As the Tour de France moves into its second week, let’s hope it’s a lot safer than the first, which was filled with wrecks. The dumbest of those is when the TV car hit two riders in Stage 9. Doh!
I crashed on my bike recently during a race, and the accident is forcing me to delay my Le Tour Babe posts. Heading to a surgeon soon, but at least my head is still intact. Well, maybe. In the meantime, keep the rubber side down.
Le Tour Babe
Filed under le tour 2011
The 2010 Tour de France is over, and it’s time to see who won and who sort-of lost. Let’s face it: getting into the Tour, one really can’t be a loser.
WINNERS
Alberto Contador is now a three-time Tour Champion. His reward: 450,000 Euros. Maybe he’ll give some of that to his Astana teammates.
Andy Schleck finished in second place, 39 oh-so-close seconds behind Contador. Schleck won the white jersey for best rider under 25 years old and 20,000 Euros that he can use to buy his brother Fränk a new collarbone.
Alessandro Petacchi of the Italian team Lampre won the green sprinter’s jersey and 25,000 Euros. But he may lose that prize if recent doping allegations prove true.
Mark Cavendish won five stages at this year’s Tour even after his HTC lead-out man Mark Renshaw was booted for headbutting.
Fabian Cancellara won the opening prologue and penultimate stage time trial, proving he really is Spartacus.
The French: Anthony Charteau won the polka-dot mountain climber’s jersey. Sylvain Chavanel won two stages. Christophe Riblon won Stage 14. France’s national champion Thomas Voeckler won Stage 15. And Christophe Moreau, the oldest rider in the Tour at 39-years-old, made a valiant effort to finish 22nd overall, just one place above the next oldest rider, Lance Armstrong. That’s more victories than the race hosts have had in a long time.
RadioShack was one of the few teams that ended the Tour with all nine riders. That certainly helped it win the prize for best team– beating out the Spanish Caisse D’Epargne. And kudos to the Shack’s Sergio Paulinho for out-sprinting a world-class sprinter to win Stage 10.
Lance Armstrong is always a winner. Despite his lackluster performance in this year’s Tour, he has done more for the sport of cycling than any other athlete.
The Tour de France is the biggest winner and will always be the world’s most prestigious bike race.
SO-SO LOSERS
Cadel Evans wore the yellow leader’s jersey for one day but crashed early in the Tour and broke his elbow. Unable to climb without pulling up on the handlebars, the Aussie finished a disappointing 26th place for his new team BMC.
Thor Hushovd of Cervélo Test Team wore the green jersey for eleven days, but the God of Thunder lost it before the Tour finished in Paris.
Christian VandeVelde, Tyler Farrar and Robbie Hunter left the Tour early with injuries, leaving Garmin-Transitions with little to celebrate until Ryder Hesjedal finished in the top ten. Let’s move Ryder up to the winners.
Team Sky won my award for best jersey but lost big time with its investment in Brad Wiggins. What happened to the British Tour hopeful who ended up in 24th place? It just goes to prove looks aren’t everything.
Saxo Bank is losing the Schleck brothers. Andy and Fränk reportedly will leave Saxo to race for a Luxembourg team next year. Saxo’s team manager Bjarne Riis is reportedly courting Contador. Cha-ching!
Lance Armstrong is a winner and loser. He had his worst luck ever in a bike race, crashing several times in this year’s Tour. Why? Maybe it was the distraction from the Floyd Landis allegations. Or maybe it was the age thing. Perhaps both. Despite the injuries, the tough Texan put on a show in Stage 16 to Pau by starting the winning break and finishing sixth that day. It was the closest he came to winning a stage. Now that the Tour is over, he will rest in his expensive home in Aspen and enjoy his five kids with one more on the way. Next year, he’ll race in the Hawaii Ironman. He may have lost the Tour, but he’s won many hearts.
Au revoir. Until next year, Vive Le Tour!
Filed under le tour 2010
Contador wins 2010 Tour de France, Armstrong’s final farewell
Contador wins Tour de France.
For the third year in a row, Alberto Contador is the Tour de France champion. “It was complicated at times,” he said on the winner’s podium at the Champs-Élysées after the final stage in the three-week, 2200-mile race.
Schleck, Contador and Menchov.
It was tight – Contador ended up only 39 seconds ahead of Andy Schleck and two minutes ahead of Denis Menchov. “I was so close, but in the end it’s so far away,” said Schleck, who wore the yellow jersey for six days. The Saxo Bank rider relinquished the maillot jaune in Stage 15 when he dropped his chain and Contador raced ahead. It was a pivotal moment that changed the outcome in favor of Contador. And the debate may never end on whether Contador’s move was foul or fair.
Cavendish wins Paris sprint.
Mark Cavendish won the 63-mile final stage in Paris on Sunday– beating the other top sprinters by several bike lengths. Cavendish won five stages in this year’s Tour, but he failed to win the prestigious green points jersey. Alessandro Petacchi received that honor, beating a disappointed Thor Hushovd, who won the green jersey last year.
Team RadioShack on podium.
Lance Armstrong bid farewell to the Tour and his cycling career, but not before one more visit to the podium. RadioShack won the award for best team, which is calculated by adding up all of the overall finish times of its nine members. “Comeback 2.0 is done,” Armstrong wrote on his Twitter site.
Of 197 riders who started the Tour on July 3, 170 of them finished. It was an exciting Tour– one of the toughest, according to senior riders. I hate to see it end. And it will never be the same without Armstrong. It is the end of an era– familiar words– but this time, it’s certain. Au revoir, Tour fans. I can’t wait until next year.
