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After nine stages, the leadership of Primoz Roglic, the second place of Egan Bernal and the onslaught of Tadej Pogacar, the Tour de France meets its first day of rest this Monday and these are the main conclusions of the initial part of the competition.
1. Roglic. Egan and Pogacar, the strongest.
The Tour de France enters its second week this Tuesday, which starts with a trio that was strong, solid and finished the first part of the race with their eyes on them: Primoz Roglic, Egan Bernal and Tadej Pogacar.
It may interest you: (Classifications of the Tour de France, after stage 9)
Roglic is the leader, Bernal is second, while Pogacar is seventh, 44 seconds behind. Undoubtedly, this last man has been key on the mountain, he has destabilized the group, has broken the options of some and has put others to work.
Pogacar attacked, after losing 1 minute and 24 seconds on Friday in the winds stage, and got Roglic and Bernal to move. All three are part of the group of favorites and, so far, they have not been out of tune.
At the moment, Roglic looks solid, he is the strongest of the three, He has won a stage and obtained the bonuses that help him to be first in the general. Without a doubt, the rest has run for their interests.
2. Bernal, for his
Last Saturday, Egan did not look good, after the rush of Roglic and Pogacar, he did not keep up with them and had to regulate himself. However, he arrived with them, wasting no time, in what he himself warned as “saving the day.”
Naiiro, glued to the wheel of Primoz Roglic, and Rigoberto Urán (behind), also on the play.
But Sunday was another Egan. He was not only attentive to the Pogacar starts, but also on the final climb, 18 kilometers from the finish, He tried to attack, took Roglic, Richie Porte and Landa and showed that he is fine.
The Colombian is 21 seconds behind Roglicy knows that he must cut the gap and increase it, because in the 36-kilometer time trial on the penultimate day he will lose to him, even to Pogacar, so that will be another task.
“Finishing the group up front is good for morale. I am satisfied with the sensations ”, said.
Bernal is a runner who has shown regularity and in his favor it must be said that he is a long-distance cyclist, that in the third week gives his best results, when there are the tough mountain days in which he will have to make differences to the two Slovenians in order to defend the title.
3. Nairo, López and Urán, in the play
Although yesterday they did not look well and lost the wheel with the attacks of Pogacar, Nairo Quintana, Rigoberto Urán and Miguel López they are still in the top 10 overall.
The first two give up 32 seconds, while the last one already loses 1 minute and 15 seconds. Of three, ‘Supermán’ López is the one who is most obliged to recover, if his intention is the podium or the title, as reported from the beginning.
Nairo is another forced to go up, to attack on the mountain, Well, not only do you have to get rid of those seconds, but you must add more to the difference, because its condition to the clock is not the best.
Nairo Quintana, the best Colombian in the fourth stage of the Tour.
Urán, in his work, on the wheel, holding on. For him, being sixth at this point in the race is a gain, after the difficult year after the crash in the Vuelta a España and the long recovery.
As it was not in the plans that they lose the wheel in a climb like yesterday, Now the conditions are more difficult for them, because they must speed up their pace and set out in search of recovering the lost path.
4. A tour of seven.
Apparently so far, the general is already opting. Between the first, Primoz Roglic, and the seventh, Tadej Pogacar, there are 44 seconds, from then on the differences, without being overwhelming, since they have scored more, they are above the minute. Adam Yates is 1 minute and 2 seconds away; López, at 1 minute and 15 seconds, and the tenth is Landa, at 1 minute and 42 seconds.
They still have clearer options to fight for something Romain Bardet, Nairo Quintana and Rigoberto Urán, who do not leave the 32-second margin.
Tom Dumoulin, who at the beginning was the second card of the Jumbo Visma for the general, opens another group of cyclists who is more than three minutes from the leader. The Dutchman is in box 14, and from there back they no longer count for the fight for the podium box.
It is clear that there is a lot of career left, two key weeks, one that continues to be for selection, elimination and the last one for auction, but it is a race that is among the seven best of an already more selected general.
Tadej Pogacar won the ninth stage of the Tour de France.
5. The disappointments.
Julian Alaphilippe, who last year was close to winning the Tour, this time is not there and is one of the riders called to fight higher in the general classification that did not find his pedal stroke. He was the leader, but lost the yellow jersey for breaking the rules. He already loses 41 minutes and now he will have to go for honor, to seek a partial victory.
It may interest you: (Egan is clear, he knows that he must attack and take time from Roglic)
Another that was not up to the task and left early was Thibaut Pinot, the French, who was one of the local cards, but on Saturday he gave up any option to go for the podium drawers.
Sunday was not the same as other days and lost more ground. Pinot is in 24th place, at 28 minutes and 32 seconds, and failure has hit him so hard that he considers his future.
Lisandro Rengifo
Editor of EL TIEMPO
@lisandroabel
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