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Primoz Roglic. (Photo by Jean Catuffe / Getty Images)
Record performances on the Tour de France have surprised given the checkered history of cycling, and race leader Primoz Roglic he was forced to defend himself by stating that he had “nothing to hide” when asked about his credibility.
“I would like it to be like before, when we could attack and have fun for the fans, but the level is very high,” said fourth-placed Colombian Miguel Ángel López, an expert climber who has found the speeds set by the leading Jumbo pack. difficult to maintain.
In the Peyresourde and Grand Colombier mountains, runner-up Tadej Pogacar set records on the ascent, but that in itself is not necessarily suspicious.
“At Peyresourde the wind was in favor of the riders,” explained Julien Pinot, coach of the Groupama-FDJ team. “It is very difficult to judge.”
The previous record set at the Colombier by Pinot’s brother Thibaut in 2012 was pulverized by Pogacar in three minutes.
“You could say it was a scandal, but the other record was set in another race (the Tour de l’Ain),” another coach, Samuel Bellenoue, told AFP.
“That climb was also led by (Jumbo driver) Wout Van Aert, who set a high pace with others in his tailwind,” he said.
Riders between 1st and 6th are separated by only 2min 13sec. On the 2019 Tour, the differences were almost exactly the same. “I am not convinced that the cyclists are going faster than last year,” said Belgian cyclist Thomas De Gendt.
“Pogacar also ran at the same level in the Vuelta last year, there is a difference but not that big.”
Professional cyclists, like many other sports, were asked to stay home as the coronavirus pandemic erased months from the racing calendar. The riders were allowed a long rest with suspended doping controls during this time.
“The preparation was better this year than other years,” Bellenoue said, adding that the type of training performed was less risky and caused fewer accidents.
“Usually the guys come here with around 30 days of racing on their legs, while this time a lot of them have around 10,” De Gendt said.
“As so many races have been canceled, all the best riders have come to the Tour de France, and the level is higher than in previous years,” said Colombian cyclist Nairo Quintana.
The Tour would normally face tougher competition from the Giro and the Vuelta.
“More than the level of performance, it is the level of the athletes themselves,” explained AG2R La Mondiale performance director Jean-Baptiste Quiclet.
This phenomenon is seen not only in the team leaders, but also at the level of the backup riders, as the teams have sent their best eight riders to the Tour de France.
“There were 50 riders at the first summit on Sunday, normally it would have been half that number,” Julien Pinot said.
