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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 12 - Friday, July 20: Montpellier - Castres, 178.5km
Live commentary by Shane Stokes and Bjorn Haake
Complete live report
Live coverage starts: 13:00 CEST
Estimated finish: 17:15 CEST
Bonjour again on the Cyclingnews live coverage of the 2007 Tour de France, where even the so-called transitional stages are causing havoc and yesterday's flattest stage of the Tour have arguably eliminated Christophe Moreau from the overall picture. Today the riders will face several category 4 climbs on their way from Montpellier to Castres over 178.5 kilometres. It likely will not be a sprint finish as a group is expected to have a go. Yesterday was the sprinters last chance but except for Robbie Hunter all the green jersey contenders and stage win hopefuls missed out. Hushovd and Zabel were stuck in the Moreau group three minutes back and Boonen, while skillfully avoiding the crash in the last bend before the line yesterday, got held up without the chance to sprint for points.
13:05 CEST 3.5km/175km to go
The départ
réel was given at 12:58 and there was an attack immediately. No surprise
that Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis) took of, trying to climb up the mountain's jersey
ladder again. Fabian Wegmann (Gerolsteiner) was also right there with the move.
13:09 CEST
The first mountain will come after
27 kilometres and we'll expect that a group has been formed by then. Hopefully
for Rasmussen it won't contain anybody who threatens his yellow or polka dot
jersey. He is also facing the heat for his two missed doping tests in June,
prompting a press conference by Tour Director Christian Prudhomme this morning.
Cyclingnews' Gregor Brown attended and you can
read here what Prudhomme had to say.
13:11 CEST 10.5km/168km to go
There are now eight
riders in the front that have decided to take off early. They currently have
a lead of 25 seconds.
13:13 CEST
Prudhomme has said that he is angry
about the timing of the news, asking why it has come out during the Tour. Rasmussen
was allowed ride the Danish national championships on July 1st, despite the
missed tests.
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13:15 CEST
Axel Merckx (T-Mobile), Fabian Wegmann
(Gerolsteiner), Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis), Juan Manuel Gárate (Quickstep-Innergetic),
Félix Rafael Cárdenas (Barloworld) and Daniel Navarro (Astana) There is also
one Grabsch or other in the break, but we don't which of the two brothers currently.
They are hard to hold apart, only separated by 13 seconds in the overall. The
Chavanels are easier - Sylvain for the breaks and the mountains, Sébastien for
the sprints.
13:16 CEST 15.5km/163km to go
Every rider remaining
in the Tour has started today's stage, but now Alberto Ongarato (Milram) has
abandoned the Tour 2007. He crashed not long into the race and cannot continue.
13:22 CEST 18.5km/160km to go
The break is caught.
Too early for them to get a head start.
13:22 CEST
We had an excellent email from CN
reader John Hay Jr, in which he tried to assess how the two remaining time trials
could influence the race. Many accept that Michael Rasmussen is likely to lose
time on those two stages, Saturday's 54 km TT in Albi and then the 55.5 km test
from Cognac to Angoulême the day before the race finishes.
That's
109.5 km of time trials so there is plenty of scope for a reshuffling.
John wrote:
I did a bit of checking on how the current contenders
fared in last year's two Individual Time Trials. Last year's ITT's were 52 km
and 54 km rides. Combining the results (and,trust me, there may be error in
my adding and subtracting hours and minutes, but it's relatively close), here's
some of our current contenders' combined 2006 TdF ITT times, starting with the
fastest and showing the deficits from there.
Each 2007 contender's
current place in the GC is in ( ):
(2) Andreas Klöden, 2h 11'52"
(13) Oscar Pereiro, 2h14'48" - 2'56" behind Klöden's time
(4) Cadel Evans,
2h14'58" - 3'06"
(18) Denis Menchov, 2h15'44" -3'52"
(6) Carlos Sastre,
2h16'11" -4'19"
(14) Christophe Moreau, 2h17'01" -6'19"
(9) Levi Leipheimer,
2h21'35" -9'43"
(10) Mikel Astarloza, 2h21'52" -10'00"
(1) Michael
Rasmussen, 2h24'48" -12'56"
13:24 CEST
Rasmussen can be expected to improve
thanks to the yellow jersey (as long as the pressure of the race lead plus today's
news doesn't get to him) but 12'56 is a lot of time to lose in two time trials.
