Cav to announce 2012 team...?

(© Mogens Engelund CC3.0)

Are we about to finally find out with which team new World Champion Mark Cavendish will be riding in 2012 following the unfortunate demise of HTC-Highroad? Rumours are circulating that we'll be enlightened at some point in the very near future, following Team Sky's conformation that whilst they have established an "oral contract," they do not have a signed contract with the rider on Tuesday morning (4th October).

For several weeks now, the greater part of the cycling world has considered it all but a foregone conclusion that he'll be going to Team Sky. However, some of those rumours this morning suggest otherwise, hinting that it could be Quick-Step who will be merging with Omega Pharma-Lotto to form Omega Pharma Quick-Step in the new year. The Belgian Gazet van Antwerpen newspaper carries quotes it arrtibutes to an anonymous Sky employee who says that "recently, we're not so certain that he'll ride for us next year. Apparently, a few things have changed since he became World Champion in Copenhagen."

One of those factors would be likely to be Quick-Step's recent decision to begin using Specialized bikes, which Mark rode so successfully with Highroad, rather than Eddy Merckx machines - Sky will remain with Pinarello until at least the end of the current three-year contract between the team and supplier. While it might at first seem that Cav is the reason for the change in supplier rather than vice-versa - manufacturers being well aware of the exposure they receive from high-profile riders, thus driving Specialized to cut the team a good deal in order to keep Cav aboard their bikes - respected blogger Inrng notes that a previous press release announcing the new deal on Specialized's website has mysteriously vanished, suggesting that they plan to re-announce it with more of a fanfare if Cav is indeed now onboard.

Were this to be the case, it would come as blessed relief to other teams - a Sky with a Missile flying within it would be an all but unstoppable force with the potential to dominate Grand Tours for the next few years; Omega Pharma Quick-Step, as a new team with several riders who have not worked together, would likely be weaker than the tried, tested and entrenched Sky line-up, and as such would be seen as more manageable even with Cav among the ranks.

Lefevre is either ignoring the rumours or
keeping his cards close to his chest
(© McSmit CC3.0)

Quick-Step currently has a full roster, meaning that one rider would have to be ejected to make room for the Manx sprinter. That could mean a costly breach of contract if nobody wants to go voluntarily, but it's a price the team might consider worth paying in order to secure him - manager Patrick Lefevre seems keen to scotch the rumours, though: "Will Cavendish next year be in my cycling team?" says the Belgian ex-professional. "I wish - but I have thirty riders under contract.”

Later in the day, news broke that Davide Malacarne would be leaving Quick-Step for Europcar - thus solving the 30 rider problem if the rumours turn out to be true.

Meanwhile, equally unconfirmed rumours stemming from a report in the Dutch De Telegraaf newspaper claim that Joost Posthuma, one of the Leopard Trek riders that have fallen prey to the Leopard-RadioShack union, may be about to announce a new contract with GreenEDGE. The Australian team, formed in January this year, is  almost certain to gain a UCI World Tour licence for 2012 - allowing them to race in the  Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana in addition to the other 24 races in the series.

The world awaits with baited breath...

LeopardTrek HQ raided by police

Frank Schleck was connected to Eufemiano
Fuentes in the past, but subsequently
cleared of all doping charges
(©Noel Reynolds CC2.0)

News is emerging that the headquarters of Andy Schleck's team LeopardTrek was raided by Luxembourg police on Tueday morning. Early reports state that the home of team owner Flavio Becca was also targetted. At first, the obvious reason appeared to be an anti-doping investigation, but it has since transpired that Becca is subject to a financial investigation.

In a press release, representatives for Mr. Becca said: "Until now [meaning "at present"] nobody has been charged. The companies and Mr Becca have collaborated with the judicial authorities and intend to continue to do so. We wish that the authorities do their job quickly and that they show that the allegations are groundless."

It should also be noted that Becca, a businessman who developed a small masonry firm into one of Europe's most profitable construction companies, has wide-ranging interests outside professional cycling and as such it's likely that the investigation is linked solely to him rather than to his team.

LeopardTrek, which does not conduct internal anti-doping controls since it believes that the UCI conducts sufficient tests to make it unnecessary,  has not been involved in any doping scandals since its formation earlier this year. Police raids are quite a regular feature of professional cycling and as such should not be seen as evidence that anything untoward has been taking place. The raids have since been confirmed by police prosecutor Henri Eippers, says the wort.lu website.

Flavio Becca

The team is also home to Jens Voigt, riders' representative on the UCI ProTour Council - a position he has used to speak out against doping. In fact, the team's roster is one of the most clean-cut in the sport, with few of the riders ever being caught up in any sort of doping issue - Stuart O'Grady was a part of Cofidis during 2004, when David Millar's positive sample rocked the team whereas Frank Schleck, following an accusation made by a German newspaper, was shown to have made a mysterious payment into a bank account owned by the notorious Eufemiano Fuentes in 2005. Both riders were later cleared of all charges and have not since faced any serious accusations.

