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[cyclist]

2011 Tour de France stage 2 results

July 3: STAGE 2 - Les Essarts  Les Essarts TTT 23 km

GARMIN-CERVÉLO CLAIMS A MAIDEN TOUR VICTORY

Stage 2 Results:

1. TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO, in 24:48
2. BMC RACING TEAM, in 24:52, at 00:04
3. SKY PROCYCLING, in 24:52, at 00:04
4. TEAM LEOPARD-TREK, in 24:52, at 00:04
5. HTC-HIGHROAD, in 24:53, at 00:05
6. TEAM RADIOSHACK, in 24:58, at 00:10
7. RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM, in 25:00, at 00:12
8. SAXO BANK SUNGARD, in 25:16, at 00:28
9. PRO TEAM ASTANA, in 25:20, at 00:32
10. OMEGA PHARMA-LOTTO, in 25:27, at 00:39
11. FDJ, in 25:34, at 00:46
12. TEAM EUROPCAR, in 25:38, at 00:50
13. AG2R LA MONDIALE, in 25:41, at 00:53
14. QUICK STEP CYCLING TEAM, in 25:44, at 00:56
15. LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE, in 25:45, at 00:57
16. SAUR-SOJASUN, in 25:50, at 01:02
17. LAMPRE-ISD, in 25:52, at 01:04
18. KATUSHA TEAM, in 25:52, at 01:04
19. MOVISTAR TEAM, in 25:57, at 01:09
20. VACANSOLEIL-DCM, in 26:03, at 01:15
21. COFIDIS LE CREDIT EN LIGNE, in 26:08, at 01:20
22. EUSKALTEL-EUSKADI, in 26:10, at 01:22

GC Standings:

1. Thor Hushovd, Team Garmin-Cervelo, 5:06:25
2. David Millar, Team Garmin-Cervelo, at 00:00
3. Cadel Evans, BMC Racing Team, at 00:01
4. Geraint Thomas, Sky Procycling, at 00:04
5. Linus Gerdemann, Team Leopard-Trek, at 00:04
6. Frank Schleck, Team Leopard-Trek, at 00:04
7. Fabian Cancellara, Team Leopard-Trek, at 00:04
10. Andy Schleck, Team Leopard-Trek, at 00:04
12. Bradley Wiggins, Sky Procycling, at 00:04
13. George Hincapie, BMC Racing Team, at 00:04
14. Tony Martin, HTC-Highroad, at 00:05
18. Mark Cavendish, HTC-Highroad, at 00:05
20. Andréas Klöden, Team Radioshack, at 00:10
21. Christopher Horner, Team Radioshack, at 00:10
22. Levi Leipheimer, Team Radioshack, at 00:10
23. Janez Brajkovic, Team Radioshack, at 00:10
25. Robert Gesink, Rabobank Cycling Team, at 00:12
26. Yaroslav Popovych, Team Radioshack, at 00:23
27. Alexandre Vinokourov, Pro Team Astana, at 00:32
30. Philippe Gilbert, Omega Pharma-Lotto, at 00:33
38. Thomas Voeckler, Team Europcar, at 00:50
42. Tom Boonen, Quick Step Cycling Team, at 00:56
44. Sylvain Chavanel, Quick Step Cycling Team, at 00:56
47. Ivan Basso, Liquigas-Cannondale, at 00:57
61. Ryder Hesjedal, Team Garmin-Cervelo, at 01:14
71. Mark Renshaw, HTC-Highroad, at 01:24
75. Alberto Contador, Saxo Bank Sungard, at 01:42
77. Tom Danielson, Team Garmin-Cervelo, at 01:49
78. Christian Vande Velde, Team Garmin-Cervelo, at 01:49
79. Stuart O’grady, Team Leopard-Trek, at 01:53
120. David Zabriskie, Team Garmin-Cervelo, at 03:00
138. Alessandro Petacchi, Lampre-Isd, at 03:31
154. Jens Voigt, Team Leopard-Trek, at 04:20
176. Tyler Farrar, Team Garmin-Cervelo, at 06:26
198. Vincent Jerome, Team Europcar, at 13:11

Next Stage: July 4: STAGE 3 - Olonne-sur-Mer  Redon 198 km


Jerseys:

Yellow:      Thor Hushovd, Team Garmin-Cervelo

Green:   Phillippe Gilbert Omega Pharma-Lotto 45 points
               Cadel Evans BMC Racing Team 35 points
                   Thor Hushovd  Team Garmin-Cervelo 30 points

 Polka Dot: Phillippe Gilbert Omega Pharma-Lotto 1 point

White:           Geraint Thomas Sky Pro Cycling in 5h 06′ 29″
                      Boasson Hagen Edvald, Sky Procycling, at 0:00
Tejay Van Garderen, Htc – Highroad, at 00:01


Teams:       Team Garmin – Cervelo, 14:29:39
BMC Racing Team, at 00:01
Team Leopard-Trek, at 00:04

 Lanterne Rouge:   Vincent Jerome

Withdrawals:

All Riders in the race.

Stage 2  Review:

Garmin-Cervélo finally wins its stage, taking the stage-2 TTT in the 2011 Tour de France
By VeloNews.com
Published Jul 3rd 2011 11:26 AM UTC — Updated Jul 3rd 2011 1:18 PM UTC


The Garmin-Cervélo gang hoists boss Jonathan Vaughters skyward in celebration. Photo: Graham Watson | www.grahamwatson.com

LES ESSARTS, France (VN) — Garmin-Cervélo finally won its first stage in a Tour de France on Sunday, claiming victory in the stage-2 team time trial and putting world champion Thor Hushovd into the race leader’s yellow jersey.

Hushovd began the day wearing the polka-dot kit of the mountains leader — which actually belonged to then-race leader Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto), who after his victory in stage 1 also owned the green and yellow jerseys.

“I’m proud to have it on, even if it’s not my jersey. It’s a good experience,” said Hushovd.
But he was even happier to have the yellow, and to help his team finally collect that long-sought-after maiden stage win.

“This is a great victory for the team. It’s one thing to win to be on the podium alone, but it’s great for morale to have the entire team to enjoy this victory,” said Hushovd. “I am very happy to have this yellow jersey. To trade the rainbow jersey for the yellow jersey is something special.”

And it was a close thing, too. Cadel Evans — also wearing a jersey borrowed from Gilbert, the green — led his BMC squad across the line for second on the day, just four seconds slower than Garmin … and just one second short of the yellow.

The last shall start first

The 23km team time trial here saw defending champion Alberto Contador’s last-placed Saxo Bank-Sungard squad start first, raging off the line, shedding riders almost immediately and finishing with the minimum five men, posting a time of 25 minutes, 16 seconds.

