2012 Le Tour – Stage 8

Belfort / Porrentruy (98 miles)

Le.  Tour.  De.  France.

Yay!  We defeat the evil David Gregory and Meet the Press.  That almost makes up for tape delayed Silverstone.

Or as Scarecrow puts it-

NBC implicitly concedes that the people it typically invites as guests on Meet the Press are less important to it’s viewers than the 8th stage or so of a French bicycle race.

The carnage from Friday’s crash was much larger than originally reported.  Local hospitals said as many as 23 riders were treated (not including those under the care of trainers and Team Doctors) and in addition to the withdrawals I reported yesterday there were 8 non-starters- José Ivan Gutierez, Imanol Erviti, Maarten Wynants, Oscar Freire, Hubert Dupont, Robert Hunter, Amets Txurruka, and Giro winner Ryder Hesjedal.

Hesjedal was a dark horse contender and the leader of the Garmin team which has been pretty much devastated and now has ‘Tipsy’ Tyler Ferrar as the top prospect.  Other hard hit teams are Rabobank and Movistar.  Anthony Delaplace was unable to complete the stage..

In the GC there’s quite a bit of shake up, but the principal details are that Wiggins, Evans, Nibali,  Taarame, and Froome duked it out at the finish with Froome taking the stage win.  This group put a big move on the field and same timed between them so net win in the first Mountain stage to Wiggins.  Among the bigs who lost time were Menchov, Schleck, Sanchez, Scarponi, and Valverde.

Gone are the poseurs in the Climbing category too.

Today’s stage is going to be the first big Mountain stage with 4 category 2s and a 4, 3, and 1.  The Awards point is at about the only semi flat place after 5 climbs and the finish is at the end of a long, high speed downhill which should amplify any final climbing lead.

General Classification

Place Rider Team Time/Delta
1 WIGGINS Bradley SKY PROCYCLING 34:21:20
2 EVANS Cadel BMC RACING TEAM +00:10
3 NIBALI Vincenzo LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE +00:16
4 TAARAMAE Rein COFIDIS LE CREDIT EN LIGNE +00:32
5 MENCHOV Denis KATUSHA TEAM +00:54
6 ZUBELDIA Haimar RADIOSHACK-NISSAN +00:59
7 MONFORT Maxime RADIOSHACK-NISSAN +01:09
8 ROCHE Nicolas AG2R LA MONDIALE +01:22
9 FROOME Christopher SKY PROCYCLING +01:32
10 ROGERS Michael SKY PROCYCLING +01:40
11 CANCELLARA Fabian RADIOSHACK-NISSAN +01:43

Today live coverage will be on NBC proper at 8 am.  Coverage is customarily on Vs. (NBC Sports) starting at 8 am with repeats at noon, 2:30 pm, 8 pm, and midnight.  There will be some streaming evidently, but not all of it is free.

