96th Tour de France - Stage 16 LIVE TICKER (Part 2)
Franco Pellizotti & Vladimir Karpets lead over the first climb on the attack with 1:40 the gap... the chase is on with a group of 18 following over the summit of the Col du Grand Saint Bernard

Tour de France 2009
Stage 16: Martigny - Bourg St Maurice, 159km
Tuesday 21st July 2009
Live Ticker PART TWO
 

Graphic © 2009 tour de France/ASO

Welcome to part 2 of our live coverage:
CURRENT RACE SITUATION:
- 1444 CEST : KoOver the summit of Col du Grand-Saint-Bernard: 1. Pelizotti and Karpets lead, chased by Fedrigo,. Casar,  Anton, Voigt, Astarloza and Velira led the chase for the duo. The leading duo have 1'40 on a chase including 18 riders. We don't have all 18 riders names but they are the same makeup as the group that was chasing earlier on the climb, except there is a new addition in Astraloza. That group are 1'32 ahead of the peloton being led by 5 Astana riders,

1500 CEST - 92km to go
The duo are pulling away from the chasers at the moment. There are 17 riders 1'41 behind them: Gomez Marchante & Gustov (Cervelo), Voigt (Saxo Bank), Ten Dam (Rabobank), Astarloza, Anton & Verdugo (Euskaltel), Goubert & Roche (Ag2r), Casar (FDJ), Gutierrez (Caisse d'Epargne), Moinard (Cofidis), Fedrigo & Trofimov (Bbox Bouygues Telecom), Vogondy (Agritubel), Velits (Milram).

 Hushovd and Rast are back with the peloton. Cavendish with the rest of the sprinters are 7 minutes behind the peloton, 11 minutes behind the leaders.
Martin is back at the Peloton

The Maurice Garin memorial. Garin won the first Tour de France in 1903, a two time winner of Paris - Roubaix as well as the Paris-Brest-Paris. Photo © 2009 Fotoreporter Sirotti

1502 CEST - 89km to go,Hushovd and Rast are back with the peloton. Cavendish with the rest of the sprinters are 7 minutes behind the peloton, 11 minutes behind the leaders. Tony Martin is back with the Peloton

The two leaders lead by 1'51 with the peloton 2'09 behind the chasers.  Update on the sprinters group with Cavendish losing ground fast at 11'51" back.

510 CEST - 80km to go. 4'10" is the advantage for our leaders.  With Pelizotti going for the KoM points and Karpets seeking to move up the GC standings, there is a real impetus for the break to keep gaining time. It's nice to see Katusha finally showing their ability in the Tour, even if it only began on Saturday - two weeks late some may say.

Ok folks, Ok folks Nick and Vaughn will be taking the live coverage from here. Chris has gone off to feed his mob of Kangaroos and exercise his Arabian stallions. He'll be back tomorrow.

72km to go - the gap is 4:59
 1523 CEST - The peloton have passed through the feed zone at Sarre led by Astana  The route gradually elevates from here in, though it is another 28.5km before it really kicks up. 4'56" is the gap for our leaders, so Astana have kept it under control. Garmin are well represented upfront, but are leaving Contador's team to do the work. Pellizotti leads Karpets as the gap goes over 5 minutes.

I think the Astana team will close this gap significantly on the final climb, then will either keep their advantage to a minute or so, or catch them before the finish. The peloton swells as rider have caught up on the descent. Gap to the leaders holding steady at around 5 minutes.

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1533 CEST - 65km to go.
The chase group are 1'05" behind Pelizotti and Karpets. One wonders if anyone from this group will attack on the Petit-Saint-Bernard. Surely our two leaders' pace will slow dramatically in the difficult closing sections.

1541 CEST - Frank Schleck discussing tactics with his team car. With such a long (21km) descent today I can't see many attacks from the GC guys today.  I could be wrong, though! Andy Schleck, meanwhile, has had ANOTHER puncture.

1544 CEST - Pelizotti and Karpets have been joined by our chase group. Astana lead with Rast, Kloden escorting Contador. Garmin/Slipstream next in line with Wiggins and Vande Velde followed by Saxo Bank.

So, upfront, we have: Pelizotti (Liquigas), Karpets (Katusha), Gomez Marchante (Cervelo), Van den Broeck (Silence Lotto), Voigt (Saxo Bank), Ten Dam (Rabobank), Astarloza, Anton & Verdugo (Euskaltel), Goubert & Roche (Ag2r), Casar (FDJ), Moinard (Cofidis), Fedrigo, Lefevre & Trofimov (Bbox Bouygues Telecom), Vogondy (Agritubel), Velits (Milram).
Correction - it's an 18 man group up front.

