Into the Pyrenees!
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| The HC Col de Pailheres |
The first week of the Tour
De France is over. Now comes the overall contenders’ first real test of
condition. Stage 8 takes the riders into the Pyrenees, over the 15k-long, Hors Categorie (Above-category, or HC)
Col de Pailheres, and then drops down for the final climb to the finish: the
cat-1 Ax 3 Domaines.
It is a chance for a climber who is out of the General Classification contention to try a brazen attack for a breakaway stage win. It is also the first big mountain stage where the overall GC contenders get to test each others’ legs.
It is a chance for a climber who is out of the General Classification contention to try a brazen attack for a breakaway stage win. It is also the first big mountain stage where the overall GC contenders get to test each others’ legs.
[For those of you who have
not been able to watch the race on NBC Sports, stage 8 will be broadcast live
on NBC’s regular broadcast network on Saturday.]
Sometimes the top overall
contenders wait until the last climb to attack each other. But there are always
some riders who will go out in an early break, and other plucky ones who will
try to escape on the penultimate climb. Either way, we are in for a treat on
stage 8.
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| Stage 8 on the map |
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| Stage 8 heads south, into the Pyrenees |
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| Stage 8 Profile |
The
first real
climb comes after
about 125k of flat roads. Officially, the Col de Pailheres is 15.3k long and
has an average gradient of 8%. But the peloton will be riding generally uphill—though
on a lighter grade—for about 20k before they hit the official base of the
climb. It has some very steep sections near the bottom, and another 10%+
section over the penultimate kilometer to the summit. The climb will take the
field over 2000 meters of elevation before the long descent to Ax-Les-Thermes.
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| The HC Col de Pailheres climb profile |
From Ax-Les-Thermes at 770m
the riders will climb the 8k cat-1 to Ax 3 Domaines at 1375m high. The final
climb is listed as 7.8k at 8.2%. It is steepest in the middle, and from the top
where the KOM marker is, the riders will have a kilometer and-a-half of
relatively level road to sprint to the finish line. That 1.5k could be the
difference between a pure climber like Joaquim Rodriguez or Igor Anton winning
the stage, and a climber with a fast finish like Alejandro Valverde or Tejay
Van Garderen.
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| The final climb to Ax 3 Domaines |
I doubt we will see any vicious attacks coming from the GC men on the first big climb. I would think it more likely that they will wait for the last climb, and not attack each other until then. Stage 9 on Sunday is going to be a serious leg-drainer, and I would expect a lot of guys will want to save as much energy as possible for that climbing bonanza before the rest day on Monday.
Regardless of what happens,
we’ll be in the Pyrenees, and that makes me happy.
I think this is a good stage
for Chris Froome to put the hammer down right away, and establish his
domination. If he cannot--or if he is allowed to, and chooses to take it easy--a
number of guys could step up and take this stage. Bauke Mollema has been flying
under the radar the whole first week. I would like to see him challenge Froome
on Saturday. I am also curious to see how Andrew Talansky does on the first
high mountain stage. Valverde, Rodriguez, Evans should all be among the high
finishers.
My pick for stage 8,
however, is going to the 30-year-old Spaniard from Team Saxo-Tinkoff, Alberto
Contador. He came in to the Tour “at 90%” and, as usual, expects to gain form
over the course of the race and be at 100% for the final week in the Alps. So I
might not normally pick him for a win this early, but I just have a feeling
that el Pistolero won’t be gun-shy on
the only mountaintop finish in the Pyrenees.
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