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Castelsarrasin
188.5 km
Thursday 26 July
Amets Ttxurruka of the Euskaltel-Euskadi team will wear the white jersey; he is ranked third in the youth classification but the two riders ahead of him in the category that’s open to riders born after 1 January 1982 are leading other classifications. Alberto Contador is the best young rider but he’s in the yellow jersey today and Mauricio Soler is 13’13” behind the Spaniard but leading the mountains classification so he’s in the polka-dot jersey.
Txurruka is ranked 23rd overall and he’s 45’54” behind Contador.
The top 10 of the stage from Pau to Castelsarrasin is:
1. Daniele Bennati (ITA) LAM - 188.5km in 4h14’04" (44.515km/h)
2. Markus Fothen (GER) GST - at same time
3. Martin Elmiger (SUI) A2R) - at same time
4. Jens Voigt (GER) CSC) - at same time
5. David Millar (GBR) SDV - at 2’41"
6. Matteo Tosatto (ITA) QSI - at 2’43"
7. Manuel Quinziato (ITA) LIQ - at 3’20"
8. Daniele Righi (ITA) LAM - at 3’20"
9. Tom Boonen (BEL) QSI - at 9’37"
10. Sebastien Chavanel (FRA) FDJ - at 9’37"
Boonen has beaten Sebastien Chavanel for ninth place. The peloton was 9’38" behind the stage winner.
Quickstep is leading the peloton to the line in the race for ninth place. It is over nine minutes behind the stage winner...
Daniele Bennati has given his Lampre team its first victory in the Tour since Jan Svorada won on the Champs-Elysees in 2001. The top eight in stage 17 is:
1. Daniele Bennati (ITA) LAM - 188.5km in 4h14’04" (44.515km/h)
2. Markus Fothen (GER) GST - at st
3. Martin Elmiger (SUI) A2R) - at st
4. Jens Voigt (GER) CSC) - at st
5. David Millar (GBR) SDV - at 2’41"
6. Matteo Tosatto (ITA) QSI - at 2’43"
7. Manuel Quinziato (ITA) LIQ - at 3’20"
8. Daniele Righi (ITA) LAM - at 3’20"
Bennati has won the 17th stage in 4h14’04". He beat Markus Fothen, Martin Elmiger and Jens Voigt in the race to the line.
Daniele Bennati has come around Markus Fothen to win his first stage of the Tour de France. It’s Lampre’s first victory in this year’s race.
It’ll be a test of wits at the four leaders start toying with each other in the final kilometer. Bennati is in the lead but now Elmiger make a faux-surge. It’ll be either Elmiger, Voigt, Bennati and Fothen... for the win. Who’s your pick?
At the 1,200m to go mark Fothen has launched his attack. He has opened up a lead of about 20 meters with 1km to go. Bennati is chasing him down.
Elmiger leads Bennati then Fothen and Voigt with 1.5km to go.
Fothen appeared to be shaping up for an attack but then he rolled through to do a quick turn in the wind. He is now swinging to the right of the road and opening a small gap but behind him is the cunning Voigt who appears due to pounce.
At the 3km to go mark Elmiger towed Fothen back to the wheel of Voigt and Bennati.
Voigt waited for the others to catch up and then surged again. Bennati has matched him and now gone to the front. These two have a lead of about 50 meters over Elmiger and Fothen.
Just before the 4km to go banner, Voigt has launched an attack down the right of the road. The first to bridge the gap was Bennati followed by Elmiger then Fothen.
The leading group is composed of four riders from four teams. Jens Voigt has two Tour stage wins to his credit already. The elder statesman of the escapees is a comatriot of Markus Fothen who led the youth classification for two weeks in his Tour debut last year. Thes two Germans are joined by the former Swiss champion Martin Elmiger and Italian Daniele Bennati in the lead of the stage. They are less than 5km from the finish.
