TDF 2023: Stage 9:- Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat to Puy de Dôme, 184km ***Spoilers***
blazing_saddles
Posts: 22,726
Stage 9:- Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat to Puy de Dôme, 184km
Sunday, July 9
Start Time: 12-30pmBST.
This stage commemorates France’s cycling hero Raymond Poulidor, who never won the Tour but finished second three times, and whose grandson Mathieu van der Poel is one of the superstars of the new cycling generation. What is reminiscent of “Poupou” is not only the final climb, Puy de Dome, on the slopes of which Poulidor had an incredible duel with Jacques Anquetil in 1964, but also the starting point, Saint-Leonard-de-Noblat. This is where Poulidor lived after he married until his death in 2019.
The altitude gain on the ninth day of the Tour de France is 3,500 metres. It will all come down to the volcanic mountain in the Massif Central and its final four kilometres, averaging a gradient of 12 percent.
It is part of a Tour de France for the first time again after a 35-year absence. Previously, it had been ridden a total of 14 times. The list of Tour de France stage winners at the Puy de Dôme is impressive. Fausto Coppi, Federico Bahamontes, Julio Jimenez, Felice Gimondi, Luis Ocana, Joop Zoetemelk.
The Climbs.
Puy de Dome.
The Puy de Dôme was last included in the Tour in 1988. The 13.3 kilometres climb averages 7.7%. The first 5 kilometres go up at around 7% and after an easygoing section the last 4.3 kilometres are the exact opposite. The gradient never falls below 11% in this part of the climb.
Final Kms.
Probably the hardest final kms of the entire tour. It will all come down to the volcanic mountain in the Massif Central and its final four kilometres, averaging a gradient of 12 percent.
What to Expect:
The question that’s always hovering above stages like this – is it going to be an attacker or a GC rider? The route is going up and down the entire day, but there are no big climbs in the run-up to the finish climb.
Since attackers definitely will have a shot on a course such as this a huge battle for the breakaway is expected. Much depends upon the strength of the riders who make the breakaway.
Regardless, I think it's a certainty that there will be huge battle among the GC candidates, as a rest day follows.
Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat
Stage town for the 2nd time
Population: 4,400 (Miaulétous), 12,000 in the community of communes of Noblat.
SAINT-LÉONARD-DE-NOBLAT AND CYCLING
Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat is of course the town of Raymond Poulidor, who has his statue there. Using the town of “Poupou” as a launch pad to the Puy de Dôme is quite a symbol, recalling his mythical duel with Jacques Anquetil on 12 July 1964. From 1962 to 1976, he embodied a certain image of France, valiant and rural, enduring and enterprising if not victorious. While his rival Jacques Anquetil was racking up victories and jerseys, Raymond Poulidor collected podiums, eight in all, to become the symbol of the eternal runner-up, an image in phase with a country that, at that time at least, did not hold winners in its heart. However, Poupou was anything but a loser. He had 189 victories to his credit, including a Tour of Spain, a Milan-San Remo, a Flèche wallonne, two Paris-Nice, two Critérium du Dauphiné. In 1964, an error of judgement cost him the victory: he arrived in the lead on the velodrome of Monaco, the finish of stage 9, and stopped after crossing the line, forgetting that he still had one lap to go. Anquetil overtook him, won the stage and a minute's bonus. Poulidor lost the Tour for 55 seconds! In this edition, it was above all the suffocating duel between the two men on the ascent of the Puy de Dôme that left its mark.
Gastronomy.
Macaron
The macaron is an old, and very popular, French snack, but its origins lie elsewhere. The ancestor of the macaron is an almond cookie that was first made in Italy in the late 1400s and was widely baked in the monasteries of Venice for centuries. macaron are sweet, small, round French sandwich cookies made from meringue, almond flour, sugar, and food colouring and adorned with a variety of fillings including buttercream, chocolate ganache, marzipan, jam, and fruit compote.
Puy de Dôme
Stage finish for the 14th time
Population: 3,500 in Orcines
PUY DE DÔME AND CYCLING
This is the return of one of the Tour de France's most prestigious summits, which has been closed to cyclists since 2012 and which the race had not visited since 1988, due to a new development that made a finish almost impossible to organise. Puy de Dôme has nevertheless made history by becoming the only climb in the Massif Central to be listed as a non-category climb. Riders have been tackling it for more than 70 years, since the 1952 Tour, when Fausto Coppi won. The very first ascent of Puy de Dôme one a bicycle was ridden in 1892 by local rider Fernand Ladoux.
