If you've been following this year's Tour, you'll know this one was on the cards.
The Swiss 22-year-old had already finished second on Stage 2 and third on Stage 9.
"I think Alaphillipe has met his match."
🎥 @Chris_Boardman, @Petekennaugh and Gary Imlach marvel at the brilliance of Marc Hirschi at stage 12 today#TDF2020pic.twitter.com/K3ZbusGMsa
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) September 10, 2020
🔊 A fantastic 3 minutes you don't want to miss...
What a story from @Petekennaugh on Chris Froome's altercation on an Astana bus and a Mark Cavendish phone call with Peter Sagan 👀 #TDF2020pic.twitter.com/dqboRYvLTH
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) September 10, 2020
⏪ Sarran last hosted a stage finish in 2001, when 🇩🇪 @thejensie claimed the win after a long breakaway.
🏮 Current race director @tgouvenou also rode, finishing last after a crash.⏪ Sur le Tour 2001, Jens Voigt s'était imposé à Sarran.#TDF2020#TDFunitedpic.twitter.com/9T79OlkZBT
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) September 10, 2020
I interviewed Jens a few years back.
Funny guy - although not always deliberately.
Doesn't look like it's going to be a win for the break today though.
💨 It's looking likely that the breakaway will be caught by the peloton, as the gap is reduced to only 30"!
💨 L'échappée risque d'être reprise prochainement puisque l'écart s'est considérablement réduit : 30".#TDF2020pic.twitter.com/Zc9cc3dRd7
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) September 10, 2020
Geraint Thomas, omitted from Ineos Grenadiers’ Tour de France team, has told the Guardian that he didn’t get into shape in time after, “going through the motions a bit,” during his lockdown training.
“I need to be super ‘on it’ to get to my Grand Tour competitive shape,” he said. “That takes a lot of work. It doesn’t come naturally, especially the whole weight thing. So, I was just running a little heavy and it was more a case of getting on top of that. Six weeks of racing has really helped.”
Thomas is currently sitting fourth in Tirreno-Adriatico.
“I’m feeling better than three weeks ago for sure,” he said. “It’s the first time I’ve been at the pointy end this year. This race will do me the world of good for the Giro. I’ve got some confidence again.”
The final climb of the day is called Suc au May, which derives from "Lo Suc au Mais", Limousin dialect for "Le sommet aux mâts" which in turn, rather disappointingly, means the summit with masts. pic.twitter.com/P0daYtfcRn
— Ned Boulting (@nedboulting) September 10, 2020
Peter Sagan says he didn't see the selfie stick which some have been suggesting was the cause of the manoeuvre that saw him relegated in yesterday's sprint (see earlier).
He says he was actually trying to avoid a square pole that was lying in amongst the barriers.
"I fight to survive."
Peter Sagan spoke to @AdamBlythe89 before the start of stage 12 about yesterday's incident with Wout van Aert#TdF2020pic.twitter.com/KEKcLnCQtf
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) September 10, 2020
Bit blurry, but we think he means this thing:
Here's the footage:
🦅 The aerial view from the finish in Poitiers, won by @CalebEwan in a tight contest!
🦅 Vue aérienne de ce sprint à @poitiersfr remporté d'un rien par @CalebEwan !#TDF2020pic.twitter.com/UHs7ks324H
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) September 9, 2020
A quick look at what awaits the riders in today's stage of the Tour de France.
It's an intriguing one and the longest of the race.
🚩 Chauvigny - Sarran 🏁
📏 218 km🎬 Check the 3D route of the longest stage of the #TDF2020.
🎬 Voici le parcours 3D de la plus longue étape du #TDF2020.#TDFunitedpic.twitter.com/ffaw5iIn6k— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) September 10, 2020
Ironically, they pass through Cloud before they've hit the first climb of the day.
