Category — Le Tour

Tomblaine – Gérardmer La Mauselaine

Distance: 161 kilometers.

Now the climbing becomes serious as at the end of this stage are a pair of Category 2 climbs followed by a finish at the summit of a Category 3.

This is where the battle for the Yellow begins to take shape and climbing ability enters the calculus of the race.

Blel Kadri had a very good day – he won the stage, the Polka Jersey, and the Red Numbers. He broke away and led the race for the final 130 kilometers to finish comfortably ahead of Contador and Nibali. The top thirty riders have been significantly altered by the climbs.

Vincenzo Nibali ( Ita – AST – 041 ) [Yellow] 33h 48′ 52″
Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 051 ) [Green] 267 points
Blel Kadri ( Fra – ALM – 086 ) [Polka Dot] 17 points
Michal Kwiatkowski ( Pol – OPQ – 074 ) 4 [White]

Team: Astana Pro ( AST – 041-049 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Blel Kadri ( Fra – ALM – 086 )
Combative: Blel Kadri ( Fra – ALM – 086 ) [Red numbers]

Top Ten:

1 Vincenzo Nibali ( Ita – AST – 041 )
2 Jakob Fuglsang ( Den – AST – 042 ) + 01′ 44″
3 Richie Porte ( Aus – SKY – 007 ) + 01′ 58″
4 Michal Kwiatkowski ( Pol – OPQ – 074 ) + 02′ 26″
5 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte ( Esp – MOV – 011 ) + 02′ 27″
6 Alberto Contador ( Esp – TCS – 031 ) + 02′ 34″
7 Romain Bardet ( Fra – ALM – 082 ) + 02′ 39″
8 Alberto Costa Rui ( Por – LAM – 111 ) + 02′ 52″
9 Bauke Mollema ( Ned – BEL – 061 ) + 03′ 02″
10 Jurgen Van Den Broeck ( Bel – LTB – 131 ) + 03′ 02″

The Rest of the Top 30:
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Épernay – Nancy

Distance: 234.5 kilometers.

The longest stage so far, crosses the Marne, the Meuse, and a branch of the Moselle with a pair of category 4s and a 15 kilometer downhill run into Nancy, which could get very interesting if there is rain.

The rain wasn’t necessary as people were wiping out all the way to the end, which was a photo finish between Matteo Trentin and Peter Sagan with Trentin getting the stage win in the end. Three riders were unable to finish and more may not start tomorrow from the look of several crashes.

The final ascent was a bit sharp for a category 4, so the sprinters were slowed significantly until they reached the top, then they took off to the finish in Nancy. With high speed and quick changes at the end of the longest stage yet the crashes were inevitable as sprinters went to the front in the final 15 kilometers. Riders were packed together, so any problem resulted in a chain reaction.

Vincenzo Nibali ( Ita – AST – 041 ) [Yellow] 29h 57′ 04″
Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 051 ) [Green] 259 points
Cyril Lemoine ( Fra – COF – 174 ) [Polka Dot] 6 points
Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 051 ) 3 [White]

Team: Astana Pro ( AST – 041-049 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Matteo Trentin ( Ita – OPQ – 079 )
Combative: Martin Elmiger ( Sui – IAM – 193 ) [Red numbers]

Top Ten:

1 Vincenzo Nibali ( Ita – AST – 041 )
2 Jakob Fuglsang ( Den – AST – 042 ) + 00′ 02″
3 Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 051 ) + 00′ 44″
4 Michal Kwiatkowski ( Pol – OPQ – 074 ) + 00′ 50″
5 Jurgen Van Den Broeck ( Bel – LTB – 131 ) + 01′ 45″
6 Tony Gallopin ( Fra – LTB – 134 ) + 01′ 45″
7 Richie Porte ( Aus – SKY – 007 ) + 01′ 54″
8 Andrew Talansky ( US – GRS – 091 ) + 02′ 05″
9 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte ( Esp – MOV – 011 ) + 02′ 11″
10 Romain Bardet ( Fra – ALM – 082 ) + 02′ 11″

The Rest of the Top 30:
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Arras – Reims

Distance: 194 kilometers.

