Stage 9 Results

General Classification after Stage 9:

Full Results (click on "Stage Standing") — letour.fr
Fedrigo claims another stage for France — cyclingnews
  Last Km (02:12 french) — french tv
  KOM #2 Col du Tourmalet (09:57 french) — french tv
Early stage photos (finish coming) — afp/yahoo
high-res victory salute
Fedrigo pips Pellizotti to win stage 9; Nocentini holds lead — velonews
 Fédrigo rondt lange vlucht succesvol af — sporza.be
Wiggins won't get carried away — itv
Graham Watson Stage 9 Photos — grahamwatson
  Stage 9 Highlights (02:25) — eurosport
  Last Km (01:00 no commentary) — eurosport
  Hushovd: I'm where I want to be (00:46) — eurosport
  Riis happy with Saxo Bank form (02:02) — eurosport
  ITV stage 9 podcast with Matt Rendell, Ned Boulting and Chris Boardman — ITV
  Stage 9 Recap/Highlights (03:12) — letour.fr/aso
Third French win as contenders content with ceasefire — cyclingweekly.co.uk
  Versus 9 video clips (more to come) — versus
Eyes on Possible Team Rift as Armstrong Remains 3rd — nytimes
12 Big Photos from Stage 9 — sirotti and colin flockton
  A well edited montage of video highlights set to music (02:53) — TheRoBByy2009
  Mrs Doubtfire visits Lance (02:17) — eurosport

Post Stage Analysis

Fédrigo Outsprints Pellizotti in Tarbes
Nocentini remains in Yellow after quiet day for race favorites

Pierrick Fédrigo of Bbox Bouygues Télécom celebrated his second ever stage win today, after outsprinting Italian Franco Pellizotti of Liquigas-Doimo. The two were the survivors of an early break. Despite the two difficult climbs through the Pyrénées today, the general classification favorites passed a tranquil day. Rinaldo Nocentini of AG2R-La Mondiale still wears the Yellow Jersey of race leader, while Alberto Contador of Astana sits second at 6 seconds and his team-mate Lance Armstrong is third at 8 seconds. Tomorrow, the Tour takes a rest day.

The Story

Twelve riders escaped early in the stage today. The break included: Jens Voigt of Saxo Bank, Heinrich Haussler of Cervélo TestTeam, Danny Pate of Garmin-Slipstream, Christophe Riblon AG2R-La Mondiale, Benoît Vaugrenard Français des Jeux, Leonardo Duque of Cofidis, Daniele Righi Lampre-Ngc, Stijn Devolder of Quick Step, Pierrick Fédrigo of Bbox Bouygues, Stéphane Augé of Cofidis, Simon Geschke of Skil-Shimano, and Markus Fothen of Team Milram. With no one in the break, Astana worked at the front and held the gap close, much to the dismay of the riders in the break. Liquigas-Doimo also missed the break, and soon contributed to the chase. With the gap hovering around 30 seconds, Franco Pellizotti attacked from the field, and soon made it across the the break. The escape now numbered a lucky 13.

Still, Astana had no one in the break, and continued to chase. The break, meanwhile, split, and four riders went on alone. Jens Voigt, Franco Pellizotti, Pierrick Fédrigo, and Leonardo Duque comprised the group, and by kilometer 32 they held an advantage of 47 seconds over the chase group. In a rather strange turn of affairs, Lance Armstrong attacked from the main field, but Rinaldo Nocentini proved quick to follow him.

Through the town of Sarrancolin, Leonardo Duque took the first intermediate sprint ahead of Fédrigo and Voigt. Voigt was the best-placed rider in the general classification in the escape. By kilometer 47, the Voigt escape held an advantage of 4 minutes over the main field, who had settled into the business of riding a steady tempo.

As they approached the first climb of the day, the Col d’Aspin, the escape rode five minutes ahead of the main field and continued to work smoothly together. Duque was soon dropped from the break, leaving Voigt, Pellizotti, and Fédrigo to continue without him. From the main field, meanwhile, eight riders escaped, including Sergio Paulinho of Astana, Laurens Ten Dam of Rabobank, Egoi Martinez of Euskaltel-Euskadi, Amets Txurruka of Euskaltel-Euskadi, Stéphane Goubert of AG2R-La Mondiale, Vladimir Karpets of Katusha, and Jurgen van den Broeck of Silence-Lotto. Juan Manuel Garate of Rabobank, David Moncoutié of Cofidis, and Vladimir Efimkin of AG2R-La Mondiale, sensing an opportunity, soon joined the chase group.

