Posts tagged tour de france

In a race like this year’s Tour, injuries are uncommon. While riders are equipped with the best bikes available in helping them conquer the road with speeds uncommon to ordinary bikers, they are also equipped with the best safety equipment necessary for such feats. But such safety equipment are not enough for Jens Voigt who was injured in Stage 16 of the Tour de France 2009.

On a descent from the Col du Petit-Saint-Bernard, the second descent in one of the toughest stages of this year’s race, Jens Voigt reportedly lost
control and hit the pavement head-first, sliding a further twenty feet before his momentum stopped. The severe crash left the German rider unconscious for several minutes. The extent of his injuries is not clear pending treatment at a nearby hospital where Voight was immediately brought.

Because of this accident, the German rider will be out of the race for the rest of the Tour. Team Saxo Bank manager Bjarne Riis was quoted by the Associated Press:

I only saw him after the crash and he looked very, very bad. It’s not nice to lose a rider like this, but these are things which happen in a race and you have to accept them. It is too early to say how bad his injuries are, I didn’t see the crash, I only saw the aftermath and it wasn’t good. I am just concerned with Jens’ health right now.

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The previous stage lived up to expectations when Alberto Contador of Team Astana pulled away in the mountains and left everybody gasping, including seven-time champion Lance Armstrong. That may be just a teaser for more as Stage 16 is another lung breaker. Will Contador solidify his lead in the overall standings and thus lay claim to the title this early with an insurmountable lead? Or will the others catch up? I am actually counting out Lance Armstrong this early as the previous stage has unraveled his weakness. Besides, he will never match Contador’s youthful skill no matter how experienced he is. So who will
challenge Contador this time?

The peloton faces a stern test coming out of the second rest day yesterday. The Col du Grand-Saint-Bernard mountain pass is visited by the Tour for the first time in 43 years. It is a 30 kilometer long, steep climb to 2,473 meters in elevation. This will really test the riders and set the would-be winners apart from the rest. Later in the stage is the Col du Petit Saint-Bernard, which is only marginally less steep and shorter in elevation but equally difficult as it comes after an already grueling climb. Here’s more about this leg from Cycling Weekly:

There’s not a kilometer of flat in this stage, with two high-mountain monsters awaiting the bunvh. The climbing begins from the stage start at Martigny and doesn’t relent for 40 kilometers to the top of the Hors-category Col du Grand-Saint-Bernard. After a long dash into the valley, it’s another long slog up the Col du Petit-Saint Bernard. The winner will be a strong climber – possibly a King of the Mountains contender – who can get away early in a big group, drop his companions and keep the gains on the 32-kilometer descent into Bourg-Saint Maurice. Though this could be a day for Tour favorites to gain a few seconds, the long downhill plays into the hands of any rider dropped on the climb.

The current stage is still ongoing. Rest assured that we will have the results posted as soon as the race finishes. You will find it below.

Rank	Dossard	Name	Country	Team	Time	Gap
1	061	Mikel ASTARLOZA		EUS	4h14′20”	00”
2	101	Sandy CASAR		FDJ	4h14′26”	06”
3	144	Pierrick FEDRIGO		BBO	4h14′26”	06”
4	089	Nicolas ROCHE		ALM	4h14′26”	06”
5	017	Jurgen VAN DEN BROECK		SIL	4h14′26”	06”
6	128	Amaël MOINARD		COF	4h14′26”	06”
7	091	Franco PELLIZOTTI		LIQ	4h14′31”	11”
8	085	Stephane GOUBERT		ALM	4h14′31”	11”
9	171	Christophe MOREAU		AGR	4h15′19”	59”
10	021	Alberto CONTADOR		AST	4h15′19”	59”
11	095	Vincenzo NIBALI		LIQ	4h15′19”	59”
12	022	Lance ARMSTRONG	"11" />	AST	4h15′19”	59”
13	058	Bradley WIGGINS		GRM	4h15′19”	59”
14	023	Andréas KLÖDEN		AST	4h15′19”	59”
15	119	Rigoberto URAN		GCE	4h15′19”	59”
16	051	Christian VANDE VELDE		GRM	4h15′19”	59”
17	106	Christophe LE MEVEL		FDJ	4h15′19”	59”
18	093	Roman KREUZIGER		LIQ	4h15′19”	59”
19	031	Andy SCHLECK		SAX	4h15′19”	59”
20	036	Frank SCHLECK		SAX	4h15′19”	59”
21	075	Kim KIRCHEN		THR	4h15′19”	59”
22	146	Laurent LEFEVRE		BBO	4h15′19”	59”
23	149	Yury TROFIMOV		BBO	4h15′19”	59”
24	001	Carlos SASTRE		CTT	4h15′19”	59”
25	161	Vladimir KARPETS		KAT	4h15′19”	59”
26	062	Igor ANTON		EUS	4h15′19”	59”
27	059	David ZABRISKIE		GRM	4h15′34”	1′14”
28	049	Laurens TEN DAM		RAB	4h17′36”	3′16”
29	003	Jose Angel GOMEZ MARCHANTE		CTT	4h17′36”	3′16”
30	129	Rémi PAURIOL		COF	4h18′15”	3′55”
31	185	Christian KNEES		MRM	4h18′15”	3′55”
32	141	Thomas VOECKLER		BBO	4h18′15”	3′55”
33	127	Sébastien MINARD		COF	4h18′15”	3′55”
34	181	Linus GERDEMANN		MRM	4h18′15”	3′55”
35	165	Serguei IVANOV		KAT	4h18′15”	3′55”
36	067	Ruben PEREZ MORENO		EUS	4h18′15”	3′55”
37	135	e="row">David LOOSLI		LAM	4h18′15”	3′55”
38	087	Rinaldo NOCENTINI		ALM	4h18′15”	3′55”
39	084	Hubert DUPONT		ALM	4h18′15”	3′55”
40	139	Simon SPILAK		LAM	4h18′15”	3′55”

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The overall standings has not changed in a while, ever since Rinaldo Nocentini grabbed the lead from Fabian Cancellara. Will Stage 12 of the Tour de France 2009 bring a new overall leader and will the Stage 12 results shake up the standings going into the second half of this year’s race?

