Dane Sorensen powers to solo win

• Source: Global Times
• [00:44 July 17 2009]
• Comments

Nicki Sorensen jubilates on the finish line. Photo: AFP

Denmark’s Nicki Sorensen powered to a solo victory in the 12th stage of the Tour de France, a 211.5-kilometer ride from Tonnerre to Vittel yesterday.

The Saxo Bank rider beat France’s Laurent Lefevre and Italian Franco Pellizotti, who were second and third respectively. Italy’s Rinaldo Nocentini retained the overall leader’s yellow jersey.

Sorensen featured in a seven-man breakaway at the 64-kilometer mark that quickly built a gap of over four minutes, and he proved the strongest of the group.

Andy Schleck and Cadel Evans also tried their luck early in the stage but they were swiftly reined in by the bunch.

Lance Armstrong suffered a puncture after 150 kilometers but the seven-time champion was quickly brought back into the bunch by four teammates after he had had his rear wheel changed.

The stage went the fugitives’ way as the sprinters’ teams proved unwilling to work in the finale to set up a mass sprint.

Sorensen and Sylvain Calzati attacked the breakaway group with 22 kilometers left with only Nocentini’s AG2R team setting the pace in the main pack.

The duo did not look back as the gap with the pack went past the six-minute mark, and Sorensen went solo 5.5 kilometers from the line. At the finish, the 34-year-old Soerensen was free to bask in a first ever Tour stage win after 10 years as a professional cyclist and seven previous Tours.

Frenchman Jerome Coppel of the FDJ team and Italian Angelo Furlan of Lampre pulled out of this year’s Tour during stage. The pair were later joined by Frenchman Roman Feillu of the Agritubel team.

Furlan was the first to pull out the race, shortly after the pack had set an imposing pace of 47.9 kilometers for the first hour of racing.

An hour later the Italian was followed by Coppel who abandoned before the halfway point of the ride.

Feillu, who wore the race’s yellow jersey for a day last year and whose younger brother Brice won the race’s first stage in the mountains, to Arcalis in Andorra, began struggling early in the race. After three hours of racing he had a 15-minute deficit to the main pack and pulled out shortly afterward.

Earlier yesterday it was confirmed that Portuguese Rui Costa had left the race following a crash in Wednesday’s stage from Vatan to Saint-Fargeau.

The Caisse d’Epargne rider, competing in his first Tour, sustained ligament injury to his collarbone and was set for further scans in Portugal.

(Agencies)