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4 days ago
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Here’s the offical map of today’s lumpy, bumpy stage.
Friday saw the last of the mountains, and a second win for Ineos’s Arensman. Bad news for this year’s plucky Brit.
it was a disappointing stage for Scotland’s Oscar Onley, who after surviving almost everything that the Tour could throw at him, fell away from the podium positions in the closing moments, after third-placed Florian Lipowitz attacked to move clear with Pogacar and second-placed Vingegaard.
Onley has given so much, ridden so well but he looked done in after Thursday’s stage; his post-ride interview was not much fun to watch. Full credit for him hanging on so long in the high mountains. So much more to come from him. The difficulty of staying with Pogacar and Arensman is shown by the state of Arensman when he crossed the line on Friday.
William Fotheringham previewed this stage thus:
The puncheurs and breakaway specialists will have been waiting for five days with this one on their minds. The battle for the early break will be intense and the fight for the stage could be epic. As well as our old friends Cort and Healy, this will appeal to about half the peloton, wily one-day specialists such as the Dane Mattias Skjelmose.
NB: Mattias Skjelmose abandoned after a crash last weekend. Ben Healy, over to you?
Preamble
After the mountains, a stage of Classic length and dimensions. It’s been a true test, this year, thin gruel for sprinters and this looks a day for the puncheurs. Who’s the best of them? With Van der Poel gone, Evenepoel gone, there’s perhaps a day for an old dog like Julian Alaphilippe, should he keep his radio. Or, perhaps the best of all, as he is at everything bar the sprinting – and a dig in Paris on Sunday can’t be ruled out – is Tadej Pogacar, all but assured of his fourth maillot jaune to keep. We’re already talking about the Vuelta, in truth and a fifth tour.
The neutralised start is 11.05 UK time. One last dig before Paris.
