"We are in France," the commentators declared, 40 kilometres from the finish of today's stage. By the side of the road, welcoming the riders across the border, was a towering statue of bare-breasted Marianne, tricolour flag held aloft and fluttering in the wind.
Starting in Granollers, near Barcelona, and finishing at Les Angles, a ski village in the Pyrenees, today was the Tour's first much-anticipated mountain stage, with 3,850 metres of climbing. For riders, not only was a stage win up for grabs, but equally the chance to wear the yellow jersey - at least until Thursday, when the Tourmalet beckons. With Visma-Lease a Bike clearly open to passing on their yellow jersey duties, and it had been pegged as a potential breakaway stage. Or so we thought.
By the time the race crossed into France, a hard-fought 18-man breakaway - formed after 72 kilometres of cat and mouse - had been whittled down to just five men: Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost), Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon CMA CGM Team), Vlad van Mechelen (Bahrain-Victorious), Raul Garcia Pierna (Movistar) and George Bennett (NSN Cycling Team). UAE Team Emirates-XRG paced for Tadej Pogacar, and it was blisteringly hot, with wildfires in the eastern Pyrenees causing organisers to request that fans stay away from the finish. Cue close-ups of ice socks stuffed down riders' backs; teammates dousing each other with water; salty white sweat marks on dark shorts. Baudin's radio crackled. "Alex, you're still working against [Tim] Wellens alone, OK? It's not easy for him. It's very hot...Stay cool, keep drinking."
On the day that the race entered l'Hexagone, it felt fitting that the day's protagonist was a Frenchman. Baudin had hustled for almost two hours to get in the break, spent 125 kilometres out in front, and would prove the last man standing. With the time gap steadily coming down, Baudin attacked on the 11.4-kilometre Col du Calvaire, followed by compatriot Prodhomme. If he was going to get caught by the peloton and denied his chance at the yellow jersey, he'd take polka dots. And the day's combativity award.
As for the yellow jersey - once Baudin was caught with 11.5 kilometres remaining, it became clear that this would come down to a GC battle. Felix Grossschartner and Adam Yates took their turns on the front for the World Champion, shedding riders off the back. Del Toro, wearing his green skinsuit, green glasses and green helmet after yesterday's win, launched Pogacar, who finished it off with ease. A reduced crowd of spectators - who had defied instructions not to attend - slammed the boards at the finish as Jonas Vingegaard took second, with Richard Carapaz third. Frenchman Paul Seixas came fourth.
Visma may not have wanted to carry the yellow jersey for three weeks, but if there was one man they didn't intend to cede it to, it was Tadej Pogacar. A breakaway rider, sure. But not Pogacar. It hadn't even been UAE's plan. "In the middle of the stage, we decided that it was possible to go for the stage win," the Slovenian explained after the race. "To take the yellow jersey is a dream for any cyclist of any age. Every time I can get it on my shoulders again, it feels really special."
UAE have now won two out of three Tour de France stages, with today's being Pogacar's 22nd stage win. He is now fifth on the all-time winners list. As temperatures heat up, so too does the pressure on other teams to curb the Slovenian's lead; to deny him bonus seconds; to match his attacks. "It's because of him - it's because of Isaac today. I got some extra power, I think, in the final," Pogacar said. "I'm really happy we started the Tour like this." With UAE having paced all day, let's hope that the breakaway finally has their opportunity in tomorrow's hilly stage.
In other news, Belgian sprinter Arnaud de Lie (Lotto Intermarche) has become the third rider to abandon the Tour de France, after a gruelling opening weekend battling a stomach bug. De Lie had cut his recon of the team time trial circuit short on Saturday, dragged himself through the course, and then been dropped early on yesterday and today's stages.
Baudin, meanwhile, finished 25th - despite his efforts in the breakaway. And although he didn't win yellow, he becomes the latest rider to join an esteemed list of French polka dot jersey wearers. "I think it was possible to take the yellow jersey today, so I really had to try. I felt really good, and then it didn't work," he said. "But still - the polka dot jersey. I remember myself watching the Tour when I was a kid, and it was kind of a dream to wear it one day - like guys like Barguil, Bardet, Pierre Rolland. When I was watching these guys with the jersey, I had stars in my eyes. It's really cool."
