From our special correspondent in Issoire
The profile of the 10th stage caught the teeth of a dangerously sharp saw. Cooked at 38°C, the day started belly to earth released only a breath of hot air. Not enough to curb the ardor of the audacious thrown on the embers of a diabolical stage in a bucolic setting 100% Puy-de-Dôme. Cooling vests and ice packs at the start, water cans during the stage, the riders tried to fight against the crushing heat without neglecting the terrain, like the star duo Vingegaard-Pogacar, who did not hesitate to shine.
At the end of an indomitable day, shaken by the attacks, the Basque Pello Bilbao (33 years old, Bahrain Victorious), the child of Guernica who dreamed of shining at the start of the Tour, won after a breathless final (in which the Latvian Krists Neilands, who started 40 km from the finish, was swallowed up 3 km from the goal). Bilbao lives its fourth Tour, wins a first stage victory (he has two successes in the Tour of Italy), brings Spanish cycling back to the fore, five after his last bouquet on the Grande Boucle (Omar Freile , fine). A victory accompanied by the salt of tears. “I felt I had to win for Gino (Mäder, his teammate who died during a descent in the last Tour de Suisse). I focused on the finish line, I tried to control what was going through my head. When I crossed the line, it was an incredible explosion of feelings.
David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ), the first Frenchman in the general classification (9th at 6’01 from Jonas Vingegaard), stunned by the heat (38°C in Issoire), went through a difficult day which left him far from his desires to podium in Paris: “I had a stroke of heat. The aftermath of rest, it may not be forgiving. I’m not a big fan of rest days, I’m not a big fan of the heat either. Fortunately, I was able to count on the support of the team. We wanted to try to do the trick that (Pello) Bilbao pulled off. We wanted to escape and take back time. I’m sorry for the whole team, who had carte blanche to go ahead and who because of me couldn’t find themselves in front. The Tour set off again at a gallop.
