Post by Jaga on Jul 26, 2014 2:28:24 GMT -7
Majka grabs stage 17 win at Tour de France
Rafal Majka (Tinkoff-Saxo) won the 17th stage of the Tour de France on Wednesday, his second triumph at the race.
The stage featured four leg-breaking climbs — three Cat. 1s before the hors categorie ascent of Saint-Lary Pla d’Adet at the finish.
Majka attacked from a chase group on the final climb, passed several riders, and eventually found himself at the front of the race. He rode the final 2.4km solo en route to victory.
inal climb
At the base of the final ascent to the finish line, four riders were at the front of the race: Roche, Visconti, Pierre Rolland (Europcar), and Amael Moinard (BMC Racing). Visconti surged ahead on the lower slopes of the mountain, which caused some chaos in the small group as everyone tried to match Visconti’s effort.
Roche attacked and reeled Visconti back, and the group was all together once again shortly after the attack began.
But with 9km left, Visconti tried again and this time he was successful. Now riding off the front, the Italian began his solo trek up the mountain that nearly resulted in a stage win.
Meanwhile, in the chase group that was trying to catch Visconti and his three primary chasers, Majka broke away as he attempted to maintain his grip on the polka dot (mountains classification) jersey.
Majka seemed to be enjoying his chase of the leaders, repeatedly smiling at TV cameras as he passed them. At one point, he made a show of how steep the climb was by grabbing a large antenna mounted on the back of a TV motorbike and pushing off.
Majka dropped Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) with 7.5km left before reaching the three chasers riding behind Visconti half a kilometer later.
Now riding with a teammate in Roche, Majka took a break and rode on his wheel as he geared up for his final effort.
One kilometer after that, Majka decided it was time. He surged ahead of the group, riding at a high cadence as he tried to reach Visconti. He eventually caught him with 4.2km remaining, at which point the two began working together as they continued to climb.
With 3km of uphill still to go, Majka looked fresh as he pedaled in complete circles. Visconti, meanwhile, was mashing on his pedals as he felt the sting of the steep grade.
At the 2.4km to go mark, Majka attacked and immediately opened a gap, going so hard that it seemed like Visconti was merely spinning on a bike trainer.
Majka slowed a bit in the final kilometer but still finished with a comfortable buffer between himself and Visconti.
“I tried so hard today. I really was thinking I could win, but unfortunately, Majka was looking for a win,” Visconti said. “He just dug deeper and had more than me, but I’m happy. It’s OK to finish second. I’ve been struggling with some of the tougher stages of this Tour, and I thought for a second I might have a chance to win.”
velonews.competitor.com/2014/07/news/majka-grabs-stage-17-win-at-tour-de-france_337930
Rafal Majka (Tinkoff-Saxo) won the 17th stage of the Tour de France on Wednesday, his second triumph at the race.
The stage featured four leg-breaking climbs — three Cat. 1s before the hors categorie ascent of Saint-Lary Pla d’Adet at the finish.
Majka attacked from a chase group on the final climb, passed several riders, and eventually found himself at the front of the race. He rode the final 2.4km solo en route to victory.
inal climb
At the base of the final ascent to the finish line, four riders were at the front of the race: Roche, Visconti, Pierre Rolland (Europcar), and Amael Moinard (BMC Racing). Visconti surged ahead on the lower slopes of the mountain, which caused some chaos in the small group as everyone tried to match Visconti’s effort.
Roche attacked and reeled Visconti back, and the group was all together once again shortly after the attack began.
But with 9km left, Visconti tried again and this time he was successful. Now riding off the front, the Italian began his solo trek up the mountain that nearly resulted in a stage win.
Meanwhile, in the chase group that was trying to catch Visconti and his three primary chasers, Majka broke away as he attempted to maintain his grip on the polka dot (mountains classification) jersey.
Majka seemed to be enjoying his chase of the leaders, repeatedly smiling at TV cameras as he passed them. At one point, he made a show of how steep the climb was by grabbing a large antenna mounted on the back of a TV motorbike and pushing off.
Majka dropped Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) with 7.5km left before reaching the three chasers riding behind Visconti half a kilometer later.
Now riding with a teammate in Roche, Majka took a break and rode on his wheel as he geared up for his final effort.
One kilometer after that, Majka decided it was time. He surged ahead of the group, riding at a high cadence as he tried to reach Visconti. He eventually caught him with 4.2km remaining, at which point the two began working together as they continued to climb.
With 3km of uphill still to go, Majka looked fresh as he pedaled in complete circles. Visconti, meanwhile, was mashing on his pedals as he felt the sting of the steep grade.
At the 2.4km to go mark, Majka attacked and immediately opened a gap, going so hard that it seemed like Visconti was merely spinning on a bike trainer.
Majka slowed a bit in the final kilometer but still finished with a comfortable buffer between himself and Visconti.
“I tried so hard today. I really was thinking I could win, but unfortunately, Majka was looking for a win,” Visconti said. “He just dug deeper and had more than me, but I’m happy. It’s OK to finish second. I’ve been struggling with some of the tougher stages of this Tour, and I thought for a second I might have a chance to win.”
velonews.competitor.com/2014/07/news/majka-grabs-stage-17-win-at-tour-de-france_337930