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Big new at Critérium du Dauphiné

The Critérium du Dauphiné, is an annual cycling road race in the Dauphiné region in the southeast of France. The race is run over eight days during the first half of June. It is part of the UCI World Tour calendar and counts as one of the foremost races in the lead-up to the Tour de France in July, along with the Tour de Suisse in the latter half of June.

The race was inaugurated in 1947 by local newspaper, the Dauphiné Libéré, which served as the event's title sponsor until 2009. Since 2010 the race is organized by ASO, which also organizes most other eminent French cycling races, notably the Tour de France, Paris–Nice and Paris–Roubaix.

Because the Dauphiné is set in the Rhône-Alpes region, covering portions of the French Alps, the race's protagonists are often climbing specialists. Many well-known climbs from the Tour de France – like the Mont Ventoux, the Col du Galibier or Col de la Chartreuse – are regularly addressed in the Dauphiné. Five riders, Nello Lauredi, Luis Ocaña, Charly Mottet, Bernard Hinault and Chris Froome, share the record of most wins, with three each.


2016 Critérium du Dauphiné

Running from Sunday June 5th to 12th 2016, the 68th "Critérium du Dauphiné" will be made up of 8 stages and will cover a total distance of 1147 kilometers.

The Route








Chris Froome sealed his third overall win in the Alpine French race after 2013 and 2015 - the two years he also won the Tour de France. In a final rush, Romain Bardet and Dan Martin managed to move up to second and third overall respectively.

At half way into the ascent to col du Noyer, Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) attacked twice and forced Chris Froome (Sky) to react. Romain Bardet (AG2R-La Mondiale) and Richie Porte (BMC) accompanied the two stars of the race. 12 riders including the first nine in the overall ranking gathered behind Cummings who claimed a worthy solo victory. Dan Martin (Etixx-Quick Step) was the fastest of them all at Superdévoluy ahead of Romain Bardet (AG2R-La Mondiale). The final rush allowed them to take Porte out of the podium as Bardet and Martin accompanied Froome on stage in that order.





Final general classification

1. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky, 29-59-31
2. Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale, at 12s
3. Dan Martin (Irl) Etixx-Quick Step, at 19s
4. Richie Porte (Aus) BMC, at 21s
5. Alberto Contador (Esp) Tinkoff, at 35s
6. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Etixx-Quick Step, at 51s
7. Adam Yates (GBr), Orica-GreenEdge, at 57s
8. Diego Rosa (Ita) Astana, at 1-13
9. Louis Meintjes (RSA) Lampre-Merida, at 1-30
10. Pierre Rolland (Fra) Cannondale, at 2-43

This victory will certainly give Froome physiological advantage over his rivals.

Bardet must be very happy with his performance and getting 2nd place will help his chances at Tour de France.

Richie Porte: I am surprised to see him in 4th place. The former lieutenant of Froome seems to have found the legs needed for mountains.

Contador: He came very close to winning this race but eventually lost it to Froome. Would be interesting to see his performance in the upcoming Tour de France. Will definitely keep an eye on him.

[mp417]

Only one day remaining for the big event.

Tour de France 2016 Official teaser video is out. Check this out.

https://youtu.be/oJ7MTyccR3w

Yesterday there was Team Presentation session. All 22 teams were presented to Tour de France fans in the town square of Sainte-Mère-Eglise on Thursday evening.

The 2016 Tour de France was officially set in motion on Thursday evening in the Normandy town of Sainte-Mère-Eglise, where the 22 teams and 198 riders were presented on stage.

Riders were brought to the stage in vintage second world war vehicles to commemorate the area’s role in the D-Day assault.

Team Sky


Team AG2R


Team Astana


Team BMC


Team Cannondale


Team Tinkoff.


