Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Stage 17 of the Tour de France returns to the Alps finishing after 177.8 kilometers at the winter sports resort of Devoluy The last 40 kilometers are particularly challenging The riders face three categorized climbs in quick succession being the “easiest.” If all goes as expected – which rarely happens in this Tour – the stage winner will likely be a strong climber from a breakaway group Stage 17 starts in Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux and heads northeast through the Drôme department passing the intermediate sprint in Veynes (kilometer 114.8) before reaching the Alpine town of Gap this time in the “Alpes du Sud” department This category-2 climb to 1,246 meters covers 6.8 kilometers with an average gradient of 7.3 percent After a short descent to La Fare-en-Champsaur the route trends upward before the climb to the Col du Noyer begins in Les Roberts This category-1 climb is 7.5 kilometers long with an 8.4 percent gradient the first three riders to reach the summit at 1,664 meters will earn bonus seconds the final climb to the Superdévoluy ski station begins in Devoluy The road climbs 3.8 kilometers with an average gradient of 5.9 percent running exposed along the mountain to the third mountain finish of this Tour de France After the rest day and the relatively calm Stage 16 many riders will likely have regained their legs and will aim to join the breakaway The Alpine finale favors strong climbers and mountain specialists Teams might send multiple riders into the breakaway: one or more to set a high pace on the flat sections and create a gap between the breakaway and the peloton and others to finish strongly on the climbs but it’s unlikely that UAE Team Emirates or Visma-Lease a Bike will expend unnecessary energy in chasing down the breakaway the breakaway group could make it to the finish for the first time since Stage 2 and EF Education-EasyPost are expected to be the main protagonists A battle among the top ten GC riders on the penultimate climb depends on individual strength and the stage dynamics It’s possible if one of the riders shows signs of weakness might attempt an explosive move on the upper part of the Col du Noyer and then tackle the relatively flat final climb to the finish solo The key question is whether he will take that risk Mathieu van der Poel’s Canyon Aeroad CFR: The Bike Behind His Spring Classic Wins Mathieu van der Poels Cyclocross Calendar 2024/2025 Season Review 2024: Great Success of Team Alpecin-Deceuninck The riders at the Tour de France 2024 endured the Pyrenees mountains over the weekend and the race now will bring them into the Alps for a new challenge a 177.8-kilometer trek from Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux to Superdevoluy will allow the riders to ease into what the region usually has to offer but teams will need to start being a little more strategic as the days of the 2024 TDF are winding down Speculation was that the ride from Gruissan to Nimes on Tuesday would belong to the sprinters - if the winds the area is known for stayed at bay - and that was the case allowing for a bunch sprint at the finish of Stage 16 which was the first stage back after the second rest day of the TDF 2024.  Jasper Philipsen got the win, his third stage victory of the 2024 event, while green jersey leader Biniam Girmay crashed in the last 1.5 kilometers meaning the race now is on for the green jersey In the quest for the overall title at the Tour de France 2024, and the first Giro d'Italia-TDF double since 1998, two-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar was able to maintain his lead over two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard (3 minutes First-time participant Remco Evenepoel is third at 5 minutes 19 seconds and followed by Joao Almeida (10 minutes FloBikes coverage of Stage 17 will begin Tuesday at 6:25 a.m Eastern and is expected to conclude around 11:45 a.m Here’s what to know about Stage 17 of the Tour de France: In Canada, the Tour de France is streaming live on FloBikes and the FloSports app. the NBC family of networks and the streaming service Peacock are broadcasting the race.  FloBikes and the FloSports app are home to race highlights stage breakdowns and more breaking news.  Stage 17 of the Tour de France 2024 will be a 177.8-kilometer journey from Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux to Superdevoluy that gradually increases in incline for more than 130 kilometers before three categorized climbs finally test them in the last 40 kilometers could mean the chance for a breakaway to find success but the race's top climbers also will have the opportunity to shine.  This stage will be a test in patience early The Col Bayard is a Category 2 climb with an average gradient of 7.3% over its approximate 6.8 kilometers and it will be followed closely by the 7.5-kilometer Col du Noyer Category 1 climb that reaches 8.4%.  The final challenge will be a 3.8-kilometer climb to the Superdevoluy ski resort (opened in 1966) there will be a quick 3.9-kilometer descent that could provide some excitement and a battle for the stage victory The finish in Superdevoluy will be a first for the Tour de France though the area welcomed stages of the Critérium du Dauphiné in 2013 and 2016 The start in Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux this year will mark the fifth time the town has seen off the riders for a stage of the TDF Bonus seconds again will be offered to the first three riders across the line Wednesday - 10 Stage 17 of the Tour de France is 177.8 kilometers Here is what the elevation looks like for Stage 17:  Austrian climber Felix Gall won Stage 17 of the 2023 Tour de France. It was the first TDF stage win of his career and came in his debut at the event.  The stage was a 166-kilometer mountainous ride from Saint-Gervais-les-Bains to Courchevel that included a gigantic HC climb - Col de la Loze - which humbled many of the sport's brightest stars.  Here is the map for this year's Tour de France: A live broadcast of the 2024 Tour de France will be available on Peacock for those watching from the United States.  Peacock is the exclusive home of the event in the United States through 2029 with start-to-finish coverage of every stage FloBikes will provide a live broadcast for Canadian audiences Viewers in Canada will be able to watch all 21 stages of the Tour de France 2024 live on FloBikes and the FloSports app FloBikes also will provide updates highlights and behind-the-scenes coverage throughout the entire event for all Flo subscribers.  The Tour de France will be on the NBC network and will stream daily in the United States on Peacock The entire race will be broadcast on NBC's channels and USA Network.  There will be 22 teams and up to 176 competitors in this year’s Tour de France: the cyclists start together to complete the stage of a race Every stage varies in distance and physical demand.  Here is the complete schedule for the 2024 Tour de France FloBikes is the streaming home to some of the best cycling from across the globe. Check out the broadcast schedule to watch more of your favorites in action. Video footage from each event will be archived and stored in a video library for FloBikes subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscriptions. Get the most important Cycling stories delivered straight to your inbox. ©2006 - Present FloSports, Inc. All rights reserved. Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world until it’s better prepared to make a success of the multibillion-dollar projects President Emmanuel Macron wants EDF to build at least six new reactors in France, but the company and its suppliers are far from ready to do so, the Cour des Comptes said in non-binding recommendations published Tuesday France — Richard Carapaz earned a stage win at the Tour de France for the first time after showcasing his climbing prowess in the final ascents of Wednesday's route in the Alps This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Chattanooga Times Free Press Material from the Associated Press is Copyright © 2025 audio and/or video material shall not be published rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use The AP will not be held liable for any delays errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing Puncheurs can pounce on opportunities on 177.8km from Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteauxto Superdévoluy The peloton tackled what was its last day for the sprinters on the previous stage 16 into Nîmes, and now the attention turns to the climbers and GC contenders on stage 17 into Superdévoluy at the Tour de France The Tour heads east to the Southern Alps for a 177.8km route from Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux to Superdévoluy with no significant obstacles faced mid-race while crossing the Drôme.  A large breakaway group could likely be formed through the windy valley roads on stage 17 The puncheurs will be looking for a chance to shine assuming they will be able to deal with the climbs in the final 40 kilometres.  The last 40km is where things get tougher as the roads get steeper and the climbers and GC contenders are sure to emerge.  