Tour de France: Stage 7 Debrief

"No...I didn't know that...oh shit...I'm gutted for him..." (Mark Cavendish, told Bradley Wiggins had abandoned)

So the flattest, least interesting stage of this year's race turned into a disaster. The dreams of Team Sky and every cycling fan in Britain lie in tatters: Bradley Wiggins has crashed out of the Tour de France. The 31-one-year old came to this year's event looking leaner and stronger than he has ever done before, having instantly become a favourite for the podium in Paris when he triumphed in the Critérium du Dauphiné and British National Championships earlier this year.

Bradley Wiggins' 2011 Tour de France is over.

 His popularity in the UK is as near to superstardom as any British cyclist has ever been - he's far short of the sort of exposure given to the likes of Eddy Merckx in Belgium and Bernard Hinault in France, but his successes are included in national TV news broadcasts. Now at an age where the careers of many cyclists begin to wind down, it will be uncertain whether or not he is ever able to regain the level of fitness he had this year.

The Team Sky leader was caught in a pile-up involving a large number of bikes around 40km from the finish line. At first, he looked to be hurt but then stood up, fooling many into thinking he was alright. However, he clutched his arm as though it was broken and his face contorted in agony when medics checked his collarbone, suggesting it too is broken. His jersey ripped and dirty, he was placed on a stretcher, taken to the waiting ambulance and was reportedly in hospital by the time fellow Briton and possible future team-mate Mark Cavendish crossed the sprint finish line in 5th place some 15km up the road. Edvald Boasson Hagen and Geraint Thomas, who had waited with him, then had to force their way as far back to the front as they could, eventually crossing the line in 39th and 38th place respectively - meaning that Thomas now hands over the youth category white jersey to Robert Gesink of Rabobank.

Levi Leipheimer isn't having a good
Tour so far, but expect him to win a
stage sooner or later.

Tyler Farrer and Chris Horner were also in the crash and at first also appeared to be injured as they lay in the roadside ditch, but after a quick check-up and a chance to catch their breath they were able to continue. The accident split the peloton into two with the second including our wildcard favourite Levi Leipheimer. Coming so near to the finish line, they were not able to make up the gap and the overall standings look dramatically different tonight as a result.

"#tdf stage 7 predictions: Cav all over." (@GLetten, Twitter)

The 218km flat stage was once again characterised by an early breakaway when Mikael Delage, Gianni Meersman,Yannick Talarbardon and Pablo Urtasan split from their teams in the first few minutes, rapidly building up their advantage to over a minute. Talarbardon punctured but was able to catch up, by which time the lead was at the 6km mark and 3'40" ahead. Little more than five minutes later, they had added almost a minute and looked set to increase it futher still. By 13:14, group leader Meersman would have been awarded the maillot jaune had the race hae been stopped.

Another half an hour later and the peloton had reached 46km, putting them in the vicinity of Ruillé-sur-Loir and very close to the border of Loir-et-Cher. Garmin seem to be doing by far the greater portion of the work at the front of the peloton so far this year and that's exactly where they were by this point, yet they seem happy enough to be there. HTC-Highroad, the team that has dominated sprints for some years now, were right behind them though, and the combined effect of the two teams on the peloton's average speed may be the reason that the breakaway's advantage, which had been as high as 7'20", dropped below 7'.

By 14:30 it had become clear that even though there was still a long way to go, the peloton was not to be afforded the luxury of taking it easy and letting the lead group tire themselves out and return to the flock - they were obviously enjoying their time in the limelight and perhaps even having the legs to keep it up to the sprint at 192.5km and possibly even to the bitter end. Early days it may be and none of the lead group members have a dog's chance in hell (cats being Satan's favourite animals) of winning the Tour, but allowing imoudent scamps such as they to win a stage is simply not the done thing. Thus, they were going to have to be chased down and put back in their places; the naughty little monsters. The Garmin and HTC guys continued working together - they can operate almost as one superteam - to apply pressure and the lead's advantage began correspondingly to fall, soon dropping to 6'15".

