roy curvers

July 26, 2014

Time Trial Puts Kadri, Ollo on Cusp Going into Paris

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Blel Kadris

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Imanol Erviti Ollo

Blel Kadri of AG2R La Mondiale and Imanol Erviti Ollo of Movistar Team finished on the cusp of the fulcrum after Stage 20, the only time trial in the 2014 Tour de France.

Placement is unlikely to change on the ceremonial run into Paris, although time gaps do sometimes make modest changes. Lars Bak of Lotto-Belisol is only 18 seconds ahead Kadri.

Both Kadri and Ollo have shared les Cuspides on previous stages. Ollo shared the cusp of the fulcrum with Vasili Kiryienka of Team Sky after Stage 18, and Kadri shared the cusp with Matthieu Ladagnous of FDJ.fr after Stage 15.

The riders on the cusps after the previous stage split in separate directions during today’s time trial. Lieuwe Westra of Astana Pro Team gained a couple of spots in the general classification, Kiriyenka dropped a couple of spots.

The time trial posed little threat to the leader of the tour, Vincenzo Nibali, but the podium positions and top five overall were in doubt due to the close quarters kept by the also-rans. Two French riders, Jean-Christophe Péraud of AG2R-La Mondiale and Thibaut Pinot of FDJ.fr secured second and third in the general classification, the best showing by French competitors in a quarter century. Alejandro Valverde of Movistar rode poorly in the time trial and was unable to gain on the two Frenchmen.

American Tejay Van Garderen, however, eked out fifth place, slipping past Romain Bardet of AG2R-La Mondiale, who suffered a puncture on the 54 kilometer route through the hills leading from Bergerac to Périgueux.

Cheng Ji, the Lanterne Rouge, appears to have survived the time cutoffs and will ride to the Arc de Triomphe tomorrow as the first Chinese rider not only to compete in the Tour de France but to finish as well. Ji rode on the front end of the peloton on most flat stages, helping Team Giant-Shimano put their sprinter, Marcel Kittel, in position to win the sprint finishes.

The rider with the time closest to the tour median is Roy Curvers of Team Giant-Shimano. His time of 3 hours, 57 minutes and 50 seconds is just 2 seconds off the median.

July 1, 2012

Lancaster, Curvers Split Stage 1 at Tour de France

Despite crashes in the last 10 kilometers of the stage, all 198 racers made it home, so there is no Point d’Appui yet. Brett Lancaster of Orica GreenEdge and Roy Curvers of Argos-Shimano are the new Cuspides for the general classification. Lancaster finished 2:18 behind the maillot jaune worn by Fabian Cancellara and 7:25 ahead of the Lantern Rouge, Guillaume Levarlet of Saur-Sojasun.

Brett Lancaster

Roy Curvers

Lancaster won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics for team pursuit and has won a couple of prologues, including the 2005 Giro and the 2008 Deutschland Tour. Hat tip to Curvers, who finished dead last in the Prologue and moved half-way up the field during Stage 1. Another move up like that and he would be thinking podium.

Meanwhile, Yukiya Arashiro of Europcar and Peter Velits of Omega Pharma-Quick Step finished on les cuspides for Stage 1. Arashiro is the first Japanese rider ever to reach the cuspide in the Tour de France. Velits had been in the initial lead group coming into Seraing but had to drop back in the last minute because of mechanical problems. Arashiro came home 1:25 behind the winner and 27 seconds ahead of Velits,who also had the average speed for the stage.

During the final 10 kilometers, the cross wind, the narrow twisting route and a pinheaded photographer standing midstream produced several relatively minor crashes and splintered the field.

Other notes:

  • Yohann Gene, a rider for Team Europcar who made it into the break, won the intermediate sprint.
  • Michael Morkov of Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank, also in the break, took the king of the mountain points at the middle Category 4 hill, as well as two other hill climbs, enough to grab the polka-dot jersey.
  • Our prediction that Sandy Casar might slide back from his placement after the Prologue to grab the Stage 1 Point d’Appui wasn’t too far off. Casar actually slid one spot behind the cuspide on the stage and about 8 spots back on the general classification.
  • Les Cuspides from the Prologue rode in opposite directions. Tom Danielson moved from the middle to the 35th position, and Jérôme Pineau fell to 173rd.