The course was mostly flat but windswept, especially toward the finish, and peppered with plenty of corners to keep riders on their toes. Spectators lined the roadside, and as far as is known they all kept well out of the riders’ way — unlike the oblivious fan who caused the decisive pileup in stage 1 that put Contador, Euskaltel-Euskadi’s Samuel Sanchez and others into a deep, 80-second hole.

Saxo Bank’s time held until Rabobank blitzed the course in 25:00, roaring through the 9km intermediate time check at 58.9kph (36.6 mph), three seconds better than Contador’s team. The Rabos were still three seconds quicker at the 16.5km time check and only got faster in the final kilometers, hitting the line 16 seconds faster than Saxo Bank.

Julian Dean led Garmin-Cervélo onto the course, with Dave Zabriskie in his Captain America national-champion’s kit and Hushovd in polka dots.

The Argyle Armada hit the first time check seven seconds quicker than Rabobank, but paid a price for the pace — Dean had already lost contact.

Garmin grabs the lead


Garmin-Cervélo racing for that long-sought-after win. Photo: Graham Watson | www.grahamwatson.com

Garmin was 14 seconds better than Rabobank at the second time check, but the squad was also down to six men with 2km to go. No matter — the survivors hit the line in 24:48 to claim the hot seat with 13 teams yet to finish.

Geraint Thomas (Sky), who finished sixth in Saturday’s messy opener, started the TTT in the white jersey of best young rider, hoping to pull on the yellow at the end of the stage.

And Sky got off to a swift start, bettering Garmin’s time at the first checkpoint by a single second, but shedding Xabier Zandio and Christian Knees in the process. But the British outfit was four seconds slower at the second check, and they would finish in 24:52 — not good enough to let Thomas change his kit.

HTC-Highroad had an unfortunate beginning — Bernhard Eisel slid out in a left-hand corner shortly after the start, leaving the squad a man down almost instantly.

RadioShack was off to a poor start, too, crossing just fifth best at the first time check and a full 15 seconds down at the second. But they recovered on the backside of the course to slot into third for the moment. HTC displaced them shortly thereafter, with Leopard-Trek, BMC and Omega Pharma-Lotto yet to finish.

“It’s always a goal for us to win the TT. Garmin is strong, too, and today they were better than us,” said Levi Leipheimer. “It was a hard course, with wind, heat, I felt good and I think we made a pretty good race. It keeps us in strong position on the GC, so that’s the most important.”

World time-trial champion Fabian Cancellara led Leopard-Trek onto the course and to third at the first time check, seven seconds slower than Sky at that point despite Fränk Schleck skipping his turns.
But the world champion’s team could manage only third at the finish — and they wouldn’t hold onto it.

BMC nearly steals the show

BMC was having a good ride early on, too, hoping to push second-placed Evans into yellow at day’s end. But they had shed two men en route to the second time check — and at the finish, BMC hit the line just four seconds slower than Garmin, good enough for second on the day, but meaning that Hushovd was in yellow by a single second over Evans, who started the day three seconds behind. Garmin’s David Millar displaced the Aussie in second as Evans slipped to third overall.


Thor Hushovd pulls on the yellow jersey. Photo: Graham Watson | www.grahamwatson.com

“It’s something we dream of, so it’s something special to achieve it,” said Millar of his team’s triumph. “The emotion is much stronger to share this as a team. We’ve worked so hard for this. Everything went perfect for us.”

Gilbert was in yellow skinsuit and helmet as Omega Pharma rolled down the ramp. But he’d be wearing a lesser garment on Monday — his team was just 16th at the first time check, and while they rallied to finish 10th, Gilbert’s time in yellow had come to an end.

Meanwhile, defending champ Contador had slipped back a bit as well. After his squad wound up eighth on the day the Saxo Bank captain now sits 75th at 1:42 behind the new race leader, whose boss was content to have finally collected that long-coveted stage win — even if it meant getting hoisted aloft on the podium as his riders celebrated the victory.

“We will take this Tour day by day, that’s what we said from the start,” said Jonathan Vaughters. “Today we have the yellow jersey, we’ll see if we can defend it; we’ll see if we can win the stage. Yesterday went badly, but today went great. That’s the Tour.”

And Contador had yet to throw in the towel despite a tough start to his title defense.

“My opponents are still ahead of me in the GC and I might not even be the biggest favorite to win overall anymore, but there’s a long way to Paris and we will do everything to gain time to get back,” he said.

Andrew Hood, Patrick O’Grady and Agence France Presse contributed to this report. Stay tuned for an expanded report, video, complete results and photos from stage 2 of the 2011 Tour de France

[cyclist]

2011 Tour de France stage 3 results

July 4: STAGE 3 - Olonne-sur-Mer  Redon 198 km

Farrar first on the Fourth, wins stage 3 of the 2011 Tour de France

Stage 3 Results:

1. Tyler Farrar, Team Garmin – Cervelo, in 4h 40′ 21″
2. Romain Feillu, Vacansoleil-Dcm, at s.t.
3. Joaquin Rojas Jose, Movistar Team, at s.t.
4. Sébastien Hinault, Ag2r La Mondiale, at s.t.
5. Mark Cavendish, HTC – Highroad, at s.t.
6. Thor Hushovd, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at s.t.
18. Andréas KlÖden, Team Radioshack, at s.t.
20. Philippe Gilbert, Omega Pharma – Lotto, at s.t.
23. Christopher Horner, Team Radioshack, at s.t.
34. Alberto Contador, Saxo Bank Sungard, at s.t.
35. Cadel Evans, BMC Racing Team, at s.t.
36. Samuel Sanchez, Euskaltel – Euskadi, at s.t.
38. Stuart O’grady, Team Leopard-Trek, at s.t.
42. Andy Schleck, Team Leopard-Trek, at s.t.
43. George Hincapie, BMC Racing Team, at s.t.
44. Bradley Wiggins, Sky Procycling, at s.t.
45. Frank Schleck, Team Leopard-Trek, at s.t.
46. Yaroslav Popovych, Team Radioshack, at s.t.
52. Robert Gesink, Rabobank Cycling Team, at s.t.
54. Levi Leipheimer, Team Radioshack, at s.t.
55. Tony Martin, HTC – Highroad, at s.t.
56. Alexandre Vinokourov, Pro Team Astana, at s.t.
75. Ivan Basso, Liquigas-Cannondale, at s.t.
111. Vladimir Karpets, Katusha Team, at s.t.
112. Fabian Cancellara, Team Leopard-Trek, at s.t.
126. David Millar, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at s.t.
140. Jens Voigt, Team Leopard-Trek, at s.t.
144. Thomas Voeckler, Team Europcar, at s.t.
161. Alessandro Petacchi, Lampre – Isd, at s.t.
162. Tom Boonen, Quick Step Cycling Team, at s.t.
190. David Zabriskie, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at 03:22
198. Vincent Jerome, Team Europcar, at 05:57

