THE ULTIMATE
Marcel Kittel takes stage 11 in sprint to claim fifth win of 2017 Tour de France
After winning half of the 10 road-race stages in the Tour de France since the race left Düsseldorf on 2 July, Marcel Kittel is rewriting the record books. To find another rider so dominant at this early point in the race, it is necessary to go back to 1909 when five of the first six stages were won by the Luxembourgeois Francois Faber, the dominant rider of his generation, whose life and career ended on the Western Front.
Like Mark Cavendish in his pomp, Kittel is writing history in his own way. What made Cavendish unique was his ability to achieve a high rate of stage wins year in, year out, between 2008 and 2012. Kittel’s achievement in this Tour is a one-off, one to compare with other great winning streaks: Mario Cipollini’s four Tour stages in a row in 1999, or Freddy Maertens’s five road stages in 1976 and 1981, although in 1976 Maertens added three time trials to that.
Philippa York can be the trailblazer who hauls cycling into the 21st century
Read moreThere have been six flat sprint finishes in this Tour and only one has eluded Kittel. The other riders are looking increasingly resigned, although at least the young Briton Dan McLay posted his best finish of the race with fifth place. Having led out the sprint in Bergerac, the Fortuneo-Oscaro rider opted to remain in the shelter this time but he was little nearer to Kittel, reflecting the reality that all the sprinters are scrabbling for whatever crumbs the German drops their way.
Kittel could afford the luxury of being able to start his sprint from 10th place, on paper way too far back. Sprinters at this level of superiority – be it Cavendish, Cipollini or other names from the past such as Jean-Paul van Poppel – seem to operate on a different plane of time and space, seemingly able to select which wheel to slot on to. Michael Matthews was Wednesday’s victim. The Australian was following Edvald Boasson-Hagen, who led the gallop out, only for Kittel to come sailing past like a clipper overhauling a dinghy, with the Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen coming up fast on his left.
It is one of the paradoxes of this race that in the first year that every stage has been covered live on television from start to finish, half a dozen have been formulaic sprint stages, with a breakaway being given its head early and then being kept at an appropriate distance until the apposite moment.
For the television viewer these are something to be endured – estate agent type images of chateaux and vineyards apart – and the same is felt by the riders but for a different reason. A spate of minor crashes as the Tour headed south made it clear life in the peloton is not relaxed even on a routine day. Astana came off worst, losing a strong workhorse in Dario Cataldo, who severely damaged a wrist, while Jakob Fuglsang also fell. Alberto Contador came down with his team-mate Michael Gogl, and a third Trek rider, Haimar Zubeldia, was another to hit the deck. Romain Bardet also crashed. It all adds to the pressure as the race reaches what could be a turning point.
When the peloton headed into Pau, the Pyrenees were hidden in mist rather than looming threateningly but the field know what awaits on Thursday, with the first heavy-duty summit finish at the Peyragudes ski station on one of the Tour’s oldest climbs, the Col de Peyresourde.
On Wednesday, Chris Froome recalled the frustration he felt at being prevented from winning in 2012 owing to team orders, but said he hoped his legs would feel as good. The finish, he added, has changed since then, with the addition of a finish on the ski station’s altiport runway at a gradient of 20%.
“It’s savage, if someone blows in those few hundred metres there could be big time gaps. There are only two more uphill finishes left in the Tour, tomorrow is one, so it’s a key stage.”
The other issue is what openings Froome’s challengers can find. The steep slopes will suit Aru and Daniel Martin, while Bardet’s descending skills need little introduction. For Froome’s team, the brief will be obvious: control the race. “The key thing for me is to keep an eye on Fabio Ari, he’s only 18 seconds behind and I want to keep him there until the time trial [in Marseille] so I will stick to him like glue,” said Froome.”Our number one priority is not to allow to let anyone who has lost time already come back into the game.”
In terms of concentrated climbing, the final 40km of Thursday’s stage are among the toughest of the race, with the hors categorie Port de Bales – 11.7km at an average gradient of 7.7% – followed by a 16km descent to the foot of the Peyresourde, just under 10km at a similar gradient. A 2km descent follows that before the final, steep 2.4km ramp to the finish.
Asked what he thought of what is viewed as the queen of the Pyrenean stages, Bardet bridled a little.
“We had une étape reine on Sunday, we’ve got one in the Pyrenees, no doubt one in the Alps. There’s nothing but étapes reines in this Tour. Seriously though, it’s one of those marathon climbing stages that suits me.”
Ominously, however, it will also suit the race leader and his team mates.
In 2012, the first time it was included in the Tour route, this finish saw Froome demonstrate he was a stronger climber than his nominal leader Bradley Wiggins, who went on to win the Tour. The Peyresourde, meanwhile, is where he attacked to take the psychological whip hand last year.
