Category: General Page 15 of 17

Today’s 225 km stage from Beuvais to Caen was dominated by the breakaway of two riders that began 20 km from the start and continued up until just the last few kilometers from the finish. Normally, the peloton catches up to the break much sooner, and for a time it looked like the break might just have a chance to succeed all the way to finish.

Samuel Dumoulin (FRA / AG2R) and Bjorn Schroder (GER / Milram) broke away along with several other riders at the 20 km mark and finally left the rest of the riders after 39 km. From there, the two helped each other throughout the entire stage (including four category 4 climbs). They were finally caught with under 5 km to the finish line and then the teams battled it out trying to get their sprinters into position for the finish.

Just before the line, all of the sprinters were battling it out on the left side of the road while Rabobank’s Oscar Freire (ESP) shot up the right-hand side of the road all by himself to steal the stage victory from the rest of the sprinters. Looking back at the overhead video, it looked like Freire put on afterburners and that the rest of the riders were standing still. It was quite an amazing athletic accomplishment and Freire’s glee was all over his face when he realized he had done it. Second and third place in the stage went to yellow jersey wearer Tom Boonen (BEL) and Inaki Isasi (ESP) respectively.

At the end of today’s stage, here are the standings in the general classification:

1. Tom Boonen (BEL) Quickstep
2. Michael Rogers (AUS) T-Mobile at 13″
3. Oscar Freire (ESP) Rabobank at 17″
4. George Hincapie (USA) Discovery at 17″
5. Thor Hushovd (NOR) Credit Agricole at 19″
6. Robbie McEwen (AUS) Davitamon-Lotto at 24″
7. Paolo Salvoldelli (ITA) Discovery at 27″
8. Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak at 28″
9. Vladimir Karpets (RUS) Caisse d’Epargne-Illes Balears at 29″
10. Sergei Gontchar (UKR) T-Mobile at 29″

With Tom Boonen (BEL) in yellow and Danielle Bennati (ITA) wearing Boonen’s green jersey, the peloton headed out of Huy, Belgium, today on a 207km stage to Saint-Quentin in northern France. The pack quickly separated into two sections after a break by Egoi Martinez (ESP/Discovery) at the 18.5 km mark , with a five-man break that included Bradley Wiggins (GBR/Cofidis), Christophe Megin (FRA/Francaise des Jeux), Laurent LeFevre (FRA/Bouygues Telecom), and Cedric Coutouly (FRA/Agritubel).

The break could not hold on for the entire stage and by the end, it was a spectacular sprint finish with Robbie McEwen (AUS) coming up with his second stage victory of this year’s Tour de France. Second and third place went to Isaac Galvez (EPS/Caisse d’Epargne/Illes Ballears) and Oscar Freire (ESP/Rabobank) respectively. Thor Hushovd (NOR/Credit Agricole) took fourth, with Tom Boonen (BEL/QuickStep in fifth). It was enough to keep Boonen in the yellow jersey, but Robbie McEwen is now the holder of the green jersey for points.

One interesting note from today’s finish: Just before the finish line, Thor Hushovd’s team was trying to position him for the win, but his lead-out man, Julian Dean (NZL) crashed just moments before the finish putting Hudhovd in an awkward position to try to take the win. Sprints are dangerous business and it seems that Hushovd has been right in the thick of the danger all week!

At the end of today’s stage, here are the standings in the general classification:

1. Tom Boonen (BEL) Quickstep
2. Michael Rogers (AUS) T-Mobile at 05″
3. George Hincapie (USA) Discovery at 05″
4. Thor Hushovd (NOR) Credit Agricole at 07″
5. Egoi Martinez (ESP) Discovery at 10″
6. Robbie McEwen (AUS) Davitamon-Lotto at 12″
7. Paolo Salvoldelli (ITA) Discovery at 15″
8. Danielle Bennati (ITA) Lampre at 15″
9. Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak at 16″
10. Vladimir Karpets (RUS) Caisse d’Epargne-Illes Balears at 17″

T-Mobile’s Matthias Kessler (GER) took today’s tough 216.5km stage from Esch-sur-Alzette to Valkenburg by chasing down long-time stage leader Jose Luis Arrieta (ESP) from the AG2R team and then outsprinting Michael Boogard on the final climb, to win the stage 5 seconds ahead of any other cyclist.