GC Standings:

1. Thor Hushovd, Team Garmin – Cervelo, in 9h 46′ 46
2. David Millar, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at s.t.
3. Cadel Evans, Bmc Racing Team, at 00:01
4. Geraint Thomas, Sky Procycling, at 00:04
5. Linus Gerdemann, Team Leopard-Trek, at 00:04
7. Frank Schleck, Team Leopard-Trek, at 00:04
8. Andy Schleck, Team Leopard-Trek, at 00:04
10. Bradley Wiggins, Sky Procycling, at 00:04
12. Fabian Cancellara, Team Leopard-Trek, at 00:04
13. George Hincapie, Bmc Racing Team, at 00:04
14. Tony Martin, Htc – Highroad, at 00:05
17. Mark Cavendish, Htc – Highroad, at 00:05
19. Andréas KlÖden, Team Radioshack, at 00:10
20. Christopher Horner, Team Radioshack, at 00:10
22. Levi Leipheimer, Team Radioshack, at 00:10
24. Robert Gesink, Rabobank Cycling Team, at 00:12
25. Yaroslav Popovych, Team Radioshack, at 00:23
27. Alexandre Vinokourov, Pro Team Astana, at 00:32
29. Philippe Gilbert, Omega Pharma – Lotto, at 00:33
39. Thomas Voeckler, Team Europcar, at 00:50
44. Tom Boonen, Quick Step Cycling Team, at 00:56
46. Ivan Basso, Liquigas-Cannondale, at 00:57
54. Vladimir Karpets, Katusha Team, at 01:04
69. Alberto Contador, Saxo Bank Sungard, at 01:42
71. Tom Danielson, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at 01:49
72. Christian Vande Velde, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at 01:49
73. Stuart O’grady, Team Leopard-Trek, at 01:53
97. Mark Renshaw, Htc – Highroad, at 02:35
132. Alessandro Petacchi, Lampre – Isd, at 03:31
146. Jens Voigt, Team Leopard-Trek, at 04:20
168. David Zabriskie, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at 06:22
169. Tyler Farrar, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at 06:26
198. Vincent Jerome, Team Europcar, at 19:08

Next Stage: July 5: STAGE 4 - Lorient  Mûr-de-Bretagne 172.5 km


Jerseys:

Yellow:      Thor Hushovd, Team Garmin-Cervelo

Green:   Joaquin Rojas Jose, Movistar Team, with 64 points
Tyler Farrar, Team Garmin – Cervelo, with 58 points
Thor Hushovd, Team Garmin – Cervelo, with 54 points

 Polka Dot:       Philippe Gilbert, Omega Pharm, with 1 point
Mickaël Delage, Fdj, with 1 point

White:           Denis Galimzyanov, Katusha Team, in 4h 40′ 21″
Boasson Hagen Edvald, Sky Procycling, at s.t.
Geraint Thomas, Sky Procycling, at s.t


Teams:       Team Garmin – Cervelo, in 28h 30′ 42
Bmc Racing Team, at 00:01
Team Leopard-Trek, at 00:04

 Lanterne Rouge:   Vincent Jerome

Withdrawals:

All Riders in the race.

Stage 3  Review:

Farrar first on the Fourth, wins stage 3 of the 2011 Tour de France
By VeloNews.com
Published Jul 4th 2011 11:29 AM UTC — Updated Jul 4th 2011 1:39 PM UTC


Farrar dedicated his win to Wouter Wylandt. Photo: Graham Watson | www.grahamwatson.com

American Tyler Farrar took a Fourth of July win at the Tour de France Tuesday, coming off a leadout by teammate and race leader Thor Hushovd to win a mostly flat 198-kilometer ride northward from Olonne Sur Mer to Redon.

Norwegian world champion Hushovd retained the yellow jersey he captured when his Garmin-Cervelo squad won Sunday’s team time trial.

Pre-race favorite Mark Cavendish was fifth after his team lost control of the front of the peloton in the final kilometer.

It was Farrar’s first Tour sprint stage win — coming a day after he won the team time trial — and completes his collection of grand tour stage wins. It was also the first Tour stage win by an American on the Fourth of July.

“You have the yellow jersey, slash world champion leading you out … you can’t ask for more than that,” Farrar said at the finish.

“After being so close — second, third, second — to finally win a stage is incredible. I am so happy. The team today was perfect, with Millar, Dean and having the world champion and yellow jersey leading me out was just perfect.

Farrar dedicated the win to his training partner and friend Wouter Weylandt, who died in a crash at the Giro d’Italia in May.

“It’s like a dream come true to win. This is for Wouter, I want to dedicate this to him. To win on the Fourth of July just makes it that much better.”

“It’s been a horrible two months with everything at the Giro. I’ve had lots of ups and downs. I wanted to come back and do something special in tribute to Wouter at the world’s biggest race. I trained hard and I saw I was getting stronger. It’s a little bit unbelievable that it’s actually happened.”

Hushovd said everything went to plan.

“The objective today was to win the stage with Tyler and keep the yellow jersey, so we were able to do just that. We are very content. We won yesterday and to win again today is fabulous.”

The early break

A group of five established a break early on the day and the peloton decided to give them a long leash. The break’s best-placed rider was Movistar’s Jose Ivan Gutierrez, last year’s Spanish road race champion and 59th at 1:09. His colleagues for the day were Ruben Perez Moreno (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Maxime Bouet (Ag2r), Niki Terpstra, and Mickaël Delage (FdJ).

The group was allowed to coast out to an eight-minute-plus lead ahead of the Garmin-Cervelo-led peloton.

The points competition.

The day’s only intermediate sprint came at Saint-Hilaire-de-Chaléons, with 94km remaining in the stage. Delage took the first place points from his breakmates, but the real battle was for the remaining sixth-through-15th place points on offer for the field.

HTC, Quick Step and Omega Pharma-Lotto set up trains for the sprint, and even yellow jersey Hushovd got into the mix. Ulimately, 15-time Tour stage winner Mark Cavendish took the field sprint for sixth, ahead of Denis Galimzyanov (Katusha) and Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar). Hushovd picked up four points for 12th (seventh in the field sprint).

Soon after the sprint, Garmin and HTC got down to business chasing down the breakaway, quickly chopping the gap down to a little more than three minutes with 75km to go.

The KOM competition

In the climber’s competition, there was just one point awarded atop the category 4 Côte du Pont de Saint-Nazaire. The 1.1-kilometer ascent up a bridge topped out 55km from the finish.

Delage took the point, putting him tied with Gilbert on points in the KOM competition. Gilbert, better placed on GC, will wear the polka dot jersey on stage 4.

