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Thursday, July 18, 2024

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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia

If I had to live my life again, I'd make the same mistakes, only sooner. - Tallulah Bankhead

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Bill & Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, 2021: The Little Cannibal Dominates is available in both Kindle eBook & 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

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• 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 17 reports

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

Here's the report from stage winner Richard Carapaz's Team EF Education EasyPost:

The Ecuadorian condor soared to the summit of the ski station in Superdévoluy, parting the crowds that had gathered on the mountain’s slopes, before celebrating his country’s first ever Tour de France stage win. With this victory, Richie completes his trilogy of stage wins in all three grand tours.

Richard Carapaz wins stage 17. Sirotti photo

Richie was on a mission today. After wearing the yellow jersey early on in this Tour de France, he and his teammates had attacked and attacked, taking the fight to the peloton every chance they got, but until now they hadn’t got the stage win that they had come for. Today, we were determined to change that.

The peloton raced stage 17 flat out from the start. Attacks flew as soon as the commissaire dropped his flag and kept flying as the peloton sped into the foothills of the Alps. With crosswinds blowing, the pace was relentless. Our team’s job was to keep Richie in contention until the race hit the mountains and every single one of our riders did his part, pulling back moves until Richie broke clear with a great group soon after the intermediate sprint before Gap.

With the Col du Bayard, Col du Noyer, and Superdévoluy still to come, it was time for the Olympic champion to do what he does best: climb.

Richie stayed calm on the Bayard, spinning his legs and catching his breath to recover from the searing efforts he had to put in during the first half of the stage. And then, on the Col du Noyer, he gritted his teeth and took off.

Our Ecuadorian condor soared up to the first attackers and left them in his dust. No one was going to stop Richard Carapaz today.

He flew down the descent and put time into his chasers all the way to the top of Superdévoluy, where he had time to celebrate one of the most spectacular wins of his career.

Congratulations, Richie. Congratulations, team. We’re drinking champagne tonight!

Richard Carapaz:

"This victory means everything! I’ve been trying to get it since the start of the Tour, that was the goal. In the general classification we are very far away, but the hope remained of winning a stage.

"It was a very difficult day, with a lot of attacks, but in the end, a large group formed. I was able to come out at the right time and I managed to get this result which I will remember forever. I really made the most of the moment. I knew the final well having studied it with my sports director.

"I had won stages in the Giro and the Vuelta but the Tour de France is the race with all the best riders in the world. Each team comes with its best set-up and its best squad. The Tour is the best race. I am also happy for all the people who follow me. I'm proud to be here and represent the Americas in the best possible way.

"It was so hard, so, so hard. It was a crazy stage to be honest. I was there in every move. There was a moment where I got caught in the wind, but then I got back and away with a group.

"It was a very big group, which was in our advantage for the win and a good chance for me, because I let them work on the first two climbs. I knew that I was going to be very marked but I got into the group on the descent of the first climb and was the first to get across to Yates who was the one who went for it at the beginning.

"I let him have a couple of meters, and waited and waited and knew that those last two kilometers were super hard and that I could make myself a very big gap there that was big enough to get to the line.

"Today we arrived here with the plan to win a stage and that’s how it went so I am incredibly happy for that."

Rui Costa
"It was an amazing victory for Richard. On the second to last climb, Charly was on the radio, saying, “Richard, enjoy your beautiful moment.” Congrats everyone, teammates, for this victory because it’s super important for us."

Sean Quinn:
"We’re pretty stoked. We heard the news on the top of the second last climb. It’s a big relief for everyone. Super happy for Richie and for everyone in the organization. We’re stoked."

Neilson Powless:
"The whole team was working so hard, seemingly doing everything right, but it just hadn’t gone our way, so I can’t tell you how satisfying it is that Richie was finally able to pull it off. It was an incredibly hard stage. I’m incredibly proud of him and the team.

"The plan was to have Richie in the break. He was the main guy to stick into the break, so every time there was a group and we were not in it, we had to do our best to close it and keep the race open, and that made the race really hard, but it went in our favor in the end."

Jonathan Vaughters, EF ProCycling founder and CEO
" Those guys really blew themselves to pieces to get in there. Once Richard was there, he was by himself because his teammates had basically killed themselves to get him there. We had one card to play and we played an ace.
Obviously, it was a gamble bringing him here, but ultimately you can see the level of natural talent that guy has. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. From the run in he had before the Tour de France, which was the worst run in possible, to winning a hard, hard stage in the third week of the race is just incredible. Obviously I’m full of admiration for the guy, but also I’m just flabbergasted at how talented he is that he can just bring himself round like that and just the way he played today. Tactically, there were multiple times where it was like, oh no, he’s messed it up or he’s hesitated too long or whatever. He was calmer than we were behind and was measuring things just perfectly and bringing things back just when he needed to. He was actually playing the game perfectly which was impressive to watch."

Here's the Tour report from second place Simon Yates' Team Jayco AlUla:

Two-time stage winner Simon Yates produced a ride to be proud of on a rapid and hectic stage 17 of the Tour de France, as he attacked his way to a stunning second place.

The British climber went on the offensive over the penultimate climb of the day, with only Richard Carapaz able to get the best of the former La Vuelta a España champion at the end of a blistering day of racing.

