July 10, 2018

Naesen Becomes First Point d’Appui of 2018 Tour

Oliver Naesen of AG2R La Mondiale finished in 87th position on the general classification of Stage 4 of the 2018 Tour de France to gain the fulcrum for the first time in the race.

The 2017 Belgian National Champion in the road race, Naesen is racing in his third Tour de France. He finished 83 and 63 in 2016 and 2017, respectively. He had top 10 finishes in a dozen European road races, primarily classics.

Greg Van Avermaet of BMC Racing Team holds the yellow jersey, and Lawson Craddock EF-Drapac continues as the Lanterne Rouge, although he looks better each day.

Stage 2 and 3 of Tour de France continued in the cusps with an even number of riders finishing. Teammates Kristijan Durasek and Darwin Atapuma, both of UAE Team Emirates, finished 87th and 88th on Stage 2 to earn distinction as Les Cuspides.

The team time trials on Stage 3 reordered the peloton, and Guillaume Martin of Wanty-Groupe Gobert and Julien Simon of Cofidis, Solutions Credits wound up on the cusps of the fulcrum.

July 24, 2016

Late Abandon Leaves Tour without Fulcrum; Jeannesson, Bárta on Cusps

Jan Bárta leads an escape group of eight on the Champs-Élysées during the final stage of the 2016 Tour de France. Bárta finished on the cusps of the Point d’Appui.

An abandon of the race by Tony Martin on the Champs-Élysées put the 2016 Tour de France back in les Cuspides for the finish, meaning that no Point d’Appui could be awarded this year.

On the cusps of the fulcrum were Arnold Jeannesson in 87th place and Jan Bárta in 88th place. Bárta held the Point d’Appui at the end of three stages and might rightly be considered the most deserving of the honor.

Jeannesson, a Cofidis rider, fell back during the last week to arrive a place ahead of Bárta, who rides for Bora-Argon 18.

Martin abandoned due to knee problems after getting to Paris, but with eyes toward healing in time to ride in the Olympics. His abandon probably affected the lead out, or lack thereof, for sprinter Marcel Kittel, who seemed absent in the final bunch sprint of the tour.

The entire in peloton stayed in the race through Stage 7, the first time that has happened, and it proved to be highest number of riders to finish the entire tour. It was also the longest run in the Tour de France before a fulcrum occurred, at least in modern history. Only seven riders held the Point d’Appui during the course of the race, a lower number than usual because of the repeated middle finishes by Peter Sagan and Bárta.

The stage-by-stage general classification:

Stage 1 – No fulcrum.
Stage 2 – No fulcrum.
Stage 3 – No fulcrum.
Stage 4 – No fulcrum.
Stage 5 – No fulcrum.
Stage 6 – No fulcrum.
Stage 7 – No fulcrum.
Stage 8 – Pierre-Luc Périchon of Fortuneo-Vital Concept.
Stage 9 – Peter Sagan of Tinkoff Team.
Stage 10 – No fulcrum.
Stage 11 – No fulcrum.
Stage 12 – No fulcrum.
Stage 13 – Arthur Vichot of FDJ.
Stage 14 – Kristijan Đurasek of Lampre-Merida.
Stage 15 – Tony Gallopin of Lotto Soudal.
Stage 16 – Jan Bárta of Bora-Argon 18.
Stage 17 – Peter Sagan of Tinkoff Team.
Stage 18 – Jan Bárta of Bora-Argon 18.
Stage 19 – Anthony Delaplace of Fortuneo-Vital Concept.
Stage 20 – Jan Bárta of Bora-Argon 18.
Stage 21 – No fulcrum.

Chris Froome, of course, won the Maillot Jaune, with Romain Bardet and Nairo Quintana in second and third, respectively. The Lanterne Rouge was Sam Bennett, who finished last overall but among the top ten riders at the end of the stage. Great to see he has mended after the early crash that set him low in the overall standings.

July 16, 2016

Đurasek Takes Fulcrum on Stage 14

Kristijan Đurasek

Stage 14 of the 2016 Tour de France saw Kristijan Đurasek of Lampre-Merida slip into the Point d’Appui in general classification.

Đurasek won both the Croatian National Road Race Championships and Time Trial Championships back in 2011. He also won the 2015 Tour of Turkey. This is his third Tour de France. He finished 46th and 76th in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

Two riders abandoned on Stage 14: Matti Breschel of Cannondale-Drapac and Mathias Frank of IAM Cycling. Breschel abandoned after a crashing into a vehicle and suffering a severe cut on the leg. Frank, the leader of IAM-Cycling, apparently abandoned after it became clear he would not be a top-ten finisher. He was ranked 31st after the individual time trials of Stage 13 and two teammates were ranked higher at that point.

The tour leader is still Christopher Froome, and the Lanterne Rouge remains Sam Bennett.

Mark Cavendish won his fourth stage of this year’s tour with a perfectly timed charge to the finish. At this point, the tour might be his best training for the upcoming Olympics.

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.

March 7, 2013

Siutsou Holds onto Share of Cuspides on Stage 4

Kanstantsin Siutsou of Sky Procycling held onto a piece of les Cuspides during Stage 4 of the Paris-Nice spring classic, being joined by Dennis Vanendert of Lotto Belisol, who holds the lead Cuspide. Despite more abandons of the race, the final number who came home on Stage 4 was even, and so no fulcrum could be awarded.

Kanstantsin Siutsou has had a decent career, winning the Tour de Georgia in 2008 and finishing 16th in the Tour de France that same year. In 2011, he finished high in the standings for the Criterium du Dauphine and the Giro d’Italia. Since joining Team Sky in 2012, his role has shifted to more domestique work in support of Bradley Wiggins and Michael Rogers. He was part of the team for the 2012 Tour de France, but crashed on Stage 3 and was forced out of the race. Good to see him back.

Speaking of back, there’s a new Lanterne Rouge. Andrea Palini of Lampre-Merida has fallen to the rear of the bus. After Stage 3, he held the median time for general classification. After Stage 4, Mattia Cattaneo of Lampre-Merida, had the median time. Cattaneo, of course, was on the cuspides after Stage 3, so you can see there have been some major shifts in standings between the two stages.

On the stage, the two riders on the cusp of the fulcrum were Yoann Offredo of FDJ and Kristijan Durasek of Lampre-Merida.