Like every year, all of you are surely wondering -- obsessing, even -- over what could have been. Who should you have picked, instead of the lazy slobs that dumped you waaay back in 80th spot?
You're also, no doubt, driven to distraction wondering who had the best pool, and who had the worst. You see, it's not all about the final rankings. There are stage results, there are progressions, there are regressions, there is the thrill of victory, and there is the agony of defeat.
Well, look no further. Here is a brief compendium of all the most interesting stats I could think of and was able to drag out of the spreadsheet. If you have any other ideas please don't hesitate to let me know.
On a technical note, these stats are compiled taking into account all adjustments from doping positives, corrections to entries and other changes, so they may not precisely reflect the daily updates throughout the Tour.
As a further note, Conor O'Brien and Peter Metuzals have been rehabilitated into the final results and you can see your ranking in the appropriate Tour Pool posting.
Enjoy!
KW
Top five team picks
1 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 139 points
2 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 31
3 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 29
4 CAISSE D'EPARGNE 24
5 TEAM MILRAM 20
No surprises here-- the dominant team in the Tour also dominated the Pool.
Worst five team picks
15 LAMPRE 0
16 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 0
17 BOUYGUES TELECOM 0
18 BARLOWORLD -7
19 LIQUIGAS -10
20 SAUNIER DUVAL - SCOTT -29
Again, no surprises. Saunier-Duval paid for the mass exit after their doping scandals (Ricco admitted to doping, by the way, while Piepoli denied it). Barloworld and Liquigas also had a rough time thanks to doping positives. Lampre, FdJ and Boygues were simply anonymous.
Top 20 rider picks
1 FREIRE Oscar 148
2 KIRCHEN Kim 134
3 SASTRE Carlos 113
4 EVANS Cadel 97
5 KOHL Bernhard 95
6 VALVERDE Alejandro 91
7 SCHLECK Andy 77
8 SCHLECK Frank 73
9 CAVENDISH Mark 70
10 SCHUMACHER Stefan 68
11 HUSHOVD Thor 63
12 ZABEL Erik 61
13 CIOLEK Gerald 47
14 MENCHOV Denis 45
15 EFIMKIN Vladimir 43
16 NIBALI Vincenzo 43
17 VANDEVELDE Christian 40
18 FEILLU Romain 38
19 KREUZIGER Roman 37
20 SANCHEZ Samuel 36
Consistent stage finishes seem to be the key here, with Freire topping the classification.
Bottom 20 rider picks
160 SOLER HERNANDEZ Juan Mauricio -5
161 RENSHAW Mark -5
162 PASSERON Aurelien -5
163 MOREAU Christophe -5
164 JALABERT Nicolas -5
165 GOMEZ Angel -5
166 GADRET John -5
167 FLECHA Juan Antonio -5
168 FACCI Mauro -5
169 DUCLOS-LASSALLE Herve -5
170 DEVOLDER Stijn -5
171 DEL NERO Jesus -5
172 CARDENAS Felix -5
173 BRANDT Christophe -5
174 BERTOGLIATI Rubens -5
175 BACKSTEDT Magnus -5
176 BELTRAN Manuel -23
177 RICCO Riccardo -33
178 FOFONOV Dmitriy -40
179 DUENAS NEVADO Moises -43
180 PIEPOLI Leonardo -50
Actually, the bottom 21, since so many were tied at -5. Clearly Piepoli and the other dopers were poison, while the rest simply quit without scoring a single point.
Your score if you picked the top 9 riders and the best team: 1037
The best score in the Pool: 792
Some room for improvement, but pretty good nonetheless.
Your score if you picked the bottom 9 riders and the worst team: -238
The worst score in the Pool: 78
Clearly, K8 didn't do her homework.