More merger rumours

Further to the rumoured - and hotly denied - LeopardTrek/Radioshack merger as "revealed" by Geox's manager Joxean Fernandex Matxin late last week, press in Luxembourg are now speculating on a Radioshack/Omega-Pharma-Lotto merger. We'll bring more details on that just as soon as we can find any.

LeopardTrek's Bryan Nygaard

Meanwhile, Italian news sources continue to carry the LeopardTrek/Radioshack story. Claiming that the resultant team would be named RadioshackTrek, Gazetta dello Sport says that Radioshack manager Johan Bruyneel and Leopard's owner Flavio Becca have struck a deal aimed at strengthening the Luxembourg-based team and pushing Andy Schleck towards a Tour de France General Classification victory in 2012

Yet more rumours have hinted at the possibility of Leopard manager Bryan Nygaard going to GreenEDGE if the Radioshack story proves true. However, Cycling News' Australian editor Jane Aubrey has stated on Twitter that she has confirmation from GreenEDGE manager Shayne Bannan that he has not been approached with any such proposal.

Could there be a grain of truth in any of this? We doubt it - but with cycling subject to rapid changes in sponsorship, due in no small part to the still-persistent poor image surrounding doping in the sport, strange things do happen and situations can change very quickly.

LeopardTrek deny Radioshack merger rumours

RadioSchleck?

LATEST ON THE MERGER RUMOURS: CLICK HERE

According to various sources on Twitter - including the respected and trusted blogger Inrng - Geox team boss Joxean Fernandez Matxin has revealed a potential merger between LeopardTrek and Radioshack.

There are no further details available yet and it's very much a rumour rather than news, but should it turn out to be true it'll be one of the biggest stories in cycling this year. A merger would result in what to all intents and purposes would be a superteam, combining the talents of Frank and Andy Schleck, Jens Voigt, Jakob Fuglsang, Levi Leipheimer and others from the two very strong teams.

Matxin himself tweets: "A ver q x aqui hay gente muy sabia e informada..!!! Quien me confirma el rumor de la fusion Leoard - Radio Shak..!!!" which translates as: "See q x here, there are people very wise and informed..! Who confirms for me the rumor of a fusion Leopard - Radio Shack!!!"


However, LeopardTrek spokesperson Tim Vanderjeugde has denied that the story has any basis in reality, also scotching rumours that manager Brian Nygaard is leaving the team after failing to find a main sponsor. "Nobody on our team has heard of any merger. Brian Nygaard is still on the payroll here at Leopard Trek and has not taken any decision to leave the team," he told a reporter from the Danish Sporten website. The French l'Equipe newspaper has speculated that money problems would be behind a merger, should the rumours be true. However, Vanderjeude also denies that LeopardTrek are in any sort of financial difficulty - the team's current roster, existing sponsors (including Mercedes Benz) and ongoing relationship with the Wisconsin-based Trek Bicycle Corporation would appear to confirm this as fact.

Whether it proves true or not (and we strongly suspect not), private comments made by both Nygaard and Radioshack's manager Johan Bruyneel following Matxin's decision to reveal the merger would doubtless be interesting to hear.

LATEST ON THE MERGER RUMOURS: CLICK HERE

UCI responds to riders' Vuelta concerns

The UCI says it will investigate claims by riders that some parts of this year's Vuelta a Espana are too steep.

Riders have raised concerns that one or two sections are excessively difficult with the notorious vertical Alto de l'Angliru climb coming in for particular criticism. One rider said he doubted it'd be possible to ride up it "on a goat."

Vuelta organisers claim it's a perfectly acceptable ascent, pointing out that it was climbed several times pre-WW2 by riders on wrought iron bikes weighing several tons, even though they also had to cope with the added weight of spare parts and huge moustaches which international cycling rules demanded all riders carried in those days (but didn't have to cope with anything like modern anti-doping regulations, even the kind they have in Spain).

Meanwhile, LeopardTrek's Jens Voigt says that if the section is deemed too difficult, he'll be happy to stamp it flat to save the trouble of having to re-route the stage so near to the start date.

Tour de France: Stage 18 Debrief - fading star turns supernova!

"If you don't risk, you don't win. That's my attitude." (Andy Schleck)

If you missed the stage today beg, borrow, steal or even pay good money for a recording otherwise you  risk missing one of the greatest stages in modern times.

Andy Schleck, the man for whom so many of us had given up hope, attacked on the second climb with 60km to go - and never stopped, dropping all before him and leading up the mighty Col du Galibier; crossing the finish line more than two minutes before the next rider, brother Frank.