Today’s stage has a couple of Category 4 climbs, but nothing too difficult for the sprinters. It crosses the Somme and the Marne rivers sites of some of the most deadly battles of World War I.

This stage wasn’t the Somme [58,000 British casualties on the first day] but one rider didn’t start and three more couldn’t finish this stage after accidents on the rain soaked roads.

Andre Greipel won the stage and Luis Mate took the Red Numbers, but the field was reordered when the peloton broke into smaller groups. In the last two stages Vincenzo Nibali’s hold on the Yellow Jersey became noticeably stronger as major contenders have lost a lot of time.

Vincenzo Nibali ( Ita – AST – 041 ) [Yellow] 24h 38′ 25″
Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 051 ) [Green] 217 points
Cyril Lemoine ( Fra – COF – 174 ) [Polka Dot] 6 points
Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 051 ) 3 [White]

Team: Astana Pro ( AST – 041-049 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: André Greipel ( Ger – LTB – 135 )
Combative: Luis Angel Mate Mardones ( Esp – COF – 175 ) [Red numbers]

Top Ten:

1 Vincenzo Nibali ( Ita – AST – 041 )
2 Jakob Fuglsang ( Den – AST – 042 ) + 00′ 02″
3 Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 051 ) + 00′ 44″
4 Michal Kwiatkowski ( Pol – OPQ – 074 ) + 00′ 50″
5 Fabian Cancellara ( Sui – TFR – 163 ) + 01′ 17″
6 Jurgen Van Den Broeck ( Bel – LTB – 131 ) + 01′ 45″
7 Tony Gallopin ( Fra – LTB – 134 ) + 01′ 45″
8 Richie Porte ( Aus – SKY – 007 ) + 01′ 54″
9 Andrew Talansky ( US – GRS – 091 ) + 02′ 05″
10 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte ( Esp – MOV – 011 ) + 02′ 11″

The Rest of the Top 30:
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Ypres – Arenberg Porte du Hainaut

Distance: 155.5 kilometers.

Today’s stage starts at Ypres, Belguim, a major battle site of World War I, and then heads back into France where 9 sections of pavé [cobblestones] await the field. Cobblestones and bicycles are not a good match.

Chris Froome didn’t even make it to the cobblestones. He withdrew after his second accident on the rain-slicked road, apparently the wrist he injured in an accident yesterday finally was too bad to continue.

The organizers removed two of the pavé sections because they were under water. The other sections were covered with slick green slime.

That didn’t bother Lars Boom of the Netherlands who won the stage 19 seconds ahead of the next rider. Astana unseated Sky in the team competion.

Vincenzo Nibali ( Ita – AST – 041 ) [Yellow] 20h 26′ 46″
Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 051 ) [Green] 185 points
Cyril Lemoine ( Fra – COF – 174 ) [Polka Dot] 6 points
Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 051 ) 3 [White]

Team: Astana Pro ( AST – 041-049 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Lars Boom ( Ned – BEL – 062 )
Combative: Lieuwe Westra ( Ned – AST – 049 ) [Red numbers]

Top Ten:

1 Vincenzo Nibali ( Ita – AST – 041 )
2 Jakob Fuglsang ( Den – AST – 042 ) + 00′ 02″
3 Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 051 ) + 00′ 44″
4 Michal Kwiatkowski ( Pol – OPQ – 074 ) + 00′ 50″
5 Fabian Cancellara ( Sui – TFR – 163 ) + 01′ 17″
6 Jurgen Van Den Broeck ( Bel – LTB – 131 ) + 01′ 45″
7 Tony Gallopin ( Fra – LTB – 134 ) + 01′ 45″
8 Richie Porte ( Aus – SKY – 007 ) + 01′ 54″
9 Andrew Talansky ( US – GRS – 091 ) + 02′ 05″
10 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte ( Esp – MOV – 011 ) + 02′ 11″

The Rest of the Top 30:
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Le Touquet-Paris-Plage – Lille Métropole

Distance: 163.5 kilometers.

Marcel Kittel has now won three of the four stages, but still trails the Yellow Jersey by almost 20 minutes. In the battle for Yellow Froome and Contador have swapped places in the standings – Froome down to 7 and Contador up to 5.

