2011 Tour de France: 18th stage Schlecks finally dare, 19th stage short but very tough

The 18th stage from Pinerolo to the Col du Galibier was certainly brutally tough. Andy Schleck finally went for it and produced a great ride to win the stage from an attack 60km from the finish to move him to just 15 seconds away from taking the Yellow Jersey. Again Thomas Voeckler rode well surprising me once more as I predicted yesterday that he would lose it. I'll stop making predictions!

Cadel Evans also did a great ride up the Galibier to limit the lose of time to Andy Schleck and incidentally ensured that Voeckler remained in Yellow. Evans is now at 1.12 behind with Frank Schleck at 1.08. These four are now well over two minutes clear of Damiano Cunego and Ivan Basso both on 3.46. The big losers of the day were the two Spaniards – Alberto Contador and Samuel Sánchez. Both blew up at the top of the Galibier and lost a lot of time. Alberto is now 4.44 down and Sanchez at 5.20.

The pity for Evans was that the chasing bunch wasn't able to rise consistently to reduce the gap between them and Andy Schleck. Indeed the gap went out on the climb up the Col du Lautaret as no one was really prepared to take up the chase. It wasn't until right at the top that Cadel opted to really go for it that the gap started to come down but without assistance it was impossible to bring it right down. Evans reduced the gap by about two and half minutes but still finished 2.15 behind Andy.

More than half the field finished outside the time limit including Mark Cavendish. The Tour organisers decided to keep all the riders in the race but docked Mark 20 points from his Green Jersey total, so he is now only 15 points ahead of Rojas who just managed to cross the finishing line in time.

Stage 19: Mondane to L'Alpe d'Huez 109.5km

This is a very short but again brutally tough stage. Back over the Galibier but this time going up the harder northern side and heading down to Bourg d'Oisans and the famous L'Alpe d'Huez with its 21 steep corners. The Schlecks will want to take further time out of Cadel Evans. I'm sure Thomas Voeckler would love to hold on to Yellow at the end of this stage. Can Contador find the legs to attack on the Alpe and regain time?

If the favourites race hard all the way it is going to be very difficult for many riders to make the cut as the stage is so short. Mark Cavendish has to beat the time limit otherwise he will be in real trouble.

The Alpe is an amazing place to watch the Tour. We went there once in 1986 and saw Bernard Hainault and Greg Lemond ride up together. We had hoped to see Robert Millar doing well but he had an off day and was well down.

2011 Tour de France: 17th stage Norway win again 18th: Pinerolo to Col du Galibier

Yesterday's excursion into Italy saw another Norwegian victory. This time for Edvald Boassen Hagen, who was second yesterday to his countryman Thor Hushovd. Boassen Hagen attacked his breakaway companions on the last climb of the day and handled the difficult descent well to give himself a comfortable victory in Pinerolo. The narrow climb featured further attacks by Alberto Contador but he was unable to gain time on his principal rivals – Evans and the Schlecks. Again Contador linked up with fellow Spaniard Samuel Sánchez.

Thomas Voeckler's lead was again nibbled away by Evans, Sanchez and Contador when he made an unexpected diversion into someone's driveway on one of the final descent's tight corners losing a few precious seconds. Evans and the others gained another 27 seconds, so Cadel is now 1.18 sec behind with Frank Schleck four seconds behind Evans. Andy Schleck is at 2.36, Samuel Sanchez at 2.59 and Alberto Contador at 3.15. Ivan Basso came in at the same time as Voeckler, so he slipped a place in overall ranking as Daniello Cunego moved above him.

In the Green Points competition Mark Cavendish took the sole point left at the intermediate sprint after the 14-man breakaway had picked up the rest.

Stage 18

Today's stage from Pinerolo to the top of the Col du Galibier (200.5k) is brutishly tough featuring three hors categorie climbs – Col Agnel (2744m), Col d'Izoard (2360m) and the Col du Galibier (2645m). The stage celebrates 100 years of the Tour passing through the Alps, although I'm not sure the riders will see this stage as a celebration!

This ought to be one of the decisive stages of the Tour. I'll be surprised if Thomas Voeckler manages to hold on to Yellow but he has surprised me and many others on previous stages. However this 18th stage is extraordinarily tough with a significant time spent at over 2000 metres. The leading contenders will have to attack Cadel Evans, who is best placed and generally is a good time triallist. I'm sure we can count on further attacks from Alberto, although I don't expect the action to come on the Agnel – the first col. The leaders won't want to put many of their teammates in danger of finishing outside the time limit.

The day's intermediate sprint is at 45.5k before the climbs so the points will either be taken by a breakaway or, if the bunch is all together, Mark Cavendish will have an opportunity to gain further points.

