Tour de France: Grand Finale

Chalk up one for the good guys. The mild-mannered Australian riding for an American team, Cadel Evans finished the 2011 Tour de France as champion for the first time. He joined the other pre-race favorites in dominating the three-week competition while providing a dynamic struggle that came down to the time trial in the penultimate stage. The sprinters also fought hard in high-speed chases to the line, and Briton Mark Cavendish brought home five stage wins and the green jersey for his American team.

The outstanding results for American teams come on the 25^th anniversary of the first U.S. squad to compete in the world’s most prestigious race. In 1986, manager Jim Ochowicz brought the 7-Eleven team to France, and in 2011, he celebrates as manager of Evans’ squad, BMC Racing. The green jersey was won by Cavendish, riding for HTC-Highroad, the second of four U.S. teams competing this year. Another American squad, Garmin-Cervelo, won the team competition, and their sprinter, Tyler Farrar from Washington state, secured his first Tour de France stage win on the Fourth of July. Lance Armstrong’s former team, RadioShack, appeared to take all the bad luck for the USA, as four key riders abandoned due to injuries, including Tour of California winner Chris Horner.

Yet BMC captured top honors with Evans’ win over rivals Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck. BMC kept their leader safe from the kind of trouble which dogged three-time champion Contador. The Spaniard was booed by spectators at the race introductions because of the ongoing doping scandal, lingering from last year’s race until the appeal will be heard in August. Spent from winning the Giro d’Italia in May, he crashed four times in the first week, complained of knee problems, and was said to be riding with a sore saddle. Evans beat Contador to the line on Stage 4, demonstrating his determination and good form. While the 28-year-old Spaniard improved in the Alps and rallied at the individual time trial, he had lost too much time and finished fifth overall. Contador rides for Saxo Bank-Sungard.

Evans’ stronger rival was Andy Schleck, the 26-year-old from Luxembourg who, like Evans, was also a past two-time runner-up at the Tour de France. With big brother Frank, Andy led Team Leopard-Trek in prolonged attacks throughout the mountain stages of the Pyrenees and Alps. He won Stage 18 and eliminated Contador in a courageous ride admired by cycling legend Eddy Merckx, among others. On Stage 19, Andy attacked again, while Evans struggled to catch up following mechanical problems and a bike change. Andy snatched the yellow jersey for just one day, as his weak performance at the individual time trial on Saturday lost him the overall victory to the Australian. “I don’t feel like a loser,” said Andy, who finished in second place once again, but this time joined on the podium by brother Frank, who finished third overall.

Cadel Evans beat Contador, Schleck, and all the others with a smart, consistent, and aggressive performance. He rode at the front every day to stay clear of crashes. He attacked and took seconds on his rivals at every opportunity. He also took responsibility to chase down attacks from the other contenders, when fellow leaders failed to respond. The former mountain bike champion finally secured his win on Stage 20 at the individual time trial around Grenoble. Starting 57 seconds behind Andy Schleck, Evans raced out of the gate fighting for the greatest win of his career. An accomplished time trialer, he quickly gained back the time on Schleck plus more, creating a gap of 1 minute, 34 seconds ahead of his closest rival.

Evans had won the Tour de France, donning the yellow jersey for the final and most important stage into Paris. The last day is a ceremonial route for the general classification winner by tradition, and the win was secure.

Starting as a mountain bike rider, Evans served as two-time champion and competed in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. In 2001, he switched to road racing, winning the Tour of Austria shortly thereafter. His wins include the Tour de Romandie (2006 & 2011), Fleche Wallonne (2010), and Tirreno-Adriatico (2011). In 2009, he became world champion wearing the rainbow jersey, and in 2010, Evans switched to the new team BMC, which built its roster to support his Tour de France aspirations. This strategy included recruiting American George Hincapie, teammate of Lance Armstrong for all seven of his victories as well as the first of Alberto Contador. Team manager Ochowicz is considered the godfather of American cycling.

From start to finish, Evans demonstrated a confidence and willingness to attack that he appeared to lack in previous attempts. He did not sit back and wait for the race to unfold; he raced forward to seize the win. At age 34, Evans is the oldest winner since World War II, though it is expected for him to attempt to defend his title next year. With big brown eyebrows and glassy blue eyes, he is a nice guy who actively supports charities and causes such as freedom for Tibet. It’s easy to cheer for Cadel Evans, the first ever Australian winner of the Tour de France.

