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Lo spagnolo Juan Manuel Garate
Cepa (Rabobank) vince
l'ultima tappa di salita, con arrivo sul
Mont Ventoux
© Photo Andrea Magnani - Bikenews.it
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Juan
Manuel Garate Cepa vince la 20a tappa del Tour
de France
©Photo
Roberto
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Garate
vince la 20a tappa in compagnia di Tony Martin,
i due reduci della principale fuga di giornata.
Andy
Schleck prova a staccare, ma senza successo
Alberto Contador. La maglia gialla, oggi
in affanno, ha sofferto il Mont Ventoux ed
al traguardo ha sollevato le mani in segno di vittoria.
Domani,
l'ultima passerella dei Champs Elysees, prima
dell'incoronazione del Re del 96° Tour de
France. Gli italiani Pellizotti e Nibali
chiudono nelle prime posizioni e domani si concluderà
per il primo, un Tour con la maglia a pois e per
il secondo, un ottimo 7° posto nella generale.
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di Andrea Magnani
ll
Tour si inchina al cospetto del"Gigante della
Provenza"
Il
"Gigante della Provenza" come amorevolmente
in Francia viene definito il Monte Ventoux - ma solo
da chi non lo ha affrontato mai in bicicletta - ha consacrato
oggi la tenacia di Alberto Contador.
Contador
sull'asfalto che come un serpente del deserto, disegna la
sua sinuosa traiettoria lungo l'ascesa a quel monte lunare,
ha sofferto gli attacchi di Andy Schleck come ancora
non si era visto in questo Tour.
Difatti
quelli del giovane lussemburghese, maglia bianca e 2°
in classifica generale, non erano attacchi destinati alla
maglia gialla, ma allunghi ripetuti - alla fine se ne conteranno
otto - diretti a lanciare un'azione del fratello Frank,
ai danni di Lance Armstrong.
Come
non mai, lassù, quel paesaggio arido è stato
irrorato da quel romanticismo, espresso dal sentimento che
lega i due fratelli lussemburghesi che, ne i colori accecanti
degli sponsor, ne i maleodoranti gas delle moto, come il
baccano dei 500.000 festanti, ha potute reprimere e, chi
guardava la diretta con il cuore e non con la sola curiosità,
non ha potuto che commuoversi con le stesse emozioni che
emanava, ai vecchi tempi, il Pirata quando gettava la bandana
e partiva verso il suo sogno di giallo.
Come
romantico è stato per anni il gesto atletico di Marco
Pantani, anche ieri gli otto tentativi di Andy
Schleck sono stati visti agli occhi di chi ha cuore,
come gesta d'amore e gratitudine verso il fratello maggiore,
diventato in questa corsa un figlio da accudire.
Queste
sono le storie che rendono mitico e vicino alla gente il
ciclismo.
Se
poi fra un mese scopriremo dalle analisi fatte agli atleti
in questi giorni al Tour, che c'erano tracce di "Cera",
non saremo più li a morderci le mani o ad appendere
la tastiera al muro, ma invece andremo avanti pensando a
quel Mont Ventoux, ricordandoci le emozioni
che questi uomini ci hanno donato.
Questo
è il ciclismo che si rispecchia nella sofferenza
di questo famigerato monte e miglior fine di questa, gli
organizzatori della 96a Grande Boucle, non potevano
sperare.
Per
la cronaca, Lance Armstrong ha risposto agli "insulti"
tattici dell'accoppiata Andy e Franck Schleck
ed in cima ai 1419 metri del Mont Ventoux ha
aperto una breccia in discesa verso Parigi, per l'ultima
parata di Contador in maglia gialla.
Domani
a Parigi verranno incoronate alla storia della Grande
Boucle, oltre che la maglia giallo sole del capitano
dell'Astana, anche quella bianca di Andy Schleck
al quale dobbiamo un grazie, per avere infiammato con questo
sodalizio familiare, assieme al fratello Franck,
questo 96° Tour. Un Tour partito come uno dei più
noiosi della storia, ma finito come uno dei più interessanti.
