You can see the escape group breaking up w/ more than half the climb to go. I'd say 14km/7.3 avg is at the low end of HC, but there is a stretch that is 11% on that hill. Some science, some art, I suppose...
Dessel & Mercado are leading the climb handily. They are 3'50" & 6'32" behind the yellow, you can bet the GC leaders are concerned about them.
Whoa, there's a shock. One of the riders considered a climbing threat has Blown and is already dropped from the Peleton. Bye bye Iban Mayo, it was nice knowin ya.
It just seems a bit light for me... Especially when there really haven't been any major climbs yet - no massif central this year. Of course, I've never done a climb like that... My major climbs around here are more like 1-2 km and 15-18%. We have steep hills, but no long ones...