Rest Day #1:



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Stage 9: Morzine Avoriaz - St Jean de Maurienne 200 KM

Stage Favourites:
***** Schleck (CSC) Contador (DSC) Kloden (TMO)
**** Nibali (LIQ) Sastre (CSC) Basso (LIQ)

What a stage! Yes we have 5000 meters of climbing today, taking in the following climbs:
Col de Colombiere -16 KM @ 6.9%
Col des Aravis - 12.3 KM @ 4.6%
Col des Saisies -13.6 KM @ 5.2%
Col de la Madelaine - 26 KM @ 6%

However, we are likely to see a largish group of favourites cross the line together as the crest of the col de la Madelaine comes with 32 KM to go and is followed by a long descent towards the finish. A great stage for the breakaway?


Tadej Valjavec right towards the rear of the peloton.

Yesterday's stage winner was never going to defend his polka dots today after riding much of the stage, early on, at the rear of the peloton. Another day perhaps?


Gerrans moves into the points jersey!

Simon Gerrans cannot be held down! He would make the break and take the 20 intermediate sprints on offer, early on in the stage. This would see him move into the points jersey lead by 1 solitary point.

Intermediate sprint results:

We start the Colombierre with 165 KM to go.

Gerrans and Lefèvre are joined by some capable riders, they are: Paulinho, Charteau and Garate and Mercado (both of quickstep). Charteau, as he did on the same route in 2010, is definitely after the polka dots jersey. No worries for the peloton as Charteau was the best placed @ 38'58.


Pozzato leads the peloton.

Could Fasso Bortolo protect the yellow jersey of Honchar on this difficult day?


Brochard and Laiseka attack!

With 159 KM to go and the break at 5'00 these two riders, who have already animated this Tour de France, went on the attack on the Colombiere. Brochard was the best placed @ 12'01, however, he would soon be dropped by Laiseka as the pace of the Basque pure climber was simply too much on this legendary climb.


Charteau takes the KOM points on the Colombiere.

The Frenchman takes 10 points and Garate, has to settle for 2nd, taking 8 points.
Jeremy Roy, 12’35 down in GC, then attacks out of the peloton but with the break over 9’00 ahead he is destined for a day in no mans land.

Kirsipuu well dropped with 130 KM to go.

It is looking good for the chances of the break as Laiseka manages to bridge across. The situation with 116 to go:

Gerrans, Lefevre, Paulinho, Laiseka, Charteau, Garate, Mercado

Brochard @ 1'25

Roy @ 5'35

Peloton @ 15'37.


Hesjedal falls!

Ryder Hesjedal, 8th in GC, falls on a long descent. He has his team to pace him back to the peloton but he went down really hard, would it effect him later on in the day?


Brochard fights tooth and nail to join the original break.

The never say die attitude of the aggressive Brochard pays off. He would join up with the break as the gap to the peloton nears 18'00, he may even take the yellow jersey today.


Strong riders attack out of the peloton with 107 KM to go.

Four really strong riders attack out of the peloton with 107 KM to go on the Saisers climb. They are:
- Joaquím Rodríguez @ 6'14
- Jurgen Van den Broeck @ 11'29
- Levi Leipheimer @ 8'35
- Pierre Rolland 17'44.

Purito Rodríguez is clearly on a better day than yesterday, when he was dropped surprisingly early. CSC and Team Sky begin to up the pace on the front of the peloton, but they aren't going anywhere near as the fast as this quartet of attackers. Fasso Bortolo have used up their domestiques.


Hesjedal dropped again.

The Canadian is clearly suffering from his injuries, it is no good for his team to wait up as he can't stay in the 81 man peloton and can't even follow his rouleur teammates on the climbs. His GC hopes would end today.


Kiriyenka leads the peloton.

Despite Rodriguez being only 6'00 down in GC and Brochard, well up the road, being 12'00 down in GC there isn't a whole hearted chase from the GC teams.


Laurent Lefèvre's day is done.

After a long day in the break, the French climber has nothing left in the legs half way up the final climb of the Madeleine with 45 KM to go.


Brochard dropped towards the top of the Col de la Madeleine

With over 1 KM of climbing left the Frenchman is dropped, however, with the peloton well behind he still has a good chance of moving into yellow if he doesn't crack.


Super Quickstep!

