Category — Le Tour

While Thierry Hupond of France was aggressive enough to wear the red numbers, it was Mark Cavendish of Great Britain who came in first at the end of stage 10. There was minor reshuffling in the top ten, but no one new, and none of the jerseys have changed hands.

1. Rinaldo Nocentini (I/AG2R) 39:11:04 [yellow jersey]
2. Alberto Contador (E/Astana) +:06
3. Lance Armstrong (US/Astana) +:08
4. Andréas Klöden (D/Astana) +:54
5. Levi Leipheimer (US/Astana) +:54
6. Tony Martin (D/Team Columbia) +01:00 [white jersey]
7. Bradley Wiggins (GB/Garmin) +01:01
8. Christian Vande Velde (US/Garmin) +01:24
9. Andy Schleck (LUX/Saxo Bank) +01:49
10. Vincenzo Nibali (I/Liquigas) +01:54

Selected Others:

17. Cadel Evans (AUS/Silence) +03:07
48. Egoi Martinez (E/Euskatel) +15:30 [polka dot jersey]
50. Nicolas Roche (IRE/AG2R) +16:45
62. David Millar (GB/Garmin) +27:33
105. Thierry Hupond (F/Skil) +53:00 [red numbers]
121. Thor Hushovd (NOR/Cervelo) +1:04:32 [green jersey]
135. Mark Cavendish (GB/Team Columbia) +1:13:54
171. Kenny Robert Van Hummel (NED/Skil) +1:59:32 [red lantern]

From the BBC Cycling results and the official results sites.

Pierrick Fedrigo of France took stage 9 and picked up 26 seconds on the leaders to move from 111 to 86 overall. Egoi Martinez of Spain captured the polka dot jersey, while yellow, green, and white are unchanged, and AG2R still leads the teams.

1. Rinaldo Nocentini (I/AG2R) 34:24:21 [yellow jersey]
2. Alberto Contador (E/Astana) +:06
3. Lance Armstrong (US/Astana) +:08
4. Levi Leipheimer (US/Astana) +:39
5. Bradley Wiggins (GB/Garmin) +:46
6. Andréas Klöden (D/Astana) +:54
7. Tony Martin (D/Team Columbia) +01:00 [white jersey]
8. Christian Vande Velde (US/Garmin) +01:24
9. Andy Schleck (LUX/Saxo Bank) +01:49
10. Vincenzo Nibali (I/Liquigas) +01:54

Selected others:

18. Cadel Evans (AUS/Silence) +03:07
46. Franco Pellizotti (I/Liquigas) +14:49 [red numbers]
48. Egoi Martinez (E/Euskatel) +15:30 [polka dot jersey]
50. Nicolas Roche (IRE/AG2R) +16:45
62. David Millar (GB/Garmin) +27:18
86. Pierrick Fedrigo (F/BBox) +39:43 stage 9 winner
121. Thor Hushovd (NOR/Cervelo) +1:04:32 [green jersey]
135. Mark Cavendish (GB/Team Columbia) +1:13:54

From the BBC Cycling results and the official results sites.

Luis Leon Sanchez Gil of Spain won stage 8 and moved up to 11^th from 24^th; Sandy Casar of France was awarded the red numbers for his moves in the stage; Christophe Kern of France is the new “king of the hills” winning the polka dot jersey; and Thor Hushovd of Norway took the green jersey from Mark Cavendish with a 9 point lead among the sprinters.

In addition AG2R moved ahead of Astana by 3 seconds in the team competition.