While the Australian brought home the yellow jersey, there were several other races within the race. France’s Pierre Rolland was named best young rider for the highest finish by a rider age 25 and under. Spain’s Samuel Sanchez won the king of the mountains competition for taking the most points at hilltop summits. As mentioned earlier, the team competition was won by the American squad of Garmin-Cervelo. That race is decided by combining the cumulative times of the fastest three riders on the squad. Finally, the United Kingdom’s Mark Cavendish secured the green jersey as winner of the points competition. For the benefit of the sprinters, points are awarded at an intermediate point on the course and at the finish, with the highest rewards for the flat sprint stages. Cavendish had defend the jersey on the Champs-Elysees with Jose Joaquin Rojas unsuccessfully trying to snatch it off his shoulders.

Indeed, Cavendish and his HTC team treated us to a delicious dessert to finish the Tour de France. A line of HTC cyclists in white and yellow jerseys drove at the front of the peloton to set up the sprint finish for their man from the Isle of Man. Garmin-Cervelo worked for Tyler Farrar, and Team Sky tried to set up Edvald Boassan Hagen. Yet when the Australian Mark Renshaw launched Cavendish, the Manx Missile could not be beaten. The win marked: Cavendish’s fifth stage win in this Tour de France, his 20^th career stage win at the Tour, his third annual win on the Champs-Elysees, and the first British cyclist to win the green jersey. The results are another amazing, elevating Cavendish to the best sprinter in the post-war era of the Tour de France.

Nearly 3,500 kilometers of riding over three weeks finished in Paris on Sunday. The 2011 Tour de France is in the books. We salute all 198 riders who started the race, especially the 167 who survived to finish. Vive le Tour!

Cadel Evan’s daily diary from the Tour de France: http://www.cadelevans.com.au/cadelsdiary.aspx

Mark Cavendish’s entertaining Twitter page: http://twitter.com/#!/markcavendish

Final General Classification Standings:

1. Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) 86h 12’ 22”

2. Andy Schleck (Leopard-Trek) + 01’ 34”

3. Frank Schleck (Leopard-Trek) + 02’ 30”

4. Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) + 03’ 20”

5. Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Sungard) + 03’ 57”

6. Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) + 04’ 55”

7. Damiano Cunego (Lampre-ISD) + 06’ 05”

8. Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Cannondale) + 07’ 23”

9. Tom Danielson (Garmin-Cervelo) + 08’ 15”

10. Jean Christophe Peraud (Ag2r La Mondiale) + 10’ 11”

Complete final standings: http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/LIVE/us/2100/classement/index.html

Stage 19: Every Second Counts

After three weeks and over 82 hours of bike riding, Andy Schleck leads the 2011 Tour de France by less than a minute. On Stage 19, the captain of the Luxembourg team finally donned the yellow jersey and prevented rival Cadel Evans from gaining any time. With Alberto Contador out of contention, Andy and his big brother Frank will face down Evans in tomorrow’s time trial to determine who will top the podium in Paris. Second place will be a matter of seconds.

A vigorous attack was launched by three-time champion Alberto Contador on the first of three Alpine climbs. Having lost too much time, the Spaniard aimed to bring home the stage win at the epic finish at L’Alpe d’Huez as a consolation for an unusually poor performance at a Grand tour. Yet the valiant effort wasn’t enough to get back in the race or even to win the stage. Schleck and Evans followed defended well enough to keep Contador away from the overall win, keeping him out of contention. At the same time, Frenchman Pierre Rolland jumped ahead of Contador and Sammy Sanchez to take the stage win, the first stage of this Tour de France won by France’s own. Contador crossed the line in third place, disappointed in every way.

Australia’s Evans had to fight to keep his place today. On the first climb, at the Col du Telegraphe, the BMC rider had a mechanical issue and changed bikes. It took him nearly one and a half more climbs to recover, much of the ride in a Schleck sandwich between brothers Andy and Frank. On the final climb, the infamous L’Alpe d’Huez, Contador drove ahead, while Evans and the Schlecks followed together.

The Schleck brothers fought all day as well. When Andy took the podium as the new wearer of the yellow jersey, he wore a peaceful, satisfied smile, while the crowd chanted, “Andy! Andy! Andy!” The son and grandson of professional cyclists remained focused on the final competitive stage, Stage 20, the individual time trial at Grenoble. By tradition, no riders attack the general classification leader on the final stage, Stage 21 into Paris. Therefore, the 42.5 kilometer circuit around Grenoble will be the final challenge. While Evans is known as a better time trialer, Schleck has improved in the discipline and has the advantage of coming in as the race leader, according to Lance Armstrong and other. “Many riders say the yellow jersey gives you wings,” said Andy. “I hope that is the case tomorrow.”

