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Saturday, July 16, 2022

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2021 Tour de France | 2022 Giro d'Italia

I believe in practicing prudence at least once every two or three years. - Molly Ivins

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Bill & Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, Vol 1: 1903 - 1975 is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Current racing:

• July 1 - July 24: Tour de France

Upcoming racing:

• July 2 - 6: Tour of Austria Cancelled
• July 23 - 27: Tour de Wallonie
  

Latest completed racing:

• Late June: National Championships week
• June 22: Halle Ingooigem Cancelled
• June 12 - 19: Tour de Suisse
• June 15 - 19: Tour of Belgium
• June 16 - 19: La Route d'Occitanie
• June 5 - 12: Critérium du Dauphiné

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Tour de France stage thirteen reports

We posted the race organizer's report with the results.

Here's the report from stage winner Mads Pedersen's Team Trek-Segafredo:

Mads Pedersen can add a Tour de France stage to his palmares. The former World Champion had to wait well past his target goal, the Grand Depart in Denmark, to find victory and it happened in Stage 13 – a hot and hilly day that went to the breakaway – as he sprinted to a huge win for Trek-Segafredo.

Mads Pedersen gets his Tour de France stage win. Siortti photo

“It’s incredible to finally take a win. I knew the shape was pretty good but it the last two weeks there were not a lot of chances for a guy like me, so to take the chance today and get rewarded… It’s really nice, not only for me, for the whole team,” said Pedersen. “I don’t think I have realized yet what I have done. It’s a nice milestone and I am happy with this but of course I want more. I hope this is just the beginning.

“It was about finding the good legs again. Denmark didn’t go 100% as planned, I was not disappointed with 6th in the time trial and then 3rd the next day, so it was not that bad, but of course we came for more.

“And when half the team was sick and so on, it was a bit of a gamble the last few days, and today it paid off for the whole team. We came here with the whole team only looking for stages and now we have one. It’s a big relief for everyone.”

How it happened:
Pedersen weathered almost 10 days and back-to-back grueling mountain stages to get to his race, a hilly Stage 13 that could go the way of a breakaway or to the sprinters depending on what unfolded during the 192 kilometers.

When Mads Pedersen and Quinn Simmons joined the breakaway with five other strong riders there was little doubt that it was going to be touch and go.

“If it was more than four guys then I should be in the break because we didn’t know how the other teams would ride the last climb with 45 kilometers to go. And for a long time I thought it was a mistake to be in the break when we only had two minutes.” - Mads Pedersen

The gap hovered between 90 seconds and two minutes for most of the stage, increasing to a maximum 3 minutes and 30 seconds after the Côte de Saint-Romain-en-Gal with 45 kilometers to go.

Simmons put in a massive effort to keep the breakaway ahead before he lost contact on the climb, leaving Pedersen to work with his breakaway companions, all five motivated, and all capable in bringing the group to the finish.

While Lotto Soudal and a few other teams kept the break on a short lead for a big part of the race, it was Team BikeExchange that came to the front with determination in the last 43 kilometers. But they were dealing with five strong men out front, each one seeking his first Tour win.

At 15 kilometers from the end, the gap stood at 2 minutes and 18 seconds.  Advantage: breakaway.

A few kilometers later, BikeExchange waved the white towel. The breakaway had the green light and the gap ballooned. And, on paper, if it came to a sprint, Mads, was the man.

But Pedersen didn’t wait.

“With 10k to go I didn’t want to be at the finish with six riders as it would be too many guys to control. So I tried to attack and luckily it split up the break and we were only three guys and that made it a lot easier to control for me. From 10 to 5k, I just wanted to make the gap as big as possible so that we had time to slow down and gamble a bit in the last few hundred meters.” - Mads Pedersen

Mads’ attack split the group. Hugo Houle (Israel Premier Tech) and Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) went with the Trek-Segafredo rider, while the seemingly bigger threats, Filippo Ganna (Ineos) and Stefan Kung (Groupama FDJ) could not react.

The race was now down to three. The odds had increased immensely for Pedersen.

“It was a big relief to get rid of Ganna and Kung on the last climb – they were the last two guys I wanted to bring in in the last kilometers because when they go it can be really hard to catch them,” said Pedersen.

Houle and Wright tried a few digs in the final kilometers, but Pedersen responded easily. And in the three-up sprint there was no contest – Mads jumped and opened up a few bike lengths. He even had time to look back before he threw his arms in the air.

A colossal win. His first Tour de France victory.

“It didn’t happen in Denmark and after that it was only looking forward and especially today it was the big option. Jasper (Stuyven) would have gotten a tattoo of a donkey it I had won the yellow jersey in Copenhagen. But it didn’t happen, he was lucky this time. Maybe we should have made a new bet,” smiled Pedersen.

Here's the report from GC leader Jonas Vingegaard's Team Jumbo-Visma:

Team Jumbo-Visma has come through the thirteenth stage of the Tour de France well. A group of escapees battled for the day's victory. Jonas Vingegaard enjoyed a new day in the yellow jersey and Wout van Aert extended his lead in the points classification.

Jonas Vingegaard gets another day in yellow. Sirotti photo

Some teams tried to catch the escapees in time, but the peloton stopped chasing the escapees fifteen kilometres from the finish.

"There were strong riders in the breakaway. We did not need to reel them in. The conditions were again heavy. We were able to save some energy in the heat. Overall, we are satisfied with today's day”, Vingegaard said.

The classification leader looked ahead to tomorrow's stage. "I'm happy to be able to put on the yellow jersey again. The final of tomorrow's stage will not be easy. Our competitors might try something. Together with the team, we will defend the yellow jersey."

