Stage 11

T
D
F

2
0
0
6

Back to Main Tour Index
Go to coachcarl.com Home Page

Stage 11

Day 12 Cambo les Bains - Pau 193 km

Analysis

Today was a KOM mountain stage because it was ridden aggressively by those seeking to win the KOM Title. It did result in changes on GC but those changes will be reversed in the coming GC stages. The riders who were on a long break today and gained significant time will lose most of that time tomorrow and you will see a sorting for true GC. Tomorrow will be the first GC mountain stage.

The riders knew that today's stage would probably be won by a break since there wouldn't be any sprinter teams chasing hard at the end. Because of this, there were a number of very large break packs that were brought back in until the final break went. I noticed a number of things in these break attempts. First, O'Grady made a number of attempts to make a break and finally made the winning break but was dropped on the first HC climb. Second, TMO tried to get a number of riders in a break so they wouldn't have to chase for the day but certain other teams refused to permit TMO to have anyone in the control break forcing the smaller TMO team to chase all day. That was very significant. Third, Bennati made the control break, picked up road prime points, and he and Zabel won the pack sprint at the end. Keep an eye on Bennati because he can climb and sprint. He has the potential of winning the Points Title. Fourth, DSC tried to get Martinez into the break for either a stage win or the KOM Title.

Dessel and Mercado won the stage with enough of a lead to take the first two spots on GC but I expect them to both lose time in tomorrow's stage, the other GC mountain stages, and the time trial. The top race favorites are still pretty close to each other.

I did noticed that Honchar and Fothen struggled but maintained contact with the peloton until the end of the stage. That is very important.

There was shifting on the GC which I won't worry about because it will reverse with time, Bennati and Zabel gained ground on the top three in the Points Title, and the first four places for KOM changed and is probably the most significant change in this stage.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the first GC mountain stage but is about the third or fourth most significant mountain GC stage strategically for this Tour. It is about 206.5 km with an HC climb @ 75 km, cat 1 climb @ 105, cat 1 climb @ 136, cat 1 @ 161, and cat 1 at the finish. This is a long stage with a lot of long climbing that will break legs by the end and sort out the GC riders from most of the rest.

Note that there are only two road primes and one is at 17.5 km and before the first significant climb. It is very likely that sprinter packs will try to keep in the breaks until after this prime.

Expect more large breaks until the final break gets away. It is very likely that the stage will be won by a break or its remnant. Expect other riders to try and get in on the KOM Title race with riders who didn't make it today. The GC teams should make some kind of move on the last two climbs that will sort things out quite a bit. Watch for Rassmussen to go on break tomorrow.

It will be interesting to see if Bennati and Zabel can get more points tomorrow. O'Grady seemed to do well so it looks like his problem with his back may not be as bad as the reports made it look.

Tomorrow should be a fun and interesting stage that will start to answer some questions. Watch for the GC riders to start sorting towards the top on GC.

Back to Main Tour Index

Top of Page