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The hopes of Geraint Thomas to win the yellow jersey at the foot of the Pyrenees had tarnished in the heat of the afternoon after his journey to a second victory on the Tour was much complicated following another extraordinary performance of the leader of the race, Julian Alaphilippe.
On the occasion of the centenary of the introduction of the yellow jersey, the stage victory of Alaphilippe in the unique individual time trial of this year's race has left his rivals at the height of astonishment while he surpbaded all previous time trial performances with an emphatic victory that has increased his lead. on the defending champion.
"If he succeeds, he will win," said Thomas, knocked out, warming up after the stage. "I did not really expect that. He obviously goes incredibly well, so he is definitely the favorite and the one to watch for the minute. "
Last in the 27.2 km individual time trial with the yellow jersey, the Frenchman met all expectations by beating Thomas by 15 seconds to increase his lead over the Welsh, who is now the only one to two minutes to Alaphilippus.
"It was not so bad," said Thomas about his own performance. "I just had the impression of overheating a bit and so I tried to handle that. It's not an excuse, it's the same for everyone. It was ok, I did not really feel this sensation.
What had been described, after the crosswind carnage in Albi, as a shoo-in Ineos for both Thomas and Egan Bernal, seems more and more difficult for a team that has become accustomed to success on the Tour . "I did not expect to be able to win, that's incredible," said Alaphilippe. "I do not think I'm a threat [overall] if, but tomorrow is the first arrival at the summit. It's completely different from what we've done so far. I want to be in front as long as possible, even if it's only for tomorrow. I do not want to know beyond that. "
The time trial mixed the peloton while runners who had escaped the rank, such as Rigoberto Urán, climbed in the rankings within reach of the first three places. Others, including Adam Yates, have slipped back. But there is no doubt that France could now dream again after Alaphilippe stunned Thomas and Bernal with another show of panache that turned pale the country of origin. Better still, for the French fans waiting for the successor of Bernard Hinault, last champion of the French circuit in 1985, Thibaut Pinot has kept his promise to avenge his humiliation on stage in front of Albi.
Yet, Alaphilippe's performance is so unprecedented that in a sport with credibility problems, they have also been frowning. Performances that change career on the Tour, such as those of Alaphilippe, now meet a degree of cynicism that was not the case at the time of the most innocent of Hinault.
With Bernal claiming fifth place at almost three minutes from Alaphilippe and French teammate Enric Mas (Spain) taking fourth place, his team Deceuninck-Quickstep seems ready to face Ineos as the Tour approaches a grand final of stages of Mountain. .
Meanwhile, the mystery surrounding Rohan Dennis' strike on the tour continued. The Australian world time trial champion, who would have been a favorite to win at Pau, dropped Thursday the race between Toulouse and Bagneres-de-Bigorre, following a disagreement with his team. Even a short statement quoting Dennis but published by his team did not shed light. "I am very disappointed to leave the race at this stage," he said. "The individual time trial had been an important goal for me and for the team, but given my current feeling, it was the right decision to retire earlier today. I hope to return in this beautiful race for the coming seasons. "
An interview with the Stanley Street Social podcast, recorded last winter, revealed further clues about his state of mind. "There are times when I think," What am I doing? Dennis said, "In 2018, I think I said to myself half a dozen times," I can stop now. "But after a while you got out of it and you went realized why you love it again. "
The day Marianne Vos won her second victory at La Course, the women's day race organized by the parent company of the Tour, ASO, more concrete suggestions were made about the upcoming organization of a women's Tour de France.
Sending to Reuters, a senior tour official revealed that an autonomous women's circuit was being planned. "We can not have a women's Tour de France at the same time as the Men's Tour," he said, "because that would be logistically impossible. The Tour has grown so much and is so big that it would not be possible to have two races at the same time. "
He added that any women's race created by ASO "would be for women's cycling what the Tour de France is for men's cycling".
Meanwhile, the men's race is now focused on the monumental arrival at the top of the 14th stage, Col du Tourmalet, a rise of 19 km, with an average of 7.4%. First of the mythical climbs of the 2019 Tour, the Tourmalet, one day after a stifling and grueling time trial, could be even more revealing of the outcome of a surprising race that enters a last crucial week.
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