TDF 2021: Stage 7, Vierzon > Le Creusot 249.1 km **Spoilers**
blazing_saddles
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Stage 7, Vierzon > Le Creusot 249.1 km
2-7-2021Start 10-00am
The stage that all the riders will be looking forward to. At almost 250 kilometres, the 7th stage is the longest Tour de France stage of the last twenty years. The route traverses the Country, from West to East, initially along flat terrain before crossing the Morvan, which will offer 3,000 metres of elevation to the menu and a spicy finish up the demanding Signal d’Uchon on the course of the Tour for the very first time.
This is the first stage where the breakaway stands a good chance of success, but this also means getting into the break could mean a protracted spell of attack and counter attack. There isn't a significant climb in the first one hundred and fifty kilometres, which makes the task all the more difficult.
The teeth of this stage all come within the final 100 kilometres of the stage. After they reach the Morvan hills, the is hardly any flat. There are lots of non-classified uphill sections that add to the fatigue, while five classified climbs stand out.
The Climbs:
After almost 160 kilometres in the saddle the riders tackle the Côte de Château-Chinon.
The stage finale starts with The Côte de la Croix de la Libération.
At kilometre 222.4, the riders tackle the previously unused climb of Signal d’Uchon, which holds a real sting in it's tail.
The Côte de la Gourloye is the last obstacle of the day, crested with 8 kilometres to go to Le Creusot.
Final kilometres
One thing is for certain, all the pure sprinters won't be around to contest this finish. If the breakaway doesn't succeed, then it should be battle among those other "usual suspects".
Favourites stage 7 Tour de France 2021
***** Mathieu van der Poel, Wout Van Aert
**** Peter Sagan, Julian Alaphilippe, Michael Matthews,
*** Søren Kragh Andersen, Kasper Asgreen, Matej Mohoric, Marc Hirschi, Christophe Laporte,
** Sonny Colbrelli, Magnus Cort, Edvald Boasson Hagen
* Thomas De Gendt, Nans Peters, Simon Clarke
Vierzon
No previous stage
Population: 27,000
Located in the heart of France, at the crossroads of the main national routes between Sologne and Berry, Vierzon is a town with a rich industrial past and was the flagship of the textile, porcelain and agricultural machinery industries in the 19th and 20th centuries.
A sign of the area's renaissance is the Berry Canal, now known as the Canal à Vélo, with a cycle path linking Montluçon to Vierzon, and eventually to Tours and the Loire by bike.
On the road
Km 206
Autun (Pop: 13,150)
In the south of the Morvan Massif on the edge of the Arroux valley, Autun was born during the reign of the Roman emperor Augustus (27 BC-14 AD): its ancient name was Augustodunum. Autun has hosted two stages of the Tour de France, in 1998 (Magnus Backstedt) and 2007 (Filippo Pozzato)
Saint-Andréou Gate or Porte de Langres (Gate of Langres)
Listed as a historical monument in 1846. Built in the 1st century.
Le Creusot
Stage town for the 3rd time
Population: 21,782
The origins of Le Creusot date back to 1782, when Louis XVI had a Royal Foundry and then the Queen's Crystal Works established in this coal-rich hamlet. This was followed by a forge which was bought in 1836 by the Schneider brothers, Adolphe and Eugène. This event marked a turning point in the history of the town, which saw its production diversify and be exported all over the world, mainly in the fields of transport and energy.
Le Creusot has already been visited twice by the Tour de France for decisive time trials at the very end of the event. In 1998, Jan Ullrich won his third stage of this eventful edition over the 52 km of a time trial that started in Montceau-les-Mines, beating Marco Pantani to 2:35, but this gap still allowed the Italian to keep a 3:21 lead on the German in the general classification before the finish in Paris. In 2006, it was Ukrainian Serhiy Honchar, the time-trial world champion in 2000, who won his second stage of this Tour between Le Creusot and Montceau-les-Mines, ahead of Andreas Klöden and Oscar Pereiro, the future overall winner.
It is also the home town of Tour de France runner up: Jean-Christophe Péraud.
Charolais beef
The Charolais breed is well known to gourmets for its tasty qualities. The quality of the meat from Charolais cows is due both to the richness of the grassland and to the method of rearing. The cattle grow slowly and graze on the grassland until they are two years old. Before slaughter, the animals are "flowered" by fattening for 4 to 6 months.
Beef bourguignon or bœuf bourguignon, also called beef Burgundy, and bœuf à la Bourguignonne, is a beef stew braised in red wine, often red Burgundy, and beef stock, typically flavored with carrots, onions, garlic, and a bouquet garni, and garnished with pearl onions, mushrooms, and bacon.
