Cycling: Today the pros were already active in the Pyrenees. Tomorrow they will have to complete another section in the mountains between France and Spain. While the stage win will probably go to the escapees again, we expect an exciting fight for the yellow jersey behind them.
5 climbs on the way to Laruns
Day #2 in the Pyrenees takes the riders from Pau to Laruns. On the 153,0 km long course, 5 climbs have to be completed. However, only the last climb will be in the fight for the stage win and will be important for the overall ranking. The Col de Marie Blanque belongs to the first category and has an average gradient of 7,7 percent over a length of 8,6 kilometers. It begins quite humanely at around 5,0 percent, but then gets steeper and steeper. The second half of the mountain climbs almost constantly at over 10,0 percent and is therefore made for attacks. The stage win in the breakaway group should be decided here. The peloton then competes for the yellow jersey. There will definitely be attacks in these steep sections, even if there are still 18,0 kilometers to the finish line after the summit. By the way, in 2018 he won in Laruns Primois Roglic (Jumbo - Visma). At that time, however, they mastered the Col d'Aubisque before arriving.
Highlights of Stage 9 of the 2020 Tour de France
- 12:15 Neutral start in Pau
- 12:35 Sharp start in Pau
- 143,5 km before the finish: mountain classification category 4, Côte d'Artiguelouve (2,3 km at 4,5%)
- 84,0 km before the finish: mountain classification category 1, Col de la Hourcère (11,1 km at 8,8%)
- 75,0 km before the finish: mountain classification category 3, Col de Soudet (3,8 km at 8,5%)
- 54,0 km before the finish: intermediate sprint in Arette
- 37,5 km before the finish: mountain classification category 3, Col d'Ichère (4,2 km at 7,0%)
- 18,0 km before the finish: mountain classification category 1 & bonus sprint, Col de Marie Blanque (7,7 km at 8,6%)
- Arrival in Laruns after 153,0 kilometers
Velomotion Prognosis: Hugh Carthy wins as a breakaway
Tomorrow the pros will take us to the Tour de France offer everything. We get to see a large breakaway group with top riders, attacks on the yellow jersey, maybe a change in mountain jersey, the fight for green and probably one or the other relay station. Before the rest day on Monday, the drivers will show everything again. When it comes to overall rankings, things will definitely heat up when the Col de Marie Blanque is reached. This steep climb will end the podium dream for some riders. After the summit, it would be helpful to have a relay station to fall back on. There are a few teams that can do that. The stage win, however, goes to the breakaway group, who should have established a comfortable lead going into this final climb. We tap Hugh Carthy (EF). The Brit is doing very well in this Tour de France, but is already a long way behind in the overall standings.
☆☆☆Hugh Carthy
* * Warren Barguil, Pello Bilbao
* Marc Soler, Romain Sicard, Kenny Elissonde