Here’s that GC confirmation.
📊 GC Top 10 after stage 14!
— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 21, 2018
📊 Top 10 du général après l'étape 14 !#TDF2018 pic.twitter.com/j4g3tBiqFv
And, as promised, the latest on that Bradley Wiggins interview. What a way to sign off, but we’ll be back tomorrow for Sunday’s stage from Millau to Carcassonne.
And speaking of Jeremy Whittle, here’s his Tour diary from the second week.
Here’s our snap report from today’s action. Jeremy Whittle’s piece will appear later.
What did we learn today? That the peloton is tired, such that even Julian Alaphilippe didn’t have the legs to pull back in Fraile. And that all the talk of Thomas versus Froome forgets the threat of Dumoulin, who is in touch with both of them and a superior time trialler.
Thomas, Froome, Dumoulin finish together
The descent begins and all three are together - Thomas, Froome and Dumoulin. There will be no time gaps between them. Roglic took about ten seconds off Dumoulin but GC will not be altered for the top three. Quintana loses time again, but not much. Bardet limps in, having himself been dropped.
Froome goes and Thomas follows him up there. They are working together to take time off Dumoulin.
Dumoulin hasn’t been dropped. Instead, he goes on the attack, and Froome is forced to chase. Bardet is struggling.
Has Dumoulin been dropped? Not just yet, but he is not enjoying this climb. Roglic stays away but here Froome makes his move to a hail of boos.
Primoz Roglic makes the bust on this short climb but is reeled back in by the Sky Train. Bernal takes his turn on the front as Kwiatkowski signals he is done.
No sign of Dan Martin in the group as he suffered a puncture. Adam Yates dropped long ago.
Froome doesn’t look too comfortable but then again, he often doesn’t look comfortable.
Team Sky take up the strain with Michal Kwiatkowski doing his usual leadership up the climb. Egan Bernal sits behind him. Froome is back of Thomas.
Geraint Thomas is in midfield as Sky concede leadership of the group. After a restful day, who has the legs to take seconds from each other? The climb begins.
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It could be chaotic up that final climb with the main bunch all packed together. The hammer has gone down at the front as they enter the environs of Mende.
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And now the countback continues. The remnants of the breakaway make their way to the airfield. The peloton is 20 minutes back. They are split into groups as they make their way to that hellish ten minute climb.
Omar Fraile wins the stage!
Alaphilippe couldn’t get there. He got there too late. Stuyven gets third for his bravery. Sagan cruises in for fourth.
Alaphilippe hauls in Stuyven and sits on his wheel. They go over the top with Fraile ahead. The Spaniard is out of sight as he heads to the airfield. He looks to have this in hand.
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Stuyven couldn’t make it to the top. Fraile has gone clear of him. Alaphilippe is reeling them both in.
Alaphilippe has gone off the front. He burns off the rest of the group. Can Sagan reply? It seems not.
Stuyven ploughs on. Omar Fraile is his main chaser at 103m back. Alaphilippe yet to play his hand. The main chasers are under 50 seconds now.
Stuyven is battling on up this brutal hill. He has plenty of climbing to do, and the chasers are taking increments of time off him, but nothing major as yet.
Thomas de Gendt goes off the front of the chasing group. Alaphilippe is slow to chase. Does he have the legs? Or is he playing a waiting game?
He enters the climb at 1’ 44” clear but already looks fatigued. The chasing group has only just made it to the town’s outskirts.
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Stuyven has entered the town of Mende, and the climb approaches. He is already having to pump his tired legs. What does he have left?
The final climb will swiftly be on Stuyven, and then he will find out how much he has in his legs. He has about 1’ 40” on the pack, and has 3km to stay away.
Under 10km to go, and Stuyven is being chased by a huge group. They have been disorganised. Gilbert is leading them out. Greg Van Avermaet is following him. It’s a big day for the Belgians. Sagan is biding his time but is that final climb beyond him.
Stuyven, if he pulls this off, will have completed what has become a rarity in the modern day, the long-range solo escape. He is nailed on for the combatif prize, whatever happens.
