Dreaming of the Champs-Élysées
23 July 2011

All seven Movistar Team riders now 95k from the end of their remarkable Tour performance, completed Grenoble's ITT with no troubles as Martin (THR) won the stage. Evans (BMC) virtual champion Movistar Team are now just a few hours from completing their first-ever Tour de France after completing the decisive, 42k individual timetrial out and back to Grenoble. The seven participants from the telephone squad, led by Rui Costa today behind stage winner Tony Martin (THR), covered the last real ride with no major troubles before receiving homage, along with the rest of the peloton in the Grande Boucle -led by Cadel Evans (BMC), virtual winner after taking back his time gap on Andy Schleck (LEO)-, as they enter Paris.

The survivors from the Blue team will be taking tomorrow morning on a special flight arranged by the organizers to France’s capital city, in order to complete the 95k from Créteil to the city circuit in the Champs-Élysées. There, an intermediate sprint (20 points) and a last finish (45) will decide the only jersey at stake: the points’ green, with 15 points between leader Cavendish (THR) and José Joaquín Rojas, who will keep fighting until the end.


Pardilla virtual top-ten at Brixia
On the other hand, Spaniard Sergio Pardilla kept the good line marked during the opening three stages of the Brixia Tour in the Italian event’s Queen stage, over 158 kilometers from Concesio to the top of the Passo Maniva, 12k on a 9% gradient. The climber from Movistar took 8th place across the finish after making part of a second group in pursuit of the day’s leaders -stage winner Pozzovivo (COG) and yellow jersey holder Baliani (DAN)- after a fast race that came into the foot of the climb together. With the second group broken into the final kilometer, Pardilla could stick to his top-ten place in the GC, and is set to defend it at tomorrow’s closer, with 164k into Verona with a predictable bunch kick.