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Men’s Safe Bright Cycling Jerseys
Women’s Safe Bright Cycling Jerseys
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If you decide to wear a brightly colored cycling shirt when you venture out onto the road, you will have quite possibly just made a life-saving decision – whether you realized it or not! But cycling shirts are not the only device you can use to give yourself a fighting chance of reaching your destination in one piece. They form a part of your self-preservation armory and belong in the category of Personal Visibility. The other parts are Lighting, Safety Equipment and Training. Your goals, through thorough training, high personal visibility and effective lighting, are to avoid the need to test out the effectiveness of your safety equipment – the last thing you want to do is find out through personal tragedy that it wasn’t effective!

So let’s take a look at some of the available options for staying safe cycling on the roads.

Personal Visibility

Your ability to attract the attention of other road users is paramount, because if they have seen you, there is a negligible chance that they are going to be in collision with you. Unless of course they are taking a chance or they underestimate your speed when approaching a junction – a common cause of accidents is a vehicle overtaking a bike and then cutting across to turn at the junction, usually forcing the cyclist to turn with them.

So to attract attention, wearing really bright clothing is a great start, whether that means cycling shirts, cycling jerseys or heavier cycling jackets. Some people use the terms cycling shirts and cycling jerseys interchangeably; often though, the former will be a short sleeved cycle top, whereas the latter will have long sleeves. But it doesn’t matter; firstly avoid black, grey, brown, dark blue or dark green ones – the kind that drivers will have difficulty spotting at night, or dawn or dusk. Bright yellow, or white, or light green, or red will be good colors. Anything you wouldn’t be seen dead in normally (that choice of words was deliberate!) is good, and the more garish the better. A safety green cycling shirt lie the one pictured is ideal.

If you happen to like your design of cycling jersey or jacket, and it is a dark color, maybe because you ride for a team or club, and those are the team colors, then the next thing to add to your Personal Visibility cache is a high visibility vest, like those often worn in the construction industry. They are great for keeping you highly conspicuous at night as these vests have light-reflective strips, and it is hard for a driver not to see you. And while on the subject of light-reflective strips, it is also a good idea to wear reflecting wrist straps. These have the effect of making you appear wider, as your hands will be positioned apart on the handlebars; they also allow you to indicate your intentions with clearer hand signals when  turning left or right.

Wearing combinations of some of these practical devices will help to make you stand out on the road to other users, and keep you safe. Remember, prevention is better than a trip to the hospital.

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Bike Lighting

Lighting comes in various forms, and includes both powered lights and reflectors. Many bicycles are manufactured these days with four reflectors, under the saddle, on the handlebars, and one on each wheel; it is a good way to prevent a bicycle accident, because you can be seen from all four directions. If your bike is missing any of these, go and find them so you can upgrade your bike safety!

If you are cycling at night, or other times when visibility is poor, you should have powered lights on your bike. Most savvy motorcyclists always have their lights switched on when riding, even in broad daylight, as it adds to their visibility. The norm, as for all other road vehicles, is a white light at the front and red at the rear. For bikes, the lights are usually battery operated, although some are operated by a dynamo and light up when the wheels are turning; of course, this can put you in some danger when you are stationary!

Many people these days also wear some personal lights, either on their backpack or bike helmet; these are LED type lights and flash randomly to warn drivers. It’s best to find a good quality flashing LED light that flashes randomly because people have a tendancy to become accustomed to a regular flash and after a while, begin to filter it out.

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Bicycle Safety Gear

If the worst does happen, and you end up in collision with a vehicle, you will need some bike safety gear to try to minimise injuries. The one piece of gear all riders need is a bicycle helmet. The law varies from place to place, and many countries do not make wearing a bike helmet compulsory. But whether compulsory or not, get yourself a cycling helmet – would you prefer to bash your head against the road after a bike accident, or have a padded helmet take most of the damage? You don’t need to be a brain surgeon really, do you!

As for other safety gear, you might wish to wear knee guards and elbow padding, and perhaps a pair of leather gloves. These will give you some basic protection against scrapes in minor bike accidents. To be realistic, if you suffer a head on collision with a truck, travelling at speed, you are going to suffer major injuries, and your prime concern in this situation is your head. Of course, your “real” prime concern is prevention!

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Bicycle Training

Some countries have formal tests for cyclists (eg the Cycling Proficiency Test in the UK); often they are not compulsory, but it is a wise idea to go and try the test, and learn as much as you can about staying safe on the roads. You will need to obey the rules of the road, and these days many cyclists get killed because they think a red traffic signal doesn’t apply to them, or a one-way street is just one-way for motor vehicles, and they can go the wrong way up it if they like. It does sometimes seem that many of the rules on the road are just there to bully road users; but most are there either for our safety or simply to keep traffic moving smoothly. Cyclists: for your own sakes, stick to the rules!

