July 13, 2017

Into the Pyrenees and Another New Point d’Appui

Paul Martens of Team LottoNl-Jumbo is the newest holder of the general classification Point d’Appui in the 2017 Tour de France. The yellow jersey also changed hands on the pitched climb to Peyragudes on Stage 12, the Tour’s first day in the Pyrenees.

Martens finished the 2015 Tour de France on the cusp of the fulcrum, but this is his first time to land on the fulcrum. He has bounced around the standings, finishing as high as 31st place after the Stage 2, primarily on the strength of his time trial on Stage 1, and now as low as 90th place. He was one of many riders caught up in the first crash in the Stage 4 sprint leadout, but finished easily once everyone else got disentangled. This is his third Tour de France. He has also raced in the Giro d’Italia twice and in the Vuelta a España three times. He won the Grand Prix de Wallonie in 2010 and the Tour of Luxembourg in 2013.

Fabio Aru of Astana Pro Team made a break on the final wall of the final climb but didn’t have quite enough oxygen to win the stage. Romain Bardet of the AG2R La Mondiale team came around him and Rigoberto Uran of the Cannondale-Drapac team caught Aru as both went over the line with the same assessed time. They and three more riders dropped Christopher Froome far enough for Aru to move into the general classification lead. Froome is now 6 seconds behind Aru; Bardet is another 9 seconds adrift; and Uran is another 30 seconds down.

Froome perhaps used up a little adrenalin on the descent after the Port de Bales, when he momentarily followed teammate Michal Kwiatkowski straight through a corner and onto a short garden tour of caravans parked alongside the road. They quickly rejoined the other leaders though and seemed poise to hold off all challengers on the final climb, but Froome didn’t have the legs on this day.

Alexey Lutsenko of the Astana Pro Team was the stage Point d’Appui, and Luke Rowe of Team Sky retains the Lanterne Rouge.

Below is a video of the Stage 4 crash in which Martens went down. It was footage from a GoPro camera aboard the bicycle of Matteo Trentin of the Quick-Step Floors team and posted to Facebook by Velon CC.

July 12, 2017

Albisini Takes Fulcrum on Fulcrum Stage

Michael Albisini

On the fulcrum stage of the 2017 Tour de France, a new leader in the Point d’Appui emerged by the end of the day: Michael Albasini of the Orica-Scott team. Albasini was on the cusps of the fulcrum after Stage 10.

Albasini has been racing professionally since 2003, winning the Tour of Austria in 2009 and the Tour of Britain the next year. He won a stage of the 2014 Vuelta a España and was also part of the GreenEdge team in 2013 that won the team time trial in that year’s Tour de France. More recently, he won the sprinter’s points classifications in the 2016 Tour de Romandie and the Tour de Suisse. This is Albasini’s ninth Tour de France, and his highest finish was 50th in 2014. It’s his first time on the fulcrum.

On the stage, Marcel Kittell of the Quick-Step Floors team once again crossed the finish line first. Reto Hollenstein of the Katusha-Alpecin team finished at the fulcrum position on the stage.

Christopher Froome continues to lead the race, with an 18 second lead over Fabio Aru and 51 seconds ahead of Romain Bardet. “He’s like a frog in a sock,” Robbie McEwen’s description of Chris Froome’s riding style. We have a new Lanterne Rouge. Luke Rowe, the wingman for Froome, slipped back into the last position, displacing Olivier Le Gac of the FDJ team who had held the Lanterne Rouge since Stage 3.

Dario Cataldo of the Astana Pro Team abandoned after a crash in the feed zone in which he came down on one hand and injured his wrist. Astana leader Jakob Fuglsang also came down but finished the stage, finding out afterward that he had a couple of small fractures.

July 11, 2017

Tour Returns to Les Cuspides After Rest Day

Rafal Majka of the Bora-Hansgrohe team did not start Stage 10, putting the 2017 Tour de France back in Les Cuspides with 180 riders. Alberto Bettiol of the Cannondale-Drapac team and Michael Albasini of the Orica-Scott team share the cusps of the fulcrum after Stage 10.

Bettiol held the general classification Point d’Appui on Stage 19 of the 2016 Giro.

Stage 10 was otherwise quiet with a traditional sprint finish. Yoann Offredo, who rides for the Wanty-Groupe Gobert team and held the general classification Point d’Appui at the end of Stage 6, was one of two riders who made a break from the get-go and survived until 7 kilometers to go.

Marcel Kittell of the Quick-Step Floors team finished first on the stage, his fourth stage victory of the 2017 Tour. Sky’s Chris Froome continues to hold an 18-second lead over Fabio Aru of the Astana team and a 51-second lead on Romain Bardet of the AG2R La Mondiale team. Olivier Le Gac of the FDJ team continues to hold the Lanterne Rouge.

