2007 Tour de France
The organisers of the Tour and London mayor Ken Livingstone announced on January 24, 2006 that the start of the Tour would take place in London. Livingstone noted the two stages would commemorate the victims of the July 7, 2005 London bombings, saying "Having the Grand Départ on the seventh of July will broadcast to the world that terrorism does not shake our city."
The routes for the Prologue in London and the first full stage through Kent, finishing in Canterbury, were announced on February 9, 2006 at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre. This was the third time the Tour visited England, including Plymouth in (1974) and two stages in Kent, Sussex and Hampshire in (1994).
Tour director Christian Prudhomme unveiled the 2007 route in Paris on October 26, 2006. In total, the route covered 3,569.9 kilometres (2,218.2 mi).
The Tour was marked by doping controversies, with three riders and two teams withdrawn during the race following positive doping tests, including pre-race favorite Alexandre Vinokourov and his Astana team. Following Stage 16, the holder of the yellow jersey, Michael Rasmussen, was removed from the Tour by his Rabobank team, who accused him of lying about the reasons for missing several drug tests earlier in the year.
The green jersey, given to the best sprinter, was won for the first time by Tom Boonen, who had failed to complete the previous two Tours after leading the green jersey competition at times during each. The polka dot jersey, given to the best mountain climber, was won by Mauricio Soler in his first Tour appearance.
The yellow jersey, given to the overall leader, was closely contested until the final time trial on Stage 19. The top three riders, Alberto Contador in yellow, Cadel Evans in second, and Levi Leipheimer in third, were separated by only 2:49, with both Evans and Leipheimer recognized as far superior time trialists to Contador. In the end, each rider held his place after the final time trial, but with considerably slimmer margins, as the Tour ended with the smallest-ever spread of only 31 seconds among the top three riders. Alberto Contador also won the white jersey as the best young (under age 25) rider.
Teams
21 teams started the race – each had 9 riders at the start of the tour i.e., 189 started in total. The teams were:
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Pre-race favourites
After the retirement of seven-time winner Lance Armstrong and with Floyd Landis not entering the Tour, the bookmakers' favourite to win the 2007 Tour de France was Alexander Vinokourov, who was unable to start in 2006 due to lack of team members, but did win the 2006 Vuelta a España. The main challengers were expected to be the 2006 Tour de France second place finisher Andreas Klöden; and Alejandro Valverde, who dropped out of the 2006 Tour de France after a crash, but came second to Vinokourov in the 2006 Vuelta a España.Shown in the table below are the riders that, according to the bookmakers on July 7, 2007, the start day of the 2007 Tour de France, had the best chances of winning the 2007 Tour.
| Rider | Team | Notes | Decimal Odds | Final Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander Vinokourov | Astana | Unable to start in 2006, 5th in 2005 | 2.87 | WD |
| Andreas Klöden | Astana | 2nd in 2006, winner of 2007 Tirreno-Adriatico | 5.00 | WD |
| Alejandro Valverde | Caisse d'Epargne | Crashed and withdrew in 2006 and 2005, winner of 2006 UCI ProTour | 5.00 | 6th (+ 11' 37") |
| Cadel Evans | Predictor-Lotto | 4th in 2006 | 13.00 | 2nd (+ 23") |
| Carlos Sastre | Team CSC | 3rd in 2006 | 13.00 | 4th (+ 7' 08") |
| Levi Leipheimer | Discovery Channel | 12th in 2006 | 17.00 | 3rd (+ 31") |