"I had expected this scenario”, Van Aert indicated. "As a team, we are okay with the fact that the day’s victory goes to an escapee. It was a hot day, but we stayed out of trouble. I have gathered some extra points for the green jersey. As soon as there is a possibility, I will go for it. It would be very nice if I could finish in this jersey in Paris. But we aren’t there yet, so I will try to collect points where possible."

Sports director Grischa Niermann saw that Team Jumbo-Visma was not forced to take the initiative. "The sprinters' teams took on that task today. It was a hot day and the pace was high, so it was certainly not an easy day. However, we came through the day relatively easily. With the yellow and green jersey in the team, we cannot hide in the belly of the peloton. We have to be alert all the time. Our riders are in great shape, which is essential to reach our goals. We look forward to tomorrow."

Here's the report from Filippo Ganna's Team INEOS Grenadiers:

Filippo Ganna battled hard in the breakaway on stage 13 of the Tour de France, coming home sixth on a rapid day of racing.

Filippo Ganna finishes sixth in stage thirteen. Sirotti photo

The Italian showed great legs and horsepower to force his way into the move on the day’s opening climb. Despite a spirited chase from the peloton behind, Ganna was up the road and able to solidify himself within the group.

After a nip and tuck battle with the peloton, the tug of war eventually went the way of the six-man breakaway. With 12.5 kilometres to go, Mads Pedersen (Trek Segafredo) launched a stinging attack to split the group. Ganna was unable to follow the initial acceleration, and despite pegging the gap to the lead trio, he eventually came home in sixth. Pedersen won the three-up sprint in Saint-Etienne.

Back in the peloton GC trio Geraint Thomas, Adam Yates and Tom Pidcock all finished safely to maintain their top-10 positions. The Grenadiers remain third, fifth and eighth respectively.

Fourth-place Stefan Küng’s Team Groupama-FDJ posted this stage report:

The Tour de France left the Alps on Friday to join Saint-Etienne, but this stage 13 was far from being a transition day. After a tough battle, Stefan Küng managed to make a gap at the start in order to take the lead and get into the right breakaway. Although he fought hard to stay away from the bunch with his companions up front, he was unfortunately unable to follow the decisive move with twelve kilometres to go. On the line, he then had to settle for fourth place, thirty seconds behind winner Mads Pedersen.

Matteo Jorgenson (left) and Stefan Küng finish stage 13. Sirotti photo

From Bourg d’Oisans to Saint-Etienne, the fight was set to be furious under particularly hot temperatures this Thursday. Stage 13’s intermediate profile had everything to create a lively race. “This morning, we were thinking that the breakaway could make it”, said Philippe Mauduit. “We knew it wouldn’t be easy as all the sprinters’ teams were going to pull today since it was one of their few remaining chances. Several guys could try to join the break, and Stefan was one of them”. As expected, the battle was fierce in the first, downhill kilometres. The decision was therefore made in the first climb, after thirty kilometres, and it just came down to legs. Stefan Küng was up there, together with Filippo Ganna and Matteo Jorgenson. “I’ve been struggling a bit on this Tour de France for twelve days,” he said. “I caught Covid just after the Tour de Suisse, and I haven’t got back my best legs since then. Today however, I was going well at the start of the stage, so I told myself: let’s go for it”.

“He put on a real performance to create the breakaway,” said Philippe. The trio managed to take a twenty-second lead as various counterattacks followed one another in the bunch. The two time trial specialists and the young American, however, stayed the course, and only four men eventually joined them after almost fifty kilometres of racing: Quinn Simmons, Mads Pedersen, Hugo Houle and Fred Wright.

However, the intensity did not decrease since various teams immediately wanted to keep the breakaway at just two minutes. Quite a power struggle established over the entire stage between the two groups. Shortly after halfway, the leading group increased the pace again, and the peloton let it go a first time while entering the last hour of racing. BikeExchange-Jayco then tried to take over, but it was too late. The fugitives therefore tackled the last slightly uphill section into Saint-Etienne knowing they would fight for victory.

The fight actually resumed twelve kilometres from the line, on the last slopes of the day, and Mads Pedersen managed to break away with Fred Wright and Hugo Houle. Stefan Küng was forced to let them go. “We were three in the front for a long time, and these three were dropped at the end”, pointed out Stefan. “We spent a lot of energy, and since I’m not at 100% yet, it wasn’t enough to get the win. Just before Pedersen’s attack, Frédéric Guesdon told me to be attentive. I tried to follow him, but he had super legs, and I came too short. I couldn’t catch back the wheels”.

Two trios formed in the final, and the first one cooperated well enough to prevent the second one from returning. Mads Pedersen claimed victory as Stefan Küng outsprinted Matteo Jorgenson and Filippo Ganna for fourth. “This is still a great performance for Stefan”, said Philippe Mauduit. “We also witnessed a great team around David in the back, like usual. When there are opportunities, we must try to seize them because there are not many in the Tour de France. There was one today. We will see for the upcoming days”.

On Friday, David Gaudu finished in the bunch and retained his seventh place overall. “It was a transition stage on paper, but we always knew that many riders wanted to upset the sprinters’ plans, and they succeeded”, said the man from Brittany. “My goal was to hang on as much as possible without spending too much energy. It was still a very hard stage, and it will leave its mark”. On Saturday, the riders will head towards Mende with a top-finish on the famous Côte de la Croix-Neuve (2.9 km at 10.5%). “The last time, in 2018, there was some damage between the GC favourites”, said David. “I already know that Pogacar will attack from the bottom to try to gain back some time. We’ll need to be mentally ready for the start and the final fight”.

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