- HOT TOPICS:
- Cav wins stage 2 •
- Cancellara wins opener •
- Sastre can't start in yellow •
- Boonen gets green light
Burghardt wins St. Etienne
- Article Extras
- Photos
- Results
- Race Index
After spending almost all of the day on the attack, Team Columbia’s Marcus Burghardt won the 18th stage of the Tour de France, beating Quick Step’s Carlos Barredo in a final kilometer chess match that bore more resemblance to a match-sprint on the velodrome than the end of a 196.5 mile road race.
The two joined forces early in the day and cooperated until the final ten kilometers. At that point the two could afford to risk the benefits of cooperation as they enjoyed a healthy 4:50 lead over a group of three chasers and nearly 10 minutes on the peloton.
CSC’s Carlos Sastre finished in the field, with no challenges to his hold on the yellow jersey, maintaining his lead in a tight GC race that will likely be settled in Saturday’s 53km time trial. With the end of the race in Paris now only three days away Sastre has a 1:24 lead over teammate Frank Schleck with Austrian Bernhard Kohl (Gerolsteiner) at 1:33, just 1 second ahead of Tour favorite, Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto). Rabobank's Denis Menchov is 2:29 off the pace.
"My team kept me well protected," said Sastre at the finish. "It was hard for the first part, but then we settled into a rhythm and rode fairly easy. There is never an easy day at the Tour de France, but today was a calm day."
The day’s 196.5-kilometer stage linked the Alps with the Massif Central between the tourist town of Bourg d'Oisans and the industrial city of St. Etienne.
With three relatively minor climbs most weren’t expecting a big battle in the tight race for the yellow jersey, with Sastre and his closest challengers apparently saving energy for Saturday’s 53km time trial from Cérilly to St. Amand-Montrond.
Attack, attack
The stage, however, provided an ideal opportunity for a group of tough escapees and if there was any doubt about that, a seven-man group made the day’s first attack at the 1km mark. The group – composed of Filippo Pozzato (Liquigas), Sebastian Lang (Gerolsteiner), Bjoern Schroeder ( Milram), Freddy Bichot (Agritubel), the Cofidis duo of Stephane Auge and Maxime Monfort, along with Burghardt.
Without a rider in the break – or a win to its credit – the Quick Step team moved to the front of the peloton and worked over the ensuing 44km, not allowing the group to ever gain more than a minute on the field. Soon after the catch, Quick Step then launched Barredo on a solo flyer on a long approach to the day’s first climb, the Category 3 Col de Parmenie, a gradual 8.5km climb to.
Burghardt, having been denied his chance in the first break, joined Romain Feillu (Agritubel) and began chasing the Spanish Quick Step rider. On the climb, Burghardt managed to join the lone escapee, Feillu did not. The Agritubel rider slipped back and joined two other pursuers — Christophe Le Mevel (Credit Agricole) and Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel-Euskadi).
"I knew today and tomorrow would be days for breakaways, so I planned to be in the break this morning," said Burghardt. "I rode easy in the Alps so I could have good legs for these days. I was in an early break, but we were caught, and when Barredo attacked, I went again."
By the time the two leaders reached the day’s main hurdle - the Cat. 2 Croix de Montvieux (13.7km, 4.7 percent, summiting at 163km), the two leaders had a four-minute advantage on the chasing trio and a hefty 10-minute advantage on the CSC-led peloton. Burghardt and Barredo continued to cooperate, cresting the Croix de Montvieux 4:14 ahead of Feillu, Le Mevel and Astarloza. The peloton crested the climb 10:07 behind the leaders, without any of the GC favorites turning a pedal in anger on the day’s biggest ascent.
A two-man battle
On the slopes of the day’s final climb – the Cat. 4 Cote de Sorbiers, which summited 8km from the finish – Barredo, the better climber of the two, tried a small dig, but Burghart shut down the effort. Barredo tried again at the top, perhaps worried about Burghardt’s ability as a sprinter.
With a gap of 4:46 with 8km to go, the spirit of cooperation was no longer necessary and Barredo continued to attack. Burghardt, however, managed to shut down each of them and then decided to try his own, with 7.5km remaining.
