Did you spend the rest day staring at tea leaves to see if you could spot a likeness of Tadej Pogačar or Jonas Vingegaard or staring at clouds to see their shape might give us a clue? Today the pair are forcibly separated by regulation with this short, sharp time trial.
After yesterday’s frantic stage, a flat route along a valley with scenic views of a meandering river and some châteaux-vision today would do nicely to calm the nerves. But no, another big day in the Alps awaits that’ll have viewers perched on the edge of their sofas like cyclists on the nose of the saddle, all anticipating a chink of daylight between Vingegaard and Pogačar. The duel continues.
A summit finish stage and after the Pyrenees, the first long ascent to the finish line. The Grand Colombier awaits and it’s 14 July, Bastille day, so expect big crowds on the roads.
The other baroudeur stage of the Tour de France, today’s stage is a crucial day for many riders and teams desperate for a stage win given they’ll be harder to come by in the remaining mountains and sprint finishes.
With the Tour de France celebrating Raymond Poulidor last weekend, one tangential aspect was the enduring rivalry between Poulidor and Jacques Anquetil. Even if they’d happily chat as retired riders they were always seen as opponents. It’s been a while since cycling has had any contest that continued once the finishing line was crossed, let alone a dividing line that’s split families and a nation alike.
Can’t climb? Can’t sprint? Then today’s an opportunity for a stage win and a lot of the peloton will have this stage in mind.
The legendary Puy de Dôme climb is back in the Tour de France and offers a unique summit finish, visually spectacular and a tough climb with steep slopes that never relent.
The Puy de Dôme is an extinct volcano in central France with a road that winds around the cone to the top. It’s been the scene of one of the greatest duels in the Tour de France and a famous photo, you can read the story of both below.
It had become a road that belongs to cycling’s past because the construction of a railway line to ferry tourists to the top has meant the road is now closed but this Sunday it’ll be open to the Tour de France.
