2023-07-20 08:33:38
By dint of saying that the bikes of today’s racers are almost as aerodynamic as Formula 1, we also come to the same questions as those which sometimes agitate the pits before the Grand Prix: should we put dry or wet tires? And would the gain be greater than the loss of time to change the tires at the pits?
Before the start of the 16th stage between Passy and Combloux, this 22.4 km time trial, the same type of questioning agitated the Tour teams. This time being both flat and then very steep, should we take a lighter bike from the start, at the risk of losing a few seconds in the first part? Or opt for the aerodynamic bike made for the flat and change it before climbing the Domancy coast? Even if it means losing about twenty seconds in the change?
This question is obviously not neutral at UAE and Jumbo-Visma, the formations of Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard. The two men are so close that the difference could be made on this strategy. But of course, there is no question of revealing his tactics to the other. According to some indiscretions collected at the start village this morning, Pogacar should opt for the change of bike. But not Vingegaard. But bluffing is also part of the race.
At Groupama-FDJ, no secretiveness. “I think we are going to change, explains Thibaut Pinot. I don’t know how the other teams are going to do, but it seems difficult to me to stay like that on a hill that is very hard. “Others still swing like Guillaume Martin (Cofidis): “it is at least a loss of ten seconds to change”, recalls the Norman.
A sports director, who does not want to be quoted (“I do not want to give the impression of getting involved”, he apologizes), assures: “I do not see how one of the two would have a different tactic from the other. Each staff had to try to find out what the other will do. But I think both will come to the same conclusion about their strategy. »
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