Almost finis! Here is the list of Prizewinners… July 24, 2011

Bonjour mes amis de velo et vin diabolique.

I am sure you’ll agree that this was a particularly satisfying TdF. Cadel Evans put in the performances when it really mattered, and now the good citizens of Australie can enjoy a Cadelday Public Holiday when he dons the maillot jaune in Paris. Well done, monsieur.

Hats off to Tommy Voeckler (if only he’d trained especially for the GC), and his teammate prodigy, Pierre Rolland, who took the young rider’s prize.

Chapeau also to Sammy ‘Lulu’ Sanchez for grabbing the Polka-dot jersey.

As I type, the riders are still whizzing around the Champs-Elysées, but it looks like Cavendish will finally get his coveted green jersey.

Below is the list of prizewinners, including a few ‘extra’ awards of petit bottles of vin (Congratulations Mike D and Emilie).

Merci everyone for participating. I shall sleep now, and leave you with this quote from Sammy Sanchez:

“I just had a bonk yesterday and had nothing in my legs,” Sánchez said.

Oh, and a photo below, of Johnny Hoogerland riding with his dad on the morning after his barbed-wire crash.

Les Vinqueurs:

2011 Tour de France Stage-Winners/Prize Winners

July 2 — Stage 1 Philippe Gilbert, Belgium: Stefano B

July 4 —Stage 3 Tyler Farrar, United States: Joe B

July 5 —Stage 4 Cadel Evans, Australia: John H

July 6 — Stage 5 Mark Cavendish, Britain: Charlie R

July 7 — Stage 6 Edvald Boasson Hagen, Norway: Naomi W

July 8 — Stage 7 Mark Cavendish, Britain: Charlie R

July 9 — Stage 8: Rui Alberto Costa, Portugal: Rose A

July 10 — Stage 9: Luis Leon Sanchez Gil, Spain: Joe B

July 11 — Rest.

July 12 — Stage 10: Andre Greipel, Germany: Wil F

July 13 — Stage 11: Mark Cavendish, Britain: Charlie R

July 14 — Stage 12: Samuel Sanchez, Spain: Colin D

July 15 — Stage 13: Thor Hushovd, Norway: Micah G

July 16 — Stage 14: Jelle Vanendert, Belgium: Felicity G

July 17 — Stage 15: Wine awarded for Tyler Farrar, USA: Joe B

July 18 — Rest

July 19 — Stage 16 Thor Hushovd, Norway: Micah G

July 20 — Stage 17 Edvald Boasson Hagen, Norway: Naomi W

July 21 — Stage 18 Andy Schleck, Luxembourg: Dannie R

July 22 — Stage 19 Pierre Rolland, France: Sasha A

July 23 — Stage 20 Tony Martin, Germany: Felicity G

July 24 — Stage 21 (TO BE ANNOUNCED)

Extra wine prizes

Bastille Day wine for 14th Frenchman: Maxime Bouet: Felicity G

July 18th Prix du Pimple Énorme 1. Frank Schleck: Jack H

July 18th Prix du Pimple Énorme 2. Ivan Basso: Eric J

July 22nd Prix du Top Spaniard. Alberto Contador: Aaron C

July 22nd Prix du Colombien. Leonard Duque: Tak R

July 22nd Prix du Eigo Shaberu Hito. Levi Leipheimer: Robert S

Special Courage Prize/Prix Barbelé. Johnny Hoogerland:  Mike D

Sayonara and Thanks, Comrade Prize. Alexander Vinokourov:  Emilie

Lanterne Rouge Champers: (TO BE ANNOUNCED) (PROVISIONAL). Fabio Sabatini: Mitsumi S

Cash Prizes

Maillot Jaune (Overall winner) 8000 yen Cadel Evans: John H

Maillot à Pois Rouges (King of the Mountains) 4000 yen: Samuel Sanchez: Colin D

Maillot Vert (Points winner) 3000 yen (TO BE ANNOUNCED) (PROVISIONAL) Mark Cavendsih: Charlie R

Maillot Blanc (Young Rider) 2000 yen Pierre Rolland: Sasha A

The Maillot Jaune is decided.. and it shall be worn by Cadel Evans in Paris! July 23, 2011

Tony Martin wins more vin for Felicity G, but all eyes are on the victorious Australian. First-time sweepstakes punter John H better get ready to celebrate…

Quel dommage, Andy. Well done, Cadel. You deserved it.