The race will reach the first ascent of the category two Col Bayard although the final selection should be made on the category one Col du Noyer (7.5km at 8.4%) just 12 kilometres from the finish line Stage 17 ends with a new climb for the Tour the category three Côte de SuperDévoluy (3.8km at 5.9%) There are only five days to go of this Tour de France and yellow jersey, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) believes that the wind and hilly course could make the next two stages challenging before the race heads back into the high mountains He heads into stage 17 with a healthy lead in the GC standings with 3:09 over Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) and 5:19 over Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) so it is unlikely they will gain time back on the Slovenian on this stage but watch for time gains and losses among the top 10 overall stage 17] is windy from the start and then mountains at the end so tomorrow is not an easy day," Pogačar said stage 18] could be a chance for a breakaway it's big mountains where we will see a big showdown again as we did in the Pyrenees." The SuperDévoluy was first climbed in the Critérium du Dauphiné in 2013 where Samuel Sánchez took the win it was Steve Cummings’ turn to take the win while Chris Froome sealed the overall victory for the third time Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006 Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023 Become a member here We use cookies to improve your browsing experience Will this finally be an opportunity for a breakaway to stay away 2024Distance: 178kmStart location: Saint-Paul-Trois-ChâteauxFinish location: SuperDévoluyStart time: 12:35 CETFinish time (approx): 16:58 CET The climb to SuperDévoluy that rounds off stage 17 has never before featured at a Tour de France but it will be familiar to those who have followed the Critérium du Dauphiné Samuel Sanchez outgunned his breakaway partner Jakob Fuglsang in a two-up sprint to claim stage victory while three years later Steve Cummings soloed all the way to the top having already gone clear alone to take a massive win by almost four minutes Cummings now works as a directeur sportif for Ineos Grenadiers and his tactical expertise that made him such a wily breakaway specialist could be put to great use when trying to plot how to win today’s stage a large breakaway group about 20 riders in size that formed at the start of the stage and we can expect today’s winner to come in a similar manner This isn’t a high mountain stage in which only the very best climbers will be in contention for but nor are the climbs simple enough for it to be called a mere hilly stage; rather it is best classed as a medium mountain stage and so whoever wants to win will need to have strong climbing legs Getting into the break won’t be easy for pure climbers as the opening kilometres of the stage are flat The riders set off from Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux in the Drôme department where foodies should make sure to sample the local black truffle specialty (even the wine here has aromas of truffles what with the vines being planted on the same land as the truffle oak) From here the route rises gently and almost imperceptibly but won’t reach an official climb until 140km into the stage and so this is a great chance for climbing all-rounders (in the manner of Cummings) to get up the road and contest the stage ahead of superior climbers yet the mountains its visit precedes today aren’t quite of the long high altitude type we associate with the mountain range which has only been ranked a category two effort with its gradients of 7.3% over a modest 6.8km The Col du Noyer that follows is certainly tougher with steeper slopes of 8.1% over a slightly longer 7.5km but the final rise to SuperDévoluy only climbs at 5.9% for just 3.8km Are these climbs hard enough to ignite some GC action the Col du Noyer is the place to make them and it was here that Sánchez struck out for stage glory in 2013 and where Alberto Contador attacked Chris Froome in 2016 Team Sky shut down that Contador attempted to comfortably seal Froome overall victory and if another team can control and neutralise the race a similar way then the only time gaps we’ll likely see are a few seconds following the final sprint up to the SuperDévoluy finish With all the climbs back loaded into the final 40km of this stage it is highly likely that the breakaway will be the ones battling it out for stage victory at the end of the day And there has been one team who've been extremely active so far throughout the past two weeks of racing a rider dressed in pink has infiltrated the break and even if they have been caught by the teams of the big three (Tadej Pogačar they’ve fought until the very end – most notably who has proven his strength in the mountains He’ll be a real contender for the stage win as the climbs are less demanding than those in the Pyrenees but are still hard enough for him to make his signature attacks His teammate Richard Carapaz could also be a strong contender Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) has been consistently strong so far even sporting the polka-dot jersey for much of the first week He’s powerful on this type of terrain and will be a rider determined to get in the break and keep it away Uno-X Mobility also have Magnus Cort in their team of riders and may choose to send him up the road too hasn’t performed as well as expected so far but he boasts a riding style that suits this kind of terrain Nico Denz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) can pack a punch on some steep ascents stage wins will be high on the team's agenda Laurens De Plus or Michał Kwiatkowski could be potential riders for Ineos Grenadiers both might be on domestique duties for their GC especially as it cannot be assumed that a GC battle won’t be ignited on the punchy climbs that finish this stage Frank van den Broek (Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL) could be another rider to watch he came second place on the opening stage in Rimini The team haven’t had a stage win since stage one and will be keen to make the most of a rider like Van den Broek or Bardet on this type of terrain Other riders who could secure the win atop SuperDévloy are Simon Yates (Jayco Alula) Davide Formolo or Enric Mas (both Movistar) We think Ben Healy will finally make it to the finish line first after many valiant attempts fearsome mountain passes and a Balkan Grande Partenza Rouleur takes a look at the contenders to win the Maglia Rosa in Italy this month Alexander Vinokourov's team are making the impossible rather quite possible All the essential information about the first Grand Tour of the year While the former Olympic and World champion is relishing new ventures in retirement she is keen to ensure more support is in place for those.. Enjoy a digital subscription to Rouleur for just £4 per month and get access to our award-winning magazines Join today for exclusive content from independent journalists This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Researchers think that the central skeleton in the grave (marked 1) was an older woman who was buried after dying of natural causes and that the two other skeletons (marked 2 and 3) were younger sacrificial victims bound \"incaprettamento.\" The tomb containing the three skeletons was built in the style of a silo within a small wooden structure and surrounded by a trench The wooden structure was open at both ends and the tomb was built off-center possibly to allow the sun during the summer solstice sunrise and winter solstice sunset to illuminate a priest or priestess above it The research found evidence of the "incaprettamento" method of murder at 14 Neolithic sites in Europe The murder of sacrificial victims by "incaprettamento" — tying their neck to their legs bent behind their back so that they effectively strangled themselves — seems to have been a tradition across much of Neolithic Europe with a new study identifying more than a dozen such murders over more than 2,000 years The study comes after a reassessment of an ancient tomb that was discovered more than 20 years ago at Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux near Avignon and it held the remains of three women who were buried there about 5,500 years ago The new study, published Wednesday (April 10) in the journal Science Advances reinterprets the positions of two of the skeletons and suggests the individuals were deliberately killed — first by tying them up in the manner called "incaprettamento" and then by burying them while they were still alive you have the broken stones — so it seems that it was a rite related to agriculture." Related: Skull of Neolithic 'bog body' from Denmark was smashed by 8 heavy blows in violent murder of Paris Cité University and the study's lead author that seems to depict two human figures bound in the incaprettamento manner Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox Crubézy said it appears incaprettamento originated as a sacrificial custom in the Mesolithic period and later came to be used for human sacrifices associated with agriculture in the Neolithic period incaprettamento seems to have been widespread across much of Neolithic Europe with evidence of the practice at sites ranging from the Czech Republic to Spain The earliest is a tomb near Brno-Bohunice in the Czech Republic that is dated to about 5400 B.C. and the latest is the tomb at Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux suggesting that the practice persisted for more than 2,000 years The bindings used to tie the two individuals at Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux have long since decayed but a few features of their skeletons — such as the unusual positions of their legs — suggest how they died The third woman in the tomb seems to have been older and likely died from natural causes She was also interred normally for the time This suggests that she had been ceremonially buried after her natural death and that the two younger women had been sacrificed to be buried with her —15 people were brutally murdered 5,000 years ago, but the bodies were buried with care —2 waves of mass murder struck prehistoric Denmark, genetic study reveals —Why were dozens of people butchered 6,200 years ago and buried in a Neolithic death pit? The two sacrificial victims seem to have been pinned down with heavy fragments of stones used for grinding grain they were still alive when they were buried Crubézy said it wasn't known why incaprettamento was used for Stone Age human sacrifices, but it might have been because a person bound in this way could be seen as strangling themselves, rather than being killed by someone else. Live Science ContributorTom Metcalfe is a freelance journalist and regular Live Science contributor who is based in London in the United Kingdom Mysterious Tikal altar that wasn't Maya after all includes at least 4 skeletons — and 1 was a child Ancient jawbone dredged off Taiwan seafloor belongs to mysterious Denisovan Digital 'resurrection' of the Titanic sheds light on fateful night the ship tore apart won stage 17 of the Tour de France in Superdévoluy here are some more images from the Tour and today’s winner Asked if he has his eyes on the stage win tomorrow, Van Aert replies: “Tomorrow is a stage I have on my mind, so we’ll see.” Tune in tomorrow for that. