So today was an ITT and an uphill one at that. What this means is that many riders would take it as easy as they could and with what I heard was a 40% cut off that gave plenty of time to the non-GC contenders to take an easy day as was also a short ITT. But let me add that while they could so called take it easy it is still a hard day as they will still have to work. That said for watching for the spectator on TV was not all that exciting early on - did see Luke Plapp go for it and early on crushed the riders before him and get the fastest time and was going to be there for a bit since Lenny Martinez looked close to catch him did not.
Once down to the big guns it did get exciting. With Roglic having a great ride and then seeing Vingegard catch Remco who started 2 minutes in front to take the lead - but owed be short lived. Tadej stormed to the finish gaining 36 seconds on Vngegaard and even more on the others. Remco looked to be struggling and may have been that all the work he did in Stage 12 to limit his losses took it out of his legs today - keeping in mind that while he is a great TT guy this was uphill so not quote his thing. Then there was the sight of Vingegaard with a TT helmet ad bike on a basically up hill stage - haven idea what he was thinking as fro all account I heard his bike was significantly heavier than a climbing bike and the bikes others were using. Will be interesting to see what he has to say about using it.
All in all no big surprises but was good to see Roglic take 3rd on the stage and see Jorgenson have a good day after yesterdays bad day. Also in 7th on the day was Oscar Onley who is having a great tour.
Time to get the rest they can was tomorrow's Stage 14 is another tough stage in the mountains with two HC climbs and a Cat and Cat 1. The start basically goes up hill till they hit the Tourmalet that tops out at almost 90K into the race then ends with the HC climb up to Luchon-Superbagneres - it is going to be a tough day and with the next not as bad bad, but hilly, then a rest day Monday Stage 14 is a day to try and see if Tadej will break - does nto look like it but if you want to win you have to push the envelope and may back fire but what it takes to try and win.
While it would seem that unless he really cracks Tadej is gong to get this - but by how much. Then it looks like Jonas has a pretty good grip on the 2nd step of the podium but likely not going to settle for that and in going for first could totally crack so still interesting. Then there is the 3rd step of the podium with 5 guys with in 1:26 and lots of places to gain and lose that much time.
This race never surprises as a break of 52 riders went up the road with only one person a GC threat, Lenny Martinez - don't think he is long term - who was up there for Mtn points. Was funny to hear them try and build up Lenny saying if he had two minutes on the final climb he could win but I think that was to build excitement as no way Lenny can hold 2:00 on an HC climb if the big guns go for it which seems they might. Sure anything can happen if Tadej, Jonas and Remco wait till very late to attack but that is about his only chance. But hey, it is the announcers job to try and create drama.
That said while the break got up to 2:00 minutes it was not given much of a leash so clear the main pack wanted to be there for the final. It seemed clear MVDP is going to do what he can to get points for the Green points jersey as he was also in the group. He got second in the sprint for 17 points as Biniam's teammate took first at the intermediate sprint to deny MVDP the full 20 points. The points did move MVDP into second for the green jersey. In watch live was looking to see MVDP then go back to the peloton as his day was done as no more points he was going to get.
Once the break hit the slopes of the Cat 1 Col des Borders the break started to fall apart as expected as while not the hardest climb of the day it was plenty hard. Even Lenny was falling off the back - based on what had seen so fat in the TdF was not that surprising but long way to go. With 8.5k to the top of the climb the 52 rider break was down to 24 riders and still lots of climbing to go, Meanwhile back in the peloton 1:49 back Remco was being dropped with a long way to the top of the Cat 1 climb. Was going to be interesting to see if this was just a bad spell or he just does not have it. To be honest I have never thought Remco was in the same category as Jonas and Tadej when comes to climbing but I guess they have to keep it interesting. He for sure is a good, even great, rider but when the road climbs more seriously he is not in the same class. Then again I am writing this while watching and maybe he will show me wrong, and he did use his descending skills and that Joans and Tadej did not press the downhill. He is good at coming back and he showed that here. I will say Remco does seem to know his limits and quite often shoots to pacing instead of going with the lead - sometimes works other times it does not. The final climb will tell as once on the climb there is no downhill to catch up.
