Jeremy Whittle is on the scene. Here’s his stage 13 report:
And c’est ça for today. Thank you for reading, emailing, tweeting, and see you next time. Au revoir.
Updated
Again, what a display by Michal Kwiatkowski today. A classy rider and an even classier person.
NEVER. GIVE. UP.
— Michał Kwiatkowski (@kwiato) July 14, 2023
Vive la France! #TdF2023 @LeTour @INEOSGrenadiers pic.twitter.com/Wdy5frCO7h
Updated
The individual time trial, somewhat strangely, comes on Tuesday, stage 16, the day after the rest day. It definitely looks like advantage Pogacar, overall, but there is plenty of racing to come.
Updated
“With Tadej’s advantage in the time trial, strategically he is already in yellow,” emails Scott. “So UAE tactics today could be viewed as defending yellow by keeping a high pace and preventing a Vingegaard attack.”
The old Brucie Bonifications. So important!
Grischa Niermann, one of the Jumbo-Visma sports directors, speaks to Eurosport: “Unfortunately Jonas lost a bit of time, four seconds and four seconds of bonifications … but it was still a good day.
“It’s possible we will be fresher [after UAE Team Emirates used so much energy] … but everyone had a tough day today. It was good for us that there were not 10 bonus seconds on offer in the end. We keep on fighting. I don’t think today made a big difference.
“Of course, we have a plan. Unfortunately I can’t share it with you.”
William Fotheringham’s guide to the next two stages is here, plus the profiles:
Stage 14, Saturday 15 July: Annemasse-Morzine, 152km
The stage 14 battleground, the Col de Joux Plane, is long, and steep, with the final 6km all about 10%; it’s followed by one of the Tour’s trickiest descents to the finish. With climbing right from the start, the break will go early and may well contest the finish. A good chance for riders such as Mikel Landa, but the final descent has Pidcock written all over it.
Stage 15, Sunday 16 July: Les Gets-Saint Gervais Mont Blanc, 179km
Again there is climbing all day; four classified climbs and several unclassified ones, before an uphill finish where France’s Romain Bardet won in 2016, and where most of the damage will be done on the initial kilometres to Les Amerands, where the gradient reaches 18%. David Gaudu is the rider French fans will expect to emulate Bardet, but if the overall contenders get involved that will be a big ask.Stage 14, Saturday 15 July: Annemasse-Morzine, 152km
The stage 14 battleground, the Col de Joux Plane, is long, and steep, with the final 6km all about 10%; it’s followed by one of the Tour’s trickiest descents to the finish. With climbing right from the start, the break will go early and may well contest the finish. A good chance for riders such as Mikel Landa, but the final descent has Pidcock written all over it.
I guess the worst-case scenario for UAE Team Emirates there was that it turned out Vingegaard was stronger on the final kick to the line, and took a few seconds back for himself … however, as the race hits the Alps, Pogacar’s team have definitively shown they intend to go on the offensive. It will be interesting to see how their legs hold up tomorrow, and the day after …
Updated
Dancing in the streets of Ineos Grenadiers this evening:
What a moment for @kwiato 🤩#TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/JKegvgsiGg
— INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) July 14, 2023
“We tried to control on the flat,” Adam Yates, of UAE Team Emirates, tells Eurosport. “It wasn’t easy, because it was a big break. We took it up on the climb … I haven’t seen the result, but I think we did well as a team. Two more days tomorrow.”
Top 10 on stage 13
1) Michal Kwiatkowski 3hr 17min 33sec
2) Maxim Van Gils +47sec
3) Tadej Pogacar +50sec
4) Jonas Vingegaard +54sec
5) Tom Pidcock +1min 03sec
6) Jai Hindley +1min 05sec
7) James Shaw +1min 05sec
8) Harold Tejada +1min 05sec
9) Simon Yates +1min 14sec
10) Adam Yates +1min 18sec
Vingegaard now leads overall by nine seconds
Pogacar’s late attack, with the four bonus seconds for finishing third on the day, means he takes eight second back in the overall race.
It was perhaps surprising that Pogacar didn’t attack sooner. But maybe he just didn’t feel good.
Top three on GC:
1) Jonas Vingegaard 53hr 48min 50sec
2) Tadej Pogacar +9sec
3) Jai Hindley +2min 51sec
Updated
Kwiatkowski speaks after a magnificent victory.
The first question is about winning the stage his own: “I had 18 friends in the break,” he replies. “Obviously I had a nice advantage on the final climb … it was a crazy experience, to be honest. When I entered the break, I thought: it’s a free ticket to the bottom of the climb. But I never thought this group would fight for the stage win, because UAE were riding hard. But I guess it’s hard to catch 20 guys rotating on the front for nearly 100km. Crazy.”
