams have been selected in compliance with International Cycling Union rules:
OMEGA PHARMA-LOTTO (BEL)
QUICKSTEP CYCLING TEAM (BEL)
SAXO BANK SUNGARD (DEN)
EUSKALTEL-EUSKADI (ESP)
MOVISTAR TEAM (ESP)
AG2R LA MONDIALE (FRA)
SKY PROCYCLING (GBR)
LAMPRE - ISD (ITA)
LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE (ITA)
PRO TEAM ASTANA (KAZ)
TEAM LEOPARD - TREK (LUX)
RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM (HOL)
VACANSOLEIL-DCM PRO CYCLING TEAM (HOL)
KATUSHA TEAM (RUS)
BMC RACING TEAM (USA)
HTC-HIGHROAD (USA)
TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO (USA)
TEAM RADIOSHACK (USA)
4 other teams, invited by the organisers, will make up the field for the 98th edition of Le Tour:
COFIDIS, LE CREDIT EN LIGNE (FRA)
FDJ (FRA)
SAUR - SOJASUN (FRA)
TEAM EUROPCAR (FRA)

Tour de France 2012 Starts In Liège

2011-02-28T20:10:00.000-08:00

The 2012 Tour de France will set off from the Parc d’Avroy, in the heart of Liège. The launch ramp for this prologue will be set up on the Avenue Rogier. On a 6.1 km long flat course marked out in the city centre, identical to the one where the Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara was the winner in 2004, the cyclists will head north on the Boulevard d’Avroy and then on the Boulevard de la Sauvenière. They will then join the Quai Roosevelt, which runs alongside the River Meuse, and will then turn left at La Batte to pass through the Place Saint-Lambert in front of the Palais des Princes-Évêques. Then they will take the Boulevard de la Sauvenière and the Boulevard d’Avroy again, in the opposite direction, to reach the finish

Route Stages Announced for 2011 Tour de France

2010-10-19T09:21:00.000-07:00

Running from Saturday July 2^rd to Sunday July 24^th 2011, the 98^th Tour de France will be made up of 21 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,471 kilometres.
These stages have the following profiles:

· 10 flat stages,
· 6 mountain stages and 4 summit finishes,
· 1 individual time-trial stage (41 km).
· 1 team time-trial stage (23 km).

Distinctive aspects of the race

· le Galibier climbed twice,
· 2 rest days,
· 23 level 2, 1 or highest level mountain passes or summit finishes,
· no bonuses will be awarded during the intermediate sprints and stage finishes.

The 2011 Tour de France stages:
July 2, stage 1: Passage du Gois-Mont des Alouettes, 191km
July 3, stage 2: Les Essarts-Les Essarts, TTT, 23km
July 4, stage 3: Olonne-sur-Mer-Redon, 198km
July 5, stage 4: Lorient-Mûr-de-Bretagne, 172km
July 6, stage 5: Carhaix-Cap Fréhel, 158km
July 7, stage 6: Dinan-Lisieux, 226km
July 8, stage 7: Le Mans-Châteauroux, 215km
July 9, stage 8: Aigurande-Super Besse Sancy, 190km
July 10, stage 9: Issoire-St-Flour, 208km
July 11, rest day at Le Lioran/Cantal
July 12, stage 10: Aurillac-Carmaux, 161km
July 13, stage 11: Blaye-les-Mines-Lavaur, 168km
July 14, stage 12: Cugnaux-Luz Ardiden, 209km
July 15, stage 13: Pau-Lourdes, 156km
July 16, stage 14: Saint-Gaudens-Plateau de Beille, 168km
July 17, stage 15: Limous-Montpellier, 187km
July 18, rest day at province of Drôme
July 19, stage 16: Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux-Gap, 163km
July 20, stage 17: Gap-Pinerolo, 179km
July 21, stage 18: Pinerolo-Galibier/Serre-Chevalier, 189km
July 22, stage 19: Modane-Alpe d’Huez, 109km
July 23, stage 20: Grenoble-Grenoble, ITT, 41km
July 24, stage 21: Créteil-Paris/Champs-Elysées, 160km

Tour de France 2011 Mountain Stages

2010-09-26T17:24:00.000-07:00

Two of the most famous climbs in the Alps return to the Tour de France in 2011; The Col du Galibier and Alpe d'Huez.
The Col du Galibier was introduced in the Tour 100 years ago and is set to be the highlight of the 2011 Tour.
Just as the Tourmalet was climbed twice in 2010, the Galibier may be climbed twice in 2011 with one of the stages being a finish on the summit.
Returning after a two year absence is the Alpe d'Huez. This has always been my favorite climb. Not the absolute toughest but most fun to watch.

The Pyrenees will also have two big mountain stages with a possible summit finish on the Plateau de Beille and another hard climb over the Aubisque.

The official route will be announced on October 19th.

TDF 2011 Starts in Vendée

2010-09-13T17:39:00.000-07:00

Grand start and a team time trial announced by Tour Director Christian Prudhomme.

One word. If I had to use just one word to define the links that unite the Vendée and the Tour, without hesitation I would say: passion!
A shared passion for an event that is a century old, a wonderful popular celebration and for an authentic and innovative land, a place of liberty and challenges, where traditions and the future live in harmony.
So, after 1976, 1993, 1999 and 2005, the Tour de France will again be coming to the Vendée in 2011. At the turn of the century, each Tour de France whose Grand Start took place in the Vendée crowned dominant champions: firstly Miguel Indurain with his show of power on the Côte du Fossé in the prologue of the 80th edition, a foretaste of his performance throughout the event of which we still have vivid memories; and secondly Lance Armstrong, for his first triumph soon after recovering from cancer, then for his last triumph during a farewell tour, which we now know was not a definitive conclusion to his career.
Of all the many images of the Tour that I can remember, the pack crossing the Passage du Gois in 1999 is definitely one of the most exciting, in fact probably the finest that I have ever seen on a flat stage. Since the tide allows us, we will be back on this inimitable road in July 2011, during the initial parade, before the official starting ceremony, several minutes before the actual start of the race.
We have designed this first stage to be a "linear" one, in a similar way to the successful experience enjoyed in Brittany in 2008. It will link the Ocean with the Mont des Alouettes at the heart of the Vendée, which is an ideal summit for a finish where punchers and sprinters will battle for the first Yellow Jersey of the 98th Tour de France.
The following day, a team time-trial - only 23 kilometres long, no more, no less to keep the race fluid - will force the favourites to show their mettle for the first time, then the race will move to Olonne-sur-Mer, from where we will head to other regions and new adventures.
But we already know that even before the first kilometre, the presentation of the riders at Le Puy du Fou will have dazzled the crowds, just like Cinéscénie, which recounts the history of the Vendée, fascinates each summer hundreds of thousands of visitors.

Christian PRUDHOMME
Director of Tour de France

Contador Wins The Tour de France 2010

2010-07-25T16:10:00.000-07:00

Due to a little post surgery set back, I missed one stage, caught just the finish on tape of another and decided after the Time Trial to wait till the end of the Tour for my last post on the race.
That worked out pretty well because there were no major, or for that matter even minor surprises during the last four stages.
Stage 16 saw Lance Armstrong go in the break and hold on with eight others to finish more than six minutes ahead of the peloton. Lance had noted in recent interviews that he would be going for at least one stage win, but age has caught up and his sprint at the line came up short of a stage victory.
In stage 17, one of the most thrilling battles in Tour history between what is possibly the best two cyclist in the world took place on the climb to the mountain top finish on the col du Tourmalet. Alberto Contador only had to stay on the wheels of Andy Shleck to maintain his lead in the race and that he did. Schleck was unable to lose Contador with his attacks and Contador's only attack on Schleck was also fruitless. Both crossed the finish at the same time with Schleck taking the stage victory.
Stage 18 was for the sprinters and who else but Mark Cavendish showed again that he is the fastest sprinter in cycling. Alessandro Petacchi was able to finish high enough to reclaim the Green Jersey, but he would still have to finish in the top three on the Champs Elysee's in stage 20 to clinch the jersey.
The changing winds during the Individual Time Trial may have effected the final standings of the stage, but did not really affect the final results of the Tour. There was a change on the podium as Denis Menchov was able to out dual Samuel Sanchez for the third position. The only jersey not yet decided by the Time Trial was the green sprinters points jersey. That was decided in Paris on the final day of the Tour. Again won easily by Cavendish with Petacchi finishing second. The second place finish clinched the Green Jersey for Petacchi.

Photo credit © Roberto Bettini

Final Standings for the Tour De France 2010:

General Classification (Yellow Jersey) overall winner

1	Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana	91:58:48
2	Andy Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank	0:00:39
3	Denis Menchov (RUS) Rabobank	0:02:01
4	Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi	0:03:40
5	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:06:54
6	Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank	0:09:31
7	Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) Garmin - Transitions	0:10:15
8	Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP) Team Katusha	0:11:37
9	Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Liquigas-Doimo	0:11:54
10	Christopher Horner (USA) Team Radioshack	0:12:02
11	Luis León Sánchez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	0:14:21
12	Ruben Plaza Molina (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	0:14:29
13	Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team Radioshack	0:14:40
14	Andreas Klöden (GER) Team Radioshack	0:16:36
15	Nicolas Roche (IRL) AG2R La Mondiale	0:16:59
16	Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) Astana	0:17:46
17	Thomas Löfkvist (SUI) Sky Professional Cycling Team	0:20:46
18	Kevin De Weert (BEL) Quick Step	0:21:54
19	John Gadret (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale	0:24:04
20	Carlos Sastre (ESP) Cervelo Test Team	0:26:37

Point Standings (Green Jersey) sprinters

1	Alessandro Petacchi (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini	243	pts
2	Mark Cavendish (GBR) Team HTC - Columbia	232
3	Thor Hushovd (NOR) Cervelo Test Team	222
4	Jose Joaquin Rojas (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	179
5	Robbie McEwen (AUS) Team Katusha	179
6	Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	161
7	Sébastien Turgot (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom	135
8	Gerald Ciolek (GER) Team Milram	126
9	Jurgen Roelandts (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto	124
10	Lloyd Mondory (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale	119
11	Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana	115
12	Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi	112
13	Andy Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank	107
14	Julian Dean (NZL) Garmin - Transitions	104
15	Denis Menchov (RUS) Rabobank	81
16	Oscar Freire (ESP) Rabobank	81
17	Daniel Oss (ITA) Liquigas-Doimo	80
18	Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) Astana	78
19	Ruben Perez Moreno (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi	78
20	Nicolas Roche (IRL) AG2R La Mondiale	77

Mountain Classification (Polka Dot Jersey) climber

1	Anthony Charteau (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom	143	pts
2	Christophe Moreau (FRA) Caisse d'Epargne	128
3	Andy Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank	116
4	Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana	112
5	Damiano Cunego (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini	99
6	Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi	96
7	Sandy Casar (FRA) Française des Jeux	93
8	Jérôme Pineau (FRA) Quick Step	92
9	Thomas Voeckler (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom	82
10	Pierrick Fedrigo (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom	72
11	Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP) Team Katusha	66
12	Mario Aerts (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto	65
13	Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank	62
14	Christophe Riblon (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale	60
15	Denis Menchov (RUS) Rabobank	58
16	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto	54
17	Christopher Horner (USA) Team Radioshack	53
18	Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) Garmin - Transitions	50
19	Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Liquigas-Doimo	50
20	Luis León Sánchez Gil (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	48

Young Rider (White Jersey) under 25 yrs age

1	Andy Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank	91:59:27
2	Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank	0:08:52
3	Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Liquigas-Doimo	0:11:15
4	Julien El Farès (FRA) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne	0:52:43
5	Cyril Gautier (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom	1:24:33
6	Jakob Fuglsang (DEN) Team Saxo Bank	1:37:53
7	Rafael Valls (ESP) Footon-Servetto	1:41:48
8	Pierre Rolland (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom	1:46:03
9	Geraint Thomas (GBR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	1:59:26
10	Jose Joaquin Rojas (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	2:01:19
11	Francis De Greef (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto	2:11:43
12	Rui Alberto Faria da Costa (POR) Caisse d'Epargne	2:11:49
13	Rémy Di Grégorio (FRA) Française des Jeux	2:20:55
14	Arkaitz Duran Daroca (ESP) Footon-Servetto	2:29:10
15	Eros Capecchi (ITA) Footon-Servetto	2:33:59
16	Johannes Fröhlinger (GER) Team Milram	2:48:44
17	Kristjan Koren (SLO) Liquigas-Doimo	2:56:32
18	Maxime Bouet (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale	3:07:01
19	Alexandr Pliuschin (MDA) Team Katusha	3:08:26
20	Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	3:14:18

Teams classification

1	Team Radioshack	276:02:03
2	Caisse d'Epargne	0:09:15
3	Rabobank	0:27:49
4	Ag2R La Mondiale	0:41:10
5	Omega Pharma - Lotto	0:51:01
6	Astana	0:56:16
7	Quick Step	1:06:23
8	Euskaltel - Euskadi	1:23:02
9	Liquigas-Doimo	1:29:14
10	Bbox Bouygues Telecom	1:54:18
11	Sky Professional Cycling Team	2:05:28
12	Team Saxo Bank	2:25:02
13	Cofidis Le Credit En Ligne	2:29:35
14	BMC Racing Team	2:35:30
15	Française des Jeux	2:58:59
16	Garmin - Transitions	3:18:07
17	Team HTC - Columbia	3:25:26
18	Team Katusha	3:28:05
19	Cervelo Test Team	3:51:56
20	Footon-Servetto	5:15:36
21	Lampre - Farnese Vini	5:50:02
22	Team Milram	6:05:41

Lead Change In The Tour

2010-07-19T19:28:00.000-07:00

Another great day in the Tour de France, but not without controversy. And lately, if there is a controversy, it involves Alberto Contador. The boos and jeers heard when he received his Yellow Jersey as the new tour leader should tell him what the fans thought of his attack on Andy Schleck when Andy was having a mechanical failure (chain came off) on the climb of the Port de Bales. I know it is debatable whether he should have taken advantage of that situation, but I no longer respect Contador and am not surprised by his attack. It is something any pro cyclist, with character, would not have done. That is my opinion. The best article I read on this situation was written for the **Tour de France Newsletter from Carmichael Training Systems. The Carmichael Commentary looks at both sides and his conclusion says it all.

