One of just 2 more mountain days that remain, as we finally see the Alps drawing to a close, I wouldn't be surprised to see another breakaway victor today as teams reach there last legs, and positions begin to look more stable.
Once again, those teams which have been decimated by the Alps made up a large part of the break today, names such as Lagutin, joined German NC Christian Knees, Kuschynski, and Luca Mazzanti out in front, as part of a 8man group.
The break held 9minutes lead at the base of the climb, 25km from home, but the numbers and speeds were both falling, Knees had made a small attack, which reduced the group to just 5, and 3 more of these were falling away...
12km from home, you'll never guess who it was attacking, Yup... Scarponi he soloed away, Horner tried to give chase, along with Jakob Fuglsang. Jakob quickly fell away, and Horner found himself stranded between Scarpo and the Pack.
It was a measure of how little the break had left, that with 4km of the climb left, both Horner and Scarponi had passed several of the 8 original members, for once however, the Lampre man wouldn't come past every one, he takes 4th place on the day.
Out in front, Christian Knees is able to hang on and pick up a second consecutive stage win for Sky! In the end, he dropped all but Kuschynski of Katusha who could do no more than hang on for second place.
Chris Horner managed to close to a large proportion of the break as well, he finishes 1'22 behind Scarponi, whose lead stands at 9'55 going into day 20. More importantly however, was the gap of 50" between Horner, and Garzelli. This goes a long way towards finally securing second place. Great ride from Chris!
Unfortunately, this stage wouldn't load, I gave up, and detailed simmed the stage, but the result was fortunately favourable!
Horner and Garzelli broke away as a duo towards the top of the days main climb, and carried there advantage all the way to the line, not even Scarponi could keep up today, Garzelli managed to out sprint Chris for the stage, but with the gap still over a minute, the TT seems safe to provide us with 2nd place!
Stage Results
1
Stefano Garzelli
Acqua & Sapone
6h40'23
2
Chris Horner
Exxon Duke
s.t.
3
Vincenzo Nibali
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 20
4
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
5
Alexandre Vinokourov
Pro Team Astana
+ 44
6
Luis León Sánchez
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 1'00
7
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 2'32
8
Jakob Fuglsang
Leopard Trek
s.t.
9
Amets Txurruka
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 3'40
10
Juan Mauricio Soler
Movistar Team
+ 4'00
11
Giampaolo Caruso
Katusha Team
s.t.
12
Peter Velits
HTC - Highroad
+ 4'12
13
Haimar Zubeldia
Team RadioShack
+ 4'36
14
José Iván Gutiérrez
Movistar Team
+ 5'28
15
Marco Pinotti
HTC - Highroad
+ 5'40
Stage 21
It's here! 30km around the centre of Milan, are all that stand between the riders, and the end of there pain, Horner brings an advantage of 1'27 over second place, and is 10'30 down on Scarponi, so assuming nothing goes horribly wrong today, we will walk away with second place, winning the race of the "Rest of the Bunch"
Russell Downing was clearly spurred on by his great stage win on St.18, he set a great early time, 48'28.
His time was looking good until Bert Grabsch of HTC set off, Bert clearly fancied his chances today, and after a slow first third, he really picked up speed, smashing Russ' time, the new benchmark was at 46'24.
We have several good TTists in our squad, such as Taylor Phinney, it showed just how good Berts' time was, that even Taylor could only just finish within a minute of his time!
The time set after just 26riders, stood all the way until the top 25! Finally Richie Porte was able to duck under the time, possibly Saxobank would receive something from there otherwise horrific 3weeks in Italy.
Or not! No sooner had Richie ducked under, did Marco Pinotti shave another 21" off his time! It was clear the route still had something to give, The men with most left in the legs after 3weeks, were able to dent the times of the better straight TTists.
9" Quicker than Pinotti, came Marzio Bruseghin, he is well placed inside the top 10 of the GC, and this TT looked hard to beat!
