cyclingnews.com
7/7-2011
By: Matthew Göös

Youngster wins the 5.stage
Source: Brin Lunnon/Getty Images Europe

It was a surprising result from the 21-year Peter Sagan, when he rode over the finish line as the first in front of Philippe Gilbert and Tom Boonen. The young Slovak had not expected that to happen, when he surprised came to the team bus.

"I don't know what happened", Sagan said, "I was just started with the sprint, hoping for a top 5 result. I was just counting the sign numbers, 300 meters to go, 200, 100...meanwhile I expect some to overtake me and I could see a shadow in my left side. But the shadow never grew bigger and I could take my hands up!"

The Slovak has now 14 victories overall, his 8th for this season.

Well this is a stage who favorites the Norwegian. But that I am one of the favorites, is really surprising! I will try to live up to the expectations.





Today could be the day for a breakaway to go the way to the finish line. From the start in Dinan, it looked like nobody wanted to spend an afternoon in the front. Maybe I can get 20 points in the intermediate sprint?

Pierrick Fedrigo won the first category 3 climb, and Jürgen van den Brouk became number 2.

Today I think that I can win the intermediate sprint because no one attacked. And I won it!
Fabian Cancellara attacked afterwards and he is now in the front alone. That sounds not good!

Fabian Cancellara won the middle category 3 climb and Leonardo Bertangoli was number 2.

However now (14 km remaining) he has 1:15 to the peloton. I am a long way down in the peloton, and we have started on the last climb. That's not very good! Now I can see the front rider in the peloton, so I don't need to worry about it. Kristijan Koren had dropped!

Fabian Cancellara won the last category 3 climb and Thomas Lövkvist was number 2.

Eros Capecchi had dropped too, but he is good on descending, so he should come back.

5 km remaining. Cancellara still have few seconds...he is caught now, now it is time for a thrilling (?) sprint. Boasson Hagen leads now - that's a bit weird. Petacchi - the yellow jersey holder - is here in the front. Tyler Farrar is here too, but where is Mark Cavendish? He is in my right side; clapping me in the shoulder and is saying: "good luck". Gerrans, Gilbert, Davis and Frank Schleck is here, too, but I don't think they are here for sprinting. We had started the last steep hill, 1,5 km from the goal. Cesar is attacking now, but we had caught him.

500 meters remaining, I am on the wheel on Cavendish. And it is going really slow now! Niemiec didn't know that and now he is about 10 seconds in front of us! I start my sprint, caught Niemiec and now I am leading! Should I get back-to-back victories? Yes!!! I had won the 6.stage of this Tour de France!

Nr.	Name	Team	Time
1.	Peter SAGAN	Liquigas-Cannondale	5h 31'02"
2.	Oscar FREIRE	Rabobank	s.t.
3.	Samuel SANCHEZ	Euskaltel-Euskadi	s.t.
4.	Filippo PUZZATO	Katusha Team	s.t.
5.	Phillipe GILBERT	Omega Pharma-Lotto	s.t.

Nr.	Name	Team	Time
1.	Alessandro PETACCHI	Lampre-ISD	22h18'43"
2.	Damiano CUNEGO	Lampre-ISD	s.t.
3.	Przemyslaw NIEMIEC	Lampre-ISD	s.t.
4.	Thomas VOECKLER	Team Europcar	+1
5.	Alexandre PICHOT	Team Europcar	+1

This is the last chance for sprinters to come first to the line. This is actually the first flat stage in the Tour de France since stage 3. I think that it can be a boring day for me...

Today's breakaway is: Romain Felliu, Leonardo Duque, Alexandre Pichot, Anthony Geslin and Koldo Fernández.



Nothing special happened today, nobody had problems and so on. An easy day for me, do I can maybe win a stage tomorrow. My self-confidence is really big!

The breakaway had once 12 minutes (biggest gap in this Tour de France), but it looks like they will be caught by the peloton a bit before the intermediate.



What an easy day it had been for me. But the only problem I have with this stage is that it is so long! Today I counted cows - there was 173 cows, 57 sheeps and a scary forest, where every trees was on an equal long row.