**Beyond the Debate
My struggle is that for seemingly every defense of one argument, there’s an equally valid counter-argument. There really doesn’t seem to be one answer that’s clearly right or one that’s clearly wrong. In the end, and even though it’s directly contradicted by the Lance/Ullrich situation on Luz Ardiden in 2003, if I had to make a decision today I would say that it would have been nice to see Contador wait for Schleck, but I don’t think he was obligated to. The decision to press on, however, may well haunt Contador later in this race or in the future.
The peloton has its own sense of justice, and if the riders feel that Contador was wrong, they may find ways within races to let him know. I don’t mean they’ll do anything malicious like push him off the road, but they may decide not to work with him in a breakaway, or that they’ll chase him down to prevent him from winning when they otherwise would have cooperated with him. Perhaps in next year’s Tour, or in a stage later in this race, a rider who might otherwise work with Contador in a small group will decide to just sit on.
You have to remember that even though many fans only see riders like Sammy Sanchez or Andy Schleck once a year during the Tour de France, the riders see each other week in and week out for years. Many of the men in the Tour have been racing each other for the better part of a decade, some even longer. Many have raced together on the same teams, or will in the future, as contracts and sponsors change. The actions you take in races determine how you are perceived in the peloton, and over time you build a reputation based on fairness, competence, safety, work ethic, and friendliness. The night after a stage like today, we can all talk about the immediate implications that Schleck’s mechanical problem – and Contador’s response - had on the race. But right or wrong, the long-term consequences of Contador’s decision will be decided by the peloton.

Photo credit © Roberto Bettini

Not until the 100km mark of the stage would a breakaway succeed. At that point 10 riders led by Liquigas-Doimo's Brian Vandborg and Milram rider Luke Roberts, along with Johan Van Summeren (Garmin-Transitions), Sergei Ivanov (Katusha), Alessandro Ballan (BMC Racing), Francesco Reda (Quick Step), Aitor Perez Arrieta (Footon-Servetto), Lloyd Mondory (AG2R - La Mondiale), Alan Perez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and two Bbox Bouygues Telecom riders Thomas Voeckler and Sebastian Turgot began a break that would take them out to almost an 11 minute lead on the peloton. Six of the 10 were able to hold off a charging Contador along with Denis Menchov and Samuel Sanchez on the descent of the Port de Bales. An attack by Voeckler with about 10 km to go on the climb gave him a 1:20 lead on the group and enabled him to coast to victory.
Schleck was unable to catch the Contador group a lost :39 seconds on that group relinquishing his Yellow Jersey.
Prediction for Stage 16: Andy Schleck is mad, very mad. This may work for him or can also work against him. Look for Andy to attack, attack and attack on the climbs, but he will be attacking the best cyclist and best climber in the Tour. It will be interesting.

Results - Stage 15

1	Thomas Voeckler (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom	4:44:51
2	Alessandro Ballan (ITA) BMC Racing Team	0:01:20
3	Aitor Perez Arrieta (ESP) Footon-Servetto
4	Lloyd Mondory (ESP) AG2R La Mondiale	0:02:50
5	Luke Roberts (AUS) Team Milram
6	Francesco Reda (ITA) Quick Step
7	Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana
8	Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi
9	Denis Menchov (RUS) Rabobank
10	Brian Vandborg (DEN) Liquigas-Doimo
11	Johan Van Summeren (BEL) Garmin - Transitions
12	Andy Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank	0:03:29
13	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto
14	Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) Astana
15	Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank	0:03:55
16	Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) Garmin - Transitions
17	Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team Radioshack
18	John Gadret (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale
19	Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Liquigas-Doimo	0:04:08
20	Kevin De Weert (BEL) Quick Step

General Classification (Yellow Jersey)

1	Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana	72:50:42
2	Andy Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank	0:00:08
3	Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi	0:02:00
4	Denis Menchov (RUS) Rabobank	0:02:13
5	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:03:39
6	Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank	0:05:01
7	Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team Radioshack	0:05:25
8	Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP) Team Katusha	0:05:45
9	Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) Astana	0:07:12
10	Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) Garmin - Transitions	0:07:51

Point Standings (Green Jersey)

1	Alessandro Petacchi (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini	187	pts
2	Thor Hushovd (NOR) Cervelo Test Team	185
3	Mark Cavendish (GBR) Team HTC - Columbia	162
4	Jose Joaquin Rojas (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	144
5	Robbie McEwen (AUS) Team Katusha	138
6	Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	120
7	Sébastien Turgot (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom	107
8	Gerald Ciolek (GER) Team Milram	102
9	Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi	100
10	Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana	98

Mountain Classification (Polka Dot Jersey)

1	Anthony Charteau (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom	115	pts
2	Jérôme Pineau (FRA) Quick Step	92
3	Thomas Voeckler (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom	82
4	Andy Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank	76
5	Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana	76
6	Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi	72
7	Christophe Moreau (FRA) Caisse d'Epargne	68
8	Mario Aerts (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto	65
9	Damiano Cunego (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini	63
10	Christophe Riblon (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale	60

French Gain Fourth Stage Victory

2010-07-18T17:12:00.000-07:00

Photo credit © Roberto Bettini

The Pyrenees started off with the most exciting stage to date in this year's Tour de France. All GC contenders fought off each others attacks on the final climb up Ax-3 Domaines with Denis Menchov and Samuel Sanchez finally dropping Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador near the summit to gain 14 seconds on the overall leaders. Both Menchov and Sanchez are battling for the third spot on the podium and need more than two minutes gain to contend for the top two podium positions.
French cyclist Christophe Riblon crossed the summit of the Port de Pailheres ahead of the group of GC contenders and then sailed down the descent to the base of the final climb with a 2:46 advantage on the Tour's leaders. That was enough to hold on for a :54 sec. stage victory over Menchov and Sanchez.
Prediction for stage 15: A very difficult climb over the Port de Bales and a long descent to the finish can end the dreams of some to the GC contenders. The climb will thin out some of the Tour leaders and those not with the first group over the climb will have difficulty in catching up. I believe Andy Schleck will have to find the right time to attack on the climb. He still needs more time over Contador before the time trial and is running out of chances to gain that time. A cat and mouse game between them will be the theme until one of them shows some weakness. When that happens to one of them, the other is gone!

Results - Stage 14

1	Christophe Riblon (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale	4:52:42
2	Denis Menchov (RUS) Rabobank	0:00:54
3	Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi
4	Andy Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank	0:01:08
5	Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP) Team Katusha
6	Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank
7	Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana
8	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto
9	Damiano Cunego (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini	0:01:49
10	Carlos Sastre (ESP) Cervelo Test Team
11	Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team Radioshack	0:01:53
12	Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) Garmin - Transitions	0:02:00
13	Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) Astana
14	Luis León Sánchez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	0:02:02
15	Christophe Moreau (FRA) Caisse d'Epargne
16	Vasili Kiryienka (BLR) Caisse d'Epargne	0:02:16
17	Christopher Horner (USA) Team Radioshack	0:02:26
18	Nicolas Roche (IRL) AG2R La Mondiale	0:02:27
19	Thomas Löfkvist (SUI) Sky Professional Cycling Team	0:02:30
20	John Gadret (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale

Gereral Classification (Yellow Jersey)

1	Andy Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank	68:02:30
2	Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana	0:00:31
3	Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi	0:02:31
4	Denis Menchov (RUS) Rabobank	0:02:44
5	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:03:31
6	Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank	0:04:27
7	Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team Radioshack	0:04:51
8	Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP) Team Katusha	0:04:58
9	Luis León Sánchez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	0:05:56
10	Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas-Doimo	0:06:52
11	Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) Astana	0:07:04
12	Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Liquigas-Doimo	0:07:11
13	Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) Garmin - Transitions	0:07:17
14	Nicolas Roche (IRL) AG2R La Mondiale	0:08:03
15	Carlos Sastre (ESP) Cervelo Test Team	0:08:15
16	Thomas Löfkvist (SUI) Sky Professional Cycling Team	0:09:46
17	Andreas Klöden (GER) Team Radioshack	0:10:27
18	Bradley Wiggins (GBR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	0:11:30
19	Cadel Evans (AUS) BMC Racing Team	0:12:39
20	Ruben Plaza Molina (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	0:12:50

Vinny Attacks And Wins

2010-07-17T14:05:00.000-07:00

Photo credit © Fotoreporter Sirotti

Today's stage went just about as predicted. A small breakaway was caught inside the last 15 km with a sprint for Green Jersey points at the finish. An attack by Alexander Vinokourov on the final climb kept the sprinters from the stage victory. The only thing missing was a counter attack by Alberto Contador to chase down Vinokourov. A lot is now being said about the amiable relationship between Contador and Vinokourov. Sounds much like the PR spins from last years Tour and the Contador/Armstrong relationship. I wonder what the odds are that Team Astana will remain intact next year. Any one really think that Vinny and Alberto will be on the same team?
Again today there were no changes in the General Classification (Yellow Jersey).
The more exciting race this year seems to be for the Green Jersey that was regained by Alessandro Petacchi today. I am beginning to doubt whether Thor Husovd can win the jersey. There are not that many more intermediate sprints left that Thor can break from the peloton and win and I doubt he will finish high enough on the Champs Elysees to overtake Petacchi.
The Mountain Classification can also become interesting if Jerome Pineau and Anthony Charteau fail to win any more points. There are enough points available on the Cat. 1 and Cat. HC to give Andy Schleck or Contador the Polka Dot Jersey if they can stay in the top 3 finishers over the mountains during the four days in the Pyrenees.
Prediction for stage 14: The first day in the Pyrenees is going to start out with a few rolling hills, much like today's stage, but two climbs at the end will definitely sort out the elite. Look for attacks by Schleck and maybe Sammuel Sanchez. Unless Schleck cracks, Contador will stay on his wheel, but if Schleck shows any weakness Contador will take off. This will also be a good time for Sanchez or Denis Menchov to gain time. I think Contador will go after the yellow and a stage victory in the mountains and end all hopes of any one challenging him for the Tour de France 2010 victory.

Results - Stage 13

1	Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) Astana	4:26:26
2	Mark Cavendish (GBR) Team HTC - Columbia	0:00:13
3	Alessandro Petacchi (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini
4	Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) Sky Professional Cycling Team
5	Jose Joaquin Rojas (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
6	Julian Dean (NZL) Garmin - Transitions
7	Anthony Geslin (FRA) Française des Jeux
8	Thor Hushovd (NOR) Cervelo Test Team
9	Grega Bole (SLO) Lampre-Farnese Vini
10	Lloyd Mondory (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale
11	Gerald Ciolek (GER) Team Milram
12	Martijn Maaskant (NED) Garmin - Transitions
13	Jurgen Roelandts (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto
14	Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi
15	Christophe Moreau (FRA) Caisse d'Epargne
16	Juan Manuel Gárate (ESP) Rabobank
17	Martin Elmiger (SUI) AG2R La Mondiale
18	Denis Menchov (RUS) Rabobank
19	Yukiya Arashiro (JPN) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
20	Oscar Freire (ESP) Rabobank

Point Standings (Green Jersey)

1	Alessandro Petacchi (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini	187	pts
2	Thor Hushovd (NOR) Cervelo Test Team	185
3	Mark Cavendish (GBR) Team HTC - Columbia	162
4	Jose Joaquin Rojas (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	144
5	Robbie McEwen (AUS) Team Katusha	138
6	Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	120
7	Gerald Ciolek (GER) Team Milram	102
8	Sébastien Turgot (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom	101
9	Jurgen Roelandts (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto	81
10	Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana	80

Mountain Classification (Polka Dot Jersey)

1	Anthony Charteau (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom	107	pts
2	Jérôme Pineau (FRA) Quick Step	92
3	Mario Aerts (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto	65
4	Andy Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank	64
5	Christophe Moreau (FRA) Caisse d'Epargne	62
6	Sandy Casar (FRA) Française des Jeux	56
7	Damiano Cunego (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini	56
8	Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana	52
9	Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi	50
10	Luis León Sánchez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	48

Contador Loses One For The Team

2010-07-16T19:03:00.000-07:00

Photo credit © Sirotti

Alberto "it's all about me" Contador showed up again and took a stage victory away from teammate Alexander Vinokourov, much like he cracked teammate Adreas Kloden last year to end all hopes of an Astana podium sweep in Paris. This time Contador pulled Joaquin Rodriguez of Team Katusha in an attack on Vinokourov's lead that led to a sprint finish won by Rodriguez. The ten seconds he gained on Andy Schleck meant zip. Contador will be at least three minutes better than Schleck in the Individual Time Trial and he could have kept the reins on Rodriguez to allow a Team Astana victory by Vinokourov. I heard all the excuses about the psychological game and how that would affect Schleck, but that is just an excuse.
Thor Hushovd was able to regain the Green Jersey after gaining 10 points in the two sprints along the stage route and Anthony Charteau took a total of 17 mountain points to regain the Polka Dot Jersey.
Prediction for stage 13: A flat stage with five small climbs, one of which is near the finish, may not be that beneficial for the sprinters. The GC contenders will want to rest the day before entering the Pyrenees and this will benefit any breakway. Look for Thor to be in that break to pick up the sprint points on the route. This will also be Sylvain Chavanel's last chance to win a third stage.