If you can find courses that teach defensive cycling, go on one. Similarly anything that teaches you awareness is great; think martial arts perhaps. And while on martial arts, find one that will teach you how to fall properly. Many bike accidents result in broken wrists, arms or collar bones as victims throw their arms out when flying over their handlebars. This is needless, as many martial arts teach people how to roll out of similar situations without any injury at all.

So those are some of the things you can do you keep yourself out of harm’s way when road cycling. Make sure you get yourself some super-shiny cycling shirts to improve your chances of being seen; always use your lights when visibility is poor, and perhaps even also when it’s not; always, always wear a bike helmet; and be aware of what is going on around you – that means no ipods or cellphone conversations etc. when riding.

If you want to see some more excellent practical tips on cycling road safety, then read How to Not Get Hit by Cars by Michael Bluejay.

This weekend saw the start of the 2010 campaign for the Vuelta a Espana, the premier Spanish cycling Tour, and this year commemorates the 75th anniversary of the competition in Spain. To mark the occasion, the organisers have changed the cycling shirt colors for La Vuelta. These cycling shirts have changed their colors several times over the years, but recently, they have been similar to those used in the Tour de France. So what are the changes for 2010?

There are two main changes: the General Classification leader is awarded the Red Jersey. This has been used in the past during La Vuelta, but in more recent years has been reserved for the Mountains Classification leader (rather than red-spotted white jersey in the Tour de France). Of course, since the Red now goes to the GC leader, the Mountains leader’s cycling shirts had to be changed too. So the MC leader now wears the new Blue-spotted White jersey (or Blue Polka Dot). The Points leader continues to wear the Green Jersey. There is no Young Rider’s Jersey in la Vuelta a Espana, but there is the Combination Classification instead, which (as you might expect) combines all the rankings in the general, points and mountain classifications. The Combined leader wears the White Jersey.

I will not be giving a blow by blow account of la Vuelta as I did for the Tour de France, but you can follow the daily trials of the riders and teams by checking out the official site of La Vuelta a Espana. Don’t forget to click for your language using the little flags in the navigation bar.

Perhaps the biggest – and possibly most controversial – news pre-tour was the fact that the RadioShack Team were not included this year, which of course means no Lance Armstrong and his team of co-riders, despite winning the Team Classification in this year’s Tour de France.

Last night (Saturday) saw the first stage of the Tour, which was a team time trial around the streets of Seville, won by HTC-Columbia, and led home by Mark Cavendish, who wears the first Red Jersey of this year’s competition. The second stage, today, involves a 174 km ride from Alcala de Guadaira to Marbella, which is currently in progress as I write with Marcos Garcia clinging to his 1 minute lead. Find out more at the official site.

I’ll update on the race every few days for this one, to keep you up-to-date with who’s wearing the leaders’ colored cycling shirts!

One of the things that stands out in any Tour de France – or indeed any of the three Grand Tours – is the clothing that the riders wear. As the tournaments progress, you get to know the teams that you like by the racing colors of the cycle shirts they wear, and many people are fond of the idea of getting their hands on a shirt representing their favorite team. Like with other sports, colors do change slightly from year to year, and of course the sponsors are changing all the time, as last year’s ones drop out and new support appears from elsewhere. So it is usually a great decision to buy a Pro Team Cycling Jersey for a year when your team did well.

There are a lot of established teams on the Tours these days, but often a completely new team will show up, with a brand new set of riders. This always makes the race very interesting in the early Stages as you try to figure out which team is wearing which colors this year. Mainly, though it is the big well-known ones that take most of the honors in the racing, with fantastic strategies and set ups. For 2010, the Tour de France saw the light blue and yellow cycling shirts of the Astana Team grab the limelight, with powerful front riders such as Vinokourov and Navarro, who did magnificent jobs pace setting the eventual Yellow Jersey Winner, Contador, especially in the mountains.

But for most people who watch the Tour de France, the uniform of the American rider Lance Armstrong who won the Tour an amazing seven consecutive times, and who rode his last one in 2010 in the Team RadioShack colors. Here is some kit you can get your hands on yourself!

	Team RadioShack Wind Cycling Vest – Mens The Team RadioShack Wind Cycling Vest is an absolute essential for every season. This is the piece you’ll grab for those countless days when the weather is unpredictable or when your route will take you through varied terrains or climates.
	Team RadioShack Cycling Cap The Team RadioShack Cycling Cap is a classic cotton cap – ready for on or off the bike. It features the RadioShack logo and brand name, and the Nike Swoosh on the back. It is adjustable so one size fits most people. Made of 100% cotton. Made in Italy.
	Orbea World Champion Cycling Jersey – Short-Sleeve – Men’s Orbea Team White/Blue, 3XL Cadel Evans might be wearing the current World Champion stripes, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t look just as good standing atop a podium in your Orbea World Champion Short-Sleeve Jersey. Designed and built in Italy by Keido Sportswear, the moisture-wicking, 100%-polyester World Champion Jersey also has a three-quarter-length hidden zipper to regulate airflowso at least you’re not a sweaty mess when receiving podium girl kisses.

