Stage 7 - 2011 Tour de France - Wrap-up

Here's how the stage ended today...

Mark Cavendish won the stage (that's two for him this year)

He was followed by Alessandro Petacchi and Andre Greipel to round out the top three. Doesn't do much to the overall standings which see these guys in the top ten...

Thor Husovd
Cadel Evans
Frank Schleck
David Millar
Andreas Kloden
Jakob Fuglsang
Andy Schleck
Tony Martin
Peter Velits
Robert Gesink

...and our good friend Alberto Contador is still back 1:42 off the lead.

Coming up tomorrow and the next day - some steeper stages.

Oh, the list of abandons is now at eight with Boonen, Wiggins and Van de Walle the biggest names on the list.

2011 Tour de France - Overall Standings After Stage 4 - SPOILER

SPOILER ALERT. POST GIVES OVERALL STANDINGS OF THE TOP TEN RIDERS AFTER STAGE 4 IN THE 2011 TOUR DE FRANCE

Here they are - along with Alberto Contador as a footnote...

HUSHOVD Thor  51  TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO  13h 58' 25"     

2.  EVANS Cadel  141  BMC RACING TEAM  13h 58' 26"  + 00' 01"  

3.  SCHLECK Frank  18  TEAM LEOPARD-TREK  13h 58' 29"  + 00' 04"  

4.  MILLAR David  56  TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO  13h 58' 33"  + 00' 08"  

5.  KLÖDEN Andréas  74  TEAM RADIOSHACK  13h 58' 35"  + 00' 10"  

6.  WIGGINS Bradley  111  SKY PROCYCLING  13h 58' 35"  + 00' 10"  

7.  THOMAS Geraint  117  SKY PROCYCLING  13h 58' 37"  + 00' 12"  

8.  HAGEN Edvald Boasson  114  SKY PROCYCLING  13h 58' 37"  + 00' 12"  

9.  SCHLECK Andy  11  TEAM LEOPARD-TREK  13h 58' 37"  + 00' 12"  

10.  FUGLSANG Jakob  13  TEAM LEOPARD-TREK  13h 58' 37"  + 00' 12"  

And in 41st place at 1:42 back is Alberto Contador.

Fun stuff!  

UPDATE - Stage 1 Shake-up - SPOILER - INCLUDES RESULTS

Today, in stage 1 of the 2011 Tour de France, there were numerous crashes. But, for some reason even though Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador crashed at the 10KM to go mark and lost about 1:20 on the pack, Andy found a way to get back into the field and finish with everyone.

He did it by crashing AGAIN within the 3KM mark which meant that he got the same finishing time as anyone involved in that crash. As I see it - and I could be wrong - that meant that a rider who didn't crash got penalized.

And the standings at the end of the day bear that out. The official board has Contador back 1:20 on the pack and Schleck only losing :06 on the leader.

Not sure how that works, but that could be the tour right there because the margin between Schleck and Contador is very slim. I'm just sad they both didn't finish back by 90 seconds or so.

2010 Tour de France - Overall Standings after Stage 9

Here are the top guys after Stage 9 of the 2010 Tour de France. I'll go all the way down to Lance's new position. He's now in 31st and looking OK. Levi Leipheimer is only four minutes back. Comments welcome!


