July 7, 2016

Cheers to First, Last and Middle of Stage 5

Grégory Rast

Wouter Poels

Cheers to the riders on the front end of the tour and the tail end. Greg Van Avermaet of BMC got into the break, stole away from the break with two others and then ran away from in the final climbs to win Stage 5 of the 2016 Tour de France and don the Maillot Jaune.

On the other end of the train, Michael Morkov of Team Katusha, who crashed hard on Stage 1, struggled home on his own, five minutes adrift of the next nearest rider. Courage.

All 198 riders came home safely, so the race remains without a Point d’Appui. The mountains threw the order into the jackstraws. The two new riders on the cusp of the fulcrum are Wouter Poels of Team Sky at 99th and Grégory Rast of Trek-Segafredo. Poels held the GC Point d’Appui on Stages 12 and 13 of the 2015 Tour de France. It’s Rast’s first time to sit in the middle.

The climbs into the Massif Centrale broke the peloton into splinters, spreading them over a 33-minute timeframe. The rider with the time closest to the mean average time is Daniel Teklehaimanot of Dimension Data. He’s at 35 minutes and 12 seconds behind the leader, and Morkov is 1 hour, 10 minutes and 25 seconds behind Avermaet.

July 6, 2016

Fonseca, Impey Land at Cusp After Stage 4

Armindo Fonseca

Daryl Impey

The peloton revved up its engines and flew across the 237-kilometer course of Stage 4 on the Tour de France, starting in Saumur and finishing in Limoges on the strength of a tailwind. At the end of the day, though, the entire group of 198 riders came safely home again, thwarting the awarding of the Point d’Appui for another day.

On the cusp of the fulcrum were two new riders: Armindo Fonseca of Fortuneo-Vital Concept in 99th place and Daryl Impey of Orica-BikeExchange. Fonseca’s name might be familiar. He was the lone rider on the break for most of Stage 3.

The course was relatively flat but gaining elevation slightly during the first four-fifths of the stage before dropping into Limoges and then kicking up for 500 meters to another photo finish, this time between Marcel Kittel of Etixx-Quick-Step and Bryan Coquard of Direct Energie. Kittel won by mere nanometers.

Peter Sagan remained in the Maillot Jaune and Michael Morkov remained the Lanterne Rouge. Morkov fell another 5 minutes behind the rest of the riders and continues to struggle while trying to heal from his first-stage crash.

July 4, 2016

Tour de France Remains in les Cuspides for Third Day

Paolo Tiralongo

Cyril Lemoine

The peloton took its time on Stage 3 of the 2016 Tour de France, allowing a chance for injured riders to nurse wounds and come home safely. All 198 riders finished the day, although Michael Morkov, who took perhaps the worst of the crashes on Stage 1 dropped into the Lanterne Rouge.

Les Cuspides shifted to two new riders, although one is no stranger to the Point d’Appui. The Italian rider Paolo Tiralongo of Astana Pro Team moved into the 99th spot. Tiralongo won the Point d’Appui in the Tour de France a decade ago. Since then, he joined the Astana team in 2010 and has a string of first-place finishes on stages, three of them in various editions of the Giro d’Italia.

Joining Tiralongo on the cusp of the fulcrum is French rider Cyril Lemoine of Cofidis.

The 223-kilometer course between Granville and Angers saw only one bit of excitement during the day, when Thomas Voekler made the cross from the peloton to the lone rider on the break, Armindo Fonseca of Fortuneo-Vital Concept. That’s how placid the pace was on Stage 3.

The finish of the stage, however, offered a little anxiety while Mark Cavendish and Andre Greipel waited to see who won the photo finish. It was Cavendish by a wheel rim.

The two riders on the cusp after Stage 2 — Gorka Izagirre and Vasil Kiryienka — remained near the middle. Izagirre climbed slightly in the standings while Kiryienka fell back 11 spots, leaving les Cuspides open for Tiralongo and Lemoine.

July 3, 2016

Kiryienka on Cusp of Fulcrum After TDF Stage 2

Vasil Kiryienka

All 198 riders came home on a wet and winding Stage 2 of the 2016 Tour de France. Gorka Izagirre of Movistar Team and Vasil Kiryienka of Team Sky moved into 99th and 100th places, respectively, for general classification and hold les Cuspides.

Kiryienka is a perennial favorite for the Point d’Appui, riding out front in support of Sky team leader Chris Froome for most of the day and then falling back through the standings after his work is done. Along with winning the Point d’Appui in the 2012 Tour de France, Kiryienka finished two stages of the 2014 Tour on les Cuspides and in 2013 finished the Vuelta a España on les Cuspides. He was on pace to do well in the 2013 edition of le Tour before missing a time cutoff.

Kiryienka would be the odds-on favorite to win this year’s Point d’Appuit barring similar disaster, but Markel Irizar of Trek-Segafredo is only five spots off the middle and Paolo Trialongo of Astana Pro is only six away.