Results - Stage 12

1	Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP) Team Katusha	4:58:26
2	Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana
3	Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) Astana	0:00:04
4	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:00:10
5	Andy Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank
6	Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi
7	Andreas Klöden (GER) Team Radioshack
8	Denis Menchov (RUS) Rabobank
9	Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank	0:00:15
10	Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Liquigas-Doimo
11	Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team Radioshack	0:00:17
12	Ruben Plaza Molina (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	0:00:31
13	Damiano Cunego (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini
14	Bradley Wiggins (GBR) Sky Professional Cycling Team
15	Cadel Evans (AUS) BMC Racing Team
16	Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas-Doimo
17	Christopher Horner (USA) Team Radioshack
18	Carlos Sastre (ESP) Cervelo Test Team
19	Luis León Sánchez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
20	Nicolas Roche (IRL) AG2R La Mondiale

General Classification (Yellow Jersey)

1	Andy Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank	58:42:01
2	Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana	0:00:31
3	Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi	0:02:45
4	Denis Menchov (RUS) Rabobank	0:02:58
5	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:03:31
6	Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team Radioshack	0:04:06
7	Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank	0:04:27
8	Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP) Team Katusha	0:04:58
9	Luis León Sánchez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	0:05:02
10	Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Liquigas-Doimo	0:05:16

Point Standings (Green Jersey)

1	Thor Hushovd (NOR) Cervelo Test Team	167	pts
2	Alessandro Petacchi (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini	161
3	Robbie McEwen (AUS) Team Katusha	138
4	Mark Cavendish (GBR) Team HTC - Columbia	132
5	Jose Joaquin Rojas (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	122
6	Sébastien Turgot (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom	101
7	Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	96
8	Gerald Ciolek (GER) Team Milram	87
9	Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana	79
10	Geraint Thomas (GBR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	74

Mountain Classification (Polka Dot Jersey)

1	Anthony Charteau (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom	107	pts
2	Jérôme Pineau (FRA) Quick Step	92
3	Andy Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank	64
4	Christophe Moreau (FRA) Caisse d'Epargne	62
5	Mario Aerts (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto	58
6	Sandy Casar (FRA) Française des Jeux	56
7	Damiano Cunego (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini	56
8	Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana	52
9	Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi	50
10	Luis León Sánchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne	47

Cavendish Wins Again

2010-07-15T16:28:00.000-07:00

Photo credit © Roberto Bettini

I know that it would not be fair or any more exciting to put all the sprint stages first and then all the mountain stages at the end of the Tour de France. It just seems that the flat stages lose their excitement after the first round of climbs, yet the finish of these stages are usually the most exciting in the Tour. Stage 11 was a prime example. The only unknown at the start of the stage is whether a break will succeed and 90% of all breaks do not. What is known is that there will be a break away and that they will be allowed to stay away until somewhere in the last 10 km and that there will be a mad sprint at the finish line and, of course, that Mark Cavendish will win. The strategy, timing of lead outs and the mad dash for the line are as good as it gets. The first four hours of the stage are about as boring as it gets.
Added excitement was introduced today when Mark Renshaw gave new meaning to "using your head" to gain advantage in the sprint. Unfortunately, race officials disqualified Renshaw for head butting and veering off line to block Tyler Farrar. I think the disqualification (kicked out of Tour) was too severe. A fine and being relegated to last place would have sufficed. On the up side, Cavendish without Renshaw as lead out, may, I'll say again 'may,' even things out at the finish, especially on the Champs Elysees in Paris.
There were no changes again in the General Classification, but Thor Hushovd was unable to hold on to his Green Jersey after finishing 7th to Alessandro Petacchi's 2nd. In a pre-race interview Thor affirmed he would not be taking any chances in a sprint finish and that staying near the top will enable him to hold on to the jersey. Well Thor, I bet you'll be taking chances now!
Prediction for stage 12: Five climbs with a short Cat 2 near the finish will leave the sprinters in the rear. If a break is not allowed to hold it's lead, look for Thor Hushovd to make it over the climbs and regain the Green Jersey. May be a good day for Team Radio Shack to allow either Andreas Kloden or Chris Horner to go with the break. There are a lot of mountain points at stake, so a dual between Jerome Pineau and Anthony Charteau may evolve. If so, look for Charteau to regain the Polka Dot Jersey on the last climb.

Results - stage 11:

1	Mark Cavendish (GBR) Team HTC - Columbia	4:42:29
2	Alessandro Petacchi (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini
3	Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Transitions
4	Jose Joaquin Rojas (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
5	Robbie McEwen (AUS) Team Katusha
6	Yukiya Arashiro (JPN) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
7	Thor Hushovd (NOR) Cervelo Test Team
8	Lloyd Mondory (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale
9	Jurgen Roelandts (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto
10	Gerald Ciolek (GER) Team Milram
11	Sébastien Turgot (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
12	Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) Sky Professional Cycling Team
13	Oscar Freire (ESP) Rabobank
14	Ruben Perez Moreno (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi
15	Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi
16	Luke Roberts (AUS) Team Milram
17	Nicolas Roche (IRL) AG2R La Mondiale
18	Kevin De Weert (BEL) Quick Step
19	Egoi Martinez (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi
20	Danilo Hondo (GER) Lampre-Farnese Vini

Point Standings (Green Jersey)

1	Alessandro Petacchi (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini	161	pts
2	Thor Hushovd (NOR) Cervelo Test Team	157
3	Robbie McEwen (AUS) Team Katusha	138
4	Mark Cavendish (GBR) Team HTC - Columbia	132
5	Jose Joaquin Rojas (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	122
6	Sébastien Turgot (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom	101
7	Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	96
8	Gerald Ciolek (GER) Team Milram	87
9	Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Transitions	79
10	Geraint Thomas (GBR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	74

First Win For Team Radio Shack

2010-07-14T17:00:00.000-07:00

Photo credit © Roberto Bettini

Really surprised today that none of the competitors for the Polka Dot jersey took part in the breakaway. I would think that a lead in that competition going into the Pyrenees would be a huge advantage. Looks like Jerome Pineau and Anthony Charteau want to battle it out in the high mountains.
Today was a great day for any break to succeed. With no real brutal climbs, but enough to keep the sprinters from chasing along with the teams of Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador who will now wait for the Pyrenees. That enabled Team Radio Shack to send Sergio Paulinho in the early break and barely edge out Vasili Kiryienka for the stage victory. Pineau was able to get one point on the first climb and win back the Polka Dot jersey he lost yesterday.
There were no changes with the General Classification leaders.
Prediction for stage 11: Back to the sprinters until Sunday and who else but Mark Cavendish.
Thor Hushovd will still finish near the top and keep the Green jersey, but look for Robbie McEwen to make some gains on the leader.

Results - Stage 10

1	Sergio Paulinho (POR) Team Radioshack	5:10:56
2	Vasili Kiryienka (BLR) Caisse d'Epargne
3	Dries Devenyns (BEL) Quick Step	0:01:29
4	Pierre Rolland (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
5	Mario Aerts (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:01:33
6	Maxime Bouet (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale	0:03:20
7	Nicolas Roche (IRL) AG2R La Mondiale	0:12:58
8	Rémi Pauriol (FRA) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne	0:13:57
9	Mark Cavendish (GBR) Team HTC - Columbia	0:14:19
10	Alessandro Petacchi (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini
11	Thor Hushovd (NOR) Cervelo Test Team
12	Robbie McEwen (AUS) Team Katusha
13	Lloyd Mondory (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale
14	Sébastien Turgot (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
15	Jose Joaquin Rojas (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
16	Sebastian Lang (GER) Omega Pharma-Lotto
17	Jurgen Roelandts (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto
18	Kristjan Koren (SLO) Liquigas-Doimo
19	Damien Monier (FRA) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
20	Matti Breschel (DEN) Team Saxo Bank

Point Standings (Green Jersey)

1	Thor Hushovd (NOR) Cervelo Test Team	138	pts
2	Alessandro Petacchi (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini	131
3	Robbie McEwen (AUS) Team Katusha	116
4	Jose Joaquin Rojas (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	98
5	Mark Cavendish (GBR) Team HTC - Columbia	97
6	Sébastien Turgot (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom	86
7	Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	82
8	Geraint Thomas (GBR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	74
9	Gerald Ciolek (GER) Team Milram	71
10	Sylvain Chavanel (FRA) Quick Step	69

Down To Two

2010-07-13T15:47:00.000-07:00

If today was any indication of the battle to be waged in the Pyrenees next weekend then this Tour is now over. At least the top two finishers has been decided. I know that is assuming neither Andy Schleck or Alberto Contador will crack on the Col de Tourmalet and I don't see that happening. Both rode as equals today, as Andy was unable to attack without Alberto staying right on his wheel. Andy will need at least another three minutes of lead to hold off Alberto in the final Individual Time Trial and unless there is a major mistake by Contador that will not happen. The race is now for third and that is still between 12 to 15 riders. Tomorrow's medium mountain stages will not sort them out, so we will have to now wait till next Sunday when the peloton reaches the Pyrenees.
Schleck attacked twice on the final climb on the Col de la Madeleine to no avail and then worked with Contador to dispatch the remaining GC contenders with the exception of Samuel Sanchez who was able to stay in reach on the descent. If Sanchez remains out of trouble and stays with leaders he will likely finish on the podium in Paris.
I certainly do not want to over look the ride by Sandy Casar, Luis Leon Sanchez, Damiano Cunego and Anthony Charteau in their successful breakaway. The break was at 12 riders 30 km into the race and these four kept that lead until the finish, though the group of Schleck, Contador and Christophe Moreau were able to catch them to make the finish one of the more exciting finishes in the Tour.
Prediction for stage ten: Look for a breakaway to succeed. Would not be surprised if both Jerome Pineau and Sylvain Chavanel, both on Team Quick Step, are in that breakaway. Pineau lost the Polka Dot jersey today and Chavanel wants another stage victory and stage ten will be his best chance.

Photo credit © Roberto Bettini

Results - Stage 9

1	Sandy Casar (FRA) Française des Jeux	5:38:10
2	Luis León Sánchez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
3	Damiano Cunego (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini
4	Christophe Moreau (FRA) Caisse d'Epargne	0:00:02
5	Anthony Charteau (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
6	Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana
7	Andy Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank
8	Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi	0:00:52
9	Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP) Team Katusha	0:02:07
10	Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team Radioshack
11	Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank
12	Jens Voigt (GER) Team Saxo Bank
13	Denis Menchov (RUS) Rabobank	0:02:10
14	Kevin De Weert (BEL) Quick Step	0:02:50
15	Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas-Doimo
16	Ruben Plaza Molina (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
17	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto
18	Lance Armstrong (USA) Team Radioshack
19	Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Liquigas-Doimo	0:03:48
20	Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) Astana

General Classification (Yellow Jersey)

1	Andy Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank	43:35:41
2	Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana	0:00:41
3	Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi	0:02:45
4	Denis Menchov (RUS) Rabobank	0:02:58
5	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:03:31
6	Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team Radioshack	0:03:59
7	Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank	0:04:22
8	Luis León Sánchez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	0:04:41
9	Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP) Team Katusha	0:05:08
10	Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas-Doimo	0:05:09
11	Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Liquigas-Doimo	0:05:11
12	Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) Garmin - Transitions	0:05:42
13	Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) Astana	0:06:31
14	Michael Rogers (AUS) Team HTC - Columbia	0:07:04
15	Carlos Sastre (ESP) Cervelo Test Team	0:07:13
16	Bradley Wiggins (GBR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	0:07:18
17	Nicolas Roche (IRL) AG2R La Mondiale	0:07:44
18	Cadel Evans (AUS) BMC Racing Team	0:07:47
19	Thomas Löfkvist (SUI) Sky Professional Cycling Team	0:08:03
20	Andreas Klöden (GER) Team Radioshack	0:09:05

Point Standings (Green Jersey)

1	Thor Hushovd (NOR) Cervelo Test Team	124	pts
2	Alessandro Petacchi (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini	114
3	Robbie McEwen (AUS) Team Katusha	105
4	Jose Joaquin Rojas (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	92
5	Mark Cavendish (GBR) Team HTC - Columbia	85
6	Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	82
7	Sébastien Turgot (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom	79
8	Geraint Thomas (GBR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	74
9	Gerald Ciolek (GER) Team Milram	71
10	Sylvain Chavanel (FRA) Quick Step	69
11	Cadel Evans (AUS) BMC Racing Team	63
12	Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana	57
13	Andy Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank	54
14	Daniel Oss (ITA) Liquigas-Doimo	54
15	Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Transitions	53
16	Mark Renshaw (AUS) Team HTC - Columbia	48
17	Jurgen Roelandts (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto	47
18	Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) Garmin - Transitions	45
19	Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi	39
20	Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin - Transitions	39

Mountain Classification (Polka Dot Jersey)

1	Anthony Charteau (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom	85	pts
2	Jérôme Pineau (FRA) Quick Step	85
3	Christophe Moreau (FRA) Caisse d'Epargne	62
4	Damiano Cunego (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini	56
5	Andy Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank	50
6	Luis León Sánchez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	47
7	Sandy Casar (FRA) Française des Jeux	43
8	Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi	40
9	Sylvain Chavanel (FRA) Quick Step	36
10	Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana	32
11	Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank	32
12	Jens Voigt (GER) Team Saxo Bank	29
13	Mathieu Perget (FRA) Caisse d'Epargne	28
14	Rafael Valls (ESP) Footon-Servetto	27
15	Thomas Voeckler (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom	21
16	Ruben Perez Moreno (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi	20
17	Mario Aerts (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto	19
18	Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Liquigas-Doimo	18
19	Koos Moerenhout (NED) Rabobank	18
20	Cyril Gautier (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom	17

The Race Opens Up And The Best Is Out

2010-07-12T17:31:00.000-07:00

Thank you Lance

Slowed down this past week-end and missed two updates. At least today is a rest day, giving me a chance to catch up a bit.
Stage seven did not turn out as I predicted (most don't), but I was surprised how well Alberto Contador looked in both stage seven and eight. A much more mature cyclist, ready to work with his team to win the Tour. I am also surprised on how well Team Astana is performing and the so-so performance of Team Radio Shack. After all, The Shack is composed of 75% of last years overall Team winner, Team Astana. The Shack's performance though, is a bit mis-leading when you consider the amount of riders that stayed back to assist Lance after the crash that occurred 32 km from the finish in stage eight. This may change some now that Lance Armstrong is no longer a threat for a podium finish and will probably be Levi Leipheimer's lead rider in the mountains. You have to consider the fact that Lance is now out of contention, not because of his age, ability or readiness, but because of a series of crashes and a flat tire on the cobblestones of stage three.

Now the yellow jersey race is wide open. You still have the big three and every body's pick for the final podium, Contador, Cadel Evans and Andy Shleck, but there are quite a few that can spoil that threesome. I still like Denis Menchov of Team Rabobank and Samuel Sanchez of Euskaltel-Euskadi. With Frank Schleck now out of the Tour, I can't see Andy finishing in the top three and Cadel has been left without team support on the climbs and he deserves better. Give Cadel the support that Contador, Shleck and Menchov has and he will win the Tour de France. Roman Kreuziger and Michael Rogers can also place if they can make up some time in the mountains before the final individual time trial and how well can Leipheimer perform with Lance as his lieutenant. We will all find out on stage nine.
Prediction for stage nine: Contador is still the best and he can steal the show on Tuesday, but will he want the yellow before the Tour reaches the Pyrenees? I believe he will stay in the front and counter attack any of his GC contenters that may attack on the final climb. Look for Team Radio Shack to go for the stage win if they can lead the pack over the brutal Col de la Madeleine.

