Stage Seven: Sagan Scores Major Coup on Eve of Mountain Stages

Today’s stage traveled back in time along the rural roads of Languedoc in southern France: within 50 Km of the walled city of Carcassonne (first fortified by the Romans around 100 A.D.); parallel to the Canal du Midi (built in the late 1600's); and ending in Albi, the namesake town for the cruel Albigensian Crusade to exterminate the Cathar religion (early 1200's).  Peter Sagan’s Team Cannondale went on their own crusade today, to exterminate any last flickering hopes by other sprinters for the Green Jersey.

Like a team time trial train Cannondale pushed a punishing pace up the two climbs leading to the intermediate sprint.  Result, relegation of all Sagan’s closest rivals to a gasping grupetto 10 minutes behind his powerhouse peleton (zero intermediate points), and maximum points (20) for Sagan.  Then pushing on relentlessly to the finish, Cannondale delivered Sagan to the line for his first stage victory of this year’s Tour.  Maximum points again (45)!  The rivals staggered home almost 15 minutes later for no points at all.  Any later, and they would have missed the awards ceremony.

Tomorrow, the Pyrénées!  Finally, we will see some separation among the Yellow Jersey (GC) hopefuls.  How do the big favorites currently stand?  All within a minute of each other, achieved mostly in the team time trial of Stage 4.  In first place, Daryl Impey (Orica GreenEdge) wears the Yellow Jersey, but he is not likely to keep it another day.  In order of rank and time gap from Impey, the “Big Boys” are as follows:

7 Chris Froome (Sky) 8"
11 Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) 14"
14 Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp) 22"
17/18 Alejandro Valverde & Rui Costa (Movistar) 25"
22-24 Cadel Evans, Philippe Gilbert, & Tejay van Garderen (BMC) 31"
32 Andy Schleck (RadioShack Leopard) 34"
37 Bauke Mollema (Belkin) 42"
41 Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) 47", and
43 Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) 1'01".

That gives you a list of 12 potential winners among the current top 50.  By tomorrow night we’ll know if I overlooked one or two sleepers, and we’ll cut the number of possible winners in half.  The stage is relatively flat until the intermediate sprint at 119 Km, then it launches into a 50 Km “HC” climb straight up into the clouds, followed by 20 Km screaming down the twisting backside, and then 10 Km straight up to the category 1 summit finish.  The peleton will be shredded to pieces by the end of this stage.

Any big names already eliminated from the GC race?  Yes, at least two.  Jurgen van den Broeck (Lotto Belisol) did not start Stage 6 because of injuries in a crash the previous day.  Janez Brajkovic (Astana) did not start Stage 7, also because of injuries earlier in the race.  Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) has lost three supporting teammates; and Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp) has lost a key helper in American Christian Vande Velde.

I don't have any pictures of Albi, of the Canal du Midi, nor of the Cathars being burned at the stake.  But this photo captures the size of the fortified cité of Carcassonne.  Today's stage passed 50 Km north of here; and tomorrow it passes even closer to the west as it heads into the Pyrénées.