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Schleck wrecked as cobbles give peloton a bumpy ride

July 6, 2010 16 Comments

Stage 3: Wanze > Arenberg Porte du Hainaut (213 km)

What goes around, comes around.

Yesterday, Sylvain Chavanel was somewhat fortunate when Fabian Cancellara put the safety of the peloton ahead of preserving his race lead, gifting him the yellow jersey. Today, karma was quickly rebalanced when a combination of a devastating Saxo Bank attack and Chavanel’s extreme misfortune handed the maillot jaune straight back to the Swiss rider on a day when the Paris-Roubaix cobbles shattered the peloton like multi-coloured shrapnel across the roads of northern France.

Live blog as it happened – part 1

Live blog as it happened – part 2

On a normal day at the Tour de France, somebody generally has the benefit of a relatively – and I use the word advisedly – easy day. On a flat sprint stage, the overall contenders generally hide quietly from the wind in the shelter of the peloton; in the mountains, the sprinters form a mobile self-help group – referred to as the autobus - which typically trails in half an hour or more behind the leaders.

Not today. Today it was everyone for himself, a genuine test of strength, courage and luck which, once the dust had settled on the 13.2 km of cobbled roads which presented such a unique challenge to the riders, resulted in a general classification which will please some contenders considerably more than others tonight.

Frank Schleck after stage 3 (image courtesy of Andy Schleck)

The biggest loser of all was Frank Schleck who, after the peloton had safely negotiated the three shortest sections of cobbles, came down in a crash on the next, longer stretch just as his brother and Cancellara launched the decisive move which would shatter the group of leading contenders and throw the race into disarray.

Schleck lay, unmoving, on the ground for several minutes while doctors examined him. His collarbone is broken, and he will play no further part in the Tour. It is a significant blow for his brother, who would have relied on Frank for both physical and psychological support on the tough mountain stages.

Lance Armstrong attempts to make up lost ground (image courtesy of Graham Watson)

Lance Armstrong also had a bad day – or at least a bad luck day. He suffered a puncture almost immediately after Cancellara and Schleck attacked. Subsequently adrift, there was at least some encouragement from the burst he put in to rejoin a group ahead of him, allowing him to limit his losses on the day. It didn’t help that his two most trusted lieutenants, Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Klöden, also suffered punctures on the cobbles.

Armstrong was gracious afterwards in conceding that he hadn’t had the best of days:

It’s very frustrating. But again, I’m not going to make any excuses. When we came in, I was in good position. The crash split the group. We hung tough, tried to come back, but got the flat at the wrong moment. There’s nothing I could do about that, just try to change as quick as you can and try to come back.

We lost significant time, so we have to keep our head up, and take our chances on the climbs. It’s just bad luck. My chances took a knock today, but I’m not going home. We’ll stay in the race and keep trying.

Up ahead, the attack had reduced the front group to just five: Schleck, Cancellara, Britain’s Geraint Thomas, Cadel Evans and Thor Hushovd. They quickly caught Ryder Hesjedal, the last survivor of the day’s break, and continued a punishing pace all the way to the finish.

Cancellara buried himself for the cause, taking huge turns at the front to maximise the advantage over Alberto Contador‘s group and, further behind, the group containing Armstrong. Over the same Paris-Roubaix roads on which he had won less than three months ago, he had to concede victory today to the superior sprinting speed of Hushovd (who had finished third that day). Regaining the yellow jersey was pretty good compensation for his efforts, though.

Second and third across the line were Thomas and Evans, who move up to second and third in the general classification. (Thomas also assumes the white jersey as the best young rider.) They and Andy Schleck will have been delighted to have put 1:13 into Contador, who lost time on the run-in with a late puncture, and over two minutes into the likes of Armstrong and Ivan Basso.

The defending champion had ridden well in circumstances where many thought he might be exposed, but he nonetheless crossed the line with a face like thunder. Not because of his puncture – these things happen – but because he had a teammate, Alexandre Vinokourov, in the group who continued to drive on to the finish as Contador dropped away, gaining time not only for himself but for Bradley Wiggins. Public discord in the Astana camp may not be far away. Watch this space.

