Spring Classics

June 18, 2017

Spring 2017 Point d’Appui Winners

New contenders appeared in the Spring Classics and other early bicycle races as competitors for the upcoming Grand Tours.

In the just finished Tour de Suisse, there was no Point d’Appui due to 140 finishers coming home. Two veterans, Zdenek Stybar of Quick-Step Floors and Marcus Burghardt of Bora-Hansgrohe, finshed on les Cuspides of the fulcrum.

Silvio Herklotz of Bora-Hansgrohe finished in 63rd at the Critérium du Dauphiné earlier in June.

French rider Yoann Bagot of Cofidis, Solutions Credits finished in 61st place to win the Point d’Appui jersey during the Tour of California in May.

In April at the Tour of Flanders, Daniel Oss of BMC Racing Team finished as the Point d’Appui on the cobbles of Walloon.

In early April, Nicolas Torraca of Elevate-Khs Pro Cycling and Luis Villalobos of Aevolo Cycling split the cusps on the men’s side of the Joe Martin Stage Race in Arkansas, United States. With 102 finishers, there was no fulcrum. Emily Newsom of Team Elevate Racing won the Point d’Appui on the women’s side the race, finishing 33rd among 65 finishers.

There was no fulcrum at Paris-Roubaix this year. Two Dutch riders, Boy van Poppel of Trek-Segafredo and Pim Ligthart of Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij finished on les Cuspides of the race, at 51st and 52nd respectively.

Alessandro De Marchi of BMC Racing Team and Christopher Juul Jensen of Orica-Scott finished 64th and 65th respectively as les Cuspides of the 2017 Paris-Nice race.

In the 2017 Milan-San Remo race, Luke Rowe of Team Sky won the Point d’Appui, finishing 98th among 195 riders who came home safely.

In January, Gregor Mühlberger of Bora-Hansgrohe held on to win the Point d’Appuit in the 2017 edition of the Tour Down Under.

April 14, 2015

Oss Finishes at Fulcrum on Paris-Roubaix

Daniel Oss of the BMC Racing Team has won the 2015 Paris-Roubaix Point d’Appui, finishing 67th among the 133 riders who survived the cobbles. 

Oss came home 7 minutes and 50 seconds behind winner John Degenkolb of Giant-Alpecin. The Lanterne Rouge for the classic turned out to be Dylan Van Baarle. 

The race started with 200 riders, and 67 either did not finish or finished outside the time limit, beaten by la pavé. 

July 12, 2014

Tour Enters Mountains Without a Point d’Appui

Rudy Molard of Cofidis and Florian Guillou of Bretagne-Seche Environnement finished on the cusps of the Point d’Appui in 92nd and 93rd positions, respectively, at the end of Stage 8 of the 2014 Tour de France.

The climbs at the end of the day stiffened up the general classification standings of the leaders, with pretenders to the yellow jersey falling back when the Tinkoff-Saxo team jammed to the fore on the mountain climbs, leading Alberto Contador as far as they could before leaving him to his own devices. Vincenzo Nibali, however, kept calm and carried on, marking Contador pedal stroke for stroke and allowing Contador a couple of seconds at the very top of the climb. Richie Porte of Team Sky stayed right behind Nibali.

As for the stage win, none of the leaders could catch Blel Kadri of Ag2r-La Mondiale, who got into the five-man break about 35 kilometers into the race and proved to be the only survivor. The radiance of Kadri’s smile and the day-glo color of Contador’s jersey were the only bright spots in the gray fog of the finish atop la Mauselaine.

Edward “Ted” King of Cannondale remained the Lanterne Rouge, 1 hour, 34 minutes and 47 seconds adrift of Nibali.

Two more riders dropped before the end of Stage 8, leaving the race with an even number of finishers and without a fulcrum.

Mathias Frank of IAM Cycling broke his femur on Stage 7 and was unable to start Stage 8. Bart De Clercq of Lotto-Belisol abandoned the race due to pain in his ankle, the result of a crash early in the tour.

