93rd Tour de France - Stage 19 Live Part 2
30 seconds to destiny in the "Race of Truth"

Stage 19 - Le Creusot to Montceau-les-Mines 57 km

Stage 19 Individual Time Trial Profile

Zubeldia goes through the 16.5 km check in 16th at 1' 14". That should be good enough for him to hold off Rogers and keep his 9th on GC, if he can keep it up. On a lighter note, one of the good things about Manolo Saiz no longer being in cycling: his incessent screaming of "Venga! Venga! Venga!" at his riders during the time trial through a loudspeaker. We don't have to listen to that any more, and neither do the riders.

Decent time for Vandevelde at the finish line, 13th place he's shown he deserves his Tour selection 1h 12' 37".

Menchov is 6th fastest at 57" at the 16.5 km point. Hunter is the only rider so far who'll come in outside the time limit, Flat tire for Evans! Bad luck for the Aussie. Dessel is 28th at 1' 24" there as well, which means Dessel has only lost 5" to Moreau so far. So Dessel is holding on to 7th on GC and best Frenchman.

Evans goes through the 16.5 km check in 11th at 1' 03". Not bad. Italian TT champ Marzio bruseghin gets 17th place so far. Landis has taken 35" from Sastre so far! He is flying!

1626 CEST. Kloden is only 10" slower than Gonchar at the first check! So Kloden has found his time trial form from 2004! He's flying! Kloden is trying to ride himself onto the podium, and if possible, into the Yellow Jersey. Anyone who can stay within 15 seconds of Honchar is a god

1629 CEST. Landis will be next through that time check... Landis has beat Gonchar by 1"! man, landis is flying! So Landis has taken 1" from Gonchar, 11" from Kloden, and a huge chunk of time from everybody else.  Of course, Cunego is gonna smoke everyone in the last part of the TT  And then the dead will rise and the final trumpets will blow... the apocalypse is on!

At the 34 km time check. Schleck of CSC is going well (for him): he's 18th at 3' 23" behind Gonchar. Boogerd was 39th at 4' 29" at the same check, so Schleck looks to be holding his position on GC.

Sastre at 1'05" at the first time check?! No yellow for Sastre... Landis already has Sastre, now let's wait for Pereiro Sastre will probably even lose his podium place to Klöden. This ride by Kloden might even get him up into 2nd on GC. We'll have to see about Pereiro.

Sastre has lost 54" to Kloden, and Kloden needs just over 2' 19" to catch him on GC. Pereiro 10" from Landis at the first time check!! he's holding on to that yellow jersey like life itself! Pereiro is holding onto the Yellow Jersey by only 20". He's also ensuring a podium placing, even if he can't hold off Landis.

16.5 km, first time check after everyone passed:  1) Landis,  2) Gontchar @ 1”, 3) Pereiro @ 10" and 4) Klöden @ 11" - 16" the difference between Landis and Pereiro at the moment..

1637 CEST -  Rogers is through the 34 km check in 9th at 2' 37". Not bad, but he'll likely stay in 10th on GC. Meanwhile, the race behind for the top of the GC is tight, tight, tight. We're talking seconds, people. That 6" loss of time in the Prologue might come back to haunt Landis here in the final time trial. Remember that Landis started 6" late due to that problem with his tire. This is gonna be a detail race...if Landis or Pereiro flats it might mean a huge difference.

The polka-dot jersey is running in in 68th place no crashes for him this time.  Everything has to be perfect for both riders from here on out. Both Landis and Pereiro cannot afford the smallest mistake or mechanical problem. Does a hip count as a mechanical?

Landis has 4 km to go until the next time check, and he's still flying. Fothen at the finish! 8th spot, 4'14" behind Sergei. let's see how Cunego does then..

1642 CEST. Fothen passed a Lampre guy at the finish line, but it wasn't the right one... Cunego is still beating him for the White Jersey.  Landis 9" behind Pereiro now...he's crawling closer.

Here's Cunego!! 6th place! He's got the white jersey! Now he's not only in results the best young rider in the Tour, but 'officially' too

Okay, so if this race at the end of the day is within 32" on GC, then we may not see the traditional parade day tomorrow. At the intermediate sprints there are 6", 4", and 2" bonuses, and there are two intermediate sprints tomorrow. Also, there are the 20", 12", and 8" bonuses at the finish line. So we could see the men trying to win the Tour racing for the sprints tomorrow!

Landis has Pereiro in the 'flying time checks'!!! but let's wait until the real time checks for more definite numbers

At the 34 km check, Menchov is 6th at 2' 24". Not bad. Evans does better than Menchov at that time check. Evans now comes up, and he is going well. 5th best time, 2' 15" back. The real wait is for Klöden and Landis however, Kloden now comes up to the check! Wow! So at 34 km, Kloden is 2nd at 33" behind Gonchar.

