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TdF'13 Stage 13 - Tours to Saint-Amand-Montrond (July 12)
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| Malkael |
Posted on 11-07-2013 15:58
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Stage 13 - Tours to Saint-Amand-Montrond
Another day in the Tour de France and another flat transition stage, as the race continues its journey towards the city of Lyon. The peloton departs from the city of Tours and journeys 173km to the town of Saint-Amand-Montrond. While Stage 13 will be considered a stage for the sprinters, a short climb, within 10km of the finish in the outskirts of Saint-Amand-Montrond, may ruffle a few feathers if ridden at a high enough tempo.
The King of the Mountains competition makes a quick return for Stage 13, with just one Category 4 climb on offer. A shame for those hoping to learn more about the climb the peloton will begin about 10km from the finish, with information sparse on the Tour de France website. The Category 4 Côte de Crotz comes 77.5km after the peloton depart from Tours, it is a relatively short climb just 1.2km in length with an average gradient of 4%. Fortunately, Stage 14 will be considerably more enticing for the King of the Mountains contenders.
Intermediate Sprint
The Intermediate Sprint lies 112.5km from the stage's beginning in Tours, and comes 35km after the ascent of the Côte de Crotz. Once again, the terrain will be almost perfectly flat approaching the line. With Andre Greipel, of Lotto-Belisol, again the most likely to be the best placed sprinter, as the German vainly tries to reduce the deficit to Peter of Sagan, of Cannondale. With opportunities slowly running out, the Slovakian will almost certainly wear the Maillot Vert (Green Jersey) on the Champs-Élysées.
Final Kilometers
Stage 13's finish in Saint-Amand-Montrond will be less technical and challenging than yesterday's finish in Tours. However, there are still some annoying changes of direction in the approach to the finish line. Why the race organisers decided to take a detour off the Avenues leading straight in to the finishing line is baffling. What we can say, is that it guarantees that positioning and speed coming out of the corner will be vital, with a roundabout located 400-500m from the finishing line.
Is there ever a sprinter's stage where Mark Cavendish, of Omega Pharma-Quickstep, is not the odds on favourite? However, Cavendish's aura of invincibility has been waning as of late, with his two German rivals stealing much of the spotlight. After two forgettable days for Cavendish, involving two controversial events, could the Manx Missile be about to turn that rage in to a stage victory? His Omega Pharma-Quickstep lead out will surely have to improve however, unless Cavendish decides to take advantage of a rival's lead out.
Should Cavendish fail once gain, then Andre Greipel, of Lotto-Belisol, automatically becomes most people's prime favourite for the stage victory. Once again, the organisation and experience of the Lotto-Belisol sprint train could be the crucial decider between who takes the stage victory. The German National Road Champion should be the favourite should he enter the sprint well positioned, and at high speed, ahead of the his rivals.
While Argos-Shimano and Marcel Kittel have had a wondrous 2013 Tour de France so far, another stage victory would always be welcome. Constantly of benefit to Argos-Shimano's chances of claiming the stage victory is their absolute focus on the stage finish, with their rivals potentially battling for points at the Intermediate Sprint. Kittel's positioning and speed going in to the sprint will be key, as he has the pure power and top end speed to edge his rivals on the day.
Nearly always certain of a finish somewhere within the top five for the stage is Peter Sagan, of Cannondale. As stated a several times already, he arguably lacks the top end speed required to defeat Cavendish, Greipel and Kittel. Yet he compensates through his excellent positioning and ability to often follow the right wheel. Barring an unfortunate accident, we will probably see the Slovakian secure yet another top five finish, much to the chagrin of Greipel.
Outsiders for the stage victory include Matthew Goss for Orica-GreenEDGE, Danny van Poppel for Vacansoleil-DCM, and Alexander Kristoff for Team Katusha. The performances of Danny van Poppel in his debutante Tour de France have been particularly impressive, especially when you considering the Dutch cyclist is still 19 years-old. While the Dutchman's chances of a stage victory are quite slim, he could achieve yet another encouraging top five stage finish.
The breakaway deserve a special mention as outsiders for a Stage 13 victory today. As you just never quite know what sort of damage that climb beginning just 10km from the finish might cause. While it seems likely that the sprinters will take the stage victory, we have seen the party spoilt by surprise breakaways before.
Another day for the sprinters? Or will a plucky breakaway steal the stage victory from under their noses? If it does come down to a sprint, do you favour Cavendish? Greipel? Or Kittel? Maybe even an upset? |
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 11-07-2013 16:01
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Kittel to take another one.  |
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Posted on 25-11-2024 10:15
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 11-07-2013 16:04
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Kittel, unless that little hill near the finish is substantial at all.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| CountArach |
Posted on 11-07-2013 16:09
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Yeah anyone know anything about that climb? I'm guessing it is nothing given it isn't categorised.
