The second rest day of the Tour de France couldn’t have come at a better time, with tempers flaring for those who lost out in the stage 15 breakaway to the dominant UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s Tim Wellens.
Wellens won solo into Carcassonne after biding his time and launching a long-range attack, extending his lead into the walled city, but despite his clear strength, one of his fellow escapees, Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek), accused in-race motobikes of playing a key role in the move sticking.
“In the end, we got rode away from, and that’s just how it is,” said the US champion initially, before letting his frustrations be known to ITV.
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“The strongest guy in the best moment with the moto,” is how he described solo winner Wellens, questioning the reporters who asked him to elaborate: “Did you not watch the coverage?”
Slipstreaming from in-race vehicles has long proved contentious over the years in cycling, from Primož Roglič at the 2018 Tour to current yellow jersey Tadej Pogačar at Amstel Gold Race two years ago. But motorbikes giving accidental assistance is just something the peloton must accept, according to Simmons.
“I think it is what it is. We’ve already seen this a few times here in the Tour, and you know how that’s going to be,” he added. “One day, you take advantage, but most of the time, someone else gets it.
“In the end, we all know it, so you just have to find the way to be the first guy to find that gets separation. If you’re the first guy with the separation, you’re gone.”
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He didn’t fully take away from Wellens’ power needed to get away, but it nonetheless brought a response from the Belgian champion, who wasn’t best pleased to hear the complaints after what he felt was just a fair and square breakaway victory.
“We know it’s coming, and then he just chose a really good moment,” said Simmons. “Of course, you still have to be super strong; it’s not that it’s just given for free, but it’s definitely a factor you have to think about and be ready to start early in the race.”
“I think it’s a little bit optimistic from Quinn to say I won because of the moto. I think the legs were very good,” responded Wellens in his winner’s press conference.
“I don’t think the moto played a part in my victory. I hope not. But if it were the case, I think Quinn could also have attacked first and taken the help of the moto, if there was help. But no, today, I think the legs did the work and not the moto.
“I didn’t really appreciate hearing that,” he added, speaking on Vive le Vélo.
Another of the riders who made the decisive eight-man group that Wellens attacked out of 43km from the finish line was similarly annoyed as he spoke at the finish, Michael Storer (Tudor), not with the stage winner, though, but his compatriot Victor Campenaerts (Visma-Lease a Bike).
Along with Simmons and Wellens, Storer and the Visma rider proved the strongest over the final categorised Pas du Sant climb, but the Australian later accused the latter’s non-collaboration of what allowed the UAE rider to get away.
“I tried to make the difference on the steep climb; that’s where I had to go, but it wasn’t quite enough,” said Storer to SBS at the finish, before letting his criticism of Campenaerts be known.
“Then Campenarts was stuffing up the breakaway, so he actually ruined it for everyone except for Tim Wellens, who seized the opportunity.”
The Visma rider eventually finished second as he launched solo from the large chasing pack, who were never going to get back to Wellens, but his tactics left Storer bemused and annoyed.
“It was Campenaerts [why they lost], which I don’t really get, because he was saying that Wout van Aert was behind him, but he was very far behind,” added the typically laid-back Storer.
“Cool, by not collaborating, he gave Tim Wellens the victory, so I don’t think it was tactically smart.”
Campenaerts didn’t directly address Storer’s comments when he spoke after the stage, but he was mostly full of praise for Wellens’s strength, describing his winning attack as “perfect”.
“It was a good situation with Wout [van Aert] and me in the breakaway, but Wellens… We have a good relationship outside of cycling, but in the races, he’s the guy that you don’t want to have in the breakaway,” said the Belgian.
“He’s smart, he’s sneaky, he knows how to play it. He wasn’t allowed to do any pulls, he was sitting on, but he was very strong. He didn’t miss any decisive moments, and he did a perfect move there on the highest point of the parcours.
“Of course, second is not what we race for, so it’s a bit disappointing, but it is what it is. Wellens was really strong, very smart, and he didn’t stroll to this victory. I knew straight away this was the guy to beat. He has experience; he’s going very well.”
Despite the various frustrations from several escapees after stage 15, Wellens’ eventual 1:28 winning advantage suggests that he was simply too strong on the day, able to sit on as others worked to try and get something out of the race.
But perhaps the absolute dominance of UAE and the lack of opportunities for those chasing the breaks in what is, so far, the fastest Tour de France ever, is causing the tensions to be heightened even more than usual.
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