With less than 10km to go, the focus is now on the leading quartet who are destined to contest the stage. The peloton has just reached the 15km to go sign with a deficit of 9’10" to Elmiger, Voigt, Bennati and Fothen.
At the 10km to go mark, Millar and Tosatto were 1’00" behind Elmiger, Voigt, Bennati and Fothen.
Elmiger, Voigt, Bennati and Fothen are less than 10km from the end of the 17th stage. The winner is likely to come from this quartet that is now over 50" ahead of Millar and Tosatto.
Daniele Righi and Manuel Quinziato are now well out of contention for the stage win. They are 1’30" behind Voigt’s quartet.
Elmiger, Voigt, Bennati and Fothen are now 40" ahead of Millar and Tosatto. The peloton has just reached the top of the final ascent with a deficit of 8’20".
The escapees of the day are all within the final 15km. The situation now has Elmiger, Voigt, Bennati and Fothen in the lead, then comes Millar and Tosatto at 20" and Righi with Quinziato are at 55".
Elmiger, Voigt, Bennati and Fothen are 15km from the finish. They have a lead of 20" over Millar and Tosatto.
Millar and Tosatto have been dropped from the lead group which is now composed of Voigt, Fothen, Bennati and Elmiger.
The two riders unable to follow the bouts of attacks are Daniele Righi and Manuel Quinziato. They are now behing the six other escapees.
At the top of the Cote de la Montagnere (169.5km), the points were won by:
1. Jens Voigt (CSC) 3pts
2. Daniele Bennati (LAM) 2pts
3. Markus Fothen (GST) 1pt
Voigt has led the escape over the summit. Behind him is Bennati and Fothen followed by Elmiger and Millar.
Fothen has attacked up the left side of the road. Bennati is the first to chase the Gerolsteiner rider down.
On the final ascent of the stage, Elmiger has made an acceleration. He was followed first by Millar and then Voigt surged ahead. The victim of the action is Righi who has been unable to respond.
The escapees are 20km from the finish. Voigt, Elmiger, Bennati, Righi, Fothen, Quinziato, Tosatto and Millar have been sharing the workload evenly but the attacks must start soon... five kilometers (8’05") separate them from the peloton.
Voigt has rejoined the leaders after a quick pursuit following his puncture. His group of eight is 8’00" ahead of the Discovery Channel-led peloton.
Voigt is currently being "serviced" by his team mechanic on the way back to the lead group following his puncture.
Jens Voigt will have to spend a bit of energy catching up with his escape companions after puncturing his rear tire just before the 25km to go mark.
Voigt, Elmiger, Bennati, Righi, Fothen, Quinziato, Tosatto and Millar are at the 156.5km mark with a lead of 8’00" on the peloton.
The peloton is still being led by riders from the Discovery Channel team. It has just arrived in the Tarn-et-Garonne department and has a deficit to the eight leade4rs of 8’10".
LeTour.fr just spoke to Hans Holczer of the Gerolsteiner team to find out if he believed it was possible for his representative in the escape to win the 17th stage. “There are a lot of fast guys in the move today,” said the manager of Markus Fothen’s squad. “His only chance to get ahead of them in the finale is if they all start watching each other and Markus can gain a good advantage… but I wouldn’t bet my money on him at the moment.
“I think the fact that there’s a guy in the move who has a lot of experience in this sort of escape is against Markus today. Of course, I’m talking about Jens Voigt. He loves this sort of stage and we’ve seen him win in a situation like this many times in the last few years. He’s fast and clever and is definitely the rider who Markus has to watch out for but it’s not always the sprinters or the experienced who wins.”
The points for the intermediate sprint at the 146.5km mark were won by:
1. Daniele Bennati (LAM) 6pts/6"
2. Jens Voigt (CSC) 4pts/4"
3. Martin Elmiger (A2R) 2pts/2"
The peloton is currently 7’55" behind.
