A more typical transitional stage today, with a two-rider break caught in the last couple kilometres and a bunch sprint for the finish. Boonen took it over the other sprinters in the hunt for the green jersey, Zabel and Hunter.
No changes to the overall, with none of the key contenders affected.
Top Chillin took the satage win in the Pool, with a new face, David Markin, in second and former two-time champion Metuzals tied for third with Chiang.
Holzauer continues to lead the pool, but the big news is a big fade for the Hamburglars, who are down to fifth. Meylina Kandoy has jumped ahead of Scafel into second, and Markin is up to third.
Scallion has lost ground in the lanterne rouge classification: she's back up to 1 point, while Off the Back holds steady at -20.
The Albi time trial is tomorrow: expect big changes because the Chicken flies just like his namesake in this kind of race. In other words, he's better off walking ...
-- KW
Date: Vendredi 20 juillet
Stage: 12
Start/Finish: Montpellier-Castres
Distance 178,5 km
1st 15 BOONEN Tom
2nd 12 ZABEL Erik
3rd 10 HUNTER Robert
4th 8 BENNATI Daniele
5th 6 HUSHOVD Thor
6th 5 EISEL Bernhard
7th 4 CHAVANEL Sébastien
8th 3 JALABERT Nicolas
9th 2 FÖRSTER Robert
10th 1 KASHECHKIN Andrey
Mountains 2 TXURRUKA Amets
Young rider 1 GERAINT Thomas
Aggressive 1 TXURRUKA Amets
Teams 3 Barloworld
Abandon -5 ONGARATO Alberto
Abandon -5 CLEMENT Stef
Yellow 7 RASMUSSEN Michael
Team 7 Team CSC
Green 5 BOONEN Tom
Polka dots 5 RASMUSSEN Michael
Young rider 5 CONTADOR Alberto
Stage results
Rank Name Score
1 Top Chillin 58
2 David Markin 57
3 Peter Metuzals 51
3 Markus Chiang 51
5 Meylina Kandoy 50
6 Chris Holzauer 45
6 Dopeless Bloodhounds 45
6 Sebastien Robillard-Cardinal 45
6 Grimpeur George 45
6 Adrian Das 45
6 Paul Gagnon 45
12 Paul Scafel 44
12 Orange Scheisse 44
14 Nat Faulkner 39
14 Adam E 39
16 Blaine Penny 38
16 Ed Makarchuk 38
16 Vinnie 38
16 FEV 38
20 Alex Lai 37
20 John Fee 37
22 Those Wacky Stage Guys-Kris Westwood 36
23 Ian Dalling 34
23 Mhairi Gilmore 34
25 Stefano DiCiclismo 33
25 Helena DeVeer 33
25 Superfan 33
28 Paul McAneney 32
29 The Hamburglars 31
29 Rob Kerr 31
31 Matthew Ellis 30
31 Sheri Jay 30
31 Remi Berube 30
31 Henry Mai 30
35 Jamie Bryan 26
35 Donelli 26
35 Deb Hine 26
35 Luise Sander 26
35 Tyler Lawler 26
35 Jefferb 26
41 Bill Hurley 25
41 Cynthia Phelan 25
41 Natasha Elliot 25
41 Rob Grondin 25
45 Les Boyz 24
46 Devil's Island CC 23
46 Liisa Bjerkelund 23
46 Here We Go Again 23
46 Team Damdom 23
50 Shawn Clarke 21
51 Team Alpe D'Huez 20
51 Ian Dewar 20
51 Mike Larochelle 20
51 Annie Letourneau 20
51 JBoys 20
56 Jeffrey Furry 19
56 Chris White 19
56 The Bat Returns 19
56 Martha Guy 19
56 Noddy 19
61 Duane Smith 18
61 Christopher Holloway/Katherine Murray 18
61 Mike & Marnie 18
61 Stefan Sander 18
61 Julie Deschenes-Furry 18
66 Tom Nightingale 17
66 Ben Sporer 17
68 Nadzilla 13
68 Paul O'Bleines 13
70 Gord's Wife 12
70 Claire McAneney 12
70 Oro Rocks 12
70 Bryan Gormley 12
70 Julie Jay 12
70 Hujine 12
76 Derrick St John 11
77 Team 18 Wheeler 10
78 Shaw 7
78 Kevin Nelson 7
78 Dick und Doof 7
78 Kiwi Mike 7
78 Barnet Cycling Club 7
78 Earl Wexler 7
84 Wilby McNight 6
84 Bill Richardson 6
84 VillaEva 6
84 Leslie & Reed Archer 6
88 Viva Espania 5
88 Team of Some Young Guys 5
90 Kate Scallion 3
91 Graham Chafe 1
91 Paul Havey 1
93 Gordon Dalling 0
93 Michael DeKelver 0
93 La Bambina 0
93 Catherine & Richard 0
93 The Sensational S's 0
93 Team Off the Back 0
Overall results
Rank Name Score
1 Chris Holzauer 428
2 Meylina Kandoy 403
3 Paul Scafel 400
4 David Markin 391
