I hope all of you had a chance to see Mark Cavendish once again cross the finish line first in yesterday's stage of Le Tour de France. This places him one win less than the legendary Eddie Mercks, and there is every possibility that he will meet that record, maybe even surpass it. For a guy who wasn't even on a team in December, he's riding high now. I'd say Deceuninck-Quick Step made a great decision when they needed a sprinter quickly and asked Cavendish if he would join the team on short notice. It's been a great pairing. The lead-in riders working for him have been outstanding and it's a total fairy tale for my favorite sprinter from the Isle of Mann.
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I told you I'd try for a close-up on the Southern sections of this year's Le Tour de France. Here you go. On the upper right was yesterday's stage (Albertville to Valence). Today's stage is that little horseshoe off to the lower right. Leaving at the blue, and going up Mont Ventoux TWICE. What a stage! |
Today's stage is a double climb of the bald mountain, Mont Ventoux. This is a beast of a mountain, and will crack many a rider. I suspect the field will be smaller by the time we hit the Pyrenees this weekend. The riders start from Sorgues, after some flats, they start climbing the Col de la Liguiere. After that peak, they descend into Sault, only to start climbing theBeast of the Provence - Mont Ventoux. After cresting Ventoux, the riders fly through Malaucene.
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Today is a beast of a day on Le Tour de France. See that big mountain to the right? It's actually climbed twice, once cresting the summit, then swinging around to a different angle and climbing it once again, with a summit finish. Fortunately it looks as though the weather will cooperate. That doesn't happen all the time. (This route is devious and hellacious - bravo for the race designers.) |
After some rolling hills for a few kilometres, the riders reach Bedoin and begin re-ascending Mont Ventoux from a different side. This side is much steeper and lasts for more than 15 km. The finish will be on the summit of Mont Ventoux. The last time they had a finish on this mountain was in 2016, but that time the day was shortened because of extreme winds on the summit. The last Tour winner on the summit was Thomas De Gendt.
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Mont Ventoux is a beast. Climbing it twice in a single stage is unheard of. I don't think it's ever been done before. Today's stage will be EPIC! |
So it should be a good day for the climbers and another day in hell for the sprinters who really aren't great fans of the mountains. Still, it should be a thrilling day and a great day to watch Le Tour. I have to drive out to my Computer Guru and pick up DH's computer. It's fixed, but it's on it's last legs. I think it's time to tell Dale to build DH a new computer. I need one too, but I'll hold off a bit longer. One computer at a time.
Have an excellent Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Please remember to stay safe and be kind - a smile can smooth so many things.
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