29.07.10 Luxembourg-Luxembourg
Le Gala d'Andy
Résultats:
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Andy Schleck
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vainqueur
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14ème à 15"
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55ème à 35"
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Andy Schleck était évidemment la grande vedette du critérium du Gala Tour de France au Luxembourg et, après avoir vibré pendant trois semaines au son de ses exploits, les Grand-Ducaux ont offert un acceuil de choix à leur héros. Malgré la présence du frère Frank, de retour sur le vélo après sa chute sur les pavés du Tour de France, malgré la présence de vedettes comme Tony Martin, Stijn Devolder, Stefano Garzelli, Alessandro Ballan ou encore Fabian Wegmann, tous très actifs dans le déroulement de la course, malgré une longue attaque commune de Vitautas Kaupas, le champion de Lituanie et de Jakob Fuglsang, malgré une échappée royale sur la fin de course comprenant les très costauds Philippe Gilbert et Nicolas Roche, le maillot blanc du dernier Tour de France ne pouvait pas être battu, transcendé par ce public en folie qui frémissait au rythme de ses accélérations. Au crépuscule, Andy Schleck a finalement remporté pour la deuxième fois le Gala en solitaire, 4 secondes devant Philippe Gilbert et Nicolas Jalabert. Frank Schleck, attaquant du début de course, a terminé en 14ème position à une quinzaine de secondes tandis que Jempy Drucker a franchi la ligne d'arrivée dans le gros du peloton, 55ème à 35 secondes. plus de détails ici
24.07.2010: 20. Longjumeau - Paris-Champs Elysées (103 km)
Nouveau podium à Paris
Résultats:
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Mark Cavendish
Alberto Contador
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88ème à 0"
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2ème à 39"
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premier
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3ème à 27 p.
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Pour la deuxième année consécutive, Andy Schleck a donc terminé le Tour de France en deuxième position sur le podium final à Paris. Mais les circonstances étaient radicalement différentes cette fois-ci par rapport à l'année précédente. Si, il y a douze mois, le Luxembourgeois avait dû admettre la supériorité de Contador, terminant en tant que "meilleur des autres" à plus de 4 minutes, il s'est posé cette année en véritable challenger, se battant à armes égales avec l'Espagnol. Et ils sont nombreux, ceux qui affirment haut et fort que seul un ennui mécanique, dans l'étape de Bagnères de Luchon, a pu venir à bout du cadet des frères Schleck. Quoi qu'il en soit, les faits sont là: Andy termine deuxième au classement général, mais peut savourer un Tour de France tout-à-fait réussi avec deux victoires d'étape, le maillot blanc de meilleur jeune pour la troisième année consécutive, une troisième place au classement du meilleur grimpeur et, surtout, un énorme avertissement à tous ses rivaux pour les années à venir.
L'étape d'aujourd'hui s'est jouée au sprint, comme attendu, et c'est une nouvelle fois Mark Cavendish qui est sorti vainqueur de l'emballage, remportant sa 15ème étape du Tour de France en seulement trois participations. Belle moyenne !!! Après l'habituel défilé de début de course, les choses sérieuses ont commencé sur le circuit final des Champs-Elysées, où 11 coureurs se sont fait la belle, tant mieux pour le spectacle. Mais les équipes des sprinters, emmenés par HTC Columbia et Sky, veillaient au grain et dans le dernier tour, Sorensen, Casar, Roux, Riblon, Martin, Kroon, Knees, Pauriol, Perez Lezaun, Hondo et Perez Arrieta se sont fait rejoindre par un peloton à toute allure. Dans le sprint final, Mark Cavendish était impérial en l'emportant avec plusieures longueurs d'avance, mais dû à une deuxième place par Alessandro Pettachi, le maillot vert file une fois de plus entre les mais de celui qui doit être considéré comme le meilleur sprinter du Tour, ces trois dernières années. Andy Schleck a terminé l'étape dans le peloton en 88ème position, tout content de retrouver pour le traditionnel défilé des équipes son frère Frank, dont l'absence dans la montagne à cause de sa chute sur les pavés n'apparaît que plus regrettable encore maintenant, en vue du résultat final.
23.07.2010: 19. Bordeaux - Pauillac (52 km clm)
On y a cru !!!
Résultats:
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Fabian Cancellara
Alberto Contador
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44ème à 6'14"
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2ème à 39"
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premier
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ON Y A CRU, et on y a cru pendant longtemps !!! Andy Schleck est en effet parti comme un boulet de canon lors de ce contre-la-montre dans les vignes du Médoc et il a longtemps fait jeu égal et même mieux qu'Alberto Contador avant de devoir s'avouer vaincu dans les derniers kilomètres. Parti avec 8 secondes de retard sur l'Espagnol au classement général, Andy a tout donné d'emblée dans cette épreuve de vérité, plus cruciale que jamais dans l'attribution du titre de vainqueur final du Tour de France 2010. Après une dizaine de bornes à près de 50 km/h de moyenne, le Luxembourgeois avait grapillé quatre petites secondes à Contador, réduisant donc son retard de moîtié. Mais le festival Schleck n'était pas encore fini: vers la mi-course, Andy avait gagné encore quelques secondes et il ne se trouvait qu'à une seconde du maillot jaune virtuel.