13:26 CEST
The race today is heading west, out
of Montpellier, then leaves the coast line. The riders may not appreciate that,
since it means a lot of ups and downs and little rises. The coastal route would
have offered better views and been easier on the battered bodies. Rasmussen
may want to take the opportunity to solidify his polka dot lead, or he may save
his energy for the mountains and the overall title. Either way, he won't be
looking forward to tomorrow's time trial.
13:31 CEST
Andreas Klöden (Astana) reports on
his web site that he is feeling better and the two days after the Alps were
good for him. His biggest hope is to survive the day without a crash. He's had
enough bad luck in the Tours, having had to abandon twice due to injuries. He
doesn't want to repeat it.
13:32 CEST
We will see in a few moments if German
TV decides to show another cooking show instead of cycling. And then we hope
they show us how to cook the food for winners.
13:34 CEST 26.5km/152km to go
We are only a couple
of kilometres away from the first mountain points, but despite a few attempts
nobody has been granted a ticket to ride in front of the peloton. Maybe after
the cat 4 Cantagal climb we'll see a split.
13:37 CEST
And there's more from John:
How they fared without completing: A few of this year's contenders started last
year's Tour but weren't around for the first or second individual time trial.
Some didn't ride in last year's Tour. Here's how they've fared in TdF ITT situations
in the past:
(2) Alejandro Valverde: finished 5th in the 2006 Prologue,
4.92" behind Thor Hushovd's winning time. Valverde crashed out of the 2006 Tour
before reaching the first ITT. He abandoned before the 2005 TdF ITT, too.
(3) Iban Mayo: 5'36.80" behind the stage winner for 82nd place in the first
2006 ITT. Mayo abandoned the Tour before the second ITT. He is a past podium
finisher, however.
(5) Alberto Contador: did not race in the 2006
TdF, but finished 48th in the 2005 prologue, 1'57 behind the winner. He finished
the 2005 ITT 48th, 6'12" behind the stage winner Lance Armstrong.
(19) Alexandre Vinokourov - did not race in the 2006 TdF, but in previous Tours,
his time trial finishes are consistently in the top ten. Here's where Vino can
make up significant time in 2007.
Lurkers who could factor: Some
of the GC lurkers and long shots like Frank Schleck, Chris Horner, and Yaroslav
Popovych have good times in past TdF ITT's, but not the kind of times that could
move them from their current placements into contention...unless they literally
fly while others falter.
X-Factors: Have any of the current top contenders
vastly improved their time trialing since last year? Levi Leipheimer, supposedly;
but his prologue time was mediocre. Christophe Moreau, supposedly; but he dropped
lots of time today. Cadel Evans? Who else? Also, consider: the first Individual
Time Trial comes on Saturday, after these flat transition stages and prior to
the punishing Pyrenees. The second ITT comes the day before Paris, after the
riders have had a few more flat transition stages. After the Pyrenees, some
will be very motivated for the second ITT; some will be crestfallen.
13:38 CEST
The area right the riders pass is
not that exciting right now, but it'll change once the first climb is passed.
The field will cross the Hérault river, then head due west, past the
Lac du Salagou towards the Montagne Noire, not to be confused with the Black
Forest in southern Germany.
13:40 CEST 31.5km/147km to go
Over the first
climb it is the ever aggressive Philippe Gilbert of Française Des Jeux who took
the maximum points ahead of Scot David Millar (Saunier Duval-Prodir), who is
also having a great Tour and has been in several breaks. Third over the top
is Staf Scheirlinckx (Cofidis), who was in the winning break on stage 10.
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13:41 CEST
John concludes
by stating that he believes Andreas Klöden will benefit best from the time trials
and will take over the race lead. He says Evans is also in the running.
Of the others, these are his predictions:
"Alberto Contador's a wild
card, but his ITT times indicate he could move from 5th place into the top three.
Will this Discovery Channel team member be permitted to contend for the Yellow
Jersey along with team leader Levi Leipheimer, or will his prowess be sacrificed
to assist Leipheimer onto the podium? Or, will Levi serve Alberto? What will
team director Johan Bruyneel do? These are the Days of our Lives...
The ITT's will prove a challenge for current Yellow Jersey wearer Michael Rasmussen.