As they reached the top of the Cat 1 the front was full of Visma guys so they would appear to have the advantage - I say appear as Tadej is smart enough that he only has to watch Jonas and Mateo and since Remco got back on he is an unknown when road goes up for the final climb. The thing now was to get to the next Cat 2 climb safely and then over and own to start the real race up the HC climb of the Hautacam. Healy was off the group by just over a minute but truth is this was not surprising as Healy is a great rider but the effort put out to get the yellow as huge while Tadej and Jonas rode hard but not the same effort. Next up is the Cat 2 climb of the Col des Borders and then a descent to the climb of the day. At the front was Woods, Skjelmose and Armirail with 40K to go. In watching was they were no longer showing Remco as behind the Yellow jersey of Healy who was 2+ minutes behind Tadej and Jonas - oh yea Roglic was in the group as well and once over the top of the Cat 2 and going down to the final climb Remco was back on so will be interesting - maybe - as we waait for the last 13.5K climb that averages 7.8% grade.
Well if you were waiting for a move you did not have to wait long as Tadej went early with around 11K to go and only Jonas could even stay close - but was a long way to go and Jonas did not give up but saw Jonas out of the saddle early so was going to be interesting to see how Tadj played this with so long to go. It was not over as often Tadej put sin a dig then settles and Jonas just sets into a pace he can hold. As they climbed it was clear Jonas was working to maintain which was a smart move as if Tadej faltered, did not seem likely, or just slowed to rest up for the uphill TT tomorrow Jonas could minimize the damage as still lots of miles to go in this TdF as anyone - even Tadej, can have a bad, well not so good, day. But the lead kept slowly open which was a good sign Tadej was just working at his comfort level as well and with 6K to go the gap was about 1:00.
Interesting to look back and see Remco do his usual measured ride and slowly licking off riders and was only about 1:20 behind Jonas with over 5K to go. With Roglic just ahead of Remco and Jonas starting to look back would be interesting as to how that battle would go for the rest. The thing was while Jonas was slowly losing the to Tadej the ones behind were not gaming on Jonas - as it stands they are by far the two best. Tomorrow TT will be even more interesting as only 1lK but is 8K uphill so nowhere to hide for anyone.
With not much to go Lipowitz was moving up as Roglic slipped back and the gap from Lipowitz to Jonas was at about 30 seconds and the lead Tadej had on Jonas with 1K to go was edging towards 2:00. Could see in Tad's face he was pushing it at the end as he pushed his lead. You cold see he wanted every second as he did not celebrate and pushed alway through the line and Jonas was suffering as well - he they were riding super fast - and Tadej had a 2:10 lead at the end on Jonas and Jonas was followed closely by Lipowitz. Remco who was the first of the big guns to get dropped rode a great measured ride to finish 3:34 behind but only 2+ behind Jonas.
What a ride and while not really surprised at Tadej I thought Jonas would be closer and clear they both put in a hard effort and will make tomorrow ITT even more interesting. While Tadej has a comfortable lead and looks in control all it takes is one bad day to wipe out the lead. Hats off to Remco who showed he may not be the climber Tadej and Jonas are but he knows what he can do and rides to do the best he can and thus is still in this - well if Tadej has a bad day.
ITT tomorrow with a good climb for the last 8K followed by another mountain stage the day after so there is lots of time for bad days - we shall see.
While today's course was listed as flat - and it is relative to the hilly ones - but there was a dagger at the end with a 800m Cat 3 climb with an avg gradient of 12.4% but in listing to the commentary it has a section at about 20-25%. What this means is the main sprinters may not make it to the end as once over the top there is only about 8K to go and while they could catch on if the big guns - Tadej, Jonas, Remco and MVDP go they will not want to let them back. Then there is the idea that flat days are a rest but in the way they are racing this will be fast and with the intermediate sprint at just under 60 miles likely they don't let big gaps on any breakaway so they can at least get the intermediate sprint.
Quickly became clear that there may be mountains tomorrow on Stage 12 but that was not going to slow them down. With 66K to go the big guns were pushing it, Healy not letting them go, and closing the gap to the break to under 1:00. They seem to want to make sure the split that was created if not staying makes the guys work. Hey guess who else was up there - Quinn Simmons, who jumped again with 65K to go!!! NO resting today and MVDP was working to get up to Quinn and the question was would they let them go as no GC threats. With the way they are racing who knows.
