Tour de France 2013: Stage 16 Winners and Losers

Winners

Rui Costa

After dropping out of overall contention in the crosswinds of stage 13, Costa was able to gain more than a consolation prize with a comprehensive stage win into Gap. The Portuguese attacked reasonably early on the Col de Manse, countering a move by Dani Navarro and quickly moving clear of the rest of his breakaway companions. After his win at the Tour de Suisse I had Costa down as an outsider for a good overall performance but unsurprisingly he’s found himself in the service of Quintana and Valverde, and Movistar will be pleased that they will have another man to counter Sky and Saxo-Tinkoff over the next few days.

Bauke Mollema

Faced with a number of attacks from Contador, Mollema clung to the back of the group of main contenders to hang onto his second place in GC. The Dutchman has been very impressive over the course of the race so far, riding defensively to protect his position, and today was no difference, although he never really looked in trouble. It will be interesting to see how he copes over the next few stages, but it would be great for new sponsors Belkin to put a man on the podium in Paris. 

Losers

Laurens Ten Dam

The big loser of the day, Ten Dam lost a minute on the other top GC contenders and now finds himself in sixth place below Quintana. As Katusha drove the pace on the lower slopes of the Col de Manse, the Dutchman found himself off the back, whether through poor positioning or poor legs. It will be interesting to see if Ten Dam can bounce back tomorrow, but I doubt he can gain time on Quintana, and might have to look over his shoulder, with Rodriguez finding form as the race progresses.

Philippe Gilbert
Yesterday I tipped Gilbert for the stage win, and sure enough he managed to get into the break, but again fell short, and continues to look for his first victory in the rainbow jersey. The Belgian was undone by finding himself in such a large move, and with good climbers present the race was pace was always going to be high on the final climb of the day. Winning the sprint for eighth won’t be what Gilbert was hoping for at the start of the day. 

Stage 17 Preview

A vital time trial that should set the agenda for the next three days in the mountains. Neither the Cote de Puy-Sanières nor the Cote de Réallon would be particularly tough climbs on a normal road stage (both are just over 6 km at 6%) but in a time trial there is nowhere to hide, so half of the result will be down to simple maths of power versus weight.

The descents and bike choices are also going to be vital. The first descent is arguably the most important, being both narrow and technical in places. However, a good bike handler could gain some vital seconds by switching from a road bike with clip on bars to a TT setup if he’s feeling confident. The descent into Chorges is on wider, less technical roads and should see all the riders on TT bikes as they should be hitting speeds in excess of 60 mph, but those most at home on a TT bike could again gain a few seconds.

Scenario

The best climber and the best time triallist of the overall contenders, this should be a chance for Chris Froome to notch his third stage win of the race and further strengthen his stranglehold on the yellow jersey. A more conservative approach might be too hold back a little and perhaps even give away a few seconds in order to have fresher legs for three tough days that remain in the Alps, but this isn’t the way Froome is racing so far, and I expect him to race for the win.

Among the rest of the GC men, I expect Quintana to make the greatest gains. Over a hilly time trial at the Tour of the Basque Country, the Colombian put 50 seconds into Alberto Contador over 24 km, and it will interesting to see if he can produce the same performance tomorrow.

Further down the classification, I would expect the likes of Peraud, Kwiatkowski, and Rogers to use tomorrow as an opportunity to strengthen their claims for a top ten position.

Stage Win: Chris Froome

Yellow Jersey: Chris Froome