Sprinters Party

by gavia on Jul 17, 2008 11:16 AM EDT in Live Races

Post-Race Show: Stage 12 Lavelanet-Narbonne

Here are today's stage results and the current general classification.

Below the fold, the Stage in Brief.

An Early Break. An early move of nine riders, including Will Frischkorn of Team Garmin, attacked at kilometer 5, but the bunch quickly brought them back. Though a flurry of attacks continued to animate the race, none of the moves succeded, until two French riders, Samuel Dumoulin of Cofidis and Arnaud Gérard of Français des Jeux, left the field at kilometer 36. The sprinters' teams deemed their breakaway acceptable and the two steadily built their advantage. Juan José Oroz Ugalde of Euskaldi Euskatel decided to join them, and the group of three rode the wind until inside 10 km to go.

The Sprint. Quick-Step, Columbia, and Agricole drove the main field containing all the favorites for the classifications, and by 9 km to go, they caught the three man break. Into the final kilometers, Milram and Columbia tried to set up their sprinters, with Robbie McEwen and Oscar Freire dicing for wheels behind the trains. Despite their efforts, in the final kilometer, bunch dissolved into chaos. Mark Cavendish shot out of the swarm with his trademark speed, and won his third stage of this year's Tour de France. Sebastien Chavanel, Gert Steegmans, Erik Zabel, and Oscar Freire followed him to the line.

Classifications. Cadel Evans currently leads the general classification by 1 second over Fränk Schleck of CSC-Saxo Bank and 38 seconds over Christian Vandevelde of Team Garmin. Oscar Freire of Rabobank leads the Points classification over Kim Kirchen of Team Columbia, and today adds to his lead by finishing fifth in the sprint. With the expulsion of Riccardo Ricco and Saunier Duval from the race, Sebastien Lang of Gerolsteiner takes over as leader of the mountains classification, with his team mate Bernard Kohl just 2 points behind. Italian Vincenzo Nibali of Liquigas takes over the White jersey of best young rider, while his team mate Romain Kreuziger sits 2.42 behind in second. Team CSC-Saxo Bank leads the teams classification by 4.49 over AG2R.

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Comments

KOT just isn't what it used to be.

by Sui Juris on Jul 17, 2008 11:18 AM EDT 0 recs

man

Sometimes I really am such a girl, but seriously, I love Cav’s accent.

181 & 165

by callmecayce on Jul 17, 2008 11:26 AM EDT 0 recs

Totally

And there’s an article over at CyclingWeekly that has some quotes from him on the rest day after his crash in stage 10: "The elbow’s got a deep cut in it, and on top of that the painkiller the race doctor gave me gave me an upset tummy."

He said tummy! Adorable!

by marian on Jul 17, 2008 12:18 PM EDT up 0 recs

that is cutey :-)

he’s supah entertaining. hope he keeps winning. personality is good.

by gavia on Jul 17, 2008 12:19 PM EDT up 0 recs

You guys

are such girls ;-)

"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."

by Drew... on Jul 17, 2008 12:38 PM EDT up 0 recs

si...

but you do love us :-)

by gavia on Jul 17, 2008 12:43 PM EDT up 0 recs

Oh, most assuredly

This site would be a barren wasteland without you all.

"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."

by Drew... on Jul 17, 2008 12:48 PM EDT up 0 recs

Me

I need a translator

"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."

by Chris... on Jul 17, 2008 12:47 PM EDT up 0 recs

yeah

i don’t speak cavendish very well…

by gavia on Jul 17, 2008 12:48 PM EDT up 0 recs

Translation

Chicks dig good looking guys with accents in sports underwear.

How difficult is this Chris?

"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."

by Drew... on Jul 17, 2008 12:49 PM EDT up 0 recs

How do you

put an accent in your underwear?

by rocketpress on Jul 17, 2008 2:10 PM EDT up 0 recs

Ask the ladies

somehow they’ve figured out how to do it.

"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."

by Drew... on Jul 17, 2008 2:11 PM EDT up 0 recs

Is that the same as pitching a tent?

Ricco stole my marbles.

by crashdan on Jul 17, 2008 5:05 PM EDT up 0 recs

Nope

That’s still our ability alone.

"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."

by Drew... on Jul 18, 2008 8:38 AM EDT up 0 recs

heh,

look up the Too Much Joy song: Long Haired Guys from England.

“All the girls in the music biz
have credit cards, they subscribe to Ms.
and they only want to f$%k
long haired guys from England…”

Brooklyn Chewing Gum: Vlaanderens Mooiste

by Koppenberg on Jul 17, 2008 2:12 PM EDT up 0 recs

Sprinter's party?

