The third and last week stays in the Alps – that we already reached on Sunday, except for the last day which suddenly 'jumps' to Paris.
Standings after week 2
General Classification:
Unless he undergoes an accident, the race is already won for the Slovenian rider. The battle for podium is however still open, after the unfortunate withdrawal of Vingegaard🇩🇰. The top-10 didn't change much, but it 'stretched', and Pidcock and Jegat entered it.
- Tadej Pogatchar 🇸🇮 UAE
- Remco Evenepoel 🇧🇪 Bora: +5′00″
- Isaac Del Toro 🇲🇽 UAE +5′58″
- Paul Seixas 🇫🇷 Decathlon: +6′23″
- Florian Lipowitz 🇩🇪 Bora: +6′48″
- Juan Ayuso 🇪🇸 Lidl-Trek: +7′28″
- Mattias Skjelmose 🇩🇰 Lidl-Trek: +9′38″
- Lenny Martinez 🇫🇷 Bahrain: +10′28″
- Thomas Pidcock 🇬🇧 Q36.5: +11′19″
- Jordan Jegat 🇫🇷 Total : +19′12″
5 other riders follow close to Jegat, at less than 25 minutes, and can thus hope to enter top-10: Voisard🇨ðŸ‡, Carapaz🇪🇨, Van Wilder🇧🇪, A. Yates🇬🇧, and Piganzoli🇮🇹 (Visma) who will have to make up for Vingegaard's withdrawal. The rest is farther than 40 minutes.
Points classification (Green jersey):
Merlier🇧🇪, who was in 4^th^ position, couldn't finish the race in time on Sunday and withdrew. Philipsen did the best 2^nd^ week.
- Mads Pedersen 🇩🇰 Lidl-Trek: 417 pts (+149)
- jasper Philipsen 🇧🇪 Alpecin: 191 (+195)
- Biniam Girmay 🇪🇷 NSN: 361 (+138)
- Max Kanter 🇩🇪 Astana: 271 (+99)
- Olav Kooij 🇳🇱 Decathlon 210 (+100)
Mountain (Polka Dots jersey)
Those who try to fight for points cannot seem to be able to beat Pogatchar who doesn't, and other GC guys aren't far either. Martinez didn't go for points this week, and Baudin disappeared.
- Tadej Pogatchar 🇸🇮 UAE: 67 pts (+39)
- Valentin Paret-Peintre 🇫🇷 Soudal-QS: 45 (+33)
- Richard Carapaz 🇪🇨 EF: 39 (+38)
- Paul Seixas 🇫🇷 Decathlon: 34 (+22)
- Remco Evenepoel 🇧🇪 Bora: 31 (+26)
- Isaac Del Toro 🇲🇽 UAE: 30 (+20)
Stages
Stage 16, Tuesday 21
26 km, D+ 500 m, Individual Time Trial
This ITT presents an unusual profile, with an horrible 4,5% strongly uphill false-flat right from the start which lasts for 10 km (!), then a steeper descent and only finally a flat section.
Press to see the map
Stage 17, Wednesday 22
175 km D+ 2400 m
This stage will probably be disputed between a breakaway which could leave in the small/medium climbs of the first 60 km, and sprinter teams. Perhaps Pedersen will attempt to go into the breakaway.
Press to see the map and the finish profile
Stage 18, Thursday 23
186 km, D+ 3900 m
Many climbs, long and short, but never too steep. There is a finish on top, but it might still be good for breakaways if GC guys wait for the 2 harder stages which follow.
NB: the way the profile is drawn makes it look almost flat, but there is almost 4000 m of total elevation to climb, it is really a medium mountain stage.
Press to see the map
Stage 19, Friday 24
128 km, D+ 3600 m
The first Alpe d'Huez stage presents climbs in the beginning and in the end, with smaller and smoother hills in the centre part. It is short. A breakaway might succeed if Pogatchar doesn't want the stage (who else would ride for it after the withdrawals of Vingegaard and Lipowitz?).
