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18.07.2007/ Tour de France: lower average speed in first week, Tour de France: Bruyneel happy with Discovery
Channel's performance at 9th stage,Tour de France: CSC recap of stage 9, Michael Rasmussen: First yellow jersey to Kai
Reus, Plans for new British Tour team, Tour de France: Gerolsteiner recap stage 9, Tour
de France: Iban Mayo satisfied with stage 9, Tour de France: Ralf Grabsch's preview of stage 10 from Tallard to
Marseille
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autograph of Michael Boogerd.
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Kai Reus kept in an artificial coma after crash
Kessler sacked by Astana
Confusion about Eddy Mazzoleni's future
New: Will Relax-GAM receive Pro-Tour license?
Special Coverage Tour de France 2007
Tour de France: lower average speed in first week
The average speed of the first week in this years edition of the Tour de France was 39,9 km/h. Last year the
average speed after the first week was 42,9 km/h which was already lower as in 2005. At the final Tour of 7 times winner
Lance Armstrong the average speed after one week was incredible high: 47,4 km/h. This years average speed is the lowest since
1996. In that year the average speed after the opening week was 38,4 km/h.
Tour de France: Bruyneel happy with Discovery Channel's performance at 9th stage
With an early attack by Yaroslav Popovych during Tuesdays 9th stage of the Tour, Discovery wanted to go for
a stage win. Although he was joined later by Vladimir Gusev it didn't work out,but the US team did a good job for the
general classification and Alberto Contador grabbed the white jersey (the leaders jersey for the young riders classification).
"Our first idea for today was to establish a break away that could go to the finish," said Discovery Channel team manager
Johan Bruyneel. Bruyneel added: "So Popo and Gusev were feeling good in the first group. Unfortunately Astarloza was in that
group and he was only 5 minutes down on GC so they couldn’t get the lead they needed to make that work."
"After that, Popo and Gusev just wanted to get over the climb of the Galibier since we weren’t sure
what would happen next," Bruyneel said.
“I expected some attacks. Alberto said he felt really good so he attacked himself once we saw Vinokourov
and Moreau were in trouble. It was good that Popo made it over the climb so the two could go down together, but there was
too much cooperation behind."
Bruyneel was satisfied with the performance of his team, "I think we saw a great team
effort today. Levi [Leipheimer] the favorites without any trouble and I think we’re in good shape.
Some of the pre-race favorites are really losing terrain now so it’s down to 8 or 9 riders now and two of them are ours,
and Contador is in the white jersey. It was a great day for the team. We’ll get through some flat stages now and then
head for the Pyrenees."
Tour de France: CSC recap of stage 9
Carlos Sastre did well in the 160-kilometer ninth stage of Tour de France from Val-d'Isere to Briancon. The
Spanish Team CSC rider was tenth in the stage and advanced to an overall seventh place.
The stage was quite hectic
thanks to an early break with several dangerous riders as well as a fast pace in the peloton set by the Rabobank crew. As
a result the peloton was split several times and numerous riders were dropped as the different groups were remodeled.
Sastre
stayed in the best of the favorite's groups the whole way through except for a few kilometers towards the finish line, where
the group was split in two. Sastre made a brilliant effort and managed to reunite the two groups.
In the end Barloworld's
Colombian Juan Mauricio Soler took a great victory, while Rabobank's Michael Rasmussen hung on to the yellow jersey. Sastre
is 3.39 behind him, but only 1.04 behind Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) in second place. Fränk Schleck finished a couple
of minutes later along with Christian Vande Velde and is now 13th overall.
"Carlos did great today. He's feeling better
and better. Fränk wasn't able to stay up front today, but that might mean that he'll be allowed to escape in the next couple
of days. He had great help from Vande Velde out there and the whole team is looking really good actually, so I think it'll
be a successful second half of Tour de France for us," said CSC Sports Director Kim Andersen.
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| Fränk Schleck had a bad day on Tuesday (picture: Heinz Zwicky) |
Michael Rasmussen: First yellow jersey to Kai Reus
The Tour de France goes on, but in their thoughts, the cyclists of the Rabo-team are with their colleague Kai Reus, who is still in an artificial coma in Grenoble after his heavy crash on the Col de l'Iseran. After Sunday's glorious stage, Michael Rasmussen took the initiative to give his first yellow jersey to his unfortunate
team mate, whose situation is still unchanged: serious but stable.
All the Rabo-cyclists in the Tour de France put their autograph on the first yellow jersey, which still has large emotional
value for Michael Rasmussen. General manager Theo de Rooij will visit Reus in Grenoble on Tuesday and he will take the jersey
with him then.
Reus is still kept in an artificial coma because he suffered from accumulating fluids in his brains after his surgery.
