"Tour de France" - a huge tour of France. For three weeks, the caravan travels across the country, capturing Alsace, Provence, Languedoc and even Brittany. In 2006, the “Big Loop” was twisted counterclockwise: the race started in the east in Strasbourg, then through Belgium and Luxembourg it moves to the northwest - right up to Lorient itself. Then to the south, where the riders are waiting for the Pyrenees and the Alps - it is in the mountains that the winner of the Tour is traditionally determined. But now it’s only the first week, it’s still far from the mountains, and the peloton rides along the plain. The first stages are the extraction of fast finishers.
The Tour de France is a damn complicated thing. First of all, it is a highly team sport. Each team consists of nine people, and discipline here is no worse than on a warship. There is a captain - as a rule, this is a contender for a high place in the overall standings, there are his assistants in the mountains and on the plain, there is a sprint team. However, the main person is a manager, tactician and strategist all rolled into one. It is he who decides which of the riders to go on a break, and whom to bring water and food to partners. Winning the Tour de France is always a victory for the team, not just one person, even one as great as Lance Armstrong.
A person who is not familiar with the specifics of professional cycling may wonder: what kind of sprinters are we talking about? Every day, riders drive 200 kilometers - wow sprint! The fact is that on the flat stages, cyclists come to the finish line as a group, and here people come to the fore who are able to drive the last 100-200 meters at maximum speed. This is called a “cut finish”. Such craftsmen are worth their weight in gold. The best sprinters of the world - Alessandro Petakki, Eric Zabel, Tom Bonen, and earlier Mario Cipollini or Jamolidin Abdujaparrov - are no less popular than the winners of the overall standings.
Of course, not everyone agrees that the fate of the stage is decided at the very finish. Every day, brave daredevils leave in isolation, trying to achieve superiority over the main group. But in the early days, the peloton is still fresh, and teams with powerful finishers rarely allow fugitives to escape from the chase. In the second stage, from Obernai to Esch-sur-Alzette, the German racer Matthias Kessler from the T-Mobile team retained the lead 150 meters before the finish line, but then was literally swept away by an avalanche of peloton. The victory at the Tour de France stage is a great achievement, and there are much more applicants than vacancies.
When a group arrives at the finish line, rebuilding immediately begins in its ranks. It’s good when you have a sharp and fast finisher, but you also need to bring it to the operational space. There are 200 people in the group, and even if you were rubbed somewhere in the middle, then you won’t get out into the white light. Therefore, the assistants of Zabel, McEwan, Bonen organize a kind of mini-train, with the main man riding the last wheel. First, it must be successfully placed in the head of the group, and then, just before the finish line - also roll out. One, second, third - and finally, no one is left before the sprinter. Next is pure speed, muscle strength and a hard wheel-to-wheel contact struggle. Often, the winner is determined only by the photo finish.
The victory in the first stage unexpectedly for many went to the French racer Jimmy Casper from the Cofidis team. Robbie McEwan and Eric Zabel so watched each other that they completely forgot about Casper - a very famous French finisher. The victory of the Frenchman, and even in the first stage - what could be better for the fans. French cycling is in a brutal crisis, and fans are already accustomed to being dominated by Americans, Italians, Spaniards, Germans — anyone but the owners.
True, already at the next stage, Casper was lost somewhere in the middle, and the same McEwan and Tom Bonen from Belgium fought for the victory - the best sprinter of 2005 and prologue winner Tor Huskhovd. Powerful Bonen really wanted to win, but the small and nimble Australian was quicker. The victory brought McEwan not only a solid prize, but also a green jersey of the most active rider. At each stage, not only the main finish is played out, but also several intermediate ones. Points are awarded for prizes, and at the end of the competition the holder of the largest number of them is recognized as the most active Tour de France racer. This title is the top of the career of any sprinter.
The main characters of the Tour de France 2006 are still in the shadows. Their time has not come yet.
Tour de France. Second phase. Obernai - Esch-sur-Alzette, 228.5 kilometers.
1. R. McEwan (AVL, Davitamon-Lotto) - 5: 36.14
2. T. Bonen (BEL, Quick-Step)
3. T. Huskhovd (NRA, Credit Agricole)
4. O. Freire (ISP, “Rabobank”)
5. D. Bennati (ITA, Lampre-Fondital)
6. L. Paolini (ITA, Likigaz)
7. S. O´Grady (AVL, “CS”)
8. B. Aizel (ABC, Frances de Gé)
9. E. Zabel (GER, Milram)
10. P. Wrolich (ABC, Gerolsteiner)
... 26. A. Bocharov (ROS, Credit Agricole)
... 87. D. Menshov (ROS, Rabobank)
... 95. V. Karpets (ROS, "Iles Balears") - everyone has a winner time
... 160. V. Ekimov (Discovery Channel) - 3.54 lag
Overall standings
1. T. Huskhovd (NRA, “Credit Agricole”) - 9: 54.19
2. T. Bonen (BEL, Quick-Step) - 0.05 lag
3. R. McEwan (AVL, Davitamon-Lotto) - 0.08
4. D. Hinkapey (USA, "Discovery Channel") - 0.10
5. D. Zabriski (USA, “CS”)
6. S. Lang (GER, Gerolsteiner)
7. A. Valverde (ISP, Illes Balears)
8. S. O´Grady (AVL, “CS”) - all have 0.16
9. M. Rogers (AVL, T-Mobile) - 0.18
10. P. Savoldeli (ITA, Discovery Channel) - 0.20
…13. V. Karpets (ROS, Illes Balears) - 0.22
... 53. D. Menshov (ROS, "Rabobank") - 0. 38
... 103. A. Bocharov (ROS, Credit Agricole) - 0.51
... 151. V. Ekimov ("Discovery Channel") - 4.23
Kirill DEMENTYEV