They spent a day in a breakaway pedaling at an average of 50 km/h, and we - along with all commentators - wondered what was behind the crazy idea of Mathieu Van der Poel and Jonas Rickaert. During the afternoon in Chateauroux, between the press room and various connected TV channels, we heard every possible hypothesis and comment.

Then in the evening, the discovery. Which, as often happens, reveals a truth simpler than any hypothesis.

"Jonas wanted to stand on the Tour de France podium at least once, so we invented this action," Van der Poel explained laconically, who only 650 meters from the finish line saw his glory dream fade and after the stage received, among others, the compliments and apologies of Remco Evenepoel, who explained that the opportunity to win with Merlier was something they couldn't let slip away...

Definitely more articulate was the discourse of thirty-one-year-old Jonas Rickaert who explains: "It was a very difficult day, but still truly special. Actually, everything started almost as a joke, but in the end, I found an excellent travel companion..."

"On Saturday we had told each other that if we managed to get in a breakaway, we would be in the lead for five minutes each, pedaling at a certain power. In this way, we could put the group in difficulty, and we tried to maintain this line until the finish line."

And further: "When I saw Mathieu arrive, I said to myself 'where can we go?' Actually, we spoke very little during the race. The dream? Well, it's true, I dreamed of standing on the Tour podium, but I only smiled during the first five kilometers of the breakaway, for the rest there was only fatigue."