With 28K to go there was still a break out front but the chase group of 5 that included MNDP, WVA and Simmons were only 19 seconds behind and the main peloton was another 2:00 behind. With 2 climbs to go and the last one a short but tough one was looking to be a good one. Even if they stay our front back in the pack would be interesting as would anyone try and get a gap. Among the main 3 but upfront where there was no issue with taking yellow it was looking to be a good finish. With a kick up on the last climb of up to 25% and then about 5 miles to the finish excitement was ahead all the way around. Should mention that up front was one of my favorite riders, Jonas Abrahamsen, as he is the guy who last year had the Polkadot Jersey for quite a while and attributed his success to gaining, yes gaining, 40 lbs . There is more to that story that I may write on later.
Talk about exciting. Up in the first chase group MVDP was chasing the front and with 2.2k to go was 10 seconds behind. Then 3 minutes back Tadej gets taken down when an UNO-X rider cuts across chasing a move. He did have to chase on but the group he had been in did not push their advantage - questionable choice even if seems like a nice thing to do - was not sure if the 5K rule was in play as did not hear them mention it but they did say it was in the last 5K. Then with less than a mile to go MVDP was back 8 seconds and the two in front had the advantage but could not play around. They did not and hung on for the win and while the guys calling it said Schmid won it ended up be Abrahamsen - happy for him - and MVDP for third. Truth is Schmid made it possible as pulled hard so MVDP would not catch - had to be done and the hard part in these finishes. Tadej was so close to hitting the curb with his head when he crashed and controlled it and did not panic. While Jonas and others could have pressed an advantage but did not as no one wants to win due to the error not of the main buy but someone else.
Now off to the Pyrenees for the Mountain stages and tough days ahead.
With the first climb early as with the sprint figured they would either not let anyone go, or, more than likely they would let a break go if no threats in there and people from the big teams in there. Well who did we see up front but Quinn Simmons - no surprise there. Once the break stabilized there were quite a few in it, 29 riders, including 2 Visma riders (Yates and Campenaerts) who could play a big part later, also had 4 EF guys including Healy and Powless. While quite a few teams represented but one team not there was UAE and figured that it was better to have them around Tadej rather than having a satellite rider up the road, remember a key person on their team - Joao Almeida - was out of the TdF. Even with the break out there they did not give them much of a leash with only a gap of about a minute with 14.5K to the sprint and some lumpy stuff first. So the sprinter teams could up the pace for the sprint so it was still very interesting as the break was not for certain yet. I say that then looked at the live map and the sprinters were down almost 3 minutes and with no respite not sure they will see the front anytime soon.
UAE was keeping the gap to the break small and looked like Tadej was using the riders he had early as probably knows he will have to do it mostly himself later. The more the climbs pass the more exciting it could, I say could, get as with such a small gap being allowed who was going to put the hurt on first. Visma seemed to intimate they were going to be aggressive but it sorta looked like UAE was dissuading that with keeping the pace up.
As the front group breaks up there forms a good group with - you guessed it - Quinn Simmons and also Ben Healy and others. This was a strong group that while maybe not being able to stay away for the day but Lenny Martinez could pick up points for the polkadot jersey, which he got, which he was now virtually wearing. So over the top of the third climb they had a 3:15 lead with 5 more climbs to go.
With 21 stages in the tour and this being stage 10 the tour is almost 1/2 over and there has been no rest day yet. On top of that if there was a prize for the most aggressive rider for the first half it would need to be Quinn Simmons - I can't remember if it was the Giro or Vuelta but they had a jersey for the person with the most kilometers in the front and if that jersey was here pretty sure Quinn would be wearing it.
At the top of the 5th climb, 50K to go, the group had a gap to the peloton of just under 5:00 with the main guys still in it and with 3 more climbs to come - 1 Cat 3 and 2 Cat 2's with one being the last climb to the finish. With Healy in the group he is in the virtual Yellow Jersey by just over a minute but really not an issue long term. Let alone when Tadej, Vingegaard and maybe Remco go that lead could have evaporated quickly.
