[Tour 2005]Stage 15 - Lezat-sur-Leze - St. Lary Soulan

[race-report@cyclofiend.com]

Stage 15
"The Queen Stage" or La Taperena -
Lezat-sur-Leze - St. Lary Soulan - 205 km
The riders will find exactly how much they left in the tank on this most
difficult stage of the Tour. This one is the thumper, and it falls on
the 10th Anniversary of the death of Lance's former teammate, Fabio
Casartelli, who died as a result of injuries in a crash during the Tour.
Between the toughness of this stage - over 16,000 feet of vertical
including a Cat2 climb, then four Cat 1 climbs and the Hors Categorie
Pl-d'Adet finishing climb.

31 Flavors of Pain today, and the man wearing the paper hat is Lance
Armstrong.

160 riders start today, no abandonments as of yet today.

Pretty quickly, a reasonably large breakaway of 14 riders has gotten out
and away. Discovery's George Hincapie the second best place rider in
this bunch while the 24th placed Oscar Periero from Phonak stands to
gain the most if success follows this effort.

The Rabobank riders in the break nab the early mountain points to
protect teammate Michael Rasmussen's Polka Dot Jersey. Erik Decker hits
the mark first, while Pietro Caucchioli of Credit Agricole gets
sandwiched by Rabobanker Michael Boogerd over the top of Col du Portet
Aspet. On the Cat 1 Col de Menta, Rabobank goes 1-2-3 with Decker,
Karsten Kroon & Boogerd leading over the next climb, and they find that
their efforst have created a gap of 18 minutes.

Among the lagging peleton members, former Tour contender Joseba Beloki
from Liberty Seguros has been looking at life from the other end of the
bunch. He's been skittering back on the climbs so far and then howling
down the descents to regain the bunch.

Phil rattles off the members of the break, and fingers flying fast on
the keyboard, and without benefit of coffee has not cooled enough to
sip, here's the bunch:
George Hincapie - Discovery
Oscar Sevilla - T-Mobile
Michael Boogerd - Rabobank
Erik Dekker - Rabobank
Karsten Kroon - Rabobank
Oscar Periero - Phonak
Alan Davis - Liberty Seguros
Laurent Brochard - Bouygues Telecom
Rubens Bertagliati - Saunier Duval
Pietro Caucchioli - Credit Agricole
Jerome Pineau - Bouygues Telecom
Iker Camano - Euskatel-Euskadi
Mikel Astarloza - Ag2R
Alessandro Bertolini - Domina Vacanze

The group of 14 riders roll along with about 100 km to go and the gap at
17:45. That seems kinda of long....

Pressure begins to creep into the group as they head upward again from
the feed zone. Col du Portillon 8.4 km at 7.3% Over the top 17:58 after
the breakaway bunch. That's not really cutting down the gap, is it?

Bouygues Telecom's Thomas Voeckler gets a Mavic rear wheel change while
an ex-cheerleader wearing yellow gets some tele-time behind him. Back
on, he gets the cheap miles by tweaking himself through the corners to
reattach before the next scoop of pain gets slapped into the dish.

Armstrong wears a sweatband on his arm which says "Fabio" on it. The
camera moto fires a couple of questions at him, which he largely
ignores, other than to say, "big day...."

Beloki finds more sand in his bearings today, drifting back once again
despite no perceptible grade on the roadway right now. Maybe a bit of
bad pasta, but he's gradually becoming unstuck from events. When the big
bass begins thumping and today's rave really begins, he's likely to be
in the queue outside.

Well the commercials keep getting pumped through in high volume,
hopefully in anticipation of ad-free broadcasts to come.

The Col du Portillon begins for the lead bunch. Periero is actually only
about 4 minutes away from being the leader on the road. Still the main
bunch refuses to animate, though they seem to have sharpened their focus
a bit after the feed zone and following climb.

Astorloza finds that his hitch failing as they head onto the climb
proper, Pineau flails a bit as well with the increased angle of attack.
Bertagliati begins focusing on the texture of his handlebar wraps, no
longer among the bunch and trying to distract himself from solo pain.

