Twenty of the top teams to enter the Tour de France this century each manned with nine of their former riders, who are all at their top level or close enough, will battle it out over the memorable route of the 2010 Tour de France in this, the:
(The team ratings are just a rough guide. eg A team maybe rated higher if they have multiple very good climbers than a team with one exceptional climber. These will be the closest indicators towards stats, which will be released at the end of the race if they will be released at all.)
(To spice things up there are twenty stamps to unlock throughout the race, how many can we unlock?)
Prerequisites for unlocking stamps:
Spoiler
1. After all, it is the Tour de FRANCE!
(Witness a French rider win a stage) 2. That's a given
(Witness Kirsipuu abandon) 3. The rivalry .... continues
(Concerning Andy Schleck & Contador, witness one attack and the other immediately counter.) 4. Iron wills
(Witness Hincapie, O'Grady & Voigt complete another TDF) 5. The sprint train of the gods
(Witness this exact leadout: Eisel - Renshaw - Cavendish) 6. The complimentary prologue victory
(Cancellara wins the prologue and takes the yellow jersey) 7. History repeats itself
(Witness Andy Schleck, Alessandro Petacchi or Anthony Charteau win a jersey) 8. Super team
(Witness one team finish with two riders in the top 10 in GC) 9. A close run thing
(The top five riders separated by less than 50 points in the final standings of the green jersey) 10. Once is never enough
(Witness a rider regain the yellow jersey after losing it) 11. 2 Time
( 1 rider wins two stages) 12. 3 Time
( 1 rider wins three stages) 13. Mountain train of doom
(Witness the Team Sky train lead the peloton on the final mountain at the end of a stage.) 14. The old 1-2
(Witness a team finish with riders 1st and 2nd on a stage) 15. Tommy time!
( Thomas Voeckler, by himself, attacks in the last 20 kilometres of a stage) 16. Crash time
(Witness a crash with more than 10 riders downed) 17. So much for being underdogs
(Witness Bouygues Telecom win a stage) 18. That should be enough
(Witness a breakaway have over 10:00 on the peloton) 19. In yellow for a reason
(Witness the yellow jersey take a victory) 20. Couldn't have done it without you!
(Witness teammates drop back to pace back their leader to the peloton)
A quick summary of the contenders for the three jerseys in this race.
Contenders:
M.Cavendish (HTC)
A Petacchi (Fasso)
R McEwen (Lotto)
A Greipel (Lotto)
--
T Boonen (Quickstep)
T Hushovd (Garmin)
O Freire (Rabobank)
P Sagan (Liquigas)
E Zabel (Milram)
With the huge amount of flat stages on offer, which offer more points than the mountainous stages, it is safe to assume that the winner of the green jersey will be someone with a strong sprint. Backed by a terrific sprint train Cavendish looks to be the fastest sprinter here and favourite for the green jersey, Lotto, however, have sprinting greats McEwen and Greipel and they can't be discounted.
However, the flat out sprinters aren't certainties to pick up the green jersey. The cobbled stage and the stage into Gap will likely see the sprinters who can cope with the hills and tough terrain pick up many points so the likes of Boonen, Freire, Sagan and Hushovd can not be counted out.
Contenders:
The GC contenders
R Virenque (Quickstep)
S Chavanel (Quickstep)
T Voeckler (Europcar)
P Rolland (Europcar)
D Moncoutie (Cofidis)
As ever with the polka dots it will be very difficult to predict the winner of the 'mountain' classification. The KOM points are heavily awarded at the end of a stage on a mountain top finish, however, there are many stages where there are plenty of KOM points on offer well before the finish of the stage.
You could say it is a 50/50 between a GC favourite taking the polka dots or someone who constantly makes the breaks (such as Charteau did in 2010).
Contenders:
A Contador (Discovery)
A Schleck (CSC)
C Froome (Sky)
I Basso (Liquigas)
--
A Valverde (Caisse)
A Kloden (T-Mobile)
J Rodriguez (Caisse)
V Nibali (Liquigas)
C Evans (Lotto)
D Menchov (Rabobank)
B Wiggins (Sky)
S Sanchez (Euskaltel)
The list is a long one of challengers for the yellow jersey in this ultimate Tour de France. Contador and Schleck look to be the favourites, but not by a considerable margin. Rodriguez and Valverde will look to take back time on the hilly stages and the likes of Froome, Evans and Kloden will look to make amends on the 50 kilometre TT which takes place on the penultimate stage.
