Despite being technically one for the sprinters, It took them a long time to get going, and they sacrificed the early days. Eventually, the sprinters did arrive, and at the end of week one, Tom Boonen leads the points competition by just 2 points over our sprinter, Tyler Farrar.
General Classification
It shows just how flat week 1 here has been, that day 2's TTT has been enough to leave sky with the lead, and all key placings within the GC.
Points Classification
Boonen currently holds a 2 point advantage over Tyler ahead of the next week, in a race which has seen many surprises!
Petacchi forwent the Giro to come here, but is in terrible form, completely unable to even stay with the pack so far, Cavendish has been off colour through week 1, though a 3rd place no day 7 does suggest a possible increase in form?
Overall, it seems likely the Green will be hard fought throughout, but we are in with a good shot at success here, as Tyler has shown really good legs, picking up 2 stage victories so far.
King of the Mountains
The KOM sprints in week one are always something of a joke considering the hills to come, a fact which has been shown by how uninterested teams have been so far. Manuele Mori picked up 3KOM checkpoints in a day in the break for Lampre, enough to leave him as leader, and wearer of the polka-dot, into week 2.
Week 2 Preview
The second week see's a steady increase in difficulty, still with plenty of opportunities for sprinters towards the beginning, but the final 3 days in the Pyrenées are likely to shake things up, a first sign of the GC riders form.
Hilly stages are the thing of the first 2 days, so we may see a breakaway stay clear on one of these opportunities. If they are pulled back, then we may see a change of Maillot Jaune, in a late break attempt early this week.
Stage 8 is the first day of this race, which recieves a "Hilly" Status, 2 climbs towards the end of the stage will probably be too much for the sprinters, though it seems unlikely that there will many time gaps, as the hills aren't challenging enough for that.
Chad Beyer instigated todays breakaway, both to save the teams legs, and because we thought there was limited scope for success on this stage, making the break yet more attractive.
Through the 1st KOM checkpoint, he was joined by a group of 8riders, including Bram Tankjink. The group were able to get a large lead, peaking at around 8minutes, as the teams behind allowed them some freedom.
In the end, Leopard took up the chase with Euskaltel, and closed the gap on the summit of the final intermediate KOM sprint, with FDJ rider, Cyril Lemoine, who they caught on the decent.
With the breakaway caught, and the speed in a temporary lull, we put a serious dig in with Danielson and Armstrong, trying to catch badly placed leaders napping, and opened a gap of about 12" with 6km to go.
With Danielson spent, he dropped back, and Lance was steadily caught by Jens Voigt, none the less, he'd used very little energy as Danielson had done all the work, and with 3km to go, Armstrong was still feeling really good, pulling a high pace up the climb.
Under the Flamme Rouge and Armstrong opens up his own sprint, the Schlecks and Samu are coming from behind, but Lance is looking good initially!
400m to go... Armstrong is still leading, but Frank is really flying now! it will be tight to the line, as these 4 are clearly going to be fighting for the stage, there's almost daylight behind!
Frank Schleck pips Lance on the line. Armstrong is powerful enough to get second, with Andy taking 3rd, Schleck sandwich anyone?
The four weren't able to get far enough to gain a time bonus here, meaning Sky keep the GC, but none the less, a good first taste of the climbers legs here in the TdF!
Wow, if even in the hills, which isn't Lance's best, he's able to podium it, his form must be superb! There should be really something coming in the mountains
The 9th day is technically classed as "Flat." Why? We're not sure... It's about as hilly as they come, and we will likely see a day with many different groups as the terrain creates splits throughout.
6 men got into the morning break, including Gasparotto, Nuyens and Galimzyanov, these 6 were later joined by Seb Langeveld, and Manuele Mori of Lampre.
All our leaders were feeling strong today, so we helped out at the front to reel in the break, the peloton thinned massively, and eventually once Leopard upped the pace, Farrar fell away, the terrain too difficult for his riding style.
The break had a dwindling lead of 1'20 with 17km to go, Nuyens and Gasparotto had got fed up of pulling the rest along, and the duo attacked, trying to hold off to the line.
