93rd Tour de France - Stage 13 Live Coverage
Stage 13 Béziers and Montélimar 230 km
This one probably would be a day for the sprinters in most years, but
the way things are going, who knows? It has five Cat 4 climbs in the 230 km
between Béziers and Montélimar, and while the sprinters could get motivated and
chase everything down, it could also be a day where the frisky opportunists who
are over a half hour behind on GC will give it everything for a breakaway win.
The two successive Cat 4 climbs in the final 35 km could serve as a launching
pad for the winner of the day.
Todays Map
or the parcours
Race Profile
Here is the poem of the day from Dancing on the Pedals: The Found Poetry of
Phil Liggett, the Voice of Cycling by Doug Donaldson and Phil Liggett.
DOMESTIQUE BLUES
Their job now is very simple:
You race to the limit of your ability.
When you can’t do any more,
you get out
of the way.
Stage 13, 2002
1444 CEST – 100 km left. On this longest
stage of the Tour, a breakaway of five men has gotten away and looks to me like
it will stay away. Jens Voigt (CSC), Oscarp Pereiro (Caisse d'Epargne), Sylvain
Chavanel (Cofidis), Manuel Quinziato (Liquigas), and Andriy Grivko (Team Milram)
have a lead of 19:37 over the very apathetic peloton.
The peloton is going through the feed zone at a very slow and careful pace.
Denis Menchov (Rabobank) is near the back and gets his bag of fuel. The Phonak
guys are nominally on the front of the pack, but they clearly are not motivated
to chase hard and waste their energy today. Floyd Landis in his Yellow Jersey
fiddles with his food behind his boys.
1500 CEST – 89 km left. The gap of the
five leaders is up to 19:50. Jens Voigt is a very popular guy. He's just a
big, bad man on a bike. He's the kind of guy who will attack all day long and
give it his all. He won a Tour stage in 2001, but he spends a lot of time off
the front of this race. He has won a lot of races in his career (almost 40), and
for someone who is not a sprinter or a GC man, that is a lot. He also wore the
Yellow Jersey in last year's Tour. Jens is one of those guys who will risk
everything on an attack instead of just sitting in the peloton to play it safe.
He also got into the first long break yesterday that was eventually reeled in.
1516 CEST – 75 km left. The gap is up to
21:30. The peloton really doesn't care today. Will the peloton ever raise the
pace? Chavanel is also a guy who has won a lot, 14 races in his career including
the Tour of Belgium and Four Days of Dunkerque. He really came to prominence a
few years back in Paris-Nice, where he got a high GC placing and attacked like
crazy all race. He's currently 64th on GC at 37:06, but this stage will move
him way up.
Yaroslav Popovych (Discovery Channel), yesterday's hero, rides up along the
peloton with his jersey bulging with bottles. What a guy. Pereiro is the man in
this break who is highest up the GC: he is 46th at 28:50. They will have to
raise the pace in the peloton soon, or he will climb up a little too high.
Pereiro is a GC threat who has had a subpar Tour so far. He won a Tour stage
last year (Stage 16), and he was the man who George Hincapie (Discovery Channel)
came around and beat at the top of the climb on Stage 15 last year.
1533 CEST - 67 km left. The break rolls
on, and so do the thrills in today's Tour de France. Wow, 67 km of pure awesome
to go. Maybe these guys in the break will start attacking each other? Well, that
will probably happen on the last climbs a ways down the road still. Little Tommy
Voeckler smiles charmingly in the bunch. Voeckler, in need of some help from the
medical car... Headache?
Voeckler commented on his crazy attack a couple of days ago on the big
mountain stage. He eventually lost over a half hour on the day after he couldn't
maintain his attack. He said later that he would rather attack like crazy and
fail then just sit comfortably in the bunch and do nothing. You have got to love
that mentality as a fan. It's a hot one today. The Phonak team sets the pace in
the peloton, jerseys flapping. Floyd looks like the king.
