Cadel Evans’ hopes of defending his 2011 Tour de France title were as good as dashed as the 2012 Tour continued overnight with stage 16 from Pau to Bagnères-de-Luchon.
Dropped on the penultimate climb of the day, Evans worked his way back into the main pack only to be unhinged again on the final climb.
The Australian lost a total of 4’47” to the top three in the overall standings – Team Sky’s Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome, and Liquigas-Cannondale’s Vincenzo Nibali.
He now sits in seventh position in the general classification, 8’06” behind the yellow jersey and 11 seconds behind his BMC Racing teammate Tejay van Garderen.
Evans was put into the red zone when Liquigas-Cannondale and Lotto-Belisol started to drive the peloton on the Col d’Aspin, and was close to a minute in arrears at the top.
Evans rejoined the peloton at the foot of the Col de Peyresourde, only to be popped off the back once again.
Nibali decided this was the best time to make his move and established a small distance between he and the formidable Sky pairing of Wiggins and Froome.
But they were more than up to the task of bridging the gap to the Italian and the three finished with the same time.
It will be interesting to see how BMC approach the remainder of the Tour – will there be a change of leadership?
With van Garderen in fine time-trialling form, the American registered team has little to lose by working for a man who could lead them at a Grand Tour sooner rather than later.
But such a move seems unlikely at this late stage in the race.
Stage wins will likely be BMC’s primary goal from this point onwards.
Last night was the first of two back-to-back high mountain stages through the Pyrenees.
The centrepiece (or rather centrepieces) was the four backbreaking climbs that dotted the course, which included the iconic ascents up the Col d’Aubisque and the Col du Tourmalet.
Hot, sunny conditions made the day’s racing all the more daunting.
A breakaway of 38 riders accumulated early in proceedings, including colourful Frenchman Thomas Voeckler (Europcar), polka dot jersey holder Fredrik Kessiakoff (Astana) and American veteran George Hincapie (BMC Racing).
This large group was gradually whittled down to a more exclusive selection on the day’s four difficult climbs, which were dominated by Voeckler, who won the stage in grand style.
Kessiakoff was one of those dropped on the Tourmalet, surrendering his lead in the King of the Mountains (KOM) to Voeckler on what was a remarkable day in the saddle for the Frenchman.
Given the ideal lead out by teammate Yukiya Arashiro, the man they call “Little Tommy” was first to summit the Aubisque.
He then took top honours on the Tourmalet after attacking from the break with Brice Feillu (Saur-Sojasun). The pair’s mean tempo established a gap of more than ten and a half minutes over the main pack and allowed Voeckler to clean up at the top of the two final climbs as well.
Voeckler went it alone with just over 5km remaining to the summit of the Peyresourde and soloed for his second victory at this year’s Tour.
Tomorrow the race heads back into the high mountain passes of the Pyrenees for stage 17 from Bagneres-de-Luchon to Peyragudes, which concludes with a category one summit finish.
Four other climbs are scattered throughout the course, including the hors category Port de Balès at the 112km mark.
Voeckler will surely look to cement his position at the head of the mountains classification.
This might be the stage for Wiggins to cross the line first. Go on Wiggo. I dare you.
Tour de France Stage 15 Results
1. VOECKLER Thomas, EUROPCAR, 05h 35′ 02″
2. SORENSEN Chris Anker, SAXO BANK-TINKOFF BANK, 05h 36′ 42″ + 01′ 40″
3. IZAGUIRRE INSAUSTI Gorka, EUSKALTEL-EUSKADI, 05h 38′ 24″ + 03′ 22″
4. VINOKOUROV Alexander, ASTANA, 05h 38′ 24″ + 03′ 22″
5. FEILLU Brice, SAUR-SOJASUN, 05h 39′ 00″ + 03′ 58″
6. VOIGT Jens, RADIOSHACK-NISSAN, 05h 39′ 20″ + 04′ 18″
7. MARTIN Daniel, GARMIN-SHARP, 05h 41′ 10″ + 06′ 08″
8. STORTONI Simone, LAMPRE-ISD, 05h 41′ 10″ + 06′ 08″
9. CARUSO Gianpaolo, KATUSHA, 05h 41′ 10″ + 06′ 08″
10. TEN DAM Laurens, RABOBANK, 05h 41′ 13″ + 06′ 11″
Tour de France Points Classification
1. SAGAN Peter, LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE, 356
2. GREIPEL Andre, LOTTO-BELISOL, 254
3. GOSS Matthew Harley, ORICA-GREENEDGE, 203
4. CAVENDISH Mark, SKY PRO CYCLING, 130
5. BOASSON HAGEN Edvald, SKY PRO CYCLING, 127
Tour de France KOM Classification
1. VOECKLER Thomas, EUROPCAR, 107
2. KESSIAKOFF Fredrik, ASTANA, 103
3. SORENSEN Chris Anker, SAXO BANK-TINKOFF BANK, 77
4. ROLLAND Pierre, EUROPCAR, 55
5. FEILLU Brice, SAUR-SOJASUN, 38
Tour de France Overall Standings
1. WIGGINS Bradley, SKY PROCYCLING, 74h 15’ 32″
2. FROOME Christopher, SKY PRO CYCLING, 74h 17’ 37″ + 02′ 05″
3. NIBALI Vincenzo, LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE, 74h 17’ 55″ + 02′ 23″
4. VAN DEN BROEK Jurgen, OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK-STEP, 74h 21’ 18″ + 05′ 46″
5. ZUBELDIA Haimar, RADIOSHACK-NISSAN, 74h 22’ 45″ + 07′ 13″
6. VAN GADREREN Tejay, BMC RACING, 74h 23’ 27″ + 07′ 55″
7. EVANS Cadel, BMC RACING, 74h 23’ 38″ + 08′ 06″
8. BRAJKOVIC Janez, ASTANA, 74h 24’ 41″ + 09′ 09″
9. ROLLAND Pierre, EUROPCAR, 74h 25’ 42″ + 10′ 10″
10. PINOT Thibaut, FDJ-BIG MAT, 74h 27’ 15″ + 11′ 43″
Stage 15 “Give Him the Game Ball” Award: Yukiya Arashiro (Europcar) for springboarding Thomas Voeckler to the summit of on the Col d’Aubisque – that is how you do it. Voeckler can thank his Japanese colleague for the dots he now sports on his riding attire.
