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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 16 - Tuesday, July 19: Mourenx - Pau, 180.5 km
Commentary by Jeff Jones and Shane Stokes, with additional reporting from Anthony Tan and Hedwig Kröner
Live report
Live coverage starts: 12:10 CEST
Estimated finish: 17:15 CEST
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12:13 CEST
Welcome one and all back to Cyclingnews.com's
hot air driven coverage of the 92nd Tour de France, which is now entering its
final week. As usual, the race for the general classification has been sorted
out in the Alps and the Pyrenees with some very tough stages last week, and
coming into today's 16th stage from Mourenx to Pau, Lance Armstrong (Discovery
Channel) is securely in the yellow jersey, with a 2'46 buffer to Ivan Basso
(CSC), and 3'09 to Danish climber Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank). Armstrong once
again showed his strength in the mountains and looks to be unbeatable in an
unprecedented seventh consecutive Tour de France victory.
Today's
stage is another mountain stage, and does contain the tough climb of the Col
d'Aubisque, but its distance from the finish means that it's unlikely that a
major GC player like Basso or Rasmussen could get away and hold off Armstrong
and his team for the last 72 km.
The climbs on offer today:
Col d'Ichère (km 50.5, Cat. 3, 4.4 km climb at 6.2 %)
Col de Marie-Blanque
(km 70.5, Cat. 1, 9.3 km climb at 7.7 %)
Col d'Aubisque (km 108.5, HC,
16.5 km climb at 7 %)
Côte de Pardiès-Piétat (km 161, Cat. 4, 2.6 km climb
at 5.2 %)
The sprints are at Bidos (km 27.0) and Arthez-d'Asson (km
140.5).
The stage starts with a 3.7 km neutral section before the
start proper at 12:20. Weather today: cloudy but the sun is starting to come
through, and it should be a moderately warm day with temperatures in the upper
20s.
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12:20 CEST
The Australian riders at the start
today are wearing black armbands in memory of the tragic
accident that happened yesterday in Germany involving the Australian national
women's team. In summary, one rider (Amy Gillett) died and five others were
badly injured when a car driven by a 18 year-old German girl lost control, veered
onto the wrong side of the road, and hit the riders head on as they were reconnoitring
the parcours of the prologue of the Thüringen Rundfahrt. The prologue, scheduled
for today, will be cancelled and a service of commemoration will be held instead
at 5:30pm on Tuesday in Zeulenroda's market place.
Also see: Tributes
to Amy Gillett.
12:25 CEST 4km/176.5km to go
The flag drops at
12:19 and straight away, the attacks start. Alex Moos (Phonak) and Salvatore
Commesso (Lampre) jump clear, and are being chased by Luke Roberts (CSC), Angel
Vicioso (Liberty), Stéphane Augé (Cofidis), and Patrik Sinkewitz (Quick.Step).
12:28 CEST 7km/173.5km to go
The two groups merge
and are caught by more riders, including Yaroslav Popovych (Discovery Channel),
Kashechkin, Zandio, Righi, Martinez, Zberg, and Turpin.
12:29 CEST
Magnus Bäckstedt (Liquigas-Bianchi)
and Gianluca Bortolami (Lampre-Caffita) did not start today.
12:31 CEST 9km/171.5km to go
The Popovych group
comes back. Vladimir Karpets (Illes Balears) is already in trouble.
12:37 CEST 13km/167.5km to go
Karpets was dropped
because he crashed in the neutral zone. Santi Botero was also back there, but
both are back on.
Another crash has taken down Andreas Klöden, but
he is also back in the peloton. Thor Hushovd, and Alexandre Vinokourov have
to chase to get back on too - not sure if they were involved in the crash or
now. Nervous racing so far.
12:40 CEST 16km/164.5km to go
Levi Leipheimer
also appears to be in trouble at the back of the peloton. It's been a tough
start after the rest day.
12:46 CEST 22km/158.5km to go
Vinokourov, Hushovd
and Leipheimer are still chasing the peloton, which is only 5 km from the first
sprint at km 27.
A group of seven riders attacks, with Julich, Flecha,
Serrano, Canada, Pellizotti, Fedrigo, and Goubert.
12:47 CEST 23km/157.5km to go
Iñaki Isasi, Xabier
Zandio, Seb Joly, and Maxim Iglinsky are trying to get up to the seven leaders.
They almost do, but the peloton gobbles everyone up again.
Vino,
Hushovd, and Leipheimer are back with the peloton.
12:53 CEST 27km/153.5km to go
Zandio (Illes Balears),
Flecha (Fassa Bortolo), and Pineau (Bouygues) have attacked again, shortly before
the first sprint at Bidos. But they have been caught again.
12:56 CEST 29km/151.5km to go
Julich, Flecha,
Goubert, Serrano, Contador, and Canada are continuing to exert pressure on the
peloton, and have a small gap at the 29 km mark.
