TDF Stage 20 Report and Results and Stage 21 Preview 2014 Tour De France

STAGE 20 ITT RACE REPORT:

54k from Bergerac to Perigueux; Rolling.

Weather: Sunny, mid 80sf.

The race against the clock shuffled the standings today on stage 20 of the Tour De France. The riders attacked a 54km individual time trial in one of the tightest podium races in recent years. Only utter disaster would have unhinged Vincenzo Nibali from his overall lead, but the rest of the podium would be decided on Saturday's race of truth.

Five-time Vuelta A España podium finisher (and 2009 Vuelta winner) Alejandro Valverde has been looking for a Tour De France podium finish, and today's ITT may be one of his last chances to accomplish that feat. With recent Giro d'Italia winner Nairo Quintana looking like the near-future of Movistar's Grand Tour GC hopes, Valverde, at 34, is running out of time.

Stage 20 ITT Profile

Two Frenchman came into the stage vying with Valverde for podium positions. Veteran Jean-Christophe Peraud of AG2R, and young climbing star Thibaut Pinot of FDJ. Last year JC Peraud started the stage-17 time trial with a broken collarbone, and then crashed out on the course, falling on the same right shoulder.  Today he had his chance for redemption. Pinot showed this year that he conquered some demons and was ready to prove his right to stand with the best...

Stage 17 Individual Time Trial Report and Results 2013 TDF

[add final kms gfx]

32k Individual Time Trial

From Embrun to Chorges

Climbing

Weather: Rain is forecast for later on; early starters have dry roads. 

The stage 17 ITT route

The earlier starters could have a distinct advantage over the later starters. Rain later in the day will force the top GC contenders (who start the course last) to exercise added caution on the descents, and could potentially set somewhat slower times.

Gorka Izagirre of Team Euskaltel did not take the start today.

I have not heard word if Alberto Contador and Nairo Quintana have made peace after their “misunderstanding” yesterday before the finish in Gap. Contador crashed on the descent a few kilometers before the finish (also delaying Chris Froome), and when he and Froome caught back up with the elite group they had been riding with, el pistolero gave the young Quintana a sarcastic thumbs up.

Contador was said to have intended the sarcasm because Quintana had attacked while Contador and the yellow jersey were down. Quintana said he did not attack when Contador went down, but just continued his pace, as he was thinking about putting time into his white jersey rival, Michal Kwiatkowski of Omega Pharma-Quickstep. The difference of opinion came after Contador and Quintana--two riders from different teams--were said to be cooperating to keep Froome from riding away with the race win like Bradley Wiggins did last year.

*Jean-Christophe Peraud of Ag2R crashed on the course this morning during a recon ride. The highest placed Frenchman in the race landed hard on his shoulder, but will take the start today anyway.  They are reporting that his shoulder is fractured. Peraud is a very good climber and is excellent against the clock—particularly on hillier courses. He will do his best to defend his ninth place overall today, while riding hurt. Bad luck for Peraud, and for his team, Ag2R, and for France.

Stage 17 time trial profile

Several riders will opt for a bike change somewhere on the course today. The irregular profile will sometimes favor a TT bike, and sometimes favor a road bike. The riders will have chosen their optimal bike-change location ahead of time. It will be interesting to see who swaps where.

TO THE ACTION:

*Time trial specialist, Lieuwe Westra of Vacansoleil sets an early best time of 54:02 over the 32k hilly course. His teammate Thomas De Gendt, who finished third in the flatter stage-11 time trial, sits in second place, twelve seconds behind Westra.

Stage 17 Individual Time Trial Preview and Profile 2013 TDF

Stage 17 ITT on the map

The Tour De France classifications have a good chance of getting a shake up on Wednesday’s climbing time trial from Embrun to Chorges. Stage 17 is the final time trial of the race. Unlike the stage-11 TT around Mont Saint-Michel, Wednesday’s stage includes two category-2 climbs. This will favor the GC climbers over the flat time trial artists.

The climbs are not easy ones. Each is over six kilometers long and averages over 6% gradient. Beyond the climbing, the technical descents are also getting extra attention. The riders will need excellent bike-handling skills to get down the hills quickly and safely. They will also have to gauge their efforts carefully and take time where they can, in the areas they each excel at.

Rui Costa showed some good descending skills in his stage-16 win on Tuesday. He has a great shot at a top spot tomorrow. Alberto Contador and Cadel Evans are good on a hilly and technical course. Evans has not been performing at his highest level during the Tour, but he might look at this TT as a potential stage win, and give it his all.

Stage 17 time trial profile

Chris Froome is probably going to put even more time into his rivals, but several others could pull off top performances on the course. The most interesting races within the race could be between second and sixth places. All those guys are close on time, and will be fighting for a spot on the podium in Paris. They should all perform well tomorrow.

The technical and hilly 32-km route

Regardless of trying to dismantle Froome, every rider in the top ten will be grappling for higher positions—and there is a lot of wiggle room.

Kwiatkowski and Rogers could jump Dan Martin. Kwiatkowski has a good shot to get back into the top ten. I expect Jakob Fuglsang and Jean-Christophe Peraud could jump Joaquim Rodriguez in the standings, but J-Rod will hope to regain any time he loses when they hit Alpe d’Huez on Thursday, and again in the high mountains on Friday, and again on Saturday.

