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92nd Tour de France - GT
France, July 2-24, 2005
Main Page Results & report Stage Details Previous Stage Next Stage
Stage 4 - Tuesday, July 5: Tours - Blois TTT, 67.5 km
Commentary by Hedwig Kröner and Jeff Jones, with additional reporting from Tim Maloney and Anthony Tan
Complete live report
Live coverage starts: 14:20 CEST
Estimated finish: 17:15 CEST
14:18 CEST
Welcome back to Tours for Cyclingnews'
live coverage of the fourth stage, a 67.5 km team time trial between Tours and
Blois, over what is mostly a flat course until the final 20 km when it gets
a bit lumpier. Today's stage is run under the same rules as last year (see TTT
rules, which essentially means that the slowest team can only lose a maximum
of three minutes, and the entire 21 team field will lose time in increments
of 10 or 5 seconds, depending on their stage placing. Please read the rules
for a full explanation :-)
Teams will start in reverse order of GC,
which means that Euskaltel-Euskadi will be first cab off the rank, followed
at five minutes by Lampre - Caffita, then Ag2r-Prevoyance. The full start order
is:
Euskaltel - Euskadi
Lampre - Caffita
Ag2R Prevoyance
Saunier Duval - Prodir
Cofidis Credit Par Telephone
Davitamon - Lotto
Liquigas - Bianchi
Bouygues Telecom
Francaise Des Jeux
Domina
Vacanze
Quick Step - Innergetic
Rabobank
Illes Balears-Caisse
D'Epargne
Credit Agricole
Liberty Seguros - Würth Team
Fassa
Bortolo
T-Mobile Team
Gerolsteiner
Phonak Hearing Systems
Discovery Channel Team
Team CSC
14:30 CEST
Thus, at the bottom of the list we
have the main contendahs for the day...
In the blue corner, we have
the Discovery Channel team, featuring Lance "Mr Six Time Tour Winner" Armstrong,
Paolo "Mr Two Time Giro Champ" Savoldelli, George "There is No Chain" Hincapie,
and Yaroslav "Future Star" Popovych, Chechu "Super Rouleur" Rubiera, Jose "Ace"
Azevedo, Manuel "Triki" Beltran and I'm running out of nicknames so I'll cut
to the chase, Benjamin Noval, and Pavel Padrnos.
In the red corner,
and the slight favourites for today...Team CSC, featuring maillot jaune
David "DZ" Zabriskie, Ivan "Don't call me Terrible" Basso, Carlos "I'm no dummy"
Sastre, and I'm really running out of nicknames now...Jens Voigt, Bobby Julich,
Luke Roberts, Kurt-Asle Arvesen, Nicki Sörensen and Giovanni Lombardi.
In the green corner with yellow bits, the Phonak Hearing Systems team of Santiago
"2002 World's TT Master" Botero, Jose Enrique "Quique" Gutierrez, Nicolas "JaJa
junior" Jalabert, Floyd Landis, Bert Grabsch, Robert Hunter, Alexandre Moos
(or maybe he doesn't), Oscar Pereiro Sio and Steve Zampieri.
And
finally, in the dark blue corner and maybe edging out T-Mobile's magenta camp
and Gerolsteiner's light blue troupe as fourth favourite, is Liberty Seguros,
with Roberto "Triple Vuelta" Heras, Joseba "Guess who's back?" Beloki, Alberto
Contador, Allan Davis, Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano, Jörg Jaksche, Luis León Sanchez,
Marcos Serrano, and Angel Vicioso.
Other salient info: It's a fine
day, 21 degrees celsius, with a 20 km/h tailwind blowing the riders to Blois.
Each team has nine riders and that means it'll be a very quick stage. Let's
get it on!
14:30 CEST
Euskaltel-Euskadi has already left,
as has Lampre - Caffita, and now Ag2r-Prevoyance is on its way.
14:32 CEST
Ag2r is straight into its rhythm,
all nine riders in a line. Not many teams will be using a "double paceline"
today, we think, because the wind is directly behind the riders.
