departure for the last peaks

The start of the 18th stage of the Tour de France, the last mountain, was given Thursday at the exit of Lourdes in the direction of Hautacam, before the visit at the end of the stage of the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron.

The peloton, which has 140 units, lost three riders including Briton Chris Froome (Israel PT), four-time winner of the event, due to a positive Covid-19 test carried out in the morning. The other two runners are the Spaniard Imanol Erviti (Movistar) and the Italian Damiano Caruso (Bahrain), also positive for covid, which brings to fifteen the number of abandonments due to the coronavirus.

Under the announced sun, the 18th stage promises a new duel between the first two, the Danish yellow jersey Jonas Vingegaard and his runner-up Tadej Pogacar, separated by 2 min 18 sec in the classification after the victory of the Slovenian, Wednesday in Peyragudes (Hautes-Pyrénées ).

Three severe climbs, the last of the Tour, are scheduled in the 143.2 kilometer route in the form of a quasi-loop.

The Aubisque, one of the great classics of the massif since 2010, climbed by the western slope from Laruns (Km 58.5), precedes a novelty, the Col de Spandelles. There is still Hautacam and its 13.6 kilometers with an average gradient of 7.8% to reach the finish installed at 1520 meters above sea level.

“Going through the Spandelles, which is a difficult pass (10.3 km at 8.3%), has the great advantage of tackling the climb to Hautacam without taking the valley”, explains race director Thierry Gouvenou.

Hautacam is hosting the Grande Boucle for the 6th time since 1994. Last winner to date, the Italian Vincenzo Nibali won the stage ahead of Thibaut Pinot in 2014.

The arrival in Hautacam is scheduled around 5:38 p.m. if the timetable calculated at an average speed of 36 km/h is respected.

Following the announcement made Tuesday by the Élysée, the President of the Republic must go up to Argelès-Gazost (Hautes-Pyrénées) in the vehicle of the director of the Tour, Christian Prudhomme, to follow the end of the stage and the climb to Hautacam station. He will then attend the awards ceremony.

Emmanuel Macron has been a regular at the Tour de France since his first visit in 2015, when he was Minister of the Economy. As President of the Republic, he came regularly to the race.

“By his presence on the roads of the Tour de France, the president intends to greet the riders, the organizers and all the public services mobilized to allow this major event of our sporting and cultural heritage to take place”, indicated the Élysée. .

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