1648 CEST. Landis is approaching that check quickly. Will he still be ahead of Gonchar? He needs to keep the pressure on Pereiro. Landis storming to the second time check! He won't beat Gontchar there but he'll get the second time...Here he comes! Landis has slipped a bit behind Gonchar. He's 25" behind Gonchar. That's still 8" ahead of Kloden; but it also means Klöden is gaining on him.

We'll have to see what Sastre and Pereiro are doing... they seem to be slowing much more than Landis; especially Sastre. Landis can say what he want even if he wins this race, but I'm sure he'll have second thoughts about giving Pereiro that half hour. Of course, so will T-Mobile, CSC, and the other teams of the GC men... they could have come up and helped chase Pereiro; but ultimately it was Phonak's call. To organize the chase and asking for help I man
 

23rd place for Leipheimer, 6 minutes from Gontchar. Another disappointing TT from Levi.
Sastre loses massive time at the second time check...16th place @ 2'45" of Gontchar. Klöden has his podium spot too

1655 CEST. Landis heads through a hard corner. Meanwhile Sastre has blown to bits. This is a disaster for Sastre. Pereiro could be overtaking Sastre in a bit, which should be an even bigger blow; Pereiro is still going well, by any measure.

34 km, second time check after everyone passed:
1) Gontchar
2) Landis @ 26”
3) Klöden @ 33”
4) Pereiro @ 1’22”
Landis is virtually in yellow, Pereiro is virtually second place and Klöden third. Pereiro is losing the Yellow Jersey, but he's preserving a podium spot, and probably 2nd place. 1' 22" behind Gonchar, and 56" behind Landis.

Pereiro has lost 49" to Kloden, and he started the day with a 2' 29" lead over Kloden, so he's looking good for 2nd. He just has to keep up this pace.

Michael Rogers is doing a good time, but again pretty much not living up to the world champ jersey, 14th @ 4'34" from Gontchar at the finish

At the 51.5 km check, Moreau is still in 8th on GC and in 2nd in the race for best Frenchman behind his teammate Dessel. Moreau's time at that check is 22nd best at 5' 11" behind Gonchar. Moreau only 23rd place...not really what you could expect from the grand old man, but he's ridden a strong tour.

Well Cunego must have had a firecracker up his butt today to ride that fast. I still can't believe he took the White Jersey at the finish line today. He certainly has gotten stronger and stronger in this Tour, which bodes well for the future.

Moreau finished in 23 at 5' 33" behind Gonchar. So it's looking like a 2nd stage win for Gonchar now that his biggest threat Moreau is out of the way. Oh, wait, Moreau wasn't the threat... Landis and Kloden were the threats.

1707 CEST. Landis is in a huge gear in his big ring, pushing along very fast. He's still looking good for the Yellow Jersey. Only 10 km left for Floyd.

Kloden is getting close to the finish. He won't beat Gonchar's time (nobody will by this point, Gonchar is going to win the stage), but he's riding himself onto the podium. The question is whether he's riding into 2nd or 3rd. Probably 3rd, it looks like right now. Klöden has the Davitamon-Lotto car in sight...that's kind of unexpected.  Kloden looks like he's going to catch Evans, and Evans isn't doing badly.

Dessel trying to come in ahead of Moreau... he looks like he'll do it. he's got the jersey of best Frenchman Title!
27th place, but good enough to keep Moreau at bay.

1711 CEST. Kloden goes under the 3km banner, and he has Evans in his sights at about 50 meters in front of him. Klöden second time behind Gontchar at the last time check 47" slower

Here comes Menchov to the finish. 13th spot...

Evans is riding away from Klöden again I think...or is that an optical illusion? Meanwhile, Evans is still holding off Evans, but just barely. Kloden will catch him in the final kilometer. They go under the red kite. Kloden is too close to Evans slipstream. He'd better get over to the right. He almost got up on Evans' wheel... he might get penalized for that.

Landis 3rd time at the last time check! This is gonna be a 1-2 for T-Mobile. Wow, Kloden was 40" behind Gonchar at the finish, good enough for 2nd best time. He barely passed Evans at the end.

2 km from the end and the yellow jersey
Landis is in the final section of road. He won't beat Gonchar, and he won't beat Kloden, but he'll be 3rd best and that will be good enough for Yellow.

1716 CEST. Just keep it upright, Floyd!
Landis still looks strong and smooth.

1 km for Landis....8th American Tour win in a row!

Well, this will be 11 victories in the Tour de France in the last 21 years for the United States. Landis defied the Armstrong voodoo on La Toussuire to do something Armstrong never dared: attack from waaaay out, destroying the field. What a ride from Landis!

Landis is through the final corner! Here he comes! 3rd place at 1'10", Landis wins the Tour!! He knows it, he's smiling! What a performance from Floyd. He's got his stage win in the mountains, and now he gets his Yellow Jersey. There is a huge scrum crushing Floyd, and he shows some irritation and throws his water bottle at an obnoxious press person and yells, "Come On!"

Based on his entire Tour performance, Landis is the only rider who really deserves to win this Tour. Now the race for the lower places on the podium is still being played out.
Sastre has 4 km left, and he will miss out on the podium. Yeah, maybe even Evans overtakes him for 4th?

