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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 19 - Saturday, July 28: Cognac - Angoulême, 55.5km
Live commentary by Shane Stokes and Bjorn Haake
Complete live report
Live coverage starts: 13:15 CEST
Estimated finish: 17:45 CEST
Bonjour and welcome back to the Cyclingnews coverage of the 2007 Tour de France, which is nearing its end. One more time trial before the procession down the Champs Elysées tomorrow. The ride today will cover 55.5 kilometres from Cognac to Angoulême. We expect the big showdown between Spaniard Alberto Contador and Aussie Cadel Evans, who are separated by a mere 1'50". ENJOY!
13:33 CEST
Cadel Evans gained three seconds
yesterday when there was a cut at the end of the race in the sprint for fifth.
Three seconds may not sound like much, but every second counts.
13:42 CEST
A total of 70 riders have left the
start house and as of now, the best time is held by Leif Hoste (Predictor-Lotto).
He's covered the 55.5 kilometre distance in a time of 1 hour 5 minutes and 33
seconds. Second thus far? It's world TT champion Fabian Cancellara who just
missed out. He's seven seconds slower.
13:44 CEST
Wow...that's terrible...David Millar
had just started his TT and his Mavic TT wheel disintegrated. The rim came clean
away from the carbon covering. He threw his bike down in disgust and got another
one. That'll cost him time though. Millar was aiming to try to win today's TT.
13:49 CEST
Cancellara was running second to
Hoste at all the time checks bar the first. Here, at 17.5 km after the start,
he was 5" clear of Hoste. But from that point on he was behind, dropping to
15" down at the second (Saint Genis D'Hiersac, km 35), the same deficit at the
third (50.1 km) and then 7" behind at the finish in Angoulême.
Quick.Step
- Innergetic rider Sébastien Rosseler is currently third, 58" behind Hoste.
Bert Grabsch (T-Mobile) is fourth, 1'20" back, while William Bonnet (Credit
Agricole) is a further 1'02" back in fifth.
13:51 CEST
Since their finish, another rider
has been running quicker. Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) was 11" quicker than
Cancellara at the first time check, and then 9" quicker than Hoste at the second.
He came to the Tour hoping for a stage win and while things didn't work out
that way so far, he'll aim to ride as well as possible today and tomorrow.
13:53 CEST
Millar is yet to reach the first
time check; it will be interesting to see how far he is down. He lost 20", maybe
more with that mishap.
14:06 CEST
The top twenty riders will go at
the following times:
15.23: Juan Jose Cobo (Saunier Duval – Prodir)
15.26: Tadej Valjavec (Lampre – Fondital)
15.29: Manuel Beltrán (Liquigas)
15.32: Frank Schleck (CSC)
15.35: Vladimir Karpets (Caisse d’Epargne)
15.38: Chris Horner (Predictor Lotto)
15.41: Iban Mayo (Saunier Duval –
Prodir)
15.44: Michael Boogerd (Rabobank)
15.47: David Arroyo (Caisse
d’Epargne)
15.50: Oscar Pereiro (Caisse d’Epargne)
15.53: Mikel Astarloza
(Euskaltel Euskadi)
15.56: Juan Mauricio Soler Hernandez (Barloworld)
15.59: Yaroslav Popovych (Discovery Channel)
16.02: Kim Kirchen (T-Mobile)
16.05: Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne)
16.08: Haimar Zubeldia (Euskaltel
Euskadi)
16.11: Carlos Sastre (CSC)
16.14: Levi Leipheimer (Discovery
Channel)
16.17: Cadel Evans (Predictor Lotto)
16.20: Alberto Contador
(Discovery Channel)
14:10 CEST
To determine the start times of riders
before that, it's in reverse race order. Those up to 21st overall go off at
two minute intervals; the top 20 riders have three minutes between each other.
Makes it less likely that a rider will catch the competitor in front and, more
importantly, it prolongs the suspense!
14:12 CEST
Millar's bike problems have cost
him dearly. At the first time check he was 37th, 1'38" back. So it seems that
any chance of a stage win is now gone.