Entry with stage wins:
1 Jay "Green Jersey" Heins 5 wins
2 Team Last Minute 4
3 Paul McAneney 3
3 Flip i Flap 3
5 Grimpeur George 2
5 Tricia K (& RP) 2
5 Marc Boudreau 2
5 Steve Proulx 2
5 Stephan Sander 2
5 Paul Crowley 2
5 Fee 2
5 Les Boyz 2
5 Jay "GC" Heins 2
5 Remi Berube 2
15 Josée Lamirande 1
15 TinaB 1
15 Kris Westwood 1
15 Bob Webber 1
15 Meylina Kandoy 1
15 Earl Wexler 1
15 Team Twink 1
15 Phelan 1
15 Grimpeur Kings 1
15 Helena Deveer 1
15 Rob Grondin 1
Clearly, Jay picked the Green Jersey squad well.
Entries with podium finishes:
1 Jay "Green Jersey" Heins 8
2 Remi Berube 7
3 Tricia K (& RP) 6
3 Stephan Sander 6
3 Paul Crowley 6
3 Team Last Minute 6
7 Paul McAneney 5
7 Steve Proulx 5
7 Flip i Flap 5
10 Marc Boudreau 4
10 Bob Webber 4
10 Fee 4
10 Les Boyz 4
14 Meylina Kandoy 3
14 Jay "GC" Heins 3
16 Grimpeur George 2
16 Earl Wexler 2
16 Team Twink 2
16 Grimpeur Kings 2
16 Helena Deveer 2
21 Sheri Jay 1
21 Josée Lamirande 1
21 Ian Dalling 1
21 TinaB 1
21 Kris Westwood 1
21 David Markin 1
21 France in my Pants 1
21 Donneli 1
21 Ilennod 1
21 Phelan 1
21 Dr. Ed 1
21 Vince Caceres 1
21 Rob Grondin 1
Again, Jay leads the group, but it didn't help him in the overall ...
Top 10 entries by average stage finish
1 Tricia K (& RP) 19
1 Steve Proulx 19
1 Stephan Sander 19
4 Remi Berube 20
5 Paul McAneney 21
5 Team Last Minute 21
5 Bob Webber 21
8 Meylina Kandoy 22
8 Matthew Ellis A-Team 22
10 Marc Boudreau 23
10 Les Boyz 23
10 Josée Lamirande 23
10 Earl Wexler 23
Consistency shows ...
Bottom 10 entrants by average stage finish
75 Lisa McMurray 55
76 Kris Westwood 56
76 Matthew Ellis B-Team 56
78 Doug Corner 57
79 Mhairi Gilmore 61
79 Julie Jay 61
81 Erich Zappe 65
82 Old Farts 69
83 Ilennod 74
84 K8 Scallion 78
And again.
Well, I'm tapped out, time for bed.
A big thanks to Vince Caceres at the Cyclery for pulling together the list of prizes -- the Tour Pool wouldn't have happened without his hard work.
Without further ado, here are this year's prize winners. Our happy winners can pick up their loot at the Cyclery -- call ahead and ask for Vince (613-730-2856). Any questions, drop me a line.
KW
Top 10 overall:
1st Team Last Minute Shimano RS20 wheelset
2nd Paul McAneney Shimano RS10 wheelset
3rd Stephan Sander Giro Ionos helmet (white)
4th Remi Berube Cyclery team jersey and shorts
5th Meylina Kandoy A pair of Continental GP4000 tires
6th Tricia K (& RP) Rudy Project Canadian Edition Rydon sunglasses
7th Steve Proulx Giro Havik sunglasses (as worn in the Tour!)
8th Josée Lamirande Stevens accessory kit (shoe covers, cap, saddle bag)
9th Matthew Ellis A-Team Hammer Sport Pack (a jug of HEED energy drink and a bottle of gel)
10th Marc Boudreau 2007 Tour de France DVD
Note that three entrants were tied for 10th, but Boudreau had the best result on the final stage to take the prize.
Lanterne Rouge: K8 Scallion Cateye red blinky light
Les Boyz Best improvement from 1st to last stage - Level 6 T-shirt
Les Boyz went from 70th at the end of Stage 1 to 10th at the end of the Tour. Interestingly, Lisa McMurray's 73-spot plunge from fifth to 78th marked an even greater change in ranking.