2011 Tour de France: at last fireworks on Stage 16 and preview of Stage 17: Gap to Pinerolo

Yesterday the leading contenders finally produced fireworks rather than damp squibs. It was Alberto Contador who set things off early on the only categorised climb of the day – the Col de Manse (2nd Cat). Unlike Andy Schleck's tentative forays on the Plateau de Beille, Alberto put in a series of more sustained attacks and duly got his reward. Only Cadel Evans and Samuel Sanchez were able to  stay with him. The Schlecks were some 30 seconds down by the top of the climb.

Worst was to come on the descent as Andy Schleck lost further time ending 66 seconds behind Cadel Evans who dropped Contador and Sanchez on the descent and gained three seconds on them at the line. Voeckler held onto his Yellow Jersey comfortably although he lost time on this leading trio. Obviously Evans was the biggest gainer of the day, although Alberto showed that his knee must now be better and that he is ready to attack.

The Schlecks, in particular Andy, were the biggest losers compounded by Andy's winge about descents being dangerous. By their comments after the stage both brothers reinforced the impression that they hate going downhill. They look to be paying for their timidity in the Pyrénées.   

Although Mark Cavendish didn't pick up any more points, it was a good day for him holding onto his Green Jersey, coming in just seven places behind Andy Schleck and seeing his rivals just pick up a few points: Rojas 3 and Gilbert 2.   

17th Stage: Gap to Pinerolo
Today's mountain stage takes the riders into Italy (179k) over two 3rd cat, two 2nd cat and Sestrières – 1st cat. There is a lot of descending in the final part of the stage, so the Schlecks could again be under threat. Will Contador again attack? He will want to try to gain time on Evans if he can.

The intermediate sprint comes shortly after the first climb of the day – the Côte de Sainte-Marguerite, which is short (2.8K) but quite steep (7.4%), so unless there is a big breakaway Cav ought to be able to pick up a few more points here. Being a mountain stage there are only 20 points available to the winner of the stage.

Leading overall standings after 16th stage

1st: Thomas Voeckler
2nd Cadel Evans:   + 1.45
3rd: Frank Schleck: + 1.49
4th: Andy Schleck: + 3.03
5th: Samuel Sanchez: + 3.26
6th: Alberto Contador: + 3.42
7th: Ivan Basso: + 3.49
8th: Damiano Cunego: + 4.01

2011 Tour de France: Stage 16 Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux

Today's stage that takes the race up into the Alps holds some potential threats to Mark Cavendish's lead in the points jersey. Essentially it is a long uphill climb from the Rhône Valley initially past the vineyards of the southern Côtes du Rhône past the little town of Nyons, which is famous for olive oil, and then up into the foothills of the Alps. Just before the finish in Gap there is the one categorised climb of the day – the Col de Manse a Cat 2 which goes up 9.5k at an average of 5.2%.

The danger for Mark comes if either Philippe Gilbert or José Joaquín Rojas are well placed on the climb and gain points at the finish as it is unlikely that Mark can hang in on such a climb. The ideal for Mark is that a fair sized bunch gets away early on. Providing there isn't anyone who is a threat to the favourites in the escape they will probably be let go allowing the leading contenders and their teams to conserve energy for the three Alpine stages to come. HTC will have to ensure that neither Gilbert or Rojas get into the escape. As Gilbert is no longer a threat overall – 20 min down – it would only be HTC who would be interested in chasing him down – similarly for Rojas.

The weather could play a role today. Météo France forecasts heavy, stormy rain and cold temperatures on the climb and the finish at Gap, while the Tour's own forecast has some rain earlier in the day but a dry but cool finish in Gap. Hopefully it will be dry for the descent and finish into Gap as the descent is dangerous. It was here in 2004 that Joseph Beloki crashed and effectively ended his career. It is possible that Thomas Voeckler might be tempted to try an attack on the Col de Manse and gain a little bit of time on his rivals as he can descend well.

2011 Tour de France: Stage 13: Hushvod wins in Lourdes + Stage 14: the showdown

Yesterday saw a remarkable win by the big Norwegian rider Thor Hushvod on a day when the overall favourites bided their time in an intermediate mountain stage. Thor managed to climb up over the hors category Col d'Aubisque in third place. Losing only a fraction over two minutes to his fellow escapee – Jeremy Roy. Possibly tired after being the escape the day before over the Tourmalet, Roy was caught easily within the last two kilometres. Roy did have the consolation of taking the Polka Dot Jersey – best climber.

No change to the overall standings although Philippe Gilbert underlined his abilities as an all round rider by moving up to 9th place overall – 4.35 mins behind Thomas Voeckler but less than three behind Frank Schleck. In the Green Jersey both Rojas and Gilbert nibbled at Cavendish's lead. Cav is currently on 264 points, Rojas has 251 and Gilbert 240. Mark and HTC were too casual over the intermediate sprint with Mark losing out to Rojas. Then as both Rojas and Gilbert are better climbers they picked up a few additional points at the finish. Fortunately mountain stages carry fewer points at the finish so Cav didn't lose too much. However, his Green Jersey could be under threat from Rojas today as the intermediate sprint (20 points for first place) comes after the first mountain climb – the 2nd category Col de Portet d'Aspet, which is short but steep – 4.3k at 9.7%.