The spanish TT champion, Luis Léon Sanchéz, has had a torrid tour, he was aiming for much more than the 5th place from which he started the day, and his TT showed he meant business, Bruseghin wouldn't be picking up the stage win today! unless anyone could perform a superman ride, this should be good enough! 45'27, a whole 15" quicker than Marzio!
The last 3 men to set off were Horner, Scarponi and Garzelli, for Michele this was no more than a victory parade around Milan, Horner still had to be wary of the Acqua & Sapone rider, the first of the trio to set off, it was not beyond Garzelli to take second today with a solid TT!
Garzelli finishes in 3rd place, 33" in front of 9th place Horner, not enough to change the GC, and Chris can celebrate a GT podium, at the Grand old age of 39!
Scarponi wasn't interested in trying to fight for the stage today, he just enjoyed his lap of Milan, finishing 13th on the day, but I think he's earned the right to relax, his performance here in his native Italy, has been of a different class!
Stage Results
1
Luis León Sánchez
Rabobank Cycling Team
45'27
2
Marzio Bruseghin
Movistar Team
+ 15
3
Stefano Garzelli
Acqua & Sapone
+ 21
4
Marco Pinotti
HTC - Highroad
+ 23
5
Vincenzo Nibali
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 24
6
Jakob Fuglsang
Leopard Trek
+ 31
7
Alexandre Vinokourov
Pro Team Astana
+ 37
8
Richie Porte
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 44
9
Chris Horner
Exxon Duke
+ 54
10
Bert Grabsch
HTC - Highroad
+ 56
Spoiler
11
Rubén Plaza
Movistar Team
+ 58
12
Beñat Intxausti
Movistar Team
+ 59
13
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
+ 1'10
14
Peter Velits
HTC - Highroad
+ 1'17
15
Yaroslav Popovych
Team RadioShack
+ 1'20
16
David Zabriskie
Exxon Duke
+ 1'21
17
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 1'29
18
José Iván Gutiérrez
Movistar Team
+ 1'33
19
Giovanni Visconti
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
+ 1'35
20
Andriy Grivko
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
21
Damiano Cunego
Lampre - ISD
+ 1'39
22
Simon Spilak
Lampre - ISD
+ 1'40
23
Chris Froome
Sky ProCycling
+ 1'48
24
Haimar Zubeldia
Team RadioShack
+ 1'51
25
Vasil Kiryienka
Movistar Team
+ 1'53
26
Steven Kruijswijk
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 1'55
27
Kevin De Weert
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
28
Tejay Van Garderen
HTC - Highroad
+ 1'59
29
Leonardo Bertagnolli
Lampre - ISD
+ 2'02
30
Christophe Riblon
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 2'04
31
Grischa Niermann
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 2'07
32
Andrey Kashechkin
Lampre - ISD
+ 2'09
33
Peter Sagan
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 2'11
34
Paul Martens
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 2'15
35
Robert Hunter
Team RadioShack
+ 2'16
36
Christian Knees
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
37
Kanstantsin Siutsou
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
38
Patrik Sinkewitz
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
+ 2'22
39
Dario Cioni
Sky ProCycling
+ 2'23
40
Philip Deignan
Team RadioShack
+ 2'26
41
Nicki Sørensen
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 2'31
42
Evgeni Petrov
Pro Team Astana
+ 2'35
43
Danny Pate
Exxon Duke
+ 2'37
44
Taylor Phinney
Exxon Duke
+ 2'39
45
José Joaquín Rojas
Movistar Team
s.t.
46
Xabier Zandio
Sky ProCycling
+ 2'40
47
Adam Hansen
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 2'43
48
Steve Houanard
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
49
Matteo Carrara
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 2'46
50
Stephen Cummings
Sky ProCycling
+ 2'47
51
Ben Jacques-Maynes
Exxon Duke
s.t.
52
Vladimir Miholjevic
Acqua & Sapone
s.t.
53
Steve Morabito
BMC Racing Team
+ 2'48
54
Przemyslaw Niemiec
Lampre - ISD
+ 2'49
55
Massimo Codol
Acqua & Sapone
+ 2'52
56
Michael Albasini
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
57
Aitor Pérez Arrieta
Lampre - ISD
+ 2'54
58
Robert Kiserlovski
Pro Team Astana
+ 2'55
59
David Le Lay
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 2'57
60
Russell Downing
Sky ProCycling
+ 3'01
61
José Rujano
Androni Giocattoli
s.t.
