Stage Two: Belgian Bakelants Holds Off Charging Sagan for First Stage Win!

Jan Bakelants (RadioShack Leopard) launched an attack within the final 7 Km of today’s race, and held on by the skin of his teeth to win his first ever professional stage victory.  Peter Sagan (Cannondale) led the charging peleton across the line just one second later.

Marcel Kittel (Argos Shimano) surrenders his Yellow Jersey to Bakelants, and his White Jersey to Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma Quickstep); but with 47 total points he retains the Green Jersey, if only for one more day.
With three tough climbs in the first half of the race, the pure sprinters were dropped from the peleton before the capture of the initial breakaway group.  This created the opportunity for Bakelants and others to stage their late attack, from which only Bakelants survived - barely!  It also created the opportunity for Sagan to harvest not only intermediate sprint points (10), but also 2nd place stage points (25), giving him 43 total – 13 points ahead of Millar and more than 20 points ahead of Greipel, Cavendish, and Goss.  With four mountains in tomorrow’s stage, Sagan will likely pass Kittel and take over the Green Jersey.  Will he keep it all the way to Paris?

The Polka-dot Jersey changed hands today, as expected.  Pierre Rolland (Europcar) captured it by winning the category 2 climb of the day.  This jersey will continue to change hands until the big mountains of the Pyrénées, Mt. Ventoux, and the Alps have been contested.

The White Jersey went to Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma Quickstep) based on finish placement.  However, 18 of the 35 eligible “youth” riders have the same time, including Americans Andrew Talanksy (Garmin-Sharp) and Tejay van Garderen (BMC).  Like the climbers’ jersey, the final winner of the White Jersey will be decided later in the race.

In honor of Jan Bakelants' victory today, I present this photo of his RadioShack Leopard team car, from the 2011 Tour of Utah.  (Courtesy of Scott Wolford.)

Stage One: German Conquers Napoleon’s Home Island! Alternate Title: Keystone Kops invade Corsica

Two centuries after Napoleon ruled Germany, German rider Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano) has conquered Corsica, the island of Napoleon’s birth.  In a finish worthy of the Keystone Kops, Kittel (pronounced “key-TELL”) powered up on the left side, to eclipse in the final 20 meters Alexander Kristoff (Katusha), Danny Van Poppel (Vacansoleil), and David Millar (Garmin-Sharp).  Winning the opening stage give Kitell not only the Yellow Jersey for at least the next day of racing, but also the Green Jersey (points/sprinter) and the White Jersey (youth).

So, why the reference to the Keystone Kops?  With about 30 minutes or less to go before the peleton would come screaming through the archway at the finish line, Orica-GreenEdge’s team bus tried to drive through the archway in the opposite direction.  Oops!  The bus (a fancy motorhome on steroids) got stuck under the archway!  Tour staff were seen running around in a panic trying to get the bus free.  When that seemed impossible, they announced that the finish line would now be 3 Km earlier (where the 3 Km-to-go electronic timing gate was already installed).  That news was relayed by radio to the riders as they sped along with only about 15 Km to go.  The change impacted strategies, because it eliminated a tricky U-turn the riders would have had to deal with at the 2 Km mark.  So, there was confusion and consternation in the peleton as the sprinters’ teams were adjusting and lining up to deliver their heros to the new finish line.

Then, some genius got the idea of deflating the tires on the Orica team bus.  Voila!  It was able to back out from underneath the structure at the original finish line.  (The backing maneuver apparently executed by Bud Abbot and Lou Costello, as the bus fish-tailed its way clear of the archway!)  So, with about 5 Km to go to the original line (within 2 Km of the provisional line), the Tour organizers decided to change back to the original line.  Remember, the cyclists are racing at close to 50 Km/hour!  These changes are flying at them in their radios within mere minutes of the 3 Km line, and maybe only 10 minutes of the original line.  Confusion ruled the peleton.  Suddenly, like dominoes, half the peleton hit the deck!  Peter Sagan (Cannondale) and Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) were among those who crashed.  André Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) and Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma Quickstep) either crashed or were held up by the crash.  Kittel was among the lucky ones riding just ahead of the crash, enabling him to contest and win the sprint finish.

The entire peleton was given the same time as the winner, so, even though Kittel wears the Yellow Jersey, none of the GC hopefuls lost any time.

