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Tour 2009: It’s Ground Hog Day!

Guest Blogger — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:57:00 +0000

Stage 11 of the Tour de France was a lot like Stage 10. Sure, the route was a bit different, as was the scenery along the way, but at the end of the day, the results were the same, as Mark Cavendish sprinted past everyone else to win his fourth stage of this year's Tour, and reclaim the Green Jersey from Thor Hushovd, who was able to maneuver into position coming down the stretch, but couldn't quite get past the "fastest man in the world."

Today's route rolled through the hills between Vatan and Saint-Fargeau, a distance of 192km (119 miles) that offered little for the climbers to do. The Peloton played it safe most of the day, although there were a few crashes along the route, and a late breakaway had to be reeled back in by Team Columbia-HTC once again. And just like yesterday, George Hincapie and Mark Renshaw delivered Cavendish to the finish line, where he powered his way up hill to claim the stage. Previously, many had said that he hadn't ever won on an uphill finish, but he silenced those critics today, pulling away from the field.

Otherwise, nothing else is changed. Nocentini is in Yellow, six seconds in front of Contador, and eight in front of Lance. Egoi Martinez holds on to the Polka Dot Jersey and Tony Martin is in White. As I've said several times before, nothing will like change in that department until next Tuesday, when the Alps make their first appearance, and they can't come quick enough at this point. These by-the-numbers stages are not very exciting to watch, unless you're into the sprinters and following the Green Jersey points.

Tomorrow, it's on to Vittel by way of Tonnerre. The stage is 211.5km (131 miles) in length and offers a bit more in the way of climbs, although there is still nothing more than a Category 3 to deal with. The only real excitement will be whether or not anyone can challenge Cavendish, either out on the route or at the finish line.

Tour 2009: Bastille Day Break Doesn’t Go Well For French

Guest Blogger — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:57:00 +0000

Stage 10 of the 2009 Tour de France was a fairly easy, by the numbers, affair today. In fact, Lance Armstrong called it one of the more relaxed days he had ever experienced on the tour. The course was a 194.5 km (120 mile) ride through the rolling hills between Limoges and Issoudun that offered the climbers few chances to flex their muscles but gave the sprinters some time to shine.

An early breakaway by a group of French riders looking to celebrate Bastille Day provided a bit of intrigue to the proceedings, but the Peloton wasn't ready to grant them their independence just yet, and the break was run down, mostly thanks to some good work from the Columbia-HTC team. At the end of the stage, George Hincapie and Mark Renshaw helped to propel their teammate, Mark Cavendish to yet another stage win (his third this year), with "the Missile" finishing just ahead of Thor Hushovd and promising young sprinter Tyler Farrar.

The standings remained unchanged for the Jersey holders and the top of the GC. Rinaldo Nocentini remained in the Yellow Jersey once again, as expected, with Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong content to remain seconds off the pace, lurking, and waiting for the Alps next week. Hushovd kept the Green Jersey despite losing out at the line to Cavendish, while Egoi Martinez stayed in the Polka Dot Jersey, with little more than Cat 4 climbs to challenge the climbers today. Tony Martin is still the top newcomer to the race, and as a result, he keeps the White Jersey as well, and if I were willing to bet, I'd say he'll be riding into Paris with White on his back.

Tomorrow, the riders will face a 192km (119 miles) jaunt from Vatan to Saint-Fargeau that will, much like today, favor the sprinters. The terrain will mostly be rolling hills once again, with a few Category 4 climbs mixed in. Don't expect any movement in the General Classification once more, while the top speedsters vie for sprint points to apply to the Green Jersey. For now, all eyes are focused on next Tuesday and the coming of the Alps.

Tour 2009: A Day of Rest

Guest Blogger — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:22:00 +0000

After racing hard for a week an a half, today is the first rest day of the 2009 Tour de France, and after three tough stages in the Pyrenees, the riders are welcoming the reprieve.

The standings remain exactly the same coming out of the weekend, with the top riders shadowing each other over the mountains on Saturday and Sunday. Italian rider Rinaldo Nocentini remains in the Yellow Jersey, and while he looked shaky on Saturday, just one day after he was part of a major breakaway that put him in yellow, on Sunday he rode with more confidence and looked strong. The big guns of the tour are sitting just behind him, with Team Astana's Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong just six and eight seconds back respectively.

Norway's God of Thunder Thor Hushovd took the Green Jersey off the back of Mark Cavendish on Saturday, and now leads in the points for the sprinters. As a former winner of the Green Jersey, Thor could hang on to the lead for some time, but with several fast, most flat, stages ahead, I expect that this will be very contested in the next few days. Cavendish is the fastest man in the world when it comes to riding a bike, but his Columbia-HTC team has worked hard in the first week of the Tour.

