2009 TDF stage 21: Montereau-Fault-Yonne - Paris Champs-Élysées 164 km

Stage 21: Montereau-Fault-Yonne - Paris Champs-Élysées 164 km


General classification after stage 20 ( top 25 )

1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 81:46:17
2 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:04:11
3 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana 0:05:24
4 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin - Slipstream 0:06:01
5 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:06:04
6 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 0:06:42
7 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas 0:07:35
8 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Slipstream 0:12:04
9 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas 0:14:16
10 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Française des Jeux 0:14:25
11 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:14:44
12 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux 0:17:19
13 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Team Katusha 0:18:34
14 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 0:20:45
15 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Silence - Lotto 0:20:50
16 Stéphane Goubert (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:22:29
17 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Cervelo Test Team 0:26:21
18 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Team Katusha 0:29:33
19 George Hincapie (USA) Team Columbia - HTC 0:33:27
20 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step 0:34:09
21 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram 0:34:48
22 Pierre Rolland (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom 0:37:44
23 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale 0:38:20
24 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team Milram 0:38:35
25 Brice Feillu (Fra) Agritubel 0:41:14

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__________________
Steve
CyclingForums.com

Can anyone beat a motivated Cav?

Second will go to Farrar and I'd like to see Bennati show some cobbled experience and do something special today.

The green jersey is all but sealed for Hushovd. 25 points is too big of a gain to make up.

Even if Cav wins, 15th place will seal the deal. Will it be too big of a risk for Hushovd to lead out Haussler?

It won't happen as Hushovd is piss weak staying on Cav's wheel. He doesn't have balls. Haussler should be sitting on Hushovd's wheel behind Cavendish and when Hushvod makes his move, Haussler should follow!

Haussler can give Cav a run for his money!

Wait till next year to see Contador developing in proper sprinter...

__________________
"Soldiers! Heroes!

The supreme command has erased our regiment from its records. Our regiment has been sacrificed for the honor of Belgrade and the Fatherland. Therefore, you no longer have to worry for your lives - they do not exist anymore.
So, forward to glory! For King and country! Long live the king! Long live Belgrade! "

1. Cav
2. Hushovd
3. Farrar.

But look for Ignatiev and Millar to try a last ditch attack to ruin the sprinters party.

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

oddly, hincapie's move off the final bend which squeezed garmin up near the barriers made cavendish's victory margin. couldn't tell from the helo shot, but it looked like the garmin riders had to hit the brakes.

__________________
"Kick over the statues and the tyrants die. Wave bye bye to their heroes with a hammer."
--The Redskins, Kick Over the Statues

Garmin made a complete mess of the sprint.
Their men were all over the place coming in to the final corner of the Champs and - as Slovak pointed out - the Columbia riders closed the door.
Who's idea was it to try to accelerate on the inside?????

Very poor misjudgement - you'd think the likes of Millar would have coped this? maybe not.

This gave Cav a free coast to the line,

The man doesn't need help to win a sprint!

__________________
.."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.

The moment Garmin attacked from the right, instead of hugging the left as Columbia did in the last few turns, it was all over. But Cav would still have won no matter what happened.