Tour de France 2009...

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

The real beauty of a stage like this is that it will probably put something of a dent in the seemingly endless speculation and chin-flapping by members of my own honorable profession. The question about who is and is not a contender for the overall title at the Tour should be a little clearer. So, too, will be questions surrounding the leadership roles on teams

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

Today's stage began at 11:10 (Local time) and the pace has been fairly high since the 177 riders remaining in this Tour rolled through kilometer Zero at the edge of Barcelona.

 

We saw an early attack of three riders, who were soon joined by six more.

 

We now have nine riders at the 57km mark, with a lead of 10:30. The riders in the break are as follows:

Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d'Epargne)

Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel)

Christophe Riblon (Ag2r)

Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r)

Aleksandr Kuschynski (Liquigas)

Christophe Kern (Cofidis)

Jerome Pineau (Quick Step)

Brice Feillu (Agritubel)

Johannes Frohlinger (Milram)

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

Earlier in the stage, the leaders hit the Category 4 C

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

Our latest time check gives the nine leaders an advantage of 12:10, a sure sign that the main contenders are more worried about the final climb than they are about chasing a group of riders who don't appear to pose much of a long-term GC threat.

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r) is the current leader of the Tour de France, having started his day in 32nd place, at 3:13.

 

He and his fellow escapees are now at the 66km mark and their lead has bumped up to 14:20. Of course, there are 158 really tough kilometers ahead and I'm still not willing to bet the rent on the chances of the break making it all the way to Andora in front.

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

The gap is being trimmed slightly. At 78km, the gap is back down to 13:40. It's the Astana crew setting tempo at the front of the peloton. Saxo Bank has a couple of riders in the mix as well, but it's not exactly their job to protect the yellow jersey today. It's quite apparent that Cancellara is not going to be leading tonight and the Danish-sponsored team has its focus on delivering Andy Schleck to the base of the final climb in good shape.

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

My bet would be that King Armstrong will be wearing yellow later this afternoon as this one is simply all uphill.

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

The weather today is almost ideal for a stage like this. The sky is relatively clear and the temperature is currently 23 degrees © - that's 74 degrees for fans of Fahrenheit - and there's a slight 10kph wind from the south.

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

With 86km covered and 138km remaining, our leading nine riders are now 13:20 ahead of the peloton, as they head toward the lower slopes of the Category 3 Port de Solsona, a 5.8 km climb, with an average grade of 4.3 percent. It summits at 97km.

 

Points will be awarded to the first four across the top, starting with four points for the first rider to hit the KOM mark.

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

Another near certainty today is that the polka-dot jersey will trade hands by the end of the stage.

 

As of last night, the KOM contest stands as follows:

 

1. St

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

At 94km, our nine leaders are an even 13 minutes ahead of the field. It's still Astana setting tempo up there.

 

Armstrong is among those at the front and Contador is sitting in a relatively protected position. That could be an indicator of how the team itself views the question of leadership on Astana. It's an interesting question that will probably be answered by day's end.

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

The leaders are approaching the summit of the Category 3 Port de Solsona, and their lead has been trimmed to 12:05.

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

The men in the break

 

Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d'Epargne)

Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel)

Christophe Riblon (Ag2r)

Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r)

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

Our leaders are on the descent of the Category 3 Port de Solsona and heading to the feedzone before tackling that big Cat. 1.

 

1. Christophe Riblon (Ag2r), 4 points

2. Aleksandr Kuschynski (Liquigas), 3pts

3. Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel), 2pts

4. Brice Feillu (Agritubel), 1pt

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

As the leading nine riders make their way toward the feedzone, their advantage has been trimmed to 10:45.

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

Our leaders are at the 109km mark. They are approaching the Category 1 Col de Serra-Seca. That climb summits at 127km and then is quickly followed by the Cat. 3 Port del Comte, wich summits at 136.5km. The gap is holding at around 11 minutes. We might expect that nine-man group to come apart on the Serra-Seca.

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

Cavendish had just a bit of difficulty on that final climb. Nonetheless, he held on, finished 16th and kept the points jersey with a one-point margin. He's a solid contender for the green jersey in Paris, if he finishes and he says he intends to ride the entire Tour. He's a motivated rider and has no reason not to finish this Tour. He left the 2008 Tour because he had the Olympics coming up and he left the Giro because the team wanted him to save himself for the Tour. We're hoping he makes it to Paris. If he does, it's clear that he and Hushovd will be locked into a tight contest all the way to the finish.

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

Our nine leaders are at the 121km mark and working their way up the Col de Serra-Seca. The gap is now 11 minutes.

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

The leaders are still riding together as they work their way up the Cat. 1 Col de Serra-Seca. They are about 3km from the summit and are still holding an 11-minute lead over the field.

[NotTheRealSteveWest]

The peloton is ticking along nicely. We're seeing some riders popping off the back, but those are largely sprinters and we could see the "laughing group" forming up soon.

 

Up front, the Astana squad is still setting tempo, but the pace is relatively moderate at this point.

 

Our leaders are just 1km from the summit.