And after the aperitif, the Pyrenees

What a start to the Tour de France. Television viewers of the Grande Boucle had little time for their usual naps. The French tour had little time at the start for the sprinters, with Merlier , Philipsen, and Milan happy. The spotlight was also on the breakaways, with Van der Poel, the general classification leader for days , and Healy, the surprising yellow jersey winner , among the protagonists. And what can we say about the favorites? Pogacar, always ferocious, self-invited to every fight, twice won against his rival Vingegaard, first on the Sant-Hilaire ramp, with his 100th victory, and then on the Mur de Bretagne, his second victory in this edition . Meanwhile, Evenepoel, in the background, was content with winning the first time trial. Quite a spectacle without having yet climbed a top-class climb. Napping, falling asleep on the sofa after a good summer meal, will be even more complicated now that the peloton is reaching the Pyrenees .

"Our terrain, the climbers', begins. I'm really looking forward to the Hautacam, especially the time trial and Superbagnères." Tadej Pogacar, reigning Tour de France champion

“On stage 10, we saw who was doing well, but it wasn't a true indicator of our rivals. Their goal is here now. Our terrain begins, that of the climbers. We're ready for the mountains,” Pogacar said yesterday on the rest day. After a comfortable stage today starting and finishing in Toulouse, albeit packed with steep climbs, the mountains will appear splendidly on the horizon. It will be tomorrow, on stage 12 with nearly 4,000 meters of elevation gain, when the climbers will claim their place. After an initial approach section of over 100 km, the large group will enter the Pyrenees with the ascent of the Col du Soulor, a first-class climb of almost 12 km. But it will be on the first major summit finish at Hautacam , a special category climb with 13.6 km at 7.8% gradient, where an important, perhaps decisive, battle for the overall standings is expected. Because it was there, in 2022, that Vingegaard, well protected by Van Aert, reached the summit first and delivered a decisive blow to champion Pogacar to claim his first Paris crown. The Slovenian, a lover of challenges, will surely never forget that moment.

If he didn't exact revenge the day before, Pogacar will have another opportunity in the stage 13 hill climb time trial. After his fiasco against time in the Dauphiné Libéré, the UAE rider worked harder on this specialty, and his improvement was noticeable on the fifth stage in Caen. The reigning Tour champion only trailed Evenepoel, who was 16 seconds faster, and gained more than a minute on Vingegaard. More explosive than the Dane, a rider who goes at pace, Pogacar could open a gap on the 10.9km climb between Loudenvielle and Peyragudes with a maximum gradient of 16%.

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The icing on the cake in the Pyrenees comes on stage 14, one of the premier stages. With a total of 182.6 km, the peloton will start the day with a climb to the legendary Tourmalet , a 19 km special category climb, and will continue on to Aspin, a second category climb, and Peyresourde, a first category climb. The finale will be the special category Superbagnères climb (12.4 km), which hasn't been climbed since 1989. That year, Robert Millar won in a tight finish with Perico Delgado. A date for Tour de France fans, Pogacar has his sights set on. “I hope to regain the yellow jersey in the Pyrenees. This week could be decisive. I'm really looking forward to Hautacam, and especially the time trial and Superbagnères,” added the Slovenian.

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On Sunday, the cyclists will tackle a more relaxed mid-mountain section to reach Carcassonne. And after a well-deserved rest day, it's more action: the Alps arrive with their first stop at Mont Ventoux.