One other hectic hilly end the place we might see Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel in motion.
Halfzoet, halfzuur: a headwind and the understanding of a dash end meant no person wished to assault, an extended second of apathy even for groups that battle to get seen. With the race ending virtually on the Belgian border the stage could be dominated by the Belgians for good and dangerous.
Hours later on the intermediate dash there was a tangle as Bryan Coquard bumped Laurenz Rex and within the shock each of them got here unclipped from the pedals with Coquard upright however sat on the highest tube, his bike veering left and felling Jasper Philipsen who crashed arduous on his proper shoulder. All this occurred in a fraction of the time it took you to learn the earlier sentence. It ended Philipsen’s Tour.
Nearly as if to present some cheer to despondent Sporza viewers Tim Wellens attacked earlier than Mont Cassel however it was to get the mountains jersey, to alleviate his crew chief Tadej Pogačar from it and the day by day duties. It was the one actual transfer of the day however as a result of it was made for detrimental causes no person received the combativity prize for the day, solely the second time this has occurred.
Within the streets of Dunkerque Tim Merlier freelanced his option to the entrance, no prepare nor even a lead-out as he hitched a experience on the again of the Lidl-Trek prepare and prevented two crashes that took out rivals. Jonathan Milan was pumping to the road however then, with just some lightning pedal strokes, Merlier received stage. The 2 have been alongside for the ultimate 50 metres and wanted a photofinish.
Merlier was the extra photogenic. Married to Cameron, daughter of the late Frank Vandenbroucke, he’s no stranger to cameras whether or not photofinish or lengthy lenses of sections of the probing Flemish media however cuts a shy determine, an anti-sprinter who appears the quickest within the sport proper now however on the age of 32 this was simply his second Tour win.
The Route: 174km and a couple of,050m of vertical acquire. The crunchy a part of the stage takes half within the Vexin normand, hilly terrain across the Seine valley with steep cliffs.
The Anquetil climb is the primary and goes previous the Château des Elfes the place Jacques Anquetil lived, an opportunity to pay tribute to Normandy’s greatest rider and begin the climbing. Listed as 3.5km at 3.6% it reads like riders barely have to alter gears however there’s a 15% part included and it’s an irregular street up.
The Belbeuf climb is La Poterie to locals and a slim street up the flank of a cliff, a lot tougher than the close by most important street. It’s 1.2km at 10% and with 15% halfway by means of some tight bends.
The End: an city end with three climbs in shut succession earlier than the drag to the road. Bonsecours is a most important street on the town. Grand’Mare feels tougher, longer and it twists up with some hairpins even.
The Rampe Sainte-Hilaire appears wrongly named, that’s a unique road. Nevermind, for the race it’s uphill after which a sudden left flip adopted by a proper 50 metres later into very small street, the Rue Francis Yard. This entry is essential because the street immediately veers up and being ten bike lengths again is a penalty. It’s as steep because it appears on the profile above. It eases however stays on small roads over a kilometre with a brief rise as a shock too.
The descent is then on an even bigger boulevard however steep and never simple to chase right here. As soon as completed there’s a 500m rise after which the end line is after a bend to the precise with 250m to go.
The Contenders: the end is much like Sunday’s stage with a succession of climbs within the end earlier than an uphill dash. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) is the apparent choose on type and the course fits.
The place we discover van der Poel we discover Tadej Pogačar (UAE) however he’d like an extended climb to dash to the win and above all he’s driving to save lots of power, giving up the polka dot jersey yesterday and now he’ll have tomorrow’s time trial in thoughts.
Others from the end on Sunday have an opportunity. Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Accommodations) is now in his dwelling area however it’s not simple to select his second. Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) is sweet however his drawback is there’s only one or two distinctive riders forward of him. Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor) is shut however that’s the issue, if he’s not but successful it’s arduous to get previous right here too. However all three might need an opportunity with a flyer and the descent.
One rider who sat out Sunday’s finale was Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek), he was given a day-off after crashing so we’ll see if he’s in a position to race for the win right now (11:00am replace: no says newspaper HLN because the crew are all in to guard Skjelmose).
A breakaway has an opportunity right now, UAE and Alpecin-Deceuninck are the lead groups for right now’s win however the former received’t need to spend a drop of power chasing. Half of Alpecin-Deceuninck are constructed to chase the break however on the flat days, they’re much less fitted to right now’s terrain. So a transfer with some outsiders has an opportunity right here, particularly as over 100 riders are over six minutes down and so Alpecin-Deceuninck don’t must stress about each transfer. Semi-random picks are Mauro Schmid (Jayco), Ewen Costiou (Arkéa-B&B), Ivan Romeo (Movistar), Bastian Tronchon (Decathlon-Ag2r) or Dylan Teuns (Cofidis).
Van der Poel
Pogačar, Nys, Grégoire
Vauquelin, Onley, Powless, Schmid
Climate: sunshine, 20°C and a lightweight breeze, 15km/h from the NW.
TV: KM0 is at 1.35pm the end is forecast for five.15pm CEST. Tune in for the Anquetil climb round 4.20pm.
Postcard from RouenThe Tour de France is a palimpsest, every stage is written on prime of previous ones. There’s a plaque in Rouen to mark the purpose the place Jean Robic attacked to win the 1947 Tour de France, the primary post-war version and on the final stage and so Robic received with out carrying the yellow jersey.
When Tour de France got here to Rouen in 1957 a number of automobiles received into the race column inflicting hassle for the riders. As Jacques Augendre wrote up, French crew rider Henry Anglade informed TV’s Robert Chapatte “I puzzled if we have been within the Tour de France or the Monte Carlo rally“. Aggravated by this, the race organisers scratched Anglade’s title from the outcomes, coming into an “X” within the outcomes sheet the place his title ought to have been.
Anglade approached the organisers, “I’ve discovered a rider within the outcomes that I didn’t see on the startlist” he requested mischievously. “That will be astonishing, which rider is that this?” requested co-organiser Félix Lévitan, to which Anglade replied “A sure Monsieur X“. “Ah, that’s not an error however a sanction” retorted Lévitan.
Whereas Lévitan was anticipating an apology and a retraction Anglade protested saying his phrases have been truthful, including “and if I’m interviewed by Chappatte once more I’ll point out our dialog“. The opposite co-organiser Jacques Goddet intervened and Anglade received his identification again.
There’s an ethical to the story. Organisers can run the race however right now the principles are set and enforced by the UCI. There are nonetheless clauses about “bringing the game into disrepute” however this is applicable, in principle at the least, as a lot to the race president because the final rider within the race and legit criticism is okay. The Tour organiser can now not delete riders from outcomes on a whim. If they may that may be worse than the street to Rouen.