5 The Hamburglars 390
6 Dopeless Bloodhounds 385
7 Stefano DiCiclismo 366
8 Peter Metuzals 361
8 Sebastien Robillard-Cardinal 361
10 Blaine Penny 358
11 Ian Dalling 355
12 Markus Chiang 350
13 Helena DeVeer 339
14 Ed Makarchuk 330
14 Paul McAneney 330
16 Alex Lai 328
17 Team Alpe D'Huez 324
18 Grimpeur George 318
19 Nat Faulkner 316
20 Top Chillin 314
21 Adrian Das 308
22 Paul Gagnon 304
23 Adam E 302
24 Vinnie 296
25 Mhairi Gilmore 286
25 Ian Dewar 286
27 Jamie Bryan 283
28 Derrick St John 281
29 Devil's Island CC 278
30 Les Boyz 275
31 Those Wacky Stage Guys-Kris Westwood 274
32 Bill Hurley 271
33 Orange Scheisse 268
34 FEV 263
35 Duane Smith 260
36 Matthew Ellis 259
37 Donelli 258
38 Liisa Bjerkelund 256
39 Here We Go Again 253
40 Christopher Holloway/Katherine Murray 251
41 Deb Hine 249
41 Luise Sander 249
43 Sheri Jay 246
44 Cynthia Phelan 243
45 Natasha Elliot 241
45 Shawn Clarke 241
45 Jeffrey Furry 241
48 Tyler Lawler 238
49 Nadzilla 236
50 Rob Kerr 232
50 Rob Grondin 232
52 Jefferb 227
52 Team Damdom 227
54 Remi Berube 224
54 Chris White 224
54 Mike & Marnie 224
57 Henry Mai 223
58 Tom Nightingale 220
59 Superfan 213
60 Shaw 206
61 John Fee 199
62 Mike Larochelle 193
63 Stefan Sander 190
63 Gord's Wife 190
65 Claire McAneney 181
66 Paul O'Bleines 169
67 Annie Letourneau 168
68 The Bat Returns 166
69 Martha Guy 164
70 Ben Sporer 162
71 Wilby McNight 161
72 Bill Richardson 159
73 Oro Rocks 151
73 Gordon Dalling 151
75 Bryan Gormley 145
76 JBoys 141
77 VillaEva 140
78 Noddy 137
79 Kevin Nelson 132
80 Julie Jay 129
81 Hujine 125
82 Julie Deschenes-Furry 124
83 Dick und Doof 119
83 Kiwi Mike 119
83 Barnet Cycling Club 119
86 Earl Wexler 118
86 Graham Chafe 118
88 Leslie & Reed Archer 111
88 Michael DeKelver 111
90 Viva Espania 110
91 Team 18 Wheeler 102
92 Team of Some Young Guys 88
93 La Bambina 79
94 Catherine & Richard 78
95 Paul Havey 17
96 The Sensational S's 7
97 Kate Scallion 1
98 Team Off the Back -20
The Tour peloton had a long, hot, tough day from Marseilles to Montpellier today as Astana tried to tear everyone's legs off in a "transitional" stage that averaged over 48 km/h.
Robbie Hunter took the first ever stage win for South Africa, and the second for the Barloworld team in this year's Tour. But the pace had caused some big splits, and the big loser was Christophe Moreau, who lost three minutes and effectively dropped out of overall contention. Zabel was one of the others caught out, as Boonen was up front, but the Belgian failed to capitalize on this as he crashed with 800m to go. Hunter is now second in the poitns standings behind Boonen, with Zabel in third, and this is shaping up to be a battle that can go all the way to the Champs Elysees.
One significant abandon today was David Zabriskie, who has been having a pretty lousy Tour this year.
Otherwise, all the favorites stayed out of trouble so there are no major changes to the overall standings.
Paul Scafel picked up another stage win today ahead of Holzauer and the poorly named Team Alpe d'Huez (the Tour isn't going there this year), then Bill Hurley and a big pack tied for fifth.
Overall, Holzauer extended his lead over the Hamburglars to a whopping 24 points, and Scafel has jumped up into third overall. At the back, Scallion managed to lose five points today through the creative, if misguided, choice of Sylvain Calzati, who also abandoned today. She is now back down to -2 points and may yet be in contention for lanterne rouge.
Another hot transitional stage tomorrow into Castres, but with a tough 10 km climb with 60k to go.
