The important stages of the Alps were over yesterday but today's stage is quite different to anything we have had so far. There are two very important climbs: the Col du Grand Cucheron and the Col du Granier, but both of them are really far from the finish line. The Granier top is 137 kilometers from the finish line and most of them are quite flat. This would have the word break written all over it, especially given that the final couple of kilometers in Annonay are slightly uphill. However, if some of the sprinters gets over the mountains with enough on their legs the teams of the sprinters may chase.
The climb to Grand Cucheron was quite hard as some of the teams, including Astana and Etixx were trying to prevent a big break from getting away. There was a group of 5 at the front towards to top of the climb: Samuel Dumoulin (Orica), Juan Antonio Flecha (Euskaltel), Paul Martens (HTC), Peter Kennaugh (Tinkoff) and Moreno Moser (Sky). However, the group was not yet settled at the front as Adriano Malori (Trek) was trying to bridge the gap, while the peloton was 2 minutes behind. The top of the climb was 179 kilometers from the finish line so they had a lot of racing to do today and we could already see riders suffering.
The second 1st category climb of the day was the Col du Granier. Stefano Garzelli (Movistar) jumped from the peloton in the last kilometer of the climb to grab some more KoM points but he was still far behind in the classification. In the peloton it was Enrico Gasparotto (Etixx) leading the way in the climb. It was clear that Etixx thought that Lloyd Mondory (Etixx) would be candidate if they got him to Annonay for a mass sprint. Meanwhile, Adriano Malori had bridged the gap to the front group but he and Samuel Dumoulin were struggling in the climb. They almost lost contact but managed to stay in touch.
The weather had been quite good with the riders but it started to climb as they got closer to the finish line. With 57 kilometers to go the break was in one of the small hills they had along the route. Their gap had come down to 3' 55'', which was small enough so that the peloton could potentially bring them back before the finish line. All of the sprinters had survived the climbs in the peloton but there were serious doubts as to whether they would be strong enough to fight for the win. The pace at the bunch was being set by Tim Wellens (Etixx) and Grega Bole (Astana).
There was a final climb that was not categorized for the KoM classification, the Cote d'Ardoix, which top was 13 kilometers from the finish line. It does not have a big gradient but it was enough for Wilco Kelderman (Giant) to be the first among the favorites to attempt an attack. He was followed by others like Mathias Frank (IAM) and Robert Gesink (Ag2r) but in the end none of them had been able to open a gap at the top of the climb. Meanwhile, Moreno Moser and Paul Martens were the two leaders on the road but their gap was only 30 seconds and with 13 mostly flat kilometers remaining there was not much hope for them.
The last riders from the break were caught with only 5 kilometers to go but the peloton was quite organized and there were soon 3 sprint trains taking shape. Astana had Andrea Guardini (Astana) again ready for Marcel Kittel (Astana), who in turn had Kenny van Hummel (LottoNL) right behind. Enrico Gasparotto (Etixx) was leading Lloyd Mondory (Etixx) to the left of the road. Nacer Bouhanni (Ag2r) was also well positioned behind and chasing a 3rd win in this Tour. Vacansoleil also had Bauke Mollema (Vacansoleil) ready to lead Ben Swift (Vacansoleil). It was a luxury lead out for the British, who had Fran Ventoso (Movistar) behind. The only important sprinter that had lost track with the peloton in the last hill had been Mark Cavendish (IAM).
The last few kilometers were only slightly uphill but it was a bit more difficult than expected for the sprinters as the 218 kilometers of the stage were taking a toll. As a result, Bauke Mollema was the best lead out man and left Ben Swift in a very good position with 1 kilometer to go. On the other hand, Marcel Kittel was isolated rather soon as Andrea Guardini could not keep up and Enrico Gasparotto was still leading Lloyd Mondory but they were a bit far behind. It was surprising to see some of the favorites in the GC get involved in the sprint, with Tanel Kangert (Katusha) really close to the front.
Ben Swift was still leading the way 600 meters from the finish line but he was quickly losing terrain compared to his chasers. He had had a big gap only 500 meters before but he was also paying for the earlier efforts. Lloyd Mondory was the biggest threat for him but there were other surprising riders making huge progress, like Fran Ventoso, Tanel Kangert and Peter Stetina (BMC). Some of the riders that fight for the GC were clearly seeing an opportunity to fight for the stage or take a few bonus seconds at the finish line. Most of the pure sprinters, like Marcel Kittel, Andre Greipel (Lotto) or Mark Renshaw (BMC) were nowhere to be found.
