Bytager the publication "Why do riders get sick in the third week of the Tour?"
Every year, we see it return like a clockwork: that dip in form, that scratchy throat, that feverish look at the start of the 18th stage. The signs are unmistakable. The third week of the Tour is often the one where bodies give up. Not always in the effort, but in the invisible resistance: that of immunity. And the question comes back: why do they so often get sick at that time?
By Jeff TATARD – Photos: in thetagram gowift, in thetagram tntsportcycling
Three weeks of gentle war
The Tour de France is 21 stages, passes, wind, rain, heatwaves, crashes, emotions, broken nights, missed podiums, night transfersIn short, a mille-feuille of stress and energy expenditure. And while the body holds firm on the watts, the immune system takes a beating every day.
By pulling on the machine, it finally gives way. Not with a snap of the fingers. But insidiously. As if the body were saying, " I lasted 17 days. You can't ask me for 4 more. »
The day of rest… or the trap of slacking off
A rest day is supposed to be a breath of fresh air, an airlock. But for the body, it's often the opposite. : the sudden relaxation of the rhythm causes a loss of balance. We no longer force ourselves, the nervous system relaxes, the body temperature drops... and the immune defenses falter.
The proof this year is Mathieu Van der Poel, forced to leave the race after the rest day, struck down by pneumonia that broke out overnight. We're talking about an extraordinary rider, built from granite, capable of going 260 km into a headwind... and yet brought down by an invisible virus, the day after a day without a time trial.
Pogacar tired, Alaphilippe hoarse… the signs are there
Even Pogacar, with his closed face and drawn features, is beginning to give the impression that the machine is no longer so smooth.. No obvious drop in performance, but there's just something in the attitude that betrays wear and tear. The kind of detail you only see at that level.
And behind them, the others are also feeling the erosion. Julian Alaphilippe confided after his 3rd place in Carcassonne: his throat stings, it scrapes a little.
On the Vélo Club set, Thomas Voeckler did not hesitate: “ Tonight, Julian, you're going straight to the hotel, you're covering yourself, you're not talking to anyone. Otherwise, you're done for. »
When runners keep their distance... even with microphones
The atmosphere in the peloton, for the past few days, has been almost that of a hygienic convent.Masks given out upon arrival, handshakes avoided, gel in the pockets of the caregivers.
On Tuesday at Ventoux, a Cofidis rider even asked Céline Rousseaux to take a step back during the interview. Not out of arrogance. Just out of caution. Because at that point in the Tour, every spit could be one too many.
Winning the Tour also means surviving your microbes
The staff knows it. So do the trainers. You don't win a Grand Tour without protecting your immune system.It has become a discipline in its own right: calibrated nutrition, precise supplements, anti-infection protocol, isolated rooms for leaders, and zero unnecessary contact.
Some riders, like the leaders Ineos and UAE, are living in virtual quarantine. Others, less protected, are falling one after the other. Not from a lack of fitness, but from an excess of germs.
And during that time...
...there is the one who is still pedaling, his legs heavy but his throat clear, his eyes blurred but without fever. He has won a small Tour within the Tour: that of survival.
