One For The Road

My first memory of Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis) was on Stage 15 of the 2003 Tour de France. The then 24-year old riding for Brioches La Boulangère was off with the gun on that day as he attempted to take the stage from Bagnères-de-Bigorre to Luz-Ardiden solo.

Having crested the Col du Tourmalet first, Chavanel looked to be well on his way to his first ever Tour de France stage victory. But midway up the final climb of the Luz-Ardiden, Chavanel would receive a tap on the shoulder for his valiant efforts from one Lance Armstrong, who had attacked, was felled by a musette bag, and then attacked again. Armstrong would take the stage and his 5th Tour.

Five years later, Chavanel’s attitude toward racing hasn’t changed much, writing in his Cyclingnews diary at the beginning of the Tour:

And then, it's weird that only the Frenchmen attack. It seems as though the foreigners are keeping their forces up their sleeves for the last week. But I don't care about later... I don't care about a top 15 placing. That's not why I'm here. Cycling would be quite a sad affair if everybody was speculating like that. I mean, you shouldn't be afraid to take a blow. It's also much more exciting for the spectators: they want us to attack - and if we blow up on the next day, it doesn't matter! At least, we gave everything on the day we really went for it.

But, his results have certainly improved.

The Frenchman, slated to ride for the Belgian team Quick-Step next year, can now add a Tour stage to his palmares as he bested countryman Jérémy Roy (Française des Jeux) in a two-up sprint. Gerald Ciolek (Team Columbia) was the best of the rest taking the field sprint in front of Erik Zabel (Milram).

Results
1 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone
2 Jérémy Roy (Fra) Française des Jeux
3 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Columbia

The General Classification published before Stage 19 remained unchanged. The field is set for tomorrow’s 53km ITT, so step up and place your bets.

General Classification After Stage 19
1 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank
2 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 1.24
3 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner 1.33
4 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto 1.34
5 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 2.39
6 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30 4.41
7 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 5.35
8 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 5.52
9 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) AG2R La Mondiale 8.10
10 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale 8.24

Next : Stage 20 - Saturday, July 26: Cérilly - Saint Amand Montrond (ITT), 53km. The profile is relatively flat, but the zig-zag course should offer up some surprises especially if it rains as predicted.


More:
Reuters - Chavanel rewarded for his efforts with maiden Tour win
Bike Radar - Tour notes: Chavanel dedicates stage win to lost friend
Yahoo! Eurosport - Tour de France - Chavanel adds to French glory
IHT - Mind games and odd behavior as pressure rises

Photo: Getty Images