The newsflashes : Yesterday at 7:20 - The Top 10 In Stage 13
Mark Cavendish was clearly the fastest of the sprinters but he has missed out on taking a fourth stage win in 2010. The top 10 for stage 13 is: 1. Alexandre Vinokourov (KAZ) AST 2. Mark Cavendish (GBR) THR at 13" 3. Alessandro Petacchi (ITA) LAM at 13" 4. Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) SKY at 13" 5. Jose Joaquim Rojas (ESP) GCE at 13" 6. Julian Dean (NZL) GRM at 13" 7. Anthony Geslin (FRA) FDJ at 13" 8. Thor Hushovd (NOR) CTT at 13" 9. Grega Bole (SLO) LAM at 13" 10. Lloyd Mondory (FRA) ALM at 13"Alexandre Vinokourov has now officially won four stages of the Tour de France. He won in Gap in 2003 and picked up two stage wins of the 2005 race. Now he’s a winner again in his first Tour since coming back from a suspension served in 2007...
After yesterday, we can report that there were splits in the finale of stage 13 that included a former winner of the Tour but Lance Armstrong is no longer a rider with hopes of winning the title. That is now the domain of two main contenders the current race leader Andy Schleck and the two-time champion Alberto Contador.
“Today was a nice stage for my team because we didn’t have to work too much" siad Schleck.
"Still, I had to keep myself out of trouble and out of the wind. It was windy and the guys stayed up front with me and, at the end near the climb, it was fast but I told the team, ‘Thank you, take it easy now. I’ll be alright…’ so only Matti [Breschel] stayed with me and the rest of the team should take it easy because they’ve got a lot of work coming up. So do I, in the next few days.
“Tomorrow will be hard, of course but I’ve trained for it and I’m looking forward to riding up these mountains.
“I never said that I’d have liked two easy days before the mountains but we could call today ‘easy’ because the breakaway went quickly. It was clear that the riders were totally burned from yesterday. You could see it; when there were attacks at the beginning – the attack went 50 meters after the start and already there were guys near the front sitting down with legs full of lactic acid. I think it’s fun to see; we are all human. Some of the riders at the front of the peloton went up the road thinking they could make it to the lead group but the sprinters teams got organized behind and Vinokourov went ahead to put on a good show and hats off for that.
“I’m not sure if I’ll attack tomorrow… if I’m good, yes.
“Yesterday was a day for Alberto and today Vinokourov attacked and he actually made it to the finish… tomorrow it’s not up to him, it’s up to Alberto and me and others. Alexandre Vinokourov realized he is not going for the overall here but now he has a stage victory he’ll be going 100 per cent for Alberto.”
Alexandre Vinokourov, the winner of the stage, says“This is the ‘New’ Vino…”
The last time Alexandre Vinokourov won a stage of the Tour de France was in 2007 when he was also awarded the prize as the most aggressive rider in the stage. He would later lose the title of stage winner and much of his credibility but today, yesterday’s ‘Fighting Spirit’ award recipient was the best. He insists this is “the new ‘Vino’… It’s nice to win here again and it was a good victory. I’m very happy for my team, especially, because I think I helped give some good morale for the team. I’m disappointed that we couldn’t win yesterday but it gave us some good motivation and now we are ready for the three or four stages in the mountains.
I rode well in the breakaway and was great today and I’m happy.”
Stage 14 starts today in Revel and promises to be a battle between the big guns
The second week of the race is now well underway and tiredness will be creeping in. The race will tackle the Pyrenees and the riders will start to feel it in their legs. On this stage, the finish is the hard part. The route is flat until the Port de Pailhères, a little more than 30 kilometres from the finish. The climb to Ax 3 Domaines follows straight afterwards, which could open up gaps. After the very difficult Port de Pailhères, there will be a battle between around a dozen of the big guns and it is very likely that the Yellow Jersey could change hands.
The starting point today is Revel -- and all the sunflowers are splendeforous at the moment -- let's hope there are no riders with serious allergies!
• 8 times a stage town
• Population: 8,500
• County town of Haute-Garonne canton (31)
Revel on the Tour is also the victory in 1969, in a time-trial circuit around the town, of the legendary racing phenomenon of the epoch, Eddy Merckx. The Belgian rider won his second individual time-trial of that year’s Tour there and went on to win his first Tour de France. The following day, the route followed a shortcut in comparison with the 2010 edition, arriving in Luchon, with Raymond Delisle in the lead.The “Bio Vallée Lauragais” cluster is an integral part of the green economy that can be found in the Pays Lauragais area, a zone with a high farming and agri-food potential in the Midi-Pyrénées region, the leading organic region in France. “Bio Vallée Lauragais” was created in order to bring together various partners and cultivate innovative methods for developing businesses. This project is a response to the new requirements of “ethical consumers” of natural and organic products. With significant experience in the agri-food sector, Revel possesses the necessary economic structures to support businesses that wish to set up here. Drawing on the expertise of committed farmers and breeders, small and medium sized firms can ensure they develop whilst promoting the quality and biodiversity of the land. “Bio Vallée Lauragais” aims to pool initiatives and driving forces to work towards sustainable development that combines authenticity and innovation. Revel, a town on a human scale, offers a living environment in keeping with its convictions.
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