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Friday, July 21, 2023

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2022 Tour de France | 2023 Giro d'Italia

Is a hippopotamus a hippopotamus, or just a really cool Opotamus? - Mitch Hedberg

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Bill & Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, 2021: The Little Cannibal Dominates is available in both Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Current racing:

• July 1 - 24: Tour de France

Upcoming racing:

• July 22 - 26: Tour de Wallonie

Latest completed racing:

• July 2 - 6: Österreich Rundfahrt-Tour of Austria
• January - June 26: National Championships
• June 11 - 18: Tour de Suisse
• June 14 - 18: Baloise Belgium Tour
• June 15 - 18: Route d'Occitanie
• June 4 - 11: Critérium du Dauphiné
• June 7 - 11: ZLM Tour
• June 4: Brussels Cycling Classic

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Tour de France stage 18 reports

We posted the race organizer's report with the results.

Here's the report from GC leader Jonas Vingegaard's Team Jumbo-Visma:

Team Jumbo-Visma has finished the eighteenth stage of the Tour de France without any problems. Jonas Vingegaard enjoyed wearing the yellow jersey for the twelfth consecutive day. Christophe Laporte sprinted into the top ten in the day's results. Early escapee Kasper Asgreen took the win.

Jonas Vingegaard will start stage 19 in yellow. Sirotti photo

Without Wout van Aert, the peloton headed north from Moûtiers to the finish in Bourg-en-Bresse. Teams with sprint ambitions tried to catch a four-man break in the final kilometres, but misjudged the four's tenacity. Laporte went to the front to test his sprinter's legs, which resulted in ninth place. Vingegaard and his other teammates crossed the line in the belly of the peloton.

Moments later, the Dane was able to step onto the podium to claim cycling's coveted yellow jersey for the 24th time in his career. "It was a nice day today. There wasn't too much stress in the peloton. That is usually the case in stages like this. But the situation today changed that. For us, it is important to stay out of trouble on stages like today. My teammates have kept me in the safe zone throughout the Tour. That gives me a lot of confidence. Today they did it again with flying colours. We were constantly in the front in the final stages", said Vingegaard, who congratulated his compatriot Asgreen on his fine victory.

"Normally, I feel a bit less fit the day after a tough mountain stage", Vingegaard said. "But that was not the case today. I got through the day relatively quickly. It's often a mental thing. Of course, I am counting the days until Paris. We should be happy with every day I ride in the yellow jersey. I enjoy riding in this beautiful jersey. It sounds cliché, but we have to take it day by day until Paris. We have to stay focused and stay alert. Today, at least, we did that very well."

Here's the report from stage winner Kasper Asgreen's Team Soudal Quick-Step:

Kasper Asgreen showed that even in the most difficult of times the Wolfpack never gives up, but continues to fight, to believe and to display the same winning mentality deeply ingrained in the team’s DNA that has brought over 900 wins in the last 21 years. All these, combined with a powerful sprint, brought the 2021 Ronde van Vlaanderen champion his first ever Grand Tour victory at the end of a stage which should have seen a bunch sprint.

Kasper Asgreen wins stage 18. Sirotti photo

"It’s incredible! It means so much for me to take a stage here at the Tour, especially after all the problems I had since last summer.

“I came a long way and this result wouldn’t have been possible without all the people who helped me. I want to dedicate this win to those who trusted me and stayed by my side, but also to Dries. He is racing his final Tour de France in his last season as a pro, he was very emotional at the finish, and we will miss him”, an elated Kasper said after his huge day.

As the peloton left the Alps behind and embarked on a rolling 185km journey to Bourg-en-Bresse – where Tom Boonen won for the squad back in 2007 – Kasper was quick to jump from the peloton and book a place in what looked to be a doomed breakaway right from the start. The move consisting of him, Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-Dstny) and Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X) was kept on a tight leash by the many teams wanting a bunch sprint at the end of the day, the maximum gap they had at any point during the stage reaching only 1:40.

Not even after Pascal Eenkhoorn (Lotto Dstny) bridged across with 55 kilometers to go their chances didn’t look to be improving, but the quartet didn’t play any games and exchanged turns at the front, entering the last 30 kilometers with a 40-second gap. While Asgreen and his companions buried themselves up the road, Julian Alaphilippe and Tim Declercq expertly disrupted the chase behind, helping the breakaway gain some valuable seconds.