The competition for the Polka Dot Jersey heated up in the Pyrenees with a number of riders going after the title of "King of the Mountain". Spain's Egoi Martinez took the lead in that category over the weekend, with two very strong days in the mountains. He'll likely hang on to the Jersey until next week when the race moves into the Alps, and things get very challenging for the climbers once again.

Finally, the White Jersey is currently on the back of German Tony Martin, who looks to clearly be the top new rider in the Tour this year. He's sitting in seventh place overall in the General Classification, and while he isn't expected to be a threat for the Yellow Jersey this year, he looks like quite a promising rider for years to come.

Looking ahead, I don't expect to see any major changes to the leaderboard until next Tuesday when the race wanders into the Alps. Barring any unforeseen issues or accidents, Nocentini will ride into the next mountain stages with the Yellow Jersey still in place, and while he has proven himself to be a strong climber, I don't think there is any way that he can hold off both Contador and Armstrong, who will have the full strength of Astana helping them out.

Some of the other contenders, such as Cadel Evans and Carlos Sastre looked for opportunities to make moves in the Pyrenees that would put them back into contention, but weren't really able to make up any ground. They will have to try again in the Alps, but it's really looking like this is going to turn into a two man race, with Armstrong and Contador battling it out. How the team dynamics work into this should be interesting to watch, and we'll see if one or the other is forced to take a backseat or if they'll just work it out amongst themselves on the course. Either way, it's going to be fun to watch!

Tour 2009: Pyrenees Punish Peloton!

Guest Blogger — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:32:00 +0000

As expected, it was a very exciting day in the Tour de France as the race moved into the mountains for the first time on a 224km (139 miles) stage from Barcalona to Andorra that shook up the leaderboard of the race, and put a new rider in Yellow.

Heading into the day Fabian Cancellara clung to a lead of less than one second over Lance Armstrong, with Alberto Contador lurking 19 seconds back. No one expected Cancellara to hold on to the lead, as while he is an amazingly strong and fast rider, he is not a seasoned climber. The question was, who would end up in Yellow at the end of the day.

The main group of riders stayed fairly close to one another throughout the day, despite a couple of early climbs, including a Category 1, that tested their legs at the mid-way point. With 177km to go, nine riders made a break, leaving the Peloton behind, and moving as far as 11+ minutes ahead of the field. But once the riders hit the beginning of the final climb, a beyond category monster that had the stage finish at the 2240 meter (7349 feet) summit, that gap began to close, as Team Astana led the charge up the mountain.

To his credit Cancellara hung tough as long as he could, but eventually he fell off the pace, with contenders Armstrong, Contador, and Cadel Evans going on the attack. They weren't able to reel back in the breakaway, and at the end of the day the stage was won by French rider Brice Feillu who made a solo dash to the finish that was impressive to watch, and he was soon followed by Rinaldo Nocentini of Italy, who would put on the Yellow Jersey thanks to making up more than 3 minutes on the contenders in his surprising ride as part of the break today.

But Nocentini is not a contender, and his days in Yellow are already numbered. The most impressive ride of the day, in my eyes, came at the end, when Alberto Contador made it clear that he is the strongest rider in the Tour, blasting past Evans, and leaving his teammate Armstrong behind as well. For his part, Lance played the roll of a good teammate and stayed close to Evans, but the end result was that Contador moved past him in the GC standings and is now in second place, six seconds behind Nocetini. Lance is now in third, another two seconds back.

The intrigue in this year's race only continues to grow. At some point, Astana will have to choose a rider to be the one they throw the weight of the team behind, and right now that's either Contator or Armstrong. We have two more mountain stages set for tomorrow and Sunday, and I think it's highly likely that one or the other of these two riders is going to be in the Yellow Jersey when the first rest day arrives on Monday. After that, the positions aren't likely to change much until the Alps, when the tough decisions will have to be made. Or they could just duke it out, mano e mano style. Lance and Alberto for the Yellow Jersey. It's sure going to be fun to watch!

Tour 2009: The Rain in Spain!

Guest Blogger — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:53:00 +0000

Today was Stage 6 of the 2009 Tour de France, and aside from some solo heroics by Garmin-Slipstream’s David Millar, it was mostly a by-the-numbers affair, at least in how it played out. But it rained much of the way along the course, which caused numerous crashes, and made for cautious riding at time.

The profile for today's stage once again favored the sprinters, although there were a few challenging climbs to break things up a bit, including a a climb to the finish. Millar, a time trial specialist, tried to use that form to propel himself to a solo stage win late in the race, but he was caught by the Peloton, led by Astana, near the end, and the top sprinters went at it with "the God of Thunder" Thor Hushovd of Team Cervélo claiming the win.