Today's stage – 168.5 kilometres from Saint Gaudens to the Plateau de Beille – is crucial for the overall favourites. There are six climbs starting with the 2nd category d'Aspet, then Col de la Core (1st), Col de Latrape (2nd), Col d'Agnes (1) and Port de Lers (3) before the final showdown to the finish on the top of the Plateau de Beille (H) 15.8k at 7.9%. I expect that there will be a gradual attrition over the earlier climbs before the favourites fight it out on the climb to Beille. Hopefully the attacks will start earlier than they did at Luz Ardidenon on Thursday, so that some significant time gaps open up.

Can the Schlecks take time from Evans? Will Contador attack and recover some time? What of Basso and Cunego? Although leader Thomas Voeckler and his Europacar team will fight hard to hold on to Yellow, I can't see it happening. Whatever, it has been great to see Voeckler first take Yellow and ride so well to keep hold of it.

2011 Tour de France: thoughts on Stage 12 and preview of Stage 13: Pau to Lourdes

Although the first mountain stage yesterday wasn't decisive it has clarified who are the leading contenders. A number of outside bets like Klöden, Gesink and Tony Martin have been eliminated from contention.   

At the top of Luz-Ardiden the number of contenders for overall victory is now down to seven max: Andy and Frank Schleck, Cadel Evans, Ivan Basso, Damiano Cunego, Alberto Contador and Samuel Sánchez. Although it would be dangerous to discount Alberto Contador I think he and Sánchez are now outside bets. I believe we saw a tipping point when Alberto couldn't respond at the end to the attacks – he lost his aura of invincibility which even during last year's Tour was under question. It will be very interesting to see what happens on Saturday with the climb to the Plateau de Beille. There has been little discussion so far of Ivan Basso but he looked strong yesterday. He won last year's Tour of Italy, which was extraordinarily tough, and he is a good time trialist.

Good day for Mark Cavendish who increased his lead over Rojas by 2 points and over Gilbert by 6. Mark and HTC appear now to have sorted the sprints with Mark picking up maximum points after the bunch and his HTC team soaking up a number of the other points available – Mark Renshaw swallowed 8 points, so denying an additional one to Rojas. Looks like it is now only the teams of Mark C, Rojas and Gilbert who contest the intermediate sprints. Cavendish now has 260 points, Rojas 242 and Gilbert 234.

Gilbert did a great ride today but showed his limits in the high mountains when the going gets really tough. He remains a threat and could quite possibly pick up points tomorrow at Lourdes. Depends how much today took out of him. Cavendish should be able to pick up more intermediate points today.

Today's stage is from Pau to Lourdes. Quite short at 152.5 kilometres it isn't esepcially difficult with one 3rd cat and a 4th cat before the major climb of the day the Col d'Aubisque. Although it is hors categorie it is 40k from the finish in Lourdes so unlikely to play a part in the overall race. I fancy that Thomas Voeckler, who did a great ride yesterday, will remain in Yellow today – he has a lead of 1.49 on Frank Schleck. I think, however, that he is likely to lose the jersey on Saturday.    

2011 Tour de France: Cavendish's 18th + Stage 12: Cugnaux - Luz-Ardiden

Mark Cavendish duly won the exciting massed sprint at Lavaur in foul conditions. Brilliantly led out by Mark Renshaw, Mark C exacted revenge for being beaten by André Griepel the day before. This time he went full out and nobody could close the gap, although Griepel tried swooping across the road in a desperate attempt to take Cav's wheel but to no avail.

This latest stage victory takes Mark Cavendish to 8th place in the all time list of stage winners with an extraordinary 18 wins in just four Tours. He is now just four wins behind André Darrigade, the leading sprinter in the all time list. Darrigade raced during the 1950s and 1960s and took 11 years to amass his 22 stage wins. There are two more potential sprint stages in this year's Tour – Montpellier and Paris – and one wouldn't bet against Mark winning both of them.

He also now has the Green Jersey with 251 points. Jose Joaquin Rojas has 235 points and Philippe Gilbert 231. Although Mark's only chance of picking up further points in a finish are at Montpellier and Paris, he can still continue to get points from the intermediate sprints which even on the mountain stages to come are usually placed before the mountains start in earnest.

With today's first mountain stage it will be interesting to see how well Philippe Gilbert does. If he can stay with the leaders then Gilbert is likely to win the points jersey. If he can't then Mark Cavendish must have a good chance to take the Green all the way to Paris. There is also the question of how Rojas will cope in the mountains.

