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94th Tour de France - ProT
France, July 7-29, 2007
Main Page Results & report Stage Details Previous Stage Next Stage
Stage 3 - Tuesday, July 10: Waregem - Compiègne, 236.5km
Live commentary by Laura Weislo and Bjorn Haake
Complete live report
Live coverage starts: 13:00 CEST
Estimated finish: 18:30 CEST
Welcome back to Cyclingnews' live coverage of Le Tour. It's time
for stage three, and the riders are facing the longest stage of the Tour at
236.5 kilometres. Having tasted the roads of the spring semi-classics Gent-Wevelgem
and Het Volk the day before, stage three will head out of Belgium and into France
to pass through the area of the toughest roads of Paris-Roubaix - Wallers, Denain
and Solesmes.
The riders won't have to fret, however, as the famous
cobbled classic has to go out of its way to find the treacherous cow-paths that
challenge the hard men of April, and today they'll be treated to a relatively
mild stage with three intermediate sprints and just one categorised climb toward
the end.
12:16 CEST
Live coverage of the third stage
will begin at 13.00 CEST.
12:58 CEST
At the start in Waregem, the riders
rolled out under partly sunny skies into a light breeze and temperatures around
15 degrees Celsius. They'll be heading into the wind today, and could face an
uncomfortable day in the saddle as there are storms across the border in France.
13:09 CEST
The riders rolled out of Waregem
at noon today, with Discovery's Tomas Vaitkus as the only non-starter. As usual
with the Tour de France, the attacks began from the first few kilometres, and
after a very active start, two riders were able to break clear just six kilometres
into the stage.
Frenchmen Nicolas Vogondy (Agritubel) and Mathieu
Ladagnous (Française des Jeux) built up a lead of 20" by kilometre 10, and then
Vogondy became the 'virtual' yellow jersey just a few minutes later. He started
54" behind Cancellara in the GC.
13:11 CEST
By kilometre 17.5, the pair had built
up a 2'30 lead, and then ten kilometres later, the peloton had completely let
go and allowed them an 11 minute lead!
13:12 CEST
At the first intermediate sprint
in Tournai, Vogondy crossed the line ahead of Ladagnous, and it was 11 minutes
and 35 seconds before Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel) passed the line at the front
of the peloton.
13:16 CEST
Despite dozens of riders going down
in the crash on stage
two, Discovery Channel's Tomas Vaitkus was the only seriously injured rider.
Vaitkus went in for surgery
last night to repair multiple breaks in his thumb.
Erik Zabel admitted
to the German press that he was indeed the rider seen dramatically switching
his line at 2km to go, but said he was trying to avoid running into Tom Boonen's
wheel.
Liquigas' Manuel
Quinziato became the speed bump that launched dozens of riders off their
bikes when Zabel's move took out his front wheel.
The wreck took
out many of the top sprinters: Bennati, Cavendish, Förster, and McEwen's
leadout man, Fred Rodriguez. Fast Freddy looked pretty bad as he came across
the line, but he was lucky enough to escape without any broken bones.
13:26 CEST 44km/192.5km to go
The breakaway is
going, going, gone - they've got nearly 14 minutes at kilometre 44. They're
about to cross over the border from Belgium to France - surely they've all got
their passports in hand?
13:32 CEST
53 riders were visited by doping
control this morning - six teams: Astana, Predictor-Lotto, Française des Jeux,
AG2R, Discovery Channel and T-Mobile got a visit from the UCI medical team and
all were allowed to start.
13:35 CEST 53km/183.5km to go
With many riders
spending late nights at the hospital for x-rays, the teams are taking it easy
today to allow their bruised men to rest up. Lampre's Daniele Bennati was at
the hospital until 10pm, and his DS Fabrizio Bontempi said, "We have decided
that it’s best for him to take it easy today and instead of working for Daniele
- the team’s objective is to protect Danilo Napolitano instead."
They have another weapon in the Sicilian powerhouse Danilo Napolitano - winner
of a stage in the Giro - who will be their protected rider should things come
down to a sprint today.
