for the ride of your life

Kiryienka denied in two-man sprint

Two French riders in a day-long break, Bastille Day and the Tour de France... it would have been an irresistible mix, except that Sergio Paulinho hadn't read the script. Team RadioShack's Portuguese domestique salvaged something from this year's Tour with victory in Gap this afternoon, dashing the dreams of the locals.

Fairy tales are called so for a reason - they don't happen often - and while a French winner today would have capped what has been thus far a fantastic Tour for local riders, with the exploits of Sylvain Chavanel and yesterday's stage victory for Sandy Casar, Cinderella's pumpkin was used to make soup rather than carry a local rider to a triumph in the shadow of the Alps.

Paulinho's daring in the final 10km of the stage deserved the victory it garnered however, the 30-year-old fighting for line honours with Caisse d'Epargne's Vasili Kiryienka and pipping the Belarusian at the post in what was a tight finish.

"I knew I had to attack to get away from the group, and I actually felt pretty good," Paulinho said after the stage. "I was just a little bit stronger than Kiryienka, and waited until the last moment to make my move."

The victory was an important boost in morale for the American team, whose leader Lance Armstrong had his dreams of an 8th Tour win all but dashed on the road to Morzine on Sunday.

"We did a lot of work for the team in the first week of the race. The last two stages were very important to the team, and we were quite strong. All we really wanted was to get a stage win," Paulinho said.

"In the team meeting this morning, we were told we needed to have someone in the breakaway. We also had to look out for the team classification, so when I saw a rider from Caisse d'Epargne go, that's when I decided I had to be there."

It was the second Grand Tour stage win for the man from Oeiras, whose last taste of glory in the season's biggest races came with victory in stage 10 of the 2006 Vuelta a España in Santillana del Mar whilst riding for a previous incarnation of the Astana outfit.

Now riding for Team RadioShack, the 2004 Athens Olympics road race silver medalist beat Kiryienka, Dries Devenyns (QuickStep), Pierre Rolland (Bbox Bouygues Telecom), Mario Aerts (Omega Pharma-Lotto) and Maxime Bouet (Ag2r-La Mondiale), who rounded out the minor placings respectively.

While there was no change in the general classification, the keen battle for the mountains classification saw Jérôme Pineau regain the ascendancy over countryman Anthony Charteau as Mark Cavendish took ninth at the finish to collect valuable points towards his ambitions of a first points classification win in Paris.

A day to take stock

After the difficulty of yesterday's stage, there was a sense of inevitability to the formula for today's 179km journey from Chambéry to Gap: let the right break take a tonne of time ahead of the peloton, sit back and take what respite was on offer for those who didn't feel like another day of suffering.

That meant there was a real chance at the stage victory for the escape artists, which of course is appealing at the year's biggest race. Consequently, there was plenty of interest early, with numerous attacks from the likes of Tony Martin (HTC-Columbia), Aitor Perez (Footon-Servetto), Daniel Oss (Liquigas-Doimo) and Jeremy Roy (Française des Jeux).

None were successful due in part to the early intermediate sprint, although with about 36km of the stage run the ingredients of what was to be the day's main break were finally mixed, shaken a little and let loose. Mario Aerts (Omega Pharma-Lotto) and Dries Devenyns (QuickStep) instigated the move that saw Paulinho and Kiryienka join in and quickly establish a lead of one minute.

Aerts was best-placed on general classification of the breakaway, beginning the day in 44th, 32:55 behind overall leader Andy Schleck - posing no real threat - and hence the big names down the road were content to let the move fly the coop in the torrid heat.

Meanwhile, down that same road, Maxime Bouet (AG2R-La Mondiale) and Pierre Rolland (Bbox Bouygues Telecom) had missed the break and decided to ride away from the peloton; after about 20km of synchronised toil they joined the leading quartet, just before the cat 1 Côte de Laffrey.

While they were reinforcements for the break's cause, the presence of Rolland posed a threat if the stage came down to a sprint fought out amongst the sextet.

It's a blowout!

As the break approached the day's main climb, it had an advantage in excess of eight minutes, which crept up to nine with 106km of the stage remaining. At the top of the Côte de Laffrey that gap sat at a comfortable 8:40, with no interest in a chase from the main field behind.

