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Today, the race won’t go through vineyards. They are racing in the Massif Central area, the plains, hills, and mountains that expand across the center of France. The Tour de France has not raced here for 35 years because this beautiful rolling terrain leads into the national park. France tightly controls the number and types of visitors because of the fragile ecosystem of the Puy de Dome, an extinct volcano.  Puy de Dome. by A.S.O. The race opened with a 14-rider breakaway. Just before the 1st of 4 climbs with 112k left, the peloton was 10 minutes behind. Neilson Powless is in this lead group and looking for the KOM points to retain the Polka-Dot Jersey. The riders raced through the towns and countryside of the western Massif Central towards the Puy de Dome. Something unusual occurred with 20km to go: Powless accelerated to catch Matteo Jorgenson, and suddenly 2 Americans were in the lead of the stage. At 15km to go, the peloton is 15.36 behind the lead group with the Yellow Jersey, Vingegaard, and the White Jersey, Tadej Pogacar, in the peloton.
Many people are lining the roads before the last 5km. Spectators are not allowed at the finish with 5km to go, so everyone is below 5km. The riders literally race around the top of the Puy de Dome, which starts at an 8% gradient, averaging a 12% gradient the last 4km. Jorgenson attacked from 48km; Michael Woods closed several minutes over the last 10km. Woods accelerates at 5km and passes Jorgenson to take the stage. Woods wins the stage, with Jorgenson taking 4th place, and Neilson Powless finishes 5th, keeping the Polka-Dot jersey. Meantime, the chase group with Pogacar, and Vingegaard are climbing together; Pogacar takes off, trying to drop Vingegaard at 1.3km. Pogacar is attempting to take time from the Yellow Jersey, Vingegaard. Pogacar took 7 sec back from Vingegaard. At the end of the day, Vingegaard keeps Yellow Jersey with a 17-second race lead. The race has been exciting through the first week of the Tour de France. The travelog has been great too. The race has gone to parts of France I have not seen before. Tomorrow is a rest day. I hope you have found a lovely Bordeaux to enjoy while watching the 2023 Tour de France. Santé Comments are closed.
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