TDF 2018, Stage 7: Fougères > Chartres 13/07/2018 - 231 km *Spoilers*

blazing_saddles
blazing_saddles Posts: 21,812
edited July 2018 in Pro race
Fougères > Chartres 13/07/2018 - Stage 7 - 231 km

The 7th stage of the Tour de France sets off in Fougères to arrive in Chartres after 231 rolling kilometres. It’s the longest stage of La Grande Boucle 2018. Expect a fast finishers showdown in the streets of Chartres.

stage-7-route.jpg?05

De old town of Fougères is located on a loop of the Nançon river, offering it natural protection. It is as enchanting as an old town could be. Fougères lies on the edge of Brittany, Maine and Normandy.

It’s only three editions ago that the Tour de France visited the town. In the 7th stage Mark Cavendish outsprinted André Greipel and Peter Sagan in Fougères. The last departure was in 2013 when the 12th stage went to Tours, where Marcel Kittel powered to glory.

Stage 7 of the 2018 Tour de France is played out on rolling terrain. The riders pass through the Parc Naturel Régional Normandie-Maine, while the route goes in a straight line to the east, moving through Mayenne, Alençon and Nogent to arrive in Chartres. The Côte de Buisson de Perseigne, which is crested halfway, is the only KOM – 1.6 kilometres at 4.2%. So it is a perfect parcours for fast finishers.

stage-7-profile.jpg?22

A tight right-hand turn 1.9 kilometres before the line leads to a 700 metres drop, while the finale is rounded out by a 600 metres kick-up at 4% before the last 200 metres are on the flat.

Video of the last 5kms.
https://youtu.be/wEtfYTIkyWg

stage-7-finish.jpg?03

stage-7-5km.jpg?03

Chartres, a town with one of the best preserved Gothic cathedrals in Europe, hosted the Tour de France twice. In 2012, Bradley Wiggins was in a class of his own winning the ITT to Chartres ahead of his lieutenant Chris Froome, while Stuart O’Grady won a stage in Chartres in the 2004 Tour de France.

The 7th stage of the 2018 Tour de France starts at 12:20 and the finish is expected around 17:34cet.

Favourites 7th stage 2018 Tour de France

*** Fernando Gaviria, Peter Sagan, Arnaud Démare
** Marcel Kittel, Dylan Groenewegen, Sonny Colbrelli, Alexander Kristoff, André Greipel
* John Degenkolb, Mark Cavendish, Magnus Cort Nielsen

The team hotels for this stage.

stage-7-hotel.jpg?01

Fougères
3 previous stages

Sub-prefecture of Ille-et-Vilaine (35)

Population: 20,000 - 55,290 in the 33 communes of Fougères Agglomeration

Fougeres is renowned for its castle, the best-preserved and largest medieval fortress in Europe. Its architecture and heritage made it a Town of Arts and History, but it is also an innovative city, especially thanks to the BioAgroPolis cluster, specialised in health problems related to food and to cattle breeding. Founded in 2009, BioAgroPolis is now the workplace of more than 200 researchers, biologists, veterinaries and technicians spread in three leading laboratories. The 8,400-square-metre space is home to the Labocea lab, specialised in research on cattle, the National Agency for the sanitary security of food, environment and labour (ANSES) as well as the National agency for veterinary medicaments. A cluster of companies work closely with the labs in a region long specialised in food industry.

e58fb

FOUGERES AND CYCLING

The finishof a 73-km team time trial took place in Fougères during the 1985 Tour. Bernard Hinault and his La Vie Claire team made an impressive show of strength. Closer to us, the city and its imposing castle welcomed in 2013 the start of a stage taking the peloton to Tours and, in 2015, a finish that saw Mark Cavendish win his only stage of the edition.
Fougeres is also the city of Albert Bouvet, who passed away last year. Winner of Paris-Tours in 1956, twice world pursuit silver-medallist, the "bulldog of Fougères" became a journalist, an outstanding race organiser and cobble finder before his tenure as technical director of the Tour de France. His son Philippe is one of the most loyal and respected analysts of cycling in France.