If he can do the same tomorrow, the time trial may as well not be raced - he'll not only have won the Tour but achieved possibly the greatest victory since Eddy Merckx.

Meanwhile, it looks like the road to the finish was also the road to the end for Alberto Contador. The champion tried in the early stages but he was simply unable to match Andy's superior skill and strength, leaving it down to Cadel Evans to go on the hunt. Cadel reduced the gap - at one point four minutes - to a little over two, but when it came down to it his enormous brute strength and power couldn't compete with Andy's graceful pedaling style. As the finish line drew near, Frank swung out from the back of the chase group and overtook, coming in 2'07" behind his little brother. Cadel was 8" later and was followed across by Ivan Basso 3" behind him.

Another star of the day was Thomas Voeckler who, thanks partially to Cadel who dragged him up in his slipstream, retains his yellow jersey for an incredible ninth day making him the greatest Frenchman in the Tour for years.

Only 78 riders in - meaning approximately 90 were at risk of disqualification. However, if 20% or more of the riders finish outside the limit, race organisers have the right under UCI rules to extend the permitted time so as to avoid decimating the competition - this decision was, unsurprisingly, taken with each rider finishing outside the time being docked points equivalent to those on offer for winning the race.

This puts Mark Cavendish in a precarious place - having looked like the definite winner of the points competition, he's now only 15 points ahead of Jose Joaquin Rojas. With Rojas a much better climber, it's now very possible that the Manx sprinter won't be the first Briton to wear the green jersey in Paris after all. Everything depends on his performance in tomorrow's intermediate sprint and Saturday's time trial, if that doesn't work in his favour - which, with the sprint coming towards the end of the stage and after the climb up the massive Col du Galibier which almost finished him off for good today and Cavendish's lack of time trial ability, it likely won't - the final result could even depend on the last stage into Paris. This is undoubtedly one of the most exciting final weeks since the Tour began.

"There was no "letting them have time" today. It was flat out behind....SmartOpard was just better. Period." (Jonathon Vaughters, @Vaughters, manager of Garmin-Cervelo, Twitter)

Stage 18 Results:

1. SCHLECK Andy 6h 07' 56"  

2. SCHLECK Frank + 02' 07"

3. EVANS Cadel + 02' 15"

4. BASSO Ivan + 02' 18"

5. VOECKLER Thomas + 02' 21"

6. ROLLAND Pierre + 02' 27"

7. CUNEGO Damiano + 02' 33"

8. TAARAMAE Rein + 03' 22"

9. DANIELSON Tom + 03' 25"

10. HESJEDAL Ryder + 03' 31"

Overall General Classification results following Stage 18:

1. VOECKLER Thomas 79h 34' 06"  
2. SCHLECK Andy + 00' 15"
3. SCHLECK Frank + 01' 08"
4. EVANS Cadel + 01' 12"
5. CUNEGO Damiano + 03' 46"
6. BASSO Ivan + 03' 46"
7. CONTADOR Alberto + 04' 44"
8. SANCHEZ Samuel  + 05' 20"
9. DANIELSON Tom + 07' 08"
10. PERAUD Jean-Christophe + 09' 27"


Points: Mark Cavendish; Climbers: Jelle Vanendert; Youth: Rein Taaramae; Team: Garmin-Cervelo; Combativity: Andy Schleck.

Tour de France: Stage 16 Debrief - nice day for ducks, nasty day for Schlecks

Stage 16 began under a dark cloud even though it was unexpectedly warm and sunny at Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux this morning with the sad news that Patrick Guay, a 59-year-old subcontractor working for the Tour, had been found dead. Original reports suggesting that his body had been recovered from a river proved unfounded when the ASO issued a press release stating that he had been found next to his car. Mr. Guay was the uncle of Quick Step rider Jerome Pineau who wore black bands on his arms during the stage as a sign of mourning. Guay was himself a professional cyclist during the 1970s; coming 3rd in Stage 5 of the 1976 Tour de l'Avenir. This was his 27th time working at the race and, for what little it's worth, our sympathy is with his family and friends.

Good to see David Millar riding out at
the front today.

Despite the forecasts of atrocious weather and hazardous conditions throughout the entire parcours the early sections of the race turned out to be pleasant with a decent tailwind to keep the peloton ticking over nicely, making it impossible for a breakaway group to form until later on in the day. The racing began at 13:13 and a Vacansoleil rider mounted an attack immediately but was pulled back in almost immediately.

The peloton remained intact at the 15km point when a gang of four managed to build a brief gap, but with the mighty HTC-Highroad team in the driving seat it was cursed the moment it got going and they were also caught by 16km. Somebody from Sky tried his luck a short while later but had even less success. Another gang, this time numbering eight riders tried again after around 30 minutes of racing, achieving a lead of about 50m at one point, but with the peloton still cruising like fast yachts on the tailwind their fifteen minutes of fame was cut down to just two minutes.

