Stage 5 Results

General Classification after Stage 5:

Voeckler succeeds from breakaway on sprinter's stage — cyclingnews
Full Results (click on "Stage Standing") — letour.fr
Photos — afp/yahoo
Break succeeds; Rabobank's Gesink crashes and loses big time. — velonews
  Last 3 Km (05:00 dutch) — nos
  Stage 5 Highlights (01:59) — eurosport
Voeckler wins in Perpignan — cyclingweekly.co.uk
Voeckler a tenu tête — lequipe.fr
Graham Watson Stage 5 Photos — grahamwatson
  Cavendish Post Stage 5 Interview and other clips: "It was a nervious day from km zero" — versus
  Stage 5 Recap/Highlights (03:12) — letour.fr/aso
Armstrong, Andreu back on speaking terms — velonews
A good shot of Robert Gesink in the team car: a broken wrist has ended his Tour — ANP
Is It Boring Yet?: A Tour win after a career of "decent little second-tier wins" — cyclocosm
9 Big Photos from Stage 5 — sirotti
  ITV stage 5 podcast with Matt Rendell, Ned Boulting and Chris Boardman — ITV
  A well edited montage of video highlights set to music (02:02) — eurosport

Post Stage Analysis

First Win for Voeckler
Voeckler wins stage, Cancellara keeps Yellow after another windy stage

A solo winner today, as Thomas Voeckler of Bbox Bouygues Telecom celebrated his first ever stage victory at the Tour de France. Voeckler joined an early break of six riders who spent 173 kilometers off the front of the main field. The French rider is a familiar face in the breakaways, but never before has his agressiveness paid off as well as it did today. Mikhail Ignatiev, who also rode the breakaway, held on for second, while Mark Cavendish won the sprint for third.

In the crosswinds along the coast, Astana rode hard on the front and temporarily split the bunch. Despite their efforts, the general classification remains unchanged today, with the exception of Rabobank’s Robert Gesink, who leaves the Tour today after a crash. Fabian Cancellara wears the Yellow Jersey for another day tomorrow, as the Tour counts down to its first mountain stage in two day’s time.

The Story

After 23 kilometers of racing, six riders rode together at the front: Thomas Voeckler of Bbox Bouygues, Anthony Geslin and Yauheni Hutarovich of Français des Jeux, Marcin Sapa of Lampre-Ngc, Mikhail Ignatiev of Katusha, and Albert Timmer of Skil-Shimano. The main field proved rather uninterested today, and the break soon built up an advantage of over 8 minutes. Ignatiev became the race leader on the road. In a game of chicken with Astana, Saxo Bank sat on their hands, content to let Ignatiev run out the clock.

Unwilling to let the break have all the fun, Columbia-HTC soon went to work on the front, and by kilometer 88, the break had come back to a more reasonable 3:35. With 77 kilometer to race, the Côte des Treilles piqued the interest of Astana and Saxo Bank, who began to work on the front. The six riders in the break continued to hold their advantage as Anthony Geslin of Français des Jeux took the points at the summit.

As the bunch hit the coast near Port-Leucate, the winds made for nervy racing today and Astana rode hard at the front through the crosswinds. Around 50 kilometers to go, the main field split in two parts. Of the favorites, only Denis Menchov missed the split, another bad moment in a less than stellar Tour so far for the Russian. Tom Boonen suffered two flat tires, and also languished for a time in the second group. The gap between the chase and the Yellow Jersey group hovered around a minute. Robert Gesink, who crashed hard on the descent from the Côte de Treilles, dangled just off the back of the chase group in a desperate but doomed effort to stay on terms. Up the road, the break clung to its advantage which dropped steadily thanks to the hard riding by Astana.

