Chasing The Tour | Stage 14 – Les Saboteurs!

July 16, 2012

Today's stage was filled with drama, sabotage, sportsmanship, and victory. After the first hour of attempts an eleven-man breakaway emerged nearly 50km into the race which included some big names like Gilbert, Sagan, and Sanchez. They gained a massive lead of 13’30” by the intermediate sprint and by the time Sanchez crossed the finishline in first place the main bunch were still 18’15” behind.

However, Sanchez’s fourth annual Tour stage victory was overshadowed by the news that was making all the headlines. Tacks that were thrown onto the road by fans 200m from the summit of the Mur de Peguere climb, 38km from the finish which resulted in around thirty punctures including many vehicles. The first rider everyone noticed with problems was Cadel on the summit when he needed to wait for what seemed like eternity for a wheelchange reminiscent of stage 13 in the 2009 Vuelta. Another BMC rider came by and swapped wheels but it seemed strange that Cadel needed to change his wheel straight away which made it seem like a mechanical issue. Quickly after the television cut to Jim Ochowicz giving Cadel a clumsy wheelchange and falling into the ditch (does it make me a bad person for laughing out loud at that?). However, it was soon realised that tacks had been laid on the road and riders were puncturing everywhere because of it. Many riders including Levi Leipheimer hit the ground and Robert Kiserlovski of Astana crashed on the descent and had to abandon the race due to a suspected collarbone fracture. It turned out to be no laughing matter with how dangerous this could have been.

After the race I spoke with a moto photographer who was in-between the escape bunch and the peloton. The tacks were probably dropped just moments after the Gendarmerie who where leading the main peloton passed near the summit of the Mur de Peguere. Numerous motorbikes within the peloton punctured as did a few team cars, but none of the photographer’s motos who were just ahead had any problems. The road was packed with fans and it would be surprising if nobody saw anything, but it’s doubtful he/they will be caught.

It’s good to know that sportsmanship still exists and the unwritten rules of the peloton are respected. Team SKY knew there was a problem with the riders behind and they sat up and waited for the bunch to regroup. Bradley Wiggins said in the press conference, “I just thought it was the honourable thing to do, no one wants to benefit from someone else’s misfortune.” To add to the chaos Pierre Rolland didn’t get the message however and he attacked the front of the peloton which sparked a reaction from Liquigas and Lotto Belisol as he threatened their GC position.

The ones who I really feel sorry for at this moment are the team mechanics gluing on dozens of tubulars at 1am.

Stage 14 Photos

: The French tricolor at the start pictured during stage 14

: Yesterday’s winner Andrei Greipel poking his head out of the Lotto Belisol team bus at the start in Limoux

: Leg of steel belonging to Johnny Hoogerland

: Catalan Rugby cheerleaders watching the peloton pass by outside the township of Pulvert

: The breakaway group arriving into the township of Tarascon Sur-Areige where Peter Sagan collects his intermediate sprint points. He now has nearly 100 points on second place (Greipel)

: The peloton passing the intermediate sprint

: Anything for a photo…

: Luis Leon Sanchez (Rabobank) takes stage 14 victory in Foix.

: The main peloton containing the yellow jersey holder Bradley Wiggins arriving into Foix.

: Thumb tack found in the wheel belonging to French team, FDJ-Bigmat

: We’ve been skunked for iconic sunflower photos this tour but we came across this endless field of yellow at the end of the day

Stage 15 Preview

Race Results Summary

Tour de France (2012) - Stage 14

Limoux to Foix (191km)

15 Jul 2012

View the full race results

Stage

Position	Name	Nationality	Team	Time
1	SANCHEZ GIL, Luis Leon	ESP	RABOBANK	4:50:29
2	SAGAN, Peter	SVK	LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE	47
3	CASAR, Sandy	FRA	FDJ-BIG MAT
4	GILBERT, Philippe	BEL	BMC RACING
5	IZAGIRRE INSAUSTI, Gorka	ESP	EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI
6	PAULINHO, Sergio Miguel Moreira	POR	STB	+2:51
7	MINARD, Sébastien	FRA	AG2R LA MONDIALE
8	VELITS, Martin	SVK	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP	+3:49
9	VORGANOV, Eduard	RUS	KATUSHA	+4:51
10	KRUIJSWIJK, Steven	NED	RABOBANK	+4:53

