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2009 Tour de France
96th edition: July 4 - July 26, 2009
Results, map, stages with running GC, photos and start list with backnumbers
2008 Tour | 2010 Tour | Tour de France Database | 2009 Tour Quick Facts | 2009 Tour de France Final GC | Stage results with running GC | Course details |Team rosters with backnumbers
Team presentations | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage 4 | Stage 5 | Stage 6 | Stage 7 | Stage 8 | Stage 9 | Rest Day 1 | Stage 10 | Stage 11 | Stage 12 | Stage 13 | Stage 14 | Stage 15 | Rest Day 2 | Stage 16 | Stage 17 | Stage 18 | Stage 19 | Stage 20 | Stage 21 | Post Tour thoughts
Map of the 2009 Tour de France
Bill & Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, Vol 2: 1976 - 2018 is available as an audiobook here. For the print and Kindle eBook versions, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
2009 Tour Quick Facts:
3,459.5 km raced at an average speed of 40.316 km/hr
180 starters and 156 classified finishers.
Lance Armstrong came out of retirement and vied with Alberto Contador for supremecy within Astana.
Contador, in scintillating form, was not to be denied victory in 2009.
The Schleck brothers provided the principle challenge to Contador.
Armstrong lacked the punch he had in previous Tour rides and finished a very credible third.
Armstrong was later stripped of this third place when his extensive doping was revealed.
Final 2009 Tour de France General Classification
Complete Final 2009 Tour de France General Classification
1. Alberto Contador (Astana) 85hr 48min 35sec
2. Andy Schleck (Saxo) @ 4min 11sec
3. Lance Armstrong (Astana) @ 5min 24sec
4. Bradley Wiggins (Garmin-Slipstream) @ 6min 1sec
5. Frank Schleck (Saxo) @ 6min 4sec
6. Andreas Kloden (Astana) @ 6min 42sec
7. Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) @ 7min 35sec
8. Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Slipstream) @ 12min 4sec
9. Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) @ 14min 16sec
10. Christophe Le Mevel (FDJ) @ 14min 25sec
11. Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel) @ 14min 44sec
12. Sandy Casar (FDJ) @ 17min 19sec
13. Vladimir Karpets (Katusha) @ 18min 34sec
14. Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r) @ 20min 45sec
15. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Silence-Lotto) @ 20min 50sec
16. Stephane Goubert (Ag2r) @ 22min 29sec
17. Carlos Sastre (Cervelo) @ 26min 21sec
18. Alexandre Botcharov (Katusha) @ 29min 33sec
19. George Hincapie (Columbia) @ 33min 27sec
20. Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) @ 34min 9sec
21. Christian Knees (Milram) @ 34min 48sec
22. Pierre Rolland (Bouygues Telecom) @ 37min 44sec
23. Nicolas Roche (Ag2r) @ 38min 20sec
24. Linus Gerdemann (Milram) @ 38min 35sec
25. Brice Feillu (Ag2r) @ 41min 14sec
26. Luis Leon Sanchez (Caisse d'Epargne) @ 41min 27sec
27. Haimar Zubeldia (Astana) @ 43min 34sec
28. Maxime Monfort (Columbia) @ 43min 54sec
29. Christophe Moreau (Agritubel) @ 44min 33sec
30. Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) @ 45min 24sec
Climber:
1. Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas): 210 points
2. Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel): 135
3. Alberto Contador (Astana): 126
1. Thor Hushovd (Cervelo): 280 points
2. Mark Cavendish (Columbia): 270
3. Gerald Ciolek (Milram) 172
Young Rider:
1. Andy Schleck (Saxo): 85hr 52min 46sec
3. Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) @ 10min 5sec
Team GC:
1. Astana: 256hr 2min 58sec
2. Garmin-Slipstream @ 22min 35sec
3. Saxo @ 28min 34sec
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The stages with results, running GC and the major climbs are below:
Team presentations, Thursday, July 2. Photos from Fotoreporter Sirotti.
Stage 1, Saturday, July 4: Monaco 15.5 km Individual Time trial
Weather: At noon, Sunny, with some clouds, 79F (26C), wind from the SSE @ 7mph (11kph). It will climb to 84F (29C).
Rated climb: Km 7.5, Côte de Beausoleil, 7.2 km climb @ 2.7% gradient, Category 4.
Stage route map and elevation guide are posted below the results.
More Stage 1 photos
GC after Stage 1 (stage results and GC are the same)
1. Fabian Cancellara (Saxo) 19min 32sec
2. Alberto Contador (Astana) @ 18sec
3. Bradley Wiggins (Garmin-Slipstream) @ 19sec
4. Andreas Kloden (Astana) @ 22sec
5. Cadel Evans Silence-Lotto) @ 23sec
6. Levi Leipheimer (Astana) @ 30sec
7. Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) @ 32sec
8. Tony Martin (Columbia) @ 33sec
9. Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) @ 37sec
10. Lance Armstrong (Astana) @ 40sec
11. Gustav Larsson (Saxo) @ 41sec
12. Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel) @ 44sec
13. David Zabriskie (Garmin-Slipstream) @ 47sec
14. David Millar (Garmin-Slipstream) @ 48sec
15. Jerome Coppel (FDJ) @ 51sec
16. Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) @ 56sec
17. Christain Vande Velde (Garmin-Slipstream) @ 57sec
18. Andy Schleck (Saxo) @ 1min
19. Linus Gerdemann (Milram) @ 1min 3sec
20. Remi Pauriol (Cofidis) @ 1min 5sec
21. Carlos Sastre (Cervelo) @ 1min 6sec
27. Michael Rogers (Columbia) @ 1min 13sec
53. Denis Menchov (Rabobank) @ 1min 31sec
61. Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas) @ 1min 33sec
67. Frank Schleck (Saxo) @ 1min 36sec
1. Alberto Contador (Astana): 3 points
2. Tony Martin (Columbia): 2
3. Bradley Wiggins (Garmin-Slipstream): 1
1. Fabian Cancellara (Saxo): 15 points
2. Alberto Contador (Astana): 12
3. Bradley Wiggins (Garmin-Slipstream): 10
1. Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) 20min 4sec
2. Tony Martin (Columbia) @ 1sec
3. Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) @ 5sec
1. Astana: 59min 46sec
2. Saxo @ 31sec
3. Garmin-Slipstream @ 44sec
The riders used full time-trial rigs with rear discs, deep-dish spoked front wheels and specialty time-trial frames. Even though it is hot and humid, the riders wore unvented aero helmets.
Stage 1 elevation guide.
Stage 1 route map.
Stage 2, Sunday, July 5: Monaco - Brignoles, 187 km
Rated Climbs:
Km 8.5, La Turbie, 8.6 km @ 4.3% gradient, Category 3
Km 49.5, Côte de Roquefort-les-Pins, 4.3 km @ 4% gradient, Category 4
Km 81.5, Côte de Tournon, 4.2 km @ 3.6% gradient, Category 4
Km 129.0, Col de l'Ange, 1.5 km @ 3.6% gradient, Category 4
Results: corrected. Originally the judges had put a 7sec gap from 17th place on.
1. Mark Cavendish (Columbia) 4hr 30min 2sec
2. Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream) s.t.
3. Romain Feillu (Agritubel) s.t.
4. Thor Hushovd (Cervelo) s.t.
5. Yukiya Arashiro (Bouygues Telecom) s.t.
6. Gerald Ciolek (Milram) s.t.
7. William Bonnet (Bouygues Telecom) s.t.
8. Nicolas Roche (Ag2r) s.t.
9. Koen De Kort (Skil-Shimano) s.t.
10. Lloyd Mondory (Ag2r) s.t.
11. Nicolai Trussov Katusha) s.t.
12. Angelo Furlan (Lampre) s.t.
13. Said Haddou (Bouygues Telecom) s.t.
14. Mark Renshaw (Columbia) s.t.
15. Heinrich Haussler (Cervelo) s.t.
16. Tony Martin (Columbia) s.t.
17. Alexandre Pichot (Bouygues Telecom) s.t.
18. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Caisse d'Epargne) s.t.
19. George Hincapie (Columbia) s.t.
20. Kenny Robert Van Hummel (Skil-Shimano) s.t.
56. Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) s.t.
58. Alberto Contador (Astana) s.t.
80. Lance Armstrong (Astana) s.t.
82. Andy Schleck (Saxo) s.t.
105. Levi Leipheimer (Astana) s.t.
All 180 entered riders finished.
GC after Stage 2.
1. Fabian Cancellara (Saxo) 4min 49min 34sec
5. Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) @ 23sec
1. Jussi Veikkanen (FDJ): 9 points
3. Cyril Dessel (Ag2r): 5
4. Alberto Contador (Astana): 3
1. Mark Cavendish (Columbia): 35 points
2. Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream): 30
3. Romain Feillu (Agritubel): 26
1. Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) 4hr 50min 6sec
1. Astana: 14hr 29min 52sec
Stage 2 route map
Stage 2 elevation guide
Stage 3, Monday, July 6: Marseille - La Grande Motte, 196.5 km
Km 56.0, Côte de Calissanne, 1.3 km @ 5.5% gradient, Category 4
Km 102.0, Col de la Vayède, 0.7 km @ 7.4% gradient, Category 4
More photos from stage 3
With 30 kilometers to go, Team Columbia took advantage of the crosswinds, dropped the hammer and split the field with 27 riders finishing in the front group and the balance coming in 41 seconds later. Contador and Evans were in the second group. Moreover, Astana riders helped drive the first group, containing Armstrong, away from the Contador group. That moved Armstrong into third place and Contador down to fourth.
1. Mark Cavendish (Columbia) 5hr 1min 24sec
3. Cyril Lemoine (Skil-Shimano) s.t.
4. Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis) s.t.
5. Jerome Pineau (Quick Step) s.t.
6. Fabian Cancellara (Saxo) s.t.
7. Fabian Wegmann (Milram) s.t.
8. Fumiyuki Beppu (Skil Shimano) s.t.
9. Maxime Bouet (Agritubel) s.t.
10. Linus Gerdemann (Milram)
11. Yaroslav Popovych (Astana) s.t.
12. Thierry Hupond (Skil-Shimano) s.t.
13. Ruben Perez Moreno (Euskaltel) s.t.
14. Stephane Auge (Cofidis) s.t.
18. Kim Kirchen (Columbia) s.t.
20. Koen De Kort (Skil-Shimano) s.t.
25. Michael Rogers (Columbia) s.t.
32. Cadel Evans (Silence-lotto) @ 41sec
41. Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Slipstream) s.t.
52. Denis menchov (Rabobank) s.t.
80. Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas) s.t.
88. Levi Leipheimer (Astana) s.t.
94. Carlos sastre (Cervelo) s.t.
1. Fabian Cancellara (Saxo) 9hr 50min 58sec
3. Lance Armstrong (Astana) @ 40sec
5. Bradley Wiggins (Garmin-Slipstream) @ 1min
6. Andreas Kloden (Astana) @ 1min 3sec
7. Linus Gerdemann (Milram) s.t.
8. Cadel Evans (Silence-lotto) @ 1min 4sec
9. Maxime Monfort (Columbia) @ 1min 10sec
10. Levi Leipheimer (Astana) @ 1min 11sec
12. Roiman Kreuziger (Liquigas) s.t.
13. George Hincapie (Columbia) @ 1min 17sec
14. Vincenzo Nibali (liquigas) @ 1min 18sec
15. Gustav Larsson (Saxo) @ 1min 22sec
16. Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel) @ 1min 25sec
17. David Zabriskie (Garmin-Slipstream) @ 1min 28sec
18. David Millar (Garmin-Slipstream) @ 1min 29sec
19. Jerome Pineau (Quick Step) @ 1min 31sec
20. Haimar Zubeldia (Astana) s.t.
22. Christian Vende Velde (Garmin-Slipstream) @ 1min 38sec
24. Andy Schleck (Saxo) @ 1min 41sec
26. Carlos Sastre (Cervelo) @ 1min 47sec
37. Kim Kirchen (Columbia) @ 1min 57sec
3. Koen De Kort (Skil-Shimano): 6
2. Thor Hushovd (Cervelo): 54
3. Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis): 36
1. Tony Martin (Columbia) 9hr 51min 31sec
2. Roman Kreusiger (Liquigas) @ 40sec
1. Astana 29hr 34min 4sec
2. Columbia @ 1min 46sec
3. Saxo @ 1min 53sec
4. Garmin-Slipstream @ 2min 47sec
Stage 4, Tuesday, July 7: Montpellier Team Time Trial, 39 km
Several teams had trouble with crashes on the undulating, windy course. Rabobank, Bouygues Telecom and Silence Lotto had riders fall. Evans compounded the problem by shattering his team in his final pull to the line. For Astana, who very nearly put Armstrong in Yellow, the day was a triumph. Saxo gets to keep the lead for another day. I don't see how Evans (@ 2min 59sec) and Menchov (@ 3min 52sec) can make up their lost time on riders like Contador, Armstrong, Leipheimer and Schleck.
It's been noted already that Contador, alone of his teammates, did not congratulate Armstrong on almost getting the Yellow Jersey today. I suspect there is a lot of anger welling up that will be expressed in the Pyrenees in a few days. Since the Kazakhs have already said they plan to fire Bruyneel and keep Contador in September, I wonder what kind of discipline Bruyneel can impose upon Contador who I am sure is planning on riding his own race.
1. Astana 46min 29sec
4. Liquigas @ 58sec
5. Columbia @ 59sec
6. Katusha @ 1min 23sec
7. Caisse d'Epargne @ 1min 29sec
8. Cervelo @ 1min 38sec
9. Ag2R @ 1min 48sec
10. Euskaltel @ 2min 9sec
11. Rabobank @ 2min 9sec
12. Quick Step @ 2min 26sec
13. Silence-Lotto @ 2min 35sec
14. FDJ @ 2min 46sec
15. Milram @ 2min 48sec
16. Cofidis @ 2min 58sec
17. Lampre @ 3min 24sec
18. Agritubel @ 4min 17sec
19. Bouygues Telecom @ 4min 41sec
20. Skil-Shimano @ 5min 23sec
1. Fabian Cancellara (Saxo) 10hr 38min 7sec
2. Lance Armstrong (Astana) s.t.
7. Haimar Zubeldia (Astana) @ 51sec
9. David Zabriskie (Garmin-Slipstream) @ 1min 6sec
10. David Millar (Garmin-Slipstream) @ 1min 7sec
11. Sergio Paulinho (Astana) @ 1min 16sec
12. Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Slipstream) @ 1min 16sec
14. Maxime Monfort (Columbia) @ 1min 29sec
15. Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) @ 1min 31sec
16. Michael Rogers (Columbia) @ @ 1min 32sec
19. Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) s.t.
36. Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) @ 2min 59sec
1. Jussi Verkkanen (FDJ): 9 points
1. Tony Martin (Columbia) 10hr 38min 59sec
4. Andy Schleck (Saxo) @ 49sec
1. Astana 30hr 20min 33sec
4. Garmin-Slipstream @ 3min 5sec
Stage 4 elevation guide. No rated climbs.
Stage 5, Wednesday, July 8: Le Cap d'Agde - Perpignan, 196.5 km
A break of six riders escaped in the day's early kilometers. As Saxo and Astana took turns surging in the crosswinds, trying to break up the field, the unsteady pace allowed the break to stay away. Thomas Voekler bolted from his companions with 5 kilometers to go and held on for a nice solo win. Mikhail Ignatiev, also a member of the break was second, being caught just after the line. The other break riders were swept up as Cavendish was denied a third stage win. The bad news for Denis Menchov won't stop. His teammate, Rabobank rider Robert Gesink, who is really a very good rider, crashed and broke his wrist.
Km 112.5, Col de Feuilla, 4.0 km @ 3.3% gradient, Category 4
Km 116.5, Côte de Treilles, 1.3 km @ 4.2% gradient, Category 4
1. Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom) 4hr 29min 35sec
2. Mikhail Ignatiev (Katusha) @ 7sec
3. Mark Cavendish (Columbia) s.t.
6. Danilo Napolitano (Katusha) s.t.
7. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Caisse d'Epargne) s.t.
8. Lloyd Mondory (Ag2R) s.t.
9. Oscar Freire (Rabobank) s.t.
10. Thor Hushovd (Cervelo) s.t.
12. Leonardo Duque (Cofidis) s.t.
13. Romain Feillu (Agritubel) s.t.
15. Albert Timmer (Skil-Shimano) s.t.
16. Koldo Fernandez (Euskaltel) s.t.
17. Andreas Kloden (Astana) s.t.
18. Yukiya Arashiro (Bouygues Telecom) s.t.
19. Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) s.t.
24. Fabian Cancellara (Saxo) s.t.
123. Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas) s.t.
1. Fabian Cancellara (Saxo) 15hr 7min 49sec
11. Sergio Pauinho (Astana) @ 1min 16sec
19. Vincnezo Nibali (Liquigas) s.t.
178 riders finsihed.
3. Anthony Geslin (FDJ): 6
1. Tony Martin (Columbia) 15hr 8min 41sec
Stage 6, Thursday, July 9: Girona (Gérone) - Barcelona, 181.5 km
Weather in Barcelona at 1:30 PM local time: Thunderstorms, 66F (19C), wind from the NNE at 10 to 22 mph (16 to 35 kph). Possibility of showers into the late afternoon.
Km 32, Côte de Sant Feliu de Guixols, 2.0 km @ 5.4% gradient, Category 4
Km 55, Côte de Tossa de Mar, 3.8 km @ 4.2% gradient, Catgory 4
Km 98, Côte de Sant Vicenc de Montalt, 3.3 km @ 5.2% gradient, Category 3
Km 110, Collsacreu, 4.1 km @ 5.2% gradient, Categorie 3
Km 159, Côte de la Conreria, 4.7 km @ 4.5% gradient, Category 4
The race: When stage 6 started in Girona there were thunderstorms over the steep finish at the Montjuich hill in Barcelona. Fabian Cancellara had said he would be able to stay with any GC contenders who might try to open a gap at the finish and therefore threaten his lead. Cancellara stayed at the front, coming in 10th. On Eurosport Sean Kelly had predicted an Oscar Freire win. King Kelly came close. After a stage filled with crashes Thor Hushovd edged out Freire for a soggy win.
With 30 kilometers to go David Millar (Garmin-Slipstream) left his breakaway companions and held on till the ultimate kilometer where he was swept up and spit out. Giro winner Denis Menchov fell in the final rush and lost yet more time.
1. Thor Hushovd (Cervelo) 4hr 21min 33sec
5. Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas) s.t.
6. Filippo Pozzato (Katusha) s.t.
7. Alessandro Ballan (Lampre) s.t.
8. Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2R) s.t.
9. Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) s.t.
12. Nicolas Roche (Ag2R) s.t.
15. Sebastien Rosseler (Quick Step) s.t.
16. Mark Cavendish (Columbia) s.t.
17. Jerome Pineau (Quick step) s.t.
75. Denis Menchov (Rabobank) @ 1min 2sec
156. Tom Boonen (Quick step) @ 6min 55sec
175. Michael Rogers (Columbia) @ 13min 14sec
1. Fabian Cancellara (Saxo) 19hr 29min 22sec
8. Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Slipstream) @ 1min 16sec
9. Gustav Larsson (Columbia) @ 1min 22sec
16. Yaroslav Popovych (Astana) @ 1min 45sec
17. Jens Voigt (Saxo) @ 2min 3sec
1. Stephane Auge (Cofidis): 14 points
2. Jussi Veikkanen (FDJ): 9
3. David Millar (Garmin-Slipstream): 8
1. Mark Cavendish (Columbia): 106 popints
2. Thor Hushovd (Cervelo): 105
3. Gerald Ciolek (Milram): 66
1. Tony Martin (Columbia): 19hr 30min 14sec
Stage 7, Friday, July 10: Barcelona - Andora Arcalis, 224 km
Weather at Andorra at 2:05 PM local time: 68F (20C), partly cloudy. Wind from NNW at 9 mph (14kph).
Km 32, Côte de Montserrat, 4.1 km @ 3.8% gradient, Category 4
Km 97, Port de Solsona, 5.8 km @ 4.3% gradient, Category 3
Km 127, Col de Serra-Seca, 7.7 km @ 7.1% gradient, Category 1
Km 136.5, Port del Comte, 3.1 km @ 5.3% gradient, Category 3
Km 224, Andora Arcalis, 10.6 km @ 7.1% gradient, Hors Category
An early break succeeded in staying away. While Astana rode tempo at the front of the peloton almost the entire stage, everyone but the enterprising escapees seemed content to sit in. I've seen this play before and I know how it comes out. For years everyone sat in on Discovery and Postal, promising fireworks but delivering nothing while Armstrong picked his moments and destroyed the competition. Bruyneel seems happy to start in where he left off, this time with Contador grabbing the fruit.
Brice Feillu left the break on the final ascent to Andora Arcalis while another of his breakway companions, Rinaldo Nocentini took the Yellow Jersey. With less than 3 kilometers to go Contador bolted and there was nothing anyone could do. He made his superiority clear. I wonder if this means an end to the Astana head games. Armstrong did hang in with Evans, Schleck and the other good guys. Maybe this soap has legs.
1. Brice Feillu (Agritubel) 6hr 11min 31sec
2. Christophe Kern (Cofidis) @ 5sec
3. Johannes Frohkinger (Milram) @ 25sec
4. Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2R) @ 26sec
5. Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel) @ 45sec
6. Christophe Riblon (Ag2R) @ 1min 5sec
7. Jerome Pineau (Quick Step) @ 2min 32sec
8. Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d'Epargne) @ 3min 14sec
9. Alberto Contador (Astana) @ 3min 26sec
12. Bradley Wiggins (Garmin-Slipstream) s.t.
13. Frank Schleck (Saxo) s.t.
19. Vladimir Karpets (Katusha) s.t.
67. Fabian Cencellara (Saxo) @ 9min 16sec
1. Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2R) 25hr 44min 32sec
2. Alberto Contador (Astana) @ 6sec
3. Lance Armstrong (Astana) @ 8sec
7. Tony Martin (Columbia) @ 1min
13. Fran Schleck (Saxo) @ 2min 25sec
16. Johannes Frohlinger (Milram) @ 2min 54sec
17. Franco Pellizotti (Liguigas) @ 3min 3sec
18. Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) @ 3min 7sec
19. Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel) @ 3min 10sec
39. Fabian Cancellara (Saxo) @ 5min 37sec
1. Brice Feillu (Agritubel): 49 points
2. Christophe Riblon (Ag2R): 46
3. Christophe Kern (Cofidis): 46
1. Mark Cavendish (Columbia): 106 points
4. Milram @ 5min 17sec
Stage 8, Saturday, July 11: Andorre la Vieille - Saint Girons, 176.5 km
Km 23,5, Port d'Envalira, 23.2 km @ 5.1% gradient, category 1
Km 102, Col de Port, 11.4 km @ 5.5%, Category 2
Km 132.5, Col d'Agnès, 12.4 km @ 6%, Category 1
Weather at Ax-les-Thermes on the race route at 1:30 PM local time: Fair, 82F (28C), wind from the WNW at 8 mph (13 kph).
Cadel Evans tried to get away early in the stage but was reeled in by the Astana-led peloton. Thor Hushovd manged to win 2 intermediate sprints by digging hard and making it over the Port d'Envalira close enough to the front that he could reconnect on the descent. That gave him the Green Jersey. The winning break was started by Sandy Casar and for a while break member and today's stage winner Luis Leon Sanchez harbored hopes of taking the lead. Astana and the other GC teams were content to let the break go, but not too far up the road. This let Rinaldo Nocentini, who stuggled a bit on the climbs, keep the lead for another day.
More pictures from stage 8
1. Luis-Leon Sanchez (Caisse d'Epargne) 4hr 31min 50sec
2. Sandy Casar (FDJ) s.t.
3. Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel) s.t.
4. Vladimir Efimkin (Ag2R) @ 3sec
5. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Caisse d'Epargne) @ 1min 54sec
6. Christophe Riblon (Ag2R) s.t.
7. Peter Velits (Milram) s.t.
8. Sebastien Minard (Cofidis) s.t.
9. Jeremy Roy (FDJ) s.t.
10. Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom) s.t.
11. Alexandre Botcharov (Katusha) s.t.
12. Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) s.t.
13. Christian Knees (Milram) s.t.
14. Kurt Asle-Arvesen (Saxo) s.t.
15. Grischa Niermann (Rabobank) s.t.
16. Pierre Rolland (Bouygues Telecom) s.t.
17. Brice Feillu (Agritubel) s.t.
18. Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank) s.t.
24. Bradley Wiggin (Garmin-Slipsteam) s.t.
11. Luis-Leon Sanchez (Caisse d'Epargne) @ 2min 16sec
15. Vladimir Efimkin (Ag2R) @ 2min 45sec
17. Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel) @ 3min 2sec
20. Christophe Riblon (Ag2R) @ 3min 20sec
1. Christophe Kern (Cofidis): 59 points
2. Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel): 54
3. Brice Feillu (Agritubel): 49
4. Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) @ @ min 40sec
1. Ag2R 89hr 21min
2. Astana @ 3sec
Stage 9, Sunday, July 12: Saint-Gaudens - Tarbes, 160.5 km
Km 60.5: Col d'Aspin, 12.3 km @ 6.4% gradient, Category 1
Km 90.0: Col du Tourmalet, 17.1 km @ 7.4%, Hors Category
The race: The Aspin and Tourmalet, coming well before the finish, produced no changes in the GC standings. At the 15th kilometer a break of 15 riders scooted off the front. By the top of the Aspin the lead was down to 2 good pros, Franco Pellizotti and Pierrick Fedrigo. They worked together until the final kilometer. Pellizotti tried to get away first but Fedrigo closed and then outsprinted the Italian.
Armstrong, who is still burning from Contador's stage 7 escape, tried to get away early in the stage, but was quickly back in the pack. Armstrong's prediction is that there will be no real shake up in the standings until stage 15, next Sunday. Armstrong is making it clear that to him (and I'm sure, Bruyneel) the leadership of Astana is still in the air. Writer James Staart says that Contador has only 1 teammate on Astana who is reliably dedicated to him, Sergio Paulinho. Armstrong can count on 5 members of the team, including Leipheimer, Popovych and Kloden, to defend his interests. Rumors continue to surface that the team is riven with a poisonous division. Yet, the team is so powerful that despite this lack of unity, the big question is which of the Astana riders will win, and can they take the entire podium?
1. Pierrick Fedrigo (Bouygues Telecom) 4hr 5min 31sec
3. Oscar Freire (Rabobank) @ 34sec
4. Serguei Ivanov (Katusha) s.t.
7. Greg Van Avermaet (Silence-Lotto) s.t.
8. Geoffroy Lequatre (Agritubel) s.t.
11. Jeremy Roy (FDJ) s.t.
12. Christophe Le Mevel (FDJ) s.t.
14. Sebastien Minard (Cofidis) s.t.
19. Vincenzo Nibali ((Liquigas) s.t.
20. Mikel Astarloza ((Euskaltel) s.t.
26. Denis Menchov (Rabobnak) s.t.
20. Vladimir Karpets (Katusha) @ 3min 49sec
46. Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas) @ 14min 49sec
1. Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel): 78 points
3. Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas): 55
3. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Caisse d'Epargne): 75
1. Ag2r 101hr 39min 15sec
Monday, July 13: Rest day, Limoges.
While a lot of the racing so far has been little more than a lead-in to a Tour that has all the high drama loaded into the final stages, the Astana story remains interesting. After Alberto Contador performed his brilliant escape in the final kilometers of stage 7 and put 21 seconds between himself and his rivals, Bruyneel and Armstrong reacted as if their dogs had died and someone took their trucks (sorry, I live in the Ozarks and that's about the worst that can happen here). Instead of being jubilant over a wonderful coup, they were grim-faced, saying that Contador didn't follow the plan. It's an odd reaction, but makes it clear that the real race for the Tour is within Astana, between Contador and Armstrong.
During a rest day interview Contador refused to get pulled into any controversy. He said that if Armstrong attacked he would not chase, but he made it clear he was riding the Tour to win. Further he listed those riders he considered his biggest threats: the Schleck brothers and Cadel Evans were his primary worries with a further note that one cannot forget Sastre. Diplomatically, there was no mention of Armstrong on that list, who is every day looking more like the rider he was in 2005.
Stage 10 is going to be ridden without radios. I hope there is terrific racing with exciting breakaways. Professional racing is getting dull and negative. The directors say the radios are necessary for rider safety. What hogwash! Every Cat 5 knows how to ride a race without a radio. Some riders are also unhappy with the experiment. It is important to remember that the riders and directors do not always act in the best interest of the sport. They are professionals who look to their own interests. If you have any doubt about this, remeber how hard the riders have fought the efforts to bring about a drug-free sport.
Bring on the fog of war! Let's return the Tour and bicycle racing to where founder Henri Desgrange left it, a sport that requires both head and legs.
Stage 10, Tuesday, July 14: Limoges - Issoudun, 194.5 km
This stage will be run without 2-way radios between the riders and the team directors in their follow cars. As Voltaire would have said about the radios, had he been a bike racing fan, "Ecrasez l'infame!"
The race: The planned day without 2-way radios came off with the riders and directors grumpy about the whole thing. The 40.7 km/hr average speed for the stage says the riders wanted to show their displeasure with the experiment. There is a good chance the Tour will agree to scrub the second test of racing without radios on Friday. A 4-man break went almost from the gun but was caught with 2 kilometers to go. The break was never allowed much rope, probably because the teams were without their radios and felt less secure. Columbia did another fine lead-out and Cavendish was again unstoppable. There was a split in the field in the final run-in and Leipheimer and Wiggins, both serious GC contenders, were on the wrong side and each lost 15 seconds. Leipheimer is now fifth and Wiggins seventh.
Km 12.5, Côte de Salvanet, 1.8 km @ 4.5% gradient, Category 4
Km 27.5, Côte de Saint-Laurent-les-Eglises, 2 km @ 5.3% gradient, Category 4
Km 58.5, Côte de Bénévent-l'Abbaye, 1.8 km @ 3.4% gradient, Category 4
More stage 10 photos
1. Mark Cavendish (Columbia), 4hr 46min 43sec
4. Leonardo Duque (Cofidis) s.t.
7. Kenny Van Hummel (Skil-Shimano) s.t.
8. William Bonnet (Boygues Telecom) s.t.
9. Deniele Bennati (Liquigas) s.t.
10. Said Haddou (Boygues Telecom) s.t.
11. Gerald Ciolek (Milram) s.t.
12. Marco Bandiera (Lampre) s.t.
13. Sebastian Lang (Slience-Lotto) s.t.
14. Juan Anotnio Flecha (Rabobank) s.t.
15. Oscar Freire (Rabobank) s.t.
23. Fraank Schleck (Saxo) s.t.
63. Kim Kirchen (Columbia) @ 15sec
GC after Stage 10.
1. Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r), 39hr 11min 4sec
16. Vladimir Efimkin (Ag2r) @ 3min
20. Vladimir Karpets (Katusha) @ 4min 4sec
1. Tony Martin (Columbia) 39hr 12min 4sec
Stage 10 route map
Stage 10 elevation guide.
Stage 11, Wednesday, July 15: Vatan - Saint Fargeau, 192 km
Km 45.5, Côte d'Allogny, 1.5 km @ 4.5% gradient, Category 4
Km 150.0, Côte de Perreuse, 2.0 km @ 4.6% gradient, Category 4
The race: Simple story. Early in the day Johan Vansummeren (Silence-Lotto) and Marcin Saps (Lampre) were allowed a few minutes of rope. Right on time, at 5 kilometers to go they were caught. That left things for the sprinters and right now that means Columbia and Mark Cavendish. Tyler Farrar came very close to winning (see photo below), but he'll have to try again. Cavendish gets the green jersey back from Thor Hushovd, and Rinaldo Nocentini (I am sure much to his everlasting shock) gets to remain in yellow.
1. Mark Cavendish (Columbia) 4hr 17min 55sec
3. Yauheni Hutarovich (FDJ) s.t.
10. Nicolai Trusov (Katusha) s.t.
12. Serguei Ivanov (Katusha) s.t.
14. Daniele Bennati (Liquigas) s.t.
16. Tom Boonen (Quick Step) s.t.
18. Cyril Lemoine (Skil-Shimano) s.t.
19. Filippo Pozzato (Katusha) s.t.
GC after Stage 11. The stage 10 15-second gap that cost Leipheimer and Wiggins each a couple of places has been removed.
11. Luis-Leon Sanchez (Caisse d'Epargne) @ 2min 16
1. Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel): 79 popints
3. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Caisse d'Epargne): 110
1. Ag2r 128hr 53min 9sec
Stage 11 elevation guide
Stage 12, Thursday, July 16: Tonnerre - Vittel, 211.5 km
Km 19.0, Côte de Baon, 2.2 km @ 4.2% gradient, Category 4
Km 55.0, Côte de Gye-sur-Seine, 2.4 km @ 4.4% gradient, Category 4
Km 64.5, Côte d'Essoyes, 2.2 km @ 5% gradient, Category 4
Km 150.0, Côte des Grands-Bois, 2.3 km @ 5% gradient, Category 4
Km 156.5, Côte de Morlaix, 2.1 km @ 4.2% gradient, Category 4
Km 170.5, Côte de Bourmont, 0.8 km, 11.1%, Category 3
The race: A third of the way into the stage a 7-man break that the pack would accept was allowed to get away. After the rated climbs were finished (about 20 or so kilometers left) Nicki Sorensen (Saxo) and Sylvain Calzati (Agritubel), who had been members of the break, took off on their own. Close to the finish Sorensen left Calzati and motored off for a fine solo win. Cadel Evans and Levi Leipheimer were caught up in a crash but were given the same time as the pack.
1. Nicki Sorensen (Saxo) 4hr 52min 24sec
2. Laurent Lefevre (Bouygues Telecom) @ 48sec
4. Markus Fothen (Milram) s.t.
5. Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel) s.t.
6. Sylvain Calzati (Agritubel) s.t.
7. Remi Pauriol (Cofidis) @ 1min 33sec
8. Mark Cavendish (Columbia) @ 5min 58sec
11. Mauro Santambrogio (Lampre) s.t.
12. Steven De Jongh (Quick Step) s.t.
14. Nicolai Trussov (Katusha) s.t.
19. Yauheni Hutarovich (FDJ) s.t.
48. Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r) s.t.
160. Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) s.t.
1. Saxo 143hr 47min 41sec
2. Ag2r @ 34sec
3. Astana @ 37sec
4. Milram @ 44sec
Stage 13, Friday, July 17: Vittel - Colmar, 200 km
Km 46.0, Côte de Xertigny, 2.0 km @ 5.3% gradient, Category 3
Km 105.0, Col de la Schlucht, 8.9 km @ 4.2% gradient, Category 2
Km 138.5, Col du Platzerwasel, 8.7 km @ 7.6%, Category 1
Km 165.5, Col du Bannstein, 2.1 km @ 5.1% gradient, Category 3
Km 179.5, Col du Firstplan, 8.4 km @ 5.4% gradient, Category 2
The Race: Levi Leipheimer (Astana) was unable to start today's stage. He crashed near the end of yesterday's stage. While he felt some pain after falling, he thought he was OK. After a bad night it was found that he had broken his wrist. Leipheimer was sitting in fourth place in the GC, only 39 seconds down. This robs Astana of a powerful rider and unsurprisingly, team director Johan Bruyneel was very disappointed. He said Leipheimer's loss will force the team to change tactics and will likely invite attacks from other squads. Get well soon Levi.
Also, the planned second day in the Tour without radios has been scrapped after a truculant peloton refused to race with vigor during the first attempt to do away with 2-way communications.
A 7-man break scooted off the front after only 5 kilometers had been ridden. It was continually whittled down over the relentless Vosges climbs the day proffered. Heinrich Haussler, who says he likes riding in dreadful weather, took a chance attacking on the descent of the first category Platzerwasel. Riding the final rainy 40 kilometers alone he accumulated a large time gap for a brilliant solo win. His first chaser, Euskaltel's Amets Txurruka, didn't cross the finish line for 4min 11sec. The pack was over 6 minutes slower. Chapeau!
1. Heinrich Haussler (Cervelo) 4hr 56min 26sec
2. Amets Txurruka (Euskaltel) @ 4min 11sec
3. Brice Feillu (Agritubel) @ 6min 13sec
4. Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) @ 6min 31sec
7. Vladimir Efimkin (Ag2r) s.t.
8. Bradley Wiggins (Garmin-Slipstream) s.t.
9. George Hincapie (Columbia) s.t.
13. Jens Voigt (Saxo) s.t.
18. Matteo Tosatto (Quick Step) s.t.
19. David Loosli (Lampre) s.t.
GC after Stage 13:
20. Brice Feillu (Agritubel) @ 2min 56sec
1. Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas): 98 points
2. Mark Cavendish (Columbia: 200
3. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Caosse d'Epargne): 116
1. Saxo 158hr 57min 8sec
3. Astana @37sec
Stage 14, Saturday, July 18: Colmar - Besançon, 199 km
Km 90.5, Côte de Lebetain, 2.4 km @ 4.4% gradient, Category 3
Km 111.5, Côte de Blamont, 2.9 km @ 4.9% gradient, Category 3
The race: It only took about 15 kilometers before the break of the day was established. 14 riders broke free and as the day rolled on the break was reduced to 11. Among them was George Hincapie (Columbia) who happened to be only 5 minutes 25 seconds down on GC and the highest placed rider in the break. When the break's lead grew to over 8 minutes Hincapie became the vitual Yellow Jersey. Eventually the lead came down as some firepower came to the front of the peloton. In the end Hincapie missed being in yellow by only 5 seconds. Sergeui Ivanov, the Russian road champion, left the break with 11 kilometers to go for the solo win.
Tomorrow's hilltop finish will surely shake things up. I still hold that the most likely man to wear yellow in Paris is Armstrong. He is getting stronger every day and the other riders have noticed this. He has ridden an error-free race. He's never caught napping when moves are afoot. I believe no other GC rider has gained time on a flat road stage this year. Armstrong has. He has the most succesful Director and most of the world's most powerful team behind him. I believe Lance Armstrong will win the 2009 Tour de France.
1. Serguei Ivanov (Katusha) 4hr 37min 46sec
2. Nicolas Roche (Ag2r) @ 16sec
3. Hayden Roulston (Cervelo) s.t.
4. Martijn Maaskant (Garmin-Slipstream) s.t.
6. Daniele Righi (Lampre) s.t.
7. Christophe Le Mevel (FDJ) s.t.
9. Daniele Bennati (Liquigas) s.t.
10. Gerald Ciolek (Milram) @ 22sec
11. Albert Timmer (Skil-Shimano) @ 26sec
12. Frederik Willems (Liquigas) @ 3min 41sec
13. Mark Cavendish (Columbia) @ 5min 36sec
20. Brett Lancaster (Cervelo) s.t.
49. Lance Armstrong (Astana) st.
2. George Hincapie (Columbia) @ 5sec
5. Christophe Le Mevel (FDJ) @ 43sec
1. Ag2r 173hr 2min 28sec
Stage 15, Sunday, July 19: Pontarlier - Verbier, 207.5 km
Km 8.0, Côte du Rafour, 3.7 km @ 5.1% gradient, Category 3
Km 18.5, Col des Etroits, 1.5 km @ 5% gradient, Category 3
Km 54.0, Côte de La Carrière, 6.3 km @ 4.4% gradient, Category 3
Km 74.0, Côte de Prévonloup, 4.5 km @ 4.7% gradient, Category 3
Km 135.0, Col des Mosses, 13.8 km @ 4% gradient, Category 2
Km 207.5, Verbier, 8.8 km @ 7.5% gradient, Category 1
The race: Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit. As anyone who read yesterday's results and commentary knows, this stage did not turn out the way I expected. Here's how it went today:
A big break of about 15 riders went away about a quarter into the race. As the day progessed, it slowly shrank and on the early slopes of the final Verbier climb it disintegrated and was swept up by what was left of the peloton. The duties of riding at the front of the pack for a lot of the chase were shared by Liquigas and Astana. When the Verbier ascent started to bite Saxo started throwing high heat and that broke things up. Very quickly the lead group of elite riders was narrowed down to the best few, maybe 5-7 riders. At that point Armstrong was in the hunt but Carlos Sastre had been shelled
From that group, with perhaps 5 kilometers to go Contador launched an irresistable attack. From that moment he set an incendiary pace all the way to the top. Then, as several other launched themselves in an effort to at least limit their loses, Armstrong, who had said he would not attack Contador but would mark any chasers, was unable to respond. First Andy Schleck went, then a group with Bradley Wiggins, Vincenzo Nibali and Frank Schleck broke loose. Then, from down the hill, Carlos the friendly ghost suddenly appeared and attached himself to the Wiggins group. Meanwhile Armstrong was stuck, sitting on teammate Andreas Kloden's wheel.
Contador has made things crystal clear. He is the man to beat. It was a surperb ride. Armstrong is sitting in second place, only 1min 37sec down. It will be interesting to see if Armstrong was only having a jour sans or if winning this Tour is just out of reach for him.
1. Alberto Contador (Astana) 5hr 3min 58sec
3. Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) @ 1min 3sec
6. Carlos Sastre (Cervelo) s.t.
7. Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) @ 1min 26sec
11. Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) @ 2min 6sec
12. Tony Martin (Columbia) @ 2min 13sec
15. Christophe Le Mevel (FDJ) @ 2min 32sec
16. Igor Anton (Euskaltel) @ 2min 33sec
17. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Silence-Lotto) @ 2min 33sec
18. Peter Velits (Milram) @ 2min 36sec
20. Jose Angel Gomez Mrachante (Cervelo) @ 2min 41sec
36. George Hincapie (Columbia) @ 4min 6sec
3. Bradley Wiggins (Garmin-Slipstream) @ 1min 45sec
6. Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r) @ 2min 30sec
8. Tony Martin (Columbia) @ 3min 7sec
9. Christophe Le Mevel (FDJ) @ 3min 9sec
17. Kim Kirchen (Columbia) @ 5min 5sec
18. Luis-Leon Sanchez (Caisse d'Epargne)
3. Pierrick Fedrigo (Bouygues Telecom): 65
1. Andy Schleck (Saxo) 63hr 20min 22sec
1. Astana: 188hr 22min 49sec
Monday, July 20: Rest day, Verbier.
It had been the Tour's intention to pack all the of the drama and tension into the final week. The organizers hoped that several riders would remain close in the GC and we fans would be on the edge our seats, anxious to see what happened after each day's racing. It more or less worked out that way. The top 5 are reasonably close:
Each of the above riders has a real shot at winning if Contador has a bad day or does something stupid. I don't think his competitors can count on his forgetting to eat like he did in Paris-Nice. By the way, after the condescending criticism Armstrong gave Contador after that error, it should be remembered that Armstrong bonked twice in his Tour career. It happens to the best.
But...I digress. There have been 4 stages that have truly affected the GC in this year's Tour. Contador (and his team) has dominated all of them. The stage 1 individual time trial set the stage, where Contador was second to Cancellara but first among contenders. We should have all been more alert to Bradley Wiggins' fabulous ride, 1 second slower than Contador, and what it told us about Wiggins' form.
Astana won the stage 4 team time trial.
On the ascent to Andora-Arcalis only Contador had the combination of courage and power to escape alone into a headwind.
Yesterday Contador showed his tactical savvy. Saxo cranked up the speed on the Verbier ascent, planning to launch one or more Schleck brothers into space. But, before the Bros Schleck took advantage of their team's efforts, Contador shot off the front. The Schlecks had been outplayed and outgunned. All of the others have been found lacking at some point in this Tour. According to www.sportsscientists.com, Contador may have performed the fastest ascent in Tour history. This brings up a load of other questions regarding how clean cycling is, but that will be for another time.
So, when Armstrong says Contador is the best, he is saying what is by now patently obvious. Armstrong says he'll be happy to ride for Contador.
Yet..Armstrong is leaving the door open by saying that there's still a week of racing to go, and anything can happen. That reminds me of the 1972 presidential campaign. George McGovern's VP nominee, Thomas Eagleton, had been found to have mental health problems. McGovern said he was 1000% behind Eagleton until Tuesday. Armstrong's commitment to Contador has the same solid feel.
By the way, McGovern soon replaced Eagleton with Sargent Shriver.
Stage 16, Tuesday, July 21: Martigny - Bourg Saint Maurice, 159 km
Km 40.5, Col du Grand-Saint-Bernard, 24.4 km @ 6.2% gradient, Hors Category
Km 128.0, Col du Petit-Saint-Bernard, 22.6 km @ 5.1%, Category 1
The Race: On the slopes of the Grand St. Bernard about 20 riders went clear. As expected with a group this large, attrition set in almost immediately. By the top of the Petit St. Bernard, Franco Pellizotti, looking to pack in more climbers' points and Silence-Lotto phenom Jurgen Van Den Broeck were alone and being chased by a gutsy Mikel Astarloza. Astarloza made the juncture on the descent and later they were joined by Amael Moinard. Near the finish Astarloza took off and won the stage.
Meanwhile, back in the peloton Cadel Evans and Denis Menchov were shelled on the Grand St. Bernard. Sadly, Evans' hope for even a podium place are over. Menchov must still be exhausted from his brutal Giro fight with Di Luca.
When the peloton reached the Petit St. Bernard, like on Sunday on the Verbier ascent, Saxo again hit the jets. This time Contador, not needing to waste any energy, let Andy Schleck try to break things up. Schleck succeeded in dropping everyone but Wiggins, Frank Schleck, Nibali, Kloden and most importantly Contador. After a kilometer or so Armstrong, who had been unable to go with Schelck, roared back up to the Schleck/Yellow Jersey group. As things calmed down others clawed their way back as well, including Sastre and Vande Velde. So, with the exception of the confirmation of Evans' troubles, the situation remains largely unchanged. Tomorrow's stage has tons of tough climbing with four category 1 climbs, but the finish line in Le Grand Bornand is about 15 kilometers from the peak of the Col de la Colombiere. Again, we might not have any change to the GC.
Other news. Astana director Johan Bruyneel has confirmed what the Kazakh federation has already announced, that this is Bruyneel's last season with Astana.
1. Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel) 4hr 14min 20sec. 37.51 km/hr
2. Sandy Casar (FDJ) @ 6sec
3. Pierrick Fedrigo (Bouygues Telecom) s.t.
5. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Silence-Lotto) s.t.
6. Amael Moinard (Cofidis) s.t.
7. Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas) @ 11sec
8. Stephane Goubert (Ag2r) s.t.
9. Christophe Moreau (Agritubel) @ 59sec
15. Rigoberto Uran (Caisse d'Epargne) s.t.
85. Denis Menchov (Rabobank) @ 16min 40sec
5. Andy Schleck (Saxo) 2min 26sec
8. Frank Schleck (Saxo) @ 3min 25sec
9. Carlos Sastre (Cervelo) @ 3min 52sec
14. Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r) @ 5min 26sec
15. Sandy Casar (FDJ) @ 5min 40sec
19. Stephane Goubert (Ag2r) @ 9min 14sec
20. Brice Feillu (Agritubel) @ 10min
34. Tony Martin (Columbia) @ 18min 48sec
42. Denis Menchov (Rabobank) @ 27min 4sec
1. Thor Hushovd (Columbia): 218 points
3. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Caisse d'Epagne): 126
3. Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) @ 2min 14sec
Stage 17, Wednesday, July 22: Bourg Saint Maurice - Le Grand Bornand, 169.5 km
Km 18.0, Cormet de Roselend, 18.1 km @ 5.7% gradient, Category 1
Km 56.0, Col des Saisies,15.1 km @ 6% gradient, Category 1
Km 111.5, Côte d'Araches, 6.3 km @ 7% gradient, Category 2
Km 140.5, Col de Romme, 8.8 km @ 8.9%, Category 1
Km 154.5, Col de la Colombière, 7.5 km @ 8.5% gradient, Category 1
The race: First of all, Jens Voigt, who crashed badly on the descent of the Petit St. Bernard yesterday will be OK. He broke a cheekbone but he should recover.
A big break went away on the Cormet de Roselend but with opportunities to move up in the General Classification running short, it was inevetable that they would all get swept up and spit out as Saxo tried to use the day to take the lead. Notably, Thor Hushovd (Cervelo) took off on a lone quest to get the intermediate sprint points. He now has a 30-point lead over Cavendish that should allow Hushovd to be in green in Paris.
On the Col de Romme, the second to the last climb, the warm pace got hot. Saxo and Astana gave it all it could. The effect of the attacks that followed was that the Schleck brothers broke loose, taking only Contador, Wiggins, Armstrong, and Astana super-domestique Andreas Kloden.
On the Colombiere, after a fierce Contador attack, it was the 2 Schleck brothers and Contador. Kloden, who had been with them for a while, could not withstand the Contador acceleration and dopped back. He was caught by a chasing Armstrong and Vicenzo Nibali.
None of today's major protagaonists, the Schlecks or Contador could drop each other. Contador will probably forge a bullet-proof lead in tomorrow's time trial, one that should protect him from another assault from the Schleck Bros.
Later in the day Contador came in for criticism from Bruyneel (and clearly implied by Armstrong by his refusal to comment) for his attack that ended up dropping Kloden. This may have cost Astana the potential to sweep the podium in Paris. This is really, really weird. All Contador is doing is winning the Tour de France and doing it masterfully. In return all his team can do is give him grief and they do it publicly. Am I in the Bizzaro World where everything is backwards and winning is bad?
1. Frank Schleck (Saxo) 4hr 53min 54sec
2. Alberto Contador (Astana) s.t.
3. Andy Schleck (Saxo) s.t.
8. Christophe Moreau (Agritubel) @ 4min 9sec
9. Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Slipstream) @ 4min 9sec
10. Remi Pauriol (Cofidis) @ 6min 10sec
16. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Silence-Lotto) s.t.
17. Sandy Casar (FDJ) s.t.
18. Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel) s.t.
20. Jose Luis Arrieta (Ag2r) @ 6min 19sec
124. Tony Martin (Columbia) @ 35min 47sec
153. Kim Kirchen (Columbia) @ 35min 47sec
1. Alberto Contador (Astana) 72hr 27min 9sec
9. Christophe Le Mevel (FDJ) @ 9min 19sec
11. Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) @ 10min 52sec
15. Vladimir Karpets (Katusha) @ 12min 8sec
19. Brice Feillu (Agritubel) @ 21min 50sec
32. Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) @ 37min 6sec
37. Kim Kirchen ((Columbia) @ 40min 52sec
3. Ag2r @ 16min 33sec
Stage 18, Thursday, July 23: Annecy 40.5 km Individual Time Trial.
Rated climb: Km 28.5, Côte de Bluffy, 3.7 km @ 6% gradient, Category 3
1. Alberto Contador (Astana) 48min 30sec
2. Fabian Cancellara (Saxo) @ 3sec
3. Mikhail Ignatiev (Katusha) @ 15sec
4. Gustav Larsson (Saxo) @ 33sec
5. David Millar (Garmin-Slipstream) @ 41sec
7. Luis-Leon Sanchez (CAisse d'Epargne) @ 44sec
10. David Zabriskie (Garmin-Slipstream) @ 1min 2sec
11. Tony Martin (Columbia) @ 1min 4sec
14. Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) @ 1min 20sec
16. Lance Armstrong (Astana) @ 1min 30sec
17. Stef Clement (Rabobank) @ 1min 37sec
18. Bert Grabsch (Columbia) @ 1min 38sec
24. Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Slipstream) @ 2min
1. Alberto Contador (Astana)
9. Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel) @ 12min 38sec
12. Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) @ 14min 8sec
15. Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r) @ 15mi 27sec
34. Kim Kirchen (Columbia) @ 42min 34sec
1. Astana: 218hr 23min 7sec
Stage 19, Friday, July 24: Bourgoin Jallieu - Aubenas, 178 km
Km 6.5, Côte de Culin, 2.6 km @ 5.6% gradient, Category 4
Km 40.5, Côte de la forêt de Chambaran, 3.1 km @ 6.4%, Category 4
Km 162.0, Col de l'Escrinet, 14.0 km @ 4.1% gradient, Category 2
The race: A 20-man break with Cadel Evans got established a little after the start but Rabobank, perhaps the only major team with nothing to show for its efforts so far this Tour, worked hard all day hoping to both reel in the break and toss Cavendish out the back over the day's hilly terrain. The break was caught but Cavendish, who is developing some depth, was around for the sprint. Rabobank's great Spanish hope, Oscar Freire, came in fifth.
It almost didn't come to a mass sprint because world champion Alessandro Ballan and Laurent Lefevre scooted off on the final climb, the second category Col de l'Escrinet. They were scooped up with 2 kilometers to go and from there it was a Columbia lead out and a drag race between Thor Hushovd, Gerald Ciolek (Milram) and Mark Cavendish. Again Cavendish proved he is the fastest man on 2 wheels. With Hushovd leading Cavendish in the points competition 260 to 235, it looks like Hushovd has the Green Jersey about sewn up.
There was a 4-second split in the field. Of all the contenders, it was the always up-at-the-front Armstrong who was in the front group. Those 4 seconds may prove very valuable tomorrow as Armstrong battles to save his place on the podium on Mt. Ventoux.
7. Fumiyuki Beppu (Skil-Shimano) s.t.
10. Martijn Maaskant (Garmin-Slipstream) s.t
11. Geoffroy Lequatre (Agritubel) s.t.
13. Serguei Ivanov (Katusha) @ 4sec
1. Alberto Contador (Astana) 77hr 6min 18sec
9. Christophe Le Mevel (FDJ) @ 12min 37sec
3. Gerald Ciolek (Milram): 148
1. Astana: 229hr 55min
Stage 20, Saturday, July 25: Montélimar - Mont Ventoux, 167 km
Km 14, Côte de Citelle, 5.2 km @ 3.9% gradient, Category 3
Km 65.5, Col d'Ey, 6.7 km @ 4.8% gradient, Category 3
Km 87, Col de Fontaube, 4.7 km @ 4.2% gradient, Category 4
Km 121.5, Col des Abeilles, 7.7 km @ 4% gradient, Category 3
Km 167.0, MONT VENTOUX, 21.1 km @ 7.6%, Hors Category
Weather in nearby Carpentras (see map below): At 1PM local time it was 81F (27C), some clouds, winds from the NNW at 17mph (27kph) but gusting up to 29 mph (47kph). It is supposed to climb to 91F (33C). Winds over 62 mph (100 kph) have been clocked at the top of Mt. Ventoux today! It is going to be a brutal day on the mountain.
The race: Here is the GC at the start of the stage:
Only 38 seconds seperated Armstrong, Wiggins, Kloden and Schleck. Saxo wanted to put Frank in third place, Garmin wanted to move Wiggins up to Armstrong's spot. Armstrong had said a shot at Andy Schleck's second place and moving Kloden to the podium was not out of the question as far as he was concerned.
The racing was terrific, but none of the aspirents for Armstrong's third place could dislodge him.
An early break of 16 riders, none of whom were a GC threats, got away, at one point gaining over 10 minutes on the field. Behind, Saxo, desperate to move Frank Schleck from sixth place to third, drove the peloton hard with Astana doing its share to keep the speed high. The break fell apart but 2 riders were able to keep it going, Columbia's German revelation Tony Martin and Rabobank's Spanish hard-guy Juan Manuel Garate. Fighting the heat and the wind of Mt. Ventoux, the 2 riders had pain and suffering etched on their faces. The Contador group was closing fast but the pair managed to go the distance with Garate easily out-sprinting Martin. Rabobank can go home now with their heads held high, they finally got a stage win.
On the lower slopes of Mt. Ventoux the chasing pack was detonated by Saxo, Astana and Garmin's efforts to keep the pace high. While still below the tree line the front chasing group was reduced to Contador, the Schlecks, Armstrong, Wiggins, Nibali and Kloden. Andy Schleck showed no mercy. He hammered the group, trying to break his brother Frank loose. It wasn't to be. Armstrong was having a terrific day and could handle anything Frank could go with. With each Schleck blow Wiggins would get dropped and then he would claw his way back. Finally it was too much for Wiggins, who came in 10th, but Liquigas' Vincenzo Nibali was able to stay with this elite group. Andy Schleck out-sprinted Contador, but with no time bonuses in play, Contador was clearly uninterested in nailing third place in the stage. He had just won the Tour de France.
The only notable movement in the top GC standings was Frank Schleck's taking Andreas Kloden's fifth place.
1. Juan Manuel Garate (Rabobank) 4hr 39min 21sec
6. Frank Schleck (Saxo) @ 43sec
10. Bradley Wiggins (Garmin-Slipstream) @ 1min 3sec
11. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Silence-Lotto) @ 1min 39min
12. Andreas Kloden (Astana) @ 1min 42sec
14. Joost Posthuma (Rabobank) @ 1min 56sec
17. Maxime Bouet (Agritubel) @ 2min 42sec
19. Daniele Righi (Lampre) @ 3min 3sec
20. Sylvain Calzati (Agritubel) @ 3min 15sec
36. Tony Martin (Columbia) @ 55min 4sec
51. Denis Menchov (Rabobank) @ 1hr 16min 28sec
Stage 21, Sunday, July 26: Montereau Fault Yonne - Paris Champs-Élysées, 164 km
No rated climbs on this stage
The race: As soon as the race hit the Champs Elysee's criterium circuit the riders desperate to get away started hammering. 7 riders managed to break the elastic and dangle between 30 to 40 seconds off the front. Columbia, smelling victory number 6, kept the break from getting too far down the road. Surprisingly, remnants of the break held on until the final lap. Then Garmin decided to take charge of things, taking over from Columbia. It looked like a good move made a little early. With more than a kilometer to go Garmin, still in front with David Millar taking a monster pull, had burned most of its matches.
George Hincapie took control of things with a terrific shift to the side of the road, dragging his teammates away and in front of the Garmin train. That left Mark Renshaw to do the final leadout honors, which he did beautifuly, actually seperating Cavendish from the field. Cavendish took the stage but Hushovd, who had to finish at least 15th to keep the points lead, came in sixth. The Green Jersey was the only classification still undecided in the final stage and it was the property of the giant Norwegian.
Alberto Contador has his fourth Grand Tour and I think he's done it at a younger age than any other rider. I'm sure his agent's phone is ringing with offers from teams who would like to win the Tour. Rumors have Garmin in the front seat. Armstrong will be back next year riding for Radio Shack.
2. Mark Renshaw (Columbia) s.t.
8. Marco Bandiera (Lampre) s.t.
10. William Bonnet (Bouygues Telecom) s.t.
16. Sebastian Lang (Silence-Lotto) s.t.
109. Carlos Sastre (Cervelo) s.t.
156 finishers
Final GC after Stage 21:
21. Chrsitian Knees (Milram) @ 34min 48sec
29. Christophe Moreau (Agritubel @ 44min 33sec
51. Denis Menchov (Rabobank) @ 1hr 17min 4sec
57. Kim Kirchen (Columbia) @ 1hr 26min 52sec
Some Post-Tour de France thoughts: The Tour's difficulty was made very clear by the number of superb riders who were unable to find the strength to match the winner's efforts. The 40.3 kph average speed was the sixth fastest Tour. All the other faster Tours occured in this decade. The fact that the stage 15 climb to Verbier was the fastest ascent in Tour history, faster than any of the l'Alpe d'Huez records set by Marco Pantani and faster even than Bjarne Riis' infamous Hautacam ride, the previous record, is profoundly troubling. Both Pantani and Riis had complete pharmacies flowing through their veins when they raced the Tour.
On my amazon.com blog, in June I wrote that was deeply worried that the Giro's fabulous climbing speeds might be indicative of renewed doping. The recent EPO-CERA positive of Giro second-place Danilo Di Luca shows that my apprehensions were not ill-founded. If Di Luca felt comfortable taking the drug, then others must also have taken the same route. Bernhard Kohl, who was found to have used EPO-CERA after his 2008 Tour third-place, said he should have been caught over and over. Clean drug tests do not mean clean riders. Fast races are not stand-alone evidence of drug use.
I have no comfort level that the lack of dope positives in the 2009 Tour shows that the Tour has been ridden clean. French anti-doping head Pierre Bodry voiced worries that new drugs have been found to aid racers. He also said that the old stand-by, autologous blood doping, used as far back in 1960 by Tour winner Gaston Nencini, is still very difficult to detect.
Why did so many fine competitors fail to deliver in this year's Tour? I have a theory. Simple fatigue.
Denis Menchov fought a bare-knuckle duel in the Giro d'Italia with Danilo Di Luca. Neither rider left a watt on the table. If Menchov was clean, his beating an EPO-CERA aided Di Luca is all the more remarkable. One wonders if a modern Giro with an international field that has no interest in the traditional "piano" days of the past is too intense a race to allow a rider to complete the Giro-Tour double. Even 50 years ago if the Giro had been particularly hard fought, it spelled trouble for a rider looking to do both races. 3-time Tour winner Louison Bobet was too thrashed after the 1957 Giro to consider racing the Tour.
Carlos Sastre, the 2008 Tour winner, just finished his fourth Grand Tour in a year. He performed well on some stages in this year's Giro but suffered a meltdown in the Tour. He had obviously overreached himself.
Cadel Evans went deep in this year's Dauphiné (he got second) while Alberto Contador, at the crucial moment in the Dauphiné, chose to check his efforts and be content with third place. Like previous Dauphiné winners Levi Leipheimer (2006) and Lance Armstrong (2003, Armstrong's worst Tour), Evans came to the the Tour tired. I suspect the predictable bad days Alejandro Valverde has suffered each Tour were also attributable to his Dauphiné ambitions.
Giro third-place Franco Pellizotti had some terrible days that cost him any chance of a Tour podium. He then craftily used his status as a non-GC threat to go after climbing points and he ended up with the Polka-Dot jersey. Lemonade out of lemons.
Compare this to Armstrong at his pre-retirement peak, who would some years come to the Tour with little more than 20 racing days in his legs. His trainers would optimize his fitness and minimize the chances for injuries (like the broken collarbone he suffered just before the Giro).
The obvious lesson from this is a racing calender with fewer appearances by great stage racers. I wish it weren't so.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008: The Tour de France organization revealed the 2009 route. Next year's TDF will be run between July 4 and July 26. It has only 55 kilometers of time trialing and a mountaintop finish on the penultimate stage. The first stage will be a 15 kilometer individual time trial, making it hard for a sprinter to work his way into yellow in the early stages. The race will start in Monaco and hit the Pyrenees before the Alps. It will be a 21-stage race with no prologue.
There will be: 10 flat stages, 7 mountain stages, 1 medium mountain stage, 2 individual time-trials and 1 team time-trial.
Also: There will be 3 mountaintop finishes, the usual 2 rest days, 55 kilometers of individual time-trialing and 20 category 1, category 2 and highest level passes.
Tuesday, March 17: The Tour de France organization released the names of the 20 teams receiving invitations to race the 2009 edition. Notably missing was Fuji-Servetto, reformed from the old disgraced Saunier-Duval squad. I assume that Fuji, like Astana, will have to wait a year before they can ride so that the Tour can monitor them and make sure that things have truly been reformed. As expected, Astana was invited this year.
Startlist with back numbers as of July 3
Cervélo Test Team (CTT)- Switzerland
1. SASTRE Carlos
2. CUESTA Inigo
3. GOMEZ MARCHANTE Jose Angel
4. GUSTOV Volodymir
5. HAUSSLER Heinrich
6. HUSHOVD Thor
7. KLIER Andreas
8. LANCASTER Brett Daniel
9. ROULSTON Hayden
Silence - Lotto (SIL) - Belgium
11. EVANS Cadel
12. DELAGE Mickaël
13. LANG Sebastian
14. LLOYD Matthew
15. SCHEIRLINCKX Staf
16. VAN AVERMAET Greg
17. VAN DEN BROECK Jurgen
18. VAN SUMMEREN Johan
19. WEGELIUS Charles
Astana (AST) - Kazakhstan
21. CONTADOR VELASCO Alberto
22. ARMSTRONG Lance
23. KLÖDEN Andréas
24. LEIPHEIMER Levi
25. MURAVYEV Dmitriy
26. PAULINHO Sergio
27. POPOVYCH Yaroslav
28. RAST Gregory
29. ZUBELDIA Haimar
Team Saxo Bank (SAXO) - Denmark
31. SCHLECK Andy
32. ARVESEN Kurt-Asle
33. CANCELLARA Fabian
34. LARSSON Gustav
35. O'GRADY Stuart
36. SCHLECK Frank
37. SORENSEN Chris-Anker
38. SORENSEN Nicki
39. VOIGT Jens
Rabobank (RAB) - Netherlands
41. MENCHOV Denis
42. CLEMENT Stef
43. FLECHA Juan Antonio
44. FREIRE Oscar
45. GARATE Juan Manuel
46. GESINK Robert
47. NIERMANN Grischa
48. POSTHUMA Joost
49. TEN DAM Laurens
Garmin - Slipstream (GRM) - USA
51. VANDE VELDE Christian
52. DEAN Julian
53. FARRAR Tyler
54. HESJEDAL Ryder
55. Maaskant Martijn
56. MILLAR David
57. PATE Danny
58. WIGGINS Bradley
59. ZABRISKIE David
Euskaltel (EUS) - Spain
61. ASTARLOZA Mikel
62. ANTON Igor
63. FERNANDEZ Koldo
64. MARTINEZ Egoi
65. OROZ Juan Jose
66. PEREZ Alan
67. PEREZ Ruben
68. TXURRUKA Amets
69. VERDUGO Gorka
Team Columbia - High Road (THR) - USA
71. CAVENDISH Mark
72. EISEL Bernhard
73. GREIPEL Andre
74. HINCAPIE George
75. KIRCHEN Kim
76. MARTIN Tony
77. MONFORT Maxime
78. RENSHAW Mark
79. ROGERS Michael
AG2R - La Mondiale (ALM) - France
81. EFIMKIN Vladimir
82. ARRIETA Jose Luis
83. DESSEL Cyril
84. DUPONT Hubert
85. GOUBERT Stephane
86. MONDORY Lloyd
87. NOCENTINI Rinaldo
88. RIBLON Christophe
89. ROCHE Nicholas
Liquigas (LIQ) - Italy
91. PELLIZOTTI Franco
92. BENNATI Daniele
93. KREUZIGER Roman
94. KUSCHYNSKI Aleksandr
95. NIBALI Vincenzo
96. SABATINI Fabio
97. VANDBORG Brian
98. VANOTTI Alessandro
99. WILLEMS Frederik
Française des Jeux (FDJ)
101. CASAR Sandy
102. COPPEL Jérôme
103. GESLIN Anthony
104. HUTAROVICH Yauheni
105. JOLY Sébastien
106. LE MEVEL Christophe
107. JEREMY Roy
108. VAUGRENARD Benoit
109. VEIKKANEN Jussi
Caisse d'Epargne (GCE) - Spain
111. PEREIRO SIO Oscar
112. ARROYO David
113. FARIA Rui Alberto
114. COYOT Arnaud
115. GUTIERREZ José Ivan
116. PASAMONTES Luis
117. ROJAS Jose Joaquin
118. SANCHEZ Luis-Leon
119. URAN Rigoberto
Cofidis, Le Crédit en Ligne (COF) - France
121. MONCOUTIE David
122. AUGE Stéphane
123. DUMOULIN Samuel
124. DUQUE Leonardo
125. FERNANDEZ Bingen
126. KERN Christophe
127. MINARD Sébastien
128. MOINARD Amaël
129. PAURIOL Rémi
Lampre - N.G.C. (LAM) - Italy
131. BALLAN Alessandro
132. BANDIERA Marco
133. BRUSEGHIN Marzio
134. FURLAN Angelo
135. LOOSLI David
136. RIGHI Daniele
137. SANTABROGIO Mauro
138. SAPA Marcin
139. SPILAK Simon
BBox Bouygues Telecom (BTL)
141. VOECKLER Thomas
142. ARASHIRO Yukiya
143. BONNET William
144. FEDRIGO Pierrick
145. HADDOU Saïd
146. LEFEVRE Laurent
147. PICHOT Alexandre
148. ROLLAND Pierre
149. TROFIMOV Yury
Quickstep (QST) - Belgium
151. CHAVANEL Sylvain
152. BARREDO Carlos
153. BOONEN Tom
154. DE JONGH Steven
155. DEVOLDER Stijn
156. PINEAU Jérôme
157. ROSSELER Sébastien
158. TOSATTO Matteo
159. VAN DE WALLE Jurgen
Team Katusha (KAT) - Russia
161. KARPETS Vladimir
162. BOTCHAROV Alexandre
163. HORRACH Joan
164. IGNATIEV Mikhail
165. IVANOV Serguei
166. NAPOLITANO Danilo
167. POZZATO Filippo
168. TRUSSOV Nicolaï
169. VANDENBERGH Styn
Agritubel (AGR) - France
171. MOREAU Christophe
172. BOUET Maxime
173. CALZATI Sylvain
174. FAILLU Brice
175. FEILLU Romain
176. GONZALO RAMIREZ Eduardo
177. LELAY David
178. LEQUATRE Geoffroy
179. VOGONDY Nicolas
Team Milram (MRM) - Germany
181. GERDEMANN Linus
182. CIOLEK Gerald
183. FOTHEN Markus
184. FRÖHLINGER Johannes
185. KNEES Christian
186. TERPSTRA Niki
187. VELITS Peter
188. WEGMANN Fabian
189. WROLICH Peter
Skil-Shimano (SKS) - Netherlands
191. LEMOINE Cyril
192. BEPPU Fumiyuki
193. DE KORT Koen
194. GESCHKE Simon
195. HIVERT Jonathan
196. HUPOND Thierry
197. ROOIJAKKERS Piet
198. TIMMER Albert
199. VAN HUMMEL Kenny Robert
Year-by-Year Results (from 2001 on)