I know he thinks he's still a contender, but history says the Dane can't compete
in the ITT's with the company he's currently keeping. To be fair, his ITT last
year was simply disastrous, including a wreck.
Levi Leipheimer, too,
needs to prove his mettle with these upcoming ITT's. He's finished well enough,
but not like with championship-winning exploits. If ever you've sensed the moment,
Levi, this may be it!
Alejandro Valverde? Inconclusive; consider
it a wash. Let's just hope he actually finishes the Tour this time.
Iban Mayo? Less than stellar; a wash at best. If he's not leading coming out
of the Pyrenees, his second ITT will be critical.
Oscar Pereiro?
This poor guy is getting no respect, even though he placed 2nd in the 2006 TdF.
But his ITT finishes indicate he will improve his chances before Paris.
Alexandre Vinokourov? Vino may well cruise to the top five times in both ITT's,
putting him back into the mix. If Vino does very well on Saturday, he'll be
motivated to climb like a wild hibanchie in the Pyrenees. If he does well there,
he'll smoke the last ITT and glide into Paris."
Thanks John
- a lot of analysis there. What's certain is that there's a lot of interesting
developments to come in the remaining stages. Like 2006, this is a very open
Tour.
13:45 CEST 32km/146.5km to go
There is a break
of seven riders clear...stand by.
Current situation
- Alessandro Ballan (Lampre-Fondital), Laurent Lefèvre (Bouygues Telecom), Staf Scheirlinckx (Cofidis), Manuel Beltrán (Liquigas), Matteo Tosatto (Quickstep-Innergetic), David Millar (Saunier Duval-Prodir) and Moisés Dueñas (Agritubel)
- Peloton at ?
13:50 CEST 37km/141.5km to go
The riders who
are clear are: Alessandro Ballan (Lampre-Fondital), Laurent Lefèvre (Bouygues
Telecom), Staf Scheirlinckx (Cofidis), Manuel Beltrán (Liquigas), Matteo Tosatto
(Quickstep-Innergetic), David Millar (Saunier Duval-Prodir) and Moisés Dueñas
(Agritubel).
Millar was disappointed to miss out yesterday, saying:
"It was sad, because we tried to be in the breakaway group from the very beginning
and when we finally made it, the side winds and the fight for the overall made
no easy ride for us. I tried very hard for almost 15 kilometres to reel in the
four escapees. It looked like a true time-trial. As to the sun allergy on my
legs, it seems to be getting better. Tomorrow, I'll fight it out for a stage
win."
So he's been as good as his word, getting into another move.
13:51 CEST 38.5km/140km to go
The next climb
coming up is the cat 4 Mas-Rouet, after the peloton leaves Clermont l'Herault
and right where the Lac de Salagou is. It comes after 58 kilometres of racing,
so the riders can enjoy another 20 kilometres of rather flat riding, although
they may disagree. The road is already having slight inclines.
13:52 CEST
His team-mate Juan Cobo is getting
over a crash. Yesterday was tough as a result.
"At first I wasn't
having a good time. My tailbone hurt a lot. However, towards the end I began
to feel better, which was a relief if you take into account that we still have
nine stages ahead. We were planning to have some x-rays done in hospital, but
I don't think it'll be necessary. If they revealed that something's wrong, I
wouldn't drop out anyway."
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14:03 CEST
Christian Prudhomme was mightily
ticked off during the press conference about the news of the Danish federation
kicking Rasmussen out of the national team. He questioned the timing, saying
that the national federation had all the information about the missed test as
of June 29. They even conducted a blood test on June 30th and he was cleared
by the Danish federation to ride in the national championships on July 1. Rasmussen
went to the director's car during the neutral rollout and had a quick discussion
with Prudhomme, indicating that he missed the tests (unintentionally) and that's
it.
14:04 CEST
The break has just been reeled in.
43.4 kilometres have been covered in the first hour of racing.
14:05 CEST
Eric Boyer, directeur sportif of
Cofidis, had similar words. He knows that there is power struggle between the
UCI and ASO, but thought that UCI is intentionally trying to hurt the Tour de
France.
14:12 CEST
The riders are now heading towards
the day's second climb, the fourth category Mas Rouet. The summit is 58 kilometres
after the start of the stage.