13:39 CEST
'Benna', or as the ladies like to
call him, 'Bennati the hottie', is sore, but otherwise not seriously injured.
Credit Agricole's big Norwegian sprinter Thor Hushovd was also injured, but
he won't be taking a back seat to New Zealander Julian Dean today. His manager
Roger Legeay said, "Thor fell heavily on his right side and has damaged his
sciatic nerve. He has pain but he's a tough rider who will still be our protected
man again today."
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You can read more about Dean in our newest feature.
13:51 CEST 64km/172.5km to go
The riders reached
the town of St. Amand nearly 15 minutes slower than the predicted slowest schedule
- they averaged just over 40 km/h in the first hour - a very slow pace indeed
for the Tour de France.
Right now they're nearing Wallers, home to
the fabled cobbles of the Arenberg forest - the celebrated pivotal sector of
cobbles in the Paris-Roubaix.
Current Situation
- Nicolas Vogondy (Agritubel) and Mathieu Ladagnous (Française des Jeux)
- Peloton at 11.15
13:56 CEST
The gap to the breakaway came down
from the maximum 13'50 that the pair of Vogondy and Ladagnous enjoyed at kilometre
44, but is still hovering around 11 minutes. The peloton isn't too concerned
because after they still have to cover today the distance that they rode in
the entire stage yesterday.
14:00 CEST
The parcours today is fairly flat
with some rolling hills to add interest, but even the only categorised climb,
the Blérancourt climb with 34 kilometres to go is just 1km long and only
4.6% - barely enough to get the riders' heart rates up.
Once again,
the team of GC leader Fabian Cancellara is spending the majority of the race
on the front of the bunch, but they will want to start conserving their energy
to help their hope for the final classification, Carlos Sastre.
14:06 CEST
The peloton recorded a snail-like
30.7 km/h in the second hour, and even with this slow pace the breakaway has
lost ground. Some time in the next year or so, they'll inch their way into the
town of Denain, and will surely be going quite a bit slower than Sébastien Chavanel
was when he won the GP
de Denain Porte du Hainaut in April.
Current Situation
- Nicolas Vogondy (Agritubel) and Mathieu Ladagnous (Française des Jeux)
- Peloton at 8'50
14:14 CEST
With all the riders already having
had to sign the UCI's agreement to participate in the 94th edition of the Tour
de France, the Cycling Federation has extended this commitment.
In their quest to fight doping, the UCI has announced that all managers and
staff will have to sign the document as well.
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14:21 CEST
In the start town of Waregem thousands
of spectators had lined the roads to greet the riders. People were dressed with
the flag of the "Lion of Flanders", and people were in a very festive mood,
with musicians entertaining everybody while they waited for the riders, that
were scheduled to ride out at 11.45
14:29 CEST 83km/153.5km to go
As the riders near
the town of Vendegies-Sur-Ecaillon, they've managed to bring the break down
to an advantage of 7'50. They're actually starting to ride now, and almost lined
out a bit - not in full flight, but they're no longer riding at Sunday coffee
ride pace.
14:34 CEST
While the riders are getting to work
on their tans a bit right now, they will probably be going back to the team
cars to get rain gear as they head in to some scattered showers.
The riders head around a bend and encounter a sudden traffic median and the
riders on the left had to dive left to avoid hitting a bit of decorative shrubbery.
They all get through safely, but that little surprise probably got their adrenaline
going.
14:38 CEST
Vogondy and Ladagnous both have connections
to FdJ - Ladagnous is currently riding under FdJ's Marc Madiot while Vogondy
began his pro career with FdJ in 1997. They'll be getting a little more leash
now that the peloton has sat up to answer the call of nature.
There
aren't quite as many fans in this part of France as there were in Belgium, and
certainly not as many as were lining the roads in England.
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14:44 CEST 91.5km/145km to go
The situation is
mainly unchanged, except the leaders passed through Solesmes with 146km to go
and finally encountered some civilization - and some fans! There were hundreds
lining the roads.