This stage had only one small mountain, a category 4, worth only one point toward the Polka-dot Jersey, and it was won by Juan José Lobato (Euskaltel), who jumped into the early breakaway group, and then powered past his escape partners for this bit of cash prize and life-long record book glory on his very first stage of his very first Tour de France!  How excited was he?!!

The sprinters’ teams – Omega, Argos and Lotto – played the “cat” all day to the five escapees’ “mouse.”  After 70 Km in the lead, the five saw their time gap eaten down from 3'10" to less than 40".  They sat up, expecting to be swallowed up by the peleton.  But the peleton also slowed down and let them re-extend their lead, this time to more than 4 minutes.  Once again, the sprint teams picked up the pace of the peleton and reeled the leaders back to the point of almost catching them.  Then, the call of nature in the peleton, and the lead was back over 3 minutes.  The sprint teams used this yo-yo strategy for over 100 Km, preferring this little “mouse” that they could easily catch at will, to some unknown opportunist from the peleton with fresh legs who might launch a stage-threatening attack if the “mouse” were caught too early.  This did mean that the escapees collected the high points on the intermediate sprint, leaving the “Big Boy” sprinters to battle for the minor points, which went to Greipel (10), Cavendish (9), Peter Sagan (Cannondale) (8) and Matt Goss (Orica-GreenEdge) (6).

Tomorrow’s Stage 2 has three steep climbs in the first 95 Km, which makes a sprint finish unlikely, and opens the door for the climbers and GC hopefuls to distinguish themselves.  It also lends itself to a bold breakaway – especially for someone who can capitalize on the steep descents over the final 60 Km.  Add to that the fact that two-time champion Alberto Contador got some nasty road-rash in the first day’s big crash.  He finished the stage, but his rivals might think Stage Two an opportune time to attack him; and, on the other hand, the indignities he suffered today might inspire him to new heights tomorrow.  Should be an exciting day!

Imagine the domino effect of a crash in a peleton like this racing down the road at 50 Km/hour!  That was the scene in today's Stage 1.  (Photo 2011 Tour of Utah, courtesy of Scott Wolford.)

Roster Ruminations, Part V – Saxo-Tinkoff and other GC Contenders/Pretenders

Saxo-Tinkoff:  We’ve already covered GC contenders Chris Froome (Sky), Cadel Evans (BMC), and Andy Schleck (RadioShack-Leopard), as well as Ryder Hesjedal and others at Garmin-Sharp.  It’s time we devoted some ink to the third former champion in this year’s Tour, Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff).  He returns to the Tour with solid support from Roman Kreuziger, Nicolas Roche, Michael Rogers and other seasoned riders.  The organizers have given the mountain stages extra emphasis in this year’s race, and Contador can climb with the best.  Do not expect him to be satisfied with a defensive strategy, but look for him to attack often on the steep climbs.

Now for a summary, in no particular order, of several other teams with legitimate GC riders, any one of whom could out-shine the so-called favorites:

Astana:   Jakob Fuglsang should have been a star for RadioShack last year, but they excluded him from the Tour roster for complaining about team management.  Imagine being upset just because of no paychecks!  He’s having a good year on this new team, with three top-ten finishes, and would dearly love to put an exclamation point on his defection by beating Andy Schleck and possibly making the GC podium in Paris.  Rising Slovak star Janez Brajkovic gives Jakob a super-domestique, and he could even give Astana a second top-ten finisher in the GC battles. Watch out for the robin-egg blue jerseys of Astana!

Katusha:  Spanish climber Joaquim Rodriguez aims for a high GC placement in this year’s Tour, and will not back down from the anointed favorites.  Compatriot Daniel Moreno (winner of the 2013 Fleche de Wallonne) will second Rodriguez.

Lotto-Belisol: Belgian rider Jurgen van den Broeck already has two top-five finishes at the Tour (2010 and 2012).  He could fly under the radar and pull off a big surprise.  In a previous post, I’ve already listed his teammate, German champion André Greipel, who plans to keep the “Big Boy Sprinters” honest.  Lotto-Belisol will chase two dreams: a top GC finish for Jurgen van den Broeck and stage wins (or even the Green Jersey) for André Greipel.

