Key events
38 km to go: Ted Raney gets in touch: “Hi John, since the race is quiet at the moment, perhaps you could fill the time by explaining how Imatra is supposed to turn kilometres cycled into digital currency.”
Andrew Benton does too: “Hello John, its entirely fitting that you’re blogging today’s stage – Brewin in a silly French accent rhymes with Rouen. It’s nominative determinism again! Was there ever a French comedy duo called Raque and Rouen? Maybe not. And that’s probably a good thing.”
The Brewins have drive through Rouen a couple of tines, memories of holidays in Normandy in 1086.
Justin Koole: “Busy at work & thoroughly enjoy the Brit humor and rhetoric : )) I may be 1 of 2 in W Michigan that thoroughly enjoy the 21 days of the TDF. Au revoir!”
Tim Hoy: “I had a marvellous impromptu night out in Ostend in the summer of 1983. Being young carefree and naive my friend and I got off a ferry from Dover at midnight but couldn’t find anywhere on the dock to pitch our tent. So we went into an all night bar. Being English we had no idea there were such things so got hopelessly drunk whilst the barman played David Bowie’s Low all night. We then fell asleep on a 5am train to Brussels and awoke alone in a locked train in the middle of a marshalling yard.”
Went there on a school trip in 1991, to a fairground. Favourite memory, an otherwise taciturn history teacher paying us on a ride, and breaking into broad Manc: ‘me ‘eads gone.” Funny what you remember.
40 km to go: The Cote Jacques Anquetil had its effect, and now they go for St Adrian, where a sprint comes. The leading four seemed likely to split but came back together. Instead, they have dropped around a minute. In the pack, first mention of Pogacar, who is watching Vingegard and Evenepoel like a hawk.
45 km to go: Martinez leads the group out front, and the gap is being extended. Jonas Vingegaard was lucky not to be on the end of a dangerous wobble at the back of the pack.
50 km to go: Here we go, as the first clim approaches. Another crash out the back and now the attacks begin amidst the leaders.
First crash of the day!
53km to go: A touch of wheels towards the back of the field. Matteo Vercher of Total Energies has some road rash, after a smash into some road furniture. Sepp Kuss, a big name, has to remount, as does Fedorov of the Astana team.
55km to go: The Tudor team is told to take positions at the front of the group. The gap is lengthening, back up to 1’ 45” but the roads are narrowing, suggesting some winding climbs coming up.
60 km to go: A wide open space, and that means the wind can gust, and cause a split in the pack. The wind is whipping them along, and the gap has dropped to 1’ 24”. Van der Poel set off at the front of the peloton, taking it up.
65km to go: That leading group have been out for over 100km now. Reminder they are Kasper Asgreen (EF Education-EasyPost), Lenny Martinez (Bahrain-Victorious), Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) and Thomas Gachignard (Team TotalEnergies).
Carlos Rodriguez, the Ineos leader, needs a change of wheel.
70km to go: A descent splits the peloton, and soon enough they will take that turn into crosswinds. They are heading north, and with the Education Easypost team hoping Asgreen can land a win but with Ben Healy and Nelson Powless to use, too.
80km to go: “Hi John. We are sitting baking in the sun waiting for the tour just outside Les Andelys. Atmosphere is gentle and there was no fighting over the crap from the Caravan (they were going so fast I got hit by a lump of Brie and have lovely bruise on my thigh!!) More regular updates please, we’ve no idea what’s going on as all the radios around us are in very fast French. Kate and Steve xx”
The truth, Kate and Steve, is that this is, like Monday, without much combat, building up to the big bangs that come around from 49km to go.” The talk is of a crosswind at 64km to go.
85km to go: Roland Marshall gets in touch: “Hello Mister Brewin, I felt Coquard was very unlucky to get a yellow card for his part in the Philipsen crash, or rather to be the only one to be sanctioned thus. Rex was equally if not more culpable and yet got off scot-free. We haven’t heard a peep out of him, whereas (a visibly distressed) Coquard had the good grace to show remorse (after having summersaulted off his bike a little earlier, no less) for what even Alpecin-Deceuninck have accepted as an unlucky accident. Cycling’s yellow cards look set to become the equivalent of football’s VAR/.”
The gap is still at two minutes.
88km to go: Mike Gresley gets in touch: “Hi John – I see you’ve already dropped the gag once, but how about some love for the 2005 Supergrass album “Road to Rouen”. A hugely under-appreciated album from a band that should be recognised as one of the greats. In my humble opinion at least.”
Saw them live once, at Lansdowne Road, supporting Oasis in 2000. They got blown away by the wind. Not for me, and Oasis weren’t any better. My one time seeing them.
