Lance Armstrong avoided disaster in Thursday’s 12th stage of the Tour de France after puncturing a back wheel tire with just 37 miles left in the 131-mile ride from Tonnerre to Vittel.

Armstrong was still third overall and riding comfortably in the main pack when a wheel-flat forced the seven-time Tour champion to the side of road for repairs as the pack sped away to Vittel.

Fortunately for Armstrong, his Astana teammates were right there to replace the punctured tire and help Armstrong catch up without suffering a significant loss.

“It is stressful with the crashes, on a stage like this where you have nothing to gain and then you lose everything because of a crash or a split in the group,” Armstrong had warned before the start of the stage. “You have to pay attention and try to avoid a crash.”

That is just what Armstrong did, despite the perilous puncture to his tire on the stage’s final stretch. Armstrong remains in third, eight seconds off the lead of Italy’s Rinaldo Nocentini, with the famous Alps mountain stages approaching.

Armstrong has historically excelled in the Alps, and is well within striking distance to overtake the yellow jersey.

Armstrong’s teammate and budding rival Alberto Contador of Spain stayed in second place overall, six seconds off the lead.

Nicki Sorensen of Demark won the stage for his first individual win at the Tour, finishing 48 seconds ahead of France’s Laurent Lefevre.

Totally Original from:

1 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale       43:28:59
2 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 0:00:06
3 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana 0:00:08
4 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana 0:00:39
5 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin – Slipstream 0:00:46
6 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 0:00:54
7 Tony Martin (Ger) Team Columbia – HTC 0:01:00
8 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin – Slipstream 0:01:24
9 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:01:49
10 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas 0:01:54
11 Luis León Sánchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne 0:02:16
12 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team Columbia – HTC 0:02:21
13 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:02:25
14 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas 0:02:40
15 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale 0:02:45
16 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Cervelo Test Team 0:02:52
17 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0:03:02
18 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence – Lotto 0:03:07
19 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia – HTC 0:03:16
20 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Team Katusha 0:03:49