The peloton was 7’50" behind at the 137km mark. It is now at 7’40"... it’s the first time the advantage has dropped since the Discovery Channel squad come to the front at the 110km mark.
The peloton is now 7’50" behind Voigt, Elmiger, Bennati, Righi, Fothen, Quinziato, Tosatto and Millar. The latest call over Radio Tour is for the race doctor to see the winner of the prologue and stage three, Fabian Cancellara.
Voigt, Elmiger, Bennati, Righi, Fothen, Quinziato, Tosatto and Millar are now at the 141.5km mark. There is 5km to go before they reach the site of the second intermediate sprint. The peloton is in Mauvezin at 136.5km.
The rider currently in second overall, Cadel Evans has just been approached by a photographer on a motorbike. The Australian wasn’t too pleased with the close proximity of the bike and, after a brief discussion, splashed some drink from a can of Coke at the shooter...
Voigt, Elmiger, Bennati, Righi, Fothen, Quinziato, Tosatto and Millar are now 50km from the finish of the 17th stage. Millar is doing slightly longer turns than the others in the escape group which is now 7’50" ahead of the peloton.
The average speed for the third hour is 43.1km/h. The average speed since the start of the stage is 44.5km/h.
The Saunier Duval-Prodir team has project to plant trees in Mali. The scheme includes a promise of one tree donated to the African nation for every kilometer a rider from the team is in an escape. He has been on the attack since the fifth kilometer today... and is now at the 131km mark. With a lead of over 6’30" he can expect to plant a few more trees before the end of the stage.
David Millar has been suffering in the sun during this year’s Tour. He’s in the group that is 6’30" ahead of the peloton and has just returned to the team car after taking off his arm warmers. He is covered in sun cream on his legs and face, plus his jersey is soaked from sweat...
At the 121km mark, the peloton is 6’15" behind the eight-man escape group that formed at the 5km mark.
One day after the stages in the Alps of the 2006 Tour de France, Matteo Tosatto (QSI) was part of an escape group of 15 riders. He outsprinted a certain Cristian Moreni in Macon to claim his maiden Tour de France stage victory.
Another Italian who was in the move that day was Manuel Quinziato who is one of the four Italians in today’s escape group.
Two of the eight riders in the escape group today won time trial races at the 2003 world championships. Markus Fothen (GST) claimed the rainbow jersey in the under-23 classification by beating Niels Scheuneman by 20". And although David Millar (SDV) won the elite race two days later - beating Michael Rogers by 1’25" - he was later stripped of the title following a confession in 2004 about how the result was achieved.
The Discovery Channel squad is now at the head of the peloton that is 4’00" behind the escapees. Behind them is the team of Cadel Evans, Predictor-Lotto, as well as a few riders from CSC.
The bunch is at the 107km mark and the advantage of Millar, Voigt, Bennati, Righi, Fothen, Quinziato, Tosatto and Elmiger has grown to 3’30".
The Caisse d’Epargne squad has finally stopped it’s pursuit of the eight escapees. The advantage is 2’55" at the moment but it’s likely to blow out to over four minutes in a matter of moments.
The Caisse d’Epargne team is still at the head of the peloton but the advantage of the escapees has grown to 2’45".
One of the main aggressors of the second week of racing this year is destined to wear the white jersey for the 18th stage. Amets Txurruka (EUS) is 45’54" behind Alberto Contador in the youth classification and ranked third. At the end of today’s stage, however, it’s likely that Contador will be presented with the yellow jersey. He has worn white since the start of the second week; in second place in the youth classificationis Mauricio Soler who is leading the mountains classification... therefore the next-in-line will get to wear white tomorrow.
The escapees are at the 94.5km mark in Meilhan. They are 2’35" ahead of the peloton.
The advantage of the escapees has grown to the biggest of the day: at 2’35", however, it’s hardly a convincing lead for Millar, Voigt et al.