So those are some of the main cycling shirts you’ll have already seen in this year’s Tour, and no doubt recognise. Check back here often, as styles change from season to season and often these pro team jerseys have variable availability. For more choices of Pro Team Cycling Jerseys check out my other site Triathonline.

Eventually, the teams all reached Paris together, and the Astana Team lined up at the front to introduce their Champion Alberto Contador to the huge crowds. All had reached the Capital without incidents – except for Schleck having gear problems and requiring a quick change of bike – and the climax was an 8 lap race around the Champs-Elysees. Rather unluckily, right at the beginning of the real action, Hincapie (BMC) got a puncture and needed a wheel change, and a serious turn of pace to fight his way back into the fold.

None of the sprint teams bothered to try and gain points during the two intermediate sprints, with the current Green Jersey watching the progress of Hushovd and Cavendish very closely. As it turned out, as breakaway group attacked and neutralised any intent the chasersfor Green might have had – which suited Petacchi just fine.

As the kilometers counted down, a more serious group of escapees formed, consisting of eleven riders: Casar (FDJ), Hondo (LAM), Knees (MRM), Kroon (BMC), Martin (HTC), Pauriol (COF), Perez Arrieta (FOT), Perez Lezaun (EUS), Riblon (ALM), Roux (FDJ) and Sorensen (SAX). Together they chiseled out a maximum lead of 25 seconds, but kept the peloton at bay effectively for a worrying length of time, threatening to ruin the day for the sprinters. At one point there was news that Cavendish had radioed his team car to get them to pull Martin back out of the leading group to help him close the gap.

Lampre were happy to sit on things as their man Petacchi was safe in the Green Jersey if no sprint happened and the breakaway escaped successfully. So it was up to HTC-Columbia to do the lion’s share of the work chasing down the leaders. Team Sky and Katusha also chipped in with useful contributions upping the pace of the chasers, and they began to make rapid progress. As they began the last lap of the Champs-Elysees, the gap fell away rapidly to zero and the field became grupo compacto, a single peloton once more.

Now it was time for the sprinters to ply their trade, and Sky began to lead out with a trio of riders from 1500 meters out. Other teams began to pile on the pressure, as first Lampre and then Cervelo Test Team bringing lead out teams to the fore. Hushovd was in a great position to sprint at the last corner. He hesitated and sat on the wheel of his team mate, watching Petacchi zoom past him on the left. Hushovd then reacted, ducking out from behind his lead out man and accelerating. As they charged for the line, the Manx Missile, Mark Cavendish burnt past them both with a burst of speed that killed off Hushovd, who subsequently came in seventh. Cavendish achieved his goal of winning five stages, and repeating last year’s Paris stage win, and although gaining maximum points could only climb to second place in the Points Classification for the Green Jersey. It would have needed Petacchi to come in sixth or worse for Cav to grab the Green at the death of the Tour.

So sadly, that concludes the action on the Tour de France for another year, and here is today’s result along with the final General Classification Standings, which did not change from yesterday:

So it’s been one of the most exciting Tours for years, and the competition seems to be set for future years now with a healthy rivalry between Contador and Schleck. There are still a few “what ifs” from this year’s race, which of course it is too late to change. What if Contador had hung on and let Schleck fix his technical difficulty in the Pyrenees? That 39 seconds lost back then is the same as the winning margin that Contador built up by the end! Then there is the Green Jersey competition; back in Stage 4, when Cavendish realised he wouldn’t win the stage, he sat up, and rolled in in twelfth place, instead of hammering it to the line for the points. This might have made all the difference today. But it is what it is, and that’s the end of the competition. The winners for 2010 are:

General Classification Winner – Yellow
Alberto Contador – Astana

Points Classification Winner – Green
Alessandro Petacchi – Lampre

King of the Mountains Classification Winner – Polka Dot
Anthony Charteau – BBOX Bouygues Telecom

Young Rider Classification Winner – White
Andy Schleck – Saxo Bank

(Photo of Alberto Contador by Haggisnl. Reproduced under Creative Commons licence.)

So it was Grabsch (THR) who kicked things off, and there was virtually no wind in the early part of the day’s racing. His team mate, Martin had his turn later on, and easily beat the opposition to that point, with an average speed over the trial of over 50 km/h. When the 39th rider started, conditions were still favorable, and this was Cancellara, an ace time trialler who won the Prologue at the very beginning of the Tour. He completed the 52 km in just over 60 minutes. This put him well and truly in the lead, with the nearby Atlantic Ocean beginning to drive strong winds at the following participants. The task became gradually harder and harder as the day progressed with strong headwinds and side gusts slowing the riders down and breaking their rhythm.

As the time trial continued it became obvious the high winds were playing havoc, with superb TT competitors reduced to appallingly bad times, and some of them were finishing only in the top hundred, when ordinarily they would have been top 25 contenders or better! Armstrong came in over 7 minutes behind Cancellara’s time – and Armstrong has won 9 individual time trials in past Tours. Others did not fare any better. However, the story of the worsening weather and it effect on the relative timings of the field was not the main event today.

