Martin and then daylight for Tour's first ITT

Reigning World Champion Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quick-Step) is the overwhelming favourite for Wednesday's 33km individual time trial between Avranches and Mont-Saint-Michel while maillot jaune Chris Froome (Sky) will be looking to maintain and perhaps even extend his advantage over his GC rivals.

Martin will be the 65th rider to leave the start house at 12:36 local time, and so will have a while to wait to see if his time stands with the German expected to cover the distance in around 38 minutes.

First man on course however will be six-time Paralympic Champion Jiri Jezek of the Czech Republic who will be riding as a special guest of the Tour. As for the first official starter, that honour goes to Dmitriy Muravyev (Astana) who will begin his ride at 10:28 with the next 157 riders leaving at two-minute intervals while the remaining 24 get a three-minute gap.

The reasonably flat, straight roads hold a distinct advantage for the powerful purists of the discipline, with last month's time trial at the Criterium du Dauphine a good point of reference. There, Martin again showed his dominance in the chrono, having recovered from illness, to win by 47 seconds from Garmin's Rohan Dennis, while Froome was a further five seconds in arrears to round out the podium.

"I feel pretty well," Martin said of his feeling heading into Stage 11, having battled the Tour so far with significant grazing after a crash on Stage 1. "I had a pretty good rest day. The injuries are quite okay now, not too much pain anymore. I recovered well and am really motivated for the time trial tomorrow."

Froome meantime, holds a 1:25 advantage over nearest rival Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and was planning a Tuesday evening recon for a detailed look at the task at hand. It's likely that Froome will have set a time fast enough to land on the podium once he crosses the finish line in the shadows of the monastery around 5:30pm but the Sky leader's biggest objective for the stage will be to extend his lead over his rivals for the top step in Paris on July 21.

Team Belkin, with Bauke Mollema (third at 1:44) and Laurens Ten Dam (fourth at 1:50) have ushered in the new era for the team at the Tour with a performance so far that has been big on consistency while largely escaping the spotlight. Mollema, while definitely a climbing specialist, is not at a complete loss against the clock, as recently seen at the Tour de Suisse where he finished third behind Rui Costa (Movistar) on the final day. The final 10km of that stage featured a steady climb where around 930 metres in height we gained, but the result should give the Dutchman confidence.

"I am in good form and I can usually ride a decent time trial then," Mollema said heading into the ITT. "I am going to scout the parcours one more time tomorrow morning and then I'll give it all I have. It's a flat TT and the GC riders around me are no real specialists so hopefully I can hang on to third. That would be very nice."

Currently sixth overall at 1:51 behind teammate Romain Kreuziger, Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) admits that Froome has the better of him against the clock, and like Valverde, will be keen to limit any losses.

"It [the time trial] will be difficult for me because it is completely flat, suitable for specialists and in this sense it's a disadvantage," Contador said on Monday's rest day. "What is clear though is that I'll give a hundred percent and we'll see what happens."

 

 

 

