Tour de France 2008 Stage 19
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Cofidis' Sylvain Chavanel, one of the most aggressive riders in this year's Tour, got the stage win he's been looking for on Friday, outsprinting Jeremy Roy (Francaise des Jeux), his breakaway companion of nearly 85 kilometers to take the win in Montluçon.
Race leader Carlos Sastre (CSC) finished in the lead pack to retain his overall lead heading into Saturday's critical final time trial.
"I wouldn't have believed it this morning. Last night I had a problem with my back and I couldn't move," said Chavanel. "I had to call the osteopath. So I am a lot happier today. I'm a lot stronger."
The route
The 165.5km race from Roanne to Montluçon included two minor climbs in the Monts de la Madeleine range during the opening hour of racing. Otherwise, there were mainly flat roads on this stage across central France with some rollers in the last 50km before Montluçon.
The early break
Four riders slipped away on the days first climb, La Croix-du-Sud. The peloton, however, did not allow much of a leash for Gerolsteiner's Stephan Schumacher, Lampre's Alessandro Ballan, Bouygues Telecom's Pierrick Fedrigo and Euskaltel-Euskadi's Egoi Martinez. Although the four were away for more than 50 kilometers, their maximum lead barely passed one minute, and they were caught a few kilometers past Vichey.
The break du jour
Soon after, following a flurry of attacks and counterattacks, Roy and Chavanel slipped away and quickly built up a nearly five-minute lead on the CSC-led peloton on a hot and steamy day in France.
Most of the sprinters' teams seemed uninterested in reeling them in, allowing the three to enter the last 40km with more than a five-minute gap. Only the troubled Barloworld team, with four riders left in the race, seemed interested in chasing, hoping to set up a field sprint for Robbie Hunter.
In the final 25km, Quick Step, Liquigas and Milram began to help out the chase, but too late.
"We tried to chase them back, but it’s the third week and everyone is tired. The first 75km was really fast, and once Chavanel and Roy were gone they were really riding strong,” said Quick Step’s Steven De Jongh.
Up front, heading into a stiff headwind, Chavanel was powering the duo. The three-time French TT champ has been one of the most aggressive riders in this Tour, but he knew this was his best chance for a stage win.
They entered the final kilometer with an almost two-minute margin, time to play a bit of tactics.
Chavanel, in a sprint reminiscent of Thursday's stage finish, stayed on front, standing on his pedals in a big gear, watching Roy over his right shoulder. He finally kicked with about 200 meters to go to hold off the younger rider.
Columbia's Gerard Ciolek led in the peloton to take the third place on the day.
"I attacked and for a while I was racing at 65 km/h just to increase the gap," said Chavanel, who in recent weeks has been caught several times by the peloton while close to the finish line.
"It's the first time I've managed to take one of my breakaways on this race all the way. It just shows, if you keep at it you can succeed."
Quick Step, without leader Tom Boonen at this Tour, has yet to score a stage win, and the team's Gert Stegmans and Jurgen Van De Walle looked upset after another chance was lost.
“It’s true, we haven’t had a win yet, but it’s not easy without Boonen, the big man," said de Jongh. "We’ll keep trying Sunday to win on the Champs Elysees.”
Now all eyes turn toward Saturday's crucial time trial. Race leader Sastre has a lead of one minute and 34 seconds over Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto), and while the Aussie is considered his superior in the race of truth, Sastre says the pressure is on Evans, not him.
"I am very calm. I have waited for this day all my life,” Sastre said.
“My team has been amazing supporting me, but tomorrow I have to do it all alone. And with the yellow jersey on my shoulders I will have the strength to do my very best.”
“It is very important for me to start the time trial in last place because I will have all the information I need. I will take my reference times from my teammate Fabian Cancellara, who’s the best time trialist. I’ll also know the times of Cadel Evans, who starts nine minutes ahead of me.”
“I spoke with Cadel yesterday morning. He congratulated me on getting the yellow jersey. We’ll see what happens in the time trial.”
Race Notes:
- Former race leader Romain Feillu (Agritubel) was among three riders to finish outside the time limit on Friday.
Feillu, German champion Fabian Wegmann and Spaniard Juan Antonio Flecha all finished at 28 minutes adrift of stage winner Sylvain Chavanel.
The cut off time, which is calculated for each stage depending on its difficulty, was set at 19:33.
—John Wilcockson and Agence France Presse contributed to this report
Stage results:
1. Sylvain Chavanel (F), Cofidis
2. Jeremy Roy (F), Francaise des Jeux
3. Gerald Ciolek (G), Columbia at 1:13
4. Erik Zabel (G), Milram
5. Heinrich Haussler (G), Gerolsteiner
6. Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis
7. Filippo Pozzato (I) Liquigas
8. Thor Hushovd (N), Credit Agricole
9. Robert Forster (G) Gerolsteiner
10. Julian Dean (NZ), Garmin-Chipotle