14:15 CEST
Schumacher hasn't been as fast in
the second half of the TT. Having been quickest at the 17.5 and 35 kilometre
points, he had dropped to third at the 50.1 kilometre check. He was 28" behind
Leif Hoste there, and lost a further second in the remaining 5.4 kilometres.
14:18 CEST
There is a hard finish here today.
The final 5-600 metres are the same as yesterday's stage; in other words, the
riders face an uphill drag to the line.
14:18 CEST
Millar's TT position looks great.
He looks to be moving quickly here; can he recover some time?
14:21 CEST
Millar's mechanical happened perhaps
200 metres from the start house. He accelerated down the ramp and was getting
up to speed, then bits of carbon fibre started flying all over place. It looked
pretty dramatic.
14:22 CEST
Sergio Paulinho (Discovery Channel)
is now fifth-fastest at the first check.
14:25 CEST
Discovery Channel DS Dirk Demol said
he was happy with the tailwind, feeling that it will boost Alberto Contador's
chances. "The speed will be higher and the gaps will be smaller. The time trial
will be less hard and that's in our favour. We did the reconnaissance yesterday
but we couldn't do the final kilometres because there were a couple of one-way
streets where we couldn't drive through," Demol said to Cyclingnews.
The Spaniard would do another reconnaissance when riding in the team car behind
his compatriot Benjamin Noval.
14:27 CEST
Grivko finishes now, taking 5th place.
He's 1'19" back.
14:28 CEST
Because of the tailwind, Cadel Evans
will use 55 x 11 today...
14:30 CEST
Well, not all the way...but that's
the top gear he will have on.
Millar looks fast and has a super
TT style, but he was 25th at the second time check as well.
Yesterday's
stage winner Sandy Casar (Française des Jeux) is now on the course.
14:36 CEST
Millar now has 15 kilometres to go.
He was 3'12" back at that second time check.
14:38 CEST
Paulinho is fifth at both the first
and second time checks. He was 53" behind at the latter.
14:42 CEST
Millar goes around a roundabout,
using every inch of the road to keep his speed up.
Thomas Voeckler
(Bouygues Telecom) is doing a decent time on the course. He was 14th at the
last time check, 2 minutes back.
14:45 CEST
Cadel Evans is trying to take yellow
today and prepared himself in a different way to Contador. "Cadel rode the complete
time trial this morning when the course was released but before the first rider
Wim Vansevenant started his time trial. Our hotel is right at the finish so
after his reconnaissance he could rest to get ready for his 55km against the
clock," Predictor's Filip De Myttenaere
said to Cyclingnews. "Right
now, Leif Hoste goes 'à block' to get good reference times for Cadel, just like
he did in Albi."
14:46 CEST
Christophe Moreau (Ag2r Prévoyance)
was asked who he thinks will win the battle for the yellow jersey. 'Alberto
Contador' was his response.
14:46 CEST
Thomas Dekker now goes. The Rabobank
rider could do a good time today..
14:49 CEST
And now it is former yellow jersey
Linus Gerdemann who starts. He accelerates hard to get up to speed, then drops
onto the bars into what looks like a good TT position.
14:53 CEST
Millar finishes 27th, 5'04" back.
He'll be disappointed with that.
14:55 CEST
Vladimir Gusev (Discovery Channel)
is racing now. He's wearing the Russian TT champ's jersey, as he is entitled
to do. He held the white jersey early on in the race but then slipped back in
the mountains.
Alberto Contador now has a firm grip on the maillot
blanc. As for the maillot jaune, today will show how secure that
grip is.
15:00 CEST
Frank Schleck is doing his warmup.
He will leave at 15.32, but will have spent a lot of time getting ready for
the TT. The riders go quite hard; they really need to be ready to go flat out
from the start.
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15:01 CEST
Bernhard Kohl (Gerolsteiner) starts
now. He was hoping to contend for the white jersey but started this morning
fourth overall in that classification.
15:05 CEST
Thomas Voeckler, a non-TT specialist,
comes in with quite a decent time. He is 15th, 3'01" behind Hoste.
15:07 CEST
Jens Voigt (CSC) is pedalling now,
complete with a very big white bandage on his left leg.