Start times, Stage 11

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#Rider Name (Country) TeamDepart
1Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team10:28:00
2Svein Tuft (Can) Orica-GreenEdge10:30:00
3Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team10:32:00
4Tom Veelers (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano10:34:00
5Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team10:36:00
6Jerome Cousin (Fra) Team Europcar10:38:00
7Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team10:40:00
8Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Procycling10:42:00
9Koen De Kort (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano10:44:00
10Frederik Willems (Bel) Lotto Belisol10:46:00
11Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge10:48:00
12Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar10:50:00
13Albert Timmer (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano10:52:00
14Marcel Kittel (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano10:54:00
15Cameron Meyer (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge10:56:00
16William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ.fr10:58:00
17Jack Bauer (NZl) Garmin-Sharp11:00:00
18Ian Stannard (GBr) Sky Procycling11:02:00
19Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge11:04:00
20Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol11:06:00
21Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Belkin Pro Cycling Team11:08:00
22Brett Lancaster (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge11:10:00
23Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quick Step11:12:00
24Thomas Leezer (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team11:14:00
25Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale11:16:00
26Niki Terpstra (Ned) Omega Pharma-Quick Step11:18:00
27Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha11:20:00
28Brian Vandborg (Den) Cannondale Pro Cycling11:22:00
29Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol11:24:00
30Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi11:26:00
31Danny van Poppel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team11:28:00
32Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre-Merida11:30:00
33Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol11:32:00
34Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi11:34:00
35Mark Cavendish (GBr) Omega Pharma-Quick Step11:36:00
36Boy van Poppel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team11:38:00
37Egoitz Garcia Echeguibel (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits11:40:00
38Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano11:42:00
39Matteo Trentin (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quick Step11:44:00
40Kévin Reza (Fra) Team Europcar11:46:00
41Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step11:48:00
42Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha11:50:00
43Murilo Antonio Fischer (Bra) FDJ.fr11:52:00
44Romain Sicard (Fra) Euskaltel-Euskadi11:54:00
45André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol11:56:00
46David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Sky Procycling11:58:00
47Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale12:00:00
48Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Sojasun12:02:00
49Imanol Erviti Ollo (Spa) Movistar Team12:04:00
50Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team12:06:00
51Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano12:08:00
52David Veilleux (Can) Team Europcar12:10:00
53Lars Boom (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team12:12:00
54Blel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale12:14:00
55Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team12:16:00
56Maarten Wynants (Bel) Belkin Pro Cycling Team12:18:00
57Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Sojasun12:20:00
58Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida12:22:00
59Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol12:24:00
60Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ.fr12:26:00
61Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits12:28:00
62Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Team Saxo-Tinkoff12:30:00
63Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin-Sharp12:32:00
64Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team12:34:00
65Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quick Step12:36:00
66John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano12:38:00
67Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Cannondale Pro Cycling12:40:00
68Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling12:42:00
69Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) RadioShack Leopard12:44:00
70Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Sojasun12:46:00
71Jean-Marc Marino (Fra) Sojasun12:48:00
72Brice Feillu (Fra) Sojasun12:50:00
73Alan Marangoni (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling12:52:00
74Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Sky Procycling12:54:00
75Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Katusha12:56:00
76Jerome Coppel (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits12:58:00
77Pavel Brutt (Rus) Katusha13:00:00
78Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar Team13:02:00
79Gorka Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi13:04:00
80Julien Simon (Fra) Sojasun13:06:00
81Moreno Moser (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling13:08:00
82Elia Favilli (Ita) Lampre-Merida13:10:00
83Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team13:12:00
84David Millar (GBr) Garmin-Sharp13:14:00
85Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits13:16:00
86Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol13:18:00
87Rudy Molard (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits13:20:00
88Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar13:22:00
89Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team13:24:00
90Daniele Bennati (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff13:26:00
91Juan Jose Oroz Ugalde (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi13:28:00
92Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano13:30:00
93Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team13:32:00
94Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Spa) Movistar Team13:34:00
95Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling13:36:00
96Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff13:38:00
97Kristijan Koren (Slo) Cannondale Pro Cycling13:40:00
98Bart De Clercq (Bel) Lotto Belisol13:42:00
99Alberto Losada Alguacil (Spa) Katusha13:44:00
100Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Sky Procycling13:46:00
101Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) FDJ.fr13:48:00
102Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team13:50:00
103Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Team Europcar13:52:00
104Simon Clarke (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge13:54:00
105Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling13:56:00
106Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Solutions Credits13:58:00
107Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team14:00:00
108Jesus Hernandez Blazquez (Spa) Team Saxo-Tinkoff14:02:00
109Peter Sagan (Svk) Cannondale Pro Cycling14:04:00
110Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team14:06:00
111Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team14:08:00
112Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica-GreenEdge14:10:00
113Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits14:12:00
114Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Astana Pro Team14:14:00
115Alexandre Geniez (Fra) FDJ.fr14:16:00
116Julien El Fares (Fra) Sojasun14:18:00
117Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge14:20:00
118Yury Trofimov (Rus) Katusha14:22:00
119Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale14:24:00
120Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre-Merida14:26:00
121Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack Leopard14:28:00
122Jon Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi14:30:00
123Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano14:32:00
124Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack Leopard14:34:00
125Thomas Danielson (USA) Garmin-Sharp14:36:00
126Laurent Didier (Lux) RadioShack Leopard14:38:00
127Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team14:40:00
128Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ.fr14:42:00
129Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Belkin Pro Cycling Team14:44:00
130Bram Tankink (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team14:46:00
131Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) Sojasun14:48:00
132Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quick Step14:50:00
133Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team14:52:00
134Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ.fr14:54:00
135Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale14:56:00
136Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Saxo-Tinkoff14:58:00
137Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar15:00:00
138Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-GreenEdge15:02:00
139Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ.fr15:04:00
140Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack Leopard15:06:00
141Andrey Amador Bakkazakova (CRc) Movistar Team15:08:00
142Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Sharp15:10:00
143Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa) Movistar Team15:12:00
144Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) RadioShack Leopard15:14:00
145Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Merida15:16:00
146Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi15:18:00
147Maxime Mederel (Fra) Sojasun15:20:00
148Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre-Merida15:22:00
149Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling15:24:00
150Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha15:26:00
151Robert Gesink (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team15:28:00
152John Gadret (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale15:30:00
153Steve Morabito (Swi) BMC Racing Team15:32:00
154Jan Bakelants (Bel) RadioShack Leopard15:34:00
155Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quick Step15:36:00
156Davide Malacarne (Ita) Team Europcar15:38:00
157Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar15:40:00
158Andrew Talansky (USA) Garmin-Sharp15:42:00
159Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits15:45:00
160Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez (Col) Lampre-Merida15:48:00
161Wouter Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team15:51:00
162Maxime Monfort (Bel) RadioShack Leopard15:54:00
163Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale15:57:00
164Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi16:00:00
165Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha16:03:00
166Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff16:06:00
167Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team16:09:00
168Andy Schleck (Lux) RadioShack Leopard16:12:00
169Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale16:15:00
170Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma-Quick Step16:18:00
171Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team16:21:00
172Mikel Nieve Ituralde (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi16:24:00
173Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team16:27:00
174Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha16:30:00
175Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin-Sharp16:33:00
176Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Col) Movistar Team16:36:00
177Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Team Saxo-Tinkoff16:39:00
178Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Team Saxo-Tinkoff16:42:00
179Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team16:45:00
180Bauke Mollema (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team16:48:00
181Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team16:51:00
182Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling16:54:00

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