General Classification (Yellow Jersey)

1	Cadel Evans (AUS) BMC Racing Team	37:57:09
2	Andy Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank	0:00:20
3	Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana	0:01:01
4	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:01:03
5	Denis Menchov (RUS) Rabobank	0:01:10
6	Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) Garmin - Transitions	0:01:11
7	Roman Kreuziger (CZE Liquigas-Doimo	0:01:45
8	Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team Radioshack	0:02:14
9	Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi	0:02:15
10	Michael Rogers (AUS) Team HTC - Columbia	0:02:31
11	Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank	0:02:37
12	Carlos Sastre (ESP) Cervelo Test Team	0:02:40
13	Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas-Doimo	0:02:41
14	Bradley Wiggins (GBR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	0:02:45
15	Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) Astana	0:03:05
16	Nicolas Roche (IRL) AG2R La Mondiale	0:03:11
17	Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP) Team Katusha	0:03:23
18	Thomas Löfkvist (SUI) Sky Professional Cycling Team	0:03:30
19	Rafael Valls (ESP) Footon-Servetto	0:04:27
20	Luis León Sánchez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	0:05:03
21	Andreas Klöden (GER) Team Radioshack	0:05:39
22	Damien Monier (FRA) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne	0:06:19
23	Christopher Horner (USA) Team Radioshack	0:06:33
24	John Gadret (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale	0:07:12
25	Johan Van Summeren (BEL) Garmin - Transitions	0:07:28
26	Ruben Plaza Molina (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	0:07:52
27	Kevin De Weert (BEL) Quick Step	0:07:58
28	Daniel Moreno Fernandez (ESP) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:08:15
29	Juan Manuel Gárate (ESP) Rabobank	0:08:39
30	Christophe Le Mevel (FRA) Française des Jeux	0:08:53
31	Christophe Riblon (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale	0:09:57
32	Sylvain Chavanel (FRA) Quick Step	0:10:05
33	Maxime Monfort (BEL) Team HTC - Columbia	0:11:00
34	Sandy Casar (FRA) Française des Jeux	0:11:08
35	Pierre Rolland (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom	0:11:14
36	Rémi Pauriol (FRA) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne	0:13:01
37	Grischa Niermann (GER) Rabobank	0:13:13
38	Kanstantsin Siutsou (BLR) Team HTC - Columbia	0:13:17
39	Lance Armstrong (USA) Team Radioshack	0:13:26
40	Janez Brajkovic (SLO) Team Radioshack	0:13:56
41	Bram Tankink (NED) Rabobank	0:14:11
42	Thomas Voeckler (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom	0:14:45
43	Volodymir Gustov (UKR) Cervelo Test Team	0:15:45
44	Julien El Farès (FRA) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne	0:17:30
45	Amaël Moinard (FRA) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne	0:18:18
46	Gorka Verdugo (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi	0:18:41
47	Steve Morabito (SUI) BMC Racing Team	0:20:55
48	Egoi Martinez (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi	0:22:57
49	Iban Velasco (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi	0:23:09
50	Carlos Barredo (ESP) Quick Step	0:23:50

He's Back

2010-07-09T11:10:00.000-07:00

Photo credit © Fotoreporter Sirotti

After three crash riddled stages and one boring stage, the Tour de France is back to normal.
Mark Cavendish is also back, proving again today that he is the fastest sprinter in cycling.
Thor Hushovd's 10th place finish was good enough to keep him in the green jersey, but his lead is now starting to dwindle. Alessandro Petacchi finished third and is now trailing by only four points to Thor. Robbie McEwen is also inching closer by consistently finishing in the top five.
Tomorrow, the sprinters will stay back as the yellow jersey contenders fight it out in the mountains. Stage seven will not be the toughest mountain stage, but the Cat. 4 climb at the end will separate out the pretenders.
Prediction for stage seven: Look for Alberto Contador to prove once again, he is not a team player and attack on his own on the last climb. It will be tougher for Andy Schleck without his brother leading him up the climbs. Cadel Evans is in good position and has shown in the past that he is a climber to be reckoned with. This year Cadel has a team that will be working for him, especially George Hincapie. Another name that has not been mentioned and should be considered is Denis Menchov of Team Rabobank. Although I would love to see him win, unless Lance Armstrong has been hiding something, I don't see him finishing in the top five.

Results - Stage 6

1	Mark Cavendish (GBR) Team HTC - Columbia	5:37:42
2	Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Transitions
3	Alessandro Petacchi (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini
4	Robbie McEwen (AUS) Team Katusha
5	Gerald Ciolek (GER) Team Milram
6	Sébastien Turgot (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
7	Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
8	Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) Sky Professional Cycling Team
9	Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin - Transitions
10	Thor Hushovd (NOR) Cervelo Test Team

General Classification (Yellow Jersey)

1	Fabian Cancellara (SUI) Team Saxo Bank	28:37:30
2	Geraint Thomas (GBR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	0:00:20
3	Cadel Evans (AUS) BMC Racing Team	0:00:39
4	Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) Garmin - Transitions	0:00:46
5	Sylvain Chavanel (FRA) Quick Step	0:01:01
6	Andy Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank	0:01:09
7	Thor Hushovd (NOR) Cervelo Test Team	0:01:16
8	Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) Astana	0:01:31
9	Alberto Contador Velasco (ESP) Astana	0:01:40
10	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:01:42
11	Nicolas Roche (IRL) AG2R La Mondiale
12	Johan Van Summeren (BEL) Garmin - Transitions	0:01:47
13	Denis Menchov (RUS) Rabobank	0:01:49
14	Bradley Wiggins (GBR) Sky Professional Cycling Team
15	David Millar (GBR) Garmin - Transitions	0:02:06
16	Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Liquigas-Doimo	0:02:24
17	Luis León Sánchez Gil (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	0:02:25
18	Lance Armstrong (USA) Team Radioshack	0:02:30
19	Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	0:02:32
20	Thomas Löfkvist (SUI) Sky Professional Cycling Team	0:02:34

Point Standings (Green Jersey)

1	Thor Hushovd (NOR) Cervelo Test Team	118	pts
2	Alessandro Petacchi (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini	114
3	Robbie McEwen (AUS) Team Katusha	105
4	Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	92
5	Mark Cavendish (GBR) Team HTC - Columbia	85
6	Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	82
7	Sébastien Turgot (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom	79
8	Geraint Thomas (GBR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	74
9	Gerald Ciolek (GER) Team Milram	71
10	Daniel Oss (ITA) Liquigas-Doimo	54
11	Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Transitions	53
12	Mark Renshaw (AUS) Team HTC - Columbia	48
13	Jurgen Roelandts (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto	47
14	Cadel Evans (AUS) BMC Racing Team	46
15	Sylvain Chavanel (FRA) Quick Step	44
16	Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin - Transitions	39
17	Fabian Cancellara (SUI) Team Saxo Bank	37
18	Matthieu Ladagnous (FRA) Française des Jeux	34
19	Lloyd Mondory (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale	33
20	Ruben Perez Moreno (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi	31

Cavendish Is Back

2010-07-08T14:15:00.000-07:00

Photo credit © Roberto Bettini

Stage five turned out to be the most exciting stage to date in this year's edition of the Tour de France. All the sprinters, including Tyler Farrar, were there at the finish providing an exciting and strategic finish. In the end, Mark Cavendish returned to form to runaway with the victory.
Thor Hushovd increased his lead in the points standings with a strong fifth place finish.
Again today, there were no changes in the General Classification (yellow jersey) standings.
Prediction for stage six: More of the same. If Cavendish is back in form he will be tough to beat. Farrar, who finished 10th today, seems to be healing quite fast and may be ready to challenge. Hushovd will be at the front, but only a mistake by Cavendish will change the outcome.

Results - Stage 5

1	Mark Cavendish (GBR) Team HTC - Columbia	4:30:50
2	Gerald Ciolek (GER) Team Milram
3	Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) Sky Professional Cycling Team
4	Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
5	Thor Hushovd (NOR) Cervelo Test Team
6	Sébastien Turgot (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
7	Robbie McEwen (AUS) Team Katusha
8	Alessandro Petacchi (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini
9	Lloyd Mondory (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale
10	Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Transitions
11	Samuel Dumoulin (FRA) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
12	Daniel Oss (ITA) Liquigas-Doimo
13	Danilo Hondo (GER) Lampre-Farnese Vini
14	Nicolas Roche (IRL) AG2R La Mondiale
15	Yukiya Arashiro (JPN) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
16	Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (ESP) Sky Professional Cycling Team
17	Andriy Grivko (UKR) Astana
18	Christopher Horner (USA) Team Radioshack
19	Alberto Contador Velasco (ESP) Astana
20	Egoi Martinez De Esteban (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi

Point Standings (Green Jersey)

1	Thor Hushovd (NOR) Cervelo Test Team	102	pts
2	Alessandro Petacchi (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini	88
3	Robbie McEwen (AUS) Team Katusha	81
4	Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	73
5	Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	64
6	Sébastien Turgot (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom	59
7	Geraint Thomas (GBR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	59
8	Daniel Oss (ITA) Liquigas-Doimo	54
9	Mark Cavendish (GBR) Team HTC - Columbia	50
10	Gerald Ciolek (GER) Team Milram	49
11	Sylvain Chavanel (FRA) Quick Step	44
12	Cadel Evans (AUS) BMC Racing Team	42
13	Fabian Cancellara (SUI) Team Saxo Bank	37
14	Jurgen Roelandts (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto	36
15	Mark Renshaw (AUS) Team HTC - Columbia	35
16	Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) Garmin - Transitions	30
17	Julian Dean (NZL) Garmin - Transitions	30
18	Julien El Farès (FRA) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne	29
19	Nicolas Roche (IRL) AG2R La Mondiale	28
20	Alberto Contador Velasco (ESP) Astana	27

No Spills, No Thrills

2010-07-07T16:14:00.000-07:00

Photo credit © Roberto Bettini

After the first three stages of this year's Tour, stage four was kinda boring. One small breakaway, caught in last 10 km and the entire peloton finishes together. Mark Cavendish did not have the legs to even finish in the top 10 as Alessandro Petacchi secured his second stage victory of the Tour beating out Julian Dean and Robbie McEwen.
There were no changes in the General Classification (yellow jersey)
Stages five and six promise to be more of the same. The difference in this year and last year though, is Cavendish. His dominance has diminished and maybe disappeared all together. This will make the sprint finishes more exciting and wide open.
Prediction for stage five: A battle of the sprinters. Tyler Farrar is still hurting, but teammates Julian Dean and Robbie Hunter looked impressive today, Thor Hushovd will try to add to his green jersey lead and Robbie McEwen has been there at the end the past two days, but stage five with a series of small climbs may favor Oscar Freire.

Results - Stage 4

1	Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini	3:34:55
2	Julian Dean (NZl) Garmin - Transitions
3	Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Professional Cycling Team
4	Robbie McEwen (Aus) Team Katusha
5	Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin - Transitions
6	Sébastien Turgot (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
7	Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
8	Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo
9	Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team
10	Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank
11	Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram
12	Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team HTC - Columbia
13	Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team
14	Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
15	Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Caisse d'Epargne
16	Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
17	Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux
18	Thomas Löfkvist (Swe) Sky Professional Cycling Team
19	Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team
20	Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Spa) Quick Step

Point Standings (Green Jersey)

1	Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team	80	pts
2	Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini	70
3	Robbie McEwen (Aus) Team Katusha	62
4	Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team	56
5	Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne	49
6	Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step	44
7	Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo	40
8	Sébastien Turgot (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom	39
9	Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team	38
10	Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Professional Cycling Team	38
11	Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team Saxo Bank	37
12	Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto	36
13	Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Transitions	30
14	Mark Renshaw (Aus) Team HTC - Columbia	30
15	Julian Dean (NZl) Garmin - Transitions	30
16	Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank	24
17	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team	24
18	Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Française des Jeux	24
19	Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin - Transitions	22
20	Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Garmin - Transitions	21

Cobblestones Win

2010-07-06T17:58:00.000-07:00

Photo credit © Roberto Bettini

The cobblestones were nasty today, splitting the peloton into small fragments and dramatically changing the general classification leader board. Team Saxo Bank staying ahead of the peloton and staying away from the crashes and the bike and tire problems were able to lead Andy Schleck over the line along with stage winner Thor Hushovd ahead of all other yellow jersey contenders. Three bike changes cost Sylvain Chavanel the yellow and a flat tire resulted in Lance Armstrong's bid to stay ahead of all the GC contenders. Team Saxo Bank's day was not all glory though as Andy Schleck's brother Frank went down with a broken collar bone and is now out of the Tour.
Prediction for stage four: Mark Cavendish came through today in good shape and stage four will be all his.

