The 2022 Tour de France is still speaking Danish. At the start of the race from the small Nordic country and the overall lead from Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma), joined the victory in the 13th stage of his compatriot mads petersen (Trek-Segafredo), this Friday in Saint-Etienne, the third in this edition of the Grande Boucle for a rider of this nationality.
The high temperatures lived in this stage of transition after leaving the Alps behind did not scare the runners who arrived from the cold, and Pedersenwho had already won the world road title in Harrogate (England) in the middle of the cold and rain in 2019, demonstrated its ability to adapt to all environments in this stage of 193 kilometers.
The yellow jersey is still on the shoulders of Vingegaard (Jumbo), who reached the finish line within the peloton along with the rest of the favourites, more than five minutes and 45 seconds behind the escapees.
“It was hard for everyone, it was very hot. I knew I was fit, but I failed on the first few occasions at the start of the Tour. In the team we came to the Tour to chase stage wins. But for me there were not many opportunities left”, explained the winner of the day.
“In the morning we told ourselves that we had to be in the breakaways that had more than four riders”, he confessed. “The last few days I had good legs and in the Alps I had a good feeling,” Pedersen added.who at the age of 26 added a 24th victory to his record.
Pedersen, what He also took the combativeness of the day award, He overcame his last two escapee companions, the British Fred Wright (Bahrain-Victorious) and Hugo Houle (Israel-Premier Tech) in the sprint to the finish line located next to the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium of Saint-Etienne.
is the third partial victory for Denmark in this Tourafter Magnus Cort Nielsen won stage 10 and leader Vingegaard won a day later at the Col de Granon.
“It’s fantastic to be Danish at the moment, a third win for Denmark is unbelievable,” Vingegaard said of a country where five times as many trips are made by bike as by car. “I’m happy for Pads, he deserves it.”
Already with the Alps in the rear-view mirror and after the last two frenetic stages, some calm came to the Tour. A breakaway was formed in two strokes: Ganna, Küng and Jorgenson from kilometer 30, and then Houle, Pedersen, Simmons and Wright 21 kilometers later made up the day’s breakaway.
One of the outstanding images was offered by the Australian Lotto sprinter Caleb Ewan crashes in a hairpin turn, who although with injuries managed to stay in the race. However, that slowed down the march of a platoon that was rolling under the influence of the Lotto in search of hunting down the escapees.
Pedersen made a first change of pace with twelve kilometers to go, which was only held by Wright and Hule, who offered no resistance in the sprint.
Although the Colombian Nairo Quintanasixth overall, arrived along with the rest of the favorites – far ahead of his compatriots Rigoberto Urán and Daniel Martínez – was left at the start of the stage without his mountain domestique Warren Barguil, as the Frenchman had tested positive for COVID-19.
“On television, it is not seen, it does not appear, but it is a day of great wear and tear,” said Quintana on a stage in which it was filmed at more than 45 kilometers per hour on average. “Barguil was a key player for us,” lamented Nairo.
On Saturday, the 14th stage brings to the fore two outstanding victories: those of Laurent Jalabert, when on July 14, 1995 he triumphed on the route between Saint-Etienne and Mende, and that of Omar Fraile in 2018, the last of a Spanish rider in the Tour .
Before the Mende-Brenoux aerodrome, where the finish line is traditionally installed, the runners will have to climb the Croix-Neuve, called the Laurent Jalabert climb. The final ascent, short but steep (3 kilometers at 10.2%), leads to the last 1,500 meters, followed by a slight descent to the flat track. (D)
Source: Eluniverso
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