The Hardest Day

The Yellow Jersey has changed teams but that doesn’t mean that AG2R has rested because of their previous accomplishments. Yesterdays stage, that contained two enormous climbs, saw Goubert and Roche vying for the win. It was an incredible ride by both these riders and at the finish it was a drag race of seconds between the winner and the top five places. Roche really has been one of the surprises of this Tour de France. Roche is a young rider that has proven he has the nose for finding the breaks and the legs to put himself in them. He has a great combination of climbing and sprinting skills which makes him dangerous in any move. This is why the new BH G5 really suits his riding style. The combination of being one of the lightest bikes on the market combined with superb stiffness has given the AG2R riders a big boost of confidence. The Tour is hard enough on its own without worrying about equipment. The AG2R riders train hard, race hard, and are fortunate enough to partner with BH to help them deliver great results.

At the start line for Stage 17 I saw Goubert getting prepared for the race and I walked over to Nocentini and congratulated him for the excellent ride all last week. Usually after someone loses a jersey they disappear off the radar and no one bothers them. I took this opportunity to see how he was doing and surprisingly he seemed fresh and still ready to race. He also confirmed that the G5 was working great and he liked it best in the mountains. Nocentini had hoped to make the break on Stage 17 and he was certain that it would go on the first climb.

Todays stage, perhaps the hardest stage of the Tour, blew up right away. At the start a large break took off immediately and as is customary AG2R had two riders present again in the front group. There are teams in this race that barely have had one rider represented in the break and many usually miss the whole move. AG2R has been incredibly attentive every day and on stage 17 they put Roche and Arrieta into the front group. The five big climbs were a big test for the riders. I noticed many of the riders using lightweight carbon wheels to help with their acceleration on the up hills. The carbon wheels also work very well with the new larger head tube on the bike. This combination of sturdiness delivers comfort in the form of feeling secure and confident into the fast turns. After every one of these grueling climbs the riders bombed the descents. It’s a very finite line between pushing a bike to the limit and pushing it too far to cause a crash. The G5 somehow broadens that line with a very responsive front end and the integrated seat post allows a more stable feeling to maneuver the bike threw hard turns.

In the race the gap grew but when the front group hit the final climbs it was not a matter of tactics to stay in the front but a matter of having the climbing legs to challenge for the finish. The leaders with their climbing speed, on the last two climbs, flew up the hills as they tried to sort out the overall classification. Contador rode superbly until some questionable attacks at the top of the last climb. Here Contador attacked and dropped his teammate Kloden. This sent Kloden spiraling backward and losing his third place overall. Many say this was a tactical mistake but I believe Contador does not trust anyone on his team and attacked to further himself from Kloden. Kloden is a good climber, a better time trialist and the further from Contador the more relaxed Contador will feel.

At the end of the day Pellizotti wrapped up the KOM jersey from any challengers and the stage also saw the Green Jersey become protected. Now with four days left in the race both Pellizotti and Hushovd have a large enough lead that no one can touch them. Contador has yellow, the Schlek’s sit in second and third overall, and Lance is fighting to keep a spot on the podium.