However, with 5km to go, even these 2 were brought back, a reduced peloton of 120 men would fight out the sprint here today, though without any of the named sprinters.
with 1km to go, 5 men were set to contest the stage, Samu Sanchéz and A.Schleck looking best placed, behind them- Chavanel, Alexandr Kolobnev, and Vicenzo Nibali not far behind. Lance was decently placed around 15 back, fighting for the small placings.
With 300m to go, it had turned into a 2 horse race, Sanchéz vs Schleck, and Schleck was starting to fall away, Euskaltel seemed set for there first stage win of the TdF.
Samu Sanchéz wins stage 9 of the Tour, out sprinting a reduced peloton, ahead of Andy Schleck. Lance takes 8th place here, his form is really looking good currently ahead of the Pyrénees!
Double figures! The legs are starting to hurt now, and today should be an interesting finish! The climbs will likely shake up the sprinters, but with a downhill finish, they may keep enough back to take the victory here?
6 men created the break early this morning, strong riders such as Gilbert, Gasparotto, and Devolder all made there way into this group, and many more were keen to follow.
A second group of 9 men bridged across, including C.Lewis for Exxon, we saw the chance the break had to stay away, so it was paramount to get a rider up there.
With a group of 15 up the road, Garmin and HTC were forced to do a lot of work, they put 15riders at the front between them, and together closed the gap. There pace however, was high enough to hurt Farrar, he stayed with the pack, but his legs weren't looking good with 20km to go.
With the break less than 40" ahead, Gilbert made a second dig, trying to get away again for the finish, G.Thomas was able to follow, but by 14km out, they were back in the bunch, headed for the sprint finish.
We knew Tyler wasn't feeling great, but Sanchéz is better placed in the points jersey currently, and so we had to try and pick up points here and tomorrow, if we are to have any chance of finishing in green.
As such, we set up our leadout, and tried to give Tyler the best position we could muster with 7km to go.
4.5km to go, and yet another crash in the peloton, we have been lucky throughout, and avoid this one as well. No favourites went down, but several teams will have to protect slightly injured riders into tomorrow.
2km to go, and Tyler is falling off the back of our train... He hasn't got the legs, and we change plan mid-leadout, we are now working for Fast Freddy. Meanwhile, Boassen-Hagen backs himself to complete an early sprint, and comes around the outside.
Woah! What a sprint by Eddie B-H! He easily takes the stage, another for Sky, following there success in the TTT which gave them the Maillot Jaune on day 2. Freddy shows he still has it and takes 2nd place here! What a result for him, and 3rd place... Tom Danielson! He just TT'ed all the way to the line, holding off the punchers and sprinters around him for the final spot on the podium, 2nd-3rd for Exxon-Duke!
The last day before the Pyrénees, we need to pick up a great result with Farrar here, if we are to be in with a chance of taking and protecting the green jersey. The Course is hilly to the start, but with 80km of flat terrain, Tyler should have plenty of time to recover, to prepare for a sprint finish.
11 riders broke away early, a strong group, including Gustav Larsson, and Gasparotto. This group needed to be carefully monitored as with many strong riders and TTists.
Vacansoleil missed the break, so Stijn Devolder was asked to bridge the gap, he attacked and showed he was feeling strong, closing the 3minute gap in under 25km.
As the pace ramped up in the peloton, the descents became more slippery, and we saw many riders falling prey to the treacherous road surfaces. Katusha were worst off, both Rodriguez and Di Luca fell, who got back, but also seeing Pavel Brutts drop many minutes, aswell as Kolobnev.
We took the control of the peloton, and with the help of Garmin, we brought the front group back with 15km to go, setting up a sprint finish, prepared for Tyler, who was feeling really good!
5km to go... Danielson is leading out Farrar, the sprinters are on our wheel, whilst the punchers line up on the left. With such an easy flat run in, It seems unlikely that they will take the day.
1.2km to go... Farrar launches his sprint, Hushovd and Boonen are in a separate train slightly further back, whilst yesterdays winner, Eddie Boassen-Hagen has found Tylers wheel, this is going to be close.