Parti juste derrière le Luxembourgeois, Alberto Contador était dans le doute, il n'était pas au mieux et commençait à avoir peur pour ce maillot que tout le monde croyait conquis d'avance. Dans un sursaut d'orgeuil, le coureur de chez Astana a jeté ses dernières forces dans la bataille et il a renversé la vapeur. A 25 kilomètres de l'arrivée, il avait repris 7 secondes à Schleck, les deux coureurs sont donc passé exactement dans le même temps. Puis, peu à peu, le maillot jaune a repris le dessus, prenant deux secondes au kilomètre au maillot blanc qui lui, était à bout de forces. Tactiquement, il avait fait ce qu'il fallait faire en partant très vite, mais sur la fin, les talents de rouleur de Contador ont quand-même fait la différence. Schleck a terminé l'étape en 44ème position dans le classement du jour, 9 positions et 31 secondes derrière Contador qui a maintenant 39 secondes d'avance au classement général et, donc, la victoire finale quasiment dans la poche. Pour l'anécdote, c'est Fabian Cancellara qui a remporté la victoire d'étape, avec 17 secondes d'avance sur Tony Martin, le seul qui a pu rivaliser avec lui, plus de deux minutes sur Grabsch, Konovalovas et Zabriskie sur les positions 3 à 6 et un bon 6 minutes d'avance sur les deux protagonistes au classement général, Contador et Schleck.
22.07.2010: 18. Salies de Bearn - Bordeaux (198 km)
Cavendish en attendant demain
Résultats:
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Mark Cavendish
Alberto Contador
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52ème à 0"
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2ème à 8"
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premier
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Journée de trêve sur le Tour de France car l'étape d'aujourd'hui, situé entre les deux tronçons stratégiques du Tourmalet et du dernier contre-la-montre, ne pouvait s'achever autrement que par un emballage massif, à Bordeaux, la capitale des sprinters. Il est vrai que le profil de la journée, complètement plat, n'avait pas de quoi inciter une attaque et que les longues ligne droites à travers les Landes n'étaient également pas de nature à favoriser les baroudeurs. Quatre coureurs essayent néanmoins de tenter leur chance, et non des moindres: Matti Breschel, Jérôme Pineau, Daniel Oss et Benoît Vaugrenard sont sortis au kilomètre 10, mais n'ont obtenu guère plus que trois minutes d'avance sur le reste de la troupe.
Qu'importe, ils ont essayé quand-même, à plus de 45 km/h de moyenne lors des deux premières heures de course ! Mais le peloton a gardé les échappés en point de mire pendant l'intégralité de l'étape et, à 25 kilomètres de l'arrivée, l'écart était de l'ordre de la minute. Les équipes des sprinters se sont alors mis en tête du peloton et, un à un, les quatre échappés se sont fait reprendre, le dernier, Oss, résistant jusqu'à un peu moins de cinq kilomètres du but. Thor Hushovd se retrouve parmi les premiers au moment d'aborder la dernière ligne droite, tout comme Petacchi, mais c'est Mark Cavendish qui a mis tout le monde d'accord pour remporter sa quatrième victoire d'étape sur ce Tour, malgré un début un petit peu laborieux. Andy Schleck a franchi la ligne d'arrivée en 52ème position dans le peloton et se dit fin prêt pour demain, où il va essayer de gagner le Tour de France même si, pour cela, il lui faudra réaliser ni plus, ni moins que le meilleur contre-la-montre de sa carrière.
21.07.2010: 17. Pau - Col du Tourmalet (174 km)
Duell au sommet
Résultats:
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Andy Schleck
Alberto Contador
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vainqueur
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2ème à 8"
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premier
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Comme on pouvait s'y attendre, comme prévu par les organisateurs, l'arrivée en haut du col du Tourmalet a donné lieu à un duell au sommet, un duell entre Alberto Contador et Andy Schleck, plus forts que tous les autres, mais un duell sans véritable vainqueur ou, tout de moins, sans grand perdant. Car si Alberto et Andy se sont livré à une rude bataille dans les derniers kilomètres du col mythique, attaquant chacun à son tour, personne n'a pu décrocher l'autre et ils ont donc franchi la ligne d'arrivée ensemble, partageant les gains: à Schleck l'étape, sa deuxième sur ce Tour, à Contador le maillot jaune, en attendant le contre-la-montre décisif d'après-demain. Alors que la chute de Samuel Sanchez, en lutte pour une place sur le podium, a perturbé le début de l'étape, ils étaient sept à se lancer à l'offensive, suivi en contre par un Carlos Sastre qui n'arrivera jamais à combler son retart. Tout comme l'ancien vainqueur du Tour et après avoir franchi les cols
de Marie-Blanque et de Soulor aux avant-postes, Koren, Flecha, Boasson Hagen, Kolobnev, Burghardt, Pauriol et Perez Moreno devaient se faire rattraper bien avant l'arrivée, avec seulement Kolobnev et Burghardt capable de résister au-delà des premières pentes du Tourmalet. Car derrière eux, les Saxo-Bank avaient haussé le rythme et à une bonne dizaine de kilomètres du sommet, ils avaient rattrappé tout le monde, préparant une voie royale à une attaque d'Andy Schleck, tant attendue. Le mouvement du maillot blanc a eu lieu à dix kilomètres du but, sur une pente particulièrement raide à la sortie du petit village de Barèges. C'était une attaque puissante et Andy prenait son envol par rapport au petit groupe de tête, mais tout de suite, Alberto Contador bondit dans sa roue. Personne d'autre n'arrivait à suivre et les deux coureurs les plus costauds de ce Tour se retrouvaient donc devant, pour un mano à mano de dix kilomètres, une lutte pour la victoire finale. A plusieures reprises, Andy Schleck a encore attaqué, essayant de lâcher l'Espagnol accroché à ses basques, mais sans y parvenir. A 4 kilomètres du but finalement, Contador est sorti de sa réserve. Juste après une enième accélération de Schleck, il s'est lui-même porté en tête et a lancé une attaque qui a tout de suite mis plusieurs longueurs dans la vue du maillot blanc. Andy s'est accroché et, mètre par mètre, il est revenu à la hauteur du maillot jaune, mais il avait compris qu'aujourd'hui, il n'allait pas lâcher Contador. Les deux hommes se sont donc contentés de monter au rythme dans les derniers lacets et de se disputer la victoire d'étape au sprint, une victoire qui est revenu sans contestation à Andy Schleck, plus insistant que son rival dans les ultimes hectomètres. Avant le contre-la-montre dans les vignobles du Médoc, d'ici deux jours, rien n'est donc joué pour la victoire finale et Andy Schleck est toujours noté en deuxième position au classement général, avec 8 secondes sur Contador. Avec sa deuxième victoire d'étape, il a évidemment conforté son avance au classement du meilleur jeune et, grâce aux points engrangés en haut du Tourmalet, il est désormais également répertorié en troisième position au classement du meilleur grimpeur.
