More than 155 riders from 26 nations came together for the 55th edition of the Tour de l’Avenir, the final race of the UCI Nations’ Cup U23. Over 10 stages from August 17 to 26, every rider from every team was challenged to the max as they tried to perform to their best abilities.
The Tour de l’Avenir (Tour of the Future) is a stage race that is deeply rooted in France. For Under-23 riders, it comes close to the status of the Tour de France. Former winners of the Tour de l’Avenir have gone on to finish the Tour de France in the yellow jersey: Felice Gimondi, Joop Zoetemelk, Greg LeMond, Miguel Indurain and Laurent Fignon, for example. Others have been spotted by major professional teams: Egan Bernal (now on Team Sky), for example.
This year’s winner, Slovenian youngster, Tadej Pogačar, has just signed a contract with UCI WorldTeam UAE Team Emirates. Although legends do not develop in just ten days, the Tour de l’Avenir is a huge milestone on the road to the maturity a rider requires to gain such status.
This year’s race, which took on a new dimension with an extra day of racing, set off from Grand-Champ, a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany, and ended ten days later in Saint-Colomban-des-Villards, flanking the Glandon Pass, in Savoie.
While the early long and straight stages suited some riders, particularly the sprinters and the rouleurs, it was a living hell for others. That was due not only to the narrow roads but also to a certain nervousness in the peloton. The stakes were high. For some more than for the others.
Once the race left the long straight roads through beautiful villages and past majestic castles, it became more hilly and less nervous.
On the seventh day, the traditional rest day was replaced by a short stage into the mountains. Instead of ice cream and some laps in the pool, a hard day was on the cards. Reactions from team and riders varied, but one thing is for certain: it helped make the battle for the general classification even more interesting.
Then came the time for the teams to put on their autumn clothes. After the long exhausting and very hot first stages it was almost a relief when the clouded sky opened its gates to deliver refreshing rain. Fortunately, the precipitations waited until after the very tough ascents and technical demanding descents. “It was a difficult stage. The race was very nervous from the beginning. The race was not really controlled,” said Michel Ries (Luxembourg) afterwards.
Among major difficulties tackled during the Tour de l’Avenir were those scheduled for the 10th and final stage: the Iseran andthe formidable Chaussy Pass before the final climb to Saint-Colomban-des-Villards.
Some riders could not resist loud shouts of joy on Sunday morning on learning that they would not have to climb the Col de l’Iseran due to icy roads. Even so, the last stage was still one of the hardest. Attacks, solo breakaways, headwind, sidewind, climbs, very technical descents, cold and thin air, hot sun and a final bunch sprint…
Finally, 31 riders didn’t finish. It’s a pity for them but not shameful. The race is a tough one and for many, a mere question of survival. The first three riders, Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia) Thymen Arensman (the Netherlands) and Gino Mäder (Switzerland) did more than survive. And we probably haven’t heard the last of them.
Results