Cofidis: This French team has four possible challengers for GC glory.  Two French riders, Christophe Le Mével (10th in 2010) and Jérôme Coppel (14th in 2011), plus Spaniard Daniel Navarro and Estonian Rein Taaramae.  Could one of them wear the Yellow Jersey for a while this year, or finish in the top 10?  Either result would be glory for Cofidis, one of the “wildcard” teams in the race.

Movistar:  I have already highlighted Rui Costa in my recent report on the Tour de Suisse.  But Movistar has other GC hopefuls as well: Alejandro Valverde, and Tour rookies Nairo Quintana and Jonathan Castroviejo.

FDJ: Do you remember Thibeau Pinot from the 2012 race?  He finished in GC 10th place last year, and was narrowly beaten by Tejay van Garderen for the White Jersey (best young rider) only in the waning stages of the race.

Summary:  This gives us about 20 riders who could realistically challenge for the Yellow Jersey.  The hazards of illness, accidents, bad weather, and mechanical problems will almost certainly eliminate some of them (even the favorites) from contention.  Beyond that, an inspired ride here, some brilliant teamwork there, or even a strategical lapse somewhere else, all could turn the GC contest upside down.  The mountain stages and the time trials will be the most important in the GC battle, but even in the flat stages, each team will need to  carefully watch the daily breakaway groups to prevent any of these top GC threats from seizing a big time gap.

Sign-off:  With that, I sign off until tomorrow for the Grand Départ (the first stage) in Corsica.  Remember, there are lots of prizes (not just GC), so every stage has its drama; and often several threads of drama are interwoven in a single stage.  I’m so excited, I may not even sleep tonight!

May, 2011, Jurgen van den Broeck (Lotto-Bellisol) has just finished a training ride climbing to the summit of the Col du Tourmalet in the French Pyrénées, and whom should he encounter?  None other that Matt Jensen, mastermind-organizer of the famous Three Kings cycling challenge in North Salt Lake!  Did they exchange autographs?  Did VDB whip out his cell phone and grab a photo of King Matt?  Are they facebook friends?  You should have been there!

Roster Ruminations, Part IV – Omega Pharma Quickstep and Cannondale

Omega Pharma Quickstep:  This Belgian team might as well call itself “Mark Cavendish’s Sweet Revenge.”  Cavendish jumped from Team Sky where his sprinting prowess played second fiddle to the Yellow Jersey aspirations of Brad Wiggins and Chris Froome, and landed on a team that appreciates his brand of glory.  With time trial powerhouse Tony Martin heading up the lead-out train, OPQ has a good mix of riders to maximize Cavendish’s quest for more TDF bunch sprint wins, and hopefully this year’s Green Jersey.  They include Frenchmen Sylvain Chavenel and Jerome Pineau, along with the polyglot collection of Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland), Gert Steegmans (Belgium), Niki Terpstra (Netherlands), Matteo Trentin (Italy), and Peter Velits (Slovakia). 

In the flat stages, the team will fight to reel in the early escapees, and to set up Mark for the sprint finish.  They will keep an eye on Peter Sagan (Cannondale) to limit his acquisition of intermediate sprint points.  And they will help Cavendish through the mountains so that he doesn’t get eliminated from the race through failing to finish those stages within the time delay.  Of course, they will ride to protect him from accidents all along the way.  If they are not busy with those tasks, riders such as Pineau and Chavenel will likely look for opportunities to join attack groups for possible surprise stage victories.  Tony Martin will shine in the time trials. 

Cannondale: This may say more about my ignorance than about the nondescript nature of Cannondale’s 2013 Tour roster, but the only name I recognize is that of Peter Sagan.  The lack of marquee teammates has not prevented Sagan from having another amazing year in which he has already more than a dozen race or stage victories, along with the points jersey in both the Tour of California and the Tour de Suisse.  Mark Cavendish may have a slight edge over Sagan as a pure sprinter, but Peter has more versatility.  I expect Sagan to win at least a couple of stages in this year’s Tour de France, and to aggressively try for intermediate sprint points throughout the race.  The battle for the Green Jersey will likely come down to Sagan’s intermediate points vs. Cavendish’s points from sprint finish stage victories.

