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[Closed] tour de France stage 10 - Annecy > Le Grand-Bornand

lunge · 2018-07-17T08:11:41Z

Finally, finally some hills... Two stages in a row feature non asphalted roads. After stage 9 including the cobblestones of Paris-Roubaix and a rest day in between, the first Alpine stage goes through the Plateau des Glières using a 1.8km carriage way with no tarmac. It might not impact the overall result of the Tour de France as it’s still far away from the finish in Le Grand-Bornand but it surely has an historical dimension with the national monument to the Resistance. It’s a tribute to the 121 members of the Resistance who were killed by the Germans in March 1944. On a sporting point of view, the col de Romme and col de la Colombière at the end of the race make a frightening double before the downhill to Le Grand-Bornand. The climbers can now show up. Lumpy. and the last 5km? Will the GC guys funally come out to play? lets see. The Contenders: Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) won the opening mountain stage of the Vuelta last year, taking the others in the front group by surprise. Does he try and snipe the sprint or will he try in the mountains? I think he and others are more likely to try and mark so he’s got a good chance to preserve his energy on the final climbs, exploit the descent to pressure rivals and take the sprint. Otherwise it’s hard to gauge form so Alejandro Valverde is a default pick because he can win the sprint if he’s in contention at the finish. Whether he can get over the climbs in the front group is another matter but the relative brevity of the climbs suits him and he can hang back while Movistar team mates Mikel Landa and especially Nairo Quintana try longer range moves. Another aspect in favour of Valverde today is the conservatism of the first mountain stage where riders will often try to get the measure of each other, especially because the descent means landing a knock-out blow is harder. Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) stands to gain the yellow jersey and he can win the stage too and will want the time bonus. Like Valverde he’s got a quick finish and like Valverde we’ll see how he fares over the multiple, steep climbs. Dan Martin (UAE-Emirates) is quick in a group too but Valverde and Thomas should be quicker so perhaps the Irishman takes a flyer and stays away, he’s got the jump to do this on the Colombière. Adam Yates is another rider who is quick out of a group. Mitchelton-Scott have ferried him around Northern France like a fragile parcel and now he’ll find less support and the onus on him. Julian Alaphilippe (Quick Step) could hang on, he managed a stage win in the Dauphiné but was on the limit on the Col du Mont Noir before getting it together for the finish. A good descender he could lose time on the final climbs and just come back but it’s not obvious. It’s a good test for Bob Jungels, can he stay with the others on the final two climbs? Warren Barguil was floating over the pavé. Has he found the form of last summer again? His problem is that he’s not far enough down on GC to try any attacks. What chance of a breakaway? Slim and it would need some big engines to tow it across the first part before some climbers who are no threat to GC try to stay away on the final climbs. So Dani Navarro (Cofidis), Darwin Atapuma (UAE-Emirates) and of course Thomas de Gendt (Lotto-Soudal) come to mind. However they breakaways may all have their eyes on Thursday’s stage to Alpe d’Huez, especially de Gendt who’s not just a breakaway specialist but a big trophy hunter with wins on Mont Ventoux and the Stelvio and tactically Stage 12 suits a break a bit more. Interesting pics for a rest day are always hard to find so I'll do my best. Dimension Data take a spin along the lake. Getting the bike ready. Froome in the sun.

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CaptainFlashheart

Posts: 50252

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Oh, and...

<div class="bbp-reply-author">CaptainFlashheart
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Hills!

Breakaway to go over the Glières and make it stick, I reckon. Someone looking for the polka dot

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Fairly close!

Posted : 17/07/2018 11:54 pm

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