Regional newspaper Le Progres this weekend groaned over the long wait for a home Tour de France stage winner with the scathing headline “Bleu, Blanc, Lose,” a play on the French tri-color using “lose” instead of “Rouge.”
The issue has become a hot topic and a hot potato on an enthralling Tour featuring fans galore, eye-catching panoramas and an epic title struggle after Jonas Vingegaard knocked champion Tadej Pogacar off his perch in an Alpine stage for the ages.
Danes and Belgians have won three stages in the pulsating 109th edition of the world’s most prestigious bike race, the Dutch, Slovenians and Australians twice — but France is still sighing with disappointment.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Britain’s Tom Pidcock and Bob Jungels of Luxembourg won the other stages, but at least the latter races for a French team — AG2R Citroen Team.
The charismatic climber Thibaut Pinot of Groupama-FDJ has come closest for France, with a long-range bid on Saturday giving him a third place for the second time.
“I’m so disappointed,” Pinot said, reflecting the general mood of French cycling.
“It takes a little bit of luck, a little bit of legs, a little bit of everything,” he said.
A man who seems to make his own luck, Julian Alaphilippe was described as “the Darling of France” as he dashed around in the overall leader’s yellow jersey for most of the 2018 Tour.
France’s double world champion Alaphilippe won a stage on each of the last four Tours, but hit a tree at high speed in the buildup to this one.
His swashbuckling win on Stage 1 last year is France’s last, meaning that if no French rider won yesterday’s run to Carcassonne on stage 15, the wait would have stretched to 36 stages and counting.
Another missing man is FDJ sprinter Arnaud Demare, who won three stages on the Giro d’Italia this season but skipped this race as his team focusses on the mountains.
France might not have to wait too long, with a trilogy of Pyrenean Mountain stages coming up this week and a trident of domestic hopes capable of delivering what French fans often love best: a sudden burst of Gallic flair delivering triumph in the face of adversity.
Pinot has previously achieved this, sending his emotional team boss Marc Madiot into delirium on the Col du Tourmalet in 2019.
“I’m looking forwards to the Pyrenees, those long climbs are the kind that suit me,” he said, and his recent win on the Tour de Suisse suggests this is more than bluster.
Pinot’s younger teammate David Gaudu is also talking up a fight after finding his form on Saturday’s final climb accompanied by blockbuster crowds.
“I unleashed the horses and boy did they run. Now I’m in the mood for it and I can’t wait to get to the Pyrenees,” he said.
Gaudu is eighth in the overall leaderboard, just 4 minutes, 24 seconds off the lead, and he and Pinot might focus on getting him into the top five rather than winning a stage.
Ahead of him is Romain Bardet in fourth breathing down Ineos Grenadiers leader Geraint Thomas’ neck.
“Romain seems to be on the form of his life,” Thomas said, warning that Vingegaard and Pogacar have a series of challengers.
Bardet was more gloomy on the issue.
“It’ll have to be an ambush. Vingegaard and Pogacar are superior to the rest of us. There are four of us all fighting for third place,” he said.
Bardet suggested he would sacrifice a potential place on the podium in Paris for a stage win.
“If I get even a glimpse of an opportunity I’ll go for it even if it’s risky, a stage win remains my top priority,” Bardet said.
France would certainly thank him for it.
The NHL postponed the Los Angeles Kings’ home game against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday with several massive wildfires burning across the greater Los Angeles area. The Kings and Flames were scheduled to play on Wednesday night at the Kings’ downtown arena. The NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers were scheduled to host the Charlotte Hornets in the same arena last night. “Our hearts are with our entire Los Angeles community,” the Kings said in a statement. “We appreciate the hard working first responders who are diligently working to contain the fire and protect our community. We appreciate the league’s support in keeping our
Doping fears prevented former US Open champion Emma Raducanu from treating insect bites on the eve of the Australian Open, she said, with players increasingly wary about ingesting contaminated substances. The British player was speaking in the wake of high-profile doping cases involving Iga Swiatak and Jannik Sinner. “I would say all of us are probably quite sensitive to what we take on board, what we use,” the 22-year-old said, recalling an incident on Friday. “I got really badly bitten by, I don’t know what, like ants, mosquitoes, something. I’m allergic, I guess,” she added. The bites “flared up and swelled up really a
TWO IN A WEEK: Despite an undefeated start to the year playing alongside Jiang Xinyu of China, Wu Fang-hsien is to play the Australian Open with a Russian partner Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien yesterday triumphed at the Hobart International, winning the women’s doubles title at the US$275,094 outdoor hard-court tournament, while McCartney Kessler lifted the trophy in the women’s singles. Fourth-ranked Wu and partner Jiang Xinyu of China took 1 hour, 15 minutes to defeat Romania’s Monica Niculescu and Fanny Stollar of Hungary, 6-1, 7-6 (8/6) at the Hobart International Tennis Centre, their second title in a week. Wu and Jiang on Sunday won the women’s doubles title at the ASB Classic in Auckland, beating Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic and Sabrina Santamaria of the US. Their winning ways continued in Australia as they stretched
EL CLASSICO: La Liga champions Real Madrid would face Barcelona in the Super Cup final tomorrow. Barça secured their final spot after a 2-0 win over Bilbao on Wednesday Real Madrid would chase a record-equaling 14th Spanish Super Cup title in the final against Barcelona after second-half goals by Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo helped them to a 3-0 win over Mallorca in the semi-finals on Thursday. England midfielder Bellingham broke the deadlock after the hour mark with a low shot into the middle of the goal before Mallorca defender Martin Valjent’s own goal doubled the lead in stoppage time followed by a Rodrygo strike from close range. Spanish champions Real are to play Barcelona for the trophy tomorrow after goals by Gavi and Lamine Yamal earned Barça a 2-0 win over
RSS