Froome expects rivals to attack, open-air museum unveiled in Pau, Cyclingnews podcast episode 12
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The Cyclingnews Tour de France podcast
Chris Froome on the stage 10 podium.(Image credit: Courtesy of Polartec-Kometa)
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Chris Froome expects rivals to attack
Chris Froome (Team Sky) expects his rival to mount challenges on stage 11 of the Tour de France after the British rider soloed to a devastating victory on stage 10. Froome leads his rivals by close to three minutes after just one day in the mountains, however he expects a fight back over the coming days.
“At this point I’m just hoping to hang onto my lead and rely on my teammates to get me through the next few days,” he told reporters at the start of stage 11.
“Yesterday was a pretty big effort and I can already feel that the legs are a bit sore. Hopefully we’ll just try and get through today as best that we can as we have another really tough day coming up tomorrow.”
Nairo Quintana appears the most likely to attack after he finished third, behind Froome and his Sky teammate Richie Porte on stage 10.
“I’d have to say any of the guys who lost time yesterday. Quintana, I’d expect him to be very aggressive. The Tourmalet suits him well. I definitely think he could go for it. I’m very grateful that I’m not in the position where I have to try and make up three minutes. We’re going to have to expect that my rivals are going to try and take the race on at any moment. I don’t think I’ll be alone today. The final climb is shorter and it’s only normal that I’ll be paying for my effort yesterday.”
“Tour des Geants” open-air museum unveiled in Pau
Pau's “Tour des Geants” open-air museum, dedicated to the Tour de France, was inaugurated yesterday (Monday) evening by the city’s mayor François Bayrou in front of a crowd of several thousands .
The monument, in a park near the railway station on the site of the city’s former velodrome, consists of 101 two metre high monuments for each Tour winner, forming a winding spiral around a central stone. Two further monuments are dedicated to the two World War periods, from 1914-18 and 1939-45.
Each of the monuments has a text for its respective Tour winner, outlining his achievements and place in the race’s history.
“A setting like this is very suitable for the Tour de France, an event which takes place in the open air, too,” observed Tour de France president Christian Prudhomme. “It’s an open-air museum.” Mr. Bayrou added.
Apart from hosting Wednesday’s stage start, historically Pau is arguably the city with the strongest links to the Tour outside Paris, with 67 starts or finishes.
Several ‘Big Names’ of the Tour were present for the hour long ceremony - complete with clouds of yellow confetti and an immense yellow curtain, that was finally unfurled to show the stones - including Bernard Hinault, Bernard Thevenet, Stephen Roche and Greg LeMond.
A 3-D film of the event and the open-air museum will soon be available on the Internet.
Tour de France podcast episode 12: The Froome-inator
Chris Froome and his Team Sky squad dismantled the competition on the first summit finish of the Tour de France, with Froome and teammate Richie Porte taking a commanding 1-2 at the line. Only Nairo Quintana (Movistar) could come close, losing over a minute, with the rest of the contenders well behind.
Tejay van Garderen (BMC) is still second overall at 2:52, with Quintana moving up into third.
Hear from Froome, Porte, and Geraint Thomas, all of whom finished top 10 on the stage, on their performance, as well as analysis and insights from the Cyclingnews crew Stephen Farrand, Zeb Woodpower and Barry Ryan, and Procycling editor Edward Pickering.
To subscribe to the Tour de France podcast on iTunes, click here, and go here for our full Tour de France coverage.
