Daniel Navarro

July 6, 2017

Offredo Gets Fulcrum as Laengen Slips Following Ride in Break

Portrait of bicycle racer Yohann Offredo

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

Photo of bicycle racer Vegard Stake Laengen

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.