>
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14:21 CEST
There are two riders clear: Amets
Txurruca (Euskaltel Euskadi) and Perrick Fédrigo (Bouygues Telecom).
14:23 CEST
They attacked a couple of kilometres
ago. A chase group containing riders such as Tadej Valjavec (Lampre Fondital)
tried to get across to them but was caught by the bunch.
Current situation
- Pierrick Fédrigo (Bouygues Telecom) and Amets Txurruka (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
- Peloton at 0.45
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14:34 CEST
John Gadret (Ag2r Prévoyance), Haimar
Zubeldia (Euskaltel - Euskadi), Christophe Le Mével (Crédit Agricole), Thomas
Voeckler (Bougues Telecom), Nicolas Vogondy (Agritubel) and Juan Manuel Garate
(Quick.Step - Innergetic) tried to get across but no joy for them; they were
caught.
The two leaders are pulling away from the peloton.
14:37 CEST 66.5km/112km to go
What is a sprinter
doing in a break? Sometimes there is no choice, as T-Mobile's Bernhard Eisel
revealed to Cyclingnews' clean-shaven Brecht Decaluwé. "I don't want
to be in a break, but I am afraid it's going to be me. I will get dropped on
the final cat 2 climb for sure, but we want to have someone from out team in
a break."
14:40 CEST 70km/108.5km to go
The gap has soared;
Fédrigo and Txurruka (try saying that when drunk!) are really 4'46.
14:42 CEST
The field is happy to let them go
and the riders are free-wheeling at 15 to 20 km/h. A nice afternoon in the French
campagne.
14:45 CEST
Last year, Fédrigo won the 14th stage
to Gap. He outsprinted Salvatore Commesso to the line. The Italian was bitterly
disappointed, as his last victory was in the Trofeo Matteotti in July 2002.
"Everyday I work for the others," said Commesso, in a memorable quote, "and
for the one time that it is my day, I'm only able to lose. What can I do to
win? Kill my opponents?"
14:46 CEST
The peloton is going through the
forested area close before the third climb of the day, the Buis pass. They pass
the fascinating view of the Cirque Mourèze, which is stunningly set atop some
rocks.
14:47 CEST 74.5km/104km to go
While the peloton
leisurely passes underneath a bridge, the two leaders have hit the climb and
are pedalling along with a lead that keeps extending, to now 6 and 1/2 minute.
14:48 CEST
The top of the climb is coming up.
It is Txurruka who is ahead, but they don't sprint. Right after the KOM they
hit a dark tunnel and are now gliding downwards.
14:51 CEST
The peloton is still in Bédarieux,
in the Parc Naturel Régional du Haut Languedoc. There is a beautiful old aqueduct
, with 36 arcs to its credit, spanning the canal du Midi.
14:53 CEST
The peloton is spread out over the
street. It's mostly Quick.Step on the front, but it's not like they are going
all out. If they could back pedal up a hill, they would right now.
14:54 CEST 78.5km/100km to go
The two leaders
in the front pass the 100 kilometre to go mark. They are the only ones working
hard right now, but it's a move that likely will not succeed. A Twosome is not
a big enough group.
14:55 CEST
The spectators are out on the climb
to cheer the peloton on. It's not as crowded as in the high mountains, but the
Tour always gives the excuse to the locals to quit work early.
14:57 CEST
Bernard Hinault said before the start
that he didn't understand that German TV pulled the plug and didn't think it
was a good decision.
14:59 CEST 81.5km/97km to go
The sprint at Herepian
is taken by Pierrick Fédrigo. The two nicely share the prizes.
15:00 CEST
Marcus Burghardt (T-Mobile) is the
first of the main field over the climb of the Buis Pass and gets the remaining
point.
15:01 CEST
There are a lot more spectators on
the down hill than on the uphill. Must be closer to the work place.
15:03 CEST 84.5km/94km to go
The lead has gone
out to over nine minutes. Moreau is at the back of the field. The peloton is
still back pedalling and many hands go up in the air, indicating to their managers
they need a bottle or two.
15:05 CEST
The two leaders have done 39 kilometres
in the second hour of racing, which drops the overall average to 41.2 km/h.
Moreau talks to Sylvain Chavanel, while George Hincapie flashes by with some
bottles and advise.
