Bittersweet Day For Australians In Prato

It was a night of mixed emotions for Australian cycling fans as the Tour de France ended a stage in Italy for the first time since 1999. While Simon Gerrans continued his stellar 2008 season by becoming the first Australian to win a high mountain stage in Tour history, Cadel Evans lost his yellow jersey to Frank Schleck and slipped to third overall on the GC after being subject to repeated attacks from Team CSC and Rabobank's Denis Menchov on the day's parcour from Embrun to Prato Nevoso.

Gerrans was part of a four man breakaway that gained a maximum advantage of over 17 minutes on the peleton. That was more than enough to see the quartet survive up the final climb to the Italian ski resort. While Gerrans was dropped halfway up the climb as Egoi Martinez and Danny Pate tried to reduce the break to two, he managed to slowly pull himself back to the pair over the final 5 km's. As the roads flattened out over the final 200 metres, Gerrans used his superior kick to accelerate away from his companions to record the biggest victory of his career. Martinez finished second, 3 seconds back while Pate had nothing left over the last few metres, but still filled the podium in third a further 7 seconds back.

Meanwhile the race for the yellow jersey in Paris was rocked to its foundations on the final climb. After countering attack after attack from first Carlos Sastre, then Andy & Frank Schleck, and finally Denis Menchov and Bernhard Kohl, Cadel Evans finally snapped towards the top of the climb. Sastre, Menchov, and Kohl raced ahead with Alejandro Valverde to gain half a minute on Evans, finishing around 4 minutes behind Gerrans. Frank Schleck, not willing to drag Evans up to his teammate Sastre up the road, waited till the final kilometre to breakaway with Christian Vande Velde, but picked up more than the single second he required to take the yellow jersey. At the top of the climb Evans had lost a total of:

• 47 seconds to Kohl and Sastre
• 38 seconds to Valverde
• 27 seconds to Menchov
• 9 seconds to Frank Schleck and
• 7 seconds to Vande Velde

This leaves us with the astonishing situation of three riders within 8 seconds of each other at the top of the GC, with another 3 riders within three quarters of a minute. Frank Schleck now holds the yellow jersey by 7 seconds from surprise packet Bernhard Kohl, who has the new lead in the King of The Mountains jersey for comfort. Evans is a further second back followed by Menchov (@ 38 seconds), Vande Velde (@ 39 seconds) and Sastre (@ 49 seconds).

Given that we have now hit the second rest day and have completed one day in the Alps it is again time to re-asses where the race is headed. To my surprise, we are probably less closer to finding the winner of this year's Tour then we were a week ago. The problem for Evans now is that Menchov and Vande Velde are closing in - and they can time trial! Previously I thought they would not be able to out-climb Evans but the stage into Italy shows they can. Evans weakness also means that we could see the pure climbers like Schleck and Sastre put such time into him in the last two mountain stages that he cannot make up the ground in the time trial. I could easily see Frank Schleck putting in a similar performance in the final time trial to what Alberto Contador did last year if he is defending the yellow jersey.

I will make the claim now that I don't think Vande Velde or Kohl can win the overall title. I would be very surprised if either could pull off the GC. I am predicting Vande Velde will lose time in the Alps, while Kohl will lose more time than he can gain in the mountains in the final time trial. That leaves us with Schleck, Evans, Sastre, and Menchov. At this moment in time I would rank Evans on top from Menchov, Schleck and then Sastre. I still think Evans will most likely win the Tour, but to me he just does not have the presence that a Tour winner seems to command. Simon Gerrans has more first place finishes over the line in his Tour career than him for Christ's sake! Evans does have a stage win to his credit but it was when Alexandre Vinokourov was thrown out of the race for doping last year after beating the field by panels in the second time trial. Menchov looked imperious last night and may be in the golden fleece right now if he had not crashed when attacking his rivals on the final climb. He has the power to put Evans under pressure on the climbs and match him in the final time trial. Schleck will probably have to win in the style of Contador last year. Put sufficient time into Evans on the climb that he cannot make it up in the time trial. Castre will need a superhuman victory (5 minutes plus!) on L'Alpe d'Huez to win.

