After the beautiful Olympic games, it’s back to the good “old” thing for the riders. No Olympic glory or fame is on offer, but there are lots of valuable ranking points up for grabs! A hilly stage kicks off the action. Ignatiev Koren
are somewhat surprising mentioned as favourites for the stage win by the bookmakers, which underlines the fact that there isn’t too many elite puncheurs lining up for the race, eventhough there are lots of hills on offer. But the biggest favourite according to the bookmakers, is Roy
He’s on home soil, and he should be determined to show himself on a stage that looks perfect to him.
The riders are ready to roll, and France has decided to show itself from its best side, the sun is everywhere!
10 riders try their luck early, most notable is
Cyclevox having both Heymes & McLay
and California having Ablenado & Simon
in this move. The other riders are: Portela Stallaert Likhaya Van Belle Kamyshev Geslin
But they’re never allowed a good gap by the peloton, un fact they're quickly caught, and it's Volkswagen Focus
who are in command.
Almost 40 kilometers into the stage, we’ve more attacks. Likhaya & Larsson Portela McLay Stallaert Geslin Ablenado Mouris & Van Immerseel
all try their luck. Interesting to see Mouris up front, he is clearly not saving himself for the time trial, where he could go top 10.
Kamyshev Heymes
decide this is the right move, as the 9 attackers quickly gain 2 minutes, and they are chasing.
It only takes 4 kilometers of chasing before we’ve got 11 riders up front. Cyclevox, Saab and Proximus have the numbers, having 2 riders in the group.
The peloton allows them to ride away, with 52 kilometers done, 144 kilometers left, the gap 3’25.
There are 3 king of the mountain sprints today, the first one comes with 137 kilometers to go. It’s Geslin
who times his move to perfection, and takes the 6 points on offer. Portela Likhaya
follow closest. Their gap back to the peloton is now up to 4 healthy minutes.
Stallaert
shows his sprinting talent, and he takes the 6 points and bonus seconds in a convincing way with 121 kilometers left. Just like with the mountain sprints, there are 2 more sprints for points and bonifications to come, before the finish line also gives points and bonus seconds. Portela
goes 2nd this time too, while McLay
takes 3rd.
The 2nd intermediate sprint comes with 92 kilometers left, and it’s Geslin
who takes the 6 points on offer. No doubt the point jersey will suit him and Pokerstars well, as they’re literally the “green train” in the peloton, as their wonderful jerseys stands out due to the green colour they got. McLay
progresses, and takes 2nd this time, while Stallaert
couldn’t repeat his first sprint, meaning he has to settle with 3rd this time.
90 kilometers to go for the peloton, and Volkswagen Focus
continue to work at the front. They’re helped out by Tinkoff
now, which should help them control the breakaway. They’re currently 8 minutes behind the 11 riders in front, and they’ve just started to gain time on them.
Geslin
really wants a jersey, and why not, when you’ve made your way to the breakaway? He takes the 10 mountain points with 74 kilometers left, followed by Portela Stallaert
Elissonde
leads the peloton over the climb, 6’40 behind the breakaway, giving the breakaway a fair chance to hold on to the finish line.
The riders in the breakaway continues to co-operate well, and going over an unclassified climb with 45 kilometers left, they’re still altogether, 4’13 ahead of the peloton.
The final intermediate sprint comes with 34 kilometers left, and it’s the closest of the day. Geslin
is once again fastest, he’s in front of Portela Stallaert
Their lead is still 4 minutes, as the peloton is unable to gain more time.
The chase back in the peloton is dominated by Focus
But they don’t look strong enough! 30 kilometers to go, 4 minutes advantage for the breakaway. Will we see a breakaway make it on the very first day here in France?
The Spanish veteran, Oscar Freire
thinks the pace is too slow, and he attacks with 28 kilometers to go!
Freire
surprised everyone earlier this season, with an amazing victory from a breakaway, but it isn’t meant to be this time, and Focused
catches him only 2 kilometers later.
20 kilometers to go, and the breakaway still counts 11 riders, and they’re still riding very well! They’ve got a solid lead of 3’15, with the final 10 kilometers being mostly descending. The challenge will definitely be to stay away on the coming climb.
And this is definitely not an usual opening stage of a mini-tour. One of the stage favourites, aswell as a GC favourite attacks! No one is able to follow Koren
and he’s off solo, which should suit him well, considering his ability in individual time trials. 15 kilometers to go!
Reus
decides he can’t let Koren
go, and he attacks a short moment later. He’s followed by Casar Roy Frischkorn Van Goolen Ignatiev
But they will need to hurry up if they’re going to stand any chance at the stage win. 5 kilometers away from the top of the climb, the gap to the 11 riders in front is still 2 minutes.
Attacks up front mean the breakaway splits in two. With 11 kilometers left, Portela Geslin Stallaert Likhaya Heymes & McLay
are still fighting for the stage win.
The attacks back in the peloton shows 4 riders are stronger than the others. Reus Koren Roy Ignatiev
are 45 seconds ahead of the peloton with 11.7 kilometers left. They’ve cut the gap to the 6 in front to 1’35, meaning they can’t look much at each other if they want the stage win.
The elite chase group catches the 5 riders dropped from the breakaway with 10 kilometers left, 200 meters before the top of the climb.
Up front, Geslin
secures his polkadot, taking the last mountain sprint ahead of Portela Heymes
But you can see the chasers just behind, will they be able to join them on the descent?
Vansummeren
uses the final meters of the climb as a Launchpad for his attack, and he flies over the top, ready to do descend like a demon to catch the group of favourites.
Vansummeren
descends very well, and he manages to make contact with the group of race favourites, which is the 2nd group on the road. Up front are still our 6 breakaway riders, led by Likhaya
But their gap back to the 10 chasers isn’t very big, and 35 seconds behind that group comes the peloton.
Roy
makes the catch! It gives us 16 riders up front, almost 1 minute ahead of the peloton, which should mean a very interesting sprint. All 11 breakaway riders are here, while Roy Ignatiev Reus Koren Vansummeren
are the late attackers.
But the peloton is flying! Boucher & Van Goolen
start the sprint with the 16 riders up front in their eyesight, and they immediately start to sprint with 3000 meters left, hoping to not loose valuable time.
Up front, Likhaya
is forced to lead out. He has Geslin Portela Stallaert Roy Reus Vansummeren Ignatiev
in his slipstream. Heymes
looks to be doing his own thing on the left side of the road.
1900 meters to go, and Geslin
makes his move! The peloton has been able to make contact with the back of the group, but they won’t be able to compete for the stage victory. Portela
follows just behind Geslin
while the big GCriders currently holds their positions, a bit back in the group.
Under the 1 kilometer banner, and the big guns has some meters to make on Geslin
It’s Koren Roy
who currently rides the fastest bikes, with Ignatiev
being a bit blocked behind Vansummeren
400 meters to the line, and Geslin
is caught and passed! That can’t be good for the morale, so close, but no win. At least he can comfort himself with the polkadot. Ignatiev
has found a way through, and now he storms to the line between the fading Geslin
Koren
is by no means slowing down, giving Ignatiev
a real fight for the stage win.
And it’s Ignatiev
who can celebrate the stage win! Roy
just managed to pass Koren
for 2nd place. (Note, the actual finish line is just behind the finish line marked on the road.)
Geslin
at least holds on for 4th place, ahead of Vansummeren Reus
Breschel
came fast at the end, but he was never in contention for more than 7th place, being the quickest from the bunch.
