Stage 10 - Chambéry > > > Gap - 179 km
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Chambéry > > > Gap - 179 km
Km 77.0 - Côte de Laffrey - 7.0 km climb to 9 % - Category 1
Km 98.0 - Côte des Terrasses - 3.3 km climb to 7.1 % - Category 3
Km 145.5 - Col du Noyer - 7.4 km climb to 5.3 % - Category 2
Stage 10 - Chambéry > > > Gap - 179 km
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Medium Mountains - A sporting perspective
Memories of Beloki
On this stage, Le Tour will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of France annexing Savoy. The Côte de Laffrey climb, on leaving Vizille, is very difficult. The Col du Noyer pass is also very complicated. Yet, this does not mean it is typical high-altitude racing. The descent is very winding: let’s not forget how badly Joseba Beloki fell in 2003, when he wanted to avoid Vinokourov gaining too much time on him. To avoid the Spaniard, Lance Armstrong was obliged to take a short-cut through a field.
(letour.com)
July 12 post:
The final day in the French Alps is a hilly stage that will likely see a break succeed after the difficult, mountainous stage 9.
Starting from Chambéry, Stage 10 will see the peloton head south passing by Grenoble and over cat 1, cat 3 and cat 2 climbs before the descent into Gap. This is Criterium du Dauphine country and all three of the these cities are frequent start or stops during the month of June for the Tour de France warm-up race. Although Chambéry has hosted twenty Dauphine stages, this is only the second time it has entertained the Tour de France.
Gap, on the other hand, is a crossroads town which Napoleon put on the map and the Tour de France continues to use frequently. This year will mark the 20th time Gap has hosted a Tour stage and it is the location of one of the most dramatic moments in Tour de France history. No one will forget the scene of Lance Armstrong cutting across a field in 2003 to avoid Joseba Beloki, who skided and highsided on the melting asphalt during the descent into Gap, breaking several bones and effectively ending his career:
Astana's Alexandre Vinokourov won't forget that day either because he won the stage while riding for T-Mobile. A Frenchman will especially want to win stage 10 because July 14th is Bastille Day. — Steve
Gap, the capital of the Hautes-Alpes region, is hosting its 20th Tour de France stage this year.
photo credit: Feuillu
(steephill.tv)
Click the 'To' option to go to the start of the Stage 10 posts.
The Stage starts at 13:00 local time CEST (6 hrs ahead of US EDT).
velonews.com - "Stage 10 is the last alpine stage, taking riders over only three categorized climbs with the most difficult, the Cat. 1 Cote de Laffrey, falling just 77km into the stage. While the profile looks somewhat benign for a stage in the Alps, history suggests otherwise. On a nearly identical course in 1971, Eddy Merckx experienced one of the most trying days of his Tour career. Unable to follow the accelerations of other top contenders on the Cote de Laffrey, he was forced to chase for 100km behind Spain’s Luis Ocaña. Merckx finished third, almost 9 minutes behind Ocaña. Only 38 riders finished within half an hour of the winner."
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