(Photo of Alberto Contador, by Josh Hallett. Reproduced under Creative Commons licence.)

The last two riders out were Andy Schleck, who started 8 seconds down on the last man out Alberto Contador. There had been something about Schleck over the last week; he exuded confidence and didn’t seem at all fazed by the prospect of the time trial, even though the smart money was on Contador to make gains of several minutes. Perhaps none of the usual cycling commentators gave Schleck much of a chance, but he had a shock up his sleeve. Evidently, he has worked very hard on trialling in his training, and at the first time check today, Schleck led Contador by 2 seconds. The deficit was now 6 seconds overall, and people were starting to pay attention! By the 30 km stage, the young Luxembourger had gained 5 seconds on his rival, desperate to pick up another 4 seconds to gain him the Yellow Jersey. Meanwhile, Contador struggled to get into any kind of rhythm as all the last riders fought against the headwinds.

Unfortunately for Schleck, the 5 second advantage on the road, quickly began to dissipate in the breeze, as the smaller and more experienced Spaniard folded himself into a perfectly aerodynamic shape and finally found a good metronomic rhythm, beating out over a hundred cycles per minute on the pedals. However, it wasn’t until 7 km to go that it became clear Contador had gained the upper hand and was making steady progress against Schleck, extending his time advantage in a fiercely strong drive in the latter half of the Stage. Full credit must go to Schleck though; this was indeed his best ever performance in a time trial, and he should be glowing with pride and confidence after that effort today.

In the event, Contador amassed a total of 39 seconds lead over Schleck, with only the final steady ride Paris left, which is normally not much of a contest – except for the sprinters. And for those people in the conspiracy theory camp, yes, 39 seconds is exactly what Contador managed to steal quite controversially from Schleck to gain the Yellow Jersey in the mountains, when Schleck’s chain came off. If the unwritten protocol had been conserved back then, the two riders could still be locked on exactly the same time after today! As it turned out, 39 seconds still represents the fifth closest first and second placings in Tour history. All in all an amazing day today on the tour. The expected slugging match between Sanchez and Menchov fizzled out quickly and was a non-event with Menchov easily overcoming the Spaniard.

Here’s the results of the time trial in Stage 19 and how the General Classification looks tonight, which will probably be the final Standings at the end of the Tour:

So the final showdown did end up as most people expected today, with Contador keeping the Yellow Jersey and almost certainly keeping it unless he crashes out tomorrow in the final stage to Paris. Schleck put on a great show, and came so close, but had to settle for a third White Jersey in the Tour, this being the last year he will be allowed to contest it, as he will be too old next year to qualify.

Tomorrow sees the grand finale, the final stage of the Tour de France 2010, from Longjumeau to Paris Champs-Élysées. This will be a stage for the sprinters and the end of the road for the Green Jersey competition. In the running are the current holder Petacchi, chased by Hushovd, who blames losing the Maillot Vert on the sprint that never was in Stage 2, and the dark horse, Cavendish. It remains to be seen whether the rider from the Isle of Man will throw caution to the wind tomorrow and go for some points in one of the intermediate sprints before running for the finish and a fifth stage win for the year.

As the race got under way, the pace was high, as riders scoped each other out for weaknesses accrued during the four day slog through the Pyrenees. At the 11 km there was a four man attack off the front of the peloton, the first proper attack of the day. The four escapees were Matti Breschel (SAX), Daniel Oss (LIQ), Jerome Pineau (QST) and Benoit Vaugrenard (FDJ). As their lead increased, riders from HTC-Columbia, Garmin and Lampre took up positions at the front of the chasing group, swapping positions to lift the pace and maintain the gap at no more that three and a half minutes. During the middle part of the race, and the lead up to the finale, Garmin had dropped back into the middle of the pack, leaving HTC and Lampre doing turns of pace, before Team Milram came to the fore in the last 45 km, to put in a pace setting contribution of their own.

At one point during the middle section of the race, second place man in the General Classification Andy Schleck appeared to be in trouble, dropping to the back of the peloton and riding alongside the race doctor for a while, but was soon back into the main bunch, side by side with Contador. These two needed to be near the front to ensure no splits in the peloton due to mishaps, which would have an impact on their critically close overall times.

Milram, HTC and Lampre raised the pace significantly in the last 45 km, stretching out the field, many of whom were just wanting to get home today, still with tired legs from what has been a very hot Tour de France so far. The gap to the breakaway men gradually diminished, and by 15 km out, was only 30 seconds. At this point, Pineau decided to stamp his authority on the front group with an attack, which was countered very rapidly by the other three men. Oss decided to fly away immediately the four man group was reestablished, but this time, the others did not have either the legs or the will to chase. Soon afterwards they were caught by the peloton, now in full chase mode.

Oss bravely continued, trying to get something of a shock result today, and for 10 km he held off the pursuing pack. Or as it turned out, they were holding Oss exactly where they wanted him, ready to pounce at will. And their will was done with 4 km to go, just as they all veered left onto the final run into Bordeaux, with a strong headwind against them. Oss was finished by the headwinds and the other teams tried to organise their lead outs.

