Rafal
Majka (Tinkoff) won the 17th stage of the 101st edition
on the Tour de France atop the famed Pla d’Adet. He survived out of an early
morning breakaway that saw the riders cover 50.2km in the first hour of racing.
Vincenzo Nibali extended his lead in the general classification to over five
minutes with a late attack on the finishing climb
This
stage win is Majka’s second and third for the Tinkoff-Saxo team at this year’s
Tour de France. These wins are a great consolation all coming after their
leader Alberto Contador crashed out on stage 17. With the win Majka
consolidated his lead in the King of the Mountains Polka Dot jersey competition
and looks destined to be wearing that jersey in Paris.
Pros Will Be Pros
Yesterday
was the longest day of the Tour, so I guess it made sense to have the shortest
day of the Tour today. Today’s stage travelled from Saint-Gaudens to Saint
Lary, which sits atop the Hors Category climb of Pla d’Adet and was very short
at only 124.5km. The riders would tackle three category 1 climbs before Pl
d’Adet, with all of the climbs coming in the last 75km of the stage.
The
sun shone brightly and the temperature was a comfortable 80 degrees as the
riders left Saint-Gaudens. An early breakaway of eight riders escaped at the
2km mark and included Sergio Paulinho (Tinkoff), Blel Kadri (AG2R), Tom-Jelte Slagter
(Garmin), Yukiya Arashiro and Cyril Gautier (Europcar), Jens Voigt (Trek),
Nicolas Edet (Cofidis) and Martin Elmiger (IAM). The problem was Katusha’s
Joaquim Rodriguez was not in the break. Rodriguez was in a heated battle with
Majka for the Polka Dot jersey and with 80 KOM points available today he needed
to be in the breakaway.
Rodriguez
sent his lieutenants to the front of the peloton and for the first 50km of the
stage until the base of the Col du Portillon (8.3km, 7.1%) they chased like mad.
The peloton was single file as the breakaway held its own against the insane
pace of the peloton. At the base of the Portillon the gap was 38” and Rodriguez
attacked out of the peloton attempting to bridge to the leaders. Chaos ensued
as many riders attempted to follow Rodriguez. The riders flew up the climb
trying to create a solid lead group. Astana was also controlling the peloton
trying to make sure no one threatening to the general classification snuck away
in the confusion.
Rodriguez
took maximum points atop the Col du Portillon and became the virtual leader in
the King of the Mountains Competition over Majka. On the descent riders joined
together and at the bottom a solid group of 22 riders had 1’30” over the
peloton. Those riders were Pierre Rolland, Cyril Gautier and
Yukio Arashiro (Europcar), Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Lott-Belisol), Frank Schleck
(Trek), Peter Velits and Amaël Moinard (BMC), Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Shimano),
Jakob Fuglsang (Astana), Jon Izagirre, Jesus Herrada and Giovanni Visconti
(Movistar), David Lopez Garcia and Vasil Kiryienka (Sky), Biel Kadri (AG2R-La
Mondiale), Rein Taaramae (Cofidis), Bauke Mollema (Belkin), Rafal Majka and
Nicolas Roche (Tinkoff-Saxo), Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), Kristijan Durasek
(Lampre-Merida), and Alessandro de Marchi (Cannondale). Schleck, Van Den
Broeck, and Mollema were high placed on the general classification, but had
lost enough time that they posed no threat to Nibali’s yellow jersey. Notablly
was that Movistar had placed three riders in the lead group to be there in case
Valverde needed to be paced on the final climb.
A
Bid For Victory Falls Short
As
the leaders hit the base of the Col du Peyresourde (13.2km, 7%) with a slim
55km remaining, Kiryienka attacked out of the lead group and no one followed
him. As the long climb of the Peyresourde worn on Kiryienka continued to extend
his lead over the 21 rider chase group while the peloton continued to fall
further behind. Near the top of the climb Jesus Herrada and Nicolas Roche
attacked out of the chase group and again there was no response from the
others. At the top of the climb Kiryienka held 1’15” over Roche and Herrada,
1’50” over the huge chase group and 5’30” over the peloton.