Gastronomy.
Vichyssoise.
This thick French soup is made with puréed leeks, onions, potatoes, cream, and chicken stock. Today, the soup is traditionally served cold and is often garnished with fresh chopped chives.
Truffade
Truffade is a rural dish traditionally associated with Auvergne in France. It is a sort of thick pancake made with thinly sliced potatoes that are slowly cooked in goose fat until tender, then mixed with thin strips of tome fraîche (which is very different from actual tomme cheese. This mixture is stirred until it sticks together in a sort of thick pastry, which is sometimes decorated with fresh parsley and may be served with a simple green salad.
Sometimes the truffade is flipped over to brown the other side, or lardons are added to it.
Sunday, July 9
Start Time: 12-30pmBST.
This stage commemorates France’s cycling hero Raymond Poulidor, who never won the Tour but finished second three times, and whose grandson Mathieu van der Poel is one of the superstars of the new cycling generation. What is reminiscent of “Poupou” is not only the final climb, Puy de Dome, on the slopes of which Poulidor had an incredible duel with Jacques Anquetil in 1964, but also the starting point, Saint-Leonard-de-Noblat. This is where Poulidor lived after he married until his death in 2019.
The altitude gain on the ninth day of the Tour de France is 3,500 metres. It will all come down to the volcanic mountain in the Massif Central and its final four kilometres, averaging a gradient of 12 percent.
It is part of a Tour de France for the first time again after a 35-year absence. Previously, it had been ridden a total of 14 times. The list of Tour de France stage winners at the Puy de Dôme is impressive. Fausto Coppi, Federico Bahamontes, Julio Jimenez, Felice Gimondi, Luis Ocana, Joop Zoetemelk.
The Climbs.
Puy de Dome.
The Puy de Dôme was last included in the Tour in 1988. The 13.3 kilometres climb averages 7.7%. The first 5 kilometres go up at around 7% and after an easygoing section the last 4.3 kilometres are the exact opposite. The gradient never falls below 11% in this part of the climb.
Final Kms.
Probably the hardest final kms of the entire tour. It will all come down to the volcanic mountain in the Massif Central and its final four kilometres, averaging a gradient of 12 percent.
What to Expect:
The question that’s always hovering above stages like this – is it going to be an attacker or a GC rider? The route is going up and down the entire day, but there are no big climbs in the run-up to the finish climb.
Since attackers definitely will have a shot on a course such as this a huge battle for the breakaway is expected. Much depends upon the strength of the riders who make the breakaway.
Regardless, I think it's a certainty that there will be huge battle among the GC candidates, as a rest day follows.
Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat
Stage town for the 2nd time
Population: 4,400 (Miaulétous), 12,000 in the community of communes of Noblat.
SAINT-LÉONARD-DE-NOBLAT AND CYCLING
Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat is of course the town of Raymond Poulidor, who has his statue there. Using the town of “Poupou” as a launch pad to the Puy de Dôme is quite a symbol, recalling his mythical duel with Jacques Anquetil on 12 July 1964. From 1962 to 1976, he embodied a certain image of France, valiant and rural, enduring and enterprising if not victorious. While his rival Jacques Anquetil was racking up victories and jerseys, Raymond Poulidor collected podiums, eight in all, to become the symbol of the eternal runner-up, an image in phase with a country that, at that time at least, did not hold winners in its heart. However, Poupou was anything but a loser. He had 189 victories to his credit, including a Tour of Spain, a Milan-San Remo, a Flèche wallonne, two Paris-Nice, two Critérium du Dauphiné. In 1964, an error of judgement cost him the victory: he arrived in the lead on the velodrome of Monaco, the finish of stage 9, and stopped after crossing the line, forgetting that he still had one lap to go. Anquetil overtook him, won the stage and a minute's bonus. Poulidor lost the Tour for 55 seconds! In this edition, it was above all the suffocating duel between the two men on the ascent of the Puy de Dôme that left its mark.
Gastronomy.
Macaron
The macaron is an old, and very popular, French snack, but its origins lie elsewhere. The ancestor of the macaron is an almond cookie that was first made in Italy in the late 1400s and was widely baked in the monasteries of Venice for centuries. macaron are sweet, small, round French sandwich cookies made from meringue, almond flour, sugar, and food colouring and adorned with a variety of fillings including buttercream, chocolate ganache, marzipan, jam, and fruit compote.
