Phew! I don’t know about you, but I would be tired from all that riding and racing. And so is the peloton. So today is a day off for the riders as they travel down to Bordeaux for tomorrow’s 169.5 km Stage 9 from Bordeaux to Dax.
T-Mobile’s riders are still safe atop the General Classification in the 2006 Tour de France after today’s 181 km stage from St-Meen-le-Grand to Lorient on the Brittany coast. The stage was won by Frenchman Sylvain Calzati who broke away from the peloton along with five other riders after 47 km in the race. Most of the other riders (including CSC’s Dave Zabriskie) were unable to maintain the pace, but Calzati refused to get reeled-in by the main pack and went ahead to solo victory, more than 2 minutes ahead of the sprinters.
Robbie McEwen was the fourth place finisher in today’s race, but it was enough for him to maintain hold on the green jersey. As for the race for yellow jersey, the GC remains essentially unchanged.
At the end of today’s stage, here are the standings in the general classification:
1. Sergei Honchar (UKR) T-Mobile
2. Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak at 1’00″
3. Michael Rogers (AUS) T-Mobile at 1’08″
4. Patrik Sinkewitz (GER) T-Mobile at 1’45″
5. Marcus Fothen (GER) Gerosteiner at 1’50″
6. Andreas Kloden (GER) T-Mobile at 1’50″
7. Vladimir Karpets (RUS) Caisse d’Epargne-Illes Balears at 1’52″
8. Cadel Evans (AUS) Davitamon-Lotto at 1’52″
9. Dave Zabriskie (USA) CSC at 1’53”
10. Denix Menchov (RUS) Rabobank at 2’00”
If you weren’t expecting to see a T-Mobile jersey on this page (signifying the leader of the Tour de France), then you probably aren’t alone. With Jan Ullrich out of the race, it seemed to many commentators like T-Mobile was just along for the ride in this year’s Tour. Sergei Gonchar (UKR) and Michael Rogers (AUS) proved them all wrong today. At the end of the day, T-Mobile riders held 4 of the top 10 spots in the general classification.
In fact, today was a day for surprises throughout the peloton as the 52 km individual time trial literally blew apart the general classification. Numerous riders were off their form today (especially American Levi Leipheimer who was 96th in the stage) and fell way behind in the final stage standings, while several riders (Sergei Gonchar, Floyd Landis (USA) and Michael Rogers) did extremely well and catapulted themselves right up to the top. This could prove to be a pivotal day in the 2006 Tour de France as the peloton prepares itself for the Pyrenees mountains which loom large in the next few days.
In another note, Team CSC’s Bobby Julich (USA) pulled out of the Tour as he crashed in the middle of the stage and appeared to have broken his wrist.
At the end of today’s stage, here are the standings in the general classification:
1. Sergei Honchar (UKR) T-Mobile
2. Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak at 1’00″
3. Michael Rogers (AUS) T-Mobile at 1’08″
4. Patrik Sinkewitz (GER) T-Mobile at 1’45″
5. Marcus Fothen (GER) Gerosteiner at 1’50″
6. Andreas Kloden (GER) T-Mobile at 1’50″
7. Vladimir Karpets (RUS) Caisse d’Epargne-Illes Balears at 1’52″
8. Cadel Evans (AUS) Davitamon-Lotto at 1’52″
9. Denis Menchov (RUS) Rabobank at 2’00”
10. Dave Zabriskie (USA) CSC at 2’03”
Some of the previous top ten leaders have moved to the following spots:
13. Paolo Salvoldelli (ITA) Discovery at 2’10”
17. George Hincapie (USA) Discovery at 2’30”
21. Tom Boonen (BEL) QuickStep at 3’15”
57. Robbie McEwen (AUS) Davitamon-Lotto at 6’02”
82. Thor Hushovd (NOR) Credit Agricole at 7’21”
Robbie McEwen (AUS) did it again today, winning his third stage of the 2006 Tour de France, edging out Italy’s Danielle Bennati and yellow jersey wearer Tom Boonen (BEL) at the finish line of today’s 189 km stage from Lisieux to Vitre.
A three-man break took of after about 74 km and they weren’t caught again until there were only 4 km left in the day’s racing. By then, it was up to the teams to get their sprinters into the best position for the final surge to the line. In the end, Robbie McEwen credited his lead-out man, Geert Steegmans (BEL) for putting him the optimum spot from which to launch his victorious assault.
At the end of today’s stage, here are the standings in the general classification:
1. Tom Boonen (BEL) Quickstep
2. Robbie McEwen (AUS) Davitamon-Lotto at 12″
3. Michael Rogers (AUS) T-Mobile at 21″
4. Oscar Freire (ESP) Rabobank at 25″
5. George Hincapie (USA) Discovery at 25″
6. Thor Hushovd (NOR) Credit Agricole at 27″
7. Paolo Salvoldelli (ITA) Discovery at 35″
8. Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak at 36″
9. Vladimir Karpets (RUS) Caisse d’Epargne-Illes Balears at 37″
10. Sergei Gontchar (UKR) T-Mobile at 37″
I just learned that nominations are open for the 2006 PodCast Awards. It will only take a second of your time to CLICK HERE and nominate The FredCast in the Sports category. You will be asked for the name of the podcast (The FredCast) and the web site (https://thefredcast.com). You will also be asked for your full name and e-mail address.
If the show gets enough nominations, then The FredCast will be considered for the next round which is the actual voting phase. A nominated podcast will be graded on number of nominations (50%), quality of sound (15%), quality of podcast delivery and show format (15%) and relevance of content (20%). It seems to me that The FredCast would be a lock for the last three, but now we just need the nominations!!
Once the top 5 nominees in each category are selected by the review committee and added to the website, voting will commence. This should take place toward the end of July.
Thanks for voting!
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″
For The Week of July 3, 2006
In this show’s news: The Tour de France is underway!; News from the Prologue through Stage 3; More News and Thoughts on Doping; Garmin delays Mac Support; a new hour record; and more.
In the feature section: ‘Bents on the FredCast; PocketPC program for tracking Le Tour; Tour de France viewing guide; Watching cycling.tv on an Intel-based Mac; Update on FredCast listener’s AIDS LifeCycle ride; When to replace a helmet; Upcoming rides and events; Shouts outs.
Podsafe Cycling Music: Independence Day by Jesta
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.
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″