I think that I will protect my green jersey today! 1 km to the intermediate! And I won the sprint in the peloton once again!

But we had been so slow that the breakaway now have 5 minutes! Can we catch them with 15 km remaining? I think that we have a new leader! (Pichot)

In the front Geslin attacks - probably because he is only 6 seconds behind Pichot. 3:30 with 8 km remaining. Koren and Oss want to help me, so they give full out for catch the breakaway. (1 km later...) they are now dead, so Eros wants to lead in the front.

5 km remaining with 2:30 - if my math is correct, this will be an exciting finish! Chavanel, Gilbert and Vinokourov now leads the field and it is side wind right now! And I don't know what's happened, but we just rode on grass!



To be continued

If you haven't read the first part of the stage, read now!

Hello, again!
I don't know what happened with the Internet.

The stage: Somehow we caught the breakaway with 2 km remaining. However I mistimed my sprint and became number 14.

Hello.
Today I announce that I will take a break from this story. Not because I am busy or something like that, but because I want to give me 100 % for work on a DB called DM 2015 to PCM 2009. I hope that you had enjoyed the story.

Well, greetings until next time!
DiCyc

Today Oss and me will work for Nibali and Capecchi and Koren will be Basso's helper. So it will probably be a tough day!




The stage started with very many failed attempts to force a day in the front. After long time only 5 riders succeed: Serguei Ivanov, Matthew Lloyd, Mark Cavendish, Maxim Iglinskiy and Pierre Rolland. Cavendish is number 3 in the point classification - about 60 points after -, so it shouldn't worry me to defend it.

Matthew Lloyd won the first category 4 climb and Mark Cavendish won the intermediate sprint. Hmm...should I do that strategy, too?



At the intermediate sprint the breakaway had over 8 minutes to the peloton. I became 6th and had about 40 points to Cavendish, who was now jumped to the second place in that competition. But after the intermediate the pace was beginning to be annoying high, so I could not much recover after the sprint.

Meanwhile due to the high pace, many big sprinters had been dropped as Greipel, McEwen and some more unknown as Bozic, Casper, Keukeleire, Eisel (?) and the Belarusian FDJ sprinter, I can't remember his name, right now... Hutarovich!

Serguei Ivanov won the second category 4 climb. But now it is time for the category 2 climb!



Basso doesn't look normal. He feels a bit ill, but he can be in the group. Meanwhile in the breakaway Cavendish dropped, before the climb even was tough, so he has a bad day.

Saxo Bank make a huge pace right now, where we are in about 10 %. No big names had dropped yet, but my legs begin to hurt. Basso is alone, he had said that he will be alone and will not have help from us. I think that he don't want that we become ill, too. So Capecchi protect Nibali today and I am free. Horray..?

My team mates Koren and Oss had dropped...and the yellow jersey Petacchi had dropped, too! We will find a new leader today!

With 2,5 km to the top of the climb, Cavendish was caught. He will drop soon, I think.



With 500 meters to the top, I attacked. I just want to have a bit tv-time. And show my descent skills!

I got 11 seconds to the peloton. I am actually pretty good to descending, I must be the new Sanchez or Nibali! He, Eros, now you are not the only helper with good descend skills...



My leg is beginning to hurt now. 14,5 km to goal and 10 seconds behind is the reduced peloton, should I "give up"? But I have almost caught the BOTD, so maybe I should not. Only 7 seconds between me and the breakaway. And only 5 seconds behind me!

Well, I was caught anyway, so I should try to be in the peloton, try to follow the tempo without losing too much energy and maybe I can do a good sprint to win the stage.

Capecchi attacks now, he is now free to go after the stage. Vincenzo is nice today! However the peloton caught him.

The breakaway must have very good legs, they have now 15 seconds to the peloton. However Rolland is done for today and had dropped from the breakaway. 3 riders left...but now they have 30 seconds with 6 km to go!

I attack once again for seeing that if I can win? Had already passed Rolland...and now I am suddenly with in the breakaway in front! And now I passed them what happens?