Teammates, Mercado and Garate, distance the rest of the break over the top of the Col de la Madeleine. However, Anthony Charteau would mop up enough points to ensure he would be in polka dots at the end of the stage

The situation with 34 KM to go:
Garate & Mercado

Charteau & Laiseka @ '20

Brochard & Paulinho @ 1'10

Roy & Lefèvre @ 7'08

Rodriguez, Rolland, VDB and Leipheimer @ 7'56

Peloton (Yellow Jersey) @ 15'24

Joaquím Rodríguez in virtual yellow!

Who would've thought this would be the case after stage 8? Levi Leipheimer is doing much less of the chasing than the other three as he has Contador as his team leader behind. However, all of the late attackers will look to move well up in GC with not much action from the peloton.


The Quickstep duo are caught with 10 KM to go.

Laiseka and Charteau rally on the descent to catch the pure climbers out front. However, it isn't long before Laiseka suffers badly from cramp and would be dropped for good.



Quickstep vs. Charteau for the stage win.


Mercado takes the stage win! Victory for Quicktep!

In the final, the wiley Spaniards were able to outfox Charteau. Mercado acted as if he was leading out Garate, but Garate let the wheel go and Mercado went up the road for the win. In the end Charteau settles for 2nd in a Quickstep sandwich.

Brochard, after being dropped by Laiseka, many hours ago manages to catch up with him at the finish to finish 4th. How far would he rise in the GC?


Leipheimer leads home the later attackers.

The quartet of riders will all improve their standing in GC after a great ride, Leipheimer was able to take '5 over the others.


Honchar: Hung out to dry!

The yellow jersey, with no allies, was forced to ride the last few kilometres on the front of the peloton. Could he prevent Purito or Brochard from taking the yellow jersey? He leads the GC favourites home 13'24 behind the stage winner.


Contador loses time!

Albert Contador had his dwindling GC hopes dwindled even more today, he would come home '40 behind the peloton. Contador, Trofimov, Roche and Menchov somehow took a wrong turn in the final few kilometres, which resulted in a minor crash.


Mercado, Gerrans and Charteau on the top step of the podium!

But who would be in yellow?


Joaquím Rodríguez takes the yellow jersey.

To cap a legendary day in this ultimate Tour de France we see Purito take the GC lead. The attack certainly paid off. Purito's form in this tour has been up and down, now he has the yellow, can he keep it?

Jaan Kirsipuu would retire having failed to meet the time limit.

Stamps Unlocked: (1)

Stage 10: Chambéry - Gap 183 KM

Stage Favourites:
***** Rodriguez (GCE) Valverde (GCE)
**** Contador (DSC) Vinokourov (TMO) Nibali (LIQ)



Caisse d'Epargne out to defend the GC lead of Purito Rodríguez.



Amidst the melancholy downpour we see two riders break clear. Devenyns (93rd @ 43'00) & Pinot (170th @ 2hr'00) are the riders that break clear. FDJ really need to get something more out of this Tour de France, they know it too.


Pozzato!

With 100 KM to go we see Pozzato (110th in GC) attack out of the peloton, clearly on some good form as we saw him setting pace on the peloton on stage 9. It would not take him long to bridge across to the two riders out front.


The Peloton.

Early on we saw a train of Discovery Channel riders, at the back of which was Levi Leipheimer. After things have now unfolded the way have is the American now leading them?


Hesjedal out the back.

Still suffering from stage 9 we could see Hesjedal out the back, with the likes of Yohann Gène, early on once the climbs hit.


Pozzato too strong.

Once the break hits the steep Rampe de Laffrey it quickly becomes clear that Pozzato has too much in the legs for his break companions. He drops Pinot with 57 KM to go and with 50 KM to go he drops Devenyns. The peloton aren't really interested in chasing and things are looking good for Pozzato, who has 6'30 over the peloton.


Kurt-Asle Arvesen dropped from the peloton.

With 36 KM to go Pozzato has 6'00 over the peloton and surely looks favourite for the stage win. The peloton, however, are down to 64 riders with the most notable absentees being Menchov and Gesink, who started the day around 21st in GC.


Looking good for Pozzato as he rides solo.


13 KM to go.

Pozzato is starting to struggle as he hits the steep final ramp of the stage. However, he has a sizable advantage over the peloton with the next group back on the road, the peloton, being over 5'00 behind.


Vinokourov attacks!

