Stage 10

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Stage 10

Day 11 Bordeaux - Dax 170 km

Analysis

First, sorry about the mess up on using the wrong page for the coach's analysis.

They let three riders go very early for a control break to stop any attacking action. The sprinter teams took control at about mid stage and managed to catch the break with only a few kilometers remaining. Freire took the win from McEwen by just a few centimeters. The break was just a little too small and weak to stay away but, if it had been larger with stronger riders, the sprinter groups would not have permitted them to gain as much time.

It was interesting to see that O'Grady attacked with about 1,800 meters to go which shows that his injury may not be as bad as we previously thought even though he has not been involved in any sprints since his injury until today. Tomorrow we should find out how bad his injury really is because the stage has an HC and a cat 1 climb towards the mid and end of the stage.

It is interesting that the middle to back of the pack broke up too early catching a number of top placed riders behind gaps causing them to loose about 15 seconds and changing the top placings a little. The top 18 riders are close enough and the time loss was insignificant enough that the changes won't matter to much for now.

Other than that, there was no real change in any positioning for any title. Tomorrow we will see who can climb and who can't.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow's stage is the first mountain stage. It is 190.5 km with three KOM primes as follows: cat 3 @ 50 km, HC @ 101.5 km, and cat 1 @ 148 km. The climbing is enough that you should see a significant change on GC for those who can't climb well. This sorting on GC will open some eyes and tell us what strategies will be used by at least some of the teams.

Also, you will see the top GC riders begin to emerge taking large numbers of points with tougher climbs and the current leaders in the KOM Title will begin to drop from the top five unless they can climb very well.

The stage is designed more for riders who wish to contend for the KOM Title than for the Yellow Jersey or White Jersey. That is why I designate it a KOM mountain stage. The following day will be the first GC mountain stage.

Watch to see which top placed riders on GC try to gain points on the KOM primes or get into the controlling/KOM break early in the stage. This will tell you where the riders wish to expend their energy, whether for the KOM or GC titles. We should find out what riders like Hincapie and Savoldelli are racing for.

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