300m... Farrar is still leading, B-H is starting to come round, but has he left it to late? Hushovd and Boonen are also closing in, any one of them could take it in these late few metres!
Tyler Farrar! He holds on all the way to the line... JUST! Half a wheel length ahead of the Sky sprinter, who is in 3rd spot! Thor Hushovd came flying in the finale, though he was positioned slightly too far back to start off, meaning he couldn't get past Farrar.
Stage Results
1
Tyler Farrar
Exxon Duke
4h00'51
2
Thor Hushovd
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
3
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
4
Tom Boonen
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
5
Samuel Sánchez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
6
Enrico Gasparotto
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
7
Andy Schleck
Leopard Trek
s.t.
8
Jens Voigt
Leopard Trek
s.t.
9
Robbie McEwen
Team RadioShack
s.t.
10
Sylvain Chavanel
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
Spoiler
11
Romain Feillu
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
12
Sébastien Joly
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
13
Tony Martin
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
14
Jérôme Pineau
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
15
Vincenzo Nibali
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
16
Yaroslav Popovych
Team RadioShack
s.t.
17
Carlos Barredo
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
18
Fred Rodriguez
Exxon Duke
s.t.
19
Lance Armstrong
Exxon Duke
s.t.
20
Óscar Freire
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
21
Cadel Evans
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
22
Johnny Hoogerland
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
23
Levi Leipheimer
Team RadioShack
s.t.
24
Bradley Wiggins
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
25
Lars Boom
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
26
Jimmy Casper
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
27
Björn Leukemans
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
28
Kurt-Asle Arvesen
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
29
Michael Albasini
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
30
Allan Davis
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
31
Danilo Di Luca
Katusha Team
s.t.
32
Ezequiel Mosquera
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
33
Ruslan Pidgornyy
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
34
Nicolas Roche
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
35
Mark Cavendish
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
36
Theo Bos
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
37
Juan José Haedo
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
38
Joaquím Rodríguez
Katusha Team
s.t.
39
Jurgen Van den Broeck
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
40
Gerald Ciolek
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
41
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
42
Lars Ytting Bak
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
43
Bernhard Eisel
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
44
Michael Rogers
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
45
Richie Porte
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
46
Jonathan Hivert
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
47
Thomas Löfkvist
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
48
Christian Vande Velde
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
49
Roman Kreuziger
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
50
Anthony Geslin
FDJ
s.t.
51
Niki Terpstra
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
52
Guillaume Bonnafond
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
53
Rubén Pérez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
54
Samuel Dumoulin
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
s.t.
55
Stijn Devolder
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
56
Martijn Maaskant
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
57
Robert Kiserlovski
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
58
Ryder Hesjedal
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
59
Jesús Hernández
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
60
Leonardo Duque
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
s.t.
61
Branislau Samoilau
Movistar Team
s.t.
62
Xavier Tondo
Movistar Team
s.t.
63
Koldo Fernández
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
64
Amaël Moinard
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
65
Rémi Pauriol
FDJ
s.t.
66
Fränk Schleck
Leopard Trek
s.t.
67
Sylwester Szmyd
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
68
Christophe Le Mével
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
69
Jérôme Coppel
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
70
Tom Danielson
Exxon Duke
s.t.
71
Vladimir Karpets
Katusha Team
s.t.
72
Johan Van Summeren
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
73
Eros Capecchi
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
74
Sebastian Langeveld
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
75
Maxime Monfort
Leopard Trek
s.t.
76
Fabian Cancellara
Leopard Trek
s.t.
77
Hayden Roulston
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
78
Manuele Mori
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
79
Philippe Gilbert
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
80
Filippo Pozzato
Katusha Team
s.t.
81
David Millar
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
82
Benoît Vaugrenard
FDJ
s.t.
83
Luca Paolini
Katusha Team
s.t.
84
Juan Antonio Flecha
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
85
Kanstantsin Siutsou
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
86
Brice Feillu
Leopard Trek
s.t.
87
Nick Nuyens
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
88
Geraint Thomas
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
89
Andreas Klöden
Team RadioShack
s.t.
90
Jean-Christophe Peraud
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
91
Sandy Casar
FDJ
s.t.
