It's one of the fallacies of Tour de France racing that a day out near the seaside is all fun and ice creams.
It might be if you're just out for a casual ride along the coast but full-on competition in a tourist area is a very different proposition. I can tell you right now that if you're a pro rider having ice cream by the seaside it's because you're in hospital nursing your injuries after a high-speed crash that’s taken you out of the Tour.
However, if your idea of fun is hopping traffic islands and skidding off on dusty corners at any moment during a race then you'll love days like stage 10. Enter into view guys like Tim Declercq, who occupied the 131st place on GC at the start of stage 10.
The tall Belgian from Deceuninck-QuickStep may not be troubling the podium fight in the coming mountains but on the route from Ile d'Oleron to Ile de Re his influence was certainly felt by all those who have ambitions of grandeur in Paris. It was quite amusing to watch how he maintained his position on the front left of the peloton for the majority of the stage, riding at an average of 50kph as if it was all downhill with the wind behind him.
I used to hate days like stage 10, quite often it would be into Bordeaux, flat all day, pulling a big gear with legs tired from climbing mountains in the front group. The tension would always increase more and more as the finish approached. I used to hurt more on that day than I did on any other stage during the entire Tour.
The stage 10 route through the Charente Maritime, from one holiday destination to the other, was entirely stressful. At any moment you could fall off, be caught in a sidewind, or be caught behind someone else's crash.
Sam Bennett finished off a mega piece of work from the Deceuninck squad, winning a strong man's sprint made more difficult by a headwind that slowed things down once the peloton had climbed over the spectacular bridge onto the Ile de Re.
It was telling that the main protagonists for the GC had designated minders for this tricky stage. Of course, Primoz Roglic had the whole Jumbo-Visma team at his disposal and in yellow he had a tiny bit more respect from everyone else. Even so, he would have found himself in the gutter now and then. Like when Ineos attacked to cause the final selection approaching 20km to go. They used Luke Rowe to start things and then had riders, and especially Kwiatkowski, to look after Egan Bernal whilst behind them there was a general panic.
Eventually, Jumbo and the few teams with the firepower to ride at 65kph reorganized themselves but the benefit that the Polish former World Champion brings to Bernal can't be underestimated. We've seen him ride tempo in the Pyrenees and today he made sure his leader kept in a safe position until the 3km was passed.
When the front group began the final phase Declercq slipped back, knowing his work was well done.
As he drifted through the group he would have become visible again to the climbers like Richie Porte and Romain Bardet. The smaller guys would have been cursing all day. Both would have spent a nightmare of a stage fighting to stay in the GC on a terrain that burnt their legs and mental energy in equal measure. Secretly they'd have being wishing that the guy who finished 43rd was on their team.