Massive crowds cheer the blue and white clad Ag2r riders out of Tours.
14:34 CEST
A weather update: There are showers
forecast for this afternoon, with winds from the west blowing into the Loire
valley. So it is probably a good thing to start early.
Ag2r is now
up to speed, but not going super quick yet.
14:35 CEST
Saunier Duval-Prodir, the fourth
team to go, is now under way, clad in their yellow and white kit and looking
tres coordinated.
14:38 CEST
Ag2r is now on the open roads, where
there are fewer crowds. The whole team is working well, with most riders staying
on the TT bars from just before they do their turn until they get onto the back.
14:40 CEST
Cofidis is lining up now, with Tombak,
O'Grady, Vasseur, Chavanel, White, Moncoutié, Augé, Bessy, and Marichal. They're
off! Chavanel is wearing his French champion's tricolore skinsuit, as he is
the TT champ of France.
O'Grady leads them out.
14:47 CEST
Ag2r is spread out along the road,
with a slight echelon from right to left. They are riding smoothly together,
with all nine still present.
Davitamon-Lotto is on the start ramp
now, ready to roll. Robbie McEwen is still a bit miffed at being disqualified
from yesterday's sprint after putting his head into Stuart O'Grady in the final
100 metres.
He explained his side of the story to Cyclingnews'
John Trevorrow: "I didn't say anything straight off the stage, unlike Stuey.
I waited to view the footage. To me, Stuey came in on me to get Boonen's wheel
and he hit me very hard. I don't think he knew it was me when it first happened.
But then he kept pressing me away and the only thing I could do because of the
angle I was on was to move my head. It was the only thing I had to push him
away. I was actually trying to stay upright. He had his whole bodyweight against
me. I had Wrolich on the other side.
"I think the commissaires have
overreacted to how much my head moved but that was because of how much I was
angled the other way. I don't think what Stuey did deserved for him to be disqualified
and I know that I should not have been disqualified. They should have just let
it stand. I have been disqualified before and when I know there's something
to it, I just accept it and say oh well, c'est la vie. But this time I feel
robbed."
14:51 CEST
Euskaltel should be near the first
time check at km 25 (Amboise) soon. There are three intermediate checks today:
Amboise (km 25), Onzain (km 45.8), Entry to Blois (km 61.5), and then the finish
in Blois at km 67.5.
Liquigas-Bianchi is on the ramp now, with big
Magnus Bäckstedt leading them out. Garzelli, Pellizotti, and Cioni should be
the main motors in this team.
Cofidis has got a very nice formation
going on the open road now, with O'Grady on the front again.
14:53 CEST
An update from our guest diarist
Behind
the Blue Curtain Chris Brewer, who is reporting on the movements on the
Discovery Channel team.
"Lance Armstrong noted recently that he has
not pre-ridden the TTT course but that assistant DS Dirk Demol has scouted the
course thoroughly. Lance also said that he did not think he would have passed
his chief rival Jan Ullrich in the Stage 1 TT were it not for Ullrich's pre-Tour
crash into a team car the day prior.
"Today, Lance and the team drove
the first 20km and rode the final 47. They'll then warm up on their Tacx trainers
for one hour before their 3:55 start. The entire Discovery Channel team will
run Shimano Dura Ace 44/55 chainrings and 11/21 rear cassettes.
"The
order of riders for the Discovery Channel team will be the same as last year,
of course with Savoldelli and Popovych in the mix: Lance Armstrong, Benjamin
Noval, Manuel Beltran, Jose Azevedo, Yaroslav Popovych, Paolo Savoldelli, Chechu
Rubiera, Pavel Padrnos, and George Hincapie."
14:55 CEST
Bouygues Telecom is the 8th team
to leave, with Didier Rous, Walter Bénéteau, Laurent Brochard, Pierrick Fédrigo,
Anthony Geslin, Laurent Lefèvre, Jérôme Pineau, Matthieu Sprick, and Thomas
Voeckler setting off from the ramp.
