I said at the start of the Tour... no bonification this year. And yes I will use Kirchen in the train, but only as a lead out for Hagen. I need to be in front of Valverde with Hagen to get the green jersey.

oh ok you´re right you said that just before=)
than yuo have to defend the 10th place.
good luck for that.
i would like to start a story ,too
but i can´t change the language into english.
i can only use german.
have you an idea?

sorry, no idea.

But there's a mountain/hilly stage left where I can win some time and places or I can lose them.

Le Tour de France Stage 20


A big breakaway group. And some important names are there: Rebellin, Voigt, Di Gregorio


Contardo attacked even from the penultimate climb and caught all the escapes


Like a lot times this Tour, Menchov makes the first attack on the last climb


Again Evans waits a little bit and then he makes his move as well


Contador is still leading with a pretty good advantage.


Kirchen finished the climb with only a few metres ahead the pack


Evans is Contador's main chaser on the downhill


Still Cadel couldn't caught him and this is an another win for Contador


Evans is second and he keeps his jersey. I think that he just won the Tour de France


Valverde was third and with the points won he is now leading the green jersey competition with only 5 points ahead of Hagen, still Edvald is the main favourite for this. Menchov was in Valverde's group, but he lost the second place to Contador.


Kirchen finished with a few seconds before the rest of the pack, still no enough to take Di Luca's 9th place overall, but 10th is good for us.


Stage
1. Alberto Contador Astana Cycling Team 5h39'31
2. Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto + 54
3. Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne + 1'56
4. Andy Schleck Team CSC - Saxo Bank s.t.
5. Samuel Sánchez Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
6. Andreas Klöden Agritubel s.t.
7. Denis Menchov Rabobank s.t.
8. Carlos Sastre LPR Brakes - Ballan s.t.
9. Kim Kirchen Team Columbia + 3'35
10. Carlos Barredo Quick·Step + 3'54

Overall
1. Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto 82h00'32
2. Alberto Contador Astana Cycling Team + 58
3. Denis Menchov Rabobank + 1'48
4. Samuel Sánchez Euskaltel - Euskadi + 6'00
5. Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne + 6'44
6. Andy Schleck Team CSC - Saxo Bank + 7'43
7. Andreas Klöden Agritubel + 7'54
8. Carlos Sastre LPR Brakes - Ballan + 9'22
9. Danilo Di Luca Team CSC - Saxo Bank + 11'13
10. Kim Kirchen Team Columbia + 11'15

Points
1. Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne 201
2. Edvald Boasson Hagen Team Columbia 196
3. Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto 184

Mountain
1. Linus Gerdemann Team Columbia 165
2. Carlos Sastre LPR Brakes - Ballan 147
3. Alberto Contador Astana Cycling Team 138

Young: Andy Schleck Team CSC - Saxo Bank
Teams: Rabobank

Le Tour de France Final Stage


Lefevre and Vandewalle were the first riders to enter on Champs Elysees this year.


Though the stage will end in a mass sprint. With Eisel out of the race, Kirchen is now in our train with Hagen the main sprinter


Hincapie is the first rider to pass the last corner of this year's Tour de France


The sprint starts with us leading...


Kirchen is now in front. Valverde is far so a good chance for Hagen to win the green jersey today


Hagen is now leading and no one can keep it up with him at the moment


Though one the last metres Cancellara and Samuel Sanchez (?!) were really fast


But they couldn't stop Hagen winning today. Biggest win of his carrer, here on Champs Elysees. Acctualy it was a double win, with Valverde only 8th today, Edvald took enough points to win the green jersey


Cadel did a good job today staying away from any crash and he is this year's Tour de France winner!


No one could compete with Andy Schleck this year for the white jerey. A reason could be that Gesink and Dekker helped Menchov rather than doing a race for themselves


Gerdemann won the white jersey last year, but this year he is 26 so he can't compete there anymore. But he's coming home with an another jersey, the polka dot jersey.


Stage
1. Edvald Boasson Hagen Team Columbia 2h53'13
2. Fabian Cancellara Team CSC - Saxo Bank s.t.
3. Samuel Sánchez Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
4. Leonardo Duque Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone s.t.
5. Alessandro Ballan Lampre s.t.
6. Filippo Pozzato Liquigas s.t.
7. Pierre Rolland Crédit Agricole s.t.
8. Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
9. Jean-Patrick Nazon AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
10. Heinrich Haussler Gerolsteiner s.t.