15:09 CEST
Thomas Dekker is going well! He's
second at the first time check, just one second behind Stefan Schumacher there.
He spent a lot of energy riding for Michael Rasmussen in what is his debut Tour,
but now he has a green light to try to do something before the end of the race.
15:11 CEST
George Hincapie is next to start.
He's not wearing the US TT champ's jersey as that belong's to Dave Zabriskie.
Unfortunately the CSC rider is out of the race, having had problems with an
old knee injury after changing shoes prior to the Tour.
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15:12 CEST
Linus Gerdemann is also going well;
he is fifth at the first time check, 17" back...
15:17 CEST
Nicolas Portal (Caisse d'Epargne)
comes in for the 15th best time.
Hincapie is pedalling along well,
riding what is rumoured to be his last Tour with the Discovery team setup. Of
course, that sponsor is stopping at the end of this year, but even if they get
a new backer it's heavily rumoured that Hincapie is moving elsewhere.
15:24 CEST
We have no indications as to whether
conditions have changed, but the leaderboard has been relatively constant for
quite some time. That said, Dekker and Gerdemann have gone very quickly at the
first test, so that's a sign that faster times are on the way. Certainly we'd
expect the GC contenders to shake things up [especially with a yellow jersey
at stake].
15:27 CEST
Cedric Vasseur has completed his
TT and said that due to the nature of the course and the conditions, he doesn't
see big time gaps being opened between the top three overall. Evans would probably
prefer a headwind rather than the faster conditions there are out there.
15:28 CEST
Ruben Perez (Euskaltel Euskadi) comes
hope to finish 9th, 2'18" back.
15:31 CEST
Dekker is going very well...he's
second at the 35 km time check, 2" behind Schumacher. The German rider slowed
down in the second half of the test; can the young Dutchman keep it going at
the same speed?
15:32 CEST
Juan Manuel Garate nearly lost it
on a left hand corner; he went in too fast but luckily was able to run up on
a path and make the bend.
Hincapie goes quickest! He is 3" faster
than Schumacher at the first time check.
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15:33 CEST
Frank Schleck (CSC) is now on the
course, having started a few moments ago. He won the Alpe d'Huez stage last
year but hasn't really performed at the same level this time. Still, he's had
a solid Tour and has been riding in support of Carlos Sastre.
15:34 CEST
Christophe Moreau is coming to the
second time check but doesn't look to be on a super day.
Contador
and Leipheimer are warming up in front of a fairly large crowd beside their
bus.
15:39 CEST
The 20th rider overall, Cobo, looks
to be going well. He's had a solid Tour.
15:40 CEST
We have had no more information about
the rumoured doping positive from stage 14. It remains to be seen if something
will emerge from it, or if the reports coming from France were inaccurate.
15:41 CEST
Iban Mayo (Saunier Duval - Prodir),
Cobo's team-mate, is next to go. He's had a decent Tour and is lying 14th overall
heading into the TT. As the old saying goes, better than expected but not as
good as he hoped.
15:44 CEST
Marzio Bruseghin (Lampre-Fondital)
is in...he's been riding very strongly and places 7th, 1'24".
New
best time; Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d'Epargne) goes 4" quicker than Hincapie
at the first time check.
15:48 CEST
Gutierrez makes it safely around
the corner where his countryman Garate nearly ended up in the wall.
Jens Voigt comes to the 35 km time check. The road looks to be wet in places
and so he takes the bends carefully.
Dekker is now second at the
third time check, just 5.4 km from the finish..
15:49 CEST
He was 12" behind Hoste there and
is thus very unlikely to get that back before the end.
15:51 CEST
Yesterday there were a lot of rumours
about Mauricio Soler having tested positive after stage 14. Several outlets
had reported that the Barloworld hotel was raided as well. Well, as it turns
out there was an Ag2r car parked in front of the Barloworld hotel. And those
cars look apparently just like (French?) police cars. From there the whole thing
self-accelerated, with German TV (ZDF) immediately going to the hotel. They
have the resources, as they have set up a special team that just covers doping
cases at the Tour. It's easier to staff for them now that they don't do any
live broadcasts anymore. This was what the press conference this morning was
mostly about, along with the ongoing ASO-UCI tug of war. Watch out for more
coverage on the press conference in our next couple of news editions.
