Tour De France 2012 Stage 11 Preview

Stage 11

In my my opinion, this stage will decide the Tour. The stage begins with a shirt flat run in to the opening climb of the day- a 25.3km climb of the hors-categorie climb of the Col de Madeleine. This climb averages out at 6.2%. However, if you look at the profile of the climb specifically, you will notice that 3 of these km are either descending or are flat- reducing the average.  After passing over the Madeleine, the significantly smaller peloton will then pass over the 22.4km climb of the Col de la Croix de Fer. This climb averages out at 6.9% and may provide a spring board for attack for a rider such as Thomas Voeckler. The descent to the Col du Mollard is not overly technical and sets them up perfectly for this shorter, 2nd category climb. 16km of descending later and the riders will reach the final climb of the day (and the second of 3 summit finishes) la Toussuire. This 18km climb averages at 6.1% but with many areas exceeding that. The flat section with 7km to the end  may provoke an attack from a GC contender but one thing is for sure- if you are not in the front group today; you will not win the Tour De France.

This stage will be crucial for all GC contenders- especially Bradley Wiggins who will be able to see whether he can stay with the likes of Cadel Evans and Frank Schleck. Again, I can see Schleck ( who is in good form after a strong Tour De Suisse), challenge for stage honours with Wiggins, Menchov, Nibali, Van Den Broeck and Evans fighting it out behind.

My opinion on stage winner: Jurgen Van Den Broeck

Surprise of the stage: Wiggins holding onto Evans

Tour De France 2012 Stage 10 Preview

Stage 10

Stage 10

After the efforts expended on Mondays  time trial being recovered on the previous rest day, the Tour goes back to the Mountains- climbing possibly the hardest mountain in France- the Col du Grand Colombier.  This 17.4km climb averages only at 7.1% but has sections reaching 18%- with the middle 3 km averaging 10%. The average is severely reduced by a plateau near the top (0.6% for 1km) but is still a fearsome climb. Especially considering there is still one more climb- although only a 3rd category.

This stage is difficult to predict because the main climb of the Colombier is 40km away from the finish. However, expect a group of 5-10 of the strongest climbers to get away and fight for stage victory for themselves. If the break is missed by a main contender- expect fireworks.

This stage could suit Vincenzo Nibali and Samuel Sanchez perfectly due to their descending prowess. However, expect Cadel Evans to try and pressurise likely yellow Jersey holder Bradley Wiggins on the Richemond and the kick up to the finish.

Tour de France 2012 Stage 6 Review

Stage 6

Stage 6 turned out to be one of the most dramatic days of the Tour of recent years. This day shaped the General Classification and decided who will have the chance to fight for the Tour in the mountains. Stage 6 was not tipped as an important stage- with only one categorised climbs with many straight, wide roads. The morning breakaway consisted of Dave Zabriskie, Karsten Kroon, Romain Zingle and Davide Malacarne. Early in the stage Andre Greipel crashed with Lieuwe Westra but nothing serious: they easily rejoined the peloton. Peraud, Gesink and Valverde ( 3big GC threats) were caught on in this crash and where all involved also- with no real underlying injury. The intermediate sprint soon came after around 100km with Greipel not participating ( the injury from the crash more serious than first thought).

The top of the cote de Bruixieres resulted in Dave Zabriskie getting the only point of the day. However, at the bottom of this climb, a massive pile up occurred in the peloton with Gesink, Greipel, Mollema and Farrar being the big names caught up. Greipel was well and truly hurt but kept going.

More bad news for the peloton with the third and final crash of the day involving more than half of the peloton with riders including Frank Schleck, Ryder Hesjedal, Wouter Poels, Mark Cavendish and Edvald Boasson Hagen being only a few of the riders caught up in the horrific crash. The depleted peloton continued on to catch David Zabriskie but only in the final kilometre. Lotto-Belisol decided that Greipel was going to sprint despite his injuries (which turned out to be a dislocated shoulder!)- with an amazing leadout train for him. However, Sagan jumped out of Greipel’s wheel and took his 3rd stage of the Tour but the first in the bunch sprint.

