Stage 17 - Bourg-Saint-Maurice - Le Grand-Bornand - SPOILER

Mettan

Introduction

So, today we reach (arguably) the hardest stage of the tour, containing 5 categorized climbs - this includes, 4 cat 1 climbs and 1 cat 2 climb.

The Climbs

Cormet de Roselend 18.1 km, avg. 5.7 %, Catégorie 1
Col des Saisies 15.1 km, avg. 6 %, Catégorie 1
Côte d'Arâches 6.3 km, avg. 7 %, Catégorie 2
Col de Romme 8.8 km, avg. 8.9 %, Catégorie 1
Col de la Colombière 7.5 km, avg. 8.5 %, Catégorie 1

The Profile



The GC riders will race today and the stage will suit the climbers. From the off, the riders will ascend the Cormet de Roselend (18.1 km at 5.7 % avg) - expect the GC contenders to summit together. If that sounds tough, well, it gets tougher, with another 4 categorized climbs to go. The profile above should give you a feel for the stage. Note, that there's only a 15km descent to the finish from the summit of the final climb. Difficult to say where the main GC showdown will occur, but there might only be a small group left on the final climb - Contenders like Andy Schleck, at minimum will want to put time into Wiggins, Armstrong and Kloden (given Andy's podium hopes and the upcoming TT) - alternately, Wiggins/Armstrong/Kloden will do everything possible to stay with the likes of Bert and Andy when the going gets really tough. Will Brad crack?, or even Lance? - Will Bert and Andy be the last men standing at the top of the Col de la Colombière?, or will Bert ride off into the sunset, and take his 2nd Tour? - nobody knows - should be a fascinating days racing.

mididoctors

wiggins kloden alliance?

Obelix

Cant wait for today ... taken another day off work to cheer Wiggo on and watch the whole stage live ... hoping that I need to take off thursday and friday too!

Expecting a large number of minor GC contenders (places 10-30 to give it a go and hope that we see some alliances so that astana get put under pressure. Would love to see Columbia attack this stage with monfort, kirchen and martin (if recovered) and some alliances between milram, silance, cervelo and FDJ formed.

Common Wiggo!!!!!

Kléber

It should be good today, on paper the stage looks excellent. I'm told the Col de Romme is particularly vicious, steep but also with narrow roads. Look at the profile here, there are some 12% sections :twisted:

blazing_saddles

Nasty. google here
A decisive stage on the cards.

FJS

You don't need a mountain top finish for a cracking stage... the Romme even has a whole km at 12 %! And, after the first 10 % section there's still more than 15 km of steep climbing to do, so lots of opportunity to make big gaps.
Will any of the favorites try anything before the Romme? Will Egoi try a last challenge on Franco's jersey?

Cumulonimbus

Nibali seems to be the man no-one talks about at this tour. He finished in third place up to Andorra, lies sixth overall and went with the Schelcks yesterday. He is only 25 seconds behind Andy in the white jersey competition but i think could do a better time trial. You have to fancy Andy to pull away today and on the Ventoux but if Andy puts in loads of effort for little reward then he could struggle tomorrow in the TT.

The polka-dot competition is still open although Pellizotti has a decent lead. There are a lot of points on offer today but all the other top contenders were in the break yesterday and may well be too tired to go on a marathon break to the finish today which hoovers up loads of points. I imagine Pellizotti will be keeping an eye on the other contenders early on to make sure no-one sneaks away.

The closeness of the individual GC also means that the team GC is close with Astana leading Ag2r by 2:32. Garmin are at 5:54 and a whole host of teams between 10 and 20 minutes back. The first three finishers on each stage count and ssuming that Contador, Kloden and Armstrong all finish high up then its difficult to see any team beating them today. Maybe the two Schlecks and a Saxobanker from a breakaway could do better but they have 11:43 to make up. Team Milram are fourth overall in the team competition and dont have a GC contender so maybe they will have extra motivation to get people up the road today. Gerdemann and Velits are their two best GC people though and will probably lose a lot of time today.

