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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 1 - Sunday, July 8: London - Canterbury, 203km
Live commentary by Laura Weislo, Gregor Brown and Bjorn Haake
Complete live report
Live coverage starts: 12:00 CEST/ 11:00 BST
Estimated finish: 17:00 CEST/ 16:00 BST
Welcome back to Cyclingnews' live coverage of the Tour de France!
The riders are enjoying another beautiful day in jolly England. This morning
they had a parade roll-out through London, where they passed the Tower of London
and headed on to the Tower Bridge where they stopped for some ceremonies.
Christian Prudhomme and London mayor Kevin Livingstone were on hand to shake
hands, cut the tape and drop the flag to start the riders on their way to Canterbury.
After a neutral roll-out where Fabian Cancellara sat at the front resplendent
in his yellow jersey, the Française des Jeux team was the first to light up
the race.
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11:10 BST 7km/196km to go
A group of four got
a small gap Ruben Perez (Euskaltel - Euskadi), Matthieu Sprick (Bouygues Telecom),
Charles Wegelius (Liquigas) and Andrey Grivko (Team Milram) are being joined
by two more riders, but their gap is still quite small.
11:12 BST 9km/194km to go
The breakaway isn't
being given much breathing room, and as they hit a small rise the majority of
the break goes back into the peloton, but the Saunier Duval rider continues
on... Robbie McEwen is sitting at the back of the peloton spinning a low gear
to save his legs.
11:14 BST 12km/191km to go
It looks like it's
David Millar who's off the front of the pack - he's got his arms draped over
the bars in an aero position, and is opening up a pretty sizable gap now.
11:17 BST 14km/189km to go
The peloton, which
had been subjected to several attacks behind Millar, is now bunched up and waiting
to throw its weight behind the chase. Millar has some neon yellow glasses to
match his lemon Saunier Duval kit. His Scott bike has the same custom white
paint job as his time trial bike.
11:19 BST
Stéphane Augé goes after Millar, and
is solo with about 400m advantage as the peloton heads up a small rise. In the
back of the pack, McEwen is going back to his team car. He had been breathing
pretty hard earlier - maybe his brake is rubbing?
11:21 BST 16km/187km to go
There's a lot of action
in the peloton as they head through an industrial area - there are lots of glass
office buildings and car lots along the route. A group of four is trying to
make its way up to Augé.
11:24 BST 19km/184km to go
Aleksandr Kuschynski
(Liquigas), Freddy Bichot (Agritubel) and Andrey Grivko (Team Milram) have made
it up to Stéphane Augé, and the four are working together to get up to Millar.
A Milram rider suddenly shot off to the side - not sure if he's heading to a
quiet spot for a natural break or if he had a mechanical...
David
Millar (Saunier)
Peloton at 42"
11:26 BST 21km/182km to go
Fabian Cancellara
slows up and heads back to his team car - he doesn't appear to have a problem
- just going back for a chat. He gets friendly handshakes from a Saunier Duval
rider and from Valverde.
11:29 BST 23km/180km to go
Millar digs into his
jersey pocket and pulls out an energy bar - he's clearly in this for the long
haul and is fuelling up for a long, hard day in the saddle. The group of four
is working well together, and are opening up time on the peloton but making
slow progress toward Millar.
11:32 BST
Grivko was the last minute substitute
for sprinter Alessandro Petacchi. The Italian tested 'non-negative' for asthma
medication in the Giro d'Italia, and was suspended by his Milram team pending
a decision by the Italian Olympic Committee. Petacchi will find out July 24th
if he will be sanctioned.
11:35 BST
The peloton is now crossing the Queen
Elizabeth II bridge, which offers great views of the surrounding area. The chasing
four aren't making time up on Millar, who is very serious about this breakaway.
After he and his compatriot Bradley Wiggins were denied a win on British soil,
Millar is determined to deliver the fans a win in Canterbury.
David
Millar (Saunier)
Aleksandr Kuchynski (Liquigas), Freddy Bichot (Agritubel),
Andry Grivko (Team Milram) and Stéphane Augé (Cofidis) at 1.22
Peloton at 3.00
11:36 BST
For more on David Millar read
this interview.
11:39 BST 29km/174km to go
Millar is going through
some narrow streets at the moment and in this town the crowds are four and five
deep and going absolutely crazy for Millar! He's hammering away in the drops,
looking smooth. The four behind him are holding a steady minute or so gap, while
the peloton is dropping away - now 4' behind Davey Millar.