Sites of Interest-

The Stars Hollow Gazette Tags-

Pretty tables-

Points

Place Rider Team Points
1 SAGAN Peter LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE 217
2 GOSS Matthew Harley ORICA GREENEDGE 185
3 GREIPEL André LOTTO-BELISOL TEAM 172
4 CAVENDISH Mark SKY PROCYCLING 129
5 PETACCHI Alessandro LAMPRE – ISD 109
6 BOASSON HAGEN Edvald SKY PROCYCLING 95
7 VEELERS Tom TEAM ARGOS-SHIMANO 76
8 CANCELLARA Fabian RADIOSHACK-NISSAN 74
9 VAN HUMMEL Kenny Robert VACANSOLEIL-DCM 69
10 HAEDO Juan Jose TEAM SAXO BANK-TINKOFF BANK 68
11 RENSHAW Mark RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM 55
12 IMPEY Daryl ORICA GREENEDGE 53
13 EVANS Cadel BMC RACING TEAM 47
14 HUTAROVICH Yauheni FDJ-BIGMAT 45
15 MOLLEMA Bauke RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM 41
16 LANCASTER Brett Daniel ORICA GREENEDGE 41
17 MORKOV Michael TEAM SAXO BANK-TINKOFF BANK 40
18 WIGGINS Bradley SKY PROCYCLING 39
19 VELITS Peter OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP 36
20 FROOME Christopher SKY PROCYCLING 35
21 URTASUN PEREZ Pablo EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI 34
22 GILBERT Philippe BMC RACING TEAM 33
23 GENE Yohann TEAM EUROPCAR 32
24 ALBASINI Michael ORICA GREENEDGE 32
25 HINAULT Sébastien AG2R LA MONDIALE 32
26 BOECKMANS Kris VACANSOLEIL-DCM 31
27 NIBALI Vincenzo LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE 30
28 HENDERSON Gregory LOTTO-BELISOL TEAM 30
29 DUMOULIN Samuel COFIDIS LE CREDIT EN LIGNE 30
30 LADAGNOUS Matthieu FDJ-BIGMAT 29
31 PEREZ MORENO Ruben EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI 25
32 CHAVANEL Sylvain OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP 23
33 FOFONOV Dmitriy ASTANA PRO TEAM 23
34 ARASHIRO Yukiya TEAM EUROPCAR 22
35 SIMON Julien SAUR-SOJASUN 21
36 GAUTIER Cyril TEAM EUROPCAR 20
37 MINARD Sébastien AG2R LA MONDIALE 20
38 KERN Christophe TEAM EUROPCAR 20
39 KROON Karsten TEAM SAXO BANK-TINKOFF BANK 20
40 VALVERDE Alejandro MOVISTAR TEAM 20
41 CANTWELL Jonathan TEAM SAXO BANK-TINKOFF BANK 20
42 ROCHE Nicolas AG2R LA MONDIALE 19
43 GESINK Robert RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM 18
44 TAARAMAE Rein COFIDIS LE CREDIT EN LIGNE 17
45 MENCHOV Denis KATUSHA TEAM 17
46 GRIVKO Andriy ASTANA PRO TEAM 17
47 BERNAUDEAU Giovanni TEAM EUROPCAR 17
48 ZABRISKIE David GARMIN-SHARP-BARRACUDA 17
49 ROUX Anthony FDJ-BIGMAT 17
50 MARTIN Daniel GARMIN-SHARP-BARRACUDA 16
51 PAOLINI Luca KATUSHA TEAM 16
52 ZUBELDIA Haimar RADIOSHACK-NISSAN 15
53 MONCOUTIE David COFIDIS LE CREDIT EN LIGNE 15
54 ZINGLE Romain COFIDIS LE CREDIT EN LIGNE 15
55 EDET Nicolas COFIDIS LE CREDIT EN LIGNE 15
56 SANCHEZ Luis-Leon RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM 15
57 VAN GARDEREN Tejay BMC RACING TEAM 13
58 ROLLAND Pierre TEAM EUROPCAR 13
59 MALACARNE Davide TEAM EUROPCAR 13
60 GHYSELINCK Jan COFIDIS LE CREDIT EN LIGNE 13
61 DEVENYNS Dries OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP 12
62 GRETSCH Patrick TEAM ARGOS-SHIMANO 12
63 FARRAR Tyler GARMIN-SHARP-BARRACUDA 12
64 SANCHEZ Samuel EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI 11
65 BRAJKOVIC Janez ASTANA PRO TEAM 11
66 RIBLON Christophe AG2R LA MONDIALE 11
67 BOUET Maxime AG2R LA MONDIALE 11
68 VAN DEN BROECK Jurgen LOTTO-BELISOL TEAM 10
69 VELITS Martin OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP 10
70 SORENSEN Chris Anker TEAM SAXO BANK-TINKOFF BANK 9
71 ROELANDTS Jurgen LOTTO-BELISOL TEAM 8
72 CURVERS Roy TEAM ARGOS-SHIMANO 8
73 BOZIC Borut ASTANA PRO TEAM 8
74 MONFORT Maxime RADIOSHACK-NISSAN 7
75 COOKE Baden ORICA GREENEDGE 7
76 GERRANS Simon ORICA GREENEDGE 6
77 SCHLECK Frank RADIOSHACK-NISSAN 5
78 BURGHARDT Marcus BMC RACING TEAM 5
79 O’GRADY Stuart ORICA GREENEDGE 5
80 KLÖDEN Andréas RADIOSHACK-NISSAN 4
81 PORTE Richie SKY PROCYCLING 4
82 KUCHYNSKI Aliaksandr KATUSHA TEAM 4
83 ROGERS Michael SKY PROCYCLING 3
84 KISERLOVSKI Robert ASTANA PRO TEAM 3
85 HONDO Danilo LAMPRE – ISD 3
86 POPOVYCH Yaroslav RADIOSHACK-NISSAN 3
87 PINOT Thibaut FDJ-BIGMAT 2
88 VANENDERT Jelle LOTTO-BELISOL TEAM 2
89 MARTINEZ Egoi EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI 2
90 DI GREGORIO Rémy COFIDIS LE CREDIT EN LIGNE 2
91 EISEL Bernhard SKY PROCYCLING 2
92 CASAR Sandy FDJ-BIGMAT 1
93 BAK Lars LOTTO-BELISOL TEAM 1
94 SORENSEN Nicki TEAM SAXO BANK-TINKOFF BANK 1
95 KRIVTSOV Yuriy LAMPRE – ISD 1