As to the weather today, sunny spells will send the temperature up to 30C. However, the building heat could set off a sharp shower or thunderstorm by the end of the stage. The letour symbols have showers on the last climbs but i think that the chances are that it will stay dry. Hope so anyway

knedlicky

Kléber wrote:

I'm told the Col de Romme is particularly vicious

I rode the Col de Romme about 5 years ago. It starts off going up the side of a rockface and this initial sudden ramp feels, and is, very difficult, about 10-11% with even steeper short sections. It can be very hot there too if there is sun reflection off the rockface (although this is less likely by the time the Tour reach there today).
Even when you leave the rockface, it stays hard, there is just the same constant slope going upward and onward, with no easing off. Or sharp bends for a bit of variation and respite as you turn - the first km of ascent is more or less straight road with just the odd slight knick preventing you seeing the whole km.

I think this is the critical part of the climb and if someone accelerates here, then many riders will drop off right away. Leave it much later to break and you might as well wait until the Colombiere.

After the first serpentine bend, the gradient carries on just as steeply and the next bend is another 600 m, but the road wiggles a bit, isn’t so endlessly straight, and you are in the woods. It isn’t easier, but the surroundings, and perhaps having got a rhythm going, might make feel so – unless you’re one of those dropped! Somewhere here, at one of the next bends, there is a great view back into the Cluses valley.

After 2-3 more sharp bends with shorter stretches between, you’re out of the denser woods and after you’ve reached the first hamlet, Nancy, the gradient eases off. I don’t remember where the top of the pass is, maybe at the village of Romme itself (I have a vague memory that you can see Romme from Le Reposoir, where the Romme road joins the Colombiere road). The descent from Romme has some pretty tight corners which need care.

Kléber

It's raining at the start, just a few light drops but it could be a sign of thunderstorms to come.

Le Commentateur

I rode for a week in that area when the weather was crap. It didn't seem so bad as on the Tourmalet or the Galibier in mist & rain, so apart from making descending more tricky I don't think the weather will be as much a factor as, say, if it were a hot sunny day.

PeteinSQ

I have cycled up the Colombiere in the rain and when we got to the top it was snowing. It very nearly finished me off.

FJS

Evans already in trouble, at the back of the peloton! the peloton still together... wonder what his problem was professionalism didn;t allow him to talk about...

Kléber

The mountains here are very scenic but not as high altitude, you can't find many roads over 2000m, most passes are 1500-1800m but they are amongst some of the most scenic roads around and good for a holiday as it's a quiet corner of the Alps.

Meanwhile It's raining stair rods at the finish. Cadel Evans is lurking at the back of the bunch already, I think his mind is out of the race. He's contracted to ride for his team until the end of next year but I think he wants out.

At the front of the race it seems Menchov's joined the breakaway now, which has Chavanel, Feillu, Casar, Uran, Van den Broek, Zabriskie, Pellizotti, Pauriol and others.

SpaceJunk

FJS wrote:

Evans already in trouble, at the back of the peloton! the peloton still together... wonder what his problem was professionalism didn;t allow him to talk about...

Australian media reporting that Cadel will be announcing as early as this Sunday his intentions for 2010.

Although under contract for next year, he will not be at Silence.

Reading between the lines, Cadel has said he can't wait to get back to Australia after TdF. Maybe this is his last race for Silence??

FJS

Interesting, interesting... opening up some space and money at Lotto; with the recent frustration among Lefevre and Boonen, maybe a transfer option there? Only Belgian teams will be willing to pay up Tom's salary. well, well

In the mean time while Evans is really off the back now, Menchov seems to have found his morale, and on the attack.

As is Van den Broeck again. Symbolic change of focus for Lotto

PeteinSQ

I see Cadel has been dropped already. I would assume this means he isn't really trying today and I wonder if he will make it all the way to Paris.

VerwoodAsh

SpaceJunk wrote:

FJS wrote:

Evans already in trouble, at the back of the peloton! the peloton still together... wonder what his problem was professionalism didn;t allow him to talk about...

Australian media reporting that Cadel will be announcing as early as this Sunday his intentions for 2010.

Although under contract for next year, he will not be at Silence.

Reading between the lines, Cadel has said he can't wait to get back to Australia after TdF. Maybe this is his last race for Silence??

I thought I read he was going to do the Veulta. I wouldn't be surprised if he climbed off today and decided to give that more of a go.

timoid.

Maybe Evans will join Brailford's mob. Would be a solid if unspectacular choice.