Overall
1. Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto 84h53'45
2. Alberto Contador Astana Cycling Team + 58
3. Denis Menchov Rabobank + 1'48
4. Samuel Sánchez Euskaltel - Euskadi + 6'00
5. Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne + 6'44
6. Andy Schleck Team CSC - Saxo Bank + 7'43
7. Andreas Klöden Agritubel + 7'54
8. Carlos Sastre LPR Brakes - Ballan + 9'22
9. Danilo Di Luca Team CSC - Saxo Bank + 11'13
10. Kim Kirchen Team Columbia + 11'15

11. Óscar Pereiro Caisse d'Epargne + 11'38
12. Yaroslav Popovych Silence - Lotto + 12'22
13. Mikel Astarloza Euskaltel - Euskadi + 12'33
14. Robert Gesink Rabobank + 13'05
15. Haimar Zubeldia Euskaltel - Euskadi + 14'09
16 Thomas Dekker Rabobank + 14'53
17. Luis León Sánchez AG2R La Mondiale + 15'09
18. Vladimir Karpets Caisse d'Epargne + 16'54
19. Markus Fothen Gerolsteiner + 17'43
20. Carlos Barredo Quick·Step + 18'03
21. Vladimir Efimkin AG2R La Mondiale + 19'36
22. Tadej Valjavec Quick·Step + 19'46
23. Jurgen Van den Broeck Silence - Lotto + 20'18
24. Janez Brajkovic Astana Cycling Team + 21'31
25. Pierre Rolland Crédit Agricole + 21'54
26. Chris Horner Gerolsteiner + 22'17
27. Óscar Sevilla Astana Cycling Team + 23'29
28. David Moncoutié Quick·Step + 23'54
29. José Angel Gómez Marchante Saunier Duval - Scott + 23'56
30. Gilberto Simoni Astana Cycling Team + 24'04
31. Julio Alberto Pérez Cuapio CSF Group - Navigare + 24'18
32. Christophe Moreau Quick·Step + 25'10
33. Igor Antón Euskaltel - Euskadi + 25'14
34. Egoi Martínez Euskaltel - Euskadi + 25'35
35. Gustav Larsson Team CSC - Saxo Bank + 26'16
36. Josep Jufré Saunier Duval - Scott + 27'43
37. Patrice Halgand Silence - Lotto + 29'42
38. Volodymyr Gustov Team CSC - Saxo Bank + 30'24
39. Simon Spilak Lampre + 32'35
40. Mauricio Ardila Rabobank + 33'10
41. Johann Tschopp Bouygues Télécom + 34'49
42. Fränk Schleck Team CSC - Saxo Bank + 35'16
43. Pierrick Fédrigo Bouygues Télécom + 36'22
44. David Arroyo Caisse d'Epargne + 37'29
45. Rémy Di Gregorio Française des Jeux + 39'03
46. Amets Txurruka Euskaltel - Euskadi + 39'38
47. Sandy Casar Française des Jeux + 39'53
48. Julien El Fares Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone + 40'22
49. Giovanni Visconti Quick·Step + 41'57
50. Amael Moinard Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone + 42'08
51. Pablo Lastras Liquigas + 42'19
52. Thomas Lövkvist Team Columbia + 42'21
53. Roman Kreuziger Liquigas + 42'37
54. Alexandre Moos LPR Brakes - Ballan + 42'46
55. Leonardo Duque Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone + 46'14
56. Rémi Pauriol Crédit Agricole + 46'52
57. Wim Van Huffel Silence - Lotto + 46'55
58. Hubert Dupont AG2R La Mondiale + 47'51
59. Mathieu Sprick Bouygues Télécom + 49'30
60. Pietro Caucchioli Team CSC - Saxo Bank s.t.
61. Andrei Mizourov Astana Cycling Team + 50'19
62. Cristiano Salerno LPR Brakes - Ballan + 51'56
63. Beñat Intxausti Saunier Duval - Scott + 52'28
64. Laurent Lefèvre Bouygues Télécom + 53'20
65. Jens Voigt Quick·Step + 55'22
66. Yuri Trofimov Bouygues Télécom + 56'59
67. Gorka Verdugo Euskaltel - Euskadi + 58'29
68. Bauke Mollema Rabobank + 58'41
69. Rigoberto Urán Caisse d'Epargne + 59'03
70. Fabian Cancellara Team CSC - Saxo Bank + 1h00'02
71. Bram Tankink Rabobank + 1h00'43
72. Nicolas Hartmann Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone + 1h01'08
73. Steve Zampieri Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone + 1h01'31
74. Linus Gerdemann Team Columbia + 1h01'48