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15:08 CEST
The field passes over the l'Orb river,
using another old bridge, but it has only 5 arcs. We are definitely in a prettier
area than when the stage started.
Burghardt is ahead of the field
by a couple of minutes. He didn't like all the natural breaking and has also
taken the third place in the 'sprint'
Current situation
- Pierrick Fédrigo (Bouygues Telecom) and Amets Txurruka (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
- Marcus Burghardt (T-Mobile) at 6.45
- Peloton at 9.12
15:14 CEST
Le Château St. Michel is overlooking
the area. Good thing the field doesn't have to go up here. Not only is it steep,
but you would need a VTT (vélo tout terrain or Mountain bike) to reach
the top. That would be good for the yellow jersey, as Rasmussen is the former
MTB world champion (1999).
15:20 CEST
Update on the German TV soap opera:
No cooking show today, instead ARD shows a soap opera. Hopefully one of the
Teutonic readers can us update on the name of the show. Eurosport is still showing
the Tour anyway and as
we reported in our news, SAT1 has taken over from ARD and
ZDF
15:20 CEST
Michael Rasmussen may be just one
missed test away from a ban (current rules say that three missed tests in 18
months are considered a positive test result) but he didn't appear too perturbed
this morning.
"I do admit that I committed an error, and I received
a warning from the UCI," Rasmussen said. However he told reporters that he had
nothing to hide. "I am very calm and relaxed. It is a minor deal. A lot of riders
receive warnings for not giving updated information. I am one of many."
15:21 CEST 97.5km/81km to go
The field has accelerated
a bit. The natural break is over and with the lead over 11 minutes it was time
to decrease the gap. Current gap is 10'49"
15:27 CEST
To help out the reporters that have
no GPS, the race organisers have marked an alternate route each stage to get
the press from start to finish on non-race routes. Cyclingnews' GPS survived
the break-in and rarely gets lost. Only in Marseille did the Audi A4 have trouble
deliver Gregor Brown and Brecht Decaluwé to the start, although they did make
it on time in the end.
15:28 CEST
Ventoso looks a bit banged up form
the crash yesterday. He has a Band-Aid on the left elbow and a heavier bandage
on the left knee. The Tour is not for wimps!
15:32 CEST 104.5km/74km to go
So Bernhard Eisel's
fear of ending in the break didn't come true. But maybe he should have been?
Now it's poor Marcus Burghardt who has to chase. He is slowly eating into the
lead of the front, but it may be a little too slow to reach them before the
field does, who has picked up speed as well. At least he can enjoy the countryside,
which is really pretty. They are in the foothills and to the right they see
the slopes with vineyards.
15:33 CEST
Liquigas has taken over the front.
They weren't happy yesterday with getting 3rd and 4th instead of 1st and 10th
15:33 CEST
Neither of the two breakaway riders
are going to cause Michael Rasmussen or the other overall contenders to lose
much sleep.
Amets Txurruka is the best placed overall in 35th, but
he is 22'37 back. He is also sixth in the best young rider competition, 19'29
behind Paris-Nice winner Alberto Contador.
Fédrigo is 113th overall,
1 hour 21'36" behind the yellow jersey.
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15:35 CEST 101km/77.5km to go
The last intermediate
sprint of the day was taken again by Fédrigo in front of Txurruka and Burghardt,
who is still behind by some good five minutes.
15:39 CEST 109.5km/69km to go
The field is at
the feed zone, which is located right after the sprint. Good thing they didn't
have to go all out to sprint for the points and the musettes. It is dangerous
enough at the lower speeds already. The lead is down to nine minutes.
15:44 CEST
Thanks for the readers who have responded.
ARD is showing "Sturm der Liebe" or "Storm of love". Sounds like a bad trade-off.
If you don't get SAT 1 or Eurosport or even if you do get it, we suggest you
stay with our blimp live from France and we'll bring you the ultimate storm
of cycling.
15:46 CEST
The finish today is at Castres. It
is 80 kilometres from Toulouse and features a Goya museum in the ancient bishop's
palace.
The town took off in the 9th century, and became a big textile
centre in the 13th century.
A census in 1999 put the population
at 43,451.
15:47 CEST
Burghardt is now passing an old,
white car form the 50's, with L'Equipe written over it. The times they are a-changing
and bicycles and cars have seen a significant upgrade.