The final time trial is nearly identical to that at the Criterium du Dauphine in June earlier this year. The winner was Tony Martin of HTC-Highroad, and the second, third, and fifth place finishers have all crashed out of the Tour de France (Bradley Wiggins, David Zabriskie, and Janez Brajkovic). Cadel Evans finished sixth, but this time, he will be fighting to make up nearly one minute on the brothers from Luxembourg. The Australian is better skilled at the discipline, so he is likely to make up time. However, the relatively short course leaves him minimal opportunity to catch up to the cumulative times of the Schlecks.

At the time trial, the last placed rider starts first, while the first placed rider starts last. Time trial phenom Fabian Cancellara is the one to watch for the stage win, yet Martin and American Levi Leipheimer may place well. Evans and the Schlecks will race for the overall win in the final hour of television coverage.

The two favorites—Evans and Andy Schleck—have finished the Tour de France in second place two times. Two runner-ups had dislodged their common nemesis, Contador, from the race. Now they join Frank Schleck, who has finished in fifth place, to determine the podium positions in Paris. As Andy and Frank dreamed three weeks ago, the brothers may stand in first and second place, unless Cadel snatches back those precious seconds.

It all comes down to the last three riders to start on Saturday. Who will win?

Overall standings after Stage 19:

1. Andy Schleck (Leopard-Trek)

2. Frank Schleck (Leopard-Trek) + 00’ 53”

3. Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) + 00’ 57”

4. Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) + 02’ 10”

5. Damiano Cunego (Lampre-ISD) + 03’ 31”

6. Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Sungard) + 03’ 55”

7. Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) + 04’ 22”

8. Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Cannondale) + 04’ 40”

9. Tom Danielson (Garmin-Cervelo) + 07’ 11”

10. Pierre Rolland (Europcar) + 08’ 57”

Complete overall standings: http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/LIVE/us/1900/classement/index.html

Stage 20 map & profile: http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/LIVE/us/2000/etape_par_etape.html

Stage 18: Luxembourg Legs

Long legs, long arms, long face, skinny. He’s built like Woody from “Toy Story,” but he’s got a deep manly voice. Today, this gangly cyclist from Luxembourg showed the world that he plans to the win the 2011 Tour de France. Andy Schleck put the hammer down on Stage 18 and eliminated three-time champion Alberto Contador. Now the race is down to Andy and Cadel Evans, with a good chance for Frank Schleck to finish on the podium with his little brother. The legs from Luxembourg delivered.

Stage 18 was the second of three brutal days of climbing in the Alps. Today, the course began in Italy and returned to France at the first summit at Col Agnel, where the altitude reached 2,744 meters (9,002 feet) and gradient surpassed 10% for nearly one third of the 23.7 kilometers of climbing. A breakaway of 19 riders included two men from Leopard-Trek, the Luxembourg team built around native sons Andy and Frank Schleck. The peloton struggled, as all three climbs were rated Hors Categorie, “beyond category.” Current race leader Thomas Voeckler threw his race radio to the roadside in frustration.

Leopard-Trek riders Jens Voigt and Stuart O’Grady drove a hard tempo up toward the second mountain at Col d’Izoard, and at 5K to the summit, Andy Schleck attacked. It was an outrageous move with nearly 70 kilometers of racing to go. If he could not sustain the solo effort and gain time on the other leaders, he would waste immense energy and likely lose the whole race. Commentator Phil Liggett called it “the biggest gamble of his professional career.” Schleck’s rivals did not expect such an early move and did not respond. Past the tree line, alongside the dusty brown landscape, he pulled ahead and starting building a time advantage.

While Contador eventually responded, Andy quickly gained 2 minutes on his rivals. He reached teammate Joost Posthuma who was in the breakaway and got a break riding in his slipstream. On the descent, he reached the other Leopard-Trek rider, Maxime Monfort, recruited to the team to help Schleck in the mountains, and got another break. Meanwhile, the other leaders rode without a concerted effort to catch Andy Schleck. Contador and Sammy Sanchez, Spaniards on different teams, talked on the descent, perhaps discussing how to work together to catch the Luxembourger. Yet the long-legged Schleck continued to gain time, nearly 4 minutes ahead of his rivals when he started the final climb alone.

