Simon Geschke (Cofidis) rolled across the finish line, completely alone and enjoying one of the greatest successes of his career.
Geschke with a tour de force into the Tour de France mountain jersey
The Berlin rider won the Tour de France mountain jersey with his last ounce of strength, after his captain Guillaume Martin was taken out of the race in the morning due to a positive corona test. "I died a few deaths on the last climb. But it was worth it," Geschke told the ARD after his coup. On Tuesday, the 36-year-old will become the eighth German to wear the famous white jersey with the red dots.
At the finish of the first Alpine stage in the ski resort of Les Portes du Soleil, Geschke was allowed to try out the coveted piece of fabric at the podium ceremony. The last German to do so was Paul Voss in 2016, and with 19 points Geschke is one point better than stage winner Bob Jungels from Luxembourg.
Favourites lurking around
In the overall standings, the favourites refrained from attacking, so that Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) still 39 seconds ahead of the Dane Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma). "I'm now enjoying starting the day after tomorrow in the mountain jersey, if Corona doesn't put a spanner in the works," said Geschke, who already achieved Tour glory in 2015 when he won the mountain stage to Pra-Loup.
The mandatory coronavirus tests will be carried out on the riders on Sunday evening. If a rapid test is positive, the result is verified with a PCR test. "I'm not afraid of that," says Bora-professional Lennard Kämna. "What am I supposed to do? Either I'm positive or I'm not."
Geschke's captain with positive corona test at Tour de France
Shortly before the start in Aigle, it was announced that Geschke's captain Guillaume Martin would have to withdraw from the race due to a positive corona test. The philosophy graduate was in a promising 14th place in the race. Geschke had planned to join the day's escape group anyway and put his plan into action.
A group of 20 riders, including German champion Nils Politt, broke away early on. Geschke won the penultimate mountain classification, then saved two points on the final climb with his last ounce of strength.
Pogacar team manages cleverly
Dominator Pogacar didn't want the stage win on the first real Alpine stage. His UAE team merely managed the breakaway's lead. Pogacar is more worried about the coronavirus than the competition in the race. The 23-year-old is particularly concerned about the danger from outside. "Every day, people shout at you on the climbs, which I like. But it increases the likelihood of catching the virus," said the Slovenian. Pogacar hopes that the virus is not in the team bubble and that the Norwegian Vegard Stake Laengen was actually infected by a fan. "I hope that's it and that we're safe until the end."
Unease in the peloton increases
There were three new cases over the weekend. In addition to Martin and Poagcar's team-mate Vegard Stake Laengen, Frenchman Geoffrey Bouchard also had to withdraw from the race. Ahead of the first rest day on Monday, there was growing nervousness in the peloton as to how many riders would be affected by the first mandatory tests since the start in Copenhagen.
Jungels also tested positive
After more than a week of silence, the virus is suddenly back in the peloton after six riders had to withdraw from the race before the start in Copenhagen. Ironically, Jungels also tested positive before the start, but benefited from a new rule that allows a symptom-free and non-contagious professional to ride anyway.
The Cofidis team of Geschke and Max Walscheid was the first team to lose its captain. "You can only do what you can to protect yourself. I think we did that well. That's just bad luck," Walscheid told the German Press Agency before the start of the ninth stage and added: "It's a bit of a bummer because we all prepare so meticulously and the race is just so big and so tough. It simply can't be changed. Unfortunately, that's part of it now, we have to deal with it." Walscheid is expecting more cases.
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Pogacar, on the other hand, was still relatively relaxed. "Covid is not a rival. It's just a virus that can affect things and ruin a tour," said Pogacar. Rivals are riders from teams like Jumbo and Ineos. The 23-year-old is confident that his UAE team is still strong enough with seven riders.
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