Una tappa che sulla carta sembrava non destare particolare interesse, la 18ª del Tour de France 2012 (Blagnac – Brive-la-Gaillarde, 222.5km). Le classifiche sono ormai delineate, le grandi salite sono finite. E invece ecco una frazione incertissima fino all’ultimo metro, o meglio, finché Mark Cavendish non si è scatenato.
Il Campione del Mondo del Team Sky ha disputato una delle sue più belle volate, andando a vincere praticamente per distacco su Matthew Goss (Orica-GreenEdge) e Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale). Grazie anche all’aiuto della squadra e con la maglia gialla Bradley Wiggins a suo servizio, Cavendish ha così conquistato alla grande la sua seconda vittoria in questa Grande Boucle, in attesa della sfida di domenica sugli Champs-Éysées.
Ma la tappa è stata apertissima fino agli ultimi metri, poiché gli attaccanti di giornata non volevano cedere e altri atleti, tra cui Luis Leon Sanchez (Rabobank), hanno tentato l’allungo. Tra i fuggitivi merita senza dubbio una citazione Alexandre Vinokourov. Il kazako del Pro Team Astana è stato uno dei più attivi in questo Tour, nel disperato tentativo di cogliere un successo per sé e per la squadra. La vittoria non è arrivata, ma di sicuro “Vino” ha lasciato il segno, dimostrando di aver recuperato dopo il bruttissimo incidente che lo aveva costretto ad abbandonare la corsa francese nel 2011. Ora l’esperto corridore si proietta verso i Giochi Olimpici di Londra.
Ordine d’arrivo:
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling 4:54:12
2 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
3 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale
4 Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team
5 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale
6 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin – Sharp
7 Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team
8 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
9 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
10 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
11 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team
12 Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
13 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling
14 Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan
15 Koen De Kort (Ned) Argos-Shimano 0:00:04
16 Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha Team
17 Julien Simon (Fra) Saur – Sojasun
18 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol Team
19 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling
20 Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
21 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
22 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling
23 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol Team
24 Maxime Monfort (Bel) RadioShack-Nissan
25 Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
26 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
27 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
28 Alexandr Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
29 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre – ISD
30 Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan
31 Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
32 Baden Cooke (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
33 Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) RadioShack-Nissan
34 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team
35 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
36 Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha Team
37 Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team
38 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
39 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin – Sharp
40 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team
41 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar
42 Dominik Nerz (Ger) Liquigas-Cannondale
43 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
44 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team
45 Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team 0:00:12
46 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Movistar Team
47 Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar
48 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
49 Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:00:16
50 George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team
51 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre – ISD
52 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Movistar Team
53 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
54 Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
55 Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Astana Pro Team
56 Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha Team
57 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
58 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
59 Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
60 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team
61 Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin – Sharp
62 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
63 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team
64 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team
65 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team
66 Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa) Movistar Team
67 Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
68 Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
69 Yury Trofimov (Rus) Katusha Team
70 Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
71 Romain Zingle (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
72 Jerome Coppel (Fra) Saur – Sojasun
73 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha Team
74 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
75 Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Saur – Sojasun
76 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Argos-Shimano 0:00:33
77 Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre – ISD
78 Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team
79 Michael Rogers (Aus) Sky Procycling 0:00:41
80 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:00:04
81 Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:43
82 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Saur – Sojasun 0:00:47
83 Jean Marc Marino (Fra) Saur – Sojasun 0:01:04
84 Davide Malacarne (Ita) Team Europcar 0:01:11
85 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 0:01:17
86 Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Movistar Team 0:01:29
87 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:01:31
88 Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:01:52
89 Kristijan Koren (Slo) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:01:54
90 Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:02:07
91 Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
92 Francis De Greef (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
93 Juan Horrach Rippoll (Spa) Katusha Team
94 Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha Team
95 David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin – Sharp
96 Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
97 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
98 Jorge Azanza Soto (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
99 Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
100 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar 0:02:11
101 Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:02:25
102 Stuart O’Grady (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
103 Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Garmin – Sharp 0:03:05
104 Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
105 Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol Team
106 Jan Ghyselinck (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
107 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 0:03:57
108 Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
109 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
110 Fabrice Jeandesboz (Fra) Saur – Sojasun 0:04:10
111 Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:04:42
112 Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
113 Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan
114 Roy Curvers (Ned) Argos-Shimano
115 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Team Europcar
116 Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar
117 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Argos-Shimano
118 Simone Stortoni (Ita) Lampre – ISD
119 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team
120 Cédric Pineau (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
121 Yann Huguet (Fra) Argos-Shimano
122 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
123 Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
124 Albert Timmer (Ned) Argos-Shimano
125 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
126 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
127 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) RadioShack-Nissan 0:05:00
128 Christian Knees (Ger) Sky Procycling 0:05:55
129 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:07:50
130 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
131 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
132 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
133 Julien Fouchard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
134 Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
135 Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling
136 Federico Canuti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
137 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
138 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
139 Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
140 Stephen Cummings (GBr) BMC Racing Team
141 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling 0:08:54
142 David Millar (GBr) Garmin – Sharp
143 Blel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
144 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
145 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Saur – Sojasun
146 Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
147 Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
148 Brice Feillu (Fra) Saur – Sojasun
149 Michael Morkov (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
150 Pablo Urtasun Perez (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
151 Gorka Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0:11:55
