Tadej Pogacar is very close to his double victory in the Giro and Tour. During the climb in the Alps, rival Vingegaard refrains from attacking. The Slovenian once again significantly increases the gap.
The preliminary decision in the 111th Tour de France was also evident in the reactions of superstars Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard. While the dominant Slovenian received a victory kiss from his fiancée Urska, the Dane lay crying in the arms of his wife Trine. The relaxed-looking Pogacar is on the verge of his double triumph of Giro and Tour victory after his clear victory over his rival in the Isola 2000 ski resort after an impressive mountain ride.
“I look better than ever, I would say so too. I’m super happy,” said Pogacar on Friday with dust on his face. “I thought Jonas was going to try the Bonette. I think their main goal was to win the stage.”
At the Cime de la Bonette, the highest point of the Tour, the expected attack from Vingegaard failed to materialize. With just under nine kilometers to go, Pogacar attacked the seemingly defenseless Vingegaard, overtook the few riders in front of him from the breakaway group and rode away irresistibly.
Two days before the final individual time trial in Nice, Pogacar crossed the finish line first after the 144.6 kilometers between Embrun and Isola 2000, ahead of Vingegaard’s American colleague Matteo Jorgenson and Briton Simon Yates. Pogacar thus celebrated his fourth stage win in this year’s Tour de France and his 15th stage win in total in the Tour. The Dane Vingegaard seemed primarily concerned with defending second place in the overall rankings ahead of the Belgian Remco Evenepoel.
“Pogacar is the strongest,” said Vingegaard’s sports director Grischa Niermann. “This is not the end, but very likely the end of winning the Tour this year,” he admitted. “In the end, Jonas has to make the call and have the legs to do it. He said he doesn’t feel he can leave Pogacar behind,” added Niermann.
Pogacar clearly extends his lead
The exceptional rider Pogacar also set standards in other respects. After the Tour day, he put on the leader’s jersey in a Grand Tour for the 37th time this year. He now holds the record together with cycling legend Eddy Merckx. The Belgian set the best record in 1970. Pogacar wore the pink jersey at the Giro 2024 20 times and the yellow jersey at the Tour 17 times.
In the overall standings, the man in the yellow jersey significantly increased his comfortable lead. He is now 5:03 ahead of defending champion Vingegaard and 7:01 ahead of third-placed Evenepoel. If there is no drop in performance, illness or fall, then Pogacar should be able to celebrate his third Tour victory on Sunday in Nice on the Côte d’Azur.
Highest point of the tour
The key stage in the Alps saw the professional cyclists once again climb dizzying heights. The Cime de la Bonette, at 2802 metres, was the highest point ever climbed in the Tour. Before that, the Col de Vars had to be conquered. Both climbs were in the highest category.
The sprinters in particular were pushed to their limits and had to hope that they wouldn’t fall outside the time limit. The organizers had slightly adjusted the grace period to benefit the faster men. Vingegaard’s team knew that they had to deliver if they were to pose a threat to Pogacar again. They set the pace right from the start, pushing the breakaway group forward. However, the expected attack from Vingegaard on the Bonette failed to materialize – especially since Pogacar had four teammates with him. The Dane had none.
Although there are still two stages to go – the Alpine stage from Nice to the Col de la Couillole on Saturday and the final time trial from Monaco to Nice – the performances shown cast doubt on whether Pogacar can still be pushed out of the top of the overall rankings.
Source: Stern
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