Foto: Gerhard Plomitzer – www.plomi.smugmug.com
July 15 th 2019 – 17:27
Wout van Aert claimed his first Tour de France stage victory in Albi, the fourth for Jumbo-Visma and the third for Belgian riders, at the end of an eventful stage 10 to Albi. A lot of damage was done by Team Ineos as they managed to split the bunch into pieces in the crosswinds and gained a lot of time on Thibaut Pinot, Jakob Fuglsang, Richie Porte and Mikel Landa, considering that it was a fairly flat stage. Julian Alaphilippe retained the yellow jersey.
Six riders in the lead
171 riders took the start of stage 10 in Saint-Flour. Lilian Calmejane (Total Direct Energie) was first to attack right after the flag off as he was determined to win in his hometown of Albi but he was reined in and another group managed to take off, composed of five riders: Tony Gallopin (AG2R-La Mondiale), Natnael Berhane (Cofidis), Anthony Turgis (Total Direct Energie), Mads Würtz Schmidt (Katusha-Alpecin) and Odd Christian Eiking (Wanty-Groupe Gobert). Michael Schär (CCC), the most aggressive rider of stage 4, bridged the gap at km 12 to make it a six-man breakaway that satisfied the peloton. Sprinters teams, namely Deceuninck-Quick Step, Lotto-Soudal and Jumbo-Visma maintained the time difference below three minutes until it reached 3’05’’ with 140km to go.
Action in the crosswind
73km before the end, Team Ineos and Bora-Hansgrohe profited from a strong side wind to put the hammer down. It brought the gap down quickly. The time difference was only 25’’ at the bottom of the côte de La Malric (km 164.5) but the peloton slowed down up the hill and the advantage of the six leaders was back to two minutes with 50km to go. As a consequence of this hard racing, Calmejane was among the riders in difficulty as the Tour de France entered the Tarn province he hails from. Another strong action 33km before the finish split the peloton in three with George Bennett (Jumbo-Visma), fourth on GC, got trapped in the third part.
Pinot and Fuglsang lose 1’40’’, Landa 2’08’’
25km before the end, the six escapees got swallowed by the yellow jersey group led by riders from Ineos and Movistar while Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), Richie Porte and Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo), Rigoberto Uran (EF Education First), Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) and Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) were trapped in a second group and George Bennett (Jumbo-Visma) in the third peloton. The Pinot-Fuglsang group was 20’’ behind with 20km to go and 15’’ behind with 15km to go. Mikel Landa (Movistar) was hampered by a mechanical. Ineos and Deceuninck-Quick Step kept pulling at the front and the gap increased significantly in the last 15km. On the finishing line, after Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) pipped Elia Viviani (Deceuninck-Quick Step) on the line with Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal) in third place, the deficit of the Pinot-Fuglsang group was 1’40’’ and Landa completed the stage 2’08’’ after the yellow jersey peloton that included defending champion Geraint Thomas and his team-mate Egan Bernal.
@ASO
1 Wout Van Aert (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma 4:49:39
2 Elia Viviani (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep
3 Caleb Ewan (Aus) Lotto Soudal
4 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb
5 Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
6 Jasper Philipsen (Bel) UAE Team Emirates
7 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
8 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott
9 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
10 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) CCC Team
11 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep
12 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Ineos
13 Mads Würtz Schmidt (Den) Katusha-Alpecin
14 Egan Bernal (Col) Team Ineos
15 Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) Deceuninck-QuickStep
16 Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
GC:
1 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep 43:27:15
2 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Ineos 0:01:12
3 Egan Bernal (Col) Team Ineos 0:01:16
4 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:01:27
5 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:01:45
6 Enric Mas (Spa) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:01:46
7 Adam Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott 0:01:47
8 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 0:02:04
9 Daniel Martin (Irl) UAE Team Emirates 0:02:09
10 Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:02:32
11 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:02:33
12 Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:02:46
13 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education First 0:03:18
14 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team
15 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:03:20
Archiv der Kategorie: Tour de France
Stage 10 preview / Saint-Flour > Albi
Distance: 217.5 km
Climbs: 4
Points for the polka dot jersey: 7
Points for the green jersey: 50
Neutralised start: 12:10
Real start: 12:25
Estimated finish: 17:28 – 17:59
Village opening: 9:15
Saint-Flour
Stage city for the 4th time, sous-prefecture of Cantal (15), 7 200 inhabitants (Sanflorains), 24 900 inhabitants (Saint-Flour Communauté)
Out of the three stages of the Tour de France that have graced Saint-Flour, it is without any doubt the one in 2004, won by Richard Virenque on Bastille Day, which left the most resounding mark. It was his seventh and last stage victory on the Tour de France.
