gpsblake

Mikael Cherel had a breakout day in stage 1 of the Tour de France finishing a whopping 1 minute and 8 seconds behind Brice Feillu in the 13.8k time trial. Such dominance so early in the Lantern Rouge race for the red jersey. The French also dominated the top 8 with 7 riders at the bottom including a top 3 finish. Well done France, cycling glory is within your reach this year.

Standings at the end of Stage 1

1. Mikael Cherel, AG2R LA MONDIALE 18:32
2. Brice Feillu, -1:08
3. Armindo Fonseca -1:11
4. Gianpaolo Caruso -1:12
5. Perrig Quemeneur -1:12
6. Pierre-Luc Perichon -1:13
7. Arnaud Gerard -1:18
8. Nacer Bouhanni -1:22
9. Ben Gastauer -1:22
10. Matteo Bono -1:23

Leinster

Thread bookmarked.

To lose 3 minutes, Cherel must have had a wheel change or some sort of mechanical, right? 44km/h on a dead flat TT is low-cat amateur stuff, isn't it?

Giacomo 1 

Being that France has by far the most riders in the Tour, it would figure they would be the favorites for the Lantern Rouge.

I see no shame in it myself. It's a feat just to finish...

Athens80

Yes.

You have to finish to come in last. You have to get selected, you have to survive all those miles, you have to make every stage within the time cut, to finish.

Finishing the Tour, mid-pack or very last, is very far from shameful.

seypat

Lantern Rouge should be the first rider out of the race. Any finisher placed in front of the DNFs.

RJM

Someone crashed in the TT...does anybody know who that was?

Leinster

That's what they have time limits for. Judging by the state of him when he got back on his bike, it'd be ridiculous for them to kick Hansen off the race today just for being last across the line.

I think I worked out that Ji-Cheng averaged 38km/hr for 3 weeks to win the Lanterne Rouge last year, and actually rode a lot of that time on the front of the bunch. I can't average 38kmh for 3 minutes.

This kind of carry-on is ridiculous, though, and needs to be prevented; https://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/racin...es-last-174509

seypat

It looked like he was in a lot of pain!

gpsblake

Congrats to the new holder of the red jersey today, Brice Feillu out of France. He followed yesterdays 2nd to last place performance with a another performance at the end of the pack. We here don't expect Feillu to remain in the red for long, he's won a stage in 2009 and once or twice a year his name will surface being at the front.

Stage 2 turned out to be a stroke of genius, as the organizers got exactly what they wanted, while we who follow the journey for the Lantern Rouge got what we wanted. Crosswinds, rain, flat tires, sunshine at the finish, and of course chaos. A break of 7 lead the chase for the red today. For those who follow the other end of the race, aka the leaders or GC, this was a good stage to watch, not your typical day 2 stuff.

Today's stage loser was Adam Hansen out of Australia who lead a pack 7 riders 11 minutes 6 seconds behind today's winner. The French however didn't disappoint as they collected 2nd, 3rd and 4th (or 195th, 196th, and 197th). Terrible Tommy "stick out my tongue" Voeckler for the 2nd year in a row tanked on purpose in the early stages to set up a stage win or two (something we frown at here). We expect him to remain in the hunt for the red until the mountain stages.

Team Sky appears to be hunting for the red jersey (greedy bunch as they want all the jerseys) as 3 of the riders blessed the bottom 10 today.