Kit Harvey
Roar Guru
I think Cadel and Wiggins are not that different in terms of current form, although Wiggins has the slight upper hand I'd say - the primary factor has certainly been the strength of Wiggins' team.
Kit Harvey
Roar Guru
Van Garderen could achieve a great result...but time will tell. We shall know by the end of today's stage I think.
Kit Harvey
Roar Guru
Great, interesting contributions guys. Been away from the computer for most of the day and come back to this. Great stuff.
Cam Larkin
Roar Guru
two words - just attack!!!
Rhys
Guest
Have to agree with everything you've posted there Colin. I hope there's another showdown between Wiggins, Froome, and Nibali in tonight's stage. With a mountain top finish it's Nibali's last tilt at shaking Sky's grip at the top. He won't die wondering that's for certain. It will be interesting, given that Evans has conceded his title defence is shot, if BMC shift focus to van Garderen to see if he can crack the top five. Come 2013, it may well be the young American who is the #1 GC contender at BMC.
Colin N
Guest
"I think the difference between Wiggins and Evans is as much to do with the strength of their respective teams as it has with individual form (though Cadel does seem to be lacking that extra reserve of energy to draw on)." What Sky are doing is controlling the pace of the peleton and several of their riders are surviving until the latter stages of the race. It means, should a break occur, that they can work as a unit to close the gap. It doesn't account for individual strength or stamina, which Evans clearly didn't have enough of. That quality has nothing to do with the team. It's pretty obvious that the three class riders in this Tour are Wiggins, Froome and Nibali and it was quite poignant that it was those three battling it out at the end. Sky have generally been willing to set a comfortable pace, it was only when Basso came to the front did people start dropping off. Evans is a very good rider, but the three at the front have been a class above this year. There's no shame in that.
zacbrygel
Roar Guru
I think a rider like Gilbert isnt suited to a team like BMC that is going for overall honours. Hushovd is injured and didnt start the tour - but I believe he wouldve been a great asset to Cadel especially on the descents. However Evans is simply not good enough, surely now BMC must focus on Van Garderen? What do you reckon kit?
Rhys
Guest
I think the difference between Wiggins and Evans is as much to do with the strength of their respective teams as it has with individual form (though Cadel does seem to be lacking that extra reserve of energy to draw on). BMC has miscalculated big time with the riders it drafted into the squad. Gilbert is one almost exclusively for the one day classics (when he's in form, which he's not), and Hushov made little to no sense. Had it not been for the improvement of Van Garderen, Evans would have been left high and dry in every mountain stage. Yes that is what happened in 2011, but the difference then was Evans didn't have to contend with the 1-2-3-4-5 knockout punches delivered by the Sky 'High' express. I think even the famous (or possibly infamous) US Postal/Discovery teams of the Armstrong era would have had a tussle on their hands with Sky's relentless drive. Wiggins is a very good rider, but he really has had first class delivery by his squad.
Justin Curran
Roar Rookie
Interesting point about Gilbert. I would be interested to hear thoughts on what Gilbert's role was supposed to be for this tour? From what I've seen, he does not seem to have been very dedicated to supporting Cadel. Was he possibly in there to pinch a stage win in case Cadel wasn't in the hunt for yellow?
mary
Guest
in 2012 Wiggo has had the season that Cadel had last year. It is impossible to win le tour without being in top form. cadel was only about 90% this year. Scott Sunderland pointed out that in 2012 cadel had big media committments, business committments and became a father for the first time. Cadel has done well given all this. Cadel is contracted to BMC next year too. I wonder what will happen. By the way Kit, what happened to Gilbert and hushov? They were paid big bucks to help cadel and did not deliver. Gilbert was a millstone around BMS's neck. this might have made up for the 10%.
Kit Harvey
Roar Guru
Ah the wonders of professional cycling, Des - sometimes we really just can't know exactly what is going on. Scarponi looked to have been dropped, not sure if it was in any way a measuring of his efforts. The break could definitely stay away - huge mountain stages are often quite conducive to their success. Pierre Rolland loves these days. All we can do is just wait and see.
Kit Harvey
Roar Guru
Voeckler's facial contortions are something to behold alright, S. Lee! Some of them seem almost out of his control. Not to be for Cadel this year. Interesting to see if he can muster a stage win.
Des Cairns
Guest
I was really impressed by Nibali today, when he was on the attack he looked strong and comfortable. To be honest I thought he might have had a go on the decent but maybe he's decided that's not a good idea after it failed to gain him any time in the Alps. It'll be interesting to see how he goes tonight, I'm not sure he can crack Wiggins though... Do you think this could be another stage for the break? Maybe someone who took it slow last night like Scarponi? The problem is, it's hard to know who couldn't keep up with the peleton and who decided to have an easier day.
Sean Lee
Expert
Tommy Voeckler's face is almost as entertaining as the race! Great ride by the little frenchman last night. Sad to see Cadel suffering though.
semiotiq
Roar Rookie
So much bravery on display in this stage!