Colombia was at the party for the first stage of the Tour de France in the Alps, Thursday, July 25. Movistar rider Nairo Quintana won the 18th stage in Valloire, where Egan Bernal moved closer to Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck), still in yellow.
In difficulty on the top of the Galibier, the French in yellow saved his position at the head of the Tour, three days before the arrival in Paris. He certainly gave thirty seconds to Egan Bernal but was matched, in accounting, with his other rivals, at the cost of a great descent of the Galibier.
In the provisional general classification, Egan Bernal went from 5th to 2nd place, at 1:30 of Julian Alaphilippe.
To win, Nairo Quintana mingled with a breakaway from a distance before carrying the decisive attack in the Galibier, the "giant" mountain that rises to 2642 meters.
The most successful Colombian in history has won for the third time in a stage of the Tour, after his success at Semnoz in 2013 and at the Col du Portet last year. Winner of two great rounds (Giro 2014 and Vuelta 2016), he always stumbled on the overall classification of the Tour (2nd in 2013 and 2015, 3rd in 2016).
Romain Bardet new polka dot jersey
In this long leg of 208 kilometers, the selection began to be made in Izoard where the team of Mikel Landa hardened the pace. At the front, the group of 33 runners escaped after about fifty kilometers broke up.
At the top of the pass, led by the Italian Damiano Caruso ahead of the Frenchman Romain Bardet, the group of favorites has tilted slightly later than 5 minutes. But everything was played in the Galibier, the last climb of the day that the escaped have approached with the same lead on the peloton led by the team Ineos.
Nairo Quintana attacked 7.5 kilometers from the summit and widened the gap on the chasing duo of Romain Bardet and Kazakh Alexey Lutsenko. The Colombian went to the top with more than a minute and a half ahead and maintained a lead of over a minute and a half over Romain Bardet, second in the stage and new wearer of the best climber polka dot jersey.
In the group of favorites, Bernal emerged at 3 kilometers from the summit and kept his advantage in the descent of 19 kilometers.
Friday, the 19th stage is decisive between Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and Tignes. The Iseran, the highest road pass in Europe at an altitude of 2,770 meters, is reached after a climb of 12.9 kilometers (7.5%). Before a descent followed by the final climb classified in the first category.
With AFP