When Jens Voigt won the 16th stage of the 2001 Tour de France the finish was in Sarran. The German is part of the escape group today and currently leads the peloton by 2’15".
The finish today is in Castelsarrasin in the Tarn-et-Garonne department. It was this town that hosted the start of the 16th stage six years ago on the day of Voigt’s success.
Riding for the Credit Agricole team at the time, Voigt led Bradley McGee in an escape on a day when the temperature was in the high-30s and the Australian admitted that he had no hope of going for the stage win even though the two escapees that year finished 25’45" ahead of the main pack. "It was so hot, I thought I was going to faint," said McGee. "I couldn’t see and remember saying to Jens, ’Just keep talking so I know where the road is...’"
The leaders covered 43.1km in the second hour. The average speed for the first two hours is 45.2km/h.
As it exited the feedzone, the peloton was 2’30" behind the eight-man escape group. The Caisse d’Epargne team continue to set the pace of the chase.
Menchov has retired from the Tour de France. There are now 141 riders remaining in the race.
Menchov of the Rabobank team has just stepped off his bike and gone into the car. It appears that he has abandoned the Tour de France.
The eight stage leaders have just arrived at the feed zone at the 86km mark.
The Caisse d’Epargne squad refuses to ease the pace of the peloton and allow the escape any breathing room. Alejandro Valverde has done a few turns at the front of the bunch and his colleagues are keeping the speed high. They are 1’50" behind Millar, Voigt, Bennati, Righi, Fothen, Quinziato, Tosatto and Elmiger.
The Caisse d’Epargne squad is insisting with its pursuit of the escapees. Hans Holczer of the Gerolsteiner team (that has Fothen in the eight-man group that’s 1’35" ahead) believes it’s because the Spanish squad is looking for a good result in the team classification.
Caisse d’Epargne is currently in second place, 16’48" behind Discovery in this category.
The peloton has reached the top of the 5th climb (at 72.5km) with a deficit of 1’50" to Voigt’s group.
At the Cote de Theux (at 72.5km), the points were won by:
1. David Millar (SDV) 3pts
2. Daniele Righi (LAM) 2pts
3. Markus Fothen (GST) 1pt
The peloton continues to be led by riders from the Caisse d’Epargne squad.
The advantage of the escapees is 1’45"; the peloton is not keen to allow the escapees to gain much of an advantage. Millar and Voigt’s group is now at the 70km mark.
The peloton is being led by riders from both the Credit Agricole and Caisse d’Epargne teams. It is 1’30" behind: Jens Voigt (CSC), Martin Elmiger (A2R), Daniele Bennati (LAM), Daniele Righi (LAM), Markus Fothen (GST), Manuel Quinziato (LIQ), Matteo Tosatto (QSI) and David Millar (SDV).
“The race is open again and we’re still in there for the win,” said Hendrik Redant of the Predictor-Lotto team when contacted by LeTour.fr just before the 3rd climb of the 17th stage. “The difference between Alberto Contador and Cadel Evans is almost two minutes but I think it’s playable with the time trial coming up on Saturday.”
When asked if he thought the temptation existed for Evans to chase time bonuses at the intermediate sprints, Redant said he’d like to but it wasn’t really an option. “It’s too much… the next sprint is at the 146km mark and think it will be impossible for Evans to gain time. If we chase and bring the peloton to the line as one group, then the Quickstep boys will lead Tom [Boonen] out and he’ll be chased by the other sprint specialists. It’s not possible for Cadel to steal time on them so it’s not worthwhile.”
Predictor-Lotto did chase a counter-attack in the first 10km of the stage; Redant explains why: “The French teams started chasing a bit but we had to join in when the next move went because Popovych was there.
“Now, with these eight guys there, it should be allowed to go but there are no riders from the five of the French teams so they should do the chasing now.”
At the 63.5km mark, the peloton is 1’30" behind Millar, Voigt et al.
