That's all for today folks ...
Another dominant display from Sky and Chris Froome, in which the race leader showed little or no sign of weakness as he was forced to repel a number of attacks. “He feel very good today, he was very defensive and it’s been a good day for us,” says Mikel Landa. “It’s an uphill finish and everyone have to try to give 100%,” he says of tomorrow’s stage, before admitting he didn’t feel so good today. If that’s him on a bad day ... well, crikey.
Tomorrow we’ll have a stage finishing on the Col d’Izoard for the first time in race history and it should be another belter, but first we’ll bring you the early action from the fourth edition of the women’s La Course race. The women’s peloton will tackle the famous mountain and those who finish with the best times will compete a completely new kind of race in Marseille on the penultimate day of the men’s race.
From the official website: “They will start in the Orange Vélodrome based on the time differences recorded a few days earlier in the stage ending at the Col d’Izoard. This will provide an authentic pursuit in a spectacular setting, with the possible groupings of riders making the event a completely random one. The aim for the competitors is simple: reach the finish line first in the Orange Vélodrome.”
Le TOP 10 du classement général ce soir. / TOP 10 of the GC after the 17th stage. #TDF2017 pic.twitter.com/RaQK0noOL9
— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 19, 2017
Stage 17 - Top 10
An excellent day for Primoz Roglic, but a bad one for Fabio Aru, who finished 31 seconds behind his rivals for the podium after struggling on the ascent to the summit of the Galibier.
Le TOP 10 de cette 17ème étape ! / TOP 10 of this 17th stage! #TDF2017 pic.twitter.com/Hv3S5cnPeA
— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 19, 2017
Today's headlines ...
- Primoz Roglic wins the stage
- Chris Froome extends his lead on GC
- Fabio Aru shunted off the podium
- Kittel abandons to leave Matthews in green
Top Five on GC (provisional)
1. Chris Froome
2. Rigoberto Uran +27sec
3. Romain Bardet
4. Fabio Aru, +53sec
5. Mikel Landa +1min 24sec
Chris Froome holds his lead on GC. Rigoberto Uran is now in second place with an identical time to Romain Bardet, but leading the Frenchman on hundreths of seconds.
Updated
Stage 17 Top Five
1. Primoz Roglic
2. Rigoberto Uran
3. Chris Froome
4. Romain Bardet
5. Warren Barguil
Fabio Aru is off the podium: Fabio Aru is yet to finish the stage and will definitely be off the GC podium by close of play tonight.
The sprint for second: Rigoberto Uran finishes second and picks up a six-second time bonus. Chris Froome is third and Romain Bardet is fourth.
Updated
Primoz Roglic wins Stage 17
A latecomer to cycling, the Slovenian ski-jumper turned bike-racer raises his arms in victory as he crosses the line. That was a fine effort on a marquee stage.
Updated
You’ll remember the betting odds I posted earlier: Looking back, I see that Primoz Roglic was 12-1 at the time. He passes under the one-kilometre to go kite with a lead of over a minute and is time-trialing his way to victory.
4km to go: Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic continues his escape to victory, barring an accident. He’s been brilliant today. Behind him, the main GC contenders have given Fabio Aru the slip. He’s 40 seconds behind the yellow jersey group.
If you’re joining us late: Marcel Kittel abandoned in the wake of a crash in which he hurt his shoulder and knee earlier today after coming down in a group crash. Having won five stages, his Tour is over and Michael Matthews is now in pole position to take the green jersey on Sunday.
Roglic continues his descent: With a little under eight kilometres to go, Roglic is 1min 25sec clear of the chasing posse.
King of the Mountains not yet confirmed: Apologies, we’ve been sold a pup - it’s still mathematically possible for Barguil to lose the KOM. He leads Roglic by 49 points and there are 58 up for grabs.
In the yellow jersey group: It’s hand-signals and elbow flicks a-go-go as Froome, Uran, Landa, Bardet and Barguil team up to try to chase down Roglic.
16km to go: It’s downhill all the way and Fabio Aru has about 12 seconds to make up if he’s to keep his second place on GC. Primoz Roglic is putting on a masterclass of descending as he pedals a few strokes to maximise his speed, before leaning over his top tube to minimise drag.
TV viewers are treated to some wonderful aerial shots: It’s not a particularly technical descent, but it is a very sweeping and speeding one. Roglic is hurtling down, crouched low over his crossbar and handlebars, while behind him a procession of GC contenders are working well together as they chase him down.
