Tag Archives: Romain Feillu

Tour de France 2011 – Stage 11

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Even an undone shoe 500m before the finish could not deter a charged Mark Cavendish from claiming his 18th stage victory yesterday. The Manxman made contact with Romain Feillu (whom he had accused last week of dangerous behaviour) in the final sprint and his adjustable buckle came undone, but such is his form that he was able to bend down, reinsert the strap and continue to win comfortably ahead of André Greipel.

“My most dangerous point is my acceleration.” Cav said later, and his statement is seemingly justified by the green jersey he earned after yesterday’s efforts. Based on his current form, he is well on target to overhaul Eddy Merckx’s record of 34 career stage victories on the Tour. But that’s not on the mind of the HTC man right now.

No British rider has finished in green since the jersey’s introduction in 1953 – Cavendish himself has failed on two previous occasions – but with just two sprint stages remaining, he is definitely in the driver’s seat. However he needs to be vary of Philppe Gilbert and Jose Joaquin Rojas right behind him, who with their better all round abilities are very much in the fight.

 Yesterday was  a short and flat stage not of much interest to any top contenders (except the sprinters ofcourse). FDJ’s Mickael Delage was part of the initial breakaway and earned the status of the rider who has spent most time charging away from the peloton. At the end of yesterday he has been part of various attacks for 392km of the total 1,794km covered. Sadly he wins no awards for the achievement apart from troubling the statisticians.

The only withdrawal on the day was the Frenchman John Gadret (AG2R). He has struggled right from day one and cited exhaustion as the reason for his pulling out of the Tour. Maybe his fourth placed finish in the recently concluded Giro d’Italia had to do with the fatigue that forced this decision.

Tougher side of life was on display elsewhere too as stage 10 winner André Greipel was seen ferrying water bottles for his team-mates. Such is the nature of this unique event that irrespective of your personal achievements, everyone has to surrender his ego to the team’s cause and only the leader is spared such mundane duties.

Apart from the last dash there was nothing out of the ordinary on the stage, making it one of those days where you can relax and admire at the stunning French countryside. By you I mean the viewers, cause the riders don’t get that luxury until the final ceremonial stage leading to Paris. However the grumpy weather conditions snatched even that joy from us and toward the end the field had to wade through a torrential downpour.

Today is much more interesting though. Finally comes the day of serious climbs where one can hope for an attack by a top contender. The stage features three major climbs in the final 60km, two of which are of the severest Hors catégorie. Col du Tourmalet is steeped in history and was the backdrop for the captivating Schleck vs Contador battle during stage 17 last year.

In that edition the Spaniard came out second best (on the given day), but with the conditions that were, the way both riders destroyed the peloton battling solo till the summit was stuff of legends. The weather looks pretty similar to last year and should give the mysterious aura, however matters do not end there. Having scaled this mammoth peak, riders move on for a last test on the day.

The finish on Luz-Ardiden is one of the nastiest this year and any rider who struggles today can forget to dream of glory in Paris. There may not be major attacks as this is only the first mountain stage, but it will be a tough ask of Thomas Voeckler to hang on to the maillot jaune by the end. He accepted the fact in his comments yesterday, “I will try, but I honestly expect to lose the jersey tomorrow. That doesn’t mean that I won’t fight. We’ll see…”

While I cannot say the Tour has been short of action in the first 11 days, however today marks the beginning of the main battle. Do not move away from your screens, as the climbs on Le Tour seldom disappoint. I have my allegiances towards Andy Schleck, but cannot discount Cadel Evans for a moment considering his current form. Alberto Contador might be injured, but one never rules out a three-time winner of the Tour and their three-way battle is bound to be invigorating. So till tomorrow then…

ps: For all who want to bathe in the wonder that is Col du Tourmalet, here is a breathtaking archive of images released last year to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the climb’s introduction into the Tour.

Jersey holders:                                                                  General Classification:

Maillot Jaune –  Thomas Voeckler                                     Thomas Voeckler – 45h 52’ 39”   Maillot Vert –  Mark Cavendish                                         Luis-Leon Sanchez – 45h 54’ 28”  Maillot à Pois Rouges –  Johnny Hoogerland                  Cadel Evans – 45h 55’ 05”              Maillot Blanc –  Robert Gesink

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Tour de France 2011 – Stage 5

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On a day of attrition Mark Cavendish blitzed to his 16th career stage victory in Le Tour, while the peloton was battered and bruised much beyond the regular. There were a spate of crashes and withdrawals, partly caused by the vicious cross-winds and partly by the tricky route on the day. For a fan like me, it hurts to see all the hard work and endless hours of painful toil go to a waste because of such unfortunate events.