An epic climb, the road to the Galibier was covered with snow just days ago. Today, Schleck powered ahead with Cadel Evans leading the rest to catch up. Lance Armstrong called Schleck’s strategy “gutsy and smart riding,” and regarding Evans he tweeted, “To say he’s doing all the work would be an understatement. He’s hammering.” Evans led all the top riders chasing Schleck, including Contador, Voeckler, Basso, and Cunego, and singlehandedly limited Schleck’s gains. Andy “Woody” Schleck crossed the line first, gratified by the success of the team strategy and his personal performance. He had successfully announced that he would fight for the win and he had the legs to make it happen.

Nearly 2K to the finish, Evans was the only one left racing to win the Tour de France. Contador was dropped, ending his chances to win the race and revealing weakness he has never previously shown in the mountains. Booed by the crowd at the race introductions due to his unresolved doping issues, he crashed four times in the first week and was said to be riding with “a sore bottom” in Week 2. The Spaniard did not recover from the setbacks, and only a major crash to the race leaders would allow him to finish in the top three this time around.

While Contador’s weakness was a surprise, so was the tenacity of Voeckler. The Frenchman held on enough to keep the yellow jersey for one more day, a remarkable accomplishment for a rider known as a middle-of-the-pack cyclist. He held Schleck off by 15 seconds.

The battle continues tomorrow at the ride to L’Alpe d’Huez. Thousands of spectators have camped out to see the competition and will line the route, shouting encouragement and waving flags at the riders like bullfighters taunting bulls. The ninth kilometer of the final 13.8 kilometer climb is at 11.5% grade, one of the last opportunities for an attack from Evans or Schleck. Evans will have the advantage in the individual time trial on Saturday, so Schleck must secure sufficient time before that.

After nearly three weeks, it is really down to those two riders—the Australian and the Luxembourger. The road up to L’Alpe d’Huez and the final race against the clock will give us the winner. Paris awaits.

Overall standings after Stage 18:

1. Thomas Voeckler (Europcar)

2. Andy Schleck (Leopard-Trek) + 00’ 15”

3. Frank Schleck (Leopard-Trek) + 01’ 08”

4. Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) + 01’ 12”

5. Damiano Cunego (Lampre-ISD) + 03’ 46”

6. Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Cannondale) + 03’ 46”

7. Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Sungard) + 04’ 44”

8. Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) + 05’ 20”

9. Tom Danielson (Garmin-Cervelo) + 07’ 08”

10. Jean-Christophe Peraud (Ag2r La Mondiale) + 09’ 27”

Complete overall standings: http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/LIVE/us/1800/classement/index.html

Stage 19 map & profile: http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/LIVE/us/1900/etape_par_etape.html

Stage 17: Alpine Tease

A Spanish duet could not shake the rest of the best, but Alberto Contador proved he aims to win this Tour de France. His final descent on the first Alpine stage appeared to shake up the race for the yellow jersey, but it was just a tease. The leading contenders caught up to the defending champion, keeping the overall standings stable at the end of Stage 17, while a Norwegian seized his second stage win at the finish in Pinerolo.

After 163 kilometers, four categorized climbs, and crossing the border into Italy, the peloton started the final incline. Edvald Boasson Hagen of Team Sky had launched off the front of a 14-man break, staying away to win the day. The victory marked the second at this year’s Tour de France for the Norwegian and his British squad, Team Sky. The 24-year-old is already the five-time national time trial champion, winner of the 2009 Tour de Britain, and stage winner at the Giro d’Italia, Criterium du Dauphine, and others.

The peloton followed up the Cote de Pra Martino, featuring narrow roads heavily shaded by thick, green trees. Among the shadows, Contador attacked and attacked again but was marked by Andy Schleck and the other main rivals. Contador, the defending champion, still needed to gain back nearly 2 minutes, so he aggressively descended off the mountain taking high risks at turn after run. He was joined by fellow Spaniard Samuel Sanchez, and they worked together to create a gap on the others. Contador rides for Saxo Bank, and Sanchez for Euskaltel-Euskadi, but the two are friendly. They worked together yesterday to catch up to Cadel Evans, the Australian in second place overall, and they worked together again today on the high-speed descent.

With the cooperation of Sanchez, Contador was fighting for time and proving he has the fire in the belly to win this Tour de France. However, in the final meters, the Spanish boys were caught. Schleck, Evans, and nearly all of the leaders caught up just before the finish, and per the rules, each rider in the group received the same time. Contador had gained no time on Schleck and Evans, yet he showed them he will fight at every turn. The only loser today was Thomas Voeckler, the current race leader who lost 27 seconds to the overall contenders due to uncharacteristic falters on the final descent. He is not expected to win the Tour but has retained the leader’s mantle for a surprising run.

