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Nissan North America Inc.
07/19/2012 | Press release
RadioShack Nissan Trek @ The Tour de France: Looking ahead to Paris
distributed by noodls on 07/19/2012 16:14
FRANCE - With the Teams classification still a top goal, RSNT kept the lead ahead of Sky by 14:09, losing a bit of ground today but still looking good for the podium in Paris on Sunday.
Afterwards a tired Chris Horner looked back on the day's action: "I just didn't have the desire to kill myself in the last few kilometers today. It wouldn't help my GC position so it was better for me to do my own tempo, protect our team classification and not blow up. I was at 375 and 400 watts but I would have needed to go 450 to catch those guys. I didn't have that part when it came time. I had many good stages this Tour and today I had a good result from those efforts. My role in the early part of this Tour was to go in breaks and cover some finishes, so my overall results don't reflect the way I've ridden this Tour, but that was my job and I like to think I did it well."
It was the last true mountain stage in the 2012 Tour de France as stage 17 played out on the roads to Peyragudes. Despite being the final chance for GC contenders to move up on race leader Bradley Wiggins (Sky), no successful attacks were thrown at the British rider and he ended up widening the gap to the other top riders. The top three remained Wiggins, his teammate Chris Froom at 2:05 and Liquigas-Cannondale's Vicenzo Nibali at 2:41.
The stage win went to Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) on a day that included five rated climbs, including the final pitch to the small ski area of Peyragudes. Froom and Wiggins chased the Spanish rider but he cleared the victory in 4:12:11, 19-seconds ahead of the British teammates. For RSNT it was American Chris Horner who saw the top ten, taking the line in ninth place at just over a minute behind Valverde's winning time. Teammate Andreas Klöden took 11th. Haimar Zubeldia suffered early on the bike, slipping to seventh on the GC but still looking solid to stay in the top ten for this year's race.
"Sometimes in the beginning of a stage it isn't so easy for me," said Haimar Zubeldia. "But once I recovered from the start I was ok. Then at the very end I couldn't quite go with the best riders. But I think I didn't lose too much time. On the last climb Maxime Monfort was with me, so now I hope to recover a bit tomorrow and then do a good TT on Saturday. We want to be on the podium in Paris."
The real battle early in the race belonged to Robert Kiserlovski (Astana) and Thomas Voeckler (Team Europcar) who contested each mountain top for the honor to wear the polka dot jersey at race end. In other jersey competitions Peter Sagan has won the green sprint jersey and Tejay Van Garderen looks solid in the white jersey of best young rider.
The stage was short at 143.5km/89 mi from Bagnères-de-Luchon to Peyragudes. Vincenzo Nibail put his team on the front in preparation for an attack, but on the final two climbs the Italian strong man was unable to get away. Belgian Jurgen Vanden Broeck attacked with teammates with 7.3km to go and tried an escape plan too, but the rare site of two strong British riders at the front kept things in check.
Only three stages remain before the celebration in Paris begins. Stage 18 on Friday is one for the sprinters before Saturday's final long time trial.
Beyond the finish line: At the heart of the Pyrenees, surrounded by peaks of 3000m/9840ft, Peyresourdes is a relatively new ski area that offers plenty of outdoor fun in all seasons. There is skiing in the winter of course, but the lush green fields offer many summer activities: themed rides, hiking, water sports, paragliding, canyoning, relaxation in thermal water, fishing, exploring the local heritage ...a perfect spot for a healthy dose of fun.
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