12:58 CEST 31km/149.5km to go
Flecha survives,
and is caught by more riders, and we have a group of 11 clear after 31 km: Xabier
Zandio (Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne), Cadel Evans (Davitamon-Lotto), Fred
Rodriguez (Davitamon-Lotto), Juan Antonio Flecha (Fassa Bortolo), Chris Horner
(Saunier Duval-Prodir), Cédric Vasseur (Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone), Anthony
Geslin (Bouygues Telecom), Jérôme Pineau (Bouygues Telecom), Philippe Gilbert
(Française Des Jeux), Jörg Ludewig (Domina Vacanze), Ludovic Turpin (Ag2r-Prevoyance).
13:02 CEST 33km/147.5km to go
This 11 man group
is the most serious breakaway of the day, and currently holds a 45 second lead
over the peloton.
Philippe Gilbert (Francaise des Jeux) won the first
intermediate sprint ahead of Ludovic Turpin and Juan Antonio Flecha.
13:03 CEST 37km/143.5km to go
The break now has
2'16 and looks like to be it for the day. Armstrong looks happy in the peloton,
behind his Discovery Channel teammates.
13:07 CEST 40km/140.5km to go
Of the breakaways,
Cadel Evans (Davitamon-Lotto) is the best placed rider on GC, starting the day
12'57 behind Armstrong in 11th place. That's not too dangerous for Discovery.
Also, there are no riders who threaten Rasmussen's polka dot jersey, Hushovd's
green jersey, or Popovych's white jersey, so this break might be allowed to
go all the way.
It's 2'59 now as Noval and Padrnos lead the bunch.
13:09 CEST 39.5km/141km to go
Popovych, in the
maillot blanc of best young rider, comes up to give his teammates bidons at
the front of the peloton.
13:13 CEST 45km/135.5km to go
The break knows
it has a good chance, and all riders are contributing to the workload it looks
like. Evans is the best climber here, and he also has one of the best sprinters
in the race in Fred Rodriguez with him. But that doesn't mean that Davitamon-Lotto
will end up with the stage win today - the other riders will be well aware of
these two facts.
It's fairly quiet on the sides of the road in the
early part of the stage, as the bunch rolls along in the sunshine through a
green, wooded valley.
13:21 CEST 48km/132.5km to go
The breakaways
tackle the first climb of the day, the Col d'Ichère (Cat. 3, 4.4 km climb at
6.2 %). Everyone is concentrating on doing their job, keeping the momentum going.
13:23 CEST 49km/131.5km to go
Marcos Serrano
attacks the peloton - he'll need to bridge a 5 minute gap on his own, or maybe
he has other plans.
Santi Botero is last wheel in the bunch, suffering
a bit.
13:27 CEST 50km/130.5km to go
Serrano is now
chasing the break, 4'50 behind, as the peloton sits at 5'24. Botero and Kroon
are still in trouble on this short climb.
13:29 CEST 51km/129.5km to go
The points on the
Ichère are taken out by Jerome Pineau from Jörg Ludewig and Chris Horner.
Botero is yo-yoing off the back of the bunch, along with Brad McGee. Sevilla
is also back here, but just looking for his team car.
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13:31 CEST 53km/127.5km to go
Serrano is riding
really well, and is now 3'48 behind the breakaways. For a lone rider to chase
down a 5 minute gap to 13 others is a big ask! The peloton doesn't seem too
bothered, as it keeps the gap to the break at a manageable 5'10.
13:34 CEST 54km/126.5km to go
Robert Forster
is now in trouble as the peloton crests the top of the Ichère, 5'16 behind the
break. Botero, McGee, and Kroon have all survived.
Last night we
spoke to Chris Horner (Saunier Duval), who told us, "Yeah I'm going to take
it easy in the next couple of days because I think some of the stages at the
end of the week on Thursday or Friday suit me. But if a break presents itself,
I'll go in it."
13:42 CEST 60km/120.5km to go
Serrano takes the
descent of the Ichère like someone who knows it well. He trails the break by
about 3'20. Serrano will have a hard time on the flat now, as the break will
be much more efficient. The peloton drops back to 5'44.
Xabier Zandio
has a chat to one of the race doctors, but he looks OK.
13:43 CEST 61km/119.5km to go
The break hits
the second climb of the day, the Cat. 1 Col de Marie-Blanque (km 70.5, 9.3 km
at 7.7 %). Evans leads at the foot of the climb.
13:48 CEST 64km/116.5km to go
Serrano gets to
the Marie Blanc about 3'30 behind the 11 breakaways, who are again:
Xabier Zandio (Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne), Cadel Evans and Fred Rodriguez
(Davitamon-Lotto), Juan Antonio Flecha (Fassa Bortolo), Chris Horner (Saunier
Duval-Prodir), Cédric Vasseur (Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone), Anthony Geslin
(Bouygues Telecom), Jérôme Pineau (Bouygues Telecom), Philippe Gilbert (Française
Des Jeux), Jörg Ludewig (Domina Vacanze), Ludovic Turpin (Ag2r-Prevoyance),
Marcos Serrano (Liberty Seguros).
