2012 Tour de France



steve

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2012 Tour de France
The 2012 Tour de France is scheduled to be the 99th Tour de France. It is scheduled to start with a prologue, followed by two stages in Belgium, and end on the Champs-Elysées in Paris. Besides Belgium the Tour also visits the country of Switzerland. This years route favors strong time trialists over climbers, there is 101.1 km of racing against the clock. Sky's Brad Wiggins and defending champion Cadel Evans are the clear favorites, there will be a lot of opportunities for the likes of Vincenzo Nibali, Fränk Schleck, Alejandro Valverde, Robert Gesink, Ryder Hesjedal and Samuel Sánchez to claim a spot on the podium. Starting Teams Ag2r-La Mondiale Cofidis Lampre-ISD Orica-GreenEDGE Saur-Sojasun Team Sky Argos-Shimano Euskaltel-Euskadi Liquigas-Cannondale Omega Pharma-Quick Step Team Europcar Vacansoleil-DCM Astana FDJ-BigMat Lotto-Belisol Rabobank Team Katusha BMC Racing Team Garmin-Sharp Movistar Team RadioShack-Nissan-Trek Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank Race Map

The Stages
Prologue Saturday, June 30 2012 Liège (ITT) 6.4 km - Results and Highlights Stage 1 Sunday, July 1 2012 Liège - Seraing 198 km Stage 2 Monday, July 2 2012 Visé - Tournai 207.5 km Stage 3 Tuesday, July 3 2012 Orchies - Boulogne-sur-Mer 197 km Stage 4 Wednesday, July 4 2012 Abbeville - Rouen 214.5 km Stage 5 Thursday, July 5 2012 Rouen - Saint-Quentin 196.5 km Stage 6 Friday, July 6 2012 Épernay - Metz 207.5 km Stage 7 Saturday, July 7 2012 Tomblaine - La Planche des Belles Filles 199 km Stage 8 Sunday, July 8 2012 Belfort - Porrentruy 157.5 km Stage 9 Monday, July 9 2012 Arc-et-Senans - Besançon (ITT) 41.5 km Rest Day 1 Tuesday, July 10 2012 Stage 10 Wednesday, July 11 2012 Mâcon - Bellegarde-sur-Valserine 194.5 km Stage 11 Thursday, July 12 2012 Albertville - La Toussuire - Les Sybelles 148 km Stage 12 Friday, July 13 2012 Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne - Annonay Davézieux 226 km Stage 13 Saturday, July 14 2012 Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux - Le Cap d’Agde 217 km Stage 14 Sunday, July 15 2012 Limoux - Foix 191 km Stage 15 Monday, July 16 2012 Samatan - Pau 158.5 km Rest Day 2 Tuesday, July 17 2012 Stage 16 Wednesday, July 18 2012 Pau - Bagnères-de-Luchon 197 km Stage 17 Thursday, July 19 2012 Bagnères-de-Luchon - Peyragudes 143.5 km Stage 18 Friday, July 20 2012 Blagnac - Brive-la-Gaillarde 222.5 km Stage 19 Saturday, July 21 2012 Bonneval - Chartres (ITT)53.5 km Stage 20 Sunday, July 22 2012 Rambouillet - Paris Champs-Élysées 120 km Start List
BMC Racing Team
  • 1 Cadel Evans (Aus)
  • 2 Marcus Burghardt (Ger)
  • 3 Steven Cummings (GBr)
  • 4 Philippe Gilbert (Bel)
  • 5 George Hincapie (USA)
  • 6 Amaël Moinard (Fra)
  • 7 Manuel Quinziato (Ita)
  • 8 Michael Schär (Swi)
  • 9 Tejay Van Garderen (USA)
RadioShack-Nissan
  • 11 Fränk Schleck (Lux)
  • 12 Fabian Cancellara (Swi)
  • 13 Tony Gallopin (Fra)
  • 14 Christopher Horner (USA)
  • 15 Andreas Klöden (Ger)
  • 16 Maxime Monfort (Bel)
  • 17 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr)
  • 18 Jens Voigt (Ger)
  • 19 Haimar Zubeldia Aguirre (Spa)
Team Europcar
  • 21 Thomas Voeckler (Fra)
  • 22 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn)
  • 23 Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra)
  • 24 Cyril Gautier (Fra)
  • 25 Yohann Gène (Fra)
  • 26 Vincent Jérôme (Fra)