Stage 3 winner Thor Hushovd

In addition to his stage win, Hushovd will have been delighted not only to have taken over the leadership of the green jersey competition, but to have also extended his advantage over his biggest rival, Mark Cavendish, who now trails him by 62 points:

I’m very happy. Yesterday I missed out on going for the points, and a lot of guys came to me today to say they understood why I was upset at that decision. I’ve won the green jersey twice, and this morning I said to myself I was going to war in a bid to get it back. I will do everything to keep it.

While others are still within sight of the big Norwegian, a dispirited Cavendish will know he probably requires Hushovd to slip up if he is to overhaul him. The Manxman may now have to refocus his sights on stage wins instead.

As for Chavanel, he was quickly spat out the back of the group after the big attack, but would have held on to the yellow jersey without too much problem had he not required two bike changes which would contribute to a total loss of four minutes, enough to ensure that his tenure of the race leadership was a short one. But, in Armstrong’s words, that’s the way the ball bounces. Chavanel would accept that he got lucky yesterday, but he would have been hoping that his fortunes would not turn quite this quickly. C’est la vie. But at least he is still in the race, unlike Frank Schleck.

So, Thor Hushovd will be as happy tonight as Mark Cavendish is miserable. It’s mixed emotions for Andy Schleck; time gained, but his brother lost. It was a case of damage limitation for Armstrong and Basso. And Contador, Evans, Wiggins and in particular Thomas will have been extremely pleased with today’s result.

In most years, the Tour’s most memorable stages come in the high mountains – the stages where the leading contenders go mano a mano, where the race is won and lost. While not absolutely decisive, we may yet look back on today’s stage as the turning point in this year’s race. And even if it isn’t, it provided us with a level of spectacle, excitement and drama which will linger long in the memory.

Chapeau.

Stage 3 result:

1. Thor Hushovd (Cervelo) 4:49:38

2. Geraint Thomas (Sky) same time

3. Cadel Evans (BMC) s/t

4. Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Transitions) s/t

5. Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) s/t

6. Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank) s/t

7. Johan van Summeren (Garmin-Transitions) +0:53

8. Bradley Wiggins (Sky) +0:53

9. Jurgen van den Broeck (Omega Pharma-Lotto) +0:53

10. Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) +0:53

Selected others:

11. Denis Menchov (Rabobank) +0:53

13. Alberto Contador (Astana) +1:13

32. Lance Armstrong (RadioShack) +2:08

43. Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Doimo) +2:25

64. Levi Leipheimer (RadioShack) +2:25

Did not finish – Frank Schleck (Saxo Bank)

General classification (yellow jersey):

1. Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank) 14:54:00

2. Geraint Thomas (Sky) +0:23

3. Cadel Evans (BMC) +0:39

4. Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Transitions) +0:46

5. Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) +1:01

6. Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) +1:09

7. Thor Hushovd (Cervelo) +1:19

8. Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) +1:31

9. Alberto Contador (Astana) +1:40

10. Jurgen van den Broeck (Omega Pharma-Lotto) +1:42

Selected others:

13. Denis Menchov (Rabobank) +1:49

14. Bradley Wiggins (Sky) +1:49

18. Lance Armstrong (RadioShack) +2:30

24. Levi Leipheimer (RadioShack) +2:53

49. Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Doimo) +3:20

Points classification (green jersey):

1. Thor Hushovd (Cervelo) 63 pts

2. Geraint Thomas (Sky) 49

3. Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) 44

4. Robbie McEwen (Katusha) 38

5. Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank) 37

Climbers’ classification (polka dot jersey):

1. Jérôme Pineau (Quick Step) 13 pts

2. Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) 8

3. Rin Taaramae (Cofidis) 8

4. Maxime Monfort (HTC-Columbia) 5

5. Matthew Lloyd (Omega Pharma-Lotto) 4

Stage 4 preview:

Start & finish: Cambrai > Reims

Distance & type: 153.5 km, plain

Prediction: The sprinters will be desperately hoping that all goes to plan on this an apparently straightforward stage. It is a by-the-numbers short, flat blast, so expect a by-the-numbers breakaway, chase, catch and bunch sprint. Ideally suited for the pure sprinters. Mark Cavendish in particular will be looking to put a disastrous start to the race behind him with a confidence-inspiring victory, but with so many riders banged up from the cobbles and crashes of the last three days, this could be a difficult one to call.

