Despite coming up empty handed in the field sprints thus far, Oscar Friere's (Rabobank) climbing ability and finishing consistency helped him garner the lead in the maillot vert competition.
On Saturday's Stage 14 from Nîmes to Digne les Bains, this green claded Oscar proved to be no grouch [or slouch for that matter] in taking the sprint in front of Leonard Duque (Cofidis) and Erik Zabel (Milram). With the win and the high mountains now firmly in the picture, the 32-year old Spaniard has more than likely sewn up his first overall victory in the green jersey competition.
Results
1 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank
2 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone
3 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram
Mark Cavendish (Team Columbia) finally showed a chink in his armor. Unable to keep up with the peloton on the day's first climb, Manxman didn't figure into the finale. He has most likely seen his final day in this edition of the Tour de France.
General Classification After Stage 14
1 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto
2 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 0.01
3 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30 0.38
4 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner 0.46
5 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 0.57
6 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 1.28
7 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia 1.56
8 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale 2.32
9 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 3.51
10 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas 4.18
Next: Stage 15 - Sunday, July 20 - Embrun - Prato Nevoso (183km)
More:
AP - Spain's Freire wins Stage 14 of Tour
NYT - Freire Adds Victory to His Lead as Top Sprinter
Photo: Reuters
Gotta say, it's hard not to love Zabel huh? I mean here's a guy that while admitting his EPO usage earlier in his career, he kept it clean (we think) for a long time and is keeping it real now.
ReplyDeleteI mean day in and day out, the guy is there every time. What are we talking here? 37 or 38 yrs old and hanging with dudes throwing out 1100-1400 watts like candy? Pretty awesome and pretty inspiring. It makes my 100 watt sprints seem all the sweeter.
Yes, Zabel is certainly remarkable as well...whether people want to diminish his overall career because of his confession is their decision, but it is also short sighted as the whole of the peloton was probably doped up at the time...his 6 green jersey victories weren't a fluke or can't be completely tied to doping.
ReplyDelete