Tag Archives: Pierre Rolland

Tour de France 2011 – Stage 21

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‘Cuddles’ may be the epithet given to Cadel Evans by the international community, but it certainly does not seem to describe a 35 year old winner (oldest since the war) of arguably the most gruelling sporting event in the world. Evans described yesterday as the culmination of “20 years of hard work,” and nothing could be nearer to the truth.

His struggles started at birth, as he was born 34 days past the due date, with a broken nose. Then at the tender age of eight he got kicked in the head by his mother’s horse. It left him in coma for a week as doctors struggled to pull fragments of the skull from his brain. Evans displayed his resilience even at such young age, surprising everyone by returning to school within a month of the accident.

Now after endless hours of toil and 8 broken collar bones later he stands tallest in his sport, at the winner’s podium of the  Tour de France 2011.  I admit it might not sound as impressive as Armstrong’s seven victories, but it does not make the Australian’s achievement any less either. To understand that, look beyond the glitz of the Champs-Élysées, at the two painful second places, the crashes, travelling and multiple surgeries and you might start to get the point.

The last stage though was never a challenge for him or any other rider, except Mark Cavendish and José Joaquín Rojas. The duo were separated by a mere 15 points in the green jersey classification, with Rojas the clear outsider here. Cav in the form he is and the incredible HTC-Express to steam him towards the finish, it would have to a mistake from the Manxman and not a powerful sprint that would win the Movistart rider his first jersey.

This year the route was shortened as the organisers realised there is only so long a procession can entice spectators. For most of the last stage in the Tour the atmosphere is amiable with riders holding arms, sipping champagne and joking around. I think the pic below best encapsulates the casual nature of the 21st day of any Tour de France:

Evan’s team BMC had the honour of leading the Tour into Paris and a traditional ride up the world’s most famous boulevard. Thereafter followed six laps down the Louvre, up Rue de Rivoli and around Place de la Concarde, turning these impressive landmarks into a battleground. Team Sky instigated two breakaways through Juan Antonia Flecha and Ben Swift, but they were eventually gobbled up by the peloton.

In a nutshell the HTC lead out men launched Cav to perfection YET again, who then easily held off a hard charging Basson Hagen to claim his fifth victory this year and an impressive third consecutive win at the Champs-Élysées. Cavendish also becomes the first British rider to win the green jersey on Le Tour and has raised his overall stage win tally to 20 from just 5 appearances!

Then it was time for the ceremonies for the awardees, against one of the best backdrop imaginable – Le Arc de Triomphe. Apart from the four jersey winners, Jérémy Roy was declared the super combative rider for this year and Garmin-Cervélo won the overall team honours.

This is a brutal event – more so this year considering the spate of crashes which led to only 167 riders making it to the finish line in Paris compared to the 198 that started at Passage du Gois. This fact has never slipped on the organisers and hence every finisher in the Tour gets a medal and the lifelong right to be known as géant de la route.

Most experts – and all French fans – have tacitly voted Team Europcar as the soul of the 98th Tour de France. Indeed a team that was without a main sponsor and had to undergo a strict cost cutting regime has performed beyond dreams. Ten days in yellow for Voeckler, stage win on the iconic Alpe d’Huez and the white jersey for the best young rider for Pierre Rolland is an impressive record, which beats some of the big name teams.

The great Lance Armstrong himself called Rolland a “rockstar” for his untiring efforts in supporting Veoeckler to stay in the lead - and praise does not come much higher than that. Europcar have laid their hands on a goldmine as the PR and digital attention they received would have far outstripped their investment. The car rental company acknowledged the fantastic work done by the team in this touching and beautiful advert in Sunday’s L’Equipe.

But the story of this Tour for me has to be Johnny Hoogerland. The rider who cartwheeled into a barbed wire fence on stage 9, rode for twelve days through mountains and rain with more than 30 stitches and multiple lacerations. That he managed to finish is commendable enough, but the fact he made it 74th overall is pure legendary! I am out of words here, maybe the organisers should have felicitated him with a special award or something.

Pain and suffering are a sad but inseparable part of cycling in general, and the Tour in particular. This episode saw big names like Bradley Wiggins and Alexandre Vinokourov succumb to horrific injuries. Thank god they have made out of it relatively unscathed. It pains everyone if in today’s age an athlete is lost to the world participating in a sporting event – like the young and  talented Wouter Weylandt sadly did on the Giro this year. Hopefully we shall never have to see such a black day ever again.