If you're planning a project that requires lots of postholes, a power auger will speed up the process. But if you think it'll make digging holes a picnic, think again. Here you'll learn the ins and outs of using a rented power auger.
You'll need to dig up a very willing friend to help you run most power augers, and you'll both need strong backs, legs and arms to wrestle the machine around. So what is an Auger? Augers are very powerful machines with a lot of torque that can throw you like a sack of potatoes if the auger bit encounters a rock or a root.
If your soil is loamy or sandy, you too can drill 30 holes in a day's worth of rental. But rocky ground or heavy clay can stymie even the most powerful auger. Judging from my experience, about 25 percent of the holes attempted with augers end up being dug by hand.
If you only have a few postholes to dig, don't bother reading this story. Just rent, borrow or buy the three hand tools shown below and get to work. By the time you run to the rental store and round up a buddy to run the other end of the machine, you'll have a few holes dug already and save the one-day $60-plus auger rental fee. But if you have more than five deep, 12-in.-wide deck footings or a whole fence's worth of postholes to punch, augers can make short work of an otherwise miserable job.
Dig a "pilot hole"the same diameter as the auger around the stake that marks the center of the hole. That'll keep the auger tip from wandering when you start the post hole auger.
Operating a power auger calls for eye and hearing protection, as well as gloves and sturdy boots. But the biggest hazard when using a post hole auger by far is posed by underground power and gas lines. To prevent that danger as well as the nuisance of severed television cable and telephone lines, simply call the utility companies to have underground lines marked before you dig. They'll come out, usually within 24 hours, to mark underground utility lines (Photo 1) so you can safely miss them.
Before you begin, also call a building inspector to determine necessary posthole depths for your project and to find out if you need a building permit. They're generally required for fences and decks.
Position the auger in the pilot hole, have your partner steady the machine and start the engine following the rental store's instructions.
Scrupulously lay out your postholes before renting an auger so you can be using the tool the whole time you're paying for it. Pay close attention to locations and mark the exact centers of the holes with stakes. It's nearly impossible to move or reposition a hole once you've started boring, so it's important to begin in the right spot. If you need wider holes than the auger will drill or if you need to slightly reposition a hole, you can easily carve away the sides with hand tools.
Advance the throttle slowly until the auger begins to spin and let the machine begin boring into the ground. Throttle up as needed.
After the auger has penetrated 6 in. or so, release the throttle and pull the auger with its load of earth free of the ground, set it next to the hole and jiggle the dirt off the blade. Tip: If you're trying to keep nearby sod free of soil, place extracted soil on a tarp. Your grass will be pristine after the job's done.
Extend holes past the normal 36-in. limit by using an extension rod. First dig all the holes without the extension, then leave the auger in the last hole, extract the shear pin and lift off the power head. Then mount the extension bar and remount the powerhead with a second shear pin.
You may not have many auger choices at smaller rental stores, but if you go to a larger outlet or a home center that rents power tools, you'll have to choose between a two- or one-person (power auger head, as well as select the correctly sized auger itself. Auger drills are interchangeable and come in 4-, 6-, 8- or 12-in. diameters. The one to choose depends on the type of posts you're installing. Remember, the larger the diameter, the tougher it is to handle the machine.
If you're pouring 12-in. footings for a deck, you'll obviously need the 12-in. auger (Photo 3), but for 4×4 posts, pick up an 8-in. auger. You'll be able to get away with a 6-in. auger for steel fence posts. Keep in mind that you'll need a larger hole (and a larger auger) if you'll be filling around the post with concrete. The 4-in. auger will work for any small post that doesn't need concrete poured around it. I use the 12-in. auger for all but the smallest posts because the extra space allows me to move the post around for exact placement.
Most augers dig about 3 ft. deep, but for deeper holes, ask for an extension rod (Photo 5), usually for no extra fee. Deeper holes are typically required for footings for decks or other structures attached to houses located in very cold climates where frost depths exceed 3 ft. An extension rod will get you down as far as 4 ft.
After you've made your choices, ask the clerk to check the gas and engine oil levels, and demonstrate starting and operating procedures. Also, make sure you have all of the shear pins (Photo 5) that lock extension rods and augers to the power head. By the way, you're usually responsible for furnishing your own fuel unless the unit you're renting is a two-stroke model that requires premixed fuel.
Tip: After the holes are dug, cover them with scraps of plywood to keep your kids or your toy poodle from falling in and to keep the holes from caving in if it rains.
It's generally not enough to only have a power auger on hand. Some hole locations will likely have to be adjusted, rocks will need to be dislodged and extracted, and roots will have to be chopped out. All of that calls for extra hand tools to augment the power auger.
6′ DIGGING BAR: Used for dislodging stones, chopping away roots and softening hard soil so the auger can penetrate.
DRAIN TILE SHOVEL: The long skinny blade on this special shovel is designed for digging narrow trenches. That makes it ideal for elongating or reshaping holes after they're dug and also for loosening soil at the bottom of the hole.
CLAMSHELL POSTHOLE DIGGER: You'll use this tool to extract stones and roots, to remove loose soil at the bottom of completed holes and to deepen holes that are at the depth limit of your auger.
Photo 6: Don't over dig!
Start the engine and begin digging again, being careful not to over dig. The whole rig just got a lot heavier and you have to lift a lot higher.
Unscrew stuck augers by disconnecting the power head, and get leverage by slipping a 3-ft.-plus length of steel pipe over the handle of a pipe wrench and turning the auger counterclockwise.
When you turn the throttle of the auger, you'll feel a substantial clockwise force through the handles. You do, after all, have to counteract the torque of the auger digging into the soil. Both operators should brace their left side near the left handles to get their body into the act. Be sure not to dig too deep without cleaning the dirt out of the hole. If you go deeper than 12 in. or so, the auger will be extremely heavy to lift out of the hole, or worse, you can corkscrew the auger in so deep that it'll get stuck. Photo 7 shows you what to do if that happens.
There are two ways to clear the hole. We show stopping the auger and lifting it and the soil out of the hole and emptying the soil in one pile near the hole. That keeps the soil in one place for easy backfilling and prevents it from scattering over nearby grass. An alternative is to dig down a few inches, then throttle back to slow the turning and pull it free to spin off the collected dirt. Then drop it back down to pull up more soil. This method is faster (and more physically demanding), but dirt will fly everywhere and be harder to reclaim. It's a good method if you're backfilling with gravel or concrete and/or don't care about the mess.
If you're moving the auger more than a few feet to the next hole, shut off the engine and restart it again with the auger resting in the next pilot hole. When you're not using the auger, just shut it off and leave it in one of the holes, or rest it on the ground with the spark plug facing up to prevent fouling, or sideways if fuel leaks from the gas cap.
For deeper holes requiring the extension rod (Photos 5 and 6), dig all the holes first with the unextended auger. Never start holes with the extension rod in place. It's much harder to hoist a 4-ft. long auger filled with earth. After the holes are dug to 36 in., attach the extension rod and dig the remaining depths all at once. At times, I've found it easier to simply dig the remaining few inches by hand rather than use the extension rod, especially if fatigue is setting in.
Above all, clear the hole frequently. It can be a gut-busting experience to lift an auger overfilled with earth free of the hole, or worse, free a stuck auger.
One-person augers are less powerful, lighter machines designed to drill holes for small-diameter uses like anchoring 2-in. steel or 4×4 posts for fences. They come with interchangeable 4-, 6- or 8- in. augers. One-person augers are generally powered by two-stroke engines, so the rental store should provide a container of premixed fuel along with the machine. If you're boring more than just a few 8-in. holes, you're better off rounding up a partner and the more powerful two-person machine.
Pipe wrench, if the auger gets stuck. Some locations may require you to use a 6-in. digging bar, a drain tile shovel and/or a clamshell posthole digger.
You may also need a tarp, fuel and a steel pipe.


