‘Coup du kilometre’: How to win a Tour de France stage hiding in plain sight

There are different ways to win a bike race, but it is not often a Tour de France stage is won like this, by stealth, hiding in plain sight: a coup du kilometre, as the French say. Frenchman Victor Lafay attacked once in the final throes but was quickly reeled in, so perhaps no one believed him when he tried again – certainly no one did enough to stop him.

On arrival in San Sebastian, where thousands of fans had waited patiently in the rain, Lafay furiously pedalled clear of the elite group, who looked around at each other asking who would chase. By the time they’d made up their minds, Lafay had turned the final corner on the beachfront alone and was clinging on for dear life, carried along by adrenaline, and hope, and by the deafening drumbeat of hands against the hoardings. As he crawled to the line Wout van Aert hunted him like a wounded animal, but it was too late. Lafay threw his hands in the air; Van Aert punched his handlebars.

It was a historic day for French cycling. Cofidis have been around for 26 years and have not won a stage of the Tour since 2008, a plucky but generally hopeless team usually closer to the lanterne rouge than the yellow jersey. Finally, that streak was snapped, in the most unexpected way. After Van Aert had hauled himself over the tough Jaizkibel ascent then the stage was always his to lose against a bunch of lightweight climbers but Lafay is well-known in the peloton for his unpredictable surges, and one of them paid off spectacularly here, earning his first Tour stage win.

Tadej Pogacar finished third, and just quietly it has been the perfect start to this Tour for the two-time champion, looking to take back his crown from Jumbo-Visma’s Jonas Vingegaard. Pogacar beat Vingegaard to the top of the Jaizkibel to earn eight bonus seconds, then gained another four at the finish. His UAE Emirates teammate Adam Yates keeps hold of the yellow jersey, but Pogacar now has 11 seconds on Vingegaard in the general classification after only two days, and every second could count in this well-balanced rivalry.

So two stages down, two small wins for UAE Emirates. If the race continues this way, Vingegaard might eventually need a knockout blow in the Alps.

Organisers would have hoped for fireworks in the final hills and that is how the day played out. Three riders went clear in an early breakaway, among them America’s Neilson Powless (EF Education), who scooped up enough King of the Mountains points over the early climbs to keep hold of the polka dot jersey for another day. Powless was eventually swallowed up by the peloton on the final ascent, the demanding Jaizkibel used in the San Sebastian Classic.

From there, UAE Emirates and Jayco-Alula, working for their leader Simon Yates, tried to keep the pace high and shed the quick finishers. Mostly they succeeded, except for Van Aert, a man who defies convention, and his presence meant anyone else left in this elite group of 24 front-runners could not afford to just sit back and wait for a sprint finish.

Basque rider Pello Bilbao attacked but was quickly caught – the Basque Country would not get that precious win on home soil. Ineos’s Tom Pidcock and Danish champion Mattias Skjelmose failed in attempts at a solo escape too.

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Then came Lafay, whose first effort was quickly shut down. But his second was perfectly timed, both in the moment – as the rest seemed to gather themselves for a sprint – and in the distance to the line, far enough out to momentarily confound his rivals but just within reach before his legs gave out. He crossed the finish almost in slow motion compared to Van Aert and Pogacar closing in, but he had set his eyes on the line and never looked back.

Vingegaard was not far behind, along with the rest of the leading pack. There are now only 20 riders within a minute of the yellow jersey and they include British riders Pidcock and both Simon and Adam Yates – the latter kept hold of the yellow jersey and is likely to hold it at least until the high Pyrenees climbs in the middle of next week.

Later, much later, Mark Cavendish came home surrounded by a raft of Astana helpers and a few other stragglers. Tomorrow is another day: the peloton crosses the border to France where a flat finish awaits for the sprinters to contest. There, Cavendish will have designs on a historic 35th stage win – a coup of about 50m would suit him nicely.