Speaking of crashes, American Andrew Talansky took another fall, this time on the rain-slickened descent of the Col de Grosse Pierre. His loss of time very likely puts him out of contention for a podium spot in Paris, but crazier things have happened. He might get back on if he can stay in the saddle.

March 17, 2013

Title Defender Gerrans Wins Point d’Appui at Milan-San Remo

Simon Gerrans during the 2012 Tour Down Under.

Simon Gerrans during the 2012 Tour Down Under.

Simon Gerrans, winner of the 2012 Milan-San Remo spring classic, finished at the center of the pack, what was left of it, to win the Point d’Appui in the 2013 Milan-San Remo race. Snow atop one of the mountain passes forced race organizers to stop the race, bus riders to a second starting point and restart after more than an hour delay, leaving surviving riders a bit colder in what was already quite a cold ride.

Aside from winning Milan-San Remo in 2012, Gerrans was also the National Road Race of Australia in 2012 as well as the Tour Down Under for the second time. He has also won individual stages in the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a Espana. Obviously he was a bit off his game today, as were many racers due to the weather. His teammate, Matthew Goss, who won Milan-San Remo in 2011, was one of more than 60 riders to abandon the race Sunday.

Gerrans finished 5 minutes and 13 seconds behind the winner, Gerald Ciolek of MTN-Qhubeka, and 13 minutes and 12 seconds ahead of the Lanterne Rouge, Vladimir Isaichev of Katusha.

The rider with the time closest to the median was the Italian rider Marco Bandiera of IAM Cycling.

March 10, 2013

Kruijswijk Holds onto Point d’Appui to Cap Paris-Nice

Steven Kruijswijk

Steven Kruijswijk

Steven Kruijswijk, the leading racer for Blanco Pro Cycling Team in the 2013 Paris-Nice stage race, has won the Point d’Appui, finishing at the middle of all 151 riders who finished Stage 7, the final stage of the race.

Kruijswijk grabbed hold of the fulcrum during Stage 6 and staved off competitors during the final time trial at Nice, despite some jockeying among other riders to slip into the middle spot. He finished 36 minutes and 19 seconds behind winner Richie Porte and 47 minutes and 31 seconds ahead of the Lanterne Rouge, David Millar of Garmin-Sharp.

The rider with the time closest to the overall Paris-Nice median was Martin Elmiger of IAM Cycling.

A recap of the stages:

  • Prologue – No fulcrum
  • Stage 1 – Jerome Cousin
  • Stage 2 – Jon Izagirre
  • Stage 3 – No fulcrum
  • Stage 4 – No fulcrum
  • Stage 5 – Stijn Vandenbergh
  • Stage 6 – Steven Kruijswijk
  • Stage 7 – Steven Kruijswijk
March 10, 2013

Field Narrows; Kruijswijk Holds Fulcrum Going into Finale

Steven Kruijswijk

Steven Kruijswijk

After 14 abandons during Stage 6 of the 2013 Paris-Nice spring classic, Steven Kruijswijk of the Blanco Pro Cycling Team found himself at the center of the overall race, the Point d’Appui, going into the final stage.

Kruijswijk is 33 minutes and 27 seconds behind race leader Richie Porte and 46 minutes and change ahead of Blanco teammate, Rick Flens, the latest Lanterne Rouge.

Surrounding Kruijswijk are notable contenders: Vasil Kiryienka, the Point d’Appui of the 2012 Tour de France, is just a place ahead, and Remi Pauriol, who held the Point d’Appui after Stage 2 of the 2012 Vuelta, is one second behind Kruijswijk.

Kruijswijk, who took a tumble earlier in the Paris-Nice race, saw some success in 2011 while riding under the RaboBank colors, reaching the podium of the Tour de Suisse as the third-place finisher. He also finished eighth at the Giro d’Italia. During Paris-Nice, he has been riding in support of teammate Robert Gesink, but Gesink bowed out of Paris-Nice before the end of Stage 6 along with two other Blanco riders, Mark Renshaw and Wilco Kelderman. This leaves Kruijswijk as the team leader for Blanco.