Fire Door Definition - What Does Fire Door Mean in Construction?
What is a Fire Door ?
The term fire door refers to the ability of a door to resist fire. A door that is fire resistant and carries a fire label can be tested as a one, to three hour door. There are special fire doors that are capable of resisting fire for over 3 hours, however, these are specialized doors and are normally custom designed and built. The fire door is a predetermined and tested assembly that has been subjected to rigid tests and inspections. These tests are regulated by a standard testing agency and will determine if the door can be rated and the extent of the rating. Fire doors are required wherever there is a code requirement for a fire rated door. Areas that typically require fire rated doors are garage to home, stairwells, electrical and mechanical rooms, special kitchen applications, etc.


The printer is a technical device that is becoming an important part of life. Canon is a well-known manufacturer of printers. The Canon printers are good in quality for which it is used widely. But, like other technical devices, printers also have to face some issues and Canon Printers are no exception. B200 error is also one of the technical issues that are faced by the Canon printers. Basically, this issue is related to the ink cartridges. So, in this blog, we will discuss how to troubleshoot the error B200 in Canon printer. You can also call + 1–888–621–0339 to get any advice from Canon Printer Technical Support regarding your Canon printer.
When the error B200 is faced by your printer, it will display a message and that is "A service error occur" and then it will advise you to turn off the printer and then also suggest to check if there is any unwanted packaging or debris inside the printer and then you have turned it on again. Basically, the error B200 occurs because of the overheating of the printhead or when your Canon Pixma inkjet printer is malfunctioning electronically. Canon printers come with different types of model. So, in here we discuss how to troubleshoot error code B200 in different models.
In the first step, you have to remove the ink cartridges from your printer. For that, you have to open the top cover of the printer. It will lift up the cartridge cradle automatically and you can remove all the cartridges from the cradle.
Then you have to remove the printhead. For that, you have to lift up the lever which is there in just beside the cartridge cradle. After lifting up the lever you have to remove the printhead from the printer smoothly.
Next, you can place the printhead back where it is before and then don't forget to lock the lever.
Now, you have to reinsert the cartridges in the correct positions where they were before. Make sure that you have closed all the doors so that you can be sure that now the printer is ready by accessing the cartridges and printhead.
Then, unplug your printer from the electricity and leave it like that for 5 minutes (at least) or more. It can help the printer to cool down and it also eliminates the lingering electrical energy.
You can re-plug the printer now.
For the better performance, you can run a nozzle check or cleaning cycle.
To solve the issue of error B200 in the 2 cartridges Canon printer, first, you have to turn off the printer. In error B200, the cartridge cradle is stuck actually. But, by returning to the printer temporarily we can fix the error B200.
Now, turn on the printer again.
Not all the time, the error B200 exactly indicates the problematic cartridge. So you should have a rough idea about which cartridge was replaced last time and then replace that carefully from the slot.
The printhead is the part of the cartridge in the two cartridge Canon printer. So, here is the limitation that you cannot solve the issue of error B200 without changing the problematic cartridge in this printer. So, now you have to replace it with an old functioning cartridge or with a new one.
Next, you have to run a general nozzle check or cleaning cycle. It is important to check if the proper cartridge is replaced or not after the replacement of the cartridge from the printer.
If there is still the problem, now you have to replace the other cartridge with the new one or with an old functioning cartridge. As it is a 2 cartridge printer, so it is sure that either of the two cartridges is faulty. You can solve this issue by checking and replacing both of the cartridges.
If you still have the issue, call + 1–888–621–0339 to talk with the Canon Printer Technical Support who will help you in solving any of your Canon printer issues.
For any Canon Printer issue, talk with Canon Printer Technical Support by calling at + 1–888–621–0339. This third party service provider is always ready to listen to your problem and help you to solve it. The members of Canon Printer Technical Support are trying to meet the need of the customers. So, talk with Canon Printer Technical Support and enjoy the best printing experience that you get with Canon Printer.


