Friday Stage 13 Unlucky for Three Escapees

Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal), Cyril Gautier (Europcar) and Wilco Kelderman (LottoNL-Jumbo) worked so hard to lead Stage 13 for 198 Km, only to be swamped in the last 300 meters by the wave of sprinters and GC favorites at the head of the peloton.  But Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) will always consider this as his “lucky day” as he out-sprinted Peter Sagan for the stage win – redeeming himself from a long string of near-misses.  Sagan continues his own frustrating string of close finishes at the Tour.  Despite winning the Green Jersey for three years in a row, his last stage win at the TDF was in 2013.  Still, Sagan’s 2^nd place finish today increased his Green Jersey lead to 24 points over André Greipel. 

The top 10 GC contenders saw no change in their standings or their time gaps.  The next five lost more time, and two of them fell out of the top 15.

Tomorrow’s stage to Mende goes through a very remote part of France, including parts of the Cévennes wilderness.  (Memorialized by Robert Louis Stevenson in his “Travels With a Donkey,” in which he recounts his invention of the sleeping bag.)  It features four categorized climbs, including a 4.5-Km category 2 finish.  Probably not suitable for any of the sprinters – except maybe Sagan.  (Will he finally achieve his stage victory?)  It presents an opportunity for a successful breakaway – glory for lesser-known riders and teams.  It also offers attacking possibilities for GC contenders, but Team Sky and Froome should be strong enough to counter any such attacks.  We will see if this stage provides any fireworks – 4 days after Bastille Day.

Mende, the finishing town for Stage 14 is not far from the famous Pont du Gard - 2,000-year-old Roman aquaduct.  Well worth a visit if you're in the area.

Stage 14 will pass this Viaduct at Millau.  Will there be a crosswind?  Are you afraid of heights?  Luckily for the riders of the Tour, they won't have those issues to worry about - the course takes them under the viaduct, not over it.

Here is our own "Yellow Jersey" Jonah by the waterfall.  If you stretch your imagination, you can picture him in the Gorges du Tarn, along the route of tomorrow's Tour de France Stage 14.

Or here is our "Yellow Jersey" Jonah in the forests of the Cévennes.