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) 70hr 21min 27sec Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) +3min 11sec Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick-Step) +5min 9sec João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) +12min 57sec Mikel Landa (Soudal-Quick-Step) +13min 245sec Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers) +13min 30sec Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) +15min 41sec Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech) +18min 15sec Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) +18min 35sec 17 Jul 202416.59 CESTPogačar jumps Vingegaard with about 300m to go! He might get a second or two more on the Danish rider with that move. Updated at 17.00 CEST17 Jul 202416.57 CESTEvenepoel has attacked and has about 80 metres gap from Vingegaard and Pogačar. Are those two bothered? I can’t tell. 🚂 First stage win for @RichardCarapazM, first stage win for Ecuador! 🇪🇨🚂 Première victoire pour @RichardCarapazM, première victoire pour l’Equateur ! 🇪🇨#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/foLknSenLr Updated at 16.56 CEST17 Jul 202416.51 CEST1km to go: The race leaders are on the third category climb, the Côte de SuperDévoluy Good news for Romain Gregoire. He gets the combativity award today. Vingegaard, Evenepoel and Pogačar are all together. Updated at 17.24 CEST17 Jul 202416.48 CEST2km to go: Vingegaard is with Evenepoel now and they’re gaining on Pogačar. There’s only about 30 metres between them now. Carapaz is still going strong out front. Updated at 17.37 CEST17 Jul 202416.44 CEST3km to go: Vingegaard is dropped by Pogačar. Evenepoel goes past and Vingegaard shakes his head. Updated at 16.45 CEST17 Jul 202416.43 CESTPogačar attacks!4km to go: Pogačar attacks and Vingegaard is on his wheel. Updated at 16.46 CEST17 Jul 202416.42 CEST6km to go: That move earlier from Ciccone fizzled out pretty quickly. 17 Jul 202416.39 CEST10km to go: Carapaz’s gap on Yates has grown as they both descend. There’s about 18sec between them. Updated at 16.39 CEST17 Jul 202416.35 CEST12km to go: Mas is 30sec behind Carapaz. The Ecudorian rider is absolutely pushing it up this climb. The crowds here are so energised and I’ve even seen someone dressed as Santa Claus shouting encourgament to Carapaz. It’s July isn’t it? Updated at 16.37 CEST17 Jul 202416.31 CESTCarapaz attacks on the Col du Noyer13km to go: Carapaz attacks! There’s 1.7km to the top of the Col du Noyer. Back in the yellow jersey group, Giulio Ciccone has made a move. Updated at 16.40 CEST17 Jul 202416.28 CEST14km to go: Carapaz has caught Simon Yates Updated at 16.29 CEST17 Jul 202416.25 CEST15km to go: Carapaz has dropped Williams and is putting down the power again to try to catch Simon Yates. 17 Jul 202416.22 CEST16km to go: Carapaz and Williams are chasing Simon Yates and closing in on him There’s about 4kms of the climb to go and Yates has a slim 4sec advantage on the duo behind him Simon Yates has caught the group and surpassed them on the climb. He’s on a mission! Updated at 16.30 CEST17 Jul 202416.16 CEST19km to go: Madouas and Martin are closing the gap on the breakaway The next climb is the 7.5km first category Col du Noyer ⛰️ PROFIL - COL DU NOYER ⛰️1️⃣ cat.📏 7,5 km🥵 8,1%🔟 KOM points#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/QbZP3qrjJ4 Updated at 16.17 CEST17 Jul 202416.13 CEST22km to go: In a bid to clear up who’s where, here’s a race situation update from the Tour de France race centre. Does that make it easier to follow? I’m not sure, but it might help locate a rider of interest. 17 Jul 202416.08 CEST24km to go: There’s a 30sec gap between the breakaway and two riders chasing them (Martin and Madouas) The larger counterattack group are 1min behind the brekaway 🇫🇷 @MadouasValentin has joined Guillaume Martin, they are 37" behind the leading quartet. 🇫🇷 @MadouasValentin a rejoint Guillaume Martin, ils ont 37" de retard sur le quatuor de tête. #TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/XIiJ60CatD Here are the results from the Col Bayard climb: Updated at 16.09 CEST17 Jul 202416.05 CEST26km to go: Here are some pictures from today’s stage via the newswires: The spectators on this climb are having fun, aren’t they? Updated at 16.00 CEST17 Jul 202415.48 CEST35km to go: While the riders climb, here’s an email from Pierre in Normandy about the broom wagon (voiture balai): Hi Amy from wet and cold Normandy where I try to improve my fluency in English by reading your live coverage, and thank you for that. About Sam Bennett abandon: Having chosen lastminute.com as the sponsor on the voiture balai, which is the most feared vehicle by all TdF riders, demonstrates that either (i) TdF directors have some humour or (ii) they (like me) should try to improve their English. 17 Jul 202415.44 CEST36km to go: There was a 1min 45sec gap between the chasing group (which now numbers 48 riders) and the breakaway at the foot of the Col Bayard The yellow jersey group is 4min 55sec behind the break A group of 48 riders broke away, but before you ask, no we won't into detail (there are a lot).🫠Un groupe de 48 coureurs s'est échappé, ne comptez pas sur nous pour le détailler (ils sont beaucoup). 🫠#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/bcBSvkW3ZO Updated at 15.45 CEST17 Jul 202415.42 CEST38km to go: The breakway are coming up to today’s first classified climb The second category Col Bayard is just under 7km with an avergae gradient of 7.3% Here’s an interesting fact for you today, via the official Tour de France website: Col Bayard was the first Alpine pass to be climbed by Tour de France riders, having been ridden for the first time in 1905. 17 Jul 202415.32 CEST46km to go: The breakaway has almost 4min on the yellow jersey group Mas and Van Aert have broken away in pursuit of the breakaway and are about 1min 33sec behind ⏱️ Still 54’ lead for the leading quartet with almost 50 km to go. ⏱️ Toujours 54" d'avance pour le quatuor de tête à près de 50 km de l'arrivée. #TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/o3CqRLklLY Updated at 15.33 CEST17 Jul 202415.26 CEST49km to go: Here are the results of the intermediate sprint in Veynes: Updated at 15.27 CEST17 Jul 202415.19 CEST56km to go: Here’s how the points classification stands after the intermediate sprint results: Elston has asked: “Do you think Bini has enough points to win the green jersey?” Well, Girmay has got a healthy lead in the points classification, so although nothing is guaranteed, it does look highly likely that he’ll be in the green jersey unless something drastic happens. He’s keeping close to Philipsen, so if he keeps doing that, his rival shouldn’t be able to catch him up on points with what’s left in the Tour. Girmay reacted strongly to Philipsen’s push towards the line Girmay is looking to be in good form given his crash yesterday Updated at 15.10 CEST17 Jul 202415.04 CEST67km to go: Bill has been sending over very eloquent musings on the Tour stages, and today is no exception. Here is his latest take, via email: Even though there’s only three categorised climbs on this stage, the profile is attritional. It begins with fifty miles of uphill, a brief slope down then another twenty miles. Then it goes again before hitting the hills with the numbers above them. For a breakaway to work, they’ll need to spend so much energy getting a stomp on to escape the peloton, which will require teamwork. Then it’ll be a ride of thrilling heroics to drop Van Aert before he wins. I think the yellow jersey will be on the end of some shenanigans today, to tire him out and soften him up before the next two stages. Have a great afternoon.” Thanks Bill. Hope you have a great afternoon too! 17 Jul 202415.01 CEST71km to go: The breakaway’s lead is staying steady for the moment at about 1min. Healy, who doesn’t seem to tire, tried to attack but was shut down. UAE Team Emirates have been cancelling out attacks. 