What were the discussions on the team bus this morning? “We just didn’t want to miss any big breakaway … every day we were trying to go in the big moves … I think they (UAE) just let too many guys in the front. I just found the best legs I ever had in my life. I didn’t believe that that’s possible, but here I am …
“The last effort was one of the hardest in my life, but I managed myself well, I paced myself well … without the fans, I guess that wouldn’t have been possible. I didn’t have the [Team Ineos] car behind me, and I couldn’t really hear what was happening. The fans were amazing, they were driving me to the finish. Amazing feeling.”
Updated
Kwiatkowski managed an average speed of 22.1km/h on the Grand Colombier. Massive!
2nd @LeTour stage win for @kwiato with an average speed of 22.1km/h on the ascent up Grand Colombier ⛰️
— letourdata (@letourdata) July 14, 2023
It's a Polish victory (the 7th in @LeTour history) on #BastilleDay 🎆#TDFdata #TDF2023 https://t.co/ZunRthFlBx
Top five on stage 13:
1. Michal Kwiatkowski
2. Maxim van Gils
3. Tadej Pogacar
4. Jonas Vingegaard
5. Tom Pidcock
The exhausted peloton begins to trickle across the finish line. Only two more mountain stages before Monday’s rest day …
Vingegaard wil stay in yellow, but will have lost something like 7sec to Pogacar. So he should still lead the overall race by 10sec.
Perhaps not that much to show for all the effort that UAE Team Emirates put in?
Pidcock comes across the finish line, and gives his teammate Kwiatkowski a big hug.
Updated
Pogacar stands up on the final slopes of Grand Colombier, and puts in a devastating attack … Vingegaard responds, and manages to stick with the Slovenian … but eventually Pogacar distances him! He crosses the line a handful of seconds ahead of Vingegaard, the reigning champion.
Here goes Pog …
Michal Kwiatkowski wins stage 13!
An absolutely phenomenal performance from the Polish rider for Team Ineos. Incredible.
Updated
1km to go: Flamme rouge for Kwiatkowski! He has 1min 07sec. And he is still looking supremely strong. WHAT a ride!
What kind of drama will we see among the GC riders?
Updated
1.2km to go: Iga Swiatek is watching, and cheering on her compatriot:
Allez @kwiato 💪🏼💪🏼 https://t.co/60C42W6vlq
— Iga Świątek (@iga_swiatek) July 14, 2023
Updated
2km to go: Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) attacks from the yellow jersey group. Sepp Kuss covers the attack. Pogacar and Vingegaard are on Kuss’s wheel.
Still more than a minute for Kwiatkowski!
2.5km to go: Zimmerman and Mohoric are bringing up the rear, behind the three chasers who are closest to the lone leader, Kwiatkowski.
It’s impossible to overstate what an impressive ride this is by Kwiatkowski. The smart money was on the GG guys catching today’s break, but the size of it (20 riders to start with) clearly allowed “Kwiato” to save enough energy for this utterly draining final climb.
Updated
3.5km to go: Kwiatkowski continues to dominate that chase group. He has 1min 05sec, and 2min 11 sec on the maillot jaune group.
4.5km to go: Rafal Majka takes it up for UAE Team Emirates. Is Pogacar not feeling good? You’d think he may have attacked by now if he was feeling full of beans …
5km to go: Kwiatkowski continues his seemingly serene progress. He is holding that gap to the chasers – they simply cannot make inroads and his lead is 57sec.
It’s 2min 18sec between Kwiatkowski and the chasing yellow jersey group.
6km to go: Kwiatkowski has 55sec on the three chasers: Tejada, Van Gils and Shaw.
The yellow jersey group is 2min 23sec back.
Updated
6.3km to go: Whatever happens, Pogacar is surely going to attack at some point? The question is when. The stage win looks likely to be gone at this rate …
6.5km to go: Kwiatkowski on the attack.
🔥2'45" for @kwiato over the peloton!
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 14, 2023
🔥2'45" pour @kwiato sur le peloton ! #TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/UyIBasLNUy
7km to go: Vingegaard sticks with his man-marking job on Pogacar. Pogacar is riding directly behind three teammates.
Up front, Kwiatkowski’s lead is 53sec. Unless he hits a wall, he is looking very good for a famous win.
7.5km to go: Will we see a ceasefire between Pogacar and Vingegaard back down the mountain? UAE have certainly put plenty of effort into this day so far. They will want something to show for it. Rafal Majka is up there. Thibaut Pinot is labouring on the climb. There will be no French glory today … Kwiatkowski’s lead falls back slightly to 51sec.