The pace is way, way behind the scheduled time
today. They should have been in that town 45 minutes ago! The two riders are
riding a steady tempo to keep their advantage, but certainly not working hard.
Ladagnous doesn't even have his mouth open to breathe.
14:47 CEST
Floyd Landis spends his July on a
different
Tour than last year. He is still fighting to prove that he is innocent and
the rightful winner of the 2006 Tour de France
14:49 CEST
It's a good thing the pace is pedestrian
today - it will give our Cyclingnews team time to shop for clothes after
the support car proved too tempting to thieves during a stop in stage two. It
must have been the bulk-sized bucket of lollipops that lured them to smash the
windows in, and alas, we're left with few changes of undies...
14:54 CEST 97.5km/139km to go The second intermediate sprint in Fontaine-au-Bois at kilometre 104.5 might see a little bit of action. Tom Boonen is leading the green jersey competition by just one slim point over Robbie McEwen. The Australian is sitting up front right now having a chat with yellow jersey Fabian Cancellara. Will he try to get that jersey back today?
Current Situation
- Nicolas Vogondy (Agritubel) and Mathieu Ladagnous (Française des Jeux)
- Peloton at 8.40
14:56 CEST
Cancellara is wearing a new band
on his wrist watch - it's bright yellow to match his jersey. Behind Cancellara,
McEwen is sporting a bandage on his left knee, and one rider back, George Hincapie
is spinning along sporting a matching bit of gauze.
15:06 CEST 103.5km/133km to go
The leaders are
now in the town of Fontaine-au-Bois - and once more have plenty of fans to cheer
them on. They've got nearly nine minutes advantage on the peloton as they approach
the sprint.
The sprint is in the home town of former Tour director
Jean-Marie LeBlanc, and the pair don't even increase their cadence as they cruise
through the line with little effort.
15:08 CEST 105.5km/131km to go
At the back of
the peloton, Marcus Burghardt shows the cameraman just how easy the pace is
right now - his power meter is showing only 140 watts! Barely enough to make
toast, and his heart rate is just 104.
The host town of Bousies,
where the peloton is riding, is festooned with Tour decorations. Yellow balloons
are everywhere, and a farmer has carved a very nice bicycle into a deep green
field.
15:14 CEST 107.5km/129km to go
The most exciting
part of the stage so far is a flat by Cédric Vasseur - he gets a quick wheel
change that takes maybe ten seconds and then easily makes it back into the peloton.
Up front, David Millar looks like a canary with the measles in his bright red
spotted jersey and yellow shorts. The Euskaltel team has come up alongside him...
maybe moving Mikel Astarloza up to take another couple points.
15:15 CEST 108.5km/128km to go
They're all surprised
by Roman Feillu (Agritubel) who comes around over the curb and bunny-hops back
down onto the road and rockets ahead to take the two second bonus! Feillu is
gunning to be France's next big thing for the bunch sprints.
Current Situation
- Nicolas Vogondy (Agritubel) and Mathieu Ladagnous (Française des Jeux)
- Peloton at 8.08
15:23 CEST 114.5km/122km to go
The second intermediate
sprint was taken by Ladagnous ahead of Vogondy in the breakaway, then third
place was our speedy young Frenchman Feillu. The Agritubel team was the target
of derision over their selection for the Tour by some who felt other Pro Continental
teams were more deserving. But they're showing their mettle so far in the race
and have been in every breakaway so far.
15:25 CEST
Romain Feillu (Agritubel),
who just took third place in the second intermediate sprint of the day, may
well be the new
French sprinting hope.
Feillu said about yesterday's stage finish that
he was a bit disappointed as he didn't know about the uphill at the end. "We
will study the next finishes a bit better," he confirmed before the start.
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15:25 CEST 116.5km/120km to go
Is this an attack
from the field? A Bouygues Telecom rider has gone off the front, and the peloton
isn't even flinching... No, it's just a rider who is coming into his hometown
- it's Laurent Lefevre - and he smiles and waves to his supporters.