At the Cote de Ste-Dode-aux-Croix (63.5km), the points were won by:
1. David Millar (SDV) 3pts
2. Daniel Righi (LAM) 2pts
3. Daniele Bennati (LAM) 1pt
The points at the top of the third climb - the Cote de Mielan (59.5km) were won by:
1. Markus Fothen (GST) 3pts
2. Matteo Tosatto (QSI) 2pts
3. Martin Elmiger (A2R) 1pt
The peloton reached the top 1’40" behind the eight escapees.
The points for the 2nd climb of the 17th stage were won by:
1. Markus Fothen (GST) 3pts
2. Matteo Tosatto (QSI) 2pts
3. Martin Elmiger (A2R) 1pts
The peloton reached the top 1’30" behind the escapees.
The peloton is now being led by riders from the Discovery Channel team. Tucked in behind the "virtual" leader, Alberto Contador’s squad are riders from the Predictor-Lotto team. They are 1’45" behind the eight escapees.
At the 50.5km mark, the peloton is 1’45" behind the eight escapees.
The escape group is not being allowed a lot of breathing space. Millar et al are 1’55" ahead of the peloton at the 49km mark.
The average speed for the first hour was 47.3km/h.
At the site of the intermediate sprint, the peloton was still led by the Bouygues boys who were 2’05" behind Millar, Voigt, Quinziato, Tosatto, Fothen, Elmiger, Bennati and Righi.
The points for the sprint at the 44.5km mark were won by:
1. Manuel Quinziato (LIQ) 6pts/6"
2. David Millar (SDV) 4pts/4"
3. Martin Elmiger (A2R) 2pts/2"
The advantage of the escapees is just 2’20" as the peloton reaches the 5km to go sign for the first intermediate sprint. This is in Rabastens-de-Bigorre at the 44.5km mark.
Feeding from the team cars will be permitted after this prime.
There have been a few examples in the past few decades when there was no yellow jersey worn in a stage of the Tour de France. At the stage of stage five in 2005, Lance Armstrong said that he didn’t think it was right to wear the ’maillot jaune’ because the former stage leader, Dave Zabriskie, lost it because of a crash at the end of the team time trial the day before. Armstrong did, however, stop at the 0km mark to put the leader’s jersey on at the request of Jean-Marie Leblanc.
There have been similar circumstances in the past. In 1971, when Luis Ocana crashed on the Col de Mente while in the yellow jersey. Eddy Merckx inherited the lead but did not wear yellow the next day.
In 1991 Rolf Sorensen broke his collarbone because of a crash in the final kilometer while wearing the yellow jersey. He was forced to abandon after the stage but no yellow jersey was presented that day.
In 1998 Chris Boardman crashed while wearing the yellow jersey in stage two. Erik Zabel inherited the lead and did wear yellow in stage three.
Francaise des Jeux, Credit Agricole and Bouygues Telecom are leading the peloton that is now at the 35km mark with a deficit of 2’15" to the eight escapees.
At the 30km mark, the peloton was 2’00" behind Voigt, Elmiger, Bennati, Righi, Fothen, Quinziato, Tosatto and Millar.
Of the eight men in the lead of the stage (1’20" at the 27km mark), three have previously won at least one stage of the Tour before. Jens Voigt won stage 16 to Sarran in 2001 (as a member of the Credit Agricole squad). Millar has won three stages - a time trial at Futuroscope at the start of the 200 race, the 13th stage to Bezier in 2002 and the final time trial of the 2003 race. Matteo Tosatto won stage 18 to Macon last year.
The deficit remains 1’10" for the peloton to the eight escapees. The chase is being controlled by riders from the Bouygues Telecom squad.
At the 23km mark, the peloton’s deficit to the leading eight is 1’10".