20.07.2010: 16. Bagnères de Luchon – Pau (200 km)
Double win for France in Pau
Results:
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Pierrick Fedrigo
Alberto Contador
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21st at 6’45"
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2nd at 8”
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leader
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Shortly after crossing the finish line yesterday, Andy Schleck promised a festival of attacks on the yellow jersey, but he will have to wait until Thursday to execute his plans. With more then 60 downhill or flat kilometres ahead of the finish in Pau, today’s stage wasn’t really suited for his big battle, but rather for an early break that eventually succeeded. The peloton exploded as of the start on this difficult course with two climbs of first category and two « Hors categorie » climbs. The racing was very aggressive with attacks coming from riders like Lance Armstrong, like Kreuziger, Wiggins or Jurgen Van den Broeck, fifth overall. After a big fight on the slopes of Aspin and Peyresourde, they were 10 still staying at the front on the Tourmalet: Armstrong and his team-mate Horner, Casar, Konovalovas, Barredo, Van de Walle, Fédrigo, Moreau, Plaza Molina and Cunego. At the summit of the legendary climb, they had nearly four minutes advantage on the yellow jersey group, which still contained more than 50 riders. After numerous attacks of Barredo in the col d’Aubisque, the leading group broke into pieces but reformed just before the summit of the climb: with Konovalovas dropped, they were still nine to head towards Pau on a long, long downhill, nearly 10 minutes ahead of the peloton where the GC favourites did not show any reaction. Barredo was not yet to give up and he escaped out of the break with around 40 kilometres to go, just to be caught again at less than one kilometre from the finish. The nine riders fought out the stage win in a sprint and it was Frenchman Pierrick Fedrigo who showed out to be fastest, ahead of another French rider, Sandy Casar who won already in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, as well as Ruben Plaza Molina. Andy Schleck finished the stage in 12th position in the first chasing group of around 50 riders. They arrived in Pau more than 6 minutes behind the winner and Andy is now focusing on the stage with finish on top of the Tourmalet, two days from now.
19.07.2010: 15. Pamiers - Bagnères de Luchon (188 km)
Bad luck for Schleck
Results:
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Thomas Voeckler
Alberto Contador
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12th at 3’29"
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2nd at 8”
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leader
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Bad luck for Andy Schleck in stage 15, when he was clearly the strongest on the climb of Port de Balès, but where a mechanical obliged him to put his feet to the ground on one of the crucial moments of the race. This transformed a hypothetical advantage at the finish into the loss of around 40 seconds and also the loss of the yellow jersey. 9 riders have been inspired by the success of Christophe Riblon on the day before and tried their luck as of the beginning of the stage. Vandborg, Roberts, Van Summeren, Ivanov, Ballan, Reda, Perez Arrieta, Mondory, Voeckler, Perez as well as Turgot did a good job together since they were able to gain about ten minutes on the peloton and the gap was still the same when they tackled the main climb of the day, the Port de Balès
with 40 kilometres to go. But at the beginning of this impressive climb of about 19 kilometres, team Saxo Bank put the pressure on in the peloton, inducing the gap to decrease and, of course, lots of dropped riders. While Thomas Voeckler escaped at the front of the race, it was Andy Schleck who accelerated in the peloton and only the usual suspects were able to follow his wheel: Contador, Menchov, Sanchez and the astonishing Van den Broeck. Andy attacked again and he was on his own, a few metres ahead of Contador, when it happened: his chain dropped and he had to got off the bike, while Contador flew past him. After around 40 seconds, Schleck was able to resume his race and he headed off for a spectacular chase, passing one by one the riders ahead him while nobody was able to hold his wheel. Thomas Voeckler crossed the Port de Balès in first position, more than a minute ahead of Ballan and Perez, while Contador passed 4’19" together with Sanchez and Menchov. On the last kilometres of the climb, Andy Schleck has decreased his gap on the Spaniard by half and he was around 20 seconds late, going full gas into the downhill to the finish. The duel continued on this side of the climb, Andy giving everything he had in a discipline that he doesn’t like too much. Together with Van den Broeck, he was a little thirty seconds behind Contador, who had one of the best downhill riders of the world at his side in Samuel Sanchez. After half of the descent, the yellow jersey thus virtually was still on Andy’s shoulder. French National champion Thomas Voeckler won the stage ahead of Alessandro Ballan, but the focus was elsewhere: Contador arrived in Bagnères-de-Luchon 2’50" after the winner while Andy Schleck was 3’29" late in 12th position. For eight seconds, the yellow jersey eventually travelled to the shoulders of the defending overall champion Contador, who took control of the race yesterday, but will have to count with unceasing attacks from the man who was the strongest today, but had to change his yellow clothes to the white ones for tomorrow.
