I was hoping for a great sprint today, and I wasn't disappointed. But the sprint came from the breakaway group, not from the peloton. I was thrilled while watching the three-rider duel in the final few kilometers between Mads Pedersen, Fred Wright, and Hugo Houle. They danced among each other, taking turns in the front, and then let it all out with half a kilometer left. Pedersen just edged Wright with Houle finishing third. Pederson was pretty happy to get his first Tour de France stage win!
I was also very happy with our prediction.
- Stage 13: 4h 13' 03" (actual), 4h 11' 33" (prediction), -01' 30" fast (-0.59% error)
I'm glad to be under 1% error again! Check out Pedersen's average speed.
- Stage 13: 12.69 m/s (45.67 kph or 28.38 mph)
The GC contenders were content to let the breakaway compete for the stage, especially after a couple of early crashes. It was great seeing three riders, each of whom had never won a Tour de France stage, go for glory.
Tomorrow's 192.5-km (119.6-mi) medium mountain Stage 14 commences where today's stage finished, which is in Saint-Étienne. Riders will head southwest to the French commune of Mende. After dealing with four category-3 climbs, cyclists will face a category-2 climb near the finish. Our prediction is given below.
- Stage 14: 4h 32' 29" (prediction)
Will the yellow jersey face an attack tomorrow? It would be fun to see!
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