Le Jour de Reckoning, mes Amis! July 23, 2011

Which of these two, er, braves hommes will be in yellow on the Champs Elysees?

The final test of today’s time trial in Grenoble will determine the overall winner of the Tour. Schleck leads his brother Frank by 53 seconds, and BMC’s Cadel Evans by 57 seconds. In theory, the Australian is the better time triallist, but the Luxembourger felt confident that he would be able to take the jersey to Paris.

“I believe I can keep the jersey,” Andy Schleck said. “I’m in great form, and this time trial route is not one for the real specialists of the discipline. It will be much more about who still has the most energy left – and I still do.

“I’ll start last tomorrow, and my motivation is great, my legs are super so I’m confident I can actually keep this jersey until Paris. 57 seconds is a lot, and when you have the yellow jersey it gives you wings…”

Unfortunately, his father Johnny described the situation a little differently. “I don’t think it’s possible,” he told reporters on the finish line. “Cadel Evans is one of the best time trialists in the world, and he already knows the time trial well from the Dauphine. But I still have hope, and I know that the last week of the Tour also means different parameters. Both Fränk and Andy are strong in the last week, and perhaps Cadel will have a bad day.”

Atomic Saddles’ prediction for today:

Stagewinner – Tony Martin. Yellow Jersey holder – by the skin of his pearly white teeth, Andy Schleck.

Le Jeune Rolland triumphs on the Alpe de Huez; Andy Schleck takes the Maillot Jaune; Vino for Sasha A, Aaron C, Tak R and Robert S. July 22, 2011

Madame Sasha A gets today’s Merlot des Marsupials.

The three first-time prize winners are: Madame Takako R who receives Petit Bottle Numero Un, for the top finishing Kazakh, Uzbek, Estonian, Ukranian, or Colombian rider (Leonard Duque who staggered in 83rd); Monsieur Aaron C, who bags Petit Bottle Numero Deux, for the top finishing Spaniard or Italian (Alberto Contador); Robert S gets Petit Bottle Numero Trois, for the top finisher whose native language is English (Levi Leipheimer).

Je must sleep, so enjoy this report from Velo News:

Cavendish Lost 20 points yesterday, btw and may well do so again today July 22, 2011

Time limit penalty moves Rojas 15 points closer to green jersey

Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad) saw his lead in the points classification slashed after he was docked 20 points for being one of a number of riders to finish outside the time limit on stage 18 of the Tour de France.

With the time limit fixed at 33:07, Cavendish came home in a sizable gruppetto of 88 riders, 35:50 adrift of stage winner Andy Schleck (Leopard Trek). Joining Cavendish in arriving hors délai were Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervélo), Fabian Cancellara (Leopard Trek) and Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-ISD), but the size of their group meant that they were not eliminated.

The race jury did, however, deduct 20 points from the riders in the group, dealing a blow to the green jersey hopes of Cavendish, Gilbert and Hushovd. This was good news for Movistar’s Jose Joaquin Rojas, who led the first gruppetto home inside the time limit and thus retains all of his points. Cavendish remains in the green jersey, but his total has been reduced to 300 points, and Rojas is now only 15 points behind in second.

“It’s disappointing,” Cavendish said after the finish. “We thought we were way out of the time limit with quite a long way to go but it was a lot closer and had we known it might have made a difference. We just have to think about tomorrow now.”