Until then -- KW
11
Stage: Plaine
Start/Finish: Jeudi 19 juillet
Marseille-Montpellier
Distance 182,5 km
1st 15 HUNTER Robert
2nd 12 CANCELLARA Fabian
3rd 10 FISCHER Murilo Antoniobil
4th 8 POZZATO Filippo
5th 6 BALLAN Alessandro
6th 5 BOSSONI Paolo
7th 4 CORIONI Claudio
8th 3 GILBERT Philippe
9th 2 BONNET William
10th 1 KIRCHEN Kim
Mountains 2 SIUTSOU Kanstantsin
Young rider 1 CORIONI Claudio
Aggressive 1 VAUGRENARD Benoît
Teams 3 Lampre - Fondital
Abandon -5 ANTON Igor
Abandon -5 ZABRISKIE David
Abandon -5 CALZATI Sylvain
Yellow 7 RASMUSSEN Michael
Team 7 Team CSC
Green 5 BOONEN Tom
Polka dots 5 RASMUSSEN Michael
Young rider 5 CONTADOR Alberto
Stage results
Rank Name Score
1 Paul Scafel 41
2 Chris Holzauer 36
3 Team Alpe D'Huez 32
4 Bill Hurley 27
5 Dopeless Bloodhounds 24
5 David Markin 24
5 Stefano DiCiclismo 24
5 Sebastien Robillard-Cardinal 24
5 Helena DeVeer 24
5 Nat Faulkner 24
5 Grimpeur George 24
5 Adrian Das 24
5 Matthew Ellis 24
5 Sheri Jay 24
15 John Fee 23
16 The Hamburglars 22
16 Ian Dalling 22
16 Alex Lai 22
19 Those Wacky Stage Guys-Kris Westwood 20
19 Nadzilla 20
19 Shaw 20
22 Adam E 19
22 Cynthia Phelan 19
22 Natasha Elliot 19
22 Rob Grondin 19
22 Chris White 19
22 Rob Kerr 19
22 Remi Berube 19
22 Henry Mai 19
22 Martha Guy 19
31 Meylina Kandoy 17
31 Blaine Penny 17
31 Markus Chiang 17
31 Paul McAneney 17
31 Ed Makarchuk 17
31 Derrick St John 17
31 Ian Dewar 17
31 Vinnie 17
31 Devil's Island CC 17
31 Liisa Bjerkelund 17
31 Here We Go Again 17
31 FEV 17
31 Team Damdom 17
44 Team 18 Wheeler 15
45 La Bambina 14
46 Paul Gagnon 12
46 Top Chillin 12
46 Les Boyz 12
46 Duane Smith 12
46 Christopher Holloway/Katherine Murray 12
46 Jeffrey Furry 12
46 Mike & Marnie 12
46 Tom Nightingale 12
46 Gord's Wife 12
46 Stefan Sander 12
46 Ben Sporer 12
46 JBoys 12
46 Hujine 12
59 Peter Metuzals 10
59 Orange Scheisse 10
61 Barnet Cycling Club 8
61 Team of Some Young Guys 8
63 Superfan 7
63 Claire McAneney 7
63 Paul O'Bleines 7
63 Bryan Gormley 7
63 Noddy 7
63 Kiwi Mike 7
63 Earl Wexler 7
63 Julie Deschenes-Furry 7
71 Jamie Bryan 5
71 Mhairi Gilmore 5
71 Donelli 5
71 Deb Hine 5
71 Luise Sander 5
71 Shawn Clarke 5
71 Tyler Lawler 5
71 Jefferb 5
71 Mike Larochelle 5
71 Annie Letourneau 5
71 The Bat Returns 5
71 Oro Rocks 5
71 Viva Espania 5
84 Kevin Nelson 2
84 Dick und Doof 2
86 Wilby McNight 0
86 Bill Richardson 0
86 Gordon Dalling 0
86 Julie Jay 0
86 Graham Chafe 0
86 Michael DeKelver 0
86 Leslie & Reed Archer 0
86 Catherine & Richard 0
86 Paul Havey 0
86 The Sensational S's 0
86 Team Off the Back 0
97 VillaEva -5
97 Kate Scallion -5
Overall results
1 Chris Holzauer 383
2 The Hamburglars 359
3 Paul Scafel 356
4 Meylina Kandoy 353
5 Dopeless Bloodhounds 340
6 David Markin 334
7 Stefano DiCiclismo 333
8 Ian Dalling 321
9 Blaine Penny 320
10 Sebastien Robillard-Cardinal 316
11 Peter Metuzals 310
12 Helena DeVeer 306
13 Team Alpe D'Huez 304
14 Markus Chiang 299
15 Paul McAneney 298
16 Ed Makarchuk 292
17 Alex Lai 291
18 Nat Faulkner 277
19 Grimpeur George 273
20 Derrick St John 270
21 Ian Dewar 266
22 Adrian Das 263
22 Adam E 263
24 Paul Gagnon 259
25 Vinnie 258
26 Jamie Bryan 257
27 Top Chillin 256
28 Devil's Island CC 255
29 Mhairi Gilmore 252
30 Les Boyz 251
31 Bill Hurley 246
32 Duane Smith 242
33 Those Wacky Stage Guys-Kris Westwood 238
34 Liisa Bjerkelund 233
34 Christopher Holloway/Katherine Murray 233
36 Donelli 232
37 Here We Go Again 230
38 Matthew Ellis 229
39 FEV 225
40 Orange Scheisse 224
41 Nadzilla 223
41 Deb Hine 223
41 Luise Sander 223
44 Jeffrey Furry 222
45 Shawn Clarke 220
46 Cynthia Phelan 218
47 Sheri Jay 216
47 Natasha Elliot 216
49 Tyler Lawler 212
50 Rob Grondin 207
51 Mike & Marnie 206
52 Chris White 205
53 Team Damdom 204
54 Tom Nightingale 203
55 Rob Kerr 201
55 Jefferb 201
57 Shaw 199
58 Remi Berube 194
59 Henry Mai 193
60 Superfan 180
61 Gord's Wife 178
62 Mike Larochelle 173
63 Stefan Sander 172
64 Claire McAneney 169
65 John Fee 162
66 Paul O'Bleines 156
67 Wilby McNight 155
68 Bill Richardson 153
69 Gordon Dalling 151
70 Annie Letourneau 148
71 The Bat Returns 147
72 Martha Guy 145
72 Ben Sporer 145
74 Oro Rocks 139
75 VillaEva 134
76 Bryan Gormley 133
77 Kevin Nelson 125
78 JBoys 121
79 Noddy 118
80 Julie Jay 117
80 Graham Chafe 117
82 Hujine 113
83 Barnet Cycling Club 112
83 Kiwi Mike 112
83 Dick und Doof 112
86 Earl Wexler 111
86 Michael DeKelver 111
88 Julie Deschenes-Furry 106
89 Viva Espania 105
89 Leslie & Reed Archer 105
91 Team 18 Wheeler 92
92 Team of Some Young Guys 83
93 La Bambina 79
94 Catherine & Richard 78
95 Paul Havey 16
96 The Sensational S's 7
97 Kate Scallion -2
98 Team Off the Back -20
Cédric Vasseur finally won another Tour stage today, in his 10th Tour, on the 10th stage, 10 years after his last stage win. Vasseur came out tops among the five survivors of an 11-man break that formed early in the stage and gained 11 minutes on the peloton. There were no significant changes to the overall standings.