7.8km to go: Now a WHOLE MINUTE for Kwiatkowski! This is an insanely strong ride.
8km to go: It is going to take something special to bring back a rider of Kwiatkowski’s class. Suddenly, his advantage over the chasers is 45sec. The Polish rider is 33, but has always been in top shape, riding in the past few years mainly as a super-domestique for Sky/Ineos.
8.5km to go: Kwiato’s lead falls slightly to 36sec. He is being roared on by the fans on the roadside, who have been waiting patiently for the riders’ arrival.
10km to go: Marc Soler is grimacing on the front of the peloton at the front of a line of UAE Team Emirates. Clearly, Pogacar’s team are being told to give this all they’ve got. This is looking very good for Kwiatkowski as it stands … He has 38 sec now on the chasers! And still 3min 10sec on the peloton.
Updated
10.7km to go: Kwiatkowski has 29sec. Massive effort. The gap is still 3min 11sec back to the bunch.
I interviewed Kwiatkowski back in 2018 and he told me he thought he could ride for GC at the Tour one day.
Updated
11.2km to go: Kwiatkowski, a road race world champion in 2014 and the winner of Milano-Sanremo and Strade Bianche in 2017, has 15sec already!
Updated
11.5km to go: Kwiatkowski is off the front! He rides straight past the front three for Team Ineos. He sneaks round on the inside of a switchback and powers off on his own. He looks strong.
Updated
12km to go: There’s a brilliant shot from the helicopter of the winding hairpin bends, packed with fans, leading up the mountain.
Updated
12.2km to go: The riders up front are on one of the steepest sections of the climb right now. On commentary Blythe says the breakaway riders at the front would be worried if Kwiatkowski can get in touch and I agree with that completely. He’s a brilliant climber. (Kwiatkowski is trying to bridge now.)
Updated
12.5km to go: Oh. Pacher is caught: Van Gils, Shaw and Tejada are there with him now … and in fact they ride straight past. So three up front. It looked like Pacher was beginning to tire.
Updated
13km to go: The breakaway riders are holding the gap impressively. The gap is 3min 51 sec between the bunch and Pacher, who is out front on his own.
Pacher is already shifting his upper body a lot as he tries to grind up the climb and gets the power through the pedals. If he holds the chasers off it will be some ride …
Updated
13.5km to go: “Regarding Pogačar and cake-maker or bread-maker,” emails Matjaz. “Cake is in Slovenian torta. Pogača is in fact pastry for special occasions-celebrations.”
14km to go: Vingegaard and Pogacar are a little further back in the bunch. The Dane is marking the Slovenian, glued to his wheel, no doubt expecting an attack to come …
On commentary Adam Blythe says that Pogacar said he could see Vingegaard was suffering on a previous climb “by looking at his shadow” …
15km to go: A group of 19 riders, that includes Van Aert, has been dumped off the back of the bunch. Up front, Pacher gets out of his saddle and puts in a dig. Surely his attack is doomed, but it’s a brave effort. Meanwhile, UAE Team Emirates continue to set the pace at the front of the chasing pack. They’ve got at least four riders there, maybe five?
15.5km to go: The gap between the bunch, and the front of the race, is 3min 29sec.
15.5km to go: Trentin is pictured dropping off the back of the bunch, which is entirely understandable. He put a BIG shift in for UAE Team Emirates.
16km to go: Quentin Pacher (Groupama–FDJ) pushes on at the front. A Frenchman hits the front! Will there be dancing in the streets of, er, France tonight?
16.5km to go: On Eurosport Jens Voigt said the chances of the break succeeding are something like that of “a drop of water in hell”. “So you’re saying there’s a chance,” replies Carlton Kirby, more or less.
17km to go: Handy information from our Tour de France correspondent, Jeremy Whittle:
If you want to climb the Grand Colombier, a) don’t do it in heat like this and b) here are the dates when it is reserved for cyclists only…👇 pic.twitter.com/TjueiVPKbW
— Jeremy Whittle (@jeremycwhittle) July 14, 2023
17.4km to go: The break is on the final climb! Things are getting real. Strap in, this is going to be tough.
18km to go: It’s 16 riders up front: Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers), Pacher (Groupama-FDJ), Bettiol, Shaw (EF Education-EasyPost), Asgreen (Soudal-Quick Step), Mohoric, Wright (Bahrain Victorious), Stuyven (Lidl-Trek), Petit, Teunissen, Zimmerman (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Oliveira (Movistar), Houle (Israel-PremierTech), Mozzato (Arkéa-Samsic), Van Gils (Lotto-Dstny), Tejada (Astana Qazaqstan), Charmig (Uno-X).
