Here we are, the final week of Le Tour de France. After last year's Covid-shortened Tour, it's a relief to have Le Tour back to somewhat normal grounds with spectators allowed (and welcomed). That, of course, is always a somewhat debatable "positive" aspect of racing when you're on the narrow and steep inclines of the Pyrenees on a bike, and getting crowded in by an ocean of spectators. Still, I'm delighted to be back in the high mountains with the enthusiastic spectators. For those of you who are "in the know", the Devil is back also and was seen (and commented upon) during Sunday's stage.
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Stage 16 goes from Pas de la Case to Saint-Gaudens and, as you can tell from the profile, there are some lovely mountain peaks to go up and down, with a downhill finish. This is NOT a sprinter's paradise. The mountain men, however, will look at this profile with glee. |
Stage 16 looks intimidating, and yes, those are some high and relatively steep mountains, but really, the gradients range from 4.1% to 7.1% with a very small section at 10%, so it's not horribly steep. One hundred and forty-five riders will start today. During today's stage the riders will pass the memorial to Fabio Casartelli on the descent of the second peak. Fabio crashed during the 1995 Tour de France and died from his injuries. Bicycle racing is most certainly not for the faint of heart, especially in the mountains, although accidents can happen at any time as we saw during the first few days this year in Brittany.
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Remember this crash? It was only a bit less than two weeks ago, and it seems like a lifetime. Crashes on the flats can involve many riders, crashes on the mountain peaks usually are going to involve fewer people, sometimes only involving a single person with a machine malfunction. The mountain crashes can lead not only to injury, but in rare cases, death. The history of Le Tour de France has catastrophe as well as greatness. |
Because the mountains aren't excessively challenging, just a lot of climbing, I don't have a lot to say about the stage, but it'll be entertaining, even if not exceptionally hard. The sprinters won't like it, but they'll grit their teeth and come in under the time cutoff, and we'll all race another day tomorrow.
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Congratulations to Lachlan Morton for a tremendous solo ride raiding funds and awareness for World Bicycle Relief. Although there were several different charity bike rides around Le Tour, he was the only person who actually rode the entire course on his own. It's a tremendously hard course, and doing it without support is beyond difficult. |
Cheers and a tip of the hat to Lachlan Morton and his "Alt Tour de France" solo bike ride to benefit World Bicycle Relief. He raised 360,000 pounds for the charity. He set off and duplicated the full course of Le Tour de France in its' entirety, including those sections where the riders were on the bus or in caravans. He even rode the final bit where the riders will fly to Paris. All told, Lachlan rode a total of 5,510 km in 18 days, solo and unsupported for 220 hours. Everything was packed onto his bicycle - sleeping gear, a change of clothes, rain gear, repair gear, etc. He often slept outside and sometimes sourced his own food. He's a professional rider for EF Education-Nippo, so he's very familiar with bicycles, but this was a ride of love for him. Bravo for his achievement.
I'm out of here. I'm going to watch a bit of Le Tour before I head to the shop. I hope you have a fabulous and fantastic Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Please, be kind and stay safe.
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