Tour de France

Stage 14: Revel to Ax 3 Domaines, 184.5km/115mi

By Cathy Mehl

It’s actually a bike race but there was a bit of poker being played as well.  On the final climb to the ski station at Ax 3 Domaines, yellow jersey Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) knew defending champion Alberto Contador (Astana) couldn’t attack him if he stayed on the wheel of the Spanish rider.  Even going so far as to use a track stand to force Contador ahead of him, Schleck gambled that staying behind his closest contender was the way to play his hand, allowing Denis Menchov (Rabobank) and Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) to gain a dozen seconds on the GC.  But Contador gained none and Andy lost none, creating a successful first day of defense in the Pyrenees.

Part of an earlier breakaway, Christophe Riblon (AG2R) managed to arrive solo at the finish line to claim his fourth career victory since turning professional in 2005.  The French crowd warmly welcomed the 29-year old fellow countryman for a solid ride in the high mountains.  Coming in 54-seconds later were Menchov and Sanchez, locked into a tight battle for the third spot on the overall podium.

Team RadioShack’s Levi Leipheimer put in a decent ride and took 11th on the stage, but slipped from sixth to seventh for the overall.  After the stage he accessed his performance today, saying, “I can’t hang with those guys.  It’s pure and simple.  They are too strong for me but I did my best.  I tried to get ahead of those Caisse d’Epargne guys of course since we have the Team GC so you fight whenever you can.  It’s disappointing to not be able to climb with the other guys that are there in the top 10 but I did what I could.  I didn’t make any mistakes;  I’m just not strong enough.  When Vino set the pace at the bottom it was too hard for me,” he said, referring to the blistering pace set by Contador teammate Alexander Vinoukourov at the bottom of the clim.   Asked to access the upcoming stages, Levi continued with, “It’s always possible that I’ll get a little bit better.  It was the first day in the mountains in awhile and I don’t have my legs yet.  I felt pretty good on the first climb and thought things were going well.  But like I said, when Vino hit the bottom, it just put everybody into the red and I couldn’t hang in there.”   Team RadiosShack now trails in the Teams classification by eight-seconds to Caisse d’Epargne.

Lance Armstrong rode the race at his own pace today, coming in mid-pack on the stage.  Asked if the fire has gone out or if it was just a bad luck day, Lance answered, “I didn’t have any bad luck today but I didn’t feel good.  Obviously if I had the legs I’d try to stay up front.  I don’t know what it is.  Maybe a combo of bad luck that builds up a little bit and wears on your morale.  My age doesn’t help.  That wears on the legs too.  Once you’re not there and you know you’re not going to be the best guy I prefer to sit up and enjoy it.  It’s a unique experience for me to ride up climbs like Pailheres with no pressure at all.  To look around, to look at people , listen to people.  There’s nothing wrong with that.  I’m not going to win the Tour, there isn’t going to be an eighth Tour, that isn’t a newsflash, but I’m going out having a good time.  The crowd is very generous.  The comments make me feel good about my career.  So when you have time to sit up and ride easy, you have time to say thank you, thanks for coming.  Nobody has to fly from the United States, or drive from Italy to stand on a hot French road…but they do.  They should know that we all appreciate it.”  Asked if a stage win is still in his sights, Lance said, “I’d still like to get one.  You’ve got to find the right time.  They aren’t going to let me go early on so you have to have your climbing legs.  Obviously no one is going to give it away.  Back in our heyday we didn’t give anything away so I don’t want anybody to say, ‘Hey let’s let the old man have one.’  That’s not what this event is about.  It’s a hard sporting event and the best guys are supposed to win.  I’ve got 25 of them, I don’t need somebody handing me one just because they feel sorry for me.  But we all know we’re running out of chances.”

Monday the race stays in the Pyrenees with a 187.5km ride from Pamiers to Bagneres-de-Luchon.  The final HC climb come 20k from the finish and it’s a zippy downhill to the line, so watch for some quick descenders to show their mad skills on stage 15. 

Beyond the Finish Line:  My first-ever roadside Tour stage was on the steeps of Ax 3 Domaines in 2005.  The enthusiastic crowds shouting to the riders, the helicopters buzzing overhead, the mass of humanity all cheering for cycling remain etched in my brain as one of the best days of my life.  If going to the Tour is on your list of Things-to-Do, I highly encourage you to make it happen.  You will never forget it.

Top Ten Results

1              Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale           4:52:42                   

2              Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank               0:00:54  

3              Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                           

4              Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank        0:01:08  

5              Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha                  

6              Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank                                  

7              Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana                                  

8              Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto                           

9              Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini         0:01:49  

10            Carlos Sastre (Spa) Cervelo Test Team

Team RadioShack Results

11           Levi Leipheimer (USA)   0:01:53 

17           Christopher Horner (USA)  0:02:26

22           Andreas Klöden (Ger ) 0:02:30

60           Jani Brajkovic (Slo)   0:15:14

70           Lance Armstrong (USA)

74           Sergio Paulinho (Por)

107         Gregory Rast (Swi) 0:28:41

114         Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) 0:29:09

147         Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz)

General Classification after Stage 14

1              Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank        68:02:30                

2              Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana                 0:00:31  

3              Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi          0:02:31  

4              Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank               0:02:44  

5              Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto          0:03:31  

6              Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank                 0:04:27  

7              Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team Radioshack               0:04:51  

8              Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha 0:04:58  

9              Luis León Sánchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne       0:05:56  

10            Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo                 0:06:52

Team RadioShack on General Classification

17           Andreas Klöden (Ger) Team Radioshack                0:10:27                 

21           Christopher Horner (USA)   0:13:14 

37           Jani  Brajkovic (Slo)   0:39:14         

38           Lance Armstrong (USA)   0:39:44

56           Sergio Paulinho (Por)  1:08:24    

83           Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr)  1:31:56

118         Gregory Rast (Swi)   2:05:25

172         Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz)   2:50:49

Photos courtesy of Graham Watson