Today’s stage was another for sprinters as the Tour honors the centennial of World War I by running through many of the battlefields of that war. Today was across ‘Flanders fields’.

Vincenzo Nibali ( Ita – AST – 041 ) [Yellow] 17h 07′ 52″
Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 051 ) [Green] 158 points
Cyril Lemoine ( Fra – COF – 174 ) [Polka Dot] 6 points
Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 051 ) 2 [White]

Team: Sky ( SKY – 001-009 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Marcel Kittel ( Ger – GIA – 101 )
Combative: Thomas Voeckler ( Fra – EUC – 159 ) [Red numbers]

Top Ten:

1 Vincenzo Nibali ( Ita – AST – 041 ) 17h 07′ 52″
2 Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 051 ) + 00′ 02″
3 Michael Albasini ( Sui – OGE – 182 ) + 00′ 02″
4 Greg Van Avermaet ( Bel – BMC – 148 ) + 00′ 02″
5 Alberto Contador ( Esp – TCS – 031 ) + 00′ 02″
6 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte ( Esp – MOV – 011 ) + 00′ 02″
7 Christopher Froome ( GB – SKY – 001 ) + 00′ 02″
8 Jurgen Van Den Broeck ( Bel – LTB – 131 ) + 00′ 02″
9 Bauke Mollema ( Ned – BEL – 061 ) + 00′ 02″
10 Jakob Fuglsang ( Den – AST – 042 ) + 00′ 02″

The Rest of the Top 30:
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Cambridge-London

Distance: 155 kilometers.

Marcel Kittel won his second stage on the Mall in London but still trails Peter Sagan in Green Jersey points and Vincenzo Nibali in overall time. Kittel will concentrate on stage wins.

It was an easy, short stage with a bit of rain at the end to add some excitement and the final stage in Britain as the Tour returns to France for the next stage … well, for the start of the stage as the finish is in Belgium.

Vincenzo Nibali ( Ita – AST – 041 ) [Yellow] 13h 31′ 13″
Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 051 ) [Green] 117 points
Cyril Lemoine ( Fra – COF – 174 ) [Polka Dot] 6 points
Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 051 ) 2 [White]

Team: Sky ( SKY – 001-009 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Marcel Kittel ( Ger – GIA – 101 )
Combative: Jan Barta ( Cze – TNE – 202 ) [Red numbers]

Top Ten:

1 Vincenzo Nibali ( Ita – AST – 041 ) 13h 31′ 13″
2 Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 051 ) + 00′ 02″
3 Michael Albasini ( Sui – OGE – 182 ) + 00′ 02″
4 Greg Van Avermaet ( Bel – BMC – 148 ) + 00′ 02″
5 Christopher Froome ( GB – SKY – 001 ) + 00′ 02″
6 Bauke Mollema ( Ned – BEL – 061 ) + 00′ 02″
7 Alberto Contador ( Esp – TCS – 031 ) + 00′ 02″
8 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte ( Esp – MOV – 011 ) + 00′ 02″
9 Jurgen Van Den Broeck ( Bel – LTB – 131 ) + 00′ 02″
10 Romain Bardet ( Fra – ALM – 082 ) + 00′ 02″

The Rest of the Top 30:
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York – Sheffield

Distance: 201 kilometers.

Mark Cavendish will not capture sole possession of third place in overall stage wins this year as his crash during the sprint at the end of yesterday’s stage has sidelined him with at least a dislocated shoulder that may require surgery. Sacha Modolo ( Ita – LAM – 115 ) will also have to wait until next year as he didn’t finish the stage.

This was a rather hilly course starting with a Category 4, then the sprint, three Category 3s, a Category 2, and finishing with a 3-4-3-4 run into Sheffield.

Vincenzo Nibali won the Stage and the Yellow, while Peter Sagan picked up the Green and White with his second place finish. Peter will wear the Green and Romain Bardet gets to wear the White.