In the overall standings, nothing has really changed, with Fabian Cancellara still holding on to the Yellow Jersey, with Lance Armstrong less than a second back and Alberto Contador in third, 19 seconds off the pace. Mark Cavendish kept the the Green Jersey of the top sprinter for another day as well, while french rider Stéphane Auge put on the Polka Dot Jersey as the current King of the Mountain. German Tony Martin of Team Columbia-HTC continues to wear the White Jersey given to the best newcomer to the Tour.

The slick roads, thanks to the rain, made it tough going for the Peloton, especially near the end, when there were a couple of crashes in the last few miles leading up to the finish. The biggest name to go down was Tom Boonen from QuickStep, with this crash just underscoring what has been a disappointing Tour for him so far.

Tomorrow, things get really interesting as the race moves from Barcelona to Andorre Arcalis, a distance of 224km (139 miles). But it's not the distance that will test the riders, as the Tour moves into the mountains for the first time, with a stage set in the dramatic backdrop of the Pyrenees. There will be dramatic climbs throughout the day, but final beyond category climb to the finish will be the one that will cause the most problems. Expect the sprinters to begin dropping, and most likely you'll see Cancellara relinquish the Yellow Jersey. The question will be to whom will he give it to?

Lance is the obvious guy to put it on, since he is just fractions of a second behind, but we will have to see if this is the Lance of old when it comes to the mountains, where he excelled so much in the past. Armstrong's teammate Contador is there to swoop in for the lead should Lance falter.

As for my personal predictions, I think Lance will come out of the Pyrenees in Yellow and we won't see a major showdown with his own teammate until the Alps. But, I wouldn't be shocked to see one of the pre-race contenders make a move tomorrow. Someone like Cadel Evans, who gave up time to the leaders in this first week, but will want to get himself back into contention by making up time in the mountains. Evans is currently in 35th place, nearly three minutes off the lead. If not him, look for last year's winner Carlos Sastre to make a move, he's sitting in the 29th position and 2':44" back.

It has been an exciting Tour to watch so far, in no small part because of the return of Armstrong. But it gets really interesting tomorrow and I can't wait to see how it plays out. High drama on two wheels! :)

Tour 2009: Wind Sprints!

Guest Blogger — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:25:00 +0000

Despite the fact that today was another mostly flat stage that favored the sprinters at the Tour de France, it was still exciting none the less. Usually these stages consist of the main contenders sticking close to one another to make sure no one gets any advantages, while the sprinters jockey for position then blast for the finish line at the end. But the unusually high winds have played havoc with the Peloton this week, creating strange breaks and, as we saw on Monday, unique opportunities.

The winds were crazy once again in today's 196.5km (122 mile) stage that ran from Le Cap d'Agde to Perpignan. When the winds were at their backs, the riders were flying along at more than 60km/hr (37 mph), and when they were hit by crosswinds, it pulled the Peloton apart. But none of the top riders were going to get caught out of place today, and the pack that included Fabian Canellara, Lance Armstrong, Alberto Contador, and the rest of the Astana team, stuck close to one another, and the end result was no change in the General Classification and Cancellara keeping the Yellow Jersey for another day.

At the end of today's stage, at about the 180km mark, six riders made a break away in an attempt to gain the stage win and sprint points. With about 5km to go, Frenchman Thomas Voeckler attacked the other five riders, and left them behind, holding on for the solo stage win, as the main group surged back to over take the others. For Voeckler, despite having worn the Yellow Jersey for 10 days in 2004, it was his first ever stage win in the Tour and it came in front of thousands of his countrymen who were cheering him on to victory.

So the GC remains the same for now, and is unlikely to change tomorrow either, when the riders will face a 181.5km (113 mile) ride from Girona to Barcelona. The stage has five categorized climbs, but nothing more daunting than a Cat 4, and it will likely finish with the sprinters once again dashing for the line. Friday will be the day that it gets very interesting, when the riders face their first real test in the mountains, when they ride out of Spain and into the Pyrenees.

Tour 2009: Team Time Trial Returns!

Guest Blogger — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:59:00 +0000

Stage 4 of the Tour de France is in the books, and what an exciting day it was out on the course. Stage 4 was a team time trial, which hasn't been held in the Tour for three years, and it put all the riders out on the course riding as a unit for a change and not as individuals.