The only semblance of racing came from king of the mountains contenders Pineau and Charteau, the French duo tied on points in that classification with the Bbox Bouygues Telecom rider wearing the jersey courtesy of a countback. They scavenged the remaining points on offer, with the Quick Step rider doing enough to take back the polka dot jersey he has worn for much of the last week.

Going through La Mure the gap between break and peloton had been extended to 9:33 and with 77km to go that nudged over 10 minutes as the main field effectively shut down for the day. As the escape hit 69km remaining it had opened the advantage in excess of 11 minutes.

As the break ticked over fifty clicks before the finish in Gap, the advantage stood at 11:13 ahead of the Saxo Bank-controlled peloton, the likes of Fabian Cancellara, Stuart O'Grady and Matti Breschel keeping maillot jaune Schleck out of the wind and any potential trouble.

The opening slopes of the Col du Noyer saw the gap break the 11-minute barrier again and having found himself in difficulty for several kilometres Bouet was dropped from the break with 1.5km remaining on the ascent, 35km from the finish. It required a big effort for the young AG2R-La Mondiale rider to get back in touch with the leading quintet, which he managed to do before the summit in a resumption of the status quo.

Time to think about a win

With 25km to go, at the top of the day's final categorised climb, the gap had blown out to 11:43 and was getting ever closer to 12 minutes with just 23km remaining. A couple of kilometres later it briefly hit that mark, but with Stuart O'Grady guiding the Saxo Bank crew down the mountain the break's advantage remained steady.

On the downhill run into Gap it was time for the desperate bids for victory to begin: Aerts hitting out with 15km to go and shedded the gallant Bouet; having spent 140km on the hard road with these five breakaway companions the experienced Belgian had summed up their weaknesses and strengths. It was then time for Devenyns to take over, the Quick Step rider countering his countryman's attack and quickly opening a gap.

Then it was Paulinho's turn to try his luck with Kiryienka on the wheel, the Russian making himself an ally and enemy with just 13km to go. The pair rapidly distanced the four men behind as hope began to fade of a French victory on the nation's day of celebration, putting 36 seconds into them with 11km remaining.

It seemed that the Belgians' enthusiasm to attack a long way from the finish had backfired, as Devenyns and Aerts were forced to chase hard with Rolland on the lead in to Gap.

Despite its chase, the trailing trio was fighting a losing battle as the three riders found themselves one minute behind with five kilometres remaining. Ahead of them the leading pair continued to work together to make sure line honours would be fought out without the company of Devenyns, Rolland and Aerts.