Peter Sagan (the entertainer) with new hair style


Team Etixx Quickstep


Team Giant Alpecin


Team Lampre


Team Moviestar


Team Trek. Last Tour de France for Fabian Cancellara















Following is the official Start list

[mp417]

Stage 01 : 2-July-2016

Stage Map



Stage Profile



Start City/Location: Mont-Saint-Michel, France

End City/Location: Utah Beach, France

Local start time: 12:20 pm (4:00 pm IST)

Total Distance: 188 kms

Type of stage: Flat

Mountain passes

• At Km 20.5 - Côte d'Avranches - 1.2 kilometer long climb at 5.7% - category 4
• At Km 39.0 - Côte des falaises de Champeaux - 1.3 kilometre-long climb at 4.8% - category 4

TV Schedule for India: 7:00 pm Live on Ten1 and Ten1 HD.

Stage Summary

One of the Sprinters is going to wear yellow today

First flat stage gives excellent opportunity for sprinters to wear the Yellow Jersey. Look out for Greipel, Sagan, Cavendish, Kittel. There are few points to be won for Green Jersey classification. It will be exciting to see which team train does the best job of giving launch pad to their sprinter at finish line.

In 2013 and 2014, Marcel Kittel won in Bastia and Harrogate. Possibly, this is Cavendish's last chance to take the yellow jersey (he has never wore yellow jersey) but Kittel is the hot favorite again. He has won ten races this year, including the first two bunch sprints of the Giro d'Italia. Only Bryan Coquard has a higher record in the first six months of the current season: 13 – but none at WorldTour level. André Greipel, Alexander Kristoff, Peter Sagan, John Degenkolb, Michael Matthews and Sam Bennett are the challengers. The probability for a bunch sprint finish at Utah Beach is quite high. Two category 4 climbs located in the first forty kilometers after the scenic start of Mont-Saint-Michel will determine the first polka dot jersey of the 103rd Tour de France. Coquard is an obvious favorite for the first white jersey, the other young guns of the sprinters' category being Dylan Groenewegen, Edward Theuns, Sondre Holst Enger, Christophe Laporte and Dan McLay.


Tourist Attractions

Mont-Saint-Michel

Wonder of the West
The commune and the bay were the first French sites listed as World Heritage sites by UNESCO in 1979. The Mont became an island again thanks to the works designed to give it its maritime aspect back. The bay sees the greatest tides in continental Europe with differences of up to 15 metres between low and high tide. The sea rushes back to the coastline “at the speed of a galloping horse” as the saying goes. The largest stretch of salt marsh and polders in France is also home to a rich wildlife with sea mammals like seals (25 to 35 specimens). Located on the path of the Atlantic migration, the area also hosts several small waders like sandpipers, oystercatchers, grey plovers, Barnacle geese, common shelducks or scoters.








Utah Beach Sainte-Marie-du-Mont

World Heritage listing
The Landing Beaches regroup all the beaches on which took place the operations of June 6 1944: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Beach. To which are added land and sea elements which played a major role during the battle, like Pointe du Hoc. The Landing Beaches reflect the dimensions of landscape, history and culture linked to the Normandy Landings and are seeking admission to the World Heritage list.



War Museum at Utah beach





Utah Beach 8 Jun 1944

[sgiitk]

All very good.

I hope they have sorted out the doping scandals, and we will not be seeing any more.
You always wonder how much of the performance is drug powered.

[Aditya]

Superb sprint by Mark Cavendish to beat Marcel Kittel. Bad crash in the background though. Hope no one is badly hurt.

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Surprise surprise, Mark Cavendish finally wears the yellow jersey of Tour de France.


The Tour kicked off with a perfect stage. It had everything, early break away (almost at 0th kms), potential favorite involved in crash, sprinters team’s scampering in last few kilometers, all the top sprinters at the finish line, nasty crash in last kilometer. Wow.

The final Sprint was magical. King Cavendish made it the perfect finish of his career. During team presentation he shown his frustration when a reporter asked him about not wearing the yellow jersey in his entire career. Today he has shown his class. Well done.

