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Freire’s green jersey hunt gets a shot in the arm
Spaniard Oscar Freire should now have a better idea of whether he can keep the Tour de France green jersey, after some in-race consultation with sprint rival Mark Cavendish. Cavendish, the winner of four sprint stages so far, was conspicuous by his absence on Saturday as Freire claimed his first win of this year's race from yet another bunch sprint at the end of the 194km 14th stage.
Stage 14 – By the numbers
Stage 14, Nimes to Digne-Les-Baines, 194.5km
WeatherHot and sunny, strong westerly winds (tailwinds for the peloton) up to 45kph. Air temperature at the start was 86 degrees, while the road temperature during the stage reached 107. Stage winner
Spaniard Oscar Freire (Rabobank) took his fourth career Tour stage win and the first of this Tour, ahead of Leonardo Duque (Cofidis) and Erik Zabel (Milram). With 10km remaining Jose Gutierrez (Caisse d’Epargne) was the last man reeled in out of a four-man breakaway that spent 143km off the front
Mark Cavendish unlikely to start Sunday’s stage 15
CAV EXIT LIKELY: Mark Cavendish’s dream Tour de France is likely over as it’s expected that the British sprinter won’t take the start for Sunday’s opening salvo into the Alps. Cavendish won four sprint stages, but struggled to maintain the pace over a fourth-category climb with 9.5km to go to the line in Dignes-les-Bains. He popped off the back of the peloton and rolled across the line 108th at 3:27 back.
A conversation with Matt White: ‘Christian Gets Better and Better’
Garmin-Chipotle sport director Matt White has had a front-row seat to the team’s surprisingly good opening two weeks of the Tour de France. Team captain Christian Vande Velde enters Saturday’s opening shot of the showdown in the Alps poised in third place overall. The team has been flying under the radar, but that’s bound to change if Vande Velde’s consistency continues through the Alps. We caught up with Matt White ahead of Friday’s start to talk tactics looking ahead to the decisive climbing stages in the Alps. Here are excerpts from the interview:
Will Frischkorn’s Tour de France diary, stage 14
A HOT one here in France-land today, and fast from start to finish. A flurry of attacks in the first few minutes eventually created a group of 21. With a slight wind at our backs the first hour rolled 53Ks under the tires. The group was just a bit too big however and eventually a concerted chase from behind brought us back. Four took off out of the group for the long haul, the rest of us got to go back, fetch some bottles and settle in for the day.
Wilier delivers new bikes in time for Tour
Last year the bikes Lampre riders showed up to the Tour with were well used, all looked battle worn with chipped paint and rusted bolts from the harsh weather and frequent washing by the mechanics.
Live Coverage – Stage 14 Tour de France, 2008
- 11:55 AM: Good day and welcome
to VeloNews.com's Live Coverage of the 14th stage of the 95th edition of the Tour de France, a 194.5-kilometer race from Nimes to Digne les Baines.
Oscar Freire takes the 14th stage of the 2008 Tour de France
Points competition leader Oscar Freire won Saturday's 14th stage of the 2008 Tour de France, a mostly flat 195km route from Nimes to Digne les Bains. Overall race leader Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) finished in the lead group on the stage to retain his 1-second advantage over Frank Schleck as the race approaches several difficult mountain stages.
Hamilton leading Tour of Qinghai Lake
Rock Racing’s Tyler Hamilton on Saturday defended his overall lead in China's Tour of Qinghai Lake, holding a ten-second lead going into Sunday's final stage. Hamilton won Friday's stage 8 — his first race win in four years — by outsprinting Poland's Mark Rutkiewicz. The pair finished more than a minute ahead of the field including former race leader Hossein Askari (Tabriz Petrochemical Team). The win moved him from fourth to first place.
Evans will face a new race when the Tour begins some tough climbing stages starting Sunday
The sponsor of Cadel Evans' team on the Tour de France is known for products that allow noisy snorers to doze off and enjoy a good night's sleep. But if there was ever a time the Australian needed his Silence teammates to wake up, it will be on the three upcoming alpine stages that are likely to decide whether he keeps the yellow jersey. After battling through the Pyrenees with injuries sustained in a crash, Evans managed to get through this last week relatively unscathed, rebuilding strength in an injured shoulder which has left him lop-sided on the bike.
Australian Olympic Committee denies Jongewaard a team spot
Mountain biker Chris Jongewaard failed in his attempt to join Australia's team for next month's Beijing Olympics when he was turned down for selection by the Australian Olympic Committee here Saturday. Jongewaard is facing hit and run and drink-driving offenses relating to a road accident last year which left fellow cyclist Matthew Rex with severe head injuries. He has pleaded not guilty and is due to face court again later this year.
Duenas blames Spanish doctor for positive dope test
Spanish rider Moises Duenas, kicked out of the Tour de France, has blamed a Spanish doctor for his positive test for the blood booster erythropoietin (EPO), the daily El Pais reported on Saturday. Duenas, who was charged with "use and possession of poisonous substances" before a court at Tarbes, southwestern France on Thursday, had claimed that the products were sold to him by Spanish doctor Jesus Losa.
Inside the Tour, with John Wilcockson – Mark Cavendish, the Manx Flyer
Until Mark Cavendish came on the pro scene just over a year ago, the most successful British Tour sprinter was Barry Hoban, who won eight stages between 1967 and 1975. Hoban was not a natural sprinter, but he could sustain a long finishing effort and he won stages with smart positioning. He rarely had any support from his French team, Mercier, which was devoted to protecting its team leader Raymond Poulidor. The only other British Tour rider to win field sprints was Michael Wright, who took three stages between 1965 and 1973.
Mark Cavendish Profile: The joker gets serious
He's known for being a joker among a cosmopolitan team that came to the Tour de France proclaiming their "clean" approach to racing would help smooth their way to success. But when it gets serious in the hectic bunch sprints, curly-haired Briton Mark Cavendish doesn't have time for practical jokes. Cavendish reinforced his status as arguably the fastest sprinter in the world on Friday when he claimed his fourth stage win of this year's edition.