Over the summit, Franco Pellizotti led the break, followed by Fédrigo and Voigt. Duque remained alone between the break and the chase, while Moncoutié and Egoi Martinez led the chase. The leading trio held 2:51 over the chase, and 3:44 over the main field at the summit.

There were now three main groups on the road, with a few riders hanging suspended between them. The trio of Voigt, Pellizotti, and Fédrigo led a chase group of about thirteen riders, which now included Thomas Voeckler who bridged on the descent. The main field containing all the race favorites and the Yellow Jersey sat around 4:00 behind. Of the riders up the road, Vladimir Efimkin held the highest general classification placing, but really, there was nothing to worry about for Nocentini or the Astana team of Contador and Armstrong.

On the hors catégorie Col de Tourmalet, the final climb of the day, Franco Pellizotti attacked the break. Pierrick Fédrigo proved able to follow the Italian, but Jens Voigt fell back. Goubert, Efimkin, and Duque, meanwhile, were dropped from the chase group. At 7 kilometers to go from the summit, Pellizotti and Fédrigo rode 20 seconds ahead of Voigt, 2:54 ahead of the chase group, and 4:30 ahead of the Yellow Jersey group. With one kilometer to go to the summit, the chase group caught Voigt, but the Pellizotti-Fédrigo escape continued to hold their advantage. Over the summit, Pellizotti took the maximum points, followed by Fédrigo. Just under 3:00 behind, Garate, Voeckler, and Moncoutié led the chase group over the summit of the Col de Tourmalet.

Lance Armstrong led the main field gingerly down the twisty technical descent off the Tourmalet. Laurens Ten Dam of Rabobank suffered a crash, but proved able to continue. With 32 kilometers left to race, Pellizotti and Fédrigo held an advantage of 2:51, and faced a long flat ride to the finish. A leg-sapping headwind added to the battle, and shifted the advantage slightly in favor of the chase. Behind, Rabobank and Caisse d’Épargne began to work hard on the front for their sprinters Oscar Freire and José Joaquín Rojas, who both made it over the mountains in the front.

Despite the hard efforts on the front from Rabobank and Caisse d’Épargne, the leading duo continued to resist. As the kilometers ticked down to the finish, the gap fell steadily, but not quickly enough. Liquigas-Doimo moved up and smoothly interfered with the chase. The Green Team sat near the front and complicated the efforts of more riders to join in the chase effort.

Inside 5 kilometers to go, the gap stood at 43 seconds. José Ivan Gutierrez, a former Spanish National Champion in the crono, continued to hard on the front for Caisse d’Épargne, but Rabobank mostly abandoned the effort. Just outside the 3 kilometer mark, there was a moment of drama for Andy Schleck when the Saxo Bank general classification hope suffered a flat tire. Jens Voigt proved quick to drop back and bring his young team mate back to the group.

The twisting roads of the finale favored the break, and with just over 1 kilometer to race, the two held an advantage of 38 seconds. Fédrigo held the advantage as the faster sprinter, but Pellizotti had a few tricks up his sleeve. The final kilometer twisted and curved, and with 200 meters to go, the road made a sharp right-hander. In a nice bit of bike play, Pellizotti took the corner tight, forcing Fédrigo to take the long way around. Pellizotti’s ploy nearly worked. As they approached the line, Fédrigo was gaining fast, and Pellizotti nearly had enough road to win. But not quite. Fédrigo took the win on the line over the Italian climber, and celebrated his second ever Tour stage victory. Oscar Freire of Rabobank took the bunch sprint for third ahead of Serguei Ivanov of Katusha.

Pierrick Fédrigo last celebrated a Tour victory in 2006 in Gap. More recently, Bbox Bouygues Télécom rider won a stage in this year’s Critérium Dauphiné Libéré, and he is a former French National Champion on the road. “From the start, it was fast today, because the pack kept the gap around 30 seconds. When Pellizotti attacked with Voigt, I decided to go with them,” he recounted. Describing the finish, Fédrigo said, “I knew we had a corner within 200 meters of the finish line, and that there was probably some wind, but it was okay in the end.” Bbox Bouygues Télécom had a rough Tour de France last year, but so far, has won two stages in this edition with the successes of Thomas Voeckler and Pierrick Fédrigo. Fédrigo said he felt a deep joy with today’s stage victory. “We still have 15 days on the road, so you never know what might happen,” he concluded.

