TOUR DE FRANCE UPDATES - THE RIDE FROM LIMOGES

By Debbie Bulloch



Results from Stages Seven and Eight.

STAGE SEVEN:

Stage Seven of the Tour de France (TdF) was the first stage in the mountains, and the longest stage of the TdF. Stage Seven was also the stage where the rivalry between teammates Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador (team Astana) finally came to the front; and it was in Stage Seven where a previously unknown, young French rider, Brice Feillu (team Agritubel) won his first yellow jersey

When the riders had crossed the finish line of Stage Seven, seven time American champion Lance Armstrong was in third place just behind Alberto Contador and Italian rider Rinaldo Nocentini (team AG2R La Mondiale) who was in yellow and the lead.

Nocentini was part of an early breakaway and managed to stay in front long enough to win the yellow jersey.

Feillu won the stage on the power of his last 3.1 miles (5K) breakaway from the summit making him the star of the day and perhaps a new rising star in professional cycling.

It was the final 6.2 mile (10km) climb of Stage Seven where team Astana stamped its authority on the race by controlling the stage as Alberto Contador broke free of the chase pack in the last kilometer to gain precious seconds on Armstrong who stayed back in the chase.



STAGE EIGHT:

Little-known Italian Rinaldo Nocentini (team AG2R) retained the 2009 Tour de France yellow jersey (“Maillot Jaune”) after the eighth stage on Saturday. Spaniard Luis Leon Sanchez (team Caisse D’Espargne) won the stage, finishing in 4 hours, 31 minutes, 50 seconds. Sanchez timed his burst of speed perfectly zooming past Sandy Casar (team Francaise Des Jeux) meters away from the finish line. Casar was just about a second behind Sanchez and Mikel Astarloza (team Euskaltel) also behind by one second.

Nocentini will go into the third and final day of racing in the Pyrenees on Sunday with a six-second lead on pre-race favorite Alberto Contador of Astana, the 2007 champion. Seven-time champion Lance Armstrong, also of Astana, is third overall at 08sec.

Early in the stage Australia's two-time TdF runner-up Cadel Evans (team Silence) provided some drama by managing to escape his yellow jersey rivals joining a small group of breakaway riders. The Silence team leader's bid to make up time on his three-minute deficit to Nocentini and Contador, however, came to a fruitless end.

The riders will now prepare for stage 9 on Sunday before they get a day of rest on July 13. Stage 9 will wind 99.7 miles (160 km) from Saint-Gaudens to Tarbes.

July 11, 2009: Tour de France – Stage Eight
Andorra la Vieille to Saint Girons (176.5 km):

1 Luis León Sánchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 04:31:50
2 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux
3 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
4 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:03
5 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:01:54
6 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
7 Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram
8 Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
9 Jérémy Roy (Fra) Française des Jeux
10 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom
11 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Team Katusha
12 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step
13 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram
14 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team Saxo Bank
15 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank

TdF Overall rankings after Stage Eight

1 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 30:18:16
2 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 0:00:06
3 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana 0:00:08
4 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana 0:00:39
5 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin - Slipstream 0:00:46
6 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 0:00:54
7 Tony Martin (Ger) Team Columbia - HTC 0:01:00
8 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Slipstream 0:01:24
9 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:01:49
10 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas 0:01:54
11 Luis León Sánchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:02:16
12 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team Columbia - HTC 0:02:21
13 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:02:25
14 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas 0:02:40
15 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale 0:02:45

STAGE TEN

Stage Ten of the TdF will be a memorable Stage. The Stage will be run on July 14, France’s Bastille Day. Given the in-fighting between Contador and Armstrong, I fully expect to see fireworks, both up on the air and on the road.



As I have previously written, Stage Ten of the Tour will start from the town of Limoges. Limoges is the hometown of our very own Arcabulle Odriscoll.



Please stay tuned to the television coverage of Stage Ten of the TdF. Perhaps we will see a very crazy Frenchman running ahead of the peloton waving a white and blue BH flag.



With all of this talk about the TdF. let's not forget the pleasures of mountain bike riding...



Enjoy!