The list could be even longer than it already is with names likes Leipheimer, Vinokourov and Sastre not to be discounted. It will be interesting to see what the French contingent (Virenque, Vockler, Rolland and Moreau) can do in this company.
Also there are many riders who will be a stage hunting, forgoing interest in the jerseys, to cross the line first which should make for some spectacular racing.
Cancellara starts the prologue as the red hot favourite, but in this company he will have to put in a big effort to be ensured of the win.
Erik Zabel is the first man off the ramp. Despite putting in a respectable time of 11'43 his time is quickly brushed under the carpet by Frenchman Nico Vogondy who sets a time of 11'31.
Vino!
Times are being beaten left right and centre. Vinokourov (T-Mobile) is the next to go quickest with a time of 11'26. Rik Verbrugghe (Lotto) clearly puts in 100% around the course put comes up just short, losing '2 to Vinokourov in each 4 KM stretch to finish at 11'30.
Geraint Thomas flies around the course.
The Welshman is the first to put in a time which might well challenge for the victory. He finishes at 11'15 after putting in a great ride in the second half of the course.
Pinotti (11'28) and Zabriskie (11'18) put in solid displays which would have had Thomas fans on the edges of their seats .... and 30 riders haven't even left the start ramp, it is some start to this prologue!
Jensie!
You knew you were going to get 110% from Jens Voigt and that is what we got. He put in a great effort to finish '5 down at 11'20.
Seeing Thomas Voeckler amble around the course, compared to others, was a refreshing sight for many. He would finish 110th on the day '50 down on the stage winner.
Michael Rogers off the ramp, a real contender for the prologue.
Rogers GOES FASTEST at the half way mark posting a time of 6'06, '5 faster than Thomas at the same point.
However, Rogers would not finish as strongly as the Welshman and would end up finishing '4 down at 11'19. It really looks as if Thomas timed his effort meticulously as Marco Velo and Peter Sagan would also, surprisingly, be faster at the half way mark only to finish down on the Welshman.
Tony Martin creeps into the lead.
After Thomas held the lead for some time, Tony Martin just managed to edge ahead at the finish setting a time of 11'14 which would be milliseconds faster than Thomas' time.
Sylvain Chavanel gives his all put finishes less than '1 down on Martin, just behind Thomas, setting a time of 11'15.
Richie Porte out on course.
The Tasmanian puts in a good effort put wilts towards the finish to end at 11'23, putting in a similar performance to David Millar who ends at 11'21.
Gonzales de Galdeano / Ivan Gutierrez
Without doubt these are the two standout men against the clock from Spain here and they would both put in solid performances today. Gonzales de Galdeano finishes at 11'17 whereas Gutierrez finished at 11'19, bragging rights on the day go to Euskaltel.
The unmistakable Tom Boonen.
With 75% of riders already finished we have a quick update:
-- T Martin 11'14
- G Thomas @ '0
- S Chavanel @ '0
- I Gonzales de Galdeano @ '2
- D Zabriskie @ '3
- M Rogers @ '4
Bert Grabsch and Chris Froome ... surely favourites for a top 10.
BUT NO, both somewhat disappoint. Grabsch finishes 20th at 11'23 and Froome finishes behind teammate Kiryienka at 11'30.
The wind has picked up and the rain is falling down, this doesn't bode well for the stage favourite, Cancellara, who is about to start.
Cancellara rides like a hellhound is on his trail. Unperturbed by the increasingly harsh conditions he is the first rider to go under 6'00 at the half way mark with a time of 5'59.
Cancellara goes fastest.
It looks like we have a winner. Cancellara puts '13 into Martin with a time of 11'01, we have some quality riders still to come but the prologue win looks settled.
van Garderen puts in a super time.
The American would finish just milliseconds behind teammate Tony Martin with a time of 11'14. It just goes to show how much form on the day counts, many would say Froome is generally a better prologue rider than van Garderen but he loses '16 to the American today.
Honchar puts time into Cancellara!
