2014 Tour de France: First stage in Pyrénées

Stage 16: 237.5 kms from Carcassonne to Bagnères-de-Luchon

Today is the longest stage in this year's Tour – 237.5km. It's a savage introduction to three tough mountain stages in the Pyrénées. Of the five categorised climbs – two are significant: Col de Portet d'Aspet (Cat 2) and the final Port de Balès (HC). It was on the descent from the Portet d'Aspet that Fabio Casartelli had his fatal crash in the 1995 Tour. 

Although this stage isn't a mountain top finish, it is straight down to Bagnères-de-Luchon from the top of the Port de Balès, so virtually no chance of making up any time lost on the climb. The Port de Balès has recently started to be popular in the Tour. It made its first appearance in the 2007 edition, after the road had been resurfaced then in 2010 and 2012. The famous chaingate incident occurred in 2010 when Andy Schleck slipped his chain when attacking Alberto Contador, who was criticised by some for not waiting for Schleck. Had they been riding together it might have been reasonable for Alberto to wait but as Andy had put in an attack I can't see why Contador should have been expected to wait for Schleck to sort out his chain. In the event Andy Schleck won the 2010 Tour because of Contador's drugs offence. 

Fortunately the forecast is good for the next two days with the possibility of showers on Thursday afternoon. 

Will Vincenzo Nibali show any weakness today – I doubt it. Instead it looks to be a battle for 2nd and 3rd places. 

See video preview of Stage 16 here.

 

#TDF13: the road to Gap opens a very tough last week

 

Doubtless it will be a relief for Chris Froome and the rest of Sky to get back on their bikes and head from Vaison la Romaine to Gap rather than fielding endless questions about doping following Chris Froome's very impressive ride up the Ventoux on Sunday. The offer by Dave Brailsford to turn over all of Sky's data to an organisation like WADA looks a good one. Assuming that Sky do indeed carry this through then it will be interesting to see if all the other teams follow suit.  

The stage to Gap is lumpy with two 2nd Cat climbs and one 3rd Cat. In 2011 Cadel Evans attacked Andy Schleck then in the Yellow Jersey on the final climb the Col de Manse above Gap. From the top of the Manse it's 11K downhill to the finish. Evans gained more than a minute on Schleck. 

Team Sky will need to be wary but after Froome's emphatic win on Sunday his rivals may be more concerned to attack each other in the fight for a podium place. Still you never know as this has been such an unpredictable Tour.    

#TDF13: first showdown for Yellow

After a fascinating first week of the 100th Tour we have now reached the first showdown in the high mountains – the first of two stages in the Pyrenées. Sometimes the first mountain stage proves to have a decisive impact on the race; sometimes it doesn't quite live up to its billing. Last year the first mountain stage to La Planche des Belles Filles proved to be decisive for Wiggins. He took the Yellow Jersey and kept it all the way to Paris. 

Will today's stage to Ax-3 Domaines establish the eventual winner? I have my doubts but it should show up anyone who has looked promising so far but in fact does not have the form to be a real contender. Making the transition from the relative flat to long mountain climbs often catches out a few riders, although this year there have already been two hilly stages in Corsica and a lumpy one to Albi. So all rather different from a series of flat stages across Northern France before hitting the Alps as has been the case in some years.

The performance of Andy Schleck will be closely scrutinised. Is Andy Schleck returning to his previous form or will it fall apart once the high mountains are reached? Today's stage should gives us some idea.

We'll be following the action on Steephill.

    

2011 Tour de France: great 19th stage and all set up for grande finale

Yesterday's race to and up the Alpe d'Huez is likely to be remembered as a legendary stage, especially as in Pierre Rolland it featured a French win for the first time this Tour and on top of the famous Alpe. The racing by the favourites started on the lower slopes of the Col du Télégraphe when Contador attacked. Cadel Evans was unlucky to have had a mechanical problem soon after and lost time when he had to change bikes. However, despite the best efforts of Alberto everything came back together at Bourg d'Oisans at the foot of the Alpe d'Huez. Contador attacked again got away and looked to be heading for the stage victory having passed Pierre Rolland, team mate of Thomas Voeckler, who had been allowed to attack just before the start of the climb. However, as Contador started to fade, Samuel Sánchez and Rolland caught Contador. Soon the Frenchman proved to be stronger than the two Spaniards and Pierre rode away for a famous first Tour stage victory.

Cadel Evans and the two Schlecks finished together with Andy taking the Yellow as Thomas Voeckler had been unable to follow the pace of the leaders up the Alpe. Even so he has done an amazing job defending Yellow since he won the jersey in Saint-Flour.

Mark Cavendish and most of the rest of the field just failed to make the cut but were reinstated. However, the riders all lost 20 points off their Green Jersey totals. Mark Cavendish now has 280, Rojas 265 and Gilbert 230 points. Mark should still win the Green but it is not quite as comfortable for him as it was before these two brutal Alpine stages.