We have a new winner in the Tour, and a new winner in the Tour Pool.
Despite all the agonizing, analyzing, second guessing and proselytizing, it was one of the least expert and least prepared entrants who walked away with the big prize: Team Last Minute, a.k.a. Wilby McKnight, has crushed all comers in this year's pool with a brilliant final-week performance capped by a scintillating last day.
In second, after so much hope, was Paul McAneney, the Cadel Evans of the Tour Pool. A brave effort, but too little, too late.
Third was Stephan Sander, who had a low-key but consistent Tour before vaulting onto the podium on the final day.
What happened to our other pretenders? The one who was feared the most after leading for so long, Remi Berube, simply didn't have what it takes on the last day, dropping to fourth. Tricia K (& RP), who vied for the win at one point, also ended the Tour slumped over her handlebars in sixth. Former winner Steve Proulx faded to seventh. And long-time leader Grimpeur George? An anonymous 65th.
The one entrant that fulfilled its early promise was K8 Scallion, who started and finished the Tour in Lanterne Rouge.
Before anyone points it out, I managed 80th, a performance so far beyond mediocre as to be, well, exceptionally mediocre.
Thanks to everyone for participating, and thanks, too, for the many kind words during the Pool. I will follow this up with a list of prize winners.
KW
1 Team Last Minute 792
2 Paul McAneney 781
3 Stephan Sander 766
4 Remi Berube 754
5 Meylina Kandoy 743
6 Tricia K (& RP) 732
7 Steve Proulx 729
8 Josée Lamirande 726
9 Matthew Ellis A-Team 720
10 Marc Boudreau 716
10 Bob Webber 716
10 Les Boyz 716
13 Chris Holzhauer 687
14 Flip i Flap 686
15 Paul Crowley 682
16 Team Twink 675
17 Alexandra Lai 663
18 Earl Wexler 657
18 Peter Metuzals 657
20 Team Kingsmere 648
21 Dr. Ed 637
22 Fee 634
23 Jeffrey Furry 622
24 Devil's Island CC 621
25 Phelan 618
25 Grimpeur Kings 618
27 Jay "Green Jersey" Heins 612
28 Paul McAneney Team 2 611
29 Team mtbrkerz 608
30 Sebastian Robillard-Cardinal 602
31 Paul Skafel 599
32 Jay "GC" Heins 592
32 Kiwi Mike 592
34 Oro Rocks! 591
35 Rob Grondin 589
36 Helena Deveer 586
37 Linda Gilligan 583
38 Hamburglars 579
39 Barnet Cycling Club 576
40 Paul Gagnon 575
41 David Markin 573
42 Superfan 564
43 Deb Hine 563
44 Jboys 552
45 Vince Caceres 550
46 Donneli 548
47 Team Nestle 544
48 VIPER 530
49 Team Willow 520
51 Gordon Dalling 518
52 Chris White 514
53 Bill Richardson 511
54 TinaB 507
54 Westboro Chiropractic 507
54 Julie Deschenes-Furry 507
57 Sandy Fulton 502
58 Mike House 498
59 Richard Swandel 478
60 Ian Dewar 476
61 Getafix 471
62 Julian Hine 466
63 Conor O'Brien 463
64 Tyler Lawlor 458
65 Grimpeur George 455
66 natbikes.com 450
67 Ian Dalling 449
68 Blaine Penny 444
69 Sheri Jay 433
70 Biggie Flave 429
71 Are we there yet? 428
72 Bat of Alpe d'Huez 422
73 Richard And Catherine 421
74 Matthew Ellis B-Team 403
76 Doug Corner 373
77 Julie Jay 369
78 Lisa McMurray 363
79 Mhairi Gilmore 338
80 Kris Westwood 310
81 Erich Zappe 263
82 Old Farts 208
83 Ilennod 134
84 K8 Scallion 78
So, the Tour is over. Sastre is, presumably, nursing a champagne headache, along with his CSC teammates. They'd better recover fast, because the post-tour critieriums start right away and they have plenty of earnin' to do -- not to mention recovering for the Olympic road race on Aug. 9.