Gilbert is now leading the pursuit of Stuyven, and he has Alaphilippe as a team-mate. The gap to the peloton is 18’ 28” so there will be two races for the price of one. Luke Rowe is still at the front for Team Sky. Stuyven is hitting a mighty 80km on the descent and is well over 1.3km clear of the chaser. He is 18km clear of the peloton.
Here’s that truce in the peloton. It will only last until that final climb, though.
🏁 - 38 km
— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 21, 2018
Almost 16' behind, the peloton is quiet in the penultimate climb of the day. 😴
A presque 16' de la tête, le peloton est plutôt calme dans l'avant-dernière montée du jour. 😴#TDF2018 pic.twitter.com/BNUp1mjZ6H
Stuyven is flying down the descent, but has some elite chasers after him. Peter Sagan is throwing himself into his “top tube” stance. There are under 20km to go, and that final climb awaits at 14km out.
Some cultural humour is pinged in by Mike Summers-Smith. “Stuyven Jelte-Slagter’s Izaguirre, an animated version of Werner Herzog’s Aguirre, the Wrath of God, was roundly panned by the critics and was a box-office flop.”
Thomas de Gendt has joined up with the previous leaders in a splinter group chasing on, while Stuyven is burning away. He is not much of a climber so needs to open a huge gap on his chasers.
The peloton are close to 9km behind. This has been their rest day. Sagan has rejoined the pursuers group. Stuyven is 48 seconds away from the two he very recently dropped.
Stuyven, on Belgium’s National Day, is driving on in what looks a blasted heath. It is very windy out there, which may cause future problems. He is 19 seconds clear with 32 km to go.
Sagan and Van Avermaet have also been dropped off this group, but Gilbert is back and he’s gone off on another chase. The trio up ahead are 56 seconds clear, and Sagan is 20 seconds back of them. Alaphilippe still looks comfortable for the stage win and the favourite but there is some chasing to do. Thomas de Gendt has gone off the front now. It’s a little chaotic and unstructured but so is the leading three, who seem to be arguing over who is actually doing the work. Slagter has actually been dropped and we may be now down to two escapees. No, Stuyven has gone away and Izaguirre is giving desperate chase.
The gap to the peloton is now 16 minutes but the group up ahead is splintering. The trio up ahead are solid enough but their chasers are losing personnel, including Philippe Gilbert, who seems to have had a dig on just about every stage and yet has not been able to find the legs to pull off a trademark stage win.
According to the excellent cyclingstage.com, “the French call the punchy last ascent [of this stage] Montée Laurent Jalabert, since their hero claimed the stage on Bastille Day 1995.” They will finish on what looks like an aerodrome.
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Alaphilippe is being led up the hill by his team-mates, though there will be no mountain points up for grabs. He has to be favourite for the stage at this point.
To quote The Eagles, when hell freezes over.
@JohnBrewin_ Just wondering when Froomey will start riding in front of the Maillot Jaune to help break the wind and keep Thomas' legs fresh? Any thoughts? #TDF2018 #teamsky
— Dr. Quincy Sumner (@QuincySumner) July 21, 2018
The Col du Pont is upon us and that means there are under 50km to go. The escapee trio are away from the chasing pack, led by Quick Step, for the moment. Gilbert, Alaphilippe and Sagan are in that group which is losing numbers.
🏁 - 49 km
— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 21, 2018
1' lead for @Jasperstuyven, G. Izagirre and @tomjelteslagter at the foot of the Col of the Bridge without Water ⏱️
1" d'avance pour Stuyven, G. Izagirre et Slagter au pied du Col du Pont sans Eau ⏱️#TDF2018 pic.twitter.com/vuSrxZbHCH
Jelte-Slagter and Izaguirre joined forces on the descent, and been joined by Jasper Stuyven. The gap is opening. Team Sky have locked down the main pack, and there have been no splits up up that climb for the peloton. A truce has been declared and the gap is almost 14 minutes.
Ed McGuigan emails in on the subject of Sir Wiggo. “Has he been attending a Rhetoric course at Trump University? His comments were pure, raving, circular, vague Trump-speak. Not a fact, a named person or a specific noun in the whole spiel. I fear he doth protest too much and altogether too “Trump-ily.”