Lloyd Mondory wins in Annonay-Davezieux! There was no rival for Mondory today as he crushed the opposition with a perfectly timed sprint to grab his first win in this Tour de France. What a better way to celebrate the 14th of July for the French than having the rider wearing the National Champion jersey win the day. Mondory was the only one among the sprinters to finish at the front as he was followed by Hubert Dupont in second position. The French is clearly very strong but he is still far from the podium places. Tanel Kangert took the third place ahead of Jerome Coppel and Peter Stetina, who completed the top 5.
The peloton that made it to the finish line was not too big but most of the sprinters made it. This was quite different than what was expected before the start of the stage, as a break was deemed to have better chances. However, the peloton did not let the pace be too slow in the climbs and the teams of the sprinters managed to keep their riders in the mix. They should have a better chance tomorrow, when the stage will be almost completely flat before hitting the Pyrenees. Meanwhile, it might be an easier day for the GC riders if the wind is not too strong.
Stage 14: Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux - Le Cap d'Agde
Today's stage was much easier than the last week stages and it would be a welcome relief for the riders in the fight for the GC. Nevertheless, the route between Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux and Le Cap d-Agde was 214 kilometers long, so it would be another long day in the saddle. Otherwise, the stage is quite straight-forward and the only difficulty is the climb to Mont Saint-Clair. It is a short 1.4 kilometers long climb but at an average of 11.3%. With 26 kilometers to the finish line it would be difficult for an attack to succeed but the sprinters have to be alert not to be dropped.
The intermediate sprint was placed in Nimes today, a town in between Marseille and Montpellier. A group of 6 riders formed the break of the day, including Joost van Leijen (Giant), Lieuwe Westra (Cannondale), Tiago Machado (Tinkoff), Yoann Offredo (IAM) and Paul Martens (HTC). They had built a gap of 7 minutes but with 130 kilometers to go it was soon to say whether they had a chance in the stage. Meanwhile, the peloton was having a quiet day and only a few sprinters fought for the remaining points in the sprint, which was taken by Lloyd Mondory (Eitxx).
The stage was more or less quiet until the peloton hit the climb to the Mont Saint-Clair. The short but very steep climb was meant to be a difficulty for the sprinters but most of them went over the climb with relative ease, led by the pace of Jos van Emden (Etixx) and Tim Wellens (Etixx). On the other hand, the riders in the break were starting to struggle and the gap had come down significantly to only 1' 35''. With 26 kilometers to go it essentially meant that their chances were really slim. There was wind in this part of the stage as expected but it was headwind on parts, which made it difficult to form an echelon.
Paul Martens was still trying to make the break survive with 10 kilometers to go but, even though he was followed by Tiago Machado, Lieuwe Westra and Yoann Offredo, the gap had come down to only 30 seconds. Astana and Vacansoleil were taking turn pacing the peloton and they seemed to have the situation under control. We were headed for another mass sprint, one of the many we have had in the Tour so far. Nevertheless, we would have a group not as big as in other stages as many riders decided to take it easier in the climb and the group had around 130 riders.
The break was caught a bit before the peloton entered the town of Agde. With 3 kilometers to go the riders were already heading towards Le Cap d'Agde and a couple of sprint trains had been set up. Vacansoleil would have Tom van Asbroeck (Vacansoleil) leading Ben Swift (Vacansoleil), while Fran Ventoso (Movistar) was right behind. On their left, it would be again Andrea Guardini (Astana) leading Marcel Kittel (Astana), who was wearing the green jersey. Mark Cavendish (IAM) had taken his wheel, probably the best to follow in a sprint. We could see other riders like Alexandre Serebryakov (Katusha), Kenny van Hummel (LottoNL) and Mark Renshaw (BMC) well positioned.
Marcel Kittel emerged from behind Andrea Guardini way too soon and was effectively a lead out man for Mark Cavendish. It seemed that Guardini was not as effective as he was in the first week and he had to leave Kittel alone too early. Meanwhile, Ben Swift was still being led out and several sprinters were right behind, like Fran Ventoso, Kenny van Hummel and Mark Renshaw. No other sprinter had positioned himself behind Mark Cavendish, which seemed a much better place to get positioned given that Kittel and Cavendish had opened quite a big gap.
