Nine laps to go

Nick Roche and Sky.

 

Chris Froome and Peter Sagan.

 

Romain Bardet borrows the polka dot kit from Froome.

 

Jan Bakelants.

 

Eight laps to go

Froome.

 

Alberto Contador.

 

Seven laps to go

 

Sky.

 

John Degenkolb.

 

Six laps to go

Three man break: Kenneth Van Bilsen, Florian Vachon, and Nelson Oliveira.

 

Jan Barta tries to bridge.

 

Lotto Soudal comes to the front: Marcel Sieberg, Jens Debusschere, Andre Greipel, and Sagan.

 

Mark Cavendish (far right) and Alexander Kristoff (far left).

 

Joaquim Rodriguez.

 

Five laps to go

Europcar gets organized for Bryan Coquard (center).

 

Contador, Tyler Farrar, Michael Matthews, and Edvald Boasson Hagen.

 

Ryder Hesjedal.

 

Froome and Sky.

 

Four laps to go

 

The break’s advantage tumbles quickly.

 

Giant Alpecin.

 

Matthias Brandle.

 

Three laps to go

Thomas Voeckler pulls in front of Lotto Soudal.

 

The peloton.

 

Two laps to go

Cyril Gautier and Lotto Soudal.

 

Daniel Oss, Serge Pauwels, Sep Vanmarcke, and Tyler Farrar.

 

Vincenzo Nibali.

 

As the peloton flies by, Matteo Bono and Davide Cimolai pull to the side for a wheel swap. Click here for a 95 second video.

 

Bono frantically changes Cimolai’s back wheel.

 

He sends the sprinter on his way.

 

The Lampre car drives by and pauses just long enough for the mechanic to toss a spare wheel out the door.

 

Bono sets about replacing his own back wheel.

 

He tries to give wheel to a race vehicle and eventually the broom wagon picks up the flat tire for him.

 

Bono on his way.

 

Full gas peloton.

 

Bell lap!

Kenneth Van Bilsen goes solo and is chased by Rohan Dennis.

 

Oliveira and Vachon.

 

The front of the bunch.

 

Bardet and Pieter Weening.

 

Katusha and Giant.

 

Winner Anacona, Christophe Riblon, Mathias Frank, Talansky, and Nairo Quintana.

 

Cummings, Roche, and Hesjedal.

 

Adam Yates ahead of Sky.

 

Jose Herrada.

 

Jets fly over the course.

 

The peloton goes through the 3km mark.

 

The last 370 meters!

Katusha is lined up.

 

Greipel, Coquard, and Vanmarcke.

 

Ramunas Navardauskas, Christophe Laporte, and Jan Bakelants.

 

Warren Barguil rounds the corner and checks to see if Degenkolb won.

 

A moment later, Koen de Kort sees that Greipel took the prestigious win.

 

Dan Martin and the bunch roll in leisurely.

 

Smiles all around as Hansen is about to finish his 12th grand tour and Greipel wins his 4th stage. Hansen, Tim Wellens, and Lars Bak.

 

Sky.

 

Herrada, Quintana, Adriano Malori, and Winner Anacona.

 

The Tour may have ended with Froome winning his 2nd title but, don’t worry, my Tour posts are not yet done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

While this technically isn't the shortest road stage of the 102nd Tour de France (that would be stage 21, largely ceremonial in terms of the GC, though not for the sprint teams), at just 111km today's fireworks would come from the two looming climbs: Col de la Croix de Fer and legendary Alpe d'Huez.

 

Stef Clement was the first to sign on.

 

Michael Schär gave a wave to fans.

 

Nicholas Roche could expect to take a few long pulls for the maillot jaune on the climbs today.

 

Geraint Thomas finally had the inevitable jour sans yesterday and slipped from fourth to fifteenth in GC.

 

Lieuwe Westra gingerly descended the slick metal steps from the podium.

 

Dylan Van Baarle.

 

Tiago Machado.

 

Dan Martin.

 

BMC's trio of Italians: Damiano Caruso, Manuel Quinziato, and Daniel Oss.

 

Quinziato couldn't have looked more at ease this morning.

 

After learning late in 2014 that BMC would in fact re-sign the 2008 Olympic gold medalist, Samuel Sanchez has ridden a solid Tour supporting the team and Tejay Van Garderen until the American abandoned.

 

Tim Wellens had bandages on after a small crash yesterday.

 

Marcel Wyss.

