2011 Tour de France: Stage 17 Recap

Stage 17 Profile

Stage 17: Gap -> Pinerolo – 179km

Today’s stage began as most do, with a breakaway forming at the beginning of the stage. The day’s break contained fourteen riders. Some of the notable riders were: Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step), Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Sky), Ruben Perez (Euskaltel-Euskadi). The first climb of the day was the category three Côte de Sainte-Marguerite. Chavanel was the first rider to cross the top of the côte. After the first climb of the day came the intermediate sprint. Sandy Casar (FDJ) was the only rider to attack for the sprint, every other rider remained in the saddle. When the peloton arrived, Mark Cavendish

2011 Tour de France: Stage 16 Recap

Stage 16 Profile

Stage 16:  Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux ->Gap – 162.5km

For almost the first 100km of racing, there was no successful breakaway. The peloton would constantly chase back each group that made an attempt to get away. The day’s breakaway consisted of ten riders including the likes of Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervélo), Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Sky), and Tony Martin (HTC-Highroad). The large break didn’t even contest the intermediate sprint, Dries Devenyns (Quick Step) casually crossed the line first. There was also a chase group of three riders that never caught up with the larger breakaway, they crossed a few minutes after the first breakaway. The peloton didn’t contest the sprint either, when the approached it. This stage had only one categorized climb, the category two Col de Manse

2011 Tour de France: Stage 5 Recap

Stage 5 Profile

Stage 5: Carhaix -> Cap Fréhel – 165km

As most all stages do, the day began with a four man breakaway that lept off the front of the peloton. Those four riders were: Sébastien Turgot (Team Europcar), Tristan Valentin (Cofidis), José Ivan Gutierrez (Team Movistar), and Anthony Delaplace (Saur-Sojasun). The Côte de Gurunhuel, a category 4 climb, was the lone mountain of the day. Delaplace was the first rider to cross the top, earning himself one point towards the King of the Mountains Classification. Europcar’s Turgot won the intermediate sprint, by out-sprinting the other breakaway riders. When the peloton came to the intermediate sprint, there was some controversy.

2011 Tour de France – Preview & Predictions

2011 Tour de France route (click to enlarge)

The 2011 Tour de France is slated to begin on July 2, 2011 in Passage du Gois, France. The route for this year’s Tour is 3,430.5km long. There 21 stages in this year’s edition of the race. There are ten stages designated as flat, two time trial stages, and nine mountain stages. Some of the major mountains that will make an appearance in the race this year are: L’Alpe d’Huez, the Col du Galibier, and the Col du Tourmalet. The Col du Galibier will be climbed twice during this Tour de France. The Tour is to finish on July 24, 2011 on the Champs Élysées, where the Tour has finished since 1975. The Tour de France this year will primarily be in France, with the exception of the 17th and 18th Stages, which go into Italy.