TDF 2020, Stage 6 Le Teil – Mont Aigoual 191 km
Lutsenko solos to stage victory from strong break. GC favorites call a truce.
DENVER, CO – Alas! The stage today was not nearly as exciting as Tim Krabbe’s novel The Rider which must be referenced today as the Tour went up the most legendary climb in the book, Mont Aigoual. A strong breakaway was up the road with over a 6-minute lead at one point. It contained: Greg Van Avermaet (CCC), the Olympic Champion; Alexey Lutsenko (Astana), champion of Kazakhstan; Jesus Herrada (Cofidis), former Spanish champion; Nicholas Roche (Sunweb), former Irish champion and son of the 1987 Tour winner Stephen Roche; Edvald Boasson Hagen (NTT), former Norwegian champion; Neilson Powless (EF), young American and birthday boy; Daniel Oss (Bora-Hansgrohe), Peter Sagan’s (Bora-Hansgrohe) loyal gregario; and Remi Cavagna (Deceuninck – Quick Step), the last-minute replacement for Zdenek Stybar (Deceuninck – Quick Step). A fine tally, an experienced and threatening bunch.
At the bottom of the finale as the riders faced the final three climbs—the Col des Mourezes, the Col de la Lusette, and the Mont Aigoual itself—that appeared like steps of a staircase with only miniscule descents in between, the breakaway had only a 3:40 gap ahead of the peloton. Ineos drilled away on the front with the help of Mitchelton-Scott, for their man Adam Yates (Michelton-Scott) was now in the maillot jaune. But it seemed as if our experienced breakaway had been saving something for this finale. The dead weight was shed: the big men were first to walk the plank, Oss and Eddy Boss (Boasson Hagen). But the effort of all was admirable, the gap was not yet tumbling down in the peloton’s favor. At one point it was down to 2:50 from break to peloton, until Neilson Powless, the American, attacked. Lutsenko and Van Avermaet covered well, but Herrada and Cavagna struggled, and Roche cracked completely. But quickly came a powerful attack from Lutsenko, Powless held his wheel for a little while, but then fell off the pace and cracked as well. Only Jesus Herrada behind had some sort of second wind to grind past all the other cracked riders. But Alexey Lutsenko looked strong as granite; surely, the bobbing and agonizing Herrada would not come back to him. And he did not. And neither did the peloton, Lutsenko maintained a 3:20 gap over them all.
In the peloton behind, Mikel Nieve (Mitchelton-Scott) came to help Ineos with the pace-making duties. And I, dear Readers, wonder if they were setting the pace so that Jumbo-Visma would not set something relentless in their stead? With the last few kilometers to go, four riders were still up the road, perhaps Nieve and Michelton-Scott did not want to bring any of them back so that they would eat up the time bonuses for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places on the stage, allowing Adam an easier shot to stay in the jersey if he just finished with the leaders. And it became clear, no real or significant action would be coming from this peloton, full of every single GC favorite, besides maybe a sprint for minor time gaps in the last kilometer. Jumbo-Visma were not even assembled, just each rider chilling mixed in the peloton, remember they were coming off back to back stage wins. Alaphilippe, our Musketeer, had a little bit of a dig in the last kilometer to get one second of separation from the bunch which may prove important later, but it came off as only formality to the viewers. It was a shame to waste such a legendary climb that is so dear to so many cyclists’ hearts. Not only was the racing not exciting, I did not see anyone do an honorary placing of the bidon in their back pocket “in order to make the bike as light as possible.” And surely no one’s “22 was clean as a whistle” for nowadays the riders’ lightest gear can be as big as a 28, 30, even 32. Again, I say, alas! such an anti-climatic day that did not pay proper tribute to such a revered book.
At least there was a rider today though, let us call him The Rider today for the sake of legacy. The Rider of Mont Aigoual today was Alexey Lutsenko, the champion of Kazakhstan, newest stage winner of the Tour de France. His legs were pistons, his torso a chiseled piece of marble—rock solid. He is no skinny climber, though obviously today he once again proved he can climb. A handy skill for a classics man to have…which classic is he most suited for? I do not rightly know, honestly. He has had good showings across the board. Perhaps you dear Readers missed this race, but I remember on the first stage of the 2016 Three Days of De Panne he was involved in probably the funniest moment I have ever seen in cycling. When he escaped on the cobbles, probably over the Muur Van Geraardsbergegn itself, with teammate Lieuwe Westra (then of Astana) and the formidable Alexander Kristoff (then on Katusha). Westra was in prime position to take a great lead for the GC if the three worked together to maintain or extend their gap over the peloton, and Kristoff, the rival in the group with by far the best sprint, was actually willing to work with them so that he would have an easy sprint for the stage. But it was Lutsenko who caused the dysfunction refusing to do any real turns. Everyone including the commentators wondered what he was doing, but finally a commentator realized: “I think Lutsenko thinks he can take Kristoff in the sprint here, if he saves his energy and doesn’t work.” Kristoff was not on his best form at the time—if memory serves, he even had a fever—but this was still a fairly ridiculous proposition. It got to the point where Westra, Lutsenko’s own teammate, was vocally and animatedly—for all the viewers to see—shouting at Lutsenko to get on the front and do a turn to make the three stay away and finish with a large gap. But Lutsenko continued to sit in and it came down to the sprint Lutsenko wanted…and Kristoff firmly and easily dusted him. In no way, shape, or form was it even close; Kristoff just absolutely wiped the floor with him, and Astana looked to have quite an egg in their face for screwing that one up so bad, because Westra could have had a bigger lead. But I also remember the courage and audacity and heroics of Lutsenko on a wild Tirreno-Adriatic stage last year. Much like today, Lutsenko had gone solo from a strong break on a hilly stage with a final descent and flat finish into Fossombrone. He proceeded to crash twice on a descent close towards the finish. His breakaway lead evaporated just a handful of kilometers from the finish: after the second crash he was caught by Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma), Adam Yates, and Jakob Fulgsang (Astana). Still, he hung in with the group and despite the fatigue of the break, the nerves and injuries from the crashes, he produced a fine sprint to take stage honors. And now look at him today, the finest win of his career, a stage of the Tour de France. Perhaps for us viewers it was not the most glamourous or exciting, but it was hard fought and well deserved nonetheless. Congratulations to you, Alexey, today you are the champion, today you have made Astana and your country proud. Crossing that line, legs fatigued, sweat glistening in the evening sun, it is a memory you will never forget. Alexey Lutsenko, today you were The Rider on the Tour de France.
Cycling Odysseys 