Maurice Miller emails in. “Watching the tour on TV, I saw the crash where Nibali got hooked in a spectator’s camera strap resulting in a nasty fall. Everyone is talking about what to do in the future. What I have not heard is anyone going after the spectator that caused this. Just like the person who ran out on the course and hit Chris Froome. There are cameras everywhere filming the race. Why don’t they use the footage to find the guilty parties and hold them accountable?”
I believe that there have been arrests during this Tour, which is a newish development.
Izaguirre doesn’t manage to reach the summit too far clear of the rest of the pack, who are working together to chase him down. Tom Jelte-Slagter, himself ahead of the remaining 30 breakaway riders, is next over. Alaphilippe collects the points for finishing third. The next climb, that category three, is just five km down from its summit.
Gorka Izaguirre of Team Bahrain, shorn of Vincenzo Nibali and therefore a free spirit, has gone clear of the breakaway group, and with the top of the climb beckoning, Alaphilippe has gone after him though the gap is 21 seconds. Behind them, almost ten minutes down, the peloton, helmed by Team Sky is just about to start climbing. This climb could thin out that main pack and the likes of Luke Rowe are bound to set a heavy pace.
And that’s at least ten who will fancy their chances.
🔟 riders in the breakaway have already won a @LeTour stage in their career.
— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 21, 2018
🔟 hommes dans l'échappée ont déjà gagné sur Le Tour dans leur carrière.#TDF2018 pic.twitter.com/DFw4rT3xRw
The climb has begun and it looks tough on the road up to the Col de la Croix de Berthel, which has a 10% gradient to the summit. It looks as if the peloton is tired after this week’s fun in the Alps. A rest day on Monday will be much needed, even if the riders seem to spend much of those on their bikes.
And Bevin has abandoned, a terrible shame for him at two-thirds of the way through the Tour. He managed it last year, finishing 114th for his only Grand Tour completion.
Team Sky are, of course, leading the chasing pack up the climb. Either side of the road is craggy woodland. At the back of the race, Patrick Bevin of BMC and New Zealand looks like his race might be over. He is lurching up the road, looking quite unwell.
We are now into the second tranche of this stage and it’s going to be far more hilly, which probably means that the 32 men and true will eventually splinter. A category two is looming and then a category three follows that. Currently 75km out.
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Just how uncontested was that Sagan sprint? See for yourself here. Thomas Boudat of Direct Énergie actually has a go.
🏁 - 97 km
— Tour de France - DE (@letour_de) July 21, 2018
💚 Zwischensprint in Besseges 💚
Die nächsten 20 Punkte für @petosagan und das Grüne Trikot!#TDF2018 pic.twitter.com/c5AyAoGeuf
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This is what Wiggins is still very clearly steaming about. We must wait and see what the dark forces at work that he hints at might be.
That Wiggins ITV4 chat threw up this response to questions on his 2012 Tour TUE.
There are things that have come to light with this whole thing that we’ve found out since that are quite scary actually and it’s very sinister. We’re still not at the bottom of it, we’re finding new stuff out daily to do with the package that never was and all this stuff and it’s quite frightening actually. We’re still working on it, still trying to piece it all together. Not a legal team, just other people coming to us now and saying, ‘You know this has happened, don’t you?’ We can talk, debate TUEs and that’s one thing, but where it went after that with everything else - there is a film to be made there. I’d love it to all come out. Once it’s all stacked up and pieced together, it’s quite shocking. There are a few people bricking it at the moment, I know that for sure. I hope it comes out of its own accord but it is in certain people’s interest for it not to come out and get buried. We’ll see. It’s all gone very quiet at the moment.
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With there being under 90km to go now, the main group is 7’ 15” down. Adam Yates, 36 minutes down on GC and who might have fancied a stage win attempt today, had to go back to change his wheel and pick up some supplies. Yates has had a disappointing Tour, having been spat out too often when the hammer has gone down in the high mountains. Brother Simon, even if all went awry in the end, had a far more impressive Giro, it almost goes without saying.
