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TdF'13 Stage 8: Castres to Ax 3 Domaines (6th July)
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| Malkael |
Posted on 05-07-2013 16:13
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Sprinter
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Stage 8: Castres to Ax 3 Domaines
After three transition stages the 100th edition of le Tour de France finally arrives for a two day jaunt through the French Pyrenees. Stage Eight will see the peloton depart from the town of Castres and travel 195km to the French Ski Resort of Ax 3 Domaines. The stage shall finish just 1500m after the summit of the Catagory 1 Ax 3 Domaines, at an altitude of 1375m. After seven stages of mixed parcours and opportunities Stage 8 should see the contenders for the Malliot Jaune (General Classification) come to the fore.
Intermediate Sprint
There is little on offer for the sprinters beyond the Intermediate Sprint at Quillan, 119.5km in to the stage's route. Instead Stage 8 will see the sprinters turn to self-preservation, no doubt thinking of the flatter days that lay ahead. With Andre Greipel apparently keen to contest Peter Sagan for the Green Jersey, otherwise why bother sprinting for the points, we could see another hotly contest sprint. The Intermediate Sprint could slightly favour Sagan, with the road more rolling than flat, but this has hardly stopped Greipel from dominating the sprints previously.
With three categorised climbs and a summit finish there will be a total of 46 points on offer in the King of the Mountains classification, should any one rider manage consecutive first positions. Just 24.3km in to the stage the riders will encounter the Category 4 Côte de Saint-Ferréol, listed by race organisers ASO as a 2.2km long climb with an average gradient of 5.4%. With just one point on offer anyone wishing to contest the King of the Mountains classification will likely be keeping their powder dry for the two massive climbs still to come.
The Col de Pailhères
Next comes the “small” matter of the Hors Categorie Col de Pailhères, with 25 points on offer for the first rider across the summit, which lies 44.3km from the stage finish. The summit of the Col de Pailhères arrives after some 15.3km of climbing at an average gradient of 8%, peaking at just over 2001m in altitude. There will be little respite for the peloton as the gradient dips below an average of 6% just once, some 4km in to the climb, with a section which averages 4% for just 1km. Just 3.3km from the summit the average gradient peaks with a section of 10-10.5% at 2km in length.
After cresting the Col de Pailhères the peloton begin the 18.5km descent in to the town of Ax-les-Thermes. Not long afterwards the peloton shall begin the final climb of the day, the Category 1 Ax 3 Domaines. As a summit finish the number of points on offer in the King of the Mountains classification are doubled from 10 points, for the first rider across the line, to 20 points. Classified by the ASO as 7.8km in length and with an average gradient of 8.2% the Ax 3 Domaines should in theory play host to a battle among the climbers and General Classification contenders.
The Ax 3 Domaines
The initial 6km of the Ax 3 Domaines offers no respite with average gradients only as low as 7.2% and rising to as high as 10.5%. However, afterwards there is a section 1km in length at an average of 5.2% which should offer a little respite to those potentially on the limit. The climb then returns to an average gradient of 8.1% for the remaining 800-1000m. After which the riders have just 1500m left in their dash for the finishing line, which is shown by the stage profiles as being quite flat.
Forgivably, it would be hard to look past Christopher Froome of Sky Pro Cycling for the stage victory. With Froome's recent performances in the Criterium du Dauphine the chances of a breakaway stealing the limelight seem slim should Froome choose to attack, or have to respond. Next in the list of favourites is Alberto Contador of Team Saxo-Tinkoff, who arguably may have a stronger team for the mountains than Sky based on performances in the Dauphine.
A dark horse for the stage victory is Alejandro Valverde of Movistar, who has a punchy sprint from select groups should all the favourites crest the Ax 3 Domaines as a one. Though, with a similar ability to punch away from a group, but usually on the steep gradients, Joaquim Rodriguez of Team Katusha may also surprise.
Another stage and another day for the prediction games, who will you be backing for Stage 8 from Castres to Ax 3 Domaines? Will the breakaway steal the limelight from the climbers? Will one of the two major favourites win the stage? Or will a dark horse like Valverde, or someone lower down the list, upset the apple cart? |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 05-07-2013 16:55
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Tour de France Champion
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Mountains at last  |
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| Jesleyh |
Posted on 05-07-2013 16:56
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Tour de France Champion
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Finally...
Feyenoord(football) and Kelderman fanboy
PCMdaily Awards: 12x nomination, 9x runner-up, 0x win.
