July 24, 2014

Winner of 2012 Fulcrum Back in Middle for 2014 Tour

Vasili Kiryienka, the Belorussian rider for Team Sky who won the 2012 Point d’Appui, is now on the cusp of the fulcrum along with Imanol Erviti Ollo of Movistar Team. They finished 82nd and 83rd in general classification, respectively, after Stage 18 of the 2014 Tour de France.

One hundred and sixty-four riders are still in the race after two riders failed to finish the day.

Heinrich Haussler of IAM Cycling left the stage early due to illness. José Joaquin Rojas Gil of Movistar Team was disqualified, apparently for drafting off a team car for too long or too obviously or too well.

Kiryienka is the top rider so far this decade for the Point d’Appui, having won the Point d’Appui in the 2012 Tour de France and the 2012 Tour de Romandie, as well as looking as though he would win the 2013 Tour de France Point d’Appui prior to being eliminated on time. With a flat stage and time trial to go, he seems like the odds-on favorite to win the fulcrum again this year, if the tour gets out of les Cuspides.

For Ollo, this is the first time he has been on the cusp, although his placements in his two previous tours put him at 88th in 2010 and 77th in 2009, respectable middle placement. His 2014 tour has been one of improving placement since Stage 8, including a climb of 8 places over yesterday’s finish.

Vincenzo Nibali won the stage and remains the leader of the race. Cheng Ji remains the Lanterne Rouge.

July 23, 2014

Sharp Climbs Put Tour in Cuspides Again

The steep climbs in the Pyrenees have caused further disruptions in the placement of riders. Three abandons left only 166 riders to come home at the end of Stage 17, ending atop the beyond-category Pla d’Adet and throwing the race back into les Cuspides.

Matthieu Ladagnous of FDJ.fr, who held the general Point d’Appui after Stage 15, and Blel Kadri of AG2R La Mondiale are on the cusp of the fulcrum, finishing 83rd and 84th respectively. Ladagnous also was the stage Point d’Appui on Stage 14.

Kadri was among the eight riders who jumped into the first escape group, which included fulcrum favorites Vasili Kiriyenka, winner of the 2012 Tour de France Point d’Appui; Tom-Jelte Slagter of Garmin-Sharp, who held the general Point d’Appui after Stage 6 this year; Cyril Gautier of Europcar, who held the general Point d’Appui GC on Stage 10 of the 2012 tour; Martin Elmiger of IAM Cycling, who held the median time in the 2013 Paris-Nice spring classic; and Jens Voigt, who perennially has been near the middle in many races.

Adam Hansen of Lotto-Belisol currently holds the time closest to the tour median time of 2 hours, 29 minutes and 15 seconds.

Rafal Majka of Tinkoff-Saxo won the stage after making his own escapes. Vincenzo Nibali still leads, and Cheng Ji still holds the Lanterne Rouge.

Two riders did not start Stage 17: Reto Hollenstein of IAM Cycling and Simon Gerrans of Orica Greenedge. Simon Spilak of Team Katusha did not finish the stage.

In other notes:
• Kiryienka was the first rider over the Col de Peyresourde, the second Category 1 climb of the day.
• Koen de Kort, who had the fulcrum on the previous stage, slid back two spots.

July 22, 2014

De Kort Moves to Fulcrum on First Day in Pyrenees

On the first day into the Pyrenees, Koen De Kort of Team Giant-Shimano has taken hold of the general Point d’Appui, finishing 85th among the 169 riders still in the 2014 Tour de France.

The Dutch De Kort is the ninth rider of the tour to wear the Maillot Gris. He has consistently finished in the middle ranks of the tour since Stage 2, dropping as low as 112th during the first week of the tour and climbing as high as 62nd after Stage 7.

He is 2 hours, 31 minutes and 7 seconds behind race leader Vincenzo Nibali, and 2 hours and 25 seconds ahead of the Lanterne Rouge, Cheng Ji of Team Giant-Shimano.

On a day with lots of attacks, the winner of Stage 16 proved to be one of the first to successfully get away from the peloton and the most successful at attacking his fellow escapees on the final climb. The Point d’Appui on the stage was José Pimenta Costa Mendes of Team Netapp-Endura.

The young rider Simon Yates of Orica-GreenEdge and world champion Rui Costa of Lampre-Merida abandoned, due to earlier injuries and illness, respectively.

July 20, 2014

Cheers for Bauer; Ladagnous Is New Fulcrum

Before we get to today’s fulcrum, let’s lift up Jack Bauer onto our shoulders, cheer his heroic odyssey and buy him a round for providing the best finish of a tour stage yet this edition. He and Martin Elmiger, the escapees on the day, buried themselves in their pedals through the last kilometers, trying to hold off the peloton as it stormed into Nîmes. Within meters of the finish, they caught Bauer and sent him reeling from first to tenth in the blink of an eye. But we can cheer our tragic heroes with grace and joy and hope for the next race. Here’s to Bauer.

Returning to the central tenet of this article: A day after winning the Stage 14 Point d’Appui, Matthieu Ladagnous of FDJ.fr is the new overall Point d’Appui in the 2014 Tour de France.

