Astart the Tour de France in Denmark with a great performance by Lampaert, who snatched victory from Van Aert taking advantage of the better weather conditions. The sky disrupted the plans of dozens of specialists who analyzed the weather to benefit the runners. It didn’t rain during the exhibition of the classic hand that stopped the clock with a time of 15’17”. The one from the Quick-Step flew in Copenhagen and fastened the first yellow jersey of a Grande Boucl that starts with strong emotions.
But, looking at the general, the great beneficiary was Tadej Pogacar. The Slovenian brushed against success and was only seven seconds away from taking the victory. The one from the UAE Team agreed with all those who think that he is the great candidate to emerge victorious on the Champs-Élysées. Lampaert won, in part, in addition to the weather wink, because he ran with the ‘calmness’ that the fact of seeing Bissegger’s poor time gave him. The one from Education First has been the last crack of the goat to snatch a conquest from the great roosters of the discipline, but the rain that fell in the Danish capital, together with his impetus, caused him to fall twice. Luckily, the water did not bring serious falls or dropouts as it happened in Dusseldorf (2017) with Izagirre and Valverde. Among the cyclists in the general classification, the differences were not wide but there were two candidates who left a remarkable time: Enric Mas and OConnor. The Spaniard left 51” with respect to Vingegaard, five less than the AG2R runner who was fourth last year and who this 2022 aspires to try to hunt down the Paris drawer.
But saved
Despite everything, the Balearic did not leave sad. “I am happy to have saved the day. The last time we started the Tour in these conditions, the team lost Bala, who was the reference of the group for the general classification. We could not do more than ensure, unlike other riders who were playing the stage. In my case, the bike has gone from behind a couple of times, but I have not fallen. With the pedestrian crossings, the lines, the wear of the asphalt in a city… it was normal for it to be a Dangerous CRI”, explained the one from Movistar, the Spanish asset. The other eight native runners will have to work for their leaders during the next three weeks.
The one that worked more than necessary yesterday was the new yellow jersey. The leader is thanks, in part, to time. Rain is something that Lampaert, the son and grandson of farmers accustomed to looking up at the sky from their humid fields in northern Belgium, has always lived with: “I didn’t expect it. My goal was to finish in the top ten, but did I win? Not even in dreams.” A country man, whose favorite topics of conversation are the price of vegetables or the latest model of tractor, he enjoyed himself more than Ganna, Van Aert, Pogacar and company. The Tour, the greatest race, offers gifts like this. The one to see a humble peasant govern the Tour.
With a seasoned character, former judo black belt
A former black belt in judo, Lampaert started pedaling encouraged by a cousin and did it so hard that Flanders scouts immediately noticed him.
His career seemed like it was going to be meteoric, but it wasn’t as meteoric as he himself dreamed, which has led him to advance based on blows on the table, some not always well received in the peloton.
A few months ago, in the last stage of the Tour of Belgium, he put his elbows in to upset Tim Wellens and thus facilitate the final victory of his teammate Mauro Schmid, which earned him a disqualification.
Before, Lampaert had won the time trial of that event and, while the Queck Step team hesitated to take him to the Tour, he knocked on the door with a forceful phrase: “I can also win on the Tour”.
His strong and brave character also emerged in the last Roubaix, when a spectator knocked him down when he applauded the runners without looking at who was coming from behind: “What an idiot, when you don’t know anything about cycling, the best thing is to stay at home”.