62
Ben Hermans
Team RadioShack
+ 3'02
63
Iván Velasco
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 3'03
64
Stefan Denifl
Leopard Trek
s.t.
65
Jürgen Van de Walle
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
66
Pablo Lastras
Movistar Team
s.t.
67
Juan Mauricio Soler
Movistar Team
+ 3'04
68
Andrea Noè
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
+ 3'05
69
Amaël Moinard
BMC Racing Team
+ 3'06
70
Bruno Pires
Leopard Trek
+ 3'08
71
Volodymir Gustov
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 3'12
72
Maxime Bouet
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 3'14
73
Michel Kreder
Team Garmin - Cervélo
+ 3'15
74
José Serpa
Androni Giocattoli
+ 3'16
75
Bernardo Colex
Exxon Duke
+ 3'19
76
Bauke Mollema
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
77
Johann Tschopp
BMC Racing Team
+ 3'20
78
Alessandro Bisolti
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
+ 3'23
79
Mikel Nieve
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 3'25
80
Roman Kireyev
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
81
Morris Possoni
Sky ProCycling
+ 3'27
82
Dominic Klemme
Leopard Trek
+ 3'28
83
Scott Zwizanski
Exxon Duke
+ 3'30
84
Eduard Vorganov
Katusha Team
+ 3'32
85
Giampaolo Caruso
Katusha Team
+ 3'34
86
Stuart O'Grady
Leopard Trek
+ 3'35
87
Santo Anza
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
88
Amets Txurruka
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
89
Allan Davis
Pro Team Astana
+ 3'36
90
Simon Clarke
Pro Team Astana
+ 3'40
91
Sep Vanmarcke
Team Garmin - Cervélo
+ 3'41
92
Davide Malacarne
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
93
Carlos Betancourt
Acqua & Sapone
+ 3'42
94
Grega Bole
Lampre - ISD
+ 3'43
95
Joan Horrach
Katusha Team
s.t.
96
Andrew Talansky
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
97
Kjell Carlström
Sky ProCycling
+ 3'45
98
Marco Marcato
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 3'49
99
Alessandro Bertolini
Androni Giocattoli
+ 3'51
100
Pavel Brutt
Katusha Team
s.t.
101
Addy Engels
Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 3'55
102
Paolo Tiralongo
Pro Team Astana
+ 3'56
103
Emanuele Sella
Androni Giocattoli
+ 3'59
104
Oliver Zaugg
Leopard Trek
s.t.
105
Óscar Pujol
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 4'00
106
Francisco José Ventoso
Movistar Team
+ 4'03
107
Cayetano Sarmiento
Acqua & Sapone
s.t.
108
Luca Mazzanti
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
+ 4'04
109
Emanuele Vona
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
+ 4'05
110
Thomas Rohregger
Leopard Trek
s.t.
111
Manuel Cardoso
Team RadioShack
+ 4'06
112
Hubert Dupont
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 4'07
113
Roberto Ferrari
Androni Giocattoli
+ 4'10
114
Rubén Pérez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 4'11
115
Sylwester Szmyd
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 4'12
116
Geoffroy Lequatre
Team RadioShack
+ 4'13
117
Jorge Azanza
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
118
Rémy Di Gregorio
Pro Team Astana
+ 4'15
119
Francesco Failli
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
+ 4'19
120
Aleksandr Kuschynski
Katusha Team
+ 4'20
121
Matthew Lloyd
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 4'21
122
Mirko Selvaggi
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 4'23
123
Francesco Ginanni
Androni Giocattoli
+ 4'28
124
Pablo Urtasun
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 4'46
125
Andrea Masciarelli
Acqua & Sapone
+ 4'52
126
Anthony Ravard
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 4'57
127
Luca Solari
Androni Giocattoli
s.t.
