sportsbarTour de France -The battle between Man, Machine and Mountain!
July 23rd 2007 06:22
Mountain Men; Rasmussen & Contador
The Tour de France has come alive with an intriguing mountain battle the likes of which we haven’t seen in many years. It was an enthralling tug-o-war between the real heavyweights of the tour. The 14th stage was punctuated by endless attacks and counterattacks designed to test even the sturdiest of legs.
Easily the toughest stage of the tour thus far, the 197km from Mazamet to Plateau de Beille showcased what the tour is really all about… the Pyrenees. They have to be the most feared mountains in all of cycling, they are long, steap and unforgiving. This is where the tour is won and lost; riding through hell and back.
Stage 14
This is now where the tour gets really interesting, the battle for the yellow jersey intensifies and only the strongest can survive. Last night was proof that these guys are indeed superhuman. After conquering Port de Pailheras (a monster mountain) at the 146km mark, a group of 10 riders approached the final climb of the day; a gruelling 15km of attack and counterattack towards the summit.
One by one the contenders were broken, cracked and started dropping back from the lead. This is how to win the tour, you attack on the mountains, and if it doesn’t work you recover and then attack again. All the usual suspects were there; the yellow jersey on the back of Rasmussen (a former king of the mountains) was setting the pace with Australian hopeful Cadel Evans hot on his heels. Kloden, Leiphemer and Contador were all competing as well, desperately trying to hold on.
Surge after surge, the group was broken and reformed, what was keeping these guys going? They must have been riding on sheer guts and courage alone at this point of such a difficult stage. Inevitably the attacks started to leave their mark until there was only two left; Rasmussen and Contador. Evans fought bravely but was finally shaken with 6km to go and has now slipped to 3rd overall in the race for the yellow jersey.
Contador won the sprint for the line and has now moved to 2nd in the overall classifications. The scary thing about all of this is that the toughest stage of the tour - boasting four incredible climbs is tonight. So we can expect Evans, Rasmussen and Contador do go through hell again in their quest for the most prestigious prize in all of cycling.
This is what the Tour de France is all about, an enthralling battle between man, machine and mountain.
Viva la Tour!
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