According to Rinaldo Nocentini, it all went according to plan for him today. After the stage, he called today’s stage “better than yesterday.” “I was hoping it would go like this,” he said, referring to the early break and the tranquil pace of the main field. “The hardest days are past, now I can enjoy the rest. I hope to hold the jersey as long as I can,” the Italian concluded.

General Classification Update

Here is the current top ten:
Rinaldo Nocentini AG2R-La Mondiale
Alberto Contador Astana :06
Lance Armstrong Astana :08
Levi Leipheimer Astana :39
Bradley Wiggins Garmin-Slipstream :46
Andreas Klöden Astana :54
Tony Martin Columbia-HTC 1:00
Christian Vandevelde Garmin-Slipstream 1:24
Andy Schleck Saxo Bank 1:49
Vincenzo Nibali Liquigas-Doimo 1:54

The general classification remains unchanged again after today’s final stage in the Pyrénées. Rinaldo Nocentini looks likely to hold his Yellow Jersey for quite some time yet, as the next stages head into the flat terrain of Central France. Alberto Contador trails Nocentini by 6 seconds, Lance Armstrong sits third at 8 seconds. Armstrong confided to French television that there was "some tension" within the team as a consequence of the rivalry between Contador and him. He confirmed that he was surprised by the move from Contador in the final kilometers of the Arcalís climb, and also said that this Tour would "probably not" be his last. The American reports that he arrived at the Tour fatigued from the Giro and expects his form to build over the next two weeks. (Read excerpts from the interview in French at L'Équipe.fr).

Other general classification riders: 13) Fränk Schleck of Saxo Bank @ 2:25, 14) Roman Kreuziger of Liquigas-Doimo, who had a rough day on the climb today, @ 2:40 15) Carlos Sastre of Cervélo TestTeam @ 2:52, 18) Cadel Evans of Silence-Lotto @ 3:07, 23) Vladimir Karpets of Katusha @ 3:49, 24) Denis Menchov of Rabobank @ 5:02.

Other classifications: The Mountains jersey changed hands again today, and Egoi Martinez of Euskaltel-Euskadi takes over the lead from Christophe Kern of Cofidis. Franco Pellizotti summited both climbs first today, and moves up to third. Thor Hushovd continues to lead the points classification by 9 points over Mark Cavendish. José Joaquín Rodriguez moves up to third, followed by Gerald Ciolek and Oscar Freire. Tony Martin still leads the Young Riders classification by 49 seconds. Andy Schleck sits second, while Vincenzo Nibali is third. Franco Pellizotti received the prize for most combative after his long day out in the breakaway.

Looking Ahead

Tomorrow, a rest day! See you on Tuesday for the Bastille Day stage.

Course Preview

Also follow steephill on Twitter for the latest race info and video updates.

Stage 9 Saint-Gaudens - Tarbes

Terrain Type: Mountainous, but it’s a long flat ride to the finish.
GC Importance: Another non-decisive mountain stage. Good legs are the must-have accessory today, but there isn’t much opportunity to gain an advantage with 70 kilometers of flat racing to the finish.

Climbs:
Col d'Aspin 12.3 km, avg. 6.4 %, Catégorie 1
Col du Tourmalet 17.1 km, avg. 7.4 %, Hors Catégorie

Another day in the Pyrénées for the Tour de France with this stage from Saint-Gaudens to Tarbes. There are two significant climbs on the menu, both at the midpoint of the stage. The Col d’Aspin is a frequent feature of the Tour de France and receives a category 1 rating, while the Col de Tourmalet is hors catégorie. The Tour rarely misses a chance to visit the Tourmalet, though this time around the summit is a significant distance from the finish. The Tour wants to keep the suspense high. These Pyrénées stages will tire the legs, but may not open up significant gaps among the favorites for the general classification.

Both Saint-Gaudens and Tarbes are frequent hosts to the Tour de France. The most recent visits to Saint-Gaudens came in 1999, when the city played host to both a stage finish and start. Dimitri Konyshev of Mercatone Uno won stage 14 in Saint-Gaudens in 1999, while Fernando Escartin won stage 15 which began in Saint-Gaudens and finished in Plau-Engaly. Konyshev escaped with an early break and won his fourth Tour stage in a two-up sprint against Gianni Faresin of Mapei. The following day, a mountain stage that included five major cols, Fernando Escartin of Kelme escaped solo to celebrate his first ever stage victory. Lance Armstrong of U.S. Postal held the Yellow Jersey on both days.