15:49 CEST
Rosseler, Barredo, Steegmans and
Vasseur were rolling along, with some still sorting out what food to keep and
what to give away out of the musettes that they took on in the feed zone.
15:53 CEST 117.5km/61km to go
Burghardt is only
30 seconds ahead of the field now. At least he got his food earlier than they
did. Stef Clement (Bouygues Telecom) looks pretty scraped up. He crashed a few
moments ago.
15:55 CEST
Liquigas has still the whole team
up front and they have now gobbled up the "Storm of Marcus" on the front. Relentless
soap operas. Liquigas hopes for Pozzato today. He has predicted to Cyclingnews
his previous stage win and said he is eyeing stage 12 as well.
15:56 CEST
Writing on the team website, Milram's
Marcel Sieberg is shrugging off his injuries from Thursday. A crash in front
of him in the finale caused him to smash into the barriers, but he came away
relatively lucky. He is now decorated with a few new cuts and hurt his knee.
"What I notice most are my ribs, he said, "but I'll be ok."
15:59 CEST
Sadly enough David Zabriskie of CSC
could not start today. He was troubled with tendonitis in the left knee since
the beginning of the race and just "didn't find his legs", as spokesperson Brian
Nygaard put it. He finished outside the time limit yesterday, more than 30 minutes
behind the winner, Robert Hunter, the first South African to win a stage in
the Tour. Zabriskie travelled back to his home in Spain yesterday.
16:05 CEST 123.5km/55km to go
The two leaders
are climbing the second cat Col de la Jeante. Txurruka leads for now. He's a
Euskatel-Euskadi rider and they normally like the uphills.
This
is approximately 12 kilometres long. The gap is 5'08. After the top it's quite
lumpy for 18 kilometres or so, then drops down more quickly.
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16:06 CEST 123.5km/55km to go
Fred Rodriguez
(Predictor-Lotto) is hanging at the back of the field on the climb. So are Menchov
and Valverde, but it is fortunately very slow right now and it is still Liquigas
pulling.
16:10 CEST
A family has opted to not stand on
the side of the road, but on the meadow about 10 metres above the road. They
have their camping chairs out and enjoyed the afternoon and now got up to watch
the field whizz by from atop. No pushing up there, as the vertical 10 metre
drop is not in their repertoire.
16:10 CEST
Rasmussen is quite easy to pick out.
While the Saunier Duval Prodir riders are also in yellow, their jerseys are
of a paler colour and also have white on it.
The Dane was back around
mid-pack but put in an effort to move up on the climb. He did so pretty quickly.
He may want to sprint for the points; there's eight up for grabs for third over
the top. Rasmussen started the day 19 points ahead of Colombian Mauricio Soler
(Barloworld) with Yaroslav Popovych (Discovery Channel) a further nine points
down.
16:12 CEST
Francisco José Ventoso (Saunier Duval-Prodir)
is at the doctor again. His injuries from yesterday look pretty bad. In addition
to the bandage just underneath the knee he has his left hand also bandaged up
and Dr. Gerard Porte is giving out some new gaze.
16:13 CEST
If either Soler or Popovych want
to challenge for the KOM jersey, their best chance is to make the most of their
positions in the general classification. They are 17th and 20th overall, respectively,
and are 6'49 and 8'16 back.
That clearly gives them a lot more leeway
to go in early attacks than Rasmussen; as yellow jersey, nobody will let him
go willingly.
16:16 CEST
Ventoso has been dropped on the climb.
16:17 CEST
The peloton has 5km to the summit
now.
Burghardt is also being dropped, paying the price for his efforts.
16:18 CEST
It is quite windy now, judging by
the movement of the trees. A Caisse d'Epargne rider is on the front now and
Astana and Saunier Duval are moving up.
Current situation
- Pierrick Fédrigo (Bouygues Telecom) and Amets Txurruka (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
- Peloton at 5.17
16:25 CEST
Txurruka is stronger on the uphill
and spends most of the time on the front
16:30 CEST
Txurruka indeed crosses the top in
front of Fédrigo
16:34 CEST
The field comes up to the top and
a fierce sprint develops between several riders, including Barloworld's Soler,
who wears the mountain leader's jersey. But he is ranked second behind Rasmussen,
who has the yellow. Yaroslav Popovych (Discovery Channel) wins the sprint and
gets 16 points. David De La Fuente (Saunier Duval-Prodir) and Thomas Dekker
(Rabobank) follow, before Mauricio Soler (Barloworld) hits the line. He will
get 10 points, losing a net pof six to 'Popo'. It means he still has a three-point
lead over the Ukrainian
16:35 CEST
Crash just before the top of the
climb! Wegmann and Mercado are down. But it doesn't look too bad.
