Deutsche Presse-Agentur
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France's Sandy Casar
leads Michael Boogerd
toward the finish of
stage 18 of the Tour.
Franck Fife/AFP/
Getty Images |
Angouleme, France (dpa) - Veteran French rider Sandy Casar overcame a crash early in the race and won Friday's 18th stage of the Tour de France. Alberto Contador, a 24-year-old Spaniard with the Discovery Channel team, retained the race leader's yellow jersey, which he inherited Thursday after Dane Michael Rasmussen was dropped from the race.
Casar, who twice came close to winning a stage this year, was part of a group of four riders that broke away at about the 25-kilometer mark of the 211-kilometer course from Cahors to Angouleme.
He crashed heavily after striking a small black dog that had strayed onto the road, and had to be treated for bruises and pain during the running of the stage. But the 38-year-old rider for the Francaise des Jeux team had the lead in the final kilometer and then outsprinted the other three riders to record the first Tour stage victory of his career. Axel Merckx of Belgium finished second, with another French rider, Laurent Lefevre, finishing third.
"I thought the escape was over after the crash," Casar said. "I felt really bad. It hurt everywhere--my back, my shoulders."
Casar said that he changed his strategy in the final kilometer of the race.
"Usually, I wait too long to make my move. This time I decided to start it earlier. I just wanted to try something else."
The winner's time for the stage was 5 hours, 13 minutes, 31 seconds, which translates into a leisurely pace of 40.38 kph on the predominantly flat course. Contador finished with the main pack of riders, 8 minutes, 37 seconds behind the winner, and three seconds behind his main rival for the title, Cadel Evans of Australia.
He now leads Evans by 1 minute, 50 seconds, with American Levi Leipheimer, another member of the Discovery Channel team, 2 minutes, 49 seconds back in third place.
Contador may regret the three seconds he lost. The Tour de France championship will almost certainly be decided in Saturday's time trial, a discipline in which Evans has the edge. In the first time trial of this year's Tour, the Australian finished second, 1:04 ahead of Contador on a course that favored climbers like the Spaniard. Saturday's 55.5-kilometer course is flatter and may benefit Evans.
The Tour ends Sunday in Paris.
Stage 18 Top 10 Results
- Sandy Casar, France, Francaise des Jeux, 5 hours, 13 minutes, 31 seconds
- Axel Merckx, Belgium, T-Mobile, +0:01
- Laurent Lefevre, France, Bouygues Telecom, +0:01
- Michael Boogerd, Netherlands, Rabobank, +0:01
- Tom Boonen, Belgium, Quick Step-Innergetic, +8:34
- Robert Hunter, South Africa, Barloworld, +8:34
- Erik Zabel, Germany, Milram, +8:34
- Sebastien Chavanel, France, Francaise Des Jeux, +8:34
- Bernhard Eisel, Austria, T-Mobile, +8:34
- Thor Hushovd, Norway, Credit Agricole, +8:34
Other American Riders:
- Levi Leipheimer, 20th, +8:37
- George Hincapie, 40th, +8:37
- Christopher Horner, 50th, +8:37
GC Standings
- Alberto Contador, Spain, Discovery Channel, 86:04:16
- Cadel Evans, Australia, Predictor-Lotto, +1:50
- Levi Leipheimer, United States, Discovery Channel, +2:49
- Carlos Sastre, Spain, Team CSC, +6:02
- Haimar Zubeldia, Spain, Euskaltel-Euskadi, +6:29
Other American Riders:
- Christopher Horner, 15th, +23:12
- Christian Vandevelde, 25th, +54:10
- George Hincapie, 26th, +54:35
Sprint Standings
- Tom Boonen, 234 pts.
- Robert Hunter, 210 pts.
- Erik Zabel, 206 pts.
Mountain Standings
- Juan Mauricio Soler Hernandez, 206 pts.
- Alberto Contador, 128 pts.
- Yaroslav Popovych, 104 pts.
Youth Standings (Under 25)
- Alberto Contador, 86:04:16
- Juan Mauricio Soler Hernandez, +13:31
- Amets Txurruka, +45:54
Team Standings
- Discovery Channel, 258:27:02
- Team CSC, +16:12
- Caisse d'Epargne, +16:51