Tour de France Stage 12: Montpellier-Mt.Ventoux 184KM **Spoilers**

neris

So a relatively flat stage with a bit of a lump at the end... Bastille day and France expects a French winner however in true French style they,ll more then likely be left disappointed and crying into their wine and camembert as the race hits one of the most historic climbs on the Tour. Ventoux has seen death and tragedy with British rider Tom Simpson and epic battles to the finish between legends doped up riders such as Armstrong & Pantani. With poor weather forecasted for Thursday and strong winds the finish line maybe moved back down the mountain into the forested area. This could be the day where Quintana finally attacks Froome and on this years race might even hold him off to take the stage win however it looks like Quintana has very little support and on Wednesdays stage Froome was on fire narrowly loosing out on the stage win and putting more time into the little colombian

**Howling winds have shortened the decisive climbing stage up the exposed flanks of Mont Ventoux on Thursday at the Tour de France.
Organizers determined that the gale-force winds would be too dangerous for racing, so the finish has been moved from the summit at 1,912 meters to the Chalet Reynard, located about 6.5km lower on the mountain at 1,417 meters, shortening the 21.8km climb by one-third.**

The easterly direction of travel across the Rhône Valley leaves the peloton at risk of a buffeting. The race takes the classic approach via Bedoin, 22km before the summit. The action kicks off when the race reaches the hairpin bend at Saint-Ésteve where the race disappears into the forest. For nearly 10km the road pitches up at nearly 10 per cent and it will atomise the peloton. The drafting effect all but disappears on the steep but inconsistent gradient and the race becomes a battle of engines. When the road emerges at Chalet Reynard it’s into the landscape for which the climb is famous: the exposed white limestone for the final 6km. The gradients pitch up to about 10 per cent in the final 1.5km from the Tom Simpson memorial onwards. It’s the context that lends Mont Ventoux, the hardest climb in France, extra teeth this year. The day after is the crucial Ardèche TT and the route planner Thierry Gouvenou is banking on riders paying for the effort they put in here. The problem is that Ventoux is so hard, dosing one’s effort is an academic exercise.

Two things could happen: the GC riders are forced into a huge fight on the slopes of Ventoux, or they treat the approach as conservatively as they can and allow a big break to get away and contest the finish. The big teams’ logic could be that it’s better to let the Ventoux and the yellow jersey pass for now and start clawing back the deficit in the Ardèche and the succession of climbs in the Alps. But whatever the strategy, it’s Ventoux on Bastille Day. It’s going to be a crucial day.

Bernard Thevenet: Ventoux is long, hot and hard, and you get two possibilities on a stage like this. Either a break goes away and you get two races, a fight between the break and a fight for the GC riders, or they’ll chase the break down. Ventoux is such a mythical climb so everybody wants to win there. It’s the kind of climb where a rider can win the Tour, although it’s more likely several will lose it here. When I won here, in 1972, we came up the other side, from Malaucène.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour-de-france/stage-12/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY-PW1BCwSI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD-CjcwwU_w

TV Times
Eurosport - 1pm
ITV 4 - 2pm
TnaG - 13:10

pelevin

Why couldn't they have waited till the morning to be surer about the weather? A bit more awkward on logistics perhaps but surely not insurmountable.

ednwireland

and what does 120km/h look like on ventoux

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPwAIo0fseM

GetWithIt

Pffft. Just good drying weather is all.

Arrow in the Knee

Quintana would be blown off Mont Ventoux at those wind speeds tomorrow.

funnights74

Arrow in the Knee wrote: »

Quintana would be blown off Mont Ventoux at those wind speeds tomorrow.

Damn, but probably correct, it would have been carnage. That video is scarey, they could hardly walk.

pelevin

It's only a problem if it's a headwind.

neris

The 1km banner might have a little trouble in those winds

Kaisr Sose

pelevin wrote: »

Why couldn't they have waited till the morning to be surer about the weather? A bit more awkward on logistics perhaps but surely not insurmountable.

