Vinokourov Not Finished With Yet...!

The Progress Report _ The 54km time trial of stage 13 began at 10.24am when the ‘Lanterne Rouge’, Wim Vansevenant began the race that started and finished in Albi. The first 142 riders departed at two minute intervals while the final 24 were separated by three minutes. The conditions at the start of the stage were mild yet overcast and before the first rider reached the finish, the roads were wet and rain was getting heavier. _ _ Wiggins Sets The Early Standard: Cancellara Crashes Out Of Contention _ The 19th rider to start was Wiggins (COF) and he posted the fastest times at every check for the early phase. When he rode, it was drizzling and the roads were wet but the conditions were nothing like what it was later in the day. Cancellara (CSC) started his race well but not even the time trial world could match Wiggins. At the first check the Swiss was 29” behind the Brit… by the 35.6km mark he was 2’06” behind. Any hope of Cancellara minimizing his losses came tumbling down when he crashed near the end of the stage, finishing in 1h15’19”. “His front wheel just slipped out from under him,” said CSC directeur sportif, Kim Anderson. _ _ Millar: “It’s so dangerous…” _ The only rider able to interrupt the top five was Millar (SDV). He finished 1’13” shy of Wiggins’ time. “It’s so dangerous,” said Millar at the finish. “I almost stopped on the descents. It’s absolutely treacherous! When you’re on time trial equipment everything is a lot stiffer, your tire pressure is a lot higher and we’re not used to riding on these wheels or these bikes so you just don’t know how far you can push it.” The Scot was the best-placed of the riders who raced in the rain, finishing 20th at 3’27”. _ _ Rain Eases While Vinokourov Storms Home! _ At 2.40pm, it stopped raining but the roads were still wet although it would be dry by the end of racing. Vinokourov blasted over the course posting the fastest time at every check before finishing in 1h06’34”.610 (48.673km/h). He proved that he’s not only back in form after his crash in stage five but he’s also got the bike handling skills and team support to be able to improve his position in the general classification, ninth (at 5’10”). _ Evans was another benefactor of the stage, passing the first check in third and, with the wet and technical course behind him, he upped his pace and was in second place at 38.5km, 49km and at the finish. He upset an Astana hat trick and moved up to second on GC. _ Other title contenders crashed Popovych, Kashechkin and Kloden all fell the first 30km but all finished in the top six of the stage. And while conditions improved for the final riders, there were some who failed to maintain their positions on GC. The ones who suffered the most were Spaniards Mayo and Valverde who started in second and third overall but ended it in 12th and 11th place, respectively. _ _ Rasmussen Retains Yellow _ The overall lead was under threat but Rasmussen finished 11th in the stage, losing 2’55” to Vinokourov and 1’41” to Evans. The Australian moved from fourth to second overall and now trails the Dane by 1’00”. Rasmussen will wear the yellow jersey in stage 14.