An assortment of others tested the waters, but nothing happened until eventually a group including Juan Antonio Flecha, David Millar, Sylvain Chavenel and others got to work and finally got out in front. They were joined for short while by Confidis' Leonardo Duque who, without obvious cause, signaled for the medics' car - however, he was soon on his way (albeit no longer as part of the breakaway) so it appears whatever problem he was having turned out to be minor.

Lieuwe Westra and then Ryder Hesjedal and Jerome Roy began to counter-attack, encouraging a fifteen man counter-counter-attack to form. Eleven of them, including Johnny Hoogerland caught him and stayed in front of the peloton as the feeding station approached. By now, conditions had worsened and rain was falling, making it reportedly impossible for some riders to release their handlebars and grab the musettes. Rumours began to circulate that race officials were considering abandoning the final loop up and around the Col de Manse with its notoriously difficult descent, but these were rapidly quashed.

Edvald Boasson Hagen took
second place.

By now, as the 91km mark came round, the lead group contained 14 riders including the two Norwegians Thor Hushovd and Edvald Boasson Hagen riding with a gap of just 13", but numbers soon dropped to 10 as various chancers discovered they were unable to match the pace and effort of keeping ahead of a peloton which had recorded an average speed of 46.4kmph during the second hour of the race.

By now the weather was very wet indeed, reducing visibility and soaking the riders. Temperatures had also dropped sharply to 11 degrees C which, combined with the wet, is easily cold enough to leave riders uncomfortable, demoralised and in pain as muscles begin to seize up.

"shit weather,shit summer,shit morale, shit pain " (@andy_kloedi, Twitter)

Once again, various counter-attackers sought to reel them back into the pack, but none could do so and the gap had soon been increased to over two minutes, allowing them an easy passage through the intermediate sprint - which neither they nor the peloton bothered to contest. Quick Step's Dries Devenyns cruised through with nobody even bothered to contest it - as was the case when the peloton rumbled through - and took the 20 points shortly before Mikhail Ignatyev decided he'd had more than enough of that boring lot and decided to attack, getting himself out in front. 2. Jeremy Roy, 17pts; 3. Tony Martin 15pts; 4. Thor Hushovd 13pts; 5. Rider Hesjedal 11pts; 6. Andriy Grivko 10pts; 7. Marco Marcato 9pts; 8. Mikhail Ignatyev 8pts; 9. Alan Perez Lezaun 7pts; 10. Edvald Boasson Hagen 6pts; 11. Fabrice Jeandesboz 5pts; 12. Samuel Dumoulin 4pts; 13. Bauke Mollema 3pts; 14. Blel Kadri 2pts 15. Sebastien Minard 1pt.

Out on the frontline, Hushovd went to work on Ignatyev and after a fight managed to drag him partially back by the time they passed the 20km to go point before he returned to the group and Devenyns and Perez Lezaun took over pursuit duties, but he managed to increase his advantage to 22" and Andriy Grivko was dropped and began the journey back to the peloton. Hushovd was soon back on the case, this time accompanied by Hesjedal, and they got him down to just 8" on the slopes of the Col de Manse; eventually catching and dropping him with 16km to go.

Mikhail Ignatyev earned the Combativity award.

Then, back in the peloton, something that many people had given up all hope of seeing every again: a classic Contador attack. El Pistolero showed precisely why he should never be underestimated when he stood up on the pedals and surged ahead for all the world as though there was no gradient at all. Andy Schleck responded, closely followed by brother Frank, soon to be joined by Cadel Evans, Thomas Voeckler and - of all people - Fabian Cancellara who seems recently to have developed the ability to climb, a skill virtually unheard of among time trial specialists.

It appears that Saxobank have been studying Andy very carefully indeed, and they might just have worked out how to defeat him. Contador's team mate Danial Navarro attacked the chasing group, pressuring the two Luxembourgers to put in more effort and then, when Contador attacked again, the Schlecks cracked - neither was able to respond, leaving Cadel Evans to go after and catch him. This was a bigger surprise than the early fine weather and Contador's tactics combined and all of Europe rang with a clicking noise as hundreds of thousands of book-keepers grabbed their calculators and worked out new odds. It seems that the king is not dead after all, but the next-in-line isn't looking too perky.

Up the hill, Samuel Sanchez had joined forces with Evans and Contador after stating that if it came down to it he would offer support to his countryman. Meanwhile, Hushovd and Boasson Hagen were trailing 10" behind Hesjedal out at the front and Martin and Ignatyev were 30" behind them. As the summit passed and the trio began the long and perilous descent, Boasson Hagen took the lead for a while. This section had been predicted to be lethal with a high risk of leaves and mud on sharp bends to add to the dangers of road surfaces already made hazardous by mud. Immediately over the top it looked to be dry, but this turned out to be a small patch that had somehow escaped the rain falling since early morning in the area and conditions turned dangerous very soon.