Vincenzo Nibali ( Ita – AST – 041 ) [Yellow] 09h 52′ 43″
Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 051 ) [Green] 69 points
Cyril Lemoine ( Fra – COF – 174 ) [Polka Dot] 6 points
Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 051 ) 2 [White]

Team: Sky ( SKY – 001-009 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Vincenzo Nibali ( Ita – AST – 041 )
Combative: Blel Kadri ( Fra – ALM – 086 ) [Red numbers]

Top Ten:

1 Vincenzo Nibali ( Ita – AST – 041 )
2 Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 051 ) + 00′ 02″
3 Greg Van Avermaet ( Bel – BMC – 148 ) + 00′ 02″
4 Michael Albasini ( Sui – OGE – 182 ) + 00′ 02″
5 Christopher Froome ( GB – SKY – 001 ) + 00′ 02″
6 Bauke Mollema ( Ned – BEL – 061 ) + 00′ 02″
7 Jurgen Van Den Broeck ( Bel – LTB – 131 ) + 00′ 02″
8 Alberto Contador ( Esp – TCS – 031 ) + 00′ 02″
9 Tejay Van Garderen ( US – BMC – 141 ) + 00′ 02″
10 Jakob Fuglsang ( Den – AST – 042 ) + 00′ 02″

The Rest of the Top 30:
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The Tour de France started today and will continue until the July 27^th finish in Paris. This year the most iconic event in French cycling chose to begin with the Grand Depart in … Leeds … Yorkshire … England. The Jerseys after the first stage of competition were presented by … Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge with Princes William and Harry on the podium.

Yes, Le Tour is really starting in the Yorkshire Dales. Great Britain really supports cycling, and the Tour is a professional sports event with sponsors who want reach as many potential customers as possible.

As always, here are the Tour basics if you want to follow along, and no, I don’t think the French national team crashed out of the World Cup so they could watch the race, even if it does ease a major potential conflict for French media corporations.

The cartoon characters from my header are wearing the various colored jerseys that indicate the leader in the different classifications in the race.

The Maillot Jaune, Yellow Jersey is worn by the rider with the lowest time overall in the race. The eventual winner of the race may never have come in first in any stage, but was near the lead throughout the race and achieved the lowest time over the entire course of the event. The winner is normally an “all-arounder”, someone who is very good at the sprints and the hill climbing, even if they aren’t the best. Chris Froome, Alberto Contador, and Fabian Cancellara are “all-arounders”, showing up on the lists of the sprinters and the climbers, while staying in the top ten for overall time.

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Versailles to Paris Champs-Élysées

Distance: 133.5 kilometers.

The final stage is a parade that ends with a 10 lap sprint on the Champs-Élysées. This year they have decided to make an evening of it, looking for a finish at about 9:30PM in Paris.

After 23 days and 3403.5 kilometers the Tour is over.

It ended early for Lieuwe Westra ( Ned – VCD – 209 ), who had to withdraw because of injuries received in an accident early in the stage. That means that 169 riders finished the Tour this year, the second highest number.

Mark Cavendish was looking for his fifth win of the Paris stage which would have established a new record and left him in sole possession of third place in overall stage wins, but ‘tyre punctures’ interfered, and he had to settle for third in the stage behind Marcel Kittel and André Greipel, who weren’t very keen on letting other people win anything.

On The Podium:

1 Christopher Froome
2 Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas
3 Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver

The Final Awards:

Christopher Froome ( GB – SKY – 001 ) [Yellow] 83h 56′ 40″
Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 011 ) [Green] 409 points
Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas ( Col – MOV – 128 ) [Polka Dot] 147 points
Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas ( Col – MOV – 128 ) 2 [White]

Team: Saxo-Tinkoff ( TST – 091-099 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Marcel Kittel ( Ger – ARG – 197 )
Super Combative: Christophe Riblon ( Fra – ALM – 089 ) [Red numbers]
Φ Svein Tuft ( Can – OGE – 189 ) + 04h 27′ 55″ [La Lanterne Rouge]

The Entire List of Finishers:
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Annecy to Annecy-Semnoz

Distance: 125 kilometers.

This is the final competitive stage, so there will be a lot of attacking. Although short, there are six climbs: a category 2, three category 3s, a category 1 and the summit finish on the Hors Catégorie Annecy-Semnoz. A summit finish doubles the points awarded for the climb.