Results - Stage 3

1	Thor Hushovd (NOR) Cervelo Test Team	4:49:38
2	Geraint Thomas (GBR) Sky Professional Cycling Team
3	Cadel Evans (AUS) BMC Racing Team
4	Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) Garmin - Transitions
5	Andy Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank
6	Fabian Cancellara (SUI) Team Saxo Bank
7	Johan Van Summeren (BEL) Garmin - Transitions	0:00:53
8	Bradley Wiggins (GBR) Sky Professional Cycling Team
9	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto
10	Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) Astana
11	Denis Menchov (RUS) Rabobank
12	Nicolas Roche (IRL) AG2R La Mondiale
13	Alberto Contador Velasco (ESP) Astana	0:01:13
14	Robbie McEwen (AUS) Team Katusha	0:01:46
15	Mario Aerts (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto

General Classification (Yellow Jersey)

1	Fabian Cancellara (SUI) Team Saxo Bank	14:54:00
2	Geraint Thomas (GBR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	0:00:23
3	Cadel Evans (AUS) BMC Racing Team	0:00:39
4	Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) Garmin - Transitions	0:00:46
5	Sylvain Chavanel (FRA) Quick Step	0:01:01
6	Andy Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank	0:01:09
7	Thor Hushovd (NOR) Cervelo Test Team	0:01:19
8	Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) Astana	0:01:31
9	Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana	0:01:40
10	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:01:42
11	Nicolas Roche (IRL) AG2R La Mondiale
12	Johan Van Summeren (BEL) Garmin - Transitions	0:01:47
13	Denis Menchov (RUS) Rabobank	0:01:49
14	Bradley Wiggins (GBR) Sky Professional Cycling Team
15	David Millar (GBR) Garmin - Transitions	0:02:06
16	Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Liquigas-Doimo	0:02:24
17	Luis León Sánchez Gil (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	0:02:25
18	Lance Armstrong (USA) Team Radioshack	0:02:30
19	Thomas Löfkvist (SUI) Sky Professional Cycling Team	0:02:34
20	Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	0:02:35

Spills, No Thrills

2010-07-05T12:53:00.000-07:00

Photo credit © Fotoreporter Sirotti

Another day of crashes highlighted stage two of this year's edition of the Tour de France.
The slick and narrow roads on the decent of the Cote de Stockeu split the peloton and could have been a disastrous for one of the favorites, Andy Schleck. The main peloton was split into two sections with Andy, riding teammate Matti Breschel's bike, approx. one km behind.
In a show of sportsmanship the lead section with yellow jersey holder, Fabian Cancellera, held off pursuit of race leader Sylvain Chavanel giving Andy the opportunity to join the main peloton. In the end, there was no sprints to the finish. The main peloton, containing all of the Tour favorites crossed the line 3min and 56sec after Chavanel.
Stage 3 prediction: Sprinters are now getting edgy. Don't look for any breakaway to succeed. A few hills and only one Cat 4 climb early, finishing with 120 km flat, look for all the sprinters to be there at the end. Thor Hushovd is a bit upset after today and will put that anger to use on stage 3. Tyler Farrar is banged up as is Mark Cavendish. Robbie McEwen is also looking much better. Another classic battle between Thor and Robbie in stage 3.

Results - Stage 2

1	Sylvain Chavanel (FRA) Quick Step	4:40:48
2	Maxime Bouet (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale	0:03:56
3	Fabian Wegmann (GER) Team Milram
4	Robbie McEwen (AUS) Team Katusha
5	Christian Knees (GER) Team Milram
6	Jurgen Roelandts (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto
7	Thor Hushovd (NOR) Cervelo Test Team
8	Linus Gerdemann (GER) Team Milram
9	Matthieu Ladagnous (FRA) Française des Jeux
10	Bernhard Eisel (AUT) Team HTC - Columbia

General Classification (Yellow Jersey)

1	Sylvain Chavanel (FRA) Quick Step	10:01:25
2	Fabian Cancellara (SUI) Team Saxo Bank	0:02:57
3	Tony Martin (GER) Team HTC - Columbia	0:03:07
4	David Millar (GBR) Garmin - Transitions	0:03:17
5	Lance Armstrong (USA) Team Radioshack	0:03:19
6	Geraint Thomas (GBR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	0:03:20
7	Alberto Contador Velasco (ESP) Astana	0:03:24
8	Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team Radioshack	0:03:25
9	Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	0:03:29
10	Linus Gerdemann (GER) Team Milram	0:03:32

Point Standings (Green Jersey)

1	Sylvain Chavanel (FRA) Quick Step	44	pts
2	Alessandro Petacchi (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini	35
3	Jurgen Roelandts (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto	34
4	Mark Renshaw (AUS) Team HTC - Columbia	30
5	Thor Hushovd (NOR) Cervelo Test Team	26
6	Robbie McEwen (AUS) Team Katusha	24
7	Matthieu Ladagnous (FRA) Française des Jeux	22
8	Daniel Oss (ITA) Liquigas-Doimo	20
9	Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	19
10	Sébastien Turgot (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom	19

Tour de France Demolition Derby

2010-07-04T11:35:00.000-07:00

Photo credit © Fotoreporter Sirotti

Going into stage one I thought this would be the easiest and safest of all the Tour's sprint stages for 2010. Don't exactly know what happened during the last three km, but stage one began to look more like a demolition derby than a pro cycling race. Multiple crashes also ended the hopes of the sprint finish everyone was looking forward to. Mark Cavendish was the first to drop before Tyler Farrar ended his chances during a massive crash less than 1000 meters from the finish.
Despite the crashes, the finish was still exciting as 36 year old Alessandro Petacchi held off a charge by Mark Renshaw (Cavendish's lead out man), Thor Hushovd and Robbie McEwen to win his 6th Tour de France stage victory.
There were no changes in the overall classification as everybody received the same time.
With the stage victory, Petacchi won the green sprinters jersey.
Stage two prediction: Although still a sprinters stage, a few climbs near the end will probably keep Cavendish out of the running. Look for the bigger and more powerful sprinters to fight it out at the finish. I believe Farrar has the legs to be there at the end along with Hushovd and maybe another run by Petacchi.

Results - Stage one

1	Alessandro Petacchi (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini 5:09:38
2	Mark Renshaw (AUS) Team HTC - Columbia
3	Thor Hushovd (NOR) Cervelo Test Team
4	Robbie McEwen (AUS) Team Katusha
5	Matthieu Ladagnous (FRA) Française des Jeux
6	Daniel Oss (ITA) Liquigas-Doimo
7	Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
8	Christian Knees (GER) Team Milram
9	Ruben Perez Moreno (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi
10	Jurgen Roelandts (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto

Point Standings (Green Jersey)

1	Alessandro Petacchi (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini	35	pts
2	Mark Renshaw (AUS) Team HTC - Columbia	30
3	Thor Hushovd (NOR) Cervelo Test Team	26
4	Robbie McEwen (AUS) Team Katusha	24
5	Matthieu Ladagnous (FRA) Française des Jeux	22
6	Daniel Oss (ITA) Liquigas-Doimo	20
7	Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	19
8	Christian Knees (GER) Team Milram	18
9	Geraint Thomas (GBR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	17
10	Ruben Perez Moreno (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi	17

Le Tour 2010 Begins

2010-07-03T14:55:00.000-07:00

Photo credit © Fotoreporter Sirotti

No big surprises, just a few small one's in today's prologue. Favorite Fabian Cancellara easily beats out Tony Martin to gain the first yellow jersey in this years edition of the Tour de France.
Lance Armstrong showed he still has the ability for a possible podium finish with a strong fourth place showing while Alberto Contador finished five seconds behind Lance in sixth position. Alberto may still be showing signs of the flu that has slowed his training over the past week.
Another big surprise was the showing of Tyler Farrar. I wasn't looking for any of the top sprinters to finish near the top.
I don't see any changes in the overall classification until stage 7 as the sprinters will rule until the mountains.
Prediction for stage one: Mark Cavendish will be everyone's logical choice, but watch out for Farrah and never rule out Robbie McEwen.

Results - Prologue

1	Fabian Cancellara (SUI) Team Saxo Bank	0:10:00
2	Tony Martin (GER) Team HTC - Columbia	0:00:10
3	David Millar (GBR) Garmin - Transitions	0:00:20
4	Lance Armstrong (USA) Team Radioshack	0:00:22
5	Geraint Thomas (GBR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	0:00:23
6	Alberto Contador Velasco (ESP) Astana	0:00:27
7	Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Transitions	0:00:28
8	Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team Radioshack
9	Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	0:00:32
10	Linus Gerdemann (GER) Team Milram	0:00:35
11	Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team
12	Adriano Malori (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini
13	Janez Brajkovic (SLO) Team Radioshack
14	Michael Rogers (AUS) Team HTC - Columbia
15	Ruben Plaza Molina (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	0:00:36
16	Niki Terpstra (NED) Team Milram
17	Andreas Klöden (GER) Team Radioshack
18	Vasili Kiryienka (BLR) Caisse d'Epargne	0:00:38
19	Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) Astana
20	Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Liquigas-Doimo

Tour de France 2010 team lineup announced

2010-03-30T16:20:00.000-07:00

From: The Malaysian Mirror - PARIS : Tuesday, 30 March 2010 23:22

PARIS -The 2010 Tour de France from July 3-25 will have 22 teams competing for the top
prize in cycling, race organisers announced on Tuesday. Among them will be the US Radioshack team of seven-time former tour winner Lance Armstrong and the recently-formed Sky team of Britain who

have built on Britain's track success at Beijing 2008 to create a talented

roster headed by triple Olympic champion Bradley Wiggins, who was fourth in last year's race.All 16 teams which form the ProTour circuit are included in the lineupalong with six specially invited teams which include Radioshack and Sky.
Last year's tour winner Alberto Contador of Spain will once again compete
for the Astana team of Kazakhstan.
Asked whether the fact there were four US teams and one British team on
the list this year indicated that increased efforts were being made to attract
interest from english-speaking countries, tour chief Christian Prudhomme

replied that "The Tour will always stay the Tour de France."

"It's the greatest cycle race in the world and there will be no turning our backs on the past.

"The race is becoming more international and that is only logical. In football, the best French players more

often than not play for the top foreign clubs."

Dave Brailsford, team principal for Team Sky, said: "A place in the Tour has been a dream for so many of

us for so long - now it's a reality.

"We will do everything we can to help create an exciting race with a group of highly talented and motivated

riders who race to win.

"We are a rider-centred team and the riders must take the credit for getting us selected for this year's

Tour de France through their fantastic early season performances.

"They are a fantastic bunch of guys and I know they will arrive in Rotterdam ready to give it their very best."

Wiggins, who was fourth in the 2009 Tour before signing for Team Sky in December, added: "As a team we

are thrilled that we're going to compete in the biggest bike race in the world.

"I'm hugely proud to be in a British-based team taking on the Tour de France and I'm convinced we'll leave

our mark."

The 22 teams designated to take part in the 2010 Tour de France:

ProTour Teams

AG2R-La Mondiale (FRA)

Astana (KAZ)

BBox Bouygues Telecom (FRA)

Caisse d'Epargne (ESP)

Cofidis (FRA)

Columbia (USA)

Euskaltel (ESP)

Francaise des Jeux (FRA)

Footon-Servetto (ESP)

Lampre (ITA)

Liquigas (ITA)

Milram (GER)

Omega Pharma-Lotto (BEL)

Quick Step (BEL)

Rabobank (NED)

Saxo Bank (DEN)

Special Invite Teams

Radioshack (USA)

Sky (GBR)

Katusha (RUS)

Garmin (USA)

Cervelo (SUI)

BMC (USA)

*article from The Malaysian Mirror

Ready for the New Year

2009-12-30T18:07:00.000-08:00

Lance returned in 2009. Can't do much better than that for a successful year, although the year alone was pretty much a disappointment. Without Lance LeTour was dreadful and the other grand tour events were a bit boring when compared to the past 10 years. Some big names returned along with Lance, albeit for other reasons, and that alone brought more interest to the cycling events of 2009.
Now it's time to look forward to 2010 and what I would like to see:
1. Lance goes back on top of cycling world.
2. Victory for Lance and Team Radio Shack in the Tour de France.
3. Alberto Contador acknowledge the greatness of a legend.
5. A successful return for Landis, Hamilton and Basso. Must wait one more year for Ricco.
6. A classic battle in LeTour between Alberto and Lance, ala Ullrich and Armstrong.
7. Somebody (anybody) give Cavendish some competition. Does Robbie McEwen have another year in him.
8. More TV coverage on the Grand Tours and the classics.

I believe this will be a great year. What are your thoughts and predictions?

To my followers and friends:
"May the best of 2009 be the worse of 2010 for us all"

Joeshico

Practice Begins For Team Radio Shack.

2009-12-13T12:36:00.000-08:00

Team Radio Shack and Lance Armstrong are in Arizona for their first practice as they begin preparations for the the 2010 season. Many of the team are still under contract with Team Astana and must remain with Astana until the end of the year.
Lance has now made it public that he will retire (again) after the 2011 season.

Speaking to an Italian newspaper the seven time Tour de France champ confirmed that he plans on racing professionally for two more years.

"I'll go on for another two years but this time I'll have the experience of this season behind me and I'll be better because I'll also have the best team in the world," he said.

"Of the nine Astana riders (from the Tour) eight are here now. Of course we're missing a great champion like Alberto Contador but we'll still have the same chances of winning," he added.

The first race for Team Radio Shack will be the Tour Down Under.

The 2010 Santos Tour Down Under will take place in South Australia from 17 to 24 January 2010.

Win a Ride With Lance

2009-11-10T20:05:00.000-08:00

Clear2Go(TM) is giving one lucky winner the chance to win a bike ride with our partner, seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong! The prize includes a sweet TREK® bike and a 3-day, 2-night trip for two to Austin, TX where you'll have the chance to take a solo ride with Lance while your lucky guest unwinds!

Head to the Ride With Lance Sweepstakes page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/C2GoRideWLance) to enter for a chance to win and learn how to secure your own Clear2Go(TM) water bottle with filter (Lance has one!). You can earn extra entries into the sweeps by taking part in our Photo Flashes!

Special promotion is good until 12/7.

Good luck!

Tour de France 2010 Stage Routes

2009-11-02T07:53:00.000-08:00

The route for the 2010 Tour de France was announced on October 14th.

All info can be found on the official Tour web site. www.letour.fr

Tour de France 2010

Running from Saturday July 3^rd to Sunday July 25^th 2010, the 97^th Tour de France will be made up of 1 prologue and 20 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,600 kilometres.

These stages have the following profiles:

1 prologue,
9 flat stages,
6 mountain stages and 3 summit finishes,
4 medium mountain stage,
1 individual time-trial stage (51 km).

Distinctive aspects of the race

le Tourmalet climbed twice,
a hint of the Classics and cobblestones,
2 rest days,
23 level 1, level 2 and highest level mountain passes.