Tom Boonen has one of the best senses of
humour in professional cycling, and the
Tour will be a poorer place without him.

Bad news arrived at 14:52 when Tom Boonen, the Belgian who was left bloodied and bruised after a nasty crash a couple of days ago, intercepted the QuickStep car and asked for a lift to the finish. His decision to abandon was announced a minute or two later. Ten minutes later, the peloton had whittled down the gap to under 6' as rain began to fall. Average speed had dropped in the third hour to 35.5kmph, slower than than the overall average of 37.5, but by this stage that by no means constituted a let-up and the gap was down to 5'25" as the race leaders reached the feeding station at 114km, a little over the halfway point.

A small descent at Montrichard upped the ante a bit, generating speeds of 60kmph as they entered the town,  but accounted for Sky's Rigoberto Uran who crashed on a sharp bend. Andrey Zeits of Astana went down with him, but both men were back on their bikes and catching up within a minute. Meanwhile, the breakaway riders had settled into an efficient routine and were sharing duties at the front, enabling them to maintain the gap at 4'30" for a while. Another crash at the back of the peloton took down Europcar's Thomas Voeckler and several others, but again nobody was injured and all were soon once again on their way.

"Well, the easiest day on paper turned into this. Cycling is far from predictable." (@craiglewis85, Twitter)

The average speed for the fourth hour had dropped right down to 33.1kmph, causing race organisers to predict that the peloton would not arrive in Châteauroux until 18:00, half an hour after the expected time. It did the escapees no favours though, and their lead fell below 3'. Shortly afterwards, another crash took down Tony Gallopin, Yaroslav Popovych, Haimar Zubeldia and Roman Kreuziger, fortunately once again without serious injury. The first three had made it back to the peloton within a minute or two, but Kreuziger's mechanics took their time getting him a replacement bike, leaving his stranded for over a minute so he had to work hard to make up the difference, eventually taking his place among the rest some minutes later. Gallopin required further on-the-go attention from the team car but was able to continue without problems.

Mikael Delage deserved the 20 sprint
points after leading a breakaway from
the first kilometre.

The peloton was beginning to apply the gas now, raising their speed to around 47kmph as they headed for the intermediate sprint. This was when the big crash happened, causing enough confusion for it to be unclear who was affected. It soon became apparent that many riders were down, including Wiggins. Sixty riders were in front and continued, while the rest regrouped 20" further back. It took a while for precisely who was in which group to be confirmed - not least of all because of the concern for Wiggins which dominated race radio - but before too long it was known to include many of the favourites including Thomas, Boasson Hagen, Hoogerland and Levi Leipheimer. The chaos left the breakaway free to sail through the sprint with FDJ's Delage and Meersman taking the top 20 and 17 point prizes, Talabardon 15 and Urtasun 13. Cavendish was not far behind them, rocketing through for 11 and then Rojas for 10.

As the sprint was left behind, there were just 20km left - an unusual situation, as sprints usually fall towards the middle of a stage. Precisely why organisers positioned it so late today is not known, but the most obvious reason is that it was done purely for the hell of it, to see if the sprint specialists were capable of moving from a sprint directly into a fast ride and then speeding up again for a final sprint over the finish line. If that was indeed the reason, we liked it - and if it isn't, we liked it anyway. With 10km to go, the lead group's advantage had been chopped right back to 1'40" and with HTC arranging themselves about the front of the peloton, lying in wait just behind Omega-Pharma Lotto and ready to start their customary and deadly final moves, the escapees' time was almost at an end.

