Hushovd wins miracle stage in Lourdes
World champion breaks French blockade from breakaway
World champion Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervélo) took his ninth Tour stage win and described it as the "best moment ever in my career" when he rode alone into Lourdes after an epic 30km pursuit of plucky Jérémy Roy (FDJ). "Winning alone on a hard day like this when we went over the Col d'Aubisque and doing it wearing the rainbow jersey is, I think, incredible. I'm just so happy now," said Hushovd.
After making the initial attack from a breakaway group of 10 riders on the opening ramps of the Aubisque, the Norwegian sprinter was dropped by the Frenchman and by David Moncoutié (Cofidis) further up the famous HC-category climb. Two minutes in arrears going over the summit, Hushovd steadily chipped away at the FDJ rider's advantage heading towards the finish.
He caught Moncoutié on the descent off the Soulor, and the pair set about chasing down the lone leader, Roy. At 15km to go, the two chasers had cut Roy's lead to just 31 seconds, with Hushovd doing the bulk of the pace-setting. They continued to close, but for a time Roy held them at 15-20 seconds as the fading Moncoutié was either unable or unwilling to contribute to the chase, knowing all too well that Hushovd was sure to beat him if the finish came down to a sprint.
With 3km left, Hushovd kicked away from Moncoutié and was quickly up to Roy. The Norwegian didn't wait to take on the FDJ rider in the sprint, jumping past him straight away and stomping clear to win with a comfortable gap over Moncoutié.
"It's the craziest thing I've ever done," admitted Hushovd. "I was happy to be in the break. I was obviously strong. I went on the attack on the Aubisque so that I could ride at my own pace. My goal was to come back on the descent, which I finally managed to do. It's incredible how quickly things have turned for me. Yesterday and the few days before I was feeling tired, but I did the right thing yesterday by taking it easy and losing quite a lot of time. I think that saved my legs and that's why I won today."
It was impossible not to have sympathy for Roy, who has been one of the revelations of the race. Already on the attack yesterday with Geraint Thomas on the road to Luz-Ardiden, Roy rolled in an almost tearful third. His reward for a fifth attack in 13 stages was the stage's combativity prize and the King of the Mountains jersey, which he took from Samuel Sánchez after adding his conquest of the Aubisque to yesterday's on the Tourmalet.
"Perhaps one day I will look back on this stage as a great effort, but at the moment I feel too disappointed to see it that way," Roy confessed.
There was little change in the overall standings, with Thomas Voeckler finishing towards the front of the peloton to hold the yellow jersey for another day, although Philippe Gilbert did jump up to ninth overall thanks to an attack coming off the Soulor, which earned him 10th place on the stage almost a minute ahead of the yellow jersey group.
Looking ahead to tomorrow's stage to Plâteau de Beille, where he famously held the yellow jersey against most predictions in 2004, Voeckler said: "I've got good memories of Plâteau de Beille and we'll see what happens. What I know is that Luz-Ardiden was very, very hard and I think tomorrow it will be harder. I'm very proud of the way my team has ridden and if I do lose the jersey tomorrow I won't be blaming my team because they've done a great job up to now."
Asked about the fact that every previous winner at Plâteau de Beille has gone on to win the Tour in Paris, BMC team leader Cadel Evans commented: "Plâteau de Beille is a long climb after a hard day. But if I don't win tomorrow I'm not going to give up trying to win, let's put it that way. But it is certainly going to be one of the race's most important days."
A frantic start
The stage started without Quick Step's Gert Steegmans, who was involved in a crash on stage five, but only found out yesterday he had fractured the scaphoid bone in his wrist. Katusha sprinter Denis Galimzyanov was also a non-starter having finished outside the time limit on stage 12.
The profile of the stage suggested it was ideal for a breakaway to go away and stay away. Right from the off it was clear that dozens of riders were determined to be part of that break. The racing was frantic, with groups going away, being chased down and others countering. The pace proved too much for RadioShack's Andreas Klöden, who was soon off the back and struggling with back problems that had been exacerbated by a crash yesterday. The German quit with 25km covered, leaving his team with just five riders in the race.
Gilbert was once again one of the animators, but in the end he had to yield to the pull of the main pack, who were determined to allow him no room for manoeuvre. FDJ's Roy, however, got a bit more leeway. Despite being on the attack for most of yesterday with Thomas, the Frenchman pressed on and was eventually joined by nine riders: Maarten Tjallingii (Rabobank), Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervélo), Dmitriy Fofonov (Astana), Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky), Jérôme Pineau (Quick Step), David Moncoutié (Cofidis), Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-ISD), Lars Bak (HTC-Highroad) and Vladimir Gusev (Katusha).