With 20 kilometers to go, the wind shifted again, this time to a headwind. The main field reformed after the chase group’s efforts proved successful. With Astana retiring from the front of the Yellow Jersey group, the gap to the breakaway began to increase. Ordinarily, a head wind gives an advantage to the main field over the escape, because the main field has more legs to do the work. But today, many of those legs proved tired after yesterday’s difficult team time trial. Despite the efforts of Columbia-HTC, Garmin-Slipstream, Cervélo TestTeam, and Agritubel, the break continued to hold its advantage as they approached the finish.

With 6 kilometers to go, Mikhail Ignatiev of Katusha made the first move from the break. Hutarovich, Timmer, and Voeckler covered, and it was four together. As the break approached a roundabout, Voeckler jumped hard, hard enough to open a gap on Ignatiev, Hutarovich, and Timmer. The three hesitated. Head down Voeckler rode, and soon had just under 10 seconds over the following three. Passing through the roundabout with 2.5 kilometers to go, Voeckler continued to hold his advantage, though Timmer made a late bid to bridge.

Too late for Timmer, as it turned out. Inside the final kilometer, Timmer still chased desperately, as Voeckler approached the finish. In the background, the main field came up quickly, but not quickly enough to interrupt Voeckler’s victory celebration. Thomas Voeckler won his first ever stage win today, five years to the day after he took his first Yellow Jersey. The French rider, who is so often on the attack, crossed the line kissing his wedding ring, and dedicated his win to his wife and son.

In his typically modest way, Voeckler explained, “Winning a big Tour in cycling is never going to happen for me, so I try to win stages when I can. I’m very happy for my team and what we’ve achieved and I hope we can come back next year and do it again.” Voeckler’s Bbox Bouygues Telecom team is currently in search of a sponsor. Today marks Voeckler’s most important victory so far in his career, which includes a French National Championship on the road, and a win at the difficult one-day race GP de Plouay. His sports director, Jean-René Bernadeau, who celebrated his birthday today, exclaimed, “His is not like the rest of the world, Thomas!” “He is strong, very sain, very pro. He won brilliantly, intelligently,” said the joyous Bernadeau. Happy Birthday, Jean-René!

Behind Voeckler, Ignatiev held off the main field to take second on the stage, while Cavendish won the bunch sprint for third ahead of Tyler Farrar. Fabian Cancellara finished safely in the field and will wear the Yellow Jersey for another day. Lance Armstrong sits second at same time, while Alberto Contador is third at 19 seconds.

As for Robert Gesink, he finished the stage 9:35 after Thomas Voeckler. His Rabobank team-mate Grischa Niermann escorted him to the finish in what was surely a long and torturous ride. According to De Telegraaf, Gesink has a fracture in his left wrist and a dislocated shoulder. If all goes well, the team has said he will likely ride the Vuelta a España, which starts this year in the Netherlands.

After the stage, Cancellara called the stage nervous with its shifty winds and small roads. A stage like this is “hard for the head, because you have to be 100 percent concentrated, and to have all the time the team.” He said he focused on staying up front today and he also credited his team with a “great team time trial” yesterday. With the mountains coming up, “we get more into the real Tour de France.” “In Andorre, it will be hard,” he predicted. Cancellara will have to ride smart on tomorrow’s tricky finish, if he wants to carry the Yellow Jersey into the mountains.

General Classification Update

Here is the current top ten:
Fabian Cancellara Saxo Bank
Lance Armstrong Astana :00
Alberto Contador Astana :19
Andreas Klöden Astana :23
Levi Leipheimer Astana :31
Bradley Wiggins Garmin-Slipstream :38
Haimar Zubeldia Astana :51
Tony Martin Columbia-HTC :52
David Zabriskie Garmin-Slipstream 1:06
David Millar Garmin-Slipstream 1:07

The favorites survived to finish in the main field today, though Denis Menchov had to work for it, as he got caught out by the Astana-created split. Robert Gesink was the only exception, and the Dutch climber is now out of the race after his crash. The bad luck continues for the Dutch Rabobank team.

