Farewell to the Tour
Thibault Pinot drove French fans mad with delight with his long breakaway on home training grounds, racing alone through the masses of adoring crowds gathered to honor their fellow Franche-Comteois on the final mountain stage of his career. It was such a perfectly professional move, a giving of himself to the public, offering up the show they were all hoping to see, a story they would tell and re-tell for generations. I don’t know what it is about Pinot, but he’s a rider that can bring me to tears. He fights so hard, things often don’t go his way yet one roots for him all the same, just urging him to succeed. Mind you, he’s had great successes, winning the Tour of Lombardy, stages in all three Grand Tours, Climber’s Jersey in the Giro, thirty total career victories. He finished third in the Tour de France in 2014, but victory has always eluded him, breaking French hearts, each failure increasing his popularity. He’ll retire at the end of this season, returning to his country home, away from the media pressures he so detests, to care for his menagerie of prize goats, cows, donkeys, chickens, and sheep. Hard not to like a man who lives like that. Bravo é merci Thibault Pinot!
The final true stage exploded into action, all sorts of craziness happening left and right. 4th and 9th overall, Carlos Rodríquez and Sepp Kuss, on the ground and bleeding profusely. The bull-in-the-china-shop tactics of Lidl-Trek’s Mads Pedersen opening the race for teammate Giulio Ciccone’s attack to confirm his Polka Dot jersey. (I’d like to state here that Pedersen is my favorite to win his second World Championship title on August 6th. He’s on astounding form.)
Yellow Jersey Vingegaard in a front group and Pogačar behind in a peloton split to pieces. It was really something that stage.
Ciccone went like mad to win the first four KOM’s, secured his jersey for Paris, adding to his Giro d’Italia climbers’ title. Like the perfect Italian that he is, he closed shop early since he’d made his money for the day, sat up and calmly rode in 10-minutes behind the winner.
Pinot made his move on the iconic Petite Ballon d‘Alsace, 9.3-km long at 8.1% average gradient, where some of the biggest, and certainly showing the Germanic influence of the region, best behaved crowds ever seen in the Tour, were awaiting their hero. It was controlled bedlam. So excited was that public, showering Pinot with all the love in their hearts and cheering their lungs out. It was an unforgettable moment.
Pinot was caught with 13-km to the finish by a group including the top men of the Tour, Vingegaard, Pogačar, the Yates twins, Felix Gall and Pello Bilbao. The Frenchman went down with guns blazing, only a group of the very best in the world able to catch him. On the run-in to the finish, Vingegaard looked so very nervous, constantly checking over his shoulder to see where Pogačar was, launched the sprint on an inside corner, but the Slovenian, showing why he’s the best bicycle racer in the world, easily jumped around the Dane, Pogie’s hips revving around his powerful core to win his second stage, confirming second place overall and the White Jersey of best young (remember that!) rider of the Tour.
It's been a grand Tour de France. The popularity seeming to increase with every stage, the racing extraordinary, and apart from one transitional stage from Spain to France, there was hardly a dull moment the entire time. We are witnessing a generation of racers who are simply a marvel with their attacking styles, their never-say-die attitudes, and for me, their embrace of heathier methods in pursuing their passion. There will be scandal of course, even invented, that’s the Tour. But it doesn’t really matter. What is important are the untold thousands of fans lining the roads celebrating ‘la Petite Rein’ - the little queen - as the French lovingly term the bicycle. The grand manifestation showing that she has her place and right to be on the open roads, that her positive influence on society will continue. The Tour de France is the greatest advertisement for the beauty and joy of cycling that exists. Vive le Tour! It’s the greatest show on earth.
My Tour ends now, I’m sure Jasper Philipsen will win his 5th Stage on the Champs-Elysèes today and confirm his status as the best sprinter in the world. It has been my pleasure to bring you this reporting, my honor to have had such an incredible race to cover. I remain truly humbled and flattered that so many of you have followed it. Thank you, and until the next time.