90km to go: Education Easy Post, Asgreen’s team, is sat up the front here, the team of Jonathan Vaughters. You used to know them as Garmin. Ben Healy is their hope for today.
100km to go: Into breezy, woody territory they head, the gap dropping below two minutes. It’s around 50km to go that the climbing truly begins and after that an intermediate sprint. On the TNT coverage, the excellent Jonathan Harris-Bass is regaling us with tales of Josephine Baker, and Charles the Bald, son of Charlemagne. Carlton Kirby – he of the Kirbygasm – is showing some impressive knowledge of Marvin Gaye’s lost weekend in Ostend. Having been myself to Ostend, Marvin must have very down in the dumps.
105 km to go: Simon Thomas gets in touch: “Hi John, “Miguel Induráin (Spain) also won three consecutive Tours and is at present the only man to win five Tours in a row (1991-95)“. In one of his first Tours (86 I think), his dad turned up halfway through the stage and told him to abandon as he was needed at home to get the harvest in.”
110km to go: No prix de combativité handed out on Monday. That suggests what we thought, not much happened beyond the crashes. Not much combat here today but we have a long way to go.
115 km to go: The gap remains at two minutes, in full control of the Alpecin team. Remember, though, there’s plenty of action in the last 50 – four categorised climbs in the last 50 clicks.
125km to go: The four men and true ahead of the pack: Kasper Asgreen (EF Education-EasyPost), Lenny Martinez (Bahrain-Victorious), Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) and Thomas Gachignard (Team TotalEnergies).
130km to go: A reminder of the GC standings, which could be very different by the end of today.
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1. Mathieu van der Poel (NED) Alpecin – Deceuninck 12:55:37
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2. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates – XRG +4
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3. Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) Team Visma – Lease a Bike +6
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4. Kévin Vauquelin (FRA) Arkéa – B&B Hotels +10
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5. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Team Visma – Lease a Bike “
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6. Enric Mas (ESP) Movistar Team “
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7. Joe Blackmore (GBR) Israel – Premier Tech +41
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8. Tobias Johannessen (NOR) Uno-X Mobility “
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9. Ben O’Connor (AUS) Team Jayco AlUla “
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10. Emanuel Buchmann (GER) Cofidis +49
140 km to go: David Kemp gets in touch: “Miguel Indurain (Spain) also won three consecutive Tours and is at present the only man to win five Tours in a row (1991-95).”
The article below, from 2001, did say that. Froome is the only rider to three in a row since if we’re avoiding a certain American podcaster, who probably still thinks he did seven in a row. But any memories of Big Mig are happy ones. His was a golden era.
145 km to go: Alpecin, the team of Mathieu van der Poel, are leading the peloton through le campagne. The bucket hat appears on trend for those at the roadside.
150 km to go: Seems the chasing pack is happy to keep the breakaway at two minutes, and they will pick them up later.
155km to go: Heartwarming story from Reuters on Monday:
Eleven bicycles belonging to Cofidis, stolen overnight before the second stage of the Tour de France, have been recovered, the team’s general manager Cedric Vasseur said on Monday following the third stage of the race.
“I had Christian Prudhomme (the Tour’s director) on the phone during the stage. He was with the prefect to tell us that the bikes had been found in the afternoon”, Vasseur told France TV after the conclusion of the third stage.
The team had earlier reported that five of the 11 bikes had been recovered. “Some of the staff combed the area and managed to get their hands on five bicycles, which had been thrown away by the criminals in undergrowth near the hotel”, the team said in a press release.
The race is going full gas, almost 50km per hour. We are in Macron country here, in the sense that Manu comes from here. Asgreen catches up with the breakaway and they welcome him into their four-man brotherhood.
160 km to go: Van der Poel takes a comfort break as the peloton deigns to the race leader and sits up. Asgreen is giving everything up the hill as he chases that trio of escapees.
Huw Morgan gets in touch: “Just been to Amiens to watch the depart. Always a strange experience “watching” cycling live. We drove an hour and 10 minutes for our 10 month old baby to basically gawp at a 150 young men on their bikes. Wout and Pogacar stopped right in front of us so we feel lucky. My wife’s sense from watching them all at the start was that Jonas looks good and Pogacar looks good. We expect a Royal rumble in Rouen.”
Let’s hope Mrs Morgan is right.
165 km to go: They leave Amiens behind, the city of Jules Verne, where Federico Fellini made Clowns, having crossed the Somme. Not that the peloton is thinking of such deep culture as Kasper Asgreen, a Classic winner, sets off to join a breakaway that’s already go almost two minutes on the pack. No panic just yet, long way to go.