"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
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Comments
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Presumably the latter would be more interested in sponsoring De PanneRichN95. said:I saw the title and thought the ASO had started selling naming rights for stages. But I realised the companies are spelt Verizon and Le Creuset
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Or Flanders. Possibly even Paris RouxbaixLanterne_Rogue said:
Presumably the latter would be more interested in sponsoring De PanneRichN95. said:I saw the title and thought the ASO had started selling naming rights for stages. But I realised the companies are spelt Verizon and Le Creuset
Warning No formatter is installed for the format0 -
Man, that boeuf bourguignon looks good. Definitely in my top 10 world dishes. Although what fool adds cress? Please don’t tell me that’s authentic.…
Those cows don’t look particularly chuffed to be on the same page with that and the slab of meat.1 -
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Less is more, people could learn from thatrick_chasey said:Ocd you need to post more you’re excellent value
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Actually vinegar or peppery herbs work very well with very fatty or savoury dishes. 😉ocdupalais said:Man, that boeuf bourguignon looks good. Definitely in my top 10 world dishes. Although what fool adds cress? Please don’t tell me that’s authentic.…
Those cows don’t look particularly chuffed to be on the same page with that and the slab of meat.PTP Champion 2019, 2022 & 20230 -
I almost took offence to this, until I saw who you were replying too.Pross said:
Less is more, people could learn from thatrick_chasey said:Ocd you need to post more you’re excellent value
"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0 -
Gva must be waking up, looking at the profile and wondering wtf he was thinking yesterday.0
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A version of boeuf bourguignon called 'queue de boeuf vigneronne' adds grapes partly for this reason. i.e. to bring some contrasting sharpness.m.r.m. said:
Actually vinegar or peppery herbs work very well with very fatty or savoury dishes. 😉ocdupalais said:Man, that boeuf bourguignon looks good. Definitely in my top 10 world dishes. Although what fool adds cress? Please don’t tell me that’s authentic.…
Those cows don’t look particularly chuffed to be on the same page with that and the slab of meat.
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The Côte brings them to the town of Château-Chinon, where I hope they ride past the Niki de Saint Phalle fountain.blazing_saddles said:
After almost 160 kilometres in the saddle the riders tackle the Côte de Château-Chinon.
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Vierzon is mentioned in the first line of Jacques Brel's song Vesoul:blazing_saddles said:
Vierzon
No previous stage
Population: 27,000
Located in the heart of France ...
T'as voulu voir Vierzon et on a vu Vierzon
and again later in the song
T'as plus aimé Vierzon et on a quitté Vierzon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTUvDMc_h7w
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I'm discovering this with some of my cooking - adding balsamic to Arrabiatta just before serving or rice wine to teriyaki sauce (after marinating). My favourite chili recipe (from Leon) has quite a big amount of malt vinegar.m.r.m. said:
Actually vinegar or peppery herbs work very well with very fatty or savoury dishes. 😉ocdupalais said:Man, that boeuf bourguignon looks good. Definitely in my top 10 world dishes. Although what fool adds cress? Please don’t tell me that’s authentic.…
Those cows don’t look particularly chuffed to be on the same page with that and the slab of meat.0 -
No terrain to launch off"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0
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Can't remember who was being interviewed or which channel, so this insight is almost entirely useless, but it was one of the typical breakaway artists (TDG?) suggesting that it would take a long time to get away today as there was nothing obvious to let a break go - their suggestion was that the most likely event to snap the elastic would be the road passing through a village or town. Guess that means it's a day for sprinting for town signs...mididoctors said:No terrain to launch off
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Head wind"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0
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They weren’t wrong.
No one giving a metre as yet"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0 -
Strong guys giving it a go"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0
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Yellow Jersey trying to get in a break with the world champ.0
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It’s because the Belgian champ is so active…… or desperate, depending on ones PoVkingstongraham said:Yellow Jersey trying to get in a break with the world champ.
"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0 -
And now yellow and green jersey in a break. With nibali and van aert.
Going to keep the peloton busy closing that down.0 -
That's a serious bunch of escapees"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0
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Cav made the group lol"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0
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Kragh, yates, van baarle in there too. Strong group.0
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Guess we will see if UAE have a team or not"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0
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Fenix jumbo dqs ineos won't chase"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0
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Or bike exchange .."If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0
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Mark Cavendish: breakaway specialist.
Think this answers the question over whether he's after the green jersey.0