 4'18" is the gap for our lead group now. Pellizotti is enjoying the company right now, as it gives him chance to rest. However, the competition for the KoM points won't be welcome.

1553 CEST - 19th placed man this morning, Igor Astarloza liesjust 5'27" behind Contador.

1554 CEST - Jens Voigt sets the pace as our leaders begin the final climb of the day.

Sprint at Pre Saint-Dider at 106 km: 1. Roche 2. Vogondy, Verdugo (Euskatel) took 3rd.

Euskatel are well represented upfront, and could be planning something here. Bouygues also have a trio of riders in this lead group. Its a beautiful scene with the Petit Saint Bernard in the background as the riders  make their way up the first hairpins of the climb.

 1557 CEST - The main field now begin their ascent of the Col du Petit-Saint-Bernard. Remember it is 22.6 km long, the steepest part is is between the 14th/15th kilometer with an - 8.2% gradient. t is fairly consistent for the most part, hovering between 4.5% and 6%. Six Astana riders - including Armstrong - all pulling for Alberto.

Further back, Thor Hushovd has lost contact and will ride within his means to the finish along with the other sprinters and support riders whose job is done now... next job get to finish inside the time limit.

 1602 CEST - 50km to go.
Cancellara is also out of the rear of the peloton now.  Evans moves to the front alongside Contador. Silence Lotto have sent Sebastien Lang on the attack from the peloton... Is this part of a plan that involves an Evans attack?  Lang gets a gap. Our lead group are still together and riding well. No-one has been dropped from it yet.

1606 CEST - Having said that, Laurent Lefevre (Bouygues) has attacked from it. This has increased the pace behind, with the other 17 all strung out. Pelizotti, Fedrigo, Van den Broeck and Goubert have all responded to the move. Fedrigo won't contribute to the chase, as it is his team mate upfront. The remaining 13 riders have caught the Pelizotti group, so it is just on group chasing our lone leader.

Sandy Casar followed by  Pierrick Fedrigo Photo © 2009 Fotoreporter Sirotti

1608 CEST - Astana have now caught Lang, as they keep the pace high. Our leaders now have 3'35".  Igor Anton (Euskatel) is looking labored at the rear of our escape group.  Meanwhile, Saxo Bank are now pulling the peloton along picking up the pace.

1609 CEST - Fedrigo has now attacked the group, and has caught his team mate. Pellizotti follows, so we now have a trio up front. Igor Anton is trying to get across to our leaders but he is not making any ground. The 18 man group has been split, possibly decisively.

 1612 CEST - 45km to go. I guess Jens Voigt is upfront for a reason, having seen Saxo Bank pulling.  Our leading trio was short lived, and have been caught. Now Anton has tried breaking clear, with Van den Broeck in his wheel.  Pelizotti goes with him, along with 2 Bouygues riders.

Menchov's miserable Tour continues; he has been dropped off the peloton and has Posthuma with him. Moncoutie has also been shed out the back of the Contador group. Tony Martin is hanging on at the rear of the peloton, too.

1614 - Van den Broeck attacks upfront, followed by Anton, Pellizotti and Fedrigo. Those four, along with Moinard and Casar have a gap over their breakaway companions. Karpets is trying to bridge the gap across. Vogondy is struggling to hold the wheel.

 11 km to the top of the climb for our leaders. Still Saxo Bank are plling at the front of the peloton. It looks like Christian Vande Velde is at the rear of this group.

 1618 CEST - Most of our leaders have come back together again.  In 2008, Van den Broeck was overlooked finishing second in the U25 competition in the Giro d'Italia to Riccardo Ricco who was later caught doping at the tour that year. The point being that the man is a strong climber and he's Evans' mountain helper. So the point wasn't lost to the Silence Lotto management in signing him to a contract.

1620 CEST - Martin and David Millar have been dropped by the Contador group. Saxo Bank have done ALL the work in the peloton for the last 12 minutes. Currently it's Chris and Nikki Sorenson doing the pulling.

1621 CEST - 40km to go Our breakaway group has 3'02" over the Contador peloton. Our breakaway group has 3'02" over the Contador peloton. It looks like all the 18 riders in our breakaway are still together. 8 lm to the summit. Bouygues are setting the pace; with three men upfront they need to take advantage of their numerical superiority. Euskaltel also have three riders in this group, yet haven't looked as strong so far.

 1624 CEST - Chris' pick for tomorrow, Linus Gerdemann, has been dropped now. Serguei Ivanov has also slipped back.

Our Live Coverage Continues in Part 3!!

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