Welcome Back!

Welcome back to my Tour de France Commentary blog.  The race begins in a mere seven weeks. If you are new to the Tour de France, I refer you to my earlier posts in June of 2012, in which I describe the race, its traditions, and the multiple contests within the contest.  Last year’s Tour ended with the British Team Sky dominating.  Brad Wiggins won the yellow jersey handily (top overall rider in the “General Classification” or “GC”).  His teammate Mark Cavendish dominated the sprints.

A month later most of the big stars from the Tour competed in the cycling events of the Olympics.

Late in the 2012 season, Alberto Contador regained his eligibility, so we will expect him to challenge for the TDF yellow jersey in 2013.  Going the other direction during the off-season was Lance Armstrong: He was unmasked as the Lord Voldemort of Cycling, stripped of his 7 TDF yellow jerseys, and banned for life, for being the bully ringleader of the most outrageous doping conspiracy in sport.  Enough said!

Now, a new season is upon us.  Many familiar names are lining up to ride for glory on the roads of France.  Let’s keep our eyes open for new stars as well.

The Giro d’Italia (Tour of Italy) is underway right now.  Team Sky is already staking its claim to the “Favorite” label, with Wiggins still wearing the mantle of GC captain.  But Mark Cavendish, has found a new home on the Belgian team Omega Pharma Quickstep (OPQ).  He no longer has to suppress his sprinting heroics in favor of Wiggins’ GC aspirations.  He sprinted to a win in Stage 1 of the Giro, and claimed the pink jersey (GC leader) for a day.  Enjoy it while you can, Mark!

Team Sky dominated Stage 2, a team time trial, placing Salvatore Puccio in pink, with Wiggins in 2nd place for GC.  The U.S. teams of Garmin and BMC were off to a bad start in their GC pretensions.

In Stage 3, Cadel Evans (BMC) and 2012 Giro GC champion Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin) made impressive gains when Hesjedal’s attack split the field, leaving just 20 survivors (not including Wiggins).  Luca Paolini (Katusha) won the stage and captured the pink jersey, but Evans and Hesjedal were 2nd and 3rd and narrowed the gap to Wiggins.

Enrico Battaglin (Bardiani & Co.) won Stage 4.  Paolini retained the pink jersey.  Wiggins lost another 17 seconds when he got caught behind a crash.

Stage 5 featured a sprint finish, won by German rider John Degenkolb (Argos Shimano).  Paolini kept the pink jersey because he was able to stay with the leaders through the difficult climbs in the middle of the stage.  Mark Cavendish, on the other hand, lost contact on the climbs and was not present at the front to contest the sprint.

In Stage 6, Cavendish’s team stayed together, helped reel in the breakaways, and delivered him at the finish for his second stage victory of the first week.  Paolini still wears pink.  Wiggins and Sky had a rough day, being caught behind another crash.  With a valiant effort they barely managed to catch up with the main peleton before the finish line, so Wiggins did not lose any more time.

Stage 7 saw the first successful breakaway.  Of about 20 riders in the break, only Adam Hansen (Lotto Belisol) survived, winning the stage by about a minute.  Benat Intxausti (Movistar) took over the pink jersey, with Nibali (Astana) and Hesjedal (Garmin) close behind.  On a rainy day full of nasty crashes, Paolini dropped to 15th place in GC, while Wiggins dropped out of the top 20, mostly because of a crash on wet roads with 5 Km to go.  Tough break!  Hey!  Everyone is riding in the same rain!

Stage 8, a tough, hilly, 55 Km individual time trial with an uphill finish, provided an opportunity for Wiggins to regain some time on his rivals.  But fellow Brit Alex Dowsett (Movistar) won the stage, riding 10 seconds faster than Wiggins (2nd).  Although Brad did gain some time, he did not gain enough.  He is now in GC 4th with a deficit of 1'16" to Nibali, the new pink jersey.  Evans is 2nd at 29", and Gesink (Blanco) is 3rd at 1'15".  Other GC contenders still within striking distance are Scarponi (Lampre) 5th at 1'24" and Hesjedal (Garmin) 6th at 2'05".  Intxausti lost the pink jersey and dropped to 14th.  Paolini, formerly in pink, is now in 45th place.  His days in pink are gone forever!  Wiggins has two Sky teammates, Columbians Henao and Uran, who are in 7th and 10th places respectively, less than 3 minutes behind Nibali.  Pay attention to these two!  If Wiggins should crack, they might surge to the fore and challenge for leadership of Sky, and for the pink jersey at the end of the Giro.

Stay tuned for my next posts in the days to come.  More on the Giro.  A look at the teams in the Tour de France, and any changes from last year.  Also, a look at some of the other spring races to identify names to watch in the Tour de France.  Comments are welcomed. [Sorry no photos.]