There was heavy crash in the final kilometers as one of the rider brushed the side railing and crashed heavily in the barriers causing a small wave of crashes. I guess three more riders went down heavily. Still waiting for official updated on which riders were involved.

L to R : Cavendish, Sagan, Kittel, Greipel





Contador crashed heavily and we will have to wait till tomorrow to ascertain the level of injuries. I am praying that he is ok and able to continue to tour. Wont like to miss one of the race favorite this year.






Mark Cavendish claimed stage 1 of the 103rd Tour de France in Utah Beach as he out sprinted Marcel Kittel and Peter Sagan to take the first yellow jersey of his career. He previously led the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España. This is his 27th stage victory at the Tour de France. Like in 2011, Alberto Contador crashed during stage 1 as 81 kilometers were yet to be covered. However, the Spaniard crossed the line in the same time as all the favorites.

Although the forecast rain did not materialize, a cross-tailwind did whip up the speed of the peloton. It was a quickening of the pace with around 80km to go that saw a crash result in Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) falling heavily. The Spanish contender sustained surface grazing to his right shoulder and required medical attention. Luke Rowe (Sky) and Brent Bookwalter (BMC) were also brought down.

Finally I get my hand at the YELLOW







Tour de France 2016 Start - Stage 1

[mp417]

Stage 02 : 3-July-2016

Stage Map



Stage Profile



Profile at finish line



Start City/Location: Saint-Lo, France

End City/Location: Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, France

Local start time: 13:00 pm (4:40 pm IST)

Total Distance: 183 kms

Type of stage: Flat

Mountain passes

• At Km 10.0 - Côte de Torigny-les-Villes - 1.4 kilometre-long climb at 5.7% - category 4
• At Km 23.0 - Côte de Montabot (D28-D98) - 1.9 kilometre-long climb at 5% - category 4
• At Km 52.0 - Côte de Montpinchon - 1.2 kilometre-long climb at 5.9% - category 4
• At Km 181.5 - Côte de La Glacerie - 1.9 kilometre-long climb at 6.5% - category 3

TV Schedule for India: 7:00 pm Live on Ten1 and Ten1 HD.

Stage Summary

An uphill finish for a great spectacle

Mark Cavendish will parade with the yellow jersey for the first time of his life during stage 2 from Saint-Lô to Cherbourg-en-Cotentin. He said he'll respect this iconic symbol of cycling but he's very likely to lose it as the uphill finish is too steep for sprinters of his type. The very end is very hard. The côte de la Glacerie is 3km long with a maximum gradient of 14%. It's the domain of the explosive puncheurs: Alejandro Valverde, Julian Alaphilippe, Greg van Avermaet, Peter Sagan, Alexis Vuillermoz.


News Update

Alberto Contador defiant despite first day crash at Tour de France

Battered and bruised, Spanish Tour de France overall contender Alberto Contador says a crash on the opening day will not affect him

Contador, one of the race favorites with Chris Froome (Sky) and Nairo Quintana (Movistar), crashed exiting a roundabout with Sky’s Luke Rowe and Brent Bookwalter (BMC Racing). He scraped his right side, from leg to shoulder, the same one he fell on and dislocated in the 2015 Giro d’Italia that he won.

“My shoulder hurts depending on my position but the Tour de France doesn’t end here. There was a lot of tension because we were fighting for positions at the front to avoid the wind. We were paying attention but I saw a central reservation too late and the front wheel went to the side. It’s bad luck, I’m screwed.”

The incident happened at 78 kilometres to race in the 188-kilometre first stage through Normandy. Contador’s front wheel slipped out from under him and he fell. After he quickly returned to his bike, team-mates Maciej Bodnar and Matteo Tosatto helped him immediately in the chase to re-join the peloton.






