[ad_1]
After the alpine triptych, the runners will be able to blow on the occasion of the 13th stage Friday. They will start from Bourg d'Oisans, at the foot of the Alpe d'Huez, and will join Valencia after a course without difficulty of 169.5 kilometers.
On paper, this stage was ideal for sprinters, but many of them have already returned home. That could change the scenario and favor the fighters
The three days through the Alps, in the heat and by a fast pace, they are right of the greyhounds of the pack. On Thursday, the road to Alpe d'Huez was fatal to André Greipel, Fernando Gaviria and Dylan Groenwegen who gave up. They have thus joined Marcel Kittel and Mark Cavendish, put out of delay the day before.
Thierry Gouvenou, who drew the course of the Tour, declared before the Tour by evoking the 13th stage: "The sprinters are back in this stage There may be a group of runners that will attack early, but I do not see it going all the way, because a number of teams will want to put their sprinter into action. This is a short step, with no significant obstacles, and in nine out of ten it will be a sprint. "
In the meantime, many sprinters have disappeared. Their teams will have no reason to padlock the race. There may be opportunities for the attackers, but they must also have recovered alpine efforts.
"I really hope for a quiet day in the pack," said Serge Pauwels. "Everyone desperately needs rest, so maybe there are not too many attacks, yes, there are already a lot of sprinters at home, but there's still enough in the pack. think they can win and their teams, like those of Arnaud Démare (FDJ) or Alexander Kristoff (UAE-Team Emirates) will roll. "
The director of the Tour calls for serenity after the incidents in the Alpe d 'Huez
Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme on Friday called for serenity and demanded that the public respect the riders, in the aftermath of the incidents that marked the end of the 12th stage at the Alpe d'Or. Huez, with the fall of Vincenzo Nibali and the jeers undergone by the runners Sky Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome. "The Tour riders, the Tour champions, must naturally be respected, which is the vast majority of the public," he said. "We had a climb of the Alpe very painful," said the director of the Tour, interviewed by AFP. Christian Prudhomme described as "unconscious" the behavior of a part of the public before stressing about the fall of Nibali: "Even if it is not an over-excited spectator who makes it fall, it is a spectator. These are not the Republican Guard motorcycles, and I want to pay tribute to the state services for the admirable work they have done. " "We were on a peak that, unfortunately, left on the floor an admirable champion, Vincenzo Nibali, each of whom praises the old-fashioned state of mind, an off-road champion," added Prudhomme. [19659004"Wemustfindserenity"headmitswhilenotdoubting"thatwewillfindthebenevolentaudienceoftheTourdeFranceinthecomingdays"AccordingtohimduringamythicalclimblikethatofAlped'Huez"theatmosphereisdifferentfromtheotherdaysoftheTour"
Christian Prudhomme also regretted the use of smoke by some spectators during of the ascent: "We could not see anything, he (Nibali) could not see anything, the smoke had nothing to do on the roads of the cycling races." It makes breathe a nauseating smell to the runners of the Tour and besides, we blind them, that makes no sense. "
Source link
