2005 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21

Stage 12

14 July 2005 — Briançon to Digne-les-Bains, 187 km

This Bastille Day stage saw a large breakaway with thirteen riders (top-ten plus Giunti Massimo, Stephan Schreck and Giovanni Lombardi) that gained over four minutes on the peloton. Included were the cycling sprinters Thor Hushovd and Stuart O'Grady. The escape was disorganised, with mostly Axel Merckx trying to set the pace and organise. On the Col du Corobin it was Merckx 's task to throw the sprinters off to minimize Robbie McEwen's green jersey point loss. At the same time in the peloton chased the sprinters. Sandy Casar escaped first on the ascent to the Col du Corobin, but is caught again. David Moncoutié tried next and manages around a 30" lead. Despite the rest chasing him he is holding them off. Moncoutié follows Richard Virenque's National Holiday stage win of last year.

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Stage 13

15 July 2005 — Miramas to Montpellier, 173.5 km

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Stage 14

16 July 2005 — Agde to Ax-3 Domaines, 220.5 km

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Stage 15

17 July 2005 — Lézat-sur-Lèze to Saint-Lary-Soulan Pla d'Adet, 205.5 km

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Stage 15 recap

Stage 16

19 July 2005 — Mourenx to Pau, 180.5 km

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Stage 17

20 July 2005 — Pau to Revel, 239.5 km

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Stage 18

21 July 2005 — Albi to Mende, 189 km

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Stage 19

22 July 2005 — Issoire to Le Puy-en-Velay, 153.5 km

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Stage 20

23 July 2005 — Saint-Étienne to Saint-Étienne, 55.5 km

Highlights:

• Ivan Basso: Spent much energy in the first half of the race, which made him faster than Armstrong at the 14 km flag but in the end he was placed only fifth.
• Michael Rasmussen: Defending his third place did not work out too well. Nearly everything that could fail, failed. First he slipped and fell at a rotonde after 4 km. This caused his specially calibrated bike to ride suboptimally. He demanded a new hind wheel, but instead got a whole new bike. Not happy with this bike, he had to wait for the mechanic to fix his personal bike. This caused him to panic, lose his self-confidence and his ability to cut curves. On a technical downhill part he saltoed into a ditch. In total, he changed his bike two times and his wheels two times.
• Santiago Botero: Missed a curve.

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Stage 21 {{anchor|Stage 21}}

23 July 2005 — Corbeil-Essonnes to Paris Champs-Élysées, 144.5 km

Main article: Champs-Élysées stage in the Tour de France

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References

References

1. "92ème Tour de France 2005". Memoire du cyclisme.
2. "92ème Tour de France 2005 - 12ème étape". Memoire du cyclisme.
3. "92ème Tour de France 2005 - 13ème étape". Memoire du cyclisme.
4. "92ème Tour de France 2005 - 14ème étape". Memoire du cyclisme.
5. "92ème Tour de France 2005 - 15ème étape". Memoire du cyclisme.
6. "92ème Tour de France 2005 - 16ème étape". Memoire du cyclisme.
7. "92ème Tour de France 2005 - 17ème étape". Memoire du cyclisme.
8. "92ème Tour de France 2005 - 18ème étape". Memoire du cyclisme.
9. "92ème Tour de France 2005 - 19ème étape". Memoire du cyclisme.
10. "92ème Tour de France 2005 - 20ème étape". Memoire du cyclisme.