  • 27 Christophe Kern (Fra)
  • 28 Davide Malacarne (Ita)
  • 29 Pierre Rolland (Fra)
Euskaltel-Euskadi
  • 31 Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez (Spa)
  • 32 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa)
  • 33 Jorge Azanza Soto (Spa)
  • 34 Gorka Izagirre Insausti (Spa)
  • 35 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa)
  • 36 Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa)
  • 37 Amets Txurruka (Spa)
  • 38 Pablo Urtasun Perez (Spa)
  • 39 Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Spa)
Lampre - ISD
  • 41 Michele Scarponi (Ita)
  • 42 Grega Bole (Slo)
  • 43 Danilo Hondo (Ger)
  • 44 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr)
  • 45 Matthew Lloyd (Aus)
  • 46 Marco Marzano (Ita)
  • 47 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita)
  • 48 Simone Stortoni (Ita)
  • 49 Davide Viganò (Ita)
Liquigas-Cannondale
  • 51 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita)
  • 52 Ivan Basso (Ita)
  • 53 Federico Canuti (Ita)
  • 54 Kristijan Koren (Slo)
  • 55 Dominique Nerz (Ger)
  • 56 Daniel Oss (Ita)
  • 57 Peter Sagan (Svk)
  • 58 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol)
  • 59 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita)
Garmin-Sharp
  • 61 Ryder Hesjedal (Can)
  • 62 Thomas Danielson (USA)
  • 63 Tyler Farrar (USA)
  • 64 Robert Hunter (RSA)
  • 65 Daniel Martin (Irl)
  • 66 David Millar (GBr)
  • 67 Johan Vansummeren (Bel)
  • 68 Christian Vande Velde (USA)
  • 69 David Zabriskie (USA)
AG2R La Mondiale
  • 71 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra)
  • 72 Maxime Bouet (Fra)
  • 73 Mickaël Chérel (Fra)
  • 74 Hubert Dupont (Fra)
  • 75 Sébastien Hinault (Fra)
  • 76 Blel Kadri (Fra)
  • 77 Sébastien Minard (Fra)
  • 78 Christophe Riblon (Fra)
  • 79 Nicolas Roche (Irl)
Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
  • 81 Rein Taaramae (Est)
  • 82 Rémy Di Grégorio (Fra)
  • 83 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra)
  • 84 Nicolas Edet (Fra)
  • 85 Julien Fouchard (Fra)
  • 86 Jan Ghyselinck (Bel)
  • 87 Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa)
  • 88 David Moncoutie (Fra)
  • 89 Romain Zingle (Bel)
Saur - Sojasun
  • 91 Jérôme Coppel (Fra)
  • 92 Anthony Delaplace (Fra)
  • 93 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra)
  • 94 Brice Feillu (Fra)
  • 95 Fabrice Jeandesboz (Fra)
  • 96 Cyril Lemoine (Fra)
  • 97 Guillaume Levarlet (Fra)
  • 98 Jean-Marc Marino (Fra)
  • 99 Julien Simon (Fra)
Sky Procycling
  • 101 Bradley Wiggins (GBr)
  • 102 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor)
  • 103 Mark Cavendish (GBr)
  • 104 Bernhard Eisel (Aut)
  • 105 Christopher Froome (GBr)
  • 106 Christian Knees (Ger)
  • 107 Richie Porte (Aus)
  • 108 Michael Rogers (Aus)
  • 109 Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr)
Lotto Belisol Team
  • 111 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel)
  • 112 Lars Ytting Bak (Den)
  • 113 Francis De Greef (Bel)
  • 114 Andre Greipel (Ger)
  • 115 Adam Hansen (Aus)
  • 116 Gregory Henderson (NZl)
  • 117 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel)
  • 118 Marcel Sieberg (Ger)
  • 119 Jelle Vanendert (Bel)
Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
  • 121 Lieuwe Westra (Ned)
  • 122 Kris Boeckmans (Bel)
  • 123 Johnny Hoogerland (Ned)
  • 124 Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe)
  • 125 Marco Marcato (Ita)
  • 126 Wout Poels (Ned)