**

All of today's climbing comes in the last 70-80 kilometres of this long 211 kilometre stage (Cugnaux to Luz-Ardiden). It starts with La Hourquette d'Ancizan, which the Tour has never climbed before. Then on to the classic Col du Tourmalet before the final climb and finish up at Luz Ardiden. With all the climbing concentrated into the final third there ought to be an opportunity for someone to have a real go – one of the outside favourites perhaps. I fear the favourites may well not be prepared to take risks – instead playing rat and mouse tactics.

Today is Bastille Day – the celebration of the French Revolution – so there will certainly be French riders keen to have a go!

2011 Tour de France: Stage 11 Blaye-les-Mines to Lavaur

Yesterday was one of the very rare occasions over the past four Tours where Mark Cavendish has lost the sprint once he has hit the front of the pack. Mark lost by a wheel length to German sprinter André Griepel, who won his first Tour de France Stage at Carmaux. Did Mark misjudge the sprint or was the absence of the HTC train at the end too big a disadvantage or did he have to expend too much energy keeping up when Philippe Gilbert went hard on the last climb of the day?

Whatever happened Cavendish did pick up a number of points in the Green Jersey competition. Philippe Gilbert leads with 226 points, Rojas has 209 and Cavendish 197.

Today's stage is again quite short at 167.5k from Blaye-les-Mines to Lavaur. With no major difficulties it may well come down to a bunch sprint. Mark Cavendish will be keen to get revenge for yesterday but Griepel will be keen to repeat yesterday's success. From tomorrow the Tour hits the high mountains, so the sprinters' only remaining options are the stage to Montpellier and the final on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.

2011 Tour de France: Stage 10: Aurillac to Carmaux

Today it is a short (158 kilometres) but lumpy stage in Cantal and the Aveyron from Aurillac to Carmaux. There are three classified climbs – two 3rd category and two 4th – so no major difficulties but another day when it is up and down with very little on the flat. The forecast is a hotter than for the last two stages – 28-30˚C so warm but not scorching.

It will be a big surprise if Thomas Voeckler loses his Yellow Jersey today. Only a crash is likely to make it happen. I expect him to hold on to Yellow at least until Thursday (Bastille Day) when the race enters the Pyrénées. Although Voeckler may not lose it on the first day there I will be very surprised if he manages to hang on right through the Pyrénées.

Despite the lumpy course today's stage might end up as a sprint and if it does Mark Cavendish will have a good chance to notch up stage win number 18. The sprinters will be keen to hold the race together as there are not many opportunities for a bunch finish remaining in this year's Tour. The shortness of the stage may make it difficult to control any breakaway.

I expect Philippe Gilbert to to gain further points today, although his lead over Cavendish may be less at the end of today.

2011 Tour de France: Stage 9: Issoire to Saint-Flour

2011 Tour: the peloton and the crash: pic of photos on laptop from steephilltv/reuters

Yesterday's stage Massif Central stage certainly proved to be much more dramatic and incident packed than anticipated. Sorry to see Vinokourov's Tour end, and probably his career, on the descent from Le Puy Mary. The lethal combination of a fast descent on wet and dry roads caused a big crash, which also took out Van den Broeck. Then there was the crazy driving incident that knocked Hoogerland and Flecha off their bikes when in the break.

Despite Vinokourov's doping history he was an exciting rider – one of the few potential leaders prepared to have a real go. Sadly there are too many who prefer to ply the cat and mouse waiting game – the percentage men.

Good to see Thomas Voeckler get the Yellow Jersey – he certainly deserved it from the amount of work he put in during the breakaway. With today being a rest day he should certainly be wearing it on Bastille Day (14th July) – the first day in the Pyrénées as the stages on Tuesday and Wednesday are not particularly difficult – providing there aren't more crashes. Whether Voeckler will still have it at the end of Bastille Day is another matter as the race climbs the Col de Tourmalet and finishes up at Luz-Ardiden. My guess is that this will depend upon whether one or several of the big contenders decides to attack early on or whether they wait for the final climb up to Luz-Ardiden. If it is the latter then Voeckler possibly has a big enough margin (2.26 mins on Cadel Evans) over the favourites to cling onto Yellow.

Philippe Gilbert continues to hoover up points for the Green Jersey leading Rojas by 38 points and Mark Cavendish by 64 points. It will be interesting to see how well Gilbert does in the high mountains as he could be on for a high overall placing as well as looking to be the strong favourite for the Green Jersey.

2011 Tour de France: Stage 8 (result) and Stage 9: Issoire to Saint-Flour

Yesterday's big surprise was that Thor Hushvod was able to keep the leader's Yellow Jersey on the first hilly stage. He was helped by the fact that nobody from the favourites really stepped it up the short, sharp Super-Besse climb to the finish with a leading group of over 20 riders finishing together just behind Rua Alberto Costa, the stage winner, and Philippe Gilbert who broke from the pack at the end.

