four in the top five for team astana

96th Tour de France

Stage 10:   Limoges to Issoudun, 194.5km/121mi

By Cathy Mehl

It was a day without radios in the 96th Tour de France, an idea regarded by many as unsafe and unwanted, but nevertheless part of this year’s racing.  With teams protesting the two radio-less stages, a compromise was reportedly struck that had today without but Friday with radios. With France celebrating the national holiday of Bastille Day, a French stage winner would cap off a perfect day of relaxing, picnicking and enjoying a fine French day….but not on this day. Sweeping up a break of four that included three French riders, Team Columbia produced a text-book lead-out from the front for fast man Mark Cavendish.  The rider from the Isle of Man jumped around his last man with the green jersey of Thor Hushovd (Cervelo) hot on his wheel, and Cavendish chalked up his third stage win in the year’s Tour, making his career Tour total seven in just two starts.  Norwegian Hushovd kept second place and American Tyler Farrar (Garmin) took the 3rd spot.

There was no change overall as Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R) kept the yellow jersey for another day and Team Astana now hold 2nd through positions on GC with Alberto Contador six seconds off the pace, Lance Armstrong another two second behind, with Andreas Klöden and Levi Leipheimer tied at 54-seconds off the lead.  Leipheimer lost a few seconds today, perhaps held up by a closing crash that took out a Katusha rider.

"Riders were not happy being unable to listen," said Contador after the race. "It was dangerous. The race organizers wanted more spectacle but they got less. Cycling has changed--it's dangrious with so many car in the peloton. It was a pity for the public." He continued with, "On the other hand it was a flat stage so you could not expect a lot. But it would be better to do experiments in other races," he concluded.

General Manager Johan Bruyneel agreed. "I understand the reason for no radios was to have more attractive racing and that's obviously not what happened. If that's what they wanted to accomplish it's been a failure and I just think it's a bad idea to go back twenty years and do something like this in the biggest race of the year. It took away a tool that everybody uses everyday."

There was some rain and slight wind as the race moved into central France where plenty of creative hay art greeted the peloton of 171 riders. After a slow start on the stage, a  break of four riders went away on the first of three climbs and set an easy tempo on the first day back after Monday’s rest day.  In the break were local rider Thierry Hupond (Skil-Shimano), Russian Mikhail Ignatiev (Katusha), and two more French riders in Benoit Vaurengard (FdJ) and Samuel Dumoulin of Cofidis.  Whether it was a planned slow-down of peloton in protest to no radios or merely an easy tempo to warm up the legs after a day off the bike, the speeds in the group were nothing to shout about. The gap fluctuated between 2-3 minutes with the peloton mostly controlled by the teams of the sprinters. 

The pace finally picked up in the last 20km and the quartet was methodically brought back with the peloton rolling over the break in the last 2km.  Many lefts and rights created some chaos in the finale, but Team Columbia-HTC always knows the way to the finish line and Cavendish finished off his teammates' hard work to claim his 16th win this year and 48th career victory in only three years as a professional.

Wednesday is another day for the sprinters as the Tour travels from Vatan to Saint Fargeau with 192km/119mi of riding on a fairly flat day similar to today….except for one thing: radios allowed.  

Beyond the Finish Line: On July 14, 1789, in an act of defiance again a corrupt aristocracy and in fear that they and their representatives would be attacked by the royal military after the dismissal of the finance minister Jacques Nectar, the citizens of Paris stormed the Bastille fortress/prison.  Done in part to gain ammunition and gun powder and in part to free the prisoners there (though only seven in number at the time), it marked the beginning of the French Revolution.  The anniversary of the attack is now a national holiday officially referred to as Fete Nationale but is known more commonly among English speakers as Bastille Day.

Top Ten Results

1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team Columbia - HTC 4:46:43

2 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team

3 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Slipstream

4 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne

5 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne

6 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale

7 Kenny Robert van Hummel (Ned) Skil-Shimano

8 William Bonnet (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom

9 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas

10 Saïd Haddou (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom

Team Astana on Stage 10

40 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) 

41 Andreas Klöden (Ger)

45 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) 

46 Lance Armstrong (USA)

71 Haimar Zubeldia Aguirre (Spa) 0:00:15

77 Levi Leipheimer (USA)

100 Gregory Rast (Swi)

103 Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por)

168 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz)  0:01:35

General Classification after Stage 10

1 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 39:11:04

2 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 0:00:06

3 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana 0:00:08

4 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 0:00:54

5 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana

6 Tony Martin (Ger) Team Columbia - HTC 0:01:00

7 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin - Slipstream 0:01:01

8 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Slipstream 0:01:24

9 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:01:49

10 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas 0:01:54

Team Astana on General Classification

22 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) 0:04:20

25 Haimar Zubeldia Aguirre (Spa)  0:04:29

41 Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por)  0:12:05

141 Grégory Rast (Swi)  1:15:34

163 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz)  1:25:21