2012 Tour de France, Stage 20 and Conclusion

Great Brit: Wiggins creates history, the 32-year-old is the first British champion of the Tour de France.

The Sky team was formed at the start of the 2010 season and the intention was clear from the very beginning: to have a British winner of the Tour de France within five years. It's taken just three. Bradley Wiggins had achieved all there is to do as a track rider and he escaped what he called his "comfort zone" and set himself a new challenge after successfully defending his Olympic title in the individual pursuit in 2008. With three gold medals from the Olympics in his trophy cabinet, one each from the solo 4,000m effort (which is no longer on the program for the Games), and one from the team equivalent (from 2008) , he shed some weight and focused on a good performance in stage races. In 2009, the true transformation began when he finished fourth overall in the Tour de France. This prompted a mid-contract transfer to the Sky team (from Garmin) and, after two lost years, 2010 was a disastrous Tour really in every way and followed by a crash that put him out of the race last year, he has achieved the lofty ambitions of Sky.

Wiggins was never placed worse than second in the general classification; he was second in the prologue and the winner of the two long time trials. It was in Besançon and Chartres that he gained most of the time against his team-mate, Christopher Froome, the Kenyan-born Brit who is the runner-up of the 99th Tour. Wiggins and Froome were first and second in stages nine and 19 (separated by 35" and 1'16" respectively) and it was an untimely puncture for the super-domestique in the finale of stage one that cost Froome another 1'25". But the pair from Sky finished first and second overall and created history for British cycling.

Topping things off on the final day, Wiggins led the peloton under the 'flamme rouge' and, as promised did a lead-out supreme for the master of the modern sprinters, Mark Cavendish. Other teams tried to interrupt the desires of Sky to finish the Tour in the best possible way, with a fourth successive victory for the Manx Missle on the Champs-Elysées but the efforts of Saxo Bank, Orica-GreenEdge and Liquigas could do nothing to hold off the charge of the world champion who started his sprint from the moment he came off the Place de la Concorde. It was a long sprint but he held off a fast, late challenge from Sagan.

The comments from Wiggins:
“It's hard to take in as it happens. Every lap of the Champs-Elysées was goosepimple stuff. We had a job to do with Mark today and we were all motivated to do that so it made it go a lot quicker. The concentration was high and for Mark to finish it off like that... well, it couldn't get any better.

“I don't actually know what to say that I haven't already said yesterday.

“It's brilliant. But I'm lost for words. It's a different feeling to 24 hours ago but we've come here and we were committed to what we were doing so there was no sense of, ‘Oh, this is it.' It was so hard once the race started and, right to the end, when I was leading out with a kilometer to go. Right now, at the base of the podium, I'm trying to soak it all in and it's hard to articulate what I'm feeling. It's a strange feeling, really – very strange.

“Now we've come out of our bubble and now we start to realize what it means to all these people who have come over here for the weekend. That turn [near the Arc de Triomphe] was just a sea of Brits and the noise was incredible. It was close to what it was like at the Olympics in Athens when I was coming into the home straight. It's that kind of feeling. It's phenomenal. You couldn't fail to hear it.

“Tonight I go home. Everything turns to the Olympics and I'll be out on the bike tomorrow and I've got an Olympic time trial to try and win. So that's a higher priority than anything else. It's a little weird to leave Paris without a party because it would be nice to spend time with the team and really enjoy it. This has been – as everyone's seen – such a team effort. Even today, it was an incredible group of guys. I've had the privilege to ride with them for the past three weeks; it's been an absolute honor.

“You imagine that you'd feel an enormous sense of relief but you get there and it's a very strange feeling. I remember watching Cadel win it last year and thinking, ‘God, that must be incredible!' But it happens to you and it doesn't feel as you imagine it to feel. It's a strange sensation. It's very surreal.”

Liquigas-Cannondale:
The Italian team obtained two historic results for themselves: third place on the podium thanks to Vincenzo Nibali’s aggressive riding and dogged determination, and the green jersey, proudly worn by Peter Sagan for nearly the entire race (since stage two, 18 days) and his three stage victories.

Nibali has ridden his way into Italian cycling history by becoming the second Italian to take a podium place at each of the Grand Tours, winning the Vuelta a España and two third places at the Giro d’Italia, and now third in the Tour.

"Today is a special day that makes me very satisfied," said Nibali, "It’s been a super battle against very capable opponents. Finishing on the podium means that I was one of the best. Obviously this marks a starting point and not the end for me. I’m happy to accept this placing as I know I still have room to improve and can aim for the top place on the podium in the future. I’ve proved that I can be competitive in all stage races and this is an excellent result. I want to thank everyone on the team from team mates to staff because they’ve always been there for me and supported me in an exceptional way. We’re a special group and despite the indomitable competition we’ve reaffirmed our team as one of the strongest in the world. I’m also very proud to have put Italy on the podium of an important race like the Tour de France. The enthusiasm from the fans has been a major driving force over the weeks: so I dedicate this result to them, my family, my girlfriend Rachele and to everyone who believed in me."