In the minor classifications there was no change to the Green Jersey competition with none of the sprinters getting anywhere near the top 10 on the day's stage. Oscar Freire still holds the lead and will win the competition so long as he gets to Paris. The lead in the King of The Mountains competition has passed to Bernhard Kohl. Given that his nearest rival is his team-mate Sebastian Lang he can most likely hold the jersey just by attempting to maintain his high overall position. Vincenzo Nabali still holds the White Jersey but Roman Kreuziger and Andy Schleck have closed on him with superior performances up to Prato Nevoso. This competition will go right down to the wire in Paris.

On a sadder note, Oscar Pereiro is out of this years Tour after an horrific crash on the descent of the Col Agnel saw him break his shoulder blade, and Mark Cavendish chose to exit the race voluntarily in order to focus on the Beijing Olympics. The Tour will be a lesser event for both their departures.

Yellow Jersey - Frank Schleck
Green Jersey - Oscar Freire
Polka Dot Jersey - Bernhard Kohl
White Jersey - Vincenzo Nabali

Freire's Rivals Green With Envy In Digne

Oscar Freire finally got the stage win he desperately wanted wearing the green jersey, on the eve of the Tour's entrance to the Alps. With a late cat-4 climb seeing a number of specialist sprinters, including Mark Cavendish, dropped Freire made the most of his opportunities to take the stage from Nimes to Digne les Bains. Leonardo Duque and veteran sprinter Erik Zabel were also able to drag themselves over the final climb to finish second and third respectively. Freire now seemingly has an unassailable lead in the points competition, providing he can get over all the high mountain passes in the Alps. He holds the green jersey by over 40 points from Thor Hushovd who could only manage 10th on the day's stage.

The pace at which the peleton hit the small last climb saw half the field lose at least some time, but all of the main GC riders managed to finish with the leading bunch so there was no change to the overall classification. Bernhard Kohl took second over the final climb of the day to reduce team-mate Sebastian Lang's lead in the King of the Mountains competition to a single point.

With the first major mountains of the Alps in tonight's stage we should see a shake up of both the GC and the KoM competition. Riders well tackle the massive Col Angel (HC) as they pass from France into Italy before finishing with a cat-1 climb up to the Italian ski station of Prato Nevoso. Cadel Evans can expect to see a full blown assault on his yellow jersey as his rivals attempt to put some time between themselves and Cadel before the final 50km time trial next Saturday.

Yellow Jersey - Cadel Evans
Green Jersey - Oscar Freire
Polka Dot Jersey - Sebastian Lang
White Jersey - Vincenzo Nibali

Comet Cavendish Shines Brightly Over Tour

Number of genuine sprint finishes at this years Tour de France: 4
Number of stage wins by Mark Cavendish: 4

No other rider in this year's peleton can get near new sprinting sensation Mark Cavendish. The Brit became the first sprinter since Allesandro Pettachi in 2003 to take out 4 stages in a single Tour with yet another powerful display in Stage 13 from Narbonne to Nimes. Cavendish again showed his superiority over the old guard this time relegating Robbie McEwen and Roman Feillu into second and third respectively. Rumours have persisted that their is pressure on the Cavendish from back in the UK to quit the race in order to prepare for next month's Olympics. Let us hope he shrugs off this pressure. Nothing would be more magical than seeing Cavendish explode away to victory on the last day in Paris. And he is still an outside chance to win the green jesrey!

Today's win saw Cavendish move into second position in the points competition, trailling only Oscar Freire who finished 5th on the days stage. Thor Hushovd is equal on points with Cavendish but lost ground to Freire by finishing 6th in the bunch sprint. The bulk of the main field (bar the usual stragglers) finished together so there was no change to the overall classification with all of the favourites finishing in the bunch. Sebastian Lang increased his lead in the King of the Mountains classification slightly, picking up third on all three of the days cat-4 climbs. In the usual transitional stage from mountain range to mountain range the major highlight was a spectacular crash by Sven Krauss who managed to split his bike in half after hitting a sign post on the road. He managed to complete the stage but lost over 15 minutes to the winner.