Tomorrow, the cyclists face three brutal climbs. All are rated as Hors Categorie, as difficult as it gets at the Tour de France. The mountains each offer opportunities for attack. Col Agnel has an incline of 23.7 kilometers with a stretch of 5K at over 10% gradient, and Galibier Serre-Chevalier is an epic climb into the white-capped landscape, where snow is just being removed from the road. These are long, tough climbs at high altitudes, and Evans, Contador, and Schleck will all attack. As Schleck’s teammate Jens Voigt wrote on his blog, “Starting tomorrow, it will be up to the main actors to step up to the stage… 50 domestiques can’t help you on climbs like Galibier.”

Evans sits in front of the favorites, but with an insufficient cushion for the big win. Schleck and Contador must make up time, as do the wild cards including Ivan Basso, Damiano Cunego, and Sammy Sanchez. Once Stage 18 is finished, there is one more day in the mountains, only one more day to get big time on rivals. The time trial that follows will be a matter of seconds, and then we reach Paris.

No more teasing. The Alps will shake out the field tomorrow and Friday.

Jens Voigt’s blog: Bicycling.com

Overall standings after Stage 17:

1. Thomas Voeckler (Europcar)

2. Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) + 01’ 18”

3. Frank Schleck (Leopard-Trek) + 01’ 22”

4. Andy Schleck (Leopard-Trek) + 02’ 36”

5. Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) + 02’ 59”

6. Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Sungard) + 03’ 15”

7. Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Cannondale) + 03’ 34”

8. Damiano Cunego (Lampre-ISD) + 03’ 49”

9. Tom Danielson (Garmin-Cervelo) + 06’ 04”

10. Rigoberto Huran (Team Sky) + 07’ 36”

Complete overall standings: http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/LIVE/us/1700/classement/index.html

Stage 17 map & profile: http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/LIVE/us/1800/etape_par_etape.html

Stage 16: Scene Stealers

Just when you think the scene is set, the Tour de France delivers a surprise. So went Stage 16 into the southeastern town of Gap. It was supposed to be a quiet day for the leaders, and a chance for also-rans to bring home some results from this three-week race. Yet the big stars stole the show, as Alberto Contador and Cadel Evans snatched precious time on their rivals, while the Schleck brothers revealed weakness in their legs on a moderate climb. Plus, world champion Thor Hushovd worked with his Garmin teammate to deliver another marvelous stage win for the American squad. Wow. And this race is just going to get better.

The 162.5 kilometer course featured one Category 2 climb, where mountains are rated from 4 for “easiest,” to 1 for “very difficult,” and hors categorie for “beyond category.” Particularly because the peloton was coming off a rest day, the climb at Col de Manse seemed too modest to warrant an attack from the general classification contenders, but Contador attacked at an uphill turn, to the surprise of most. The three-time defending champion was initially matched by rivals including Evans, Sammy Sanchez, Andy and Frank Schleck, and current race leader Thomas Voeckler.

Yet Andy Schleck could not keep pace with Contador’s repeated attacks. Andy cracked, and big brother Frank stayed behind with him. Evans appeared at ease, firing ahead himself, gaining 5 seconds on Contador and Sanchez. The rest of the field lost time. With another confident performance, Evans, the two-time runner-up, is the only pre-race favorite to have zero problems at the Tour de France thus far. Contador is working to make up time lost to crashes in Week 1, and now the Schlecks must make up for today’s unexpected weakness.

All the main players are within 4 minutes, a seemingly small gap given the mountain stages ahead. Yet the Tour de France has come down to seconds. Just last year, Contador beat Andy Schleck by 39 seconds. In his first Tour win in 2007, the Spaniard beat Evans by 23 seconds. The smallest time difference between the winner and the runner-up came in 1989, when American Greg LeMond beat Frenchman Laurent Fignon by just 8 seconds. Clearly, four minutes is significant, and leading riders like American Tom Danielson have no chance of winning at this point with a time gap of over 6 minutes.

Hesjedal

Today, a stage win was in the sights of Ryder Hesjedel, the Canadian rider for Garmin-Cervelo. As spectators in rain slickers watched from under colorful umbrellas, the 30-year-old drove alone to the finish until teammate Thor Hushovd joined him, along with Edvald Boassen-Hagen of Team Sky. Hushovd and Boassen-Hagen are both Norwegians and both stage winners already this year. As Boassen-Hagen showed no signs of weakness, the Garmin teammates worked together for the win. Hesjedal launched the sprint to the line, while Hushovd jumped out from behind, taking Boassen-Hagen by surprise and capturing the victory. This was the fourth stage victory for Garmin, a team which had been frustrated for two years by a lack of stage wins. This year, they celebrated victory at the team time trial and stage wins by Hushovd and American Tyler Farrar.

