RichinPeoria

General Classification after Stage 14:

RichinPeoria

Tour-Columbia gamble and lose

BESANCON, France, July 18 (Reuters) - The Team Columbia of Mark Cavendish and George Hincapie made a bold gamble in the 14th stage of the Tour de France in Besancon on Saturday and ended up losing out on everything.

American Hincapie missed the yellow jersey by just five seconds after taking part in the day’s breakaway, which reached the finish line five minutes and 20 seconds before the main pack including Tour leader Rinaldo Nocentini.

Hincapie, a close friend and former team mate of compatriot and seven times Tour champion Lance Armstrong, was 5:25 behind the Italian at the start.

Columbia also seriously hampered the chances of Cavendish winning the points classification’s green jersey in Paris by letting 12 riders move away and grab precious points on the finish line.

It went from bad to worse for the German team at the finish when Cavendish was disqualified from the day’s sprint for apparently pushing Norway’s Thor Hushovd, his main rival for the green jersey.

The Briton is now 18 points behind Hushovd in the points standings with only one flat stage remaining, the final one to the Champs-Elysees.

“We had a lot of different issues to deal with today — missing the yellow jersey by five seconds and not winning the green. That’s a lot,” said Columbia team chief Rolf Aldag.

The German team director blamed Garmin-Slipstream for chasing in the finale to prevent Hincapie from seizing the Tour lead, accusing the American team of “taking things personally”.

“I can’t comment on their sporting decisions. I thought we had a sporting rivalry. But they took it personal and it destroys the sport,” Aldag added.

Garmin declined to comment on their strategy at the end of the stage.

ARMSTRONG’S SUPPORT

Hincapie received the support of Armstrong, whom he helped win seven Tours de France.

“No one, and I mean no one, wanted George in yellow more than me. Our team rode a moderate tempo to put him in the jersey by at least two minutes,” said Armstrong.

“(Nocentini’s) AG2R said they would not defend (the jersey) then they started to ride. Until 10km to go, he (Hincapie) was solidly in yellow until Garmin put on the gas and made sure it didn’t happen,” the American said on www.twitter.com.

His Astana team chief Johan Bruyneel, who also coached Hincapie for several seasons, said Garmin would probably have to pay for their attitude in the stage finale.

“To me, this will not stay without consequences. It’s none of our business, but Garmin had no interest whatsoever in chasing unless they wanted to prevent an American from taking the yellow jersey,” he said.

Bruyneel said it was in his team’s interest to have Hincapie in the yellow jersey in the Alps as it would force Columbia to control attacks from Astana’s main rivals—the Schleck brothers, Andy and Frank, and Australian Cadel Evans.

Armstrong and Hincapie have never made it a secret that they remained great friends and there were even allegations Hincapie had warned his former leader when a Columbia-led split took place in the 4th stage to La Grande Motte.

RichinPeoria

Combo of the day made on July 18, 2009 during the 199 km and fourteenth stage of the 2009 Tour de France cycling race run between Colmar and Besancon, shows, From L, top, Russian cycling team Team Katusha (KAT)'s Serguei Ivanov of Russia jubilating on the finish line after winning the stage, 2007 Tour de France winner and Kazakh cycling team Astana (AST)'s leader Alberto Contador of Spain (2ndL) ridding with teammate, Seven-time Tour de France winner and Kazakh cycling team Astana (AST)'s Lance Armstrong of the United States, US cycling Team Columbia-High Road (THR)'s George Hincapie of the United States ridding in a breakaway and yellow jersey of overall leader, French cycling team AG2R-La Mondiale (ALM)'s Rinaldo Nocentini celebrating his yellow jersey of overall leader on the podium

RichinPeoria

Combo of the day made on July 19, 2009 the 207,5 km and fifteenth stage of the 2009 Tour de France cycling race run between Pontarlier and Verbier (Switzerland), shows From L, top, 2007 Tour de France winner and Kazakh cycling team Astana (AST)'s leader Alberto Contador of Spain jubilating on the finish line after winning the stage and getting the yellow jersey of overall leader, Seven-time Tour de France winner and Kazakh cycling team Astana (AST)'s Lance Armstrong of the United States (C) ridding with Belgian cycling team Silence-Lotto (SIL)'s leader Cadel Evans of Australia and Swiss cycling team Cervelo (CTT)'s rider Carlos Sastre of Spain (L), Contador ridding in the last kilometers and Contador jubilating on the podium