This leg of the race takes the riders on a 211.5-kilometer route from Tonnerre to Vittel. It is another flat stage, and another important green jersey battle. Tonnerre is yet another first-time-ever host for the Tour. Two hours away from Paris and one
and a half hours from Dijon, Tonnerre lays claim to a wealth of advantages in a privileged environment. Throughout its history Tonnerre has been associated with famous characters: Marguerite de Bourgogne, but also the Chevalier d’Eon, the Clermont-Tonnerre family, the Marquis of Louvois (minister under Louis the Fourteenth), Emile Bernard (founder of the Pont-Aven school) and Alfred Grévin, founder of the waxwork museum of the same name. Vittel, on the other hand, is first and foremost the eye-catching charm of a stylish architectural design and a preserved natural environment. The town’s fine architectural heritage is one of its principal assets and bears witness to a fabulous past. But charmed as they are with their surroundings, the Tour de France racers will have no time for it as they battle for cycling supremacy in the ultimate road race of the year.

The results of Stage 12 in this year’s Tour will be posted on this site, as always. And you will see it on this page once it is available. For now, let us just wait for the finish of the race and hope our bets make it.

Update: The overall standings remain the same after Stage 12 with Rinaldo Nocentini, Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong still in the top three places.

Stage 12 was won by Nicki Sørensen of Denmark from Team Saxo Bank with France’s Laurent Lefèvre of Team Bbox Bouygues Telecom coming in second and Italy’s Franco Pellizotti of Team Liquigas coming in third. The results of Stage 12 are posted below (Top 40 placings only)

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Rank	Dossard	Name	Country	Team	Time	Gap
1	038	Nicki SORENSEN		SAX	4h52′24”	00”
2	146	Laurent LEFEVRE		BBO	4h53′12”	48”
3	091	Franco PELLIZOTTI		LIQ	4h53′12”	48”
4	183	Markus FOTHEN		MRM	4h53′12”	48”
5	064	Egoi MARTINEZ		EUS	4h53′12”	48”
6	173	Sylvain CALZATI		AGR	4h53′12”	48”
7	129	Rémi PAURIOL		COF	4h53′57”	1′33”
8	071	Mark CAVENDISH		THR	4h58′22”	5′58”
9	006	Thor HUSHOVD		CTT	4h58′22”	5′58”
10	132	Marco BANDIERA		LAM	4h58′22”	5′58”
11	137	Mauro SANTAMBROGIO		LAM	4h58′22”	5′58”
12	154	Steven DE JONGH		QST	4h58′22”	5′58”
13	191	Cyril LEMOINE		SKS	4h58′22”	5′58”
14	168	Nicolaï TRUSSOV		KAT	4h58′22”	5′58”
15	027	Yaroslav POPOVYCH		AST	4h58′22”	5′58”
16	022	Lance ARMSTRONG		AST	4h58′22”	5′58”
17	058	Bradley WIGGINS		GRM	4h58′22”	5′58”
18	051	Christian VANDE VELDE		GRM	4h58′22”	5′58”
19	104	Yauheni HUTAROVICH		FDJ	4h58′22”	5′58”
20	117	Jose Joaquin ROJAS		GCE	4h58′22”	5′58”
21	021	Alberto CONTADOR		AST	4h58′22”	5′58”
22	023	Andréas KLÖDEN		AST	4h58′22”	5′58”
23	165	Serguei IVANOV		KAT	4h58′22”	5′58”
24	161	Vladimir KARPETS		KAT	4h58′22”	5′58”
25	074	George HINCAPIE		THR	4h58′22”	5′58”
26	114	Arnaud COYOT		GCE	4h58′22”	5′58”
27	008	Brett Daniel LANCASTER		CTT	4h58′22”	5′58”
28	116	Luis PASAMONTES		GCE	4h58′22”	5′58”
29	072	Bernhard EISEL		THR	4h58′22”	5′58”
30	089	Nicolas ROCHE		ALM	4h58′22”	5′58”
31	029	Haimar ZUBELDIA		AST	4h58′22”	5′58”
32	077	Maxime MONFORT		THR	4h58′22”	5′58”
33	061	Mikel ASTARLOZA		EUS	4h58′22”	5′58”
34	185	Christian KNEES		MRM	4h58′22”	5′58”
35	066	Alan PEREZ LEZAUN		EUS	4h58′22”	5′58”
36	031	Andy SCHLECK		SAX	4h58′22”	5′58”
37	076	Tony MARTIN		THR	4h58′22”	5′58”
38	193	Koen DE KORT		SKS	4h58′22”	5′58”
39	189	Peter WROLICH		MRM	4h58′22”	5′58”
40	075	Kim KIRCHEN		THR	4h58′22”	5′58”

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Disclaimer: The author claims full ownership of all articles herein but doesn’t claim ownership of all photos posted on this site. If the respective copyright owners wish for their photos to be taken down, feel free to e-mail me or leave a comment and these will be taken down immediately.