94th Tour de France - Stage 20 Live
The Final triumphant arrival in Paris of the 141 survivors of 20 days of racing.
Marcoussis Paris Champs-Élysées - 146 km
Map,
Climbs & Intermediate Sprints
51.0 km - Category 4 Côte de Saint-Rémy-les-Chevreuse
54.5 km - Category 4 Côte de Châteaufort
74.0 km - Chatenay - Malabry (72 km to go)
108.5 km (54 km to go), Entrance on the first of 8 - 6.5 km circuits of the
Champs Elysées
108 km - Haut des Champs-Elysées (37.5 km to go)
Welcome to our live coverage of the final stage of the 94th edition of the
Tour de France today's stage is from Marcoussis to the traditional finish in
Paris Champs on the Champs Élysées over 146 km just started. The winners of the
jerseys are now riding in front for the unique photos the photographers
take while the other riders are joking with each other.
Without accidents or incident Alberto Contador will be the winner of the Tour
de France 2007 and the maillot blanc for the best young rider. Tom Boonen
the green jersey and Mauricio Soler the climbers polka dot. The maillot
blanc is currently worn by Amets Txurruka (Euskaltel) in this stage due to the
fact Contador (1st) and Soler (2nd) wear other important jerseys.
The official start was just given by Tour director Christian Prudhomme. We're
out of the neutral zone with 145 km to go. 141 riders starting the final
stage. There are still time gains on offer today: two intermediate sprints with
six, four and two seconds of bonuses for the first three across the line. And
20, 12 and eight seconds for the first three riders in the Paris finish.. “We’ll
wait and see what happens in the race.” This is all Evans would say to the
official le Tour interviewer this morning before the start.
As we usually see in a final stage the pace is very slow, riders enjoy the
stage by sharing jokes. We will probably see the first attacks in Paris on the
Champs-Elysees circuit. There are also rumors of plans by a part of the peloton
to protest against the latest problems in the sport. Their plan was to stop in
the final lap of the race, a few meters before the finish. But If others started
to sprint that could be very dangerous. If they want to protest it would be
better to stop when the cross the finish line the first time on Champs-Elysees.
We will see if this protest materializes in Paris.
1416 CET - 140 km to go, Alberto Contador
does a bike change. He switches from his team issue blue Trek to a specially
made new yellow one to match his jersey. The riders are on dry roads, but rain
threatens in the distance over Paris, this could lead to the time gaps being
neutralized as the riders enter the final 8 circuits to avoid accidents. The
pace continues to be slow with the riders enjoying the fact that they have
finished the tour, certainly an accomplishment to celebrate.
The final stage in the Thüringen Rundfahrt for Woman was won by Susanne
Ljungskog. She was faster than Karin Thürig in a sprint with two. Angela Brodtka
won the sprint of the bunch for 3rd. Judith Arndt is probably the overall winner
by beating Amber Neben based on the thousandths of seconds she took in the the
time trials.
The Quick Step riders lead the peloton. They will once again set up there
famous train in Paris to pilot the green boy Tom Boonen to attempt his 3rd stage
win. The team has already won 4 stages in this year's Tour with Steegmans, twice
Boonen and Vasseur. Boonen is also almost sure for winning the green jersey for
the 1st time in his career.
The final stage in the Thüringen Rundfahrt for Woman is won by Susanne
Ljungskog. She was faster than Karin Thürig in a sprint with two. Angela Brodtka
won the sprint of the bunch for 3rd. Judith Arndt is probably the overall winner
by beating Neben on the thousands of seconds in the two time trials. We'll
update this as soon as more info is available.
It is most likely this stage will end up in a bunch sprint. If we take a look
to the sprinters who are still in the race we will come to the following list:
Bernhard Eisel (T-Mobile), Daniele Bennati (Lampre), Heinrich Haussler (Gerolsteiner),
Robert Förster (Gerolsteiner), Thor Hushovd (C. Agricole), Julian Dean (C.
Agricole), Sebastien Chavanel (FDJ), Tom Boonen (Quick Step), Gert Steegmans
(Quick Step), Erik Zabel (Milram), Robert Hunter (Barloworld) and maybe Fabian
Cancellara (CSC). He could do an Ekimov, by attacking in the final hundreds of
meters as he did earlier this tour in stage 3.
Looking back at this years Tour de France it was a
Tour of
Scandals; but a very exciting Tour of Scandals with the top 3 in the GC
within 31 seconds of each other. First we had the positive test of Sinkewitz
during a training ride earlier this year which became known during the Tour. As
a result of that the German TV stations ARD/ZDF decided to drop the broadcast
the Tour. Then we had the positive test on Blood doping of Alexandre Vinokourov.
Yesterday it became known that the b-sample was positive as well. So Vinokourov
may be suspended for at least 2 years pending the outcome of his hearings on the
charges. Then we had the withdrawal of Michael Rasmussen who was pulled out of
the Tour by his team manager Theo de Rooij after the "whereabouts" matter.