16:36 CEST
Both riders have resumed the race.
Crashing on uphill. Please!
16:49 CEST
Oops, our blimp almost crashed into
the forest due to the high winds, that are now mostly tailwind for the peloton,
who has reduced the gap to three minutes.
16:53 CEST
Rasmussen sits about eighth in line,
with riders from his Rabobank team just behind the Lampre Fondital guys in the
front. They are still chasing the two leaders who, with 31 kilometres remaining,
were 3 minutes ahead.
All the favourites are in the peloton.
Lampre want to try to set up their sprinter Daniele Bennati for the gallop.
He’s been going well this season, but his best placings thus far in the Tour
are third on stage six, and sixth on stage seven. He hasn't yet got the win
he is chasing.
16:56 CEST 152.3km/26.2km to go
Bear with us,
dear readers - there is a phantom in the system and our live coverage has been
a little affected by gremlins.
The leaders are 2'29 clear. They
have a chance, but the bunch is hoofing it along now.
16:57 CEST 153.5km/25km to go
The have just passed
the 25km to go sign. Txurruka is on the front, pushing hard. 2'17 back, three
Lampre riders are rotating in the pace line.
16:59 CEST
Puncture for Nicolas Jalabert! He's
stopped and may have a hard time getting back on. His brother Laurent is on
a motorbike doing commentary for French TV...he'll have to stop himself from
pacing his younger bro back on. Family loyalties have to be left aside at moments
like these, after all.
17:05 CEST 160.2km/18.3km to go
1'44 for the
two leaders. Fédrigo pushes a big gear on the front. Lampre have the bunch completely
lined out on this gradual downhill.
17:07 CEST
We want to recap the climb of La
Jeante, a cat 2 that gave points to the top 6. It was the duo up front who crossed
the top first, with Amets Txurruka (Euskaltel-Euskadi) ahead of Pierrick Fédrigo
(Bouygues Telecom). Then there was a sprint for third, with Yaroslav Popovych
(Discovery Channel) edging out David De La Fuente (Saunier Duval-Prodir) and
Thomas Dekker (Rabobank). Mauricio Soler (Barloworld), who is wearing the mountain
leader's jersey au lieu of Michael Rasmussen in yellow, got sixth, but had a
net loss of three points to 'Popo', who is one place behind the Discovery Channel
rider in the mountains classification.
Current situation
- Pierrick Fédrigo (Bouygues Telecom) and Amets Txurruka (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
- Peloton at 1.16
17:08 CEST
This morning, 42 riders underwent
UCI health checks. Nobody was above the permitted hematocrit level.
17:09 CEST 165km/13.5km to go
Jalabert (Laurent,
not Nicolas - he's a bit out of breath right now) says that the current 1'14
gap will not be enough for the two leaders. We are inclined to agree with that.
17:11 CEST
Française des Jeux now hits the front;
the team are most likely riding for Sébastien Chavanel, Sylvain's brother.
17:11 CEST 167.5km/11km to go
Now the leaders
are just one minute ahead. This gap is falling quickly.
17:11 CEST
The peloton passes Boissezon, with
its old town sitting majestically atop the valley below. It is by its own standards
a "village des artists", and the riders pass some nice paintings of cyclists
to give some objective credit to the claim.
17:13 CEST
Cancellara has been dropped just
before the peloton goes under the 10km to go banner; that's surprising. He was
second yesterday.
17:16 CEST 171.5km/7km to go
Some more riders
are falling off the back as the peloton races on towards Castres and what it
hopes will be a recapturing of the two leaders. That's looking likely as the
gap is just 43" now.
Now Quick.Step - Innergetic are on the front.
They want a stage win for Boonen, who is in the green jersey of points leader.
