Tour de France: Sprinters move aside, it's time for the mountain stages
Two-time defending champion Alberto Contador is once again the favorite as the Tour de France heads into the Pyrénéan climbs this week and next week’s Alpine stages.
Garmin-Cervelo rider Ryder Hesjedal of Canada leads the pack during the 11th stage of the Tour de France 2011 cycling race from Blaye Les Mines to Lavaur July 13. HTC-Highroad rider Mark Cavendish of Britain won the stage while Europcar rider Thomas Voeckler of France retained the leader's yellow jersey.
Pascal Rossignol/Reuters
Lavaur, France
Mark Cavendish blew kisses to the crowd as he crossed the finish line in Lavaur, France yesterday. HTC-Highroad’s British sprinter was celebrating his third stage win of this year’s Tour de France, but also bidding adieu: He won’t have many more chances to win a stage until the Champs-Élysées.
Mr. Cavendish and his fellow sprinters are now moving aside as the battle for the yellow jersey – professional cycling’s most coveted prize – begins in earnest, when riders tackle steep gradients and long descents throughout the Pyrénées.
The Franco-Spanish mountain range hosted last year’s deciding stages, where Spain’s Alberto Contador overcame the Luxembourger Andy Schleck en route to his third Tour de France victory.
IN PICTURES: Cycling in stages: Tour de France 2011
Once again, the two-time defending champion Contador is favored heading into the Pyrénéan climbs and next week’s Alpine stages.
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