July 18, 2007
Tour Rookie Tops Mountain Stage
By EDWARD WYATT
BRIANÇON, France, July 17 – One of the things that keeps fans coming back to sports is the occasional emergence of a new competitor who exhibits signs of future greatness – the rookie pitcher who strikes out 15 batters in a game, or the first-year P.G.A. professional who leads a major tournament after the opening round.
Add to that list a first-time rider in the Tour de France who wins a tough stage in the world’s biggest bike race. On Tuesday, for the second time in three days of racing, a Tour rookie won one of the hardest stages in this year’s race, a 99-mile route over the storied and steep Iseran and Galibier Passes in the French Alps.
Juan Mauricio Soler Hernandez, a 24-year-old Colombian who rides for the Barloworld team, which is participating in its first Tour de France, won the stage from Val-d’Isere to Briançon, which included two climbs rated “beyond category” in steepness and length.
Known informally as Mauricio Soler, the third-year professional won the stage by 38 seconds over a fast-closing Alejandro Valverde and Cadel Evans. They were only a few seconds ahead of Michael Rasmussen, the Rabobank rider who remained in the race lead by 2 minutes 35 seconds over Valverde, of the Caisse d’Epargne team, and 2:39 over Iban Mayo of Saunier Duval-Prodir.
The stage finished with a 23-mile descent from the top of the Galibier Pass to the valley town of Briançon, which allowed Valverde and the others to close the gap on Soler from more than three minutes to about half a minute.
But it was much earlier that Soler earned his victory, with an attack 40 miles from the finish, on the Col de Telegraphe, a 7.5-mile climb with a slope of 6.7 percent that is rated in the first category in steepness and length.
The Telegraphe is a risky place to attack, because just 3.3 miles after its summit, the riders would begin the ascent of the fearsome Col de Galibier, an 11-mile climb with an average slope of 6.9 percent.
But Soler did attack – “like a fool,” he said after the stage – and no one in the peloton reacted, including Rasmussen, the holder of the yellow jersey holder. A breakaway of six riders was a little more than two minutes up the road when Soler started off, but by the time he topped the Telegraphe, he was just 55 seconds behind them.
Soler continued his pursuit on the Galibier, the second of two climbs rated “beyond category” on the day, the first being the Iseran Pass, which the riders started up immediately upon their departure from the starting line.
Soon, he caught the leading group and passed them, with only one rider, the Discovery Channel’s Yaroslav Popovych, able to stay with him. Not for long, however, as Soler attacked again, leaving Popovych behind.
Further back, the attacks started among the race leaders as well. First went Valverde and Evans, then Alberto Contador, also of the Discovery Channel, who passed the others and raced ahead to join his teammate over the top of the Galibier.
On the descent, Rasmussen proved that he can go downhill as well as up, and his group bridged the gap to the two Discovery riders. Now with nine men, the group looked at one point as if it might catch Soler. But after finishing fourth two stages earlier to Le Grand-Bornand, Soler was not going to give in on this one.
Five more riders are within four minutes of the overall lead, including two riders for the Discovery Channel team: Contador, who took over the white jersey signifying the top rider under 25 years old, is in fifth place at 3:08 behind Rasmussen, and Levi Leipheimer, in 9th place at 3:53. Christophe Moreau of Ag2R is in sixth at 3:18, with Carlos Sastre and Andreas Kloden 3:39 and 3:50 behind the leader, respectively.
Alexandre Vinokourov, meanwhile, saw his Tour prospects fade further, finishing 3:24 behind Soler, leaving him 8:05 behind the race leader – and perhaps out of contention altogether.
Tour Rookie Tops Mountain Stage
By EDWARD WYATT
BRIANÇON, France, July 17 – One of the things that keeps fans coming back to sports is the occasional emergence of a new competitor who exhibits signs of future greatness – the rookie pitcher who strikes out 15 batters in a game, or the first-year P.G.A. professional who leads a major tournament after the opening round.
Add to that list a first-time rider in the Tour de France who wins a tough stage in the world’s biggest bike race. On Tuesday, for the second time in three days of racing, a Tour rookie won one of the hardest stages in this year’s race, a 99-mile route over the storied and steep Iseran and Galibier Passes in the French Alps.
Juan Mauricio Soler Hernandez, a 24-year-old Colombian who rides for the Barloworld team, which is participating in its first Tour de France, won the stage from Val-d’Isere to Briançon, which included two climbs rated “beyond category” in steepness and length.
Known informally as Mauricio Soler, the third-year professional won the stage by 38 seconds over a fast-closing Alejandro Valverde and Cadel Evans. They were only a few seconds ahead of Michael Rasmussen, the Rabobank rider who remained in the race lead by 2 minutes 35 seconds over Valverde, of the Caisse d’Epargne team, and 2:39 over Iban Mayo of Saunier Duval-Prodir.
The stage finished with a 23-mile descent from the top of the Galibier Pass to the valley town of Briançon, which allowed Valverde and the others to close the gap on Soler from more than three minutes to about half a minute.
But it was much earlier that Soler earned his victory, with an attack 40 miles from the finish, on the Col de Telegraphe, a 7.5-mile climb with a slope of 6.7 percent that is rated in the first category in steepness and length.
The Telegraphe is a risky place to attack, because just 3.3 miles after its summit, the riders would begin the ascent of the fearsome Col de Galibier, an 11-mile climb with an average slope of 6.9 percent.
But Soler did attack – “like a fool,” he said after the stage – and no one in the peloton reacted, including Rasmussen, the holder of the yellow jersey holder. A breakaway of six riders was a little more than two minutes up the road when Soler started off, but by the time he topped the Telegraphe, he was just 55 seconds behind them.
Soler continued his pursuit on the Galibier, the second of two climbs rated “beyond category” on the day, the first being the Iseran Pass, which the riders started up immediately upon their departure from the starting line.
Soon, he caught the leading group and passed them, with only one rider, the Discovery Channel’s Yaroslav Popovych, able to stay with him. Not for long, however, as Soler attacked again, leaving Popovych behind.
Further back, the attacks started among the race leaders as well. First went Valverde and Evans, then Alberto Contador, also of the Discovery Channel, who passed the others and raced ahead to join his teammate over the top of the Galibier.
On the descent, Rasmussen proved that he can go downhill as well as up, and his group bridged the gap to the two Discovery riders. Now with nine men, the group looked at one point as if it might catch Soler. But after finishing fourth two stages earlier to Le Grand-Bornand, Soler was not going to give in on this one.
Five more riders are within four minutes of the overall lead, including two riders for the Discovery Channel team: Contador, who took over the white jersey signifying the top rider under 25 years old, is in fifth place at 3:08 behind Rasmussen, and Levi Leipheimer, in 9th place at 3:53. Christophe Moreau of Ag2R is in sixth at 3:18, with Carlos Sastre and Andreas Kloden 3:39 and 3:50 behind the leader, respectively.
Alexandre Vinokourov, meanwhile, saw his Tour prospects fade further, finishing 3:24 behind Soler, leaving him 8:05 behind the race leader – and perhaps out of contention altogether.
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