Vino, arguably the most aggressive big favourite up there in GC, attacks as soon as the yellow jersey group hits the final climb of the stage. This spells disaster for Oscar Freire who was struggling to hang on to the rear of the 35 man group.


Joaquím Rodríguez on the attack!

The race with 8 KM to go:

Pozzato

Vino @ 4'12

Bettini, Kirchen, Rodriguez, Pereiro, Kolobnev @ 4'27

Rest of GC men @ 5'00.


Andy Schleck attacks, Contador immediately follows!

Once the top of the steep hill is cleared the rest of the big favourites muster their forces and realise something has to be done. Schleck attacks and is immediately countered by, nemesis, Contador and the other big favourites.

The group doesn't take long to catch Vino and the yellow jersey up ahead.


Not all good news for Fasso Bortolo

Despite the stage win in the bag, Fasso Bortolo look to be losing any potential battle for the GC. Serhiy Honchar, 2nd in GC, has been well and truly dropped by the big favourites group and is clearly on a bad day. He would tumble out of the top 10 in GC after today's stage.


Pozzato takes the win!

After a fantastic solo ride of more than 50 kilometres a really strong solo performance sees Pozzato celebrate the win for Fasso Bortolo. Yet another team to have won a stage here!


Freire falls on the descent.

In a mad effort to make it back into the 33 man yellow jersey group we see the stage winner fall on the descent. This means Sagan looks set for a decent points tally today as he is the only 'sprinter' left in the group.....


Vino and Bettini lead the yellow jersey group home.

It is 2nd once again for Vino, will he ever win a stage here? Christophe Moreau, has barely figured in the racing action, however, moves up to 2nd in GC after Honchar's bad stage.

Peter Sagan, had nothing left in the tank, finished down in 19th place meaning he picked up no points on the stage, all that chasing by Freire may well have been in vain by the looks of it ahead of a potential sprint finish on stage 11.

Stamps Unlocked: (1)

Stage Results:

Stage 11: Sisteron - Bourg Lès Valence 187 KM

Stage Favourites:
***** Cavendish (HTC) McEwen (Lotto) Freire (RAB)
**** Greipel (Lotto) O'Grady (CRE)

After many hard days in the hills and mountains, today, we see a stage that really favours the sprinters.


The Breakaway forming.

It was a quartet that would make the break today. The break: Oss, Ongarto, Tjallingi and Elmiger. These four strong riders have already made multiple breaks and are amongst the most aggressive riders, in the early parts of the stages, here.

Elmiger, started the day just one point behind Gerrans in the race for the points jersey.


No break for Gerrans today.

With Elmiger poised to take some intermediate points, Simon Gerrans knew that this would likely be his last day in green in this ultimate Tour de France.


Sagan: The best of the sprinters at the intermediate point.

Results from the intermediate sprint point with 54 KM to go:

Elmiger moves in the points lead, however, it was strange to see that he didn't want the max points. The sprinter's teams are not wanting to chase with 48 KM to go the gap to the break is 5'30.


There we go!

However, eventually an agreement is reached and Fasso Bortolo, HTC and Quickstep quickly eat into the break's advantage. The break look well under control.


Big George on the attack!

With 23 KM to go we see George Hincapie attack out of the peloton. Discovery Channel, with Contador a ways off in GC, are showing they are more than a one man team at this Tour de France.

George quickly catches Ongarto and then rides on to the remaining trio, however, he has little chance of holding off the rampant peloton.


We are all back together!

Ivanov leads the peloton with 6 KM to go as all breakaway attempts are foiled. After Eisel suffered a puncture and Steegmans/ Steels not being in position it is Fasso Bortolo that are setting up the dominant sprint train today, buoyed by Pozzato's stage win on stage 10.


Late attacks get nowhere!

Strange late attacks by Pereiro and Moncoutié, of all people, don't even create a gap back to the peloton.

Most of the peloton is together with around 66 riders dropped. Menchov and Wiggins are some of the biggest names out of the back, but their GC ambitions have long since deteriorated.


Pozzato leads out Petacchi!

Despite putting in an immense, legendary, ride yesterday Pozzato still had enough to deliver a great lead-out for Petacchi today.

With 350 meters to go the winner will surely come from one of these riders:

Pozzato
Petacchi
Boonen
McEwen
Cooke
Cavendish
Sagan
Hondo
Freire
O'Grady
Zabel
-
Hushovd


Petacchi goes!

