The penultimates stage from Chur to Luzern is classified as a mountain stage. Well, the riders have to climb the Oberalppass, but after the summit, 94 descending and flat kilometres await.
94km to go
At the summit of the Oberalppas, we see a BOTD with 7 riders in it. Another 9 follow at 1 minute. Mikhail Ignatiev is the first to cross the line of the KOTM-sprint and takes over the lead in the KOTM-rankings. The peloton follows at 5 minutes.
Finish
Because of the long descend and flat part, a mass sprint is inevitable. We try to set up a train for Peter Sagan, but fail in the last chapter of it. Our Slovakian sprinter lacks about 10km/h of top speed against world class and also mediocre sprinters.
And it's a mediocre one that wins the stage: FDJ's Gianni Meersman manages to beat JJ Rojas and Mark Cavendish in this mass sprint, surprisingly taking the win. So Rojas finishes in 2nd, Cavendish in 3rd and Sagan in 6th. All the GC-contenders finish in this peloton.
The 9th and last stage of this edition of a very difficult Tour de Suisse is a 37km ITT with start and finish in Bern. The route features some short climbs.
From all the early startes, Lieuwe Westra sets the best time in 55'16. He has to wait for the big guns to start to see what his time is worth.
The first big gun to start is former World Champ Fabian Cancellara. The route passes his house, so he is eager to set a great time. Well, being 1'48 faster than Westra, thus setting a time of 53'27, he manages to do so.
But it's not enough for Spartacus to win, as his main rival Tony Martin is '32 faster. With better times in every single sector, Martin rides an astonishing 52'55.
Th efirst of the GC-contenders to start is last year's Tour de France-winner Vincenzo Nibali. In 2012, he won the Tour de Suisse with 2 fingers in his nose, this year he uses it to get in shape. He sets the 3rd tie so far, 1'15 behind Martin.
IS 1: 1. Martin 13'35; 2. Cancellara + 20; 3. Contador + 29; 4. Kiryienka + 39; 5. Nibali + 42; 9. Kelderman + 48; 11. Brajkovic + 52; 15, Van den Broeck + 57; 27. A. Schleck + 1'10; 28. Kruijswijk + 1'12; 51. RodrÃguez + 1'36.
Wilco Kelderman defens the small margin of 9 seconds against Nibali in the GC, but is '27 slower, meaning he drops a place. Still, the 54'38 will be good enough for the 6th time of the day.
It looks like Alberto Contador is getting in shape for Le Tour. He rides the 3rd time so far, "only" '54 slower than Martin.
The weakest time trialist of the top 8 in the GC is Katusha's JoaquÃm RdrÃguez. Purito rides the 46th time of the day, 3'32 slower than Martin.
For Andy Schleck it is impossible to gain a position in the GC. The danger comes from behind, from Contador. The Luxembourg is 1'16 slower than El Pistolero, so he looses his 4th place in the GC. Nevertheless, the 55'05 is good enough for the 11th time of the day, so he can be proud of his achievement.
IS 2: 1. Martin 34'32; 2. Cancellara + 27; 3. Contador + 38; 4. Nibali + 54; 5. Kiryienka + 1'11; 6. Van den Broeck 1'18; 8. A. Schleck + 1'19; 9. Brajkovic + 1'28; 11. Kelderman + 1'35; 26. Kruijswijk + 2'19; 32. RodrÃguez + 2'24.
Radio Shack's Janez Brajkovic is having a great Tour de Suisse. The 55'04 (10th overall) will bring him the 3rd spot in the GC.
The runner up in the GC remains the runner up. Qantas Steven Kruijswijk has raced the best stage race of his young career. The ITT is disappointing (29th at more than 3 minutes), but the 2nd spot in the GC, as well as a stage win, is a great job!
After winning 2 stages, Jurgen Van den Broeck was already on his way to win the Tour de Suisse. He sets the 8th time, 1'55 behind Martin, and looks to be ready for Le Tour.
Word from the DS
A Tour de Suisse with many faces: a good prologue, a good first mountain stage, a crappy 2nd one, a brave 3rd one, and a decent time trial, together with 2 mediocre sprints make no stage wins, a 5th and 7th in the GC and the U25-jersey.
The last stage race before the National championships and Le Tour are being raced is the Ster ZLM Tour. It's a 5 stage race in the South of the Netherlands and Belgium, including a time trial, a hilly stages and 3 flat stages. Last year, the win went to Bobbie Traksel from Landbouwkrediet.
The 2nd stage to Sittard/Geleen features a short steep climb to the finish. We have set up a train with to goal to launch Pim Ligthart just before the finish. He takes the lead but stalls with just 100m to go and gets passed by Samuel Dumoulin, who takes another win this season. Also John Degenkolb and Ben Swift pass Ligthart, who has to settle with the 4th place. 9 riders get awarded with a small time bonus of 27 seconds, and among them is Löfkvist.
Results
Stage 3
In the flat 3rd stage to Schimmert, we see a breakaway win. Pieter Vanspeybroeck (Topsport Vlaanderen) has attacked together with Maxim Lefèvre out of the peloton with 40km to go. But where our young Wallonian rider gets caught by the peloton in the final metres, Vanspeybroeck manages to stay out of sight and wins the stage. Dumoulin wins the sprint of the peloton at '40, with Lefèvre finishing in 8th, the best result in his short professional career so far!