11:42 BST 31km/172km to go
Millar is heading
out of Gravesend, passing by many traffic islands. Out of instinct, he points
out the obstacle, but there's nobody behind him to notify. Maybe he's telling
the TV motos to watch out?
11:42 BST
Millar is riding a bike similar to
what Simoni
rode in the Giro.
11:44 BST 33km/170km to go
Millar's banana yellow
team car comes up alongside to offer some advice to the leader. The peloton,
4'42 behind, is just going through those narrow streets of Gravesend, and the
crowd will be hoping that they take their time and let Millar get the win today.
David Millar (Saunier)
Aleksandr Kuchynski (Liquigas), Freddy Bichot
(Agritubel), Andry Grivko (Team Milram) and Stéphane Augé (Cofidis)
at 1.50
Peloton at 4.30
|
11:50 BST 37km/166km to go
The roads are lined
with fans all along the route today - Tour fever has gripped England! Pensioners
are out with their canes, families with children in buggies - all enjoying the
splendid weather - cheer David Millar as he continues his quest for a stage
win. He's got nearly five minutes on the bunch.
11:54 BST 38km/165km to go
The speedy Scot is
working up quite a sweat now as he pounds the pedals with his arms draped over
the bars. He's only got 165 kilometres to go - just a walk in the park, right?
Back in the bunch, Vladimir Gusev is sporting the white jersey of the best young
rider, while Klöden is in the green points leaders jersey. Of course, Cancellara
leads that competition, but he can only display one jersey at a time!
11:57 BST 43km/160km to go
Millar is heading
through Strood and is digging in his pockets again - his team car pulls up and
he gives them the thumbs up as he munches on his energy bar. He's not waiting
for the group of four behind at all - they're gaining a bit of time, but still
1'38 back.
12:00 BST 47km/156km to go
The chasing group
of four heads through a tunnel with the big Byelorussian Kuschynski doing the
work at the front. With 5'25 advantage on the field, and 1'28 on the chasers,
Millar takes the first intermediate sprint of the day in Gillingham.
12:02 BST 49km/154km to go
CSC is on the front
of the peloton, riding tempo for Cancellara while up ahead Grivko took second
in the sprint and Kuschynski third. Millar is drinking and eating all the time
now - staying hydrated and fuelled for the long haul.
Current race situation
David Millar (Saunier)
Aleksandr Kuchynski
(Liquigas), Freddy Bichot (Agritubel), Andry Grivko (Team Milram) and Stéphane
Augé (Cofidis) at 1.28
Peloton at 5.25
12:04 BST 50km/153km to go
Millar's discussion
with his team director must have resulted in a decision to sit up and wait for
the chasers - he appears to have eased up slightly and the gap to the chase
is down to one minute.
|
12:05 BST
Ben Atkins reported that Bradley Wiggins
was "pretty happy with that [prologue] in the end. Because six months a go I
did not give my self a shot. I did my best ride so I am happy with that."
Atkins of Cyclingnews reported that Gerrans "saw more Aussie flags than
French" in his prologue run.
12:07 BST
We just spoke with Tim Maloney who
reported that there "were massive crowds in the centre of London for the start
of stage one and to turn out to salute the Tour de France Départ. They
were almost all English but with a few foreign voices."
Sunny skies
are greeting the peloton after the last month of cool and rainy weather. "It
is a warm summer day with puffy clouds, slightly cool," Maloney summarized.
12:09 BST 51km/152km to go
The group of four
is now a group of five as they have made their way up to Millar. The pace in
the peloton is rather leisurely - Thomas Voeckler is hardly pedalling in the
back of the bunch.
12:10 BST 53km/150km to go
Outside the town of
Rochester, the breakaway passes by one of the many castles in the area - and
Grivko takes a turn so hard he nearly plows into the barriers. But he makes
it through just barely.
12:10 BST
Cyclingnews' Shane Stokes was
pleased to be in London like many of the journalists. "It was fantastic," said
Stokes. "I saw a lot of the famous buildings and I had not seen those in a while.
The crowds were very much into it. There was a big, big turn out."
