July 11, 2018

Tour Returns to Les Cuspides on Nasty Stage 5

The winding, hilly route of Stage 5 of the Tour de France saw a reduction in the field of riders, leaving an even number of 170 at the finish and throwing the race back into the cusps.

Julien Bernard of Trek-Segafredo and Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg of Dimension Data wound up as Les Cuspides of the general classification, sitting at 85th and 86th places respectively.

Greg Van Avermaet of BMC Racing Team remains in the yellow jersey, and Lawson Craddock of EF-Drapac continues as the Lanterne Rouge. Peter Sagan widened his lead for the green jersey with the stage win.

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 1, 2017

Two Abandons, Two on Cusps of Stage 1

The rain-soaked time trial of Stage 1 of the 2017 Tour de France brought down two experienced riders, leaving an even number to struggle home.

On the cusps of the fulcrum are Tiago Machado of Katusha-Alpecin and Jan Bakelants of AG2R La Mondiale. Bakelants has finished as the Point d’Appui on two Tour stages before, once in 2012 and once last year, although he hasn’t ever held the GC Point d’Appui.

Alejandro Valverde of Movistar was seriously injured and went to hospital after hitting the deck hard and slamming into the barriers. Spaniard Ion Izagirre of Bahrain-Merida was also among the many crash victim and like Valverde abandoned the race.

Geraint Thomas of Team Sky won Stage 1 and is the holder of the first yellow jersey of the Tour de France, much to his own surprise. Teammate Vasili Kiryienka, winner of the 2012 GC Point d’Appui, finished third in Saturday’s time trial.

Tony Gallopin of Lotto Soudal also took a fall and limped 3 minutes and 3 seconds adrift to take hold of the Lanterne Rouge.

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 12, 2012

Morkov Hits the Fulcrum After Tap Dancing Around It

Michael Morkov

Michael Morkov of Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank finally caught hold of the general classification Point d’Appui in Stage 11 of the 2012 Tour de France. Morkov finished in Les Cuspide on Stage 9 and tip-toed around both sides of the fulcrum on other stages. He finished 1:19:10 behind the leader of the Tour de France, Bradley Wiggins, and 1:01:30 ahead of the new Lanterne Rouge, Tyler Farrar of Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda.

Morkov is pedaling an interesting line during this year’s tour, a track rider who manages to grab the mountain climber’s polka dot jersey for several stages and yet still slides into the middle just past the midway point of the tour. Also nibbling around the edges are Yaroslav Popovych and Vladimir Karpets, two riders whom we have been watching for the GC Point d’Appui.

On the stage, Dimitry Fofonov of Astana turned in the Point d’Appui performance of the day, finishing one place behind Jérôme Pineau, who finished as a Cuspide on the Prologue.

Notes on Stage 11:

Cyril Gautier, who held the Point d’Appui GC on Stage 10 continued his climb up the rankings, finishing another 20 places higher after the climbing through the beyond-classification mountains of Stage 11.
Jimmy Engoulvent of Saur-Sojusan climbed a spot to escape the Lanterne Rouge, leaving it to Tyler Farrar.

July 9, 2012

After Near Misses, Morkov and Bak Find Les Cuspides

Michael Morkov

Lars Bak

Lars Bak of Lotto-Belisol and Michael Morkov of Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank are the new general classification Cuspides after Stage 9 of the 2012 Tour de France. They finished 89th and 90th respectively in the overall time in a field of 178, both of them coming home more than 38 minutes behind the leader, Bradley Wiggins, and more than 40 minutes ahead of the new Lanterne Rouge, Jimmy Engoulvent of Saur-Sojasun.

Morkov has danced around the Point d’Appui position the last couple of stages, working his way to the middle from deep in the general classification after Stage 1. His early work in the tour to join breaks and then grab the polka dot jersey counted for naught in the GC contention. However, he is proving to have some sticking power and has found his way to Les Cuspides. Bak has made a similar progression, although his proximity to the fulcrum has been wider and more unpredictable than that of Morkov.