CSC riders edge to the front and begin to push the pace a bit, as Ivan
Basso realizes he doesn't have much of a time buffer for his third place
position if Periero gets away. This causes a number of sprinters to
begin forming off the back, but they are joined by Stephano Garzelli,
who might have a left a little too much on the roadway yesterday on his
birthday effort.

The gap has dropped to 17 minutes as the lead bunch is within a
kilometer of the summit, about to re-enter France after a quick hop over
the Spanish border. The Basque team car from Euskatel-Euskadi trying to
get up next to their Basque rider almost runs over a Basque fan running
with a Basque flag. At 6 am local time, this suggests a cerain amount of
symmetry...

Dekker, Astarloza, Pineau and Bertagliati have been snipped cleanly away
from the break. Hincapie hides well for a big man, just biding his time
in the breakaway. Bertolini scoots right up to the rear of the break,
having remained just close enough to seize the gravitational enhancement.

Unlike Discovery who is stationed squarely on the head of events behind
CSC's pacesetters, T-Mobile has most of their riders littered back
through the peleton, looking for all the world like a diagram of
molecules dispersed in solution. Certainly, Ullirch is in evidence just
behind Lance, but of his teammates, only Kloden sits alongside.

Of course, the increased effort takes its toll on Discovery pacemakers -
Benjamin Noval and Pavel Padrnos both drift away, their tasks for the
day now over. Others begin to fall away as well. With little fanfare, a
quick selection has occurred, and maybe 30 or so cyclists remain intact.

The Col du Peyresourde looms on the horizon, third climb from the
finish. This little rise in the roadway will take the riders up to 1589
meters, hiking up 13 km of roadway at an average grade of 7%.

Bertolini yo-yo's a bit as the bunch now hits the climb. Courtesy of
camera moto, we get a chance to look into the ear of pace-setting
Karsten Kroon. This may be an artistic statement by the camera person.
Boogerd hammers along as behind his teammate until Kroon just goes
ker-splat and pulls over to the right hand side of the roadway. He's
still on his bike, but his cadence has become achingly slow, and he's
about to become the poster boy for some Dutch recovery drink.

The serious contenders in the break now number six. Sevilla, Hincapie,
Boogerd, Periero, Caucchioli and Brochard. They still have nearly 15
minutes lead.

CSC has now added two riders to drive the pace, with Bobby Julich
putting on his climbing legs in preparation for the Peyresourde. The
speed has increased and riders string out. Matthias Kessler from
T-Mobile digs into the roatation as well, his appearance makes less
sense, although Ullrich has done well on this climb in the past.

Armstrong has three teammates in front of him, as they follow the pace
of CSC's remaining rider Carlos Sastre. The pace is pretty seriously
screaming, whittling the bunch down a bit again. Paolo Salvodelli is
also just hanging onto the back of this lead bunch, but if he is within
a county's distance of events at the summit, his descending skills will
put him back on before the next - but not final - climb.

In the Armstrong group, most folks who you would suspect are in
attendance. An interesting surprise is Saunier Duval's American rider
Chris Horner, who brought proper change today, and has been allowed onto
the bus. Three Discovery teammates set the pace for Lance. Basso sits
behind, seemingly without teamates as Sastre suddenly gets wobbly and
drops like a pinball back through the team cars. Ullrich still has
Kloden and Vinokourov, losing Guiseppe Guerini, but having Sevilla still
in the break. Michael Rasmussen looks much more comfortable today, well
positioned in the middle of the bunch.

Bagpipes welcome the breakaway now that they have left the treeline
behind. Their gap slips through their fingers and have less than 12
minutes now. Caucchioli drifts back, gets a water bottle, then drifts
back again. He's continued chatting with his team car as Brochard takes
a tentative flyer through the KoM point. The others huffle back up to
him, preventing an opportunistic move.

Rubiera, Azevedo and Popovych patiently lead the bunch down to the
valley, some 11 and a half minutes behind. Their uphill efforts have
snipped the chase group down to about 21 riders.