Team

Place Team Time/Delta
1 SKY PROCYCLING 103:05:23
2 RADIOSHACK-NISSAN +01:37
3 KATUSHA TEAM +05:54
4 LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE +06:16
5 BMC RACING TEAM +07:08
6 OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP +07:22
7 EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI +07:57
8 AG2R LA MONDIALE +10:53
9 VACANSOLEIL-DCM +11:22
10 COFIDIS LE CREDIT EN LIGNE +11:34
11 MOVISTAR TEAM +13:45
12 TEAM EUROPCAR +13:51
13 FDJ-BIGMAT +14:41
14 LOTTO-BELISOL TEAM +16:16
15 RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM +16:49
16 ASTANA PRO TEAM +17:23
17 SAUR-SOJASUN +18:08
18 ORICA GREENEDGE +22:35
19 TEAM SAXO BANK-TINKOFF BANK +24:56
20 LAMPRE – ISD +27:44
21 TEAM ARGOS-SHIMANO +50:42
22 GARMIN-SHARP-BARRACUDA +59:03

Hill Climbing

Place Rider Team Points
1 FROOME Christopher SKY PROCYCLING 20
2 EVANS Cadel BMC RACING TEAM 16
3 WIGGINS Bradley SKY PROCYCLING 12
4 MORKOV Michael TEAM SAXO BANK-TINKOFF BANK 9
5 NIBALI Vincenzo LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE 8
6 SORENSEN Chris Anker TEAM SAXO BANK-TINKOFF BANK 4
7 TAARAMAE Rein COFIDIS LE CREDIT EN LIGNE 4
8 BASSO Ivan LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE 2
9 SAGAN Peter LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE 2
10 MONCOUTIE David COFIDIS LE CREDIT EN LIGNE 2
11 ZUBELDIA Haimar RADIOSHACK-NISSAN 2
12 SANCHEZ Luis-Leon RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM 2
13 ZABRISKIE David GARMIN-SHARP-BARRACUDA 1
14 URTASUN PEREZ Pablo EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI 1
15 GALLOPIN Tony RADIOSHACK-NISSAN 1
16 MINARD Sébastien AG2R LA MONDIALE 1