Gorka Izagirre and his brother, Jon, ride in support of GC contender Nairo Quintana. During the 2015 Tour de France, their team placed first in the team competition. Jon held the Point d’Appui after Stage 2 of the 2013 Paris-Nice race. Gorka finished 5th overall in this year’s Tour of Dubai, so he has some fire power that might lead him higher in this year’s standings.

Peter Sagan of Tinkoff won Stage 2 and also took on the mantle of the yellow jersey, the first time he has been race leader and the first time since 2013 that he won a stage of the Tour de France. Sam Bennett of Bora-Argon 18, injured during a fall in Stage 1, dropped into the Lanterne Rouge but survived the time cut-off.

The rolling terrain of the 183-kilometer stage between the start at Saint-Lô and strongly uphill finish at Cherbourg played well to the puncheurs, among them Sagan.

The two riders on les Cuspides after Stage 1 — Simon Geschk of Team Giant-Alpecin and Emanuel Buchmann of Bora-Argon 18 — both finished well on Stage 2 and moved up in the standings.

July 2, 2016

2016 Tour de France Underway; No Fulcrum on Stage 1

Despite a horrific-looking crash during the lead-in to the sprint finish of Stage 1 of the 2016 Tour de France, all 198 riders were counted as finishing. The even number means that no Point d’Appui could be awarded on Stage 1.

On les Cuspides were Emanuel Buchmann of Bora-Argon 18 in 99th place and Simon Geschke of Team Giant-Alpecin in 100th place.

Former winners of the Point d’Appui racing this year include:

2005 winner Andriy Grivko of Astana Pro Team, who finished 41st today.
2006 winner Paolo Tiralongo of Astana Pro Team, who finished 89th today.
2011 winner Markel Irizar of Trek-Segafredo, who finished 34th today.
2012 winner Vasil Kiryienka of Team Sky, who finished 84th today.

The 188 kilometer first stage was relatively level with a couple of Category 4 climbs and one intermediate sprint. An early break of five riders allowed the peloton to proceed without too much worry save that part of the course had mild cross winds.

Nevertheless, two-time Tour winner Alberto Contador took a hard fall after he and Brent Bookwalter of BMC miscalculated a turn at too high a speed and touched wheels coming out of a roundabout. Both Bookwalter and Contador tumbled into a median, and then Luke Row of Sky somersaulted over them. All three suffered skin abrasions but no broken bones apparently.

The crash near the bunch finish occurred when Michael Morkov of Katusha drifted just a bit too wide to the right of the narrow chute. He appeared to clip the foot of a barrier standard although he said afterward he thought perhaps he had clipped a spectator standing outside the barrier. Either way, he was sent sprawling, first to his left into other riders and then back into the barrier where he was whipped around to the pavement. Sam Bennett of Bora-Argon 18, Edvald Boasson Hagen of Dimension Data and Geraint Thomas of Sky also went down in the careening of riders trying to avoid Morkov. All limped home but whether they are up to starting Stage 2 remains a question mark. Morkov has held the Point d’Appui on a couple of occasions in earlier Tours de France.

Marc Cavendish of Dimension Data won Stage 1, steaming past Marcel Kittell and Peter Sagan in the final 100 meters. It is the first time that Cavendish has earned the Maillot Jaune during his distinguished career. Timo Roosen of Team LottoNl-Jumbo is the Lanterne Rouge.

June 1, 2016

2016 Giro d’Italia Finishes in les Cuspides

Three riders abandoned on the final stage of the 2016 Giro d’Italia, leaving 154 riders to come and voiding any chance at a Point d’Appui for the race. American Chad Haga of Team Giant-Alpecin held the fulcrum twice during the race and wound up on the cusp of the fulcrum at the end of the race along with Johann Van Zyl of Dimension Data.

Vincenzo Nibali won the race and the maglia rosa. The lanterne rouge was Jack Bobridge of Trek-Segafredo, who finished five hours adrift.

The Point d’Appui changed hands 12 times during the race. Here are the holders of the grey jersey at the end of each stage:

Stage 1 – No fulcrum.
Stage 2 – No fulcrum.
Stage 3 – No fulcrum.
Stage 4 – Moreno Hofland of Team LottoNl-Jumbo.
Stage 5 – Leigh Howard of IAM Cycling.
Stage 6 – Ivan Savitskiy of Gazprom-Rusvelo.
Stage 7 – No fulcrum.
Stage 8 – Alessandro Bisolti of Nippo-Vini Fantini.
Stage 9 – No fulcrum.
Stage 10 – Manuel Belletti of Wilier Triestina-Southeast.
Stage 11 – No fulcrum.
Stage 12 – Christian Knees of Team Sky.
Stage 13 – No fulcrum.
Stage 14 – Lars Ytting Bak of Lotto Soudal.
Stage 15 – Chad Haga of Team Giant-Alpecin.
Stage 16 – Hugo Houle of AG2R La Mondiale.
Stage 17 – No fulcrum.
Stage 18 – Kristian Sbaragli of Dimension Data.
Stage 19 – Alberto Bettiol of Cannondale Pro Cycling.
Stage 20 – Chad Haga of Team Giant-Alpecin.
Stage 21 – No fulcrum.

