Friday, July 6, 2012

2012 Tour de France, Stage 6 Results

The biggest talking point of Stage 6, from Epernay to Metz, will be the crash that took out half the peloton with 26 km to go. Not only did it force at least three men to abandon the Tour but it caused the likes of Fränk Schleck, Pierre Rolland, Alejandro Valverde, Mark Cavendish and large number of others to lose significant time. The two big pre-race favorites for the general classification - Cadel Evans and Bradley Wiggins -survived the carnage near Gorze and so too did most of the sprint specialists with the notable exception of Mark Cavendish. Cancellara, Evans, Wiggins, van Garderen, Nibali, and Basso survived. Schleck, Valverde, and a host of others lost 2'09”; Gesink lost 3'31” while Ryder Hesjedal limped to the finish, losing 13'31”, nursing horrible wounds and moral that was shot to pieces because they've essentially been put out of contention for the yellow jersey even before the first mountain stages. Meanwhile , there was still the battle for the prestige of a stage victory taking place up ahead.

Lotto-Belisol had already conceded that it wouldn't have their main sprinter in one hundred percent condition as André Greipel had crashed twice in the early stanza of the stage, but it dominated the front peloton that swallowed up the final escape, Dave Zabriskie inside the final two kilometers. With four men at the front going in to the final turn it seem possible that Greipel would become the first man to take a hat-trick of sprint stages since Mario Cipollini in 1999 but he was injured and not able to fire on all cylinders. Instead it was the other multiple stage winner from 2012 who proved that he's resilient, cunning and super fast - Peter Sagan came off the wheel of the Lotto Express inside the final 300m, just as a member of Vacansoleil's lead-out train snapped a chain. From there the man in the green jersey put daylight between him and the next best in Metz, André Greipel.

"I'm very happy when I can win a stage like today," Sagan said. "Yesterday I was unlucky with the crash but also content that nothing was broken and that I didn't have any injuries. This is already more than I ever expected. It's surprised me, too. I wanted to do well but I need to say that this is only the start of the Tour de France and tomorrow is when the race really begins because it's the climbs and I think that after two weeks, by the start of the third week, it's going to be really hard. I want the green jersey and I think I can hold on to it all the way to Paris."

Lampre had a bad day: nine punctures, fours crashes, Viganò had to abandon, and Scarponi was in the group that finished with a gap of 2'09" to the lead group. Hondo explained the big crash, "Viganò was putting Petacchi's shoe covers in his jersey when some riders ahead slowed down. Davide had only one hand on the handlebar, he couldn't brake properly and he fell in the ditch on the roadside, then all the rest of the group crashed, Scarponi too". Lloyd and Marzano crashed during the stage but were uninjured.

Today's abandons: Wouter Poels, Tom Danielson, Davide Vigano, Mikel Astarloza

Tomorrow: Stage 7, Tomblaine -La Planche des Belles Filles, 199 km. TdF analysis by Jean-François Pescheux:
"Much has been said and written about this one. This stage is obviously making its Tour debut, since it starts from Tomblaine (the main town of the Meurthe-et-Moselle canton) and heads towards the only ski resort in the Haute-Saône, which the Tour has never visited before but where it may return if the course delivers on its promise. There is much more to the stage than just the finish, as the Col de la Grosse Pierre and the Col du Mont de Fourche make it a real leg breaker! The result? This stage is going to hurt. Then the best will duke it out on La Planche des Belles Filles. An 8.5% gradient with certain sections at 13%. A gruelling climb."

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

Photos: Bettini

Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,500 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page . 

No comments:

Post a Comment