Jul 24 2011

Le Tour- Stage 21

Créteil to Paris Champs-Élysées 59 miles

Le.  Tour.  De.  France.

Le sigh.

When an event like this finishes I’m immediately overcome with nostalgia because while it requires a certain amount of energy and discipline to persist, by the end of it your efficiency at the task is improved and you are inured and habituated to the inconvenience.

The absence persists as a phantom limb and the possibility of a next time seems unimaginably distant.

I’m not a particularly good prognosticator but I take solace in the fact most others aren’t either.  Before the race I didn’t even know who Cadel Evans was and like Armando and Jada Yuan thought this would be a duel between the Schlecks and Contador.  Hushovd and Voeckler were surprisingly strong performers and I knew it was over for Contador when he passed attacking on the Pyrenees where his advantages were strongest.  In the Pyrenees the crowds were rooting for the Spaniard, in the Alps they were chanting “Doper.  Doper.”

I’d call yesterday’s Time Trial by the Schlecks disappointing except that it wasn’t really.  Cadel Evans had an extraordinary performance, finishing 55:40 only 7 Seconds in 2nd to Tony Martin who set a blistering pace.  Contador finished 3rd but nowhere near the time he needed to erode the Schlecks’ lead.

This last Stage is a parade so these standings won’t change-

Rank Name Team ET delta
1 Cadel Evans BMC 83h 45′ 20″
2 Andy Schleck Leopard Trek 83h 46′ 54″ + 01′ 34″
3 Frank Schleck Leopard Trek 83h 47′ 50″ + 02′ 30″
4 Thomas Voeckler Europcar 83h 48′ 40″ + 03′ 20″
5 Alberto Contador Saxo Bank 83h 49′ 17″ + 03′ 57″
6 Samuel Sanchez Euskaltel 83h 50′ 15″ + 04′ 55″
7 Damiano Cunego Lampre 83h 51′ 25″ + 06′ 05″
8 Ivan Basso Cannondale 83h 52′ 43″ + 07′ 23″
9 Tom Danielson Garmin 83h 53′ 35″ + 08′ 15″
10 Jean-Christophe Peraud AG2R 83h 55′ 31″ + 10′ 11″
11 Pierre Rolland Europecar 83h 56′ 03″ + 10′ 43″
12 Rein Taaramae Cofidis 83h 56′ 49″ + 11′ 29″

I’m including 11th and 12th places because those are the positions of Pierre Rolland who clinched the White Jersey of the Young Riders champion and Rein Taaramae the runner up.

Remaining to be contested is the Green Jersey of the Sprint champion.  It seems highly likely that it will be Cavendish, Rojas, and Gilbert in that order.  Fourth will be Cadel Evans and it’s interesting to contemplate that if he were behind in the General Classification and a little closer to the lead in the points whether the customs of Le Tour would allow him to put on a move and ‘steal’ the maillot jaune.

Sportsmanship isn’t what it used to be and as Jada reports–

Both the public and Tour organizers have been very vocal about wanting the Tour to get more exciting.

Last year’s Tour featured giant pileups seemingly each of the first ten days, and the bruised and bloodied riders slowed down the pace of the peloton several times to allow fallen riders to catch up. That’s wonderful and sportsmanlike, but doesn’t really make for a good race. With considerable market pressure on the Tour from the fast-gaining-in-reputation Giro d’Italia, officials hope the riders are a little more selfish this year. Race director Christian Prudhomme has also said that he wished Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador had attacked each other more last year, which one assumes he hopes they take as a challenge.

Of course that was the year of the 39 Second Chain which may be avenged in the Court of Arbitration for Sports on August 2nd.

So your final 2011 Vs. coverage starts at 8 am.  In the commentators prediction competition only Paul improved his position yesterday and he’s mathematically out so unless they pick again today (and they might, there is that final sprint) Phil is the wire to wire winner.

rustymancuso581

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  3. Today’s don’t count.

