2012 Tour de France, Stage 12 Results

The domination of riders from Great Britain continues at the Tour de France of 2012. David Millar may have been born in Malta, and raised as a cosmopolitan citizen of the world but he calls himself Scottish and he's registered to race as a Brit. And today he outwitted Frenchman Jean-Christophe Peraud to win his fourth stage of the Tour since making his debut in the race with a win on the opening day in 2000.

It was a happy end for the Garmin-Sharp team after the longest stage of the 99th Tour. After a few days of watching the climbers and GC specialists fight it out for victory and gains in the overall rankings, this was a day when the opportunists seized their chance. Millar was in a quintet that found themselves at the front of the stage after 100km of attacking action. Together with Jean-Christophe Peraud, Egoi Martinez, Robert Kiserlovski and Cyril Gautier, Millar worked up an an advantage of over 12 minutes on the peloton and that allowed the leaving five to concentrate on the stage win and not worry about who was coming from behind. None of the quintet were a threat to Bradley Wiggins' overall lead but there was a small display of strength from the race leader who put in a small surge on one of the early category-one climbs. Still, he ultimately rolled in with the peloton 7'54" behind his future Olympic team mate and he keeps the yellow jersey for another day.

"It's great to win time trials," Millar said afterwards." But, a road stage is much more fun."

In the yellow jersey group there was a sprint between Matt Goss and Peter Sagan for valuable green jersey points. Goss led Sagan to the finish but veered off his line dangerously slowing Sagan. Sagan was visibly angry and immediately protested. Goss had 30 points deducted from his green jersey classification total. Goss, who is second in the green jersey competition is now 56 points behind Sagan, had he not been penalized he would have been 22 points behind.

With Petacchi back in Italy and Scarponi focusing on the coming stages in the Pyrenees, Lampre-ISD decided to save some energy today. Hondo and Bole will be free to go in search of a good result in tomorrow's stage for the sprinters (unless the wind plays a factor).

Note: eight withdrawals for stage 11 as follows:
RENSHAW Mark, MOLLEMA Bauke, RUIJGH Rob, LARSSON Gustav, WESTRA Lieuwe,
PETACCHI Alessandro (outside the time limit yesterday), KRIVTSOV Yuriy (outside the time limit yesterday),
CANCELLARA Fabian (did not start)

Tomorrow: Stage 13, Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux-Le Cap d'Agde, 217km. TdF analysis by Jean-François Pescheux: "Another long stage. This one stretches 217 km from Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux to Cap d'Agde, where the bunch will embrace the Mediterranean. A treasure trove of beautiful TV pictures... and the prospect of a sprint finish, at least among those fast men who have managed not to lose contact on the climb up the Mont-Saint-Clair, 23 kilometres from the finish. In other words, the stage is not a piece of cake and the race could go crazy. Moreover, the wind is always a menace near the Mediterranean, and we already saw what it can do when the Tour visited La Grande Motte in 2009..."