13:50 CEST 65km/115.5km to go
Daniel Becke (Illes
Balears), 151st on GC at 3.16.09, has a slight mishap near the foot of the Marie
Blanc. He's back on his bike again now, chasing the Discovery led peloton, which
has given the breakaways 6'14.
13:58 CEST 67km/113.5km to go
There has been
an attack on the Marie Blanc by Pereiro, Vinokourov, Leipheimer, and Kashechkin!
Sastre is going across to them.
14:00 CEST 68km/112.5km to go
Sastre goes back
to the peloton and Kashechkin actually stops, rides across the road in front
of the peloton and heads back down the mountain. How bizarre is that?!?
He has a bleeding nose after being hit by a fan. He's with the race doctor.
14:03 CEST
Pereiro and Vinokourov ride away
from Leipheimer, and Vino has problems following Pereiro on a tough section
of the climb.
Kashechkin is now getting his nose seen to by the doctor.
He got hit in the face by a fan waving something they got from the caravan.
Mazzoleni and Basso get to the front of the peloton, with Leipheimer getting
on their wheels.
14:03 CEST 68km/112.5km to go
Armstrong has to
chase Mazzoleni and Basso, as Mancebo is also there. They'll get Pereiro and
Vino, it looks like. This has reduced the peloton to about 30 riders, very strung
out.
14:06 CEST 69.5km/111km to go
Vino comes back
to the Armstrong group, where Hincapie gets to the front and sets a steady tempo.
Ullrich is up there, and Leipheimer, Landis, Mancebo...al the top 10.
The leaders are 1.7 km from the summit of this very steep climb. Serrano chases
at 4'00.
Pereiro is now back with the bunch, waiting for Landis probably.
He's setting some sort of a tempo.
Guerini and Klöden are chasing
back on, while Savoldelli(?) and Popovych are a bit further back. Then Zubeldia
even further. Quelle damage.
14:09 CEST
Pereiro keeps attacking the yellow
jersey group, which has Armstrong, Hincapie (Discovery), Basso (CSC), Contador
(Liberty), Mancebo (Illes Balears), Ullrich (T-Mobile), Rasmussen (Rabobank),
Landis (Phonak), Mazzoleni (Liberty), Vinokourov (T-Mobile), Pereiro (Phonak),
and Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner). Jaksche seems to be dropped.
14:11 CEST
Moreau has dropped off too, and will
have a hard time defending his 9th place on GC today. This has been a difficult
stage so far.
Pereiro has one km to go to the summit, as Guerini
and Klöden make it onto the Armstrong group.
Boogerd, Popovych, and
Vinokourov are dropped.
14:12 CEST 71km/109.5km to go
Ludewig and Geslin
lead the break over the Marie Blanc, in that order. Then Zandio, Gilbert, Evans,
Turpin, Vasseur, and Horner. Rodriguez has been dropped from the break though.
14:14 CEST
Serrano crosses the summit 1'32 behind
the break. Pereiro will be next, then Mazzoleni, who is nearly on the Phonak
rider's wheel. They cross at 2'50.
14:15 CEST 73km/107.5km to go
The Armstrong group
comes over at 3'16, having carved three minutes off the lead of the break in
10 km. The group has:
Armstrong, Hincapie (Discovery), Basso (CSC),
Mancebo (Illes Balears), Heras(!) (Liberty), Ullrich, Klöden, Guerini (T-Mobile),
Rasmussen (Rabobank), Landis (Phonak), and Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner).
14:18 CEST
And in some non-Tour news Czech rider
Ondrej Sosenka has unofficially broken Chris Boardman's hour record in Moscow,
riding approximately 49.72 km, beating Boardman's mark by 300m or so.
Rodriguez has rejoined the break in front.
14:21 CEST 78km/102.5km to go
Landis and Armstrong
are talking to reach other now, maybe about Pereiro. Their group has been caught
by Popovych and Vinokourov on the descent, and maybe another 15 riders.
14:24 CEST 80km/100.5km to go
The breakaways
reach the feed zone as the yellow jersey group reforms about 3'40 behind.
Mazzoleni and Pereiro are at 2'40, while Serrano is at 1'32 behind the 11 man
break.
14:26 CEST 81km/99.5km to go
Cyclingnews
talked to breakaway man Juan Antonio Flecha this morning, who had his mind focussed
on an early break attempt already. "I feel good, normal. The rest day was okay,
I did 90 kms and I'm motivated. Anything can happen in these stages. A break
is surely going to get through today - we saw that last Sunday the break started
early, and today the same will happen. A lot of riders are going to try today,
and nobody's got the legs anymore to chase down the break anymore."
