Il Tour, which falls under France after the two stops in Brussels, send that phenomenon into orbit Julian Alaphilippe, the strongest rider out there today for the one-day classics, all the more so if the track is clogged with walls and bumps in the finale. And the third fraction of Epernay, in the lands and on the "cotes" made famous by champagne, it was ideal for Alaphilippe to pack one of his extraordinary shows, authentic masterpieces of explosiveness on the pedals. And so it was.
The leader of Deceuninck Quick Step he waited for the hardest stretch of the Cote de Moutigny to unleash the offensive leaving everyone in the lurch. An impressive shot for power and timeliness that made the void behind: In a few seconds Alaphilippe reached and left the Belgian to himself Tim Wellens, a brave survivor of a five-man breakaway who was in time to pass the Gpm first – securing the climbers' red polka dot jersey – before giving up and ending up in the rear of the race.
Alaphilippe, even taking advantage of the fact that no one thinks he can win the Tour, he piled up a security advantage swooping down with ferocious grit, all alone, on the finish line in Epernay amidst the jubilation of the crowd: for him en plein to be framed with stage win and yellow jersey. It was since 2014 that a Frenchman wore the symbol of primacy: the last one was Toni Gallopin, who snatched the yellow jersey from Nibali for one day. At 26” from the French he finished Michael Matthews, which regulated the group of the best, in which, however, a hole was created that was estimated in a few seconds.
Eleven runners benefited from it including Bernal e Pinot, who thus gained a 5” advantage Thomas, Nibali, Krujiswjick, Quintana and the other ranking men. In the eventful final they were left behind, in addition to the former yellow jersey Teunissen, also Aru, arrived at 1'22”, e Zakarin, placed 71st at 3'51”. He was even classified by more than 6 minutes Simon yates, the winner of the last Vuelta, who had started the season promising havoc at the Giro but who, given how his Tour started, must bitterly take note of an increasingly unsuccessful 2019.