12:17 BST 59km/144km to go
Grivko goes to the
back to chat with his team car. The 23 year-old Ukrainian is enjoying his first
Tour de France, but isn't wearing the Ukrainian National road champion's jersey
that he has sported for the past two years. He was too busy preparing to ride
the Tour to attend.
Back in the peloton, Vinokourov gets a bike change
- but he won't have too much trouble getting back through the caravan. He only
has to worry about the camera motos on these narrow roads. His problem came
on a stretch of cobblestones, and now his team is around him to pull him back
on.
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12:18 BST
The riders have just left Rochester.
This is the location of the discontinued Rochester Classic. The race was part
of the old World Cup system (remember the vertical-stripped World Cup jersey?)
and big Andrea Tafi won here in 1997.
Tafi had won the Giro di Lombardia
the year before and then went on to win the Italian Championships in 1998, the
Paris-Roubaix in 1999, Paris-Tours in 2000 and the Ronde van Vlaanderen in 2002.
12:20 BST 60km/143km to go
The breakaway is now
on a road so narrow is looks more like a bicycle path - yet even here out in
the countryside there are fans lining the route. Jens Voigt told the French
TV that he is expecting the break to come back today so that the CSC team can
hand over the reigns to the sprinters' teams.
12:25 BST 63km/140km to go
Rémy Di Grégorio (Française
des Jeux) goes back to his team car for a bottle - the air is quite dry and
the temperatures mild, so the riders will need plenty of liquids today. They're
in farm country now - passing by rolling hills covered in trees on one side,
and brown newly plowed fields on the other side.
Stuart O'Grady
is up front working for his team. He's probably a bit stiff after his crash
in the prologue yesterday. He's helping to keep that breakaway in check today
- the gap has stabilised to five minutes and change.
12:26 BST
Today's stage will likely end in a
sprint. To learn more about the sprinters who are vying for victory in this
year's Tour de France have a read of Come
on sprinters, light my fire.
12:32 BST
A bit more about our breakaway riders...
Alexandre Kuschynski, riding for Liquigas, is 27 years old. He was the Byelorussian
champion last year, but took the silver this year. He also won the Boucles de
la Mayenne stage race in 2005.
Current race situation
David Millar (Saunier), Aleksandr Kuchynski
(Liquigas), Freddy Bichot (Agritubel), Andry Grivko (Team Milram) and Stéphane
Augé (Cofidis)
Peloton at 5.30
12:38 BST
Freddy Bichot of Agritubel is also
27, and he was the winner of the 2005 Etoile de Bessèges, while Stéphane
Augé is more experienced. The French rider for Cofidis is 33 this year,
and won the Cholet - Pays De Loire and a stage in last year's Tour of Poland.
12:41 BST 73km/130km to go
The breakaway has
less than 3km to the second intermediate sprint - Millar took on more food and
drink from his team car. He's been constantly eating and drinking. Back in the
peloton, Cuesta, Zabriskie, Voigt, O'Grady and Vande Velde are doing the work.
Cancellara has a 'sweeper' on his wheel, and right behind the CSC train is the
Discovery Channel team - George Hincapie is right up there in his stars & stripes
jersey.
12:43 BST 76km/127km to go
The breakaway is heading
into the second sprint in Wateringbury and the crowds are once again very substantial.
All along the route today the riders are being met by large, enthusiastic crowds.
12:45 BST
The breakaway just rolled through
the sprint - Millar ahead of Grivko and Kuschynski. They're in the area of the
Leeds castle now - a 1,000 year old castle which is surrounded by water.
12:48 BST 79km/124km to go
Oh dear, we have our
first abandon of the Tour. Eduardo Gonzalo Ramirez (Agritubel) has given up
- no word yet on whether it was a crash or illness...
12:49 BST 80km/123km to go
The peloton looks
like a succession of team time trials right now - CSC lined out ahead of Discovery
Channel, who is followed by Astana and Caisse d'Epargne. The front of the bunch
is lined out for the first 20 riders or so, but more bunched up in the back
as the rest of the teams take a back seat.
Current race situation
David Millar (Saunier), Aleksandr Kuchynski
(Liquigas), Freddy Bichot (Agritubel), Andry Grivko (Team Milram) and Stéphane
Augé (Cofidis)
Peloton at 5.05
12:56 BST 84km/119km to go
The five breakaway
riders are doing fairly equal shares of work - Millar has done the most, spending
25% of the time at the front. Augé has done the least at 14%.
