The biggest news from the Tour de France’s big debut in the mountains actually occurred thousands of miles away in the eastern province of Canada, where somewhere, someone did something that caused a break in the fibre-optic line, and thus a disruption in the cable service, right in the middle of the broadcast of stage 12.
So I missed the feed station, and first two climbs, but got to see the intro, Paul, Phil and Bob’s picks, and the last 5 miles of the final climb to Luz-Ardiden.
The final climb was everything that was promised. The contenders including Alberto, the Schleck brothers, Cadel Evans, Ivan Basso, and yellow Jersey holder Thomas Voekler powering up the hill. Simultaneous attacks by the schleck brothers to try and break the group. A sustained breakaway by Samuel Sanchez and Jelle Vanendert. Crouds and crouds of fans lining the course, shouting encouragement to their favorite riders, at times almost closing in the roads.
The hilights of that final ascent:
1. Brother Frank manages to break away from the group of contenders, and almost bridges to the breakaway to challenge for the stage victory.
2. Sammy Sanchez hangs on for the stage victory.
3. Frenchman Thomas Voekler retains the yellow jersey on the national French holiday of Bastille day.
4. Alberto loses more precious seconds on the contendors.
What stood out was that of the Schleck brothers, Frank looked much more comfortable. Alberto failed to attack and send out the message that he was serious. Nobody really stood out. Which makes me think that this years winner won’t be the first one to attack the mountains, but the last one to crack.
The overall standings can be found here.
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