Tour de France Stage 14 Preview: Finish on the Plateau de Beille
by Willj on Jul 15, 2011 1:00 PM EDT
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Photo: Robert Laberge / Getty Images
Just thinking about this final stage in the Pyrénées makes me tired. Stage 14 will feature six categorized climbs including a mountain top finish up the fearsome Plateau de Beille.
Plateau de Beille has only appeared in the Tour de France four times – but every time the stage winner has gone on to win the Tour: Pantani in 1998, Armstrong in 2002 & 2004, and Contador in 2007.
Stage 14
The profile tells a frightening story. Six categorized climbs and plenty of very steep kilometres along the route. The Grupetto may form in the first 20 minutes of this stage. Seriously.
Source: Official Tour de France site
Col de Portet-d'Aspet
Portet d'Aspet will be the first categorized climb of the day. It's short but very steep.
During the 1995 Tour, Fabio Casartelli tragically died while descending the side that will be climbed in stage 14. Shortly after descending a 17% stretch in the woods Casartelli lost control on a sharp left turn.
Just above the crash site, the Peloton will pass the stele commemorating the Italian Olympic Gold Medalist.
After Portet d'Aspet comes the 1st Category Col de la Core (profile) and the 2nd Category Col de Latrape (profile) which has a half kilometre at +14%.
Col d'Agnès - 1st Category
Agnès is the 9th hardest climb in the 2011 Tour according to our difficulty rankings - and the hardest non hors categorie climb.
This will be the 5th Tour appearance for Agnès. Robert Millar was the first to ever cross the summit in a TdF in 1988. Pantini in 1995, Astarloza in 2009 - and the only time that Agnès preceded Plateau de Beille in 2004, the Chicken Rasmussen was first over.
As the profile shows, there are plenty of steep kilometres. It's a beautiful and quiet climb with nice mountain views especially to the south:
After Agnès is a short descent to the Etang (pond) de Lers before a short 3rd category climb over Port de Lers. It's actually quite a challenging and lovely climb on each side, but the Tour route will only taste the top few kilometres.
Those left in the Peloton will face 25 kms or so downhill - passing the Grotte de Niaux famous for early-man cave drawings.
Plateau de Beille
The second hardest climb in the 2011 Tour, it's relentless. Despite only appearing four previous times in the TdF, Plateau de Beille has already achieved a reputation as a legendary Tour climb. It's a steep, hair-pin filled road up to the plateau. Long used solely as pasture land, it has more recently become a popular cross-country skiing site - with a small beer-serving restaurant.
For cyclo-tourists it's a very quiet road (as it goes no-where). Marco Pantani holds the record for the fastest ascent (1998) at 43 min 30.
This should be fun.
Photo: Above a friendly "warning" sign at the start of Plateau de Beille
A Final Word
This stage was my vote as the toughest in 2011. Podium Cafe voted it the second most difficult. It's full of long steep stretches from the very beginning to the very end of the stage. There is absolutely no-where to hide. Expect carnage.
Only the very strongest will be near the front at the finish. And chapeau to any sprinters that survive the day without hanging onto their team cars.
Feel free to use the comments to give your stage predictions (or hopes).
Enjoy.
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Permission: Creative Commons License. Author: Adam Baker
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A great stage for the KOM hunters
Lots of points available for anyone who wants to get in an early breakaway, grab KOM points and then ride slowly up the Plateau de Beille.
But who? Vanendert and/or Moncoutie would be my guesses. I’d be surprised if Roy has the legs for another breakaway tomorrow. Other guys high in the KOM standings are too high on GC to go off in a breakaway on this stage.
If there are no well-placed KOM candidates in the breakaway, Sam San might take over the spotty jersey just by riding with the GC leaders.
MJB
He didn't actually take any points
But yeah. Yesterday he said he wasn’t going. I don’t know, I think he doesn’t know himself.
He got 2 on the cat 3 climb
Badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger...
by TheFigurehead on Jul 15, 2011 3:47 PM EDT up reply actions
only just in the case of belgium
they put a ladder at the top to make it higher than the highest point in holland (or over 300m or sumtin)
by thebongolian on Jul 15, 2011 6:12 PM EDT up reply actions
Go Basso!
For stage and Tour!