RichinPeoria

General Classification after Stage 15

RichinPeoria

Combo of the day made on July 21, 2009 during the 159 km and sixteenth stage of the 2009 Tour de France cycling race run between Martigny and Bourg Saint-Maurice, shows From L, top, Spanish cycling team Euskatel-Euskadi (Eus)'s Mikel Astarloza of Spain jubilating on the finish line as he wins the stage, the pack ridding, seven-time Tour de France winner and Kazakh cycling team Astana (AST)'s Lance Armstrong of the United States ridding with teammate, 2007 Tour de France winner and Kazakh cycling team Astana (AST)'s leader Alberto Contador of Spain and Contador ridding with Armstrong and Kazakh cycling team Astana (AST)'s Andreas Kloden of Germany (R), Danish cycling team Team Saxo Bank (SAX)'s leader Andy Schleck of Luxemburg (L background), Danish cycling team Team Saxo Bank (SAX)'s Frank Schleck of Luxemburg and US cycling team Garmin-Slipstream (GRM)'s Bradley Wiggins of Great Britain


General Classification after Stage 16:

RichinPeoria

Laggard

1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 72:27:09
2 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:02:26
3 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:03:25
4 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana 0:03:55
5 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 0:04:44
6 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin - Slipstream 0:04:53
7 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas 0:05:09
8 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Slipstream 0:08:08
9 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Française des Jeux 0:09:19
10 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:10:50

RichinPeoria

Combo of the day made on July 22, 2009 during the 169 km and seventeenth stage of the 2009 Tour de France cycling race run between Bourg-Saint-Maurice and Le Grand Bornand, shows, From L, top, 2007 Tour de France winner and Kazakh cycling team Astana (AST)'s leader Alberto Contador of Spain celebrating his yellow jersey of overall leader on the podium, Danish cycling team Team Saxo Bank (SAX)'s rider Frank Schleck of Luxemburg (R) ridding with Alberto Contador of Spain (C) and Danish cycling team Team Saxo Bank (SAX)'s leader Andy Schleck of Luxemburg, the pack ridding and Contador, and Schleck brothers arriving on the finish line

General Classification after Stage 17:








Combo of the day made on July 23, 2009 in the 40,5 km individual time-trial and eighteenth stage of the 2009 Tour de France cycling race run around Annecy, shows from L, top, yellow jersey of overall leader, 2007 Tour de France winner and Kazakh cycling team Astana (AST)'s leader Alberto Contador of Spain, competing, Italian cycling team Liquigas (LIQ)'s Alessandro Vanotti of Italy competing, Seven-time Tour de France winner and Kazakh cycling team Astana (AST)'s Lance Armstrong of the United States listens to the countdown before starting his time-trial and Contador jubilating on the podium

General Classification after Stage 18:



Contador wins Tour's 18th stage; Lance up to 3rd

ANNECY, France (AP) - Alberto Contador all but assured his second Tour de France victory Thursday, winning the race's final time trial while Lance Armstrong struggled with fatigue but moved up one spot to third place.

Contador, Armstrong's Astana teammate and the 2007 Tour champion, increased his overall lead in the 18th stage in which cyclists rode against the clock on the 25-mile course in and around Annecy. The three-week race ends Sunday on the Champs-Elysees in Paris.

Contador finished in 48 minutes, 31 seconds, beating Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland by three seconds. Russia's Mikhail Ignatiev was third, 15 seconds back.

"I went all out," said Contador, adding his earpiece radio linking him to team managers stopped working during the stage and he was worried about Cancellara's skill at time trials.

"Of course, what I especially wanted was to think about general class. A stage victory was less important," he said. "I'm very happy. I didn't expect it."

Armstrong was 16th, 1:30 behind. But he easily overcame a 30-second deficit to Frank Schleck, who began the day in third place but slipped to sixth after finishing 2:34 behind Contador. Armstrong had "mixed emotions" about his ride.

"Sixteenth in a time trial is not a good result," he said. "But my ambition is to get on the podium, so I have to be happy with that."

Schleck and younger brother Andy had bumped Armstrong from second place to fourth a day earlier in the last punishing Alpine stage.

"I suffered," Armstrong said. "I probably started too hard and maybe I was just empty from yesterday and those cramps I suffered at the end of the (17th) stage."

Afterward, Armstrong announced that he and Radio Shack are forming a new team that will compete in next year's Tour. Armstrong came out of retirement this season to ride for the Kazakh-funded squad headed by his longtime mentor Johan Bruyneel, who led him to his seven straight Tour wins.

