Sport

Evans pips Contador on the line

CYCLING TOUR DE FRANCE: BRIEF AS the climb to the finish here is compared to the real l’Alpe d’Huez, the crowds are massive, …

WILLIAM FOTHERINGHAM
Wed Jul 06 2011 - 01:00

CYCLING TOUR DE FRANCE:BRIEF AS the climb to the finish here is compared to the real l'Alpe d'Huez, the crowds are massive, so the parallel is drawn. The image of Alberto Contador and Cadel Evans elbow to elbow on the "Breton Alpe d'Huez" might, just might, be a foretaste of what is to come on the Alpine one in 176 days.

The duel yesterday went the Australian’s way by just half a wheel, as the former world mountain bike champion crossed the line first in a Tour stage for the first time in his career.

As an initial test, it was brutal enough to clarify matters a little in the context of what lies ahead. Evans has negotiated the pitfalls of the opening four days most ably of the race favourites, particularly as he has always seemed accident prone.

For a potential Tour winner, the readout is well-nigh perfect: three seconds behind Philippe Gilbert on Saturday’s less tough uphill arrivee, a narrow second with his BMC squad in the team time trial on Sunday, victory here.

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Inexorably little gaps are opening behind him: three seconds to Frank Schleck, nine seconds to Bradley Wiggins and Andreas Kloden, 11 seconds to Andy Schleck and, most critically of all, 1 minute 41 seconds to Contador. This last is of more than psychological significance: it could be a winning margin, and most importantly, here there was little to choose between the Australian and the man who has won the Tour three times.

Whatever Contador’s performance in the Tour may come to mean in the longer term, his fightback after losing time in the first two days had to begin on this climb. He and his team negotiated the narrow roads beforehand with no glitches, while Evans had problems with his gears at such a late stage that he wondered when he changed his bike whether he would be able to get back to the front of the peloton. Contador was the only favourite with the legs to attack on the climb to the finish and he came within half a wheel of winning the stage.

The Spaniard’s acceleration was abortive but did enough to unsettle Gilbert. The Belgian was overwhelming favourite to win the stage on his birthday and confident enough to make the Omega-Pharma-Lotto team keep up the pace at the head of the field all day. Gilbert had no option but to respond when Contador made his move but that was as good as it got. On the drag to the line all eyes in the small select group that had formed at the top of the steepest part of the climb to the finish were on Gilbert. It was only when it was clear that he was not going to move that Evans launched the sprint, but he slowed fractionally in the final metres, as so often happens to the first man to move in a hilltop finish. Contador broke too late but would have overtaken Evans in a few more metres.

Evans did have one Tour stage win to his name before yesterday, in the Albi time trial in 2007 from which Alexandr Vinokourov – third here – was disqualified for blood doping. This one was in a different register. No asterisk in the land of the legendary Asterix.

The maillot jaune remained on the shoulders of Thor Hushovd, shoulders worthy of Obelix, which had seemed a little too bulky for an uphill finish of this severity. He has a decent chance of remaining in yellow until Saturday, and has made good progress in the green jersey standings relative to the other sprinters thanks to his high placings here and on Saturday. He is 36 points ahead of Mark Cavendish, for example.

Andy Schleck and Wiggins would contend that this climb was suited to climbers who can make brief, intense efforts, and Wiggins was not discomfited by the loss of six seconds to some of his fellow contenders for a high placing overall. “That’s not going to mean much. I’m pretty happy. I feel nice and strong. These stages are about staying safe, not giving much away.”

Wiggins moved up the standings to sixth after finishing in a second group a few yards behind the 10 leaders – the gap of six seconds seems bigger because it is taken from the first rider of the first group – while Geraint Thomas and David Millar were just behind and lie fourth and seventh respectively.

It is rare to see the defending Tour winner and one of his closest challengers sprinting for a stage win half a wheel apart as early as day four, but this particular Tour de France route was intended to enable such scenarios to develop, with a couple of uphill finishes to liven up the mix before the tougher stuff starts in the Massif Central at the weekend.