1. Rinaldo Nocentini (I/AG2R) 25:44:32 [yellow jersey]
2. Alberto Contador (E/Astana) +:06
3. Lance Armstrong (US/Astana) +:08
4. Levi Leipheimer (US/Astana) +:39
5. Bradley Wiggins (GB/Garmin) +:46
6. Andréas Klöden (D/Astana) +:54
7. Tony Martin (D/Team Columbia) +01:00 [white jersey]
8. Christian Vande Velde (US/Garmin) +01:24
9. Andy Schleck (LUX/Saxo Bank) +01:49
10. Vincenzo Nibali (I/Liquigas) +01:54

Selected others:

11. Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (E/Caisse) +02:16
18. Cadel Evans (AUS/Silence) +03:07
22. Sandy Casar (F/Francaise) +03:58 [red numbers]
58. Nicolas Roche (IRE/AG2R) +16:45
77. David Millar (GB/Garmin) +27:18
92. Christophe Kern (F/Confidis) +33:15 [polka dot jersey]
110. Thor Hushovd (NOR/Cervelo) +40:09 [green jersey]
131. Mark Cavendish (GB/Team Columbia) +49:31

From the BBC Cycling results and the official results sites.

Brice Feillu (F/Agritubel), 29^th +04:26 overall, won the stage and the polka dot jersey in the first of the serious climbs of the Tour. Most of the field was scrambled.

Overall standings:

1. Rinaldo Nocentini (I/AG2R) 25:44:32 [yellow jersey]
2. Alberto Contador (E/Astana) +:06
3. Lance Armstrong (US/Astana) +:08
4. Levi Leipheimer (US/Astana) +:39
5. Bradley Wiggins (GB/Garmin) +:46
6. Andréas Klöden (D/Astana) +:54
7. Tony Martin (D/Team Columbia) +01:00 [white jersey]
8. Christian Vande Velde (US/Garmin) +01:24
9. Andy Schleck (LUX/Saxo Bank) +01:49
10. Vincenzo Nibali (I/Liquigas) +01:54

Further back:

18. Cadel Evans (AUS/Silence) +03:07
21. Christophe Riblon (F/AG2R) +03:20 [red numbers]
28. Nicolas Roche (IRE/AG2R) +04:25
29. Brice Feillu (F/Agritubel) +04:26 [polka dot jersey] stage 7 winner
39. Fabian Cancellara (CH/Saxo Bank) +05:37
110. David Millar (GB/Garmin) +27:18
121. Mark Cavendish (GB/Team Columbia) +28:23 [green jersey]

From the BBC Cycling results and the official results sites.

From the official site, here are the results of stage 6:

After yesterday’s sleeper people started making some moves in the Spanish leg with Thor Hushovd (NOR/Cervelo) [27 overall at +2 min 59 secs] taking it at the very end. The climbing is beginning to alter the field, and the serious climbs start tomorrow.

Overall standings

1. Fabian Cancellara (CH/Saxo Bank) 19 hours 29 minutes 22 seconds [yellow jersey]
2. Lance Armstrong (US/Astana) same time
3. Alberto Contador (E/Astana) +19 secs
4. Andréas Klöden (D/Astana) +23 secs
5. Levi Leipheimer (US/Astana) +31 secs
6. Bradley Wiggins (GB/Garmin) +38 secs
7. Tony Martin (D/Team Columbia) +52 secs [white jersey]
8. Christian Vande Velde (US/Garmin) +1 min 16 secs
9. Gustav Larsson (S/Saxo Bank) +1 min 22 secs
10. Maxime Monfort (B/Team Columbia) +1 min 29 secs

20. David Millar (GB/Garmin) +2 min 28 secs [red number] His aggressiveness cost him 10 places as the final climb was too much.

38. Mark Cavendish (GB/Team Columbia) +3 minutes 33 secs [green jersey]

141. Stéphane Auge (FRA/Cofidis) +11 min 35 secs [polka dot jersey]

I missed 31. Rigoberto Uran (COL/Caisse) +3 min 12 secs when I was mentioning the nations involved.

They should have taken a bus and not bothered. OK, here’s the “exciting” news from the official site:

Thomas Voeckler of France won the stage which propelled him from 144 to 138 in the standings. There was no change for any of the 137 people in front of him in the overall standings, and no changes in jerseys.

Mikhail Ignatiev of Russia has won the right to wear the red numbers of the most combative rider. He is currently 39^th.