ea9ef


Specialties: shoes, glassware, pancake-sausage, apple ramaougerie (made from cooked apples)

ob_fdaac2_12-10-21-bazouges-047.JPG

Sougeal or Couesnon goose
Sougéal, a small town of Pays de Fougères, is famous for its Goose Fair and for this volatile, a local breed raised on 300 ha of marshes fed by the Couesnon river. These geese feed exclusively on grass. Two or three weeks before being slaughtered, they leave the marsh for grain fattening. The small goose of Sougéal, with white plumage, is killed arat about six months, at a weight of 3 to 4 kilos. Its firm flesh comes in roast, stew, rillettes etc. The geese of Brittany were among the great gastronomic products of the region in the 19th century and Sougéal maintains this dying tradition.

oie_de_sougeal.jpg?1285187274

Chartres

Two previous stages

Prefecture of the department of Eure-et-Loir (28)

42,000 inhabitants (Chartrains)
Notre-Dame de Chartres was one of the largest Gothic cathedrals dedicated to the Virgin Mary in northern France during the 12th and 13th centuries. It was listed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1979. The cathedral is raised on a promontory dominating the river Eure by thirty meters. In the early Middle Ages, at least five buildings were successively built on the spot. Bishop Fulbert (1006-1028), one of the greatest clerics of his time, was instrumental in the construction of the current cathedral. From his time remain the crypt, the narthex with its facade and three portals and two towers. The south tower was built later. The Romanesque basilica of Fulbert was destroyed in 1194 and only the crypt and the west facade were spared.
The 13th century cathedral as we know it today replaced the eastern part of the old building. Its plan in the shape of a Latin cross and its three-storeys make it an example of Gothic architecture in its early days. The bays of the Cathedral form the most complete set of ancient stained glass preserved in France. "Notre-Dame-de-la-Belle-Verrière" (around 1180) and three lancets on the west facade (between 1145 and 1155) are the oldest stained glass windows and are remnants of Fulbert’s cathedral. In 1836, an accidental fire destroyed the old wooden frame. The roof was rebuilt in cast iron with a copper cover, which remains a particularity of the cathedral.

6b7a6

CHARTRES AND CYCLING

The prefecture of Eure-et-Loir has received the Tour de France only twice in the past but has witnessed significant events. Before suggesting to Henri Desgrange the idea of creating the Tour de France, Géo Lefèvre was indeed born in Chartres in 1877. Much later, in 2012, the time trial held between Bonneval and Chartres sealed the final victory of Bradley Wiggins, the first by a British rider. With his fist raised, "Wiggo" beat Chris Froome, the man who would succeed him in the record books by 1:16. 2012 was Wiggins’s year and he wrapped it tup by becoming Olympic champion in the London time trial one month later. In 2004, the first finish in Chartres ended with the victory of Australian Stuart O'Grady, the keenest of a five-man breakaway having taken more than twelve minutes off the peloton. Among the five, young Frenchman Thomas Voeckler seized the overall lead. It was the beginning of a first adventure in yellow on the roads of France for the Alsatian.

Specialties: Chartres pie, Eurélienne (dark beer), Mentchikoff (chocolate confectionery coated with sugar), Chartres honey.

1510568479-1460903973.jpg?itok=jPRoupFj

Mentchikoffs
These typical delicacies from Chartres take their name from a Russian prince who was the confidant of Emperor Peter the Great. They consist of a heart of chocolate praline (almonds and hazelnuts) coated with a fine Swiss meringue (egg whites and icing sugar mounted in a bain-marie). Mentchikoffs look like big white sweets but are actually very soft. They are found in most bakeries in Chartres.

Mentchikoffs_P6293582_CLazi.jpg
"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
«1345678

Comments

  • above_the_cows
    above_the_cows Posts: 11,406
    This stage (apart from those Mentchikoffs) looks so boring that even the cows and horses have stayed away.
    Correlation is not causation.
  • FocusZing
    FocusZing Posts: 4,373
    Some damn good effort going into these thread openers, cheers.
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 13,309

    Mentchikoffs
    These typical delicacies from Chartres take their name from a Russian prince who was the confidant of Emperor Peter the Great. They consist of a heart of chocolate praline (almonds and hazelnuts) coated with a fine Swiss meringue (egg whites and icing sugar mounted in a bain-marie). Mentchikoffs look like big white sweets but are actually very soft. They are found in most bakeries in Chartres.