Rasmusen was also fired by the team shortly after. Next was the positive test of
Moreni (Cofidis) on Testosterone, as result that Cofidis left the Tour just as
Astana after the Vino affair. But next to that we also saw some great sport
especially from youngster and Tour de France winner Alberto Contador.
126 km to go in the stage and the parade
continues as the riders take time for a natural break alongside the road. Fabian
Wegmann (Gerolsteiner) is riding in a Bart Simpson mask he got from his sport
director. Bad boy Fabian.
Saul Raisin Bio available here
Tour de Life From Coma to Competition
1458 CET - 120 km to go, Oscar Pereiro
(second in le tour last year and possible declared winner depending on the
disposition of the Floyd Landis case) and Alberto Contador are riding together.
Talking about to Spaniards, we have six Spanish riders in the top 10 of the
Tour. We have Contador (1st), Sastre (4th), Zubeldia (5th), Valverde (6th),
Astarloza (9th) and Pereiro (10th). A strong showing by the Armada.
Update: In the final stage in the Women's Thüringen
Rundfahrt. It's now confirmed Judith Arndt won the Tour by a few
thousandths of a second over second placed Amber Neben. Noemi Cantele is 3rd
overall at 2.03. Too bad for Team Flexpoint they missed the double; having won
the final stage (Ljungskog) and then missing the overall win by Amber.
110 km to go, we are about 26 km to the
first small climbing challenge at 51.0 km the Category 4 Côte de Saint-Rémy-les-Chevreuse
which will be the first of the last climbing points available in the tour. No
need for Mauricio Soler the tours climbing revelation to contest the points as
he has an unassailable lead over second placed Alberto Contador. (As a reference
the top ten G.C. and jersey classifications are listed below.)
The final stage in the Sachsen Tour was
won by Stephan Schreck (T-Mobile). Erik Hoffmann was second and Tom Stamsnijder
3rd. Joost Posthuma (Rabobank) is the final winner ahead of Bobby Julich and
Michael Schär. T-Mobile won 4 of the 5 stages (2x Greipel, 1x Baumann and 1x
Schreck).
Juan Mauricio Soler Hernández is 24 years old and born in January 14th 1983
in Ramiriqui, Colombia and turned professional in 2006 signing with Aqua &
Sapone and moved to Barloworld this year. In his debut year he had won stage 2
of the Circuit de Lorraine and the general classification. He produced excellent
results racing in Columbia winning 12 races before he caught the eye of Aqua &
Sapone. Of course he added to these palmares with his victory in stage 9 on the
summit of Briancon when he established his lead in the polka dot climbers
jersey.
The stage continues to roll along without the attacks we saw in previous
final stages like Vinokourov or Filippo Simeoni; who both attacked in the final
stage during the Lance Armstrong period Vinokourov's effort was to gather
the bonus seconds to displace Levi Leipheimer. Which Leipheimer said he would
not do today. Simeoni attacked to tease Lance Armstrong and his US Postal team.
Simeoni and Armstrong had some arguments after Simeoni accused Armstrong of
doping use because of his co-operation with Michele Ferrari.
There is lots of racing in Europe and the rest of the world during the Tour
as well. The prologue in the Tour of Colombia was won by former professional
Santiago Botero who formerly rode for Kelme and Phonak. Libardo Nino was second
at 8 seconds and John Freddy García was 3rd at 14 seconds. And the final stage
in the Brixia Tour is won by Francesco Chicchi (Liquigas). Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner)
is the final winner.
Back to the Tour, still easy going with 100 km to go. After the Tour many of
the riders will have a deserved rest, while others will do the post tour
criteriums. Some will be back after a week off to start the Classica
San Sebastian next weekend. Last year that race was won surprisingly by Xavier
Florencio (Bouygues Telecom) riding a very anonymous performance in the tour
this year.
1548 CET - 51 km. Gert Steegmans (Quick
Step) jokes a bit and takes the points on the Côte de Saint-Rémy-les-Chevreuse
the first climb of the day. Steegmans is one of the heaviest guys (regarding his
weight) not one of your typical climber types in the peloton.
The riders can see the Eiffel Tower in the distance, they will be looking
forward to their entrance into Paris to the welcome of the route lined by the
cheering fans and know their tour is almost over. Thomas Lovkvist (FDJ)
and Fredericks Willems (Liquigas) were 2nd and 3rd on that last climb, by the
way.
Discovery Channel comes to the front of the peloton. Not urgent or anything,
they are chatting and eating and taking it easy. But they are back up there with
the Yellow Jersey. Likely they will keep an eye on things as they near the
intermediate sprint in a bit. They wind through some road furniture; Popovych
gives the customary arm signal to note to the men behind him that there is a
cobbled median coming up.
80 km to go, Do the the riders have some
lights on their bikes? They are not in before dark at this pace. The tempo has
gone up a bit, but still no major acceleration. The first intermediate sprint is
not far away. Predictor-Lotto and Evans also went up to the front of the pack.