(Photo of Mark Cavendish, by Elyobelyob. Reproduced under Creative Commons licence.)

The best set team for most of the run into town was Sky, with a perfect train hoping to catapult Boasson Hagen to a stage victory. Unfortunately for them, the whole peloton crushed to the right side of the road and left Sky and in particular Boasson Hagen trapped. The organisation disappeared and chaos took over as Cavendish sought riders to lead him to victory, with his team mates now left behind. The Green Jersey Hushovd fought his way to fourth position, and Cavendish locked onto his back wheel, biding his time for a perfect attack. However, Petacchi moved first, kicking up the pace and overtaking Cav on the left. Cav responded immediately, leaving Hushovd and most of the other riders in his wake. After a very brief moment slipstreaming Petacchi, Cavendish flicked the turbo button and was gone, leaving Petacchi trailing.

So it turned into yet another stage victory for Mark Cavendish, his fourth of this year’s Tour de France, and today’s was a very intelligently worked one, flitting from one team to another to sit in their slipstreams before making an explosive move right at the death.

Here is the rest of the placings from Stage 18, with the General Classification Standings, which were unchanged today:

Stage 18 was all about the Green Jersey, and Cavendish proved he is by far the best sprinter in the Tour this year, but after a bad start in the early stages, he still lies in third place. His points from today however, bring him to within touching distance of the two front runners, Petacchi and Hushovd. Petacchi had enough riders between himself and Hushovd today to once again wrangle the Green Jersey off the Norwegian’s shoulders. So Petacchi rides in green tomorrow. It makes for a great race to Paris on Sunday’s final stage of 2010.

Meanwhile, tomorrow we see Stage 19, the individual time trials, and it is back to the minutes and seconds rather than points, for the General Classification and the Yellow Jersey. The expectation is that Contador will ace the stage, hoping for a first stage win to justify winning the overal Maillot Jaune. Schleck has been very calm about the whole thing though, and is either playing mind games, or he thinks he has improved enough to mount a serious challenge in the time trial and cause a massive shock. There is also an opportunity for Sky rider Bradley Wiggins to shine tomorrow, as he is an excellent exponent of these types of stages. All in all, the overall Tour de France could well be settled by the time the riders get into Pauillac tomorrow evening.

As for the route, it contained a category 4 climb, two category 1′s and the unforgiving HC climb the Col du Tourmalet (2115 meters), with the finishing line right atop the final peak; so there were no final sprint descents to the finish today!

To the race, and from the outset of Stage 17 Team Sky launched two riders – Boasson Hagen and Flecha – into an attack, which was joined by the 3 km mark by five others – Burghardt (BMC), Kolobnev (KAT), Koren (LIQ), Pauriol (COF) and Perez Moreno (EUS). Konovalovas (CTT) had set off after the leading group by the 12 km stage. Later on, the peloton was slowed down by Contador to wait for the man currently standing third in the General Classification, Samuel Sanchez, who had taken a nasty fall, hurting his torso, and leaving him lying in the road for a significant length of time. He eventually managed to get back onto his bike and continue. Sastre (CTT) had ignored Contador’s instruction to slow down, instead racing forward to catch up with team mate Konovalovas.

Sanchez got back to the peloton by the 32 km mark, the group down by over 5 minutes from the lead group, with the counterattackers a little over 3 minutes behind the breakaway. By 40 km, Konovalovas left Sastre to fight on alone, and he did so courageously over both of the category 1 climbs. There was very little action on these two climbs, with no attacks; everyone knew today was a day that would see Contador and Schleck slug it out to the bitter end, and therefore it was likely that any further attacks would be futile. It was left for Saxo Bank, Astana and Omega Pharma to take turns leading the peloton to reel in all the escapees. Sastre was eventually caught by the main group having continued riding alone for 100 km. At this point as they all headed for the final climb, the escapees were 5 minutes ahead.

In the lead up to the climax of the stage, Rabo Bank, Saxo Bank and Astana continued to take shifts in pulling back the lead of the front riders. As they began the final ascent up the Col du Tourmalet, the Saxo Bank Team took over and turned the screws by notching up the pace. The field began to thin out as riders lost their legs. Eventually there were only about 20 left in the Yellow Jersey pack, and Schleck hit the turbos. It was a violent attack that left everyone else looking like they were travelling backwards; all except one – Alberto Contador. It was now a case of head to head, the seven leader already dispatched behind them.

The experience of Contador showed as he glued himself to Schleck’s back wheel in a masterclass of defensive riding. Schleck attacked again and again, but his shadow always responded, and showed no signs of weakness. With under 4 km to go, Contador darted out from Schleck’s back wheel and surged past him in a frenzied attack; this time Schleck was more than a match and wound him back in. The Spaniard promptly eased back into position to let the Luxembourger to all the hard pace setting work up a fearsome 9% gradient.

