2009 Tour de France

2009 Tour de France
2009 UCI World Ranking, race 17 of 24
Route of the 2009 Tour de France
Race details
Dates 4–26 July
Stages 21
Distance 3,459.5 km (2,150 mi)
Winning time 85h 48' 35" (40.31 km/h or 25.05 mph)
Palmares
Winner  Alberto Contador (ESP) (Astana)
Second  Andy Schleck (LUX) (Team Saxo Bank)
Third  Bradley Wiggins (GBR) (Garmin–Slipstream)

Points  Thor Hushovd (NOR) (Cervélo TestTeam)
Mountains None
Youth  Andy Schleck (LUX) (Team Saxo Bank)
Team Astana

The 2009 Tour de France was the 96th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on 4 July in the principality of Monaco with a 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) individual time trial which included a section of the Circuit de Monaco. The race visited six countries: Monaco, France, Spain, Andorra, Switzerland and Italy, and finished on 26 July on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.

The total length was 3,445 kilometres (2,141 mi),[1] including 93 kilometres (58 mi) in time-trials. There were seven mountain stages, three of which had mountaintop finishes, and one medium-mountain stage.[2] The race had a team time trial for the first time since 2005, the shortest distance in individual time trials since 1967, and the first penultimate-day mountain stage in the Tour's history.

2007 winner Alberto Contador won the race by a margin of 4′11″, having won both a mountain and time trial stage. His Astana team also took the team classification.[3] and supplied the initial third-place finisher, Lance Armstrong. Armstrong's achievement was later voided by the UCI in October 2012 following his non-dispute of a doping accusation by USADA, and fourth place Bradley Wiggins was promoted to the podium.[4][5] Andy Schleck, second overall, won the young riders' competition as he had the previous year. Franco Pellizotti originally won the polka dot jersey as the King of the Mountains, but had that result (along with all his 2009 results) stripped by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2011 due to his irregular values in the UCI's biological passport program detected in May 2010.[6] Mark Cavendish won six stages, including the final stage on the Champs-Élysées, but was beaten in the points classification by Thor Hushovd, who consequently won the green jersey.[7]

Race overview

The race started in Monaco with a 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) individual time trial, won by Olympic time trial champion Fabian Cancellara, who retained the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification throughout the first week, which was dominated by stages suited primarily to sprinters, with Mark Cavendish establishing himself as the strongest finisher. The significant action of the first week in relation to the overall classification was restricted to a split in the field on stage 3, and a team time trial the following day.

The second weekend saw the Tour in the Pyrenees, and the first attack on the field by eventual winner Alberto Contador, while the leadership was taken over by Rinaldo Nocentini. Thor Hushovd showed an ability to take points in stages that did not include flat sprint finishes that would be key to the contest for the points classification, and the main contenders for the mountains classification emerged. The journey towards the Alps the following week had a second pair of successive stage wins for Cavendish and a series of wins from riders in breakaways that held no threat to the general classification. An infringement in the sprint finish to stage 14 saw Cavendish relegated in finishing position, and Hushovd gaining the upper hand in the points classification.

A man in yellow clothes. In the background people are watching.
Contador wearing the yellow jersey during the 17th stage of the 2010 Tour de France.

The first alpine stage was the occasion of Contador's assumption of the race leadership, and the emergence of Andy Schleck as the only rider likely to challenge him in the mountains, and as the top young rider, giving Schleck the right to wear the white jersey. Franco Pellizotti focussed on collecting points on the climbs early in stages to overhaul Egoi Martínez in the race for the mountains classification, without threatening the race leaders. By the end of the three stages in the Alps, and after Contador's victory in the final time trial, it was only the minor placings that were realistically under question in the last mountain stage, held for the first time on the penultimate day of the tour on Mont Ventoux.

