Cycling Commentary

Tour de France Stage 15 - Preview and Results

Tour de France Stage 15 - Samatan / Pau

At 158 km or 98 miles, Tour de France Stage 15 from Samanta to Pau sidesteps the Pyrennes to take the riders to Pau for the 64th time. While lumpy, the stage is not particularly difficult, and it should be one for the sprinters, unless, of course, sprinters team let a breakaway go early. That is unlikely, as sprinters will only one one or two more chances to shine. With that, a bunch sprint into Pau is likely, and the Tour de France 2012 contenders will take an armchair ride into the second rest day of the Tour.

• Km 107.0 - Côte de Lahitte-Toupière2.1 kilometre-long climb at 5.3% - category 4

• Km 123.5 - Côte de Simacourbe1.9 kilometre-long climb at 6.3% - category 3

• Km 129.0 - Côte de Monassut-Audiracq1.5 kilometre-long climb at 5.4% - category 4
  
  

Tour de France Stage 15 Results

Apparently, the rest of the sprinters have ceded victory to Peter Sagan. The break that got away for the day stayed away. When it came down to only two men, Pierrick Fedrigo and Christian Vande Velde, Federigo had what most closely resembled sprinters legs whille Vande Velde did not. The Frenchmen took the victory, his second in the last three Tours de France.

No changes to the general classification. Boring. Now, we're headed to the rest day, before the real Pyrennes campaign gets under way on Wednesday.

Stage 15 - Top 10 Finishers 

1	Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat	3:40:15
2	Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Sharp
3	Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar	0:00:12
4	Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
5	Dries Devenyns (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep	0:00:21
6	Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne	0:01:08
7	André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team	0:11:50
8	Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Sharp
9	Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale
10	Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team

 General Classification after Stage 15

1	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	20:33:21
2	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:02:05
3	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:02:23
4	Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team	0:03:19
5	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team	0:04:48
6	Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) RadioShack-Nissan	0:06:15
7	Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team	0:06:57
8	Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team	0:07:30
9	Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar	0:08:31
10	Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat	0:08:51

 

Tour de France Stage 4 Preview and Results

Tour de France Stage 4 - Abbeville to Rouen

Tour de France Stage 4 from Abbeville is another long 214km (133 ilems) stage for the sprinters. The route takes riders inland from Abbeville in the north of France along the coast that abuts the English Channel for 80+kms before turning back inland to finish at Rouen. Along the way, the peloton will encounter four Category 4 climbs. So once again, a break featuring current King of the Mountains Jersey wearer, Michael Mørkøv (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff), is likley to develop. (Mørkøv, by the way, stands no chance of holding onto the jersey beyond stage 6, as the peloton enounters the first real mountain stage with the Stage 7 summit finish at La Planche des Belles Filles.)

• Km 38.0 - Côte du Mont Huon2.1 kilometre-long climb at 4.1% - category 4

• Km 69.0 - Côte de Dieppe1.8 kilometre-long climb at 3.9% - category 4

• Km 74.0 - Côte de Pourville-sur-Mer1.9 kilometre-long climb at 4.4% - category 4

• Km 143.0 - Côte de Toussaint1.9 kilometre-long climb at 4.5% - category 4

Category 4 climbs aside, the real challenge of Stage 4 could be wind developing off the English Channel. If the winds starts to blow, enchelons will form with the risk of creating significant gaps in the peloton. Tour de France Contenders 2012 like Evans, Wiggins, Menchov and others will need to pay careful attention. The resulting scurry for the head of the peloton could result in a large number of crashes. Thunderstorms forecast for the day may also present special challenges for a peloton that has already had three hard days of racing (the prologue doesn't count!).

Assuming they all make it to the outskirts of Rouen safely, the sprinters teams will take charge of the peloton with about 10km to go. Since it is Independence Day in the United States, Garmin-Sharpe and their sprinter Tyler Farrar will be particularly motivated for the stage win. But with yesterday's crashes and injuries to both Danielson and Vandevelde, Farrar may not have the support he needs to compete for the win. As with Stage 2 of the Tour, the final fireworks of the day may come down to a sprint contest between Mark Cavendish, Andre Greipel, Matty Goss, Alessandro Petacchi and the Green Jersey, Peter Sagan.

