July 6, 2017

Offredo Gets Fulcrum as Laengen Slips Following Ride in Break

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 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.

Tom Veelers

July 5, 2014

Mate, Roy on Cusp After Stage 1 of Tour de France

All 198 riders came home, albeit a couple of them battered during the run-up to the finish, during Stage 1 of the 2014 Tour de France. As a result the first day ended without a Point d’Appui. Luis Mate of Cofidis and Jérémy Roy of FDJ took 99th and 100th places, respectively to place in Les Cuspides.

Marcel Kittel won the sprint decisively to gain both the stage and the yellow jersey. Hometown favorite Mark Cavendish hit the deck hard during the sprint along with Simon Gerrans. Both limped home, and Cavendish particularly looked as though the crash might put him off the rest of the tour.

The winner of the 2013 Tour de France Point d’Appui, Manuel Quinziato of BMC, rode for the team in the Giro d’Italia but – like Bradley Wiggins and Nairo Quintana – is not back at the Tour de France to defend his title.

However, the winners of the 2011 and 2012 Tour de France Point d’Appui are back.

Markel Irizar of Trek Factory Racing and winner of the 2011 Point d’Appui finished 75th during Stage 1.
Vasili Kiryienka of Team Sky, finished in 104th position, within striking distance of this year’s fulcrum.

Kiryienka was on track to contest for the 2013 Point d’Appui before being dropped from the tour after finishing outside the time limit on Stage 9 last year.

The Lanterne Rouge after Stage 1 is Alessandro Petacchi of Omega Pharma-Quick Step, who finished 14 minutes back of the leaders.

Stage 1, which started in Leeds, Great Britain, and finished at Harrogate, also took a break for members of the tour to meet members of the royal peloton, Prince William, Princess Kate, and Prince Harry.

July 21, 2013

Quinziato Wins Point d’Appui in 100th Edition of Tour de France

Manuel Quinziato, winner of the Point d’Appui for the 2013 Tour de France.

Quite sadly, an abandon by Lieuwe Westra of Vacansoleil-DCM on the last stage of the 100th edition of the Tour France, on its way into Paris, left the tour with 169 finishers. We would have been much happier to see Westra finish the tour and not to proclaim a Point d’Appui for the race.

Alas, we do have a 2013 Point d’Appui, but it is well deserved. Manuel Quinziato of BMC Racing finished 2 hours, 39 minutes and 34 seconds behind the winner, Christopher Froome of Sky, to win the 2013 Tour de France maillot gris.

Quinziato started the race with a good first stage, finishing nine places ahead of the middle. On Stage 2, he slipped back to 106th place, but over the next ten stages, he slowly worked his way forward in the peloton to get to the fulcrum position on Stage 12. After a strong finish in Stage 13, he moved up eight places, peaking at 73rd place in Stage 16 when he got into a break of 26 riders that survived to the finish in Gap. Quinziato, though, limited his damages for the Point d’Appui by finishing 26th out of the 26-member break.

By Stage 19, he had dropped back to the middle, finishing on Les Cuspides on 19 and 20. The abandon by Westra and no significant changes on the final day of romps on the Champs allowed Quinziato to finish on the fulcrum and win the Point d’Appui.

Quinziato finished 1 hour, 48 minutes and 21 seconds ahead of the Lanterne Rouge, Svein Tuft of Orica-GreenEdge.

The rider with the time closest to the median for the 21-day race proved to be Thomas Voeckler, the French rider for Team Europcar.

The stage-by-stage general classification results for Point d’Appui:

Stage 1 – No fulcrum.
Stage 2 – No fulcrum. Markel Irizar of RadioShack Leopard, winner of the Point d’Appui in the 2011 Tour de France, was on Les Cuspides.
Stage 3 – No fulcrum.
Stage 4 – Pavel Brutt of Katusha
Stage 5 – Sergey Lagutin of Vacansoleil-DCM
Stage 6 – Vasil Kiryienka of Sky Procycling. Kiryienka was the winner of the Point d’Appui in the 2012 Tour de France.
Stage 7 – No fulcrum.
Stage 8 – Adam Hansen of Lotto Belisol
Stage 9 – No fulcrum. Vasil Kiryienka was eliminated from the race after coming home too slow on the stage.
Stage 10 – No fulcrum.
Stage 11 – No fulcrum.
Stage 12 – No fulcrum.
Stage 13 – Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas of Movistar Team.
Stage 14 – Simon Clarke of Orica-GreenEdge
Stage 15 – Julien El Fares of Sojasun
Stage 16 – Alberto Losada Alguacil of Katusha
Stage 17 – Alberto Losada Alguacil of Katusha
Stage 18 – Matteo Tosatto of Team Saxo-Tinkoff
Stage 19 – No fulcrum.
Stage 20 – No fulcrum.
Stage 21 – Manuel Quinziato of BMC Racing

July 3, 2013

Team Time Trial Puts Katusha’s Brutt in Fulcrum

Judges for the Tour de France refused to reverse course on their decision that Eddie King would be dropped from the race, leaving the tour with its first odd number of racers to come home. Pavel Brutt of Katusha proved to be the rider at the center of the pack.

It’s a bad way to crown the first Point d’Appui of the 100th edition of the Tour de France, but we live with what we are given. Team Katusha finished in 10th place on the team time trial, just enough ahead of Radioshack Leopard to pull Brutt into the fulcrum position.