The gap is ever so slowly coming down - about one second per kilometre at the
moment. They're down to five minutes even as the leaders enter Hadlow. They're
right on the estimated fastest pace for today - the nice weather and light winds
helping the riders along.
13:01 BST 87km/116km to go
Cancellara is back
at his team car, he's having radio troubles today. He's getting a replacement
from the team mechanic. He'll need to stay in communication because things are
going to heat up in about five kilometres when they face the first categorised
climb of the Tour - the category four Côte de Southborough.
13:04 BST
With Cancellara back at the car, CSC
has stepped off the gas up front allowing the break to go back out to 5'27.
O'Grady is having a chat with one of the Quickstep riders.
A bit
further back, Christophe Moreau is looking handsome in his red, white and blue
French champion's kit. He has a matching helmet and glasses as well - he's having
a good time, smiling and joking with his team-mates.
13:07 BST 91km/112km to go
Hincapie took advantage
of the break in pace to answer the call of nature. He's not quite close to Cancellara
enough to take the yellow jersey on time bonuses today - at 23" back, that's
outside the 20" bonus for first, and with the breakaway up the road, his chance
at intermediate bonuses is gone.
Current race situation
David Millar (Saunier), Aleksandr Kuchynski
(Liquigas), Freddy Bichot (Agritubel), Andry Grivko (Team Milram) and Stéphane
Augé (Cofidis)
Peloton at 5.27
13:11 BST 94km/109km to go
The leaders are on
the first climb now, and still taking turns dong the work. The grade is fairly
gentle on this two lane motorway. Grivko looks around to see if anyone is going
to attack for the mountain points. Now Augé comes through and picks up
the pace.
13:13 BST 95km/108km to go
There is a slight
dip in the gradient with 400m to go, and Kuschynski takes the lead and then
Millar goes on the left! The rest just look at him for a moment, then Grivko
puts the hammer down and catches him, taking the sprint ahead of Kuschynski.
13:14 BST
That was a pretty close sprint - it
looked like Grivko got it, but Millar was to the left...
|
13:15 BST 96km/107km to go
The official results
of the first KOM are David Millar, Grivko then Kuschynski. That little bit of
cat & mouse ahead of the sprint allowed the peloton to gain a good 20 seconds
- the gap is now down to 4'44.
13:21 BST 100km/103km to go
The gap went out
a little bit as the peloton is approaching the feedzone - to 4'56. Riders are
tossing off their empty bottles to the crowds which are very thick through here.
All of them hoping to get a free souvenir.
Current race situation
David Millar (Saunier), Aleksandr Kuchynski
(Liquigas), Freddy Bichot (Agritubel), Andry Grivko (Team Milram) and Stéphane
Augé (Cofidis)
Peloton at 4.27
13:30 BST 107km/96km to go
As the breakaway leaves
Pembury, they get a nice respite in the form of a fast descent. They still have
about 14 km to go before the next KOM, but the terrain here is gently rolling
hills. The pavement is quite nice, helping the race achieve a fast average speed
today.
13:32 BST
Hushovd said on TV that the prologue
was harder than the one he won last year, but he's happy with his performance.
He's the fastest of the sprinters, and doesn't expect to take the yellow jersey
and is focusing on the stage wins. He's hoping to pick up points toward the
green jersey during the next few stages, but he won't be getting any at the
intermediate sprints today.
13:36 BST 109km/94km to go
While the breakaway
is heading up a little climb on a narrow, forested road, the peloton is still
on the motorway and encounters a split in the road - one half goes left, one
half goes right - but they all meet up on the other side.
At the
back of the peloton, Klöden is having a chat with Mario Aerts (Predictor-Lotto).
They're able to chat easily as the pace in the bunch has slowed significantly,
allowing the gap to the break to go out over six minutes.
13:38 BST 112km/91km to go
Up at the front of
the race, Augé has increased the amount of work he's doing, and now all
four are putting in their equal share. They're still about 10km from the second
climb, the Côte de Goudhurst.
13:41 BST 113km/90km to go
Outside the town of
Brenchley, the peloton is heading through a lovely tunnel of tall trees on a
narrow road. It's a bit of a climb, and there are plenty of cyclo-tourists cheering
the riders along.
13:49 BST
Ben Atkins checked in with us. "In
Canterbury it is a nice sunny day and the crowds are starting to come out. There
is a beautiful cathedral but unfortunately the course did not come into city
because the roads are too small. The race finishes outside of the city on the
main roads."