Marcel Kittel was still leading the sprint with 600 meters to go but Mark Cavendish was starting to gain on him and looked really good for the stage as both of them had a gap that looked difficult to close by those behind. Ben Swift was close to the barriers on the right and was probably the only one within reach of the two at the front. He was followed by Fran Ventoso and Kenny van Hummel. On the other side of the road it was Sacha Modolo (Cofidis) who seemed to be making progress. It was surprising that others like Lloyd Mondory and Andre Greipel (Lotto) were not in the mix.
Marcel Kittel wins in Le Cap d'Agde! That was an outstanding sprint by Marcel Kittel. The German held off Mark Cavendish behind when the British tried to go past him and won fort he first time of the year. It was about time that Kittel had a sprint this strong and there are still a few sprints where he could shine. Astana was probably starting to lose faith but this was a real show of what he can do. As we said, the 2nd place was for Cavendish, while Ben Swift was 3rd. The top 5 was rounded by Kenny van Hummel and Fran Ventoso.
In the end, the stage was as quiet as expected for the favorites in the GC and even though there was a gap again in the peloton no one got caught behind. Many of the riders must have learnt from the lessons in the first week. Given the not too big gaps in the GC some of the riders might have lost the podium during the first week. Nevertheless, those riders will have another chance to attack tomorrow as the riders will face the Mur de Peguere, a very tough climb but a bit far from the finish line for a solo attack to be successful.
Raziz wrote:
I genuinely can't believe how much effort it must have taken to create such a story.
Really appreciate your dedication.
Hi Raziz, It is only a while each day and a matter of keeping things organised. It helps that I have many things automated. Thanks for the appreciation!
Looked like the same old story, Astana and Kittel just setting up the win for their opponents, but this time it actually worked, must have been a hard, hard, long sprint.
The first stage in the Pyrenees this year is not exactly designed for the favorites to be involved. The riders will have to tackle two very demanding climbs: the Port de Lers and the Mur de Peguere, but the top of the latter is 38 kilometers to the finish line. This will make any attacks from the GC riders really difficult as there are 20 kilometers of flat before the finish line that will be very favorable for a group that is organized. Nevertheless, the outcome of the stage should be interesting anyway and the likely outcome is that a break takes the win in Foix.
A group of 8 riders formed the break of the day in the Tour de France. They got to the intermediate sprint in Niaux with a 6' 30'' gap over the bunch with 85 kilometers remaining, only a few kilometers away from the start of the climb to the Port de Lers. The group included Sylvain Chavanel (Giant), Davide Rebellin (Astana), Julien Simon (BMC), Rohan Dennis (Lotto) and Ben Hermans (Katusha). It was a very interesting group with many good riders so they surely had a good chance today. Meanwhile, the peloton was controlled by Etixx. They tried the break not to be very big but in the end had to give up.
The peloton was not in a chasing mode 6 kilometers from the top of the Port de Lers. Etixx was setting the pace with riders like Michael van Staeyen (Etixx), Enrico Gasparotto (Etixx) and Pierre Rolland (Etixx) but they were just controlling that the gap did not go out of control. At that point it was 8' 20'', which was a big enough gap already that the riders in the break were thinking about the stage win. None of the other teams in the main bunch was willing to make the stage harder, which might be surprising considering that tomorrow is a rest day and Tuesday's stage is not too important.
Davide Rebellin took the KoM points at the top of the Port de Lers ahead of Christophe Riblon (Cofidis). The French was 2nd in the classification ahead of the stage so he will get very close to Mauro Santambrogio (Sky) at the end of the day. We can still witness a good battle for the dotted jersey in the Pyrenees. Their gap was 8 minutes at the top but it was coming down as Etixx increased the pace a bit in the second part of the climb. There were many riders losing contact with the main bunch already as the Port de Lers is a tough climb and even an easy pace can cause difficulties.
