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Tour de France 2012 stage 5

Live team coverage of stage 4 at the 99th edition of the Tour de France

Good morning/afternoon/evening everyone and welcome to our live stage 5 coverage.

by Neal Rogers 7/5/2012 12:11:12 PM
Today's flat 196.5km stage runs from Rouen to Saint-Quentin, and is likely one for the sprinters.

by Neal Rogers 7/5/2012 12:15:38 PM
Currently five men up the road with a 5:20 gap. Names coming shortly.

by Neal Rogers 7/5/2012 12:16:54 PM
Both Mark Cavendish and Bernie Eisel (Sky) started the race today; Cav has some pain in one of his wrists.

by Neal Rogers 7/5/2012 12:17:41 PM
Stage 5 course profile

by Neal Rogers 7/5/2012 12:18:27 PM
It's raining on course, and rain + sprint finish = potential for another nasty finish line crash. Let's hope that's not the case.

by Neal Rogers 7/5/2012 12:19:35 PM
Sadly, young German sprinter Marcel Kittel has abandoned.

by Neal Rogers 7/5/2012 12:20:17 PM
Too bad. @marcelkittel has abandoned. After 40km the German got off his bike because of his stomach flu. We wish Marcel all the best!

by Team Argos-Shimano via twitter 7/5/2012 12:20:20 PM
How about Cav's cracked helmet yesterday. Any word about how hard he hit his head? Concussion?

by Tim P 7/5/2012 12:20:22 PM
No word on Cavendish's head. Sky boss Dave Brailsford said Bernie and Cav simply woke up this morning and "got on with it." Moments ago on the live TV coverage, and camera moto got a little too close to Cav, and he let it know with a few expletives. So... seems like same old Cav!

by Neal Rogers 7/5/2012 12:21:49 PM
From LeTour.fr: There is thunder, lightning and rain at the site of the finish fo the fifth stage. It doesn't seem as though it will clear up either... but for the moment it's still dry where the peloton is riding.

by Neal Rogers 7/5/2012 12:23:45 PM
Also LeTour.fr: The best placed on GC of the four in the lead is Matthieu Ladagnous.

Matthieu Ladagnous (FRA) FDJ-BigMat - 108th overall, at 8'04"
Jan Ghyselinck (BEL) Cofidis - 147th overall, at 11'38"
Julien Simon (FRA) Saur-Sojasun - 161st overall, at 12'45"
Pablo Urtasun (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi - 192nd overall, at 26'14"

by Neal Rogers 7/5/2012 12:26:47 PM
So, this means there are four men in the break, not five, as previously mentioned. Apologies for that.

by Neal Rogers 7/5/2012 12:27:16 PM
From our stage preview: velonews.competitor.com

by Neal Rogers 7/5/2012 12:28:33 PM
With only two days left before the first major mountains, stage 5 is the flattest stage yet for the fast men, who will depend on their teammates on the Saint Quentin road to get them to the line in perfect position... The run-in is mostly straight and flat, with a slight rise toward the final 500 meters.

by Neal Rogers 7/5/2012 12:29:10 PM
Storms are expected for the final kilometers today. #TDF12

by opqscyclingteam via twitter 7/5/2012 12:33:02 PM
Actually, the storms have already started. And... in case you have not yet read this, Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reporting today that Americans George Hincapie (BMC Racing), Levi Leipheimer (Omega Pharma-Quick Step), Christian Vande Velde and David Zabriskie (both Garmin-Sharp) have confessed to USADA as having doped during their tenure at US Postal Service, in exchange for suspended six-month suspensions, to begin at the end of the season.

by Neal Rogers 7/5/2012 12:34:29 PM
There was a bit more interest in the Garmin bus this morning. A regular scrum.

by Chris Case via mobile 7/5/2012 12:38:25 PM
Well that news is highly depressing, especially since Hincapie and Leipheimer seemed like such solid people. I hope they will take this opportunity to speak out against doping for future riders' sake.

by Brian Klay 7/5/2012 12:38:49 PM
Other riders were a bit more relaxed. Here, Chris Horner sits with his new best buddy Frank Schleck. Is he taking Andy's place?!

by Chris Case via mobile 7/5/2012 12:42:04 PM
From LeTour.fr: The four escapees are now 122km from the finish of the stage. They escaped in the first kilometer and have had a maximum gain of 5'40" at 52km. Now there are riders from Lotto, Orica and RadioShack at the front of the peloton that's 5'10" behind.

by Neal Rogers 7/5/2012 12:45:57 PM
We're about 30km from the course's feed zone, and ~40km from the day's intermediate sprint in Breteuil, which looks to have a somewhat tricky right-hand turn immediate following the sprint point.

by Neal Rogers 7/5/2012 12:49:21 PM
We have some Colorado weather over here in France. Downpour for two minutes...then sunshine for five. And back again.

by Chris Case via mobile edited by Neal Rogers 7/5/2012 12:49:33 PM
Stage 5 intermediate sprint

by Neal Rogers 7/5/2012 12:49:47 PM
A few notes on Saint-Quentin, where today's stage finishes:

• The Paris-Roubaix runs through Saint-Quentin, en route from Compiègne, to the south, to Roubaix, along the border with Belgium.

