Persistence paid off for Marc Hirschi on Thursday as the Swiss soloed to victory on stage 12 of the Tour de France, putting behind him two gut-wrenching near misses.
There was no change in the overall standings a day ahead of a massive mountain slog, with Team Jumbo-Visma’s Primoz Roglic staying 21 seconds ahead of defending champion Egan Bernal of Ineos Grenadiers.
The 22-year-old Hirschi was first pipped at the line by flying Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe on Nice’s iconic Promenade des Anglais in the second stage. He then suffered another blow when the Slovenian pair Tadej Pogacar and Roglic caught him at Laruns at the end of the ninth stage.
Photo: Reuters
The Team Sunweb rider finally found the right formula with a heroic long-range solo victory on the Tour’s longest stage of 218km from the chateau-dominated town of Chauvigny over four rolling hills to Sarran in central France’s pastoral heartland.
“I haven’t been sleeping well and I had a bad back, but I said to myself just go for it,” the bearded escape artist said. “I never would have believed it and even in the final kilometer I still didn’t allow myself to hope. I was so close twice, and on Sunday I got caught 1.6 kilometers from the line, but there was sadness because I lost the sprints twice. It was tactics that let me down.”
Hirschi was given a late scare again by Alaphilippe, but the Frenchman quickly abandoned his late pursuit.
“He deserved his win, I’m glad for him, I just didn’t have the legs. He was too strong,” Alaphilippe said.
The Tour was to go climbing yesterday — seven ascents culminating with 1,783m up the extinct volcano of Puy Mary in the Massif Central.
“Our team needs a win,” Colombian Bernal said. “The final 2km are really steep and there will be time differences for sure, so we need to get there with fresh legs.”
Leader Roglic offered a deadpan analysis.
“The Puy Mary looks very difficult, so it’ll be a great challenge,” he said. “We are expecting a major battle from our rivals up there, but we are just planning to race our own race.”
Bernal appeared a little washed out on stage 12, but suggested that he was looking forward to measuring himself against the leader.
“There have been some fairly stressful days trying to avoid falls, in the wind and the sprints,” said the man who cut his own hair to comic effect on Monday, ending up with a Mohican.
“I’m looking forward to the mountains now. I feel a bit stronger every day,” said the slightly built Bernal, who snatched the yellow jersey on stage 19 of last year’s Tour de France.
Stage 12 was held in the presence of one former French president, Francois Hollande, who hails from the verdant Correze region, and payed homage to another, the late Jacques Chirac, who came from the arrival town, Sarran.
The Tour also remembered one of its favorite sons, Raymond Poulidor, who never won the race or wore the leader’s jersey, but became a national hero for coming second or third eight times.
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