After a short rest, the 6 man break heads back up for the 7.5 km jaunt
to the 1580 meter Col de Val Louron Azet, which kicks at 8.3%. Sevilla
begins to look a bit spotty on the steep starting pitches, but bucks up
and rejoins the select group which remains ahead on the day

In the Armstrong bunch, CSC's Sastre again wiggles to the front and
hammers up the pace again. This immediately saws off his teammate Bobby
Julich who had just rejoined on the descent. His pacemaking also
jettisons Salvodelli and Andreas Kloden, and ....Sastre, who's knees
seem to bend backwards as he suddenly runs on fumes. It's steep and
tremendously difficult as Discovery sets the pace, dropping a few more
riders including Haimar Zubeldia from Euskatel and Jorg Jaksche from
Liberty Seguros.

Now Vinokourov wakes up and grind back up to the head of the bunch,
droping teammate Guerini who had rejoined. Discovery's Rubiera drifts
back and Christophe Moreau is off now as well.

Vinokourov sets the pace, Ullrich on his pocket looking confident.
Behind him Basso, Armstrong & Azevedo, plus Rasmussen. Now Basso moves
away up the roadway, Ullrich getting slightly gapped, but Armstrong
waits patiently until Ullrich can down close the gap.

Karsten Kroon is caught with nary a glance from the threesome.

Basso surges again out of the saddle, and Armstrong matches the
accelleration. Popovych tries to stay close, but he, like everyone else
is gone from the back. Armstrong now takes over the pacemaking, Basso
matches him and Armstrong evaluates the gap back to Ullrich. The big
diesel of Ullrich powers back up to the pair. Basso again hits the
throttle to try to drop him off.

Back a bit on the roadway, Vinokourov hangs on to a group with Landis,
Leipheimer and Rasmussen, no longer in view of the escaping troika.

Mancebo hammers to try to shut down the gap, towing the Rasmussen group
upwards - lacking a certain Khazakstan rider who has fallen slightly off
the pace. Rasmussen now works out of the saddle, Landis and Leipheimer
focusing on keeping attached to the bird-boned Dane. Vino rejoins, but
Landis now kicks it up a touch, putting the big hurt onto him once
again. All this work has tightened the gap to about 9 minutes.

In the break, Pereiro leads the gang of six into the last half kilometer
of the climb. As this lead group nears the summit, Brochard shows the
opportunism which some would say got him the World Championship jersey
some years ago, and nails the KoM points again.

Ullrich, Basso and Armstrong trade the pacemaking as orange t-shirts
begin to mass around like fruit flies on forgotten bananas. They are
7:30 behind but have put a minute on the Rasmussen group.

Bertogliati from the initial breakaway gloms onto the Armstrong trio,
creating a quartet, they crest the summit and begin the descent.
Christophe Moreau and Eddy Mazzoleni rejoin the Rasmussen group still
heading uphill, and Vinokourov has come back on as well. They crest the
summit 1:05 behind, which pushes Rasmussen down into third position in
the GC on the road.

When they go through the town of Vignec, they will hit the final climb
of Pla-d'Adet, which climbs 10.3 km at 8.3%. If your math isn't quite
that quick, it'll be about 2500 feet of up.

The 10 km to go banner goes overhead for the lead bunch - can Armstrong
really close down a 7 plus minute gap to take this stage?

Not if Sevilla has anything to say about it - he hikes himself up and
attacks the bunch, unzips his jersey and immediatly draws the ire of
Oscare Pereiro, who flies past him as if he's watching the race.
Hincapie steadily regains Periero's wheel with Boogerd and the break
group is now half size. Boogerd shows us a full upper dental array and
Periero looks all hip-wobbly and climberly. Hincapie is playing a strong
game of poker, but he looks calm and in control, still ticking out his
easy seated cadence.

At the side of the road, it looks like an episode of "What Not to Wear -
Europe"... Some people just should not try to pull of sleeveless.

Basso has smacked it down! - whether just wanting to get away from the
multitude of pasty upper arms or not, he moves hard up the roadway.
Armstrong waits...waits...watches to see if Ullrich will make the move
to close it down. Ullrich is at his limit, and Armstrong then streaks up
the roadway to quickly shut down what is now a sizeable gap.