Jerome Coppel (Etixx) was having a very quiet day as the increase in pace that Etixx had triggered at the final part of the Port de Lers did not continue at the Mur de Peguere. Pieter Weening (Tinkoff) had jumped towards the end of Lers but no one followed as he is not dangerous in the GC. They were 3 kilometers from the top, where the toughest part of the climb started, and the gap to the early break continued to grow. More than 100 riders were still holding on to the group, which suggested a slow pace. They should not let the gap grow too much as Davide Rebellin was only 15 minutes behind in the GC and could gain a lot of places today.
Christophe Riblon took the maximum points at the top of the Mur de Peguere but the peloton continued their easy pace and the gap at the top of the climb had grown to 12 minutes, which essentially guaranteed that the riders from the early break would fight for the stage. Etixx riders were still leading a group of around 60 riders that had all of the favorites in it. In the end, the first stage in the Pyrenees was going to be a walk in the park for the riders that are fighting for the GC. A few of them might regret not attacking today if they miss a target by a few seconds.
As soon as the riders of the break reached the top of the descent, the battle for the stage started. Sylvain Chavanel was the first to attack and he dragged Ben Hermans with him. At the 17 kilometers mark they had opened a small gap with the rest of the break but these were well organized to chase them back. The last kilometers were mostly flat but slightly favorable for the riders so they should be quick to get to the finish line. The closest chaser behind was still Peter Weening, but he was 8' 40'' behind. The peloton was still descending and not in a rush.
Sylvain Chavanel and Ben Hermans stayed ahead for more than 10 kilometers but they were eventually caught back with 7 kilometers remaining. At the 5 kilometers kite Davide Rebellin was leading the group followed by Christophe Riblon. It was difficult to guess who would be quicker in a sprint in this group considering that the stage was quite hard for them. The most likely candidates would be Rebellin and Jonathan Hivert (Sky). Talking about Rebellin, the 12 minutes gap that the break had means that he would most likely finish the stage in the top 10 of the GC.
Christophe Riblon was the first rider to start the final sprint in Foix. However, with 800 meters to go the front did not seem the best place to be as he had Jonathan Hivert right behind. Davide Rebellin was also on the tow, while Rohan Dennis was trying to gain positions closer to the middle of the road. The riders that did not look fit to fight for the stage were Sylvain Chavanel and Ben Hermans as they had used too much energy in their attempt to leave the rest of the riders behind. The stage still seemed within reach for the rest of the riders.
Julien Simon wins in Foix! The French came from the sixth position as the sprint started to narrowly taking the stage win ahead of Jonathan Hivert, who was lamenting the opportunity to win a stage in the Tour de France. This is the first win for Simon since he took the 1st stage of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco in 2013. BMC trusted him as he returned to the World Tour this season and surely this win will repay their faith. As we said, Jonathan Hivert finished second ahead of Rohan Dennis. The top 5 was completed by Davide Rebellin and Gorka Izagirre (Euskaltel).
The rest of the riders followed far behind. Pieter Weening lost 8' 33'' at the finish line after a rather pointless attack. The group of the leader was led by Bauke Mollema (Vacansoleil), 12' 22'' behind the winner. This caused Rebellin to jump a lot of places in the GC and finish the day in the 7th position overall. Finishing in the top 10 would be a great achievement for the Italian. Nevertheless, most of the other favorites will be quite confident of getting rid of the Italian either in the mountains or in the final time trial.
A great day for Simon, not a rider who can expect to get much success at this level.
Also a brilliant day for Davide Rebellin, from nothing suddently just 2'44 behind. And closing in at the KoM too.
The mountain stages in the Pyrenees are broken by a flat stage between Samatan and Pau. The stage is relatively flat but plagued by small hills that will make the day difficult for some of the sprinters. The stages in the last week of Grand Tours are always far more difficult to control for the teams of the sprinters given that the domestiques are a lot more tired. Nevertheless, the last kilometers of the stage are very flat and that should be enough for the peloton to control the stage and a mass sprint to happen in Pau, a town that has been the finish line for many mountain stages.
The break of the day was formed relatively quickly. It was a group of 5 riders: Adriano Malori (Trek), Cyril Gautier (FDJ), Moreno Moser (Sky), Luke Durbridge (Cofidis) and Joost van Leijen (Giant). The Dutch was a rider that gave the break weight as he is a rider that is used to both the hills and the flat. The many hills in the stage should give him an advantage. Astana, Etixx and Vacansoleil were the teams leading the peloton but with 100 kilometers to go and a gap of 5' 30'' they were not in a rush to bring them back. Davide Rebellin (Astana) had crashed with no consequences early in the stage.
