The issue for Laporte and tricolor cycling in Cahors. On the heights of the city of Lot, Christophe Laporte has finally unlocked the French victory counter on this 109th edition of the Tour de France. The Varois put the way in, came out strong – in two stages – in the last hectometres of a tortuous final, and he returned the confidence of his formation, the Jumbo-Visma, which sent Wout van Aert to clear the ground in pursuit of a trio swallowed in the last kilometer.
Laporte cut the line a second ahead of second-placed Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and third-placed Alberto Dainese (DSM) just ahead of French champion Florian Sénéchal (4th, Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) . To believe that the French have spread the word for this 19th stage. No notable change in the general, Jonas Vingegaard remains in the lead despite a very quickly aborted counter signed Tadej Pogacar, never sated with fantasies, and still placed in the final (5th).
Tour de France
Laporte, the “savior” we no longer expected
2 HOURS AGO
Laporte: “Wout said to me: ‘It’s for you today’, it brought me luck”
Faced with the wind and the open sections, the peloton rode hard
The day after a last act in the Pyrenees with a Kafkaesque scenario, the peloton and its “big thighs” awaited with the impatience of a condemned man in front of a hot meal the winding arrival of Cahors. A tense silence also accompanied his first kilometres, taken from km 0 to the rhythm of the sprinter formations. The offensive of a royal quintet of truck drivers/adventurers (Mohoric, Simmons, Politt, Honoré, van der Hoorn) did not help calm things down. Five formations did not hesitate to put personnel on the board, at the risk of coming back early on the fugitives, about to observe the junction (125 km from the line) before a saving recovery from Mikkel Honoré (Quick- Step Alpha Vinyl), followed in his company by an orphan trio of Nils Politt (BORA – hansgrohe).
We take (almost) the same and start again. This time, the synergy was not obvious, and Quinn Simmons (Trek – Segafredo) took it upon himself to bury the quartet on the coast of the medieval town of Lauzerte (4th category), only accompanied by Matej Mohoric (Bahrain – Victorious). The American was even the last to believe it, despite a constantly measured lead around half a minute. Caught 34 kilometers from the goal, Simmons handed over to Alexis Gougeard (B&B Hotels – KTM), who understood that such an irregular finish could favor a small group finish.
Pogacar tries again and again: his attack in the 19th stage
Laporte as a savior, Pogacar still active
Flanked by Fred Wright (Bahrain – Victorious) and Jasper Stuyven (Trek – Segafredo), the Rouennais extended his effort to the maze of streets of Cahors, only joined by Christophe Laporte at first, then by a slew of hungry sprinters under the red flame. Perfectly protected by Wout van Aert, the Varois had carte blanche this Friday. Impressive from the foot of the final rising false flat, the Frenchman measured his effort to, on the one hand, catch up with the robust trio, and on the other hand, fly away irresistibly 600 meters from the line. Laporte had time to take advantage, he who signed his first success on the Grande Boucle.
The story is well made, since the sprinter from La Seyne-sur-Mer exploded a glass ceiling which sank dangerously above the tricolor helmets. 38 long stages later, it’s time to see the French colors on the Tour again. Despite the colossal slaughter of their teammates, Jasper Philipsen (2nd) and Alberto Dainese (3rd) suffered the slope and the law of the Varois. On the face side for the Jumbo bees, Jonas Vingegaard let five small seconds escape between his iron knuckles, before finally being reclassified in the same second as Philipsen. Stirring in the descent of the coast of Saint-Daunès, Tadej Pogacar (5th) almost took advantage of a micro break on the line to delight a meager booty from the Dane, still solid yellow jersey (3’26 ” ahead) . Waiting to resume (really) tomorrow, even if the Tour is already promised to the hornet.
Tour de France
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Laporte: “A stage for Van Aert? Priority to Vingegaard and Roglic, then if all goes well…”
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