Each day the Tour doctors issue a medical bulletin, which ranges from innocuous items such as stings and saddle sores to the most common on the list – broken bones. But even by these rather unsettling standards, yesterday’s bulletin sounded like a war record. It was only the incredible will of these riders that propelled all but the most severely injured to remount and finish the stage grimacing in pain. The gallery below does not bring out the scintillating beauty on the Tour, but the incredible bravery of each of these men.

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Nobody had expected for such carnage and the confidence was there for all to see as the first breakaway tore free as soon as the riders hit the zero kilometer mark at the end of the neutral zone. This time it consisted of Frenchmen Sebastien Turgot (Europcar), Anthony Delaplace (Saur-Sojasun) and Tristan Valentin (Cofidis), plus Spanish rider Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Movistar).

First crash of the day arrived at the 60km mark, involving 12 riders, chief among them being Chavanel (Quickstep), Wiggins (SKY), Ten Dam (Rabobank), and Leipheimer (Radioshack). Hardly had 10km passed, when Radioshack’s Janez Brajkovic touched wheels with Rabobank’s Robert Gessink. This was much more serious and while podium hopeful Gessik remounted and continued in pain, the Slovenian rider was not as lucky.

He suffered deep wounds on his forehead and lay in a daze till professional medical help arrived shortly after. Brajkovic had to ultimately be stretchered into an ambulance, needing further treatment, and his Tour ends in a pool of blood and plenty of road rash. Ahead on the road within a kilometer of this, defending champion Alberto Contador hit the tarmac, falling back first and admitted this would cause him a few troubled nights.

While unfortunate, such events are to be expected in this brutal event, however what happened next shocked everyone. Contador’s teammate Nicki Sorensen got entangled with a passing photographer’s motorbike and was pulled along. The Dane was unceremoniously thrown off his bike and away from the peloton while the motorbike kept dragging his machine. Seorensen was justifiably furious and confused, though managed to continue on a spare bike with no major injuries. Fate of the motorbike rider though, seems to be sealed.

Also around the 90km mark fell Yaroslav Popovych (Radioshack) and Christophe Kern (Europcar), latter’s injured knee ruling him out of any further action in this year’s event. Worse was to come and this time two Quickstep cyclists, Tom Boonen and Gert Steegmans’ wheels touched and both came crashing hard. Boonen – the 2007 maillot vert – seemed to have taken a big knock and lost a huge amount of time recovering. In-keeping with the tenacity of Tour de France riders, the pair – with pale faces - continued all by themselves.

Ahead of all this carnage Jérémy Roy (FDJ) and Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) broke from the peloton with 33km to go. The French duo battled hard and their quixotic venture was highly appreciated by the fans all the way along. Even at this late stage there was no stopping the crashes with Euskaltel’s Ivan Velasco hitting the side barriers hard.

Roy and Voeckler continued to play catch-me-if-you-can with the peloton, and caught they were, with just under 3km to go. Voeckler made a last gasp dash, alas in vain as he was reeled in just after a kilometer. Considering the manic speeds the sprinter’s teams were pulling the peloton with, it was almost surreal to watch a colourful bunch whirr by the narrow lanes of Cap Fréhel.

Toward the end many riders tried their luck, but no one was to deny the Manx missile his much due victory. Cavendish seemed to have lost it as he lay in 10th place with just under 100m to go. But as always the burly HTC-Highroad man turned on the turbos and accelerated with such venom that he left the World champion, the Spanish champion and all the rest stunned in his wake.

This performance seems to have re-validated his “fastest man in the world” tag (all Bolt and Vettel fans we are talking cycling here). But even the never-say-die islander admitted that this was one of his toughest victories. Ceding he was in the red during the slight uphill leading to the finish he said, “I had to give it over 100%. It will take a couple of days to recover from this.”

Everyone please spare a thought for Boonen, Steegmans and Velasco; who despite their terrible falls and searing pain, pulled through sheer willpower to finish within the stipulated time (to avoid disqualification). The way each rider’s team-mate nursed them back – losing time themselves in the process – is a testament to the class of this event and its participants. Bravery, honour, support and above all proud display of the undefiable human spirit.

I know this post was not very uplifting and maybe I overdid with all the gory details of each crash, but I precisely wanted to bring out the immense sacrifice these men make and the risk they take in today’s “health and safety” obsessed world. It is definitely not desirable, but is a manifestation of the Tour’s toughness, where nothing but the very best manage to survive.