15:52 CEST
For UK fans, Charly Wegelius (Liquigas)
is currently a solid 30th, having finished 3'53 behind Hoste.
Dekker
comes in towards the line now...he fights his bike on the final drag but can't
get Hoste. He finishes second for now, 6.7" back.
15:54 CEST
Hincapie comes to the second time
check. He's quickest here..
Cadel Evans is warming up on his TT
bike and looks very concentrated. Can he do it?
Mikel Astarloza
starts..
15:54 CEST
Linus Gerdemann finishes...very good
ride...he is 4th at this point, 29" back.
15:57 CEST
Juan Mauricio Soler starts now. There
were rumours flying around last night that the police were at the Barloworld
hotel and the website HLN.be went as far as to say he had tested positive on
stage 14, but his presence here today at the TT shows that both stories were
unfounded.
15:58 CEST
Linus Gerdemann looks happy after
his finish. He's had a good Tour, winning a stage and wearing both the yellow
and white jerseys. He's outspoken against doping and so his success was welcomed
by many.
15:58 CEST
Christophe Moreau comes in now. It's
a decent time, but he's done better; he's 22nd, 3'05" back.
|
16:00 CEST
Popovych starts now. He is 8th overall,
12'47" back.
16:01 CEST
Evans is on his resistance trainer,
sweating heavily as he counts down the minutes to the start. This is the most
important TT of his career.
Provisional standings
Finish - km 55.0 1 Leif Hoste (Bel) Predictor - Lotto 1.05.33 (50.801 km/h) 2 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank 0.06 3 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC 4 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) T-Mobile 0.29 5 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 6 Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Quickstep-Innergetic 0.58 7 Bert Grabsch (Ger) T-Mobile Team 1.19 8 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Milram 1.19 9 Sergio Paulinho (Por) Discovery Channel 1.24 10 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Française Des Jeux 2.16 Intermediate Times Timecheck 3 - km 50.1 1 Leif Hoste (Bel) Predictor - Lotto 59.51 (50.226 km/h) 2 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank 0.12 3 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC 0.15 4 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 0.28 5 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) T-Mobile Team 0.36 6 Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Quickstep - Innergetic 1.00 7 Andry Grivko (Ukr) Team Milram 1.11 8 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre - Fondital 1.19 9 Bert Grabsch (Ger) T-Mobile Team 1.20 10 Sergio Paulinho (Por) Discovery Channel 1.23 Timecheck 2 - km 35.0 1 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 41.48 (50.239 km/h) 2 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank 41.50 3 Leif Hoste (Bel) Predictor - Lotto 0.09 4 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC 0.24 5 Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Quickstep - Innergetic 0.49 6 Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 0.53 7 Andry Grivko (Ukr) Team Milram 0.55 8 Bert Grabsch (Ger) T-Mobile Team 1.07 9 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre - Fondital 1.22 10 Bram De Groot (Ned) Rabobank 1.27 Timecheck 1 km 17.5 1 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne 20.15 (51.852 km/h) 2 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0.10 3 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 0.14 4 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 0.17 5 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank 0.18 6 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC 0.28 7 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Crédit Agricole 0.32 8 Leif Hoste (Bel) Predictor - Lotto 0.33 9 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre - Fondital 0.34 9 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) T-Mobile Team
16:05 CEST
New best intermediate time! Karpets
is quickest at the first check. He was a full ten seconds ahead of Gutierrez.
Meanwhile Hincapie was the fastest at the second intermediate point, 7" quicker
than Schumacher, but Gutierrez has now gone 13" quicker.
Markus
Fothen sprints in to place 20th on the stage. Last year the final TT saw him
scrap it out with Damiano Cunego for the white jersey, the latter getting it.
16:07 CEST
Alejandro Valverde starts. He looks
set to achieve his primary goal of reaching Paris, but will have mixed feelings
about his Tour performance. He was very strong on the second Alpine stage, but
after that his form seemed to drop. Nevertheless, he was 6th overall today.
16:08 CEST
Kohl finishes a solid 11th, 1'49"
back.