Other Classifications: Mark Cavendish of Columbia-HTC added to his lead in the points classification today after he finished third on the stage. Cavendish now has 96 points. Thor Hushovd of Cervélo TestTeam remains in second with 70 points, though he did not score today. Tyler Farrar of Garmin-Slipstream, meanwhile, picked up 24 points with his fourth place finish, and sits third behind Hushovd with 54. Jussi Veikkanen of Français des Jeux still leads the mountains classification ahead of Tony Martin, while Martin still leads the young riders classification by 39 seconds ahead of Roman Kreuziger of Liquigas-Doimo. Astana leads the teams classification by 2:23 over Saxo Bank.

Looking Ahead

Tomorrow’s stage runs between Girona and Barcelona and should favor the breakaway specialists over the sprinters. It could be another windy day for the Tour de France, as much of the stage follows the coast. There is a climb at 22 kilometers to go, which could tempt an attacker, and the finish is uphill. The climb begins at 2 kilometers to go, and rises at 6.6% for about a kilometer. The final kilometer is mostly false-flat climbing.

We can expect Lance Armstrong to make a play for the race lead on this finish, and Fabian Cancellara will need to ride at the front for this finish if he wants to keep his Yellow Jersey for another day. The final climb is well-within his capabilities so long as he does not make any tactical errors. It could be an entertaining show-down between the top two in the general classification, should they choose to ride for it tomorrow. Otherwise, it is a day for the breakaways again tomorrow. — Gavia

To read more about tomorrow’s stage, please turn the page.

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Previa Etapa 5: Le Cap d'Agde → Perpignan

Día: Miércoles 8 de Julio 2009
Distancia: 196 kms.

Las Cotas:
Col de Feuilla, 4.0 kms, pendiente media 3.3%. Categoría 4.
Côte de Treilles, 1.3 kms, pendiente media 4.2%. Categoría 4.

Otro día mas, otra preciosa excursión por el Mediterráneo. Esta etapa en su gran mayoría es plana y sale de la ciudad costera de Le Cap d'Agde. Tendremos dos pequeñas cotas en el menú, y aparecen justamente a las afueras de Saint-Jean-de-Barrou aproximadamente en la mitad de la etapa. Después de dichos puertos de montaña, la carrera trascurre casi al nivel del mar por más de 70 kilómetros para luego finalizar en la Plaza de Calalogne en Perpignan. Un sprint final es algo inevitable.

Le Cap d'Agde está situado en la costa no muy lejos de Montepellier, que precisamente fue sede de la etapa 4, la contrarreloj por equipos. Los organizadores del Tour han realizado una buena labor al reducir los tiempos de viaje entre cada etapa para este semana de apertura en la costa Mediterránea Francesa. Le Cap d'Agde se encuentra en la base de un antiguo volcán, el Mont Saint-Loup, y por esta razón la línea costera está decorada con formaciones de roca negra volcánica. Como la Grande-Motte, Le Cap d'Agde fue desarrollada en los 70's como un puerto turístico. Este año marca la primera visita del Tour de Francia a este bello pueblo.

Perpignan, ha sido en 8 ocasiones anfitrión en la llegada de etapas desde 1947. Además ha sido anfitrión nueve veces de las salidas de etapa desde 1947 también, manteniendo un record siendo sede. El ganador más reciente en Perpignan fue el ciclista francés Laurent Desbiens del Cofidis durante el Tour de 1997. La etapa en ese entonces se efectuó de Andorre hasta Perpigman, y Jan Ullrich del equipo Deutsche Telekom era el líder general. En el 2001, la etapa 12 iniciaba en Perpignan y el colombiano Félix Cárdenas que militaba en el equipo Kelme celebró la victoria en el Plateau de Bonascre dando una gran alegría a todos los aficionados de su país. François Simon del Bonjour lideraba la competencia en aquella ocasión gracias a la grandiosa fuga que había tenido éxito durante la etapa 8 donde aventajó por 35 minutos al grupo principal.  François es el tercero de los hermanos Simon en portar el maillot amarillo durante el Tour.