Roster Ruminations, Part III – RadioShack-Leopard

RadioShack-Leopard is a team in transition.  With U.S. roots and Luxembourg registration, it will likely look very different next year.  RadioShack has pulled the plug on its sponsorship, effective at the end of this season.  Bicycle maker Trek has agreed to take control as owner and primary sponsor, and promises to “create a new team”  through negotiations currently under way with “several marquee athletes.”  Will they keep their current stars?  Or will they find new ones?  Does the Tour de France roster for 2013 give us any clue for 2014?

Andy Schleck headlines the 2013 TDF roster, and will try to reclaim the Yellow Jersey.  Several familiar names will ride in support, Jens Voigt, Andreas Kloden, and Haimar Zubeldia.  Tour veterans Maxime Monfort, Tony Gallopin, Laurent Didier and Markel Irizar are joined by newcomer Jan Bakelants.  This makes for a very Eurozone roster, with riders from Luxembourg, Belgium, Spain, Germany and France.  So, who is missing?

The Americans to begin with.  No sign of Chris Horner, Ben King or Matthew Busche.  And where is Spartacus?  Swiss star Fabian Cancellara will skip this year’s Tour, apparently by his own choice.  He holds the record for the most days wearing the TDF Yellow Jersey without ever having won the race.  How can they have the Tour de France without Cancellara?  And what of the rumor that BMC (an American team sponsored by a Swiss company) may try to steal Fabulous Fabian away from the Luxembourg team as it transitions to Trek control?

Back to the Tour:  What does this roster portend for the upcoming race?  I predict that Andy will have his best race of the season (which isn’t saying very much), but that he will be lucky to finish in the top 10.  Jens Voigt will join a few breakaways and possibly win a stage.  Kloden and Zubeldia will acquit themselves with honor in the mountains.  The RadioShack era at the Tour de France will close on a relatively quiet note.

Roster Ruminations, Part II – BMC and Garmin-Sharp

Team BMC has one main goal for this year’s TDF: to reclaim the Yellow Jersey for Cadel Evans, the General Classification (GC) winner from 2011.  The meat & potatoes of the roster are  Brent Bookwalter, Marcus Burghardt, Amaël Moinard, Steve Morabito, Manuel Quinziato and Michael Schär.  They may not be household names, but they are six of the proven domestiques from that 2011 team.  Cadel Evans refers to Quinziato, Burghardt and Schär as his “Guardian Angels.”  The 2013 team should be stronger than in 2011 by the addition of reigning world road champion Philippe Gilbert and Tejay van Garderen, last year’s White Jersey (young rider) winner and champion from the recent Tour of California.

Missing the cut, but listed as an alternate, is TDF veteran Thor Hushovd, who just last week won the Norwegian road race national championship.  The luxury of having such a high-caliber rider listed as only an alternate!  Another alternate who would easily make most other rosters is rising Swiss star Mathias Frank, who wore the yellow jersey for much of the race, but eventually finished in 5^th place in the recent Tour de Suisse. 

Don’t expect BMC to chase stage wins, or other prizes.  Tejay van Garderen is still eligible for the White Jersey, but will sacrifice it, if needed, to help Evans reclaim the Yellow.  The price he must pay to work his way to the top spot in the years ahead.  Philippe Gilbert has often chased individual glory, but he too plans to make Cadel’s success his top priority.

Team Garmin-Sharp is taking more of a shotgun approach this year.  With three former TDF top-ten finishers (Ryder Hesjedal, Tom Danielson and Christian Vande Velde), three proven stage and race winners (Dan Martin, David Millar and Ramunas Navardauskus), and three rookies (Andrew Talansky, Jack Bauer and Rohan Dennis) , they expect to provide excitement, without limiting themselves to “all or nothing.”  Ryder Hesjedal may be the presumptive GC captain, but the team’s strategy will be to leave that door open for others, and to pursue whatever GC opportunities present themselves, hoping for a high placement by someone – whoever gets hot.  They also plan to look for stage win opportunities, so look for them to aggressively join the escape groups whenever possible. 

But they appear to have conceded the bunch sprint wars to Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma Quickstep) and Peter Sagan (Cannondale), since their so-called “fastest American sprinter,” Tyler Farrar, did not make the cut!  This in spite of his bio on the team website stating: “For 2013 Farrar will be focusing on more Grand Tour sprint wins, including the Tour de France.”  I guess that also means he won’t be contending for the Lanterne Rouge this year either.  We’ll miss you, Tyler.