The intermediate sprint was placed in Macaras, 74 kilometers from the finish line. There was a strong favorable wind in today's stage that was making the riders go really fast. The sprint in the bunch was won by Lloyd Mondory (Etixx), followed by Ben Swift (Vacansoleil) and Marcel Kittel (Astana). The peloton was chasing a bit harder and the preparation for the sprint made the gap shrink to 4 minutes. They seemed to have the race under control as the break was not too far away. Meanwhile, Romain Bardet (IAM), the leader of the young's classification, crashed shortly before the sprint.
The stage was a lot harder for the peloton than expected and the break still had a good lead of 1' 55'' with 10 kilometers to go. The mass sprint did not look like the most likely outcome any more. This was probably caused by the peloton splitting into 2 pieces due to the hills and the strong wind. None of the favorites fell behind and this only disorganised the chase of the teams of the sprinters. Not even with Bauke Mollema (Vacansoleil) and Davide Rebellin collaborating in the chase could they significantly close th gap. Among the sprinters, the only one that lost contact was Theo Bos (Cannondale).
The teams of the sprinters did not give up on the chase and they had cut the gap to less than 1 minute at the 3 kilometers mark. However, there was only Grega Bola (Astana) to work at the front of the peloton. All of the top sprinters were close to the front of the group but none of the domestiques were around as many had been dropped. They needed someone to step up the chase as they still had to gain a lot of time. Meanwhile, Luke Durbridge had been the only rider to attack in the break but he was not strong enough to open a gap. It looked like the guys ahead were starting to look at each other.
Joost van Leijen attacked with 2.5 kilometers to go and opened a gap quickly. He was about to go under the last kilometer kite and it was only 5 seconds over Moreno Moser and Adriano Malori. The Dutch was the clear favorite to take the stage as he was clearly the best rider in the break. A bit further behind, Cyril Gautier and Luke Durbridge were 15 seconds from the leader. Back at the peloton, the sprinters had already realised that the stage would be for one of the riders of the break. Grega Bole was still leading the group but not really chasing.
It looked that Joost van Leijen would not be caught back and he would take another win in the Tour de France. Moreno Moser was closing the gap but with 600 meters to go he was not going to be able to reach Van Leijen. On the other hand, Adriano Malori was fading and Cyril Gautier was closing down on him. Any good position in a stage is valuable for a FDJ team that is having a hard time competing with the teams in the World Tour. The gaps in the final sprint between the riders in the break showed how hard a stage it was for them to keep the peloton at bay.
Joost van Leijen wins in Pau! This is his second win in the Tour de France this year as he already won in the 2nd stage, finishing in Seraing. It is remarkable how good this season has been for Van Leijen so far, with very important wins riding for a Pro Continental team. There were not many doubts that he would win if the break made it to the finish line. The second place was taken by Moreno Moser, followed by Cyril Gautier, Adriano Malori and Luke Durbridge. Even if those positions are not very important for World Tour teams, it could make a big difference for Pro Continental teams due to the importance of the prizes attached in the budget of those teams.
The peloton rolled over the line just behind Durbridge so there were no time gaps in the stage. Lloyd Mondory won the sprint ahead of Ben Swift and Mark Renshaw (BMC). It was a lost chance for the sprinters to add another win and a rider like Lloyd Mondory must be cursing. However, Etixx did nothing to control the stage as they must be thinking of saving energies for the tough Pyrenees stages to defend Jerome Coppel's (Etixx) yellow jersey. The next 2 days will be key in the outcome of the race and if Coppel can hold on to the lead he will be the favorite to win the Tour.
The last week of the Tour de France was used by the UCI to present the calendar for the next season. Once again, the calendar will be extended to a few new races. We will have a couple more dates in the early season with the Tour of Qatar and the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, which will be a welcome addition for the cobbles riders. Early May will bring the Rund um den Finanzplatz and the season will draw to an end with the Milano - Torino as the last preparation race for the Giro di Lombardia.
Another of the new features will be the split of the Mediterranean Championship from the European Championship. This will leave us with 3 national races.