The gap is 3 min 51 sec.
Did you know? Jasper Stuyven owns a chocolate shop in Belgium. He certainly did a couple of years ago anyway.
20km to go: Trentin, still, is stamping on the pedals at the front of the peloton, determinedly chasing down this breakaway. A super-strong ride from the Italian.
The gap is 3min 56sec. We have 16 riders up front.
23km to go: “During last year’s Tour, my flatmate got very confused on mishearing Tadej Pogacar as “Today Focaccia”,” emails Tom. “Maybe she was on to something after all if Pogacar means “bread maker” or “cake maker” in Slovenian!”
Updated
Caleb Ewan (Lotto Dstny) abandons
It wasn’t looking good for the Australian sprinter, 12 minutes and more down and with no teammates to help him, and he has officially packed it in.
❌ @CalebEwan leaves the #TDF2023
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 14, 2023
❌Abandon de @CalebEwan
Updated
24km to go: The race organisers rightly expected a hot pace today. The fastest expected arrival is 17.12 French time.
27km to go: The gap is 3min 57sec. In about another 10km, the breakaway riders will hit the climb.
27km to go: “On Pogachar v. Hummus. Has anyone pointed out yet that Pogačar means breadmaker in Slovenian? What a battle on the couch, Bread v. Hummus!”
According to Google Translate, it’s “Cake Maker”. But the point stands.
Updated
28km to go: The front group is really going for it. It’s 3min 50sec now. They will hit the final climb with something to bowl at.
32km to go: On the descent that leads the riders to the foot of Grand Colombier, the race has broken up somewhat. We have 17 riders up front. Pierre Latour is behind the front group, then Adrien Petit (Intermarché–Circus–Wanty) … then UAE Team Emirates are now massed at the front of the chasing bunch, riding for Tadej Pogacar. Vingegaard and Jumbo-Visma are also safely ensconced in the peloton.
The gap between break and peloton is out to 3min 45sec.
Updated
34km to go: “On reading this version of Caleb Ewan, I feel compelled to bring to the wider world’s attention my children’s mishearing of the current yellow jersey’s name, emails Matt.
”Last summer, having sat alongside me as I watched the Tour, they were arguing over who should be Pogachar, and who should be Hummus Fingerguard.”
38km to go: “Just saw Caleb Ewan is about 11mins back currently,” emails Allan. It’s now up to 12min 48sec, according to the Tour website. “Understand he managed to get in under the time limit yesterday with 7mins or so to spare. Similar situation today or is this more than likely to be it?”
I guess it’ll depend on how hard the GC guys go on the climb. Presumably they will go very hard, so he is indeed in trouble.
Updated
43km to go: “Regarding your comment on struggling to find a way to fit in a reference to ‘This Charmig Man’,” emails Joe … “The opening lyric to the song discusses a punctured bicycle on a hillside. Low hanging fruit, surely.”
James has also pointed this out on email, adding: “Plus Mozza(to) is (was?) in the breakaway.”
Bien.
43km to go: Caleb Ewan (or Cale Balloon, as he’s sometimes known) rolls across the intermediate sprint on his lonesome. A horrible day in the saddle for the Aussie sprinter of Lotto Dstny.
“Not in a nice situation, just fighting on his own right now,” says Adam Blythe on Eurosport.
Updated
46km to go: The gap is 2min 25sec. About 17.4km of climbing awaits at the end, on Grand Colombier, which is going to be tiring, even just watching on telly.
Updated
48km to go: I’m trying to think of a way to shoehorn in “This Charmig Man” but failing miserably.
Updated
Mike Teunissen takes the intermediate sprint
Mike Teunissen (Intermarché–Circus–Wanty) takes the points at the sprint point. Mohoric and Charmig second and third respectively.
Updated
51km to go: “Ben Turner is the rider feeling poorly,” emails Peter. “Stomach problems according to Jens Voigt on the GCN motorbike.”
Thank you.
52km to go: Let’s face it, these breakaway riders haven’t a hope. They do have 2min 05sec, mind you. Back in the bunch Trentin is still powering away at the front on this climb … Mikkel Bjerg, his UAE Team Emirates teammate, is on his wheel.
Updated
53km to go: Caleb Ewan has been dropped by the main bunch on this climb. Perhaps he had a mechanical. It seems no Lotto Dstny teammates have waited for him, so maybe he’s happy to battle back on his own.