Do you have the legs to do it today, we asked the Spaniard, who confirmed
that he was in contract negotiations with the Dutch Rabobank team for next season.
"I hope I have the chance! But tomorrow or Friday could also be stages for me.
But I want to be there today as well, cause there are not so many options anymore,"
he said.
14:31 CEST 87km/93.5km to go
The yellow jersey
passes through the feed zone in Bielle with a 4'22 deficit to the 11 breakaways.
Thus the situation on the road is that we have a break of 11 with:
Xabier Zandio (Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne), Cadel Evans and Fred Rodriguez
(Davitamon-Lotto), Juan Antonio Flecha (Fassa Bortolo), Chris Horner (Saunier
Duval-Prodir), Cédric Vasseur (Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone), Anthony Geslin
(Bouygues Telecom), Jérôme Pineau (Bouygues Telecom), Philippe Gilbert (Française
Des Jeux), Jörg Ludewig (Domina Vacanze), Ludovic Turpin (Ag2r-Prevoyance)
Then Marcos Serrano (Liberty Seguros) chasing alone at 1'29, then Oscar Pereiro
(Phonak), and Eddy Mazzoleni (Lampre) at 2'23, then the yellow jersey bunch
at 4'22.
14:36 CEST 90.5km/90km to go
Kashechkin (Credit
Agricole) has made it back to the bunch, as has his teammate Hushovd, and O'Grady
(Cofidis). There are maybe 60 riders now as Padrnos gets to the front and sets
a very steady pace. No doubt it will pick up again on the Aubisque.
Discovery Channel - surprisingly, given its riders - hasn't been strong as the
US Postal team of last year, which was able to ride on the front all day in
a Pyrenean stage and blow everyone off its wheels, save for Armstrong, Azevedo,
Basso and Klöden. This year, it's been the other teams mainly doing the damage
to the peloton. But now it seems that the other teams will wait until the Aubisque
to try to cause some damage. The bunch is back to 6'00.
The leaders
are halfway to Pau now, as Turpin has a puncture.
14:38 CEST
Turpin gets a wheel finally, right
at the foot of the Aubisque. He's on his way again.
The Col d'Aubisque
is the Tour's last Hors Categorie climb, 16.5 km climb at 7 %. Not easy at all.
Rodriguez is dropped immediately.
14:41 CEST 93km/87.5km to go
Turpin rejoins the
break as Rodriguez sits up and toddles up the Aubisque at his own pace.
Mazzoleni and the always aggressive Pereiro are now at the foot of the climb.
They'll catch Serrano, who is waiting.
14:42 CEST
Serrano accelerates to join Pereiro
and Mazzoleni, who are 2'18 behind the 10 + 1 leaders.
Now the Padrnos-led
peloton is starting the climb, 6'58 behind. That's good for Evans, who might
ride into a top 10 on GC today, or possibly a stage win.
14:45 CEST 96km/84.5km to go
The breakaways take
turns on the climb, knowing that they have a real chance of staying away today.
The pace isn't too hot at the moment.
14:46 CEST
And on cue in the peloton, Alexandre
Vinokourov attacks! The T-Mobile rider has a gap now.
14:47 CEST
Vinokourov is amazing. He's like
an energizer bunny. His attack is most likely to set up something for T-Mobile
later on on the climb, maybe with Ullrich getting up to him.
14:51 CEST 98km/82.5km to go
Pereiro's group
catch and pass Rodriguez.
Kashechkin and an Illes Balears rider go
in pursuit of Vinokourov. The Illes Balears rider can't do much work though.
14:55 CEST 99km/81.5km to go
Vino is now 1'12
ahead of the peloton, and 30 seconds ahead of Kashechkin and Arroyo. He's six
minutes behind the break though.
14:57 CEST
Roberto Heras attacks the Armstrong
group, catching Arroyo and Kashechkin in double quick time.
14:59 CEST
Steinhauser is the next rider to
attack the Armstrong group. Aha, the T-Mobile set piece is coming into play.
Klöden and Julich also attack.
15:02 CEST 101km/79.5km to go
For T-Mobile, we
have Vinokourov about a minute ahead of the Armstrong group, then Steinhauser.
Klöden and Julich have been caught by the Armstrong group, which is splitting.
Sastre attacks it.
Pereiro, Mazzoleni, and Serrano are just 50 seconds
from the breakaways. Maybe Pereiro can win the points on the Aubisque?
Heras has dropped Kashechkin and Arroyo.
Evans attacks the lead group!
15:03 CEST
Evans has put in a gigantic attack
on the Col d'Aubisque, with 7 km to climb. No-one can follow him.
Sastre has caught Steinhauser, who gets on his wheel but looks like blowing
a gasket soon.
15:05 CEST 102km/78.5km to go
Sastre rides away
from Steinhauser now. The peloton is still fairly together, with Armstrong enjoying
the company of four or five teammates - that's better for him. Ullrich has to
attack though.
