Kristoff Gets Us to Under 1% Again!

Norway's Alexander Kristoff had an amazing sprint to the finish line in today's Stage 12 of the Tour de France.  The image below shows Kristoff crossing the finishing line, just edging out Peter Sagan (click on the image for a larger view).

The final sprint was great.  Speeds on the last downhill reached 66 kph (41 mph).  Temperatures reached 34 C (93 F).  That's a hot day to be racing!  Below is Kristoff's time and a comparison with our prediction.

• Stage 12:  4h 32' 11" (actual), 4h 30" 16" (prediction), 01' 55" fast (-0.70% error)

We are ecstatic to once again have our prediction come in under 1%!  Below is Kristoff's average speed.

• Stage 12:  11.36 m/s (40.89 kph or 25.41 mph)

Picking back up in Saint-Étienne tomorrow, Stage 13 is a 197.5-km (122.7-mi) long mountain stage.  Cyclists will head mostly east, but a little south into the French Alps.  Once they reach the city of Grenoble, riders will have biked 165.5 km (102.8 mi) and be at an elevation above sea level of 229 m (751 ft).  They will enter Grenoble after a fantastic sprint down from the 1154-m (3786-ft) peak of Col de Palaquit, which will have been reached after a category-1 climb.

The real fun begins at the very end of the stage when cyclists will be greeted with an hors catégorie climb to Chamrousse, a ski resort at an elevation of 1730 m (5676 ft).  It took Lance Armstrong 1h 07' 27" to make that 32-km (20-mi) climb in Stage 11 of the 2001 Tour de France, which happened to have taken place on 18 July.  When Armstrong did it, he was winning an individual time trial from Grenoble to Chamrousse.  How will this year's riders do on the same climb exactly 13 years later after they have already biked 165.5 km (102.8 mi)?  This is not a stage for the faint of heart!  Below is our prediction.

• Stage 13:  5h 15' 05" (prediction)

If you cannot watch the entire stage, at least watch the last hour.  That final climb will be well worth it!