It’s a sad feeling every year once the Tour finishes, and now starts a long 11 month wait. These riders ofcourse don’t rest and most would be setting their eyes on the London Olympics before the next Tour. Andy Schleck has yet to meet his destiny, and I strongly belive it is only a matter of ‘when’ not ‘if’ he will win the Tour. For now, I bow to Cadel Evans who has proved he can not only fight, but also win against the best. In fact I salute all 198 participants who had the courage to start in the first place.

Each of the 98 Tours till date have stories of their own, stories of pain, stories of glory, stories of courage, but above all stories the likes of Armstrong have narrated. The message I take out of them is we do not know our own limits, and we never shall till we challenge ourselves. So if you have been reading this space, you do not need to cycle 3400kms across France to prove anything, go out run a marathon, ride a race, swim in a triathlon, do anything, cause (again as Armstrong says) ‘it will make you feel alive, and that should be a good enough reason to do just about anything.’ So till next year then :)

Jersey holders:                                                                 General Classification:

Maillot Jaune –  Cadel Evans                                             Cadel Evans – 86h 12’ 22”           Maillot Vert –  Mark Cavendish                                        Andy Schleck – 86h 13’ 56”         Maillot à Pois Rouges –  Samuel Sánchez                       Frank Schleck – 86h 14’ 52”         Maillot Blanc –  Pierre Rolland

ps: I’ll leave you with probably the best image of this year’s Tour (well atleast for the boys) ;)

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Tour de France 2011 – Stage 20

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Tears were in abundance in the eyes of Cadel Evans after his monumental performance in yesterday’s individual time trial. For the records Saturday’s dash against the clock was the penultimate stage this year, however it was the last opportunity to fight for overall supremacy. Final stage of the Tour is always a procession, time for the peloton to soak in the atmosphere and for a sprinter to shine.

Evans hit the road today aiming to turn around the 57 seconds deficit to Andy Schleck, and by the time he was done riding he had minutes in hand, comfortable to do a “Bolt moment” approaching the finish if he wished to. Ofcourse show-boating is not in the nature of the Australian who is often criticized for his introvert nature, but the emotions started flowing soon after Andy had finished his run.

Schleck Jr’s time might not have told the entire story, because he did give it his all. Maybe that audacious break on stage 18, followed by the toil a day later did have something to do with his relative lack of pace today. Such was the attack of Cadel Evans however, that mid way through it was clear that Andy was now racing for second.

He finished and collapsed in the arms of elder brother Frank, after all it cannot be easy to take in a third consecutive “second” place finish in Le Tour. In his own words, Andy had admitted of Friday “I’ve never come this close to winning the Tour.” Evans ensured it would not be a case of so near, yet so far, cause his lead is a very respectable 1min 34sec.

Despite his scorching pace, Evans was second on the day, HTC’s Tony Martin winning the stage in an incredible time of 55′ 33″ (avg speed of 45.9km/h).  Not all that surprising considering the German had won the Critérium du Dauphiné last month on this very route in an comparable time of 55′ 28″. Pre-stage favourite Fabian Cancellara’s run was spoilt by a wet route following early showers (which dried by the time later riders had a go) and he could only finish eighth on the day.

Team Sky’s Edvald Boasson Hagen seemed to be on his way to earn his third, and Norway’s fifth victory of the Tour, until loose handlebars forced him to change his bike after the third time check, wiping his hopes of a competitive time. Philippe Gilbert too hit mechanical woes in his attempt, though the Belgian was never going to match the top times.

Probably the most aggressive rider on the day – apart from Evans – was Alberto Contador. The defending champion knew before starting that his two-year reign was over, but went for broke nevertheless. Fuelled by pride, he matched Martin’s splits in all time checks and finished third on the stage leapfrogging to fifth overall, a place ahead of compatriot Samuel Sánchez.

His tenacity though could not overhaul that enigma Thomas Voeckler. The man who stayed in yellow for the longest period this year had struggled in the past two days, and yesterday was no different. But as he has done all through the Tour’s three weeks (and maybe his career), he kept suffering and pushing to save his fourth place in the standings, a result surpassing all expectations.

Compatriot and team-mate Pierre Rolland also managed to hold on to the maillot blanc with an impressive performance to ensuring there would be French presence on the podium in Paris. His gutsy ride could not earn a place in the top ten (he finished eleventh overall), but the man from Gien has marked himself as a future prospect if nurtured well. Who knows, a couple of Tours later we might see Voeckler guiding him to yellow, and what a turn around that would be.

