Recently on Cyclingnews.com |
 Mont Ventoux Photo ©: Sirotti |
92nd Tour de France - GT
France, July 2-24, 2005
Main Page Results & report Stage Details Next Stage
Stage 1 - Saturday, July 2: Fromentine - Noirmoutier-en-l'Ile ITT, 19 km
Commentary by Jeff Jones and Hedwig Kröner, with additional reporting from Tim Maloney and Anthony Tan
Complete live report
Live coverage starts: 15:40 CEST
Estimated finish: 19:00 CEST
15:35 CEST
Welcome to our readers from around
the world from the Cyclingnews blimp, the Hindenburg IV, which
is hovering above the Passage du Gois between Fromentine and the isle of Noirmoutier,
the scene of today's Tour de France opening 19 km time trial. The TT doesn't
actually go over the Passage du Gois, rather it takes the main road between
the mainland and the island. But for nostalgia's sake, we've decided to park
the blimp here.
Interestingly, last time the Tour went over the
Passage du Gois causeway was in 1999, and the water covering the road made life
treacherous for a large chunk of the peloton. By the end of it, the bunch was
split to pieces and many of the favourites had lost significant time to Lance
Armstrong, Stefano Garzelli, Bobby Julich, Richard Virenque, and Abraham Olano,
who certainly did not wait. Banesto's Alex Zülle lost six minutes but recovered
well to finish second overall in the 1999 Tour, 7'37 behind Armstrong.
Could Fromentine and Noirmoutier set the scene for Armstrong's seventh and final
Tour victory, or will it be someone else who takes over the reins this year?
This first TT is very important, as it's a lot longer than a prologue and the
time gaps could be significant, especially as there is only one other long individual
time trial in this year's Tour, on the second last stage.
Favourites
today? There are many: Armstrong, Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile), Santiago Botero (Phonak),
Michael Rich and Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner), Michael Rogers (Quick.Step),
Brad McGee (Francaise des Jeux), David Zabriskie and Ivan Basso (CSC), Fabian
Cancellara (Fassa Bortolo), and Sergei Gonchar (Domina Vacanze). It's almost
flat and with a moderate headwind, so let's see who has the power to take the
first yellow jersey.
15:47 CEST
And the Tour de France 2005 has started!
First to roll off the ramp was Ludovic Turpin (Ag2r-Prevoyance). Bonne route!
15:52 CEST
Intervals between riders are one
minute. The last ten riders will get underway at:
18:39 Roberto Heras
(Liberty Seguros-Würth)
18:40 Juan Manuel Garate (Saunier Duval-Prodir)
18:41 Fabian Cancellara (Fassa Bortolo)
18:42 Santiago Botero (Phonak Hearing
Systems)
18:43 Denis Menchov (Rabobank)
18:44 Cadel Evans (Davitamon-Lotto)
18:45 Francisco Mancebo (Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne)
18:46 Ivan Basso
(Team CSC)
18:47 Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile Team)
18:48 Lance Armstrong
(Discovery Channel)
15:58 CEST
Intermediate time checks are at km
9.4 at the turn off to the Passage du Gois and in Barbatre (km 14.9). We will
keep you up to date with the latest results as we go. With Laszlo Bodrogi (Credit
Agricole) on the road since 15.50, we should have a first hint at the winner's
time at about 16.14.
16:07 CEST
Former pro and Tour de France stage
winner Marcel Wüst told Cyclingnews last night that his bet for today was Michael
Rich. "I'm convinced he can pull it off, and I would really be happy for him.
Gerolsteiner deserves a big win like that," he said. Rich made a great showing
at the Eindhoven team time trial in June. His starting time is 17.08.
16:12 CEST
A word on Kaiser Jan: His injuries
from yesterday's crash into the back window of his team car are only minor.
He recovered well this morning, and suffers no other consequences of the impact.
But he was lucky: the cut to his neck was only a few millimetres away from his
jugular - that accident could have been much worse...