By adopting the elements of dream catcher, the designer create the 925 sterling earrings, endued with a beautiful meaning of good luck forever, making it a best gift to who you want to give your best wishes.
Engraved with an exquisite zircon that made with high standard cutting craft, which makes the earrings stunning and elegant.
I just love these earrings! So easy to put in and tolerated by very sensitive ears.
Exquisite work is appreciated. Fine detailing. Just lovely.


This article will hopefully help someone using a Linux server with dual network cards.
I have an HP DL380 server that on a nightly basis copies large amounts of data across my network to a backup server. The copy was averaging over 8 hours to complete.
To increase my network throughput I was able to install and configure a second network card and then team (bond) them together to essentially get double the throughput.
For those that want to give this a try I will post the steps below. As always I do not guarantee that this will work for you but ITFixed it for me.
Before you begin take a backup copy of the following files in case you have to set them back to a working state.
I have this working on two Redhat Enterprise linux servers (one RHEL3 and the other RHEL4). But I would imagine that this should work on many other Linux distributions as well.
Save all of these files.
You should now see the bond0 nic listed if you run and ifconfig from the command line.
Make sure you backup the files before you make any changes and I also recommend to to this while you have direct access to the server as it will disconnect your network connection temporarily if you are connecting to the server remotely (over ssh or vnc etc…) If you have direct access to the server you can set your files back to the originals if something goes wrong.
SD Memory Card Not Working???
Question – How do you check a network card throughput?
How can you check that network throughput has increased?
I used a util called iptraf.
You should be able to get it with yum or up2date.