Youth

Place Rider Team Time/Delta
1 TAARAMAE Rein COFIDIS LE CREDIT EN LIGNE 34:21:52
2 VAN GARDEREN Tejay BMC RACING TEAM +02:37
3 GALLOPIN Tony RADIOSHACK-NISSAN +02:41
4 PINOT Thibaut FDJ-BIGMAT +03:35
5 IZAGUIRRE INSAUSTI Gorka EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI +03:38
6 VALLS FERRI Rafael VACANSOLEIL-DCM +04:44
7 KRUIJSWIJK Steven RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM +08:19
8 MALACARNE Davide TEAM EUROPCAR +08:20
9 BOASSON HAGEN Edvald SKY PROCYCLING +09:08
10 SAGAN Peter LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE +11:39
11 VICHOT Arthur FDJ-BIGMAT +13:54
12 BOECKMANS Kris VACANSOLEIL-DCM +15:47
13 GAUTIER Cyril TEAM EUROPCAR +21:10
14 ZINGLE Romain COFIDIS LE CREDIT EN LIGNE +23:16
15 NERZ Dominik LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE +24:49
16 EDET Nicolas COFIDIS LE CREDIT EN LIGNE +26:03
17 OSS Daniel LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE +28:15
18 ROUX Anthony FDJ-BIGMAT +32:14
19 GRETSCH Patrick TEAM ARGOS-SHIMANO +34:22
20 GHYSELINCK Jan COFIDIS LE CREDIT EN LIGNE +36:55

28 comments

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  1. Today’ start and finish towns:

    Belfort

    • Stage town on 29 previous occasions

    • 51,500 inhabitants

    • Head of the Territoire de Belfort

    The renowned Lion of Belfort, sculpted by Bartholdi, has seen many champions pass by in the long history of the city, which was the next stage after Metz on the Tour’s route in 1907. A very regular stage of the Tour in the years before the war, the city has often served more often as a stage start than a finish, although Marc Demeyer, the official trailblazer of Freddy Maertens, seized the opportunity in turn to excel there, in 1978. The next day, Bernard Hinault, won the time-trial which allowed him to oust Zoetemelk from the top of the general classification and to wear the Yellow Jersey on the Tour de France for the first time.

    Belfort  is a city in north-east France in the Franche-Comté région, situated between Lyon and Strasbourg. The residents of the city are called ”Belfortains”. It is located on the Savoureuse, on the strategically important natural route between the Rhine and the Rhône – the Belfort Gap (Trouée de Belfort) or Burgundian Gate (Porte de Bourgogne).

    Belfort is the home of the Lion of Belfort, a sculpture by Frédéric Bartholdi expressing people’s resistance against the siege in the Franco-Prussian War (1870) – who shortly afterwards built the Statue of Liberty in New York.

    History

    Belfort’s strategic location, in a natural gap between the Vosges and the Jura, on a route linking the Rhine and the Rhône, has attracted human settlement and made it a target for armies.

    The site of Belfort was inhabited in Gallo-Roman times and was subsequently recorded in the 13th century as a possession of the counts of Montbéliard, who granted it a charter in 1307.

    Previously an Austrian possession, Belfort was transferred to France by the Treaty of Westphalia (1648), that ended the Thirty Years’ War. The town’s fortifications were extended and developed by the military architect Vauban for Louis XIV.

    Until 1871, Belfort was part of the département of Haut-Rhin, in Alsace. The Siege of Belfort, between 3 November 1870 and 18 February 1871, was successfully resisted until the garrison was ordered to surrender 21 days after the armistice between France and Prussia. Because this part of Alsace was French speaking, while the rest of Alsace was German speaking, the area around Belfort was not annexed by the Prussians. It formed, as it still does, the Territoire de Belfort. The siege is commemorated by a huge statue, the Lion of Belfort, by Frédéric Bartholdi.

    The town was bombarded by the German army during World War I and occupied by it during World War II. In November 1944 the retreating German army held the French First Army before the town until French Commandos made a successful night attack on the Salbert Fort. Belfort was liberated on 22 November 1944.

