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Tour de France 2012 stage 14

Live team coverage of stage 14 at the 99th edition of the Tour de France

Good morning everyone and welcome to Stage 14 of the Tour de France. Today we have a 191km race from Limoux to Foix.

by Logan VonBokel 7/15/2012 12:01:41 PM
As we join in 68km into the race there are already 11 riders away and (courtesy of letour.fr) they are: Philippe Gilbert (FRA) BMC, Cyril Gautier (FRA) EUC, Gorka Izaguirre (ESP) EUS, Peter Sagan (SVK) LIQ, Sebastien Minard (FRA) ALM, Eduard Vorganov (RUS) KAT, Sandy Casar (FRA) FDJ, Steven Kruiswijk (NED) RAB, Luis Sanchez (ESP) RAB and Martin Velits (SVK) OPQ

by Logan VonBokel 7/15/2012 12:04:01 PM
Courtesy of letour.fr. We are at the red line so far today.

by Logan VonBokel 7/15/2012 12:05:05 PM
The 11 man group now has 4'00".

by Logan VonBokel 7/15/2012 12:05:58 PM
The 11 man group is the "official break of the day," or at least until we hit the slopes of the first big climb.

by Logan VonBokel 7/15/2012 12:09:29 PM
Sky riders in the peloton stop for a nature break and the gap opened up even further.

by Logan VonBokel 7/15/2012 12:10:08 PM
Gap 6'40". #TDF12

by opqscyclingteam via twitter 7/15/2012 12:11:36 PM
From Caley Fretz: DZ airing out. instagr.am

by CaleyFretz via Instagr.am edited by Logan VonBokel 7/15/2012 12:15:34 PM
Is Sagan in the break for the intermediate sprint?

by JB 7/15/2012 12:19:14 PM
JB, yes it would seem that (once again) Sagan has put himself into the break to sweep up some sprint points. With the high value of intermediate sprint points and Sagan's climbing ability, he all but has the green jersey sewn up.

by Logan VonBokel 7/15/2012 12:20:51 PM
72km down, and the leaders have opened up the gap to 10'00". Anyone want to start making winner predictions now?

by Logan VonBokel 7/15/2012 12:21:55 PM
That's nice to see Logan. I like a combative points leader, not just someone riding trains to victory at the end of the stages.

by JB 7/15/2012 12:26:22 PM
Agreed! Reminds me of a young, Slovak version of Thor Hushovd.

by Logan VonBokel 7/15/2012 12:27:01 PM
BMC wage bill: Evans US$3.3 million, Gilbert $3.7m, Hushovd $2.8m. These three riders cost more than the entire Europcar team budget.

by the Inner Ring via twitter 7/15/2012 12:27:39 PM
The break (which was started by Sagan) is 16km from the intermediate sprint.

by Logan VonBokel 7/15/2012 12:30:09 PM
5K to the sprint which should be taken pretty easily by Sagan.

by Logan VonBokel 7/15/2012 12:40:08 PM
How come Gilbert is higher paid than Evans? Is his ability to win classics and stages viewed more favorably than Evans GC abilities in terms of screen time for the sponsors?

by Seany 7/15/2012 12:40:29 PM
Seany, Gilbert was the #1 ranked rider in the world at the end of last season. He won all of the Ardennes Classics and won in every month of the season. He was infallible as far as the Belgian fans were concerned and every team wanted him.

by Logan VonBokel 7/15/2012 12:41:45 PM
Don't think anyone wanted to try and embarrass themselves in that sprint. Sagan takes it without breaking the paceline.

by Logan VonBokel 7/15/2012 12:47:17 PM
Nobody dares to challenge Sagan at the intermediate sprint. The career costs of giving him trouble outweigh a handful of Euros.

by the Inner Ring via twitter 7/15/2012 12:48:21 PM
From letour.fr: Eight places in Tarascon...

