Bike World News

Welcome back. We come to you this evening with more news from the 2009 Tour de France and some other cycling news. Mark Cavendish wins another, while his teammate Tony Martin continues in the white jersey. Lance Armstrong moves up in standings, while Cadel Evans whines about no one helping him.

• Mark Cavendish made it two in a row today and increased his hold on the green jersey.
• Fabian Cancellara made it into the lead group and held onto the yellow jersey.
• In case you wondered, Cav’s phone call gesture was a little shout out to mobile phone company HTC, the new co-sponsor of his team.
• Cavendish, and about 25 others, took advantage of the capture of the day’s break group to split the peloton about 25 km from the finish and stay away.
• Cavendish expressed surprise that no other teams really worked to be at the front and get into the break.
• Six time Tour de France green jersey winner Erik Zabel believes Cavendish can become the greatest sprinter of all time.
• The pace was as high as 52 km/h in those last 25km, making it very difficult for anyone to bridge to the front group.
• Cavendish’s teammate, German Tony Martin, climbed to second in the overall standings, 33 seconds behind Cancellara.
• Lance Armstrong jumped from 10th into 3rd, just a few seconds ahead of his teammate Alberto Contador. Contador got caught in the second peloton.
  • Some are calling Armstrong’s move a deliberate revolt against Alberto Contador. Armstrong took Yaroslaw Popovych and Haimar Zubeldia with him and some are saying they should have helped pull Contador to the front.
  • For his part, Lance said, “I had very good luck today. The cross wind caused a schism in the pack and I was just in the right position.” He told L’Equipe, “It’s a bit of experience, good positioning and a little luck too.”
  • Who’s the team leader? “I won the Tour seven times and I merit respect.”
  • Who’s not to say that this is all a little bit of drama that the team is cooking up? It’s not like they haven’t done it before.
• Cadel Evans bemoaned that “no one helped us”, saying he was riding a little too far back to get on the final break. He said, “The most dangerous days are when you expect nothing.”
• Rabobank team leader Erik Breukink says that the team is “in a downward spiral” and looks to Denis Menchov to turn things around. [Was is too soon after the Giro for Menchov to recover? - Ed.]
• Katusha’s Danilo Napolitano and Cervelo’s Brett Lanscaster are embroiled in a war of words over Stage 2′s final sprint. Lancaster was left frustrated and angry Sunday with what he called the “amateur” racing of Katusha sprinter Napolitano, claiming that he was “smashing” people around. For his part, Napolitano says that he got knocked off line by a Milram rider.

Other News:

• The CSF Navigare is focusing on youth and Italy and is expected to be an all-Italian team in 2010.
• Michael Rasmussen, formerly of Rabobank, will be traveling to Vienna is August to testify about the Human Plasma affair. Denis Menchov has also been requested to appear, as have Thomas Dekker and Michael Boogerd.
• Silence-Lotto racer Johan Vansummeren will most likely ride for Garmin Slipstream next season. Talks have been underway with team manager Jonathon Vaughters.
• Ricardo Ricco is a father. Vania Rossi gave birth today to to his son Alberto.

Other Results:

• Michael Albasini (Columbia-HTC) won Monday’s second stage of the Tour of Austria, 183.2 km from Landeck to the Kitzbüheler Horn.
• Mara Abbott claimed victory for Columbia-HTC in the mountainous fourth stage of the Giro Donne. Abbott outsprinted British rider Emma Pooley at the end of the 106-kilometre stage three of the Giro d’Italia for Women, which started in Calcinaia and finished with a double ascent of the gruelling Monteserra climb.
• Zach Wilson (Kelly Benefit Strategies) and Evelyn Stevens (Team Lip Smacker) won the men’s and women’s final general classification at the 50th Annual Fitchburg Longsjo Classic NRC stage race on Sunday.

Related Posts:

• 2009 Tour de France – Stage 4 News and Notes (1)
• 2009 Tour de France – Stage 6 Results (0)
• 2009 Tour de France – Stage 5 News and Notes (0)
• 2009 Tour de France – Stage 19 Results (1)
• Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador to new teams? – Rest Day News and Notes (1)