Tour de France - Fee for learning instead of victory: Carpenter misses opportunity
Georg Zimmermann was disappointed with himself after missing the repeated opportunity for a stage win. "I'm too old to learn anymore. The time has come to earn successes and not keep paying tuition fees", said the disappointed Augsburg native in ARD. The 18th stage of the Tour de France to Barcelonnette was supposed to be the big day for the 26-year-old. But at Victor Campenaerts' victory, Zimmermann was flat during the decisive attack and finished in 23rd place.
"Today's race was a bit tough for me. I was really good. I invested a little too much about two kilometers before the last mountain's peak. That was the decisive moment", said Zimmermann. "Sometimes you're just flat. That happened today a little too early."
A powerless moment
Zimmermann couldn't blame anyone else. However, the dream of a stage win was shattered again, as it was last year when he was even closer. On the tenth section, he had to concede to the Spaniard Pello Bilbao.
The contenders for the overall win gave up counter-attacks. Tadej Pogacar successfully defended his Yellow Jersey, leading by 3:11 minutes over the Danish title defender Jonas Vingegaard. The Belgian Time Trial World Champion Remco Evenepoel had a deficit of 5:09 minutes.
A group of nearly 40 riders had formed about an hour after the start in Gap. With five smaller mountain climbs, the stage was perfect for a large escape. Zimmermann was always in the mix and one of the most active riders. Around 60 kilometers from the finish, the Bayer himself launched an attack when the group broke apart due to strong crosswinds. However, he had a powerless moment about 40 kilometers from the finish.
Good memories of Geschke
It was clear before the two difficult Alps tests that there would be a day for breakaways. However, it took almost the entire first hour of racing to find a group. There were constant attacks and counter-attacks.
In one of the formed groups was also Simon Geschke. The Berliner has good memories of the area around the finish in Barcelonnette. Practically in sight - at the top of the Pra-Loup ski resort - the veteran won as a solo rider a mountain finish of the Tour in 2015. To this day, it is the highlight of the climber specialist, who ended his career at the end of the year.
However, the Geschke group couldn't break away decisively. When the day's breakaway riders formed their next attack, Geschke was no longer there. Instead, it was the Augsburg's Georg Zimmermann, who, among the seven German riders, had the best chances according to the predictions.
The roof of the Tour is waiting
Friday was a challenge for the sprinters to finish within the time limit. The course leads over the 2802-meter-high Cime de la Bonnette and thus over the highest point ever reached in the Tour. It is the second highest asphalted road in the Alps after the Ötztaler Gletscherstraße in Austria. The almost 23-kilometer long ascent is the second of three major climbs, all of which are over 2000 meters high.
If Vingegaard still has hopes for the overall win in the General Classification, he must attack Pogacar at the Cime de la Bonnette. Alone at the final climb to Isola 2000, the Dane will not be able to make up the more than three-minute deficit.
Zimmermann reflected on his tuition fee payments, expressing his desire for success instead of continued learning. Despite his efforts in the 18th stage of the Tour de France, he finished in 23rd place, missing another opportunity for a stage win. The Alps presented a challenge for sprinters, with the Cime de la Bonnette being the highest point ever reached in the Tour, a potential turning point for Jonas Vingegaard's hopes for the overall win. In a past Tour de France, Simon Geschke also tasted success in Barcelonnette, winning a mountain finish solo.
In the same group as Geschke during that stage, Tadej Pogacar successfully defended his Yellow Jersey with a substantial lead over Jonas Vingegaard, while Remco Evenepoel trailed behind. Georg Zimmermann, seen as one of the German riders with the best chances, launched an attack about 60 kilometers from the finish, but had a powerless moment, ultimately finishing outside the group of breakaway riders. Pello Bilbao had previously frustrated Zimmermann's stage win aspirations on another section of the Tour.
