TDF 2022:- Stage 17: Saint Gaudens - Peyragudes 129.7km ***Spoilers***
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Stage 17: Saint Gaudens - Peyragudes 129.7km
Start Time: 13-15CET.
Not even 130 km for the second day on the Pyrenees, that’s supposed to be the short and explosive day of the race, but the first 50 km are totally flat. All vertical metres are crammed together is the second part of the race. In fact, more than half of the last 76 kilometres go uphill. All of which means that by the time the race reaches the first climb, there will have been no respite as until Arreau, half the peloton will most surely attack, looking for the break.
The Tour returns to Saint-Gaudens, one of the Pyrenean towns whose name is familiar to cycling fans. Last year, it was Austrian Patrick Konrad who took advantage of a successful breakaway to clinch the 16th stage from Andorra. The race is set to finish on the runway of the airport of Peyragudes. The altiport in the Pyrenees hosted a Tour de France stage in 2012 and 2017, yet earlier fame befell the place in 1997 with a scene in the James Bond-movie Tomorrow never Dies.
In between, the riders tackle three intermediate climbs, including the often used, Col d'Aspin.
The Climbs:
The Col d'Aspin has been part of the Tour de France 71 times, largely because it is the middle link in a chain of three road climbs, the other links being the Col du Tourmalet (2,115 m (6,939 ft)) and Col de Peyresourde (1,569 m (5,148 ft)). The first time the Col d'Aspin was crossed was in 1910, when the leader over the summit was Octave Lapize.
A 6 km valley will lead to Saint-Lary-Soulan where the Col d’Azet starts, arguably the hardest ascent of the day with its middle section of 6 km at 8,5%.
Final Kms.
The full finish climb is not the same as on the two previous occasions, although the last 2.4 kilometers are. An 8.4% average, including some brutal ascending with pitches as steep as 16 percent leading to the altiport at Peyragudes.
What to Expect:
Are we going to see the stage winner emerge from the breakaway, or will it be a GC rider? It depends largely on the place where the breakaway establishes itself. I suspect that the successful breakaway will not form until the slopes of the Aspin, so should contain some more than useful climbers, which ups the chances for the breakaway to be successful.
Whether the break can gain sufficient time to avoid the inevitable GC battle, is another matter.
Saint-Gaudens
Population: 11,600
Specialities: veal reared under the mother, Pyrenean lamb, mounjetado (cassoulet), Napoléon commingeois (sheep's cheese), millasson (pastry).
SAINT-GAUDENS AND CYCLING
Some of the great mountain stages in the history of the Tour ended in St Gaudens, like in 1955 when Louison Bobet finally donned the Yellow Jersey making him the first winner of three consecutive Tours de France. It was also after a start in Saint-Gaudens that Lucien Van Impe, in 1976, left Joop Zoetemelk more than three minutes adrift, taking a firm option on the final victory in Saint-Lary-Soulan.
Situated at the crossroads of the different Pyrenean routes, the town has hosted nine stage finishes and twelve starts. In 1970, for example, Bernard Thévenet started from Saint-Gaudens to win his first stage in La Mongie.
In the 1976 edition, the Saint-Gaudens - Saint-Lary-Soulan stage was decisive in the fight for the Yellow Jersey between Lucien Van Impe and Joop Zoetemelk.
Pyrenean lamb chops with Tumeric.
Millasson
Along the Route.
Km 97.8
SAINT-LARY-SOULAN (Pop: 877)
In the heart of the Aure valley, at an altitude of 800 m and at the gateway to the most beautiful natural areas of the Pyrenees, Saint-Lary is one of the most important ski resorts in the Pyrenees and a regular village of the Tour de France.
Pic de Bastan.
Peyragudes
Population: 40
Specialities: frênette (drink made from the ash), cheese, honey. In the department: garbure, black pig of Bigorre (AOC), Barèges-Gavarnie sheep, Tarbais beans, Trébons onions, spit cake, wine (Madiran, Pacherenc).
PEYRAGUDES AND CYCLING
In 2017, for the second and last finish in the Pyrenean resort, it was Romain Bardet who emerged on the final ramp leading to the line to take one of his two stage victories in the Grande Boucle, ahead of all the other specialists of short steep finishes, including Chris Froome, who stalled on the last climb. The Frenchman won ahead of Rigoberto Uran and Italian Fabio Aru, who took a short-lived Yellow Jersey. The Tour passed through Peyragudes again the following year on its way to Saint-Lary-Soulan, where Tanel Kangert was up front.
For the first visit of the Tour in 2012, Alejandro Valverde triumphed with a solo attack with 35 kilometres to go. His win was helped by the wait-and-see attitude of Chris Froome, who was still devoted to his leader Bradley Wiggins at the time and did not budge when the Spaniard went. The following year, Alexandre, Geniez won a stage of the Vueltain Peyragudes. In 2010, the organisers of the Route du Sud staged an uphill time trial here, in which David Moncoutié set the best time. A hotspot for snowboarding in the winter and longboarding, a variety of skateboarding, in the summer, Peyragudes is located in the immediate vicinity of the Peyresourde pass, which the Tour de France peloton has climbed 69 times since 1910.
Frênette
Tarbais beans: (Salade de haricots Tarbais made with mint and parsley)
Start Time: 13-15CET.
Not even 130 km for the second day on the Pyrenees, that’s supposed to be the short and explosive day of the race, but the first 50 km are totally flat. All vertical metres are crammed together is the second part of the race. In fact, more than half of the last 76 kilometres go uphill. All of which means that by the time the race reaches the first climb, there will have been no respite as until Arreau, half the peloton will most surely attack, looking for the break.