But the big news of the day, sadly, was the announcement that Patrick Sinkewicz' tested positive at a training camp in June. It may not have happened at the Tour, and he may already have abandoned after his crash after Stage 8, but he faces the consequences during the Tour and he still loses 25 points on the Pool for his troubles. The ramifications of this test are serious, as German TV has pulled all coverage of the Tour as a result.
With a number of less-fancied riders up the road, it was a relatively low-scoring day in the Pool. Paul Scafel took the win over Cynthia Phelan and a group of no fewer than 10 teams tied for third. And three teams paid the price for their faith in Sinkewicz, with both the Sensational S's and Catherine and Richard losing 25 points on the stage.
But the big news was on the overall standings, as Holzauer continued his Soler-like charge and moved straight past erstwhile leaders the Hamburglars, and Meylina Kandoy is now just one point behind them in third. The rest of the field is scattered across the mountainside, as it were, and Off the Back continues to bring up the rear with -20 points.
Another transition day tomorrow, from Marseille to Montpellier, and we will likely see another long break as the favorites husband their energies for Saturday's time trial showdown.
-- KW
10
Stage: Plaine
Start/Finish: Mercredi 18 juillet
Tallard-Marseille
Distance 229,5 km
1st 15 VASSEUR Cédric
2nd 12 CASAR Sandy
3rd 10 ALBASINI Michael
4th 8 HALGAND Patrice
5th 6 VOIGT Jens
6th 5 SCHEIRLINCKX Staf
7th 4 BOSSONI Paolo
8th 3 BURGHARDT Marcus
9th 2 KUSCHYNSKI Aleksandr
10th 1 FLECHA Juan Antonio
Mountains 2 HALGAND Patrice
Young rider 1 BURGHARDT Marcus
Aggressive 1 HALGAND Patrice
Teams 3 Liquigas
Positive test -25 SINKEWITZ Patrik
Yellow 7 RASMUSSEN Michael
Team 7 Team CSC
Green 5 BOONEN Tom
Polka dots 5 RASMUSSEN Michael
Young rider 5 CONTADOR Alberto
Stage results
Rank Name Score
1 Paul Scafel 29
2 Cynthia Phelan 25
3 Chris Holzauer 24
3 David Markin 24
3 Sebastien Robillard-Cardinal 24
3 Nat Faulkner 24
3 Grimpeur George 24
3 Adam E 24
3 Adrian Das 24
3 Matthew Ellis 24
3 Sheri Jay 24
3 Henry Mai 24
13 Paul McAneney 23
14 Alex Lai 22
15 Team Alpe D'Huez 19
15 Bill Hurley 19
15 Natasha Elliot 19
15 Rob Grondin 19
15 Chris White 19
15 Rob Kerr 19
15 Remi Berube 19
15 Martha Guy 19
23 Here We Go Again 18
23 Bryan Gormley 18
25 Meylina Kandoy 17
25 Blaine Penny 17
25 Markus Chiang 17
25 Ed Makarchuk 17
25 Vinnie 17
25 Devil's Island CC 17
25 Liisa Bjerkelund 17
25 FEV 17
25 Tom Nightingale 17
25 Team Damdom 17
25 John Fee 17
25 Ben Sporer 17
37 Noddy 13
37 Kiwi Mike 13
39 Dopeless Bloodhounds 12
39 Stefano DiCiclismo 12
39 Helena DeVeer 12
39 Paul Gagnon 12
39 Top Chillin 12
39 Les Boyz 12
39 Duane Smith 12
39 Christopher Holloway/Katherine Murray 12
39 Jeffrey Furry 12
39 Nadzilla 12
39 Mike & Marnie 12
39 Superfan 12
39 Gord's Wife 12
39 Claire McAneney 12
39 Stefan Sander 12
39 Hujine 12
55 Luise Sander 11
56 The Hamburglars 10
56 Peter Metuzals 10
56 Ian Dalling 10
56 Orange Scheisse 10
60 Team of Some Young Guys 9
61 Kevin Nelson 8
62 Shaw 7
62 Paul O'Bleines 7
62 Dick und Doof 7
62 Barnet Cycling Club 7
62 Earl Wexler 7
62 Julie Deschenes-Furry 7
68 Paul Havey 6
69 Derrick St John 5
69 Jamie Bryan 5
69 Ian Dewar 5
69 Mhairi Gilmore 5
69 Donelli 5
69 Deb Hine 5
69 Those Wacky Stage Guys-Kris Westwood 5
69 Shawn Clarke 5
69 Tyler Lawler 5
69 Jefferb 5
69 Mike Larochelle 5
69 Annie Letourneau 5
69 The Bat Returns 5
69 Oro Rocks 5
69 Viva Espania 5
84 Wilby McNight 0
84 Bill Richardson 0
84 Gordon Dalling 0
84 VillaEva 0
84 Julie Jay 0
