The legs aren’t what he’d hoped for, but Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet keeps on fighting on the Tour de France. On the final stage in the Pyrenees on Saturday, the French climber was able to follow the yellow jersey group, with the support of Valentin Madouas and Romain Grégoire, until the foot of the final climb of Superbagnères. He then fought hard to reach the summit in 23rd place, gaining one position overall (13th). On Sunday, the second week of the Tour de France will conclude with a stage for the breakaway to Carcassonne.
With nearly 5,000 metres of elevation gain to cover, the exit from the Pyrenees didn’t promise to be the most pleasant for the Tour bunch on Saturday. The climbs of Tourmalet, Aspin, Peyresourde, and Superbagnères had to be done one after the other in the final hundred kilometres, after the first eighty were quite flat and straight. With such terrain at the start, it didn’t prove easy to form a breakaway. The Groupama-FDJ cycling team did join the battle early in the race, with Quentin Pacher even going to clear after about sixty kilometres as part of a trio, but the approach of the intermediate sprint didn’t allow the Occitan rider to really escape. It was therefore shortly after, on the first slopes of the Tourmalet, that the breakaway could establish itself, slowly but surely. “We were afraid that the break wouldn’t go before the Tourmalet,” said Stéphane Goubert. “The guys did everything they could to make it go before, and if Guillaume had been able to gain two minutes, it would have allowed us to handle the stage differently. The team effort was good; they tried when they needed to. Guillaume may have left a bit of energy doing so, but we had to try.” However, the French climber was unable to join the various moves on the most famous Pyrenean climb. “We knew that the best climbers in a breakaway could fight for victory today, but if Guillaume didn’t go at that point, it’s because he wasn’t feeling at his best, so he preferred to manage,” added Stéphane.
“Guillaume doesn’t give up,” Stéphane Goubert
About twenty riders then broke away, and the peloton quickly reduced to around forty riders, while Remco Evenepoel abandoned the race. Among the favorites, Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet was able to get over the Tourmalet with Romain Grégoire, before Valentin Madouas joined them to climb up the Aspin. In Peyresourde, the sustained pace reduced the yellow jersey group to around twenty riders, including the leader of Groupama-FDJ, who held on until the foot of the final climb of Superbagnères. However, the Frenchman was forced to take his own pace as soon as the last ascent began. “I’m really not in the right pace on this Tour,” Guillaume said. “I really suffered today. I don’t have much to say about the pace or the weather, it’s me who’s not up to it.” Still, he showed great fighting spirit up until the summit to keep his overall classification goal alive. Twenty-third on the day, 8’44 behind the winner Thymen Arensman, Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet also gained one position in the overall standings as he now sits in 13th. “We hope every day that the legs are better,” Stéphane added. “It is clear that this isn’t his level, we’re all aware of that. We can’t give up, and that’s Guillaume’s great quality: he doesn’t give up.”On the eve of the rest day, stage 15 should offer some rest for the GC riders tomorrow, but it will also be a real opportunity for the break. “It’s a big goal for us, but like for many teams,” concluded Stéphane. “In the Tour, it’s often the freshest or the best who wins. We’ll see how the legs are tomorrow. If the guys show the same commitment as today but we come up against a stronger rider, we’ll have to accept it, but we’ll start with strong motivation!”