During the first three stages, an even number of riders came home each day. The Cuspides on each stage:

Stage 1 – Aliaksandr Kuchynski of Katusha, who held a similar position in the 2012 Tour de France, and Thomas Voeckler of Europcar.
Stage 2 – Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas of Movistar and Markel Irizar of RadioShack Leopard. Irizar won the Point d’Appui in the 2011 Tour de France.
Stage 3 – Arthur Vichot of FDJ and Peter Kennaugh of Sky Procycling.

September 9, 2012

Pieter Weening Claims 2012 Vuelta’s Point d’Appui

Pieter Weening, out front on a break away during Stage 6 of the Vuelta a España

Pieter Weening of Orica-GreenEdge settled into the middle of the pack during Stage 20 and finished the 2012 Vuelta a España as the Point d’Appui, taking home the maillot gris. He came home 2 hours, 27 minutes and 56 seconds behind the race winner, Alberto Contador, and finished 2 hours, 4 minutes and 39 seconds ahead of Cheng Ji, who held on to become China’s first Lanterne Rouge in a grand tour.

Johan Van Summeren, the Belgian riding for Garmin-Sharp, had the time closest to the median.

On the stage, Ben Gastauer of AG2R La Mondiale came home at the fulcrum position.

The Point d’Appui changed hands nine times, and 10 stages ended without a fulcrum. Of note, Philippe Gilbert, who held the Point d’Appui early in the race, won Stages 9 and 19, thus obviating much chance that he would finish in the middle. For the record, Gilbert finished 59th in general classification. Grischa Niermann, who is retiring after 13 years of racing, held the Point d’Appui after Stage 15. And no race would be complete without a mention of Markel Irizar, winner of the Point d’Appui in the 2011 Tour de France and who briefly held the Vuelta’s middle spot after Stage 18.

Through the stages:

Stage 1 – No fulcrum
Stage 2 – Rémi Pauriol
Stage 3 – Philippe Gilbert
Stage 4 – No fulcrum
Stage 5 – No fulcrum
Stage 6 – No fulcrum
Stage 7 – No fulcrum
Stage 8 – No fulcrum
Stage 9 – No fulcrum
Stage 10 – Gregory Rast
Stage 11 – Arnaud Courteille
Stage 12 – No fulcrum
Stage 13 – No fulcrum
Stage 14 – Martijn Keizer
Stage 15 – Grischa Niermann
Stage 16 – Johannes Fröhlinger
Stage 17 – No fulcrum
Stage 18 – Markel Irizar
Stage 19 – Johannes Fröhlinger
Stage 20 – Pieter Weening
Stage 21 – Pieter Weening

September 3, 2012

Niermann Climbs into Control of Center

Grischa Niermann of Rabobank Fought his way to the center of the grupetto to claim the overall Point d’Appui after Stage 15 of the Vuelta a España. Niermann finished 1 hour, 27 minutes and 37 seconds behind the race leader, Joaquim Rodriguez, and 1 hour, 54 minutes and 54 seconds behind Van Leijen of Lotto Belisol.

Markel Irizar, who won the Point d’Appui in the 2011 Tour de France, is only one spot off the fulcrum.

On the stage, Paulo Tiralongo of Astana finished in the dead center.

August 29, 2012

Time Trial Lets Courteille Snag Point d’Appui

Arnaud Courteille

Arnaud Courteille of FDJ-Big Mat is the new Point d’Appui after Wednesday’s time trial, Stage 11 of the Vuelta a España. He pushed out Grégory Rast, who held the Point d’Appui after Stage 10, after both riders fell two places in the general classification standings.

Markel Irizar, who won the 2011 Tour de France Point d’Appui, is only one spot out of the fulcrum and must be considered a contender for the Vuelta’s chemise grise.

August 22, 2012

Katusha Riders Gain the Cusp after Stage 4 of the Vuelta

After the abandonment by David Boucher, the field of the Vuelta was left with 196 riders and no Point d’Appui. After the fourth stage, Pavel Brutt of Katusha and Denys Kostyuk of Lampre, finished as Les Cuspides in the general classification. They finished more than 15 minutes behind the leader, Joaquim Rodriguez, also of Katusha.

Brutt was joined by another Katusha rider, Gatis Smukulis, as Les Cuspides for the stage.

A crash with about 30 kilometers to go threw the race into disorder. Philippe Gilbert, who held the Point d’Appui after Stage 3, fell nearly 40 places on the day. Unsurprisingly though, Markel Irizar, who won the Point d’Appui in the 2011 Tour de France as well as one stage in the 2011 Vuelta, has managed to stay within six places of the fulcrum.

The new Lanterne Rouge of the Vuelta is Martijn Maaskant of Garmin-Sharp. He’s more than 39 minutes behind the leader.

August 21, 2012

Gilbert Edges Pauriol Out for Point d’Appui

Philippe Gilbert of BMC can add another feather to his cap after finishing on the fulcrum during Stage 3 of the Vuelta a España to gain the general classification Point d’Appui. Gilbert was the Belgian road race and time trial champion in 2011 and won quite a few races, and wore the yellow jersey in the 2011 Tour de France after winning the first stage. This year, the honors have been much more modest, and so it should come as little surprise that he has landed in the middle.

He finished six minutes and three seconds after the race leader, Alejandro Valverde of Movistar, and 21 minutes and 21 seconds ahead of David Boucher, who despite gaining good time overall was still in overall last place after Stage 3.

The Point d’Appui for the stage went to Kevin De Weert, another Belgian riding for Omega Pharma-Quickstep.

Rémi Pauriol, who held the Point d’Appui after Stage 2, gained 27 spots on the pack. Markel Irizar, whom we had pegged as a potential winner of the maillot gris by the end of the Vuelta, moved only a few spots up, despite getting into the eight-man break.