    Paul (18)- Cavendish

    Phil (28)- Cavendish

    Bob (25)- Farrar

  4. there will be 2 laps of the Champs this year (I remember like 7) with a sprint checkpoint at the end of the first lap and again at the finish.

  7. Ok, so 8 laps.

    Told you so.

    Click on image to enlarge

      Photobucket

  10. Créteil The gateway to Paris, just eight kilometres away, and capital in its own right of the Val-de-Marne department since 1965, Créteil is located in the south east of the Ile-de-France region, between the Seine and Marne rivers. An old market town, Créteil has enjoyed huge expansion since the 1960s, and over time, has discovered its own identity. It has based its development on a coherent, balanced and above all human urbanisation. The quality of the building work, reflecting the personalities of their architects, such as Charles Gustave Stoskopf and Pierre Dufau, both winners of the Grand Prix de Rome architecture award, the willingness for a mix of housing and the proximity of amenities and services make Créteil a pleasant place to love. Having been awarded one of France’s highest honours for its flower displays, the town has managed to combine quality of life with the necessities of modern life through continual involvement in sustainable development. By making ambitious efforts to involve its residents, Créteil ensures everyone contributes to making the decisions that shape their own future.

  11. and as with the ones in New York and London it’s called Cleopatra’s Needle.

    The Parisian version is from Luxor.

  12. This is making me a bit “homesick”

    Paris Champs-Élysées is the traditional finish for Le Tour.

    Paris loves the Tour de France, and will once more welcome it to the world’s most beautiful avenue, the Champs-Élysées, where the race’s heroes will sprint home in front of Parisians and visitors from all over the world. But Paris loves cycling in all its forms. In recent years, the city has constructed new cycle lanes, and now has a network of 700km. It closes the roads on the banks of the river to motor vehicles on Sundays and Bank Holidays, and also this year celebrates the fourth anniversary of the Vélib’ hire bike scheme, which has seen more than 100 millions journeys by users since its inception in Paris and its 30 surrounding municipalities. To appeal even more to those signed up to the cycle scheme’s annual membership – who make up 76 per cent of the users – the mayor’s office is now offering increased ‘Véliberté’ through improved comfort, simplicity and better price structures. This increased number of cyclists in the city as a result of the scheme’s success is also helping to meet its pledge to reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 25 per cent by 2020.

    Since 1975, the Tour’s final finish has been judged on the Avenue des Champs-Elysées, which has become a Mecca for the world’s sprinters.

    The [Avenue des Champs-Élysées is a prestigious avenue in Paris, France. With its cinemas, cafés, luxury specialty shops and clipped horse-chestnut trees, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées is one of the most famous streets in the world, and with rents as high as US$1.5 million annually per 1,100 square feet (92.9 square metres) of space, it remains the second most expensive strip of real estate in Europe, having recently (as of 2010) been overtaken by London’s Bond Street. The name is French for Elysian Fields, the place of the blessed dead in Greek mythology. The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is known as “The most beautiful avenue of the world”, La plus belle avenue du monde in French.

    The avenue runs for 2 kilometers (1.25 miles) through the 8th arrondissement in northwestern Paris, from the Place de la Concorde in the east, with the Obelisk of Luxor,[5] to the Place Charles de Gaulle (formerly the Place de l’Étoile) in the west, location of the Arc de Triomphe. The Champs-Élysées forms part of the Axe historique.

    One of the principal tourist destinations in Paris, the lower part of the Champs-Élysées is bordered by greenery (Carré Marigny) and by buildings such as the Théâtre Marigny and the Grand Palais (containing the Palais de la Découverte). The Élysée Palace is slightly to the north, but not on the avenue itself. Further to the west, the avenue is lined with cinemas, cafés and restaurants, and luxury specialty shops. The Champs-Élysées ends at the Arc de Triomphe, built by Napoleon Bonaparte to honour his victories.