16:13 CEST
|
Naturally, the CN blimp also employs the latest in technology, and our anchor rope is made out of a sophisticated matrix of spare nanotubes that we scrounged from the Phonak team mechanics. How many carbons in a buckyball anyway? These have 47 carbon atoms per ball, as we were told that the asymmetry and jagged holes actually makes for a stronger link. Otherwise we'll see you next when the Tour visits the middle of the Atlantic.
16:21 CEST
And the first riders have reached
the finish: 21.50 is the current best for Laszlo Bodrogi (Credit Agricole).
Dave Zabriskie should be very close to that, coming in soon...
16:22 CEST
Our reporter on the spot, Anthony
Tan, reports that the wind has calmed down a bit, so it won't be a big factor
at the moment. We will therefore see some fast times. Also, the crowds are surprisingly
not huge for the Tour.
16:25 CEST
Some background: this year, the "prologue"
is a true stage. In fact, the Tour rules states that a "prologue" can only be
called so if it is less than 8 km long - so this 19 kilometre chrono is a real
time trial stage, with a different set of rules to it. In a prologue, if a rider
doesn't cross the finish line for a crash or another incident, he may actually
go ahead with the race on the next day. He will given the same time as the "lanterne
rouge" (the red lantern, last rider on GC). But as this is a full stage, all
rider must pass the finish line to be entitled to start again tomorrow, and
there is also a delay of elimination in this stage: factor 4 - which means that
the riders' times cannot exceed 25 percent of the winner's time. If they do,
they're out of the race.
Another special feature of this stage against
the clock: Time trial national champs will wear their respective jerseys (and
that includes the World Champion Michael Rogers), but not the road race national
champions.
16:30 CEST
Speaking of Rogers, he told Cyclingnews
a couple of days ago that he was very confident about todays's stage, and that
the wind suited him just fine. "It is a lot better for me you know, the ones
that are under 10 km are a bit short for me," he said. "This year being 19 km
is just that little bit longer and the course is very basic. I think there is
one bridge and one roundabout to negotiate. I think the wind will be the only
factor, but the harder it is for me, the better."
We have a new best
time at 9.4 km: Zabriskie is going flat out and is already 26 secs ahead of
Bodrogi..
16:34 CEST
We also spoke to Luke Roberts (CSC)
this morning. The young Aussie is pretty excited to be here for the first time:
"It is just awesome. It really has been an unreal year. To get into a world-class
team like CSC was fantastic and I just wanted to get a ride in some of the one
day classics such as Paris Roubaix and Tour of Flanders. When that happened
and I rode well I thought I might get a ride in the Giro, but I missed out.
They then told me they were looking at me for the Tour. I didn't really think
that it would happen."
16:45 CEST
Dave Zabriskie should be home now
- we'll get a finish time for him as soon as we can.
16:47 CEST
Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) has
also hit the road, looking good for another Green jersey this year. Yaroslav
Popovych (Discovery Channel), one of Lance Armstrong's best helpers, has just
started too.
16:50 CEST
Zabriskie was averaging over 54 km/h
(54.67 km/h actually) and has cracked Bodrogi by 59 seconds! That's a promising
result for now and will probably not be beaten very soon.
16:54 CEST
"Actually I hope for headwinds,"
Zabriskie said two days ago about the course. "That would be perfect for me.
I aim for a place in the top 10, but winning the stage would obviously be the
best." Maybe he ain't that far off today?
17:00 CEST
The young American was faster than
Greg Lemond in 1989 (54.54 km/h), when the time trial was over a distance of
24.5 km and slightly downhill. Lemond won the Tour only a few seconds in front
of Laurent Fignon that year.
Another comparison: Lance Armstrong
drove the 58.5 km from Fribourg to Mulhouse in 2000 in 1:05:01 (53.98 km/h).
Zabriskie is really going strong here!
17:05 CEST
Michael Rich (Gerolsteiner) is getting
ready by the ramp. The German could also win today - he also has the needed
power to face the wind. Simon Gerrans (Ag2r-Prevoyance) has also started his
first Tour in this moment.
17:07 CEST
Vladimir Karpets (Illes Balears-Caisse
d'Epargne)and Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano (Liberty Seguros-Würth) are 0.59 and
1.05 from Zabriskie at the moment.
