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6 hours ago
4
Key events
124km to go: “Beautiful city. Good wine,” said Jasper Philipsen before the stage. Wise words.
“The finish is technical, alongside the river, we have to be attentive, and try to be ready in good position.
“We have a strong squad for the lead out. Hopefully we can play to our strengths.”
130km to go: Jonathan Harris-Bass is doing a recipe on TNT Sports, so I’m going to nip to the canteen quickly. Hold the fort, please.
131km to go: Renshaw added that Olaf Kooij is confident he can “come over the top of” Tim Merlier in a sprint.
As Renshaw said, hopefully we get a clean sprint between the fastest men in the race later. Something to cling on to look forward to.
132km to go: The sports director Mark Renshaw (Decathlon CMA CGM) is asked about the sprint finish today. “It’s difficult,” he says. “We are juggling two objectives, we don’t have a full leadout train here … to time it right, not get caught too far back, but also not be caught on the front: it’s a fine line … everybody knows this finish well. It’s iconic in the Tour de France. The guys have watched 10 videos of the final. We know what’s going to happen.
“I keep my fingers crossed for a nice, clean sprint … and may the best man win.”
136km to go: Alpecin-Premier Tech continue to set the pace, such as it is, at the front of the bunch. The gap is 1min 17sec. Carlton Kirby is off, talking about his upbringing in the Derbyshire Dales. THen Jonathan Harris-Bass says he likes the local wines (Bordeaux not Derbyshire). Although perhaps needless to say, not necessarily the famous ones – the lesser-known varieties are delicious, he says.
138km to go: TNT Sports had a chat with Mads Pedersen earlier and suggested he had a “picnic” with Victor Campanaerts in the early breakaway yesterday.
“It was a tough picnic,” says Pedersen. “It was hard-earned points yesterday.”
Of today, the points classification leader adds:
“It’s important every day to get as many points as possible. Hopefully, I can keep some of my big contenders behind me in the sprints.”
140km to go: The gap is 1min 20sec between the two-man break and peloton.
143km to go: You lucky people, I’ve got more of my photos to share from Bordeaux in 2010. (These two I actually uploaded a year or two ago, on the occasion of another sprint stage ending in the south-western city.)
Here is Cav winning the bunch sprint by miles:
And here is happy Cav chatting to the media:
144km to go: Alpecin-Premier Tech are riding on the front. Happy fans line the roadsides and applaud the peloton as it rumbles past. The gap is 1min 08sec between the peloton and our two-man break: Veistroffer and Otruba.
146km to go: The race is heading through the streets of Mont-de-Marsan. The average pace has picked up a bit, to 44.4km/h.
I can exclusively reveal that I averaged 23km/h on this morning’s bike ride to the office.
147km to go: Jens Voigt, on the TNT Sports motorbike, says it was 29C at the start and about 31C now. “Ten degrees less than it was two days ago,” he says, gratefully.
149km to go: It’s under a minute for the two-man break now. On commentary, Carlton Kirby observes that the directeurs sportifs will be on the radio, telling their men to ease off and make sure they don’t catch the break by mistake … because they want to keep this day nice and easy for now.
151km to go: “I’ve been struggling with the heat,” says Lewis Askey (NSN Cycling Team) on TNT Sports … “The route hasn’t suited me so well this year, and I’ve definitely struggled.”
He said last year’s route, starting in northern France, was more his thing, with short sharp climbs and cooler weather.
“For us, today is going to about staying out of trouble. It won’t be a classic leadout [for Biniam Girmay].”
155km to go: I fancy we’ll see another 70-80km of general ceasefire, then the teams of the green jersey contenders will take it up before the intermediate. Then it’ll be flat out to the finish, including the category-four Côte de Béguey.
157km to go: The Tour’s famous publicity caravan is about to roll through the intermediate sprint, at Landiras, that comes with 54.9km to race.
158km to go: Tom Pidcock is treating himself to a banana. He’s riding alongside Ben Healy … who is also eating a banana! This is remarkable stuff.
159km to go: The gap between the peloton and the two-man break is 1min 15sec. The lads in the bunch are just chilling out. Remco Evenopoel is having a chat with his compatriot Tim Wellens.
160km to go: It’s an extremely unfortunate photo of me. Tommy Voeckler is clearly more used to posing for pics. But there it is: Bordeaux 2010.
Richard Williams wrote the Guardian report that day:
162km to go: OK, who wants to see a pic of me and Tommy Voeckler in Bordeaux, 2010?
163km to go: “In terms of Pog,” emails Jon. “It takes me back to a time when I was at Silverstone in the era where Michael Schumacher was dominant in his Ferrari, and the commentator said that even if you aren’t a fan, embrace what you are seeing because very few people get to see sporting excellence in their lifetime. And I feel the same with Pogacar – granted there is the shadow of doping over the sport but we have to assume he is clean until otherwise proven. What I love about him, is that we all know what he is capable of and what he is going to do – and he still can’t be stopped.
“My issue with yesterday is the Tour route organisers, as if they didn’t think that the GC would effectively be over after five days with a stage like that, then they need to go back to route planning school.”
166km to go: “I can’t help wondering whether what we are seeing now and in previous years with Tadej Pogacar is similar to what cycling fans in the late 60s and into the 70s felt with Eddy Merckx? Kind of: “Will you please stop winning, it’s making following this beautiful sport much less fun.”