(Photo of King of the Mountains 2010, Anthony Charteau, by Ludo. Reproduced under Creative Commons licence.)

At the end, Contador graciously conceded that Schleck had done all the hard work, and declined to sprint past to steal the stage win. This is something that Contador desperately needs, as he will most certainly not want to be a Tour de France Champion without getting at least one stage win under his belt. And that is ominous, as he might decide the time trial is his best chance. So Schleck took the stage win on an historic stage, in the centenary year of the Pyrenees’ inclusion in the Tour. The two GC rivals clocked the same time, and that means: Advantage, Contador!

Elsewhere, none of the main rivals for the King of the Mountain Classification picked up any points today, and that means, with no more mountains left to climb, Anthony Charteau was awarded the Tour de France 2010 Polka Dot Jersey. The sprinters will be out in force for the remaining stages to see who will win the overall Green Jersey. That is a duel that will probably go all the way to Paris, with Hushovd and Petacchi fighting it out.

Today’s results for Stage 17 and the General classification look like this overnight:

So currently we have Contador holding onto the Yellow Jersey with a lead over Schleck of 8 seconds. In the Green Jersey competition, Hushovd wears this cycling shirt, but is only 4 points ahead of second place man, Petacchi. Charteau takes the Polka Dot Jersey for 2010, with the Mountain Classification now having been concluded. Schleck retains the White Jersey and a lead of six and a half minutes over his nearest rival; he has already won this one however, and is desperate to convert it to Yellow!

Tomorrow’s Stage 18 takes the teams from Salies-de Béarn to Bordeaux in a 198 km leg expected to be a run and chase, followed by group sprint.

The next climb was another category 1, the Col d’Aspin, and precipitated another flurry of attacks and counterattacks. Lloyd fell out the back of the leading group, and waited to be caught by Van den Broeck, and they assisted each other to the crest. Omega Pharma riders, marked closely by Astana led the peloton, keeping the escapees within 30 seconds reach. In several cases, less able climbers were dropped on the ascent only to regain entry into their respective chase groups during the subsequent descent down the other side. Cunego attacked the main group just before the summit, and caught the breakaway, while Casar extricated himself from this leading group with a burst of pace, and gained a 20 second gap.

(Photo of Pierrick Fedrigo by Gsl. Reproduced under Creative Commons licence.)

As the leaders approached the first major challenge of the day, an HC climb called the Col du Tourmalet (a climb so famed you can even buy tourmalet shirts to commemorate it!), a large bunch dropped back to get reabsorbed into the peloton. Armstrong eventually chased down Casar on the climb, and the small group behind, Fedrigo, Cunego, Moreau and van de Walle organised themselves to get back into contention at the front. In the event, Armstrong led, but was caught by Fedrigo and Cunego with the peloton lagging behind by over 2 minutes. This front group was quickly joined by Horner, Plaza and Barredo, and then 4 km from the top, Konovalovas also joined in the breakaway. Astana took over the pace making of the peloton, hoping to close the gap to the 10 man escape team.

No sooner had the riders triumphed over one hors categorie climb, when they were confronted by another one, looming over them, the Col d’Aubisque. The leading group of 10 – Armstrong, Barredo, Casar, Cunego, Fedrigo, Horner, Konovalovas, Moreau, Plaza and Van de Walle – amassed a hefty lead on the ascent of 7 minutes 30. In his last Tour de France, Armstrong was desperate to get another stage win, and attacked the leading group, splitting it in two, and taking only Barredo, Cunego, Fedrigo and Plaza with him. Others returned, to this front splinter group, and Armstrong attacked again, but could not pull away from his rivals. Barredo also failed to get free of the pack, and eight riders reached the summit together, with Moreau taking maximum points at the top. The road to the finishing line was still some way away, and the rest of the field was stretched out, with Casar reaching the summit in 9th place and Konovalovas 10th. The peloton lay some 10 minutes behind, led by Astana’s Tiralongo.

With 47 km to go Casar caught up with the front runners, just in time for further skirmishes. With 44 km left, Barredo mounted a brave and perfectly timed escape attempt. At that distance out, the other riders failed to respond, and Spanish rider put some serious time between himself and his pursuers. He amassed 40 seconds before the following group finally tried to organise themselves to catch him. The expectation was that another attack would have been needed to inject serious pace into the proceedings, but as it turned out, and rather disappointingly, they simply shared the pace making to gather in Barredo by the 1 km to go point. It was a pity he wasn’t to gain more from his heroic 44 km last ditch attempt to claim a stage win for himself.

As it turned out, the experience of the chasing riders was the thing that held them back from their pursuit, as they all knew that as soon as Barredo was captured, the real competition for the stage victory would begin, and this small group flew; they all knew they were far enough ahead of the main peloton. The Caisse d’Epargne riders took control at the front, and it was Armstrong who threw everything he had into an attack for the line, starting from second to last position in the group. Fedrigo spotted it and put his foot down; the rest would be chasing for second place. So Fedrigo won hs third ever Stage of the Tour de France, with Casar rolling in second. Another famous victory for the French in their home tournament. That takes the tally up to six French riders winning stages this year, an achievement last seen back in 1992.