Here is your bottom 10 for stage 2

198. Adam Hanson (Australia) last (3hr 40min 9sec)
197. Tommy Voeckler (France) same time
196. Nicolas Edet (France) same time
195. Brice Feillu (France) same time
194. Laurent Didier (GER) same time
193. Stjin Devolder (Bel) same time
192. Arranburu Irizar (ESP) same time
191. Louis Meintjes (S. Afr) -6:02
190. Jerome Coppel (france) -6:02
189. Merhawi Kudus (Eritera) -6:02 (94 riders finished at 6:02)

Overall standings after stage two

198. Brice Feillu (France) 3:57:33
197. Laurent Didier (Lux) -0:41
196. Adam Hansen (australia) -0:41
195. Nicolas Edet (France) -1:04
194. Tommy Voeckler (France) -1:04
193. Sstjin Devolder (Bel) -1:09
192. Merhawi Kudus (Eritera) -1:31
191. Mikael Cherel (France) -4:54
190. Armindo Fonseca (France)-6:05
189. Giapaolo Caruso (Italy) -6:06

gpsblake

No coverage of the Lantern Rouge today due to the nasty crashes today. Last place is meant to be fun and today just wasn't for those at the end of the field. We wish those injured and hurt today a speedy recovery and hope to resume coverage at the end of stage 4.

mattm

I forget his name, but he was in the break on day 2; Bora team I think.

gpsblake

Stage 4. After yesterday's decision by the Lantern Rouge referee not to have a podium for yesterdays last place finisher, today is a different story. And with the cobblestones, last place will take some effort as they will be the one's eating the most dirt from the others.

We say goodbye to seven riders: Fabian Cancellara (two broken vertebrae), William Bonnet (broken vertebrae in the neck, very serious), Tom Dumoulin (broken shoulder), Simon Gerrans (broken wrist), Daryl Impey (fractured collarbone), Andreas Schillinger (infection), and Dmitry Kozontchuk (broken collarbone, broken clavicle). Let's hope they have a speedy recovery.

Now for today's race. Today's last place finisher was Alex Dowsett UK on the Movistar Team finishing 9 minutes and 11 seconds behind everyone else, but to his credit, he didn't abandon, which is the spirit of the tour, despite a crash injuring his elbow. After a strong start for the French for the battle of the red, not a single Frenchman finished in the bottom 10 today after having 7 out of the 8 top spots on day one. I guess being on French soil inspired them today. The Aussies managed to collect 2nd, 3rd, and 5th today finishing with a pack of 40. Considering Australia has 10 riders in the tour, to have 3 spots in the bottom 5 is quite an accomplishment.

The overall Red Jersey leader is Michael Matthews Orica-GreenEdge out of Australia, who actually would have been rewarded the red yesterday. Fellow countryman Adam Hansen Lotto-Soudal is now second giving the kangaroos the top two spots for the red jersey. Maybe just like how toilets flow differently in Australia, they take the tour differently down under. The rest of the bottom is a scattering of Europeans.

Stage 4 bottom 10

1. Alex Dowsett UK 5h 55' 02"
2. Michael Matthews AUS -9:11
3. Pieter Weening NED -9:11
4. Adam Hansen AUS -9:11
5. Gregory Henderson AUS -9:11
6. Laurens Ten Dam NED -9:11
7. Tim Wellens GER -9:11
8. Svein Tuft CAN -9:11
9. Johan Van Summersen BEL -9:11
10.Marco Haller AUT -9:11

40 riders finished with -9:11 including notables Ivan Basso, Tommy Voeckler and Richie Porte

Overall standings podium

1. Michael Matthews AUS 13h 24' 24"
2. Adam Hansen AUS -3:53
3. Nicholas Edet FRA -4:16
4. Alex Dowsett UK -5:16
5. Laurent Didier LUX -7:30
6. Laurens Ten Dam NED -7:43
7. Marco Haller AUT -9:14
8. Davide Cimolai ITA -9:17
9. Johan Van Summersen BEL -9:24
10.Frederic Brun FRA -9:50

Leinster

Matthews, Hansen, Ten Dam and Van Summeren were all involved in the stage 3 crash, weren't they? You have to take these opportunities when they arise if you want to be in red in Paris.

jyl

I think getting to the caboose position via crashes is sort of, well, not cheating exactly, but the lazy man's route, no?. Better to really earn your lanterne route by being simply and honestly s-l-o-w.

gpsblake

I wish I hadn’t written the ride to shame in title, as there is no shame at all in competing in the Tour. My apologizes for the thread title.