Having achieved that objective it was time to negotiate the expected two-up sprint, for which Kiryienka was well-equipped given his track background. But the Caisse d'Epargne rider reacted too late to Paulinho's dash for the line in the final 150 metres and paid the price for his error.
Full Results
# Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Sergio Paulinho (Por) Team Radioshack 5:10:56
2 Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Caisse d'Epargne
3 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quick Step 0:01:29
4 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
5 Mario Aerts (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto 0:01:33
6 Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:03:20
7 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale 0:12:58
8 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 0:13:57
9 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team HTC - Columbia 0:14:19
10 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini
11 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team
12 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Team Katusha
13 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
14 Sébastien Turgot (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
15 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
16 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Omega Pharma-Lotto
17 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto
18 Kristjan Koren (Slo) Liquigas-Doimo
19 Damien Monier (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
20 Matti Breschel (Den) Team Saxo Bank
21 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank
22 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas-Doimo
23 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team Radioshack
24 Luke Roberts (Aus) Team Milram
25 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana
26 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank
27 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre-Farnese Vini
28 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank
29 Juan Manuel Gárate Cepa (Spa) Rabobank
30 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto
31 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Quick Step
32 Aitor Perez Arrieta (Spa) Footon-Servetto
33 David De La Fuente Rasilla (Spa) Astana
34 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo
35 Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
36 Alan Perez Lezaun (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
37 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Team Radioshack
38 Alexandr Pliuschin (Mda) Team Katusha
39 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini
40 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
41 Grégory Rast (Swi) Team Radioshack
42 Daniel Lloyd (GBr) Cervelo Test Team
43 Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
44 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
45 Inaki Isasi Flores (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
46 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank
47 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Cervelo Test Team
48 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
49 Francesco Bellotti (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo
50 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team Saxo Bank
51 Michael Barry (Can) Sky Professional Cycling Team
52 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Transitions
53 Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale
54 Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha
55 Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
56 Julien El Farès (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
57 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini
58 Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank
59 Benjamin Noval Gonzalez (Spa) Astana
60 Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Team Katusha
61 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team
62 Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Team HTC - Columbia
63 Thomas Löfkvist (Swe) Sky Professional Cycling Team
64 Andreas Klier (Ger) Cervelo Test Team
65 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Omega Pharma-Lotto
66 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Team Radioshack
67 Iban Velasco Murillo (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
68 Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Garmin - Transitions
69 Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
70 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team
71 Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini
72 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Cervelo Test Team
73 Alexander Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana
74 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Omega Pharma-Lotto
75 Michael Rogers (Aus) Team HTC - Columbia
76 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne
77 Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) Française des Jeux
78 George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team
79 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Team HTC - Columbia
80 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Française des Jeux
81 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux
82 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Rabobank
83 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Sky Professional Cycling Team
84 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Team Radioshack
85 Thomas Rohregger (Aut) Team Milram
86 Adriano Malori (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini
87 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
88 Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
89 Grega Bole (Slo) Lampre-Farnese Vini
90 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
91 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Française des Jeux
92 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Team HTC - Columbia
93 Luis León Sánchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
94 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step
95 Simon Spilak (Slo) Lampre-Farnese Vini
96 Imanol Erviti Ollo (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
97 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
98 Mathieu Perget (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne
99 Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo
100 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team Katusha
101 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank
102 Maarten Wijnants (Bel) Quick Step
103 Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel) Quick Step
104 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram
105 Tony Martin (Ger) Team HTC - Columbia
106 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank
107 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana
108 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Liquigas-Doimo
109 Christopher Horner (USA) Team Radioshack
110 Iban Mayoz Echeverria (Spa) Footon-Servetto
111 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
112 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Française des Jeux
113 John Gadret (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
114 Stéphane Auge (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
115 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Footon-Servetto
116 Amaël Moinard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
117 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) Team Katusha
118 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram
119 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo
120 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team Saxo Bank
121 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Team Milram 0:15:47
122 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Milram
123 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
124 Cyril Gautier (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
125 Alexander Kuschynski (Blr) Liquigas-Doimo
126 Rémy Di Grégorio (Fra) Française des Jeux
127 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini
128 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Team Saxo Bank
129 Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank
130 Lance Armstrong (USA) Team Radioshack
131 Jose Alberto Benitez Roman (Spa) Footon-Servetto
132 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Team Radioshack
133 Rui Alberto Faria da Costa (Por) Caisse d'Epargne
134 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
135 Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank
136 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) BMC Racing Team
137 Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Footon-Servetto
138 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
139 Steve Morabito (Swi) BMC Racing Team
140 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Cervelo Test Team
141 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team HTC - Columbia
142 Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin - Transitions
143 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Team HTC - Columbia
144 Serge Pauwels (Bel) Sky Professional Cycling Team
145 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
146 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Transitions
147 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Cervelo Test Team
148 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
149 Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Spa) Quick Step
150 Dimitri Champion (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
151 Francesco Reda (Ita) Quick Step
152 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Professional Cycling Team
153 Julian Dean (NZl) Garmin - Transitions
154 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana
155 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Team Katusha
156 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Garmin - Transitions
157 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Astana
158 Jesus Hernandez Blazquez (Spa) Astana
159 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank
160 Arkaitz Duran Daroca (Spa) Footon-Servetto
161 Brian Vandborg (Den) Liquigas-Doimo
162 Francis De Greef (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto
163 Steven Cummings (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team
164 Charles Wegelius (GBr) Omega Pharma-Lotto
165 David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin - Transitions
166 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team Milram
167 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
168 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana
169 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC Racing Team
170 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Cervelo Test Team
171 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Quick Step
172 Kevin Seeldrayers (Bel) Quick Step
173 Benoït Vaugrenard (Fra) Française des Jeux
174 Jérémy Roy (Fra) Française des Jeux
175 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team
176 Christophe Kern (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 0:16:15
177 David Millar (GBr) Garmin - Transitions 0:16:27
178 Anthony Roux (Fra) Française des Jeux 0:16:47
179 Karsten Kroon (Ned) BMC Racing Team 0:16:53
180 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team Saxo Bank
181 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team

** Courtesy Cycling News