Bodnar
Basque cycling fans packed the roads on today’s 31km Individual Time Trial to catch the Tour de France before it heads to the Champs Elysées tomorrow. While the GC riders were still fighting amongst themselves to take time on the last day before the procession to Paris, the time trial specialists finally had a chance to show their strengths. The rolling profile in the Basque Country made it tough for the pure time trial riders, but this didn’t stop them from pushing as hard as they could. With the whole team safely in, and Rafał Majka making the most of the hilly course to post the fastest time of the BORA-hansgrohe riders, it was just the final stage into Paris to go, after one of the most difficult editions of the Tour de France in recent years.
The Stage
After 19 stages of racing against each other, on the penultimate day of the 2018 Tour de France, it was to be a race against the clock. The Tour’s only Individual Time Trial would take place on the rolling hills of the Basque Country in southwest France, starting in the town of Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle and finishing in Espelette, 31km later. The parcours was far from flat and would make riders push hard from the start, with the climbing starting in the first kilometre and the undulating profile making it hard to find a rhythm. Riders would need to measure their efforts expertly, given that they would be exhausted from three hard weeks of racing, while also making sure they took into account that this course had a sting in its tail. While less than a kilometre in length, the Col de Pinodieta’s average gradient, at 10.2%, was going to require a huge effort to overcome before the descent to the finish. This definitely wasn’t going to be a day for the pure time trial riders.
The Team Tactics
It was bound to be a tough day, with both fatigue and the difficult profile likely to influence how the team would perform today. As one of the first riders on the course, BORA-hansgrohe’s time trial specialist, Maciej Bodnar, would be giving it his all today after riding hard on previous stages in support of Peter Sagan, but the forecast suggested the weather could turn later in the day, meaning riders would have to be careful and stay safe on the downhill sections, rather than pushing hard for a fast time – it would be more important to finish safe to be able to ride into Paris than to risk it all so late in the race.
The Race
Proudly wearing the skinsuit of Polish National Time Trial Champion, Maciej Bodnar was one of the first riders on the course. While the course wouldn’t favour Bodi’s riding style, he would give this effort his all, as well as passing on information to his BORA-hansgrohe teammates about how the route was riding today. He crossed the line, finishing in a time of 44’27”. It was clear that the humid conditions were going to something to consider as the day went on, particularly as rain dampened sections of the course. Crowds packed the roads, and a huge cheer went up when the UCI World Champion, Peter Sagan, started his run. The Slovak rider was still recovering from his injuries, but looked slightly more comfortable on the climbs, conquering the Col de Pinodieta before pushing on to the finish, taking 48’03” on the line. On a course that suited the more able climbers, Rafał Majka was the fastest BORA-hansgrohe rider, coming in with a time of 42’50”.
Results
01 T. Doumolin 40:52
02 C. Froome +0:01
03 G. Thomas +0:14
24 R. Majka +1:57
From the Finish Line
“It was a very technical and demanding race course today. There wasn’t a moment you could lower your guard, it was full on from start to finish. On top of that, the day is very humid and that puts more strain. It wasn’t my best time-trial but I think I gave my best. I did commit a small error when, 500 metres before the finish, I went straight instead of taking the correct turn. That cost me a few seconds but it wasn’t what made the difference. Yesterday, we fought hard to help Peter finish the stage within the time limit and we had a very long day that finished very late in the evening. However, there isn’t much more I can do, all that is part of the game but I would have liked to repeat last year’s victory in Marseille.” – Maciej Bodnar
“I’m happy to finish this time-trial and I look forward to tomorrow’s last stage of the Tour de France. I’m slowly getting better but it still hurts a lot and I need to recover for the upcoming races.” – Peter Sagan, UCI World Champion
“This wasn’t a parcours that suited Bodi. He wasn’t able to reach his rhythm throughout the stage. In the beginning, his numbers were not perfect, but he was good in the second half. However, there wasn’t any part where he could take benefit from his power. Today, simply, just wasn’t our day and, in addition, yesterday’s effort to help Peter drained a lot of energy out of all the guys.” – Patxi Vila, Sports Director
