2007 Tour de France, Stage 11 to Stage 20#Stage 16
The 16th stage of the 2007 Tour de France on July 25 was 218.5 km long and took the riders from Orthez first through the southwestern Aquitaine region, more specifically, through the department of Pyrénées- Atlantiques, across the Pyrenees in the northern Spanish province of Navarra and thence back through the department of Pyrénées -Atlantiques to Col d' Aubisque above the ski resort of Gourette. The seventh and last mountain stage of the Tour had a total of five climbs, including with the Port de Larrau and the final climb to the Col d' Aubisque, two mountains in the highest category ( HC).
After the entire Astana team had gotten out because of positive doping finding Alexander Vinokourov after the 13th and 15th stage on the preceding day of rest under pressure from the organizers of the tour, attended only 20 teams in the race. Already on fictitious starting in Orthez refused the drivers of the six French teams ag2r Prévoyance, Agritubel, Crédit Agricole, Cofidis, Bouygues Telecom and Française des Jeux, and the two German teams Gerolsteiner and T -Mobile the onward journey and stayed in protest initially stand, drove but then also going after the rest of the peloton had ignored the action.
After the real start, which was located 2.9 km from the fictitious starting, sat down at 8 km race Stéphane Augé with an attack from, the little later Vicente García Acosta, Gorka Verdugo and Christophe Rinero followed. They sat down quickly by the peloton, since this is the first time did not increase. Only when the projection of the quartet had grown to 8:25 minutes after 27 kilometers driven, the team Barloworld made in the main field the pace and controlled the distance.
In the ascent to the Port de Larrau, which was taken for the second time since 1996 as part of a Tour stage in attack, then attacked the Colombian Mauricio Soler on the main field and formed together with Carlos Sastre and Amets Txurruka a three-man chase group. While Txurruka but fell back after a short time, Iban Mayo was able to catch. In the lead group in the meantime Verdugo and García Acosta had been able to break away from their opponents and reached the summit 25 seconds ahead of Rinero and Augé. Followed by 3:05 minutes, the chasing trio and with 4:35 minutes the main draw to the leader in the overall standings Michael Rasmussen.
In the descent, which took the riders over the border to Spain, Rinero and Augé lost more time on the leaders, while the underlying group came closer and finally unlocked in the Alto Laza increase. The five pursuers came with a gap of two minutes on the leading duo at the culminating point, the peloton followed with 5:40 minutes behind. The departure and the subsequent conversion of piece to the foot of the Col de la Pierre Saint -Martin took the pursuer to catch up with racing 110 kilometers to the leader, and also the main draw of the residue shortened to just about four minutes. The increase Rinero and Augé fell back as the first leader. The guide quintet ran closed under the sole pace of work Sastre, the summit now back with 4:55 minutes ahead of the peloton.
Vicente García Acosta was in the first sweep of the Col de Marie- Blanque the next driver of the lead group, which had to let his opponents. Behind the peloton accelerated under the leadership of the Rabobank team slow the pace. Finally, a 15-man chase group reached the culmination to Rasmussen with 2:20 minutes behind that in the subsequent exit the residue again reduced.
By the start of the final climb to the Col d' Aubisque, 16.7 km from the finish, the projection of the outliers had been reduced to 42 seconds. After Verdugo had quickly lost the connection, Sastre increased after two kilometers in the first increase the tempo, whereupon Soler had to let both Sastre and Mayo. The chase group, who, having had overtaken Soler, had shrunk to five riders, took the remaining Ausreißerduo a 9.5 km before the finish. After the merger, Levi Leipheimer attacked, the only Michael Rasmussen, Alberto Contador and Cadel Evans could follow. The following attacks by Contador and Leipheimer could Rasmussen first parry, but when Contador attacked a second time, Leipheimer fell back, followed by an attack by Rasmussen followed, but brought about no further selection. Only a new pace of tightening Contador brought Evans in trouble. As Contador and Rasmussen spied on in the sequence, succeeded Leipheimer back to the two catch up and took over the pace of work. One kilometer before the finish then sat the man in the yellow jersey back to the top and hung from the two riders of Team Discovery Channel. In goal, Michael Rasmussen his second stage win secures 26 seconds ahead of Levi Leipheimer and 35 seconds ahead of Alberto Contador.
In the overall standings Rasmussen was able to extend his lead over Contador again by the victory, who in turn provided protection to be White jersey. The lead in the mountains classification took over the Colombian Mauricio Soler, who was wearing the polka-dot jersey since the 10th stage in representation of Rasmussen. Due to the withdrawal of the Astana team Discovery Channel once again took over the lead in the team standings.
During the stage it had come to the track on Spanish soil to two bomb explosions at which the Basque terrorist organization ETA pleaded. However, nobody was injured.
In addition, another doping case in the context of the tour, the tour organization announced after the stage. The Italian Cristian Moreni of Cofidis team, who had in the morning yet been demonstrated with a strike against doping was tested positive after the 11th stage of testosterone doping. His team withdrew, as Astana the day before, from the round trip back. Late in the evening then also pulled the Rabobank team, under pressure from the sponsor Rabobank, with Michael Rasmussen, the wearer of the yellow jersey, another driver out of the running back, as he was come in for criticism in the course of the tour due to missed doping controls and the team management had made false statements about his whereabouts for training.
Tasks
Intermediate sprints
First intermediate sprint in Mauléon -Licharre ( 36 km ) ( 140 m above sea level. NN )
Second intermediate sprint in Laurus ( 200 km ) ( 536 m above sea level. NN )
Climbs
Port de Larrau, category HC ( 79 km ) ( 1573 m above sea level, . 14.7 km à 8,1 %)
Alto Laza, Category 3 ( 93 km ) ( 1129 m above sea level, . Km à 6,8 %)
Col de la Pierre Saint -Martin, Category 1 ( 131 km ) (1760 m above sea level, . 14.2 km à 5,2 %)
Col de Marie- Blanque, category 1 ( 180.5 km ) ( 1035 m above sea level, . 9.3 km à 7,4 %)
Col d' Aubisque, category HC ( 218.5 km ) (1709 m above sea level, . 16.7 km à 7,0 %)
* The points of the mountain classification are doubled when the last pass of the stage of the category HC, 1 or 2 corresponds.