128
Riccardo Chiarini
Androni Giocattoli
+ 5'04
129
Sergey Lagutin
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 5'16
130
Paolo Longo Borghini
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 5'28
131
Christian Meier
Exxon Duke
+ 5'36
The honours on this the final day, go to Luis Sanchéz after a very solid TT this ride also moves him up into 4th place on the overall, moving past Vinokourov.
General Classification
1
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
92h55'37
2
Chris Horner
Exxon Duke
+ 9'07
3
Stefano Garzelli
Acqua & Sapone
+ 10'01
4
Luis León Sánchez
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 11'14
5
Alexandre Vinokourov
Pro Team Astana
+ 12'18
6
Vincenzo Nibali
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 14'06
7
Jakob Fuglsang
Leopard Trek
+ 17'36
8
Marzio Bruseghin
Movistar Team
+ 18'39
9
Haimar Zubeldia
Team RadioShack
+ 21'25
10
Peter Velits
HTC - Highroad
+ 21'40
One name above all others stands out here, finishing almost 10 full minutes ahead of 2nd place, and with 6stage victories enroute, the honours go to Michele Scarponi!
Exxon-Duke have shown our hands all round this season, victories in MSR and La Fléche Wallonne along with victories in the Basque, and nearly in the Santos Tour Down Under, showed we could mix it in the smaller races, but our Veteran Chris Horner has taken on the competition in great form here in Italy, Second place, along with the stage win atop Mt. Etna!
Sadly, he never actually got his hands on Pink, but spent a large proportion of the race as KOM leader, before handing over to the relentless Scarponi in week 3.
Points Classification
1
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
287
2
Luis León Sánchez
Rabobank Cycling Team
203
3
Stefano Garzelli
Acqua & Sapone
186
4
Alexandre Vinokourov
Pro Team Astana
181
5
Chris Horner
Exxon Duke
171
6
Vincenzo Nibali
Liquigas - Cannondale
171
7
Matteo Carrara
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
126
8
Damiano Cunego
Lampre - ISD
105
9
Marzio Bruseghin
Movistar Team
104
10
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
73
The race is just too hard for the sprinters, and the climbers contested the points right from the off, in the end the daylight winner, is once again Michele Scarponi, whilst Sanchéz moves into second place on day 21, following his TT victory.
King of the Mountains
1
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
84
2
Chris Horner
Exxon Duke
65
3
Stefano Garzelli
Acqua & Sapone
40
4
Danny Pate
Exxon Duke
32
5
Alexandre Vinokourov
Pro Team Astana
25
6
Dario Cioni
Sky ProCycling
21
7
Oliver Zaugg
Leopard Trek
21
8
Óscar Pujol
Omega Pharma - Lotto
20
9
Rubén Pérez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
20
10
Christian Knees
Sky ProCycling
19
Chris Horner spent a large proportion of the race as the outright owner of the Maglia Verde, he lost out to Scarponi, riding in green due to Michele's ownership of the Pink. Mention should also go to Danny Pate who made use of several breaks to pick up points, finishing 4th, and spending 3days as KOM leader, over the course of the race!
Youth Classification
1
Steven Kruijswijk
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 47'22
93h37'51 (1)
2
Simon Spilak
Lampre - ISD
+ 47'07
+ 1'38 (2)
3
Beñat Intxausti
Movistar Team
+ 46'26
+ 9'56 (3)
4
Tejay Van Garderen
HTC - Highroad
+ 47'26
+ 13'26 (4)
5
Robert Kiserlovski
Pro Team Astana
+ 48'22
+ 19'00 (5)
6
Cayetano Sarmiento
Acqua & Sapone
+ 49'30
+ 22'29 (6)
7
Carlos Betancourt
Acqua & Sapone
+ 49'09
+ 27'35 (7)
8
Peter Sagan
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 47'38
+ 31'49 (8)
9
Ben Hermans
Team RadioShack
+ 48'29
+ 57'43 (9)
10
Bauke Mollema
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 48'46
+ 1h12'46 (10)
Steven Kruisjwijk was able to out climb Spilak on the final road day to take over the jersey, meaning we don't see total Lampre domination! We were without a true contender here, but it was nice to see the Rabo rider delivering, they have worked hard during the race, taking home the white jersey, and 4th place overall.