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| Alakagom |
Posted on 05-07-2013 16:58
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World Champion
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Break or Froome wins. Doubt we'll see anything special.
Edited by Alakagom on 05-07-2013 16:58
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 05-07-2013 17:01
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Tour de France Champion
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Garmin does PCM 11 team attack on the downhill and gets the top 5.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| aidanvn13 |
Posted on 05-07-2013 17:01
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Classics Specialist
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Hard to see Froome not winning and not taking yellow. It'll be interesting to see if Daryl will try to defend yellow or will just relinquish it early on.
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 25-11-2024 11:16
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| cactus-jack |
Posted on 05-07-2013 17:02
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Classics Specialist
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Great, something taller than a speed bump 
There's a fine line between "psychotherapist" and "psycho the rapist"
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| Malkael |
Posted on 05-07-2013 17:04
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Sprinter
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Well he told the media he was going to give his all to keep it should by some form of miracle everything fall in to place for it to somehow happen. On the flipside, he is totally accepting of the fact that he'll probably lose it if "push comes to shove".
Edited by Malkael on 05-07-2013 17:05
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| XxMillad24Xx |
Posted on 05-07-2013 17:06
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Stagiare
Posts: 235
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Schleck!
"Cycling is now the the world's cleanest sport." - Chris Froome
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 05-07-2013 17:25
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World Champion
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I expect Kiryienka, EBH, Siutsou and López to destroy the peloton on Pailhères, before handing over to Porte at the foot of the final climb. He'll then drop everyone but a handful of riders while launching an attack from the Dawg.
He'll take roughly 20 seconds on a group with Contador, Purito, Valverde, Pinot and maybe someone else.
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| NTTHRASH |
Posted on 05-07-2013 17:31
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Classics Specialist
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cactus-jack wrote:
Great, something taller than a speed bump
No, not yet, it's only one mile tall. 
"America. Show a nipple on television and the whole country goes ape-shit." -DubbelDekker
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| Schleck96 |
Posted on 05-07-2013 19:25
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You can call me crazy, but I have a feeling that Contador will put some time between him and Froomebot.
Also, I'm very very curious to see how Andy shows himself. |
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| XxMillad24Xx |
Posted on 05-07-2013 19:36
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Stagiare
Posts: 235
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I have a breakaway winning, either from the start of someone leaving on the Col de Palheres
"Cycling is now the the world's cleanest sport." - Chris Froome
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| cosmic |
Posted on 05-07-2013 19:40
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Stagiare
Posts: 171
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Got a feeling Rodriguez will pull something on this one. Ax3 isn't too long, and fairly steep, so it should suit him quite well.
Wouldn't put it past Saxo to try and kill off most of the UK Postal team on the first climb either, if Contador is ready to go after his crash. With guys like Roche, Rogers and Kreuziger setting the pace, I'd imagine Kiryienka, Hagen, Lopez and Siutsou would have their hands full trying to keep up. |
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 05-07-2013 19:41
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Tour de France Champion
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Martin FTW!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| Setzel |
Posted on 05-07-2013 19:49
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Classics Specialist
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The men in black will kill the peleton on Pailhères
Probably the winner will be somebody who attacks from the first km's on Ax 3 , maybe a frenchie
Eating my daily Breakfast at 9 pm
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| jph27 |
Posted on 05-07-2013 20:11
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Pinot or Rolland to win and take yellow, hopefully. Sagan or Boasson Hagen will probably exhibit hitherho unknown climbing abilities though, with the accuracy of my predictions. |
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| Schleck96 |
Posted on 05-07-2013 20:12
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^Lololol wut?? |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 05-07-2013 20:25
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Tour de France Champion
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You continue writing excellent previews for these stages, much obliged for that!!
Anyway, the first stage I'm not at home and it's this will record it and watch it when I get home, though |
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| valverde321 |
Posted on 05-07-2013 20:34
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World Champion
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I think we might see a breakaway win by a slim margin over the race favourites, most likely someone like Anton who gets in the break and maybe goes for the Polka dots with the HC climb and then a long descent towards the short but steep final climb.
If that doesn't happen, I think a climber with high acceleration will get this. Probably Purito to outsprint Froome, Valverde and Contador, who all finish on st or very minimal timegaps (which will happen regardless of whether a break wins or not)
Edited by valverde321 on 05-07-2013 20:35
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