After the Vosges, the Jura. Today’s stage doesn’t get too mountainous but the finish includes several steep climbs that will eject the sprinters and let attacking riders take their chance.
There’s also a bonus climb after the categorised ones and just for fun it’s got running water, loose gravel and potholes on the way up… and down.
The Tour de France has completed three stages in the Vosges, visits the Jura range tomorrow before the Alps and then the Pyrennes. The race rates climbs with five labels, from 4th category for the easiest all the way to 1st category and then HC for hors catégorie, or “beyond categorisation”. A frequently asked question is how are these categories determined.
With no preview tomorrow because it’s a rest day here’s the daily take on the day’s stage. It was a day marked by the loss of Alberto Contador as much as the win by Vincenzo Nibali.
As part of a series to explore the famous roads of cycling, here is the Planche des Belles Filles in France. The idea with this series is to discover the road and its place in the world, whether in cycling’s folklore or to explore what it is like on a normal day without a race.
The Planche des Belles Filles is a novelty that first appeared in the Tour de France in 2012 after the Tour de France boss Christian Prudhomme came across cyclists buzzing about the climb on a forum. It’s back for the 2014 Tour and could well feature again and again.
If they lack the altitude of the Alps and the mystique of the Pyrenees the Vosges have plenty of offer. Today’s stage is a showcase for the small mountain range, crossing six passes before stinging finish at the Planche des Belles Filles.
It’s 14 July, Bastille Day, the French national holiday so expect giant crowds and beaucoup d’attaques. It’s live on TV from start to finish.
A big day of climbing but the route has the look of a decisive stage in reverse, a series of climbs followed by a flat run to the finish. Consequently it’s not as selective because the finish allows time for things to regroup. It’s a deliberate choice not to make the race too selective, instead it offers the certainty of a big breakaway. It’s all on tough roads where it will be hard to control and if a team or two wants to launch an ambush it can be done.
Denis Menchov has been given a two year ban and stripped of all results from the Tour de France in 2009, 2010 and 2012 following a successful anti-doping prosecution based on findings from his biological passport.
It’s the biggest catch so far by the UCI, a grand tour winner who is now thrown off the podium of the 2010 Tour de France. Only the news was discovered accidentally by a cycling fan browsing the UCI website earlier this afternoon. Later today the UCI issued a short press release to confirm this but explaining little else.
The first week of the Tour de France has flown by, so much has happened during the past 1291km. The Tour seems to create its own time and space and Yorkshire seems to be more than a week ago. It’s been a week packed with action and drama yet the race has only just got going and this weekend sees the .
The first mountain stage of the Tour de France, today’s stage offers a lively finish with some sharp climbs saved for late including the first summit finish of the Tour. The first of the Vosges trilogy over the long weekend in France, today is a mountain hors d’oeuvre but promises an exiting finish.
The Tour heads east towards the Vosges mountains and this is a final transition stage ahead of the mountains. Two late climbs add some suspense to the finish, it’s uncertain if the sprinters can cope. There’s nothing severe but it makes for a finish that’s harder to control.