Some local info from Fiona: “On France 2 Thomas Voeckler says Sagan wasn’t challenged out of respect.”
It looked that way, certainly. This race is missing a character like Voeckler, someone who just goes from the gun for the sheer hell of it.
Sagan takes 20 points from that sprint, though didn’t look too spritely. With those 20 points, he takes himself to owning the maillot vert for another year. Kristoff, his nearest contender, would have to win four stages and Sagan not pick up a single point. Barring a mountain timeout, it’s the Slovak’s for the sixth time, which would take him level with all-time record holder Erik Zabel.
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Well summed up by Richard Williams, and the Wiggins interview that has been taking place on ITV4 is bound to make a few headlines. Hopefully, we can bring you some of the key quotes in the near future. Some odd comparisons made when discussing, including having an extra-marital affair and even murder. What we do know is that Wiggo is still hurting.
Very strange interview with Wiggins going on ITV4 now. Tantalising application of the word “sinister” to discoveries he says they’re making in respect of the TUE / Jiffy bag allegations.
— Richard Williams (@rwilliams1947) July 21, 2018
The descent to the intermediate sprint begins. Sagan will be making his way to the front of the pack in the fullness of time.
It’s been a bit slow out there, but here’s a category four climb to liven things up. Alaphilippe is eyeing mountain points to cement his polka dot jersey and hits the front with ease. He gets the single point on offer. Warren Barguil, his closest challenger in the King of the Mountains competition, and last year’s winner, is sat in the main group, having missed the break. Barguil has been short of form this year, it has to be said.
The gap at the front of the race is now up to almost six minutes. Difficult not to think that the winner will come from them: Sagan, Alaphilippe, Gilbert must all fancy their chances.
Three years ago, Steve Cummings won the stage into Mende and did so from a similar breakaway groups.
And here’s the official video of how he did it.
Bit of a wobble in that big group at the front, with the wind playing its part but nothing too drastic at this point. Also a question of tactics, with a number of teams having multiple riders in the 32. There are 120km to go.
Elsewhere on this channel, the main man Scott Murray is watching The Open for you, and Tiger Woods is on the course at Carnoustie.
Peter Sagan is lurking at the back of the 32-man group, and picking up water and food. Fuel, perhaps for the intermediate sprint that lies up ahead in 40km or so. He is single-minded about crushing the opposition for the green jersey. Not that there are many sprinters actually left in the race.
Book of the day in today’s Big Paper is this...
Back to the race and with 140km to go, the gap to the front is almost 5 minutes. This is not supposed to be much of a climb, but the riders are having to put in some real pounding of the pedals. This is a rolling stage from start to finish.
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Wiggins says to ITV4 that a “90% Chris Froome and it’s whether Geraint will last into a third week. They’re in a fantastic position. They are good friends, which helps.”
Wiggo and Froomey were not pals, let us recall but Brad is being diplomat about their 2012 stand-off. “I think there was a bit of panic, with him thinking it might be his only chance to do this.”
On Thomas: “Will he get another opportunity to do this? It’s a tough one for him.”
On the TV in the UK over here, Bradley Wiggins is talking about Team Sky’s tactics, but what stands out most is a rather decent vocal impression of Dave Brailsford.
How do riders cope with crosswinds and the like? In 2014, we created this interactive guide.
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Here’s what awaits the riders at the end of a long, hard day.
La Côte de la Croix-Neuve is the last obstacle of the day, but the descent to the finish line is not that easy too! ✊
— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 21, 2018
La Côte de la Croix-Neuve est la dernière difficulté du jour, mais la descente vers l'arrivée n'est pas de tout repos non plus ! ✊#TDF2018 pic.twitter.com/6d7eCm43vd
That group, now 4’ 13” clear, is being allowed its head for the moment since Damiano Caruso is the highest placed rider on GC and he is 32 minutes down on Geraint Thomas. Sky, though, are on patrol at the front of the peloton.
The gap to that humungous and surely unmanageable breakaway is now 3’ 40”, as they head through the beauteous countryside of the Massif Central region, and at the moment they are cruising past the gorges of the Ardeche. France really is très beau.