In Saint-Flour, the people of the Middle Ages made the town into a formidable bastion. A walk round the town’s walls illustrates the art of medieval defence. Today, the base of these walls remains, to the greatest delight of walkers.
Albi
Stage city for the 13th time, prefecture of Tarn (81), 51 600 inhabitants (Albigeois)
Albi is the home town of Lilian Calmejane, one of the hardiest attackers in today’s pack. It was also the birthplace of a keen cycling enthusiast, namely Toulouse-Lautrec, who painted many advertising posters for cycling firms.
Starke Flucht von Lukas Pöstlberger bleibt auf der neunten Tour de France Etappe unbelohnt
Foto: Gerhard Plomitzer – www.plomi.smugmug.com
Nach den Anstrengungen des gestrigen Tages wartete heute abermals ein anspruchsvoller Beginn zur 9. Tour de France Etappe auf die Fahrer. Bereits sieben Kilometer nach dem Start in Saint-Etienne führte die Strecke das erste Mal bergan, wenig später, bei Rennkilometer 33 wartete mit der Mur d’Aurec-sur-Loire ein Berg der ersten Kategorie auf das Feld. Danach war die Strecke durchwegs wellig, mit zwei weiteren Anstiegen der dritten Kategorie, bis nach 170,5 Kilometern das Ziel in Brioude erreicht war. Nachdem einige Teams in den letzten Tagen viele Kräfte investiert hatten, war davon auszugehen, dass das Rennen heute schwer zu kontrollieren sein würde. Zwar hatte BORA – hansgrohe mit dem Mann in Grün – Peter Sagan – einen der Favoriten auf den Tagessieg in den Reihen, doch auch das Team aus Raubling wollte heute nicht um jeden Preis alle Ausreißversuche unterbinden. Wie erwartet folgte direkt nach dem Start Attacke auf Attacke, und nach etwa 15 km konnten sich 14 Fahrer vom Feld absetzen. Mit dabei an der Spitze für BORA – hansgrohe war Lukas Pöstlberger, der gemeinsam mit seinen Fluchtgefährten den Vorsprung bis zur ersten Bergwertung bereits auf über fünf Minuten ausbauen konnte. Dort schloss noch M. Soler zur Spitze auf, das Feld hatte währenddessen über acht Minuten Rückstand. Der Zwischensprint spielte heute keine Rolle, da alle Punkte in der Spitzengruppe vergeben wurden. Und auch die zweite Bergwertung wurde mit moderatem Tempo absolviert. Der Vorsprung der Ausreißer kletterte kontinuierlich an die 13 Minuten, im Feld arbeitete ausschließlich die Mannschaft des Gesamtführenden J. Alaphilippe. Bereits 40 km vor dem Ende setzten dann die ersten Fahrer Attacken an der Spitze, und es war Lukas Pöstlberger der sich alleine auf und davon machte. Pöstlberger fuhr über 20 Kilometer an der Spitze des Rennens, und konnte dabei seinen Vorsprung auf bis zu 40 Sekunden ausbauen. Im letzten Anstieg, 2,5 km vor dem Gipfel, wurde er allerdings wieder von den Verfolgern eingeholt. Ein Trio setzte sich nun an die Spitze, während Lukas weiter zurückfiel. Am Ende machten D. Impey und T. Bennot den Sieg unter sich aus, und Impey erwies sich als der Schnellere der beiden. Pöstlberger erreichte das Ziel fünf Minuten nach dem Etappensieger, während die restlichen BORA – hansgrohe Fahrer mit dem Peloton etwa 16 Minuten später über die Ziellinie rollten. In der Punktewertung veränderte sich nichts, und somit konnte Peter Sagan sein Grünes Trikot verteidigen, während Emanuel Buchmann seinen 10. Platz in der Gesamtwertung beibehält.