84 Graham Chafe 0
84 Michael DeKelver 0
84 Leslie & Reed Archer 0
84 Team 18 Wheeler 0
84 La Bambina 0
84 Kate Scallion 0
84 Team Off the Back 0
96 JBoys -13
97 Catherine & Richard -25
97 The Sensational S's -25
Overall results
Rank Name Score
1 Chris Holzauer 347
2 The Hamburglars 337
3 Meylina Kandoy 336
4 Dopeless Bloodhounds 316
5 Paul Scafel 315
6 David Markin 310
7 Stefano DiCiclismo 309
8 Blaine Penny 303
9 Peter Metuzals 300
10 Ian Dalling 299
11 Sebastien Robillard-Cardinal 292
12 Markus Chiang 282
12 Helena DeVeer 282
14 Paul McAneney 281
15 Ed Makarchuk 275
16 Team Alpe D'Huez 272
17 Alex Lai 269
18 Nat Faulkner 253
18 Derrick St John 253
20 Jamie Bryan 252
21 Grimpeur George 249
21 Ian Dewar 249
23 Paul Gagnon 247
23 Mhairi Gilmore 247
25 Adam E 244
25 Top Chillin 244
27 Vinnie 241
28 Adrian Das 239
28 Les Boyz 239
30 Devil's Island CC 238
31 Duane Smith 230
32 Donelli 227
33 Christopher Holloway/Katherine Murray 221
34 Bill Hurley 219
35 Luise Sander 218
35 Deb Hine 218
35 Those Wacky Stage Guys-Kris Westwood 218
38 Liisa Bjerkelund 216
39 Shawn Clarke 215
40 Orange Scheisse 214
41 Here We Go Again 213
42 Jeffrey Furry 210
43 FEV 208
44 Tyler Lawler 207
45 Matthew Ellis 205
46 Nadzilla 203
47 Cynthia Phelan 199
48 Natasha Elliot 197
49 Jefferb 196
50 Mike & Marnie 194
51 Sheri Jay 192
52 Tom Nightingale 191
53 Rob Grondin 188
54 Team Damdom 187
55 Chris White 186
56 Rob Kerr 182
57 Shaw 179
58 Remi Berube 175
59 Henry Mai 174
60 Superfan 173
61 Mike Larochelle 168
62 Gord's Wife 166
63 Claire McAneney 162
64 Stefan Sander 160
65 Wilby McNight 155
66 Bill Richardson 153
67 Gordon Dalling 151
68 Paul O'Bleines 149
69 Annie Letourneau 143
70 The Bat Returns 142
71 John Fee 139
71 VillaEva 139
73 Oro Rocks 134
74 Ben Sporer 133
75 Martha Guy 126
75 Bryan Gormley 126
77 Kevin Nelson 123
78 Julie Jay 117
78 Graham Chafe 117
80 Noddy 111
80 Michael DeKelver 111
82 Dick und Doof 110
83 JBoys 109
84 Kiwi Mike 105
84 Leslie & Reed Archer 105
86 Barnet Cycling Club 104
86 Earl Wexler 104
88 Hujine 101
89 Viva Espania 100
90 Julie Deschenes-Furry 99
91 Catherine & Richard 78
92 Team 18 Wheeler 77
93 Team of Some Young Guys 75
94 La Bambina 65
95 Paul Havey 16
96 The Sensational S's 7
97 Kate Scallion 3
98 Team Off the Back -20
Another cracking mountain stage today with first-time winner Juan Mauricio Soler giving Barloworld a hard-earned stage win.
The Tour is shaping up to be very dangerous, as is usually the case in a race where so many riders think they have a chance. Crashes are really colouring the race, with O'Grady, McEwen, Rogers, Sinkewitz, Cavendish and others out of the Tour, and Vinokourov and Kloeden riding hurt.
For the time being, there have been no changes at the top of the classification, and Rasmussen's Rabobank team will have to be really vigilant on the upcoming transition stages so he doesn't lose any time on the likes of Leipheimer before the crucial time trials.
Bill Hurley had another good day, finishing second in the pool today after winning stage 8. Gord's Wife took the honours, and Alex Lai tied Ben Sporer to round out the podium.
In the overall, the Hamburglars are struggling and lost more ground to the charging Chris Holzauer, who is now just four points out of the overall lead. The Dopeless (or Dopey ...) Bloodhounds have dropped back to fourth behind Meylina Kandoy. We're starting to get a pretty good picture of the overall standings, with several pre-Tour favorites in the top 10.
Meanwhile, at the back, all is quiet for Team Off the Back. Nobody is likely to disturb them as they languish at -20 points ...
