There was a point in the mid-19th century when the state of the citadel of Carcassonne fell into such disrepair that the French government decided that it was time to demolish the 700-year-old fortress.
Fortunately, for those into medieval architecture, after public outcry the citadel was rebuilt and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.
On a hot stage 15 of the Tour de France to Carcassonne, coincidentally, fissures were revealed in some of the relationships of the peloton; perhaps it is time for the French government to step in and tear down some of them.
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If you spend enough time with people, as the riders of the Tour have with their peloton peers, then it is natural that tempers fray, especially given the effort and competitive nature of the racing. As Tim Wellens of UAE Team Emirates-XRG celebrated his maiden Tour stage win, there was a bit of rancour to spread around. The rest day couldn’t come soon enough.
The first flashpoint came early in the stage as a crash in the peloton involving Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling) saw second-placed Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) held up, along with third-placed Lipowitz.
The pressure was already on at the front, with riders trying to get in a break, but yellow jersey Tadej Pogačar tried to calm things down in the peloton, to not much avail.
“There was the whole situation at the start,” Pogačar explained post-stage. “The race was full gas for the breakaway, like we expected. There was a crash, Jonas was involved, Lipowitz was involved, but there was a split in the group. Me and Tim [Wellens] were trying to talk to the bunch, to calm things down, and wait for the guys in the back. This didn’t work.
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“What was bothering me was there were Visma guys all trying to go in the break again, and they have Jonas chasing at the back. It would be much easier for everybody for one of them to go in the break and the two maybe wait for me and Tim for the group.
“I was following always the third rider, that was Matteo [Jorgenson], he was trying to go in the break,” he continued. “I cannot let three Visma guys in the break because you never know what will happen. I was trying to control the race. It was a weird situation, we tried to control it with the time, and it resulted in a victory, so it’s pretty good.”
One of those three riders was Wout van Aert, who added: “It was pretty chaotic in the beginning with this crash where Jonas was behind. It was hard to play the right tactic because we wanted to be in the break anyway. We also somehow wanted to slow down so he got back in the bunch, but I think we managed it all.”
It does not sound like Visma won any friends with UAE, however, and it is not the first time Pogačar has been confused by the Dutch team’s tactics at this race, but it is likely to continue, with his overall lead looking unassailable.
A lead break eventually formed: Victor Campenaerts (Visma-Lease a Bike), Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek), Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling) and Wellens.
Things were not smooth here either. “A bit strange a tactic to not do a pull and then attack, but it worked for him today,” Simmons argued of Wellens’ attack. “[It was a] super strong ride from him, and he took the lucky moment and made it count.”
“There were some Grade A cat-5 tactics out there today, but that’s how it is,” the 24-year-old continued, who eventually came in 21st after his fourth breakaway day of this Tour.
“Everyone’s tactics were strange,” Simmons said. “We had such strong groups but we were never really working well together. When a guy like Wellens goes we all need to commit, and unfortunately we had Campenaerts just sitting there muttering something about Van Aert the whole time, and no one else really committed when there’s one guy playing games.”
Perhaps it is just the American, however, as Campenaerts, who finished second, had a different point of view: “It was a good situation with Wout and me in the breakaway, but Wellens… We have a good relationship outside of cycling, but in the race he’s the guy you don’t want to have in the breakaway.
“He’s smart, he’s sneaky, he knows how to play it,” the Belgian said of his compatriot. “He wasn’t allowed to miss any pulls, but he was strong, he didn’t miss any decisive moments. He did a perfect move there on the highest point of the stage.”
Simmons also suggested that motorbike drivers help a lone rider out front, something which Wellens himself rebutted: “I think it’s a bit optimistic from Quinn to say I won because of the moto. I think the legs were good, and I don’t think the moto played a part in my victory. If there was, Quinn could attack early and get the help of the moto.”
Carcassonne was rebuilt, and now stands as a French monument to its past; perhaps some rebuilding should go on behind the scenes if there are relationships to be saved. It could be a busy rest day in Montpellier for those wanting to make up.