A massive day in the Alps, today’s stage is harder than tomorrow’s dash to Alpe d’Huez as it’s got more climbs and more technical descents with no time for a breather before the underrated climb to La Touissuire.
It’s live on TV from start to finish.
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An uphill start and then rollercoaster roads for the battle to get in the breakaway, today’s route should reward the bold. The Col du Glandon sits too far from the finish to deliver fireworks but it’ll be selective before the scenic novelty of the Lacets de Montvernier.
Eduardo Sepúlveda panicked. His chain was broken and he’d just seen his Bretagne-Séché Environnement team car drive past without spotting him. The Ag2r La Mondiale team car stopped to enquire, offered him a wheel which was no Usero the rider and, inexplicably, he climbed in the Ag2r car to make up the 300 metres separating him from his team car. It’s a basic premise that you have to complete the course on your own and Sepúlveda was caught and disqualified from the Tour de France. He got a 200 Swiss Franc (CHF) fine too. Think about it: you ride in a car and get disqualified for such a serious offence… and then a light cash fine.
The fines levied by the UCI are bizarre. The sums are often so inconsequential that they never match the gravity of the deed.
The first of the Alpine mountain stages with the giant and scenic Col d’Allos and then the very difficult descent before the climb to Pra Loup, the ski resort where Eddy Merckx cracked and lost the Tour de France.
Legend has it that Saint Martin was moved by a beggar suffering in the cold and he cut his cloak in half to give the poor man some protection. The ski resort of La Pierre Saint Martin might be named after the saint but the scenes last Tuesday were the diametric opposite as Chris Froome took no pity on those hoping to get a share of his golden tunic in the baking heat.
201km and the first of the Alpine stages. The Col de Manse is the highlight, one of the rare mountain passes celebrated and feared for its descent rather than the climb. Several riders have come undone here.
The roller coaster profile looks like something out of Eurodisney but as rides go this is gentle. Yes it climbs but this is the last opportunity for the sprinters before Paris so they and their teams have to make it count.
It’s been infernally hot on the Tour de France with the temperature in the shade reaching 39°C (102°F). Only the riders can’t sit in the shade they must race in the open. Reports said riders drank up to 20 bottles each during yesterday’s stage.
Thirst and heatstroke are obvious factors but the heat takes its toll in many ways.
A picture postcard of a stage with amazing scenery and pleasant roads to ride. Not that the riders can enjoy this with oven-like heat before the explosive finish above Mende.