When the day started, all eyes were on Lance Armstrong and Team Astana. Yesterday, seven-time Tour winner Armstrong showed his experience and savvy recognizing a break opportunity in the nasty crosswinds that plagued the course, and sticking with the lead riders, he made up valuable time on other race contenders, most of whom failed to see the break coming. As a result, Lance moved up to third place overall in the General Classification, and had the chance to end the day today in Yellow, thanks to powerhouse Astana being the favorite in team time trial.

To claim the Yellow Jersey, Astana would need to make up 40 seconds on Team Saxo Bank, whose Fabian Cancellara has held on to the lead since a blistering individual time trial back in the Prologue on Saturday. Astana was the last team out o the road today, and they did indeed attack and attack hard, winning the time trial in impressive fashion and almost making up that 40 seconds. But at the end of the day, Cancellara stayed in Yellow by the smallest of margins, just a fraction of a second in front of Lance. In fact, it is so close, that the leaderboard currently has Cancellara in first with Lance listed as "0 seconds" back.

Pre-race favorite Alberto Contador, who is a teammate of Armstrong on Astana is now in third, just 19 seconds behind. Fourth and fifth places also belong to Astana, with Andres Kloden and Levi Leipheimer in fourth and fifth respectively. Those standings are a clear indicator of who has the strongest team in this year's Tour.

My guess is that Cancellara, barring any unforeseen accidents, will remain in Yellow now until Friday, the first mountain stage. The Saxo Bank rider is an amazing time trialist and quite fast on the open road, but he is no climber, and will likely fade in tye Pyrenees. Will Lance be there to claim the Jersey? We'll have to wait and see. And what about Contador? How does he feel about his teammate stealing the spotlight? Hopefully team dynamic stays in place, but there are some big egos around the Astana training table each night.

Tour 2009: Three Stages Done, Lance Lurking!

Guest Blogger — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:34:00 +0000

So, that little annual bike race got underway in France over the weekend (okay, technically it was in Monaco), and it is already off to a fun and exciting start. The Tour's field is deep and strong this year, and there are a number of top contenders, but lets face it, the cycling world is abuzz in no small part thanks to the return of Lance Armstrong to the event.

Stage 1 took place on Saturday, and it was an individual time trial through the streets of Monaco. The stage began with a long climb to the top of a hill followed by a fast drop back down to the finish line on the other side. At the end of the day, it was time trial specialist Fabian Cancellara who scorched the field and claimed the Yellow Jersey, but Alberto Contador, a team mate of Lance Armstrong on Team Astana, looked impressive in second place. Other contenders, such as Levi Leipheimer, also of Astana, and Cadel Evans, who finished second the last two years, were not far off the pace, and right where they were expected to be. Lance himself had a solid ride, and finished the day in 10th.

Yesterday brought us Stage 2, which was a day for the sprinters across 187km (116 miles) or rolling countryside in southern France. The riders set off from Monaco and ended the day in Brignoles, with little to no change in the main leaderboard. But the day did belong to Mark Cavendish, the very talented sprinter from the U.K. who has earned himself the monkior of "The Missile". Cavendish blasted his way to the finish line claiming his first stage victory of the 2009 Tour.

Stage 3 was run this morning, and was expected to be much like yesterday. A 196.5km (122 miles) jaunt from Marseille to La Grande-Motte, which despite the heat, would still favor the sprinters. The route was mostly flat, with a few hills to earn a couple of King of the Mountain points for the climbers, but otherwise it was all about speed. The surprise of the day came late in the ride however, when a group of riders that included Armstrong, made a breakaway, leaving the Peloton behind. The split was aided by some serious crosswinds that gave a brief advantage to the escapees, and in the end, that's all they needed, as the breakaway finished 40 seconds up on the Peloton, led once again by Cavendish who already has two stage wins, halfway to matching the four he picked up last year.

Cancellara will remain in Yellow for now, 33 seconds up on Tony Martin of Team Columbia, and 40 in front of Lance Armstrong who now finds himself in third place, and looking at possibly putting on the Yellow Jersey himself following tomorrows 39km (24 mile) team time trial through Montpellier. If that were to happen, it certainly would be an amazing sight to see. It's very early in the race however, and I'm sure he'd probably relinquish it at some point before heading into the mountains, but still it would be a great testament to his skills as a rider, even after a three year layoff and at the age of 37, to be back in Yellow.

High drama and expectations for tomorrow for sure! The team time trial makes it's first return since 2005, and it should be fun to watch.

Two Articles on Lance on the Eve of the Tour

Guest Blogger — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:26:00 +0000

The Tour de France gets underway tomorrow with an individual time trial through Monaco that will serve as the prologue to the race. Sunday, the riders will head out onto the road for the first real leg of the race, a mostly flat stage 187km (116 miles) that will favor the sprinters. In preparation for the start of the big race, I have a pair of articles on Lance Armstrong that give us an inside look at the seven time Tour winner's comebacks, one after he defeated cancer and another taking place now.

