Victor Lafay’s win on stage two of this year’s Tour de France was a first in 15 years for Cofidis.
Luckily for the French team, they won’t have to wait so long to crack open the champagne again after their Spanish rider Ion Izagirre crossed the line first on a frenetic stage 12.
It took almost 80km for a breakaway to finally form on Thursday, and there are likely to be a lot of tired bodies and minds in the peloton as the race hits the Alps on Friday.
We’ve not seen Tour rivals Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar duke it out since the slopes of the Puy de Dome on Sunday – but another battle royal seems in store with the stage finish atop the Grand Colombier on Bastille Day.
Tour de France Stage 13 Betting Tips
Tadej Pogacar to win stage 13 @ 11/8
Ever since Pogacar clawed back another eight seconds of his deficit to Vingegaard on the Puy de Dome on stage nine, cycling fans have been awaiting the next showdown between the yellow-jersey rivals.
The wait could be about to end on Friday, with the route set up for another mountains duel between the pair.
The route is relatively flat for the first 75km before a steady rise and then descent to the foot of the fearsome Grand Colombier.
That’s when the action should reach fever pitch, and having struck a couple of psychological blows towards the end of week one, Pogacar could sense the chance to usurp Vingegaard in the yellow jersey.
Pogacar has fond memories of the Colombier having won atop the mountain en route to his first Tour success in 2020, and the steep slopes around 10km into the climb could provide him with a perfect springboard to attempt to land a telling blow on the Dane.
Thibaut Pinot to win stage 13 @ 25/1
The French population will be fully behind their home riders on the country’s national holiday, Bastille Day, and no Frenchman would be a more popular winner than Thibaut Pinot.
Pinot is more famous for his heroic defeats than he is for victories, but it would be some story if the Groupama-FDJ climber could scale the heights on Bastille Day in his final Tour de France before retirement.
The 33-year-old was extremely active on stage 12 and looked in decent shape ahead of what could be the most romantic of endings to a Tour de France career were he to win on the Grand Colombier.
Tenth on general classification, Pinot is far enough back to be allowed to escape away from the likes of Pogacar and Vingegaard and should be a nice each-way price.
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