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ysobelleStage 9: Saint-Girons to Bagneres de Bigorre 168.5-kilometer/105-mile
Jesus. I like a good bit of sadism as much as the next girl, but today’s stage is jjst over the top. Four Cat 4 climbs. I mean, that’s just eeeevil.
Garmin’s Dan Martin and Astana’s Jakob Fugelsang took off from the start, and they’re still leading, almost 100km later. But the whole stage has just been one agonising climb after the other, watching these poor bastards get over one mountain just to face another. And another. And another.
There’s a chase group of fifteen-- no, now thirteen. The rest of the field is just...somewhere back there. Sadly, in that group is Sky’s Richie Porte. He’s now 11 minutes off the pace, and has kissed his chance of podiuming in Paris goodbye.
10k banner, and the lead two are now only 28 seconds ahead. How in the hell it’s possible that after all this slogging, the peloton could reel them back in is utterly beyond me, but this is a fight. Now it’s 31 seconds. Will they make it? Will they be caught?
Five minutes from the end. They’re pulling away-- 34 seconds now. The group behind of now 21 riders just isn’t organised enough to reel them in. 36 seconds. They know they can’t catch those two. 37. The rest of the race is st least 15 minutes back.
This is going to be one of those incredibly rare days when the breakaway works. That it’s happened on a stage like today is incredible. I’m awed.
2km to go for the leaders. Under the 1km banner. Now the game begins. They start watching each other, waiting to see who starts the sprint for the line first. Waiting, swerving, waiting...GO! GO! Fugelsang just can’t keep up, and it’s Dan Martin!
Wow. The chasing group with most of the top-ranked riders all come in together, getting the same time of +20 seconds. Richie Port, who was so happy to be second in the GC behind his teammate Chris Froome, is out of contention entirely now. Alejandro Valverde is, at 1.25 back, in second now.
Tomorrow is a rest day. Everyone needs it. Then north we go, out of the Pyrenees, soon to be in the Alps. Yay! More suffering!
Jesus. I like a good bit of sadism as much as the next girl, but today’s stage is jjst over the top. Four Cat 4 climbs. I mean, that’s just eeeevil.
Garmin’s Dan Martin and Astana’s Jakob Fugelsang took off from the start, and they’re still leading, almost 100km later. But the whole stage has just been one agonising climb after the other, watching these poor bastards get over one mountain just to face another. And another. And another.
There’s a chase group of fifteen-- no, now thirteen. The rest of the field is just...somewhere back there. Sadly, in that group is Sky’s Richie Porte. He’s now 11 minutes off the pace, and has kissed his chance of podiuming in Paris goodbye.
10k banner, and the lead two are now only 28 seconds ahead. How in the hell it’s possible that after all this slogging, the peloton could reel them back in is utterly beyond me, but this is a fight. Now it’s 31 seconds. Will they make it? Will they be caught?
Five minutes from the end. They’re pulling away-- 34 seconds now. The group behind of now 21 riders just isn’t organised enough to reel them in. 36 seconds. They know they can’t catch those two. 37. The rest of the race is st least 15 minutes back.
This is going to be one of those incredibly rare days when the breakaway works. That it’s happened on a stage like today is incredible. I’m awed.
2km to go for the leaders. Under the 1km banner. Now the game begins. They start watching each other, waiting to see who starts the sprint for the line first. Waiting, swerving, waiting...GO! GO! Fugelsang just can’t keep up, and it’s Dan Martin!
Wow. The chasing group with most of the top-ranked riders all come in together, getting the same time of +20 seconds. Richie Port, who was so happy to be second in the GC behind his teammate Chris Froome, is out of contention entirely now. Alejandro Valverde is, at 1.25 back, in second now.
Tomorrow is a rest day. Everyone needs it. Then north we go, out of the Pyrenees, soon to be in the Alps. Yay! More suffering!