Gilbert is now back in the Green Jersey and looks a good bet to be the winner of this jersey. Robert Gesink's hold on the White Jersey (young rider) looks a bit shaky after losing time yesterday, so it will be interesting to see how he goes on today's lumpy stage. Having had his BMC team on the front of the peloton for much of the day, it was surprising that Cadel Evans didn't make a bigger effort on the final climb to grab the two seconds he needs from Thor to take the Yellow Jersey.

Today's stage will be hard with eight categorised climbs including three 2nd category ones – Le Puy Mary, Col du Perthus and Col de Pret de Bouc (Le Plomb du Cantal). Although I suspect again that the leading contenders may well be content just to watch each other as the last big climb, le Plomb, is over 50k from the finish. Hope I'm proved wrong. I expect a group of 8-10 riders to break away near the start with some counter-attacks to come in the hilly middle section.

2011 Tour de France: Stage 8: Aigurande to Super-Besse Sancy

Today is the first really hilly stage as the race moves south into the Massif Central to the ski resort of Super-Besse close to Le Mont-Dore. The race profile shows that it is all upwards today from 415 metres at the start in Aigurande to 1275 m at the finish in Super-Besse with a couple of steep climbs at the end – Col de la Croix Saint-Robert (6.2% for 6.2 km) and Super-Besse Sancy (short but sharp at 7.6% for 1.5 km). It will be a hard day for anyone injured in yesterday's crashes.

The intermediate sprint is at 83 km in the flatter section of the stage, so if there hasn't been a big breakaway it could well be contested by the sprinters in the Green Jersey competition. It would be amazing if Thor Hushvod doesn't lose Yellow today – he would be equally surprised! My hunch is that Cadel Evans will take Yellow (if not Evans – Frank Schleck) and that Contador will try and get a few seconds back on the last climb.

2011 Tour de France: Stage 7 – Le Mans to Châteauroux: Vignerons de l'Etape – Mikaël Bouges and Pascal Potaire

'Céré-la-Blonde' or Céré-la-Ronde – one of the quiet villages the Tour will pass through today
(Céré-la-Blonde – squeeze the blonde)

Montrichard and its fortress: where the Tour crosses the Cher

This is very much a transition stage, taking the riders from the north west of France to the more hilly Massif Central as well as the last glimpse the 2011 Tour will have of the Loire. At 218 kilomtres this is long stage (not quite as long as yesterday) and the flattest of this year's Tour.

Last year David McDuff of McDuff’s Food & Wine asked me to contribute a post on the stage from Montargis to Guegnon. He had asked me to do the same this year and suggesting this seventh stage. However, as David’s blog appears to be resting, I will post what I would have sent him here on Jim’s Loire.

The stage starts in Le Mans, famous for the 24-hour car race as well as a 24-hour motorbike race. It is also justly famous for its pork rillettes.

The stage heads south east to the valley of Le Loir towards La Chartre-sur-Le-Loir and Jasnières. Certainly some candidates here for the Vigneron of the stage, although to qualify the race has to pass right by the winery or very close to it. This rules out obvious candidates like Eric Nicolas. As I have chosen two producers from Touraine I will have to cheat and nominate at least one Jasnières producer for tomorrow's stage.

At L'Homme the race turns east staying on the north bank of Le Loir to Trôo, famous for its troglodyte houses. The late Jane Grigson, a leading food writer, had a holiday home here. Then it's on to the attractive little town of Montoire, where on 24th October 1940 Maréchal Petain and Adolf Hitler met and Petain agreed to collaborate with the Germans with the setting up of Vichy France. Montoire is on the western edge of the AC Coteaux du Vendômois.

The race crosses Le Loir here and heads south eastwards through to Le Loir's big sister. La Loire is crossed at Chaumont just beyond the most easterly point of the Touraine-Amboise appellation. Château de Chaumont's biggest current claim to fame is its annual garden festival, which runs from April right through to mid-October.

Château de Chaumont

Château de Chenonceau on the Cher

Diane de Poitiers was moved to Chaumont after she was booted out of Château de Chenonceau by Catherine of Medici, wife of Henri II, following the king's death. Obviously Catherine decided that once Henri had died there was no point allowing his mistress to remain in the lovely Chenonceau. Diane apparently didn’t find Chaumont to her taste and moved further north to Anet.

Once past Chaumont the race heads towards Montrichard and its 11^th century fortress built by Foulques Nerra that overlooks both the town and the River Cher. This is just one of the myriad fortresses where Richard Coeur de Lion was imprisoned and yet another one from which he escaped.

The bridge over the Cher linking Montrichard on north bank with Faverolles on the south

Reaching the Cher Valley brings the riders to the last vines they will see on this stage and, indeed, for the next few days. As they start the short climb out of the Cher Valley at Faverolles, they pass La Route de Tours, now a cul-de-sac but previously the main road along the Cher Valley to Tours. Here are my two Vignerons de l'Etape: Pascal Potaire (see here) and Mikaël Bouges.

