2012 Tour de France, Stage 16 Results

Thomas Voeckler began his making a name for himself at the Tour de France during the reign of Richard Virenque who raced with one thing in mind in the twilight years of his career, winning the polka-dot jersey. Back in 2004, Voeckler was the French champion but he would become a leader of the Tour with a long stint in the yellow jersey. Eight years later he is still making a name for himself. He likes to put on a show. He likes to attack. He likes to chase points. He likes to win! He did all those things in an epic stage in the Pyrenees in which he beat everyone in the field to claim a second stage victory in a week. He also picked up enough points to allow him to put on the polka-dot jersey again. And he proved that his fourth overall last year wasn't an utter coincidence. He's a fighter and a performer. And he won with panache on a day when other champions collapsed in the heat. Cadel Evans dropped from fourth overall to seventh and a second title is now absolutely out of the question... at least in 2012. He suffered while the other GC men spent their energy wisely, allowing the opportunistic Voeckler to gain as much time as he need to spin his tricks, but marking each other close to preserve their positions on GC. Bradley Wiggins was well behind the new king of the climbs today but the Brit is still in command of the yellow jersey.

There are two crucial stages yet to come in the 2012 Tour de France: the third high mountaintop finish of this year's edition and the time trial on the final Saturday. After today's stage Bradley Wiggins was asked if he believed the psychological blows he had already delivered to his main overall rivals was enough to make them consider racing for a place on the podium rather than the victory. “Not yet,” said the race leader. “They gave us a good go over on the climbs today and tomorrow is another day, another challenge.”

That said, places on the podium are on offer and not just for first, second and third in the general classification – but the winner of the polka-dot jersey is yet to be determined. There are only four points between Thomas Voeckler and Frederik Kessiakoff and a day with five climbs awaits, including the final one which has double points for first at the finish.

Liquigas-Cannondale and its captain Vincenzo Nibali chose an attacking strategy with Ivan Basso as a super-domestique (hard rhythm on Col d’Aspin and Col de Peyresourde) and with Nibali trying multiple unsuccessful attacks to try to create a gap with Wiggins and Froome on Col de Peyresourde. At the end of the day Nibali was still in third, 2’23” fro Wiggins, 18” from Froome, 3’23” on Van den Broeck and 4’50” on Zubeldia.

"It was a really hard stage," explained Nibali. "Both for the climbs both for the hot weather. I tried to attack with three accelerations to test Wiggins and Froome, then the descent was not suited for an attack so I decided to save energies. At the start I thought to look for a stage victory. I’m happy for my third place in GC and for today’s performance, but I always search for something more. Ivan Basso was a great super-domestique, simply fantastic, as well as the other of my team mates. Tomorrow’s stage will be hard like today but every day that passes becomes more difficult to attack Froome and Wiggins. It will be also the last opportunity for a stage victory: the cherry on the cake of a great Tour".

Note: Fränk Schleck withdrew from the race yesterday, during the rest day, following an adverse analytical finding for the diuretic Xipamide. He has requested that his B sample be analyzed; the A sample comes from the day of Stage 13.

Tomorrow: Stage 17, Bagnères-de-Luchon-Peyragudes , 143.5 km. TdF analysis by Jean-François Pescheux: "Short (143.5 km) but tough! We designed a Pyrenean counterpart to the Alpine stage between Albertville and La Toussuire. But now that we are a mere three days from the finish, if the general classification has not been decided yet this will be the last chance for climbers to build a buffer. There will also be loads of points up for grabs for the mountains classification... The course offers no respite. The first climb is the Col de Menté, famous since 1971, which will be followed by the Col des Ares and the Port de Balès. This will be the first time that the finish is decided on the Plateau de Peyragudes, a ski resort in the Hautes-Pyrénées."

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

Photos: Bettini

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