Only recovery counts on the third rest day of the Tour de France

Nathan Van Hooydonck had decided to sleep in a little longer than the previous days. There was finally time for that on Monday, on the third rest day of the Tour de France. But at 8.15 am he was “kicked out of bed”, says Van Hooydonck on Monday afternoon. doping control. That could also be added, after the hectic stage he experienced with his Jumbo-Visma team on Sunday.

It was certainly a welcome rest day, says Van Hooydonck. As if Edward A. Murphy himself had been standing along the route of the fifteenth stage. Not unexpectedly, Primoz Roglic left the Tour before the start of the stage. During the stage Steven Kruijswijk squeezed his brakes a little too late, causing him to crash hard in the middle of the peloton. Broken collarbone, Tour over. Wout van Aert was just able to avoid him.

A few minutes later two Jumbo riders on the ground again. Now Tiesj Benoot, with damage, and jersey wearer Jonas Vingegaard. To the relief of the team leaders, the Dane stood up quickly, without visible damage.

He was disappointed on Sunday evening, says Van Hooydonck, his entire team was disappointed. But on Monday at breakfast, the stage is no longer a topic of conversation. The view must be fast forward. He has not yet seen Kruijswijk, who is being examined in hospital. Van Hooydonck sent him a message. He knows what his Dutch colleague has done to be good in the third week of the Tour.

With his five remaining teammates, Van Hooydonck will get on his bike on Monday for a two-hour training round. He also sees them at dinner. In between, he withdraws to his room and is massaged. “Everyone should above all do what makes them feel relaxed,” says Van Hooydonck.

For Benoot, the day is all about recovery. The interviews that the Belgian had have been deleted. His hip, elbow, back; actually the whole right side of his body hurts. It remains to be seen how he will get on his bike on Tuesday.

New Tactic

For Jumbo-Visma, the course changed again on Sunday. Since Thursday, the day after winning the yellow jersey on the steep Col du Granon, the team had shown dominance. With the train of five, six riders as a first-class wagon at the front of the peloton at the foot of the Alpe d’Huez as proof. For example, Jumbo-Visma wanted to bring the yellow – and the green from Van Aert – to Paris.

But it was precisely in one of the apparently less risky stages that things went wrong. The rest day became a day to come up with a new plan for the three stages through the Pyrenees. The battle for the yellow will be decided in the coming days. “The coaches are going to sit down about the tactics today,” says Van Hooydonck. He hears the plan Monday night, maybe not until Tuesday.

He doesn’t know yet whether his role will change. Van Hooydonck is a fast rider, Vingegaard has to keep out of the wind where possible on the flat. “But I am being asked to rise above myself in the coming stages. Anything I can do in the mountains is a bonus,” he says.

Usefulness of helpers

Jumbo-Visma starts the last Tour week with six riders due to the cancellation of Kruijswijk and Roglic. Just as much as UAE Emirates, the team of Tadej Pogacar, the competitor for yellow. The Slovenian has three good climbers with him, Brandon McNulty, Marc Soler and Rafal Majka. At Jumbo-Visma, all-rounders Wout van Aert and Sepp Kuss are opposite.

In the Alps, Jumbo-Visma made clear the usefulness of helpers in the mountains. Pogacar found himself alone early in a stage, had to parry attack after attack himself, and therefore lacked energy on the final climb, he said on Monday. “That is not going to be easy for them now,” he referred to Jumbo. Pogacar, winner of the last two editions of the Tour, again promised to do everything in his power to get his hands on the yellow jersey. He is 2.22 minutes behind Vingegaard.

At Jumbo-Visma they will stick to the fact that Vingegaard has so far shown no sign of weakness. He is uphill, with Pogacar, in a class of his own. This was also apparent on Saturday in the treacherous climb to Mende airport. It was stuck to Pogacar’s wheel like a sticker. With an extra advantage too, because the work of the Slovenian meant that other competitors were driven at a greater distance.

However, Vingegaard will also have to take other riders into account. The British Ineos Grenadiers has three men in the top-10, of whom Geraint Thomas is the best in third place (2.43 from Vingegaard).

Pogacar did not want to know anything about an alliance between his team and Ineos on Monday. Thomas also said that no one called him about anything. “It’s not a vendetta against Jonas. But if a situation arises from which we both benefit, then of course you work together. It is and remains a cycling race.”