Stage 8: Castres - Ax-3-Domaines
The first stage in the mountains had always promised to test the legs of the main contenders for the yellow jersey, and when the peloton rode onto the slopes of the massive Col de Pailheres, the Pyrenees delivered.
A breakaway of four riders led the race at the base of the Col de Pailheres, the hors categorie climb up to the highest point of this year's Tour. Their lead was tenuous, and Christophe Riblon decided to attack the lead group and try to ride clear to the summit. It was a strong move that left the other three riders in his wake and threatened, if only for a few short moments, to steal the show away from the main contenders.
With Riblon the lone leader, and team Sky in control of the peloton the attacks from hopeful stage winners started to come. Thomas Voeckler jumped clear moments after an attack from Robert Gesink, but both of their efforts failed when Movistar rider, the Colombian Nairo Quintana, bolted clear of the peloton and started a ride that would move him into contention for the high placings in the overall classification. It was a ride that put him in the lead in the white jersey classification at the end of the stage, and saw him claim the Henri Desgrange prize for leading the race over the summit of the highest mountain in the Tour.
Quintana's attack put pressure on Team Sky to respond, and they did so in their typical, stoic fashion. Sky moved all of their riders to the front of the peloton and started to turn the pace up. The increase in the pace started putting the peloton under pressure, and riders were dropped off the back one by one. The yellow jersey wearer, Daryl Impey, was expected to crack early on, but rode close to the front of the peloton and resisted for some time. When Impey was eventually dropped, the pace of the peloton had already claimed the scalps of some of the well known riders in the Tour. Ryder Hesjedal, Rein Taaramae, Sylvain Chavanel and Wouter Poels had all been cracked under the pressure of the Sky-led peloton and Andreas Kloden would also succumb to the pressure on the later slopes.
Quintana led the race over the summit of the Col de Pailheres by a minute, but some rapid descending from the peloton and some misjudged corners by Quintana meant that the gap had been diminished to just 40 seconds at the base of the final climb. At that point the pressure was growing and it seemed that Quintana's breakaway was set to come to an end before the end of the stage. And come to an end it did, but only after he had ridden himself clear of the other young riders and into a lead in that classification. Quintana's ride today signalled that he will be a force to contend with in the high mountains of the Tour, and he could well find himself in the top 10 when the race reaches Paris.
In the peloton, the work from Peter Kennaugh was done and Richie Porte moved to the front of the Sky train. What followed was a decimation of the main field. Porte cranked the pace up and the peloton disintegrated. Cadel Evans and Andy Schleck cracked and dropped from the group and, one by one, the riders fell away. When what was left of the peloton got their first glimpse of Quintana up the road, there were just five riders left chasing him. Porte had dropped everyone but Froome, Contador, Roman Kreuziger, and Alejandro Valverde. It was a glimpse of the real contenders for this year's yellow jersey.
As soon as Quintana was absorbed by the group of five, Froome went on the attack. It was an attack that was perfectly set up by his team, a planned bid for the yellow jersey. It was executed without a hitch and Froome rode clear of his competitors with 6 kilometres left in the stage. Froome charged up the climb, putting time and distance between him and his closest rivals. He was staking his claim on this year's Tour, and his rivals had no answer.
Behind him, Richie Porte was turning the stage into one to be remembered for Team Sky. The pace had proved too much for Contador, Valverde and Kreuziger, and Porte seized his opportunity to ride clear of them. Froome was up ahead, riding to a stage victory and Porte was behind him making it a one-two finish for Team Sky on the day (and claiming positions one and two in the general classification). At the end of the stage, Froome had claimed the yellow jersey - leading Porte by 51 seconds. Valverde is in third place overall, 1 minute and 25 seconds behind Froome. Bauke Mollema and his teammate Laurens ten Dam are in 4th and 5th overall, just under 2 minutes back. Contador and Kreuziger are 6th and 7th in the general classification, also just under 2 minutes behind. Schleck and Evans lost out the most of all the overall contenders, losing almost four minutes on the final climb.
The Pyrenees continue
The race only spends two days in the Pyrenees this year, but they are two of the toughest days of racing the peloton will encounters. Today's stage saw the peloton summit the highest peak in the Tour before heading up the difficult category 1 climb to the finish. Tomorrow's stage features 5 cols over 168 kilometres. The riders will be given no chance to rest, as the climbs seem to get harder and harder as the day progresses. The category 2 Col de Portet d'Aspet starts the day off before the peloton is made to made to tackle four category 1 climbs before reaching the finish line, one of which is the legendary Col de Peyresourde.
It seems pointless to predict what will happen on the road tomorrow, because so much of the race tomorrow will depend on how well the overall contenders recover tonight. Froome should be content to defend his yellow jersey tomorrow. He won't need to go on the attack, and will probably only attack if he feels that Valverde or Contador is hurting. No doubt Sky will set a tough pace on the climbs to prevent the other riders from jumping clear and trying to put time into Froome's lead. This pace will definitely put the other riders under pressure and will certainly result in the peloton's shrinking as riders fall away. If Schleck and Evans are having a tough time, as it appeared they were today, then they very well may lose more time.
Quintana is in a prime position to take the lead in the King of the Mountains classification, but he will be watched closely by Pierre Rolland. Also, his high position in the overall standings means any move he makes will be watched closely and countered by Team Sky. Furthermore, a move from Quintana could put pressure on his team leader, Valverde, as an increase in the race pace could see him in trouble of being dropped by the leaders as he was today. Rolland is further back in the overall classification, but any move from him should spur a move from Quintana, and then the peloton.
While the actual happenings of the stage tomorrow are uncertain, the one thing that is certain is that the peloton will be reduced once more to only the strongest riders and the favourites for the yellow jersey by the end of the day's racing. After tomorrow's stage, the top 10 could already be taking shape and the names at the top of the general classification could be very close to being decided.
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