Tomorrow is the stage, that many have been waiting for - a short mountain stage on the back of a time trial, which saw Alaphilippe in the form of his life and many podium contenders close to each other.
Profile:
The stage starts in Tarbes, which has hosted the Tour numerous times as starting point, latest in the 2015 Tour (the PSM stage, where Froome destroyed everyone) and the finish as well, latest in 1995, where the stage was neutralized due to the death of Olympic RR champion Fabio Casartelli, to whom a memorial was later built.
The city of Tarbes is home to a couple of beautiful fountains, one of which is this, the fountain of Quatre-Vallées:
In Tarbes one of The Remarkable Gardens of France can be found, the Massey Garden, built in the 1800s:
The first climb is the Côte de Labatmale, a category 4 that is 1,4 km at 6,7%, but from Ferriéres the stage is a carbon copy of the 2010 stage. The legs of the riders will start to really hurt at Col du Soulor…
..a 11,9 km climb at 7,8%. It has featured in the Tour twelve times, latest in last years Tour in the stage to Laruns (shoutout to LS!) and before that, the widely remembered 2010 Tourmalet stage. After Soulor, exactly 99 kms in the stage, the riders and the viewers can behold the sight of Château Sainte-Marie, a thousand year old fortress, which was controlled by several Christian Orders such as the Templars, the Hospitallers and the Order of Malta.
After Soulor, the GC men can't hide anymore - they will inevitably be exposed, when they approach the finish line on the legendary Col du Tourmalet, which has been climbed more times than any other climb in the history of the Tour.
In 1913 Eugene Christophe was leading the Tour when he was to descend the Tourmalet. Unfortunately his fork broke, and since receiving help was forbidden, he had to find a forge and fix it himself, which took several hours - on top of that he was penalized for receiving help by the apprentice at the forge!
In stage 15 in the 2003 Tour, Armstrong crashed in a stage featuring the Tourmalet, on the finishing climb to Luz Ardiden when he was taken down by a spectator, but got up again to win the stage.
Stage 14 of this years Tour will be just the third time in history, that a stage finish is placed on the summit of the Tourmalet. The last time was in 2010, which was a really hyped stage - Maillot jaune Alberto Contador had a slim 8 second lead taken after the controversial chain gate at Port de Bales in a Tour, where the yellow jersey looked to be impossible to rip off Schleck. That Tour was perhaps the last true mano-a-mano we have had. A duel where the two only had eyes on each other, best witnessed by the famous track-standing in Ax-3 Domaines. Anyway, Andy attacked and lead up the climb, riding everyone else off his wheel by over a minute,
...except Contador, who held on while Schleck took the stage...
The big questions after today's stage will be whether Alaphilippe actually can hang on to the yellow - something which seems unlikely, but possible, especially if the stage is ridden conservatively. On the other hand, there are several riders who need to take back time lost, and with two thirds of the race finished tomorrow, they better start now!
Weather at the finish line:
General classification on the eve of stage 14:
1. Julian ALAPHILIPPE
2. Geraint THOMAS + 1'26''
3. Steven KRUIJSWIJK + 2'12''
4. Enric MAS + 2'44''
5. Egan BERNAL + 2'52''
6. Emanuel BUCHMANN + 3'04''
7. Thibaut PINOT + 3'22''
8. Rigoberto URAN + 3'54''
9. Nairo QUINTANA + 3'55''
10. Adam YATES st.
Green jersey competition on the eve of stage 14:
1. Peter SAGAN 277
2. Sonny COLBRELLI 191
3. Elia VIVIANI 184
4. Michael MATTHEWS 167
5. Caleb EWAN 148
Polka-dot jersey competition on the eve of stage 14:
1. Tim WELLENS 54
2. Thomas DE GENDT 37
3. Giulio CICCONE 30
4. Xandro MEURISSE 27
5. Natnael BERHANE 20
Youth classification on the eve of stage 14:
1. Enric MAS
2. Egan BERNAL + 8''
3. David GAUDU + 5'50''
4. Giulio CICCONE + 17'07''
5. Gregor MÜHLBERGER + 27'41''
Profile:
The stage starts in Tarbes, which has hosted the Tour numerous times as starting point, latest in the 2015 Tour (the PSM stage, where Froome destroyed everyone) and the finish as well, latest in 1995, where the stage was neutralized due to the death of Olympic RR champion Fabio Casartelli, to whom a memorial was later built.