The Tour last visited Tarbes, meanwhile, for the start of stage 11 in 2006. Denis Menchov won the stage which finished on the category 1 Pla-de-Beret. Menchov won a three-up sprint against Levi Leipheimer and Floyd Landis, after the treesome distanced Carlos Sastre and Cadel Evans. The last stage finish at Tarbes took place in 1951. Serafino Biagioni won the stage, while Gilbert Bauvin, who finished second, took over the Yellow Jersey. The stage included the Col d’Aubisque, then a gravel road. On the descent from the Col d’Aubisque that day, Wim Van Est who began the day in the Yellow Jersey crashed, and fell some 40 meters into a ravine. Fortunately, his injuries proved less serious than they appeared initially and he proved able subsequently to continue his career.

Profile Details

This year’s stage starts off with a long false-flat climb, which gains about 300 meters over 50 kilometers. The course heads west from Saint-Gaudens, passing through Saint-Laurent-de-Neste. At la Barthe-de-Neste, the stage turns south, and the first intermediate sprint comes at kilometer 41.5 in Sarrancolin.

At Arreau, the course turns north to the first climb of the day. The Col d’Aspin climbs 12.3 kilometers at an average gradient of 6.4%. It has a category one rating and the maximum gradient is 8.7%. The first three kilometers stair-step, hitting a maximum gradient of 7.5%. Then comes 3 kilometers at a relatively steady pitch averaging 5%. At kilometer 6, the Col d’Aspin steepens significantly to 8%, where it remains for the next five kilometers. In sight of the summit, the road levels out some, and it’s a flat ride over the top. The Col d’Aspin peaks at 1489 meters and from the summit, there remains 100 kilometers to race to the finish in Tarbes.

It’s a 13.5 kilometer descent to Saint-Marie-de-Campan. Then the climbing begins all over again. The Col du Tourmalet is the second and final climb of the day and is rated hors catégorie. Under other circumstances, the Col du Tourmalet is the kind of climb that opens time gaps. It is one of the highest peaks in the Pyrénées, and rarely does the Tour de France miss an opportunity to include this climb. An elite group should reach the summit, but with 70 kilometers to race to the finish, it will be a difficult task to maintain an advantage over riders dropped on the climb.

The Col du Tourmalet is long at 17.1 kilometers and there are few switchbacks to interrupt the steep ramps. The lower slopes from Saint-Marie-de-Campan are relatively easy, averaging 3-4%. Then it’s all steep, all the time, to the summit at 2115 meters. The maximum gradient is 10%, and comes between kilometers 11 and 12. For much of the climb, the gradients hold in the 8.5-9.0% range. A leg-breaker, the Col du Tourmalet is unrelentingly steep, with no space for recovery. With 4.5 kilometers to the summit, the riders will pass through the ski resort at La Mongie, which has served as a stage finish in the past. Ivan Basso out-sprinted Lance Armstrong at La Mongie in 2004. This time around, the race continues to the summit and the final kilometer is a steep 8%.

From the top of the Col du Tourmalet, the riders face a fast, tricky descent to Luz-Saint-Saveur. The roads are narrow in the Pyrénées and tend not to bother with such niceties as guardrails. Not for the faint of heart, this descent. From Luz-Saint-Saveur, the course continues to descend gradually to the second intermediate sprint of the day in Lau-Balagnas at kilometer 125.5. From Lau-Balagnas, there remains 35 kilometers of flat and descending racing to the finish in Tarbes.

In Lourdes, the riders will contest the final intermediate sprint of the day with just over 20 kilometers left to race. The course descends slightly after passing through Lourdes. The final five kilometers are flat, with a few turns to keep things interesting. The stage finishes on the avenue d’Altenkirchen in Tarbes. A small group should survive to contest the finish.

Who to Watch

It’s another day for a breakaway of climbers to go early, and divide the spoils of the mountains classification points and the stage win among them. Though it is a long way to the finish from the Col de Tourmalet, the climb should create a selection among the breakaway riders and we can expect to see a small group finish in Tarbes. Look for teams like Euskaltel-Euskadi, Bbox-Bouygues, AG2R-La Mondiale, and Caisse d’Épargne to try their luck today and chase the stage victory.

In terms of the general classification, the climbers will want to ride hard on the Tourmalet, despite its distance from the finish. Though they may not gain a time advantage from this stage, a fast pace on the climb will stress the non-climbers. A stage race is a war of inches, and the stress inflicted on a stage like this one could create cracks and time gaps later in the game. Consequently, we can expect the climbers to ride today, though there may not be time gaps at the finish in Tarbes.