But not where it counts! Honchar put in a great tactical ride which would see him rise finish on the podium today. He was '13 down to Cancellara at the halfway points but rallied to finish '11 down. A great result for the Ukrainian and Fasso Bortolo.
Wiggins!
Bradley Wiggins was the last rider to start with any chance of winning the stage, and being '13 down at the half way point in was never going to happen.
However, the Brit rallied to finish 2nd, '10 down on the stage. Contador (48th) at 11'34 was the last rider to finish and that was that!
Cancellara takes the win!
It was expected, but he still delivered. In 2010 he won by '10 over Tony Martin and he produces a very similar result today. With no time bonifications on offer we look set for a lengthy spell with Spartacus in yellow.
Of the GC favourites, most would be content with their performance, however Andy Schleck (122nd) and J.Rodriguez (128th) will be more concerned than most.
A flat stage, but a long one. The toughest part of the stage comes right at the end. A small hill finishes the race but after 220 KM only the strongest will survive, expect a rare battle between the pure sprinters and the puncheurs.
Cedric Vasseur of Cofidis: The first to attack in this TDF.
There really was a mad dash to get into the break today. Auge, Gene, Dean, Garcia Acosta were frequently putting in attacks in the hope of making the 1st break of this ultimate Tour de France.
Lotto and HTC, clearly, didn't fancy their chances to much in the uphill sprint today as Henderson, Pate and Tony Martin put in many early attacks.
It would take the best part of 70 KM before a break would be established. A lot of hard chasing by Quinziato and mainly Rabobank/ Quickstep would not prevent a 14 man break getting clear in the end.
Julian Dean makes the break!
The Kiwi would take the max points on offer at only intermediate sprint of the day.
Peter Sagan, showed his intentions for the green jersey by winning the half hearted battle for the last point on offer.
After 70 hard kilometres the yellow jersey finally had some time to take it easy.
The break reached a zenith of having 8'00 over the peloton with 110 kilometres to go before the teams of Rabobank, Quickstep and Liquigas began the chase. There was help from a host of other teams but these three put in the most effort.
It looked as if it was going to be another predictable sprint stage, but it wouldn't turn out that way.
25 KM to go - 54 riders dropped!
We are 200 kilometres into the stage and the break is almost a certainty to get caught. But all the action is happening at the rear of the peloton! Bouygues Telecom are trying desperately to pace their leader, former world champ, Brochard, back to the peloton after being caught out in a big split. He isn't the only big name to be caught out!
J Van Den Broucke, Carlos Sastre, Frank Schleck, Levi Leipheimer, Chris Horner, Richie Porte and Oscar Pereiro are all dropped from the peloton. But the biggest name may well be .....
Bradley Wiggins!
The Brit could well have challenged for the GC, but won't be if he gets caught out in such splits on flat stages. The points jersey wearer has little hope of regaining contact as the speed on the front of the peloton is immense.
Pure climbers start to be dropped.
Szymd and other pure climbers are dropped by the peloton due to the ferocious speed on the flat, the Bouygues Telecom group now know they can only hope to limit losses on the day as there is no coming back from here.
Sylvain Chavanel leads the race with 5 KM to go.
The break have now been swallowed up as the final approaches.
Rabobank really want this one.
The Dutch team have put immense faith in Oscar Freire today, in a finish which really suits his characteristics. They have the dominant sprint train.
Has the Rabobank Juggernaut gone too early or have they time it just right?
Boonen! Never to be counted out.
The Belgian puts in a massive effort to bring Bettini to the head of the race, a great leadout! Freire is already sprinting and the likes of Bettini and Cavendish haven't even started their final effort, it is all falling apart at the wrong time for Rabobank.
Cavendish: Now or never!
The Brit surges past Freire and into the race lead. Bettini reacts as Boonen finishes his leadout.
Cavendish vs. Bettini!
The super sprinter vs. the super classics man. It looks like the stage is between these two.
But Hushovd and Sagan, after starting their sprints the latest, are coming up fast .... and with reserves!
Hushovd surges into the race lead!
HUSHOVD WINS!
The Norweigian used all his experience to go at the right time and it paid off! He just holds off a fast finishing Sagan in the 1st road stage of this Tour de France. Bettini won the battle with Cavendish in the end and takes the final podium spot after this really exciting sprint.