As Tjallingii was joining the action at the front of the race, teammate Lars Boom was the latest to struggle off the back. With 50-odd kilometres covered, the Dutchman became the 25th rider to leave the race.
The breakaway riders didn't contest the intermediate sprint, Boasson Hagen leading the 10 escapees through. Five minutes later, the battle for 11th place was much more hard fought. HTC-Highroad committed several riders to lead out Mark Cavendish, but he was outwitted by Movistar's José Joaquín Rojas, who accelerated early and held on to edge it as the Briton gesticulated furiously.
Attacks on the Aubisque
Soon after the breakaway riders began the ascent of the Aubisque, world champion Hushovd attacked from the back of the group. Initially, no one followed. Roy then made a move behind the Norwegian, and joined him just above the spa town of Eaux-Bonnes. Behind this pair, Moncoutié moved clear of the remaining eight and was for a short time joined by Boasson Hagen.
Nine kilometres from the summit, Roy kicked away from Hushovd, who was soon caught and dropped by Moncoutié. The Cofidis climbing specialist closed to within 100 metres of Roy at one point, but the irrepressible FDJ rider steadily eased away again to lead by 53 seconds going over the summit, with Hushovd at 2:03. The peloton came over more than eight minutes down.
Roy gained a few more seconds on the uncategorised ascent over the Soulor pass, from where he had 33 mostly downhill kilometres into the finish. Hushovd, renowned as one of the best descenders in the sport, caught Moncoutié coming off the Soulor, and the pair quickly began to trim back Roy's advantage. At the 20km banner his lead was 1:05. At 15km it was less than half that, at 10km it was just 18 seconds.
For a few minutes, it looked as if Roy might just hang on as the road kicked up a couple of times on the approaches to Lourdes. Sadly for him, though, Hushovd had a little bit left in the tank thanks to his decision to hold back yesterday. In the end, that may well have been the difference between them.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Thor Hushovd (Nor) Team Garmin-Cervelo | 3:47:36 |
2 | David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | 0:00:10 |
3 | Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ | 0:00:26 |
4 | Lars Ytting Bak (Den) HTC-Highroad | 0:05:00 |
5 | Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Quickstep Cycling Team | 0:05:02 |
6 | Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling | 0:05:03 |
7 | Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Katusha Team | 0:05:08 |
8 | Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD | 0:05:16 |
9 | Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
10 | Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto | 0:06:48 |
11 | Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | 0:06:51 |
12 | Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:07:37 |
13 | Tony Gallopin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | Row 12 - Cell 2 |
14 | Grega Bole (Slo) Lampre - ISD | Row 13 - Cell 2 |
15 | Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto | Row 14 - Cell 2 |
16 | Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard Trek | Row 15 - Cell 2 |
17 | Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar | Row 16 - Cell 2 |
18 | Gianni Meersman (Bel) FDJ | Row 17 - Cell 2 |
19 | Andy Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek | Row 18 - Cell 2 |
20 | Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar | Row 19 - Cell 2 |
21 | Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre - ISD | Row 20 - Cell 2 |
22 | Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Pro Team Astana | Row 21 - Cell 2 |
23 | Julien El Fares (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | Row 22 - Cell 2 |
24 | Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | Row 23 - Cell 2 |
25 | Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team | Row 24 - Cell 2 |
26 | Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - ISD | Row 25 - Cell 2 |
27 | Tony Martin (Ger) HTC-Highroad | Row 26 - Cell 2 |
28 | Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team | Row 27 - Cell 2 |
29 | Rob Ruijgh (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | Row 28 - Cell 2 |
30 | Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ | Row 29 - Cell 2 |
31 | Peter Velits (Svk) HTC-Highroad | Row 30 - Cell 2 |
32 | Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | Row 31 - Cell 2 |
33 | Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | Row 32 - Cell 2 |
34 | Christian Knees (Ger) Sky Procycling | Row 33 - Cell 2 |
35 | Kevin De Weert (Bel) Quickstep Cycling Team | Row 34 - Cell 2 |
36 | Maciej Paterski (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale | Row 35 - Cell 2 |
37 | Thomas Danielson (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo | Row 36 - Cell 2 |
38 | Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Saxo Bank Sungard | Row 37 - Cell 2 |
39 | Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ | Row 38 - Cell 2 |
40 | Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | Row 39 - Cell 2 |
41 | Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Leopard Trek | Row 40 - Cell 2 |
42 | Fränk Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek | Row 41 - Cell 2 |