1. SCHLECK Andy 11 TEAM SAXO BANK 43h 35' 41"
2. CONTADOR Alberto 1 ASTANA 43h 36' 22" + 00' 41"
3. SANCHEZ Samuel 181 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 43h 38' 26" + 02' 45"
4. MENCHOV Denis 191 RABOBANK 43h 38' 39" + 02' 58"
5. VAN DEN BROECK Jurgen 101 OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO 43h 39' 12" + 03' 31"
6. LEIPHEIMER Levi 25 TEAM RADIOSHACK 43h 39' 40" + 03' 59"
7. GESINK Robert 195 RABOBANK 43h 40' 03" + 04' 22"
8. SANCHEZ Luis-Leon 161 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 43h 40' 22" + 04' 41"
9. RODRIGUEZ OLIVER Joaquin 77 KATUSHA TEAM 43h 40' 49" + 05' 08"
10. BASSO Ivan 41 LIQUIGAS-DOIMO 43h 40' 50" + 05' 09"
11. KREUZIGER Roman 44 LIQUIGAS-DOIMO 43h 40' 52" + 05' 11"
12. HESJEDAL Ryder 54 GARMIN - TRANSITIONS 43h 41' 23" + 05' 42"
13. VINOKOUROV Alexandre 9 ASTANA 43h 42' 12" + 06' 31"
14. ROGERS Michael 118 TEAM HTC - COLUMBIA 43h 42' 45" + 07' 04"
15. SASTRE Carlos 91 CERVELO TEST TEAM 43h 42' 54" + 07' 13"
16. WIGGINS Bradley 31 SKY PRO CYCLING 43h 42' 59" + 07' 18"
17. ROCHE Nicolas 81 AG2R LA MONDIALE 43h 43' 25" + 07' 44"
18. EVANS Cadel 121 BMC RACING TEAM 43h 43' 28" + 07' 47"
19. LÖVKVIST Thomas 37 SKY PRO CYCLING 43h 43' 44" + 08' 03"
20. KLÖDEN Andréas 24 TEAM RADIOSHACK 43h 44' 46" + 09' 05"
21. MONIER Damien 178 COFIDIS LE CREDIT EN LIGNE 43h 45' 29" + 09' 48"
22. PLAZA MOLINA Ruben 168 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 43h 46' 01" + 10' 20"
23. DE WEERT Kevin 133 QUICK STEP 43h 46' 07" + 10' 26"
24. CASAR Sandy 62 FDJ 43h 46' 27" + 10' 46"
25. HORNER Christopher 23 TEAM RADIOSHACK 43h 46' 47" + 11' 06"
26. GADRET John 85 AG2R LA MONDIALE 43h 47' 26" + 11' 45"
27. MORENO FERNANDEZ Daniel 107 OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO 43h 48' 29" + 12' 48"
28. LE MEVEL Christophe 61 FDJ 43h 49' 07" + 13' 26"
29. RIBLON Christophe 89 AG2R LA MONDIALE 43h 50' 11" + 14' 30"
30. VAN SUMMEREN Johan 58 GARMIN - TRANSITIONS 43h 50' 56" + 15' 15"
31. ARMSTRONG Lance 21 TEAM RADIOSHACK 43h 51' 35" + 15' 54"

Leapfrog is the name of the game - 2010 Tour de France

Stage 9 in the 2010 Tour de France was the most difficult so far in terms of categorized climbs and pack splitting. It showed that not even the yellow jersey on Cadel Evans' back could keep him in the lead. And it made very clear how well Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador were riding this season.

My hope is that my previous thoughts that the pack was all together is not a pipe dream. But watching Andy and Alberto joust up the steepest slopes so far in this grand tour, the rest of the cyclists might just be kids playing a man's game.

Even Lance - who put in a heroic effort today and pulled himself back into the race...a little* - didn't stay with the leaders. *No real hope of him getting on the podium but he might actually crack the top 10 if he rides this way all the way home.

So here's where we stand after Stage 9. These are the top guys in the stage and then I'll give you the new shaken standings overall in my next post.

ALSO - if you're in the Boston area, there's a Tour de France breakfast at Redbones BBQ in Somerville, MA tomorrow morning. It runs from 9AM to noon and is wildly popular each year. (They do two of these each Tour.)

I plan to attend. If you want more details, go see WithJeff and click on the calendar at the top of that blog.

Now for the top racers in the stage today (and I've made it plain text so you can read it more easily...


CASAR Sandy
62
FDJ
5h 38' 10"

SANCHEZ Luis-Leon
161
CAISSE D’EPARGNE
5h 38' 10"
+ 00' 00"

CUNEGO Damiano
201
LAMPRE - FARNESE
5h 38' 10"
+ 00' 00"

MOREAU Christophe
166
CAISSE D’EPARGNE
5h 38' 12"
+ 00' 02"

CHARTEAU Anthony
153
BBOX BOUYGUES TELECOM
5h 38' 12"
+ 00' 02"

CONTADOR Alberto
1
ASTANA
5h 38' 12"
+ 00' 02"

SCHLECK Andy
11
TEAM SAXO BANK
5h 38' 12"
+ 00' 02"

SANCHEZ Samuel
181
EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI
5h 39' 02"
+ 00' 52"

RODRIGUEZ OLIVER Joaquin
77
KATUSHA TEAM
5h 40' 17"
+ 02' 07"

LEIPHEIMER Levi
25
TEAM RADIOSHACK
5h 40' 17"
+ 02' 07"

Standings after Stage 8 - 2010 Tour de France

Here are the top ten riders in the 2010 Tour de France after Stage 8... (word has it that Lance may not be even within 10 minutes of the leaders)...