Cote de Bruixieres (4th Category)

1. David Zabriskie 1pt

Intermediate Sprint Results

1. Karsten Kroon 20pts
2. Dave Zabriskie 17pts
3. Romain Zingle 15pts
4. Davide Malacarne 13pts 
5. Matt Goss 11pts
6. Mark Cavendish 10pts
7. Peter Sagan 9pts
8. Kris Boeckmans 8pts
9. Edvald Boasson Hagen 7pts
10. Yauheni Hutarovich 6pts
11. Stuart O’Grady 5pts
12. Daryl Impey 4pts
13. Yaroslav Popovych 3pts
14. Michael Albasini 2pts
15. Lars Bak 1pt 

Stage Result 

1. Peter Sagan 4hrs 37mins 0s
2. Andre Greipel +0s
3. Matt Goss +0s
4. Kenny Van Hummel +0s
5. Juan Jose Haedo +0s

Mountains Classifcation

1. Michael Morkov 9pts
2. Ivan Basso 2pts
3. Peter Sagan 2pts
4. David Moncoutie 2pts
5. Anthony Delaplace 2pts

Points Classification 

1. Peter Sagan 209pts
2. Matt Goss 178 pts
3. Andre Greipel 167pts
4. Mark Cavendish 129pts
5. Alessandro Petacchi 109 pts

Overall Classification 

1. Fabian Cancellara 29hrs 22mins 36s
2. Bradley Wiggins +7s
3. Sylvain Chavanel +7s
4. Tejay Van Garderen +10s 
5. Denis Menchov +13s 
6. Cadel Evans +17s 
7. Vincenzo Nibali +18s
8. Peter Sagan +19s
9. Andreas Kloden +19s
10. Maxime Monfort +22s

 

Tour De France 2012 Stage 4 Review

Stage 4

Stage 4 was almost certainly going to be a sprinters stage with the run in to the finish being almost pan-flat on a day with relatively few categorised climbs as well. The morning breakaway consisted of Yukiya Arashiro, David Moncoutie and Anthony Delaplace- with Arashiro being the most eager: attacking as soon as the flag waved. The breakaway flew away from the cruising peloton gaining a time gap of over 8 minutes within the first 45 minutes of the stage. The first categorised climb of the day involved David Moncoutie bursting away to take the lone point and to start his pursuit in the polka-dot jersey competition. This quells rumours that he is only here to warm up for the Vuelta and the mountains competiton there.

Moncoutie easily took the second and third climbs of the day as well- on the Cote de Dieppe and the Cote de Pourville Sur Mer. This was how it looked before a correction by the organisers who say that Delaplace took it on the line- meaning he only took 2 points on the day. The intermediate sprint approached quickly with the 3 breakaway riders just cruising across the line: Arashiro coming first. The sprint for 4th behind went reasonably comfortably to Mark Cavendish beating Goss and Renshaw: his former lead-out train. With around 45km to go, there was a crash with Cantwell going down and Nibali  being held up. However, it did all come back together. Arashiro tried to attack his breakaway group but didn’t gain anything more than a few hundred meters. The breakaway were gradually brought back and then were quickly swallowed up with 10km to go. However, this must have been too early with riders jumping off the front of the peloton: Grivko, Gilbert, Pineau and Bouet. Again, they were brought back within a few kilometres which promoted another attack: this time from Poels, Chavanel and Dumoulin with Dumoulin going it alone and staying by himself.  In the peloton, a massive crash occurred with Cavendish and Hutarovich being the main sprinters going down: Wiggins getting held up (but no time gap as he fell within the final 3km). Argos-Shimano, Lotto and Vaconseleil see that Cavendish is down and begin their leadout at full speed: Lotto’s longer train staying out for longer with it eventually being the main train. Veelers, Goss and Sagan fought for Greipel’s wheel but he opened his trademark sprint beating the late charge from Petacchi.