15:27 CEST 117.5km/119km to go
Now Lefevre stops
and is mobbed by his friends and family on the side of the road. The peloton
leaves him behind as they have passed through the feedzone and are all sifting
through their musette bags to take out all the tasty treats.
15:32 CEST
Mathieu Ladagnous actually won the
4 Days of Dunkerque earlier this year - and the race came through this part
of France before turning back to the North. He won the 5th stage and took over
the overall classification on the final day.
15:35 CEST 118.5km/118km to go
Ladagnous trailed
U23 World TT Champion Dominique Cornu by just one second coming into the final
stage of that race, and after picking up some time bonuses along the route,
he was able to take over the lead in the overall classification - a lead which
was further extended when Cornu was relegated in the final sprint for going
off his line.
Current Situation
- Nicolas Vogondy (Agritubel) and Mathieu Ladagnous (Française des Jeux)
- Peloton at 9.50
15:41 CEST 118.5km/118km to go
At the midway
point of the stage, the peloton has been positively crawling along at a turtle-like
33 km/h. The breakaway isn't even trying to keep their ten minute advantage,
and the peloton is happy to let them get the airtime for their sponsors.
Agritubel directeur Denis Leproux has told his man Vogondy to keep going easy
- if they were to speed up the peloton would speed up as well. This way everyone
has an easy day.
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15:42 CEST
Mathieu Ladagnous, who is in the
break, won the Quatre
Jours de Dunkerque earlier this year, with Laurent Lefèvre, the man who
greeted his family a few kilometres ago, taking second.
15:45 CEST 122.5km/114km to go
We've turned a
corner now, and CSC has conceded the lead on the peloton to Credit Agricole's
Anthony Charteau and Quickstep's Cédric Vasseur. These are the same two men
responsible for initiating the chase on yesterday's stage. They quickly bring
the gap back under ten minutes.
15:49 CEST 126.5km/110km to go
Fortified by their
lunch, the peloton has brought our escapees back by another couple minutes -
they now lead by only 6'56. It's going to fall quickly now as the leaders are
spinning away in their small rings while they cruise along the river.
15:51 CEST 127.5km/109km to go
The rest of the
route today will parallel the Oise river - a 302 kilometre long tributary of
the Seine which has been widened to accomodate shipping.
15:54 CEST 128.5km/108km to go
The riders have
managed to elude the rain clouds today - perhaps this is the reason behind their
lackadaisical pace today. The sun is shining and white, puffy clouds are high
above our peloton as they pass by endless stretches of brown fields of grain.
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15:56 CEST
Robert Förster from Gerolsteiner
was one of the many sprinters who hit the deck yesterday. In a brief
reaction he talked about how the crash happened.
16:00 CEST 130.5km/106km to go
Our Agritubel
rider in the breakaway has been a professional for ten years, and in the last
year he's had some nice results. He won the overall in the Boucles de la Mayenne
where he also took the third stage, and was second in stages of the Tour Rhône-Alpes
Isère, Circuit de la Sarthe and the 3 Jours de Vaucluse - all UCI 2.2 stage
races.
16:03 CEST 133.5km/103km to go
With the chase
picking up thanks to the work of Vasseur and Charteau, the gap has plummeted
to 4'29 - but it's not as if they're doing anything more than setting a brisk
tempo. Behind the two chasers, Cancellara is having a joke with his team-mates.
The scenery here is a stunning expanse of farmland that stretches as far as
they eye can see. Fields of brown and green are separated into plots by lines
of tall trees.
Current Situation
- Nicolas Vogondy (Agritubel) and Mathieu Ladagnous (Française des Jeux)
- Peloton at 4.25
16:07 CEST
The riders pass the gigantic Godin
family residence. Godin is a well-known brand of heating systems in France.
There are three major brick buildings forming a U-shaped area that hosts the
family and factory of the entrepreneur Godin.
16:09 CEST 136.5km/100km to go
It is exactly
100 kilometres to go now and the gap is slightly going up again. It is now at
4'44"
16:15 CEST
It would be good for the riders to
have some distraction, like a turn, but the road is going straight for miles.
