13
tour de france 2024: stage 13
by Rémy Rossi
Abandon ship
The terrible luck started even before Stage 13 kicked off. The morning news was Primož Roglič’s DNS due to his crash late in the day prior, marking yet another spell of misfortune for the Red Bull-BORA-Hansgrohe leader who was sitting in sixth overall. The situation seemed all too familiar for the Slovenian who’s Tour appearances have been plagued with incidents, preventing him from demonstrating his already-proven Grand Tour prowess on the world’s biggest stage.
Anti-bad luck charms
What’s the opposite of a good luck charm? But I’m not talking about a bad luck charm. Something that reverses the curse of a bad omen. Something like the supersticious practice of pinning the rider #13 number upside down in bike races. This ancient habit is supposed to counteract any bad juju cuased by having to wear the ugliest number of them all: the unlucky 13.
This year, UAE Team Emirates rider Juan Ayuso had the priviledge of doning that number each day and consistently made sure to pin it on upside down. Unfortunately, the Fates’ otherworldly plans were set in stone for Ayuso and he didn’t finish today’s stage, having come down with COVID-19. There are growing worries amid the peloton that there are more cases hiding within the bunch. Face masks have made a fashionable comeback these past few days.
An unexepected villain
There were major strategy complications early on in the stage due to an accidental stowaway in the break. Adam Yates, teammate of Tadej Pogačar and GC contender himself, slipped into the escape group while domestique duty at the front of the peloton. This situation threw a major wrench in many team’s plans for the day. Visma Lease-a-Bike was forced to chase the large breakaway along with other teams threatened by Yates’ high GC position. The fact that the breakaway was immediately given a short leash angered many of the riders in the break, barking at Yates to drop back to the peloton. Lidl–Trek’s Julien Bernard (the rider who stopped to kiss his wife on home roads!) reported that he told Yates 15 times to go back to the bunch. Doesn’t look like Adam will be getting a peck from Bernard anytime soon.
Gusty winds and open roads led to tricky echelons that further complicated the stage. It was a chaotic start to the day that seemed a bit simpler on paper. But these unexpected twists effectively liven up sprint stages that can be a snooze fest until the final. Given all the drama, bad luck, and extra work that had to be done, stage 13 transformed into one that fan love to watch and riders hate to ride. My sofa-perched vantage point for the day was well enjoyed.
Boom, boom, Pau.
The turbulent day exploded in the final kilometers as the sprint teams battled for position. This year’s arrival to the French town of Pau marks the 75th time the Tour has visited the spot. The day’s slog brought with it over 2,000 meters of climbing and big winds throughout the 165 kilometer stage— nothing to sneeze at. There was a crash in the last kilometer as Jasper Philipsen and Wout Van Aert, aided by his righthand man Christophe Laporte, duked it out for the win. Jasper clinched the victory meaning Van Aert had to settle for yet another disappointing podium place. Coming off of plenty of criticism after the first week, Philipsen has effectively saved Alpecin-Deceuninck’s Tour and then some.
Topsy-turvy
I’m a very supersticious person and today is the confirmation bias I was looking for. Shoutout to Stage 13 for spooking by spirits and sorry to the riders caught in the cycling universe’s evil plans. “Break a leg” is an even worse thing to say to a cyclist.
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