You mean Cavendish’s party!

by King of Doping on Jul 17, 2008 11:27 AM EDT 0 recs

lol, sprinter party?

i generally try not to put the winner in the headline, in the event that someone here doesn’t want to know.

but yes, cavendish pretty much owns these stages right now. good riding there!

by gavia on Jul 17, 2008 11:28 AM EDT up 0 recs

yeah, I was just kiding

it’s interesting to see that Kirchen took something like 10 points for the green jersey. He’s not giving up yet

by King of Doping on Jul 17, 2008 11:34 AM EDT up 0 recs

yep

though freire’s hold on the thingy is getting tighter. interesting to see if kirchen tries to get some in the more mountainous stages, though. i wouldn’t count him out just yet.

by gavia on Jul 17, 2008 11:39 AM EDT up 0 recs

So, is McEwen's strategy these days

just getting a second row seat to see the action up front?

by Sui Juris on Jul 17, 2008 11:39 AM EDT 0 recs

lol, he likes to watch ;-)

by gavia on Jul 17, 2008 11:59 AM EDT up 0 recs

I hear that happens when you get older

Tis a strange approach, though. I guess he’s decided that he’ll only try when he’s sure of the win, otherwise he’ll take a second row seat. Contrast Zabel, who knows (by now) that he’s almost certainly not going to win, but he’s piling up a lot of second and thirds.

by Sui Juris on Jul 17, 2008 12:08 PM EDT up 0 recs

ha!

i guess, or he simply didn’t make it through the traffic. it looked chaotic this time…

by gavia on Jul 17, 2008 12:15 PM EDT up 0 recs

Yep

hard without a team. Look at the way Cavendish was brought to the front before the final bend. Ciolek, I think, was just about spent after dragging him up there. McEwan does not have anyone to do that for him this year. Zabel does on the other hand. Interesting watching Julien Dean sprint. There was a nice gap he should have shouldered his way through at full throttle, but he kind of tip-toed through it instead, which is why he ended up 9th instead of top 5. I don’t think he’d have paused for thought if he were leading out Hushovd.

by Rothko on Jul 17, 2008 12:22 PM EDT up 0 recs

yep

ciolek really delivered on that one. funny team, lotto, they claimed to be all about gc, but they don’t have a great gc team. you’d think they could have spared one spot there for robbie’s lead-out guy. dean doesn’t quite have the moves down, does he. got speed, not quite nailing the positioning, i’ve noticed that before.

by gavia on Jul 17, 2008 12:28 PM EDT up 0 recs

Monfort was ahead of Kreuziger yesterday

Did I miss something happening to him? He is down as having s.t. today??

by Rothko on Jul 17, 2008 11:53 AM EDT 0 recs

Monfort

He is currently third in the Young riders, 7 seconds behind Krueziger, at 2.49

by gavia on Jul 17, 2008 11:59 AM EDT up 0 recs

Yeah but

he was 6:47 down on GC yesterday and now is 7:07 down, but the stage results have him finishing with the same time . . . so where did those 20s go? Penalty?

by Rothko on Jul 17, 2008 12:03 PM EDT up 0 recs

oooh, don't know.

not sure where that came from.

by gavia on Jul 17, 2008 12:14 PM EDT up 0 recs

My favorite shots of the sprinters stages

Are the overhead camera shots of Cav’s finishes. Very impressive.
I am a Cav fan!

by roadside on Jul 17, 2008 12:22 PM EDT 0 recs

those are some big gaps, eh?

by gavia on Jul 17, 2008 12:28 PM EDT up 0 recs

I'd like to see more moving side angle shots

Have you seen those shots of the Olympic 100m dash where the camera travels on a track right beside the sprinters? I think I saw it on one of the TDF stages this year but only in passing. It would be pretty tough to set up with the immense speed the camera would need to go among the large crowd at the finish line. A camera traveling that fast could kill someone.

by bobinson on Jul 17, 2008 2:42 PM EDT up 0 recs

Paris

They had that at the finish line in Paris last year. Easier to setup on the Champs d’Elise where they use the entire giant road and can set it up in the middle. Great footage of Thor winning.

by Jimbo... on Jul 17, 2008 2:56 PM EDT up 0 recs

Tired

In the interview with Vs after today’s stage, Cav seemed seriously tired. Although, I would love nothing more than to see Cav take a victory on the final stage, I would be surprised to see him summit alp d’huez.

by Hons on Jul 17, 2008 12:56 PM EDT 0 recs

Yup

He may be starting to hit the wall, and if staying in just to stay in and win 1 or 2 more stages jeopardizes his Olympic plans look for him to pack it in.

Hell, he’s already finished one grand tour, which is one more than many predicted . He’s done very well I think.