Stage 5 in the race for red begins as this should be a sprinters stage but as we Lantern Rouge know, any stage can open up some serious time gaps at the end of the field. The wind played a big factor today, just like stage 2 did. We know during the first week, the Lantern Rouge is skewed due to crashes and injury but when we get to the mountains, the true contenders will show their stuff, or lack of it to be more precise.

We say goodbye to 2 riders today: Jack Bauer, NZ (multiple crashes) and Nacer Bouhanni FRA (crash). We wish them a speedy recovery.

Michael Matthews AUS is the current holder of the red jersey for the 2nd day running. He is an excellent rider who has won several races and worn the pink jersey in the Giro at least in 2 different years. He is really hurting with fractured ribs but refuses to quit and continue riding earning him the most aggressive rider for stage 5. I know I couldn’t ride with broken ribs. I can’t even ride with in ingrown toenail. I don’t expect Matthews to retain the red if he gets healthy. Glad to see NBCSN giving him some coverage today. Well done.

Today’s stage 5 autobus had a whopping 58 riders all finishing with the same time, 14:15 behind the front of the field and once again, including top notables Richie Porte, Thomas Voeckler, Lars Boom, and the current red jersey holder, Michael Matthews. Porte is resting himself to help Froome and Voeckler is holding back to win a stage in the mountains.

Today’s last place award goes to Sebastian Langeveld NED, riding for team Cannondale-Garmin with his teammate, Ryder Hesjedal, out of Canada finishing 2nd of last.

Overall Lantern Rouge standings after stage 5.

1. Michael Matthews AUS 18h 17m 39sec
2. Adam Hansen AUS -3:53
3. Nicolas Edet FRA -4:16
4. Alex Dowsett UK -5:16
5. Laurens Ten Dam NED -7:43
6. Johan Van Sumemren BEL -9:24
7. Frederic Brun FR -9:50
8. Bryan Naulleau FR -10:06
9. Thomas De Gendt BEL -10:25
10. Gregory Henderson NZ -10:37

gpsblake

188 riders starts today's stage 6 (191.5km) that adds a rather steep but short climb at the end. It also featured a major crash at the end which will shake up the yellow jersey tomorrow. Also take note of who took over the polka dot jersey today. (no spoilers here)

We say goodbye to [strike]Michael Albasini[/strike] of Switzerland (broken arm). He is the 3rd member of the Australian team Orica-Greenedge to abandon due to injury. Red Jersey holder Michael Matthews is also on this team. Be interesting to see how they perform in the team time trial.

On the podiums for the red....

Today's last place finisher was Michele Scarponi (Italy) of Astana who finished by himself 6:02 behind the winner. A few riders who finished in the bottom were given times 2 seconds behind the winner today due to the crash near the end of the stage. No French in the bottom 10 for the 2nd straight day. 181 out of the 188 riders finished with the peloton officially today in overall time.

Michael Matthews (Australia) wears the overall lantern rouge for the 3rd straight day, now 1h 1m 31sec behind Tony Martin. Alex Dowsett with this 3rd to last today is making a serious charge and now is in 2nd gaining over a minute today. Rounding out the top 3 is another Anglophile, Adam Hansen

----Stage 6 results----
Times don't match the results due to the crash at the end of the stage

188. Michele Scarponi (Italy) 4h 59min 48sec
187. Marco Haller (AUS) -6:00
186. Nathan Haas (AUS) -0:22
185. Louis Meintjes (ZA) -1:17
184. Thomas De Gendt (BEL) -1:17
183. Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) -1:17
182. Ivan the terrible Basso (ITA) -1:17
181. Alex Dowsett (UK) -1:25
180. Jose Herrada Lopez (ESP) -6:00
179. Matteo Trentin (ITA) -6:00