One question for you! How do you keep up with every single story!
I don't think PCM.Daily has a more dedicated story follower than yourself!
Edited by baggieboys32 on 08-05-2012 19:15
As the riders finish the Giro, it is time for attention to move onwards once more, this time, It is the Criterium Du Dauphine, a big indicator of form, just shortly before the TdF, and we will be sure to see a strong line up here in France.
Our squad here in france is built around Lance, he will be our out and out leader in the GC for the TdF, and we are using this as training for our mountain squad. Lance and Tom will work together on the mountainous stages, whilst our up and coming climber, Peter Stetina is given a much freer role than he's had so far this season, with a licence to get involved in breaks, and try and pick up some points if he so chooses.
Unsurprisingly, a large sector of the TdF competition is here, and this race will be a sure sign of form, for 2 weeks time. Rodriguez, Schleck's, Sami Sanchéz, Leipheimer and Sastre will be the major competition for us in the climbs, but it will be interesting to see the form of those sprinters who also take part- Cavendish, Bos, Boassen-Hagen, Hunter, Davis, Cooke. Bozic and Greipel are all here, so it will be good to see how there form is, scouting for our man Farrar!
One name missing from this event, is Alberto Contador, the superb spanish climber, has still not recovered from his injury all the way back in the Amstel Gold, if he does recover in time for Le Tour, his fitness will be way off, and a race victory seems well beyond his capabilities!
The Race
Stage 1 is a hilly prologue, just over 6km in length, the hills will favour those GC men who can TT over those men who specialise solely against the clock.
Philippe Gilbert has hardly ridden since the Ardennes classics, but today looks tailer made for his talents, assuming the break is controlled, a hilly day in the saddle will suit Philippe very nicely!
Stage 3 looks perfect for the sprinters, a fairly flat profile over the key section of the race, will likely be controlled by those teams interested in the points jersey.
Stage 4 will be very decisive in the GC, any rider who wishes to win overall must be a high quality climber, but 49km against the clock, is an opportunity to end the hopes of some of the stage racers who lack that talent, the Schleck brothers aren't likely to be keen!
The major section of Stage 5's profile is fairly flat, but the race is focussed around the final climb, into Risoul, a good opportunity for the strongest climbers to regain some time.
A much shorter day, but the riders legs will be hurting right from the off, the day starts uphill, with an 18km climb, the first of 2 big ascents in the days riding.
Arguably the most well known mountain in cycling features today, the route finishes on the Alpe D'Huez, the third and final mountain day, and the toughest of the three!
With the big mountains completed, day 8 finishes with 6 laps of the Cote Du Doumancy, a short but sharp climb, which will be a final opportunity for riders to get away for a stage or overall victory!
Stage 1
The prologue changed hands many times over the course of the day, but Lance's legs were too strong for the competition, a great sign of things to come, both here, and also in the Grand Tour to follow!
He finishes ahead of a second American here in the prologue, beating Levi Leipheimer by 4seconds! Critically however, this places Lance in the race lead for the first time this season, a great boost for the team, and for Armstrong himself!
One question for you! How do you keep up with every single story!
I don't think PCM.Daily has a more dedicated story follower than yourself!
I just love all the different story types and all the different outcomes that happen
At the moment i have time on my side so what better than to spend it with PCM Daily
Despite a great showing for the side In Italy, we have been under much negotiation with one second key sponsor, Duke Energy, and they feel this partnership is not working out properly for them, and they will be leaving us following this years TdF.
We are currently searching for a new sponsor, to take over this position, however Exxon have also stated that they would be willing to become sole sponsor for the remainder of the year if no one can be found, in order to keep the team alive.
Potential Sponsors
We have so far been in contact with 3 firms regarding the role-
Microsoft have been mentioned in regards to the cycling team, there PC's are international, and Cycling could be a way for them to breach further markets!
