The peloton also passed through many farms and fields as they made their way from central France to Sarran, the home of the Presidential Jacques Chirac Museum. Each day, as the Tour continues on its roundabout route across the country, there are subtle reminders that this summer stay has been moved to the first glimpses of fall, namely dried sunflowers. Discover the photo of the day of the Tour below.
Read on for the short films from stage 12 of the Tour de France.
Pou-Pou recalled along the route of stage 12
Raymond Poulidor won the French road racing championships in 1961 and between 1962-1976, he finished eight times on the Tour de France podium. Called “Pou-Pou” by fans, Poulidor never wore the yellow malloit of the famous breed of his country.
He died at the age of 83 last November in his native village of St-Léonard-de-Noblat. The stage 12 route took the route through his village to remember the popular racer, with fans along the side of the road holding signs as well as current and former professional cyclists acknowledging his great achievements today. .
Jérôme Cousin (Total Direct Energie) declared on his Twitter thread: “Raymond (Poulidor) is someone who has had a relationship with all the riders in the peloton in all the French races. We will try to pay tribute to him today. ”
Tour de France race director Christian Prudhomme also took to Twitter to say, “Raymond has been here every year since 1962. His smile and his humor are sorely missed. It will be celebrated everywhere and it will of course be very moving. “
Christian Prudhomme remembers Raymond Poulidor, always so loyal to the Grande Boucle. “Raymond has been there every year since 1962. His smile and his humor are sorely missed. It will be celebrated everywhere and it will of course be very moving. »# TDF2020 pic.twitter.com/7GO6A0w9C2 September 10, 2020
Schachmann goes on the attack
Max Schachmann entered the Tour de France in good form after a top 10 at Il Lombardia for Bora-Hansgrohe, but also with a broken collarbone after being kidnapped by a citizen who had somehow driven the course during of the final. Although the injury was less than a month old, Schachmann persevered on the Tour de France and on Thursday went with the winning attack on the Côte de la Croix du Pey, a Category 3 climb.
Schachmann said he was given the green light from points contender Peter Sagan to go for a result.
“We didn’t have very specific plans, it was more about how the races went in the first few kilometers. We were expecting a larger group of maybe 20-25 runners. [to make the breakaway]. This is the last chance for the Classics during this Tour de France. Suddenly four riders started and the peloton had already stalled so we tried to control the race for Peter, ”said the 26-year-old German.
However, a series of short, sharp climbs in the last 50 kilometers made the stage more difficult than expected and it was clear that there would be no sprint finish for Sagan.
“The race was a pretty tough race in the final kilometers,” Schachmann said. “Sunweb started to attack on the penultimate categorized climb, so I followed. Peter told me after 25 km “don’t wait for me, go for it yourself and try your luck”. ”
Schachmann was briefly with Marc Soler (Movistar) and Marc Hirschi of Sunweb in the lead. Soler made the first dig but it was Hirschi who escaped and stayed away for a solo victory. Schachmann was swept away by a group of chasers and sprinted home for sixth place on the stage.
CCC team doctor confirms Zakarin’s injuries
There was more bad luck for Ilnur Zakarin (CCC team) on Thursday. After missing a chance for a stage victory in the Pyrenees by losing contact with the breakaway during the descent of the Col de Menté during stage 9, the Russian crashed in the neutral kilometers before the stage 11.
Thursday during stage 12, Zakarin threw in the towel.
CCC team doctor Daniele Zaccaria explained before the start of stage 12: “Ilnur Zakarin was involved in a fall in the neutral zone of stage 11. He was able to complete the stage but had rib pain which required further examination. X-Rays performed on arrival in Poitiers confirmed an undisplaced fracture of the sixth left rib. At this point Ilnur will continue to run as we adopt conservative therapies that will not be compromised by running. We will continue to monitor the condition of Ilnur and make other decisions accordingly. ”
Zakarin did almost half the day before getting into the team car on the longest stage of the Tour de France 2020.
# TDF2020Ilnur Zakarin was involved in a crash in the neutral zone on Stage 11 that left him with a fractured rib. CCC team doctor Dr Daniele Zaccaria provided the following update ahead of step 12 👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/Cv7wo54MVj September 10, 2020
Sunflowers tell the story
Isn’t the Tour de France famous for the peloton driving past huge fields of sunflowers in full yellow summer bloom? Not this year.
Due to the global coronavirus pandemic, a lot has changed with this year’s Tour de France, but the 107th edition continues to roll, having gone from the traditional dates of July to September. While the most significant visual change was the face coverage of runners, staff and supporters at the start and finish lines, as well as gatherings of scattered spectators, the runner-up would be the sunflower display. Or, should we say, the withered remnants of summer flowers.
A recent Tour de France ‘photo of the day’ illustrates how the landscape portrays the fall season.
😍 PIC OF THE DAY 😍 by @ century21fr # TDF2020 📸 ASO / Ashley Gruber – Jered Gruber pic.twitter.com/Z9ppS26Ijf September 9, 2020