Updated
55km to go: Matteo Trentin of UAE Team Emirates, who seems to have been around for decades but is still only 33, leads the chasing bunch up the climb. The gap has fallen a touch to 2min 05sec.
57km to go: On Eurosport, Carlton Kirby wonders why this climb isn’t categorised. It’s a fair question. It’s a very significant climb, as you can see from the profile below. I can’t remember seeing such a big lump that came uncategorised in the Tour.
“Here on the west coast we wake up after the race has started so my routine is to catch up with the Guardian live updates before starting to watch,” emails Chris. “Thanks for allowing me to sleep in to 6am every day!”
58km to go: The race has hit the slopes of this uncategorised climb. The intermediate sprint at Hautville-Lompnes is coming up in under 10km, but will most likely be uncontested.
59km to go: The gap is hovering around that Richie Benaud mark of 2min 22 sec.
“Just a point of info,” emails Joolz. “Only anglophones call it Bastille Day. Here in France (I live in Bordeaux) it’s la Fête Nationale or just le quatorze juillet. (Sorry if you knew this already, but I did see a comment earlier asking why the FR named their national day after a band... which they didn’t.)”
(The thing about the indie band Bastille was merely a silly joke.)
Joolz continues: “I’m a bit late tuning into the France TV coverage today, but I thought I caught the tail end of a comment about a young Britannique being ill? Pidcock struggling? Or someone else? Or maybe I totally misheard.”
I didn’t hear that myself. Anyway thanks for the email, enjoy the stage!
62km to go: Wout van Aert is pictured, close-up, riding in the bunch. Too close in fact: he waves the camera bike away, and the motorbike obliges by speeding off.
63km to go: That gap between break and peloton is up to 2min 22sec. There is no such thing as a pure climber in the group up top, I don’t think, so this isn’t going to be a decisive gap in terms of the stage win. It’s all set up for Pogacar fireworks.
Updated
66km to go: The gap nudges over two minutes: 2min 02 sec.
An email from Dominic:
“Can’t shake the feeling that with Pogacar on the charge and looking back to his imperious best, and on a stage he won previously while Vingegaard looks nervous and repeatedly downplaying his chances, it all points to a Vingegaard death blow atop the Grand Colombier.
“Willing to revisit how stupid/genius I look come the end of the stage.”
It’s such a fine line between stupid and genius, isn’t it? Thanks Dominic.
68km to go: In south-west London, Sinner v Djokovic are duking it out for a place in the men’s singles final at Wimbledon. Daniel Harris has the latest:
72km to go: Everything has settled down after what was a predictably frantic start. The gap has stretched to 1min 52sec. There is an intermediate sprint coming up in 20km, but no one in the break is after sprint points, I don’t reckon.
Jasper Philipsen, who leads the sprint classification with a mammoth 323 points, told ITV last night that he is not interested in expending energy going for the intermediates.
75km to go: Egan Bernal, of Team Ineos, is pictured back among the team cars. He had a stinker on Grand Colombier three years ago. Bernal is 29th in GC, +36min 58sec down on the leader.
77km to go: Bastille Day. Allez!
79km to go: Jen Voigt, who is on the Eurosport motorbike, says he thinks there will be a change in the maillot jaune this evening.
Vingegaard, certainly, can’t seem to shake the idea that he is on the defensive, despite being in the overall lead. Perhaps he could even surprise us all later, show Pogacar a clean pair of cleats, and build his lead in GC?
83km to go: The gap is 1min 27sec. The intermediate sprint comes after about 30km more of racing.
On Eurosport, Maxime Bouet (of Arkéa–Samsic, but who isn’t riding this Tour) explains how hard the Grand Colombier climb. He says it’s similar to Mont Ventoux in terms of effort.
Updated
84km to go: The average speed is 52km/h. Fast and furious. The race rolls past a vast sunflower field. The sky is a clear blue, and the temperature is 32C.
86km to go: The gap to the break is being held at a manageable 1min 20sec. Daniel Lloyd pointed out on Eurosport that it’s not the hardest day to control due to the relatively shorter distance.
Anyway, on a separate note, nine riders have abandoned the race at this point. Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal-QuickStep) and David de la Cruz (Astana Qazaqstan) both packed it in yesterday. The official page is here.
Updated
89km to go: A video from Team Cofidis, of Ion Izagirre arriving at the team hotel following his stage win. Heart-warming.