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Tour de France stage 3 – live (part 2)

July 6, 2010 4 Comments

Stage 3: Wanze > Arenberg Porte du Hainaut (213 km)

We’re into the final hour and a half or so of the stage now, with six of the seven sections of cobbled pavé still to tackle. Today could have a significant bearing on the outcome of the entire Tour, so bear with me.

You’ll find the first part of the live-blog here.

3.15 pm: The leaders have gone through the final intermediate sprint at Pipaix with 61.5 km to the end. The points were won as follows:

1. Roger Kluge (6 pts), 2. Pavel Brutt (4 pts), 3. Imanol Erviti (2 pts).

Roger Kluge

So, Roger Kluge picks up the maximum 18 points from the three sprint points, moving him up to, well, 18 points. If the break can stay away, he could find himself in green tonight.

The second section of cobbles comes with 44 km to go and is 1,200 metres long. It is the final four sections which are the big ones, varying in length from 2.3 km to 3.7 km. Already there are lots of riders jostling their way through to the front of the peloton, with some hopping over the pavements to force their way through. It’s about to get a bit tasty!

3.30 pm: The yellow jersey of Sylvain Chavanel has been visible at the front of the peloton in recent kilometres, but has now drifted back. Jens Voigt is on the front now, pedalling furiously, dragging everyone behind him. What a hero that man is.

Mark Cavendish has dropped off the back with some kind of problem. Terrible timing, just as the peloton cranks up the pace. His trusted pilot fish Mark Renshaw has come back to help pace him back, but it will mean both of them burning energy that they would have been saving for a potential final sprint.

Oh God, not another bloody link:

Richard Tulloch’s Life on the Road – Travel adventures on wheels and legs.

Amazing effort by Voigt. Pretty much single-handedly, he is causing a few riders to fall off the back of the peloton. It really shouldn’t be possible. But it’s happening. Chapeau, Jens.

Jens Voigt

3.35 pm: The leader’s are through the second 1.2 km stretch of cobbles. Now comes the peloton, with the deficit down under 1:15. Saxo Bank – for which read Jens Voigt – are collectively driving hard at the front, with the main contenders all hanging around in the top 20 or so. The peloton is strung right out, single file in places, and rarely more than two abreast.

Hesjedal has pulled slightly clear of the lead group now as they passed through the third set of cobbles. Solo break?

Another crash at the back involving, among others, Damiano Cunego, who will be a threat for the polka dot jersey, and Dave Zabriskie of Garmin-Transitions. Just what Garmin need: another injured rider.

The break’s lead is now hovering at the one-minute mark with 39 km left. The riders are just about to leave Belgium and enter France. Passports at the ready!

3.45 pm:

It’s going to be fast and furious from here on in, so this is my last blog recommendation for today, honest:

Cycling Project 365 – Alice’s 365-day adventure in cycling, dieting and possible madness.

3.50 pm: We’re approaching the next two cobbled sections, which come pretty much back-to-back. The lead group’s advantage is now down to about 30 seconds, with Saxo Bank and Cervelo working hard at the front of a peloton which has already started to come apart. Cervelo will be looking to spring Thor Hushovd for the win; he was third in the Paris-Roubaix race over these cobbles this spring.

3.55 pm: Sky‘s Steve Cummings kicks and launches off the front of the escape group, whose lead has shrunk to 23 seconds.

Big crash somewhere in the middle of the peloton! Frank Schleck down! Dozens of riders delayed. This stage is now permanently fractured. Tough luck on Frank, as teammate Fabian Cancellara puts the hammer down. Today, tactics take precedence over teamwork.

Splits appearing among the GC contenders. I can see Cadel Evans, Thor Hushovd and Andy Schleck in the front group. Lance Armstrong is chasing hard in the second group, just a few seconds behind. Where’s Contador?

4.00pm: Geraint Thomas is also in the Cancellara group. It looks like Chavanel was not the wrong side of the crash. He will probably retain the yellow jersey tonight, but his lead will be dramatically reduced.

