Stage Details:
Tonight is stage 17, Gap to Pinerolo, 179 km
JEAN-FRANÇOIS PESCHEUX’S ANALYSIS : The Alps begin
“There are still four intense race days left. Heading to Briançon, the road rises gently. Then the riders must cross climb the Col de Montgenèvre, descend, then climb again up to Sestrières this time, then descend again into Pinerolo. Ahead of them is still the Pra Martino, a small climb that’s 7km long and of modest gradient. A rider who is good in the mountains such as Cadel Evans may well be able to make an impression there, because the final run-in, which enables tribute to be made to the 150th anniversary of Italian unification, doesn’t feature any notable difficulties. This stage will bring huge satisfaction to the people of Pinerolo, who for many years have been keen to host a stage finish. The town is near to the border and offers the opportunity for this year’s only incursion into foreign territory.”
– www.letour.fr
- Stage 17 (179 km) Gap >> Pinerolo [SBS]
- Stage 17 preview: Gap → Pinerolo, 179 km (Mountain) [SteepHill]
- July 20, Stage 17: Gap – Pinerolo 179km [CyclingNews]
- Stage 17 • GAP > PINEROLO • 179km [EuroSport]
- stage 17 – Gap > Pinerolo 179 km [www.letour.fr]
Some more reading:
* Nobody Suffers Like Jens Voigt (2011-Jul-19) [Wall Street Journal]
… But Voigt is cycling’s beloved superfreak, a cult object on two wheels. Cycling fans can be combative—they will argue about riders, teams, doping charges, seat angles, handlebar tape, frame materials, the coffee, and then the handlebar tape some more—but Jens is a rare point of agreement. Everybody loves Jens. …
Live:
Telemetry
Tickers/Streaming
- SBS 2011 Tour Tracker [SBS]
- Tour de France – Gap – Pinerolo “live match” [Eurosports]
- stage 17 – Gap > Pinerolo 179 km “live” [www.letour.fr]
Results:
Stage 17 results
01 BOASSON HAGEN, Edvald (SKY) 4h 18′ 00″
02 MOLLEMA, Bauke (RABOBANK) + 00′ 40″
03 CASAR, Sandy (FDJ) + 00′ 50″
04 EL FARES, Julien (COFIDIS, LE CREDIT EN LIGNE)
05 CHAVANEL, Sylvain (QUICKSTEP)
06 FOFONOV, Dmitriy (ASTANA) + 01′ 10″
07 PATERSKI, Maciej (LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE)
08 MURAVYEV, Dmitriy (RADIOSHACK)
09 HIVERT, Jonathan (SAUR – SOJASUN) + 01′ 15″
10 BOZIC, Borut (VACANSOLEIL-DCM) + 02′ 20″
Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) bounced back from the disappointment of his second-place finish at Gap on Tuesday to take victory on stage 17 of the Tour de France at Pinerolo. Race leader Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) conceded more ground to his overall rivals on the sinuous final descent of the Pramartino after Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-SunGard) had created panic in the yellow jersey group.
Already a sprint winner at Redon in the opening week, Boasson Hagen showcased his considerable climbing talents by clinically disposing of his breakaway companions on the stage’s final climb, and then holding his nerve on the sharp plunge into Pinerolo to finish 40 seconds clear of Bauke Mollema (Rabobank), while Sandy Casar (FDJ) took the sprint for third place.
– cyclingnews
Alberto Contador rode aggressively again, attacking on the final climb and the technical finish descent. But in the end, the defending champion finished in the same time as his GC rivals the Schleck brothers, Cadel Evans and Sammy Sanchez.
Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) lost 27 seconds of his lead to the Contador-Schleck-Evans group, finishing with Ivan Basso and Tom Danielson. The Frenchman, however, was able to retain his yellow jersey.
He lost all the time not on the climb but on the final descent.
“Mountain biking is not my speciality!” said Voeckler, who had at least three near-crashes on the descent.
– velonews
General classification after stage 17
01 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar 73:23:49
02 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:01:18
03 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek 0:01:22
04 Andy Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek 0:02:36
05 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:02:59
06 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Saxo Bank Sungard 0:03:15
07 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre – ISD 0:03:34
08 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:03:49
09 Thomas Danielson (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo 0:06:04
10 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling 0:07:36
Love Chiara! She is so lovely and her twitter comments always put a smile on my face.