Accenture are a Technologies company, focussing mainly upon the USA, and Australian markets, a contract with them would be likely to open new doors for the team, with Australian riders likely to be a priority for our sponsors!
Coca Cola are a worldwide brand, and there product is famous gloabally, we could expect serious funding from Coca-Cola, though they would be sure to demand a very high level of return when it comes to results
Edited by baggieboys32 on 09-05-2012 21:29
A hilly profile, which may well break up the pack. The short hill 5km from the finish seems an obvious time to expect the Punchers to attack, so we will have to be wary of these...
The morning break was 12 strong, it was the second attempt of the day, and we let this one go, as the names inside, were much weaker than on the first attempt
Nothing of interest occurred until the 65km mark, just as the pace was starting to rise. Andy Schleck fell badly, he continues with the race, but he would never make it back to the peloton, despite the initial attempts of Leopard-Trek, and lost over 15minutes on the day!
with 35km left to ride, the weaker punchers made an attack, along with Gilbert, who is not in great shape currently, he's been off since the Ardennes. This group was caught with 10km to go, thank to hard work by Katusha and ourselves.
Sure enough, the final hill seemed to be the place to move, Armstrong had to join this attack, as he is only a few seconds ahead of the contenders, it was clear that the 11 men involved with this move, would be the men fighting out the stage victory.
Armstrong was 4th, he finished ahead of the rest of the very initial attackers from the climb, however, a trio who had followed around 600m later had the strongest legs, and Soler of Movistar did enough to outsprint Eddy Boassen-Hagen, and John Gadret, who round out the podium.
The route has a flat second part of the race, however the initial hilly profile may be enough to drop the pure sprinters, we will either see a bunch sprint, or a reduced group fighting it out today.
12 men went up eh road early on today, we let them go fairly quickly, not wanting to have to control a pace over the hillier portion of the race. As a result when this weak group attacked, we were happy to let them free.
Once the break had a 9minute gap, we decided to start pulling, it is a shame to be losing Duke as a sponsor, but they will be happy to see this shot from the heli, there big D emblazoned in yellow on our backs for the world to gaze at.
Over the final climb of the day, the break is all but caught, and a weaker group of the GC contenders decided to give it a go, with them Sep Vanmarcke, looking to pick up some KOM points.
Sure enough, after the final hill, the group all came back together, with the course now flat, it seemed destined for a sprint, though many of the sprinters were really clinging on at the back, perhaps the Punchier climbers could compete for this one?
Indeed, with just 4.5km to go, Rodriguez made a powerful attack on the pack, he opened a small gap, and held on to the line, in front of Eddy B-H, sadly for us, this second place means Lance has to give up yellow for the day, but with a big TT tomorrow, he could well reclaim it by the finish of day 4.
Stage Results
1
Joaquím Rodríguez
Katusha Team
4h13'13
2
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
3
John Gadret
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
4
Maxim Iglinskiy
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
5
Daniel Moreno
Katusha Team
s.t.
6
Danilo Hondo
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
7
Matteo Carrara
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
8
Russell Downing
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
9
Levi Leipheimer
Team RadioShack
s.t.
10
Addy Engels
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
Spoiler
11
Samuel Dumoulin
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
s.t.
12
Samuel Sánchez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
13
Chris Froome
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
14
Allan Davis
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
15
José Joaquín Rojas
Movistar Team
s.t.
16
Cyril Lemoine
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
17
Mirco Lorenzetto
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
18
Jean-Christophe Peraud
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
19
Kevin De Weert
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
20
Lance Armstrong
Exxon Duke
s.t.
21
Óscar Freire
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
22
Jens Voigt
Leopard Trek
s.t.
23
Sébastien Minard
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
24
Amets Txurruka
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
25
Robert Kiserlovski
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
26
Carlos Barredo
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
27
Christophe Le Mével
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
28
Brice Feillu
Leopard Trek
s.t.
29
Michael Mørkøv
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
30
Cyril Dessel
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
31
Steven Kruijswijk
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
32
Amaël Moinard
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
33
Marco Marcato
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
34
Paul Martens
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
35
Stijn Devolder
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
36
Damien Monier
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
s.t.
