a return to the plain, a “Devil’s bridge” and the legend Jacky Durand

Today’s stage: Castelnau-Magnoac – Cahors (188.3 kilometres)

On paper, this plain stage which has only two difficulties of 4^e category – the coast of the medieval town of Lauzerte, at km 135, and the coast of Saint-Daunès, at km 152 – offers a favorable playground for sprinters. This would undoubtedly have been the case if this escapade in Occitania had been drawn in the first or second week. But the day precedes the last time trial in Rocamadour and the conclusion in Paris.

So, even if the best sprinters are still in the race (Fabio Jakobsen, Caleb Ewan, Jasper Philipsen…), the 19^e stage of the Grande Boucle could be offered to a backpacker. “The finish in Cahors offers a last straight line of 900 meters, on a false rising flat, limit uphill. It will hurt your legs”warns in Bike Magazine Didier Rous, sports director of the B & B Hotels-KTM team. In short, if Wout van Aert finds himself in the lead of the race in the final…

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The predictions

THE REASON

Will the third opportunity be the right one for Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-Easy Post)? Regularly on the attack since the start of the Tour, the Italian has twice come close to a stage success in recent days. Versatile runner, the native of Poggibonsi, in Tuscany, completed the 8^e Dole-Lausanne stage in fifth place on July 9, then failed behind Michael Matthews during the 14^e stage in Mende after the ascent of the Jalabert climb. This Friday, the course traced for the fighters could smile at him.

THE HEART

Sunday, when Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) pulled out of the peloton almost 50 kilometers from the finish of a 15^e burning stage, only accompanied by Alexis Gougeard (B & B Hotels-KTM), the French rider seemed to be playing cat and mouse. The mouse resisted the teams of sprinters, before giving in just 500 meters from the finish in Carcassonne. The Tarnais, track specialist (twice omnium world champion in 2017 and 2020), has the qualities to play for victory this Friday.

The declared

” When I saw van Aert doing the train on the penultimate pass, I understood that he was in for a very, very, very big day »

Tenth in Hautacam, Thibaut Pinot was satisfied to have played the leading roles in the last Pyrenean passes of the Tour. “I was a bit better than yesterday, so I’m still happy to finish the mountain on a not too bad note. » On Thursday, the Groupama-FDJ rider said he was particularly impressed by the performance of Belgian Wout van Aert, the handyman of the Jumbo-Visma. “He was in a big day, I was already happy to switch with him [en haut du col de Spandelles]. » When the wearer of the green jersey gives a lesson in the mountains to the Franche-Comté climber.

Detour of the Tour

As the riders are not supposed to cross the line in Cahors until around 5:30 p.m., a prior visit to the Lot prefecture is essential. The city, arrival of the day, has a very rich medieval history. Its jewel is the Valentré bridge, a fortified structure from the 14th^e century, which is part of the routes to Santiago de Compostela, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This bridge which spans the Lot River is at the center of a legend explaining its nickname of “Devil’s Bridge”. Its architect, in a hurry to complete its construction, would have, in fact, sealed a pact with the Devil to complete the work. The demon, betrayed by his partner, would then have decided to remove the last stone located at the top of one of the three towers so that the site never ends.

Of many other monuments of Cahors are worth a visit, such as Saint-Etienne Cathedral, a nine-hundred-year-old building typical of Romanesque art, also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The old town center offers a pleasant and shady visit, especially rue de la Daurade and its houses dating back to the 12th century.^e century.

In the retro

When he was younger, Jacky Durand had a dream: to become the goalkeeper of Stade Lavallois. But his brother pushed him into cycling, not without some success. Surprise winner of the Tour of Flanders in 1992, double champion of France (1993 and 1994), he quickly became known as a tireless hunter of breakaways, who almost never misses when he has the opportunity.

In 1994, in the 10^e stage of the Tour, crushed by the heat between Bergerac and Cahors, the Castorama rider opens the road with Marco Serpellini, Stephen Hodge and Gianluca Bortolami. Fourth overall, the latter looks like a man to beat. And Durand still has his lucky star with him: when Bortolami is hampered by a mechanical incident, the Mayenne surprises Serpellini and Hodge to win his first stage.

He will repeat the following season on the prologue of Saint-Brieuc. Anticipating the vagaries of the Breton sky, Durand set off early and in the dry. No one will beat his time and he will wear the yellow jersey for two days. An outfit almost as beautiful as Laval’s tango-colored jersey.