With the lead at 4'35" it almost seems the peloton should be able to see the
break. But the landscape is not exactly flat, and slight rollers prevent a déjà
vue.
16:18 CEST 140.5km/96km to go
The break is riding
past wheat fields right now in this agricultural area of France. The French
Champion, Christophe Moreau, is taking the convenience of the wheat field for
a natural break. He will have to line up at the back and ride up to the front.
But at the current pace that should be n problem.
16:20 CEST
There are few clouds in the sky,
but they are nothing like the dark wall that the riders headed into yesterday
when the stage finished in Belgium, a country not particularly unknown to wind
and rain.
16:22 CEST 142.5km/94km to go
The field has slowed
down again and Bernhard Eisel takes the time out to not only drink a bit out
of his bottle, but also chats to Fabian Cancellara. The language of choice between
the Swiss and Austrian is German.
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16:24 CEST
Liquigas has currently managed to
use the time out of CSC and is at the front. The gap has stabilized and the
peloton is particularly going all out.
16:27 CEST 146.5km/90km to go
The gap is going
up again and has gone past five minutes. The peloton realized that it was too
early to roll up the break. Since this the longest stage we just recently passed
the half-way point and it is still 90 kilometres to the finish.
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16:33 CEST 149.5km/87km to go
Fabian Wegmann
(Gerolsteiner) is riding in the German Championships jersey. He promised to
take it so his girlfriend could see him better on TV during the Tour. And it
works. The French TV team is asking him if it's difficult right now. Wegmann
just smiles as the peloton seems to be on a stroll through the country side
right now. The gap is up to 5'47".
16:38 CEST 153.5km/83km to go
The field is led
right now by Marcus Burghardt (T-Mobile) and Marcel Sieberg (Milram). The latter
has a different number than any other rider in the field. It is red and signifies
that he was voted the most combative rider yesterday. There is no continuing
classification. The most aggressive rider of one day will get to wear the red
number the next day. There is however an overall prize given in Paris. Rather
than based on actual points, a jury will decide the overall winner.
16:44 CEST
The bells are ringing. About every
village they pass, there is a priest who loves cycling and rings the bell. Or
maybe it's one of the bizarre French laws? The French language is being vigorously
protected, which is why people type on ordinateurs and not on computers.
The ringing of the church bells may well try to protect the Tour de France,
that some see as being threatened by the recent doping problems. But as the
spectators in England, Belgium and here in the villages have shown is that cycling
is well and alive. It is a beautiful sport after all.
16:47 CEST 157.5km/79km to go
We are near the
Oise river. The stage race in this area, the Tour de l'Oise, has often visited
Compiègne, which is today's finishing town.
Oh, the church of St.
Martin. There goes another church bell.
16:50 CEST
Filippo Pozzato (Liquigas) is joking
around on the front right now. The gap is at 5'28, as the riders head down the
valley of the l'Oise.
16:56 CEST 163.5km/73km to go
Even though the
field looks like it is still going on a leisurely pace, the gap has come down
again and is just above five minutes. Maybe the winds aren't the breakaway's
friend, but at least it's dry. This may not last as there are dark clouds hanging
over the finishing area.
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Current Situation
- Nicolas Vogondy (Agritubel) and Mathieu Ladagnous (Française des Jeux)
- Peloton at 5.33
16:58 CEST
The temperatures are cool in Compiègne,
where the race finishes today. The finish is only 500 metres from the start
of Paris-Roubaix, which was won this year by Aussie Stuart O'Grady.
17:06 CEST
The whole team of Astana is riding
with limegreen numbers. They are so bright, it will be hard for them to make
a sneak attack. The special number is for the leader of the team classification.
17:08 CEST 167.5km/69km to go
At the final intermediate
sprint of the day, Vogondy took the front as the breakaway rolled through Achery
with Ladagnous taking a back seat. When the peloton approached the line four
minutes later, Astarloza jetted off the front of the bunch and took third by
a hundred metres or so.
