Tour de France. Victor Lafay’s Good Idea

It always takes a little imagination to make a good idea materialize, become real. Yesterday, at the end of the first stage of the Tour de France, Victor Lafay had said he was amazed at the goodness of his condition, he had managed to keep up with Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar, he had argued that the short length of the ascent had favored him. Then he added that he would try again, but in the following days, certainly not today, as climbs above seven kilometers are not for him. Sometimes he needs to play defensively with words so as not to be a braggart. He likes the French, he has the gab of a shrewd and intelligent man. Even the glance. And his legs too. More than one had tried to surprise Wout van Aert, who all knew that Wout van Aert was unlikely to be beaten. It took a good idea and imagination to make it a reality. Lafay set off shortly after the flamme rouge, the little triangle that marks the start of the last kilometre, surprised everyone, they never took him again. First in Donostia, first victory in the Tour (he had already managed to win in the Giro d’Italia), fourth place in the standings, the desire not to set limits. “We’ll see, whatever it is,” he said on French TV. Nice guy Lafay.

The imagination sometimes modifies what is around us, changes the shapes, expands its contours. It makes us see what isn’t there. It’s not always the fault of the beholder. Sometimes it is the context that misleads us.

Because on a day that started with the rain, then bathed in the sun, stained by clouds that ran fast, much faster than the runners, at a certain point the mist has set in to give the illusion that the Jaizkibelthe mountain that overlooks the border between France and Spain, a stone’s throw – which in the Tour de France is about fifteen kilometers – from Donostia, was a Pyrenean slope. And then perhaps to make us continue to deceive, at the top, side by side, Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard showed up, in the way they have of teasing each other by playing at being the class monitor. The stage wasn’t at stake, that was decided near the sea. Up there at 452 meters above sea level, the bonus was played out. Up for grabs were 8, 5 and 3 seconds. Few, but it’s not the quantity that matters, it’s the will to intimidate the opponent that matters. Difficult for two like this to be intimidated, but so be it. Meanwhile, to do the math, they make 16-5 for Pogacar, or 11 seconds ahead in the standings. That they don’t want to say anything, but that it’s always better to have them than not to have them.

These are not Jonas Vingegaard’s climbs, he prefers longer, higher altitude ones. There are many climbs, the ones the Dane likes but not so many. These are also Tadej Pogacar’s climbs, but all climbs are for him, even the longest and highest ones. It won’t take long. The Pyrenees will already reach the fifth stage on Wednesday.

The Pyrenees will also await them Neilson Powless to follow up on what he started doing yesterday and continued to do today. For the American, Native American, most American of all, the climbs have started to be done in polka dots. He tries to put together as many as possible. He started on the Alto del Vivero. You continued today, risking completing an en plein that seemed impossible at the start of the stage. And even more in the middle of the stage. Thinking of being able to reach the finish line three against all was optimistic, if you are optimistic, crazy if you are less. Neilson Powless didn’t go too far from realizing his very personal and very lucid madness. He is one who says that everyone struggles and therefore you never know how much others really struggle. Without a doubt, it unmasked those of Edvald Boasson Hagen and Remi Cavagna, traveling companions in that long journey together that didn’t reach the goal, but lasted less.

2nd stage of the Tour de France, the order of arrival and the general classification