Female Tour de France 2012 Cycling the Pyrenees

The 6 female cyclists that are riding 3,479 kilometers are getting ready for the Pyrenees. Here are some pictures that I hope you enjoy as much as I do. Also, their website is fantastic and provides tons of information about other activitis the RÉVE cycling team has.

Props to them for what they are doing is real passionate cycling.

RÉVE Cycling Team Female TDF 2012
Dra. Martha Castro -inserted in WordPress blog-

The ever narrowing tunnel that is the Tour finds us in our second rest day in Lourdes surrounded by a surreal mix of history and religious commercialism. The cure, if it’s here, has a price tag. The brief pause is almost over. Laundry done, group fed, emails sent, bikes cleaned, images backed up, uploaded and finally push the button on this post. Paris is just over some very big hills. I have no doubts the team and our Dutch friends will make the Champs Elysees on Saturday.

Alejandro Valverde Wins Tour de France Stage 17 Wiggins Leads

 

This was a good stage, but it lacked of the stamina from Wiggins and Nibali, I think. They could have taken over, speed up and put a good fight. It seems to me that now (since Lance Armstrong) they all want to do a great individual time trial and then seat on their seat with the peloton.

Anyways, Alejandro Valverde deserves an applause and a salute for his absolute and great effort to avoid Wiggo and Níbali and win the stage.

Well another tense day in the Tour. Nibali and Liquigas promised much with their aggression but like in the Giro, their leader was found wanting after the team had done so much work.

Sky appeared to have a slightly off day, but in the end Froome and Wiggins were just too strong for everyone, Froome especially, who could have put time into Wiggins but chose to keep by his leader’s side.

And Valverde, he won the stage after a long break.

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION after Stage 17

1 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling 78:28:02
2 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:02:05
3 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:02:41
4 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 0:05:53
5 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:08:30

 

 

Frank Schleck Quits Tour de France Due to Testing Positive for Doping

Frank Schleck, so thin, taking diuretics right before the big climbs tomorrow so he can get rid off more weight to climb faster…and dehydrated?! What in the world is he doing to his body for goodness sakes? Climbing those mountains after taking diuretics is practically committing suicide. No tour, no sport is worth my life, that is for sure. Loving cycling to death should be only a way to express how much we  love the sport, not to actually kill ourselves for it!

Police questioned Tour de France star Frank Schleck after he tested positive for a banned substance, his RadioShack team said.

Schleck, who quit the race after being informed of the positive test, went voluntarily to a police station in Pau, southwest France, to co-operate with authorities, RadioShack spokesman Philippe Maertens said.

Schleck’s positive test for the banned diuretic Xipamide was announced earlier by the International Cycling Union (UCI).

The RadioShack team said it had decided to withdraw the Luxembourg rider from the race, and said that the diuretic is not present in any medicine used by the team.

Mr Maertens said the team is likely to ask for the “B” sample to be analysed, which it must do within four days.

“The UCI is confident that his team will take the necessary steps to enable the Tour de France to continue in serenity and to ensure that their rider has the opportunity to properly prepare his defense in particular within the legal timeline, which allows four days for him to have his B sample analysed.”

The team’s statement:

“Our team attaches great value to transparency. Because of this, we can announce the following as a response to the adverse analytical finding of xipamide in Fränk Schleck’s urine sample of July 14 during the Tour de France.

“After being informed by the UCI about the presence of xipamide in the urine sample of Fränk Schleck on July 14, the team has decided to immediately withdraw Fränk Schleck from the Tour de France.

“Even though an abnormal A sample does not require these measures, Mr. Schleck and the team believe this is the right thing to do, to ensure the Tour de France can go on in calm and that Fränk Schleck can prepare his defense in accordance with the legal timing to do so.

“On the subject of xipamide the team can declare the following: it is not a product that is present in any of the medicine that the team uses and the reason for the presence of xipamide in the urine sample of Mr. Schleck is unclear to the team. Therefore, the team is not able to explain the adverse findings at this point.

“However, the team is fully determined to collaborate with the anti-doping agencies in order to resolve the matter.”

Fedrigo Pierrick Wins Tour de France Stage 15

Fédrigo Pierrick was bitten by a tick a year ago. He got Lyme disease and suffered pretty bad from it, but he was treated properly and recovered to perfection. As an interesting note, Lyme disease transmits the bacteria known scientifically as Borrelia Burgdorferi.