Tour de France Stage 4 Results

A spectacular crash with 2.5km to go witnessed Mark Cavendish being dropped to the pavement, while his sprint competitors rode away with the victory. Andre Greipel sprinted for the win with a greatly diminished main field. Meanwhile, the General Classification contenders finished the stage safely with no change in the overall results. Cancellera held onto the Yellow Jersey, and young gun Peter Sagan held onto Green.

Stage 4 - Top 10 Finishers

 

1	André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team	5:18:32
2	Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD
3	Tom Veelers (Ned) Argos-Shimano
4	Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
5	Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale
6	Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
7	Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
8	Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
9	Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling
10	Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi

 

 

General Classification after Stage 4 (Top 10 and Favorites)

 

1	Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan	20:04:02
2	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:07
3	Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
4	Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team	0:00:10
5	Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling	0:00:11
6	Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha Team	0:00:13
7	Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team	0:00:17
8	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:18
9	Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Sharp
10	Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan	0:00:19
13	Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team	0:00:22
23	Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:00:26
24	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team	0:00:28
26	Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:29
27	Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team	0:00:35
31	Frank Schleck (Lux) RadioShack-Nissan	0:00:38
33	Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi	0:00:40
37	Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar	0:00:45
38	Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
47	Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan	0:01:29
154	Thomas Danielson (USA) Garmin - Sharp	0:12:02
181	Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quickstep	0:17:42
190	Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:21:51

 

Tour Prologue Reveals Team Leadership Crisis

The Tour de France Prologue is for prologue specialists, right? A 7.9km romp through the streets of London merely shows who can sustain a maximum amount of V02 wattage for a short duration of time, and nothing more.

The World Time Trial Champion, Fabian Cancellera, certainly proved he is worthy of the title, but we all know his time in yellow is short-lived. Cancellera may be powerful, but his power to weight ratio simply will not hold up once the roads of France start to tilt upward. Before you know it, Cancellera will be going backwards. His place in the classification will fall, and his Yellow Jersey will be up for grabs.

So, why should we care about the Prologue if its results are perfectly meaningless in the scheme of things?

During his 7-year reign as Tour de France champion, Lance Armstrong always gave his best effort during the opening Time Trial - no matter what the distance. In large part this was to show his rivals that when it came to the Tour, he meant business. Clearly, he aimed to intimidate his rivals by showing his awesome fitness. But Armstrong also understood that every second counts when it comes to the Tour de France.

Upon seeing Discovery Channel's Levi Leipheimer finish in 26th place, 40 seconds down on Cancellara, Versus commentator Paul Sherwin said, "Leipheimer should be happy with that result." But how could he be happy? The designated leader of the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling team (Lance Armstrong's team) barely showed up for the race. Worse yet, he finished 4th among his teammates behind George Hincapie, Vladimir Gusev and Alberto Contador. Given that Contador is reported to be climbing better than Leipheimer, how long will it be before Director Sportif Johan Bruyneel turns over the leadership mantle to Contador, relegating Leipheimer to the role of "super domestique?" Everyone knows that to win the Tour you have to time trial well and climb well. So, Leipheimer had been stand up and be counted on Stage 5 from Chablis to Autun as the peloton confronts 8 categorized climbs.

Discovery Channel is not the only team to be experiencing an early crisis in leadership. Recent Tour de Suisse winner Vladimir Karpets of Caisse d'Espargne outclassed his designated team leader and Pro Tour points leader, Alejandro Valverde. Karpets finished 6th in the prologue, 13 seconds ahead of Valverde in 32nd place.

Astana's Andreas Kloden finished 2nd in the Prologue, 17 seconds ahead of team leader, Alexander Vinokourov. Given that Kloden has finished on the Tour podium twice (2nd in 2004 and 3rd in 2006), Vino has to be concerned about Kloden's intentions. Kloden stormed the London course this year just like Armstrong did in 2004. (Coincidently, Armstrong also finished 2nd behind Cancellera in 2004).