Yellow Jersey - Cadel Evans
Green Jersey - Oscar Freire
Polka Dot Jersey - Sebastian Lang
White Jersey - Vincenzo Nabali

Ghost Of Pantani Haunts Tour As Ricco Tests Positive

In yet another dark day for the Tour de France, up and coming superstar Riccardo Ricco was thrown out of the race after testing positive for EPO. In a move more honourable than that of their former team-mate Saunier-Duval have withdrawn from the race, taking stage winner Leonardo Piepoli, Top 10 rider Juan Jose Cobo, and King of the Mountains leader David De La Fuente with them in the process.

The positive test by Ricco is a stake in the heart of all cycling fans around the world. He burst onto the scene in a manor which suggested he was the new king of cycling. A new, clean, athlete that could drag cycling back to its rightful place in the upper echelon of world sports after the doping controversies that have plagued the sport, and especially the Tour, for the last decade. Ten years on from the Festina affair and we are almost back where we started.

Ricco often stated how he admired former Italian cycling legend Marco Pantani. His story now follows an eerily similar script to the ill fated Il Pirata. Riccco will no longer be remembered for his dynamic attacks up the slopes of Super Besse and the Col d'Aspin in this years tour, but rather for the chemical laboratories which inspired those efforts. While Ricco is now as good as dead to the sport of cycling, let us hope his life does not now follow a similar path to Pantani's who slipped into a spiral of drugs and depression that eventually led to his death in 2004.

Oh, there was a race on today too. Stage 12 from Lavelanet to Narbonne ended in a bunch sprint and not suprisingly Mark Cavendish won - again! The performances of the young Brit at this years tour have been a bright spark to coutner the dark stain of Ricco's antics. Sprinters generally build up their strength in the weights room rather than the laboratory. But as one door closes another one generally opens and in losing one great young hope for the sport it is clear another one has been revealed in Cavendish. Already 3 stage wins in the Tour to go with 2 in the Giro. Perhaps an Olympic crown on the road awaits (he already has one on the track!) - cycling as a sport could sure use that. None of the favourites lost time on the day as the peleton finished together. Sebastian Lang inherits the tainted polka dot jersey as new leader of the King of the Mountains competition while the white jersey moves on to the shoulders of another young Italian Vincenzo Nibali. Let us hope he doesn't disgrace it as the previous wearer did. Oscar Freire increased his lead in the points competition beating home rivals Thor Hushovd and Kim Kirchen in the final sprint. However, Cavendish may find himself falling into the Green Jersey if we end up with any more bunch sprints in upcoming stages.

In closing, one positive on this dark day is that cycling appears to be winning the fight. In the last 3 years superhuman and unbelivable performances from Floyd Llandis, Michael Rasmussen, Alexander Vinokourov, and now Ricco have been revealed for what they truly were. Inhuman performances. In an interview with cyclingnews.com, David Millar sums up my thoughts exactly:

"It is bullshit... I think it's unfortunate that when things look too good to be true, generally they are too good to be true - and he did look pretty f***ing good!"

And while seeing riders like Cadel Evans, Denis Menchov, and Carlos Sastre drag their tired bodies up the high mountain passes may not be as exciting as seeing a juiced up Marco Pantani or Riccardo Ricco explode away from the peleton in a devastating attack, it does return the Tour to what it is meant to be. A hard, tough, energy sapping, 3 week slog around one of the most beautiful countries on earth.

Vive Le Tour!

Yellow Jersey - Cadel Evans
Green Jersey - Oscar Freire
Polka Dot Jersey - Sebastian Lang
White Jersey - Vincenzo Nabali

Kurt & Drugs - Tour's Nirvana In Foix?

On a day that mirrored the classic developments of a transitional stage, the Tour was subject to its second positive drugs result in 2008 with Barloworld's Moises Duenas Nevado thrown out of the race after he tested positive for EPO. As was the case with Liquigas earlier in the race, the Barloworld team will be allowed to remain in the race after suspending Nevado.

