14 DAY TRIAL // The seventeenth stage of the 2014 Tour de France is almost the exact opposite of the previous one, aiming to be short, to encourage attacking riding from the favorites and to finish on top of a mountain after four major climbs are conquered by the riders.
With a length of just 125 kilometers the course will be one where attacks start right away and where a powerful cyclist can get away on the first major climb and then stay away until the end, as long as the teams do not manage to cooperate in order to chase him down.
The final Pla d’Adet climb takes the peloton to a small ski station that has long been associated with Le Tour and has witnessed victories from disgraced cyclists like George Hincapie and Lance Armstrong but also from the legendary Raymond Poulidor, who in 1974 managed to defeat the equally well-known Eddy Merckx.
This could be one of the decisive days of the race and the major favorites will try to keep close tabs on their adversaries, evaluate their form and launch attacks as soon as they see signs of hesitation or tiredness.
For the virtual version of Trek Factory Racing the plan is to hang back and let the more powerful teams test each other, looking for an opportunity to maybe get a good position on the final mountain and get back some time on those who are ahead of Frank Schleck on the GC.
Again the most powerful riders in the peloton contested the win among themselves and there was nothing I could do in order to stop them using my squad.
Saxo Bank controlled the action from the start but they were almost tricked by the escape group, from which Cameron Meyer from Orica jumped ahead, trying to secure a famous victory on the Pla d’Adet.
He was caught just before the line by Froome and by Contador, with a number of other solid climbers making up the top ten.
Some sprinters did not make the time cut and have withdrawn from the grand tour.
The leader of the Sky team has once more managed to get some seconds back from the current leader of Le Tour de France and it will be interesting how the two perform in the coming final mountain stage and then in the time trial that will take place Saturday and will cement the final standings in this edition of the race.