Other familiar Garmin riders (TDF veterans all) watching this year’s Tour from the sidelines are David Zabriskie, Johan Vansummeren, and Robbie Hunter.  With no Zabriskie and no Levi Leipheimer, Salt Lake City will have no favorite sons in this year’s Tour.

Roster Ruminations, Part I -- Team Sky

The Big Race starts this coming Saturday.  Over the last few weeks, the teams have announced their rosters, and there are a few surprises – at least for me.  I will try to highlight issues that I find interesting in as many rosters as I can over the next few days.  Since Team Sky dominated last year’s race, and threatens to do the same this year, let’s start with them:

First off, I have already reported that Bradley Wiggins, last year’s yellow jersey, will not return to defend his crown.  Why?  Injuries, illness, and a less-than-spectacular performance in the spring season.  Instead, Chris Froome will captain the team, and will expect everyone else to help him move from last year’s GC 2^nd place to the coveted 1^st place yellow jersey.  The team seemed content to cast off Mark Cavendish (or at least allow him to defect), so that they do not have a prima-donna sprinter to distract from the overall goal.

But who will carry Froome through the mountains?  He’s good, but he can’t win yellow by himself.  I thought the best supporting mountain riders at Sky were Rigoberto Uran and Sergio Henao, the Columbians.  Remember how they fought to keep Wiggins in the Giro d’Italia, and how Uran still managed to claim GC 2^nd place after Wiggins dropped out?  But, no!  They’re not on the roster!  In a June 6 interview report in Cycling News, Henao seemed content to wait until 2014 to ride the Tour de France, and to possibly ride in support of Wiggins in this year’s Vuelta a Espana.  He even dreams of one day being the GC captain at Sky!  I’m happy for his optimism, but doesn’t he realize that it’s a British team?  What chance is there that they will go outside the Dominion for their leader? 

Rigoberto Uran finds himself excluded from the roster when he’s probably the second-strongest rider on the team  -- if not an equal to Froome.  That could be the problem.  His contract is up this year, and rumor has it that Omega Pharma Quickstep wants him for their leader.  A May 28 report in Cycling News quoted Uran as saying, “I have not decided to switch teams. Rumors have come out that I'm going to Omega Pharma. We have talked with them and with other teams. There is some progress, but nothing concrete.”  So, is he going, or is he staying?  Well, he’s not listed on this year’s TDF roster, if that tells us anything.

The team expected to steam-roll its way to the British Road Race Championship last weekend, but, guess what?  Mark Cavendish got sweet revenge!  He jumped into the early escape group, helped to power it safely beyond reach of Froome’s peleton, and then scorched the break survivors in the mini-sprint finish.  He made Team Sky look vulnerable.

Stay tuned for more Roster Ruminations to follow.

Sprinting in Holland

While the GC contenders were testing their preparation in the mountains of Switzerland, many of the top sprinters were going head-to-head on the flat roads of Holland.  The 5-stage Dutch race known as the Ster ZLM Toer also concluded last Sunday, June 16.  This race featured last year’s winner, Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma Quickstep), Andre Greipel (Lotto Bellisol), Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano) and Lars Boom (Blanco).

Stage 1 called for a short (8 Km) individual time trial in which Robert Wagner (Blanco) nosed out his teammate Lars Boom by a mere 2 seconds.  In 4th place, Marcel Kittel lost 4", 10th place Andre Greipel lost 13", and 14th place Mark Cavendish lost 18".  That’s a pretty small time gap between the yellow jersey and 14th place – especially if most of the stages will be decided by group sprints where everyone ends up with the same time.  In this event, bonus time is awarded for the top finishers in each stage in order to create some separation for the overall GC standings.

In Stage 2, Theo Bos (Blanco) beat Cavendish, Greipel and Kittel in a bunch sprint.  Lars Boom and Robert Wagner (both with Blanco) rode lead-out for the winner Bos, but still finished with the same time, maintaining their top GC placements.

In the bunch sprint finish of Stage 3, Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano) beat Greiple, Cavendish, Bos and Boom, in that order, and took over the yellow jersey on bonus time.