Evans couldn't catch Contador on the way up - though he remained close - but he got the better of him on the way back down, out-braving the Spaniard around the bends and keeping his speed just that little bit higher. This, however, was all mind games as the pair engaged in a bit of psychological combat, because far ahead the Norwegian/Canadian trio were within 3.5 km of the finish line. There was no doubt now that one of them would be winning the stage, but as of yet no way to tell which. Into the final kilometre, Hesjedal was in the lead with Boasson Hagen right behind him and Hushovd on his rear wheel, so it all came down to a final mini-sprint.

Thor Hushovd, now with Garmin-Cervelo, won his second
stage if the Tour.

Boasson Hagen, proving why he's one of the most respected youth category riders in cycling, was too fast for Hesjedal, beating him across the finish line by 2"; but he wasn't quite fast enough for Hushovd who just pipped him to the post for his second stage win of the Tour as several other riders were still picking their way down into Gap on the descent. Thankfully, only one crash took place - FDJ's Arnold Jeannesson lost his grip at almost the exact same place that Joseba Beloki did back in 2003, though today it certainly was caused by tarmac melting in the sun, this also being one of the exact spots that we predicted a crash was most likely to happen in the Stage 13 Preview, so bow down before us. Oh, and we also predicted Thor as a possible winner too, but we later decided Chavenel was a more likely candidate so we can't really claim success with that one.

"That was great. Good fun that stage. Few more stages like that and we will be in Paris in no time." (Ben Swift, @swiftybswift, Twitter)

The big question today is: what the hell happened to the Schlecks? Can today be seen as proof that Andy's disappointing performance thus far this year has not been down to poor timing, psychological games or plain old sand-bagging and that he's actually just on bad form this year? Ardent Schleckies that we are, we have to confess we're seriously beginning to wonder and no longer believe he can win this Tour. Sorry, Andy.

Frank Schleck revealed his
natural grace today.

We haven't forgotten that highly impressive turn of speed he found as he approached the top of Plateau de Beille and we still think that had he accelerated a little earlier he could have won that stage. Climbers famously suffer more in bad conditions due to their virtually non-existent body fat and both Schlecks will certainly have suffered today as a result. That means there's still just a tiny chance that they'll do well in the real Alps still to come. As Frank said: "Bjarne [Rijs] is behind this. He knows we don't like the bad weather and the descent. Congratulations to them, it's a nice one."

The only trouble is, it's predicted to be 6 degrees C at Sestrieres tomorrow, the Category 1 climb where Andy was expected to do well. Worse still, it snowed today on Galibier and the temperature there is unlikely to climb any higher than 4 degrees for the rest of the week. Like we said - sorry, Andy. Maybe next year.

That Andy is angry would indeed seem to be the case as he uncharacteristically laid into Tour organisers and made his thoughts on the latter part of the stage very clear soon after it was over, though being Andy he kept his language considerably more polite than almost anyone else would have done in his situation: "People don't want a race that is decided in a downhill. We don't want crashes or thoughtless risks," he told reporters. "We have families waiting for us at home. Do the public want a fair race or a race which ends in hospital?"

It has to be said that Andy probably has a point - last week we said we would not support any measure aimed at slowing cycling down, the ASO and UCI obviously have a duty not to endanger riders' health and lives. The descent from Col de Manse is infamous and widely considered one of the Tour's most dangerous and it's arguable that with the treacherous conditions already expected this morning the final loop should have been cancelled.

Anyway; no injuries in those conditions = everyone wins.

"Time lost. Hope remains. Three days in the Alps ahead." (@leopardtrek, Twitter)

"Cool we got a telephone in the room tonight! Think this room is more up to date that last 2 nights!"(a not-that-concerned-about-today @jakob_fuglsang of Team LeopardTrek, Twitter)

Stage 16 Results:

1. HUSHOVD Thor 3h 31' 38"  
2. HAGEN Edvald Boasson + 00' 00"
3. HESJEDAL Ryder + 00' 02"
4. MARTIN Tony + 00' 38"
5. IGNATYEV Mikhail + 00' 52"
6. PEREZ LEZAUN Alan + 01' 25"
7. ROY Jérémy + 01' 25"
8. MARCATO Marco + 01' 55"
9. DEVENYNS Dries + 01' 55"
10. GRIVKO Andriy + 01' 58"



Overall General Classification results following Stage 7:

1. VOECKLER Thomas 69h 00' 56"  
2. EVANS Cadel + 01' 45"
3. SCHLECK Frank + 01' 49"
4. SCHLECK Andy + 03' 03"
5. SANCHEZ Samuel + 03' 26"
6. CONTADOR Alberto + 03' 42"
7. BASSO Ivan + 03' 49"
8. CUNEGO Damiano + 04' 01"
9. DANIELSON Tom + 06' 04"
10. URAN Rigoberto + 07' 55"


Points: Mark Cavendish; Climber: Jelle Vanendert; Youth: Rigoberto Uran; Team: Garmin-Cervelo; Combativity: Mikhail Ignatyev.

