Friday, July 20, 2018

Le Tour Day 13 - Leaving the Alps Behind and Heading West

The Alps did their job - they broke the ranks of the riders and made for some truly exciting watching. Alpe d-Huez was crazy - spectators everywhere, noise, colored smoke and flags flying. It was like going into battle for the riders, and in many ways, that's not out of the realm of an accurate description. At the end of the day, Sky still held the Yellow Jersey, and it was still on the back of Geraint Thomas. I'm delighted with this young Welshman - he's the future of that team. An old adage states "He who wears yellow at the top of the Alpe wears it at Paris." I hope that turns out to be the case because I really like Geraint Thomas - a lot! 



Team Sky was supposed to be all about Chris Froome, and Froome
came in 4th on the stage, so a good performance. But this man,
Geraint Thomas, he's the future of that team and he performed
brilliantly. He's a joy to watch on the bike. 



Nine riders either withdrew, didn't start, or were eliminated because of being outside the time on yesterday's stage. A lot of them were support personnel, but there were some well-known names among them. Rigoberto Uran (Education First), Tony Gallopin (AG2R), Rick Zabel (Katusha), Dylan Groenwegen (Lotto-Jumbo and an earlier stage winner this year) and Andre Greipel (Lotto Soudal) are all out of the race now. 



Today we leave the alps of the eastern side of France
and begin heading toward the west and the
Col du Tourmalet. 



Today we begin heading across the bottom of France toward the Pyrenees. We're still in mountains, but not the massive peaks of the Alps. Lots of pain still to come. Today's stage is proof of the fact that even though we're leaving the Alps behind, those hills still have to be conquered. Tomorrow will be harder, so I'm sure the riders are taking a breath here. 






Yes, there are two category peaks, but today's profile is almost gentle compared to the past three days. Today's stretch is 169.5 kilometers, and actually will have a flat ending, so here's a chance for the sprinters to show their stuff. The question will be if the Alps left anything in their bodies so that they can take advantage. The time gaps are big, so even with a sprinter win, Thomas may still wear the Yellow tonight. The problem with this stage is the possibility of wind which may make or break the riders throughout Stage 13. 

Enjoy your day. I'm planning on doing the same, so we'll see. I was so busy with customers yesterday that I only finished one repair. I have three more pending, so I hope I get a bit of opportunity to work on them today. Also, my laptop is breaking again - this time the hinge on the other side of the screen. I guess next week I'll perch in the back at the shop and disassemble it, mounting the other hinge. It always scares me when I take my computer apart and drill through the casing, but I can't let it die. I can't afford a new one. Happy Friday, everyone! 


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