On the stage, Christian Vande Velde of Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda finished 89th and Martin Velits of Omega Pharma-Quickstep finished 90th to take Les Cuspides on the day. Velits has come close to GC contention for the Point d’Appui as well, especially during the sprinters’ stages. The mountains might allow him to step out of the middle.

Other notes from Stage 9:

Brice Feillu proved his mettle, escaping the Lanterne Rouge during Monday’s time trial, finishing 88th on the day and squeezing ahead of two other riders, Tyler Farrar and Engoulvent, on the GC time.
Vladimir Karpets and Bernard Eisel, our predictions for improvement in Stage 9, instead slipped further back in the GC standings.
Marco Marzano and Christophe Kern, who held Les Cuspides after Stage 8, also slipped back but are still within striking distance of the Point d’Appui.

July 7, 2012

Mountain Stage Brings New Point d’Appui in Tour de France

Sébastien Hinault at the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné

The steep mountain finish on Stage 7 of the 2012 Tour de France has reshuffled the deck and put a new rider — Sébastien Hinault of AG2R La Mondiale — in the general classification Point d’Appui.

The sprinters fell back in overall time and the hill climbers moved forward. The Point d’Appui spun like the revolving door at Macy’s. By the end of the day, 17 riders had abandoned the tour, leaving 181 riders to come home.

Hinault, a sprint specialist, slipped back 15 positions from his Stage 6 finish to land on the fulcrum, 21:12 behind the new tour GC leader, Bradley Wiggans of Sky, and 34 minutes ahead of Brice Feillu, who has suffered illness through the first week of the tour and still holds the Lanterne Rouge.

The Point d’Appui on the stage is Nicki Sôrensen of Team Saxobank-Tinkoff Bank. Sôrensen started the tour a little off the average pace, crept into the front half of the by Stage 3. In Stage 6, he slipped down the general classification significantly, another rider slowed by the late crash in the day. On Stage 7, his finish at the fulcrum brought him closer to the GC Point d’Appui. Expect him to move further up on Saturday.

Major riders who abandoned overnight included Ryder Hesjedal and Robbie Hunter, both of Garmin, and Oscar Freire of Katusha.

Notes on Stage 7:

Les Cuspides on Stage 6 — Sammy Dumoulin and Juan Haeda — both slipped down the GC rankings.
Michael Morkov of Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank unexpectedly held the polka dot jersey through several early stages. Morkov is much better on the track and is hoping to better his 2008 Silver finish for the team pursuit in the upcoming Olympics. The mountains of Stage 7 took the polka dot jersey away from him and pushed him back to within two spots of the fulcrum.

July 7, 2012

Bob Roll Finished Just Outside the Cusp in 1986

Bob Roll, riding for 7-Eleven in the 1986 Tour de France

The 1986 Tour de France finished with American Bob Roll just three spots out of Le Cuspide. With an even number of riders finishing that year, no Point d’Appui could be awarded. The two riders on the cusp of the middle place, however, were Ennio Vanotti of Gis Gelati and Paul Haghedooren of Joker. Vanotti finished 1:45:20 behind the winner of the tour, Greg LeMond.

Roll led the 7-Eleven squad that year and finished three spots ahead of Vanotti. Four years later, however, Roll finished well out of contention for the grey jersey while riding in support of Andy Hempsten, again for Team 7-Eleven. Again, Greg LeMond won the race.

Of the other riders with “roll” in their names, which one would think would be an asset to a race on wheels, only Antonin Rolland, the great racer during the 1950s, came as close to the Point d’Appui as Bob Roll. Rolland finished three spots behind the fulcrum in 1950. Meanwhile Michel Coroller from 1974 and Pierre Rolland from the 2009, 2010 and 2011 tours were well outside the margin of the middle.

