Grand Tours

July 7, 2013

MacLean Edges Out Schwager for Giro Rosa Point d’Appui

17' Giro della Toscana - Stage 4, Lucca - Firenze, 97 km

Jessie MacLean

A minor shift in placement on the last day of the 2013 Giro Rosa put Jessie MacLean, who held the Point d’Appui after Stage 5, back in the fulcrum position to win the Maillot Gris.

MacLean, who rides for Orica-AIS, finished the first stage in 37th place, slipped all the way back to 103rd in the second stage and then slowly focused in on the Point d’Appui, coming home 71st, 74th, 68th, 69th and 68th again before capping the race with a strong finish in Stage 8, enough to bring her up to 64th place overall amid the 137 riders who finished.

MacLean rode in support of team leader Shara Gillow and finished 55 minutes and 23 seconds behind the Giro Rosa winner, Mara Abbott, and just under 1 hour and 39 minutes ahead of the Lanterne Rouge, Alessia Martini of Vaiano Fondriest.

Lauren Tamayo of the USA National Team had the time closest to the median time of the entire race.

Romy Kasper of Boels Dolmans Cycling took the Point d’Appui on today’s stage.

July 7, 2013

Mountains Take Toll; New Point d’Appui in Pyrenees

Adam Hansen of Lotto Belisol took over the GC Point d’Appui by the end of Stage 8 of the 2013 Tour de France as the tour headed into the Pyrenees for the first time.

The Point d’Appui after Stage 6, Vasil Kiryienka, slipped a place while riding in support of the new race leader, Chris Froome, on the first mountain stage of the day, leading Team Sky most of the way up the steep ramparts of the Col de Pailhères, the highest point on the Tour de France this year at more than 2,000 meters. His continued position one spot out of the fulcrum gives him plenty of time to regain the middle

Hansen has been working forward in the standards, and the first mountain stage favored his legs. He won Stage 7 of this year’s Giro d’Italia by breaking away early on a hilly, rugged day and staying away. Hansen finished Stage 8 of the Tour de France 44 minutes and 9 seconds behind Froome and 48 minutes and 9 seconds ahead of the Lanterne Rouge, Tom Veelers of Argos-Shimano.

On the stage, José Ivan Gutierrez of Movistar took the Point d’Appui.

July 7, 2013

On Eve of Time Trial, Schwager Grabs Fulcrum

Patricia Schwager

Patricia Schwager

Patricia Schwager, the Swiss rider for Faren-Kuota, took over the GC Point d’Appui of the Giro Rosa, finishing at the middle of the pack after Stage 7. The final stage of the race, a time trial, will be Sunday.

She’s 54 minutes and 29 seconds behind the race leader, Mara Abbott, and an hour and 36 minutes ahead of the Lanterne Rouge, Alessia Martini of Vaiano Fondriest.

On the stage, Valentina Carretta of MCipollini Giordana won the Point d’Appui.

July 5, 2013

Winner of 2012 TdF Point d’Appui Returns to Middle

Vasil Kiryienka

Vasil Kiryienka

Vasil Kiryienka of Sky Procycling, the winner of the grey jersey during the 2012 Tour de France, has finagled his way into the Point d’Appui on general classification after Stage 6.

Kiryienka finished in 109th place after Stage 5 and managed to move up in the standings to gain the middle spot. There were four abandons — two who did not start and two who did not finish the day — that made the climb in standings even more difficult for the Belorussian rider. Kiryienka is 14 minutes and 12 seconds behind the race leader, Daryl Impey, and 32 minutes and 6 seconds ahead of the Lanterne Rouge, Tom Veelers of Team Argos-Shimano. The rider with the median speed at the end of Stage 6 is David Lopez Garcia of Sky Procycling.

Jan Bakelants of RadioShack Leopard was on the fulcrum for the stage.

July 4, 2013

Australia’s MacLean Hits Middle on Giro Rosa Stage 5

Stage 5 of the 2013 Giro Rosa produced changes at all levels of the race: Jessie MacLean of Orica-AIS took over the Point d’Appui; Mara Abbott of the USA National Team sped into the maglia rosa; and Alessia Martini of Vaiano Fondriest became the new Lanterne Rouge.

