July 2, 2017

Aussie McCarthy First to Hold 2017 Tour Fulcrum

Jay McCarthy

Australian Jay McCarthy of Bora-Hansgrohe is the first rider to hold the general classification Point d’Appui on the 2017 Tour de France.

Fellow Australian Luke Durbridge of Orica-Scott abandoned the race early during Stage 2 due to an ankle injury. Durbridge was one of the many riders who took falls during Stage 1, but he struggled home, finishing in next-to-last position. He had courage enough to start today’s Stage 2 but couldn’t continue. His loss left 195 riders to come home on Stage 2.

McCarthy finished on the podium of this year’s Tour Down Under, coming in third. He took fourth place last year and captured the Best Young Rider award. He has ridden the Giro twice and the Vuelta once. This is his first start in the Tour de France.

Stage 2 saw more rain. The peloton kept a leash on the break so that as the race neared Liege the pace picked up and a couple dozen riders, including Chris Froome, went down like dominoes in a sharp turn when a Katusha rider slipped on the inside of the turn and became a bowling ball. All the fallen riders resumed the race and finished.

Marcel Kittel of the Quick-Step Floors team won the stage’s sprint finish. Mikel Landa of Team Sky was awarded the stage Point d’Appui.

Geraint Thomas of Team Sky remains the GC Tour leader. Thomas Leezer of Team LottoNl-Jumbo dropped into the overall last spot to hold the Lanterne Rouge.

July 1, 2017

Two Abandons, Two on Cusps of Stage 1

The rain-soaked time trial of Stage 1 of the 2017 Tour de France brought down two experienced riders, leaving an even number to struggle home.

On the cusps of the fulcrum are Tiago Machado of Katusha-Alpecin and Jan Bakelants of AG2R La Mondiale. Bakelants has finished as the Point d’Appui on two Tour stages before, once in 2012 and once last year, although he hasn’t ever held the GC Point d’Appui.

Alejandro Valverde of Movistar was seriously injured and went to hospital after hitting the deck hard and slamming into the barriers. Spaniard Ion Izagirre of Bahrain-Merida was also among the many crash victim and like Valverde abandoned the race.

Geraint Thomas of Team Sky won Stage 1 and is the holder of the first yellow jersey of the Tour de France, much to his own surprise. Teammate Vasili Kiryienka, winner of the 2012 GC Point d’Appui, finished third in Saturday’s time trial.

Tony Gallopin of Lotto Soudal also took a fall and limped 3 minutes and 3 seconds adrift to take hold of the Lanterne Rouge.

May 29, 2017

Chevrier Wins Point d’Appui on 2017 Giro

Clement Chevrier

French rider Clement Chevrier of AG2R La Mondiale is the general classification Point d’Appui for the 2017 Giro d’Italia. He finished 81st out of the 161 riders who survived the race.

Chevrier began racing in 2009, doing well in 2014, winning the San Dimas Stage Race and the best Young Rider classification in the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. He rode the Giro in 2015, finishing 69th, and the Vuelta a España in 2016, finishing 41st. He rides in support of Domenico Pozzovivo, who finished sixth in the overall standings.

The Point d’Appui changed hands 13 times during the Giro, and three riders managed to finish at the fulcrum twice, including Enrico Gasparotto early in the race, Jurgen Van Den Broeck in the middle and Tom-Jelte Slagter in the latter part. Slagter held the Point d’Appui after Stage 6 of the 2014 Tour de France.

Tom Dumoulin of Team Sunweb won the 2017 Giro, and Giuseppe Fonzi of Wilier Triestina held the Lanterne Rouge at the end of the race, finishing 5 hours, 48 minutes and 40 seconds adrift.

The rider with the time closest to the median was Andrey Zeits of Astana Pro Team, who finished at 2 hours, 56 minutes and 15 seconds.

The placement by stage:

Stage 1: Maxim Belkov of Katusha-Alpecin
Stage 2: Cristian Rodriguez of Wilier Triestina
Stage 3: Jesper Hansen of Astana Pro Team
Stage 4: Enrico Gasparotto of Bahrain-Merida
Stage 5: Lukas Pöstlberger of Bora-Hansgrohe
Stage 6: Enrico Gasparotto
Stage 7: Jurgen Van Den Broeck of Team LottoNl-Jumbo
Stage 8: Maciej Paterski of CCC Sprandi Polkowice
Stage 9: No fulcrum
Stage 10: Tom-Jelte Slagter of Cannondale-Drapac
Stage 11: No fulcrum
Stage 12: No fulcrum
Stage 13: Davide Villella of Cannondale-Drapac
Stage 14: Jurgen Van Den Broeck
Stage 15: No fulcrum
Stage 16: Matvey Mamykin of Katusha-Alpecin
Stage 17: No fulcrum
Stage 18: Tom-Jelte Slagter
Stage 19: No fulcrum
Stage 20: No fulcrum
Stage 21: Clement Chevrier of AG2R La Mondiale

