Le Tour Dispatch: Stage 14

The yellow jersey reigned supreme on day one of two of a mighty Pyrenean double-header weekend, and if UAE had written a script for how they hoped the stage would go, at the beginning of the day, then everyone played their part to perfection, and it was an award-winning performance.

Another day, another thankless task for every team no longer involved in the GC fight (basically all the teams, outside of those in the podium spots), as an exciting battle for the breakaway was immediately proven to once again be a pointless exercise, as no sooner had they established themselves at the head of the race than UAE set to work reigning them back in again. Such is the modus operandi of the team, a familiar rhythm as they dance to the tune of a rider intent on proving he has what it takes to make history, even on territory that his rival, Jonas Vingegaard, is typically more suited to.

The breakaway raced on nonetheless in the vain hope that they might get lucky, and there was a two-up battle for the summit of the Col du Tourmalet, not for mountains points - well, maybe for mountains points but mostly for the additional 5000 Euro prize that awaited the first rider to the summit, and Movistar’s Oier Lazkano had the beating of Groupama-FDJ’s David Gaudu on that one, though Gaudu turned the tables on the second climb of the day – for what it was worth.

UAE Team Emirates turbo diesel engine Nils Politt dragged the entire peloton all the way up the Tourmalet and back down again before handing over to Marc Soler, and with Vingegaard down to just two support riders by the final climb, the numerical advantage was firmly with the Slovenian. Onto the Pla d'Adet, and the breakaway group had been steadily whittled down and was now a five-man group until Ben Healy attacked, dropping the rest, apart from David Gaudu though he eventually left the Frenchman in his wake too as he cut a diminutive yet determined figure setting a steady tempo in pursuit of victory.

In the rapidly diminishing GC group, Pogačar played his cards perfectly. Pictured sharing a few words with Adam Yates, it came as a surprise to no-one when Yates launched, and played the role of satellite rider, reeling in the heroic Healy just as Pogačar launched his trademark out-of-the-saddle explosive attack to distance the rest of the GC guys. Vingegaard and Evenepoel dutifully set off in pursuit, driving through the crowds of crazy fans but steadily losing ground, on the race leader and for Evenepoel, on Vingegaard too, as his second place turned into third, yet still, he didn't break.

At the front of the race though, a statement from Pogačar, an announcement that he's not here to ride defensively - as if - and that he will take the race on and honour the yellow jersey by raising his arms and gaining more time, throwing down the gauntlet to the rest and promising that he will fight all the way to the line in Nice. That's what he does - and nobody does it better.

FEATURE: Don’t take away my breakaway

by Sam Mould

In the world of professional cycling, the battle between small and big teams is a perennial struggle that plays out on the grandest stage of them all - the Tour de France. For the smaller teams, the frustration of watching their breakaway attempts thwarted by the powerhouse teams is a bitter pill to swallow. Despite the allure of a stage seemingly tailored for the breakaway specialists, the relentless pursuit by the big teams ensures that the race always circles back to a battle for the general classification.

The Tour de France, with its iconic climbs and gruelling stages, provides ample opportunities for the underdog teams to make their mark. However, the dominance of the big teams in controlling the race dynamics often relegates the breakaways to mere side shows in the larger GC battle. The smaller teams find themselves trapped in a cycle of hope and disappointment, as their aspirations of stage glory are dashed by the calculated tactics of the favourites.

Yet, amidst the disappointment and setbacks, the smaller teams persist, knowing that every breakaway attempt is a chance to defy the odds and challenge the status quo. The Tour de France, with its twists and turns, embodies the essence of cycling - a sport where unpredictability reigns supreme, and where the underdogs always have a fighting chance to upset the established order.

FEATURE: Oh, for the love of crisps!

by Anna McEwen

It is the day Le Tour passes over the legendary Tourmalet. A climb that every rider wants to be able to claim, ‘I faced it and I beat it.’

And it was a stage that didn’t disappoint. The heroic riders of the breakaway were caught on the final climb of the day by Pogačar, desperate to prove that he has what it takes to hold on to the yellow jersey all the way to Nice. And that’s what we should be talking about. All the conversations should be about that attack. About how many seconds he gained on his rivals. About what this indicates about Vingegaard’s form. About whether or not it illustrates that Remco is showing weakness as he came in third some 1 minute 10 seconds down. These are the conversations that should be buzzing among us fans.

But instead, the conversation is distracted by some idiot with a bag of Doritos. An idiot, who after standing and waiting all day for the race to come through, decided that instead of cheering, Allez! Allez! for the riders he would throw his tortilla snacks into the face of not only Pogačar but Vingegaard too.