75. Jure Golcer LPR Brakes - Ballan + 1h03'27
76. Michael Rogers Team Columbia + 1h07'53
77. Rein Taaramäe Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone + 1h09'34
78. Kevin Seeldraeyers Quick·Step + 1h12'10
79. Rubén Pérez Euskaltel - Euskadi + 1h12'36
80. Anthony Roux Française des Jeux + 1h13'16
81. Andriy Grivko Team Milram + 1h17'04
82. Jussi Veikkanen Française des Jeux + 1h21'24
83. Benoit Salmon Rabobank + 1h25'00
84. Alessandro Ballan Lampre + 1h25'08
85. Andrey Zeits Astana Cycling Team + 1h29'45
86. Rinaldo Nocentini AG2R La Mondiale + 1h30'58
87. Anthony Charteau Caisse d'Epargne + 1h37'39
88. Nicolas Vogondy Agritubel + 1h41'46
89. George Hincapie Team Columbia + 1h45'36
90. Andrea Pagoto CSF Group - Navigare + 1h45'41
91. Paolo Tiralongo Lampre + 1h46'13
92. Charles Wegelius Liquigas + 1h51'56
93. David Loosli Lampre + 1h56'47
94. Davide Rebellin LPR Brakes - Ballan + 1h58'52
95. Aleksandr Kuschynski Liquigas + 2h02'50
96. Maxime Méderel Crédit Agricole + 2h19'45
97. Julien Mazet Astana Cycling Team + 2h25'05
98. Pieter Vanspeybroeck Topsport Vlaanderen + 2h29'37
99. Dimitri Champion Bouygues Télécom + 2h29'57
100. Yannick Talabardon Crédit Agricole + 2h50'14
101. Christophe Kern Crédit Agricole + 2h55'05
102. Jesús Del Nero Saunier Duval - Scott + 2h56'45
103. Heinrich Haussler Gerolsteiner + 2h57'05
104. Sebastian Schwager Team Milram + 2h57'54
105. Laurent Mangel AG2R La Mondiale + 2h58'14
106. Andrea Moletta Gerolsteiner + 3h00'02
107. Blaise Sonnery AG2R La Mondiale + 3h01'29
108. Maxime Bouet Agritubel + 3h36'14
109. Emanuelle Bindi Lampre + 3h37'16
110. Jan Soetens Topsport Vlaanderen + 3h38'21
111. Gerben Löwik Rabobank + 3h42'17
112. Francis Mourey Française des Jeux + 3h45'30
113. Tony Martin Team Columbia + 3h53'26
114. Filippo Pozzato Liquigas + 4h00'53
115. Igor Astarloa Saunier Duval - Scott + 4h07'12
116. Edvald Boasson Hagen Team Columbia + 4h08'43
117. Aurélien Passeron Saunier Duval - Scott + 4h11'28
118. Yoann Offredo Française des Jeux + 4h15'40
119. Mikaël Chérel Française des Jeux + 4h15'56
120. Sergei Ivanov Gerolsteiner + 4h18'58
121. Lars Bak Team CSC - Saxo Bank + 4h19'35
122. Jérémy Roy Française des Jeux + 4h20'38
123. Stefano Boggia Astana Cycling Team + 4h22'13
124. Angel 'Litu' Gómez Saunier Duval - Scott + 4h23'16
125. Jean-Marc Marino Crédit Agricole + 4h23'48
126. Eric Berthou Crédit Agricole + 4h25'41
127. Michael Schär Astana Cycling Team + 4h26'07
128. Matti Breschel Team CSC - Saxo Bank + 4h30'02
129. Alessandro Mazzi Liquigas + 4h32'48
130. Manuel Quinziato Liquigas + 4h33'16
131. Sébastien Turgot Bouygues Télécom + 4h33'31
132. Tiziano Dall'Antonia CSF Group - Navigare + 4h33'47
133. Giairo Ermeti LPR Brakes - Ballan + 4h34'09
134. Elia Rigotto Team Milram + 4h40'26
135. Kristof Vandewalle Topsport Vlaanderen + 4h43'05
136. Nick Nuyens Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone + 4h43'11
137. Evgeni Sokolov Bouygues Télécom + 4h44'35
138. Nikolas Maes Topsport Vlaanderen + 4h44'44
139. Damien Monier Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone + 4h44'57
140. Cédric Pineau AG2R La Mondiale + 4h46'33
141. Karsten Kroon Gerolsteiner + 4h48'07
142. Daniele Righi Lampre + 4h52'50
143. William Bonnet Crédit Agricole + 4h53'54
144. Francesco Tomei CSF Group - Navigare + 4h54'39
145. Mathieu Claude Bouygues Télécom + 5h09'24
146. Nicolas Rousseau AG2R La Mondiale + 5h09'40
147. Jean-Patrick Nazon AG2R La Mondiale + 5h12'49