  • 127 Rob Ruijgh (Ned)
  • 128 Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa)
  • 129 Kenny Robert van Hummel (Ned)
Katusha Team
  • 131 Denis Menchov (Rus)
  • 132 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita)
  • 133 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa)
  • 134 Vladimir Gusev (Rus)
  • 135 Joan Horrach Rippoll (Spa)
  • 136 Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr)
  • 137 Luca Paolini (Ita)
  • 138 Yury Trofimov (Rus)
  • 139 Eduard Vorganov (Rus)
FDJ-Big Mat
  • 141 Sandy Casar (Fra)
  • 142 Pierrick Fédrigo (Fra)
  • 143 Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr)
  • 144 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra)
  • 145 Cédric Pineau (Fra)
  • 146 Thibaut Pinot (Fra)
  • 147 Anthony Roux (Fra)
  • 148 Jérémy Roy (Fra)
  • 149 Arthur Vichot (Fra)
Rabobank Cycling Team
  • 151 Robert Gesink (Ned)
  • 152 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned)
  • 153 Bauke Mollema (Ned)
  • 154 Mark Renshaw (Aus)
  • 155 Luis León Sánchez Gil (Spa)
  • 156 Bram Tankink (Ned)
  • 157 Laurens ten Dam (Ned)
  • 158 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned)
  • 159 Maarten Wijnants (Bel)
Movistar Team
  • 161 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa)
  • 162 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa)
  • 163 Rui Alberto Faria da Costa (Por)
  • 164 Imanol Erviti Ollo (Spa)
  • 165 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa)
  • 166 Vladimir Karpets (Rus)
  • 167 Vasili Kiryienka (Blr)
  • 168 Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa)
  • 169 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa)
Team Saxo Bank - Tinkoff Bank
  • 171 Jonathan Cantwell (Aus)
  • 172 Juan José Haedo (Arg)
  • 173 Karsten Kroon (Ned)
  • 174 Anders Lund (Den)
  • 175 Michael Mørkøv (Den)
  • 176 Nick Nuyens (Bel)
  • 177 Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por)
  • 178 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den)
  • 179 Nicki Sørensen (Den)
Pro Team Astana
  • 181 Janez Brajkovic (Slo)
  • 182 Borut Bozic (Slo)
  • 183 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz)
  • 184 Andriy Grivko (Ukr)
  • 185 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz)
  • 186 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz)
  • 187 Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe)
  • 188 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro)
  • 189 Alexander Vinokourov (Kaz)
Omega Pharma - QuickStep
  • 191 Levi Leipheimer (USA)
  • 192 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra)
  • 193 Kevin De Weert (Bel)
  • 194 Dries Devenyns (Bel)
  • 195 Bert Grabsch (Ger)
  • 196 Tony Martin (Ger)
  • 197 Jérôme Pineau (Fra)
  • 198 Martin Velits (Svk)
  • 199 Peter Velits (Svk)
Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
  • 201 Simon Gerrans (Aus)
  • 202 Michael Albasini (Swi)
  • 203 Baden Cooke (Aus)
  • 204 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus)
  • 205 Daryl Impey (RSA)
  • 206 Brett Lancaster (Aus)
  • 207 Sebastiaan Langeveld (Ned)
  • 208 Stuart O'Grady (Aus)
  • 209 Pieter Weening (Ned)
Argos-Shimano
  • 211 Marcel Kittel (Ger)
  • 212 Roy Curvers (Ned)
  • 213 Koen de Kort (Ned)
  • 214 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger)
  • 215 Patrick Gretsch (Ger)
  • 216 Yann Huguet (Fra)
  • 217 Matthieu Sprick (Fra)
  • 218 Albert Timmer (Ned)
  • 219 Tom Veelers (Ned)
 
