Tour Watch
Stage 9 Sunday, July 12 2009: Saint-Gaudens - Tarbes 160.5 km | Results
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Brad Wiggins flying downhill in the Pyrenees (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Farewell to the Pyrenees
Stage 9 of the 2009 Tour de France saw the riders saying goodbye to the sunlit peaks of the Pyrenees. A tough looking day with the classic climbs of the Col d'Aspin and the Col du Tourmalet was a little less severe in reality, with a long, long 70km downhill run to the finish at Tarbes giving the riders ample time to re-group.
And so the scene was set for another breakaway and sure enough Jens Voigt (Saxo Bank), Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas), Pierrick Fedrigo (BBox Bouygues Telecom) and Leonardo Duque (Cofidis) went away within the first hour and climbed over the Aspin together.
Pellizotti and Fedrigo dropped the other two on the Tourmalet and they drifted back to a chase group of about nine riders, who were some 3 minutes back, with the head of the main field, including all the contenders, a further two minutes back. The descent from the Tourmalet saw the chase group caught by the main field, but the leading duo hung on to their lead and worked hard enough to take it all the way to the finish.
Fedrigo gave the French crowds another French winner by out-muscling Pellizotti to claim the stage, with former world champion Oscar Freire Gomez leading home the main pack and picking up some useful points in the chase for the Green jersey. He's now fifth and beginning to close on the leading duo of Thor Hushovd and Mark Cavendish, who both trailed in well down.
If you're looking to read the tea-leaves in the cups of the leading contenders, it is worth noting that Lance Armstrong had an early dig: it was no more than a reminder to the rest of the field - and in particular, team-mate Alberto Contador - that he's still there and feeling good, but it was a sign he still believes he's in the bike race. Armstrong's certainly won most of the PR battles to date, but you don't gain time for producing column inches in the newspapers and he'll have to do something more concrete to influence the race lead.
Having said that, with a rest day on Monday and no more serious climbing till a visit to the hilly Vosges region on Friday, he'll have to bide his time. The Voseges stage heralds the Alps and an incredibly tough last 10 stages which also fit in a time trial and the climb of the Provence giant, Mont Ventoux. The narrative shape of this year's Tour, with a first two weeks of limited attacking opportunities, followed by a dramatic run-in to Paris, is much more focused on a rising crescendo of excitement than the more familar structure of classic Tours.
It's a welcome change, which should prevent the rather flat final weeks which have spoiled some Tours of recent memory. Even a dominant rider will have to have his wits about him almost to the end of the race and that has to be good for the entertainment value!
Malcolm F emailed: "Brad Wiggins' performance has been the most exciting thing in this year's Tour for me. I guess he's not a contender, but to see him climbing with the leaders and with his superb time trial ability, it does at least get you wondering. If he ends up on the new Sky team, he'll be a real asset. But, could he also be a leader?"
Tony P emailed: "Wiggins and Cavendish have given me so much pleasure this year. To see riders I've watched at the Manchester velodrome on cold winter nights doing these sort of performances in the world's biggest race is thrilling. Let's hope there's lots more to come!"
