ORCIÈRES-MERLETTE, France — It is quiet at the top as the riders roll across the finish line. The only ones with reason to make noise after stage 18 of the Tour de France – the day's winner Richard Carapaz and his EF Education-EasyPost minders – have already been whisked away for post-stage formalities.
Uno-X Mobility's Tobias Halland Johannessen collapses to the floor against the railing. Just breathing. Valentin Paret-Peintre of Soudal-Quick Step, wearing the polka dot jersey, is engulfed by media, his small frame easily disappearing under the swarm of French microphones.
Jai Hindley of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe then rolls into the finish, where SBS is waiting. Seeing as the buses were back down the mountain, and after three weeks of asking umpteen questions, it's understandable that most riders want to just get on their way. But Hindley, a polite man anyway, is duty bound to give home viewers in Australia a taste of what the stage was like.
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