There are only 2 mountain stages left but they are very difficult. Today's stage features very tough climbs like the Col d'Aubisque, the Col du Tourmalet, the Col d'Aspin and the Col de Peyresourde. The first two climbs are classics of the Tour and really tough but we do not expect a fight among the favorites given that the top of the Toumalet is 76 kilometers from the finish line. Nevertheless, those climbs are so difficult that they riders will feel tired legs when they have to face the Col de Peyresourde, which is 15 kilometers from the finish line in Bagneres-de-Luchon.
Etixx did not like a break that was too big but it was unavoidable in this kind of stage. The group of 12 that formed the break of the day included Tiago Machado (Tinkoff), Tony Martin (Lotto), Ian Stannard (Sky), Stefan Schumacher (HTC), Tom Slagter (Cannondale) and Ruben Plaza (BMC). It was important to be in the break for Plaza, who could take over the white jersey if they get to the finish line. At the top of the Col d'Aubisque they had a gap of 6' 30'' over the main bunch. The first over the top was Christophe Riblon (Cofidis), who took over the lead in the KoM classification.
Etixx was leading the way in the peloton at the start of the Col du Tourmalet with riders like Enrico Gasparotto (Etixx), Pierre Rolland (Etixx) and Michael van Staeyen (Etixx). The pace was quite easy but there were riders already dropping out of the group due to the sheer amount of climbing that they had already done. It was too far for the favorites to attack, as they still had 82 kilometers to go, but none of the teams wanted to pick up the pace either. That caused the gap to increase to 13 minutes, which made the break start to think that they would make it to the finish line.
Christophe Riblon was looking for more KoM points at the top of the Tourmalet but he run out of gas close to the top and it was Julian Arredondo (Orica) who was first at the top of the tough climb ahead of Tony Martin. The peloton was starting to pick up the pace led by Pierre Rolland but the riders from the break were still keeping the gap slightly above 13 minutes. Nevertheless, even though the pace was a bit faster the size of the group was quite big. It is a shame to see this kind of climb with such a big group riding together but there are still 76 kilometers to the finish line.
The favorites finally started to battle at the Col d'Aspin. Hubert Dupont (Euskaltel) was the first rider to attack, 3 kilometers from the top of the climb. He dragged Bauke Mollema (Vacansoleil) with him and they got to the top of the climb ahead of the rest of the favorites. There was a group of 5 riders 40 seconds behind, including Laurens Ten Dam (Cannondale), Peter Stetina (BMC) and Tejay van Garderen (Trek). Meanwhile, none of the riders that started the day in the podium had moved from the main group and they were 1' 35'' behind Dupont. Wilco Kelderman (Giant) was working with the Etixx riders in the main group.
Andrew Talansky (HTC) attacked from the group of the leader in the descent of the Aspin and managed to join Laurens Ten Dam's group in the flat leading to the Col de Peyresourde. Jerome Coppel (Etixx) was hiding behind his teammates in this flat section but attacked as soon as the last climb started together with Jean-Christophe Peraud (Discovery). They were 1' 05'' behind Hubert Dupont and Bauke Mollema with 6 kilometers to go in the last climb. Further behind, Robert Gesink (Ag2r) and Wilco Kelderman were already 1' 55'' behind. Meanwhile, the riders in the early break were far ahead and already battling for the stage win.
The early break was not together at the top of the Peyresourde. A group of 4 riders were ahead: Ruben Plaza, Ian Stannard, Julian Arredondo and Tony Martin. It was surprising that Tiago Machado had not made it in that group but he was among the chasers, 45 seconds behind. With 15 kilometers to go they still had a gap of 7 minutes over the first of the favorites. Among those, Chris Froome (Lampre) had lost track with Laurens Ten Dam's group while Jerome Coppel had not made it into that group yet. The leader was struggling and might lose time at the finish line.
Hubert Dupont and Bauke Mollema had been eventually caught by their chasers but at the top of the Peyresourde it was only Laurens Ten Dam, Peter Stetina and Hubert Dupont at the front, while Tejay van Garderen had lost track with that group in the last kilometer of the climb and was only 25 seconds behind. Jerome Coppel and Jean-Christophe Peraud were 55 seconds behind. A group of 3 riders including Cadel Evans (Lotto) and Bauke Mollema was 1' 35'' behind, showing that the Dutch was too optimistic to follow Dupont. Even further behind was Robert Gesink, who was late to react but was overtaking many riders.
