It was about to become the subject of "Chi l'ha visto" rather than sports news programmes. From Simon yates, the one who had set the Giro d'Italia on fire for two weeks and who had triumphed in the Vuelta, had almost lost track of this Tour since the team time trial in Brussels, when like a nobody he had let himself be pulled off the train of Mitchelton Scott pulled by his twin, to then wander on the roads of France often at the rear of the group, always dispersed among the rear of the group until he accumulated over an hour behind the yellow jersey.
Worse, to stay in the club of those who know how to win a big race, even of Vincenzo Nibali, that at least in the first stages had given the impression of being able to fight for the top ten if not for the podium before sadly drifting away. But Bury's elf, when he was considered different, enters the breakaway of the day - about forty riders who, like him, have nothing more to say or do for the classification - and after the Col de Peyresourde, he had made the first selection, decided to attack on the Horquette d'Ancizan with the steepest slopes: only the Austrian resisted with Yates Muhlberger and Spanish bilbao hair, winner of two stages at the Giro all'Aquila and on Monte Avena: the descent towards Bagnères-de-Bigorre, 30 km done at over 60 km per hour, did not break the trio ready to fight for victory in the first Pyrenean stage in the sprint .
And Yates, who feared Muhlberger's best cue, was good at tackling the last left-hander 200 meters from the finish first and starting dry, spending all the energy left to seize his first Tour success which was missing to join the club of the riders - about seventy - who have put their seal at least once in all three major stage races. Disappointed Muhlberger also let himself be overtaken by Bilbao. Now that he has had this great satisfaction, Simon Yates reiterated that he only came to the Tour to help his twin brother Adam – seventh in the standings at 1'47" from the yellow jersey Alaphilippe – who, having learned of Simon's success, was all smiles and relaxed in the big group – with the Italians Ciccone, Aru and Caruso inside – he arrived 9'35” from the first three.
A first stage on the Pyrenean hills which did not affect Alaphilippe's leadership, leaving everything unchanged in the top twenty positions in the standings but which turned into one of the darkest days for Bahrain-Merida with Nibali's new flop arrived in a gap of almost 19 minutes and with the strange abandonment of the Australian Rohan Dennis right on the eve of today's 27 km time trial in Pau in which the former holder of the hour record was one of the major favourites. By now the delays of the Jaws are no longer even news: Nibali has slipped to 44th place over 26 minutes behind Alaphilippe. Like Yates, after the efforts of the Giro, Nibali would have preferred to skip the Tour and race in the Vuelta but the owner of Bahrain-Merida forced him to be the leader of the formation involved in the Grande Boucle, also because by now it was known that it would be the last time for the Shark with the jersey of the team of the former emirate now a kingdom. Nibali, who has already decided to spend the next season at Trek-Segafredo, is said to feel more and more isolated at home day after day.
To make matters worse, the climate in Bahrain-Merida's home also exploded the Dennis case. The Australian rider abandoned the race, without warning anyone, at the 80th km of the stage near the refueling point, after a start in which he had tried to enter the breakaway of 40. There is talk of an argument right from the start with sporting director Gorazd Stangelj. Even the team's press release clarifies little or nothing about the reasons for the withdrawal, which cannot be physical as Dennis' conditions are more than normal. “We are confused and disappointed - said Stangelj - by what happened because we expected a great commitment from Rohan in the Pau time trial. We stopped the car to look for a solution, we asked him what was going on and he told me he didn't want to talk. And he went away ”.
