TDF Stage 10 Report and Results 2014 Tour De France

Stage 10 Report:

Stage 10 on the map

Monday July 14, 2014

Bastille Day

161.5k from Mulhouse to La Planche Des Belles Filles;

High mountains, mountaintop finish (mtf)

Rain has passed for now, and it is partly clear at the start, temps in the mid 60s. The finish line atop the summit is shrouded in rain and clouds early, but may clear later.

Today is the first real mountaintop finish...and it's Bastille Day. Most of the parcours is up and down; very little flat road. On paper, it is the toughest stage the riders have seen, so far. It should be a good GC battle before the first rest day on Tuesday. Seven categorized climbs are featured on stage 10. Four of them are category-1 climbs, including the summit finish atop the Planche des Belles Filles (5.9k at 8.5%).

The remaining 183 riders leave the start town of Mulhouse. They have 20k of flat roads to start the day, before all the climbing begins.

Shortly after the neutralized opening kms, the attacks begin.

*Ten riders are off the front, and trying to form a viable break. The peloton lets them go.

Stage 10 Profile

The first seven riders clear are Westra (AST), Voeckler (EUR), Moinard (BMC), Irizar (TFR), Visconti (MOV), Gerard (BSE), and Riblon (ALM). A handful of others are chasing them. 

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TDF Stage 9 Report Results and Standings 2014 Tour De France

STAGE 9 Report:

Stage 9 on the map

170k Continuing through the Vosges, from Gérardmer to Mulhouse.

Mountains; flat finish.

Six categorized climbs today, the last summit comes with about 40k to go to the finish (20k of descending, and the final 20k are flat).

Weather: overcast with chance of rain; mid 60s f.

Today should favor a breakaway.

Right from the gun, the pace is high...

Peter Sagan is an early escapee. He's reeled in soon however.

Brice Feillu gets a gap.

Halfway up the first climb, about 25 riders are out ahead of the pack now.

Purito Rodriguez and Thomas Voeckler are working hard in the break.

 

Stage 9 profile

*km 11.5: 1st KOM (cat-2):

Thomas Voeckler was first over the Col de la Schlucht.

1. Voeckler  2. Edet  3. Rodriguez  4. Dumoulin

The peloton are pulling back the chasers at the top of the climb.

Voeckler has moved into second place in the King of the Mountains jersey competition.

*Tony Martin (OPQ) and Alessandro De Marchi (CAN) have escaped, and at km 35 they have a :20 lead. 15-20 other riders are chasing them, and the peloton is about 1:15 back.

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Stage 11 Time Trial Preview 2013 Vuelta a España

"The old man" Horner in red again

Stage 10 of the Vuelta a España featured a steep summit finish where Radioshack’s Chris Horner earned his second stage win of the race, and reclaimed the red jersey of overall race leader as a bonus. To the other top GC contenders the American’s relentless attack with about 4.5k to go must have seemed too early to stick. It was not until almost 2k to go that Vincenzo Nibali responded with a move of his own to chase down the plucky American.

Nibali finished 48 seconds behind Horner, and :14 ahead of Valverde, Basso, Rodriguez and Pinot, with Nicolas Roche another eight seconds back. Daniel Moreno struggled on the climb, lost the race lead, and dropped down to 6^th place.

Leopold Konig and Ivan Basso swapped places, Konig moved down from 7^th to 11^th place, and Basso up to 7^th from 11^th. The Italian Cannondale leader moving up as a result of the very good form he has been showing in the mountains.

You can see there was a lot more movement in the standings than after stage 9. Many riders made either significant advances or losses based on their performance on the final climb up the Alto de Hazallanas on Monday. Notably, beyond Horner moving into the lead, and the other “rearranging” of the top five, Thibaut Pinot of FDJ found the big climb to his liking, and he moved up ten spots to 8^th place overall. His higher aspirations may find trouble next weekend however, with stages 14 and 15, as more descending will be on the menu—Pinot’s big weakness.

Stage 10 Preview 2013 Vuelta a España

Mountainous stage 10 is the last in the south

Here is a reminder of the demanding stage-10 profile for Monday. The big summit finish will surely see more changes to the overall classifications. The GC favorites will likely fight hard for advantages, as the stage is followed by a welcome rest day on Tuesday (there is however a long transfer north before stage 11). After the rest day the riders will tackle the only individual time trial of the race on Wednesday which will further establish the pecking order ahead of the big Pyrenean stages to come.

Stage 10 Profile

 

Stage 10 categorized climb profiles

My pick to win stage 10: Joaquim Rodriguez.

I think Purito will want to go for whatever time he can grab in the mountains, before the TT on stage 11.

 

Preview of stages 8 to 10 2013 Vuelta a España

Three consecutive uphill finishes coming up on stages 8-10 before the stage-11 time trial.

