● The Vingegaard-Pogacar duel
The Pike coast and its passage at 20% in the first stage drawn around Bilbao where Vingegaard and Pogacar opened hostilities, set the pace for a hair-raising Tour de France. The Pyrenees turned into a boxing ring where the two rivals went blow for blow. Shaken in Marie-Blanque (5 stage), Pogacar reacted magnificently in the climb to Cauterets the next day to falter the title holder. The duel of titans, more undecided than ever, continued in the silence of the climb to Puy-de-Dôme, then in the Alps. A standoff that kept the French in suspense: France Télévisions recorded a record peak audience on July 16 at 8.7 million viewers.
● Victor Lafay, the French flash
He appeared out of nowhere under the red flame in San Sebastian’s La Concha Bay on day two to drop Van Aert and Pogacar at the finish line. Smiling, atypical driven by his instinct, Victor Lafay and his teenage face offered France its only success in this edition (as in 2021 and 2022) and one of the two victories for Cofidis, the best tricolor formation on the board. The Haut-Savoyard unfortunately did not see Paris, forced to retire on Saturday after a fall.
● A surprising journey
3405 km, 30 passes (a record) and 55,460 meters of elevation gain: the route was made for climbers. The route did not disappoint, seducing by the variety of its landscapes and a constantly renewed desire to surprise by always offering more different playgrounds. The brutal Pike coast in the Basque Country, the unusual setting of the Nogaro racing circuit, the majestic Puy-de-Dôme and its finale without spectators, the sublime time trial towards Combloux at the foot of Mont-Blanc or the dizzying penultimate stage in the Vosges, an ideal scene for the communion between Pinot and the public, gave this edition a boost.
● Emotion at Bahrain Victorious
The arm and the gaze raised towards the sky of Pello Bilbao on the podium in Issoire will remain as one of the strong images of the Tour 2023. A few weeks after the death of Gino Mäder in the Tour de Suisse after a terrible fall, the Spaniard paid his friend the most beautiful tribute there is by winning on July 11. Bruised, the Bahrain Victorious team, which had withdrawn bib number 61 in memory of its missing rider, signed three stage successes with a little extra soul that made the difference.
● The Folded Tour at Combloux
An icy shower in the heat of the chrono rising towards Combloux. By smashing Pogacar’s time (relegated to 1’38” over 22.4 km), Vingegaard suddenly broke the toy of an audience who had begun to dream of a showdown stretching until the end of the third week. Too fast, too high, too strong, the Dane put an end to the suspense by knocking out K.-O. his challenger lost and livid on his bike. Pogacar dropped 4.5 seconds per kilometer, swallowed up by the supersonic velocity of the Scandinavian (41.2 km / h on average). A train that the organizers had not dared to imagine in their most optimistic hourly forecasts. The yellow jersey’s feat not only killed the Tour, it also rekindled doubts and suspicion about performance.
● The arrogance of the Jumbo-Visma
By ironic Saturday in L’Équipe on supposed “large beers” descended by the riders of the Groupama-FDJ during the second day of rest in Saint-Gervais, Richard Plugge, boss of the Jumbo-Visma) sparked a useless and inglorious controversy. “It’s small and shabby” reacted Marc Madiot, the boss of the French team. “Inadmissible” condemned Cédric Vasseur, manager of Cofidis. A champion, no matter how strong, does not have to face the competition in this way.
To read also Philippe Sudres, the Tour of a life
● Audience outbursts
Formerly confined to the incandescent climbs of Alpe d’Huez or Ventoux, the excesses of the public are normalized in the mountains. Selfie causing a collective fall in the 15th stage, Valentin Madouas pushed to the ground by a spectator on Saturday and even nails thrown (!) on the road in the 2nd stage, the event has sometimes been a victim of its success along the roads. This episodic disorder is also not unrelated to the incident that occurred with the two motorcycles blocking Pogacar in the climb of the Col de Joux Plane. Special mention, however, to the respectful crowd who created a volcanic atmosphere to welcome Pinot on the ascent of the Petit Ballon. No overflow was deplored.
● Groupama-FDJ far from the mark
The exceptional epic of Pinot (11th in the general classification), tireless attacker, is not enough to hide the failure of the squad of Marc Madiot. No stage wins and the podium objective for David Gaudu (10) has not been fulfilled. Too passive, the Finisterian has rarely been able to accompany the best in the mountains. Restricted by his role as lieutenant of the Breton leader, the French champion Valentin Madouas was unable to demonstrate his real potential despite an honorable 20 place overall.