Kessler had made an attempt to win yesterday’s stage, perhaps as a way of showing that the T-Mobile team is still a contender even without its usual Tour leader, Jan Ullrich. But today’s victory was even more sweet considering the fact that the second place finisher in the stage was his T-Mobile teammate, Michael Rogers (AUS).

This place in today’s stage went to Danielle Bennati (ITA), but the big story was Tom Boonen’s fourth place finish in the stage, catapulting the Belgian QuickStep rider to first place in the General Classification and into the yellow jersey. Boonen is also the leader for the green jersey points, but since you can’t wear two jerseys at the same time, second place points leader Danielle Bennati will wear green in tomorrow’s 207km stage from Huy to Saint-Quentin.

At the end of today’s stage, here are the standings in the general classification:

1. Tom Boonen (BEL) Quickstep
2. Micahel Rogers (AUS) T-Mobile at 01″
3. George Hincapie (USA) Discovery at 05″
4. Thor Hushovd (NOR) Credit Agricole at 07″
5. Paolo Salvoldelli (ITA) Discovery at 15″
6. Danielle Bennati (ITA) Lampre at 15″
7. Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak at 16″
8. Vladimir Karpets (RUS) Caisse d’Epargne-Illes Balears at 17″
9. Serhiy Honchar (UKR) T-Mobile at 17″
10. Matthias Kessler (GER) T-Mobile at 17″

In a show of “turnabout is fair play,” Thod Hushovd (NOR used some of George Hincapie’s (USA) own strategy today to retake the yellow jersey and the lead in the 2006 Tour de France. Despite the injury to his arm from yesterday’s Stage 1 finish line run-in with a huge green plastic hand (which required 5 stitches), Hushovd managed to win two third-place intermediate sprints, earning him enough time bonuses to retake the yellow jersey.

Meanwhile, the stage victory went to Australian sprinter Robbie McEwen who timed his final sprint perfectly, beating out Tom Boonen (BEL) and Thor Hushovd for the win. At the line it even looked like Hushovd might have unintentionally bumped McEwen’s rear wheel, forcing Hushovd to swerve and unclip from his left pedal.

This is McEwen’s ninth Tour de France stage win.

At the end of today’s stage, here are the standings in the general classification:

1. Thor Hushovd (NOR) Credit Agricole
2. Tom Boonen (BEL) Quickstep at 05″
3. Robbie McEwen (AUS) Davitamon Lotto at 08″
4. George Hincapie (USA) Discovery at 10″
5. David Zabriskie (USA) CSC at 16″
6. Sebastian Lang (GER) Gerosteiner at 16″
7. Alejandro Valverde (ESP) at 16″
8. Stuary O’Grady (AUS) CSC at 16″
9. Micahel Rogers (AUS) T-Mobile at 18″
10. Paolo Salvoldelli (ITA) Discovery at 20″

In a brilliant display of strategy and tactics, George Hincapie (USA) took over the lead of the Tour de France today, even though today’s 184.5km Stage 1 was won by Jimmy Caspar (FRA) of the Cofidis team.

Although Hincapie said that the day’s strategy did not include going after intermediate sprints (and therefore time bonuses), he saw an opportunity in the final sprint (just 9 km from the finish) and went for it. In doing so, the time bonus he earned was enough to put him in the yellow jersey at the end of the day.

The stage victory went to Jimmy Caspar who won the final sprint over better-known sprinters like Tom Boonen (who wasn’t even in the top 10 finishers today), to just beat out famous sprinters Robbie McEwen (AUS) and Erik Zabel (DE).

The man who started the day in yellow, Thor Hushovd (NOR), got a bit too close to the fans in the last 50 meters or so of the race. He was cut on his right arm by one of the promotional give-aways and had to be taken away in an ambulance. Nevertheless, he will race again on Monday.