Prologue Saturday, June 30 2012 Liège (ITT) 6.4 km
Run over same course where Fabian Cancellara won the opening prologue in 2004, it's had to go past him repeating the win again this year.
 
Watching the preview now but I am going to miss part of the first stage. I got to take my ride early since it is hotter than 3 hells here now. I am hoping a dark horse makes a mark this year.
 
This years race is wide open I think.

My local bookies are giving tight odds on a Wiggins win. But this is a three week tour and anything can happen.

Evan and Wiggins are obvious favourites.
Frank Schleck, Vincenzo Nibali and Samuel Sanchez will have their say.

I have a sneaking regard for Vino and Ryder Hesjedal. The Tour/Giro double is a huge ask but Hesjedal is going well.

Can't wait to see Peter Sagan and how he'll fare!
 
Cancellara's on the road again.
Fantastic ride by Chava too.
Wiggins took more time on Evans than I've expected.
Shame for Martin's puncture (explosion is more appropriate term).
Looks like the debut effected Sagan a bit.
Menchov solid.
Everything else according to expectations.

Regarding the race in general, if everybody stays upright (almost impossible) Wiggins will be hard to beat. Evans should be his main rival, and if Menchov manages to avoid crashes he could place high too.
It's little bit depressing to hear other riders (who should have advantage in the mountains) expressing low ambitions, talking about top 5 or 10 placings. The only one who stands out of that circle is Nibali.
That kind of attitude is bad for the race. Although it's reasonable.
It's killing my interest. I have similar feelings like I had before the Giro. Not so excited.

Let's see what happens in coming days and weeks.
 
I got to take my ride early since it is hotter than 3 hells here now.

You got power? The storms killed WVA...over 1/2 the state was blacked out at daylight we heard.

I had to mis the coverage this morning, but a great ride by Spartacus.

Now, off to toss on another new chain in the garage...93° here and still humid! The sun's out and it may be 95°+ by the time I hit the road for a light 30 miles. And the roads? They're melting.
 
Lucky buggers.

Weather here in Ireland has been dreadful. Even by Irish standards we're drowning in rain. Summer in Ireland/img/vbsmilies/smilies/frown.gif
 
Hei everybody!
So here we are again, every summer - 3 weeks we are following TdF ! Today was just like we expected and I must say that Cancellara honoured his reputation and the new kid on the block from Sky Edvald Boasson did it very well!
The great Lions are here again among the new challengers of the TdF! I think Vino will have something to say this year because probabily is his last TdF and Wiggins...Well ...Sky team is rocking this year !! I mean Cavendish , Wiggins, Boasson...good team !
I am really looking forward to the next 3 weeks!
 
Hei limerickman! Here in Norway is not a good weather either and this gives me even better excuses to watch tv and follow the guys !
But chear up! The sun is just around the corner!
 
Tommorow will be a difficult 198 km race from Liege to Seraing ! Will be interesting to see if the french favourite Philippe Gilbert will make a nice surprise...although in the BMC team Cadel Evans will have something to say about it ...
So, tommorow will be another day of a good teamwork and I think we will just begin to slightly see the tactical game of the riders ....hm....is the same old thing every year: I am glad like a kid in the front of an icecream! TdF is a huge event and a story about endurance, pain and tactical games!
 
