July 11, 2012

Gautier Climbs into Point d’Appui for Tour de France

The peloton climbing into the Alps on Stage 10

Cyril Gautier

Cyril Gautier of Europcar climbed 70 positions from his general classification standing after Stage 9 to gain the Point d’Appui by the end of Stage 10 of the Tour de France. Gautier was in 158th place in GC after the time trials on Monday, but finished well up on the mountainous Stage 9 to find his way to the fulcrum. His team leader, of course, Thomas Voeckler won the stage.

Les Cuspides after Stage 9 rode in opposite directions with Michael Morkov moving up in the standings and Lars Bak slipping back an equidistant.

On the stage, Fedrigo Pierrick came in at the exact middle of the pack on a day in which the riders hit their first beyond-category climb, going over the Col du Grand Colombier about three-fifths of the way through the day.

July 9, 2012

After Near Misses, Morkov and Bak Find Les Cuspides

Michael Morkov

Lars Bak

Lars Bak of Lotto-Belisol and Michael Morkov of Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank are the new general classification Cuspides after Stage 9 of the 2012 Tour de France. They finished 89th and 90th respectively in the overall time in a field of 178, both of them coming home more than 38 minutes behind the leader, Bradley Wiggins, and more than 40 minutes ahead of the new Lanterne Rouge, Jimmy Engoulvent of Saur-Sojasun.

Morkov has danced around the Point d’Appui position the last couple of stages, working his way to the middle from deep in the general classification after Stage 1. His early work in the tour to join breaks and then grab the polka dot jersey counted for naught in the GC contention. However, he is proving to have some sticking power and has found his way to Les Cuspides. Bak has made a similar progression, although his proximity to the fulcrum has been wider and more unpredictable than that of Morkov.

On the stage, Christian Vande Velde of Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda finished 89th and Martin Velits of Omega Pharma-Quickstep finished 90th to take Les Cuspides on the day. Velits has come close to GC contention for the Point d’Appui as well, especially during the sprinters’ stages. The mountains might allow him to step out of the middle.

Other notes from Stage 9:

Brice Feillu proved his mettle, escaping the Lanterne Rouge during Monday’s time trial, finishing 88th on the day and squeezing ahead of two other riders, Tyler Farrar and Engoulvent, on the GC time.
Vladimir Karpets and Bernard Eisel, our predictions for improvement in Stage 9, instead slipped further back in the GC standings.
Marco Marzano and Christophe Kern, who held Les Cuspides after Stage 8, also slipped back but are still within striking distance of the Point d’Appui.

July 8, 2012

Time Trial to Give Speedsters a Chance to Get Back to Middle

On Stage 9, we look for a fast rider to move up in the standings to take over the general classification Point d’Appui. Someone like Alessandro Petacchi of Lampre-ISD could easily move up into the Point d’Appui.

On the stage, we might expect Bernard Eisel or Vladimir Karpets to get the middle time on the day. Both were near the Point d’Appui during the Prologue and are still in relatively good shape. Bunged up elbows and knees might slow some of the riders, both for those ahead of the fulcrum and those behind it. There wouldn’t be a lot of enthusiasm for this day except that it is the quickest step to a rest day on Tuesday.

The time trial starts in Arc-et-Senans, zips along a relatively flat stage for 41.5 kilometers (about 25 miles) and finishes with a couple of tight corners in Besançon.

July 8, 2012

Rugged Stage 8 Finds Marzano, Kern on Cusp

Another three riders abandoned on Stage 8, leaving the Tour de France without a Point d’Appui. After a rugged day in the mountains, the general classification Cuspides fell to Marco Marzano of Lampre-ISD in 89th position and Christophe Kern of Europcar in 90th position. Marzano fell back 25 positions while Kern gained 30 positions to land in the middle.

Marzano, who won the Point d’Appui in the Critérium du Dauphiné earlier this year, is 31:48 behind leader Bradley Wiggins of Sky and nearly 40 minutes ahead of the Lanterne Rouge.

On the stage, Lars Ytting Bak of Lotto Belisol finished 89th and Fabian Cancellara of RadioShack-Nissan finished 90th on the stage to finish as Les Cuspides. They were part of a large group that finished 12:19 behind stage winner Thibaut Pinot of FDJ-Bigmat.

The Point d’Appui after Stage 7, Sébastien Hinault had a very difficult day and fell back nearly 30 positions on the ride from Belfort to Porrentruy, Switzerland. The riders crossed seven categorized climbs with the last, the Col de la Croix, having the steepest rise of the day.

Notes from Stage 8:

Several commentators had compared Stage 8 of the 2012 tour with Stage 7 of the 2010 Tour de France, which Sylvain Chavanel of Quickstep won and, thus, might be a favorite for Stage 8 this year. Stage 7 of 2010 ended with an even number of riders on the day and so there was no fulcrum, but Les Cuspides on the day were the Norwegians Edvald Boasson Hagen and Thor Hushovd. Hushovd is not at this year’s tour and Boasson Hagen is riding better this year than in 2010, so neither could be considered a favorite for the Point d’Appui on this stage. In fact, he finished 10 positions ahead of the Point d’Appui.
Three abandons, notably Sammy Sanchez, leader of Euskaltel-Euskadi, brought the number of finishers to 180.
Pauvre Brice Feillu continues to hang onto the tail end of the tour. He finished just 2 minutes back of Tyler Ferrar.