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17:13 CEST 173.5km/63km to go
The peloton is
heading through Danizy now, and 'Fast Freddy' Rodriguez is back at the Predictor-Lotto
team car collecting bottles. He has a long stretch of bandages on his left arm
covering up wounds from the crash yesterday.
Anthony Charteau described
the help the Credit Agricole team gets Roger Legeay this morning, saying that
they get instructions on the radio warning them of upcoming obstacles, right
turns, left turns, which side of the road to be on - all designed to keep them
safe.
17:17 CEST 175.5km/61km to go
Charteau and Patrice
Halgand are on the front doing their work for big Thor 'thunder thighs' Hushovd.
They've stabilised the gap at 4'07...
We have an attack! Finally,
some action! Stéphane Augé (Cofidis) was able to sprint easily from the front
of the peloton and is joined by Frederick Willems of Liquigas.
17:20 CEST 178.5km/58km to go
It's a bit early
for Augé to be going for the KOM at 34km to go, but he does have that on his
objectives for this week. Augé is tied with David Millar on that classification,
but Millar got the dots because of his higher standing on GC.
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17:24 CEST 179.5km/57km to go
Saunier Duval is
nowhere near the front of the bunch, and it looks as if he's not interested
in defending his polka dot jersey. Fränk Schleck is also near the back
going back to the car for assistance. He crashed in stage two, but not in the
big pile-up at the finish.
17:29 CEST 181.5km/55km to go
It's just about
that time, folks - time to play 'guess the catch'. While the somewhat underpowered
engine of our Skoda Fabia pales in comparison to the Ferrari that's been towed
to the auto glass shop, the engines of the men at the tête de la course have
no trouble keeping the peloton at bay. Vogondy and Ladagnous have four minutes
while the chasing duo of Augé and Willems have gained more than a minute on
the bunch. How long can they stay away? Will they get caught? Will the two front
groups come together? Send in your guesses!
17:34 CEST 184.5km/52km to go
The catch has happened
at 52 kilometres to go. There are now four riders on the front:
Nicolas
Vogondy (Agritubel), Mathieu Ladagnous (Française des Jeux), Stéphane Augé (Cofidis)
and Frederik Willems (Liquigas)
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17:36 CEST 186.5km/50km to go
Now that the four
leaders have come together, the peloton is starting to worry a bit and are picking
up the pace. CSC has brought the entire team to the front and are stringing
things out a bit.
To recap, Augé, who is using the new Campy
electronic shifting group and Willems have bridged up to Ladagnous and Vogondy
- the quartet have 2'27 on the field.
17:44 CEST
The peloton still rides through the
l'Oise valley, but now with four guys pulling in the breakaway, the field's
action is a little less tranquilo. The gap is around two and a half minutes
and the field is led by Crédit Agricole and CSC. No sign of David Millar for
the moment. It is not clear if he doesn't want to defend his jersey.
Current Situation
- Nicolas Vogondy (Agritubel), Mathieu Ladagnous (Française des Jeux), Stéphane Augé (Cofidis) and Frederik Willems (Liquigas)
- Peloton at 2.50
17:47 CEST
We've had a lot of guesses for catches
between 8-15km to go, and plenty of readers believing that Thor Hushovd will
take the stage...
Oh dear - the crashes are back and Gert Steegmans
(Quickstep) and Alexandre Botcharov (Crédit Agricole) go into a railing on a
bridge. They're OK and up and riding.
17:48 CEST 197.5km/39km to go
Yesterday's stage
winner Steegmans has a teammate bringing him back to the field - it was a silly
crash. He appeared to be having a snack and he and Botcharov just ran into a
hay bale that was protecting them from the railing.
17:50 CEST 199.5km/37km to go
Carlos Barredo
is bringing Steegmans onto the back of the field. He delivered his sprinter
and then headed back to the team car for bottles. Such a loyal, hard-working
domestique!
