Tour News for July 28

Stage 19 - Live coverage
Stage 19 - Full results and report

Post-stage comments

Erik Zabel
Photo: © Sirotti

Erik Zabel (Telekom, 1st stage)

"Today, I obtained the maximum points. That (the green jersey competition) will be played out tomorrow in Paris. It will be the first time because, in other years, the day before the finish, I have had enough points already to wear it. It is an interesting suspense. The winner will finish gloriously."

"Concerning myself, it would have been hard to do better. I won three stages out of four bunch finishes. I trusted in my team which did a lot of work, bringing me to the finish under ideal conditions."

Sylvain Chavanel (Bonjour, 69th)

"I had talked with Lance Armstrong at the start to thank him for what he had said to the press about our team. He told me about the Champs-Elysées, telling me that it was fantastic. Until today, it was the prologue that impressed me the most. But, the Tour is not over for me. It will only be when I see the Eiffel Tower".

Florent Brard (Festina, 74th)

"We are orphaned from our leader. Consequently, we must put all our hopes on Teutenberg, for a final chance of victory."

Roger Legeay (Crédit Agricole directeur sportif)

Stuart O'Grady
Photo: © AFP

"Zabel nibbles away. It is a great battle with O'Grady. Telekom wants sprints and we want breaks. On the Champs-Elysées, it will be a duel between two teams and two riders."

"There is a small chance of a solo win: I remember Eddy Seigneur. I think that it is more reasonable to bet on a sprint, an area in which Zabel is superior. Stuart will have but one alternative: To take the upper hand. Jens Voigt will lead him out. It is necessary to be in front of Zabel."

Zabel's 11th

In winning the 19th stage, Erik Zabel has brought his total victories in the Tour de France to 11 stages, in addition to his record five green jerseys for being the best sprinter on Tour. He has a chance to make it 12 stages and 6 green jerseys, provided he wins tomorrow on the Champs Elysées and takes some points in the two intermediate sprints.

So far this season, Zabel has won 18 races, including the Milan-San Remo classic, four stages in the Tour of Bavaria, three stages in the Tour of Germany and three stages of the Tour de France. He had a similarly successful year in 1997, where he also won three Tour stages.

One rider who would be disappointed if Zabel takes his sixth green is of course Credit Agricole's Stuart O'Grady, who at one stage held both the yellow and green jerseys in this year's Tour. O'Grady came out of the mountains with a 13 point buffer over the German, but now has just 2 points lead. He has not once managed to beat Zabel in a sprint since then. In fact, in every sprint with points up for grabs, O'Grady has always run one place behind Zabel, which has probably improved his sprinting at the very least.

Of course, O'Grady will not give up without a fight tomorrow, and it should be a great battle with two intermediate sprints counting for 6, 4, 2 points, and the final sprint counting for 35, 30, 26, 24, 22, 20 etc. points. The last time O'Grady beat Telekom was in the 2001 Tour Down Under, when he gained enough bonus seconds in the final circuit race to overhaul race leader Kai Hundertmarck, who had the yellow jersey from the day before.

Lance Armstrong press conference

Lance Armstrong
Photo: © Sirotti

More from the undisputed leader of the Tour 2001, from today's post-race press conference.

"I do not have a specific message. If I there is only one thing, I will say that it is the Tour in which I've had the most enjoyment. My teammates too. We have shared this between us."

When will you go back to the USA? "There is nothing precise yet, but I will undoubtedly leave between Wednesday and Friday. Probably to New York."

After the Tour, "I have four races on my program, Clasica San Sebastian, the Vuelta a Burgos, Championship of Zurich and the Ronde van Nederland. For the Vuelta España, in September, I don't know yet. I will need a recovery phase. Most important for me now, is to rest and spend time with my family."

On Tyler Hamilton's departure to CSC: "The majority of my teammates are excellent riders, they are also friends. Tyler remains an excellent friend, it will be a big loss, we will realize that in twelve months time. But it is normal that teams seek to recruit riders of this class."

On his being awarded the 'least cooperative rider' by the press/photographers: "If you think that I'm not very co-operative, I can be even less so...I don't like to pose, I don't like to specially prepare myself for a pose."

"In my opinion, the photographers are on the Tour to capture the intensity of the race. The same people who say that I am not very co-operative will come tomorrow with a bottle of champagne to ask me for a photograph."

What about the whistles? "You can't be liked by everyone. But I know that I have given it 100 percent."

"I never thought of being where I am today. The last five years were full of surprises. The first time that I won the Tour, it was a big surprise. To win a second, and a third, is always a surprise. I am astonished every day. I know that everything can go, that my health can disappear. I don't feel at all untouchable. Every morning is the start of a new day."

What is your relationship with the 'lesser riders'? "I hate this distinction that is made between small and great riders I have known some of them for nine years, I have a friendly relationship with them. And then, there are young riders who are coming up. Of 189 riders present at the beginning of the Tour, I don't know them all."

What do you say to a third win? "There is still another stage, the race will be finished tomorrow evening. Of course, all victories are different. But, this year, I had more enjoyment. The Turn means a lot for me, it is the greatest race in the world and that is valid if you are in Paris or New York. It is for this reason that the US Postal Service (as a company) is interested."

How long will you continue riding in the Tour? "I like this race, even the controversies, the same press conferences, the 'grillings' during the rest days. I even wonder if I do not need any. As long as I have passion, I will stay. I hope that I will be intelligent enough to leave when the passion disappears."

Will you always have the spirit of cancer? "The spirit of this disease is always with me and the other cancer patients. There are other diseases which have captured the attention of the public. But my engagement remains the same. I always think of it, for me and the others."

Do you miss anything? "Nothing big. I have health, money, a family which will grow, friends who like me, a sponsor who supports me, fantastic teammates. I always have this passion. I wouldn't change a thing. I live a life of an honest man, a happy man. It is good like that."

Maillot Jaune presented by mayor of Paris

Tomorrow, the final winner of the Tour de France will be presented with his prized Maillot Jaune by the Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë. The direction of the Tour announced this today, adding that whoever wins the green jersey will be given it by their country's ambassador. Other dignitaries present include Chinese ambassador, Wu Jianmin, whose country recently was awarded the Olympic Games in 2008; Jean-Pierre Masseret, Secretary of State for Ex-Servicemen; and Dutch minister for Economic Affairs, Johan Kramer.

Jalabert to be a dad for the fourth time

Tour de France king of the mountains, Laurent Jalabert, will have a new addition to his family in September, when his wife is due to give birth to a boy. Laurent has chosen the name for the child already: Jules, and he is expected on September 8.

Voigt: most popular rider on Tour

Surprisingly popular in the Dynapost fan mail service (Courrier du coeur - Courrier des coureurs) is Credit Agricole's Jens Voigt, who has received 851 letters, the most of any rider. The Germans have done quite well so far, with Jan Ullrich in second place with 826 letters, followed by Erik Zabel (433), then Lance Armstrong in 5th spot with 352 letters, and Laurent Jalabert with 224.

This doesn't count the night when SBS TV Australia broadcast the fax number of the hotel in which Stuart O'Grady was staying in. 150 faxes followed, and the hotel ran out of fax paper!

Official communiqués

Weather forecast
Less humid than in the previous days. Quite sunny and not a very cloudy day. Light wind from the north. Temperatures from 27 to 30 degrees.

Medical
Alvaro Gonzalez-Galdeano (ONCE): Abandonment because of a strong pain of the posterior face of the left thigh.

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