Mikaël Bouges

Pascal Potaire

Next up is Céré-la-Ronde famous for its goats. There is an annual goat fair held here at the end of October. This is very much Chèvre (goats’ cheese) country and it lies in several cheese appellations including Sainte-Maure, Selles-sur-Cher and Valençay.

The last time the Tour passed through this part of the Cher Valley was in 1992 when French sprinter Thierry Marie won the stage from Montluçon to Tours. The race came through Genillé, le Liège and Luzillé and on to Tours. Overall winner that year was Big Mig (Miguel Indurain), who won the time trial the next day from Tours to Blois.

After Céré the route is gently undulating through peaceful agricultural land passing through the small towns of Nouans-les-Fontaines and Ecueillé before reaching Pellevoisin at 178 metres the high point of the stage. (The lowest point was 61 metres crossing the Cher at Montrichard.) At Buzançais there is the intermediate sprint – very late in the stage this time.

Here the riders reach the long flat approach to Châteauroux. Mark Cavendish won his first Tour stage here and he must be hoping to win again here as this is a classic bunch sprint with flat wide open roads. Cav or another sprinter could easily pick up 70 points towards the green jersey today.

The weather forecast is rather mixed - showers around Le Mans for the start becoming rarer as the riders head south. A few isolated showers south of the Cher with a dry finish at Châteauroux. Let's hope that is the way it pans out!

••

Living the life in Saint-Aignan (Ken Broadhurst) prepares to watch the Tour pass today.

2011 Tour de France: Stage 6: Dinan - Lisieux – tough sprint finish?

 

Today's stage from Dinan to Lisieux takes the riders from Brittany up northwards through Normandy. At 226.5 kilometres its the longest stage in this year's Tour. Although there are no big hills it is lumpy – constantly up and down – and includes two 3rd category climbs and one 4th category. If the racing is hard, it will be a tough stage for anyone suffering from injuries picked up in one of the many crashes yesterday. 

There is likely to be a new leader in the polka dot jersey (best climber). Cadel Evans is the current wearer with just two points – just shows how few real hills there have been so far. I expect the new leader will come from the customary breakway of three to five riders, who attack early and hope to stay away to the finish. They rarely do but they get good TV coverage!

The intermediate sprint is at just over halfway ay Vassy. As the race nears Lisieux it will be passing through Calvados country as well as going through Livarot, the home of the eponymous cheese.

The finish is likely to be quite tough with a rise of around 90 metres from kilometres from the finish before flattening – a false flat –  for the last K. Philippe Gilbert is again being quoted as a favourite for this. Bernard Hinault in his preview cites Gilbert but also Mark Cavendish and Thor Hushvod as possible winners. I fancy that Cadel Evans might try to get a couple of seconds from Thor and so get the Yellow Jersey. On the other hand he might not want the Jersey, so that he and his team don't have to expend a lot of energy defending it. Energy that will be needed in the mountains!

2011 TDF: Mark Cavendish's great win today and updated list of stage winners

Congratulations to Mark Cavendish on a great win today in the Tour de France. Mark has now won an astounding 16 stages, which puts him ninth equal in the all time list of stage winners. He is now equal with the great Jacques Anquetil, the first man to win five Tours.   

Updated and new extended list of T of F stage victories (6.7.11)

Includes recent stage wins.

The most Tour de France stage victories: the top 13


34: Eddy Merckx (Bel)
28: Bernard Hinault (Fra)
25: André Leducq (Fra)
22: André Darrigade (Fra) (sprinter)
22: Lance Armstrong (USA)
20: Nicolas Frantz (Lux)
19: Francois Faber,( Lux)
17: Jean Alavoine, (Fra)
16: Jacques Anquetil (Fra)

16: Mark Cavendish (UK)
16: Charles Pelissier, (Fra)
16: René Le Grèves, (Fra)
15: Freddy Maertens, (Bel)