L'arrivée de Ion à l'hôtel 🫶#TDF2023 🎥 @MathildeLAzou pic.twitter.com/EnnlGQEQ9v
— Team Cofidis (@TeamCOFIDIS) July 13, 2023
93km to go: On Eurosport, the commentators are saying that UAE Team Emirates may be expending a lot of energy for not very much gain if they are riding to control the break and set up the win for Pogacar.
Perhaps they sense weakness in Vingegaard, and fancy their chances of snatching a good chunk of time on Grand Colombier? Even Vingegaard himself has said the climb suits Pogacar more …
Updated
95km to go: The insatiable Felix Lowe, over there on Twitter, keeping an eye on the Tour de France chateaux. Chateaus?
🏰Chateau!🏰
— Felix Lowe (@saddleblaze) July 14, 2023
Could this be the winner? Forget that the pool is perhaps a little bit too narrow and not long enough for doing lengths/laps... Tour de France chateaux don't get much better than this! 9.5/10 #ChateauWatch #TourSwimmingPools pic.twitter.com/VedbCoRYn8
Updated
96km to go: As stated, it’s going to be a draining weekend for these riders. Mountains aplenty. Out on the road, the gap is 1min 26sec.
The peloton of #TDF2023 will stay in the Alps until Wednesday with 2 summit finishes over the next 5 stages:
— letourdata (@letourdata) July 14, 2023
- today, at Grand Colombier (17.4km at 7.1%)
- on Sunday, at St-Gervais Mont-Blanc (7km at 7.7%)
Today's finish is harder but Sunday's stage packs more climbing#TDFdata pic.twitter.com/8PYhG5krFW
100km to go: If this group of 19 stays away, who’s winning the stage? Email me your predictions (that will probably be pointless when the break is caught anyway …)
Updated
101km to go: It’s down to 19 rather than 20 riders up front, and their advantage is hovering around the 1min 25sec mark: Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers), Pacher (Groupama-FDJ), Bettiol, Shaw (EF Education-EasyPost), Asgreen (Soudal-Quick Step), Mohoric, Wright (Bahrain Victorious), Stuyven (Lidl-Trek), Petit, Teunissen, Zimmerman (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Oliveira (Movistar), Houle (Israel-PremierTech), Mozzato (Arkéa-Samsic), Van Gils (Lotto-Dstny), Bol, Tejada (Astana Qazaqstan), Charmig (Uno-X), Latour (TotalEnergies).
103km to go: The current gap between break and peloton is 1min 24sec. UAE Team Emirates are still working on the front of the chasing bunch, but not making any inroads into the break’s advantage.
104km to go: “Regarding the prospect of Cavendish riding the Tour again next year,” emails James, “I’m amazed that no one has pointed out that Team Astana is so hopeless at the moment that having Cavendish on board and getting the publicity of the ‘record hype’ is the only return on investment they can realistically hope for from turning up at the race.
“They don’t have a GC rider, they don’t do breakaways, their best placed rider is in 40th place, they are down to six riders and I’m frankly shocked that they are managing not to be last in the Teams classification (they are 18th). To think they once came to the Tour with Armstrong, Contador, Klöden and Leipheimer. (yeah, I know)
“They were by far the worst performing World Tour team in 2022 as well, but due to the UCI’s ‘interesting’ point system and relegation procedures they are stuck at the top level until 2025.
“This perhaps sounds cynical, but of all the teams certain to be at next year’s Tour, only Astana probably have no other cards to play for publicity and relevance than Cavendish’s attempt on the record. Whether this is the right reason for the Manxman to stick with them is up to him.”
105km to go: UAE Team Emirates have taken up the chase on the front of the peloton, which suggests they do want to control this … but the gap is growing, now out to 1min 19sec.
Updated
107km to go: The gap has flown out to 1min 04 sec: The riders in the front group are as follows: Bol, Petit, Mozzato, Charmig, Wright, Teunissen, Asgreen, Bettiol, Latour, Mohoric, Eenkhorn, Shaw, Pacher, Houle, Stuyven, Zimmerman, Oliveira, Van Gils, Kwiatkowski and Tejada.
No one who is a threat on GC.
Updated
110km to go: All action! We’ve now got 20 riders up front, and the gap has grown to 21sec. These kilometres are ticking away very quickly indeed … and we’ve got a strong break up front that looks like it may make this stick.
Updated
113km to go: This is a fine effort by the four riders up top to get away … but the gap has dwindled to 10sec. Looks like this one will come back too.
115km to go: That previous group of six was shut down. Now it’s Pacher, Van Gils, Oliveira and Teunissen out front, a group of four, and they have 13sec.