FUMMIN shopkeeps, the face of 2020https://t.co/nWQJw6FiV0
— Angry People in Local Newspapers (@angrypiln) September 10, 2020
Dressed up for the big shoot, angry face, blame the cyclists etc...
The Lancashire Post writes that "Stephen lives at Walton Le Dale with wife Jacqueline and said the commute to work can now take up to half an hour for a journey of just two miles."
If only there was another way to travel those two miles. Has anyone got any ideas?
That’s because these sports and activities have stringent plans in place to reduce the risk of Covid-19, and these venues are classed as Covid secure given the measures they have introduced.
— Sport England (@Sport_England) September 9, 2020
We've still got a few questions.
What we're really waiting for here is one of the cycling organisations to spell things out for us.
Timing of Sagan ‘leaning in’
vis-a-vis selfie/arm/camera sticking out #TDF2020#Saganpic.twitter.com/eOBAq9viWS— Lois Horwitz (@LoisHorwitz) September 9, 2020
You'd think he'd have mentioned it, if he was.
Cette photo de @bettiniphoto est juste fantastique pic.twitter.com/TR7zd5A7bP
— De Binkwaeys Officiel (@DeBinkwaeys) September 9, 2020
The best picture of the Tour de France so far and it'll be hard to top it.
This spectacular image shows the closing meters of yesterday's sprint stage with Sagan, Van Aert, Bennett and Ewan all eeking out their last ounces of energy in the race for the line. Take a bow BettiniPhoto.
Some questionable form and lost balls are the order of the day in 'Golf Attack - The Movie'.
Maybe we need to send Ned, David and Pete a set of our custom road.cc golf balls...
As the cameras focussed on Bennett and Ewan, they picked up Wout van Aert making his feelings known to Peter Sagan.
Jury report of stage 11: #TdF2020:
Van Aert has been fined 200CHF for inappropriate behaviour.
Sagan gets a 500CHF fine and - 13 points in points classification for deviation from the chosen line that obstructs or endangers another rider or irregular sprint
1/2
— La Flamme Rouge (@laflammerouge16) September 9, 2020
Sagan had taken a gap up the barriers, before making himself some more room with a shoulder to the ribs of Van Aert. The move earned Sagan more than just a hand gesture from Van Aert. The race officials deemed that his sprint was dangerous and Sagan was relegated to 85th place, losing his green jersey points from the stage as well as being docked a further 13 points in the sprinter's classification.
Van Aert got told off too, getting an effective slap on the wrist in the form of a 200CHF fine. That's Swiss Francs by the way.
If you haven't seen what Van Aert was upset about, here's the replay...
🦅 The aerial view from the finish in Poitiers, won by @CalebEwan in a tight contest!
🦅 Vue aérienne de ce sprint à @poitiersfr remporté d'un rien par @CalebEwan !#TDF2020pic.twitter.com/UHs7ks324H
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) September 9, 2020
So it seems that group rides are back down to a maximum of six people per ride.
Will people be sticking to this and have you just had to cancel some plans due to the new restrictions?
It also looks like racing at a local level is back off, just as it was getting started again. We're still not sure about sportives, but we'll be keeping an eye out for news from British Cycling
It's Liam kicking off the blog today, freshly returned from a few days 'working' in Italy.
Wout van Aert has got a fine of 200CHF for inappropriate behaviour. 🙈 #TDF2020pic.twitter.com/TupV0sl9ez
— Cyclocross24.com (@cyclocross24) September 9, 2020
We'll be looking at all of the talking points surrounding Sagan's heavy use of his shoulder in yesterday's sprint finish and then Van Aert making his feelings known. Today's stage looks set to be a day for the break so who's your money on?
Away from the Grand Boucle, we'll have all of the cycling news from around the web. So, let's dive into Thursday with some Sam Bennett energy.
Olé 😁#TDF2020pic.twitter.com/nZAWqG3G7V
— Deceuninck-QuickStep (@deceuninck_qst) September 9, 2020