Warren Barguil is King of the Mountains: He’ll keep the polka-dot jersey, having made it mathematically impossible for anyone to catch him between now and Paris by being third over the Galibier. For being first over it, Primoz Roglic gets €5,000 prize for the Souvenir Henri-Desgrange for being first across the highest peak in this year’s Tour de France.
Primoz Roglic is descending: It’s scary stuff as he flies down the narrow descent with what looks a seriously scary drop on his left-hand side. Roglic’s lead over the yellow jersey is 1min 35sec. “It’s a big ask [of anyone behind Roglic] at this point of the race unless something happens,” says David Millar on ITV.
Darwin Atapuma is second over the Galibier. He’s followed by Warren Barguil in the polka-dot jersey. A 28-kilometre descent awaits.
Primoz Roglic is first over the summit of Galibier. Back in the yellow jersey group, Fabio Aru and Mikel Landa are struggling.
One kilometre to the summit of Galibier: Primoz Roglic is a minute clear of Darwin Atapuma as he heads for the summit through a corridor of excitable cycling fans, many of whom are probably drunk as newts. Some gobshites wrapped in Colombian flags sprint alongside him, until he passes between the crowd barriers keeping them out of his way. They’ll be lots of other cyclists’ problem soon.
Dan Martin attacks!
Martin launches his second big attack on the yellow jersey group and Froome, looking invincible, puts an immediate stop to his gallop. Remember, this lot are 2min 14sec behind the stage leader Prmoz Roglic. Roglic is a minute clear of Darwin Atapuma, who has put distance between himself and the trio that is Alberto Contador, Serge Pawels and Mathias Frank.
Bardet attacks again!
The Frenchman goes again and Froome follows him again. The yellow jersey group is now six strong: Bardet, Froome, Landa, Aru, Martin and Rigoberto Uran. Simon Yates has lost contact with them, while Aru looks to be struggling.
Romain Bardet attacks!
Third on GC, Romain Bardet attacks the yellow jersey group and Chris Froome responds immediately. Bardet is reeled in.
In the yellow jersey group: Polka-dot jersey Warren Barguil attacks off the front of the yellow jersey group, which is being towed by Mikel Landa. Behind Landa, Fabio Aru attempts to get up Froome’s inside, but is blocked off.
Primoz Roglic is bossing this stage! He’s flying up the Galibier with 4.4km to go to the summit. Behind him, Pauwels, Contador and Matthias Frank have been passed by Darwin Atapuma but are still going OK, not going too far into the red zone.
Contador struggling at the front: Primoz Roglic catches Pauwels and goes solo at the front. Alberto Contador settles on Pauwels’s wheel and lets him go. Back in the yellow jersey group, Michal Kwiatkowski has ridden, literally, to a standstill. The upshot? Chris Froom is left with Mikel Landa as his sole lieutenant as Sky’s Mikel Nieve is also spent.
Dan Martin attacks: The nails hard Irishman (via Birmingham) attacks off the front of the yellow jersey group. He dropped out of the top 10 yesterday after getting caught on the wrong side of the split when the crosswinds kicked in.
Serge Pauwels goes solo: The Dimension Data rider puts about 25 metres between himself and his four former companions at the front of the race. I’m not sure if he’s trying to escape or just lead the others up at a quicker pace. Matthias Frank looks to be struggling at the back of the bunch.
Up the Galibier they go: Alberto Contador (Trek), Serge Pauwels (Dimension Data), Darwin Atapuma (UAE Team Emirates), Mathias Frank (AG2R La Mondiale) and Primoz Roglic (LottoNL–Jumbo) continue to make their way up the Galibier, while Team Sky are leading the yellow jersey group at a searing lick. The gap is down to 2min 53sec.
An email from Strauss Bourden: “Oh my, what a Tour this year,” writes Strauss. “The most interesting part in this stage in the GC race has to be Contador attacking and no one following. I was surely expecting Landa to go with any strong rider that has any chance at the GC. Landa may be helping teammate Froome but is he saving his legs for a massive attack tomorrow where he goes with someone or takes Froome with him?”
The gap from the leading quintet, who have 9.2km to the summit of Galibier, to the yellow jersey group is 3min 03sec.
Contador, Roglic and Pauwels are joined by Darwin Atapuma and Mathias Frank. Pauwels attempts to get the quintet organised, but they’re not working very well together yet. The gap to the yellow jersey is 3min 20sec. “It’s highly unlikely they’ll be caught before the stage finish here today,” says Sean Kelly on Eurosport, although I understand much will depend on the way the wind’s blowing once they go over the top.
