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Tour de France 2020 | Stage 8 (Gazeres-sur-Geronne - Loudenvielle

After the peloton labeled stage 2 "a flat stage with a few early bumps", stage 4 an "uphill sprint stage" and stage 6 "hilly at best" it is now time for the first mountain stage of this years Tour de France. So the big question arises. What will be the excuses for not attacking this time?

Map:
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Profile:
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Timetable:

Start: 13:30
Intermediate Sprint: 14:38/14:35/14:32
Col de Menté: 15:11/15:06/15:02
Port de Balès: 16:32/16:21/16:14
Col de Peyresourde: 17:15/17:02/16:52
Finish: 17:28/17:14/17:04

Climbs:
Today we offer a three course menu with a special recommendation for the 2nd course.
We start with light with the Col de Mentè, the easiest climb of the day albeit still being 1st category and relatively steep. It's the 2nd and 3rd climb however which come in quick succession and will hopefully lead to meaningful attacks and time gaps. First the Port de Balès, a climb the once made an 11 year old Andy Schleck fan called Gigs cry, followed by the Col de Peyresourde a climb you might know from literally every Tour de France.
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Michael Rasmussen's legs will start hurting thinking of how he just managed to follow Alberto Contador on his ruthless attacks on a very similar combination of finishing climbs in 2007.

General classification after Stage 7
  1. Adam Yates
  2. Primoz Roglic + 0.03
  3. Guillaume Martin + 0.09
  4. Egan Bernal + 0.13
  5. Tom Dumoulin s.t.
  6. Nairo Quintana s.t.
  7. Romain Bardet s.t.
  8. Miguel Ángel López s.t.
  9. Thibaut Pinot s.t.
  10. Rigoberto Uran s.t.
Points classification after Stage 7
  1. Peter Sagan 138
  2. Sam Bennett 129
  3. Wout Van Aert 106
  4. Bryan Coquard 105
  5. Alexander Kristoff 93
Mountains classification after Stage 7
  1. Benoît Cosnefroy 25
  2. Michael Gogl 12
  3. Primoz Roglic 10
  4. Alexey Lutsenko 10
  5. Nicolas Roche 10
Young riders classification after Stage 7
  1. Egan Bernal
  2. Enric Mas + 0.09
  3. Sergio Higuita + 0.28
  4. Tadej Pogacar + 1.15
  5. Daniel Felipe Martinez + 18.44
May the suffering begin.
 
I know that there are riders who lost time who need to start gaining that back, but Alaphilipe also needs to gain back some time somewhere and preferably early in the race. It’s not the most sensible but I’m going with him for the win.

He was at his limit on a way easier climb. If they soft pedal again he obviously has a chance. Otherwise I don´ t think he will be able to keep up with the best.
 
I know that there are riders who lost time who need to start gaining that back, but Alaphilipe also needs to gain back some time somewhere and preferably early in the race. It’s not the most sensible but I’m going with him for the win.

He should lose time! (He never listens to me.)
No way he's going to win this. Of course DQS can go full gas the next crosswind-stages and not wait for Bennett, and Alaphilippe will gain 20 minutes on the other GC contenders on those stages... but Wout is still going to be there and beat him in all the sprints... :p
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Sandisfan
relevant only in the clinic.
And relevant in the thread for a stage that features that climb.

Watching that video, I feel sad. Main group of about 10 riders, no one team dominating, attacks from 10km out - I miss the bygone days of the Tour.

Also riders today not attacking because it's not an MTF or because it's too early in the race, look at stage 9 that year. What a great stage.
 

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