With the last 1.5km being almost perfectly straight HTC formed the train with usual pinpoint precision, an aerodynamic hive of minds and bodies working in perfect unison. There was now only one way that this could go, and so it proved to be - no other team can even begin to compete with the HTC train when it works like it did today. As the finish line came closer, the inevitable: the train split to leave the way ahead clear for the Missile who leapt forward, easily passing all others for his 17th Tour de France stage win. The British may have lost its greatest ever overall General Classification hope, but they can still rightfully claim that the fastest rider in professional cycling is theirs. Wiggins may well have another few years left in him yet - look at Leipheimer and Hincapie, or Jeannie Longo - but even if today is the beginning of the end of his career it most certainly won't be the end for Sky: Thomas, Swift and the rest are all superb riders in their own right, but if the rumours are true and Cavendish joins them they'll be unstoppable.

"If they were in the Giro, after those crashes they would ask the head of "Zom". But they're in the Tour, doesn't matter if all is dangerous!" (@evicennati, Twitter)

Overall Stage Results:

1. CAVENDISH Mark HTC - HIGHROAD 5h 38' 53"  
2. PETACCHI Alessandro LAMPRE
3. GREIPEL André OMEGA-PHARMA LOTTO
4. FEILLU Romain VACANSOLEIL-DCM
5. BONNET William FDJ
6. GALIMZYANOV Denis KATUSHA TEAM
7. HUSHOVD Thor TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO
8. TURGOT Sébastien TEAM EUROPCAR
9. ROJAS Jose Joaquin MOVISTAR TEAM
10. HINAULT Sébastien AG2R LA MONDIALE (all same time)


Overall General Classification after Stage 7

1. HUSHOVD Thor GARMIN - CERVELO28h 29' 27"  
2. EVANS Cadel BMC                                 28h 29' 28" + 00' 01"
3. SCHLECK Frank LEOPARD-TREK 28h 29' 31" + 00' 04"
4. MILLAR DavidGARMIN - CERVELO 28h 29' 35" + 00' 08"
5. KLÖDEN Andréas RADIOSHACK 28h 29' 37" + 00' 10"
6. FUGLSANG Jakob LEOPARD-TREK 28h 29' 39" + 00' 12"
7. SCHLECK Andy LEOPARD-TREK 28h 29' 39" + 00' 12"
8. MARTIN Tony HTC - HIGHROAD 28h 29' 40" + 00' 13"
9. VELITS Peter HTC - HIGHROAD         28h 29' 40" + 00' 13"
10. GESINK Robert RABOBANK         28h 29' 47" + 00' 20"

Wiggo lists Bertie as favourite

Wiggo...

The British cycling star has downplayed his own chances of taking a top three finish in the year's Tour de France while being careful to point out he's got a much better chance of repeating his 2009 success than he did last year due to the excellent team he now has to assist him - and also making sure he mentions his current good form.

"I'm lighter, fitter - plus I have two or three years' more experience," says the 31-year-old, who recently won the Criterium Dauphine, considered a good indicator of Tour potential. So who is Wiggo's top Tour tip?  "From the Giro [d'Italia], I'd say Alberto is favourite," he says.

...Bertie...

However, Alberto - Contador, Spanish winner of two Tours - has been tellin reporters he's found it difficult to recover from the Giro. He's been known to downplay his own prospects before a major event, and also has a doping allegation hanging over him and faces a court appearance just days after the Tour finishes. He may be sandbagging, but either one of these factors could have an effect on anyone's chances.

If so, that leaves Andy Schleck, the Luxembourger who made Contador look distinctly uncomfortable last year until his chain came off and allowed the Spaniard to gain a 39" lead over him and who, if he's on top form, is one of the best climbers in cycling.

...or Schleck? Who cares?

If it turns out Wiggins can't keep up with these two he has nothing to be ashamed of at all - simply being spoken of in the same breath as them is an honour for any cyclist.

But that still leaves a third place on the podium, and going by Wiggins' form so far this year he has as good a chance as anyone else of standing on it once the race is over. Best not to dwell on that too much just yet, though - it's only a little over three weeks away and then we'll all have to wait another 49 weeks for the next Tour. This year's route looks set to offer some of the best, fastest, hardest and most exciting racing we've seen in a while, so let's just enjoy it while we can.