Hondo casts doubt on Cavendish’s climbing

Speaking to Cyclingnews before the start of stage 18 in Pinerolo, Italy, Danilo Hondo (Lampre-ISD) discussed allegations that Cavendish had been hanging onto cars in the Pyrenees in a bid to avoid elimination. Similar accusations were levelled at Cavendish following the Etna stage of the Giro d’Italia in May. Hondo raised his eyebrows when asked if he thought his leader Alessandro Petacchi would have less trouble passing the three legendary climbs on Thursday’s stage.

“Well, it seems as though Cavendish rides faster on some climbs than the fastest climbers in front of the race. So I’m not sure…” Hondo said.

At the start of the epic stage to the Galibier, Lampre management had calculated that the time limit would be about 40 minutes for the team’s sprinters. As it turned out, the time limit was significantly less generous, but Hondo was already concerned about a 40-minute cut-off.

“You have to try to remain in the group and ride a good rhythm at least during the first two climbs. On the descents, you need to risk everything to try to make up some time there. For us, it’s a time trial the whole day,” he said.

The veteran German was part of the day’s early breakaway, but dropped back on the climb of the Izoard. Hondo ultimately finished in the same gruppetto as Petacchi and Cavendish – outside the original time limit, but still they live to fight another day.

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Schleck frappe fort, Voeckler héroïque (it sez ‘ere); Extra Prizes En Offre Again Today, this time for assorted Kazakhs, Brits etc July 22, 2011

Today the Prix des Freres Le Plonk will be awarded to punters who as yet have not won prizes.

Petit Bottle Numero Un, for the top finishing Kazakh, Uzbek, Estonian, Ukranian, or Colombian rider.

Petit Bottle Numero Deux, for the top finishing Spaniard or Italian.

Petit Bottle Numero Trois, for the top finisher whose native language is English (David Millar and Geraint Thomas count, as does Ben swift even though he is from Yorkshire).

To reiterate, these prizes are only for punters who haven’t won anything yet. The normal stage winner prize will be awarded as usual.

Here is the Grauniad report, by Richard Williams (Not Saddles’ favourite cycling writer it must be said. A wee bit premature to compare Andy Schleck with Charly gaul, methinks, but perhaps I am being unfair on both writer and rider). Anyway, it contains the gist of what happened:

On the highest finish in the history of the Tour de France, Andy Schleck ascended to the plateau of greatness. All previous doubts concerning the 26-year-old Luxembourg rider’s courage and judgment were dispelled by a majestic attack that vindicated his supporters, disarmed his critics and earned the gratitude of neutrals who had been waiting for the explosive gesture that would define the 98th edition of the race.

Coming home just over two minutes ahead of his nearest pursuer at the end of a 200km stage that started in the Italian Piedmont town of Pinerolo and included three climbs above 2,300 metres, Schleck reshaped the contest single-handed. Amid the peaks of the Hautes-Alpes the runner-up of 2009 and 2010 came within a mere 15 seconds of tearing the yellow jersey off the shoulders of the extraordinary Thomas Voeckler, whose finish in fifth came after yet another epic of resilience.

While Alberto Contador blew up and Samuel Sánchez faded away, Cadel Evans provided the other heroic performance of the day with a desperate chase of the younger Schleck, gritting his teeth and towing the yellow jersey group up the final climb to cut in half what had been, with 10km to go, a lead of four minutes. Without Evans’s unassisted effort, Schleck might well have opened up enough of a lead to take to Paris.

Last year, at the top of the Col du Tourmalet, Schleck won a stage arranged to mark the centenary of the Tour’s first visit to the Pyrenees. Thursday’s victory, in the first-ever finish at the 2,645m summit of the Col du Galibier, celebrated the first assault on the Alps in 1911. But making history afresh was the point of the day.

