tour de france 2024: stage 18
by Rémy Rossi
Forecast: breakaway
Stage 18 was heavily predicted to be a day for the escape artists due to its breakaway-friendly profile. At the start of the stage, nearly 40 riders pedalled away from the peloton for their chance at victory in a reduced group. As the gap stretched, collaboration fell apart and the behemoth breakaway splintered into a few groups. In the end, it was a 3-up breakaway composed of Michael Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers), Mattéo Vercher (TotalEnergies), and Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Dstny) ahead of powerful groups chasing.
Mind over matter
An experienced baroudeur, Campenaerts knows what it takes to out-fox fellow breakway companions in the final push for the line. He’s coming off a smart win in the Giro d’Italia just a month ago, too. With victory in no way promised today— coming to to the line with past World Champion Kwiatkowski is never easy— the Belgian played some mind games in the final kilometers taking some extra bottles and missing turns, feining fatigue. Campenaerts slotted in at the back during the approach to the finish line and got the jump on his breakaway companions with a great kick. The trickster played his cards right and took a convincing victory with time to sit up and throw both hands triumphantly in the air.
A win for the outsiders
It’s well known that Victor Campenaerts does things a bit differently. A few weeks ago, I stumbled across some sponsor videos he appeared in where he detailed his training methods and perspective on racing. He sat cross-legged on his couch appearing just as zen as he sounds with that thick-yet-endering Belgian accent of his. You’ve got to be a little bit kooky to love spending hundreds of kilometers alone (or with a few breakaway friends) ahead of the pack. And you’ve got to be even crazier to think you can win.
The bizarro Belgian is notorious for never wearing sunglasses, much unlike the rest of the lens-obsessed peloton. I’ll admit that it took be a while to fully embrace the sunnies (I feel a bit less receptive to my surroundings), but they are definitely must-haves while descending. Or not I guess. Riding without sunglasses is starting to seem pretty punk to me. He also rocks laced shoes (a growing back-to-basics trend) which he claims are both lighter and more aerodynamic. See him with black shoes and socks, too.
Best TdF interview ever?
Okay, maybe it’s tied with Matej Mohorič’s emotional interview after Stage 19 in last year’s Tour de France. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they are both breakaway specialists. My kind of people.
Immediately after he crossed the line— and I mean like immediately— Campenaerts was on FaceTime with his girlfriend and newborn baby. In his post-race interview, he beamed with gratitude talking about his supportive girlfriend during their 9-week altitude camp at Sierra Nevada as she was heavily pregnant. He made a point about the fact that he was the first to arrive and last to leave, as most of the pro peloton makes their way to Sierrva Nevada at some point before the Grand Tours. And I should know— one day, I saw 70+ of them as I climbed up from Granada to the ski station! Campenaerts was an ball of loose emotions in all the best ways after the stage and delivered an teary sucker punch on an interview that would make even the most hardened-steel cyclist feel the beauty, sacrifice, and raw feelings of the sport.
He’s been focused on preparing for Stage 18 since December and the team trusted him to skip races and train on his own while spending precious time with his partner. And he returned the favor in the best way. It’s cliche so you can barf now… but wins and interviews like these are what the Tour de France really is all about.
When you don’t wear sunglasses…
Victor Campenaerts is a pensive character that radiates positivity. I guess to have to be excitedly opportunistic to be a successful baroudeur. Let’s see if fans and riders buck sunglasses and start squinting into the sun a bit more. I think Tyra Banks coined the phrase for our beloved Belgian’s stoic expression… is that a smize?
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