That’s it. It was windy and no one wanted a repeat of the problem on stage 3 where there was a break away in the wind, so Voeckler scored a stage win for France.

BBC Results Team event

1. Fabian Cancellara (CH/Saxo Bank) 10 hours 38 minutes 07 seconds [yellow jersey]
2. Lance Armstrong (US/Astana) same time
3. Alberto Contador (E/Astana) +19 secs
4. Andréas Klöden (D/Astana) +23 secs
5. Levi Leipheimer (US/Astana) +31 secs
6. Bradley Wiggins (GB/Garmin) +38 secs
7. Haimar Zubeldia (E/Astana) +51 secs
8. Tony Martin (D/Team Columbia) +52 secs [white jersey]
9. David Zabriskie (US/Garmin) +1 min 06 secs
10. David Millar (GB/Garmin) +1 min 07 secs

Selected others:

35. Cadel Evans (Aus/Silence) +2 min 59 secs
60. Mark Cavendish (GB/Team Columbia) +3 min 33 secs [green jersey]
106. Jussi Veikkanen (Fin/La Française des Jeux) +4 min 56 secs [polka dot jersey]

Team Astana now wears the black on yellow numbers of the leading team

Contador will probably have the yellow tomorrow as the climbing starts. Cancellara is good on the flat.

Below the fold I have the lead riders for countries not represented in the top ten.

[Read more →]

Results from the official Tour site.

Mark Cavendish [GB] continues his winning ways with another stage win, and keeps the green jersey, but he is at 142 overall.

The overall leaders have shifted: Fabian Cancellara [CH], Tony Martin [D], Lance Armstrong [US], Alberto Contador [E], Bradley Wiggens [GB]. Cadel Evans of Australia is in 8th place.

There is nothing surprising about winning the Tour without winning a stage. The stage winners tend to be specialists, while the yellow jersey goes to the best overall cyclist.

British sprinter Mark Cavendish has won the second stage of the tour in 104° temperatures and now wears the green jersey, but the overall leaders remain the same: Fabian Cancellara [CH], Alberto Contador [E], Bradley Wiggens [GB]. Lance Armstrong is at 10^th place and stayed with the pack today.

The fans needed helmets to protect them from the flying water bottles.

Update: I noticed someone wondering why the finish times at the end of a stage may show a half dozen people with the same time. This is because they only track the time to the second, and that many people may cross the line in a second. When the main group comes through you could have more than a dozen people crossing together.

The 2009 Tour de France starts today in Monaco and continues until the July 26^th finish in Paris.

You can follow on the official site, the BBC Cycling page. and the NBC site.

The CBC has a Tour introduction site.

Lance Armstrong is back, but he is probably not going to be a contender, especially following his injuries in a major crash during a tune-up race.

Update: From the ABC results from Stage 1.

The BBC has the Tour de France final results:

1. Carlos Sastre of Spain – Yellow [overall]
2. Cadel Evans of Australia
3. Bernhard Kohl of Austria

• Oscar Freire of Spain – Green [sprints]
• Bernhard Kohl of Austria – Polka Dot [mountains]
• Andy Schleck of Luxembourg – White [young rider]

The Australian Broadcasting news site is down, server overload no doubt as Cadel Evans comes in second for the second Tour in a row.

Yes, the cycling race is on, started yesterday, and runs for three weeks. This is the year [again] when there absolutely, positively, unequivocally will not be a drug scandal [again].

Well, there are a lot of major riders who don’t seem to be available for this year’s tour, so maybe there has been some progress, but history doesn’t argue for that. History says that the teams will have figured out some way of avoiding getting caught doing whatever they are doing that they think will give them an edge. C’est la vie.

If you are someone who does care, you can check the official Le Tour de France site [in English], the BBC’s Cycling page, or NBC Sport’s Tour page.

At least we now know the real symbolism of the maillot jaune [yellow jersey]. It’s for all the drug tests you have to take.