MacLean is 40 minutes behind the race leader and 1 hour and 16 minutes ahead of the caboose.

On the stage, Anna Bianca Schnitzmeier of Wiggle-Honda won the Point d’Appui.

July 4, 2013

Caught up in Crash, Lagutin Finishes Slow, Ends up in Fulcrum

Sergey Lagutin of Vacansoleil-DCM rolled in with the post-crash autobus to finish 181st on the stage, good enough to drop him in the general classification to the Point d’Appui at the end of Stage 5. A large crash with about 15 kilometers left in the race put many riders off the main run-in, including Lagutin.

Lagutin, the national road race champion of Uzbekistan for eight of the last ten years, won the under-23 World Road Race Championship in 2003 and placed fifth in the 2012 Olympic road race.

Steve Morabito of BMC Racing Team took the fulcrum position on the stage.

July 3, 2013

Bronzini, Former Lanterne Rouge, Moves to Fulcrum in Giro Rosa

Stage 3 of the 2013 Giro Rosa finished with an even number of riders and, so, no fulcrum. Seven abandons on Stage 4, however, brought the Point d’Appui back into play, and the Lanterne Rouge after the first stage, Giorgia Bronzini of Wiggle-Honda, has moved into the general classification fulcrum.

Bronzini, the team leader, is 20 minutes and 20 seconds behind the Giro Rosa leader, Marianne Vos, and 1 hour and 25 minutes ahead of the current Lanterne Rouge, Jasmine Dotti of Servetto Footon.

On the stage, Martine Bras of Boels Dolmans Cycling took the Point d’Appui.

July 3, 2013

Team Time Trial Puts Katusha’s Brutt in Fulcrum

Judges for the Tour de France refused to reverse course on their decision that Eddie King would be dropped from the race, leaving the tour with its first odd number of racers to come home. Pavel Brutt of Katusha proved to be the rider at the center of the pack.

It’s a bad way to crown the first Point d’Appui of the 100th edition of the Tour de France, but we live with what we are given. Team Katusha finished in 10th place on the team time trial, just enough ahead of Radioshack Leopard to pull Brutt into the fulcrum position.

During the first three stages, an even number of riders came home each day. The Cuspides on each stage:

  • Stage 1 – Aliaksandr Kuchynski of Katusha, who held a similar position in the 2012 Tour de France, and Thomas Voeckler of Europcar.
  • Stage 2 – Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas of Movistar and Markel Irizar of RadioShack Leopard. Irizar won the Point d’Appui in the 2011 Tour de France.
  • Stage 3 – Arthur Vichot of FDJ and Peter Kennaugh of Sky Procycling.

 

July 1, 2013

New Fulcrum, Eskamendi, Sticks With Giro Rosa Peloton

For the second day in a row, the leader for the Point d’Appui has finished with the peloton. Dorleta Eskamendi of Bizkaia-Durango took over the general classification fulcrum on Stage 2 of the 2013 Giro Rosa. The winner of the Point d’Appui on the first stage, Anastasyia Chulkov, improved her standings significantly, leaving open the fulcrum position. Eskamendi moved up in the standings as well and into the exact center of the peloton.

American Ally Stacher of Specialized-Lululemon is the new Lanterne Rouge.

June 30, 2013

Chulkova Finishes With Peloton; Takes Giro Rosa’s Fulcrum

The opening stage of the 2013 Giro Rosa saw two abandons, which left an odd number of riders to come home and the race’s first Point d’Appui. Anastasiya Chulkova of RusVelo finished at the middle of the peloton to pick up Stage 1 honors.

She and most of the racers hung together throughout the stage, with the winner of the stage, Kirsten Wild, decided on the line and the leader of the race, Marianne Vos, decided by points accumulated out on the course. Chulkova’s official time, as a result, is exactly the same as that of Wild and Vos.

The Lanterne Rouge for this first stage was Giorgia Bronzini of Wiggle-Honda.