Viva la velo!

Wiggo responds to Millar attacks

British Tour de France hopeful Bradley Wiggins has responded to David Millar's scathing criticism of him, his Sky team and his leadership skills in the interview published by The Guardian yesterday.

"Last season was just one thing after another," explains the 31-year-old in a report on the MailOnline website. "I came into the team late, not wanting to lead people I didn't really know. Withdrawing into myself as an individual leading this team, I didn't appreciate the knock-on effect on everyone around me. It's a big team as well - not just three other members of a team pursuit but 26 riders plus 30-odd staff. This year has been about giving back to guys."

Millar didn't pull his punches in the Guardian, saying that Wiggins "has no leadership skills" and that Team Sky were "big-headed and disrespectful" in last year's tour. Meanwhile, he praised Mark Cavendish who, if rumours are to be believed, may be joining Sky next season. "Mark understands the game... [he's] a natural-born leader," he said.

If Wiggins had problems settling into his new role last year - which would also explain his disappointing finish outside the top 20 (he came 4th in 2009) - there is evidence that he's pulled himself together now. Team mates Geraint Thomas and Ben Swift have been vocal in supporting their leader and have vowed to do all they can to help him and the team bring back glory. We'll know if Millar is wrong or if Eiggins has a future as leader of his team in Paris on the 24th of July.

Wiggo wows 'em

Bradley Wiggins, fresh from his Critérium du Dauphiné success, stormed ahead to victory in yesterday's Men's Road Race final in Stamfordham and, with a 35" lead over team mates Geraint Thomas and Peter Kennaugh, proved why it is he's Britain's best hope for the Tour de France in many years. Judging by the cheers coming from the spectators, most people had no uncertainty about that anyway. Thomas, meanwhile, demonstrated the sort of skill that has led to him being a part of Wiggins' Tour team by chasing down and pulling back Kennaugh after an attempt on the leadership within sight of the end.

Wiggins used his respectable time trialing skills to great effect yesterday in Stamfordham - having got up to a high rate of knots, he just kept on turning the gears. When it came to the finish, he had one last reserve where others were spent.

The three formed part of a large breakaway early on in the race and kept the pace high, putting the pressure on the rest of the group and eventually splitting it in two, at which point they began to build up their lead. Various riders dropped away from the second group, finding the effort too much, until it too consisted of just three men -  Rapha-Condor's Kristian House, ex-MTB and cyclocross star Ian Bibby of Motorpoint and the Sky boys' team mate Ian Stannard. They kept chasing, but they didn't have the power necessary to catch up. Meanwhile, the rest of the pack languished some seven minutes further back. Even the Manx Missile Mark Cavendish, one of the fastest cyclists to have ever lived, couldn't keep up and so had no chance of taking the final sprint - he finished outside the top ten. However, it's the sprints at which he excels and we can still expect to see him racking up the points in the Tour, which starts this coming Saturday.


23-year-old Ben Swift, who will be joining Wiggins and Thomas in France, also achieved a good result. He may have been 8'13" off Wiggin's time, but it was sufficient to take 7th place. As he matures over the coming four or five years he may well prove to be the man to take on Wiggins' mantle and become Britain's next cycling star.


Towards the end, there was no way of knowing which of the three men was going to be first over the line until Kennaugh decided to attack. Thomas went after him and while their attention was diverted Wiggins surged ahead, finding one last reserve of strength that after 122 miles the other men simply didn't have, and powered across the line ahead of them in what must have been one of the most exciting finishes many of the spectators have ever had the pleasure of witnessing. The 31-year-old, who was born in Ghent but has lived in the UK since early childhood, will now have the honour of wearing the blue and white National Champion's jersey in the Tour, but don't expect him to do so for long. He'll be wanting to swap it for a yellow one before too long, 
and it's looking more and more like he has the ability to do so.