14:57 CEST
Euskaltel has gone through time check
1 in a good time of 26'47, with Lampre-Caffita next in 27'04. That bodes well
for Mayo and co.
15:00 CEST
La Francaise des Jeux is setting
off now, with Brad McGee leading them out. This is not usually one of the strongest
teams in the TTT.
Ag2r is 47 seconds behind Euskaltel at the first
time check.
15:01 CEST
McGee nearly takes out one of his
teammates on his way back, but they're all intact.
15:02 CEST
A report from the CN car below us
on the road: The wind isn't as strong as predicted, and actually coming from
southwest, so it's more of a crosswind. But it's not too strong anyway. CSC
will ride a double paceline today.
15:05 CEST
Saunier Duval is through the 25 km
check 53 seconds slower than leaders Euskaltel. Four teams have passed that
point now. Impressive work from the Basque boys.
Domina Vacanze is
setting off now, with Serguei Gonchar leading them out. He's a handy guy to
have in a team time trial. Very powerful.
15:09 CEST
An update on doping controls: The
UCI has conducted blood tests of 45 riders from five teams earlier today. The
squads involved were Cofidis, Illes Balears, Liquigas-Bianchi, Saunier Duval-Prodir
and T-Mobile. No abnormalities were found and all riders were clear to contest
the fourth stage of the 2005 Tour de France.
15:11 CEST
Quick.Step took off now, the World
Champion Michael Rogers leading out obviously, in aero position right away.
15:15 CEST
Discovery is getting ready on their
trainers, Lance Armstrong concentrating with his head down, as some hundred
meters away Rabobank roll onto the start ramp. They, too, will be held at the
back of their saddles by some nice-looking girls who have very probably been
training for this event. It's not easy to balance out the riders standing still
but they're doing fine. Off they go!
15:19 CEST
The Rabos all look pretty sharp too,
their result should be good. Ahead of them, Boonen is doing his turn in front
of the Quick.Step train - and a long turn it is, too. Now he's dropping to the
back again.
All teams are single-lined at the moment.
15:22 CEST
Illes Balears is next on the ramp.
Daniel Becke will be the leading force in this TTT for the Spanish team including
Alejandro Valverde, of which we hope to see some interesting riding later on
during the Tour.
AG2R has now passed the second time check after
50'47.
15:28 CEST
Crédit Agricole have two national
champs amongst them today, Thor Hushovd and Jaan Kirsipuu riding in their respective
jersey. Traditionally, the squad is very strong in the TTT and we might se a
very good time at the intermediate check.
Rabobank's Michael Boogerd
is suffering already, but hanging on.
15:30 CEST
Top5 at second check Onzain -
km 45.8 1 Euskaltel - Euskadi 49.26 2 Lampre - Caffita 0.32 3 Cofidis
Credit Par Telephone 0.37 4 Saunier Duval - Prodir 1.16 5 Ag2R Prevoyance 1.21
15:36 CEST
Davitamon is getting there now too,
and setting a new best time with Robbie McEwen: 48:41
The Orange
team of the Basque country has arrived in Blois with six men, including Mayo
of course. Well done. Their time: 1:14:38
15:40 CEST
T-Mobile is getting prepared to leave.
Stephan Schreck will be leading out his team, and we're are told that Jan Ullrich
will ride a 55 x 46.
Liquigas are powering into Onzain, that should
be enough for another new best time, Stefano Garzelli in second position.
And T-Mobile is on the ramp and adjusting their skinsuits. Ullrich looks focused,
but he still has this bandage on the neck from his crash on Friday.
15:50 CEST
An update from our reporters on the
course: The last 20 kilometres are much harder as it's not only hilly but also
the road surface is much rougher. The wind will not play an important part as
that particular part of the parcours has a lot of trees to protect from it,
but there is a little tailwind coming from right rear quarter. But this is definitely
the spot where the race will be won - or lost.
15:53 CEST
Phonak have departed, while Lance
Armstrong is using those last minutes for some stretching. They'll be off soon
too.
