TDF Stage 17 Race Report and Stage 18 Preview 2014 Tour De France

STAGE 17 REPORT:

 

Stage 17 on the map

124.5K From Saint-Gaudens to Pla d'Adet

Weather: Sunny, 80 f; light wind

The 17th stage of the 2014 Tour De France was dubbed the queen stage of the race. It began with about 50k of relatively flat roads.  The final 75k featured virtually no flat roads. What it did feature were four big mountains for the peloton to climb. First, three category-1 climbs: the 1292-meter high Col du Portillon, the 1569m Col de Peyresourde, the 1580m Col de Val Louron Azet; and then came the finish, 1654m up on top of the Hors Categorie Pla d'Adet.

An 8-man break got away early, without the top mountain jersey contenders. Joaquim Rodriguez tried, but failed to get into the break again.  As a result, his Katusha team chased hard to try and bridge the gap to the leaders before they reached the mountains.

Stage 17 profile, with four big Pyrenean climbs

The 8 escapees were: Gautier, Slagter, Elmiger, Arashiro, Edet, Kadri, Voigt, and Paulinho. They held a lead of one minute by the intermediate sprint point at km 31. Kadri took the INT ahead of Elmiger and Paulinho...

TDF Stage 16 Race Report and Stage 17 Preview 2014 TOUR DE FRANCE

STAGE 16 REPORT:

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Stage 16 on the map

 After the transfer west, from Nimes to Carcasonne, the riders enjoyed the final rest day on Monday. Today the peloton headed out of Carcasonne and into the Pyrenees for the longest stage of the race. 237.5 kilometers From Carcasonne to Bagneres-de-Luchon, featuring the hors categorie climb of the Port de Bales late in the stage. The finish line comes just after the fast 20k descent off the big mountain.

The weather was clear and sunny for the riders, as they prepared for a long day in the saddle. Everybody wondered who would benefit and who would suffer after the rest day. Simon Yates of OGE was a non-starter, as was World Champion Rui Costa, who is suffering from pneumonia. 

 Rafal Majka of Tinkoff Saxo grabbed the first category-4 climb at km25. The single KOM point was all he needed to take the lead away from Joaquim Rodriguez in the king of the mountains competition.

Stage 16 profile; into the Pyrenees

Various breakaway attempts failed, until after almost two hours, 21 riders broke free to form the day's main break. They were:

Kwiatkowski, Bakelants, Voeckler, Gautier, Reza, Albasini, Keukeleire, Rogers, Gallopin, Serpa, Izaguirre, Van Avermaet, Slagter, Roy, Montaguti, S. Dumoulin, Delaplace, Kiryienka, Vachon, Eisel, and Kluge.

The highest placed rider in the break was Kwiatkowski, who came into the stage in 16th place, down 19:24 to the overall race leader, Vincenzo Nibali. Europcar's Thomas Voeckler had won here in Luchon twice before: on stage 16 of the 2012 Tour De France, and on his way to winning the 2013 Route du Sud, so it was no surprise to see him make the break.

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.