"It's the greatest job in the world until Peyton comes off the field and you think his thumb might be broken and there's three minutes left in the AFC Championship Game and you're down by three to New England and you haven't taken a snap all year. Yeah, it's a great job until that point." - Jim Sorgi.
"If I couldn't play for the Colts, I would probably stop playing football." - Peyton Manning.
Intermdiate sprint on the first descent?
Good for Gilbert?
Surely 170 riders can't fuck up this magnificient invitation.
Excellent opportunity to reduce the peloton to less than 100 riders already on the first climb.
Basso
I think Basso will grind out a win here after the Schlecks blow themselves up trying to drop Contador. Evans will be close behind.
Evans will be close behind who?
Close behind Basso grinding out a win, or close behind the Schlecks blowing themselves up trying to drop Contador?
If he can put time on both AS and AC, I can see him taking ...
… yellow as a side effect of that and of Frank being mired back in the AS vs AC fight.
I don’t see him targeting yellow at this point so much as targeting time on the main GC contenders.
I absolutely must be critical of the Schlecks here
(warning: do not read or attempt to understand unless fluent in sarcasm)
Why were they so conservative in Stage 12? When Frank Schleck dropped all of his main rivals, Andy just sat back and followed wheels. Andy should have chased his brother and pull the rest of Frank’s rivals back to him. His decision of sitting back and letting Cadel Evans waste energy doing the exact same thing was such a mistake. He should have wasted his own energy.
Don’t get me started on Contador. Alberto was obviously weak, based on his awful performance in which he finished with the same time as all of his rivals up that gargantuan Super-Besse mountain. The Schlecks didn’t attack, and they should have. That one-two punch towards the beginning of the climb doesn’t count for some reason. And that thingy where Frank somehow ended up 20 seconds ahead of everyone else? Totally wasn’t an attack.
It’s just bad for cycling that the Schlecks only focus on one race per year. They should do want Contador did last year—use a bunch of shit small races as training for the Tour, and in the process, accidentally fall into a few stage race victories that neither he nor anybody else cares about. Their careers would be so much more exciting that way. Better yet, they should peak for the Giro, and then ride the Tour. Just look at Basso and Evans. Those guys were so much more exciting and fun when they were competing for the win in Italy, only to finish absolutely nowhere in France. Imagine how much better this Tour would be if the Schlecks were getting unceremoniously dropped on every climb.
And if Evans/Basso were also uncompetitive this year?? WHAT A TOUR we would have!!
Shame on Cancellara. The fact that he didn’t neutralize every single stage where a GC guy fell, just proves what a hypocrite he was last year. The only reason he told the peloton to wait for the 4,718 riders that crashed down an oil slicked hill was because Andy Schleck was one of them. If Schleck was still in the peloton, he wouldn’t have given a shit, and then fifteen other teams would have slowed down the peloton instead. That would have drastically changed the outcome somehow. He should have neutralized the team time trial, but he didn’t because he knew that Schelck had a chance to gain time there.
Well at least I have 1995, 2000, and 2003. Those were fun.
by dees ees en drama on Jul 15, 2011 2:30 PM EDT reply actions
Meh... 5/10
You’re spot on, but needs to be more subtle to lure people in ;)
Unless I am grossly overestimating myself
I think it’s fair for me to say that I don’t post with this level of sarcasm in response to every disagreement—or even most disagreements, or more than a couple.
That said, you have a fair point with regard to this post (I think that’s what you were referring to in the first place?).
Well at least I have 1995, 2000, and 2003. Those were fun.
by dees ees en drama on Jul 16, 2011 12:18 AM EDT up reply actions
'He should have neutralized the team time trial'
{harumph} QUITE! Hear, hear! If only Fabian had neutralized the TTT, then Euskaltel Euska … uh, those orange riders wouldn’t be such a bloody far way back in the team competition. AFAICTabout 6’ of that 14’07" is from the TTT alone! Struth!
I’m not precisely certain how one neutralizes the TTT, but if anyone can, Spartacus can, so it clearly falls on his shoulders.
As far as Cadel riding the Giro, I saw him tweet last year that the girls in Italy seemed to like the pink jersey he was awarded for staying upright on slippery roads … so it may be that Chiara put her foot down on him riding in the Giro this year. Shouldn’t say something like that where the Trouble and Strife can see it.