It did seem clear that Quinn had designs himself on this stage as he kept the pace high heading to the 6th climb but then so did it look like Healy wanted a win as well putting in his own digs but no one was letting him go and keeping the gap to the peloton at 5:00. Have to say going up climb 6 Quinn looked really good and in control. Simon Yates was in the break and up near the front but did not think he would push it but was there if and when Jonas came forward. To be honest would be good to see Quinn and Ben go off the front with Quinn getting the win and Ben the Yellow. That said with only a minute up on the virtual jersey I did not think Ben could get it as back in the peloton even if they did not chase for the win there was going to be an upping of tempo just with the fight between the big three. Well that is what I thought:)
With 27K and two climbs to go Quinn went for it and those left chased with Healy doing the main chasing. Quinn got 7seconds but no more and by 24.5K the remainder back on him. If not for Healy I am not sure they would have bridged. Back in the peloton the gap was still big at 5:46 but among them the race was on with Visma at the front. Good part on climbs and this close to the finish Tadej could handle this but UAE still had a couple there but not for long. No real reason for Tadej to pull, or chase, unless Mateo or Jonas went off the front and it seemed Joans did not want to play as well. Was shaping up to be two races - one for the win and the other for GC and the race for GC seemed likely to seal the fate of Healy to get yellow with his slim virtual lead and the big three maybe wanting the upper hand..
With 15K to go seemed clear the break was going to stay away but would Healy get the jersey but, again, seemed unlikely as figured the Peloton was not going to stay where it was. It was going to get fast and while unlikely to catch the breakaway they would close the gap on the last climb. Then Quinn lost the lead group with Healy pushing the pace - bummer and at least hoped maybe he could get back on but Healy was having none of it. Back in the peloton the announcers kept making note of Tadej not having the same number of guys with him that Jonas did but with so little distance to go and the climbs short not sure it mattered for Tadej.
Heading into the final 3.2k climb Yates went for it leaving Healy in some trouble but he was just trying to keep it going for the Yellow. Ben O'conner got back up to Yates and they went at it for the final 2.7K. Healy did not have much time to work with but he was still working hard to not lose sight of Yates and O'Conner. Back in the peloton it was clear it was going to come down to the final 3.2K between the big three and was going to be interesting to see if the pace would be high enough to wipe out Healy's virtual lead.
Interesting finish as while Yates crossed the line first, Arensman second and Healy third everyone was watching the main peloton with Tadej, Jonas and Remco to see if there would be gaps and if Healy could get the Yellow jersey. Initially with maybe 1.5K to go Tadej went, Remco had tried before then but other than a short lived gap it did little, and only Jonas could go with him but it appeared that once it looked like Tadej was not losing Jonas - well for the effort required - it seemed they were both good with just riding it in as the riders they had a gap open clawed back some time. For all the talk of fireworks there were really none but then when you keep the pace up and have control it sort of dissuades it.
The fact they did not hammer the last climb and work hard after the initial gap played to Healy's favor who ended up with plenty to spare to get the jersey and a lead of 00:29 on Tadej. What a ride by Ben and bummed Simmons could not hang on but pretty amazing ride considering he has been up front about every day. Next up a well deserved rest before a flat Stage 11 on Wednesday.
With another sprint stage on tap and the sprint being only about 24K into the race I figured nothing would happen till after the sprint. Well MVDP is in the race so should have expect the unexpected. He went off with Jonas Rickaert and by the sprint that had a 3:40 lead and from what was said had averaged 30mph. The question was - what was up as MVD had said he was not going for the green jersey but this seemed to say differently. That said hard to see him being out there all day but in watching live wondered if the goal was get ahead then let the break usually goes after the sprint catch them and give them a group that could work together.
Even with the break up the road the sprint for the points was still going to be interesting as there were still lots of points available. Add to this Milan lost 10 points due to an infraction, not sure what it was as I saw nothing unusual yesterday, in the final sprint the day before. So who leads out the sprint - it is Quinn Simmons at the front again to help lead out Milan who got the best of the rest in this sprint. Now coms the long road to finish with 146K still to go. Was surprised no one went right away so would have to wait to see how this all works out. One thought I had at the time was that the least this helps Alpecin not need to do anything in the peloton so that Kaden Groves could rest up. This would leave the chasing up to Lidl-Trek and Inter-Marche for Milan and Girmay. May not have been the thought at the time but could work that way - in the end Gove only got 10th in the sprint so not much help, likely would have been better for MVD to lead him out. So, maybe was just a long hard workout for MVDP.
Along with speeds the winds did split the peloton up some but it looked clear they were going to get MVDP as with 29K to go the gap was down to less than 1:00 - but it ended up not really being that clear. Also interesting seeing UAE and Visma at the front since they had no sprinter but you did see Milan with no teammates up there making sure he was at the front if any splits happened. MVDP and his teammate were not giving up to make it easy on the peloton since with 10K to go the gap was still at 50 seconds. But then we saw Lidl-Trek back to the front as MVDP was off on his own with 6K to go and a 27 second lead.