17:12 CEST
Other riders that have come in including
Zabriskie's teammate Luke Roberts, who is 10th at 1'30, Andreas Klöden (T-Mobile),
who is already 19th at 2'00, Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto), who is 28th at
2'21, Stefano Garzelli (Liquigas) in 31st at 2'30, Alan Davis (Liberty) in 46th
at 2'44, and last on the list is Sebastien Hinault (CA), who is at 3'37 behind
DZ.
17:13 CEST
Yaroslav Popovych (Discovery Channel)
comes home with a solid ride of 22'09, which puts him in 6th at 1'17 from the
flying Zabriskie.
17:18 CEST
Michael Rich is powering along, but
doesn't look too quick - that impression might not be true actually, as he's
pushing an enormous gear. We'll find out shortly.
17:19 CEST
Robert Hunter (Phonak) is coming
in: 22.21, that's 10th at the moment.
17:20 CEST
The German time trial Champ has just
passed Carlos Da Cruz (Française Des Jeux)...
17:23 CEST
Jens Voigt (Team CSC) is next on
the ramp. We will probably see some very aggressive riding again from him this
year - and he predicted the overall victory of his teammate Ivan Basso to us.
Off he goes!
17:24 CEST
Alexandre Vinokourov (T-Mobile Team)
also started now, heading towards the bridge over to Noirmoutier. It will be
crucial for him not to lose too much time on the other GC contenders today.
17:25 CEST
Dave Zabriskie was one of the early
riders today, and will have a long wait to see whether he has the winning time.
That's exactly what happened in the first time trial stage of the Giro, which
he ended up winning. After he crossed the line in 20'51 today, he was quoted
on Sporza as saying about his chances, "I hope I can pull that off. There's
a lot of good guys here. If it happens, that's great, if it doesn't, so be it."
The dead flat course with the wind blowing was, "Difficult, but it's something
that I like to do, so it's OK for me."
Will your time help Ivan Basso?
"It should help him out a little bit I think. Bjarne will follow him too."
17:25 CEST
Jose Azevedo (Discovery Channel)
powers towards the finish line. 22.30 for 16th.
17:27 CEST
Voigt is getting a lot of strength
out of his lower back, mouth wide open, while Vino looks tied to his bike like
a rock. Very steady riding.
17:29 CEST
Baden Cooke (Française Des Jeux)
went off the ramp now, looking fairly relaxed. There's a full Mohawk under his
helmet! "Went into my hairdresser in Monaco for a trim and said I'm off to the
Tour, do what ever you want. He said 'really?' and then paced up and down the
salon for about 10 minutes and then away he went. The ladies were all laughing
but he was quite happy with it. Pretty impressive isn't it?," he told Cyclingnews
this morning.
17:31 CEST
Rich gets into the finish: he couldn't
make it to the top. With about 22.05 (his transponder seems out of order), he's
a minute off Zabriskie.
17:34 CEST
Jens Voigt, meanwhile, has passed
Isaac Gálvez (Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne), who started one minute ahead
of him. Vino is still looking good - no facial expressions showing at all. The
Kazakh is a master in unimpressed racing.
17:34 CEST
Jens Voigt, meanwhile, has passed
Isaac Gálvez (Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne), who started one minute ahead
of him. Vino is still looking good - no facial expressions showing at all. The
Kazakh is a master in unimpressed racing.
17:37 CEST
For the record: Rich was 7th at time
check 2 at 56 seconds. Voigt is now third at the first time check at 22 seconds
behind Zabriskie, while Vinokourov to third, 21 seconds off.
Joseba
Beloki (Liberty Seguros-Würth) has started. Marcel Wüst, who knows him well,
told us last night that he is considering quitting cycling altogether if his
form does not return for this Tour de France.
17:41 CEST
Second time check: Vino is second
at 0.37, Voigt third at 0.43 after 14.9 km. Zabriskie still leads by far!
17:44 CEST
Beloki is swaying a bit to the sides,
and so does Vinokourov now, as he too passes Isaac Gálvez.