43 | Jerome Coppel (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | Row 42 - Cell 2 |
44 | Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 43 - Cell 2 |
45 | Mickaël Buffaz (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | Row 44 - Cell 2 |
46 | Nicki Sörensen (Den) Saxo Bank Sungard | Row 45 - Cell 2 |
47 | Xabier Zandio Echaide (Spa) Sky Procycling | Row 46 - Cell 2 |
48 | Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | Row 47 - Cell 2 |
49 | Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | Row 48 - Cell 2 |
50 | Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo | Row 49 - Cell 2 |
51 | Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | Row 50 - Cell 2 |
52 | George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team | Row 51 - Cell 2 |
53 | Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) Team RadioShack | Row 52 - Cell 2 |
54 | Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team RadioShack | Row 53 - Cell 2 |
55 | Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling | Row 54 - Cell 2 |
56 | Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Katusha Team | Row 55 - Cell 2 |
57 | David Loosli (Swi) Lampre - ISD | Row 56 - Cell 2 |
58 | Jens Voigt (Ger) Leopard Trek | Row 57 - Cell 2 |
59 | Imanol Erviti Ollo (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 58 - Cell 2 |
60 | Yuriy Trofimov (Rus) Katusha Team | Row 59 - Cell 2 |
61 | Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 60 - Cell 2 |
62 | Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 61 - Cell 2 |
63 | Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank Cycling Team | Row 62 - Cell 2 |
64 | Sebastian Lang (Ger) Omega Pharma-Lotto | Row 63 - Cell 2 |
65 | Rémy Di Gregorio (Fra) Pro Team Astana | Row 64 - Cell 2 |
66 | Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Pro Team Astana | 0:07:52 |
67 | Benjamin Noval Gonzalez (Spa) Saxo Bank Sungard | Row 66 - Cell 2 |
68 | Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek | Row 67 - Cell 2 |
69 | Denys Kostyuk (Ukr) Lampre - ISD | Row 68 - Cell 2 |
70 | Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Saxo Bank Sungard | Row 69 - Cell 2 |
71 | Brian Vandborg (Den) Saxo Bank Sungard | Row 70 - Cell 2 |
72 | Richie Porte (Aus) Saxo Bank Sungard | Row 71 - Cell 2 |
73 | Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar | Row 72 - Cell 2 |
74 | Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | Row 73 - Cell 2 |
75 | Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | Row 74 - Cell 2 |
76 | Ivan Santaromita (Ita) BMC Racing Team | Row 75 - Cell 2 |
77 | Adriano Malori (Ita) Lampre - ISD | Row 76 - Cell 2 |
78 | Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team | Row 77 - Cell 2 |
79 | Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | Row 78 - Cell 2 |
80 | Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quickstep Cycling Team | Row 79 - Cell 2 |
81 | Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 80 - Cell 2 |
82 | Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quickstep Cycling Team | Row 81 - Cell 2 |
83 | Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Saxo Bank Sungard | Row 82 - Cell 2 |
84 | Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Team RadioShack | Row 83 - Cell 2 |
85 | Jesús Hernandez Blazquez (Spa) Saxo Bank Sungard | Row 84 - Cell 2 |
86 | Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team | Row 85 - Cell 2 |
87 | Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) Team RadioShack | Row 86 - Cell 2 |
88 | David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 87 - Cell 2 |
89 | Joost Posthuma (Ned) Leopard Trek | Row 88 - Cell 2 |
90 | Steve Morabito (Swi) BMC Racing Team | Row 89 - Cell 2 |
91 | Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team | Row 90 - Cell 2 |
92 | Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Team Garmin-Cervelo | Row 91 - Cell 2 |
93 | Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale | Row 92 - Cell 2 |
94 | Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Sky Procycling | Row 93 - Cell 2 |
95 | Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Leopard Trek | Row 94 - Cell 2 |
96 | David Millar (GBr) Team Garmin-Cervelo | 0:08:03 |
97 | Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Saxo Bank Sungard | Row 96 - Cell 2 |
98 | Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team | Row 97 - Cell 2 |
99 | Addy Engels (Ned) Quickstep Cycling Team | Row 98 - Cell 2 |
100 | Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Pro Team Astana | 0:08:07 |
101 | Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Team RadioShack | 0:08:38 |
102 | Anthony Charteau (Fra) Team Europcar | 0:08:40 |
103 | Vincent Jerome (Fra) Team Europcar | 0:09:24 |
104 | Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 0:13:04 |
105 | Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team | Row 104 - Cell 2 |
106 | Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | 0:15:13 |
107 | Arnaud Coyot (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | Row 106 - Cell 2 |
108 | Fabrice Jeandesboz (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | Row 107 - Cell 2 |
109 | Tristan Valentin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | Row 108 - Cell 2 |