FDJ's Baden Cooke is sticking his tongue out. Man, this is hard!
15:55 CEST
And Discovery is off! Will they be
able to beat CSC? Will we see Lance Armstrong in Yellow again in about one hour
and a half?
15:57 CEST
Cofidis has arrived in Blois, with
the last, fifth rider *just* hanging on to his teammates. They've lost the other
four on the climbs...
16:01 CEST
David Moncoutié is rolling over the
line, as Cadel Evans is leading the complete Davitamon train into the finish.
CSC is on the ramp, DaveZ looking cool as always. And they've departed, with
Bobby Julich in front and straight onto the aero bars.
16:03 CEST
Discovery is out of town, but not
on the TT clip on bars yet. There's a little false flat here, that's probably
why. Armstrong is adjusting his helmet.
Liquigas in the finish: a
new best of 1.13.05, which means an average speed of 55,42 km/h. And they're
complete, too!
16:08 CEST
That's a new record already! Gewiss-Ballan
set the last one at 54.930 km/h in 1995. Liquigas has already beat that with
55.41 km/h...
16:11 CEST
Bouygues is driving onto the finish
line now too, and their team spirit probably helped keeping all nine of them
together.
Illes Balears is powering to the Onzain time check! Not
too bad, they've achieved second there so far with only two seconds off Liquigas!
16:16 CEST
Armstrong is in first position of
Discovery, still in the flat part of the parcours, and his team looks smooth.
They're doing more than 60 km/h at the moment.
Gerolsteiner is riding
with special handlebars today, as DS Christian Henn told us, "We tested the
handlebars during training, when we reconnoitred the Tour de France TTT parcours.
Two years ago, some of our riders had them already at the Tour. They're wider
in the aero position, which makes steering easier. Clip-ons on the usual TT
bars are very narrow. The disadvantage of this special set-up is that when there
are many turns, it's harder to regain speed after the curve, because you lack
the width of the usual TT handlebar. But when the course is pretty straight,
the team tends to drive more steadily, and another advantage is that the brakes
are right within reach - you don't have to change position to brake. You can
ride wide curves flat out on in aero position and ride closer to the wheel in
front of you, because you feel safer."
"Michael Rich especially is
very much in favour of these bars. We hope for a good result at the Tour TTT
- let's say top eight."
16:22 CEST
Some intermediate times for the record:
Top 5 so far at 25 km:
1 Liberty Seguros - Würth Team 25.42
2 T-Mobile
0.09
3 Credit Agricole 0.27
4 Liquigas - Bianchi 0.31
5 Phonak
0.33
At 45 km:
1 Liberty Seguros - Würth Team 47.28
2 Credit
Agricole 0.37
3 Liquigas - Bianchi 0.52
4 Illes Balears-Caisse D Epargne
0.58
5 Domina Vacanze 1.12
Finish:
1 Liquigas - Bianchi
1.13.05
2 Davitamon - Lotto 0.07
3 Domina Vacanze 0.38
4 Bouygues
Telecom 0.42
5 Euskaltel - Euskadi 1.33
16:25 CEST
And T-Mobile and Discovery Channel
have done exactly the same intermediate time at km 25, 9 secs off Liberty. Both
team should get faster along the course though.
Quick.step is fourth
fastest in 1'13'44 in the finish.
16:30 CEST
T-Mobile is getting to the second
check now, setting an new best with 47.15. And Guerini, Kessler and Klöden in
front as it's now going up and down for the last 20 kms.
16:31 CEST
Tobias Steinhauser (TMO) is dropped.
Now, this is worse as being in the train!
The suffering is over for
Rabobank, they're ranked third right now, 22 seconds off Liquigas.
16:34 CEST
Liberty has lost one too: Marcos
Serrano is alone on the climb now, while his teammates are still in a single
pace line. The tarmac is wet on that stretch, but it's not raining now.
Illes Balears tops everything in the finish with 1.12.44 - not bad.
16:37 CEST
Another Liberty rider is in trouble,
but he has reconnected with his teammates... that definitely hurt! It was Contador.
