Replies

Hushovd relegated for irregular sprint

This report filed July 5, 2006

Defending Tour de France points champion Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole)was relegated from his fourth-place finish in Stage 4 of the Tour de France Wednesday after officials ruled him guilty of irregular sprinting.

Hushovd, who wore the yellow jersey after winning the race prologue and again two days later, was ruled to have blocked Austrian sprinter Bernhard Eisel as both riders raced to the finish line in a bunch sprint.

Robbie McEwen, of Davitamon, won the sprint well ahead of his rivals to claim his second stage of the race and tenth of his career, allowing him to reclaim the race's green jersey for the points competition.

Ah, Calvados, it's the 'county' within the 'state' of Normandie known worldwide for its apple cider. When we accompanied my Uncle to Normandie for the 60th Anniversary of D-Day, my sisters, nieces, girlfriend & I stayed at a 'bed & breakfast' along the coast near Deauville that was actually the upper floors of the manor house of a cidery, in the middle of ~800 acres of apple orchards. The town of Honfleur became our go-to dining area, and the drive to Honfleur was awesome! - a little 2 lane road that hugged the cliffs along the coast, passing more than a few German gun emplacements set to protect the harbor at Le Havre (Honfleur is just across the Seine estuary from Le Havre). Honfleur is the birthplace of the Impressionist movement. The restaurants along the harbor there left quite an impression on us *groan*.

Since we based our festivities in St Mere-Eglise (of 82nd Airborne, Red Buttons / church steeple fame :) near the American beaches we had quite a drive across the length of Normandie all week. Beautiful drive, we skirted Caen each day, even trying to visit/cross Pegasus Bridge one day but the bridge was closed due to traffic most if not all of the week.

As un-PC as it is to say on this board, I'd love to go back! Didn't get to see the museum at Caen, or spend enough time at the cemeteries above Utah & Omaha beaches. Hopefully will make it in the Fall next year....

OK, enough colour, now back to the Tour DAY France! LOL!! (w/ apologies to LK44-40 :)

Results prior to Stage 5:

Maillot Jaune (Overall Leader)
Pos. N° Name Surname Team Nat. Gaps
1 101 BOONEN Tom QSI BEL
2 026 ROGERS Michael TMO AUS 00' 01"
3 003 HINCAPIE George DSC USA 00' 05"
4 118 HUSHOVD Thor C.A NOR 00' 07"
5 004 MARTINEZ Egoi DSC ESP 00' 10"
6 065 MC EWEN Robbie DVL AUS 00' 12"
7 009 SAVOLDELLI Paolo DSC ITA 00' 15"
8 083 BENNATI Daniele LAM ITA 00' 15"
9 071 LANDIS Floyd PHO USA 00' 16"
10 096 KARPETS Vladimir CEI RUS 00' 17"
11 023 HONCHAR Serhiy TMO UKR 00' 17"
12 024 KESSLER Matthias TMO GER 00' 17"
13 061 EVANS Cadel DVL AUS 00' 20"
14 031 MOREAU Christophe A2R FRA 00' 20"
15 146 MILLAR David SDV GBR 00' 21"
16 027 SINKEWITZ Patrik TMO GER 00' 23"
17 018 ZABRISKIE David CSC USA 00' 23"
18 021 KLÖDEN Andréas TMO GER 00' 24"
19 042 FOTHEN Marcus GST GER 00' 25"
20 056 FREIRE Oscar RAB ESP 00' 25"

