33-year-old Pello Bilbao finished first in stage 10 of the 2023 Tour de France, becoming the first Spanish rider to win a stage in five years.
Bilbao (in white) celebrates victory at the finish line of stage 10 of the Tour de France on July 11. Photo: Tour de France
Stage 10 on July 11 is considered one of the most difficult stages at the 2023 Tour de France, with an average climbing journey of 167.5 km from Vulcania to Issoire, France.
In the sweltering heat of central France, Bilbao sprinted flawlessly, raising his arms above his head in victory as he crossed the finish line first in 3 hours 52 minutes 34 seconds, followed by Georg Zimmermann of Intermarche–Circus–Wanty and Ben O'Connor of AG2R Citroen Team.
Bilbao became the first Spanish cyclist to win a stage at the Tour de France since Omar Fraile in 2018. Spain had previously gone through a similar drought from 1978 to 1983. Yesterday's victory also helped Bilbao move up from 11th to fifth in the overall standings.
The Bahrain-Victorious rider dedicated his victory to former teammate and friend Gino Mader - the Swiss rider who died after a horrific crash off a cliff at the Tour de Suisse last month.
"I closed the gap to O'Connor and when Zimmermann started sprinting, I just focused on the last 200m without thinking much," Bilbao said. "And then I crossed the finish line first and remembered the reason for the victory. A special victory, for Gino."
Pello Bilbao sprints to win stage 10 of the 2023 Tour de France on October 11.
Ahead of the 2023 Tour de France, Bilbao announced that it would pay tribute to Mader by donating 1 euro ($1.10) for every rider he beat in each stage to be donated to replanting trees in deforested areas. Yesterday, the 33-year-old beat 168 rivals, and will donate 168 euros ($185).
After the first rest day on July 10, the 2023 Tour de France resumed with a grueling stage featuring five classified climbs and barely any flat sections. The soaring temperatures were made even more brutal by the heat reflecting off the roads.
The riders were not pushing hard from the start, and the difference only came when a group of 14 riders broke away. Krists Neilands, Latvian rider for ProTeam Israel–Premier Tech, looked set to win when he accelerated on the final climb, crossing the Côte de la Chapelle-Marcousse with a 30-second advantage. But Bilbao caught him about 3km from the finish and he finished fourth.
"It was a really tough race," admitted Neilands. "It was tough, it was hot, but it was great to race and we had a really good race as a team. I gave it my all but it's a shame not to win."
In stage 10 yesterday, defending champion Jonas Vingegaard finished 21st, 2 minutes and 53 seconds behind Bibao. But the Danish rider of the Jumbo–Visma team still kept the yellow jersey with a total time of 42 hours, 33 minutes and 13 seconds, maintaining a 17-second advantage over Tadej Pogacar - the Slovenian rider who won the 2020 and 2021 Tour de France.
Jasper Philipsen, the Belgian who won stages 3 and 4 of the 2023 Tour de France, continues to hold the Green jersey for the sprinter with 260 points, while Neilson Powless of the EF Education–EasyPost team remains in the Red jersey for the climber with 46 points.
Today, the 2023 Tour de France continues with stage 11, a flat 180km journey from Clermont-Ferrand to Moulins, France.
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