21 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux 0:03:58
22 Haimar Zubeldia Aguirre (Spa) Astana 0:04:14
23 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Astana 0:04:20
24 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team Milram
25 Brice Feillu (Fra) Agritubel 0:04:26
26 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Team Katusha 0:05:00
27 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 0:05:02
28 George Hincapie (USA) Team Columbia – HTC 0:05:25
29 Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram 0:05:28
30 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Française des Jeux 0:06:03
31 Stéphane Goubert (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:06:54
32 Juan Manuel Garate Cepa (Spa) Rabobank 0:06:56
33 Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Team Saxo Bank 0:06:59
34 David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 0:07:27
35 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank 0:08:06
36 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram 0:08:21
37 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Silence – Lotto 0:09:37
38 Pierre Rolland (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom 0:09:59
39 Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank 0:10:36
40 Laurens ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank 0:11:44
41 Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Astana 0:11:50
42 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step 0:12:00
43 José Angel Gomez Marchante (Spa) Cervelo Test Team 0:12:17
44 Jérémy Roy (Fra) Française des Jeux 0:13:52
45 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Cervelo Test Team 0:14:37
46 Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 0:14:56
47 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0:15:30
48 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne 0:16:02
49 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas 0:16:44
50 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale 0:16:45
51 Laurent Lefevre (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom 0:16:52
52 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Caisse d’Epargne 0:17:07
53 Yury Trofimov (Rus) BBOX Bouygues Telecom 0:18:40
54 Amets Txurruka (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0:20:13
55 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:20:55
56 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:21:34
57 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team Saxo Bank 0:23:02
58 Luis Pasamontes Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne 0:23:38
59 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Agritubel 0:24:44
60 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank 0:25:03
61 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 0:26:43
62 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Agritubel 0:27:58
63 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne 0:28:07
64 Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Agritubel 0:28:08
65 David Millar (GBr) Garmin – Slipstream 0:28:18
66 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom 0:28:32
67 Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Spa) Quick Step 0:29:48
68 David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin – Slipstream 0:30:28
69 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin – Slipstream 0:32:02
70 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Silence – Lotto 0:32:26
71 José Luis Arrieta Lujambio (Spa) AG2R La Mondiale 0:32:28
72 David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne 0:33:18
73 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Quick Step 0:33:22
74 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) Team Katusha 0:33:23
75 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Milram 0:33:28
76 Maxime Bouet (Fra) Agritubel 0:35:02
77 Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0:35:22
78 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre – NGC 0:35:43
79 Juan Jose Oroz Ugalde (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0:36:01
80 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team Saxo Bank 0:36:11
81 Charles Wegelius (GBr) Silence – Lotto 0:36:14
82 Frederik Willems (Bel) Liquigas 0:36:46
83 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Rabobank 0:37:52
84 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0:39:02
85 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom 0:39:43
86 Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:39:54
87 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank 0:41:58
88 Hayden Roulston (NZl) Cervelo Test Team 0:42:34
89 Aleksandr Kuschynski (Blr) Liquigas 0:42:35
90 Sylvain Calzati (Fra) Agritubel 0:42:38
91 Amaël Moinard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 0:43:48
92 Bingen Fernandez Bustinza (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 0:44:31
93 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Silence – Lotto 0:44:45
94 Rui Alberto Faria da Costa (Por) Caisse d’Epargne 0:45:36
95 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Silence – Lotto 0:47:25
96 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Team Katusha 0:48:08
97 David Loosli (Swi) Lampre – NGC 0:48:31
98 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Française des Jeux 0:48:57
99 Simon Spilak (Slo) Lampre – NGC 0:49:07
100 Iñigo Cuesta Lopez De Castro (Spa) Cervelo Test Team 0:50:59
101 Christophe Kern (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 0:51:29
102 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Garmin – Slipstream 0:52:33
103 Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0:52:49
104 Thierry Huppond (Fra) Skil-Shimano 0:53:00
105 Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Cervelo Test Team 0:55:24
106 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Quick Step 0:55:45
107 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas 0:55:50
108 Joost Posthuma (Ned) Rabobank 0:56:53
109 Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Silence – Lotto 0:57:49
110 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre – NGC 0:57:57
111 Jérôme Coppel (Fra) Française des Jeux 0:58:41
112 Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Quick Step 0:59:34
113 Stuart O’Grady (Aus) Team Saxo Bank 0:59:42
114 Brian Vandborg (Den) Liquigas 0:59:44
115 Marcus Fothen (Ger) Team Milram 1:00:08
116 Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Columbia – HTC 1:01:08
117 Joan Horrach Rippoll (Spa) Team Katusha 1:03:53
118 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Française des Jeux 1:04:01
119 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:04:18
120 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team 1:04:32
121 Stef Clement (Ned) Rabobank 1:05:16
122 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 1:05:23
123 Arnaud Coyot (Fra) Caisse d’Epargne 1:07:00
124 Nikolai Troussov (Rus) Team Katusha 1:08:57
125 Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre – NGC 1:10:00
126 Alexandre Pichot (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom 1:10:19
127 Julian Dean (NZl) Garmin – Slipstream 1:10:38
128 Benoït Vaugrenard (Fra) Française des Jeux 1:11:01
129 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick Step 1:12:14
130 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas 1:12:45
131 Koen de Kort (Ned) Skil-Shimano 1:13:01
132 Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus) Team Katusha 1:13:18
133 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Team Katusha 1:13:23
134 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team Columbia – HTC 1:13:54
135 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Team Columbia – HTC 1:14:02
136 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Cervelo Test Team 1:14:04
137 Simon Geschke (Ger) Skil-Shimano 1:15:08
138 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Lampre – NGC 1:15:10
139 Grégory Rast (Swi) Astana 1:15:19
140 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram 1:15:32
141 Marcin Sapa (Pol) Lampre – NGC 1:16:38
142 Peter Wrolich (Aut) Team Milram 1:16:45
143 Mickael Delage (Fra) Silence – Lotto 1:16:47
144 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) BBOX Bouygues Telecom 1:17:56
145 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 1:18:44
146 Marco Bandiera (Ita) Lampre – NGC 1:19:10
147 Steven de Jongh (Ned) Quick Step 1:20:23
148 Romain Feillu (Fra) Agritubel 1:20:37
149 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Team Milram 1:20:38
150 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step 1:21:41
151 Stéphane Auge (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 1:21:56
152 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas 1:22:06
153 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Skil-Shimano 1:22:51
154 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Skil-Shimano 1:23:04
155 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Team Columbia – HTC
156 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Team Columbia – HTC 1:23:31
157 Albert Timmer (Ned) Skil-Shimano 1:23:32
158 Saïd Haddou (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom 1:23:43
159 Alan Perez Lezaun (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 1:23:52
160 Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Silence – Lotto 1:24:35
161 William Bonnet (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom 1:24:36
162 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Astana 1:26:15
163 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin – Slipstream 1:26:32
164 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram 1:28:15
165 Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Skil-Shimano 1:29:18
166 Danny Pate (USA) Garmin – Slipstream 1:30:55
167 Andreas Klier (Ger) Cervelo Test Team 1:32:46
168 Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Française des Jeux 1:33:10
169 Angelo Furlan (Ita) Lampre – NGC 1:43:42
170 Kenny Robert van Hummel (Ned) Skil-Shimano 1:59:32