"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."

by Drew... on Jul 17, 2008 1:05 PM EDT up 0 recs

Brian Holm said a couple of days ago

“maybe it would be wiser for him to go home and prepare for the olympics but the kid is stubborn and wants to ride”

I didn’t before, but now I think he’s going to try to get to Paris. The Alps may persuade him otherwise though. I think he’s tempted by the Champs Elysee with the edge he’s got over the others but he will definately get more chances to win there

by Jens on Jul 17, 2008 1:18 PM EDT up 0 recs

If he sticks it out

I’ll be impressed as hell.

Actually, I already am considering the amount of climbing he’s got in his legs this year – and he sure ain’t a climber. Good on him.

"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."

by Drew... on Jul 17, 2008 1:26 PM EDT up 0 recs

I was impressed he lasted the Giro

That was a nasty parcourse but I think he sees that he will need to do these thing if he is to be one of the truly great (Champs E victory, green jersey, Maglia Ciclamina) one day.

by Jens on Jul 17, 2008 1:49 PM EDT up 0 recs

Exactly

"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."

by Drew... on Jul 17, 2008 2:12 PM EDT up 0 recs

Interesting bit about yesterday's stage and *Lotto

from an Australian paper, Gerrans says that Evans told him they wanted to give CA (Botcharov) the jersey, which many had speculated but this is the only confirmation of that I’ve seen.

also, sporza video interview from today, Evans says the team more tired today, also Hoste punctured with 25 km to go leaving Evans alone in the final (in case anyone else was wondering as I was why there were no *Lotto riders around Evans at the end there). I know that Evans always tends to ride at the front and thus often in the top 20 or so in sprint stages, but he’s a lot easier to see now in yellow and a lot more noticeable up at the front until the final sprint happens.

by guidemd on Jul 17, 2008 1:08 PM EDT 0 recs

interesting

why botcharov? fill me in.

by gavia on Jul 17, 2008 1:11 PM EDT up 0 recs

Cause he's harmless enough

as a contender but climby enough to wear yellow until we hit the Alps. And CA would kill themselves to hold it for as long as possible (being French).

Of course that’s mere speculation on my part.

"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."

by Drew... on Jul 17, 2008 1:17 PM EDT up 0 recs

eenteresting.

by Sui Juris on Jul 17, 2008 1:19 PM EDT up 0 recs

botcharov was the highest placed in the break yesterday

would have needed to let the break get 20 min or so and then he’d have had the yellow jersey.

of course, then Pereiro ruined everything (or at least was a good excuse for CSC to chase, saying as Jens! did that they didn’t want to let Pereiro get away … I’m sure CSC also preferred for *Lotto to keep having to protect the jersey as well).

by guidemd on Jul 17, 2008 1:25 PM EDT up 0 recs

grazie!

makes sense. ha, funny that oscar, spoiling everyone’s plans.

by gavia on Jul 17, 2008 1:27 PM EDT up 0 recs

Feints, within feints, within feints.......

"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."

by Drew... on Jul 17, 2008 1:26 PM EDT 0 recs

Riccardo Ricco = Feyd Rautha

Jens! = Shai-Hulud

Ricco stole my marbles.

by crashdan on Jul 17, 2008 5:12 PM EDT up 0 recs

Figured

you’d pick that up Baron.

"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."

by Drew... on Jul 18, 2008 8:39 AM EDT up 0 recs

Pererio can ruin anything

"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."

by Drew... on Jul 17, 2008 1:27 PM EDT 0 recs

One of these days

he’s going to go go bumbling in to someones hotelroom: “hey the cops are here to talk to you , I told them to come right in…...what’s that syringe you have there…?”

by Jens on Jul 17, 2008 1:52 PM EDT up 0 recs

Interesting interview with Cav at Isle of Man Today

the local media angle is often quite interesting …

-he couldn’t really see anything while he was sprinting for the win in Toulouse the other day, because of the spray and dirt coming up off the road.
-he talks to McEwen for an hour every day, McEwen was a boyhood hero of his, feels sorry for McEwen not having a team to help him.

listen to the audio as well, as there are bits in there not in the article (such as “Thor’s weird Scandinavian sense of humour”). and for some of you, it’s another chance to hear his voice and his accent ;-)

by guidemd on Jul 17, 2008 11:36 PM EDT 0 recs

Great article, thanks for the link

And like his boyhood idol, Cav is a former BMXer too. They make excellent sprinters.

"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."

by Drew... on Jul 18, 2008 8:43 AM EDT up 0 recs

More will follow in his footsteps

There’s a hint of Scouse in a lot of Manx accents but he sounds like a Manxman not a Liverpudlian.

Manx riders Johnny Bellis and Peter Kennaugh are two bright prospects on the GB squad (not UK, the IoM, like the Channel Islands, is outside the UK). The other night someone at the local club was telling me they’re getting 300-400 kids turning up at Youth League races (on a small island, the population of which is about that of a medium sized town). Now would be a good time to run a bicycle shop on the island!

by ruralwales on Jul 18, 2008 8:45 AM EDT up 0 recs