September 4, 2016

Boswell Wins Point d’Appui in 2016 Vuelta

Ian Boswell of Teamy Sky

American Ian Boswell of Team Sky won the Point d’Appui for the 2016 Vuelta a Espana, finishing 80th among the surviving 159 riders in the race.

Boswell’s placement had been 20 places above the fulcrum until Stage 16 when he finished dead last on the stage, which dropped in the overall standings closer to the middle of the pack. His former teammate, Joe Dombrowski, whom he had helped win the amateur Giro d’Italia back in 2012, held the GC Point d’Appui on Stage 17 and 18. Both Boswell and Dombrowski finished at the tail end of Stage 19, Drombowski slipping out of the fulcrum and Boswell slipping in.

He finished third on Stage 7 of last year’s Vuelta and seventh overall in the 2015 Tour of California. Back in 2012 when he was riding for Trek-Livestrong, he finished second in the Under-23 Baston-Liege-Baston race. But now he’s a workhorse for Team Sky, riding in support of Christopher Froome.

Asked what cycling has taught him, Boswell said, “You can get to where you want to get if you work at it. There’s more ups and downs in cycling than many other sports. It teaches you to be resilient.”

Nairo Quintana won the 2016 Vuelta, and Nikias Arndt of Team Giant-Alpecin was the Lanterne Rouge, some 5 hours adrift.

Zdenek Stybar of Etixx-Quick-Step had the time closest to the median time.

The general classification Point d’Appui after each stage:

Stage 1 – No fulcrum
Stage 2 – No fulcrum
Stage 3 – Rudiger Selig of Bora-Argon 18
Stage 4 – Silvio Herklotz of Bora-Argon 18
Stage 5 – No fulcrum
Stage 6 – No fulcrum
Stage 7 – No fulcrum
Stage 8 – No fulcrum
Stage 9 – No fulcrum
Stage 10 – Julien Bernard of Trek-Segafredo
Stage 11 – No fulcrum
Stage 12 – Thomas De Gendt of Lotto Soudal
Stage 13 – No fulcrum
Stage 14 – Tiago Machado of Team Katusha
Stage 15 – No fulcrum
Stage 16 – No fulcrum
Stage 17 – Joe Dombrowski of Cannondale-Drapac
Stage 18 – Joe Dombrowski of Cannondale-Drapac
Stage 19 – Ian Boswell of Team Sky
Stage 20 – Ian Boswell of Team Sky
Stage 21 – Ian Boswell of Team Sky

July 26, 2016

The 2016 Tour de France Placement Vortex

The 2016 Placement Vortex shows the placement of each rider in relation to Les Cuspides, Arnold Jeannesson and Jan Bárta, who finished at the center of the pack.

The heavier black lines denote riders who eventually abandoned the race, leaving 174 riders to finish, hence the slow narrowing of the field from left to right with their final placement on the right-hand side. Track the yellow line of Christopher Froome at top or the red lantern line of Sam Bennett at bottom.

July 24, 2016

Late Abandon Leaves Tour without Fulcrum; Jeannesson, Bárta on Cusps

Jan Bárta leads an escape group of eight on the Champs-Élysées during the final stage of the 2016 Tour de France. Bárta finished on the cusps of the Point d’Appui.

An abandon of the race by Tony Martin on the Champs-Élysées put the 2016 Tour de France back in les Cuspides for the finish, meaning that no Point d’Appui could be awarded this year.

On the cusps of the fulcrum were Arnold Jeannesson in 87th place and Jan Bárta in 88th place. Bárta held the Point d’Appui at the end of three stages and might rightly be considered the most deserving of the honor.

Jeannesson, a Cofidis rider, fell back during the last week to arrive a place ahead of Bárta, who rides for Bora-Argon 18.

Martin abandoned due to knee problems after getting to Paris, but with eyes toward healing in time to ride in the Olympics. His abandon probably affected the lead out, or lack thereof, for sprinter Marcel Kittel, who seemed absent in the final bunch sprint of the tour.