A breakaway from the breakaway: Primoz Roglic, Alberto Contador and Serge Pauwels have opened a gap between themselves and the rest of the lead group with 14km of the Galibier left to climb.
In the yellow jersey group, Michal Kwiatkowski is acting as two-truck. Damiano Caruso, Rigoberto Uran, Fabio Aru, Romain Bardet, Chris Froome and Dan Martin are all present and correct in the dwindling yellow jersey group, which is shelling riders by the bucketload.
The Col de Galibier: It’s the highest summit of this year’s Tour at 2,642m above sea level. The climb is 17.7 kilometres in length, with a gradient of 6.9%.
44km to go: Primoz Roiglic attacks off the front of the Contador group, with the gap back to the yellow jersey group at 3min 35sec. The assault on the Galibier has begun.
Updated
An interesting observation from Glenn Easton: “If calculations are correct, Sky currently have the Lanterne Rouge (Luke Rowe) and Yellow (Froome),” he writes.
Your calculations are spot on, Glenn. With McLay out, Rowe is the new lanterne rouge. He started 3hr 32min 19sec behind Froome this morning.
50km to go: Team LottoNL-Jumbo rider Primoz Roglic “sprints” to the front of the Contador group to take maximum KOM points as first man over the summit of the Telegraphe. Part one of today’s double-whammy is behind him - he and his fellow escapees have a five-kilometre descent ahead of them before assault on the Galibier begins. The gap back to the yellow jersey is 3min 45sec.
Updated
Almost there: Having led the Contador group the whole way up the Telegraphe thus far, Bauke Mollema passes the One Kilometre To The Summit banner. His jaw looks set in stone as he pedals on relentlessly, while the faces of many of those strung out behind him are masks of pain.
Onwards and upwards: Team Sky are on the front of the yellow jersey group as they make their way up the Telegraphe, with Michal Kwiatkowski leading the charge. Ahead of them on the road, Bauke Mollema is making the pace for the lead group. The gap from Mollema/Contador’s group to Kwiatkowski/Froome’s group is 4min 05sec.
Updated
Dan McLay abandons: The sprinter from the French Fortuneo-Vital Concept has stepped off his bike. He was the lanterne rouge this morning, in last place on GC 3hr 50min 36sec behind Chris Froome.
The Contador group greatly diminished: With five kilometres to go to the summit of the Telegraphe, the Contador group has been halved to 12 riders. The gap to the yellow jersey is 4min 05sec.
For what it’s worth, the betting on today’s stage right now: Contador 6-4, Romain Bardet 6-1, Chris Froome 6-1, Rigoberto Uran 9-1, Primoz Roglic 12-1, Dan Martin 14-1, Fabio Aru 16-1, Serge Pauwels 20-1, Warren Barguil 20-1, Mikel Landa 25-1, Brice Feillu 25-1, Tony Gallopin 25-1. Romain Bardet for me, although I’ll be keeping my pennies in my pocket.
Kelvin writes: “The UAE Team can’t win, can they?” he begins. “I was reading some comments below the line where someone was calling them United Astana Emirates and saying that they were helping Aru when he was in yellow. Now they are being criticised for ostensibly helping Froom and team Sky. Just let them ride.”
Everyone’s a critic, Kelvin! Even you, criticising the critics!
The climb up the Telegraphe continues: It’s an HC climb that’s 11.9km in length, 1,566m above sea level and has a gradient of 7.1%. As the going gets tough, Thomas Voeckler and Nico Roche are dropped from the lead group, which is being towed along by Trek’s Bauke Mollema. The yellow jersey group is 3min 43sec behind.
59km to go: I’m having a Kittel of a day myself. Thanks to those for pointing out that I got my UAEs and Bahrains mixed up. A silly error, but as luck would have it - David Conn had these completely different human rights abuses covered as well ...
The climb up the Telegraphe begins: Alberto Contador has a mechanical of some sort and stands calmly at the side of the road waiting for the Trek team car so he can get a replacement bike. The gap to the yellow jersey group is 3min 45sec. Contador mounts his replacement bike and is paced back on to the leading bunch by - I think - Wanty Group’s Marco Minnaard, who waited for him.