Points
1. Edvald Boasson Hagen Team Columbia 231
2. Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne 219
3. Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto 194

4. George Hincapie Team Columbia 183
5. Denis Menchov Rabobank 168
6. Kim Kirchen Team Columbia 150
7. Fabian Cancellara Team CSC - Saxo Bank 149
8. Alberto Contador Astana Cycling Team 148
9. Filippo Pozzato Liquigas 128
10. Heinrich Haussler Gerolsteiner 117
11. Samuel Sánchez Euskaltel - Euskadi 113
12. Andy Schleck Team CSC - Saxo Bank 110
13. Leonardo Duque Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone 106
14. Jesús Del Nero Saunier Duval - Scott 96
15. Julien El Fares Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone 86
16. Danilo Di Luca Team CSC - Saxo Bank 81
17. Jean-Patrick Nazon AG2R La Mondiale 74
18. Matti Breschel Team CSC - Saxo Bank 72
19. Carlos Sastre LPR Brakes - Ballan 72
20. William Bonnet Crédit Agricole 71
21. Rein Taaramäe Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone 70
22. Pieter Vanspeybroeck Topsport Vlaanderen 69
23. Andreas Klöden Agritubel 67
24. Nick Nuyens Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone 67
25. Kristof Vandewalle Topsport Vlaanderen 63
26. Aleksandr Kuschynski Liquigas 62
27. Fränk Schleck Team CSC - Saxo Bank 59
28. Simon Spilak Lampre 56
29. Yaroslav Popovych Silence - Lotto 54
30. Tiziano Dall'Antonia CSF Group - Navigare 53
31. Pierre Rolland Crédit Agricole 52
32. Pierrick Fédrigo Bouygues Télécom 52
33. Nikolas Maes Topsport Vlaanderen 50
34. Igor Astarloa Saunier Duval - Scott 48
35. Nicolas Hartmann Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone 47
36. Thomas Dekker Rabobank 46
37. Alessandro Ballan Lampre 45
38. Carlos Barredo Quick·Step 45
39. Luis León Sánchez AG2R La Mondiale 44
40. Robert Gesink Rabobank 44
41. Karsten Kroon Gerolsteiner 44
42. Janez Brajkovic Astana Cycling Team 39
43. Vladimir Karpets Caisse d'Epargne 36
44. Tadej Valjavec Quick·Step 35
45. Pablo Lastras Liquigas 35
46. Rémi Pauriol Crédit Agricole 34
47. Aurélien Passeron Saunier Duval - Scott 33
48. Gilberto Simoni Astana Cycling Team 33
49. Elia Rigotto Team Milram 32
50. Laurent Mangel AG2R La Mondiale 31
51. Sébastien Turgot Bouygues Télécom 30
52. Giovanni Visconti Quick·Step 26
53. Mikel Astarloza Euskaltel - Euskadi 26
