It's here! The 97th edition of the Tour de France! The world's biggest annual sports event will entertain us for the next three weeks. We'll see some epic battles in the Pyrenees and Alps between the greatest cyclists in the world.
Last year
The race last year was the closest in the Tour's history, with Lance Armstrong beating Alberto Contador by one second. Tom Boonen claimed the green jersey, while Egoi Martinez climbed his way into the polkadots. Andy Schleck, 4th overall, was the best young rider. Discovery took home the team classification after a tough battle with Spanish outfit Caisse d'Epargne.
Our Discovery team took hold of the race after the TTT, with Lance getting the yellow jersey in the Pyreness. After slowly eating up the advantage, Contador eventually had to face defeat by the smallest margin possible. The Maillot Jaune was the property of Discovery Channel through the whole race, changing between the shoulders of Leipheimer, Klöden and finally Armstrong, who took it to Paris.
Discovery Channel won a lot of time for Armstrong in the TTT.
The route
This year sees the Grand Depart back in France. The Tour kicks off with a prologue in Cherbourg before moving south. On the way to the Pyrenees we find a 63km team time trial. The Pyrenees are fairly easy, with only a mountaintop finish on Cauterets to really bother the riders.
During the second week, the Tour moves east for the real hardships of this year's route: the Alps. Two mountaintop finishes on the ski resorts of Chamrousse and Flaine, as well as a stage which passes over the three HC climbs Galibier, Croix de Fer and Madeleine is on the program.
After a trip into Switzerland, the final time trial awaits the riders in Châlons-en-Champagne. 47 kilometers are there to wrap up the general classification before the Tour enters Paris for a sprinter's showdown on the 26th of June.
Denis Menchov - Rabobank
The Russian finished 3rd last year, only 47 seconds from the win. He looks to be at least as strong this time around, having just come 2nd in the Tour de Suisse. His lieutenant Gesink has left the team, but Menchov has got the world TT champion Cadel Evans to help him out this year.
Andy Schleck - Team Saxo Bank
The best young rider for the past two years is back one year older and probably stronger. Andy won two stages last year, but didn't have the consistency to launch a real bid for the podium. He has been almost invisible so far this season, but the Tour is his main goal and he will go all-in for this race. He'll be counting on competent support from his brother Fränk.
Watch out for!
There are of course other riders with podium ambitions. Last year's Giro winner Ivan Basso had a poor Giro this year, and looks to be aiming for the Tour. He can become a real danger. Robert Gesink has moved teams and gets the full support of his Quick-Step team.
Carlos Sastre always does well in grand tours, while Samuel Sanchez is back in France after a year's absence. Alejandro Valverde sits out this Tour, but Caisse leader Joaqium Rodriguez can do just as well. The Spaniard brings a weak team though.
Then there is Brice Feillu. The revelation of Tour de Suisse starts the Tour de France, but we don't know his ambitions. If he passes all doping controls, he could become a force to be reckoned with in the mountains.
The sprint field is surprisingly weak. Among the recognized super-sprinters only Thor Hushovd is here. He is the main favourite for the green jersey. Most other sprinters are probably riding the Vuelta instead, as preparation for the rather flat World Championships course.
Discovery Channel
We are once again lining up three potential leaders, but with emphasis on last year's Tour champion Lance Armstrong. Should he win this year, it would be his ninth Tour de France win. Lance will be wearing the world championship jersey. Hopefully it will be exchanged for a yellow one before Paris.
Tactics meeting
We're in Normandy for the start of the Tour de France 2010. After two years of experimental starts, the short prologue is back. Today's winner will probably keep the Maillot Jaune until the TTT on stage 5. The weather is terrific, and our entire team is eager to get going!
Vladimir Karpets, 7th in the GC last year, debuted his national TT champion's jersey. The Katusha rider is obviously in good time trialing form, as he shot through the course in no time. The early lead for Karpets.