And it was not only the Dorito Man, that caused issues for the riders today. There were the ‘bright sparks’ who, despite the message being very clear, still decided to bring smoke flares to the race. Now I will admit they make for impressive images of riders emerging through the colourful cloud. But the cost is too great. It fills the lungs of the riders making it hard for them to breathe. It impairs their vision making it difficult for them to see where they are going. It is an unnecessary complication to someone already doing a hazardous job.

The majesty and pageantry of the race is greatly added to by the flags that people bring with them from all over the world. People display their flags not only to show where they are from but to demonstrate support for their favourites too. And they can be marvellous, provided that the spectator takes care. Today Lazkano of Movistar was hit on the shoulder with a pole of a flag and the spectator holding it didn’t flinch or move it out of the way. And I remember vividly in last year’s Tour someone brought Valentin Madoaus to the ground when their flag got caught in his wheel.

There is something that seems to take hold of a certain kind of spectator, they feel that running along the riders as they climb will somehow improve their performance. But all too often we see them leaning in dangerously close and it will not surprise me when one day one of them will slip and bring the rider down with them, ending their race.

The race organisers are clear: no smoke flares, no touching, no runners, no impeding. And yet we see it every year. Sometimes it is a disrespectful annoyance as with Dorito man today. Others, like with ‘omi opi’ change the course of the entire race and affect the whole season for the rider who is hurt in the subsequent crash. Whether this insistence by some to ignore the rules comes from ignorance or simply not caring, I cannot tell.

Whatever the motivation of the Doritos Dude was I cannot guess. Perhaps he was a fan of someone from the break who had had their dreams crushed. Perhaps he just really hates the Slovenian and Danish rider. Maybe he just really wanted his 15 minutes of fame (if that were his motivation I would have suggested he choose a better outfit before his image was shared a thousand times across the internet) But really whatever it may be, and frankly, I don’t care, I hope he wakes tomorrow, with a hangover, to a heavy knock on the door to discover the police are waiting for him on his doorstep because it is the likes of him that bring our beloved sport into disrepute.

So, I urge you, if you or someone you know is lucky enough to be going to a race, please for the love of crisps, keep your hands to yourself and treat the riders with respect.

Stage 15 - Loudenvielle - Plateau de Beille

About tomorrow...

1-1-1 Things of the Tour de France

by Mathieu Fraisse

one food, one fact and one local rider, for every place on edition 111 of Le Tour

1 food: spit cake - Gâteau à la broche

It is a traditional cake from the Pyrénées area made by pouring dough in a mould around a spit. 

When dripping slowly, the dough creates an odd shaped cake that is traditionally eaten at marriages and parties in the area.

1 rider: Bruno Armirail

Like every young boy from the Southwest of France, Bruno Armirail started by playing rugby. 

But he also tried tennis, athletics and skiing. Safe to say, Bruno always loved sport. But his heart eventually went to cycling.

Maglia rosa wearer for two days at Giro 2023 and French time trial champ in 2022 and 2024, Bruno is also a precious teammate, ask Thibaut Pinot or David Gaudu.

Of course, Bruno had to be in front on his home roads and you saw him working in the breakaway on today's stage!

1 fact: are you playing GTA mate?

Last January, police officers from Gourette ski station found a car on the ski slopes.

According to sources, the owner of the car wanted to avoid the opening of the slopes and the queue so he tried to go as high as possible to start skiing right away.

Police found the owner with the license plate and obviously fined him. But they couldn't remove the car from the slopes so they left it there all day, only securing it with a security mattress (what they usually use to secure poles).

STAGE PREVIEW

It’s day two of our daunting Pyrenean double-header and with 4,800m of altitude gain on the menu, it’s an even tougher day in prospect than one which featured the Tourmalet – quite the statement to make. With a selection of well-used Cols culminating in a second consecutive summit finish on Plateau de Beille, it’s a day which will invite the climbers to show their hand early, a breakaway day for the French riders to embrace as it’s Bastille Day, and potentially an opportunity for Visma-Lease A Bike and Jonas Vingegaard to launch a counter-move to UAE and Pogačar’s early blow in today’s mountain battle. Whatever happens, at close to 200km it will be a long day in the saddle but with a rest day to follow and a sprint stage after that, there’s no reason for the riders not to leave everything out on the road.

WBR Team Predictions:

Peter: Remco Evenepoel

Mathieu: Tomorrow MUST BE a breakaway day or I'll riot, today's classification suggests some climbers save themselves and I'll go with Jai Hindley (just because I don't want to jinx Romain Bardet)

Rémi: Enric Mas

Anna: All the French riders band together across team divides to form a huge breakaway, and storm to victory on Bastille day with Guillaume Martin being crowned victor of the day. VIVE LA FRANCE! 🇫🇷🥖

Before you go...

The faces of the breakaway, Tourmalet version.

Until tomorrow, au revoir!