It was exciting to see MVDP work to stay away with 7 seconds on the peloton with 1.5k to go. Pretty much sure he was going to get caught but with MVDP you never know. The gap was closed with just under 1K to go and it was down to the bunch to sprint it out. The sprint was won by Tim Merlier free lancing to get the better of Milan at the line. Might have been a flat and supposedly unexciting stage but MVDP kept it interesting from the gun all the way to 1K for the sprinters to do what was expected of them. MVDP ended up 68th on the stage and lost 17 seconds in the last 1k.
MVDP is going to feel that tomorrow but I think he knew that with it being a climbing day and him not gong to try for it so he likely figured he might and see what would happen if he went for it today. Will be interesting what he has to say about why he did what he did but then again it is MVDP and he will do stuff like that because he wants to and he can - the old nothing ventured nothing gained sure applies to him - and today a lot was ventured with some gain as he did get some sprint points but not enough being he was not in it for the final sprint. As a side note Joao Almeida had to abandon as with is broken rib from a couple days before it was just not happening - that he made the one extra day shows how tough these guys are.
Tomorrow is the ride mountain stage before the first rest day. While not as tough as some mountains to come but the first run at Cat 2's - 7 of them - with 4450M (14,600Ft) of climbing. As the race has a Cat 2 starting around 5.7K in and is a 4.1k climb it will be fun to watch the sprinters as the intermediate sprint points are at about 44.4K with some lumps between the Cat 2 and the sprint. Most of those aiming for the sprint will work to do all they can to get there and once by setting for the gruppetto to work together to beat the time cut off for the day.
With all the work done in the first 7 stages - let alone in yesterdays 7th stage alone - this stage was destined to be be a long rest day, well rest for them as most all of us would be suffering. Don't get me wrong even on a day like this many would suffer, especially those recovering from crashes and working to heal up. Take it from me having have wrecked a few times and then raced - wounds don't do well under your cycling clothing.
It is amazing how quick these guys recover - some more quickly than others - and early on in the race seeing American Quinn Simmons up front shows his recovery level - he did let the front go near the end with his work done as he would need to be used on Stage 9 for much the same. He has been up front for most of this tour and while has not won any of the daily most combative rider awards he for sure should win the most combative overall if there was a reward for that. Used to be, as I think it is in the other tours - or was as well - based on who spent the most distance in the breakaway but is now used on being chosen by a jury.
Days like this is when it must be hard to commentate as they just have to fill the space with talk and when they show the race from the start that is a lot of filler. It is funny at times listening as there is a lot of chances for faux-pas and errors. Does seem Phil Liggett makes more and more but may just be he is getting up there in age. Then there is Bob Roll who often has to correct, as politely as he can, Phil but then he makes funny comments. He was talking about the noise from the crowds and said it could hurt your "ear balls" - did not know we had those:)
Gotta admit would be nice to have two sprints on these flat stages as with it being at near half way makes it less exciting to watch. But this is just a spectator comment as I am sure the riders would rather not have a sprint or have it early and then let a break go. With it being at half way no one was going to get away till at least at the sprint then they were not to get much leeway as the sprinters want this day. I will say this was far from slow since after about 70+K they were still averaging 28mph!!
Once at the intermediate sprint it was being set up for a sprint between Milan and Girmay but when it came down to it Milan was not challenged. Not sure what Girmay was doing but he only got 4th so not sure if missed the jump or not feeling it and saving it for the finish. But there is still a long way to the finish to rest up from this sprint so not sure. There were a few efforts to go after the sprint and Simmons covered them as it is clear they want this together for the final sprint. But it would not stop others from trying. A break of two riders from TotalEnergies did get a small gap of just under a minute with 55K to go.
Have to hand it to the break as with so little of a gap they kept it for a long time as with 13k to go they still had 25 seconds. Then at 12.6 one of the two dropped off but pretty clear this will not last long with now there only being 1 rider - would not last with two but with 1 even harder. In these last K's we were seeing sever crashes and one of the sprinters Tim Merlier, winner of Stage 3, off the back of the main peloton after an incident but got back on to a quick moving peloton. But others were dropping off as the speed ramps up.
When it came to the sprint it was clear it was going to be about the fast guys with Alpecin leading out Groves, Lidl-Trek Milan, Inter-Marche Girmay and it seemed Merlier finding his own way. Once the sprint started it was clear Milan was fastest but was great to see Wout Van Wert in there and getting second and Merlier in third - Girmay just did not have it and ended up 5th.