18.07.2010: 14. Revel – Ax-3Domaines (196 km)
Status quo
Results:
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Christophe Riblon
Andy Schleck
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4th at 1’08"
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leader
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leader
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The big battle for the overall victory between Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador has begun today in the Pyrenees, but the first round on the slopes up to Ax- 3 Domaines ended with a status quo. Schleck and Contador have neutralized themselves completely today, Andy answering without any weakness to all the attacks from his rival, but not making any offensive move himself. The winner of the day came out of the early break that took up to 10 minutes of advantage after some of the rides in the escaped group like Voigt, Gutierrez or Brajkovic accepted to fall back to the peloton. Thomas, Zabriskie, Brutt and Moinard continued their move and were joined by Vaugrenard, Riblon, Van de Walle and Rolland. On the two climbs of the day, noted in first category and Hors category, Riblon was the strongest of the break and he resisted in a brilliant final to the group of the favourites to take his first stage win in the Tour de France. Behind him, Astana had put on the pressure on the Port de Pailhières and, on the final climb to the finish, Alberto Contador attacked several times. Andy Schleck reacted promptly each time but still had a bad memory of the Mende stage in his mind and he didn’t want to ride anywhere else than in Contador’s wheel. The two favourites watched at each others in the last kilometre, leaving to Sanchez and Menchov the opportunity to gain a few seconds on them. Andy finally crossed the finish line in fourth position, 1’08” behind the stage winner and ten seconds behind Menchov, but a little metre ahead of Contador.
17.07.2010: 13. Rodez - Revel (196 km)
Victory for Vinokourov
Results:
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Alexander Vinokourov
Andy Schleck
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51st at 0"
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leader
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leader
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It was another difficult stage with lots of small climbs and strong crosswinds that complicated the mission for all the contenders. Juan-Antonio Flecha, Pierrick Fedrigo and Sylvain Chavanel offered themself a long ride .se sont offert une longue journée en tête de la course et il fallait déjà des coureurs de cette trempe-là pour faire grimper l'écart à 6 minutes sous le vent. Malgré la côte de Saint-Ferréol, à moins de dix kilomètres de l'arrivée, certains tablaient sur une arrivée au sprint et les Lampré ou HTC-Columbia ont roulé en tête du peloton pour réduire l'écart avec les fuyards.
The break was caught at the foot of the climb and immediately, there were more attacks. Former world champion Alessandro Ballan took a nice gap, but he was too early and was passed on the summit of Saint-Ferréol by a very strong Alexandre Vinokourov. The Kazakh rider took risks on the downhill and was able to take the stage win in Revel, 13 seconds ahead of the peloton led by Cavendish, Petacchi and the other green jersey contenders. Andy Schleck showed another nice race today, the rider from Luxemburg was permanently at the head of the peloton in this very tricky stage with the crosswinds, the small climb and the very technical descent near the finish. Andy wanted to be at the front on this downhill and he fulfilled his mission, finishing 51st in the stage classifications, which was of no incident for the overall rankings.
16.07.2010: 12. Bourg-de-Péage - Mende (210 km)
A few seconds for Contador
Results:
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Joaquim Rodriguez
Andy Schleck
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5th at 10"
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leader
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leader
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Despite the length of the stage, more than 210 kilometres, the focus today clearly was on the last three kilometres, where a battle between Schleck and Contador was expected on the steep slopes of the côte de la Croix-Neuve, a tailor-made climb for the Spaniard who was able to gain a few seconds on his rival from Luxemburg. But the rest of the stage was very interesting too, as the speed was extemely high from the beginning (nearly 50 kilometres covered in the first hour) and the peloton broke into pieces as of the first kilometres. Schleck and Contador were in a leading group of 20 riders, but after a short regroupement, it was another break of 18 that escaped, formed by Vinokourov, Klöden, Hesjedal, Casar, Hushovd, Aerts, Sivtsov, Santambrogio, Barredo, Charteau, Kiryienka, Bole, Perget, Kern, Moinard, Pauriol, Verdugo and Valls Ferri. With this composition, Saxo-Bank of course had to work very hard at the front of the peloton to limit the gap that was between 2 and 3 minutes during most of the time. Cancellara, Voigt, Sörensen and the others did a tremendous work since Kiryienka and Vinokourov, the two strongest riders in the break, had only a little bit more than 30 seconds advantage left when they tackled the final climb. Joaquim Rodriguez was the first of the big names to attack and immediately, Contador jumped into his wheel, while Schleck lost a few metres. Rodriguez and Contador sprinted together at the finish and it was the man from Katusha who took the stage win ahead of last year's overall winner. Andy Schleck was not able to bridge up to them in the final kilometres, but he limited the loss and arrived 10 seconds after the winner to the finish, in 5th position. Due to his hard chasing at the end, he was able to retain the yellow jersey and has now 31 seconds advantage left on his main rival.