The UCI introduced a ban on radio communication between team management and riders on stage 10, but the riders responded with a conservative style of racing for most of the stage and the intended repetition of the experiment on stage 13 was abandoned.[8]

At the victory ceremony, the national anthem of Denmark was mistakenly played instead of that of Spain.[9] Contador described the incident as an "enormous blunder" at a post-Tour press conference in Madrid. At the victory ceremony for teams, the anthem of Spain was yet played, because Contador was part of the winning team, Astana.

Teams

For a more comprehensive list, see List of teams and cyclists in the 2009 Tour de France.

20 teams were invited to take part in the race. They include 17 of the 18 UCI ProTour teams (all except for Fuji–Servetto) and three other teams: Skil–Shimano, Cervélo TestTeam and Agritubel. Each team started with 9 riders, making a total of 180 participants, of whom 156 finished.

The 20 teams invited to the race were:[10]

Riders

Favorites for the race included 2008 winner Carlos Sastre, 2007 winner Alberto Contador, 2009 Giro d'Italia winner Denis Menchov and two time runner-up Cadel Evans.[11] Lance Armstrong came out of retirement and competed in the race on the same team as Contador. Menchov and Evans performed far below the levels expected of them, finishing 51st and 30th respectively, and Sastre only showed briefly among the leaders on the mountain stages that would have provided his best chance of making a bid for victory, coming 17th overall.

Alejandro Valverde, the team leader of Caisse d'Epargne, was not selected by his team for the Tour de France, because the race travelled through Italy on stage 16 and he had received a ban in May 2009 from the Italian Olympic Committee, prohibiting him from competing in Italy. He had finished in the top ten of the general classification of the Tour in the two previous years and was considered one of the favourites for overall victory.

News about a positive retest of a 2007 out-of-competition control concerning Thomas Dekker broke three days before the start; his team Silence–Lotto immediately withdrew him from the starting list.

Stages

Stage results[12][13]
Stage Date Course Distance Type Winner
1 4 July Monaco 15.5 km (10 mi) Individual Time Trial  Fabian Cancellara (SUI)
2 5 July Monaco to Brignoles 187 km (116 mi) Flat Stage  Mark Cavendish (GBR)
3 6 July Marseille to La Grande-Motte 196.5 km (122 mi) Flat Stage  Mark Cavendish (GBR)
4 7 July Montpellier 39 km (24 mi) Team Time Trial Astana
5 8 July Cap d'Agde to Perpignan 196.5 km (122 mi) Flat Stage  Thomas Voeckler (FRA)
6 9 July Girona, Spain to Barcelona, Spain 181.5 km (113 mi) Flat Stage  Thor Hushovd (NOR)
7 10 July Barcelona to Andorra-Arcalis, Andorra 224 km (139 mi) Mountain Stage  Brice Feillu (FRA)
8 11 July Andorra la Vella to Saint-Girons 176.5 km (110 mi) Mountain Stage  Luis León Sánchez (ESP)
9 12 July Saint-Gaudens to Tarbes 160.5 km (100 mi) Mountain Stage  Pierrick Fédrigo (FRA)
13 July Rest day
10 14 July Limoges to Issoudun 194.5 km (121 mi) Flat Stage  Mark Cavendish (GBR)
11 15 July Vatan to Saint-Fargeau 192 km (119 mi) Flat Stage  Mark Cavendish (GBR)
12 16 July Tonnerre to Vittel 211.5 km (131 mi) Flat Stage  Nicki Sørensen (DEN)
13 17 July Vittel to Colmar 200 km (124 mi) Medium mountain stage  Heinrich Haussler (GER)
14 18 July Colmar to Besançon 199 km (124 mi) Flat Stage  Sergei Ivanov (RUS)
15 19 July Pontarlier to Verbier, Switzerland 207.5 km (129 mi) Mountain Stage  Alberto Contador (ESP)
20 July Rest day
16 21 July Martigny, Switzerland to Bourg-Saint-Maurice 159 km (99 mi) Mountain Stage  Sandy Casar (FRA)
17 22 July Bourg-Saint-Maurice to Le Grand-Bornand 169.5 km (105 mi) Mountain Stage  Fränk Schleck (LUX)
18 23 July Annecy 40.5 km (25 mi) Individual Time Trial  Alberto Contador (ESP)
19 24 July Bourgoin-Jallieu to Aubenas 178 km (111 mi) Flat Stage  Mark Cavendish (GBR)
20 25 July Montélimar to Mont Ventoux 167 km (104 mi) Mountain Stage  Juan Manuel Gárate (ESP)
21 26 July Montereau-Fault-Yonne to Paris (Champs-Élysées) 164 km (102 mi) Flat Stage  Mark Cavendish (GBR)
TOTAL 3,459.5 km (2,150 mi)

