Published on : 09/02/2020
Two days after the finish in Orcières-Merlette, there is a long and tough final climb that awaits the riders tomorrow at Mont Aigoual. This will allow the team to fine-tune the overall positions a little bit more and allow Guillaume Martin to show himself again.
One must know how to preserve oneself when the effort is long and lasts 21 days. This is the challenge of the Tour de France and the peloton is well aware of it. This Wednesday between Gap and Privas, it has been decided to slightly ease off the peloton, whereas some high-mountain racing was on the program yesterday and will be again tomorrow.
Guillaume Martin was able to preserve himself
At Cofidis, we also wanted to recover well, whereas the whole team had worked hard the day before to bring Guillaume Martin up to the 3rd place in the stage. Today again, everyone took turns to support the leader of the team. In the last kilometers, Guillaume was determined to get back into the first positions in order to protect what has been made already and to cross the line without any problems. After the penalty of Julian Alaphilippe, the rider from Normandy is now 4th overall and 1st Frenchman.
The stage finished with a sprint as announced. In the last kilometers, Elia Viviani, weakened by bursitis on his right foot since the beginning of the Tour, preferred to save his power for later on. The Italian sprinter of the Cofidis team continues to hold on and hopes to regain his strength quickly. Nevertheless, Christophe Laporte has represented the Cofidis team in the sprint and he finished in an honorable 12th place.
Mont Aigoual, exhausting finish
Tomorrow, the road will rise again with the second finish at the mountaintop in three days. This time, the peloton will have to climb the Mont Aigoual, which has only been crossed once in the Tour's history. On the program: a climb of 8,3 km with percentages sometimes exceeding 9%.
This playground should sharpen the ambitions of the climbers and frontrunners of the Tour de France. After his performance on Tuesday, Guillaume Martin intends to use his chance to the limit and offer new emotions to all the Cofidis fans.
THEY SAID...
Christophe LAPORTE:
"In the last kilometers, it was a little bit tense. I was in a good position in the last kilometer but I locked myself up and I saw no opening. We also had to protect Guillaume today and we managed it without any difficulty."
Guillaume MARTIN: "
During majority of the stage, I could recover and keep myself in good shape. Once again, I was very well protected in the final, notably by Nicolas (Edet), Pierre-Luc (Périchon) and Jesus (Herrada). Tomorrow, I will approach the stage with confidence. It is a little bit uneven climb with steep sections in the middle, which doesn't displease me. If my condition is the same as before, it can only go well!"