Tour News for July 26

Stage 17 - Live coverage
Stage 17 - Full results and report
Stage 18 - Preview

Post-stage comments

Serge Baguet
Photo: © Sirotti

Serge Baguet (Lotto, 1st stage)

"I was afraid of Lelli in the sprint because he did not want to roll through any more at the end. I had said to him with 10 kilometres to go 'If you win in this way, it will be pretty small of you'."

"I was also afraid that we would be caught by the peloton, because the time gap was small. Now, I ply my trade at 200 percent. I want to race as best I can after my two year break due to my head: Everything had become too hard, I did not win anything. Now I have a model in the team: Andrei Tchmil, who at 38 still wins big races. I hope to continue for another five to six years."

Damien Nazon (Bonjour, 5th)

"With five kilometres to go, I understood. Nobody was riding hard enough behind to help: It was not just one or two riders."

"It's a shame that we did not succeed in winning. I really believed that we could. The team was trapped into riding but Bonjour had courage. We will take it easy in the time trial to recover."

Jan Ullrich (Telekom, 27th)

"That went well. By chance we had Vinokourov in front, and we didn't have to ride. Tomorrow is my last chance of winning a stage."

Laurent Jalabert (CSC, 65th)

"We rode quickly. The weather was hot but fortunately there was some air. I felt good. The guys in front had a very good ride."

Winner's profile: Serge Baguet

Serge Baguet
Photo: © Sirotti

The winner of today's 17th stage was 31 year old East Flandrian Serge Baguet (born in Opbrakel, lives in Letterhoutem), who gave Lotto its second victory in three stages. After showing a lot of promise amongst the young riders in Belgium, he turned pro at the age of 21 for Lotto in 1991. However, even in the amateur ranks he found winning harder, and this got worse when he was professional, with wins hard to come by. "It became very difficult for me to win any more," he commented after today's triumph.

Quite demoralised, he stopped with professional cycling for three years (1997 - 1999), in the meantime assisting his father-in-law as a roofer. But the bike bug hadn't disappeared completely, and he began riding casually on Sundays with his two friends, Scott Sunderland (now with Fakta) and Eric de Clercq (Collstrop). Sunderland was at that time coming back from his terrible accident in the 1998 Amstel Gold Race, and he provided some inspiration for Baguet to return to his former level.

Baguet signed a contract for 2000 with his old team Lotto via Claude Criquelion, after no other teams would take him. Since then, he has worked extremely hard with his training partners, and earlier this season acheived some success in the Amstel Gold race, where he placed third behind Erik Dekker and Lance Armstrong.

"I want to race for five or six years and to follow the example of Andrei Tchmil," he said. "I know that I win gain big races."

Inspiration?

Yesterday's stage winner Jens Voigt (Credit Agricole) had the opportunity to ride with yellow jersey wearer and triple stage winner Lance Armstrong (USPS) in a helicopter which took them down from Luz Ardiden (stage 14 finish). Perhaps some inspiration for Voigt, who said yesterday that he "had to do something" to win a stage.

Voigt's contract with Credit Agricole runs out at the end of this year.

How much water?

Water...and peaches
Photo: © Sirotti

During the last few stages, the temperature has reached over 30 degrees Celsius, and with around 230 kilometres to be covered in stages 15 and 16, the water consumption by the riders has gone up. Race doctor Gerard Porte estimates that the cyclists drink around six litres per day (12 x 500 mL bidons), but don't eat as much.

Anti-doping protest planned for the next two stages

Members of the French association against doping (ALCD) will protest their cause at the finish of tomorrow's stage 18 (Saint-Amand-Montrond), and the beginning of stage 19 (Orleans). Several athletes, including former cyclist Gilles Delion, Jérôme Chiotti (recent French MTB champion), and Jacques Piasenta, trainer of several athletes including Marie-José Pérec and Christine Arron.

There will be a processional bike ride organised by the association after the arrival of the last rider on Friday. On Saturday, there will be a gathering in Orleans at 10:30 before a press conference at 11:00 at the village depart.

The ALCD was formed in 1997 to fight against "the suppliers, the unscrupulous trainers, and the adventurous doctors who take the life of young athletes in their hands," adding that the athletes have the responsibility to say no.

Official communiqués

Weather forecast
Cloudy and hot for the first riders, it will become heavy and stormy. Downpours, maybe storms, will accompany the riders. Weak winds. Temperatures between 23-31 degrees.

Medical
Montgomery (Francaise des Jeux): Stable condition. The complementary examinations revealed the presence of several fractures of the face. Transferred at the end of the afternoon by helicopter from the hospital of Limoges. Also fractured his clavicle. His transfer to a Swiss hospital could be considered in 48 hours.
Grischa Niermann (Rabobank): The wounds in his leg and the knee have forced him to abandon.

Commissaires decisions
Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo): Two minutes penalty for veering towards a rider after crossing the finish.
Davide Bramati (Mapei) and Enrico Cassani (Domo): 20 seconds penalty for hanging onto a car.

To the top :: Back ::