| Andrey Kashechkin | Astana | Unable to start in 2006, 2nd in Young Riders' Classification in 2005 | 17.00 | WD |
| Denis Menchov | Rabobank | 5th in 2006 | 19.00 | WD |
| Fränk Schleck | Team CSC | Winner of Stage 15 to Alpe D'Huez in 2006, 10th overall | 23.00 | 17th (+ 31' 48") |
| Christophe Moreau | AG2R Prévoyance | 7th in 2006, winner of 2007 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré | 23.00 | 37th (+ 1h 33' 06") |
| Vladimir Karpets | Caisse d'Epargne | Best young rider in 2004, winner of 2007 Volta a Catalunya and 2007 Tour de Suisse | 26.00 | 14th (+ 24' 15") |
| Alberto Contador | Discovery Channel | Winner of 2007 Paris-Nice | 29.00 | 1st (91h 00' 26") |
| Michael Rogers | T-Mobile Team | 9th in 2006; three-time World Time-Trial Champion | 41.00 | WD |
| Óscar Pereiro | Caisse d'Epargne | 1st in 2006 | 51.00 | 10th (+ 14' 25") |
| withdrawn |
| Finished in Top 5 |
Stages
| Stage | Route | Distance | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | London | 7.9 km | Individual time trial | Saturday, July 7 |
| 1 | London - Canterbury | 203 km | Flat stage | Sunday, July 8 |
| 2 | Dunkirk - Ghent | 168.5 km | Flat stage | Monday, July 9 |
| 3 | Waregem - Compiègne | 236.5 km | Flat stage | Tuesday, July 10 |
| 4 | Villers-Cotterêts - Joigny | 193 km | Flat stage | Wednesday, July 11 |
| 5 | Chablis - Autun | 182.5 km | Intermediate stage | Thursday, July 12 |
| 6 | Semur-en-Auxois - Bourg-en-Bresse | 199.5 km | Flat stage | Friday, July 13 |
| 7 | Bourg-en-Bresse - Le Grand-Bornand | 197.5 km | Mountain stage | Saturday, July 14 |
| 8 | Le Grand-Bornand - Tignes | 165 km | Mountain stage | Sunday, July 15 |
| Rest day | Monday, July 16 | |||
| 9 | Val-d'Isère - Briançon | 159.5 km | Mountain stage | Tuesday, July 17 |
| 10 | Tallard - Marseille | 229.5 km | Flat stage | Wednesday, July 18 |
| 11 | Marseille - Montpellier | 182.5 km | Flat stage | Thursday, July 19 |
| 12 | Montpellier - Castres | 178.5 km | Intermediate stage | Friday, July 20 |
| 13 | Albi | 54 km | Individual time trial | Saturday, July 21 |
| 14 | Mazamet - Plateau-de-Beille | 197 km | Mountain stage | Sunday, July 22 |
| 15 | Foix - Loudenvielle | 196 km | Mountain stage | Monday, July 23 |
| Rest day | Tuesday, July 24 | |||
| 16 | Orthez - Gourette-Col d'Aubisque | 218.5 km | Mountain stage | Wednesday, July 25 |
| 17 | Pau - Castelsarrasin | 188.5 km | Intermediate stage | Thursday, July 26 |
| 18 | Cahors - Angoulême | 211 km | Flat stage | Friday, July 27 |
| 19 | Cognac - Angoulême | 55.5 km | Individual time trial | Saturday, July 28 |
| 20 | Marcoussis - Paris Champs-Élysées | 146 km | Flat stage | Sunday, July 29 |
| Total | 3,569.9 km | |||
Stage recaps
Jersey progress
- Stage 1, Fabian Cancellara wore the yellow jersey, and Andreas Klöden wore the green jersey.
- Stage 8, Linus Gerdemann wore the yellow jersey, and Mauricio Soler wore the white jersey.
- Stages 9–16, Michael Rasmussen wore the yellow jersey; Sylvain Chavanel wore the polka-dot jersey in Stage 9, and in Stages 10–16, Mauricio Soler wore it.
- Stages 18–20, Alberto Contador wore the yellow jersey, and Mauricio Soler wore the polka-dot jersey as the King of the Mountains; therefore, Amets Txurruka wore the white jersey.Other notes:
- Alexander Vinokourov tested positive for an illegal blood transfusion after stage 15, and Kim Kirchen was declared the winner of the stage on April 29, 2008. His time trial win of stage 13, was given to Cadel Evans.
- Shortly after Michael Rasmussen won Stage 16, his Rabobank team removed him from the Tour for violation of team rules; therefore in Stage 17, nobody in the race was physically wearing the yellow jersey.