Now Zubeldia goes. He's fifth in GC. Can he take over 27"
out of Sastre and move into fourth overall?
16:09 CEST
Evans gathers his thoughts; not long
left.
16:11 CEST
George Hincapie sets another best
at 50.1 km! He is 12 seconds faster than Leif Hoste. Hincapie is doing a great
ride.
16:12 CEST
Voigt is heading up the final rise,
his face grimacing in pain. He ends up in 12th place right now, but all the
favourites are still to come.
16:12 CEST
Now Sastre is underway...only the
top three to go...
16:14 CEST
Here comes Hincapie...
16:15 CEST
Hincapie goes fastest...he beats
Hoste by 15'52"!
16:19 CEST
Now Karpets hits the 35 km time check...he's
going to be quickest here. And he is..
Hincapie spoke after the finish.
"This was a hard Tour. Many things happened," said Hincapie. He said that team-mate
Contador was "nervous, but we hope he can do it. The course is not as hard as
Albi so the time gaps might be less."
Vande Velde comes in for 8th
place..good ride..
16:19 CEST
Cadel Evans is on the course! He's
down the ramp and away, settling quickly into his rhythm. Contador is in the
start house now, waiting for the off.
16:20 CEST
He blesses himself several times,
Spanish style.
And he's off... Clad completely in yellow, apart
from a blue TT helmet, he accelerates up to speed.
16:22 CEST
Karpets was a full 31" quicker than
Gutierrez at that second time check. Meanwhile Hincapie's time at the top of
the leaderboard looks to be brief; Gutierrez was 6" faster at the penultimate
check.
16:23 CEST
He takes the lead! He finishes in
a time which is 5.87" quicker than the American.
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16:24 CEST
Kirchen was just 2" slower than Karpets
at the first time check! Also, Popovych is going well..he is third there, 7"
behind the Russian.
16:25 CEST
Evans has taken back three seconds
on Contador thus far.
16:25 CEST
Leipheimer looks to be going well
too. The first time check (km 17.5) will give us a clearer indication.
16:26 CEST
Despite a long day in the break yesterday,
Boogerd is doing a pretty decent time. He is 11th at the second time check.
16:27 CEST
Leipheimer is very low on the bike,
his chin nearly touching his hands in a real ski position.
16:29 CEST
Leipheimer appears to be quicker
than Evans at this point. He has reduced his overall deficit from 59" to 50".
16:30 CEST
Before the start of today’s crucial
Time Trial and, without doubt, the most important 55 kilometres he has ever
ridden, Cadel Evans told Cyclingnews' John Trevorrow that his shoulder
was still sore from the collision near the end of yesterday’s stage.
"It’s pretty sore actually but I’m alright. It was a bit of a scare last night
as it was quite inflamed. But it will be fine. No excuses."
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16:30 CEST
Contador looks to be going well at
this point. His TT position is also pretty sleek.
16:32 CEST
So, at this point Gutierrez leads,
6" ahead of Hincapie and 21" up on Hoste. Dekker is fourth, 28" down, and Cancellara
is on the same time in fifth.
16:34 CEST
Leipheimer is going very quick here;
he is 46" behind Evans in the overall now. Is the Australian struggling a little,
or is he aiming for a stronger second half?
16:35 CEST
Sastre is going well. He was third
at the first time check, but now Leipheimer scorches through to take the provisional
best time there... He was a full 39" seconds quicker than Karpets there!
16:36 CEST
Oscar Pereiro is third at the second
time check now, 32" behind Karpets.
16:36 CEST
Evans should be through that first
time check soon. He'll be behind Leipheimer, but by how much?
16:38 CEST
Evans comes to a testing left hand
bend but takes a very good line through it. He's taking time out of Contador..he's
now 1'35" back overall, having gained 15".
16:38 CEST
Evans needs to accelerate, taking
more time out of Contador and holding off Leipheimer...
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16:40 CEST
Here comes Karpets...best time. He
goes 30.5" quicker than Gutierrez!
Evans is holding Leipheimer now;
he is 14" behind at the first time check, so the gap seems to have stabilised.
Meanwhile Popovych goes second-best at the 35km time check..