 

Matthias Brandle.

 

Bauke Mollema.

 

Paul Voss.

 

When emcee Nicholas Loth asked Brice Feillu to introduce a fellow French rider on stage to the crowd, the lanky rider did so with natural ease and humor, much to the audience's delight.

 

Jacques Janse Van Rensburg.

 

Winner Anacona.

 

Movistar arrived en masse to collect their prize as the best team on stage 19. Top: Gorka Izagirre, Jose Herrada, Jonathan Castroviejo, and Alejandro Valverde. Bottom: Izagirre, Adriano Malori, Herrada, Valverde, Castroviejo, and Imanol Erviti.

 

Georg Preidler signed autographs while Warren Barguil rode to the podium.

 

Simon Geschke.

 

Nairo Quintana and Geschke.

 

Merhawi Kudus.

 

After tying Joaquim Rodriguez for KOM points after stage 18, Romain Bardet out climbed Rodriguez the following day, earning the right to wear the polka dots on the penultimate stage.

 

Mathias Frank has flown under the radar and quietly ridden himself into the top ten.

 

Bryan Coquard.

 

Wilco Kelderman.

 

Bram Tankink.

 

Perrig Quemeneur.

 

Roy Curvers.

 

Svein Tuft.

 

Domestique and all around workhorse, Ramunas Navardauskas.

 

Thibaut Pinot.

 

One week after crashing, Jean-Christophe Peraud continued to wear prominent bandages, though he hasn't let this stop him from emthusiastically greeting fans.

 

Mick Rogers.

 

Leo König signed for Sky after an impressive 2014 Tour and has not failed in his duties for Chris Froome.

 

Froome.

 

Richie Porte, emcee Marc Chavet, and Froome.

 

Table for two: teammates Rodriguez and Alberto Losada grabbed a few quiet minutes ahead of a tough day.

 

Froome, Quintana, and Bardet rolled to the start.

 

The peloton socialized before the day's riding got underway.

 

In a nutshell, the much hyped Alpe d'Huez stage lived up to expectation. After several digs, Quintana finally attacked Froome outright to finish second on the stage and slashed his GC deficit from 2'38″ to 1'12″ (though I know we all would like to have seen Quintana try this when there was still time for Froome to feel threatened). As for the stage itself, it was a nail biting race up the switchbacks between Pinot and Ryder Hesjedal. The Canadian, who typically prefers to ride at the back of the bunch, is known to be aggressive when the situation demands it. Hesjedal escaped the peloton to the break where teammate Navardauskas ultimately delivered him to the bottom of Alpe d'Huez before he attacked and caught Pinot up the road. The two led the race up the mountain, both trying to gain open road on the other, with the young Frenchman eventually pulling away in the final kilometers to silence his critics in the French press and claim the stage.

 

Stage 21 will start out as a parade for the media with Froome and his teammates toasting champagne glasses while riding–slowly–to Paris. The peloton will then fly along the Champs Élysées for eleven circuits. There will be attacks on the famed avenue but the sprint teams will reel them back in with time to set up their trains (I don't see this going the way of the Giro where the peloton repeatedly failed to catch what should have been catchable break aways). Mark Cavendish's lead out train is missing keystone Mark Renshaw and kicks from Alexander Kristoff and John Degenkolb so far haven't been enough for victory. Peter Sagan locked up the green jersey ages ago but is still looking for a win to compensate for a string of second and third place finishes. Andre Griepel is the man to beat, but he will face plenty of capable competition.

 

Today's 3 autographs came from:

134. Tom Leezer

172. Nicholas Edet

204. Perrick Fedrigo

 

 

The last time a stage started in Gap was in 2013 when Christophe Riblon rode away from Tejay Van Garderen on a stage featuring a double ascent of Alp d'Huez. Van Garderen will not be a threat today after succumbing to illness yesterday and abandoning midway through the stage and Alp d'Huez isn't a concern until Saturday, but stage 18 does include the most categorized climbs of the three weeks. Will it be another Frenchman today?

 

After interviewing Romain Sicard on stage, race co-emcee Nicholas Loth had a much more casual conversation with the rider.

 

Sprinter Davide Cimolai's goal will be simply to make the time cut over the next three stages before the final sprint on Paris on Sunday.

 

Luke Rowe seemed to be enjoying himself this morning as he filmed his ride to the sign on podium.

 

Teammates Perrig Quemeneur and Pierre Rolland.