Voigt
gives it all, out of the saddle at the finish: 21.55 for third.
17:45 CEST
And here comes Vino, in aero position
again for the last metres: 21.44, which places him second at he the moment.
17:45 CEST
Cyclingnews' Anthony Tan spoke
to current leader Dave Zabriskie after the finish today. We asked whether he
would have liked it a little more rolling. "Actually no, I didn't mind it,"
said Zabriskie. "You have to go hard the whole time, so the whole thing was
hard."
Is it good to get the first stage out of the way? "Yeah, it's
good to get it started and get it going. I only raced once in June, so it's
been a long wait to get going again. You hear a lot of things.... 'Ooh, it's
the Tour de France!' - but you gotta come here yourself to see what it's all
about."
17:47 CEST
In the finish, Michael Rich can't
really pinpoint why his time wasn't top today. "I don't know. I felt good on
the bike, it wasn't a bad day or anything. I really can't say..."
17:52 CEST
Scott Sunderland, one of CSC's sports
directors, just told Cyclingnews that it was part of Bjarne's strategy to let
one good time-triallist start as first rider of the team and another one as
one of the last riders. This because it is a known fact that often the wind
picks up in the evening in that part of France; and this way he was assured
of at least one good time-triallist riding in favourable wind conditions.
17:56 CEST
Stuey O'Grady has left the ramp.
About his aspiration for the Green jersey, he told Cyclingnews this morning:
"Nothing is impossible. Obviously Robbie is the faster sprinter but plenty of
things can happen in a three week race so I'll just take it as it comes and
keep alert."
17:58 CEST
In the meantime, the masses have
gathered to watch the show, for those of you wondering if the Tour spectators
were still missing. Except on the bridge, which is barred, there are quite some
crowds everywhere cheering the riders to the finish.
18:00 CEST
And Beloki has reached the end of
today's stage. 22.56 aren't that bad at all, so his form might return during
the race. We shall see.
18:04 CEST
Bobby Julich (Team CSC) is now departing,
while Michael Boogerd (Rabobank) gets into the finish: 23.26.
18:08 CEST
Alexandre Vinokourov said after the
time trial that the last 6 km are the most difficult. "It's slightly uphill
so you really have to give it everything there. With the wind, it really breaks
your legs," he said.
18:13 CEST
The hero of France(tm) Thomas Voeckler
(Bouygues Telecom) sets off, looking rather nervous. This stage is not really
his cup of tea.
Armstrong, meanwhile, is working up a good sweat
in his warmup.
18:15 CEST
Michael Rogers, resplendent in his
rainbow striped skinsuit, is now under way and up to speed as he tackles the
first slightly uphill part of the course.
Voeckler is a minute ahead
of him.
18:17 CEST
O'Grady powers away to the finish,
grinding his teeth. 22.41 is a decent result for a sprinter! That places him
25th at 1.49.
18:21 CEST
Jörg Jaksche (Liberty Seguros-Würth)
is also underway. Big Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) is getting noisy instructions
from his directeur sportif: "Allez, allez. Allez encore!"
18:23 CEST
Juan Antonio Flecha (Fassa Bortolo)
finished 23rd at 1'43, while Floyd Landis (Phonak Hearing Systems) set off and
got the TT bars after only 20 metres or so. That was fast!
18:25 CEST
Mich Rogers is still rolling along.
It looks so easy when he does it. We'll see if it works!
Alejandro
Valverde (Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne) has also departed now. Hushovd has
the saddle "in his buttocks" as the French say, meaning that he is sitting very
much in front of his saddle.
18:28 CEST
Bobby Julich (Team CSC) passed José
Luis Arrieta (Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne) just before the finish, where
he arrived after 21'57 (7th at 1'06).
George Hincapie (Discovery)
is off! Looking very focused indeed. His teammate Savoldelli gets to the finish
line now - 22.26.
18:30 CEST
Rogers is still underway as Iban
Mayo (Euskaltel-Euskadi) sets off.
Also worth noting is that Saunier
Duval is riding with white tops and yellow shorts, so as not to clash with the
maillot jaune.
