14 DAY TRIAL // Category four climbs in Le Tour de France are not to be feared, they are more like speed bumps that even sprinters tend to be able to get over if they really want to reach the finish that’s waiting for them on the other side.
On the other hand, they can make a difference when the riders need to go for another 230 kilometers before they negotiate two of them, one of which can hit a gradient of about 8 percent for a short distance.
The seventh stage of Le Tour de France could be taken by a breakaway, as long as it has a strong composition, or it could be won by a solo rider who manages to time his assault to perfection.
The peloton also has its chance, which means that this is one of the stages where preparation and tactics are very important, and where many riders will start to feel the weight of one week of non-stop racing in their legs.
I still hold the Yellow Jersey, which is a great honor for all the teams that are represented in Le Tour de France, but that puts me in a difficult position at the moment: I have to contribute to the chase and commit men to the front, but I do not actually want to do this.
The problem consists in the fact that sprinter teams might not be willing to pick up the rest of the effort required for this stage.
My pre-race evaluation was a little bit off as I managed to use my riders, depleted as they might be, to hold off any major attacks on the stage and even sought to take advantage of the less than active peloton around me.
Cancellara stayed protected inside the group of Trek riders, but no one else launched a decisive attack, which meant that Frank Schleck was free to try his own luck.
The rider from Luxemburg is older than most of his competitors and not as powerful on the big climbs, but he can still deal well with hills, which meant that he managed to take the stage win and put some time into Contador and Froome.
I have no illusions about actually winning this virtual version of Le Tour, but today’s victory is one that the real-world Trek team would certainly appreciate.
Take a look at how the end of the stage unfolded in Pro Cycling Manager 2014.
