Gallery: A wet and wild weekend as the Tour visits the Alps
The riders of the 2021 Tour de France had to work hard for their first rest day. The three days beforehand included the longest Tour stage in 21 years (which was anything but flat) and two cold and rain-drenched stages in the Alps.
Those last two stages – stage 8 to Le Grand-Bornand and stage 9 to Tignes – pushed many riders to their limit. GC dreams were dashed, riders limped over the finish line freezing from the cold, and on stage 9, seven riders failed to finish inside the time cut. It was a tough first foray into the mountains, made all the harder by such unfriendly weather.
As the Tour’s remaining riders take stock on the first rest day, let’s take a look back at the past two Alpine stages courtesy of some great, moody photos from The Grubers and Kristof Ramon.
Tadej Pogačar riding into the yellow jersey on stage 8. Mathieu van der Poel started stage 8 in yellow and ended the day 17:20 down. He abandoned the race before stage 9, to focus on his build-up to the Tokyo Olympics. Professional bike racing is such a glamorous job. Dylan Teuns riding his way to a stage victory on stage 8. Wout van Aert fought valiantly in the break to try to take yellow, but ended the day 1:48 behind Pogačar. Stage 9 was an equally wet affair. It made for great photos though. Moist. Ben O’Connor on his way to a stage win … … in the ski town of Tignes. Again Pogačar chased from the peloton. Again he extended his lead over his GC rivals. Sa(i)d GC rivals. For more sheep x cycling crossover content, be sure to check out this interview with pro racer turned farmer Will Clarke.