The leaders had less than a two-minute gap when they hit the bridge, and they lost roughly another half minute, as the peloton hit the go-button up the day’s only categorized climb. The pace caught a few riders in the pack by surprise and Ivan Basso, Ben Swift and Sylvain Chavanel were among those who briefly lost contact with the peloton. A group of near 40 riders dangled off the back for a few kilometers.
Leopard-Trek’s Fabian Cancellara and two teammates were among those at the pointy end of the peloton, making life difficult for the group that was caught out behind, and also quickly closing the gap to the breakaway. At 50km to go, the gap was just 1:20.

Katusha’s Vladimir Karpets was among those who lost contact near the bridge and then had a crash, forcing him to take a spare bike from the team car. He struggled to regain contact with the leaders, chasing alone for several kilometers before joining another small group of stragglers.

The chase and catch

With 30km to go, the break was within sight of the front of the peloton, which eased up a bit to avoid a premature catch. That was a relief to Karpets and the other stragglers who rejoined the main pack.

Meanwhile, the five escapees were enjoying a brisk tailwind that had them zinging along at near 70kph (44mph) and holding their gap at about a half minute.

With 18km to go, Delage and Gutierrez attacked the breakaway and the others were soon absorbed by the hungry pack. The pair dangled off the front as HTC began ramping up the pace to position Cavendish.

The two entered the final 10k with a 12 second gap and finally conceded the inevitable a kilometer later.

HTC, Garmin and Lampre battled for control of the front, while GC favorites like Cadel Evans and Alberto Contador made sure to stay within spitting distance to protect their interests.

With 3k to go, HTC seemed to have firm control. The yellow jersey had Farrar on his wheel entering the final 2k, where a few attacks blistered off the front, upsetting HTC’s control. Garmin took control in the final kilometer. After a big charge from Hushvod, Farrar came off Danny Pate’s wheel to take his first Tour stage sprint win. Cavendish never hit the front, coming in fifth.

Up next

Tuesday’s stage has a hilly finale that may suit stage 1 winner Philippe Gilbert. The Mur de Bretagne finish climb is a difficult 2km long with an average gradient of 6.9 percent, with pitches in the first kilometer hitting 10 percent.

Race note

Rojas, third on the stage, takes over the green points leader jersey for stage 4. Delage was awarded the Most Aggressive prize for the day.

[cyclist]

2011 Tour de France stage 4 results

July 5: STAGE 4 - Lorient  Mûr-de-Bretagne 172.5 km

Cadel Evans wins stage 4 of the 2011 Tour de France, Hushovd retains overall lead

Stage 4 Results:

1. Cadel Evans, BMC Racing Team, in 4h 11′ 39″
2. Alberto Contador, Saxo Bank Sungard, at s.t.
3. Alexandre Vinokourov, Pro Team Astana, at 00:00
4. Rigoberto Uran, Sky Procycling, at s.t.
5. Philippe Gilbert, Omega Pharma – Lotto, at s.t.
6. Thor Hushovd, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at s.t.
7. Frank Schleck, Team Leopard-Trek, at s.t.
8. Samuel Sanchez, Euskaltel – Euskadi, at s.t.
10. Andréas KlÖden, Team RadioShack, at s.t.
11. Bradley Wiggins, Sky Procycling, at 00:06
12. Joaquin Rojas Jose, Movistar Team, at 00:06
13. Ivan Basso, Liquigas-Cannondale, at 00:06
16. Christopher Horner, Team RadioShack, at 00:08
17. Robert Gesink, Rabobank Cycling Team, at 00:08
20. Levi Leipheimer, Team RadioShack, at 00:08
21. Tony Martin, HTC – Highroad, at 00:08
22. David Millar, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at 00:08
23. Andy Schleck, Team Leopard-Trek, at 00:08
31. Christian Vande Velde, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at 00:08
65. Thomas Voeckler, Team Europcar, at 00:25
67. Vladimir Karpets, Katusha Team, at 00:25
93. Jens Voigt, Team Leopard-Trek, at 01:55
101. George Hincapie, BMC Racing Team, at 02:06
103. Alessandro Petacchi, Lampre – Isd, at 02:06
116. Tom Boonen, Quick Step Cycling Team, at 02:22
126. Yaroslav Popovych, Team RadioShack, at 03:21
136. Stuart O’grady, Team Leopard-Trek, at 04:17
147. Mark Renshaw, HTC – Highroad, at 04:17
150. Mark Cavendish, HTC – Highroad, at 04:17
158. Tyler Farrar, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at 04:17
163. Fabian Cancellara, Team Leopard-Trek, at 04:17
191. David Zabriskie, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at 08:13
197. Vincent Jerome, Team Europcar, at 08:45

GC Standings:

1. Thor Hushovd, Team Garmin – Cervelo, in 13h 58′ 25
2. Cadel Evans, BMC Racing Team, at 00:01
3. Frank Schleck, Team Leopard-Trek, at 00:04
4. David Millar, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at 00:08
5. Andréas KlÖden, Team RadioShack, at 00:10
6. Bradley Wiggins, Sky Procycling, at 00:10
9. Andy Schleck, Team Leopard-Trek, at 00:12
11. Tony Martin, HTC – Highroad, at 00:13
14. Christopher Horner, Team RadioShack, at 00:18
15. Levi Leipheimer, Team RadioShack, at 00:18
17. Robert Gesink, Rabobank Cycling Team, at 00:20
18. Alexandre Vinokourov, Pro Team Astana, at 00:32
19. Philippe Gilbert, Omega Pharma – Lotto, at 00:33
23. Ivan Basso, Liquigas-Cannondale, at 01:03
29. Joaquin Rojas Jose, Movistar Team, at 01:15
30. Thomas Voeckler, Team Europcar, at 01:15
36. Vladimir Karpets, Katusha Team, at 01:29
41. Alberto Contador, Saxo Bank Sungard, at 01:42
45. Tom Danielson, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at 01:57
46. Christian Vande Velde, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at 01:57
50. George Hincapie, BMC Racing Team, at 02:10
74. Tom Boonen, Quick Step Cycling Team, at 03:18
83. Yaroslav Popovych, Team RadioShack, at 03:44
92. Fabian Cancellara, Team Leopard-Trek, at 04:21
94. Mark Cavendish, HTC – Highroad, at 04:22
110. Alessandro Petacchi, Lampre – Isd, at 05:37
113. Stuart O’grady, Team Leopard-Trek, at 06:10
114. Jens Voigt, Team Leopard-Trek, at 06:15
121. Mark Renshaw, HTC – Highroad, at 06:52
126. Danny Pate, HTC – Highroad, at 07:11
167. Tyler Farrar, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at 10:43
188. David Zabriskie, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at 14:35
197. Vincent Jerome, Team Europcar, at 27:53

Next Stage: July 6: STAGE 5 - Carhaix  Cap Fréhel164.5 km


Jerseys:

