CyclingRevealed's First Impressions '06
Stage 13, July 15th, Beziers to Montelimar, 231 km
If You Can't Stand the Heat…
“If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen” is an expression attributed to American President Harry S. Truman. By this he meant that if the challenge is too much then you should turn away (in failure). With the challenge of the Pyrenees still painfully present in their legs, the peloton faced 211km of heat and hills yesterday. Today was another hot and steamy day with 230km to cover. Then tomorrow another very hilly route of 180km lies in wait. Mercifully a day of rest follows that before three days of sheer purgatory in the Alps .
What is so unusual about this Tour route? Nothing! For over 100 years the Tour has challenged generations of the world's best athletes in this way and, because of Le Tour's beauty and extreme nature, it has become one of the world's greatest sporting events. This year Mother Nature has bathed the Tour in sun and some extremely high temperatures. When you are out in the open for five or six hours every day this demands great physical fitness, tremendous endurance and fantastic recovery capabilities.
As the race progresses we are starting to hear some of the perennial rumblings from riders and their managers that the race is too hard. So what! They know what they are coming to and if they don't like it then stay home. To water down any of the Grand Tours would dilute the spectacle, erode the legendary character of the events and turn them into ordinary races with limited spectator appeal. Just as the UCI has fought to maintain some semblance of the classic racing bike shape, weight and form, then the Grand Tour organizers should resist demands for making their great races easier.
“The Kitchen” today is the region of Hérault recognized as a gastronomic and wine lovers delight. Bordering on the Mediteranean, Hérault was one of the original 83 départements created from part of the former province of Languedoc during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. Much of the region was covered today from Beziers as the race route veered away from the sea and took in five Cat 4 climbs before reaching Montélimar .
Although facing another very hot and humid day the race set off at full tilt. Those riders voicing their concern at the extreme harshness of the Tour must have been cursing their lot as they sweated out their day in the anonymity of the bunch. Meanwhile at about km 22 four riders with a much more positive attitude to the race set out to build a huge lead. With 90km to go there was almost 20 minutes between the bunch and the break comprising Jens Voigt (Team CSC), Oscar Pereiro (Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears), Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis), Manuel Quinziato (Liquigas) and Andriy Grivko (Milram).
Considering that this was the longest stage of the race and the oppressive heat was hovering around 35 degC, it was amazing that the leaders covered the first hour of racing at more than 50kph (the fastest yet of this Tour). However once the break had been firmly established their speed dropped and lethargy set in with the peloton. Even so the further they went, the bigger the gap became between the bunch and break. With 28km to go that lead was almost an astounding 28 minutes. Could this be the ‘a la Walko' break?
Predictably the break was going to self destruct as individual riders attempted to launch themselves up the road. The first hostilities started with about 20km to go and Grivko was the first victim to be left behind. Various combinations formed and then dissolved until Voigt and Pereiro finally managed to ride away alone. Voigt won the sprint from Pereiro and McEwen won the bunch sprint – 29 minutes and 57seconds later!
The astounding lack of urgency on the part of the Phonak team was clearly the result of calculations and strategy planning by team management back in the team car. Pereiro relieved Landis of his Yellow Jersey (by 1m 29s) but none of the rest of the break penetrated the top ten on GC. Based on recent performance in this Tour, Pereiro will be unable to defend his lead when it gets to crunch time in the Alps . Until then Landis and his team will get an easier ride without the obligation of defending ‘the jersey'. The Tour is won as much with the head as the legs.
Another spectacular day of racing contributed to the living legend that is the Tour. At the very tail of the race the famous ‘broom wagon' waits with its ominous message; “If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen”. As hard as it is, no rider wants to leave the race that way!
Tomorrow : the road from Montélimar to Gap is a roller-coaster leading to the foothills of the Alps. Montelimar to Gap, 181 km. Come back to CyclingRevealed.com for our daily impression.
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