Puy de Dôme
Stage finish for the 14th time
Population: 3,500 in Orcines
PUY DE DÔME AND CYCLING
This is the return of one of the Tour de France's most prestigious summits, which has been closed to cyclists since 2012 and which the race had not visited since 1988, due to a new development that made a finish almost impossible to organise. Puy de Dôme has nevertheless made history by becoming the only climb in the Massif Central to be listed as a non-category climb. Riders have been tackling it for more than 70 years, since the 1952 Tour, when Fausto Coppi won. The very first ascent of Puy de Dôme one a bicycle was ridden in 1892 by local rider Fernand Ladoux.
Gastronomy.
Vichyssoise.
This thick French soup is made with puréed leeks, onions, potatoes, cream, and chicken stock. Today, the soup is traditionally served cold and is often garnished with fresh chopped chives.
Truffade
Truffade is a rural dish traditionally associated with Auvergne in France. It is a sort of thick pancake made with thinly sliced potatoes that are slowly cooked in goose fat until tender, then mixed with thin strips of tome fraîche (which is very different from actual tomme cheese. This mixture is stirred until it sticks together in a sort of thick pastry, which is sometimes decorated with fresh parsley and may be served with a simple green salad.
Sometimes the truffade is flipped over to brown the other side, or lardons are added to it.
"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
4
Comments
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60 bonus seconds for stage win, 30 seconds for second place! Imagine that now.blazing_saddles said:In 1964, an error of judgement cost him the victory: he arrived in the lead on the velodrome of Monaco, the finish of stage 9, and stopped after crossing the line, forgetting that he still had one lap to go. Anquetil overtook him, won the stage and a minute's bonus.
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I'd be astonished if MVDP doesn't try something on this stage. Clearly he'd have to have a decent advantage at the foot of the climb to stand any chance of winning.0
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I think he'd need an electric bike.2
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I think it would be great - it would change the pattern of things a lot towards the end of many a stage, even if possibly make things tamer/more conservative earlier on.kingstongraham said:
60 bonus seconds for stage win, 30 seconds for second place! Imagine that now.blazing_saddles said:In 1964, an error of judgement cost him the victory: he arrived in the lead on the velodrome of Monaco, the finish of stage 9, and stopped after crossing the line, forgetting that he still had one lap to go. Anquetil overtook him, won the stage and a minute's bonus.
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One of my first racing bikes was the model 'Raymond POULIDOR', made by Cycles-France-Loire in St. Etienne. By the time I got it, he had been retired over a decade, but the company sold some of their cheaper bikes in French hypermarkets where years later his name apparenty still carried sales-weight, while for me at the time it meant their hypermarket prices were affordable.blazing_saddles said:
This stage commemorates France’s cycling hero Raymond Poulidor
Cycles-France-Loire started of as one of 7 or 8 bicycle manufacturers in the St. Etienne area, but by the early 1970s it was so successful, it bought the more prestigious and well-known Mercier company, and then continued to make and sell bikes under both names.
Poulidor rode all his career for the Mercier team and its different co-sponsors (e.g. Hutchinson, Gan; you can see the Mercier name easily on the famous photo with Anquetil), so I suppose as owner of Mercier (and with Poulidor's permission), Cycles-France-Loire felt it could legitimately sell models carrying his name, like that I bought.
Cycles-France-Loire sold the Mercier brand-name to a Luxembourg company in 2008 (since when the name seems to have never re-appeared) and then more or less ceased production of their own bikes, instead mostly doing assembly for Lapierre bikes (90% of their work).
Their other 10% is assembling and maintaining rental bikes for French towns – for Lyon originally, and since for Paris, Besançon, and Toulouse, as well as for Seville in Spain.
About 12 years ago, both Cycles-France-Loire and Lapierre were taken over by the Dutch Accel group, so are no longer French-owned, even if their CEOs are still French and their locations still in France (Cycles-France-Loire at St. Etienne, Lapierre at Dijon).
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As for tomorrow, Cavagna comes from the area, although I think not him but some of the better French climbers (Gaudu, Martin, Bardet) will have an eye on it because of the name Poulidor and the related prestige.