Tour de France: Stage 12 Debrief

"I just wanted to get stuck in, I just gave it everything to try to stay away." (Geraint Thomas)

Is Frank going to beat Andy to
a Tour de France win?

When we suggested earlier today that Stage 12 was going to be an entirely different sort of race, we were more right than we could even have hoped to be. In fact, it was so different that it wasn't just different to the earlier stages, it was completely different to the stage we expected. We were most certainly not the only ones to expect Andy Schleck and the LeopardTrek boys to emerge out of the peloton and dominate the moment the parcours turned pointy - and to be fair, they did for a while and Schleck rode extremely well, putting the wind up quite a few. Thing is, they tried to dominate too early and after an admittedly very impressive show of strength fell back, unable to keep up with their own style.

Oh, and the Schleck who rode well wasn't Andy - it was Frank.

One rider really shone today, defying all expectations after what hasn't been a good start for his team and in the process of doing so revealed himself to be the next top dog on the roster. If you haven't seen the results yet, chances are it's not someone you'd have expected, so all we'll say right now is he won a very well deserved Combativity prize for his efforts.

One other rider, predicted likely to outclass the bunch, had an absolutely dismal day: that man was Alberto Contador, favourite (until recently) for the overall General Classification win. Who knows what's got into Bertie this year? Not that it matters - the one thing we all know is that a lot of people are going to be wondering if it's more a case of what hasn't got into him, now that he's anti-doping control's number one target. For the record, we'll be sticking with him and considering him innocent unless the day comes when he is proven beyond doubt guilty; but, well, makes you fink, dunnit?

Unfortunately Romain Feillu, who has spent so much of the last 11 days wowing the crowds as part of some spectacular breakaways, is no longer with the race after being forced to abandon overnight due to the tendinitis from which he's been suffering for some time. However, anyone who has experienced this ailment will concede he's done brilliantly well to have kept going for as long as he has, never mind lead the race so often as he has.

Romain Feillu abandoned overnight.

Monsieur Prudhomme waved his flag to signal the end of the rolling neutral zone and the race got underway at 11:19 and within two kilometres Ruben Moreno, Laurent Mangel, Blel Kadri, Jose Ivan Gutierrez, Jeremy Roy and Geraint Thomas were testing the pack to see if there was any chance of escaping the peloton. Having decided they fancied their chances, they went for it and had an advantage of 20" by the time another two klicks were up. This is the sort of breakaway that can get the peloton worried because Thomas, despite having never won a stage in the Tour, is an outside contender for General Classification success, especially now he doesn't have to support team leader Bradley Wiggins who crashed out back in Stage 7 and even more so when they need to conserve energy for upcoming mountains. With today's mountains including the mighty Col du Tourmalet, the main pack decided energy saving was the best option and the escapees were left to get on with it - after all, there was a high probability that those same mountains would defeat them.

Thomas: brilliant now, stupendous
next year.

By 11.5km as the leaders reached Saint-Clar-de-Rivière, they were 2'35" out in front and still going strong, managing to build it up to a full four minutes shortly after entering the department of Gers. The peloton were ambling along quite happily, content to take this flatter first section easy at 35kmph. Had the race have stopped at this point, the G-Man would have taken the yellow jersey - which makes him far and away the best male Welsh Tour rider in history (we've italicised "male" because Swansea-born Nicole Cooke won two Tours de France Féminin).

This breakaway was beginning to look a bit too much like a successful one, meaning that the peloton's worries became outright anxiety. With the escapees fast approaching Castéra-Vignoles 7' minutes ahead, yellow jersey Thomas Voeckler was heard informing his team's directeur-sportif Dominique Arnould that he didn't want the gap to get any greater than 8'. Yet by the time they'd passed Nizan-Gesse they'd added another half-minute and the same again at Boudrac, which would normally result in a chase. However, Arnould advised patience, stating that in his opinion a gap of as much as 10' wouldn't be an issue. Calmness prevailed and the peloton cruised into the feeding station at Lannemezan 8'30" after the escapees had been through.

Their advantage meant that the lead group were unchallenged by the big-hitters when they reached Sarrancolin and the intermediate sprint, but they didn't hand about on the way and added another 30". Laurent Mangel of Saur-Sojasun was the first through for 20 points. 2. Jeremy Roy (FDJ) 17pts; 3. Blel Kadri (ALM) 15pts; 4. Ruben Perez Moreno (EUS) 13pts; 5. Jose Ivan Gutirrez (MOV) 11pts; 6 Geraint Thomas (SKY) 10pts.