Mick Rogers could do well, but he may or may not be tasked with saving energy for his leader, Contador, in the Alps the next three days. Alejandro Valverde, Maxime Monfort, and Andreas Klöden are others who will like the course.

Speaking of Valverde, Team Movistar could win the team competition for the day with all the climbing/time trialing talent they have. Valverde, Rui Costa, Quintana, Jonathan Castroviejo, and the Costa Rican native, Andrey Amador. Amador has not been in his best form during this Tour, but he is typically capable of a good TT, especially on a hilly course like this.

Looking further down the standings, Thomas De Gendt, Michael Albasini, Ryder Hesjedal, Jerome Coppel, and on a good day, Rein Taaramae, could also hope for good results. Whether Tony Martin will be able to excel on this course is debatable. I have higher hopes than most, but he is certainly not the runaway favorite on this one.

MY PICK: I really like Froome, Contador and Peraud on this course. But I am going to go out on a limb, sort of, and pick Jeremy Roy of FDJ.

Stage 11 Time Trial Report and Results 2013 Tor De France ITT

 

33k ITT, mostly flat

Weather: Sunny, 25c

Mont Saint-Michel hosts the stage 11 ITT finish

The course is 20.5 miles long, or 33k. The intermediate split points are at km 9.5 and km 22.

182 riders will take the start today.

Svein Tuft set an early fast time at the second intermediate checkpoint of 25:35.

Tuft finishes with the currently fastest time of 38:04.

Two-time World TT Champion, Tony Martin is on the course. He sets a new fastest time at the 2^nd INT of 24:42.

Jeremy Roy finishes at 38:12, currently second.

Thomas De Gendt comes in with a very good time of 37:30, and takes the lead from Tuft.

Stage 11 Profile

*Tony Martin comes in to the finish, and he has set the new best time at 36:29. That is an average speed of 54.271 kph. That will be the standard to beat for some time. Winds are picking up a bit, and may cause trouble for the later starters.

A report is in that spectators have thrown urine at Mark Cavendish on the course. That is shameful, despicable and dangerous. I hope they catch whoever had the tiny brain to conceive that assault. I know what their punishment should be, too.

Morons aside, let’s get back to the race:

The stage 11 ITT route

Jonathan Castroviejo is a rider I singled out for a good time today. He passes the first INT at km 9.5 with a time of 10:51. That is :30 slower than Martin’s time there.

Castroviejo is fifth at the 2^nd INT. He finishes 1:52 off the pace.

Edvald Boasson Hagen would be a good prospect for this course, but Team Sky have been told to save energy for Froome in the stages ahead. This is always a consideration. With the next high mountain stage not coming until Sunday, I thought Boasson Hagen would have been set loose today, but I guess not. EBH comes in almost four minutes off the pace.

The current leaders are:

1.    Tony Martin 36:29

2.    Thomas De Gendt +1:01

3.    Svein Tuft 1:35

4.    Jeremy Roy 1:43

5.    Jonathan Castroviejo 1:52

Tom Dumoulin of Argos Shimano is fifth fastest at the 2^nd INT.

Tejay Van Garderen seems to have rediscovered his strength. He is second fastest at the 1^st INT, just 18 seconds slower than Martin.

Stage 11 Individual Time Trial Preview 2013 Tour De France

Stage 11 on the map

The race of truth arrives to test the riders’ strength against the clock. The stage-11 time trial on the scenic island of Mont Saint-Michel is the first of two TT’s that measure just over 30k. The next one comes on stage 17 and contains two category-2 climbs. This 33k TT however, is relatively flat, and will favor a somewhat different class of favorites.

the majestic Mont Saint-Michel

We viewers get to enjoy another picturesque day as the Tour De France visits Mont Saint-Michel, but the riders will be too busy eating up the road to enjoy the scenery. Some rearranging of the General Classification will be on the menu.

Omega Pharma’s time trial master, Tony Martin, who endured a concussion, a bruised lung, and a battered body in a stage-1 crash, seems to be riding better and surely will give the TT his all. The GC favorites will be racing hard to limit their losses to—or gain time on—Chris Froome, who excels against the clock. But many very good time trial riders are here to contest this stage.

Stage 11 ITT profile

Besides Martin and Froome, strong performances can be expected from the likes of Michal Kwiatkowski, and Sylvain Chavanel. In fact Omega Pharma-Quickstep have several good TT cards to play on stage 11; Peter Velits and Niki Terpstra are also talented against the clock. I would expect a very high finish for Chavanel.

Several top GC riders like Cadel Evans, Alberto Contador and Tejay Van Garderen have all been excellent at the TT, but each one’s form has come into question. I think Contador and Evans can pull out good rides on Wednesday, but Tejay doesn’t seem to be firing on all cylinders. I would expect fast times by Jean-Christophe Peraud, Rui Costa, and Bauke Mollema, and probably Alejandro Valverde. All have shown great form lately.

 

The time trial route

Besides the GC guys, good time trial contenders include Lieuwe Westra, Tom Dumoulin, Lars Boom, Svein Tuft, Michael Rogers, Blel Kadri, and more. I have only named one Spaniard so far, but I like one of Movistar’s young talents as a possible spoiler for Tony Martin: 26-year old Jonathan Castroviejo. He has showed excellent results in time trials like these. I see him in the top five at least.

MY PICK: Tony Martin. I would not bet against him. 

My dark-horse pick would be Thomas Dumoulin of Argos-Shimano.