Seven riders have held the fulcrum spot so far in this year’s Tour de France.

July 9, 2017

Crashes, Time Limit Eliminate a Dozen; New Point d’Appui

Nils Politt

Nils Politt of the Katusha-Alpecin team landed on the fulcrum of the 2017 Tour de France after five riders abandoned due to crashes and another seven riders, including half the FDJ team, were eliminated after finishing beyond the time limit.

In 2013, Politt finished first in the time trial of the German National Under-23 Road Championships, and won the road race the next year while also finishing second in the time trial. He signed with Katusha as a stagiaire in 2015 and is riding in his first Grand Tour.

Richie Porte, team leader for BMC and the mostly likely cyclist to challenge Tour leader Chris Froome, took a hard fall on the final downhill of the stage after a touch of the rear brakes that locked them up and sent his bicycle into the left verge and him across the road into the right wall. Dan Martin went down in the chaos as well but was able to remount and continue to the finish.

Other crashes on the day:

Team Sky’s Geraint Thomas, the early Tour leader and still holding second place at the beginning of the stage, broke his collarbone in a crash on the descent of the Col de la Biche in which Rafal Majka of Bora-Hansgrohe went down directly in front of him. Majka resumed the race and finished. Coincidentally, Thomas abandoned the 2017 Giro d’Italia on Stage 9 as well.
Just 5 kilometers into the race, Manuele Mori of UAE Team Emirates and Robert Gesink of Team LottoNl-Jumbo went down in a crash along with Angelo Tulik of the Direct Energie team. Mori had a broken shoulder blade, and Gesink had a fractured vertebra. Tulik was able to continue. Gesink’s teammate Jos Van Emden also withdrew from the race.

Four team members for FDJ — Arnaud Demare, Mickael Delage, Jacopo Guarnieri and Ignatas Konovalovas — were eliminated for finishing outside the time limit on the stage, as were Mark Renshaw of the Dimension Data team, Matteo Trentin of the Quick-Step Floors team and Juraj Sagan of the Bora-Hansgrohe team.

The stage finish proved heart-breaking for Warren Barguil of Team Sunweb and a triumph of human will over mechanical deficiency for Rigoberto Uran of Cannondale-Drapac. Barguil was the lone survivor of the early break, but a select group of riders including Froome and Uran eventually caught Barguil several kilometers from the finish. He was able to sit-on and regain some strength.

Meanwhile, Uran suffered a mechanical problem with his rear derailleur. A mechanic from the neutral car gave it a couple of tugs to place the chain in a sprocket that Uran could ride with on the relatively flat section, but in essence he was riding a fixie for the last couple of kilometers. He also had trouble with his earpiece coming out and popped into his mouth so as not to lose it, so he wasn’t breathing through his mouth too much.

Nevertheless, Uran got a jump as the group neared the finish. Barguil swung out of the slipstream and appeared to grab the line with a late lunge, even celebrating with a fist pump, but it was all for naught as the photo of the photo finish showed Uran with an inch on Barguil.

On the stage, Matteo Bono of UAE Team Emirates finished at the fulcrum.

Chris Froome remains the Tour leader, and Olivier Le Gac of the FDJ team remains the Lanterne Rouge, nearly 2 hours adrift of the leader.

July 8, 2017

Dutch Rider Teunissen on Fulcrum After Stage 8

Mike Teunissen

Mike Teunissen of Team Sunweb found his way to the Point d’Appui on Stage 8 of the 2017 Tour de France as 193 riders came safely home again.

Teunissen came into racing on the cyclo-cross tracks, placing second in the UCI Under-23 World Championships in 2012 and winning them in 2013. He racked up several road-racing wins in 2014, including the Paris-Roubaix Espoirs, the Rabo Baronie Breda Classic and the Paris-Tours Espoirs. He finished 119th in the 2015 Vuelta a España, and this is his first Tour de France start.

A large group of around 50 riders created a break, including several riders who have briefly vied for the Point d’Appui in the past, including Greg Van Avermaet of BMC Racing Team, Jan Bakelants of the AG2R La Mondiale team, Koen De Kort of the Trek-Segafredo team, Michael Valgren of the Astana team, Serge Pauwels of the Dimension Data team, and Thomas De Gendt of the Lotto Soudal team. The stage led from

On the stage, Lilian Calmejane of the Direct Energie team managed to escape the break on the last mountain climb of the day, going over the top with nearly 30 seconds over his next closest competitor, Robert Gesink of Team LottoNl-Jumbo. Calmejane provided a little last-minute excitement when his right calf began cramping and he slowed to a crawl within 5 kilometers of the finish, but was able to work out the kinks and continue to glory. The victory was Calmejane’s second in a Grand Tour, having also won a stage at the 2016 Vuelta a Espana.