Cadel Evans
Andy Schleck 20 seconds back
Alberto Contador 1:01 back
Jurgen Van Den Broeck 1:03 back
Denis Menchov 1:10 back
Ryder Hesjedal 1:11 back
Roman Kreuziger 1:45 back
Levi Leipheimer 2:14 back
Samuel Sanchez 2:15 back
Michael Rogers 2:31 back

and Lance Armstrong was 11:45 back in the stage and is now standing in 39th place and 13:26 back of the leaders. :-(

Stage 7 - 2010 Tour de France - Standings

Stage 7 DIDN'T bring the shakeup I expected and we're looking down the barrel of Stage 8 - the last stage before the first rest day - to jumble the entire GC. In fact, Stage 7 saw a good break and a tiny shuffle, but nothing dramatic. Even with the mountains.

Here's how it wrapped up.

Top Five in the Stage...

Sylvain Chavanel - Quick Step (by the way, he rode great today and knocked Fabian Cancellara out of the water!
Rafael Valls Ferri - Footon-Servello
Juan Manuel Garate - Rabobank
Thomas Voeckler - BBox
Mathieu Perget - Caisse d'Epargne

That meant that the top five overall got a shakeup too.

Here is the GC - Top Five...

Sylvain Chavanel - Quick Step
Cadel Evans - BMC
Ryder Hesjedal - Garmin
Andy Schleck - Saxo Bank
Alexandre Vinokourov - Astana

Here comes Stage 8 and THE shakeup.

Wrong again - Stage 6 Prediction and Stage Standings

I missed again. My choice for stage winner was Cadel Evans and he didn't make it. Here are the top five in the stage...

Mark Cavendish - HTC
Tyler Farrar - Garmin
Alessandro Petacchi - Lampre
Robbie McEwen - Katusha
Gerald Ciolek - Milram

Also, I've got a few things to do the next couple days so I'll be staying short and sweet here on the blog until Sunday's Stage 8.

See you shortly!

Gonna Limit Standings - 2010 Tour de France

The blog is getting cluttered with complete lists of standings after each stage, so I'm going to give you the top five riders from now on in both the stage and the GC.

That should allow folks to read more posts on one page instead of having to run around and click to see older posts.

Overall 2010 Tour de France Standings - after Stage 5

Here's how the 2010 Tour de France stands after four stages are in the books. Coming up, my prediction for Stage 6. But here's the top 50 riders in the Tour as of right now...