15.07.2010: 11. Sisteron - Bourg-les-Valance (184 km)
Cavendish wins on sprinter day
Results:
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Mark Cavendish
Andy Schleck
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66th at 0"
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leader
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leader
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After a week of suffering in the mountains, the sprinters hoped to be in the spotlights again during the 11th stage between Sisteron and Bourg-les-Valence, with one single climb on the program, and the stage finished indeed in a bunch sprint. Their teams of course have considerably decreased the amount of work for the Saxo Bank boys since HTC-Columbia, Garmin and Lampre controlled the speed at the front of the pack from the beginning of the stage and held the gap to the early break
Photo: Carlo Hastert
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in reasonnable limits, meaning less than 5 minutes. The early break, that was Anthony Geslin, Stéphane Augé and José-Alberto Benitez who escaped shortly after the start just to be caught again with 20 kilometres to go, after more than 160 kilometres in the lead. The last part of the race was extremely fast, Lampre led the peloton for a long moment and several riders were dropped. Then the train of Mark Cavendish came to the front and after a long rush to the line, the man from Britain clearly won ahead of Petacchi and Farrar. Despite a hectic final where the peloton was split up, Andy Schleck didn't lose any time in the final and crossed the line in 66th position, looking forward to another day in yellow tomorrow.
14.07.2010: 10. Chambéry - Gap (179 km)
first day in the yellow jersey
Results:
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Sergio Paulinho
Andy Schleck
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21st at 14'19"
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leader
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leader
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First day in yellow for Andy Schleck on stage number 10 between Chambéry and Gap and it was a rather quiet day. The race was still in the mountains, but the climbs of Laffrey and Noyer were of a smaller league than those of the days before. An ideal day for a break and Sergio Paulinho, Mario Aerts, Dries Deveneyns as well as Vasil Kiryienka certainly believed in their chances when they broke away after around 30 kilometres. On the French National Day, the home riders of course wanted to shine as well and Maxime Bouet managed to bridge up to the leaders together with Pierre Rolland after a long, long chase. At mid-race, the six riders passed the
Photo: Benoit Theisen
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summit of the very steep côte de Laffrey with 8 minutes advantage on a peloton led at moderate speed by the riders from Saxo-Bank. As no-one was lending a helping hand to the team-mates of Andy Schleck, the gap continued to grow under the heat and the riders in the break would never been caught again. Paulinho and Kiryienka had some strength left and they dropped the other four riders on a small climb at 15 kilometres from the finish to go for the stage win. Sergio Paulinho took it in a very narrow sprint ahead of the Russian who started his final rush to the line a little bit too late. Andy Schleck was very well escorted down the last and dangerous descent by his team-mates and he crossed the line in 21st position, more than 14 minutes late on the winner. There are no major changes overall and tomorrow, Andy will enjoy another day in yellow.
13.07.2010: 9. Morzine-Avoriaz - Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne (204 km)
!!! YELLOW JERSEY FOR SCHLECK !!!
Results:
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Sandy Casar
Andy Schleck
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7th at 2"
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leader
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leader
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After a well deserved rest day, the riders had to do one of the most difficult stages of this Tour de France with classic climbs like Aravis, Saisies or Madeleine on the program and it was another beautifull day for Luxemburg's Andy Schleck who took possession of the yellow jersey. Once again, there were numerous attacks and after the col de la Colombière at the beginning of the stage, 12 riders found themselves in the lead: Voigt, Casar, Nocentini, Pineau, Frohlinger, Charteau, Gautier, Luis-Leon Sanchez, Gutierrez, Moreau, Taaramae and Cunego. 3 climbs later, they arrived at the foot of the col de la Madeleine, with 60 kilometres to go, 5 minutes ahead of the main peloton where Vinokourov had attacked. This first group wasn't very big any more with Michael Rogers and Carlos Sastre being among the
victims of the day so far. At mid-climb of the Madeleine, with 40 kilometres to go, yellow jersey Cadel Evans also showed some signs of weakness and was dropped while Andy Schleck entered the action. The man in white accelerated several times and only Alberto Contador was able to follow him. Both riders crossed the summit of the Madeleine a little bit more than 2 minutes behind four leaders, who had escaped out of the early break. Sandy Casar, Luis-Leon Sanchez, Damiano Cunego and Anthony Charteau tackled the long descent down to Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, followed by the two main favourites of the Tour. Both of them did a very good descent and continued in time-trial mode on the flat, so that they bridged up to the four leaders with just one kilometre to go. Andy Schleck launched a long sprint, but it was Sandy Casar who took the flowers ahead of Sanchez and Cunego, while the man in white finished last of the group. But this wasn't very important compared to the fact that Schleck takes over the lead in the overall classification. After Frank Schleck and Kim Kirchen two years ago, Andy was able to feel the joy of wearing the yellow jersey ont the podium. He has now 41 seconds advantage on Contador, nearly 3 minutes on Sanchez and Menchov as well as 3'31" on Van den Broek in fifth place. Cadel Evans, who rode with a broken elbow today, lost more than 7 minutes.
11.07.2010: 8. Station des Rousses - Morzine Avoriaz (189 km)
!!! STAGE WIN FOR SCHLECK !!!
Results:
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Andy Schleck
Cadel Evans
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winner
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2nd at 20"
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leader
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The Tour is getting more and more intense and on the first stage in the Alps, the climbs of second category had been replaced by the ones of first class. The big battle between the overall favourits has also begun today, even if it was only on the last two kilometres of the very last climb. Some of the stars eventually lost some valuable time and if Contador showed his limits, it was Andy Schleck who was the strongest, who was able to snatch the stage win and failed to take the yellow jersey by a few seconds only. The peloton started the race very quickly and for some of the favourites, the first kilometres were dramatic: Armstrong and Evans were involved in a crash, while Denis Menchov found himself in a second group when the peloton split into pieces for a while. But after 30 very tough kilometres, things calmed down a bit and Vaugrenard, Riblon, Aerts, Erviti, Minard, Moinard as well as Moerenhout were able to break away. Mario Aerts, Amael Moinard and Koos Moerenhout were the strongest in the group and they tackled the last climb of the day in the leading position, but the next group wasn't far away. Contador had ordered his team-mates to chase and their speed brought some victims: Lance Armstrong, who crashed three times today, was dropped, but also yellow jersey Chavanel, Cunego, Martin and some others.