Do you want safeguards to ensure that your engineering partner is providing quality work and true value-for-money services?
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As the engineering partner of choice for industry leaders from across a broad range of sectors, we understand the value in securing our client's loyalty through the delivery of impeccable quality and substantial results.
A significant portion of quality control revolves around people; the depth of training, know-how and capacity for self-improvement of individual team members. It is in this field that we excel, because as a direct hire business, our staff are hand-picked and inducted through in-house mentoring programmes that establish high standards of competency. We don't consider this a once-off but strongly encourage all of our employees to take advantage of our advanced off-site training facilities in order to stay ahead of the latest industry defining standards, technologies and practices.
To ensure adherence to company standards, our internal standard operating procedures (SOP) are reviewed at regular intervals and revised versions are made available to employees via Microsoft Share Point.
We have carefully designed our quality control process to address every phase of the life-cycle of our services and products. From daily monitoring of installation practices for compliance and the screening of suppliers to the collation and integration of customer feedback, we work hard to ensure that we continue to deliver not but our very best.
For more information on just how Suir Engineering's rigorous quality control processes can deliver excellent value and satisfaction on your next project, do not hesitate to contact our representatives.


Hawera went into day two with a 97 run 1st innings lead and it didn't take them long to get into the NPBHS batsman second time round, Ethan Keller started the destruction in the 2nd over of the day as he had Thomas Graham caught for a duck. He cleaned bowled Caleb Frewin next ball and had brother Ben in his following over to leave the school side reeling at 12 for 3. Jack Parker was the only NPBHS batsman to show any resistance as he worked his way to 40 but NPBHS was bowled out for 87, a score that included 7 ducks. Keller was the star of the show with figures of 8 for 10.
Inglewood moved within one point of Hawera with a decisive victory over Woodleigh. Woodleigh having followed on put up little fight as they were bowled out for 83 before lunch on the 2nd day, Inglewood winning by an innings and 32 runs.
New Plymouth Old Boys moved into third spot after turning a 1st innings loss into an outright victory over New Plymouth Marist United. United batsman built on their 37 run 1st innings lead steadily throughout the morning session and at 72 for 3 prior to lunch would have been thinking what score they would like to leave Old Boys to chase. Old Boys skipper Mattie Thomas entered the attack and was soon deceiving the batsman as Marist lost their last 7 wickets for 33 runs leaving Old Boys 143 for victory. Thomas picked up the last 6 wickets leaving him with figures of 6 for 27.
Old Boys openers were very positive in the chase as the openers put on a 64 run opening stand, Ben Mitchell and Mattie Thomas would both make 40 to see Old Boys home by 7 wickets.
In the final match, Stratford would declare their innings closed overnight at 350 for 9, a lead of 244, FDMC would not get close to making Stratford bat again as they were dismissed for 78 before lunch with Stratford only requiring four bowlers, no FDMC batsman made 20. With the win Stratford moved into 4th spot as FDMC are left at the bottom of the table.