They now go back to get some rest before another sprint day on Stage 9 before some mountains on Stage 10. Pretty sure the sprinters will want it to stay together anther day as after tomorrow they only really have three more chances on Stages 11, 16 and the final on Stage 20 with lots of suffering in the gruppetto to come as the GC and climbers take over. I did notice that tomorrow on Stage 9 the Intermediate sprint point is at about 24.5K so early and after that they may let a break go but pretty sure Milan, Merlier, Groves and Girmay will want it together at the line to pick up the points there as much more than at the intermediate sprints.
Once again things were hot as the first hour was at about 30mph so up to then no break was gone. Once one did get separation they still never were given much of a gap. This was likely due that not only did the hills hit later in the stage but they were after the Sprint point at 140K and thus the sprinter teams, especially Lidl-Trek with Milan who was leading the points category wanted the 20 first place points as they know he was not going to be in it at the end where there were 50 points fro first up for grabs. But also MVDP wanted to keep the jersey if he could so Alpecin was going to not let tiebreak have to much time - Same with UAE. So with 20 miles to the sprint the break only had 1:30+ on the peloton.
In watching I really thought that the Peloton would catch the break before the sprint but they still had a 1:30 or so coming into the sprint. So the peloton was going to spring for less points but still would sprint. Was interesting to see Quinn Simmons lead out and Milan could not get his wheel so near the line Quinn basically stopped and Milan got Girmay at the line - not a lot of points but some and one more than Grimy. All that said the final sprint at the line was going to be a difference with 50 for first then 30 for second.
With 40K to go the break only had a 1:00 lead and with the tough section coming with about 20K to go the break was not going to last much longer. While there is no one to worry about ahead in the break there are those in the peloton who want to put the hurt on for the GC so just makes things stay fast. Also, they all know that come stage 10 on Monday where the mountains start there are few stages to have a chance on so they just are all n for this. Then add to this that Stages 8 & 9 are going to be flt and likely for the sprinters this could be the last chance for those who are not climbers or sprinters. Then again there is Poggy, MVDP and Jonas who still seem to want in on this and for sure MVDP.
So they hit the Mur-De-Bretagne for the first of two passes and the pace went up drastically with one lone remainder of the break just hanging on and MVDP having troubles, but still in there, as the big three and their teams put the hammer down. At the top the leader only had about 20 seconds with the peloton in sight and still 15K and another time up the Mur-De-Bretagne. MVDP looked like he was suffering but hanging on so how he would do with the last climb did not look god to hold on to his 1 second led in Yellow. He did have some rest -well no real climbs but who can rest - till the last climb up the Mur-De-Bretagne which was a 2k climb. Was setting up to be a great finish - well for those watching but not so much for those riding.
Then when you think it is all down to the sprint there is a big crash at the back of the pack evening a small group. Not good anyone crashed but Almeida did not look good, he did finish which is a good sign but will see how things go for him for tomorrow, and Healy the winner yesterday who had to work to just try get back on before the final climb. Watching live it sure seemed Visma might be up to something with the number of the riders up front - but UAE did as well.
As they went into the final 2k climb Wellens was up pulling with Tadej on his wheel then you suddenly have the big three just waiting to make a move and Vauquelin latching back on with 1K to the top - man this is the kind of finish you like to see and we are only on stage 7. It came down the final 300m and Tadej went with Jonas on his wheel and while Remco was dropped Jonas hung on but could not get by so Tadej picked up 10 seconds and some more seconds on Remco. MVDP struggled to the finish but still up there but lost the Yellow Jersey and dropped to 5th.
It becomes clear that for now this is a three man race but don't rule out Mateo who was 5th on the stage and in there till the sprint. This helps Jonas later in the race as Visma still keeps multiple GC options - if they need them. All in all maybe the one no-one saw coming was Oscar Onley who was third on the stage and moving into the top 10 at 7th. Also Kevin Vauquelin showed he is no slouch either as he is now third overall and was 7th on the stage with the small gourd that followed in behind Tadej and Jonas.
The next two days are flat as the sprinters will be working to get wins before the first mountain stage on Monday. Usually by now the last few years the second Monday is a rest day but with not transfer early early with a break and an extra day there was no rest this year till after stage 10 - going to be some tired legs resting up.
