Blel wrings out an emphatic victory in the rain
It’s an oft-repeated cliché that a stage win in the Tour de France can make a rider’s career, but, as Paul Weller once observed, “it’s only a cliché because it’s true”.
If Blel Kadri never wins another race in his life, far less another stage of the Tour, he will have every right to dine out on his victory on stage eight of the 101st edition for as long as he chooses.
Twice, he displayed an acute tactical awareness: firstly by joining a breakaway formed of Sylvain Chavanel, Niki Terpstra, and Simon Yates (more of whom later), and secondly by recognising the danger of Chavanel’s second attack, made on the steepest section of the Col de la Croix des Moinats, and finding the wherewithal to respond. We learned afterwards that his principle motivation was to discourage Yates, but we will deal with that separately.
Then there was Kadri’s intense concentration. Surrounded by an army of spectators on the unbarriered, upper reaches of the Grosse Pierre, the Frenchman refused to be distracted. We had seen riders lash out on the similarly populated slopes of the Monte Zoncolan six weeks earlier, but Kadri kept his composure and with it his rhythm.
His tempo remained unaltered until he gained sight of the finish line and only then did he allow himself the pleasure of celebration. His smile perhaps contained as much relief as joy. The pressure French riders feel to deliver in their national tour is intense, and the weight of the world appeared to have been lifted from Kadri’s skinny shoulders as he completed his victory.
He has form for this style of victory. Members of the Tour peloton who had shared the road with him at last year’s inaugural Roma Maxima should perhaps have been more alert to the obvious danger of allowing him to escape. Impartial observers will be glad they didn’t. A home victory is good for any event (just ask those associated with the World Cup, now trying to engender a spirit of joy in a country plunged into mourning by the national team’s consecutive humiliations), and Kadri’s should be as popular as any.
