A Tour for the ages is getting its 1st South American winner

fore the start, Bernal then stoked what will long thanked “France for orgabe remembered as a Tour of nizing the most beautiful fireworks. With his goatee PARIS » A Tour de France race in the world, and the beard and can’t- catch-me for the ages is getting a most beautiful victory of attacks that rivals couldn’t champion of an unusumy life.” match, Alaphilippe emally young age: 22-year- old While Colombia celebodied “panache,” the oldEgan Bernal, who is set to brated its new national school class so cherished become South America’s hero, the millions of French by fans of the 116-year- old first winner of cycling’s fans who had lined the Tour. greatest race when he rides roads through east, cenAlaphilippe’s enterto the finish in yellow on the tral and southern France, prise first put him in yelChamps-Elysees in Paris on and up into the thinning low in Champagne counSunday night. air of the Pyrenees and try on Stage 3 and then, af

The slightly built CoAlps, were ruing a bitterter he lost the lead on Stage lombian with a killer insweet Tour. 6, got him the jersey back stinct on the road proved First, their hearts soared on Stage 8, which he held to be the strongest of the with fabulous racing from through the Pyrenees and 176 strong men who roared French riders Alaphilippe, into the Alps. off from the start in Bruswho held the iconic yelAnd it was there that sels, Belgium, on July 6 on low jersey for 14 days, and Bernal, raised at altitude their three-week, 3,366-kiThibaut Pinot, who won on in Colombia and at home lometer (2,092-mile) odysthe first of seven 2,000-mein thinner air, struck. sey that delivered the most ter-plus (6,500-feet) peaks He f lew up the Tour’s absorbing, drama-packed scaled by the highest Tour highest climb, the dizzyTour in decades and a new in history. ing Iseran pass at 2,770 mecycling superstar in the But joy turned to sorrow ters (9,088-feet) above sea making: Bernal. when Alaphilippe and Pilevel, demolishing what re

Colombian fans were not’s prospects of becoming mained of Alaphilippe’s partying in Paris even beFrance’s first winner since lead on Stage 19 and buildfore the surviving 155 rid1985 were cruelly dashed ing a sizeable one of his ers roused their tired legs just two days before the own. for the 21st and final stage grand finale in Paris, on an The watch was then from Rambouillet west of epic Stage 19 where Mother stopped, with Bernal way Paris. Nature became a partyahead, when the hailstorm

Keeping with race tradipooping guest. An almighty suddenly coated the route tion on the Tour’s final day, dump of torrential rain and with ice, amid fears that the stage started at a pedeshail severed the Tour route riders on tires barely wider trian pace and in a joyful just as Bernal was sucthan their thumbs could atmosphere. Bernal chatceeding in ripping the race skid off into the rock- and ted with French rival Julead off Alaphilippe, who’d ravine- scarred Alpine délian Alaphilippecor.andraisedclungtoitlikeakidwitha a glass of champagne near favorite toy. ompounding the mishis Ineos team car. Alaphilippe, more than ery for France, Pinot aban

Speaking in French be- anyone, first ignited and doned the race in tears, hobbled by a left- thigh muscle tear.

And that was that. The Tour that had been careening to a rock ‘n’ roll finish instead had the plug pulled on it. Landslides also truncated the last Alpine Stage 20, which still proved too long for the by- now exhausted Alaphilippe, who slipped off the podium entirely, despite getting words of encouragement in a call the previous night from French President Emmanuel Macron.

The 2018 champion, Geraint Thomas, used the last climb to secure himself the runner- up spot in Paris, giving the Ineos team a podium 1-2 with Bernal. Standing next to them in third will be Steven Kruijswijk, a Dutch Mr. Steady who pulled off the feat of being wholly unremarkable during the three weeks, while Alaphilippe, Pinot and Bernal and others rocked. Quite remarkably, none of the top four riders won a stage. Alaphilippe, in fifth, won two.

“I left my skin on the road these past weeks,” Alaphilippe told French sports newspaper L’Equipe.

But instead of a redwhite- and- blue celebration, Paris was instead being painted in Colombian red, blue and yellow.

Especially yellow.