4.05pm: Right, what the hell is going on? Hesjedal leads on his own with 21 km to go. The chase group of Cancellara, Evans, Thomas, Hushovd, Andy Schleck and Steve Cummings is about 30 seconds behind. Armstrong’s group is a further twenty seconds back and losing a bit of ground, Alberto Contador, yellow jersey Chavanel and others behind them and making little impression on the Armstrong group. After that, your guess is as good as mine. This race has been blown wide open. There will be major movements in the GC tonight, and also in the green jersey competition.

4.10 pm: Hesjedal is maintaining his lead with 18 km to go, around 40 seconds ahead.

Armstrong dropped! But he has teammate Yaroslav Popovych for company. Did he have a mechanical problem?

Chavanel stops on his own by the side of the road for a bike change. Disaster!

Confirmed: punctures for both Armstrong and Chavanel. Meanwhile, Frank Schleck is still being treated by doctors. It looks like his race is over.

Geraint Thomas (Sky)

4.15 pm: In the first chase group, 29 seconds behind Hesjedal, Fabian Cancellara – the winner of Paris-Roubaix – is now applying the turbos. Thor Hushovd, who was third, is keeping a watchful eye on the Swiss. Could Sky’s Geraint Thomas find himself in the top three tonight?

4.20 pm: 9 km from the end. Hesjedal still leads the Schleck group by 0:25, the Contador group by 0:55 and Armstrong by 1:42.

Armstrong kicks and leaves teammate Popovych for dead. He will be desperate to catch up to Contador.

The dust being kicked up off the cobbled roads is quite something to see.

Another change of bike for Chavanel! He’s really not having a good day, through no fault of his own.

4.25 pm: And here comes the catch. Hesjedal will not win today, but Thor Hushovd might – and that would pretty much eliminate Mark Cavendish from green jersey contention as long as the big Norwegian makes it to Paris.

Cancellara is sacrificing his personal chances of the win today to maximise Andy Schleck’s gains. The Contador group is 38 seconds behind, Armstrong on his own at 1:49 putting in a mega effort to catch the group in front – which he has just achieved. Well done,old fella.

Incidentally, it looks like Bradley Wiggins is in the Contador group, quietly having a very good day.

It’s starting to look like the yellow jersey will change hands after Chavanel’s mishaps. But who will it go to? Odds-on Cancellara, but Thomas and Contador will be in close attendance.

4.30 pm: Under the red kite: 1km to go. Hushovd for the stage win, surely?

Thor Hushovd

4.31 pm: Thor Hushovd wins! Geraint Thomas second, Cadel Evans third. A very good day for all three.

4.32 pm: Contador dropped from his group! Alexandre Vinokourov powers on, dragging Wiggo with him. So much for teamwork! It looks like Contador may have had a puncture, but even so that’s poor form from Vino. The Spaniard crosses the line with a face like thunder.

4.34 pm: Fabian Cancellara will be in the yellow jersey tonight. General classification leaderboard to follow.

4.37 pm: A stunning day for Britain’s Geraint Thomas, who lasted a course which defeated many of the top names in the sport, moving up to second on the GC and taking over the white jersey.

A stage win for Hushovd has also given him leadership of the green jersey competition, including a 62-point advantage over Mark Cavendish, who may already have to admit defeat and refocus on getting stage wins.

A good day for Alberto Contador, Andy Schleck, Cadel Evans, Bradley Wiggins and Denis Menchov in terms of the overall race. A very good day for Thor Hushovd, who has now established a very useful cushion in the points competition.

A bad day for Lance Armstrong, although at least he managed to limit his losses after his (suspected) puncture.

A terrible day for anyone else with GC aspirations, and a terrible shame for the bedevilled Chavanel.

And, it appears, the end for Frank Schleck.

One word: wow!

