Today on the Le Tour de France in Visé …
“Tomorrow is a sprinters’ stage – Lotto showed real motivation today, GreenEDGE look good too.
But love Cav or loathe him, he’s special.”
… was what we said yesterday.
Lotto were motivated and GreenEDGE were good – but Cav was better.
Ben Swift expresses it best;
“Cav proved in the Giro that he doesn’t necessarily need a train – he can read a bike race like no one else, he sees things that other don’t and he has that jump”.
He was nowhere, then he was on Greipel’s wheel, then he was on the podium – remarkable.
And even Dave, who’s not really a fan of the Manxman said; ‘Cav’s the man!’
Greipel has riders like Adam Hansen and Greg Henderson at his disposal; Matt Goss has Daryl Impey and Brett Lancaster – Cav had no one, today.
Sean Kelly summed it up;
“He’s like Freddy Maertens, if he comes off a train he’s unbeatable, but even without one he’s a winner”.
Viktor reckons though that it’s not the same Cav as last year, not from a speed point of you but more from a morale perspective.
At HTC, he had ‘his boys’ and he was winning for them as much as himself – at Sky, it’s different, Brad is the star and the team is built around the Londoner.
There was certainly no one for him to cuddle at the finish, today.
On the subject of the Team Sky, it was noticeably today that whilst Cadel’s BMC team was completely focused on keeping the Australian out of trouble, with Hincapie and Burghardt in particular looking very impressive, Brad looked a tad lonely in the final kilometres.
Let’s just hope that Brad doesn’t need back up on a flat stage, then.
Greipel and Lotto do look good though in the finale; and whilst a win is a win and second is nowhere, the big German wasn’t disgraced.
His lieutenant, Adam Hansen has to be the James Brown of the lead-out men; ‘the hardest working man in show business!’
GreenEDGE was third, Lotto got the drop on them but they’ll only get better; Impey and Lancaster are quality riders – and Matt Goss is rapid.
Tom Veelers was impressive in this company for Argos, despite losing their number one sprinter when Marcel Kittel slipped of the back with – as they say in Kirkcaldy – ‘a belly like a poisoned pup’ threatening to burst his jersey open.
Fifth spot went to Ale Jet; it would be wrong to say that the big man from La Spezia is past his best – given the right circumstances, he’s still one of the very best.
And right hand man Hondo still has to be the coolest looking man in the peloton.
Sagan impressed again, sixth and able to beat the best of the ‘puncheurs’ yesterday; today he’s beating the likes of Hutarovich, Haedo, Renshaw and Farrar.
And is just the way that Vik and I think, or has Tyler just not been the same rider since the sad death of his friend Wouter Weylandt in the Giro, last year?
And that man Mørkøv was at it again, today – in the break, consolidating his hold on the King of the Mountains jersey then up there in the finale for JJ.
Michael and Jack Bauer are the riders I think about when my beliefs in the sport waiver – dedicated but fun young men, in love with their sport, fighting their way up the ladder.
We got the winner today, what about tomorrow?
Valverde, Chava, Gerrans, Evans, Gilbert – but something says ‘Sagan!’
And if you were wondering about the victory salute after stage one Paolo Barbieri, the Liquigas press officer tells us; ‘It was only a joke with Slovakian friends, nothing particular.’
We’d hoped for a better story – but never mind.
And the final word goes to the copy writer from ASO on Cav’s victory; ‘Supermanx strikes again!’
There’s a job at The Sun waiting for that man.
ciao, ciao.
Result - Le Tour de France 2012 - Stage 2 Visé
Stage Result
2 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team
3 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
4 Tom Veelers (Ned) Argos-Shimano
5 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre – ISD
6 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale
7 Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) FDJ-Big Mat
8 Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
9 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team
10 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin – Sharp
11 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar Team
12 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
13 Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
14 Kenny Robert Van Hummel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
15 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Team Europcar
16 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Katusha Team
17 Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team
18 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling
19 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling
20 Koen De Kort (Ned) Argos-Shimano
21 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
22 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
23 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
24 Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
25 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
26 Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol Team
27 Davide Malacarne (Ita) Team Europcar
28 Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
29 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
30 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
31 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre – ISD
32 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Rabobank Cycling Team
33 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
34 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
35 Julien Fouchard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
36 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
37 Jerome Coppel (Fra) Saur – Sojasun
38 Jean Marc Marino (Fra) Saur – Sojasun
39 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling
40 Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
41 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team
42 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
43 Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team
44 Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Saur – Sojasun
45 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan
46 Kanstantsin Sivtsov (Blr) Sky Procycling
47 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
48 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team
49 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin – Sharp
50 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
51 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
52 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale
53 Jorge Azanza Soto (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
54 Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan
55 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team
56 Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha Team
57 Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Garmin – Sharp
58 Rob Ruijgh (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
59 Dominik Nerz (Ger) Liquigas-Cannondale
60 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Movistar Team
61 Wouter Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
62 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) RadioShack-Nissan
63 Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Katusha Team
64 Grega Bole (Slo) Lampre – ISD
65 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
66 George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team
67 Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
68 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling
69 Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
70 Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha Team
71 Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha Team
72 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
73 Maxime Monfort (Bel) RadioShack-Nissan
74 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre – ISD
75 Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
76 Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) RadioShack-Nissan
77 Simone Stortoni (Ita) Lampre – ISD
78 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
79 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
80 Imanol Erviti Ollo (Spa) Movistar Team
81 Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Saur – Sojasun
82 Romain Zingle (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
83 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin – Sharp
84 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
85 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
86 Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
87 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
88 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Movistar Team
89 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Astana Pro Team
90 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team
91 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team
92 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
93 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
94 Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Movistar Team
95 Federico Canuti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
96 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
97 Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
98 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
99 Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa) Movistar Team
100 Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
101 Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
102 Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Astana Pro Team
103 Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
104 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
105 Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin – Sharp
106 Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
107 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
108 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
109 Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
110 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
111 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Argos-Shimano
112 Rémy Di Gregorio (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
113 Pablo Urtasun Perez (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
114 Davide Vigano (Ita) Lampre – ISD
115 Baden Cooke (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
116 Fabrice Jeandesboz (Fra) Saur – Sojasun
117 Yuriy Krivtsov (Fra) Lampre – ISD
118 Vincent Jerome (Fra) Team Europcar
119 Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
120 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
121 Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
122 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar
123 Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
124 Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack-Nissan
125 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
126 Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Team Europcar
127 Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar
128 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
129 Michael Rogers (Aus) Sky Procycling
130 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
131 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
132 Stuart O’Grady (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
133 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
134 Gorka Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
135 Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan
136 Frank Schleck (Lux) RadioShack-Nissan
137 Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
138 Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan
139 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
140 Kristijan Koren (Slo) Liquigas-Cannondale
141 Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
142 Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team
143 Yury Trofimov (Rus) Katusha Team
144 Jan Ghyselinck (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
145 Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin – Sharp
146 Thomas Danielson (USA) Garmin – Sharp
147 Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre – ISD 0:00:20
148 Alexandr Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
149 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha Team
150 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
151 Julien Simon (Fra) Saur – Sojasun
152 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Movistar Team
153 Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling
154 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Argos-Shimano
155 Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar
156 Cédric Pineau (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
157 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale
158 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol Team
159 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Saur – Sojasun
160 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar
161 Juan Horrach Rippoll (Spa) Katusha Team
162 Christophe Kern (Fra) Team Europcar
163 Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
164 Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha Team
165 Amets Txurruka (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
166 Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
167 Gustav Larsson (Swe) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
168 Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
169 Michael Albasini (Sw