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| Spilak23 |
Posted on 11-07-2013 16:16
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100 meter rise in 3-4 km
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| Malkael |
Posted on 11-07-2013 16:17
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Sprinter
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Hopefully Inrng or Mikkel Condé (C-Cycling) know more about it. Best I could get from trying to read the topography and everything on offer was that the climb peaked at around at least 200m. |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 11-07-2013 16:21
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This stage has Gilbert written ll over it 
Although that depends on how he after the crash today  |
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| Spilak23 |
Posted on 11-07-2013 16:22
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Don't think it will have much influence
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| VoetsT |
Posted on 11-07-2013 16:24
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If cavendish not wins this stage, I'm done with the Tour 
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 11-07-2013 16:29
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sutty68 wrote:
This stage has Gilbert written ll over it
Way too easy for him. It's a pure sprinter stage.
That little "hill" is basically 2-3% for a few kilometers.
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| Malkael |
Posted on 11-07-2013 16:32
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Sprinter
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The way Cavendish is going however, he could either bomb it on the hill or stroll away with the stage victory. No inbetweens for the Manx Missile at the moment it seems, just the great and the bad.
Okay things probably aren't quite that bad
Edited by Malkael on 11-07-2013 16:34
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| Spilak23 |
Posted on 11-07-2013 16:41
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I think the hill would have been enough to drop Kittel last year.
It's there that his improvement lays i think. His climbing is MUCH improved which allows him to start the finale way fresher
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| Tjoertszc |
Posted on 11-07-2013 17:03
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I cannot see how the hill should provide any challenge tomorrow, Straight road with a slight bend towards the end.
With a headwind the last 10 km an attack is unlikely to be succesful. I expect Cannondale to go full speed up the hill to see if they can tire Cavendish, Kittel and Greipel. If any of the three were to drop I think it would be Cavendish; Kittel climbed better on Sunday.
The deroute off the avenue (why oh why?) will cause a major position fight, and since this is probably the last sprint before Paris, I expect another major crash. |
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| cio93 |
Posted on 11-07-2013 18:07
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Is there ever a sprinter's stage where Mark Cavendish, of Omega Pharma-Quickstep, is not the odds on favourite?
Well, this is probably as close as it can get
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| Schleck96 |
Posted on 11-07-2013 18:11
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I keep failing when I bet on sprinters, but tomorrow Cav will finally get me some PCM's. |
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| cio93 |
Posted on 11-07-2013 18:14
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Schleck96 wrote:
I keep failing when I bet on sprinters, but tomorrow Cav will finally get me some PCM's.
Because you'll bet on Kittel? 
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 11-07-2013 18:16
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Schleck96 wrote:
I keep failing when I bet on sprinters, but tomorrow Cav will finally get me some PCM's.
If it is like me, it's 2nd place syndrome. Bets on Cav, finished 2nd. Bets on Greipel, finishes 2nd or crashes. Bets on Kittel, neutral. |
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| cactus-jack |
Posted on 11-07-2013 18:17
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I just saw somebodu comment on a newspapers FB-page on an article regarding EBHs injury, saying that this was bad news for an allredy seriously weakend Sky, ending with "they are close to underdogs now".
On the stage; does it have a lot of twists and turns in the end?
There's a fine line between "psychotherapist" and "psycho the rapist"
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| Schleck96 |
Posted on 11-07-2013 18:18
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Miguel98 wrote:
Schleck96 wrote:
I keep failing when I bet on sprinters, but tomorrow Cav will finally get me some PCM's.
If it is like me, it's 2nd place syndrome. Bets on Cav, finished 2nd. Bets on Greipel, finishes 2nd or crashes. Bets on Kittel, neutral.
Aboslutely this.... Even in stage 2 when I spent some PCM's on Sagan, goddamn Gerrans won. -.-" |
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| Jesleyh |
Posted on 11-07-2013 18:19
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Miguel98 wrote:
Schleck96 wrote:
I keep failing when I bet on sprinters, but tomorrow Cav will finally get me some PCM's.
If it is like me, it's 2nd place syndrome. Bets on Cav, finished 2nd. Bets on Greipel, finishes 2nd or crashes. Bets on Kittel, neutral.
Cool, wish that'd work for me. I'd always bet on Van Poppel in those sprints then
Feyenoord(football) and Kelderman fanboy
PCMdaily Awards: 12x nomination, 9x runner-up, 0x win.
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