El Tour ha visitado hoy la imponente ciudad de Marsella, una de las cunas de la prueba ya que en una carrera entre esta ciudad costera y París inspiró a Henri Desgrange para crear la ronda francesa. Es la tercera ciudad del país por detrás de la capital y Lyon y su puerto es uno de los más famosos. La localidad provenzal siempre se ha ligado con el Tour por alguna de las escapadas más famosas de su historia. Sin duda la más recordada fue la de 1971 donde Eddy Merckx lanzó un furibundo ataque de salida y venció tras 212 kilómetros de escapada. “El Caníbal” salió rabioso porque el día anterior había perdido casi ocho minutos con Luis Ocaña y sacó todo su temperamento para mostrar quién mandaba, aunque recuperó mucho menos tiempo del que le había sacado el español en la jornada precedente. La velocidad a la que rodó el belga fue tan alta que cuando llegó a meta no había público ya que llegó con más de una hora de adelanto sobre la hora prevista y esto causó el enfado de la organización. Otra fuga muy recordada fue la de Fabio Roscioli en 1993. El italiano alzó los brazos tras casi 200 kilómetros en solitario y ganó la apuesta que había hecho con sus amigos del pueblo: una cena para 25 personas. El transalpino era un corredor desconocido al que muchos comparaban por su aspecto físico y gafas con Laurent Fignon. El último que obtuvo el triunfo en Marsella por delante del pelotón fue Cedric Vasseur en 2007 tras ser superior a sus tres compañeros que eran Casar, Albasini y Voigh.

Hoy el Tour ha regresado al continente y lo ha hecho a un lugar tradicional de la prueba como es Niza. Un sitio de mucho glamour, gente acaudalada, grandes fortunas, coches caros...y mucha tradición ciclista. Eso se ha notado, y de qué forma, en el ambiente que ha habido a lo largo de toda la contrarreloj, siempre repleta de personas que aplaudían a ambos lados de la carretera. Nuestro BH Sojasun ha cumplido y aún sin estar con los mejores, hemos realizado una buena actuación porque la guerra de la general no es la nuestra y hoy era un día para los aspirantes al podium final de París. Y la llegada a Niza también supone la presencia de ilustres visitantes de la carrera como el actor Jean Paul Belmondo junto a su hijo (piloto pero enamorado de las bicicletas) o el Príncipe Alberto de Mónaco que ha querido contemplar el paso de los héroes del pelotón. En el Tour de Francia él es el Príncipe pero los reyes son otros: los ciclistas. Y ha estado acompañado el heredero monegasco de tres de los grandes zares de la historia del ciclismo: Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx y Raymond Poulidor.

Today the Tour returned to the continent and it did so in the traditional race site of Nice. A location filled with glamour, wealth, large fortunes, expensive cars...and a great cycling tradition. This has been ever so apparent in the atmosphere of the individual time trial, with spectators applauding from both sides of the road. Our BH Sojasun team has achieved its goal, and while not reaching the leaders, we have managed to have a great race. The overall fight is not ours and today was a day for those aspiring to reach the podium in Paris. The arrival to Nice also meant the presence of important race spectators, including actor Jean Paul Belmondo who came with his son (race car driver and passionate cycling follower) or Prince Albert of Monaco who came to see the heroes of the peloton. In the Tour de France, he is the Prince, but the real kings are the cyclists. And the heir apparent of Monaco was accompanied by three great tsars of cycling history: Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx and Raymond Poulidor.

Today I am leaving Corsica with a strange sensation. Very satisfied with the fantastic action of the team but with a certain sad feeling of having victory at our fingertips.  The best success of sport is gaining the yellow jersey of the Tour de France and we have been at a miserable one second of reaching it with Julien Simon.  That short period, unappreciable for the majority of humans, is what separated Simon from Bakelants, or in other words, what separates the prizes, the interviews, the general recognition, and the kisses from the girls on the podium from practically indifference.  However, Simon is aware that his second overall place makes him grow as a cyclist and what is most important is to gain maturity and not to sink.  I am proud of him and of the rest of the team, especial today of “Pikachu” as we also know Alexis Vuillermoz.  Arriving from the mountain bike, he was the escaped leader for more than 100 kilometres wearing the Sojasun green jersey along the route in beautiful Corsica. He was world under-23 sub-champion in 2009 in BTT and, guess who was fourth behind him and without a medal? A certain Peter Sagan.  

Today we have reached Ajaccio, the beautiful city that saw the birth of Napoleon on August 15th 1769. Always accompanied by intense heat, we have contemplated the marvellous landscapes of southern Corsica where the figure of the emperor is present in all the most hidden corners of the Corsican capital.  Nowadays the emperors of the leaders have granted us an excellent stage and finish where the Belgian Jan Bakelants has won and has been dressed in the yellow shirt. Today he is the king. Many were surprised by his triumph; I was not at all.  I know him very well, he is a great cyclist whom I saw win a Tour of the Future in 2008 in front of Rui Costa and he has tremendous physical strength although injuries have been a big handicap for him.   I have always followed him and am very happy for him... although he is not one of ours.

The tour is here and they really couldn’t have chosen a better place for it. Corsica is the perfect setting in which to celebrate 100 years of the best race in the world, even if at first glance it looks as though it could be set in a science fiction film. One of the teams’ coaches has blocked the finish line and the organization has been close to changing it with only ten kilometers to go. Never have I experienced such a situation in my life and the tension and lack of information means that there is a sense of pure nerves coming from the assembled cars. The only similar event that I can think of was back in 85 when an MDP bus hit the slope of one of the harbors and had to be pulled out by tractors. I also remember one time during the first few years of the test in Marseille, where one of the final stages of the race had to be moved due to a police involved protest. The finish line was moved to the city’s entrance where the winner celebrated the victory alone because there was nobody there waiting for him.