3 hours ago
14
Key events
78km to go: Hundreds of fans line the narrow climb, the Côte de Domme. Looks like a great atmosphere, as stated by Dan earlier, who is at the roadside and sent a pic. Slock wins the race to the top and takes a KOM point.
80km to go: The word ‘smorgasbord’ did enter my mind earlier, when contemplating the amount of sport that’s on today.
Anyway, an interview with Mads Pedersen now, the points classification leader. How do you win the green jersey?
“Having the most amount of points when you reach Paris,” he deadpans in reply. “It’s the same as it was in the past … a different scoring system but it’s all about having the most points.”
Is it about getting in breaks, winning intermediates, and/or stage wins?
“I think you can do both,” Pedersen says. “It’s definitely being in breaks, then minimising the losses on stages like yesterday and today. It could also be a pure sprinter [that wins green] … but it looks like now, there are so many good sprinters, they will share the winning – that’s ideal for a guy like me who wants to win the green jersey.”
Emma John
Start practising those excuses. For England fans, this Saturday is one of those that demands serious thought, by which I mean how to wheedle out of prior engagements and family obligations. No fewer than four of the national teams are in action, and to catch all the matches will require time, dedication and some nifty work with a TV recorder. How else can you expect to navigate the problem of the rugby team’s Fiji fixture kicking off only 20 minutes before the men’s T20 against India?
With some judicious content-stacking and spoiler-avoiding, however, a fan with the right subscriptions can expect to enjoy 13 uninterrupted hours on the sofa – starting with the morning session of the women’s Test and climaxing with a late-night footballing knockout against Norway. Nor is England the only game in town: there are three other home nations rugby matches to be watched, a Wimbledon women’s singles final, and the Tour de France.
82km to go: The Château de Montfort is on my telly. Very lovely it is too.
Who fancies the solitary KOM point, of the three breakaway riders?
86km to go: The three-man break, with a two-minute advantage on the chasing bunch, is approaching the first climbette of the day: the category-four Côte de Domme.
90km to go: 1min 37sec the gap. Plenty of happy fans at the roadside as the sun continues to beat down. Mathieu van der Poel is working on the front of the bunch, and having a chat with (I think) Pascal Eenkhorn of Soudal-Quick Step.
95km to go: The average speed is 43.1km/h, which is serene by the standards of the modern Tour de France. The gap is 1min 36sec.
There’s a ridiculous amount of sport on today: this is all the live stuff we’ve got going on right now, aside from the majesty of the Tour de France.
Rugby:
Cricket:
Cricket part deux:
Horse racing:
World Cup:
97km to go: The Frenchman Godon, of Netcompany-Ineos, was just goading a few Belgian companions in the peloton over last night’s World Cup result:
The gap is 1min 22sec.
100km to go: The gap is 1min 32sec.
On the telly, they just showed Uno X-Mobility doing the Viking row before the stage start earlier, in anticipation of Norway v England later.
You can see all the World Cup quarter-final buildup here:
105km to go: Under 30km to ride until the first climb of the day, the Cote de Domme. It’s 3.7km in length, with an altitude of 216m, and an average gradient of 3.3%.
108km to go: “Everything’s calculated way too much now,” Blythe says of modern bike racing, referring specifically to how much leeway the breakaway is being given.
“There used to be a chance to have a chat to your friends before you started racing … now, sadly, it’s serious racing from the gun, off you go, 280watts all day.”
I spoke to a former pro rider about this issue a few years back, and he pointed at Team Sky as the reason that bike racing has changed beyond all recognition from the olden days.
112km to go: Slock has an issue and briefly drops away from his two breakaway companions. He bridges back on.
On commentary, Adam Blythe is fantasising about having really strong riders – for instance Filippo Ganna – in the breakaway.
“It would be great,” says Sean Kelly. “But it wouldn’t be allowed.”
115km to go: “I’ve played cricket in Périgueux,” emails Gary Naylor.
“It was how I imagine sitting in an air fryer would feel.”
Cricket in France? I’ve heard it all now.
116km to go: The gap is 2min. What do we know about the three riders in the break?
Liam Slock, as mentioned earlier, won the GP Gippingen this season, going viral after stacking it across the finish line while celebrating.
Jakub Otruba was second in the time trial at the national championships (in Czechia), and third in the road race, which shows you he’s going pretty well this year. He won the ITT national title in 2023.
