Cofidis, Tour de France powerhouse.
Sound crazy? After a 15 year drought in Le Tour, the sad sack, back-of-the- peloton bunch now have scored two stage wins. The underdogs are suddenly going overboard.
First, it was Victor Lafay back on stage 2 who jumped everyone in the final kilometer at the finish in San Sebastian. This was supposed to be a Wout van Aert victory and the Frenchman flat out stole it. Wout got punked and his head practically blew off he was so furious.
Today, it was the turn of teammate Ion Izagirre to freak people out. He attacked the seven riders in his break near the summit of the final climb. He ripped open a gap and then proceeded to bend time to his advantage.
Eventually, Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies) and Energizer bunny Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) slipped away to chase Izagirre but to no avail. They were on the road, but they did not make in-roads.
The Basque rider was out front for thirty kilometers and crossed the line in Belleville-en-Beaujolais with a stylish solo win by more than a minute. He’s thrilled, the team is on cloud nine.
What’s happening over at Cofidis? This is the dream Tour for their sponsor, the financial services company Cofidis. They’ve poured hundreds of thousands of euros into this squad. Any bottom line accounting would say waste of money!
However today, Cofidis now has two Tour victories in the bank. They should go home right now and call it a Tour, a season, an early vacation.
General manager Cédric Vasseur is, how shall we say, eurphoric. “What a day, what a Tour de France! Ion was breathtaking, he’s an exceptional performer. We know that the level is extremely high at the Tour de France, but I’m proud and moved by the team.”
Few things are more powerful in sports than confidence and momentum and Cofidis is now riding a big, beautiful wave. And guess what — now they’re feeling greedy.
“We wanted to try and get in the top ten as well, but we have two victories and Guillaume [Martin] is doing a great Tour as well so it’s all going to plan,” said Izagirre
You hear that Guillaume? The Alps begin tomorrow and you’re the team’s best climber. You almost did top ten on GC in the 2019 Tour de France. Not to mention your philosophy degree and two books to your name, including Socrates by Bike.
Time to write the next chapter of the Suddenly Awesome Cofidis Victory Parade.
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