Team HTC-Columbia (Page 4)

Riders make their way along the 179km Stage 10 of the Tour de France on July 14, 2010 in Gap, France.

Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images Europe

Riders make their way out of a tunnel along the 179km Stage 10 of the Tour de France on July 14, 2010 in Gap, France.

Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images Europe

Riders make their way along the 179km Stage 10 of the Tour de France on July 14, 2010 in Gap, France.

Sergio Paulinho of Portugal and riding for team RadioShack won the stage while Luxembourg's Andy Schleck of team Saxo Bank continues to wear the yellow jersey with a slim lead of Alberto Contador of team Astana.

Photo: Graham Watson

How much of a gap does Schleck need since he's not as strong a time trialist? 2-3min, or a lot more?  Can't wait for the battle in the Pyrenees!  But today and the next 2 days will be flat, and perhaps more excitement for Mark Cavendish and our Team HTC-Columbia.  Go Team!  Let's ride, all the way to Paris!

Recap - July 15.  Stage 11 - 184.5 km Sisteron > Bourg-lès-Valence - Mark Cavendish (HTC-Columbia) showed again that he is the fastest finisher in the sport just now, but his third win of the Tour was tinged in sadness when he found out that the referees had disqualified his lead-out man Mark Renshaw for head-butting New Zealander Julian Dean (Garmin) in the final dash for the line. Renshaw also impeded American Tyler Farrar (Garmin) as the pack raced to the line at 45mph.  Italian fast man Alessandro Petacchi finished second and claimed the lead in the Green Jersey points competition. 

There were no other significant changes in the standings— Andy Schleck (Saxo) retained the yellow jersey by 41 seconds over Alberto Contador (Astana) with Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) third at 2:45.

The peloton rides on the 184.5 km, 11th stage between Sisteron and Bourg-les-Valence. Photo: AP

2010 Tour de France stage 11, Fields of lavender. Photo: Graham Watson

Mark Cavendish set a Tour de France record by winning 13 career stage wins.  He surpassed the mark of 12 sprint stage wins set by Mario Cipollini, Erik Zabel and Robbie McEwen.  And he is only 25, with possibly more stage wins to come.  Is he the best sprinter in the history of cycling?

On Mark Renshaw being kicked out, Phil Liggett wrote this - "What Renshaw did was certainly out of character (Renshaw has a repurtation of being a clean sprinter), and Dean had no complaints and did not seem to think it was a problem, but Farrar was very annoyed at Renshaw's moving off his line as he slowed down in the sprint.

This offense, although very serious, has never before resulted in disqualification, as evidenced in the case of Australian Stuart O'Grady who was head-butted by Robbie McEwen in the Tour a few years' ago. McEwen was placed at the back of the finishing order and this seems to be the fairest option, but a new set of referees, as the race officials change every year, saw things differently, and sent Renshaw packing."

I agree on the fine and position change.  Seems a bit harsh for a "first-time offense"  I wonder how much more success Cavendish will have without Renshaw, he is one of the best lead out men in the business.

Hi all.  Got 2 more stages in yesterday and today, and I still am only at a little over 50%.  Looks like I have a big week ahead of me. I have been staying on top of the tour, sort of.  That head butting thing looked like something I saw on the discovery channel with 2 mountain goats battling it out with their horns over a female goat.  Crazy stuff.

Crazy, but I don't think worthy of a DQ.  Now the two that got into a fist-fight at the finish line probably should have been DQ'd.  The nudging has happened many times before, it's part of racing (should still get warnings and fines for it though).  I thought the fact that he changed his line and shut down Fararr was a bigger issue.

Have a good weekend of lovely rides everyone!

Recap - July 16.  Stage 12 - 210.5 km Bourg-de-Péage - Mende - Defending champion Alberto Contador (Astana) took back 10 seconds of his deficit to yellow jersey Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) on Friday as Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) won the 12th stage of the Tour de France.  Two other jerseys changed shoulders, though.

Thor Hushovd (Cervélo TestTeam) regained the green points jersey, while Anthony Charteau (Bbox Bouygues Telecom) reclaimed the polka-dot jersey as best climber. 

After a tough day of racing, Garmin's Tyler Farrar pulled over with 50km and abandoned the tour as the pain from a fractured wrist finally took its toll.

The pack with Andy Schleck of Luxembourg, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, takes to the start of the 12th stage. Photo: AP

Stage 12: A nervous peloton rolls off the start. Graham Watson photo

The pack rides past a field of sunflowers. Photo: AFP

Thousands cheer as Kazakh Alexandre Vinokourov rides up a final climb to get third place on stage 12 of the Tour de France. The stage, which started in Bourg-de-Peage, included the La Croix Neuve pass which is nearly 1.2 miles in length with an average gradient of more than 10%. Joaquin Rodriguez of Spain won the stage while Andy Schleck of Saxo Bank continued to hold onto the yellow jersey.

I absolutely agree.  Renshaw should not have cut off Farrar, it's not right.  Farrar would not have caught Cavendish regardless.  Renshaw was probably just mad at Dean, should be punished, but not thrown out.  It's really too bad for Renshaw, his reputation now forever tarnished and no Paris.  He will be remembered forever for this headbutting video, which will be shown again and again.  The TdF people really don't like the Brit winning, two yrs in a row they've tried to make it difficult for Cav.  If it weren't for the stage DQ last yr, I think Cav would have won the green jersey.

Got my Stage 6 (of 7) in.  A 2hr ride, beautiful weather, can't get better than that!

Recap - July 17.  Stage 13 - 196 km Rodez - Revel - Alexander Vinokourov (Astana) stole a march on the sprinters to win stage 13 of the Tour de France on Saturday.  Wearing the red number of the most aggressive rider from stage 12, Vinokourov attacked the bunch on the final obstacle of the day, the Category 3 Côte de Saint-Ferréol, which topped out just 7.5km from the finish line in Revel. 

HTC-Columbia’s Mark Cavendish, sprinting without an assist from his lead-out man Mark Renshaw, out-kicked Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre) for second on the day. Petacchi’s third place gave him enough points to take the green jersey back from Thor Hushovd.

There were no changes in the overall standings. Saxo Bank’s Andy Schleck retained his yellow jersey by 31 seconds over Alberto Contador (Astana) with Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) third at 2:45

The peloton rides past some sunflower fields on stage thirteen. Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images Europe

Riders of the Lampre team with sprinter Alessandro Petacchi of Italy, and team HTC-Columbia with sprinter Mark Cavendish of Britain, lead the pursuit of the pack on the breakaway group during the 13th stage of the Tour de France

The pack rides over a bridge in Ambialet during the 13th stage

Vinokourov triumphs on a stage set for sprinters