Chris Froome continues as the holder of the Tour’s Yellow Jersey, and Olivier Le Gac of the FDJ team remains the Lanterne Rouge.

July 7, 2017

Arashiro First Japanese Rider to Claim Point d’Appui

Yukiya Arashiro

Yukiya Arashiro of the Bahrain-Merida team is the new general classification Point d’Appui after Stage 7 of the 2017 Tour de France.

Arashiro is the first Japanese rider to claim the fulcrum position, although he was one of Les Cuspides after a stage during the 2014 Tour. He won the road race of the Japanese National Road Championship in 2007 and 2013, the road race of the Asian Road Championships in 2011, and the Tour du Limousin in 2012. He was also named the most combative rider during two stages of the Tour de France, once in 2012 and once in 2016.

He has ridden in 10 grand tours, including six Tours de France prior to this year’s edition. His highest finish was 65th place in 2014.

Brent Copeland, manager of Bahrain-Merida, told Cycling News: “His constant results also show the type of rider he is, where [he] is always doing the extra work to do his best as well as a great teammate who is always willing to help where needed.”

Marcel Kittell of the Quick-Step Floors team won Stage 7 by a whisker, overtaking Edvald Boasson Hagen of the Dimension Data team at the last possible second. On the stage, Eduardo Sepulveda of Team Fortuneo-Oscaro took the fulcrum.

The sprint finish, with riders reaching 75 kilometers per hour, followed an otherwise uneventful day in which even the crosswinds, quite strong on the end of the course during the early part of the day, had quieted by the time the peloton arrived.

Chris Froome of Team Sky remains the leader of the Tour, and Olivier Le Gac of the FDJ team remains the Lanterne Rouge.

July 6, 2017

Offredo Gets Fulcrum as Laengen Slips Following Ride in Break

Yohann Offredo

Yoann Offredo of the Wanty-Groupe Gobert team took over the general classification Point d’Appui on Stage 6 of the 2017 Tour de France after the fulcrum holder on Stage 5, Vegard Stake Laengen, got into the break during Stage 6, slipped in the standings after the break was caught and was awarded Most Combative Rider for Stage 6.

Offredo won the most-combative jersey on Stage 2 as one of two riders who pulled away from a four-person break but who were nevertheless caught by the peloton with 1 kilometer left in the race.

Offredo finished 14th in both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix this year and is riding in his first grand tour. While on a training ride with two friends during April, he was assaulted by thugs who apparently did not like bicyclists, but he took no time off from racing despite his injuries.

Laengen got into a break within the first kilometer with Perrig Quemeneur of the Direct Energie team and Frederik Backaert of Wanty-Groupe Gobert. The worked well together through 198 kilometers before the peloton swallowed them up, and the sprinters’ teams set up for the finish.

Christopher Froome of Team Sky remains the leader of the tour, and Olivier Le Gac of the FDJ team continues to hold the Lanterne Rouge.

On the stage, Marcel Kittel of the Quick-Step Floors team finished first for his second stage win of the 2017 Tour, and Bauke Mollema of the Trek-Segafredo team wound up at the fulcrum position.

A quick review of past contenders for the Point d’Appui shows that:

Vasili Kiriyenka of Team Sky, winner of the Point d’Appui in the 2012 Tour de France, is just two spots behind Offredo.
Lars Bak of the Lotto Soudal team and Perrig Quemeneur of Direct Energie, who finished on the cusps of the 2014 Tour de France, are both slightly ahead of the Point d’Appui.
Markel Irizar, winner of the 2011 Point d’Appui in the Tour, is more than a dozen spots behind Offredo.
Andriy Grivko of Astana Pro Team and Fabio Sabatini of the Quick-Step Floors team, who won the Point d’Appui in the 2010 and 2012 Giros, respectively, are currently at 128th and 129th places, respectively. Sabatini, of course, provided a perfect lead-out for stage winner Kittell.
Daniel Navarro of the Cofidis, Solutions Credits team, who won the Point d’Appui in the 2011 Giro, is ahead of the curve at 79th place.
Greg Van Avermaet of BMC Racing Team, who won the Point d’Appui in the 2008 Vuelta a España, is in 70th place.