Off they go in Amiens
173 km to go: And we have two breakers in the wind, Lenny Martinez and Jonas Abrahamsen, are those taking it up. The word on the radio is that the wind is high. Will we be seeing echelons already? Thomas Gachingnard goes in chase. None of these are GC contenders so the peloton is relaxed enough. There’s plenty of battles waiting up the road.
Nick Wayne on Bryan Coquard, culpable, if unluckily, in the exit of Philipsen: “Out of interest, what about these yellow cards? Was it considered that he didn’t merit one? If it was mentioned, I missed it. Not that he deserved it as it seemed accidental.”
Coquard: “Obviously, it wasn’t my intention to cause a crash; I didn’t want to take any risks. I was clearly thrown off balance, I almost lost my shoe. Even if it wasn’t intentional, I want to apologize to Philipsen and Alpecin-Deceuninck. Even if I’m not a bad guy, it’s not pleasant.”
Alpecin co-manager Phillip Roodhoft: “Jasper is the victim of something he’s totally not involved in, that’s clear. To be honest, the two others who collided, I think it’s not about blaming. It’s just a stupid crash. Things can happen, and the consequences for us as a team, but mainly for Jasper, are very bad, but what can you say? Bad things happen sometimes.”
And yet, Coquard is on a yellow.
Jeremy Boyce is in touch: “As you say, different profile today. With 2 flat stages and a tt to come, but the mountains literally and metaphorically looming, it’s maybe a day for the gc teams and contenders to show themselves and put some pressure on their rivals? Will the Vismas have a go, or are they already running scared of UAE/Pogacar ? Or keeping their cards close/powder dry ?”
James Irwin gets in touch: “Love your football work, both written and on the Football Weekly pod. (Thanks, James, really appreciated). Thought I would say Bonjour from Gournay-en-Bray, about 60km into today’s stage of the Tour. On holiday with my family on a campsite about two hours away and we are big cycling fans so decided we had to come along. Plenty of atmosphere in this village for the race. Should be a good ending to the stage today once it reaches Côte Jacques Anquetil. Will enjoy reading your live updates while we sit here for the next few hours. Cheers, James Irwin (with wife Tracey and daughter Charlotte, 13.”
Enjoy, team.
Jacques Anquetil, a Rouen native and five-time Tour winner, is remembered with a monument on the Côte Jacques Anquetil climb, which today’s route includes.
The legend was profiled here in these pages in 2001:
Jacques Anquetil (France) 1961, 1962, 1963
Master Jacques came of Norman farming stock, and was a superlative time-trialist whose strength against the clock made him the first man to win five Tours. Famous as a man who liked to live well – champagne, cigars, oysters – he raced up to 230 times a year and made no bones about the fact that in order to do so it was necessary to take drugs. Died of stomach cancer in 1987.
Only Chris Froome has won three Tour de France in succession since as we’re not counting you know who.
The départ fictif is in session in the city of Amiens, and the road to Rouen begins. Now they know how Joan of Arc felt…the streets are full. The Tour de France has visited Rouen 18 times since 1957, and it’s the 14th time for Amiens, though the first since 1977. That year, a finish in Rouen saw Dutchman Fedor den Hertog take the stage, the yellow jersey eventually taken by Bernard Thévenet, a two-time winner with a mixed reputation. Rouen hosted a 2012 stage, won by sprinter supreme Andre Greipel, the GC winner that year was…Bradley Wiggins…yeah, Le Tour is Le Tour.
Here’s Monday’s stage report from Jeremy Whittle.
The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider had been contesting the intermediate sprint at Isbergues when Coquard moved to the right and touched shoulders with another rider, before swerving across into the Belgian’s path, causing him to crash.
“I’m not a bad guy,” a visibly distressed Coquard said at the finish. “I apologise to Alpecin, even if I didn’t mean to do anything. I almost lost my shoe and there was nothing I could do.”
Preamble
Bonjour, tout le monde. Le Tour is Le Tour as we say every year. The casualties pile high, with Jasper Philipsen joining the list yesterday and Remco Evenepoel on the deck, but back up soon as they sped into Dunkirk. These flat stages are often where the pain is sharpest, the speed they rattle along at. Today, still in northern France, will be a bit different, with a Classic-style configuration, with lots of climbs before in the last third, the tough gets going, with repeated nasty climbs. One for the breakaway clubs, and hard work for the team captains, a day of rouleurs and puncheurs. And most probably Tadej Pogacar.
Per William Fotheringham’s pre-Tour guide.
A welter of little hills in the finale including the Rampe Saint-Hilaire, a 750m “wall” in the city centre, 5km from the finish; there will be huge stress for all the contenders trying to get in place for these. Evocatively, one of the late hills is the Côte de Bonsecours, where Jean Robic staged a final-day heist to win the 1947 Tour, but in the Pogacar era there’s not much chance of a repeat.
