With Frank Schleck defending his Tour de France lead from five close contenders heading into two tough mountain stages and with a time trial still to come, this year’s race is the most wide open in years.
The Luxembourg rider knows the best way to keep the yellow jersey is to attack Cadel Evans of Australia and Denis Menchov of Russia in the next two mountain stages and hope he has a big enough lead before the time trial.
“I don’t remember a Tour as open as this, with three riders within 10 seconds of each other, and six riders within 50 seconds,” Tour director Christian Prudhomme said.
PHOTO: AFP
Schleck is seven seconds ahead of Bernhard Kohl of Austria and 0:08 in front of Evans. Menchov is 0:38 back in fourth place, while American rider Christian Vande Velde is :39 behind and Carlos Sastre of Spain trails by :49.
“It’s the closest Tour ever isn’t it? I think it will probably go all the way to Paris like that,” Evans said. “It’s great for you guys watching, but it’s a little bit anxious for us.”
Schleck will need to increase his lead by Saturday’s time trial if he wants to win the race.
“I am not a time-trial specialist, even if having the yellow jersey gives you wings,” Schleck said on Monday’s rest day. “With the team we have, we can continue to be aggressive.”
Schleck took the yellow jersey from Evans by attacking him in the final climb of Sunday’s 15th stage up to the Italian ski resort of Prato Nevoso. But it was only a small time gain and, with two punishing stages to come in the Alps, he knew he had to cushion his lead further when yesterday’s 16th stage headed out of Italy and into the French Alps.
“We have a really strong team and that is what could be the key for us in the Alps,” Schleck said.
Although Evans kept his time losses manageable on Sunday, it may have come at a price.
The 31-year-old Australian slumped over his handlebars on the final climb, his body language showing he was in great difficulty while Schleck, Sastre, Menchov and Kohl looked strong.
“He looked as though he was suffering a bit,” Schleck said of Evans.
This all makes for exciting racing, and it is a far cry from Lance Armstrong’s era where, 2003 aside, the American crushed his rivals by several minutes, not a handful of seconds.
The Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) performed surprise doping tests on Schleck and his CSC team after Sunday’s stage.
As many as six riders were tested, CONI confirmed on Monday without providing further details.
The French anti-doping agency is controlling drug testing at this year’s Tour. CONI, which oversees doping within Italy, indicated that Sunday’s tests were part of a pre-race agreement with the French authorities.
Three cyclists have been ejected from this year’s Tour for using the banned blood-booster EPO.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two