Maybe he's having a laugh, or maybe he's going to go for sprint bonus seconds.
Chatenay-Malabry is where this first sprint will take place. That is also the
home of the scientific lab that does the drug tests for the riders. Two Quick
Step riders go off the front to take the points and time bonuses here to make
sure the other sprinters don't get it.
1627 CET - Lilian Jegou of Francaise de
Jeux comes around to take a slow-motion "sprint" for the maximum points. The two
Quick Step guys Barrredo and De Jongh were 2nd and 3rd and take the time
bonuses.. So nobody is going to contest the Green Jersey, they will just fight
it out for the stage win. 1. Lilian Jegou (FDJ) 6pts/6", 2. Carlos Barredo (QSI)
4pts/4", 3. Steven De Jongh (QSI) 2pts/2". You can bet the guys didn't stop to
piss in the bushes by that lab. They give those guys enough of that stuff as it
is.
70 km to go, in 15 km they riders
will enter the circuit on the Champs-Elysees, finally a sign for some race
action? or a sign to do the protest. It is threatening rain. If the rain does
start to come down, it will be a very dangerous circuit with the cobbled
sections.
You are invited to join fans around the world discussing the tour and the
last stage of the tour in the Daily Peloton Chat Room.
60 km to go, Flat tire for Cadel Evans
(Predictor-Lotto). Back in the cars, Contador gets some champagne from his team
car.
Salute to the Lanterne Rouge
Wim Vansevenant (Predictor-Lotto) is for the 2nd time in a row, Latern
Rouge of the Tour de France. Next year, If he starts the Tour, he can
attempt the record for the 3rd time in a row. Wim is an important part of the
Predictor-Lotto leadout train for Robbie McEwen.. Wim did also a great job for
Cadel Evans in the early parts of the mountain stages, and he must be an expert
and beating the time limit to not be eliminated on the climbing stages and time
trials as he saves his legs for the sprints.
Vansevenant is 35 years old and hails from Diksmuide, Belgium. Wim turned
Professional in 1995 with the Belgian team Vlaanderen 2002/Eddy Merckx and has
ridden for Colstrop, Farm Frites, the Mercury/Viatel team of John Wordin, Palmans/Collstro,
and joined Lotto/Domo in 2003 and has been with the team through its many
name changes since.
So this is Yellow Jersey number 8 of the team leading the G.C, coincidentally
for George
Hincapie and it's the same number in tour wins in which Hincapie played an important role.
The riders have entered Paris, they are rolling down into the laps of the
Champs Elysees. There is a big cheer from the crowds. On the front is Paolinho,
with Hincapie 2nd wheel.
1 km to the first finish passage, Hincapie leads now, as they pull through
the line. They will start racing soon. Discovery has the pace high, but no
attacks yet.
50 km to go!
94th Tour
de France - Stage 20 Live coverage continues in part two
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Tour De France 2007
General Classification After Stage 19 ITT
3374.4 km -
87:09:18"
1. Contador Alberto 112 Discovery Channel 87:09:18"
2. Evans Cadel 41 Predictor/Lotto 87:09:41 - 00:23"
3. Leipheimer Levi 111 Discovery Channel 87:09:49 - 00:31"
4. Sastre Carlos 31 Team CSC 87:16:26 - 07:08"
5. Zubeldia Haimar 71 Euskaltel/Euskadi 87:17:35 - 08:17"
6. Valverde Alejandro 18 Caisse d'Epargne 87:20:55 - 11:37"
7. Kirchen Kim 27 T-Mobile Team 87:21:36 - 12:18"
8. Popovych Yaroslav 118 Discovery Channel 87:21:48 - 12:30"
9. Astarloza Mikel 73 Euskaltel/Euskadi 87:23:32 - 14:14"
10. Pereiro Sio Oscar 11 Caisse d'Epargne 87:23:43 - 14:25"
Points Classification after Stage 19 - Maillot Vert
1. Boonen Tom 171 Quick Step/Innergetic 234 Pts
2. Hunter Robert 216 Barloworld 210 Pts
3. Zabel Erik 181 Team Milram 206 Pts
Climbers Classification after Stage 19 (unchanged)
Maillot Blanc à Pois Rouges
1. Soler Hernandez Juan Mauricio 219 Barloworld 206 Pts
2. Contador Alberto 112 Discovery Channel 128 Pts
3. Popovych Yaroslav 118 Discovery Channel 104 Pts
Best Young Rider after Stage 19 - Maillot Blanc
1. Contador Alberto 112 Discovery Channel 87:09:18"
2. Soler Juan Mauricio 219 Barloworld 87:25:59 - 16:41"
3. Txurruka Amets 78 Euskaltel/Euskadi 87:58:42 - 49:24"
Team Classification after Stage 19
1. Discovery Channel 261:39:33"
2. Caisse d'Epargne 261:59:04 - 19:31"
3. Team CSC 262:01:43 - 22:10"
4. Rabobank 262:15:47 - 36:14"
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