Cav wants points, Cav gets
points. Such is the Natural
Order of Things.

Back in the pack, a certain Manxman was seen to be nonchalently making his forward. Cavendish, as we all know, is probably the best sprinter in professional cycling but with the remainder of the Tour being for the most part mountain stages - which, to be honest, he's pretty dreadful at -  he'll be wanting to grab what he can in the intermediate sprints from now on. Which means he was the first of the peloton to get through, of course, because when Cav wants to win a sprint he almost invariably does. 8. Mark Renshaw (THR) 8pts; 9. Jose Joaquin Rojas (MOV) 7pts; 10. Matt Goss (THR) 6pts; 11. Francisco Ventoso (MOV) 5pts; 12. Borut Bozic (VCD) 4pts; 13. Philippe Gilbert (OLO) 3pts; 14. Mikael Delage (FDJ) 2pts; 15. Bernhard Eisel (THR) 1pt.


The peloton's speed as it tackled the sprint took a big chunk out of the lead group's advantage, reducing it to 5'50" as they became the first Tour de France riders to set out up the slopes of Hourquette d'Ancizan, making its debut in this year's race. It soon claimed its first victim when Katusha's 24-year-old Denis Galimzyanov found himself unable to match the pace, dropping off the back and laying the foundations for the grupetto that was sure to come just as QuickStep's Sylvain and Vacansoleil's Johnny Hoogerland - still swathed in bandages to protect his 33 stitches - attacked the peloton. Astana's Roman Kreuziger went after them a little later, but the only reaction the peloton made was spitting Cavendish, Bak, Eisel and a few others out the back into the grupetto.

The race leaders reached the top with Mangel taking the top allocation of ten points, in accordance with the new Cat 1 climb rules which state that the first rider takes 10 points, the second 8pts, third 6pts, fourth 4pts,  fifth 2pts and sixth 1pt. As was the case with the new intermediate sprint rules, it's not yet entirely clear why the rules had to be changed but even those of us who remained dismissive of the sprint changes will have to admit that it turns out the old UCI knew what they were about after all; so let's hold on for a moment before we accuse them of fixing something that ain't broke - because if something ain't broke, there's no harm in taking it apart and making it go faster.

Another disaster, in a Tour riddled with disasters, very nearly got the better of Thomas shortly after he crested the top of the mountain - rounding a switchback in front of a fan waving the Welsh flag, he suddenly veered off the road and through a gap between a car and a quad bike coming to a stop on the grassy verge, 20cm from a steep slope which while unlikely to be lethal could very easily have sent him the way of Wiggins. Early explanations suggested he'd seen the flag and lost concentration, but following the race the G-Man said that he thought there may have been something on the road surface. We suspect that, if someone were to have a close look, they might find a few spots of diesel - the several rather ropy-looking old campervans arranged about the bend being likely culprits. This theory is apparently strengthened by the fact that not only did Thomas nearly do the same thing again seconds later, suggesting either another patch or contaminated tyre/brake pad rubber, but another crash involving other riders happened in precisely the same place once the peloton showed up.

Now, LeopardTrek moved up to the front of the peloton. Andy Schleck, known as one of the nicest men in the sport, has earned himself an army of fans in the last couple of years and many believe that 2011 is going to be his year - this seemed likely to be the moment that he would begin winning. As they started on the long, hard climb up Tourmalet they looked almost impossibly good, pulling like a train - even Fabian Cancellara, though he was back in the autobus rather than with his team, looked reasonably comfortable considering he's Cancellara and this was Tourmalet. Europcar were unceremoniously outclassed as LeopardTrek took full control, dominating the front of the main group. Meanwhile, out at the front, Kreuziger finally managed to catch and drop Sylvain Chavanel.

Andy Schleck: arsing about, on
bad form or playing a very long
and intricate mind game?

Out at the front, something quite remarkable had happened: the pursuit specialist Geraint Thomas was leading the breakaway. What's more, he was looking perfectly comfortable while doing so, still pulling strongly and showing no signs of stopping. Kreuziger was dropping rider after rider - Gutierrez was the first go, then Mangel and before long the Welshman was out on his own as he passed through La Mongie, two thirds of the way to the top. Could be keep going?

Andy Schleck remained calm and collected as a team mechanic changed his front wheel. Andy is Andy, so laid-back it's a wonder his blonde hair doesn't get tangled in his rear derailleur, but I'm not convinced even Gandhi would have stayed so calm if forced to wait during such a career-defining moment. Is it possible that he didn't want to win the stage? If not, we can only guess at what the hell he's playing at but as we've said before he's a clever rider and we're not convinced that a little bit of his famous niceness isn't used to hide a very sharp and ruthless understanding of psychology. Only a fool would write him off just yet.

