PINOT CONQUERS THE TOURMALET SUMMIT TO EARN STUNNING WIN
▶ Delighted French rider takes stage as defending champion Thomas loses time on leader Alaphilippe
France celebrated yesterday as Thibaut Pinot conquered the Pyrenean summit of la Col du Tourmalet with Julian Alaphilippe following him across the line to extend his overall Tour de France lead.
Defending champion Geraint Thomas lost 35 seconds after being dropped at the death, while his Ineos co-captain Egan Bernal finished a few seconds behind the winner at the first of seven summit finishes over 2000 metres.
Thomas is now over two minutes behind Alaphilippe in the general classification.
As the 117km stage 14 climbed above the tree-line and above the mist where the oxygen levels were lower and fans at fever pitch lent a hint of insanity to proceedings, contenders for the overall victory gradually fell by the wayside.
Adam Yates, Dan Martin, Rigoberto Uran, Nairo Quintana and Jakob Fuglsang, all suddenly wilted one after the other as the FDJ pair kept up the pace.
Few expected the yellow jersey Alaphilippe to thrive on Friday’s time-trial, which he won and fewer still here on the Tourmalet.
But Alaphilippe dug deep and when he climbed out of the saddle to win the sprint for second cheers for him were even louder than those for the popular Pinot.
“Since the start of the Tour I’ve been targeting this stage, this is the one I wanted, the mythical Tourmalet,” said Pinot. “We are going into the third week now, people will be tired, but this is where I feel best.
“When you’re a climber all wins at the Tour de France are beautiful. But to win on a monument like this, that’s what I love.” The Frenchman is placed sixth overall, 3mins 12sec off Alaphilippe.
Pinot has long been thought a potential champion this year with the nation waiting for its first Tour de France win since 1985. Helped up the hill by young French champion David Gaudu Pinot never faltered on the long final climb and his team boss at FDJ Marc Madiot was ecstatic at the finish.
“Justice is done with that win today. Great determination, great work ethic and sheer talent, were lucky to have these guys with us,” said Madiot.
The in-form man of the first week, Pinot had lost one minute and 40 seconds when caught at the wrong end of a bunch split on the eve of the rest day last Monday and he had promised he would use his ‘rage’ to bounce back. The 29-year-old duly delivered, looking strong during the whole ascent to the Col du Tourmalet, a 19km climb at an average gradient of 7.4 per cent, and accelerated just before the final bend.
“I was angry,” Pinot said “We will continue to fight. The Tour isn’t finished yet.”
Welsh rider Thomas admitted yesterday was a struggle. “I just [felt] quite weak,” he said. “At the end, I knew I had to try to pace it. We’ll see in the next few days [if it’s a physical problem].
“From the start, I didn’t feel great. I was hoping I’d come around a bit and obviously on the last climb it was just a matter of staying there as long as possible. I just tried to limit the damage.
“There’s still a lot to come and hopefully I’ll feel a bit better tomorrow.”