Maillot Vert (Sprint Points)
Pos. N° Name Surname Team Nat. Points
1 065 MC EWEN Robbie DVL AUS 100
2 101 BOONEN Tom QSI BEL 89
3 118 HUSHOVD Thor C.A NOR 86
4 083 BENNATI Daniele LAM ITA 85
5 056 FREIRE Oscar RAB ESP 80
6 181 ZABEL Erik MRM GER 59
7 168 PAOLINI Luca LIQ ITA 57
8 153 EISEL Bernhard FDJ AUT 52
9 133 CASPER Jimmy COF FRA 50
9 026 ROGERS Michael TMO AUS 50
9 094 GALVEZ Isaac CEI ESP 50
12 013 O’GRADY Stuart CSC AUS 43
13 149 VENTOSO Francisco SDV ESP 42
14 003 HINCAPIE George DSC USA 40
15 048 WROLICH Peter GST AUT 31
16 162 ALBASINI Michael LIQ SUI 30
17 125 ISASI Inaki EUS ESP 28
18 024 KESSLER Matthias TMO GER 25
19 004 MARTINEZ Egoi DSC ESP 22
20 173 BROCHARD Laurent BTL FRA 21

Maillot à Pois Rouges (King of the Mountains)
Pos. N° Name Surname Team Nat. Points
1 177 PINEAU Jérôme BTL FRA 21
2 143 DE LA FUENTE David SDV ESP 17
3 047 WEGMANN Fabian GST GER 14
4 124 HERNANDEZ Aitor EUS ESP 10
5 123 ETXEBARRIA Unai EUS VEN 7
6 032 ARRIETA Jose Luis A2R ESP 6
6 196 LAURENT Christophe AGR FRA 6
6 017 VOIGT Jens CSC GER 6
9 176 LEFEVRE Laurent BTL FRA 5
10 024 KESSLER Matthias TMO GER 4
11 154 GILBERT Philippe FDJ BEL 3
12 004 MARTINEZ Egoi DSC ESP 2
12 052 BOOGERD Michael RAB NED 2
12 179 SPRICK Matthieu BTL FRA 2
15 101 BOONEN Tom QSI BEL 1
15 174 FEDRIGO Pierrick BTL FRA 1
15 193 COUTOULY Cédric AGR FRA 1

Maillot Blanc (Overall Leader under 25)
Pos. N° Name Surname Team Nat. Gaps
1 042 FOTHEN Marcus GST GER
2 159 VAUGRENARD Benoît FDJ FRA 00' 03"
3 154 GILBERT Philippe FDJ BEL 00' 11"
4 157 LÖVKVIST Thomas FDJ SWE 00' 17"
5 153 EISEL Bernhard FDJ AUT 00' 20"
6 147 RICCO Riccardo SDV ITA 00' 23"
7 106 RUJANO José QSI VEN 00' 25"
8 081 CUNEGO Damiano LAM ITA 00' 35"
9 184 GRIVKO Andriy MRM UKR 00' 35"
10 185 IGLINSKIY Maxim MRM KAZ 00' 51"
11 195 GONZALO RAMIREZ Eduardo AGR ESP 00' 52"
12 059 WEENING Pieter RAB NED 00' 55"
13 194 DUENAS NEVADO Moises AGR ESP 00' 58"
14 186 KNEES Christian MRM GER 01' 00"
15 127 LOPEZ GARCIA David EUS ESP 01' 52"
16 149 VENTOSO Francisco SDV ESP 01' 55"
17 179 SPRICK Matthieu BTL FRA 01' 59"
18 057 POSTHUMA Joost RAB NED 05' 41"
19 069 VANSUMMEREN Johan DVL BEL 10' 08"
20 143 DE LA FUENTE David SDV ESP 12' 10"

Nombres Jaune (Best Team: Top 3 Time for each stage)
Pos. Team Gaps
1 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM
2 TEAM CSC 00' 01"
3 T-MOBILE TEAM 00' 02"
4 CAISSE D’EPARGNE-ILLES BALEARS 00' 07"
5 GEROLSTEINER 00' 18"
6 PHONAK HEARING SYSTEMS 00' 26"
7 LAMPRE-FONDITAL 00' 37"
8 SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR 00' 42"
9 RABOBANK 00' 42"
10 CREDIT AGRICOLE 00' 43"
11 AG2R PREVOYANCE 00' 44"
12 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 01' 03"
13 BOUYGUES TELECOM 01' 10"
14 DAVITAMON - LOTTO 01' 12"
15 QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC 01' 15"
16 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 01' 27"
17 TEAM MILRAM 01' 28"
18 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 01' 40"
19 LIQUIGAS 01' 56"
20 AGRITUBEL 01' 59"

Nombres rouge (Most Combative)
#004 MARTINEZ Egoi (DSC,ESP) will wear the red numbers tomorrow. Since his team is also in first place, they might be red numbers on a yellow background. I'll have to watch for that tomorrow.