1st - Bradley Wiggins (Sky) 4h41'08"
2nd - Geraint Thomas (Sky) +35"
3rd - Peter Kennaugh (Sky) received same time
4th - Ian Stannard (Sky) +5'41"
5th - Ian Bibby (Motorpoint) +8'02"
6th - Kristian House (Rapha Condor) +8'05"
7th - Ben Swift (Sky) +8'13"
8th - Yanto Barker (Pendragon) +8'20"
9th - Scott Thwaites (Endura) +8'28"
10th - Andrew Fenn (AN Post) received same time 

Clean or not, Contador's presence in the Tour will not be an embarrassment

British hopeful Bradley Wiggins, who recently won the Critérium du Dauphiné and in doing so proved himself back to the form he displayed when he came fourth in the 2009 Tour de France, has said that "it is not a good thing [for cycling] that a bloke who tested positive four times is in the race" in reference to Alberto Contador who tested positive for the banned bronchodilator Clenbuterol during last year's Tour.

Contador, like any professional cyclist at the top of his game, is no stranger to the murky world of doping. In 2006 he became caught up in the notorious Operation Puerto which followed Jesus Manzano's exposure of widespread doping in his team and the shady practices of Doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, but was subsequently cleared of all charges by the Spanish courts and by the UCI. He was questioned again in connection with the case in December and rather inadvisably refused to submit to a DNA sample which would have either proved or disproved links to nearly a hundred bags of blood plasma - each with a cheeky shot of EPO for an added kick - that had been recovered by police during their investigation. In doing so, he probably did his career more harm than a conviction would have done - had he have been linked to it, he'd have received a suspension and once it had passed he could have returned to the sport. By refusing, he ensured that there was always going to be a great big question mark hanging over him. However, anyone who has ever found themselves the target of false charges will be well aware that once you're cleared you want to move on and continue with your life - Contador may regret refusing the DNA test now, but at the time he must have been heartily sick of the entire case and hoped to hear the last of it.

Contador is almost unique among climbers in that he can also perform at a very high level in time trials, a factor that has contributed to his success.

That question mark haunted him in the 2009 Tour when, following a spectacular climb up Verbier - the fastest in Tour history - in Stage 15, Greg LeMond wrote in a column for the Le Monde newspaper that Contador would have needed an oxygen transport rate in excess of that achieved "by any athlete in any sport" and demanded that he proved he was capable of such a feat "without falling back to the use of performance-enhancing products" and likened his victory to that of "a Mercedes sedan winning on a Formula 1 circuit." During a press conference the next day, Contador once again unwisely decided to side-step the issue, increasing suspicions further. LeMond had based his accusation on figures calculated by Antoine Vayer, the trainer of the rival Festina team, which were called into doubt by physiologists including the highly-respected Andrew Coggan. Vayer assumed that Contador would have needed to maintain an average power output of 490 watts which, in a man weighing 83kg, would equate to 99.5ml per hour per kg - which would be unusually high. Coggan criticised Vayer's calculations which he termed sloppy and noted several areas which could contribute to false results, such as failing to take in decreased air resistance at altitude. Furthermore, virtually all the top riders had climbed Verbier in record times that day - including Andy Schleck and Lance Armstrong, neither of whom have ever been proven to be involved in doping despite countless accusations and investigations in the case of Armstrong - suggesting that conditions on the mountain were simply conducive to high-speed cycling. He also noted an inconsistency between Vayer's given length of the climb, 8.6km, and the official length as given by the Tour de France organisers, 8.8km, more than sufficient to skew the results. Coggan concluded that the rider's average power would in fact have been more like 450 watts, equating to an oxygen transport rate of 80ml per hour per kg which could be expected for a man of his build and level of fitness.