Prologue News
Bradley Wiggins gains psychological edge over Cadel Evans in Tour de France prologue BRADLEY Wiggins has scored a massive psychological victory over Cadel Evans in the Tour de France prologue, gaining a lead of 10 seconds over the defending champion as Swiss star Fabian Cancellara stormed into the yellow jersey. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/tour-de-france/orica-greenedge-rider-brett-lancaster-sets-scorching-time-in-prologue-at-tour-de-france/story-fn8s9i81-1226413297345 Metronomic Wiggins lays down marker for Tour rivals Bradley Wiggins got his Tour de France challenge off to a solid start as he rode to second place in the opening prologue time trial in Liège. Although beaten by the Olympic time trial champion, Fabian Cancellara, Wiggins finished ahead of all of his rivals for final overall victory in the 6.4-kilometre test along the sweeping boulevards of the so-called City of the Prince-Bishops. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/others/tour-de-france-metronomic-wiggins-lays-down-marker-for-tour-rivals-7901902.html Cancellara beats Wiggins in Tour prologue The Swiss has not had the ideal preparation for the Tour, as he fractured his collarbone in April in the Tour of Flanders and his RadioShack team has been hampered by internal conflict and the withdrawal of team leader Andy Schleck through injury. But Olympic and four-times world champion Cancellara clocked seven minutes and thirteen seconds in Liege, at an impressive average speed of 53.2kph, to beat Tour de France favourite Bradley Wiggins of Britain by seven seconds. "It's pretty high on my list of yellow jerseys ... yes, it's on the top for sure," said the 31-year-old Cancellara, who won his first major victory on an almost identical course in the Belgian city eight years ago and has since collected 22 yellow jerseys. http://au.eurosport.com/cycling/tour-de-france/2012/cancellara-wins-prologue_sto3328522/story.shtml Lancaster shines in Tour prologue Brett Lancaster's storming Tour de France prologue ride is a great sign for Matt Goss and the Orica-GreenEDGE sprint train. Despite no specialist training, Lancaster was the best-placed Australian over the 6.4km course in Liege with sixth. It was an awesome ride from Lancaster, who also won the prologue in the 2005 Giro d'Italia and was a member of the gold medal-winning team pursuit squad on the track at the 2004 Olympics. http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8492222 Cancellara wins prologue of 99th Tour de France Fabian Cancellara gave some joy to his troubled RadioShack Nissan team as the 99th Tour de France began on Saturday, winning his fifth opening-day prologue at cycling's premier race in the same Belgian city where he edged Lance Armstrong eight years ago. The 31-year-old Swiss rider proved he's positively dominant in time trials over the 4-mile race against the clock in Liege. This time, Cancellara outclassed another Tour title favorite: Bradley Wiggins, aiming to become the first Briton to win the Tour, was 7 seconds behind in second. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5he1yaUlhxMNPbkCDYGCw439nip7g?docId=c903571503074b3382c163065eec6c04 Bradley Wiggins second as Fabian Cancellara wins prologue THERE WAS a familiar winner of the prologue time trial to the Tour de France, with the rider who is known as Spartacus, Fabian Cancellara, winning the traditional opener for the fifth time and repeating his success over a similar course in Liège in 2004. But the rider in second, Bradley Wiggins, was equally happy. The British favourite had been occupying the hot seat of provisional leader having set the best time just minutes before Cancellara flashed across the line. In the end, his performance demonstrated that his form is there, while also bagging him some potentially precious seconds on his main rivals, who do not include the Swiss, a specialist in this type of effort, but who will fade in the mountains. http://www.scotsman.com/scotland-on-sunday/sport/other-sports/tour-de-france-bradley-wiggins-second-as-fabian-cancellara-wins-prologue-1-2386172 Cancellara hails prologue win as his best Fabian Cancellara won his fifth Tour de France prologue on Saturday in one of the most emotional victories of the time-trial maestro's career. The Swiss has not had the ideal preparation for the Tour, as he fractured his collarbone in April in the Tour of Flanders and his RadioShack team has been hampered by internal conflict and the withdrawal of team leader Andy Schleck through injury. But Olympic and four-times world champion Cancellara clocked seven minutes and thirteen seconds in Liege, at an impressive average speed of 53.2kph, to beat Tour de France favourite Bradley Wiggins of Britain by seven seconds. http://www.supersport.com/cycling/article.aspx?Id=1457661 Prologue Results 1 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan 0:07:13 2 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:00:07 3 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 4 Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:00:10 5 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling 0:00:11 6 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 7 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Argos - Shimano 0:00:12 8 Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha Team 0:00:13 9 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team 10 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team 0:00:15 11 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:00:16 12 Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 0:00:17 13 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 14 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:00:18 15 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Sharp 16 David Millar (GBr) Garmin - Sharp 17 Stephen Cummings (GBr) BMC Racing Team 18 Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan 0:00:19 19 Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan 20 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 0:00:20 21 Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 22 George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team 23 Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol Team 24 Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 25 Marcel Kittel (Ger) Argos - Shimano 0:00:21 26 Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa) Movistar Team 27 Christian Knees (Ger) Sky Procycling 28 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 29 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 30 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Sharp 31 Maxime Monfort (Bel) RadioShack-Nissan 0:00:22 32 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team 33 Kristijan Koren (Slo) Liquigas-Cannondale 34 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 35 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Sharp 36 Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling 37 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 38 Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 39 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 40 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:00:23 41 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling 42 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 43 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team 44 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 45 Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 46 Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 47 Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Katusha Team 0:00:24 48 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 49 Gustav Larsson (Swe) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 50 Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) RadioShack-Nissan 51 Michael Morkov (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 52 Wout Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 53 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale 54 Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 55 Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin - Sharp 56 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:25 57 Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Movistar Team 58 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 59 Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team 60 Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 61 Michael Rogers (Aus) Sky Procycling 