 

Welshman Geraint Thomas.

 

The hilly profile of today's stage suits a climber like Dan Martin, although Cannondale Garmin have two other cards to play with Andrew Talansky and Ryder Hesjedal.

 

Co-emcee Marc Chavet shared a word with Talansky about his second place finish yesterday and the team's tactics for today.

 

The pressure off since his Lampre teammate Ruben Plaza won stage 16, Jose Serpa looked relaxed and ready this morning.

 

A bulky sprinter like Andre Greipel won't enjoy the Alps stages.

 

Tony Gallopin started the stage in 16th overall, just over twenty minutes behind. He has been riding decently but quietly and, even though he hasn't stirred up the same media excitement as fellow Frenchmen Thibaut Pinot and Romain Bardet, he is still in demand by the press.

 

Pinot sported a bandage on his left leg, a souvenir of yesterday's small crash while descending.

 

Giampaolo Caruso.

 

Simon Geschke, winner of stage 17 after attacking thr break and riding solo for the final fifty kilometer.

 

Michael Schär was just one of the many riders to congratulate Geschke.

 

Matthieu Ladagnous, Geschke, and Luis Angel Mate.

 

Usually overlooked by the media, Geschke was in much demand this morning.

 

There were a few more autograph requests for the bearded German than usual.

MTN Qhubeka received the prize for best team in stage 17. Unfortunately, Louis Meintjes, who had been eyeing stages 19 and 20, abandoned. The South African just managed to finish within the time limit on yesterday's stage and did not start the race today due to illness.

 

National champions Bob Jungels of Luxembourg and Alejandro Valverde of Spain.

 

Italians Daniel Oss and Jacopo Guarnieri were in mid conversation approaching the podium.

 

And they continued their talk in the shade near the start line.

 

Alexander Kristoff.

 

Despite being the best placed Frenchman in the race sitting in tenth, Warren Barguil manages to escape the heavy pressure placed on Bardet and Pinot's shoulders, presumably because he doesn't ride for a French team.

 

Mark Cavendish spent a long time fiddling with his bike computer.

 

Matthias Brandle.

 

All you have to do to get a huge smile from Dutch rider Roy Curvers is give him a little cheer.

 

The back of the bunch.

 

John Degenkolb and Mark Cavendish are fierce competitors on the flats, but not on a day with seven categorized climbs.

 

Koen de Kort and Degenkolb.

 

Waiting.

 

A gaggle of Orica Green Edge.

 

Sylvain Chavanel chatted with a photographer as Thomas Voeckler checked his bike just ahead of the neutral start.

 

In today's 186km stage, a break formed with 29 riders but they never gained over four minutes on the peloton. In the last 70km, the break fractured and eleven riders held a 2'30″ advantage while Giant and Lotto Jumbo drove the pace to preserve their leaders' top ten positions. The composition of the break fluctuated all day as riders were dropped and others bridged. At the summit of Col de Glandon, Romain Bardet and Winner Anacona led, though Bardet attacked his companion on the descent and quickly gained 20″.

 

The yellow jersey group, consisting of the usual suspects, was 2'50″ down the road. Despite a few digs, the group generally stayed together.

 

Bardet descended knowing the stage win was on the line. He maintained a pretty consistent advantage of about 40″ on Pierre Rolland, his nearest chaser. Soloing into Saint Jean de Maurienne, Bardet took AG2R's second stage win. Not only did a Frenchman win on a stage originating in Gap, but it was another AG2R rider.

 

The stage resulted in only one notable change on the GC. Barguil was the best placed Frenchman this morning, but Bardet's win slotted him in tenth place, bumping Barguil to eleventh. Mollema lost 19″ but remained in ninth. The rest of the GC stayed the same.

 

Stage 19 will show no mercy to the peloton. The race will hit four categorized climbs, including climbing a portion of stage 18's descent down Col de Glandon and concluding with a summit finish at La Toussuire. Quintana is a discouraging 3'10″ behind Froome. That's a lot to make up in just two stages. Movistar will have to be exceptionally aggressive and risk Valverde's spot on the podium if they are to stand a chance at cracking Froome and Sky, though the more likely scenario is the GC contenders will stick together and finish after someone from a large break attacks and goes clear. The clock is ticking for the Cannondale Garmin, FDJ, and Orica Green Edge, the only World Tour teams with neither a stage win nor a rider in the top 10.