The situation flip-flopped in Stage 4, with Lars Boom (Blanco) winning the uphill finish and capturing the yellow jersey with time gaps over Greipel, Cavendish and Kittel.  This dropped Kittel to GC 6th at -35", while Greipel moved to 2nd at -16", and Cavendish to 3rd at -25".

In Stage 5, four riders from an early breakaway just barely survived to steal the victory from the sprinters, with Greipel out-sprinting Kittel and Cavendish for 5th place, and no time lost to the stage winner.  Lars Boom finished with the peleton (no time lost) and kept the yellow jersey.  Greipel was GC 2nd, Cavendish 3rd, and Kittel 6th.

So, what does this race tell us about the Tour de France?

Cavendish is still the favorite among sprinters, but he can be beat.

Greipel and Kittel are both strong enough to challenge Cavendish head-to-head.  In my previous post, I already highlighted Kittel’s Argos-Shimano teammate John Degenkolb as a sprinter to watch.  In a recent interview, Degenkolb explained that there is no intra-team rivalry, that they are each strong in different kinds of sprint finishes, and that they will help each other depending upon which rider is most favored by the kind of finish stage-by-stage.

Team Blanco will likely make some stage victory and sprinting noise in the Tour de France with Lars Boom, Theo Bos and Robert Wagner all winning stages in this Dutch race.  Remember, in my Tour de Suisse post, I highlighted Blanco’s GC strength (Bauke Mollema and Robert Gesink).  This race around Holland showcased their sprinting strengths.  Since I have Danish ancestors, I think I will adopt Team Blanco as my dark-horse for this year’s Tour.

P.S. of June 22:  I recommend this report by CyclingNews, in which they explain how the points work for the green jersey, they acknowledge that Cavendish and Sagan are the favorites, and they confirm most of my predictions as to other possible spoilers.  But they do not include the Blanco boys in that list.  See the report at:  http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/tour-de-france-2013-sagan-cavendish-and-the-fight-for-the-green-jersey

To get you in the mood for the upcoming Tour de France, I am sharing these photos of the peleton in the 2011 Tour of Utah, courtesy of Scott Wolford.

Surprises from the Tour de Suisse

The Tour de Suisse (Tour of Switzerland) wrapped-up last Sunday with a mountain-finish time trial, won emphatically by Portuguese rider Rui Costa (Movistar).  He moved decisively from GC 2nd place to the overall winner of the yellow jersey, while former leader and Swiss favorite-son Mathias Frank (BMC) lost 2 minutes and fell to 5th.  Danish youngster Bauke Mollema jumped from 5th to 2nd, while Roman Kreuziger (Saxo-Tinkoff)  held on to 3rd place.

The surprises for me were the results for Tejay van Garderen (BMC), Andy Schleck (RadioShack-Leopard) and Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp).

Tejay was always near the top, and finished in 7th place overall, but he never really challenged for a podium finish.  He lost 1:19 to Costa in the final time trial.  Team BMC will expect him to work for Cadel Evans in the Tour de France.  Tejay may finish in the top ten, but probably not on the GC podium.

Andy Schleck fared even worse.  He lost over 3 minutes in the final time trial, and placed 40th in the final GC standings at 25:28 behind Costa.  The competition at the Tour de France will be twice as keen as at the Suisse, and nothing Andy has done yet this year suggests that he will factor in the battle for the yellow jersey in Paris.  No one from his team made any noise either, so I doubt he has the supporting cast to mount a credible challenge.

When Hesjedal crashed out he was at least challenging for the GC lead.  But, having failed to finish in the Tours of both Italy and Switzerland this spring, he leaves a giant question mark as to his ability to ride with the yellow jersey favorites, such as Chris Froome (Sky) and Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff).

On the other hand, positive surprises for me were Rui Costa, Bauke Mollema and Roman Kreuziger.

Costa’s Movistar team has animated pro cycling for over 30 years.  Carrying the names of successive sponsors “Reynolds,” “Banesto,” “Caisse d’Epargne,” and now “Movistar” (a Spanish telecom giant, not a movie company), it has consistently won glory in the Grand Tour.  Does five-time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain ring a bell?  Costa’s two-year domination of the Tour de Suisse should raise his credibility.  He seems to be peaking at the perfect time.  The so-called favorites had better not overlook this Spanish team and its Portuguese hero.

