2023-07-20 20:06:02
Until then, everything was going very well for the Cofidis team. She, who had not won a stage on the Tour for fifteen years, had managed to ward off fate twice with two great successes this year. By the Frenchman Victor Lafay then the Spaniard Ion Izzagirre. But this Wednesday of the third week turned out to be quite complicated for the Northerners.
It was first Anthony Perez who, while he was on the bus at the start, ready to get on his bike, suddenly decided to leave the race with a closed face. He had just learned some bad personal news. “He learned it on the starting line, explains his manager Cédric Vasseur. He was on the bus in shorts. And we repatriated him to Toulouse by bringing him to Saint-Exupéry airport in Lyon. We give Anthony all our support.” For Vasseur, the abandonment of Perez was imposed on everyone. “When you have family problems, anyway, you no longer have your mind on the bike when you have to fight a battle, he continues. It’s not easy to manage but, at the same time, the decision was easy to make because family and health come first before sport. »
For Cofidis, the rest was also complicated since the German Simon Geschke no longer had the strength to finish the stage. “Simon hadn’t recovered from his stage yesterday,” says Vasseur. At the hotel, he was transparent and did not eat with his teammates. He went to sleep right away. He was brave but the body decided for him. Proof of his fatigue, the German fell asleep in the car of the team which had picked him up on the side of the road.
“Now we will fight to get to five”
And a third man also dragged his misery all day. Victor Lafay, the hero of San Sebastian, diminished by a knee problem, finished the stage dropped by the peloton. “I’ve already managed to finish the day, which is better than Simon,” he sighs. Already yesterday, I had great pain in my left kneecap, since my fall on Tuesday’s time trial. But the pain was greater today. I knew the bump at 17 kilometers in the day would be complicated but, luckily, another rider was in trouble and we were able to help each other and finish at our own pace. Lafay nevertheless tries to put things into perspective. “Our start to the third week is complicated after two brilliant first weeks, analyzes the Savoyard. We have three guys less (Editor’s note: Alexis Renard had also given up on Tuesday evening). I hope my knee will get better and better. The objective is to go to Paris”.
This is what Cédric Vasseur wants. “For Friday, it can pass, he hopes. But on Saturday, for the Markstein stage, you will have to be at 100%. Our objective was not to finish eight in Paris but to leave our mark on the Tour. Now we will fight to get to five. »
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