16:37 CEST
Another Liberty rider is in trouble,
but he has reconnected with his teammates... that definitely hurt! It was Contador.
16:40 CEST
1:12.20 at the finish for Crédit
Agricole, that's almost 56 km/h. Today will blast all records, this is amazing!
Phonak, meanwhile, is not living up to its expectations, only 7th at the first
intermediate time check.
16:42 CEST
Liberty is on the last kilometre.
Heras is in front, then Galdeano. They're hammering away, knowing it's going
to be a new best, screaming in pain: 1.11.32, that's 56.6 km/h!
16:42 CEST
Liberty is on the last kilometre.
Heras is in front, then Galdeano. They're hammering away, knowing it's going
to be a new best, screaming in pain: 1.11.32, that's 56.6 km/h!
16:46 CEST
Disco has one tiny second over T-Mobile
at km 45. Interesting! CSC hasn't come through that point yet... waiting. Armstrong
is having a drink in last position.
16:49 CEST
Julich is making way for Zabriskie
as CSC rolls over the second time check. They're the fastest here with 47'08!
Fassa just finished the race fourth-placed in 1'12'58.
16:52 CEST
Bert Grabsch has lost his Phonak
teammates on the road. The Swiss team wanted to do better, while T-Mobile is
getting in the finish with six men, including Ullrich and Vinokourov of course.
Their facial expressions say it all, they've given everything and made it to
the top right now: new best with 1.11.15. Great ride!
16:56 CEST
Benjamin Noval is taking over for
Armstrong now as Discovery is rotating, while Phonak has lost another rider:
Alexandre Moos. Robert Förster (GST) has also lost contact.
CSC is
15 km away from the finish, looking good.
16:58 CEST
Spectators are cheering along the
roadside. Fortunately, the weather is steady too: no sun, but no rain neither.
Gerolsteiner powers with seven men on the finish straight: 1.12.44 for the current
fifth place.
17:00 CEST
Sastre and Sörensen are at the back
of CSC, the team's still complete at this point, hitting that last major climb
before the end. As we write, Lombardi lets go. He's finished, as the pace is
incredible.
17:02 CEST
Phonak should come in for third in
Blois. They're passing the "flamme rouge" now with six riders, Landis hammering
in front, arms squeezed to his chest.
17:04 CEST
6 km before the finish, Discovery
is 24 seconds ahead of T-Mobile, placing first right now!
17:04 CEST
6 km before the finish, Discovery
is 24 seconds ahead of T-Mobile, placing first right now!
17:06 CEST
It's between Discovery and CSC now,
as predicted. With 1.10.40, that's 34 seconds faster then the German team, Discovery
rode 57.31 km/h!!
And CSC just passed the 6 km mark with 2 seconds
ahead of Discovery!
17:09 CEST
Luke Roberts is suffering on the
back, while CSC passes the 2 km mark. They're still circling fine, but Zabriskie
crashed! Against a barrier in a curve, but he's back on the bike now....
17:10 CEST
But the team is not waiting, going
for the stage win still. What a sacrifice!!
17:11 CEST
They have thirty seconds still, and
hammering... but it doesn't last - CSC loses two seconds to Discovery...
17:13 CEST
Zabriskie rolls over the line now,
his right leg hanging down. He suffered a few scratches but looks OK. But he's
lost the jersey, and CSC has not won the stage either. That's bitter!
17:19 CEST
The time difference is exactly 1.79
seconds. Probably exactly the time it took the team to overcome that last shock
of Zabriskie falling. That couldn't have been more dramatic.
But
let's get our heart rate down again and wait for their reactions. We hope you
will tune in again tomorrow and look forward to serving you with what will be
happening at the Tour de France stage five from Chambord to Montargis. Until
then, bonsoir!