Yellow:      Thor Hushovd, Team Garmin-Cervelo

Green:   Jose Joaquin Rojas, Movistar Team, with 82 points
Cadel Evans, Bmc Racing Team, with 80 points
Philippe Gilbert, Omega Pharma – Lotto, with 77 points

 Polka Dot:    Cadel Evans, BMC Racing Team, with 2 points
Philippe Gilbert, Omega Pharma – Lotto, with 1 point
Mickaël Delage, Fdj, with 1 point

 White:           Geraint Thomas, Sky Procycling, in 13h 58′ 37
Boasson Hagen Edvald, Sky Procycling, at s.t.
Tejay Van Garderen, Htc – Highroad, at 00:01


Teams:       Team Garmin – Cervelo, in 41h 05′ 55″
Sky Procycling, at 00:02
Team Leopard-Trek, at 00:04

 Lanterne Rouge:   Vincent Jerome

Withdrawals:

Stage 4 – Jurgen Van De Walle (bel), Omega Pharma – Lotto

Stage 4  Review:

Cadel Evans wins stage 4 of the 2011 Tour de France, Hushovd retains overall lead

By VeloNews.com
Published Jul 5th 2011 11:26 AM UTC — Updated Jul 5th 2011 1:23 PM UTC
 

Evans led a long uphill charge to the line. Contador tried to come around at the end, but couldn't quite make it. Photo: Graham Watson | grahamwatson.com

Cadel Evans (BMC) won Tuesday’s stage 4 of the 2011 Tour de France, a 172.5-kilometer race from Lorient to Mûr-de-Bretagne with a tough uphill finish.

Race leader Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) marked the climbers on the finale to retain his overall lead another day — by just one second ahead of Evans.

“I am very, very happy to keep (the jersey),” said Hushovd. “It was very hard up the final climb. I was on my limit to stay with those guys. The maillot jaune gave me extra motivation to dig even deeper.”
Evans showed impressive form to mark a late attack by Contador and hold a select group off on the long uphill sprint.

“This is the first time that I won a road stage at the Tour de France,” the Australian said. “I am very content. I am still in second place, but the impressions are good right now. We had good preparation for the Tour this year and the team is very motivated to help me, so everything is going very good right now.”

The win was Evans’ first road stage win at the Tour. He was awarded the win of the 2007 stage 13 time trial after Alexander Vinoukourov tested positive and his win was negated.

An interesting first-week stage

The stage 4 route was part of race organizers’ efforts the last two years to climb out of a rut of predictable first-week field sprints. The route included two categorized climbs, the Category 4 Côte de Laz at 79km and, much more importantly, the Cat. 3 Mûr-de-Bretagne at the finish. The route was run on narrow, twisting road with a seemingly endless series of uncategorized risers.

A cool wet start

It was just 16 degrees C (61 Farenheit) and raining when the field rolled out of Lorient. At the 9km mark, a group of five came together off the front. The best placed Movistar’s Imanol Erviti, who after three stages of this Tour found himself at 111th at 2:58. The others: Gorka Izagirre Insausti (Euskaltel – Euskadi), Blel Kadri (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Jérémy Roy, (Fdj) and Johnny Hoogerland (Vacansoleil-DCM).


Jonathan Hivert heads to the soggy start on stage 4. Photo: Nick Legan

By the 25k mark, the break had more than a four-minute gap making Erviti, a two-time Vuelta a Espana stage winner, the Tour leader on the road.

BMC was doing the bulk of the work at the front of the field, perhaps signaling that Evans was looking to position himself for a run at a stage win — and the yellow jersey. Stage favorite Philippe Gilbert’s Omega Pharma squad also chipped in to the work, and the break’s advantage was brought back to 2:15 at the 100 kilometer mark.

The KOM ‘sprint’

The breakaway still had a decent gap over the top of the day’s first categorized climb and Hoogerland snagged the one KOM point on offer there, creating a three-way tie on the KOM competition, with Gilbert, Hoogerland and Mickael Delage (FdJ) each with one point. The tie would be broken with the points on offer at the finish line, which would also serve as a category 3 KOM line.

The intermediate sprint

Hoogerlang also grabbed the first-place points at the day’s one intermediate sprint, which came 80km from the finish. Behind the break, Monday’s stage winner, Garmin’s Tyler Farrar, took the field sprint for the sixth-place points. Green jersey holder Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) was just behind Farrar in seventh, while HTC’s Mark Cavendish was ninth.

The chase

Omega did the bulk of the chasing after the sprint, but the breakaway took advantage of the twisty roads and a tailwind to maintain a gap of roughly two minutes into the final 30km.


Dave Zabriskie spent a lot of time on the front of the field again. Photo: Graham Watson | grahamwatson.com

As the peloton hit the climbs in the final 20km, the gap started to come down, to just under a minute with 10k to go. In the peloton, the non-climbers were suffering, dangling off the back.

The break was finally caught with 3km to go, just as the race hit the steep opening ramps of the finish climb.

Finale

BMC’s Hincapie took a monster pull into the climb while Evans tucked in near the front.

The front bunch stayed intact with all the favorites into the final 2k until Contador opened it up with an attack at 1.3km to go.

The Tour champion’s move was marked by a select group of favorites, including Hushovd, Gilbert, Evans and Alexander Vinokourov. Evans led out the slow motion uphill sprint and held off a late bike throw by Contador to take the win.

The pace on the final climb was not enough to shake a determined Hushovd, however. The big Norwegian crossed the line with the same time as Evans to retain the yellow jersey another day.

Frank Schleck finished at the same time as Evans, Contador and Hushovd. But a few other GC favorites lost a handful of seconds in the finale. Ivan Basso was 6 seconds back, as was Bradley Wiggins. Chris Horner, Robert Gesink, Levi Leipheimer and Andy Schleck were all at 8 seconds.

“The time (gap) today is just a few seconds,” Evans said. “I don’t think that these small differences will mean much when we get to Paris. It’s a good indication of the first week, but we have 3,000 kilometers to get to the finish line.”

Up next

Wednesday’s stage 5 is 165km from Carhaix to Cap de Fréhel, across the windy coast of Brittany. The likely cross winds could give some teams an opportunity to split the field apart and a fairly technical finale could upset some sprinter’s trains and create an unpredictable finish.

Race notes

Jurgen Van de Walle, who was involved in a crash on stage 2, pulled out of the race early on Tuesday. He is the first abandon of this Tour

[Lynch]

Thats a lot of coverage! How many stages is this again? And who are the Americans?

[cyclist]

Thats a lot of coverage! How many stages is this again? And who are the Americans?

There are 21 stages with two rest days (next two Mondays) as well.

Lots of Americans !

On Garmin-Cervelo: Tom Danielson, Tyler Farrar, Christian Vande Velde and Dave Zabriskie.

On Radioshack: Chris Horner and Levi Leipheimer.

