07/26/2010

• Team cycling on Continental tyres comes second in the General Classification
• Mark Cavendish and Cadel Evans ride to victory on Continental tyres

Hanover, 26th July 2010. The 97th Tour de France is now history and once again six of the 22 teams that started out in Rotterdam on 3rd July on the arduous journey that would take them 3,640 kilometres (2,260 miles) through three countries have shown why they trust the specialists at Continental with the most important aspect of a racing bike - the tyre, that 'black gold' that links the cycle and the road. For three weeks the professional riders in the six teams HTC Columbia Racing, Caisse d'Epargne, Omega-Pharma Lotto, BMC Racing, Milram and Quick Step tackled the 20 stages that took them through Holland, Belgium and the many different regions of France, 'la grande nation'.

Often at breakneck speed in mass sprints to the finishing line, at other times on the agonisingly long, gruelling climbs in the high mountains or in solo combat against the clock in the time-trials. And all the time the devoted tyre engineers at Continental put their expertise, heart and soul into providing the cycling pros with the right tyres to ensure optimum success.

British rider Mark Cavendish was in a class of his own on his super-fast Continental tyres. Together, the Manxman and his 'tracker scout' Erik Zabel - who had checked out each of the sprint stages a few days before Cavendish arrived and was able to give him important tips - were a great team. In his white and gold HTC Columbia jersey, the sprint king won a total of five stages in the hard elbow fights on the finishing stretch, and after his first stage win in Montargis, in particular, there was no holding back the flood of emotions for the young man with the muscular legs. In the end he also enjoyed victory on the final stage in the French capital, in front of millions of spectators.

In the General Classification, the battle for the coveted 'maillot jaune', the yellow jersey of the top rider, the Belgian cyclist Jurgen van den Broecke provided the biggest surprise. Riding for the Team Omega-Pharma Lotto, the 27 year old's performance over the 20 days was both brilliant and consistent, without a single slip-up.

Not a 'day without' or 'jour sans', as the cyclists say in France. In the end, coming in under seven minutes behind the Spaniard Alberto Contador, Cavendish 'graduated' to a superb fifth place in the challenging Tour de France, alongside the world's best professional cyclists. Also in the top twelve riders of this Tour were Luis-Leon Sanchez and Ruben Plaza Molina from the Team Caisse d'Epargne, who took eleventh and twelfth place on their high-tech bikes with Continental tyres. In the team classification, the Caisse d'Epargne gained an outstanding second place, with Omega-Pharma Lotto coming in a highly respectable fifth.

The French rider Sylvain Chavanel from the Quick Step team pulled off quite a stunt. The 30 year old was not only one of the most combative competitors on the hilly stages, which are predestined for the breakaway riders; he even managed to win back his yellow jersey for a short while, having secured it on the second day of the Tour and then lost it again the following day because of two technical defects. If there were a prize for the rider most capable of suffering on this Tour, then it would undoubtedly have to be awarded to another cyclist riding on Continental tyres - the Australian Cadel Evans, who managed a rare feat among cycling professionals: he rode into the overall leader's yellow jersey on the first Alpine climb up to the ski resort of Morzine-Avoriaz. This meant that as the current world champion he was then allowed to swap his rainbow jersey for cycling's most famous jersey, the 'maillot jaune'. The man from down under was fully aware of the historical significance of this day: "Today will always remain unforgettable throughout my entire cycling career; it is truly a special honour for me."

The following day will also remain unforgettable for the man from Oz, first and foremost because it was far more painful for him, both physically and psychologically. On the infamous Col de la Madeleine, the BMC Racing team's captain broke his right wrist and after falling substantially behind in terms of minutes, had to give up the overall winner's jersey. But Evans refused to give up, despite this mishap, and completed the 'Torture Tour', thereby adding a very special footnote to the annals of the event.

It was, however, not just  the sprint kings, the most daring breakaway cyclists from the peloton or the stage specialists with their outstandingly consistent performance who were equipped with Continental tyres - other riders from the six teams fitted with Continental tyres continued to be crucially involved in the action high up in the mountains, in the battle for the red polka dot jersey, the 'maillot aux points', which designates the best climber in the three-week endeavour. In the end it was the veteran French rider, 39 year old Christophe Moreau, on his own personal 'tour d'honneur', who proved to be the second-best 'grimpeur', as the French cyclists refer to the light-footed climbers. The slim Conti tyres easily carried the man from the Team Caisse d'Epargne up the huge mountains on this three-week Tour.

So this year the world's best cyclists from six different teams once again helped to demonstrate beyond any doubt the quality of the special handmade Continental tyres from Korbach. They excelled in many different fields and were marvelled at by millions of spectators in three countries, with billions more worldwide seeing the event on television.