Basso rides in a personal room of hurt, eyes fixed on the roadway as
Armstrong matches him. Crowds howl louder than the the announcers can
holler, and the thousands of fans have packed themselves onto the hard,
tight switchbacks of the climbs. There can't be an extra paper's width
of room as they hammer uphill. Ullrich still tries to remain attached,
the power of his legs sending out low cycle pressure waves. Basso and
Armstrong continue upwards, picking up Bertolini who looks like a club
rider heading backward.

The cameras find Vinokourov who is chased by Mancebo - can't tell where
he is in the mix in the midst of the crowds, but he continues to give
everything int his Tour.

Up front Caucchioli has turned himself inside out and rejoined the lead
three. Periero looks pretty shattered, and Boogerd can't be humming a
happy tune either.

Vino has found Popovych, Mancebo and Mazzoleni.

Ullrich continues to draw a bead on the referee's red car, whcih is just
behind Armstrong and Basso.

Rassmussen bobs up to the Popovych group just as Vinokourov heaves off
the front in another pulse of power.

Mancebo looks like he's about to chew off his tongue, trying to get
upwards momentum.

The foursome up front hit the 5 km to go banner, and somehow the crowds
continue to thicken, scrambling upwards with the riders, howling and
doing everything short of jabbing the riders with sharpened sticks onto
which they've lashed their national flags.

Ullrich can no longer see the car ahead of him, a combination of terrain
and crowds. But, he continues plugging onwards, hoping that the gap is
getting closed down.

Up front Caucchioli shows the Italian panache and attacks off the front.
Periero pops back up and passes him, Hincapie latches onto the Phonak
rider immediately. The others can no longer hold the pace, Periero
suddenly realizes that he's got a big, strong bike rider with him who
knows how to win races. There's 4 km to go and Hincapie has done little
extra work on this day, though he's had to ride over the same mountains
as everyone else.

Motorcycles start to whisk ahead of Ullrich, but the road straightens so
he can be teased again by the trailing car. Rasmussen kicks it up a
notch, clipping off Vinokourov and focusing on not losing his podium
spot - regardless of where he finishes, he'll need every second to stay
ahead of Ullrich on the final stage's Individual Time Trial.

A particularly clever spectator forgets to move out of the way of a
motorcycle. He's promptly run over for his intitiative and I must say, I
feel no sympathy for him. Luckily the driver and camera person seem
fine, remount and speed back up to Periero and Hincapie.

Ullrich has remained within 22 seconds of the leading pair, and tries to
increase his speed on the somewhat flatter stretch before the final
pitch to the summit.

The leading pair have to take it on faith that there's a road in front
of them as an orange human curtain all too slowly parts in front of
them. Mostly Baque and Spanish flags in evidence, and those who wave
them have long ago sailed off the edge of rational thought. George
double-checks to makes sure no one has begun to regain them, although
there's probably no way he can see anything other than the flaccid
buttocks of the fans. It's like riding through a riot.

Ullrich now finds his teammate Sevilla and he locks his eyes on the
small rider. But it seems that the diminutive climber is having trouble
holding a helpful pace. Before all of the riders, the crowd is a sea of
open mouths and the sound is deafening. The horizon seems to be getting
closer, but that may just be a surreal mirage.

Hincapie sits on Periero's wheel as they finally reach the sanctity of
the barriers. They both heave a visible sigh of relief and return to
bike racing - the tactical dueling begins, they are a full 5 minutes
ahead. Barring alien abduction, the winner should come from these two.
What will be left in their legs afer all thiese climbs? Hincapie has had
the presence to zip up his jersey and he looks ready to pounce, coiled
above his saddle. Periero ramps up the pace, and seems to be ready to
go, and Hincapie remains coiled and posed, ready to explode when they
see the line

Around a broad left turn there are 300 meters left. Hincapie moves at
200 meters to go, Periero has nothing sand in thighs and wobbles with a
baker's dozen of cramps. George hammers hard to make sure he gains the
gap, then sits up, holds his head in disbelief and rolls unaccompanied
across the line. You can see the reflection of the finish line in his
glasses as he looks down to make sure it's not a dream. He laughs and
cannot believe his effort - Off his bike heading he is hugged and
slapped by everyone in the finish area. George Hincapie has taken the stage!