    Mentchikoffs_P6293582_CLazi.jpg

    At the top you can see what a Michelton-Scott helmet looks like if you leave it out in the sun for a week.
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 13,309
    TWO. HUNDRED. AND. THIRTY. ONE. KILOMETRES. OF. FLAT.

    Sorry, but I'm just going to sit this one out. Which should probably guarantee you echelons.
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format
  • above_the_cows
    above_the_cows Posts: 11,406
    TWO. HUNDRED. AND. THIRTY. ONE. KILOMETRES. OF. FLAT.

    Sorry, but I'm just going to sit this one out. Which should probably guarantee you echelons.

    I'm at the hairdresser so someone else can babysit the klaxon.

    c091b044-ae7f-4014-b250-b32534486b5a_zps1bncfvoa.jpg
    Correlation is not causation.
  • jwa581
    jwa581 Posts: 24
    Thanks for the stage info blazing. Fantastic as usual. Wood be nice to see Kittle and Cavendish turn up (I know, I know, Cav's finished) and see a clean sprint between Gaviria, Sagan, Greipel, Kittle and Cavendish, as we haven't seen a full on sprint with all the favourites yet.
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 13,309
    jwa581 wrote:
    Thanks for the stage info blazing. Fantastic as usual. Wood be nice to see Kittle and Cavendish turn up (I know, I know, Cav's finished) and see a clean sprint between Gaviria, Sagan, Greipel, Kittle and Cavendish, as we haven't seen a full on sprint with all the favourites yet.

    What have you got against Groenewegen? Did he poo in your bibshorts?
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format
  • jwa581
    jwa581 Posts: 24
    jwa581 wrote:
    Thanks for the stage info blazing. Fantastic as usual. Wood be nice to see Kittle and Cavendish turn up (I know, I know, Cav's finished) and see a clean sprint between Gaviria, Sagan, Greipel, Kittle and Cavendish, as we haven't seen a full on sprint with all the favourites yet.

    What have you got against Groenewegen? Did he poo in your bibshorts?

    Yes him as well. Got bored with writing out sprinter's names. Also can't spell his name!
  • mamil314
    mamil314 Posts: 1,103
    Kristoff's name is easy
  • Lanterne_Rogue
    Lanterne_Rogue Posts: 4,091
    jwa581 wrote:
    Thanks for the stage info blazing. Fantastic as usual. Wood be nice to see Kittle and Cavendish turn up (I know, I know, Cav's finished) and see a clean sprint between Gaviria, Sagan, Greipel, Kittle and Cavendish, as we haven't seen a full on sprint with all the favourites yet.

    What have you got against Groenewegen? Did he poo in your bibshorts?

    He turned up with a load of first edition pressed flowers, a Gil Scott-Heron album, three Gordon Ramsey dishes and a rose named after a famous ballerina.

    Can't stand him now that Dylan's gone eclectic.
  • FocusZing
    FocusZing Posts: 4,373
    So Cavs got to hold Gavirias wheel at the end of the longest stage. Hope Dans victory fires his mojo.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,150
    TWO. HUNDRED. AND. THIRTY. ONE. KILOMETRES. OF. FLAT.

    Sorry, but I'm just going to sit this one out. Which should probably guarantee you echelons.
    The hardest stage of the Tour by far for the commentators. Maybe Boulting and Millar will resort to reading extracts from their books.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • bm5
    bm5 Posts: 530
    Got to agree with Cav when he was interviewed the other day - surely that's way too long a stage?
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 13,309
    BM5 wrote:
    Got to agree with Cav when he was interviewed the other day - surely that's way too long a stage?

    This is the problem if you take a normal length stage with a couple of rolling hills and then iron it out.
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format
  • takethehighroad
    takethehighroad Posts: 6,641
    They have to have these long flat stages to have set piece stages like on to Roubaix or 65km mountain tests
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,612
    TWO. HUNDRED. AND. THIRTY. ONE. KILOMETRES. OF. FLAT.

