Tour de France 2013: The 13th stage of the 100th edition

Mark Cavendish: The winner of the 13th stage of Tour de France 2013

Number 13 has always been a much dreaded number. Unlucky for some, number 13 also has a phobia associated with it: Triskaidekaphobia. The 13th stage of Tour de France seem to carry the ominous touch of number 13. The stage proved to be a completely topsy-turvy affair as lucks of many riders seem to do a volte face. 

Chris Froome still leads the General Classification

Just when everyone was thinking that Chris Froome would easily succeed in doing a Bradley Wiggins, things seem to have taken a funny turn. While Froome (though he is still leading by 2' 28" over Mollema) lost more than a minute of his lead in the general classification to Bauke Mollema and Alberto Contador, Alejandro Valverde dropped out of top 10 following a nightmarish stage number 13. With as many as 8 more stages to go, the competition for the coveted Yellow Jersey seems to have opened up really well.

Rider to watch out for: Alberto Contador

And the juggernaut of Marcel Kittel that seem to be enjoying the rub of the green for the last couple of flat stages finally hit a major roadblock. But, there is always a flip side. Number 13 can also prove to be quite auspicious for a lucky few. A major beneficiary on the stage number 13 turned out to be none other than Mark Cavendish. The wheel of fortune finally favored the gritty Brit as the ace sprinter completed his record 25th stage win taking his points tally to 273 points. Peter Sagan, who finished second in the stage, still leads the points classification with 357 points.    

References:

1). Wikipedia

2). Guardian