The thirteenth stage brings the riders to the Provence. The old town, with Roman monuments being on the UNESCO-list brings the last chance for the sprinters for a mass sprint, before 4 mountain stages.
Finish
Early in the race, a 13-rider breakaway has been formed with riders as Rigoberto Urán, Johnny Hoogerland, Pavel Brutt and Nick Nuyens. The peloton (well, we....) keeps them within 3 minutes. When also Movistar (for Rojas) and Dexia (for Goss) start to help, the margin gets smaller.
When that margin is only 40 seconds, with 30km to go, 3 riders attack out of the peloton and manage to bridge the gap to the 13 leaders. Sylvain Chavanel, Lars Ytting Bak and John Gadret jump over them, with only Nick Nuyens and Amaël Moinard being able to follow them. Chavanel is riding that fast, he not only drops the other 4, but also creates a 3 minute gap to the peloton!
Yes, 1 single rider is riding way faster than the domestiques of 3 teams (with Posthuma and Terpstra (both Flat 78) riding at dot 90........).
Finish
Chavanel continues at a high pace, and with 10km to go, the peloton is still 2 minutes behind. With 5km, it's still 1'20. But with 3km it's '40, with 2km it's '30, with 1km it's '20 and at the finish it's............
The first of 4 consecutive stages in the Alps is also the easiest of the 4. 179 kilometres from Aix-en-Provence to the summit of the Mont Colombis. A few minor climbs await, before the final climb of 4.0km at an average gradient of 6.8%. The GC-contenders will remain calm today, this one is for the puncheurs.
46km to go
At the summit of the Col du Labouret, with 46km to go, we see a duo in the lead, with a margin of 4'52 to the peloton. Normally, the peloton should be able to close the margin before the finish, but when the duo in the lead has the names of Philippe Gilbert and Fabian Cancellara, then nothing is sure!
20km to go
26 hilly kilometres later (at the summit of the Col du Fillys), it's certain that the 2 will battle for the stage win. Cancellara and Gilbert cooperate very well, and the 2 ride faster than an entire peloton: 5'23.
Finish
Gilbert can't shake off Cancellara in the final climb, so the stage ends in a 2-men sprint. And the Belgian is the fastest, preventing Spartacus from taking his 3rd stage win this Tour. First season win for Gilbert, after numerous top 3 places!!
2km to go
Back to the peloton. Robert Gesink, riding in the polka dot jersey since the leader of the KOTM-ranking Contador is also leading the GC, tries to surprise the opponents by attacking with a little under 2km to go.
Finish
But the hill isn't steep enough for him, and he gets passed in the last 500 metres. Andy Schleck takes the 3rd place, beating Cadel Evans and Igor Antón in this group sprint. No time losses for GC-contenders.
The 15th stage brings the riders to the Col du Parpaillon. First, halfway the stage, the Col d'Izoard has to be ascended. The last 15.6 kilometres with an average gradient of 6.6% doesn't bring the riders to the summit of the Parpaillon, since the tunnel at 2367 metres is closed, as it is not impossible to ride through it by racing bike because of water and ice in it.
The peloton has managed to cut down the gap to Cobo and Rolland by only 1 minute, when they arrive at the foot of the Col du Parpaillon. Gesink is riding very attentful.
9km to go
After 7 kilometres of climbing, the peloton rides 10 minutes behind the 2 leaders. Ryder Hesjedal (GC 7) is the first to attack, and he gets countered by Jurgen Van den Broeck (16) and Thibaut Pinot (12).
8km to go
When Fränk Schleck (GC 8) also attacks, Robert Gesink feels that he must follow this, and counters the Luxembourg rider. What will NIbali and Contador do?
5km to go
With Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador setting the pace in the first chasing group, Fränk Schleck and Robert Gesink get caught. Consequently, Sorensen and Brajkovic have been caught and the margin to Cobo and Rolland is brought back to 8'01, meaning COntador is back in virtual yellow.
Finish
Meanwhile, Cobo and Rolland are battling for the stage win, and surprise, surprise..... the French rider takes it. It's the 2nd consecutive year that Rolland wins a Tour-stage! Cobo will jump to the 5th place in the GC, and Rolland to the 7th.
2km to go
Action in the group of favourites! Vincenzo Nibali is the first to attack, with Andy Schleck immediately jumping at his wheel. Also Gesink counters, while Contador keeps on riding in his own pace. The youngest Schleck seems to be back in good shape and continues the attack, when Nibali is gasping for some oxygen.
Finish
Gesink has the most energy left and takes the 3rd place, 6'35 behind Rolland. Behind him is a 9-second gap to Contador, A. Schleck, Nibali and F. Schleck. This means that Gesink is now only 12 seconds behind Contador in the GC!
And 9 more seconds has Gesink come closer to Contador. But with 2 mountain stages and 2 time trials to go, all is open!
Edited by dienblad on 06-03-2013 12:25
Another rider leaving the team, and again because he didn't get a new contract offer. Belgian Jelle Vanendert leaves the team, after a very disappointing season so far. The reason for not offering him a contract is that we feel he has reached his max, and won't improve anymore.
So Vanendert has signed a contract with Dexia> Yes, back to Belgium, and back to a role of domestique for Gilbert, Valverde, Gerrans and Boasson Hagen... Not the smartest move, I think.
Anyway, the team wants to thank him for his hard work in the last 4 years and wishes him all the luck with Dexia.
Gesink is getting stronger, and Alberto can't keep up now, looking good for the GC. Good to see Kittel where he belongs in the maillot verte
Sad to see Jelle leaving, he's been a good servant of the team for a number of years, and he'll be difficult to replace
@ sutty: Gesink has a form of 96/97 at the moment.
@ Ian Butler: 12 seconds, will be exciting!
@ Neillster: All Gesink needs is at least 2 more good days (MTT at Alpe d'Huez, finish at Mont Ventoux and ITT). And about Jelle: yeah, good domestique, but for the hilly classics, Bernard has taken his place!
Sylvain Chavanel
Heinrich Haussler
José JoaquÃn Rojas
Jetse Bol
Giovanni Visconti
Peter Velits
Philippe Gilbert
Fabian Cancellara
Andy Schleck
Nicolas Roche
Ryder Hesjedal
Robert Kiserlovski
Simon Spilak