----overall Lantern Rouge----

188. Michael Matthews (AUS) 23h 14m 45sec
187. Alex Dowsett (UK) -3:59
186. Adam Hansen (AUS) -4:07
185. Nicolas Edet (FR) -4:30
184. Laurens Ten Dam (NED) -7:43
183. Thomas de Gendt (GER) -9:00
182. Johan Van Summersen (GER) -9:24
181. Frederic Brun (FRA) -10:04
180. Gregory Henderson (NZ) -10:38
179. Svein Tuft (CAN) -10:43

dbf73

Has anyone read the book Amazon.com: Lanterne Rouge: The Last Man in the Tour de France eBook: Max Leonard: Kindle Store

about this? On my to read list

gpsblake

Thanks for the book recommendation. From what I have read online, the Lantern Rouge was taken very seriously where riders would shadow each other to ensure someone didn't finish behind them. Got so bad, I believe they were considering automatically eliminating the last placed rider in overall at the end of each stage. But that would suck for us. Wouldn't mind seeing NBCSN doing a piece on it.

A big BOZO AWARD to NBCSN who decided auto racing was more important then the TDF today.

We say good bye to [strike]Tony Martin[/strike] of Germany and [strike]Gregory Henderson[/strike] of New Zealand. Martin had a very good week until the crash and was the current yellow jersey holder, shame to see his tour end this way. Thanks for some good racing Tony.

Stage 7, 190.5km, and a pure sprinters stage with no major foul ups today. Hard to believe the tour is already 1/3rd over. Glad to see a nice clean race. But despite that, the winner of daily red is Nathan Haas (Australia) of Team Cannondale- Garmin finished 4:27 behind Rafal Majka (Poland) of Tinkoff-Saxo. Team Sky had 3 riders in the bottom ten today. For the 3rd straight day, no French finished in the bottom 10 and what seems to be common, the Anglophiles are dominating on both ends of the race. Takes a lot to win the stage, have the yellow, finish dead last, and be dead last in the overall. Quite a feat you must say for the Anglophiles.

No major shakeups in the overall as Michael Matthews retains the Lanterne Rouge for the 4th straight day with fellow Anglophiles Alex Dowsett & Adam Hansen. Tommy Voeckler enters the bottom 10 today. We are awaiting stage 10 for some massive time and standings swings as the sprinters will start showing up in bottom ten on a regular basis.

Stage 7 results

186. Nathan Haas (AUS) 4h 33m 7s
185. Rafal Majka (POL) -4:27
184. Albert Timmer (FRA) -4:34
183. Rohan Dennis (AUS) -4:39
182. Leopold Konig (CZ) -4:39
181. Luke Rowe (UK) -4:42
180. Peter Kennaugh (UK) -4:42
179. Manuel Quinziato (ITA) -4:44
178. Louis Meintjes (ZA) -4:44
177. Simon Yates (UK) -4:46

Overall after stage 7

186. Michael Matthews (AUS) 27h 43m 05s
185. Alex Dowsett (UK) -3:59
184. Adam Hansen (AUS) -4:07
183. Nicolas Edet (FRA) -4:30
182. Laurens Ten Dam (NED) -7:43
181. Thomas De Gendt (GER) -9:14
180. Johan Van Summeren (GER) -10:19
179. Federic Brun (FRA) -10:35
178. Svein Tuft (CAN) -10:42
177. Thomas Voeckler (FRA) -10:56

gpsblake

Who better to give you continuing coverage for the race to red then one who rides a slow department store bike?? Now for some bad news



Today's one withdraw was [strike]Luca Paolini[/strike] ITA from Team Katusha due to cocaine showing up in a sample collected on July 7th. If the B sample shows positive, I hope this man never gets to ride the tour again.