Stage 3 result:

1. Thor Hushovd (Cervelo) 4:49:38

2. Geraint Thomas (Sky) same time

3. Cadel Evans (BMC) s/t

Ryder Hesjedal, Andy Schleck, Fabian Cancellara – all s/t

Johan van Summeren, Bradley Wiggins, Jurgen van den Broeck, Alexandre Vinokourov, Nicolas Roche – all +0:53

Alberto Contador +1:13

Selected others:

Lance Armstrong +2:08, Ivan Basso +2:25, Sylvain Chavanel +3:58, Frank Schleck DNF

General classification:

1. Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank) 14:54:00

2. Geraint Thomas (Sky) +0:23

3. Cadel Evans (BMC) +0:39

4. Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Transitions)+0:46

5. Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) +1:01

6. Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) +1:09

7. Thor Hushovd (Cervelo) +1:19

8. Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) +1:31

9. Alberto Contador (Astana) +1:40

10. Jurgen van den Broeck (Omega Pharma-Lotto) +1:42

Right, that’s it for now. Full results and round-up to follow later. I’m off to have a little lie-down. The Tour de France is really under way now!

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Tour de France stage 3 – live (part 1)

July 6, 2010 2 Comments

Stage 3: Wanze > Arenberg Porte du Hainaut (213 km)

Hello! Welcome to my first live-blog of the 2010 Tour de France, which today covers stage 3 starting at Wanze in Belgium and crossing the border back into France before finishing at Porte du Hainaut.

At 213 km, today’s stage is the third-longest of the 2010 Tour. It will take us over some of the famous cobbled roads used in the Paris-Roubaix classic, and will be an adventure into uncharted territory for many of the riders, including defending champion Alberto Contador.

Here is today’s stage profile:

The last time a similar (but much shorter) cobbled section featured in the race back in 2004, Iban Mayo, one of the race favourites that year, crashed and lost four minutes, effectively ending his challenge for the yellow jersey. With that in mind, and after all the crashes over the past two days, this is going to be a nervy, bumpy ride. Hold onto your helmets!

Sad news this morning that Garmin-Transitions‘ Christian Vande Velde had been forced to abandon overnight. He crashed on the Stockeu descent and broke two ribs. This comes after a broken clavicle sustained at May’s Giro d’Italia. Last year, he also broke two ribs at the Giro, which severely compromised his 2009 Tour.

Vande Velde said:

I worked really hard to get myself ready to be here again and I was just starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I’m indescribably disappointed to not be starting. I don’t ever want to have to see another day like today, whether I’m in the race or not.

He also posted the following on Twitter:

Laying in bed beat down, full of painkillers. Thanks for all the well wishes. I am gutted to have to leave in this fashion.

I’m still waiting on official news about any further abandonments. Tyler Farrar reportedly has a broken wrist, so he must be a doubt.

10.30 am: Here’s BMC team leader Cadel Evans on Twitter:

Busy time here at [the Tour de France]. Preparing/repairing damaged bikes and riders from yesterday’s carnage for today’s … err … ‘interesting’ stage.

Chris Horner

10.40 am: Still sifting through the aftermath of yesterday’s crash-laden stage. You can read my stage review here for a host of quotes from various riders. In the meantime, here is an extract from RadioShack‘s Chris Horner‘s fascinating daily blog, providing a first-person view of what happened on the Stockeu descent:

Andy Schleck yelled something at me that generally meant, “Let’s not take any risks!” I was descending on the right side of the road with Levi on my left, when riders just kept squeezing by us. Half way down, after at least 20 riders had passed Levi and I, there was a huge crash with riders everywhere – left side, right side, and in the middle of the road. When I hit the brakes to slow the bike down, I could hear the riders behind me starting to crash. Their bikes were sliding so fast that they were passing by me as they slid down the road. There wasn’t much space left on the road with bodies and bike in all directions. The bikes that were sliding by me were now hitting the bikes and the bodies that had crashed in front of me. I squeezed through a small opening in the road, with one leg out and one leg still in the pedal. I finally came to a stop on the left side of the road, where Lance had gone down.

