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The Tour de France 2018 between Tuesday in its final straight, with a 16th stage 218 km long which marks the entry into the Pyrenees. Three major difficulties are placed at the end of the course, including the Col du Portillon, crossed at ten kilometers from the finish only. Will the favorites race or postpone the big fight to Wednesday? Here is the big question of this day that looks long and hot for the pack. The race was briefly neutralized after an intervention of the gendarmes to disperse a demonstration of farmers.
The three infos to know:
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The race was neutralized during a quarter of an hour approximately, with 188 kilometers of the arrival in the Aude, after a police intervention on the roadside to disperse an event
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Despite several attempts by experienced fighters, no breakaway has yet formed
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The three major difficulties, including the Col du Portillon (1st category), are concentrated on the last third of the course
The point to 135 km of the arrival: Abandon of Tim Declercq . The Quick-Step rider, dropped at the start of the stage, got into the broom car. In front, some runners try to relaunch a breakaway with Thomas De Gendt (NewLotto) and Warren Barguil, but without success.
The point 140 km from the finish: 27 riders are at the front . In this breakaway: Greg Van Avermaet (BMC), Julian Alaphilippe, Warren Barguil, Gorka Izaguirre and Domenico Pozzovivo (Bahrain-Merida), Yves Lampaert (Quick-Step), Pierre Latour (AG2R-La Mondiale), and especially Alejandro Valverde ( Movistar), which is 9 minutes away from the Yellow Jersey. Suddenly, the Sky rolls behind this pack. And the eighth grouping of the platoon.
The point at the top of the coast of Pamiers: a point for Julian Alaphilippe. The sprint was heated between him and Warren Barguil. So, there are now 22 points difference between the two men, exactly like this morning. The breakaway is taken by the head of a platoon very stretched and breaking. A big group emerges at the front of the race when the pace is very strong.
The point 150 km from the finish: the peloton is not resigned . The gap peaks at 20 ".Back behind, several counter-attempts have been made and four men have returned to the leading group: Gregor Mühlberger (Bora-Hansgrohe), Michael Valgren (Astana), Rudy Molard (Groupama-FDJ) and Nils Politt (Katusha): Eight riders are in the lead, Taylor Phinney, the Team First American, is flattened while the peloton arrives at Pamiers
The point at 160 km of the finish: four runners try to escape. The Frenchmen Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step), Julien Bernard (Trek), Warren Barguil (Sunweb) and the South African Daryl Impey (Dimension Data) try to The peloton is very stretched while the rain continues to fall on the road of the Tour At the end of the pack, Tim Declercq is dropped.
The point 170 km from the finish : the four men taken back, the rain invites itself. The pack does not intend to let slip a fumble e) The four fugitives were quickly taken back and the peloton is grouped again while the first drops make their appearance …
The point with 175 km of the arrival: four men at the head. The Polish Rafal Majka (Bora-Hansgrohe), the Swiss Stefan Küng (BMC) and the Italians Franco Pellizotti (Bahrain-Merida) and Andrea Pasqualon (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) managed to extricate themselves from the pack after this funny episode. They have about fifteen seconds on a platoon in single file.
The point to 185 km of the arrival: the race resumes after a quarter of hour of interruption. After driving a few minutes behind the car of the direction, the peloton took the road at a good pace on the roads of Aude.
Incredible image on the # TDF2018 : Peter Sagan checks the composition eye drops after the incident pic.twitter.com/Fr7XAHKTaQ
– Eurosport.fr (@Eurosport_UK) July 24, 2018
The point at 188 km from the Arrival: Surrealist scene on the Tour road: The neutralized race ap After an intervention by the police to disperse angry farmers. Shortly after the pbadage of the Fanjeaux coast, the peloton was forced to dismount due to the use of tear gas on the side of the road. Obviously, some demonstrators had put straw boots on the road and wanted to block the pack. The gendarmes managed to free the road but, after a few hectometres, the director of the race decided to stop the peloton, so that the runners can rinse their eyes after the use of tear gas, the origin of which is not yet known.
# TDF2018 : STAGE NEUTRALIZED BY MANIFESTANTS !!!
– France sports tv (@francetvsport) July 24, 2018
Clashes between the gendarmes and the demonstrators, tear gas were used to contain the protesters! pic.twitter.com/mfALDrL0pt
The point at the top of the coast of Fanjeaux: a point for Barguil. Warren Barguil, outgoing winner of the Grand Prix de la Montagne, has not yet said his last word in the distance fight against his compatriot Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step). The Fortuneo-Samsic rider sprang to the top of the Fanjeaux coast (4th category) to take the only point in the game for the Polka dot jersey. In this specific clbadification, Barguil is only 21 points behind Alaphilippe while there are still plenty of points to hand out …
– 192 km
– The Tour de France (@LeTour) July 24, 2018
⛰️ Côte de Fanjeaux (cat.4) ⛰️
One little point for @WarrenBarguil ⚪
A small dot for @WarrenBarguil ⚪ # TDF2018 pic.twitter.com/TxEuGSYr9p
The point at 195 km from the finish: still no breakaway. After more than 20 kilometers of racing, no escape has yet managed to take. Maybe the coast of Fanjeaux will allow the bravest to carry forward …
Point to 205 km from the finish: start of stage animated, peloton always grouped. The first kilometers of racing gave rise to several attacks, including a trio of runners, including the Belgian Thomas de Gendt (Lotto-Soudal), but the pack does not let it count and after a dozen of kilometers, the peloton is still grouped.
The starting point: big heat on the road. Tour director Christian Prudhomme waved the white flag of the actual start. And, as often, it is the riders of the Direct Energy team who have accelerated entry. This 16th stage will be played in hot weather, flirting with the 30 ° C. Temperatures should be a little lighter at the top, around 20 ° C. And it is not impossible that storms are bursting today on the road.
Update on the ranking: what about Thomas in the third week? This is the big unknown of this third week of racing: how will behave the yellow jersey, Geraint Thomas? The Welsh has already won one-week races (Paris-Nice in 2016 and Critérium du Dauphiné in 2018) but he has never done better than 15th place on a big Tour (in 2015 and 2016 on the Grande Boucle , each time as a teammate Christopher Froome). At the dawn of this last week, Thomas is 1'39 "ahead of teammate Chris Froome and 1'50" over Dutchman Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb).
The overall standings at the start of the stage:
1. Geraint Thomas (GBR / Sky) 62: 49'47 "
2. Christopher Froome (GBR / SKY) at 1'39"
3. Tom Dumoulin (HOL / SUN) 1'50 "
4. Primoz Roglic (SLV / LNL) 2'38"
5. Romain Bardet (FRA / ALM) 3'21 "
6. Mikel Landa (ESP / MOV) 3'42"
7. Steven Kruijswijk (HOL / LNL) 3'57 "
8. Nairo Quintana (COL / MOV) 4'23"
9. Jakob Fuglsang (DAN / AST) 6'14 "
10. Daniel Martin (IRL / UAE) 6'54"
AFP
The point on the course: three great pbades at the end of the course. The first stage Pyrenean offers a course of choice, but especially in his last third. Until the foot of the first big difficulty of the day, there will indeed only two coasts of 4th category, the coast of Fanjeaux (km 25) and the coast of Pamiers (km 72). Serious things will begin after about 150 km of race, with the Portet d'Aspet pbad (5.4 km at 7.1%). Runners will then cross the Col de Menté (6.9 km at 8.1%) then the Col du Portillon (8.3 km at 7.1%) before diving towards Bagnères-de-Luchon after a sinuous descent of ten km.
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