The five principal contenders for the Polka Dots are Chris Froome [104], Pierre Rolland [103], Mikel Nieve [98], Nairo Quintana [97], and Christophe Riblon [93]. Riblon took the summit finish on the Alpe-d’Huez.

Pierre Rolland gave it his best shot and was leading up to the final climb, but today, Colombia’s Independence Day, belonged to the young rider from Tunja, Colombia, Nairo Quintana.

In taking his first stage win on the Tour, Quintana confirmed his hold on the White Jersey, moved up from third to second place in the General Classification, and became the ‘King of the Mountains’, winning the Polka Dots.

Chris Froome is still in Yellow, as he has been since his win on stage 8.

The only good news for Alberto Contador is that Saxo-Tinkoff didn’t lose their lead among the teams. He was pushed off the podium by Quintana and Joaquin Rodriguez, and is now in fourth.

Jens Voigt proved there is still life after 40, making a determined charge to the front, but he was reeled in.

Christopher Froome ( GB – SKY – 001 ) [Yellow] 80h 49′ 33″
Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 011 ) [Green] 383 points
Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas ( Col – MOV – 128 ) [Polka Dot] 147 points
Andrew Talansky ( USA – GRS – 178 ) 10 [White]

Team: Saxo-Tinkoff ( TST – 091-099 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas ( Col – MOV – 128 )
Combative: Jens Voigt ( Ger – RLT – 048 ) [Red numbers]

Top Ten:

1 Christopher Froome ( GB – SKY – 001 )
2 Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas ( Col – MOV – 128 ) + 05′ 03″
3 Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver ( Esp – KAT – 101 ) + 05′ 47″
4 Alberto Contador ( Esp – TST – 091 ) + 07′ 10″
5 Roman Kreuziger ( Cze – TST – 094 ) + 08′ 10″
6 Bauke Mollema ( Ned – BEL – 164 ) + 12′ 25″
7 Jakob Fuglsang ( Den – EUC – 063 ) + 13′ 00″
8 Alejandro Valverde ( Esp – MOV – 121 ) + 16′ 09″
9 Daniel Navarro ( Esp – COF – 139 ) + 16′ 35″
10 Andrew Talansky ( USA – GRS – 178 ) + 18′ 22″

The Rest of the Top 30:
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Bourg-d’Oisans to Le Grand-Bornand

Distance: 204.5 kilometers.

Since yesterday ended with a pair of Hors Catégorie climbs the sadists in charge decided to start with a pair: Col du Glandon and Col de la Madeleine. While not as steep as yesterday, they are both about 20 km climbs. They throw in a sprint just to wear people out before the category 2 Col de Tamié, which is followed by a pair of category 1 climbs, Col de l’Épine and Col de la Croix Fry.

At the end of the stage the Jerseys should be known.

Rui Costa has taken his second stage, and Movistar has a lot to celebrate.

The Polka Dot is still up for grabs with Rolland only one point behind Froome after today, and there are more mountains tomorrow. Pierre’s chances are very good because the teams will not want to risk the current standings of Froome and Quintana.

RadioShack-Leopard will really be trying to make up their 3+ minute deficit in the team competition and beat Saxo-Tinkoff. Given Contador’s wish to be in Yellow, that will make tomorrow a very ‘interesting’ stage and the last real racing of the Tour.

Christopher Froome ( GB – SKY – 001 ) [Yellow] 77h 10′ 00″
Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 011 ) [Green] 380 points
Pierre Rolland ( Fra – EUC – 051 ) [Polka Dot] 104 points [Froome]
Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas ( Col – MOV – 128 ) 3 [White]

Team: Saxo-Tinkoff ( TST – 091-099 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Rui Alberto Costa ( Por – MOV – 124 )
Combative: Pierre Rolland ( Fra – EUC – 051 ) [Red numbers]

Top Ten:

1 Christopher Froome ( GB – SKY – 001 )
2 Alberto Contador ( Esp – TST – 091 ) + 05′ 11″
3 Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas ( Col – MOV – 128 ) + 05′ 32″
4 Roman Kreuziger ( Cze – TST – 094 ) + 05′ 44″
5 Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver ( Esp – KAT – 101 ) + 05′ 58″
6 Bauke Mollema ( Ned – BEL – 164 ) + 08′ 58″
7 Jakob Fuglsang ( Den – EUC – 063 ) + 09′ 33″
8 Daniel Navarro ( Esp – COF – 139 ) + 12′ 33″
9 Alejandro Valverde ( Esp – MOV – 121 ) + 14′ 56″
10 Michal Kwiatkowski ( Pol – OPQ – 153 ) + 16′ 08″

The Rest of the Top 30:
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Gap to Alpe-d’Huez

Distance: 172.5 kilometers.