Reaktionen im Ziel
„Nach der Abfahrt hatte ich einen kleinen Vorsprung, ich habe zwar kurz überlegt, da es noch weit war, aber dann dachte ich, ich versuche es einfach. Am Anfang bin ich im roten Bereich gefahren. Dann, vor dem Anstieg, als die Gruppe wieder näher kam, habe ich versucht ein paar Körner zu sparen. Aber als ein eingeholt wurde, konnte ich den Attacken nichts mehr entgegensetzen. So ist das eben, wer nichts wagt, kann auch nicht gewinnen.“ – Lukas Pöstlberger
„Wir dachten schon, dass heute eine große Gruppe eine Chance hat. Wir haben ein paar Fahrer vorgesehen, um bei Attacken mitzugehen, und Lukas war derjenige, der es in die Gruppe geschafft hat. Als klar war, dass die Gruppe durchkommen würde, und einige starke Fahrer dabei waren, wussten wir, dass wir etwas versuchen müssen. Nach der Abfahrt hatte er eine kleine Lücke, und wir haben entschieden es zu versuchen. Lukas ist ein tempofester Fahrer, und er hat alles gegeben. An einem Punkt sah es ganz gut aus, aber gegen Leute wie Benoot ist es sehr hart zu bestehen. Es war eine gute Attacke, eine starke Leistung, und daher gibt es nichts zu bereuen.“ – Enrico Poitschke, sportlicher Leiter
© BORA – hansgrohe
Stage 9 – TdF 2019 Daryl Impey, out of Africa
Foto: Gerhard Plomitzer – www.plomi.smugmug.com
July 14 th 2019 – 17:46
First African leader of the Tour de France, for two days in 2013, Daryl Impey became the second South African stage winner after Robert Hunter in Montpellier in 2007 as he outsprinted his last breakaway companion, Belgium’s Tiesj Benoot, in Brioude, the home of Romain Bardet who attacked from the peloton in the last climb but was brought back by Team Ineos. Julian Alaphilippe retained the yellow jersey after shining on the roads of his Auvergne region on Bastille Day.
14 riders plus Marc Soler in the lead
172 riders took the start of stage 9 in Saint-Etienne. Polka dot jersey holder Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal) was first to attack after flag off but Nils Politt (Katusha-Alpecin) was first to make a gap for himself. Alessandro De Marchi (CCC) was forced to abandon after a heavy crash at km 10. Lukas Pöstlberger (Bora-Hansgrohe), Oliver Naesen (AG2R-La Mondiale), Ivan Garcia Cortina and Jan Tratnik (Bahrain-Merida), Tony Martin (Jumbo-Visma), Simon Clarke (EF Education First), Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott), Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo), Nicolas Roche (Sunweb), Jesus Herrada (Cofidis), Tiesj Benoot (Lotto-Soudal), Romain Sicard (Total Direct Energie), Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data) and Anthony Delaplace (Arkéa-Samsic) rode away at km 14. Marc Soler (Movistar) counter-attacked by himself and made the junction 1.2km before the summit of the very steep Mur d’Aurec (km 36.5) where Benoot gave Lotto-Soudal their 18th KOM victory since the start of the Tour de France (9 for Thomas De Gendt, 8 for Tim Wellens). Rui Costa (UAE Team Emirates) also attacked solo from the peloton and came 25’’ behind the leading group but couldn’t bridge the gap and waited for the pack.
Pöstlberger at the front with 42km to go
Foto: Gerhard Plomitzer – www.plomi.smugmug.com
The deficit of the peloton was 8’50’’ at Mur d’Aurec. A time gap of 10’49’’ was recorded at km 47, after which Deceuninck-Quick Step maintained it just above ten minutes. Boasson Hagen won the intermediate sprint at Arlanc (km 92). Clarke was first to attack from the front group with 62km to go. Garcia Cortina did so as well with 45km to go but following his move in a non-categorized climb, Pöstleberger found himself alone in the lead 42km before the end while the peloton let the gap increasing (13’ with 30km to go, 14’ with 20km to go). The Austrian was caught in the last categorized climb of the day with 15km to go. Roche and Benoot attacked from the leading group reduced to seven riders. Impey came across and passed first at côte de St-Just with 13km remaining.