The stages
Stage	Type	Date	Start and Finish	Distance
P	Prologue	Saturday 3 July	Rotterdam > Rotterdam	8 km
1	Plain	Sunday 4 July	Rotterdam > Bruxelles	224 km
2	Hilly	Monday 5 July	Bruxelles > Spa	192 km
3	Plain	Tuesday 6 July	Wanze > Arenberg Porte du Hainaut	207 km
4	Plain	Wednesday 7 July	Cambrai > Reims	150 km
5	Plain	Thursday 8 July	Épernay > Montargis	185 km
6	Plain	Friday 9 July	Montargis > Gueugnon	225 km
7	Medium mountains	Saturday 10 July	Tournus > Station des Rousses	161 km
8	High Mountains	Sunday 11 July	Station des Rousses > Morzine-Avoriaz	189 km
R	Rest Day	Monday 12 July	Morzine-Avoriaz
9	High Mountains	Tuesday 13 July	Morzine-Avoriaz > Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne	204 km
10	Medium mountains	Wednesday 14 July	Chambéry > Gap	179 km
11	Plain	Thursday 15 July	Sisteron > Bourg-lès-Valence	180 km
12	Hilly	Friday 16 July	Bourg-de-Péage > Mende	210 km
13	Plain	Saturday 17 July	Rodez > Revel	195 km
14	High Mountains	Sunday 18 July	Revel > Ax-3 Domaines	184 km
15	High Mountains	Monday 19 July	Pamiers > Bagnères-de-Luchon	187 km
16	High Mountains	Tuesday 20 July	Bagnères-de-Luchon > Pau	196 km
R	Rest Day	Wednesday 21 July	Pau
17	High Mountains	Thursday 22 July	Pau > Col du Tourmalet	174 km
18	Plain	Friday 23 July	Salies-de-Béarn > Bordeaux	190 km
19	Individual time-trial	Saturday 24 July	Bordeaux > Pauillac	51 km
20	Plain	Sunday 25 July	Longjumeau > Paris Champs-Élysées	105 km

Team Radioshack Granted Pro Tour License

2009-10-19T16:57:00.000-07:00

Lance Armstrong’s new Team Readioshack has been given permission to race in many of cycling’s top events for the next four years.

The International Cycling Union said on Friday that it has granted Team RadioShack a license to compete in ProTour races for the 2010-13 seasons. The team still needs an invitation to race in next year’s Tour de France and Giro d’Italia.

The season-long ProTour series includes one-day classics such as the Amstel Gold Race in the Netherlands and Belgium’s Tour of Flanders, plus stage races such as the Dauphine Libere in France and Switzerland’s Tour de Romandie.

lance Armstrong rode for the Kazakh-backed Astana roster when he finished third in this year’s Tour. He announced afterward that he was leaving to create his own team.

Source: AP

Horner Signs With Team Radio Shack

2009-10-04T12:43:00.000-07:00

American Chris Horner has signed a two-year deal with Lance Armstrong's Team Radio Shack for 2010.

Team Radio Shack has already signed up Horner's Astana team-mates Levi Leipheimer, Sergio Paulhino, Haimar Zubeldia and Andreas Kloden.

2010 team roster

NAME................................FORMER TEAM

	Lance Armstrong		Astana
	Janez Brajkovic		Astana
	Ben Hermans		Topsport Vlaanderen–Mercator
	Chris Horner		Astana
	Andreas Klöden		Astana
	Daryl Impey		Barloworld
	Markel Irizar		Euskaltel-Euskadi
	Levi Leipheimer		Astana
	Geoffroy Lequatre		Agritubel
	Tiago Machado		Madeinox - Boavista
	Nikolas Maes		Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator
	Sérgio Paulinho		Astana
	Grégory Rast		Astana
	Sebastien Rosseler		Quick Step
	José Luis Rubiera^]		Astana
	Gert Steegmans		Team Katusha
	Tomas Vaitkus		Astana
	Haimar Zubeldia		Astana

Greipel Wins Fourth Stage On Last Day

2009-09-20T19:00:00.000-07:00

The Vuelta a Espana finished in Madrid today with Andrea Greipel winning his fourth stage, giving Team Columbia-HTC five stage victories.
Overall winners were.
Gold Jersey(overall): Alejandro Valverde, Team Caisse d'Epargne
Green Jersey(sprinter): Andrea Greipel, Team Columbian-HTC
Burgundy Jersey(King of the Mountains), David Moncoutie, Team Cofidis
Best Team: Team Xacobeo Galicia
Noticeable was that no USA rider finished the race.

Stage 21 Results:
1 André Greipel (GER) Columbia-HTC 03:11:55
2 Daniele Bennati (ITA) Liquigas
3 Borut Bozic (SLO) Vacansoleil
4 Leonardo Duque (COL) Cofidis
5 Sébastien Hinault (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale
6 Enrico Gasparotto (ITA) Lampre-NGC
7 Gregory Henderson (NZL) Columbia-HTC
8 Roger Hammond (GBR) Cervélo TestTeam
9 Tom Leezer (NED) Rabobank
10 Paul Voss (GER) Milram
11 Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Silence-Lotto
12 Iñaki Isasi (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi
13 Jürgen Roelandts (BEL) Silence-Lotto
14 Daniel Moreno (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
15 Kevin De Weert (BEL) Quick Step

Final overall rankings:
1 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 87:22:37
2 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:00:55
3 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:01:32
4 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas 0:02:12
5 Ezequiel Mosquera (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:04:27
6 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 0:06:40
7 Joaquím Rodríguez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:09:08
8 Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:09:11
9 Philip Deignan (IRL) Cervélo TestTeam 0:11:08
10 Juan José Cobo (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 0:11:27
11 Daniel Moreno (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:14:24
12 Johnny Hoogerland (NED) Vacansoleil 0:15:08
13 Daniel Navarro (ESP) Astana 0:15:10
14 Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) Astana 0:17:15
15 Manuel Váquez (ESP Contentpolis-Ampo 0:18:41
16 Vasil Kiryienka (BLR) Caisse d'Epargne 0:20:11
17 Sylvester Szmyd (POL) Liquigas 0:21:03
18 Amaël Moinard (FRA) Cofidis 0:21:11
19 Jesús Hernández (ESP) Astana 0:23:38
20 Kevin De Weert (BEL) Quick Step 0:24:00
21 Françis De Greef (Bel) Silence-Lotto 0:24:36
22 José Angel Gomez Marchante (ESP) Cervélo TestTeam 0:33:19
23 David Garcia (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:34:48
24 David De La Fuente (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 0:36:49
25 Mickaël Chérel (FRA) Française des Jeux 0:37:05
26 Eduard Vorganov (RUS) Xacobeo Galicia 0:37:14
27 David Moncoutié (FRA) Cofidis 0:46:45
28 David Herrero (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:48:07
29 Amets Txurruka (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:52:58
30 Tadej Valjavec (SLO) AG2R La Mondiale 0:53:40
31 Alexandr Kolobnev (RUS) Saxo Bank 0:57:07
32 Leonardo Duque (COL) Cofidis 0:58:17
33 Igor Antón (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:58:20
34 Bram Tankink (NED) Rabobank 0:59:42
35 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Rabobank 1:03:49
36 Matteo Carrara (ITA) Vacansoleil 1:05:05
37 Juan Manuel Gárate (ESP) Rabobank 1:06:25
38 Serafín Martínez (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 1:06:31
39 Arkaitz Durán (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 1:06:44
40 Gustavo César Veloso (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 1:07:51
41 David López García (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 1:09:28
42 Christian Knees (GER) Milram 1:17:16
43 Pieter Weening (NED) Rabobank 1:18:47
44 Adrián Palomares (ESP) Contentpolis-Ampo 1:19:06
45 Christophe Riblon (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale 1:19:18
46 Manuel Calvente (ESP) Andalucía-Cajasur 1:21:27
47 Olivier Bonnaire (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 1:22:24
48 Julien El Farès (FRA) Cofidis 1:22:39
49 Rémy Di Gregorio (FRA) Française des Jeux 1:23:45
50 Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Silence-Lotto 1:27:04
51 Lars Boom (NED) Rabobank 1:28:13
52 Matthieu Sprick (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 1:29:14
53 Jakob Fuglsang (DEN) Saxo Bank 1:29:46
54 Bingen Fernández (ESP) Cofidis 1:30:07
55 Xavier Florencio (ESP) Cervélo TestTeam 1:32:33
56 Beñat Intxausti (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 1:34:35
57 Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Liquigas 1:34:53
58 Javier Ramírez (ESP) Andalucía-Cajasur 1:35:08
59 Ludovic Turpin (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale 1:36:42
60 Damien Monier (FRA) Cofidis 1:39:22
61 Jesús Del Nero (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 1:41:03
62 Gonzalo Rabuñal (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 1:42:14
63 Matti Breschel (DEN) Saxo Bank 1:45:14
64 Sébastien Hinault (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale 1:46:51
65 Oliver Zaugg (SUI) Liquigas 1:46:54
66 Iñaki Isasi (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 1:51:28
67 Fredrik Kessiakoff (SUI) Fuji-Servetto 1:51:41
68 Mickaël Delage (FRA) Silence-Lotto 1:52:52
69 Rein Taaramäe (EST) Cofidis 1:54:01
70 Francisco José Martínez (ESP) Andalucía-Cajasur 1:55:32
71 Karsten Kroon (NED) Saxo Bank 1:56:22
72 Gustavo Dominguez (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 1:59:47
73 Antonio Piedra (ESP) Andalucía-Cajasur 1:59:54
74 Julián Sánchez (ESP) Contentpolis-Ampo 2:01:47
75 David Millar (GBR) Garmin-Slipstream 2:03:28
76 Enrico Gasparotto (ITA) Lampre-NGC 2:07:41
77 Dominik Roels (GER) Milram 2:08:25
78 Daniele Bennati (ITA) Liquigas 2:08:34
79 Stijn Devolder (BEL) Quick Step 2:09:44
80 Olivier Kaisen (BEL) Silence-Lotto 2:10:55
81 Lieuwe Westra (NED) Vacansoleil 2:11:21
82 Francisco Pérez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 2:12:03
83 Mickaël Buffaz (FRA) Cofidis 2:12:42
84 Matthias Russ (GER) Milram 2:17:39
85 Kjell Carlström (FIN) Liquigas 2:17:50
86 Alan Pérez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2:18:25
87 Marco Velo (ITA) Quick Step 2:18:26
88 Adam Hansen (AUS) Columbia-HTC 2:19:46
89 Martin Velits (SVK) Milram 2:20:48
90 Aitor Hernández (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2:20:50
91 Roger Hammond (GBR) Cervélo TestTeam 2:22:26
92 Rubén Pérez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2:22:57
93 Paul Voss (GER) Milram 2:27:43
94 Imanol Erviti (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 2:27:53
95 Gabriel Rasch (NOR) Cervélo TestTeam 2:28:38
96 Borut Bozic (SLO) Vacansoleil 2:28:48
97 Vicente Reynes (ESP) Columbia-HTC 2:28:53
98 Sergey Lagutin (UZB) Vacansoleil 2:32:05
99 Arnaud Gerard (FRA) Française des Jeux 2:32:39
100 Jesús Rosendo (ESP) Andalucía-Cajasur 2:35:43
101 André Greipel (GER) Columbia-HTC 2:36:32
102 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (NOR) Saxo Bank 2:37:38
103 William Bonnet (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 2:38:05
104 Michael Schär (SUI) Astana 2:39:45
105 Aitor Pérez Arrieta (ESP) Contentpolis-Ampo 2:40:56
106 Xabier Zandio (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 2:42:38
107 Maarten Wynants (BEL) Quick Step 2:46:18
108 Markel Irizar (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2:46:43
109 Fabio Sabatini (ITA) Liquigas 2:47:06
110 Javier Benitez (ESP) Contentpolis-Ampo 2:51:10
111 Wesley Sulzberger (AUS) Française des Jeux 2:51:56
112 José Ruiz (ESP) Andalucía-Cajasur 2:51:58
113 Jürgen Roelandts (BEL) Silence-Lotto 2:52:13
114 Anthony Roux (FRA) Française des Jeux 2:53:02
115 Marcel Sieberg (GER) Columbia-HTC 2:53:44
116 Gregory Henderson (NZL) Columbia-HTC 2:55:24
117 Matthé Pronk (NED) Vacansoleil 2:57:16
118 Christophe Brandt (BEL) Silence-Lotto 2:57:50
119 Jean Eudes Demaret (FRA) Cofidis 2:58:10
120 Emanuele Bindi (ITA) Lampre-NGC 3:00:24
121 Tom Leezer (NED) Rabobank 3:01:15
122 Assan Bazayev (KAZ) Astana 3:06:28
123 Maciej Bodnar (POL) Liquigas 3:08:41
124 Julian Dean (NZL) Garmin-Slipstream 3:09:57
125 Massimiliano Mori (ITA) Lampre-NGC 3:13:53
126 Frantisek Rabon (CZE) Columbia-HTC 3:16:05
127 Martijn Maaskant (NED) Garmin-Slipstream 3:18:20
128 Timothy Gudsell (NZL) Française des Jeux 3:18:41
129 José Vicente Garcia (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 3:19:05
130 Jens Mouris (NED) Vacansoleil 3:19:54
131 Damien Gaudin (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 3:29:02

David Millar Wins Stage 20 Time Trial

2009-09-19T12:30:00.000-07:00

David Millar of Team Garmin-Slipstream won the final meaningful stage at today's Vuelta a Espana. This was the third win for Garmin-Slipstream, a team that had be getting used to finishing second in the Gran Tour stages. Tom Danielson, before getting ill and withdrawing from the race, has also been riding very well for Garmin.
Alejandro Valverde will ride into Madrid tomorrow as winner of this years Vuelta. Second place will go to Samuel Sanchez of Euskaltel-Euskadi and Australian Cadel Evans jumped past Ivan Basso to claim a spot on the podium in third place.
The green sprinters jersey was won by Andre Greipel of Team Columbia-HTC and Team Cofidis' David Moncoutie has won the King of the Mountains.