Tony Martin thought that he did not have a chance in a final sprint in the group so he attacked in the final descent towards Bagneres-de-Luchon. However, he was not able to open a significant gap and with 2 kilometers to go he had already been caught. Ian Stannard started the final sprint, followed by Julian Arredondo and Ruben Plaza behind. They still had 1' 05'' over the chasers so they were sure of getting the first positions in the stage. The favorites were also in the descent and Tejay van Garderen had caught back with the first group of the favorites.
Ian Stannard wins in Bagneres-de-Luchon! The British won one of the most important stages of the Tour de France after beating some of his fellow riders from the early break in the final sprint. It is a surprising win for a rider that is a cobbler and not really a climber, although he had already proven in the stage finishing in La Toussuire that he was quite strong. Ruben Plaza came home on the second place ahead of Julian Arredondo. The Spaniard would eventually take over the lead in the white jersey. Tony Martin was almost caught by the next group at the finish line. He lost 32 seconds and finished 4th ahead of Warren Barguil (FDJ).
Laurens Ten Dam was the first of the favorites to cross the finish line in Bagneres-de-Luchon. He was leading a group with Peter Stetina, Hubert Dupont and Tejay van Garderen. They got 48 seconds over the group of the leader. Jerome Coppel had reacted a bit late to the attacks and when he jumped at the beginning of the Peyresourde it was already a bit late. Jean-Christophe Peraud and Robert Gesink were also in that group. The Dutch had to fight back in the last kilometers of the climb but finally made it home alongside the leader. The first places in the GC were getting closer and closer in the last few days.
Meanwhile, the most significant riders that lost time were Mathias Frank (IAM) and Wilco Kelderman. They were both 1' 20'' behind the leader in the stage but they are dropping in the general classification. Meanwhile, Davide Rebellin (Astana) fell out of the top 10 as expected after losing a bit more than 10 minutes in today's stage. Today's stage was quite telling but the gaps could be even bigger in tomorrow's stage finishing at Peyragudes, very close to the top of the Peyresourde again. If Coppel is still in the lead it will be hard to beat him in the final time trial.
The last stage in the mountains in the 2017 Tour de France is much shorter than the one yesterday but it is not easier by any means. The riders will have to tackle the Col de Mente, the Port de Bales and the double climb to the Peyresourde and Peyragudes. All this climbing will be done in only 143 kilometers so there will not be much time for a respite. Given that it is the last mountain stage and that tomorrow is not an important day for the GC riders we are expecting a fight and gaps at the finish line among the favorites. Bales should be a climb hard enough to get the riders very tired before the final climb.
The first climb of the day was the Col de Mente, a tough climb so that the break of the day was formed by riders that are strong. Etixx did not bother with controlling the pace and allowed a big group of 13 riders to go away. The group most significant riders were Johan Vansummeren (HTC), Rinaldo Nocentini (Euskaltel), Michael Albasini (IAM), Jonathan Castroviejo (Lampre), Luka Mezgec (LottoNL), Rafal Majka (Lotto) and Linus Gerdemann (BMC). They did not pose any threat in the GC so they were allowed to open a 6 minutes gap at the top of the climb with Castroviejo going through 1st at the top.
The intermediate sprint was placed in Izaourt, 60 kilometers from the finish line. However, there was no battle among the sprinters as there were more than 10 riders in the early break and they took all the available points. Etixx was still leading the peloton with riders like Tim Wellens (Etixx), Michael van Staeyen (Etixx) and Thibaut Pinot (Etixx). The pace was not too high as the gap had already grown to 9' 30''. Marcel Kittel (Astana) was set to stay in the green jersey one more day and it was increasingly likely that he would eventually win the classification.
It had seemed initially that the favorites would wait to the Peyresourde to attack but Peter Stetina (BMC) took advantage of an attack by Domenico Pozzovivo (Trek) and jumped 8 kilometers before the top of the Port de Bales. Stetina was trailing the Italian 20 seconds behind with 40 kilometers to the finish line and the group of the leader was already 1' 30'' behind. That move soon triggered an increased pace in the group as Oliver Zaugg (IAM) replaced the Etixx riders in setting the pace. Many riders started to drop out of the group immediately.