17:52 CEST 200.5km/36km to go
Steegmans is back
at the race doctor's car - he's smiling, so it can't be that bad. He's getting
a bit of gauze on his knee and enjoying the break he gets by holding onto the
car.
Up front, the breakaway is extending its lead and are now 3'20
ahead of the field. Barredo gets to take Steegmans back up through the cars
once more - but they only have to pass a few cars this time.
17:54 CEST 201.5km/35km to go
The leaders are
on the only categorized climb now, and Augé takes the lead. Willems indicates
to Ladagnous that they should continue to swap pulls, and then goes to the front.
The road on the climb is narrow and below a steep embankment on both sides.
It's a tunnel of trees and fans as they head up the Cote de Blerancourt.
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17:56 CEST 202.5km/34km to go
Augé took the points
ahead of Ladagnous and Willems . Augé now leads the mountains classification
and will be in polka dots tonight.
17:59 CEST 204.5km/32km to go
The peloton is
on the climb, and Quickstep and Credit Agricole are once again leading as they
head over the top. The pace has certainly picked up in both groups now as the
riders get down to business.
18:01 CEST
Willems pulls really strong over
a little crest. He desperately wants the break to stay away and buries himself.
18:03 CEST 208.5km/28km to go
Now Lampre is putting
a man on the front of the peloton, chasing for the Sicilian sprinter Napolitano.
They get help from Predictor-Lotto, Quickstep, Credit-Agricole - all the sprinters'
teams are pitching in now. 3'21 is the gap.
18:05 CEST 211.5km/25km to go
The four in the
front are working very well together. They can start dreaming of staying away.
The gap is at 3'18" and it is less than 30 kilometres to the finish. However,
predictably Predictor-Lotto is starting to take over at the front and this is
bad news for the brave souls ahead.
18:07 CEST
The field is passing the Château
Pierrefonds, but at this point in the race there is no more sightseeing. The
peloton is now riding down the French country roads at full speed.
18:09 CEST 214.5km/22km to go
The breakaway still
has 2'48 with just over 20 kilometres to go, and while bringing this down is
perfectly do-able for the chasers, they're on some more rolling terrain at the
moment and are having to work considerably harder than they have all day.
Current Situation
- Nicolas Vogondy (Agritubel), Mathieu Ladagnous (Française des Jeux), Stéphane Augé (Cofidis) and Frederik Willems (Liquigas)
- Peloton at 2.43
18:12 CEST
Vogondy in the break takes on more
fluids from the team car. They are just outside the 20-kilometres to go sign,
which is the point where they can't go to the team car and get drinks, otherwise
they'll get a penalty.
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18:13 CEST 216.5km/20km to go
A tall, blonde
Rabobank rider is now at the front of the field - could it be Thomas Dekker
chasing for Oscar Freire? He's brought the gap down to 2'27 as the leaders are
going under the 20km to go banner.
18:17 CEST 219.5km/17km to go
It's a good thing
our Cyclingnews crew was able to swap the Skoda for the new Audi A4 because
the peloton is positively flying now. After a very sluggish first few hours,
they've picked up the pace to race speeds at last. The breakaway is still at
2'10 ahead - and the sprinters' teams are keeping a little back to make the
final push to catch them.
Current Situation
- Nicolas Vogondy (Agritubel), Mathieu Ladagnous (Française des Jeux), Stéphane ö (Cofidis) and Frederik Willems (Liquigas)
- Peloton at 2.30
18:19 CEST 221.5km/15km to go
This chase is going
to come down to the wire today, and one false move on the peloton's part could
spell disappointment for the sprinters. These four men up front are determined
to stay clear now - they're all in the drops and swapping pulls.
18:20 CEST 222km/14.5km to go
Augé and Willems
are doing a bit more work, which is understandable since Ladagnous and Vogondy
have been out front all day long, but even with the fresher legs of the late
joiners, the gap has come down below two minutes with 14.5 kilometres to go.
18:21 CEST
Vogondy is still in the 'virtual
yellow' as he was 54" behind Cancellara at the start. CSC isn't worried, though,
and they are letting Lampre, Rabobank, Quickstep and Credit Agricole do all
the chasing.