Overall, Contador leads Andy Schleck by 4:11. Armstrong is 5:25 back and Britain's Bradley Wiggins is fourth, 5:36 behind. Germany's Andreas Kloeden, another Astana rider, is fifth, 5:38 back. Frank Schleck is sixth, 5:59 behind.


Alberto Contador won Thursday's 18th stage to retain the overall lead. (Laurent Rebours / Associated Press)

While the stage was mostly flat, riders had to contend with the Bluffy pass climb, which snaked upward for more than two miles with magnificent vistas over the hill-ringed lake. Several riders, including British time-trial specialist David Millar, said the layout favored climbers because of that ascent.

"I felt like I had stopped dead in my tracks," Millar said.

The race started under cloudy skies as riders went one by one down the start ramp. The sun eventually broke through, but rain doused the course by late afternoon and left patches of water on the roads.

Armstrong was relatively strong at the start, only 29 seconds slower than Contador through the second intermediate time check at the 25-kilometer mark. His main time deficit came on Bluffy, where he was 1:12 behind Contador.

"I felt good at the beginning, I felt smooth," he said. "But there was a tail wind, so maybe everyone felt good. I just wasn't that strong on the climb."

After four straight tough stages, riders get a relatively easier trip Friday, a 111-mile course from Bourgoin-Jallieu to Aubenas. The biggest challenge left is an uphill finish at Mont Ventoux on Saturday, a day before the finish.

The threat for Armstrong is again likely to be the Schleck brothers.

"I want to protect my position with Andy climbing so well," Armstrong said, "Just got to watch for the moves and don't let him get away."

RichinPeoria

RichinPeoria

Combo of the day made on July 24, 2009 during the 195 km and nineteenth stage of the 2009 Tour de France cycling race run between Bourgoin-Jallieu and Aubenas, shows US cycling Team Columbia-High Road (THR)'s leader Mark Cavendish of Great Britain celebrating on the finish line, yellow jersey of overall leader, 2007 Tour de France winner and Kazakh cycling team Astana (AST)'s leader Alberto Contador of Spain celebrating on the podium, the pack ridding past cows and Cavendish making the sign "five" for five stage victories



General Classification after Stage 19:






Combo of the day made on July 25, 2009 in the 167 km and twentieth stage of the 2009 Tour de France cycling race run between Montelimar and Mont Ventoux, showing, From L, top, Dutch cycling team Rabobank (RAB)'s Juan Manuel Garate of Spain jubilating on the finish line ahead of US cycling Team Columbia-High Road (THR)'s rider Tony Martin of Germany (L), Second placed in the overall standings, Danish cycling team Team Saxo Bank (SAX)'s leader Andy Schleck of Luxemburg (C) ridding with yellow jersey of overall leader, 2007 Tour de France winner and Kazakh cycling team Astana (AST)'s leader Alberto Contador of Spain (L), and seven-time Tour de France winner and Kazakh cycling team Astana (AST)'s Lance Armstrong of the United States, From R, 2007 Tour de France winner and Kazakh cycling team Astana (AST)'s leader Alberto Contador of Spain arriving at Mont Ventoux with Danish cycling team Team Saxo Bank (SAX)'s leader Andy Schleck of Luxemburg, seven-time Tour de France winner and Kazakh cycling team Astana (AST)'s Lance Armstrong of the United States, Danish cycling team Team Saxo Bank (SAX)'s Frank Schleck of Luxemburg and Italian cycling team Liquigas (LIQ)'s rider Roman Kreuziger of Czechoslovakia, and Contador jubilating on the finish line at the end of the stage.

General Classification after Stage 20

RichinPeoria

Armstrong has no regrets about 3rd place in Tour
AVIGNON, France (AP)—Lance Armstrong has no regrets about finishing third at the Tour de France.

On the eve of the final stage on the Champs-Elysees, the seven-time champion told The Associated Press in an interview that he did as well as could be expected. He offered high praise for his Astana teammate Alberto Contador, who is headed for his second Tour title.

Armstrong said Saturday that even at his peak from 1999-2005 he might have lost to his Spanish teammate.

“Contador is that good, so I don’t see how I would have been higher than that,” he said.

Armstrong returned to the Tour following a 3 1/2 -year retirement with the goal of drawing attention to his campaign to fight cancer, and to quiet the critics who doubted his seven Tour titles were doping-free.

The 37-year-old Texan was second at one point this year after missing the yellow jersey by a fraction of second, but heads to the ceremonial finish in Paris on Sunday in third place.

