Last year the first day in the Pyrenees was enough for Chris Froome to rout the competition by getting his hands on his second Tour. This year the first taste on the Aspin, the sweetest of the famous passes that made the history of the yellow jersey, it didn't offer enough roughness for Froome or Quintana to break the bank, but there were few who thought that the stage – won by Steven Cummings, fourth center of the Dimension Data after Cavendish's set – offered an immediate chance for recovery for the crashed Nibali in the underworld of the standings in the stage of Lioran and saw among the forwards of the day the same yellow jersey, the Belgian Van Avermaet, who further strengthened his position as leader. A really strange day to interpret because if Nibali, given the delay of more than 8 minutes from the big names in the first places of the general classification, could also not have worried Froome and the others too much, less understandable is the freedom of action granted to Van Avermaet who will be one specialist in classics and not in grand tours, but who today sets off again towards Bagnères de Luchon with an advantage that is almost 7 minutes. The Belgian was as good as Nibali in immediately joining a large squad of 29 fugitives. Fearing Aspin located 7 km from the finish at Lac du Payolle, the yellow jersey thought that attack is the best defence. So when, as soon as he passed Arrau, Cummings took off flying up the Aspin, Van Avermaet didn't invent a grimpeur but he didn't look bad either. He stays with Nibali, Navarro and Cummings in pursuit of Cummings without ever going over the top. He is not alarmed when the Shark tries to be the Shark of the last stages of the Giro. He lets his three adventure companions go without getting upset while still maintaining a good margin of advantage over Froome, Quintana, Aru and Valverde. In front Cummings is uncatchable and goes to take his second success in his career in the Tour. Nibali, after the blaze, can't handle the change of pace given by Navarro and Impey in view of the Aspin Gpm and has to settle for fourth place at 2 '14” from Cummings, however improving his ranking. 50” pass from the arrival of the Shark and here comes the yellow jersey of Van Avermaet.
His is a masterpiece: the group of the best including Contador, Aru, Valverde and Rodriguez arrives 1'25” after the yellow jersey. Time trial in hand he had started from L'Isle Jourdain with 5'17” on Froome and Quintana, at the end of the stage the Belgian – who was also a goalkeeper at Beveren before abandoning football for cycling – saw his lead rise to 6' 42". No one could have foreseen such an exploit. But yesterday the Tour shuffled the cards up to imitating "Seriously" when the triple inflatable arch that signals the last km the arch suddenly deflates as the group of Froome and the other big names arrived. A scene from Ridolini that clashes with the grandeur of the Tour even if the only one to suffer physical damage is the British Adam Yates. The others even manage to smile because they get away with it and the jury obviously decides to neutralize the delay. Something similar had already happened in Corsica in the 2013 Tour, the first won by Froome, when the Orica GreenEdge truck knocked down the arch placed on the finish line. Even Van Avermaet laughs more and more in the yellow jersey even if today the Tour prepares him a scary test: it is the day of the Pyrenean ride that will take the riders from Pau to Bagnères de Luchon via the Tourmalet, the Col de Val Louron-Azet and the Peyresourde. Legendary hills that have seen immortal challenges between the great pedals of every era and which today offer Quintana the right terrain for the first attack on Froome. Other special observers, in addition to the yellow jersey, Contador recovering and Aru who hasn't missed a beat so far.