So at the end of today’s stage, here is how the General Classification stacks up:

1. George Hincapie (USA) Discovery 04h:18′
2. Thor Hushovd (NOR) Credit Agricole +:02″
3. David Zabriskie (USA) CSC +06″
4. Sebastian Lang (DE) Gerolsteiner +06″
5. Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse D’Epargne-Illes Balears +06″
6. Stuart O’Grady (AUS) CSC +06″
7. Michael Rogers (AUS) T-Mobile +08″
8. Paolo Savoldelli (ITA) Discovery +10″
9. Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak +11″
10. Benoit Vaugrenard (FRA) Francaise de Jeux +11″

The world of cycling did not end yesterday with the announcement that several big-name contenders for the yellow jersey would not ride in this year’s Tour de France. Instead, we were treated to a fantastic 7.1km individual time trial through the streets of Strasbourg, France.

Credit Agricole’s Thor Hushovd (NOR), normally known as a sprinter set a blistering pace and although Team Discovery’s George Hincapie (USA) came close to beating his time, he fell short by a mere fraction of a second. Meanwhile, another pre-race favorite, Phonak’s Floyd Landis (USA) missed his starting time, thereby losing his rhythm and at least 8 or 9 seconds, a margin which could have meant victory for him in today’s stage.

Tomorrow is Stage 1,   184.5km stage from Strasbourg to Strasbourg (including a quick jaunt into Germany). This stage is mostly flat with one small Category 4 climb (Cote de Heiligenstein) at 101km.

At the end of today’s stage, here are the standings in the general classification:

1. Thor Hushovd (NOR) Credit Agricole – 7.1km in 8’17”
2. George Hincapie (USA) Discovery at 01″
3. Dave Zabriskie (USA) CSC at 04″
4. Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner at 05″
5. Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse D’Epargne-Illes Balears at 05″

The cycling world was stunned this morning when it was learned that pre-race favorites Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso will not (repeat: will not) be allowed to race in the 2006 Tour de France. The T-Mobile and CSC riders have now been implicated as having been involved in the Operacion Puerto doping scandal about which I’ve talked on the show for the past several weeks.

Ullrich, along with teammate Oscar Sevilla and team manager Rudy Pevenage were suspended by T-Mobile earlier today, while Basso was banned from this year’s Tour by the organizers of the race.

According to Cycling News, the Spanish Radio station Cadena SER has released a list of 58 professional cyclists implicated in Operacion Puerto. The list includes people who have already been implicated in doping scandals such as Roberto Heras and Tyler Hamilton, a large number of riders from Astana-Wurth (formerly Liberty Seguros), as well as Ullrich, Basso and others.

This is a huge development and will certainly throw the entire peloton into confusion. With the two potential leaders now out of the race, it opens the door for riders such as Landis, Leipheimer, Salvoldelli, Hincapie and others.

I’ll be recording the podcast this evening, so stay tuned . . .

Hello Fellow Freds.

Yes, the rumors are true. I am back from my vacation. Now I just need another week to get caught up! You can expect an episode of The FredCast to appear before the start of the Tour de France. “See” you on the podcast!

In the meantime, please use the new script on the left-hand side of The FredCast home page to vote for the podcast at Podcast Alley. Thanks to listener Ray for the excellent script!

David

Hello Fellow Freds!

This is just a quick note to let you know that I will be on vacation starting on June 16th, so there will be no FredCast during the week of June 19, and possibly no FredCast during the week of June 26. I do promise to produce another show prior to the start of the Tour de France on July 1.

Thanks for your patience while I take my family on a well-deserved vacation.

Of course, if you happen to find yourself in the British Virgin Islands and you see a Moorings catamaran called Catywampus, please dinghy on over. I’d love to meet you and have a drink (or two) together.

While I am gone I hope you ENJOY YOUR RIDES!

David

For the week of June 5, 2006

In this show’s news: Armstrong cleared of doping charges, Dauphine Libere results, preview of Tour de Switzerland, Simoni faces the music over Giro/Basso comments, Liberty Serguros becomes Astana Wurth and more!

In the feature section: Listener Helen on cycling as therapy, Review of Mountain Bike Maintenance and Repair DVD, Fantasy Tour de France, YouTube Bicycling Videos, and a couple of shout outs.
Podsafe Cycling Music: Ocean by Zach Ashton

You can listen to the show directly by clicking here, you can subscribe to it in iTunes, or you can use the RSS feed in whatever pod catching client you use.

Show Notes are available HERE.