CARCASSONNE, France — After 15 stages, the peloton have a day off on Monday in a Tour de
France that has undergone a revolution in the top order, sizzled in a heat
wave, and welcomed a new star to its ranks.
اضافة اعلان
Here AFP Sport
looks at some of the thrills and spills that have made the 109th edition of the
world’s most prestigious bike race such an enthralling spectacle.
Pogacar mountain meltdown
There are no sure things in sport and Tadej Pogacar’s fall from a position
of force serves as a cautionary tale. The defending champion had attacked at
every opportunity, saying: “Any time I can take a few seconds, why not?”
Cumulative fatigue is one answer. When Jumbo-Visma and others launched a series
of attacks on an Alpine mountain in stage 11 Pogacar suddenly looked human,
losing 3min 1sec to Jonas Vingegaard, who ended the day in the yellow jersey.
Superman Pidcock
British rookie Tom Pidcock showed world-class skills as he won stage 12
on France’s national holiday. The Olympic mountain-bike gold medalist and the
cyclo-cross world champion swooped down a mountain with such elegance and
fearless speed that no one could keep up. “People did not want to risk chasing
me,” said the 22-year-old who went on to win on the famous Alpe d’Huez climb.
Pidcock often lies flat on his saddle during cyclo-cross wins, with a clenched
fist forwards in a Superman pose. The lad from Leeds says his ambitions now
include more than just winning stages.
Climate protests
French environmental
campaigners briefly halted the race in the Alps on stage 10 in a protest that
went viral. The same woman who had interrupted the French Open tennis
tournament in June chained herself by the neck to another protester with the
group’s name written at neck level. On her white T-shirt was a slogan: “We have
989 days left”. They again protested on stage 15, which may have caused the
crash that saw Jumbo’s Steven Kruijswijk pull out injured.
Feeling the heat
With a heat wave building towards a sweltering peak, organizers arranged
for tens of thousands of liters of cold water to be poured onto roads as surface
temperatures exceeded 60°C under the searing sun. Tarmac starts to melt at such
extremes, but cold water will solidify the surface if it is doused 20 minutes
before the cyclists pass through. The fire brigade have been on hand to help
the police execute the operations.
Even Stevens
Jumbo’s decision to allow Primoz Roglic to withdraw
ahead of stage 15 now appears to have been a rash move. During the stage
overall leader Vingegaard also lost key aid Kruijswijk when he fell 65km from
the finish line in Carcassonne and departed in an ambulance, weakening
Vingegaard’s defenses in a tense struggle for the title with Pogacar, who also
lost two teammates after COVID-19 positive tests. “It’s two very important
teammates, two very strong riders. It’s quite a bad day for us,” said the
yellow jersey wearer. Pogacar felt no sympathy, saying: “If I hadn’t lost my
two teammates it would be different. Now we go into the last week an even
match.”
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