Atkins and the Cyclingnews crew drove the finale.
"The last kilometres are quite twisty. The final kilometre is a two lane road;
there is a roundabout before just before the final starts. There is a left turn
with about 500 to 600 metres to go, and then straight to the finish."
13:50 BST 120km/83km to go
The breakaway is on
the second climb now - this one is a bit shorter than the first, and has some
steeper sections. Still, just a category four, it's nothing to worry the sprinter-types.
The pace is right around 42 km/h so far today - after a quick start, the nerves
in the peloton have calmed and they're taking it easy on their legs a bit.
13:53 BST 120.5km/82.5km to go
With 500m to go
before the second KOM, Kuschynski puts in a big attack, but he doesn't go very
far. Bichot counters, and gets a good gap and while Augé tries to get
on terms, he just can't.
13:55 BST 123km/80km to go
Bichot gets the KOM
ahead of Augé, who looks pretty cooked after that effort. Kuschynski
held on for third in that sprint. Millar wasn't messing with any category four
mountain sprints, and is looking a lot fresher than his companions. When he
comes through to the front, he ups the pace so much that Bichot starts to open
a gap. Millar eases off to let everyone catch their breath before pulling through
again.
Current race situation
David Millar (Saunier), Aleksandr Kuchynski
(Liquigas), Freddy Bichot (Agritubel), Andry Grivko (Team Milram) and Stéphane
Augé (Cofidis)
Peloton at 5.50
13:59 BST
The magnificent cathedral is at the
centre Canterbury, however the city seems to be modern and vibrant. There are
quite a few restaurants, pubs and nightclubs. Of note is that every October
there is the Canterbury Festival, a music and arts party.
If you get a chance, check out this city on foot or bike. Walk the maze of twisty
side streets to find specialist shops, welcoming cafés and pubs. Or relax along
the River Stour that passes through the city.
14:01 BST 126km/77km to go
The peloton has just
crested the second KOM - but there aren't any points left for them. CSC is still
on the front with big Jens Voigt leading. AG2r has moved up to second position,
and Astana has mixed in with the Discovery Channel team. With 77 kilometres
including one intermediate sprint and the final category four climb at Farthing
Common still to go, they're not in a huge hurry to bring this breakaway back.
14:03 BST
"I went around the course with Christian
[Prudhomme] and the mayor of Paris," said London Mayor Ken Livingstone of yesterday's
parcours to Cyclingnews. "They could not believe the course and they
have never seen anything like it. ... It is the best Grand Départ that
anyone can remember. We are planning for when we can do it again."
The Tour has never been to London but was in Great Britain in 1994 and 1974.
In 1994 the crowds broke Tour records that were only topped when the Tour visited
Germany some years later.
14:06 BST 130km/73km to go
CSC has spent the
entire chase at the front of the peloton, but now we're starting to see some
new jerseys near the front. There's one Quickstep and one Crédit Agricole rider
up there - could it be that the sprinters' teams are starting to come to the
fore to get this gap down?
14:08 BST 132km/71km to go
The answer is a sound
yes. The Quickstep rider, Cedric Vasseur, has taken over the chase from Dave
Zabriskie, and the gap is falling dramatically now. It's down to 4'20 and dropping
like a stone.
14:12 BST 134km/69km to go
The gap is falling
at nearly 10 seconds per kilometre now. They could make the catch in 20+ kilometres
if they wanted to, but if the chase goes as it usually does for the Tour, the
sprinters' teams will time the catch so it's a bit closer to the finish.
There's an intermediate sprint coming up in Tenterden in 6 kilometres, and the
breakaway is safe for now. They might even hold on for the final climb with
20km to go. Guesses anyone?
14:15 BST 137km/66km to go
The chase has eased
up slightly, and the gap has stopped falling so dramatically. The rapid fall
of the advantage of this breakaway could have been due to the difference in
terrain, but it's still coming down - 3'23 at the moment.
14:19 BST 138km/65km to go
The teams of Crédit Agricole, Predictor-Lotto and Quickstep still have riders ahead of the CSC train
- but just one for C.A. and Quickstep, two for Predictor. They're not getting
serious yet. Vasseur is still there, along with Wim Vansevenant of Predictor-Lotto
- his long, slender legs cranking out the watts on his Ridley.
