TDF 2022:- Stage 15: Rodez - Carcassonne 202.5km. ***Spoilers***
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Stage 15: Rodez - Carcassonne 202.5km.
Start Time: 13-05CET.
The road to Carcassonne is often hilly and the ups and downs that lead to it can favour breakaways. A long and tricky stage awaits the peloton, with the relatively long Côte des Cammazes (actually it’s 10,6 at 4% ) that could be too hard for some of the fast men. Nevertheless, the organizers have tried to make sure that this day smiles on at least the sprinters. That’s provided that their team's work hard to control the day’s attackers, who still might manage to produce a surprise.
This time Rodez serves as the start hub of a transition stage to Carcassonne, a place in the foothills of the Pyrenees. The riders traverse undulating terrain. In the second hour of racing, the peloton will flow through the spectacular Tarn Gorge; the course then avoids the climbs over the Black Mountains; and the last 10 kilometers, on a descending false flat, have been designed to encourage the formation of echelons if there are crosswinds present.
Final Kms.
The finish will be in the same place as last year, quite technical and slightly uphill, where Mark Cavendish equaled Eddy Merckx’s record for the number of Tour stage wins.
What to Expect.
The balance of probability suggests that the stage will end in a bunch sprint, as it did, last year. However, that route being slightly flatter, it was the first ever Tour de France bunch sprint in Carcassonne.
Historically, the breakaway has always done extremely well when visiting the city.
Rodez
Population: 26,400
Specialities: aligot, tripous, Aubrac meats, cheeses (Laguiole, Roquefort, old Rodez), Marcillac wines, farçous (chard and sausage meat patties), old Rodez (cheese), Mandarelle (cake).
RODEZ AND CYCLING
Greg Van Avermaet's blossoming
For Greg Van Avermaet, one of the best finishers of his generation, everything started to click in 2015 in Rodez with a first stage win in the Tour de France that put an end to his reputation as a brilliant but unlucky rider. That day, the Belgian rider outwitted Peter Sagan in one of those battles that made their rivalry one of the most exciting in the peloton. Since then, Van Avermaet wore the Yellow Jersey for three days in 2016 and became Olympic champion in Rio before winning Paris-Roubaix in 2017 and wearing the Yellow Jersey again for eight days in 2018. In 2017, it was Michael Matthews who took his second stage victory in the Tour in the Aveyron prefecture. In 1984, a similar stage saw the only stage victory in the Grande Boucle of the late Pierre-Henri Menthéour. That year, nothing could stop the Renault-Gitanes team run by Cyrille Guimard. The day before Menthéour's victory, Pascal Poisson had won in Blagnac. Pascal Jules had already won a stage and the Renault team logically won the team time-trial in this edition. As for the Yellow Jersey, it was on the shoulders of another of their team-mates, Vincent Barteau. Soon he handed it over to team leader Laurent Fignon, who masterfully clinched his second Tour de France. Bernard Hinault finished ten minutes adrift.
Farçous.
Old Rodez
Marcillac wines
Along the Route.
Km 64
AMBIALET (Pop: 440)
The site is the result of the whims of the Tarn. The river meanders for 3 kilometres. On the isthmus thus created, probably the narrowest in Europe, it separates the village in two. This peninsula is attached to the valley by a thin string of rocks.
Carcassonne
Population: 48,200
Specialities: cassoulet (a universal cassoulet academy), petit carcassonnais (madeleine), Micheline, Or Kina (herbal liqueur). Wines of the Aude: Minervois, Cabardes, Corbières, Malepère, Limoux...
CARCASSONNE AND CYCLING
The burning of the Cité, a grandiose pyrotechnic show, attracts more than 500,000 people every year on the evening of Bastille Day. Among the riders who set Carcassonne ablaze, Jean Stablinski won a stage in 1962 in the middle of one of his best seasons, between a stage victory in the Tour of Spain, which he finished in sixth place, a new French champion title and above all his world championship title.
Cassoulet
Blanquette de Limoux
Start Time: 13-05CET.
The road to Carcassonne is often hilly and the ups and downs that lead to it can favour breakaways. A long and tricky stage awaits the peloton, with the relatively long Côte des Cammazes (actually it’s 10,6 at 4% ) that could be too hard for some of the fast men. Nevertheless, the organizers have tried to make sure that this day smiles on at least the sprinters. That’s provided that their team's work hard to control the day’s attackers, who still might manage to produce a surprise.
This time Rodez serves as the start hub of a transition stage to Carcassonne, a place in the foothills of the Pyrenees. The riders traverse undulating terrain. In the second hour of racing, the peloton will flow through the spectacular Tarn Gorge; the course then avoids the climbs over the Black Mountains; and the last 10 kilometers, on a descending false flat, have been designed to encourage the formation of echelons if there are crosswinds present.
Final Kms.
The finish will be in the same place as last year, quite technical and slightly uphill, where Mark Cavendish equaled Eddy Merckx’s record for the number of Tour stage wins.
What to Expect.
The balance of probability suggests that the stage will end in a bunch sprint, as it did, last year. However, that route being slightly flatter, it was the first ever Tour de France bunch sprint in Carcassonne.
Historically, the breakaway has always done extremely well when visiting the city.
Rodez
Population: 26,400
Specialities: aligot, tripous, Aubrac meats, cheeses (Laguiole, Roquefort, old Rodez), Marcillac wines, farçous (chard and sausage meat patties), old Rodez (cheese), Mandarelle (cake).