The German got a gap, but Barredo fought back and the two then spent the final kilometers trying to avoid the vulnerable lead position, swinging wide arcs across the road. As silly as it looked, the two leaders weren’t risking much with a cat-and-mouse game, since the chasing trio appeared to be doing the same thing 4:35 back.
"He said he didn’t want to cooperate anymore, because he didn’t think he could win in the sprint," Burghardt said of a conversation he had with Barredo before the final kilometer. "He said he knew he would have to attack from behind."
Indeed, in that final kilometer, a twisty route to the finish next to the Geoffroy Guichard soccer stadium in the northern part of St. Etienne, Barredo planted himself firmly on Burghardt’s wheel and refused to move, no matter how much the German slowed.
Finally, with 220 meters remaining, Burghardt put in a strong charge and the Spaniard was not able to match his pace. Burghardt crossed the line with arms raised, as the Quick Step rider surged hard, but not quite hard enough. While the finish was tight, Burghardt said he felt comfortable enough to raise his arms before the line
"I knew I was better in the sprint," he said. "I saw my lead was big enough. I understood why he was riding the way he did. For Quick Step, I don’t think they’ve had a very good Tour, and they really need a victory."
Barredo, meanwhile, was left to punch his bars in frustration, missing his team’s best opportunity for stage win so far in this year’s Tour de France.
White Jersey Wars
With the break and its nearest chasers far up the road, the peloton spend much of the day soft-pedaling, with the sole exception of a big attacked launched by Tour de Suisse winner Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) initiating a break at near the top of the Cat. 4 Cote de Sorbiers. Kreuziger trails CSC’s Andy Schleck in the Tour’s best young rider competition by 1:08 and is seeking to narrow that gap in advance of Saturday’s time trial
Schleck, who poses no major GC threat, was quick to respond and joined a small group that eventually finished 6:39 behind the day’s winner.
Cunego soldiers on
The high speeds of the day’s opening hour saw several crashes including that of Lampre’s Damiano Cunego. Cunego, who began the day in 12th overall, at 10:15, crashed at the 28km mark, hitting his chin. He struggled to regain the field, but soon found himself trailing the peloton by 10 minutes, despite receiving help from three teammates, who were sent back to help him reach the finish before the time cut.
By the end of the day, Cunego made the cut, but lost more than 20 minutes on the stage.
Results – Stage 18
1. Marcus Burghardt (GER), Team Columbia, 196.5km in 4h30min 21sec
2. Carlos Barredo (ESP), Quick Step at 0:00
3. Romain Feillu (FRA), Agritubel at 3:33
4. Christophe Le Mevel (FRA), Credit Agricole at 3:33
5. Mikel Astarloza (ESP), Euskaltel-Euskadi at 3:35
6. Samuel Dumoulin (FRA), Cofidis at 6:39
7. Cyril Dessel (FRA), Ag2r at 6:39
8. Roman Kreuziger (CZE), Liquigas at 6:39
9. Leif Hoste (BEL), Silence-Lotto at 6:39
10. Andy Schleck (LUX), CSC at 6:39
Overall
1. Carlos Sastre (ESP), CSC at 79:16min14sec
2. Frank Schleck (LUX), CSC at 1:24
3. Bernhard Kohl (AUT), Gerolsteiner at 1:33
4. Cadel Evans (AUS), Silence-Lotto at 1:34
5. Denis Menchov (RUS), Rabobank at 2:39
6. Christian Vande Velde (USA), Garmin-Chipotle at 4:41
7. Alejandro Valverde (ESP), Caisse d'Epargne at 5:35
8. Samuel Sanchez (ESP), Euskaltel-Euskadi at 5:52
9. Tadej Valjavec (SLO), Ag2r at 8:10
10. Vladimir Efimkin (RUS), Ag2r at 8:24
Related
Photo Gallery
Most Recent Articles
- Boonen did not contest the stage 2 sprint. Where was he?
- Farrar impresses with his second place
- Skipping Giro was right call for Hesjedal
- Inside the Tour: Behind Cavendish's domination of the sprints
- Nuns to podium girls: A Casey B. Gibson stage 2 photo gallery
- Zack Vestal takes a close look at Cancellara's special yellow bike
- Stage 2 — a Tour de Furnace
- Armstrong: Hunting rhythm in the heat