Evans powers away from the rest of the break, where
Zandio and Flecha are chasing him.
15:07 CEST
Klöden now lifts the pace in the
Armstrong group with Ullrich on his wheel. They catch Steinhauser. Now Armstrong
just has one teammate. Basso is there, as is Rasmussen. Leipheimer and Mancebo
as well.
Vino is 4'07 behind Evans, with the peloton at 5'14.
15:08 CEST 103km/77.5km to go
It's now just Armstrong,
Basso, Landis, Rasmussen, Ullrich, Hincapie, Leipheimer, and Mancebo left in
the maillot jaune group. We have a real race on our hands on this climb. Good
to see!
15:10 CEST
Sastre is caught and Ullrich counters!
Basso is there, then Armstrong and Rasmussen join on. Landis, Leipheimer and
Mancebo work to close the gap.
15:10 CEST 104km/76.5km to go
The yellow jersey
group has caught Kashechkin. Leipheimer, Landis and Mancebo are slowly getting
back on.
15:11 CEST
Rodriguez has now been caught by
the Armstrong group, which has dropped Hincapie.
15:13 CEST
15:13 CEST
Evans has 25 seconds on the chasing
Zandio and Flecha, with the rest of the break at 50 seconds, Pereiro, Serrano
and Mazzoleni at 1'35, then Vinokourov and Heras at 4'00. Then the Armstrong
group at 5'00.
15:15 CEST 105km/75.5km to go
Armstrong's group
has Landis, Rasmussen, Ullrich, Basso, Sastre, Leipheimer, Mancebo, and Kashechkin
in it. Hincapie is coming back to it.
Evans is 3.5 km from the top
of the climb.
It looks like Vino and Heras will be caught by the
Armstrong group soon.
15:16 CEST
Sastre sets the pace for Basso in
the Armstrong group, which is picking up Vino and Heras, now just 16 seconds
behind them.
15:17 CEST
Evans looks very determined as he
nears the summit, pedaling hard, but not smooth.
15:23 CEST 107km/73.5km to go
Vino and Heras
are chased by the pitchfork waving Didi "Devil" Senft, trying to stay ahead
of the Armstrong group. They are 4'40 behind the leader.
Meanwhile,
Evans looks full of determination as he gets to within less than 2 km to the
summit of the Aubisque.
Zandio is now 25 seconds behind Evans, then
Flecha at 1'00, then Philippe Gilbert (Française Des Jeux), Jörg Ludewig (Domina
Vacanze), Marcos Serrano (Liberty Seguros), Oscar Pereiro (Phonak), at Eddy
Mazzoleni (Lampre) 1'25.
Then Jérôme Pineau (Bouygues Telecom), Chris
Horner (Saunier Duval-Prodir), Cédric Vasseur (Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone),
Anthony Geslin, Ludovic Turpin (Ag2r-Prevoyance) at about 2'00.
The Armstrong group is still at 5'05.
15:24 CEST
Ullrich attacks again, but Rasmussen
is right there. And Armstrong and Basso. The others are immediately gapped.
15:25 CEST
Ullrich's group catches Vino and
Heras - that was probably planned, as Vino now makes the tempo for Ullrich.
Hincapie is dropped from the Armstrong group, as Leipheimer, Landis and Mancebo
try to cling on. Mancebo has problems.
15:26 CEST 108km/72.5km to go
Now Armstrong himself
gets to the front for the first time today.
Evans reaches the summit
of the Col d'Aubisque. Now 72 km of tough riding to come for him...
15:29 CEST 112km/68.5km to go
Pereiro will take
second on the climb at 47 seconds, then Mazzoleni and Zandio at 1'00, then it
looks like Serrano at 1'14, then a rather pained Ludewig at 1'33. Then Gilbert
and Flecha at 2'24. Then Pineau, Geslin, and Turpin at 2'40.
Vino
attacks the Armstrong group again. But Armstrong drives the pace up and he comes
back. Armstrong looks back to see where Hincapie is, but he isn't. Mancebo should
get back onto the Armstrong group.
15:30 CEST 114km/66.5km to go
Horner is caught
by the Armstrong group at the top. Rasmussen takes whatever points are left
at 4'13.
Klöden, Hincapie, Kashechkin and Sastre are chasing to get
back to Armstrong and co.
15:31 CEST
Hincapie's quartet comes over at
5'07. Rubiera is just behind them too, and Popovych is at 5'30. That will help
Armstrong if they can get back.
15:32 CEST 115km/65.5km to go
Jaksche and Garzelli
lead over a group with Azevedo in it at 5'40, then Moreau, Sevilla and Boogerd
at 5'50.
Meanwhile, back in front, Evans is still solo on the Aubisque
descent, ready to hit the Soulor soon.
15:37 CEST 117km/63.5km to go
Armstrong now leads
on the first part of the descent, at a steady pace, hopefully to allow Hincapie
to get back on. Leipheimer is next to him.