L'interesse
degli italiani si concretizza domani con la maglia
a Pois di Franco Pellizotti, ma anche
con la laurea a campione in crescita di Vincezo Nibali,
fantastico 7° posto della generale.
Scendono
giù come auspicato dai dubbiosi, sull'autenticità
delle sue performaces in salita, il campione olimpico su
pista, Bradley Wiggins ed il l fratello maggiore
della casata Schleck, ridimensionato oggi
al 5° posto.
A
seguire troveremo domani a Parigi, al 6°
posto Andreas Klöden, un gregario di
lusso per Contador ed Armstrong che, "guarda
dov'è finito!" e, come già anticipato,
al 7° Vincenzo Nibali; poi all'8° l'altro
americano Christian Vande Velde ed un ragazzo al
9° dal nome di Roman Kreuziger, cecoslovacco
che corre in Italia al Team Liquigas, 3° dopo Nibali,
nella classifica dei giovani (in futuro sentiremo parlare
molto di lui) ed a chiudere la Top Ten del
96° Tour, il pupillo di Francia, Christophe Le Mevel.
Erik
Breukink: 'Winning on the Ventoux is twice as rewarding'
On
the last-but-one day of the Tour, the Rabo-team still had
a reason to celebrate. It was on the most mythical mountain
of the Tour de France, the Mont Ventoux, that
the team struck, riding the legs of Juan Manuel
‘Juanma’ Garate. In the moon landscape
of the Ventoux at a height of almost two thousand
meters, the Spaniard overpowered his German fellow escapee
Tony Martin in the dying meters of the race. Therefore,
the Tour, which had until now brought a lot of adversity
and misfortune, became more brightly colored for the Rabo
team.
In
other words, there was abundant reason for the team to go
crazy after Juanma Garate's dazzling stage victory.
Team leader Frans Maassen used his headset to scream in
his rider's ears. "You are
a hero." Rider Laurens ten Dam was
having a party on route with the Dutch fans, who had told
him that Garate had managed to break the curse. Erik
Breukink remained physically calm, but was shining on
the inside. "I think this
is absolutely fantastic for the team, but especially for
Juanma. The man has been falsely abused by outsiders,
which he never deserved. We can start popping the champagne
bottles."
Juanma
Garate was only gaining confidence in the final five-hundred
meters that his attempt might be successful. Frans Maassen,
however, had already been able to control his nerves a bit
earlier. “At three kilometers
from the finish, I was already getting the feeling that
it could be a legitimate chance. I tried to calmly inform
Juanma about it, but that was not easy,"
smiled Maassen. His colleague Erik Breukink
was already having far more confidence earlier on. "First,
when the gap was ten minutes and later on the climb of the
Ventoux when the gap remained stable around two minutes."
'Cease-fire'
Of course the 'cease-fire' agreement signed by the world-class
riders on the Ventoux put the escapees in a good
position. "Obviously, the
progress of the stage needs to be on your side to win the
race, but until now we had not been blessed with that fortune.
Today, the race put us in the perfect position. Otherwise,
it would have become difficult after all," admitted
Erik Breukink. It had been indicated during the pre-stage
meeting how important it was to have a man in an escape,
particularly during this stage. Breukink: "That
is because we do not have a finisher here like we had with
Oscar on Friday. They went to work with that assignment
and in the end two of our best men were there."
Posthuma
also did surprisingly well on the final climb. He already
fell behind near the foot of the mountain when Garate
initiated two accelerations, but the difference between
Garate en Martin on the one hand and Posthuma
on the other was never bigger than a minute, until the final
kilometer. While one rider after the other of the sixteen-men
lead group was gobbled up by the top-class riders, it was
Posthuma who stayed ahead for a long time. "A
performance by Joost that is praiseworthy,"
judged Breukink. "He rides
uphill wonderfully well here and it is not exactly an average
climb."
'More
than a classic'
The team leader felt most content for Garate.