Today’s stage 6 hopefully would be benign and is a rolling route as we move from Brittany on to Normandy. It’s the longest stage this year with the riders covering a total of 226.5km in the day. There is a little climb just under 2km from the finish and yet again this can cause the peloton to split up. Philippe Gilbert has another opportunity to double his tally for this year, which he narrowly missed out yesterday and this should again make for a closely fought finish. So till tomorrow then…

Jersey holders:                                                                    General Classification:

Maillot Jaune –  Thor Hushovd                                       Thor Hushovd – 17h 36’ 57”
Maillot Vert –  Philippe Gilbert                                        Cadel Evans – 17h 36’ 58”
Maillot à Pois Rouges –  Cadel Evans                              Frank Schleck – 17h 37’ 01”
Maillot Blanc –  Geraint Thomas

Fun fact: Romain Feillu’s dash in the wake of his team car was judged to be within the rules by the commissars and did not entail any fine for the Frenchman. However his insistence for the car to go faster than the 70kph he was doing (cycling!) landed the driver on the wrong side of the French traffic police. The poor man was fined although I could not confirm the amount.

Tour de France 2011 – Stage 4

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172.5km of effort, 6 inches of glory! That best describes yesterday’s stage 4 of Le Tour. Where else does one find such microscopic distances distinguishing competitors in a marathon event. For the record, Cadel Evans edged out a highly spirited Alberto Contador in the most dramatic fashion at the end of day four yesterday. It was so close in fact that the Spaniard raised his arm in triumph, confident of having nipped his old adversary by his late charge.

The photo-finish replays proved otherwise and it is just another sign how things are not going as per plan for the defending champion. But Contador and his manager seem pleased with his overall performance, and considering he got one better over most of the main contenders, this could be seen as a sign that the Saxo Bank leader is not taking things lying down.

Evans was ecstatic after the victory – his first since 2007 – and thanked his team for the achievement. He said, “My hero today is Marcus Burghardt who made sure I was exactly where I was meant to be. I can’t believe I beat Philippe Gilbert going into a headwind like that.” This victory was more remarkable considering the BMC rider had to drop off to the rear for fixing his gears a mere 15km from the finish. The only minor irritant for Evans may have been his failure to snatch maillot jaune from Thor Hushovd, who finished a commendable sixth.

The Norwegian was expected to struggle on this stage, especially in the tricky uphill finish. But it was to his credit that despite all odds he pulled himself, successfully defending his slender margin of ‘one second’ over Evans. Based on this performance and with the profiles of the upcoming stages, he should pretty much see through till Saturday in yellow.

Race organisers had specially designed this stage to finish on “The Wall” with its mile long dead straight ascent to throw the peloton out of its comfort zone. Higher powers were in no mood of mercy either with much of the stage being run in miserable conditions. Sleeting rain rendered roads so greasy that the first crash came in the neutral zone itself, even before the stage was flagged off by the race director.

Yet again a breakaway was formed within the first 10km, this time being lead by the Frenchman Jeremy Roy (FDJ) with Gorka Izagirre Insausti (Euskatel), Imanol Erviti (Movistar), Johnny Hoogerland (Vacansoleil) and Blel Kadri (AG2R) for company. They continued on their own till the day’s intermediate sprint with a max gain of around four minutes over the main group. But soon Garmin-Cervelo and Omega Pharma-Lotto whipped the peloton into action and despite the sternest fight from the leaders, they were caught well before the tricky ascent.

Action of the day belonged to Vacansoleil-DCM sprinter Romain Feillu who after a forced halt, rode inches behind the team car trying to rejoin the peloton. With the vehicle zipping along at 75km/hr, an incontent Feillu gave the rider a thumbs-up urging him to go faster! Even considering the driver was not quite as adventurous as the cyclist on slippery tarmac, hats off to the physical ability of the French rider.

Yesterday also brought the first retirement in this year’s Tour with Omega Pharma-Lotto’s Jurgen van de Walle abandoning the race, probably as an after effect of his crash early on day one. Makes the job of the remaining 197 competitors so much easier then!

Towards the end the peloton had stretched out like a freight train, though speeds were in check considering the surface conditions. Also the ‘three-kilometers rule’ was not applicable on this stage, meaning a crash at any distance would entail a damaging delay for the rider(s) involved.

Hence all top contenders were right at the fore of the pack with most spectators eyeing birthday boy Philippe Gilbert gunning for his second victory of the Tour. Sadly that was not to be as Evans and Contador out paced everyone in the final dash, with Vinokourov taking up the last podium place. Massive crowds at Mûr-de-Bretagne made this appear as a major mountain finish, and with the two big guns going elbow to elbow, this could be a tasty appetizer before the main course of the Alpine stages.

At the end of the day there were no major fluctuations in the general classifications. However the keen-eyed would have noticed the almost surreptitious climb of one of the Schlecks into the top three. Just a sign of matters heating up and riders beginning to get into their strides.