Boonen got a 12 second time bonus, so his lead increased over everyone by that amount. There are now only 50 other riders in the field within a minute of Boonen.

Maillot Jaune (Overall Leader)
Pos. N° Name Surname Team Nat. Gaps
1 101 BOONEN Tom QSI BEL - 25:10:51
2 026 ROGERS Michael TMO AUS 00' 13"
3 056 FREIRE Oscar RAB ESP 00' 17"
4 003 HINCAPIE George DSC USA 00' 17"
5 118 HUSHOVD Thor C.A NOR 00' 19"
6 065 MC EWEN Robbie DVL AUS 00' 24"
7 009 SAVOLDELLI Paolo DSC ITA 00' 27"
8 071 LANDIS Floyd PHO USA 00' 28"
9 096 KARPETS Vladimir CEI RUS 00' 29"
10 023 HONCHAR Serhiy TMO UKR 00' 29"
11 024 KESSLER Matthias TMO GER 00' 29"
12 061 EVANS Cadel DVL AUS 00' 32"
13 031 MOREAU Christophe A2R FRA 00' 32"
14 146 MILLAR David SDV GBR 00' 33"
15 027 SINKEWITZ Patrik TMO GER 00' 35"
16 018 ZABRISKIE David CSC USA 00' 35"
17 021 KLÖDEN Andréas TMO GER 00' 36"
18 042 FOTHEN Marcus GST GER 00' 37"
19 035 DESSEL Cyril A2R FRA 00' 37"
20 011 JULICH Bobby CSC USA 00' 37"

Maillot Vert (Sprint Points)
Pos. N° Name Surname Team Nat. Points
1 065 MC EWEN Robbie DVL AUS 122
2 101 BOONEN Tom QSI BEL 121
3 056 FREIRE Oscar RAB ESP 115
4 083 BENNATI Daniele LAM ITA 86
5 118 HUSHOVD Thor C.A NOR 81
6 181 ZABEL Erik MRM GER 76
7 168 PAOLINI Luca LIQ ITA 72
8 153 EISEL Bernhard FDJ AUT 69
9 133 CASPER Jimmy COF FRA 63
10 149 VENTOSO Francisco SDV ESP 61
11 125 ISASI Inaki EUS ESP 54
12 026 ROGERS Michael TMO AUS 51
13 094 GALVEZ Isaac CEI ESP 50
14 043 KOPP David GST GER 46
15 003 HINCAPIE George DSC USA 44
16 013 O’GRADY Stuart CSC AUS 43
17 173 BROCHARD Laurent BTL FRA 36
18 162 ALBASINI Michael LIQ SUI 31
19 048 WROLICH Peter GST AUT 31
20 025 MAZZOLENI Eddy TMO ITA 28

Maillot à Pois Rouges (King of the Mountains)
Pos. N° Name Surname Team Nat. Points
1 177 PINEAU Jérôme BTL FRA 26
2 143 DE LA FUENTE David SDV ESP 17
3 047 WEGMANN Fabian GST GER 15
4 124 HERNANDEZ Aitor EUS ESP 10
5 188 SCHRÖDER Björn MRM GER 9
6 123 ETXEBARRIA Unai EUS VEN 7
7 032 ARRIETA Jose Luis A2R ESP 6
8 196 LAURENT Christophe AGR FRA 6
9 036 DUMOULIN Samuel A2R FRA 6
10 017 VOIGT Jens CSC GER 6
11 176 LEFEVRE Laurent BTL FRA 5
12 024 KESSLER Matthias TMO GER 4
13 154 GILBERT Philippe FDJ BEL 3
14 174 FEDRIGO Pierrick BTL FRA 3
15 052 BOOGERD Michael RAB NED 2
16 004 MARTINEZ Egoi DSC ESP 2
17 179 SPRICK Matthieu BTL FRA 2
18 101 BOONEN Tom QSI BEL 1
19 175 GESLIN Anthony BTL FRA 1
20 193 COUTOULY Cédric AGR FRA 1