Bits and pieces of the
peloton are coming over the climb now - a group with O'Grady and Rogers in it
at 8'30.
Evans has a chain problem, but he's going again and on the
Col du Soulor, which is a non-categorised climb.
Hincapie is now
back with Armstrong's group. Also Klöden, Kashechkin and Sastre are there.
15:38 CEST
More riders are getting back to the
Armstrong group, including Popovych, and Rubiera. No doubt Azevedo will get
there too. For Armstrong, that's the advantage of having this climb 70 km from
the finish. His team - which has been doing a hell of a lot of work - can regroup.
15:40 CEST 118km/62.5km to go
Evans gets to the
top of the Soulor, cheered on by big crowds. Pereiro is still chasing him, in
search of a stage win that he thought was denied him when Hincapie won on Sunday.
Rubiera now leads the Armstrong group.
Voeckler comes to the top
of the Aubisque, looking very very tired at 14'30.
15:43 CEST 120km/60.5km to go
The sprinters bus
comes over at 15'00. O'Grady might be able to pick up some points today if he
can get back to the growing Armstrong group. Garzelli, Moreau, Iglinskiy, Azevedo
and Guerini are back there. Klöden sets the pace, probably afraid that Evans
can jump into fourth overall ahead of Ullrich (he'll need 7 minutes at the finish
though...)
Evans now takes the descent of the Soulor on his own,
as Pereiro closes in on him. It's not easy. They have about 5'30 on the Armstrong
group.
15:44 CEST
Pereiro catches and passes Evans,
nearly taking him out. Now the Spaniard opens up some time on the Australian.
15:45 CEST
Mazzoleni has also caught Evans.
15:49 CEST 128km/52.5km to go
Pereiro has stopped,
maybe for a puncture or a broken wheel?
Evans and Mazzoleni don't
wait for him. No way!
Klöden leads the bunch on the descent. He's
quite good on the downhills.
15:52 CEST 130.5km/50km to go
Klöden is descending
very well, having to slow down a bit because he's dropped the group.
Pereiro and Zandio are now closing in on Evans and Mazzoleni. Four leaders.
15:53 CEST
Pereiro and Zandio are back on so
there are: Cadel Evans (Daviatmon-Lotto), Eddy Mazzoleni (Lampre), Oscar Pereiro
(Phonak) and Xabier Zandio (Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne) with a 5'39 lead
over the peloton.
The other riders in between:
Marcos
Serrano (Liberty Seguros) 1'14
Jörg Ludewig (Domina Vacanze) 1'33
Philippe Gilbert (Française Des Jeux), Juan Antonio Flecha (Fassa Bortolo) 2'24
Anthony Geslin, Ludovic Turpin (Ag2r-Prevoyance),Jérôme Pineau (Bouygues Telecom)
at 2'40
15:59 CEST 136km/44.5km to go
The four leaders
are riding together now, which means that Pereiro and Zandio's respective team
leaders aren't too concerned about Evans taking their GC positions.
At 1'30, we have Ludewig and Serrano, and at 2'30, we have Philippe Gilbert
(Française Des Jeux), Juan Antonio Flecha (Fassa Bortolo), Ludovic Turpin (Ag2r-Prevoyance),
Anthony Geslin, Jérôme Pineau (Bouygues Telecom), and Cedric Vasseur (Cofidis).
Armstrong's group continues to grow, but it's 6'24 behind the break. Evans is
in a virtual 5th overall that means.
16:00 CEST
Horner signals for his team car -
he needs a new front wheel after breaking a spoke.
16:00 CEST
Cyclingnews caught up with
Cofidis' Stuart O'Grady this morning, who, like his fellow Australian riders
at the Tour de France, was sporting a black armband as a mark of respect: "I'm
sure all their families and everyone will want us to keep going, and it's a
sign of our support as well to keep on racing," he said.
Speaking
about the points competition, the South Australian made his intentions known
by saying he doesn't care if he doesn't get to wear the maillot vert
until the final podium in Paris - so long as he wins overall. "I don't want
to wear it and ride around in it - I actually want to win the competition. I've
worn it once on the Champs Elysées - been there, done that - this time I prefer
to win it.
16:02 CEST 139km/41.5km to go
Serrano and Ludewig
are now 1'50 behind the four leaders, and will get caught by the bigger group
behind them. No more climbing now, save for the Cat. 4 Côte de Pardiès-Piétat
with 20 km to go.
16:06 CEST 141km/39.5km to go
Evans goes for
the second sprint in Arthez-d'Asson but Pereiro wants it more and takes it.
Zandio third, then Mazzoleni. Pereiro is probably trying to protect Landis on
GC.
16:08 CEST 143.5km/37km to go
Gerolsteiner, Rabobank,
and T-Mobile are now riding on the front of the Armstrong group, which is falling
further behind the Evans inspired breakaway.