The other riders fighting for the General Classification were happy to amble home later on, and that left the cycling shirt situation completely unchanged after today’s racing, as far as the Yellow Jersey competition is concerned.

Here are the results for Stage 16 and the Overall GC Standings:

The notable result of today’s stage, apart from another French victory to add to the collection, is the rather surprising name at number 10 in the Stage Standings: Thor Hushovd. A sprint specialist who managed to cling to a fast group over some killer mountain climbs, and come in to get more than a handful of points, which saw him poach the Green Jersey back from Petacchi. The Green Jersey competition is anybody’s game now between those two.

Mercifully for the riders, tomorrow is the second Rest Day of the Tour, and then they are back in the saddle for another Pyrenees stage on Thursday, the last mountain stage, and the final Polka Dot Jersey will be assigned after that. Then the riders will be within touching distance of Paris and the spoils of victory.

On another hot day in the Pyrenees, nobody was able to get away from the peloton despite constant attacks right from the off. After 25 km Astana had a go at breaking free but only managed a gap of 10 seconds before Saxo Bank reeled eventually reeled them back in. Sprints off the front were allowed for the riders desperate to add to their points tallies, with both Green Jersey combatants Hushovd and Petacchi topping up at the summit of the first climb. However, the main group would not entertain anything but brief bursts of speed, and kept all escapes on a piece of elastic, dragging them all back in in short shrift. Finally, just before reaching the 100 km point, a bunch of seven managed to launch themselves off the front and escape, soon after getting joined by another three and they steadily built up a lead. The ten leaders were: Ballan (BMC), Ivanov (KAT), Mondory (ALM), Perez Arrieta (FOT), Reda (QST), Roberts (MRM), Turgot (BTL), Vandborg (LIQ), Van Summeren (GRM) and Voeckler (BTL).

The second climb saw the stage leaders 4 mins 30 ahead at the foot, extending to over 7 minutes by the summit, with the chasing peloton led by O’Grady (SAX), McEwen (KAT) and Gutierrez (GCE). Saxo Bank led the main group over the third climb, and the maximum gap attained by the leaders was 10 mins 45.

At the beginning of the ascent of the monstrous Port de Bales there was a minor crash involving Geslin (FDJ), Lancaster (CTT) and Mayoz (FOT); for a moment the Footon-Servetto rider looked to be badly hurt, lying on the ground and holding his right hip, but after a change of bike was able to continue. By the foot of the Port de Bales O’Grady had already lifted the pace and the peloton were beginning to claw back time on the escapees.

(Photo of Thomas Voeckler by Jesus Roncero. Reproduced under Creative Commons licence.)

As the leaders mounted the HC climbs and the pace notched up, riders began popping out of the back of the group and this prompted French National Champion Thomas Voeckler to flick the turbo button and attempt an audacious escape from the others. This turned out to be a perfectly timed attack which left his fellow leaders eating his dust. He got free and by the summit was on his own and began the terrifying descent. He rode well and despite a near disaster when he nearly lost control of his back wheel on a small chicane section, proudly took the stage home for France; the fifth Frenchman to win a stage this year, and on the centenary day of the inclusion of the Pyrenees stages in the Tour. Good for him!

However, this magnificent achievement became a mere sideshow to what was unfolding behind him. Team Saxo Bank had fought hard all day, and burnt out all of their front riders pacing Schleck up the Port de Bales, before 3 km away from the summit, he noticed that his arch rival Contador was snoozing (looking over his wrong shoulder for Schleck who was tailing him at that point). Schleck made his move and accelerated away up the challenging finale of the last climb. Contador kicked to try and get back into contention, and appeared to be struggling. Then disaster for Schleck, off his saddle and pumping the pedals and his chain flew off stopping him dead. Contador was right behind and decided to take advantage of the dire misfortune, hotly pursued by Samuel Sanchez and Menchov, seeing their chance to grab some time back from Schleck.

Sanchez and Menchov are both great descenders and took Contador with them as they flew, with Schleck having lost over 30 seconds fixing his bike – and without any team members in support – valiantly chasing to make up time. He scythed through the field as if they were all out on a leisurely Sunday afternoon jaunt, but stood no chance catching up to the descent experts who were all tearing down the mountain to muscle Schleck down the Yellow Jersey rankings. By the time Schleck reached the finishing line, Contador had been home for 39 seconds, having cancelled out the Luxembourger’s 31 second pre-stage advantage, and gained both an 8 second lead of his own plus the coveted Yellow Jersey. Schleck was not best pleased as one of the unwritten rules of Tour de France racing is that the other contenders shouldn’t take advantage of mechanical failures, but what happened happened and cannot be undone. Contador claimed afterwards he didn’t know of Schleck’s chain problem.

