TDF 2024:- Stage 10: Orléans – Saint-Amand-Montrond, 187.3km ***Spoilers***
Stage 10: Orléans – Saint-Amand-Montrond, 187.3km
July 9th.
Start Time: 12-05BST.
Week two of the 2024 Tour will start with a four-day ride south to the Pyrénées, starting with stage 10, from Orléans to Saint-Amand-Montrond, Julian Alaphilippe’s hometown. The route amounts to 187.3 kilometres and does not exceed an elevation gain of 1,000 metres. So it's fair to say the 10th stage is flat.
Orléans, which is situated on the Loire, hosted Le Tour on twelve occasions. The last stage start happened in 2001. The race went to Evry, where Erik Zabel sprinted to victory.
The most memorable moment in Saint-Amand-Montrond’s Tour de France history was the 2013 stage that was unexpectedly affected by the wind and echelons, the drama ending with victory for Mark Cavendish.
Profile.
Map.
Final Kilometres.
After leaving Issoudun, the riders will find themselves on roads exposed to the crosswinds that scattered the peloton a decade ago. There are three changes of direction in the last 30 kilometres.
![stage-10-route-finale[1].jpg](https://forum.bikeradar.com/uploads/0TBQ0HP9PCKZ/stage-10-route-finale-5b1-5d.jpg)
![stage-10-profile-finale[1].jpg](https://forum.bikeradar.com/uploads/HJB2PEFYN049/stage-10-profile-finale-5b1-5d.jpg)
What to Expect.
Saint-Amand-Montrond is notorious for its echelon marked finales. It’s in the open plains of central France, so if the wind picks up, echelons are almost guaranteed. On the other hand, quiet days are not unusual in in Saint-Amand-Montrond either. Two years after that infamous stage, Paris-Nice arrived there after a windless ride. The fast men set up for a regular bunch sprint.
Orléans
Stage town for the seventh time.
Prefecture of Loiret (43)
Population: 115,000
ORLÉANS AND CYCLING
Orléans hosted the Tour de France six times between 1964 and 2001, when the city was the start of a stage to Évry won by Erik Zabel. For the last finish in the city. In 1964, Jean Stablinski dominated the first finish in town with the French champion's jersey on his back.
Specialities: andouilles de Jargeau, Orléans mustard, coteaux du Giennois wines. Orléans vinegar, Cotignac d'Orléans.
Andouille from Jargeau (18 km from Orléans) dates back to the Middle Ages, but only really became famous in the 19th century. It is made from pork tripe and meat, and sometimes onions, shallots or parsley, Jargeau andouille is cooked in a broth of spices and herbs. Once braised or grilled on the barbecue, it is served with lentils, beans or mashed potatoes, accompanied by a glass of white wine from the Loire Valley.
Another local speciality is tarte tatin, first made in Lamotte-Beuvron. It is a tart with apple caramelised in butter and sugar, first made by the Tatin sisters at their Hotel Tatin. It's baked upside down - apples under the pastry - then flipped over to be served.
Saint-Amand-Montrond
Stage town for the 4th time
Sub-prefecture of Cher (18)
Population: 9,500
SAINT-AMAND-MONTROND AND CYCLING
For Carlos Sastre, Saint-Amand-Montrond really is the City of Gold. It was here that the Spaniard held off Cadel Evans in the final time trial of the 2008 edition and kept his golden jersey to take him all the way to Paris. The Australian, for his part, had to wait another three years for his crowning glory. But the day's stage should logically come down to a sprint. This was the case at the Tour's last finish in the city in 2013, where Mark Cavendish took his 25th stage victory after surviving a day of curbs or at the stage finishes of Paris-Nice won by Frédéric Moncassin in 1996, Alessandro Petacchi in 2002, Tom Boonen in 2006 or André Greipel in 2015.
Specialities: sanciaux (thick pancake filled with apples), poirat (Berrich pear pie), Châteaumeillant and Venesmes wines, sucrine of Berry, Berry pâté, truffiat.
Pâté berrichon
Also known as pâté de Pâques or pâté aux oeufs, pâté berrichon originated in the Berry region of France. It was traditionally served at Easter, when a Christian tradition said that the feast should be celebrated by offering hidden hard-boiled eggs! Pâté berrichon consists of puff pastry, pork and veal meat, boiled eggs, parsley, salt, pepper, nutmeg and water.