"I achieved results in this Tour that went way beyond what I expected," said Sagan, "And that makes me even happier. I wanted a stage win and I got three, I wanted the green jersey and I won it. I definitely couldn’t have asked for more. It’s been a wonderful experience that has made me understand that I can always try to win, even on the most difficult terrain. Before I started I thought about what the Tour would be like, which difficulties would I encounter, and how could I be competitive against the best riders. My confidence grew day by day and I realized that I could achieve my goals. I’m also happy for the team, which believed in me and really trusted me. This result is an important step in my career and now I just want to keep going in this direction."

Tour director Christian Prudhomme:
"This is the beginning of a new era. Not only are new countries moving to the head of the field, but also young riders have shown great promise for the future. There is clearly a change in cycling. The Anglo-Saxon countries are taking the place of the traditional countries such as Belgium, Italy and Spain. It's amazing how teams like Sky prepare everything . I think Nibali and Evans were not strong enough to break through the dominance of the Sky team.”

Other jersey winners:
Thomas Voeckler claimed the King of the Mountains classification and its polka-dot jersey.
Tejay van Garderen, 23 years old, claimed the Best Young Rider jersey; he finished 5th in GC.

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

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.

2012 Tour de France, Stage 19 Results

The dominant team of the 2012 Tour de France finished the second long time trial with three men in the top five. Any doubts about the ability of Bradley Wiggins were put to rest today when he dominated the 53km time trial from Bonneval to Chartres to win his second stage of the Tour de France and increase his lead in the general classification. He got to throw a victory salute, punching the air with his right hand as he crossed the line to beat the rider in second place overall, Chris Froome, by 1'16.

Wiggins' victory is sealed.

Top 10 Stage 19:
1 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling 1:04:13
2 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:01:16
3 Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:01:50
4 Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 0:02:02
5 Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling 0:02:25
6 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Argos - Shimano 0:02:28
7 Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:02:34
8 Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Movistar Team 0:02:46
9 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 0:02:50
10 Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:03:05

Vincenzo Nibali had a very good time trial finishing 16th at   0:03:38 behind Wiggins which consolidated his hold on third palce and a podium finish tomorrow.

Today's finishing stage analysis by TdF's Jean-François Pescheux, "A little road stage, the shortest of the Tour (120 km). But it will no doubt be an apotheosis, with the traditional finish on the Champs-Élysées. Always the same, always magnificent since 1975. We already know more or less what will happen: a festive start in Rambouillet, two short hours before things really get going, and then a sudden, spectacular acceleration to mark the peloton’s arrival in the Parisian circuit. All of this before 1.5 billion TV viewers, nothing to sneeze at! For the rest, I do not think any brave riders will be able to slip under the radar of the sprinters' teams. On paper, Mark Cavendish can dream of a fourth straight win."

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

Photo: 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.

2012 Tour de France, Stage 18 Results

The stage profile begged for a sprint but at the end of three weeks of racing there were plenty of ambitions yet to be fulfilled. There were 14 teams without a stage win and all of them worked hard to make amends in the race from Blagnac to Brive-la-Gaillarde but ultimately their hopes were destroyed by a magnificent sprint by Mark Cavendish who only blasted into contention in the final kilometer. And it was none other than Bradley Wiggins who started the lead-out, then an early escapee - Edvald Boasson Hagen - who dragged Mark Cavendish up to the last of the breakaways. And then it happened: a stunning piece of sprinting that started 300 meters from the finish line that utterly destroyed the hopes of all others as the world champion blitzed into the lead to give his team a fourth stage win in 2012 and his second for the 99th edition. The escapees could see him take the win, beating Matt Goss and Peter Sagan, and yet Luis Sanchez and Nicolas Roche could do nothing to change the fact that they were beaten men on a day that an escape was just as likely to succeed. Ordinarily the break might have won... but Cavendish is no ordinary rider. He now has 22 Tour stage wins to his name and, going on what we saw today, he'll get another in Paris as well.

Wiggins finished 19th in the stage and will wear the yellow jersey in stage 19. Should he win the yellow jersey in Paris he will be the second track pursuit world champion to win at the Tour de France. The first? Fausto Coppi.

Fränk Schleck announced today that the counter-analysis of his control B-sample has confirmed the presence of Xipamide, a diuretic banned under the World Anti-Doping Agency code. He has said that he will argue that he was poisoned. 

Tomorrow: Stage 19, an individual time trial of 53 km, Bonneval-Chartres.

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

Photo: 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.

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

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.

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

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.