14:23 BST 141km/62km to go
The intermediate sprint
was a hard-fought battle between Kuschynski, Bichot and Grivko who crossed the
line in that order... the effort was full on, and Bichot was going so hard he
nearly tagged a motorcycle after the line. Once again, Millar sat out that mess
and went straight to the front after the sprint to keep the pace high.
Current race situation
David Millar (Saunier), Aleksandr Kuchynski
(Liquigas), Freddy Bichot (Agritubel), Andry Grivko (Team Milram) and Stéphane
Augé (Cofidis)
Peloton at 2.42
14:26 BST 143km/60km to go
Oscar Freire is being
shepherded through the caravan by his faithful team-mate Grischa Niermann. No
word on if it was a flat, a mechanical, or a trip to the medic to get some cream
for his cyst, but he'll get back to the bunch in plenty of time for the sprint.
14:28 BST 146km/57km to go
The gap has come down
to just over two minutes for our breakaway, and Bichot is getting nervous. He
attacks into the slipstream of the camera motorbike and opens up a good bit
of real estate on his four companions.
14:32 BST 148km/55km to go
CRASH! An Agritubel
rider, Mercado, hit the deck and sent a Caisse d'Epargne rider to the ground
- Zandio - he fell straight down and Aussie Brett Lancaster had nowhere to go
and went straight into a traffic island. That looked awfully painful, and it's
surprising they're all up and riding again.
14:35 BST 151km/52km to go
That looked like a
touch of wheels that took down Mercado - the peloton was passing through an
intersection where there were some posts in the centre of the road. When Mercado
fell, the Gerolsteiner rider behind him locked up the brakes and Zandio wasn't
quick enough to avoid him. Lancaster flew over Zandio and landed next to the
post - a foot farther and he would certainly have broken his leg.
They're all up and chasing, Zandio getting some help from the team car. The
peloton is sitting up to wait for the crash victims, allowing the break to get
more room - it's 2'29 now.
14:40 BST 154km/49km to go
Bichot had been caught,
but he wasn't happy with the pace of the group and launched another attack.
He is followed by Augé and Kuschynski and now Millar, who was caught
out, is calling it quits. He and Grivko just sit up and get swamped by the follow
vehicles.
14:43 BST 158km/45km to go
The UK lost one chance
to win a stage on home soil, but they still have some cards to play - the young
sprinter Mark Cavendish from the Isle of Man has been winning some pretty big
sprints in his first year. Will T-Mobile be leading out him or their other sprinter
Bernard Eisel?
|
14:48 BST 159km/44km to go
Millar and Grivko
wave hello to their old pal the peloton as they go straight back into the fold.
The gap is now hovering around two minutes and not dropping quite as fast as
before. The sprinters' teams aren't out in force yet - still the two Predictor-Lotto
men, Vasseur and our Crédit Agricole rider.
Leif Hoste won't be lending
a hand anytime soon because he's had a flat tyre. He gets a very fast wheel
change and is immediately off and sprinting his way through the caravan.
Current race situation
Aleksandr Kuchynski (Liquigas), Freddy Bichot
(Agritubel) and Stéphane Augé (Cofidis)
Peloton at
1.34
14:53 BST 164km/39km to go
Now that Millar is
back in the peloton, the yellow boys of Saunier Duval are throwing their power
into the chase and bringing back the three men who left Millar behind - revenge!
Actually, they're probably working for their sprinter Ventoso who had some promising
top ten finishes in bunch sprints last year. The 25 year-old was still finding
his legs back then and from the looks of his team's hard work, he's feeling
fine today.
14:55 BST 166km/37km to go
There are still 17
kilometres until the top of the last KOM, and our reader Tim Old wrote in to
share his first hand knowledge of these roads. "If the breakaway can just get
to the top of Farthing Common they have some great downhill stretches to keep
the breakaway going... but of course the charging train of the peloton will
also have those downhill stretches to come charging after them."
14:59 BST 169km/34km to go
Our three escapees
are giving it their all to stay ahead, but the peloton is looking far more at
ease with the pace even though they're bringing the gap down quite quickly.
It's down to just 53" and Bichot attacks again.
Back in the peloton,
a Discovery channel rider stops, and his teammate stops to help... it's Levi
Leipheimer who must have had a flat. Not good, as the chase is going full on
and they're way back in the caravan. He's got Popovych with him, who should
be strong enough to haul his team leader back into the safety of the peloton.
