Posted on 07/12/2006 9:40:51 PM PDT by nutmeg
Stage 11: Tarbes to Val d'Aran/Pla-de-Beret - 206.5km
Course: Any Pyrenean stage that goes over the mighty mountain passes of Tourmalet, Aspin, Peyresourde and Portillon merits the greatest attention from the race favorites - even though this one then continues into Spain for another 40km to finish on the long, but gently graded climb to the Pla-de-Beret summit. If this Tour is going to be a free-for-all, then climbers who want to shoot for the polkadot jersey or a high GC placing must attack on this challenging day. So look for likely KOM candidates to infiltrate the breaks that are bound to form on the narrow, winding roads that precede the Tourmalet. If GC contenders wait until the final climb (13.5km at 5.4 percent) before making a move, they will end up gaining (or losing) very little time.
History: This is the first time that a Tour stage will finish at Pla-de-Beret, but stage 8 of the 2003 Vuelta a España completed a similar course (except for the Tourmalet). At the Tour, the Tourmalet stage in this more difficult west-to-east direction (18.4km at 7.7 percent) has almost always caused major upsets.
Favorites: A stage finishing in Spain has to motivate the Spanish riders. Should a breakaway succeed, look for the Euskaltel team's Iban Mayo, Gerolsteiner's Georg Totschnig or Rabobank's Rasmussen, whereas a larger group arriving at the foot of the Pla-de-Beret will favor Valverde.
Which was my entire point!
Inre Disco's Disintegration,an addendum :did they use up all their chips at the Dauphine Libere? And whose brilliant idea was it to push so hard there?
Cuniga and Arroyo have caught De La Fuente at the bottom of the climb. Landis group is only :55 back. Hincapie and yellow Jersey group are only 1:10 behind Landis now and gaining fast.
Its at a time like this when Floyd wishes he had a teammate with him.
Leipheimer has 2 teammates with him, including the white jersey and Totschnig, who won a big mountain stage a couple years ago.
Landis group has picked up the pace and taken up the chase again (Or are they trying to seperate from the fast approaching Yellow Jersey group). Either Way, the 3 robobank riders are leading the charge and the gap to the lead trio is down to :40
The Rabobank guys just took off. Strength in numbers.
By "and gaining fast" I assume you mean the Landis group is about to catch the leaders. At least that's what he Tour gaps window is showing. Probably have caught them by now.
Yes.
WOW. That was a fast catch of the lead group. Landis , Levi and Co. now starting to put time back into the Yellow Jersey.
Time to make a hot cup of black coffee and get ready for the final climb :-)
Morning, commish. That is some beautiful scenery they are racing through.
16:33 - Battle Royale For Final Climb...
The final ascent is long but not particularly steep. The surface is fast and smooth and the gradient more gentle that what us usual for climbs in the Pyrenees.
Azevedo, Sastre, Schleck, Kloden, Rogers, Moreau, Leipheimer, Fothen, Totschnig, Menchov, Boogerd, Rasmussen, Evans, Landis, Cunego, Arroyo, Zubeldia, Parra, Simoni and De la Fuente are the riders lining up for the battle to the summit at Pla-de-Beret.
I had a breakfast meeting and missed the first 2/3 of today's action. What time did you get up to start watching this?
Levi is definately in the catbird seat at the moment. He has twostrong teammates with him to help push the issue. If Landis tries to go, he goes alone and will have to do one hell of a Lance imitation.
Welcome, Bay!
Yep. This may be one of the most decieving climbs of the tour though. You have riders that have 200KM and 4 grueling climbs in thier legs. The climb looks easy on paper, but may just be the exact type of climb to shred what remains of the leaders.
From Velonews:-
4:24 PM De la Fuente
Is about 30 seconds ahead of Cunego and Arroyo. The two men are about 1:00 ahead of the Landis group. The yellow jersey group is gaining time, too and they are but 1:10 behind the Landis group
4:25 PM Arroyo and Cunego
Are closing in on De la Fuente.
4:28 PM Three men up front
De le Fuente is wasted. He's been off the front pretty much all day. He is likely to get dropped, but he has a nice, nice, hold on the Polka Dot jersey.
4:30 PM The lead trio
are 55 seconds ahead of the Landis group. The yellow jersey group is closing in on the Landis group. We can't tell who is in there with the yellow jersey group though. We have to assume that Hincapie is in that group.
4:30 PM Landis group
is beginnin to work under the guidance of the three Rabobank riders. They are now just 40 seconds behind the leaders.
4:32 PM Closing in
The Landis group are just 15 seconds behind the Cunego group. They are extending their lead over the yellow jersey group, too.
4:33 PM Caught
The Cunego group is caught.
4:36 PM The leaders
Are 23km from the finish. Rabobank is driving the pace. They and Gerolsteiner each have three riders in the bunch. Gerolsteiner has Georg Totschig, Marcus Fothen and Leipheimer.
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