If yesterday was the greatest hits of the Pyrenees, today is the experimental album. At just 143km, the stage has some tough climbing ahead of a summit finish.
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The Pyrenees on the Horizon
Today’s rest day brings to mind Antonin Magne, winner of the Tour in 1931 and 1934 who said “the Tour is won by sleeping”. He didn’t mean he snoozed on his bike, instead that recovery was so important. Many riders today will have been working hard on their rest day, going for the right ride, eating correctly, stretching hard and getting a strong massage.
They’ll need it given the two giant stages in the Pyrenees. Playwright Antoine Blondin said the great cols of the Pyrenees “separate once and for all the racers from those who use a bicycle to go to the market” and more than the Alps these climbs can be traps with irregular gradients and twisty descents.
The Spin – Stage 6
The last of the sprint stages, today’s race will sweep across the champagne region of France before the fizz of the finish. Again this looks like a day for the sprinters but with the first summit finish looming tomorrow the GC contenders will try to ride in economy mode.
If it is a sprint finish the final kilometre has a dangerous narrow point followed by a sharp turn turn.
The Spin: Stage 4
The profile above suggests a sterile stage with a flat route and a sprint finish. But today’s stage hugs the exposed coastline for a long time and there’s an uncategorised climb before the finish to derail the sprint trains.
The Spin: Stage 2
A fast sweep across Belgium. In recent years the near-certainty of victory by Mark Cavendish would make this kind of stage almost dull to watch, even if this is testimony to Cavendish’s peerless sprinting. This year however it’s different, a sprint is still likely, “Cav” could win but there are many more sprinters who can challenge.
How To Beat Wiggins
Luxembourg’s Le Quotidien has a good piece on how to beat Wiggins, asking several team managers for their suggestions
Whilst Wiggins is the great favourite for the race I think the next three weeks can bring plenty of surprises. But let’s run with the idea that Wiggins is the rider to beat, here are the suggestions from the team managers plus some extra ideas.
Riders Blocked From Racing
It looks like the perfect picture for a cycling team. A smiling rider stands tall on the podium, dressed in yellow with the team logos in evidence as the girls hold their pose for the cameras. Even his sunglasses are perched just right on the team-issue baseball cap. But there’s something wrong with the picture.
I’m not talking about the composition of the image. You might notice the podium girls haven’t zipped up their jerseys fully but it’s not that. No, the problem here is that Radioshack-Nissan’s Jakob Fuglsang has won a race and bizarrely this could prove damaging for the interests of his team.
How High is the Tourmalet?
The Col du Tourmalet is one of the legendary climbs of the Pyrenees. With tough ascensions on both the east and west, it is a regular feature of the Tour de France. Indeed the Tour has tackled this pass more times than any other in France. So you’d hope the altitude of the pass is agreed. In case of doubt a giant sign marks the pass.
Only a new jersey by Rapha created to celebrate the legendary climbs of the Pyrenees appears to mention the wrong altitude.
Team Victory Rankings Updated
| Wins | Team |
| 30 | Omega Pharma – Quickstep |
| 25 | Team Sky |
| 21 | Liquigas – Cannondale |
| 16 | Lotto – Belisol |
| 15 | Movistar |
| 14 | Katusha |
| 14 | Orica-Greenedge |
| 13 | Garmin – Barracuda |
| 11 | Rabobank |
| 9 | FDJ – BigMat |
| 8 | Vacansoleil – DCM |
| 7 | BMC Racing |
| 6 | Euskaltel – Euskadi |
| 6 | Lampre – ISD |
| 5 | Astana |
| 3 | Radioshack – Nissan |
| 3 | Saxo Bank |
| 3 | Ag2r – La Mondiale |
The Spin: Giro Stage 21
The final stage of the race is a time trial and the overall result is not yet certain. Three weeks of racing across Italy with numerous mountain passes and Joaquim Rodriguez leads Ryder Hesjedal by just 31 seconds. It seems likely that Hesjedal will take time on Rodriguez, enough to win the race outright. Is this possible?