July 7, 2012

Mountain Stage Brings New Point d’Appui in Tour de France

Sébastien Hinault at the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné

The steep mountain finish on Stage 7 of the 2012 Tour de France has reshuffled the deck and put a new rider — Sébastien Hinault of AG2R La Mondiale — in the general classification Point d’Appui.

The sprinters fell back in overall time and the hill climbers moved forward. The Point d’Appui spun like the revolving door at Macy’s. By the end of the day, 17 riders had abandoned the tour, leaving 181 riders to come home.

Hinault, a sprint specialist, slipped back 15 positions from his Stage 6 finish to land on the fulcrum, 21:12 behind the new tour GC leader, Bradley Wiggans of Sky, and 34 minutes ahead of Brice Feillu, who has suffered illness through the first week of the tour and still holds the Lanterne Rouge.

The Point d’Appui on the stage is Nicki Sôrensen of Team Saxobank-Tinkoff Bank. Sôrensen started the tour a little off the average pace, crept into the front half of the by Stage 3. In Stage 6, he slipped down the general classification significantly, another rider slowed by the late crash in the day. On Stage 7, his finish at the fulcrum brought him closer to the GC Point d’Appui. Expect him to move further up on Saturday.

Major riders who abandoned overnight included Ryder Hesjedal and Robbie Hunter, both of Garmin, and Oscar Freire of Katusha.

Notes on Stage 7:

Les Cuspides on Stage 6 — Sammy Dumoulin and Juan Haeda — both slipped down the GC rankings.
Michael Morkov of Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank unexpectedly held the polka dot jersey through several early stages. Morkov is much better on the track and is hoping to better his 2008 Silver finish for the team pursuit in the upcoming Olympics. The mountains of Stage 7 took the polka dot jersey away from him and pushed him back to within two spots of the fulcrum.

July 7, 2012

Bob Roll Finished Just Outside the Cusp in 1986

Bob Roll, riding for 7-Eleven in the 1986 Tour de France

The 1986 Tour de France finished with American Bob Roll just three spots out of Le Cuspide. With an even number of riders finishing that year, no Point d’Appui could be awarded. The two riders on the cusp of the middle place, however, were Ennio Vanotti of Gis Gelati and Paul Haghedooren of Joker. Vanotti finished 1:45:20 behind the winner of the tour, Greg LeMond.

Roll led the 7-Eleven squad that year and finished three spots ahead of Vanotti. Four years later, however, Roll finished well out of contention for the grey jersey while riding in support of Andy Hempsten, again for Team 7-Eleven. Again, Greg LeMond won the race.

Of the other riders with “roll” in their names, which one would think would be an asset to a race on wheels, only Antonin Rolland, the great racer during the 1950s, came as close to the Point d’Appui as Bob Roll. Rolland finished three spots behind the fulcrum in 1950. Meanwhile Michel Coroller from 1974 and Pierre Rolland from the 2009, 2010 and 2011 tours were well outside the margin of the middle.

Roll on Bobke, roll on.

July 6, 2012

Late Crash Upends Fulcrum Rankings; Dumoulin on Cusp

The crash with only 26 kilometers left in the race upended the race for the Point d’Appui in Stage 6 of the Tour de France. Sadly, two riders who had contended for le Point d’Appui, finishing as Cuspides earlier in the race — Davide Vigano on Stage 5 and Tom Danielson on the Prologue — abandoned the race along with Mikel Astarloza of Euskeltel-Euskedi and Wouter Poels* of Vacansoleil-DCM.

The even number of abandons left the total number of finishers even, and so again no Point ‘Appui could be awarded. Les Cuspides for general classification after Stage 6 came to rest on the shoulders of Samuel Dumoulin of Cofidis, who finished 95th, and Juan Jose Haedo of Team Saxobank-Tinkoff Bank. Dumoulin finished 11:20 behind tour leader Fabian Cancellara and 41:10 ahead of the last rider.

Samuel Dumoulin

Dumoulin was in the sprint on Stage 5, finishing fourth and had hoped to be in the sprint again on Stage 6, but like so many riders got caught behind the major crash of the day. Prior to Stage 6, LeTour.fr spoke with Samuel Dumoulin about Stage 5. Dumoulin said:

“Yesterday’s stage was fairly quiet, I could save myself for the finish. And, in the last 30 kilometers, I’m able to move up in the bunch. Then everything went pretty well. At the time of the crash, that happened to my right, but I didn’t really need to avoid it. I was a bit lucky, and after I managed to follow the right wheels, particularly that of Matt Goss… I was still just 150 meters from the line. But I wasn’t able to pass him.

