Plain Stages Up for Grabs in Tour
After passing through four mountain stages in a row, riders in the 2010 Tour de France will be faced with three plain stages over the next three days, beginning with Stage 11 on Thursday.
Thursday’s 184.5km route from Sisteron to Bourg-lès-Valence in southeastern France sets the stage ideally for the sprint specialists on the Tour, who are contending for the points classification and the green jersey worn by its winner.
The stage does include one 5km climb up the Col de Cabre, to a 5.9% incline, but it comes in the first third of the stage.
After that, it is practically all downhill, meaning sprinters will be lined up by their supporting riders to deliver explosive finishes and look to grab the stage win for their team.
On Friday, things are not as clear cut. Stage 12, which is 210.5km long, will see riders face five climbs evenly spread throughout the stage. These climbs are between 3.1 and 13.7km in length, with inclines ranging from 3.1 to 10.1%.
The short climbs ahead of the finish in Mende will likely favour explosive, punchy climbers like Team Astana’s Alberto Contador, who often thrives by overcoming short climbs at tremendous speed.
Riders who usually pounce on long climbs, such as Team RadioShack’s Lance Armstrong, will face a tougher test in the stage. Armstrong’s overall title contention is deemed to be over following his disappointing climbing performances in the Alps.
The final of the ensuing plain stages is Stage 13 on Saturday, which will see riders travel between Rodez and Revel over 196km.
Intended for riders who have yet to claim a stage win in this year’s Tour, the stage contains five climbs, none of which are particularly challenging.
All-round contenders will be as likely to contend for the stage win as sprinters during the stage.
Tomorrow’s Stage 11, though, will see the Tour’s sprint specialists seek a stage win. With 1 stage win so far, Norwegian Thor Hushovd leads the points classification with 138 points, 7 ahead of Italian rider Alessandro Petacchi, who has won 2 stages so far.
But Cervelo TestTeam’s Hushovd, who won the green jersey last year and in 2005, is only narrowly ahead of several proficient sprinters in the points standings.
British rider Mark Cavendish, currently in 5th place with 97 points, can bump his standing on the back of a strong performance.
Having been beaten to the green jersey by Hushovd in the 2009 Tour, Cavendish will be eager to claim it this year. After a disappointing start to his race, the outspoken Cavendish has won two stages in this year’s Tour, strongly supported by his HTC-Columbia teammates.
Contador, meanwhile, will likely keep a low profile on Thursday, only to attack during the short climbs in Friday’s Stage 12.
The winner of last year’s Tour, Contador has kept an even pace with fellow overall contender Andy Schleck this year, and Friday’s climbs will provide the perfect setting for him to break.
Schleck, who has held the yellow jersey since Stage 10, will likely miss the outstanding climbing technique of his older brother Frank, who pulled out of the race with a broken collar bone after Stage 3.
In Stage 13, meanwhile, a range of riders are in contention for the stage win. Slipstream-Chipotle rider Tyler Farrar, who is yet to claim his first stage win in the Tour, may be in contention.
The versatile Samuel Sanchez, currently in 3rd place in the overall standings, will also be looking to pounce on the multi-faceted terrain of the stage on Saturday.
On Sunday, the feared climbs in the Pyrenees ensue, where the general classification contenders, particularly Schleck and Contador, will be looking to take charge of the Tour and hold off challengers until the finale in Paris one week later.
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