1 km remains, can I do the impossible? No they caught us. And now Robert Gesink attacks and the speed is so fast that I can't follow! I am still in the group. And finish almost in the back of the group. At least I still have my lovely green jersey...




















What a day. I had showed, that I am strong, and now I know that I am strong. 11th in the GC is showing it. Should I go after the GC or should I be a sprinter? Or maybe a Ardennes rider? I have so many opportunities, or maybe not: I will probably never become a good rider on cobblestones. If I do...

Now I will come on the podium for reserving the green jersey for the...4 days is it not?

I am ready to battle for it!
-Peto

Well, no one attacked until the beginning of the climb. 5 riders attacked: Anthony Charteau, Jerome Pineau, Alexandr Kolobnev, my team mate Kristijan Koren and of course me! It is good to have a team mate in a breakaway! Right now I will actually get the yellow jersey!

And my team mate Kristijan Koren cracked before we even got to the second climb of the day. And my "friends" became angry on me and my team mate: "You don't take enough relays", they said always, and ultimately Pineau attacked. We had 9 minutes to the peloton at the time. We caught Pineau and he was a bit more confident about the stage today. I didn't care, I want my points! But I feel me like a wheelsucker, because I didn't relay much. But then the karma came - I got a puncture and my dream of a stage win was over.



Next time I must have Eros with me, if I should go for a breakaway.
Meanwhile Ivan and Vincenzo had attacked.

Downhill...and I crashed!!! I lost concentration and suddenly my shoulder hurts a lot. Is it over on my Tour-adventure? No, but I need a lot of massage tonight, I need..

After a bit time, all except Pineau was caught, he was 5 minutes ahead, how does he do that? At least I will get 18 points...if my shoulder doesn't hurt much. But I get the 18 points without the big problems. But I had big troubles with hanging on in the last kilometers. But Pineau will win this, he has about 3 minutes. I don't think that I will be in second place today...





















My shoulder hurts a lot! I am happy for that I now leads the point and youth classification. But with my shoulder could I be weak for some days.

I hope that I get a good day, tomorrow
-Peto

After 9 hard stages of Tour de France, it is time for a rest day! I had to get massage in about 1 hour, until it didn't hurt so much. Well in my team, there are beginning to discuss about the captain role, because Vincenzo is 59 seconds from the yellow jersey, meanwhile Ivan - who was ill these days - is about 2:30 after in the GC. But Vincenzo is fortunately not so interessed on such a role change. Ivan is happy about that.

Something who can't be discussed in long time, is my performance in stage 5 and stage 6. I think that I will never forget, how I won the stage. AND I need to remember that I was not in form, when the Tour began for 10 days ago.



It is a flat stage with a bit hilly terrain, so I could be in my ace. But it will be my shoulder, who decide that I can be in the more funny part of a sprint.

All good,
-Peto

The day started with that a 3 riders succeed their attacks, they is: Alexander Kolobnev, Julien Simon and Kevin Seeldraeyers. At the intermediate sprint they had 7 minutes. I became 4th in the sprint and had grown the gap the gap to Mark Cavendish.

Kolobnev won the first category 3 climb with Simon second, and Simon won the category 4 climb.

The Leopard Team is leading together with Jurgen van den Brouk's team Omega Pharma-Lotto. Alberto Contador is in the front, too. And the pace is high now, before the third climb even is started. This could be bad for me! We have head wind, so the speed will be slow, but it will hurt more in my legs, than my shoulder hurts! Basso looks confidential and could play a potentially dangerous role today.

Altough that I am relaying as fast I can, the time gap is the same: 5:26.
In the last 500 meters, Basso attacks! Even if his acceleration is bad, he can pace really high, so Saxo Bank (who leads now) is shocked now.

He was caught a bit later, but he has shown that you never must underate him.