As we all know, Contador gave a urine sample in September 2010 which tested positive for a drug called Clenbuterol, a sympathomimetic steroid and bronchodilator prescribed to asthmatics to ease breathing - thus enabling more oxygen to be absorbed into the blood - and the cycling press leapt on the case like starving wolves, in some cases predicting the end of his career. Once again, it was only a matter of time before doubts arose - what had at first seemed to be a case of an athlete being caught red-handed in the act of cheating turned out be rather more complicated. First of all, Contador failed one test only - his sample was declared clear in other tests to which it was subjected. Various people involved in cycling went on record stating that Clenbuterol is of little use as a performance-enhancer, especially in the miniscule amounts suggested by Contador's sample which were 40 times lower than would be required for any noticeable effect and Dr. Douwe van Boer (Contador's scientific advisor) claimed that it would have to be administered in amounts 180 times that discovered in the sample to have any chance of giving the recipient a competitive edge, supporting Contador's explanation that he had not deliberately taken the drug and that it had entered his system via contaminated food, most likely beef - it was used by veterinary surgeons to relax the uterus in cows and can be used illegally to promote the growth of lean meat in livestock destined to become food, which appears to add some credence, as does the support for the explanation given by Dr. Don Catlin, a highly-respected scientist and one of the driving forces behind modern anti-doping measures.

If he can repeat his 2008 Vuelta
success, Contador will be the
only cyclist to have won all
three Grand Tours in a single
season.

The incident led to the Spanish Cycling Federation proposing a one year ban for the cyclist but, following an appeal, all charges were subsequently dropped in early 2011 and he returned to professional racing in February. The independent World Anti-Doping Agency and UCI both appealed the Spanish decision to the Court for Arbitration in Sport in March and a hearing was scheduled for June but later put back after Contador's lawyers requested more time to prepare. It is now scheduled for early August later this year, until which time Contador is legally free to ride in professional events. If that's the case, there should be no reason that he should be singled out for a crime that in view of his current cleared status he should be considered not to have committed and banned from taking part in this year's Tour de France - during which he will doubtless be subjected to a barrage of tests and will, if he cheats, be found out. Bearing that in mind, the decision to enter the race if he is/has been doping would seem extraordinarily stupid because a positive test will ruin his chances with the Court.

The UCI supports this view, stating that until the Court finds him guilty, should it do so, Contador "has the right to be treated like every other rider who takes part in the Tour de France." Reporting on the case, Republican American says that his participation in the race could do great damage to the sport and compares it to Lance Armstrong's return from retirement in 2009. However, the opposite is more likely to be the case - if Contador consistently produces clean samples this year, his status as one of cycling's true heroes and an all-time great will be cemented and will pave the way for him to attempt victory in the Vuelta a Espana, which would make him the only cyclist ever to have won all three Grand Tours in a single season and which would generate enormous publicity for the sport. If he cheats and is found out - and there's little doubt he would be - then professional cycling can be shown to have got its act together following the scandals of a few years ago and the sport's reputation cane be repaired once the world is aware that those who obtain an unfair advantage by using performance-enhancing drugs will be caught and will be stripped of their titles.

"It is also bad for those teams that are fighting to be clean, as is the case with my team, Sky," says Wiggins, who has become Britain's best-ever hope of a Tour winner. If that's the case, he should welcome Contador's chance to prove that he too is clean, because if an athlete can perform in the way he does without resorting to drugs then that's one of the strongest arguments against doping anyone could ever want.

Manx Missile to join Team Sky?

Ace sprinter Mark Cavendish, winner of an incredible five flat stages in last year's Tour de France, may be about to sign up to Team Sky according to various reports.

Cavendish is widely believed to be the fastest cyclist in the sport today.

His contract with HTC-Highroad expires at the end of the season, and though nothing is yet confirmed there's every reason to assume Sky would want to take him aboard - with Cav riding alongside Bradley Wiggins and Geraint Thomas they'd have the basic building blocks of what would undoubtedly be a dream team in professional cycling and the strongest British team ever seen in the sport. Wiggins rode with Cavendish in Team Columbia back in 2008 but left after saying he didn't want to be a part of what he called "the Cav show." Since then, having gained fourth place overall in the 2009 Tour and winning this year's Dauphine, he's got a high enough profile to ensure equal footing in what would be the "Cav and Wiggo show."