Detalles del Perfil

La etapa inicia y termina en terreno llano, con un poco de escalada en el medio para mantener el interés. En los primeros 70 kilómetros desde Le Cap d'Agde, el perfil nunca gana más de 30 metros en elevación.

Ya mencioné de que esta etapa es plana?

El anfitrión del primer sprint intermedio será Capestang, que llega después de 40.5 kilómetros de competencia. A partir de ahí la etapa transcurre por subidas suaves y columpios. Pasando por Montredon-des-Corbières y Thézan-des-Courbières, ahí la ruta gana 100 metros de elevación casi constante sobre 60 kilómetros. El segundo sprint intermedio se encuentra en Saint-Jean-de-Barrou luego sigue un plano falso que tiende a subir antes de llegar al kilómetro 107.5.

Justo a las afueras de Saint-Jean-de-Barrou llegan las dos cotas con categoría del día. La Col de Feuilla sube 4 kilómetros con una pendiente media de 3.3%. Fácil, como un pastel. Esta cota tiene categoría 4. Después de un corto descenso continúa la segunda cota puntuable del día, la Côte de Treilles. La Côte de Treilles es corta, subiendo apenas 1.4 kilómetros con una pendiente media de 4.2%. Esta cota de categoría 4 se encuentra a 77 kilómetros del final.

Después de los dos puertos de montaña, la ruta desciende rápidamente al nivel del mar y así se mantiene hasta el final de la etapa. El último sprint intermedio del día se encuentra en Canet-en-Roussillon a 38 kilómetros para la llegada. El Tour pasará ahora por la región de Pyrénées-Orientales y además por Agelès-sur-Mer y Elne. Aquí se encuentra una pendiente gradual en los últimos 20 kilómetros, pero el final es plano.

Los últimos 5 kilómetros de la etapa son un poco delicados. Justamente en este tramo, los corredores transitarán por una rotonda en la avenida d'Arglès-sur-Mer. Dentro de los 3 kilómetros para finalizar llega una segunda rotonda, y los corredores deberán salir a la avenida J.F. Kennedy. En el kilómetro final la carrera hace un giro suave a la derecha en el bulevar Félix Mercator. Luego continúa una curva ligera a mano derecha hacia el bulevar de  los Pyrénées.

El último kilómetro es técnico y los sprinters esperarán un habitual clima seco al mejor estilo Mediterráneo. En esta sección de cuidado, la carrera hace un giro a la derecha de 90 grados para pasar del bulevar de los Pyrénées hacia la Plaza de Catalogne. Este espectacular final va ser aprovechado únicamente por un sprinter que sea formidable en el manejo de su bicicleta en las curvas y con una excelente aceleración final.

Corredores a seguir

El final de la etapa de hoy con estos giros que requieren explosividad están hechos indudablemente para un sprinter como Robbie McEwen que cuenta con un manejo acrobático sobre la bicicleta. Pero como McEwen no está en el Tour, Mark Cavendish puede tomar este final muy bien. Heinrich Haussler quen también ha mostrado su habilidad en aceleraciones rápidas puede estar por ahí. Un sprinter como Daniele Bennati, que es más al estilo de Alessandro Petacchi con una aceleración menor y una velocidad alta hasta en los últimos metros, quizá tenga más dificultad aquí.

Este final puede también causarle problemas a los trenes que lideran el grupo y los sprinters que tienen ese don para el posicionamiento pueden sacar mucho provecho.

Mi elección? Oscar Freire. Es un especialista en colocarse a la rueda de sus principales adversarios y formidable corredor que no le teme a los giros finales, además sabe a la perfección cuando saltar para dar el golpe final.

Translated by José Miguel Chacón A. (Costa Rica)