2023-07-07 21:43:00
Who is the best super teammate from the start?
Julien Chesnais
Many runners can enter this box. And it is all the more difficult to compare them as they do not necessarily fulfill the same functions. Who of the steamroller Wout van Aert or the best climber of the Tour Sepp Kuss (excluding “Pogi” and “Vigo”, which we know well do not compete in the same race as the others) is really the most useful to Jonas Vingegaard? Is Emanuel Buchmann more precious to Jai Hindley than Valentin Madouas is to David Gaudu?
Tour de France
Van der Poel on the road to his childhood holidays
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It’s unquantifiable, therefore incomparable, but since it’s a matter of being subjective here, I would say… Mathieu Van der Poel. Would Jasper Philipsen have already won three stages without the winner of Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders by his side? Maybe. But it is undeniable that the Dutchman was perfect in his role as pilot fish during each of the three sprints. They were three assists. For three goals. VDP’s contribution here seems to me to be particularly concrete and tangible in terms of results. Worthy of a super teammate.
The palette: Without a moving Van Der Poel, no winning Philipsen
Christophe Gaudot
Indeed, Mathieu Van der Poel has a good face as a “super-team member” of the Tour. Especially since we did not expect him in this role and he shines with a thousand lights. I thought of him and then a performance came to mind: that of Wout van Aert on the sixth stage towards Cauterets-Cambasque. Of course, unlike “VDP”, its leader, Jonas Vingegaard, did not take the opportunity to win. And yet, what a day! Who else than him is capable of such a performance on the Tour de France?
Van Aert accelerates in front… and the Jumbo-Visma behind: “So there, you have to enlighten me!”
While we had some doubts about his form from the start, Van Aert found the legs of his 2022 edition. He towed the breakaway to maintain the gap at the level desired by his team who were driving behind him then he took Vingegaard very far on the last ascent. Without a Pogacar of the great days, his company would have been a huge success. Over time, Van der Poel is more decisive, it’s true, but if I had to remember only one performance for a teammate, it would be this one.
How many victories for Philipsen in this Tour de France?
Christophe Gaudot
Three out of three and even five out of five including the end of the Tour de France 2022, Jasper Philipsen is untouchable in the massive sprints. In my eyes, there will not be more than three scenarios of this type until the end of the Tour de France. The Limoges stage on Saturday seems conducive to a breakaway like that of Poligny. Remain Moulins, Bourg-en-Bresse and Paris. Will the Belgian be a hit on this Grande Boucle?
The #RP palette: how Philipsen pulled off the hat-trick in Bordeaux
The impression left for a few days would lean towards yes but I will still say no. Of course, the sighthound of Alpecin-Deceuninck is above the competition but he remains deadly in my eyes.
On a badly led sprint, with somewhat heavy legs, even if he probably climbs better than the other sprinters, he can be beaten. This is why I estimate that Jasper Philipsen will stop at five victories in this Tour de France, a score that would approach Mark Cavendish’s six in 2009. And if, ironically, it was the Briton who dominated him to deprive him of the sixth and afford his 35th personal?
Julien Chesnais
Of course, that means having the right degree of success, but I imagine him doubling his total by the end of the Tour. Unlike Christophe, I can see a new sprint taking place in Limoges (we will come back to this). This therefore already gives Philipsen one more chance to express himself – provided that the Van der Poel option is not preferred.
Then, even if Poligny were to offer himself to a breakaway, nothing would prevent Philipsen from being able to slip in and settle his companions … in the sprint. Let’s not forget that he was first and foremost a puncher at the start of his career. His “classicman” profile fits perfectly with transitional stages of this type.
Its chances of winning in this register are obviously more uncertain than during a massive arrival. But in a generous mood, I’m going to expand her range of opportunities to five. Three out of five stages to win is ambitious. But Philipsen has been on a perfect ratio of 100% since the start of the Tour. So, six victories, I believe in it!
Massive sprint or breakaway in Limoges?
Christophe Gaudot
I am very undecided about this Saturday’s stage between Libourne and Limoges but there is one argument that makes me lean to one side. It’s only been seven days since the Tour de France started from Bilbao, but this week felt like an eternity. Not that this Tour is boring, quite the contrary, but Thibaut Pinot said it himself in the Pyrenees, some have the impression of already being in the second week. And the accumulated fatigue will decide the fate of this 8th stage.
The profile of the 8th stage: Heading for Limousin
If there were only a few candidates for Friday’s breakaway to Bordeaux, I dare to hope it’s because the teams kept their cartridges for Saturday’s stage. Unless Mathieu Burgaudeau, who got up after leaving the peloton on Friday, is aiming for the Puy de Dôme stage on Sunday…
If a large group, say a dozen riders, goes out at the start of the stage, it will be very difficult for a tired peloton to control. There may be a big fight but I can see the breakaway winning. On condition therefore of being sufficiently numerous in front and above all of believing in your chances.
Julien Chesnais
Yes, the final promises to be much more hilly than in Bordeaux – which isn’t very hard, let’s be honest. But not enough to make a mountain of it. The two climbs that mark out the last twenty kilometers are only in the 4th category. We are talking here about 1.3km at 5.5% then 1.2km at 5.6%. Nothing to scare off sprinters, unless your name is Mark Cavendish or Fabio Jakobsen. There is certainly also the last 700 meters at a slope of between 4 and 5%. But it is paradoxically a finish that broadens the range of sprinters capable of winning. And therefore teams motivated to control.
Philipsen is the only sprinter to have won so far. All the others therefore remain on their toes and can see in this sprint with the new configuration the opportunity to finally beat the Belgian. Especially since there won’t be many left by Paris… Mads Pedersen, Bryan Coquard and Biniam Girmay look good as potential winners on such an arrival. Without forgetting Wout van Aert and… Mathieu van der Poel. The Dutchman has necessarily checked this 8th stage.
Mathieu Van der Poel.
Credit: Getty Images
Beyond the profile to his liking, the prospect of being able to impose himself in Haute-Vienne, on the land of his grandfather, must motivate him to the highest degree. Imagine the party the next day in the stronghold of the late Raymond Poulidor, in Saint-Léonard-Noblat, which will host the start of the 9th stage. Van der Poel will be the child of the country here. He has already won Philipsen and Alpecin-Deceuninck three times. I therefore see them wanting to return the elevator on Saturday to allow the Dutchman to win his first success on this Tour. At the sprint.
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