RODEZ AND CYCLING
Greg Van Avermaet's blossoming
For Greg Van Avermaet, one of the best finishers of his generation, everything started to click in 2015 in Rodez with a first stage win in the Tour de France that put an end to his reputation as a brilliant but unlucky rider. That day, the Belgian rider outwitted Peter Sagan in one of those battles that made their rivalry one of the most exciting in the peloton. Since then, Van Avermaet wore the Yellow Jersey for three days in 2016 and became Olympic champion in Rio before winning Paris-Roubaix in 2017 and wearing the Yellow Jersey again for eight days in 2018. In 2017, it was Michael Matthews who took his second stage victory in the Tour in the Aveyron prefecture. In 1984, a similar stage saw the only stage victory in the Grande Boucle of the late Pierre-Henri Menthéour. That year, nothing could stop the Renault-Gitanes team run by Cyrille Guimard. The day before Menthéour's victory, Pascal Poisson had won in Blagnac. Pascal Jules had already won a stage and the Renault team logically won the team time-trial in this edition. As for the Yellow Jersey, it was on the shoulders of another of their team-mates, Vincent Barteau. Soon he handed it over to team leader Laurent Fignon, who masterfully clinched his second Tour de France. Bernard Hinault finished ten minutes adrift.
Farçous.
Old Rodez
Marcillac wines
Along the Route.
Km 64
AMBIALET (Pop: 440)
The site is the result of the whims of the Tarn. The river meanders for 3 kilometres. On the isthmus thus created, probably the narrowest in Europe, it separates the village in two. This peninsula is attached to the valley by a thin string of rocks.
Carcassonne
Population: 48,200
Specialities: cassoulet (a universal cassoulet academy), petit carcassonnais (madeleine), Micheline, Or Kina (herbal liqueur). Wines of the Aude: Minervois, Cabardes, Corbières, Malepère, Limoux...
CARCASSONNE AND CYCLING
The burning of the Cité, a grandiose pyrotechnic show, attracts more than 500,000 people every year on the evening of Bastille Day. Among the riders who set Carcassonne ablaze, Jean Stablinski won a stage in 1962 in the middle of one of his best seasons, between a stage victory in the Tour of Spain, which he finished in sixth place, a new French champion title and above all his world championship title.
Cassoulet
Blanquette de Limoux
"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
3
Comments
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Little chance of echelons unfortunately. Just 3 to 6 mph wind forecast, from the southScott Foil RC
Scott Addict RC
Trek Emonda0 -
Caleb and Jakob are not getting over that climb so won't aide the chase is my guess.. break may well make it ."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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Metro France reckon 20-30kph wind is on the cards for Carcassone. Trouble is it’s an Eastly, so tailwind.bianchi_dave said:Little chance of echelons unfortunately. Just 3 to 6 mph wind forecast, from the south
38C too.
Going to remain very hot for all the remaining road stages."Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0 -
That still leaves Alpecin, Trek and Bike Exchange to pull, potentially with a little help from Jumbo-Vismamididoctors said:Caleb and Jakob are not getting over that climb so won't aide the chase is my guess.. break may well make it .
Warning No formatter is installed for the format0 -
OTOH a light headwind may be in the sprinters favour"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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To be fair there’s duck. And the sausages I had were standard size. But grainy. I can make it myself just as well though, with better sausages. I expected better as Lionel Bernie used to eulogise about it on the Cycling Podcastddraver said:Cassoulet is just beans and mini sausages with a lot more lard and you can't change my mind...
Twitter: @RichN950 -
Roglic abandons to recuperate. That's a big blow for VingegaardWarning No formatter is installed for the format0
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Seems a bit selfish on the face of it."Unfortunately these days a lot of people don’t understand the real quality of a bike" Ernesto Colnago0
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I think he might be dead weight at this point. Spent a lot of yesterday seemingly chasing or hanging on, and they only got one short turn out of him1
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Pog said it was WvA who caused the split that isolated Jonas yesterday - wonder if he'll be a bit more circumspect going forward. Green is as good as wrapped up now0
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Time cut extended and feeding rules relaxed due to heat“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0
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He's not abandoned, he's just decided to break away.RichN95. said:Magnus Cort is another DNS. The Danish downfall starts here.
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Also Covid apparently.RichN95. said:Magnus Cort is another DNS. The Danish downfall starts here.
"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0 -
Nope! 😂thejimmymethod said:Pog said it was WvA who caused the split that isolated Jonas yesterday - wonder if he'll be a bit more circumspect going forward. Green is as good as wrapped up now
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Splits on this first climb. Jonas very attentive today, Pogi having to chase0
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Race in pieces againWarning No formatter is installed for the format0
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What's happening... Why is WvA up the road?"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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Mørkøv off the back alone, he's been a bit unwell last couple of days, was worried about getting past the time cut yesterdayWarning No formatter is installed for the format0
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Honoré taking his turns, either because Fabio Jakobsen and Mørkøv are out of sorts or to make sure the break stays small and catchableWarning No formatter is installed for the format0
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I suppose making the break of the day quickly will calm things down and give jumbo the day 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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Cos he can I guess? Probably expected more people to make the break but BEX have policed the front hardmididoctors said:What's happening... Why is WvA up the road?
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Riders make the race.
If the sprinters let the gap grow they may never get them back given who they are
If they chase to close they get counter attacked.. especially on that last climb."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 -
Sprinters Got to chase leaving the break uncatchable without the sprinter teams help over that last climb making counters unlikely"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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Roglic packed .... DNS?"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
