Sandy Casar Sprints to Win Stage 9 of the Tour
The ninth stage of the 2010 Tour de France was the most mountainous stage so far, but unlike the previous two stages, it did not end with a summit finish. Instead, the final climb of the Col de la Madeleine was followed by a flat 32km stretch to the finish line, which gave Sandy Casar the opportunity to overtake "King of the Mountains" and stage win hopeful Anthony Charteau.
“I had a difficult first week after which I lost my hopes of a good result in the general classification,” said Casar. “So it was from that moment that I began to think about this stage, because it suited me. The climbs were hard, but it’s better for me when the finish is not at altitude.”
Casar, riding for FDJ, maintained his composure throughout a hectic battle in the final 30km. With LL Sanchez and Damiano Cunego, he took the lead ahead of Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador, who both narrowly failed to make the top 5, and took the stage in a sprint finish.
The French cyclist, who was the best young rider at the 2004 Tour, now has three stage wins under his belt, after one win in 2007 and 2008, as well as six 2nd place finishes, two of them in 2009.
“I knew it had to be at the front for the penultimate corner if I was to have a chance of winning. But I did not expect to see the return of Andy Schleck, who immediately took the lead [in the final kilometer]. So I gave it my all to pass him," said Casar.
The 9th Stage was France’s third win at the 2010 Tour, after Sylvain Chavanel’s wins in the 2nd and 7th stages. It was Casar’s third stage win as well, though he has only stood on the Tour de France podium twice before, since he earned his Stage 16 win in 2008 retroactively after the winner, Mikel Astarloza, tested positive for doping and was disqualified. In turn, his results were nullified and Casar was awarded the win.
"It's fantastic for French cycling to have three stage wins out of nine stages and there might be more to come," said Tour director Christian Prudhomme. "Casar has been so often second. He hangs on all the time. I'm delighted with all of what happened in today's stage."
Casar’s father was a professional cyclist, a sprinter actually, who taught his son that he should always sprint at 200m from the finish line. This strategy won Casar the 18th stage in 2007, the stage where he famously crashed in an early breakaway group when a dog ran into the road. He opened his sprint the same way in today’s stage, except that he misjudged the distance – he was actually 350m from the finish.
"We never got much time over the Tour favourites. I was struggling on the last climb but when I got back on, I thought nobody could beat me. I had seen the profile of the finish on the race manual, so I knew about the left hand curve at the end. I didn't want to get trapped like two years ago when I lost to Cyril Dessel in Jausiers," said Casar.
The Frenchman, who is not among the best climbers, can thank the flat finish after the Col de la Madeleine descent for his victory. His best performances in the past have been on downhill finishes. The 11th place finisher of last year’s Tour had a difficult first week, initially targeting the general classification but suffering in the nervous heat.
Casar has competed in every Tour de France but one since his father, André Casar, passed away in 2004. Sandy publicly dedicated today’s victory to his father.
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