July 13, 2017

Into the Pyrenees and Another New Point d’Appui

Paul Martens of Team LottoNl-Jumbo is the newest holder of the general classification Point d’Appui in the 2017 Tour de France. The yellow jersey also changed hands on the pitched climb to Peyragudes on Stage 12, the Tour’s first day in the Pyrenees.

Martens finished the 2015 Tour de France on the cusp of the fulcrum, but this is his first time to land on the fulcrum. He has bounced around the standings, finishing as high as 31st place after the Stage 2, primarily on the strength of his time trial on Stage 1, and now as low as 90th place. He was one of many riders caught up in the first crash in the Stage 4 sprint leadout, but finished easily once everyone else got disentangled. This is his third Tour de France. He has also raced in the Giro d’Italia twice and in the Vuelta a España three times. He won the Grand Prix de Wallonie in 2010 and the Tour of Luxembourg in 2013.

Fabio Aru of Astana Pro Team made a break on the final wall of the final climb but didn’t have quite enough oxygen to win the stage. Romain Bardet of the AG2R La Mondiale team came around him and Rigoberto Uran of the Cannondale-Drapac team caught Aru as both went over the line with the same assessed time. They and three more riders dropped Christopher Froome far enough for Aru to move into the general classification lead. Froome is now 6 seconds behind Aru; Bardet is another 9 seconds adrift; and Uran is another 30 seconds down.

Froome perhaps used up a little adrenalin on the descent after the Port de Bales, when he momentarily followed teammate Michal Kwiatkowski straight through a corner and onto a short garden tour of caravans parked alongside the road. They quickly rejoined the other leaders though and seemed poise to hold off all challengers on the final climb, but Froome didn’t have the legs on this day.

Alexey Lutsenko of the Astana Pro Team was the stage Point d’Appui, and Luke Rowe of Team Sky retains the Lanterne Rouge.

Below is a video of the Stage 4 crash in which Martens went down. It was footage from a GoPro camera aboard the bicycle of Matteo Trentin of the Quick-Step Floors team and posted to Facebook by Velon CC.

July 16, 2016

Vichot at Fulcrum after Stage 13 Time Trials

Arthur Vichot during the 3rd stage of the Tour de Romandie 2010. Photo by Fanny Schertzer.

During the individual time trials of Stage 13 of the 2016 Tour de France, Arthur Vichot of FDJ did well enough to land in the fulcrum position. He was 94th of the 187 riders still in the tour and becomes the third rider of this year’s tour to hold the Point d’Appui.

Vichot, who won the French National Road Championship earlier this year, has raced in the Tour de France four previous times, finishing as high as 66th in the general classification and as low as 103rd. He had to withdraw from the race in 2014. He has also twice won the Tour du Haut Var, a two-day race in the early season run through the region in which the tour is currently passing.

Alexey Lutsenko, who has been on the cusp during the last two stages moved up one place above Vichot and remains in strong contention for the fulcrum.

Three riders abandoned the race Friday. Neither Thibaut Pinot of FDJ nor Simon Gerrans of Orica-BikeExchange started the stage, and Edward Theuns of Trek-Segafredo was unable to finish the 37-kilometer time trial.

Mikel Nieve of Team Sky finished as the Point d’Appui of the time trial. Teammate Wouter Poels was just a second behind him.

Tom Dumoulin of Team Giant-Alpecin won the stage by more than a minute over the second-place rider on the day, Christopher Froome of Sky. Froome looks unbeatable for the overall yellow jersey this year, excelling in the mountains, on the flats and now in the time trial.

Froome remains the overall leader and gained almost a minute over his top rivals. Meanwhile, Sam Bennett still retains the Lanterne Rouge, but finished 160th on the stage, showing that he is on the mend.

July 15, 2016

Fans Atop Mont Ventoux Nearly Derail Tour

Anthony Delaplace

Alexey Lutsenko

The climb up Mont Ventoux got steeper and steeper while the crowd pressed tighter and tighter until it all came to a stop. For a few brief minutes. Richie Porte of BMC, Chris Froome of Sky and Bauke Mollema of Trek-Segafredo were caught behind a motorbike that had to stop during the last kilometer because of the crowds in the road. Porte hit the motorbike pretty hard, and Froome’s bike was damaged. He began running up the course and eventually was supplied a bicycle from the neutral car. It didn’t fit well and his team car caught him in the 500 meters to supply him a bike of his own.

All said, Froome and Porte would have lost time to the other GC contenders except that the race judges decided to award everyone time based on their time at the 1 kilometer mark, meaning Froome stays in yellow.

It is no consolation to the riders who finished the stage 30 seconds ahead of their rival but lost 19 or 20 seconds on the recalculated general classification.

None of this affected the middle of the race much. Marcus Burghardt, on the cusp after Stage 11, moved up a spot, and Anthony Delaplace of Fortuneo-Vital Concept joined Alexey Lutsenko of Astana Pro Team on the cusp of the fulcrum. Lutsenko was also on the cusp after Stage 11.

Two riders who contended for the Point d’Appui early in the race – Simon Gerrans and Wouter Poels – took falls together in a sharp turn. They managed to get back in the main group to support Froome before the climb.

The Lanterne Rouge remains Sam Bennett of Bora-Argon 18. Thomas De Gendt of Lotto Soudal won the stage, his first in the Tour de France.

Jurgen Van Den Broeck of Team Katusha didn’t start the stage and Angelo Tulik of Direct Energie wasn’t able to finish after taking a fall and injuring his wrist.

July 14, 2016

Winds Shift Cusps to Lutsenko, Burghardt

Marcus Burghardt

Alexey Lutsenko

Despite early crashes on narrow roads amid a crowded field, the 192 riders who started Stage 11, the middle stage of the Tour de France, managed to come home at the end of the day, leaving the tour in les Cuspides.

The crazy winds lashing the peloton blew Alexey Lutsenko of Astana Pro Team and Marcus Burghardt of BMC Racing Team into the middle of the general classification placement, Lutsenko at 96th pace and Burghardt at 97th. Both are new to the fulcrum.

The stage was won by Peter Sagan in an impressive run off the front end of the GC group. More impressively, Tour leader Chris Froome of Sky got onto Sagan’s wheel and stayed with him to gain another 6 seconds over the rest of the field. Sam Bennett remains the Lanterne Rouge.