GuardianService

STAGE FOUR Lorient to Mur-de-Bretange, 172.5kms

1 Cadel Evans (Aus/BMC Racing) 4hrs 11mins 39secs; 2 Alberto Contador (Spa/Saxo Bank); 3 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz/Astana); 4 Rigoberto Uran (Col/Team Sky); 5 Philippe Gilbert (Bel/Omega Pharma-Lotto); 6 Thor Hushovd (Nor/Garmin); 7 Fraenk Schleck (Lux/Leopard); 8 Samuel Sanchez (Spa/Euskaltel); 9 Jurgen Van den Broeck (Bel/Omega Pharma-Lotto); 10 Andreas Kloeden (Ger/RadioShack) all same time; 11 Bradley Wiggins (Brit/Team Sky) 12 Jose Joaquin Rojas (Spa/Movistar) both at 6 secs; 13 Ivan Basso (Ita/Liquigas); 14 Damiano Cunego (Ita/Lampre); 15 Roman Kreuziger (Czech Rep/Astana); 16 Chris Horner (US/RadioShack); 17 Robert Gesink (Neth/Rabobank); 18 Dries Devenyns (Bel/Quick-Step); 19 Ryder Hesjedal (Can/Garmin); 20 Levi Leipheimer (US/RadioShack) all at 8 secs. Other: 43 Nicolas Roche(Ag2R La Mondiale) at 19secs.

Overall standings:1 Thor Hushovd (Nor/Garmin) 13hrs 58mins 25secs; 2 Cadel Evans (Aus/BMC Racing) at 1 sec; 3 Fraenk Schleck (Lux/Leopard) at 4 secs; 4 David Millar (Brit/Garmin) at 8 secs; 5 Andreas Kloeden (Ger/RadioShack) at 10 secs; 6 Bradley Wiggins (Brit/Team Sky); 7 Geraint Thomas (Brit/Team Sky) at 12 secs; 8 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor/Team Sky); 9 Andy Schleck (Lux/Leopard); 10 Jakob Fuglsang (Den/Leopard); 11 Tony Martin (Ger/HTC-Highroad) at 13 secs; 12 Peter Velits (Slov/HTC-Highroad); 13 Tejay Van Garderen (US/HTC-Highroad); 14 Chris Horner (US/RadioShack) at18; 15 Levi Leipheimer (US/RadioShack); 16 Janez Brajkovic (Slov/RadioShack); 17 Robert Gesink (Neth/Rabobank) at 20 secs; 18 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz/Astana) at 32 secs; 19 Philippe Gilbert (Bel/Omega Pharma-Lotto) at 33 secs; 20 Jurgen Van den Broeck (Bel/Omega Pharma-Lotto) at 39 secs. Other: 27 Nicolas Roche(Ag2R La Mondiale) at 1hr 12 secs.

King of the Mountains:1 Cadel Evans (Aus/BMC Racing) 2 pts; 2 Philippe Gilbert (Bel/Omega Pharma-Lotto) 1; 3 Mickael Delage (Fra/FDJ) 1; 4 Johnny Hoogerland (Neth/Vacansoleil) 1; 5 Alberto Contador (Spain/Saxo Bank) 1.

Points: 1 Jose Joaquin Rojas (Spa/Movistar) 82 ps; 2 Cadel Evans (Aus/BMC Racing) 80; 3 Philippe Gilbert (Bel/Omega Pharma-Lotto) 77; 4 Thor Hushovd (Nor/Garmin) 70; 5 Tyler Farrar (US/Garmin) 68; 6 Romain Feillu (Fra/Vacansoleil) 38.

Teams: 1 Garmin (US) 41hrs 05mins 55secs; 2 Team Sky (Britain) at 2 secs; 3 Leopard (Lux) at 4secs; 4 RadioShack (US) at 10 secs; 5 HTC-Highroad (US) at 13 secs; 6 Astana (Kaz) at 49 secs.