Evans was 7th at the finish at 3' 41" behind Gonchar.

Sastre is only at 3kms...Evans started the day at 2' 56" behind Sastre, so this will be close for 4th place. So it will be a 1-2 finish on GC for the 2005 Phonak squad. Remember Pereiro was Floyd's teammate in last year's Tour de France.

1723 CEST. Sastre finally into the finishing straight; he holds off Evans. 19th place.

There's the yellow jersey...fighting for the 2nd place on the GC. Now Pereiro is coming up to the finish. Will he be 2nd or 3rd? He is gnashing his teeth with effort.

He sprints the whole way. 4th best time! Outstanding really. He solidifies his 2nd place too! Great ride from Pereiro even if he couldn't hold on to yellow.

Floyd kissing his hot wife, he looks so happy! Floyd gets some sugar from Amber, and he pushes her away to wipe away some sweat (thanks honey, but I'm gross!). Rasmussen comes patting Floyd on the back.  All this is so different from the Armstrong years, everyone comes to sincerely congratulate him.

Rasmussen is in the podium staging area to get his Polka-Dot Jersey. He's all smiles, unlike after last year's time trial. Rasmussen has proved his quality once again by taking the Polka-Dot Jersey.

Results
1 023 HONCHAR Serhiy UKR TMO 01:07:45:810
2 021 KLÖDEN Andréas GER TMO  00' 40"
3 071 LANDIS Floyd USA PHO 01' 10"
4 097 PEREIRO SIO Oscar ESP CEI 00h 02' 39"
5 044 LANG Sebastian GER GST  03' 18"
6 018 ZABRISKIE David USA CSC  03' 35"
7 002 EKIMOV Viatceslav RUS DSC  03' 41"
8 061 EVANS Cadel AUS DVL  00h 03' 41"
9 072 GRABSCH Bert GER PHO  00h 03' 43"
10 081 CUNEGO Damiano ITA LAM  03' 44"

Pereiro comes and hugs Landis, a nice gesture from the former team mate...again, this wasn't imaginable in the Armstrong years. And thus it was that God decreed, Gonchar shalt win the stage, but Landis shall taketh the Tour!

Here is the GC:
1. Floyd Landis (Phonak) @ 85h 42' 30"
2. Oscar Pereiro (Caisse d'Epargne) @ 59"
3. Andreas Kloden (T-Mobile) @ 1' 29"
4. Carlos Sastre (CSC) @ 3' 13"
5. Cadel Evans (Davitamon-Lotto) @ 5' 08"
6. Denis Menchov (Rabobank) @ 7' 06"
7. Cyril Dessel (AG2r-Prevoyance) @ 8' 41"
8. Christophe Moreau (AG2r-Prevoyance) @ 9' 37"
9. Haimar Zubeldia (Euskaltel-Euskadi) @ 12' 05"
10. Michael Rogers (T-Mobile) @ 15' 07"

So there are no gaps close enough in the top ten on GC for these guys to race for the time bonuses tomorrow. That means a pleasant little parade tomorrow instead of a chaotic mess.  I doubt Kloden will try to close that 30" gap on Pereiro... he'd have to win the stage, and that will only happen when Robbie McEwen wins the Polka-Dot Jersey.

So 8 in a row for the United States, 11 in the last 21 years, and so the mainstream American news media will actually pay serious attention to the Tour for one day (tomorrow).

A great ride by Sergei Gonchar. He's gotten 2 stage wins this year and he'd never won a Tour stage before. He's got to feel good about that. Really, a pretty good Tour for T-Mobile: 3rd on GC with Kloden, two stages from Gonchar, and that Stage 3 win by Kessler.

Landis has Merckx and Hinault with him on the podium, those are some bad-ass podium girls... Wow, these podium girls have aged a lot during this race... the excitement must have gotten to them. Well, if they're up there, they'd better kiss him, dammit. Come on Eddy! Bernard! Give him some sugar!

Rider interviews:
Sergie Gonchar, Gonchar says the heat wasn't so much a problem for him, it were his legs that were killing him. And the suspense of waiting to see if he'll win in the camper of course.

Here's the REAL important jersey of the Tour! Cunego getting white... The "Blank Slate" Jersey, so a young guy who has already carved an impressive career out of cycling. I think he'll still prefer that Pink Jersey he's got on his wall at home, but Cunego will take this White Jersey.

Oscar Pereiro: "It was a hard day, I started out guns blazing to try and scare Landis at the first time checks, but I couldn't keep it up of course. In the end it was even necessary to speed up because Klöden was gaining so much time. But we made it. 2nd place is an amazing result for our team after Valverde dropped out."

This concludes our live coverage, of stage 19!  Thanks for joining us today. Be here for the grand parade into Paris.

Discuss the race and cycling with Tifosi from around the world in the  Daily Peloton Chat Room. Join us for tomorrow's stage the 57km time trial which will decide the final G.C... it should be interesting to see who has the legs to make the final podium.

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Full official results and  photos to follow.