However, a GC battle on the last climb is just as possible, maybe a re-enactment of the famous Poulidor-Anquetil photo?
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The Lyon rental bikes are utter torture to ride, clapped out, bent cranks and pedals and often tacoed rear wheels that rub. If that was your experience of cycling you'd never do any more than necessary.jimmyjams said:
Cycles-France-Loire ... 10% is assembling and maintaining rental bikes for French towns – for Lyon originally, and since for Paris, Besançon, and Toulouse, as well as for Seville in Spain.
BASI Nordic Ski Instructor
Instagramme0 -
Roglic would win by huge amounts through sitting in and sprinting the final 100mjimmyjams said:
I think it would be great - it would change the pattern of things a lot towards the end of many a stage, even if possibly make things tamer/more conservative earlier on.kingstongraham said:
60 bonus seconds for stage win, 30 seconds for second place! Imagine that now.blazing_saddles said:In 1964, an error of judgement cost him the victory: he arrived in the lead on the velodrome of Monaco, the finish of stage 9, and stopped after crossing the line, forgetting that he still had one lap to go. Anquetil overtook him, won the stage and a minute's bonus.
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Gutted I’m missing this live. BBQ at the boss’ place.
Enjoy it lads. Will catch up on the highlights0 -
Sunny and a max of 33C this afternoon.
So, a hot one."Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0 -
The front page of L'Equipe has already mocked up an imageRichN95. said:I expect there will be a hundred motos with photographers trying to replicate the Poulidor/Anquetil shot.
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MVDP with a mad custom job for today, in honour of his granddad
Warning No formatter is installed for the format0 -
QI KLAXXONS 🚨🚨🚨from Anquetil Vs Poulidor story"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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These next two Sunday's have late starts and so finish late. Fastest schedule is just after 5pm UK time.
Thankfully, the Cringebus is over for another day."Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0 -
Well that didn’t take long.
Decent size break."Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0 -
Active race ..... Lots going on"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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Not convinced it's clear yet, Soudal-Quick Step and Lidl-Trek are chasing hard.blazing_saddles said:Well that didn’t take long.
Decent size break.0 -
Brutal stuff"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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Not settled yet"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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Sagan out the back, his performances really do appear to have fallen off a cliff in recent years, at least when I watch bits of racing.
Didn't win the covid lottery, hitting him quite hard the three(?) times he tested positive?================
2020 Voodoo Marasa
2017 Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc 2016
2016 Voodoo Wazoo1 -
Woods needs something ...been a bad start for him"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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Quite a few riders were asleep at the start.
Too late now, as they are being marked out.
Gap is 1’-40”"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0 -
He's off the back because he had a mechanical problem. The tv coverage showed him stopped at the side of the road, trying to get his chain back on.N0bodyOfTheGoat said:Sagan out the back, his performances really do appear to have fallen off a cliff in recent years, at least when I watch bits of racing.
Didn't win the covid lottery, hitting him quite hard the three(?) times he tested positive?1 -
It's gone now, mainly thanks to EF.blazing_saddles said:Quite a few riders were asleep at the start.
Too late now, as they are being marked out.
Gap is 1’-40”0 -
Only turned on ITV4 streaming moments before my post ~10mins ago, showing Sagan behind peleton on graphic.andyp said:
He's off the back because he had a mechanical problem. The tv coverage showed him stopped at the side of the road, trying to get his chain back on.N0bodyOfTheGoat said:Sagan out the back, his performances really do appear to have fallen off a cliff in recent years, at least when I watch bits of racing.
Didn't win the covid lottery, hitting him quite hard the three(?) times he tested positive?
================
2020 Voodoo Marasa
2017 Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc 2016
2016 Voodoo Wazoo0 -
Looks like a good day to be in the break but who knows if Jonas and Pog decide to start knocking lumps off each other in the final climb. Must be a few teams annoyed they didn’t make the break. Surprised how far back Woods is on GC.0
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Dickheads with flags / home made bunting.0
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Camerjane in the bunting"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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Both pog and Jonas are scared of each other by the looks of it .Pross said:Looks like a good day to be in the break but who knows if Jonas and Pog decide to start knocking lumps off each other in the final climb. Must be a few teams annoyed they didn’t make the break. Surprised how far back Woods is on GC.
Ben o Connor and woods have both had mares
"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 -
Someone picked Johansen"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