17 Jul 202414.52 CEST76km to go: The counterattack group have been caught and now the peloton are 1min behind the breakaway The intermediate sprint will be coming up shortly James in Amsterdam has emailed in some thoughts: In fact the only sprinter to have ridden for Quick Step not to have abandoned this edition of the race (so far) is Mark Cavendish It seems that not only do sprinters win significantly fewer races when they leave Lefevere’s powerhouse squad LBV Magazine English Edition Recent archaeological findings in Europe have shed new light on the practice of ritual human sacrifice during the Neolithic period Researchers have identified multiple cases of what appears to be ligature strangulation or positional asphyxia at ritual sites from approximately 5500 to 3500 BCE Analysis of these findings suggests that human sacrifice was an integral part of the socio-religious structure of some Neolithic societies particularly prevalent at gathering centers and sites related to food security and agricultural cycles The victims’ bodies were often deposited in pits or silos in a manner indicating violent and ritualized death Through forensic techniques and phylogenetic analysis researchers have been able to trace the evolution of these practices over nearly two millennia from the Early Neolithic in Central Europe to the Middle Neolithic in Southern Europe These discoveries challenge established interpretations of the role of human sacrifice in Neolithic agrarian societies and underscore the importance of a transdisciplinary approach to understanding these complex traditions researchers have often interpreted these deaths as a form of servant sacrifice where ritual leaders killed subordinate individuals to accompany them in death an alternative view suggests that human sacrifice may have played a role in ideological integration within agrarian societies rather than solely being a feature of hierarchical societies there have been suspicions that agrarian rituals during the European Neolithic would predominantly involve female participants One of the sites that has revealed particularly relevant evidence is Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux in the Rhone Valley where the remains of three women were found in a highly unusual position Two of the women were found beneath the overhang of a well that appeared to have been built to resemble a storage silo with flexed legs and heads and necks wedged by fragments of millstones suggest they may have died from positional asphyxia or “cardiac arrest due to prone restraint” These findings in Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux are not unique A comprehensive analysis of archaeological literature has revealed 20 probable cases of ligature strangulation or positional asphyxia at sites dating from the Early to Middle Neolithic (5500-3500 BCE) in various regions of Europe Sites where these cases were found often included features such as large numbers of silos indicating they were gathering and ritual celebration places related to food security and agricultural cycles These findings raise important questions about transcultural ritual and religious phenomena that may have developed from the Early Neolithic to the end of the Middle Neolithic before being replaced in certain areas by the megalithic phenomenon these archaeological discoveries reveal a dark and surprising aspect of Neolithic societies where human sacrifice appears to have played an integral role in structuring their belief systems and power practices Bertrand Ludes, Ameline Alcouffe, et al., A ritual murder shaped the Early and Middle Neolithic across Central and Southern Europe. Science Advances vol.10 no.15, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adl3374 Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email The Parthenon temple on the Acropolis of Athens housed a colossal statue made of gold and ivory carved by the famous sculptor Phidias in 438 BC Two thousand years before the Inca Empire extended its dominion over the Andes a much less known yet culturally influential society—known as the Chavín Phenomenon—had already developed numerous artistic expressions,… while the Byzantine Empire was mired in a succession crisis sought to take advantage and launched his conquest Archaeologists from universities in the United States and Denmark found deep within the Actun Uayazba Kab cave in Belize two small stone tools dated between 250 and 900 AD that… men and women gathered to play a game called Cuju A team of researchers has succeeded in recreating for the first time in a laboratory experiment a phenomenon that until now only existed as a theory in the realm of… the Cantonal Archaeology of Aargau carried out a rescue excavation between early May 2024 and the end of March 2025 The Egyptian archaeological mission affiliated with the Supreme Council of Antiquities announced the discovery of a group of defensive structures and a system of moats that could indicate… In the southeastern area of the city of Rome archaeologists excavating inside the Triton Baths within the monumental complex of the Villa di Sette… Why did some animals from ancient eras become fossils while others simply disappeared without a trace Receive our news and articles in your email for free You can also support us with a monthly subscription and receive exclusive content 'More history for his nation' - Carapaz seals Stage 17 win to complete Grand Tour set and underwent adaptation to the innovations of agriculture 2024Get email notification for articles from Ruth Schuster FollowApr 16 during the Middle Neolithic period in central France two young women were ritually murdered in a particularly brutal fashion At least one and possibly both had been buried alive researchers excavating the Middle Neolithic site of Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux suddenly realized more than 40 years after finding the bodies Their new analysis has led forensic anthropologists to suspect the women were human sacrifices who were forced to strangle themselves – a method of torture and murder known as incaprettamento which is used to this very day by the Italian Mafia the bodies had been found together with a third older woman by the forensic anthropologist Eric Crubézy and his team in 1984 But the significance of their positions and circumstances had escaped them at the time It was only when reading about the Mafia's methodology three years ago and recalling the strange position of the women's legs that Prof The new interpretation of what happened at the prehistoric gathering site of Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux in the Middle Neolithic, around 6,250 to 4,600 years ago, was reported last week in Science Advances by Bertrand Ludes of the Université Paris Cité Crubézy of the French National Center for Scientific Research and others This was not a village or site of settlement at the time It was (or had become) a site for feasting and ritual The women were buried within a ritually built sepulchral silo associated with a trench that was aligned with the summer and winter solstices The younger women had been human sacrifices How the third woman died and why she was there remains a mystery But this murder by positional asphyxiation was no isolated incident the team discovered through perusal of the literature The early farmers of Trois Chateaux may have been perpetuating a ritual with roots in deep prehistory starting with hunter-gatherers in the Mesolithic period and continuing for thousands of years into the agricultural era southeastern France's Trois Chateaux was not a permanent settlement with homes It was or had become a large gathering site for the early farmers in the wider area where people would gather from the surrounding settlements (as attested by pottery finds) But any settlement associated with the site itself has yet to be found: it bears adding that Neolithic homes in the Rhone valley hadn't been made of stone "Archaeologists believe they were likely constructed from adobe or perishable materials," Crubezy says the site consists of a series of pits: round structures that the researchers interpret as storage silos The pit entombing the three women was one of the biggest Open gallery viewThis aerial shot from 1985 shows the series of pits at the site in southeastern France.Credit: Alain BeechingBack in Trois Chateaux older woman had been laid to rest "normally" in Neolithic European terms: on her side Not so the two young unfortunates sharing her resting place but the young women had been wedged under a rocky overhang (the pit was broader inside than at its mouth) Pieces of deliberately broken grindstone were placed on their torsos trapping them all the more firmly into their niche and preventing them from moving in the tight space That in and of itself indicates that they were buried alive there would have been no need to weigh them down with the despoiled grindstones Asked if all three women seem to have been buried at the same time Reconstruction shows that the faithful must have put the two young women in the niche and then placed the older one in the center "It would have been impossible to put the normal positioned one in first," he says But where once their cause of death had been a mystery now the team thinks they died by auto-sacrifice Ligature strangulation as the team suggests implies that they were laid down on the belly or side with a rope or other ligament tautly run around their neck to their ankles No traces remain of the rope or other ligament in the tomb There are skeptics about the new interpretation seeking similar cases to bolster their theory unearthed 20 plausible instances of homicidal ligature strangulation or positional asphyxia across Europe over 2,000 years This method of human sacrifice seems to have been practiced by very different cultures in very different places from Poland to Spain and differs enormously from place to place the excavation at Trois Chateaux and the literature suggest that people all across prehistoric Europe were rigidly adhering for thousands