Overall standings
General classification
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alberto Contador | Discovery Channel | 91h 00' 26" |
| 2 | Cadel Evans | Predictor-Lotto | align=right |
| 3 | Levi Leipheimer | Discovery Channel | align=right |
| 4 | Carlos Sastre | Team CSC | align=right |
| 5 | Haimar Zubeldia | Euskaltel-Euskadi | align=right |
| 6 | Alejandro Valverde | Caisse d'Epargne | align=right |
| 7 | Kim Kirchen | T-Mobile Team | align=right |
| 8 | Yaroslav Popovych | Discovery Channel | align=right |
| 9 | Mikel Astarloza | Euskaltel-Euskadi | align=right |
| 10 | Óscar Pereiro | Caisse d'Epargne | align=right |
Teams classification
| Rank | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Discovery Channel | 273h 12' 52" |
| 2 | Caisse d'Epargne | + 19' 36" |
| 3 | Team CSC | + 22' 10" |
| 4 | Rabobank | align=right |
| 5 | Euskaltel-Euskadi | align=right |
| 6 | Saunier Duval-Prodir | align=right |
| 7 | Predictor-Lotto | align=right |
| 8 | Lampre-Fondital | align=right |
| 9 | Crédit Agricole | align=right |
| 10 | AG2R Prévoyance | align=right |
Points classification
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Boonen | Quick Step-Innergetic | 256 |
| 2 | Robert Hunter | Barloworld | 234 |
| 3 | Erik Zabel | Team Milram | 232 |
| 4 | Thor Hushovd | Crédit Agricole | 186 |
| 5 | Sébastien Chavanel | Française des Jeux | 181 |
| 6 | Daniele Bennati | Lampre-Fondital | 160 |
| 7 | Robert Förster | Team Gerolsteiner | 140 |
| 8 | Fabian Cancellara | Team CSC | 112 |
| 9 | Cadel Evans | Predictor-Lotto | 109 |
| 10 | Alberto Contador | Discovery Channel | 88 |
King of the Mountains classification
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mauricio Soler | Barloworld | 206 |
| 2 | Alberto Contador | Discovery Channel | 128 |
| 3 | Yaroslav Popovych | Discovery Channel | 105 |
| 4 | Cadel Evans | Predictor-Lotto | 92 |
| 5 | Laurent Lefevre | Bouygues Télécom | 85 |
| 6 | Juan Manuel Garate | Quick Step-Innergetic | 77 |
| 7 | Carlos Sastre | Team CSC | 74 |
| 8 | Juan José Cobo | Saunier Duval-Prodir | 68 |
| 9 | Levi Leipheimer | Discovery Channel | 64 |
| 10 | Haimar Zubeldia | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 64 |
Young riders' classification
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alberto Contador | Discovery Channel | 91h 00' 26" |
| 2 | Mauricio Soler | Barloworld | align=right |
| 3 | Amets Txurruka | Euskaltel-Euskadi | align=right |
| 4 | Bernhard Kohl | Team Gerolsteiner | align=right |
| 5 | Kanstantsin Siutsou | Barloworld | align=right |
| 6 | Thomas Dekker | Rabobank | align=right |
| 7 | Linus Gerdemann | T-Mobile Team | align=right |
| 8 | Vladimir Gusev | Discovery Channel | align=right |
| 9 | Thomas Lövkvist | Française des Jeux | align=right |
| 10 | Andriy Grivko | Team Milram | align=right |
2007 UCI ProTour points awarded
Cyclists in the UCI ProTour (therefore not members of the wildcard entries Barloworld or Agritubel) are awarded UCI ProTour points for their performance in the Tour de France. The winner of a stage receives 10 points, second receives 5 points and third 3 points. UCI ProTour points are also awarded for high places in the final classification, with 100 points for the overall winner.Withdrawals
48 riders withdrew, were disqualified, or injured:| Type | Stage | Rider | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DNF | 1 | Eduardo Gonzalo | Agritubel | Injury due to crash |
| DNS | 3 | Tomas Vaitkus | Discovery Channel | Fractured thumb |
| DNF | 4 | Xabier Zandio | Caisse d'Epargne | Injury due to crash |
| DNS | 5 | Rémy Di Gregorio | Française des Jeux | Broken elbow |
| DNF | 5 | Brett Lancaster | Team Milram | Stomach bug |
| DNS | 6 | Geoffroy Lequatre | Cofidis | Finger contusions |
| DNS | 7 | Óscar Freire | Rabobank | Saddle sore |
| DNS | 7 | Rubén Lobato | Saunier Duval-Prodir | Death of a relative |
| DNF | 7 | Enrico Degano | Barloworld | Injury due to crash |
| DNF | 8 | Mark Cavendish | T-Mobile Team | Planned withdrawal |
| DNF | 8 | Iván Parra | Cofidis | Stomach problems |
| DNF | 8 | Stuart O'Grady | Team CSC | Injury due to crash: five broken ribs, three broken vertebrae, broken scapula, both clavicles, collapsed lung |
| DNF | 8 | Michael Rogers | T-Mobile Team | Dislocated right shoulder |
| DNF | 8 | Romain Feillu | Agritubel | Unknown |
| DSQ | 8 | Cédric Hervé | Agritubel | Finished outside time limit |
| DSQ | 8 | Robbie McEwen | Predictor-Lotto | Finished outside time limit |
| DSQ | 8 | Danilo Napolitano | Lampre-Fondital | Finished outside time limit |
| DNS | 9 | Patrik Sinkewitz | T-Mobile Team | Injury (broken nose) due to crash with a spectator |
| DNF | 11 | Sylvain Calzati | AG2R Prévoyance | Tendinitis |