92
Dominique Rollin
Exxon Duke
s.t.
93
Maxim Iglinskiy
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
94
Pablo Lastras
Movistar Team
s.t.
95
Pierrick Fédrigo
FDJ
s.t.
96
Kevin De Weert
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
97
Tiziano Dall'Antonia
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
98
Rémy Di Gregorio
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
99
Tiago Machado
Team RadioShack
s.t.
100
Marzio Bruseghin
Movistar Team
s.t.
101
Greg Van Avermaet
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
102
Arnold Jeanneson
FDJ
s.t.
103
Linus Gerdemann
Leopard Trek
s.t.
104
Janez Brajkovič
Team RadioShack
s.t.
105
Romain Sicard
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
106
Oliver Zaugg
Leopard Trek
s.t.
107
Marcus Burghardt
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
108
Karsten Kroon
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
109
Guillaume Levarlet
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
110
Daniele Pietropolli
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
111
Benjamín Noval
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
112
Cyril Dessel
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
113
Gorka Verdugo
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
114
Jan Bakelandts
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
115
Baden Cooke
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
116
Daniele Bennati
Leopard Trek
s.t.
117
Julien El Fares
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
s.t.
118
Matthew Lloyd
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
119
Hubert Dupont
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
120
Maxime Bouet
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
121
Denis Galimzyanov
Katusha Team
s.t.
122
Egoi Martínez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
123
David Moncoutié
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
s.t.
124
Stéphane Poulhiès
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
125
Manuel Quinziato
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
126
Alessandro Ballan
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
127
Rémy Cusin
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
s.t.
128
Andrey Amador
Movistar Team
s.t.
129
Mauro Santambrogio
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
130
Kevyn Ista
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
s.t.
131
Thibaut Pinot
FDJ
s.t.
132
Marco Marzano
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
133
Jelle Vanendert
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
134
André Greipel
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
135
Heinrich Haussler
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
136
Fredrik Kessiakoff
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
137
Francisco Pérez
Movistar Team
s.t.
138
Marco Marcato
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
139
Daniel Oss
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
140
Christophe Riblon
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
141
Dario Cataldo
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
142
Gert Steegmans
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
143
David Loosli
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
144
Chad Beyer
Exxon Duke
s.t.
145
Matti Breschel
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
146
Lieuwe Westra
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
147
Matthew Goss
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
148
Sébastien Rosseler
Team RadioShack
s.t.
149
Martin Elmiger
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
150
Yury Trofimov
Katusha Team
s.t.
151
Sheldon Deeny
Exxon Duke
s.t.
152
Mirco Lorenzetto
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
153
Chris Anker Sørensen
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
154
Luis Pasamontes
Movistar Team
s.t.
155
Ben Hermans
Team RadioShack
s.t.
156
Danilo Hondo
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
157
Paolo Longo Borghini
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
158
Simone Ponzi
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
159
Vitaliy Buts
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
160
Ludovic Turpin
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
161
Gustav Erik Larsson
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
162
Craig Lewis
Exxon Duke
s.t.
163
Cyril Lemoine
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
164
Moisés Aldape
Exxon Duke
s.t.
165
Andreas Klier
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
166
Steve Chainel
FDJ
s.t.
167
Frederik Willems
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
168
Grégory Rast
Team RadioShack
s.t.
169
Francesco Chicchi
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
170
Jeremy Hunt
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
171
Ángel Madrazo
Movistar Team
+ 4'35
172
Carlos Oyarzun
Movistar Team
+ 7'55
173
William Bonnet
FDJ
+ 8'51
174
Alexandr Kolobnev
Katusha Team
+ 9'55
175
Damien Monier
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
+ 11'47
176
George Hincapie
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
177
Bram Tankink
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
178
Ben Swift
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
179
Paolo Tiralongo
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
180
Romain Zingle
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
+ 14'19
181
Pavel Brutt
Katusha Team
+ 21'31
Victory today brings with it some great news for Tyler, he will wear the Green Jersey into tomorrows stage, the first of the Mountain Days. He will be hard pressed to defend it through the Pyrenees, but once out the other side, this advantage might be enough to keep hold all the way to the end.