First South African national champion to win at the Tour
Benoot and Impey rode to victory 7km before the end while Romain Bardet (AG2R-La Mondiale), Richie Porte (Trek-Segafredo) and Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma) attacked in the côte de St-Just but Team Ineos was prompt to bring them back. Benoot and Impey shared the turns to avoid the return of their former breakaway companions. Benoot took the initiative of launching the sprint but Impey proved to be the fastest. He’s the first rider to win a Tour de France stage with the South Africa national champion jersey. The last victory of his Mitchelton-Scott team was with Michael Matthews in 2016.
@ASO
1 Daryl Impey (RSA) Mitchelton-Scott 4:03:12
2 Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal
3 Jan Tratnik (Slo) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:10
4 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
5 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
6 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sunweb 0:00:14
7 Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:21
8 Ivan Garcia (Spa) Bahrain-Merida 0:01:50
9 Simon Clarke (Aus) EF Education First
10 Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Arkéa Samsic 0:02:42
11 Jesus Herrada (Spa) Cofidis Solutions Credits
12 Romain Sicard (Fra) Total Direct Energie 0:02:46
13 Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:05:26
14 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data 0:07:24
15 Tony Martin (Ger) Team Jumbo-Visma
GC:
1 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep 38:37:36
2 Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:23
3 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:53
4 George Bennett (NZl) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:01:10
5 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Ineos 0:01:12
6 Egan Bernal (Col) Team Ineos 0:01:16
7 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:01:27
8 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education First 0:01:38
9 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team 0:01:42
10 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:01:45
Stage 9 preview / Saint-Étienne > Brioude
Distance: 170.5 km
Climbs: 3
Points for the polka dot jersey: 14
Points for the green jersey: 50
Bonus Points: côte de Saint-Just (bonus points: 8, 5 and 2 seconds to the first three riders classified)
Neutralised start: 13:05
Real start: 13:25
Estimated finish: 17:19 – 17:41
Village opening: 10:00
Saint-Étienne
Stage city for the 26th time, prefecture of la Loire (42), 172 000 inhabitants (Stéphanois), 400 000 inhabitants (Saint-Étienne Métropole)
Boasting the Musée de France museum label, Saint-Etienne plays host to the largest collection of bicycles in France. This collection is an essential link between the past, present and future of the Saint-Etienne region.
Brioude
Stage city for the 2nd time, sous-prefecture of Haute-Loire (43), 7 100 inhabitants (Brivadois), 18 400 inhabitants (Communauté de Communes Brioude Sud Auvergne)
Brioude is first and foremost known to cycling aficionados as the home town of Romain Bardet, second on the Tour de France in 2016 and third in 2017. The leader of the AG2R-La Mondiale team first enjoyed competitive cycling with the Vélo Sport Brivadois club in 2000.
At the heart of the town lies one of the largest Romanesque churches in the Auvergne: the basilica of Saint Julien, a popular stopping point for many pilgrims
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Sagan holt Rang fünf, Buchmann rückt in die Top Ten der Gesamtwertung der Tour de France vor
Foto: Gerhard Plomitzer – www.plomi.smugmug.com
Mit insgesamt sieben Bergwertungen (5x 2. Kat und 2x 3. Kat) wartete eine ausgesprochen schwere 8. Tour de France Etappe heute auf das Fahrerfeld. Von Mâcon führte die Strecke großteils über enge Straßen, fast den ganzen Tag über bergauf und bergab. Rückenwind erschwerte die Etappe zusätzlich, es wurde also ein äußerst schnelles Rennen erwartet. Aufgrund des Profils war es auch schwer vorherzusehen, ob es ein Rennen zwischen den Klassementfahrern werden würde, oder ob am Ende ein Sprint aus einem kleinen Feld die Entscheidung bringen sollte. BORA – hansgrohe war für beide Eventualitäten vorbereitet. Überraschenderweise, denn es wurde ein harter Kampf um die Gruppe erwartet, führte eine der ersten Attacken zum Erfolg und drei Fahrer enteilten dem Feld. Wenig später konnte noch ein weiter Fahrer aufschließen und die Gruppe fuhr schnell einen Vorsprung von mehr als fünf Minuten heraus. Zu diesem Zeitpunkt begann BORA – hansgrohe mit der Nachführarbeit im Feld, und vor allem Marcus Burghardt drückte den Abstand zwischen Spitze und Feld langsam, aber kontinuierlich nach unten. Bei noch 100 zu fahrenden Kilometern war der Vorsprung der Ausreißer