long | Knife between teeth, Belgian Wout van Aert sprinted like Superman on a somewhat silly Tour de France today, but had to ditch the yellow jersey of defending champion, Tadej Poujacar, who sent his stage victory seriously. Warning on the eve of completion of the mountain.
Attacking like a madman despite the yellow on his shoulders, did Wout van Aert really want to let go of the captain’s jacket or did he get caught up in his game?
Only he knows the truth, but the 27-year-old adventurer dried out his tank, mocking the peloton, before failing at 103e Ranking this sixth stage after more than seven minutes of Pogacar. However, the green jersey retains the points.
“I don’t understand what he did,” said Antoine Duchesne from Quebec upon arrival.
Van Aert’s answer was neither straightforward nor tactical. It was easy to get an extra day in yellow.
Insufficient
“It was hard for us to control. So I tried to be on a break, but three wasn’t enough,” the somewhat obscure Belgian explained.
After getting a little lost in their strategies, Team Jumbo-Visma will now be able to focus on Jonas Vinggaard’s final victory.
Before the end of the first summit at the Super Planche des Belles Filles, Pogacar showed that he was the president.
“But that wasn’t the point,” he said.
On the longest stage of the tour (220 km), the finish was reserved for the perforators after a series of short climbs. The Côte de Pulventeux and Côte des Religieuses jumped the pool of candidates until the Slovenian threw the coup less than 300 meters from the line.
For the second day in a row, no one could accuse the cyclists of falling asleep on gas with a very quick start to the stage, during which they rode more than 52 km/h for two hours.
Belgian keep going
Wout van Aert eventually managed to get away with American Quinn Simmons, Peloton’s youngest cyclist at 21, and veteran Dane Jacob Vogelsang, 37.
Seeing the failure of the adventure, Vogelsang ended up, but Van Aert continued the crazy adventure with Simmons, and then alone until 10 kilometers from the end in Longueuil, in northeastern France.
In one of the fastest stages in history, averaging over 49 km/h, France’s Alexis Voilerams tried his luck to no avail.
Explosion
In the sprint, Australian Michael Matthews finished second, ahead of France’s David Godot and Britain’s Thomas Bedcock.
If questions about Groupama-FDJ’s strategy persist, Gaudu scored his first points.
“He’s always ahead. He’s a runner for the future. He took his time to mature. She’s constantly getting ahead and it’s only natural that we’re giving her a chance,” explained her manager, Mark Madiot.
“It was a very difficult stage. It was very long and very fast. The headwinds crashed and only the Pogacar blew us off with a 250m launch. There is no reason to be ashamed of the performance,” Gaudo added.
clear intentions
Tomorrow, the seventh stage will end on a hike in the Super Planche des Belles Filles. Already in yellow, Pogacar made no secret of his intentions.
“We will try to dominate the race. It will not be a disaster if the separation continues along the way. But I will try to win.”
With the tour winding its first week, there is still a long way to go to the Champs Elysees, but the 23-year-old Slovenian is still in complete control of the situation.
General classification
- Tadej Pojakar, Emirates Emirates
- Nelson PaulisEF Education-EasyPost in 4 seconds.
- Jonas FingergaardJumbo Visma, in 31 seconds
- Adam YatesIneos Grenadiers, at 39 s
- Thomas BidcockIneos Grenadiers, in 40 seconds
- Geraint ThomasIneos Grenadiers, at 46 s
Speed made them all suffer
Photographed by Jean-Francois Racine
At the start of the sixth stage in the Belgian city of Benchy, it was calm on Thursday by Guillaume Boivin and Michael Woods.
At an average rate of more than 49 km/h, the people of Quebec did not have time to discuss among themselves today between Bench in Belgium and their arrival in France.
“All day long, she was sick. I have rarely seen a stage of 220 km in 4 hours 27 minutes with an elevation difference of almost 3000 meters,” Guillaume Boivin grinned.
Like many others, he questioned Wout van Aert’s intentions which made everyone suffer.
“He decided to give up the yellow jersey and they had to give him the option to defend it on his own. His team probably didn’t want to ride for three weeks, but he really wanted to be on the break. He attacked a million times,” added the Olympian.
Difficult
In his second Tour de France, he doesn’t emulate Boivin.
“I don’t know how I’m going to get to Paris,” he said before disappearing.
For his part, Antoine Duchesne could not get past the incredible speed of the race.
“It was ridiculous, sci-fi. -Especially because he’s just a guy who attacked 75 terminals. I understand he wanted to be on break, but with planning, he woke up. He was able to win. He wants to show he’s the world champion.”
Groupama-FDJ caribou cheered teammate David Gaudu’s performance.
“We did really well. It bodes well for his third place. It will be the first test,” Duchesne concluded, after being reprimanded for being outside the coach in the cool breeze.
At Israel-Premier Tech, Hugo Houle continues to display perfect physical condition.
“My job was to take the breakup and I put in a lot of effort, but when [Jakob] Fuglsang left, I was happy. »
It’s hard to beat
Despite his experience, Hall was glad he was able to put his bike away.
“Climbing before the last, I got away. I don’t have a target in the general classification. Arrive with [Tadej] Pogacar, I don’t think I’ll win the stage! I chose to save myself a little. »
And the high speed tickled the Saint Perpetu cyclist.
“You sting with the side wind. The temperature of the legs rose even more. You obviously have to stay in the wheels that fast. Every time you make an effort, you push Cash after, after. Pogacar machine. And he does what he wants. It will be difficult to overcome. »
Finally, without revealing his ambitions, Michael Woods tested his legs well at the dawn of a stage drawn for him. Canadian finished at 20e Rank 5 s only from Pogacar.
He simply said, “I’m ready.”
In the notebook…
- After 220 kilometers with an average speed of over 49 km/h, what do the cyclists do when the stage is over? The stationary bike. Allowed to lubricate the contracted legs.
- Arriving tomorrow Super Majlis for beautiful girls It is the summit (1148 m) of the Vosges block in Haute-Saône. In 2019, Dylan Tines took off against his last separate buddy Julio Ciccone, who took the yellow jersey from Julian Alaphilippe.
- The tour has only 172 passengers with Package By Daniel Oss (@TotalEnergies) and to leave of by Alex Kirsch (Trek-
Segafredo). - Some cyclists received a Fine For not urinating discreetly enough during the last two stages.
“Music guru. Incurable web practitioner. Thinker. Lifelong zombie junkie. Tv buff. Typical organizer. Evil beer scholar.”
More Stories
The Japanese probe intact survived a third lunar night
The solar sail was launched into space after being folded into a simple box!
Sophie Adino officially receives her “wings” and will be able to fly in space by 2030