16:12 CEST 147.5km/33km to go
O'Grady doesn't
seem to have made it back to the peloton, which means no points for him today.
The chase is on, led by Rabobank, T-Mobile and Gerolsteiner. The leaders have
1'43 on Serrano and Ludewig, and 2'30 on a group with Philippe Gilbert (Française
Des Jeux), Juan Antonio Flecha (Fassa Bortolo), Anthony Geslin, Ludovic Turpin
(Ag2r-Prevoyance),Jérôme Pineau (Bouygues Telecom), and Cedric Vasseur (Cofidis),
and 6'46 on the peloton.
16:13 CEST
The peloton is now fairly large,
and Armstrong has five teammates with him again - Popovych, Azevedo, Hincapie,
Rubiera, Savoldelli are all there.
16:15 CEST 148.5km/32km to go
Kashechkin is getting
more attention from the race doctor. He's obviously breathing OK again after
he was accidentally hit by a spectator in the nose.
Serrano has sat
up and will be caught by the group behind.
16:17 CEST 150.5km/30km to go
Ludewig is also
caught by the Gilbert group, which numbers eight. It's 2'15 behind the four
leaders, who have some 30 km to go to the finish in Pau.
16:21 CEST 152.5km/28km to go
Pereiro is being
given encouragement and food by the Phonak team car. He's certainly working,
and is definitely looking for revenge after missing out on a stage win the other
day.
Cadel Evans has his own ideas, as he would probably like to
win a stage to dedicate to the deceased Australian rider Amy
Gillett. He will move himself up into the top 10 on GC, in any case.
The peloton is at 6'00, the chase group at 2'10.
16:22 CEST 155.5km/25km to go
In the peloton,
it's Pieter Weening, Tobias Steinhauser and Pietro Caucchioli working. They've
pegged the gap back to 5'51 as the four leaders reach 25 km to go.
16:23 CEST 156.5km/24km to go
Zandio is not doing
much work, and neither are Mazzoleni and Pereiro. Evans has to do the most,
as he's riding for GC as well as the stage win.
16:28 CEST 158.5km/22km to go
The peloton goes
under 25 km at 5'00 behind the breakaways. The eight man group is at 1'50.
16:29 CEST 160.5km/20km to go
The breakaways
hit the final climb of the day, the Cat. 4 Côte de Pardiès-Piétat, a 2.6 km
climb at 5.2%. They all appear to be cooperating, with Evans doing a lot of
work in front.
16:31 CEST
The Gilbert group is on the climb,
suffering a bit as it's been a long day. They are at 1'47, while the peloton
follows at 4'47.
It looks like Evans will finish with roughly 3'00
on the peloton, which will move him into 9th overall. Depends a bit on bonus
seconds et al.
16:33 CEST 161km/19.5km to go
Pereiro takes over
and forces the pace, taking the points at the summit of the climb ahead of Evans
and Zandio, and keeping his polka dot chances theoretically alive.
16:34 CEST
Gilbert attacks the chase group,
as Flecha goes with him. A little pointless, as they're not going to catch the
leaders. Now Ludewig goes after Flecha. Gilbert goes over the summit, 1'44 behind
the break. then Ludewig and Flecha at 1'50.
The peloton is at 4'34.
16:37 CEST 164km/16.5km to go
Philippe Gilbert
is now alone, chasing the leaders in fifth place on the road. The peloton is
at the top of the climb, riding fairly hard. Wegmann leads it over at 4'30.
16:38 CEST 165.5km/15km to go
Evans leads the
break over another small climb, with Pereiro marking him closely. Mazzoleni
and Zandio aren't doing much.
16:39 CEST
Gilbert is caught by Pineau and Vasseur.
|
16:41 CEST 168.5km/12km to go
The leaders take
the short but twisty descent off the Pardiès-Piétat, with 12 km to go to the
finish in Pau.
Cyclingnews' Anthony Tan also caught up with
the next best-placed American on GC, Levi Leipheimer, who is currently sitting
in sixth overall, 7'35 behind his fellow countryman Lance Armstrong. The 31
year-old Gerolsteiner rider looked well-rested at the start in Mourenx this
morning, and said yesterday was a much-needed rest day in Pau after two of the
most difficult mountain stages in this year's Tour.
"I feel a lot
better than yesterday. I was pretty tired after the stage the other day [Stage
15]; getting to the hotel took three hours, it was a long day, so I needed a
rest," he said.
Leipheimer believed today's hors categorié
climb of the Col d'Aubisque won't be decisive for the riders aiming high on
GC due to its proximity from the finish, but stage from Albi to Mende with the
mountain-top finish atop the Cote de la Croix-Neuve two days from now could
be more telling. However, as he said earlier, he'll be saving all his bikkies
for the final TT, where he hopes for a top-five finish in Paris. "One minute
from fifth is a lot, but I think it's possible," he said.