For the rest of us, life goes on. No Bob Roll. No Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen. No ShamWow (are they really made in Germany, where they make "good stuff"?) commercials. All we have left, all we can hope for, is to experience vicariously the lives of our cycling heroes through the agency of the Tour de France Pool, and bask in a tiny fraction of their reflected glow through our own results.
To that end, you no doubt would like to know the Tour Pool results. First, an explanation. Everybody has either paid their entry, or committed to pay it, with the exception of four entrants, who have been removed from the results. You know who you are, if you pay up by Wednesday, you'll be back on the list.
So, how did you do? The final stage and final overall rankings produced the scores below -- a strong win from Team Last Minute, followed by Fee and Stephan Sander. True to form, K8 Scallion was dead last on the day. But what did this do to the overall standings? All will be revealed in the next report ...
KW
1 Team Last Minute 258
2 Fee 246
3 Stephan Sander 240
4 Meylina Kandoy 232
5 Matthew Ellis A-Team 228
6 Paul McAneney 221
6 Alexandra Lai 221
8 Marc Boudreau 218
8 Team Kingsmere 218
10 Josée Lamirande 213
11 Dr. Ed 210
11 Oro Rocks! 210
13 Flip i Flap 207
14 Linda Gilligan 201
15 Chris Holzhauer 195
16 Les Boyz 194
17 Sebastian Robillard-Cardinal 193
18 Team mtbrkerz 192
19 Team Twink 191
19 Paul Skafel 191
21 Jay "GC" Heins 184
22 Tricia K (& RP) 183
22 Steve Proulx 183
25 Devil's Island CC 181
25 Rob Grondin 181
27 Superfan 178
28 Paul Crowley 176
29 Bob Webber 175
29 Paul McAneney Team 2 175
31 Chris White 174
32 Earl Wexler 173
33 Paul Gagnon 171
34 Jeffrey Furry 170
35 Kiwi Mike 168
36 Bill Richardson 167
37 Barnet Cycling Club 165
37 Deb Hine 165
39 Richard Swandel 164
40 Remi Berube 163
40 Tyler Lawlor 163
42 David Markin 161
42 Team Nestle 161
44 Phelan 157
44 VIPER 157
46 Jboys 155
46 Team Willow 155
48 Grimpeur Kings 153
49 Helena Deveer 152
49 Hamburglars 152
51 Jay "Green Jersey" Heins 150
52 Mike House 149
53 Gordon Dalling 148
54 Getafix 146
55 Ian Dewar 142
57 Vince Caceres 138
59 Donneli 135
59 Blaine Penny 135
62 Julian Hine 131
63 Sandy Fulton 130
64 Julie Deschenes-Furry 129
65 Biggie Flave 127
65 Julie Jay 127
67 Westboro Chiropractic 125
68 Sheri Jay 121
69 Are we there yet? 114
70 TinaB 110
71 Ian Dalling 105
72 natbikes.com 101
73 Doug Corner 99
74 Bat of Alpe d'Huez 97
74 Old Farts 97
76 Richard And Catherine 96
76 Matthew Ellis B-Team 96
78 Mhairi Gilmore 93
79 Grimpeur George 88
80 Lisa McMurray 71
81 Erich Zappe 69
82 Kris Westwood 60
82 Ilennod 60
84 K8 Scallion 29
The sprinters had one last chance to play on the Champs Elysees, and after a brilliant leadout by his team Gert Steegmans mastered the chaotic gallop to the line to salvage the Tour for Quick Step.
No change to the overall - though the final day of the Tour was marred by the announcement that Dmitri Fofonov had tested positive after Stage 18, and he left the Champs Elysees in the company of the gendarmes.
Though Fofonov was credited with a finish, I have removed him from the standings because he will be disqualified, and he earned a 50-point penalty in the Pool.
