La EF Education-Easy Post It is one of the most interesting teams of this Tour de France and ironically it is even more so after having lost its leader: Richard Carapaz. The American team is in fact chock-full of great attackers. Quality riders who can go after stages.
A few days ago their team manager, Jonathan Vaughters, Somewhat surprisingly, he said that the withdrawal of their leader had not really upset the Grande Boucle team that much.
All for the stages
Moreno Moser had told us before di understand well the choices made by the team manager himself, that is, bring all this quality even at the expense of helping Carapaz.
"We're at the Tour, and there are two riders who were already known before the start to be in contention for the overall title, so it's better to focus on the intermediate finishes."
And all things considered, the manager agreed with our expert. A few days after the withdrawal, he told Cyclisme Actu: "True, morale after the loss of Carapaz isn't 100 percent, but it's not low. It's at 90 percent."
The American had reiterated that the team was chasing stages and that their race would change very little after the Olympic champion's withdrawal, revealing that Carapaz was also aiming for the stages.
Polka dot sweater
And so everything appears more linear. Neilson Powless He's going after the polka-dot jersey. And he's going for it with determination. He attacks, gains ground, and once he's secured all the necessary categorized points, he stops and lets the group catch him so as not to waste energy. Much to the disbelief of his breakaway companion. This is the story of the third stage.
Powless tried to stay ahead even in the Pyrenees, trying to keep the wheels of that train called Wout Van Aert. At the Tourmalet summit he was unable to sprint, but he still finished in fourth place, enough to wear the red and white.
«When I saw that breakaway I had to be there – the American told the Tour microphones – but I knew it would be tough. Once you try a polka dot sweater, it's hard to do without it. I know it will be very difficult to maintain it. I would like to do it until Sunday (today, ed.)". In the afternoon we go on Puy-de-Dome, historic and very tough climb.
Bettiol and Uran
Then there is Alberto Bettiol, who has put his nose in front on more than one occasion. It happened in San Sebastian and partly yesterday, although he didn't find the right opening—and perhaps the right legs. Alberto is a diesel and is one of the very few to have also raced the Giro d'Italia. The team has great faith in him and he has plenty of opportunities.
And from a veteran, because that's what Alberto is now for this team, to another: Rigoberto Uran. In the group his colleagues tell us that he is going strong, but the Pyrenees have rejected him. And they also say that after the first mountain stage, having realised he didn't have any, "Rigo" went into stage-hunter mode.
He took a big delay and saved his energy. The problem is that the big guys here want everythingEven when they leave room – and they don't – for the breakaway, they then go so fast that they make up huge gaps in just a few kilometers.
Cort Warranty?
The young man remains James Shaw, Esteban Chaves, the expert Andrei Amador and perhaps the strongest athlete, Magnus Cort. He also competed in the Giro and has left his mark in Viareggio, stage very similar to many of those in the central portion of this Tour de France.
He hasn't budged so far. He did the same thing at the Giro. He's a guy who does damage. Last year he won in Megeve, in the heart of the Alps. However, his condition does not seem to be at its best and there are transfer rumours circulating about him that he would be moving towards his compatriot Vingegaard.
«The boys are fine – continued Vaughters – We clearly no longer have anyone for the general classification, but the stages were our goal from the beginning. We will try to be careful and ride well in the stages where the breakaway has a better chance of arriving."
And it's no coincidence that yesterday his boys, seeing as the breakaway had no escape, and they were unable to catch it, got back up in the final. Only Bettiol, 47th, and Chaves tried to hold on; the others formed a small group and finished over 6 minutes behind. Energy saved. The Tour is also run like this, with Vaughters' strategy.