The day's stage, from Lannemezan to Foix was taken out by Norwegian national champion Kurt-Asle Arvesen. The rider with the rock star name had a little too much for his breakaway companions, edging out Switzerland's Martin Elmiger in an extremely tight photo-finish (the final margin reported as 2 cm's!). Classics specialist Alessandro Ballan filled the podium finishing third, finally getting some small piece of joy for Lampre who have had a difficult tour so far. The rest of the 12 man breakaway group were split back along the road up to 30 seconds back, with Amael Moinard the last home after his 60km solo effort at victory was reeled in with 3 km's remaining.

The main field finished just under 15 minutes behind the leading trio with all the leading contenders present. Another Norwegian, Thor Hushovd won the sprint for 13th to pare back some ground on Oscar Friere in the Green Jersey competition. There was no chanage to any of the major competitions. Cadel Evans still holds the yellow jersey by 1 second from Frank Schleck, while Riccardo Ricco holds both the white and polka dot jersies. Freire increased his lead in the points competition over Kim Kirchen, after taking minor points at the first intermediate sprint of the day and by beating him home in the final sprint. Hushovd sits in third and it looks to be down to those three to contest the competition all the way to Paris.

Yellow Jersey - Cadel Evans
Green Jersey - Oscar Freire
Polka Dot Jersey - Riccardo Ricco
White Jersey - Riccardo Ricco

Evans In Yellow As Valverde, Cunego Crack On Tourmalet

In a stage that perhaps posed more questions than it answered, Saunier-Duval continued their domination of the Pyrenees, Cadel Evans took the yellow-jersey by a single second from Frank Schleck, while Alejandro Valverde and Damiano Cunego saw their Tour dreams turn to dust on the roads of the Col du Tourmalet. The questions: How well can Frank Schleck time trial? Just how good is Cadel Evans form? What trick do Saunier-Duval have up their sleeve next? Is Alejandro Valverde the most gutless rider of all time?

In a sight rarely seen on a high mountain finish in the Tour, Leonardo Piepoli led his jubilant teammate Juan Jose Cobo across the line to complete a Saunier-Duval quinella on the final climb of the 156km stage from Pau to the ski-station of Hautacam, just as Riccardo Ricco had predicted at the end of the previous stage. The yellow-clad team again used their tactics to perfection to deliver Piepoli a much deserved stage win after the work he has done to set up Ricco's victories at Super Besse and Bagnères de Bigorre. Cobo can now start targeting a podium possession as he moved into 8th overall just over 2 minutes behind Evans. Frank Schleck, the only one of the overall contenders to launch any real attack on the stage, completed the podium finishing 3rd.

The stage saw the yellow jersey handed over to a new rider for the first time in 5 days as Kim Kirchen was finally dropped by the elite riders on the climb to Hautacam, finishing over 4 minutes behind the winner. With Schleck up the road in third, the remaining overall contenders (Evans, Denis Menchov, and Carlos Sastre) followed 2 minutes later, just in time for Evans to take the maillot jaune for the first time in his career. However, it was a close call and Schleck will be heartbroken to miss out on the jersey by just a single second. Valverde (has any tour contendor ever had less heart?) and Cunego who were broken earlier on the Tourmalet, arrived a further three and a half minutes behind the Evans group as their overall chances went up in smoke. They must now look towards individual stage victories if they are to get anything more out of this years tour.

As expected, Ricco took over the lead in the King of the Mountains competition from teammate David De La Fuente with another excellent climbing display, this time to set up his teammates for a 1-2 finish on the stage. Ricco also took over the lead in the White Jersey competition. His 6th place finish on the stage far exceeded the performance of previous holder Andy Schleck, who unlike his brother cracked badly on the final climb and lost over 8 minutes to the stage winner. Kirchen had to suffer the pain of losing the Green Jersey as well as the yellow one and will ride Stage 11 in relative ignominy after Oscar Friere picked up the 12 available sprint points (and the lead in the points competition) by getting into the day's breakaway.

