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TdF'13 Stage 10: Saint-Gildas-des-Bois to Saint-Malo (July 9)
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| Malkael |
Posted on 08-07-2013 14:43
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Sprinter
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Stage 10: Saint-Gildas-des-Bois to Saint-Malo
With the French Pyrenees and the rest day in Saint-Nazaire behind them, the peloton returns to the domain of the sprinters, as le Tour de France travels through Brittany. The 197km long stage from Saint-Gildas-des-Bois to Saint-Malo, while hardly pancake flat, should favour the likes of Mark Cavendish, of Omega Pharma-Quickstep, and Andre Greipel, of Lotto-Belisol. The pressure will be on to perform, with Maillot Vert (Green Jersey) holder Peter Sagan, of Cannondale, holding a commanding 93 point gap to closest rival Greipel.
Intermediate Sprint
The Intermediate Sprint arrives 127.5km in to the stage's route, or 69.5km from the finish if you prefer, in the midst of some uneven terrain. Greipel has dominated almost every Intermediate Sprint to date against his rivals, and despite the rolling nature of the stage profile he could notch up yet another crucial “victory”. Leading in to the Intermediate Sprint, the terrain dips in elevation to approximately 60m before rising considerably to near on 105m with 500m to go.
Beyond the lone Intermediate Sprint, there is not much on offer for the plucky opportunist outside of a seemingly unlikely stage victory. The King of the Mountain classification goes on a fast after two stages in the French Pyrenees, with Stage 10 featuring just one categorised climb, some 55km from the finish in Saint-Malo. The Category 4 Côte de Dinan, which offers just one point to the first rider across, is a modest climb just 1km in length and an average gradient of 4.2%.
Final Kilometres
Much like the finish of Stage 7 in the town of Albi, the approach in to the Stage 10's finish at Saint-Malo features very few round-abouts or nasty corners within the last couple of kilometres. The finish should favour those who prefer long straight sprints, with only the slightest of curves in the seaside road to disrupt a pure drag race to the line. With the road slightly descending from 20m in elevation down to 0m towards the finishing line, the likes of Greipel and Marcel Kittel, of Argos-Shimano, may be at a slight advantage.
Stage Favourites & Dark Horse
After surviving two backbreaking days in the mountains, and the batteries recharged after the rest day, today seems like it should be a certain victory for one of the sprinters. With more challenging stages to come, the sprinters will surely want to make the most of what few remaining opportunities they have left. So I expect the breakaway to be expertly marshalled by teams such as Omega Pharma-Quickstep, Lotto-Belisol, and Argos-Shimano.
Is there ever a sprinter's stage where Cavendish is not the odds on favourite? It is understandable though with the dominance he routinely shows in the important sprints. With Greipel and Lotto-Belisol winning the last bunch sprint in Montpellier on Stage 6, after Cannondale blew apart the peloton in Stage 7 to Albi, Cavendish will be eager to take revenge. His chances of success will rest upon two factors, the state of his lead out and his positioning going in to the sprint.
Confident from his victory in Montpellier on Stage 6, and with Lotto-Belisol keen to make up for the loss of Jurgen Van Den Broeck, Greipel should challenge Cavendish for the stage victory. With a 93 point gap to close to Sagan in the Points Classification and a stage victory at stake, the pressure will be on Lotto-Belisol to execute their lead out to perfection. Should Lotto-Belisol position Greipel in the perfect position to launch his sprint, ahead of Cavendish, the German will be the favourite to triumph.
Slightly behind Cavendish and Greipel as a contender for the stage victory is Marcel Kittel. While Argos-Shimano have not yet been able to perfect their lead out for the German, he has shown he has the speed to defeat the competition. Of benefit to Argos-Shimano's chances of claiming a second stage victory will be their absolute focus on the stage finish, as their rivals potentially vie for points at the Intermediate Sprint. Again positioning will be key, as Kittel has the explosive power and top end speed to edge his rivals on the day.
With the three major favourites for a Stage 10 victory discussed it is time to examine the dark horse that is Peter Sagan, of Cannondale. Sagan arguably lacks the top end speed required to defeat Cavendish, Greipel and Kittel. However, he compensates through his excellent positioning and ability to usually follow the right wheel. An excellent display of these abilities was exhibited by Sagan at Montpellier when he finished second, locked in to the wheel of Greipel.
So after the excitement of Stage 9 and the boredom of the rest day we are back to the sprints. Who will you be backing for Stage 10 from Saint-Gildas-des-Bois to Saint-Malo? Or perhaps this Tour de France has yet another surprise in store.