Maybe the politics is allowing Van den Broeck his head instead of using him to help cuddles.

term1te

I cycled the Col de Romme about 3 weeks ago on a very hot day, with the worlds slowest fountain at the top. There are a couple of false summits, which sap the strength if you don't know they are there. They were resurfacing the decent to the bottom of the Colombière and the road was a real mess. I guess that will all be fixed now and it should be an exciting descent with some narrow sections and tight corners.

blazing_saddles

Karpets involved in a pile up!
What's up with Cuddles: Done a "Mayo" and left his form at the Dauphine?

SpaceJunk

VerwoodAsh wrote:

SpaceJunk wrote:

FJS wrote:

Evans already in trouble, at the back of the peloton! the peloton still together... wonder what his problem was professionalism didn;t allow him to talk about...

Australian media reporting that Cadel will be announcing as early as this Sunday his intentions for 2010.

Although under contract for next year, he will not be at Silence.

Reading between the lines, Cadel has said he can't wait to get back to Australia after TdF. Maybe this is his last race for Silence??

I thought I read he was going to do the Veulta. I wouldn't be surprised if he climbed off today and decided to give that more of a go.

Not sure if you saw this Cadel quote following Tuesday's stage:

"Everything has gone against me. I can't wait to get to Paris even sooner as it will make getting back to Barwon Heads [in Aus] even sooner. I'm actually counting down the days".

Cadel has never come back to Aus until the end of his season. He might still do the Vuelta, but I get the impression he is leaving Silence at the end of this race.

SpaceJunk

Blazing Saddles wrote:

Karpets involved in a pile up!
What's up with Cuddles: Done a "Mayo" and left his form at the Dauphine?

Ahh carpet pile.

Kléber

Whingeing Aussie

The weather's turning foul. The race helicopters have been forced to land because of high winds and the riders are going uphill but putting on their rain capes. It'll be interesting to see what Saxo do today after losing Voigt.

SpaceJunk

Kléber wrote:

Whingeing Aussie

The weather's turning foul. The race helicopters have been forced to land because of high winds and the riders are going uphill but putting on their rain capes. It'll be interesting to see what Saxo do today after losing Voigt.

Must be his ENglish heritage I think Kléber

VerwoodAsh

SpaceJunk wrote:

VerwoodAsh wrote:

SpaceJunk wrote:

FJS wrote:

Evans already in trouble, at the back of the peloton! the peloton still together... wonder what his problem was professionalism didn;t allow him to talk about...

Australian media reporting that Cadel will be announcing as early as this Sunday his intentions for 2010.

Although under contract for next year, he will not be at Silence.

Reading between the lines, Cadel has said he can't wait to get back to Australia after TdF. Maybe this is his last race for Silence??

I thought I read he was going to do the Veulta. I wouldn't be surprised if he climbed off today and decided to give that more of a go.

Not sure if you saw this Cadel quote following Tuesday's stage:

"Everything has gone against me. I can't wait to get to Paris even sooner as it will make getting back to Barwon Heads [in Aus] even sooner. I'm actually counting down the days".

Cadel has never come back to Aus until the end of his season. He might still do the Vuelta, but I get the impression he is leaving Silence at the end of this race.

I did a quick google - and found this - http://www.sport24.co.za/Content/OtherSport/TourdeFrance/1379/fd23eded068b4c91bbde1e53a6f18ea8/21-07-2009%2001-07/Evans_confirms_Vuelta_entry

It was the same story I read somewhere else early this morning.

Le Commentateur

Ah, lovely... the second half of the descent below the reservoir through the woods is beautiful -- and steep initially.

Harry Hill

Thor going for enough points that the Green Jersay is beyond Cav's reach? Even with a win in Paris.

VerwoodAsh

At least Thor is going to make ammends but going for the sprint prizes today. Ih he had won Green with less than 13 points difference in Paris then the fingers woudl have still be wagging, but if he can go clear then it should lay that arguement to rest. (Of course if that was the case he may not been allowed to get away).

VerwoodAsh

Beaten to it by HH!

Harry Hill

only by a minute! sorry lol

PeteinSQ

For me Thor has been one of the riders of the tour this year. He is so much more than just a sprinter (not that I'm saying that about Cav). To have the ability to pick up the points today that put it beyond doubt and argument that he deserves the green jersey is very impressive in my opinion.