With the first rest day of this year's race tonight it is probably a good time to take stock of the event. In my opinion, there are only 5 men left who can win this tour:

• Cadel Evans (70% winning chance) - this is Cadel's Tour to lose. He is the best time-trialler of the favourites and the only men that can climb better than him while likely lose a bucket load of time to him in the time trial. Would be a certainty if he had more of a killer instinct and you could guarantee me he was 100% over the crash.
• Riccardo Ricco (15% winning chance) - superstar in the making. Will lose time to Evans in the time trial but no one can match him on the slopes it seems. Could easily see him gaining 5 or so minutes on a climb like L'Alpe d'Huez and may be an outside chance at the title if the rest of his rivals are watching each other.
• Frank Schleck (10% winning chance) - proved a superior climb to all his rivals (bar Ricco) at Hautacamp and hasn't really looked in trouble in any of the mountain stages (as evidenced by the fact he is only 1 second off Evans overall). Time trial ability will be his question mark.
• Denis Menchov (4% winning chance) - a poor man's Evans. Can't climb as well and can't time trial quite as well either. Would need a monumental collapse from one of the other three to be a chance.
• Carlos Sastre (1% winning chance) - a superior climber to Menchov and possibly Evans but has a massive weakness in the time trial caper. Could hope for a rain shortened time trial or an Oscar Pereiro type breakaway? Would be a massive shock but funnier things have happened.

Yellow Jersey - Cadel Evans
Green Jersey - Oscar Friere
Polka Dot Jersey - Riccardo Ricco
White Jersey - Riccardo Ricco

Cobra Srikes Again As Evans Crashes

While Mark Cavendish may be the new star of the sprinting ranks, 2008 has also seen a new star born amongst the climbers. Just as Cavendish did yesterday, Riccardo Ricco (aka 'The Cobra') won his second stage of this year's Tour with a dominant climbing display on the 224km stage from Toulouse to Bagneres de Bigorre. Ricco finished over a minute clear of Vladimir Efimkin with Cyril Dessel leading the remnants of the peleton home in third as part of an elite group containing all the overall contenders, including Cadel Evans who crashed earlier in the stage just after the feed zone.

But the delay belonged to Ricco who burst out of the peleton on the Col d'Aspin to record one of the more memorable solo victories the race has seen. While Evans received medical attention from the doctors car after his crash, he managed to rejoin the lead group without too many problems. While he survived the day, the effect of a crash on a rider tends to be felt in following days. And with Stage 10 taking the field over the epic climb of the Col du Tourmalet and up to the mountain top finish at the ski-station of Hautacam (this years first HC climbs), Evans better hope that his body has not stiffened up too severely overnight. Given that all the major contenders finished with each other overnight though, Evans still remains the race favourite. Although for those financially investing on the event Evans now looks a more risky prospect, and it may pay to wait a few days to see how the crash effects him.

Improved performances were seen from Damiano Cunego, who finished with the lead group for the first time for a few stages, and Australian youngster Trent Lowe who showed his potential for the future with an excellent climbing performance that saw him finish around half a minute behind cycling's biggest stars. Stefan Schumacher was not so lucky. He was cracked on the ascent of the d'Aspin and slipped from third to fourth overall after losing around 40 seconds to the lead group. He is likely to lose more and more time from here on in and will continue to fall from his currently elevated GC position.

While this was the first high mountains stage of the tour, Kim Kirchen's 12th place finish was enough to see him regain his leads in the points competition from Oscar Freire who lost around 20 minutes on the stage. Kirchen also maintained the yellow jersey with his performance and still holds his 6 second lead over Evans. David De La Fuente picked up sufficient points on the day's mountains to hold his lead in the King of the Mountains competition, but stage winner Ricco is closing in. Trailing De La Fuente by only 11 points, he must be some chance of stealing the jersey tonight, and is now my favourite to be wearing the polka dot jersey in Paris. Thomas Lovkvist finally lost his White Jersey, after finishing around 6 mintues back from Ricco on the stage. The lead in the Best Young Rider competition now passes to Andy Schleck, and he too will be well favoured to wear it the rest of the way to Paris.

Yellow Jersey - Kim Kirchen
Green Jersey - Kim Kirchen
Polka Dot Jersey - David De La Fuente
White Jersey - Andy Schleck