18:34 CEST
Patrik Sinkewitz (Quick.Step) has
caused a bit of a stir with his team manager Patrick Lefevere, after the news
leaked that he would join T-Mobile next year. "My manager has indeed arranged
that I will ride for T-Mobile," Sinkewitz confirmed to Sporza today.
"I would have been happy to stay with QuickStep for the next three years. It's
a pity that the team won't support me here; I'm going to try my best for the
team anyway. I understand they're upset. I have to thank the team for the time
I had with them. I'm sorry this has happened like this, but that's why I'm paying
a manager: to help me in this sort of contract situations. I have to have faith
in my manager Tony Rominger."
18:38 CEST
Leipheimer is home at 22'04 for 9th,
while Tom Boonen (Quick.Step) set off, right into the big gear...
Voeckler finished in 23.39, getting caught by Rogers who does 22.44 - almost
two minutes off Zabriskie! CSC must be partying!
Michael Rogers blamed
the wind for his time, telling Sporza: "The wind has picked up a lot
now. You don't feel it here. On the flat straight road there's so much wind.
I don't think anyone's going to beat Zabriskie. I didn't feel the best either.
20 days to go. The Tour de France doesn't finish today. I'm disappoint not to
finish in front, but that's life."
18:38 CEST
Cyclingnews' Anthony Tan spoke
to Luke Roberts (CSC), who was one of the early starters today. How was the
course? "Really fast; every time I looked down, I was doing 52 or 53k an hour.
It's a really smooth, fast road and with the crowds out there, it was really
noisy and the adrenaline was high. It [the stage] went a lot faster than I thought
it would.
"19 kilometres is starting to get a bit long for what I
like - I prefer a shorter and faster sort of course - but I felt okay, and I
hope [my time's] up there with some of the best times." [Roberts is currently
18th at 1'30]
18:40 CEST
QuickStep Director Wilfried Peeters
told Sporza, "Zabriskie has ridden an incredible time-trial. He has ridden
the rest at a fair distance; this is a top time. His intermediate time is exceptional;
I think there was a bit more wind in the back at that time. I don't believe
that it will be easy for Michael to beat that time."
He was quite
right.
18:40 CEST
Boonen is on the bridge now - this
looks painful. But at least he has the radio integrated in his helmet...
Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros-Würth) is on his way now. Off for the last ten!
18:42 CEST
Hushovd arrives. 23.49 for him. Jaksche
also gets in at 23.15.
18:43 CEST
Fabian Cancellara (Fassa Bortolo)
and Santiago Botero (Phonak Hearing Systems) have departed, while Landis gets
into the finish. Not bad at all! He's fourth, at 21.53 - that's a quite a signal
of form for the Phonak rider!
18:45 CEST
Ullrich leaves the T-Mobile bus parking
space to roll to the ramp, while Hincapie is currently 6th at the first time
check, 27 seconds off Zabriskie. Going strong, too!
18:46 CEST
Armstrong has just greeted his rival
Ullrich with a pat on the back, while Basso sets off.
18:48 CEST
And "Ulle" is off, followed by Armstrong,
at one minute behind him. And Armstrong slid out of his pedal again while riding
off the ramp, just like at Luz Ardiden!
Hincapie is 3rd at 14.9 km
at 42 seconds.
18:49 CEST
Hincapie is in the finish now: 21'48
for third placing - that's a great performance!
18:52 CEST
Will this little mishap have a similar
effect on Lance as last year? Will he now give even more?
Ullrich
is grinding over the bridge like a bulldozer, Armstrong spinning behind him.
He's put on a small gear compared to the others, just as usual.
18:53 CEST
Gonchar pushes down squares as he
crosses the line, 32rd.
Mayo finishes at 157th, as McGee gets in 15th,
at 22.15.
18:53 CEST
Gonchar pushes down squares as he
crosses the line, 32rd.
Mayo finishes at 157th, as McGee gets in 15th,
at 22.15.
18:54 CEST
Cancellara passed Garate now. He
could be in for a very good result too. But all eyes are on Ullrich and Armstrong's
first time checks...
