Please join us for live blogging of Stage 9, the second of three Tour time trials of the 2012 Tour de France. Live coverage will begin from 8:30PM, will full coverage from 10PM.
The race will run from Arc-et-Senans and snake its way north to Besancon, a distance of 41.5km.
It will be the 19th time the Tour will finish in Besancon, with the most recent being in 2009. Riders will depart at 2 minute intervals, with the final 20 riders being given 3 minute gaps.
After just over one week of racing I think it’s fair to say to say no one expected (or hoped) that the real decider so far, in terms of the battle for General Classification, has been crashes.
As such, what was already feared as being a ‘two horse race’ could be even more so after today’s stage.
Brad Wiggins will certainly take considerable time way from the likes of Nibali, Menchov and Zubeldia – all of which presently sit within a minute of him. The big question is, will he take time out of Cadel Evans and slip further away from the Aussie?
In the recent Dauphine Brad came close to catching Cadel (making up what was a 2 minute gap between starts), however as everyone knows the Tour is a race like no other.
In the past two days there has been signs of Wiggins not handling the pressure of the situation as well as he could. Will this affect his TT? It certainly could. Given Cadel has been avoiding the spotlight and is a lot more experienced with the ‘circus’ that is the Tour de France, you can be sure he will exploit any weaknesses Brad might show during today’s race.
It could also see Christopher Froome, winner of stage 7, move up the General Classification. Sitting in 6th place, only Cadel and Brad ahead of him have the time trial prowess to hold him off.
GC battle aside, this TT will also be an another excellent indicator for how Fabian Cancellara’s form is. With the Olympic Games beckoning and his dominating display in the Prologue, Fabain is looking more like the rider we knew and is fast putting the early season crash behind him.
As the Tour does every year, it’s able to offer redemption for a team whose season had, until then, been below par. So far this year it’s been Radioshack.
The other question is how much has Tony Martin been able to recover from his injuries sustained last week. The London Games TT is also high on his priority list, however remains to be seen if he will be able to recover enough to challenge the likes of Cancellara for the gold medal.
Whatever the case, stage 9 will be sure to significantly alter the look of the General Classification. Please, join me for live blogging of this stage of the 2012 Tour de France.
Tinea Pedis
Roar Guru
Tejay also back in to White! Great to see.
Tinea Pedis
Roar Guru
Thanks all for tonight!
Tinea Pedis
Roar Guru
Also the first 'British' 1-2 stage finish in the Tour. Amid some acrimony from the crowd...
Tinea Pedis
Roar Guru
So 6th very respectable for Evans. Still a lot of racing to go! RSNT also have a few jokers in the GC deck that they could play. Hope remains!
Tinea Pedis
Roar Guru
Top 10 on the stage 1.) Wiggins 2.) Froome 3.) Cancellara 4.) Van Garderen 5.) Chavanel 6.) Evans 7.) Velits P 8.) Nibali 9.) Menchov 10.) Kloden
Tinea Pedis
Roar Guru
GC is 1.) Wiggins 2.) Evans at 1:53 3.) Froome at 2:07 4.) Nibali at 2:23 5.) Menchov 6.) Zubeldia 7.) Monfort 8.) Van Garderen 9.) Van Den Broeck 10.) Roche Time gaps after Nibali (to Wiggins) start getting large. And you would have to stay, barring incident, the race is now truly Wiggins' to lose.
Tinea Pedis
Roar Guru
Worth keeping this in perspective, Cadel only lost 46s to Cancellara. So Cadel still rode a good TT. Wiggins and Froome simply exceptional.
Tinea Pedis
Roar Guru
Brad wins, by an incredible 35s. There were some "booo" from the crowd as he crossed the line...
Tinea Pedis
Roar Guru
He does. But he will be desperately unhappy with that.
Tinea Pedis
Roar Guru
He should do it.
Tinea Pedis
Roar Guru
Cadel needs a 53:21 or so to hold on to 2nd overall on GC
Tinea Pedis
Roar Guru
Nibali in with a 6th place, excellent TT for him. Cadel under the 1km to go.
Tinea Pedis
Roar Guru
Time gap now back closer to 2 minutes between Evans and Wiggins?
Tinea Pedis
Roar Guru
Very consistent ride by Menchov, also keeping himself up there on GC. Aside from Wiggins, places 2 to 10 will be jam packed!
Tinea Pedis
Roar Guru
Wiggins 16s up on Froome at second time check. He should win this TT with a smoking time!
Tinea Pedis
Roar Guru
Zubeldia with a very good ride. Keeping himself right up there on GC.
Tinea Pedis
Roar Guru
The gap is coming down from what is was earlier. Seems Wiggins went out very hot.
Tinea Pedis
Roar Guru
Good news is Cadel has settled and stopped the time loss to Wiggins. He will however give up time.
Tinea Pedis
Roar Guru
That is quite amazing.
Tinea Pedis
Roar Guru
Froome about to smash Fabian's time! Taken nearly 22s off Fabian and first under 52 minutes. Average speed of over 48km/h