Cote du Mont Huon (4th Category)

1. David Moncoutie 1pt

Cote de Dieppe (4th Category)

1. Anthony Delaplace 1pt

Cote de Pourville Sur Mer (4th category)

1. David Moncoutie 1pt 

Cote de Troussiant (4th category)

1. Anthony Delaplace 1pt

Intermediate Sprint Results 

1. Yukiya Arashiro 20pts
2. Anthony Delaplace 17pts
3. David Moncoutie 15pts
4. Mark Cavendish 13pts
5. Matt Goss 11pts
6. Mark Renshaw 10pts
7. Peter Sagan 9pts 
8. Alessandro Petacchi 8pts
9. Kenny Van Hummel 7pts
10. Yauheni Hutarovich 6pts
11. Marcus Burghardt 5pts
12. Aliaksander Kuchynski 4pts
13. Brett Lancaster 3pts
14. Daryl Impey 2pts
15. Mathieu Ladagnous 1pt

Stage Result 

1. Andre Greipel 5hrs 18min 32s
2. Alessandro Petacchi +0s
3. Tom Veelers +0s 
4. Matt Goss +0s 
5. Peter Sagan +0s

Climbing Classification

1. Michael Morkov 9pts
2. David Moncoutie 2pts
3. Ivan Basso 2pts
4. Anthony Delaplace 2pts
5. Peter Sagan 2pts

Points Classification 

1. Peter Sagan 147pts
2. Matt Goss 92pts
3. Andre Greipel 87pts
4. Mark Cavendish 86pts
5. Edvald Boasson Hagen 81pts

General Classification 

1. Fabian Cancellara 5hrs 5mins 32secs
2. Bradley Wiggins +7secs
3. Sylvain Chavanel +7secs
4. Tejay Van Garderen +10secs
5. Edvald Boasson Hagen +11secs 
6. Denis Menchov +13secs
7. Cadel Evans +17secs
8. Vincenzo Nibali +18secs
9. Ryder Hesjedal +18secs 
10. Andreas Kloden 19secs 

Tour De France 2012 Stage 3 Review

Stage 3

Stage 3 was tipped as a relatively easy stage which will liven up slightly nearer the end of the stage; no real drama. 5km into the stage a breakaway of 5 riders broke away: Michael Morkov for the third consecutive stage, Ruben Perez, Andriy Grivko, Giovanni Bernaudeau and Sebastien Minard. After 11km, the lead had grown by 3 minutes and it was clear the break was going to work. At 79km there was a massive crash, with Janez Brajkovic being the big rider going down ( easily getting back into the peloton). The intermediate sprint came with Minard winning and Cavendish leading the peloton over the line. Then  the climbs began.

Morkov took the climbs of the cote de L’Eperche and the Cote de Mont Violette. There was then a string of punctures with Hesjedal and Hunter being the big names dropped. Then drama struck with a massive crash at the front of the peloton involving Farrar, Siutsou, Vandevelde and Voeckler.  Siutsou was the first withdrawal from the 2012 Tour De France-with a broken leg. After that, Morkov took another point in the mountains classification. More drama than struck with Phillipe Gilbert puncturing and failing to rejoin the peloton but Samuel Sanchez and his team managed to change his bike and get back to the charging peloton.

As the remnants of the break was caught, Morkov fought back up to Grivko who had got away and took the penultimate climb of the day (barring the finish). Grivko finally did get away from Morkov on the extremely steep Cote du Mont Lambert. Basso led the peloton up here with Peter Sagan in mind. As the climb ended, Sylvain Chavanel attacked, easily establishing a lead of 15 seconds. As the final kick got closer, the gap steadied at around this until Chavanel overshot a corner and lost a little time. However, Alejandro Valverde also did this and struggled to keep up with the speeding peloton. Chavanel was finally caught with 450m to go with Albasini setting the pace a the front. A crash happened behind the front 5 or 6 riders with his leadout man riding into another rider. Sagan then jumped off of Albasini’s wheel and burst away with no response (despite efforts from Cancellara and Boasson Hagen). Sagan ‘ran’ across’ the line like the result was never in any doubt.

Cote de L’Eperche (4th category)

1. Michael Morkov 1pt

Mont Violette (3rd category) 

1.  Michael Morkov 2pts
2. Sebastien Minard 1pt

Cote de Herqulingue (4th category)

1.Michael Morkov 1pt

 

Cote de Quehen (4th category)

1. Michael Morkov 1pt

 

Cote du Mont Lambert (3rd category)

1. Ivan Basso 2pts

2. Tony Gallopin 1pt

 

Boulogne-Sur -Mer (4th category)

