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Tour de France stage 11: A race against the clock

Tour de France riders will race against the clock rather than each other on Wednesday as stage 11 sees the first big time trial of this year's competition. German Tony Martin is the standout favourite to win the 33 kilometre race to Mont Saint Michel.

Published: 10 July 2013 08:43 CEST
Tour de France stage 11: A race against the clock

*CLICK FOR RESULT AND REPORT OF THE STAGE 11 TIME TRIAL

Germany's reigning world champion Tony Martin is expected to dominate the first big time trial of the 100th Tour de France, but race leader Chris Froome is waiting to pounce.

Martin, a two-time world champion in the discipline, has been to hell and back on the race so far having survived atrocious injuries from a crash on the first stage to continue for his Omega-Pharma team.

For Scot David Millar, there will be only one winner of Wednesday's 33-kilometre race against the clock from Avranches to Mont-Saint-Michel.

"I think Tony Martin's going to kill it, to be honest. He's just on a different level," Millar told AFP on Tuesday.

"I'll give it my best shot, but my objectives here are more team-orientated so I don't have any real expectations to be honest."

As far as expectations go, Martin is unequivocal. He expects to win and says he will be disappointed if he doesn't.

"I'm feeling good and I expect to win tomorrow. If I don't, I will be really disappointed," said the German, who lost swathes of skin off his back legs, arms and buttocks on the opening day crash.

One injury in particular, a deep cut above his elbow, was so bad that reporters could see the muscle due to the absence of skin. Instead of stitching up the injury, doctors have used a special cream due to fears that stitching could lead to infection.

While a win for Martin would help boost the Omega-Pharma team a day after teammate Mark Cavendish came only third on stage 10's bunch sprint, other teams are looking nervously at Sky.

Froome left several yellow jersey rivals behind on his way to a solo victory atop Ax-Trois-Domaines on Saturday, prompting an angry response a day later.

Sky were attacked by several teams in the peloton and after his main mountain helper Richie Porte was dropped, Froome was left isolated before eventually coming over the finish with his lead intact.

In the race of truth, it's man against man and Froome should be in contention for the win. The same cannot be said for second-placed Alejandro Valverde, who's 1min 25sec adrift, or Cadel Evans, 16th at 4:36.

Spain's Alberto Contador, also known as a formidable time triallist but who has been under par this year, will saddle up more in hope than expectation that he will not lose too much time to the Kenyan-born Briton who leads the race.

"I would prefer to be where Froome is, especially before the time trial, which will favour him," the Spaniard, who is sixth at 1:51, admitted on Monday.

Froome believes Martin will "probably do a great time trial", but said he is focusing solely on his own performance.

"The time trial will be a good opportunity for the general classification. I will hope to keep the advantage I have already," he said.

"At this point I can't really look at the other guys. Then, from tomorrow evening we'll look at the results and evaluate from there. But I hope to extend my lead on the general classification."

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REAL ESTATE

EXPLAINED: What’s happening to house prices and rents in Germany amid the coronavirus crisis?

There's an increased demand on the real estate market in Germany at the moment, and there's drama looming for tenants in Berlin. Here's a look at what's going on.

Published: 10 August 2020 11:17 CEST
Updated: 22 August 2020 12:59 CEST
EXPLAINED: What's happening to house prices and rents in Germany amid the coronavirus crisis?
Frankfurt am Main. Photo: DPA

Ever dream of owning your own home in Germany? Well, sadly, it has become more expensive since the beginning of the pandemic.

In the second quarter (April to June), condominiums were on average 1.3 percent more expensive than at the beginning of the year. Compared to the second quarter of 2019, the increase was 5.9 percent. That's according to Research and Consulting Company for Housing, Real Estate and the Environment (F+B), which Spiegel reported on Monday.

Surprisingly, the price increase for single and two-family houses was even higher than that of apartments. Compared to the previous quarter, the prices of houses increased by 2.9 percent – and even by nine percent year-on-year.

This is unusual because prices for condos in Germany have almost always risen much faster than those for houses over the past 10 years.

Experts said more people are choosing to buy homes in Germany.

“In view of historically unparalleled low lending rates, it seems to be more economical for many buyers to invest in owner-occupied properties instead of renting,” said F+B Managing Director Bernd Leutner.

READ ALSO: Housing in Germany – here's where demand and prices are soaring

It is not known for definite whether the sharp rise in the price of single-family homes is due to increased demand resulting from the coronavirus crisis, for example because families are looking for more space and gardens – but it could be a factor.

The F+B Residential Index measures the rent and price developments on the German real estate market. The index is based on the supply data of more than 30 million properties throughout Germany.

What's happening to rent?

Unlike homes, rents have hardly risen at all in the past two years. Even in the second quarter, there was only a minimal increase in new contract rents, researchers found. Compared to the previous quarter, rents rose by 0.4 percent and by one percent year-on-year.

Rents for existing properties rose by 1.3 per cent year-on-year. “On a national average, the increase in rents is therefore manageable,” said Leutner.

Berlin tenants face paying back millions of euros

There could be major problems looming for Berlin tenants

The controversial rent freeze came into force on February 23rd this year which resulted in lower rents for many tenants. But experts say it could be overturned at any moment, leaving tenants liable to pay pack the difference.

The core issue being debated in courts is whether the state of Berlin is allowed to legislate in this area.


Housing in Berlin. Photo: DPA

If the Constitutional Court overturns the rent cap, many tenants in Berlin will face paying back huge amounts, according to F+B.

Due to the still unclear legal situation, there is currently a split rental market in the city. There are “shadow rents”, i.e. “the market rents”, which are usually higher than the price of the rent cap.

And on the other hand, there's the “official” rent costs corresponding to the rental price cap. The research company analysed the advertised rental apartments before and after the law came into force and “observed the existence of two rent indications in one and the same apartment advertisement”.

READ ALSO: Berlin's district court rules in favour of rental price cap

This is often associated with the remark that “the landlord reserves the right to retroactively claim the difference between the rent cover rent and the market rent”. The tenant has to agree to this in the rental contract.

SEE ALSO: The complete guide to how you can (still) live cheaply in Berlin

According to F+B the difference is clear to see: for 3,133 apartments offered between February 23rd 2020 and June 30th, F+B assumes a capped average rent of €7.05 per square meter

However, the market rent for the apartments is an average of €13.63 per square metre – a difference of €6.58 per square metre. With an average apartment size of 60 square metres, this would mean a total difference of €1.2 million per month which tenants would have to cough up.

“The longer the decision drags on, the greater the threatening additional claims,” says F+B managing director Leutner. At the same time, the massive difference in costs shows the advantages of the new rent freeze for tenants.

In any case, a quick clarification would be in the interest of all parties involved, said the research firm.

READ ALSO: 'We're setting a clear stop sign': Berlin passes five-year rent freeze law

Despite receiving the support of Berlin's state parliament, the law is opposed by Germany's federal government which argues that regulating housing costs is a federal rather than a state matter.

 

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