Oh, and there’s even a square in town named for the man. Need I say more?
So with this in mind, you can imagine the collective gasp that arose when the announcer said Gilbert had been involved in a crash at the back of the bunch before the first ascent. He was able to get back on his bike, but that crash sent teammate Taylor Phinney to the hospital to have his knee checked out (nothing fractured fortunately, but he’s out of the race).
A breakaway with about 8 riders had about a 5 minute advantage and the crowd went crazy at the sight of them.
When the peloton arrived, Astana was at the front and soft spoken Assan Bazayev was leading the bunch.
Maxim Iglinsky, Koldo Fernandez, and Niki Terpstra.
The peloton was already starting to spread thin on the first ascent. As a fan, this gives me more time to pick out my friends so when I saw Svein Tuft approach from 50 meters away, I lost my mind cheering for him! He was working hard (they all were!) but he managed to look at me and actually smile!
Philippe Gilbert was being paced back to the peloton by teammates Amaël Moinard and Manuel Quinziato. Note the blood on Gilbert’s leg and the tears on his shoulder. And perhaps note the grimace, too.
Francois Parisien still had a smile on his face, though it was a bit more strained than usual, when I cheered and cheered and cheered for him.
When the breakaway passed for the second time, their numbers had swelled slightly while their advantaged had decreased.
When the peloton came by, everyone was hurting.
Tom Dumoulin.
Lars Boom suffering in the white jersey.
Bram Tankink.
Who else would have such a big smile but Francois Parisien.
Andre Greipel is a sprinter, not a climber, and today did not change his mind.
Luca Dodi, Maciej Bodnar, and Gert Steegmans.
Dominique Rollin.
The next bunch. Center: Bernie Eisel.
Luke Durbridge, Gediminas Bagdonas, and Svein Tuft. Dear reader, can you hear me cheering?!
Svein certainly could, as is evident from his smile.
The end of the stage couldn’t come soon enough for the breakaway. Their lead had diminished significantly but it was clear the winner would be one of them as they climbed La Redoute for a third and final time. Angel Madrazo, David Lopez, and Maciej Paterski launched an attack.
Lopez gave everything and took the stage win.
Paterski tried desperately to catch up–what a face!–and finished third.
Jan Bakelants finished fifth. (We said we were good luck, not great luck!)
Daryl Impey finished eighth.
Nick Nuyens finished ninth.
Despite being over 2 minutes behind the peloton after his crash, Gilbert finished just 1:37 behind Lopez.
Lars Boom finished well over 2 minutes behind Lopez, causing him to lose the race leader’s jersey.
By this point, there were significant gaps between the riders coming in. Below: Jesse Sergent and Bram Tankink ascend La Redoute one last time as spectators cross the street behind them.
The next big group to arrive included Laurens De Vreese in the black jersey and Bradley Wiggins. A heavier Wiggins makes for a slower Wiggins on the climbs.
Francois did his best to smile but I think he was ready to be done!
I saw Tyler Farrar just as he saw me and I think I found a new volume level as I yelled for him. He suddenly had the biggest smile on his face and just started laughing (well, laughing as well as he could while in the middle of a climb).
Svein and Durbridge led their group home. Meanwhile, those who had already finished were riding down the hill to their team buses. Mirko Selvaggi is descending in this shot.
Arnaud Demare took a break to chat and enjoy a snack before descending.
Greipel.
It was our turn to descend La Redoute and head to the car. On our way down we came across Laurens De Vreese. Since we had met him a couple of times and had a lengthy chat with him after yesterday’s stage, he gave us a nice big wave and smile.
So how did I do today? Even when trying not to get many autographs, I still ended up with 17 new additions to my flag! #1 Lars Boom, #17 Manuel Quinziato, #21 Gert Steegmans, #26 Zdenek Stybar, #43 Matthew Hayman, #53 Johnny Hoogerland, #64 Jurgen Roelandts, #66 Tim Wellens, #89 Andriy Grivko, #92 Vladimir Goesev, #112 Roy Curvers, #117 Albert Timmer, #118 Tom Veelers, #121 Filippo Pozzato, #136 Sebastian Langeveld, #163 Gediminas Bagdonas, and #194 Gijs van Hoecke.
