19th July 2011 - Le Tour de France
(Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux - Gap)
The Tour hits the Alps! The countdown to the end has begun, and there are just six stages left. Can Andy Schleck hold onto the jersey, or will someone finally be able to break his stranglehold on the top spot?
Race Report
5km: It was an early break that got away at the start of the stage, and looked a major move.
15km: A number of team set themselves up at the front of the peleton, chasing hard at first, but soon the pace subsided and settled to a gentle rhythm.
43km: Futher attacks tried to get away and bridge the gap across, but all were successful.
83km: Crossing the first Kom sprint, the 5 man break had over 7'11" on the peleton, and looked like it could go all the way...
112km: Sixth place was on offer at the Intermediate Sprint, and I duly delivered. 10 points added to my total, and further extending my lead.
125km: BMC took full control after the sprint, and the gap to the the breakaway began to plummet.
137km: Hitting the Col de Manse, the gap was down to 1'10", and the attacks behind began to happen. Schleck made the first move, taking Robert Gesink with him.
148km: With just 1km to the top of the KoM sprint, the break was caught, it was all about the GC favourites for the stage win now!
156km: Reaching the bottom of the descent, Cunego (Lampre) set off on his own, with the stage win in his sights!
161km: He was soon pulled back, and with the sprint underway, Schleck looked to take control and lead it out.
162km: But it's a Sánchez victory! The Spanish National Champion turned on the speed, and crossed the line comfortably in first.
20th July 2011 - Le Tour de France
(Gap - Pinerolo)
Like yesterday, this is a day for the GC men, but the fast downhill finish at the end, it could be a day for the breakaway men.
The team's focus is on Tejay, making sure he can maintain his Top 5 position on GC.
Race Report
7km: The beginning of the stage was an almost carbon copy of the yesterday. A large group attacked, and it looked a serious move.
23km: The group increased to 10 riders, but not all of them were willing to work and do their turn on the front. Due to that, it could only build up around 1'21", and the peleton was slowly bringing it back.
40km: As we came to Intermediate Sprint, five more riders attacked, so no points were on offer for the sprinters. I just back in the peleton, conserving energy.
54km: The pace was upped by BMC and Leopard, and slowly the large break was brought back before the real climbing had even begun.
73km: Just before the route went upwards, I decided to attack. I wasn't thinking ahead to the finish, I just wanted to show off the Maillot Vert to the fans at the road side.
85km: I was joined on the climb by Grabsch, who had been sent up to look after me, and make sure I wasn't using up too much energy during my 'publicity stunt'.
91km: Reaching the top of the first KoM sprint, Jean Gadret (AG2R) and Vasil Kiriyenka (Movistar) attacked, quickly bridging the gap to Bert and I.
98km: Their high pace meant I was instantly dropped, and soon the same happen to Bert.
112km: We survived the pull of the peleton until we were well up the Col de Sestriere. Leopard had taken full control, and I was thrown straight out the back.
158km: On the final climb of the stage, the break was over 3'30" clear of the main pack, so it would be between one of these two for the stage win.
161km: As the GC men reached the final climb, the attacks happened. Schleck went first, and only Sánchez could respond. The rest of the GC rivals ust did not know how to respond...
Sorry, but there was an issue with screenshots, so the rest of the report is in text form
167km: The Schleck/Sánchez group was pulled back close to the top of the climb, but their attack had done it's damage. Everyone was on the ragged edge, and Tejay was struggling.
175km: On the descent, Tejay was sadly dropped. The team had been waiting for him to have a bad day, and it seemed today's stage had finally made him crack.
178km: Back at the front, the sprint had begun between Gadret and Kiriyenka. The Movistar man led out the sprint, but was struggling to lose the AG2R man.
179km: And its another victory for AG2R! Gadret finishes the strongest to take a massive win. The GC men finished in the same time as the break, almost catching them on the line, whilst Tejay lost 1'42". I finished well inside the time limit and look ahead to the 2 big days ahead.
TheManxMissile wrote:
Nice to see the Green out and off the front
Sad to see Tejay struggling
I thought I would show it off
And it was about time Tejay had a bad day... It sounds bad to say, but all the others apart from Schleck and Sanchez have had one in the Tour. He still has white and the target was a top 10 finish. 2 big stages to come, and then the ITT where he should excel against those around him. Top 5 is still possible
21st July 2011 - Le Tour de France
(Pinerolo - Galibier Serre-Chevalier)
It's the first of two big days for the peleton today. Stage 18 takes the peleton from Pinerolo back over the border into France, finishing on top of the Galibier 180km later.
Time for the GC men to really how their intentions, and time for the sprinters to just dig in and make it to the finish...
Race Report
34km: It took a while today for the first attacks to happen today. I was almost if they knew what was ahead and did not want to go out there alone...
46km: A total of 16 riders mamaged to get some sort of gap over the peleton, and for the second stage running, all the Intermediate Sprint points were swallowed up by them. Leopard and Garmin took full control of the peleton early on.
56km: Puncture for Horner! The RadioShack gets a flat tyre at the worse possible moment. The peleton's paced had been upped, and was beginning the ascent of the Col Agnel. Was this his Top 5 GC place slipping through his fingers?
76km: The break was brought back on the climb up the Col Agnel, and further attacks went off the front, including Cadel Evans (BMC) and Robert Gesink (RaboBank). This was clearly a dangerous break to get away.
89km: Reaching the top of the climb and as snow began to fall, and the break was down to just seven riders, but all were danger men.
92km: Crossing the top of the snow-capped Agnel, the break was 6'22" clear of the GC dominated peleton, but on the descent, the gap did not go out any more.
119km: The next climb to be tackled was the Col d'Izoard, and the break still held a lead of over 4'45". Thankfully for the riders, the weather had improved and it was much more comfortable when climbing.
127km: With just the descent and the climb of the Galibier to go, the gap was down to 3'22", so it was going to be a tense finish to the stage.
163km: At the foot of the Galibier, the break was down to five riders, and the big climb to the finish lay ahead.
169km: The peleton splintered on the climb, and many of the GC men missed the split. Tejay was here, refusing to leave Schleck's wheel for the entire stage.
175km: Time to attack! After yesterday's poor stage, Tejay knew he would have to be aggressive to make the time back. He attacked, taking Ivan Basso with him.
179km: Back at the front, Evans was all alone and just pacing himself to the victory. Behind, the cameras had missed a big attack by Schleck, who was wanting to make sure of a big lead before the tricky ITT on stage 20.
180km: Evans crosses the line, so tired that he could not even lift his arms in celebration. Schleck finished 2nd, putting further time into his rivals, whilst Tejay finished in a group of Wiggins and Rolland, maintaining his 16" lead in the White Jersey Classification. I finished in the grupetto, 1h10'36" after Evans, but more importantly, within the time limit.
YEEEEES!!!! A great sprint, the leadout couldn't have been better!!! Nice to see that picture with Cav winning!
19th July 2011 - Le Tour de France 
