Bubble, Buchmann and many mountain arrivals

Today, Saturday, the time has finally come: the 107th Tour de France begins in Nice (click here to see the live ticker). SPOX tells you all about the most important cycling race in the world: How does the tour want to protect itself from the corona virus? Can Emanuel Buchmann become the second German winner after Jan Ulrich? What are the original favorites and why could he really get down to business in the second stage?

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Tour de France 2020: principle of the triple bubble against Corona

This year everything is different. Also in the 107th Tour de France, which runs through France, and only France, from today until September 20. After all: the great loop comes to an end as usual with the afternoon sun below the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

The tour director, Christian Prudhomme, was sure of himself beforehand: “The tour has never seemed so strong to me. I was never afraid that the tour would not take place.” As a security concept, the former journalist developed a bubble after a postponement of about two months, as is already practiced in the USA in the NBA and NHL.

The plan looks like this: “We plan to create a bubble around the drivers, another around the entourage, and a final bubble around the audience and guests. We want to prevent these bubbles from coming into contact with each other. Obviously 2020 will not be the best year. to ask for autographs. “

In the next three weeks, each of the 22 teams should form its own bubble, to which 30 people belong. Over the course of the great loop, no one is allowed to enter this bubble. As you have already seen in the preparatory races, the mouth and nose mask will be one of the essentials in the peloton along with the helmet and mirrored sunglasses when you register and immediately after arrival.

Tour de France 2020: canceled in three cases crown in a bubble

What if there are cases anyway? A team will be eliminated from the race if there are two positive corona tests within the bubble. The entire tour will be canceled if there are more than three corona cases in a bubble. “We were left with two cases in a group of 30 people over a seven-day period,” Prudhomme emphasized a few hours before the tour began.

Given the length of the route and the complex logistics, this project is on the ice. Then there are the spectators: although departures and arrivals will be significantly reduced, this time the mountain passes can only be climbed on foot or by bike. However, there will be thousands of miles of fans on the roadside, even without a mask.

Therefore, it can happen very quickly that the entire entourage has to start their journey home early.

German participants in the 2020 Tour de France: hopes rest in Buchmann

What about the twelve participating German drivers this year? Last year, Emanuel Buchmann achieved a solid fourth place in the overall standings. This time there may be even more.

In direct preparation for the tour, “Emu” made a big impression on the first two arrivals on the Dauphine mountain and landed twice behind the elite climbers Thibaut Pinot, Primoz Roglic or Egan Bernal. That the 27-year-old is finally traded as a favorite this season is the result of hard work. During the confinement, Ravensburger carried out his training program at his adopted home of Lindau on Lake Constance with incredible determination, although he was not even sure if the tour would actually take place.

At the Upper Bavarian team’s first altitude training camp in Sölden, the climber, weighing just under 60 kg, made a rock-solid impression. But on the fourth stage of the Dauphine, Buchmann was involved in a crash, which also saw the two Jumbo-visma captains, Roglic and Steven Kruijswik. For Buchmann, the race ended after the crash; there were big questions behind the start of the Tour in Nice.

A few days later, team manager Ralph Denk gave the go-ahead. Buchmann himself described his health status as follows: “I still have back pain, but it is better on my bike than on foot. I can train easily and every day it improves.” However, it would be at least very optimistic to assume that this setback will have no effect on your way of touring.

Buchmann’s touring assistant: Kämna as scenario hunter, published chess player

Buchmann can count on the help of Bora rider Lennard Kämna, who is currently in top form, which was clearly underscored by the Dauphine stage four victory. He will be one of the most important helpers, especially during difficult alpine stages, to protect his “skipper” for as long as possible and close the holes.

Also, Kämna can definitely win a stage as he has a solid off-road setup and can certainly get the best riders in trouble on short, steep climbs.

Another helper is his compatriot Maximilian Schachmann, who also suffered a fall in a preparatory race: at Il Lombardia, Schachmann drove a black BMW in front of the racing machine and passed the Berliner. The result: a broken collarbone, which fortunately is so broken that you can still start the tour. Schachmann is also a great candidate for a stage win, especially the only time trial in 2020 for Planche des Belles Filles (stage 20) should be for the 26-year-old.

Germans in the 2020 Tour de France: Greipel, Degenkolb and Co.

In addition to the Germans from Bora-hansgrohe, there are of course other German hopes in the bunch. There is, for example, the tall Hürther Nils Politt, whom you will surely meet often in escape groups. His team, Israel Startup Nation, also includes veteran Andre Greipel (38), who is seeking stage victories in the sprint. At the end of his career, the “gorilla” would definitely have another stage win.

Another German is represented in the top Jumbo-Visma team: the “armored car” Tony Martin will fully serve his team and run the sprints for the pilot Wout van Aert or look for water bottles for the captains.

The other German starters are Nikias Arndt (Sunweb), Simon Geschke and Jonas Koch (both CCC), John Degenkolb and Roger Kluge (both Lotto-Soudal) and NTT’s tour debutant Max Walscheid.

Tour de France: all German yellow jersey wearers