The Basque from Cofidis won alone in Belleville-en-Beaujolais on Thursday.
He continued his effort until the end. Starting 31 kilometers from the finish, the Spaniard Ion Izagirre (Cofidis) won a very lively 12th stage of the Tour de France, Thursday July 13, between Roanne and Belleville-en-Beaujolais. The 34-year-old runner broke away from the leading group, which included Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) and Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) in the Col de la Croix Rosier, before winning alone. Already victorious on the Tour in 2016 in Morzine, the Basque gleaned the second success of the French team Cofidis on this edition, after that of Victor Lafay in San Sebastian.
It is these food shortages that you keep harping on as they lengthen, until you pollute your mind. In this regard, Ion Izagirre must have heard his share of taunts in the face of two black series which could have inhibited him on this Tour. Departing from his native Basque Country, his Cofidis formation had been advancing without a single victory for 15 years and the last Spanish success on the Grande Boucle dates back to 2018. But these series are made to be broken. The victories of his teammate Victor Lafay (2nd stage), then of his compatriot Pello Bilbao (10th stage) paved the way for him before he rushed into it with panache.
47.5 km/h average during the first 2 hours
Undoubtedly liberated, the 34-year-old Basque sniffed the right shot on the rugged slopes of the Col de la Croix Rosier. His sharp attack near the summit left his fellow breakaways flabbergasted, then he finished the job by lining up the pedal strokes over the last flatter kilometers. He benefited from the work of his teammate Guillaume Martin, who was invaluable in his annihilation of the comeback attempts of the suitors. By stopping the pursuit, he relegated the majority of the competition to more than a minute from Izagirre. The second of the day, Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies), finished at 58 seconds.
This group of breakaways, exhausted, undoubtedly suffered from an extremely intense start to the stage. The breakaway took nearly 80 kilometers to go, and the best riders had to give their all to eliminate, one by one, the members of the peloton tempted to take the good car. We thus saw for a time the untouchable Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard in a leading group which was going at high speed (47.5 km / h on average over the first two hours).
Pinot stands out and repositions itself
The yellow jersey group, who arrived 4’14” from Ion Izagirre, finally decided to let go of a group, long led by Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck). The profile of this stage looks like a spring classic hilly suited the Dutchman, but this one – voted “combatant of the day” – broke down in the penultimate ascent listed.
Thibaut Pinot, on the other hand, held out until the end in the chasing group, thus recovering three minutes from his competitors in the general standings. Officially disinterested in this objective, the Franc-Comtois is nevertheless tenth on the evening of this 12th stage, 32 seconds behind its proclaimed leader, David Gaudu. But for his last Tour and given his hitherto optimal physical condition, it is not an illusion to imagine Thibaut Pinot getting involved in the fight for places of honor.