Are we finally going to take a breather in this peloton which has been driving at breakneck speed since July 1 in Copenhagen?
This 19th stage smells like an epilogue.
The Pyrenees are crossed, heading north now.
On the program this Friday, 188.3 km of flat between Castelnau-Magnoac (Hautes-Pyrénées) and Cahors (Lot) with a finish promised to sprinters.
Unless a Frenchman...
Man of the day: Antoine Dupont
And no, we won't talk to you about a cyclist this morning.
It would be tempting to talk to you about Jonas Vingegaard, future king of France, but we will have the opportunity to come back to it, I promise.
The star of the day, this Friday, is Antoine Dupont.
The best rugby player on the planet concedes it, without him his native village of Castelnau-Magnoac, 800 inhabitants, would probably never have had the honor of hosting a stage of the Great Loop.
“The Hautes-Pyrénées and the Tour de France go hand in hand.
All the conditions were met for this to happen.
We are extremely lucky to receive an event like this, ”told us the star of the XV of France and the Toulouse Stadium.
The stage location
Ah the famous “cocorico on the Tour”.
We like to make fun of this ready-made expression even if in these times of scarcity, we are seriously beginning to regret it.
Do you remember this 2014?
Blel Kadri raised his arms to Gérardmer.
The Tour passes today close to where the Toulousain converted salesman at Decathlon lives.
We went to meet him earlier this week.
Our favorite: Jasper Philipsen
So far, each bunch sprint has produced a different winner.
Fabio Jakobsen (2nd stage), Dylan Groenewegen (3rd), Jasper Philipsen (15th)… These three can claim the double, in particular formidable Philipsen with his Alpecin-Fenix train against a Jakobsen, amputated from his fish- pilot Morkov.
The piece Caleb Ewan, in great suffering on this Tour, seems a little risky.
Why not a victorious breakaway with a Frenchman in it, which would be a huge surprise?
Let's not forbid ourselves to dream, it's the last time of this Tour.
The time trial and then the finish on the Champs-Élysées are completely out of reach.
The eye of Thierry Gouvenou, in charge of the route
“Logically, it will be a stage for sprinters, but logic sometimes in the last week overturns everything we had thought about at the corner of a table a year or two earlier.
So I can't guarantee the massive sprint 100%.
But there is no difficulty on this day.
We always have the choice in this region to start from a small village.
There, it fell on that one after all why not.
Another small wink, the castle of Cayx, located nearby, belongs to the royal family of Denmark.
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