63km to go: Ben Swift of UAE Team Emirates does a turn on the front of the yellow jersey group. ITV co-comms man David Millar is harsh in his criticism of UAE for helping out Sky for no other reason than to protect Louis Meintjes’s eighth place, which is undre threat from Alberto Contador. “It belittles the brand,” says Millar. “They’ve done nothing so far and are now riding defensively.”
Updated
67km to go: “You say Kittel still holds green, is this really the case?” asks Philip Mellor. “I was under the impression you had to make it to Paris to win the jersey, no? Will Kittel be ascending the podium this afternoon? Surely not!”
Apologies for any misunderstanding, Philip - a poor choice of phrase in all the excitement. Kittel was technically still wearing the torn and blood-stained green jersey and was still leading the category, but will no longer be eligible to win it, even in the unlikely event that nobody surpasses his total. Michael Matthews will be wearing green tomorrow, barring an accident.
69km to go: The yellow jersey group passes through the feed zone in what passes for the calm before the Telegraphe-Galibier storm. Contador’s Trek are towing the lead group along, while Froome’s Sky are in charge of the yellow jersey group. The gap is 3min 20sec.
Orica Scott's Backstage Pass
I’m pulling into the side of the road to attend to a call of nature but will be back very shortly. Here’s some mid-stage entertainment from Orica Scott to keep you entertained while I’m away.
The Contador group: There are 24 of them, negotiating the 14-kilometre gap between the descent from the Croix de Fer and the beginning of the climb to the Telegraphe. They lead the yellow jersey group by 3min 07sec.
That Contador group in full: Alberto Contador, Jarlinson Pantano and Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), Amaël Moinard and Nicolas Roche (BMC), Darwin Atapuma (UAE), Rudy Molard (FDJ), Serge Pauwels (Dimension Data), Pawel Poljanski (Bora-Hansgrohe), Robert Kiserlovski (Katusha-Alpecin), Thomas De Gendt and Tony Gallopin (Lotto-Soudal), Jonathan Castroviejo and Jesus Herrada (Movistar), Dani Navarro (Cofidis), Alberto Bettiol (Cannondale-Drapac), Ondrej Cink (Bahrain-Merida), Primoz Roglic (LottoNL-Jumbo), Thomas Voeckler (Direct Energie), Marco Minnaard (Wanty-Groupe Gobert), Brice Feillu and Pierre-Luc Périchon (Fortuneo-Oscaro), Cyril Gautier and Mathias Frank (AG2R-La Mondiale).
Continuing the descent: The gap from the Contador group to the yellow jersey is 3min 06sec as the riders continue whizzing down the descent of the Croix de Fer.
Marcel Kittel abandons!
Massive news, as the Green Jersey abandons. Kittel hit the deck hardest of several riders who came down in a group crash this morning. He lost time, injured his knee and shoulder and has been forced to quit. He’s won five stages in this Tour and still holds the green jersey, but Michael Matthews looks a certainty to take it from him.
86km to go: De Gendt and Navarro have been reeled in by the Contador group, which makes my life a lot easier. The gap to the yellow jersey group is 2min 59sec. The gap from Froome to Contador on GC was 7min 10sec this morning.
92km to go: Thomas De Gendt and Dani Navarro were first over the Croix de Fer and the gap back to the Contador group, which includes Bauke Mollema, Tony Gallopin, Serge Pauwels and Brice Feillu, was 27 seconds. The gap between the leaders and the yellow jersey group is 3min 19sec and everyone is on the descent.
94km to go: “Sickness and exhaustion,” have been cited as the reasons for Thibaut Pinot’s abandonment. He couldn’t get up the Croix de Fer.
Final word on the Sky debate. “Don’t hate the playa, hate the game,” says Guy Hornsby, in a mail that should keep everyone but the most one-eyed fan-boys happy. “It’s perfectly possible to detest Sky’s prickliness and hypocrisy under Brailsford, but profess man-love in the extreme for G, as I do. Froome’s a bit mechanical, but jesus, he’s an incredible bike rider. In fact there’s a lot to admire about their road squad, whatever you feel about the team itself. But that’s cycling.
“Revisionism is how it’s always been. I have respect for the tragic but dogged Tommy Simpson, despite his drug use. I loved the buccaneering Pantani, whose career was an epitaph of doping, coke and premature death. In fact, many of my cycling heroes from the 80s and 90s (the awesome Robert Millar, Andy Hampsten and LeMond accepted, I believe) have all doped.