The 4th stage takes the riders from Verviers to the weir of La Gileppe in the Ardennes. A few riders manages to attack out of the peloton on the final climb, with Thomas Löfkvist being the strongest, thus taking the stage win. Samuel Dumoulin finishes in 2nd and Paul Martens in 3rd. Rosseler is given the same time, finishing in 8th.
With Samuel Dumoulin in the GC-lead ('7 to Löfkvist, and Rosseler in 8th at '50), the peloton starts the last stage towards Etten-Leur. A BOTD consisting of 11 riders creates a maximum margin of over 12 minutes, and the Cofidis-team of Dumoulin isn't able to decrease the margin. We really don't bother to help them, so it'll be a close call for the GC win.
3 riders attack out of the BOTD in the final kilometres. An Post's Andrew Fenn beats Omega Pharma's Pieter Serry for the stage win. Sven Renders (Accent. Jobs) finishes in 3rd. As the peloton finishes at 3'20, the bonus seconds for Renders means he wins the ZLM Tour by a margin of only 3 seconds!! Think Dumoulin will be pissed at his team mates
Word from the DS
We were close to a stage win twice. But what a surprising end, with Sven Renders (who???) winning the ZLM Tour!
Edited by dienblad on 26-07-2012 18:42
RR
Vanendert (3rd) and De Gendt (4th) got good results in Belgium. Niki Terpstra nearly missed the win in the Netherlads (2nd). Matti Breschel took a 3rd place in the mass sprint in Denmark, whereas Marcel Kittel won the sprint in Germany.
Edited by dienblad on 26-07-2012 22:58
So no wonder, Robert Gesink is awarded with the rider of the month award.
Rankings
World Tour riders
Igor Antón reamins in the lead, JoaquÃm RodrÃguez in 2nd and Robert Gesink jumps to the 3rd spot.
World Tour teams
No changes in the top 3 of the World Tour teams. Monster Energy - Subway is leading the ranking, followed by Katusha and Saxo Bank.
Continental Tour riders
Stijn Devolder is the new leader in the CT riders ranking. WIth some good results in the Benelux-stage races, ha passes Cayetano Sarmiento. Samuel Dumoulin jumps to the 3rd place.
Continental Tour teams
Finally, a non-French team leading the Contin-rankings. With a margin of 3 points, Vacansoleil leads Saur. Europcar is in the 3rd place.
CQ riders
Igor Antón is still the best rider of 2012. Behind him, Robert Gesink and Wilco Kelderman have switched places.
CQ teams Monster Energy is still dominating the CQ-rankings. Katusha is still in 2nd, and Lotto has climbed to 3rd.
July is the month of the Tour de France. This will be our main goal of the season. At the same time, we take part in the Österreich Rundfahrt for the first time. The last days of July are some classics, with San Sebastian being the most important one.
Our goals
- Win the GC in the Tour de France!
- At least 1 more win this season.
Welcome to the centennial edition of Le Tour de France!
History
With the first ever Tour de France being held in 1903, and being 2 times interrupted because of WW 1 and 2, this year it's time for the 100th edition. Record holder is Lance Armstrong, with 7 wins, although this will be discussed (doped or not) untill the 22nd century.
Last year's edition was a thrilling one, with a great duel between Cadel Evans, Robert Gesink and Vincenzo Nibali. Nibali was ridding in yellow, when Gesink took over in the 16th stage. But in the last ITT (stage 20), the Dutch lost the lead again and dropped to 3rd. Vincenzo Nibali got to wear the maillot jaune again and took it to Paris. But his margin to the number 2 Cadel Evans was only 11 seconds.
Stage 4-6
In the 4th stage, the riders leave France to finish in the Spanish town of l'Escala. The 163 kilometres are flat, except for some hills in the middle of the stage. Expect a mass sprint here. We stay in Catalunya in stage 5, when the riders arrive after 142 kilometres in Manresa, still along the Mediterranean sea.
Stage 6 is the first mountain stage. Starting in Andorra La Vella, the riders enter France again over the Port d'Envalira. The finish is after 166 kilometres at the summit of the Col de Core (10.7km at 7.9%).
Stage 10-12
The route continues after the rest day in stage 10 on the coast of the Biscaya Bay, to the town on Arcachon close to Bordeaux. Mostly flat, it should be a stage for the sprinters, though wind could shake things up a bit. The next day, we go to the centre of France to Limoges. The stage finishes with a small 7% hill, just before the finish. The 12th stage, with the finish in Autun in Bourgogne, will suit a breakaway with 2 climbs in the middle part.
Stage 13-15
Stage 13 is the longest stage with "only" 197 kilometres. It brings the riders over flat roads to Lyon. Before the Alps, the GC will be shaken up in the 14th stage with the 29km ITT to Vienne, in the Rhone-Alps. After several flat stage, the mountains show up again in stage 15 with the Cucheron, the Port and finally the Chamrousse (19km at 6.9%). After a 30km descend, the finish is in Grenoble.
Stage 16-18
A very difficult and hilly stage between Grenoble and La Mure. 3721 height metres and the finish at La Mure (4.7km at 6.9%). Stage 17 is a tough mountain stage with start in Bourg d'Oisans. The riders have to climb the Col du Lautaret and the Col d'Izoard, before the final climb to Risoul 1850 (13.5km at 7.2%) awaits. Another mountain top finish. Stage 18 is an easy one to Digne-les-Bains, so the climbers can relax before the queen's stage.