37
Daniel Lloyd
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
38
Simone Ponzi
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
39
Jean-Eudes Demaret
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
s.t.
40
Ángel Madrazo
Movistar Team
s.t.
41
Juan Mauricio Soler
Movistar Team
s.t.
42
Dries Devenyns
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
43
Jonathan Hivert
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
44
Chris Barton
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
45
Johan Van Summeren
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
46
Joost Van Leijen
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
47
Luca Paolini
Katusha Team
s.t.
48
Philippe Gilbert
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
49
Jérôme Pineau
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
50
Romain Sicard
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
51
Nick Nuyens
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
52
Jean-Marc Marino
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
53
Fabian Wegmann
Leopard Trek
s.t.
54
Dimitriy Muravyev
Team RadioShack
s.t.
55
Rémy Di Gregorio
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
56
Fabio Duarte
Geox - TMC
s.t.
57
Carlos Sastre
Geox - TMC
s.t.
58
Lloyd Mondory
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
59
Cyril Bessy
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
60
Sérgio Paulinho
Team RadioShack
s.t.
61
Jürgen Van de Walle
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
62
Fränk Schleck
Leopard Trek
s.t.
63
Denys Kostyuk
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
64
Zdenek Stybar
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
65
Matthew Lloyd
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
66
Assan Bazayev
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
67
Mario Aerts
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
68
Arnaud Labbe
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
s.t.
69
Tom Danielson
Exxon Duke
s.t.
70
Matthew Busche
Team RadioShack
s.t.
71
Stef Clement
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
72
Luis Pasamontes
Movistar Team
s.t.
73
Vladimir Karpets
Katusha Team
s.t.
74
Mauro Santambrogio
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
75
Adriano Malori
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
76
Vitaliy Buts
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
77
Michael Schär
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
78
Laurens Ten Dam
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
79
Jonathan Castroviejo
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
80
Floyd Landis
Exxon Duke
s.t.
81
Jos Van Emden
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
82
Chris Anker Sørensen
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
83
Jorge Azanza
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 1'50
84
Julien Simon
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
85
Bernardo Colex
Exxon Duke
s.t.
86
Kevin Seeldraeyers
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
87
Craig Lewis
Exxon Duke
s.t.
88
Peter Stetina
Exxon Duke
s.t.
89
Valentin Iglinskiy
Pro Team Astana
+ 2'41
90
Tomas Vaitkus
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
91
Robert Hunter
Team RadioShack
s.t.
92
Vladimir Gusev
Katusha Team
s.t.
93
Björn Leukemans
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
94
Baden Cooke
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
95
Rigoberto Urán
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
96
Borut Božic
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
97
Martijn Maaskant
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
98
Linus Gerdemann
Leopard Trek
s.t.
99
Damiano Caruso
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
100
Xavier Tondo
Movistar Team
s.t.
101
Daniel Oss
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
102
Koldo Fernández
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
103
Daniele Bennati
Leopard Trek
s.t.
104
Michael Barry
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
105
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
106
Valerio Agnoli
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
107
Balint Szeghalmi
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
108
José Vicente García Acosta
Movistar Team
s.t.
109
Juraj Sagan
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
110
Ignatas Konovalovas
Movistar Team
s.t.
111
Christophe Laborie
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
112
Yannick Eijssen
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
113
Julien Bérard
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
114
Martin Mortensen
Leopard Trek
s.t.
115
Jeff Louder
Exxon Duke
s.t.
116
Lars Petter Nordhaug
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
117
Marco Corti
Geox - TMC
s.t.
118
Ion Izagirre
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
119
Cameron Meyer
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
120
Romain Zingle
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
s.t.
121
Danilo Wyss
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
122
Pablo Urtasun
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
123
Martin Elmiger
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
124
John-Lee Augustyn
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
125
Mirko Selvaggi
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
126
Fabio Felline
Geox - TMC
s.t.
127
David Millar
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
128
Manuele Mori
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
129
Guillaume Levarlet
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
130
Marcello Pavarin
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
131
Arkaitz Durán
Geox - TMC
s.t.