That brings our total number of finishers to 144 -- picked by no fewer than four entrants: former leader Grimpeur George, natbikes.com, Hamburglars and Mhairi Gilmore.
The remainder of the results are listed below. Of note, Mark Cavendish was the only rider to win three or more stages; Carlos Sastre had the stage win with the biggest gap to second (l'Alpe d'Huez); and just three teams finished with all riders (Euskaltel, CSC, Milram).
So, what everyone's waiting for is the final Tour Pool overall standings. While I have calculated them -- and there are some big surprises -- I am not going to publish them today for the simple reason that there are still 13 entrants that have neither paid their entry nor even acknowledged that they will pay. They are also listed below. Remember, 100% of the entry fees go to the Seenite Sports Espoir Bursary, which helps young, local cyclists achieve their goals. So, have a heart; think of the children. Think of the children!
If I haven't heard from any of these entrants by Monday evening (say, by 8 p.m.), they will be removed from the Pool results. All other teams that have said they would pay but don't pay by Wednesday evening will also be removed. So pay up -- maybe you won something!
Until tomorrow,
KW
Pool entrants who haven't paid (the Wall of Shame):
France in my Pants aka Adam Eikenberry
Alexandra Lai
Conor O'Brien
Westboro Chiropractic aka Duane Smith
K8 Scallion aka Kate Scallion
Luc Mahler
Kiwi Mike aka Mike Leach
VIPER aka Nick Vipond
Paul Skafel
Peter Metuzals
Remi Berube
Rob Grondin
Sandy Fulton
Stage: 21
Description: Flat
Date: Sunday July 27
Start/finish: Étampes/Paris Champs-Élysées
Distance 143 km
1st STEEGMANS Gert
2nd CIOLEK Gerald
3rd FREIRE Oscar
4th MCEWEN Robbie
5th HUSHOVD Thor
6th DEAN Julian
7th SCHUMACHER Stefan
8th FORSTER Robert
9th DUQUE Leonardo
10th HUNTER Robert
Mountains KOHL Bernhard
Mountains BICHOT Freddy
Young rider CIOLEK Gerald
Aggressive VOGONDY Nicolas
Teams QUICK STEP
Arrested FOFONOV Dmitriy
Final overall:
Team GC 1st TEAM CSC SAXO BANK
Team GC 2nd AG2R-LA MONDIALE
Team GC 3rd RABOBANK
Team GC 4th EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI
Team GC 5th SILENCE - LOTTO
Team GC 6th CAISSE D'EPARGNE
Team with all finishers EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI
Team with all finishers TEAM CSC SAXO BANK
Team with all finishers TEAM MILRAM
Green 1st FREIRE Oscar
Green 2nd HUSHOVD Thor
Green 3rd ZABEL Erik
Green 4th DUQUE Leonardo
Polka dots 1st KOHL Bernhard
Polka dots 2nd SASTRE Carlos
Polka dots 3rd SCHLECK Frank
Polka dots 4th VOECKLER Thomas
Young rider 1st SCHLECK Andy
Young rider 2nd KREUZIGER Roman
Young rider 3rd NIBALI Vincenzo
Total number of finishers 144
Lanterne rouge VANSEVENANT Wim
Rider winning 3 stages or more CAVENDISH Mark
Biggest time gap to second SASTRE Carlos
1st SASTRE Carlos
2nd EVANS Cadel
3rd KOHL Bernhard
4th MENCHOV Denis