Since Stage 5, Ladagnous has finished has high as 72nd place in the general classification and as low as 97th. A champion track cyclist during the early part of his career, he switched to road racing in 2010 and has done quite well on the European circuit.

Meanwhile, the Stage 15 Point d’Appui turned out to be John Gadret of Movistar Team . Gradet finished on the cusp of the general classification Point d’Appui after Stages 2 and 4, although he has continued to rise in the GC standings ever since and is among the top 25 now. The stage winner was Alexander Kristoff of Katusha.

The engine and caboose of the train remain unchanged going into the second race day.

July 20, 2014

Van Summeren Holds Point d’Appui on Second Alpine Day

Johan Van Summeren

During the second day in the Alps, Johan Van Summeren of Garmin-Sharp has settled into the fulcrum general classification after staying within a few places of the middle since Stage 7 of the 2014 Tour de France.

The Belgian Van Summeren is a workhorse for the Garmin-Sharp team, but also leads the team during the classic season. During his 10 years as a pro racer, his top race was winning the 2011 Paris-Roubaix, gaining enough lead that he was able to win in spite of riding the last five kilometers with a flat tire! This is his first time to hold the Point d’Appui.

Vincenzo Nibali continues to hold the Maillot Jaune and continues to put more time between himself and other leaders. Cheng Ji continues to hold the Lanterne Rouge and continues to lose time overall. He’s now four hours adrift of Nibali.

On the stage, Rafal Majka of Tinkoff-Saxo won just ahead of Nibali, finishing atop Risoul. The Point d’Appui on the stage was Matthieu Ladagnous of FDJ.fr. Two more riders abandoned: Rafael Valls of Lampre-Merida and Dries Devenyns of Giant-Shimano.

July 18, 2014

Bennati Lands on Fulcrum During First Alpine Stage

Daniele Bennati of Tinkoff-Saxo slipped back three spots and into the overall Point d’Appui during Stage 13 of the 2014 Tour de France as more abandons narrowed the field to 173 finishers. Vincenzo Nibali again rode in complete command of the race, finishing first atop Chamrousse, the first beyond-category mountain climb.

Bennati, a sprinter, has won two stages in the 2007 Tour de France and the green jersey in half a dozen stage races, including the Vuelta a España. Although Bennati suffered slightly on this year’s first day in the Alps, he did much better than most of the sprinters. He has finished in the general classification this year as high as 70th and as far back as 150th.

Daniel Navarro Garcia of Cofidis, Arthur Vichot of FDJ.fr and Janier Alexis Acevedo Calle of Garmin-Sharp abandoned the race during the stage, . Alexander Porsev of Team Katusha, who helped lead out teammate Alexander Kristoff to the Stage 12 win the day before, had not the energy to finish within the time limit of Stage 13 and was eliminated.

Cheng Ji of Team Giant-Shimano continues to hold onto the Lanterne Rouge, three and a half hours adrift of Nibali.

On the stage, another Tinkoff-Saxo rider, Michael Morkov, won the Point d’Appui. Morkov previously held the general classification Point d’Appui in Stage 11 of the 2012 Tour de France.

July 17, 2014

A New King in the Tour de France Point d’Appui

Ben King

American Ben King of Garmin-Sharp took over the Point d’Appui on the first hot day of the 2014 Tour de France, finishing 89th among the 177 surviving riders.

Two riders abandoned. After the heroic ride during the previous Stage 11, Andrew Talansky, leader of Garmin-Sharp, did not start Stage 12 due to injuries. David De La Cruz of Team Netapp-Endura got into the break-away with four other riders; but, while coming around a sharp right-hand bend, the front tire of his bike appeared to have a blow-out that sent him hard into the pavement, breaking his clavicle and withdrawing from the race.

The overall leader of the tour is still Vincenzo Nibali of Astana, and the Lanterne Rouge is Cheng Ji of Team Giant-Shimano. Alexander Kristoff of Team Katusha won Stage 12, holding off Peter Sagan, who has finished second on sprint stages five times now. The Point d’Appui for the stage was Marcel Sieberg of Lotto-Belisol.

July 17, 2014

Reichenbach on Fulcrum After Stage 11 of Tour de France

Sébastien Reichenbach of IAM Cycling finished Stage 11, the fulcrum stage of the 2014 Tour de France, in the Point d’Appui position.

The drama of the stage, of course, was not the Point d’Appui, but rather the existential conflict faced by Andrew Talansky, who fell behind the peloton due to severe pain in his lower back and then landed in a dark land, contemplating his raison de vélo. To Talansky’s everlasting credit, he got back on the bicycle and rode the course alone, finishing within the cutoff time and surviving to see what tomorrow brings.