Rising star, Dave Zabriskie of Team CSC, a noted TT specialist, put 24 seconds into team leader Carlos Sastre, who completed the Prologue in an embarrassing 92nd place. Interestingly, Dave Z has worked hard this spring on improving his climbing abilities. He rode reasonably well in the Giro, only to show up on form for the Criterium de Dauphine Libere, where he finished 5th overall. By comparison, Sastre finished 19th in the Tour de Suisse.

In short, the Tour de France Prologue is more than just a flashy introduction of this year's Tour riders. It's an early indicator of what might come in the days and weeks ahead as the peloton winds its way around France. Team leaders need to stand up and be counted in the early going, or they risk becoming highly paid worker-bees for up-and-comers within their respective teams.

This article was also published on Sportingo.com.

Sour Grapes at Gerolsteiner

Gerolsteiner team manager, Hans-Michael Holczer, must still be smarting from the fact that he lost his star, Levi Leipheimer, to the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team. Today, he piled on Saturday's IPTC announcement that Discovery had been excluded from this association of Pro Tour teams by calling upon race organizers to exclude Discovery from upcoming Pro Tour races.

'Speaking exclusively to Cyclingnews, Holczer said: "This is a clear signal that the most important representatives of cycling are absolutely serious about the fight to make our sport believable."'

In my view, this is a clear signal that Gerolsteiner and other Pro Tour teams are concerned about the phenomenal team that Discovery has assembled. Hincapie and Devolder for the Classics. Basso, Leipheimer, Popovych and Danielson for the Grand Tours. Upstarts like Brajkovic, Martinez and Gusev doing damage elsewhere. As the French say - 'formidable.'

No wonder all the other Pro Tour teams are calling for Discovery's exclusion. Can't beat 'em, exclude 'em. I call it sour grapes. Gerolsteiner should stick with sparkling water!

(BTW, Discovery team manager, Johan Bruyneel, denies that Discovery has been excluded from the IPCT. In a press release posted on thepaceline.com today, 'Bruyneel stated, “There was no vote on Friday and we have not been expelled from the IPCT. Talk of our removal from the IPCT obviously concerns me on a variety of levels, and we intend to enter into immediate discussions with team representatives about their concerns.”')

Discovery Ostracized by IPTC

The International Pro Tour Council (IPCT), a voluntary association of European Pro Tour teams, excluded Lance Armstrong's Discovery Channel from its ranks on Friday. The reason: Discovery violated its ethical rules by hiring Ivan Basso.

The specific ethical rule in question is that "a Pro Tour team should not sign a rider involved in the Puerto affair." This rule was created in the late summer of 2006 in response to the fallout from the Operacion Puerto Affair. Pro Tour teams adopted this rule as a means of protecting the sport from further damage associated with the use of PEDs and enhancing its image in the eyes of the public. Of course, given the intense media scrutiny, Pro Tour teams may have assumed that those named in the affair - Basso, Ullrich, Sevilla, Mancebo and Jasche among them - were guilty of the offenses for which they were accused.

Since that time, Spanish authorities have suspended action against any implicated riders. The Italian Olympic body has dropped charges against Basso, and the UCI has cleared Basso to race. Let's be clear, Basso has not been found guilty of any of the accusations against him. No charges are pending. He is approved to ride. What is the problem?

The problem is the ethical rule adopted by the IPTC. The tacit assumption is that if a rider was named as a suspect in the Puerto affair, he must be guilty of the offense. How fair is that to a rider like Basso who is only guilty by dint of association? Not only is the IPTC attaching guilt to Basso, but even after all charges have been dropped, Basso is also being ostracized by the IPTC.