"Outsiders have seriously questioned our decision to
select Juanma for the Tour, and it was heavily
criticized. People apparently do not see the amount of work
he does in a race, how valuable he is and that he has the
ability to focus on a specific race.
He
is the ideal man for your team. Juanma did not give
up and continued to work, just like the team, which always
pays off. Winning here is more important than a classic.
It is twice as rewarding and it is something we can put
into our pockets."
Contador
conquers le Tour
Stage
20: Montélimar to Mont Ventoux, 167 km
By
Cathy Mehl - astana-cyclingteam.com
It
was only one stage out of 21 total in the 96th Tour de
France, but 
it
was the one talked about for months and months, perhaps
since the very first day the route was announced last Fall.
Talked about in terms of “epic”
and “legendary” Mont Ventoux
never disappoints and today’s final climbing stage
was no exception.
Following
every move made by Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank), Astana
Cycling Team’s Alberto Contador defended the
maillot jaune all the way to the top and the young Spaniard
will ride into Paris on Sunday to claim his second
Tour win in three years.
Surprising
some but confirming for many the designation of “Best
Tour Rider Ever” was Lance Armstrong
securing his third place podium spot a mere ten months
after announcing his return to the sport. Andy Schleck
remained in second place. Team Astana teammate Andreas
Klöden took 6th overall and the team won the Teams
classification as well.
Contador commented after the stage saying, “I
really suffered on this
climb but every minute I came closer to the final victory
and that made it easier. The climb was harder today than
the day in the Dauphine because of the wind. I only
had to follow Andy today. He had good legs, but me
too. I succeeded and I am glad that Lance takes the third
podium place. Now I will celebrate with friends and family.
I am so happy.”
Positioning
himself in a day-long break, Juan Manuel Garate Rabobank)
sprinted away from Tony Martin (Columbia-HTC) to
claim a career-highlight win on top of the Giant of Provence
and rescued his team from an otherwise dismal Tour.
Martin
also showed great promise for the future as an upcoming
young rider. Martin wore the Best Young Rider
jersey earlier in the race, with Andy Schleck
claiming the win in the classification.
Asked
how the day went for him, Lance said, “It
went good. I felt good. It was a little aggressive at the
bottom. Lots of wind, lots of teams riding at the front.
I can’t complain.
I mean it was kind of simple: follow (Bradley) Wiggins
and follow Frank Schleck, and I had the legs to do
that. It was not as windy as advertised. It feels windy
here (at the top) but on the way up a little less than we
thought, also with the motos….and I’ve never seen
so many people on the Ventoux.
Hell,
seems like half of America showed up and all of France.
It was so packed and when you have a lot of people it blocks
a lot of the wind. But hey, I can’t complain. For an
old fart coming in here and getting on the podium with these
young guys, not so bad!”
General
Manager Johan Bruyneel now holds 
nine
Tour victories, chalking up seven with Lance and
now two with Alberto: “I am
so glad after a difficult season: Lance’s crash in
Castilla y Leon, sponsor problems, and then here
with two riders who really wanted to win. After Verbier
it was clear that Alberto was the best rider. The third
place of Lance makes it complete. It would be difficult
to do better. You cannot take all three podium places…we
won three stages and Team GC too. Very nice.”
Many
other directors would be thrilled to have even one of Bruyneel’s
nine, showing his clear dominance of the sport in the last
decade. Sports Director Alain Gallopin added, “The
third place for Lance is so nice. Basically climbs
like the Ventoux suit him better than short things
like Verbier.”
With Contador’s comfortable margin of over four
minutes at the beginning of the stage, the battle for podium
places was the real challenge of the day. Only 88-seconds
separated positions 2 through 6, creating plenty of desire
to reach for the brass ring and claim a podium spot in Paris.
A big break of 16 riders went away early on the stage and
developed a 10 minute gap. From the larger group Garate,
Martin and Christophe Riblon (AG2R) were able
to distance the others and hit the bottom of the climb several
minutes ahead of the yellow jersey group.