Preach it, Brother!
A bit too much club, and not enough of the rapier, but pretty darm good — even the parts I disagree with.
[Pigilito has a] lifetime stupid statement pass [on PdC] -- Yeehoo
I'm just sitting in my tent after climbing PdB
I’m feeling fresher than I thought. I didn’t bother with today’s stage, the traffic sas mental last night and I didn’t want to lose another riding day
The very start and a bit around 10km where it was 12% for a while hurt, the rest was fairly standard faire I thought. Maybe a day rest helped my legs, but it seemed far easier than Liz Ardiden.
Horses for courses, I know, but I really enjoyed it.
By lunch time today the place was packed. Tonight on the descent the parties were kicking off in style. This is a magnitude bigger than the Luz Ardiden finish.
jealous
enjoy yourself out there.
"Ants don’t worry, they operate like a fantastic team, they accept obstacles and deal with them in a positive manner, they don’t complain and remain positive. An ant doesn’t work on emotion, is proactive and always chooses the ant role."
Wow! I didn't realize you were going to climb ANOTHER mountain!
You’re awesome. Have fun.
by KnittingGene on Jul 15, 2011 4:26 PM EDT up reply actions
How much time will Tommy Lose?
My guess is over 10 minutes. Frank in Yellow as of Saturday evening.
My only issue with this stage is the 25 km between Vicdessos and Les Cabannes...
Hopefully that won’t prevent the big guns for trying something on the Latrape/Agnes double. It’s gonna be super important to have people sent in front to help pulling in that valley… I’m trying to get less excited than for yesterday, so that will be all for now :)
I noticed this was missing. What better way to prepare for Plateau de Beille than to ride (the chicken)?
by Jens on Jul 15, 2011 4:15 PM EDT reply actions 3 recs
Sort of like
a goat call?
If cobble delusions are wrong, who wants to be right? -JFS PGH
by Chris Fontecchio on Jul 15, 2011 5:34 PM EDT up reply actions
That sign
sure would look better if they gave Tourbecco his due.
If cobble delusions are wrong, who wants to be right? -JFS PGH
by Chris Fontecchio on Jul 15, 2011 5:33 PM EDT reply actions
we could get all guerilla vandalism style
get some becco head stickers made, distribute them to all the pdcers around the world, and stick them on signs, over the heads of cyclists. it wouldn’t be very nice, but it’d be funny.
"Ants don’t worry, they operate like a fantastic team, they accept obstacles and deal with them in a positive manner, they don’t complain and remain positive. An ant doesn’t work on emotion, is proactive and always chooses the ant role."
by ant1 on Jul 15, 2011 5:40 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
much, much better.
If cobble delusions are wrong, who wants to be right? -JFS PGH
by Chris Fontecchio on Jul 15, 2011 5:57 PM EDT up reply actions
Jens
I think this should be the cover for our live coverage tomorrow, don’t you?
If cobble delusions are wrong, who wants to be right? -JFS PGH
by Chris Fontecchio on Jul 15, 2011 5:57 PM EDT up reply actions
becca's cute
"Ants don’t worry, they operate like a fantastic team, they accept obstacles and deal with them in a positive manner, they don’t complain and remain positive. An ant doesn’t work on emotion, is proactive and always chooses the ant role."
Very simple
the winner here has never lost the tour
all that really needs to be said of the importance of the stage
So I'm thinking about 65% chance
that Voeckler keeps yellow tomorrow.
Riis thinks that Contador could loose a little more time tomorrow and still win the Tour. Somebody give Riis a blood test. If Contador looses any more time tomorrow the only way that he will win the Tour is with a transfusion. A guy who did the Giro isn’t going to get better in the last week of the Tour.
from the 2007 TdF stage
(courtesy of my husband, as I was feeling sick that day and didn’t make it very far up the climb :-( )
+1
"It's the greatest job in the world until Peyton comes off the field and you think his thumb might be broken and there's three minutes left in the AFC Championship Game and you're down by three to New England and you haven't taken a snap all year. Yeah, it's a great job until that point." - Jim Sorgi.
"If I couldn't play for the Colts, I would probably stop playing football." - Peyton Manning.
by gizzardfanny on Jul 16, 2011 4:14 AM EDT up reply actions
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