The hard nature of the final is highlighted by Sami Sanchez and Cadel Evans making the top 10. O'Grady shows he can't be counted out and Samuel Dumoulin and Cofidis will surely be over the moon with the 6th place finish.
Whereas it will be back to the drawing board for Rabobank after Freire could only manage a 14th place on the day.
A super result for Garmin-Cervelo, but they will, no doubt, want even more from this tour.
Cancellara finishes safely in the peloton and holds onto the yellow jersey. However, the dropped favourites group (Wiggins, Brochard etc) lost 4'45. Many have lost slim GC ambitions today.
- sutty: Yep, a great victory for Thor. Crucially he went at the right time and takes the first road stage, with such quality opposition a badly timed sprint won't win here. Got to get everything right, by the looks of it.
A hard hilly stage is in order today. The steep hills and sharp descents may catch some riders out. On paper it looks a good stage for a breakaway to succeed, but will they be allowed to succeed this early in the Tour de France?
In stark contrast to the first road stage, the first five riders to attack were allowed to get away. The break: Oss, Charteau, Hansen, Pineau and Millar (best placed @ '20).
Charteau, reminding everyone he won the polka dots at the 2010 TDF, took the first KOM point on offer on the stage.
Not a good TDF for Pinot.
The Frenchman would crash, early on, and would not make it back on to the peloton, clearly struggling. At the end of the day he would be the latern rouge by more than 13 minutes. FDJ may have to look to other riders if they want to get anything from this Tour.
CSC want to keep the yellow.
With 127 KM to go the break had their maximum advantage on the day of 9'56. CSC would chiefly take up the chase.
Attacks out of the peloton.
With the break well in control three different series of attacks from some quality hard nosed puncheurs really animate the race:
-- 70 KM to go: Kim Kirchen (@'45) attacks
-- 65 KM to go: Ivanov, Frank Vandenbroucke and Axel Merckx attack.
-- 55 KM to go: Simon Gerrans attack.
All the attackers group up in pursuit of the original breakaway.
Cavendish falls.
The Manx Missile falls with 39 KM to go. He gets up quickly enough but it remains to be seen if this fall will harbour his sprinting abilities in the coming stages which are bountiful for the sprinters. At this point groups of one and two riders are constantly falling off the rear of the peloton.
So much for Charteau.
Oss is proving to be the strongest of the original break. He would be the first rider to don the polka dots at the end of the stage after amassing 4 KOM points this being in addition to collecting 20 sprint points for being the first rider through the intermediate sprint.
The situation with 24 KM to go:
-- Original break (- Charteau, who is dropped)
-- Five mid stage attackers @ '58
-- 62 man peloton @ 2'22
Whether they are taking it easy, suffering or are dropped due to bad positioning we can't tell, but the 1-2 of yesterday (Hushovd and Sagan) are well dropped along with the surprise of the prologue van Garderen, who is well down on the stage.
The peloton are lead by a variety of teams (Sky, Discovery Channel, Caisse d'Epargne and CSC)
The final climb nears.
The five late attackers meet up with the remains of the original break with 12 KM to go. The final climb nears as the rain takes its toll now more than ever. With the peloton 1'30 behind the break may make it.
VINOKOUROV!
He may have a teammate up the road but the Kazakh can't resist attacking as soon as the peloton reach the final climb with 10 KM to go. He is immediately shadowed by Brochard, who is wanting to show something after the calamity on stage 1.
Kirchen distances the rest of the break!
The Luxembourger attacks the rest of the break, who can't respond, over the top of the final climb. With 8 kilometres downhill to the finish it is looking good for him. Gerrans attacks over the top, but it may to be too late to catch the flying Kirchen on the wet and dangerous descent.
More attacks out of the peloton.
After Vinokourov and Brochard's previous attack came to nothing they attack again. This time they counter Paolo Bettini over the top of the final climb. However, once again it comes to nothing. Joaquím Rodríguez is the next to try his luck, but thinks better against pushing on on the slick descent.
Kirchen is over 1'00 ahead of the peloton and is willing to take the risks, there is a very real chance that Cancellara will lose the yellow today.
Kim Kirchen!