117km to go: One of the sports directors comes on the radio, saying that UAE Team Emirates have let it be known that they want to control the race today and go for the stage win. On commentary, Sean Kelly and Robbie McEwen poo-poo this idea. Neither believe UAE Team Emirates will expend the energy to control this.
119km to go: Cavagna (Soudal–Quick-Step), Castroviejo and Fraile (Ineos Grenadiers), Cort (EF Education–EasyPost), Wright (Bahrain Victorious) and Coquard (Cofidis) are the six up front.
Updated
121km to go: Six riders bust away from the clutches of the peloton once again. Is that Mohoric up there? I think it may be. Anyway six riders have five seconds on the bunch, but the bunch is still trying to shut all this silliness down.
We’re told the front group is moving at 56km/h. That’s a spicy meatball!
Updated
122km to go: Cavagna, the Frenchman who hails from Clermont-Ferrand, has a crack off the front again. It is Bastille Day, after all. Not Metronomy Day or Friendly Fires Day.
124km to go: Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies) and Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X) are on the move up front. They have impressively built a lead of eight seconds over the chasing peloton. But chasing is the operative word: the main bunch aren’t having any of this, and are trying their hardest to close it down … Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) is taking charge of the chase, and predictably given his ludicrous power, he shuts it down in double-quick time. All back together.
125km to go: You already know about today’s climb. Stage 13’s intermediate sprint comes at Hauteville-Lompnes, with 50.5km to race. It’s on the way to the top of the long, but uncategorised ascent that comes as an hors d’oeuvre for Grand Colombier.
Updated
128km to go: “Huge day,” emails Paul. “But why have the French declared a national holiday named after a middling but erudite indie synth band? Can any Francophile readers explain? Not knowing is driving me MAD but I’ll wager that it’s do with why we needed to leave the EU and that. I predict we will see Pogacar in yellow today (the colour, not the middling but erudite Swiss synth band).”
Updated
129km to go: Cofidis up front now. There’s a gaggle of riders up ahead of the peloton again. Again they are going to be reeled in. At this pace, we’ll be faster than the fastest predicted stage finish, I’d bet.
130km to go: EF Education–EasyPost now have two riders up front trying to snap the elastic.
“Good afternoon!” emails Bill.
“It’s France! It’s Bastille Day! It’s a big mountain finish! It’s Thibaut’s time! Pinot is going to get a huge stomp on, and the final climb is going to be thrilling heorics in the red all the way to the top. He will take a brilliantly emotional victory on his farewell Tour de France.
“It will be marvellous.”
132km to go: The situation is fluid up front … but now that latest attempt to break away is closed down and we are back together again. This isn’t going to be a nice, relaxed start to the three looming days in the mountains, that’s for sure.
134km to go: Rémi Cavagna (Soudal–Quick-Step) now has a dart. There are four riders who have a few metres on the peloton. Biniam Girmay (Intermarché–Circus–Wanty) gets across and swells the group. Six there now … but I fancy this is going to get pulled back as well. They only have a few metres and it’s strung out at the front as the riders try to pull it back.
136km to go: That first attempt to break away is shut down. But more attacks come almost immediately. Mike Teunissen (Intermarché–Circus–Wanty) is the next to have a bash. He springs out of the peloton on the left-hand side of the road. And several riders give chase.
137km to go: Victor Campanaerts is one of two Lotto Dstny riders up front, trying to form the breakaway. Three Uno-X men are giving chase. They are speeding along at 50km/h.
Updated
Stage 13 begins!
And they’re off. Lotto Dstny are on the attack.
On the telly, there’s a beautiful shot of the Alps looming in the far distance.
Andrey Amador (EF Education–EasyPost) needs a front wheel change following a puncture.
Here we go then. The peloton are rolling along in the neutralised zone. 1.2km until they race.
Jens Voigt believes the break has zero chance of survival today. I don’t agree – and not just because Pogacar said UAE will be keeping their options open …
Updated
As mentioned earlier, De Gendt won on this day in 2016, the same day that Chris Froome went for a jog on Mont Ventoux:
On Eurosport, pundit Dan Lloyd points out that going really deep today may cost riders over the weekend: perhaps not tomorrow, but Sunday. Managing effort over the next three days is going to be so important.
Now Vingegaard speaks, and is asked by Eurosport if this is a climb for Pogacar? “Yes, it suits him better. It’s only one climb in the end. In that case we’ll try to ride a bit defensively today.
Are you going to leave everything to UAE? “Basically, yes.
“I have the lightest options for today [bike and equipment].
“It’s a very, very hard climb. It’s 17km. Especially the bottom of it is very hard. It’s a hard climb to predict. In the bottom it’s steeper … we’ll see what plans everyone else has.”