The three climbs today came between kilometers 109 and 129. They were, in order, categories 4-3-4.
162 riders finished the stage yesterday. Only seven teams still had their full number of riders: BMC, Europcar, Liquigas, Lotto, FDJ, Saxo Bank, and Orica-GreenEdge. Rabobank is the hardest hit, with five riders gone. Euskaltel, Lampre and Vacansoleil have lost four riders each.

Fedrigo Pierrick wins today’s stage, he is 33, and this is his second Tour stage win. His first win was two years ago.

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 15

GBR 1 WIGGINS, Bradley (SKY PROCYCLING) 68:33:21
GBR 2 FROOME, Christopher (SKY PROCYCLING) + 2:05
ITA 3 NIBALI, Vincenzo (LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE) + 2:23
AUS 4 EVANS, Cadel (BMC RACING) + 3:19
BEL 5 VAN DEN BROECK, Jurgen (LOTTO BELISOL) + 4:48
ESP 6 ZUBELDIA AGIRRE, Haimar (RADIOSHACK-NISSAN) + 6:15
USA 7 VAN GARDEREN, Tejay (BMC RACING) + 6:57
SLO 8 BRAJKOVIC, Janez (ASTANA) + 7:30
FRA 9 ROLLAND, Pierre (EUROPCAR) + 8:31
FRA 10 PINOT, Thibaut (FDJ-BIG MAT) + 8:51

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Female Tour de France 2012 LIEGE to Paris Cycling Team RÉVE

This is the REAL Tour de France, with no doping, true courage and love for cycling, no helicopters following them everywhere they go, no scandals of any kind: The LIÉGE TO PARIS.
I truly recommend you to pay a visit to their web page and follow their accomplishments. They are awesome! They are going to ride 3,472 kilometers in all and as of now, they have left the Alps behind!
The name of the team is RÉVE and I will be following them very closely, that is for sure.

This July, in partnership with peloton magazine and on behalf of Bikes Belong, we’re going back to France with six female amateurs intent on writing a new chapter in the annals of women’s cycling. The Rêve women’s team will ride the complete 2012 Tour de France route, proving to themselves, other female cyclists, and women thinking about taking up the sport, that any bicycle dream is possible. In true Rêve fashion they’ll ride one day ahead of the men’s Tour, stay in the same spartan hotels and endure the unrelenting grind of daily transfers that define the three-week journey around France. Every training mile and every kilometer in France will be pedaled in support of Bikes Belong. Bikes Belong is a national coalition of bicycle retailers and suppliers working to make cycling safer and more accessible for women. We aim to make a significant contribution to that purpose.

The Women’s SuperSix will feature the advanced ergonomics of FSA components, the latest SRAM Red with Quarq power meters we hope to share the data, and in the mountains, we’ll have the advantage of SRAM’s WiFLi climbing gearing. Understanding that no bike component is more important or personal than your choice of saddle the team will have the full benefit of Fizik women’s-specific technology under them.

Moreno Moser Wins Tour de Pologne Stage 6

Moreno Moser, a professional Italian cyclist racer won today´s stage 6 of the Tour de Pologne (Bukovina-Bukowina Tatrzańska, 192 km: 5 laps of 38,5 km with 5 passages on the 1st category Kom of Zab, 5 on the 1st category Kom of Gliczarow Gorny, in addition to the final hill on Bukowina Tatrzànska).
Just before the finish line, the young Italian cyclist overtook Henao, who had attacked at 3000 to go from the head group in which Lampre-ISD’s Niemiec (photo Bettini archive) and Mori were pedaling too.

At 191km in length and with 15 climbs, ten of them classified for the climber’s competition, the sixth stage of the Tour of Poland made up for the lack of absolute altitude with frequency in its ascents, clocking in 4400m of climbing, but never going higher than 1000m above sea level.

“The race was not so tough as it could have been, because the pace was raised onlt in the final part of the course – Bondariew, sport director from Lampre-ISD, commented – Good performance by Niemiec, who also tried to escape from the bunch on the downhill before the final hill: he was with Vanavermaet and Majka, but those two breakaway mates crashed and so Przemyslaw could not have their support anymore. Then, he covered in a competitive way the last hill, also trying to support Mori who, suffering because of the cramps, could not defend his position in the overall classification”.