Classification leadership

Stage Winner General classification
Yellow jersey
Points classification
Green jersey
Mountains classification
Polkadot jersey
Young rider classification
White jersey
Team classification
Jersey with yellow number
Combativity award
Jersey with red number
1 Fabian Cancellara Fabian Cancellara Fabian Cancellara Alberto Contador Roman Kreuziger Astana no award
2 Mark Cavendish Mark Cavendish Jussi Veikkanen Stef Clement
3 Mark Cavendish Tony Martin Samuel Dumoulin
4 Astana no award
5 Thomas Voeckler Mikhail Ignatiev
6 Thor Hushovd Stéphane Augé David Millar
7 Brice Feillu Rinaldo Nocentini Brice Feillu Christophe Riblon
8 Luis León Sánchez Thor Hushovd Christophe Kern Ag2r–La Mondiale Sandy Casar
9 Pierrick Fédrigo Egoi Martínez Franco Pellizotti
10 Mark Cavendish Thierry Hupond
11 Mark Cavendish Mark Cavendish Johan Van Summeren
12 Nicki Sørensen Team Saxo Bank Nicki Sørensen
13 Heinrich Haussler Thor Hushovd Franco Pellizotti Heinrich Haussler
14 Sergei Ivanov Ag2r–La Mondiale Martijn Maaskant
15 Alberto Contador Alberto Contador Andy Schleck Astana Simon Špilak
16 Sandy Casar* Franco Pellizotti
17 Fränk Schleck Thor Hushovd
18 Alberto Contador no award
19 Mark Cavendish Leonardo Duque
20 Juan Manuel Gárate Tony Martin
21 Mark Cavendish Fumiyuki Beppu
Final Alberto Contador Thor Hushovd Franco Pellizotti Andy Schleck Astana Franco Pellizotti

After stage 1, Fabian Cancellara was leading both the general and the points classifications. In stage 2, he wore the yellow jersey. Alberto Contador was placed second at the time in the green jersey points classification, but was the leader in the king of the mountains classification, and so forfeited the right to wear the green jersey. As a result, the third placed rider in the opening time trial, Bradley Wiggins wore the green jersey on stage 2.[14]

* Stage 16 was originally won by Mikel Astarloza, who was found after the Tour to have tested positive for EPO before the race had started.[15] The organisers have stripped him of the stage win, and former number two Sandy Casar became the official winner.[16]

Final standings

Legend
  Yellow jersey   Denotes the leader of the General classification   Polka dot jersey   Denotes the leader of the Mountains classification
  Green jersey   Denotes the leader of the Points classification   White jersey   Denotes the leader of the Young rider classification
  Jersey with a yellow background on the number bib.   Denotes the leader of the Team classification

General classification

Final general classification (1–10)[12]
Rank Name Team Time
1  Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana 85h 48' 35"
2  Andy Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank +4' 11"
DSQ  Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana +5' 24"
3  Bradley Wiggins (GBR) Garmin +6' 01"
4  Fränk Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank +6' 04"
5  Andreas Klöden (GER) Astana +6' 42"
6  Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) Liquigas +7' 35"
7  Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin +12' 04"
8  Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Liquigas +14' 16"
9  Christophe Le Mével (FRA) Française des Jeux +14' 25"
10  Sandy Casar (FRA) Française des Jeux +17' 19"