A solo victory for T-Mobile on a memorable stage. His brave attacking flair pays off with a victory into Spa, but will he move into the yellow?
Gerrans holds on to second.
The Aussie looked like he might catch Kirchen on the early part of the decent, but in the end he lose time to come home @ '43.
Brochard leads home the 65 man peloton.
They come home ..... 1'17 down on Kirchen, therefor Cancellara will lose the yellow jersey. The wet conditions really did take it out of some today. Wiggins loses big time once again and can surely say goodbye to any faint lingering GC hopes. The Kazakh, Kivilev, also lost out on the day.
Andy Schleck, Cadel Evans, Serhiy Honchar, Sami Sanchez, Tommy Voeckler and Denis Menchov just about hold onto the rear of the peloton. Ivan Basso, after losing some time yesterday, finishes safely entrenched in the peloton.
Kim Kirchen: The second yellow jersey.
A great moment for him and T-Mobile. With Vinokourov showing well and Klöden keeping out of the trouble, T-Mobile could have many more good times yet in this Tour.
With the cobbled stage up next Cancellara can't be ruled out of regaining the yellow jersey, although Kirchen will be sure to fight tooth and nail to ensure he stays in the yellow jersey.
The only stage containing cobbles in this Tour de France. There will be two goals for many: staying upright and survival. The more superstitious will, no doubt, be praying for good weather.
Tjallingi!
It would hardly be a grand tour without Tjallingi animating a stage from the start. Tjallingi was the first to attack on this stage and he would form the five man break of the day along with Wrölich, Gautier, Henderson and Elmiger (Best placed @ 4'40). It was a good break to get into as there was a decent chance of the break making it to the finish today.
AG2R climbers towards the rear of the peloton.
Today certainly wasn't the day for pure climbers such as Botcharov and Valjavec. Out front the break reach a maximum time gap of 10'55 over the peloton with 145 KM to go before CSC - Saxo Bank, Discovery Channel and Team Sky take up the chase. The teams with GC ambitions are the ones controlling things today.
Boonen takes some good intermediate points!
The intermediate sprint, which came fairly early on in the stage, was a good gauge of who is sprinting well as there were some decent points on offer. Boonen took the most on offer, just edging out Cavendish, cementing his ambitions for the green jersey.
The break going over the first cobbled section of the stage.
With 84 KM to go the break are well in control @ 6'20.
Egoi Martinez on the attack!
Having survived a small cobble section the Euskaltel rider attacked out of the peloton with 56 KM to go. The attack got nowhere, but at least he got some good air time! If Euskaltel are attacking on the cobbles then just wait for the mountains!
Cancellara and Hincapie lead the peloton.
Looking after Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador, not to forget Team Sky looking after Chris Froome, the peloton is controlled by teams with GC ambitions. Cancellara, 2nd in GC, would not be allowed, it seemed, to try and regain the yellow jersey.
With some cobble experts pushing on, some were really suffering towards the rear of the peloton.
Virenque dropped in a group of 74!
With 41 KM to go a 74 man group has been distanced from the peloton. Pure climber, Virenque, is out the back door as is VandeVelde, Voigt and Gonzalez de Galdeano.
We reach the hardest cobbled sections of the stage with 20 KM to go.
The original break have shed Henderson and Gautier but look well in control.
Astarloza falls.
He would get back up, the weather wasn't too bad so there weren't many accidents throughout the stage.
Wrölich pushes the pace on.
The peloton reduce the gap to '30 to the now 3 man break, but then the gap starts to grow out. No team wants the stage, the teams that are driving along the peloton are purely doing so to keep their leaders out of trouble. A good sign for the break.
Honchar punctures at the wrong time.
Fortunately for him the peloton wasn't going at a super rate. His teammates drop back and help him back to the peloton, after bridging the poultry '15 second gap.
Cavendish dropped!
The Manx Missile is dropped on the last cobbled section of the day with 12 KM to go. GC men Joaquim Rodriguez and Ivan Basso are also dropped from the 70 man peloton, they would lose some time today.
Into the last kilometre.
Tjallingi leads out the sprint of the three surviving breakaway members as they will fight out the win, the peloton are '40 behind and have no chance of coming back.
Wrölich comes around....
Tjallingi's goose is cooked and Elmiger is struggling to catch the Austrian..