Until tomorrow -- KW
9
Stage: Haute montagne
Start/Finish: Mardi 17 juillet
Val d'Isère-Briançon
Distance 159,5 km
1st 15 SOLER HERNANDEZ Juan Mauricio
2nd 12 VALVERDE Alejandro
3rd 10 EVANS Cadel
4th 8 CONTADOR Alberto
5th 6 MAYO Iban
6th 5 RASMUSSEN Michael
7th 4 LEIPHEIMER Levi
8th 3 KIRCHEN Kim
9th 2 KLÖDEN Andréas
10th 1 SASTRE Carlos
Mountains 2 POPOVYCH Yaroslav
Young rider 1 SOLER HERNANDEZ Juan Mauricio
Aggressive 1 POPOVYCH Yaroslav
Teams 3 Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
Abandon -5 SINKEWITZ Patrik
Team raided/tested 5 Team CSC
Team raided/tested 5 Quick Step - Innergetic
Team raided/tested 5 Euskaltel - Euskadi
Team raided/tested 5 Bouygues Telecom
Team raided/tested 5 Saunier Duval - Prodir
Team raided/tested 5 Barloworld
Yellow 7 RASMUSSEN Michael
Team 7 Caisse d'Épargne
Green 5 BOONEN Tom
Polka dots 5 RASMUSSEN Michael
Young rider 5 CONTADOR Alberto
Stage results
Rank Name Score
1 Gord's Wife 55
2 Bill Hurley 53
3 Alex Lai 52
3 Ben Sporer 52
5 Sebastien Robillard-Cardinal 51
6 Sheri Jay 49
7 Blaine Penny 48
7 Cynthia Phelan 48
9 Matthew Ellis 47
10 Christopher Holloway/Katherine Murray 46
11 Meylina Kandoy 45
11 Vinnie 45
11 Tom Nightingale 45
11 Rob Kerr 45
11 Stefan Sander 45
11 Bryan Gormley 45
17 Chris Holzauer 44
17 Devil's Island CC 44
17 Liisa Bjerkelund 44
20 Paul Scafel 43
20 Adam E 43
22 Nat Faulkner 42
23 Duane Smith 41
23 Adrian Das 41
23 Chris White 41
26 David Markin 40
26 Paul McAneney 40
26 Team Damdom 40
26 Henry Mai 40
30 Rob Grondin 39
30 Martha Guy 39
32 Here We Go Again 38
33 Ed Makarchuk 37
33 Team Alpe D'Huez 37
33 Mike Larochelle 37
33 Viva Espania 37
37 Jeffrey Furry 36
38 Derrick St John 35
39 Ian Dalling 34
39 Mike & Marnie 34
39 Natasha Elliot 34
39 The Bat Returns 34
39 Earl Wexler 34
44 Les Boyz 32
44 Remi Berube 32
46 Luise Sander 31
47 The Hamburglars 30
47 Peter Metuzals 30
47 Gordon Dalling 30
50 Grimpeur George 29
50 Shawn Clarke 29
50 Kevin Nelson 29
53 Ian Dewar 28
53 Mhairi Gilmore 28
53 FEV 28
53 Graham Chafe 28
53 Michael DeKelver 28
53 Dick und Doof 28
59 Orange Scheisse 27
59 Hujine 27
61 Paul Gagnon 25
61 Tyler Lawler 25
61 JBoys 25
64 Stefano DiCiclismo 24
64 Claire McAneney 24
64 VillaEva 24
64 John Fee 24
68 Oro Rocks 23
69 Dopeless Bloodhounds 22
69 Markus Chiang 22
69 Paul O'Bleines 22
69 Julie Deschenes-Furry 22
73 Top Chillin 20
73 Barnet Cycling Club 20
75 Donelli 19
75 Julie Jay 19
77 Jefferb 18
78 Nadzilla 17
78 Wilby McNight 17
80 Shaw 14
80 Leslie & Reed Archer 14
82 Helena DeVeer 13
82 Bill Richardson 13
82 Team of Some Young Guys 13
85 Jamie Bryan 12
85 Team 18 Wheeler 12
87 Those Wacky Stage Guys-Kris Westwood 11
87 Superfan 11
89 Annie Letourneau 9
90 Deb Hine 8
91 Catherine & Richard 7
91 Kiwi Mike 7
91 Paul Havey 7
94 Noddy 5
94 La Bambina 5
94 Kate Scallion 5
97 The Sensational S's 1
98 Team Off the Back 0
Overall Results
1 The Hamboogers 327
2 Chris Holzauer 323
3 Meylina Kandoy 319
4 Dopey Bloodyhounds 304
5 Stefano DiCiclismo 297
6 Meter Petuzals 290
7 Ian Dalling 289
8 Blaine Penny 286
8 Paul Scafel 286
8 David Markin 286
11 Helena DeVeer 270
12 Sebastien Robillard-Cardinal 268
13 Markus Chiang 265
14 Paul McAneney 258
14 Edwin Makarchuk 258
16 Team Alpe D'Huez 253
17 Derrick St John 248
18 Alex Lai 247
18 Jamie Bryan 247
20 Ian Dewar 244
21 Matahari Gilmore 242
22 Paul Gagnon 235
23 Top Chillin 232
24 Nat Faulkner 229
25 Les Boyz 227
26 Grimpeur George 225
27 Vinnie McWinnie 224
28 Donelli 222
29 Devil's Island CC 221
30 Adam E 220
31 Duane Smith 218
32 Adrian Das 215
33 Those Stacky Wage Guys-Wris Kestwood 213
