2015 Tour de France: second rest day analysis

The 2015 edition of the Tour de France is about to head into the Alps for the final rounds, and we take pause during the second and last rest day to take stock of week two.

Froome in control, Froome under attack: You would think by the way people are talking about this race being over that Chris Froome (Great Britain/Sky) has a larger gap over his nearest competitor–3:10 over Nairo Quintana (Colombia/Movistar)–than Vincenzo Nibali had over Alejandro Valverde in last year’s race at the same point: 4:37. Froome was immovable in the second week, opening it with a trouncing of his rivals on La Pierre-Saint-Martin that had them all looking ahead to the Vuelta a España, though Froome may be racing there as well.

The Brit-by-way-of-Kenya hasn’t put a foot wrong in this race, and if he has a bad day, it might come on Alpe d’Huez when, like Alberto Contador’s hiccup in May’s Giro d’Italia, it’s too late to matter.

What has been odd is the speculation and insinuation in some largely-French circles of the media that Froome is doping, this trend’s lowest point coming on Stage 14 when a fan assaulted him with urine, crying, “Doper!” in French. The yellow jersey has been booed when signing on. One of his main lieutenants, Richie Porte, was punched on Stage 10.

Is this an anti-Sky reaction? French envy? Whatever the reason, haters and detractors will have to live with the sting of–barring disaster–Froome standing on the top step in Paris on July 26 and most likely during more Julys to come.

The French: Speaking of the French, the competition for Top Frenchman, now a consolation prize instead of the stirring podium scrap of last season, is hotting up for the final week. You can throw a lasso around top Frenchman Warren Barguil (10th), Tony Gallopin (11th), who Barguil overtook on Monday, and Romain Bardet (12). Allez allez!

Goodwill machine MTN-Qhubeka: Everybody seems to love this South African wildcard team. The squad took their first Grand Tour stage win on Stage 14 with Steve Cummings crashing the duel between young Frenchmen in the final 300-metres. That it was a MTN-Qhubeka rider upsetting the Gallic contest on Mandela Day mitigated the French disappointment.

There was genuine joy in the race when Daniel Teklehaimanot (Eritrea) snagged the polka dot jersey in week one. He’s out of the running now, but his Belgian teammate Serge Pauwels has a chance at the KOM if he gets in the right breakaways in the Alps. Expect this team to be a default wildcard team in Grand Tours until it receives WorldTour status.

Sagan’s green jersey: Peter Sagan (Slovakia/Tinkoff-Saxo) tweeted after losing the green jersey to André Greipel on Stage 10 that he looked forward to getting “his” kit back. He did so the next day and never looked back. The Slovakian will take his fourth consecutive points classification. The Hulk has been simply brilliant in dealing with the new points system that is supposed to benefit triple stage winners like Greipel and not, well, Peter Sagan.

Sagan is just too daring, too much of a powerful all-arounder to deny him the maillot vert. And he’s also used the new system to pull out a big lead going into the final week by placing second five times, third twice, fourth thrice and fifth once. Put that in your green pipe and smoke it.

Movistar’s Plan B: After receiving the lightest pounding of all Froome’s rivals on Stage 10, Quintana, along with Spanish teammate Alejandro Valverde, was aggressive in the rest of the week. The Colombian jumped Tejay Van Garderen into the runner-up spot, and it seems obvious that fourth place Valverde means to knock the American off the podium in the same way the Movistar vet himself was pushed off the steps during last year’s French Revolution.

Van Garderen is following wheels instead of instigating moves, but he’s still only 22-seconds behind Quintana. Valverde, sitting 30-seconds off the podium, will be well-advised to watch Alberto Contador, 21-seconds back in fifth. There’s still a lot to fight for in the 2015 Tour de France.

Nibali salvages: Yes, the Tour has been a disappointment for 2014 champion Vincenzo Nibali (Italy/Astana), but his downhill attack on Monday revealed that the 8th place Shark isn’t laying down arms yet. Clearly, he means to track down and overleap Robert Gesink (The Netherlands/LottoNL-Jumbo) into seventh, so as not to finish with his worst Grand Tour result since the 2008 Tour.

Fans and pundits anxious to stick the gaff into the Shark should acknowledge that he hasn’t been lower that 13th on GC since Stage 3.

The Canadians: Fans of Ryder Hesjedal are praying for that week three resurgence he’s exhibited over the last couple of years. The Cannondale-Garmin man is 71st–his worst Grand Tour final placing is 70th in the 2013 Tour–but his activity in Sunday’s breakaway suggests that he could be ready to climb the GC with sharp ascending in the Alps.

Svein Tuft was flirting with the Lanterne Rouge position during week two, but Bora-Argon 18 rider Steve Bennett is very well-positioned to bring Ireland its first Red Lantern. Tuft was seen driving the peloton this week in hopes of getting a stage win for a recovered Michael Matthews.