Mountains classification

Final mountains classification[17]
Rider Team Points
DSQ  Franco Pellizotti (ITA) Liquigas 210
2  Egoi Martínez (ESP) Euskaltel–Euskadi 135
3  Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana 126
4  Andy Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank 111
5  Pierrick Fédrigo (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 99
6  Christophe Kern (FRA) Cofidis 89
7  Fränk Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank 88
DSQ  Mikel Astarloza (ESP) Euskaltel–Euskadi 86
9  Juan Manuel Gárate (ESP) Rabobank 86
10  Sandy Casar (FRA) Française des Jeux 84

Points classification

Rider Team Points
1  Thor Hushovd (NOR) Cervélo TestTeam 280
2  Mark Cavendish (GBR) Team Columbia–HTC 270
3  Gerald Ciolek (GER) Team Milram 148
4  José Joaquín Rojas (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 126
5  Nicolas Roche (IRL) Ag2r–La Mondiale 122
6  Óscar Freire (ESP) Rabobank 119
7  Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin–Slipstream 110
DSQ  Franco Pellizotti (ITA) Liquigas 104
9  Alberto Contador (ESP) Astana 101
10  Andreas Klöden (GER) Astana 89

Young riders classification

Rider Team Time
1  Andy Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank 85h 52′ 46″
2  Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) Liquigas + 3′ 24″
3  Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Liquigas + 10′ 05″
4  Pierre Rolland (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom + 33′ 33″
5  Nicolas Roche (IRL) Ag2r–La Mondiale + 34′ 09″
6  Brice Feillu (FRA) Agritubel + 37′ 03″
7  Peter Velits (SVK) Team Milram + 42′ 24″
8  Chris Anker Sørensen (DEN) Team Saxo Bank + 45′ 36″
9  Tony Martin (GER) Team Columbia–HTC + 50′ 53″
10  Yury Trofimov (RUS) Bbox Bouygues Telecom + 1h 04′ 50″

Team classification

Pos. Team Time
1 Astana 243h 56′ 04″
2 Garmin–Slipstream + 22′ 35″
3 Team Saxo Bank + 28′ 34″
4 Ag2r–La Mondiale + 31′ 47″
5 Liquigas + 43′ 31″
6 Euskaltel–Euskadi + 58′ 05″
7 Française des Jeux + 1h 01′ 48″
8 Cofidis + 1h 05′ 34″
9 Team Katusha + 1h 13′ 57″
10 Agritubel + 1h 20′ 38″

Money classification

[18]

Pos. Team Earnings
1 Astana €697,050
2 Team Saxo Bank €362,850
3 Liquigas €156,360
4 Garmin–Slipstream €151,870
5 HTC–Highroad €102,300
6 Cervélo TestTeam €86,710
7 Bbox Bouygues Telecom €63,470
8 Ag2r–La Mondiale €54,730
9 Euskaltel–Euskadi €49,820
10 Cofidis €40,690

World Rankings points

The following points were earned in the Tour towards the 2009 UCI World Ranking.