Roll on Bobke, roll on.

July 6, 2012

Late Crash Upends Fulcrum Rankings; Dumoulin on Cusp

The crash with only 26 kilometers left in the race upended the race for the Point d’Appui in Stage 6 of the Tour de France. Sadly, two riders who had contended for le Point d’Appui, finishing as Cuspides earlier in the race — Davide Vigano on Stage 5 and Tom Danielson on the Prologue — abandoned the race along with Mikel Astarloza of Euskeltel-Euskedi and Wouter Poels* of Vacansoleil-DCM.

The even number of abandons left the total number of finishers even, and so again no Point ‘Appui could be awarded. Les Cuspides for general classification after Stage 6 came to rest on the shoulders of Samuel Dumoulin of Cofidis, who finished 95th, and Juan Jose Haedo of Team Saxobank-Tinkoff Bank. Dumoulin finished 11:20 behind tour leader Fabian Cancellara and 41:10 ahead of the last rider.

Samuel Dumoulin

Dumoulin was in the sprint on Stage 5, finishing fourth and had hoped to be in the sprint again on Stage 6, but like so many riders got caught behind the major crash of the day. Prior to Stage 6, LeTour.fr spoke with Samuel Dumoulin about Stage 5. Dumoulin said:

“Yesterday’s stage was fairly quiet, I could save myself for the finish. And, in the last 30 kilometers, I’m able to move up in the bunch. Then everything went pretty well. At the time of the crash, that happened to my right, but I didn’t really need to avoid it. I was a bit lucky, and after I managed to follow the right wheels, particularly that of Matt Goss… I was still just 150 meters from the line. But I wasn’t able to pass him.

“We can say that I had my chance because it was an uphill finish, and this is the type of terrain that suits me the best. I did not train to compete with them, but with experience, I can still go back to making the right wheels.

“On the flat, I have no chance against the best sprinters. The best way for me to succeed in a stage is still to put myself in a small breakaway group that goes to the end. But we must still make the right! In any case, since the start of the Tour I have good feelings.”

Jelle Vanendert of Lotto-Bellisol and Nick Nuyens of Saxobank-Tinkoff Bank finished as Les Cuspides for Stage 6.

Other notes from the stage:

The Lanterne Rouge is still Brice Feillu, who pulled in 2 and a half minutes during Stage 6 against some of the other riders in l’autobus, but he still has a ways to go to pull before he can hand off the lantern to someone else.
Aliaksandr Kuchynski fell back 40 places from his middle placement, coming home slowly, 13 minutes adrift at the head of l’autobus. Kuchynski fractured his wrist in Stage 5 and has been slowed along with the several other riders with wrung wrists.

* Early reports indicated that Poels abandoned after the crash, then other reports indicated he was still riding. His name, however, did not appear in the final classification of riders. We will update if Poels is found to be yet riding the long road to Metz.

July 5, 2012

Stage 6: The Road from Epernay to Metz

Epernay, the start of Stage 6 of the Tour de France

Stage 6 of the Tour de France, with only one categorized climb on the day, seems like a perfect course to finish in a bunch sprint. Which makes me think the break-away will survive. Hah!

The route from Epernay to Metz appears to be a fast one on paper: 207.5 kilometers; few climbs and nothing steep save the Côte de Bruxières, which has only 170 meters gain from St. Mihiel; and a downhill run into Metz.

Choosing who will wind up in the middle is difficult. There aren’t very many sprinters from the back end of the standings left to move up into the front half, so the point d’appui might just stay where it is or shift slightly if a few sprinters are feeling taxed by the early stages. Of course, a crash in the last 15 kilometers could change things dramatically. The roundabout just after Noveant-sur-Moselle might catch a few riders unaware.

If no one withdraws overnight, however, we’re likely to finish with all riders coming home, so expect another case of the Cuspides. Let’s hope for the best and keep Kuchynski on the fulcrum.