Today's 181.5k stage was your typical flat stage until the end of the race with a nasty cat 3 climb at the end that dropped all the sprinters. Damien Gaudin from France earns the honors the daily red with 4 riders from Team Cannondale-Garmin finishing into the bottom 10. The Dutch earned 3 of the bottom 10 today.

For the 4th straight day, Ironman Michael Matthews AUS fighting through injury retains the Lantern Rouge overall with 3 minute 50 second lead over Nicolas Edet FRA who jumps to 2nd from 4th. Some serious time gaps are beginning to form the podium as now a 6:09 gap between 3rd and 4th following a strong ride by Adam Hansen today.

Stage 8 results

185. Damien Guadin FRA 4h 31m 53sec (10:58 behind the winner)
184. Emanuel Buchmann (GER) -0:00
183. Wouter Poels (NED) -0:00
182. Ramunas Navardauskas (LTU) -0:00
181. Sebastian Langeveld (NED) -0:00
180. Nathan Haas (AUS) -0:00
179. Davide Cimolai (ITA) -0:00
178. Dylan Van Baarle (NED) -0:00
177. Kennth Vanbilsen (GER) -1:09
176. Nicolas Edet (FRA) -1:09

Overall after stage 8

185. Michael Matthews (AUS) 32hr 13m 9s (+1h 11:13 behind yellow)
184. Nicolas Edet (FRA) -3:50
183. Alex Dowsett (UK) -3:59
182. Adam Hansen (AUS) -10:08
181. Frederic Brun (FRA) -10:45
180. Svein Tuft (CAN) -11:53
179. Thomas De Gendt (BEL) -13:31
178. Sam Bennett (IRL) -14:45
177. Laurens Ten Dam (NED) -15:43
176. Johan Van Summersen (BEL) -16:02

Tomorrow is the team time trial. I don't see any major changes in the race for red until the HC climb on Tuesday.

pacificaslim

Thanks for these updates - I look forward to them every day. I'm impressed by Matthews, but kind of hoping Tuft can return to his 2013 form and join the ranks of repeat winners.

fietsbob

Heard a radio piece there was a $ prize for Last, but finishing the whole thing Lanterne Rouge, so competitors for that too.

no prizes for DNF.

You can find Lanterne Rouge jerseys via google to buy your own ..

gpsblake

Previous Lanterne Rouge overall winners

We at bikeforums remember following Wim Vansevenant's 3 consecutive wins from 2006-2008. Ji Cheng of China took the red in 2014 but is not here to defend. Svein Tuft is in a strong position to win his 2nd Lanterne Rouge overall. Tomorrow is a well earned rest day before the Pyrenees.

No withdraws today, very good. A 28km time trial is what is in store for today with another nasty little climb at the end.

Today's last place team was beat up Orica-GreenEdge as predicted, finishing +2:26 behind the next team. They only started with 6 riders in the TTT including red jersey holder Michael Matthews, along with Svein Tuft, Adam Yates, Simon Yates, Luke Durbridge, and Pieter Weeing. Losing only 2:26 with a skeleton team is pretty good.

For the overall red, Michael Matthews retains for the 5th straight today gaining 2 minus minutes on many of his competitors. The mountains will give up huge chunks of time at the bottom. As expected, no overall change. Stage 10 will really shake things up.

Overall after stage 9

185. Michael Matthews AUS 32h 50m 22sec (1h 16m 10sec behind yellow)
184. Alex Dowsett UK -3:09
183. Nicolas Edet FR -6:24
182. Adam Hansen AUS -9:58
181. Frederic Brun FR -10:10
180. Svein Tuft CAN - 11:53
179. Johan Van Summersen BEL -14:19
178. Laurens Ten Dam NED -15:24
177. Sam Bennett IR -15:25
176. Thomas De Gendt -16:53

gpsblake

After a rest day, the race for the red continues in the Pyrenees with a massive HC climb at the end. And while the race for yellow is pretty much over barring injury, illness or a scandal, the race for the Lanterne Rouge starts to get interesting here. Or was supposed to be. It's Bastille day and the French will be out to get all the rewards on the day.