On the final climb up tu Morzine-Avoriaz, Astana was still leading the peloton, the riders of the break were swallowed up while the group got smaller and smaller: exit Wiggins, Lövqvist or Klöden and they were only a dozen still in the lead with 2 kilometres to go. Roman Kreuziger tried his luck, then Jurgen Van den Broek and Robert Gesink accelerated, but Contador and Schleck were very quickly in their wheels again, while Cadel Evans and the others also came back. A little bit less than one kilometre from the finish, Andy Schleck then put in a very strong attack. Samuel Sanchez was able to react, but not Contador. The Spanish rider was at his limit and he had to watch the white jersey slip away together with the Olympic champion. In a very narrow sprint, Schleck and Sanchez battled out the stage win and it was only in the very last meters that Andy was able to secure the victory. Gesink took third place at 10 seconds, followed by most of the other favourites, including Contador and the new overall leader Evans. The world champion showed the marks of his early crash on his skin, he wasn't able to follow Schleck but limited the losses very well and took yellow. Cadel Evans has now 20 seconds advantage on Schleck and 1'01" on Contador. After his superb performance, Andy moves up also in several other classifications: in addition to be owner of the white jersey, he is now third in the mountains competition and in the Top 20 at the points classification.
10.07.2010: 7. Tournus - Station des Rousses (166 km)
Schleck in white again
Results:
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Sylvain Chavanel
Sylvain Chavanel
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20th at 1'47"
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4th at 1’55"
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leader
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Today was the first mountain stage of this year's Tour de France, a medium-rated stage with 6 climbs of 2nd and 3rd category and Sylvain Chavanel repeated his performance from Spa by taking both the stage win and the yellow jersey. The overall favourites did not enter the big battle despite Alberto Contador ordering his team-mates to raise the speed on the last climb and Andy Schleck taking white again. Despite a rather difficult final part of the course, Jérôme Pineau, Christian Knees, Samuel Dumoulin, Danilo Hondo and Ruben Perez covered more than 49 kilometres in the first race hour, taking up to 10 minutes advantage on a peloton where Saxo-Bank didn't wait too long before starting the chase. Bbox also worked a lot at the head of the peloton and the gap was down to two minutes when they tackled the two last climbs of the day. In the col de la croix de la Serra, 11 riders escaped out of the peloton behind the break, including Voeckler, Chavanel, Cunego, Guttierez or Garate and the young Valls. It was Sylvain Chavanel who turned out to be the strongest of the group, he left all the others behind in the descent. On the last climb, up to the finish in Station des Rousses, Chavanel passed one by one the riders of the early break and he won the stage with one minute advantage on the surprising Valls Ferri and one minute and a half on Garate and Voeckler. The peloton with the GC favourites was nearly two minutes behind. On the penultimate climb, Cancellara, Martin and Klöden showed some weakness and the speed wasn't too high in the peloton. But then, the Astana boys showed up at the front of the group and the pace started to grow. In the boiling head, Andy Schleck was glued to the rear wheel of an easy looking Contador, a wheel that he didn't leave during the last kilometres of the stage. He finished in 20th position, 1'47" behind the winner. Due to the fact that Geraint Thomas was not able to follow the strongest today, Andy took the white jersey for best young rider, 1'15 ahead of his eternal rival in this category, Roman Kreuziger. In the overall classification, the rider from Luxemburg also moved up a few places and he is now in 4th position, 1'55" behind the new leader Chavanel, Cadel Evans and Ryder Hesjedal.
09.07.2010: 6. Montargis - Gueugnon (227 km)
Cavendish did it again
Results:
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Mark Canvendish
Fabian Cancellara
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55th at 3"
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6th at 1’09"
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227 mostly flat kilometres in the heat, under these circumstances, Frank Schleck and Kim Kirchen maybe can look a little bit more positive at the fact that they are staying at home, especially for Kim who is since a few hours the proud father of twin boys named Mika and Liam. Andy Schleck, as for him, he had to go to work today on the boiling asphalt of the Tour de France, with just the same goal as yesterday: to keep as much strength as possible for the tough stages that begin tomorrow and stay as safe as possible in the first positions of the peloton. Sebastian Lang, Mathieu Perget and Ruben Perez Moreno apparently didn't have the same objective, since they went from the gun for a long, long ride in the lead of the race during this longest stage of the Tour. HTC-Columbia kept control on the peloton during the whole day, were even more motivated than ever since yesterday's victory and closed the gap already with more than 10 kilometres to go, even though the riders in the break received the support of the two Frenchmen Champion and Charteau in the last moments of their escape. The bunch sprint was unavoidable and it was Mark Cavendish who rewarded his team for all their work by doing it again and being faster than Tyler Farrar and Alessandro Petacchi. Andy Schleck crossed the finish line in 55th position at 3 seconds in the main pack and remains in 6th place overall where there are of course no major changes after today's stage.