16:43 CEST 169.5km/11km to go
All four leaders
are cooperating now, as Mancebo's fifth place on GC is not really in danger
from Evans. Pereiro doesn't seem to care about Landis's 7th place, which is
certainly in danger.
16:44 CEST
The leaders are going great guns
- still holding the next chasers at 1'53 and the peloton at 4'27.
16:45 CEST 170.5km/10km to go
The chasers have
caught Gilbert and co, and number eight again.
Zandio leads the break
through under 10 km to go.
16:47 CEST 172.5km/8km to go
Pereiro is probably
the best sprinter of this group, but watch out for Mazzoleni, who has a stage
win in the Tour de Suisse and one in the Tour of Romandie to his credit. He's
been riding well in this Tour, but would have to attack the break to win. Zandio
is probably the tiredest of the four.
16:49 CEST 173.5km/7km to go
The chasers are
losing time to the break - now 1'55 as the four leaders near Pau. But the peloton
is riding hard, 4'13 behind at 10 km to go. It's all T-Mobile and Gerolsteiner
working.
16:50 CEST
Evans is strong, as he flicks the
elbow a few times for Mazzoleni to come through. The Italian is probably a bit
knackered, or just saving his legs for the sprint.
16:51 CEST 175.5km/5km to go
The slight lack
of cooperation in the lead group is having an effect, as the peloton comes within
3'48. It's all Evans, all the time.
16:52 CEST 176.5km/4km to go
Evans has to ride
hard, as it's his GC he's riding for. It's hard when there are three riders
sitting on your wheel though. He almost certainly won't win the stage.
16:53 CEST 176.5km/4km to go
Mazzoleni and Pereiro
absolutely refuse to come past for a turn as Evans goes under 4 km to go. Zandio
is enjoying his position on the back. They're in Pau now.
16:54 CEST 177.5km/3km to go
Evans is having
a good day, and the nearest chasers are at 1'59. The peloton is at 3'29 and
closing. It's slightly uphill here but flattens out with 3 km to go. Evans leads
all the time.
16:55 CEST
Ludewig, Pineau, and Gilbert attack
the chase group for an honourable fifth place.
16:56 CEST 178.5km/2km to go
2 km of hard riding
for Evans, who will get no help from the rest of his breakaway mates. Mazzoleni
is perhaps the only one who should help him, while the other two can (finally)
use the excuse that they are protecting their GC riders from Evans. Also, Pereiro
wants to win.
16:56 CEST 179.5km/1km to go
1 km to go and the
situation is unchanged. Evans leads, with Mazzoleni, Pereiro, and Zandio on
his wheel in that order. Probably no bonus seconds for Evans today either.
16:57 CEST
Evans doesn't really care, as he
gives it all for the GC. 700m to go as he rounds the last corner.
16:58 CEST 180.5km/0km to go
Evans sprints as
hard as he can, then Mazzoleni and Pereiro jump together, and Pereiro wins!
Zandio second, Mazzoleni third, and Evans fourth.
17:00 CEST
Gilbert attacks inside 1 km to go
and although Geslin tries to chase him down, he can't. Gilbert is fifth, then
Pineau and Ludewig at 2'30.
17:02 CEST
Fedrigo leads out the sprint for
Brochard, who might have just been nipped by Pellizotti for 13th, at 3'25. Evans
should be in 7th overall now, just ahead of Landis...
17:16 CEST
Well, that's the end of the 16th
stage. Pereiro and Phonak get their revenge, at the expense of Floyd Landis'
7th place on GC. But all things considered, Landis should be able to take back
those few seconds on Evans in the final TT. Phonak's director John Lelangue
told Belgian TV1 that he told Pereiro - who did work for most of the day - to
stop working in the last few km to try and keep Evans from taking too much time.
Pereiro did get a bit closer to Rasmussen for the mountains jersey, but he'll
have to win most of the points in the upcoming stages, and Rasmussen will have
to win almost nothing for his jersey to be taken from him. There were no changes
in the points or young rider competitions today.
We'll see you in
tomorrow's 17th and longest stage, between Pau and Revel.
Results
Provisional 1 Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 4.38.40 2 Xabier Zandio (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 3 Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita) Lampre-Caffita 4 Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 5 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française Des Jeux 2.25 6 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 7 Jörg Ludewig (Ger) Domina Vacanze 8 Juan Antonio Flecha (Spa) Fassa Bortolo 9 Ludovic Turpin (Fra) Ag2r-Prevoyance 10 Cédric Vasseur (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone General classification after stage 16 1 Lance Armstrong (USA) Discovery Channel 66.52.03 2 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC 2.46 3 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank 3.09 4 Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile Team 5.58 5 Francisco Mancebo (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 6.31 6 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner 7.35 7 Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 9.29 8 Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak Hearing Systems 9.33 9 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) T-Mobile Team 9.38 10 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Credit Agricole 11.47
