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The result of stage 13 of the Tour de France, disputed this Friday between Chatel Guyon and Puy Mary, of 191 km, with a high finish, left a disappointment for Colombian cycling, after the triumph of Daniel Martínez and the loss of seconds, as expected, from Egan Bernal, Nairo Quintana, Rigoberto Urán and Miguel López, on the Slovenians Primoz Roglic, a solid leader, and Tadej Pogacar, who is already second overall.
Martínez’s victory is important, it was Colombia’s 21st triumph in the French competition, but in the end, speaking of the general standings, he worries that time was lost and that the ground is running out to regain victory in the final general standings.
(You may be interested in: Martínez won the stage; Roglic distanced Egan, Urán and Nairo)
What happened could be seen coming. The profile of the day did not favor the Colombians and did favor Roglic and Pogacar.
The 5 km climb is not the best thing for Bernal, Nairo and López, the excellent climbers, because they are of longer ascents, different from their rivals, who ‘walk’ with mountains of these characteristics, short and hard.
To this we must add that the last two kilometers there were ramps up to 11 percent, and that’s where the two Slovenian runners made the difference, minimal, but they did.
The seconds that Roglic and Pogacar applied to the rest of the group were not many, but significant for the general.
At the finish line, the two cyclists distanced López, who was the best Colombian, further back by 16 secondsBernal and Urán arrived at 38 seconds, while Nairo crossed the sentence line 40 seconds.
(Read also: Egan wasted time with Roglic again)
And the general, also as expected, was selected much more, but more by elimination than by strong attacks. Guillaume Martin lost option to the title and Romain Bardet will not start this Saturday, because the blows did not allow him, he has a concussion.
The step imposed by Roglic and Pogacar was impossible for the others to follow, that succumbed because they do not accommodate those rises.
Pogacar is second at 18s, Egan is third at 59 seconds, Urán loses one minute 10 seconds, Quintana yields one minute 12 seconds and López, a minute 31 with Roglic, the leader, the strongest and, until today, the unbeatable cyclist of the Tour.
The race is not over, more difficult stages are missing, but the climbers are running out of terrain. There are three days left with high arrivals, on Sunday, at the Grand Colombier, out of category, Tuesday in Villard de Lans, third, and Friday in Col de la Loze, first, there are no more.
Those are fractions in which climbers like Colombians are good and without a doubt that they have to attack from Sunday to deduct time from the leader.
Egan, Urán, Nairo and López must demand themselves to the maximum. Sunday, for example, is a day for that, because Roglic not only has in favor the time it takes them in the general, their psychological and physical condition and the support of their strong team, but the time trial of the penultimate day of 36 km , which fits like a glove for him.
Jumbo Visma, today, has the Tour in his pocket, when we speak that Colombians have an important difference, but they also know that Pogacar They are a tough opponent and they are going strong in the section to the clock, for something this year the national of their country beat Roglic, so it is the stone in the shoe for them.
Primoz Roglic and Tadej Pogacar, first and second in the Tour de France.
The race enters a climax, in which an exuberant leader, superior to all, has been seen a Bernal who is not well, an Urán who, as always, goes to the limit and endures, a Nairo who tries to Do the possible, but that confirms that it is not the one of past years, already a López who can aspire to rise to the ‘top’ five, but no more.
(Also read: Daniel Martínez tells how he won and sends a special dedication)
The Tour for Colombia is still alive, it has not been lost, but from what has been seen and for what is coming, it is very bottled.
LYSANDRO RENGIFO
Editor of EL TIEMPO
@Lisandroabel
