Was it a strike? Never, officially, the peloton of the Tour de France puts its notice in the prefecture and parades under the banners. Merguez tents and sound tanks are reserved for spectators. The cyclist does not like the idea of a strike, driven by the idea that he can endure anything because he is so solid, that the revolt is expressed in an increased effort, that this profession is more than a job and the rider a little more than a worker… However, this Saturday, between Nice and Nice, the opening of the Tour de France seems to have been the astonishing scene of a “strike” of the 176 riders, who will not say her name. Like a fortnight ago on the roads of the Critérium du Dauphiné. Obviously, the runners are sending a message to the organizers. They cannot accept just anything.
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Nice, the city where it never rains, was washed away by the rain. Lots of runners on shore this Saturday: Frenchman Thibaut Pinot, Franco-Russian Pavel Sivakov (one of Team Ineos’ best cards), sprinters Sonny Colbrelli, Caleb Ewan and Giacomo Nizzolo, team leaders like Richie Porte and Ilnur Zakarin, in total a big fringe of the peloton and many scuffed teams. Until the final sprint won by the Norwegian veteran Alexander Kristoff (Team Emirates-UAE) ahead of the young world champion, the Danish Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo). Kristoff, who dons the yellow jersey, believes that the slowdown imposed by the competitors to preserve their safety is “a good thing”.
Spectacle permanent
This hecatomb is above all a story of chemistry. An emulsion (of pollen, dust, hydrocarbons) forms at the first drop of water on roads where it has not rained for a long time. Paths washed with water are always less harmful. But, beyond that, there is the problem of the runners’ tolerance threshold. They speak of “neutralization”. The last descent before the Promenade des Anglais was therefore initiated by a tight pack of runners, very cautious in the trajectories, preventing the risk-takers from leaving and cheating death. The descent, a playground for some, was thus condemned by the choice of the majority. Earlier in the stage, before the rhythmic falls, the peloton seemed wide and thick, rather than tapered, pulled like a rubber band. Refusing to fight in the permanent spectacle that is demanded of them from start to finish. This “neutralization” is intended as a technical gesture, intended for accident victims to join the peloton, but the decision nonetheless has a political significance.
Cracks
Rarely have we seen runners so stressed, worried, perplexed, lost in a competition of which they no longer master the rules and benchmarks and a world whose, like everyone else, they have seen the cracks since the virus invasion in spring. They are looking for “meaning” in what they are doing. Wondering if there will be an arrival on the Champs-Elysées, if their team will survive the threat of exclusion for two cases of Covid patients. If they will have a job next year. All this, they talk about it among themselves, a lot. The ordinary sport menu is relegated to the background.
The Critérium du Dauphiné, the last preparation race for the favorites, was crossed twice at breakneck speed (“The hardest race we’ve ever done”, confide a few) and already through numerous accidents. They blamed a rotten road. They complained openly about it. The organizer, ASO, the same as that of the Tour de France, was targeted. It’s rare. The “union” of professional cyclists, the CPA, was concerned about the security conditions. Although domiciled at the same address as the International Cycling Union, in Aigle, Switzerland, this vaguely representative body reported that the riders were overwhelmed. They decreed a “neutralization” on the first ten kilometers of the last stage. Which consists of rolling on the brakes. The roads of the Tour de France are the red carpet of Cannes, without any comparison with the patched path of the Dauphiné, and this Saturday, the rain was more to blame than any negligence of the organizations. But the peloton starts the very tried Tour.
Pierre Carrey sent to Nice
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