Mollema’s team Blanco lost its name sponsor this year (formerly Rabobank), hence the name “white” or “blank” while it searches for a new sponsor.  But this proud Danish team has won glory with mostly Danish riders in seventeen previous Tours de France.  Besides winning Stage 2 at the Suisse, youngster Bauke Mollema challenged for victory in at least two other stages, and finished with an impressive 2nd place on the GC podium, earning the designation of team GC leader (over veteran Robert Gesink!) for the TDF.  He may not finally win the yellow jersey in Paris, but look for him to keep the leaders honest.  Mollema, Gesink, Lars Boom and/or Laurens ten Dam or others of their Blanco teammates will probably make their share of stage-by-stage headlines.  (Word on the street is that next week the team will announce the name of new sponsor, Belkin, and new colors for their TDF kit.  Will they be “Blanco” or “Belkin” in the Tour?)

Kreuziger’s 3rd place GC finish (ahead of van Garderen, Schleck and Hesjedal) could make him a contender for the TDF yellow jersey.  But he rides for Saxo-Tinkoff, where he will be expected to sacrifice himself for Alberto Contador.  I look for Kreuziger’s name to appear often in the narrative of this year’s race as a key to Contador’s fight for the top prize.  He could do for Contador in 2013 what Chris Froome did for Brad Wiggins (Sky) in 2012.

I can’t say I was too surprised by the sprinting in the Tour de Suisse.  Peter Sagan (Cannondale) won two stages (making 11 victories already this season!).  No surprise there!  Look for him to challenge Mark Cavendish for sprint finishes and the green jersey in the Tour de France.  The other sprinters were “close, but no cigar.”  Again, not too surprising.  We may see flashes of glory from Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Sharp), Matt Goss (Orica GreenEdge), John Degenkolb (Argos Shimano), and Philippe Gilbert (BMC), but I don’t expect any of them to consistently achieve results sufficient to upstage the Cavendish-Sagan duel.

The Tour de France has its Alps and Pyrénées, and the City of North Salt Lake in Utah has its "Three Kings."  This is a bike race with relentless climbing to test the legs and lungs of the hardiest cyclist!  These photos from the 2012 Three Kings race are offered with permission from photographer Scott Wolford.  (Thanks Scott!)

These photos give you some idea of the steep grades encountered on the Three Kings, as the riders climb from the valley floor to the highest roads in the over-looking foothills.  All cyclists who consider themselves to be climbers should put their legs and lungs to the test by riding the Three Kings.  The 2013 race is scheduled for this coming Saturday, June 22, 2013.

So, you say "Put up or shut up?"  OK, I'm going to do it.  This coming Saturday, yours truly will take up the challenge in the fourth running of the brutal Three Kings race.  At age 67, I do not expect to win the polka-dot jersey for best climber, but I do hope to climb all Three Kings before the "sweeper" car officially closes the race.

If the climbing doesn't make your heart race, then maybe the attack of this ferocious guard dog will!

Hesjedal Crashes Out of Tour de Suisse!

Canadian cyclying star Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp) suffered a nasty crash today in the 3rd stage of the Tour de Susse (Tour of Switzerland), and was immediately taken to the hospital.  Eliminated from the race when he was in GC 2nd place, and threatening to win the final yellow jersey.  

The team reported that he took a "heavy blow to the neck and head."  But they also reported that "Preliminary CTs show no fractures and no neurological pathologies."  That leaves him with "multiple, severe contusions and abrasions to the right wrist, hip and knee and left shoulder, elbow and knee."  Sounds like biker-speak for "massive head-to-toe road rash!"  They say that his health is top priority, and then, in the next breath, that he could resume training for the Tour de France within a few days.


So, send me your comments on the following questions:  Do you think he will make it to the starting line of the Tour de France start Corsica on June 29?  And, assuming he does, will he be a factor in the yellow jersey (GC) contest with Chris Froome (Sky), Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff), Cadel Evans and/or Tejay van Garderen (BMC), Andy Schleck (RadioShack-Leopard), Jurgen van den Broeck (Lotto-Belisol), and others?  If not Hesjedal, who will be the captain of the Garmin team?

Critérium du Dauphiné - Prelude to the Grand Tour?