On BMC Racing: Brent Bookwalter and George Hincapie.

and On HTC-High Road:  Danny Pate and Tejay Van Garderen.

I actually thought there were more Americans in this year's TDF...

 

[cyclist]

2011 Tour de France stage 5 results

July 6: STAGE 5 - Carhaix  Cap Fréhel164.5 km

Mark Cavendish wins stage 5 of the Tour de France, Hushovd retains lead

Stage 5 Results:

1. Mark Cavendish, HTC – Highroad, in 3h 38′ 32″
2. Philippe Gilbert, Omega Pharma – Lotto, at s.t
3. Joaquin Rojas Jose, Movistar Team, at s.t.
4. Tony Gallopin, Cofidis Le Credit En Ligne, at s.t.
5. Geraint Thomas, Sky Procycling, at s.t.
10. Thor Hushovd, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at s.t.
11. Cadel Evans, BMC Racing Team, at s.t.
12. Andréas KlÖden, Team RadioShack, at s.t.
14. Stuart O’grady, Team Leopard-Trek, at s.t.
18. Bradley Wiggins, Sky Procycling, at s.t.
26. Tony Martin, HTC – Highroad, at s.t.
28. Alexandre Vinokourov, Pro Team Astana, at s.t.
31. George Hincapie, BMC Racing Team, at s.t.
35. Alberto Contador, Saxo Bank Sungard, at s.t.
36. Christopher Horner, Team RadioShack, at s.t.
40. David Millar, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at s.t.
41. Frank Schleck, Team Leopard-Trek, at s.t.
42. Robert Gesink, Rabobank Cycling Team, at s.t.
48. Ivan Basso, Liquigas-Cannondale, at s.t.
49. Andy Schleck, Team Leopard-Trek, at s.t.
58. Christian Vande Velde, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at s.t.
59. Levi Leipheimer, Team RadioShack, at s.t.
71. Thomas Voeckler, Team Europcar, at s.t.
97. Tyler Farrar, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at s.t.
114. Alessandro Petacchi, Lampre – Isd, at 00:32
153. Mark Renshaw, HTC – Highroad, at 02:25
160. Jens Voigt, Team Leopard-Trek, at 02:46
170. David Zabriskie, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at 04:29
182. Yaroslav Popovych, Team RadioShack, at 04:29
194. Tom Boonen, Quick Step Cycling Team, at 13:08
195. Addy Engels, Quick Step Cycling Team, at 13:08

GC Standings:

1. Thor Hushovd, Team Garmin – Cervelo, in17h 36′ 57″
2. Cadel Evans, BMC Racing Team, at 00:01
3. Frank Schleck, Team Leopard-Trek, at 00:04
4. David Millar, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at 00:08
5. Andréas KlÖden, Team RadioShack, at 00:10
6. Bradley Wiggins, Sky Procycling, at 00:10
10. Andy Schleck, Team Leopard-Trek, at 00:12
11. Tony Martin, HTC – Highroad, at 00:13
13. Christopher Horner, Team RadioShack, at 00:18
14. Levi Leipheimer, Team RadioShack, at 00:18
15. Robert Gesink, Rabobank Cycling Team, at 00:20
16. Alexandre Vinokourov, Pro Team Astana, at 00:32
21. Ivan Basso, Liquigas-Cannondale, at 01:03
28. Thomas Voeckler, Team Europcar, at 01:15
34. Vladimir Karpets, Katusha Team, at 01:29
39. Alberto Contador, Saxo Bank Sungard, at 01:42
43. Tom Danielson, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at 01:57
44. Christian Vande Velde, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at 01:57
47. George Hincapie, BMC Racing Team, at 02:10
81. Mark Cavendish, HTC – Highroad, at 04:22
98. Stuart O’grady, Team Leopard-Trek, at 06:10
99. Fabian Cancellara, Team Leopard-Trek, at 06:10
113. Yaroslav Popovych, Team RadioShack, at 08:13
126. Jens Voigt, Team Leopard-Trek, at 09:01
130. Mark Renshaw, HTC – Highroad, at 09:17
144. Tyler Farrar, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at 10:43
180. Tom Boonen, Quick Step Cycling Team, at 16:26
185. David Zabriskie, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at 19:04
195. Vincent Jerome, Team Europcar, at 33:57

Next Stage: July 7: STAGE 6 - Dinan  Lisieux 226.5 km

Jerseys:

Yellow:      Thor Hushovd, Team Garmin-Cervelo

Green:   Philippe Gilbert, Omega Pharma – Lotto, with 120 points
Joaquin Rojas Jose, Movistar Team, with 112 points
Cadel Evans, Bmc Racing Team, with 90 points

 Polka Dot:    Cadel Evans, BMC Racing Team, with 2 points
Philippe Gilbert, Omega Pharma – Lotto, with 1 point
Mickaël Delage, Fdj, with 1 point
 
White:           Geraint Thomas, Sky Procycling, in 17h 37′ 09″
Boasson Hagen Edvald, Sky Procycling, at s.t.
Robert Gesink, Rabobank Cycling Team, at 00:08


Teams:       Team Garmin – Cervelo, in 52h 01′ 31″
Sky Procycling, at 00:02
Team Leopard-Trek, at 00:04

 Lanterne Rouge:   Vincent Jerome

Withdrawals:

Stage 4 – Jurgen Van De Walle (bel), Omega Pharma – Lotto
Stage 5 - Kern Christophe (fra)-Team Europcar
Stage 5 - Brajkovic Janez (slo) Team RadioShack


Stage 5  Review:

Mark Cavendish wins stage 5 of the Tour de France, Hushovd retains lead

By VeloNews.com
Published Jul 6th 2011 11:33 AM UTC — Updated Jul 6th 2011 1:38 PM UTC
 

Mark Cavendish earns his 16th Tour stage win.

Mark Cavendish won Wednesday’s stage 5 of the 2011 Tour de France, a 164.5-kilometer race from Carhaix to Cap Fréhel.

It was the first win of this Tour for Cavendish and his 16th career stage win.

Race leader Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) finished with the leaders to retain his yellow jersey another day.

Multiple crashes upset the race, with yellow jersey favorites Alberto Contador, Bradley Wiggins and Robert Gesink among those who hit the pavement at one point or another. RadioShack’s Janez Brajkovic, himself a long-shot favorite for a podium finish, left the race due to injuries after a crash.
“I’m really happy,” said Cavendish, who dedicated the win to his dog Amber, which died on Tuesday.

“I want to dedicate this to Amber. She was my little baby.”

He added: “I knew this was a technical finish and it was a hard stage but the team worked really hard for it today and I think I showed my resilience.”

Bumpy route

While the stage featured just one categorized climb, a cat. 4 that came 46km into the stage, and was widely predicted to resolve itself in a field sprint, it was by no means a straightforward route. The journey included many short steep hills, narrow roads and exposure to predicted winds off the channel.