The four entered the last kilometer with the field breathing down their necks, the five seconds separating them being, on paper, just a formality for the bunch. For a moment there it looked like it would be heartbreak for the four escapees, but they all remained incredibly committed and this hard work and fighting spirit brought them the opportunity to fight for the victory.

Asgreen opened his sprint from the distance, with around 220 meters to go, and kept the speed all the way to the line, even as the road went up, in a fantastic display of sheer power reminiscent of the one he had showed two years ago in Oudenaarde, roaring over the line with his arms in the air after a wild and heart-pounding finish.

“The situation wasn’t ideal for us. I would have preferred to have gone with seven or eight riders, but being the last week of the race and coming off some really hard stages I didn’t completely rule out the possibility of going all the way. I wouldn’t have done it without Pascal, Victor and Jonas, they all did amazing out there. We rode the whole stage like a team time trial and put everything into it”, Kasper explained after the team’s 50th victory at Le Tour. “Our team worked really hard these weeks, and despite all the setbacks we’ve had here, we kept the morale high and now we are incredibly happy with this win and with showing that the Wolfpack spirit remains the same.”

Here’s the report from second-place Pascal Eenkhorn’s Team Lotto Dstny:

Pascal Eenkhoorn has finished runner-up in Bourg-en-Bresse, at the end of the Tour de France stage eighteen. What was announced as a chance for the sprinters, eventually turned into a real thriller, in which the breakaway narrowly held off the charging peloton. In that thriller, it was Lotto Dstny in the leading role with both Victor Campenaerts and Pascal Eenkhoorn in the four-rider breakaway.

The winning break with 23 kilometers to go.

Soon after the flag dropped, three riders attacked. Victor Campenaerts, Jonas Abrahamsen and Kasper Asgreen formed a strong trio but the peloton was keen on a bunch sprint and kept them on a tight leash. At just over 50 kilometres to go, it was Lotto Dstny rider Pascal Eenkhoorn who, with the help of his teammate Campenaerts, bridged to the head of the race. The advantage of the four escapees almost never went above a minute but the peloton had to use up all its resources to come closer. In a nail-biting final, it was a matter of seconds but with an impressive pull of Campenaerts in the final, the breakaway stayed ahead. It was Asgreen who showed the fastest, Pascal Eenkhoorn had to settle for second. Abrahamsen finished third, Campenaerts was still caught by the bunch.

“I think we executed our plan to perfection”, says Pascal Eenkhoorn. “I hoped that more riders would join me in bridging across but nobody was on my wheel. I also needed Victor to get to the front but once we got there, we went full gas. The advantage was never really big but at the end of the Tour you know there’s always a chance. Victor really rode crazy fast and ensured that we could stay ahead in the final. The sprint was just an honest one and a second place is a pity but if you watch the sprint you have to admit that Asgreen was stronger.”

“We had marked these stages. Sadly, we could just not get the win but we played it perfectly. It seemed like an impossible task to hold off the bunch but if you don’t try… The most combative rider award is a consolation prize but being on the Tour podium is always nice”, says Campenaerts. “I got to the front in the final kilometre but had to let go at 500 metres from the line, hoping to make them nervous and go early. That didn’t succeed and a second place is bittersweet but we can be proud of our performance today.”

And here's the stage 18 report from Jordi Meeus' Team Bora-hansgrohe:

After some cruel mountain stages, the Tour came back to a flat stage and an opportunity for the sprinters in the bunch. An early break of three riders was never given a gap of more than 1:30 minutes but the trio at the front was very committed. With about 30km one rider bridged to the front and on the final part of the stage it was a big battle between the break and the bunch. Also BORA – hansgrohe was pulling in the bunch to close the gap for Jordi Meeus but in the end the break just made it to the line and Kasper Asgreen took the win. Jordi crossed the line in 7th place today.

Bora-hansgrohe rider Marco Haller heads to the stage 18 start line. Sirotti photo

“Actually, it looked to be an quite easy day. The break was small, and the gap was never really that big. But over the hilly part one rider bridged across and the guys in front also played it smart. They still had enough left for the final and just made it to the line. I was supported well by the boys and Danny delivered me into a good position. But to be honest I also didn’t completely have the legs in the end. I had to suffer a lot on the hard mountain stages, and I felt tired today. So, all in all, not the best day for us.” – Jordi Meeus 

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