Others– selected names
13: Philippe Thys (Bel)
13: Louis Trousselier (Fr)
12: Gino Bartali (It)
12: Mario Cipollini (It)
12: Miguel Indurain (Esp)
12: Robbie McEwen (Aus)
12: Louis Trousselier (Fr)
12: Erik Zabel (GER)
11: Jean Aerts (Bel)
11: Louison Bobet (Fr)
11: Rafaele Dipaco (It)
10: Maurice Archambaud (Fr)
10: Walter Godefroot (Bel)
10: Gerrie Knetemann (Hol)
10: Antonin Magne (Fr)
10: Henri Pelissier (Fr)
10: Jan Raas (Hol)
10: Joop Zoetemelk (Hol)
9: Djamolidine Abdoujaparov (Uzb)
9: Ottavio Bottecchia (Ita)
9: Fausto Coppi (It)
9: Charly Gaul (Fr)
9: Emile Georget (Fr)
9: Thor Hushovd (Nor) (Two TTT)
9: Lucien van Impe (Bel)
9: Roger Lapébie (Fr)
9: Sylvère Maes (Bel)
9: Eloi Meulenberg (Bel)
9: Luis Ocaña (Esp)
9: Georges Speicher (Fr)
9: Tom Steels (Bel)
9: Bernard Thevenet (Fr)
9: Jean-paul van Poppel (Hol)
8: Rudi Altig (Ger)
8: Gustave Garrigou (Fr)
8: Learco Guerra (It)
8: Roger Hassenforder (Fr)
8: Barry Hoban (UK)
8: Ferdinand (Ferdi)Kübler (Hel)
8: Louis Mottiat (Be)
8: Marco Pantani (It)
8: René Vietto (Fr)
7: Federico Bahamontes (Sp)
7: Jean-Pierre Danguillaume (Fr)
7: Nino Defilippis (It)
7: Jean-Baptise Dortignacq (Fr)
7: Laurent Fignon (Fr)
7: Raphaël Géminiani (Fr)
7: Felice Gimondi (It)
7: Félix Goethals (Fr)
7: Cyrille Guimard (fr)
7: Jan Janssen (Hol)
7: Rik van Looy (Bel)
7: Fiorenzo Magni (It)
7: Georges Passerieu (Fr)
7: Lucien Petit-Breton (Fr)
7: Raymond Poulidor (Fr)
7: Edward Sels (Bel)
7: Jan Ullrich (Ger)
7: Richard Virenque (Fr)
6: Marino Basso (It)
6: Romain Bellenger (Fr)
6: Guido Bontempi (It)
6: Tom Boonen (Bel)
6: Alfred de Bruyne (Bel)
6: Fabian Cancellara (Hel)
6: Raphaël Géminiani (Fr)
6: Marcel Kint (Bel)
6: Firmin Lambot (Bel)
6: Octave Lapize (Fr)
6: Greg Lemond (US)
6: Rik van Looy (Bel)
6: Thierry Marie (Fr)
6: Hector Martin (Bel)
6: Jelle Nijdam (Hol)
6: Alessandro Petacchi (It)
6: Guido Reybrouck (Bel)
6: Jean Robic (Fr)
6: Patrick Sercu (Bel)
6: Didi Thurau (Ger)
6: Félicien Vervaecke (Be)
6: Martin Van Geneugden (Bel)
5: Phil Anderson (Aus)
5: Hippolyte Aucouturier (Fr)
5: Pierino Baffi (It)
5: Honoré Barthelemy (Fr)
5: Gilbert Bauvin (Fr)
5: Maurice Dewaele (Bel)
5: Paul Duboc (Fr)
5: Jacques Esclassan (Fr)
5: Jean Graczyk (Fr)
5: Gerben Karstens (Hol)
5: Sean Kelly (Irl)
5: Hugo Koblet (Hel)
5: Julio Jiménez (Esp)
5: Eric Leman (Bel)
5: René Pottier (Fr)
5: Roger Riviere (Fr)
5: Jean Rossius (Bel)
5: Herman van Springel (Bel)
5: Jean Stablinski (Fr)
5: Willi Teirlinck (Bel)
5: Eric Vanderaerden (Be)
5: Maurice De Waele (Be)
4: Erik Breukink (Holl)
4: Gianni Bugno (It)
4: Marcel Buysse (Bel)
4: Robert Cazala (Fr)
4: Eduardo Chozas (Esp)
4: Alberto Contador (Esp)
4: Pedro Delgado (Esp)
4: Jean Forestier (Fr)
4: Óscar Freire (Esp)
4: Frank Hoste (Be)
4: Laurent Jalabert (Fr)
4: Jaan Kirsipuu (Est)
4: Dimitri Konyshev (Rus)
4: Dimitri Konyshev (Rus)
4: Rik Van Linden (Bel)
4: Romain Maes (Bel)
4: Rudy Matthus (Bel)
4: Charly Mottet (Fr)
4: Gastone Nencini (It)
4: Roger Pingeon (Fr)
4: René Privat (Fr)
4: Michael Rasmussen (Den)
4: Gaston Rebry (Bel)
4: Bjarne Riis (Den)
4: André Rosseel (Bel)
4: Rik Van Linden (Bel)
4: Rik Van Steenbergen (Bel)
4: Gustaaf van Slembrouck (Bel)
4: Alexander Vinokourov (Rus)
3: Chris Boardman (UK)
3: Santiago Botero (Col)
3: Sylvain Chavanel (Fr)
3: Claudio Chiappucci (It)
3: Odile Defraye (Be)
3: Jacky Durand (Fr)
3: Pierrick Fédrigo (Fr)
3: Maurice Garin (Fr)
3: Luis Herrera (Col)
3: Hennie Kuiper (Hol)
3: Vicente Lopez-Carril (Esp)
3: Henk Lubberding (Hol)
3: David Millar (UK)
3: Robert Millar (UK)
3: Charly Mottet (Fr)
3: Stan Ockers (Bel)
3; Stuart O'Grady (Aus)
3: Miguel Poblet (Esp)
3: Michel Pollentier (Bel)
3: Stephen Roche (Irl)
3: Tony Rominger (Den)
3: Carlos Sastre (Esp)
3: Acácio da Silva (Port)
3: Jan Svorada (Slo/Cz)
3: Léon Scieur (Be)
3: Peter Winnen (Hol)
3: Michael Wright (UK)
2: Phil Anderson (Aus)
2: Moreno Argentin (It)
2: Alfredo Binda (It)
2: Sandy Casar (Fr)