Small matter of where to pitch the finishing line infrastructure for starters. A huge team work through the night assembling it when they know where the line will be. If it moves, no chance of having a fully assembled finish theatre.

greedygoblin

I thought Chris Boardman made a good point on the ITV4 highlights last night. The shorter climb at the end might result in a more explosive finale. Here's hoping that there's attacks left, right and centre.

The Ging and I

Most of that stage is a part of a 600k Audax route starting in Montpellier. Its hilly !

Lusk_Doyle

The Ging and I wrote: »

Most of that stage is a part of a 600k Audax route starting in Montpellier. Its hilly !

That's gas the difference between what us mere mortals see and what the pros see. On ES last night the preview for the stage said the first 100k of the stage was flat!

neris

2 people "rescued" of Ventoux last with hypothermia and winds this morning at 116km/h and a chilling 1.5 degrees

https://www.francebleu.fr/infos/faits-divers-justice/tour-de-france-grand-froid-sur-le-ventoux-deux-hypothermies-dans-la-nuit-1468470446

Taxuser1

let's not forget the expected howling winds on the Montpellier plains approaching Bedoin.

Could be carnage on the open highway ere ever a mount be crested

07Lapierre

Lusk_Doyle wrote: »

That's gas the difference between what us mere mortals see and what the pros see. On ES last night the preview for the stage said the first 100k of the stage was flat!

Eh..i assure you its Hilly around there!

https://www.strava.com/activities/598457865

dastardly00

From the link that Neris posted above.

Crazy! :eek:

https://twitter.com/ju_drem/status/753286302095777792

thebouldwhacker

Looking forward to today's stage. Could be big fireworks. After Froome's little breaks gaining 30 odd seconds even if 'nothing' happens and it's a GC bunch finish that's potentially huge. Chess not checkers.

bazermc

18.7K neutralised????



11:52:39 CEST


The riders are on the move but face an 18.7km neutralised section before the official start of the 176km stage.

neris

dastardly00 wrote: »

From the link that Neris posted above.

Crazy! :eek:

https://twitter.com/ju_drem/status/753286302095777792

how do you embed the twitter page?

dastardly00

neris wrote: »

hwo do you embed the twitter page?

All you do is copy & paste the URL address and it automatically embeds (the magic of Boards)

irishrover99

I thought they closed the mountain to ordinary cyclists if the wind got to strong. That looks very dangerous,especially when descending

neris

dastardly00 wrote: »

All you do is copy & paste the URL address and it automatically embeds (the magic of Boards)

ah right:o

dastardly00

bazermc wrote: »

18.7K neutralised????

It seems ridiculously long.

They are starting in the centre of Montpellier, so maybe the organisers just want to wait for the racing to start outside the city so it'll be safer, given that it's Bastille Day and there will be plenty of attacks from the start (wild guess).

dastardly00

Plenty of action so far.....

Lead group: Bertjan Lindeman and Sep Vanmarcke (Lotto-Jumbo), Stef Clement (IAM), Serge Pauwels and Daniel Teklehaimanot (DiData), André Greipel and Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal), Bryan Coquard and Sylvain Chavanel (Direct Energie), Iljo Keisse (Etixx-Quick Step), Chris Anker Sorensen (Fortuneo-Vita Concept), Dani Navarro and Cyril Lemoine (Cofidis)

@ 1'15": Diego Rosa (Astana), Cyril Gautier (AG2R-La Mondiale), Tom-Jelte Slagter (Cannondale-Drapac), Georg Preidler (Giant-Alpecin), Paul Voss (Bora) and Vegard Breen (Fortuneo-Vital Concept)

@ 3'20": Alberto Losada (Katusha)

@ 5'25": Peloton

WinnyThePoo

Greipal for the win haha

Waitsian

Can anyone say, roughly, at what time the riders will hit the foot of the last HC climb, please? I'd watch more but haven't time.

dastardly00

25km gone...