33 Debo Hine 213
35 Shawn Clarke 210
36 Christopher Holloway/Katherine Murray 209
37 Luise Sander 207
38 Orange Scheisse 204
39 Tyler Lawler 202
40 Hill Burley 200
41 Liisa Bjerkelund 199
42 Jeffrey Furry 198
43 Here We Go Again 195
44 FEV au lards 191
44 Jefferb 191
44 Egadzilla 191
47 Mike & Marnie 182
48 Matthew Ellis 181
49 Natasha Elliot 178
50 Cynthia Phelan 174
50 Tom Nightingale 174
52 Shaw 172
53 Team Damdom 170
54 Gob Rondin 169
55 Sheri Jay 168
56 Chris White 167
57 Rob Kerr 163
57 Mikey Larochelle 163
59 Superfan 161
60 Remi Berube 156
61 Wilby McNight 155
62 Gord's Wife 154
63 Bill Richardson 153
64 Gordon Dalling 151
65 Henry Mai 150
65 Claire McAneney 150
67 Stefan Sander 148
68 Paul O'Bleines 142
69 VillaEva 139
70 Annie Letourneau 138
71 The Rat Returns 137
72 Oro Rocks 129
73 JBoys 122
73 John Fee 122
75 Graham Chafe 117
75 Julie Jay 117
77 Ben Sporer 116
78 Kevin Nelson 115
79 Michael DeKelver 111
80 Bryan Gormley 108
81 Martha Guy 107
82 Leslie & Reed Archer 105
83 Dick und Doof 103
83 Catey & Ricky 103
85 Noddy 98
86 Earl Wexler 97
86 Barnet Cycling Club 97
88 Viva Espania 95
89 Julie Deschenes-Furry 92
89 Kiwanas Mick 92
91 Hooligan 89
92 Team 18 Wheeler 77
93 Team of Some Youngsters 66
94 La Bambina 65
95 The Sensational S's 32
96 Paul Havey 10
97 Kate Scallion 3
98 Team Off the Back -20
Who would have thought a rider known as "The Chicken" would lead the Tour? Well, it's happened. Rasmussen crushed all on the first real mountain stage of the 2007 Tour with a an audacious attack on the second-to-last climb of the day, riding from the pack to the breakaway, and then dropping all to win by nearly three minutes over Mayo, and more over the rest.
Rasmussen now leads by 43 seconds over overnight leader Gerdemann and 2:39 over Mayo. More importantly, he has more than three minutes over the likes of Contador, Menchov, Kloden and Leipheimer. Why? Because the Chicken can't time trial. Remember the final TT in the 2005 Tour? Rasmussen fell off twice, and required three bike changes, dropping from third to seventh overall.
If the Chicken is to win this year's Tour, he has to conquer 109.5 km of individual time trials in stages 13 and 19. To have a hope, he needs to gain more time in the mountains ... a lot more time.
So what does this mean for the Pool? See below. After all the shuffles in Stage 8 we're sure to see some more action as the mountains continue Tuesday ...
Until then -- KW
8
Stage: Haute montagne
Start/Finish: Dimanche 15 juillet
Le Grand-Bornand-Tignes
Distance 165 km
1st 15 RASMUSSEN Michael
2nd 12 MAYO Iban
3rd 10 VALVERDE Alejandro
4th 8 MOREAU Christophe
5th 6 SCHLECK Frank
6th 5 EVANS Cadel
7th 4 KASHECHKIN Andrey
8th 3 CONTADOR Alberto
9th 2 MENCHOV Denis
10th 1 SASTRE Carlos
Mountains 2 RASMUSSEN Michael
Young rider 1 CONTADOR Alberto
Aggressive 1 RASMUSSEN Michael
Teams 3 Rabobank
Abandon -5 PARRA Ivan Ramiro
Abandon -5 HERVE Cédric
Abandon -5 FEILLU Romain
Abandon -5 NAPOLITANO Danilo
Abandon -5 MC EWEN Robbie
Abandon -5 O’GRADY Stuart
Abandon -5 CAVENDISH Mark
Abandon -5 ROGERS Michael
Yellow 7 RASMUSSEN Michael
Team 7 Rabobank
Green 5 BOONEN Tom
Polka dots 5 RASMUSSEN Michael
Young rider 5 GERDEMANN Linus
stage results
Rank Name Score
1 Bill Hurley 58
2 Paul McAneney 55
2 Hujine 55
4 Duane Smith 54
4 Adam E 54
6 Blaine Penny 53
6 Devil's Island CC 53
6 Gord's Wife 53
9 Sebastien Robillard-Cardinal 51
9 Martha Guy 51
9 Ben Sporer 51
12 Nat Faulkner 49
12 Team Damdom 49
14 Vinnie 48
15 David Markin 47
16 Meylina Kandoy 46
16 Cynthia Phelan 46
18 Alex Lai 45
18 Matthew Ellis 45
20 Rob Kerr 43