General Classification

Position	Name	Nationality	Team	Time
1	WIGGINS, Bradley	GBR	SKY PROCYCLING	64:41:16
2	FROOME, Chris	GBR	SKY PROCYCLING	+2:05
3	NIBALI, Vincenzo	ITA	LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE	+2:23
4	EVANS, Cadel	AUS	BMC RACING	+3:19
5	VAN DEN BROECK, Jurgen	BEL	LOTTO BELISOL	+4:48
6	ZUBELDIA AGIRRE, Haimar	ESP	RADIOSHACK-NISSAN	+6:15
7	VAN GARDEREN, Tejay	USA	BMC RACING	+6:57
8	BRAJKOVIC, Janez	SLO	ASTANA	+7:30
9	ROLLAND, Pierre	FRA	TEAM EUROPCAR	+8:31
10	PINOT, Thibaut	FRA	FDJ-BIG MAT	+8:51

Sprint Classification

Position	Name	Nationality	Team	Points
1	SAGAN, Peter	SVK	LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE	333
2	GREIPEL, André	GER	LOTTO BELISOL	236
3	GOSS, Matthew Harley	AUS	ORICA-GREENEDGE	203
4	CAVENDISH, Mark	GBR	SKY PROCYCLING	129
5	BOASSON HAGEN, Edvald	NOR	SKY PROCYCLING	125
6	WIGGINS, Bradley	GBR	SKY PROCYCLING	105
7	EVANS, Cadel	AUS	BMC RACING	100
8	FROOME, Chris	GBR	SKY PROCYCLING	84
9	IMPEY, Daryl	RSA	ORICA-GREENEDGE	84
10	NIBALI, Vincenzo	ITA	LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE	77

Mountains Classification

Position	Name	Nationality	Team	Points
1	KESSIAKOFF, Fredrik Carl Wilhelm	SWE	ASTANA	69
2	ROLLAND, Pierre	FRA	TEAM EUROPCAR	55
3	SÖRENSEN, Chris Anker	DEN	STB	39
4	VOECKLER, Thomas	FRA	TEAM EUROPCAR	33
5	SCARPONI, Michele	ITA	LAMPRE - ISD	33
6	FROOME, Chris	GBR	SKY PROCYCLING	32
7	PINOT, Thibaut	FRA	FDJ-BIG MAT	32
8	VELITS, Peter	SVK	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP	29
9	SANCHEZ GIL, Luis Leon	ESP	RABOBANK	21
10	CASAR, Sandy	FRA	FDJ-BIG MAT	20

Young Rider Classification

Position	Name	Nationality	Team	Time
1	VAN GARDEREN, Tejay	USA	BMC RACING	64:48:13
2	PINOT, Thibaut	FRA	FDJ-BIG MAT	+1:54
3	SAGAN, Peter	SVK	LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE	+40:35
4	KRUIJSWIJK, Steven	NED	RABOBANK	+41:37
5	TAARAMAE, Rein	EST	COFIDIS, LE CREDIT EN LIGNE	+52:02
6	IZAGIRRE INSAUSTI, Gorka	ESP	EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI	+57:34
7	VALLS FERRI, Rafael	ESP	VACANSOLEIL-DCM	+59:43
8	GAUTIER, Cyril	FRA	TEAM EUROPCAR	+1:04:55
9	MALACARNE, Davide	ITA	TEAM EUROPCAR	+1:05:33
10	BOASSON HAGEN, Edvald	NOR	SKY PROCYCLING	+1:06:36

Phil

Hopefully some camera footage helps find the person responsible.

Great riding from L L Sanchez to take on a very select lead bunch.
- Abdu
  
  Yep, LL Cool J just made Sagan and those others look average. Great punch out from 11km’s to go, it’s quietened down all those Sagan worshippers at least.
  
  Wiggo is actually a remarkable character, give him the title now. Showed real panache to call a halt, when there was still a lot of confusion. Having said that, did Rolland have his race radio turned off…? I thought they all desperately needed them for safety, yet it seems he was the only one who didn’t realise. Liquigas were just inches of being typically dodgy types, I can understand why Cadel and his boys gave their team car a bake when riding past. Nibbles immediately justified why, which shows he knew it was a bit suss.
  
  Still chances left for Cadel, but he needs to put 6-7 minutes into Wiggo, and that’s only going to come from a mechanical. If so, Cadel ain’t going to attack him now.
  
  Well done Wiggo, a worthy wearer of the yellow jersey.
Bad dad jokes.