Le Tour Babe
Filed under le tour 2010
Contador secures yellow jersey in penultimate Tour stage
Contador finishes Stage 19 time trial.
For three weeks, they raced nearly 2200 miles neck and neck. On Saturday, Alberto Contador sealed the deal in the 32-mile time trial, beating Andy Schleck by 27 seconds, making Contador the Tour de France champion for the third year in a row.
Cancellara wins time trial.
World time trial champion Fabian Cancellara, the man they call Spartacus, won the time trial from Bordeaux to Pauillac in a time of one hour, 56 seconds, beating Tony Martin by 17 seconds. Cancellara also won the Tour prologue ahead of Martin in Rotterdam three weeks ago.
Schleck finishes time trial.
It was an amazing fight to the finish for Schleck, who at the start of the day was only eight seconds behind Contador in the overall standings. At the halfway point in the time trial, Schleck had an advantage over Contador, but the Luxembourger faded in the later part of the race. In the end, Contador proved he was the slightly better time trialist. Contador will end this Tour only 39 seconds ahead of Schleck.
Contador will be on the top of the podium when the Tour de France ends on Sunday in Paris. Schleck will be in second place for a second year in a row. Russian Denis Menchov will be third.
Filed under le tour 2010
Contador closer to Tour victory
Schleck and Contador asend Tourmalet.
It was one of the most anxiety-filled stages in the Tour de France. The two top contenders had their last chance in Stage 17 to show who is the better cyclist, but neither was able to drop the other and make that claim. Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador rode neck-and-neck up the last six miles of the Tourmalet. Schleck beat Contador by a hair. “El Pistolero is strong, huh?” said Schleck.
Contador remains eight seconds ahead of Schleck in the overall standings, and is all but assured the Tour Championship in Paris on Sunday.
The last six miles of Thursday’s stage show the two determined men with matched strength and wit battle each other and the elements. It’s worth watching the replay.
Filed under le tour 2010
Voigt
Stage 16 is unlucky number
Jens Voigt is the 167-pound German workhorse for team Saxo Bank and a domestique for top contender Andy Schleck. If Schleck wins this year’s Tour de France, it’s largely because Voigt sets a Herculean tempo for his leader that other riders cannot match. A week ago in Stage 9, Voigt annihilated the peloton while pacing a rail-thin Schleck up the steep Col de la Madeleine. At the end of that race, Schleck slipped into first place in the overall standings and garnered the yellow leader’s jersey.
Voigt crashes out of 2009 Tour.
Although he’s an extremely reliable rider, Voigt has his share of bad luck. In the 2009 Tour, Voigt crashed in Stage 16 while descending the Col du Petit-Saint-Bernard. His front wheel slipped and he slammed down on his face and slid on the pavement. He briefly lost consciousness and was taken to the hospital. Perhaps it is coincidence or fate that Voigt crashed on Tuesday descending the Col de Peyresourde. It too is numbered Stage 16.
While racing down the first mountain of the day, Voigt’s front tire blew out and he hit the ground. “Just one year after my horrible crash, and there I was tumbling on another mountain descent,” Voigt wrote in Bicycling Magazine. “And let me tell you, about the only place that feels good right now is my right ankle.”
Voigt says he got stitches in his left elbow and may have broken some ribs. His bike shattered. But this year, he wouldn’t quit. With no team car around to help, the six-foot-two Voigt was left with slim pickings. “The race organizers got me a bike, but it was this little yellow junior bike. It was way too small for me and even had old-fashioned toe-clip pedals,” he wrote.
Voigt eventually rode up to his team car and got a much better bike. Somehow, he was able to catch up to the peloton and finish the race with the main field.
“I’m going to Paris,” Voigt insists. “There’s just no way you are going to get me out of this race for the second year in a row!”
Chapeau Jens.
Filed under le tour 2010
Armstrong makes winning break but is out-sprinted at the finish line
Armstrong in successful breakaway.
Watching Lance Armstrong attack the Pyrénées in Stage 16 was like watching the Tour de France champion of old times. The Texan was on top of his game– riding strong and feeling confident– so much so that he gave a friendly push uphill to competitor Damiano Cunego. It was as if he was pushing a baby stroller.
Early in the 124-mile stage from Bagnères-de-Luchon to Pau, Armstrong got into a break of nine riders, including his RadioShack teammate Chris Horner. The group eventually got more than nine minutes ahead of the peloton. It was a brutal stage with 15,000 feet of climbing over four notable mountain passes — the Peyresourde, Aspin, Col du Tourmalet and Col d’Aubisque. The crowds along the street cheered Armstrong– recognizing that this was probably his last chance for a stage win. Fans with Livestrong jerseys ran alongside him as he danced on the pedals uphill. The men in the breakaway repeatedly attacked on the climbs, but Armstrong kept up with all of them. No one was going to drop him today.
Fedrigo wins Stage 16.
As much as Armstrong fans would have liked a Hollywood ending, that wasn’t to be. Frenchman Pierrick Fedrigo won the sprint among the breakaway riders. Armstrong just didn’t have the legs after such a tough day in the mountains. But he never lost his sense of humor. “Lance Armstrong is over in about four or five days. I wasn’t the oldest guy in the break,” said Armstrong referring to 39-year-old Christophe Moreau, who is also retiring from cycling this year. Armstrong turns 39 in September. What an excellent ride for an old guy. Chapeau Lance.
Filed under le tour 2010