• The last time a stage finished in Saint-Quentin was in 2006, when Davitamon-Lotto's Robbie McEwen won a field sprint.

by Neal Rogers 7/5/2012 12:59:34 PM
Neal, thanks for getting up early and providing this great coverage. Deeply appreciated.

by Dave Duff 7/5/2012 1:03:27 PM
That's unfortunate to hear about Hincapie, Leipheimer, Vande Velde and Zabriskie, Neal. Let's hope it's a thing of the past.

by KlevinasA 7/5/2012 1:03:41 PM
All noble causes and idealism aside, what would compel these guys to make these admissions?

by smitty 7/5/2012 1:03:50 PM
Man there is a race on. Lets just do what you're supposed to do when there is a race on, and watch the race.

by TuckFromWesternNC 7/5/2012 1:05:23 PM
I agree with Tuck. However, we're also not going to ignore a story involving most of the top Americans from the last decade. The live update page, however, isn't really the place to have a debate about Armstrong and doping.

I will just say this: No rider has actually denied doping today, following this story. Not Vaughters, not Levi, not George, not Zabriskie, not Vande Velde. So... either Armstrong never doped, and therefore they couldn't have cut deals with USADA, because there's nothing to tell... or Lance did dope, and therefore that's why he's angry those riders were cut deals with USADA, and why no one is denying having doped. It can't be both.

by Neal Rogers 7/5/2012 1:08:34 PM
Right, race going on, check. So how are Hincapie, Leipheimer, CVV, & Zabriskie looking? Distracted at all or just another "day at the office"?

by saupak 7/5/2012 1:08:56 PM
4'19" gap at #TDF12, 103.1km to go.

by opqscyclingteam via twitter 7/5/2012 1:10:24 PM
Good question. Our reporter Matt Beaudin sent me a note earlier, telling about a funny exchange with Zabriskie. Most of it was an inside joke of sorts, however the email ended with: "DZ seemed in good spirits."

by Neal Rogers 7/5/2012 1:10:45 PM
who is in the break btw?

by TuckFromWesternNC 7/5/2012 1:11:37 PM
With 104km to go, a reminder of the four-man break, which has a 4:20 gap:

Matthieu Ladagnous (FRA) FDJ-BigMat - 108th overall, at 8'04"
Jan Ghyselinck (BEL) Cofidis - 147th overall, at 11'38"
Julien Simon (FRA) Saur-Sojasun - 161st overall, at 12'45"
Pablo Urtasun (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi - 192nd overall, at 26'14"

by Neal Rogers 7/5/2012 1:11:41 PM
thanks

by TuckFromWesternNC 7/5/2012 1:12:08 PM
Where is Fabian at this point? Are they still going to protect the yellow jersey today?

by J 7/5/2012 1:12:17 PM
Fabian is sitting pretty in the peloton. In fact, moments ago he actually rode alongside a camera moto, grabbed the camera, got in close, and said "A kiss for my family back at home." So he looks pretty calm. And yes, most predict that RadioShack will fight to keep the yellow jersey until Saturday's first summit finish.

by Neal Rogers 7/5/2012 1:14:03 PM
And this was a contemplative @Vaughters checking his message over a glass of wine last night. p.twimg.com

by nedboulting via P.twimg 7/5/2012 1:15:40 PM
Bernhard Eisel tweeted pictures of himself getting stitches in the Sky bus following yesterday's crash. Remember, he's a professional cyclist: if someone on a bus offers you stitches, decline.

by Ryan Newill 7/5/2012 1:16:36 PM
Did Thomas Voeckler start, or abandon, with his sore knee?

by Wayne edited by Neal Rogers 7/5/2012 1:19:55 PM
Wayne: Tommy V is still in the race. The only abandon thus far was German sprinter Marcel Kittel (Argos), who's been suffering from a stomach bug.

by Neal Rogers 7/5/2012 1:20:44 PM
The roll out.

by Chris Case via mobile 7/5/2012 1:21:15 PM
I enjoy Voeckler, but there's no way he'll leave the race without it being on-camera.

by Ryan Newill 7/5/2012 1:22:51 PM
George Hincapie with media before the start

by Neal Rogers 7/5/2012 1:23:14 PM