This would be a great moment for British cycling - let's hope it happens!

Critérium du Dauphiné - Wiggo Wins the Wace!

(Originally published Sunday 12th of June)


An excellent day of racing for todays' Critérium du Dauphiné final stage, which saw 21-year-old FDJ rider Thibaut Pinot - who pushed himself to the limit from the word go - pass alone over the summit of the Col de la Croix de Fer, winning himself 20 points and a very well-deserved King of the Mountains title. This rider is going to be one to keep a very careful eye on over the next couple of years, especially if you happen to be a Grand Tour leadership contender at the moment. He climbs like Contador - and he's going to get better!

Contador et al would be wise to keep a very keen eye on this one - he has a big lump of stinky French cheese and he's not afraid to use it. He also climbs Alps like a rat climbs a drainpipe, which is even more worrying from Bertie's point of view.

BRADLEY WIGGINS WINS OVERALL!!!

Vive Wiggo!

Wiggins, who has already proved he's got what is required of a great rider despite a disappointing result in last year's Tour de France, can now rightfully claim to be among the most successful British riders ever and joins Brian Robinson (first British rider ever to complete a Tour de France) and Robert Millar (who, coincidentally, also completed a Tour in fourth place, thus becoming Britain's most successful Tourist until Wiggins achieved the same result) on the Dauphine winner list.. When one looks at some of the other names to have won the Dauphine, it becomes evident that Wiggins really is at the top of the game nowadays - Eddie Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Greg LeMond, Miguel Indurain and Lance Armstrong are the creme de la creme of the pro cycling world. In his own words: "Winning the Tour de France against Andy Schleck and Contador is a big call. The top 10 has always been the goal, but now with the confidence I got at the Dauphiné, the top 6 is the goal."


Meanwhile, Spaniard Joaquim Rodriguez was the winner on points, amassing 86 as compared to 37-year-old Kazakh Alexander Vinokourov's 65 and Wiggin's 64. He also becomes the first rider to have won two stages in a row for over a decade. Cadel Evans achieved 45 points, putting him at number seven, but managed second place overall crossing the line 1'26" behind Wiggins and 23 seconds in front of Vino.


Among the young riders, Jérôme Coppel, aged 24, won overall with a time of 26h 48' 04". The Soar-Sojasun rider has already proved his worth in the time trialing world having won numerous French events and placing in the top 3 in international races. While admitting that he didn't feel strong today, he's promising to be better next month - any young rider who turns in a performance such as he did today when not at his best and with a record such as his is very obviously developing into an impressive all-rounder and the French must be hopeful that he'll be the man that lets them once again feel pride in French cycling.

Jérôme Coppel - future Tour de France victor? We hope so.

Rodriguez also won in the climber's competition with 63 of his total points being awarded on the slopes.  Pinot, though winning the King of the Mountains title today, placed 7th with 33 grimpeur points. Interestingly, Wiggins, considered a rouleur but not an especially impressive climber, managed 10th over this highly mountainous course. With this year's Tour de France being more about climbing than usual, he may do very well for himself and we'll perhaps see a return to the form that impressed us all in 2009.


In the team competition, Europcar won with 80h 22' 25", Astana were +10' and AG2R La Mondiale + 10' 19". With the exception of that first ten minute gap and 9' 17" between AG2R and HTC-Highroad, it was an incredibly close-run race among the teams and suggests some gritty battles in the Tour next month.


It's been a superb Dauphine this year. Can we use the results to make predictions for le Tour? From a British point of view, let's hope so. The wise will be paying close attention to Fabian Cancellara and, most importantly of all, Andy Schleck before betting their July pay cheque on a British winner though.