And another critical discussion is long overdue. The stage leader, Movistar Leader Mas, who had been leading for much of the stage and whom everyone most wanted to win, was unfortunately overtaken in the finale and, after a valiant effort, finished “only” seventh. Shortly after the Tour, he was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis, which sidelined him for the rest of the season [30]. If this were an isolated case, one could perhaps accept that a high-performance athlete in his prime exhibits a geriatric symptom that is completely atypical for his age group. Unfortunately, these abnormal clinical signs have been observed latently in elite sports groups with unprecedented frequency for the past few years. Young athletes are suddenly experiencing tumors, strokes, asthma and shingles, persistent recurrent infections, numb legs, thrombosis, pneumonia and pneumonia, and even metabolic syndromes with the development of sudden-onset diabetes [31]. What might be the cause of this significant epidemiological incidence? Pump, Trutin, the Reform UK, or even climate change? It is now obvious that the etiology lies in the Covid-19 drug applications introduced in 2021, even though the mainstream still desperately tries to deny the connection [32] and plays the trump card of the alleged “Long Covid” specter, which was very cleverly hammered into the collective memory early on because it was well known what a gigantic avalanche of patients the genocide cocktails would cause [33].
The 17th (sprint) stage, covering 160km and 1700m of elevation gain, saw the seemingly fatigue-resistant peloton once again race at an average speed of 47km/h. In the rain-soaked finale, the riders pushed hard again, showing no regard for their own health or that of their teammates. Almost as if by script, crashes ensued during the battles for position, and half the peloton, losing their balance, found themselves in near-Earth orbit. Top sprinter Merlier aptly summed it up: “Before the race, I could write a list of riders who would be lying on the road if there were any crashes. I need to watch this crash again, but I already know a few names. Some riders are pushing themselves a bit beyond the limit. They seem to prefer crashing to sprinting [34].”
The 172km Alpine Queen Stage, with its borderline 5600m of elevation gain, including crossing the giants Col du Glandon, Col de la Madleine, and the final climb to the Col de la Loze, was completed at an unbelievable 34km/h. RBH stood out on this day with a total tactical failure, only narrowly avoiding the loss of the GC podium finish and the white jersey in the young rider classification. Lipowitz’s completely pointless solo attack in the entirely unsuitable valley section between the Col de la Madleine and the approach to Courchevel for the final climb might be forgiven in a novice cyclist. However, this collective failure of RBH’s two co-captains, Roglic and Lipowitz, as well as the entire team management, is inexcusable at this world-class level [35]. The resignations of the two sporting directors, Aldag and Gasparotto, immediately after the Tour de France are therefore not entirely surprising [36]. It is speculative whether these departures are due to the apparent disagreements during the Tour, in which there may have been an internal conflict between Roglic and Lipowitz, or whether they are related to the signing of superstar Evenepoel for 2026, who brought his entire support staff with him [37].
Nothing seemed to go according to plan for Team Visma on this stage either. During the crucial section of the long valley stretch between the Madeleine and Courchevel, the necessary support riders were unavailable. However, given the strain of the previous weeks and the extremely challenging topography of the stage, it’s at least an indicator of normal fatigue that the professionals aren’t functioning completely independently like machines [38]. Even the two top riders in first and second place in the general classification could only muster 5.5 W/kg on the final climb [3]. Pogacar’s comment that he expected Visma to go faster has a touch of arrogance. Vingegaard’s statement, on the other hand, is much more realistic and raises eyebrows: “Today was a brutal day. We were in the saddle for five hours. I don’t know if I’ve ever ridden such a hard stage in the Tour [39].” Nevertheless, a completely empty Lipowitz only climbs the mountain 8/10ths of a km/h “slower” than the stage winner O’Connor!
The shortened 19th stage covered 93km with over 3400m of elevation gain and was ridden at an absurd average speed of almost 34km/h. Impressively, the winner, Arensmann, successfully prevailed against the GC leading duo of Pogacar/Vingegaard, while RBH once again delivered a race-tactical oddity, where it was only thanks to Lipowitz’s exceptional talent that he was able to defend his podium position and the white jersey [40]. Roglic’s decision to launch a similarly reckless attack as Lipowitz had the previous day, instead of fully supporting his young teammate, once again revealed the obvious disagreements within the team. The fact that the team management failed to take decisive action and focus entirely on securing Lipowitz’s hard-won positions hints at the disintegration within the team’s race management, which was logically confirmed after the Tour with the resignation of those responsible, Aldag and Gasparotto. The statement by the third RBH director, Sportif Eisel [36], who has also since fled, raises the question of whether there are fundamentally too many sporting directors involved in the team: “It is always difficult with Primoz because he desperately wanted this stage win. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out [41].”
The real drama, however, came with the stage being shortened by 37km, removing two difficult climbs [42], which certainly benefited Lipowitz the most, as he may not have fully recovered from the previous day’s climb. A paltry case of veterinary symptoms (flu-like, by the way! Does that sound familiar?) was blown out of proportion in true COVID-19 panic mode, dubbed “cattle disease”, and the affected region was declared a restricted zone, following the lockdown logic of the “COVID-1984” hygiene regime. After all, the specter of the virus had to be kept alive in the collective memory. Upon closer inspection, the whole charade was quickly debunked. “Lumpy skin disease” (dermatitis nodularis) has no zoonotic potential whatsoever; it is harmless to humans [43]. However, instead of appropriately and prudently limiting the total economic damage for the affected farmers by isolating individual animals, as demanded by the French farmers’ associations, entire herds are being senselessly culled, and the blunt, all-purpose weapon and smokescreen of “vaccination”—Big Pharma’s best cash cow—is being injected into the herds [44]. The maps of the alleged infection areas, provided by the responsible authorities, also show the tried-and-tested, staged hotspot pattern of the microbial show from 2020. This time, instead of Bergamo and New York, it is the tranquil region of Haute-Savoie, where, conveniently, the media-savvy Tour de France is making a stop [45]. Two noxious agents are postulated as the etiology of the disease, which are also highly interesting. Firstly, transmission is said to occur through infected insects (mosquitoes), which raises the question of why it is not the lower-lying, marshy, and particularly hot regions of France that are affected, such as the Camargue, but rather the mild and insect-poor highlands of Savoy. Incidentally, the same pseudo-panic tactic, based on similar climatic and topographical absurdities, was employed shortly afterwards at the UCI Road World Championships in Kigali [46]. The historical origin of the disease is also located in the hot climates of Africa and Western Asia [47]. Furthermore, contaminated animal feed is blamed, which should focus preventive measures on its supply chain [48]. In addition, recent studies demonstrate the questionable efficacy of the attenuated LSD vaccine [49]. This too is déjà vu with various products from Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna & Co. in the recent past. And ultimately, it’s no surprise that many asymptomatic animals are being “convicted” by, yes, you guessed it, PCR tests [50]. This viral revival charade is currently being staged again with “avian influenza” [51]. And, of course, once again with the unfriendly support of a pseudophilanthropist with a history of bias [52].