Marmot!!!

There are two cute, cuddly creatures which thrive at altitude in the Pyrenees. One of them is the Schleck, the other is the Marmot. There's also a fierce predator that savagely hunts down its prey up there - it's called a Contador. Some people think Contador isn't as dangerous as he once was, but the Saxobank riders know better and sent out Jesus Hernandez to up the tempo in an effort to increase the pressure. Was El Pistolero about to come out with all guns firing?

Further up the mountain, Thomas had finally dropped behind Roy who took the 20 points for being the first to conquer the mountain. The Welshman had failed, but was awarded the Combativity award for his efforts - which ought to keep him happy for the time being, especially since by this time next year he'll be a race-hardened 26-year-old. We will never know if Britain had a Tour winner in Wiggins this year, but it looks very much as though the next one is already primed and in the chamber. By the time they reached the last climb, another Hors-Categorie ordeal provided this time by Luz-Ardiden, they were still over 3' ahead of the pack.

Prior to the start, Euskaltel-Euskadi's Sammy Sanchez had left no doubts that he wanted the stage. He may have been born in Asturias, far to the west of the Basque country, but he's long been an adopted son of the tiny mountain nation and the Haute-Pyrenees are his training ground so it was no surprise when he broke out of the peloton and surged ahead for a 13" lead - but with 13km of hard slog still to go, had be moved too soon? But he's wiser than that - reaching a group including his team-mate Ruben Moreno some 20" ahead, he rode with them, thus placing himself in an ideal position for future attacks. Back down the road, it had become obvious that Frank and Andy had driven their team too hard: their LeopardTrek comrades had given all they could and fallen back, leaving the brothers riding alone.

Sanchez had now joined forces with Omega-Pharma's Jelle Vanendert, himself a highly-respected climber, and the two were united in hot pursuit of Thomas and Roy who were fighting to keep a lead of around a minute on them with 10km to go. They soon caught them, and Roy gave up the fight. It wasn't long for Thomas, either, and the pair fell back to the chase group lead by yellow jersey Thomas Voeckler. With 5km to go, they were over a minute ahead and the strain was showing, but the honourary Basque wasn't running on empty yet. Standing up, he pushed himself even harder and attacked Vanendert.

In the peloton, more proof that Andy has a dark side: he was playing his favourite game, Trying To Rile Up Contador. We've all seen him at it - he did it all the way through the Pyrenees and the Alps last year, waiting until his old rival is starting to suffer and then riding up behind him with a big friendly grin on his face. Now he'd stomped on the pedals for a bit of a jump forward, forcing Contador to do the same. But poor Bertie's outnumbered this year because Frank is in the best form of his life, so he had to respond again when the older brother did it too before shooting off to attack the race leaders and leaving the pair of them behind. Others  gave chase, but he crossed the line just behind Sanchez and Vanendert alone, taking a very impressive third place.

Sammy Sanchez

One thing is as clear as the alpine lakes that the peloton will be passing in a few days' time in this stage: Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador are obsessed with one another. Every second of every race is spent examining one another, probing the other rider's form for cracks and testing strengths. It is enormously entertaining to watch, but Andy's ever going to win this damn race he needs to move on: last year, Contador was the only thing that stood in Andy's way - but now, Contador's reign may be over; he just no longer has what he used to have, actually losing time in this stage where he was once unbeatable.

What Andy needs to do now is forget his old enemy. It's time to concentrate on the mountains, time to turn his attention to winning stages.

Stage 12 Results:

1. SANCHEZ Samuel 6h 01' 15"  
2. VANENDERT Jelle + 00' 07"
3. SCHLECK Frank + 00' 10"
4. BASSO Ivan + 00' 30"
5. EVANS Cadel + 00' 30"
6. SCHLECK Andy + 00' 30"
7. CUNEGO Damiano 161 + 00' 35"
8. CONTADOR Alberto + 00' 43"
9. VOECKLER Thomas + 00' 50"
10. ROLLAND Pierre + 00' 50"


Overall General Classification results following Stage 12:

1. VOECKLER Thomas 51h 54' 44"  
2. SCHLECK Frank + 01' 49"
3. EVANS Cadel + 02' 06"
4. SCHLECK Andy + 02' 17"
5. BASSO Ivan + 03' 16"
6. CUNEGO Damiano + 03' 22"
7. CONTADOR Alberto + 04' 00"
8. SANCHEZ Samuel + 04' 11"
9. DANIELSON Tom + 04' 35"
10. ROCHE Nicolas + 04' 57"


Points: Marl Cavendish (260); Mountains: Sammy Sanchez (40); Youth: Arnold Jeanesson (52h00'34"); Team: LeopardTrek (155h09'18"); Combativity: Geraint Thomas.