Yes, Nairo Quintana (Movistar) and Dan Martin (UAE Team Emirates) are up the road, but the top positions on the general classification seemed to be holding each other's wheels. There isn't much change happening despite the pre-stage billing for fireworks on this final climb. Right now, Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale) is on the back of the select group being led by Egan Bernal (Sky), with the maillot jaune of Geraint Thomas (Sky) on his wheel. Next in line is Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) and then it is Mikel Nieve (Movistar) and, oddly, Chris Froome (Sky) is hanging around the back. Somewhere, but not in this painting, are two riders from Lotto NL Jumbo. Just after I finished this painting, Bardet lost the wheel of Froome and slipped back down the mountain, and the GC. I should point out the Orca on the back of Sky's jerseys. They are supporting Ocean Rescue and drawing attention to the plastic pollution of our oceans.
The fans on the side of the road do seem to be getting out of the way. No one wants to take another big man of the Tour out of the race. It is funny to see the one fan with the "Sagan" sign. This isn't exactly the kind of terrain where the world champion shines.
The attacking pace of Nairo Quintana (Movistar) was just barely held by the Rafal Majka (Bora-Hansgrohe). The two caught (and passed) the erstwhile leader on the road, Tanel Kangert (Astana). Kangert had gotten away on the first climb of the day. He had been leading the race until being caught with just over ten kilometers left to climb. It hadn't been as far as a normal stage, but it certainly had been as hard, if not harder.
The members of the peloton have quite a bit of respect for each other. These two had fought out the stage victory yesterday. Julian Alaphilippe (Quick Step) had chased Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) down the final mountain, only passing Yates as the Brit crashed on a corner near the bottom. Today, as Alaphilippe was dropping back to the peloton, and Yates was chasing up to the break away, they patted each other on the back. Seemingly, Alaphilippe was wishing Yates his stage victory that he was deprived of in Stage 16.
Behind these two, one of the many Gendarme that protect the riders and attempt to control the crowd watches them (and the fans nearby). The Gendarme caught a lot of grief for how they handled the farmer's protest yesterday. They used mace to clear the protesters from the roadway, but sprayed many members of the peloton in the process. Sorry I didn't get any paintings of the fracas, but it happened off camera.
Attacks were expected from the very start of the shortest road stage of the Tour from the moment the racers got the green light. Without a neutralized start and right on to the first climb of the day most thought it would be a general classification race from the get-go. Instead it wasn't until the base of the final climb, the Col du Portet that the first move was made. The first to go was Dan Martin (UAE Team Emirates) who was quickly countered by Nairo Quintana (Movistar). Both riders have had bad luck in the first week of the Tour, and both were much lower down on the general classification than they had hoped and that their talent would leave us all to suspect. Behind them, Geraint Thomas (Sky) lifted the pace to chase. The rest of the his team kept their usual tempo, and Thomas soon joined them. The attacking duo was too far down to effect them, so Sky was going to force others to chase.
You can watch this painting, along with one painting from every stage of the Tour thus far, come to life on my You Tube Channel. I hope you will watch, give it a thumbs up, and become a subscriber. I talk about the Tour, bike racing and how to create interesting and vibrant watercolors as I draw and paint this piece of live artwork.
Before the race goes through the crowds, the leading publicity caravan showers gifts on the fans along the route. Carrefour, who sponsors the King of the Mountain competition, passes out polka dot t-shirts and caps. Clearly these two young boys were able to grap a souvenir. And then they got to be up close to see Julian Alaphilippe (Quick Step) in his Maillot a Pois lead Kristijan Durasek (UAE Team Emirates) and Jesus Herrada (Cofidis) up the Col de Peyresourde. The photographer in black, had gotten off of his moto to get this shot. Fortunately he was able to jump out of Alaphilippe's way in time. If I have done the math right, Alaphilippe needs to score maximum points atop this climb, to ensure that he will be on the podium as the King of the Mountains in Paris, even if he scores no other points in the final stages of the Tour.
Julian Alaphilippe (Quick Step) had taken the first stage in the Alps. At that point he donned the Maillot a Pois and became the first Frenchman to win a stage in the 105th Tour de France. Today, the first day in the Pyrenees, he again took the stage. He is the only guy to have won a stage for France, but at least they have two stage victories now. As I looked back over these paintings from today's stage I realize that only one painting wasn't of a Quick Step rider. But then they are the ones that dictated the stage. Philippe Gilbert was awarded the most aggressive rider, and Alaphilippe added to his Maillot a Pois and took the stage. It was basically a day off for the peloton and the GC riders. Tomorrow's short hard stage must have had them not wanting to spend any extra effort today. The Team Sky led peloton came in Almost nine minutes behind the stage winner today. Although it was Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) that was chased in by the broom wagon a full forty one minutes behind the stage winner.
As the Maillot a Pois implies, Julian Alaphilippe (Quick Step) is good at going up the mountains. But he might be even better coming back down the other side. Alaphilippe summitted the final climb of the Col du Portillon trailing Adam Yates (Mitchelton Scott) by 19 seconds. He was catching back up with the Englishman when Yates slid out on a wet corner. Alaphilippe had no such problems in the same corner, or any other one. He is a scary marvel to watch on the way down a mountain. As he was pulling away from the chasers, and Yates who closed back up to third on the day, he was certain he was going to take his second stage of this year's Tour. This may have been the last sharp turn before the streets of Bagneres de Luchon.
On the final climb of the day, the Col du Portillon, Robert Gesnik (Lotto NL Jumbo) jumped free of the dwindling break away. With a sharp drop down to the finish town of Bagneres de Luchon it was a strong probablility that whomever went over the top first would take the stage win. Gesnik's attack was covered by Domenico Pozzovivo (Bahrain-Merida) as the pair charged up the final five kilometers to the summit. Behind, you can just catch sight of Adam Yates (Mitchelton Scott) trying to bridge across to the leaders. Spoiler alert, he did. And was in the lead on the descent until he slid out in a wet corner.
I felt it was necessary to include this painting. After being check out on the side of the road, Philippe Gilbert (Quick Step) got back on the bike and back into the race. Once he was riding again, he dropped back to the ambulance to get his wounds cleaned out. Infection is a constant worry, and stomach aliments have sent a few riders home from this Tour. As far as I know now, Gilbert suffered little more than some cuts and bruises. I will leave it to other cycling websites to tell that story. Like Gilbert I want to get back to the race.
Normally, I avoid painting the wrecks of the Tour. It isn't what excites me about watching the race. In fact I called out as I was watching this very scary crash play out. Philippe Gilbert (Quick Step) was flying down the back side of the Col de Portet d'Aspet when he locked up his rear wheel in a sharp left turn. He tried valiantly to regain control put the stone wall was just too near. As he hit the wall, he came off the bike, used his hands to avoid hitting the wall with his head, and then dropped out of sight. Amazingly, he wasn't seriously hurt. As he got ready to remount, he gave a wink and a thumbs up to the camera. (That is part of the reason I painted this, it ended up alright)
Ironically, he went over the wall almost exactly where Fabio Casterelli crashed in 1995. Sadly, on that occasion, Casterelli did not survive. This was before helmets were mandatory in the peloton, but was one of the prinicple reasons that they are now.
