Tour De France 2014 Stage 10: Mulhouse - La Planche des Belles Filles

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monty1104

monty1104

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Stage 10: Mulhouse - La Planche des Belles Filles

Current Jersey Leaders
Yellow: Tony Gallopin (LOT)
White: Michal Kwiatkowski (OPQ)
Green: Peter Sagan (CAN)
Polkadot: Tony Martin (OPQ)
Lantern Rouge: Edward King (CAN)
Team: Astana

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  • Km 30.5 - Col du Firstplan (722 m)8.3 kilometre-long climb at 5.4% - category 2
  • Km 54.5 - Petit Ballon (1 163 m)9.3 kilometre-long climb at 8.1% - category 1
  • Km 71.5 - Col du Platzerwasel (1 193 m)7.1 kilometre-long climb at 8.4% - category 1
  • Km 103.5 - Col d'Oderen (884 m)6.7 kilometre-long climb at 6.1% - category 2
  • Km 125.5 - Col des Croix3.2 kilometre-long climb at 6.2% - category 3
  • Km 143.5 - Col des Chevrères (914 m)3.5 kilometre-long climb at 9.5% - category 1
  • Km 161.5 - La Planche des Belles Filles (1 035 m)5.9 kilometre-long climb at 8.5% - category 1
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General Classification after Stage 9
FRA 1 GALLOPIN, Tony (LOTTO BELISOL) 38:04:38
ITA 2 NIBALI, Vincenzo (ASTANA) + 1:34
POR 3 MACHADO, Tiago (NETAPP - ENDURA) + 2:40
DEN 4 FUGLSANG, Jakob (ASTANA) + 3:18
AUS 5 PORTE, Richie (SKY) + 3:32
POL 6 KWIATKOWSKI, Michal (OMEGA PHARMA - QUICK-STEP) + 4:00
ESP 7 VALVERDE BELMONTE, Alejandro (MOVISTAR) + 4:01
FRA 8 ROLLAND, Pierre (EUROPCAR) + 4:07
ESP 9 CONTADOR VELASCO, Alberto (TINKOFF-SAXO) + 4:08
FRA 10 BARDET, Romain (AG2R LA MONDIALE) + 4:13

Tonight's stage will be one for the GC guys to duke it out. Though there aren't the big mountains of the Alps or the Pyrenees, tonight we have 7 categorised climbs, 6 of which are category 2 or above, with a finish on the category 1 La Planch des Belles Filles. Last time the race was here, Froome won by 2" over Evan and Wiggins. Perhaps somewhat tellingly, Nibaly finished 4th, 7" back. Tonight I think it will be Contador's night. I can't see a breakaway winning again tonight, and of the real GC contenders, this short steep finish suits Contador's explosive style. Valverde could be one to push him, but in the end, it will just be the rider with the best legs by the end, it really will be a stage of attrition.

Watch out for: Tony Gallopin to have the ride of his life in the yellow jersey. It might not be enough to keep the jersey, but he will have that extra motivation now.

Conversation regarding past cases of PED use or innuendo surrounding current riders will not be tolerated. This thread is specifically about Stage 10 of the 2014 Tour de France, so let's keep it that way.
 
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Tiring just looking at it. This is a brute from the get go, no respite 20 kilometres into the stage until the end.

The finish:

The ascent up to La Planche des Belles Filles is only 5.9 km long. The length isn’t very scary but the gradients definitely are. It starts out very steeply with parts of 13 % and from here on, there is no place to catch your breath. Only with about 500 meters to go, the climb evens out as the riders reach the car park. This would be a great place to put the finishing line. However, instead, the race organizers have made a short and steep path going up even further. These last 250 meters kick up with over 20 %. This is where Chris Froome put in his attack when he won in 2012.
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Looking at the mountain profiles on the official tour site, some of these climbs are brutal - not as long as the Alps & Pyrenees, but considerably steeper. Several of these Voges mountains have average gradients of 8-9.5%, with pinches hitting 18-20%. Compare that with the Alpine stages, which mostly average 6-7%, with pinches hitting 13-15%. The Pyrenees mountains (this year) are somewhere in-between, having higher average gradients than the Pyrenees, but less steep in the pinches.

It's interesting that the Voges mountains are used so rarely on the Tour - the organisers seem to prefer the longer & higher, but less steep, climbs in the other ranges.

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A loss of under 15sec will be a win for Nibali tonight, he'll not be able to hold Contadors wheel on that last 20% pinch. I'll guess Conta>Porte>Nibali
 
Will be interesting to see where Contador first utilises his trademark repititive attacks.. will he go for it on the Col des Chevrères or break him on the last climb?
If he closes the first 3-4, will Contador lose confidence?

Im expecting only a small gain from Contador over Nibali tonight, maybe 10-20 seconds made on that final bugger of a climb.

Either way, going to be an epic stage before the rest day.
 
phantom13 said:
This is an epic stage, im napping for 2 hours now
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i'll admit to having a sneaky nap this afternoon too :)

I'm tuned in on-line, they're still under the white flag, excited to see what sort of kerfuffle goes on trying to organise today's break.
 
The shots they showed earlier of the finish line reminded me of that stage where Schleck & Contador did battle up the Tourmalet when it was shrouded in mist.

Vive le tour! :hearts:
 

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