So as we approach the midway point of the Tour we have been treated to quite a feast, with the bulk of the climbing still ahead of us we nevertheless got to see all the contenders and their relative strengths over the past two stages.
Sky showed they are immense but not impenetrable, in fact if today's stage was any indication of how things will progress they will surely be worrying and wondering how they will be able to control the 3 stages in the Alps which come all in a row. And with Kiriyenka gone, Thomas injured, Stannard also bearing bruises, Lopez looking poor and Kennaugh crashing today (though he looked fine chasing for Porte) there is more than cause to concern.
have been super impressive but they don't have a climber to rival Froome. Castro, Amador, Plaza, Nairo, Piti, Costa they all featured today and with that kind of strength in depth they would be hoping to put Sky to the sword in future stages. It is after all all they can do in the hope they can eventually cause Froome to crack.
with mixed feelings, they looked pretty strong but their leader didn't show on A3D the potential to win the Tour. Kreuziger meanwhile looked terrific and Contador needs to step up quickly with a good ITT and hope he can perform as only he can on Ventoux. Sprinters have been a mixed bag. Effectively all the big guns have got a stage and that is even considering Gerrans and Bakelants' steals. Sagan has effectively sealed the
and Cav would be aiming to win 2 of the 3 sprint stages after the ITT if not even more. But the quality he is up against is really incredibly high and so it will be quite a battle. All in all we have seen amazing action on the big climbs, full out racing from the very beginning of stages, epic sprints, breakaway riders stealing the sprints from right under the nose of the sprinters and OGRE's bus getting stuck..
Bring on the next 12 stages
Where we stand atm:
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