“Also, when Mark Cavendish achieved his record-breaking number of TdF stage victories a few years back, when Pogacar went to congratulate him afterwards, I have a vivid memory of the microphone picking up Cav pleading to him: “Please don’t break it” … or words to that effect. As I believe Pogacar now has 23, I still think Cav’s record is in danger.”
167km to go: “I like to watch a race not a procession,” emails Christopher. “Save a disaster for Pogacar the race is over. Even then it would be a Vingegaard procession - just not as big a one (see the Giro, where the outcome was never in doubt). The Tour is at its best in the mountains with closely-fought stages. Unfortunately with Pogacar’s dominance, the race has lost a bit of its interest for me.”
168km to go: The average speed, it says here, is 43km/h. That’s not comically slow for us normal human beings.
171km to go: The two-man breakaway are travelling almost comically slowly. The bunch wants an easy day, at least to start with, and it looks like they are going to get it. Veistroffer peers over at the camera and smiles. I think the peloton is basically stationary at this point. Tom Pidcock waves at the camera and smiles.
172km to go: Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto–Intermarché) is off up the road again. Jakub Otruba (Caja Rural) is with him. They have 30sec already, having been allowed to ease away from the peloton.
Racing on stage seven
A serene start …
There are six stages categorised as “flat” on the official route guide. Stage 21 in Paris may not quite count for the pure sprinters because of the three ascents of the Côte de la Butte Montmartre towards the end … long story short, the sprinters’ teams cannot afford to mess this up today. If a breakaway was allowed to succeed, the atmosphere would be frosty at dinner tonight for those teams.
Here we go then. The riders are out on the road and have another 3.5km or so until the flag drops. We should see a very decent scrap to form the breakaway.
TNT Sports are broadcasting live from the Rapha cafe in central London today. The presenter, Orla Chennaoui, asked the assembled fans if they are enjoying Pogacar’s dominance: the response was mixed. What do you reckon? Mail me.
Have a read of Jeremy Whittle’s stage six report, after one of the most dominant performances we’ve ever seen from Tadej Pogacar:
William Fotheringham
Stage seven, Friday 10 July: Hagetmau to Bordeaux, 175.1km
In the past, Bordeaux was a hugely prestigious stage for the sprinters, on a par with the Champs Élysées; the roll of honour includes Mark Cavendish, Freddy Maertens, Erik Zabel, Rik van Looy and André Darrigade. That history of 82 stage finishes has acquired more meaning since the Paris finale has been jazzed up with the addition of the Montmartre climb: with the Champs no longer a guaranteed bunch gallop, the finish on the banks of the Garonne will be the most prized sprint this year. Philipsen won here in 2023, pipping Cavendish, and he will be odds-on to do it again.
Points classification: top 10 before stage seven
1. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek): 168 points
2. Max Kanter (XDS Astana): 93
3. Biniam Girmay (NSN): 91
4. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech): 86
5. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG): 75
6. Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM Team): 70
7. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike): 61
8. Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step): 55
9. Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG): 54
10. Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek): 53
General classification: top 10 before stage seven
1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), at 2 mins 42secs
3. Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), at 3 mins 27secs
4. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) at 3mins 30secs
5. Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) at 3mins 34secs
6. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) at 3mins 55secs
7. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) at 4mins 00secs
8. Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) at 4mins 21secs
9. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) at 4mins 57ses
10. Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) at 7mins 10secs
The temperature in Bordeaux is forecast to peak at 36C today, although it’ll be hotter than that out on the road.
The neutralised start is scheduled for half an hour’s time: 12.15 BST/13.15 CET.
So, what is the vibe for stage seven, from Hagetmau to Bordeaux? It’s 175.1km trip through some famous wine country, with one categorised climb, the Côte de Béguey, a category-four, cresting after 137.3km. (A massive 84m of climbing there and 850m in total - quite a difference to yesterday’s punishing Pyrenean parcours.)
The intermediate sprint comes a while before that, after 120.2km, at Landiras – which begs the question of how much effort a team like Lidl-Trek will put in trying to control things beforehand so their man Pedersen can go for the 25 points on offer.
And that is basically that. As per usual for a finish in a city, the final looks quite technical, with a few roundabouts to negotiate before a big left-hander to cross a bridge over La Garonne, before a final blast along the river to the finish.
Preamble
You could say this Tour de France was about two questions for most of the peloton: How do we deal with the extreme heat, and how does anyone beat Tadej Pogacar?
The second question was emphatically answered on the Tourmalet yesterday, at least in the sense that no one is capable of remotely threatening the dominant Slovenian in the GC. His astonishingly powerful attack left Jonas Vingegaard, and everyone else, fighting for second place.
If the relentless, seemingly ever-improving Pogacar stays upright and free of injury and illness, a fifth Tour title is nailed on. Vingegaard and co are again left to wonder how he does it, in this modern era of hyper-marginal gains.
That leaves us with other points of interest, perhaps most notably the battle for the green jersey. Today’s flat stage to Bordeaux is a second chance for the pure sprinters: Debutant Olaj Kooij capitalised on a reduced bunch gallop to score a first Tour stage win on stage five, while a resurgent Mads Pedersen sped to victory from the break on stage four in 40C heat.
The sprinters’ teams will be determined to control and set it up for the likes of Jasper Philipsen and Tim Merlier, while Pedersen will doubtless be aiming to further his tilt at the green jersey.
Neutralised start: 1.15pm CET/12.15pm BST
