The negotiation of all hazards is a skill that Tadej Pogačar has been showing, which is a combination of being the strongest individual and having the confidence of winning the last two editions of the race.
Certainly, he would have expected a bit more of a challenge to have come from the Jumbo-Visma armada while the race lingered in the north but that fizzled out after the first windy day and since they he looks to have just a few percentage points more to play with compared to the level of his rivals.
I think we’re lucky to witness his development because riders of his talent only come along every 30 years or so and he has his own character.
There’s not the dominance that Eddy Merckx had to display, the aggression of Bernard Hinault is missing and the metronomic boredom of Miguel Indurain isn’t present. The stories I’ve heard of Jacques Anquetil aren’t the kind you would be telling if the vicar came round for afternoon tea.
What we are being served up is someone who just seems to like racing and without any of the questionable character traits associated with the previous multiple Tour winners. What was often a bonus for the world of competition made them the kind of person you wouldn’t immediately consider sending a Christmas card to.
Tadej Pogacar winning three consecutive Tours before Merckx had won his first looks likely and we’re only a third of the way through… however, I’m not bored at all.
The main case against having cobbled sections in the Tour de France is for the chaos it generates and you would think that I being of the climbing persuasion I would align with that train of thought. I don’t.
Pave has its place in the race just because it does cause upset. Of course, bad luck can play a part, however even that’s controllable to a certain extent by not riding in the gutters or on dirt in each cobbled sector and choosing the right equipment.
There is also an element of danger that some riders, Belgians and Dutch usually, look forward to, the majority who are just along for the ride don’t want to fall off and then there are the ones who believe they are doomed before they even get going.
It helps if you’re strong enough to hold a decent position naturally but so much of surviving the first week is relying on the rider immediately in front of you and if they are a team mate then the level of trust is greater. There are definitely those who you need to avoid though and inversely those who ride a little bit out in the wind when it’s lined out and you’re dodging drain covers. The latter is a secret you keep to yourself.
The return to French roads is when the race takes on a more familiar feel, you can get that crusty pain au chocolate, the coffee becomes harsh and the organisation functions smoothly in a way that you don’t always get in another country. Unless someone has stolen the road signs that ASO put up for the various car parks and buildings dealing with things like administration then you rarely get lost.
What never changes is the traffic mayhem that every town endures as part of having a start or finish. It’s one of those strange things that the Tour bubble causes chaos and yet those subjected to it on a temporary basis seem quite content with their lot. Andy Warhol is attributed with the fifteen minutes of fame phrase it’s just he never imagined it would also apply to a random small town when a Tour passes through.