62 Jerome Coppel (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 63 Kanstantsin Sivtsov (Blr) Sky Procycling 64 Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 65 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:00:26 66 Alexandr Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 67 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Movistar Team 68 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 69 David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin - Sharp 70 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 71 Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Astana Pro Team 72 Koen De Kort (Ned) Argos - Shimano 0:00:27 73 Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 74 Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team 75 Blel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:28 76 Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 77 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 78 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre - ISD 79 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol Team 80 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 81 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team 82 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team 83 Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack-Nissan 0:00:29 84 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 85 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 86 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 87 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 88 Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 89 Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team 90 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 91 Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Garmin - Sharp 0:00:30 92 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 93 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 94 Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team 95 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Rabobank Cycling Team 96 Jan Ghyselinck (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 0:00:31 97 Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 98 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Movistar Team 99 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 100 Thomas Danielson (USA) Garmin - Sharp 101 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling 0:00:32 102 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 103 Rob Ruijgh (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 104 Imanol Erviti Ollo (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:33 105 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar Team 106 Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin - Sharp 107 Gorka Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 108 Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 109 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar 110 Tom Veelers (Ned) Argos - Shimano 0:00:34 111 Albert Timmer (Ned) Argos - Shimano 112 Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 113 Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan 114 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale 115 Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 116 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:35 117 Pablo Urtasun Perez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 118 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 119 Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha Team 120 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Katusha Team 0:00:36 121 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) RadioShack-Nissan 122 Christophe Kern (Fra) Team Europcar 123 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 124 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD 125 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 126 Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 127 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol Team 0:00:37 128 Dominik Nerz (Ger) Liquigas-Cannondale 129 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre - ISD 130 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 131 Yann Huguet (Fra) Argos - Shimano 132 Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 133 Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha Team 0:00:38 134 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Team Europcar 135 Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team 136 Frank Schleck (Lux) RadioShack-Nissan 137 Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 138 Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 139 David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 0:00:39 140 Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 141 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 142 Baden Cooke (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 143 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Argos - Shimano 0:00:40 144 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 145 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 146 Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 147 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 148 Fabrice Jeandesboz (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 0:00:41 149 Jorge Azanza Soto (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 150 Brice Feillu (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 151 Yury Trofimov (Rus) Katusha Team 0:00:42 152 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Astana Pro Team 153 Joan Horrach Rippoll (Spa) Katusha Team 154 Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha Team 155 Francis De Greef (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 156 Federico Canuti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:00:43 157 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 158 Kenny Robert Van Hummel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 159 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:00:44 160 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 161 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Movistar Team 162 Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 163 Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar 164 Julien Fouchard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 165 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Argos - Shimano 0:00:45 166 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar 167 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 168 Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Team Europcar 169 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 170 Simone Stortoni (Ita) Lampre - ISD 171 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 0:00:46 172 Julien Simon (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 173 Davide Malacarne (Ita) Team Europcar 174 Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar 175 Rémy Di Gregorio (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 0:00:47 176 Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 177 Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 178 Romain Zingle (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 0:00:48 179 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team 0:00:49 180 Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) FDJ-Big Mat 181 Cédric Pineau (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:00:50 182 Yuriy Krivtsov (Fra) Lampre - ISD 183 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 184 Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 0:00:51 185 Grega Bole (Slo) Lampre - ISD 0:00:52 186 Amets Txurruka (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 187 Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre - ISD 188 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha Team 0:00:55 189 Vincent Jerome (Fra) Team Europcar 0:00:57 190 Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 191 Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:01:01 192 Jean Marc Marino (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 193 Davide Vigano (Ita) Lampre - ISD 0:01:02 194 Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 195 Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 0:01:03 196 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Lampre - ISD 0:01:05 197 Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01:06 198 Roy Curvers (Ned) Argos - Shimano
 
