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Tour de France: Ineos takes a breath in the Alps

The Tour in the Alps ended with a questioning. You? Me ? Thursday, in the station stage, between Méribel (Savoie) and La Roche-sur-Foron (Haute-Savoie), the two riders of the Ineos training, Richard Carapaz and Michal Kwiatkowski escape for 168 kilometers and take their time as the finish approaches: who of the two to raise their arms? A third thief wants to argue, a naughty spectator who jumps over the barriers and appears on the finish line, before being intercepted by a member of the organization.

Arrival at the stop

In the talks, we even forget the rules: the sprint is compulsory, since the texts of the International Cycling Union provide that any rider competes for his chances. Here, the sprint takes place almost at a standstill. A hug between the two men: Carapaz, the first Ecuadorian to win a grand tour (the Giro, in 2019), leaves the Polish Kwiatkowski to win. “What a day, declares whoever passes the line first. I can’t describe how grateful I am to the whole team and Richard [Carapaz]. I will never forget that. In the last kilometers, I had chills because I knew it was going to do it. “

In the battle for the yellow jersey, Slovenian Primoz Roglic (Team Jumbo-Visma) still leads the way, fifty-seven seconds ahead of his compatriot Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) and one minute and twenty-seven seconds ahead of Colombian Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana).

Bodies are dying, crushed and crushed

The day before, the Ineos team had lost its leader Egan Bernal, winner of the Tour de France 2019, who suffered from back pain. This Thursday, she makes triple blow. The British team takes care of the image with a symbolic photo of a united family. His Ecuadorian climber (who replaces in the workforce two former Tour winners, Christopher Froome and Geraint Thomas, judged to be short of form) takes on the white jersey with red polka dots. Finally, the team won its first Tour success since 2018.

The peloton has also questioned itself several times. First, when he sees new ridges jagged Lake Roselend, which lies at 1,557 meters. Are the Alps still hiding difficulties? The light disturbs the waters and the spirits. The bodies, after almost three weeks of racing, are in agony, crushed, crushed by the last kilometers of the Loze pass on Wednesday, where the Frenchman Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ) considered it likely to see runners getting off their bikes and “to walk”.

The question jostles 32 kilometers from the finish, at the top of the Glières plateau, in a stony sector supposed to boost the race and create gaps: who to fall into the trap set by the organizers? The dust digs the tracheae, the ruts make runners vibrate. The team leaders play for the places of honor. Roglic, Pogacar, Lopez, Landa, Mas… The eternal poissard of the Tour, Richie Porte, fifth in the standings, died. At this moment, his team calls out to supporters on social networks : “What do you think is going on Richie Porte’s head right now?” With a spare bike, the Australian ended up catching up with the other favorites. Friday, the Tour will maneuver between Bourg-en-Bresse (Ain), to Champagnole (Jura). The Alps in the back and Paris in sight.

Romain Boulho Special Envoy to La Roche-sur-Foron

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