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ysobelleStage 15, Embrun to Prato Nevoso (185km)
Adrenaline, testosterone, and blood. Lots of blood.
We’re not only in the mountains now—our first day into the Alps—we’re in Italy, as well. It’s 2.5k to the end, and the field has fractured: a lead group of three, a chase group of eight, then the peloton. What’s left of it.
It’s a rainy, patchy day on the road. Apparently, there’s usually a lot of oil on the roads in Italy, and it certainly seems that way today. An horrendous crash early in the stage took out ’06 Tour champion Oscar Pereiro with a broken shoulder—he went right over a retaining wall on a hairpin turn, fell twelve feet, and landed horribly in the middle of the road below with the peloton still streaming through. He was taken immediately to the hospital. Everyone was stunned, but thank G-d, he never lost consciousness, and they say he'll be just fine. Shortly before the climb up the second mountain of the day, Prato Nevoso, an enormous roundabout took out a vast amount of the peloton on not one but both sides of the immense circle. And in another rare event, Denis Menchov was going so fast in his ascent (riders usually aren’t going fast enough while climbing to have a hard crash) he overbalanced on a slippery patch and went right over on his wrist, losing the chain off his bike. More amazingly, he got right back up, got the chain back on his gear, and rejoined the chase group.
Said chase group contains the top General Classification men: maillot jaune Cadel Evans, brothers Andy and Frank Schleck, Christian Vandevelde, Carlos Sastre, Bernard Kohl, Alejandro Valverde. They’re beating the living crap out of each other on the way to the summit: one attack after another, brutalising each other’s legs. It’s almost sickening to watch. But they’re all close enough in time to one another that a few seconds could change the race standings completely. Just seconds. They don’t care that there are three riders ahead—they don’t matter. They’re not high enough on GC.
But Simon Gerrans of Credit Agricole, Danny Pate of Garmin-Chipotle, and Egoi Martinez of Euskatel Euskadi care. They sprint towards the end—and it’s Aussie Simon Gerrans over the line first! It’s his fourth tour, and his first stage win! Danny Pate, one of four Americans in the race, crosses third and moves himself up handily. (Though he’ll later admit he’s disappointed—he wanted the stage.)
The true drama is coming up behind them: the battle for the maillot jaune. Cadel is determined not to lose it today, and may well do himself some damage, wearing himself too far down. It might be wiser to save something for the rest of the mountain stages, but the yellow jersey has a mind of its own, and men do crazy things wearing it.
Bernard Kohl is close enough to the top that he can smell it. He attacks—he’s over the line. Is he far enough ahead to take the lead? Denis Menchov is over the line, here comes Cadel Evans—he’s over the line! But is it enough? Has the jersey passed to Frank Schleck?
And yes! Frank, the CSC rider from Luxembourg, aided by his brother Andy, has taken the race lead. He and Cadel Evans have been one second apart from each other for five stages now—and now Frank is seven seconds ahead. It’s still far too close a race to call a winner.
Rest day tomorrow, and then, more mountains. I bet they can’t wait.
Adrenaline, testosterone, and blood. Lots of blood.
We’re not only in the mountains now—our first day into the Alps—we’re in Italy, as well. It’s 2.5k to the end, and the field has fractured: a lead group of three, a chase group of eight, then the peloton. What’s left of it.
It’s a rainy, patchy day on the road. Apparently, there’s usually a lot of oil on the roads in Italy, and it certainly seems that way today. An horrendous crash early in the stage took out ’06 Tour champion Oscar Pereiro with a broken shoulder—he went right over a retaining wall on a hairpin turn, fell twelve feet, and landed horribly in the middle of the road below with the peloton still streaming through. He was taken immediately to the hospital. Everyone was stunned, but thank G-d, he never lost consciousness, and they say he'll be just fine. Shortly before the climb up the second mountain of the day, Prato Nevoso, an enormous roundabout took out a vast amount of the peloton on not one but both sides of the immense circle. And in another rare event, Denis Menchov was going so fast in his ascent (riders usually aren’t going fast enough while climbing to have a hard crash) he overbalanced on a slippery patch and went right over on his wrist, losing the chain off his bike. More amazingly, he got right back up, got the chain back on his gear, and rejoined the chase group.
Said chase group contains the top General Classification men: maillot jaune Cadel Evans, brothers Andy and Frank Schleck, Christian Vandevelde, Carlos Sastre, Bernard Kohl, Alejandro Valverde. They’re beating the living crap out of each other on the way to the summit: one attack after another, brutalising each other’s legs. It’s almost sickening to watch. But they’re all close enough in time to one another that a few seconds could change the race standings completely. Just seconds. They don’t care that there are three riders ahead—they don’t matter. They’re not high enough on GC.
But Simon Gerrans of Credit Agricole, Danny Pate of Garmin-Chipotle, and Egoi Martinez of Euskatel Euskadi care. They sprint towards the end—and it’s Aussie Simon Gerrans over the line first! It’s his fourth tour, and his first stage win! Danny Pate, one of four Americans in the race, crosses third and moves himself up handily. (Though he’ll later admit he’s disappointed—he wanted the stage.)
The true drama is coming up behind them: the battle for the maillot jaune. Cadel is determined not to lose it today, and may well do himself some damage, wearing himself too far down. It might be wiser to save something for the rest of the mountain stages, but the yellow jersey has a mind of its own, and men do crazy things wearing it.
Bernard Kohl is close enough to the top that he can smell it. He attacks—he’s over the line. Is he far enough ahead to take the lead? Denis Menchov is over the line, here comes Cadel Evans—he’s over the line! But is it enough? Has the jersey passed to Frank Schleck?
And yes! Frank, the CSC rider from Luxembourg, aided by his brother Andy, has taken the race lead. He and Cadel Evans have been one second apart from each other for five stages now—and now Frank is seven seconds ahead. It’s still far too close a race to call a winner.
Rest day tomorrow, and then, more mountains. I bet they can’t wait.