My highlight of the Tour de France? When Tadej Pogačar announces to his team that he has cracked in the Col de la Loze.
Of all the audio clips broadcast on the air, a first on the Grande Boucle, this was by far the most poignant.
“I’m not here anymore, I’m dead”, unpacks the Slovenian, factual, when he is taken down by the yellow jersey group.
At that point, Pogačar could have thrown in the towel and walked sheepishly to the line. For a double winner, it would have been understandable.
Chaperoned by his teammate Marc Soler, he rather clung to his second place, which he confirmed in Paris on Sunday, where the Tour concluded. At the end of the 21st stage, the Belgian Jordi Meeus (Bora) deprived his compatriot and green jersey Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) of a fifth victory.
Pogačar even allowed himself to go on a breakaway on the Champs-Élysées before leading the peloton to the red flame. Always this pleasure of racing for the one who won the white jersey of best young rider for a fourth consecutive year, a record.
Jonas Vingegaard was simply in a class apart, like his Jumbo-Visma team, despite the good performance of UAE, which also placed Adam Yates on the third step of the podium.
Despite the 7:29 gap to second position, the biggest since Vincenzo Nibali in 2014, Vingegaard had some for his Danish crowns before claiming his second consecutive title after his second place in 2021. Incidentally, it also allows me to boast that I predicted his victory, which was not very difficult even if everyone saw Pogačar.
The 26-year-old cyclist has announced his participation in the Vuelta, as co-leader with Primož Roglič, crowned at the Giro in the spring. The Dutch armada will aim for an unprecedented “grand slam” of the three grand tours.
The dominance of Vingegaard and Jumbo-Visma obviously raised the specter of doping. Normal in the most tainted sport for over 30 years. But the Dane, his team and his entourage absolutely do not drag any pot. Zero. No.
Arguably, anti-doping cops, who rely more on intelligence than actual testing or biological passports to track cheaters, are a step or two behind. From there to conclude that Vingegaard is undeniably doped, I pass my turn, thank you.
I woke up to a note from Hugo Houle on Sunday morning. It is not in his habits, but the cyclist relayed to me a tweet from an observer who made the list of riders the longest at the front of the peloton during the Tour.
American Neilson Powless (EF), defending a polka dot jersey lost to Giulio Ciccone, is in the lead with 827 kilometers in the breakaway. He is followed by Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe (798), who has multiplied his sword strokes in the water, and Belgian Victor Campenaerts (695), voted super combative with good reason.
Two Israel-Premier Tech (IPT) complete the top 5: Latvian Krists Neilands (687) and Houle (576), room partners for a second round in a row.
Revelation of IPT, Neilands passed three kilometers from the first bouquet of his career. Houle was also unable to win a stage like last year. His Tour is nevertheless a success, especially in the second half, the one he was aiming for.
The strategy of Jumbo-Visma and UAE, which left little room for breakaways, complicated things for all attackers.
“The race is a bit special this year, noted the Quebecer, 38th in the final general classification. You arrive in a breakaway and half of the top 10 in the general classification is there. With a finish at the top, what do you want to do? I remain Hugo Houle, I am not a pure climber. I can’t answer everything. I do with my means and there have not been too many chances since the start. »
With Michael Woods’ only victory at Puy-de-Dôme, IPT has achieved its goal in the Tour. Half of the 11 teams at the start left empty-handed.
After a medal at the Worlds, two stages of the Vuelta, Woods continues to enrich the prize list of a career started late. A stage on the Giro and a great classic – he finished second in Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2018 – would be two good targets for the athlete from Ottawa.
The eight members of IPT joined Paris, five more than a year ago, where COVID-19 and the falls hit hard.
New Zealander Corbin Strong did very well for a rookie, finishing in the top 10 twice, including Sunday in Paris (9th).
Guillaume Boivin, he had set the table between the 4th and 3rd kilometers, but he did not seem very happy with the positioning of his young roommate.
Forced to retire before the 21st stage last year because of the new coronavirus, the 35-year-old Quebecer was able to taste the mythical arrival on the Champs this time. It was deserved after being an actor for the majority of his third Tour, notably contributing to the winning breakaway of his friend Woods.
The non-selection of Chris Froome, a surprise for many observers, but not his teammates, sent a strong signal even before the start.
Owner Sylvan Adams has not put on white gloves to assess his investment in the four-time winner of the Grande Boucle, whose contract which comes to an end this year would bring him more than 5 million euros annually, according to the figure which is taken everywhere.
Is Froome good value for money? “Absolutely not,” Adams said in an interview with Cycling Weekly.
“How could we say we got what we paid for?” We signed Chris to be the leader of our Tour de France team, and he’s not even here. So it cannot be considered good value for money.
“Chris is not a symbol, he’s not a PR tool, he’s supposed to be our leader in the Tour de France and he’s not even here. So I couldn’t say it’s worth the cost, no. »
The Quebec businessman and patron, who now lives in Israel, nevertheless maintains his initial commitment to allow Froome, who is now 38, to finish his career with his team.
Nine years after his World Championship gold medal, Michal Kwiatkowski has recalled why he is still one of the best in the field at 33. Dropped around the same time as Hugo Houle in the Grand Colombier stage, the Pole from Ineos Grenadiers came back from behind to win at the top before the return of the Pogačar-Vingegaard duo.
Escaped again the following day, Kwiatkowski proved his worth by contributing to young team-mate Carlos Rodríguez’s first stage success in Morzine.
“It was not only his victory [that inspired me], but also all his work and that of the team,” testified the 22-year-old Spaniard.
“For example, [Michal] was in the breakaway today and when we came back to him he went to the car three times to bring us bottles. All that in ten minutes. He was amazing. It’s details like that that make the difference. »
With such an example of self-sacrifice, Rodríguez could hardly give up after his crash on the penultimate stage on Saturday. With his face and half his body bloodied, he climbed back into the saddle to secure his fifth place overall.
We haven’t heard the last of him. Nor from Kwiato.
After his flamboyant victory in yellow last year at the fourth stage in Calais – it followed three consecutive second places during the big start in Denmark – Wout van Aert has not managed to raise his arms this year on the Tour. Despite multiple attempts, the handyman of Jumbo-Visma each time came up against something stronger than him (four times on the podium, including twice second).
But like Kwiatkowski, van Aert has proven to be an undeniable asset to yellow jersey Jonas Vingegaard. On the flat, in the mountains, in the final stages. Or in the Grand Colombier, when he stepped aside after doing his part in skimming in the leading group. Hearing that Rafal Majka, teammate of Tadej Pogačar at UAE, had taken his place in the lead, the Belgian sprinted to come back and literally crush the Polish climber, like a power forward in hockey.
In the end, this daring and borderline legal maneuver did not change the final result of the stage, but it certainly sent an important message to Vingegaard and Pogačar. We don’t joke with him.
Elsewhere, van Aert left the Tour after the Col de la Loze stage on Wednesday to attend the birth of his second son. This time he arrived on time.
Hugo Houle never received the postcard that La Presse had sent him at the start of the fourth stage in Dax. The Tour start village has a beautiful yellow post box available to visitors to encourage their favorite riders. Obviously, the postal service of the Tour is less efficient than that of Lance Armstrong…
