00:01With no high mountains on the penultimate day of this Tour de France, you'd be forgiven for thinking that this might be something of a parade day.
00:10Well, think again. 14 teams yet to get a stage win out of this great race, and their determination to be part of a breakaway magnified the importance of this penultimate day.
00:21Factor into that, 2,914 metres of altitude gain. The lumps were constant and would take bits out of many ambitions.
00:31The green jersey just about wrapped up. Polka dots likewise would fall onto the shoulders of Telepogaccia.
00:38All he had to do was finish the day. But a job to be finished by those teams that wanted to make this a breakaway day, and the terrain really played into their ambitions.
00:48Not the shortest distance either. 184 kilometres in total. Destination Pontarier.
00:57But those peaks, some of which had ramps within them of up to 12%. This was going to hurt.
01:05Climbs are only as big as the effort you put into taking them. Attack them and they'll feel like alpine tests.
01:13And when you looked at the parkour, you could see just how bitey it was.
01:20Christian Godom waved the flag on a day that traditionally we find and fate our champions.
01:28And a champion's performance by Kasper Askreen. He was first to take the bait, almost acting, if you will, as an encouragement for those behind.
01:37And then the rain came down. This was causing something of a moderation, perhaps, of ambition.
01:42And it took a while for us finally to get the last incarnation of a break that looked solid enough to make it all the way home.
01:49There were a few rolls of the dice and there were some who would start clipping at the top ten as well that found themselves up front.
01:57But not before it had finally settled with Tim Valens making a noise.
02:03Of course, a big engine room for him. Good for UETM Emirates to have him up the road.
02:07Mathieu Jorgensen also there for Visma Lisa bike.
02:10Likewise costume. And as you can see, the fracturing of the chase behind was now starting to make this all the more selective.
02:19Groups all over the place. The yellow jersey group at this point, with 120 to go, only at 24 seconds.
02:26Danny Bocaccia did not want this to be a battle for the GC on the day.
02:31Just let the break go, for goodness sake.
02:34They were all on the radio, mustering themselves for what was still to come.
02:38So the gap to Danny Bocaccia and the other jerseys started to stretch out.
02:44Tim Valens was on the back of this group, on the front of the yellow jersey group.
02:48At this point was Mauro Schmidt, who had been up front but had taken a tumble and suddenly went in to be part of the engine room.
02:55Of just making sure nothing silly happened.
02:58Well, by the time they took the turn onto the most testy climb of the day.