15 km remaining, it looks to be a breakaway victory today...Frank Schleck attacks! Sanchez, Contador, Evans, Rodriguez and Andy Schleck attack now, too! Basso and Nibali didn't respond as there only are about 1 km to the top of this hill. Good strategy, meanwhile the others spend their energy. The peloton had been much reduced due to the attacks and the pace for catching them. Koren and Oss give up and there is 77 riders left in the peloton. I was in trouble, too.,

Reached the top, and now it is downhill to the finish line! If this ends with a sprint, there is only Oscar Freire and Alessandro Petacchi to challenge me. Farrar gave up during the last climb, Cavendish dropped almost before the second climb of the day.

I have a good opportunity to have Eros to lead the peloton, because he is an excellent descender. But there is of course the small hills...Frank Schleck attacks once again! And Sanchez, Rodriguez and Andy Schleck, too! But they get caught once again.

5 km remains, and one small hill before the finish line! 57 seconds to the breakaway, this could end very close! Frank Schleck attacks once again and this time I join him! Contador, Rodriguez and Velits attack this time.

1 km it is downhill and fast! Kolobnev had won the stage in front of Seeldrayeres. Simon 3rd. But we have 500 meters to go! Basso lead me out, and I start the sprint! Q bit early but nevermind. I will still have the green jersey tonight.

Nr	Name	Team	Time
1.	Alexandr Kolobnev	Katusha Team	3h54'55"
2.	Kevin Seeldrayeres	Quickstep	s.t.
3.	Julien Simon	Saur-Sojasun	+16"
4.	Filippo Pozzato	Katusha Team	+35"
5.	Philippe Gilbert	Omega Pharma-Lotto	+ s.t.
....
9.	Peter Sagan	Liquigas-Cannondale	+ s.t.
10.	Ivan Basso	Liquigas-Cannondale	+s.t.

Top 5

Nr.	Name	Team	Time
1.	Jerome Pineau	Quickstep	41h46'59'
2.	Damiano Cunego	Lampre-ISD	+26"
3.	Thomas Voeckler	Team Europcar	+27"
4.	Frank Schleck	Leopard-Trek	+28"
5.	Andy Schleck	Leopard-Trek	+28

Well, it was nice to show a bit power to Frank (Schleck). Next time I should start the sprint with 300 meters...

Tomorrow is the last flat stage before the mountain stages - 3 days in hell.
-Peto

There was nothing special, but I was in breakaway, together with Oss, Capecchi, Ivanov and Charteau. So just a bit relaxing stage. And maybe I could get a stage win and the yellow jersey! Notice that it was the first time since stage 9, where I fell, I was in the breakaway.

Oss cracked at the mountain and I only had Capecchi to help me. But it should be enough for the 20 points in the intermediate sprint. I lead also now the virtual yellow jersey and my teammate is according to the time number 2. It looks good. Me and Eros got the 1-2 in the intermediate! Better for me.

Kristijan Koren has a bad day and had dropped. Greipel, Oss and Jimmy Casper had dropped, too.

Now it is time for the final! I will get the yellow jersey tonight! Eros is free now, he must go for his own chance and he attacks massively right now! I don't want to help my rivals to catch Eros. I want that my big day will also be one of the biggest days in his life. He had already won a stage in Giro this yeat, but is this race not a bit more....bigger?



Or should I catch him and take my third stage win of this Tour? Nah, it is not a good idea. 5 km remaining! Eros has 19 seconds, and the DS is shouting, so I must take my earphones off. He is shouting on Italian so I understand almost nothing. 23 seconds now. Ivanov has now set the pace so high, that me and Charteau is gone! No, this must not happens...

I have caught him now, and he looks like that he is preparing the sprint. I eat a energy gele, just in a case...

1 km remains, 8 seconds. Go, GO Eros, don't look back!!!! Ivanov had started the sprint and I passed him. Oh, no I am catching Eros and now I need to stop!! Yes, he did it ! And I finished our 1-2 victory! 3 stage wins of this year and a yellow jersey for me!




A nice day for me and the team! I got the yellow jersey. You know what that means. ( ). This is my first Tour de France and I have all the jerseys except the polka-dot - on the 12th day! Maybe this is a dream, I am going to bed. Amazing, amazing...

-Peter Sagan