The volume of most rock bands is around 110 decibels; the sound of gunfire is 140 decibels and the Saturn V rocket was measured at 204 decibels - they all pale in comparison to the thwack of elastic snapping that reverberated throughout the French Jura mountains on Friday.
This Tour de France has been hard. They’re all hard, but this has also been raced with a wanton abandon that doesn’t come as standard and has taken its toll on the entire peloton. It couldn’t last forever.