54. Markus Fothen Gerolsteiner 26
55. Vladimir Efimkin AG2R La Mondiale 25
56. Yannick Talabardon Crédit Agricole 25
57. Óscar Pereiro Caisse d'Epargne 22
58. Yoann Offredo Française des Jeux 22
59. Bauke Mollema Rabobank 22
60. Óscar Sevilla Astana Cycling Team 22
61. Anthony Charteau Caisse d'Epargne 22
62. Sergei Ivanov Gerolsteiner 21
63. Rinaldo Nocentini AG2R La Mondiale 20
64. Wim Van Huffel Silence - Lotto 20
65. Yuri Trofimov Bouygues Télécom 20
66. Andrea Moletta Gerolsteiner 18
67. Maxime Bouet Agritubel 18
68. Igor Antón Euskaltel - Euskadi 17
69. Sebastian Schwager Team Milram 17
70. Emanuelle Bindi Lampre 16
71. Christophe Kern Crédit Agricole 14
72. Josep Jufré Saunier Duval - Scott 14
73. Alessandro Mazzi Liquigas 13
74. Davide Rebellin LPR Brakes - Ballan 13
75. Manuel Quinziato Liquigas 13
76. Cédric Pineau AG2R La Mondiale 13
77. Jurgen Van den Broeck Silence - Lotto 13
78. Mathieu Claude Bouygues Télécom 12
79. Daniele Righi Lampre 12
80. Linus Gerdemann Team Columbia 12
81. Bram Tankink Rabobank 12
82. Alexandre Moos LPR Brakes - Ballan 12
83. Haimar Zubeldia Euskaltel - Euskadi 11
84. Rubén Pérez Euskaltel - Euskadi 11
85. Damien Monier Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone 10
86. Charles Wegelius Liquigas 10
87. Sandy Casar Française des Jeux 10
88. Beñat Intxausti Saunier Duval - Scott 9
89. Jens Voigt Quick·Step 9
90. Laurent Lefèvre Bouygues Télécom 8
91. Volodymyr Gustov Team CSC - Saxo Bank 7
92. Nicolas Rousseau AG2R La Mondiale 6
93. Patrice Halgand Silence - Lotto 6
94. Mikaël Chérel Française des Jeux 6
95. Michael Rogers Team Columbia 6
96. Gustav Larsson Team CSC - Saxo Bank 5
97. Benoit Salmon Rabobank 5
98. Egoi Martínez Euskaltel - Euskadi 5
99. Christophe Moreau Quick·Step 4
100. Lars Bak Team CSC - Saxo Bank 4
101. Giairo Ermeti LPR Brakes - Ballan 4
102. Blaise Sonnery AG2R La Mondiale 4
103. Johann Tschopp Bouygues Télécom 4
104. Francis Mourey Française des Jeux 4
105. Roman Kreuziger Liquigas 4
106. Amets Txurruka Euskaltel - Euskadi 4
107. Gerben Löwik Rabobank 3
108. Evgeni Sokolov Bouygues Télécom 2
109. Francesco Tomei CSF Group - Navigare 2
110. Andriy Grivko Team Milram 2
111. Hubert Dupont AG2R La Mondiale 2
112. Rigoberto Urán Caisse d'Epargne 1
113. Chris Horner Gerolsteiner 1