 

Today's hard earned 5 autographs came from:

44. Roman Kreuziger

48. Matteo Tosatto

66. Samuel Sanchez

87. Georg Preidler

181. Matthias Frank

 

 

In real estate, location is everything and today we had it in spades! The rest of the crowd was more interested in the publicity caravan, which suited us just fine.

 

There have been plenty of Colombian fans along the course since Utrecht but the bulk of them have had eyes only for Quintana. With six Colombians riding, it was nice to see these fans spreading the love and wearing shirts for Rigoberto Uran.

 

Like clockwork, Cyril Gautier was the first rider to sign on.

 

Luke Rowe and Nicholas Roche.

 

Autograph hunters waited for their favorites.

 

Romain Sicard.

 

The rest day must have served the peloton well. Riders who don't normally sign many autographs were practically giving them away! Sky in particular, after Chris Froome and his teammates have received so much negative attention from fans in the last week, seemed extra pleased to hear fans call their names and ask for autographs.

 

Richie Porte.

 

Ian Stannard.

 

Pierre Rolland.

 

Angelo Tulik.

 

Andrew Talansky.

 

Former Swiss national champion Michael Schär and current Swiss national champion Danillo Wyss.

 

Yohan Gène and Bryan Nauleau.

 

Tejay Ban Garderen and Jan Bakelants.

 

Lieuwe Westra.

 

Matteo Trentin with ice stuffed in pantyhose down the back of his jersey.

 

Van Garderen and the French media.

 

Former teammates Dan Martin and Rohan Dennis.

 

Damiano Caruso.

 

Kristijan Koren was happy to see Rohan Dennis.

 

Luis Angel Mate.

 

It was another brutally hot morning, so soigneurs hustled between the snack station and team cars and buses with dozens of water bottles and bags of ice.

 

Jose Mendes.

 

Manuel Quinziato.

 

Julian Arredondo.

 

Winner Anacona and Jose Herrada.

 

Lars Bak.

 

Michael Matthews.

 

Nairo Quintana.

 

Simon Yates.

 

Arnaud Demare.

 

Jean-Christophe Peraud and Jakob Fuglsang.

 

Alejandro Valverde.

 

Jérôme Coppel.

 

Julien Simon.

 

Julian Vermote.

 

Steven Kruijswijk.

 

Roche came back to check out the snacks one more time.

 

Joaquim Rodriguez in borrowed polka dots from Froome.

 

Talanaky can always be found checking his brakes right before the start.

 

I love to watch the riders smoosh in at the back ahead of roll out. It reminds me of trying to shove your way onto a New York City bus, but probably with less cursing in this case.

 

I spent the next couple of hours on buses, holding my breath until I was able to get to a TV and catch the end of the stage. When I arrived, there were 20km remaining and Simon Geschke was descending solo with 1'08″ on Thibaut Pinot and 10'00″ on the yellow jersey group.

 

The French love Pinot but sometimes I wonder if they don't love to talk about his fear of descending more. Right on cue, when Geschke had 16km to go, Pinot's back wheel quivered slightly while flying down a bend and the Frenchman was in the ground. He jumped up and remounted his bike, not hesitating for a moment. A couple of kilometers later, Andrew Talansky caught and passed Pinot, Rigoberto Uran doing the same shortly after. Morale could not have been high for Pinot.

 

Up the road, Geschke was slowly losing a handful of seconds here and there, but his lead was such that he could afford it. When he hit 9km to go, cameras switched to suddenly show Alberto Contador, Peter Sagan, and Mick Rogers all standing over a bike, trying to get Contador sorted and on the road again. He had crashed, the cause unknown at this point. Contador took Sagan's bike but wouldn't catch Froome, Quintana, Valverde, and Nibali again.

 

Geschke claimed his first Grand Tour win, letting out a guttural yell as he crossed the finish line, his fists clenched tightly. Talansky descended beautifully, having shrunk the gap to the bearded German from a maximum of over two minutes to 32 seconds when he crossed the finish line. Uran was third on the stage around a minute after Geschke and Pinot came in fourth, a further 30 seconds back.