18:57 CEST
That's a huge setback for Mayo -
he might already have lost 4 minutes or so on the other GC contenders. Armstrong
sways his upper body a lot too, as he rides along a roundabout.
18:58 CEST
Boonen comes into the finish, and
with 22.40 reveals he is becoming more and more of an allrounder. But with 1.48
off Zabriskie, he won't get him yellow in the next few days.
19:01 CEST
Armstrong is 3 seconds slower than
Zabriskie at 9.6 km. Armstrong is almost catching Ullrich now - can you believe
it? What a show!
19:02 CEST
Armstrong can see Ullrich ahead of
him. Maybe Ullrich still suffers from the crash? Armstrong, in any case, is
powering like hell. This is incredible.
19:04 CEST
Heras got into the finish at 23.11.
But the greatest thing is happening behind, as the motobike photographers drive
right behind Armstrong to get that picture. Armstrong is at 15 metres, with
4 km to go.
19:05 CEST
Meanwhile, Basso is 30th at the time
check, same time as Ullrich at km 9.6.
Armstrong passes Ullrich like
a rocket. Unbelievable.
19:06 CEST
Armstrong has the best time, three
secs ahead of Zabriskie now.
19:07 CEST
Now Ullrich tires to hold on, and
not lose sight of Armstrong.
19:08 CEST
Basso gets into the finish now: 22.17,
18th placing.
19:08 CEST
Tom Boonen, who immediately went
on the rollers after finishing the time-trial: "I think I've done a decent time
yeh; but that Zabriskie seems to be from another world!"
19:08 CEST
Here comes Lance, will he make it
?
19:09 CEST
21.59 for Armstrong - Zabriskie wins!
19:09 CEST
Ullrich gets in at 21.59, that means
12th.
19:10 CEST
What a demonstration of power Armstrong
gave us! He's right - he's still as good as ever. No sign of his decline - he
still rules!!
19:12 CEST
And young Dave Zabriskie scores an
impressive win here - congrats from us up here in the blimp!
And
Good Bye to our readers for now. We'll keep you posted on rider's reactions
in our daily News, and will be back Live tomorrow.
Intermediate Timing
km 9.4 (all riders through) 1 David Zabriskie (Team CSC) 10.15 2 Lance Armstrong (Discovery Channel) 0.03 3 Alexandre Vinokourov (T-Mobile Team) 0.21 4 Jens Voigt (Team CSC) 5 Fabian Cancellara (Fassa Bortolo) 0.24 6 Yaroslav Popovych (Discovery Channel) 0.26 7 Laszlo Bodrogi (Credit Agricole) 8 George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) 0.27 9 Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano (Liberty Seguros-Würth) 10 Vladimir Karpets (Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne) 0.29 km 14.9 (all riders through) 1 Lance Armstrong (Discovery Channel) 16.47 2 David Zabriskie (Team CSC) 0.03 3 Alexandre Vinokourov (T-Mobile Team) 0.40 4 George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) 0.45 5 Jens Voigt (Team CSC) 6 Vladimir Karpets (Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne) 0.46 7 Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano (Liberty Seguros-Würth) 0.48 8 Floyd Landis (Phonak Hearing Systems) 0.51 9 Laszlo Bodrogi (Credit Agricole) 10 Yaroslav Popovych (Discovery Channel) 0.52 Finish - km 19 (all riders through) 1 David Zabriskie (Team CSC) 20.51 2 Lance Armstrong (Discovery Channel) 0.02 3 Alexandre Vinokourov (T-Mobile Team) 0.53 4 George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) 0.57 5 Laszlo Bodrogi (Credit Agricole) 0.59 6 Floyd Landis (Phonak Hearing Systems) 1.02 7 Jens Voigt (Team CSC) 1.04 8 Vladimir Karpets (Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne) 1.05 9 Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano (Liberty Seguros-Würth) 1.06 10 Bobby Julich (Team CSC) 1.07 11 Jose Enrique Gutierrez (Phonak Hearing Systems) 1.12 12 Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile)
