Tour De France: Alaphilippe Celebrates On Stage 15 … But Discovers Wellens Won Long Before Him

French shape wins successful nan Tour de France are progressively rare, truthful erstwhile they do happen, location are chaotic celebrations. Julian Alaphilippe, nan erstwhile world roadworthy title champion, raised his arms successful triumph successful Carcassonne, reasoning he had won, only to beryllium told seconds later that he had successful truth vanished 3rd down 2 Belgians.

Ahead of nan crestfallen Alaphilippe, Tadej Pogacar’s teammate Tim Wellens took a solo triumph connected shape 15 of nan Tour, good up of compatriot Victor Campanaerts, a teammate to Jonas Vingegaard.

“Julian’s power wasn’t working,” Alaphilippe’s squad manager, Raphael Meyer, said successful an effort to explicate his rider’s ecstatic but misplaced fist pump.

A triumph from nan French rider would person been each nan much remarkable, fixed that he had collapsed earlier successful nan shape and popped backmost a dislocated shoulder, each connected his own.

For Vingegaard it was different stressful time connected which his Visma Lease-a-bike squad showed questionable strategy. He and his squad person 1 time good, nan adjacent bad, while Pogacar and his UAE Emirates XRG squad stay a exemplary of consistency.

If Vingegaard’s squad progressively lucifer a location connected fire, Pogacar’s stay an impregnable fortress. In nan protector of Carcassonne’s citadel nan 34-year-old Wellens, already a shape victor successful nan Giro d’Italia and nan Vuelta a España, took nan first Tour de France shape triumph of his career.

The Dane had been caught up successful nan aforesaid early clang that saw Alaphilippe travel down. Inexplicably, arsenic Vingegaard, 2nd wide to Pogacar, chased to rejoin nan peloton, immoderate of his teammates, including Campanaerts, were astatine nan front, forcing nan gait and distancing their squad leader.

It took a power involution from Pogacar’s ain squad car to return nan goodwill shown to nan Slovenian successful Toulouse, aft his ain clang connected shape 11. Finally pinch 128 kilometres to race, Vingegaard and Florian Lipowitz rejoined nan main group.

Even nan defending champion seemed bemused by what was going connected astir him. “There were 3 Visma guys, each trying to spell successful nan break again and they had Jonas chasing astatine nan back,” Pogacar said. “It was conscionable a weird situation.”

While Pogacar was yet capable to repay nan sportsmanship shown to him 4 days ago, Wellens was not successful nan temper to bent astir and made his decisive solo move pinch 43km to race, connected nan Col de Fontbruno.

The Belgian champion ne'er looked backmost and pushed connected into nan last kilometres connected nan rolling roads of nan Languedoc, to triumph by almost a infinitesimal and a half from Campanaerts.

As nan Tour began, Vingegaard’s woman and individual head had criticised nan Visma Lease-a-bike squad for failing to perpetrate wholeheartedly to her husband’s cause.

On nan roadworthy to Carcassonne, her fears seemed well-founded, pinch some Campanaerts and Wout Van Aert apparently racing for nan shape win.

Julian Alaphilippe’s power had been damaged successful a clang earlier connected shape 15. Photograph: Loïc Venance/AFP/Getty Images

“I dream he gets nan afloat support of nan team, alternatively than location being each sorts of different goals,” Trine Vingegaard Hansen said this month.

“If you’re besides aiming for shape wins pinch different riders, past those resources can’t beryllium utilized for Jonas,” she said. “You tin only respect really Tadej Pogacar’s squad handles it. When he starts a race, there’s nary uncertainty astir who nan leader is. Everyone knows their role. I deliberation that’s ace important.”

Pogacar, meanwhile, contempt admitting aft nan shape to having a flimsy summertime acold because of nan fluctuating temperatures and excessively overmuch clip spent successful air-conditioning, ne'er looked successful trouble.

As Vingegaard was pondering his squad mate’s motivations, Pogacar was becoming Wellens’s cheerleader successful chief. “How is he looking?” he radioed his squad car arsenic Wellens progressed. “How does Tim look? You should reply, he looks fabulous!”

Monday is simply a remainder day, while nan 16th shape connected Tuesday takes nan peloton from Montpelier to nan daunting Mont Ventoux, wherever Pogacar will almost surely activity to summation his lead pinch a prestigious shape win.