Déjà vu all over again…

The stage starts by going over the category 2 Col de Manse which they already did at the end of Stage 16. Then after a short section of hills it’s over the top of category 3 Rampe du Motty. Things aren’t too bad for about 40 km and it’s time to go up category 2 Col d’Ornon, over the top and down to the valley for the sprint. The first 110 km was just the warm up for the pain to come.

Alpe d’Huez is a Hors Catégorie, a dozen kilometers at better than an 8% grade on a road that features nearly two dozen hairpin turns. This would be a good ending for a stage in the Alps, but it was felt that the stage was too short, so they added the run up the category 2 Col de Sarenne. Still feeling it to be too short, their solution was to loop around and climb the Alpe d’Huez again with the finish at the summit.

Christophe Riblon obviously felt the stage was ‘just right’, because he won it, took the Red Numbers doing it, improved his general classification by 8 places, his sprint classification by 14 places, and moved up to third place from 34th in the battle for the Polka Dots, meaning he will be wearing the Jersey.

Christopher Froome increased his lead to five-plus minutes over Alberto Contador, and still leads in the battle for ‘king of the mountains’.

Nairo Quintana moved up to third in the general classification, which is a place on the podium at Paris, has a 9+ minute lead for the White Jersey, and is only 7 points behind Froome to win the Polka Dots at the end. He is only 21 seconds behind Contador in the general, so second place is within reach.

Christopher Froome ( GB – SKY – 001 ) [Yellow] 71h 02′ 19″
Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 011 ) [Green] 380 points
Christophe Riblon ( Fra – ALM – 089 ) [Polka Dot] 104 points [Froome]
Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas ( Col – MOV – 128 ) 3 [White]

Team: Saxo-Tinkoff ( TST – 091-099 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Christophe Riblon ( Fra – ALM – 089 )
Combative: Christophe Riblon ( Fra – ALM – 089 ) [Red numbers]

Top Ten:

1 Christopher Froome ( GB – SKY – 001 )
2 Alberto Contador ( Esp – TST – 091 ) + 05′ 11″
3 Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas ( Col – MOV – 128 ) + 05′ 32″
4 Roman Kreuziger ( Cze – TST – 094 ) + 05′ 44″
5 Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver ( Esp – KAT – 101 ) + 05′ 58″
6 Bauke Mollema ( Ned – BEL – 164 ) + 08′ 58″
7 Jakob Fuglsang ( Den – EUC – 063 ) + 09′ 33″
8 Michael Rogers ( Aus – TST – 098 ) + 14′ 26″
9 Michal Kwiatkowski ( Pol – OPQ – 153 ) + 14′ 38″
10 Laurens Ten Dam ( Ned – BEL – 167 ) + 14′ 39″

The Rest of the Top 30:
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Embrun to Chorges

Distance: 32 kilometers.

This is the second individual time trial, but it isn’t anything like the flat speed course of the first one.

Right at the start you begin the category 2 climb to the top of Côte de Puy-Sanières, then you swoop down the other side to find the climb up the category 2 Côte de Réallon. The last ten kilometers are downhill to the finish.

You also need to keep in mind as you pedal that tomorrow will be a really nasty day in the Alps, so you don’t want to tire yourself out.

While rain was thrown in to make the day more exciting, Chris Froome took the stage and extended his leads for both the Yellow and Polka Dot Jerseys. Alberto Contador lost less time than Bauke Mollema, so he is now in second, and his team, Saxo-Tinkoff, moved into the Yellow Numbers.