16:42 CEST
Contador was 36" behind Leipheimer
at the first check..so he's lost just 22" to Evans so far. If he keeps this
up, he will hold on.
16:44 CEST
Kirchen now comes through the 35km
check...he is 6th fastest.
At this point, Contador is 1'28" ahead
of Evans on the road [in terms of the overall classification], with Leipheimer
2'13" back.
16:46 CEST
Those in the Predictor Lotto car
have sheets of paper in their hands (not the driver, we hope) doing all sorts
of calculations..
Evans is 1'17" behind now...He's taken 33".
Provisional standings
Finish - km 55.0 1 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne 1.04.41 (51.482 km/h) 2 Iván Gutiérrez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0.30 3 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel 0.36 4 Leif Hoste (Bel) Predictor - Lotto 0.52 5 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank 0.58 6 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC 0.58 7 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) T-Mobile 1.20 8 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 1.21 9 Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Quickstep-Innergetic 1.50 10 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team CSC 2.01 Intermediate Times Timecheck 3 - km 50.1 1 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 59.33 (50.479 km/h) 2 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 0.06 3 Leif Hoste (Bel) Predictor - Lotto 0.18 4 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank 0.30 5 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC 0.33 6 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 0.46 7 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) T-Mobile Team 0.54 8 Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Quickstep - Innergetic 1.18 9 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team CSC 1.24 10 Andry Grivko (Ukr) Team Milram 1.29 Timecheck 2 - km 35.0 1 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 41.28 (50.643 km/h) 2 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 0.13 3 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 0.20 4 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank 0.22 5 Leif Hoste (Bel) Predictor - Lotto 0.29 6 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC 0.44 6 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) T-Mobile Team 8 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre - Fondital 0.51 9 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Quickstep - Innergetic 1.01 10 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team CSC 1.02 Timecheck 1 km 17.5 1 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 19.36 (53.571 km/h) 2 Cadel Evans (Aus) Predictor - Lotto 0.14 3 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 0.36 4 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne 0.39 5 Kim Kirchen (Lux) T-Mobile Team 0.41 6 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC 0.43 7 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 0.46 8 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0.48 9 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0.49 10 Chris Horner (USA) Predictor - Lotto 0.50
16:47 CEST
Leipheimer is really low...he's resting
his chin on his hands.
16:49 CEST
Valverde comes to the 35km time check;
he's losing time to Kim Kirchen, who started the day 1'18 behind him. If this
continues, Kirchen could take his sixth place overall.
Evans is
pushing a huge gear along..
16:50 CEST
Kirchen is on a drag and is really
pushing it here. He's done very well in this Tour, making up somewhat for the
team's loss of Michael Rogers. How would he have done had he not crashed? We'll
never know, but to fall on the day where he could have taken yellow was hard.
16:53 CEST
Leipheimer is on a long drag, and
being cheered along by large crowds.
Evans looks to be moving very
fast...we will see at the next time check.
16:54 CEST
Leipheimer goes through the 35km
check with the fastest time...1'12" faster, it seems. Evans and Contador still
have to reach that point.
Evans is now 1'03" behind Contador in
the overall...he needs to take more time.
16:55 CEST
Pereiro comes to the line...he's
done a good time. He's 4th for now, 39" behind Karpets.
16:56 CEST
Evans is out of the saddle, fighting
for time...
16:58 CEST
He's on one of the drags on the course,
then heads through the second time check. He's actually lost more time to Leipheimer;
35", to be exact. Could he lose his second place overall?
17:00 CEST
Astarloza finishes 6th...good ride..
Sastre is tenth at that time check. Leipheimer is now just 22" behind Evans
overall.
Here comes Contador...
17:03 CEST
Contador heads through the time check
1'29" behind Leipheimer.
Evans is now 55" behind Contador overall,
so he has halved his deficit...
17:04 CEST
Calculations on the road put Evans
56" behind Contador, and Leipheimer 1'20" back... Things could be very close
overall this evening!
Popovych comes home, placing 2nd..he's 5.32"
off the best time.
17:04 CEST
Soler finishes for 35th.
Contador is going at 60 km/h now.
