
Like an air of déjà vu. On Friday July 7, the Tour de France peloton found the apartment after a Pyrenean diptych as soon – starting with the obligations of the Spanish Basque Country – as it was trying. As already happened in the two previous stages promised to the sprinters, in Bayonne (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) and Nogaro (Gers), this seventh day of racing got off to a slow start, the riders opted for a senatorial pace, before tempers warmed up only a few tens of kilometers from the finish line. And it was once again Jasper Philipsen who was the first to cross it. The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider, consolidating his green jersey, offers his third success of the week; him fifth in the last five massive sprints of the Grande Boucle.
For a moment we thought that this Friday would go down in racing history when, 250 meters from the finish, Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) appeared out of nowhere. The Briton, co-holder of the Tour de France stage win record with legend Eddy Merckx, is looking for a 35And historical success in an event in which he competes for the last time; at 38 he decides to retire from the sport at the end of the year. But he couldn’t resist the return of the Belgian sprinter. “He was really strong and, like everyone, I’d like to see him win, greeted Jasper Philipsen at a press conference. What is certain is that he will continue to try and that he is in excellent shape. »
The story would have been all the better as the Isle of Man native was the last rider to win in Bordeaux: it was during the 18And stage of the 2010 edition. Since then, the great barnum had never put his wheels down in the Gironde capital. After thirteen years without the Tour, locals have graced the return of the race, massing along the barriers installed on the banks of the Garonne many hours before the passage of the riders; who cares if the mercury column was close to 33° C. It must be said that the latter had decided to take their time. “Today we made it a bit, the whole group wanted a quieter day, explained Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates). We used up a lot of energy in the last hour but it’s still a rest day compared to the previous two stages. »
Frenchman Simon Guglielmi (Arkéa-Samsic) broke away, driving alone for a long time before being joined by his compatriots Nans Peters (AG2R-Citroën) and Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies). The last survivor of the breakaway trio, Latour will finally be caught 3.5 kilometers from the finish, when the sprinter teams were preparing for the final breakaway.
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