5th VANDEVELDE Christian
6th SCHLECK Frank
7th SANCHEZ Samuel
8th KIRCHEN Kim
9th VALVERDE Alejandro
10th VALJAVEC Tadej
11th EFIMKIN Vladimir
12th SCHLECK Andy
13th KREUZIGER Roman
14th CASAR Sandy
15th MOINARD Amael
16th ASTARLOZA Mikel
17th SIUTSOU Konstantsin
18th BOTCHAROV Alexandre
19th NIBALI Vincenzo
20th GOUBERT Stephane
21st TEN DAM Laurens
22nd MONFORT Maxime
23rd POPOVYCH Yaroslav
24th SCHUMACHER Stefan
25th SZMYD Sylvester
26th BRUSEGHIN Marzio
27th DESSEL Cyril
28th KNEES Christian
29th ARROYO David
30th AERTS Mario
31st FEDRIGO Pierrick
32nd FOTHEN Markus
33rd MOERENHOUT Koos
34th HINCAPIE George
35th CARRARA Matteo
36th VOIGT Jens
37th PINEAU Jerome
38th GONZALO RAMIREZ Eduardo
39th LE MEVEL Christophe
40th LOVKVIST Thomas
41st MONCOUTIE David
42nd ZABEL Erik
43rd VELO Marco
44th ZUBELDIA Haimar
45th GUSTOV Volodymir
46th HESJEDAL Ryder
47th AUGUSTYN John-Lee
48th TIRALONGO Paolo
49th MARTINEZ Egoi
50th LOPEZ GARCIA David
51st TXURRUKA Amets
52nd DUQUE Leonardo
53rd TSCHOPP Johann
54th DUPONT Hubert
55th GUTIERREZ Jose Ivan
56th ARVESEN Kurt-Asle
57th VELITS Peter
58th DI GREGORIO Remy
59th TANKINK Bram
60th CHAVANEL Sylvain
61st SANCHEZ Luis-Leon
62nd WEENING Pieter
63rd VOGONDY Nicolas
64th CANCELLARA Fabian
65th PORTAL Nicolas
66th POZZATO Filippo
67th MILLAR David
68th POSTHUMA Joost
69th FREIRE Oscar
70th ELMIGER Martin
71st ARRIETA Jose Luis
72nd VERDUGO Gorka
73rd LE BOULANGER Yoann
74th LANG Sebastian
75th FISCHER Murilo Antoniobil
76th LOWE Trent
77th VAN DE WALLE Jurgen
78th GERRANS Simon
79th PAURIOL Remi
80th LELAY David
81st VAUGRENARD Benoît
82nd CIONI Dario
83rd FROOME Christopher
84th LEQUATRE Geoffroy
85th LEFEVRE Laurent
86th VAN SUMMEREN Johan
87th CHEULA Gianpaolo
88th BARREDO Carlos
89th CLEMENT Stef
90th PEREZ Ruben
91st MARZANO Marco
92nd SCHOLZ Ronny
93rd BALLAN Alessandro
94th PATE Danny
95th TOSATTO Matteo
96th VOECKLER Thomas
97th ROSSELER Sebastien
98th HUSHOVD Thor
99th SCHRODER BjOrn
100th FLORENCIO Xavier
101st BONNET William
102nd OROZ Juan Jose
103rd ISASI Inaki
104th MULLER Martin
105th CIOLEK Gerald
106th HUNTER Robert
107th HANSEN Adam
108th O'GRADY Stuart
109th DEAN Julian
110th STEEGMANS Gert
111th GILBERT Philippe
112th WILLEMS Frederik
113th DUMOULIN Samuel
114th COYOT Arnaud
115th FORSTER Robert
116th BONO Matteo
117th SORENSEN Nicki
118th BRARD Florent
119th BURGHARDT Marcus
120th ROY Jeremy
121st MCEWEN Robbie
122nd GRABSCH Ralf
123rd HOSTE Leif
124th DE JONGH Steven
125th HAUSSLER Heinrich
126th RIGHI Daniele
127th KUSCHYNSKI Aleksandr
128th LANCASTER Brett Daniel
129th QUINZIATO Manuel
130th LANGEVELD Sebastian
131st GERARD Arnaud
132nd FRISCHKORN William
133rd MAASKANT Martijn
134th BICHOT Freddy
135th TERPSTRA Niki
136th RIBLON Christophe
137th ENGOULVENT Jimmy
138th AUGE Stephane
139th MORI Massimiliano
140th GARCIA ACOSTA Vicente
141st SPRICK Matthieu
142nd KRAUSS Sven
143rd EISEL Bernhard
144th VANSEVENANT Wim