Traditionally, in all his Tour wins, Froome has gained time in the Pyrenees – a significant amount at uphill finishes in 2013 and 2015, somewhat less downhill into Luchon last year – and if he fails to do so at Peyragudes, questions will begin to be asked.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/jul/12/tour-de-france-2017-stage-11-marcel-kittel
Like Mark Cavendish in his pomp, Kittel is writing history in his own way. What made Cavendish unique was his ability to achieve a high rate of stage wins year in, year out, between 2008 and 2012. Kittel’s achievement in this Tour is a one-off, one to compare with other great winning streaks: Mario Cipollini’s four Tour stages in a row in 1999, or Freddy Maertens’s five road stages in 1976 and 1981, although in 1976 Maertens added three time trials to that.
Philippa York can be the trailblazer who hauls cycling into the 21st century
Read moreThere have been six flat sprint finishes in this Tour and only one has eluded Kittel. The other riders are looking increasingly resigned, although at least the young Briton Dan McLay posted his best finish of the race with fifth place. Having led out the sprint in Bergerac, the Fortuneo-Oscaro rider opted to remain in the shelter this time but he was little nearer to Kittel, reflecting the reality that all the sprinters are scrabbling for whatever crumbs the German drops their way.
Kittel could afford the luxury of being able to start his sprint from 10th place, on paper way too far back. Sprinters at this level of superiority – be it Cavendish, Cipollini or other names from the past such as Jean-Paul van Poppel – seem to operate on a different plane of time and space, seemingly able to select which wheel to slot on to. Michael Matthews was Wednesday’s victim. The Australian was following Edvald Boasson-Hagen, who led the gallop out, only for Kittel to come sailing past like a clipper overhauling a dinghy, with the Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen coming up fast on his left.
It is one of the paradoxes of this race that in the first year that every stage has been covered live on television from start to finish, half a dozen have been formulaic sprint stages, with a breakaway being given its head early and then being kept at an appropriate distance until the apposite moment.
For the television viewer these are something to be endured – estate agent type images of chateaux and vineyards apart – and the same is felt by the riders but for a different reason. A spate of minor crashes as the Tour headed south made it clear life in the peloton is not relaxed even on a routine day. Astana came off worst, losing a strong workhorse in Dario Cataldo, who severely damaged a wrist, while Jakob Fuglsang also fell. Alberto Contador came down with his team-mate Michael Gogl, and a third Trek rider, Haimar Zubeldia, was another to hit the deck. Romain Bardet also crashed. It all adds to the pressure as the race reaches what could be a turning point.
When the peloton headed into Pau, the Pyrenees were hidden in mist rather than looming threateningly but the field know what awaits on Thursday, with the first heavy-duty summit finish at the Peyragudes ski station on one of the Tour’s oldest climbs, the Col de Peyresourde.
On Wednesday, Chris Froome recalled the frustration he felt at being prevented from winning in 2012 owing to team orders, but said he hoped his legs would feel as good. The finish, he added, has changed since then, with the addition of a finish on the ski station’s altiport runway at a gradient of 20%.
“It’s savage, if someone blows in those few hundred metres there could be big time gaps. There are only two more uphill finishes left in the Tour, tomorrow is one, so it’s a key stage.”
The other issue is what openings Froome’s challengers can find. The steep slopes will suit Aru and Daniel Martin, while Bardet’s descending skills need little introduction. For Froome’s team, the brief will be obvious: control the race. “The key thing for me is to keep an eye on Fabio Ari, he’s only 18 seconds behind and I want to keep him there until the time trial [in Marseille] so I will stick to him like glue,” said Froome.”Our number one priority is not to allow to let anyone who has lost time already come back into the game.”
In terms of concentrated climbing, the final 40km of Thursday’s stage are among the toughest of the race, with the hors categorie Port de Bales – 11.7km at an average gradient of 7.7% – followed by a 16km descent to the foot of the Peyresourde, just under 10km at a similar gradient. A 2km descent follows that before the final, steep 2.4km ramp to the finish.
Asked what he thought of what is viewed as the queen of the Pyrenean stages, Bardet bridled a little.
“We had une étape reine on Sunday, we’ve got one in the Pyrenees, no doubt one in the Alps. There’s nothing but étapes reines in this Tour. Seriously though, it’s one of those marathon climbing stages that suits me.”
Ominously, however, it will also suit the race leader and his team mates.
In 2012, the first time it was included in the Tour route, this finish saw Froome demonstrate he was a stronger climber than his nominal leader Bradley Wiggins, who went on to win the Tour. The Peyresourde, meanwhile, is where he attacked to take the psychological whip hand last year.
Traditionally, in all his Tour wins, Froome has gained time in the Pyrenees – a significant amount at uphill finishes in 2013 and 2015, somewhat less downhill into Luchon last year – and if he fails to do so at Peyragudes, questions will begin to be asked.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/jul/12/tour-de-france-2017-stage-11-marcel-kittel