Rider Team Nationality StageOverallTotal
Contador, AlbertoAlberto ContadorAstana Spain64200264
Schleck, AndyAndy SchleckTeam Saxo Bank Luxembourg22150172
Cavendish, MarkMark CavendishTeam Columbia–HTC United Kingdom126126
Armstrong, LanceLance ArmstrongAstana USA4120124
Schleck, FränkFränk SchleckTeam Saxo Bank Luxembourg24100124
Wiggins, BradleyBradley WigginsGarmin–Slipstream United Kingdom8110118
Klöden, AndreasAndreas KlödenAstana Germany49094
Nibali, VincenzoVincenzo NibaliLiquigas Italy108090
Vande Velde, ChristianChristian Vande VeldeGarmin–Slipstream USA7070
Astarloza, MikelMikel AstarlozaEuskaltel–Euskadi Spain264066
Kreuziger, RomanRoman KreuzigerLiquigas Czech Republic6060
Hushovd, ThorThor HushovdCervélo TestTeam Norway5656
Casar, SandySandy CasarFrançaise des Jeux France203050
Le Mével, ChristopheChristophe Le MévelFrançaise des Jeux France5050
Farrar, TylerTyler FarrarGarmin–Slipstream USA3636
Cancellara, FabianFabian CancellaraTeam Saxo Bank  Switzerland3030
FedrigoPierrick FédrigoBbox Bouygues Telecom France2626
Feillu, BriceBrice Feillu Agritubel  France 2626
Ivanov, SergueiSerguei IvanovTeam Katusha Russia2424
Karpets, VladimirVladimir KarpetsTeam Katusha Russia2424
Nocentini, RinaldoRinaldo NocentiniAg2r–La Mondiale Italy42024
Freire, ÓscarÓscar FreireRabobank Spain2222
GarateJuan Manuel GárateRabobank Spain2020
Haussler, HeinrichHeinrich HausslerCervélo TestTeam Germany2020
SanchezLuis León SánchezCaisse d'Epargne Spain2020
Sorensen NNicki SørensenTeam Saxo Bank Denmark2020
Voeckler, ThomasThomas VoecklerBbox Bouygues Telecom France2020
Pellizotti, FrancoFranco PellizottiLiquigas Italy1818
Van Den Broeck, JurgenJurgen Van Den BroeckSilence–Lotto Belgium 21618
Ciolek, GeraldGerald CiolekTeam Milram Germany1616
Ignatiev, MikhailMikhail IgnatievTeam Katusha Russia1616
Roche, NicolasNicolas RocheAg2r–La Mondiale Ireland1414
Goubert, StéphaneStéphane GoubertAg2r–La Mondiale France1212
Kern, ChristopheChristophe KernCofidis France1010
Lefèvre, LaurentLaurent LefèvreBbox Bouygues Telecom France1010
Martin, TonyTony MartinTeam Columbia–HTC Germany1010
Renshaw, MarkMark RenshawTeam Columbia–HTC Australia1010
Rojas, José JoaquínJosé Joaquín RojasCaisse d'Epargne Spain1010
Sastre, CarlosCarlos SastreCervélo TestTeam Spain1010
Txurruka, AmetsAmets TxurrukaEuskaltel–Euskadi Spain1010
Botcharov, AlexandreAlexandre BotcharovTeam Katusha Russia88
Chavanel, SylvainSylvain ChavanelQuick-Step France448
Hutarovich, YauheniYauheni HutarovichFrançaise des Jeux Belarus88
Feillu, RomainRomain FeilluAgritubel France66
Fröhlinger, JohannesJohannes FröhlingerTeam Milram Germany66
Hincapie, GeorgeGeorge HincapieTeam Columbia–HTC USA66
Lemoine, CyrilCyril LemoineSkil–Shimano France66
Roulston, HaydenHayden RoulstonCervélo TestTeam New Zealand66
Dumoulin, SamuelSamuel DumoulinCofidis France44
Duque, LeonardoLeonardo DuqueCofidis Colombia44
Efimkin, VladimirVladimir EfimkinAg2r–La Mondiale Russia44
Fothen, MarkusMarkus FothenTeam Milram Germany44
Larsson, GustavGustav LarssonTeam Saxo Bank Sweden 44
Maaskant, MartijnMartijn MaaskantGarmin–Slipstream Netherlands44
Martínez, EgoiEgoi MartínezEuskaltel–Euskadi Spain44
Van Avermaet, GregGreg Van AvermaetSilence–Lotto Belgium44
Velits, PeterPeter VelitsTeam Milram Slovakia44
Arashiro, YukiyaYukiya ArashiroBbox Bouygues Telecom Japan22
Evans, CadelCadel EvansSilence–Lotto Australia22
Millar, DavidDavid MillarGarmin–Slipstream United Kingdom22
Minard, SébastienSébastien MinardCofidis France22
Pineau, JérômeJérôme PineauQuick-Step France22