Remnants of the break roll over the line, scattered by the crowds and
efforts.

Down the mountain, Armstrong leadds Basso into the barriers, then they
trade positions for the last couple kilometers.

Further down in the mosh pit where the unlucky have been trapped, there
must be an "on" switch on the horns of the chase vehicles and team cars,
as they never seem to be off, coaxing the huge and riotous crowds out of
the way. There will probably be more than a few bruised hips and
forearms courtesy of the side mirrors.

Basso grits his teeth as they hone in on the 300 meter to go sign. How
long it must seem on this uphill finish. Armstrong almost clips wheels
with Basso, and it's clear that Lance will not scoot past, content to
follow the hard-charging Italian to the line. Armstrong immediately
seeks out George and throws a sweaty arm around his shoulder in
congratulation.

As Ullrich thrumms along trying to cut his loses, but there's a gangly
Dane who has the same idea -- Rasmussen appears just behind him and tows
Mancebo to the line mere seconds behind the T-Mobile pair.

Vinokourov pedals on emotion and pride, finishing some 7:35 behind Hincapie.

George is in shock. He becomes the only other Discovery (USPS) rider
ever to win a stage in the Tour other than Lance Armstrong. His presence
in the breakawy had been just a quick tactical decision, and he'd done
so with complete readiness to drop back to help Lance should the need
arise. But, when the gap got out to 18 minutes, he, Johan Bruyneel and
the other Discovery race director Dirk Demol realized that his chances
were very real.

So, George Hincapie, the rider who accompanied Lance Armstrong with
every tour victory, who rode his first Tour in 1995 and was a former
teammate of Fabio Casartelli has won the hardest stage in this year's
Tour de France.

Stage 15 - Results
1 - George Hincapie - Discovery - 6:03:37
2 - Oscar Periero - Phonak - +:05
3 - Pietro Caucchioli - Credit Agricole - +:38
4 - Michael Boogerd - Rabobank - +:57
5 - Laurent Brochard - Bouygues Telecom - +2:19
6 - Ivan Basso - CSC - +5:04
7 - Lance Armstrong - Discovery - s.t.
8 - Oscar Sevilla - T-Mobile - +6:32
9 - Jan Ullrich - T-Mobile - s.t.
10 - Michael Rasmussen - Rabobank - +6:32
11 - Francisco Mancebo - Illes Baleares - s.t.
12 - Alexandre Vinokourov - T-Mobile - +7:33
13 - Levi Leipheimer - Gerolsteiner - +7:54
14 - Christophe Moreau - Credit Agricole - +8:14
15 - Haimar Zubeldia - Euskatel-Euskadi - s.t.

GC - After 15 Stages
MJ - Lance Armstrong - Discovery - 62:09:59
2 - Ivan Basso - +2:46
3 - Michael Rasmussen - +3:09
4 - Jan Ullrich - +5:58
5 - Francisco Mancebo - +6:31
6 - Levi Leiphemer - +7:35
7 - Floyd Landis - +9:33
8 - Alexandre Vinokouorov - +9:38


Tomorrow - Rest Day #2

Tuesday's Stage - Stage 16
Mourenx - Pau 180 km
Though comparatively easier, that's sort of like saying hitting yourself
with a mallet isn't as bad as hitting yourself with a roofing hammer. A
couple of short climbs bookend the two beasts of the day - the 9.3 km
Category 1 Col de Marie-Blanque which edges upwards at 7.7% average
grade and the Hors Categorie Col d'Aubisque, not averaging quite as
steep (at 7%), but providing the riders with 16 km of up. After a quick
blip up a Cat4 climb with 20 km to go, the riders continue basically a
downhill jaunt to finish in Pau.

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