Lead group: Bertjan Lindeman and Sep Vanmarcke (Lotto-Jumbo), Stef Clement (IAM), Serge Pauwels and Daniel Teklehaimanot (DiData), André Greipel and Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal), Bryan Coquard and Sylvain Chavanel (Direct Energie), Iljo Keisse (Etixx-Quick Step), Chris Anker Sorensen (Fortuneo-Vita Concept), Dani Navarro and Cyril Lemoine (Cofidis)

@ 9'05": Peloton

dastardly00

mod9maple wrote: »

Can anyone say, roughly, at what time the riders will hit the foot of the last HC climb, please? I'd watch more but haven't time.

Based on the official schedule:

39 km/h: 3.15pm
37 km/h: 3.27pm
35 km/h: 3.40pm

Times are GMT.

bazermc

dastardly00 wrote: »

It seems ridiculously long.

They are starting in the centre of Montpellier, so maybe the organisers just want to wait for the racing to start outside the city so it'll be safer, given that it's Bastille Day and there will be plenty of attacks from the start (wild guess).

Just as well I am not doing the stage - sure I be knackered before it even starts :eek::eek::eek::eek:

Waitsian

dastardly00 wrote:

39 km/h: 3.15pm 37 km/h: 3.27pm 35 km/h: 3.40pm

I think I can tune in from 3 pm onwards, appreciate the heads up, ty.

gordongekko

Did cav or any of the sprinters quit?

retalivity

15mins back to the peloton, looks like a nice easy run in for team sky

dastardly00

gordongekko wrote: »

Did cav or any of the sprinters quit?

Nope. The only DNS today was Jurgen van den Broeck, who has a broken shoulder. He crashed yesterday but managed to finish the stage.

TheBlaaMan

live pics now

neris

fair bit of puff there

godtabh

Who got a time penalty and why?

Koobcam

Nice to see Dan with a strong team riding for him, this might be on for him today.

neris

godtabh wrote: »

Who got a time penalty and why?

was it aru? for the mechanic working on the bike

Moflojo

godtabh wrote: »

Who got a time penalty and why?

I'd imagine it was Aru for drafting behind the team car and too many sticky bottles while he was fighting to get back to the peloton. The TV coverage stayed on him for pretty much his entire race back to the peloton.

brianomc

neris wrote: »

was it aru? for the mechanic working on the bike

Aru took a bottle off the car to use as a slingshot, dumped the bottle immediately without even taking a sip.
I think he was also getting his bike "worked on" for a long time without actually doing anything to it.

godtabh

I missed it as I was tunning in but the two lads where talking about it

Moflojo

Koobcam wrote: »

Nice to see Dan with a strong team riding for him, this might be on for him today.

Etixx have a man in the breakaway too (Keisse), will he be of any use to Dan later on I wonder? (No one from Sky, Movistar, or Orica in the breakaway - not sure if they have anyone in the chasing group.)

neris

wheres quintana? or what groups he in? carlton kirby was saying they have issues with the race trackers so they dont know who is where

neris

https://twitter.com/itvcycling/status/753585644593709056

neris

orica rider down and took a sky rider with him

neris

gerrans and stanard

neris

Weepsie wrote: »

Watching it on tg4. No idea who is where

theres an issue with the trackers so the tv coverage isnt get position updates

Moflojo

Greipel is still in the breakaway group at the front! That's some going for a big man like him.

Brian?

I've seen the peleton slow to wait for the Yello jersey before, but never the team of the yellow jersey. That was odd.

neris

theres a serious lack of chateaux porn this year, its all churches and abbeys

REBELSAFC

I'm not sure about slowing up the front of the peleton on that occasion. Froome wasn't affected by the crash and all Etixx previous hard work is undone.They should've carried on. All part of bike racing IMO