Tour de France Weekend Review
It was a big weekend for cyclists participating in the 2010 Tour de France. On Friday, Spaniard Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver won the 12th stage, staying just enough ahead of Alberto Contador.
After winning, Rodriguez said that he and Contador have a very good relationship and have known each other since 2003, when they raced for the same team. However, he knew that he had more top speed and was confident in getting the victory. When the Tour started, he continued, he was very clear about wanting to win a stage and get the best position possible in the general classification. He is glad both of these came at the same time. As for the race between Contador and Andy Schleck, he believes that Contador has the best chance of winning the Tour.
Stage 13 was held on Saturday and was won by Alexandre Vinokourov, who was 13 seconds ahead of Mark Cavendish, Alessandro Petacchi, Edvald Boasson Hagen and Jose Joaquin Rojas (in that order). This is first the time since the 2007 Tour that he has won a stage. He said that it’s nice to win again, and it was a good victory. He is very happy for his team, as he believes he has helped give them some good morale. He added that he rode well in the breakaway and is happy.
Christophe Riblon won the 14th stage of the Tour on Sunday, 54 seconds ahead of Denis Menchov, who finished second. He had tears in his eyes as he crossed the finish line. He says that he is so happy and has been waiting for this for a long, long time, adding that it’s amazing.
Despite all these wins, the overall standings haven’t changed very much. Here is a better look:
- Andy Schleck 68h2′30”
- Alberto Contador +31”
- Samuel Sanchez +2′31”
- Denis Menchov +2′44”
- Jugen Van Den Broeck +3′31”
- Robert Gesink +4′27”
- Levi Leipheimer +4′51”
- Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver +4′58”
- Luis-Leon Sanchez +5′56”
- Ivan Basso +6′52”