July 5, 2012

Kuchynski Remains on Cusp in Stage 5

Russian Aliaksandr Kuchynski of Katusha appears to be consolidating his grasp upon the center of the peloton, holding onto one of Les Cuspides for the general classification a day after nabbing the first Point d’Appui in the Tour de France. He shares the middle with Davide Vigano of Lampre-ISD, both of them 7:02 behind the yellow jersey of Fabian Cancellara.

On a day when the whole field came home with the same time, it’s hardly worth mentioning the stage results, but the sake of order: Frederico Canuti of Liquigas-Cannondale and Ruben Plaza of Movistar finished as Les Cuspides of Stage 5.

About 40 kilometers into Stage 5, Marcel Kittel of Argos-Shimano abandoned the race with stomach problems he has endured since the beginning. His loss leaves 194 riders. Brice Feillu still holds onto the Lanterne Rouge.

July 4, 2012

Kuchynski Becomes First Point d’Appui in Tour de France

The Point d’Appui of Stage 4, Aliaksandr Kuchynski, is seen in the red jersey amid the riders of the peloton.

Aliaksandr Kuchynski

The Tour de France has its first Point d’Appui of the race: Russian Aliaksandr Kuchynski of Katusha, who nibbled on the fulcrum during Stage 3, edged out his co-cuspide Rubén Perez to take the first Point d’Appui of 2012. Kuchynski is 7:22 behind race leader Fabian Cancellara and 28:01 ahead of Brice Feillu, the Lanterne Rouge.

Finishing at the Point d’Appui on the stage is Arthur Vichot of FDJ-Bigmat. Yaraslov Popovych of Radioshack-Nissan,who was a workhorse on the front end of the peloton for most of the day, finished just behind Vichot.

Coincidentally, Popovych and Kuchynski finished the 2010 Tour de France as Les Cuspides, an even number of riders finishing that year. Popovych may have had a hand in slowing down Team Katusha and keeping Kuchynski in the overall Point d’Appui today. Team Katusha came to the front of the peloton to press the pace as the peloton hit a waterspout. Coming out of the next roundabout, Popovych seemed to have stern words for the Katusha riders and their seeming lack of concern for the safety of the peloton.

Safety will get you to the Point d’Appui, though, and Popovych himself is only four spots out.

Notes about Stage 4:

Europcar’s Yukiya Arashiro, who was one of the Stage 1 Les Cuspides, stayed in the break from the start of Stage 4 and was voted most aggressive rider on the stage. Arashiro is now up at 53rd place.
Maarten Tjallingii of Rabobank finished Stage 3 after a crash. He abandoned the race before Stage 4 once his injury was diagnosed as a fractured hip. His loss left 195 riders to finish the day, and all came home.

July 3, 2012

Preview: Stage 4 of the Tour de France

The route from Abbeville to Rouen, running down along the coast of Haute-Normandie, is another relatively flat route, but it is also one of the longest stages of the 2012 Tour de France. Slightly more than 214 kilometers, but after 214 kilometers, every meter matters. The sprinters and lead-out riders have slowly moved up in the standings through the flat stages while the mountain climbers and wounded have dropped back below the Point d’Appui.

With those thoughts in mind, I have to think someone like Thomas Voeckler — who dropped back in the standings after getting caught in a crash on Stage 3 but is now on the mend — might move up enough to claim the Point d’Appui during Stage 4. That is, of course, depending on whether anyone else abandons the race.

Kanstantsin Sivtsov of Sky Procycling and Jose Joaquin Rojas of Movistar abandoned on Stage 3, leaving an even 196 riders vying for the Point d’Appui. No abandons tomorrow, and we may stay in Les Cuspides through the American Independence Day.

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.

July 2, 2012

Cavendish Only a Spot Out of Fulcrum

Despite winning Stage 2 of the Tour de France, Mark Cavendish could only get to the off-side of les Cuspides of the 2012 Tour de France. There is no Point d’Appui yet since we still have an even number of riders in the race.

The fast flat course of Stage 2 did not favor much movement of riders’ times around the center of the peloton, still we have a new pair of Cuspides since all 198 riders — a bit banged up and gimpy — came home.

Kristin Koren of Liquigas-Cannondale finished 99th and Daryl Impey of Orica GreenEdge finished 100th to win les Cuspides for Stage 2. Cavendish finished 101st in the overall classification, just behind Impey

On the stage, Ruben Plaza Molina of Movistar and Rafael Valls Ferri of VacanSoleil-DCM charged down the middle.

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.

June 30, 2012

Preview: Stage 1 of the 2012 Tour de France

Stage 1 of the Tour de France runs from the Belgian city of Liège in a big counterclockwise circle to finish at Seraing, Belgium, barely a stone’s throw away on the other side of the Meuse River. Although there are mountain points available at five locations, they are all Category 4, which means most of the sprinters will probably take them in stride and make the dash at the end of the day for the hilltop finish.

We think that means that some of the true climbers — someone like Jérôme Pineau who finished on the Prologue’s cusp — have the best shot at getting the Point d’Appui. The run into Seraing could get dicey since the entire peloton is likely to come together for the finish and the final kilometers have a few nasty kinks in the cord. Odds are good that all will come home we’ll still have an even number of riders and no fulcrum on the day, but the early stages are the most jittery and anything can happen. (I’m trying not to say that odds are better than even that a crash will force a couple of riders to abandon because, really, who wants to jinx an opening stage?)

Although Pineau is a likely suspect to be the first Point d’Appui, it’s more likely that sprinters behind him will move up in the rankings and push another rider down to the Point d’Appui. Sandy Casar of FDJ-Bigmat, now in 88th position, seems a likely suspect.

