American Update + Stage 13

The God of Thunder raced to victory, as the Tour de France finished a long Pyrenean descent into Lourdes on Stage 13. While the overall contenders stayed quiet today, it was revealed that Alberto Contador is suffering with saddle sores, and another blow hit Team RadioShack. This American team has been plagued with problems, while the other three U.S. squads have celebrated wins. The American cyclists are all on American teams, and they are not finished fighting for glory.

RADIOSHACK:

Leipheimer at Tour of California

Lady Luck has not smiled on Team RadioShack at the 2011 Tour de France. Today on Stage 13, Andreas Kloden withdrew from the race, leaving the squad with only five of nine starting riders and no hope for a top ten finish. Janez Brajkovic, Chris Horner, and Yaroslav Popovych abandoned the race due to crashes and illness, and Levi Leipheimer lost too much time on the favorites also for crashes. It is a world away from what this team is used to under the leadership of director Johan Bruyneel, who led Lance Armstrong to his seven consecutive Tour victories. Armstrong retired from this team following the Tour Down Under in January, and his squads usually carried all nine riders to the Paris finale. “I’ve never experienced this before, having so much bad luck on one team,” said Leipheimer.

At this point, RadioShack’s prospects are limited to a stage finish by the Calfornian, who won the Tour de Suisse in June with his prolific time trialing abilities. He will have his eye on Stage 20 in Grenoble, and if he has the legs, he will go for a stage win in the Alps next week. “We’re not going to give up,” said Leipheimer. “We’re going to keep fighting.” Good luck, Levi! We hope that RadioShack’s fortunes turn around.

HTC-HIGHROAD:

Van Gardaren

The Manx Missile of HTC-Highroad is blasting its way through France. Mark Cavendish has captured three stages wins thus far, as well as the lead in the green jersey competition for most consistent sprinter in the race. Expectations for Cavendish and his team are high, given the amazing results they produced in the last three years at the Tour with 15 stage wins. While the squad’s lead-out train permitted a few crucial gaps, they have consolidated their efforts, particularly in the intermediate sprints which are key to the Manxman’s hopes of retaining the green jersey. American Danny Pate has spent many hours driving at the front of the peloton for the HTC train. Plus Cavendish is fighting harder than ever and has his sights on Stages 15 and 21.

The team missed its chance for a win at the team time trial when Bernard Eisel crashed early on the course, but German Tony Martin will compete for first place in the individual time trial on the penultimate stage in Grenoble. The youngster Tejay Van Gardaren wore the polka dot jersey for a day, with a strong performance in the early mountains. The 22-year-old was the first American to wear the white jersey with red dots, as Greg Lemond led the king of the mountains competition in 1989 but wore the yellow jersey as race leader. Van Gardaren is learning the ropes in his first Tour appearance and is considered a future contender for the yellow jersey. HTC-Highroad is performing well in the face of high expectations, so watch them in the sprints and the individual time trial.

GARMIN-CERVELO:

Wins at the Tour de France elude Garmin-Cervelo no more. The team led by Jonathan Vaughters had a history of well-placed finishes, but in its third appearance at the biggest cycling race in the world, they were ready to take home some prizes and did so. On Stage 2, Garmin smoked the competition in the team time trial, putting Thor Hushovd into the yellow jersey as race leader. Hushovd impressed by staying in yellow for seven stages, including several medium mountain stages. Also, American Tyler Farrar brought home his first Tour stage win the following day, on the Fourth of July. The 28-year-old sprinter rounded out his resume of stage wins at the Vuelta a Espana and Giro d’Italia with the Stage 3 victory in the western town of Redon, though he is out of contention for the green jersey. World champion Hushovd seized the victory on today’s Stage 13 after riding hard and attacking in the last 3K. The squad leads the team competition as well. That comes to three wins for Garmin out of thirteen stages, a great relief and accomplishment.