Results
Intermediate timing
Amboise - km 25 (all teams through) 1 Team CSC 25.36 2 Liberty Seguros - Würth Team 0.06 3 Discovery Channel Team 0.15 3 T-Mobile Team 5 Credit Agricole 0.33 6 Liquigas - Bianchi 0.37 7 Phonak Hearing Systems 0.39 8 Illes Balears-Caisse D'Epargne 0.51 9 Domina Vacanze 0.55 10 Fassa Bortolo 0.56 11 Gerolsteiner 0.58 12 Davitamon - Lotto 1.00 13 Rabobank 1.09 14 Euskaltel - Euskadi 1.11 15 Bouygues Telecom 1.13 16 Quick Step - Innergetic 1.23 17 Lampre - Caffita 1.28 18 Cofidis Credit Par Telephone 1.35 19 Francaise Des Jeux 1.52 20 Ag2R Prevoyance 1.58 21 Saunier Duval - Prodir 2.04 Onzain - km 45.8 (all teams through) 1 Team CSC 47.08 2 Discovery Channel Team 0.06 3 T-Mobile Team 0.07 3 Liberty Seguros - Würth Team 0.20 5 Phonak Hearing Systems 0.49 6 Credit Agricole 0.57 7 Liquigas - Bianchi 1.12 8 Gerolsteiner 1.18 9 Illes Balears-Caisse D'Epargne 10 Fassa Bortolo 1.23 11 Domina Vacanze 1.32 12 Davitamon - Lotto 1.33 13 Rabobank 1.46 14 Bouygues Telecom 2.02 15 Quick Step - Innergetic 2.08 16 Euskaltel - Euskadi 2.18 17 Lampre - Caffita 2.50 18 Cofidis Credit Par Telephone 2.56 19 Francaise Des Jeux 3.23 20 Saunier Duval - Prodir 3.34 21 Ag2R Prevoyance 3.39 Entry to Blois - km 61.5 (all teams through) 1 Team CSC 1.05.10 2 Discovery Channel Team 0.02 3 T-Mobile Team 0.26 4 Liberty Seguros - Würth Team 0.46 5 Phonak Hearing Systems 1.15 6 Credit Agricole 1.32 7 Illes Balears-Caisse D'Epargne 1.49 8 Gerolsteiner 1.54 9 Liquigas - Bianchi 2.03 10 Fassa Bortolo 2.07 11 Davitamon - Lotto 2.18 12 Rabobank 2.30 13 Domina Vacanze 2.43 14 Bouygues Telecom 2.54 15 Quick Step - Innergetic 2.56 16 Euskaltel - Euskadi 3.31 17 Lampre - Caffita 3.55 18 Cofidis Credit Par Telephone 4.09 19 Francaise Des Jeux 4.30 20 Saunier Duval - Prodir 4.40 21 Ag2R Prevoyance 5.05 Finish - km 67.5 (all teams through) 1 Discovery Channel Team 1.10.39 2 Team CSC 0.02 3 T-Mobile Team 0.36 4 Liberty Seguros - Würth Team 0.53 5 Phonak Hearing Systems 1.31 6 Credit Agricole 1.41 7 Gerolsteiner 2.05 8 Illes Balears-Caisse D'Epargne 9 Fassa Bortolo 2.19 10 Liquigas - Bianchi 2.26 11 Davitamon - Lotto 2.32 12 Rabobank 2.48 13 Domina Vacanze 3.04 14 Quick Step - Innergetic 3.05 15 Bouygues Telecom 3.08 16 Euskaltel - Euskadi 3.59 17 Lampre - Caffita 4.09 18 Cofidis Credit Par Telephone 4.28 19 Francaise Des Jeux 4.46 20 Saunier Duval - Prodir 5.06 21 Ag2R Prevoyance 5.23 General classification after stage 4 1 Lance Armstrong (USA) Discovery Channel 9.59.12 2 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel 0.55 3 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 1.04 4 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC 1.07 5 Jose Luis Rubiera (Spa) Discovery Channel 1.14 6 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Discovery Channel 1.16 7 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) T-Mobile Team 1.21 8 Benjamin Noval (Spa) Discovery Channel 1.26 9 David Zabriskie (USA) Team CSC 10 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC
