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.

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.

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.

Point d'Appui

Stage Races