Talking of turn arounds, Evans is only the fifth man since World War II to overturn a deficit in the final time trial. Today he will have the honour of becoming the first Australian to win the Tour de France, the most impressive addition to his already long list of firsts for a cyclist from down under. He termed his performance today as ‘the ride of his life’ and it would go a long way in silencing his critics who often point to his lack of aggression.

In his moment of triumph Evans had one name to thank above everyone, his Italian mentor, the late Aldo Sassi. “Aldo said to me last year, ‘now that you’ve won the worlds (road race) you’ve made yourself a complete rider. You can win a Grand Tour, and hopefully it will be the Tour de France. For him today, to see me now, it would be quite something.” said Evans, adding, “We went through both good and bad. I had some bad moments in the last 10 years, but this makes the good moments even better.”

As for the Schlecks, they made history too, being the first brothers to finish together on the podium. It might be scant consolation – at least for Andy – but a proud moment for the family nonetheless. He has trained in wind tunnels in San Diego, taken special stretching exercises to improve his aerodynamic efficiency, but all that has failed to improve him in a dash against the clock.

History has taught us that to be the overall winner in the Tour de France, you have to be an overall cyclist. There is no doubt Andy is a champion climber, maybe comparable only to Contador, but if only he could time trial, he would have won the Tour. The bitter truth is that he can’t – and so he hasn’t.

There is nothing much to preview for the final stage of Le Tour. It’s a flat 95km ride to Paris in which all riders will congratulate the maillot jaune, as they enjoy sipping champagne on the road. Later Evans’ team BMC will have the honour to lead the peloton to the Champs-Élysées, and action will resume for a brief six laps of a circuit around the famous landmarks of the city.

The green jersey classification is still mathematically open, though barring a disaster Cavendish should sail through. However there is the matter of the stage finish, and every sprinter worth his salt would love to win in the shadow of the iconic Arc de Triomphe. For the leaders of the Tour it won’t matter. It will be a case of waiting for the finish for one, while the other will yet again be thinking what if…. So till tomorrow then…

Jersey holders:                                                           General Classification:              Maillot Jaune –  Cadel Evans                                       Cadel Evans – 83h 45’ 20” Maillot Vert –  Mark Cavendish                                                Andy Schleck – 83h 46’ 54”        Maillot à Pois Rouges –  Samuel Sánchez                  Frank Schleck – 83h 47’ 50”       Maillot Blanc –  Pierre Rolland

Tour de France 2011 – Stage 19

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Stage 19 was to be all about that dreaded name – L’Alpe d’Huez. 13.8 km of asphalt spaghetti draped across an alpine mountain, it was celebrating its 100th year of terrorising the peloton. A 100 years of making grown men cry, most with agony, but a very select few with sheer joy.

Pierre Rolland was the latest to join that élite latter group, as he claimed the most famous victory of his career. Attacking late on the climb, he pumped big gears, leaving three-time winner Alberto Contador and Olympic champion Samuel Sánchez in his wake. At the finish line waited not only a white jersey, but also membership into a revered club of riders to have mastered the 21 steps of “the devil’s staircase”.

That euphemism comes from the leg sapping 21 hairpin bends that make up the climb to the ski-resort at the summit, and Rolland knew it all too well, “I knew at turn one, I could push the big chainring early on this climb at such a pace because I did it many times in training. This is a stage that I’ve watched dozens of times on video, with Armstrong, Pantani… I studied their cadence. And now it’s me who has won! It will take me a little time before I realize what I’ve done.”

Pierre also brought joy and glory to his nation, with the first home victory in this year’s Tour. His team has already done France proud with Thomas Voeckler holding to yellow against all odds, and a lot of credit for that goes to young Rolland. Today’s winner has been the super-domestique for Voeckler all Tour long, guiding the maillot jaune up slopes that not many had expected him to survive.

Today though Voeckler had realised by the second climb of the day that the show was over for him. Unable to keep pace with Contador and Andy Schleck, he set Rolland free, ““I said I wanted to do everything possible to defend the yellow jersey of Thomas but on the climb of the Galibier, he told me, ‘Seize your chance, don’t worry about me’. This is also where I see that he is a great champion, one who was able to tell me to go at the right time,” said Pierre.

Voeckler fought valiantly, screaming, grimacing, dancing over the handle bars, doing his best as he has all of the ten days in yellow. But today even his indefatigable spirit and immense will power were not enough to protect the maillot jaune. Maybe he panicked and made a mistake when he tried to chase the leaders solo up the Galibier. Common sense would have suggested for him to hold back and wait for his team, and let then nurture him back to the leading pack.