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION after stage 6

1 Moreno Moser (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 27:25:17
2 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:00:05
3 Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Sky Procycling 0:00:16
4 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Katusha Team 0:00:25
5 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan 0:00:28

David Millar Wins Tour de France Stage 12 Wiggins Leads

David Millar outsprints Peraud and wins today´s Tour de France 12 stage, but Bradley Wiggins continues to wear the yellow jersey.

“The day worked out perfectly. It’s my proudest win since my Tour victory at Béziers in 2002 as winning a road stage is always more emotional than winning a time trial or a prologue. It’s taken our team going through turmoil to bring out the best of me,” said Millar, who paid tribute to Tom Simpson, who died 45 years ago today on a Tour stage over Mont Ventoux.

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION after stage 12

1	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	54:34:33
2	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:02:05
3	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:02:23
4	Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team	0:03:19
5	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team	0:04:48
6	Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) RadioShack-Nissan	0:06:15
7	Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team	0:06:57
8	Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team	0:07:30
9	Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar	0:08:31
10	Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat	0:08:51

Pierre Rolland Wins Stage 11 Tour de France 2012 Wiggins Leads

Pierre Rolland falls on a curve but like a true cyclist gets up and continues, but this time with more adrenaline and will to win the stage, and he does, yes, he wins stage 11 almost a minute ahead of Wiggins. Great work, Roland!

PIERRE ROLLAND

Cadel Evans looked tired today and fell back on the GC. Yesterday he was No.2, today he dropped to 4. Will he be off the podium? We will see how he recovers these next 2 stages.

Fabian Cancellara draws from the Tour de France to support his wife in the final days of her pregnancy as they await the birth of their second child.

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION after stage 11

GBR 1 WIGGINS, Bradley (SKY PROCYCLING) 48:43:53
GBR 2 FROOME, Christopher (SKY PROCYCLING) + 2:05
ITA 3 NIBALI, Vincenzo (LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE) + 2:23
AUS 4 EVANS, Cadel (BMC RACING) + 3:19
BEL 5 VAN DEN BROECK, Jurgen (LOTTO BELISOL) + 4:48
ESP 6 ZUBELDIA AGIRRE, Haimar (RADIOSHACK-NISSAN) + 6:15
USA 7 VAN GARDEREN, Tejay (BMC RACING) + 6:57
SLO 8 BRAJKOVIC, Janez (ASTANA) + 7:30
FRA 9 ROLLAND, Pierre (EUROPCAR) + 8:31
FRA 10 PINOT, Thibaut (FDJ-BIG MAT) + 8:51

Voeckler Wins Stage 10 Tour de France 2012

Big climb of the day includes the first HC climb of the Tour, the Col du Grand Colombier.
Sagan now has only a 27-point lead over Goss in the points ranking for the green jersey.

Former rider Charles Wegelius said about today’s stage:

“There’s a little bit less time to the finish than there was in the Dauphine. But with yesterday’s rest day and time trial before this stage, it has breakaway written all over it. Getting a guy in the break is a bit of a numbers game but hopefully the right guy can get in the right move.

“With the accidents we’ve had there are some extremely strong riders still a bit further behind than you’d expect and that might make it a bit more interesting for them to go with breakaways. I think that Sky have an extremely strong team and all the capabilities to control the race over every terrain.”

THREE FIRST RIDERS TO CROSS THE LINE:

1 Voeckler

2 Scarponi

3 Voigt

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION after stage 10

1 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling 43:59:02
2 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:01:53
3 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:02:07
4 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:02:23
5 Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha Team 0:03:02
6 Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) RadioShack-Nissan 0:03:19
7 Maxime Monfort (Bel) RadioShack-Nissan 0:04:23
8 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 0:04:48
9 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale 0:05:29
10 Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:05:31

Braddley Wiggins Takes Yellow Jersey From Cancellara Froom Wins

Froome leaves Evan behind at the top of the final climb, Wiggo follows and becomes the leader of the Tour. Stages still practically FLAT FLAT FLAT! Argh!

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

1 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling 34:21:20
2 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:00:10
3 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:00:16
4 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 0:00:32
5 Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha Team 0:00:54
6 Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) RadioShack-Nissan 0:00:59
7 Maxime Monfort (Bel) RadioShack-Nissan 0:01:09
8 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01:22
9 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:01:32
10 Michael Rogers (Aus) Sky Procycling 0:01:40