Cycling: final suspense at the Romandie Tour!

Five passes, including three Maousses, with 4,100 meters of elevation gain on less than 120 terminals, were not enough to make the decision during this 78th round of the Romandie and so much the better for bicycle fans at the end of the Lake Geneva. They will still be able to target the final victory in Geneva and the suspense will be total until the last runner’s passage on the finish line. The Superstar Remco Evenepoel, it will have to “satisfy” to aim for the stage victory on Sunday, he who is now dropped (9th at 1’41) in general.

Lenny Martinez’s Victory at the Thyon 2000 summit is by far a surprise. And it will be necessary to count with him in the city of Calvin to sell his skin dear. Because the French nugget, despite its frail physique (1m68 for 52 kg!), Has fire in the legs and is especially not a handle against the clock. He had taken a beautiful 16th place during the prologue of St-Imier on Tuesday, but above all finished 11th in the time (in a bump, it’s true) of the last Tour de France, about forty of a certain Joao Almeida.

“Honestly, I do not think that the Sunday’s route suits me 100%, euphemized the runner of the Bahrain-Victorious training, with stars in the eyes after putting on the yellow jersey, on the RTS set. But I’m going to give everything, you never know! I will at least target the final podium, because from there to keep the yellow jersey to the end … Joao Almeida is a very good roller! But as usual, I will give the best of myself. ”

Just to make his family even more proud, the descendant of old glories like his father Miguel, Olympic mountain bike champion in 2000, his uncle Yannick, former pro and his grandfather Mariano, twice stage winner and best climber in the 1978 Tour de France.

The Frenchman has a little pressure, casually, he who was so criticized last year for leaving his cocoon of Groupama-FDJ for the training sponsored by the Bahrain. There is, of course, signed a big contract, but he also found a team in which he flourishes. And then this Sunday he can mark the history of his country. No “blue” has won a stage race in the World Tour since the “Jurassic” Christophe Moreau. It was on the Critérium du Dauphiné, already 18 years ago. A straw in the country of the Tour de France …

“In the end, I think this Saturday was a good day,” said Joao Almeida. The team did a big job. From the start in Sion, my teammates checked the escapes and it gave me the motivation to go louder and try to finish the work to the finish line. I was fine, but not necessarily 100%. At the end, Lenny Martinez was the strongest, so congratulations to him. We will put everything on the table tomorrow for the time trial. Compared to the guys who play the final classification, I think Jay Vine and I have a good chance of doing well. But we still have to have good legs and to be able to give everything! ”

The Portuguese Almeida will not doubt the big favorite for the final success. A little less than a month ago, on an almost similar distance route on the Tour of the Basque Country, the runner of the UAE team had only been beaten by the German Maximilian Schachmann and for … 54 hundredths. The current third (3 ”), the Italian Lorenzo Fortunato, has no reference against the clock (156th on Tirreno-Adriatico, 134th in St-Imier), which opens the door to Jay Vine (Team Uae, 4th to 32 ”) for the podium.

For the general success, nothing is played therefore. But the victory of the last stage of this French -speaking loop will also give rise to a big battle. Remco Evenepoel will want to finish its Swiss week on a slightly more promising note than its general classification shows. The Belgian will have a lot to do against other long teeth rollers, who were able to save on Saturday. The two Stefan, Küng and Bissegger, in particular, will be among the runners to follow. Also story to save the slightly sad Swiss report this year.