“However much I detest what they did to the sport I love, it doesn’t stop me acknowledging the likes of David Millar or George Hincapie, for the gladiators they were. It’s a funny situation, but that’s life. I’m sure in a decade our current heroes may be seen in a different light. I do not look forward to that day, either.”
Thomas De Gendt is first over Croix de Fer: He scores 20 KOM points and is followed over by Dani Navarro. The Contador group is about 20 seconds behind them and the yellow jersey group, led by Sky, are a further three minutes back as the leaders begin their descent.
One kilometre to the summit of Croix de Fer: Thomas De Gendt and Dani Navarro have dropped Michael Matthews. contador and his merry men are 200 metres behind them on the road. Behind Contador, Team Sky are bossing the peloton, keeping the gap to the leaders down to 3min 08sec.
An email from Matt Brown: “I wasn’t aware you have a pro-Sky or anti-Sky agenda, do you?” he asks. Well Matt, if somebody in the Guardian comments section says so, then it must be true.
Matt continues: “I’m with those that feel ambivalent about Sky management at the moment, what with their previous ‘zero tolerance, ultra-high standards’ stance jarring with an apparent lack of clarity answering recent allegations. The riders continue to impress though.”
I’d be of a similar mind, Matt, as would most fair and open-minded people, I think. I have no particular axe to grind with Sky, but David Brailsford’s sanctimonious pontificating about transparency during his team’s arrival on the pro cycling scene invites healthy, natural scepticism in light of his subsequent behaviour. Their riders are very impressive.
Thibaut Pinto abandons: Not much was expected of him in this Tour after his exertions in the Giro, where he won his first Grand Tour stage on the penultimate day. He duly didn’t deliver and Francais De Jeux are now down to just three riders.
Landa v Froome: “Surely, just as Froome was doing with Wiggins, Landa will simply ride to show he’s ‘stronger’ than Froome,” writes Steve Harding. “To actually attempt to win the race without a team is difficult as Aru is about to show us. I do think Aru’s got a chance - it’s going to be great to watch.”
It’s difficult, but as I said, there is precedent: Stephen Roche has done it in the past, against an Italian in Italy. Any, it’s just a hare-brained theory from a man with a rabid anti-Sky agenda - I could well be talking through my hat. We’ll see ...
Updated
113km to go: De Gendt and Matthews lead by 20 seconds from Dani Navarro, who has attacked off the front of the second group. The yellow jersey group is now 4min 09sec behind them.
114km to go: De Gendt and Matthews continue to lead. The big group behind them has broken up and Contador is currently picking his way through the debris after being paced on to the back by his domestique Michael Gogl, who had dropped out of the group to wait for him.
An email from Andy Ashton: “I enjoy your Tour commentary, just interesting you’ve got such a bee in your bonnet about Sky and Brailsford in particular, who have so far just been guilty of not answering enough of your questions,” he says. “But you’re happy to give Lance Armstrong a help back into the world of acceptability. ‘Yes, yes, he’s a liar and a cheat etc...’”
Thanks for the mail, Andy. It’s a fair(ish) point you make, but I find it interesting that you chose to ‘et cetera’ past the following part of my introduction to Lance’s podcast. Specifically: “Yes, yes ... he’s a liar and a cheat and a bully and a fraud, but he’s been there and bought (and subsequently been stripped of) the seven yellow T-shirts. The Texan offered some typically forthright and interesting insights and opinions ...”
You make not like him, but he knows what he’s talking about and his opinions are interesting and insightful. Funnily enough, going back to the comments under WIll Fotheringham’s yesterday, I might point out that I was equally critical of Lance and his team-mates years ago before the Big Reveal and got similar abuse and criticism from one-eyed US Postal fans who thought it was ridiculous to even suggest their heroes might be up to no good. How did that work out for them, I wonder?
117km to go: Plenty of climbing left to do on Croix de Fer, with De Gendt and Matthews still leading. Alberto Contador is one hairpin bend behind the 31-man group that’s 1min 50sec behind the two leaders. He’ll soon be able to see them.
How things stand: Thomas De Gendt and Michael Matthews are 1min 50sec clear of a group of 31 other riders. Alberto Contador is chasing that group and the gap from the stage leaders to the yellow jersey group behind Contador is 4min 44sec.
16km to go to the summit of Croix de Fer: Contador pulls away from Quintana as he attempts to bridge the gap from the yellow jersey group to the breakaway.
