L'Alpe D'Huez

An exciting day.  A legendary mountain.  A great fight for victory and an even greater fight for Yellow.  This stage had it all.  And while Frank Schleck won the stage for Luxembourg it was American Floyd Landis who took back the overall lead of the race - by a mere 10 seconds, taking over the 2006 Tour de France, probably for good.  It was a great day for CSC's Schleck, who broke away from Damiano Cunego in the final 2 kilometers of the world famous L'Alpe d'Huez and then held on for the victory.  But it was an even greater day for Landis.  He stayed with the lead chasers, weathering a vicious assault by challenger Andreas Kloden, and finished fourth on the stage.  And despite a desperate ride by Oscar Pereiro, the surprise yellow jersey holder going into the Alps, he was not able to come to the line quite quick enough, with that 10 second gap costing him the overall lead.  But it was an incredible day nonetheless for Pereiro, who many expected to fade away in the first mountain stage, and the same could be said for the other surprise Pyreneean yellow jersey holder, Frenchman Cyril Dessel, who was able to finish just behind Pereiro and hold on to his 3rd place overall.  Yet this was Landis' stage, as he was able to prove that he is the strongest man of this year's Tour, the only rider able to stay with the lead group in both this stage and the big Pyreneean stage of last Thursday.  Last week it was Denis Menchov and Cadel Evans who were with him.  This week it was Andreas Kloden and Carlos Sastre.  And those four men occupy the 4th through 7th spots overall, just behind the semi-contenders Pereiro and Dessel, but each are over 2 minutes out and with only 2 mountain stages left before the final time trial that Landis will be favored in, they are running out of time to make a move.  This is certainly Landis' race to lose.

Frank Schleck was part of an early 25-man breakaway which led over the first two mountains of the stage, but he and Cunigo were the only 2 to survive until the end of d'Huez, finally shaking Kloden's teammate Eddy Mazzolini in the last 5 kilometers.  Mazzolini went back to help his team leader, who was being ganged up on by Landis and his early-breakaway teammate returning, Axel Merckx.  But it was Schleck that went on to the victory of the legendary stage, putting his name in the record books, putting Luxembourg on the cycling map for the first time in a long time, and at 26 years of age, pointing him toward greater glory in future Tours.  The fact that he won the 2nd stage for the damaged CSC team that lost pre-race favorite Ivan Basso in the moments before the Tour didn't hurt either.  Here are the results of the Alpe d'Huez:

1. Frank Schleck
2. Damiano Cunego     0'11"
3. Stefano Garzelli        1'10"
4. Floyd Landis          1'10"
5. Andreas Kloden       1'10"
6. Ruben Lubato           1'14"
7. Sylvain Chavanel     1'18"
8. Eddy Mazzolini        1'28"
9. Carlos Sastre             1'35"
10. Levi Leipheimer       1'49"
11. Denis Menchov        2'21"
12. Michael Rasmussen  2'21"
13. Pietro Caucchioli      2'21"
14. Oscar Pereiro         2'49"
15. Michael Rogers        2'49"
16. Cadel Evans              2'49"

Shleck, Cunego, Garzelli, Lubato, Chavanel, and Mazzolini were all in the original 25-man breakaway.  The rest of those are competing for overall placing, although Schleck - who started the day in 20th place - has moved strongly into the top 12 for CSC.  The most surprising thing in the overall race was the failure of Menchov to respond to the attack by Kloden at the opening of the final mountain climb of d'Huez.  Kloden's teammate Matthias Kessler started off at a blistering pace, fracturing the remaining members of the peloton and leaving riders spread all over the mountain.  By the time it was over, only Kloden, Landis, and Cadel Evans could hold on.  After Kessler dropped back, Kloden continued to press the pace, but Sastre and Levi Leipheimer were able to return.  Menchov could not hang on, even though he came into the day seen as Landis' biggest challenger (and closest by time). 

Later in the ride of the tortorous mountain pass, Landis made a move and this time only Kloden could respond.  Evans dropped way back.  Sastre and Leipheimer continued to work, with Sastre eventually making the group again, aided by the help of teammate Jens Voigt, who had faded back from the opening breakaway group.  But when Merckx dropped back to help Landis, it was only Kloden who could hold on until the end of the stage, where they were joined by a bunch of fading riders from the breakaway, including Mazzolini, who drove Kloden towards the final kilometers.  Menchov fought back, eventually passing Evans, and soon receiving help from teammate Michael Rasmussen - who must have had a mechanical issue at the base of the mountain because he came charging up from out of nowhere, passing Menchov and eventually dragging him up to the edge of the top 10, limiting the damage.  But enough damage had been done to serious hurt his chances for winning this Tour.

Here are the overall standings after Stage 15:

1. Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak          0'00"
2. Oscar Pereiro (ESP) CEI                  0'10"
3. Cyril Dessel (FRA) AG2R                2'02"
4. Denis Menchov (RUS) Rabobank  2'12"
5. Carlos Sastre (ESP) CSC                   2'17"
6. Andreas Kloden (GER) T-Mobile   2'29"
7. Cadel Evans (AUS) Dav-Lotto      2'56"
8. Michael Rogers (AUS) T-Mobile   5'01"
9. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerol         6'18"
10. Haimer Zubeldia (ESP) Euskatel    6'20"
11. Christophe Moreau (FRA) AG2R   6'22"
12. Frank Schleck (LUX) CSC                 7'07"

Today's stage 16 will actually be the toughest of the tour, including a climb of the brutal HC Col du Galibier and ending on an 18.4 km climb to La Toussuire.  Stage 17 finishes out the mountains and Stage 19 will be the final individual time trial. 

Comments

[chuck]

F LENNY!

[Jan]

I have to agree with that sentiment.