The city of Tarbes is home to a couple of beautiful fountains, one of which is this, the fountain of Quatre-Vallées:
In Tarbes one of The Remarkable Gardens of France can be found, the Massey Garden, built in the 1800s:
The first climb is the Côte de Labatmale, a category 4 that is 1,4 km at 6,7%, but from Ferriéres the stage is a carbon copy of the 2010 stage. The legs of the riders will start to really hurt at Col du Soulor…
..a 11,9 km climb at 7,8%. It has featured in the Tour twelve times, latest in last years Tour in the stage to Laruns (shoutout to LS!) and before that, the widely remembered 2010 Tourmalet stage. After Soulor, exactly 99 kms in the stage, the riders and the viewers can behold the sight of Château Sainte-Marie, a thousand year old fortress, which was controlled by several Christian Orders such as the Templars, the Hospitallers and the Order of Malta.
After Soulor, the GC men can't hide anymore - they will inevitably be exposed, when they approach the finish line on the legendary Col du Tourmalet, which has been climbed more times than any other climb in the history of the Tour.
In 1913 Eugene Christophe was leading the Tour when he was to descend the Tourmalet. Unfortunately his fork broke, and since receiving help was forbidden, he had to find a forge and fix it himself, which took several hours - on top of that he was penalized for receiving help by the apprentice at the forge!
In stage 15 in the 2003 Tour, Armstrong crashed in a stage featuring the Tourmalet, on the finishing climb to Luz Ardiden when he was taken down by a spectator, but got up again to win the stage.
Stage 14 of this years Tour will be just the third time in history, that a stage finish is placed on the summit of the Tourmalet. The last time was in 2010, which was a really hyped stage - Maillot jaune Alberto Contador had a slim 8 second lead taken after the controversial chain gate at Port de Bales in a Tour, where the yellow jersey looked to be impossible to rip off Schleck. That Tour was perhaps the last true mano-a-mano we have had. A duel where the two only had eyes on each other, best witnessed by the famous track-standing in Ax-3 Domaines. Anyway, Andy attacked and lead up the climb, riding everyone else off his wheel by over a minute,
...except Contador, who held on while Schleck took the stage...
The big questions after today's stage will be whether Alaphilippe actually can hang on to the yellow - something which seems unlikely, but possible, especially if the stage is ridden conservatively. On the other hand, there are several riders who need to take back time lost, and with two thirds of the race finished tomorrow, they better start now!
Weather at the finish line:
General classification on the eve of stage 14:
1. Julian ALAPHILIPPE
2. Geraint THOMAS + 1'26''
3. Steven KRUIJSWIJK + 2'12''
4. Enric MAS + 2'44''
5. Egan BERNAL + 2'52''
6. Emanuel BUCHMANN + 3'04''
7. Thibaut PINOT + 3'22''
8. Rigoberto URAN + 3'54''
9. Nairo QUINTANA + 3'55''
10. Adam YATES st.
Green jersey competition on the eve of stage 14:
1. Peter SAGAN 277
2. Sonny COLBRELLI 191
3. Elia VIVIANI 184
4. Michael MATTHEWS 167
5. Caleb EWAN 148
Polka-dot jersey competition on the eve of stage 14:
1. Tim WELLENS 54
2. Thomas DE GENDT 37
3. Giulio CICCONE 30
4. Xandro MEURISSE 27
5. Natnael BERHANE 20
Youth classification on the eve of stage 14:
1. Enric MAS
2. Egan BERNAL + 8''
3. David GAUDU + 5'50''
4. Giulio CICCONE + 17'07''
5. Gregor MÜHLBERGER + 27'41''
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