Gorka Izaguirre didn’t start today. That was a better deal than the one dealt to Jean-Christophe Péraud, who crashed, possibly breaking his collarbone, during a trial run, but started anyway and crashed again ending his Tour.

Red Numbers are not awarded for Time Trials.

Now it’s on to the Alps.

Christopher Froome ( GB – SKY – 001 ) [Yellow] 66h 07′ 09″
Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 011 ) [Green] 377 points
Mikel Nieve Iturralde ( Esp – EUS – 116 ) [Polka Dot] 88 points [Froome]
Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas ( Col – MOV – 128 ) 5 [White]

Team: Saxo-Tinkoff ( TST – 091-099 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Christopher Froome ( GB – SKY – 001 )

Top Ten:

1 Christopher Froome ( GB – SKY – 001 )
2 Alberto Contador ( Esp – TST – 091 ) + 04′ 34″
3 Roman Kreuziger ( Cze – TST – 094 ) + 04′ 51″
4 Bauke Mollema ( Ned – BEL – 164 ) + 06′ 23″
5 Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas ( Col – MOV – 128 ) + 06′ 58″
6 Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver ( Esp – KAT – 101 ) + 07′ 21″
7 Laurens Ten Dam ( Ned – BEL – 167 ) + 08′ 23″
8 Jakob Fuglsang ( Den – EUC – 063 ) + 08′ 56″
9 Michal Kwiatkowski ( Pol – OPQ – 153 ) + 11′ 10″
10 Daniel Martin ( Irl – GRS – 175 ) + 12′ 50″

The Rest of the Top 30:
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Vaison-la-Romaine to Gap

Distance: 168 kilometers.

After a rest day in Provence, today’s stage should be interesting. It starts with a category 3 followed by a category 2 climb, then a downhill slope to the middle of the stage. The slope then heads uphill for the sprint, and ends going over the category 2 Col de Manse with a downhill sprint to the finish.

It was Rui Alberto Costa day on the Tour. He won the stage, the Red Numbers, and moved up 9 places in the standings by cutting his deficit by about 11 minutes.

Meanwhile, back in the peloton, Alberto Contador went on the attack against Chris Froome and almost eliminated both of them with a crash on the descent. To make matters even more wonderful, Alberto decided to award a hand-gesture to Nairo Quintana for attacking while he was trying to come back from his own screw-up. Alberto gained a bit of infamy for doing the same thing during the 2010 Tour, and winning the Yellow as a result, while Quintana didn’t reduce his deficit at all.

Thibaut Pinot of FDR and Danny Van Poppel of VCD didn’t start. Pinot has a sore throat, but he said it was more a matter of too much stress being the team captain in only his second Tour and anxiety over the descent speeds. Danny is only 19, and the team didn’t want to risk his development by over-stressing his body at this point.

The second Individual Time Trial tomorrow.

Christopher Froome ( GB – SKY – 001 ) [Yellow] 65h 15′ 36″
Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 011 ) [Green] 377 points
Mikel Nieve Iturralde ( Esp – EUS – 116 ) [Polka Dot] 83 points [Froome]
Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas ( Col – MOV – 128 ) 5 [White]

Team: RadioShack Leopard ( RLT – 041-049 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Rui Alberto Costa ( Por – MOV – 124 )
Combative: Rui Alberto Costa ( Por – MOV – 124 ) [Red numbers]

Top Ten:

1 Christopher Froome ( GB – SKY – 001 )
2 Bauke Mollema ( Ned – BEL – 164 ) + 04′ 14″
3 Alberto Contador ( Esp – TST – 091 ) + 04′ 25″
4 Roman Kreuziger ( Cze – TST – 094 ) + 04′ 28″
5 Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas ( Col – MOV – 128 ) + 05′ 47″
6 Laurens Ten Dam ( Ned – BEL – 167 ) + 05′ 54″
7 Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver ( Esp – KAT – 101 ) + 07′ 11″
8 Jakob Fuglsang ( Den – EUC – 063 ) + 07′ 22″
9 Jean-Christophe Péraud ( Fra – ALM – 081 ) + 08′ 47″
10 Daniel Martin ( Irl – GRS – 175 ) + 09′ 28″

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