    Sorry, but I'm just going to sit this one out. Which should probably guarantee you echelons.

    How is the spectacle much different to a 180km sprint stage?

    You gotta knacker the lads out.
  • above_the_cows
    above_the_cows Posts: 11,406
    TWO. HUNDRED. AND. THIRTY. ONE. KILOMETRES. OF. FLAT.

    Sorry, but I'm just going to sit this one out. Which should probably guarantee you echelons.

    How is the spectacle much different to a 180km sprint stage?

    You gotta knacker the lads out.

    51km more spectacle.
    Correlation is not causation.
  • orraloon
    orraloon Posts: 12,674
    What is this 'pancake-sausage' of which you speak?

    Is it a semi-affectionate description of the day's parcours?
  • above_the_cows
    above_the_cows Posts: 11,406
    If anyone is actually going to watch this (respect) here is an Eye Spy to keep you awake...

    1. Tractor art
    2. Colombian flag
    3. Stuffed animal (extra points if it is a boar)
    4. Corsican flag
    5. Cows dressed in jerseys
    6. Basque fans
    7. E.Leclerc hypermarché
    8. Someone trying to keep up with the peloton on a mountain bike
    9. Donald Trump baby blimp
    10. Haimar Zubeldia
    Correlation is not causation.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,812
    edited July 2018
    orraloon wrote:
    What is this 'pancake-sausage' of which you speak?

    Is it a semi-affectionate description of the day's parcours?

    0257686_16x9.jpg

    Although, looking at that, I prefer your explanation.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • above_the_cows
    above_the_cows Posts: 11,406
    stage_7_map_670.jpg

    Pancake-sausage.
    Correlation is not causation.
  • Haven’t has a chance to join in on these threads yet so far due to work, but the OP’s from Blazing Saddles really are fantastic this year. Much appreciated!
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,196
    Nobody seems to be arsed about these but I'm going to keep posting them as I find it interesting :D

    The bookies chainrings rating:

    threerings.jpg Gaviria
    tworings.jpg Sagan, Groenewegen, Kittel,
    onering.jpg Greipel, Demare

    Best of the rest: Cav, Colbrelli, Kristoff

    Gaviria is not far off 1/1.

    This compares to the Inrng ratings:

    threerings.jpg Fernando Gaviria, Peter Sagan
    tworings.jpg André Greipel, Sonny Colbrelli
    onering.jpg Démare, Groenewegen

    Interesting the difference for Colbrelli, he has been riding well but this hasn't been picked up in the odds.
  • Lanterne_Rogue
    Lanterne_Rogue Posts: 4,091
    bobmcstuff wrote:
    Nobody seems to be arsed about these but I'm going to keep posting them as I find it interesting :D

    I find them interesting, but I'm not really equipped to argue with them as the weight of money knows more about cycling than I do.

    That said, there are tribes of people living in the Amazon who have never had contact with the outside world that know more about cycling than I do. I like to think they've constructed clay idols of Laurens Ten Dam, in some sort of Equipe-based cargo cult.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,812
    bobmcstuff wrote:
    Nobody seems to be arsed about these but I'm going to keep posting them as I find it interesting :D

    The bookies chainrings rating:

    threerings.jpg Gaviria
    tworings.jpg Sagan, Groenewegen, Kittel,
    onering.jpg Greipel, Demare

    Best of the rest: Cav, Colbrelli, Kristoff

    Gaviria is not far off 1/1.

    This compares to the Inrng ratings:

    threerings.jpg Fernando Gaviria, Peter Sagan
    tworings.jpg André Greipel, Sonny Colbrelli
    onering.jpg Démare, Groenewegen

    Interesting the difference for Colbrelli, he has been riding well but this hasn't been picked up in the odds.

    They are very interesting, but I'm delegating and you got the job. :wink:
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,196
    bobmcstuff wrote:
    Nobody seems to be arsed about these but I'm going to keep posting them as I find it interesting :D

    I find them interesting, but I'm not really equipped to argue with them as the weight of money knows more about cycling than I do.