1.	CANCELLARA Fabian	13	TEAM SAXO BANK	22h 59' 45"
2.	THOMAS Geraint	39	SKY PRO CYCLING	23h 00' 08"	+ 00' 23"
3.	EVANS Cadel	121	BMC RACING TEAM	23h 00' 24"	+ 00' 39"
4.	HESJEDAL Ryder	54	GARMIN - TRANSITIONS	23h 00' 31"	+ 00' 46"
5.	CHAVANEL Sylvain	131	QUICK STEP	23h 00' 46"	+ 01' 01"
6.	SCHLECK Andy	11	TEAM SAXO BANK	23h 00' 54"	+ 01' 09"
7.	HUSHOVD Thor	95	CERVELO TEST TEAM	23h 01' 04"	+ 01' 19"
8.	VINOKOUROV Alexandre	9	ASTANA	23h 01' 16"	+ 01' 31"
9.	CONTADOR Alberto	1	ASTANA	23h 01' 25"	+ 01' 40"
10.	VAN DEN BROECK Jurgen	101	OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO	23h 01' 27"	+ 01' 42"
11.	ROCHE Nicolas	81	AG2R LA MONDIALE	23h 01' 27"	+ 01' 42"
12.	VAN SUMMEREN Johan	58	GARMIN - TRANSITIONS	23h 01' 32"	+ 01' 47"
13.	MENCHOV Denis	191	RABOBANK	23h 01' 34"	+ 01' 49"
14.	WIGGINS Bradley	31	SKY PRO CYCLING	23h 01' 34"	+ 01' 49"
15.	MILLAR David	57	GARMIN - TRANSITIONS	23h 01' 51"	+ 02' 06"
16.	KREUZIGER Roman	44	LIQUIGAS-DOIMO	23h 02' 09"	+ 02' 24"
17.	SANCHEZ Luis-Leon	161	CAISSE D’EPARGNE	23h 02' 10"	+ 02' 25"
18.	ARMSTRONG Lance	21	TEAM RADIOSHACK	23h 02' 15"	+ 02' 30"
19.	LÖVKVIST Thomas	37	SKY PRO CYCLING	23h 02' 19"	+ 02' 34"
20.	ROJAS Jose Joaquin	169	CAISSE D’EPARGNE	23h 02' 20"	+ 02' 35"
21.	MARTIN Tony	115	TEAM HTC - COLUMBIA	23h 02' 20"	+ 02' 35"
22.	DURAN AROCA Arkaitz	214	FOOTON-SERVETTO	23h 02' 34"	+ 02' 49"
23.	MC EWEN Robbie	75	KATUSHA TEAM	23h 02' 37"	+ 02' 52"
24.	LEIPHEIMER Levi	25	TEAM RADIOSHACK	23h 02' 38"	+ 02' 53"
25.	FUGLSANG Jakob	14	TEAM SAXO BANK	23h 02' 43"	+ 02' 58"
26.	BRAJKOVIC Janez	22	TEAM RADIOSHACK	23h 02' 45"	+ 03' 00"
27.	ROGERS Michael	118	TEAM HTC - COLUMBIA	23h 02' 45"	+ 03' 00"
28.	KLÖDEN Andréas	24	TEAM RADIOSHACK	23h 02' 46"	+ 03' 01"
29.	RIBLON Christophe	89	AG2R LA MONDIALE	23h 02' 47"	+ 03' 02"
30.	TANKINK Bram	198	RABOBANK	23h 02' 47"	+ 03' 02"
31.	SANCHEZ Samuel	181	EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI	23h 02' 49"	+ 03' 04"
32.	GRIVKO Andriy	3	ASTANA	23h 02' 50"	+ 03' 05"
33.	KARPETS Vladimir	71	KATUSHA TEAM	23h 02' 50"	+ 03' 05"
34.	MONFORT Maxime	116	TEAM HTC - COLUMBIA	23h 02' 51"	+ 03' 06"
35.	KOREN Kristjan	43	LIQUIGAS-DOIMO	23h 02' 52"	+ 03' 07"
36.	ROELANDTS Jürgen	108	OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO	23h 02' 55"	+ 03' 10"
37.	LE MEVEL Christophe	61	FDJ	23h 02' 57"	+ 03' 12"
38.	FARIA DA COSTA Rui Alberto	162	CAISSE D’EPARGNE	23h 02' 59"	+ 03' 14"
39.	LADAGNOUS Matthieu	65	FDJ	23h 02' 59"	+ 03' 14"
40.	CASAR Sandy	62	FDJ	23h 02' 59"	+ 03' 14"
41.	NIERMANN Grischa	197	RABOBANK	23h 03' 00"	+ 03' 15"
42.	GESINK Robert	195	RABOBANK	23h 03' 01"	+ 03' 16"
43.	HORNER Christopher	23	TEAM RADIOSHACK	23h 03' 02"	+ 03' 17"
44.	KNEES Christian	145	TEAM MILRAM	23h 03' 03"	+ 03' 18"
45.	GARATE Juan Manuel	194	RABOBANK	23h 03' 03"	+ 03' 18"
46.	SASTRE Carlos	91	CERVELO TEST TEAM	23h 03' 04"	+ 03' 19"
47.	BASSO Ivan	41	LIQUIGAS-DOIMO	23h 03' 05"	+ 03' 20"
48.	KERN Christophe	175	COFIDIS LE CREDIT EN LIGNE	23h 03' 06"	+ 03' 21"
49.	GUTIERREZ José Ivan	164	CAISSE D’EPARGNE	23h 03' 09"	+ 03' 24"
50.	MORENO FERNANDEZ Daniel	107	OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO	23h 03' 10"	+ 03' 25"