Wrölich takes the win!
A huge moment for the Austrian. Elmiger has to settle for second but will have the consolation of leading the points classification. Tjallingi, if he didn't lead out the sprint, could well have had the victory.
Eisel leads home the peloton @ '33.
It is another Austrian who finishes 4th as Eisel wins the one that, some say, 'doesn't count'. No team left with numbers in the reduced peloton meant the break could not be brought back today.
A win for Milram!
It is a win for Milram. This makes it a great tour for one of the 'weakest' teams here and will, no doubt, lift the spirits of the other smaller teams. Wrölich wins the only stage he could have possibly dreamed of winning.
Few favourites lose time, however, Joaquim Rodriguez and Ivan Basso do lose around 1'30 to the other favourites and Bradley Wiggins continues to lose time in abundance.
Once again the top 10 changes as Gonzales de Galdeano and Voigt are replaced by Moreau and Nibali.
Well, had some catching up to do on yesterday and today but hey - great idea, lovely presentation and stunning reports. Also, what a stage win by Kirchen
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
Shonak - Thanks for the words Shonak. I'm interested to see who comes out on top in the mountains, however, a flat out sprint stage is up next. I'm pleased with how my stats are working out, if anyone, in the whole race, were to attack like that on stage 2 it probably would be Kirchen and Ivanov. Nice to see some support for Wrölich!
Selwink - Glad you are enjoying 'em mate. Tjallingi, he is a breakaway fiend. He may have not got the win, but he came up with a great result and you can't deny him that!
Stage 4:Cambrai - Reims 153 KM
Spoiler
With stage 1 having been slightly uphill this is the first real nailed on sprinters stage of this Tour de France, who will come out on top?
Jose Vicente Garcia Acosta leads the attacks.
The Spaniard would be apart of the 10 man break today, other breakaway riders: Vansummeren, Verbrugghe, Se Chavanel, Vasseur, Auge, Ongarto, Turgot, Arashiro and Duque (best placed @ 7'45). There are three Cofidis riders in the break, showing they realise attacking is their best chance of success here.
Points jersey, Martin Elmiger, helps out in the early chasing of the breakaway.
The peloton leaving nothing to chance.
HTC, Quickstep and Fasso Bortolo are the ones chasing today. They don't allow the break much optimism as the advantage tops out at 5'00 with 70 kilometres.
Cavendish, the best sprinter at the intermediate.
Cavendish, of the sprinters, claimed the most points on offer at the intermediate checkpoint with 25 KM to go. The green jersey is a huge priority for him and his team.
With 11 KM to go time is almost up for the break of the day. Auge is the last to attack, but there is no chance of victory with the peloton ever accelerating and just '30 behind.
That legendary sprint train.
We could see that great HTC sprint train together as far out as 8 KM to go. However, things soon turn bleak for HTC as Cavendish loses the wheel multiple times and even gets blocked in, suffering from an unfortunate serious of events he is behind as the final few kilometres are reached.
Quickstep launch the dominant sprint train: Steegmans leads out Boonen.
The situation with 700 meters to go:
- Steels
- Steegmans
- Boonen
- McEwen
- Cooke
- Freire
- Kirsipuu
- Hushovd
- Hondo
- Cavendish.
Petacchi and Sagan, boxed in even more so than Cavendish, are well behind.
Cavendish tries to catch up to the wheel of Renshaw.
Cavendish, who is finally free from blockages, is definitely making headway on those up ahead. But surely even he can't catch the Steegmans freight train.
Boonen, caught napping?
With 150 meters to go Freire, Cooke and McEwen lead the race. Boonen is leaving his sprint very late but finally goes as he sees Freire come level.
Oscar Freire!
It was a win for Rabobank as Oscar Freire takes the stage win , making amends after he fell apart on the 1st road stage. That is some top 10.
Quickstep set up the perfect sprint train today, if Boonen went earlier then the win could have been his. Baden Cooke rounds out the podium, after a really good day for him.
Cavendish, after some foul luck, comes home in 7th. Petacchi, Zabel and Sagan finish really quickly but were not in the right place at the right time.
A solid 5th place from Thor Hushovd sees him regain the points jersey. Kirchen holds the yellow jersey.
it looks really good already 