    Porrentruy

    • Stage town for the first time

    • 6,700 inhabitants

    • Cantonal commune of Jura (Switzerland)

    The Franco-Swiss stages sometimes carry a lot of weight in the race’s scenario when the Tour goes there. This was the case for example, in 2009 in Verbier, when Alberto Contador dealt a decisive blow to his rivals; or going back a bit further to Crans-Montana, the resort where Laurent Fignon maintained his advantage over Bernard Hinault in 1984. As it so happened, several weeks earlier, the title holder had won a stage in Porrentruy, where the Tour de Romandie goes regularly. More recently a prologue won by Italy’s Marco Pinotti was organised there in 2010, whereas the finish of the last straight stage in 2006 favoured America’s Chris Horner.

    Porrentruy is a Swiss municipality and seat of the district of the same name located in the canton of Jura.

    History

    The first trace of human presence in Porrentruy is a mesolithic tool that was found in the back yard of the Hôtel-Dieu. Scattered, individual objects have also been found from the neolithic, the late Bronze Age and the Iron Age. The first known settlement in what became Porrentruy goes back to the Roman era. In 1983, the ruins of a Gallo-Roman temple were discovered in the cemetery on the north of town, and Roman coins were found there. Near the town, a kilometer long (0.6 mile) section of the Augst-Epomanduodurum (now Mandeure) Roman road was discovered.

    In the back yard of the Hôtel-Dieu the charred remains of a building from the 10th or 11th century were discovered. However, the first historical mention of the name occurs in 1136 as Purrentru. The name presumably comes from the Latin pons Ragentrudis (Ragentrud bridge). Ragentrud was the wife of the Frankish King Dagobert I. The German form of the name, Pruntrut may have a separate etymology from Bruntrutum, which means an abundant spring.

    The first settlement was established in 1140 in the vicinity of Church of Saint-Germain, which was built in the Early Middle Ages. The Counts of Pfirt, who owned the region around Porrentruy, built a castle on a defensible hill and made it the capital of the Ajoie territory. A settlement (now known as the Faubourg de France) was founded at the foot of the castle, with another south on the opposite hill. The city wall was probably built before 1283 and surrounded the two settlements, but not the parish church of Saint-Germain.

    In 1236 the Counts of Pfirt pledged the town to the Counts of Montbeliard, however, they retained their rights to the Ajoie until 1281 when they sold the territory to the Bishop of Basel. The Counts of Montbéliard refused to hand over Porrentruy, which led Bishop Henry of Isny to request support from King Rudolph I of Habsburg. After six weeks under siege, the Count relented and handed it over to the Bishop. On 20 April 1283, the The king asked the Bishop of Basel to grant Porrentruy a town charter and make it a free Imperial city. While the Counts of Montbéliard retained some power in the town, their influence waned during the 13th century. [..]

    The first parish church of Saint-Germain was replaced in the 13th century by a new building, which underwent several renovations. The Church of Saint-Pierre was completed in 1349 and became the parish church in 1475. The cathedral chapter was established in 1377. Several religious orders were active in the city, including the Jesuits who built their college in 1591. In addition to the Jesuits other orders included the Ursulines (1619), the Sisters of the Annonciade (permanently established in 1646) and the Capuchins (1663).

    The first uprising against the Bishop’s power was under the Comité de la Commune de Porrentruy on 20 August 1790, but they were unable to expel the Bishop. However, on 27 April 1792, French Revolutionary troops invaded the city and drove the Bishop out. Porrentruy became the capital of a dependent republic, which was then incorporated into France in 1793 as the Département du Mont Terrible. In 1800, this department was incorporated into the Département du Haut-Rhin as a sub-département. During the War of the Sixth Coalition against Napoleon, Allied troops entered Porrentruy on 24 December 1813. Following their liberation, the future of this former episcopal seat was uncertain. The government divided into two parties, the Episcopal party that sought the return of the prince bishop as the head of a Swiss canton, while the French party wanted to retain the current secular government. However, soon after the fall of Napoleon, the municipality was given to the Canton of Bern (in 1815) to compensate for the loss of the Canton of Vaud, which had become a separate canton in 1803.

