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Morning folks, seems slightly odd to be looking at a relatively flat day starting in Albertville, but here we are.
Lets see what's in store.
The Tour de France heads south in stage 10. The race sets off from Albertville to move through the valleys of the Isère and Rhône and finish in Valence. Flat route of 190.7 kilometers.
Virtually every year Albertville hosts a peloton of pro-riders. With the exception of Covid-19 year 2020 the Tour de France or Critérium du Dauphiné visited the town in the foothills of the Alps. Usually for a race into the high mountains, which is not the case in 2021.
In the contrary, the riders head in southwesterly direction to finish in Valence. The only KOM points are available on the Col de Couz, which is an extended viaduct of 7.4 kilometers at 2.8%. The rest of the route is flat with some Col de Couz'ish undulations here and there.
It's the fourth time that the Tour de France finishes in Valence. The first occasion was 25 years ago (Chepe González win), but in recent years the love seems to grow stronger. André Greipel sprinted to triumph in 2015, while Peter Sagan took the spoils in 2018.
Charly Mottet was born in Valence. The victor in the 1988 Tour de Lombardy also won stages in all Grand Tours. Axel Domont is a currently active pro-cyclist who hails from Valence.
The first three riders on the line gain time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds.
WHo to look out for?
The Contenders: a sprint stage but with fewer sprinters’ teams to chase now. Alpecin-Fenix are without their two fastest sprinters so Jasper Philipsen is their obvious pick but has less of a leadout to help. We know Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck-Quickstep) can get the better of Philipsen, even when he had a royal Alpecin train. We’ll see how he’s coped with the Alps, whether they have blunted his legs or not. So far he’s passing every test, the next one is the Ventoux tomorrow in searing heat.
Nacer Bouhanni (Arkéa-Samsic) has placed several times but often because he’s been behind and surfed the slipstreams rather than striking out on his own, it’s a big deal to come out and around the others but he’s got train to help. Jumbo-Visma’s Tour has gone off the rails but Wout van Aert can still salvage a stage win. Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) could feature but probably would prefer a howling wind today. Otherwise Cees Bol (DSM) should be close which gives him a shot.
With Cavendish up for the win and in green Deceuninck will be chasing but there’s a chance for the breakaway, for example if Arkéa-Samsic and DSM send a rider up the road then they need not chase which in turn boosts the chances of staying away. But still a small chance.
Not to many pics today, rest days are not that interesting.
Great stuff! I thought there was talk of crosswinds in the forecast for today? I do hope so and that the race is totally blown apart, with Cav on the right side of course 🙂
Cav. Again.
DQ still have a full sprint train unlike most other teams, Cav is in green and will want to protect that ahead of the Pyrenees.
I think also in the mix will be Colbrelli, Sagan, Philipsen and Bouhanni so there's always the potential with those that it might not be the cleanest sprint ever.
Standard fare today I think. Break of about 4-6, held at about the 4 minute mark, pulled back with the last rider swept up at 1km to go.
There's little reason for anyone to do anything else - KOM jersey is safe for the day, AG2R have no chance of putting Pogacar under pressure today so the only thing of interest is green. Wish Ben O'Connor had got yellow the other day, that would have been such a good show. Stupid Ineos.
forecast is for light winds to start 14 mph block head wind to finish thunderstorms all day.
forecast is for light winds to start 14 mph block head wind to finish thunderstorms all day.
Might favour a break otherwise it’s as crazy-legs says I reckon.
Block headwind normally won't do the break any favours unless there is a good amount of riders in the break and they all work well together.
Problem for Cav and his team is there may not be many other teams wanting to help bring back the break, which then could play into the breaks hand.
Ineos chasing Ben O'Connor the other day was a shame, but also good tactics on their part, had O'Connor got yellow then AG2R would have to ride on front to defend yellow. By chasing him it kept Pogacar in yellow meaning UAE have to ride on front. And the only way to defeat Pogacar will be to isolate him from his team and make him ride to chase any dangerous moves.
By chasing him it kept Pogacar in yellow meaning UAE have to ride on front
They only need to ride on the front if someone is up the road. The reality is that the race for places 2-10 will mean teams go on the front in place of UAE
Carapaz is riding for second, the big question is whether anyone will dare to ambush and challenge Pogacar (the sad reality is that any move would be countered by a team riding for 2-10)
Goes right past my front door today (within 2-3m ish) at around 75km. Current weather is sunny, still with occasional threat of shower.
