A Team Emerges
Tadej Pogačar retorted a few days ago, responding to the critiques of his UAE Emirates Team, “They are the best team in the race.” He might have mentioned as well that they’re guided by the best director in the race, Allan Peiper, the ultra-experienced Australian, domiciled for decades in that hive of cycling knowledge and activity, Belgium.
The team, evenly split between 22-year-olds (McNulty is 23) and grizzled veterans, a mix of youthful energy and experience, came to the fore yesterday with the sort of perfect timing that only a master like Peiper can orchestrate. The team’s big man, 6’4” Norwegian Vegard Stake Laengen, channeled the Tractor, controlling the peloton all through the opening 113-kilometers of flat roads that led to the three finishing mountain climbs. Ahead was a breakaway group full of French racers determined to uphold national pride on Bastille Day – the elegant Anthony Perez of Cofidis and AG2R-Citröen’s Dorian Godon lasting the longest – while behind some strange tactics began to unfold.
Nairo Quintana, who had won on top of the finishing Col du Portet in 2018, and whose team is down to three lonely racers, used them up in a brutal and ultimately wasted manner. He put young Brit Connor Swift on the front - I really like this rider, he’s tall and powerful yet had this tremendous souplesse – on the approach to the first of the obstacles, the 13-k Col de Peyresourde. Swift absolutely buried himself to the base launching Quintana and his climbing aid Élie Gesbert up the mountain, joined by Wout Poels on a Polka Dot hunt. The trio gained about 40”, but it was clearly a doomed move, way too early and on the least difficult of the three climbs that built to a crescendo of hard by the end. Did Quintana think he’d be allowed the freedom for a long solo raid on the Tour? Not sure what it was but the Colombian finished 14-minutes down on the day in a Tour that can only be termed a disappointment for him so far.
From the base of the Peyresourde, over the Louron and onto the final Portet, the UAE Emirates looked like the Sky of old. Dane Mikkel Bjerg’s face told the story of the effort, the 6’3”, 171-pounder hauling his carcass deep into the climbs. Davide Formolo took over, using the monster gears that have now become his style, sharing pace with Brandon McNulty, before, in turn dropping off and handing the reins to the American. McNulty was superb and raised his profile considerably with his strong efforts - his ability to make them in the third week of the Tour won’t go unnoticed – riding with that beautiful style, pedaling at 90-100 rpm up the steep gradients, the remaining peloton only able to follow. McNulty pulled off with 12-k to go to the finish at the top of the Portet giving the final duties to Rafal Majka who showed us all just why he’s twice been the Polka Dot Jersey winner. Majka put it in a big gear, stood up out of his saddle and just start ripping up the climb, shattering the field despite some strange and self-degrading Team Ineos ‘blocking’ tactics. The Pole crushed to the 8.4-k to go point where the Yellow Jersey began sprinting up the climb for the coup de grace. Jonas Vingegaard, Ben O’Connor, Rigoberto Uran and Richard Carapaz were able to follow, but O’Connor and Uran were quickly dropped leaving the top three on the GC in front to contest the finish in a wonderful scenario for the spectators.
Carapaz continued that Ineos attitude by refusing to work with the duo even though, with Uran dropped and the podium in play, he had the most to gain. The Ecuadorian sat on, clearly bluffing as is widely reported, so much so that Vingegaard and Pogačar seemed to have a laugh about it on the climb. Carapaz’s expected attack came, and just as expectedly, was immediately shut down by the Yellow Jersey who, and this is in fact interesting, was unable to drop his companions but easily never-the-less able to handily win the sprint and his second stage win of the Tour - in Yellow.
Today is the last day for climbers, another mountaintop finish, a day for David Gaudu, for Nairo Quintana and any other climbers looking to get a taste of glory out of this Tour. It’s always a bit sad, the last climbing day of the Tour, like the end of summer. One has to wait an entire year for all that splendor to return.