Another fresh jersey was on show today. Levi Leipheimer showed off our green Discovery jersey. It's almost like the one we used last season, and we'll keep it for the rest of this season to raise awareness of the environmental problems. In terms of racing, Levi couldn't overtake Karpets, finishing 8 seconds behind the Russian.
Karpets' countryman Menchov came close, but no cigar for the Rabo rider either. Last year's 3rd in the GC lost out by 3 seconds.
German TT champion Andreas Klöden bested his teammate Levi, but our super-domestique was 7 seconds too slow to beat Karpets.
The world time trial champion Cadel Evans was a bit off today, 13 seconds short of the lead.
Like Klöden and Karpets, our main rival Alberto Contador is also a newly crowned national TT champion. The Tour prologue didn't bring the Spaniard much success though, as he time trialed 15 seconds slower than Karpets, who still held the lead with only one man remaining. 13th place for Contador.
The last rider out from the starting blocks was defending champion Lance Armstrong. His time trialing spark is still not back, as he came 21 seconds behind stage winner Karpets, finishing as 22nd. Not a good start to the defence of last year's win.
Today's winner
Results
1 Vladimir Karpets Team Katusha 9'34
2 Denis Menchov Rabobank + 3
3 Michael Rogers Team Columbia - High Road + 7
4 Mikhail Ignatiev Team Katusha + 7 5 Andreas Klöden Discovery Channel + 7
6 Levi Leipheimer Discovery Channel + 8
7 David Zabriskie Garmin - Slipstream + 10
8 Steve Morabito Astana Cycling Team + 12
9 Laszló Bodrogi Team Katusha + 13
10 Cadel Evans Rabobank + 13
Points ranking
1 Vladimir Karpets Team Katusha 15
2 Denis Menchov Rabobank 12
3 Michael Rogers Team Columbia - High Road 10
Youth ranking
1 Mikhail Ignatiev Team Katusha 9'41
2 Michael Schär Astana Cycling Team + 12
3 Tanel Kangert AG2R La Mondiale + 13
Team classification
1 Team Katusha 29'02 2 Discovery Channel + 10
3 Rabobank + 15
The Russians were going well today, with Karpets winning, Menchov in 2nd and Ignatiev in 4th. This helped Katusha take the lead in the team competition. They got three riders in the top ten with Bodrogi's 9th place.
No replay of last year's stage 1 for Discovery, as Leipheimer only finished 6th. Armstrong has been quite poor all season, and this doesn't seem to have changed. Maybe it's the world champion's curse?
The next important day for us and race leader Karpets and all the other GC contenders is the team time trial on stage 5. In the meantime, it's sprinter's paradise!
Edited by Squire on 13-09-2010 17:14
Tactics meeting
What's most exciting about this stage is to see who will contest the sprints in this Tour, and if anybody can come near Thor Hushovd. A climber's jersey will be awarded today, but the first rider over today's only categorized climb (a tiny bump in the road) won't neccesarily be regarded as the new Pantani.
The peloton let 13 riders go in the break. A bit risky, I'd say. Here, Kireyev takes the second intermediate sprint in front of breakaway colleagues Zabriskie and Oss. At this point, they had an advantage of 7 minutes.
Lampre and Vacansoleil led the chase in the pack. It's evident that Hushovd and Bobbie Traksel will be sprinters to look out for, then. Saxobank also put in a few turns for Haedo.
The first King of the Mountains of this Tour will be Gatis Smukulis (AG2R), who reached the mountain sprint first. Smukulis actually has a 2nd place on a stage from last year's Tour.
Zabriskie was the last man to be caught (seen on the hilltop). The finish was quite tough, with a couple of small hills around the 5km mark.
On the run-in, Garmin and Quick-Step looked good, leading out their sprinters Bazayev and M.Gavazzi, respectively. Chicchi of Liquigas was also well positioned, but where were Lampre and Vacansoleil?