GC:
1 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling 54:34:33
2 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:02:05
3 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:02:23
4 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:03:19
5 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 0:04:48
6 Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) RadioShack-Nissan 0:06:15
7 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:06:57
8 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team 0:07:30
9 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar 0:08:31
10 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:08:51
11 Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan 0:09:29
12 Frank Schleck (Lux) RadioShack-Nissan 0:09:45
13 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale 0:10:49
14 Jerome Coppel (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 0:11:27
15 Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan 0:12:41
16 Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha Team 0:17:21
17 Maxime Monfort (Bel) RadioShack-Nissan 0:17:41
18 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:18:04
19 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team 0:18:55
20 Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team 0:19:02
21 Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 0:20:12
22 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre - ISD 0:20:32
23 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Astana Pro Team 0:20:54
24 Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:27:37
25 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 0:30:41
26 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:31:09
27 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:31:41
28 Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:32:00
29 Michael Rogers (Aus) Sky Procycling 0:33:04
30 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:33:13
31 Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha Team 0:33:59
32 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 0:34:52
33 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Movistar Team 0:40:36
34 Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:42:33
35 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:42:42
36 Alexandr Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:45:54
37 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:49:25
38 Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling 0:51:22
39 George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:52:24
40 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar 0:54:09
41 Dominik Nerz (Ger) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:56:23
42 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha Team 0:57:35
43 Fabrice Jeandesboz (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 0:58:06
44 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:59:11
45 Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 1:00:49
46 Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team 1:00:53
47 Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar 1:01:10
48 Yury Trofimov (Rus) Katusha Team 1:01:23
49 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale 1:02:14
50 Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan 1:02:16
51 Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Astana Pro Team 1:02:18
52 Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin - Sharp 1:03:31
53 Davide Malacarne (Ita) Team Europcar 1:03:54
54 Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:04:58
55 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale 1:05:00
56 Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team 1:05:36
57 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team 1:05:46
58 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 1:06:11
59 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 1:07:00
60 Gorka Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 1:07:55
61 Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack-Nissan 1:08:02
62 Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Katusha Team 1:08:57
63 Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Movistar Team 1:09:03
64 Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:09:23
65 Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 1:09:26
66 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team 1:10:20
67 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Sharp 1:11:03
68 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:12:21
69 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 1:12:29
70 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 1:13:14
71 Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 1:13:16
72 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling 1:13:33
73 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team 1:13:47
74 Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 1:14:12
75 Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 1:15:46
76 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 1:16:04
77 Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre - ISD 1:16:44
78 Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 1:16:48
79 David Millar (GBr) Garmin - Sharp 1:18:32
80 Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 1:19:17
81 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) RadioShack-Nissan 1:20:39
82 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 1:21:29
83 Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:22:12
84 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Movistar Team 1:22:23
85 Michael Morkov (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 1:23:15
86 Stephen Cummings (GBr) BMC Racing Team 1:25:07
87 Jorge Azanza Soto (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 1:25:41
88 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 1:27:23
89 Blel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:28:00
90 Simone Stortoni (Ita) Lampre - ISD 1:28:31
91 David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin - Sharp 1:29:05
92 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 1:29:32
93 Christian Knees (Ger) Sky Procycling 1:30:52
94 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre - ISD 1:31:20
95 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 1:32:29
96 Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team 1:33:16
97 Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Team Europcar 1:33:57
98 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol Team 1:35:30
99 Christophe Kern (Fra) Team Europcar 1:35:37
100 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Team Europcar 1:35:48
101 Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 1:36:28
102 Romain Zingle (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 1:37:05
103 Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha Team 1:37:21
104 Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 1:37:32
105 Federico Canuti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 1:37:50
106 Koen De Kort (Ned) Argos-Shimano 1:38:10
107 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 1:38:57
108 Baden Cooke (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 1:39:07
109 Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 1:39:28
110 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 1:39:38
111 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 1:39:46
112 Kristijan Koren (Slo) Liquigas-Cannondale 1:40:48
113 Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 1:42:01
114 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 1:43:09
115 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team 1:43:21
116 Juan Horrach Rippoll (Spa) Katusha Team 1:43:33
117 Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol Team 1:44:06
118 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 1:44:35
119 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 1:46:25
120 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol Team 1:47:16
121 Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 1:49:02
122 Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 1:49:25
123 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 1:51:40
124 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 1:51:43
125 Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 1:51:59
126 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:52:40
127 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 1:52:46
128 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team 1:53:35
129 Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) FDJ-Big Mat 1:54:22
130 Vincent Jerome (Fra) Team Europcar 1:55:37
131 Julien Simon (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 1:55:39
132 Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa) Movistar Team 1:55:57
133 Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 1:56:22
134 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team 1:56:24
135 Brice Feillu (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 1:56:42
136 Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 1:57:02
137 Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar 1:57:10
138 Jean Marc Marino (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 1:57:28
139 Cédric Pineau (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 1:57:43
140 Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 1:57:48
141 Roy Curvers (Ned) Argos-Shimano 1:57:50
142 Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 1:58:00
143 Francis De Greef (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 1:58:54
144 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Argos-Shimano 1:59:28
145 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 2:00:51
146 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 2:01:36
147 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling 2:02:04
148 Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 2:03:17
149 Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 2:03:27
150 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Argos-Shimano 2:04:25
151 Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team 2:04:35
152 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling 2:06:04
153 Pablo Urtasun Perez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 2:06:35
154 Yann Huguet (Fra) Argos-Shimano 2:06:36
155 Kenny Robert Van Hummel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 2:07:38
156 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:08:23
157 Julien Fouchard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 2:09:21
158 Grega Bole (Slo) Lampre - ISD 2:09:26
159 Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha Team 2:12:11
160 Jan Ghyselinck (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 2:14:09
161 Albert Timmer (Ned) Argos-Shimano 2:15:30
162 Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Garmin - Sharp 2:16:40
163 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 2:21:12
164 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Sharp 2:24:45

Photos: Bettini

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