A long day with a sneaky surprise in store at the end as the hardest climb of the day isn’t a categorised climb. The Col de Gineste comes fifteen minutes from the finish. It’s nothing savage but provides some spice and scenery.
With crashes and climbs we’ve yet to have a full bunch sprint with the superstars and today could be the day.
Meet Magalie Thierry, Tour de France “podium girl”, cycling fan and doctorate student. It’s a visible job and not without controversy this year thanks to Peter Sagan.
If you think the job is just about smiling once every day on the podium at 5.30pm, think twice. There are early starts and a lot of logistics to manage, all whilst appearing calm and welcoming.
Here’s a short “day in the life” explanation of the daily routine and tasks to complete as well as a quick Q&A about the role.
After the Corse thrills, spills and bellyaches it’s time for the race to step on the French mainland. A team time trial awaits to shake up the overall classification.
The course is fast and injuries sustained in recent days are likely to affect the results. We’re likely to see yellow jersey change shoulders too.
Mapping the Tour by Ellis Bacon
+ Givewaway competition to win a copy of the book
The idea is simple, recount each year’s Tour de France along with a collection of statistics such as the distance, number of starters and finishers, the winner and more and then add the map of the race to accompany the words. But the ability to see how the route changes is special, making this more than a list of winners and stories from times past but an aerial view on how the the race as evolved.
As well as the review, there’s also a chance to win a copy of the book if you can guess the weight of Tour de France podium lion.
The final stage on Corsica but the most scenic. The route twists and turns before heading to the Col de Marsolino, a short but selective climb close to the finish. It could be enough to eject some sprinters denying them a chance to enjoy the finish with a fast and flat approach to the line.
One difference today for race followers is the timing. If you’re planning to catch the finish on TV, see the info below because today’s schedules are adjusted to allow the race to fly back to the mainland.
It wasn’t long ago that problems with a coach meant the Fuentes scandal or a police raid in Italy so yesterday’s finish line confusion doesn’t look so bad. A quick update on the bus and the gantry. Orica-Greenedge’s bus lost the air conditioning. If you watched the TV coverage closely you could see fluid spraying out of the top of the bus after the crash. The bus can’t be too comfortable in Corsica given the sunshine outside.
According to RIDE Cycle Review’s Rob Arnold the gantry needs repairs. The two engines that hoist the thing into place are damaged. The hydraulics are fine but the alloy structure is damaged and should be repaired within the next two days.
The structure is provided by Movico, a Dutch company who had to think quickly yesterday with disaster struck and the race was 13km away and moving at 60km/h. It was their idea to let the air out of the tyres.
A mountain stage for the second day of the Tour? There are three mountain passes and the race climbs from sea level to 1163 metres above sea level.
But what if the descents were more important than the climbs? The twisting roads have been a worry for some time given the pressures of the Tour de France where riders state there’s less room than any other race.
Corsica is labelled “l’Île de Beauté,” the Island of Beauty and the Tour de France is a way to show this to the world.
But there’s more to Corsica than the rocky mountains and the shimmering Mediterranean sea. It’s the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte and by some measures it’s Europe’s crime capital, an outpost of omertà.
The mix of natural beauty and man-made violence is the perfect introduction to the Tour de France. The peloton rolls past pine forests, beaches and blue seas with freewheels clicking like cicadas. But the closer the finish gets, the more the tension rises. The race funnels into Bastia for a high stakes finish where the best sprinters will fight for the yellow jersey.
Having looked at the other jerseys, now it’s time to assess the contenders for cycling’s ultimate prize, the yellow jersey and the overall win in the Tour de France.
Chris Froome is everyone’s pick and it’s easy to see why. But who are his rivals and how can he be beaten? Also the quantity of top-10 contenders stands out, promising a battle in the mountains.
It’s not often you see the Tour de France in the cinema so when a film arrives it can be default viewing for many cycling fans. La Grande Boucle is a newly-released French film and the tale of one man down on his luck who attempts to ride the route of the Tour in a bid to prove he’s worth something.
Sadly it’s a stinker of a film. Watch it if you must but be warned, this is the cinema equivalent of a ride on the indoor trainer, you’ll do it because it’s cycling but it takes mental strength to finish the session.