France Leads in Tour's Stage Wins
With Pierrick Fedrigo’s victory in the 16th Stage of the 2010 Tour de France, riders from the host country have won three consecutive stages, and six in total in this year’s Tour.
The first two stage victories were taken in the 2nd and 7th Stages by Sylvain Chavanel, teammate of the "King of the Mountains" Jerome Pineau, both Frenchman riding for the Belgian-based team Quick Step.
“We are in a spiral on this incredible Tour 2010,” said Chavanel. “We started with the whole team, and it goes perfectly. What we did in the stage to Spa was extremely rare. But to do it twice… oh, it’s wonderful. Now we will try to win a third!”
Sandy Casar, riding for FDJ, took the next French win in Stage 9, when the Tour entered the Alps after the first rest day. This was a first time victory for Casar, who dedicated it to his father, a former professional sprint cyclist.
While the "King of the Mountains" competition throughout the Tour so far has been between two Frenchmen, Pineau and Anthony Charteau, France came back into centre stage when the Tour entered the Pyrenees. French cyclists have taken every Pyrenees stage so far, starting with Christophe Riblon’s victory in Stage 14.
“When you’re alone in front, with a few kilometers to the finish, the support of the public helps to carry you and it encourage you, it transforms you and gives you strength,” said Riblon of his lead. “I gave everything and I felt I could not lose.”
The winner of the 15th Stage, Thomas Voeckler, has been suffering from a stomach illness through the Alps, which brought him to the verge of quitting, but the experienced rider knew that his fortunes could change at any time. He nearly took Alexandre Vinokourov’s victory in the 13th Stage, and went on to grab his second Tour stage win in the 15th.
"Everyone will have seen me at the back of the peloton on many occasions. But in the last two or three days I've felt better,” said Voeckler. “I was the best climber. I waited until the steepest sections of the climb and went for it. From there on the fans gave me massive encouragement."
Voeckler, who held the yellow jersey for 10 days in 2004, was proud to win a stage while holding the French champion title, and thanks the spirit of his team for getting him through. When asked why the French were performing so well this year, he said he couldn’t really explain.
"I think the course may suit us as there are lots of difficult stages, but they are not so difficult at the end that there's a big battle for the yellow jersey, and that gives other riders some openings."
The 16th Stage, a commemoration of the first time the Tour de France crossed the Pyrenees, was won by Fedrigo, a hundred years after another Frenchman won a very similar stage. Fedrigo attacked from the very beginning and stayed with a breakaway group, which included Lance Armstrong and Sandy Casar, for the whole day.
"Yesterday I was almost cracking up because I thought I might finish this Tour without having got into a group that disputed the stage win," Fedrigo said. "It wouldn't have mattered so much if I'd finished second or third, I just wanted to be in there fighting for the stage win."
Like his teammate Voeckler, Fedrigo has been attracting attention from local and international teams, but will remain loyal to Bbox Bouygues Telecom if they can secure a sponsor for the 2011 season.
"I've had some offers from elsewhere but I'm not going to close the door on Jean-René [Bernaudeau]. I am in discussions with him now, or at least I will be when the Tour is over," said Fedrigo.
Tags: