Steels takes stage, Kirsipuu in yellow and more
This report filed July 5, 1999
By Charles Pelkey
VeloNews technical editor
Mapei-Quick Step’s Tom Steels took today’s second stage of the 1999 Tour de France in familiar fashion, beating a star-filled field of sprinters in St. Nazaire. But the finish was about the only predictable element of this 176-kilometer stage from Challans. And while the U.S. Postal Service’s Lance Armstrong lost the Tour’s overall lead to Estonian Jaan Kirsipuu, the day’s remarkable events did much to improve the 27-year-old American’s chances of wearing yellow when it counts.
At first glance, the roads that made up the Tour’s second stage looked almost easy. The course profile varied so slightly that the day’s only rated climb was man-made. But flat as they are, the route from Challans to St. Nazaire made an impact on this year’s Tour that may well be felt in Paris on July 25.
The Tour continued its circuit of France’s Vendée region with a start in Challans. Early morning rains and an exceptionally slow start -- just 32.9km over the course of the first hour -- suggested that the day might even offer a repeat of yesterday’s 179-rider field sprint finish. But circumstance interceded and the peloton encountered its first obstacle of the day in the form of a tourist snapping a photo at the edge of the road.
"She was just standing there," the U.S. Postal Service’s Christian Vande Velde recalled. "Some avoided her, but it was a sort of chain reaction and a lot of people went down."
More than 30 to be precise and among them Rabobank’s best Tour hope, Michael Boogerd, fifth in last year’s Tour. The 27-year-old Dutch rider suffered a cut lip among other injuries but, with the help of four teammates, was soon able to rejoin the main group.
Perhaps it was the injury, perhaps it was a lack of concern about the increasing winds, but Boogerd and company were near the back of the field as the peloton neared the Atlantic and crossed the Noirmoutier bridge at the 73-kilometer mark. More importantly, the Rabobanks remained there for the next few kilometers as the course wound its way toward one of the Tour’s most unique features: the Passage du Gois.
Completely submerged at high tide, the Passage is negotiated only by means of a narrow, slippery 4-kilometer road. Indeed, the day’s high tide had receded only about an hour before the peloton neared. Just one-kilometer into the Passage, a rider in the middle of the field went down, slipping on the asphalt as the road took a dog-leg turn to the right. Among the six riders who hit the pavement were the U.S. Postal Service’s Jonathan Vaughters and Rabobank’s Marc Wauters – both of whom were eventually forced to abandon the Tour because of their injuries.
But the broader impact of the mishap was felt by a far greater number of riders. Because of the combination of the narrow road – about 14 feet at the good parts – with a strong wind that was now coming at the riders almost directly from their right side, those at the front of the field found themselves with a significant advantage as more than 100 riders caught behind the crash scrambled to get past the melee.
But the damage was done and the gap proved insurmountable. In front, 72 riders including the leaders of a powerful cross-section of teams: Armstrong; ONCE’s Abraham Olano; Cofidis’s Bobby Julich; Dauphine winner Alex Vinokourov (Casino). Also in the group, strong sprinters, including Telekom’s Erik Zabel; stage 1 winner Kirsipuu; Saeco’s Mario Cipollini; Mapei’s Tom Steels; La Française des Jeux’s Jimmy Casper…. Facing strong winds and flat roads, the mix was powerful … and quite lethal to those caught in the rear: Banesto’s Alex Zulle; Polti’s Ivan Gotti; Boogerd and further back still, Credit Agricole’s Chris Boardman.
With teams like ONCE, Mapei, the Postals, Cofidis and Telekom setting the pace, the leaders eventually built an advantage of more than six minutes, the desperate Banesto-Polti alliance in the rear unable to close the gap.
As the leaders ascended the day’s only rated climb – a Cat. 4 in the form of the stunning St. Nazaire bridge, 10km from the finish – teams began the task of setting up their best sprinters. And though Kirsipuu was eager to take a second stage, the Estonian sprinter had already, by winning all three of the day’s bonus sprints, moved into the overall lead.
Speeding into St. Nazaire, the front of the lead had a familiar quality to it. At the front contesting the finish, Steels, Kirsipuu, Cipollini… and that’s how it ended: a stage taken by those many would have predicted to have won, but a surprisingly large group considerably behind.
Armstrong seemed pleased with the day’s results and unperturbed by the loss of the jersey. "Well, we were expecting that to happen somewhere along the way," Armstrong said. "It’s not our focus to try and keep it for the whole Tour."
"Tough day," an exhausted Vande Velde gasped as he rode toward his team van. Tough, but for the loss of Vaughters, it was, for Vande Velde and his Postal Service teammates, a very successful day.
INJURY UPDATE:
According to U.S. Postal Service spokesman, Dan Osipow, Vaughters suffered a facial injury in the accident at the Passage du Gois and abandoned the race after losing some eight minutes in the ensuing 15 kilometers. Vaughters, according to Postal staff following the injured rider, reportedly suffered from dizziness and double vision and eventually opted to abandon and seek treatment at a nearby hospital. In addition to receiving stitches for a cut to his chin, Vaughters was also checked for a possible concussion.
Preliminary stage report: Stage 2, Challans to St. Nazaire
This report filed July 5, 1999
By Charles Pelkey
VeloNews technical editor
Any way you look at it, it was not an easy day. Even for those who did well, it was a day of fighting the wind and struggling to maintain and then build a lead over those who did not. And though Lance Armstrong lost the yellow jersey today, the 176-kilometer stage from Challans to St. Nazaire did much to improve the U.S. Postal rider’s chances at wearing yellow when it counts: into Paris.
On paper, the mostly flat 176 kilometers from Challans to Saint Nazaire appeared to offer a near repeat of yesterday’s 179-rider field sprint into Challans, with little impact on the overall standings. But a good portion of today’s stage crossed the marshlands and title flats of France’s Atlantic coast and winds, slippery roads and one ill-timed crash had an immense effect on this year’s Tour.
It was on the tidal flats of Passage du Gois, an unusual four-kilometer section of road that remains under water at high tide, that an accident triggered the day’s big move, leaving some of the Tour’s biggest challengers chasing a large group of more than 50. In that lead group, six Americans – Cofidis’s Bobby Julich as well as the U.S. Postal Service’s George Hincapie, Kevin Livingston, Frankie Andreu, Christian Vande Velde and Lance Armstrong. Left behind, eventually losing more than four minutes to the leaders, Banesto’s Alex Zülle, Polti’s Ivan Gotti and Rabobank’s Michael Boogerd. While the crash at the 80-kilometer mark gave the yellow jersey an exceptional opportunity to dispatch some of his biggest rivals, the, the Postal team did lose one of its prime lieutenants, recent Rud du Sud winner, Jonathan Vaughters. Vaughters suffered a facial injury and abandoned the race after losing some eight minutes in the ensuing 15 kilometers. By the time the lead group reached St. Nazaire, yesterday’s stage winner, Jann Kirsipuu, had scored enough additional time in the day’s bonus sprints to move into the overall lead. We’ll have a more detailed stage report and John Wilcockson's post-race analysis later today.
