Einer, Peter Sagan, has retired from the Tour de France, another, Nils Politt, has celebrated the greatest victory of his career. For the German team Bora-hansgrohe, the twelfth stage of the Tour of France stretched over 160 kilometers from Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux to Nimes. At the end of the day, everyone was hugging each other. The relief was great.
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Finally a result you can touch on the grandstand, finally a high beam at the end of the tunnel. Forget for a few long moments the disappointments that came with the tour, the highlight of the season. Peter Sagan, the star, who wanted to wear the green jersey of the best on points to Paris for the eighth time, fell early and only drove with great pain until it was no longer possible on Thursday. Lennard Kämna reported sick before the tour, unable to do the tour this year.
Emanuel Buchmann stepped in, but after his fall at the Giro and an improvised preparation no help in the mountains for captain Wilco Keldermann, who nevertheless did bravely in sixth overall. So now Politt, who made all the team’s problems and needs disappear like a magician. He did not win somehow, not with luck or by a hair’s breadth, he won as a soloist, as the fast-paced puncher prefer to do, the men with the big lungs and the tenacious will to get through on long escapes in difficult terrain.
A picture-book victory
Politt had left the field early with twelve companions and sought salvation with them in flight. Forty kilometers from Nimes there was only a small pile left, and then, twelve kilometers from the destination, the man from Hürth put everything on one card, hop or top. He attacked with an explosive kick and made the jump.
A picture-book victory for such undulating stages. Politt was 31 seconds ahead of Imanol Erviti (Movistar) and Harry Sweeny (Lotto Soudal) in second and third place. The 38-year-old sprint veteran André Greipel (Israel Start Up-Nation) also made a brilliant impression. He made it into the breakaway group and ended up sixth. There were no changes at the top in the overall standings. The Slovenian Tadej Pogacar confidently leads them.
For the 27-year-old Politt, it was the greatest success of his career so far. Once before, in 2019, he was able to sniff a really big victory, in the spring classic Paris-Roubaix he came second. “It is a dream to win a stage on the tour,” he said at the finish. When it was clear before the start that Sagan had to give up because of his knee injury, said Politt, the racing tactics had to be changed a bit. Not the three-time world champion Sagan, who was in good health and a specialist for such stages, was now the focus of the team, but Politt, who was able to drive on his own. How he did that was worthy of a Master.
A crosswind period was the group’s springboard to break early and Politt was alert enough not to miss this opportunity. He said he had felt good the previous days. Now he brought the good feeling to the street. “At first there were quite a few sprinters in our group,” said Politt, “that’s why I had to make the race fast and hard.” It’s better not to hit the home straight with pure sprinters. When Politt had already left most of them, thirteen kilometers from the finish the sports management announced that there was still a hill to be crossed, the last chance to break away. Politt did not take long to ask.
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