Mountain
1. Linus Gerdemann Team Columbia 165
2. Carlos Sastre LPR Brakes - Ballan 147
3. Alberto Contador Astana Cycling Team 138

4. Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto 124
5. Denis Menchov Rabobank 103
6. Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne 84
7. David Arroyo Caisse d'Epargne 84
8. Andy Schleck Team CSC - Saxo Bank 83
9. Rémy Di Gregorio Française des Jeux 81
10. Blaise Sonnery AG2R La Mondiale 67
11. Samuel Sánchez Euskaltel - Euskadi 63
12. Charles Wegelius Liquigas 62
13. Andrea Moletta Gerolsteiner 59
14. David Loosli Lampre 54
15. Christophe Kern Crédit Agricole 52
16. Danilo Di Luca Team CSC - Saxo Bank 51
17. Jesús Del Nero Saunier Duval - Scott 50
18. Igor Antón Euskaltel - Euskadi 48
19. Michael Rogers Team Columbia 48
20. Carlos Barredo Quick·Step 45
21. Aleksandr Kuschynski Liquigas 45
22. Yoann Offredo Française des Jeux 42
23. Óscar Pereiro Caisse d'Epargne 40
24. Andreas Klöden Agritubel 39
25. Jussi Veikkanen Française des Jeux 39
26. Amets Txurruka Euskaltel - Euskadi 35
27. Tiziano Dall'Antonia CSF Group - Navigare 35
28. Emanuelle Bindi Lampre 34
29. Andriy Grivko Team Milram 34
30. Beñat Intxausti Saunier Duval - Scott 33
31. Paolo Tiralongo Lampre 32
32. Davide Rebellin LPR Brakes - Ballan 30
33. Christophe Moreau Quick·Step 29
34. Jan Soetens Topsport Vlaanderen 29
35. Francis Mourey Française des Jeux 28
36. Jens Voigt Quick·Step 28
37. Hubert Dupont AG2R La Mondiale 27
38. Yaroslav Popovych Silence - Lotto 26
39. Sebastian Schwager Team Milram 26
40. Maxime Bouet Agritubel 23
41. Andrea Pagoto CSF Group - Navigare 22
42. Robert Gesink Rabobank 17
43. Rigoberto Urán Caisse d'Epargne 16
44. Yannick Talabardon Crédit Agricole 16
45. Tadej Valjavec Quick·Step 15
46. Maxime Méderel Crédit Agricole 15
47. Alessandro Ballan Lampre 14
48. Mikel Astarloza Euskaltel - Euskadi 14
49. Nick Nuyens Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone 12
50. Sergei Ivanov Gerolsteiner 12
51. Fränk Schleck Team CSC - Saxo Bank 12
52. Jurgen Van den Broeck Silence - Lotto 11
53. Laurent Lefèvre Bouygues Télécom 11
54. Haimar Zubeldia Euskaltel - Euskadi 10
55. Vladimir Efimkin AG2R La Mondiale 10
56. Pierre Rolland Crédit Agricole 10
57. Nicolas Hartmann Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone 10
58. Óscar Sevilla Astana Cycling Team 8
59. Gilberto Simoni Astana Cycling Team 8
60. Karsten Kroon Gerolsteiner 7
61. Angel 'Litu' Gómez Saunier Duval - Scott 7
62. Luis León Sánchez AG2R La Mondiale 6
63. Simon Spilak Lampre 6
64. Igor Astarloa Saunier Duval - Scott 5
65. Kristof Vandewalle Topsport Vlaanderen 5
66. Kim Kirchen Team Columbia 5
67. Lars Bak Team CSC - Saxo Bank 5
68. Laurent Mangel AG2R La Mondiale 4
69. Rinaldo Nocentini AG2R La Mondiale 3
70. Vladimir Karpets Caisse d'Epargne 2
71. Daniele Righi Lampre 2
72. Anthony Charteau Caisse d'Epargne 2
73. Mauricio Ardila Rabobank 2
74. Patrice Halgand Silence - Lotto 2
75. Manuel Quinziato Liquigas 2
76. Cédric Pineau AG2R La Mondiale 1
77. Mathieu Claude Bouygues Télécom 1
78. Benoit Salmon Rabobank 1

Young: Andy Schleck Team CSC - Saxo Bank
Teams: Rabobank

2 jerseys is just great and a top 10 with Kirchen isn't bad, are you trying to sign a TdF man to next year? Schleck did turn down your offer right?

No, for the Tour no one. Karpest maybe for the Vuelta.

Yes Schleck signed for Astana and Dekker for Caisse.

... Vladimir Karpets


Karpets is a great stage racer and his 18th place in this year's Tour de France. Though at our team he won't be the leader for the Tour, maybe even not riding it. He will be the leader in the Spanish races that our team will ride in 2010. So he will be the captain in 2 of the most important races in the PT caledar: Vuelta al Pais Vasco and Vuelta a Espana.


He's climbing abilities are really good which makes him the best second climber in the team, after Kim Kirchen. In a good day he can beat anyone in a time-trial. Along with Zabrikie, Rogers, Wiggins, Boom and Lovkvist he will one of our best riders for time-trial. He would be suported or will suport by Ignatiev in the Russian National Championships. So we expect him to integrate fast and easy in our team as he already has a compatriot in our team.

yees, I like him! next year will be super, maaskant, karpets and that fuglsang!
have you any idea why Kirchen wasn´t so competitive in the tour this year? (well, a 10th place is very good, but does he focus on other goals as well?)

yeah I lost with Kirchen a lot of time in the medium mountains stages, where I was expecting to win some time, while in the high mountain stages I did pretty well with Kim.

And about the next goals, he will be in August in San Sebastian and Plouay to defend his titles won last year.