Grivko of Milram is not a big winner: he has only won one race in his career,
and that was a time trial championship of the Ukraine. He is really a hard rider
who usually helps chase down breaks and do leadouts for sprinters like Zabel and
Petacchi. Well, Floyd says hi to the TV camera and Phonak starts to raise the
pace a little. Stuey O'Grady smilingly talks into his radio, and loads up on
bottles at his team car. Not surprisingly, we now get some helicopter shots of
some castles to help liven up this stage. ?
Every time they show the rear of the peloton, it says Arierre de la
peloton, and I see Derierre de la peloton. How awesome would it be if it
actually said that? Oscar Freire brings up the Derriere de la Peloton...
1550 CEST - 53 km left. Phonak wouldn't
mind if Pereiro took over Yellow, it seems. The peloton is now over 26:behind
the break. Yawn. The peloton gives a little jump of surprise, then relaxes...
The fifth man in the break is Manuel Quinziato. The Italian from Liquigas never
won a pro race heading into this season. He's come close: he was 2nd in a stage
of the Tour de Georgia in 2005, and he was 2nd in the Italian time trial
championships in 2003.
Todays
Map of the parcours
Race Profile
coming up at:
195.5 km Côte de Saint-Maurice d'Ibie - 1.1 km climb to 4.6 % - 4 Category
205 km Côte de Villeneuve de Berg - 1.8 km climb to 5.3 % - 4 Category
1612 CEST - 41 km left. The gap of the
breakaway is now 27 minutes. Only another 1:50 will be necessary for Pereiro
to take over the Yellow Jersey. The two leaders are heading into the final
two Cat 4 climbs of the day. This could see some attacking in the break, most
likely from Pereiro who is not a good sprinter at all.
All the Phonak guys are on the front of the peloton still. They don't look
too bothered yet; they're using a well known British tactic and boring their
rivals into submission.
By the way, Pereiro took 2nd at the first intermediate sprint of the day and
1st at the second intermediate sprint. Hope that wasn't too confusing of a
sentence. At any rate, he's picked up 10 in time bonuses on the road. If he
gets a placing in the top three at the finish, it could effect the GC race. He's
that close to Yellow right now.
The break is 27:43 now. This breakaway could cause some changes in the Teams
competition too. T-Mobile leads that competition right now, and CSC is 5th at 7:
52. With Voigt in this break, CSC could pass T-Mobile. Pereiro leads the break
up the climb. He's pushing the pace because they are now 28:up on the peloton,
and he's just a Garzelli-hair away from the GC lead on the road.
16:26 CEST - Phonak is playing chicken
with the other teams in the peloton. How big of a gap can they give this break
before somebody else comes up to help chase? Will Rabobank or T-Mobile or
Davitamon-Lotto or even Gerolsteiner come up to help? too bad Hink didn't get
into this break, sigh; he got into the Voigt break yesterday, but that got
chased. Grivko has a chain problem and needs a bike change in the break.
1633 CEST - 28 km left. Alexandre
Bullwinkle Moos brings his Phonak mates at the front of the peloton some water
bottles. They have kept the lead of the break at 28', which means that Pereiro
is still just out of Yellow. The five men in the break still taking turns and
working well together heading up the final climb. So no attacks yet. It must
still be too far out for one of them to think he can make it to the finish solo.
Here goes Grivko! He attacks on cue, eh? Grivko is a strong time trialist,
and he would be good solo. But Voigt and Pereiro are also good time trialists.
Voigt drags it all back together. Voigt's pace making has dropped Grivko.
They are over the top of the climb now, and the four men still left in the break
are back to working together. Grivko has 25km to go, he's chasing now. Voigt
takes the sprint points.
Grivko is about 15 behind the four leaders. Maybe that attack of his on the
climb wasn't such a good idea. Meanwhile, the peloton has brought the gap down
to 27:30. Grivko's gamble has not paid off for him --
he's still chasing hard, and looks strained.
Oh Petacchi, where art thou? The sprinters:teams seem
to have lost their will to race. They sit in the pack and bicker like Soviet-era
housewives in a bread line. If Petacchi were here, the Milram boys would help
chase and get this all sorted. Because Boonen has lost his confidence and won
diddly squat as far as stages, his team won't work any more.