Of 26-year-old Contador, Armstrong said: “I think his performance this year would have beaten my performances in ’01, and ’04 and ’05.”

He added that the Spaniard was even better than Jan Ullrich, one of Armstrong’s biggest rivals during the years that he won the Tour.

“Absolutely,” he said. “Far better.”

Armstrong, however, expects to perform better in 2010, and perhaps even beat Contador.

“I’m staying positive,” Armstrong said. “My level will be a little better next year. If he has the same level next year that he has this year, (it will be) difficult to beat him. That’s just a fact, a scientific fact.”

But Armstrong expects to come to the Tour with a strong team, including current Astana teammates Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Kloeden, and together they could challenge Contador.

“There’s a lot of variables there,” Armstrong said. “My condition, his condition, team tactics, tactics of the race. … But that’s why we do the race, so we know.”

Aside from his crash in March when he broke his collarbone, Armstrong, who is expected to ride the Tour next year with his new Radio Shack team, said he is happy with the way his comeback has turned out.

“I wouldn’t change anything about my performance, the tactics, about the preparation,” he said during the interview in his hotel room. “Sure, we’ll change some things next year, but looking back at this season, we did everything we wanted to do.”

Before Sunday’s final stage—a largely ceremonial ride into Paris, Contador all but sealed his second Tour de France victory by keeping the yellow jersey after Saturday’s punishing stage. Armstrong remained in third overall, 5 minutes and 24 seconds behind.

Asked about his plans beyond 2010, Armstrong answered that he would still be involved in the fight against cancer and in cycling.

“I mean, the two passions in my life, aside my family, are cycling and cancer,” the cancer survivor said. “And I’ve got to stay involved in both of those. My life needs those things. And, I think, those things need me.”

Following his last Tour victory in 2005, Armstrong railed against the “cynics and the skeptics” who believed his triumphs were tainted by doping.

“There was a ton of doubters, and a ton of critics, negative people in the press room, I was sick of that. They are still there. I don’t think they are as many as they were, but they are still there.”

A month after his retirement, L’Equipe sports daily reported that Armstrong’s “B” samples from the 1999 Tour contained EPO—a banned blood-booster. Armstrong insisted back then that he was the victim of a “witch hunt,” and a Dutch lawyer appointed by the UCI later cleared him.

Armstrong said his third place on this year’s Tour could help silence his doubters.

“If you are on a fence and you are objective about it, and you look at a 38-year-old athlete, tested 50-plus time this year, more than anybody else. … The only thing you can say is you have a super secret mystery drug. …”

He then dismissed his doubters with a profanity.

Laggard

Third place is the seond loser. Suck on that, Rich.

See ya next year!

RichinPeoria

The winner of 2009 Tour de France cycling race, Kazakh cycling team Astana (AST)'s leader Alberto Contador of Spain (C) poses with second placed in the overall standings, Danish cycling team Team Saxo Bank (SAX)'s leader Andy Schleck of Luxemburg (L) as third placed, seven-time Tour de France winner and Kazakh cycling team Astana (AST)'s Lance Armstrong of the United States leaves the podium on July 26, 2009 on the famous Champs-Elysees Avenue in Paris, at the end of the 160 km and last stage run between Montereau and Paris Champs-Elysees. 2007 Tour de France winner and Kazakh cycling team Astana (AST)'s leader Alberto Contador of Spain won the 2009 Tour de France ahead of Danish cycling team Team Saxo Bank (SAX)'s leader Andy Schleck of Luxemburg and Seven-time Tour de France winner and Kazakh cycling team Astana (AST)'s Lance Armstrong of the United States.

Johnny Colnago

Lance's body language on the podium was interesting. Kept leaning towards the #1 position and tapping his leg and looking bored through out the entire presentation. Then he skipped the team celebration to go get drunk with Radio Shack reps. lol

He should stick to mounting women that look like his mom and give up mounting bicycles.

erader

you know they played the danish national anthem by accident. contador took it real well. but that's what you would expect from a pro.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZKyXWjyBy8&e

ed rader

Laggard

third place is the second loser!

Tulex

Funny thing. You spend a lot of time dissing LA, he doens't even have a thought about you. Maybe someone should tell LA what you think, I'm sure he would find it very important.

richard_dupp

Hmmm, just wondering, where did you finish? I would be proud to finish dead last in the TdF, that is still a most exclusive club.

spezi3

Yep. It's always better to be the last finisher than have a DNF. Anyone who can finish a Grand Tour is amazing IMO, even the last place finisher.