The escape du jour

After a relaxed roll out, a four-man break formed in the first 5k of the race. None of its members were particularly dangerous on the general classification so the leaders of the bunch wished them a bon voyage.

The break: Sébastien Turgot (Europcar), Anthony Delaplace (Saur Sojasun), José Ivan Gutierrez (Movistar), Tristan Valentin (Cofidis).

The foursome built out a five-minute gap ahead of the Garmin-led pack and Delaplace grabbed the single KOM point on offer atop the 281-meter-high Côte de Gurunhuel. The gap was up to 6 minutes with 100k to go.

Intermediate sprint — and crashes

Turgot grabbed the first-place intermediate sprint ahead of Gutierrez. In the field, as is becoming the pattern this Tour, teams set up for a full-on field sprint for the fifth-through-15th points on offer.

Movistar (for green jersey Juan Rojas) and HTC (for Cavendish) set up trains and Quick Step’s Tom Boonen rode aggressively, swerving into Cavendish at one point.

Boonen and Rojas were later relegated for cutting off Cavendish in the sprint.

Borut Bozic (Vacansoleil-Dcm) ended up grabbing the field sprint ahead of Boonen, but more importantly, several riders crashed soon after the sprint. Brajkovic abandoned and Contador, who was 45 seconds behind the field at one point, was forced to chase for several kilometers before regaining contact.

Less than 20km later, another crash took down Boonen and Gert Steegmans.


Jani Brajkovic receives treatment after a hard crash.

Boonen continued, holding his right shoulder, but losing time rapidly. He eventually finished more than 13 minutes behind the lead group.

Cross winds

When the route turned right along the coast, the pace in the peloton accelerated and the break’s advantage tumbled. The foursome was brought back earlier than expected: with 45km still to race.
With 30km to go, the day’s second big break took off — Thomas Voeckler and Tuesday’s Most Aggressive rider, Jeremy Roy. The pair built up a lead of roughly a minute with 11 kilometers to go.

That’s when the Lampre, HTC and Leopard-Trek teams decided they’d had enough and put the hammer down. With 5k to go, the pair was dangling just 15 seconds off the front as Astana joined the chase.

The catch and sprint

Voeckler made a last-gasp attack as the pair was being caught, but was quickly drawn back.

HTC had control of the front in the final kilometer, and the team’s Tony Martin even threw in a sharp attack at the 1km line, drawing out Sky’s Edvald Boasson Hagen, Philippe Gilbert and Hushovd. Hushovd was happy to lead out the sprint, and Gilbert launched around him with 200 meters to go. But there was no holding back Cavendish, who powered around the Belgian champion for his 16th Tour stage win.

After the stage, Contador, who also crashed on the first stage when he lost over a minute to key rivals, said he is looking forward to things improving over the coming weeks.

“It was a very tense stage with a lot of crashes,” said the Spaniard. ”Things are not getting any easier. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.”

Up next

Thursday’s stage 6 is the longest stage of the 2011 Tour, and is also likely to be one of the fastest. The finale at Lisieux features a significant climb past the Ste. Thérèse basilica, 2km from the finish.

[cyclist]

2011 Tour de France stage 6 results

July 7: STAGE 6 - Dinan  Lisieux 226.5 km

Sky’s Boasson Hagen wins stage 6 of the 2011 Tour de France

Stage 6 Results:

1. Boasson Hagen Edvald, Sky Procycling, in 5h 13′ 37″
2. Matthew Harley Goss, HTC – Highroad, at s.t.
3. Thor Hushovd, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at s.t.
4. Romain Feillu, Vacansoleil-Dcm, at s.t.
5. Joaquin Rojas Jose, Movistar Team, at s.t.
7. Philippe Gilbert, Omega Pharma – Lotto, at s.t.
12. Cadel Evans, BMC Racing Team, at s.t.
15. Andréas KlÖden, Team RadioShack, at s.t.
22. Alexandre Vinokourov, Pro Team Astana, at s.t.
26. Tony Martin, HTC – Highroad, at s.t.
27. Christopher Horner, Team RadioShack, at s.t.
28. Samuel Sanchez, Euskaltel – Euskadi, at s.t.
32. Andy Schleck, Team Leopard-Trek, at s.t.
33. Tom Danielson, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at s.t.
36. Ryder Hesjedal, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at s.t.
40. Frank Schleck, Team Leopard-Trek, at s.t.
45. George Hincapie, BMC Racing Team, at s.t.
47. David Millar, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at s.t.
48. Alberto Contador, Saxo Bank Sungard, at s.t.
49. Christian Vande Velde, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at s.t.
50. Ivan Basso, Liquigas-Cannondale, at s.t.
53. Robert Gesink, Rabobank Cycling Team, at s.t.
55. Vladimir Karpets, Katusha Team, at s.t.
56. Bradley Wiggins, Sky Procycling, at s.t.
62. Thomas Voeckler, Team Europcar, at s.t.
88. Alessandro Petacchi, Lampre – Isd, at 00:48
91. Levi Leipheimer, Team RadioShack, at 01:05
101. Mark Cavendish, HTC – Highroad, at 01:44
120. Fabian Cancellara, Team Leopard-Trek, at 02:23
124. Tyler Farrar, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at 02:23
150. Danny Pate, HTC – Highroad, at 02:23
155. Tom Boonen, Quick Step Cycling Team, at 02:23
157. Stuart O’grady, Team Leopard-Trek, at 02:23
158. Yaroslav Popovych, Team RadioShack, at 02:23
163. Jens Voigt, Team Leopard-Trek, at 03:29
169. David Zabriskie, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at 05:27
193. Jimmy Engoulvent, Saur-Sojasun, at 12:26

GC Standings:

1. Thor Hushovd, Team Garmin – Cervelo, in 22h 50′ 34″
2. Cadel Evans, BMC Racing Team, at 00:01
3. Frank Schleck, Team Leopard-Trek, at 00:04
4. David Millar, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at 00:08
5. Andréas KlÖden, Team RadioShack, at 00:10
6. Bradley Wiggins, Sky Procycling, at 00:10
10. Andy Schleck, Team Leopard-Trek, at 00:12
11. Tony Martin, HTC – Highroad, at 00:13
13. Christopher Horner, Team RadioShack, at 00:18
14. Robert Gesink, Rabobank Cycling Team, at 00:20
15. Alexandre Vinokourov, Pro Team Astana, at 00:32
16. Philippe Gilbert, Omega Pharma – Lotto, at 00:33
20. Ivan Basso, Liquigas-Cannondale, at 01:03
27. Thomas Voeckler, Team Europcar, at 01:15
30. Ryder Hesjedal, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at 01:22
31. Levi Leipheimer, Team RadioShack, at 01:23
32. Vladimir Karpets, Katusha Team, at 01:29
34. Alberto Contador, Saxo Bank Sungard, at 01:42
36. Tom Danielson, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at 01:57
37. Christian Vande Velde, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at 01:57
40. George Hincapie, BMC Racing Team, at 02:10
80. Mark Cavendish, HTC – Highroad, at 06:06
98. Stuart O’grady, Team Leopard-Trek, at 08:33
99. Fabian Cancellara, Team Leopard-Trek, at 08:33
118. Yaroslav Popovych, Team RadioShack, at 10:36
136. Jens Voigt, Team Leopard-Trek, at 12:30
140. Tyler Farrar, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at 13:06
149. Danny Pate, HTC – Highroad, at 14:03
167. Tom Boonen, Quick Step Cycling Team, at 18:49
172. Mark Renshaw, HTC – Highroad, at 21:43
177. David Zabriskie, Team Garmin – Cervelo, at 24:31
193. Vincent Jerome, Team Europcar, at 46:23