15:01 BST 170km/33km to go
Leipheimer gets three
more of his team-mates back to help him chase back on. Discovery Channel has
been deprived of their favourite event this year, the team time trial, but they're
getting some practice anyhow.
Current race situation
Aleksandr Kuchynski (Liquigas), Freddy Bichot
(Agritubel) and Stéphane Augé (Cofidis)
Peloton at
0.48
15:03 BST 172km/31km to go
There's no more fooling
around with attacks up front - the three riders, Bichot, Kuschynski and Augé
are once more working smoothly together, but they're seeing some discouraging
numbers on the chalkboard - down to 38".
15:04 BST 173km/30km to go
The wind is picking
up a bit, and the Union Jack flags along the course are flapping. With roads
twisting left and right, they are getting hit on all sides by the breeze.
15:08 BST 175km/28km to go
Freire must have made
it back to the bunch because we're seeing the blue and orange of Rabobank moving
up near the front. The shining white teeth of Michael Boogerd are gleaming in
the bright sunshine. The peloton splits around one of the many traffic islands,
and the bunch nearly has the breakaway in sight - just 17"!
15:09 BST 176km/27km to go
Augé is not
giving up without a fight, and he powers away from Bichot and Kuschynski - getting
low in the drops as he pounds away on the pedals.
15:11 BST 177km/26km to go
Bichot and Kuschynski
soft pedal as the peloton comes past them in a small rise, and up front, Augé
has his mouth wide open, gasping for every molecule of oxygen he can bring into
his lungs. He's opened up the gap to 30 seconds, but will face the final KOM
in a few kilometres.
The climb to Farthing Common is just over one
kilometre long, but it's steeper than the other two - 6.1% average.
15:14 BST 179km/24km to go
32 seconds for our
leader, who is still going strong. Rather, the peloton is taking a momentary
break from the chase, allowing his gap to go out a tad. Saunier Duval is still
on the front, but they're looking around to the other teams to pitch in.
15:16 BST 180km/23km to go
Ouch! Another crash
in the back of the peloton! Benjamin Noval (Discovery Channel), Dario Cioni
(Predictor - Lotto) and Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Team CSC) are among the victims.
Looks like McEwen got held up by that incident, as did Rik Verbrugghe (Cofidis).
Johan Van Summeren is helping McEwen get back on.
15:18 BST 183km/20km to go
The confusion of the
crash has helped our leader to stay clear for the KOM - he is out of the saddle,
rocking the bike back and forth and pulling on those bars to try and keep the
speed up. The sweat is pouring from his brow as he tackles the last 500 metres
of the climb.
|
15:19 BST 183km/20km to go
Another sprinter is
out of luck today - Mark Cavendish (T-Mobile Team) has a flat tyre and is really
angry about it. He gets a fairly slow wheel change, but gets going eventually.
Current race situation
Stéphane Augé (Cofidis)
Peloton at 0.15
15:20 BST 184km/19km to go
Augé gets the
KOM points, which was actually one of his objectives this morning - mission
accomplished. Back in the pack, Quickstep is taking advantage of the fact that
Cavendish and McEwen are off the back to go to the front and bring back Augé,
who sits up immediately after that final climb.
15:22 BST 184.5km/18.5km to go
Cavendish is having
no luck! He has to get a bike change, and his chase gets a heartbreaking setback.
The Quickstep team came to the front after the top of the climb, and Saunier
Duval's Davids - Millar and de la Fuente - took second and third in the KOM,
respectively.
15:24 BST
For more on the young sprinter read
the Mark
Cavendish interview.
15:25 BST 190km/13km to go
Now that the peloton
is 'gruppo compatto', Quickstep has taken control along with the Lampre squad
of Daniele Bennati. In the cars, Predictor-Lotto has much of their team bringing
Robbie McEwen back to the bunch.
Current race situation
Peloton together
15:28 BST 191km/12km to go
McEwen certainly isn't
lonely off the back of the peloton - there is a group of 20 riders or more including
Iglinsky of Milram, several Rabobank riders and the aforementioned crash victims
- all of these riders were held up by the wreck and are desperately trying to
get on terms.
Lancaster is also back there for Milram, leaving Erik
Zabel without two strong lead-out men.
