173k from Tours to Saint-Amand-Montrond
Flat
Weather: sunny, 25-27c/77-82f;
crosswinds expected on the open road.
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| Stage 13 profile |
In a pre-race interview
today, Mark Cavendish was full of praise for Marcel Kittel. He said the
German—who has won three stages here already—is the best sprinter at the Tour
right now. I am paraphrasing, but Cav also suggested that Kittel has
established himself as one of the best sprinters in the world, and that this
Tour might mark a sort of changing of the guard. “It’s the cycle of life,” he
said. It was strange to hear the
28-year-old speaking as though Kittel were part of a “new generation” of
cyclists coming up who could be supplanting him as the fastest in the world.
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| Stage 13 continues to the southeast |
As I mentioned yesterday,
Team Sky lost Edvald Boasson Hagen to the big crash that happened with about
2.6k to go on stage 12. That is the second important cog in their wheel to be
forced to abandon the race (Kiryienka missed the time cut in stage 9). Boasson
suffered a broken bone in his shoulder when he went down hard as riders crashed
in front of him and he could do nothing to stop his bike from hitting the
pile-up and throwing him to the ground. With Kennaugh and Thomas riding out
their own injuries, Chris Froome will have to get the best out of the remainder
of his team to keep him protected and help him conquer the Alps next week.
The little hill that pops up
in the last 10k of the stage is reported to be insignificant. The sprinters
should be able to control the finish. Wind in the wide-open stretches may be a
big factor today.
TO THE ACTION:
At the start six men go
clear.
The 6-man break consists of:
Przemyslaw Niemiec (LAM), Cyril Lemoine (SOJ), Luis Mate (COF), Ruben Perez (EUS), Yohann Gene
(EUC), and Kris Boeckmans (VCD).
Niemiec is highest place on GC at +24:58.
Km 28: With 145k left to
ride the leaders have a gap of 2:30 to the peloton.
-120k: the lead is up to
3:42.
