SUPERDEVOLUY (France) – It's a dream come true, but Carapaz is too tired to jumpThe blazing sun casts deep shadows on his exhausted face, only his white teeth shining brighter than his mirrored glasses. The Venezuelan won his first stage at the Tour, after being the first Ecuadorian to wear it the yellow shirtAnd perhaps because you spoke to us completely casually this morning before the start, we understand that there's something else behind that desire to get there and win.
The golden Olympic champion bike did its part very well, almost at the end of a journey that lasted a year less than all the others, given that Covid has eaten up a year and only three years have passed since Tokyo.
“I’ll try again,” he said at the start. “I think we have a very tough week ahead of us. I hope the standings have settled down, so that the breakaways of the day will also arrive.The truth is, I'm fine, I'm finding good feelings again. I hope to continue this growth and find something here at the Tour. I've now come to terms with the fact that they won't take me to the Olympics, it's a problem I've already faced.I think I still have a great season ahead of me. The Vuelta and even the World Championships, which will be a great end to the season."
A victory forever
Less than five hours later, his mission is accomplished, and judging by the way he tells it, it may not be entirely complete yet. The finish line is a hubbub of masseurs, because the heat has made itself felt and the riders arrive exhausted.The last two crowded climbs offered a crazy and even polite scene, from what we could see from our vantage point.
«This victory means everything! I've been trying to get it since the beginning of the Tour – he says – that was the goal. I managed to get this result that I will remember forever, I made the most of the momentI knew the final climb well, having studied it with my sports director. I had won stages at the Giro and the Vuelta, but the Tour de France is the race with all the best riders in the world. Each team arrives with its best set-up and the best squad. The Tour is the most beautiful raceI'm also happy for all the people who follow me, they are proud to be here and represent all of America in the best way possible».
The stupid instinct
While the 48 riders in front were thinning out and from behind first Simon Yates and then Carapaz were coming back to the front and overtaking them, in the yellow jersey group that little devil Pogacar noticed that Vingegaard didn't exactly look goodAnd so, taking a good run-up on the Col du Noyer, he attacked and brought him to his knees. In hindsight, it didn't do much good, given that the gaps at the finish were small.
«It was a very nice day – says Pogacar in the mixed zone – there was a fast start, as if in the first 125 kilometers we were in a junior raceMaybe that's why I was a bit tired before the last climb, and I took advantage of it. I don't know if attacking like that is part of my DNA, it could be. I really don't know why I tried. I followed my instinct, but it was a stupid instinct. I took two seconds off Jonas and I'm happy about that. Remco, on the other hand, was very good. He made a great attack in the final.Visma worked very well as a team. If Jonas didn't have more men in front of him, I think Remco and I could have put more pressure on him and the result would have been different."
Remco grows
Seeing Vingegaard in difficulty actually boosted Evenepoel's morale. The Belgian first responded to Pogacar. Together with Vingegaard and Laporte, they caught up with him on the descent. And when they found themselves on the last kilometers towards Superdevoluy, the white jersey attacked in personVingegaard tried, but when Pogacar also left him in the end, he understood that not all seasons are the same. In the end Evenepoel gained 10 seconds on Pogacar, who gained two on VingegaardIt's not so much the margin itself, but what it means on the eve of another three days in the mountains.
"I still felt good," Evenepoel says, "and I still had Jan Hirt in front. At one point, they shouted in my ear that I could attack if the pace dropped at the foot of the final climb. That's what I did. Maybe I should have been more aggressive, but it's all new to meI still don't dare give my all on a four-kilometer uphill finish. Jan was incredibly strong; he left me at the last kilometer, as I'd asked. Then I went for another kilometer at full speed. In the end, the gap to Pogacar and Vingegaard was just a few seconds. But with the men behind me in the standings today, it was over two minutes. I expected Pogacar to answer, but maybe since I'm 5 minutes late he preferred to let Visma workI don't know if I'll try again, I'd like to stick to our plan which includes a podium and a stage. Maybe I'll win another one, but anything new that I can experience is a plus. So I'm staying focused on third place and then we'll see. Jonas has won two Tours, I don't think it'll be easy to take two minutes off him."
Honor to Vingegaard
At this point, perhaps some reflection is called for. Vingegaard's presence at the Tour is a miracle. Given the April accident, he would never have been able to regain his peak performance. But since many consider him a sort of robot and his team capable of extracting water from salt, they were all convinced that he would come and it would be business as usual. That's not the case. And if last year Pogacar's scaphoid was accepted as the cause of his delayed condition, In front of this Danish boy all skin, grit, bones and muscles, you just have to take your hat off.
«At the start I had imagined a conservative stage – says Vingegaard – but at a certain point I saw that Trek was attacking and I thought it would be possible that Tadej would startAnd at that moment he attacked. Whenever someone else makes the race difficult, you have to expect him to pull away. Then Remco attacked, and Tadej got on my wheel. I thought I would get it back, but I had already asked a lot of my teammates, who I have to thank a lot today.Laporte was really invaluable. About my condition, what can I say? I still feel like I'm improving and today was probably not my best dayIn a Grand Tour you can have a bad day and if this is my bad day, then I'm happy."
He could have ignored it and put everything on the Vuelta. He's here to make Pogacar's victory biggerFor this alone, Jonas Vingegaard deserves a round of applause.