The implications of this rule are sure to backfire or worse yet, be used strategically by competing teams to exclude the riders of other teams. Here's how it might go. Three weeks prior to the Tour of Flanders, a Pro Tour team provides circumstantial evidence to French newspaper L'Equipe that Tom Boonen is using a full regimen of PEDs. A major story is run. Boonen denies the story, but the pressure is such that the Belgian cycling federation opens an investigation. Boonen's out of Flanders under the rules of the IPTC. How fair is this? Had the same rule been in place in 2005, Lance Armstrong would not have been able to compete in the 2005 Tour, as he was under investigation for doping in France - a case that was dropped only recently.

In their zeal to "clean up the sport," the IPTC has adopted ethical rules that are unfair to riders, the teams and ultimately the fans that support them. Unless modified to a doctrine that riders are innocent until proven guilty, the rules will ultimately backfire on the Pro Tour teams that support them. The rule is bogus. It's got to go.

Vino and Astana at Risk

How is it that Alexandre Vinokourov, the winner of the 2006 Vuelta a Espagne, finds himself in a situation where his team, Astana, may not be selected as a Pro Tour Team in 2007?

CN reports that Astana, Barloworld and Unibet are all vying for the final available Pro Tour license. All have submitted the required financial information, and on November 28, each team will learn preliminarily of their fate. But wait, wasn't Astana a Pro Tour team in 2006? And if so, shouldn't it be a simple matter of renewing their existing Pro Tour license?

Come to find out, Activebay.com and Manolo Saiz actually hold that license. Saiz was initially implicated in the Operacion Puerto affair, and his team, Liberty Seguros Würth, disbanded when lead sponsor Liberty Seguros pulled the plug when widespread doping practices were reported among the team. Alexandre Vinokourov scrambled to pull together a new sponsor in advance of the Tour de France with five Kazakh companies rising to the challenge. The newly formed team was named Astana Würth and then simply Astana when Würth pulled out after four of the 9 starters for the Tour were implicated just before the Grand Boucle began, and the team was disqualified.

All of Vino's efforts appeared not to be in vain as Astana triumphed in the last grand tour of the year. The team garnered a total of five stage wins and two podium positions in the Vuelta with Vinokourov in first and Kashechkin in third. Earlier this fall, Astana added to its cache as a Pro Tour Team when T-Mobile's Andreas Klöden and Matthias Kessler signed for the team, and Il Falco, Paolo Savoldelli was rumored to have signed.

In an ironic twist of fate, Saiz has been "cleared" of wrongdoing in the Operacion Puerto affair, and Activebay's Pro Tour license has been renewed. That cruel turn of events means that Astana is left to battle it out with Barloworld and Unibet for the final Pro Tour slot. Rumor has it that Unibet will obtain the final license, and Astana will be forced to obtain a Continental license. Most likely, Astana will still be invited to participate in all the Grand Tours as a wild-card team, but this seems woefully inappropriate given the status and prestige of Astana and its individual team members. Hopefully, good sense will prevail, and Astana will receive the remaining Pro Tour license. It's the right thing to do.

Tinkoff Makes a Splash

Tyler Hamilton. Francisco Mancebo. Jan Ullrich. All of these "tarnished" professional bicycle riders have signed or are rumored to have signed for Tinkoff Credit Systems, a new continental European cycling team. In doing so, Tinkoff has made a huge splash in the world of European professional cycling - at least from a branding point of view.

Prior to the last four weeks, who had ever heard of Tinkoff Credit Systems or its predecessor, Tinkoff Brewery? The latter describes itself as a "team of young and audacious professionals who evangelize success via cutting-edge business practices." Certainly, Tinkoff has assembled a group of young audacious professionals, and in doing so, have made a name for themselves.

Tinkoff is immediately the "bad guy" of European Cycling. A band of misfits and accused PED users have come together to build an outlaw brand, the stuff of legend. And in so doing, Tinkoff Credit Systems has arisen from obscurity to international prominence, at least among those of us who follow professional cycling.

Hats off to Tinkoff for making things interesting and giving the "bad boys" of European Cycling another chance. Bravo!