Stage 8 on the map

Stage 8 Saturday is a big summit finish on the Alto de Peñas Blancas. The climb is 14.5k averaging 6.6%, with a maximum gradient of 12.5%. It rises almost a thousand meters in that span, and is a category 1 climb.

Stage 8 Profile

Final cat-1 climb of stage 8

As you can see in the profile, the climb is steep at the bottom, then levels off a bit for a couple kilometers before kicking up again for nine long kilometers to the summit.

The GC contenders will have a good battle on Saturday.

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Stage 9 Profile

Stage 9 final 5k

Stage 9 on Sunday is a good opportunity for a breakaway. The category 2 climb at km142 is 6.1% average and tops out about 16.2k from the finish. The last kilometer tilts up to the finish line.

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Stage 10 Profile

Stage 10's two tough climbs

Stage 10 ends with two big, painful climbs. The final climb to the finish is 15.8k long, but pay no attention to the average gradient. It includes the 3 kilometers of flat and descending road that precedes the real beast. The final 7+ kms are very steep, with max gradients approaching 20%. The first rest day follows, so stage 10 should see a good battle among the GC guys.

Pick your favorite climbers. The big steep finishes will offer guys like Purito and Pozzovivo a chance to gain back some lost time. I think Valverde and Uran should also shine this weekend. It will good to see if Horner and Roche and especially Zubeldia can keep their high places after these climbs.

My pick for stage 8: Domenico Pozzovivo

Stage 10 Report and Results 2013 Tour De France

 

197k from Saint-Gildas-des-Bois to Saint-Malo

Weather: 25 c (78 f); sunny; winds: 14mph, windier at the finish; (10^th sunny day in a row); I heard more sun and heat are expected this week.

The picturesque finish town of Saint-Malo

182 riders took the start today.

Dmitry Muravyev of Astana has not abandoned the race, as was reported yesterday.

Ryder Hesjedal was the man responsible for Peter Kennaugh’s scary crash on the Col de Portet-d’Aspet on stage 9. Hesjedal apparently tweeted an apology to Kennaugh.

This is a day for the GC contenders to take a break and recover further from the mountain efforts. It is the sprinters day to animate the race.

The peloton are on the road now.

The early break of 5 consists of: Oroz (EUS), Simon (SOJ), Mate (COF), Westra (VCD), Cousin (EUC); they escaped at the start.

 

Stage 10 profile

Their lead was up to 5:40 at one point;

-145k (90 miles to go): The 5 leaders have a gap of 4:29 to the chasing peloton.

-125k: the lead is 3:58;

Stage 10 Preview and Profile 2013 Tour De France

The apparent ease of the 4 jersey wearers belies a hectic first week

The General Classification contenders will see only two significant challenges in the coming week before the next rest day. Even the mountain jersey hunters will have a few days off. In fact, the next four stages only include a combined total of 2 available mountain points.

The next test for the GC riders comes with the stage-11 time trial from Avranches to Mont Saint-Michel on Wednesday. After that, the next test is the stage-15 mountaintop finish on Mont Ventoux.

The brief but potent sojourn into the Pyrenees created a tense pecking order among the contenders, and now it is time to let the fast men grab some limelight again. The sprinters will have several opportunities in the coming week to stretch their legs on some flat terrain. Stages 10, 12, 13, and possibly 14 could all end with bunch sprints. But let’s take them one at a time.

Stage 10 on the map

The peloton have taken the longest transfer of the race from yesterday’s stage 9 finish in the Pyrenees, all the way up to the Loire-Atlantique department in the Pays-de-la-Loire region in the northwest for stage 10. Tuesday’s stage 10 from Saint-Gildas-des-Bois to Saint-Malo is 197 kilometers of relatively flat roads traveling north through Brittany. Along the way, the views should continue to be spectacular.

 

The finish town of Saint-Malo is an intriguing walled city on the English Channel with much history. An old stronghold of French corsairs and pirates, Saint-Malo’s fortifications endured one of the bitterest battles following the Normandy invasion in the Second World War. The Tour De France will host its own battle there on Tuesday between the sprinters who have come to claim their booty.

Stage 10 Profile

The intermediate sprint point comes at kilometer 127.5, and the only categorized climb of the day is a category-4 veritable bump in the road 55k before the finish. Peter Sagan has been fortifying his lead in the green jersey competition and will look to increase that lead on Tuesday. Mark Cavendish, André Greipel, Marcel Kittel and others will have something to say about that. 

 

Unfortunately for all the sprinters, Sagan’s current lead in that competition will be unassailable on Tuesday, as he holds a 93-point lead over second-place Greipel. Sagan will definitely be in green again for the next stage unless he is out of the race for some reason. In fact it does not seem likely that any of the jerseys will change hands on Tuesday.

Stage 10 final kms to the finish

MY PICK: André Greipel. His lead-out train is strong and organized, and he will be motivated to narrow the margin between himself and Peter Sagan.