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1 month ago
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We’ve got plenty of time before the stage starts. So let’s discuss one of the key talking points from yesterday. People were piling in on Visma-Lease A Bike’s tactics, but one of the TNT Sports pundits (Rowe or Blythe, I can’t remember who) said there wasn’t much they could have done differently.
It did play into the hands of Pogacar to be reunited with Adam Yates and Jhonatan Narvaez on the final climb. But the flip side of that is, had Visma kept the hammer down completely from the Col de la Madeleine, then Vingegaard and Pogacar may well have been duking it out alone from very early on the final ascent to Courchevel. And there would only be one winner there. Right?
The problem with all these supposed tactical masterplans is that Pogacar is simply on better form than Vingegaard and is capable of dealing with pretty much anything thrown at him, on his own if necessary. In theory it would make sense to isolate Pogacar and have multiple Visma riders set an infernal pace on a long climb, but achieving the first bit of that plan (isolating him) is the hardest thing, in the heat of a Tour de France stage.
Anyway, if you were the Visma-Lease A Bike sports director, what would you have done differently yesterday? And what would be your plan today? You can email me.
Meanwhile, what’s the vibe in the bike race? Ben O’Connor produced a stunning solo win on the climb to Courchevel yesterday:
Tadej Pogacar not only covered the attacks from Visma-Lease A Bike, again he was strong enough to skip away from his rival Jonas Vingegaard at the end, and nab a few seconds in the overall race. His advantage is now 4min 26sec, and Vingegaard is the only rider within 10 minutes of the reigning champion. In short, it is utter dominance.
Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe) is third overall, 11min 01sec behind Pogacar, while the 22-year-old Oscar Onley is knocking on the door, 22sec behind. This is from Jeremy Whittle’s report:
“That’s not much,” Picnic PostNL’s Onley said of the slim margin between him and the third-placed German Lipowitz, on the eve of the Tour’s final summit finish at La Plagne. “We’ll give it everything tomorrow.”
“After being dropped by Pogacar and Vingegaard towards the top of the Col de la Madeleine, Onley stayed calm and finally rejoined the main group on the valley roads leading to Courchevel. “Visma set a hard pace,” Onley said of Vingegaard’s team, “I just did what I could.”
He added: “I wouldn’t say I kept my cool, but I still felt good. I’m just not at the level of those guys when they attack. It showed at the end when they went pretty hard up there.””
If you missed it: read Jeremy Whittle’s exclusive on the latest questions hanging over Team Ineos/Team Sky.
“David Rozman, a long-term member of Ineos Grenadiers’ staff, has left the Tour de France after the International Testing Agency (ITA) launched an investigation into alleged messages he exchanged in 2012 with the subsequently convicted German doping doctor Mark Schmidt.
“The allegations stem from a recent documentary made by the German TV outlet ARD, which linked Rozman to Schmidt but did not name him, with further media reports including alleged texts between the Ineos staff member and Schmidt from June 2012 when the team were racing as Team Sky.”
Preamble
Today’s stage is hard. No change there. Although the route between Albertville and La Plagne, the last proper mountain stage of this year’s Tour, has been shortened at the last minute due to an outbreak of disease among cattle in the local area.
Initially the route was 129.9km, but the riders will now cover a little under 95km. A news update on the official Tour site reads: “The discovery of an outbreak of contagious nodular dermatitis affecting cattle in a herd located specifically in the Col des Saisies has necessitated the culling of the animals. In light of the distress experienced by the affected farmers and in order to preserve the smooth running of the race, it has been decided, in agreement with the relevant authorities, to modify the route of Stage 19 (Albertville–La Plagne) and to avoid the ascent to the Col des Saisies.”
There are three categorised climbs on the revised route: the Col de Pré (HC), the Cormet de Roseland (category two) and the HC climb to the ski resort of La Plagne to finish. The GC looks to be sewn up but there is plenty more up for grabs, especially after the Scottish rider Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL) rode to within 22sec of third-placed Florian Lipowitz on yesterday’s stage to Courchevel.
The official update on Le Tour website explains more on the route: “The ceremonial start will take place as planned at the exit of Albertville. After a 7km parade, riders will head towards the D925, where the official start will be given. The race will then rejoin the original route shortly before Beaufort (at km 52.4 on the original schedule).
“… As a result, the start in the neutral zone will be given at 2:30pm, one hour later than originally scheduled.”
C’est comme ça. Let’s go/Allez!
Stage start time: 13.45 UK/14.45 local time