2012 Tour de France, Stage 15 Results

It took 90 minutes for the escape group to form and, perhaps because of the early exertions, the impetus was gone from the peloton once six men found themselves at the front of the 15th stage yesterday. From the halfway mark, it was obvious that the winner in Pau would be one of the six escapees. Four of the selection had previously enjoyed success at the Tour, with two of the Frenchman in the move - Thomas Voeckler and Pierrick Fedrigo - having claimed three stages each in the past. Once the escape was well clear the six opportunists: Voeckler, Fedrigo, along with Samuel Dumoulin, Christian Vande Velde, Dries Devenyns and Nicki Sorensen worked well together all the way to the final 10.5km. That's when there was a brief bout of attacking action that ultimately put Fedrigo in the lead along with Vande Velde. Unlike the finish in Le Cap d'Agde, however, the Garmin-Sharp escape representative didn't have the muscle to overcome his lead-out man. Fedrigo started the final sprint and stayed in front all the way to the line to take his second victory in Pau and his fourth stage success in the Tour.

The peloton continued to lose time all the way to the finish and, Greipel eventually led the bunch home 11'50” behind Fedrigo.

Wiggins finished near the front of the bunch in 22nd place and he will continue to wear the yellow jersey in stage 16 on Wednesday, after today's rest day.

Note: withdrawals: LANCASTER Brett Daniel, CHAVANEL Sylvain,, HUTAROVICH Yauheni, VAN HUMMEL Kenny Robert, JEROME Vincent, and BERNAUDEAU Giovanni.

Today: rest day in Pau. Tomorrow: Stage 16,Pau -Bagnères-de-Luchon , 197 km. TdF analysis by Jean-François Pescheux: "Pau, a stronghold? Pau, a strategic place? On today's menu, a 197 km classic succession of great Pyrenean cols: the Aubisque, Tourmalet, Col d'Aspin and Peyresourde. As Christian Prudhomme said, a mere four days from the finish, this stage will turn the thumbscrews on the peloton! Moreover, such a course is exactly my idea of a true mountain stage: not with a summit finish, which tends to lock up the race a bit, but an up-and-down course which calls for a mastery of all aspects of cycling."

A day of rest today will serve the riders well tomorrow but nothing can really prepare someone for the prospect of what it's like to race a stage of the Tour de France with four huge mountain passes. The race from Pau to Luchon-de-Bagnères ends in a valley town and it's one that all riders would be afraid of. Those who are tired will suffer enormously on the challenging 197km route that takes in four mythical mountain passes – the Aubisque, Tourmalet, Aspin and Peyresourde; those who are challenging Bradley Wiggins for the yellow jersey will be worried that he's shown no sign yet of cracking; and the race leader himself we will concerned about what is bound to be a volley of attacks up and down the climbs that have helped create the legend of the Tour since they made their debut on the itinerary 102 years ago.

It might not be a summit finish but this is arguably the Queen Stage of the 99th Tour de France when there's a lot at risk but also big prizes to be won.

With five stages remaining (two mountain, one rolling, one TT and then Champs-Elysees) in the Tour, Liquigas-Cannondale captain Vincenzo Nibali wants to capitalize on getting the best possible result. "It’s been a great Tour up to now but I’m not going to settle for that. I’m in third place and that’s definitely a major achievement but if I get the chance to improve on that I will. There are still enough miles to make my mark, attack and invent something. The next two stages will be decisive in this sense. I don’t know them very well but Basso has been an excellent leader. Tomorrow’s downhill finish is intriguing but the descent doesn’t appear to be too technical so I don’t know how much difference it will make. Thursday’s stage seems better suited to attacks. Sky and its key men Wiggins and Froome have shown day after day that they own the race, but you can’t predict what sort of situations will happen. Alliances might be created that are difficult to control. I still expect Van den Broeck to come out fighting, as will Evans and other riders. Together we can try to undermine their formidable hold on the race. And then we’ll have to see who plays which role in Team Sky. Wiggins offers more guarantees and has the time trial on his side. However he prefers a consistent pace and could suffer with changes in rhythm on the climbs: Froome is a stronger climber so what will he do if we drop Wiggins?"

Nibali continued, "My ambitions today are exactly the same as they were at the start. However I am realistic and even though I’ll try I need a monumental feat to win the yellow jersey. I’ll be looking at who’s in front of me and behind me over the next couple of days. My advantage over Evans isn’t that reassuring, and I think it will come down to how much is left in the tank rather than ability in the time trial. I’m calm, I feel good and I’m motivated to do well: all the conditions are right to wrap up this Tour with a great result."

Meanwhile, if Peter Sagan continues to hold the Green Jersey all the way to Paris he is set to win a Porsche based upon a bet he made with Liquigas President Paolo Zani.

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

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.