From our special correspondent in Saint-Gervais,
7:25 p.m. this Sunday in Saint-Gervais, on the bridge that connects the opulent city of Haute-Savoie to the gondola going up to the Bettex plateau, at 1,400 meters above sea level, where Wout Poels won this 16th stage of the Tour de France. The flow of amateur cyclists (the vast majority of pros have long since passed) and pedestrians, hitherto uninterrupted, is starting to dry up a bit. The buses of the peloton teams have almost all left, sometimes honking their horns to make their way through the compact crowd.
Only a handful of vehicles remain, including those of UAE Team Emirates, the stable of Tadej Pogacar, and Intermarché-Circus-Wanty. The Belgian formation awaits Adrien Petit. Precisely, the Bison of Arras arrives at this time, badly battered. Three journalists, including yours truly, are hoping for a few words from the winner of the combativeness prize of the day, 154th out of 157 competitors who arrived, 35 minutes and 48 seconds behind Poels.
But the 33-year-old Northerner, who limps low once off the bike, does not stop. “He is exhausted, already last night [samedi], he was at the end of his life”, excuses the press secretary of the team, after having tried to make him change his mind. The day before, Petit had completed the Annemasse – Morzine stage in last position, 38 minutes and 6 seconds after the winner Carlos Rodriguez, his right buttock bare and cut, the tibia of the same leg not far from being in pieces. The consequences of an impressive collective fall from the 5th kilometer, which led to a rare neutralization of the race for around twenty minutes, and left a total of five runners on the floor, including his South African teammate Louis Meintjes, 13th in the general.
“I lived a nightmare”
After a very complicated night and early doubts, the Arrageois took the start this Sunday morning in Les Gets, with Monday’s rest day as a glimmer of hope at the end of hell. Without stitches to sew up the site, because of the burnt flesh which makes the matter impossible, but with a protective net to hold the bandages. “I had a nightmare today [dimanche], which I would not even wish on my worst enemy, did he still have time to respond to France 2 before joining his bus. It’s a shame to say that, but the first fall saved me, otherwise I was home. »
The arm of an unconscious spectator therefore both unbalanced Sepp Kuss after fifty terminals, which led to a series reaction, and allowed Petit, in apnea from the first micro-climb, to pick up again. “I was so supported by the public… Once I took over the gruppetto, I had to insist. All the teams were cheering me on, so it was great. »
And this is how the jury for the combativeness prize (composed of Thierry Gouvenou from ASO, Laurent Jalabert and three journalists) crowned one of the last of the stage, while the reward goes in principle to the main presenter of the day. “It’s a shame to have to fall to get on the podium, but it’s always a great recognition”, laughs the person concerned, very unhappy since the beginning of the year: a collarbone left on the side of Mallorca in January , then a broken finger a week after his recovery two months later, followed by two packages for the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, his favorite races.
“Survive” Wednesday to see the Champs
The story looks like a remake of the Ghislain Lambert’s bike, with Benoît Poelvoorde, and we wouldn’t be surprised to find her in the second season of the Netflix saga devoted to the Tour. Now, there must be a “happy ending” (unlike Poelvoorde’s film) and a cheering arrival next Sunday at the Champs-Elysées.
Monday’s rest day and Tuesday’s time trial, where Petit will be able to put himself in quiet mode, could contribute to this nice scenario. “There is still a stage with 5,000 meters of elevation,” retorts the 142nd in the general classification (3h47’36” from leader Jonas Vingegaard), in reference to the sick Wednesday between Saint-Gervais – Mont-Blanc and Courchevel.
We can already imagine the Chti clenching his teeth and the rest in the climb of the Col de la Loze (2,304 meters), the climb outside the category of the day. The climax of this Tour will undoubtedly decide the winner of the stifling duel between Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar. But this competition only concerns the duo of extraterrestrials and especially not Petit, Axel Zingle and Tony Gallopin, colleagues in the Sunday galley with Michael Morkov, Danish like “Vingi”, but last in the stage and overall.