The Tour de France cyclists have covered more than half of the stages of this 110th edition and so far, the Israel – Premier Tech team can be proud of the work accomplished, according to Quebecer Guillaume Boivin.
On Thursday, the riders took part in the 12th stage of the Tour between Roanne and Belleville-en-Beaujolais. Spaniard Ion Izagirre, of the Cofidis team, attacked with 30 kilometers to go and was the first to complete the 168.8 kilometer course.
He beat Frenchman Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies) and American Matteo Jorgensen (Movistar) by 58 seconds.
At Israel – Premier Tech, the Belgian Dylan Teuns participated in the breakaway of the day and finished eighth (1 minute 27 seconds).
Hugo Houle finished 57th (11 minutes 25 seconds) among a group of 21 runners, while Boivin finished in 132nd place (27 minutes 57 seconds)
“For me, it was just getting through the stage,” said Guillaume Boivin, noting in passing the “extremely difficult” start reserved for the athletes.
It remains that between his experience in the Tour de France last year and that of this year, it is day and night.
The one who had been called in as reinforcements at the last minute had not had the chance to prepare adequately before setting off for the biggest cycling event in the world. This time, the sensations are much higher.
“It’s really not the same story as last year!” It’s more fun and it’s less stressful not to wonder every day if we’re going to finish or not. I pass the mountains much better, I can even go into the breakaways and do my job,” said Boivin, who notably supported Michael Woods in his victory on the ninth stage.
“So far, we can be very proud of the Tour we are doing and we hope to continue in this direction. There are some solid steps ahead. »
In addition to Woods’ victory, Latvian Krists Neilands put on quite a show on Tuesday by escaping for about thirty kilometers. He was caught three kilometers from the finish.
“He had a fantastic day on Tuesday, it was pretty impressive. It passed close, but the stars weren’t aligned. I think we will see him again for the rest of the Tour. »
Houle and Boivin are currently 77th and 132nd in the provisional general classification, still led by defending champion Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma). Ontarian Michael Woods, teammate of Houle and Boivin, is the highest ranked of their formation at 30th place.
A summit finish is scheduled for the conclusion of stage 13 on Friday, followed by two mountain stages over the weekend.
