Tour de France: Stage 16 Live Thread (Wed, July 19, 2006) Galibier, Croix de Fer, La Toussuire

VeloNews.com ^ | July 19, 2006 | VeloNews.com

[nutmeg]

Stage 16: Bourg d'Oisans to La Toussuire -182km

Course: If L'Alpe d'Huez does not decide the Tour's likely outcome, then this even tougher day in the Alps should do the job. The survivors first ride the 34km back to the top of the Lautaret, where a left turn takes them another 8.6km at 6.7 percent to the top of the Galibier - the Tour's highest point at 8681 feet above sea level.

After the 35km descent of the Galibier and intermediate Col du Télégraphe, the next 23km is down the Maurienne Valley. Of the remaining 79km, some 47km are uphill, in three separate climbs: the 23km Col de la Croix de Fer, the 6km Col du Mollard and the 18km grind to the finish at La Toussuire. ...) At 4km longer than L'Alpe d'Huez, and at the end of a grueling menu of 17,000 feet of climbing, La Toussuire could well be the "new" Alpe.

History: A stage has never finished at La Toussuire.

Favorites: Given its length, intensity and critical positioning, this stage is almost certain to designate the final podium, so Landis, Evans and Leipheimer will again be vying for ascendancy with Menchov, Sastre, Andreas Klöden and Michael Rogers. It should be spectacular!

Graphics by CyclingNews.com

[leilani]

Hey ET. Crash city today. Descents are eating 'em alive.

[Ready4Freddy]

He gets up after hitting wall, missing 2 arms... 'just a flesh wound!'

[BaBaStooey]

I wasn't sleeping in, they just started things earlier today.

Lance said the climb of the Galibrier is tougher coming up the other way. So because it is a descent today, it is also proving to be a tough descent as well?

Rasmussen pockets a fine 5000 Euro for being 1st to the highest elevation point in this year's Tour. Just one of the many minor awards that get handed out to the riders.

[leilani]

HEY! I'm the one who's supposed to sit on the sidelines & make all the snarky comments. You're the one supposed to keep everybody updated. You're coasting. Get busy. I've gotta go let the dog out.

[Eurotwit]

No good.

I hope there are no major injuries.

Looks like Rasmussesen is going for Polka dot points.

[Ready4Freddy]

No PHO riders ahead of peloton, only break rider under 20;00" is Popovych @ 7'+, am surprised the excapees are allowing him there. It may show that the GC leaders aren't concerned about his being there

[BaBaStooey]

Plenty of crazy Norwegians along the roads up to the top of the mountains yesterday and today.

Now all you guys need is a cyclist that can climb the big ones...

[Vision]

The coverage is pretty good. But I wish they would pay attention to the GC leaders a little more throughout the day. It's hard to get a feel what what is happening in the race overall.

[Ready4Freddy]

LOL! i've got to get ready to drive a friend around town today, i'm not going to be able to be here long! :>(

[BaBaStooey]

14:19 - Details Col de la Croix de Fer
The next challenge in the 16th stage is the 2,067m high Col de la Croix de Fer. This is a 22.7km long ascent that has an average gradient of 6.9 per cent. The summit is at the 126.5km mark. The steepest section is the 12th and 14th kilometers, which have an average gradient of 10 per cent. The climb has been part of the Tour’s itinerary on 13 previous occasions.

For those of you scoring at home, "Col de la Croix de Fer" means "Mountain Pass of the Iron Cross"

And yes, there is an iron cross at the top of that puppy.

[Ready4Freddy]

Get a fix on the overall times for the guys in the escape, then pay attention to the announcements re: how much lead they have on the peloton. that'll tellya what you need to know

[BaBaStooey]

The top of this thing is going to be a killer. Nothing under 7% for the last quarter of the climb.

[Vision]

That's what I'm doing, but if they would just visit each of the top few leaders and their positions once in a while it would be more obvious IMO.

[Eurotwit]

Yesterday, one idiot, who I am sure must have been a Swede disguising himself as a Norwegian just about caused a major accident.

Yeah, we really should get a climber with all the mountains and fjords. Though, I enjoyed watching Thor go on a solo break up col de madelene last year. At least it was good for a laugh :-)

Cycling is a relatively tiny sport over here. I think most of the endurance talent goes into cross country skiing.

[commish]

Good morning all. Sorry I missed yesterday, that nasty 4 letter word W O R K reared its ugly head. I am trying to beat the beast off today, but may not be successful.

Looks like Phonak is content to just mark Popo at around 3-4 minutes so far. Not a whole lot of concern about any of the other riders out front.

It looks to me like Landis is letting his guys take it easy to this point. We may see some type of move on this climb, but I think Floyd may be saving up for a "Lance" type climb to finish the day. He knows he is still going to need his legs Saturday to win this thing.

[BaBaStooey]

I know a very pretty blond girl who is Swedish-American, who insists that she holds her liqour due to all the "Viking blood" she has. Therefore, I have it on good authority that Swedish people don't get wasted.

Yeah, you and I know that's a crock.

Although all the talk of "Viking blood" is kinda cute...I guess. It helps that she's pretty and blond.

[commish]

PEr VElonews -- Daniele Bennati (Lampre), who was third in the points contest, has crashed and abandoned the Tour.

They are saying he has suffered some type of hip injury and a broken wrist. He crashed on the descent from Col du Telegraphe.

[BaBaStooey]

I've typed in "Croix de Fer" on Google Images, and it appears to be a favorite climb of all the "weekend warriors" who bust out their expensive climbing bikes and follow in the footsteps of their heroes.

That's the one thing about this sport that people can get into. Just about everyone has ridden a bike. And if you want, you can go to France and try to ride up these exact same roads.

[commish]

Looks like FLoyd has decided that Play time is over, and it is time to bring Popo back into the Peleton.

[BaBaStooey]

At the bottom of La Croix de Fer..

Tête de course (3 coureurs)
Rasmussen, Casar, Valjavec

Poursuivants (14 coureurs) - 5:55 behind
Popovich, Rubiera, Sinkewitz, Astarloza, Calzati, Bruseghin, Commesso, Arroyo, Garcia Acosta, Verdugo, Parra, Simoni, Gomez Marchante, Lefevre

Peloton - 7:10 behind leaders, 1:15 behind Poursuivants