Sabotaging the race – a very tacky move. Some people just don’t get the point. I hope the Gendarmerie can nail the culprits.
- charlie
  
  Really lucky it didn’t happen at the sharp end of the race as they flattened out for the run in.
  - Sean Doyle
    
    Did you guys take long to hammer out that one? It’s a bit tackless!
    - http://twitter.com/TDRobson Tim Robson
      
      And your point is? Hur hur…
Notso Swift

Good sportsman ship should be congratulated, and it demonstrates how “together” Sky are

I wonder how Rolland will go on his next breakaway
anon

At the recent NRS race in Canberra, the DBR Junior and Women’s Tour, tacks were thrown on the road by locals living in the area. Caused havoc in many bunches but amazingly, as the police were in attendance for racing, the people who put out the tacks were caught! Not sure how they managed that!?!
ed

this used to happen all the time in 1904 – and back then no team cars with spares or race radios to find out what was going on.

someone must have seen something. some idiot will put a photo of themselves doing it up on facebook and get busted.
http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips

Good GreenEDGE backstage pass video today

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmUsDgRViNU&feature=youtu.be
Mark

put the strap around your neck Veeral! Crickey
- bonesx
  
  don’t know if the strap would help much as HE plummets towards the ground below… at least he wasn’t in the work-thongs, and had some grip on that ledge
  
  Veeral, did you get the shot at least? amazing images so far mate. awesome.
Nagaff

how did you get that angle of the Catalunyan cheer squad without getting arrested / looking like a perv?
- Bracks_ashat
  
  DAT ASS
- Anonymous
  
  Shoe Camera?
- SuperDom
  
  I would like to know more of the alluring charms of the Catalan Rugby cheerleaders. Do they have a website? I will pay.
jules

evans is suggesting spanish fans laid them to slow the chase for LLS
- jules
  
  cancel that. reports now saying a ratty old VT commodore seen leaving the scene doing burnouts around the same time with 4 guys dressed in wife beaters and caps with the peaks twisted sideways
- jules
  
  cancel that. reports now saying a ratty old VT commodore seen leaving the scene doing burnouts around the same time with 4 guys dressed in wife beaters and caps with the peaks twisted sideways
  - Dirk Hoffman
    
    it did happen in front of some Geelong supporters if you check the footage……………
timf

Hopefully the media coverage won’t encourage the joker who did the same on Beach Road at Mentone a couple of years ago to come out of retirement. I think I remember picking up 8 pins between front and back tyres that day.
- http://twitter.com/TeeDee8 Tee
  
  Selfless work, taking 8 for the rest of us! I guess that shows staying in the wheel the best tactic for tacks.
  - GJ
    
    What about that carefully shaped lump of hardened concrete a foot out from the kerb on the south bound side near a building site at Brighton ? Or did it get cleaned up quickly – was there a week ago.
- http://twitter.com/timkenington Tim Kenington
  
  That was the first thing I thought of when I heard the news this morning!
Timo

It’s easy to be sportsman like when you’re in the lead and have all but won the tour. Should the time gaps have been reversed and Cadel been minutes up on Wiggins I doubt he would have sacrificed the entire Tour De France for “sportsmanship”. Equally Cadel would have smashed that descent should Wiggans have been the one with a puncture. Sportsmanship has it’s place, but “This ain’t no Mickey Mouse race” as they say.
- Bones
  
  When a professional athlete acts nobly on the playing field it is completely unfair to suggest that you think they would act dishonorably in a different situation. That’s most likely a reflection of how you would act. Wiggins could only act in the situation that he was in, and he choose to act in an honorable and respectful manner. We should respect him for that.
Robert Merkel

Taking advantage of an opponent’s bad luck is one thing – there are grey areas. Taking advantage of deliberate sabotage is another.

In any case, my guess is that if the teams hadn’t made the decision for him, the race director may well have neutralized the stage.

(Sorry, this was supposed to be in reply to Timo).
ed

any teams/tyre manufactures not affected by the tacks? – would be a good opportunity to advertise the superior quality & reliability of your product.
Michael in Sydney

Of course Cadel Evans was going to get a flat. He has to a tack!!
- Bracks_ashat
  
  HA HA HA!!!!
Michael in Sydney

Of course Cadel Evans was going to get a flat. He has to a tack!!
KRudd

this taking the new carbon tacks to all new levels
- jules
  
  i noticed tony has been pumping his tyres up a lot after the new tacks were introduced
KRudd

this taking the new carbon tacks to all new levels
Digimap

Ask Contador and Andy Schleck about sportsmanship and mechanicals
- Paolo
  
  I would guess you’ll hear the words “sabotage” and “human error”…
- Anonymous
  
  Cross-chaining and dropping it isn’t a mechanical, never was, never will be.