By the time Lance and I had gotten his bike fixed enough to ride again, we had been passed by a lot of riders. We took off in pursuit of the front group, but 200 meters later, there were another 20 riders down in the next corner. They were spread all over the road again, but this time a motorbike was down with them as well. The very next turn was more of the same, with bikes and bodies covering the road yet again. When we finally got to the bottom of the hill and away from the chaos, we were greeted with some cobblestones to remind us of how much fun we were having, just in case we had forgotten …

11.30 am: Some wise words from the veteran Robbie McEwen ahead of today’s stage:

There is a natural selection of the rider who actually wants to ride on the pavé and who knows how to ride on it. Then there’s the natural selection of the race too. At the Tour we’ll have the classics riders wanting to win the stage, the overall contenders trying to make sure they don’t lose time and then all their domestiques, some who won’t have a clue about the cobbles, doing everything they can to help them. It’s going to be carnage.

11.45 am: The riders are under way! Christian Vande Velde and Nicki Terpstra of Milram (fever) are the two overnight abandons, in addition to Mickaël Delage of Omega Pharma-Lotto, who withdrew mid-stage yesterday. Tyler Farrar is banged up, but starts. An immediate attack is quickly reined in by the peloton.

Yellow jersey Sylvain Chavanel

11.55 am: After the decision to neutralise the chase and final sprint yesterday, Sylvain Chavanel has the honour of carrying the maillot jaune back into France. He leads former yellow jersey Fabian Cancellara by 2:57 and Tony Martin by 3:07.

Andy Schleck, who was lucky to escape serious injury yesterday, is the lowest-placed of the main contenders, 4:06 behind. He can ill afford to lose further time to his rivals today.

Chavanel also leads the green jersey competition. After yesterday’s sprint was nullified, the fast men will be itching to get back into action today.

Chavanel’s Quick Step teammate Jérôme Pineau leads the King of the Mountains classification with 13 points. With just one fourth category climb today, Pineau will retain the polka dot jersey no matter what. The competition here doesn’t really start until we reach the Alps in a few days.

12.30 pm: A breakaway of seven riders has established itself. The escapees are Steve Cummings (Sky), Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin), Pavel Brutt (Katusha), Roger Kluge (Milram), Pierre Rolland (Bbox Bouygues Telecom), Imanol Erviti (Caisse d’Epargne) and Stephane Auge (Cofidis). Their lead over the peloton is currently 4:25.

1.30 pm: I’m back. Let’s catch up with what’s happened in the past hour.

The first intermediate sprint came at Saint-Servais after 35 km. The first three across the line were:

1. Roger Kluge (6 pts), 2. Ryder Hesjedal (4 pts), 3. Steve Cummings (2 pts).

At 48 km, we also had the fourth category Côte de Bothey, the only categorised climb of the day. First over the summit were:

1. Ryder Hesjedal (3 pts), 2. Steve Cummings (2 pts), 3. Stephane Auge (1 pt).

Just to confirm, Jérôme Pineau will continue to wear the polka dot jersey tomorrow.

And here are the results of the second intermediate sprint at Nivelles, which came at 71.5 km:

1. Roger Kluge (6 pts), 2. Pierre Rolland (4 pts), 3. Imanol Erviti (2 pts).

So, significant changes at the top of the green jersey competition. Not yet, anyway. The escape group’s lead has come down slightly to 3:27. I would think the peloton will keep them on a fairly tight leash. Things will be bad enough over the cobbles without having to worry about a desperate chase. The onus is on Quick Step here to defend Chavanel’s yellow jersey.

1.50 pm: Here is a bit of info about today’s start town, Wanze. It’s situated in the province of Liège in Belgium, has a population of 13,000 and today is its first time as a Tour start.

Wanze is close to Huy, where the Flèche Wallonne race finishes every year. The town hosts an international flea market for cycling collectors and enthusiasts. (At least, that’s what it says on the Tour website.)

No commercials here, but if you don’t mind I’d like to give a few shout-outs to friends and fellow bloggers. In no particular order, let’s start with:

You’re going to what? – Adventures in cycling from an average gal.

2.00 pm: Alessandro Petacchi stopped to change a wheel, but no problem.

Here’s Bradley Wiggins, never a man to mince his words, on the decision to neutralise yesterday’s final descent and sprint finish:

I think it was just bulls**t, to be honest. That’s bike racing. No one waited for me when I crashed at the Giro. If it is a dangerous time trial prologue, Fabian ain’t going to slow down and wait for everyone else.