Stage 20 results:
1 David Millar (GBR) Garmin-Slipstream 00:35:53
2 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:00:05
3 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:00:09
4 Gustavo César Veloso (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:00:20
5 Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Liquigas 0:00:30
6 Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Silence-Lotto 0:00:34
7 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:36
8 David Herrero (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:00:37
9 Jesús Del Nero (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 0:00:40
10 Lieuwe Westra (NED) Vacansoleil 0:00:43
11 Maciej Bodnar (POL) Liquigas 0:00:44
12 Vasil Kiryienka (BLR) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:49
13 Fredrik Kessiakoff (SWE) Fuji-Servetto 0:00:55
14 Frantisek Rabon (CZE) Columbia-HTC 0:00:56
15 Christophe Riblon (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01:01
16 Koos Moerenhout (NED) Rabobank 0:01:02
17 Stijn Devolder (BEL) Quick Step 0:01:03
18 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas
19 Dominik Roels (GER) Milram 0:01:16
20 Juan José Cobo (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 0:01:23

Overall rankings after stage 20:
1 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 84:10:32
2 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:00:55
3 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:01:32
4 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas 0:02:12
5 Ezequiel Mosquera (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:04:27
6 Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank 0:06:40
7 Joaquím Rodríguez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:09:08
8 Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:09:11
9 Philip Deignan (IRL) Cervélo TestTeam 0:11:08
10 Juan José Cobo (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 0:11:27
11 Daniel Moreno (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:14:34
12 Johnny Hoogerland (NED) Vacansoleil 0:15:08
13 Daniel Navarro (ESP) Astana 0:15:10
14 Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) Astana 0:17:09
15 Manuel Váquez (ESP) Contentpolis-Ampo 0:18:41
16 Vasil Kiryienka (BLR) Caisse d'Epargne 0:20:05
17 Sylvester Szmyd (POL) Liquigas 0:20:57
18 Amaël Moinard (FRA) Cofidis 0:21:11
19 Jesús Hernández (ESP) Astana 0:23:38
20 Kevin De Weert (BEL) Quick Step 0:24:10

Cobo Attacks and Wins

2009-09-18T16:40:00.000-07:00

Back from vacation and not much has changed.
Juan Jose Cobo's attack was almost chased down, but he held on to win
by :02 sec over race leader Alejandro Valverde. Valverde's 2nd place finish
gave him :12 sec bonus over Samuel Sanchez and just about assured him the overall victory in this year's Vuelta a Espana. Sanchez should finish ahead of
Valverde in the stage 20 time trial, but not by more than 00:01:26

Stage 19 results:
1 Juan José Cobo (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 04:37:35
2 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 00:00:02
3 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto
4 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi
5 Daniel Moreno (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
6 Ezequiel Mosquera (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia
7 Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) Lampre-NGC
8 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas
9 Manuel Váquez (ESP) Contentpolis-Ampo 0:01:34
10 Rémy Di Gregorio (FRA) Française des Jeux
11 Daniel Navarro (ESP) Astana
12 Tadej Valjavec (SLO) AG2R La Mondiale
13 Philip Deignan (IRL) Cervélo TestTeam
14 Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) Astana
15 Joaquím Rodríguez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne

Overall rankings after stage 19:
1 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 83:34:03
2 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:01:26
3 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas 0:01:45
4 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:01:59
5 Ezequiel Mosquera (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:02:11
6 Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank 0:05:30
7 Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:06:49
8 Joaquím Rodríguez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:07:42
9 Philip Deignan (IRL) Cervélo TestTeam 0:09:37
10 Juan José Cobo (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 0:10:40
11 Daniel Moreno (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:13:06
12 Daniel Navarro (ESP) Astana 0:13:39
13 Johnny Hoogerland (NED) Vacansoleil 0:14:03
14 Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) Astana 0:15:23
15 Manuel Váquez (ESP) Contentpolis-Ampo 0:15:49

Moncoutie, King of the Mountains

2009-09-12T15:09:00.000-07:00

Last post till September 20th. Away on a long over do vacation. Will miss six stages.
David Moncoutie of Team Cofidis proved he is worthy of the "King of the Mountain" title by breaking away from the leaders and winning by nearly one minute of over second place Ezequiel Mosquera. A strong finish to earn the :08 second 3rd place bonus helped Alejandro Valverde gain some time on Robert Gesink as Cadel Evans of Team Silence-Lotto suffered a punctured tire 14 km from the finish causing him to lose over one minute on race leader Valverde.

Stage 13 results:
1 David Moncoutié (FRA) Cofidis 05:09:22
2 Ezequiel Mosquera (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:00:52
3 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:01:16
4 Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank
5 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas
6 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:01:37
7 Joaquím Rodríguez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:02:09
8 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:02:24
9 Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:02:31
10 Amaël Moinard (FRA) Cofidis 0:03:37

Overall rankings after stage 13:
1 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 56:23:08
2 Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank 0:00:27
3 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas 0:01:02
4 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:01:23
5 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:01:32
6 Ezequiel Mosquera (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:01:46
7 Joaquím Rodríguez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:05:02
8 Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:05:33
9 Daniel Navarro (ESP) Astana 0:08:21
10 Johnny Hoogerland (NED) Vacansoleil 0:10:23

O' Canada

2009-09-11T18:18:00.000-07:00

Ryder Hesjedal became the first Canadian to ever win a stage at the Vuelta a Espana. He also became the first Canadian to win a stage in any of the Gran Tours since the 1988 Tour de France. It was also the second consecutive victory for Team Garmin-Slipstream. Standings in the overall did not change at the top, but Robert Gesink of Rabobank picked up :18 seconds on Alejandro Valverde.

Stage 12 Results:
1 Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) Garmin-Slipstream 05:34:31
2 David Garcia Fuga (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:00:01
3 Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank 0:00:06
4 Ezequiel Mosquer(ESP) Xacobeo Galicia
5 Damiano Cunego (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:00:16
6 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
7 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto
8 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas
9 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Slipstream
10 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi
11 Juan José Cobo (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 0:00:21
12 Joaquím Rodríguez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:28
13 Sylvester Szmyd (POL) Liquigas 0:00:33
14 Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:00:34
15 Daniel Moreno (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:50

Overall leaders after stage 12:
1 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 51:12:38
2 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:00:07
3 Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank 0:00:18
4 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 0:00:51
5 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas 0:00:53
6 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:01:03
7 Damiano Cunego (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:02:13
8 Ezequiel Mosquera (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:02:14
9 Daniel Navarro (ESP) Astana 0:03:53
10 Joaquím Rodríguez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:04:01
11 Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:04:10
12 Juan José Cobo (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 0:04:28
13 Daniel Moreno (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:04:57
14 Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) Astana 0:05:12
15 Johnny Hoogerland (NED) Vacansoleil 0:06:39

Finally, Tyler Pulls One Out

2009-09-09T11:09:00.000-07:00

Tyler Farrar of Team Garmin-Slipstream, who started making a habit of coming in second, finally wins one, taking stage 11 at the Vuelta a Espana. The victory was Tyler's first Gran Tour win. This was little consolation for Garmin-Slipstream who lost their team leader, Christian Vande Velde, in stage one of the Tour of Missouri, with a broken hand.

1 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 05:11:10
2 Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Silence-Lotto
3 Marco Marcato (ITA) Vacansoleil
4 Iñaki Isasi (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi
5 André Greipel (GER) Columbia-HTC
6 Alessandro Ballan (ITA) Lampre-NGC
7 Enrico Gasparotto (ITA) Lampre-NGC
8 Christian Knees (GER) Milram
9 Oscar Freire (ESP) Rabobank
10 Matteo Tosatto (ITA) Quick Step
11 Roger Hammond (GBR) Cervélo TestTeam
12 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto
13 Daniele Bennati (ITA) Liquigas
14 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
15 Eduard Vorganov (RUS) Xacobeo Galicia

Overall rankings after stage 11:
1 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 45:37:51
2 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:00:07
3 Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank 0:00:36
4 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 0:00:51
5 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas 0:00:53
6 Samuel Sánchez (ESP Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:01:03
7 Damiano Cunego (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:02:13
8 Ezequiel Mosquera (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:02:24
9 Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) Astana 0:03:10
10 Tadej Valjavec (SLO) AG2R La Mondiale 0:03:13
11 Daniel Navarro (ESP) Astana 0:03:16
12 Joaquím Rodríguez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:03:49
13 Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:03:52
14 Daniel Moreno (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:04:23
15 Johnny Hoogerland (NED) Vacansoleil 0:04:44

Simon Gerrans Wins Stage 10

2009-09-08T20:51:00.000-07:00

Aussie Simon Gerrans took todays stage 10 of the Vuelta a Espana.
There was no change among the leaders.
In other news, the worlds fastest sprinter, Team Columbia's Mark Cavendish won stage 2 in the Tour of Missouri. BTW, he also won stage one.

Stage 10 results:
1 Simon Gerrans (AUS) Cervélo TestTeam 03:56:19
2 Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) Garmin-Slipstream
3 Jakob Fuglsang (DEN) Saxo Bank
4 Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) Astana
5 Adam Hansen (AUS) Columbia-HTC 0:00:29
6 Francisco Pérez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:31
7 Christophe Riblon (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:37
8 Karsten Kroon (NED) Saxo Bank 0:00:39
9 Arnaud Gerard (FRA) Française des Jeux
10 Matteo Tosatto (ITA) Quick Step
11 Juan Manuel Gárate (ESP) Rabobank
12 Antonio Piedra (ESP) Andalucía-Cajasur 0:00:49
13 Aitor Pérez Arrieta (ESP) Contentpolis-Ampo
14 Leonardo Duque (COL) Cofidis 0:00:50
15 Adrián Palomares (ESP) Contentpolis-Ampo

Overall rankings after stage 10:
1 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 40:26:41
2 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:00:07
3 Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank 0:00:36
4 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 0:00:51
5 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas 0:00:53
6 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:01:03
7 Damiano Cunego (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:02:04
8 Ezequiel Mosquera (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:02:24
9 Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) Astana 0:03:01
10 Tadej Valjavec (SLO) AG2R La Mondiale 0:03:13
11 Daniel Navarro (ESP) Astana 0:03:16
12 Joaquím Rodríguez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:03:49
13 Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:03:52
14 Juan José Cobo (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 0:04:14
15 Daniel Moreno (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:04:23

Valverde Now Leads.

2009-09-07T13:03:00.000-07:00

Alejandro Valverde is now wearing the gold after gaining :08 bonus seconds by finishing third in stage 9 of the Vuelta a Espana. Cadel Evans is now in second :07 seconds behind. A disappointing finish for Samuel Sanchez, coming in 1 min. 29 sec behind the leaders. That drops Sanchez from 3rd to 6th.

Stage 9 results:

1 Gustavo César Veloso (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 05:21:04

2 Marco Marzano (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:00:21
3 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:40
4 David De La Fuente (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 0:00:41
5 Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank
6 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto
7 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas
8 Javier Ramírez (ESP) Andalucía-Cajasur 0:00:53
9 Joaquím Rodríguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:01:12
10 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Slipstream
11 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-NGC
12 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) AG2R La Mondiale
13 Ezequiel Mosquera (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia
14 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Lampre-NGC 0:01:29
15 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Saxo Bank
16 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi

Overall standings after stage 9:
1 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 36:26:40
2 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:00:07
3 Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank 0:00:36
4 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 0:00:51
5 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas 0:00:53
6 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:01:03
7 Damiano Cunego (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:02:04
8 Ezequiel Mosquera (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:02:24
9 Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) Astana 0:03:01
10 Juan José Cobo (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 0:03:08
11 Tadej Valjavec (SLO) AG2R La Mondiale 0:03:13
12 Daniel Navarro (ESP) Astana 0:03:16
13 Joaquím Rodríguez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:03:49
14 Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:03:52
15 Daniel Moreno (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:04:23

Photo credit ©Unipublic

Damiano Cunego Wins Stage, Evans in Gold

2009-09-06T17:28:00.000-07:00

Italian Damiano Cunego won stage 8 in today's Vuelta a Espana after attacking the field of contenders and overtaking David Moncoutie in the final 2 km.
Finishing in 4th place, but close enough to take the gold jersey was Cadel Evans of Australia. Right behind Cadel are Spaniards Alejandro Valverde and Samuel Sanchez.
With the withdrawal of Tour de France runner up, Andy Schleck, this has or will become a three man race between Evans, Valverde and Sanchez.
I would also watch Ivan Basso to challenge the favorites.

Stage 8 results:

1 Damiano Cunego (ITA) Lampre-NGC 06:04:54
2 David Moncoutié (FRA) Cofidis 0:00:33
3 Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank 0:00:36
4 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:00:44
5 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
6 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi
7 Tadej Valjavec (SLO) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:50
8 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas
9 Ezequiel Mosquera (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia
10 Joaquím Rodríguez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
11 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Slipstream
12 Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) Lampre-NGC
13 Johnny Hoogerland (NED) Vacansoleil 0:01:10
14 Daniel Martin (IRL) Garmin-Slipstream 0:01:29
15 Daniel Navarro (ESP) Astana 0:01:32

Overall leaders after stage 8:
1 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 31:05:02
2 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:02
3 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:00:08
4 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 0:00:13
5 Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank 0:00:29
6 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas 0:00:46
7 Damiano Cunego (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:01:26
8 Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) Astana 0:01:37
9 Ezequiel Mosquera (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:01:46
10 Juan José Cobo (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 0:02:03
11 Daniel Navarro (ESP) Astana 0:02:13
12 Tadej Valjavec (SLO) AG2R La Mondiale 0:02:35
13 Arkaitz Durán (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 0:02:37
14 Daniel Moreno (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:02:40
15 Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:02:57

Fabian Wins Stage 7 Time Trial

2009-09-05T21:40:00.000-07:00

Another Time Trial victory for Fabian Cancellara and Team Saxo Bank.
Fabian also wins back the gold jersey, at least for one more day. Tomorrow starts the mountain stages. Cadel Evans is looking real good so far, but the two to watch tomorrow would be Alejandro Valverde and Samuel Sanchez.

Stage 7 results:
1 Fabian Cancellara (SUI) Saxo Bank 00:36:41
2 David Millar (GBR) Garmin-Slipstream 0:00:32
3 Bert Grabsch (GER) Columbia-HTC 0:00:36
4 David Herrero (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:00:40
5 Vasil Kiryienka (BLR) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:46
6 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:00:47
7 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 0:00:50
8 Christophe Riblon (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:53
9 Lars Boom (NED) Rabobank 0:00:59
10 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:01:02
11 Tom Boonen (BEL) Quick Step 0:01:03
12 Jesús Del Nero (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 0:01:04
13 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:01:05
14 Gustavo César Veloso (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:01:09
15 Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) Astana 0:01:12

Overall standings after stage 7
1 Fabian Cancellara (SUI) Saxo Bank 24:58:12
2 Tom Boonen (BEL) Quick Step 0:00:51
3 David Herrero (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:00:59
4 Daniele Bennati (ITA) Liquigas 0:01:03
5 Vasil Kiryienka (BLR) Caisse d'Epargne 0:01:08
6 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:01:12
7 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:01:14
8 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 0:01:19
9 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:01:20
10 David Millar (GBR) Garmin-Slipstream
11 Gustavo César Veloso (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:01:42
12 Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) Astana 0:01:43
13 Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Silence-Lotto 0:01:46
14 Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) Astana 0:01:48
15 Imanol Erviti (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:01:51

First Win For Vacansoleil Cycling Team

2009-09-04T22:46:00.000-07:00

Team Columbia did not win today. How about that!!
Andre Greipel still wears the yellow, but sprint finish was won
by Borut Bozic of Team Vacansoleil.
Tomorrow the Time Trial. Much longer than stage one. This will
favor Cancellara, Basso and Evans. One of these three should be in yelllow
after stage 7.