Laurens Ten Dam (Cannondale) and Bauke Mollema (Vacansoleil) were already leading the main group, which suggests that the pace was much higher than before. However, before they started to chase the gap to Peter Stetina grew considerably. Domenico Pozzovivo and Stetina were only 1' 35'' behind the early break at the top of the climb, while the group of the leader was losing 4' 10''. That put Stetina almost as the virtual leader on the road. It might have been a big mistake to allow such a dangerous rider to open a gap, similar to the error that was allowing Jerome Coppel (Etixx) and Hubert Dupont (Euskaltel) at the Grand Colombier.
Mathias Frank (IAM) attacked as soon as the Col de Peyresourde started and he dragged Cadel Evans (Lotto) with him. Meanwhile, Jerome Coppel was trying to react to that attack even though those riders should not be a threat to him. His group had cut the gap to Peter Stetina considerably in the descent of the Port de Bales and it was no longer a big threat as the gap to the group of the leader was only 55 seconds. If they started to attack so soon in the climb to the Peyresourde it could be a tough climb as they still had 15 kilometers to go and 2 climbs.
There were several attacks in the first half of the Peyresourde and almost 4 kilometers to the top of the climb a group of favorites was already leading the stage. It was a group of 8 riders including Robert Gesink (Ag2r), Jerome Coppel and Laurens Ten Dam. Jean-Christophe Peraud (Discovery) had not made it in that group but his group was only 30 seconds behind. There were still 29 riders at that group, including Wilco Kelderman (Giant) and Tejay van Garderen (Trek). It was significant that Coppel was not only at the front group but leading the attacks in this last important climb of the Tour.
Jean-Christophe Peraud was pushing as he went though the top of the Peyresourde followed by Chris Froome (Lampre). However, his group was still losing ground and the gap to the front was 45 seconds. However, this group had lost a lot of riders and only 8 survived. The most significant of those that lost track was Wilco Kelderman (Giant). The Tour has been way too long for him so far. Jerome Coppel was still charging at the front and making Bauke Mollema and Hubert Dupont suffer to hold on to the group until the top of the climb. With 7 kilometers to go and only 4 of climbing the gaps should not be too big among those at the front.
Laurens Ten Dam attacked as soon as the climb Peyragudes started but he was not able to drop Jerome Coppel. They were only 3 kilometers from the finish line and Jean-Christophe Peraud was about to get to the front group after a crazy short descent from the Col de Peyresourde. Chris Froome was also making an effort to close the gap to the front group but he did not have the legs that Peraud had. We were not going to see any attacks from far out that made it to the line as Peter Stetina and Domenico Pozzovivo had not been able to maintain their gap.
Jerome Coppel took the lead of the group and started to drop the rest of the favorites one by one. Robert Gesink had been the last rider to hold on to the French's wheel but was already 20 seconds behind as they entered the last kilometer of the stage. Laurens Ten Dam was losing 35 seconds, while Jean-Christophe Peraud and Hubert Dupont were 45 seconds from Coppel. It was an amazing performance from the Etixx rider, who was expected to lose time today but instead gave a lesson to the rest of the favorites and was ready to win the last mountain stage of the Tour.
Jerome Coppel wins in Peyragudes! This is his 3rd win in the Tour de France for the leader, who has shown that he was clearly the best rider in the mountains today. He had lost time yesterday in Bagneres-de-Luchon but it was a completely different story today. No one was able to follow his pace in the last climb of the Tour and he did it without attacking. He is now the clear favorite to take the overall win as the time trial favors him. His closest chaser was Robert Gesink, who lost 20 seconds at the finish line. Laurens Ten Dam was 3rd, 37 seconds behind.
The gaps were even bigger behind Ten Dam. Jean-Christophe Peraud and Hubert Dupont lost 48 seconds, while the next group was already 1' 12'' behind. The rider that is suffering the most among those in the top 10 in this final part of the Tour is Wilco Kelderman. The Dutch lost 3' 47'' at the finish line. He narrowly kept the 10th place but Chris Froome is a big threat for him in the time trial. The gaps in the end were a lot bigger than expected given that Coppel put more than a minute on some riders in 3 kilometers. Tomorrow's stage is much less important and given how deep we are in the Tour it is quite likely that a break will end up winning.