Today’s finish town is Arenberg Porte de Hainaut, the first time it has featured in the Tour. With the finish here, the Tour pays homage to Paris-Roubaix with a run over the famous cobbled sector Drève des Boules d’Hérin – also known, more prosaically, as the trouée (trench).

Situated in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, Porte du Hainaut is an urban district community of 150,000 people. Its 39 towns and villages offer a wide range of attractions: architecture inherited from the industrial era, waters with beneficial properties used in thermal baths, gastronomy based on local produce and colourful festivities celebrating the Giants. The finish at the mining site of Arenberg has been proposed by France as a UNESCO world heritage site. So now you know.

The peloton has just passed through the feed zone. 114 km to go, 3:27 is the gap to the escape group, which is now holding fairly constant as Quick Step measure the pace at the front of the bunch.

2.10 pm: Of the lead group of seven, Hesjedal is the biggest threat to Chavanel’s hold on the yellow jersey. He is 3:43 behind, so that is the safety margin for Quick Step if they want to keep their man in the jersey.

As well as being a possible sprint, today’s stage presents opportunities for some of the Classics riders who are familiar with riding over the cobbles to launch themselves clear of the main field to contest a finish among themselves. Today’s run-in shares sections of pave with Paris-Roubaix, and the top three from this year’s edition are all present today: former yellow jersey Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank), Thor Hushovd (Cervelo) and Juan Antonio Flecha (Sky). Don’t be surprised if one or more of them edges their way towards the front as we approach the final 30 km.

2.20 pm: Garmin’s Tyler Farrar, who had been a question mark to start this morning, has just dropped back for a bike change. He’s up and running again now. 100 km to go, and the gap has slipped back out to 3:48. Dangling on a string.

2.25 pm: Crash!

While I’m sorting out what happened, here’s another blog you might like to read:

SportPH – Covering every sport under the sun … and artificial light for that matter.

2.30 pm: The who, how and why of the crash still isn’t clear. It looks like so many people were so keen to get up the front in advance of the first cobbled section that someone went down in the gutter at the edge of the road. Anyway, everyone’s back on their bikes, with the exception of AG2R‘s David Le Lay, who has abandoned. It looks like the rest of the peloton has reformed.

2.35pm: Approaching the first section of pavé now, which is only 350 metres long. Nevertheless the peloton is stretching right out at high speed regardless. No one is being complacent about the dangers today, obviously. Consequently, the lead group has seen its advantage slashed to 2:25.

A quick shout-out for:

Micaiah sells out – Jeremy’s personal blog includes regular coverage, thought and insights on the Tour.

2.40 pm: Looks like the bunch is through that short first cobbled section safely. RadioShack and Saxo Bank drove the front of the group, with Astana dotted around behind them. Clear statement of intent by the teams of Armstrong, Leipheimer and the Schleck brothers – they will look to be aggressive today and see if they can dislodge Contador on the longer pavé sections closer to the finish. Take a deep breath – 40 kms to the next set of cobbles.

2.50 pm: Good God, ITV4 are going to commercial pretty much every ten minutes. They had better be doing this so they can give us uninterrupted coverage of the closing kilometres!

Which reminds me. And now, a message from our sponsors …

Todd Kinsey’s TDF blog – Great depth of knowledge from a cyclist and endurance athlete.

The gap has stretched back out to 2:46 with 75 km left – having dipped under two minutes over the cobbles – as the peloton relaxes a bit.

3.00 pm: Sky team principal Dave Brailsford explains that it was always the team’s intention to get Steve Cummings into the break today to hedge their bets tactically, just as we cut to images of one of his riders, Simon Gerrans, on the ground after an accident at the back end of the peloton. Oh dear. He’s back on his bike, but he’s on his own and faces a long solo chase to re-establish contact with the bunch.

3.10pm: Gerrans has been receiving treatment from the doctor’s car on the go. He looks like he has got plenty of cuts and scrapes for his troubles, and he will be needing a brand new racing kit tomorrow, unless he’s happy with the moth-eaten look.

Right, that’s enough for one post. For commentary on the final 60 km including the critical final sections of pavé, switch over to part two of my live blog here.

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