Maybe you have said this earlier but, who's your captain for the Vuelta ?

Lovkvist like last year, but after what he did in Le Tour I don't expect too much from Vuelta.

And for the sprint: Burghardt, Cavendish, Ciolek.

August calendar:


PT rankings after Le Tour:

Individual


Teams

Yay, Lövet!

I think he can finish in the top 10 actually.

Rabobank is still quite close in the PT team ranking.

with the curent stats Rogers is better than him. I hardly got a 15th place with him in Giro. It's all about who will be in Vuelta.



Yeah and with the Vuelta coming, where they could have Menchov, it will be hard to stay in front of them. But I'm expecting to get more points than Rabo in the rest of the PT races.

Next race:


2008:
1. David Zabriskie Garmin Chipotle
2. Thomas Lovkvist Team Columbia
3. Sebastien Rosseler Quick Step
4. Lars Boom Team Columbia
5. Lars Bak CSC Saxo Bank
6. Bert Grabsch Team Columbia
7. Brian Vandborg Team GLS
8. Edvald Boasson Hagen Team Columbia
9. Kurt Asle Arvesen CSC Saxo Bank
10. Sebastian Lang Gerolsteiner

2009 Team Columbia:
David Zabriskie
Lars Boom
Gerald Ciolek
Taylor Phinney
Adam Hansen
Mikhail Ignatiev
Bert Grabsch
Frantisek Rabon

Post Danmark Rundt Stage 1


Ignatiev, Phinney and Rabon were seen today for the first time in their new jerseys, thouth that Ignatiev and Rabon's had a lot in comun.


We had a breakaway with 2 unknown guys.


But the escapes weren't the pack's big problem, the wind was. And the pack was split into 2 main groups


Still the big names like Pozzato, Schumacher and Thomas Dekker were in the first group


For Columbia Ignatiev and Zabriskie were in the front group


They tried to involve in the final sprint but it was hard with all that strong wind


Barloworld and Topsport were the best there


Cooke was in a perfect postion with 750 metres to go


But then our Portuguesse friend came


And an another win for Barbosa. The second pack came afer one minute and a half.


Stage
1. Cândido Barbosa Rabobank 4h13'53
2. Baden Cooke Barloworld s.t.
3. Guennadi Mikhailov Team CSC - Saxo Bank s.t.
4. Giorgio Brambilla Barloworld s.t.
5. Preben Van Hecke Topsport Vlaanderen s.t.
6. Frederik Veuchelen Topsport Vlaanderen s.t.
7. Matthew Hayman Rabobank s.t.
8. Mikhail Ignatiev Team Columbia s.t.
9. Marco Bandiera Lampre s.t.
10. Danilo Hondo Gerolsteiner s.t.

Overall
1. Cândido Barbosa Rabobank 4h13'33
2. Baden Cooke Barloworld + 8
3. Guennadi Mikhailov Team CSC - Saxo Bank + 12
4. Gorik Gardeyn Silence - Lotto + 18
5. Giorgio Brambilla Barloworld + 20
6. Preben Van Hecke Topsport Vlaanderen s.t.
7. Frederik Veuchelen Topsport Vlaanderen s.t.
8. Matthew Hayman Rabobank s.t.
9. Mikhail Ignatiev Team Columbia s.t.
10. Marco Bandiera Lampre s.t.

Points
1. Cândido Barbosa Rabobank 25
2. Baden Cooke Barloworld 20
3. Guennadi Mikhailov Team CSC - Saxo Bank 16

Mountain
1. Alexander Egger Team Volksbank 5
2. Andoni Aranaga Adria Mobil 3
3. Paolo Bossoni Lampre 1

Next race:



2008:
1. Kim Kirchen Team Columbia
2. Frank Schleck CSC Saxo Bank
3. Paolo Bettini Quick Step
4. David Herrero Karpin Galicia
5. Oscar Pereiro Caisse d'Epargne
6. Aljeandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne
7. Rinaldo Nocentini AG2R
8. Leonardo Bertagnolli Liquigas
9. Carlos Sastre CSC Saxo Bank
10. Damiano Cunego Lampre

2009 Team Columbia:
Kim Kirchen
Marcus Burghardt
George Hincapie
Thomas Lovkvist
Vicente Reynes
Craig Lewis
John Devine
Marco Pinotti