Stage 17 in the Tour de France was a 32km Individual Time Trial set in the Alps. The start was on the shores of Lake Serre-Ponçon in Embrun featuring two long climbs with a challenging technical descent into Chorges. The stage winner, Christopher Froome, of Team Sky, completed the course in 51:33, followed by Alberto Contador nine seconds back. RadioShack Leopard's top finisher for today was Maxime Monfort in 12th followed by Andy Schleck, 15th. Maxime's SRM race file below illustrates the unique demands of a mountain TT and the superior level of fitness Pro Tour riders must achieve to finish the Tour de France.
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Stage 16 of the Tour de France was set between the rest day and the mountain Time Trial. The 168km course ran from Vaison-la-Romaine to Gap featuring two early climbs, ending with the infamous Col de la Manse and the narrow, technical descent into Gap. Today's victory belonged to Movistar Team and their Portuguese pro, Rui Costa. The two-time Tour de Suisse winner made his move early on the final climb and held his lead with a skilled descent into the Gap finish. The SRM race file below is from Rui Costa at approximately 67kg.
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Stage 15 of the Tour de France was 242.5km from Givors to the mountain top finish atop Mont Ventoux in the Provence region of southern France. The longest day in the 100th Tour de France ended with Christopher Froome (Sky) extending his lead with a thrilling stage win. Movistar Team's Nairo Quintana battled for a close second 29 seconds back. Two category 4 climbs in the first 30km set the stage for an early break in the day. RadioShack Leopard's Spanish pro, Markel Irizar, made the first group and spent the majority of the race out front in preparation for Andy Schlek's potential attack. Markel's SRM race file is a spectacular example of the power and endurance required for a rider at the Pro Tour level.
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Stage 14 of the Tour de France rolled closer to the Alps today with a 191km course departing from Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule and finishing in the city of Lyon. In the final two kilometers it was Sojasun's Julien Simon in front racing for the year's first French rider win, but ultimately he was caught and Matteo Trentin (OPQS) took the stage victory. Julien Simon's SRM race file below illustrates his efforts in today's stage.
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Stage 13 in the Tour de France departed from the metropolitan city of Tours and followed a 173km route to finish in Saint-Amond-Montrond, the very center of France. The stage was flat with fierce cross winds blowing the peloton apart by the end. Cavendish took the final sprint just in front of Peter Sagan. The two sprinters were riding with a front group of 14 dominated by Team Saxo Bank Tinkoff. The SRM race file below is from Nicolas Roche of Saxo-Tinkoff. Nico is a two time National Champion from Ireland and represented his home country in the 2008 Summer Olympics in the Men's Road Race.
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