Today’s stage 5 continues east across Brittany, beginning in captivating countryside and with the latter half a scenic ride down the coast. However the peloton would not have the time to marvel on the beauty and would be more focussed on the cross-winds which will prompt echelons to form. Opportunities exist then, for a team with adequate horsepower to try to split the field. Traditionally it should be won by a sprinter, but after yesterday’s results I will refrain from making a prediction (though it may be noted that I had highlighted Evans for glory in my short preview of stage 4). So till tomorrow then…

Jersey holders:                                                                    General Classification:

Maillot Jaune –  Thor Hushovd                                        Thor Hushovd – 13h 58’ 25”
Maillot Vert –  Joaquin Jose Rojas                                  Cadel Evans – 13h 58’ 26”
Maillot à Pois Rouges –  Cadel Evans                              Frank Schleck – 13h 58’ 29”
Maillot Blanc –  Geraint Thomas

ps: Thor Hushod apologised to Mark Cavendish over the disqualification of both riders from yesterday’s intermediate sprint. Referees penalised the riders for allegedly clashing helmets going for the line, however Hushovd claimed all responsibility for the mishap. In reply Cav tweeted “Just heard that Thor’s offered to take the punishment solely. What a true gentleman. I reckon it won’t change fuck-all though. But thank you.”

Tour de France 2011 – Stage 3

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Tyler Farrar created a bit of history yesterday, as he became the first American ever to win a stage in the Tour de France on the 4th of July. That he did so racing for an American team, made it all the more sweeter for the Yanks watching around the world. But as they say, one man’s dream is the other’s nightmare, so it proved for Mark Cavendish and team HTC-Highroad, as they missed out on yet another chance for a stage victory.

Garmin-Cervelo had scored their maiden win only a day before and so this successive triumph must be a stating of intent that they can compete and come ahead of the best. However it was the gesture shown by the Washington rider as he crossed the line, which resonated in every heart on the Tour. In his own words, Farrar has had a “horrible last two months” after he quit the Giro d’Italia following the death of his close friend and training partner, Wouter Weylandt who fell and sustained fatal head injuries during the race.

So like Lance Armstrong in 1995 (who displayed similar emotions as he saluted the sky in memory of his late team-mate Fabio Casartelli), Farrar crossed his fingers forming a ‘W’ in tribute and dedicating the victory to the late Belgian. It is moments like these that bring out the full impact of a Grand Tour. It reaffirms the stark reality of what these remarkable men risk every single day, while in a race or during training. And most of all, it shows deep down what they mean to each-other despite their rivalry. When compared to the demise of such a talented rider, stage victories almost pale in insignificance, and so do reports.

The show does go on however, and its commendable of Farrar to have paid his tribute at the highest platform possible. Yesterday’s stage meant much for him and the other main sprinters Hushovd and Cavendish. The scoring system has been tweaked this year that allows 15 riders to pick up points for ensuring the best sprinter wins the green jersey, rather than the most consistent finisher. The results are still awaited, and then would be put to much debate, but it certainly encourages more riders to head for the sprints.

Head they exactly did at the intermediate sprint, as Thor Hushovd and Mark Cavendish clashed helmets in their effort to rush to the line. Though the Manxman came out ahead, however the referees relegated both riders to the back of their group post-facto in view of the events. Cav was definitely not pleased and later tweeted he had “no idea” why the race officials took such dim view of a minor event, and one that is very common in the sport.

Rest of the stage was pretty uneventful as none of the main contenders had anything to fight for and most looked to stay out of any unseen trouble. The highlight then probably was the Saint-Nazaire bridge over the Loire which provided for some good TV shots as the riders crossed it heading for the finish. To me it resembled the famous “sea-link” back home, and how I would love to see some of these great riders do a promotional event on it someday.

The final sprint was chaotic as ever, and the small climb at the 2km to go mark seemed to have upset Cavendish’s HTC train. They had gone for the dash early and poor Cav emerged out of the climb (if one can call it that) alone, meaning he did not have the luxury of a planned lead out he generally enjoys. He finished a poor sixth, with the only consolation being one place ahead of the Tour leader Thor Hushovd. Top three places on the day went to Farrar, VCD’s Romain Feillu and Moviestar’s Jose Rojas, who also moved to top of the points standings.

Tomorrow is a technical stage, one which can prove hazardous if due care is not taken by the peloton. It finishes on the summit of the Mûr-de-Bretagne and the final 10km are expected to be intense. Being one of the three stages in cycling-mad Brittany, strong crowds are expected all along the route with the usual interesting characters and costumes on display.

This is a stage for Philippe Gilbert to make his mark again or someone like Thomas Voeckler. With the maillot jaune likely to struggle, many other riders too would be interested to put in a good show today. I am betting on Cadel Evans to break his fascination with second place and move into yellow by the end of the day. So till tomorrow then…

Jersey holders:                                                                    General Classification:

Maillot Jaune –  Thor Hushovd                                        Thor Hushovd – 9h 46’ 46”
Maillot Vert –  Joaquin Jose Rojas                                  David Millar – 9h 46’ 46”
Maillot à Pois Rouges –  Philippe Gilbert                      Cadel Evans – 9h 46’ 47”
Maillot Blanc –  Geraint Thomas