The rider with the time closest to median time for the overall race is once again Mattia Cattaneo of Lampre-Merida. Cattaneo held the median time after Stage 4 as well and also was on the cusp of the fulcrum after Stage 3.

On the stage, Ivan Basso of Cannondale finished at the fulcrum.

March 9, 2013

Vandenbergh Gains Fulcrum on Stage 5 of Paris-Nice

Stijn Vandenbergh of Omega Pharma-Quick-Step nearly scored the Point d’Appui Double. He finished with an overall race time at the dead center of all the surviving riders, placing him on the fulcrum for general classification, and he finished only spot off the fulcrum within the Stage 5 finish as well.

Vandenbergh’s time is 27 minutes and 1 second behind the newest race leader, Richie Porte of Sky Procycling, and 38 minutes and 44 seconds ahead of the newest Lanterne Rouge, Andreas Klier of Garmin Sharp. The 28-year-old Belgian’s great claim to fame prior to this stage was winning the Tour of Ireland his first year as a professional in 2008. He has also shown some good form this year, finishing second this year at the Omloop Het Nieusblad.

The median time for the general classification also changed, with the 2012 Point d’Appui of the Tour de France, Vasil Kiryienka of Sky Procycling, adding to his plamares, finishing at the chronological center of the race so far with a time of 32:56.

On the stage, Alessandro Petacchi of Lampre-Merida finished at the fulcrum position.

Only two stages left. Can Vandenbergh hold onto the fulcrum? Will Kiryienka make a stab at it? And what of Markel Irizar, who usually finds his way to middle of any race? Stay tuned.

March 7, 2013

Siutsou Holds onto Share of Cuspides on Stage 4

Kanstantsin Siutsou of Sky Procycling held onto a piece of les Cuspides during Stage 4 of the Paris-Nice spring classic, being joined by Dennis Vanendert of Lotto Belisol, who holds the lead Cuspide. Despite more abandons of the race, the final number who came home on Stage 4 was even, and so no fulcrum could be awarded.

Kanstantsin Siutsou has had a decent career, winning the Tour de Georgia in 2008 and finishing 16th in the Tour de France that same year. In 2011, he finished high in the standings for the Criterium du Dauphine and the Giro d’Italia. Since joining Team Sky in 2012, his role has shifted to more domestique work in support of Bradley Wiggins and Michael Rogers. He was part of the team for the 2012 Tour de France, but crashed on Stage 3 and was forced out of the race. Good to see him back.

Speaking of back, there’s a new Lanterne Rouge. Andrea Palini of Lampre-Merida has fallen to the rear of the bus. After Stage 3, he held the median time for general classification. After Stage 4, Mattia Cattaneo of Lampre-Merida, had the median time. Cattaneo, of course, was on the cuspides after Stage 3, so you can see there have been some major shifts in standings between the two stages.

On the stage, the two riders on the cusp of the fulcrum were Yoann Offredo of FDJ and Kristijan Durasek of Lampre-Merida.

March 7, 2013

Another Abandon Leaves Paris-Nice on Cuspides After Stage 3

Mattia Cattaneo of Lampre-Merida and Kanstantsin Siutsou of Sky Procycling share les Cuspides of the fulcrum at the end of Stage 3 of the Paris-Nice spring classic. José Ivan Gutierrez of Movistar did not start the third stage, bringing the number of surviving riders in the race to an even 178.

Cattaneo is 3 minutes 14 seconds behind the latest leader of the race, the American Andrew Talansky of Garmin Sharp, and more than 17 minutes ahead of the new Lanterne Rouge, Yann Huguet of Team Argos-Shimano. Huguet, as you will recall, had the median time after the Prologue.

On the stage, Ruben Plaza of Movistar and Gustav Larsson of IAM Cycling finished on the cusp. And our Stage 1 Point d’Appui, Jerome Cousin, brought up the rear of Stage 3.

The Stage 2 Point d’Appui, Jon Izagirre has moved up in the standings to 41st, and his brother Gorka contested for the stage win.