The points at the first climb were won by:
1. Matteo Tosatto (QSI) 4pts
2. Jens Voigt (CSC) 3pts
3. Markus Fothen (GST) 2pts
4. Daniel Righi (LAM) 1pt
The peloton is currently 1’20" behind the eight escapees. Predictor-Lotto had been leading the chase and they could well be trying to keep things together in the hope that they can lead Cadel Evans to the line of the first intermediate sprint to claim some bonus seconds. The sprint is at the 44.5km mark...
The eight escapees are now less than 5km from the cote de Baliex which is a cat-3 ascent that peaks at the 23km mark.
The peloton is now at the 19km mark, 1’20" behind Voigt, Elmiger, Bennati, Righi, Fothen, Quinziato, Tosatto and Millar.
Pineau is currently 1’05" behind Voigt, Elmiger, Bennati, Righi, Fothen, Quinziato, Tosatto and Millar.
At the 17km mark, the peloton is 1’10" behind the eight escapees. There is one rider in the middle of Voigt’s group and the main pack. Jerome Pineau (BTL) is trying to bridge the gap to the eight. He is currently 50" behind.
The 17th stage includes six hills with points on offer for the polka-dot jersey. These primes are: the cat-3 cote de Baleix (at 23km) followed by five cat-4 ascents – the cote de Villecomtal (54km), cote de Mielan (59.5km), cote de Ste-Dode-aux-Croix (63.5km), cote de Theux (72.5km) and cote de la Montagnere (169.5km).
The intermediate sprints for the race from Pau to Castelsarrasin are in Rabastens-de-Bigorre (44.5km) and Solomiac (146.5km).
The riders in the move that began at the 5km mark are:
- Jens Voigt (CSC)
- Martin Elmiger (A2R)
- Daniele Bennati (LAM)
- Daniele Righi (LAM)
- Markus Fothen (GST)
- Manuel Quinziato (LIQ)
- Matteo Tosatto (QSI)
- David Millar (SDV)
The eight escapees are 45" ahead of the bunch that’s now at the 12.5km mark.
There are eight men in the lead of the stage. Add Jens Voigt to the list that was posted in a previous flash... he’s the best placed of the group that is now 40" ahead of the peloton.
There are eight riders 40" ahead of the peloton which has just reeled in a group of counter-attackers who have since been swept up by the bunch.
The Predictor-Lotto team is leading the peloton’s pursuit of a group of escapees that is currently 40" ahead. The riders in the lead of stage 17 are: Elmiger (A2R), Bennati (LAM), Righi (LAM), Fothen (GST), Quinziato (LIQ), Tosatto (QSI) and Millar (SDV).
The rider in the “virtual lead” of the Tour de France, Alberto Contador also leads the youth classification. He is 13’31” ahead of Mauricio Soler (BAR) and 45’54” ahead of Amets Txurruka (EUS) in the category open to riders born after 1 January 1982.
Millar has tried to escape the peloton at the 5km mark. The bunch is reacting to the move and the Scot has already been caught.
Florencio, Delage and Grivko have been caught by the peloton. The move lasted only a few kilometers and the peloton is moving at a very rapid pace early today.
Grivko (MRM) has bridged the gap to Florencio and Delage. These three riders are now being chased by a fast-moving peloton.
As soon as Christian Prudhomme announced the start of racing in stage 17, Xavier Florencio of the Bouygues Telecom team attacked. He was joined by Mikael Delage (FDJ) and the pair remain ahead of the peloton.
The official start of the 17th stage was at 1.00pm. There are 142 riders still in the Tour de France. Eight riders withdrew from the race overnight: Michael Rasmussen (RAB) and the remaining members of the Cofidis squad - Sylvain Chavanel, Stephane Auge, Cristian Moreni, Nick Nuyens, Staf Scheirlinckx, Rik Verbrugghe and Bradley Wiggins.
Tom Boonen (QSI) has led the points classification since the second stage. There has been no change to the top order of the sprinters’ category since the 11th stage. Boonen has 195pts, 20 more than Hunter (BAR) and 21 more than Zabel (MRM).