Under the Flamme Rouge, Bazayev (Garmin) was in the wind, while De Jongh hadn't released Gavazzi yet.
Out of Gavazzi's wheel came a lightening fast Cunego! He was about to spoil the day for the sprinters!
Cunego is the winner! The Italian capitalized on the hills just before the finish, and the sprinting climber had much fresher legs than most sprinters.
Youth ranking
1 Mikhail Ignatiev Team Katusha 5h01'51
2 Michael Schär Astana Cycling Team + 12
3 Tanel Kangert AG2R La Mondiale + 13
Team classification
1 Team Katusha 15h05'32 2 Discovery Channel + 10
3 Rabobank + 15
What a start for Katusha! Damiano Cunego tackled the hills on the run-in much better than the sprinters, and with his extraordinary turn of speed for being a climber, he edged Gavazzi and the others in the final meters. Katusha now has 2/2 stage wins, the yellow, green and white jersey and the lead in the team competition. That's two good days for the Russians!
The teams who did all the hard work today, Lampre & Vacansoleil, managed only 9th and 7th places with their sprinters. The contest for the green jersey is still very much open. When is Hushovd ever going to come into form? He was nowhere in the Giro and begins the Tour in the middle of nowhere as well.
Tomorrow, the Tour caravan continues south through the flatlands of Northern France. An even flatter finish will probably see the fight for the green jersey commence for real!
Yeah, Cunego did well, and I don't think it was too unrealistic either, as you can see how tough the finish is on the screen you quoted.
You're correct about Rui Costa The Italian champion beside him is Visconti, riding for Liquigas, while Spilak is the Slovenian champion at the bottom of the picture.
Tactics meeting
Another long, flat stage takes the Tour south-east into the middle of France. The small town of Gien hosts the finish, which is almost guaranteed to be a mass sprint. The stage is so flat that I can't see anyone else than the top sprinters contesting the win. Will Gavazzi improve on his 2nd place from yesterday? The only factor pointing against a sprint is the wind, which can be quite strong today.
The sprinter's teams made no mistakes, and as the sprint was nearing, Quick-Step were once again well-positioned. Traksel and Hushovd jumped on the back of the Quick-Step train.
Gavazzi lost the wheel of his lead-out man Pineau! Pineau did a fantastic lead-out, but for the wrong riders. Traksel and Hushovd were all clear to settle the sprint among themselves.
They were totally superior to the others, and Hushovd had a great position on Traksel's wheel!
Hushovd got his revenge! No wonder Lampre and Vacansoleil has worked hard these two days: They clearly have the two best sprinters in the peloton. Today, Hushovd won it by a country mile.
Youth ranking
1 Mikhail Ignatiev Team Katusha 9h49'33
2 Michael Schär Astana Cycling Team + 12
3 Tanel Kangert AG2R La Mondiale + 13
Team classification
1 Team Katusha 29h28'38 2 Discovery Channel + 10
3 Rabobank + 15
Hushovd has opened his account! Considering his sheer domination today, there's more to come from the big Norwegian. He doesn't get the green jersey though, as Cunego contested the sprint and impressed everyone by taking 5th. But nobody came near Hushovd and Traksel, who were in another league today. These two are the most likely candidates to fight it out for the green jersey.
Mattia Gavazzi screwed it up for himself today, but if Pineau continues to deliver lead-outs like this one, the Italian could get back into contention.
Tomorrow is another chance for the sprinters to show their stuff, before we reach the team time trial the day after. And for each day, the Pyrenees are getting closer...
Tactics meeting
Stage 4 is a bit shorter than the two previous stages, but almost as flat, and takes the Tour to Bourges right in the centre of France. Another bunch sprint is imminent. Thor Hushovd kickstarted his Tour with the stage win yesterday. Will the Norwegian get the green jersey today?
A rather large break today. 12 men got away. Smukulis intended to defend his King of the Mountains jersey, but he was unsuccessful as Mikael Cherel of FdJeux won on two of the three climbs.
