McEwen Reels In Stage 13 Victory
Chris Horner of Bend, Ore., rode at the front of the Tour de France field for almost 95 miles Friday. He was in front as the Tour passed the stark beauty of the granite cliffs of Maussane-les-Alpilles and led near the Pont du Gard, a bridge originally built during the Roman Empire.
When the pavement appeared wavy in front of his eyes because of heat that surpassed 95 degrees, Horner was still in the front group of six riders, which became five, four, three and, as the tree-lined road led him into this Mediterranean city, just two. Horner and Sylvain Chavanel of France.
Until there were only about 500 meters left of the 107-mile 13th stage. Then Horner and Chavanel slammed into a heat-induced wall of exhaustion and the head of the peloton flew past. In a matter of meters Horner went from first to 10th, from what could have been a singular moment of achievement for a 33-year-old riding in his first Tour to just another beaten rider.
Australia’s Robbie McEwen stole his third stage win of this Tour, an important victory for McEwen in his chase for the green jersey, which goes to the Tour’s top sprinter. McEwen won with a time of 3 hours 43 minutes 14 seconds. And Yaroslav Popovych, a 25-year-old rising star from Ukraine riding for the U.S. Discovery Channel team, was to put on the white jersey today to signify he’s the top rider 25 or younger.
The casual racing fan recognizes only the Tour leader’s yellow jersey. That’s the one Lance Armstrong kept to himself, finishing safely in the peloton and retaining his 38-second lead over Denmark’s Mickael Rasmussen.
“We rode with the wind at our backs,” Armstrong said. “I expect the attacks to start again tomorrow in the Pyrenees.”
So the 13th stage was about little battles such as the fight for the green jersey, the white jersey and even the polka-dot jersey, given to the top climber. The latter went to Rasmussen, the Dane whose endurance has expanded in the mountains after his 142nd-place finish in the opening-day time trial.
McEwen adores the green jersey, also known as the points jersey. He has won it two out of the last three Tours, and another Australian, Baden Cooke, took it in 2003.
The top 20 finishers of each stage receive bonus points. Within each stage there are designated sprint portions. Fans crowd the course at the points where these bonus sections are marked to finish. From a leisurely gathering of dozens of cyclists in the peloton, a pod of two or three or four will suddenly burst ahead midway through a stage hoping to gather extra sprint points.
On the final Sunday of the last six Tours, when viewers have watched Armstrong pedal elegantly along the route holding a celebratory glass of champagne, the sprinters have fought for every point around the Champs-Elysees.
On Friday, Horner and Chavanel misjudged by only a moment how long it would take the sprinters in the peloton to catch them.
McEwen also benefited from the withdrawal of Belgium’s Tom Boonen, who quit with sore knees Thursday. Boonen won two early stages and seemed ready to run away with the points title. Norway’s Thor Hushovd currently holds the green jersey with 164 points. Stuart O’Grady, another Aussie, is second with 150 points and McEwen is third with 142 after gaining 13 points Friday on Hushovd.
McEwen gave all the credit to his team, Davitamon-Lotto. He was especially appreciative of Freddie Rodriguez of Emeryville, Calif. McEwen shot off Rodriguez’s wheel in the final push to the finish line.
“I’m sitting here in disbelief because I can’t even imagine trying to do this myself,” McEwen said. “My last guy, Rodriguez, practically delivered me to the line.”
The polka-dot jersey is awarded in the same way as the green. During most stages there are small climbs where riders can win points for finishing anywhere from first to 20th.
Winning the white jersey is more straightforward. The rider with the fastest time in the final standings who is 25 or younger gets the white. Popovych, like McEwen, had some luck Friday when Alejandro Valverde, the Spaniard who was fifth overall, tearfully withdrew 50 miles into the 13th stage because of a sore knee. Armstrong didn’t spend time on those mini-dramas.
“Everybody’s waiting for the Pyrenees,” he said. “We’ve got some tough climbing ahead.”