 

Meanwhile the GC group was still on the road. Nibali had put in a dig but got nowhere. It would come down to Froome and Quintana. The Colombian put in repeated accelerations, each time opening a gap and each time Froome was the one to close it. With about half a kilometer left, the white jersey attacked, Froome immediately following, and the pair went clear of Valverde and Nibali. Now the yellow jersey accelerated and the Colombian stayed with him. They rode shoulder to shoulder at 300 meters to go, Froome all the while looking over his shoulders to check on the others. First and second on GC, they stole glances at each other, looking for a sign of weakness, but no one was giving anything away. In the closing meters, Quintana dug one more time, opening a small gap on Froome but not enough to pull back any of the minutes he had ceded in the first two weeks.

 

While I was disappointed for Talansky to finish second, now a trio of second places for Cannondale Garmin, especially when he was descending so well and gaining time, I couldn't be happier for Geschke! He had a lackluster Giro and had struggled to find his legs so this win comes at an important time and is a huge boost for the team as Degenkolb hasn't been able to take a sprint stage.

 

Stage 18 is going to be brutal. Seven categorized climbs await the peloton between Gap and Saint Jean de Maurienne, the crown jewel being hors categorie Col de Glandon. It is likely to play out similarly to today: a big break will go clear and the GC riders will stay together for most of the day. Today it was Geschke, who will be tomorrow's hero?

 

Today's 14 autographs came from:

19. Alexis Vuillermoz

31. Chris Froome

35. Richie Porte

46. Mick Rogers

49. Michael Valgren

71. Tony Gallopin

108. Adam Yates

138. Jos Van Emden

183. Sylvain Chavanel

186. Martin Elmiger

189. Marcel Wyss

208. Pierre-Luc Périchon

212. Steven Cummings

217. Louis Meintjes

 

 

The break had zero chance of succeeding today, the sprint teams would make sure of that. And yet, when the TV coverage finally started an hour already into the stage, I used my zoom to take a photo to see if I could work out who was the in the break and what the gap was. The screen was at a funny angel but I knew without hesitation what lanky rider was sitting third wheel–Ryder Hesjedal.

 

The nine man break of Lars Bak, Ryder Hesjedal, Simon Geschke, Adam Yates, Thibaut Pinot, teammates Michal Kwiatkowski & Matteo Trentin, and teammates Mick Rogers and Peter Sagan originally started out as a massive 27 man break, before the bulk of them were dropped.

 

The peloton let the escapees roll ahead, never giving them more than about 3 minutes. At the foot of the final categorized climb, their advantage had tumbled to just 1:43 with a little over 60km to go.

 

With 50km left and hardly a sixty second lead, Trentin had had enough and attacked the break. Hesjedal was the only one to give chase, catching the Italian as the breakaway leftovers were caught. The pair held on to a slim margin of 41″ in the final 36km. Sagan, meanwhile, suffered a mechanical, causing him to change bikes before chasing furiously to get back to the peloton. The Slovakian came in to today's stage with a career 15 second place finishes in the Tour to his name and he liked his chances for today.

 

Trentin and Hesjedal were caught with 30km remaining as the sprint team positioned themselves and Sagan rejoined. Just before the 3km mark, Czech rider Zdenek Stybar had a go and attacked. The peloton was flying but it still took them until the final kilometer to catch Stybar.

 

I watched the next few hundred meters on the big screen. Lotto Soudal executed their train while every other sprinter (with the notable exception of Mark Cavendish who had been riding in the gruppeto for quite some time) stole a free ride. They hit the final roundabout and stormed up the straightaway for the last 250 meters.

 

It was tight but John Degenkolb and Andre Greipel were clearly ahead of the competition with 50 meters to go.

 

It would be close between the two Germans.

 

So agonizingly close.

 

I support Greipel but as he already has two stages, I was pulling for Degenkolb.

 

Come on, Dege!

 

The winner was clear: Greipel got his hat trick. Degenkolb was second, Alexander Kristoff third, Sagan, who either bumped shoulders with or leaned on Europcar's sprinter Bryan Coquard (you can see him leaning in the previous photo), fourth, Edvald Boasson Hagen fifth, and Ramunas Navardauskas was sixth.

 

Greipel's average speed in the final kilometer was 54.43 kph and he crossed the finish line traveling at 59.33 kph. He wasn't my first choice today, but I won't say he didn't earn this win.

 

I was so full of adrenaline that it took me a moment to recover and start taking photos again! Vincenzo Nibali, Sep Vanmarcke, and Geraint Thomas.

 

Alberto Contador.

 

Second in yesterday's stage after infighting with Romain Bardet allowed Steven Cummings to claim the victory, Pinot rolled in today.

 

Adriano Malory and Andrew Talansky.