Edited by Malkael on 08-07-2013 15:23
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| Selwink |
Posted on 08-07-2013 14:46
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Grand Tour Champion
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Great preview! Cavendish will take this one I think
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| Strydz |
Posted on 08-07-2013 14:48
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Team Leader
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I say Cavendish has this one
Hells 500 Crew and 6 x Everester
Don Rd Launching Place
Melbourne Hill Rd Warrandyte
Colby Drive Belgrave South
William Rd The Patch
David Hill Rd Monbulk
Lakeside Drive Emerald
https://www.everesting.cc/hall-of-fame/ |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 08-07-2013 14:58
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Tour de France Champion
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Cavendish has to do something good with this stage  |
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 08-07-2013 14:59
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World Champion
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I think a breakaway will take this one. |
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 08-07-2013 15:05
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World Champion
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Miguel98 wrote:
I think a breakaway will take this one.
No chance whasoever.
OPQS, Lotto and Argos would never give away a stage like this.
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 08-07-2013 15:08
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World Champion
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Let's hope for that. Greipel just edges Cav for the win, while Froome get's caught (pls) in a small crash. |
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| Jacdk |
Posted on 08-07-2013 15:10
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This stage will end in a mass sprint, there is no doubt about, no one will get away as the sprinters want their action after being tortured with the mountains.
So its going to be Cavendish all the way 
Edited by Jacdk on 08-07-2013 15:11
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| ShortsNL |
Posted on 08-07-2013 15:12
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 898
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Got my PCM$ bet on Cav and Greipel, I think it will be a head-to-head battle between the two.
If Cav wins, I break even.
If Greipel wins, I win 18$.
If someone else wins, I lose 22$ (my total two bets).
Chances of me not losing money are quite high, while chances of me winning money are higher than losing money if you ask me.
I like going for these win-win situations, because if Kittel wins a Dutch team has won which also makes me happy  |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 25-11-2024 11:15
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| Aquarius |
Posted on 08-07-2013 19:51
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The closest stage to (my current) home. I've cycled to Paimpont once last September.
Hardly an interesting stage profile-wise though. |
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| cio93 |
Posted on 09-07-2013 00:44
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Wow.
If you have some spare 5 minutes sometime between now and the finish of this stage, do anything, but stay away from the cyclingnews forum.
Basically, 75% of them believe it's between Sagan, Degenkolb and EBH with the "hills" taking out the pure sprinters.
Or it's between Cav and Sagan. Because Greipel gets over those hills so much worse than Cav? 
Edited by cio93 on 09-07-2013 00:44
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| Mwuhi |
Posted on 09-07-2013 00:47
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Stagiare
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I heard there could be much wind in the last part of the stage, so actually I think it could be not a complete sprint. So I doubt if it is going to be between Cav, Greipel, Sagan and Kittel. Maybe someone like Flecha can get away in the end.
Would be nice to see |
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 09-07-2013 00:48
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Tour de France Champion
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Everyone except Kittel will make it for sure. probably everyone.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| kyanto |
Posted on 09-07-2013 06:31
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Free Agent
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Greipel wins imo. I've got a feeling this isn't Cavendish's tour.
Also, these 50 meter hills indeed look very demanding.... |
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| Alakagom |
Posted on 09-07-2013 08:33
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World Champion
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cio93 wrote:
Wow.
If you have some spare 5 minutes sometime between now and the finish of this stage, do anything, but stay away from the cyclingnews forum.
Basically, 75% of them believe it's between Sagan, Degenkolb and EBH with the "hills" taking out the pure sprinters.
Or it's between Cav and Sagan. Because Greipel gets over those hills so much worse than Cav?
Who is this Greipel boy you're talking about?
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 09-07-2013 08:45
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Tour de France Champion
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baseballlover312 wrote:
Everyone except Kittel will make it for sure. probably everyone.
Kittel is climbing quite well this Tour, actually. Cavendish mostly drops out before Kittel. |
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| Avin Wargunnson |
Posted on 09-07-2013 09:12
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World Champion
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This one should be for one of four musketeers (three musketeers and
Dirty Saganan with porn beard actually).
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| Smowz |
Posted on 09-07-2013 09:28
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Team Leader
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Skittles, missile or Gorilla hmm.
Hearing the Gorilla roar methinks. Provided they don't get stuck Lotto have the best lead-out.
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| Schleck96 |
Posted on 09-07-2013 12:11
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Cavendish for sure. |
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| Daggen |
Posted on 09-07-2013 12:16
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Sprinter
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Cavendish or Greipel |
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