- HOT TOPICS:
- An American start for the Giro? •
- 2010 Routes: Giro | California | TdF •
- LA doc guilty on all counts
Stage stats: Stage 19
Cognac to Angoulême individual time trial, 55.5km
Weather:Humid with light rain and heavy cloud cover, highs in low 80s. Riders enjoyed a steady 15-20 mph tailwind
Stage winner:American Levi Leipheimer (Discovery Channel) took the first Tour stage win of his career by blitzing the time trial. Leipheimer was first at every intermediate time check to win by 51 seconds ahead of Cadel Evans. The stage win secured Leipheimer’s spot on the final podium in Paris.
Race leader:Alberto Contador (Discovery Channel) rode the most important time trial of his life, and though he lost 1:27 to Evans, he secured his overall lead by 23 seconds with only the Champs Elysees remaining.
Green jersey:Leipheimer took top honors in the points category with 15, but no sprinters placed in the top 10 on the stage, so Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic) still leads Robbie Hunter (Barloworld), 234 to 210. Sunday will be Hunter’s final chance to supplant the Belgian. Neither rider has ever won the points jersey.
King of the Mountains:No mountain points were available. Juan Mauricio Soler (Barloworld) has secured his lead over Contador at 206-128 points, and needs only to finish in Paris to take the polka dot jersey.
Best Young Rider:Contador extended his lead on Soler to 16:41.
Best team:With four riders in the top 10 on the stage, Discovery Channel extended its lead to 19:31 over Caisse d’Épargne, with CSC in third at 22:10.
Lanterne Rouge:Wim Vansevenant (Predictor-Lotto) added to his position as the last rider in the peloton, and is now 3:52:44 back of Contador.
Most aggressive rider:No daily award in the time trial, but Amets Txurruka (Euskaltel-Euskadi) was named the “Super Combatif” of the 2007 Tour de France, with the eight-member panel saying:“Txurruka distinguished himself most of all by his determination, particularly on the stage to Castres, when he was caught by the pack only 1km from the line after a long breakaway.”
Top American:Leipheimer won the time trial, his first stage win at the Tour in six starts.
The peloton:No one eliminated or excluded. The peloton remains at 141 riders.
Medical report: Vaugrenard (FDJeux) crashed just after the start of the stage, minor cuts and bruises
Jury decisions:None
Forecast:Cloudy with rain in the early part of stage 20, clearing later, with temperatures around 70, 20-25 kph westerly winds.
Sunday’s stage:Marcoussis to Paris (Champs-Élysées), 146km
