Stage 9 Shakes Up Tour Standings

It was expected that stage 9 would be a difficult ride with its eight climbs (three of them category 2 climbs) and would probably shake up the overall standings, and that's exactly what happened. Norwegian Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo), primarily a sprinter finally was forced to give up the yellow jersey he had worn for the last week. He finished 6' 47" behind the winner and has now dropped down into 24th place (more than 5 minutes out of the lead).

The day belonged to Spain's Luis-Leon Sanchez (Rabobank), who finished in first place by 5 seconds over France's Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) and 13 seconds over France's Sandy Casar (FDJ). The top places in the overall standings are now peopled by riders who actually have a good chance of winning this year's Tour.

The stage was marred by a couple of events. A massive crash occured and resulted in the race losing an excellent rider -- Kazakhstan's Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana), who had to drop out of the race with a broken leg. He had been considered a top ten contender. Two riders were also hit by a Tv car, who evidently misjudged the distance from the riders. Although knocked off their bikes and bloodied up a bit, both riders were able to continue the race.

Tomorrow is a rest day for the Tour de France. The next race will take place on Tuesday with another hilly ride -- this one a 158 kilometer trek from Aurillac to Carmaux. It is an up and down course with two category 4 climbs and two category 3 climbs. While not as difficult as stage 9, it should still favor the climbers over the sprinters.

Here are the current standings:

YELLOW JERSEY (INDIVIDUAL LEADER)
1. Thomas Voeckler, France (Europcar)
2. Luis-Leon Sanchez, Spain (Rabobank)..........1' 49"
3. Cadel Evans, Australia (BMC Racing)..........2' 26"
4. Frank Schleck, Luxembourg (Leopard-Trek)..........2' 29"
5. Andy Schleck, Luxembourg (Leopard-Trek)..........2' 37"
6. Tony Martin, Germany (HTC-Highroad)..........2' 38"
7. Peter Velits, Slovakia (HTC-Highroad)..........2' 38"
8. Andreas Kloden, Germany (Radio Shack)..........2' 43"
9. Philippe Gilbert, Belgium (Omega-Lotto)..........2' 55"
10. Jakob Fuglsang, Denmark (Leopard-Trek)..........3' 08"
16. Alberto Contador, Spain (Saxo Bank)..........4' 07"
17. Tom Danielson, USA (Garmin-Cervelo)..........4' 22"
19. Christian Vande Velde, USA (Garmin-Cervelo)..........4' 53"
36. Levi Leipheimer, USA (Radio Shack)..........7' 16"


GREEN JERSEY (SPRINTERS)
1. Philippe Gilbert, Belgium (Omega-Lotto)........217 pts
2. Jose Joaquin Rojas, Spain (Movistar)........172 pts
3. Mark Cavendish, Great Britain (HTC-Highroad)........153 pts
4. Thor Hushovd, Norway (Garmin-Cervelo)........137 pts
5. Cadel Evans, Australia (BMC Racing)........135 pts


POLKA DOT JERSEY (CLIMBERS)
1. Johnny Hoogerland, Netherlands (Vacansoleil)..........22 pts
2. Thomas Voeckler, France (Europcar)..........16 pts
3. Tejay Van Garderen, USA (HTC-Highroad)..........5 pts
4. Rui Alberto Costa, Portugal (Movistar)..........5 pts
5. Sandy Casar, France (FDJ)..........5 pts


TEAM STANDINGS
1. Europcar (France)
2. Leopard-Trek (Luxembourg)..........32"
3. Radio Shack (USA)..........1' 02"
4. Rabobank (Netherlands)..........1' 18"
5. Garmin-Cervelo (USA)..........1' 50"