June 30, 2012

Pineau, Danielson Share Cusp of Tour de France Prologue

Because the 2012 Tour de France started with an even number of riders and all of them successfully finished the 6 kilometer time trial, there is no Point d’Appui for the prologue stage.

With 151 riders through the prologue, Chris Horner of Radioshack-Nissan sat on the Point d’Appui, slipping out as the faster riders began finishing during the latter part of the time trial. After 181 riders had crossed the finish, Imanol Erviti of Movistar had found himself at the fulcrum.

Jérôme Pineau during the prologue of the 2012 Tour de France. From the Cyclism´ Actu

By the finish of all the racers, however, les Cuspides for the prologue were Jérôme Pineau of Omega Pharma-Quickstep in 99th place and Thomas Danielson of Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda in 100th, both of them finishing 31 seconds adrift. Six riders, including Thomas Voeckler, finished with both the median and average speed of 33 seconds behind the winner, Fabian Cancellara of Radioshack-Nissan.

Tomorrow’s Stage 1 includes a little hilliness with its own geological point d’appui, the Baraque de Fraiture, which peaks at 606 meters just after the feed zone, lunchtime being its own daily fulcrum. Ride in the middle. Eat in the middle.

June 30, 2012

Preview of the 2012 Tour de France

The preview for the Point d’Appui in the 2012 Tour de France is not good, not bad, somewhere in between. The defending Point d’Appui, Markel Irizar, was left home by Radio Shack, perhaps because of his wonderful break on the first stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné. Irizar got in the break with five other riders at about the 4 kilometer mark. The peloton gave them almost too much room, but the escapees let the mob back in by fighting among themselves. Irizar, though, got a jump on the break group and stayed away until 5 kilometer mark.

Likewise, Fabio Sabatini, who won the fulcrum at the Giro d’Italia, is not at the Tour de France.

Other contenders include:

George Hincapie of BMC may have the best shot. He is clearly looking to ride in support of the BMC team leader, Cadel Evans, or whomever pedals forward if Evans isn’t back to his 2012 form. Hincapie finished on the cusp of both the Tour of Flanders and the Paris-Roubaix. This is his last chance to be the camel’s back.
Marco Marzano, riding for Lampre-ISD, is another possibility. Marzano finished in the Point d’Appui at the Dauphiné, riding with perfectly fine form.
Vasil Kiryienka of Movistar Team took home the Point d’Appui in the Tour de Romandie and is another possibility.
Robert Gesink of Rabobank is probably a long-shot, having won the Point d’Appui at Liége-Bastogne-Liége, and long-shots rarely fall to the middle, although several stages this year favor him.

July 24, 2011

Irizar Wins Point d’Appui at 2011 Tour de France

After striking the balance in Stage 17, Markel Irizar of Team Radioshack held onto the middle position through the remainder of the race to take home the Point d’Appui Award for the 2011 Tour de France. Irizar finished dead middle in the last five stages of the tour and also finished on the cuspide during the non-fulcrum Stage 15.

During the 2011 Tour de France, the lead for the point d’appui changed 6 times and 10 stages ended without a rider at the center. The following show the general classification for le point d’appui in the Tour de France.

Stage One – 198 riders come home – No fulcrum
Stage Two – No fulcrum
Stage Three – No fulcrum
Stage Four – William Bonnet of team FDJ is the first point d’appui of the 2011 Tour de France, coming home 4 minutes and 29 seconds adrift. The Lanterne Rouge, Vincent Jerome of Team Europcar, finishes 27 minutes and 53 seconds behind the leader.
Stage Five – Stuart O’Grady of Team Leopard-Trek becomes le point d’appui, 6 minutes and 10 seconds behind the leader.
Stage Six – Manuel Quinziato of BMC Racing Team is le point d’appui, finishing 8 minutes and 29 seconds behind the yellow jersey.
Stage Seven – No fulcrum
Stage Eight – No fulcrum
Stage Nine – No fulcrum
Stage Ten – No fulcrum. The number of riders is down to 178.
Stage Eleven – Sébastien Turgot of Team Europcar finishes at the middle of the pack — 33 minutes and 8 seconds behind the leader — on the middle stage of the race. The Lanterne Rouge, still Vincent Jerome, is 1 hour, 35 minutes and 50 seconds behind the leader.
Stage Twelve – Bauke Mollema of Rabobank becomes the new point d’appui, finishing 56 minutes and 6 seconds behind the leader.
Stage Thirteen – Rui Alberto Costa of Movistar finishes as the fulcrum, 1 hour, 2 minutes and 32 seconds adrift.
Stage Fourteen – No fulcrum.
Stage Fifteen – No fulcrum.
Stage Sixteen – No fulcrum.
Stage Seventeen – After an abandon by Paulo Tiralongo, the center of the field comes to rest on Markel Irizar of Team Radioshack, who finishes 1 hour, 34 minutes and 26 seconds behind the maillot jaune.
Stage Eighteen – For the second day in a row, Markel Irizar holds onto the maillot gris, although he lost nearly 50 minutes on the day to the leaders, ending at 2 hours, 23 minutes and 59 seconds behind the leaders.
Stage Nineteen – Markel Irizar finishes in l’autobus and continues to hold the fulcrum for the third day in a row.
Stage Twenty – Despite placing in the top third of the riders during the individual time trial on Stage 21, Markel Irizar remains the fulcrum.
Stage Twenty-One – Le point d’appui for the 2011 Tour de France is Markel Irizar of Team Radioshack. Igoi Martinez of Euskaltel-Euskadi claimed the middle of the pack for the final stage, finishing with the same time as 150 other riders on the day. The Lanterne Rouge, Fabio Sabatini of Liquigas-Cannondale, finished 3 hours, 57 minutes and 43 seconds behind winner Cadel Evans of BMC.