Stage 20 Gap to Gap Individual Time Trial 42.5k

So it is has come down to time trial to decide the outcome of the 2011 Tour. Andy Schleck has 53 seconds on brother Frank and 57 on Cadel Evans, who starts as favourite to overhaul Andy. However, in the Bordeaux time trial last year Andy did much better than expected, so it could well be very tight. I'd like to see Cadel win but Andy Schleck might just hang on.

'Sculpture' from the finishing line of last year's time trial at Pauillac

2011 Tour de France: 18th stage Schlecks finally dare, 19th stage short but very tough

The 18th stage from Pinerolo to the Col du Galibier was certainly brutally tough. Andy Schleck finally went for it and produced a great ride to win the stage from an attack 60km from the finish to move him to just 15 seconds away from taking the Yellow Jersey. Again Thomas Voeckler rode well surprising me once more as I predicted yesterday that he would lose it. I'll stop making predictions!

Cadel Evans also did a great ride up the Galibier to limit the lose of time to Andy Schleck and incidentally ensured that Voeckler remained in Yellow. Evans is now at 1.12 behind with Frank Schleck at 1.08. These four are now well over two minutes clear of Damiano Cunego and Ivan Basso both on 3.46. The big losers of the day were the two Spaniards – Alberto Contador and Samuel Sánchez. Both blew up at the top of the Galibier and lost a lot of time. Alberto is now 4.44 down and Sanchez at 5.20.

The pity for Evans was that the chasing bunch wasn't able to rise consistently to reduce the gap between them and Andy Schleck. Indeed the gap went out on the climb up the Col du Lautaret as no one was really prepared to take up the chase. It wasn't until right at the top that Cadel opted to really go for it that the gap started to come down but without assistance it was impossible to bring it right down. Evans reduced the gap by about two and half minutes but still finished 2.15 behind Andy.

More than half the field finished outside the time limit including Mark Cavendish. The Tour organisers decided to keep all the riders in the race but docked Mark 20 points from his Green Jersey total, so he is now only 15 points ahead of Rojas who just managed to cross the finishing line in time.

Stage 19: Mondane to L'Alpe d'Huez 109.5km

This is a very short but again brutally tough stage. Back over the Galibier but this time going up the harder northern side and heading down to Bourg d'Oisans and the famous L'Alpe d'Huez with its 21 steep corners. The Schlecks will want to take further time out of Cadel Evans. I'm sure Thomas Voeckler would love to hold on to Yellow at the end of this stage. Can Contador find the legs to attack on the Alpe and regain time?

If the favourites race hard all the way it is going to be very difficult for many riders to make the cut as the stage is so short. Mark Cavendish has to beat the time limit otherwise he will be in real trouble.

The Alpe is an amazing place to watch the Tour. We went there once in 1986 and saw Bernard Hainault and Greg Lemond ride up together. We had hoped to see Robert Millar doing well but he had an off day and was well down.

2011 Tour de France: at last fireworks on Stage 16 and preview of Stage 17: Gap to Pinerolo

Yesterday the leading contenders finally produced fireworks rather than damp squibs. It was Alberto Contador who set things off early on the only categorised climb of the day – the Col de Manse (2nd Cat). Unlike Andy Schleck's tentative forays on the Plateau de Beille, Alberto put in a series of more sustained attacks and duly got his reward. Only Cadel Evans and Samuel Sanchez were able to  stay with him. The Schlecks were some 30 seconds down by the top of the climb.

Worst was to come on the descent as Andy Schleck lost further time ending 66 seconds behind Cadel Evans who dropped Contador and Sanchez on the descent and gained three seconds on them at the line. Voeckler held onto his Yellow Jersey comfortably although he lost time on this leading trio. Obviously Evans was the biggest gainer of the day, although Alberto showed that his knee must now be better and that he is ready to attack.

The Schlecks, in particular Andy, were the biggest losers compounded by Andy's winge about descents being dangerous. By their comments after the stage both brothers reinforced the impression that they hate going downhill. They look to be paying for their timidity in the Pyrénées.   

Although Mark Cavendish didn't pick up any more points, it was a good day for him holding onto his Green Jersey, coming in just seven places behind Andy Schleck and seeing his rivals just pick up a few points: Rojas 3 and Gilbert 2.   

17th Stage: Gap to Pinerolo
Today's mountain stage takes the riders into Italy (179k) over two 3rd cat, two 2nd cat and Sestrières – 1st cat. There is a lot of descending in the final part of the stage, so the Schlecks could again be under threat. Will Contador again attack? He will want to try to gain time on Evans if he can.

The intermediate sprint comes shortly after the first climb of the day – the Côte de Sainte-Marguerite, which is short (2.8K) but quite steep (7.4%), so unless there is a big breakaway Cav ought to be able to pick up a few more points here. Being a mountain stage there are only 20 points available to the winner of the stage.