Descent of the col de Placette will be fast: big sweepy road that gets tighter as it heads into Voreppe. The Col de Couz is nothing... definitely doesn't feel like a col.
Goes right past my front door today (within 2-3m ish) at around 75km. Current weather is sunny, still with occasional threat of shower.
Put out a massive STW banner!
Last year they went past in the opposite direction. Feels like they have been riding all year and are on their way back!
Goes right past my front door today (within 2-3m ish) at around 75km.
Please make a sign up .... STW loves Cav !! .... and hang it out your window.
You'll be a legend around these parts for ever more !!
This was my effort back in 2014 when the Tour, unthinkably, went past my front door in sunny Sheffield 🙂 . Seems like a lifetime ago now...
20 mins to race start. One non-starter, Jonas Koch (Intermarché-Wanty Gobert) who has been ill.
Plus of course the riders who didn't make the time cut on Sunday.
I've had to vacate the area as they shut the road at midday and have got to take my son to his sailing lesson whilst it goes through so will sadly miss it all.
The sky is very dark and threatening and there is a wond. Probably about force 3 down at the lake about 20km away.
I'm goode at moaning...
forecast is for light winds to start 14 mph block head wind to finish
I'm hearing cross tail.
2 up the road from the off, DQT and the Peloton happy bunnies.
If it comes down to a sprint, is that final roundabout/right turn going to cause issues for the lead out? Looks like a very short run to the line from there?
Other than DQS, there won't be too much order in the last KM. Break will be caught almost too early, there'll be a bit of hesitancy and someone like Kung might go for a long one but other than that, it'll be a right mess with few leadout trains and more opportunists like Sagan and Pedersen mixing things up. Colbrelli might have just lost a bit off top end speed after his big day out in the hills. Cav from Bol. Sagan 3rd.
Cav just stated right turn with 250m to go, but good to see Cav had clearly been studying the course and videos, he is really loving the riding again..
Cav just stated right turn with 250m to go, but good to see Cav had clearly been studying the course and videos,
Apparently he has a photographic memory so studies the course and then knows exactly what is coming up in minute detail, particularly in the last few km's, and thus has a very clear idea of what he is going to do and exactly where.
If Cobrelli, Matthews and Sagan want to light it up I think they'll have to deal with WvA
so Froome vs Cav on this 4th Cat ?
2 down 1 to go
Lots of tiny little cans of come being drunk there
Ritchie Gate hits the deck!
Who got the intermediate sprint from the bunch?
I've just turned it on, they're saying about how Cav didn't even bother contesting it so I wonder who did.
Colbrelli, Matthews, Phillpson
looks like they want the break back before the final climb. and then they back off!
Starting to wind up a bit. Could be some finish...
Ooh, splitting up a bit now, some slight crosswinds. Getting tense!
no better team to be with in the crosswinds than DQS
Yep, GvA is ripping it up too, he's always a good shout in a crosswind. Carapaz in the front group but isolated.
Shame that Colbrelli made it into the front, could have done with him not getting any points!
Who is your money on?
It really doesn't look like they're chonking along at 60kph or so. Still baffles me how you can do this day after day after day! Come on Cav 🙂
Still Cav but he does have all his competition up in that front group. Bouhanni, Colbrelli, Matthews, Sagan, Greipel - all there.
WTF are Ineos playing at.? Carapaz on his own in the front group and G and the rest coasting along having a blether in the 3rd group.!!! Do they have better information than everyone else and are confident that it'll come back together or have they just left Carapaz to look after himself as he has no real chance of catching Pogacar.?
Shame Colbrelli made it back but Cav has got the whole DQS team with him.. none of the other sprinters have much of their trains left..
WTF are Ineos playing at.? Carapaz on his own in the front group and G and the rest coasting along having a blether in the 3rd group.!!!
There's no way they can catch that front group and no reason to try since Pogacar is in the front too. No-one of any note is gaining or losing any time.
Wonder how many matches Colbrelli has burnt, where Cav has had a lovely smooth ride..both of Alpecin Fenix sprinters out, no Demare, Ewan etc?
Any one else love to see Cav take his 35th (having one two of the 4-5 sprint stages left) on the Champs Elysees?
Great how even Alaphilippe is all in for Cav to, the whole team is believing the dream
There’s no way they can catch that front group and no reason to try since Pogacar is in the front too. No-one of any note is gaining or losing any time
Making a big assumption Carapaz doesn't have any problems/mechanical/puncture.. Seems like they might have saved it though.. riders reappearing on the front..
...and they are so disciplined, so good at this part.
Alaphilippe looks like he's got his business face on!