Yesterday’s debate on Sky: My attention was steered towards some amusing whinges in the comments section of Will Fotheringham’s blog, regarding my “anti Sky agenda”. This one was a particular favourite ...
Those who were following yesterday’s blog will be aware that in “carefully” choosing the ones I wanted to publish (while simultaneously attempting to keep tabs on a busy stage that never let up from start to finish), I included correspondence from several readers who were defending Sky, a matter of fact that sillymadeupname44 conveniently chooses to ignore for reasons best known to him or herself.
His or her theory that I would “really like to have a go at Froome” but do it through my attacks on Brailsford instead doesn’t stand up to scrutiny either, for the simple reason that, if I wanted to “have a go at Froome” ... well, I’d just have a go at Froome. It must be hot being a tinfoil-hat wearing Sky fan boy in this weather.
125km to go: The camera cuts to Katusha-Alpecin sprinter Alexander Kristoff, who has had a nasty crash. He’s got a cut under his eye, a scuffed helmet and his jersey is ripped on the left shoulder. On the front of the peloton, Nairo Quintana attacks and is reeled in. Alberto Contador attacks and Quintana goes with him.
127km to go: Michael Matthews and the apparently tireless Thomas De Gendt lead the 31-man breakaway by 1min 10sec as they begin the climb up Croix de Fer. The peloton is at 5min 15sec.
Matthews now nine points behind Kittel: The 20 points Michael Matthews picked up in the intermediate sprint mean he is now nine (that is definitely correct) points behind Marcel Kittel in the race for the green jersey. On his podcast, Lance Armstrong reckoned would definitely pick up some more points in the time trial, if he needed to. It’s shaping up to be a very tight contest and the way both riders’ luck is going at the moment, you’d have to back Matthews. Nothing has gone right for Kittel in recent days, on or off the bike; if had ducks, they’d drown.
Updated
A correction from Warren Seddon: “Not to be a stickler, but De Gendt is 76 point behind Barguil in the KoM category (after his 3 points just now),” he writes. “Also re: Landa, he is a relatively woeful time trialist, so would have to put an awful lot of time into Froome in the next two stages to win in Paris (something that Sky are unlikely to allow!).”
Thomas De Gendt waves Michael Matthews through: De Gendt signals to Michael Matthews that he won’t contest the intermediate sprint, but the Australian clearly doesn’t trust him and stays on his wheel, so he can keep tabs on him. Matthews duly crosses the line to take maximum points - now he and his fellow Sunweb riders will spend the rest of the day focussing on keeping Warren Barguil in the polka dot jersey.
Three kilometres to the intermediate sprint: Thomas de Gendt and Michael Matthews have put some time between themselves and the rest of the escape party, which is comprised of 31 riders. None of them are prominent in the GC.
They are: Cyril Gautier and Mathias Frank (AG2R-La Mondiale), Jonathan Castroviejo and Jesus Herrada (Movistar), Michael Gogl, Jarlinson Pantano and Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), Amaël Moinard, Nicolas Roche and Danilo Wyss (BMC), Darwin Atapuma and Ben Swift (UAE), Rudy Molard (FDJ), Esteban Chaves (Orica-Scott), Serge Pauwels (Dimension Data), Pawel Poljanski (Bora-Hansgrohe), Robert Kiserlovski (Katusha-Alpecin), Tony Gallopin (Lotto-Soudal), Simon Geschke and Albert Timmer (Sunweb), Nicolas Edet and Dani Navarro (Cofidis), Primoz Roglic (LottoNL-Jumbo), Thomas Voeckler and Sylvain Chavanel (Direct Energie), Alberto Bettiol and Dylan van Baarle (Cannondale-Drapac), Ondrej Cink (Bahrain-Merida), Marco Minnaard (Wanty-Groupe Gobert), Brice Feillu and Pierre-Luc Périchon (Fortuneo-Oscaro)
An email from Matthew Trim: “I’d like to hear more on your conviction that Mikel Landa is going to knife Froomey in the back like a Tory politician,” he writes. “I would assume that to do so today he would have to have had another team lined up (which apparently he has), would be able to get to the finish without the help of anyone else in the Sky team (probably not, really), and is sufficiently filled with hatred for Sky (they do appear to be in the Marmite category right now) to do it. On balance I think unlikely, although would be interested to hear your perspective.”
Well, I could be completely wide of the mark, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned in life is that people are not to be trusted and there is precedent. Exhibit A: Stephen Roche disobeyed team orders to beat his Carrera team leader Roberto Visentini in the 1987 Giro, with the help of various riders from other teams (see below).
