Luis León Sánchez is close to victory and Pogacar is stalked by covid

• Tour Some activists are chained and stop the race

"It's been a long time since I've looked at what stages are good for me, I don't set goals for myself," says

, like a confidence in the morning, under the Alpine sun, with those powerful legs, which run through veins like vine shoots .

He speaks experience, a Spaniard with four stages of the Tour in his record (the last one, in 2012), a rarity in these times of national scarcity.

He does not give clues, but the Murcian will be one of the protagonists of a hyperactive stage, a frantic prelude to what will come Wednesday and Thursday.

The Alps promise.

They stole the victory from him on the same finish line in Megeve.

Spain, 80 stages later, still hasn't won the Tour.

There are nine Spaniards and several of them are tied to team orders.

But they already go to the post twice,

on Sunday, and this alpine Tuesday a heroic Luisle.

It was

, that brave Dane, who was the winner, thanks to his persistence.

For a tubular to

, who was the one who previously ruined the options of the Spaniard from Bahrain.

A couple of kilometers from the top of the extensive Montée de l'altiport, his attack on the group of escapees had enjoyed a 28-second lead, a pure dream.

His thighs burned, the pursuers doubted and, at 38 years old, the Murcian caressed him.

But Schultz, together with Movistar

, caught him after crowning.

And although he still had Luisle arrests in the final sprint in an already larger group, he lacked that exhausted spark.

The agony and nerves take over the Grande Boucle, on a Tuesday that left prints that will fill the album of the 2022 edition. The exhausted cyclists, thrown on the asphalt after crossing the finish line, unable to pedal another meter.

But also the cyclists stopped in the middle of the road, surprised by some protesters who ask for respect for the environment, for these impressive alpine peaks.

Chained together, with red smoke around them, they make

, who is marching alone, have to stop with 36 kilometers to go.

It was 10 minutes of bewilderment, but the organization saved the chaos.

Kamna, almost leader

Of course, it was about to cause Pogacar to lose the yellow, since the break subtracted two minutes from the squad on the escapees, with less laziness to resume the march.

And

was 11 seconds behind.

Although yesterday, that was the least of the Slovenian's worries.

He is still indisputably the strongest, but his face has changed from one day to the next.

The UAE Emirates bus, a few meters from the Skoda Arena in Morzine where the stage was stretched before the signing control, was a surprising bundle of nerves.

After the rest day, serious faces, no media attention, closed doors.

Strain.

It was not be for lowerly.

Tadej Pogacar's hidden enemy, the worst rival, is uncontrollable.

The leader had just lost his second gregarious to the virus, this time one of the most important,

.

After the goodbye of

on Saturday , he only has six left.

And another one of them, the vital

, the shadow of the Slovenian, is also infected, although with such a low viral load that he was not forced to retire.

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