Back to today, the current Point d’Appui, Reichenbach, sits among a nest of competitors and past champions of the fulcrum. The 10 nearest contenders for the gray jersey on either side of the fulcrum:
80 – Nelson Oliveira of Lampre-Merida
81 – Julien Simon of Cofidis, Solutions Credits
82 – Rudy Molard of Cofidis, Solutions Credits
83 – Matthieu Ladagnous of FDJ.fr
84 – Blel Kadri of AG2R La Mondiale
85 – Gregory Rast of Trek Factory Racing
86 – Johan Van Summeren of Garmin-Sharp
87 – Ruben Plaza Molina of Movistar Team
88 – Cyril Lemoine of Cofidis, Solutions Credits
89 – Markel Irizar Arranburu of Trek Factory Racing
90 – Sébastien Reichenbach of IAM Cycling
91 – Jens Voigt of Trek Factory Racing
92 – Koen De Kort of Team Giant-Shimano
93 – Kévin Reza of Team Europcar
94 – Daniele Bennati of Tinkoff-Saxo
95 – Benjamin King of Garmin-Sharp
96 – Simon Clarke of Orica Greenedge
97 – Vasili Kiryienka of Team Sky
98 – Sébastien Minard of AG2R La Mondiale
99 – Samuel Dumoulin of AG2R La Mondiale
100 – Jérémy Roy of FDJ.fr

Vincenzo Nibali remains in the yellow jersey and Cheng Ji remains in the Lanterne Rouge.

July 15, 2014

Tour de France 2014: A Race for the Ages

At the beginning of the 2014 Tour de France, both the oldest and youngest riders in the tour were riding for one team, Trek Factory. Jens Voigt is 42, and his teammate, Danny Von Popple, was 20.

Henri Cornet, youngest winner of the Tour de France.

Firmin Lambot, oldest winner of the tour.

The combination might make you wonder a little about the ages of the tour riders, both in this year’s 101st edition of the tour and in years’ past. The oldest competitor ever was Henri Paret, who at the age of 50 competed in the very first tour, held in 1903. The youngest competitor ever was Camille Fily, 17 years and two months old when he started the 1904 tour.

As with Fily, the youngest rider to win the tour, Henri Cornet, competed in 1904, finishing fifth but ascending to the yellow jersey when the four riders ahead of him were disqualified. Firmin Lobot was the oldest rider to win the yellow jersey. He was 36 years and four months old when he won in 1922.

So what about this year? The graph below shows each team with the ages of its riders toted up. Trek Factory, despite having the youngest rider in the tour, ended up with the grand-daddy of all ages, 292, calendaring an average of 32.4 years per rider. The youngest team, meanwhile, is Garmin Sharp at 246 total years, or an average age of 27.3 years per rider. Garmin’s oldest rider barely crests Trek’s average.

Looking at individual ages, you’ll find in the next graph that the highest number of riders who share the same age are those who are 29 years of age. The median age, that is the age half way between the oldest age and the youngest age, is 31.

When all the riders’ ages are added up and averaged out, though, the age closest to the average turns out to be that of Tom Veelers, the Team Giant-Shimano rider who held the Point d’Appui after Stage 5.

On a sentimental note, I have to cheer for Koen de Kort, also of Giant-Shimano. De Kort was born on September 8, 1982, the same date as my own birth, albeit it mine was some 24 years earlier. As it happens, I was on my first cross-country bicycle tour the day that de Kort was being born. I was camping the night among the Douglas fir of the Cascade range in Oregon. My wife, on the other hand, gets to cheer for Peter Sagan, who shares the date of his birth with her.

July 15, 2014

Contador Abandons, Putting Tour Back on Cuspides

Alberto Contador

Alberto Contador abandoned the Tour de France on Stage 9 after crashing, breaking his shinbone and riding another dozen kilometers before pain forced him out. He followed former tour winners Chris Froome and Andy Schleck as the third tour champion to crash out of the race. Along with two other abandons, his loss left 180 riders to come home at the end of the day put the 2014 Tour de France back in les Cuspides.

Jan Barta of Team Netapp-Endura and Matteo Trentin of Omega Pharma-Quick Step finished 90th and 91st, respectively, to be come the sixth pair of riders to share the cusp at the middle of the peloton. Barta won the combativity award in Stage 3, and Trentin, of course, surprised everyone including himself when he edged out sprinter Peter Sagan to win Stage 7. Their overall times, however, place them in the exact middle of the pack.

The other two riders who had to abandon were Mathew Hayman of Orica Greenedge and Edward “Ted” King of Cannondale. King held the Lanterne Rouge for several days, and his abandon returns Cheng Ji of Team Giant-Shimano to the last place position.

Vasili Kiryienka, the winner of the 2012 Point d’Appui, and Markel Irizar, winner of the 2011 Point d’Appui, are both within shouting distance of the middle. Jérémy Roy, who held the Point d’Appui after Stage 8, moved up a couple of places to escape the fulcrum momentarily.

All this comes amid the stamp of Vincenzo Nibali upon the finish of Stage 9, winning what is arguably the most difficult mountain stage of the tour — just seconds ahead of his nearest overall competitors — to take back the yellow jersey he put on loan to Tony Gallopin for Bastille Day.

Tomorrow, the tour enters its first rest day, a welcome relief for the riders who have survived thus far.