Demare didn't make it. He crossed the finish line under a dark sky that smelled of rain, but also of sunset. The time limit is mathematical; staying within it on some days is a feat equal to that of the winner. Yesterday the cut-off time set for Ben O'Connor's 4 hours 26'43" was 5 hours 04'03", equal to 14 percent. More concretely, anyone who finished in Tignes 37:20 behind the winner would go home. Cavendish did it. He crossed the finish line with Morkov and De Clercq, 35:49 behind. Demare, Guarnieri and five others were left out.
"This was one of the stages I was terrified of," said Cavendish, in tears as after his first victory, "and in fact I suffered a lot. We dropped away on the first climb, but I had these fantastic guys around me, who set the pace and gave me a lot of support. I'm pretty excited to have arrived and happy to still be competing».
The Curse of the 9th
Demare didn't make it. It had already happened to him in 2017, also in the 9th stage, on the famous day of Chambery. that he saw the fall of Richie Porte on the descent from the Col du Chat and even then there would be rest the next dayArnaud crossed the finish line feeling sick and exhausted. He hadn't been able to eat the entire stage, and having Guarnieri and two other teammates alongside him hadn't helped at all. Seven other riders went home with him, including Trentin and Sagan..
More or less the same thing happened yesterday in Tignes. Demare crossed the finish line 41 minutes behind the winnerAnd if the day before he arrived last at Le Grand Bornand due to a hunger crisis, This time the cause of everything was the cold and probably not having recovered well the day before.
At the finish line in Tignes, Cavendish was in tears, just like in Fougeres after his first victory. He was escorted by the men of his train: Devenyns, De Clercq and Morkov
At the finish line in Tignes, Cavendish was in tears, just like in Fougeres after his first victory. He was escorted by the men of his train: Devenyns, De Clercq and Morkov
Petrified in Tignes
"When he passed the first climb in the group where Cavendish was," said Guesdon, sports director of Groupama-Fdj, "I thought: 'Okay, he'll make it!' Unfortunately, however, he couldn't keep up on the Cormet de Roselend and fell behind».
Arnaud remained stationary on his bike for a long time after the line, almost hoping to wake up from a bad dream. And while he was there, Jacopo Guarnieri also arrived. The scene was desolate, Cavendish had just stepped off the podium, long awaited to wear the green jersey, while the Groupama sprinter was looking for a reason to leave the finish line, almost hoping that the jury would accommodate him by communicating a change in the time limit.
Demare ran in perfect solitude for most of the day, adrift in the freezing cold On the Cormet de Roselend, he couldn't hold his wheels and found himself alone
Demare ran in perfect solitude for most of the day, adrift in the freezing cold On the Cormet de Roselend, he couldn't hold his wheels and found himself alone
No discounts
«Before the stage – said Marc Madiot, team manager of the Groupama-Fdj, to colleagues at L'Equipe – The stewards had told us that they would adapt the maximum time based on the race conditionsWe knew since the morning that it would be difficult in this weather. I spoke to the riders' union who replied: we'll see. In reality, nothing was done."
They tried, but it was too late and above all the group of riders out of time was really small so that such a decision could be justified.
Record missed
After the formalization of his exclusion, Démare returned to the hotel, where the team cook welcomed him in tears.They say the rider looked around and realized that the rest of the team was even more sad than he was about the day's result.
«I gave my all – he said – I got to 97 percent of my five-hour record. To be within the maximum time, I would have had to reach 100 percent.. As they say: Sink or swim…».
Broom truck
Nicholas Dlamini of Qhubeka-Nexthash continued to swim, even though he knew he was sinking. The South African rider reached Tignes one hour and 24 minutes after O'Connor's arrivalBehind him, the end of the line and a series of frozen policemen on motorbikes, wondering why they hadn't forcibly dumped him into the vanThe workers were already dismantling the stage, but The Tour is also honoured by pushing one's efforts to the limit. That's why Dlamini refused to get on the sweeper truck. He wanted to reach the finish line with his own strength. Finally surrendering with the honors of war.