Thibaut Guernalec, who was born in Brittany, has been a professional for around a decade but I don’t think he has a win on his palmarès. He rode the Giro in 2023, finishing 90th overall, and rode the Vuelta the year before that (DNF).
122km to go: Hang on, there was a Bergerac reboot on telly last year?
“A grittier, modernised take on the classic 1980s detective drama,” AI tells me.
That doesn’t sound too promising.
“At the summit of the category-four Domme climb,” emails Dan from out on the race route in sunny France. “Two hours before the riders arrive, the crowd are going bonkers.”
125km to go: As we’re heading to Bergerac, we’re going to need at least one 1980s TV reference.
Is Charlie Hungerford somehow going to become embroiled in the story of Tour de France stage eight, in suitably unlikely fashion?
2min is the gap.
130km to go: The three riders up front – Slock, Guernalec and Otruba – continue to press on. The gap is out to 2min 09sec.
131km to go: 1min 55sec is the gap between break and peloton. Nothing to see here. Can I go for a nap?
133km to go: Of the control being exerted over the breakaway by the peloton, Jens Voigt says on TNT Sports: “What are they afraid of? It’s three riders … Give them three or four minutes.
“Give them a chance, some belief to stay out there … in modern cycling, they don’t give them much belief, huh?”
134km to go: “It’s really, really easy,” says someone on the XDS-Astana Team radio, of conditions at the back of the peloton.
135km to go: The gap is 1min 13sec.
138km to go: The TV helicopter hovers over Château de Montignac, in the Dordogne. An impressive affair, but no images to share here.
Let’s take a moment instead to enjoy this lovely photo by Stephanie Lecocq of Reuters: a woman watching the three-man breakaway sail past her window.
142km to go: 1min 17sec the gap. Still about 70km or so to race (or maybe ride, more accurately) until the first categorised climb of the day, the Côte de Domme.
On commentary, Robbie McEwen is talking about Tim Merlier, who won in impressive fashion yesterday.
“He’s almost the antithesis of what we expect a sprinter to be: loud, fast-talking, fiery … Outside of the sprint, he seems slightly docile. But it seems to help him. He gets it done. Dust the shoulders off, another victory.”
146km to go: The gap is holding at 1min 33sec. Pogacar, all in yellow, dropped back from the bunch for some reason, maybe a mechanical. Nothing dramatic.
Re: Philipsen and that interview: he actually said twice in quick succession that Alpecin-Premier Tech need to take the positives from yesterday. He is fully focused on taking the positives. But a win would be nice …
150km to go: The gap is 1min 41sec. Slock, Guernalec and Otruba are working well together out front to keep the chasing peloton honest.
The man himself, Philipsen, also had a chat earlier. Is he close to a win?
“We really did an amazing job with the team yesterday. I think we really have to look at the positives from yesterday. The thing we were there, as one team, we really did an amazing job as a team … we were really united, that’s very positive. We will try and deliver again today and hopefully I will have more speed in the legs as well.
“The final is complicated. The speed will be less high than yesterday. Something to look into, in the final.”
How does he see Tim Merlier, still competing at the highest level?
“Of course, he’s one of the fastest up there, his sprint is very strong. It’s always a hard one to beat, but a nice rivalry, I think.”
156km to go: The gap is 1min 25sec. Soudal-Quick Step are now on the front, in the form of the veteran 34-year-old Jasper Stuyven.
160km to go: The gap between peloton and break is 1min 20sec.
Christoph Roodhoft, the Alpecin-Premier Tech DS, had a chat with Hannah Walker of TNT Sports earlier.
“We will try to control. We will see how it goes. The goal of the team is to bring Jasper to a spot where he can launch his sprint,” he said.
“[Yesterday] In the end you could say it was 50m, 75m too early … the main issue is Jasper didn’t have the legs to win a Tour de France stage yesterday. But the team was there, and it’s something to build on.
“When he has a good day, the distance [the 250m from the finish that Van der Poel dropped him off] was perfect …
“He came [arrived at the race] close to his top form – but not every year is the same – there is no logical explanation, so far.
Is he still motivated?
“Yes of course. Luckily.”
As mentioned by the commentators, a very good interview by Hannah Walker.
162km to go: All right then, who is going over to the Tour this year, and/or who has already been?
Mail me your Tour de France adventures.
