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September 20, 2020

2020 Tour Finishes Without a Fulcrum

After the fireworks of Stage 20 in the 2020 Tour de France, it will come as no surprise that the middle of the peloton was shaken a bit, too, on the final day, although no Point d’Appui could be awarded since an even number of riders came home on the Champs-Élysées.

Finishing on les Cuspides of the Point d’Appui were Michael Valgren of NTT Pro Cycling finishing 73rd and Imanol Erviti of Movistar Team finishing 74th. Neither of them had been on the cusps after Stage 20. Valgren, who finished last on the final stage, fell back four spots, and Erviti gained rose one placement. Both Valgren and Erviti have found themselves on the cusp at the end of various stages of previous tours, but this is their first time to arrive in Paris at the middle of the peloton.

Stage 20 turned the rest of the tour upside down when Tadej Pogačar destroyed the field on the time trial climb to La Planche des Belles Filles, moving ahead of fellow Slovenian Primož Roglič by nearly a minute to take the yellow jersey for the first time in the race. Pogačar also picked up the polka dot jersey as best mountain climber and the white jersey for the best young rider. Pogačar is the youngest rider to win the Tour de France since 1904 and the youngest rider ever to win the polka dot jersey.

Sam Bennett of Deceuninck-Quickstep won the green jersey for best sprinter, punctuating the win by also winning the bunch spring of Stage 21 in Paris. Marc Hirschi of Team Sunweb won the most-combative rider award.

Movistar Team won the team championship with a team time more than 18 minutes quicker than runner-up Team Jumbo-Visma.

Roger Kluge of Lotto Soudal was the Lanterne Rouge. Kluge fell into last place on the mountainous Stage 16 after dropping back to help pace teammate Caleb Ewan through the climbs and keep Ewan in contention for sprint stages.

Only six stages ended with an odd number of riders in the race. The leaders in the Point d’Appui at the end of each stage:

  • Stage 1 — Krists Neilands of Israel Start-Up Nation
  • Stage 2 — Dayer Quintana of Team Arkea-Samsic
  • Stage 3 — No fulcrum
  • Stage 4 — No fulcrum
  • Stage 5 — No fulcrum
  • Stage 6 — No fulcrum
  • Stage 7 — No fulcrum
  • Stage 8 — No fulcrum
  • Stage 9 — No fulcrum
  • Stage 10 — No fulcrum
  • Stage 11 — Pierre Latour (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale
  • Stage 12 — No fulcrum
  • Stage 13 — Michael Schär of CCC Team
  • Stage 14 — Nans Peters of AG2R la Mondiale
  • Stage 15 — No fulcrum
  • Stage 16 — No fulcrum
  • Stage 17 — No fulcrum
  • Stage 18 — Andrey Amador of Ineos Grenadiers
  • Stage 19 — No fulcrum
  • Stage 20 — No fulcrum
  • Stage 21 — No fulcrum

The winner of the 2019 Tour de France Point d’Appui, Élie Gesbert of Arkéa–Samsic, was unable to defend his title in the Tour de France this year. He suffered a fractured kneecap at Challenge Mallorca in February and is still recovering. Winners of the Point D’Appui in other recent major races finished in the following placements:

  • 2018 Tour de France — Nikias Arndt of Team Sunweb finished 126th.
  • 2019 Paris-Nice — Tim Declercq of Deceuninck-Quickstep finished 127th.
  • 2020 Milan-San Remo — Felix Grossschartner of Bora-Hansgrohe finished 63rd.
  • 2017 Milan-San Remo — Luke Rowe of Ineos Grenadiers finished 129th.
July 24, 2015

Withdrawal Puts 2015 Tour Back in Les Cuspides

The abandonment by Michael Valgren of Tinkoff-Saxo shortly after the start of Stage 19 of the 2015 Tour de France left the race with 160 riders to come home, and meant that there was no fulcrum again. Kristijan Durasek of Lampre-Merida and Emanuel Buchmann of Bora-Argon 18 share the cusp of the fulcrum, finishing 80th and 81st respectively.

Chris Froome of Sky remains the tour leader, and Sébastien Chavanel or FDJ.fr remains the Lanterne Rouge, some 4 hours, 34 minutes and 40 seconds adrift of the leader.

Since we’re back in Les Cuspides, here are a couple of fulcrum finishes out on the stage:

  • In the intermediate sprint of the day, Joaquim Rodriguez of Team Katusha, who at that time was wearing the polka dot jersey, nabbed the middle placement on the sprint.
  • For the points awarded at the end of the day, Robert Gesink of Team LottoNL-Jumbo proved to have the middle placement among the 15 riders who scored points. In the overall points race, Daniel Teklehaimanot of MTN-Qhubeka holds the fulcrum among the 67 riders who have scored points. Romain Bardet of AG2R La Mondiale, who finished fifth on the stage, climbed into the overall lead for the mountain points.
  • In the overall competition for best young rider, Georg Preidler of Team Giant-Alpecin remains at the fulcrum of the 25 competing riders.
July 15, 2015

Bennati on Fulcrum after First Mountain Stage

At the end of the first mountain stage, Daniele Bennati of Tinkoff-Saxo landed at the Point d’Appui of the Tour de France.

