2012 Tour de France, Stage 17 Results

Movistar had won a stage of the 2011 Tour de France with Rui Costa triumphant in Super Besse but really the Spanish team was always thinking about the return of its true leader Alejandro Valverde who was busy serving a suspension last year. Now that he's back in the race, he's back on the podium. He wasn't the contender for GC honors that Movistar would have hoped for as he's well down the rankings but that meant he was able to put himself in an escape group and chase a victory in the final stage in the Pyrenees of the 99th edition. And it was Costa who helped set up his leader for an impressive return to winning form at the Tour.

Valverde won at Courchevel in his Tour debut in 2005 and took the first yellow jersey with a victory on day one in 2008 and today, in his comeback to the Tour, he gave Spain its second win of the 2012 Tour (after Luis Sanchez) and the first this year for Movistar. He had a lead of two minutes at the base of the final climb and was able to maintain an advantage all the way to the line. Chances are he benefited from the confusion that seemed to exist with the Sky riders who finished second and third; Froome finished second, Wiggins was third and they have increased their advantage over Nibali on GC. Nibali slipped from 2'23” behind at the start of the stage to 2'41”. Van Garderen moves up from sixth to fifth after the collapse of Zubeldia on the final climb and Wiggins will wear the yellow jersey in stage 18.

Now it's out of the mountains and after tomorrow's stage onward to the time trial and then a Sky party in Paris.

Tomorrow: Stage 18, Blagnac-Brive-la-Gaillarde, 222.5 km. TdF analysis by Jean-François Pescheux: "Blagnac-Brive-la-Gaillarde: a 222.5 km hop to bring us a little closer to Paris and give leaders the chance to spin their legs before the Bonneval-Chartres time trial. This is obviously a golden opportunity for sprinters to shine again. I have already said that this Tour is not especially sprinter-friendly, since we have always chucked in one or two climbs to scatter the bunch."

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

Photo: Bettini

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