2: Cadel Evans (Aus)

2: Sergei Ivanov (Rus)
2: Luc Leblanc (Fr)
2: Bradley McGee (Aus)
2: Johan Museeuw (Bel)
2: Stuart O'Grady (Aus)
2: Eddy Planckaert (Bel)
2: Willy Planckaert (Bel)
2: Bjarne Riis (Den)
2: Brian Robinson (UK)
2: Steven Rooks (Hol)
2: Fritz Schär (Ch)
2. Andy Schleck (Lux)
2: Frank Schleck (Lux)
2: Piotr Ugrumov (Rus)
2: Thomas Voeckler (Fr)
1: Joaquim Agostinho (Port)
1: Ivan Basso (It)

1: Tyler Farrar (US)
1: Philippe Gilbert (Bel)
1: Denis Menchov (Russ)
1: Francesco Moser (It)
1: Sergio Paulinho (Port)
1: Christophe Riblon (Fr)
1: Joaquim Rodríguez (Fr)
1: Max Sciandri (UK/It)
1: Sean Yates (UK)

Please let me know if I have missed some obvious names off the list.

2011 Tour de France: Stage 5: Carhaix to Cap Fréhel – sprint finish?

Oysters on the menu today

Today ought to be one for the sprinters. The race heads northwards from Carhaix to the coast and then runs along eastwards by to the sea to the finish in Cap Fréhel. The race passes through Yffniac, the birthplace of the great Bernard Hinault. Expect once again a long breakaway that will be caught with around 10-15 kilometres from the finish.

The finish could be tricky as there are several bends on the way to the line. Will this be Mark Cavendish's day or will Tyler Farrar win again or someone else? They will certainly want to go for this as the finish tomorrow at Liseux is uphill and won't suit pure sprinters.

Spectators should be enjoying the race with some oysters and a bottle of nicely chilled Muscadet or Gros Plant. 

2011 Tour de France: Stage 4: Lorient to Mûr de Bretagne – some reflections

Just like the first stage, today’s stage provided another exciting uphill finish. However, the result was rather different on the steep two kilometre climb up the Mûr de Bretagne. Philippe Gilbert was widely expected to win and although featuring prominently and apparently well placed on part of the climb he came in 5th.

The big difference today was that Alberto Contador featured strongly today – in the first stage he had been delayed by a crash and lost 1.14 mins on his rivals like Andy Schleck. He put in a strong attack was caught and momentarily appeared to have blown but this was clearly not the case as he nearly snatched the stage victory from Cadel Evans. Cadel has featured strongly on both of these uphill finishes – he was a strong second on the first stage.

On Monday L’Equipe ran an interview with Cyrille Guimard, who suggested that Contador wasn’t fully engaged in this Tour. Was the pressure of the positive dope test and the criticism getting to him? Well today Alberto made it clear that he is going to fight hard. Getting a few seconds on Andy Schleck, Bradley Wiggins and other overall contenders will have been a psychological boost for him. 

Short of crashes close to the finishing line, there appears to be little chance of Alberto getting substantial time back at least until stage 8 with the uphill finish to Super-Besse Sancy. He may look for another few seconds on Thursday at Liseux although it is not as steep and vicious as the Mûr

Thor Hushvod did a great ride to stay with Contador and Evans, so finishing on the same time and depriving Cadel the chance to take the Yellow Jersey from him. Cadel remains just one second behind Thor. Even though the gap is tiny, Thor may remain in Yellow at least until stage 8 and the first really hilly stage. He will, however, be under threat with the uphill finish at Liseux on Thursday.

Mark Cavendish isn’t having much joy in the Green Jersey competition missing out today on the intermediate sprint as he did on the first stage with Tyler Farrar leading in the bunch. Obviously being docked, along with Thor, the points he gained in yesterday’s sprint hasn’t helped. Still there ought to be opportunities for him to win sprints tomorrow and on Friday