1. Peter Sagan 

Intermediate sprint results

1. Sebastien Minard 20pts
2. Giovanni Bernaudeau 17pts
3. Michael Morkov 15pts
4. Ruben Perez 13pts
5. Andriy Grivko 11pts
6. Mark Cavendish 10pts 
7. Kenny Van Hummel 9pts
8. Peter Sagan 8pts
9. Brett Lancaster 7pts
10. Yauheni Hutarovich 6pts
11. Mark Renshaw 5pts
12. Alessandro Petacchi 4pts
13. Matt Goss 3pts
14. Kris Boeckmans 2pts
15. Baden Cooke 1pt

Mountains Classification 

1. Michael Morkov 9pts
2. Ivan Basso 2pts
3. Peter Sagan 2pts

Points Classification

1. Peter Sagan 116pts
2.  Fabian Cancellara  74pts
3. Mark Cavendish 73pts 
4. Edvald Boasson Hagen 67pts
5. Matt Goss 55pts 

General Classification

1. Fabian Cancellara 5hrs 5mins 32secs
2. Bradley Wiggins +7secs
3. Sylvain Chavanel +7secs
4. Tejay Van Garderen +10secs
5. Edvald Boasson Hagen +11secs 
6. Denis Menchov +13secs
7. Cadel Evans +17secs
8. Vincenzo Nibali +18secs
9. Ryder Hesjedal +18secs 
10. Andreas Kloden 19secs 

Tour De France 2012: Polka Dot Jersey

The Polka Dot Jersey 

The polka dot jersey is the hardest jersey to predict as it could be given to a struggling GC threat like 2011 with Sanchez or from a fighter gaining points wherever he can- like Anthony Charteau. This year is not any different with it being wide open

Chris Anker Sorensen

Despite the race for that jersey being wide open my tip for it is Chris Anker Sorensen- one of the most underrated climbers in the peloton. He has publicly come out saying he is targeting this jersey so expect attacks from him. I see him as the favourite as he can climb as well as many GC favourites but will not threaten the top of the overall.

Johnny Hoogerland

Hoogerland’s gritty and determined performances won him millions of fans across the globe- after continuing in the Tour after getting knocked off by a TV car and needed over 30 stitches. He will be hopinh to overshadow the ongoing legal battle he is facing with the company as he aims for the Polka-dots once again. He is undoubtedly a good  climber- seen by his 12th overall finish in the 2009 Vuelta. If he attacks enough- he may be Sorensen biggest threat.

Daniel Martin

Martin is an interesting rider who will definetly feature in GC battles in future Tours, ones with less time-trialling. He is an amazing climber- one of the best in the Ardennes Classics- so the opening days of the Tour should suit him. He will probably target the polka dot jersey as Hesjedal and Danielson are bigger threats overall at the moment and may even be given a free license to attack.However, he will need to find better form than he had in the Dauphine to challenge. My dark horse for the jersey.

Matt Lloyd

I believe Lloyd (Giro Mountains classification winner in 2010) will feature in the opening stages into the second week in contention for the jersey. He is undoubtedly a good climber but may be beaten off on the big climbs for the big points by stronger climbers.

David Moncoutie

Over the years, Moncoutie has proved his ability as a world class climber again and again- winning the Vuelta KOM jersey for the past 4 years) He usually targets the Vuelta for that exact jersey but may target the polka dots this year because at 37 years old, he is not getting any younger and would love to feature prominently in his home Tour. However, I don’t see him winning it.

Frank Schleck

Schleck may seem like a weird name to put in contention for this jersey but think about it. He has publicly called himself out of GC contention and is targeting stage wins. This means he is going to be a long way off the lead overall to do this anyway. This may provide an assault on the polka dots for Schleck. If he chooses to go for it he could be tough to beat.

Samuel Sanchez

Sanchez is only on this list as he won it last season. I don’t believe he is a threat this year as there are only 3 summit finishes but 25 categorized climbs- you need to attack to win this jersey. He won’t be allowed to do this due to his amazing GC record and likelihood of maintaining this record.

The fight for this jersey is difficult to predict but I see it as a fight between Schleck, Sorensen and Martin- with Hoogerland and Lloyd livening up the race a bit beforehand.

 

Tour De France 2012 Team Rosters: Radioshack-Nissan

Radioshack-Nissan

Radioshack-Nissan formed at the start of 2012 with a merger between 2 of cycling’s super teams- Radioshack and Leopard-Trek. This team managed by Johan Bruyneel is a team that focuses on GC success rather than individual honours. However, for the 2012 Tour De France, the team will be without Andy Schleck through injury and his brother, Frank Schleck, states that he is not going for the GC either- making the team selection even more interesting.

