After his successful release Bilbaohe Tour de France will attack the Pyrenees this Wednesday in the fifth episode, in between Pau and Larunsa town where the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar keep only the good memories.
In a particularly hilly 2023 edition, the organizers tried not to increase the number as soon as the first mountain range is crossed, so as not to harm the interest in the sport of the race and so that the differences in the general classification are not. very important
However, with Soudet port (15.2 km at 7.2%, classified outside the category) and the port of Marie-Blanque (7.7 km at 8.6%, 1st category) on the course, there is a lot to fight for, even if the last peak is 18 km from the finish line in Laruns. And tomorrow, Thursday, it’s back to the old ways with the first of four finals at the top of this Tour, at Cauterets-Cambasqueafter uploading the Aspen and the Tourmalettwo real Pyrenean colossi.
The 162.7km stage in Laruns “is almost a copy of what we did in 2020, when Pogacar won for the first time. The only difference is that we will go up to the Soudet on the coast side of the Basque Country. But it’s still difficult”, explains Thierry Gouvenou, course designer.
Once you climb the Soudet, “you come to the difficult section of Marie-Blanque. Actually, only those who risk the general classification will be able to pass this port, because it is very steep, especially the last three kilometers, which offer gradients of more than 10/11%”, added technical director of the Tour.
For Tadej Pogacar, the stage will bring back good memories when he took the first of his nine victories in the Grande Boucle, in 2020. The Slovenian beat a small group in the sprint to win, in disbelief and with his hands down on his helmet, ahead. of his countrymen Cousin Roglic, from where he will seize the yellow jersey on the eve of arriving in Paris to win his first Tour de France.
“That stage continues to be one of the best moments of my career,” recalls Pogacar, who also has a special affection for Pau, the city that will stage the Tour for the 74th time. Not only did he win in 2020 between the capital of Bearnaise and Laruns, but also the following year in the stage between Pau and Luz-Ardiden.
It is worth asking if it is really a coincidence that the UAE Emirates rider’s second place last year in Paris -behind the Danish Jonas Vingegaard-, after two consecutive victories, coincides with the rare absence of Pau on the route of the 2022 edition. The start today in Pau is scheduled at 1:05 pm (launched at 1:25 pm), the arrival in Laruns at 17: 35 (approx. 39 km/h average speed)
Source: La Verdad
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