Press to see the map and the profiles of Noyer Pass and Alpe d'Huez.
Stage 20, Saturday 25
171 km, D+ 5600 m
Another finish at the Alpe d'Huez after 3 Hors-Catégorie climbs for the main and last mountain stage. As the stage also starts from the bottom of the Alpe d'Huez, I fear about the crowd being too important, as it will also be compacted on this reduced version of the climb, and those risks come on top of the race staying 2 days in the same place and this stage being on a week-end.
Stage 21 (final), Sunday 26
133 km, D+ 1600 m
Last year's experiment is renewed: 4 laps of Champs-Élysées only (7 km) and then 3 longer (16 km) laps including the climb to Montmartre and its somewhat scary downhill. The finish is located a bit farther from the last top: 11 km instead of 6, which may cause more regrouping and favour punchers a little bit less.
Special regulations: if the streets are deemed slippery, times shall be taken on the 1^st^ crossing of the finish line, or any later crossing of the line. Riders must complete the full distance in any case. Only one car per team is allowed on the circuits.
Stage 18, Thursday 23
No clear breakaway managed to form before the top of the first climb, where V. Paret-Peintre (🇫🇷 Soudal-QS) and Carapaz (🇪🇨 EF) jumped off the peloton to catch and overtake the small new breakaway which already held 2 EF riders. They passed the summit in that order, and their attack brought the peloton back at the front, with Pedersen (🇩🇰 Lidl-Trek) passing this (admittedly overrated) 1^st^ category in ^5th^ position. He doesn't look tired!
Pedersen🇩🇰 managed to get in a breakaway soon after that, and while there were a lot of reconfigurations within breakaways along the stage, succeeded in reaching the Intermediate Sprint ahead today!
One more time, V. Paret-Peintre🇫🇷 won all GPMs before Carapaz🇪🇨 except the final one, even though he was in the final group of 6. This pair previously had to jump from a breakaway to another at some point in order to be able to pass first in climbs. In the end, this effort must have stayed in the French skeleton's legs, but Carapaz🇪🇨 flew in the final climb, after a long period during which the 6 riders were looking at each other. Well, 5 riders, as R. Garcia P. (🇪🇸 Movistar) was struggling to remain with/near the group.
On a very different type of finish, Schmid (🇨🇠Jayco) beats Jorgenson (🇺🇸 Visma) for 2^nd^ place. Jorgenson has no sprint at all, and Schmid🇨🇠made 2^nd^ yesterday already, amidst real sprinters; so, there wasn't much of a chance of a different result 😄
The only survivor from the other breakaways, which included a large number of riders, was another Movistar (Castrillo🇪🇸) who barely managed to stay a few seconds ahead of the peloton. The two Movistar riders finishing 6^th^ and 7^th^ bring 100 UCI points to their team.
The peloton did nothing at all.
When the gap with the breakaway went over 8 minutes, Total and Q36.5 started pulling, because Carapaz🇪🇨 was getting a bit too close to Jegat🇫🇷 and Pidcock🇬🇧 (and of course, it was Carapaz, not a sprinter who would have died in the final climb but a climber more or less as good as they are).
No one tried anything at any time, despite seeing how UAE was losing men.
The final climb was a long procession. The peloton was reduced to barely more than top leaders, yet nobody tried anything at any point, not even in the last mile or half-mile.
In spite of the presence of Ze Elect (🇫🇷 Decathlon) on the race, we are getting closer to witnessing a Tour de France without a single French🇫🇷 stage victory.
It would be the first one since '99, I reckon. And in '99, they had an excuse, as all hadn't removed the handcuffs they got in '98 🤣
Before that, the only time it happened is exactly one century ago, in 1926... 😱
What a move my Richie! Very happy to see EF on the board before the end of the tour.
Meanwhile things are looking a little more difficult for UAE as a virus tears through their team. They ruled the peloton with an iron fist in the first few stages, but its going to be harder and harder with guys dropping out or being sick.