In the end, the time gap wasn’t the defining blow. Instead, it was the manner and style in which Geraint Thomas crumbled on the upper slopes of the Tourmalet on stage 14 of the Tour de France that mattered most. After all, the 36 seconds – plus bonuses – shed to several key rivals will not decide an entire three weeks of racing, but the fact that the Team Ineos leader had no response when stage winner Thibaut Pinot, race leader Julian Alaphilippe, and even teammate Egan Bernal, left him behind will leave deep wounds.
The sight of the defending champion, hunched over the bars as his legs failed him while up ahead Bernal struggled with the enormity of the situation was one of the spectacular moments of this year’s race. And it’s a race that currently shows no signs of slowing to catch its breath. For the first time years, there is no single team to control proceedings, and the time gaps, other than Alaphilippe’s two-minute advantage, are all currently bridgeable.
For Thomas, and his illustrious Ineos squad, this was supposed to be the moment that rider and team put the maillot jaune under severe pressure on familiar turf in the mountains, but in the end it was Thomas who suffered the resignation of dropping time to Alaphilippe – and although he remains second overall in the general classification, that position looks precarious, to say the least. This was perhaps the team’s worst mountain performance since Bradley Wiggins' dramatic collapse on the road to Morzine-Avoriaz in 2010.
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The Tour's most dominant team for almost a decade were simply overrun by a flurry of teams riding aggressively, first on the ascent of the Col du Soulor and then on the Tourmalet itself. On such a dramatic day, one could be forgiven for thinking that an era had ended.
Earlier in the morning, the plan was clear: Ineos wanted to take the opportunity to gain time on their rivals and test Alaphilippe’s mettle on higher terrain.
"The objective was to gain some time and to at least not lose any time. If there was the right moment we wanted to take it on but other teams did it so we didn’t have it. Movistar started really early but we had five guys up there. Then they kept on riding and from there we didn’t have to ride anymore," directeur sportif Servais Knaven told Cyclingnews as he walked towards the team bus at the finish.
No strength in numbers
Adjusting on the fly
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via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/tour-de-france-geraint-thomas-suffers-huge-blow-to-title-defence-on-the-tourmalet
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