Fabian Cancellara in Yellow Jersey“Day of Drama” – Cobbles claim victims!!
The 3rd Stage of the TdF was from Wanze to Arenberg Porte du Hainaut and as predicted it was chaos and lots more of spills & crashes. The stage which had 7 sections of cobbled pathways for the riders to conquer did what had been predicted at the very beginning of the TdF – claim victims & left the GC riders in total disarray. Both the starting & ending town are hosting the tour for the first time, though both have association with cycling & cyclists for a long time.
Wanze, from where the tour started of today is famous for its association with the Classic races. Apart from a growing economy Wanze is also the base for BioWanze, which produces bioethanol. The town also has a Cycle Museum, featuring an impressive collection of 180 bicycles designed between 1830 and till now. Wanze also hosts an international flea market for cycling collectors and enthusiasts!!
The finish town of Porte du Hainaut is an urban district community of some 150,000 inhabitants. A collection of 39 towns and villages they have some wonderful spas & culture of foods and not to forget celebrations with Giants. The actual finishing point is the mining site of Arenberg which has been proposed by France as a UNESCO world heritage site.
The “Day of Drama” began at Wanze with 191 riders. Two more riders Christian Vande Velde of Garmin Transitions (who broke two ribs in the crash yesterday) & Nikki Terpstra of Milram (who was carrying a fever for the last 3 days) pulled out of TdF 2010. The stage started of with not much of action till the 13km mark when Ryder Hesjedal of Garmin Transitions broke away for the first successful escape. He was soon joined by five others – Roger Klug of Milram, Rolland Pierre of Bbox Telecom, Steve Cummings of Sky, Pavel Brutt of Katusha, Ollo Erviti of Caisse d’Epargne and Stephene Auge of Cofidis and these six constituted the breakaway for the day.
The first major crash of the day took out David de Lay of Ag2r who had to drop out of the race totally. The peleton after letting the breakaway go, never allowed them to have a substantial lead as there was sustained pressure by all teams to ensure that they were at the front so as to have an easier time on the cobbles!! With Team Saxo Bank setting the pace for most of time, Yellow jersey team of Quick Step almost never had to spend much time in the front.
As the first of the small cobble pave came up it was Team Radioshack who piloted the peleton and the transition was smooth. But just as the peleton started to reach the major stretch – the tension started to bubble over and soon the peleton split up. With riders using all avenues to reach the front of the peleton, it was the beginning of the chaos. The road usually used for the “Hell of the North” race of Paris – Roubaix started showing why it was called so. Jens Voigt of Team Saxo Bank was the lead rider of the peleton as they started out on the cobbles and he kept the pace up till Cancellara picked it up & the winner of this year’s Paris – Roubaix showed why he is was the winner, with a breath taking performance which his team mate Andy Schleck, Cadal Evans of BMC racing & Thor Hushovd of Cervalo Test only could match up to.
Lance Armstrong
By the 4th stretch only Ryder Hesjedal was left of the breakaway and he too was keeping out of Cancellara’s group by just around 30secs. In the back disaster struck for Franck Schleck when he fell down & cracked his collarbone. It was adieu to TdF 2010 for him. But this crash caught Armstrong & Contador off guard & soon they found themselves chasing the Cancellara group. Armstrong was doing well & was determined to put some time into Contador & the others, but it was not to be as he suffered a puncture & by the time he could get a wheel from his teammate, he had lost 45secs. Contador in the meanwhile rode a smart race & kept out of trouble all the way till 100mtrs of the finish line when he suffered a puncture.
Contador
In the lead group – Cancellara rode himself out for Andy & that resulted in Thor Hushovd having an easy time at the finish as he powered himself to a stage victory, thus making up for all what happened in the last stage when he was denied a chance to log in some green jersey points by the peleton.
For Armstrong the ride from the time he changed wheels was one of sheer determination. Popovych rode himself out for his leader and after the 6th stage, Armstrong had to power on alone in search for a bigger group, which he did join in order to limit his losses. Armstrong dropped from fourth overall to 18th after losing 2’08” in the stage. Contador lost less time than Armstrong but dropped from seventh to ninth, at 1’40”.
But the biggest loser was Chavanel who lost the Yellow jersey to Cancellara courtesy 3 bike changes on the cobbles!!
Thor wins
After getting the Green jersey Thor Hushovd said, “I know that when Cancellara attacks, you cannot let him get 20 meters because you’ll never see him again. Every stage win in the Tour is special but this one is bit different – we’re here, near the Arenberg and that adds to the prestige a little. My team worked hard without being rewarded yesterday, but today I managed to win the stage and it’s a great satisfaction. I’m glad I did what I did, and I still have the means to defend the jersey for long. My team is very strong, and I feel very fast, so I think I can still win other stages.”
The results for Stage 3 thus had Fabian Cancellara of Team Saxo Bank in the Yellow & Thor Hushovd in the Green jersey. Geraint Thomas of Team Sky picks up the White jersey. Jerome Pineau of Quick Step continues the Polka dotted Climber’s jersey and Team Saxo Bank takes over as the best team. So till tomorrow ….
Au revoir…
This is a guest post by Mr.Q, a professional quizmaster and an ardent Tour de France fan who is reporting his 2nd full tour. You can reach him at mrquizmaster@gmail.com
Wanze, from where the tour started of today is famous for its association with the Classic races. Apart from a growing economy Wanze is also the base for BioWanze, which produces bioethanol. The town also has a Cycle Museum, featuring an impressive collection of 180 bicycles designed between 1830 and till now. Wanze also hosts an international flea market for cycling collectors and enthusiasts!!
The finish town of Porte du Hainaut is an urban district community of some 150,000 inhabitants. A collection of 39 towns and villages they have some wonderful spas & culture of foods and not to forget celebrations with Giants. The actual finishing point is the mining site of Arenberg which has been proposed by France as a UNESCO world heritage site.
The “Day of Drama” began at Wanze with 191 riders. Two more riders Christian Vande Velde of Garmin Transitions (who broke two ribs in the crash yesterday) & Nikki Terpstra of Milram (who was carrying a fever for the last 3 days) pulled out of TdF 2010. The stage started of with not much of action till the 13km mark when Ryder Hesjedal of Garmin Transitions broke away for the first successful escape. He was soon joined by five others – Roger Klug of Milram, Rolland Pierre of Bbox Telecom, Steve Cummings of Sky, Pavel Brutt of Katusha, Ollo Erviti of Caisse d’Epargne and Stephene Auge of Cofidis and these six constituted the breakaway for the day.
The first major crash of the day took out David de Lay of Ag2r who had to drop out of the race totally. The peleton after letting the breakaway go, never allowed them to have a substantial lead as there was sustained pressure by all teams to ensure that they were at the front so as to have an easier time on the cobbles!! With Team Saxo Bank setting the pace for most of time, Yellow jersey team of Quick Step almost never had to spend much time in the front.
As the first of the small cobble pave came up it was Team Radioshack who piloted the peleton and the transition was smooth. But just as the peleton started to reach the major stretch – the tension started to bubble over and soon the peleton split up. With riders using all avenues to reach the front of the peleton, it was the beginning of the chaos. The road usually used for the “Hell of the North” race of Paris – Roubaix started showing why it was called so. Jens Voigt of Team Saxo Bank was the lead rider of the peleton as they started out on the cobbles and he kept the pace up till Cancellara picked it up & the winner of this year’s Paris – Roubaix showed why he is was the winner, with a breath taking performance which his team mate Andy Schleck, Cadal Evans of BMC racing & Thor Hushovd of Cervalo Test only could match up to.