McEwen's team already has three stage wins and the
Green Jersey, and Davitamon-Lotto has a legitimate podium threat in Evans, so
they have every incentive not to waste energy on stages like this. The same is
true of Rabobank, who can't waste time chasing for Freire because they have to
save their bullets to help Menchov. The teams leave the chase in the hands of
Phonak... perhaps to soften up the Floyd's support for the Alps stages to come.
1647 CEST - 17 km left. Well, poor Grivko
is over 30 back now, so he's pretty much toast at this point. The peloton,
still led only by Phonak (because everyone else is too busy exchanging recipes),
has closed the gap to under 27'.
Chavanel attacks, Quinziato goes with him...Now Voigt is accelerating trying
to close it down. Pereiro is sitting on Voigt. Pereiro finally pulls through to
help Voigt chase, and the break is back together. You know, Pereiro isn't much
of a sprinter, but he got his stage win last year by jumping out from a small
group near the finish. Voigt squirts water into the holes in his helmet, and
looks over his shoulder... They're working together now, but not for long.
10 km to go: Now these four men are
RACING (take note, men left in the peloton), They are giving each other the evil
eye and settling into another uneasy paceline. Voigt looks antsy. He's waiting
for his moment as the break begins to increase the gap over the apathetic
peloton.
Quinziato is in the deep end of the pool with these three men. They are all
winners, though Voigt is the biggest winner (and most dangerous in this kind of
break). Quinziato must wonder how he got in here with these hammers.
1700 CEST - 6 km left. So Pereiro won't
get Yellow, but he'll be well up on GC with this break. The four leaders,
Pereiro, Voigt, Chavanel, and Quinziato, are working together warily. Quinziato
raises the pace a bit and then backs off under the 5 km banner. Now Voigt
attacks across a bridge! Chavanel marks him, and it's all sitting up and glaring
again in the break.
3 km left. Chavanel and Quinziato are in trouble, dying to try to
catch back on. Pereiro won't pull through -- Voigt drives the pace. Pereiro
pulls through finally. Chavanel and Quinziato are not working well together to
chase. They are going to miss out unless they get it in gear. Voigt and Pereiro
pull further away... Chavanel attacks Quinziato to try to bridge alone to
Pereiro and Voigt.
Final Km Voigt attacks!! He's dropped a WHOLE BAG OF HAMMERS AT LAST! He goes
at 800 meters. Pereiro is struggling! No, Pereiro has caught him! Cat & mouse!
Who's going to lead out?
They sit up and chat, with only a few hundred meters left.
Voigt goes again. Voigt wins it!!!!!
Jens Manly Man Voigt drops that WHOLE bag of hammers, and beats the
extremely tough and cagey Pereiro. A great ride by those two men today. Chavanel
3rd, Quinziato 4th. Now we wait for about an hour while the lazy peloton
meanders slowly to the line. Apparently the Phonak tactic has worked as the
sprinter teams have fallen a sleep. A local third grader on a big wheel attacks
the peloton and gets a gap.
Voigt is winded, but he looks satisfied. Voigt was just too strong at the
end. Pereiro will have to be happy with climbing back up into the top ten on GC.
1710 CEST - Rabobank has came to the
front finally to help bring down the gap in the peloton. Phonak and Lampre also
have a few men up there. Strange to say that is only Voigt's 2nd stage victory
in the Tour. He's been a force in so many breaks over the years. Sad to say that
the peloton has rolled over and snored itself in submission, and only now is
stirring itself to action.
20 big km to go for the slow pokes in the
peloton. Voigt pumped his fist in the air with the Skoda sign in the background,
his sunglasses hiding only some of his angry and happy shout of victory.
Meanwhile, in the peloton, guys are putting thier arms around each other and
chatting.