Maillot Blanc (Overall Leader under 25)
Pos. N° Name Surname Team Nat. Gaps
1 042 FOTHEN Marcus GST GER - 25:11:28
2 159 VAUGRENARD Benoît FDJ FRA 00' 03"
3 154 GILBERT Philippe FDJ BEL 00' 11"
4 157 LÖVKVIST Thomas FDJ SWE 00' 17"
5 153 EISEL Bernhard FDJ AUT 00' 20"
6 147 RICCO Riccardo SDV ITA 00' 23"
7 106 RUJANO José QSI VEN 00' 25"
8 081 CUNEGO Damiano LAM ITA 00' 35"
9 184 GRIVKO Andriy MRM UKR 00' 35"
10 185 IGLINSKIY Maxim MRM KAZ 00' 51"
11 195 GONZALO RAMIREZ Eduardo AGR ESP 00' 52"
12 059 WEENING Pieter RAB NED 00' 55"
13 194 DUENAS NEVADO Moises AGR ESP 00' 58"
14 186 KNEES Christian MRM GER 01' 00"
15 127 LOPEZ GARCIA David EUS ESP 01' 52"
16 149 VENTOSO Francisco SDV ESP 01' 55"
17 179 SPRICK Matthieu BTL FRA 03' 16"
18 057 POSTHUMA Joost RAB NED 05' 41"
19 167 MUGERLI Matej LIQ SLO 12' 16"
20 069 VANSUMMEREN Johan DVL BEL 13' 25"

Nombres Jaune (Best Team: Top 3 Time for each stage)
Pos. Team Gaps
1 DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM - 75:33:55 (combined)
2 TEAM CSC 00' 01"
3 T-MOBILE TEAM 00' 02"
4 CAISSE D’EPARGNE-ILLES BALEARS 00' 07"
5 GEROLSTEINER 00' 18"
6 PHONAK HEARING SYSTEMS 00' 26"
7 LAMPRE-FONDITAL 00' 37"
8 SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR 00' 42"
9 RABOBANK 00' 42"
10 CREDIT AGRICOLE 00' 43"
11 AG2R PREVOYANCE 00' 44"
12 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 01' 03"
13 BOUYGUES TELECOM 01' 10"
14 DAVITAMON - LOTTO 01' 12"
15 QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC 01' 15"
16 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 01' 27"
17 TEAM MILRAM 01' 28"
18 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 01' 40"
19 LIQUIGAS 01' 56"
20 AGRITUBEL 01' 59"

Nombres rouge (Most Combative)
#036 DUMOULIN Samuel (A2R,FRA)

There used to be a patchwork jersey, part yellow, part green, part polka dotted. A formula was used and this jersey was handed out to the rider who was rated the best according to this formula. Specifically, a rider would have to be performing well in all three categories in order to get it.

They stopped handing it out years ago, but it is an interesting competition. Only Eddy Merckx has won all three jerseys in the same year, in 1969. That was the one year in the tour when one man truly dominated the rest of the field.

I'm not sure how the formula worked so I can't say who would have it right now, but if I had to guess, I would say Matthias Kessler of T-Mobile, who is 11th in GC, 22nd in sprint points, and 12th in mountain points.

In a year like this, if a GC contender who is a good climber can stay in the top 15-20 in the green jersey competition during the flat stages, and then goes on a tear and wins several of the big mountain stages (especially the ones that finish on a climb where KOTM points are double), anything can happen. The points are weighted so that the winner of a flat stage earns more, but still.