“We can say that I had my chance because it was an uphill finish, and this is the type of terrain that suits me the best. I did not train to compete with them, but with experience, I can still go back to making the right wheels.

“On the flat, I have no chance against the best sprinters. The best way for me to succeed in a stage is still to put myself in a small breakaway group that goes to the end. But we must still make the right! In any case, since the start of the Tour I have good feelings.”

Jelle Vanendert of Lotto-Bellisol and Nick Nuyens of Saxobank-Tinkoff Bank finished as Les Cuspides for Stage 6.

Other notes from the stage:

The Lanterne Rouge is still Brice Feillu, who pulled in 2 and a half minutes during Stage 6 against some of the other riders in l’autobus, but he still has a ways to go to pull before he can hand off the lantern to someone else.
Aliaksandr Kuchynski fell back 40 places from his middle placement, coming home slowly, 13 minutes adrift at the head of l’autobus. Kuchynski fractured his wrist in Stage 5 and has been slowed along with the several other riders with wrung wrists.

* Early reports indicated that Poels abandoned after the crash, then other reports indicated he was still riding. His name, however, did not appear in the final classification of riders. We will update if Poels is found to be yet riding the long road to Metz.

July 5, 2012

Stage 6: The Road from Epernay to Metz

Epernay, the start of Stage 6 of the Tour de France

Stage 6 of the Tour de France, with only one categorized climb on the day, seems like a perfect course to finish in a bunch sprint. Which makes me think the break-away will survive. Hah!

The route from Epernay to Metz appears to be a fast one on paper: 207.5 kilometers; few climbs and nothing steep save the Côte de Bruxières, which has only 170 meters gain from St. Mihiel; and a downhill run into Metz.

Choosing who will wind up in the middle is difficult. There aren’t very many sprinters from the back end of the standings left to move up into the front half, so the point d’appui might just stay where it is or shift slightly if a few sprinters are feeling taxed by the early stages. Of course, a crash in the last 15 kilometers could change things dramatically. The roundabout just after Noveant-sur-Moselle might catch a few riders unaware.

If no one withdraws overnight, however, we’re likely to finish with all riders coming home, so expect another case of the Cuspides. Let’s hope for the best and keep Kuchynski on the fulcrum.

July 5, 2012

Kuchynski Remains on Cusp in Stage 5

Russian Aliaksandr Kuchynski of Katusha appears to be consolidating his grasp upon the center of the peloton, holding onto one of Les Cuspides for the general classification a day after nabbing the first Point d’Appui in the Tour de France. He shares the middle with Davide Vigano of Lampre-ISD, both of them 7:02 behind the yellow jersey of Fabian Cancellara.

On a day when the whole field came home with the same time, it’s hardly worth mentioning the stage results, but the sake of order: Frederico Canuti of Liquigas-Cannondale and Ruben Plaza of Movistar finished as Les Cuspides of Stage 5.

About 40 kilometers into Stage 5, Marcel Kittel of Argos-Shimano abandoned the race with stomach problems he has endured since the beginning. His loss leaves 194 riders. Brice Feillu still holds onto the Lanterne Rouge.

July 4, 2012

Kuchynski Becomes First Point d’Appui in Tour de France

The Point d’Appui of Stage 4, Aliaksandr Kuchynski, is seen in the red jersey amid the riders of the peloton.

Aliaksandr Kuchynski

The Tour de France has its first Point d’Appui of the race: Russian Aliaksandr Kuchynski of Katusha, who nibbled on the fulcrum during Stage 3, edged out his co-cuspide Rubén Perez to take the first Point d’Appui of 2012. Kuchynski is 7:22 behind race leader Fabian Cancellara and 28:01 ahead of Brice Feillu, the Lanterne Rouge.

Finishing at the Point d’Appui on the stage is Arthur Vichot of FDJ-Bigmat. Yaraslov Popovych of Radioshack-Nissan,who was a workhorse on the front end of the peloton for most of the day, finished just behind Vichot.

Coincidentally, Popovych and Kuchynski finished the 2010 Tour de France as Les Cuspides, an even number of riders finishing that year. Popovych may have had a hand in slowing down Team Katusha and keeping Kuchynski in the overall Point d’Appui today. Team Katusha came to the front of the peloton to press the pace as the peloton hit a waterspout. Coming out of the next roundabout, Popovych seemed to have stern words for the Katusha riders and their seeming lack of concern for the safety of the peloton.

Safety will get you to the Point d’Appui, though, and Popovych himself is only four spots out.

Notes about Stage 4:

Europcar’s Yukiya Arashiro, who was one of the Stage 1 Les Cuspides, stayed in the break from the start of Stage 4 and was voted most aggressive rider on the stage. Arashiro is now up at 53rd place.
Maarten Tjallingii of Rabobank finished Stage 3 after a crash. He abandoned the race before Stage 4 once his injury was diagnosed as a fractured hip. His loss left 195 riders to finish the day, and all came home.

Point d'Appui

Month: July 2012