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The runner of the FDJ still made the perfect stage this Sunday between Limoux and the Prat d'Albis to get back in the race for the yellow jersey. After finishing second behind Simon Yates, the Franc-Comtois regained time with all his competitors, he showed above all that he was the strongest in the mountains.
After his victory at Tourmalet on Saturday, we could have imagined that Thibaut Pinot was going to save a bit in this last Pyrenean stage. Missed, it was obviously the program of the French rider who has come back as a cuckoo since he lost 1'40 in a border during the 10th stage.
To believe that this misadventure, which could have collapsed the podium ambitions of the leader of the FDJ, is almost a bad for a good, as it seems to find an additional motivation to excel. This time, Pinot did not go for the stage, she returned to Simon Yates left alone in the slope of the Prat d'Albis to his second success in this round, but he showed that he was there and he was the strongest on the mountain stages.
No one to follow Pinot
Well led by his team-mate David Gaudu, already amazing the day before in the ascent of the Tourmalet, the Franc-Comtois attacked seven kilometers from the summit to clinch his competitors one by one. The first of them will have been Geraint Thomas, then Julian Alaphilippe. The Welsh finally managed to get back on the yellow jersey before releasing it to take 28 seconds.
But the best operation of the day is to put on the account of Thibaut Pinot. The French took 50 seconds to Thomas and 1'16 to Alaphilippe to replace himself in 4th place overall three seconds from Kruijswijk and fifteen Welsh Ineos.
But the real lesson of this day is that nobody was able to follow the runner Franc-Comtois. The Colombian Egan Bernal is the one who kept the pace the longest before cracking in the last hectometres to reach the finish line with 18 seconds on the Frenchman. Pinot has shown everyone he is the strongest and if he manages to maintain this physical condition, he may well continue to spark at the end of next week in the Alps.
The first limits of Alaphilippe
Especially since this last Pyrenean stage also showed the first limits of Julian Alaphilippe. The runner of the Deceuninck-Quick Step has given a lot these last two weeks and he starts to pay his efforts. Good climber but not specialist mountain, Montluçonnais could have a hard time defending his yellow jersey to the end in the Alps.
The rest day of this Monday falls to the point, everyone is going to restore a health. Tuesday, the third and final week of this 2019 Tour begins, and it looks already exciting.