While that lot sort themselves out, Tim Pile emails in from France and has a present for us.
“Two-day old news now I realise but here are some photos from the higher reaches of Alpe d’Huez (I’ve only just got hiked back down and into the world of speedy wifi).
“I realise I’m giving the oxygen of publicity to this series of alcohol-fuelled accidents waiting to happen but would be interested to hear others’ views. All the ‘runners’ had been taking on liquids for some time.
“Although the young Brian Blessed bellowing into riders’ ears looks like he’s giving a helping push, it’s a (zoom lens) trick of the camera. A few riders were blown off course though!”
Many thanks, Tim. Great photos.
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The chasers caught up with the leading group and we have a huge breakaway group of 32 over three minutes ahead of the peloton. How long that lasts remains to be seen.
Sagan and his group are 30 seconds off the Alaphilippe breakaway. The GC contenders are almost three minutes off today’s leaders.
While the GC contenders are brought back together, Geraint Thomas stops for a piddle at the side of the road, and a breakaway of seven is clear with a large group including Peter Sagan pursuing them.
Thomas De Gendt and Julian Alaphilippe have escaped amid a gap of four. Bardet is closing on the Team Sky group who appear to be easing off a little.
Adam Yates, Romain Bardet and Alejandro Valverde have been dropped into a second group 18 seconds behind as the first climb arrives. That’s some early bother for them that they could probably do without. They will get back on but petrol has been burned. Landa is fully 45 seconds behind.
The field split into groups as the crosswind splits into said echelons. Team Sky have made it into the first group with Tom Dumoulin at the back and clinging on. Mikel Landa and Warren Barguil have been dropped into the third group.
Who can win today? It looks like a day for climbers though the one-day specialists cannot be dismissed, with Sagan perhaps fancying his fourth of the Tour on different terrain to normal. What may be a factor? The wind is whipping up and causing divisions in the peloton already. It is time for the echelons. A small climb beckons, and that may split the pack.
Alaphilippe slunk back into the group almost as soon as his break had begun. Sylvain Chavanal takes up the cudgels but nobody is really getting away.
And away we go, says Christian Prudhomme, in the style of Ron Pickering on “We Are The Champions”. Julian Alaphilippe has gone from the gun with caution from the rest, but a fair amount of jockeying for position.
And a reminder of yesterday’s fun and games.
Before the breakaways begin, here’s a rather lovely pictorial collection from the Tour.
The départ fictif is underway, and the four jersey holders are the forefront. Sagan will keep his until Paris, and Alaphilippe is a fair bet to stay in polka. As for Thomas, he is entering unchartered territory, though his candidacy depends fully on Froome.
Preamble
Yesterday’s would have been a regulation transition stage, the type collected by Peter Sagan as a matter of course, had it not been for actual fireworks, namely the flare thrown into the peloton towards the finish. This is a race being ridden within an atmosphere of insurrection. The UK TV broadcasters try their best to gloss over it, but you would need a tin ear not to notice that Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas and Team Sky are riding under a hail of boos from the watching public at the side of the road. And Vincenzo Nibali had a vertebrae broken in the hubbub up Alpe D’Huez.
This is expected to be a stage that splits the pack, though probably not the GC contenders. The dual leaders sub-plot of Team Sky may be played out for a while yet, and though there are no questions over Thomas’ form, Froome is not the cannibal of old with the caveat that we said this during the Giro and he ate the GC up in one mountain attack. That may have to wait for the Pyrenees, which was where Bernard Hinault and Greg LeMond fought out their internecine war in 1986, though the finish today is a 3km climb with a 10% gradient which may see precious seconds won and lost.
Here’s our pre-Grand Départ stage 14 preview as penned by William Fotheringham. Expect Bardet and Alaphilippe to feature today.
One of the few days when the break is highly likely to stay away, so the tussle to get in it will be intense. The second half of this is brutally hilly, and the steep finish climb up to the airport is made for Julian Alaphilippe, although British fans remember this as where Wirral’s finest Steve Cummings outwitted Romain Bardet and Thibaut Pinot for a tactically perfect win back in 2015.
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