Stage NIneteen

 

I was half way up the seven-and-a-half mile climb of the Category Two Ballon d’Alsace early in Stage Twenty when one of the steady stream of cyclists making the climb offered me a banana saying, “This could give you a little extra energy.”  I was maintaining a steady pace and didn’t think I was laboring too badly, but I was definitely slower than everyone else on their unencumbered bikes.  

I had loads of food, but didn’t wish to decline his generosity, perhaps also helping him out too by lightening his load. That was a first thought, someone passing by me on a bike offering food.  I planned to have a peanut butter sandwich at the summit and adding a banana to it would be some welcome extra calories.  I had to make a quick grab of the banana, as leaving just one hand on my handlebars made me a bit unsteady on the steep grade.

Ralph happened to see the exchange, as he was just catching up to me.  He had decided the afternoon before when he was at a train station heading home and noticed there was a train leaving in ten minutes to Belfort, the start of this stage, decided on the spot to take the train to Belfort for one last dose of The Tour.  He arrived late in the afternoon and grabbed a room at a hotel by the train station for ninety euros.  He wanted to book it for two nights so he could ride the stage without carrying his gear, leaving it there and returning for it by train after completing the stage.  But the price of the room the next night for The Tour was more than double, one hundred and eighty-five euros. So he was climbing with the five pounds of gear he’s able to get by on, rather than the nothing of just about everyone else.  I had camped ten miles past Belfort and knew Ralph would easily catch up to me even with that extra weight.

The Ballon is another of the storied climbs of The Tour, but not for its difficulty but rather for having been the first noteworthy climb included in The Tour in its third edition in 1905.  The Tour founder and director, Henri Desgrange, ballyhooed the climb as a great test for the riders, not even sure if they could manage it.  That was the promoter in him, trying to sell newspapers, as the first two Tours included a climb over the Col de Republique out of St. Etienne on the Lyon stage that was comparable to it, but more obscure than this renowned bald peak in the Vosges.   But the myth persists that this was the first true climb the racers were subjected to.  A sign at the base of the climb perpetuates the myth.

There are signs every kilometer after the first giving the gradient for the next kilometer and the present elevation and the number of kilometers remaining to the summit.

A plaque at the summit celebrates René Pottier, the first racer over the summit in both 1905 and 1906, and who went on to win the 1906 Tour.  He hung himself in 1907 when he learned his wife had taken a lover while he was off riding The Tour, the first of several Tour winners to commit suicide. Nearby by was a metal sculpture of an over-sized bike that had a long line of people getting photographed in front of, while this simple monument was overlooked by all. 

After a chilly six-mile descent I turned off The Tour route to head in the direction of Mulhouse and my long-time friend Yvon, who I would be meeting up with the next day to watch The Tour, an annual event with a life-long devotee of The Tour.  He’s as enthusiastic a fan as is to be found in France having grown up with it and never losing his ardor.  It is always a privilege to share his company.  If one wishes to know what The Tour means to France, one need only meet Yvon.

When I was struggling to find a bar to watch the stage in Cernay I saw signs to its municipal campground.  Campgrounds often have a communal room with a television, so I gave it a try.  I hadn’t had a campground experience yet this year and for once didn’t need to ride any further.  The campground did have a television, in a manner of speaking, so I paid the nominal fee for a spot to pitch my tent.  The television wasn’t very large and had streaks in its lower half, but it was tuned to The Tour and had an audience of two sitting on a picnic table.  I was happy to join them for the final fifteen miles of he stage.  

Miraculously for the second day in a row the sprinting teams couldn’t summon their forces and  bring back the breakaway which was less than a minute ahead.  It was a testament to the will and cohesion of the three in the break, including Asgreen, yesterday’s winner, once again.  And also a testament to the weary legs of the sprinting team domestiques who couldn’t amass and put in a superior effort to the three ahead.  Philipson had so little support he was even taking pulls, an absolutely unheard of demand made upon the key man who finishes off the sprint.  If Cavendish had ever been in such a position he would have been seething with fury at his teammates not doing their job of getting him to the finish.  

Unlike yesterday there was no suspense of the three ahead being caught.  They were actually extending their lead by a second or two.  It looked as if Asgreen was going to win for the second day in a row, which would have been a major coup, but the Slovenian Matej Mohoric, in another Danish/Slovenian battle, won by inches in a photo finish.  He broke into tears when his win was confirmed.  He rides for the Bahrain Victorious team, its third win of The Tour.  They have been extra motivated having a teammate die just a month ago in the Tour de Suisse.  They all have his name on their jersey.

Vingegaard and Pogaçar came in with a large group including everyone in the top ten nearly fourteen minutes later, seemingly having a day off, but the average speed for the stage was the fastest of this year’s Tour, 49.1 kilometers per hour, reportedly the fifth fastest ever.  The lead group finished in three hours and thirty-one minutes on this one hundred mile stage.  It may have been a short day,  but hardly a day off. Those battling to move up in the standings may have wanted to rest their legs for tomorrow’s demanding stage with three Category Two climbs and two Category Ones, but their wishes weren’t necessarily granted.  There will be carnage aplenty tomorrow on the penultimate stage before Paris.