The entire in peloton stayed in the race through Stage 7, the first time that has happened, and it proved to be highest number of riders to finish the entire tour. It was also the longest run in the Tour de France before a fulcrum occurred, at least in modern history. Only seven riders held the Point d’Appui during the course of the race, a lower number than usual because of the repeated middle finishes by Peter Sagan and Bárta.

The stage-by-stage general classification:

Stage 1 – No fulcrum.
Stage 2 – No fulcrum.
Stage 3 – No fulcrum.
Stage 4 – No fulcrum.
Stage 5 – No fulcrum.
Stage 6 – No fulcrum.
Stage 7 – No fulcrum.
Stage 8 – Pierre-Luc Périchon of Fortuneo-Vital Concept.
Stage 9 – Peter Sagan of Tinkoff Team.
Stage 10 – No fulcrum.
Stage 11 – No fulcrum.
Stage 12 – No fulcrum.
Stage 13 – Arthur Vichot of FDJ.
Stage 14 – Kristijan Đurasek of Lampre-Merida.
Stage 15 – Tony Gallopin of Lotto Soudal.
Stage 16 – Jan Bárta of Bora-Argon 18.
Stage 17 – Peter Sagan of Tinkoff Team.
Stage 18 – Jan Bárta of Bora-Argon 18.
Stage 19 – Anthony Delaplace of Fortuneo-Vital Concept.
Stage 20 – Jan Bárta of Bora-Argon 18.
Stage 21 – No fulcrum.

Chris Froome, of course, won the Maillot Jaune, with Romain Bardet and Nairo Quintana in second and third, respectively. The Lanterne Rouge was Sam Bennett, who finished last overall but among the top ten riders at the end of the stage. Great to see he has mended after the early crash that set him low in the overall standings.

July 24, 2016

Bárta Returns to Fulcrum after Penultimate Stage

Jan Bárta

Jan Bárta, the Czech rider for Bora-Argon 18, retained the general classification Point d’Appui after Stage 20 of the 2016 Tour de France. He has held the Point d’Appui twice during the tour, on Stages 16 and 18, and was on the cusp after Stage 9.

The 31-year-old rider finished one place ahead of the fulcrum on the stage, maintaining his status as the rider at the middle of the stage. Barring unforeseen disaster, Bárta will ride onto the Champs-Élysées in Paris tomorrow as the heir-apparent to the fulcrum of the 2016 Tour de France.

The mountainous stage broke the peloton into splinters, and created an amazing fight for the stage win among four great climbers and downhill speedsters — Ion Izagirre of Movistar Team, Jarlinson Pantano of IAM Cycling, Vincenzo Nibali of Astana Pro Team and Julian Alaphilippe of Etixx – Quick-Step.

At times, each looked as though he might survive an attack on the last climb of the day up the Col de Joux Plane. Izagirre, Pantano and Nibali went over the top together, and then Izagirre screamed down the backside to win the stage.

The rest of the standings were not affected much. Chris Froome of Sky remains the leader of the tour, and Bárta’s teammate Sam Bennett of Bora-Argon 18 remains the Lanterne Rouge.

July 22, 2016

Frenchman Delaplace Takes Fulcrum on Mont Blanc

Mont Blanc in the distance, the final destination for Stage 19.

Another mountain stage and another shift in the Point d’Appui standings. Anthony Delaplace, the Fortuneo-Vital Concept rider who was on the cusp of the fulcrum after Stage 11, now holds the general classification Point d’Appui at the end of Stage 19.

Anthony Delaplace

Tom Dumoulin of Team Giant-Alpecin and Daniel Navarro of Cofidis had to abandon the race due to crashes. Dumoulin had a touch of wheels when the peloton slowed down and bunched up. He broke his wrist. Navarro came down with two other riders in a hard downhill turn after the rain had slickened the route.

They weren’t the only riders to meet the pavé on Stage 19, but the only two who had to abandon mid-stream.

Romain Bardet of AG2R La Mondiale took a flier on the final climb, catching up with Rui Costa, who had been in the escape group and escaped them. Bardet, though, had enough gas in the tank to continue past Costa and win on Mont Blanc.

Chris Froome, despite a fall on the same rainy descent that caught other riders, was able to stay with the lead group after teammate Geraint Thomas handed off his bicycle to Froome. Bauke Mollema was not so lucky, falling twice and losing enough time to drop him from second place overall to tenth.

Sam Bennett remains the Lanterne Rouge.