Stage 1 - Final kilometer crash

In the mad dash to the line in the opening Tour de France stage 1 to Utah Beach, experienced Katusha lead-out man Michael Morkov reportedly clipped one of the exposed feet of the barriers that keep back the crowds, setting off a chain-reaction crash that also took down Sam Bennett (Bora-Argon 18) and held up a number of other riders.

[mp417]

Stage 2 Results

Sagan wins stage 2 : World champion takes the yellow jersey

This years tour is becoming a tour of firsts.
On day 1, Cavendish won the yellow jersey for the first time.
On day 2, Peter Sagan won the yellow jersey for the first time.

The last four time green jersey winner who hasn't won a stage in this grand tour since 2013, finally got the perfect chance. He was the favorite to win today's stage and he did not disappoint. Tinkoff team gave the perfect launch pad to Sagan at the final climb of the stage.

Again there was an early break away. Polka dot jersey holder Paul Voss and Cesare Benedetti (Bora-Argon 18), Vegard Breen (Fortuneo-Vital Concept) and Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) rode away from the gun. With around 10 kms to go, Stuyven attacked and he came very close to win today's stage. Stuyven was caught with 500 metres to go. Ohh it was so close.

World champion Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) won his first Tour de France stage in three years when he outsprinted Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx-QuickStep) and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) on the uphill finish in Cherbourg. The victory and time bonus that came with it put the Tinkoff rider into the yellow jersey as race leader Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) lost ground on the final climb.

I am very surprised I won, because I was thinking that there were still two guys in the front," Sagan said. "Then when I finished I didn't know I won and later realized the breakaway had been caught. It is the first time in my career to have the yellow jersey, and it is unbelievable. I'm already wearing a nice jersey [world champion], but this one is also very nice.

Early breakaway



Finish line sprint



Ahh. Finally I get to wear Yellow



Consolation to the most aggressive rider of the day. Stuyven gets the king of the mountain.



Team Sky was able to keep Froome out of any trouble today



Contador lost lot of time today



Bad luck struck Porte. He suffered puncture in last 5 kilometers and his support vehicle was nowhere in sight. He got his wheel replaced very slowly by the neutral support vehicle



Overall classification after stage 2

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Note to Mods:
Adding back to back new post for tomorrow's stage instead of adding details in earlier post. This will maintain the readability of thread. If needed please merge both the posts.

Stage 03 : 4-July-2016

Stage Map



Stage Profile



Start City/Location: Granville, France

End City/Location: Angers, France

Local start time: 11:55 am (3:35 pm IST)

Total Distance: 223.5 kms

Type of stage: Flat

TV Schedule for India: 7:00 pm Live on Ten1 and Ten1 HD.

Stage Summary

It's a sprinters paradise on day 3. Stage 3 is a long one to bridge Normandy and the Anjou. Angers is the finishing town. Since the first Tour de France passed by in 1903, the city of the dukes of Anjou has seen a lot of the race. Twice it has hosted the Grand Départ, for the first ever prologue in 1967 and once again in 1972. The last visit of the race marked Tom Boonen's first ever stage victory at the Tour de France in 2004. The finishing line is at the same place, in front of the town. The slightly uphill straight should please sprinters like André Greipel and the new yellow jersey Peter Sagan.

[Aditya]

What a photo finish! Yesterday's leg was spectacular. I was expecting Andre Greipel to win, but it was Mark Cavendish once again. Team Sky continues to keep Chris Froome safe and Peter Sagan continues to lead overall.

[mp417]

Stage 3 Results

Mark Cavendish takes win number 28 on Tour de France stage three

This was one of the closest finish I have ever seen. The flat stage lived up to the expectation.

The long stage from Granville to Angers was also a slow one with a 215 kilometers long breakaway by Armindo Fonseca who was joined by Thomas Voeckler for the last two hours of racing before Mark Cavendish out sprinted André Greipel by a very small margin. Peter Sagan retained the yellow jersey.

Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) took his 28th Tour de France stage victory by edging a photo finish with Andre Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) on stage three in Angers.

Looking after the green jersey for race leader Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) on the day, Cavendish took it back for his own with a perfectly timed sprint.

Cavendish waited on Greipel’s wheel after the final turn and waited for the German champion to make his move, slowly but surely edging past him right at the last minute to draw level with Bernard Hinault with 28 stage wins.

Both riders celebrated the victory, but Cavendish was awarded the win after the photo finish was examined – his track lunge was enough to seal victory.

Stage 3 Results

1. Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension Data in 5-59.54
2. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Soudal
3. Bryan Coquard (Fra) Direct Energie
4. Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff
5. Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
6. Sondre Holst Enger (Nor) IAM Cycling
7. Marcel Kittel (Ger) Etixx-QuickStep
8. Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis
9. Daniel McLay (GBr) Fortuneo-Vital Concept
10. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo

L to R : Greipel, Coquard, Cavendish, Sagan








Cavendish's timely last lung to the finish line made the difference


Overall classification after stage 3

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Stage 04 : 5-July-2016

Stage Map



Stage Profile



Start City/Location: Saumur, France

End City/Location: Limoges, France

Local start time: 11:30 am (3:05 pm IST)

Total Distance: 237.5 kms

Type of stage: Flat

TV Schedule for India: 7:00 pm Live on Ten1 and Ten1 HD.

Stage Summary

Stage 4 from Saumur to Limoges is the longest of the 2016 Tour de France in terms of kilometers with 237.5. But stage 3 might remain the longest with 5.59.54 needed to ride from Granville to Angers on a slightly shorter distance (223.5km). It's another flat stage coming up with only one point up for grabs in the King of the Mountains competition. Therefore, Jasper Stuyven should continue with the polka dot jersey. Among the pure sprinters, only Mark Cavendish has won so far. With 28 Tour de France stage victories under his belt, he can now eye at Eddy Merckx' record of 34, albeit not this year, but his rivals Marcel Kittel and André Greipel must be very hungry by now.


In the News

Van Garderen: Porte and I are still Tour de France co-leaders

Despite seeing his teammate Richie Porte lose 1:45 on stage 2 of the Tour de France, Tejay van Garderen stressed that the pair were still co-leaders at BMC Racing.

Porte suffered a puncture five kilometres from the finish and with the peloton racing at full tilt was unable to regain contact. He ended the stage with his GC ambitions severely dented while van Garderen crossed the line in 19th place but in the same time as stage winner and new race leader Peter Sagan (Tinkoff). The American remains on the same time as key rivals Chris Froome (Team Sky), Nairo Quintana (Movistar) and Fabio Aru (Astana), while Alberto Contador conceded 48 seconds.

"Two minutes could mean nothing. Contador also lost time and the Tour is a marathon. Richie hopefully is able to stay strong in his head and keep fighting," van Garderen said as he warmed down outside the BMC bus.



Contador loses time and in pain after another Tour de France crash

Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) finished battered and bruised for a second consecutive stage at the Tour de France after crashing again during stage 2 on Sunday.

On stage 1 he slipped out in a corner and went down hard but avoided serious injury and any time losses. He again picked himself up after his mid-stage crash on stage 2 but his injuries cost him dearly this time. He struggled to hold the wheels as the peloton surged up the climb to the finish above Cherbourg and lost 48 seconds to big rivals such as Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana.



Plans to use pro cyclists’ power data to help stop doping

Performance data will be used alongside the present Biological Passport in the fight against doping.

Chris Froome, Nairo Quintana and every pro cyclist will have to share all their performance data from training sessions and races if new plans to boost the fight against doping become reality.

The information could be used alongside the Biological Passport to clear clean riders of false allegations and shine a spotlight on those who might be cheating, say experts from the University of Kent.

[Aditya]

Another photo finish last night. Strong performance by Bryan Coquard at the end, but Marcel Kittel just pipped him to the post.