So in a day that could so easily have seen Schleck finally break down Contador and add some extra time advantage before the time trial later in the week, we were instead treated to the shock of the Tour, which may have sealed Contador’s third overall Tour de France victory. How narrow the margins separating success from failure!

After Stage 15, the state of play looks like this:

That odd result today rather puts a cat amongst the pigeons in the General Classification, and will leave all sorts of questions about “fair play” in the Tour, at least for the remainder of this year’s competition. Contador, fair play or not, dissolved away Schleck’s 31 second lead, relieving him of the Yellow Jersey for tomorrow. Schleck has to content himself with the Young rider’s White Jersey. The Green Jersey remains with Petacchi for another day, and Charteau retains the Polka Dot Jersey as the current King of the Mountains.

Tomorrow takes the Tour from Bagnères-de-Luchon to Pau, before the second rest day of this year’s campaign. The Tour is now at boiling point, and if Andy Schleck is going to get that Yellow Jersey back he simply has to make a concerted move in the mountains of Stage 16, where the riders must grind their way up two category 1 climbs and two HC climbs. It is now or never for Schleck.

A very rapid start saw an attack inside the first kilometer, led by Knees (MRM) followed by 11 others, but this initial escape barely lasted 10 km before the majority of the riders fell back into the main group. This left Brutt (KAT), Gutierrez (GCE), Moinard (COF), Thomas (SKY) and Zabriskie (GRM) up front and hoping to build up a nice big lead before the HC climb looming ahead of them. With RadioShack leading the peloton’s chase, Gutierrez eventually slid backwards and was absorbed. No further progress was made until a new attack peeled off the front of the peloton, and by the 25 km mark they – Auge (COF), Rolland (BTL), Riblon (ALM), Van de Walle (QST) and Vaugrenard (FDJ) – captured the front four to make a nine man leading group. They made swift progress to open up a gap of over 9 minutes at Mirepoix but Astana took on a single-handed pursuit, leading the peloton for endless kilometers until, by the time they reach the Port de Pailhères, the gap was just over 4 minutes.

(Photo of Christophe Riblon, by Cah1. Reproduced under Creative Commons licence.)

The huge climb was an open invitation for attacks from the front of the chasing group and Valls Ferri was first to try his luck. Meanwhile, rider in the leading group dropped like flies as Riblon, Moinard and Van de Walle injected some pace into the proceedings. Similarly, the front of the peloton was beginning to fragment, with multiple attacks stretching out the group. At the top of the climb, Riblon had escaped from his little trio, leaving Moinard on his own in second, Van de Walle further behind and also on his own. A new trio were next in the standings at this point consisting of Valls Ferri, Sastre and Kiryienka; followed by a new attacker in the form of Charteau, looking to gain a few more points to consolidate his King of the Mountains title and keep the Polka Dot Jersey on his shoulders for another day. Cunego followed on behind, ahead of Moreau and Garate before the main peloton. Cadel Evans had been popped out the back of the peloton, but is carrying a minor, but nevertheless agonisingly painful, cracked elbow, so was hoping simply to survive these horrific Pyrenees stages.

On the white knuckle ride down the other side of the mountain, Riblon led Moinard, and the following five congealed into a single chasing group. Despite the fact that there was another nasty category 1 climb ahead, but with only 10 km to go, Riblon had suddenly found a second wind, and the belief that maybe he could actually win this stage. He fought his way up the final climb, and was assisted by in-fighting between Schleck and Contador who were less intent on upping the pace, and more concerned about marking each other against sudden attacks. This slight misjudgement perhaps, led other contenders in the General Classification race to steam ahead – notably Sammi Sanchez, Menchov, Gesink and Rodriguez.

By the latter stages of the final ascent, Contador was the lone Astana team member, his team mates having worked hard to burn up the road and destroy the legs of the other elite riders. It was not enough however, as Schleck was still there, and after a couple of failed attacks by Contador, marked closely by Schleck, Menchov fired his turbo and took off, pursued by Sanchez. Contador and Schleck called time after this and settled into a small group with other rivals to ride home with the same time. Sanchez and Menchov gained 14 seconds on the Yellow Jersey, but the day belonged to Frenchman Christophe Riblon, who won his first Tour de France Stage at a very early stage in his career. Interviewed afterwards he joked that yesterday, he would not have bet a euro on himself to win the stage! Well done to him.

The results for Stage 14 and the current GC look like this as the Tour finished its first day in the Pyrenees:

The awarded cycle shirts remain exactly the same as yesterday, with Charteau gaining extra points today and keeping his King of the Mountains Polka Dot Jersey; Petacchi keeps the Green Jersey; and Schleck holds onto the Yellow Jersey for now, warding off Contador’s attempts to attack today, but letting the gap for third and fourth shrink somewhat. That is something to beware of in the next few stages and something the top two riders’ teams will probably put right before Stage 15.

Tomorrow and it’s Stage 15, a 187.5 km journey from Pamiers to Bagnères-de-Luchon. Another HC climb will beckon the riders before the end, but rather than finishing at the summit, this time the riders will finish at the end of a hair raising descent.