Mark Cavendish wins. Photo copyright Fotoreporter Sirotti.

The Tour de France Stage 11 had the same results as the Tour de France Stage 10 results in two ways. After the Tour de France Stage 11 results, the top three contenders in the Tour de France are still in the same place. In addition, the Tour de France Stage 11 results brought yet another win for Mark Cavendish. Although Mark Cavendish is nowhere near the overall leaders, the Tour de France Stage 11 results brought him his fourth stage win, and brought him the Tour de France green jersey as well.

The Tour de France Stage 11 was mainly decided on the final sprint of the stage, in which Mark Cavendish took over. Cavendish took command late to win his fourth Tour de France stage out of 11, stealing the headlines for the second day in a row.

After the Tour de France Stage 11, Cavendish is no closer to winning the overall race. But Cavendish now has the lead in points for the sprinters championship. Before Stage 11, Cavendish was trailing Thor Hushovd for the green jersey, but is now ahead by seven points after the Stage 11 results.

Mark Cavendish’s wins have headlined the Tour de France while fans are waiting for the overall leaders to make their move. For the last several days, Rinaldo Nocentini, Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong have stayed the exact same in the standings, and the Stage 11 results was no different.

The Tour de France Stage 11 kept Nocentini in the overall lead by six seconds over Contador, and eight seconds over Armstrong. Nocentini, Contador and Armstrong are expected to stay in those positions until the action moves to the Alps later in the week.

Below Nocentini, Contador and Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer got back into fourth place in the overall standings by himself, 39 seconds behind Nocentini. Bradley Wiggins is now in fifth, 46 seconds back, with Andrea Kloden dropping to sixth, at 54 seconds back.

While Nocentini, Contador and Armstrong lay low until the next major events in the Tour de France, sprinters like Cavendish can take over in the stages, if not move up in the standings.

The Tour de France Stage 11 now leaves just 10 stages left to go, with Cavendish out to win three in a row during Stage 12 tomorrow.

Top 20 Result in Tour De France 2009 Stage 11 : Vatan – Saint Fargeau (192 km):
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team Columbia – HTC       04:17:55
2 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin – Slipstream
3 Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Française des Jeux
4 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank
5 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team
6 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
7 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram
8 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
9 William Bonnet (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom
10 Nikolai Troussov (Rus) Team Katusha
11 Marco Bandiera (Ita) Lampre – NGC
12 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) Team Katusha
13 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne
14 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas
15 Kenny Robert van Hummel (Ned) Skil-Shimano
16 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step
17 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana
18 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Skil-Shimano
19 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Team Katusha
20 Angelo Furlan (Ita) Lampre – NGC

Totally Original from Associated Content