Leading overall standings after 16th stage

1st: Thomas Voeckler
2nd Cadel Evans:   + 1.45
3rd: Frank Schleck: + 1.49
4th: Andy Schleck: + 3.03
5th: Samuel Sanchez: + 3.26
6th: Alberto Contador: + 3.42
7th: Ivan Basso: + 3.49
8th: Damiano Cunego: + 4.01

2011 Tour de France: 14th stage marred by timidity + preview of 15th to Montpellier

The Schleck brothers have three days in the Alps to save their Tour. If they can't break the stalemate then their ambitions will be swept away in the Grenoble Time Trial by Ivan Basso and Cadel Evans. To ensure victory for either Andy or Frank they need to put in at least two minutes to their principal rivals. Not forgetting that Thomas Voeckler still leads the race by 1.49 from Frank Schleck. I'll happily admit that I undersestimated Voeckler's ability when I thought he would lose the Yellow Jersey yesterday. He raced as a champion – sadly the others, especially the Schlecks, didn't.

The Schlecks had their team ride at the front for the last 60k of the race. For all of their efforts they had a gain of just two seconds by Andy Schleck. If, an unlikely event, I was in the Schlecks' Leopard-Trek team, I would want to know why I had been asked to expend all that energy when they weren't prepared to put in a full bloodied attack on the climb to Plateau de Beille. The two brothers seem far too cautious and timid – afraid to really go for it. Contador had difficulty responding to an early tentative attack by Andy Schleck but they failed to press their advantage, so Alberto remains in contention.

The Schlecks claim it will be different in the Alps. Maybe? But it is also possible that Contador will have recovered some form, will attack and put some time into his rivals. After the way Voeckler responded to all the moves on the final climb, one can't discount him anymore although he is traditionally not a strong time trialist.

Today's stage from Limoux to Monpellier (192.5K) ought to be one for the sprinters, so logically another win for Mark Cavendish providing he has recovered from yesterday's bad day. If not Cav this time, then I'd go for Rojas. There is just one short 4th category climb just to the west of Saint-Chinian, otherwise it is pretty flat. The sprinters will surely want to catch any breakaway before the end as this will be their last chance before the finish in Paris.

The course passes around the south of Carcassonne, so not really possible to highlight Domaine O'Vineyards, which is to the north of Caracassonne but I will include a photo of Ryan O'Connell, one of Languedoc's leading wine producer bloggers.

Ryan O'Connell@the 2010 European Wine Bloggers' Conference in Vienna 

2011 Tour de France: Stage 13: Hushvod wins in Lourdes + Stage 14: the showdown

Yesterday saw a remarkable win by the big Norwegian rider Thor Hushvod on a day when the overall favourites bided their time in an intermediate mountain stage. Thor managed to climb up over the hors category Col d'Aubisque in third place. Losing only a fraction over two minutes to his fellow escapee – Jeremy Roy. Possibly tired after being the escape the day before over the Tourmalet, Roy was caught easily within the last two kilometres. Roy did have the consolation of taking the Polka Dot Jersey – best climber.

No change to the overall standings although Philippe Gilbert underlined his abilities as an all round rider by moving up to 9th place overall – 4.35 mins behind Thomas Voeckler but less than three behind Frank Schleck. In the Green Jersey both Rojas and Gilbert nibbled at Cavendish's lead. Cav is currently on 264 points, Rojas has 251 and Gilbert 240. Mark and HTC were too casual over the intermediate sprint with Mark losing out to Rojas. Then as both Rojas and Gilbert are better climbers they picked up a few additional points at the finish. Fortunately mountain stages carry fewer points at the finish so Cav didn't lose too much. However, his Green Jersey could be under threat from Rojas today as the intermediate sprint (20 points for first place) comes after the first mountain climb – the 2nd category Col de Portet d'Aspet, which is short but steep – 4.3k at 9.7%.

Today's stage – 168.5 kilometres from Saint Gaudens to the Plateau de Beille – is crucial for the overall favourites. There are six climbs starting with the 2nd category d'Aspet, then Col de la Core (1st), Col de Latrape (2nd), Col d'Agnes (1) and Port de Lers (3) before the final showdown to the finish on the top of the Plateau de Beille (H) 15.8k at 7.9%. I expect that there will be a gradual attrition over the earlier climbs before the favourites fight it out on the climb to Beille. Hopefully the attacks will start earlier than they did at Luz Ardidenon on Thursday, so that some significant time gaps open up.

Can the Schlecks take time from Evans? Will Contador attack and recover some time? What of Basso and Cunego? Although leader Thomas Voeckler and his Europacar team will fight hard to hold on to Yellow, I can't see it happening. Whatever, it has been great to see Voeckler first take Yellow and ride so well to keep hold of it.