Approaching
the climb Saxo Bank drove the pace before Team Astana
took over in the crosswinds and successfully split the peloton.
A very select group came to the base of the climb together,
but included were all the top contenders: Lance,
Contador, Andy and Frank Schleck,
Bradley Wiggins (Garmin), Andreas Klöden, Roman
Kreuziger and Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas).
Frank
was the first to attack with Armstrong quick to respond.
Andy tried next but couldn’t shake Alberto.
On and on it replayed with Andy surging again and
again, always checking behind him to access the damage,
but the group successfully stayed in close proximity to
one another. Andy finally opened a gap to his followers,
but Contador was right on his wheel and Nibali
soon joined them as well. Klöden had been unable
to follow the initial moves but had ridden back to Lance’s
side and rode near Armstrong for much of the climb. Contador,
too, kept a watchful eye on the progress of Armstrong,
wanting to secure the podium spot for the seven-time Tour
de France winner.
KOM
Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas) showed that his polka
dot jersey was well-deserved when he flew across to Garate
and Martin, but eventually dropped back and joined
Contador’s group. The pace took its toll on
Wiggins, too, who kept digging deeper to ride back
to the group and eventually was able to defend his 4th on
the final podium. All the major contenders came to play
on the final stage and indeed it was fine theater for cycling
fans.
Sunday’s
mostly ceremonial stage will arrive on the Champs Élysées
where the final battle for the green jersey will take
place between Thor Hushovd (Cervelo) and Mark
Cavendish (Team Columbia-HTC). But yellow is decided
and Alberto Contador will be escorted into the City
of Lights by his teammates to claim the overall victory.
Standing next to him will be Andy Schleck and Lance Armstrong,
clear evidence that cycling has new faces in the spotlight
but one certain “older” face is still very much
a competitor and able to successfully spread his message
to cancer sufferers and survivors to never give up and always
“LIVESTRONG”.
Beyond
the Finish Line: The word “ventoux” is French
for windy and it can get very windy on Mont
Ventoux with winds of up to 200mph having been recorded.
This could perhaps be in part due to the fact that since
the 12th century the mountain has been consistently stripped
of its trees to meet the demands of shipbuilders at the
naval port of Toulon. Ventoux is geologically
part of the Alps and has two nicknames. The “Giant
of Provence” could be for the fact that, on
a clear day, it can be seen for miles and miles away and
has no mountain sof equal height nearby. “The
Bald Mountain” is for the barren landscape
at the top.
Andy
Schleck Third On Ventoux - Fränk Schleck Fifth overall
25-07-2009
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The last big battle was fought today on the legendary
climb to Mont Ventoux but it began long before the
actual ascent as the stage offered four other smaller climbs.
Here Team Saxo Bank put a heavy pressure on the riders
in the peloton leaving them no chance to relax before the
big blow. Here Stuart O'Grady and Gustav Larsson played
an important and strategic role for the team.
From the last climb before Ventoux the Astana riders went
to the front and took part of putting the peloton under.
And generally the big teams wanted to show their enormous
physique and mental state fighting to take the front and
leading the shrinking peloton.
In
front of the main group sixteen riders had a huge gap and
the most prominent name in this group was undoubtedly Columbias
Tony Martin. This group was quickly reduced to a
trio consisting of Martin (Columbia), Garate
(Rabobank) and Riblon (AG2R).
Behind
these three riders Team Saxo Bank's Chris Anker Sørensen
and Nicki Sørensen did a magnificent piece
of work for their captains by pulling the group of favorites.
As
both Danes fell back Fränk and Andy Schleck
started a firework of attacks wearing the other riders out
with the purpose of isolating Armstrong (Astana),
Klöden (Astana) and Wiggins (Garmin)
who were all in front of Fränk Schleck in the
GC.
Eventually Andy Schleck escaped with Contador
(Astana) and Nibali (Liquigas). Behind the trio,
Armstrong was glued to the back wheel of Fränk
Schleck to defend his place on the podium.
With
six kilometres to go the stage was neutralized and the group
of favorites was complete while Martin (Columbia)
and Garate (Rabobank) were increasing the gap.