That is not a disturbing phenomenon but a normal reaction to such a procedure instead. The doctors believe, however, that
Kai's recovery will progress better when he is kept in an artificial coma. His parents, sister, and girlfriend are with him.
Plans for new British Tour team
After the success of the Tour’s Grand Départ, plans to enter a British team to
ride the Tour de France within a few years are progressing quickly. The team would be financed by private sponsors that Dave
Brailsford, British cycling’s performance director, is working to put together. The package would total several million
pounds.
Brailsford believes that the Tour’s popular
reception in London and Canterbury
this year will be a further boost for the project. "Having seen the crowds in London,
we are ready for it. Yes, there is a project, yes there is a plan and not only on a personal but a professional level I would
like to see it happen."
This year’s
Tour featured five British cyclists including T-Mobile’s rookie, Mark Cavendish, who made two top 10 finishes in the
early sprint stages. Londoner, Bradley Wiggins, placed fourth in the London prologue
and managed a courageous 190km escape in Friday’s stage. David Millar starred in a breakaway on the stage to
Canterbury. Geraint Thomas and Charly Wegelius have also featured in the small but effective British
presence.
The GB Team would be run alongside the
lottery-funded Olympic track cycling team and the two entities would be interdependent.
Source: T-Mobile
Tour de France: Gerolsteiner recap stage 9
Ronny Scholz was Team Gerolsteiner's best rider during the 94th Tour de France's final leg through the Alps.
The 29 year old rider from Herrenberg reached 34th place in Tuesday's ninth stage, which covered 159.5 kilometers from Val
d'Isere to Briancon. In the end Scholz lost 6:26 minutes on stage winner Juan Mauricio Soler (Columbia/Barloworld) after the
ride over the Col de L'Iseran (Height: 2770 meters), the highest mountain in this year's French tour, and the Col de Galibier
(2642 m, both of the Hors Category). "But things did go quite well. The stages that I have an eye on really have still to
come.", said Scholz.
Within the Eifel team it was foremost Scholz's performance that gave cause for satisfaction. "Ronny upheld
the Gerolsteiner flag. That was all right", thus Team Manager Hans-Michael Holczer's assessment. Sadly, at the close of this
Tour's stages in the Alps things didn't go the way they were supposed to for Markus Fothen (50th place, behind by 9:48 minutes).
"He simply hasn't got last year's legs, when he managed to reach 15th place in the Final Classification", said Holczer in
regards to Fothen. The 25 year old rider from Kaarst (Germany) is currently in 33rd place (behind Rasmussen by 18:58
minutes) – and thus still best Gerolsteiner rider in the ProTour race.
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| Markus Fothen during last years Tour de France (picture: Cyclingheroes) |
Tour de France: Iban Mayo satisfied with stage 9
Iban Mayo (Saunier Duval) came in fifth yesterday and is still third in the general classification.
The former Euskatel rider had some problems but was lucky that teammate Juanjo Cobo was in the group with the
main favourites and assisted Mayo on the final climb.
Iban Mayo said: "I´m satisfied with this stage, taking into account that I´ve been feeling cramping pains
since I began to climb the Col du Galibier. I even thought of stopping to stretch out, as I couldn´t stand on my bike. But
then I decided against this and chose to ride on, without joining in the changes of pace in the last part of the ascent. It
turned out to be the right decision. With a big help from Cobo, I managed to finish among the favourites. Having a teammate
assisting me was crucial, since we all knew that victory was out of the question and thus chased for Contador and Evans. In
the final climb to Briançon, I forgot about the cramps and gave it the full gas. The final stretch showed that we were all
equally strong. As I´ve already said, you can fail in any stage during the Tour. Today we saw how big guns like Moreau, Schleck,
or Kashechkin were not in the same shape as in Tignes. In my case, I didn´t expect to be in one of the leading spots after
the Alpine stages, so I´m very glad. The next decisive stage is the time-trial in Albi (stage 13), but I don´t think it will
change much. Except for Klöden, there are no big time-trialists in the leading positions. So then it will be the Pyrenees
that will decide who´ll win this Tour de France."
Tour de France: Ralf Grabsch's preview of stage 10 from Tallard
to Marseille
Milram's Ralf Grabsch said about todays stage: "The stage
will be very long and very warm. I think a group will get through. And I want to be in that group in any case. I’ll
just try, until it works out. I’m going to try on every stage now – except from the Pyrenées. One time it has
to work out. I already know the course from the Grand Prix Haribo, it’s the same mountains. They are ideal for me. They’re
dragging on, but you can get over them with power. That’s what I like. There should be five, six rider in the group,
like Jens Voigt and Vicente Garcia Acosta, they’re the specialists, that’d be ideal for me. Otherwise, we expect
the typically rough asphalt tomorrow, and in the end two mountains on which the group will be torn apart. Here, the decision
will be made."
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