The Brit smothered the violent attack of the Belgian climber, who remains the favorite, but no longer the only one. Peter Joseph Blackmore is the new CIC yellow jersey in a race that is still wide open.
Although short (70 km), the tough start in the Alps did not fail to make the first selection. Frenchman Clément Izquierdo had a lot to do with this, attacking head-on to get through the first two difficulties, the Côte des Chapelles and the climb to Les Arcs, at the front of the pack, and activating a first selection not unfavorable to the Tricolores, with a very convincing 5th place for Léo Bisiaux at the finish in the resort of La Rosière (4th at 45” overall). A promising performance for a first at this level.
Just a step above, the best climbers emerged and gave blow for blow. Belgian featherweight Jarno Widar, considered the ultra-favorite on the strength of his successes at the Giro NextGen and Tour of Valle d’Aosta, held his role and his place very well, and it looked as if he’d done the hard part, perhaps even struck the decisive blow, with a violent attack six kilometers from the finish. His unstoppable start seemed destined for a spectacular solo finish. Very much at ease on the steepest sections, he was a little less so on the relatively shallower ones. It was at this point that Britain’s Peter Joseph Blackmore, followed by Spain’s Pablo Torres, launched a counter-attack, only to fall back on him in the last three kilometers and cool him down a little. In the final hectometres, the British rider proved himself to be more powerful, and was able to pull off a double coup: stage victory and the yellow jersey.
However, nothing is decided yet, quite the contrary, and this slightly missed opportunity calls for Jarno Widar’s revenge. In short, the race is still wide open, all the more so as Great Britain doesn’t seem to have a very wide range of riders to back up the new leader, winner of the last Liège-Bastogne-Liège Espoirs, with another high-mountain stage on the horizon this Thursday, with a new summit finish in the resort of Les Karellis via the giant Col de l’Iseran (2770 m.).
