Winning Magazine Online Columns
Tour Diary (July 9)
So it finally happened Laurent Jalabert admitted defeat after struggling bravely through three days of racing with his strength chronically depleted. ONCE’s leader had expected better of his Tour, even if he repeatedly said prior to the start that he was not yet ready to win the three-week race. His collapse on the road to Les Arcs was as mortifying to French fans as it was to his team manager Manolo Saiz. "We knew that Laurent was not quite at 100 percent, but we were still surprised by how rapidly his health declined," he said. It left many questioning just why, if he was feeling feverish, Jalabert had spent much of the stage to Les Arcs climbing with his jersey fully unzipped in chilling fog and freezing rain.
After a tub-thumping first week in which French riders occupied the yellow jersey and the points jersey and won three stages, the reality of French professional cycling’s parlous state has hit home hard. Thankfully for the home fans, Richard Virenque has been his usual plucky self in the high mountains while a rejuvenated Luc Leblanc has also done his best to fly the red, white and blue tri-color. But as the Tour takes its day of rest in Gap, only seven French riders remain in the top 50, and Moncassin looks to have lost ground to Telekom’s exuberant Zabel in the battle for green.
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