Tomorrow, the race enters the Alps. Stage 17 features five categorized climbs, including Sestrieres, a Cat 1 climb, most attractive for the race leaders looking to attack. The Schlecks will need to prove their legs after today’s miss, while Contador and Evans aim to stamp out their competitors. Tune in for the final two hours of the stage. We’re in the final stretch, and it could all be decided on Sestrieres.

Overall standings after Stage 16:

1. Thomas Voeckler (Europcar)

2. Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) + 01’ 45”

3. Frank Schleck (Leopard-Trek) + 01’ 49”

4. Andy Schleck (Leopard-Trek) + 03’ 03”

5. Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) + 03’ 26”

6. Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Sungard) + 03’ 42”

7. Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Cannondale) + 03’ 49”

8. Damiano Cunego (Lampre-ISD) + 04’ 01”

9. Tom Danielson (Garmin-Cervelo) + 06’ 04”

10. Rigoberto Huran (Team Sky) + 07’ 55”

Post-race interview with Evans’ teammate, American George Hincapie: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/43810011#43810011

Complete overall standings: http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/LIVE/us/1600/classement/index.html

Stage 17 map & profile: http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/LIVE/us/1700/etape_par_etape.html

Stage 12: Game On

The Tour de France finally hit the big mountains on Stage 12, where the favorites held strong while lesser lights lost hope. Ivan Basso officially joined the hunt for the win, and the Schleck brothers put the squeeze on the entire peloton during the first day in the Pyrenees. It’s game on.

Over 1,200 miles of racing is in the books, but the real competition for the yellow jersey began today. Pre-race favorites Alberto Contador, Andy Schleck, and Cadel Evans sized each other up, and an attack was expected from Contador who started the day 1 minute, 41 seconds behind best-placed Evans. Yet the most vigorous effort was put forth by Leopard-Trek on behalf of Schleck.

On the Col du Tourmalet, Leopard-Trek raised the tempo through hard driving by Fabian Cancellara, Stuart O’Grady, and finally Big Jens Voigt. The strategy did not seem to pay off, as only lesser stars such as Robert Gesink of Rabobank were dropped. In the breakaway, Frenchman Jeremy Roy was first to the summit, a thrill on Bastille Day. He was followed closely by Geraint Thomas, the Briton on Team Sky who was the virtual leader of the race for some time and was awarded the most aggressive/spirited rider. On the descent, speeds reached 61 miles per hour, and several riders crashed on a turn, including Geraint Thomas, Thomas Voeckler, and Andreas Kloden. RadioShack’s Kloden did not sufficiently recover and has lost his chance at a podium finish.

The final climb to Luz-Ardiden stretched over 13 kilometers. Grimacing all the way, Voigt continued to drive at the front, setting brothers Andy and Frank Schleck up for an attack, now anticipated by Contador. About 10K to the finish, Olympic gold medalist Sammy Sanchez launched off the peloton to successfully reach and pass the breakaway.

Then about 4K to the finish, with riders facing a 9% incline, Andy Schleck launched an attack. He was quickly matched by Contador, Evans, Basso, and a few others. Brother Frank followed with another attack, then another, and another. Finally, Frank shook away the elite field and pulled ahead, though not enough to beat Sanchez to the line. He finished third and jumped ahead to second place in the overall standings.

Before the start of the Tour, Frank said that he hoped to stand on the podium in Paris with his brother, and he may just do it. At age 31, Frank is the big brother of Andy, age 25. He beat Lance Armstrong last year to win the Tour de Suisse, and other wins include the Criterium Internatioal in March and stages at the Tour de France. The Schlecks’ father and grandfather were professional cyclists, and the family ties between the brothers cannot be underestimated. Many believe that Andy would have won last year’s Tour if Frank had not crashed out on Stage 3 with a broken clavicle. Watch out for a one-two punch from the brothers on Friday at Stage 14 and again in the Alps.

When Frank Schleck attacked, the Australian Evans showed the most spunk in responding. He finished with Andy Schleck, Ivan Basso, and Damiano Cunego. Both Basso and Cunego are Italian, former winners of the Giro d’Italia, and holding better times than Contador at this point. With the other elite riders already out of contention due to crashes and lost time, these Italians are competing for a top five, if not top three finish.