August 12, 2015

The 2015 Tour de France Placement Vortex

The 2015 Placement Vortex shows the placement of each rider in relation to Les Cuspides, Paul Martens and Peirre-Luc Perichon, who finished at the center of the pack.

The heavier black lines denote riders who eventually abandoned the race, leaving only 160 riders to finish, hence the slow narrowing of the field from left to right. Track the yellow line of Christopher Froome at top or the red lantern line of Sébastien Chavanel at bottom.

Compared to the 2013 Placement Vortex, this year’s vortex shows a much wilder change in placement across the tour. In 2013, placement changed dramatically during two days in the Pyrenees and on several stages in the Alps. This year, dramatic shifts in placement occurred on a daily basis for riders below the top 20.

The cobblestones of Belgium threw the placements into “jackstraws” immediately, but things leveled out briefly during the relatively flat stages across Normandy. The team time trial also shifted placement considerably, which was only exacerbated by the enormous changes wrought again by the Pyrenees.

Riders settled in some small measure while passing through the Rhone Valley, but then were taxed again going into the Alps.

The final ride into Paris would have been without change because officials called placement early due to rain. However, Bryan Coquard of Team Europcar finished second on the stage, earning a time bonus that moved him one spot up in the standings.

Nine more riders abandoned the race this year than in 2013.

Download a PDF of the 2015 Tour de France Placement Vortex courtesy of Point d’Appui.

July 27, 2015

2015 Tour de France Ends Without Fulcrum; Martens, Perichon on Cusps

An even number of riders finished the 2015 Tour de France on the streets of Paris, so a Point d’Appui can’t be awarded this year. Because of the rain and a likely heightened danger if the entire peloton charged the oily cobbles of the Champs, race officials declared all riders to have the same time for the day, meaning that the two riders on the cusp of the fulcrum after Stage 20 retained their position.

Paul Martens of Team LottoNL-Jumbo and Pierre-Luc Perichon of Bretagne-Séché Environnement are Les Cuspides for the 2015 Tour.

The leader of the race, Christopher Froome of Sky, and the last rider in, Sébastien Chavanel of FDJ, remained in their respective positions as well. Sylvain Chavanel of IAM Cycling, possibly riding his last tour, had the time closest to the median of all racers.

Twelve riders held the Point d’Appui during the course of the race, an average number for the Tour.

The stage-by-stage general classification:

Stage 1 – No fulcrum.
Stage 2 – No fulcrum.
Stage 3 – No fulcrum.
Stage 4 – Adriano Malori of Movistar.
Stage 5 – Armindo Fonseca of Bretagne-Séché Environnement.
Stage 6 – No fulcrum.
Stage 7 – No fulcrum.
Stage 8 – Haimar Zubeldia of Trek Factory Racing.
Stage 9 – Serge Pauwels of MTN-Qhubeka
Stage 10 – Daniele Bennati of Tinkoff-Saxo, who took a hard fall the next day and had to abandon.
Stage 11 – Rohan Dennis of BMC.
Stage 12 – Wouter Poels of Team Sky.
Stage 13 – Wouter Poels of Team Sky.
Stage 14 – No fulcrum.
Stage 15 – Angelo Tulik of Team Europcar.
Stage 16 – Paul Voss of Bora-Argon 18.
Stage 17 – Brice Feillu of Bretagne-Séché Environnement.
Stage 18 – Perrig Quemeneur of Team Europcar.
Stage 19 – No fulcrum.
Stage 20 – No fulcrum.
Stage 21 – No fulcrum.

July 25, 2015

Tour Remains in Les Cuspides Headed for Paris

There were no abandons on Stage 20, so the 2015 Tour de France remains on Les Cuspides, without a Point d’Appui for the final run into Paris. Paul Martens of Team LottoNL-Jumbo and Pierre-Luc Perichon of Bretagne-Séché Environnement are the two riders on the cusp of the fulcrum, finishing 60th and 61st respectively.

The top and bottom ends of the peloton remain unchanged. Onward to Paris!

July 23, 2015

Quemeneur Climbs into Point d’Appui on Stage 18

Perrig Quemeneur

Another stage and another new Point d’Appui in the 2015 Tour de France. Perrig Quemeneur of Team Europcar has reached the fulcrum on the wending path of Stage 18.

The hill climbing allowed Quemeneur to rise in the GC standings to the center of the peloton, displacing Brice Feillu, who fell back on the stage.

Chris Froome continues to lead the race. Sébastien Chavanel continues as the Lanterne Rouge for the second stage in a row.

Louis Meintjes of MTN-Qhubeka and Mark Renshaw of Etixx-Quick-Step had to abandon the race on Stage 8. We’re left with 161 riders.

Point d'Appui

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