auf rund drei Minuten gesunken. Am vorletzten Anstieg forcierte Astana das Tempo im Feld, wodurch viele Fahrer, darunter auch Peter Sagan, in Schwierigkeiten gerieten. An der Spitze hielten sich noch zwei Ausreißer, deren Vorsprung immer noch 3:30 betrug. Mit letzter Kraft schaffte Sagan es, an der Hauptgruppe dran zu bleiben, während Buchmann, Konrad, Schachmann und Mühlberger ebenfalls noch in dieser Gruppe vertreten waren. Ein spannendes Finale wurde auf den letzten 15 Kilometern eingeläutet, als G. Thomas in einer Abfahrt in einen Sturz verwickelt wurde. Am letzten Anstieg hatten die Spitzenreiten immer noch eine Minute Vorsprung, doch im Feld begann nun ein offener Schlagabtausch, während sich an der Spitze T. De Gendt absetzen konnte. Alaphilippe attackierte zusammen mit T. Pinot, dahinter hielten sich Sagan, Konrad und Buchmann in der ersten Gruppe der Favoriten, zu der auch G. Thomas wieder aufschließen konnte. Am Ende rettete T. De Gendt sechs Sekunden Vorsprung zum Etappensieg vor Pinot und Alaphilippe. Weitere 20 Sekunden dahinter erreichte die erste Gruppe das Ziel, in der sich M. Matthews im Sprint vor Peter Sagan durchsetzen konnte. Emanuel Buchmann verbesserte sich heute in der Gesamtwertung auf Rang zehn, Patrick Konrad rückte auf den 20. Gesamtrang vor.
Reaktionen im Ziel
„Das war heute eine sehr harte Etappe und ich musste wirklich viel leiden. Ich habe die Zähne zusammengebissen, bin drangeblieben und habe am Ende Rang fünf geholt. Das waren weitere wichtige Punkte, aber Paris ist noch weit. Wir werden von Tag zu Tag weitersehen.“ – Peter Sagan
„Ich habe mich heute den ganzen Tag über sehr gut gefühlt, und hatte nie Probleme in der Gruppe. Das Team hat sehr gut gearbeitet, besonders Gregor war eine wichtige Unterstützung am letzten Anstieg. Es ist schön, in die Top Ten vorgefahren zu sein, aber die Tour wird in der letzten Woche entschieden, da ist das nicht mehr als eine Momentaufnahme.“ – Emanuel Buchmann
„Es war die erwartet harte Etappe. Wir wussten, dass heute am Ende auch zwischen den GC Fahrern die Entscheidung würde fallen können. Dennoch haben wir zuerst versucht, für Peter zu arbeiten. Als das Rennen dann immer schwerer wurde, und Peter nicht mehr die besten Beine hatte, haben wir rausgenommen. Es war eine starke Leistung von ihm, bis zum Schluss dran zu bleiben und dann noch Rang fünf zu holen. Emu und Patrick waren am Ende auch vorne dabei, das war wichtig, denn einige Fahrer haben heute Zeit in der Gesamtwertung verloren. Wir können mit dem Tag zufrieden sein, alle haben wirklich einen tollen Job gemacht.“ – Enrico Poitschke, sportlicher Leiter
© BORA – hansgrohe
Foto: Gerhard Plomitzer – www.plomi.smugmug.com
Stage 8 TdF 2019: Thomas De Gendt and Julian Alaphilippe back to heaven
Foto: Gerhard Plomitzer – www.plomi.smugmug.com
1 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal 5:00:17
2 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:06
3 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep
4 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb 0:00:26
5 Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
6 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott
7 Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
8 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) CCC Team
9 Egan Bernal (Col) Team Ineos
10 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Ineos
11 Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
12 Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
13 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team
14 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education First
15 David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
GC:
1 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep 34:17:59
2 Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:23
3 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:53
4 George Bennett (NZl) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:01:10
5 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Ineos 0:01:12
6 Egan Bernal (Col) Team Ineos 0:01:16
7 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:01:27
8 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education First 0:01:38
9 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team 0:01:42
10 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:01:45
Foto: Herbert Moos
July 13 th 2019 – 17:40
Thomas De Gendt claimed an epic victory in Saint-Etienne, his second one at the Tour de France after the Mont Ventoux in 2016, at the end of a breakaway he initiated at km 0. He resisted to the French duo who rode away from the yellow jersey group in the côte de La Jaillère with 12.5km to go. Thibaut Pinot moved to third overall while Julian Alaphilippe got the lead back after two days of glory for Giulio Ciccone who remains the best young rider.
