Kazakhstan’s Alexandre Vinokourov crosses the finish line of the 13th stage of the 94th Tour de France cycling race, an individiual time trial in Albi, 21 July 2007. AFP PHOTO/JOE KLAMAR
USA’s Levi Leipheimer crosses the finish line AFP PHOTO/JOE KLAMAR
It was raining hard at times today, Andreas Kloden, among others, crashed on the wet surface, costing valuable time.
Andreas Kloeden of Germany AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati
Euskadi Inaki Isasi shakes it off AFP PHOTO/DOMINIQUE FAGET
It was very hot going into Marseille
Cor Vos/Pez Cycling News
The scenery is often breathtaking.
B Cullinan/Pez Cycling News
STAGE 13 - VINO'S BACK
Alexandre Vinokourov clawed his way back into contention for the Tour de France with a blistering ride on a very wet Individual Time Trial that saw some contenders lose significant times. Vinokourov's been riding with nearly 60 stitches in his elbow and leg since a crash last week. But he showed no signs of pain as he unleashed his anger on the course with a time 1 minute and 14 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. He's now in 9th place overall, 5 minutes and 10 seconds out of the lead.
EVANS INTO SECOND. Australian Cadel Evans, placing second, moved his way up to second place in the overall standings and now sits just one minute behind Michael Rasmussen. Rasmussen rode the best time trial of his life to hang on to the Yellow Jersey for a little while longer.
AMERICAN INTO FIFTH. American Levi Leipheimer improved his overall position from 9th to 5th with a solid time trial. He benefitted from poor performances by Iban Mayo, Alejandro Valverde, and Carlos Sastre. Leipheimer is now just 3 minutes and 35 seconds out of first place.
DISCOVERY CHANNEL LOOKING GOOD. American-based Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team now has riders in 3rd and 5th place in the chase for the Yellow Jersey. Alberto Contador placed 7th and Levi Leipheimer finished 9th in today's time trial while other contenders turned in slower performances. Contador is 2'31" off the lead and Leipheimer is one minute behind him. Yaroslav Popovych, Vladimir Gusev and George Hincapie also finished well today.
NEXT TWO DAYS. The Individual Time Trial shook things up among the contenders but did not displace Michael Rasmussen as the Tour leader. He survived, but his lead is reduced to one minute. The mountain stages on Sunday and Monday now loom large for all the contenders. The Pyrenees will keep things very interesting at the top, which seems to me now to be a five-man hunt (Rasmussen, Evans, Contador, Kloden, and Leipheimer) with a few wild cards like Vinokourov, Valverde, and Mayo still able to crash the party.
ZABRISKIE HEADS HOME - Stage 11, July 19, 2007
American Dave Zabriskie crossed the finish line in Montpelier alone, 31:26 behind the field. The CSC rider missed the time cut and abandoned the race. Zabriskie has been struggling with knee pain since the Tour began, attributing it to a team-mandated decision to switch shoes during the Giro d'Italia in May.
"The pain is in my left knee, the one that was damaged in a car accident [in May 2003]," Zabriskie said. "The screws in there are just too sensitive to change."
Zabriskie had hoped to recover during the flat stages between the Alps and the Pyrenees, but found the pace too difficult.
"After the Galibier day I really struggled to try to get better," Zabriskie said. "I was hoping these few flat days I could nurse it back to health, but the Tour is not the kind of race where you can fix yourself. Today was a really hard day and my knee couldn't handle it. I came off when Astana finally did their rotation in the wind."
Stage 13
1. Alexander Vinokourov (Kz), Astana, 54km in 1:06:35
2. Cadel Evans (Aus), Predictor-Lotto, at 1:14
3. Andréas Klöden (G), Astana, at 1:39
4. Andrey Kashechkin (Kz), Astana, at 1:44
5. Bradley Wiggins (GB), Cofidis, at 2:14
6. Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr), Discovery Channel, 2:16
7. Alberto Contador (Sp), Discovery Channel, 2:18
8. Sylvain Chavanel (F), Cofidis, 2:38
9. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Discovery Channel, 2:39
10. Mikel Astarloza (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, 2:42
Overall
1. Michael Rasmussen (Dk), Rabobank, 58:46:39
2. Cadel Evans (Aus), Predictor-Lotto, at 1:00
3. Alberto Contador (Sp), Discovery, at 2:31
4. Andréas Klöden (G), Astana, at 2:34
5. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Discovery Channel, at 3:37
6. Andrey Kashechkin (Kz), Astana, at 4:23
7. Carlos Sastre (Sp), CSC, at 4:45
8. Mikel Astarloza (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 5:07
9. Alexander Vinokourov (Kz), Astana, at 5:10
10. Kim Kirchen (Lux), T-Mobile, at 5:29