Fabian Cancellara: Fabian Cancellara is one of the most successful cyclists of the modern generation winning many classics, stages in Grand Tours and even the odd week long tour. Cancellara will be going for stage victories in the time trials and act as a domestique to the rest of the team on the flatlands.

Tony Gallopin

Tony Gallopin is a surprise addition into the Radioshack Tour De France team- as Bruyneel tends to avoid taking sprinters to these events. However, he impressed last year finishing 4th on stage 5 and is a big prospect for the future. Expect to see him mixing it up on the later stages when the quality of sprinters may be slightly thinner.

Chris Horner

In the twilight years of his career Chris Horner, still consistently puts in top draw performances. This has been seen in his 2011 victory in the Tour of California and coming 8th there in 2012. However, the Tour of California is not a Grand Tour- with Chris Horner’s only respectable GC position in a Grand Tour being the 9th in the 2010 Tour De France. If Horner is near his best he could contend for a top 10 position. However, I believe him either going for a stage victory and him assisting Andreas Kloden and Frank Schleck is more likely. Saying this, Horner will be happy to be going to the Tour at all, after being left off the long list and been put in at the last minute for, perhaps, his last Tour.

Andreas Kloden

Kloden is undoubtedly a top draw GC rider. He has a proven track record in week long tours and in Grand Tours- with 2 second positions in the Tour de France previously. However, his form this season has been far from outstanding. But, if he performs the way everyone knows he can- it is impossible to rule out a top 10 finish.

Maxime Monfort

With Andy Schleck not at the Tour and Frank ruling himself out of contention for leader- a rider who is usually relegated to helping the Schleck’s will have to step up. The obvious candidates for this will be Chris Horner and Andreas Kloden. However, I would tip Maxime Monfort to be a dark horse to challenge for a top 10 position- if he is given the right support. He is a Wigginsesque rider- meaning he is a very good time triallist who holds his own in the mountains. If he is at anywhere near his best in this time trial heavy Tour- he could be a potential leader of this team.

Yaroslav Popovych

Popovych has never fulfilled the promise of his early career- with his highlights being 3rd in the 2003 Giro D’Italia. He gained 5th the following year and 8th in the 2007 Tour De France; winning the white jersey but has struggled to be a real threat to the leaders since. When Popovych signed for the Discovery Channel Team it saw him pick up the job of a climbing domestique for Contador. He has held this role in each team he has ridden for since- with no real chance for him to shine. I don’t see this changing here but with the Schleck’s not in contention maybe it is time for Popovych to have a resurgence?

Frank Schleck

After brother Andy’s withdrawal from the Tour, everyone expected Frank to become the sole leader of the Radioshack team- due to his pure ability as a climber. However, he has officially ruled himself out of the GC race- focusing on a stage victory and perhaps a different jersey. Schleck has 5 top 10’s in Grand Tours (4 being at the Tour and 2 being podium finishes) meaning he has previous experience of doing well here. Even though he has ruled himself out of the overall- if he finds himself anywhere near the front with a week to go, you can bet your life he will have a go for a podium.

Jens Voigt

Jens Voigt is widely regarded as the best rouleur in the peloton and is also inclined to go it alone on days where the peloton might take a ‘day off’. Like many riders in the Radioshack team, Voigt has got even better with age; getting top individual performances in lesser one week tours and then putting everything on the line to help the Schleck’s. In this years Tour you can expect to see more of the same from this strong man.

 

Haimar Zubeldia

Zubeldia is another member of Radioshack’s ‘old guard’ and one with sufficient Grand Tour pedigree- finishing in the top 10 of the Tour De France 3 times and in the Vuelta once. Even though he has high positions in past Tours, this was a long time ago and it would take a lot to see him compete for team leader. However, he will work for whoever they decide their leader is and maybe get a stage win if he sniffs his chance.

Overall, Radioshack do have a very strong squad for this Tour despite the loss of Andy Schleck and the non-selection of the Dane Jakob Fuglsang. However, they need to work out who their leader is going to be early in the race if they want any chance of a victory.