VOECKLER STAYS IN YELLOW-ARC COMPLETES THE 2011 L'ETAPE

By Debbie Bulloch



In a relatively flat, fast stage, the surprising French rider Thomas Voeckler successfully defended the maillot jaune for one more day. Voeckler is a tough rider who has managed to surprise all the experts by staying in yellow for this long. In 2004 Voeckler kept the maillot jaune for 10 stages. Lance Armstrong, the eventual winner of the 2004 Tour, said this about Voeckler, “if a man is willing to ride that hard to defend the yellow, let him keep it for as long as he can.”

Could this be the year that a Frenchman stands at the #1 spot in Paris? With Voeckler, it is very possible – stay tuned.

British rider Mark Cavendish, better known as the Manx-missile, outsprinted American rider Tyler Farrar to win stage 15 of the race. In the last five years Cavendish has now won an astonishing 18 stages of the TdF, if he stays on track, he will pass legendary riders such as Bernard Hinault (France) and Eddy Merckx (Belgium) as one of the most successful stage winners. For his efforts, Cavendish has earned the green jersey, “maillot verts.”



Stage 15 quick recap

Stage 15:

1. Mark Cavendish, Htc – Highroad, 4h 20′ 24″
2. Tyler Farrar, Team Garmin – Cervelo, s.t.
3. Alessandro Petacchi, Lampre – Isd, s.t.
4. Daniel Oss, Liquigas-Cannondale, s.t.
5. Joaquin Rojas Jose, Movistar Team, s.t.

General Classification standings:

1. Thomas Voeckler, Team Europcar, 65h 24′ 34″
2. Frank Schleck, Team Leopard-Trek, at 1:49
3. Cadel Evans, Bmc Racing Team, at 02:06
4. Andy Schleck, Team Leopard-Trek, at 02:15
5. Ivan Basso, Liquigas-Cannondale, at 03:16

King of the mountain standings:

1. Jelle Vanendert, Omega Pharma – Lotto, at 74 points
2. Samuel Sanchez, Euskaltel – Euskadi, at 72 points
3. Jérémy Roy, Fdj, at 45 points
4. Andy Schleck, Team Leopard-Trek, at 28 points
5. Cadel Evans, Bmc Racing Team, at 26 points

Green jersey:

1. Mark Cavendish, Htc – Highroad, with 319 points
2. Joaquin Rojas Jose, Movistar Team, with 282 points
3. Philippe Gilbert, Omega Pharma – Lotto, with 248 points
4. Thor Hushovd, Team Garmin – Cervelo, with 192 points
5. André Greipel, Omega Pharma – Lotto, with 170 points

On other bike-related news, our friend Arc completed the 129 miles (209 km) of L’Etape du tour. Arc's time was just under 10 hours and 30 minutes.

The 2011 L’Etape du Tour was one of the most difficult Etape in recent history. Early in the morning, the 4,000-man amateur peloton set off from the start line in the town of Issoire. As I previously wrote, the stage’s profile was very challenging, with eight categorized climbs (3 Cat. 2, 3 Cat. 3 and 2 Cat. 4). Talk about a rollercoaster ride!

In addition to the seemingly endless climbs, the riders had to contend with drenching rain, strong headwinds and cold temperatures (7°C on the route). At the end, only 1982 riders, out of the original 4,000, made all the way to the finish line in the town of Saint-Flour.

Congratulations to our friend Arc and to all those who completed this freezing adventure!