Daniele Bennati

Daniele Bennati

Bennati has held the fulcrum after stages in previous Tours and the 2014 Vuelta as well as sharing the cusp of the fulcrum after Stage 2 of this year’s tour. He has remained close to the middle and landed at the fulcrum today after helping lead out Alberto Contador to the base of the climb to La Pierre-St.-Martin.

Like so many riders, Contador couldn’t hang with the stiff pace set by Chris Froome, who won the stage, gained more than a minute on his closest rival and retains the yellow jersey. Neither Nairo Quintana nor T.J. Van Garderen could maintain Froome’s pace but both managed to succeed in retaining podium spots. There are, however, more days in the Pyrenees and then the Alps to continue testing them.

Michael Matthews, the holder of the Lanterne Rouge, dropped further behind the penultimate rider in the tour.

Ivan Basso and Lars Boom did not start Stage 10. Basso, who was on the cusp of the Point d’Appui after Stage 3, left the race after receiving a diagnosis of testicular cancer. Boom, who was on the cusp after Stage 2, departed with the flu.

July 10, 2015

Gene, Trentin on Les Cuspides after Stage 7

Yohann Gene of Team Europcar and Matteo Trentin of Etixx-Quick-Step found their way to the cusps of the fulcrum at the end of Stage 7 of the 2015 Tour de France. Trentin has shared the Les Cuspides before, finishing on cusp at the end of Stage 9 of the 2014 Tour. One hundred and eighty-six riders remain in this year’s race.

Christopher Froome of Team Sky regained the yellow jersey at the end of the after the withdrawal of Tony Martin after Stage 6 following a crash near the end of the day. Michael Matthews of Orica GreenEdge soldiers on as the Lanterne Rouge.

On the stage, of course, Mark Cavendish got his first stage win in the Tour de France since 2013.

July 8, 2015

Fonseca Slips into Point d’Appui after Stage 5

Stage 5 of the 2015 Tour de France wasn’t quite as crazy as Stage 4, but that’s not saying much. Two more abandons as the result of crashes left the peloton with 189 riders to come home. Armindo Fonseca of Bretagne-Séché Environnement wound up as the Point d’Appui in the general classification at the end of the day.

Nacer Bouhanni of Cofidis and Jack Bauer of Cannondale-Garmin had to leave the race after crashes. Bouhani hit the deck just 10 kilometers into the stage; Bauer went down with several teammates not long afterward.

Tony Martin remained in the yellow jersey at the end of the day, and Michael Matthews retained the Lanterne Rouge.

August 24, 2014

Ivan Basso Wins Point d’Appui in 2014 USA Pro Challenge

Ivan Basso

Ivan Basso

Ivan Basso of Cannondale finished 58th in the USA Pro Challenge to win the 2014 Point d’Appui. The race had been in les Cuspides after Stage 6, but three riders did not finish the final stage, Stage 7, putting the race back on fulcrum.

American Tejay van Garderen of BMC won the race for the second year. Aaron Perry of Team Novo Nordisk finished in 115th as the Lanterne Rouge.

Other finishers on the week of racing:

  • Stage 1 – No fulcrum
  • Stage 2 – Daniel Summerhill of UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
  • Stage 3 – Joseph Lewis of Hincapie Sportswear Development
  • Stage 4 – No fulcrum
  • Stage 5 – No fulcrum
  • Stage 6 – No fulcrum
  • Stage 7 – Ivan Basso
March 10, 2013

Perano Mushes into Iditarod Point d’Appui

Curt Perano

Curt Perano

Curt Perano, a dog handler who now calls Willow, Alaska, his home, is running his second Iditarod and has become the Point d’Appui of the race on Day 7 of the 2013 Iditarod. Perano, 40 has lived in New Zealand, Singapore, Europe, the United States and British Columbia, so staying on the move doesn’t appear to be a problem for him. He began running dogs in 2000.

Martin Buser continues to lead the race, and the new Lanterne Rouge is Cindy Abbott.

March 9, 2013

Iditarod Continues Without Fulcrum Into Day 6

Sixty-two of the Iditarod mushers continue to hang with the race, many of them having passed the midway point of the 998-mile race on Day 6. The Lanterne Rouge, James Volek, is the only musher who hasn’t made it to the Ophir checkpoint yet. The half-way point is somewhere between the Shageluk and Anvik checkpoints. Nineteen teams have made it to Anvik and another dozen have made it to Shageluk

With an even number, no Point d’Appui can be awarded for Day 6, but on the cusp of the fulcrum are Michael Williams Jr., a Yupik Eskimo and native of Alaska, and Aaron Peck, a Canadian. Martin Buser is back in the lead after taking mandatory rest periods.

March 6, 2013

Second Abandon Leaves Iditarod Without Fulcrum

By about 3 p.m. Anchorage time, all the Iditarod racers still in the race, save that of the tail of the dog – David Sawatsky – had come through the checkpoint at Rohn, Alaska, and 28 mushers had made it to the Nicolai checkpoint on the third day of the race from Anchorage to Nome. The section between Rohn and Nicolai, especially the first 20 miles, is rough and rugged, and it’s a fairly long leg of the race. It’s the day that makes or breaks dogsled teams or their drivers.

Only two racers have withdrawn from the race so far.

The abandon of Scott Jansen, the second withdrawal in the race, left an even number of racers and no Point d’Appui on the day. The racers on the cusp of the fulcrum, Les Cuspides, as the French would put it, are Curt Perano and Aaron Peck. Three cheers and a nap for all, including the dogs, who make it to Nicolai.