of years to a ritual involving homicidal positional asphyxia but the bottom line is attestation to ritual with commonly recognized deep significance there is evidence that it began well before the Middle Neolithic in France before the first seed was planted in the ground Italy is famously the home of the Mafia and also of Addaura Cave which may well host the earliest-known evidence for homicidal ligature strangulation Wall art dated to 12,000 years ago shows nine naked men cavorting around two figures lying on the ground with strongly arched backs and ligaments stretched between their necks and legs Open gallery viewA replica of the paleolithical drawings in Addaura Cave shown in the Regional Archaeological Museum in Palermo Sicily.Credit: BjsSome archaeologists believe the picture shows Mesolithic acrobatics surmise that it is evidence of a continental tradition: ritual torture and death by auto-strangulation or suffocation amid dancing hunter-gatherers then the first known documented homicidal ligature strangulation dates to hunter-gatherers in the Mesolithic as agriculture spread from Anatolia to Europe the practice apparently persisted and perhaps even expanded If true that a lethal ritual among hunter-gatherers persisted into the agriculture era with the requisite adaptations – hunter-gatherers didn't build silos because they didn't grow crops - what could the common element be He believes the evidence suggests a ritual propitiation of the gods the forces of nature or whoever to bless the hunt A parallel could be drawn between that dead deer depicted amid the dancing men of Addaura and the ritually dug silos – they speak of food insecurity Even as our lifestyle underwent radical change that doesn't mean our hope of supernatural intervention did one maybe not) were discovered in Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux in what looked like a silo in fact: double the normal size in the town But it wasn't a real one; it had never been used to store grain It had been hollowed out specifically for the purpose of this homicidal ritual Because structures that were used as silos featured signs of fire inside to destroy rotting grains garnished with rodent relief products Since their sepulchral silo had no hint of fire and analysis of the sediment indicates burial using topsoil they conclude that the gathering farmers at Trois Chateaux dug the pit for the ritual Other silos in prehistoric Trois Chateaux did serve for storage some of the real silos at Trois Chateaux were subsequently used to bury people As for why they might have excavated a special pit for the women shaped like a fake silo Crubézy suggests that perhaps the site began to gain ritualistic importance the good burghers of Trois Chateaux stopped using certain grain storage pits and repurposed them for human sacrifice We have no idea whatsoever as to prehistoric belief systems Open gallery viewReconstruction of the area surrounding pits 69 and 70 at Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux.Credit: Ludes et al. Silos with bodies inside have been found throughout Neolithic Europe especially in southern France and northern Spain One school of thought was that this smacked of ritual and special positioning of bodies "They put bodies in silos because they weren't being used." were surrounded by an oval ditch or trench which had openings oriented toward the summer and winter solstices That orientation was confirmed by astronomers affiliated with the team Other major structures at the site are solstice-oriented too An anomalously pristine silo with three dead women at least two lying in positions reminiscent of Mafia murders with a surrounding ditch and other structures oriented to the solstice – all of which is startlingly like finds at 16 other sites from Poland to Spain from 7,500 to 5,500 years ago involving homicidal ligature strangulation despoiled grindstones and sacrificed or consumed animals Future work will hopefully include ancient DNA analysis of the three women to determine their relationship He believes the evidence suggest some sort of cruel food security-cum-fertility rite the forces of nature or heaven knows what for luck in order to curry favor with deities is well known around the ancient world The team also notes the prevalence of pit burials in general in Neolithic Europe and that many humans seem to have been tossed in without concern for positioning (i.e. not in the traditional flexed fetal position) At least some may also have been sacrifices in alternative form A significant number of bog bodies found in Denmark were teenage lads that are thought to have been sacrificed Self-strangulation was evidently just a twist in the methodology "And go forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom to burn their sons in the fire for burnt-offerings unto Baal" Jeremiah 19:2-5 With all due respect to the Mafia's possibly inadvertent show of respect for ancient tradition the team says that human sacrifice started to go out of fashion in Catalonia and France in the late Middle Neolithic about 5,500 years ago – which is when the fashion of megaliths began to pick up steam This doesn't mean the rituals didn't have overlap: there is no evidence of human sacrifice at Stonehenge while there is evidence of just that at the similarly ancient German site of Pömmelte Further north, torture and human sacrifice continued well into the last centuries before Christ By the time of the Greek and Roman empires Over in the Land that would be declared Holy, pits interpreted to be prehistoric grain silos abound but no evidence of Neolithic or Mesolithic human sacrifice has been found There are cases of violent prehistoric deaths Israel does have a 7,200-year-old ceramic vessel that archaeologists call a "model" silo which could be the earliest (local) evidence for a food storage ritual Moving from the prehistoric to the classic period, Roman sources and archaeological evidence suggest the Phoenicians sacrificed infants Aren Maeir of Ramat Gan's Bar-Ilan University Certainly the biblical tradition is clear on the subject "Religion gives us justifying ideology," Maeir sums up hope that our rites will bear supernatural fruit seems to reign eternal Aristos is a Newsweek science and health reporter with the London He is particularly focused on archaeology and paleontology although he has covered a wide variety of topics ranging from astronomy and mental health Aristos joined Newsweek in 2018 from IBTimes UK and had previously worked at The World Weekly He is a graduate of the University of Nottingham and City University You can get in touch with Aristos by emailing a.georgiou@newsweek.com. Languages: English either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content Researchers say they have uncovered evidence of a brutal tradition of ritualized human sacrifice that appears to have been practiced for at least two millennia in prehistoric times The findings, described in a study published in the journal Science Advances stem from the excavation of an unusual Neolithic (or New Stone Age) burial in France that was first uncovered in 1985 The burial is located at the Middle Neolithic gathering site of Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux located in the Rhône Valley in the south of the country It was found to contain the remains of three women While re-examining the tomb around three years ago study first author Bertrand Ludes—with the French Institute for Research on East Asia (IFRAE)—and colleagues realized that two of the women had likely died from suffocation is centrally positioned within the tomb pit Woman 2 was found on her back with her lower limbs bent and a fragment of grindstone positioned on her skull Woman 3 is in a prone position with her neck resting on the thorax of woman 2 The position of one of the women even suggested that she may have been buried while still alive The positioning of the remains suggests that women 2 and 3 were murdered via a ritualized form of asphyxiation This could have involved a method known as "homicidal ligature strangulation," which is characterized by the victim being bound in a prone position at the throat and ankles with a rope "It is a cruel and peculiar sacrifice; a rope is tied around the subject's neck and another around their ankles but there are no officiants and no blood is shed," Eric Crubézy an author of the Science Advances study and biological anthropologist at Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse "Self-strangulation becomes inevitable due to the forced position of the legs," the researchers wrote in the paper is associated with the Italian Mafia and is sometimes used to punish persons perceived as traitors." The researchers determined that the sacrificed women were killed between around 4000 and 3500 B.C. likely dying from "forced positional asphyxia." This is a cause of death that occurs when a victim is placed in a position that interferes with their breathing that they cannot move out of But while Ludes and colleagues could see that the deaths of the women were certainly violent they needed to find more evidence before they could determine whether or not the way in which they were killed was related to a more widespread Neolithic tradition the researchers examined the existing anthropological and archaeological literature finding 20 cases—from sites spread out across an area extending from Eastern Europe to the Catalonia region in northeastern Spain—that bore similarities to the Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux women The earliest example of this treatment that the researchers found was dated to 5400-4800 B.C. suggesting that forced positional