Versus | Tour de France

Stage 11 Review

By Phil Liggett
It was only a matter of time before the sprinter Mark Cavendish equaled the record for the most stage wins by a British rider.
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MMR Stage 11

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About Stage 11: Vatan > Saint-Fargeau

VATAN
Vatan is one of the 2009 Tour’s “stage-villages”. Last year it hosted a meeting of representatives from villages with funny-sounding names, including Arnac-la-Poste (“Cheat the Post Office”, Haute-Vienne), Montéton (“My Tit”, Lot-et-Garonne) and Trécon (“Very Stupid”, Marne). To mark its entrance in the Tour’s history, Vatan (pronounced like “va-t’en”, which means “scram” or “get lost” in English), will be a starting place that should naturally inspire breakaways.

SAINT-FARGEAU
Saint-Fargeau’s population of 1,800 makes it the 2009 Tour’s smallest town. This is the first time that Saint-Fargeau, which has a famous castle, will be hosting the event. After a relatively flat stage, it will be probably be the scene of a massive sprint.

Vatan - Saint-Fargeau, 192km

By Frankie Andreu
As the Tour reaches the half way point many riders may be thinking about making it to Paris. First they will have to cover the next transition stages as the Tour heads straight east towards the Alps.

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City Facts
VATAN
• 1st-time stage-town
• Population 2,000
• County town of Indre canton (36)
SAINT-FARGEAU
• 1st-time stage-town
• Population 1,800
• County town of Yonne canton (89)
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The Emergence of Greatness

By Bob Roll
The stage to Saint Fargeau was a fairly predictable, but none the less thrilling example of how fast Mark Cavendish is. There was a pretty steep climb to the finish line and
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Map My Ride Challenge

Production Credentials
On the Road Realities
By Leslie Varsha
Despite suffering defeat to Phil Liggitt and Paul Sherwen in the semi-final of the Versus Petanque (French Bocce Ball) competition, I still came out a winner .
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Newsflashes - Stage 11

17:18:10 - The Top Five In Stage 11

Of the four stages that Cavendish has won this year, this was the closest. He held off a late strong challenge by Tyler Farrar. The top five in the 11th stage is:

1. Mark Cavendish (GBR) THR - 192km in 4h17'15"

2. Tyler Farrar (USA) GRM

3. Yauheni Hutarovich (BLR) FDJ

4. Oscar Freire (ESP) RAB

5. Thor Hushovd (NOR) CTT

17:17:07 - Cavendish Back In Green...

With Hushovd finishing fifth in the stage, the green jersey will go back to Mark Cavendish...

17:15:52 - Four For Cavendish...!

It was a bunch sprint and this seems to mean that we see Cavendish throw a victory salute. This is his four stage win this year, and his eighth in the Tour. It's high-fives all round for his lead-out team that delivered him to the line in perfect style.

17:14:41 - Cavendish Completes The Job

Cavendish went head-to-head with Hushovd and Farrar and has managed to hold off all challenges to win another stage of the Tour de France.

17:14:08 - 1km To Go

The Milram team lead Columbia's train under the 'flamme rouge'. But Cavendish's team appears to be in complete control.

17:13:32 - Cervelo Move Forward

There is a rider from Cervelo near the front. He's searching for the green jersey with 1,500m to go in the stage.

17:12:57 - Kirchen Retreats To Peloton

Now Eisel is taking over the lead-out duties. Kirchen has finished his work and is now nestled in the middleof the pack with 2km to go.

17:10:45 - Liquigas Send Troops Forward

With 4km to go in the stage, there are a couple of green Liquigas jerseys now coming to the front of the pack but Columbia is the most committed team. Monfort leads Kirchen - suggesting that "Plan B" (ie. an escape from the Luxembourger) is no longer an option: the rider who was second in stage two last year is now driving the peloton to the line in St-Fargeau.

17:09:22 - Sapa & 'Summie' Sit Up

That's it for the escape. Sapa and van Summeren have sat up and the peloton has caught the two who have been at the front of the stage since kilometer 24. The capture was right at the 5km to go mark.

17:07:10 - Van Summeren Most Aggressive Today

With the lead down to just 10", we can report that Johan van Summeren has received the most votes in the combative classification. He will wear a red 'dossard' in stage 12.