It was going to end in another sprint, and Pineau was once again leading out Gavazzi perfectly. Drujon and Hushovd had boarded the Quick-Step train.
But today Pineau faded away, while the trains of Traksel and Chicchi were going well on each side of the road. The Rabo train came charging up the middle.
It looked like Rabobank's Leezer was the quickest today!
Young Tom Leezer wins the stage! Hushovd managed 3rd, and takes over the green jersey from a still sprinting Cunego.
Youth ranking
1 Mikhail Ignatiev Team Katusha 13h43'18
2 Michael Schär Astana Cycling Team + 12
3 Tanel Kangert AG2R La Mondiale + 13
Team classification
1 Team Katusha 41h09'53 2 Discovery Channel + 10
3 Rabobank + 15
Tom Leezer wins his first ever Grand Tour stage! The young Dutchman was fast and well-positioned today. The fastest of all was Thor Hushovd, but he picked the wrong train to follow, as Quick-Step screwed it up once again. Lampre should do something on their own for their sprinter.
Hushovd gets the green jersey though. Cunego tried to defend it today as well, but could only manage 7th. Which is good for him, as he is no sprinter. It's very even among the best point collectors at the moment.
Tomorrow is perhaps our most important day in this Tour. The team time trial is our chance to gain significant amounts of time on the top climbers. We are really looking forward to it!
Edited by Squire on 14-09-2010 15:48
Tactics meeting
If Klöden is not in yellow by the end of the day, we might as well pack up and leave. We have built the Tour team around this team time trial, and this is were we'll lay the foundation for Armstrong's title defence. This year's TTT is a lot longer than the one last year. That bodes well for us, as we beat Astana by almost 2 minutes last time around. Contador has obviously learned from that experience, and brings more TT support this year. We should still beat them quite comprehensively though. In fact, we have to.
Astana hit the first time check slightly faster than Garmin & Saxo, who shared the lead there. Vino, Zubeldia, Morabito and Schär were doing a good job for Contador.
Then our team reached the first check, 1'04 faster than Astana! This was amazing! Had we started too fast?
FDJeux were going well, clinching an early lead on the second time check. The Frenchies were about to catch Milram.
Surprisingly, Saxobank were 7 seconds behind FDJeux on the second intermediate time.
FDJeux were steaming through central France, catching Milram with 5km remaining.
On the second check, as we caught the rearguard of Rabobank, we had the same lead over Astana as on the first: 1'04. We had slowed down a bit, and were riding in the exact same speed as Contador's team.
Katusha's split times scared nobody. The Russians were 9th on both intermediate times. Bye bye yellow jersey.
Saxobank hit the line 9 seconds behind the big surprise of the day, FDJeux.
Ivan Basso lost enormous amounts of time. Liquigas rode one of the worst TTTs of the day.
Garmin almost caught the usually strong Columbia team to record a new best time. The Americans went 3 seconds faster than FDJeux.
Astana had time trialed magnificently, bettering Garmin's time by 43 seconds!
World TT champion Cadel Evans led Rabobank and Menchov to a temporary 5th place, 59 seconds short of Astana.
Just behind the Dutch team came nine Discovery riders charging! We hit the line as clear winners, 1'06 ahead of Astana! We hadn't gone too well on the last part of the course, as the only place were we gained time on Astana were the first 16km.
As the leaders of the team competition, Katusha were the last team to cross the line. Karpets enjoyed his last moments in yellow, as the Russians recorded a modest 9th place.
Results 1 Discovery Channel 1h22'26
2 Astana Cycling Team + 1'06
3 Garmin - Slipstream + 1'49
4 Française des Jeux + 1'52
5 Team Saxo Bank + 2'02
6 Rabobank + 2'06
7 AG2R La Mondiale + 2'20
8 Quick-Step + 2'58
9 Team Katusha + 3'01
10 Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 3'17
Team classification 1 Discovery Channel 42h32'29
2 Astana Cycling Team + 1'22
3 Rabobank + 2'11
After our dominant win, we occupy the first nine places in the GC. Our winning margin to the 2nd placed team was bigger this year than last, but there was a slight disappointment involved in our victory. Unlike last year, Astana were the closest. Today they only lost a minute, as opposed to two minutes in 2009. Armstrong won the Tour '09 by one second after a lucky ride in the Alps, so this does not look good regarding the overall victory.