Next Stage: July 8: STAGE 7 - Le Mans  Châteauroux 218 km

Jerseys:

Yellow:      Thor Hushovd, Team Garmin-Cervelo

Green:   Philippe Gilbert, Omega Pharma – Lotto, with 144 points
Joaquin Rojas Jose, Movistar Team, with 143 points
Thor Hushovd, Team Garmin – Cervelo, with 112 points

 Polka Dot:    Johnny Hoogerland, Vacansoleil-Dcm, with 4 points
Anthony Roux, Fdj, with 3 points
Cadel Evans, BMC Racing Team, with 2 points

 White:           Geraint Thomas, Sky Procycling, in 22h 50′ 46″
Edvald Boasson Hagen, Sky Procycling, at s.t.
Robert Gesink, Rabobank Cycling Team, at 00:08

Teams:       Team Garmin – Cervelo, 67h 42′ 22″
Sky Procycling, at 00:02
Team Leopard-Trek, at 00:04

 Lanterne Rouge:   Vincent Jerome

Withdrawals:

Stage 4 – Jurgen Van De Walle (bel), Omega Pharma – Lotto
Stage 5 - Kern Christophe (fra)-Team Europcar
Stage 5 - Brajkovic Janez (slo) Team RadioShack
Stage 6 - Kiryienka Vasil, Movistar Team, outside time limit
Stage 6 - Velasco Ivan, Euskaltel – Euskadi, non-starter

Stage 6  Review:

Sky’s Boasson Hagen wins stage 6 of the 2011 Tour de France

By VeloNews.com
Published Jul 7th 2011 11:15 AM UTC — Updated Jul 7th 2011 2:20 PM UTC

 
Boasson Hagen held off Goss and Hushovd. AFP Photo
Team Sky’s Edvald Boasson Hagen won stage 6 of the 2011 Tour de France on Thursday, a 226.5km race from Dinan to Lisieux along the coast of Normandy. It was the first Tour stage win for the 24 year old and the first stage win for Team Sky.

Boasson Hagen outkicked HTC’s Matthew Goss and race leader Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo), to win this year’s longest stage.

Hushovd was third across the line to easily retain his race lead another day.

Most of the other GC favorites finished in the lead group to retain their positions. American Levi Leipheimer (RadioShack), however, lost about a minute due to a crash late in the stage.

“It’s really nice to win this stage,” Boasson Hagen said. “It’s been a great start to the Tour for us and to win a stage was a big objective for us. It’s really nice to win a stage in the Tour. It’s been like a dream to win this stage. I’ve had a free role on the team for the first part of the Tour, but when the mountains come, I will helping Brad (Wiggins) in the mountains. Thor has the yellow jersey now and to win a stage in front of him is a big honor.”

Three climbs

The second half of the stage featured many small hills, including three categorized ascents, two cat. 3’s and one cat. 4. The stage started dry and cloudy, but the peloton increasingly dealt with rain and slippery wet roads in the second half of the day.

Break du jour

Anthony Roux (FdJ), Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil), Johnny Hoogerland (Vacansoleil) Adriano Malori (Lampre) Leonardo Duque (Cofidis) escaped early on this long day. Roux, in 50th place at 2:25 behind Hushovd, was the best placed in the break. The peloton allowed them a gap of upwards of 11 minutes with 100km covered.

The intermediate sprint

In the breakaway, Roux grabbed the first place points at the day’s intermediate sprint. Back in the peloton, Mark Cavendish grabbed the 10 points on offer for sixth place after a spirited field sprint. Former green jersey wearer Joaquin Rojas was seventh and American Tyler Farrar was eighth.
Roux also snagged the first place points on the Cat. 3 Côte du Bourg d’Ouilly. But thanks to grabbing points on the two other summits, Hoogerland took over the lead of the KOM competition.

Escaping the escape

With 52km remaining, Westra and Malori attacked the others, who didn’t put up much of a fight and soon drifted back to the peloton. The pair had a bit over three minutes’ gap ahead of the peloton at 40k to go, but with HTC, BMC and Liquigas leading the chase, they had just 30 seconds with 16k to go, when Westra gave up the ghost and left Malori to his own devices.

Malori, the Italian time trial champion, dangled off the front until he was finally caught in the final 3k.

He earned the day’s Most Aggressive prize for his efforts.

On a sharp hill with 2.5km to go, Jelle Vanendert (Omega Pharma) and Voeckler (Europcar) attacked and briefly built a substantial lead before being drawn back by the sprint teams.

Up the final stretch Alexander Vinokourov led the charge, but was soon swarmed, and Boasson Hagen took a clear win while Goss nipped a fading Hushovd at the line.

Boasson Hagen said he felt strong on Wednesday but timed his sprint wrong. Luckily his strength lasted another day. “I was feeling good over the last climbs — I stayed close to the front all the time — I was feeling my legs, I felt really great. – Geraint Thomas came and did a really good leadoff in the end.”

“It’s a great day for Norway — to have two riders on the podium together … to win like that ahead of Thor in the yellow jersey is like a dream.”

Hushovd was quick to applaud Boasson Hagen’s win.
“It’s not too bad eh? A little country like Norway and we’ve got the stage win and the yellow jersey,” said Hushovd.

“Edvald has great potential. He’s won the longest stage of the Tour, and one which was very difficult. He’s got a great future ahead of him. … He does well on most terrains, sprints, time trials and he can climb well also.”

Up next

Friday’s stage 7 is 218km (136 miles), mostly flat from the Loire valley to a Châteauroux. A field sprint is likely ahead of Saturday’s mountainous stage to Super-Besse.

[Lynch]

"Mountainous stage" that doesn't sound like much fun.

[cyclist]

"Mountainous stage" that doesn't sound like much fun.

 

Actually, those are the stages I like the best.  But you are right, not much fun for most of the riders...