Stage 14 – Glory to the Underdogs!

As suggested in my previous post, Stage 14 presented an opportunity for a bit of glory for lesser-known riders and teams.  It also favored Peter Sagan in his quest for a fourth consecutive Green Jersey.  And finally, Chris Froome was indeed strong enough to counter any attacks by his nearest rivals.

Breakaway Succeeds:  A large breakaway formed early with non-GC riders from many teams.  Peter Sagan was the only top Green Jersey contender to make it into the lead pack.  He made sure to win the intermediate sprint (20) points to create more separation between himself and André Greipel for the Green Jersey.  Back in the main peloton, Team Sky set the pace with no concern for catching the breakaway, so the attackers approached the finish with a comfortable 5-minute lead.  The lead pack was paced most of the day by several FDJ riders hoping to set up Thibaut Pinot for the stage win.  He was a pre-tour favorite among French riders for GC glory, but had suffered bad luck on most of the early stages and was already about 35 minutes behind Froome.  A victory here would be solace and a bit of redemption for Pinot, even though it would not revive his GC hopes. 

As the leaders approached the finish, Michal Golas (Etixx-Quickstep) launched the first attack and held a promising lead until the final two climbs.  Then, on the climb he was caught by Kristijan Koren (Cannondale-Garmin).  They worked together in the lead until the final climb.  At that point, Romain Bardet (AG2R) – another pre-race French favorite with early-stage hard luck similar to Pinot’s – overtook them and led the race for the finish.  Golas & Koren ran out of gas and faded.  Pinot clawed his way back toward Bardet, as did Rigoberto Uran (Etixx-Quickstep).  Sagan had been unable to match the climbing speed of the leaders, but kept a strong and steady pace to remain near the front.  Just as they all neared the top of the final climb, Stephen Cummings (MTN-Qhubeka) came streaking up from the pack and overtook Pinot, Uran and Bardet.  He passed them without ever joining forces with them and accelerated down the flat airport runway 1.5 Km to the finish.  The others all sprinted in vain to catch him. 

So, the wild-card team MTN-Qhubeka snagged the Stage win and another day of glory for the “little guys.”  (Remember the emotional thrill for the team, for Africa and for Eritrea when Daniel Teklehaimanot wore the Polka-Dot Jersey several days for MTN-Qhubeka?)  The timing was perfect, because today is a day of special celebration in South Africa commemorating the birthday of the late national reconciliation hero Nelson Mandela. 

Even the also-rans had things to cheer about.  Bardet and Pinot each enjoyed a measure of redemption as they erased more than four minutes from their prior GC deficits, and moved up several spots on the GC standings.  They’re still too far back to contend for the top prize, but they restored their pride by showing strength and courage.  Peter Sagan was too far back (just 29 seconds) to contest the sprint for the stage win, but he added another 17 points to his Green Jersey total.  He now leads Greipel by 61 points. 

Yellow Jersey Peloton arrives at 4:15 behind.   Meanwhile back at the ranch (in the main peloton):  Chris Froome and Team Sky set the pace most of the day in the peloton.   On the final climb Nairo Quintana (Movistar) jumped ahead of Froome.  Foome stayed calm and kept a steady pace and gradually closed the gap.  Valverde and Contador tried to attack without success.  Van Garderen and Nibali at first kept pace with Froome, but eventually started to fall back.  Quintana needed a 17-second advantage in the stage in order to overtake Van Garderen for 2^nd place, so he pressed on with his attack.  As they neared the top of the final climb, Froome caught Quintana, with a small separation behind him to Valverde and Contador, and then additional space back to Nibali and Van Garderen.  Quintana sprinted down the runway toward the finish with Froome on his wheel, until Froome swung out and accelerated the last 100 meters for a one-second advantage.  Froome had matched his attackers once again, and padded his lead by between one and 51 seconds over everyone in the GC top ten.  Quintana (2^nd) switched places with Van Garderen (3^rd); Contador (5^th) switched with Geraint Thomas (6^th); and Nibali (8^th) switched with Gallopin (9^th).  Only Bardet and Pinot (among top-20 GC boys) gained time on Froome, but they are still 13 and 30 minutes behind respectively.

Tomorrow’s Stage:  Tomorrow’s Stage 15 is hilly at the beginning, but downhill or flat for the final 57 Km.  Not likely any shakeup of the GC standings.  If the sprint teams have their way, it will end in a bunch sprint in Valence.  One of the last chances for Cavendish, Kristoff, and other sprinters for a stage win.  Greipel will be going for stage win number three.  Expect Sagan to be near the front for both the intermediate sprint and the finish.  He still wants to win his first TDF stage since 2013; and he will not want to see any erosion of his Green Jersey points lead.  The only fly in that ointment would be a successful breakaway.  All the “little guys” and their teams will be motivated to make the escape, but the sprinters’ teams will almost certainly chase them down.  The GC teams will not care about chasing the breakaway, but they will ride near the front of the peloton for safety, not for victory.

This is about what a bunch sprint looks like as they prepare to attack the finish line.  At 60 Km/hour, it's not for the faint-hearted!  (Tour of Utah 2010.)

Famous Tour de France TV commentator (and former TDF racer) Bob Roll, in the announcers' booth at the 2010 Tour of Utah.  He's as much a fan favorite as the riders are.