Ion Izagirre achieves the second Spanish victory at the Tour de France

Euphoric, blowing kisses in the air, between tears, moving, Ion Izagirre (Cofidis) recorded a heroic solo victory in the contested twelfth stage of the Tour de France Roanne and Belleville-En-Beaujolais, of 168.8 kilometers, a transition day in the general classification, led by the Dane Jonas Vingegaard.

Seven years after his first success in Morzine, Ion Izagirre (Ormaiztegi, 34 years old) enjoyed another victory in the wine-growing country, imbued with heroism and strong emotions that ended in tears of the lucky woman. Sam, the Gipuzkoan had time to “pluck the ears” of his daughter who was celebrating her birthday, raise her hands and enjoy an unforgettable day in her own way.

A heroic and emotional triumph

Izagirre won big, with an attack in the last port, the Col de la Croix Rosier, 32 kilometers from the finish line, a last shot that allowed him to open the way to glory to the finish line, unaware of the pursuers, who had to double knee, powerless in the hunt for the Basque cyclist .

Second Spanish victory in 3 days after the one he signed bilbao hair in Issoire, the Basque double and the second for Cofidis, who appeared in Bilbao after a 15-year Tour drought.

Izagirre completed his great task in 3:51.42, an average of 43.7 km/h, with an advantage of 58 seconds over his immediate followers, French Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies) and American Matteo Jorgenson, again a trick, unsuccessful, from Movistar.

“The forces followed and I tried from afar. It was very exciting, I remembered my daughter Iraia who turned 4 this Thursday. These are the moments we miss because we are away from home for a long time. It’s a gift for her,” said Ion Izagirre through tears.

The main group with players from the general classification crossed the finish line 4.14 minutes behind Izagirre, with no changes in the standings after a busy day before the ascent of the Grand Colombier. Jonas Vinggaard and Tadej Pogacar will reach the Jura mountain 17 seconds apart, and Jai Hindley is 2.40 behind. Carlos Rodríguez, fourth, 1.42 from the podium, and Pello Bilbao is fifth, 1.54 from the third step.

explosive output

Explosive phase from the very beginning in Roanne, a city of 34,000 inhabitants that offers as many as 13 restaurants rated with stars in its gastronomic and tourist guide. On the menu are stages with a wavy profile, middle mountains, almost classic with 3000 meters of unevenness, and 5 ascents, the most interesting in the last third.

From the very beginning, the platoon put on the table fierce and abundant attacks. Everyone who wants to fly. Even Generals Vingegaard and Pogacar had to be ready. Among those who tried to make a feast was David de la Cruz (Astana), but the Catalan, as happened in his debut in 2014, ended up in the hospital with a broken collarbone.

There seemed to be no end to the madness. Neither adventure was consolidated until the 95th kilometer after he passed through Regnié Durette’s sprint. Finally, 15 men gathered at the front, many notable names, ready to fight with the main platoon, which initially accepted the offer.

The expedition included world champions like Alaphilippe and Pedersen, cyclocross king Van der Poel, Pinot, Ion Izagirre… a lot of tickets for the peloton that was content to maintain a gap of around 3 minutes.

Van der Poel is sinking

Van der Poel, unprecedented in this Tour, burned his boats attacking 47 kilometers from the finish descending the Croix de Montmain, but the Alpecin giant blew up prematurely as he was caught by Pinot and Jorgenson, and later by Izagirre’s group.

The stage is marked in Cofidis. He put Guillaume Martin and Izagirre on a good breakaway. The Frenchman was the luxury domestique for the Basque cyclist’s attack 3km from the summit of Croix Rosier (2nd, 5.3km to 7.6), with another 32km to finish.

A risky effort for Izagirre, but his experience and toughness gained over the years served to start a solo time trial to the finish line. So, he escaped, won in Morzine in 2016. Then he went down the pass risking the chassis, fearlessly increasing the gap with the pursuers.

One minute behind and 10 km behind, victory was sung. Izagirre bravely resisted and was honored to arrive in Belleville En Beaujolais in time to slowly savor his second day of Tour glory like a glass of local wine.

This Friday, July 14, a French national holiday, the Tour returns to the mountains in the thirteenth stage between Châtillon-Sur-Chalaronne and Grand Colombier, the third ascent of this edition. The finish line is at a height of 1,501 meters after a 17.4 km climb with 7.1 percent on average and 10 in the last km.