Plots, Sub-Plots and Counterplots

We were treated to yet another day of non-stop, complicated action at the Tour on the second day in the Alps, where so many scenarios were playing out that the television director had to be a sort of genius to keep track of it all. The opening salvo came right from the gun, as is now the norm, with the usual stage-hunting suspects making their moves. Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel, Matteo Jorgensen, Julian Alaphilippe and Michal Kwiatkowski headed a group of 25 escapees with 140-km to go. There was full-on fight for the Polka Dot Jersey in that front group, the holder, American Neilsen Powless supported by three other EF Education Easy Post teammates, was trying to hold off the assault by Italian Giulio Ciccone.

The first KOM at 96-km to go was fought over like a stage finish by the American and Italian, Julian Alaphilippe and Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) were up the road taking the first two places, Ciccone beat Powless to the top, but the American too scored points and went into the virtual lead. His jersey was fitting a bit more snugly. Behind, after a mass crash caused by a spectator, the Jumbo-Visma let the break open to an eight-minute lead.

At around this same time, Tom Pidcock, who’s been sitting in 12th overall, 8’:40” down, had made his way up to the break, and we all thought that a Jai Hindley type of long-range General Classification raid was in the cards, but somehow his Ineos team called him back to the field. There was nothing about it in the press afterwards, it remains a mystery and a real loss for the drama of the day. Still trying to figure it out.

The break hit the base of the 11.4-km long, 7.1% Col de la Croix Fry with 65-km to the finish. Powless folded, Ciccone, clearly on fine form and well supported by his Lidl-Trek team, was first to the top; the Italian drew even with the American on points. The Polka Dot competition, like that of the Yellow, remains excruciatingly close.

The three final climbs gave chance for Ciccone, now rid of Powless,  to take the Polka Dot, but UAE’s Marc Soler, who has blossomed in that team after what must have been a soul-crushing portrayal of his Movistar days in the Netflix series, attacked on the Cola des Aravis and joined shortly by Wout van Aert - showing again what a big man can do in the mountains - and Israel Premier-Tech’s Krists Neilands, the Latvian who has been so strong this entire Tour. The trio took the KOM points and Ciccone would end the day tied with Powless yet in Polka Dot due to a calculation based on…something - most first places, something like Soccer shootout rules. At any rate, that competition now goes into the third week, Powless, who says he is coming back into form after looking a bit wanting this past week will be on the attack whenever possible, giving the American and Italian audiences, and everyone else, a real plot to follow.

 Neilands crashed into a wall on the descent having tangled up with a water-supply motorcycle and the duo in front lost a strong engine to aid their escape. Ciccone was chasing like a man possessed, heading the remnants of the break. Van Aert was joined by another Wout, this one Poels, the former Team Sky version of Sepp Kuss, and the duo dropped Soler on the downhill. The Spaniard chased like mad, caught Van Aert on the slopes of the penultimate Côte des Amerands, only 2.7-km but with 17% sections, just as Wout Poels jumped away, the 35-year-old on a quest for his first-ever Tour stage win.

Meanwhile, back in the peloton, the action was heating up for the final Yellow Jersey battle of the day. UAE took to the front on the Amernads, three of them surrounding Pogačar, forcing the pace, continuing their efforts into the final climb, where they eliminate Jai Hindley then Carlo Rodríguez. Vingegaard was down to just Sepp Kuss, who is in turn dropped by Adam Yates riding powerfully on the front in his big gears, Pogačar on his wheel, Vingegaard now isolated. Pogačar lets a gap open for his teammate Yates, who has been sitting in 5thoverall, the Slovenian hoping to lure Vingegaard into a chase - the Dane stubbornly refused to take the bait. Suddenly, Rodríguez reappeared, chasing Yates, fighting to keep third overall. He went to the front, Vingegaard jumped on his wheel taking advantage of the podium wars, and was constantly looking over his shoulder, like a Match Sprint racer, to control the inevitable attack from Pogačar. The TV camera switched up the road to Yates where Marc Soler has been waiting, the Spaniard began pulling Yates away from Rodríguez. One kilometer to go and Pogačar makes his patented explosive attack, Rodríguez collapses, Vingegaard stays on the wheel, and then, like a perfect soccer game setup, the Slovenian joins up with Yates and Soler: there are three UAE vs Vingegaard. It was wild. Soler accelerates with all he had to set up his leader, Pogačar jumps again, Vingegaard won’t dislodge, the dynamic duo sprint to the final turn throwing elbows like the last turn of the Athens Twilight Criterium, pure ego and determination, with Pogačar edging ahead, all that for a 16th place on the day.

Wout Poels won the stage - he barely got any TV time - 2’:08” ahead of Van Aert. Vingegaard and Pogačar remain separated by 0:10”, Rodríguez held his third place, 0:19” ahead of Yates with Jai Hindley 1’:19” back in 4th. Tuesday’s mountain time trial will be determinant, but Wednesday stage to Courchevel finishes up the 2300-meter high Col de la Loze, and Saturday’s stage through the Vosges mountains has not been mentioned much, but it is a fittingly brutal finish to what has been an entirely entertaining and dramatic Tour de France.