From our special correspondent in Laruns
The Pyrenees have, during 48 intense hours and two disheveled stages, offered to the Tour turns, vertigo, bucolic postcard landscapes, reversals and emotions.
Saturday, in Loudenvielle, with the victory full of panache, joy of running and playing by Nans Peters, the rookie of the AG2R-La Mondiale team, before the victorious sprint of the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, another stifling neophyte on Sunday in Laruns l he escaped Swiss Marc Hirschi, who had worked hard for 80 km to cut through the fog on the climbs, before setting off face down on the descents.
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The pace and the difficulties shed light on the forces involved.
Primoz Roglic no longer advances masked.
His powerful Jumbo-Visma team, which sets the pace for the race from Nice, delays or accelerates as it pleases, carried the Slovenian to the top of the general classification, he who had been circling for several days, letting the idea that 'he didn't want to grab it too soon.
He sums it up: “It's exceptional.
Every cyclist dreams of donning the yellow jersey at least once.
It's a dream come true.
The whole team has shown that it is very strong.
They gave me this chance on a set.
We are only at the start of the Tour, we see runners exploding every day, going through the window.
What interests me is to go to the end.
We will have to stay focused.
"
The unique Slovenian imprint
Because the margin is tiny.
In his neck, he feels the warm breath of Colombian Egan Bernal, ideally placed in ambush, he whose Ineos-Grenadiers team, very discreet since the start from Nice, has not yet drawn on its reserves, convinced that the race will be, like last year, a test for the nerves, the third high-pitched week promising to be decisive.
In this raised context, two French (Guillaume Martin, 3rd, and Romain Bardet, 4th) are pushing together and two other Colombians (Nairo Quintana, 5th, Rigoberto Uran, 6th) are among the first seven of the general classification who stand behind 45 seconds.
“This Tour will be more and more interesting in the days to come,” announces Tadej Pogacar (7th in the general classification), one of the strong men at the start of the Tour.
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Roglic-Pogacar, the original Slovenian imprint.
“At one point (in the 1980s) there were two Irish people (Sean Kelly and Stephen Roche).
There were only two, but they were the best of the bunch.
Roglic and Pogacar, these are perhaps the two great champions.
Their country had never produced a cycling champion.
I hope there will be plenty of little Slovenes who will ride their bikes.
Sport is used for this, to create vocations ”, observes Jean-René Bernaudeau, manager of the Total Direct Energie team.
Before telling: “It's a special Tour, there is less audience, we see retirees, the children are at school.
It's my 41st Tour, it's funny to live it without this effervescence.
The people are very respectful, it's a good clientele.
The Tour was important, not just for cycling, for France.
If the Tour goes to Paris, we can say that we can live with the virus, if we are serious.
This is the stake.
With two runners tested positive for Covid-19, we stop the team.
Suddenly, we are very strict on distancing, barrier gestures.
We have already been tested seven times;
the next one is Monday… ”
After a bus trip (a measure proposed by the organizers to avoid the transfer by plane), the peloton will, Monday in La Rochelle, enjoy a first day of rest.
A parenthesis that will be marked by PCR tests.
The campaign will reach 650 people from the teams.
The results should be known on Tuesday before the start of the 10th stage, drawn between the Ile d'Oléron and the Ile de Ré…
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Tour de France 2020: The general classification