He looks nervous, in my view, but that’s only to be expected …
Updated
Tadej Pogacar speaks to Eurosport, and is asked about how today may play out: “A lot depends on the break … then we have to decide if we go for it, or we let go.”
Is Grand Colombier a good climb for him? “I think yes, it suits me good. Three years ago was really nice memories. It would be nice to have it again. But today might be totally different than three years ago.”
And what did he think of Jumbo Visma’s tactics yesterday? “It was a bit crazy. They really wanted to go for the break. It was strange to see. But for us, it was OK, we had a good day yesterday. We focus on ourselves, and do our own thing.”
Updated
The headline in GC is that Vingegaard leads Pogacar by 17sec.
Top 10 before stage 13:
Vingegaard 50hr 30min 23sec
Pogacar +17sec
Hindley +2min 40sec
Rodriguez +4min 22sec
Bilbao +4min 34sec
A Yates +4min 39sec
S Yates +4min 44sec
Pidcock +5min 26sec
Gaudu +6min 01sec
Pinot +6min 33sec
Mark Cavendish gives an update following his unfortunate departure from the race. He says his broken collarbone is slightly complicated by a previous injury – the one he sustained when he crashed in Harrogate in 2014. Anyway, aside from that, he sounds upbeat and thanks everyone who’s sent him messages of support. It’s been “wicked”, he says.
An update on @MarkCavendish from his hospital bed 🤕#TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/YqY0pM7i8y
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 14, 2023
One more next year … ?
Ion Izagirre mounted a superb lone breakaway yesterday to snaffle Cofidis’s second stage win of this Tour. Here’s Jeremy Whittle’s report, kicking off with some “Hell yes, I’m tough enough” thoughts from Vingegaard on the looming battle with Pogacar on Grand Colombier:
Updated
Chris Froome enjoyed some good times on Mont Ventoux, of course, but things are rather different now. Sylvan Adams, Israel-Premier Tech’s owner, took the opportunity yesterday to point out that the four-times Tour winner has not provided value for money since signing for the team in 2020:
Seven years ago today: everyone’s favourite Belgian breakaway specialist, Thomas de Gendt, won the stage on Mont Ventoux. (Being pedantic, it wasn’t “atop” Mont Ventoux as the Lotto Dstny tweet states. The finish was at Chalet Reynard, I think, but certainly not atop the mountain as you can see from the photo.)
Throw🔙
— Lotto Dstny (@lotto_dstny) July 14, 2023
Seven years ago, a memorable win atop Mont Ventoux for @DeGendtThomas on #BastilleDay! pic.twitter.com/11l7mSLDCa
Updated
It’s the 14th of July – Bastille Day – a time for French pride and, perhaps, a French stage winner?
Here’s a picture of Tony Gallopin (Lidl-Trek) waving the flag, a proud Frenchman, but not the type of rider who will be in contention for today’s win.
Below that, a hint from the Tour’s official Twitter that we may see an appearance from the Patrouille acrobatique de France.
🇫🇷 Bastille day on the Grand Colombier
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 14, 2023
🇫🇷 Fête nationale au Grand Colombier !#TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/J32EMuqRAv
Updated
The omens could hardly be better for UAE Team Emirates today. In 2020, Tadej Pogacar won stage 15 atop Grand Colombier on a day that Egan Bernal’s attempt to defend his title with Team Ineos disintegrated. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) remained well placed for the overall win, or so it seemed before that fateful final time trial.
Preamble
Have you got much planned for this weekend? The Tour de France certainly has: three mountain stages, beginning today, that may even determine the overall winner. The race hits the Jura Mountains this afternoon before two punishing days in the Alps on Saturday and Sunday. This afternoon’s route is relatively short, at 137.8km, but very sharp with a summit finish atop Grand Colombier, 17.4km long, peaking 1,501m above sea level.
We will almost certainly see a full-on early fight to form a breakaway among the peloton’s climbers who fancy a stage win, but regardless of how the rest of the stage plays out, attention will be focused on Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar on that final, attritional ascent. The Slovenian Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) is just 17sec behind his Danish rival in the general classification. Vingegaard, of Jumbo-Visma, may still lead the race, but there is a sense Pogacar is getting stronger and merely waiting for his moment.
Perhaps the GC teams will seek to control things, and let Vingegaard and Pocagar duke it out for the stage win as well as precious seconds in the GC at the front of the race? However it shakes down, the relatively short distance and the finely-balanced situation at the top of the standings means it’s going to be gripping entertainment anyway.
Scheduled stage start time: 12.55 BST
Updated