Comments
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Looks like they might just escape the weather, my app is showing thunderstorms at 17.00 but sunny earlier. The wind also picks up a bit when the storms are due but doesn't look like it will come into play during the race. Could be touch and go though. If the wind does pick up the direction looks to be good and it really is exposed - coming out of Mareuil-sur-Arnon looks perfect, narrow and sheltered through the village then back out into exposed, straight roads with a cross tailwind for around 5km then turning into what should be a full tailwind for 16km. As they'll be going through Cher I guess the question is do you believe?
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It's going to be hot-around the 30C mark.
"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0 -
The wind is only supposed to be about force 2, so I don't think we are going to be lucky. If ever a stage profile needed some favourable wind......
"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0 -
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Whatever, I'm thinking about nothing but tarte tatin.
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Errrrr 3 out of the next 4 are sprint stages. Sorry.
Wednesday is the day to pick to watch, if you only have one.
"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0 -
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I'm sure I would have looked theroute over last year when it was released but I don't remember it being this dull.
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I think stage 13 has potential in the last 50km, someone will want to make it difficult.
Stage 12 someone might want to get in a break. Today's looks a bit of a dead loss though. I guess if you want the best sprinters to show up, you need some completely flat days.
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Danish reports suggest enough wind to keep the peloton nervous, but just on the edge of what might actually create splits
Warning No formatter is installed for the format0 -
Given the number of sprint stages there have been so far, there is an incredibly light casualty list. Aside the two Pedersens, Aleksandr Vlasov has become just the fourth drop out, after breaking his ankle in his visit to the ditch.
"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0 -
I don't feel like we've had that many sprint stages and it doesn't feel like there are that many overall. Maybe it's high for recent years but it used to be virtually every stage for the first week.
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Completing a stage with a broken ankle - I can't work out if that is impressive or recklessness. They certainly seemed far too keen to get him back on his bike when he could barely stand up and looked completely dazed.
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At some point teams are going to start taking head injuries seriously. I guess we're not there yet.
Napoleon, don't be jealous that I've been chatting online with babes all day. Besides, we both know that I'm training to be a cage fighter.0 -
It feels like a mixed bag at the moment, some are treating it seriously whilst others are stuck in the old ways of getting the rider back on the bike ASAP.
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Vlasov's bike
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Zero interest in getting in the break again….
"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0 -
That brings the Pedersen quotient of those leaving the Tour down to 50%
Warning No formatter is installed for the format0 -
The problem isn't the sprint stage profile it's the number of them ... Encouraged loads of teams tocome to the race with a sprinter
If you had less sprint stages there would be less teams to chase the breakaway
These sprint stages have had 5 teams working yo bring back any break . You have no hope
"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 -
These "blocks" of on the flat training base may be a boon for jonas to come good ...rather than being over stretched with too much intensity ?
"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 -
I can't recall seeing so many stages, since we got full stage coverage, where there has been no interest in getting a break set up. These recent years of the break being given no leeway appear to have killed any motivation.
Matt Stephens on the bike this week, that should be good.
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€15 grand there
"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 -
I wouldn't say "recent years", I'd say "this year". I remember last year as being super aggressive from the off, every stage.
The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
I am not sure. You have no chance.Veronese68 wrote:PB is the most sensible person on here.0 -
Teams don't actually want riders in a doomed "TV break" any more, the sponsors don't like their name associated with such nonambition, so there has to be an actual reason to ride - polkadots maybe. And with teams giving the break no more than a few minutes the incentive is gone
Warning No formatter is installed for the format0 -
The giro had similar stages where the sprint teams were caught out .. their was one where they were bamboozled by really smart tactics . But the reason that could happen was the number of sprint teams was way less . The issue here is if you go up the road your fighting alpecin jayco lotto wanty trek ( for a while) Astana arkea . That's a tall order
"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 -
Going this slowly could actually cause them problems later in the stage as it makes it less likely they'll finish before the forecast thunderstorms come along.
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Who knows maybe the wind will pick up
"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 pm1 -
Yes, but they were rarely given any leeway which is what I meant. It is that which is impacting on the motivation to get in a break this year.
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Only to the mugs they sell them to, I wonder what the actual cost of a frame to the manufacturer is?
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