tour reporter
Simon Geschke is still in possession of the mountain jersey before the last Pyrenees stage. To make it to Paris he’ll need to keep Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar at bay.
It was one last steep ramp that Simon Geschke still had to overcome. Lonely, in his polka dot jersey, he snaked his way up that final climb of the day. The barriers around him have already been dismantled, but the team bus above the finish line in Peyragudes was already in sight. And then he too had finally finished his working day.
Since the 9th stage in Chatel les Portes de Soleil Geschke completes the specified protocol every evening after his arrival at the finish line Tour de France. On the podium, he is honored as the leader of the mountains classification with the white jersey with the red dots. After that he gives in the Mixed zone Interviews, signs a few more copies of the mountain jersey and then, as the last driver of his team, cycles to the bus.
Geschke dissatisfied with the day
Even after the 17th stage, Geschke continues to wear the coveted jersey of the best in the mountains. And it is clear that he would now like to go through the associated procedure for a few more days in order to then wear the dotted jersey to Paris on Sunday.
His team is also doing everything possible to ensure that he keeps it. For the French Cofidis-Team that has been with the for years Tour de France was no longer successful, Geschke’s trip through France in the jersey, which is popular with young and old, is an absolute stroke of luck.
But the German professional cyclist seemed really confident Peyragudes no longer that he can pull this off now. “It wasn’t a good day per se”, was Geschke’s conclusion at the finish of the 17th stage, although he had collected six more points along the way. But two more points had slipped through his fingers when, shortly before the mountains classification Hourquette d’Ancizan the chain fell off.
The fight for yellow has repercussions
After that, the favorites for overall victory took over and that ended Geschke’s hopes of further increases in points. “I was hoping to score more points. But of course, a day like today is simply bad for me because the fight for the overall ranking also has an impact on the mountains classification.”he said.
The fight for the yellow jersey between Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar will also be the center of attention on the final Pyrenees stage to Hautacam. And how the two competitors will end their duel on Thursday (July 20th, 2022) will determine whether Geschke will be able to keep the mountain jersey.
Geschke has collected 64 points on the previous 17 stages. Vingegaard, the man in the yellow jersey, currently has 52 points. Pogacar has 46 points on the credit side. On the last mountain stage of this year’s tour, there are three categorized climbs where a maximum of 50 points can be awarded.
Pogacar doesn’t give gifts
Should Vingegaard and Pogacar sprint for stage victory again in Hautacam, the winner gets 20 points. Second place and the intended 15 points would be enough for the Dane to overtake Geschke. Pogacar wouldn’t be satisfied with the day’s win, but should he also pick up points along the way, he would have a chance to win the berg jersey like his Tour victories in the past two years.
Pogacar’s yellow jersey chances are four days from the end of the Tour de France and a deficit of 2:18 minutes Vingegaard no longer the very best. So the Slovenian could definitely see the mountain jersey as a consolation prize, especially as he is not known for missing opportunities like this. It is not for nothing that he is compared to the “cannibal” Eddy Merckx because of his desire to win.
Full points at the Col d’Aubisque
So Geschke will have to collect a few more points on Thursday if he wants to bring the polka-dot jersey to Paris. “I notice that I still feel good”said Geschke. “I was a bit worried that in the third week after all the escape groups I was in, the body would be at the limit. And then it can just be over. But today it went well again and that gives me Hope it will be enough tomorrow.”
Geschke is likely to have the best chance of scoring points Col d’Aubisque, the first climb of the 18th stage, if the favorite teams let a breakaway go this time. If the man with the distinctive beard was the first to lead over the summit, he would be credited with a further 20 points. Then would come Vingegaard could not get past Geschke that day, even if he scored the maximum number of points on the two mountains afterwards.
Of course, all of this is just theory, but if that were the case, Geschke would have the best chance of being the first German to win the mountain jersey in the Tour de France in Paris. After that, only three points are up for grabs on the remaining three stages.
Corona – the invisible opponent
Then the only thing that could thwart him was the corona virus. On Tuesday, his teammate Max Walscheid, with whom Geschke had shared a room for two and a half weeks, had to leave the race after a positive corona test.
“I’m trying not to be nervous”, said Geschke on Wednesday morning. The team doctor of his Cofidis team therefore only wants to test him if Geschke develops symptoms. “But as long as that’s not the case, we’ll let it be”, Geschke said. In any case, he cannot influence this part in the fight for the mountain jersey. But he wants to fight for the points again on the 18th stage.