Menchov and Schleck are also within striking distance, but they have some work to do. Sastre, Sanchez and Basso seems to be out of contention. It's tough on Basso, who was just slow-pedalling through the Giro to aim for the Tour this season.
There is now only one sprinter's stage left before we hit some mountains, in the form of the Cantal mountain range in south-central France. The Tour enters the Pyrenees in five days. We put this slightly disappointing victory (it sounds weird) behind us, and look forward to opportunities to gain time on Contador before the MTFs and the final TT.
Edited by Squire on 15-09-2010 18:20
Tactics meeting
We're back to the monotonous sprint stages. We should have another mass dash for the line today. Thor Hushovd seems superior as long as he can pick the right train, 'cause Lampre aren't doing much for their main man.
Six riders broke away. Strong riders like Bodrogi and Oss were present.
Again, Vacansoleil did most of the chasing, with some help from Lampre. The teams of Traksel and Hushovd were in total control of the proceedings.
One man not in control was Juanjo Cobo. The Fuji captain crashed with 30km left!
Fuji - Servetto had to ride a team time trial for the second day in a row. They didn't do any better than yesterday though, as Cobo never caught the pack and lost 5 minutes. The Spaniard can now forget about a good GC placing.
Tristan Valentin of Cofidis was first on all the climbs, and takes over the climber's jersey from fellow Frenchman Cherel. Valentin took the last sprint just as the pack caught him.
Hushovd began sprinting early, with Traksel on his wheel. Was Traksel finally going to beat the Norwegian?
No way! Hushovd held off the Dutch sprinter to claim his second stage win. This is actually the first time in his career that Hushovd wins a stage while wearing the green jersey.
Team classification 1 Discovery Channel 54h21'11
2 Astana Cycling Team + 1'22
3 Rabobank + 2'11
Thor Hushovd stamps his authority on this sprint field! His second stage win gives him a good lead in the fight for the green jersey. This is the second time Traksel comes 2nd to the Norwegian.
Apart from the sprint and Cobo's crash, nothing important happened on this stage. We're still sitting comfortably in the first nine places in the GC. Tomorrow, the Tour enters the volcanic Cantal mountains for what should be an interesting stage.
Tactics meeting
A long stage through the Cantal department. There are some steep climbs, especially towards the end. All the KoM points on offer makes this an ideal stage on which to send out Egoi Martinez.
Martinez made it into the ten-man break. Fröhlinger, Tiralongo and Verdugo were the strongest climbers besides Egoi.
An interesting breakaway with Caisse leader Rodriguez and Mazzanti of Katusha were trying to reach Martinez' group. The pack wouldn't let Rodriguez succeed in saving his Tour which suffered a big blow in the TTT. He was eventually caught.
47km from the finish, Egoi Martinez managed to snatch 30 points on today's highest point just before the peloton reeled him in.
The pack kept together until the last climb. Millar was the only Discovery rider missing.
A few meters up the climb, Sanchez and Cunego launched an attack!
Armstrong saw this as an opportunity, and began chasing them together with Fränk Schleck.
Sanchez and Cunego were the strongest though, and duelled for the stage win.
Cunego held off the Olympic champion, and won his second stage in this Tour! He's moving closer to Hushovd in the points competition.
Fränk Schleck denied Armstrong the 3rd place, but both him and Armstrong gets a gap to the main field. Which means the yellow jersey for Lance and some vital seconds on Contador!
