Tour de France 2016, recapping Stages 1-9
Recapping the Tour de France 2016 – what have we seen thus far in this 103rd Tour de France? It’s been an exciting week! A favorite rider withdrew and there have been several photo finishes. Today is a rest day so it’s a good day to take a look back at a few of the highlights.
Peleton Tour de France 2016
Stage 1, Tour de France 2016
The Tour launched from beautiful Mont St Michel and 188km later finished at Utah Beach. Cavendish claimed the yellow jersey and claimed his 27th stage win of his career! My heart just melted when, on the podium, he gave his flowers to his little daughter who was standing there with him. And just look at this finishing lineup: #1Cavendish, #2 Kittel, #3 Sagan, #4 Greipel. We’ll be hearing more from these four as the tour progresses. On the down side, Alberto Contador sustained his first crash early on in this stage.
Stage 2, Tour de France 2016
This stage saw Peter Sagan take the yellow jersey as the Tour cycled from St-Lô to Cherbourg-en-Cotentin. This was Sagan’s 5th career stage win. He hasn’t won a stage since 2013. Alberto Contador crashed again on this stage which will prove to be his undoing unfortunately.
Stage 3, Tour de France 2016
Starting in Granville, in the Normandy region, the photo finish in Angers between André Greipel and Mark Cavendish was suspense filled. Mark Cavendish took the stage win by mere centimeters. However, leading up to this incredible finish we saw Armando Fonseca and Thomas Voeckler in the lead by up to 6 minutes at one point before Greipel and Cavendish launched their assault. The good news for Peter Sagan was that he kept his hold on the yellow jersey. By the way, if you are keeping count, this stage win by Cavendish means that he now has 28 wins under his belt.
Stage 4, Tour de France 2016
The views of the city of Saumur from its chateau are lovely to behold! Today’s stage was as exciting as the previous one. The photo finish between Marcel Kittle and Bryan Coquard was tense. Kittle claimed the stage, his first since 2014. Finishing in Limoges, we still have Sagan with the yellow jersey.
Stage 5, Tour de France 2016
The Tour today cycled from Limoge to Le Lioran. Greg Avermaet not only won the stage but he also took possession of the yellow jersey. Amazingly, there were still 198 riders in the Tour as no one has yet to fall out. Le Lioran is in the Cantal mountains of the Massif Central and the aerial views that were shown were spectacular. This is a great region for hiking or even swimming in extinct volcanoes!
Stage 6, Tour de France 2016
Mark Cavendish won the stage in Montaubon but Avermaet still maintained control of the yellow jersey. This stage, which started in Arpajon-sur-Cère, earned Cavendish his 29th overall stage win in his Tour history.
Photos complements of Le Tour site
Stage 7, Tour de France 2016
Stage 7 was taken by Stephen Cummings. Cycling from L’Isle-Jourdain to Lac de Payolle, this 7th stage of the Tour still maintains all 198 cyclists ! The drama for this stage was 1km out from the finish when a bystander got tangled up with the inflatable arch. Disconnected from its generator, the arch collapsed on a group of cyclists. Fortunately only one cyclist required medical attention.
Stage 8, Tour de France 2016
Starting in Pau, this stage provided a nerve-wracking finish. Watching Chris Froome fly down that last mountain into Bagnères-de-Luchon to the finish line was super tense! Tense not because he was fighting to maintain his lead, no he was literally flying solo at this point, but tense because of the speed and incline. The speed he achieved by crouching down on the top tube of his cycle while pedaling not only gave him the stage win but also gave him the yellow jersey. He was 13 seconds ahead of everyone else. This stage was hot, hot enough to melt the glue on the tires which caused one of the cyclists to crash
Stage 9, Tour de France 2016
Cycling from Vielha Val D’Aran to Andorre Arcalis in Andorra, the cyclist battled not only rain but also hail at the end of the run. Tom Dumoulin won his first stage in the Tour – ever. He was the lone cyclist climbing that mountain all the way to Arcalis (see gradient map below). Chris Froome kept the yellow jersey today but sadly we lost Alberto Contador. With illness added to his two injuries from the first two stages, he withdrew. We also learned that Cavendish was fined for his behavior in Stage 8. A spectator stepped into the road next to him and Cavendish pushed him back. Personally, I think the spectator should have been the one to be fined as actions such as this endanger all the cyclists near them when a spectator steps into the path of the riders.
Unbelievable climb to the finish line of Stage 9
Wow – what a race so far. I can’t wait for tomorrow to see what the rest of the Tour de France 2016 brings!
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