Some are commenting he did not have that confidence in his team, but I for one don’t buy that. It is the nature of the man, he has always been a fighter. In fact its this very virtue of his that has made him dodge the favourites for 10 days each in 2004 and this year. He is an all or nothing person, when thrown a challenge he goes all guns blazing, no thinking and tactics for him, just pure guts.

Another gutsy rider on the day was defending champion Alberto Contador. The Spaniard blew up all calculations as he attacked within 15km of the start, early on the climb of Col du Télégraphe. Among the top contenders only Evans and Andy Schleck could match Contador’s multiple accelerations. Voeckler, Schleck Sr and Ivan Basso, were all dropped once Alberto began his trademark dance on the pedals.

And then disaster struck for Cadel Evans. He had to dismount thrice due to mechanical troubles, and eventually changed to a new bike from his team car, losing over a minute to the Contador group in the process. It took him one and a half mountains of effort to catch up with the lead group and save his Tour, as he had chased Andy Schleck only a day before.

At the front of the race Alberto seemed to be a man on a mission. He had cracked on the climb of the Galibier on thursday, and had himself declared the challenge for yellow all but finished. Today was then about redemption, to show everyone that the Spanish bull had not laid arms. He was doing most of the hard work ahead as Andy was content to stay in his slipstream, knowing all too well Contador was not his main rival now.

But once they knew Evans was pulling back, Andy did share the workload, though that was not to be enough. The Australian caught up with the leaders near the 25km banner, and though his team were instrumental in the chase, it was mostly a solo effort by the BMC leader. Once the favourites were all together, the group called truce for a while.

That peace was short-lived, broken by Pierre Rolland right on the foot of last climb. He pumped ahead knowing all too well the leaders would not be bothered to chase him back, Contador though had other plans. As on the Télégraphe he surged ahead viciously and this time no one responded. Alberto was too far behind in time to bother the Schlecks or Evans and all he sought was a victory on the hallowed summit.

He seemed to be going well as he overtook Pierre, with his form of yore that even the best find hard to challenge, nevertheless compatriot Sánchez set on a chase with Rolland. The Frenchman was being the tactician, using Sánchez to pull him up the slopes towards Contador. Despite furious gestures from Sánchez, Rolland refused to share the workload, till they caught up with the defending champion.

Once they did, Rolland almost immediately jumped on to a big gear and being relatively fresher of three, raced ahead to the stage victory. It was a justified reward, as Rolland has been a revelation all Tour long. He also moved into the lead of the best young rider classification and is being seen as probably the next French winner of the Tour since Bernard Hinault in 1985.

Sánchez also did not go empty-handed for all his effort up the Alpe d’Huez and finished second on the day between Rolland and Conatador. His biggest reward was earning the polka dot jersey for the king of the mountains. With no mountain points on offer in the last two stages, he will carry that till Paris, a remarkable achievement for a small team like Eukaltel-Easkadi.

Behind them Evans tried a few attacks, and a final dash to the line but was unable to shake off the two Schleck brothers. That means he heads for the Individual Time Trial of Saturday in third place, 57 seconds behind Andy Schleck who inherited yellow from Voeckler (who eventually finished 3’22″ behind) at the end of the day.

Stage 20 is a 42km solo race against the clock in Grenoble. No team mates, no shields behind attackers, just pure man and machine against the wind. The route is rolling and will not suit a pure specialist, especially as it comes after three gruelling days in the mountains. Evans is the clear favourite here compared to the Schlecks, but so was he in 2008 against Sastre, and was not able to turn the tables on that day.

Nerves, luck, crowd support and pure motivation are among the several factors that will come into play today in addition to personal ability of course. Deciding a three-week, 3400km long Tour in a short 42kms on the penultimate day is like deciding a marathon with a 100m sprint, but that is the unpredictability of sport. 57 seconds is the magical figure separating the two challengers, and as the great Eddy Merckx would say, ” It’s a lot and it is nothing.” So till tomorrow then…

Jersey holders:                                                           General Classification:              Maillot Jaune –  Andy Schleck                                                 Andy Schleck – 82h 48’ 43” Maillot Vert –  Mark Cavendish                                                Frank Schleck – 82h 49’ 36”       Maillot à Pois Rouges –  Samuel Sánchez                               Cadel Evans – 82h 49’ 40”         Maillot Blanc –  Pierre Rolland