The 2013 Dauphiné is in the books.  Before we analyze its possible insights into this year’s Tour de France, let’s revisit last year’s blog for a refresher on the origins of this race and its curious name:

Dauphin (pronounced “dough-fan”) is the French word for dolphin.  An early ruler of the area around Grenoble had a dolphin on his coat of arms, so his nickname, Dauphin, became a title for the regional ruler.  During one period the region was sold to the king of France who gave it to his son, the heir apparent to the throne, and the title Dauphin came to mean the heir to the king.  This diverse and beautiful region around Grenoble–from the Rhone River into the central Alps became known as the Dauphiné (pronounced “dough-fee-nay”).  Years ago, a local newspaper organized a bike race in the region which is now called the “Critérium du Dauphiné,” or sometimes just the “Dauphiné.”  It is an important race each spring setting the stage for the Tour de France.

This year’s Dauphiné had 8 stages, of which only two were won by sprinters.  Neither Mark  Cavendish (Omega Pharma Quickstep) nor Peter Sagan (Cannondale) participated in the race, so those two sprint stages give us few clues for the TDF sprinting.  The two stages were won by Elia Vivianni (Sagan’s teammate at Cannondale) and Edvald Boassen Hagen (Sky).  Team Sky will be concentrating on helping Chris Froome win the yellow jersey, but they would be happy if Boassen Hagen could steal a sprint stage at the Tour.  Vivianni will likely be working for Sagan, rather than seeking his own glory in the July race.  Two sprinters who came close in the Dauphiné were Gianni Meersman (Omega Pharma Quickstep) and Michael Matthews (Orica GreenEdge).  Both of these were listed as sprinters to watch in our earlier report from the Tour of California.

The GC battle at the Dauphiné started off slowly, but Chris Froome (Sky) was always lurking.  In the stage 4 time trial, he asserted himself with a third-place finish, moving him to GC 2nd place, just 5 seconds behind Rohan Dennis (Garmin-Sharp).  Tony Martin (Omega Pharma Quickstep) won the time trial, thanks in part to an early start time which spared him from the strong winds which plagued the later riders who were expected to win this test.

In stage 5, Froome and the Sky machine took over the Dauphiné with a stage victory and a capture of the yellow jersey for Froome, and a move to GC 2nd place by his Sky teammate, Richie Porte.

Thomas Voeckler (Europcar), Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Alessandro DeMarchi (Cannondale) won the three final stages, but Froome and Porte always shadowed the winners and increased their strangle-hold on the top two GC podium places.

It is clear that Froome will captain the Sky team at the Tour de France, and that the team fully expects to carry him to the yellow jersey prize in Paris.  Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) always said that the Dauphiné was just a warm-up for the Tour.  So, don’t read too much pessimism into his mere 10th place GC finish, nor the fact that he ended the Dauphiné serving as domestique for his teammate Michael Rogers (GC 6th).  No more sandbagging or possum act for Contador and Saxo once the REAL Tour begins in just three weeks!

The Critérium du Dauphiné is an 8-stage race with a variety of terrains and formats, like the 20-stage Tour de France.  But, often a criterium is a one-day race with multiple laps around a fairly small more or less circular course.  The above picture is from the 2010 Tour of Utah criterium in Park City.  The riders raced around the course as many times as possible within a set time period.  Slow riders were eliminated if lapped by the peleton.  This format allows the spectators to see the riders pass by many times, or to move around and watch the peleton navigate sharp corners, steep uphill sections, and fast downhill sections.  A "crit" is very spectator-friendly.

This photo shows the start of the August 2012 North Boulder Park Classic criterium (Boulder, Colorado).

Here the peleton screams around a sharp corner after flying down the hill in the background.

Here comes the winner toward the finish line, welcomed by the applause of the spectators!  (Sorry, I did not record the winner's name.)

Wiggins Update

Team Sky and Brad Wiggins announced on Friday, May 31, that last year's yellow jersey champion will definitely NOT be on the roster for this year's Tour de France.  His illness from the Giro d'Italia, and a lingering knee problem, have prevented him from training as intensely as he would need to in order to be in top form for the Tour.  He was planning to ride the Critérium du Dauphiné and possibly the Tour de Suisse (Tour of Switzerland) in preparation for the TDF, but now will skip those races also in order to rest his knee.  We may see him later in the season at the Vuelta a España and/or the World Championships (time trials).  Best wishes, Sir Brad!