The ninth stage, the second of the Alps and the mountains that closes the first week of the Tour de France 2021 did not see two protagonists of the race at the start: Primoz Roglic he threw in the towel after the serious injuries and bruises reported for the fall of the past few days, while Mathieu van der Poel abdicates after the yellow jersey and a stage won to better prepare for the Tokyo 2021 Olympics.
Two different and opposing reasons, two protagonists who greet the Big loop and give an appointment to the next editions in yellow. On the eve of the great stage that includes four GPMs, two of the first and two of the second category, with a amazing arrival uphill to Montèe de Tignes, there are important withdrawals. The first, following the falls that characterized the first stages of this excited edition in yellow.
Primoz Roglic suffered disastrous consequences, the images offered to the world showed him as a mummy, blindfolded and wounded, but not tamed. The Slovenian tried twice to stay in the saddle, but after yesterday’s stage, the first mountain and the accumulated gap gave up, out of respect for his own professionalism and that of his team, free to reorganize to get other satisfactions in the next two weeks of racing.
His words in a statement from Jumbo-Visma explained the disarmament on the eve of the 9th fraction: “We made this choice together because it no longer makes sense to continue like this. The time has come to recover and focus on my next goals. I am disappointed to have to leave the Tour, but I have to accept it “
For a battered waving Roglic, there is a Mathieu Van der Poel which he leaves after having tasted the irrepressible joy of having dressed (and defended as best he could) his first yellow jersey. A promise made to his grandfather, kept in the best possible way with the first stages that saw him as the absolute protagonist, until the decision to stop. Not to enjoy the merits and giving up the effort, but immediately go back to the next goal: Tokyo and its Olympics.
The flying Dutchman of Alpecin – Fenix will race at the Games in the Mountain bike test for which special preparation is required between now and the end of July to get there one hundred percent without running other risks along the way to Japan: “We decided with the team that it was in my best interest to give priority to the Games. It would not have been possible to do the whole Tour and then be at the best in the Olympics.”