17:05 CEST
Leipheimer is now just 15" behind
Evans in the overall standings...
17:06 CEST
Evans is now 35" behind Contador!
The question is, if there is a new jersey..just who will have it?
17:07 CEST
Hmm...we are not sure if that last
time check was correct...it could be a little more than that...bear with us..
17:08 CEST
Kim Kirchen comes in to the finish,
sprinting to the line. He takes 10th on the stage, 1'04.19" back..
17:08 CEST
Leipheimer is now just 11" behind
Evans. He takes a drink and then gets back onto the aero bars.
He
catches Sastre and thunders by.
Provisional standings
Finish - km 55.0 1 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne 1.04.41 (51.482 km/h) 2 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Discovery Channel 0.05 3 Iván Gutiérrez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0.30 4 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel 0.36 5 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0.39 6 Leif Hoste (Bel) Predictor - Lotto 0.52 7 Mikel Astarloza (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0.53 8 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank 0.58 9 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC 0.58 10 Kim Kirchen (Lux) T-Mobile 1.03 Intermediate Times Timecheck 3 - km 50.1 1 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne 59.00 (51.282 km/h) 2 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0.33 3 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 0.39 4 Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0.40 5 Leif Hoste (Bel) Predictor - Lotto 0.51 6 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank 1.03 7 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC 1.06 8 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 1.19 9 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) T-Mobile Team 1.27 10 Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Quickstep - Innergetic 1.51 Timecheck 2 - km 35.0 1 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 39.44 (52.852 km/h) 2 Cadel Evans (Aus) Predictor - Lotto 0.35 3 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne 1.13 4 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 1.28 5 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 1.29 6 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 1.44 7 Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 1.45 8 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 1.46 9 Kim Kirchen (Lux) T-Mobile Team 1.50 10 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 1.57 Timecheck 1 km 17.5 1 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 19.36 (53.571 km/h) 2 Cadel Evans (Aus) Predictor - Lotto 0.14 3 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 0.36 4 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne 0.39 5 Kim Kirchen (Lux) T-Mobile Team 0.41 6 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC 0.43 7 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 0.46 8 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0.48 9 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0.49 10 Chris Horner (USA) Predictor - Lotto 0.50
17:09 CEST
The two of them go through a roundabout,
taking it carefully. No crashes wanted here..
17:10 CEST
Judging it on the first three places
overall, this could end up being the closest Tour de France ever...
17:11 CEST
Leipheimer and Sastre are on a climb,
heading towards the finish.
Meanwhile Valverde finishes, doing quite
a decent TT. He is 13th, 1'40". That keeps him in sixth, methinks.
17:12 CEST
Evans is approximately 40" behind
Contador in the overall. But where is Leipheimer?
17:13 CEST
Leipheimer is racing towards a stage
win, providing he doesn't crash. He will hit the penultimate time check soon.
17:14 CEST
Evans is 11" behind Leipheimer in
the overall standings..
17:15 CEST
Evans has been taking risks on the
corners...he wants time... He's on the drag now, being cheered on by spectators
waving the Aussie flag..
17:15 CEST
He has 5 kilometre to go..
17:16 CEST
Leipheimer went through that penultimate
time check with the best time, 1'46" ahead of Karpets...
17:17 CEST
He heads towards the finish now..
Best time, he is 1'55.85" ahead if Karpets!
17:17 CEST
Sastre comes in, taking a decent
14th on the stage.
17:18 CEST
Evans started the day 59" ahead of
Leipheimer...he was 51" behind at the time check...wow....
Evans
is still 37" or so behind Contador in the overall. He is really pushing it now,
taking many risks...
17:19 CEST
Evans is now 34" behind Contador
in the overall... This will be tight between the three of them.
17:19 CEST
Contador has five kilometres to go.
Evans is under the red kite...
17:20 CEST
Evans is pulling all sorts of faces...he's
really hammering himself...
He needs to finish within 59" of Leipheimer..
17:21 CEST
He finishes second, 50" behind Leipheimer...he
stays second by nine seconds..but where is Contador...?
17:21 CEST
He was 32" ahead of Evans at the
third time check...so it looks like he will hold on...