text:
DaimlerChrysler to slash production
Automaker hopes to reduce the bulk of its inventory by the third quarter.
September 19 2006: 1:00 PM EDT
DETROIT (Reuters) -- DaimlerChrysler AG's U.S. arm Chrysler is cutting production by 135,000 units in the second half of 2006 to reduce a glut of unsold trucks and sport utility vehicles after a failed summer sales effort, the company said Tuesday.
Most of the production cutback - about 90,000 units - will come in the current quarter as Chrysler attempts to cut inventory and reduce the financial burden on its dealers, Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said in a presentation for financial analysts.
DaimlerChrysler on Friday cut its 2006 operating profit by about $1.27 billion (1 billion euros) and predicted that its Chrysler unit would lose about $1.5 billion (1.2 billion euros) in the third quarter - more than twice the loss initially projected.
Shares of Chrysler (down $0.02 to $49.16, Charts) fell less than 1 percent during afternoon trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
The automaker's U.S. sales were down 8 percent in the first eight months of 2006, compared to an industry-wide sales decline of 4 percent.
Zetsche said Chrysler management had held out hope that a successful summer sales season based on its revived offer of employee-level pricing would have allowed the automaker to reduce inventories with only a limited production slowdown.
But in a presentation for analysts from Stuttgart, Germany, monitored by Web cast, Zetsche said Chrysler was unprepared for the continuing shift in the U.S. market away from the light trucks and SUVs that make up 71 percent of its sales.
Zero-percent financing offers by Detroit-based rivals General Motors Corp. (up $0.25 to $31.73, Charts) and Ford Motor Co. (down $0.17 to $7.65, Charts) also hurt Chrysler, Zetsche said.
"We were not able to realize our retail sales plan," said Zetsche, who was featured in a series of advertisements this summer for Chrysler as Dr. Z. "The reality is that we fell short of those plans and relatively significantly."
Chrysler will cut dealer shipments to about 290,000 units in the current quarter and 705,000 for the second half of the year, down from an initial forecast for a second-half shipment of 840,000 units, the company said in a text prepared for Zetsche's presentation.
The company also now expects that Chrysler's share of the North American market will slip to 11.7 percent, compared with an earlier forecast of 12.6 percent share.
Lower forecast for dealer inventories
Dealer inventories, which have been a source of friction between the automaker and its retail sales network, are now projected to be in the low 500,000-unit range, from an earlier forecast of 580,000 units, the company said.
Higher U.S. interest rates have driven the cost of financing vehicle inventories higher for all dealers.
Chrysler dealers had complained that the company's aggressive production targets saddled them with too many 2006 models, forcing some to cut back on orders for the new model year.
"We realized that our dealer inventories were increasing and were at pretty unhealthy levels," Zetsche said, adding that "after the disappointing sales in July and August we had to finally bite the bullet."
Zetsche said he could not yet give an operating forecast for Chrysler in 2007, but said that the one-third of the company's sales next year would come from its new model launches, including the Chrysler Sebring sedan and the Dodge Caliber hatchback.
Zetsche said DaimlerChrysler was still analyzing any one-time charge it would take as a result of its production cuts. "I cannot be more specific because we have not done the job, the analysis," he said.
Meanwhile, Zetsche said the dynamics of the U.S. market have shifted to favor Japanese automakers, which are stronger in passenger cars and have a strong r
RE: DaimlerChrysler to slash production
They need to cut down on SUV production and make more cars. They really need a real economy car, because the Caliber isn't cutting it.
ryabusa
That's why my wife and I decided to get a Chevy (ughhh) HHR. It is just better in terms of styling, quality, comfort and economy. It makes the perfect "baby hauler." My 7 1/2 month old loves it!!!
ORIGINAL: RLSH700
Send a private message to ryabusa
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Well congrats on being a new father! If it gets the job done efficiently, that is all that matters about that class of vehicle.
Jeep cuts tied to poor sales; 750 Toledo jobs among Chrysler's plan to slash 11,000
Blackstone Group eyeing DaimlerChrysler
awsure
DaimlerChrysler to exit Iran
DaimlerChrysler may build fifth vehicle on 300 platform
Flames and DaimlerChrysler announce partnership
pictures of the demon!
Quick Reply: DaimlerChrysler to slash production

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>

@interface UIBezierPath (Weex)

+ (instancetype)wx_bezierPathWithRoundedRect:(CGRect)rect
                                     topLeft:(CGFloat)topLeftRadius
                                    topRight:(CGFloat)topRightRadius
                                  bottomLeft:(CGFloat)bottomLeftRadius
                                 bottomRight:(CGFloat)bottomRightRadius;

@end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


No surprises today over the Fijian Holdings Ltd's decision to bid New Zealander Carl Ngamoki-Cameron haere ra: the parting of the ways was a matter of time after revelations shareholders had very serious gripes about Ngamoki-Cameron and his 'misuse of office'.
What has been interesting is the way the board has extricated itself from yet another disaster.
Ngamoki-Cameron's appointment has been rescinded by Frank Bainimarama in his capacity as the Minister for iTaukei Affairs.
According to reports, the 'rescinding' means Cameron, who challenged the investigation into his impropriety, will automatically relinquish his chairmanship and directorship in all FHL subsidiary companies, where he is a board member.
In another supposed show of transparency after being conned and ripped off by yet another chairman, Bainimarama has re-appointed Iowane Naiveli as acting chair.
Just nine months ago Naiveli was ressurected from the ranks of retired directors (he opted out in 2008) and made acting chairman because of the double dipping and raiding of the till that led to the sacking of managing director, Sereana Qoro, and chairman Isoa Kaloumaria.
As it did with Qoro and Kaloumaria, FHL has damaged control the Ngamoki-Cameron fiasco to avoid having more egg on its face over the dodgy appointments it makes.
The post Ngamoki-Cameron FHL board is now made up of Iowane Naiveli, Padam Lala, Sai-moni Lutu, Ulai-yasi Baya and Ilimotama Cawi with the usual but all too shallow reassurance from FHL that it's business as usual.
How much was the payout for Ngamoki?
This is the problem when Bainimarama, who can't even run a Bean cart thinks he can run a country.
All we can see is total failure.
As long as Padam Lala is on the FHL board with the corruption scams FHL is doomed.
Remember the kickbacks for nabua police building massive rent price.
Dont forget the uniform sale scam with dancing police comm-Teleni.
When will this idiotic goverment realise that without proper restoration of an elected government and the rule of law put in place together with a functioning government machinery that we will continue to see this type of incidences, costing Fiji millions of dollars. People are brought in from all kinds of backgrounds which are only known to the jokers that hired them. Pathetic pathetic!!!
Isa Baya - the marijuana dealer in dreads is a board member,,,sega ni caka e keri na kana karasi Baya! Lailai na dina!
This Naiveli was FRU Finance Director for 10 plus years ,,,,look where it got the FRU!!
Cameron has made it to the pacific most idiotic award.
This should be a warning sign to any professional person not to accept any board appointment with junta or you made a candidate for FICOOK trial.
See Mac Patel billionare in gail- FICOOK needs more numbers in gail.
Carl was also Voreqe's nominee to the FRU Board as well. He lost out at the last FRU Board AGM election in Sigatoka,having been nominated by Suva Rugby Union which was under the Chairmanship of Francis Kean (VB's tavale)FK must have whispered into VB's ear and so Carl became a Board member as the PM's nominee to FRU.....so there we go. What's going to happen here?.......wananavu!!!!!!
Will Carl be asked to refund the $50k spent by FHL under his Chairmanship on that FRU song which was to have hiped up the boys at the World Cup, but our team got wiped out instead with some pathetic rugby scores?....wararasa!!!!!
Do you remember the last warm up game in NZ against the AB's before the World Cup? Can't remember the score' but our team got a hell of a hiding there too. Carl was sent over by FRU to hand over the Jerseys to the boys the night before the game .....supposed to be a psyching up ceremony to get the boys worked up before the game. What happened.....the boys went flat and they were walloped by the Blacks. Just like that "Toso Viti" song that had the same effect to the boys at the world cup.....washawasha!!!!!
thytah!!!! the fellah looks like a loony, Aiyarse still looking for kaivalagis to fill top posts.
The Rt Hon Bainimaichodana kindly please appoint TURUKAWA in one of the boards.He is the most talented chor on this earth.
This fella was supposed to be a lawyer...supposed to know more than the average "company director" , so the only conclusion is that he is bent worse than a dogs hind leg.
He should be deregistered from practicing law in Fiji and sent back to his Maori marae.
This guy was brought in by Kalaveti Batibasaga the con mythological (Witch Doctor) man of Serua after that programme in the radio but has been gagged by his sickness caused by telling lies to the people of Fiji.
....and Pio the PS for VB who directed the Board as soon as he took off on his another Tax payer funded UN trip to have Carl continue to run the show whilst the invetigation is being done? So Pio is VB's boss with ASK at the helm?.....wananavu!!!!!
Baya sucked up to the SDL government with his so-called credentials only because he was trying to get a scholarship to do his Masters! Now he is at it again and if something happens to the govt of the day..he will be the first one to jump ship!!!
Too much textbook knowledge and no commercial experience!! no wonder he was booted out of Australia!!Loves to blow his trumpet in anyone's direction!!!
Ack, don't send him back to New Zealand, his own people don't even want him.


text:
Colombia sending troops to southern border to fight drug gangs
A Colombian soldier frisks a local at a checkpoint in Cuberos Nino neighbourhood in Cucuta, in the Colombia-Venezuela border on October 5, 2021. AFPPIX
BOGOTA: Colombia is to deploy 400 soldiers to fight drug traffickers operating across its rural southern borders, after a recent spike in killings and internal displacement, the South American country's government said Monday.
There will be six sectors along Colombia's borders with Ecuador, Peru and Brazil, "with 400 soldiers and officers who will be on the front line of operations... to block the drug trafficking corridors," Interior Minister Alfonso Prada told reporters after a security cabinet meeting.
President Gustavo Petro, the country's first left-wing president, had called the meeting with senior military officers after recent fighting between armed groups left 18 dead and displaced a dozen families in the southwestern region of Putumayo, bordering Ecuador and Peru.
Those clashes pitted a dissident faction of the FARC guerrillas -- the "Carolina Ramirez" front -- against another armed group, the "Comandos de la Frontera."
The "Carolina Ramirez" front belongs to the largest faction that withdrew from the peace pact that disarmed the FARC in 2017, according to local media.
According to the government, these two groups are fighting for control of drug trafficking routes in the forests between Colombia and Ecuador.
"We have contacted neighboring countries because we have seen an activity that we are going to fight with our army, but also with international cooperation", said Prada.
He specified that the Colombian government had also spoken with authorities in Panama and Venezuela, where the powerful Colombian drug cartel, the Gulf Cartel, and the Colombian guerrillas of the rebel National Liberation Army (ELN) operate respectively.
The ELN, considered the last active guerrilla movement in the country, resumed peace talks with the Petro government in Caracas on November 21.
During his inaugural speech in August, Petro declared that it was "time to have a new international convention which accepts that the war against drugs has failed," and to favor a "strong policy of prevention of consumption" in developed countries. - AFP
US stocks rally on eve of Fed decision
Oil prices settle steady on higher US demand, weaker dollar
1.US stocks rally on eve of Fed decision
2.Oil prices settle steady on higher US demand, weaker dollar


I haven't posted in a couple weeks, since I've been busy with moving. Also, I've probably been a bit too lazy.
All my materials have gotten in to Lesley and VCFA, so now I just have to wait to hear back.
I've also managed to get some more Demand Studios articles written, since I need the extra cash, and I've finished a few Suite 101 articles: Introduction to VIZ Media Imprints, History of Anime Fansubbing, VIZ Announces April 2010 DVD Releases, VIZ Pictures Continues New People Artist Series, Review – Cactus's Secret by Nana Haruta, Yuu Watase Manga Arata Announced for March 9, New Anime Series and Film Promos Streamed, Bootleg Anime–How to Spot It, and Manga Dorohedoro Announced by VIZ Signature.
I still haven't been getting as many hits as I'd been hoping for, but it has been going up, too. I've also been contacting other manga/anime companies, and have gotten on review lists for FUNimation and CMX , too. I'm still waiting for a review item from VIZ, and I'm beginning to get worried that it will have trouble getting to me, since I live in an apartment building and it apparently doesn't come through USPS. Hopefully I get it soon.


When in need of an extra boost of caffeine, the mushroom coffee with Cordyceps is the way to go. The combination of Cordyceps, the most energy-supporting mushroom and coffee can result in balanced stimulation while using only half of the amount of caffeine normally found in coffee!
Cordyceps support energy, stamina and athletic performance and are strong antioxidants.
Ready to drink with hot water. Enhance with your choice of nut milk or natural sweetener. Blend in coconut oil or ghee for a creamier texture. Drink in mornings or early afternoons before a workout.


Welcome to KH Health and Beauty, Rangiora. We take pride in offering an outstanding level of service in beauty therapy. We combine science with nature and a hands-on delivery, to ensure deep penetration and dramatic results. Your skin is constantly changing, throughout the year as well as over the years. Skin conditions are affected by seasonal and emotional factors like stress, products you use, food, age and lifestyle. The skin needs to be treated accordingly, so each treatment is personalised and will change with your skin. We love doing facials here at KH, but we found in the industry they had become solely focused on machines and lasers. We believe in a holistic, hands-on experience using the power of touch, the right skincare and supplements to achieve maximum results for your skin. Our facials focus on taking you to a state of perfect skin health by working at a cellular level. We are increasing cell respiration and detoxification, stimulating blood flow and lymph drainage whilst improving superficial clarity and radiance.
At KH Health and Beauty we are committed to our clients always feeling welcomed, nurtured and relaxed. Our philosophy centres on providing high-quality services in an atmosphere that is completely friendly and inviting. Our trained and qualified therapists are dedicated to you. With our holistic, hands-on approach let us guide you on the perfect beauty treatment path. We provide all aspects of beauty therapy including nail care, hair removal, spray tanning, massage, specialised facials and skin care treatment plans.
We accept cash, eft pos and credit card. We really appreciate your punctuality to ensure a smooth-running day for our staff and other clients. Our clinic is a quiet space and we try to ensure a relaxing environment for all our clients.
We charge a 50% cancellation fee of your appointment booked in the event of a no show or less than 24 hours' notice. This is to honour the time of our therapist and the time of our other clients We do understand that emergencies happen and that will be taken into consideration.