1 Borut Bozic (SLO) Vacansoleil 04:40:50
2 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Slipstream
3 Daniele Bennati (ITA) Liquigas
4 Davide Viganò (ITA) Fuji-Servetto
5 Tom Boonen (BEL) Quick Step
6 Leonardo Duque (COL) Cofidis
7 Sébastien Chavanel (FRA) Française des Jeux
8 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto
9 Marcel Sieberg (GER) Columbia-HTC
10 André Greipel (GER) Columbia-HTC
11 Linus Gerdemann (GER) Milram
12 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas
13 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi
14 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
15 Daniel Moreno (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne

Overall rankings after stage 6:
1 André Greipel (GER) Columbia-HTC 24:21:13
2 Tom Boonen (BEL) Quick Step 0:00:06
3 Daniele Bennati (ITA) Liquigas 0:00:09
4 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Slipstream
5 Fabian Cancellara (SUI) Saxo Bank 0:00:18
6 Borut Bozic (SLO) Vacansoleil 0:00:23
7 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas 0:00:27
8 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
9 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:00:28
10 David Garcia (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:00:33
11 Marcel Sieberg (GER) Columbia-HTC 0:00:34
12 David Herrero (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:00:37
13 Jakob Fuglsang (DEN) Saxo Bank 0:00:38
14 Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Silence-Lotto 0:00:39
15 Imanol Erviti (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne

Photo credit ©Sirotti

Team Columbia Wins Third Straight

2009-09-03T21:41:00.000-07:00

Team Columbia-HTC does it again. Without their top sprinter Mark Cavendish, Team Columbia-HTC has won it's 3rd straight stage with a sprint to the line. Andre Greipel out sprinted Tom Boonen for the victory. With the mountains ahead, this race is still very competitive. Currently 50 riders are still within one minute of the lead.

Stage 5 results:
1 André Greipel (GER) Columbia-HTC 04:27:54
2 Tom Boonen (BEL) Quick Step
3 Daniele Bennati (ITA) Liquigas
4 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Slipstream
5 William Bonnet (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
6 Jürgen Roelandts (BEL) Silence-Lotto
7 Oscar Freire (ESP) Rabobank
8 Borut Bozic (SLO) Vacansoleil
9 Davide Viganò (ITA) Fuji-Servetto
10 Francisco Jose Pacheco Torres (ESP) Contentpolis-Ampo
11 Dominique Rollin (CAN) Cervélo TestTeam
12 Sébastien Hinault (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale
13 Alessandro Ballan (ITA) Lampre-NGC
14 Matti Breschel (DEN) Saxo Bank 0:00:04
15 Roger Hammond (GBR) Cervélo TestTeam 0:00:07

Overall rankings after stage 5:
1 André Greipel (GER) Columbia-HTC 19:40:23
2 Tom Boonen (BEL) Quick Step 0:00:06
3 Daniele Bennati (ITA) Liquigas 0:00:17
4 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 0:00:21
5 Fabian Cancellara (SUI) Saxo Bank 0:00:27
6 Oscar Freire (ESP) Rabobank 0:00:33
7 William Bonnet (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 0:00:34
8 Dominique Rollin (CAN) Cervélo TestTeam 0:00:38
9 Bert Grabsch (GER) Columbia-HTC
10 Alessandro Ballan (ITA) Lampre-NGC
11 Jürgen Roelandts (BEL) Silence-Lotto 0:00:39
12 Roger Hammond (GBR) Cervélo TestTeam 0:00:40
13 Borut Bozic (SLO) Vacansoleil 0:00:43
14 Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Liquigas 0:00:44
15 David Garcia (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:00:45
16 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas
17 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
18 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:00:46
19 Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Silence-Lotto 0:00:48
20 Marcel Sieberg (GER) Columbia-HTC
21 Vasil Kiryienka (BLR) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:49
22 Manuel Quinziato (ITA) Liquigas
23 Michael Albasini (SUI) Columbia-HTC
24 Jakob Fuglsang (DEN) Saxo Bank 0:00:50
25 Gustavo César Veloso (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia
26 Matti Breschel (DEN) Saxo Bank 0:00:51
27 Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank
28 Francisco Pérez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:52
29 Koos Moerenhout (NED) Rabobank 0:00:53
30 Björn Schröder (GER) Milram
31 Kim Kirchen (LUX) Columbia-HTC 0:00:54
32 Christian Knees (GER) Milram
33 Stuart O'Grady (AUS) Saxo Bank 0:00:55
34 Christophe Riblon (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale
35 Davide Viganò (ITA) Fuji-Servetto
36 Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) Astana
37 Sébastien Hinault (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale
38 Michael Schär (SUI) Astana
39 Tadej Valjavec (SLO) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:56
40 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Slipstream
41 Gabriel Rasch (NOR) Cervélo TestTeam 0:00:57
42 Daniel Navarro (ESP) Astana
43 Mathieu Ladagnous (FRA) Française des Jeux 0:00:58
44 Gonzalo Rabuñal (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:00:59
45 Arkaitz Durán (ESP) Fuji-Servetto
46 Marco Velo (ITA) Quick Step
47 Manuel Váquez (ESP) Contentpolis-Ampo
48 Assan Bazayev (KAZ) Astana
49 Damien Monier (FRA) Cofidis 0:01:00
50 Juan José Cobo (ESP) Fuji-Servetto

Team Columbia Claims Another Sprint Victory

2009-09-01T20:28:00.000-07:00

The big news today is the signings of American Levi Leipheimer and George Hincapie. Levi as expected signed a two year deal with Team Radio Shack. That brings the total officially signed to five with Sergio Paulinho, Jose Luis Rubiera, Sebastien Rosseler and Gert Steegmans.
George Hincapie, who rode with Lance Armstrong in all seven of Lance's Tour de France wins, signed a two year deal with BMC Racing Team. George rode the past two year with Team Columbia-HTC. Team Columbia's Marcus Burghardt and current world champion Allesandro Ballan have also signed with BMC.

At day 4 of the Vuelta a Espana, Andre Greipel, who was the lead out for Gregory Henderson yesterday, won the stage today for Team Columbia-HTC.
A large pile up near the end of the race, took out about 50 riders. Team Astana's Chris Horner suffered a broken hand and has withdrawn from the race. Also, Astana's Vinnie Vinokourov was receiving stitches in his leg after the race. Race leader Fabian Cancellara was also injured, but will remain in the race.

Stage 4 results:
1 André Greipel (GER) Columbia-HTC 05:43:05
2 Wouter Weylandt (BEL) Quick Step
3 Bert Grabsch (GER) Columbia-HTC
4 Marcel Sieberg (GER) Columbia-HTC
5 Marco Velo (ITA) Quick Step 0:00:09
6 Matteo Tosatto (ITA) Quick Step 0:00:15
7 Adam Hansen (AUS) Columbia-HTC 0:00:22
8 Jürgen Roelandts (BEL) Silence-Lotto 0:00:28
9 Linus Gerdemann (GER) Milram 0:00:33
10 Thomas Rohregger (AUT) Milram
11 Olivier Bonnaire (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
12 Jesús Rosendo (ESP) Andalucía-Cajasur 0:00:42
13 Mathieu Ladagnous (FRA) Française des Jeux
14 Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) Garmin-Slipstream 0:00:51
15 Christian Knees (GER) Milram

Overall rankings after stage 4:
1 Fabian Cancellara (SUI) Saxo Bank 15:12:38
2 Tom Boonen (BEL) Quick Step 0:00:09
3 Bert Grabsch (GER) Columbia-HTC 0:00:11
4 André Greipel (GER) Columbia-HTC
5 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 0:00:12
6 Daniele Bennati (ITA) Liquigas 0:00:16
7 Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Liquigas 0:00:17
8 David Garcia (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:00:18
9 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas
10 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
11 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:00:19
12 Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Silence-Lotto 0:00:21
13 Imanol Erviti (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
14 David Herrero (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:00:22
15 Vasil Kiryienka (BLR) Caisse d'Epargne

Henderson Wins Stage 3 For Team Columbia

2009-08-31T19:27:00.000-07:00

Vuelta a Espana 2009

With the absence of Mark Cavendish, I did not expect Team Columbia-HTC to win any of the sprints. That theory was shot down today when New Zealander Gregory Henderson pulled of the suprise victory in stage 3 with the help of a great lead out by Andre Greipel.

Stage 3 results:
1 Gregory Henderson (NZL) Columbia-HTC 04:41:01
2 Borut Bozic (SLO) Vacansoleil
3 Oscar Freire (ESP) Rabobank
4 André Greipel (GER) Columbia-HTC
5 William Bonnet (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
6 Tom Boonen (BEL) Quick Step
7 Roger Hammond (GBR) Cervélo TestTeam
8 Wouter Weylandt (BEL) Quick Step
9 Stuart O'Grady (AUS) Saxo Bank
10 Jürgen Roelandts (BEL) Silence-Lotto
11 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Slipstream
12 Francisco Jose Pacheco Torres (ESP) Contentpolis-Ampo
13 Daniele Bennati (ITA) Liquigas
14 Sébastien Chavanel (FRA) Française des Jeux
15 Leonardo Duque (COL) Cofidis

Overall rankings after stage 3:
1 Fabian Cancellara (SUI) Saxo Bank 09:29:33
2 Gregory Henderson (NZL) Columbia-HTC 0:00:06
3 Gerald Ciolek (GER) Milram 0:00:08
4 Tom Boonen (BEL) Quick Step 0:00:09
5 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 0:00:12
6 Jens Mouris (NED) Vacansoleil 0:00:14
7 Lars Boom (NED) Rabobank 0:00:16
8 Daniele Bennati (ITA) Liquigas
9 Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Liquigas 0:00:17
10 David Garcia (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:00:18
11 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas
12 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
13 Bert Grabsch (GER) Columbia-HTC 0:00:19
14 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto
15 Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Silence-Lotto 0:00:21

First Gran Tour Win for Ciolek

2009-08-30T18:45:00.000-07:00

Gerald Ciolek gets his first gran tour stage win for Team Milram. The absence of Mark Cavendish and Thor Hushovd will make the sprinting stages more competitive. I would expect to see both Tyler Farrar and Tom Boonen pick up at least one win.

Stage 2 results:
1 Gerald Ciolek (GBR) Milram 04:43:12
2 Fabio Sabatini (ITA) Liquigas
3 Roger Hammond (GBR) Cervélo TestTeam
4 André Greipel (GER) Columbia-HTC
5 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Slipstream
6 Leonardo Duque (COL) Cofidis
7 Jürgen Roelandts (BEL) Silence-Lotto
8 Tom Boonen (BEL) Quick Step
9 Davide Viganò (ITA) Fuji-Servetto
10 Sébastien Chavanel (FRA) Française des Jeux
11 Oscar Freire (ESP) Rabobank
12 Marco Marcato (ITA) Vacansoleil
13 Stuart O'Grady (AUS) Saxo Bank
14 Alessandro Ballan (ITA) Lampre-NGC
15 Sébastien Hinault (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale (all same time)

Overall rankings after stage 2:
1 Fabian Cancellara (SUI) Saxo Bank 04:48:32
2 Gerald Ciolek (GER) Milram 0:00:08
3 Tom Boonen (BEL) Quick Step 0:00:09
4 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 0:00:12
5 Jens Mouris (NED) Vacansoleil 0:00:14
6 Daniele Bennati (ITA) Liquigas 0:00:16
7 David Garcia (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:00:18
8 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas
9 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
10 Bert Grabsch (GER) Columbia-HTC 0:00:19
11 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto
12 Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Silence-Lotto 0:00:21
13 Imanol Erviti (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
14 David Herrero (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:00:22
15 Vasil Kiryienka (BLR) Caisse d'Epargne

Veulta a Espana Stage 1

2009-08-29T22:08:00.000-07:00

First day as expected was won by Fabian Canellara. Nice second and third place for Tom Boonen and Tyler Farrar. At only 4.8 km the sprinters were able to do well.

Stage 1 Results
Assen - Assen ITT
4.8 km - 5:20

1 Cancellara, Fabian - Sui Saxo Bank 05:20

2 Boonen, Tom (BEL) Quick Step + :09

3 Farrar, Tyler (USA) Garmin Slipstream + :12

4 Mouris, Jens (NED) Vacansoleil + :14

5 Bennati, Daniele (ITA) Liquigas + :16

6 Kreuziger, Roman (CZE) Liqiquigas + :17

7 Vinokourov, Alexander (KAZ) Astana + :18

8 Basso, Ivan (ITA) Liquigas + :18

9 Valverde, Alejandro (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne + :18

10 Bodnar, Maciej (POL) Liquigas + :19

11 Grabsch, Bert (GER) Columbia/HTC + :19

12 Evans, Cadel (AUS) Silence/Lotto + :19

13 Gerdemann, Linus (GER) Milram + :19

14 Gilbert, Philippe (BEL) Silence/Lotto + :21

15 Millar, David (GBR) Garmin Slipstream + :21

Steegmans Signs With Team Radio Shack

2009-08-26T20:37:00.000-07:00

It sure would be nice when the official list of riders on Team Radio Shack is announced.
First reports, (rumors) had Brice Feillu and his brother Romain signing. Then I heard that only Brice was offered a contract. Now it has been reported that the Feillu brothers have signed with the Dutch Vacansoleil team.
European newspapers are now reporting that Radio Shack has signed two Belgian riders, Sebastien Rosseler and Gert Steegmans. Rosseler is currently with Quick Step and Steegmans is without a team after his refusal to sign an anti-doping agreement with his Katusha team.
The agreement would force riders to pay 5 times their salary if caught doping.
Rumor or fact?(signings) Won't know for sure till season is over.