17:22 CEST
With 3km to go he was 1'18" slower
than Evans, who started the day 1'50" behind...
17:23 CEST
Contador is pushing it hard, trying
to keep the speed up. He has two kilometres to go.
The final 400
metres or so are very tough..every rider has been fighting with their bike here.
17:23 CEST
Contador has a very fast cadence.
He comes to the kite now, one kilometre to go.
17:24 CEST
He is 27" ahead of Evans in the GC
with one kilometre to go..he will hold on..
17:25 CEST
Contador comes to the line, sprinting
up the final drag. He places 5th, 2'18" back..that will do it...
17:26 CEST
He is completely mobbed by photographers
and TV crews, but escapes behind the barriers.
17:27 CEST
Leipheimer wins the stage, 51" ahead
of Evans and 1'56" up on Karpets. Popovych is next, then Contador at 2'18.
In the general classification, Contador holds on by 23" over Evans. Leipheimer
is 31" back, so there's just 8" between second and third overall...
17:42 CEST
Cadel Evans spoke to French TV after
the finish. He conceded the Tour is over, saying that he the difference was
made on one day in the mountains.
"I lost the Tour on the Peyresourde,"
he said, referring to stage 15. "I was alone, Astana and Caisse d'Epargne were
there with team-mates but didn't really ride. I lost the Tour there.
"Second at the Tour is very good," he said, looking on the positive side. "This
year I really trained hard for the Tour, it was my big goal."
Evans's
performance is the best ever by an Australian at the Tour. Phil Anderson was
fifth in 1982 and again in 1985. Evans was fifth last year and eighth in 2005.
17:45 CEST
It's a gusty ride from him. Chris
Horner was there towards the end of the key mountain stages, but Predictor Lotto
did got to the Tour with twin goals; the general classification for Evans, the
green jersey for Robbie McEwen. This meant that they had less men for the high
mountains than some other teams.
17:50 CEST
Contador gets another maillot
jaune and looks relieved; he was very nervous starting today's stage but
got through it just fine. He also gets the white jersey, and Soler keeps the
KOM. Boonen holds green.
Leipheimer rode strongly to take a fine
stage win. Will he try to get past Evans tomorrow, as regards the time bonuses?
We don't know, but will find out...
That completes our live coverage
for the penultimate stage of this year's race. Full results will be posted soon,
with a report to follow after that. And the latest in Tour news will be available
later on today. Thanks for reading, au revoir for now!
Provisional standings
Finish - km 55.0 1 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel 1.02.45 (53.068 km/h) 2 Cadel Evans (Aus) Predictor-Lotto 0.50 3 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne 1.56 4 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Discovery Channel 2.01 5 Alberto Contador (Spa) Discovery Channel 2.18 6 Iván Gutiérrez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 2.26 7 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel 2.32 8 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 2.35 9 Leif Hoste (Bel) Predictor - Lotto 2.48 10 Mikel Astarloza (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2.49 Intermediate Times Timecheck 3 - km 50.1 1 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 57.14 (52.522 km/h) 2 Cadel Evans (Aus) Predictor-Lotto 0.51 3 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne 1.46 4 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 1.50 5 Alberto Contador (Spa) Discovery Channel 2.09 6 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 2.19 7 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 2.25 8 Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 2.26 9 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 2.36 10 Leif Hoste (Bel) Predictor - Lotto 2.37 Timecheck 2 - km 35.0 1 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 39.44 (52.852 km/h) 2 Cadel Evans (Aus) Predictor - Lotto 0.35 3 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne 1.13 4 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 1.28 5 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 1.29 6 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 1.44 7 Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 1.45 8 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 1.46 9 Kim Kirchen (Lux) T-Mobile Team 1.50 10 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 1.57 Timecheck 1 km 17.5 1 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 19.36 (53.571 km/h) 2 Cadel Evans (Aus) Predictor - Lotto 0.14 3 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 0.36 4 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne 0.39 5 Kim Kirchen (Lux) T-Mobile Team 0.41 6 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC 0.43 7 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 0.46 8 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0.48 9 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0.49 10 Chris Horner (USA) Predictor - Lotto 0.50