July 22, 2016

Jan Bárta Back in the Fulcrum Position

Jan Barta

The Point d’Appui came back to Jan Bárta of Bora-Argon 18 on Stage 18 of the 2016 Tour de France. Bárta was in 89th place after Stage 17, one place ahead of the general classification Point d’Appui, and remained in 89th place after Stage 18, but two riders abandoned the race before the start, meaning the fulcrum moved one spot up to Barta.

Bárta held the Point d’Appui after Stage 16, too, and appears to be the odds-on favorite for Paris. We still have two mountainous stages to go, though, so Bárta is not a sure thing yet.

Fabian Cancellara of Trek-Segafredo bailed out of the Tour de France boat to concentrate his training on the upcoming Olympics. Shane Archbold of Bora-Argon 18 did not start after suffering a fractured pelvis during a crash on Stage 17. Somehow he rode home yesterday.

Stage 18 was an individual time trial, only 17 kilometers long, but most of it was a strong mountain climb, so it was not necessarily suited to the usual time trialist.

Nevertheless, Chris Froome of Sky made it look like the usual time trial. He easily edged out Tom Dumoulin of Team Giant, who up to that point looked as though he were the sure winner of the stage, ahead of the next rider by more than 10 seconds.

Froome remains the tour leader, and Sam Bennett, the first rider to attack the Stage 18 course, remains the Lantern Rouge.

Here’s a list of today’s stage finishes for some of the contenders this year and past overall winners, followed by their overall standing:

24th – Alexey Lutsenko – 75th
26th – Jan Barta – 89th
27th – Tony Gallopin – 84th
30th – Michael Valgren – 92nd
37th – Daryl Impey – 42nd
42nd – Emanuel Buchmann – 21st
48th – Anthony Delaplace – 93rd
49th – Simon Geschke – 73rd
53rd – Pierre-Luc Perichon – 106th
56th – Wouter Poehls – 33rd
70th – Paolo Tiralongo – 68th
87th – Arthur Vichot – 80th
90th – Peter Sagan – 91st
98th – Kristijan Đurasek – 52nd
115th – Marcus Burghardt – 98th
138th – Cyril Lemoine – 134th
143rd – Vasil Kiriyenka – 115th
148th – Grégory Rast – 118th
151st – Andriy Grivko – 72nd
159th – Markel Irizar – 112th
176th – Armindo Fonseca – 147th

On the stage, Jan Bakelants of AG2R La Mondiale placed at the fulcrum position.

July 20, 2016

Peter Sagan Holds Green and Grey Jerseys of Tour

Don’t look back: The main group advances upon Peter Sagan on the climb up Col de la Forclaz the during Stage 17 of the Tour de France.

Peter Sagan got into the break on Stage 17 of the 2016 Tour de France to make sure he swept up the intermediate sprint points available to secure the sprinters’ Green Jersey. Then the race hit the first alpine mountain climb of the day, and Sagan wound up at the fulcrum of the general classification and now owns the Grey Jersey of the Point d’Appui for the second time during the race.

Sagan held the GC Point d’Appui after Stage 9, and has held the Yellow Jersey during three stages of the 2016 edition as well.

The 184-kilometer stage held four mountain climbs, two Category 3s, a Category 1 and a Beyond Category climb for the finish at Switzerland’s Finhaut-Emosson, a spectacular dam and man-made lake high in the Alps.

Several riders who have held the Point d’Appui this tour or have been on the cusps remain close to the middle of the peloton despite the turn into the mountains, including Anthony Delaplace, Jan Barta, Tony Gallopin and Michael Valgren among them. The riders on either side of Sagan’s time are only 6 and 7 seconds away from him, so a myriad of riders could still make it to the fulcrum before Paris.

The peloton is reduced to 179 riders. Two riders — Mark Cavendish of Dimension Data and Rohan Dennis of BMC Racing Team — abandoned ahead of the mountain stage to begin their preparations for the Olympics. Meanwhile, two more riders were unable to finish the stage after getting wrapped up in a crash during the first kilometer of the stage. Borut Bozic of Cofidis-Solutions Credits and Gorka Izaguirre of Movistar Team both went down hard. Izaguirre, one of the solid support riders for Nairo Quintana, has landed on the cusp of the fulcrum twice this race but this time landed on his collarbone, putting him out of action. Bozic regained his bicycle but took a second fall and had to abandon.

The winner of Stage 17 was Ilnur Zakarin of Team Katusha. Chris Froome of Sky remains the overall leader, and Sam Bennett of Bora-Argon 18 remains the Lanterne Rouge.

Point d'Appui

Grand Tours