Peter Sagan deserves as many honors as the winner and a few more hugs: yesterday he accumulated fifteen second places in Tour stages in four participations. The Slovakian is seven places away from Erik Zabel's record (22), achieved in twelve Tours. He is also not far from Charles Pélissier's record, who in 1930 had seven second places (although he won eight stages).

This time, Belgian Van Avermaet (from a family of cyclists, one of them Coppi's teammate) was his last and sadistic executioner. First, he resisted Sagan's attack on the final ramp and then shook him off like mud from his shoe. Sagan didn't even have the consolation of the photo-finish. The young man who burst into cycling like a little Mozart carries at 25 years old a painful reputation as a second-placer. It doesn't matter that he has achieved 67 victories as a professional and three consecutive green jerseys (he is on his way to the fourth and at this rate he won't be long in equaling Zabel's six).

As often happens in cycling, Sagan's misfortune only brings one advantage: people start to love him. No one would have imagined that that arrogant young man who did wheelies on his bike and touched the hostesses' buttocks would end up being one of the crowd's favorite riders. We could call it the Poulidor effect. Nothing humanizes you as much as slipping on a banana skin, and nothing evokes as much empathy as doing it fifteen times in a row.

Sagan was not the only victim of stage 13 (it couldn't be any different). Kelderman, Gautier and De Gendt were caught in the last kilometer after an escape that was formed at the start and felt options for success until the last moment. There is no greater cruelty for those who race on a bicycle. Judging by the outcome, their escape companions (Geniez, Périchon and Haas) will have been grateful that their surrender came a little earlier.

They all have the slight consolation of showcasing their sponsors and revealing their face to the world. In this regard, none looked as trendy as Australian Nathan Haas, one of the many bearded men in the peloton (Geschke, Ten Dam, Degenkolb, Hesjedal, the expelled Paolini...). Cycling, for years anchored in tradition (no beards or mustaches, only sideburns), is a reflection of society's trends, and fashion has taught us that Dr. Bacterio was a hipster.

Contrary to what some may imagine, beards do not offer any kind of aerodynamic contraindication. This has been demonstrated by bicycle manufacturer Specialized in their wind tunnel; what would be a hindrance for riders would be not shaving their legs. Specialized calculates that hairy legs make their owner lose one minute and 20 seconds over 40 kilometers. Gillette should have a cycling team.

War.

But let's leave the hair aside to focus on the race. The Tour continues its torrid journey through the Massif Central with a stage that promises to be tricky. The climb to Mende will tell us if Froome falters or if our imagination grows. Storms are not ruled out. Even weather-related ones.