18:22 CEST 223.5km/13km to go
The break has 1'40
still... In the field we have an attack - it's Wegmann, O'Grady? and a Lampre
rider.
18:23 CEST 224.5km/12km to go
It's a little disorganised
at the front - Wegmann was trying to pull through for his sprinter Förster,
and opened up a gap.
18:23 CEST 225.5km/11km to go
1'36 to the break
and the Quickstep team finally tries to get things together. They just don't
have the power to control it themselves, and now Voigt comes through to lend
a hand.
18:24 CEST 226.5km/10km to go
The leaders are
at the 10km banner with just 90 seconds advantage! Can this breakaway stay clear?
It would be a 75% chance for the win for the French if they succeed.
18:25 CEST 227.5km/9km to go
Willems attacks!
He and Augé get a gap, but Vogondy and Ladagnous bring it right back. This will
not be good for their lead. It's down to 1'20
18:26 CEST 228.5km/8km to go
1'16 with 8.5 kilometres
to go and now the breakaway is back in line. Willems was just trying to kick
them into action. In the field, T-Mobile is coming to the fore - and Boonen
is sitting close to the front.
18:27 CEST 229km/7.5km to go
Willems is encouraging
his companions, and they're holding 1'15 with 7.5 km to go.
18:28 CEST 229.5km/7km to go
Ladagnous stops
pedalling for a moment to let Willems past - they're all breathing hard now,
the effort showing on their faces - the sweat pouring from their brows.
18:29 CEST 230.5km/6km to go
Vasseur is on the
front gong all out now - Barredo is behind him and comes through. We now have
Milram in second wheel.
18:30 CEST 230.5km/6km to go
The gap has come
under one minute for the first time now - Milram pulls through and the breakaway
is still surrounded by motorcycles and team cars. The peloton can see the break
now.
18:30 CEST 231km/5.5km to go
The gap is plummeting
now that they are in sight of the field. 44" - bad news for the break!
18:31 CEST 231.5km/5km to go
The leaders are
under 5km to go and have 44" still - but the follow cars have been pulled out
from the gap.
18:31 CEST 232km/4.5km to go
The peloton splits
at a roundabout and speed under the 5km to go banner coming back together. 33"
- this doesn't look good for the escape.
18:32 CEST 232.5km/4km to go
Credit Agricole
on the front with Liquigas behind... Quickstep has Boonen and the yellow jersey
is right up front.
18:33 CEST 233.3km/3.2km to go
Willems has attacked!
The rest of the escape are struggling to get back to him.
18:33 CEST 233.5km/3km to go
27" only and Willems
and Vogondy have a gap but the field is in sight behind.
18:34 CEST 234.5km/2km to go
Augé and Ladagnous
have gotten back on terms with 2km to go they have 15"
18:34 CEST
Gerolsteiner is moving up, as is
Milram. Up front Willems goes again!!!
18:35 CEST
There's a rise in the road then a
sharp left turn - the peloton is breathing down their necks!
18:35 CEST
Six hours of racing and they're in
the last km!
18:35 CEST
Vogondy hits the front on the cobbles
- they hit the last kilometre and the field is right there!
18:36 CEST 235.5km/1km to go
Lampre leading the
field as the leaders site up for a moment
18:36 CEST 235.8km/0.7km to go
Willems goes again!!
and Cancellara attacks from the field!!!
18:36 CEST 236km/0.5km to go
Cancellara attacks!!
He drops the break!
18:37 CEST
HOLY COW! Cancellara is hammering
- can he make it? Here comes Zabel?
18:37 CEST
Napolitano is right behind and comes
around Zabel
18:37 CEST
Unbelievable! The YELLOW JERSEY has
won the stage!
18:38 CEST
Fabian Cancellara put in a huge attack
in the last kilometre to take the third stage!
18:40 CEST
Who could have predicted that Cancellara
would take a bunch sprint today? He might have been trying to stay out of any
crashes and decided to go for it in the end.