De Gendt, Terpstra, King and De Marchi in the lead
173 riders took the start of stage 8 in Mâcon after Tejay van Garderen (EF Education First) withdrew after he broke a thumb at km 7 of the previous stage. Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal), Niki Terpstra (Total Direct Energie) and Ben King (Dimension Data) rode away from the gun at the initiative of the Belgian. Mads Würtz Schmidt (Katusha-Alpecin) was close to bridge the gap but didn’t make it and went back to the pack. Alessandro De Marchi (CCC) made a smart move by himself and came across to the leading trio at km 22. Terpstra passed first at the intermediate sprint at Cercié-en-Beaujolais (km 33) where the peloton was timed with its maximum deficit of five minutes, after which Bora-Hansgrohe and Sunweb took control of the peloton.
De Gendt first at all climbs
De Gendt who is the alternative to Tim Wellens in the fight for the polka dot jersey inside the Lotto-Soudal team passed first ahead of King atop the hills: col de la Croix Montmain (km 51), col de la Croix de Thel (km 71), col de la Croix Paquet (km 84.5), côte d’Affoux (km 97), côte de la Croix de Part (km 133) where the leading quartet split in two with De Gendt and De Marchi at the front and Terpstra and King unable to hold their pace. De Gendt was first atop the côte d’Aveize (km 148.5) while Terpstra and King were reeled in by the peloton led by Astana with a deficit of 3’30’’. Christophe Laporte (Cofidis) abandoned due to sickness.
Alaphilippe and Pinot make a difference
EF Education First relayed Astana on the hunt of the two leaders with 42km to go. The gap was down to one minute when Team Ineos collectively crashed in a downhill, including defending champion Geraint Thomas, with 17km to go. De Gendt attacked solo 14km before the end in the côte de La Jaillère. He crested solo while De Marchi was reeled in before the top. Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step) attacked to grab 5’’ at the bonus sprint, followed by Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) who grabbed 2’’. The two Frenchmen combined efforts to chase De Gendt down but didn’t catch him even in the last non-categorized climb 4km before the end. De Gendt won by six seconds while Pinot and Alaphilippe crossed the line 20 seconds before the yellow jersey group. It brought two Frenchmen in the top 3 of the Tour de France for the first time since Thomas Voeckler and Sandy Casar from stage 5 to 12 in 2004 as Alaphilippe got the yellow jersey back and Pinot moved into third place with best young rider Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) still in between. Hampered by a crash, defending champion Geraint Thomas (Ineos) made it back to the group of the favourites only deprived of Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) who couldn’t hold the pace in the last climb.
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A DAY IN YELLOW: MARK CAVENDISH (X/X)
Light-years behind the records of Eddy Merckx and nowhere as famous as the three other five-time winners of the Tour de France, Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain, a total of 67 riders have worn the yellow jersey for just one day (or even less) in their careers and exemplified the pursuit of excellence from a humble start. Back in 2016, Mark Cavendish, who had claimed virtually every honour available to sprinters bar the yellow jersey, was finally rewarded for his patience.
Foto: Presse Sports
From time to time, the Tour de France puts the yellow jersey within reach of the sprinters with a flat opening stage in which the fastest men in the peloton can go toe to toe in a mad dash to the line, allowing riders such as André Darrigade and Rudi Altig in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as Mario Cipollini, Thor Hushovd and Marcel Kittel in more recent years, to wear the golden fleece for a while. Mark Cavendish, on the other hand, went into the 2016 Tour with 26 stage wins to his name and a history of near-misses with the yellow jersey. Although he had already pulled on the leader’s jerseys in the Giro and the Vuelta, the rainbow jersey after winning the 2011 Worlds, the green jersey in the 2011 Tour and the British champion jersey, the most coveted one of them all seemed to evade him. Some near-misses had been outright painful, such as the stage on home turf in Harrogate that had kicked off the 2014 Tour.
