Lars Boom

July 7, 2015

Tour Remains on Les Cuspides After Three Stages

A crash on Stage 3 of the Tour de France caused havoc in the general classifications, provided to a new yellow jersey and forced four abandons. Since an even number survived, we still have no Point d’Appui in the 2015 tour.

After Stage 2, the two riders on Les Cuspides were Daniele Bennati of Tinkoff-Saxo and Lars Boom of Astana Pro Team. Bennati held the Point d’Appui at the end of Stage 13 in the 2013 Tour de France and has found his way to the cusp during races in 2012 and 2014 as well.

After today’s Stage 3, the two riders on the cusp of the fulcrum are Bram Tankink of Team LottoNL-Jumbo and Ivan Basso of Tinkoff-Saxo. Basso won the Point d’Appui in the 2014 USA Pro Challenge.

The four riders who abandoned the race due to crashes were Simon Gerrans of Orica GreenEdge, Dmitrii Kozonchuk of Team Katusha, Tom Dumoulin of Team Giant-Alpecin and William Bonnet of FDJ.fr.

Christopher Froome of Sky is quite surprisingly the holder of the yellow jersey, and Michael Matthews of Orica GreenEdge, who came home battered and bloodied, now tenuously holds the Lanterne Rouge.

July 10, 2014

La Pluie, pas les Pavés, Doom Froome

Christopher Froome, winner of the 2013 Tour de France, abandoned the 2014 Tour on Wednesday after crashes amid the rains of northern France prior to reaching the first sector of cobblestones. His loss left 193 riders to come home, and provided the tour with its first fulcrum.

Tom Veelers of Team Giant-Shimano finished 97th to claim the first Point d’Appui of the 2014 Tour de France. He started the in 168th place, but Stage 5 threw the tour into chaos. In the general classification, Veelers is 24 minutes and 41 seconds behind race leader Vincenzo Nibali. The Lanterne Rouge is still in the hands of Ariel Maximiliano Richeze of Lampre-Merida, who 1 hour, 2 minutes and 49 seconds adrift.

Markel Irizar, winner of the 2011 Tour Point d’Appui, is in 102nd, just five spots out of the fulcrum. Vasili Kiriyenka, winner of the 2012 Point d’Appui, fell 50 places due in part to his quick drop off the back to support Sky teammate Chris Froome after Froome’s first crash and in part as a result of Kiriyenka’s own crash in a slick roundabout.

The number of crashes Wednesday was legion, and that was before les pavés, the seven cobblestone sectors. Two sections of cobblestones were eliminated from the race due to the rain and “bad” conditions, as if there were any good conditions on the route across Flanders and finishing in Arenberg. Well, Stage 5 winner Lars Boom of Belkin Pro Cycling might say the last kilometer was pretty swell.

Greg Van Avermaet of BMC took the Point d’Appui on the stage.

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Tom Veelers