Pau once more and a dash stage however with some hills within the end.
Gros Lot: some assaults at the beginning and 4 robust riders bought away. However solely 4 they usually weren’t allowed area. Alpecin’s Silvan Dillier gave the impression to be towing for hours, Movistar helped too but it surely meant two of Dillier’s crew mates missed the time lower.
On the strategy to the end Alexey Lutsenko tangled with a central divider and fell, prompting an enormous crash that included Mathieu van der Poel who was not in a position to be on lead out obligation. Primož Roglič fared badly, he appeared to slam to the bottom. He quickly again chasing however by some means with out urgency, as if Roglič couldn’t journey laborious and he misplaced over two minutes.
Within the dash Dan McLay dropped off Arnaud Démare for an extended dash and it regarded like his good outdated days have been again with a trademark lengthy dash however he light proper on the finish, and bought relegated for drifting proper. This transfer wasn’t diabolical however ended Wout van Aert’s probabilities of revival as as soon as once more he was up towards the boundaries. Mark Cavendish was additionally relegated but it surely’s uncertain he misplaced sleep. Each strikes have been questionable however there’s no doctrinal understanding right here, the decision is printed with out reasoning.
Biniam Girmay didn’t get a leadout however he was ferried into place Mike Teunissen as if the pair have been late arrivals at a theatre, hurriedly squeezing previous seated patrons to achieve their reserved seats earlier than the present began. Girmay timed it proper once more and took a 3rd win.
Girmay leads the factors competitors by over 100 factors and, for illustration, Philipsen would want to win at present and as soon as once more with out Girmay scoring in any respect within the end simply to shut the hole.
The Route: 165km and 2000m of vertical acquire. The ultimate picks up the identical roads as utilized in 2012 for the stage to Pau gained by Pierrick Fedrigo, that 12 months the climb close to Monassut-Audiracq was categorised, 1.5km at 5.5%. It’s these hills that would swimsuit a breakaway if sufficient riders collaborate and take a look at to boost the end.
The End: flat boulevards in Pau.
The Contenders: dash or breakaway? The identical query as alternatives for each are fading. We did see stronger riders and extra groups making an attempt to go clear yesterday however the sprinters gained once more.
The hillier strategy can tire some riders so Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Wout van Aert (Visma-LAB) and Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) appear finest suited.
Wheel-of-fortune picks for the breakaway win are Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek), Oier Lazkano (Movistar) and Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ)
–
Philipsen, WvA, Girmay
Cavendish
Climate: 21°C and sunshine. A westerly wind will blow at about 20km/h and crucially it might gust extra that means the potential for crosswinds however not the understanding.
TV: KM0 is at 1.50pm CEST and the end is forecast for five.30pm CEST. Tune in for the ultimate hour to see the hills and if the wind has bought up.
Postcard from Pau
Pau once more. With 76 visits it’s the third most common hang-out of the Tour de France after Paris (145) and Bordeaux (82). Paris is clear because the end and it has hosted a stage begin 35 instances too. Bordeaux is sensible as an enormous metropolis that’s an apparent stopping level for all of the years when the race lapped across the outdoors of France but it surely’s arguably a twentieth century venue because it’s solely hosted two stage begins and one end this century. On present developments Pau will quickly turn into the second most visited cease.
Why Pau? It’s nearly on the foot of the Pyrenees. Virtually is price stating in case anybody visits with expectations of the Tourmalet being a brief spin away. However it’s a massive metropolis, sits on the A64 autoroute and has loads of inns. This final issue is essential because the Tour requires at the very least 4,500 resort beds an evening, one third of that is booked by ASO for the groups and all of the organisation from the UCI commissaires to the publicity caravan workers; the remainder are media and others engaged on the race who make their very own bookings.
For years the Tour used makeshift dormitories, the likes of Eddy Merckx typically needed to spend the night time on a camp mattress in a college gymnasium. Even parsimonious Raymond Poulidor stated typically he felt like paying for a resort after a tough day’s racing however can be disqualified. It’s nonetheless a rule at present that groups should use the lodging equipped by the race.
Yearly when the route is unveiled the sight of Pau may be met with mentions of “encore” and “once more” but it surely a pleasant place to ship a postcard. A scholar city with its fort, the view of the Pyrenees, a paved sq.. Pau it has its charms and beats Tarbes, the opposite massive place to the east. However if you’re not tasked with block-booking hundreds of rooms and plan to journey within the Pyrenees take your choose from most of the smaller cities and villages nearer to the mountains.
The put up Tour de France Stage 13 Preview first appeared on The Inside Ring.