We say goodbye to two riders, [strike]Ivan Basso[/strike] ITA (discovery of testicular cancer) and [strike]Lars Boom[/strike] NED, (high fever), winner of stage 5 last year. We hope Basso's cancer was caught early enough for him to have a complete recovery.

And with it being Bastille Day, the French may not have won the stage for 1st, but they took the stage for last. Congratulations to Sébastien Chavanel for this last place performance finishing 29m 15sec behind you know who from the UK. And just with the overall for the yellow, today's stage blew apart the gaps for the red. Michael Matthews AUS continued his dominance in the overall Lanterne Rouge by finishing 2nd to last today and now holds a massive 8 MINUTE 2 SECOND gap over Alex Dowsett UK. Rounding off the overall bottom 4 are Adam Hansen AUS and Svein Tuft CAN giving the Anglophiles a clean sweep of the podium for the overall and 4th place as a security blanket.

But as we know with the red, an 8 minute gap in the Lanterne Rouge easily can be lost with one solid ride in the mountains. Matthews better ensure he continues to finish with the autobus if he wishes to retain. Matthews however as vowed to win a stage later this week, which is bad news for his chances for red.

Matthews vows to win a stage

Stage 10 results

183. Sébastien Chavanel FRA 4hr 51m 22s (+29:15 behind winner)
182. Michael Matthews AUS -2:48
181. Arnaud Demare FRA -2:48
180. Davide Cimolai ITA -5:40
179. Johan Van Summersen BEL -5:54
178. Thoams Leezer NED -5:54
177. Svein Tuft CAN -5:54
176. Ramnunas Navardauskas LTU -5:54
175. Zakkan Dempster AUS -5:54
174. Mark Renshaw AUS -5:54

overall after stage 10

183. Michael Matthews AUS 37h 38m 56s (+1h 42m 47s behind yellow)
182. Alex Dowsett UK -8:02
181. Adam Hansen AUS -14:03
180. Svein Tuft CAN -14:59
179. Johan Van Summersen BEL -17:25
178. Sam Bennett IRE -18:31
177. Nicolas Edet FRA -18:34
176. Frederic Brun FRA -19:57
175. Pieter Weening NED -21:53
174. Matteo Bono ITA -25:49

njlonghorn

After Stage 11, the top 4 stays the same, but the time-gaps narrow and the rest of the top 10 is reshuffled.

Second-place Alex Dowsett (UK) was the last rider on the course today, and narrowed his gap “behind” leader Michael Matthews (AUS) to just 0’ 35”. Adam Hansen (AUS) stays in third, but narrows his gap to 9’ 30”. Svein Tuft (CAN) stays in fourth, now 10’ 26” back.

Previous fifth place Johan Van Summersen (BEL) abandoned, so previous sixth place Sam Bennet (IRE) and seventh place Nicholas Edet (FRA) each move up a spot, to fifth and sixth respectively. (Anglophiles now have the entire top 5!!!!)

Former eighth place Frederic Brun and tenth place Matteo Bono had regrettably strong rides, moving all the way down to 17[SUP]th[/SUP] and 20[SUP]th[/SUP]. Sebastien Chavanel (FRA) had a second consecutive rough day, rocketing into the top 10 in seventh place. Rounding out the top 10 are Pieter Weening (NED), Laurent Didier (NED), and Marco Haller (AUT).

merlinextraligh

There's no shame in it at all. Take Alex Dowsett for example. One the best time trialers in the world. He's at the TDF to help Movistar's team time trial and to help control the peleton sheparding Quintana as far down the road as possible. When he can no longer help Quintana when the road turns up his job is done. At that point, any energy expended past what's necessary to finish within the time cut is wasted energy that could be saved for tomorrow's stage.

If he finishes Lanterne Rouge, it just means he's done his job well.