The Pyrénees are here, and this should be a real fight between the climbers. Three categorized climbs on offer, including the final 14.7km 7.9% climb to Luiz Ardiden Ski resort.
Keen to try and protect his points jerseys slender lead, Tyler made his way into todays breakaway, along with the KOM leader, Enrico Gasparotto, Matthew Goss, and Marcus Burghardt.
The rest of the break weren't interested in the points, they were trying to stay away for a stage win, so Farrar was allowed to take both of the intermediate sprints, adding 12 points, protecting the jersey is beginning to look like a reality!
Once the mountains arrived, the peloton really upped the pace, Frank Schleck sat at the front for Leopard Trek, pushing a tremendous pace which really thinned out the pack. (As a measure of his speed, he closed down a 9minute breakaway, over just the very first climb!)
At the beginning of climb number 2, we met Didi for the first time, he pumped up Frank who had already thinned the pack to just 24 riders, and it was clear a few more would soon be falling away!
Over the top of the penultimate climb, just 14 men remained, Lance was still there, though without any helpers. Several names were missing, including Bradley Wiggins, and Ryder Hesjedal.
The pace continued, but eventually Sanchéz and Nibali decided the time was right for an attack, they went away, clearly there legs are very strong here in the Pyrénees! Lance wasn't able to follow there attack, he stayed with the main bunch, where the pace was already very high.
And then, came the attack of one Mr Andy Schleck! He just rode straight past the two men who went earlier, and kept flying, no one could keep up, this would be a day of damage limitation and nothing else...
When Frank and Jurgen VDB attacked, Armstrongs' legs were feeling much better, and this time he went with, the trio were followed by Cadel, but the time gap to the leader were already huge!
And Yes, Andy Schleck takes the Maillot Jaune, as well as the stage after a fantastic attack which left the rest in his wake. the clock was ticking, how far back would Armstrong finish?
2'46 later, Armstrong crossed the line, just behind Cadel Evans. He takes 9th place on the day, in the first real race day of the race.
One that may well suit the breakaway today. The Cote D'Aubisque is situated 30km from the finish, so it is likely that the sprinters will be un-done here, a Hors-Catégorie 16.1km climb, at 7.9% average gradient.
Todays break was late forming, after about 45km had already been covered, several names in todays break were regulars, people such as Daniel Oss, Marcus Burghardt, and Baden Cooke were leading the group, along with Cofidis rider Damien Monier, Vitaly Butts, and C.Le Mével.
Nothing really happened until the beginning of the days main ascent, the break was still holding firm 4minutes ahead, but this group fractured, leaving Butts, Monier and Burghardt in front as the rest simply couldn't hold the fast pace.
Back in the peloton we were taking some control due to the strength of Lance's legs, Tom Danielson got to the front of the pack and gave a major dig to up the pace beyond most people's comfort zones, sending many riders flying out of the back.
With 1.2km to go on the climb, Lance made an attack, no one followed, either they couldn't or just felt it was unlikely to succeed, but he quickly passed the 2 secondary groups that had fallen away from the morning break.
Lance was really going strong today, he closed to the front break on the descent, riding straight through, in an attempt to hold off the peloton (currently at 2'57") all the way to the line.
Damien Monier was the only man from the break who was able to follow, and the Cofidis rider did the unexpected for Lance, he came past him, got on the front of his wheel, and pulled like mad, setting a fast pace and protecting Lance!
Eventually, with 7km to go, his legs were shot, and he was forced to drop away, however he had done the job (Cheers Cofidis!) and Lance held 2'01" with 7km to go, the gap was falling, but he wouldn't be stopped now!
His lead was closed to 1'03" in the end, but Lance Armstrong can celebrate a stage win here in the Pyrénees after a slower start yesterday. This victory moves up into 4th spot ahead of tomorrows difficult stage, before we return to slightly more friendly terrain the following day.
In the race for the points jersey, Samuel Sanchéz dealt us a damaging blow here, he took second place behind Lance, meaning he will wear the Green Jersey tomorrow...
