Cycling-First mountain test as Tour de France enters Massif Central
CHATEAUROUX, France (Reuters) -The Tour de France riders face a stern test as the 112th edition of the race enters the Massif Central for the 10th stage on Monday, with 4,450 metres of climbing awaiting them.
Following a tough and hectic opening week, with some difficult stages, the peloton will ride 165.3km between Ennezat and Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, tackling eight categorised climbs including the uphill finish.
"All day long, we'll be going up and down climbs all the time," race director Thierry Gouvenou said. "You'll need to be in top shape if you hope to shine on this kind of course.
"The riders in the general classification will be aiming to win the stage and make up time for the final overall classification."
Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar leads the general classification by 54 seconds ahead of Belgium's Remco Evenepoel while two-time Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard sits fourth, trailing the yellow jersey by one minute and 17 seconds.
"A lot of things can happen," defending champion Pogacar told a press conference on Sunday when asked about the 10th stage. "All the day up and down. I think there will be some attacks from GC (general classification) riders."
His team principal Mauro Gianetti said Monday's stage was a key moment in the Tour.
"It's very important because it's a stage with about 4,500 metres of climbing," Gianetti told Reuters. "There will be a lot of battles, a lot of attacks. It's going to be a very intense day."
Pogacar will miss his best domestique in the mountains as Portugal's Joao Almeida withdrew on Sunday after crashing on Friday.
Retired French rider Pierre Rolland, who won two Tour de France stages, said Monday could be a tougher day than the high-mountain stages starting on Thursday.
"It's going to be a very, very difficult stage. There's no respite. It's almost harder than a high-mountain stage because the course is so hilly," he told Reuters.
"There won't be a gap of minutes between the favourites but there may be a few seconds."
Monday's stage should give some insight into Vingegaard's shape. The Visma-Lease a Bike rider suffered a blow during the stage-five time trial, losing more than a minute on Pogacar but has managed to follow the world champion's wheel in every punchy finish.
After the stage comes the first rest day of the Tour, on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Vincent Daheron; editing by Clare Fallon)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Athletics-Oldest marathon runner Fauja Singh dies at 114 in hit-and-run
FILE PHOTO: British Indian marathon runner Fauja Singh, 101, jogs during a practise at a park in Hong Kong February 21, 2013. Singh will take part in a 10-kilometer race at the Hong Kong Marathon on Sunday before he officially retires from public races. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo (Reuters) -Fauja Singh, regarded as the oldest person and the first centenarian to complete a full marathon, has died at the age of 114 after he was struck by a vehicle near his village in Punjab, India, media reports said. Singh, who claimed to be born in 1911, completed the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 2011, when he was 100. He had registered his best time in a full marathon at the same event in 2003, finishing the race in five hours and 40 minutes. He was not inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records due to the lack of a birth certificate, as birth records were not kept in India in 1911, media reports said in 2011. "My 'Turbaned Tornado' is no more," Singh's biographer Khushwant Singh posted on X on Monday. "He was struck by an unidentified vehicle around 3:30 PM today in his village, Bias, while crossing the road. Rest in peace, my dear Fauja." Efforts were underway to identify the vehicle, which fled the scene, police told local media. An amateur runner in his youth, Singh later settled in London, where he began running competitively at 89. He ran several full marathons and also competed in 10 km races before retiring in 2013. "He was an exceptional athlete with incredible determination. Pained by his passing away. My thoughts are with his family and countless admirers around the world," India's prime minister Narendra Modi posted on X on Tuesday. (Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in BengaluruEditing by Christian Radnedge)
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Cycling-Young Scot Onley surprises with top finishes in Tour de France
FILE PHOTO: Cycling - Tour de France - Stage 5 - Caen to Caen - Caen, France - July 9, 2025 Team Picnic PostNL's Oscar Onley in action during the stage 5 time trial REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo TOULOUSE, France (Reuters) -Scotland's Oscar Onley has impressed during the first week of the Tour de France, sitting seventh overall after 10 stages at just 22 years old. The Kelso-born rider delivered standout performances as he claimed third and fourth, in stage seven and four respectively, on the wheels of defending champion Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike). "Mur-de-Bretagne (on stage seven) was really circled as a stage that could suit me but you also have to be realistic that Pogacar, in these kinds of finishes, is in a different league," Onley told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday. "I'm just enjoying what I'm doing and to be able to be up there with Pogacar and Vingegaard is an honour." The Picnic PostNL rider also secured sixth place in stage two, adding to an already impressive tally of three top-10 finishes in his second appearance at cycling's most prestigious race. "I was hoping to get a good result, but a good result was maybe a top 10, top five from the bunch. But now I've kind of shown that I'm a little bit higher up and I can set my goals a little bit higher," he said. Onley, who won a stage at last month's Tour de Suisse and claimed third overall, has shown consistency in World Tour one-week races this year. However, his main aim remains a stage win on the Tour de France. "I think it's still the main goal. There are going to be a lot more opportunities coming up in the next couple of weeks. I just have to take those opportunities when they come," he said. "I didn't come here with any ambitions for the GC (general classification). If there's an opportunity to slide in the breakaway one day, then I'll try and take it." The British rider is one minute and 18 seconds behind Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) who currently sits fifth. "I think a top five would be something really special, but I don't know if that's really possible," he said, adding that the experience is bolstering his confidence as a potential Grand Tour contender. "I think that's the goal in the next couple of years. And now I'm starting to realize that maybe it's a little bit more possible than I thought." The first high mountain stage in the Pyrenees on Thursday shouldgive some insight into Onley's strength in longer climbs. (Reporting by Vincent DaheronEditing by Christian Radnedge)
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Soccer-Man City and Puma sign record long-term kit deal
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Round of 16 - Manchester City v Al Hilal - Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Florida, U.S. - June 30, 2025 Manchester City's Erling Haaland during the warm up before the match IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Nathan Ray Seebeck/File Photo (Reuters) -Manchester City have extended their kit partnership with Puma on a long-term deal, the club announced on Tuesday, with British media reports saying the deal is worth around 1 billion pounds ($1.35 billion), making it the largest in the Premier League. The new contract runs for at least another 10 years, reports said, worth a record 100 million pounds a year to the club. City previously signed a 65 million pounds per year deal with the German kit manufacturer in 2019. The agreement is expected to set a new benchmark for kit manufacturer deals among English clubs, surpassing Manchester United's 900 million pounds 10-year contract with Adidas, signed in 2023. City have enjoyed an exceptional run since 2020, winning four consecutive Premier League titles and securing the treble in the 2022‑23 season. However, they did not win a major trophy last season. City will begin their 2025-26 Premier League campaign on August 16 with a trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers. ($1 = 0.7435 pounds) (Reporting by Shifa Jahan in BengaluruEditing by Christian Radnedge)
