Richie Porte crashes out
Let's get the hardest one out of the way first and it's one we would rather forget. It was like we were watching a replay of last year's Tour where Porte also crashed out on Stage 9, the only difference was last year he crashed out on a descent and not just after the neutralised zone.
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Porte crashes out of Tour de France
But like Arnie, he'll be back.
A pretty cool chopper formation
We spotted this pretty cool sight during stage 8.
John Degenkolb's fairytale - Stage 9
Three years ago, Degenkolb's career soared with his victories in two of the sport's biggest Monuments - Milan San Remo and Paris-Roubaix in the one year (2015). That's the classics rider's version of winning two grand tours in a year.
Just under 12 months later, he and several team mates nearly lost their lives when a driver from the UK drove on the wrong side and smashed into them while out training in Spain. He's been fighting back ever since - always near or thereabouts but only picking up a couple of minor wins since the accident.
Snagging a victory on the cobbles at the Tour de France is a massive deal for any classics rider, but this was also a fairytale ending for the German - and also his first Tour stage win.
Shut up, you're crying.
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Degenkolb's fairytale
The thrilling finish to La Course
Mitchelton-Scott's Annemiek van Vleuten produced the unlikeliest of comebacks in the finale of the 118 kilometre La Course, overcoming Anna van der Breggen with 20 metres left in the race.
The Mitchelton–Scott leader chased van der Breggen (Boels-Dolmans) for 15km after being dropped in the final push to the top of the Col de la Colombière.
The pair are two of the best riders in the women's peloton. This was epic.
MTB guy - or was it ET?
ICYMI, yes this really happened during Stage 10 of the Tour.
The mountain biker is Alexis Bosson and he posted it from various angles.
His helmet cam:
And this from the other side:
Bosson has tried and succeeded this feat before, at the 2013 Tour de France.
Gnarly.
Renaissance re-enactment and epic field art installation
After the mountain biker light-heartedness, Stage 10 of the Tour took a more poignant turn.
As the peloton hit the Plateau des Glières, we saw a beautiful tribute to the French Resistance of World War 2. The mountainous area was an important site for the Maquis group of resistance fighters led by Lieutentan Tom Morel. In January 1944, the plateau was chosen to accept British parachute drops of arms to supply the local resistance then as a base behind the Germans at the time of the Allied landings.
The territory was cut off, poorly accessible by road but identifiable by allied aircraft through its proximity to Lake Annecy. In March 1944, some 121 maquisards died here during the Battle of Glières against almost 5000 soldiers from the Wehrmacht and the Vichy.
Ah, the Tour. *Sniff*
The re-enactment:
The epic field art installation:
Brave - or stupid - ravine tightrope walker
Yep. This happened on Stage 11.
Cav out of the Tour
Mark Cavendish, Dimension Data team mate Aussie Mark Renshaw and Marcel Kittel (Katusha Alpecin) were all sent packing after failing to make the Stage 11 time cut.
Here's Aussie Renshaw's immediate reaction:
Nibali out of the Tour
Vincenzo Nibali looked strong towards the finale on Alpe d'Huez but was felled by a spectator's camera strap. He managed to regroup and finished just 13 seconds behind Stage 12 victor, Thomas, but tests later confirmed a non-displaced fracture of the T10 vertebra and he too has withdrawn.
Annemiek van Vleuten joins the crowd at Dutch corner on Alpe d'Huez
It's important to stay hydrated. How. Cool. Is. She?