While Peter Sagan was strong again, it was a bit surprising to see Cavendish fall back to eighth in the final sprint.

[mp417]

Stage 4 Results

Another Photo finish. Yesterday's photo finish was won by Cavendish by an inch. Stage 4 photo finish was won by Kittel by few millimeters. Thats how close it was.

The margin for error at this Tour de France seems to grow tighter by the day. The proof is in the photo finish stills. For the second day running, the commissaires had to review the images before designating a winner, as Marcel Kittel (Etixx-QuickStep) edged out Bryan Coquard (Direct Energie) by mere millimetres to win stage 4 in Limoges.

Kittel and his team-mates were nowhere to be seen as the peloton strung out after a narrow roundabout entry, but the boys in blue found their way back to the front just in time.

The big German looked set to battle Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) for the win until Coquard stormed up from the back of the bunch to challenge on the line.

But the Etixx train worked its way back into contention to set Kittel up for the sprint. Sagan opened up before Kittel, with the German moving past the yellow jersey holder in the middle of the road.

On the left, though, was the bounding Coquard, who was throwing his bike all over the place to get every bit of speed out of it. A small touch of elbows in the last 50m wasn’t enough to disrupt either of the riders’ rhythm and it was down to the judges to split the pair on the line.

Surprisingly, Greipel who looked to win this stage was no where near the finish line. In last 300 meters, he suddenly gave up. Cavendish was caught up in the bunch of sprinters and finished in 8th position.

Sagan retained his yellow jersey. With 3rd place finish he got back the green jersey from Cavendish. Sagan is leading 147 points to 143 points of Cavendish.

Stage 4 results

1. Marcel Kittel (Ger) Etixx-Quick Step, 5-28-30
2. Bryan Coquard (Fra) Direct Energie
3. Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff
4. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo
5. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha
6. Sondre Holst Enger (Nor) IAM Cycling
7. Dan McLay (GBr) Fortuneo-Vital Concept
8. Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension Data
9. Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale
10. Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-BikeExchange

[mp417]

Stage 05 : 6-July-2016

Stage Map



Stage Profile



Start City/Location: Limoges, France

End City/Location: Le Lioran, France

Local start time: 11:35 am (3:10 pm IST)

Total Distance: 216 kms

Type of stage: Mountain

Mountain passes

• At Km 16.5 - Côte de Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat - 1.7 kilometre-long climb at 5.2% - category 4
• At Km 142.5 - Côte du Puy Saint-Mary - 6.8 kilometre-long climb at 3.9% - category 3
• At Km 173.5 - Col de Neronne - 7.1 kilometre-long climb at 3% - category 3
• At Km 185.0 - Pas de Peyrol - 5.4 kilometre-long climb at 8.1% - category 2
• At Km 201.5 - Col du Perthus - 4.4 kilometre-long climb at 7.9% - category 2
• At Km 213.5 - Col de Font de Cère - 3.3 kilometre-long climb at 5.8% - category 3

TV Schedule for India: 7:00 pm Live on Ten1 and Ten1 HD.

Stage Summary

The first big day for the real climbers of the Tour, the first for the GC favourites. It will be nervous and busy. Potential Kings of the Mountains will be tempted by the points on offer at the top of the first two climbs, but the favourites won’t want anybody gaining too big a lead. It’s a dangerous day for them so they, and their teams, must bring their best game to this one.

Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) goes into the stage as overall leader, with a margin of 12 seconds over Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx-QuickStep). Sagan is highly likely to lose the maillot jaune on such a climb-filled day, but Tour of California winner Alaphilippe could inherit it.

Of the more established climbers, Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), Warren Barguil (Giant-Alpecin) and defending champion Chris Froome (Team Sky) are placed third, fourth and fifth overall and could also stake a claim on the race lead should Alaphilippe fail to stay in touch. Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) may also try and use the stage to claw back time lost so far.