Kiryienka
continued to soldier on alone as the next climb of the day, Col de Val
Louron-Azet (7.4km, 8.3%) began with just under 30km to the finish. Of those
30km though, 17.6 of them were uphill. On the Val Louron Kiryienka’s armor
began to show cracks. His shoulders began to sway and his face was a picture of
under exhaustion. Behind him the chase group was finally getting organized and
had swept up Herrada and Roche and were closing in on Kiryienka. The peloton
hit the base of the climb lead by FDJ, the team of 3rd overall
Thibaut Pinot. FDJ set a brutal tempo and went about absolutely shattering the
peloton. Soon riders were all over the mountain as the 21-rider chase group
also began to split apart.
Kiryienka
was caught inside the final km to the summit of the Val Louron as the chase
group was down to 14 riders. After beginning the climb with over a five-minute
advantage, the peloton went over the top just 2’40” behind the leaders and had been
reduced to just 10 men. All of the GC men were there except Leopold Konig
(Netapp). Konig would go on to lose over 4’ on the day.
On
the Move
Thibaut
Pinot has been known to be a terrible descender, but after working very hard in
the offseason, this year has not been that bad for him. Pinot stole the Best
Young Rider White Jersey from Romain Bardet yesterday and Bardet was determined
to get it back. Bardet attacked on the descent of the Val Louron and pulled out
a maximum advantage of almost 40”. There were scary moments for the yellow
jersey Vincenzo Nibali as he got a corner wrong heading through a mountainside
town and nearly crashed. He had to unclip one foot and nearly come to a
complete stop in order to make the corner. Nibali is a very good descender and
caught back up to the group rather easily.
Entering the final climb of Pla d’Adet
(10.2km, 8.3%) four riders jumped clear of the large lead group. Those riders
were Visconti, Moinard, Roche, and Rolland. Soon Visconti jumped clear and
Roche slowly clawed his was up to Visconti’s rear wheel. As the GC men hit the
climb, Bardet had a 30” advantage over the yellow jersey group who was now
being paced by Arnold Jeannesson the teammate of Pinot.
Two
Races
Two
races developed on the climb to Pla d’Adet. One for the stage win and one for
the overall classification. With 9km still to go Visconti had left Roche behind
for good, but Majka was storming up the mountain behind. Majka was slowly
passing rider after rider making his way up to Visconti. The lead group had
blown to shreds on the climb and Majka had been unable to follow the initial
acceleration, but now he was in the zone. As Majka closed in on Visconti,
things were heating up in the yellow jersey group, which had caught Bardet. At
the 6km to go mark Jean-Christophe Peraud (AG2R) put in a dig and Valverde
popped out of the back of the group.
Bardet,
Tejay van Garderen, Peraud, and Nibali pushed on as Valverde struggled. With
5km to go for the yellow jersey group Nibali attacked and only Peraud was able
to follow. Behind Pinot, van Garderen, and Bardet teamed up to chase as
Valverde struggled on. Valverde was not alone though he had two teammates with
him who had been in the early break.
Just
under 4km to go and the lead group had doubled to two, Majka and Visconti. Majka
seemed comfortable and relaxed as he gave a wink for the camera. The duo held a
lead of 1’34” over Nibali and Peraud and a further 20” over the trio of Pinot,
Bardet, and van Garderen. Valverde could still see the chasing trio so he was
not that far behind.
Majka
made his move with 2.4km to go and all Visconti could do was watch him go up
the road, unable to follow him. The GC men continued to chug along up the climb
and pick up the remnants of the breakaway. Peraud and Nibali were moving clear
of the chasing trio, as they were more than 40” ahead.
Inside
the final km Rafal Majka gave another wink to the camera, as he knew he had the
stage win and he would be keeping and extending his lead in the King of
Mountains Competition. The time gaps everyone cared about would start when
Nibali and Peraud crossed the line. 49” after Nibali and Peraud crossed the
line Valverde crossed the line to the shock of many. Valverde had set a steady rhythm
the last 5km and had clawed his way back up and passed his rivals for second
overall. Pinot, Bardet, and van Garderen finished the stage 5” after Valverde. At
the end of the day Vincenzo Nibali extended his lead, but things got even
tighter in the race for the podium. Places 2-4 are separated by just 39”
Stage
17 Results
Stage Winner: Rafal Majka (Tinkoff)
Yellow Jersey: Vincenzo Nibali (Astana)
Green Jersey: Peter Sagan (Cannondale)
White Jersey: Thibaut Pinot (FDJ)
Polka Dot Jersey: Rafal Majka (Tinkoff)
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