Raise your head and look away. Even if Julian Alaphilippe’s rainbow tunic is not invited to the party. The man who loves crowds, smiles at children and unites the National Assembly by an absolute majority during the July session was asked by his team to stay at home because he is, it seems, not sufficiently fit after a serious fall in April. The panache will lose what the marketing of his boss, who prefers to align Danes, will gain.
But, despite the absence of the double world champion, this 109th edition of the Tour de France promises to gain height. Already obviously because it starts from the most northern point in the history of the event with this Grand Départ in Copenhagen. A city where it is more up to motorists to be accepted by cyclists. So far from the Champs-Élysées then. But, more than these three days in Denmark before flying off to France, it is above all the program for the first week concocted by the organizers, a bit annoyed by the outrageous domination of the suspense eaters in recent years, which makes salivate.
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In order to breathe new life into the Tour, they bet on the wind. That of Denmark then from the Channel to Calais to put the peloton to the torture, break it under the gusts and hope that the favorites leave a little time and their illusions in passing. And since sadism is welcome, the 5th stage which will land in front of the mining town of Arenberg will offer an indigestible menu of cobblestones. Where falls and punctures lie in wait at the entrance to each sector.
Yes, no one will win the Tour in the first week but everything is designed so that some lose it. Without forgetting of course the return of the Covid which threatens the race again. With the added bonus this year of the annoyance of the peloton to find that they are told not to contaminate themselves in the midst of spectators who have forgotten the definition of barrier gestures for several months…
The expected resilience of Thibaut Pinot
The French public has known for a long time that it is not yet this year that Bernard Hinault will shake hands with his tricolor successor on the final podium. And in an era that loves to see, by reflex, release the first from their pedestal, many would like to see the loss of Tadej Pogacar, the winner of the last two editions. Too young, too strong, necessarily suspect in principle, the young Slovenian from the UAE team carries the sign of the perfect target. But he objectively has his back wide enough to withstand others, nasty winds and vicious cobblestones. Opposite, in the now classic mini-championship of Slovenia, his compatriot Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) says he is ready to take revenge for his defeat on the wire in 2020.
A priori, the French will only look at the general classification from afar. Let us quote, because it is necessary to bet a small coin, David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ), propelled leader, for a possible top 5, even if his team is thinking of the podium. And then maybe Romain Bardet (DSM) or Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) for a runner-up. Not the dream of the century, we agree. But it is above all the hunt for stages that can animate France and make sofas or camping chairs jump or even shoot with joy in coolers.
With obviously, the expected resilience of Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ). The one who pleases the crowds without looking for him and who would tell a great story if, fortunately, he erased two years of wounds and doubts by winning a prestigious stage success. So yes, even without a rainbow jersey in front of us, this Tour, we take the bet, will make us see all the colors.