Published on : 07/06/2023
The second Pyrenean stage was particularly competitive. Guillaume Martin took advantage of his consistent effort to move closer to the top 15 in the overall classification. Bryan Coquard took precious points in the intermediate sprint. He will be particularly eagerly awaited tomorrow for the bunch sprint in Bordeaux.
The Pyrenean diptych thus came to an end on Thursday in an atmosphere that only the Tour de France is capable of creating. For followers and riders accustomed to sparse roadsides throughout the year, it's a different story here, as the crowds are everywhere, cheerful, determined and quick to applaud and encourage the peloton. Miles of smiles, effort and emotion along the day's high altitude route, with three passes to climb.
Coquard, the good operation
From km 0, the attacks began to multiply. Like yesterday, Bryan Coquard felt the blow and the French sprinter set about helping the breakaway to form. He was joined by Anthony Pérez, who broke away for the first time since the start of the Grande Boucle. He's used to it: last year, the man from Toulouse covered 160 km between Dunkerque and Calais, then 152 km on the foothills of Alpe d'Huez.
As for Bryan Coquard, he took advantage of this to claim the 20 intermediate sprint points. He now trails Jasper Philipsen's green jersey by 46 points. Above all, the "Coq" shows that he's in brilliant form, and we can only be delighted before the finish in Bordeaux tomorrow evening, then in Limoges on Saturday, where he has a date with history (he was beaten on the wire by Marcel Kittel in 2016).
Martin, the climb continues
But today, after this intermediate sprint, there were three "big chunks" left: the Col d'Aspin, the Tourmalet and the finish at Cauterets-Cambraque. At the end of the explanation of the giants between the favourites, Guillaume Martin kept up the pace. By finishing 21st on the stage, the Normandy-born rider is closing in on the "top 15", and is now in 17th place, 7 min and 8 sec behind.
Now it's time to recuperate and heal the wounds of two exhausting days. Tomorrow, it's the sprinters who will be in the spotlight, with a finish in Bordeaux. Bryan Coquard's promising results in this category, 10th in Bayonne and 4th on the Nogaro circuit, augur well for this major event.
THEY SAID
Guillaume Martin: "It was a very difficult stage again, and we were expecting it with the ascent of these three mythical passes. We knew that the Jumbo-Visma team wanted to push hard. In the end, they weren't rewarded because Tadej Pogacar was stronger than yesterday.
For us, this made the race even more difficult. There was a big skim on the Tourmalet climb. I hung on in the main group until the final climb, which hurt everyone. My sensations weren't exceptional, but they were decent. After my two frustrating stages in the mountains, at Jaizkibel and yesterday, I'm happy to be in the game and not to be too far behind in the general classification.