 

Jacopo Guarnieri.

 

Angelo Tulik.

 

Koen De Kort, crestfallen with his team leader's second place result.

 

Lieuwe Westra didn't seem too chipper himself.

 

Jens Debusschere.

 

Michael Valgren.

 

Adam Hansen.

 

Marco Haller.

 

Stybar.

 

A bunch.

 

With an average speed of 46.411kph, today's stage was surprisingly fast. What was supposed to be a day for just the sprint teams turned into a working day for everyone, resulting in tired and sour faces at the finish line, with the notable exception of Bob Jungels and Michael Schär who were killing themselves laughing about something.

 

Julien Simon and Ian Stannard.

 

Daniel Oss.

 

Another group.

 

The stage had only been over for no more than 3 minutes, but I headed to the podium rather than wait to see the rest of the riders finish in dribs and drabs. Below: Julian Arredondo watched the replay on his way to the team bus.

 

Greipel on the podium for his stage win.

 

Chris Froome kept the yellow jersey, as expected. The GC top 10 stayed the same as yesterday.

 

Peter Sagan extended his lead in the points competition and now leads Greipel 360 points to 316.

 

Though he's focused on GC, Froome retained his lead as the KOM.

 

An ear to ear grin from Nairo Quintana in the white jersey.

 

Sagan fans were thrilled to see their man on the podium again, this time as the most combative rider.

 

Today was supposed to be a relatively easy stage but it didn't work out that way, which will make stage 16 all the more taxing. Coming in at 201km, the peloton will be climbing pretty much from the gun. There are only two categorized climbs, both cat 2 and both in the second half, but the last one, Col de Manse, could well cause damage. It's nearly 9km long and though it averages just 5%, the steepest ramps near the bottom hit 11%. What's worse than the climb is the descent. It's fast and can be technical in parts, but there is too much on the line to take it easy, especially with a rest day on Tuesday. It'll be interesting to see if Tejay Van Garderen can keep his current third place or if Contador, 30″ back, can leapfrog him. Froome has said all year the Quintana can't ride away from him and after the Brit's acceleration in the closing meters of stage 14 to gain one second on the Colombian, he may be right but you can be sure Quintana won't go down quietly.

 

 

Yet another hot day in a string of hot days. When it hits 33C/91F by 9am, you've got to feel for the guy in the lion costume.

 

I've hardly ever spoken with Cyril Gautier other than the basic exchanges my French will allow, but he is one of the friendliest riders in the bunch. As the first rider to sign on, he was happy to delay returning to the comfort of his air conditioned bus to put helmets on a group of young riders…

 

…give an interview with announcer Nicholas Loth…

 

…and sign autographs for fans.

 

With a pair of second place finishes to his name and suffering more than he'd like with the heat, Dan Martin was uncharacteristicly quiet before stage 14.

 

Belgian Kenneth Van Bilsen.

 

Slovenia's Kristijan Koren about to go back to his bus while Adam Hansen, his shoulder partially recovered from a crash in the first week, climbed the stairs to the sign on podium.

 

I can't recall when I last saw the peloton looking so flat. Unsurprisingly, few riders came to sign on in the first half hour, and those who did all seemed to move a little slower than they did a week ago. Riders who normally sign autographs or wave at the crowd signed on and left. This year's route, undeniably a tough one, is all the more difficult with the heat.

 

Christophe Riblon and Gregory Rast.

 

Local boy Alexandre Géniez received a huge cheer from the crowd for his work in the break yesterday.

 

Italians Adriano Malori and Pippo Pozzato.

 

Jose Herrada.

 

A pair of Colombians with different things on their minds. Jarlinson Pantano reacted to the heat while Julian Arredondo gave his bike a once over.

 

Do you remember the 2014 Tour? BMC certainly doesn't. With a trio of stage wins, a day in yellow, and Tejay Van Garderen currently lying in second overall, the American team has put last year's disappointing Tour firmly behind them. When they arrived this morning to claim their prize as the best team on stage13, Greg Van Avermaet received a momento to commemorate his stage win.

 

Rohan Dennis spoke with Australian media while photographers behind him snapped pics of Vincenzo Nibali.

 

In honor of Nelson Mandela day, MTN Qhubeka helmets featured a thick orange stripe. Below: Eritrean climber Merhawi Kudus.

 

An always smiling Tyler Farrar showed off his orange helmet.

 

A photographer from Manual For Speed grabbed a selfie with Peter Sagan.