08.07.2010: 5. Epernay - Montargis (188 km)
Cav's revenge
Results:
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Alessandro Petacchi
Fabian Cancellara
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37th at 0"
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6th at 1’09"
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Another flat stage for the sprinters but of course, the traditionnal early break was also present in the stage. Jurgen van de Walle, José Ivan Gutierrez and Julien El Farès accelerated after kilometre 6 and took up to 7 minutes of advantage, but behind the, HTC-Columbia wanted a revenge for yesterday's missed opportunity and they started the chase very early. Other teams like Lampre and Cervélo also participated in the work and, despite a nice attempt from Gutierrez at the end, the
break was reeled in again with 4 kilometres to go. The Garmin team led the peloton in the last kilometre and opened the sprint, but it was Mark Cavendish who put in his acceleration at the right time and who won the stage with two bike length advantage on Gerald Ciolek and Edwald Boasson Hagen. Andy Schleck crossed the finish line in 37th position in the peloton and he achieved his goals for today: arrive in good health at the conclusion, well protected by his team at the head of the peloton and losing no time and no unnecessary strength ahead of the Alps that begin slowly but surely to rise in the minds of all the followers.
07.07.2010: 4. Cambrai - Reims (154 km)
Petacchi did it again
Results:
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Alessandro Petacchi
Fabian Cancellara
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58th at 0"
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6th at 1’09"
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While Frank Schleck recovered in his hospital room from the surgery on his collarbone that he received last night by receiving a visit from an also recovering Kim Kirchen, brother Andy was at the start of the 4th stage of the Tour de France, the shortest one between Cambrai and Reims with 154 kilometres. Just like in the last days, the first attempt was a good one and former French champion Dimitri Champion escaped as of kilometre one and was joined a little bit later by De Greef,
Vogondy, Isasi et Mayoz. There was no big climb on the course today and of course, the destiny of the break depended on the tactics of the big teams. Eventually, they opted for a carefull approach and never let the gap grow to more than 3 minutes, before reducing the gap gradually. With 3 kilometres to go and despite heavy resistance, the escape of the five was over and everyone preparer for the bunch sprint. In a very dangerous final with lots of turns, HTC-Columbia took the lead of the peloton with Lampre and Cervélo and it was Alessandro Petacchi who launched a very long sprint and was never passed again. The Italian took his second victory in this year's Grande Boucle in impressive manner ahead of Julian Dean, Edvald Boasson Hagen and Robbie McEwen, who won already twice in Reims in the past. After a rather uneventfull stage for him, Andy Schleck finished in 58th position in the peloton, in the same time than the winner.
06.07.2010: 3. Wanze - Aremberg (213 km)
Andy laughing, Frank crying
Results:
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Thor Hushovd
Fabian Cancellara
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DNF
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5th at 0"
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6th at 1’09"
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No time to heal the wounds for the riders of the Tour de France that were injured on yesterday's slippery road down from Stockeu, because today, the cobbles waited for them. For some of the contenders like the Schleck brothers with their cuts and bruises, the experience would be rather painfull, for others, the mission would be nearly impossible like for Tyler Farrar, who lined up at the start with a broken wrist. Cummings, Hesjedal, Brutt, Kluge, Rolland, Erviti and Augé however were healthy enough to attack and as of kilometre 14, they broke away to take up to 5 minutes of advantage. But as the first cobbles approached, the big teams of course raised the speed in the peloton. All the favourites had recognised the course before today and they all wanted to be at the front when the peloton hit the first sector. Saxo-Bank was very impressive with Voigt and Breschel towing the Schleck brothers at the front of the pack and O'Grady and Cancellara also being up there. But even the best tactics can not avoid bad luck and in one of the turns, Frank Schleck hit the ground very hard and he wasn't able to get up again. The Luxemburg champion was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Valenciennes. But at the head of the race, the big battle had started: Cancellara went full speed with Andy Schleck in his wheel and only three riders were able to follow them: Thor Hushovd, world champion Cadel Evans and Geraint Thomas from Great-Britain. Cancellara of course knows these roads very well and the two-times winner of Paris-Roubaix continued his leadout with his group bridging up to the lone leader Ryder Hesjedal, while Armstrong, Contador and Chavanel had to chase behind. At the finish, Thor Hushovd won the sprint for the victory ahead of Geraint Thomas and the two Saxo-Bank riders finished at the back of the group, but their result is more than positive: yellow jersey for Cancellara, 5th place in the stage classification and 6th position overall for Andy Schleck, who gained today 53 seconds on Wiggins and Menchov, 1'13" on Contador, 1'46" on Kreuziger and Sanchez and more than 2 minutes on Armstrong, Basso and the rest. However, Andy's smile at the finish was rather disappointed and this evening, in the Riis headquarters, the thoughts will go to Frank who had to quit the race with a broken collarbone.