And on top of Ventoux Garate (Rabobank) had the fullest
tank of fuel and he won the stage on the mythical peak in
the lunar landscape.
Andy
Schleck took the sprint of the favorites and he made
it to third place on the stage. Fränk Schleck
crossed the line in sixth place on the stage and advantaged
to fifth place in the overall standings.
”We
gave what we had today and we were the ones to create the
race and make the race exciting to watch. Fränk lacked
a little bit of power to make the few steps to the podium
and if he were able to keep up with Andy in the sprint he
would have been fourth overall. They tried with everything
they had and I can never expect more from the riders”,
Bjarne Riis said after the stage to Mont Ventoux.
”I
am very tired after an extremely tough stage but I am also
happy and content. We tried with everything we have learned
and had and we were on the attack all the way to the top
so there is nothing to regret or feel sorry about”,
said an exhausted Fränk Schleck after the battle
of Ventoux.
Righi
caparbio sul Ventoux; Marzano 7° e Cunego 10° in
Italia
Generoso
e tenace: queste le caratteristiche
di Daniele Righi, toscano della Lampre-NGC.
Qualità che hanno trovato la massima espressione
nella 20^ frazione del Tour de France, tappa che
ha portato la carovana gialla da Montélimar
fino in cima al Mont Ventoux (167 km): Righi
si è lanciato in fuga dopo soli 3 km dal via assieme
ad altri 112 corridori (gli attaccanti sono poi diventati
16), accumulando un vantaggio massimo di circa 9' le prime
asperità di giornata (Col d'Ey, Col de Fontaube e
Col des Abeilles).
Poi
è arrivato il momento di affrontare il Mont Ventoux
e il gruppetto degli attaccanti è esploso. Righi
ha affrontato la salita trovando il giusto compromesso tra
le energie restanti e la necessità di pedalare a
una velocità costante per riuscire ad essere raggiunto
il più tardi possibile dal gruppo maglia gialla,
all'interno del quale era tra l'altro iniziata la battaglia
tra i big della corsa.
Mentre
i reduci dalla fuga Garate e Martin si giocavano
il successo di tappa, Righi è stato raggiunto
e superato dal gruppetto di Contador ai 7,5 km dal
traguardo ma, con caparbietà, il corridore della
Lampre-NGC è riuscito a non perdere troppo terreno
dai migliori, rientrando su questi a meno di 6 km e concedendosi
uno scatto in faccia alla maglia gialla. Il tentativo dell'atleta
blu-fucsia non ha avuto molto spazio e così il toscano
ha raggiunto il traguardo in 19^ posizione, a 3'03"
dal vincitore Garate e a 2'25" da Contador
(4°).
Il
miglior blu-fucsia in classifica generale, David Loosli,
ha chiuso la tappa in 72^ posizione a 9'36", assestandosi
al 53° posto della graduatoria per la maglia gialla.
"Che
fatica immensa, ma la soddisfazione per aver affrontato
il Ventoux nelle prime posizioni mi ripaga di un così
grande sforzo - ha commentato Righi dopo
l'arrivo - Quando sono stato raggiunto
dal gruppetto di Contador, ho cercato di tenerlo
sempre a tiro così, quando c'è stato un rallentamento,
ho potuto riaccodarmi. Ho notato che gli uomini di classifica
si sono fermati, allora, non avendo nulla da perdere, ha
provato ad avvantaggiarmi alzando l'andatura: purtroppo
il mio motore ha qualche cilindro in meno di quello della
maglia gialla!".