Mauricio Soler (BAR) claimed the lead in the mountains classification after the 16th stage. He had 10 more points than Michael Rasmussen before the withdrawal from the race of the Danish rider. The Colombian will wear the polka-dot jersey in the stage to Castelsarrasin. His tally is 206pts while second place in the climbers’ category is now held by Albert Contador (DSC) who has 128pts.
There will be no yellow jersey worn in the 17th stage following the withdrawal of Michael Rasmussen overnight. Alberto Contador (DSC) currently leads Cadel Evans (PRL) in the general classification by 1’57”. A new race leader will be determined at the end of the race today.
There is a 6.6km neutral zone at the start of the 17th stage. The peloton rolled away from the line in Pau at 12.45pm. The flag will be waved by the race director to signal the beginning of racing in the 188.5km stage from Pau to Castelsarrasin is expected to be at around 1.00pm.
Following the departure of Michael Rasmussen who was withdrawn from the race and dismissed by his Rabobank squad, Patrice Clerc, the President of ASO, and Christian Prudhomme, the director of the Tour de France, have held a press conference in Pau before the start of the 17th stage. The race organizers accept the responsible decision of the Dutch team. The other riders from Rabobank will be at the start. A new yellow jersey will be presented to the leader of the general classification at the end of stage 17.
(See below for reactions from Mr Clerc and Mr Prudhomme.)
The departure of Michael Rasmussen from the Tour de France...
Patrice Clerc: “We asked Rasmussen to explain to us in Pau with total transparency about the doubts about his preparation program and his whereabouts. The information offered by the rider was enough for his Rabobank team’s management to determine that he has been lying. That’s proof that he had no place at the Tour de France and that his behaviour demonstrates that there was a clear intention to cheat.”
Rasmussen At The Start Of The Tour...
Christian Prudhomme: “He should never have been at the start. But we would have known this in advance if we had full disclosure of all the elements relating to the rider. The UCI was aware of the matters [surrounding Rasmussen] as they had issued a warning letter on 29 June to Rasmussen. They should have allowed us to avoid this crisis.”
Patrice Clerc: “The big problem is that we have declared a unified fight against doping together with the UCI and the teams. This was not respected. We should have been informed about all the anomalies relating to Rasmussen.”
The credibility of the general classification rankins in the 2007 Tour...
Christian Prudhomme: “Today the general classification is more credible than yesterday. The departure of Rasmussen is the best thing that has happened to us these past few days. The most important thing now is that we give the Tour back to the hundreds of thousands of people who follow the race and love it. Now the Tour continues with riders who love their sport and are prepared to practise it with respect to the rules.”
The Future For The Fight Against Doping...
Christian Prudhomme: “We have to break every link of the chain, not only the riders who are the final part. Now we have to pursue the doctors and managers of the riders.
“When I see riders sitting down to protest against doping at the start of the race, it’s completely different to what happened 10 years ago. It’s the absolute opposite because, at that time, they were protesting against the [doping] controls. That means that we have a part of the path [to a clean sport] has been forged.
“In the future the access to our races, which will be determined by a sporting criteria, will be primarily determined by ethics. We will create a new set of conditions involving the institutes like the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD). We won’t give our confidence to people who no longer deserve it.”
Patrice Clerc: “We just want to kill doping. In this sport, the presumption of innocence no longer exists. That’s why we have to make sure we go all the way to achieve clarity. This must be done to reinstate the right of a presumption of innocence.”
The 17th stage of the 2007 Tour de France is due to begin at 12.45pm. Due to exceptional circumstances relating to Michael Rasmussen (RAB), the winner of two stages this year and the leader of the general classification after 16 stages, there will be no yellow jersey in the race today. The Danish rider has been asked by his Rabobank team to withdraw from the Tour de France. (A release relating to this matter will be posted soon.)
Live coverage of the stage will commence shortly.