Danielson

For the general classification, Garmin has delivered its third annual revelation with Tom Danielson. The 33-year-old American is riding his first Tour de France and has kept pace with the best of the best. He is currently in tenth place, the best placed American. Canadian Ryder Hesjedal and American Christian Vande Velde have lost too much time for a high finish, but Danielson has stepped into the role. Unfortunately, American David Zabriskie crashed out of the race and will not compete at the individual time trial, a specialty where he has won and earned the yellow jersey. Going forward, the team will compete for the sprints at Stages 15 and 21, as well as a high overall finish for Danielson and win at the team competition.

BMC RACING:

No mistakes. With 13 stages finished, it is remarkable that BMC has made no mistakes thus far. Their sole focus is for Cadel Evans to win the whole enchilada. Teammates including Americans George Hincapie and Brent Bookwalter have successfully protected Evans from any trouble and helped launch him to his first Tour stage win at Mur-de-Bretagne, where he pipped Alberto Contador. Evans has stayed ahead of rivals Contador and Andy Schleck, and this could be his year to move up from runner-up to overall winner. BMC is led by Jim Ochowicz, co-founder of the first American team to race the Tour de France 25 years ago, the 7-Eleven squad. BMC is doing everything right so far, so keep your eyes on Evans and his teammates to attack on Stage 14 at Plateau de Beille and again in the Alps.

AMERICAN RIDERS: Current standings:

10. Tom Danielson (Garmin-Cervelo) +04’35”

17. Levi Leipheimer (RadioShack) +07’51”

32. Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Cervelo) +14’23”

49. George Hincapie (BMC) +31’31”

63. Tejay Van Gardaren (HTC-Highroad) +43’51”

123. Brent Bookwalter (BMC) +1h26’20”

156. Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Cervelo) +1h48’18”

167. Danny Pate (HTC-Highroad) +1h54’36”

Complete overall standings: http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/LIVE/us/1300/classement/index.html

STAGE 13:

After 149 kilometers of aggressive riding, Norwegian Thor Hushovd attacked, usurping Jeremy Roy and leaving David Moncoutie behind to win Stage 13 of the Tour de France. The big challenge of the course was the extreme climb at the Col d’Aubisque, a Hors Categorie (“beyond category”) mountain averaging 7.1% grade. Known as the God of Thunder, Hushovd is having a great Tour de France, as he took the yellow jersey after his team’s win at the Stage 2 time trial. A sprinter who can also manage mountains as he did today, the Norwegian surprised everyone by keeping the jersey for seven stages.

Jeremy Roy captured the lead of the king of the mountains competition as first to the summit at Col d’Aubisque, while Mark Cavendish kept the green jersey. Jose Joaquin Rojas and Philippe Gilbert fought Cavendish for points at the intermediate sprint, though Gilbert launched too early and Rojas besting Cavendish.

Stage 13 results: http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/LIVE/us/1300/classement/index.html 

Plateau de Beille: site of Stage 14 finish

TOMORROW’S STAGE 14:

The last day in the Pyrenees is sure to bring attacks from the contenders for the precious yellow jersey. The course profile is cut like a key with six categorized climbs over 168.5 kilometers. The uphill finish is at Plateau de Beille, requiring 15.8 kilometers of climbing at an average 7.9% grade. This Hors Categorie (“beyond category”) climb is as hard as it gets at the Tour de France, and it is the site of previous wins by Marco Pantani in 1998, Lance Armstrong in 2002 and 2004, and Alberto Contador in 2007.

Versus commentator Phil Liggett reported that Contador is “riding with a sore bottom.” This may explain his new susceptibility to crashes and the additional 15 seconds he lost to his rivals yesterday. On Plateau de Beille, Contador will surely try to snag the win and the yellow jersey, but he will have to beat Cadel Evans and the Schleck brothers by nearly two minutes to do it. This is unlikely, and Contador will have to wait for the Alps if he is to win again. Evans and the Schlecks will fight like hell to stay ahead of the defending champion, and the brothers from Luxembourg have the advantage of the one-two punch. Ivan Basso and Damiano Cunego will try to keep up and attack if they have the legs.

From this final mountain in the Pyrenees, someone will emerge as the true contender to win the 2011 Tour de France. If you record the first telecast of the race, be sure to record extra time so you don’t miss the finish. The last hour of racing will be epic.

Stage 14 map & profile: http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/LIVE/us/1400/etape_par_etape.html