asphyxia persisted as a sacrificial tradition for more than 2,000 years in this region "This cultural phenomenon could have diversified in Central Europe and structured itself at different rates for almost two millennia before culminating in the late Middle Neolithic," the authors said in a press release Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering ET: This article was updated to include comments from Eric Crubézy of Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground Newsletters in your inbox See all Enric Mas third to SuperDévoluy on day of attacking adding to his three wins from the Giro and three from the Vuelta Carapaz worked tirelessly to get into a chasing 48-rider group in the final 60km of the breathless 177.8km stage alongside the likes of Simon Yates (Jayco AlUla) who was the last rider he dropped on the upper slopes of the Col du Noyer 13.3km from the finish Yates rolled across the line 37 seconds behind the winner to take second after a valiant effort to match Carapaz with Enric Mas (Movistar) rolling over the line in third close to a minute in arrears EF Education-EasyPost were finally rewarded for their full gas efforts which have been on display throughout the 2024 Tour adding a stage win with Carapaz to a magical first stint in the maillot jaune for the Olympic Champion on stage 4 Despite the peloton letting the breakaway build a near-10-minute gap and fight for the stage win race leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) didn’t give his rivals any recovery time as he attacked towards the top of the Col du Noyer putting both Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) in trouble Evenepoel responded better as he powered past a struggling Vingegaard and began chasing down the yellow jersey on the descent with satellite riders becoming very important in the final few kilometres Christophe Laporte first guided Vingegaard down the descent after making it into an early break which brought the three leaders back together before Evenepoel attacked on the final 3.8km climb The Belgian used Jan Hirt to pace for him while Vingegaard has Tiesj Benoot and Wout van Aert to try and protect his second place Pogačar sat in behind the Visma train before exploding away to snatch two more seconds on his rival as Evenepoel took 12 seconds on Vingegaard in the battle for second Pogačar now sits 3:11 ahead of Vingegaard with Evenepoel 5:09 off the lead and 1:58 from the Dane in second The GC favourites battle should resume on Friday’s stage to Isola 2000 with tomorrow’s stage 18 offering the likes of Carapaz whose win was Ecuador’s first at the Tour a chance to double up on Tour stage wins on a brutal undulating 179.5-kilometre stage from Gap to Barcelonnette We have been trying it since the beginning This was our first goal; to get a stage win Today was so difficult with attack after attack until eventually there was a big group It's going to be a day I will remember for my life,” said Carapaz in his winner’s interview “I knew I would have some freedom in that group I had to wait for the right moment and made the most of it We studied the course this morning with our sports director and I knew what I had to do Every team brings the best riders and expectations are so high With almost a guarantee of breakaway action on stage 17 and every team looking to get something out of the race the start from Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux saw attacks get going right from the opening few kilometres Crosswinds hit the race as the 148 remaining riders headed east towards the Alps causing echelons to form at the likes of Stef Cras (TotalEnergies) and Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) to be caught out things quickly came back together in the less-exposed areas and this was just the calm before the storm What followed was hours of all-out racing to try and get into the day’s breakaway with a pattern of small groups forming and getting caught as they navigated the draggy undulating roads in the Drôme department Visma-Lease a Bike were incredibly interested with Wout van Aert Tiesj Benoot and Matteo Jorgenson all trying at times to make it into a move with DSM-Firmenich PostNL and EF Education-EasyPost also eager not to miss out some 57km into the day and after a breathless opening phase raced at 47kph a quartet managed to get more than a 10-second advantage for the first time in the stage - Benoot Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) and Bob Jungels (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) Their lead would grow over 45 seconds but still as the attacks flew in the splintering peloton they weren’t allowed to properly get away Carapaz and Yates were among those who tried to bridge alongside a big group containing Michał Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers) but none could get away from the aggressive chasing group As the race completed the toughest part of a long uncategorised climb and entered the final 100km of racing things calmed down momentarily and those out the back finally had an opportunity to get back to the front and support their leaders who had at times left Pogačar relatively isolated All eyes turned to the intermediate sprint point in Veynes with the two leads in the points classification Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) both present Girmay showed no signs of suffering from his crash yesterday and beat Philipsen to the remaining points behind the four leaders The sprint opened the attacking back up behind with a much bigger peloton now in pursuit en route to Gap a typical entry point to the Alps in the Tour Splits formed and so many teams showed their interest a 48-rider group managed to form a huge new bunch away from the GC favourites with at least a man from 21 of the 22 teams at the Tour present in one of the lead groups Big names who made it included  Van Aert Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and Romain Bardet (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) The four men from the breakaway hit the foot of the first categorised climb which arrived after over 1300m of elevation gain and 130km of full gas racing Col Bayard with 1:45 on the huge chase group and 4:24 on the peloton that showed they were not going to go for the stage Multiple riders from the 48-man group began suffering on the 6.8km climb as only the best climbers survived Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) and Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ) then launched a move to try and bridge to the four leaders completing the junction at the foot of the hardest climb of the day where only a few hundred metres had to be completed before Yates hit out for glory 18.4km from the line The former Vuelta winner melted away the six-man break’s now 30-second advantage the response behind was coming from another Grand Tour winner - Carapaz Williams tried to go with Carapaz as he exploded away from the faltering chasers and started getting close to Yates who had dropped the day’s early break easily on the toughest inclines It quickly became two in the front as Carapaz both dropped Williams and caught Yates just before they reached the hardest part of the climb - the final 2km The Olympic Champion then put the hurt on the Brit 13.3km from the finish and 1.8km from the crest of the 7.5km climb then 35 seconds as he navigated the short descent and final climb to SuperDévoluy quicker than those chasing him Yates faded but held off a recovering Mas as they rounded out the day’s podium GC action then started kicking off over eight minutes down the road with Pogačar launching out of the wheel of his rivals and immediately making a selection on the penultimate climb Vingegaard tried but lacked the explosivity to bridge the gap while Evenepoel got close but still wasn’t on before the descent Racing came back together for the four favourites as they picked up stragglers from the break and Christophe Laporte brought his Visma leader Vingegaard back to his two rivals Evenepoel then saw his opportunity and attacked away on the 3.8km climb for home Jan Hirt (Soudal-QuickStep) was up the road from the early breakaway and did a final lead-out for Evenepoel to try and keep his advantage above 10 seconds to the now Visma-led chasing group with more escapees helping their Danish leader Their efforts kept the gap to just 12 seconds but Pogačar launched a final violent sprint in the last 300 metres to gain two seconds and a psychological blow to Vingegaard ahead of the final four stages Results powered by FirstCycling during which time he also wrote for Eurosport Prior to joining the team he reported on races such as Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d’Italia Donne for Eurosport and has interviewed some of the sport’s top riders in Chloé Dygert he spends the majority of his time watching other sports – rugby Home → Science → Archaeology An investigation spanning decades has revealed a strange pattern of violence during the Neolithic archeologists discovered an unusual 5,500-year-old tomb at Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux near Avignon The tomb contained the remains of three Neolithic women two of whom were in an unusual mortuary stance A new study has revisited these remains and has uncovered a ghastly secret hidden for millennia The two women did not die of natural causes They were likely killed as a sacrificial offering meant to gain favor with supernatural forces Ritualistic sacrifices have always been a thing in the ancient world Researchers conclude that the victims died due to a brutal method of murder known as “incaprettamento” — where the victim’s