One of the biggest surprises of the day was that three-time champion Contador was dropped in the final kilometer. As Evans led the response to Frank Schleck’s final kick, Contador could not keep up, and he lost another 15 seconds on his rivals. Contador is now 1 minute, 54 seconds behind Evans. While this time is not insurmountable, Contador’s failure to keep pace is another blow to his confidence and another boost to his rivals. The 2011 Tour de France has brought Contador nothing but a series of blows, which include four crashes and the loss of Stage 4 to Evans. Contador is supposedly the best cyclist in the world, so this is embarrassing. The 28-year-old has never been in a position like this, and we will see if he can recover and smack down his rivals.

On the flip side, some riders have surprised with outstanding performances. Today, American Tommy Danielson rode with the biggest, baddest riders in the sport and held his own. He finished 11^th on the stage and jumped to 9^th in the overall standings. He is the highest-ranked American and is competing in his first Tour de France. It seems that Garmin-Cervelo has a new revelation in the general classification race each year, and Danielson is it for 2011.

Also, Thomas Voeckler held on for dear life, retaining the yellow jersey for another precious day. The Frenchman made his career in 2004 when he held the race lead for 10 days, until Lance Armstrong finally captured the lead and overall win. This year, Voeckler and his team Europcar are riding with the special powers of the yellow jersey, better legs, tougher spirit. Their performance does honor to the jersey.

In other news, Mark Cavendish was first among the sprinters to the intermediate points, and his teammates at HTC-Highroad employed a clever strategy to retain his hold on the green jersey competition. Once Matt Goss and Mark Renshaw launched Cavendish, they continued to race, rather than pull off. They snagged sprint points themselves, preventing competitors from adding to their totals. This is a smart move that is permitted by the rules, because Goss and Renshaw continued to race. It would be against the rules for them to slow down and block other riders. We can expect HTC to keep pushing for the points for Cavendish through to Paris.

Tomorrow, the 152.5 kilometer stage extends from Pau to Lourdes. The drama will begin with the climb to Col d’Aubisque, which is over 16 kilometers at an average gradient of 7.1%. This is a Hors Categorie climb, so difficult it is “beyond category.” The last 40 kilometers are a descent from the mountain, which will produce high-speed descents and a multitude of riders going for the stage win. The overall contenders will try to stay out of trouble and will only attack one another if someone looks off form. Their attacks will likely resume on Friday, the last day in the Pyrenees which concludes with the infamous Plateau De Beille.

As of now, we have six cyclists within striking distance of winning the 2011 Tour de France: Alberto Contador, Cadel Evans, Andy Schleck, Frank Schleck, Ivan Basso, and Damiano Cunego. By Friday night, someone will lose his shot. Who will it be?

Stage 12 top finishers:

1. Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi)

2. Jelle Vanendert (Omega Pharma-Lotto)

3. Frank Schleck (Leopard-Trek)

4. Ivan Basso (Liquigas)

5. Cadel Evans (BMC)

6. Andy Schleck (Leopard-Trek)

7. Damiano Cunego (Lampre)

8. Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Sungard)

9. Thomas Voeckler (Europcar)

10. Pierre Roland (Europcar)

Complete Stage 12 results: http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/LIVE/us/1200/classement/index.html

Current overall standings: http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/LIVE/us/1200/classement/index.html

Stage 13 map & profile: http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/LIVE/us/1300/etape_par_etape.html

Stage 9: Crashes Galore

Just when you think you know what’s coming, the Tour de France drops a big surprise. On Stage 9, the peloton allowed the breakaway not only to win, but to get so far ahead that Frenchman Thomas Voeckler took the yellow jersey. Plus dramatic crashes took out another set of top contenders, and a television car swerved to avoid a tree and hit one rider, sending another flying onto a barbed wire fence.

With seven categorized climbs, the course was suited for riders with good climbing legs and an aggressive style. About 35 kilometers to the finish, the six-man break was down to five, including Juan Antonio Flecha, John Hoogerland, Luis-Leon Sanchez, Thomas Voeckler, and Sandy Casar. On a narrow section of road, a car for French television was a few feet behind these riders. To avoid a large tree, the driver unexpectedly swerved into the cyclists and hit Flecha. The Spaniard crashed, causing Hoogerland to fly off his bike and fall on his back onto a barbed wire fence. The car driver was entirely at fault and should have given the cyclists the right of way. For his outrageous carelessness, the driver will surely be banned from the Tour.

