Le Tour 2014 – Stage 7

Épernay – Nancy

Distance: 234.5 kilometers.

The longest stage so far, crosses the Marne, the Meuse, and a branch of the Moselle with a pair of category 4s and a 15 kilometer downhill run into Nancy, which could get very interesting if there is rain.

The rain wasn’t necessary as people were wiping out all the way to the end, which was a photo finish between Matteo Trentin and Peter Sagan with Trentin getting the stage win in the end. Three riders were unable to finish and more may not start tomorrow from the look of several crashes.

The final ascent was a bit sharp for a category 4, so the sprinters were slowed significantly until they reached the top, then they took off to the finish in Nancy. With high speed and quick changes at the end of the longest stage yet the crashes were inevitable as sprinters went to the front in the final 15 kilometers. Riders were packed together, so any problem resulted in a chain reaction.

Vincenzo Nibali ( Ita – AST – 041 ) [Yellow] 29h 57′ 04″
Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 051 ) [Green] 259 points
Cyril Lemoine ( Fra – COF – 174 ) [Polka Dot] 6 points
Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 051 ) 3 [White]

Team: Astana Pro ( AST – 041-049 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Matteo Trentin ( Ita – OPQ – 079 )
Combative: Martin Elmiger ( Sui – IAM – 193 ) [Red numbers]

Top Ten:

1 Vincenzo Nibali ( Ita – AST – 041 )
2 Jakob Fuglsang ( Den – AST – 042 ) + 00′ 02″
3 Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 051 ) + 00′ 44″
4 Michal Kwiatkowski ( Pol – OPQ – 074 ) + 00′ 50″
5 Jurgen Van Den Broeck ( Bel – LTB – 131 ) + 01′ 45″
6 Tony Gallopin ( Fra – LTB – 134 ) + 01′ 45″
7 Richie Porte ( Aus – SKY – 007 ) + 01′ 54″
8 Andrew Talansky ( US – GRS – 091 ) + 02′ 05″
9 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte ( Esp – MOV – 011 ) + 02′ 11″
10 Romain Bardet ( Fra – ALM – 082 ) + 02′ 11″

The Rest of the Top 30:

11 Alberto Costa Rui ( Por – LAM – 111 ) + 02′ 11″
12 Fabian Cancellara ( Sui – TFR – 163 ) + 02′ 20″
13 Tom Dumoulin ( Ned – GIA – 106 ) + 02′ 25″
14 Bauke Mollema ( Ned – BEL – 061 ) + 02′ 27″
15 Geraint Thomas ( GB – SKY – 008 ) + 02′ 30″
16 Alberto Contador ( Esp – TCS – 031 ) + 02′ 37″
17 Yury Trofimov ( Rus – KAT – 029 ) + 02′ 39″
18 Tejay Van Garderen ( US – BMC – 141 ) + 03′ 14″
19 Thibaut Pinot ( Fra – FDJ – 127 ) + 03′ 24″
20 Michael Albasini ( Sui – OGE – 182 ) + 03′ 29″
21 Jean-Christophe Péraud ( Fra – ALM – 081 ) + 03′ 29″
22 Tiago Machado ( Por – TNE – 206 ) + 03′ 59″
23 Haimar Zubeldia Agirre ( Esp – TFR – 169 ) + 03′ 59″
24 Christopher Horner ( US – LAM – 114 ) + 04′ 13″
25 Laurens Ten Dam ( Ned – BEL – 067 ) + 04′ 13″
26 Mathias Frank ( Sui – IAM – 191 ) + 04′ 13″
27 Mikel Nieve Iturralde ( Esp – SKY – 005 ) + 04′ 28″
28 Leopold Konig ( Cze – TNE – 201 ) + 04′ 45″
29 Paul Voss ( Ger – TNE – 209 ) + 05′ 07″
30 Marco Marcato ( Ita – CAN – 056 ) + 05′ 34″

Did not finish:

Stef Clement ( Ned – BEL – 063 )
Danny Van Poppel ( Ned – TFR – 167 )
John Darwin Atapuma ( Col – BMC – 142 )

Note: Wikipedia has a simple article on the Mountain classification used on the Tour. The basic fact is that climbs fall into five types, with the four numbered types decreasing in difficulty as the numbers get larger, and then there is the Hors Catégorie, literally “without category”, which generally makes you look for an elevator or Sherpas.

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