The peloton is over 12 minutes from the intermediate sprint but the first eight places went to:

1. Sagan 20pts

2. Kruiswijk 17pts

3. Casar 15pts

4. Paulinho 13pts

5. Gilbert 11pts

by Logan VonBokel 7/15/2012 12:57:18 PM
Lots of jovial moments right now - enjoy it now boys because you won't be laughing in an hour.

by RIck 7/15/2012 1:07:28 PM
The peloton arrived at the sprint 13'20" behind the leaders.

by Logan VonBokel 7/15/2012 1:08:02 PM
Hard to believe half of the Rabbobank team is in the breakaway but I guess that's what happens when half = 2.

by JB 7/15/2012 1:08:24 PM
JB, Rabo is trying to make up for lost time... errr riders.

by Logan VonBokel 7/15/2012 1:08:43 PM
As we approach the climb the composition of the lead group is bound to change. The current population of the breakaway is: Philippe Gilbert (FRA) BMC, Cyril Gautier (FRA) EUC, Gorka Izaguirre (ESP) EUS, Peter Sagan (SVK) LIQ, Sebastien Minard (FRA) ALM, Eduard Vorganov (RUS) KAT, Sandy Casar (FRA) FDJ, Steven Kruiswijk (NED) RAB, Luis Sanchez (ESP) RAB and Martin Velits (SVK) OPQ

by Logan VonBokel 7/15/2012 1:10:15 PM
Think anyone in the break could make a play for the polka dot jersey today with two Cat 1 climbs?

by JB 7/15/2012 1:11:09 PM
I am still checking, but I'm not seeing anyone in the break who's anywhere near close enough to Kessiakoff's 69 points, who could take his polka-dots.

by Logan VonBokel 7/15/2012 1:11:59 PM
What are your thoughts on Wiggins sprint at the end yesterday. Payback or ill advised?

by RIck 7/15/2012 1:12:18 PM
Rick, that was just Wiggo being a great teammate, while keeping himself out of trouble. Its not common as most yellow jersey wearers do not have the track-pedigree that Wiggo does. I really look forward to the Chaps-Elysees, for just that reason.

by Logan VonBokel 7/15/2012 1:14:05 PM
Good morning, thanks for having me on today.

by Craig Lewis 7/15/2012 1:17:13 PM
Good morning Craig! For those who don't know Mr. Lewis, he's a pro on the Champion Systems team and formerly of the Highroad squad. Got a question from a reader for you Craig.

by Logan VonBokel 7/15/2012 1:20:00 PM
Anybody know contract details, e.g. if you're injured or sick or otherwise not performing as expected, do you give up some of the big bucks? Or are the figures inclusive of performance bonuses?

by vidiot 7/15/2012 1:20:36 PM
Assuming you're up for contact that year, yes, you'd be hard pressed to sign for the same money or more. There are so many riders on the market these days, with new talent coming up, that you can't really have bad years and get away with it anymore.

by Craig Lewis 7/15/2012 1:22:34 PM
If you're under contract, you're more or less safe. I'm not sure how teams could go about getting any of that money back unless they fire you.

by Craig Lewis 7/15/2012 1:24:07 PM
The worst they could do is not race you. Then you miss out on those race days, prize money and any and all opportunities to show yourself.

by Craig Lewis 7/15/2012 1:25:00 PM
maybe Nibali attacks on the climb again and Sagan waits for him to help power them off...

by Dennis Davidson 7/15/2012 1:25:15 PM
From our friends at letour.fr: At the 111km mark, the 11 escapees are 15'05" ahead of the peloton.

by Logan VonBokel 7/15/2012 1:26:53 PM
time for Cav to move to the back. He looks quite wobbly climbing at the front

by Travis Dotson 7/15/2012 1:30:43 PM
Super narrow roads here on the climb. Cav is tucked in a couple riders back of the Sky train, but they are from driving it yet.

by Logan VonBokel 7/15/2012 1:31:13 PM
The break is now 5km from the summit. Sagan is still tucked in the middle. If he stays on for most of the next climb, and Nibali doesn't call him back to work, he could contest today's stage.

by Logan VonBokel 7/15/2012 1:32:57 PM
Devil sightings?

by ishpeming 7/15/2012 1:33:01 PM
ishpeming, I haven't seen him. I heard something a while back about him falling ill.

by Logan VonBokel 7/15/2012 1:33:31 PM
I was reading the article about shorter courses creating more action on the road– and I'm wondering if, in a TT-heavy tour like this year, wouldn't time bonuses liven up the GC competition? I'd love to see Evans, Nibali and Wiggins duking it out for bonuses.

by Kendall Clukey edited by Logan VonBokel 7/15/2012 1:33:57 PM
Didi is not at the tour, recuperating from surgery

by Travis Dotson 7/15/2012 1:35:45 PM