15:29 BST
Scot David Millar (Saunier Duval-Prodir)
and Stéphane Augé (Cofidis) are equal on points after the three small cat 4
mountain passes for the day. However, it is Millar who will be awarded the 2007
Tour's first Maillot Blanc à Pois Rouges of best climber due to his better
overall standing.
15:30 BST 194.5km/8.5km to go
There's no sign
of the green jerseys of Crédit Agricole up front - where is Hushovd? Lampre
and Quickstep are still in control, and the yellow jersey of Cancellara is staying
close to the front to be safe. McEwen and his group are trailing the bunch by
18" - a practically impossible margin with 8.5km to go.
15:33 BST 197km/6km to go
It looks like McEwen
might have fallen down - he appeared to have a bit of road rash on his left
arm. His team is working really hard to get him back in the bunch even though
he probably doesn't have a chance at the stage win anymore.
The peloton
has a small climb to tackle as they head toward Canterbury - they're not even
remotely lined out with just under 6km to go - unusual for a Tour finish.
15:34 BST 198km/5km to go
Alessandro Ballan takes
over the lead for Bennati - but he's lost his man and is followed by the Quickstep
train and pulls off to go looking for his sprinter.
15:35 BST 198.9km/4.1km to go
Gert Steegmans
takes the pace making duties, and then Tossato comes forward. But they concede
the lead to Lampre riders once more.
15:36 BST 200km/3km to go
No sign of Bennati,
but could this be a lead-out for Napolitano? He won a stage of the Giro, and
he and Bennati will be fighting for the sprinters' hierarchy on their team.
15:37 BST 200.5km/2.5km to go
No team has control
of this bunch, the speed is too slow to string out the group. Ballan pulls off
and now Tosatto takes over. Gerolsteiner is in there, as is Rabobank.
15:37 BST 201km/2km to go
Quickstep has four
up front with Boonen in last wheel - Milram has someone up front now - and they
Milram train swamps Quickstep!
15:38 BST 201.5km/1.5km to go
After four hours,
they hit Canterbury, and Milram and Quickstep are fighting for the lead.
15:38 BST 202km/1km to go
Milram has the lead-
for Sieberg? Zabel?
15:38 BST 202.5km/0.5km to go
The bunch sweeps
left then right - Zabel's last lead out man takes over.
15:39 BST
Barloworld's Hunter goes early! followed
by a Disco rider!
15:39 BST
And where did he come from??? McEwen?
15:39 BST
McEwen comes up on the left and surprises
everyone!
15:40 BST
What an incredible chase! Nobody ever
saw the pocket rocket get back in the pack, and Robbie McEwen gets his 12th
Tour win by a whole bike length!
15:41 BST
He blasted through the pack with such
a turn of speed that Boonen's hair flew forward with the gust of wind. Thor
Hushovd got second on the far right ahead of Boonen.
15:42 BST
What a spectacular bit of riding by
McEwen and his Predictor-Lotto team. To bring back their sprinter within the
last ten kilometres from a nearly 20 second deficit and then deliver him to
the front to take the stage win is just incredible. It's the fault of Quickstep,
Milram and Lampre for not co-operating to keep the pace high, really.
15:44 BST
Agritubel's French sprinter Romain
Feillu had a pretty good kick in the last 200 metres - a good result for the
Pro Continental team.
15:47 BST
Sébastien Chavanel took a solid
fourth place, putting two Frenchmen into the top ten - a very good result for
the Cofidis team today.
On the GC, David Millar moved into third
place ahead of George Hincapie thanks to time bonuses, but the classification
is otherwise unchanged.
Well that's it for our live coverage for
today - the magical mystery tour has just begun! Come back for more fun tomorrow
when the race heads into Belgium.
Provisional results
1 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Predictor-Lotto 2 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole 3 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quickstep-Innergetic 4 Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) Française Des Jeux 5 Romain Feillu (Fra) Agritubel 6 Robert Förster (Ger) Gerolsteiner 7 Oscar Freire (Spa) Rabobank 8 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) T-Mobile 9 Francisco José Ventoso (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 10 Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu) Discovery Channel General classification after stage 1 1 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC 2 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 3 David Millar (GBr) Saunier Duval-Prodir 4 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel 5 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Cofidis 6 Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Discovery Channel 7 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne 8 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole 9 Alexander Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana 10 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank
