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STAGE 7: BARCELONA - ANDORRA-ARCALIS 224 KM: TOUR DE FRANCE STAGE 7: VICTORY FOR FEILLU, NOCENTINI IN YELLOW
By Chris Henry in Andorra
July 10, 2009
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Brice Feillu on his way to victory at Andorra-Arcalis
(Photo: Chris Henry)
Many stories are written in the mountains of the Tour de France. Today, high in the Pyrenees mountains in the tiny principality of Andorra, three stories defined the Tour's first mountain rendez-vous on the road to Arcalis with a young winner, a new yellow jersey, and a stamp of authority from an expected favorite.
In his first appearance at the Tour de France, Brice Feillu (Agritubel) scored a stylish victory atop the rocky summit of Andorra-Arcalis, winning alone after attacking his companions from a day-long breakaway on this, the Tour's longest day. While not a new pro, another rider in his first Tour finding success in Andorra was Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R La Mondiale), who took over the race lead thanks to his fourth place on the stage and steady riding in the first week of racing.
Over 224km from Barcelona to Andorra, nine riders moved clear early to tempt fate against the forces of gravity, fatigue, and the heavy hitters of the Tour. In this group were Feillu, Johannes Fröhlinger (Milram), José Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d'Epargne), Christophe Kern (Cofidis), Aleksandr Kuschynski (Liquigas), Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Jérôme Pineau (Quick Step), Nocentini and Christophe Riblon (both AG2R La Mondiale).
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This break picked the longest stage of the Tour to be out front
(Photo: Roberto Bettini)
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The group had 11-minutes as it passed through the customs lanes to Andorra (no stops this time). While the leaders confessed to some nerves about the fireworks expected in the main field behind, a headwind and the steady but reserved tempo of the Astana-led peloton served them well. By the 20km to go banner, the gap was down to seven minutes. Sensing the moment was right, it was Feillu who launched the winning move on the tough slopes to Andorra. Inside the final kilometers he was on his own and never to be seen again by the splintering lead group.
"I was confident and I love this kind of finish," said Feillu. "I tried to keep it going through every turn. I believed in myself. I held back a little at the beginning of the climb but I took my chance when the moment came."
Nocentini, meanwhile, worked with his AG2R La Mondiale teammate Riblon to ensure yellow by the stage finish. Riblon himself almost nabbed the polka dot jersey of best climber but Feillu's efforts bested him by three points.
"At two or three kilometers to go, I was sure I would take the jersey even though I knew Contador was doing a big effort behind," Nocentini commented, smiling in the maillot jaune. "I'm not here to win the Tour but I've got the yellow jersey and I'm very happy."
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Nocentini is the first Italian in yellow at the Tour since Alberto Elli in 2000
(Photo: Roberto Bettini)
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Also happy was AG2R's team manager, Vincent Lavenu.
"Ronaldo deserves this jersey," Lavenu said with a pat on the Italian's back. "He's asked me for several years to do the Tour but it's true that for a French team the quota for foreign riders is fairly small. But this is his first Tour and already he's in the yellow jersey."
AG2R in Yellow; Astana in Control
Nocentini leads the Tour by just six seconds ahead of Alberto Contador, who put himself back in the headlines for the right reasons by launching an attack from the group of favorites in the closing kilometers. Battling a headwind and a strong group behind him, the 2007 Tour winner closed the stage with a pace nobody could follow, leaving Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Slipstream) and Cadel Evans to do their own tempo. Lance Armstrong, thriving in his first day back in the high mountains, sat dutifully in second or third wheel to the end, prepared to counter any chase of his teammate up ahead.
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Show of force: Astana in control as the leaders near the Arcalis summit
(Photo: Chris Henry)
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Contador may not have taken the jersey, but at the summit of the Tour's longest day and first day in the mountains, Team Astana sits in a most enviable position with three potential winners of the race in second, third and fourth position. Nonetheless, team manager Johan Bruyneel would have been happy to see Nocentini take more time.
"Our strategy was to let a breakaway go and try to let them stay away long enough to take the yellow jersey," he explained from the team car after the race. "I had hoped for a bigger time gap; six seconds isn't much. But after that our objective was to ride tempo and wait for the attacks. I thought that Sastre would attack, or Evans, or Schleck, but the headwind prevented that."
Asked about the swap in placings between Armstrong and Contador, Bruyneel sounded pleased with the result and downplayed any predetermination of late race moves.
"Nobody had any specific instructions to attack," he said. "All I said was, whatever happens, they should keep an eye on each other and be sure to talk. I think that's what happened."
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Make no mistake, Contador is here to win
(Photo: Roberto Bettini)
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The Tour tackles two more days in the Pyrenees this weekend but without summit finishes. Tactically, Astana appears to be in no rush to take the jersey, whatever Contador's ambitions may have been with his late race surge. Will Nocentini hold the jersey for this next phase of the race or will we see bigger fireworks from those desperate to unseat Astana from the top of the leader board? Perhaps only Alberto Contador knows the answer to that question.
Stage 7: July 10, Barcelona to Andorra-Arcalis
1. Brice Feillu (FRA/Agritubel) 6h 11min 31sec (36.18 km/h)
2. Christophe Kern (FRA/Cofidis) @ 0:05
3. Johannes Fröhlinger (GER/Milram) @ 0:25
4. Rinaldo Nocentini (ITA/AG2R La Mondiale) @ 0:26
5. Egoi Martinez (ESP/Euskaltel-Euskadi) @ 0:45
6. Christophe Riblon (FRA/AG2R La Mondiale) @ 1:05
7. Jérôme Pineau (FRA/Quick Step) @ 2:32
8. Ivan Gutierrez (ESP/Caisse d'Epargne) @ 3:14
9. Alberto Contador (ESP/Astana) @ 3:26
10. Cadel Evans (AUS/Silence-Lotto) @ 3:47
Overall Classification After Stage 7
1. Rinaldo Nocentini (ITA/AG2R La Mondiale) 25h 44min 32sec
2. Alberto Contador (ESP/Astana) @ 0:06
3. Lance Armstrong (USA/Astana) @ 0:08
4. Levi Leipheimer (USA/Astana) @ 0:39
5. Bradley Wiggins (GBR/Garmin-Slipstream) @ 0:46
6. Andreas Kloden (GER/Astana) @ 0:54
7. Tony Martin (GER/Columbia-HTC) @ 1:00
8. Christian Vande Velde (USA/Garmin-Slipstream) @ 1:24
9. Andy Schleck (LUX/Saxo Bank) @ 1:49
10. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA/Liquigas) @ 1:54
Other Classifications
Green Jersey: Mark Cavendish (Columbia-HTC)
Polka Dot Jersey: Brice Feilleu (Agritubel)
White Jersey: Tony Martin (Columbia-HTC)
Teams: Astana
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