17:17 CEST 172.5km/6km to go
Lampre and FDJ riders
are also helping. The gap is 40". Txurruka is suffering a lot on Fédrigo's wheel;
the Frenchman seems the stronger of the two on the flat. He's also got a pretty
smooth pedalling style on the bike.
17:18 CEST
An update to the mountains classification
- the difference is actually six points, not three, as the points are doubled
for the last climb of the day for HC and cat 1 and 2 climbs. So 'Popo' gained
twice as many points over Soler and is now only three points behind Soler.
17:18 CEST 173.5km/5km to go
Now Credit Agricole
send a couple of riders to the front. Thor Hushovd would like to equal last
year's tally and take two stage wins in this race.
17:19 CEST 174km/4.5km to go
The two leaders
are doing a good job; they still have 30 seconds. They are likely to be caught,
but they are making the peloton work for it.
17:19 CEST 174.5km/4km to go
They are going under
the 4k to banner.
17:20 CEST 175.2km/3.3km to go
The riders on
the front of the peloton are really burying themselves now; more speed, more
speed! 19 seconds..
17:21 CEST
The peloton go under the 3km to go
banner..they should be able to see them.
17:21 CEST
Fabian Cancellara has put on a black
vest and is just resting for tomorrow. He is not, however, a Man in Black, his
CSC outfit clearly visible.
17:21 CEST 176.5km/2km to go
Two clicks left
and the leaders are fully committed, looking for every bit of speed. Five seconds...
Current situation
- Pierrick Fédrigo (Bouygues Telecom) and Amets Txurruka (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
- Peloton at 0.10
17:22 CEST
Quick.Step lead, with Boonen fifth
wheel... He's easy to spot in the maillot vert
17:22 CEST
Hushovd and Dean are poised to strike...
17:22 CEST
The two are caught; good effort.
17:23 CEST 177.5km/1km to go
They are under the
kite now...1000 metres to go
17:23 CEST
Steegmans and Boonen are near the
front. Zabel is on Boonen's wheel; he needs points.
17:23 CEST
Steegmans winds it up..
17:23 CEST
Here comes Boonen...
17:24 CEST
Boonen gets it! Zabel was coming
up on his right and seemed to have the pace, but Tommy B. hung on...
17:26 CEST
Hunter gets third. So the 1,2,3 over
the line were the three riders fighting for the green jersey. Bennati gets fourth,
with Hushovd and Kirchen next across the line.
17:26 CEST
Kashechkin was tenth in the sprint..that's
unexpected!
17:26 CEST
Boonen looks well chuffed with himself.
Stage win number four for the team, and the second in three days.
17:27 CEST
Zabel was poised on his wheel and
then moved right and went to come by. However he didn't have the horsepower
to get by the Belgian, who now looks increasingly likely to take green to Paris.
The competition isn't over yet, of course, but Boonen is growing in confidence.
17:30 CEST
That's the last bunch sprint we'll
see for several days. Tomorrow is the first long individual time trial, and
then the riders have three mountain stages (plus a rest day thrown in there
for good measure).
The next flat stage is on Thursday, the 188.5km
stage to Castelsarrasin.
17:32 CEST
Zabel could get up to Boonen's chainset,
but no closer. He's missing the Watts he had at his peak. That's allowed; he's
37, after all.
17:33 CEST
There's no change in the overall.
The GC contenders had a relatively peaceful day and are content to resume their
battle in tomorrow's time trial. Michael Rasmussen is likely to lose yellow
but he will hope to limit his losses and get it back in the mountains.
17:36 CEST
That completes our live coverage
of today's stage. Once again, thanks for reading! We'll have results, reports
and quotes galore a little later so surf back on over. Till then, au revoir!
Provisional results
1 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quickstep-Innergetic 2 Erik Zabel (Ger) Milram 3 Robert Hunter (RSA) Barloworld 4 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 5 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole 6 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) T-Mobile 7 Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) Française Des Jeux 8 Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) Agritubel 9 Robert Förster (Ger) Gerolsteiner 10 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Astana General classification 1 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank 2 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 2.35 3 Iban Mayo Diez (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 2.39 4 Cadel Evans (Aus) Predictor - Lotto 2.41 5 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 3.08 6 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC 3.39 7 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 3.50 8 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 3.53 9 Kim Kirchen (Lux) T-Mobile Team 5.06 10 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 5.20