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Il
Mont Ventoux con il suo paesaggio secco e lunare,
ha accompagnato i corridori sin sulla vetta con raffiche
di vento laterale, fino a 100 km orari ©Photo
Roberto Bettini
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Il
Mont Ventoux con il suo paesaggio secco e lunare,
ha accompagnato i corridori sin sulla vetta con raffiche
di vento laterale, fino a 100 km orari ©Photo
Roberto Bettini
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Il
Mont Ventoux con il suo paesaggio secco e lunare,
ha accompagnato i corridori sin sulla vetta con raffiche
di vento laterale, fino a 100 km orari ©Photo
Roberto Bettini
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Il
Mont Ventoux con il suo paesaggio secco e lunare,
ha accompagnato i corridori sin sulla vetta con raffiche
di vento laterale, fino a 100 km orari ©Photo
Roberto Bettini
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Il
Mont Ventoux con il suo paesaggio secco e lunare,
ha accompagnato i corridori sin sulla vetta con raffiche
di vento laterale, fino a 100 km orari ©Photo
Roberto Bettini
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|
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Il
Mont Ventoux con il suo paesaggio secco e lunare,
ha accompagnato i corridori sin sulla vetta con raffiche
di vento laterale, fino a 100 km orari ©Photo
Roberto Bettini
|
|
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Il
Mont Ventoux con il suo paesaggio secco e lunare,
ha accompagnato i corridori sin sulla vetta con raffiche
di vento laterale, fino a 100 km orari ©Photo
Roberto Bettini
|
|
|
Il
Mont Ventoux con il suo paesaggio secco e lunare,
ha accompagnato i corridori sin sulla vetta con raffiche
di vento laterale, fino a 100 km orari ©Photo
Roberto Bettini
|
|
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Il
Mont Ventoux con il suo paesaggio secco e lunare,
ha accompagnato i corridori sin sulla vetta con raffiche
di vento laterale, fino a 100 km orari ©Photo
Roberto Bettini
|
|
|
Il
Mont Ventoux con il suo paesaggio secco e lunare,
ha accompagnato i corridori sin sulla vetta con raffiche
di vento laterale, fino a 100 km orari ©Photo
Roberto Bettini
|
|
|
Il
Mont Ventoux con il suo paesaggio secco e lunare,
ha accompagnato i corridori sin sulla vetta con raffiche
di vento laterale, fino a 100 km orari ©Photo
Roberto Bettini
|
|
|
Il
Mont Ventoux con il suo paesaggio secco e lunare,
ha accompagnato i corridori sin sulla vetta con raffiche
di vento laterale, fino a 100 km orari ©Photo
Roberto Bettini
|
|
|
Il
Mont Ventoux con il suo paesaggio secco e lunare,
ha accompagnato i corridori sin sulla vetta con raffiche
di vento laterale, fino a 100 km orari ©Photo
Roberto Bettini
|
|
|
Il
Mont Ventoux con il suo paesaggio secco e lunare,
ha accompagnato i corridori sin sulla vetta con raffiche
di vento laterale, fino a 100 km orari ©Photo
Roberto Bettini
|
|
|
Il
Mont Ventoux con il suo paesaggio secco e lunare,
ha accompagnato i corridori sin sulla vetta con raffiche
di vento laterale, fino a 100 km orari ©Photo
Roberto Bettini
|
|
|
Il
Mont Ventoux con il suo paesaggio secco e lunare,
ha accompagnato i corridori sin sulla vetta con raffiche
di vento laterale, fino a 100 km orari ©Photo
Roberto Bettini
|
|
|
Il
Mont Ventoux con il suo paesaggio secco e lunare,
ha accompagnato i corridori sin sulla vetta con raffiche
di vento laterale, fino a 100 km orari ©Photo
Roberto Bettini
|
|
|
Il
Mont Ventoux con il suo paesaggio secco e lunare,
ha accompagnato i corridori sin sulla vetta con raffiche
di vento laterale, fino a 100 km orari ©Photo
Roberto Bettini
|
|
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Il
Mont Ventoux con il suo paesaggio secco e
lunare, ha accompagnato i corridori sin sulla vetta
con raffiche di vento laterale, fino a 100 km orari
©Photo
Roberto Bettini
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Il
Mont Ventoux con il suo paesaggio secco e
lunare, ha accompagnato i corridori sin sulla vetta
con raffiche di vento laterale, fino a 100 km orari
©Photo
Roberto Bettini
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