Stage 7
July 12 Forges-les-Eaux - Alencon 199.5 km
The stage went pretty much as I expected. The attacking got pretty
furious just before the first sprint with sprinters, climbers, and
other title contenders looking to take advantage of the sprint and
two climbs so close together to get off the front. At one point just
before the first sprint, there were 18 riders up the road. The
riders were the ones I expected with Mengin, Halgand, and Durand
getting off at least once. Then USPS did its job against ONCE by
getting Hincapie in at least one break to force the chase for GC.
After the first road sprint, Telekom got involved in chasing breaks
and the announcer seemed to miss why. If you had been keeping an eye
on those cheat sheets I told you to keep by your side, you would
have seen that McEwen took the lead for the Points Title in the
first road sprint. Zabel had 113 points when the stage started and
McEwen had 111 points. In the first sprint, McEwen won the sprint
taking 6 points for a total of 117 points and Zabel got third
getting only 2 points for a total of 115 points. Zabel lost the lead
on the road for the Points Title so Telekom wanted to make sure
there was a sprint so Zabel could win enough points to wear the
Green Jersey tomorrow. Did you miss that action? Keep those cheat
sheets by your side.
Finally, Durand and four others got off. When it started to rain, I
knew they would let the break get up the road a little because they
wanted to stop the attacking during the rain. If the break was up
the road, it would prevent more attacking and control the pack. A
break is almost always used by at least one team as a control for
the peloton. Don't forget that.
Did you notice ONCE and Lotto make the deal in the peloton to keep
the break in check? Lotto agreed to help with the chase early if
ONCE would help pull it back in later. This saved legs in both
groups by sharing the work load.
Did you see ONCE and USPS (probably others) start yelling when two
riders attacked while Galdeano was taking a whiz? There are
protocols you must abide by in road racing or you can pay a price.
Forget the cloak and dagger crap you read about in the cycling
magazines.
Did you notice Durand's attack just before the break was caught?
Even the pro's can be confused by catching a break and miss a late
attack from a break long enough for the rider to open ground. Some
times it works and some times it doesn't. It didn't this time but
got Durand a few extra points for aggressive riding increasing his
lead for the Combativity Title. There is at least one reason for
everything. Use your head.
You have to understand the strategies which develop for the
Combativity Title. You don't have to win a sprint or stage to get
points for the title. You just ride aggressively. That means a lot
of attacking and staying out on break for long periods of time. The
more aggressively you ride, the more points you earn. It really
keeps the race hopping.
Because of almost every one finishing in the peloton, there were no
changes in Individual GC, Team GC, or the White Jersey. One of the
most important things is that one rider (Verbrugghe) didn't start
the race because of a crash yesterday and one rider dropped out.
There are now four riders out of the race with four teams down one
rider or one pair of legs weaker. The attrition has begun and will
become increasingly important. We will miss Verbrugghe's aggressive
riding.
The big changes came in Points Title, KOM Title, and Combativity
along with Zabel getting another stage win. In the Points Title,
Zabel increased his lead, Freire moved from sixth to third dropping
Cooke to fourth, and O'Grady moved ahead of Kirsipuu for fifth
dropping Kirsipuu to sixth.
In KOM, Mengin extended his lead with his aggressive riding and team
support for the two climbs while Durand extended his lead for the
Combativity Title with his break and aggressive riding.
Tomorrow
The Bagnoles De L'Orne/Avranches stage is 176 km with considerably
more hills. The sprints are at 29.5, 64, and 107 kms. The two cat 4
climbs are at 57 and 154 km. These two climbs are a little steeper
than most cat 4 climbs with the first climb being at 6.1% and the
second one being at 6.5%. The first climb is early enough and steep
enough to warrant a significant break attempt. Regardless of whether
there is a break off, look for attacking on the second climb with it
being 6.5% and only 22 km from the finish.
This is a good break away stage and there should be a lot of action
tomorrow. Watch for Mengin and his FDJ team to work to extend his
KOM lead while his competition try to take it away from him.
Durand's break today wasn't unusually long so he might try to get in
another one tomorrow. Watch for his competition to make a charge up
the road to gain points. The sprinter teams are also evolving their
own battle. The road sprints are being seen as more important and
will probably change some team strategies for the Points Title.
With the course being so hilly, watch for a rider to try to change
one of the GC titles with a long break. This should be a fun stage.