Also, I believe Landa is stronger than Froome in this Tour and as he’s almost certainly off to Movistar at the end of this season, who’s to say he won’t think “This is as good an opportunity as I’ll ever have of winning a Grand Tour - to hell with it, I might as well go for it and damn the consequences.” And don’t forget, Froome came damned close to shafting Bradley Wiggins in 2012.
King of the Mountains
The riders who took the points on the Col d’Ornon
1. Michael Matthews, 5 points
2. Thomas De Gendt, 3
3. Serge Pauwels, 2
4. Simon Geschke, 1
Michael Matthews will now be focussing on the intermediate sprint, at which point he’ll presumably consider his day’s work down and dedicate himself to the service of Warren Barguil.
An email from Justin Horton: “I’ve never followed cycling closely so this is probably a naive question rather than anything else, but are Team Sunweb likely to find themselves at all hampered by the fact that Barguil and Matthews are competing for different jerseys?” he asks. “Also, is Barguil still to be considered a possible GC contender, given the strength of his climbing and that there are two mountain stages (including today’s) to come, despite being so far back?”
It’s funny you should ask, Justin, as Michael Matthews has just sprinted past Thomas De Gendt to deny him maximum points on the summit of Col d’Ornon, doing Barguil a favour in the process. De Gendt is 18 points behind Barguil in the King of the Mountains standings. Personally, I don’t think Barguil has a hope of winning the Tour, as he’d need far too many things over which he has little or no control to go his way, even if he did tear up the stages today and tomorrow.
The 30-man breakaway: Riding in the gutter looking for protection from the wind, LottoNL–Jumbo rider Primoz Roglic clips a wheel in front of him and goes down. He’s quickly back up and off in pursuit of his fellow escapees. They include Michael Matthews, Thomas Voeckler, Laurens Ten Dam, Thomas De Gendt, Nicolas Roche and Tony Gallopin.
Halfway up the first climb: A motorbike cameraman pulls upsides Michael Matthews and the Australian they call “Bling”, out of his saddle and pushing hard, grins down the barrel. He’s loving life at the moment and it’s no surprise, as everything he touches turns to gold.
Updated
Did Michael Matthews do the dirty? That’s open to debate. The 30-man breakaway in which he and several other Sunweb riders find themselves had already attacked off the front before Kittel and several other riders went down in that crash, so it would probably be unfair to suggest they broke the unwritten rule of the peloton that dictates you don’t take advantage of a stricken jersey wearer’s misfortune by attacking him when he’s crashed or had a mechanical.
Kittel getting more attention: Marcel Kittel is now taking a tow off the doctor’s car at the back of the peloton, getting an ice pack on his right shoulder, which he landed on when crashing. He’s lucky he didn’t break his collar bone. His knee is cut, his shoulder is cut and bruised, and his jersey is ripped down one side. He’s looking very sorry for himself.
Those in the peloton are sitting up: They’re waiting for everyone who was involved in the crash to receive medical or mechanical attention, where required, before putting the hammer down again. There’s one kilometre to go to the start of the first climb.
All involved in the crash are OK: Well, they’re all back on their bikes and won’t be too pleased to hear that while they were crashing, an attack was launched off the front of the peloton. A group of 30 riders, including Michael Matthews and several of his team-mates, have opened a gap of 1min 47sec on the yellow jersey group.
Kittel back on his bike: Wincing in pain and with blood dripping from his right knee, Marcel Kittel gets back on his bike and sets off on his way again. He has to stop again and get a new bike, then pull up alongside his team car and get a new right shoe, which he replaces while getting a tow from the car. You’ve got to feel for Kittel - he had a nightmare day yesterday and today is already shaping up to be worse.
Men down! Men down!
There’s a pile-up as a couple of riders crash in the peloton and bring several others down. Steve Cummings goes off the road and into a ditch, but is fit to continue. The green jersey and polka dot jersey are both involved: Marcel Kittel looks fairly badly hurt, while Warren Barguil is also down.
Updated
20 kilometres into today’s stage: Repeated attacks off the front of the bunch come to nothing and the race has yet to settle down.
A few kilometres to the foot of the first climb: The race remains far from settled, but the peloton is strung out. After yesterday’s heroics, Michael Matthews needs to claw back some more intermediate sprint points on Marcel Kittel today. He’s 29 points behind Marcel Kittel in the chase for the green jersey, so expect him to go all out to pick up maximum points in today’s sprint, which is between the first and second of today’s categorised climbs.