    That said, there are tribes of people living in the Amazon who have never had contact with the outside world that know more about cycling than I do. I like to think they've constructed clay idols of Laurens Ten Dam, in some sort of Equipe-based cargo cult.

    I am not a big gambler either, but it's one of the sources I look at when making a PTP pick...

    Money follows the big names and with UK bookies the British riders often have artificially short odds.

    I sometimes feel that Sagan also gets shorter odds than he might warrant, e.g., on Stage 5 Inrng suggested it might be too uphill for him, but he was clear favourite at the bookies - but then he went on to win easily, so maybe it was accurate. Although of course with probabilities the actual winner doesn't tell you that the odds were right or wrong.
  • darkhairedlord
    darkhairedlord Posts: 7,180
    bobmcstuff wrote:
    bobmcstuff wrote:
    Nobody seems to be arsed about these but I'm going to keep posting them as I find it interesting :D

    I find them interesting, but I'm not really equipped to argue with them as the weight of money knows more about cycling than I do.

    That said, there are tribes of people living in the Amazon who have never had contact with the outside world that know more about cycling than I do. I like to think they've constructed clay idols of Laurens Ten Dam, in some sort of Equipe-based cargo cult.

    I am not a big gambler either, but it's one of the sources I look at when making a PTP pick...

    Money follows the big names and with UK bookies the British riders often have artificially short odds.

    I sometimes feel that Sagan also gets shorter odds than he might warrant, e.g., on Stage 5 Inrng suggested it might be too uphill for him, but he was clear favourite at the bookies - but then he went on to win easily, so maybe it was accurate. Although of course with probabilities the actual winner doesn't tell you that the odds were right or wrong.

    The trouble with using bookies odds is they are not based upon likelyhood of winning, they have to factor in the likelyhood of punters taking the odds and stake value. They have to balance the books, hence "bookmaker".
    Akyway, I'm off to the care-home to show Grannies how to get the egg out of the shell.
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,196
    bobmcstuff wrote:
    bobmcstuff wrote:
    Nobody seems to be arsed about these but I'm going to keep posting them as I find it interesting :D

    I find them interesting, but I'm not really equipped to argue with them as the weight of money knows more about cycling than I do.

    That said, there are tribes of people living in the Amazon who have never had contact with the outside world that know more about cycling than I do. I like to think they've constructed clay idols of Laurens Ten Dam, in some sort of Equipe-based cargo cult.

    I am not a big gambler either, but it's one of the sources I look at when making a PTP pick...

    Money follows the big names and with UK bookies the British riders often have artificially short odds.

    I sometimes feel that Sagan also gets shorter odds than he might warrant, e.g., on Stage 5 Inrng suggested it might be too uphill for him, but he was clear favourite at the bookies - but then he went on to win easily, so maybe it was accurate. Although of course with probabilities the actual winner doesn't tell you that the odds were right or wrong.

    The trouble with using bookies odds is they are not based upon likelyhood of winning, they have to factor in the likelyhood of punters taking the odds and stake value. They have to balance the books, hence "bookmaker".
    Akyway, I'm off to the care-home to show Grannies how to get the egg out of the shell.
    Yes, I understand this.

    It gives you a good idea of who people are tipping to win.

    In the UK, that often means British riders get more than their fair share.

    It's also quite a thin market so it doesn't take a whole lot to skew the odds.
  • milton50
    milton50 Posts: 3,856
    For me Kittel is still the fastest sprinter in the world but Quick Step's lead out train is positioning Gaviria perfectly.
  • BelgianBeerGeek
    BelgianBeerGeek Posts: 5,226
    If anyone is actually going to watch this (respect) here is an Eye Spy to keep you awake...

    1. Tractor art
    2. Colombian flag
    3. Stuffed animal (extra points if it is a boar)
    4. Corsican flag
    5. Cows dressed in jerseys
    6. Basque fans
    7. E.Leclerc hypermarché
    8. Someone trying to keep up with the peloton on a mountain bike
    9. Donald Trump baby blimp
    10. Haimar Zubeldia
    That could be turned into an excellent drinking game...
    Ecrasez l’infame