2023-07-01 20:14:16
The truth of a first Saturday on the Tour is, obviously, far from being that of the last Sunday. But since the organizers had concocted from the start a copious menu obliging the best not to hide in the peloton while waiting for their peak of form, the lessons of this loop around Bilbao are anything but neutral.
Psychological advantage for Pogacar. It is only a climb, certainly explosive of two kilometers, but Tadej Pogacar (UAE) showed in the Pike coast that he had, a priori, no more after-effects of his wrist fracture which occurred last April . Not only did he impose a steady pace on Vingegaard, but he also allowed himself to take third place and his four bonus seconds in the Basque streets. There is no small profit. “I felt good, the engine starts for the first day, slips the Slovenian. The last climb was really tough, there wasn’t much else to do. It’s a team victory, it’s as if I had won. »
And tactically, even if Vingegaard remains strong, UAE will have noted that the outgoing winner had no teammates left atop Pike. Better, Adam Yates, the new yellow jersey and teammate of Pogacar, will also be closely watched by the Jumbo-Visma.
Gaudu and Pinot are in on it. Pinot fourth, Gaudu in the game with the best. On arrival, the two Groupama-FDJs were delighted to see that everything was going well for them. Gaudu, who had missed his Critérium du Dauphiné for having completed a course too quickly at altitude, was able to see that his form had returned. And Pinot, also without competition since the end of the Tour of Italy, had good legs. “It’s an almost perfect day, savors Pinot. Let’s say that’s a good omen. Of course, nothing is won, but nothing is lost. Which is already good news for a team that usually falls a little behind in the early days. And Gaudu’s podium objective remains even more valid with the fall of two direct competitors, Richard Carapaz (EF Education), who lost more than 15 minutes and Enric Mas (Movistar) forced to retire.
Alaphilippe and Bardet behind. Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal – Quick Step) dreamed very strongly of a new yellow jersey on a field that suited him. But the last kilometer of the Pike coast was fatal to him. The double world champion finished in a second group more than thirty seconds behind Adam Yates. Near him, Romain Bardet (DSM), who aims without shouting it too much on the roofs of the buses, a third podium on the Champs-Élysées, did not have the legs to accompany the best. Nothing prohibitive however for the Auvergnat accustomed to gaining momentum in the second halves of his Tours de France.
The freshness of Victor Lafay. The Frenchman from Cofidis (27) had been preparing his move for several days. And his attack, filled with nerve, under the nose of the Pogacar-Vingegaard duo, in the last ascent almost paid off. “I thought Vingegaard was going to go there, says the one who got into his wheel. Bad luck, he didn’t go. In this type of stage, you have to be the smartest and I was not. I had told the team that I felt on air cushions. It’s still a shame to have such legs and not win. »
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