The Tour returns to Saint-Gaudens, one of the Pyrenean towns whose name is familiar to cycling fans. Last year, it was Austrian Patrick Konrad who took advantage of a successful breakaway to clinch the 16th stage from Andorra. The race is set to finish on the runway of the airport of Peyragudes. The altiport in the Pyrenees hosted a Tour de France stage in 2012 and 2017, yet earlier fame befell the place in 1997 with a scene in the James Bond-movie Tomorrow never Dies.
In between, the riders tackle three intermediate climbs, including the often used, Col d'Aspin.
The Climbs:
The Col d'Aspin has been part of the Tour de France 71 times, largely because it is the middle link in a chain of three road climbs, the other links being the Col du Tourmalet (2,115 m (6,939 ft)) and Col de Peyresourde (1,569 m (5,148 ft)). The first time the Col d'Aspin was crossed was in 1910, when the leader over the summit was Octave Lapize.
A 6 km valley will lead to Saint-Lary-Soulan where the Col d’Azet starts, arguably the hardest ascent of the day with its middle section of 6 km at 8,5%.
Final Kms.
The full finish climb is not the same as on the two previous occasions, although the last 2.4 kilometers are. An 8.4% average, including some brutal ascending with pitches as steep as 16 percent leading to the altiport at Peyragudes.
What to Expect:
Are we going to see the stage winner emerge from the breakaway, or will it be a GC rider? It depends largely on the place where the breakaway establishes itself. I suspect that the successful breakaway will not form until the slopes of the Aspin, so should contain some more than useful climbers, which ups the chances for the breakaway to be successful.
Whether the break can gain sufficient time to avoid the inevitable GC battle, is another matter.
Saint-Gaudens
Population: 11,600
Specialities: veal reared under the mother, Pyrenean lamb, mounjetado (cassoulet), Napoléon commingeois (sheep's cheese), millasson (pastry).
SAINT-GAUDENS AND CYCLING
Some of the great mountain stages in the history of the Tour ended in St Gaudens, like in 1955 when Louison Bobet finally donned the Yellow Jersey making him the first winner of three consecutive Tours de France. It was also after a start in Saint-Gaudens that Lucien Van Impe, in 1976, left Joop Zoetemelk more than three minutes adrift, taking a firm option on the final victory in Saint-Lary-Soulan.
Situated at the crossroads of the different Pyrenean routes, the town has hosted nine stage finishes and twelve starts. In 1970, for example, Bernard Thévenet started from Saint-Gaudens to win his first stage in La Mongie.
In the 1976 edition, the Saint-Gaudens - Saint-Lary-Soulan stage was decisive in the fight for the Yellow Jersey between Lucien Van Impe and Joop Zoetemelk.
Pyrenean lamb chops with Tumeric.
Millasson
Along the Route.
Km 97.8
SAINT-LARY-SOULAN (Pop: 877)
In the heart of the Aure valley, at an altitude of 800 m and at the gateway to the most beautiful natural areas of the Pyrenees, Saint-Lary is one of the most important ski resorts in the Pyrenees and a regular village of the Tour de France.
Pic de Bastan.
Peyragudes
Population: 40
Specialities: frênette (drink made from the ash), cheese, honey. In the department: garbure, black pig of Bigorre (AOC), Barèges-Gavarnie sheep, Tarbais beans, Trébons onions, spit cake, wine (Madiran, Pacherenc).
PEYRAGUDES AND CYCLING
In 2017, for the second and last finish in the Pyrenean resort, it was Romain Bardet who emerged on the final ramp leading to the line to take one of his two stage victories in the Grande Boucle, ahead of all the other specialists of short steep finishes, including Chris Froome, who stalled on the last climb. The Frenchman won ahead of Rigoberto Uran and Italian Fabio Aru, who took a short-lived Yellow Jersey. The Tour passed through Peyragudes again the following year on its way to Saint-Lary-Soulan, where Tanel Kangert was up front.
For the first visit of the Tour in 2012, Alejandro Valverde triumphed with a solo attack with 35 kilometres to go. His win was helped by the wait-and-see attitude of Chris Froome, who was still devoted to his leader Bradley Wiggins at the time and did not budge when the Spaniard went. The following year, Alexandre, Geniez won a stage of the Vueltain Peyragudes. In 2010, the organisers of the Route du Sud staged an uphill time trial here, in which David Moncoutié set the best time. A hotspot for snowboarding in the winter and longboarding, a variety of skateboarding, in the summer, Peyragudes is located in the immediate vicinity of the Peyresourde pass, which the Tour de France peloton has climbed 69 times since 1910.
Frênette
Tarbais beans: (Salade de haricots Tarbais made with mint and parsley)
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Antwan Tolhoek, Sam Oomen, Tom Dumoulin, Thymen Arensman, Remco Evenepoel, Benoît Cosnefroy, Tom Pidcock, Mark Cavendish, Romain Bardet
Vingegaard has it easy - he just has to react and get his team to set a pace which is hard to attack from.
Thomas just has to hang on and hope both of them blow up.
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Bardet, who won the stage, Uran, who was second and in fifth, the non GC rider, Louis Meintjes.
Also remembered for Bottle gate, when Bennett got slapped with a time penalty for taking a late bottle but Bardet initially wasn’t……until footage got media plastered.
That was the only time Sky ever lost the Yellow Jersey - to Fabio Aru
Attacking the descent ...he is not bad but nothing amazing down hill ..
Jonas looks too good
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