By the time that the race featured another flat opening stage two years later, the majority of pundits were adamant that the rise of riders such as Kittel, Sagan, Kristoff, Greipel and Matthews had closed the window of opportunity for „Cav“. Yet the Manx Missile fired again on Utah Beach, one of the scenes of the D-Day landings, beating Marcel Kittel by two bike lengths to take his 27th career stage win and the first with Dimension Data. Writing in the next day’s edition of L’Équipe, Philippe Bouvet explained how „It is a childhood dream come true for the sprinter from Isle of Man, who also made amends for the frustrating experience in Harrogate two years ago, when he missed out on the yellow jersey in front of the royals“.
It had been a long, long wait, but Cavendish had finally got his hands on the yellow jersey in his tenth Tour start. Other riders have had to bide their time for even longer: Henk Lubberding only found out what it felt like to lead the Tour in his 12th start (1988), while Alberto Elli finally got a taste of yellow in his 11th start (2000) and, like Cavendish, Sylvain Chavanel also had to wait until his 10th Tour (2010). 24 hours later, Peter Sagan, just as prolific but nowhere near as patient as Cavendish, toppled the Manxman and pulled on the yellow jersey for the first time after winning the stage to Cherbourg.
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A DAY IN YELLOW: ROMAIN FEILLU (IX/X)
Light-years behind the records of Eddy Merckx and nowhere as famous as the three other five-time winners of the Tour de France, Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain, a total of 67 riders have worn the yellow jersey for just one day (or even less) in their careers and exemplified the pursuit of excellence from a humble start. Romain Feillu’s stint in yellow, limited to about 40 minutes in the time trial stage around Cholet in the 2008 Tour de France, was as short as it was intense.
Foto: Presse Sports
Back in 2008, there was no clear favourite to win the Tour, even though a duel between Australian Cadel Evans and the Luxembourgish Schleck Bros. seemed the logical outcome. France was having trouble finding leaders who could challenge the big names and waiting for the next generation of mountain goats and fast men to rise. Unable to tackle the world’s best climbers and sprinters head-on, many French riders tried their luck in breakaways instead. Shortly after the start of stage 4 from Saint-Malo to Nantes, American William Frischkorn attacked and took Italian Paolo Longo Borghini, Samuel Dumoulin and Romain Feillu with him. Caisse d’Épargne only mounted a half-hearted defence of Alejandro Valverde’s yellow jersey, raising the four men’s hopes of bringing their adventure to a successful conclusion. In the end, it was Dumoulin, then riding for Cofidis, who came out on top in the dash to the line, while their two-minute gap to the peloton was more than enough to make Romain Feillu the new overall leader.
Despite spending almost the whole night awake,
replaying the events of the previous day,
he savoured every minute of his ride in the yellow jersey
Feillu, still a young sprinter at the time, quickly moved on from the lost opportunity to win a stage and basked in the glow of the yellow jersey, especially after spending most of the season bedridden due to a bout of toxoplasmosis. „I was thinking about it all the time“, he said after pulling on the coveted garment. „Wearing the yellow jersey was something that only happened in my wildest dreams. As a kid, I used to watch Indurain and LeMond. Sure, I didn’t take it in a mountain stage, but even getting it in a flat stage is pretty awesome.“ Feillu had just become the first French rider to wear the yellow jersey since Cyril Dessel two years earlier, but keeping it for as long as Thomas Voeckler in 2004 seemed out of the question.
The next stage was a 29 km time trial around Cholet in which the Agritubel rider appeared to have a snowball’s chance in hell of holding out against the Tour favourites. These long odds did nothing to curb the new leader’s enthusiasm and, despite spending almost the whole night awake, replaying the events of the previous day, he savoured every minute of his ride in the yellow jersey. There was to be no fairy-tale ending, however, and Feillu finished the time trial far behind Stefan Schumacher, who won the stage and took the yellow jersey, only to be later stripped of these honours following a positive doping test. History will remember Feillu as one of the most ephemeral leaders of the Tour de France, with 40′43″ in yellow, only a bit longer than Patrick Sercu in 1974 (11 minutes in the 9 km team time trial in Harelbeke) and another Belgian, Philippe Gilbert, in 2011 (25 minutes in the 23 km team time trial around Les Essarts).