The first interview is from Outside and it looks back to a time when Lance was just another rider in the Peloton. The young American upstart had beaten cancer, but had not yet proven himself on the world's stage, and while he was an inspiration for his efforts just to get back on the bike, cycling fans had no idea what kind of rider he really was. The article goes through each phase of the first Tour that Lance won, giving insights into what he was thinking at the time, and his approach the various stages. When he emerged on the Champs Elysees in the Yellow Jersey, it was an amazing triumph on many levels, but it was just the start of things to come.

Men's Journal brings us the second interview, which focuses more on Lance's most recent comeback at the age of 37. The article gives us a glimpse at his training and preparation, as well as the the reasons he's riding once again. The author also notes his love for Twitter and how his "tweets" have helped him to lose his "robot" reputation and show Lance in a different light.

Both are excellent stories and should put you in the mood for the start of the Tour tomorrow. It's going to be a wide open race in my opinion, with some great riders pressing for the Yellow Jersey. Can the 37 year old with a three year layoff hang with the young guns over the next three weeks? We're about to find out.

Q&A: Bob Roll

Guest Blogger — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:34:22 +0000

This summer, after the doping scandals and Lance Armstrong's three-year hiatus, cycling—and Tour De France—is back. And the man dishing out the color commentary is Versus’ Bob Roll. A former Tour rider who is now in his ninth year as a broadcaster, Roll, 48, called all seven of Armstrong's Tour wins—always referring to the race as the Tour Day France. He’s known in the cycling community as Bobke, has a flair for wild gesticulations while talking, and spouts one-liners with Don Rickles–like aplomb: “Kilometers are passing like kidney stones,” “Lance Armstrong is the eye of the hurricane and he's headed straight for the Jan Ullrich trailer park.” In other words, the most interesting person to watch at this year’s Tour may be the man in the broadcast booth. —Will Palmer

When you're at the Tour, you're not exactly known for speaking perfect French. Do you have any animosity toward the French?
Oh, that's just kind of a runaway thing. When we were racing over there, we said "Tour day France" because that's just the way we talked amongst ourselves. And then ten years went by and I hadn't changed my pronunciation of the event, so when I started doing television I found that people didn't like it that much. But me, personally, I love France. I love covering the Tour, I love the country of France.

Some of the suspended riders are back at the Tour this year. Do you think the talk about drugs might start to go away?
It's been tough on the sport of cycling. But now, it's funny, other sports have been found to be much more abusive in their use of illegal substances, and they're much more lackadaisical in the actual prosecution, in the face of pretty compelling evidence. So as far as whether or not drug scandals will continue to haunt cycling? It'll probably always be a part of not just cycling but all sports. With the controversy with Alex Rodriguez, cycling was instantaneously pushed to the back burner. And they haven't even scratched the surface in a sport like football. In a sport like tennis, or golf, or Formula One racing... they all have really powerful players' unions that don't allow the intrusive nature of the anti-doping efforts that are absolutely essential to guarantee that people are watching an authentic spectacle. Cycling is the cleanest professional sport in the world. If you look at the riders involved in doping scandals at the Tour de France last year, every single rider who was involved in drugs was caught. So you have 189 starters, and five were caught; I think that's pretty indicative of the pro peloton—I think that's probably the percentage of riders who are willing to risk all of the controls that are in place to try to do a little bit better. So I hope people will start to realize that, and then the sport can really be seen as an authentic, gritty, dynamic, athletic competition that people can be passionate about without any qualms about it being authentic.

How did you come to have those crazy hand gestures?
From living in Italy as a racer; that's how people talk and I just adopted it. That was the last moment of aural development that my brain was capable of, in my twenties, and it just happened to be that the last formative years of my life were spent in Italy. The brain has a capacity for development throughout its trajectory, but that's when behavior patterns can still actually change. ... People said that I was doing that, but I didn't know what they were talking about. I can't disagree, because it's pretty consistent, but I have to say that it's totally subconscious. And I work with Phil [Liggett] and Paul [Sherwen], who are British, and they don't use their hands—I think it's just a British characteristic that you speak with your mouth, and you use your hands to work. The Italians throw everything in the mix.

Like Phil and Paul, you've started to be known for your figures of speech, or Rollisms. Do you have a favorite one?
My current favorite is "Work hard, rest easy." Look for that in a TV show near you.

Bob Roll will be announcing the Tour de France, July 4–26, for Versus. Follow their coverage online.