05.07.2010: 2. Bruxelles - Spa (201 km)
Difficult moment for the Schlecks
Results:
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Sylvain Chavanel
Sylvain Chavanel
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57th at 3'56”
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59th at 3'54”
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82nd at 3'56"
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84th at 4’06"
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It was a difficult situation today for the Schleck brothers as both of them went down on the asphalt in a crucial moment of the race, but due to the fair-play of the other contenders, they were able to come back again into the main peloton before the conclusion. A touch of Liège-Bastogne-Liège lay on the Tour de France today with climbs like côte de Stockeu and côte du Rosier just ahead of the finish line in Spa. A stage for attackers though, like Marcus Burghardt and Sylvain Chavanel, who are known for long breaks and who escaped as of kilometre 10 with Lloyd, Roelandts, Pineau, Turgot, Taaramae and Gavazzi. A really strong group who took up to five minutes of advantage before tackling the first difficulties of the day. On the climbs of France, Filot and Werbomont, the peloton raised the rythm and when they arrived in the rainy key sector around Trois-Ponts and Stavelot, the gap had decreased to less than a minute and a half. But the roads were wet and on the descent from Stockeu, the unavoidable happened. A rider from Lampre went to the ground on a soap-slippery portion and took half of the contenders with him, including Andy Schleck. After several minutes of recovering with painfull grimaces, Andy remounted on the bike of one of his team-mates and resumed his road to Spa. A few kilometres of chasing later, he managed to bridge up to a small group containing brother Frank who had also been involved in the crash, and two more of their team-mates. On the côte de Rosiers, the crazy chase continued: Jens Voigt went flat out to bring the brothers back into a peloton that waited for them and for some more leaders in difficulty at the back of the race. Meanwhile, Sylvain Chavanel had escaped at the head of the race and due to the strange situation, he was able to build up a comfortable lead and took a well deserved victory in Spa, nearly four minutes ahead of the main peloton. After his epic ride, Chavanel also took over the yellow jersey, a jersey which Cancellara did not defend today in order to maintain the overall chances of the two Schlecks. Fortunately, none of them seems to have any severe injuries and except from a considerable amount of skin, they didn't loose anything in this tricky stage, while others like Christian Vandevelde had to bury their chances for a good overall result today.
04.07.2010: 1. Rotterdam - Bruxelles (224 km)
Petacchi stands tall
Results:
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Alessandro Petacchi
Fabian Cancellara
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119th at 0”
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77th at 57”
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117th at 0"
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119th at 1’09"
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In a crazy final, after which he was one of the only sprinters still upright, Alessandro Petacchi has won for the fifth time in his career a stage in the Tour de France. Between Rotterdam and Brussels, the riders feared the crosswinds along the seafront, but at the end it were the crashes who took their toll on some of them. Even if Saxo Bank accelerated for a brief moment along the Dutch coastline, the peloton didn't split up and they were all together when they entered Brussels for an expected bunch sprint. But in the three last kilometres, three crashes brought down lots of riders. Mark Cavendish was the first one to miss his turn, next to the royal castle in Laeken, and he took with him Oscar Freire and Danilo Hondo, two more fast men. A little bit later, under the red flag, it was the majority of the peloton that piled up in the middle of the street and they were only around twenty to escape from the chaos. Among those, Petacchi was by far the strongest and he took the stage win after an impressive sprint against the wind, ahead of Mark Renshaw, Thor Hushovd and Robbie McEwen, who is used to winning on this street which is since a few years the concluding point of Paris-Bruxelles. Frank and Andy Schleck, just like Cancellara, Armstrong, Contador and the others, were involved in the massive crash with one kilometre to go and they had to stop their rush to the line in emergency. But they were not injured and a few moments later, both of them were able to smile again while crossing the finish line together with the man in yellow, in positions 117 and 119. The two riders from Luxemburg had been very attentive during the whole stage, present at the front of the peloton which was led during most of the day by their team-mates behind an early break. Lars Boom, Maarten Wynants and Alan Perez covered in fact more than 200 kilometres at the head of the race today before being caught by counter-attacking Alexandr Pliuschin in the last 20 kilometres and then by the rest of the pack at the entrance of Brussels.
03.07.2010: P. Rotterdam (8,9 km ITT)
perfect race for Cancellara
Results:
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Fabian Cancellara
Fabian Cancellara
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79th at 57”
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79th at 57”
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122nd at 1’09"
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122nd at 1’09"
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With a little bit of luck and, of course, perfect skills for this kind of race, Fabian Cancellara has won his fourth prologue in the Tour de France, saturday evening in Rotterdam. It was Tony Martin who took the lead of the race very early and stayed there for a while. He was one of the first to start and, enjoying the fact that the roads were still dry in part, the German rider had a fast ride in 10'10" for 8,9 kilomètres. Shortly after that, the rain started to fall heavier and nobody was able to do better than Martin for several hours: Not Wiggins, Menchov or Basso, in a bad day more than 55 seconds behind the winner of the day, not Zabriskie or Boom at 40 seconds, nor Vinokourov, Klöden or Rogers, who were 30 seconds late. But after a while, the road started to dry again and the suspense came back onto the course: Great Britain's David Millar came close to Martin's reference time and took a provisional second place at the finish. Lance Armstrong was also very fast, only a few seconds late on the best time, but it was Fabian Cancellara who made everything clear. Already at the intermediate time split, he was 6 seconds faster than the German champion and at the finish, the man in the rainbow jersey clocked in exactly 10 minutes, at an extraordinary average speed of 53,4 km/h and 10 seconds faster than Martin. The Schleck brothers weren't as lucky as their team-mate with the weather and especially Andy did a bad bid today. In addition to the bad weather conditions, he had to battle with bad legs, he was on a complete off-day and on the finish line, the gap was big. at 47,9 km/h, an angry and frustrated Andy Schleck had lost more than a minute to the stage winner and 50 seconds on Armstrong, Leipheimer and Contador, the best of the GC contenders. The defending overall champion was the last rider to start and had dry conditions: he did an excellent job by finishing 6th today and already created some gaps, 30 seconds for instance on Frank Schleck. The older Schleck did better than his brother, but he rode on particularely wet roads and, without taking any risks, was able to do the same time than for example Jens Voigt or Olympic poursuit champion Bradley Wiggins. In 10'57" (average speed 48,7 km/h), Frank took 76th position today but, as of tomorrow, he will have the same question in mind than his brother: how on earth can we gain back the lost seconds on such a strong Contador.
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