neck is tied to their legs behind their backs they are effectively strangling themselves You can never rest your legs otherwise you die The same method is used by the Sicilian Mob on enemies and traitors to make an example out of them meaning “to tie up” or “to rope.” And the Stone Age sacrifice at Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux wasn’t an isolated event archaeologists have found over twenty other suspected incaprettamento victims These were scattered across more than a dozen sites in Europe dating to between 5400 and 3500 BCE Forensic anthropologist Eric Crubézy was among the first researchers who saw the remains of the three women in France’s Rhône Valley he would look back at this eerie and baffling tableau and wonder what happened It wasn’t until decades later that he began to see things clearly in his mind’s eye The revelation came upon him serendipitously while reading a description of the Italian Mafia’s incaprettamento The strategic placement of a victim to induce self-strangulation looked extremely similar to the conditions under which two of the Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux women were found Crubézy finally picked up where he left off and enlisted the help of other specialists from the Paris City University Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux was not just a burial ground It was a ceremonial site attracting large gatherings as evidenced by animal bones and artifacts sourced from distant locations This site was particularly tied to agriculture the tomb of the three women looks like a silo where grain was stored A wooden structure was built over this tomb (or grain pit) that was aligned with the sun at the solstices one of the most important astronomical events across most cultures throughout human history Several broken stones that looked like they were used for grinding grain were found near the tomb the two sacrificial victims look like they were pinned down by some of these grinding wheels Crubézy says that the victims were probably alive when they were buried there is no way of telling whether the victims were alive or conscious when their final resting place was sealed All of these clues point toward a ritual geared toward boosting agriculture and fertility The third woman was interred normally for a Neolithic burial She was older and was buried at the center of the tomb The researchers believe this person died of natural causes and the two younger women died when the third was buried the researchers investigated other similar tombs from across Europe They eventually found 20 incaprettamento-like victims across 14 Neolithic sites dated to between 5400 and 3500 BCE A later Mesolithic cave painting found at the Addaura Cave in Sicily depicts a group of men arranged in a circle around two very controversial figures with a strange position in their arms and legs A 2019 study suggests that the figures shown in the cave art “are engaged in a dance whose purpose is most probably linked to the ceremonial sphere” Crubézy and colleagues believe the two figures are bound in incaprettamento “We can say this special torture was a common practice in all these sites,” Crubézy told Science there are still many unknowns and mysteries There are no bindings that have been preserved and bones alone can’t reveal whether the victims were strangled or tortured in some way The researchers acknowledge this in their study but also point to the wealth of evidence across different sites separated by centuries and hundreds of kilometers This leads them to believe that the incaprettamento-like burials might have been part of a wider cultural practice As Europe transitioned into the era of megalithic monuments these violent rituals faded into obscurity This shift reflects broader social and economic transformations within Neolithic societies moving from ritual human sacrifices to monumental stone constructions as expressions of communal identity and belief The findings appeared in the journal Science Advances © 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science © 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information 2023 at 6:11 AM ESTBookmarkSaveLock This article is for subscribers only.France is ramping up the availability of its state-owned fleet of nuclear reactors after months of extended outages in a sign of relief for Europe as it battles a historic energy crisis The availability of Electricite de France SA’s 56 reactors hit 73% on Friday, according to grid dataBloomberg Terminal compiled by Bloomberg That’s the highest since February and a strong increase from lows around 40% in August Essential digital access to quality FT journalism on any device Complete digital access to quality FT journalism with expert analysis from industry leaders Complete digital access to quality analysis and expert insights complemented with our award-winning Weekend Print edition Terms & Conditions apply Discover all the plans currently available in your country See why over a million readers pay to read the Financial Times Archaeologists have discovered the remains of three women in a Neolithic tomb in France, with the positioning of two of the bodies suggesting they may have been ritualistically murdered by asphyxia or self-strangulation, according to a recent paper published in the journal Science Advances France's Rhône Valley is home to several archaeological sites dating to the end of the Middle Neolithic period (between 4250 and 3600/3500 BCE in the region); the sites include various storage silos animal remains (both from communal meals and sacrifices) and human remains deposited in sepulchral pits Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux is one such site According to Bertrand Ludes of the Université Paris Cité and his co-authors the remains of the three women were found in Pit 69 a structure aligned with the summer and winter solstices as was often the case in ancient agrarian societies But the body positioning was decidedly atypical reclining on her side with a vase near her head The other two bodies were just beneath an overhang with a piece of grindstone placed on her skull 2 and two chunks of grindstone placed on her back The unusual positions imply a forceful, deliberate placement, according to the authors, suggesting they died in the pit rather than being tossed in after death. As for the cause of death, the archaeological evidence combined with recent forensic studies suggests "homicidal ligature strangulation" and "forced positional asphyxia"—at least for two of the three women would have struggled to breathe on her back 3 pressing down on her neck (positional asphyxia) further exacerbated by the placement of the grindstone fragment 3's prone position would mean she also would have struggled to breathe and the volume of blood pumped by the heart would have sharply decreased a form of positional asphyxia now known as "prone restraint cardiac arrest." All these clinical terms don't quite capture the horrifically cruel nature of the manner of death Given the placement of the woman's knees—bent at more than a 90-degree angle making the legs almost vertical—it's possible she was tied up lying on her stomach with the ligature connecting her ankles to her neck (similar to being hog-tied) "self-strangulation becomes inevitable," the authors wrote particularly if the mouth and nose are obstructed or there is cervical compression—say from the strategic placement of grindstone fragments This form of torture, known as incaprettamento and dates as far back as the Italian Mesolithic era "suggesting a highly ancient origin within ceremonial sites." Sometimes the victim would be strangled and the body tied up postmortem before the remains were disposed of 3 would probably have been placed in the burial pit and tied up while still alive before self-strangling to death In fact, one scene from Mesolithic rock art found in the Addaura Cave in Sicily seems to depict a ritual sacrifice by ligature strangulation There are 11 human figures and the figure of a slain deer within which are the other two human figures (male Those figures are shown lying on their stomachs in a prone position with a rope stretched between their ankles and necks and one figure drawn with his tongue hanging out are both signs of strangulation or hanging It is notoriously difficult to distinguish between a merely violent death and one with ritualistic overtones when it comes to prehistoric remains combed through existing literature for reports of similar cases They found 20 cases of probable ligature strangulation or positional asphyxia in total across 14 different archaeological sites in Eastern Europe and Catalonia The individuals were found lying on their backs or sides lower limbs flexed until the feet aligned with the pelvis The oldest remains were found at sites in the Czech Republic and date back to between 5400 and 4800 BCE; the three women found at Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux are the most recent The latter site in particular has elements that "suggest a profound interconnection between religious systems and power structure in an agricultural society," the authors concluded—namely various structures aligned with summer and winter solstices indicative of an agricultural cycle and the placement of two women facing the central woman It's unclear why the women were sacrificed but such ritualistic sacrifice likely developed across central and southern Europe sometime in the Mesolithic and evolved over the course of two millennia before culminating in the late Middle Neolithic Science Advances, 2024. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adl3374  (About DOIs) Tadej Pogacar in yellow on stage 5 of Paris-Nice Pogacar retains yellow but Gaudu gains bonus seconds Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) was the first to launch his sprint biding his time before jumping around Pedersen to take the day’s victory Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) finished third in Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux but this is definitely the nicest so far,” Kooij said “I was a bit far back under the flamme rouge and I took the left side of the roundabout and this time I was able to get out of his wheel.” Kooij finished second to Pederson on stage 2 into Fontainebleau and was pleased to have had the power to come around him for the win in Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux “Coming close and finishing second is not bad so I’m really happy to take the win today,” Kooij said It was a reasonably uncomplicated run-in to Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux with a couple of late roundabouts which made the sprinters’ positioning extra crucial in the final The pace lifted at 5km out with Alpecin-Deceuninck Team DSM and Jumbo-Visma all with riders on the front across the wide-open roads Ben Swift (Ineos Grenadiers) made a last-ditch attack but he was caught through the final corner as Pedersen started his sprint the Dane only to be caught and passed by Kooij at the finish line Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) finished among the main field and continues to lead the Paris-Nice overall classification heading into stage 6 on Friday He leads the GC with 6 seconds on runner-up David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) and 46 seconds on Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) so it was a nice day,” Pogačar said who spoke about his prospects for the remaining three stages it’s my home training roads and it’s a nice stage but I don’t know the roads tomorrow or the day after and the route was published too late to do the recons and anything can happen with a lot of surprises and you need to measure your effort to the top The longest stage of Paris-Nice at 212.4km the race that started in Saint-Symphorien-sur-Coise with three categorised ascents: Côte de Coise Côte de l’Aubépin and Côte de Trèves followed by a relatively flat race through the valley before reaching the final two climbs over Col du Devès and Côte d’Aleyrac and descent into Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) started the day in the yellow leader’s jersey after a dramatic victory on stage 4 at La Loge des Gardes leading the race with 10 seconds on David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) and 44 seconds on Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) The jersey was not expected to change hands as the peloton was expected to arrive together for a bunch sprint into Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux An early attack from Jonas Gregaard (Uno-X) and he was joined by Sandy Dujardin (TotalEnergies) Gregaard took the full points over the three climbs and padded his lead in the mountain competition Gregaard sat up and dropped off the back of the breakaway leaving Dujardin alone but still holding his lead at five minutes The lone leader’s gap dropped from five minutes to three and then two as the peloton behind steadily descended through the plains He maintained a slim 90 seconds as he passed through his hometown but his time out front came to an end with 77km to go One of the most dramatic moments of the stage happened at the intermediate sprint over the short Col du Devès ascent where the GC contenders went all in for the available bonus seconds his teammate and sprinter Arnaud Démare took the four seconds and overall leader Pogačar had to settle for third place and just two seconds “The tension was rising before the climb and we saw a lot of riders wanting to go for it because it’s bonus seconds.” Pogačar said “I tried to pass on the right but there was not space so I only got On the final ascent Côte d’Aleyrac Gregaard leaped out of the field to take the mountain points Jayco-AlUla worked for Michael Matthews and Trek-Segafredo worked for Mads Pederesen and many of the teams with fast sprinters moiving forward to protect their respective riders along the 30km run-in to Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux Results powered by FirstCycling EDF’s Tricastin nuclear power plant in Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux which already happened at one plant a few times in June would add further strain to Europe’s energy supply France may have to import more electricity in coming months because about half of EDF’s 56 nuclear reactors are currently halted for repairs or planned maintenance An Electricite de France SA nuclear power plant in Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux as a French newspaper reported that a reactor in China is facing similar issues The Chinese operator of the Taishan-1 plant has extended a refueling halt for months because the cladding on some fuel rods has deteriorated French investigative and satirical newspaper Le Canard Enchaine said on Wednesday after first reporting the issue last week There is insufficient iron in the zirconium cladding of the fuel assemblies which were provided by EDF’s Framatome unit With a majority of its 56 French reactors offline for maintenance and repairs EDF’s woes are exacerbating Europe’s worst energy crisis in 50 years with the prospect of domestic power shortages as Russia crimps natural gas shipments to the region You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed On paper this looks like being a day for a bunch finish but it’s not guaranteed and you don’t have to delve too far back into Tour history to discover why the final 50 kilometres or so of the stage are played out on the coast and it was a short distance to the east of here that in 2009 HTC-Columbia blew the race apart on Stage 3 into La Grande Motte by using the wind to their advantage and dominating a small front group after echelons formed setting up Mark Cavendish for the second of his six stage wins that year Bastille Day inevitably means French riders going on the attack and the racing should be frantic from the start as breaks try to get away David Moncoutié was the last home rider to win on the Fête Nationale in 2005 when he took the victory in Digne Les Bains but this seems more a day for someone like Cavendish himself the winner of a Quatorze Juillet stage in Issoudun in 2009 although sprinters will have to ensure they aren’t dropped by the main group on the Category 3 Mont Saint-Clair a little over 20km from the line Geraint Thomas says: I think it should be a big group finish but if the wind is up then it could split things up it’s definitely long enough along the coast to the finish and there’s no rest after Montpellier it’s in the wind all the way to the finish So there will be a lot of guys who will be really attentive around there and there’s a few GC guys who could miss out if it all does blow apart otherwise it will be a big old bunch kick again even if it doesn’t look like there is much distance between them on TV it’s almost impossible to bridge across because everyone is going full gas You’re doing 600 or 700 watts on the front so to jump across you’d need to be doing 800 but as soon as you try you realise you need a few guys with you to do it To find out more about the stages on this year's race check out our full 2012 Tour de France Preview with full analysis of every stage plus tips from Geraint Thomas Fantasy Cycling Tour de France Stage 13 transfer window shuts at 10.45am please consider subscribing to the site to support us directly As a subscriber you can read road.cc ad-free The revenue from adverts helps to fund our site then please consider subscribing to road.cc from as little as £1.99 Our mission is to bring you all the news that’s relevant to you as a cyclist Tony's journey in cycling media started in 1997 as production editor and then deputy editor of Total Bike acting editor of Total Mountain Bike and then seven years as editor of Cycling Plus He launched his first cycling website - the 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Terms and conditions of use Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux: Young Dutch rider Olav Kooij took his first significant road victory in the sprint at the end of the fifth stage of Paris-Nice as Tadej Pogacar retained the overall lead on Thursday "Pretty nice," Kooij told broadcaster Eurosport at the finish The pack was all together as the longest stage of the race reached the finish in Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux a 21-year-old who rides for the powerful Jumbo-Visma team burst away from established sprinters Dane Mads Pedersen of Trek-Sagafredo and Belgian Tim Merlier of Soudal-Quick Step Pedersen had edged Kooij at the finish of the second stage "I was in the wheel of Pedersen and this time I was able to get out of his wheel," Kooij said "Coming close and coming second is not bad but the victories are the ones that count." the pack of 148 rode the 212.4km stage at a languid pace Really nice day and no stress," said Pogacar of Team UAE The Slovenian did burst into action briefly in an intermediate sprint for bonus seconds edged Pogacar in the sprint with 57km to go to claim six seconds and cut the overall lead to six seconds "Only two today," said Pogacar with a laugh He increased his edge over reigning Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard The race heads for the hills for the last three stages starting on Friday with a rolling 197.4km ride from Tourves to La Colle-sur-Loup