One non-starter today: Lotto–Soudal rider Marcel Sieberg didn’t sign in today and becomes the latest rider to drop out of this year’s Tour. We’ve had 26 abandonments or disqualifications so far this year, leaving 172 riders in the peloton.
Cyril Gautier attacks. The AG2R rider attacks and is followed by a couple of team-mates. They’re attempting to get a few riders up the road, so that Romain Bardet will have team-mates to help him if and when he jumps across later today.
Racing is under way in Stage 17
Following the roll-out, race director Christian Prudhomme signalled the start of racing at 11.16am (BST). There are 176km to go, the peloton is still together and we’re in for a day of great fun. As ever, it’ll be a long one, so your emails and Tweets on whatever subject takes your fancy are welcome. If you’re sending an email, try to keep them as short as you can. Twitter may be broken, as I understand it might have exploded in the wake of recent revelations about the large salaries paid to various BBC stars.
Lance Armstrong on today's stage
Yes, yes ... he’s a liar and a cheat and a bully and a fraud, but he’s been there and bought (and subsequently been stripped of) the seven yellow T-shirts. The Texan offered some typically forthright and interesting insights and opinions into the Sky rest day “scandal” in the latest of his Stages podcasts and also had plenty to say about today’s route. You can watch the podcast in its entirety below, but here’s what he had to say about today’s terrain.
It’s a true mountain day. This race is so close, and [this stage] is effing hard. Forget the first Category 2, then you get right into the Hors Category Croix de Fer ... super hard ... downhill and then you hit the double-whammy of Telegraphe, slight downhill and the Galibier ... it could be an epic battle.
“Again a downhill finish takes a little bit out of it. That downhill on the back side of the Galibier, which is technically called a different climb. The Tour de France actually goes up that side from time to time, but they don’t call it the Galibier when they go up that side.
“Typically, this stage is run exactly like this: you do the Croix de Fer ... Telegraph ... Galibier ... descend ... take a right ... Alpe d’Huez. That’s the traditional route. But instead when they get to the bottom of the Galibier [today], they don’t go right to Alpe d’Huez, they go left. It’s a fast, straight, downhill finish headed towards Briancon. But they actually finish way before Briancon.
“The downhill is sketchy, Romain Bardet is licking his chops. The thing he’s got to hope for when he gets down and takes a left on the highway, headed toward the finish - he’s got to hope the wind’s blowing the right way. If it’s blowing in his face, they’re coming right back. If there’s a tailwind and he’s thinking ‘yellow’, he can stay away. Two other things: [yesterday] was hard; nervous and hard. Then No2: the day after this, we’re finally back to a true uphill finish up the Col d’Izoard, which is damned hard.”
The top 10 on General Classification
It remains tight as a drum after yesterday’s action, where Dan Martin was the only big GC loser after getting caught on the wrong side of the split in the peloton once the crosswinds began to take their toll. The first four riders on GC are separated by just 29 seconds, while I remain utterly convinced that Sky’s Mikel Landa, who is just 1min 17sec back, might go against team orders and try to “steal” this Tour from his leader Chris Froome.
Stage 17: La Mure to Serre Chevalier (183km)
After yesterday’s unexpected tension and ridiculously hard exertions, an absolute monster of a stage awaits today - the first leg of an Alpine double-header. It’s an Alpine classic featuring a Category 2 climb, a Category 1 climb and two Hors Category ascents in the shape of the Col de Croix de Fer and the Col du Galibier.
Stage 17 from La Mure to Serre Chevalier is classic Alpine stuff featuring two hors catégorie climbs: the Col de la Croix de Fer to soften the contenders up, and then the Col du Galibier from its hardest side to split them apart. A small selection will fight out for the stage win, and it will probably be the main men such as Froome and his rivals for the yellow jersey.
Cycling News have put a scary preview up on YouTube, so have a look to see just how difficult a task awaits the already tired riders today. The riders are due to roll out of La Mure at 11.20am (BST), so stay tuned for what promises to be a hugely entertaining day spent enjoying the suffering of others.
Updated
Glendenning said he had loads of emails, far too many to deal with. He carefully chooses the ones he wants. He would really like to have a go at Froome but does it through his attacks on Brailsford. Totally transparent, I don't know who he thinks he's fooling. I could really do without his slanted commentary. The Guardian is my paper. I wish it wasn't his.