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Interesting day ahead today after yesterdays semi-Ardennes special.
Stage 7 is the longest of the 105th Tour de France with a total of 231km to cover. Leaving Brittany from Fougères, the home of former yellow jersey Georges Groussard (9 days in 1964), former Tour de France technical director Albert Bouvet and current Fortuneo-Samsic team manager Emmanuel Hubert, the race visits other cycling mad provinces: Mayenne and Sarthe, where Cofidis escape artist Nicolas Edet is from. The course is lumpy at half way in the “Alpes mancelles”. On the Tour’s last visit in Chartres in 2004, it wasn’t a bunch sprint finish but Stuart O’Grady won from a breakaway and Thomas Voeckler started his first odyssey in yellow. The finishing area of the Beauce can be windy and favour echelons. It might as well rain a little bit at the finish. However, the probability of a bunch gallop remains high.
The profile?
Last 5km? A very cheeky looking ramp at the end.
So who's going to win it, Inrng?
The Contenders: Another Fernando Gaviria (Quick Step) and Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) contest? Certainly pair have two stage wins each and stand to win more with a finish like this as both are sprinting so well and the climb to the line tilts the odds in their favour once more. Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain-Merida) is good for a finish like this too while Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ) might seem bulky but remember his sprint to win in Paris-Nice where Christophe Laporte (Cofidis) also featured but he’s still sore after a crash.
The pure sprinters wanting a pan flat finish can look forward to tomorrow’s stage but that’s slim pickings given the cobbles on Sunday and then a succession of climbing stages. Still André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) and Marcel Kittel (Katusha-Alpecin) have both won uphill finishes like this in their pomp, the question is whether they can do it at the moment and they’re not reassuring picks, even less so Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) and Alexander Kristoff (UAE-Emirates). Finally what chance for Dylan Groenewegen (Lotto-Jumbo), he who has been boxed in many times this week but still can’t be discounted.
So they think it's a sprint stage, hmm, my instinct is echelons so it may not be so straight forward...
And so to yesterday.
Lawson Craddock, still going.
More textbook France work.
A lovely French scene.
Dan attacks.
Worth noting there are some stunning pics every day over at Cyclingtips, well worth a look if you have some time.
Groanwaggon, that bloke.
Or... Sags...
Can’t really make my mind up whether Colbrelli has the fortitude to lead this one out alone.. I’d like to see it, just for the effort he’s been putting in of late.
However, this has “Break!” written all over it so we could see it last until the end. Long day though, so if a break goes they’ll have to be more than 6 in it and work damn hard at it ... which I’d really like to see..👍🤪
Only guarantee is Wanty and maybe Fortuneo will be represented 🤦♀️🍣
C’mon lads, have a break have a quick step gel.
Reckon the gc teams will want a rest today so a none threatening break could get away and win a stage. Porte pretty much suggested that (a rest stage) at the end of yesterday. There's always someone ready to give it ago. Maybe we'll have a 20 mins plus gap to the peloton, who knows. One thing is certain, Direct Energie will be involved.
Big news for me was that Froome was not on it in the sprint at end, perhaps those Giro winning legs are tired. *Alternatively he's giving out I'm knackered messages while preserving himself till it really counts.
*could be utter bollocks.
Big news for me was that Froome was not on it in the sprint, perhaps those Giro winning legs are tired. Alternatively he’s giving out I’m knackered messages while preserving himself till it counts.
Was trying to work out who was doing what in all of that, everyone seemed happy to let Martin go a bit for the win but not too much more, Porte was happy to sit and "manage" the followers or they let him do that and Froome either misjudged it or was tiring a little.
So basically no idea
(a rest stage)
If it's any more breezy than predicted (cross-head, 5mph maybe "gusting" 10) and any of the GC contenders becomes cut-off it'll be carnage; there are some some big gaps up top already and one or two feeling slightly desperate, I bet.
Froomidge was sandbagging yesterday, no point in busting a gut just yet.
Anyone got any idea when there is a 10km neutral zone before the stage starts today? Seems very long indeed.
Agreed, Bikebuoy, Froome, riding to his power meter.
Greipel for the win today.
Seems daft to drop a handful of seconds for the sake of just a few yards of extra effort; I think he misjudged it
Sagan for the win. Which GC rider is going to lose time today?.
The Froomedawg's not a punchy rider. He's not always good on those climbs and I'm not the least bit surprised he lost a couple of seconds. I doubt he's losing any sleep over it.
Seems daft to drop a handful of seconds for the sake of just a few yards of extra effort; I think he misjudged it
He's cannier than that. All those extra efforts add up. I think he was happy to see Geraint up the road tiring himself out in time for G's customary 3rd week implosion.
Froome knows how to ride grand tours, and part of that is being very efficient in energy usage. The Giro was a great example of that, Yates burned himself out in week 1 and 2 enabling Froome to ease past as the tour went on. Don't be surprised to see something similar here.
Breakaway please. It won't happen. If windy, I'd like to see a break up with some GC separation. But I think the distance from lumps to finish will make this a sprinter's race. Gavi for the win, holding off Sagan
Sombody has been watching too many Jens and Tony Martin videos
Solo break, 60km done 170km to go
Echelons been and gone, rumours of more to come though.
and another solo break off the front, if there are more echelons this won't last long
Blimey, I called it right 🥊👏🤙
hate to say this but Cav looks like he's lost his nerve.
hate to say this but Cav looks like he’s lost his nerve.
My thoughts 🙁 Hopefully he's just realising he hasn't got the legs so just not trying. It's all a bit sad he's been such a great rider.
Looked to me like Cav clipped a bike with his foot then sat up and during his interview he kept looking down to his foot and mentioned he hit another rider. He did acknowledge some of the other riders are on a different level. I still wouldn't count him out of grabbing a stage win.
did look like something happened to Cav, though I think he'd had it by then - picked the wrong wheel for me (big dude in the white - Kristoff?) and had to go round him to get back onto Groenewegen. As he rounded Kristoff he definitely seemed to jerk for some reason but the race was done by then anyway I think
(back to the Froome comments above - I still think he's lost 5 seconds for the sake of a couple of yards of road which is daft in a (currently) tight race. Misjudgment or lack of legs IMO; I think he was hoping to hold the gap to the previous rider below 2 seconds)
It's tough watching Cav, I think he knows he's lost the smallest bit of speed which is exactly the way he used to dispose of Petacchi at the start of his career. Still a lot of racing left though
I think Froome has gone into this race slightly undercooked as he's worked out this suits him, I'm just disappointed that Nairo has lost that minute or so, although quite why they persist in supporting valv.piti when he has no chance is beyond me. Lots of other very good riders all grouped together ready to go at GC.