Dutchman Bauke Mollema wins at Quillan

What should we remember from the fourteenth stage of the Tour de France between Carcassonne and Quillan (Aude), with 183 km of rugged route with no less than five difficulties?

First, that Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) is a bloody backpacker. The 34-year-old Dutchman won, escaping a group of fourteen riders 27 km from the finish and managing to keep the gap.

Then, that Guillaume Martin, from the start of the Tour, illuminates the Cofidis team with an underwater lamp – the formation floating for so long between two waters. The Normand, wisely climbing all the decompression stages of the day, came back to the general’s surface, thanks to his legs and his racing intelligence. Ninth overall on Friday, he is now on the podium at 4:04 from the yellow jersey, the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates), and even chases the Colombian Rigoberto Uran (EF Education-Nippo) from second place. What will not surprise anyone, so much this man, gentle, thoughtful, cerebral and so subtle in his remarks, is a catalog in itself of the qualities dreamed of in a runner.

” To survive. And survive tomorrow ”

Previously, the peloton, which had left Carcassonne and its ramparts for a long foray into Ariège, marked by the ascent of the Col de Montségur, classified in second category, deplored two non-starters: the French Warren Barguil and the Danish Soren Kragh Andersen , respectively leaders of Arkéa-Samsic and DSM – ex-Sunweb yet irresistible in 2020, and transparent today.

It is precisely at the top of the Montségur pass that the peloton, which had taken the first breakaways of the day – Kristian Sbaragli (Alpecin Fenix), Maxime Chevalier (B & B Hôtels P / B KTM) and Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies) -, the ascent begins in his hand.

The first hour, run at an average 48.3 km / h, already did some pretty good damage. Nacer Bouhanni (Arkéa-Samsic), who had fallen the day before and was limping low, was then almost eight minutes late at the exit of the Col du Bac (KM 50). Chris Froome (Israel Start-up Nation) accompanies him in what looks like a long common martyrdom. On the morning of the stage, the Briton, who was asked about his thoughts on the day, whispered: ” To survive. And survive tomorrow. “

At the top of Montségur, Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious) took the lead and pocketed the five points for the polka dot jersey. The Dutchman is ahead of the Canadian Michael Woods (Israel Start-up Nation), the Italian Mattia Cattaneo (Deceuninck-Quick Step) and the Colombian Esteban Chaves (BikeExchange).

Pogacar can’t lose

From the first slopes of the Col de la Croix des Morts (second category), Quentin Pacher and Pierre Rolland, teammates at B & B Hôtels, come out of the peloton. Behind the leading trio and the group of pursuers: Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), Elie Gesbert (Arkéa-Samsic) and Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ) rally the tricolor duo. The four men are 1 min 51 s behind the leader. Martin, the best placed overall, will bring the tricolor group back to the front of the race.

Fourteen men are then in the lead. The peloton lets go. With four minutes late at the top of the coast of Gallinagues, 57 km from the finish, the case is on track: there is little doubt that the final victory will be played between the backpackers.

Poels takes the lead at the top with Michael Woods just behind. The latter virtually becomes a polka-dot jersey, but falls on the descent. Get up and chase to come back. Behind, the peloton and in particular its high mountain experts, are smoothing their feathers, waiting to take off for what will be, on Sunday, the stage that could upset the programs? Two days ago, Richard Carapaz (Ineos-Grenadiers) confided to El Pais that for him, Pogacar cannot lose the Tour, having fun with the Slovenian “false failure” at Mont Ventoux a few days earlier. Understand that the string is a bit thick.

The “most difficult Tour de France”

Thomas De Gent (Lotta-Soudal), the Flemish runner who handles irony and self-mockery with brio, he plays fair. And it is with a much more serious tone on the starting line that he confided run the “The most difficult Tour de France” of her career. The backpacker-climber, also wheeler, eight participations on the Grande Boucle, finished in the 85^e place, more than 17 minutes from Mollema. For Arkéa-Samsic, it was not a good day either: the Breton team, whose sprinter Nacer Bouhanni was in distress all day (147^e at more than 36 min), now fits in a car with four riders still in the running. On top of that, she lost the polka-dot jersey from Nairo Quintana to Woods…

At 27 km from the goal, it is the moment that the Dutchman Bauke Mollema chooses to go out alone on a rolling portion. He continues to widen the gap with the group of pursuers and has a lead of 1 min 12 s. The Trek-Segafredo rider is then on his way to the second success of his career on the Grande Boucle, after his victory in 2017 at Puy-en-Velay (Haute-Loire), where he had already won solo after having attacked 25 kilometers from the finish.

Mollema is an applied professional. Not at all a somersault teacher. These references say its seriousness. Raised within the Rabobank, a team which at the time smelled like flasks and small test tubes and which made followers’ hair stand on end just by the simple pronunciation of the name. It’s in the past, of course. Because Mollema has other more prestigious ornaments. A handsome guy, as we used to say in the industry.