132
Timothy Roe
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
133
Mark Cavendish
HTC - Highroad
+ 3'45
134
Matthew Goss
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
135
Bernhard Eisel
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
136
Hayden Roulston
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
137
Kanstantsin Siutsou
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
138
Frantisek Rabon
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
139
Martin Velits
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
140
Sébastien Hinault
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 5'29
141
Jonathan Bellis
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
142
Maarten Neyens
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
143
Robbie McEwen
Team RadioShack
s.t.
144
Daniele Colli
Geox - TMC
s.t.
145
Fabio Sabatini
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
146
Alessandro Vanotti
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
147
Denis Galimzyanov
Katusha Team
s.t.
148
Carlos Oyarzun
Movistar Team
s.t.
149
Rafal Majka
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
150
Andy Schleck
Leopard Trek
s.t.
151
Vitali Kondrut
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
152
Fumiyuki Beppu
Team RadioShack
s.t.
153
Theo Bos
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
154
Brett Lancaster
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
155
Nikolas Maes
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
156
Ivan Santaromita
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
157
Tomas Alberio
Geox - TMC
s.t.
158
Nicolas Edet
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
s.t.
159
Alex Dowsett
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
160
Moisés Aldape
Exxon Duke
+ 7'13
161
Luke Roberts
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 7'45
162
Nikolai Trussov
Katusha Team
s.t.
163
Tristan Valentin
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
s.t.
164
Michał Kwiatkowski
Team RadioShack
s.t.
165
Florent Barle
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
s.t.
166
Michel Kreder
Team Garmin - Cervélo
+ 8'25
167
Andreas Stauff
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
168
Alexander Porsev
Katusha Team
+ 10'09
169
Jürgen Roelandts
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
170
David Boucher
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
171
Matthias Brändle
Geox - TMC
s.t.
172
Jimmy Casper
Saur - Sojasun
+ 11'05
173
Kasper Klostergaard
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
174
Alex Rasmussen
HTC - Highroad
+ 12'25
175
André Greipel
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 17'53
176
Alfredo Balloni
Lampre - ISD
+ 23'45
Yet another day which saw GC contenders dropped, Rigo Uran is one of the men to miss out, dropping over 2minutes on the favourites, along with the entire HTC squad, who went back to try and help nurse Mark to the finish.
Andy Schleck is not showing good signs ahead of the tour currently, he drops a further 5minutes today, completely out of contention here, but will he even get it together for La Tour? Or is he set to join A.Contador, on the list of pre-season favourites who won't affect the seasons biggest race?
One of the really important days in the GC, a 49km TT, anyone who has an off day today, will possibly place themselves out of contention overall.
The early race lead was taken by Andy Schleck, with a fantastic time, of 1'13'55, he was clearly to show something of himself ahead of the Tour de France, and not in his favourite discipline either!
The time stood until over 70riders had completed the course! Finally Carlos Oryazun was able to set a time quicker than Andy, 9" quicker than the Leopard man.
Until the top 25 started to set off, this time stood, the next man to duck under, was Samuel Sanchéz of Euskaltel, 28" quicker again, the pre-race favourite had put in a good showing, but some really high quality TTists were starting to set off.
AG2R were not considered before todays stage, but it was there leader, Jean-Christophe Peraud who would be the first to beat Sanchéz' time, he was a full 1'05 faster again, a great performance from the frenchman looking to perform in a native tour.
The man who followed Jean off the start line became the stage leader as he followed him home, Levi Leipheimer is a great rider against the clock, going 5" quicker again, leaving just 3men to finish; Armstrong, Rodriguez and Boassen-Hagen.
Levi's time had looked really good until Lance rode home, he not only beat Levi, he destroyed his time, over a minute quicker again! no one would beat that today, and Armstrong returns to the yellow jersey.
Boassen Hagen knew his days in yellow were going to be limited, he's not a great mountain rider, but he had hoped to keep the jersey for today as a good Time trialist himself, unfortunately for him, Lance was just to strong, and he loses 2'21 on our leader.