    Both factions, the religious and the secular, retained power in the town in the following years. The political life in 19th century was characterized by the severe conflict between Liberal-Radicals and the Catholic Conservatives. The secular side gained power in 1860, when the mayor, Joseph Trouillat, was forced out of office. The Radicals retained the mayor’s office and a majority of the town council from 1860 until 1972.

    Click on images to enlarge

  2. From The Guardian:

    1. Kessiakoff (AST) 20 pts

    2. Roy (FDJ) 17pts – at 1’05”

    3. Ten Dam (RAB) 15pts

    4. Pinot (FDJ) 13pts

    5. De Weert (OPQ) 11pts

    6. Gallopin (RNT) 10pts

    7. Moncoutie (COF) 9pts

    8. Kern (EUC) 8pts

    9. Kiserlovski (AST) 7pts

    10. Mollema (RAB) pts

    11. Soresnen (STB) 5pts

    12. Kruiswijk (RAB) 4pts

    13. Kadri (ALM) 3pts

    14. Hoogerland (VCD) 2pts

    15. Nerz (LIQ) 1pts

  3. before the race

    Saturday’s stage winner Chris Froome has just revealed that there was a knock on his door this morning and the men and women in white coats from anti-doping were there demanding blood, quite literally.

  4. This lone breakaway by Kessiakoff is looking increasingly menacing. The Swede, in his first Tour, is a former mountain biker and is hotfooting it down the hill at the moment and (Chris) Sorensen and Kadri in pursuit aren’t going to be able to make up much if any ground on him at this speed. Two big climbs still to come, however, including the category one Col de la Croix which is 16km from the finish.

  5. He still in the lead with a small chase group about one minute behind. The man peloton is still nearly 4 minutes behind lad by Peter Sagan. That gap should close as they come up onto the last climb, a muscle straining cat 1 with a one meter 17% climb at the top. After it’s a 10 mile downhill run to a flat finish in Porrentruy.

    From the [blog at The Guardian kessiakoff has, predictably enough, taken the points at the sixth climb and assumes his crouched position as he descends before the final climb, the biggest of the day. The big news is taht Liquigas are closing the gap and if they can get Peter Sagan into a position to chase down Kessiakoff in the final 16km then we could have an explosive finis]:

    kessiakoff has, predictably enough, taken the points at the sixth climb and assumes his crouched position as he descends before the final climb, the biggest of the day. The big news is taht Liquigas are closing the gap and if they can get Peter Sagan into a position to chase down Kessiakoff in the final 16km then we could have an explosive finis

  6. He is a mountain biker and participated in two Olympics

  7. from Kessiakoff (Sweden)

  8. it is now all downhill to the finish

  9. [TG Blog Thibaut Pinot takes the points ahead of Frederik Kessiakoff at the Col de la Croix. Gallopin crosses in third. Now for the fun part. The peloton is just 1min 40sec behind now. Cadel Evans attacks at the summit and Wiggins goes with him.]

    Thibaut Pinot takes the points ahead of Frederik Kessiakoff at the Col de la Croix. Gallopin crosses in third. Now for the fun part. The peloton is just 1min 40sec behind now. Cadel Evans attacks at the summit and Wiggins goes with him.

    Kessiakoff is still behind but going downhill at about 50 mph. Thank heavens it’s not raining or wet

  10. It looks like the 22 yr old French rider will win the stage

  11. The Guardian

    There’s 9km remaining and Pinot is being hunted and stalked by Kessiakoff, despite that near disaster on the rail. The group which includes Wiggins is not out of the running yet – Cadel Evans leads that pack of nine which includes Van den Broeck, Wiggins, Monfort, Schleck, Nibali, Froome, Menchov and Zubeldia.

    Pinot is 50 seconds in the lead

  12. I love the dinosaur monument.

  13. Cadel is just 10 seconds behind.

    Peter Sagan wears the Green; Chris Froome keeps the Mountain honors; Rein Taarame holds onto the White; Fredrik Kessiakoff takes the Most Aggressive rider title; and the Team jersey remains with Wiggens’ team, Sky Procycl.

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