152 Christophe Kern (Fra) Team Europcar
153 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 0:12:32
Classifica generale:
1 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling 83:22:18
2 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:02:05
3 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:02:41
4 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 0:05:53
5 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:08:30
6 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:09:57
7 Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) RadioShack-Nissan 0:10:11
8 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar 0:10:17
9 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team 0:11:00
10 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:11:46
11 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale 0:12:54
12 Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan 0:14:05
13 Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan 0:14:22
14 Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 0:18:46
15 Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha Team 0:22:54
16 Maxime Monfort (Bel) RadioShack-Nissan 0:24:24
17 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0:25:32
18 Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team 0:29:51
19 Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha Team 0:33:07
20 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team 0:33:50
21 Jerome Coppel (Fra) Saur – Sojasun 0:36:11
22 Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:41:59
23 Michael Rogers (Aus) Sky Procycling 0:48:57
24 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre – ISD 0:52:48
25 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:54:29
26 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar 0:55:08
27 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 0:57:38
28 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:59:38
29 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Movistar Team 1:02:17
30 Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 1:03:08
31 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 1:06:48
32 Alexandr Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 1:08:24
33 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 1:09:20
34 Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling 1:18:24
35 Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin – Sharp 1:20:42
36 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha Team 1:21:47
37 Gorka Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 1:22:58
38 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 1:24:46
39 George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team 1:25:41
40 Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Astana Pro Team 1:28:45
41 Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 1:29:17
42 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team 1:32:42
43 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale 1:33:12
44 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team 1:34:04
45 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:34:06
46 Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team 1:34:42
47 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 1:34:48
48 Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team 1:37:48
49 Dominik Nerz (Ger) Liquigas-Cannondale 1:37:58
50 Yury Trofimov (Rus) Katusha Team 1:39:56
51 Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 1:40:13
52 Fabrice Jeandesboz (Fra) Saur – Sojasun 1:43:06
53 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling 1:44:46
54 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Movistar Team 1:46:26
55 Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan 1:46:52
56 Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:47:58
57 Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 1:49:02
58 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team 1:49:52
59 Davide Malacarne (Ita) Team Europcar 1:49:56
60 Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:50:42
61 Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar 1:51:16
62 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin – Sharp 1:55:00
63 Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:55:42
64 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 1:56:38
65 Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 2:01:54
66 Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team 2:03:18
67 Simone Stortoni (Ita) Lampre – ISD 2:03:59
68 Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 2:06:37
69 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 2:08:16
70 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 2:08:25
71 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:08:47
72 Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:09:29
73 Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Saur – Sojasun 2:09:43
74 Jorge Azanza Soto (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 2:11:01
75 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 2:11:02
76 Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre – ISD 2:13:26
77 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) RadioShack-Nissan 2:16:32
78 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 2:17:11
79 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:18:22
80 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol Team 2:19:17
81 Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Movistar Team 2:19:21
82 Christian Knees (Ger) Sky Procycling 2:20:07
83 Christophe Kern (Fra) Team Europcar 2:22:01
84 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Team Europcar 2:23:07
85 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 2:25:47
86 Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 2:29:52
87 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre – ISD 2:31:12
88 Blel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 2:31:40
89 Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 2:31:49
90 Romain Zingle (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 2:32:07
91 Brice Feillu (Fra) Saur – Sojasun 2:32:12
92 Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 2:35:47
93 Michael Morkov (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 2:36:28
94 Julien Simon (Fra) Saur – Sojasun 2:37:21
95 Stephen Cummings (GBr) BMC Racing Team 2:38:37
96 Stuart O’Grady (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:40:11
97 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol Team 2:43:25
98 Kristijan Koren (Slo) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:44:54
99 Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 2:45:34
100 Francis De Greef (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 2:45:44
101 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 2:45:53
102 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 2:47:02
103 Koen De Kort (Ned) Argos-Shimano 2:47:51
104 David Millar (GBr) Garmin – Sharp 2:48:33
105 Federico Canuti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:49:09
106 David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin – Sharp 2:49:26
107 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:49:41
108 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 2:49:56
109 Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa) Movistar Team 2:50:11
110 Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:50:48
111 Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha Team 2:51:05
112 Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:51:37
113 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team 2:52:03
114 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:54:05
115 Baden Cooke (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:54:19
116 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Argos-Shimano 2:54:20
117 Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 2:57:31
118 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 2:57:37
119 Juan Horrach Rippoll (Spa) Katusha Team 2:58:04
120 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:58:07
121 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 2:58:48
122 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 3:00:00
123 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team 3:00:07
124 Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol Team 3:06:14
125 Jean Marc Marino (Fra) Saur – Sojasun 3:06:46
126 Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 3:07:43
127 Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 3:08:11
128 Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 3:08:57
129 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 3:09:23
130 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team 3:11:36
131 Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team 3:11:41
132 Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 3:11:49
133 Cédric Pineau (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 3:12:11
134 Pablo Urtasun Perez (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 3:13:24
135 Roy Curvers (Ned) Argos-Shimano 3:14:44
136 Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 3:16:07
137 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 3:16:58
138 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Saur – Sojasun 3:17:31
139 Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 3:18:35
140 Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar 3:18:41
141 Yann Huguet (Fra) Argos-Shimano 3:20:02
142 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling 3:21:47
143 Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 3:24:05
144 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Argos-Shimano 3:24:46
145 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling 3:30:36
146 Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha Team 3:33:21
147 Albert Timmer (Ned) Argos-Shimano 3:33:44
148 Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Garmin – Sharp 3:34:50
149 Julien Fouchard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 3:36:14
150 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 3:39:25
151 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin – Sharp 3:43:58
152 Jan Ghyselinck (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 3:48:24
153 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Saur – Sojasun 3:49:09
Domani è tempo dell’ormai famosa cronometro individuale, Bonneval-Chartres (53,5 km). Un tracciato per specialisti, che di sicuro favorirà Wiggins e lo consacrerà vincitore. Questo il profilo altimetrico:
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