2023-07-11 17:31:31
At 33, the Basque from Bahrain-Victorious won in the Puy-de-Dôme after more than 100 kilometers of breakaway. He took the opportunity to move up to 5th place in the general classification.
Ten days later, Bilbao is again in the spotlight on the Tour. Not the Spanish city, which hosted the start of the Grande Boucle. This Tuesday, July 11, it is Pello Bilbao, Basque, native of Guernica where the Tour has passed twice this year, who won in Issoire (Puy-de-Dôme). A victory settled in a six-man sprint, at the end of an unbreathable stage, both by the heat (35 degrees at the finish) and by the mad battle fought by the riders, favorites included.
The uneven stage, made up of small bumps but not large mountains, was made for a breakaway. At the antenna outlet, the TV channels announced a “transition stage”. Understand that we were expecting a rather quiet day on the side of the favourites, who would see riders far in the general standings vying for victory while remaining quietly warm in the peloton, saving themselves for the next big passes, in the Jura, at the end of the week.
But the leaders, after a day of rest, had fire in their legs and the desire, already, to send straight lines. It was first Romain Bardet, 10th overall, second Frenchman behind David Gaudu (8th) who tried his luck, hoping that we would let him race in front. Failed: three pedal strokes further, he finds himself with a good part of the top 10 in his wheel, including Pogacar and Vingegaard, and the peloton already relegated to a few tens of seconds.
Rarely stingy in attack, and even if it means being in front, the Slovenian delivered one, to the chagrin of the teams who were driving at full speed in the peloton to try to make the connection. It will take a good twenty kilometers for the yellow and white jerseys to be taken over. And forty more so that the backrunners – a mix of sprinters and a few favorites including Gaudu and Bardet who hadn’t anticipated such a start to the stage – return to the peloton, at the cost of significant efforts from their teammates. Phew, after two hours of madness, we can finally breathe.
Fourteen in front
The stage finally resembles what we imagined: 14 riders pack up and take around a three-minute lead. A bunch of big names have slipped in (Bilbao, O’Connor, Chaves, Alaphilippe, Barguil or Kwiatkowski). None are really dangerous for the general classification, apart from Pello Bilbao (11th at 7′37 from Vingegaard).
The group broke up 30 miles from the finish. In the Côte de la Chapelle-Marcousse (third category), the Latvian Krists Neilands takes off, leaving behind him clusters of riders. Alone in the descent that leads to Issoire, the rider from Israel-Premier Tech with a very poor track record lasts a long time. And is crunched three terminals from Issoire by a group of five pursuers.
The six do not look at each other for long. O’Connor attacks, Zimmermann counterattacks. They finally arrive grouped a few meters from the line. Faster and stronger, Pello Bilbao settled the matter and moved up to 5th place overall. It has been five years since a Spaniard won the Tour.
#Pello #Bilbao #beautiful #Issoire #Liberation