Et is and will remain the Tour of France for the superstars. Wout van Aert and Tadej Pogacar are the formative figures of the first week of the tour – the two high-flyers of the peloton divided four of the five stages among themselves after the convoy moved from Denmark to France. On Saturday in the shadow of the Olympic Stadium in Lausanne, it was Van Aert’s turn again. The Belgian prevailed on the eighth stage in the sprint of a reduced field. He sped past his competitors with such excess speed that he was able to celebrate his second victory well before the finish line. “I’m happy with the win and that my team helped to catch up with the escapees. Then all I had to do was finish,” said Van Aert, who further extended his lead in the sprint classification.
The green and yellow jerseys sit tighter than ever on the shoulders of the two superstars before the peloton faces the first stage in the Alps on Sunday. “Wout drove past me at what felt like three times the speed,” said Pogacar with a grin. Nevertheless, the Slovenian overall leader could be very satisfied with the Swiss detour of the peloton. In third place behind sprint specialist Michael Matthews (Team BikeExchange), he secured four bonus seconds and increased his lead at the top of the classification to 39 seconds. A solid cushion, if you look at the previous aura of inviolability that Pogacar has created on its own again on this tour.
The fact that he sprinted for victory to the last meter after a hilly but not too hard 186km from Dole to Lausanne illustrates Pogacar’s appetite for success at every opportunity. “I wanted to win, but obviously I wasn’t the fastest,” said the 23-year-old, who doesn’t have to worry much about his form and performance at the moment. The danger is coming from a completely different direction. It was announced on Saturday morning that Pogacar’s companion in the UAE Emirates Vegard Stake Laengen team had contracted the corona virus. The Norwegian also has symptoms. Now, of course, the defending champion’s team is worried about whether more people who have tested positive will follow. “We get cheered and shouted at by a lot of spectators during the stages, which I really appreciate. But it also increases the likelihood of getting infected,” said Pogacar in the evening. “Sure, Corona can ruin our tour. But that also applies to every other team.”
“It was one of the softest falls I’ve ever experienced”
Before the start on Saturday, Frenchman Geoffrey Bouchard was also eliminated due to a corona infection. In Copenhagen, before the start of the tour, there were six riders who had to leave because of it. The virus hangs like a sword of Damocles over the Tour of France. A few in the peloton are likely to tremble ahead of the mandatory tests for all drivers and supervisors on the next rest day on Monday.
After Friday’s show of strength with the spectacular mountain finish at the Super Planche Des Belles Filles, the eighth stage seemed a good opportunity for an active breakaway group to save a lead to the finish. But the trio – Mattia Cattaneo (Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl), Frederik Frison (Lotto-Soudal) and Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) – could not decisively break away. Not even when one of the heaviest (mass) falls of the tour so far occurred in the field after eleven kilometers. Kevin Vermaerke (Team DSM), who then had to give up the tour, fell at high speed and swept several other riders with him. Including some favourites, almost all of which were at least held up. Pogacar also fell off his bike, although he had almost come to a standstill beforehand. “I was in the middle of this fall and was briefly on the ground. But it was one of the softest falls I’ve ever experienced,” said the Slovenian.
In the final, however, the field still expected a tough final test of the day. From the shore of Lake Geneva in Lausanne, up to 12 percent steep ramps and 230 meters of altitude had to be mastered to reach the finish line. The German racing team Bora-hansgrohe participated as best they could in the pace work, so that many professionals were no longer able to follow. However, none of the favorites in the classification was left behind. Alexander Vlasow, who had lost a lot of time the day before, weakened by a fall, made a much better impression. The Russian captain from Bora-hansgrohe appeared to have recovered well on Saturday. “The second day after a fall is still critical. Alex remains our captain and has shown that he deserves the support of the team,” said sporting director Rolf Aldag.
In any case, Wout van Aert can look back on the first week of the tour with great satisfaction. Two wins and three second places testify to his immense power and consistency on the bike. “It’s never easy and never will be easy to win a stage of the Tour,” said the Belgian. “I was really on the limit on the last climb and was happy to be able to hold on to the rear wheels of the strong climbers.” In the end, everyone only saw Van Aert’s rear wheel as he crossed the finish line jubilantly.