Youth ranking
1 Michael Schär Astana Cycling Team 24h40'32
2 Steven Cozza Garmin - Slipstream + 51
3 Andy Schleck Team Saxo Bank + 56
Team classification 1 Discovery Channel 71h12'31
2 Team Katusha + 1'38
3 Astana Cycling Team + 1'50
It was a proper Cunego stage, and he duly delivered! Katusha must be happy with the signing of the Italian in front of this season. I wonder how serious his plans for the green jersey are, but the fact that he didn't sprint yesterday could mean he has given it up. But he is now just four points behind Hushovd.
Another jersey that was heavily contested today was the polkadotted one. Martinez collected 65 points during the day, and is the current King of the Mountains! Now begins the fight to keep that position.
The most important jersey also changed its owner. Just like last year, Armstrong takes the Maillot Jaune off Klöden after a successful attack. 28 seconds was gained on Contador, seconds that could become vital!
Edited by Squire on 16-09-2010 14:38
Tactics meeting
The Tour sets out from Aurillac for another 224km stage, the same length as yesterday. This time it's flat, which probably means another Hushovd show. Lance Armstrong gets his first day in yellow. Let's hope it lasts until Paris!
The nine-man break of the day contained strong engines like Bodrogi and Rabon. They couldn't drive away from the peloton though. The main field had them under control.
Heading into the last kilometers, Silence - Lotto were making a train for their sprinter Mickael Delage.
The Lotto guys didn't ride fast enough, because Stuart O'Grady attempted a flyer with 2km remaining!
He was still ahead after the red kite! Chaotic conditions in the pack.
Lampre managed to get going with Lorenzetto leading out Hushovd. O'Grady was fading. This would be really close!
Lorenzetto couldn't let Hushovd pass him, as Lampre wanted to secure the stage win. But Hushovd managed 2nd, so it's a great result for the Italians!
Today's winner
Results
1 Mirko Lorenzetto Lampre - N.G.C 5h17'06
2 Thor Hushovd Lampre - N.G.C + 0
3 Stuart O'Grady Team Saxo Bank + 0
4 Bobbie Traksel Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 0
5 Assan Bazayev Garmin - Slipstream + 0
6 Tom Leezer Rabobank + 0
7 Ricardo Van Der Velde Garmin - Slipstream + 0
8 Francesco Gavazzi Lampre - N.G.C + 0
9 Rui Costa Caisse d'Epargne + 0
10 Ivan Basso Liquigas + 0
GC 1 Lance Armstrong Discovery Channel 29h56'06
2 Andreas Klöden Discovery Channel + 14
3 Levi Leipheimer Discovery Channel + 15
4 Gustav Larsson Discovery Channel + 22
5 Linus Gerdemann Discovery Channel + 26
6 George Hincapie Discovery Channel + 52
7 Egoi MartÃnez Discovery Channel + 55
8 Yaroslav Popovych Discovery Channel + 1'00
9 Steve Morabito Astana Cycling Team + 1'25
10 Alberto Contador Astana Cycling Team + 1'28
Points ranking
1 Thor Hushovd Lampre - N.G.C 148
2 Damiano Cunego Team Katusha 128
3 Bobbie Traksel Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team 121
Youth ranking
1 Michael Schär Astana Cycling Team 29h57'38
2 Steven Cozza Garmin - Slipstream + 51
3 Andy Schleck Team Saxo Bank + 56
Team classification 1 Discovery Channel 87h03'49
2 Team Katusha + 1'38
3 Astana Cycling Team + 1'50
Once Lampre bothers supporting Thor Hushovd, it ends in a 1-2. Despite not winning the stage, Hushovd tightens his grip on the green jersey. Stuart O'Grady made the sprint really exciting, but his efforts didn't pay off in the end.
Tomorrow is another sprint stage. The last one before the Tour enters the Pyrenees. Soon we can stretch our legs again.
The Italian champion beside him is Visconti, riding for Liquigas, while Spilak is the Slovenian champion at the bottom of the picture.
