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 20, 2016

Peter Sagan Holds Green and Grey Jerseys of Tour

Don’t look back: The main group advances upon Peter Sagan on the climb up Col de la Forclaz the during Stage 17 of the Tour de France.

Peter Sagan got into the break on Stage 17 of the 2016 Tour de France to make sure he swept up the intermediate sprint points available to secure the sprinters’ Green Jersey. Then the race hit the first alpine mountain climb of the day, and Sagan wound up at the fulcrum of the general classification and now owns the Grey Jersey of the Point d’Appui for the second time during the race.

Sagan held the GC Point d’Appui after Stage 9, and has held the Yellow Jersey during three stages of the 2016 edition as well.

The 184-kilometer stage held four mountain climbs, two Category 3s, a Category 1 and a Beyond Category climb for the finish at Switzerland’s Finhaut-Emosson, a spectacular dam and man-made lake high in the Alps.

Several riders who have held the Point d’Appui this tour or have been on the cusps remain close to the middle of the peloton despite the turn into the mountains, including Anthony Delaplace, Jan Barta, Tony Gallopin and Michael Valgren among them. The riders on either side of Sagan’s time are only 6 and 7 seconds away from him, so a myriad of riders could still make it to the fulcrum before Paris.

The peloton is reduced to 179 riders. Two riders — Mark Cavendish of Dimension Data and Rohan Dennis of BMC Racing Team — abandoned ahead of the mountain stage to begin their preparations for the Olympics. Meanwhile, two more riders were unable to finish the stage after getting wrapped up in a crash during the first kilometer of the stage. Borut Bozic of Cofidis-Solutions Credits and Gorka Izaguirre of Movistar Team both went down hard. Izaguirre, one of the solid support riders for Nairo Quintana, has landed on the cusp of the fulcrum twice this race but this time landed on his collarbone, putting him out of action. Bozic regained his bicycle but took a second fall and had to abandon.

The winner of Stage 17 was Ilnur Zakarin of Team Katusha. Chris Froome of Sky remains the overall leader, and Sam Bennett of Bora-Argon 18 remains the Lanterne Rouge.

July 13, 2016

Stage 10 Takes Tour Back into les Cuspides

Michael Valgren

Simon Gerrans

Even as his teammate was winning Stage 10 of the Tour de France, Simon Gerrans of Orica-Bike Exchange was reclaiming a spot at the middle of the pack.

Joining him on the cusp of the fulcrum was Michael Valgren of Tinkoff Team. Valgren was one of the first riders among the main peleton to cross the finish line in Revel, officially in 18th place on the stage. He gave a smiling, shy look back at race leader Chris Froome as if to ask whether he should be crossing the line ahead of the pack. No worries. All the time bonuses and points had been eaten up by the break, and the members of the peloton were all awarded the same time.

Two things conspired to put Gerrans and Valgren at the middle:

Peter Sagan of Tinkoff, who held the GC Point d’Appui after Stage 9, moved higher into the standings due to his luck at getting into the break and finishing second on the stage.
Sebastian Langeveld of Cannondale-Drapac had to abandon the race.

So, an even number of 192 riders finished the day and allowed Gerrans to move up a place in the standings and Valgren to fall back a place to 97th and 96th places respectively.

Gerrans might prove to be the best contender for this year’s Point d’Appui. He was on the cusp after Stage 7 as well, and he won the Point d’Appui in the 2013 Milan-San Remo Classic.

The winner of this Stage 10 proved to be Michael Matthews, whose teammates in the break helped him slip past Sagan during the cat-and-mouse finish. Sagan, however, recaptured the green jersey as a consolation. The overall leader of the tour continues to be Christopher Froome of Sky, and the Lanterne Rouge continues to be Sam Bennett of Bora-Argon 18.

July 10, 2016

Sagan Takes Point d’Appui after Stage 9

Peter Sagan

Peter Sagan of Tinkoff Team is just a few points behind the green-jersey leader, Mark Cavendish, and now holds the Maillot Gris of the Point d’Appui, having landed at the middle of the general classification at the end of Stage 9.

Sagan, of course, also held the yellow jersey for three stages after winning Stage 2. He fell back sharply in the standings after Stage 5, slipped as low as 113th place in Stage 7 and rose Sunday to the fulcrum position of the peloton.

Tom Dumoulin won the 184-kilometer stage in a cold downpour just after a hailstorm pounded the finish line. He got into an early break after several attacks and then chased away from the front end just before the beginning of the final climb.

Stage 9 had three Category 1 climbs and an HC climb to the finish.

Four riders did not finish the day. Alberto Contador, the team leader for Tinkoff, bailed out midway through the day. Mark Renshaw of Dimension Data and Matthieu Ladagnous and Cédric Pineau, both of FDJ, abandoned before the end of the day as well. The withdrawal by Renshaw, the lead-out for Mark Cavendish, might portend Cavendish’s withdrawal from the race if he were to fall behind on points for the green jersey.

Sam Bennett of Bora-Argon 18 continues as the Lanterne Rouge, 2 hours, 22 minutes and 11 seconds behind the tour leader, Christopher Froome of Sky.

July 3, 2012

Perez Hits Daily Double in Les Cuspides

The Tour de France sets off on Stage 3 from Orchies to Boulogne-sur-Mer.

After two abandons during Stage 3, and even number of riders finished the stage, and we are still left without a Point d’Appui in the Tour de France. Les Cuspides for overall classification are Aliaksandr Kuchynski of Katusha, who came in 98th, and Rubén Perez of Euskaltel-Euskadi, who came in 99th. They are both 7 minutes and 2 seconds behind the yellow jersey of Fabian Cancellara and 23:03 ahead of the Lanterne Rouge, Brice Feillu.

Ruben Perez

Perez, one of five riders in today’s break-away, hit the Point d’Appui daily double, also finishing as one of Les Cuspides on Stage 3. Rarely does a rider get Les Cuspides in both general classification and for the stage. Perez finished 98th on the stage, just ahead of Juan Horrach of Katusha. Both of them were 3:54 behind stage winner Peter Sagan.