 

The Slovakian sprinter must sign over a dozen autographs every morning for fans alone, in addition to whatever photo and autograph obligations accompany the green jersey.

 

The last ten or fifteen minutes of sign on were a bit of a madhouse, the podium swarmed with riders and media. Geraint Thomas managed to get out of the scrum to talk with the media.

 

Jan Barta and Robert Gesink rode to the stage start past hundreds of spectators.

 

Imanol Erviti.

 

Jean-Christophe Peraud crashed on his left side before rolling on the side of the road a couple times in yesterday's stage. With both arms bandaged, the popular Frenchman told the crowd he wasn't feeling great but wanted to continue on to Paris.

 

Since stage 13 didn't work out for the sprinters as they had hoped, expect winless Kristoff, Degenkolb, Matthews and the other fast men in the bunch to make sure their teams chase down the break or they won't have another chance until Paris in a weeks' time. Their concern is that a big break goes clear, making it tougher to chase them down, but with 60km of descending or flat terrain between the summit of Côte de l'Escrinet and the arrival in Valance, watch for the sprint teams to come to the front and take control. The GC riders should finish safely in the bunch.

 

 

Today's 11 autographs came from:

1. Vincenzo Nibali

14. Michael Chérel

17. Christophe Riblon

24. Arnaud Demare

38. Ian Stannard

73. Thomas De Gendt

92. Giampaolo Caruso

196. Bartosz Huzarski

202. Frederic Brun

209. Florian Vachon

218. Serge Pauwels

 

They may have left the Pyrenes, but today was never going to be an easy day for the peloton. The day's numbers: 1 sprint, 3 categorized climbs, 198.5km, and a brutal climb of over 9% in the last 500 meters.

 

The cooperative six man break dropped most of their colleague in the closing kilometers, ultimately leaving just Wilco Kelderman and Thomas De Gendt to be caught after the flamme rouge.

 

Greg Van Avermaet and Peter Sagan stormed up the demanding climb.

 

Jan Bakelants finished third.

 

John Degenkolb and Paul Martens.

 

Martens.

 

Zdenek Stybar, Tony Gallopin, Chris Froome, Alberto Contador, and Alejandro Valverde.

 

Vincenzo Nibali and Tejay Van Garderen in the same group.

 

Geraint Thomas.

 

Michael Matthews glanced over his shoulder to see Warren Barguil.

 

Cyril Gautier and Sami Sanchez.

 

Thomas De Gendt would earn the most combative prize for his work in the break.

 

Alexander Kristoff was beaten and battered by the climb. The big Norwegian sprinter could hardly pedal himself the last 150 meters.

 

Andrew Talansky.

 

Jarlinson Pantano.

 

Kristijan Koren hugs the barriers.

 

Kristoff wasn't the only sprinter foiled by the climb. Mark Cavendish could hardly keep his bike in a straight line.

 

A pat on the back or helping hand? Bob Jungels and Haimar Zubeldia.

 

Marco Haller and Matteo Trentin.

 

Winner Anacona.

 

Rigoberto Uran.

 

Emanuel Buchmann.

 

A teammate points out Alexandre Géniez to the crowd. The Frenchman rode in the break and hails from a town along the final 10km of today's course.

 

Perrig Quemeneur.

 

Pierre-Luc Perichon, exhausted from a day in the break, and Thomas Voeckler.

 

Jean-Christophe Peraude finished sporting the bandages the race doctor applied after his crash today. The runner up from the 2014 Tour finished alongside Nathan Haas, who rode in the break and even attacked the break in honor of Jack Bauer, his kiwi teammate who crashed out on stage 5.

 

Dan Martin.

 

Richie Porte and Giampaolo Caruso.

 

Joaquim Rodriguez and Ryder Hesjedal.

 

Italians Jacopo Guarnieri and Daniel Oss.

 

Just one of the many groups to roll in.

 

Damien Gaudet, Rafal Majka, Bartosz Huzarski, and Michal Kwiatkowski.

 

In addition to Quintana leading the white jersey competition, Movistar are currently the top team.

 

Their bus was understandably mobbed.

 

Lotto Sudal's bus was far more peaceful, allowing Thomas De Gendt to make a quick retreat after collecting his combativity prize.

 

Steep climbs, fast descents, a lengthy flat in the middle of the stage, and a technical and challenging finale. Stage 14 promises to be another nail biter.