| DNF | 11 | Igor Antón | Euskaltel-Euskadi | Unknown |
| DSQ | 11 | David Zabriskie | Team CSC | Finished outside time limit |
| DNF | 12 | Alberto Ongarato | Team Milram | Injury due to crash |
| DSQ | 12 | Stef Clement | Bouygues Télécom | Finished outside time limit |
| DNS | 14 | Francisco Ventoso | Saunier Duval-Prodir | Injured hand |
| DNS | 15 | Philippe Gilbert | Française des Jeux | Fever and stomach problems |
| DNS | 15 | Filippo Pozzato | Liquigas | Fever |
| DNF | 15 | Cyril Dessel | AG2R Prévoyance | Unknown |
| DNF | 15 | Christophe Le Mével | Crédit Agricole | Injury sustained from a crash |
| DNF | 15 | Fred Rodriguez | Predictor-Lotto | Stomach problems |
| DSQ | 16 | Alexander Vinokourov | Astana | Team withdrew from race after his positive A-test for blood doping. |
| DNS | 16 | Antonio Colom | Astana | Team withdrew from the event due to teammate Vinokurov's positive blood doping test |
| DNS | 16 | Maxim Iglinsky | Astana | |
| DNS | 16 | Sergei Ivanov | Astana | |
| DNS | 16 | Andrey Kashechkin | Astana | |
| DNS | 16 | Andreas Klöden | Astana | |
| DNS | 16 | Daniel Navarro | Astana | |
| DNS | 16 | Gregory Rast | Astana | |
| DNS | 16 | Paolo Savoldelli | Astana | |
| DNF | 16 | Matthieu Sprick | Bouygues Télécom | Stomach problems |
| DSQ | 17 | Cristian Moreni | Cofidis | Arrested by French police after his positive test for testosterone because doping is a crime in France |
| DNS | 17 | Sylvain Chavanel | Cofidis | Team withdrew from the event after teammate Christian Moreni was arrested for doping |
| DNS | 17 | Staf Scheirlinckx | Cofidis | |
| DNS | 17 | Bradley Wiggins | Cofidis | |
| DNS | 17 | Rik Verbrugghe | Cofidis | |
| DNS | 17 | Stéphane Augé | Cofidis | |
| DNS | 17 | Nick Nuyens | Cofidis | |
| DNS | 17 | Michael Rasmussen | Rabobank | Withdrawn by team for violating internal team rules |
| DNF | 17 | Denis Menchov | Rabobank | Personal decision |
- Quick Step-Innergetic and Gerolsteiner were the only teams to finish with full nine-man lineup.
Doping scandals
The first scandal arrived when it was made public on July 18 that rider Patrik Sinkewitz from the T-Mobile team had tested positive one month before the Tour started. Sinkewitz had already withdrawn from the race having incurred an injury during the 8th stage. The scandal was big enough to prompt German TV broadcasters ZDF and ARD to drop their coverage.
The Tour was dealt a major blow when the first-place Astana Team withdrew from the race on July 24, 2007, after team member and pre-race favorite Alexander Vinokourov from Kazakhstan tested positive for an illegal blood transfusion. Vinokourov's teammates Andreas Klöden and Andrey Kashechkin were in 5th and 7th place respectively at the time.
At the start of the 16th stage on July 25, some teams made a protest against the laxness of the official attitude to doping in the race. After the stage, race officials announced that Cofidis team member Cristian Moreni of Italy had tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone, and the Cofidis team withdrew from the race.
Spanish cyclist Iban Mayo tested positive for EPO on the second rest day of the Tour, on July 24.
Other incidents
German cyclist Marcus Burghardt collided with a Labrador Retriever during Stage 9. The bike struck the dog on its backside, which buckled the front wheel and threw Burghardt over the handlebars onto the road. Remarkably the dog was unhurt by the collision, and it was grabbed by a spectator before any more damage could be caused.A second incident involving a dog occurred on Stage 18. Sandy Casar and Frederik Willems were in a four-man break when Casar collided with a dog running across the road, causing both him and Willems to fall. Casar was able to rejoin the break with the help of Axel Merckx despite receiving road rash on his right buttock, while Willems returned to the peloton. Casar went on to win the stage.
After Stage 16, overall leader Michael Rasmussen was fired by his team, Rabobank, for violating team rules after he told the team that he was in Mexico with his wife in June, then being sighted training in Italy by Italian journalist Davide Cassani. Rasmussen disputes this claim, continuing to maintain that he was in Mexico. Thus, at the start of stage 17 there was no holder of the yellow jersey. Afterward the lead and the jersey were transferred to Team Discovery's Alberto Contador.
See also
- List of teams and cyclists in the 2007 Tour de France
- Doping at the 2007 Tour de France
- List of doping cases in cycling
- Tour de France
References
External links
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Thursday September 25, 2008 at 11:01:20 PDT (GMT -0700)
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