2009 TDF stage 15: Pontarlier - Verbier 207.5 km

2009 Tour de France stage 15: Pontarlier - Verbier 207.5 km

MOUNTAIN PASSES & HILLS

Km 8.0: Côte du Rafour - 3.7 km climb to 5.1 % - Category 3
Km 18.5: Col des Etroits - 1.5 km climb to 5 % - Category 3
Km 54.0 - Côte de La Carrière - 6.3 km climb to 4.4 % - Category 3
Km 74.0 : Côte de Prévonloup - 4.5 km climb to 4.7 % - Category 3
Km 135.0: Col des Mosses - 13.8 km climb to 4 % - Category 2
Km 207.5: VERBIER - 8.8 km climb to 7.5 % - Category 1


General classification after stage 14 ( top 25 )

1 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 58:13:52
2 George Hincapie (USA) Team Columbia - HTC 0:00:05
3 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 0:00:06
4 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana 0:00:08
5 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Française des Jeux 0:00:43
6 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin - Slipstream 0:00:46
7 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 0:00:54
8 Tony Martin (Ger) Team Columbia - HTC 0:01:00
9 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Slipstream 0:01:24
10 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:01:49
11 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas 0:01:54
12 Luis León Sánchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:02:16
13 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team Columbia - HTC 0:02:21
14 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:02:25
15 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas 0:02:40
16 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale 0:02:45
17 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Cervelo TestTeam 0:02:52
18 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:03:02
19 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto 0:03:07
20 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia - HTC 0:03:16
21 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Team Katusha 0:03:49
22 Brice Feillu (Fra) Agritubel 0:03:56
23 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux 0:03:58
24 Haimar Zubeldia Aguirre (Spa) Astana 0:04:14
25 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Astana 0:04:20

Attached Thumbnails

     

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Steve
CyclingForums.com

Stupid Eurosport is showing motorsports at the moment and this motorsports are heavily behind the schedule. It looks live coverage of Verbier climb might be missed...

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Why am I still a fan of dopers sport?

Can you stream it online instead?

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Steve
CyclingForums.com

Nope.
But anyway, I think a stage to Verbier might be a bit more decisive than Arcalis because none of those climbs are long enough but Verbier is steeper and this is the end of the second week.

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Why am I still a fan of dopers sport?

Eurosport has started to show live images 40km before the finish.

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Why am I still a fan of dopers sport?

Contador's performance was more or less what we've been expecting today. Schlecks' too. Evans underperformed a bit, just like Sastre, in my opinion. It looks like Menchov is riding for pleasure.
Now, what about Wiggins!? I just couldn't believe what I'm watching... It's not just that that he was with big guns, he was trying to bridge the gap to Andy and distance Armstrong & co.... He was on tempo. I didn't expect that kind of performance on this kind of climb. He must be considered as a serious podium contender after today.
Nibali rode excellent as well.

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I didn't expect such a huge gaps today. I didn't expect that only A.Schleck would finish within a minute from Contador. Overall, exciting stage today and I would appreciate if there were more stages like that. I think nothing will happen during the stage Bourg Saint Maurice.

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Why am I still a fan of dopers sport?

Contador just took off today.

He put the foot to pedal and just went and there was nothing tahat any othe rider could do, to counter.
Phenomenal.

I thought Sastre was really gutsy today : he was struggling on that last climb but he stuck at it and closed down what could have been a more sizable gap.

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.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it" - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

Forgot to mention Wiggins - what a performance today.

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.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it" - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

He seems to have had a misspent youth in the wrong cycling discipline!

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"All that we see and seem is but a dream, within a dream..."

lugging around a suitcase all over France always helps to.

Yes all that time wasted on the track!

Great stage today - compelling viewing.
Contador, Schleck and Sastre the pick of today.

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.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it" - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

Armstrng was lucky with stage of Vosges washed. Probably he would have lost a lot of time if attacks were done on the second climb, he already looked tired.

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6 +2 (according Ashenden) samples with EPO should have banned Lance Armstrong to start next TDF !

Yeah he was tanked on the climb to Verbier.

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.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it" - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

Contador as fast as ever, Andy Schleck just isn't in the same league. And his time trialling sucks. LA is really going to have to fight to hold his podium place but Wiggo looks like he's got an awesome chance of finishing second.

I think CSC messed this stage up really. They hit the bottom of the climb so hard, totally destroyed the peloton which allowed Contador to attack early. Bad idea in my book. They should leave their attacking to tuesdays and wednesdays stages where things aren't quite as clear cut as a mountain top finish.

I agree on the Sastre point, he rode very smart, looked like he'd gone completely backwards but worked his way up.

Other point: Top 4 riders at the moment are 4 of the strongest time triallists. People lower down are going to have to attack in the next two days if they want to see the podium but shifting Astana is going to be hard.

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"Hope is the first step on the road to dissapointment."