Stage
7 Race Report:
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| Stage 7 on the map |
A long, mostly flat
stage under cloudy skies today:
234.5k (146 miles) from
Epernay to Nancy;
Just two cat-4's on
the course, both inside the last 20k. The last is a short, steep climb with a fast
descent, and it tops out just 5k before the finish. Looks like a tempting spot
for a late attack, but I think several sprinters should make it over to contest
the stage--assuming the break doesn't succeed.
Peter Sagan is a
good pick today. I like Samuel Dumoulin as a dark-horse pick.
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| Stage 7 profile |
*Today's finish
town of Nancy was the sight of some race carnage on stage 6 of the Tour back in
2005, when a crash up front led to a huge pile-up of riders on a wet curve
running into the finish. Then 25-year-old Fassa Bartolo rider, Lorenzo Bernucci
became the unlikely benefactor of the metal, rubber and flesh apocalypse behind
him, when he magically escaped the pile-up and sprinted ahead to take one of
his two career race wins--and certainly the biggest of his career.
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| Lorenzo Bernucci was lucky in Nancy in 2005 |
Two years later,
while riding for T-Mobile, Bernucci tested positive for a banned substance, and
received a one-year ban. In 2010 he was caught with doping substances in his
house, and is still now serving a five-year ban that is due to end in early
2016, when he will be 36.
To the road!...
6-man break: Elmiger (IAM), Edet (COF), Busche
(TFR), Huzarski (TNE), Pichot (EUR), and Delaplace (BSE) have escaped the bunch.
Their lead was uo
to 4:30 around km30.
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