The Tour de France witnessed a gripping tale of two riders played by out by the eventual winner of the stage, cycling’s God of Thunder, Thor Hushovd and the doughty Frenchman, Jeremy Roy.
The two riders broke away in a group of 10 early in the stage with the outside category climb of the Col d’Aubsique looming.
Thor Hushovd declared his ambition by attacking early on the massive 16.4 km slope. Only Frenchman Jeremy Roy and David Moncoutie responded.
Jeremy Roy pushed on past Hushovd and was first to the summit. He was also the first to reach the summit of the Col du Tourmalet yesterday and as a result became the holder of the polka dot King of the Mountains jersey.
But, this was not his main goal. It was to get the stage win.
No other rider in this year’s tour has attacked so much or has been involved in so many breakaways.
The courageous Roy gave himself every opportunity. His lead at the top of the climb was 55 seconds over Moncoutie and 2 minutes five seconds over Hushovd.
The question became could he hold out the current world road race champion, Thor Hushovd. The descent saw him join Moncoutie and in tandem they worked to draw in Roy in like a piece of string.
Gradually, the lead disappeared, 45 seconds with 15.5 kms to go, 20 seconds with 12 kms, 15 seconds with 5kms. With 3kms to go, Hushovd launched his assault. It was like watching a big cat take down his prey. He left Moncoutie in his wake and mercilessly gobbled up the Roy with 2.2km to go.
Hushovd powered on to record a remarkable victory.
It was his ninth stage victory of the Tour. He called it the best moment of his career. And who are we to argue, for a sprinter to attack the Col d’Abisque with his solid 81kg frame and to then have the energy on the flat to salute the finish line. He called it crazy, but it worked.
It was heartbreaking for Jeremy Roy the disappointment was almost too great.
“It was two against one, plus a headwind. And when I had to take the two climbs near the entrance to Lourdes, it crushed me. I overcooked the engine. It would have taken a miracle for me to win, but it wasn’t to be this time,” he said dejectedly.
Thirteen stages in and a Frenchman is yet to win a stage.
The yellow jersey contenders, including Cadel Evans, contented themselves with following Thomas Voeckler and his Europecar team up the climb and all the way to the finish. There were no attacks today.
But, one thing for certain is that there will be attacks tonight.
Stage 14 from Saint-Gaudens to Plateau de Beille is 168.5 km and has 6 climbs. Two of which are Category 1 and the final climb of the stage which is Hors Category.
• Km 62.5 – Col de la Core (1 395 m) – 14.1 km climb to 5.7 % – Category 1
• Km 109.0 – Col d’Agnes (1 570 m) – 10.0 km climb to 8.2 % – Category 1
• Km 168.5 – Plateau de Beille – 15.8 km climb to 7.9 % – Category H
Tour history says that every rider who has previously won at Plateau de Beille has gone on to the win the Tour.
Who will it be this year? The climb up the Plateau be Beille will be something to savour.
Stage 13 Results
POS No. Name Team Time Gap
1 051 Thor HUSHOVD GRM 03:47:36 00:00:00
2 157 David MONCOUTIE COF 03:47:46 00:00:10
3 138 Jérémy ROY FDJ 03:48:02 00:00:26
4 172 Lars BAK THR 03:52:36 00:05:00
5 127 Jérôme PINEAU QST 03:52:38 00:05:02
6 114 Edvald Boasson HAGEN SKY 03:52:39 00:05:03
17 181 Thomas VOECKLER EUC 03:55:13 00:07:37
19 011 Andy SCHLECK LEO 03:55:13 00:07:37
25 141 Cadel EVANS BMC 03:55:13 00:07:37
42 018 Frank SCHLECK LEO 03:55:13 00:07:37
Overall Standings
POS No. Name Team Time Gap
1 181 Thomas VOECKLER EUC 55:49:57 00:00:00
2 018 Frank SCHLECK LEO 55:51:46 00:01:49
3 141 Cadel EVANS BMC 55:52:03 00:02:06
4 011 Andy SCHLECK LEO 55:52:14 00:02:17
5 091 Ivan BASSO LIQ 55:53:13 00:03:16
6 161 Damiano CUNEGO LAM 55:53:19 00:03:22
7 001 Alberto CONTADOR SBS 55:53:57 00:04:00
8 021 Samuel SANCHEZ EUS 55:54:08 00:04:11
9 032 Philippe GILBERT OLO 55:54:32 00:04:35
10 052 Tom DANIELSON GRM 55:54:32 00:04:35
Green Jersey Standings
POS No. Name Team Points
1 171 Mark CAVENDISH THR 264
2 088 Jose Joaquin ROJAS MOV 251
3 032 Philippe GILBERT OLO 240
4 051 Thor HUSHOVD GRM 192
5 033 André GREIPEL OLO 164
Polka Dot Jersey Standings
POS No. Name Team Points
1 138 Jérémy ROY FDJ 45
2 021 Samuel SANCHEZ EUS 40
3 038 Jelle VANENDERT OLO 34
4 018 Frank SCHLECK LEO 24
5 204 Johnny HOOGERLAND VCD 22
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