They’ve reached the Alps, and as always the only way is up. The same can be said for the shoulders of le maillot jaune, as Vincenzo Nibali comfortably upped his overall Tour lead with his third stage win that earned him the “King of the Mountains” polka dot jersey today as well. The big ascents have only just begun, because if stage 13 was hard, tomorrow will come.
Nibali’s solo breakaway finish in Chamrousse strengthens his Tour dominance.
For those who think revenge was served yesterday, the Missile sure solved them today!
There he is, at the back left of the lead group.
In the latest trek du jour across flat central farmland that was meant to be an “easy” one, strong crosswinds dictated otherwise, breaking up the peloton into unexpected yet long-hammering groups that ultimately delivered the winner of stage 13. Triumphantly reversing his bout of bad PR, Mark Cavendish powered across today’s finish line in an unquestioned first place, earning his 25th career Tour de France stage win!
Sagan was nowhere near him– relatively speaking of course.
On this Bastille Day, with 13 stages of Le Tour now behind us, the epic cycling event is now two-thirds of the way to its annual grand finish in Paris. From the raw energy of today’s photo finish, to the unfortunate greater-than-usual loss of 35 riders at this point, the ongoing excitement of such remarkable sportsmanship carries the 99th Tour de France into its third and final week, with plenty more fantastic stage finishes like these to come!
With the climbs of the Pyrenees next up, closer and closer these 163 remaining professionals come to their grand and well-deserved finale. Before long we’ll once again be enjoying the Champs-Elysees!
Ryan R. Sanderson 