Chavanel claims second win for Cofidis
The 29-year-old from Chatellerault signed a two-year deal with Quick Step this week, but his breakaway victory on the 19th stage should ensure he parts with Cofidis on good terms.
The French national time-trial champion was allowed to escape with Francaise des Jeux’s Jeremy Roy near Charmeil, and Team Milram’s attempts to catch them in the last 10km failed.
Roy, 25, who is without a stage win in his professional career, sat on his opponent’s wheel for too long, allowing Chavanel to control the final few metres and take his seventh stage victory of the season.
Gerald Ciolek of Team Columbia triumphed in the sprint for third place, ahead of veteran Erik Zabel. It was a quiet day in the peloton, with the main contenders and time-trial specialists content to save their legs for today’s decisive stage against the clock.
Carlos Sastre, Frank Schleck, Bernhard Kohl, Cadel Evans and Denis Menchov all came into Montlucon at the same time, meaning there is no change at the top of the general classification.
Evans, the best time-triallist of the five, must beat Sastre by 95 seconds in the 53km stage from Cerilly to St Amand Montrond to take back the yellow jersey.
With just the traditional ride into Paris coming tomorrow, whoever is in the maillot jaune at the end of the time-trial should be assured of Tour victory.
The outcome could also be dependent on the weather in the Auvergne, with showers and winds a real possibility. The few hills that punctuate the start of the stage could suit Sastre, a brilliant climber.
Team CSC also have the advantage of sending Sastre and Frank Schleck out after Evans, which will give them the advantage of regular time checks.
The Spaniard has made serious attempts to improve his time-trialling abilities, but he is still expected to lose time to the more powerful Evans and Denis Menchov, regardless of the conditions.
Chavanel took the first Tour de France stage win of his career, and the second in this year’s race for Cofidis after Samuel Dumoulin broke away to win the third stage from St Malo to Nantes.
The Frenchman has also been the most aggressive rider in the peloton, with three attempted breakaways and now one success.
“This has been my best season so far, now I have my seventh win this year,” an emotional Chavanel said.
“I never believed it would happen this morning. Yesterday evening I was suffering from a bad back, and I had to call the osteopath for help during the night. During the first hour of the stage, the pace was very quick. I stayed in the top 20 places, but I could not form part of the first escape.
“It was all very frustrating, but I told myself I could launch a counter-attack, and I did.
“In the final sprint I was a little worried, and I did not dare attack [Roy] three kilometres out as I could have done. But I didn’t panic and I could approach the sprint however I wanted.”
Oscar Freire is all but assured of the green jersey, with his rival Thor Hushovd unable to make serious gains in the bunch sprint won by Ciolek.
The Rabobank sprinter leads Zabel by 42 points, with only 47 points available on the final day’s run-in from Etampes to the Champs-Elysees.
Damiano Cunego did not take to the start of the 19th stage, withdrawn on medical advice due to bad grazing on his chin.
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