Both Flecha and Hoogerland finished the stage and were awarded the title of most aggressive riders by the judges, also known as the most spirited performance. Hoogerland’s injuries are more severe, and blood poured from the cuts in his legs as he finished the stage. While he took over the lead in the king of the mountains competition by securing points over the course of the day, it is unclear whether he will be able to continue the race. Sanchez won the stage for Team Rabobank. The 27-year-old Spaniard gestured to the sky as he crossed the line, in honor of his older brother who died in a motorbike accident several years ago.

Voeckler in the headlines: 2004

The breakaway included a set of strong riders, while none of the teams in the peloton wanted to take responsibility for pulling them back. At one time, the break had a 7 minute advantage, but in the end, they finished just under 4 minutes ahead. Voeckler was driving hard throughout the day, especially when the gap had opened enough for him to take the yellow jersey. As Phil Liggett said, “Yellow to a Frenchman is like a red rag to a bull.” Voeckler rides for the French team Europcar and launched his career in 2004 when he surprised the world by wearing the yellow jersey for 10 days. He overtook race leader Thor Hushovd, who had also surprised by holding the jersey into the early climbs. Voeckler is likely to hold onto the overall lead until Stage 12 in the Pyrenees, when the race favorites will put the hammer down.

Earlier in the day, a devastating crash at the front of the peloton sent some of the best riders into a ditch and out of the race in an ambulance. At a slight curve on the descent, the road was wet from mist in the air, and because the crash started at the front of the pack, many riders were affected. Astana’s Alexander Vinokourov was carefully helped out of a roadside ditch by his teammates. The 37-year-old has a suspected broken pelvis, requiring him to withdraw from his last Tour de France. The Conan O’Brien look-alike is a feisty competitor, who gave Armstrong a run for his money back in the day and unapologetically returned to cycling after a doping ban.

Also hurt in the crash was Jurgen Van den Broeck, leader of Omega Pharma-Lotto. He was laid out on the road and may have a broken shoulder blade. The 28-year-old finished fifth at the 2010 Tour de France and was shooting for the podium. His departure leaves the Belgian team with only six of nine riders still in the race. Yet fellow Belgian Philippe Gilbert generated some good news, as he captured sprint points to lead the green jersey competition.

American Dave Zabriskie was another to abandon after the big crash. The time trial specialist has been working hard for Garmin-Cervelo, setting the tempo to win the team time trial, launch Tyler Farrar into a stage win, and keep Thor Hushovd in the yellow jersey from Stage 2 to Stage 9. The Los Angeles resident tweeted, “So be it…” He is reportedly already looking forward to the Tour of Colorado in August. Teammates Christian Vande Velde and David Millar crashed as well today, but their injuries were relatively minor.

Before the big crash, three-time champion Alberto Contador hit the ground for the fourth time. Apparently he made contact with Katusha rider Vladimir Karpets. Once again, Contador was not seriously hurt, but these little incidents are happening nearly every day. It raises the question of whether the Spaniard’s form is off or it is a just a string of bad luck. Contador and the other two pre-race favorites, Andy Schleck and Cadel Evans, kept pace with each other. The big three are still in play.

The rest of the best have been turned upside down. Van den Broeck and Vinokourov joined Wiggins, Horner, and Brajkovic at the exit. Leipheimer and Hesjedal have lost too much time. Who is left to compete for the top ten? The new sole team leader of RadioShack, Andreas Kloden, also crashed today but finished in good time. Robert Gesink of Rabobank is injured but hanging in. Ivan Basso and Frank Schleck are well placed, and HTC-Highroad teammates Tony Martin and Peter Velits may quietly bring home solid results.

Tomorrow is a rest day, though the cyclists will ride to keep their bodies in good form. Versus will air a recap of highlights from Week 1 and preview of Week 2. The competition resumes on Tuesday with Stage 10, a 158 kilometer contest from Aurillac to Carmaux featuring mild climbs. The timing and course favor a breakaway, so anything can happen. However, teams such as Hushovd’s Garmin and Gilbert’s Omega Pharma-Lotto may take charge to give their riders the shot at the win. In that case, the heat comes in the last 5K. Stay safe, boys.

Crash Cornucopia:

• Car hits breakaway riders: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/43702680#43702680
• The big peloton crash: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/43702039#43702039
• Contador’s latest crash: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/43701774#43701774

Stage 9 top finishers:

1. Luis-Leon Sanchez (Rabobank)

2. Thomas Voeckler (Europcar)

3. Sandy Casar (FDJ)

4. Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto)

5. Peter Velits (HTC-Highroad)

Complete Stage 9 results: http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/LIVE/us/900/classement/index.html

Stage 10 map and profile: http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/LIVE/us/1000/etape_par_etape.html