  13. Yup, this is where it comes from.

  14. And the Stage.

  15. STAGE STANDING BY POINTS

    Result after stage 21

    Total distance covered: 95 km

    1. CAVENDISH Mark 171 HTC – HIGHROAD 2h 27′ 02″

    2. HAGEN Edvald Boasson 114 SKY PROCYCLING 2h 27′ 02″ + 00′ 00″

    3. GREIPEL André 33 OMEGA PHARMA – LOTTO 2h 27′ 02″ + 00′ 00″

    4. FARRAR Tyler 54 TEAM GARMIN – CERVELO 2h 27′ 02″ + 00′ 00″

    5. CANCELLARA Fabian 12 TEAM LEOPARD-TREK 2h 27′ 02″ + 00′ 00″

    6. OSS Daniel 95 LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE 2h 27′ 02″ + 00′ 00″

    7. BOZIC Borut 202 VACANSOLEIL-DCM 2h 27′ 02″ + 00′ 00″

    8. VAITKUS Tomas 68 PRO TEAM ASTANA 2h 27′ 02″ + 00′ 00″

    9. CIOLEK Gerald 123 QUICK STEP CYCLING TEAM 2h 27′ 02″ + 00′ 00″

    10. ENGOULVENT Jimmy 214 SAUR-SOJASUN 2h 27′ 02″ + 00′ 00″

  16. OVERALL STANDING ON TIME

    Result after stage 21

    Total distance covered: 3430 km

    1. EVANS Cadel 141 BMC RACING TEAM 86h 12′ 22″

    2. SCHLECK Andy 11 TEAM LEOPARD-TREK 86h 13′ 56″ + 01′ 34″

    3. SCHLECK Frank 18 TEAM LEOPARD-TREK 86h 14′ 52″ + 02′ 30″

    4. VOECKLER Thomas 181 TEAM EUROPCAR 86h 15′ 42″ + 03′ 20″

    5. CONTADOR Alberto 1 SAXO BANK SUNGARD 86h 16′ 19″ + 03′ 57″

    6. SANCHEZ Samuel 21 EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI 86h 17′ 17″ + 04′ 55″

    7. CUNEGO Damiano 161 LAMPRE – ISD 86h 18′ 27″ + 06′ 05″

    8. BASSO Ivan 91 LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE 86h 19′ 45″ + 07′ 23″

    9. DANIELSON Tom 52 TEAM GARMIN – CERVELO 86h 20′ 37″ + 08′ 15″

    10. PERAUD Jean-Christophe 108 AG2R LA MONDIALE 86h 22′ 33″ + 10′ 11″

    11. ROLLAND Pierre 188 TEAM EUROPCAR 86h 23′ 05″ + 10′ 43″

    12. TAARAMAE Rein 151 COFIDIS LE CREDIT EN LIGNE 86h 23′ 51″ + 11′ 29″

    D

    13. DE WEERT Kevin 124 QUICK STEP CYCLING TEAM 86h 28′ 51″ + 16′ 29″

    14. COPPEL Jérôme 211 SAUR-SOJASUN 86h 30′ 58″ + 18′ 36″

    15. JEANNESSON Arnold 134 FDJ 86h 33′ 42″ + 21′ 20″

    16. ZUBELDIA Haimar 79 TEAM RADIOSHACK 86h 38′ 45″ + 26′ 23″

    17. VANDE VELDE Christian 58 TEAM GARMIN – CERVELO 86h 39′ 34″ + 27′ 12″

    18. HESJEDAL Ryder 55 TEAM GARMIN – CERVELO 86h 39′ 36″ + 27′ 14″

    19. VELITS Peter 179 HTC – HIGHROAD 86h 41′ 16″ + 28′ 54″

    20. VANENDERT Jelle 38 OMEGA PHARMA – LOTTO 86h 45′ 03″ + 32′ 41″

     

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