This was the Tour’s Queen stage, as it is called, featuring the highest point of the race as the riders passed over the 2,774m Col d’Agnel before going on to tackle the 2,360m Col d’Izoard and then the mighty Galibier. The most daunting parcours, in other words, that the race’s planners could devise. And with 60km to go, with 15 riders from various breaks still up ahead and with the battle between the contenders for overall victory seemingly locked in a stalemate, Andy, the younger Schleck brother, launched his effort, accelerating smoothly away from the peloton.

An instinctive response came from Pierre Rolland, Voeckler’s faithful and indefatigable domestique, who dropped back immediately when he realised that no one else had followed. Calculations had been made, words were being exchanged between the riders and their team bosses, and Schleck was allowed to make his escape amid the Izoard’s dramatic slopes of unrelieved scree and strange, misshapen rock towers.

Over the next hour the impressive degree of planning involved in the attack became clear. Two riders from Schleck’s Leopard-Trek team were in the groups ahead of him, and the first to fall back was the Dutch rider Joost Posthuma, who helped him up the last and steepest section of the climb. Once over the top, Schleck was joined by his Belgian colleague Maxime Monfort, who led him through the fast sweeps of the plunging descent, thus compensating for one of his leader’s acknowledged weaknesses. With Monfort demonstrating the line and the speed, Schleck was able to join the remaining members of the original breaks before shedding them all, including his team‑mate, and taking the lead before the start of the Galibier.

For 50km, the peloton declined to respond. On the way up to the Col du Lautaret, which precedes the Galibier, Evans made the pace and showed his frustration when no one came forward to help. With 10km he decided, once and for all, to go it alone, digging in hard and ignoring the other riders sitting on his wheel.

Contador and Sánchez, compatriots with different teams who had collaborated during Wednesday’s run-in, shared words at the back of the group. Sánchez would drift back before Contador, with only 1.5km to go, suddenly fell away, finishing almost four minutes behind the winner. Ivan Basso and Damiano Cunego, the two Italians in contention for overall victory, made no move. Only Voeckler, with a position to defend, and Frank Schleck, protecting his brother’s interests, could be excused for declining to share the Australian’s burden.

With his head down so low that he was practically chewing the stem, and his body rocking from side to side as he turned a big gear, Evans slowly ground vital seconds away from Schleck’s lead. His reward, as he reached the finish, was to have limited the winner’s gains. But he was forced to watch Frank Schleck nip in front in the last metres to snatch second place and complete the first Luxembourg one-two in Tour history, while the two brothers vaulted over him to lie behind Voeckler in the general classification.

So gruelling was the stage that only 78 riders finished within the stipulated 120% of the winner’s time. The judges took pity on the stragglers, imposing penalties instead of excluding them. Mark Cavendish, who finished in a gruppetto of 80 riders, was docked 20 points, reducing his lead over his nearest rival for the green jersey, José Joaquín Rojas, from 35 points to 15.

Team Sky’s Rigoberto Urán stayed in the yellow jersey group for most of the day, despite crashing on the descent of the Izoard. He was dropped on the Galibier, however, and lost the best young rider’s white jersey to Rein Taaramae, the Estonian leader of the Cofidis team.

But the day was about Andy Schleck, and a feat thoroughly worthy of his late compatriot Charly Gaul, known as the Angel of the Mountains, who won the 1958 Tour after a similarly epic ride in the Alps. To win a yellow jersey of his own, however, bearing in mind Evans’s almost certain superiority in Saturday’s time trial, Schleck may have to do all it again on Friday, on a shorter stage that crosses the Galibier from the other direction before finishing on the Alpe d’Huez, the ultimate killing ground.

And this (below) is what they face today:

Stage 18 preview: the Galibier Turns 100; We Offer 2 Special Commemorative Prizes July 21, 2011

Bonjour mes amis! As mountains go, it isn’t the steepest, nor the toughest, nor the scariest, nor the most steeped in Tour legend, but the 2645-metre Galibier, pictured here in 1920, is where (along with the Alpe de Huez, and Saturday’s time-trial) this year’s edition of Le Grand Boucle will be decided. For the 2011 race, and the 100th anniversary after the riders first scaled it, les rouleurs will tackle its heights not once, but twice.