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Stage 8 preview / Mâcon > Saint-Étienne
Distance: 200 km
Climbs: 7
Points for the polka dot jersey: 29
Points for the green jersey: 50
Bonus Points: côte de la Jaillière (bonus points: 8, 5 and 2 seconds to the first three riders classified)
Neutralised start: 12:10
Real start: 12:25
Estimated finish: 17:12 – 17:44
Village opening: 9:15
Mâcon
Stage city for the 6th time, prefecture of Saône-et-Loire (71), 34 300 inhabitants (Mâconnais)
In 2012, Mâcon hosted the start of a stage finishing in Bellegarde-sur-Valserine on which Thomas Voeckler accomplished the penultimate triumph of his four stage victories on the Tour de France.
Saint-Étienne
Stage city for the 26th time, prefecture of la Loire (42), 172 000 inhabitants (Stéphanois), 400 000 inhabitants (Saint-Étienne Métropole)
Ignored by the Tour de France before the World Wars due to its position in the centre of France, since 1950 Saint-Étienne has welcomed the race 25 times. The names of the winners crowned in this city (Bobet, Hinault or Herrera) speak for themselves
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Tejay van Garderen forced to abandon Tour with broken thumb
American Tejay van Garderen has been forced to withdraw from the Tour de France after breaking his hand in a crash on stage seven.
The incident occurred just outside the start town of Belfort, seven kilometers into the longest stage of the Tour. Van Garderen hit a traffic island causing him to fall heavily on his hand, face, and front of his body. Mike Teunissen of Jumbo-Visma also hit the ground in the incident.
Foto: Gerhard Plomitzer – www.plomi.smugmug.com
“The crash was a result of a personal error,” said van Garderen. “I was looking down at my bike because I saw something caught up in it, like a piece of paper, so I was looking down and I hit a median. I have no one to blame but myself, and I really hope that no one else got hurt because of me.”
Van Garderen’s EF Education First Pro Cycling teammates rallied around him in the aftermath and, after an initial medical inspection, he remounted his bike and rode the rest of the 223-kilometers to the finish into Chalon-sur-Saône, losing contact with the main group only in the last five kilometers.
He received an immediate medical examination at the finish line with the team’s head doctor, Kevin Sprouse, and from the Tour de France’s doctor as well. The two determined van Garderen required an X-ray, which was performed by the race radiologist. The X-ray confirmed that van Garderen had broken his hand.
“After today’s stage, Tejay had his wounds cleaned and bandaged,” Sprouse said. “We then went for an X-ray. In addition to multiple abrasions, it was determined that he has a nondisplaced fracture at the base of his first metacarpal on the left hand. He has been placed in a splint and will not start stage eight.”
“We never want to see a rider leave the Tour like this,” EF Education First Pro Cycling CEO Jonathan Vaughters said. “There is a huge amount of work that goes into the preparation for this race, no one wants to be there more than these riders do. After talking with Tejay, our doctor, and race directors this evening, we’re not only concerned about Tejay doing lasting damage to the fractured bone if he were to continue riding, but we are also concerned for the safety of others, too. Full use of your hand is important when racing alongside 180 riders.”
“We will miss having him in the team,” Vaughters added. “He has showed great form coming into the race. We wish him a speedy recovery and hope that he’ll be back racing again soon.”
Van Garderen will be sorely missed from the Tour team over the next two weeks, as the race tackles the Pyrenees and the Alps; not only as one of Rigoberto Uran’s support riders, but as an incredibly valued teammate.
„All I’m thinking about now is the disappointment, less for myself and more for the team,“ said van Garderen. „Rigo and Woods, they both have a big chance to podium, to win stages, even to win the whole damn Tour. I would have loved to have been a part of that, to contribute to that, but unfortunately, as all cyclists have become accustomed to saying, these things happen.”
