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.
Former NBA sensation Jeremy Lin, recently recruited by the P.League+’s Kaohsiung Steelers, arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday. Lin arrived at the airport at 5:46am on a China Airlines flight from the US before leaving the airport via a VIP terminal. Lin, whose parents are from Taiwan, is believed to be observing Taiwan’s “0+7” self-initiated COVID-19 prevention program for arrivals. Lin had said earlier in the week that he would be practicing social distancing from yesterday through Saturday, meaning he would not participate in games or visit the Steelers’ home court during that period. The Steelers said in a statement that Lin would
Former NBA star Jeremy Lin (林書豪) is to arrive in Taiwan on Saturday, he said yesterday, adding that he hopes he could play his first game with the Kaohsiung Steelers on Feb. 12. Lin made the comments in a social media post, in which he also apologized to his fans in Taiwan, saying he would not be able to sign any autographs at the airport due to COVID-19 restrictions. He is expected to practice social distancing from Saturday through Saturday next week, during which he would not be able to go to a basketball arena, he said. That would also prevent him from
Ticket sales for Kaohsiung Steelers home games surged after last month’s announcement that former NBA sensation Jeremy Lin would join the struggling P.League+ team. The Steelers, currently in last place in the six-team league with a 2-14 record, have three home games this month, hosting the Formosa Taishin Dreamers, the New Taipei Kings and the Dreamers again at Kaohsiung Fengshan Arena on Monday, Saturday next week and Feb. 12 respectively. Tickets to the latter two games went on sale at noon on Monday and as of 2:15pm, the courtside seats for the contest on Saturday next week, priced at NT$3,500 each, and
Taiwan on Saturday swept Mexico in the first day of their Davis Cup World Group playoff tie, while three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka rolled back the clock to secure a thrilling win for Switzerland over Germany in their qualifier. World No. 110 Tseng Chun-hsing beat Mexico’s Cesar Ramirez 6-4, 6-3 in straight sets on a clay court in Metepec, Mexico, while Hsu Yu-hsiou of Changhua City dominated Alan Fernando Rubio Fierros 7-5, 6-3. Their showdown started under controversy after a group of Mexican players last week said they would not compete as they were not given enough notice about the date
RSS