21 Chris Holzauer 41
21 Christopher Holloway/Katherine Murray 41
23 Adrian Das 40
23 Liisa Bjerkelund 40
23 Tom Nightingale 40
26 Remi Berube 39
27 Mike & Marnie 38
27 Natasha Elliot 38
29 Paul Scafel 37
29 Nadzilla 37
31 Ed Makarchuk 36
31 Jeffrey Furry 36
31 Here We Go Again 36
31 Rob Grondin 36
31 Stefan Sander 36
31 Leslie & Reed Archer 36
37 Team Alpe D'Huez 34
37 Sheri Jay 34
39 Ian Dalling 33
40 Markus Chiang 32
41 Grimpeur George 31
41 Les Boyz 31
41 Chris White 31
44 Gordon Dalling 30
44 Earl Wexler 30
46 Mike Larochelle 29
47 Graham Chafe 27
48 Claire McAneney 26
49 Henry Mai 25
49 Dick und Doof 25
51 Kevin Nelson 24
52 Luise Sander 22
52 VillaEva 22
52 JBoys 22
52 Viva Espania 22
56 Oro Rocks 21
57 Ian Dewar 20
57 Superfan 20
59 Stefano DiCiclismo 18
59 Michael DeKelver 18
61 The Hamburglars 17
61 Dopeless Bloodhounds 17
61 Bill Richardson 17
64 Mhairi Gilmore 16
64 Deb Hine 16
66 Donelli 15
66 Bryan Gormley 15
68 Peter Metuzals 14
68 Derrick St John 14
68 Shawn Clarke 14
68 Paul O'Bleines 14
68 La Bambina 14
73 Paul Gagnon 12
74 Tyler Lawler 11
74 Catherine & Richard 11
76 Wilby McNight 9
76 The Bat Returns 9
78 Jefferb 8
78 FEV 8
78 Julie Deschenes-Furry 8
81 Those Wacky Stage Guys-Kris Westwood 7
81 The Sensational S's 7
83 John Fee 5
83 Team of Some Young Guys 5
85 Orange Scheisse 4
85 Shaw 4
87 Helena DeVeer 3
87 Annie Letourneau 3
89 Jamie Bryan 1
89 Barnet Cycling Club 1
91 Team 18 Wheeler 0
91 Kate Scallion 0
93 Top Chillin -5
93 Julie Jay -5
93 Paul Havey -5
93 Team Off the Back -5
97 Kiwi Mike -7
98 Noddy -10
overall results
1 The Hamburglars 297
2 Dopeless Bloodhounds 282
3 Chris Holzauer 279
4 Meylina Kandoy 274
5 Stefano DiCiclismo 273
6 Peter Metuzals 260
7 Helena DeVeer 257
8 Ian Dalling 255
9 David Markin 246
10 Paul Scafel 243
10 Markus Chiang 243
12 Blaine Penny 238
13 Jamie Bryan 235
14 Ed Makarchuk 221
15 Paul McAneney 218
16 Sebastien Robillard-Cardinal 217
17 Team Alpe D'Huez 216
17 Ian Dewar 216
19 Mhairi Gilmore 214
20 Derrick St John 213
21 Top Chillin 212
22 Paul Gagnon 210
23 Deb Hine 205
24 Donelli 203
25 Those Wacky Stage Guys-Kris Westwood 202
26 Grimpeur George 196
27 Alex Lai 195
27 Les Boyz 195
29 Nat Faulkner 187
30 Shawn Clarke 181
31 Vinnie 179
32 Duane Smith 177
32 Adam E 177
32 Devil's Island CC 177
32 Tyler Lawler 177
32 Orange Scheisse 177
37 Luise Sander 176
38 Adrian Das 174
38 Nadzilla 174
40 Jefferb 173
41 Christopher Holloway/Katherine Murray 163
41 FEV 163
43 Jeffrey Furry 158
43 Shaw 158
45 Here We Go Again 157
46 Liisa Bjerkelund 155
47 Superfan 150
48 Mike & Marnie 148
49 Bill Hurley 147
50 Natasha Elliot 144
51 Bill Richardson 140
52 Wilby McNight 138
53 Matthew Ellis 134
54 Team Damdom 130
54 Rob Grondin 130
56 Tom Nightingale 129
56 Annie Letourneau 129
58 Cynthia Phelan 126
58 Chris White 126
58 Mike Larochelle 126
58 Claire McAneney 126
62 Remi Berube 124
63 Gordon Dalling 121
64 Paul O'Bleines 120
65 Sheri Jay 119
66 Rob Kerr 118
67 VillaEva 115
68 Henry Mai 110
69 Oro Rocks 106
70 Stefan Sander 103
70 The Bat Returns 103
72 Gord's Wife 99
73 John Fee 98
73 Julie Jay 98
75 JBoys 97
76 Catherine & Richard 96
77 Noddy 93
78 Leslie & Reed Archer 91
79 Graham Chafe 89
80 Kevin Nelson 86
81 Kiwi Mike 85
82 Michael DeKelver 83
83 Barnet Cycling Club 77
84 Dick und Doof 75
85 Julie Deschenes-Furry 70
86 Martha Guy 68
87 Team 18 Wheeler 65
88 Ben Sporer 64
89 Earl Wexler 63
89 Bryan Gormley 63
91 Hujine 62
92 La Bambina 60
93 Viva Espania 58
94 Team of Some Young Guys 53
95 The Sensational S's 31
96 Paul Havey 3
97 Kate Scallion -2
98 Team Off the Back -20