Tour de France

Crosswinds hit the Tour de France Friday afternoon, just 20 kilometers from the start of the stage which travelled to Pau. The city, located in the heart of Béarn, made its first appearance at the race in 1930, and now returned after five years, the previous stage finish it had hosted being the stage 13 individual time trial of the 2019 edition, which Julian Alaphilippe won with the yellow jersey on his shoulders after an amazing ride.

The bunch rolled out of Agen, and it took just a couple of minutes for the crosswinds to split it into small groups, just as a breakaway was taking shape. Remco Evenepoel immediately booked a place in that move, which put some pressure on the chasers, who had to chase hard and spend a lot of energy in order to make the catch.

The white jersey and his Soudal Quick-Step teammates remained vigilant, so when new echelons formed in the last 60 kilometers of the day – as soon as the peloton exited a sheltered point – they were well placed at the front. Evenepoel and Mikel Landa were among our four riders in the main group, who pushed an insane pace, sweeping the escapees and opening an insurmountable gap in the chasers. Remco did some big turns at the head of the reduced bunch, who had to deal with the numerous attacks coming from those hoping to avoid a mass gallop in Pau.

All these moves were brought back and the day came down to a messy sprint, won by Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck). A crash that occurred in the closing kilometer blocked Remco Evenepoel, but the Belgian got the same time as the rest of the riders and will go into the first Pyrenean stage sitting in second overall.

Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images