Italian Gino Bartali first won the Tour in 1938–and didn’t claim yellow for good again until 10 years later, when he was 34 and won seven stages in the process. In 1952, “Il Campionissimo” Fausto Coppi won the race for the second time

Vainqueurs of the veritable peak read like a who’s who of tour greats: Fausto Coppi, Eddy Mercx, Charly Gaul, Federico Bahamontes, Lucien Van Impe, Jopp Zoetemelk, Luis Herrera, Luis Ocana, Franco Chioccioli, Marco Pantani… and let’s not forget this feller:

Old-timers out there will recognise a very youthful Gert-Jan Theunisse, the climbing great from the land of clogs, flowers and cycling mania (Un Welshman? – Ed), who proved that you can be King of the Mountains even when the biggest hill for miles around is a humpback bridge over the local canal. The Flying Dutchman won the Polka Dot jersey in 1989.

This iconic Tour photograph is of Raymond Poulidor on the mountain in 1974. ‘Pou Pou’ was a great rider, unlucky to be pitted against two giants of the sport through his cycling career; in the early days he was up against the incomparable Jacques Anquetil, later against a certain monsieur Eddy Merckx. Poulidor entered the Tour 14 times, finished it 12, came second on three occasions (including in 1976 at the ripe old age of 40), third five times. In all that, he never once wore the Maillot Jaune. It has oft been said that Pou Pou was too much of a gentleman to win the big one.

Todays 200.5km Stage 18 from Pinolo to Galibier-Serre Chevalier will be a cracker. Though it isn’t the toughest mountain to climb, the upper reaches of the Galibier are brutally exposed to the weather conditions, and if it is particularly windy you could see some serious suffering up there (one French website, for this very reason, calls it L’Enfer de Poulidor; Poulidor’s Hell). I expect that it will be something of an enfer for the sprinters too, but it’ll be the GC contenders who have to grind out a victory on its unforgiving slopes. Expect the Evans v Contador v Schlecks battle to come out into open alpine warfare.

As Atomic mentioned yesterday, my prediction for today is a victory for Contador. When he was out of the saddle accelerating downhill yesterday, I thought this doesn’t look like the crocked cobra to moi. I reckon there’s plenty of sting in them there Spanish steps yet (Ouch – Ed).

In honour of the centenary, we proudly offer the Prix du Pimple Énorme (à deux), a petit bottle of vin (kindly donated by Monsieur B de Kioto) for the first two riders over the peak belonging to sweepstakes punters who haven’t yet won anything.

CONTENDERS ARE:

Punter #1 Mike D; Punter#2 Albie S; Punter#4 Kevin R; Punter#5 Takako R; Punter#7 Dannie R; Punter#8 Robert S; Punter#10 Stephen A; Punter#11 John A; Punter#13 Sasha A; Punter#15 Sanborn B; Punter#16 Aaron C; Punter#18 Jack H; Punter#19 Topher W; Punter#21 Eric J; Punter#22 Masato F; Punter#23 Tom B; Punter#24 Mitsumi S; Punter#25 Yui A; Punter#28 Emilie; Punter#29 Tomas S

Bonne Chance mes Amis Dypsomaniaques de Vélo!

Edvald Boasson Hagen Wins Again; Naomi W gets the Vino; Le Galibier Looms… July 20, 2011

EBH could probably ride this thing faster than Atomic Saddles goes normally.

Tomorrow the Galibier, my friends… The Tour de France may be won – and lost – on this mountain. My prediction for tomorrow’s stage winner? Un certain Alberto Contador.

Stay tuned for high drama in the Alps.

Oyasumi et Bonne Nuit

AS