After finishing the individual time-trial in a respectable 13th place, Michael Rogers looked forward to the ‘awesome’ prospect of the 18th stage, in which the mighty Alpe d’Huez will be scaled not once but twice.
The experienced Australian, a three-time world time-trial champion, finished the tricky 32-kilometre ride from Embrun to Chorges on Wednesday 2min 25sec down on stage winner Chris Froome and sits in a very respectable 11th place in the overall standings.
With Alberto Contador second and the Czech Roman Kreuziger third in the general classification, Rogers and his Team Saxo colleagues are enjoying an impressive Tour, but Contador’s inability to keep pace with Froome is proving to be an enormous source of frustration.
Rogers, who moved to Saxo after playing a key supporting role in helping Bradley Wiggins win last year’s Tour for Team Sky, saw Contador lose a further nine seconds on Froome on Wednesday.
However, instead of focusing on another missed opportunity for his team, he preferred to look forward to the ascent of the legendary Alpe d’Huez and a stage which local officials predict will be watched by up to one million fans along the roads.
“It’s going to be awesome, I can only imagine all the people up there,” Rogers said.
“Some of the best experiences I’ve had on a bike are riding up there and I’m sure this time will be the same. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Rogers, like Contador and Froome, has recent experience of the mighty climb having ridden in the Criterium du Dauphine last month, which included an ascent of Alpe d’Huez on the seventh stage.
His fellow Australian Richie Porte also took part on that day on his way to a second-place finish behind Froome overall.
On the Tour, Porte has so far played an admirable supporting role for Froome in his bid to win the yellow jersey and, after helping him win on the mountaintop finish at Ax-Trois-Domaines and again on the ascent of Mont Ventoux, the 28-year-old Tasmanian could once again feature prominently on Thursday.
“My job is just to be there and support Chris, so I just need to stay around him. He’s got some good time and on Thursday it will just be about defending the yellow jersey,” Porte said after finishing the time-trial 4min 49sec behind Froome.
“Up Alpe d’Huez it’s not going to be an easy day, but we’ve got good time on the next guy in GC and Chris is in great form.
“We did L’Alpe d’Huez in the Dauphine this year and it’s a tricky descent so that could be just as decisive as the climb itself, but Chris has won Mont Ventoux and the only other mountain you would maybe prefer to have on your palmares is this one so I think he’s pretty motivated.
“The team’s in a good position and lets try and notch up another scalp.”
Thursday’s stage also features a hair-raising descent of the Col de Sarenne in between the two climbs of L’Alpe d’Huez, and the expected stormy weather conditions will only add to the difficulty of the 172.5-kilometre ride.
One man aiming to come out of the day unscathed after what has already been a deeply disappointing Tour will be Cadel Evans.
Having initially hoped to challenge for a second yellow jersey win in three years, Evans is now 18th overall at 24min 44sec from Froome after another lowly finish in the time-trial.
“It looks like the Giro took a lot more out of me than I first thought,” the veteran Evans admitted, recalling his third-place finish in Italy in May, just weeks before he turned his attention to the Tour.
“It’s four weeks and so on, but it’s something we tried, knowing that there was an element of risk racing the Giro then the Tour.
“A reasonable Giro wasn’t so bad but of course I wanted to do a reasonable Giro and a very good Tour, but there’s not much we can do about that now.”
Rogers ready to tackle 'awesome' Alpe d'Huez
