NOGARO – On the Paul Armagnac racing circuit, winner Jasper Philipsen thought he was a racing car through the chicanes and the long straight towards the checkered flag.
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Truth be told, it took a bit of patience to see the show come alive, but in a crescendo the handlebar freaks pumped up the pressure a bit until their tires touched the surely clean asphalt of the circuit. rejections of motorized events.
Despite a few tight turns, the many falls occurred rather in relatively safe wide sections. This time, the route studied in advance had nothing to do with these accidents.
With European champion Fabio Jakobsen on the ground, Jasper Philipsen won a fourth consecutive bunch sprint in the Tour de France, the day after his triumph in Bayonne and a year after his successes in Carcassonne and on the Champs-Élysées.
AFP
An identical scene
Well hidden once again behind his teammate Mathieu van der Poel, the king of the sprint put his nose in the wind only 150 meters from the finish line by crossing to his right. In this meticulous exercise, the train is of paramount importance and Alpecin made no mistake.
Third in Bayonne on Monday, Caleb Ewan missed his chance by finishing 2nd ahead of Paul Bauhaus, also on the podium the day before.
“Caleb was right next to me. I was not so confident. He caught up with me at the end, it was really very nervous. I am extremely proud to have won twice in a row. The arrival was very fast, we had the impression of being racing cars”, commented the winner Philipsen, happy to have avoided the fall.
still frustrated
Well led by Alexis Renard, Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) finished fourth. In six participations in the Tour de France since 2014, Coquard has ranked more than ten times among the first ten stages without ever winning his bouquet.
The peloton, which anticipates the next two days in the Pyrenees, obviously did not want to break the bicycle by wasting cartridges unnecessarily. Even the description struggled to convey the almost non-existent action, as for a very rare time no cyclist tried their luck on a breakaway early in the stage.
On the flat roads of Landes and Gers, the Alpecin and Lotto teams locked the scenario by using almost a Denver shoe to prevent others from circulating.
The first 95 kilometers were traveled at a very moderate pace, or 37 km/h on average.
AFP
Woods attend son tour
Notre-Dame des Cyclistes’ intermediate sprint after 88 kilometers allowed Jasper Philipsen to secure his green jersey by being intractable in front of his opponents. Unbeatable on the pedals, the 25-year-old Belgian is perhaps the fastest in the world today.
His impetus allowed the two Frenchmen from Normandy Benoît Cosnefroy (AG2R Citroën) and Anthony Delaplace (Arkea-Samsic) to put a little flesh on a bone too thin to eat by creating a slight gap of 40 seconds. Even in front of the motorcycle camera, Cosnefroy said he didn’t know why he was leading the race with his partner. He was still awarded the fighting spirit of the day award for his effort. Each visit to the podium is not to be neglected.
In the general classification, Adam Yates retains the yellow jersey and the Canadian Michael Woods is still in seventh place.
In the notebook
Crossed a few minutes before the start in Dax, the Frenchman Thomas Voeckler remembers his victory at the first Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec in 2010. “Good memories. The night after too!” he started laughing. In Nogaro, the Gers department still had financial resources after having paid to welcome the arrival of the Tour. Members of the press received Floc de Gascogne from the House of Armagnac. The last section on the French side of the Chemin de Compostelle takes you to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. Tuesday evening, on this road, we put our suitcase in Barcelonne-du-Gers. In a supposedly renovated mansion, the chair and the furniture were surely used by Napoleon 1st. My apologies to our host. After the rally on the Place de la Fontaine-Chaude, the Eurosport channel praised Hugo Houle a little later, a friendly runner with an inimitable accent for the commentators. On the stage in Dax, home of the legendary André Darrigade, stood the old man 22 times victorious on the Tour. Nicknamed the Greyhound of the Landes, the former cyclist is 94 years old. In this disproportionate caravan, the passage of the Tour remains very ephemeral despite the sums invested. A few hours of partying and we pack everything up. The general manager of the Nogaro motor circuit was happy with her day. “With or without engine, there is action!” said Caroline Divies. Wednesday, first mountain meeting between Pau and Laruns. The title contenders will be ahead in the climbs to the Col de Soudet then to Marie Blanque. Pogacar and Vingegaard will continue the fight. A surprise from Woods? Maybe.
SOUTH-NOGARO – 182 KM
