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Tour de France 2016, July 6, Stage 5: Limoges - Le Lioran 216KM *SPOILERS*
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05-07-2016 11:40pm#1From: Limoges
To: Le Lioran
Length: 216km
Category: Flat
So after another day photo finish day by the sprinters we are in for another long stage as the race enters the Masif Central and the start of the climbing. A category 4 climb shortly after the start followed by 2 Cat 2 climbs and 3 Cat 3 climbs near the finish.The riders start in Limousin and end in the Auvergne, which millions of years ago was an area of massive volcanic activity. No danger of an eruption today, but the last activity was fairly recent, in a geological timescale. It was ‘only’ 10,000 years ago.
Not long after the start the route goes through Saint-Leonard-de-Noblat, which for a place with a population of only 5,000 has some famous sons, but none are more famous than Raymond Poulidor.
Expect plenty of Poulidor tributes today, because although he never won the Tour de France, or even wore the yellow jersey, the noble, smiling way France’s beloved ‘Pou-Pou’ kept finishing second, or third, or thereabouts, made him the most popular cyclist in France. He’s 80 now, still part of the race, a perpetual guest driven round the route in a Raymond Poulidor-mobile. And he’s just as loved as ever.
It can be hot and humid in the Auvergne, and the roads are made with granite chippings hewn from its own volcanoes. They are hard work, and this stage isn’t short. It starts at the foot of the day’s highest climb, with one tiny flat section before the final climb. Basically it’s up and down one mountain, up and down another, and up and a bit down the third.
The first big day for the real climbers of the Tour, the first for the GC favourites. It will be nervous and busy. Potential Kings of the Mountains will be tempted by the points on offer at the top of the first two climbs, but the favourites won’t want anybody gaining too big a lead. It’s a dangerous day for them so they, and their teams, must bring their best game to this one.
Velo News preview:
http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/07/tour-de-france/tour-contenders-wary-of-sneaky-hard-stage-5-route_413321Contador does not have to climb to the heights of 2,000 meters as he does on Saturday, but survive several little pin pricks. In the final 50 kilometers, the Tour takes the stage over four short climbs, around four to seven kilometers each, but with gradients up to 8.1 percent and short, fast, and twisty descents.
BMC Racing’s men previewed the stage before the Tour, as they were concerned it could be crucial.
“We’ll get a sense of who’s going well and who’s not,” van Garderen said. “It’s a tricky stage. It’s not going to be as hard as the Pyrénées, but it will shake things up. I mean, you’re not going to see the Sagans and the Cavendishs there at the finish.”
Even if the classification men wanted to take it easy, the others like Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx – Quick-Step) will drive up the pace to try to win the stage, dislodge Sagan, and take the yellow jersey. Sagan leads by 12 seconds over Alaphilippe, 14 over Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), and 18 seconds over a group with Froome, Van Garderen, and Alaphilippe’s teammate Dan Martin. Martin, of course, won Liège-Bastogne-Liège and a stage in the Tour in 2013.
“It’s going to be a really nervous stage, a little unpredictable as far as a breakaway goes,” Martin said. “This early in the race, I don’t know if many GC teams will want to use up energy and control it.
“I know the area, I think I’ll be quite nervous with those typical French roads in the Massif Central, the hard road surface. It’s going to be a difficult day especially after all the kilometers in the last two stages.
“Peter has done some impressive stuff before, I wouldn’t rule him out, hanging in there until the finish, but we could see some gaps — hopefully so. Everyone is on his game in the big mountain stages, but on the surprise days, especially with the descents to the finish. On paper, it’s good for me and Julien.”usless wikipedia info on the finish area
Le Lioran is a small mountain resort in the heart of continental France. It consists of the original settlement of Le Lioran in the valley bottom as well as the settlements of Prairie de Sagnes, Font d'Alagon, Font de Cère, and Prat du Bouc, all of which are geared towards the mountain tourism market. One of the few remaining resorts in central France, it has grown to become one of the biggest and most advanced resorts in the Massif Central.
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