It was a whirlwind first half of the stage as the peloton battled for the breakaway for more than 100km. A sizeable group of more than 40 riders eventually went clear behind an earlier move of four riders, with Team Jayco AlUla well represented in the shape of Chris Juul-Jensen, Luka Mezgec, Michael Matthews and Yates.

However, that group soon reduced in size over the first categorised climb of the day, before Yates made his signature stinging move on the following Col du Noyer. The 31-year-old quickly jumped across to the leaders on the ascent and then went solo, gapping his rivals until Carapaz joined him before the summit.

Simon Yates on his way to finishing second in stage 17. Sirotti photo

As the duo ground their way up the steeper slopes, Carapaz made his own move, with Yates settling into his own rhythm up and over the top of the climb. The Team Jayco AlUla man held the initial gap, but he was unable to close it and crossed the line for a strong second place finish with more opportunities still to come in the final stages.

Simon Yates:
"Another second place stage finish for me.  I did my best, but I was running out of legs in the end. Chapeau to Richie, he did a great ride, but that’s all I could do today in the final.

"I followed Romain Bardet [on the Col du Noyer] at the bottom, I don’t know if he was trying to launch someone else and then I saw I had a gap, so I decided to go full gas. I saw I had the gap and I preferred to be alone rather than someone catch me, so I tried to keep Richie and Stevie Williams away and maybe I paid for that a little bit in the end, but I didn’t really want them to catch me.

"I don’t know what the GC guys want to do in the next mountain stages, but if there’s a chance I’ll try again.”

Mat Hayman (Sport Director):
"Hats off to Simon, he threw everything at today's stage after the boys worked so hard at the start and it just wasn't to be. He came up against Carapaz, who’s on some really top form in the last few days.

"He was so close, he was 10-15 seconds behind at the top of the last climb and just couldn't make that junction. I’m proud of the boys and proud of how they raced and it very close today."

Here's the stage 17 report from fourth-place Laurens De Plus' Team INEOS Grenadiers:

Laurens De Plus climbed to fourth on stage 17 of the Tour de France, after a strong ride in the breakaway from him and Geraint Thomas.

The day was frantic from the gun, with Ben Turner ably positioning the team from the flag drop as crosswinds split up the bunch. While it would eventually come back together, the pace remained high, with G, Michal Kwiatkowski, and De Pluski all attempting to make it into a break.

The peloton were reluctant to let anything go, with a move of four gaining no more than a minute, as the fighting to join them continued behind.

Eventually, and with only around 50 kilometres of the stage remaining, a huge 48-rider move would go clear, including Geraint and Laurens. The group quickly amassed a large lead as the peloton sat up.

Thomas would put in a large amount of work for De Plus, as attacks came on the main climb of the day. Laurens would then draw a group clear as he tried to close down eventual stage winner Richard Carapaz (EF - Education). Despite a spirited effort, De Pluski was unable to do so, and would eventually come home fourth.

Laurens De Plus riding to fourth place in stage 17. Sirotti photo

In the GC group, Carlos Rodriguez would hang tight with those close to him, and maintain his position in the overall standings.

And here's the Tour de France stage 17 report from Jonas Vingegaard's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Team Visma | Lease a Bike showed attacking spirit in the 17th stage of the Tour de France. Tiesj Benoot, Wout van Aert and Christophe Laporte rode in the front groups for a long time. Team leader Jonas Vingegaard had a difficult moment on the penultimate climb, but the defending champion managed to limit the damage compared to his rivals.

Wout van Aert leads the Yellow Jersey Group with Pogacar, Vingegaard and Evenepoel. Sirotti photo

The 17th stage took the peloton from Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux to Superdévoluy. After a run-up over rolling roads, the riders were presented with three more categorised climbs at the end.  

After the start, the classification teams were immediately alert. The strong wind made it possible to form echelons. For a while the peloton broke into pieces, but there were no big separations. Then the long battle for a spot in the breakaway of the day began. Among others, Wout van Aert tried several times to set up a leading group.  

Only at a hundred kilometres from the finish, four riders - including Benoot - managed to break away from the peloton. Behind the four, a large chasing group of 48 riders was formed including Van Aert and Laporte. Benoot and his companions were eventually passed by eventual stage winner Richard Carapaz at the foot of Col du Noyer.  

On that Col du Noyer, the classification riders attacked each other. Towards the top, Tadej Pogacar accelerated. Vingegaard had a difficult moment. Thanks to the help of teammate Laporte, he was able to return. Remco Evenepoel then attacked again on the final climb to Superdévoluy. Vingegaard could again count on his teammates. Both Benoot and Van Aert provided work in the pursuit of the Belgian. The differences between the three podium contenders at the line remained minimal.  

“Today I have to thank my teammates”, Vingegaard responded afterwards. “The guys in the opening hours, but especially Christophe, Wout and Tiesj. They did important work on the final climbs. I feel that I am still getting better. Today was maybe not my best day, but that can happen. If this turned out to be my bad day, then I will be satisfied.” 

Benoot looks back on a spectacular stage. “I believed in the stage win, but I knew it would be difficult when I heard there was such a big group riding behind us. The strongest climbers, including Carapaz, passed us quickly. I'm glad I could still help Jonas in the final. Our plan was to have a few riders in front for when a situation like this would arise. Of course you'd rather win seconds than lose them, but we'll keep going for it in the coming days.”

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