110 | Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu) Pro Team Astana | 0:15:42 |
111 | Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto | Row 110 - Cell 2 |
112 | Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ | Row 111 - Cell 2 |
113 | Tejay Van Garderen (USA) HTC-Highroad | Row 112 - Cell 2 |
114 | Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team | Row 113 - Cell 2 |
115 | Perrig Quemeneur (Fra) Team Europcar | Row 114 - Cell 2 |
116 | Niki Terpstra (Ned) Quickstep Cycling Team | 0:18:32 |
117 | Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre - ISD | Row 116 - Cell 2 |
118 | Jérémie Galland (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | Row 117 - Cell 2 |
119 | Ben Swift (GBr) Sky Procycling | Row 118 - Cell 2 |
120 | Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 119 - Cell 2 |
121 | Mickaël Delage (Fra) FDJ | Row 120 - Cell 2 |
122 | Simon Gerrans (Aus) Sky Procycling | Row 121 - Cell 2 |
123 | Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Procycling | Row 122 - Cell 2 |
124 | Kristijan Koren (Slo) Liquigas-Cannondale | 0:22:08 |
125 | Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | Row 124 - Cell 2 |
126 | Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale | Row 125 - Cell 2 |
127 | Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Team Garmin-Cervelo | Row 126 - Cell 2 |
128 | Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | Row 127 - Cell 2 |
129 | Mark Cavendish (GBr) HTC-Highroad | Row 128 - Cell 2 |
130 | Björn Leukemans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | Row 129 - Cell 2 |
131 | Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Leopard Trek | Row 130 - Cell 2 |
132 | Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) HTC-Highroad | Row 131 - Cell 2 |
133 | Mikhail Ignatyev (Rus) Katusha Team | Row 132 - Cell 2 |
134 | Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Pro Team Astana | Row 133 - Cell 2 |
135 | Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | Row 134 - Cell 2 |
136 | Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar | Row 135 - Cell 2 |
137 | Sébastien Turgot (Fra) Team Europcar | Row 136 - Cell 2 |
138 | Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | Row 137 - Cell 2 |
139 | José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 138 - Cell 2 |
140 | Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Lampre - ISD | Row 139 - Cell 2 |
141 | Leonardo Fabio Duque (Col) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | Row 140 - Cell 2 |
142 | Andrey Amador Bakkazakova (CRc) Movistar Team | Row 141 - Cell 2 |
143 | Bernhard Eisel (Aut) HTC-Highroad | Row 142 - Cell 2 |
144 | Mark Renshaw (Aus) HTC-Highroad | Row 143 - Cell 2 |
145 | Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Omega Pharma-Lotto | Row 144 - Cell 2 |
146 | Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | Row 145 - Cell 2 |
147 | Tyler Farrar (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo | Row 146 - Cell 2 |
148 | Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Pro Team Astana | Row 147 - Cell 2 |
149 | Egor Silin (Rus) Katusha Team | Row 148 - Cell 2 |
150 | Sébastien Hinault (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 149 - Cell 2 |
151 | Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | Row 150 - Cell 2 |
152 | Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team | Row 151 - Cell 2 |
153 | André Greipel (Ger) Omega Pharma-Lotto | Row 152 - Cell 2 |
154 | Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Quickstep Cycling Team | Row 153 - Cell 2 |
155 | Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ | Row 154 - Cell 2 |
156 | Blel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 155 - Cell 2 |
157 | Pablo Urtasun Perez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | Row 156 - Cell 2 |
158 | Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | Row 157 - Cell 2 |
159 | Borut Bozic (Slo) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | Row 158 - Cell 2 |
160 | Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | Row 159 - Cell 2 |
161 | Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 160 - Cell 2 |
162 | Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 161 - Cell 2 |
163 | Laurent Mangel (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | Row 162 - Cell 2 |
164 | Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Pro Team Astana | Row 163 - Cell 2 |
165 | Alan Perez Lezaun (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | Row 164 - Cell 2 |
166 | Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | Row 165 - Cell 2 |
167 | William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ | Row 166 - Cell 2 |
168 | Gorka Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | Row 167 - Cell 2 |
169 | Danny Pate (USA) HTC-Highroad | Row 168 - Cell 2 |
170 | Julian Dean (NZl) Team Garmin-Cervelo | Row 169 - Cell 2 |
171 | Romain Zingle (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | 0:27:41 |
DNF | Andreas Klöden (Ger) Team RadioShack | Row 171 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | Row 172 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Vladimir Isaichev (Rus) Katusha Team | Row 173 - Cell 2 |
DNS | Gert Steegmans (Bel) Quickstep Cycling Team | Row 174 - Cell 2 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Te |
---|