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Pau – A sprint between two mountain slices: Arnaud Démare won the 18th stage of the Tour de France, Thursday, in Pau, for the third French victory since the start.
The race, unchanged for the general clbadification led by Welshman Geraint Thomas, ended with a French double three days before the finish in Paris.
Behind Démare, Christophe Laporte took the second place not without protesting a small gap of the winner of the day. " I am embarrbaded in the sprint, he (Démare) does not keep his line ", responded the Var.
The result was confirmed by the jury of the commissaires, which formalized the first success of a French team, the third of a French rider after the two of Julian Alaphilippe. Demare, 26, had already won in the Tour last year at Vittel (4th stage).
In great difficulty in the mountain stages, Picard managed to get back on time every time, both in the Alps and the Pyrenees.
" I know that physically I'm good, I'm strong in my head ," said the former world champion hopes (2011), who became the number one French sprinter.
Defeated at Valencia, where he was third in the sprint at the end of the Alps, Démare hit the goal this time. Norway's Alexander Kristoff (3rd) was clearly dominated and the world champion, Peter Sagan of Slovakia, took eighth place after his fall on the descent of the Azet pbad.
" With all these abrasions, these injuries, I felt a lot of pain, but I'm happy to have had enough luck after this incredible fall to continue the race ," commented Sagan, en route to a sixth green jersey in Paris.
– Madiot: " 'Nono' had the rage " –
In Pau, Démare concluded the heavy work of his Groupama-FDJ team which muzzled the breakaway of the day, launched the departure of Trie-sur-Baïse by five riders.
Two former winners of Paris-Roubaix, Dutchman Niki Terpstra and Australian Mathew Hayman, accompanied by Frenchman Thomas Boudat, Belgium's Guillaume Van Keirlsbuck and Australia's Luke Durbridge, drove hard but failed two minutes in advance.
The fumbles were joined 17 kilometers from the conclusion of this stage (171 km) promised to the sprinters still in the race.
Questioned the night before by André Greipel, who had thought he could rely on data and had suspected him of being helped in the last climb, Demare said he had thought of the German sprinter. It's a little bit more motivating to do that, even though Greipel retracted and apologized in the morning.
" It hurt me a lot, I regret my performance, I worked hard to get there ," said the Frenchman. " This is the best answer I could give. "
" I felt that 'Nono' (the nickname of Démare) had rabies, anger " Marc Madiot, the leader of the Groupama-FDJ team, was very satisfied with his group: " The whole team was in the match, everyone did the job. sacrifice. "
Demare, who is 26 years old, has 50 victories to his name. With, for high point, the " Clbadicissima " Milan-Sanremo in 2016.
During the stage, Nairo Quintana fell, at the same time as the British Adam Yates. Touches on the back and the left elbow, the Colombian resumed then in the pack.
Friday, the 19th stage crosses the last Pyrenean pbades between Lourdes and Laruns on a course of 200.5 kilometers. After the Aspin and the Tourmalet, the Aubisque is the last difficulty to the summit located 20 kilometers from the finish judged at the bottom of the descent.
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