A snooze alarm goes off one more time in the pack; but a sprinter raises a
slow moving arm to put it back on snooze again, I need another 5 minutes rest
please. Landis chats with Commesso of Lampre. Floyd is probably asking, Where
the heck have you guys been all day? All the guys in that break went down
swinging, even Grivko. He attacked, and then got dropped by the counter. At
least he gave it a go.
Floyd Landis is in third position behind a Rabobank duo with Lampre's Ballan
on his wheel. We may see an attack at for what's left of the sprint points and
glory if the sprint teams don't kick up the pace. Then again the sprinters are
already thinking about Alp de Huez at this point... that might put me to sleep
too.
They're interviewing Voigt now, and he's speaking German, but he talks really
fast, and with 100% self-assurance. He is just LAYIN:IT OUT.
The sprinters will fight out the final few kilometers for the leavings, to
sort out the points competition a bit. 17 minutes have elapsed, and nobody is
leading the peloton any more. Rabobank isn't pulling, Phonak isn't pulling.
Pereiro may get Yellow yet! Wow, the peloton has devolved into the bickering
Soviet-era bread line housewives again.
10 km of fierce bike racing to go today...
the action is INTENSE! Phonak is at the front of the peloton, but they aren't
putting out any watts. They have this, well, screw you guys look on their
faces.
So 20 minutes have passed. The peloton is still a long way from the line.
Okay, I think Pereiro is going to be in Yellow after this stage. And you know
what? He deserves it! He rode like an attacking professional bike racer today.
Back in the peloton the boys are discussing their favorite bar-b-que recipes for
warm summer days like this.
Jens Voigt says that his team was
desperate for good news, and says that this win saves his season and his Tour.
He says that he is very happy with how this stage worked out. Voigt says that he
told Pereiro, if you want the Yellow Jersey, you have to work with me in the
finishing kilometers. He said that he thought Pereiro was really tired and did
what he could.
17:30 CEST. The fans along the road are
cheering, but it could be sarcastic. Hard to tell. Jeez, the peloton might come
in outside of the official elimination time. Wouldn't that be interesting? They
won't eliminate the whole peloton, but it must be tempting on a day like this.
They're tooling along on pace for a typical Sunday Pub run. So the question now
is, how big of a lead on GC will Pereiro have by the end of the day? 26 minutes
have passed, and they still have a few kilometers to go in the peloton.
At 3 km left for the peloton, 26:45
have passed since Pereiro and Voigt hit the finishing line. Lampre move to the
front of affairs and the Peloton strings out. Boonen puts down his beer and
decides to follow his leadout to the finish line.
Quick Step leads it out, and he comes through... Bennati looks in good
position. Here comes McEwen... McEwen wins it, beating Boonen, who put his head
down in frustration.
So Pereiro is in Yellow, and McEwen takes 6th place and increases his Green
Jersey lead. Voigt laughs and congratulates Pereiro.
Stage 13 results:
1. Jens Voigt (CSC)
2. Oscar Pereiro (Caisse d'Epargne)
3. Sylvain Chavanel @ 40
4. Manuel Quinziato (Liquigas) @ 40
=========== 6:00 ===========
5. Andy Grivko (Team Milram) @ 6:24
=========== 29:57 ===========
6. Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) @ 29:57
7. Bernhard Eisel (FDJeux) @ 29:57
8. Tom Boonen (Quick Step) @ 29:57
9. Carlos da Cruz (FDJeux) @ 29:57
10. Arnaud Wile E. Coyot (Cofidis) @ 29:57.
GC:
1. Oscar Pereiro (Caisse d'Epargne)
2. Floyd Landis (Phonak) @ 1:29
3. Cyril Dessel (AG2r-Prevoyance) @ 1:37
4. Denis Menchov (Rabobank) @ 2:30
5. Cadel Evans (Davitamon-Lotto) @ 2:46
6. Carlos Sastre (CSC) @ 3:21
7. Andreas Kloden (T-Mobile) @ 3:58.
This concludes our live coverage, thanks for joining us today. Discuss the race and cycling with Tifosi from around the world in the
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Full official results and photos
to follow.
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