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Wednesday, July 17, 2024

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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia

When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself. - Tecumseh

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Bill and Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, 2019: A Year of New Faces is available in both Kindle eBook and audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Current racing:

• June 29 - July 21: Tour de France

Upcoming racing:

• July 27 - August 11: Olympic cycling

Latest completed racing:

• June 9 - 26: Many National Championships
• June 15 - 18: La Route d'Occitanie Cancelled because security forces busy with Olympics
• June 9 - 16: Tour de Suisse
• June 12 - 16: Baloise Belgium Tour
• June 2 - 9: Critérium du Dauphiné
• June 5 - 9: ZLM Tour
• June 7: GP Canton Aargau
• June 2: Brussels Cycling Classic

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Tour de France stage 16 reports

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

Here's the report from Wout van Aert's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Wout van Aert finished fifth in the sixteenth Tour stage. The 29-year-old Belgian trailed four riders in the bunch sprint in Nîmes. Team leader Jonas Vingegaard and his Team Visma | Lease a Bike teammates reached the finish line unscathed.

The third week of the Tour de France got underway in Gruissan. 189 kilometres later, the sprinters prepared for a final sprint opportunity in Nîmes. It was another long wait for a breakaway attempt. Only Frenchman Thomas Gachignard tried solo, but his attempt was reeled in far from the finish line.

The run-up to the sprint was chaotic. The accumulation of roundabouts in the closing kilometres caused nervousness in the peloton. Van Aert and lead-out Christophe Laporte reached the final kilometre unscathed, but the Belgian had to launch his sprint from too far away.

Jonas Vingegaard before the stage start. Sirotti photo

“I was well placed in Christophe's wheel in the final kilometres, but the roundabouts at the end were tricky”, Van Aert commented afterwards. “With the fight for positions one kilometre from the line, both Christophe and I lost momentum. At that point I was no longer in his wheel either. I started to sprint from far, but I didn't have the legs to have a chance of winning.”

“I didn't feel fantastic in this heat”, he added. “Racing in high temperatures normally suits me, but not today. “The next two stages offer chances for me, but it will be two tough days. In any case, I will keep trying. The most important thing today was that everyone in the team reached the finish line safely.”

Here's the Tour report from young rider classification leader Remco Evenepoel's Team Soudal Quick-Step:

Remco Evenepoel took to the podium at the end of stage 16 to receive his 15th consecutive white jersey, after safely concluding what was the last flat stage of this edition. Running from Gruissan to Nimes – the former Roman town which two thousand years ago had an important role on the Via Domitia that connected Italy with Hispania – this 188.6km trek saw a nervous peloton in the first hour of racing.

The reason for that was an echelon alert that kept the riders on their toes for around 50 kilometers, but as soon as they realised nothing was going to happen, the bunch relaxed and a one-man breakaway put two minutes into them. The chasers easily brought the day’s lone attacker back with more than 15 kilometers to go before preparing for the mass gallop, a hectic one, won by Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck).

Remco Evenepoel remains in white. Sirotti photo

The GC men should now return into the spotlight on Wednesday, where an uphill finish awaits at the end of the stage taking place between Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux and Superdévoluy. Third in the overall standings after a string of strong results in the high mountains, Evenepoel will start it with a solid gap in the youth classification.

“The peloton was a bit nervous today in the beginning, because of the crosswinds threat and a lot of road furniture, but I stayed out of trouble thanks to the great job of my teammates. Some big mountains will come in the next days, but I hope to keep my level and continue to give my best”, Remco said in Nimes.

Here's the stage 16 report from Team dsm-firmenich PostNL:

The final week of racing at the Tour de France got underway with what on paper was deemed the last likely sprint opportunity of the race. As a result, the peloton approached the day in a more conservative manner and although there was a potential threat of crosswinds, nothing ever materialised and the stage was destined to come down to a fast finish; despite Gachignard’s solo breakaway efforts.

Heading into the final 20 kilometres, which were littered with roundabouts, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL came to the front early to ensure they stayed out of danger and could use the climbing group to position Nils Eekhoff and John Degenkolb for the finale. Working well as a unit the team were to the fore as the kilometres ticked by but heading into the final five kilometres the pace really ramped up. Eekhoff looked after Degenkolb for as long as possible but in the twisting and chaotic finale the proverbial “washing machine effect” was on full display in the bunch as lead-out after lead-out came and went from the head of the peloton. Despite his best efforts to move up under the flamme rouge, Degenkolb couldn’t make it back to the front to compete for a result come the finish.

Degenkolb expressed: “We really committed to be in the front early enough to use the full strength of the team. It was super nice. In the last 15 kilometres I think we had something like 20 roundabouts. Until around three kilometres to go we were always in charge of the situation and that kept us out of trouble. When Nils and I were alone in the last three kilometres, it was very difficult in the technical part to stay far enough in front. After such a hard two weeks of racing, I just didn’t have it in the legs to make it back to the front anymore to go for it in the sprint.”

Jasper Philipsen wins the stage. Sirotti photo

Team dsm-firmenich PostNL coach Matt Winston added: “I think the guys did a super job actually. When we only have the four climbing guys to support Nils and John before the deep finale, they did a really good job. It’s good for them to work like that, they talked to each other, took a good side of the road and we saw they took initiative to push it into the roundabouts in a really good way. We were just a bit shorthanded there in the final. John and Nils surfed the best they could but it was really hard for them to stay together. When we came into the last kilometre the peloton was so strung out that the guys were fully on the limit and you pretty much stayed where you were.”

And here's the Tour de France stage 16 report from Team Groupama-FDJ:

The Tour de France entered its last week this Tuesday, heading towards Nîmes. In stage 16, the expected bunch sprint did take place. Jasper Philipsen claimed his third win while the Groupama-FDJ cycling team finished safely and was already thinking about the next two stages.

As it took on the final week of the Tour following the second rest day, the riders did not have to struggle on Tuesday in the south of France. Although Stefan Küng tested the bunch’s intentions from kilometre 0, ultimately no one wanted to engage in an attacking attempt on a 188-kilometer, flat stage made for the sprinters. The peloton therefore remained as one and rode at a quite easy pace until the intermediate sprint, after which Thomas Gachignard decided to make a solo breakaway. The Frenchman was obviously caught, twenty-five kilometres from the finish, while nervousness was only beginning to appear in the pack. “We expected a livelier stage, particularly because of the wind in this region,” said Benoît Vaugrenard. “In the end, it was much calmer than expected, and there was much less wind than expected in the final. It was a real transition day. Yet another one.”

Early in the stage, the riders race along the beach. ASO photo

The last, also, since the sprinters shouldn’t have any chance in the remaining days of racing. On Tuesday, Jasper Philipsen won the last battle at high speed. Clément Russo got involved in the mix again and slipped into sixteenth position. The rest of the Groupama-FDJ cycling team joined the finish safely while the real goals are now looming. “Tomorrow and Thursday, we’ve got nice stages where the breakaway can make it,” added Benoît. “We will give everything to put as many riders as possible in front. Tomorrow, the last thirty kilometres are really hard, so we will also have to put good climbers at the front. It’s up to us to make sure that happens.” The Col Bayard (7km at 7%) and the Col du Noyer (7.6 km at 8%) will be on the menu before the final towards Superdévoluy (4km at 5.7%).

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