Originally Posted by steve .

Prologue Results 0:00:45 166 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar

Ooof. So much for Rolland as a dark horse.

I still like him to have a decent showing, but with 100 km of TT, he isn't going to win with efforts like this.
 
Stage 1: Liège - Seraing 198 km This rolling stage although not as tough as the Liège-Bastogne-Liège Classic is is raced on the same terrain and will favour the same riders. The finishing climb rises for more than 2km at an average of 4.7 percent, it will suit riders like Philippe Gilbert, Peter Sagan, Cadel Evans, [COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)]Alejandro Valverde and [/COLOR]Simon Gerrans[COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)] [/COLOR].

Km 42.0 - Côte de Cokaifagne2.9 kilometre-long climb at 5.1% - category 4
Km 49.0 - Côte de Francorchamps1.1 kilometre-long climb at 6.4% - category 4 Km 94.0 - Côte de Lierneux2.1 kilometre-long climb at 5.1% - category 4 Km 139.0 - Côte de Barvaux1.6 kilometre-long climb at 4.2% - category 4 Km 198.0 - Côte de Seraing2.4 kilometre-long climb at 4.7% - category 4 Stage 1 Profile


The Last KM



Top 10 on General Classification before Stage 1
1 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan 0:07:13 2 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:00:07 3 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 4 Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:00:10 5 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling 0:00:11 6 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 7 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Argos - Shimano 0:00:12 8 Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha Team 0:00:13 9 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team 10 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team 0:00:15
 
Originally Posted by limerickman .

Lucky buggers.

Weather here in Ireland has been dreadful. Even by Irish standards we're drowning in rain. Summer in Ireland/img/vbsmilies/smilies/frown.gif
105F here yesterday.0n the pavement around 115F, insane and an all time record. It makes for tough riding on the climbs.
 
I am a bit worried about the weathertime down the road , because if it starts to rain ...well...we might see some nasty accidents...but I hope not!
The white jersey I hope will go to Edvald Boasson from the Sky team and is interesting to see indeed if Gilbert will try to ride offensive...is a hard day today guys!
The Radios Shack team is leading the main group...hm....I wonder what is their strategy for today ?

In the mass media all over Wiggins - Cadel Evans takes the front page...but guys...I think we are looking too soon in this direction ...surprises will come...or at least I wish for it!

Now I will brew a pot of coffee because are still 117 km to go and the road is just getting to be more narrow....

I miss the fighters in the front but I suppose they save their energy for later ! Enjoy the sunday afternoon everybody!
 
I like Tony Martin but it seems that everything is going wrong for him...he is often to the assistance car today and yesterday.....I really belived that he had a good chance to take the yellow jersey but unfortunately he was so unlucky .. But I wish him a better day today because he needs it!
 
It seems that Bjarne Riis manager of the Saxo Bank Tinkoff gave free card to Mørkøv and he is in front for the polkadots jersey! Nice to see some outsiders challangers!
 
Gee....guys the last kilometers of the race IS A KILLER really will be only the best of the best legs which will have the strength to hold on !
I am so excited to see how this will turn on ! Enjoy everybody! Will be a show!
 
a lot of nervosity in the main group...now is what all this day was about ....the last 15 km....The big Lions starts to get better positions in the field and ....is just to watch them ....I can't stop admire these guys !