Doping

In the 2009 Tour, Doping controls were conducted by the UCI, with the French body AFLD shadowing the process. Officials targeted top riders like Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador with an unprecedented amount of tests.[19] While the Armstrong-Contador conflict ruled the headlines, reporting on doping rather took a back seat during the race. The news that Giro runner-up Danilo Di Luca had a positive A probe in the Giro did not change that.[20] Five days after the race finished the UCI announced that that initial Stage 16 winner Mikel Astarloza tested positive for EPO in an out-of-competition test on 26 June, eight days before the race started.[21] Later, Astarloza was removed from the results, and the stage win transferred to Sandy Casar.[16]

Just days before the 2010 Giro d'Italia, 2009 Giro podium finisher and King of the Mountains winner in this Tour Franco Pellizotti was announced by the UCI as a rider of interest in their biological passport program. He was sidelined by his team, and did not race again in 2010. The case was not fully resolved until March 2011, at which time the Court of Arbitration for Sport ordered Pellizotti banned for two years, to pay a fine and court costs, and have all his 2009 results vacated.[6]

In October 2012, Lance Armstrong had all his results post 1998, including the 2009 Tour, voided by the UCI following the USADA investigation into systematic doping.[22]

On 10 July 2014, a UCI press release detailing various athlete sanctions specified that Menchov had been banned (for a period of two years) until 9 April 2015 due to adverse biological passport findings. Due to this, he has been disqualified from the 2009, 2010 and 2012 Tours de France.[23]

References

  1. Augendre, Jacques (2009). "Guide Historique" (PDF) (in French). Amaury Sport Organisation. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
  2. "The Tour 2009". LeTour.fr. Archived from the original on 25 October 2008. Retrieved 22 October 2008.
  3. "Contador seals 2009 Tour victory". BBC Sport. 26 July 2009. Archived from the original on 27 July 2009. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
  4. "Wiggins 3e en 2009" (in French). L'Equipe. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  5. "Wiggins handed 3rd place on 2009 Tour". Wide World of Sports. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  6. 1 2 "Italian cyclist Franco Pellizotti found guilty of doping by Court of Arbitration for Sport - ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. 2011-03-08. Retrieved 2012-07-10.
  7. "How the 2009 Tour was won". BBC Sport. 26 July 2009. Retrieved 27 July 2009.
  8. "Cycling-UCI lift earpieces ban for Tour 13th stage". yahoo.com. 18 June 2009. Archived from the original on 16 August 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
  9. "Danish anthem played for Spanish winner Contador". Reuters. 26 July 2009. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  10. "The 20 teams selected" (PDF). LeTour.fr. 17 March 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2009.
  11. Daniel Benson. "The Tour de France Ladder". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2013-07-09.
  12. 1 2 "96ème Tour de France 2009" (in French). Memoire du cyclisme. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  13. Zwegers, Arian. "Tour de France GC Top Ten". CVCC. Archived from the original on 10 June 2009. Retrieved 15 Aug 2011.
  14. "Tour de France 2009 Regulations" (PDF). LeTour.fr. Retrieved 6 July 2009.
  15. "Astarloza tests positive for EPO, UCI says". Velo News. Archived from the original on 16 August 2009. Retrieved 6 July 2009.
  16. 1 2 Augendre, Jacques (2010). "Guide Historique, Part 4" (PDF) (in French). Amaury Sport Organisation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 August 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
  17. "Bijna 700 000 euro voor Astana" (in Dutch). Tourdefrance.nl. 26 July 2009. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
  18. "Armstrong on doping: 'I think I've answered the question'". CNN. Retrieved 27 July 2009.
  19. "Italian Di Luca fails doping test". BBC. 22 July 2009. Archived from the original on 23 July 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  20. "Astarloza tests positive for EPO, UCI says". Velo News. Archived from the original on 16 August 2009. Retrieved 31 July 2009.
  21. "Lance Armstrong: Governing body strips American of Tour wins". BBC News. 22 October 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  22. "Athlete sanctions press release". UCI. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2014.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tour de France 2009.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, October 22, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.