We hoped for Julian Alaphilippe, we were counting on him this Thursday, September 3 to take back the yellow jersey after “his ball” of the day before.
We were waiting for him to give back blue-white-red colors to the Tour de France.
Failed: the hero at the start of the race did not recover his precious overcoat on the slopes of the Col de la Lusette then those of Mont Aigoual, one of the windiest peaks in France.
Discreet throughout the stage - for the anecdote, he even left Le Teil in the very last place of the peloton - Alaphilippe did not recover his jersey in a day which nevertheless corresponded to his profile.
He finished fifth in the stage, his burst of pride having just allowed him to glean for a second on the other favorites.
The unchanged hierarchy
We were also waiting for a stage capable of shaking up the hierarchy to reveal the strong and fit men of the race before the high mountains.
Loupé, there too: all the favorites stayed warm, watching each other to manage their efforts.
The Tour hierarchy has not changed: Adam Yates (Michelton Scott) is still in yellow and his tunic has hardly been endangered.
“Yes, we managed to control and it was a good day,” smiles the Tour leader under the mask.
The great explanation is postponed until next weekend when the peloton will start the Pyrenees and its sequence of eight passes.
At the top of Mount Aigoual, it is the former world champion hopes, the Kazakh Alexey Lutsenko, who triumphed alone after a long breakaway to win his first stage victory in five participations on the Tour: of course something exceptional.
I won a very good stage in the Tour de France, and it is the best victory of my career, ”confides the Kazakh who will celebrate his 28th birthday next Monday.