July 6, 2017

New UAE Team Rider Finds Way to Fulcrum

Vegard Stake Laengen

With the abandonment of Mark Cavendish and the elimination of Peter Sagan, the field of the 2017 Tour de France was reduced to 193 riders for Stage 5, the first mountain-top finish. Vegard Stake Laengen of UAE Team Emirates finished at the fulcrum position of 96th place to become the general classification Point d’Appui.

Although Laengen is more of a time trial specialist and strong in the Classics, he did well enough on the final mountain of Stage 5 to climb from 119th place to the fulcrum position. He has been racing since 2009 and won the Tour of Alsace in 2015. He competed in both the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España in 2016, finishing 83rd and 81st respectively. He also finished 6th overall during the Tour of California earlier this year. This is his first Tour de France.

The yellow jersey changed hands on the slopes of La Planche des Belles Filles, with Christopher Froome of Sky taking the general classification lead from teammate Geraint Thomas, who remains in second place on the tour. Olivier Le Gac of the FDJ team remains the Lanterne Rouge, 11 minutes behind the next closest competitor.

Fabio Aru of Astana Pro Team, racing in his first Tour de France, won the stage and gained enough time on competitors to hold 3rd place in the general classification. Daniel Navarro of the Cofidis, Solutions Credits team was the Point d’Appui for the stage.

July 5, 2017

Stage 4 Ends in Chaos; Cavendish Crashes Out; Sagan Expelled

The sunny quietude that held sway for most of Stage 4 of the 2017 Tour de France gave way to two crashes at the end of the race, the latter of which ended Mark Cavendish’s race and resulted in the expulsion of Peter Sagan.

The elimination of Sagan left 194 riders in the race, meaning the race slipped back into Les Cuspides.

For about 180 kilometers of the stage, Guillaume Van Keirsbulck of the Wanty-Groupe Gobert team rode a brave solo break, gaining as much as 13 minutes over the peloton before it began to reel him back to the boat. With about 20 kilometers left, the catch of Keirsbulck was made, and the sprinters’ teams charged to the fore.

A first crash occurred with less than a kilometer to go as teams jockeyed for position. It took out numerous riders including Tour leader Geraint Thomas, but the race rules allowed all within the last 3 kilometers of the race to receive the same time, so he remains in the yellow jersey. Then a second crash occurred along the barriers as the top sprinters vied for the stage win. Sagan tried to follow eventual stage winner Arnaud Démare of the FDJ team, but Sagan’s move took him into the path of Cavendish, who was also following Démare and tried to come through the narrow space between Sagan and the barriers but hit the barriers and then the pavement.

In replays of the crash, Sagan’s elbow came up at nearly the same time that Cavendish careened into the barrier, but whether Sagan’s elbow came into contact with Cavendish is difficult to see.

Race officials reviewed the finish and initially planned to relegate Sagan to 115th place, or the place behind the last finisher in the main group, and add a 30-second penalty to his time. On further review, the officials expelled Sagan altogether. Sagan’s team has appealed his expulsion.

At the cusps of the center of the race are Robert Kiserlovski of the Katusha-Alpecin team and Andrea Pasqualon of Wanty-Groupe Gobert in 97th and 98th positions, respectively. Olivier Le Gac of the FDJ team remains the Lanterne Rouge.

July 3, 2017

Uphill Finish Produces Change at Fulcrum

Janez Brajkovič

Stage 3 of the 2017 Tour de France saw a short, steep climb to the finish in Longwy, France, after 212.5 kilometers of racing.

Janez Brajkovič of Bahrain-Merida climbed well enough at the finish to move up from 142nd after Stage 1 to 121st position after Stage 2 to hold the general classification Point d’Appui at 98th place after Stage 3.

Brajkovič has ridden for seven teams in the 14 years that he has been racing. Prior to turning pro, he won the UCI World Under-23 Time Trial in 2004. Since then, major achievements have included winning the Tour de Georgia in 2007, the Criterium de Dauphine in 2010, and the Tour of Slovenia, his home country, in 2012. He also held the leader’s jersey during Stages 7 and 8 of the 2006 Vuelta a España.

This is his fifth Tour de France, finishing 43rd in 2010 and 9th place in 2012. He had to abandon the race in 2011 and 2013. He signed with Bahrain-Merida when it was formed this year, and he had planned to ride in support of Ion Izaguirre. But Izaguirre crashed in the first stage and had to abandon. Brajkovič’s movement up through the standings has been in support of the new team leader, Sonny Colbrelli.

World Champion Peter Sagan of the Bora-Hansgrohe team won the stage. Damien Howson of Orica-Scott finished at the fulcrum for the stage.

Geraint Thomas of Team Sky still holds the yellow jersey. Olivier Le Gac of the FDJ team slipped down to Lanterne Rouge.

Point d'Appui

Grand Tours