The speeds are really high. Despite this, Boonen has no trouble following the Italian's slipstream.....


Boonen leads the race!

Petacchi fades and Boonen ... accelerates! Freire looks to be finishing the fastest of these elite sprinters, but he would need an automobile to catch the flying Flandrian.


Tommeke takes the win!

It is a second win in three stages for Quickstep as Tom Boonen sprints for victory. His great resistantance meant he didn't even slow up as he reached the line. Boonen inadvertently got the perfect lead-out from Petacchi, however, he still had to deliver and he did.

McEwen, 2nd, showed really well and the win could have been his if he found the wheel of Petacchi instead of Boonen. Freire, looked to be the fastest finishing sprinter today, rounds out the podium.

Cooke, who is sprinting really well at this Tour de France, finishes 4th just ahead of Cavendish.


Boonen takes the points jersey, by 1 point!

The fight for the points jersey rages on. For the first time in many stages we have a sprinter leading the standings. However, with just 26 points separating the top 10 riders, expect the fight for green to go right down to the Champs-Élysées

Stamps Unlocked: (0)

KOM AFTER STAGE:

Stage 12: Bourg-de-Péage - Mende 206 KM

Stage Favourites:
***** Rodriguez (GCE) Vinokourov (TMO) Schleck (CSC)
**** Evans (LOT) Contador (DSC) Valverde (GCE)

A really undulating stage is on the table today, with a very difficult final up the Côte de la Croix Neuve we should be in for some fireworks.


Paulinho on the attack.

10 riders make the break today, they are: Paulinho, Etxebarria, Ciolek, Gautier, Devenyns, van Garderen, Konovalovas, Geslin, Dumoulin and Verbrugghe. With the terrain suiting a break and the fact that Extebarria, @ 41'37, was best placed indicated that another break win was on the cards.



Boonen, his first day in green. It wasn't a day for Boonen to contest, but he would enjoy the stage in green.


Paulinho: Destined for Polka dots

After racking up a host of KOM points on stage 9, Sérgio Paulinho was at it again today. He ensured he would move into the polka dots at the end of the stage after being the first to summit on several climbs throughout the stage.


All for Joaquím Rodríguez!

The break would contest the win today, with no real chase taken up by any team in the bunch. We, therefore, saw Caisse d'Epargne riding on the front of the peloton for much of the day with riders you would expect to see such as Arroyo and Gutiérrez. However, Alejandro Valverde was also seen riding on the front, it looks like it is all in for Rodríguez at Caisse d'Epargne.


The Climax!

With 13 KM to go the race is reaching its climax, the peloton are around 10'00 behind and are out of the stage win equation. Devenyns, van Garderen, Konovalovas and Etxebarria distance the rest of the break on a descent .......



Before Etxebarria attacks this trio with 11 KM to go. The final steep climb, the pinnacle of the stage, awaits but the Basque rider looks really solid as he puts good time into the riders behind him quickly.

Will we have a stage win for Euskaltel - Euskadi?


Vino attacks!

You have to admire the Kazakh's spirit, without fail he has attacked at almost every opportunity for the big favourites in this tour. Vino attacks as the yellow jersey group hits the final climb, with Extebarria certain of a stage win. Cadel Evans and then Joaquím Rodríguez are the only riders to go with Vinokourov.


Vino wants to put in some time today.

In a finish suited for Vino, he attacks again. This time only the yellow jersey, Rodríguez, can follow.


CSC set the pace.

Kolobev and Sastre are vital domestiques for Andy Schleck today.


Schleck, Evans and Valverde attack

With Vinokourov and the yellow jersey disappearing up the road, other favourites realise they need to do something. Contador, Leipheimer, Nibali and Klöden are slightly distanced by the other riders who are also up there in GC.


A good day for Purrito and Vino.

The two riders distance the other favourites as they make the most of a stage which really suits them. Vinokourov and Valverde move up onto the podium whereas Moreau and Nibali move down. Chris Froome, although not showing too much, finishes in a decent group and is now at his highest position, 5th, in this ultimate Tour de France and looks to be one to watch in the coming days.


A Basque Win!

Euskaltel - Euskadi take home a win today after an excellent ride by David Etxebarria, the all-rounder was too strong for the break today and looked capable enough to match many of the big favourites if he happened to be battling amidst the yellow jersey group.

Stamps Unlocked: (0)